To Stitch or not to stitch, that is the question.

Perspective.  It is all about perspective.  A mother of one or two kids, runs to the doctor to sew up every little cut.  Now that I am a mother of five, I have seen my fair share of stitches and know when they are necessary and how many they will need.  But here's the thing the older and/or country doctors will tell you that the city/younger ones will not.  Most cuts don't need stitches.  You just need the wound cleaned and kept free from dirt and bacteria (that means $2 in bacitracin and bandaids).  Your body is made to heal itself.  So this is the decision I had to face today.  Should I take Keener to the ER?  Honey is gone, which means all of us would have to go.  It is not a decision to be made lightly.  A trip to the ER  for stitches will cost you 4 hours of frustration, $700, 5 whiney kids, AND whatever disease you happen to catch!!
Keener's forehead got sliced when she fell off of brother Christopher's shoulders onto a gravel driveway. This is 4th time I have seen this head injury in my kids.  This was a"borderline" case.  A country doctor would not sew it up, but a city doctor would.  I decided to save myself the trip, the money, the sanity and the health.  I got Keener all cleaned up, gave her some arnica, and some hugs.  Truly this is all she needed.  The bleeding stopped eventually and she is healing fine.

---and in case you are wondering.  Her hair is that short and crazy.   She keeps cutting her hair.  It is impossible to keep scissors away from her.  So for now, she looks like a boy.  and that's okay with me, I love her to pieces even if she has crazy hair

More Halloween.

Here is a picture of the kids from Halloween.

Keener was a Cinderella Princess, of course yesterday at the Navy game, she was an adorable elephant.  Elizabeth was an orange witch, Rolo made the cheapest costume ever (thank you Rolo!!) and was a robot.  It was only $2.50 for the can of spray paint.  Honey says I should add in the case of beer he "had" to drink.  Haha Honey, but no.  You don't get to count the recycled box!    Christopher is a Jedi, but the costume doubles as a monk outfit, so he was a monk for the All-Saints party.
Baby Tybee dressed up as a baby - I know, not very original, but it was COLD out.  So we had to go for practical.
It was a crazy  and busy day; church, lacrosse game, All Saints party with homeschool Group, Halloween Party with neighbors, trick or treating, then Honey left to go to Norfolk, Virginia for his two weeks of Reserve duty.  Needless to say, we were all exhausted and literally fell into bed! One Holiday down, two more to go!

Halloween Message

Pumpkin Carving with the kids last night.  Last year we did not get to do it because of the not so lovely swine flu.  I am very grateful that Elizabeth and Christopher are old enough to carve their own.  That only leaves 3 for Honey and I to do.

Halloween message from the kids.

Maybe we'll pick out some costumes?  We only have a few days left....
Oh time, where do you go?  I always seem to have so little.

It's a Girl!

We are very happy to announce that at 8:22 am we now have another beautiful little daughter.
7 lbs 10 oz and 20.5 inches of sweetness!

Since she is our tiebreaker we have been jokingly calling her Tybee.  Now the girls outnumber the boys!
I have been very blessed with easy  & fast labors and this was no exception, I only had 3 hours of labor!  I am very grateful to  my sweet Honey and my good friend Mary for being my birth coaches.  They make all the difference in the world.  And it was Mary's anniversary too!  I hope she liked her present!

The funniest moment occured when we arrived at the hospital.  We happened to arrive when all the scheduled inductions and C-sections were checking in.  When Honey announced (via intercom to the L & D desk) that we needed to check in, they assumed that we were part of the scheduled group and told Honey to have me take a seat in the waiting room.  Honey replied, "YOU WANT my wife to DELIVER in the waiting room?!?!?!?"  The very flustered staff quickly let me through the doors and into a delivery room!  It still makes me laugh because Honey is NOT one to say something rash or raise his voice at people.  He must have been really anxious.

How's this for fate? I got the same labor and delivery room that I was placed in two months ago when I had early contractions! Previous Post

Honey and I with our new little princess.

Big Sister is happy with her new little sister.

Christopher loves his little sister.

Keener is so happy to have someone to boss around!!

My three littlest ones.  So sweet!

Nana and her newest little grandbaby.

Keener's Godmother Mary meets Tybee.

  Our new little princess is healthy and is growing big despite a little jaundice (I think all babies must have jaundice).  Now to just enjoy her and let the other kids love on their new sister.

One last picture from the hospital.

Uh, What day is it?  Shouldn't the birthing center at the hospital at least get this right????

Made me laugh.  Hope it brings you a smile too!

My little fish swimming-video

I thought I'd try using the imac's imovie and try adding music to this video of Keener swimming (as mentioned on June 25th) at the pool.  Imovie was quite a challenge, but not bad for a first try with 1000 distractions.  She can swim a bit farther but it was quite challenging to be the camera woman and swim coach at the same time.

The music is from Taylor Swift.  I just love her songs.  The song is "">Best Day" from the album Fearless

A nice day.

We are enjoying having N♡-'s sister (L♡♡) visit with us this summer from Spain.  It is hard to believe that it has already been two weeks since we picked her up at the airport.  Since we have been living at the pool with swim and dive team, I have not been able to take her as many places.  I am also a LOT slower this last month and the heat is getting to me.  Of course with 100 degree days, I think the heat is getting to everyone!  So today I made an effort to get L♡♡ to DC to see the White House and the Jefferson Memorial.  We got very lucky with parking-yeah!! yeah!!! yeah!!! My rule is you take 20 minutes of driving around for free or metered parking and after that you go home or pay.

Constitution Hall.  

We got to park here- this is barely a block from the White House.  See what I mean about getting a great parking spot!!

Elizabeth, Christopher, Rolo, Keener and L♡♡.  Thankfully it wasn't crowded.  Notice there is NOONE else in the photo- not a normal thing.

The White House.  

The  1st lady's vegetable garden is off to the left, but not visible in this picture.

Christopher and Elizabeth

Is it just me or are there a TON of fences in DC!

Of Course no matter where you go, all it takes is 

a simple flower to inspire a child. 

It just proves God knows best.

The National Christmas Tree without all the gaudy decorations. 

Crazy Picture of kids at backside of Jefferson Memorial.  

In Front of Memorial

A Memorial can be fun.

and a little "arty" too.

And to make the day even better for me.  They KNEW who Jefferson was, remembered seeing his home last year and that he sent Lewis and Clark off on their expedition.  Ahhh, a little reward for their teacher!

Amusement park

          Elizabeth's Girl Scout Troop decided to go to King's Dominion for the day and camp nearby for the evening.  Since L♡♡ was coming to town and we had tickets for an Orioles game the next day; we decided that it would be better for Elizabeth to just meet up with her troop and enjoy the amusement park, but not camp.  This gave us the opportunity to take L♡♡ to the park.  We hoped that she would enjoy all the rides.  Our previous exchange students have enjoyed going.
  Since I am really big and pregnant and would not be able to ride any of the rides and could not handle all the walking or the heat, I got to stay at home and enjoy the crickets chirping, ... I mean the peace and quiet.  Ahhh....  Quiet, what a stranger you have become, PLEASE visit more often!
  Honey took all the kids and here are a few pictures from his day with them.

Keener & Rolo

Christopher and Keener

It looks like they had a great time.  They were exhausted when they got home.

Unfortunately there are not any pictures of Elizabeth because she spent the day with her troop, but I am glad she enjoyed a day with her friends.

Honey did capture a picture of one little creature that I am glad did not get angry with him.

Yuck!  Those skunks really can leave a bad smell.  

Picnic

Honey's office has an annual picnic which we like to attend because they have found a good combination of location, timing and food.  The location has just the right amount of shade, which should not be discounted because there is nothing worse than a picnic that is hot and miserable.  It also has a playground, ball field and bathrooms close by.  As any parent of little ones knows, there is nothing worse than a LONG walk to a bathroom.

Here are Honey & Elizabeth enjoying the shade.

We took  L♡♡ with us, event though she arrived just yesterday afternoon.  We have a busy first few days planned for her, but we are so glad that she is here.

Keener seems to be having fun with her already!  Goofy Girl, always making silly faces!

Faking it.

Now that summer has started, I live at the pool almost every day.   With swim team and dive team, it is inevitable that I go every day.  Keener  loves going and most spends a lot of time swimming by herself or with the other 2-4 year olds that hang out near the entry steps into the pool.  The main difference is that she is the only one who is able to swim at the age of 3.  Like Rolo, she is 95% self taught.  I learned a lot from Elizabeth and Christopher about how to teach a child to swim.  The biggest mistake that I (and others) make: showing fear.

  Teaching a kid to swim is all about the fake.  You have to pretend that you are not worried about her drowning.  You have to pretend that when she goes under the water and comes up coughing, that your child must have had a wonderful time doing so.  You need to congratulate her on how much fun she must be having.  Tell her that she did a good job putting her face under the water.  Tell her she is a great swimmer. Why?  because, then she will want to do it again.  So how does this work? You have confused your child.  She is thinking "That wasn't very fun, why is Mommy so excited?" Then she becomes interested in making swimming fun.  She has to figure out a way to find the joy.  She also will start to watch the other kids swim and learn from them.  This is not to say that I do not use other swimming devices (the baby swimming ring, the vest, and a swim noodle) to help my kids learn, but "the fake" is my most effective weapon.
    Right now my only problem is the other parents who keep trying to "save" her.  As if I would not be watching my child in the water!  Oh well, they can enjoy their own clinging child pulling down their bathing suit and scratching them to pieces for a few more years, while I enjoy watching mine swim!

Cherry Pie!

       Last Thursday we went strawberry picking and cherry picking at my favorite "pick your own" farm, Homestead Farm.  I just love their farm. They have the sweetest golden retrievers.  They have such a family friendly set-up and are so nice.  And the produce has always been divine.  I went with my neighbor and her girls (seen here before) and I can not believe how beautiful the weather was.  It was in the low 80's and overcast with no humidity and a slight breeze,  Ahhhhh  what a wonderful day!  

     I didn't get to making the cherry pie before  my "fun Thursday."  So I finally made one today.   Keener and Elizabeth pitted all the cherries, Elizabeth measured and mixed the cherries with sugar and flour, while I made the pie crust and assembled the pie and made dinner.   There is nothing like a fresh pie to make you feel better. Yum! Yum! Yum!  

      I generally use the pie recipes in the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook (As my taped, but still falling apart copy can surely attest to!! )  The nice thing about their fruit pie page is that is only calls for the fruit and some flour and sugar to make the filling.  I prefer pies this way because they depend on the fruit for flavor and not a lot of spices or other fillings.  I find that simplicity is best where pie is concerned.  Go make yourself some fresh pie and enjoy that it is summer with a lots of fresh produce to eat.
*****I decided to update this page and add the recipe:

Simple simple Cherry Pie recipe.

• For filling; Mix 4 cups pitted cherries, 1 cup sugar, & 1/4 cup flour. Pour into favorite uncooked pie shell- in this case I made one with lard (below) so it would be flakey. Cover with top pie shell and decorate if you want. Cook @375 for 30 minutes covered with foil, then 30 more to brown the pie top and voila' yummy pie.  (I of course forgot to cover it for the 1st thirty minutes; so in my case I covered it for the 2nd half of cooking. It still turns out the same.
• For Double Pie crust - (I use an electric mixer) Mix 2 cups flour & 1/2 tsp salt, add 2/3 cup lard, beat until it looks like peas, add 6 TBS COLD water. Mix 30 seconds or so until mixed. Divide in 2. Roll out one for the bottom crust, put into pie pan. Roll out second crust and cover pie.

  

Playtime in the water.

       Keener has enjoyed playing in the old sandbox and using it as a pool for the summer.  It makes my afternoons easier to have her occupied.  She has a LOT of energy and has a HUGE personality.  Isn't that such a nice way of saying that my child can be a brat?
Since I love her, I accept the good and the bad?!  She is so strong willed that at times I find it hard to balance.  I want her to be the fiercely independent and adventurous person that she naturally is, but I also need her to learn to be respectful and obedient.  It is those fights for obedience that are difficult.  But hopefully with perseverance, I will be able to achieve a happy medium.

Poor Puttycat!

My poor cat is "loved" very much by Keener.  He now does not even bother to run away, although he is getting better at hiding ahead of time.  Along with her siblings, Puttycat is getting the dressed up, riding in the babydoll carriage and made to play with the "other" stuffed animals.

 He also gets carried "child style" (She child carries him around his waist so that half of him is flopping over her arms and the other half is dangling).  I think with all this "love" the cat is earning a faster path to heaven than the rest of us!

I think his eyes say it all.  And Puttycat, I agree!!

Olympics, Family style.

We have been studying ancient Greece (using SOTW) and I decided to let the kids have their own "Olympics" and Greek Feast. The kids planned the contests and made the medals.  The hardest for them was planning the obstacle course, but they persevered and planned a fun path through the backyard.  It included swinging, jumping jacks, trampoline bouncing, jumping over obstacles and running up the  ramp, across the bridge and down.   I am very proud of their planning.  They learned to negotiate what events would be included.  Christopher only wanted events that he could win (Don't we all).  He REALLY protested against the Limbo contest, but he lost that negotiation.  Keener had such a huge advantage, but couldn't figure out how to do it.  Very funny.

I discussed the food feast menu with them, but Elizabeth and I made most of it.  As usual there was too much food, but it was so yummy.  Most of the ideas came from this web site http://greekfood.about.com/od/discovergreekfood/u/classic_traditional.htm.

Here is the menu:
3 different types of olives-green, brine (kalamata), gaeta (olive link here) ,
dried figs, apricots, dates and golden raisins;
almonds
hummus and pita
Tyropita-3 cheese stuffed flakey pastry
Spanakopita- spinach and cheese stuffed flakey pastry
Camomile Tea
Tzatziki (Yogurt Cucumber Garlic dip)-SUPER EASY to make!!!
Froutosalata-Fruit Salad with honey dressing- yummy!
We also had two different types of fresh bread-thanks to the store bakery!

They had so much fun practicing the past couple of days and  then participating today.  It was such a great way to start off a week.  We had perfect weather and everyone had fun.

So here are the results:

Crabwalk
1st     Christopher
2nd    Elizabeth
3rd     I---- (Our neighbor)

4th     Rolo     

5th     Keener

Bear crawl

1st     Christopher

2nd    Elizabeth

3rd     Rolo

4th     I---- (Our neighbor)     

5th     Keener

Hopping

1st     Christopher

2nd    I---- (Our neighbor)

3rd     Rolo

4th     Keener    

5th     Elizabeth

Frisbee Toss

1st      I---- (Our neighbor)

2nd   Rolo

3rd     Elizabeth

4th     Christopher     

5th     Keener

Wheelbarrow Race (Teams)

1st      I---- (Our neighbor)/Christopher

2nd   Rolo/Elizabeth

3rd     Keener

Long Jump

1st     Christopher

2nd    Elizabeth

3rd     Rolo 

4th     I---- (Our neighbor)     

5th     Keener

Limbo

1st     Elizabeth

2nd     I---- (Our neighbor)

3rd     Rolo

4th     Keener

5th     Christopher

 

Obstacle Course (Time)

1st     Elizabeth (1 min 12.2 seconds)

2nd     Christopher(1 min 18.7 seconds) 

3rd     I---- (Our neighbor) (1 min 47.4 seconds)

4th     Rolo (1 min 49.9 seconds)

5th     Keener (2 min 35.0 seconds)  

     Keener was adorable doing the obstacle course. The other children helped her.  It was so wonderful to see them cheering her on and helping her not get sidetracked.  She did however tend to stop to fix her socks.  If she wasn't looking like a European tourist with her socks up to her knees, she just wasn't happy!  Made me laugh just to see her stopping to do that.  

Awards Ceremony Picture 

Jumping in the Backyard

For the kid's birthday, we got them a joint gift of a trampoline.  I got  a good deal on a 12' one from Sears.   From everyone I know who has gotten one, it is a pain to set up because the directions are always difficult. I agree with that! But the reward is a toy that kids of all ages and abilities can play on at the same time.  Not to mention the exercise and "tire them out" factors.  The kids had a blast on their first day jumping.  Here are a few pictures from the HOURS that they spent outside playing.
Here are all the kids at once.  (For the safety folks: Yes, together the do not exceed the weight limit!)  Then a few individual photos.

   

                                                 

I will say that it appears to be money well spent!


Advice for putting together your own trampoline:
My bit of advice to the makers of trampolines is to color code 4 of the spring hooks.  That way you could actually follow the part of the directions that says to hook the 1st spring, then hook the other spring that will go directly opposite it.  This would be easy to do if there were not 50+ springs and you only thought is "if I mis-hook this, then I will have to redo the entire thing!"  So here is my solution to following the directions.  I started off hooking the springs every other one, then every 3rd, then every 4th, then every 5th one until I was completely around.  Then I went around and filled in the "missing springs."  My kit cam with a hooking device  for the springs that was VERY helpful.  Apparently not all trampoline kits come with this.  If yours does not come with this tool then look for some tool that you might have with an "L" shape (Like a large allen wrench).  It allowed me to pull the tension of the spring without worrying about pinching my fingers.