Did you all get your Ash Wednesday cards sent out? Did you find cheerful Hallmark cards to mark the beginning of this rather somber time in the church year? Me neither. But I did go to our service tonight to help me set the tone for the Lenten season.
Samuel went into Anchorage today after school so he could go to a jr. high youth group meeting at another United Methodist church. He rode in with one family and came home with another. The night wasn't typical because of their Ash Wednesday service, but I think he had an okay time.
The same family who took Samuel in today also recently handed down some very special t-shirts for Moriah. Red Sox t-shirts (and therefore the best hand-me-downs ever). She's already worn them and would probably wear them again without washing them if I let her.
On a final note, we watched the Top Chef finale tonight. Hosea won. I was rooting for Carla, but she made some errors that cost her a chance at the title. Hosea prepared a solid meal, as did Stefan, Hosea's season-long rival. Next week is the 'gossip' show and I'm hoping Carla wins fan favorite.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
Another cute little girl story
Can you bear another one? This time it is about Bethany, who has become quite the 'verbal gerbil' as our early intervention PT once said.
After the little girls woke up this morning, I heard the typical chatting through the monitor. Then Bethany started singing. Nothing I've ever heard before, but a definite tune of her own. Complete with her version of a vibrato that was a little reminiscent of George of the Jungle's holler. I called the older kids into our room to hear it, but only Susannah was there in time to chuckle along with me. Susannah rightly asked "are you going to blog about this?"
Um, yes darling, I am.
After the little girls woke up this morning, I heard the typical chatting through the monitor. Then Bethany started singing. Nothing I've ever heard before, but a definite tune of her own. Complete with her version of a vibrato that was a little reminiscent of George of the Jungle's holler. I called the older kids into our room to hear it, but only Susannah was there in time to chuckle along with me. Susannah rightly asked "are you going to blog about this?"
Um, yes darling, I am.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Trying something new
I'm about to attempt to post a photo of the little girls. We have a photobucket account and I just discovered this morning (as I was playing instead of getting ready for church) that I can add text to photos. Duh. So I've done that to one photo as an experiment. The photo is of Abigail and Bethany sitting on their new 'couch' Christmas morning. Abigail is in red, Bethany in blue.
(cool, it worked!)
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Beauty all around
I LOVE this time of year. Truly. Late February into early March is typically a sunny, warm time of year. The sun is rising a touch earlier so we are heading to school as the sun is starting to make its presence known, the late afternoons are often sunnier and stay lighter later and I usually don't realize that it's after 5:00 unless I look at a clock (like today). From October to early February pre-dinner time is still dark and then suddenly it's not and I'm caught off guard that dinner needs to be prepared.
Then, of course, figure in my upcoming birthday into this time of year and you've got why I love this time of year.
I went out cross-country skiing today with a friend. I haven't been out in about three years because of pregnancy and young babies and crazy schedules and it felt SO GOOD to go. The temperature was perfect, the sun was out and I even got hot enough to shed my mittens and coat (I hung my coat on a tree and picked it up on the way back out). I'll be sore (partly from the great workout I got the other night) but it'll be a good sore. An I-did-something-great-for-my-body kind of sore. A sore I can definitely live with.
The kids have all been out skiing most of the day, too, and will likely be very tired later. But what a great day to be skiing. I love this place.
Then, of course, figure in my upcoming birthday into this time of year and you've got why I love this time of year.
I went out cross-country skiing today with a friend. I haven't been out in about three years because of pregnancy and young babies and crazy schedules and it felt SO GOOD to go. The temperature was perfect, the sun was out and I even got hot enough to shed my mittens and coat (I hung my coat on a tree and picked it up on the way back out). I'll be sore (partly from the great workout I got the other night) but it'll be a good sore. An I-did-something-great-for-my-body kind of sore. A sore I can definitely live with.
The kids have all been out skiing most of the day, too, and will likely be very tired later. But what a great day to be skiing. I love this place.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Schedules and Family Game Night
Things should go smoothly when there is enough time allotted, right? I mean I should be able to juggle my schedule and the older girls' schedules and our family schedule, right? If there's enough time between events?
Well, it doesn't always work. Like late this afternoon/early this evening. I did get some needed extra time in at work and I did get a short nap in. But once I tried to pick the girls up 'early' from their after-school class, things didn't go so smoothly. They weren't ready and took about 20 minutes more than they should have. So that put me late running to the Merc to grab some snacks for tonight's family game night. Which put me late getting home for dinner (thankfully Jim had that under control). Which put me right on time (okay, a tiny bit late) getting to the school for family game night. The rest of the family came later since dinner didn't go as quickly with babies as we needed it to. Plus Jim needed to shower before he went out tonight (maybe Belles from Hell like yummy smelling men?).
But! All the crazy running around was worth it. There were six families total at the game night and we had a blast. And someone also brought some salmon dip and crackers (YUM). The gist of family game night is this: bring your favorite games, share the games with the other families and play all kinds of games together. Tonight, some of the games shared/played were Sequence, SkipBo, a fish-themed game that I can't remember the name of, Gobblet, Speed Scrabble, Pit, Risk, and Killer Bunnies (can you tell I love being able to link things?).
We've hosted family game night for several years now and I still learn about new games each time. I'm already looking forward to the next one in April.
Well, it doesn't always work. Like late this afternoon/early this evening. I did get some needed extra time in at work and I did get a short nap in. But once I tried to pick the girls up 'early' from their after-school class, things didn't go so smoothly. They weren't ready and took about 20 minutes more than they should have. So that put me late running to the Merc to grab some snacks for tonight's family game night. Which put me late getting home for dinner (thankfully Jim had that under control). Which put me right on time (okay, a tiny bit late) getting to the school for family game night. The rest of the family came later since dinner didn't go as quickly with babies as we needed it to. Plus Jim needed to shower before he went out tonight (maybe Belles from Hell like yummy smelling men?).
But! All the crazy running around was worth it. There were six families total at the game night and we had a blast. And someone also brought some salmon dip and crackers (YUM). The gist of family game night is this: bring your favorite games, share the games with the other families and play all kinds of games together. Tonight, some of the games shared/played were Sequence, SkipBo, a fish-themed game that I can't remember the name of, Gobblet, Speed Scrabble, Pit, Risk, and Killer Bunnies (can you tell I love being able to link things?).
We've hosted family game night for several years now and I still learn about new games each time. I'm already looking forward to the next one in April.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Fractions are fun...fractions are fun....
Actually they are, but not as fun when you have two fifth graders trying to finish their fraction homework at the end of a long day. And then you have me, tempted to teach them the short cut when multiplying fractions, but sticking with the 'proper' way on their worksheets. (Okay, I confess, I did show them the short cut but said they'd probably learn it sometime soon.)
And I had my third night of the aerobics/step class and had a blast again. I even got to class early, a clear indication that I was excited to exercise (yes, I did write that).
Tomorrow night our family is 'hosting' family game night for our local community school program. But part of our family won't be there. Jim, to be exact. He's heading into town to see a concert with a friend. What, you ask, is a big enough draw to pull him away from his family and the chance to play games with other families? What could possibly work magic that strong? Okay, you asked. The draw is Hell's Belles, an all-girl AC/DC cover band. They'll be performing the entire albums of Highway to Hell and Back in Black.
Yeah, I know. But he'll have fun.
(Jim just ruined my blog post by telling me he won't have to leave to head into town until around 8, meaning he can be at Family Game Night for most of the time. I think I'll keep the post as it is, though, so you can either chuckle or feel a little sorry for me. *grin* I'll rely on this little addendum to let you know the more accurate picture. I'm nothing if not honest.)
And I had my third night of the aerobics/step class and had a blast again. I even got to class early, a clear indication that I was excited to exercise (yes, I did write that).
Tomorrow night our family is 'hosting' family game night for our local community school program. But part of our family won't be there. Jim, to be exact. He's heading into town to see a concert with a friend. What, you ask, is a big enough draw to pull him away from his family and the chance to play games with other families? What could possibly work magic that strong? Okay, you asked. The draw is Hell's Belles, an all-girl AC/DC cover band. They'll be performing the entire albums of Highway to Hell and Back in Black.
Yeah, I know. But he'll have fun.
(Jim just ruined my blog post by telling me he won't have to leave to head into town until around 8, meaning he can be at Family Game Night for most of the time. I think I'll keep the post as it is, though, so you can either chuckle or feel a little sorry for me. *grin* I'll rely on this little addendum to let you know the more accurate picture. I'm nothing if not honest.)
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Glimpse into naptime
I put the little girls down for a nap as soon as we got home from Little Bears (or Biddle Bears as Bethany says). They didn't settle down immediately and I could still hear chatting after about 20 minutes. That often means one or both needs a diaper change so I went to check on them. I saw that Abigail was asleep and that Bethany hadn't noticed I was in the doorway so I quickly pulled the door almost closed.
What I could see through that small crack was charming. Bethany was sitting up with her blanket over her knees, her blue doggy tucked under one arm, and a book upside down on her lap. She was paging through the book, pointing to words and singing the Alphabet song over and over. Then she discovered a loose nail and spent a few moments trying to pull it off. After the nail was dispatched, she chatted with her doggy, picked up her little baby doll and had the baby chat with her doggy. Finally, she put her book aside, lay down, and pulled her blanket up and over so she could go to sleep.
I felt blessed to get a small glimpse into Bethany's little world. I'm still smiling.
What I could see through that small crack was charming. Bethany was sitting up with her blanket over her knees, her blue doggy tucked under one arm, and a book upside down on her lap. She was paging through the book, pointing to words and singing the Alphabet song over and over. Then she discovered a loose nail and spent a few moments trying to pull it off. After the nail was dispatched, she chatted with her doggy, picked up her little baby doll and had the baby chat with her doggy. Finally, she put her book aside, lay down, and pulled her blanket up and over so she could go to sleep.
I felt blessed to get a small glimpse into Bethany's little world. I'm still smiling.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Top Chefs?
Our family loves Top Chef. We make time to watch it every week and the girls get to stay up till 10 PM on a school night so they can see who 'packed their knives' to go home. (Anyone who knows how much I don't enjoy cooking is probably chuckling at me...yes, it's ironic I like a cooking show. You can stop laughing now. Really. I mean it. Stop giggling.)
Anyway, we've had a much slower couple of days (insert contented sigh here) and the 'big' girls have been eager to prove their kitchen prowess. So (does anyone see where this is going?), Jim and I have been treated to two different 'challenges' by our own Top Chefs.
Last night's challenge was to use a previously baked potato (left over from dinner the other night) and create something interesting. Both used cheese and both prepared an additional 'salad' to go with their 'dish'. Susannah did an apple/orange salad and Moriah did a more traditional-looking green salad. Both didn't really use any seasoning (unless you count a lot of chili powder on top of Susannah's 'dish') although Susannah did put some fresh orange zest on her salad that was nice.
Today's challenge was to make a creative sandwich using a potato roll. Both used cheese again, both made eggs to go with it. Susannah's was on the burned side and Moriah's was runny (a hit with Dad, not with me). Unfortunately, the seasonings were still lacking but both girls made a pretty good 'sandwich'. Moriah even cut a strawberry in half and drizzled melted chocolate chips over it. Yum.
Jim said the next challenge should have a focus on using seasonings. I think they should make some kind of chocolate dessert. Any one else have 'challenge' ideas that two 11 year olds can make?
Anyway, we've had a much slower couple of days (insert contented sigh here) and the 'big' girls have been eager to prove their kitchen prowess. So (does anyone see where this is going?), Jim and I have been treated to two different 'challenges' by our own Top Chefs.
Last night's challenge was to use a previously baked potato (left over from dinner the other night) and create something interesting. Both used cheese and both prepared an additional 'salad' to go with their 'dish'. Susannah did an apple/orange salad and Moriah did a more traditional-looking green salad. Both didn't really use any seasoning (unless you count a lot of chili powder on top of Susannah's 'dish') although Susannah did put some fresh orange zest on her salad that was nice.
Today's challenge was to make a creative sandwich using a potato roll. Both used cheese again, both made eggs to go with it. Susannah's was on the burned side and Moriah's was runny (a hit with Dad, not with me). Unfortunately, the seasonings were still lacking but both girls made a pretty good 'sandwich'. Moriah even cut a strawberry in half and drizzled melted chocolate chips over it. Yum.
Jim said the next challenge should have a focus on using seasonings. I think they should make some kind of chocolate dessert. Any one else have 'challenge' ideas that two 11 year olds can make?
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Give me a P!
For Potty, that is!
Abigail went potty on one of the little Baby Bjorn potties just now! Yay! Bethany has gone three different times (with quite a 'dry' spell since) but we hadn't gotten anywhere with Abigail beyond trying many many times. We're not trying too hard yet with this potty training thing, but we usually ask them daily if they want to try. I'll set the stage for a typical 'try':
The little girls like to settle onto their potties, magazines, catalogs or books spread across their laps, and sit. And sit. And trade reading material. And sit some more. They often play musical potties, switching from one little potty to another to the "Pooh" potty a friend gave us to sometimes even the big potty with one of those inserts. They'll sidle over to another potty seat, pink rings indented on their bums, backing up until they find the right place to sit back down.
More often than not absolutely nothing happens beyond the sitting and pink bums. But then something like today happens. And I have to tell you it was a little comical how surprised Abigail looked when she started to go. Her eyes got big and she looked a little panicked. She finished and then stood up right away, somewhat distressed. When I got all excited (and sang a silly made-up potty song) she finally smiled. This was pretty much an accidental success and who knows if she'll be a repeat toilet user anytime soon...but this is a start!
Abigail went potty on one of the little Baby Bjorn potties just now! Yay! Bethany has gone three different times (with quite a 'dry' spell since) but we hadn't gotten anywhere with Abigail beyond trying many many times. We're not trying too hard yet with this potty training thing, but we usually ask them daily if they want to try. I'll set the stage for a typical 'try':
The little girls like to settle onto their potties, magazines, catalogs or books spread across their laps, and sit. And sit. And trade reading material. And sit some more. They often play musical potties, switching from one little potty to another to the "Pooh" potty a friend gave us to sometimes even the big potty with one of those inserts. They'll sidle over to another potty seat, pink rings indented on their bums, backing up until they find the right place to sit back down.
More often than not absolutely nothing happens beyond the sitting and pink bums. But then something like today happens. And I have to tell you it was a little comical how surprised Abigail looked when she started to go. Her eyes got big and she looked a little panicked. She finished and then stood up right away, somewhat distressed. When I got all excited (and sang a silly made-up potty song) she finally smiled. This was pretty much an accidental success and who knows if she'll be a repeat toilet user anytime soon...but this is a start!
Friday, February 13, 2009
Woo Hoooo!
The week from you-know-where is done! (mostly, anyway...Samuel and Jim both have stuff tomorrow)
My trainings today were pretty good and I learned some great new things. Among them:
Thinkfinity (great site for educators!)
creating a book in iPhoto (soooo easy)
Google docs (good for collaboration)
I'm exhausted, though, and hope I can sleep in a bit tomorrow morning. The little girls were exhausted after a day at Little Bears and absolutely crashed tonight. The older kids have had a long week too and poor Samuel has to be up at 6:30 to get ready for a math competition in Anchorage that starts at 8:20 (on a SATURDAY). Jim needs a little down time but still has more meetings tomorrow and then has to get his sermonizing done at some point.
All in all, our week went pretty smoothly (except for one small hitch today that I was able to smooth out fairly quickly). Even so, I don't want to have one like it again for a long time. Or ever.
Nodding off...time to sleep.
My trainings today were pretty good and I learned some great new things. Among them:
Thinkfinity (great site for educators!)
creating a book in iPhoto (soooo easy)
Google docs (good for collaboration)
I'm exhausted, though, and hope I can sleep in a bit tomorrow morning. The little girls were exhausted after a day at Little Bears and absolutely crashed tonight. The older kids have had a long week too and poor Samuel has to be up at 6:30 to get ready for a math competition in Anchorage that starts at 8:20 (on a SATURDAY). Jim needs a little down time but still has more meetings tomorrow and then has to get his sermonizing done at some point.
All in all, our week went pretty smoothly (except for one small hitch today that I was able to smooth out fairly quickly). Even so, I don't want to have one like it again for a long time. Or ever.
Nodding off...time to sleep.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Busy week, continued
Today was another day of scheduling conflicts and shuffling kids and busy-ness. I learned some new things in my class. Jim had some good meetings. Samuel is working on lots of homework right now but enjoyed the beautiful ski day. Susannah and Moriah both had a good snowboarding day. I'm putting the little girls to bed early because they had a long day with a short nap. Jim is still in another meeting (after driving into Anchorage twice today) and will be home eventually.
Tomorrow is another day of meetings and the babes will be at Little Bears all day. They love going but a full day at Little Bears means they probably won't nap and will be tired again tomorrow. Another downside of our busy week is that Jim and I will miss something kind of important for Samuel tomorrow. South High School is sending a counselor down to talk to eighth graders and their parents about next year's classes and electives. I'm sure we'll get the information we need, but I'm still disappointed we'll have to miss it.
On a really bright note, I found out that the 3/4 Girdwood Battle of the Books teams won first and second place tonight! How very exciting for those kids and their parents. The teacher who coaches the 3/4 level is a sweetheart and I'm really excited for her too.
Tomorrow is another day of meetings and the babes will be at Little Bears all day. They love going but a full day at Little Bears means they probably won't nap and will be tired again tomorrow. Another downside of our busy week is that Jim and I will miss something kind of important for Samuel tomorrow. South High School is sending a counselor down to talk to eighth graders and their parents about next year's classes and electives. I'm sure we'll get the information we need, but I'm still disappointed we'll have to miss it.
On a really bright note, I found out that the 3/4 Girdwood Battle of the Books teams won first and second place tonight! How very exciting for those kids and their parents. The teacher who coaches the 3/4 level is a sweetheart and I'm really excited for her too.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Blanket?
Abigail says giggit.
Bethany says bibbit.
Cute.
(I edited this...thought Bethany said babbit but tonight it sounded more like bibbit.)
Bethany says bibbit.
Cute.
(I edited this...thought Bethany said babbit but tonight it sounded more like bibbit.)
My Battle boy
Samuel's 7/8 Battle of the Books team took fourth place at today's Battle. I think there were 15 teams total from all the middle schools in Anchorage. 7/8 Battle is essentially the same as the elementary Battle, but the kids don't move from room to room for the rounds. We were set up in a library at one of the middle schools and everyone was together.
Samuel's team of three had a great time together--wanting to do well but having lots of fun and not stressing if they missed a question. I hope I have kids who want to do 7/8 Battle next year too. The books were interesting and I had a good time coaching a 'higher' level.
Samuel's team of three had a great time together--wanting to do well but having lots of fun and not stressing if they missed a question. I hope I have kids who want to do 7/8 Battle next year too. The books were interesting and I had a good time coaching a 'higher' level.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Battlin' Bookworms
I'm going to preface this post by saying I am very tired. Very very tired. I slept on the couch last night to be near Moriah. She had thrown up around 10 pm and then wanted to sleep in our recliner with our pukey bucket handy. The couch was comfy enough, but I woke often, including the two times Bethany coughed herself awake and cried out. Consider yourself warned that I am tired enough that this may not make complete sense.
Thankfully, Moriah recovered quickly and was well enough to compete at the 5/6 Battle of the Books this afternoon. This is a reading competition that they have participated in for the last three years. It's reading books and answering questions for points, basically. Girdwood School had two teams go and Moriah and Susannah were on the same team. This year's questions seemed particularly detailed and hard. Even during practice the kids had trouble answering all of the questions.
Today's Battle questions were no different in difficulty. Both teams missed more questions than they wanted or expected and neither team placed in the top 8, but as their coach I am still very pleased with how well they did. They worked well as teams and they had a good time, two things that are much more important to me than what score they got. I also like to think that they encountered at least one or two new authors that they may not have otherwise discovered.
(insert tangent here: Last year, Moriah and Susannah were on the team that won the district competition for the 3/4 level of Battle. They actually aced the competition--didn't miss a single question. Their team was pretty proud of themselves last year and the girls had that lingering pride heading in to today. Both struggled with 'not even placing' at this year's Battle, but I do think they've already moved past those feelings and are okay with the results.)
Girdwood parents and kids went out to dinner afterwards, which I believe helped the kids decompress and shake off any blah feelings. It made the day a little longer, but it was worth it to see them laughing and joking with each other. Now, however, I am on the verge of nodding off while typing this. I have to get up early to head in for Samuel's 7/8 Battle competition tomorrow morning. On the road by around 7:45. Anyone who knows my night owl tendencies just said "yuck" on my behalf (thanks for the sympathy).
Good night! (heaves sigh that busy day number two is over)
Thankfully, Moriah recovered quickly and was well enough to compete at the 5/6 Battle of the Books this afternoon. This is a reading competition that they have participated in for the last three years. It's reading books and answering questions for points, basically. Girdwood School had two teams go and Moriah and Susannah were on the same team. This year's questions seemed particularly detailed and hard. Even during practice the kids had trouble answering all of the questions.
Today's Battle questions were no different in difficulty. Both teams missed more questions than they wanted or expected and neither team placed in the top 8, but as their coach I am still very pleased with how well they did. They worked well as teams and they had a good time, two things that are much more important to me than what score they got. I also like to think that they encountered at least one or two new authors that they may not have otherwise discovered.
(insert tangent here: Last year, Moriah and Susannah were on the team that won the district competition for the 3/4 level of Battle. They actually aced the competition--didn't miss a single question. Their team was pretty proud of themselves last year and the girls had that lingering pride heading in to today. Both struggled with 'not even placing' at this year's Battle, but I do think they've already moved past those feelings and are okay with the results.)
Girdwood parents and kids went out to dinner afterwards, which I believe helped the kids decompress and shake off any blah feelings. It made the day a little longer, but it was worth it to see them laughing and joking with each other. Now, however, I am on the verge of nodding off while typing this. I have to get up early to head in for Samuel's 7/8 Battle competition tomorrow morning. On the road by around 7:45. Anyone who knows my night owl tendencies just said "yuck" on my behalf (thanks for the sympathy).
Good night! (heaves sigh that busy day number two is over)
Monday, February 9, 2009
Busy week
Today was the start of a very busy week for Jim and for me. I'll give you an idea of what it looks like:
Monday: Jim had a morning meeting. I had mosaics tonight. We were all in Girdwood all day!
Tuesday: I am heading in to Anchorage to be a judge at the 5/6 Battle of the Books competition. Jim is going as the chaperone for Moriah and Susannah's team. Samuel will be our babysitter for much of the time we're gone.
Wednesday: I am taking in the three members of the 7/8 Battle of the Books team (at 7:45 no less) and I will be there until 2:00 or so. Jim has a meeting in Anchorage Wednesday evening. The older girls have piano. I have Women's Bible Study that evening.
Thursday: I have to be at a class in Anchorage by 8:30 (oh how I loathe early-to-me mornings). Jim has to bring little girls with him to be at meetings in Anchorage by 9:00 am. I will have to swing by to pick them up before heading home. Jim then has evening meetings.
Friday: Same bat time, same bat class for me. Jim may have the same meeting schedule too, complete with having to bring little girls to town and my having to pick them up.
Saturday: Samuel has to be up early to head to Anchorage for a math competition. On Valentine's Day. (Jim+Julie=Forever)
Next week is much easier, I promise!
Monday: Jim had a morning meeting. I had mosaics tonight. We were all in Girdwood all day!
Tuesday: I am heading in to Anchorage to be a judge at the 5/6 Battle of the Books competition. Jim is going as the chaperone for Moriah and Susannah's team. Samuel will be our babysitter for much of the time we're gone.
Wednesday: I am taking in the three members of the 7/8 Battle of the Books team (at 7:45 no less) and I will be there until 2:00 or so. Jim has a meeting in Anchorage Wednesday evening. The older girls have piano. I have Women's Bible Study that evening.
Thursday: I have to be at a class in Anchorage by 8:30 (oh how I loathe early-to-me mornings). Jim has to bring little girls with him to be at meetings in Anchorage by 9:00 am. I will have to swing by to pick them up before heading home. Jim then has evening meetings.
Friday: Same bat time, same bat class for me. Jim may have the same meeting schedule too, complete with having to bring little girls to town and my having to pick them up.
Saturday: Samuel has to be up early to head to Anchorage for a math competition. On Valentine's Day. (Jim+Julie=Forever)
Next week is much easier, I promise!
Fever number four
Yeah, I know. Four.
It took a few days but Moriah didn't want to be left out...she had to be the fourth girl to get a fever. She woke me at 4 am to say she felt sick and had a bad headache (sounds familiar...) and she was running a low fever (sounds way familiar...). She stayed home today and has camped out on the couch, watching tv. Disney Channel to be exact. Lots of it.
She finally ate some applesauce a little while ago and is feeling a tiny bit better. Some advil will hopefully kick the fever and headache.
Please pray for her to get better soon--tomorrow is the Battle of the Books competition and she really (REALLY) wants to be healthy enough to go.
It took a few days but Moriah didn't want to be left out...she had to be the fourth girl to get a fever. She woke me at 4 am to say she felt sick and had a bad headache (sounds familiar...) and she was running a low fever (sounds way familiar...). She stayed home today and has camped out on the couch, watching tv. Disney Channel to be exact. Lots of it.
She finally ate some applesauce a little while ago and is feeling a tiny bit better. Some advil will hopefully kick the fever and headache.
Please pray for her to get better soon--tomorrow is the Battle of the Books competition and she really (REALLY) wants to be healthy enough to go.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Church today
I've joked many times that it's a good thing I think Jim is a great preacher; it would make for a looong marriage if I didn't.
Today Jim was in especially fine form. The United Methodist Church is going to be asking churches to "Rethink Church" -- as a way to look at church in a manner that might be more appealing to those outside of the church. He went "all in." He had bulletins printed 'sideways' and sticky notes inside the bulletins for congregational participation. The service was divided into four parts; three were based on questions Jim wanted us to think about (what is the church, what does the unchurched think about church, what does the church do) and the fourth was about how we are a church together (included our prayer concerns, offering and communion).
For each of the three question parts, Jim asked for verbal and written responses (hence the sticky notes). There were positive and negative answers and "oh yeahs" and nodding when someone thought an answer was a good one. After each of the three response times, Jim preached a mini-sermon. We also sang some great hymns, including "The Summons" which I adore.
I hope my description made sense. Today was powerful. Worship felt 'active' this morning and I think Jim felt the same way. He had great energy and was charming and funny and got tickled a few times (and was thoroughly adorable to his wife).
(Jim came to my aid in clarifying some things in this post. Thanks honey.)
Today Jim was in especially fine form. The United Methodist Church is going to be asking churches to "Rethink Church" -- as a way to look at church in a manner that might be more appealing to those outside of the church. He went "all in." He had bulletins printed 'sideways' and sticky notes inside the bulletins for congregational participation. The service was divided into four parts; three were based on questions Jim wanted us to think about (what is the church, what does the unchurched think about church, what does the church do) and the fourth was about how we are a church together (included our prayer concerns, offering and communion).
For each of the three question parts, Jim asked for verbal and written responses (hence the sticky notes). There were positive and negative answers and "oh yeahs" and nodding when someone thought an answer was a good one. After each of the three response times, Jim preached a mini-sermon. We also sang some great hymns, including "The Summons" which I adore.
I hope my description made sense. Today was powerful. Worship felt 'active' this morning and I think Jim felt the same way. He had great energy and was charming and funny and got tickled a few times (and was thoroughly adorable to his wife).
(Jim came to my aid in clarifying some things in this post. Thanks honey.)
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Small accomplishments
Tonight I'll just list a few small things the little girls are mastering or starting to master. They are becoming quite interesting little people.
Bethany has 'counted' to ten several times with me. She doesn't say the numbers exactly right, but she's got the inflection and even says a two syllable 'word' when she gets to seven.
Bethany has also shown that she can count independently up to four. I'm not convinced she gets the one-to-one correlation because sometimes if there are three things she'll go ahead and say four, but she seems like she is close to understanding counting.
Abigail is venturing into singing other tunes besides the alphabet song. She's 'sung' a couple of Laurie Berkner songs that we sing a lot. One is a silly song about having things on your head and the other is about the moon.
Abigail is counting to three, much like Bethany's counting to four. She seems to get the one-to-one correlation, though, and has been able to point to individual things as I counted for a very long time.
They are both by turns abundantly joyful and obnoxiously ornery and breathtakingly precious and immensely silly. God sure knew that he was doing when he gave us both of them!
Bethany has 'counted' to ten several times with me. She doesn't say the numbers exactly right, but she's got the inflection and even says a two syllable 'word' when she gets to seven.
Bethany has also shown that she can count independently up to four. I'm not convinced she gets the one-to-one correlation because sometimes if there are three things she'll go ahead and say four, but she seems like she is close to understanding counting.
Abigail is venturing into singing other tunes besides the alphabet song. She's 'sung' a couple of Laurie Berkner songs that we sing a lot. One is a silly song about having things on your head and the other is about the moon.
Abigail is counting to three, much like Bethany's counting to four. She seems to get the one-to-one correlation, though, and has been able to point to individual things as I counted for a very long time.
They are both by turns abundantly joyful and obnoxiously ornery and breathtakingly precious and immensely silly. God sure knew that he was doing when he gave us both of them!
"two-fer"
That's what I call days that I have to go in to Anchorage twice. It doesn't happen often, thankfully, but it does happen. Like today. I had a librarian meeting this afternoon and Jim and I took a friend's truck to the airport tonight.
The meeting was good; full of good and useful information for us school librarians (I am such a grammarian). During the meeting I learned something important: there is now a federal mandate to teach internet safety to K-12 students. It's something I've touched on in my library classes, but now there will be more responsibility on teachers to make sure kids truly *know* about this important subject. And...get this...there will be an assessment given to 8th graders (starting this year) about this subject. Apparently the test is difficult and some folks who are the tech gurus in their buildings haven't passed it. Makes me a little nervous, that does. Especially since I have an 8th grade student of my own. What does it mean if the kids don't pass?
The dropping off at the airport was uneventful. What happened afterwards wasn't so much. We planned to put babies to bed and then go on a 'date' after dropping off the truck. Jim and I had decided to go to a movie (Slumdog Millionaire) but we got a late start because our friends' renter had parked his car in the driveway, blocking their truck, and it took a little while to figure out where he was so he could move his car. No movie.
Then we thought we'd go to Barnes and Noble together instead. You know, do a little music and book browsing. But we got a slightly later start because we still had to clear off 12 days of snow and ice off the truck. Which meant by the time we dropped the truck off at the airport and got to B&N, it was 10:55. They close at 11:00. Oops.
Off to Borders, on the off chance they stay open later than B&N. Nope. Sigh.
Off to WalMart to get some sticky notes for Jim's sermon on Sunday. They were open until midnight, and we got some other things, but we didn't count WalMart as our date.
Oh! We had just the place! IHOP! They'd surely be open 24 hours, right? Right? Nope. Double sigh. And a pout.
Our final destination was good old Carrs, our grocery store. We found some cheesecake, some milk and Snapple and ate and drank while we drove home listening to Tom Petty and The Be Good Tanyas.
Woo hoo! I bet you're all jealous of our date.
To be honest, I had a great time. Any time spent with Jim is special and he's kinda cute when his profile is illuminated by oncoming headlights.
The meeting was good; full of good and useful information for us school librarians (I am such a grammarian). During the meeting I learned something important: there is now a federal mandate to teach internet safety to K-12 students. It's something I've touched on in my library classes, but now there will be more responsibility on teachers to make sure kids truly *know* about this important subject. And...get this...there will be an assessment given to 8th graders (starting this year) about this subject. Apparently the test is difficult and some folks who are the tech gurus in their buildings haven't passed it. Makes me a little nervous, that does. Especially since I have an 8th grade student of my own. What does it mean if the kids don't pass?
The dropping off at the airport was uneventful. What happened afterwards wasn't so much. We planned to put babies to bed and then go on a 'date' after dropping off the truck. Jim and I had decided to go to a movie (Slumdog Millionaire) but we got a late start because our friends' renter had parked his car in the driveway, blocking their truck, and it took a little while to figure out where he was so he could move his car. No movie.
Then we thought we'd go to Barnes and Noble together instead. You know, do a little music and book browsing. But we got a slightly later start because we still had to clear off 12 days of snow and ice off the truck. Which meant by the time we dropped the truck off at the airport and got to B&N, it was 10:55. They close at 11:00. Oops.
Off to Borders, on the off chance they stay open later than B&N. Nope. Sigh.
Off to WalMart to get some sticky notes for Jim's sermon on Sunday. They were open until midnight, and we got some other things, but we didn't count WalMart as our date.
Oh! We had just the place! IHOP! They'd surely be open 24 hours, right? Right? Nope. Double sigh. And a pout.
Our final destination was good old Carrs, our grocery store. We found some cheesecake, some milk and Snapple and ate and drank while we drove home listening to Tom Petty and The Be Good Tanyas.
Woo hoo! I bet you're all jealous of our date.
To be honest, I had a great time. Any time spent with Jim is special and he's kinda cute when his profile is illuminated by oncoming headlights.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Fever free and a healthier me
No children in the Doepken house currently have fevers. Or, if they do, I am blissfully unaware of them at this moment. Susannah felt good enough by lunch to be able to go for the ski program. She and Moriah had another good day of snowboarding, making it to Chair 3. Apparently, Moriah may be good enough to move into a more advanced group, but we'll see what happens with that (she was pretty pumped about the possibility).
As for the healthier me, I went to my first 'aerobics' class tonight. Being a slug about my health just isn't cool anymore (well, not that it ever was), especially with my 39th birthday coming up. I was thoroughly nervous about it because I knew using a step was involved. And I am not the most graceful creature, given my propensity to trip on nothing or bump into doorways. After a short 'intro' to how to step up on the step, we were off! I did okay, giggling fairly often as I tried to master the rhythm and pattern of the steps. A good workout, for sure. Next week is chock full of meetings and Battle of the Books, so I won't make either class. But I'll sure be looking forward to the next week. I had a lot of fun.
As for the healthier me, I went to my first 'aerobics' class tonight. Being a slug about my health just isn't cool anymore (well, not that it ever was), especially with my 39th birthday coming up. I was thoroughly nervous about it because I knew using a step was involved. And I am not the most graceful creature, given my propensity to trip on nothing or bump into doorways. After a short 'intro' to how to step up on the step, we were off! I did okay, giggling fairly often as I tried to master the rhythm and pattern of the steps. A good workout, for sure. Next week is chock full of meetings and Battle of the Books, so I won't make either class. But I'll sure be looking forward to the next week. I had a lot of fun.
Fever, take three
Susannah's turn. Seriously. Three fevers in a week. Hers is fairly low, but she feels really rotten and has been close to vomiting a couple of times. She also has a bad headache, which made me wonder if this is like a migraine? She'll likely miss our school's ski day today, which is really a bummer since she'll miss a snowboarding lesson.
Please pray for Susannah to feel better by lunch time. I told her that if she did feel better she could go to the mountain. Thanks.
Please pray for Susannah to feel better by lunch time. I told her that if she did feel better she could go to the mountain. Thanks.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Not so mysterious fever
Bethany's turn. Please pray for our littlest munchkin. She started getting snuffy again on Monday (just had a cold two weeks or so ago) but was acting like her normal self. By the time I picked her up at Little Bears today, though, she was running a fever and wanted nothing else but to be held by Mommy. She took a long nap (thanks, Children's Motrin) and had a good late afternoon. By the time I left for Bible study she had her fever back and was whiny...she's in bed (with another dose of Motrin), and I'm hoping she sleeps well.
On another note, literally, Abigail had me cracking up when she picked up the Rock Band microphone and started singing the ABC song into it. The microphone sort of ended up partially in her mouth, and then she licked it a few times. I wondered at that point if she truly understood what purpose the microphone serves (she's seen her older siblings playing at Rock Band) or if she thought it was a curiously-textured lolly pop. Or maybe she just got a kick out of grossing her mom out.
On another note, literally, Abigail had me cracking up when she picked up the Rock Band microphone and started singing the ABC song into it. The microphone sort of ended up partially in her mouth, and then she licked it a few times. I wondered at that point if she truly understood what purpose the microphone serves (she's seen her older siblings playing at Rock Band) or if she thought it was a curiously-textured lolly pop. Or maybe she just got a kick out of grossing her mom out.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
We have an awesome son
Tonight I spent a little over five hours with my wonderful Samuel. About an hour and a half of those were in the car to and from Anchorage. About an hour was spent eating bacon cheeseburger pizza and breadsticks at Pizza Hut (yum!). And about two and a half hours of it was spent sitting in an Anchorage Assembly meeting (and standing in line for a bit) while we waited to testify about a bond proposal that included Girdwood School.
The reason I am celebrating our awesome son (besides the fact that he stood before our Assembly and spoke fairly well) is that he didn't really want to go. But he went anyway. He respected my authority (who hears Cartman in the background?) and he acquiesced to my 'request' to speak pretty readily. He knew it was important for our school's 'voice' to be heard and he (mostly) willingly came along. There were a few grumbles, yes. But I'm fine with his expressing his frustration if it's done respectfully, which it was. He's an awesome kid.
We are truly blessed.
The reason I am celebrating our awesome son (besides the fact that he stood before our Assembly and spoke fairly well) is that he didn't really want to go. But he went anyway. He respected my authority (who hears Cartman in the background?) and he acquiesced to my 'request' to speak pretty readily. He knew it was important for our school's 'voice' to be heard and he (mostly) willingly came along. There were a few grumbles, yes. But I'm fine with his expressing his frustration if it's done respectfully, which it was. He's an awesome kid.
We are truly blessed.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Two year check up
Today was our visit to see our pediatrician, Dr. Shen, for Abigail and Bethany's two year check up. I was wondering what sort of reaction they'd have to the office, because they sort of freaked out at their 18 month check up. Thankfully, they bopped right into the room and didn't seem to notice that Darla the nurse had a cart full of instruments.
Abigail got a little nervous when she had to become a 'naked baby' but sat willingly enough in my lap for the preliminary exam. Darla listened to her heart, measured her head, took her temperature under her armpit (oh, that one was close...almost mutiny), measured her height and took her weight. Bethany watched and learned it would be painless and was obliging with each part of her exam. We said goodbye to Darla (Bethany kept saying "bye bye di-ya" every few moments) and told the girls we'd be seeing Ellen next. Bethany, in keeping with being the littlest sister, said "Abigail first".
Ellen's part of the exam was completely painless (but she would return later in a more menacing role...stay tuned) because she was the person who talked about developmental stuff. We got those papers to fill out about how brilliant your kids are (both girls scored well above their ages in everything...almost third grade! ha!) and waited for the doc to arrive.
Dr. Shen is a great pediatrician, in my opinion, and not just because she has twin girls too. She's patient and kind and gentle and can get little ones to participate in the exam. Both girls checked out just fine. They are doing well/above average for their age developmentally... apparently, though, having your child identify an animal using the sound it makes doesn't count. hmph. They have to say the name of the animal. Who made up that silly rule?
We took a few extra minutes to chat about our other kids and other life stuff (she's just that kind of doctor) and we were on our way.
You're dying to know what else Ellen did today aren't you? I should say, first, that Ellen saw the little girls a lot when they were first born. She was often the nurse on duty when we'd come for weight checks or other issues and was wonderful to us in those first stressful months. Today, however, she administered a flu shot to each girl...they weren't quite so fond of her after that. Didn't bother me at all. *grin* I feel confident that the event will be long-forgotten by the babes by time we see her again.
Now for the stats:
Abigail weighed in at 27 lbs., 7 oz. and was 34 1/8 inches long.
Bethany weighed in at 23 lbs. 8 oz. and was 33 1/4 inches long.
We spent the rest of the morning/early afternoon in Anchorage running errands before arriving home just as school let out and the chaotic afternoon of the girls going to a class to make an American Girl dress and jr. high soccer for Samuel and Jim going on a bike ride with Hurley and me going to my mosaics class (and totally missing calling my mom for her birthday...rotten daughter...sorry Mom!! We love you!!).
Abigail got a little nervous when she had to become a 'naked baby' but sat willingly enough in my lap for the preliminary exam. Darla listened to her heart, measured her head, took her temperature under her armpit (oh, that one was close...almost mutiny), measured her height and took her weight. Bethany watched and learned it would be painless and was obliging with each part of her exam. We said goodbye to Darla (Bethany kept saying "bye bye di-ya" every few moments) and told the girls we'd be seeing Ellen next. Bethany, in keeping with being the littlest sister, said "Abigail first".
Ellen's part of the exam was completely painless (but she would return later in a more menacing role...stay tuned) because she was the person who talked about developmental stuff. We got those papers to fill out about how brilliant your kids are (both girls scored well above their ages in everything...almost third grade! ha!) and waited for the doc to arrive.
Dr. Shen is a great pediatrician, in my opinion, and not just because she has twin girls too. She's patient and kind and gentle and can get little ones to participate in the exam. Both girls checked out just fine. They are doing well/above average for their age developmentally... apparently, though, having your child identify an animal using the sound it makes doesn't count. hmph. They have to say the name of the animal. Who made up that silly rule?
We took a few extra minutes to chat about our other kids and other life stuff (she's just that kind of doctor) and we were on our way.
You're dying to know what else Ellen did today aren't you? I should say, first, that Ellen saw the little girls a lot when they were first born. She was often the nurse on duty when we'd come for weight checks or other issues and was wonderful to us in those first stressful months. Today, however, she administered a flu shot to each girl...they weren't quite so fond of her after that. Didn't bother me at all. *grin* I feel confident that the event will be long-forgotten by the babes by time we see her again.
Now for the stats:
Abigail weighed in at 27 lbs., 7 oz. and was 34 1/8 inches long.
Bethany weighed in at 23 lbs. 8 oz. and was 33 1/4 inches long.
We spent the rest of the morning/early afternoon in Anchorage running errands before arriving home just as school let out and the chaotic afternoon of the girls going to a class to make an American Girl dress and jr. high soccer for Samuel and Jim going on a bike ride with Hurley and me going to my mosaics class (and totally missing calling my mom for her birthday...rotten daughter...sorry Mom!! We love you!!).
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Mystery fever
Have your kids ever had a mystery fever? Nothing else going on with them, really, beyond a fever and some lethargy? Usually here and gone within a day.
That was Abigail yesterday (on her birthday no less). Why a fever? What was it doing? What bug was it trying to kill? The world may never know.... But I know that I am thankful it's gone this morning.
That was Abigail yesterday (on her birthday no less). Why a fever? What was it doing? What bug was it trying to kill? The world may never know.... But I know that I am thankful it's gone this morning.
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