Samantha: 88 Months, Week 2
Aedan: 53 Months, Week 4
Owen: 12 Months, Week 2 (Week 54)
Sunday was kind of a rough day for me. The kids were tired and were not being nice to each other. Since Owen was up before 7:00, we made sure he got a nap before we went to church that morning. Then, later in the day, I got news from my dad that my grandpa who lives in Florida was going to the hospital for a possible stroke. The rest of the day was spent with a lot messaging back and forth, trying to figure out what actually happened. After the EMT assessed him, they decided it was a possible TIA, which is where someone has stroke symptoms that happen but go away within 24 hours. His vitals were stable, but he was somewhat confused. After getting to the hospital and getting two bags of IV fluids, they decided there wasn't anything wrong neurologically, which was a relief to hear. The main thing they were dealing with was still the anemia and discovering high liver enzymes, so he was admitted for further tests and observations. After getting a CAT scan, they saw an enlarged and distended gall bladder with a mass near the colon, which could be cancer. The doctor talked to my grandpa about a tumor in his colon. The gastroenterologist discouraged doing a colonoscopy due to risks and discouraged surgery due to risks, due to my grandpa being almost 99. The blood test they used to test for colon cancer came back normal, but my dad said it is not a perfect test. His hemoglobin was going back down again and was almost to the point where it was before the transfusions. All of this was slow progress throughout the week as they were trying to figure out exactly what was wrong with Grandpa. As of Thursday, cardiology didn't need to see him anymore, and the CT scan from Wednesday still showed a colon mass and they weren't sure if it was cancer or an abscess. They also found two lesions on his liver, but they couldn't do an MRI because of his pacemaker and a colonoscopy was too risky. The plan then was to get a biopsy of the two spots. So we were waiting on news from that after the weekend was over. He was on my mind a lot, and I was praying for him and my dad a lot throughout the week. Things like this are so hard because my grandpa has lived a long, full life, and it's amazing that he has lived so many years independently, that he still drives himself around and largely takes care of himself. However, none of that changes the fact that it is very difficult to see loved ones go through pain. As I was putting Owen down for a nap that afternoon, I found myself crying about the situation as I prayed.
Normally we have small group on Sunday nights, but there were a lot of families that couldn't come for various reasons, so we decided to cancel it for that night. Instead, we invited Ken and Linda over. We had been wanting to invite them over for dinner for awhile, really as a way to just get to know them better and thank them for all the time they watched our kids over the summer and didn't accept any form of payment. The kids were super excited to have them here, and they couldn't wait to play with them downstairs. They fought over who would sit next to who, and they loved that they brought "vegetables" in the form of a carrot cake. It was fun to just hang out, talk, and spend time together. They really are like surrogate grandparents to the kids right now. Owen snuggled right up into Mrs. Linda's shoulder, Samantha and Aedan made a cranky restaurant for Mr. Ken to eat at, and Samantha enjoyed doing a puzzle with Mrs. Linda in the kitchen. The kids were sad to see them leave when it was time for them to get to bed.
That night as I was cleaning up, I found this special present that Samantha made for Aedan during quiet time. She was downstairs playing and creating, and decided to turn these two ice cream containers into a turtle for Aedan. Then, she also wrote him this note. She had been kind of mean to Aedan that morning, and she was feeling bad about, so she decided to make him a present and write a letter to make up for it. It was really sweet of her, and she was very insistent on putting it in a bag and having it ready for him to open when quiet time was over.
Aedan: 53 Months, Week 4
Owen: 12 Months, Week 2 (Week 54)
Sunday was kind of a rough day for me. The kids were tired and were not being nice to each other. Since Owen was up before 7:00, we made sure he got a nap before we went to church that morning. Then, later in the day, I got news from my dad that my grandpa who lives in Florida was going to the hospital for a possible stroke. The rest of the day was spent with a lot messaging back and forth, trying to figure out what actually happened. After the EMT assessed him, they decided it was a possible TIA, which is where someone has stroke symptoms that happen but go away within 24 hours. His vitals were stable, but he was somewhat confused. After getting to the hospital and getting two bags of IV fluids, they decided there wasn't anything wrong neurologically, which was a relief to hear. The main thing they were dealing with was still the anemia and discovering high liver enzymes, so he was admitted for further tests and observations. After getting a CAT scan, they saw an enlarged and distended gall bladder with a mass near the colon, which could be cancer. The doctor talked to my grandpa about a tumor in his colon. The gastroenterologist discouraged doing a colonoscopy due to risks and discouraged surgery due to risks, due to my grandpa being almost 99. The blood test they used to test for colon cancer came back normal, but my dad said it is not a perfect test. His hemoglobin was going back down again and was almost to the point where it was before the transfusions. All of this was slow progress throughout the week as they were trying to figure out exactly what was wrong with Grandpa. As of Thursday, cardiology didn't need to see him anymore, and the CT scan from Wednesday still showed a colon mass and they weren't sure if it was cancer or an abscess. They also found two lesions on his liver, but they couldn't do an MRI because of his pacemaker and a colonoscopy was too risky. The plan then was to get a biopsy of the two spots. So we were waiting on news from that after the weekend was over. He was on my mind a lot, and I was praying for him and my dad a lot throughout the week. Things like this are so hard because my grandpa has lived a long, full life, and it's amazing that he has lived so many years independently, that he still drives himself around and largely takes care of himself. However, none of that changes the fact that it is very difficult to see loved ones go through pain. As I was putting Owen down for a nap that afternoon, I found myself crying about the situation as I prayed.
Normally we have small group on Sunday nights, but there were a lot of families that couldn't come for various reasons, so we decided to cancel it for that night. Instead, we invited Ken and Linda over. We had been wanting to invite them over for dinner for awhile, really as a way to just get to know them better and thank them for all the time they watched our kids over the summer and didn't accept any form of payment. The kids were super excited to have them here, and they couldn't wait to play with them downstairs. They fought over who would sit next to who, and they loved that they brought "vegetables" in the form of a carrot cake. It was fun to just hang out, talk, and spend time together. They really are like surrogate grandparents to the kids right now. Owen snuggled right up into Mrs. Linda's shoulder, Samantha and Aedan made a cranky restaurant for Mr. Ken to eat at, and Samantha enjoyed doing a puzzle with Mrs. Linda in the kitchen. The kids were sad to see them leave when it was time for them to get to bed.
That night as I was cleaning up, I found this special present that Samantha made for Aedan during quiet time. She was downstairs playing and creating, and decided to turn these two ice cream containers into a turtle for Aedan. Then, she also wrote him this note. She had been kind of mean to Aedan that morning, and she was feeling bad about, so she decided to make him a present and write a letter to make up for it. It was really sweet of her, and she was very insistent on putting it in a bag and having it ready for him to open when quiet time was over.
Everyone seemed to be a little bit tired come Monday morning. Owen only woke up once, but then he was awake at 6:15 and didn't go back to sleep. Plus, Ben and I have been trying to get work done at night and have been staying up too late, making us tired the next day. In fact, Aedan was even acting rather tired and out of it that morning, and I considered not sending him to preschool, but he perked up quite a bit after lunch, so I decided to send him. He still wasn't over his cold and had a bit of a cough, but nothing that would constitute him having to stay home. I just have been feeling really nervous that someone is going to come down with something like the hand, foot, and mouth disease that is going around. Plus, some kids have stomach bugs, and I just want everyone to stay as healthy as possible, especially Owen, because he has enough trouble with sleeping when he is normal and healthy. I can't imagine what he would be like if he got hand, food, and mouth. So we are washing our hands a lot, trying to get good rest, and hoping for the best.
That Monday morning we had MOPS set-up time at church at 9:00, so as soon as I could get everyone around, we headed over there. I had all my bins ready to go, so it was just a matter of getting everything in the right room, so it didn't take too long. I let Aedan bring his Rescue Bots in his backpack so he could play with some toys while he waited for me to be done. Another little boy was there with his mom as well, and Aedan did such a good job sharing his toys and snack and playing with him. It was a little difficult trying to get my job done while also trying to make sure Owen didn't get into too much trouble. He kept wanting to sneak away from me and play with decorations on a table or climb up on the stage in the sanctuary. We were there a little over an hour and then headed back home. At that point it was late enough that I didn't really feel like trying to get Owen to take a nap because I would rather have him take a good afternoon nap while Aedan is at preschool, so we just hung out at home, played together, had lunch, and then took Aedan to preschool. I dropped him off a little early that afternoon so that I could get home and get Owen to bed, so I was back home by 1:00 and he was asleep by 1:20. He took a nice, long, almost three hour nap that afternoon, which I was really glad for. Especially if we are moving away from the morning nap, I am glad that he seems to be extending his afternoon naps.
When we got home from school that afternoon, we noticed this huge part of the tree that had broken off, and originally, it was laying against our roof. When Ben got home from campus, he went outside and pulled it off the roof onto the ground. It's amazing how much the wind from Friday knocked off so many branches, too. Now part of this tree has been dead for awhile, so I'm sure that has a lot to do with it, so now I just need to call someone to take care of the tree and decide whether or not it can be saved. I would rather not cut it down because I love having an evergreen and a birch tree in our front yard.
When we got home from preschool, I could tell that Aedan was not feeling well. He just sat on the couch and was complaining about his stomach hurting. I had him go lay down in his room to rest for awhile, and when I went back into his room to check on him, he was fast asleep, drooling, in his bed. I woke him up because I didn't really want him to fall asleep at 5:00 without having any dinner or anything. I eventually convinced him to come in the kitchen and have some banana and applesauce. I made taco soup for dinner, but I didn't want to push him too much if his stomach really was bothering him. We have done that before and ended up with him throwing up at the kitchen table. He didn't have much of an appetite, but he at least ate a little banana, applesauce, and crackers. After dinner, we let him get in the bath and spend time just relaxing and playing in the warm water. I took his temperature a few times that evening, and he never really had a fever, but his temperature was slightly elevated, and especially with how lethargic he was, we decided it was best for him to not come to MOPS with me the next day and just take another day to get feeling better.
MOPS days are always busy, and it made it a little more complicated with Aedan not feeling well. I just took Owen with me to MOPS, and we got there a little early to make sure all the kids' rooms were all set and the workers had everything they needed. I spent most of my evening on Monday making homemade play dough for the classrooms, and it seemed like that was a big hit. MOPS went well that day, and I was able to enjoy being a part of the meeting more than I did last time. We watched a video about friendship and how important it is for you to have friends you can talk about grown woman issues with. Then, we did Speed Friending which definitely takes me out of my comfort zone, but it was good to talk to a lot of moms and get to know some new ones, too. In fact, in talking to Monica, I was interested again in trying to let Aedan play hockey. Her kids were going to do it only on Mondays as well, so I decided I would talk to Ben about it again and see what he thought. Aedan has expressed a lot of interest in wanting to try hockey, but we are not ready for him to be doing it twice a week, and Wednesdays are just too busy with AWANA already. I don't want to add too much to his schedule and make him tired out.
While I was at MOPS, Aedan just hung out with Ben on campus, sitting in the back of his classrooms watching shows on his computer while he taught. It's nice that we have that as an option when we are desperate. It was a little bit difficult dealing with Owen after MOPS that day because he was just so tired from not napping all day, and I was trying to clean up the kids' rooms all by myself, while also trying to watch Owen. I was trying to hurry so that I could get home and get Aedan before Ben had to be back at class. However, there was one point when Owen got away from me for a couple minutes, and he ended up climbing up the stairs onto the stage and pulling a drum on top of himself, getting hurt, and crying. I'm definitely going to need more help from other people to clean up after MOPS because it's too hard to do it all by myself while also trying to wrangle Owen. Plus, on normal days, I have to be done in enough time to get Aedan to preschool on time as well.
Once we got back home, I fed Owen quickly and then tried to get everyone down for a nap. I told Aedan that he would be napping that day because if you stay home sick, that means your body needs extra rest, but he didn't like that idea very much. I got Owen down to sleep and then had to come back upstairs and tell Aedan to stop playing around in his bed and actually try to take a nap. He eventually napped, which was good, and then I ended up having to wake him up when it was time to go pick up Samantha and head to gymnastics. Owen didn't take a good nap that day and woke up crying not long after I got him to sleep. I was able to get him back to sleep after being with him for another half an hour, but it didn't last and he was awake again five minutes later. It was a long morning and and exhausting afternoon.
Here are a couple cute pictures of our Izzy-girl sleeping on the couch that afternoon. If only children could be as easy as dogs. :)
While I was at MOPS, Aedan just hung out with Ben on campus, sitting in the back of his classrooms watching shows on his computer while he taught. It's nice that we have that as an option when we are desperate. It was a little bit difficult dealing with Owen after MOPS that day because he was just so tired from not napping all day, and I was trying to clean up the kids' rooms all by myself, while also trying to watch Owen. I was trying to hurry so that I could get home and get Aedan before Ben had to be back at class. However, there was one point when Owen got away from me for a couple minutes, and he ended up climbing up the stairs onto the stage and pulling a drum on top of himself, getting hurt, and crying. I'm definitely going to need more help from other people to clean up after MOPS because it's too hard to do it all by myself while also trying to wrangle Owen. Plus, on normal days, I have to be done in enough time to get Aedan to preschool on time as well.
Once we got back home, I fed Owen quickly and then tried to get everyone down for a nap. I told Aedan that he would be napping that day because if you stay home sick, that means your body needs extra rest, but he didn't like that idea very much. I got Owen down to sleep and then had to come back upstairs and tell Aedan to stop playing around in his bed and actually try to take a nap. He eventually napped, which was good, and then I ended up having to wake him up when it was time to go pick up Samantha and head to gymnastics. Owen didn't take a good nap that day and woke up crying not long after I got him to sleep. I was able to get him back to sleep after being with him for another half an hour, but it didn't last and he was awake again five minutes later. It was a long morning and and exhausting afternoon.
Here are a couple cute pictures of our Izzy-girl sleeping on the couch that afternoon. If only children could be as easy as dogs. :)
The second week of gymnastics went pretty well, and both the kids were excited to go back. We got right through customs without having to wait, so that helped us get to gymnastics in plenty of time. Here is Samantha doing a starfish jump on this long trampoline.
You can't see it very well in this picture, but Aedan is way in the back in a white shirt crawling through the tunnels.
Here's Aedan doing a backwards fall into the big mat.
And here's Samantha walking across the balance beam in the background. I'm glad that we signed them up for gymnastics. They are learning new skills, gaining confidence in how to move their bodies, gaining strength and muscles, and they are staying active for almost an entire hour with bouncing, bending, balancing, and doing forward rolls, lots of good things that are good for the kids. Even though Owen was tired that afternoon since he didn't have a great nap, I brought the stroller in this time as a way to contain him for a little while and give him a snack. I kept him in the stroller for as long as I could until he started getting antsy, and then I let him get out and walk around for awhile.
Once back home that evening, Ben already had dinner ready for us, so we ate together, talked about our days, and then had time for the kids to play until bedtime. I got Owen to bed early that night since he didn't nap much that day, and I was done with him and coming back upstairs by 7:45. Part of me would love to start putting him to bed this early every night because then I would have more of an evening to myself and wouldn't have as strong of a desire to stay up later than I should so I can get this precious time to myself. I just like to help put the older kids to bed and read them stories and snuggle with them, and if I put Owen to bed early every night, then I would miss out on bedtime with the big kids every night, so it's kind of a trade off, and I don't know what would be better in the end.
Throughout the day on Tuesday, I started to feel like I was coming down with something, so I decided to take it easy on Tuesday evening and just relax and watch some shows. I don't normally sit around so much in the evenings, but it felt good to just relax.
After having a couple of busy mornings in a row and Owen not getting a morning nap, I decided to try and put him down for a nap on Wednesday morning. However, I tried and could not get him to sleep, even after only sleeping 20 minutes all day on Tuesday. I finally just gave up and we went to the library instead. I figured if he wasn't going to sleep, we might as well go do something that Aedan would enjoy. We were a little late for story time, but Aedan still was there for most of it. Then, he was able to make his dinosaur craft and play for awhile. Lately, he has been choosing to build with the little Legos they have there, and he even built a new creation that he wanted to add to the Lego Club display on top of the shelves. Aedan has really been enjoying building new creations with Legos lately. Owen found a blue car that he pushed around the library for quite a long time. It's fun to see how much he likes pushing cars around. The morning really went pretty well, despite the fact that Owen was tired and should have napped. The only bad thing that happened is that Owen has now discovered the steps that are used for the kids to sit on during story time. However, there is nothing preventing kids from falling right over the edge, and Owen just kept going for the stairs over and over again. One time he got away from me, and I didn't notice him getting close to the stairs. He fell down, just on to the top step, luckily, and he cried a little, but not as much as you would think he would have. Going to the library is a little more dangerous now.
We usually leave the library around 11:15 so that we have plenty of time to get back home for a more relaxed lunchtime before taking Aedan to preschool. I was hoping Owen would take a good nap for me that afternoon, and it was better than on Tuesday, but he still only made it 50 minutes, which is not nearly long enough for a 1 year old.
While the big kids were at AWANA on Wednesday night, Ben and I actually got some time to spend with each other. We have Owen, of course, but he is much easier to bring along places since we can push him in a stroller, and he doesn't talk yet. That night, we decided to make a little date night for ourselves. I picked up Pumpkin Spice Lattes from Biggby after dropping the kids off at AWANA, and then picked up Ben and Owen from home. We headed downtown, parked near the locks, and enjoyed just walking around, talking, drinking our coffee, and pushing a tired little Owen in the stroller. It was nice having a little reprieve in the middle of the week to connect and talk and enjoy each other's company.
Even though Owen was super tired and almost falling asleep in the stroller, he still gave me a hard time going to sleep that night. He's just so much different than the other two with sleeping. The difficult thing lately is that he isn't falling asleep nursing at night as much anymore, so I usually just rock him until he falls asleep, but then on Wednesday night he just kept wiggling and hitting me, but when I laid him down, he just screamed and cried. I ended up letting Ben take over once he got back home from picking the big kids up from AWANA. I had just had enough of trying to get him to sleep and failing for one day. However, you know what he did then? He actually slept through the night, not waking up again until about 7:30, and it was SO wonderful. This may have been the fourth or fifth time he has ever slept through the night, and I felt so well-rested the next morning. I know he can do it! I know he can sleep through the night, and I feel like we are getting closer to this being a reality.
Thursday morning was a grocery shopping morning, which the boys don't find too exciting, but our shopping trip went well, and both boys did a good job for me. Then, that afternoon Owen finally took a good afternoon nap, sleeping for about two hours and forty-five minutes. I was so glad he finally napped after a couple days of fighting naps so much.
After talking with Monica at MOPS that week, we decided to sign Aedan up for hockey, so I decided after school on Thursday would be a good time to go to the Pro Shop in the Norris Center to get Aedan the stuff that he needed, and trade in the kids' old skates from two years ago to get some credit towards new skates. In fact, I actually let Samantha get new figure skates so that way she and Aedan can go skating together this winter. I want them to be able to ice skate, especially living in the U.P. where it is such an important part of the culture. It was a little interesting having all three kids in the Pro Shop with me while we were trying to get the kids fitted for skates, but Denny is always helpful and friendly, and we got both kids skates.
Finally, once we got back home, I helped Ben get started on dinner before Michele picked me up at 5:00 to go to the Ladies' Retreat down at Northwoods Christian Camp. It was an overnight fall retreat for women, and even though I couldn't stay overnight since Owen still wakes up to nurse at night, I wanted to spend some of the time there on Thursday night and Friday during the day. I decided to stay past bedtime on Thursday night because there was a speaker followed by snacks and movie time. They were going to watch "War Room," which I had never seen before, and honestly, I wanted to see how Owen would do taking a bottle again and being put to bed by someone else. We hadn't tried to use a bottle or have someone else put him to bed since we were in Chicago over Memorial Day and Ben and I went to the Cubs game. I felt guilty leaving Ben to deal with taking all the kids to Big Bear to pick up Aedan's hockey gear, as well as give them all baths and put them to bed by himself, but he told me to stop feeling bad and to enjoy myself. Owen only drank 1.5 ounces and wasn't too happy about taking a bottle, but Ben was able to get him to sleep, so that was a relief. Owen woke up the first time Ben laid him down, but after that he was good and there was no more crying. It was definitely nice to have a break. I don't even remember the last time I just sat and watched a movie and relaxed without having to stop and do something else. The movie was really challenging regarding the power of prayer, especially praying for your spouse. I know that my faith is weak in the area of prayer; however, I do feel like it has been strengthened over the past few months. I didn't leave the camp until after 11:00, and still had to drive the forty minutes home. Then, I pumped, since I hadn't nursed Owen in awhile, and went to bed myself. I was worried that Owen might wake up more since he didn't nurse with me like normal before bed, but he only woke up once about 4:00, just like he has been doing lately. I was glad that the evening went well with the kids, and that I was able to be out of the house doing something on my own, for myself, for a little while.
Friday morning I ended up sleeping in until almost 8:00 when Owen woke up. I said good-bye to Samantha and then got ready to go back down to the camp for more of the women's retreat. I borrowed Linda's car so that I could drive back and forth. Friday was a pretty laid back day with a couple sessions, a walk around the lake, breakfast, lunch, and dinner provided for us, a pumpkin craft, and then a spa day in the afternoon. I stayed through dinner and then decided to head back home so that I could be there to put Owen to bed that night. I didn't want to put him through too much, and to be honest, I was ready to be away from people. Sometimes my introverted personality has trouble with stuff like that. However, the theme of the retreat was all about living with purpose, and it was good for me to think about what my purpose is, how I need to be seeking that answer from God, and how my purpose may change depending on what I am going through in my life.
Ben had a decent day with the kids. Owen took a twenty minute nap that morning, and an hour and fifteen minutes that afternoon. Other than that, the boys ran a couple errands, but largely just played at home.
After I was gone for all of Friday, we really didn't have any plans for Saturday. We have definitely been taking it easy on Saturdays since school has started. It's fun to just have time to play and hang out and not be rushing around or leaving the house to go do something.
As I was doing Samantha's hair that morning, Owen was very interested in all her headbands, so we put one on his head, and he loved it.
That Saturday evening, Samantha was invited to a pool party birthday party for a boy in her class who has trouble making friends and participating in social situations. She was excited about going, but we decided we would allow Aedan to go as well. Since Owen was still sleeping when the party started, Ben decided to take the big kids while I stayed home with Owen. Samantha and Aedan had a blast swimming, playing frisbee, and eating cake. Samantha picked out a Star Wars book for him for his present, and he was really excited about it, getting it out to look at and read right away. I was glad they were able to go together and get some exercise swimming around the pool. Samantha loves it when she's invited to birthday parties. She was excited all day about going to the party, and nothing is better than having a party and swimming in one evening.
(Blog about September 23-29, 2018)
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