Appointment Today!

I saw my nurse practioner this afternoon. We talked about the pregnancy, how things are going and she measured me. I'm measuring just where I should and even though she poked around quite a bit with the doppler, she only found one heartbeat! I have an ultrasound in 5 weeks which will tell for sure, but it does seem that there is only one in there. Here's a fresh picture of me and "my bump". Enjoy! This is at just 13 weeks. I get really big, really fast!

Saturday Afternoon

Well, since I've received static from someone about how long it's been since I've posted, I thought I'd send out a little update. There's not much to report. Jim finished up inservice for the 12th time. He is teaching English 7, 8, 9 and Latin 9 and 10. He'll be directing Anne of Avonlea this fall as the fall play. They'll pull in talent from the Schaeffer Community in different aged roles, so it will be a great show!

Evan had "Meet the Teacher" day yesterday. We loaded all three kiddos up just before 9 and went to meet Mrs. Sandie Hansen. She's in her 11th year of teaching first grade at Schaeffer. They have two sections of first grade, he got the older of the two teachers. Sandie is really excited to have Evan in class since she's been hearing Evan stories from Jim for the last 6 years! :) I think she's up for the challenge of a young first grader who not only taught himself to multiply, but plays chess and manages to either beat or get into stalemate most of his opponents!

When Evan starts first grade, Aidan moves from pull-ups all day to underwear all day (pull ups in bed only!). He knows this and is excited to get started! He decided to wear pull ups several months ago. He thinks that diapers are for babies, and pull ups are for big boys. I guess underwear are for really big boys! He also got a terrible diaper rash yesterday, so I'm using that as a springboard for how nice it will be when he doesn't get an "owie bum" because he'll be dry.

Toby is plugging along. He's talking up a storm and has lots of friends at nursery. Over the last 2 weeks he's decided it would be okay to go into nursery without crying which is a huge relief for Mommy!

Mommy, uh, I guess, I'm just working on keeping up. I've discovered that if I don't get enough sleep I get sick feeling during the day. I'm almost 13 weeks along and have put away all my non-maternity clothes in favor of long full t-shirts and panel pants. I like the newer shorter maternity shirts, but have so many maternity clothes I hate to buy new ones just for the next 6 months! I'll probably scout the end of season garage sales and try to pick up a few new ones just to freshen up my wardrobe for the fall/winter months!

Well that's our news. I'll write again sooner than 2 weeks from now! :)

Babies and Bikes

Many times while watching my babies learn to walk I have had the thought, "Why does God give babies the ability to walk before they have the sense to know exactly what to do with that skill?" You know, babies walk and fall, crash into stuff and get into trouble all at the same time! Well, it does appear that Evan was blessed with the ability to ride a two wheeler much the same way. He rode, fell off, got frustrated with himself, but never gave up and before we knew it he was riding down the sidewalk away from the house. And fell and knocked out his front tooth. So, as you've read, we got that fixed the other day. Now, tonight Jim was watching Evan test out his new skills from the upstairs window. Sure enough, Evan ends up riding down the sidewalk on his face. So, now Evan has a bit of a fat lip left from last week, a scraped up place on his forehead, cheek and eyelid. So, the bike is back in the garage until Evan gathers up enough courage to tackle the challenge once again!

In other, less dramatic news, we had the first meeting of our MOPS steering team this morning! I'm thinking about getting excited for the new year. Once we stop with the training stuff and get on to the nuts and bolts of what the MOPS year will really look like I'll be all geared up and rearing to go! I'm the creative activities coordinator for our group. I initially gave myself the title of "craft chick" but after serving my second year as CA coordinator was promoted by some to "craft queen". Works for me! If you have any ideas for crafts in the theme "Fresh Air: What Every Mother Needs" send them my way! Oh, and here's a shot of Aidan!

Update on Evan

This morning we loaded up the three boys at 7:00. We dropped the two little ones off at Grandma and "Bumpa"'s house for the morning while Evan and I went off to the oral surgeons. His appointment was to be at 7:30, but of course, they were running late (already??) and he went back at 7:45. The doctor talked to him about the different options for anesthia and Evan chose the "space mask" option. (General anestheia by a mask, no injections.) 45 minutes later I had him loaded up in the van on the way home! 45 minutes after that he was on blankets on the deck playing chess with his chess club buddies! He had to take a couple of breaks to throw up, but went right on back out to chess. When he was on the recovery table with his mouth full of gauze his first words were "can I still play chess?" :) My little chess nerd. He's having peanut butter and jelly sandwich, teddy grahams and a popsicle for lunch. I think he'll be fine! :) Thanks for the encouraging words and prayers this morning. The doc said that he did great and didn't fuss and fight like some kids do when they're nervous.

Oral Surgery

Tomorrow (Friday) morning at 7:30 Evan goes in to the oral surgeon to have his tooth and it's root removed. Should be fun...

What an evening

So, Evan's first bike riding freedom ended in emergency dental. He smashed his front tooth in on the sidewalk down the street. Broke it off at the root. I have to call oral surgery tomorrow to have it removed because he broke it up so high in the gum that the regular dentist won't touch it. He has a fat lip and a funny talk, but we think he'll be okay.

Boundaries

We moved into this house in January 2002. That summer I spray painted "boundaries" on the sidewalk. One near the alley so Evan wouldn't ride his big wheel into the alley and one just on the other side of the driveway (a total distance of maybe 20 feet). Each summer I have expanded his boundaries. Last summer I let him ride around the corner of our lot to the front door. Today I expanded his boundaries again. He can go from the line near the alley (since the alley is used for traffic I don't want him in it!), around the corner of our lot and to the following corner down the block. I just looked out the window and saw him talking with a little girl in front of our house that he's already met in his expanded world! He pointed to me in our front picture window then extended his hand to shake the new little girl's hand! They're riding around the boundaries together, him on his bike (with his dorky looking red helmet) and her on her scooter. Sooooo cute!!!! I just found out that her name is Sara and she's 9! I think they live around the block. If they're the family I'm thinking of her dad came and fixed our dishwasher once...

Big Day at Our House!

Well, today was a big day at our house. Both of the big boys had momentous events. Evan discovered that he can indeed ride a two-wheeler, no training wheels! He hopped on it for me and rode right on down the sidewalk. Aidan also got to go to his first birthday party! Well, not exactly his first, but the first one where he was invited, Brothers and I weren't, so he got to be dropped off and picked up later! He had a great time and was so excited!

Well other than that, no new news! I have my next pregnancy check up on the 28th. They should be able to hear the heartbeat at that one. Yeah!

Fun Evening with Friends

Last night we had the Sedarski family over. In an earlier post I wrote about us going over to their house for dinner with their 7 kids! They only brought 6 of their kids because the oldest one was in the Dominican Republic on a mission trip with their church. Anyway, they came over around 6:30 for dessert. I put out an ice cream sundae bar complete with caramel, homemade hot fudge sauce, bananas, brownies and whipped cream! It was a big hit and they wanted my recipe for the hot fudge. You can get it at www.clubmeadors.blogspot.com later today...

We had a great time just chatting and letting the kids play. Their children are incredible. They get along great not only with my kids, but with each other as well. They're polite and helpful and the house and yard looked better when they left than when they got here...and I'd cleaned house before they got here! They'll make good friends.

Summer Days

Yes, we're all still alive here! I don't know how many people read this thing, but if you do, sorry I haven't updated. I had an awful week with morning sickness. I'll leave it at that! Evan had his first BCC yesterday. That's Backyard Chess Club. :) He had a good time, but only one child came. Oh well, it was the first one and we're doing it every Friday in August, so hopefully others will come next time! Aidan just said good bye to his buddy. Today is washing day for his best friend Teddy Bear Blanket. That thing was disgusting! Toby is toddling around like a nut. I think he's teething. He also has a mean mischevious streak in him. Here's a picture of him at his best! He'll go up to Aidan, take away Teddy Bear Blanket, run away and laugh! What a naughty little brother. :)

Well, today I feel well enough to hit Walmart. I haven't been grocery shopping for almost two weeks. I asked Evan if he wanted me to get his school supplies for him or if he wanted to go with me and pick them out. He said as long as I got cool ones and no girl ones I could just pick them out. That takes care of that! :) Leave a comment if you would, I'd like to know how many people actually read this thing! :)

A favorite song

I thought I'd post one of my favorite praise and woship songs as of right now and the last 4 years.

Before you read through it all, I'll explain a bit of why I like it. Four years ago right now I was pregnant. I found out right around this time that I was pregnant with twins! Oh my, what in the world were we going to do with twins??? Blessed be your name, in the land that is plentiful. Well, as most of you know, we never found out because they were called back to heaven at just 13 weeks gestation. Blessed Be Your Name when I'm found in the desert place. I certainly walked through a desert place at that point. I didn't spiral down into a deep depression, but I could easily see how it would happen if I didn't have my older son Evan to have to get up and take care of every day. Anyway, fast forward a couple years and my girlfriend was pregnant. This time it was after thousands of dollars worth of fertility treatments. At 25 weeks gestation and just 2 lbs her little boy was born into the world. During the weeks he was in the hospital fighting for his life, we sang this song at church. You give and take away, my heart will choose to say, Lord, Blessed be your name! Well, with much grace and mercy the Lord decided to let Zane live. Blessed be your name when the sun's shining down on me, when the world's all as it should be, blessed be your name! Forward through another couple years and we find out that our pastor's wife is pregnant! Her oldest is in college and her youngest is 11!!! That baby wasn't to come into our lives in a tangible way and I shared how much this song means to me. Blessed be your name on the road marked with suffering, though there's pain in the offering, blessed be your name.

I still cannot sing this song all the way through! My voice catches at least once or twice every time I sing it. I hope you're blessed by the Lord and can sing "Blessed be your name" whether you're in a place of abundance or of desert.

Blessed Be Your Name
by Matt Redman
- - -
Blessed Be Your Name
In the land that is plentiful
Where Your streams of abundance flow
Blessed be Your name
Blessed Be Your name
When I'm found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed Be Your name
Every blessing You pour out
I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name
Blessed be Your name
When the sun's shining down on me
When the world's 'all as it should be'
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be Your name
On the road marked with suffering
Though there's pain in the offering
Blessed be Your name
Every blessing You pour out
I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name
You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord, blessed be Your name

Thanks Mom!

I got a large flat cardboard mailer today. Well, I didn't get it, it was addressed to the kluth boys. Inside was a blast from my past, a book called "What Do You Say Dear?" I was excited to share it with the boys who were awake (Toby was upstairs in his closet.). I started out reading it with the same tones and inflections I remember my own mother reading it to me with. Until I came to the cowboy page. I changed my tone and read a little quicker as I came across the following words: "You are a cowboy riding around the range. Suddenly Bad-Nose Bill comes uop behind you with a gun. He says, 'Would you like me to shoot a hole in your head?' What do you say, dear?" I don't remember this book being quite so violent!!! I guess reading it to a houseful of girls makes it a different experience for a Mom than reading it to a houseful of boys!

Baby's in the closet

Well my life started way too early this morning! Toby got up at 6:18. Jim went in to get him out. Jim opened the door to the closet where Toby sleeps and Toby was standing in the pack and play and said, "out!". He definitely makes his needs known!

Why was Toby sleeping in the closet you ask? Well, it is sort of a long story. Toby once slept in his own crib in his own room. Because Aidan wouldn't sleep in his bottom bunk bed, we demoted him to the crib in Toby's room and Toby got to sleep in the pack and play in the big boy's room. For some stupid reason I cannot understand, I thought it would be a good idea to move Aidan and Toby into the same room together and give Evan his own room. So, we scootched the pack and play into the closet (it IS a big closet) and slid the crib officially into the bigger bedroom. Evan has his bunk beds, he loves the top bunk (and Everett got to sleep on the bottom bunk!). Aidan has a toddler bed, but usually ends up demoted to the crib because he won't stay in the toddler bed; and Toby has the closet. Toby loves the closet! When I've moved the p/p out of the closet in an attempt to get him to learn to sleep in a crib or something, he screams his head off and doesn't settle down until we slide it back into the closet. So, that's the story of why my baby sleeps in the closet!

Toby's Poo

In update to the post about Toby eating a fork, it all came out fine. I never did find the piece of tine, but I wasn't really diligent about looking. Would you want to scrape through a diaper full of poop looking for something that used to be white??? No ill effects that we could tell.

Yesterday I took Aidan and Toby to Leah's house for a mini-carnival. It was fun, but took longer to set up than to play! She only hosted, her PCA Jane and Jane's boyfriend set it up and paid for it all. It was very nice of them to do so! My boys got soaked, check out Leah's blog at leahs-house.blogspot.com for an update from her point of view.

Last night Jim and I had our second budget meeting. We're following Dave Ramsey's ideas. He suggests to get an emergency fund of at least $1000 then pay off debt, then save. We're on to the saving part! :) Our only debt as of now is our house. No medical, no library, we never had credit cards, so that isn't a problem. We got through half of the meeting before I started feeling sick and went to bed.

The boys, well, Aidan anyway, are clamoring for breakfast, so I guess I should be a good mommy and feed my kids!

Help Me Mammas!

Ugg. This kid will not stay in his bed! Aidan has a toddler bed (and shares a room with Toby) He gets out of his bed, he gets demoted to the crib (sometimes it is coupled with a swat). Right now, instead of taking a nap, he's up there shouting around and kicking at the mattress. How can I get him to go to bed, stay in bed and go to sleep?????

Just a quick update.

I don't think I have much to report! Evan's been Presbyterian this week, enjoying their Vacation Bible School. Aidan and Toby have enjoyed their time in the mornings, but when we drop Evan off Toby waves and says, "Ebba, Ebba, Ebba" his way of saying Evan. I'm 7+ weeks pregnant and starting to feel it. I picked up Chinese food last night which was fine because I didn't have to cook! Jim's running a garage sale today. He's made over $300, but $200 of it was because he sold a van. That's Jim!

I'm back!

This weekend Aidan and I traveled to Sioux City, Iowa. I was invited to a birthday party for an old high school friend. Since Aidan is the easiset to travel with, he came with me and Jim stayed with Evan and Toby.

Aidan and I had a great time. He didn't disappoint me in figuring he'd be a good travel companion. He slept for over 1/2 of the trip down and the other part was a very good boy. He chatted, listened to books on tape and sucked on his fingers and just looked out the window! Grandma spoiled him, which made up for the fact that he was absolutely mortified of their dog! He spent much of Saturday on the back of the couch where he was safely out of the slobber zone of Cooper the beagle. Sunday morning he stayed in the basement where Cooper doesn't go and told me that he would stay there until I went up and put Cooper away!

The party on Friday night was fun. It was nice to see my old friend Claire and get caught up with a bunch of people from my junior high school/high school years. Saturday Mom, Dad, Adam (my brother), Keven (my nephew), Aidan and I went to breakfast at HyVee then on to Le Mars to the Ice Cream Capital of the World and home to Blue Bunny Ice Cream. The tour of the museum was quick and kinda boring. We found some interesting facts none of which I can remember here! Since Aidan had only a doughnut for breakfast and ice cream for lunch, he was literally running around like a tazmanian devil! I grabbed him up and carried him flailing about back to the ice cream parlor (from the play place). While he was flinging himself all over and I was gripping on to him for dear life he commented, "man, you stwong!" :) What a ham!

Sunday we lazed about in the morning which was great because I was suffering from a major allergy attack. Mom took us to Walmart to get some lunch supplies and do a little back to school shopping for Evan. He now has his lunch box, back pack and a few other little supplies. Thanks, Mom! After lunch Aidan and I hit the road. He wasn't the travel companion he was on Friday, but he was still good. We listened to the disney story on tape of the Three Little Pigs about 100 times as well as the songs of Cows and Ice Cream Mom got for us at the Ice Cream museum. When we got back into cell range, I called home. Evan answered the phone, chatted with me for a minute and then asked to speak to Aidan! It is so sweet to see them grow into close siblings! Toby wanted Aidan and Mommy as soon as we walked into the house. They missed each other which was a great thing!

This morning was a very trying morning. Uggg. It started with Evan and Aidan getting into the water outside just 10 minutes before I was going to take Evan to VBS with the Presbyterians. Aidan was soaked, so I had to get him into outfit number two before we could go. (If it hadn't been the first day when I had to get him out and register Evan I might have left him wet!!) Then we got home, caught up with a friend on the phone and arranged to go meet her at the mall for a playdate. Moments before we were to leave, Toby pulled my 2/3 full cup of coffee down onto himself. Thankfully it had been sitting out for two hours and wasn't hot. So, off to outfit number two for Toby! When we got home, the little boys played while I did a little more housework. After a while, Aidan wanted to go play in his room. 10 minutes before I was to go pick up Evan, Aidan came downstairs saying, "Mommy, look at this on my hands". Neosporin. Most of a tube of it. It was smeared all over his hands, legs, clothes and hair. We washed his hands and threw him in the car to go get Evan. Forget making lunch, I picked up Wendy's! After 4 hairwashings with three different soaps/shampoos I was not able to get the goop out of his hair! He did get the third outfit for the day...A little internet research suggested using cornstarch on the hair or mixing baking soda and baby shampoo, so after nap he's off to his second bath of the day!

Phew, well I guess that catches you up on my life for now! Until next time.

I think I'm becoming a hippie!

First a cute kid quote: This morning Aidan was sitting on the loveseat watching cartoons. I came over and sat down beside him and said, "I need a good helper to help me unload the dishwasher." He replied, "Evan is a good helper!"

Anyway, why do I think I'm becoming a hippie? This afternoon I spent way too long online looking for homemade recipes for things like laundry detergent, fabric softener, dishwasher soap, weed killer, toothpaste and baby wipes! They all seem really easy, single step recipes with not too odd of ingredients. I think the hardest thing I'll have to do is find glycerin and washing soda and grate a bar of soap!

Has anyone else tried "hippie" recipes for common cleaners???

I'll never learn...

Well, I did it again. About a month ago I got some donuts for some friends who were coming over that morning. Anticipating a possible play date this morning, I did it again. The same thing happened that happened a month ago. Aidan got the box and doled out the donuts to himself and Toby. At least he shared!

I'm feeling pretty good otherwise. Woke up yesterday feeling pretty crummy, but a quick breakfast cured that.

Evan is at VBS this week for 3 1/2 hours every morning! It is nice to have just the little ones, but when we dropped him off this morning, Toby was saying, "Ebba, Ebba, Ebba" wondering where his favorite play mate had gone! Fall will be a tough change for the little ones when Evan is gone to first grade all day every day. Hey, it will be a tough change for me too I think. As much as he drives me nuts, I love that guy.

Our excitement for the day

This past school year we met Chris S. He is the Spanish teacher at C High school, just down the road from where Jim teaches. We ran into him several times at various Republican events and we kept saying, as people do, "we should get together and do something". Well, surprise surprise, tonight we actually got together! We went over to his house, met his wife and SEVEN children. They are all remarkable children and range in age from 16 down to 2.

Dinner was going well, our kids were behaving themselves and acting in such a way that we were really proud of them, until Toby snatched Aidan's fork. We (being a total of 14 people) were using plastic silverware. Toby managed to break off one of the tines to the fork and swallowed it (we assume since we didn't find it anywhere). So, we called Olmsted hospital to see what we should do. You guessed it, just watch his poo to see if it comes out!

The rest of the evening went really well considering all the kids that were there! Our kids and theirs all get along really well, so we're hoping to get together with them again soon.