What we've been eating lately...

Meal planning, it's so much work, and yet it also saves so much work in the long run. For a couple of months now I've been trying a new meal planning strategy. At the beginning of each month I come up with the menu for the entire month. I also make four grocery lists based on this giant menu. One big list for the first shopping trip of the month, which includes everything I'll need for the first week's menus, and also all of the non-perishable ingredients for the rest of the month. The other three grocery lists are short: just the perishable ingredients I need for each week. As other items come up I can easily add them to these lists later on.

It is a lot of work at the beginning of the month, but I've noticed that it saves me so much stress and so many trips to the store later on. Also, I think it is saving us money... but I am not absolutely sure about this. And Greg has commented that he thinks we've been eating more variety since I started doing this.

Here are some of the things that have been on the monthly menus in the last few months. Some of the meals belong in more than one category (for instance there are more vegetarian dishes in the crock-pot and ethnic categories).

Pasta dishes:
Tomato Basil Chicken over pasta (this was super yummy and easy!)

Pasta Carbonara

Tortellini with pesto (both pasta and sauce from Costco, we don't get a lot of convenience food but this is one of Greg's favorite things)

Hearty Pasta, Beans and Greens (p22 of Nov/Dec 2014 Cooks Illustrated magazine)

Spaghetti and salad

Crock-Pot dishes:
Crock-pot Mexi-chicken (boneless/skinless chicken breasts, a jar of salsa, a block of cream cheese, a can of black beans, a can of corn, a can of diced green chilies, combine in slow cooker and cook until chicken is done - 4ish hours on high. Dice or shred chicken and serve over rice or with tortilla chips. Will be saucy.)

BBQ Chicken Sandwiches (Also a super easy recipe! Combine boneless/skinless chicken breasts with a bottle of your favorite bbq sauce, and half a bottle of basic (not low-fat) italian salad dressing. Add a little black pepper and cook on high for 4-5 hours or until cooked through. Take out chicken and dice or shred. While you're cutting up chicken, pour sauce into a pot or pan and reduce on med/high until thickened, about 10 minutes. Put chicken and thickened sauce back into slow cooker to serve. Serve on buns with coleslaw)

Crock-pot black beans, rice & quesadillas

Meat-centric dishes:
Teriyaki Chicken (easy peasy - just boneless, skinless chicken thighs baked in teriyaki sauce, served with rice and veggies)

Flattened Chicken, mashed potatoes and veggies (I love making the chicken this way, brining it helps it turn out moist and flavorful. I usually use the uncooked backbone and any other cooked bones available to make chicken broth for chicken noodle soup later in the week)

Hamburgers with grilled onions and mushrooms

Shepherd's pie (from Sunny Anderson)

Pollack burgers, oven fries, frozen veggies

Ethnic Food:
Indian Tomato Chicken over rice, raw fruit/veggies (this was a hit)

St. Patty's Day Feast (Corned Beef and Cabbage with roasted root veggies - Greg made this) and Irish Soda Bread

Fried Rice and spring rolls with various dipping sauces

"Mexican" food:
Fish Tacos (I just used some good quality fish sticks and topped them with salsa, sour cream, and cabbage/carrot slaw in my tortillas), black beans, chips & salsa on the side

Burritos

Soft tacos

Enchiladas with verde sauce

Chicken Tortilla soup

Vegetarian meals:
Yum Bowls (rice, beans, olives, avocados, tomatoes, chips, cilantro, salsa, sour cream, cheese and Yumm sauce (we buy ours at Cafe Yumm but here is a link to make your own)

Pancakes & smoothies (we love this pancake recipe, definitely needs to be doubled or tripled!)

Red Beans and Rice, Kale

Spinach Frittata, toast, smoothie

Other:
Toad in the Hole (something like this recipe)

Scalloped Potatoes with Ham, green beans, and fruit salad (made this for Easter)

Ham and Split Pea soup with bread

Quiche (a favorite around here)

Homemade Pizza and salad

Chef Salad (served with all ingredients in separate bowls - build your own)

Tonight

I'm 8 years into this parenting gig, and I think I can honestly say that it has gotten easier.

I know, I know... it's a crazy thing to say. Especially considering that I have four kids now, instead of just one. And one of those four kids is a nursing-wake-you-up-at-night baby, and another one of those kids is three (for all you parents of three-year-olds out there, nuff said).

So in actuality, if we are talking about shoes that must be tied, and snacks that must be made, and fingernails that must be clipped, and tantrums that must be dealt with, and books that must be read, and messes that must be cleaned, then of course, yes... it is much harder than it used to be.

But somehow it feels easier. And that is really what matters. I usually don't allow myself to get sucked into the drama quite so easily as I used to. I feel more confident in my parenting. And I'm learning to slow down and enjoy my kids.

Even still, I have tough moments. And this evening was one of them.

It started innocently enough. I asked Jonathan and Leesi if they still wanted to use their own money to buy a book that they had been eyeing in the latest Scholastic Book Club order form. They shouted "yes" and ran to get their piggy banks. A moment later they were back with money in hand. They had agreed that Elisa would pay four dollars and Jonathan would pay five dollars for a nine dollar book that they wanted to share. Jonathan handed me a ten dollar bill and Elisa had four ones in her hand. I explained that she could give her ones to Jonathan and I would give him one more dollar and then we would all be even. She erupted in a fury of "that's not fair!" Well, I tried to explain again and again the concept of giving change ("you know, like what has happened when you've bought things in the store with your own money"). But no matter how I phrased it or which examples I used, I couldn't get her to understand. She kept saying, "But he paid for the whole book and then he gets to keep my money too!" Finally I took her four dollars and Jonathan's ten dollars and gave Jonathan back a separate five dollar bill in hopes that this simpler way would work. But still she just wouldn't accept this and cried and cried and yelled and stormed. I tried to distract her by looking at the book on the computer. Didn't help. Then I got angry and yelled at her. That didn't seem to help either. Finally I tried, "You'll just have to trust me. Even if you can't understand it. I'm not trying to trick you. You'll just have to trust me when I say that he paid five dollars and you paid four dollars." After this, I moved on. She did not. But that was all I could do.

It was right before dinnertime now. Greg was late for dinner and I was trying to get the kids to pick up a few things before dinner. No one was listening and Leesi was still in her mood. She picked up her art supplies off the table like I asked but then stormed off with a "But I'm not going to pick up anything else!" By now I was starting to feel the anger well up inside. It had been kind of a blue day overall, and part of me wished I had just stayed in bed and never gotten up. I went into the closest bedroom and punched the bed a couple times, and then, just like that, the anger vanished and I started laughing at the ridiculousness of it all. I prayed a quick prayer that somehow we would be given laughter tonight to help drain away some of the tension that had built.

Leesi protested by not sitting down to dinner when it was ready. But Greg arrived fairly quickly and then she joined us. She complained about dinner and asked if she could have a bowl of cereal (something I don't remember ever allowing her to have instead of dinner, not really sure where that idea came from). And then complained when I said we weren't having dessert. I wasn't really feeling like laughing anymore.

As I was cleaning up from dinner Nora came in and asked me to play a game that involves the kids draping blankets over their heads and pretending to be ghosts and me picking them up and throwing them on our big bed. I felt like saying no. After all, I was in a bummer mood and the last thing I wanted to do was play with the kids. But I remembered a phrase I had heard someone say, "It's easier to act your way into a feeling, than to feel your way into an action." So, I said okay.

Jonathan and Nora played with gusto. Even Leesi started to timidly join in. Greg came in too, and pretty soon we were in the middle of a pillow fight. Lots of laughter, pillows and blankets flying. Tension relieved. After it was over, Leesi was getting in her jammies and using her pj pants to play peek a boo with Anna. And Anna laughed too, long baby belly laughs.

So, that is the story of tonight. On another hard night, there might be a different antagonist. Leesi is usually cheerful and helpful. But I want to do a good job of documenting both the hard and the easy, the bad and the good.

Before and After

Two months old

Seven months old

How did she grow so much in such a short time on just milk and a few sweet potatoes? 

Anna Banana - 6 months

Just the other day I had the pleasure of holding a new baby, and it struck me how much Anna has changed in the last six months. From a tiny little infant to a smiling, grabbing, rolling, laughing big baby. 

Two weeks old

Cute feet

Big yawn

Three months

Tummy time is always better with a sibling to watch

Another sister, Jonathan is super sweet with her.

Such a great big sister

Christmas baby

Six months old and eating, finally!

Anna has grown into a smiley, easy-going baby. She loves people and smiles easily at anyone who talks animatedly to her. She loves chewing on anything in her reach, and her reach is getting broader all the time. Now she can roll and creep a little. I often put her down on her blanket and come back to find her off of the blanket and trying to eat the floor (yuck).

She has been really interested in food for awhile, watching us eat and lunging toward any nearby food while we are holding her. Now she has finally gotten her chance. Her first food was pear, followed by avocado, carrot, and yam. She sometimes makes faces and gags while eating (especially with the avocado) but she keeps going back for more. I think she likes it.

She still wakes up to eat at night. I am so tired I just bring her into our bed and promptly fall back asleep while she nurses. Sometimes, later in the night I put her back in her pack'n'play. Other times she just stays in our bed until morning.

No teeth yet. At her six month check-up she weighed 16 lbs 3 oz and was 25 inches long.

Introducing Anna Joy

So Anna Joy was born over a month ago. She weighed 7 lbs. 8 oz. and was 19 inches long. She came on August 13th, three days before her due date, making her the first of my children born before the due date. The doctor encouraged me to induce early because the ultrasound seemed to suggest that her growth had drastically slowed down,and they were worried my placenta might be breaking down. Everything went smoothly with labor and delivery. (The exception being the amount of times they tried to put in my i.v. It was actually fairly comical. I think I ended up with 5 pokes, and quite a bit of bruising.) Here are a couple of pictures from shortly after birth.

Little Sister

Sweet sleeping beauty

We are getting used to what it means to be a family of six. Nora is adjusting better than I expected. She was the one I was the most concerned about, since before Anna was born she said things like, "No new baby at my house." and "I the baby." But after Anna was born Nora took great delight in telling people, "I'm a big sissy!" So, for the most part she is embracing her new role. Sometimes it is still a little hard for Nora to share Mommy so much of the time... which is to be expected. 

Anna has been a pretty good baby. She has her fussy times (often in the evenings) but for the most part is easy to calm. She loves to eat and loves to be held. And the most exciting thing from the past week or so is that she has started to smile at us! Now we'll start to see her little personality more and more. So exciting. 

A couple days ago (at 5 weeks) she weighed in at 10 lbs. 11 oz. and was 21 1/2 inches long. That puts her in the 86th percentile for weight and 68th for height. I can't believe how much she has grown. She is getting big. And those cheeks... those cheeks are huge

!

Just a Little Paranoid

So a few weeks back we played with a group of friends at a park and then went out to pizza with all of them. Later one of the moms texted to say that she had found nits (lice eggs) in her daughters hair that night. I thought back to our kids playing together and realized that Jonathan and Nora had not really played with the little girl in question. I also couldn't remember Leesi playing with her too much the day before, and certainly not in such a close way as to transfer lice. But just as a precaution I combed through her hair, carefully checking the scalp for any sign of nits or lice. Nothing showed up.

Fast forward to today, I noticed the girls both scratching their heads. Now, it has been unseasonably hot and they have been awfully sweaty. So a perfectly reasonable explanation for the itchiness would be sweaty heads. But I couldn't get the idea of lice out of my head. So I decided to comb through her hair again, just to check.

Right away I found some white specks near the scalp at the back of her head. Thus followed a solid half hour of combing hair and combing the internet for pictures of nits, and advice on how to tell the difference between nits and dandruff.

Finally I decided that it was just dandruff after all. I commented to the kids, "Mommy's just a little paranoid." A few minutes later Leesi asked me, "Mommy, why are you hair annoyed?"

Summer Fun!

Boy has it felt like summer! We've had unseasonably hot weather and hardly any rain for most of June. And we have been packing our summer full of adventures. To kick off June Greg and I headed to Chicago sans kids to celebrate our 14th anniversary. Mom and Dad watched the kiddos while we explored the city. We visited both the Art and the Field Museum, watched a live taping of Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, saw Once (the musical), and ate lots of good food. We were also able to see some friends we hadn't seen in awhile. Greg had gone to Chicago earlier than me for his ACSD conference.  So he saw lots of old friends. Once I arrived some of our JBU friends were still around and so I was able to have lunch with them too. Overall it was such a great trip. And the kids had lots of fun with Grandma and Papa while we were gone. When we got back they filled me in on all of their adventures: the zoo, swimming, splash pads, Mariner's game, Taco Bell. :-)

Here we are in front of Buckingham Fountain.

Lou Malnati's pizza. Yum. Seeing it makes me hungry.

The next adventure was a trip to the coast. Some friends had graciously invited us to come with them to their family's beach house. We were happy to oblige. We had a great time hanging out with them and spent lots of time on the beach. It had been awhile since we had been and it was so nice to relax there.

As usual, Jonathan with his truck.

This beach was fairly rocky and had some cool tide pools to explore.

At this beach someone had built a little driftwood house. The kids had so much fun playing inside it. 

Everyone even went in the water a little.
Nothing says Oregon Coast quite like sweatshirts and jackets on the beach and ice cold water. 

We had only been back from the beach a couple days before we headed out on our next adventure: camping with my parents for two nights at Silver Falls. It was a super nice campground with hot water in the bathrooms and free showers. We explored just three of the ten waterfalls. They were breathtaking! Absolutely gorgeous hikes! One afternoon we swam in the river. It was a great way to cool down on a hot day. Overall, it was a great trip - so much fun!

Jonathan hurt his foot the very first night and limped for the rest of the weekend, poor kid. Greg had to carry him on all the hikes. The kids had trouble sleeping the first night. At first they were too excited to sleep. And then they got too tired and cranky. Leesi and Nora had trouble staying in their sleeping bags through the night. And Jonathan's foot woke him up. But the second night was much better. I think maybe next time we'll try for three nights and see how that goes.

Beautiful Falls 

Jonathan and Nora catch a ride on Greg and Papa's shoulders.  

Nora and Papa

Jonathan floats on the Rice Krispie Raft. 

Nora in her sleeping bag. It was very exciting to get new sleeping bags!

We got back from camping just in time for Leesi to participate in a show. Leesi has been taking dance class for a few months now at a studio close to our house. The studio put on a big show for the end of the year called, "A Bug'z Tale." Her class did a dance to "All the Colors" or as we refer to it, "the rainbow song." She was able to go and see the show with me on Friday night (a different class did the rainbow dance in that show) and then dance in it on Saturday night. Everyone enjoyed watching it. The songs from it are still stuck in my head.

Leesi posing after the show with her teacher. 

We've certainly had a busy and fun June. July should be a lot more low key. We'll be hanging around home a lot more. And then in August the baby comes!

Jonathan's thoughts and doings

So, I can officially say that Jonathan can read now. He still gets some words wrong and there is some guesswork involved, but he regularly tells me what things say (e.g. today at the doctor's office he told me, "these stickers say 'smile makers'") especially if it's something he finds funny. And he can read a whole book too (easy ones, that is). I realized that he had really gotten it and that reading had clicked for him when he read me all of Green Eggs and Ham. He seems to prefer to sit quietly and read them to himself, but sometimes he will read to me too.

His mind is always working on something. Recently he's started coming up to me out of the blue and telling me answers to math equations. "Mommy, 8+8 is 16." etc. Yesterday Leesi was working on her math homework and struggling on a problem. Jonathan walked up and whispered the answer in her ear. Ha! We were both surprised

He just finished preschool for the year. We've really liked his preschool and his teacher. She always has fun crafts and interesting activities for the kids. She is great with the kids. But if we ever say anything about learning something in preschool Jonathan will correct us, insisting that he doesn't learn at preschool. "It's not really a learning kind of school. We just play."

They had a special Mother's Day Tea a month ago and the kids were so sweet. They sang songs for the Moms and gave us all kinds of handmade gifts. It was a very sweet time with my special guy.

Me and Jonathan at the Mother's Day Tea at his school. He made me a special corsage.

The other day Jonathan told me, "The first day ever wasn't a tomorrow. There was a first day, and it wasn't a tomorrow. Other days have tomorrows, but the first day was never a tomorrow. God was there."

He has started doing speech therapy to work on some of his articulation. He doesn't yet produce a 'l' sound or an 'r' sound, instead he substitutes w's. There are a handful of other sounds he doesn't make quite right either (among them th, s, and j). I am glad that he is doing speech therapy and will get the help he needs. But there is part of me that will probably miss the "Mommy, I wiwy wiwy wuv you!"

Let us eat lettuce!

The lettuce has taken off. We are eating tons of salads and we still can't quite keep up with the amount of lettuce that we're getting. I picked the lettuce this morning into my biggest plastic mixing bowl. It was heaped to the top and overflowing, and still the lettuce patch looked like I could pick some more.

My biggest bowl heaping with lettuce. 

The lettuce after being picked. There are 12 heads in three square feet. Probably four different varieties. 

Gardening

So now that early pregnancy has passed and I am feeling better, I am really enjoying being outside and working in our yard. I try to talk myself into doing the dishes or the laundry or picking up toys, but if it's decent weather out the dishes usually get neglected and the laundry sits for a little longer while I work out in the yard.

A month or so ago Greg built a 8x4 raised bed for me, and filled it with dirt. Since then I've been working away on planting in it, as well as a few other places around the yard. So far in the garden box we have kale, onions (several kinds), shallots, spinach, lettuce, and marigolds growing. And I'm still hopefully watching for carrots and dill to sprout. Peppers, tomatoes, and cucumbers will go in soon.

I built a sweet pea teepee for the kids to hide out in, and am watching with glee as the peas they planted sprout and grow. Once the peas are done, I plan on planting beans in their place.

I just planted four tomato plants in one of the planter boxes on the front of the house, and am planning on planting a few more in the garden box in the back and training them to grow up a trellis (square foot garden style).

I hope to get strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries this year from plants that we've put in.

Greg ripped out a lilac bush that was beautiful, but hopelessly unhealthy, and we planted a dwarf peach tree in its place. So exciting!

There are also quite a few flowers, both ones that we've planted and ones that were already here, that are starting to make an appearance.

I have lots of plans for more improvements to the yard and garden too. I guess I've caught the gardening bug.

Snails are always fun to find and watch.

We have dogwood trees in the front! Beautiful!

We have a few of these in our yard too. Leesi took this picture. Pretty good, right?

Little lettuces.

The hyacinth were beautiful this year. 

My helpers.

Other garden bounty.

The little things I want to remember

So, once again, it's been awhile since the last post. But I have a good reason. Baby #4 is on the way! We have been hoping for a baby #4 for awhile now, and so we were ecstatic when we found out I was pregnant. But early pregnancy always takes its toll on me, with nausea, vomiting, and fatigue. So, the last couple months have been a bit rough. I'm 16 weeks along now, and starting to feel better every day.

Meanwhile, life has continued in all its messy, loud, glorious splendor.

Today it hit me just how much I want to remember everything about these days. I want to remember Jonathan as a five-year-old, and Nora at two and a half, and Leesi as a big first grader. So, once again, back to the blog. I'll blog about today, about the everyday moments. The days are beautiful, and painful, and mundane, and fun, and tedious. And I want to remember all of it. Or at least, I want to remember pieces of each part of it.

So here goes...

Today I braided Leesi's hair. It's been hard getting up in the morning lately. And I can't move as fast as usual. So, it's made for some hurried mornings... wild hair and granola bar for breakfast kind of mornings. But today, I had time for a braid. Little things to be thankful for.

Jonathan and Nora have been sick. So, Jonathan stayed home from school again today. Nora was cranky and snotty in the morning. Jonathan and I played Candy Land and Operation in a sun patch on the living room carpet while Nora sat on my lap. Nora clung to me, scared, whenever the Operation buzzer went off.

Later in the morning Nora and Jonathan were screaming because they were both so frustrated about a fishing game that Jonathan had gotten out. I felt completely at a loss to help them deal with their frustration. Then when Jonathan yelled at me, I unleashed my own frustration at him and carried him upstairs and plopped him on his bed. I definitely still have a lot to figure out in this whole parenting thing.

We went outside a little later, into the beautiful, unseasonably warm March day. I worked on painting the shutters red, and the kids rode their various riding toys. A better mood prevailed.

Lunchtime, and then Nora's nap. I often read to Jonathan during the first part of Nora's nap and then become so sleepy that I have to take a nap myself. Today was no exception. After Mr. Putter and Tabby Drop the Ball, I found myself curled up on the couch for a fifteen minute nap. Then off to pick Leesi up from school.

On the way home, the kids ride their bikes ahead of me and Nora (in the stroller) and wait at each corner. As I come closer they motion thumbs-up and thumbs-down and wait for me to motion back the thumbs-up or say, "you can go!" Today Nora yelled from the stroller, "You can go, Jonathan, Leesi. You can go."

At home after chores and snacks, the kids watched a video while I worked more on the shutters. When I came back inside, I found them watching a youtube video of "I'm a little teapot" and doing the motions along with it. Leesi was Nora's instructor. "No, hold your arms like this Nora!" "I'm helping her learn the motions. She can't quite do it yet, but we're working on it!" I think that girl may be a teacher some day. I sat and watched some of the other songs with them. "Nora loves these toddler songs," Leesi told me. "Whenever she sees a new one, she just gets so excited and burstess into cuteness!"

I think they all have their moments of bursting into cuteness.

Jonathan has just about the most expressive smiling eyes you've ever seen. He is very loving - loves giving hugs and kisses. When he kisses Nora at night he plucks her paci out of her mouth and says, "Not like that Nora, you're kissing your paci!" He's also very creative. Yesterday he gave me a trophy he had made out of construction paper with a heart at the top. "What is this for?" I asked. "Best Mommy ever trophy?" He thought about it for a second and then agreed, "Yep." He loves doing the crafts at preschool, and always thinks of extra little touches to put on them. He's definitely an original. I rarely see him copying others in how he does his artwork. He has his own ideas. He's smart about how things work. There have been two times in the last couple weeks that Leesi has tried to do something unsafe and he has tried to stop her because he knew that she would get hurt. The first time, I heard him yelling at her and came to see what was going on just in time to stop some kind of laundry basket off of the back of the chair scenario. The second time, I wasn't around and Leesi didn't listen to Jonathan and she ended up with two big owies on her inner thighs from some kind of fall off of/onto the front porch railing. Later, she told Greg, "Jonathan tried to stop me, but I didn't listen." And Jonathan told me, "I knew she would get hurt because the wood was wider than the other piece." I didn't quite know what he meant, but I know that he understood it all perfectly.

Leesi is a school girl now. She likes school and is the model student while she's there. Sometimes I worry that she puts too much pressure on herself to be "good." When she comes home, sometimes all her "good" has been exhausted and she snaps and becomes easily frustrated. But I know she loves school and is learning a lot. She is an excellent and voracious reader. She loves library, music, and gym. She is very responsible. I can almost always count on her to follow the rules, and to make sure that her brother and sister are following them too. She has turned into an excellent hula hooper. She even puts on shows for us involving hula hooping and reading from a joke book at the same time. She can be very silly at home, but I don't know if she lets herself be too silly in public. Only around people with whom she's extremely comfortable. She is best buddies with Jonathan which sometimes means they fight. And she is extremely maternal, loving, and patient with Nora.

Nora is teetering on the brink of big girl. Sometimes she insists that she's the baby. Other time she tells me, "I not a baby!" Today I put her hair in a pony tail. That definitely makes her look grown up. She is funny. She copies whatever her brother and sister say, especially the things that get a laugh. Because of this, one of her favorite phrases right now is, "Poopin' with my bottom!" said in a sing-song kind of way. She has been extremely outgoing at certain times in life, but right now she seems like she's going to be shy. She's starting to seem timid about new people and experiences. She's still loud at home though. She demands attention, and she knows she has to compete to get it! She sometimes screams when she's angry or frustrated. Just a loud, shrill scream. I don't remember the other kids doing that. Maybe I've blocked it out of my memory. But the next moment she is just the cutest thing ever. She just "bursts into cuteness!"

With these three to keep me busy I know that the next few months will fly by and baby #4 will be here before I know it. Mostly I feel completely overwhelmed at the thought of another one. But excited too... in a "I think I'm a little bit crazy" kind of way.

Signs of Christmas

Last year my friend, Becca, brought us a nativity scene from Haiti. It was so fun to get it out this Christmas and play with it a little. The kids have been loving it.

Nora told me that the little girl with the aqua colored shirt was "No-a." She figured out which figure represented each of us in the family too. 

Thanks, Aunt Becca!

Jonathan says...

Jonathan on meat:
"I don't like cutted up killed animals, but I do like chicken nuggets."

Jonathan on using the hot glue gun:
"I really like using this weapon."

Thanksgiving 2014

What a Thanksgiving! 

Here are the numbers: 

11 people plus 2 dogs stayed at our house for 2 nights.

There were 15 of us at Thanksgiving dinner.

No shortage of pie. All told we had 9 pies. 

(4 pumpkin, 2 pecan, 1 marionberry, 1 mincemeat, 1 cherry)

A full table.

John and Elisa with the lego turkey. Gobble, Gobble.

Yum! Pie!

Grammy and Nora work on cinnamon roll turkeys with bacon tail feathers. 

It was very fun. I was worried that the house might feel really crowded. But it didn't. At least, not to me! It was fun to have everyone at our house for a change. Everyone pitched in with the cooking, so I didn't feel overwhelmed by that at all. A family from our church joined us, which was great. Our kids had a blast playing with their kids. And it is always so fun to watch the kiddos enjoy being with their grandparents, and aunt & uncle. Aunt Kristine is teaching Leesi to knit. So that is a fun bonding experience for them. And Uncle John brings legos that they can work on together. This time they made a lego turkey together as well as the cutest little snowman and reindeer. Lots to be thankful for!

Everyday Moments

Haven't been much of a blogger for a couple of years now. I've been... well, busy. But also, I guess I've been a little more introspective (I didn't really think that was possible)... and a little less willing or able to process all of what I've been thinking about in a semi-public setting. I keep thinking about this quote I heard, something like, "Don't seek to be heard. Seek to have something worth saying." So, I've been working on my soul. Working on having something worth saying. 

But in looking back at my blog I find that I love reading through the thoughts about my kiddos. That has made me think that I'm not quite ready to throw in the towel on blogging yet. So... here goes. 

Here are some of our everyday moments from this fall.

Jonathan loved discovering that there was an apple with his name. We bought quite a few apples at the farm stand and decided to have our own mini apple tasting (since we can't go to the big Portland Nursery apple tasting anymore). Of course, the Jonathans were Jonathan's favorite. 

Leesi now goes to the school down the street. So most days we walk/ride bikes home from school. I love that half hour of being outside each day. It's such a beautiful walk down the tree-lined sidewalk, then around the block by the school. Once we get next to the school I'm always worried about Jonathan hitting someone on his bike. We are working on good bike manners. It's slow-going. He is such a good little bike rider, but still a little crazy.

  

The tree-lined street sure does make for a lot of leaves in the yard. Luckily the kids like to help rake. Nora didn't want to be left out. The big kids had rakes, and so she needed a rake too. She headed to the garage and found her own "rake" (aka paint roller) so that she could help out. 

This picture was not staged. Each kid is studiously reading their book that they chose at the school's book fair. Cracked me up... especially Elisa, laying down on the step. That Elisa is quite the reader.

This year has brought some interesting changes. I now get regular alone time with Jonathan and Nora. Now that Jonathan's in preschool, I get to hang out with just Nora on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday mornings. And every day during Nora's nap it's just me and Jonathan. It's nice getting to spend a little extra alone time with these kids who aren't used to getting my undivided attention. Wednesday mornings are always Bible Study mornings though, so I don't really hang out with Nora too much. This picture was taken on the walk back to the car after Bible Study. I loved these yellow leaves.

The other day Nora came into the kitchen with her arms all "tattooed." Leesi confessed that she had done it. "What?!? She wanted me to! Well, she did say 'owie, owie' but she got through it." 

A Step on the Spiritual Journey

Tonight Jonathan asked if the Holy Spirit could see out of your body. You know, because if the Holy Spirit is inside of you, then can He see out?

We had talked a couple days ago about having a soft heart toward God. We were talking about the story of the Exodus and how Pharaoh hardened his heart and kept saying, "No, you can't go!" even after God took away the plagues. So I thought he might get the idea of the soft/hard heart. But when I asked him if he thought I was talking about your actual heart inside your body he said yes. So I knew he needed more concrete language. So then we talked about following Jesus and obeying him.

We talked about how sometimes when Jonathan or Leesi is upset about something, or is being disobedient I will call them to come and talk to me. I hold out my arms and beckon them to come and sit on my lap. Sometimes they come and we can talk about it and figure it out together. Other times they turn away and refuse to come to me. I think one of the most important things in following God is repeatedly coming to Him, not turning away from Him but being open and surrendered to Him... in whatever place we find ourselves. That's how I envision the soft heart... the child who doesn't turn away when called to come to the parent waiting with open arms.

So, tonight when I was putting Jonathan to bed, I asked him if he wanted to pray and tell Jesus that he wanted to follow him and obey him and become part of God's family. He said yes and then prayed, "Thank you God that we got to ride on the diesel tractor.... and I want to follow you and obey you..." It was very sweet. After he prayed he launched into questions about different scenarios with trains that I had a really hard time following.

I think that it is important that Jonathan had a soft heart toward the Holy Spirit and wanted to tell Jesus that he wanted to follow Him. But I have changed my attitude about this aspect of the spiritual life. I no longer think that becoming a Christian is about praying one certain prayer, and then you're good. You have a ticket to heaven. I am now starting to believe that faith is more of a process. Becca expressed it beautifully the other day. She said that as we go through life we say, "I give all I know of me, to all I know of God." As we grow and mature we know more of ourselves and more of God, so there is more to give, and more to experience. This is a step for Jonathan, one step on the spiritual journey of giving himself more and more to the God he knows more and more.

I still sometimes worry about my inadequacies in guiding my children in their faith. But the more I see of God's goodness the more I am able to lay down my fears about all aspects of life, even this one.

Just some randomness...

Jonathan yesterday while we were eating in the sunshine: “I’m tellin’ ya’ I’m as hot as a hippo!” We went into the shade and after awhile: “I’m tellin’ ya’ I’m as cold as an icicle!”

When the big kids get stuck or are having trouble with something they often say, “Uh, a little help here please!” I think that one of the characters on Doc McStuffins says it all the time. But it still cracks me up when they say it.

Leesi has started first grade at a new school. It is close enough that we walk (the kids ride their bikes) every morning. I love being close to school and getting to know people in the neighborhood. I like her teacher so far. Leesi likes school too, I think. Although it has been a harder transition than preschool or kindergarten. One morning I had to carry her all the way to school because she was so upset and didn't want to go. But at the end of each day she is happy and tells me about all the fun things that happened.  

This morning Nora was yelling at the top of her lungs in a sing-song voice, “Oh Mommy, Oh Mommy, Oh Mommy.” Finally I stumbled into her room and saw her standing in her crib, a big smile on her face. “Awake?” She asked. Yes Nora, I just happen to be awake.  

Last time I was driving home from Portland late at night with the kids, Nora kept us all awake by yelling (loudly and very high pitched), "Wake up! Wake up! E-uh (Elisa) wake up! Donthan (Jonathan) wake up!" Finally Jonathan fell asleep anyway. All the rest of us stayed awake. 

So quite apart from us working with him, Jonathan has started being able to read short words. I noticed that pretty often he could decipher words. But I wasn't really sure how much of it was reading and how much was just lucky guesses or a good memory. So yesterday I got out Hop on Pop and had him read some of the short words from the lists at the front of the book. He read them pretty easily. I mean, he needed some help and he doesn't know all of his sounds ('th' still threw him off, as well as some vowels sounds). But I was surprised by how much he could read. Now if only we could solve the pencil holding problem.

Jonathan has started going to preschool. He goes for three mornings each week. I think he likes it. When I ask him about it he says that he played with cars and trucks, and went down the slide. His class has seven boys and one girl. Makes me tired just thinking about it. 

Nora drama continued

Nora right before all this started - 4th of July

Well, it's been quite the adventure since I wrote that last post. I was thinking that Nora was on the road to recovery, and she was (and still is). But I did not foresee the drastic measures that would be needed to ensure that recovery.

On Wednesday I called the doctor again because of the vomiting and low grade fever. They had me come in and this time the doctor said, "It could have something to do with her kidneys. Let's send you in to the ER and do a blood test." So, dutifully we went to the ER. Sat in the waiting room for 3 hours. Got in to see the doctor, and after listening to our story and checking Nora out again, he said, "She seems fine, you should just go home. It's probably just another virus on top of the last virus." We pressed him, asking questions about things that weren't adding up, telling him that our doctor had said maybe it was her kidneys. Finally he said, "We can do blood work if you guys want to, but I'd be shocked... well, not shocked, but really surprised, if this had anything to do with her kidneys." I looked at Greg helplessly, I had this sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. I felt like there was something really wrong, and now the professional was telling me there wasn't anything wrong, but I couldn't quite believe him. Greg wasn't going to back down though, "I'd like to do the blood work," he said.

So, they did the blood work and from that, the pediatrician from the hospital was able to make the correct diagnosis. When he came in to talk to us and told us about this syndrome called HUS, all of a sudden everything started adding up.

It turns out that Nora had HUS (hemolytic uremic syndrome). She had all the signs and symptoms, and we had been calling and going to the doctor (and the ER), but it had just been missed or misdiagnosed the whole time.

So, when she had the week of diarrhea - that was from E. coli (or possibly another bacteria). The toxins from the E. coli then got into her blood stream and started to break down her red blood cells. Thus the pale skin and lips. The red blood cells then clogged her kidneys and prevented them from filtering the way they should. Thus the lack of pee for days, and also the swelling in her cheeks and abdomen. Then when she did start peeing, all of those red blood cells were coloring her pee - resulting in the dark bloody urine. Without the right amount of red blood cells in her blood, her body was having a hard time getting the oxygen it needed. This resulted in high blood pressure and an elevated heart rate.

Grandma and Nora.
Picture was taken a few days after she had started peeing again.
Notice her slightly puffy cheeks and overall lack of color.

Her body had already dealt with the worst part (when she wasn't peeing) on its own. But now they wanted to admit her to the hospital and make sure that her lab results were continuing to improve, and that her blood pressure didn't get too high. So we settled in for a night at the hospital. They started her on blood pressure medication and monitored her throughout the night. (I always find this a lovely part of the hospital: "You're sick. Now get better. But don't sleep!") In the morning they drew more blood and all of the levels were going in the right direction. Her blood pressure and pulse were still quite high, but she was eating and drinking and very stable.

She wasn't getting any sleep though. As soon as we got her to sleep a nurse, or cleaning lady, or doctor would come in and wake her up. She was super cranky and asking to go home. Finally I put a sign on the door that said, "Do not disturb unless absolutely necessary. I need a nap!" And Nora and I settled in for a nap.

A couple hours later (the sign did indeed work) the doctor and nurse came in and told me that they had been in contact with the kidney doctors up at Doernbecher in Portland, and that they thought that Nora needed a blood transfusion. Her blood pressure and pulse were high because of her lack of red blood cells, a blood transfusion packed with red blood cells would give her body an extra boost, and help her heart rate and blood pressure come down. At that point the doctor told me that we would be able to drive Nora up to Portland since she was so stable, but later that changed as the kidney doctors insisted that Nora be transported by ambulance.

So into the ambulance we went. Nora and I, once again, in an ambulance together.

Now this whole time Wanda (my mother-in-law) had been with the other two kids. Greg had been going back and forth between home and hospital. At this point he was at home, so the doctor called him to tell him the news. He and the kids and Wanda decided to follow us up right away. So they quickly threw stuff into bags and backpacks and loaded up.

When Nora and I got to Doernbecher we were directed to our room. As soon as we turned the corner into our room there was my friend Sharlene, who just happens to be a pediatrician, waiting for us. I can't tell you how relieving it was to see a friend right at that moment. I didn't feel worried, or overly emotional, but as soon as I saw her I felt like I exhaled a little of the breath I didn't realize I was holding. We hugged and then the second thing Sharlene did was pull down Nora's eyelid and look into her eye. "Oh good," she said, "she still has some pink."

After a terrifying experience comforting Nora as they put in her IV (note to self: that should have been Daddy's job), they started her transfusion. Slowly, all night she got the blood she needed. Throughout the night I would get up to comfort Nora whenever I heard her crying because they were checking her blood pressure or some such thing. Very early in the morning I looked at her with my bleary, sleep deprived eyes and thought, "She looks kind of pink for the first time in weeks!" I couldn't be sure though, since I still had my early morning eyes. But sure enough, when I got up a little later, Nora once again had her color back. She also was extremely swollen on one side of her face (the side she had been resting on), but they assured us that the swelling was normal and would go down, which it did. Her blood pressure and pulse came back down. She was still on the blood pressure meds (and will be for a little while), but other than that her body seemed to be doing well.

Blood going in. Face looking pinker.

They continued to monitor her throughout the day. The kidney doctor (and a bunch of interns) came and talked to us. He was amazed that no one had done a stool sample when she had bloody diarrhea. He just shook his head when I said that I didn't think the doctor's believed me when I said she wasn't peeing. He said about half the kids who have this have to be on dialysis for a short time. He said he was glad she wasn't in that half. So were we. The nutrionist came and talked to us about Nora's new - low sodium, low potassium, low phosphorus diet.  They checked her labs again in the afternoon - especially looking at hemoglobin levels and percentage of red blood cells. Everything had improved just as they'd hoped. So, to our surprise, they told us we could go home.

Late in the afternoon they discharged us. As the nurse was going over our discharge paperwork, she told me, "This is the shortest HUS summary I've ever seen. It's not uncommon for kids to spend weeks in the hospital for this."

We spent that night at Wanda's house. The kids slept on the floor together, and stayed up too late giggling. When I went in to take a picture after they had fallen asleep, I found that Leesi had fallen asleep with her hand reached out to touch Nora's head. So sweet.

Sweet sleeping siblings - together again.

The next morning the kids picked berries outside in the morning sunshine. And things felt just about perfect.

Raspberry girls. Nora's face still slightly puffy from transfusion.

Nora still tires easily. She will need to be on blood pressure meds for awhile. She plays a little more quietly than usual. But tonight she ran around with the Elisa a little bit, so she's getting her energy back. Her appetite is back with a vengeance

Through this whole experience I felt a huge amount of peace carrying me through.  I just took one step at a time, doing what I could do, and leaving the rest in God's hands, trusting that He is good. (Right now, I can just hold Nora and try to get her to sleep. Right now, I just need to sing to her as they poke her. Right now, I get to enjoy my other kids for a few minutes. Right now, we have to ride in the ambulance.) I had started to congratulate myself on this sense of peace, until we got back home, and I logged into Facebook for the first time in days. I saw comment after comment saying, "praying for you." And I realized that hundreds of people had been praying for us. It was beautiful and overwhelming. And I was so thankful.

There were so many other ways that I saw God's goodness through this whole experience too. Little things that weren't "necessary," but were just God's gifts to me. Here are a few of those things:

Greg was in Portland on Wednesday for work when I found out that I needed to take Nora to the ER. But Wanda had, spur of the moment, decided to drive down to see us, before she even got the phone call about us needing to go back to the ER. So she was here in time to take the big kids to their swimming lessons, and I could leave to take Nora to the ER.

I'm thankful for people who make hospitals beautiful with artwork, for the pianist in the hospital lobby, and the pink hydrangeas planted outside. The beauty fed my soul.

Pink hydrangeas (one of my favorite flowers) outside the Springfield hospital. 

I am thankful for the playroom down the hall so that the kids could play together for a little while when they came to visit.

I am thankful for all those who came to be there for us when we got to Doernbecher. Sharlene came (and brought chocolate). Her presence was very comforting. Alan brought lots of food and drinks. The Kind bars he brought gave me the energy to make it through the second night of light sleep. The Hammersborgs came to see how we were doing. Rolf cracked us up by donning the full medical isolation outfit before coming in. Uncle Rick came to make sure Nora was okay. He was very relieved to see Nora standing, looking out the window when he came in. He was expecting lots of tubes and cords.

"What? Sarah, why aren't you wearing this?"

And of course, I'm thankful for Wanda caring for the big kids the whole time. She was the perfect person to be there for them. 

And my heroes, Stead and Sarah, who came and cleaned our house so that when we got back home there wouldn't be a pile of dishes (swarming with ants) waiting for us, and kids' toys everywhere. They really went above and beyond the call of duty. 

And most of all, that Jesus carried Nora's little body through this ordeal. I trust Him with her little life, and I am so thankful that He has entrusted us with her care for a little (or hopefully a lot) longer.    

Lots to be thankful for. 

Jesus loves me this I know.
For the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to Him belong.
They are weak, but He is strong.