Author Archives: reba

Our newly designed blog

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It’s official. Zeke has made it 16 full days without any accidents. On 8/20, he simply decided to be potty trained and hasn’t looked back since.

In fact, Zeke has awakened every morning since my birthday on 8/30 with a dry pull-up. I wasn’t even going to tackle nighttime wetting till we got this whole daytime thing under control, but Zeke had a different plan.

Consequently, he has been wearing undies on outings and going swim diaper-less on wet playdates. Another by-product of Zeke’s accomplishments is finally earning that carrot we’ve been dangling in front of him for nearly a year now: a bike with training wheels.

The whole clan went shopping for it yesterday, but the store didn’t have the one we wanted in Zeke’s size. He was cool about the delay — I guess he figures he has waited this long, what’s a few more days — and Stephen plans on buying the reward this weekend.

Cousin Kara & Houston on the 16th-century replica English ship, the Elizabeth II, during our Outer Banks vacation in July. (Click to see Roanoke Island – Part 1 pics.)

Zeke, who can be mean as a snake sometimes, exhibited some genuine empathy recently during a nighttime prayer, saying that he wanted to ask God to help Gabriel be potty-trained so he can get a bike, too. It was very touching.

Interestingly, it was Gabriel who began the accident-less trend a day before Zeke and continued on for a few days, but then suddenly regressed. He up and unapologetically pooped when in pull-ups, peed on the floor while au natural and even took a dump in the living room.

But considering that immediately following the latter mishap, we found Gabe in the bathroom, attempting to wash the dooky off of his hands, I think it’s safe to say he knew he had done wrong and needed to try to make things right. Poor thing.

It was a back-and-forth struggle for Gabe, having accident-free spurts mixed with days of pooping-in-pull-up abandon. That is, until my birthday, when he decided to finally take a cue from his twin bro and give potty-training a genuine try.

Yep, our other reluctant potty-trainer hasn’t had an accident since then, so today makes six days for Gabriel. I’m getting him to wear pull-ups on outings for a few more days before making the switch to undies, but I do believe that G-man is on his way!

Gabriel checks out the nautical knots below deck on the English merchant vessel.

My birthday also provided another monumental gift: Houston saying, “Mommy, you’re always right.” Of course, this proceeded me warning him not to climb on the slippery equipment while we were at the spray-ground with Christie and crew, and him ignoring my instructions, ergo hurting his private parts.

Other than Houston’s minor injury, my 41st birthday was lovely. The 3 Amigos exhibited good behavior all around — something of a rarity these days for the twins — and Jessie and the boys surprised me with a yummy homemade cake.

“Double trouble” have earned their moniker being quite consistently disrespectful, whiney, disobedient, rude and unmannerly for a few weeks now. Like when the two of them sprayed Glade all over the bathroom, to the point that the sink and floor were drenched with air freshener.

This is a minor example, but it exemplifies their general mischief while they’re supposed to be doing an easy, everyday job, like washing their hands or eating a meal. This makes it all the more frustrating because these are simple things; they know how to do the tasks, so why not just do them properly and make life easier and happier for everyone?

Although Gabe and Zeke are normally great on outings, they chose our Classical Conversations orientation on 8/28 to have meltdowns. Luckily, it wasn’t until the last five minutes of our two-hour gathering, but it was in Houston’s class, in front of his CC tutor and his new classmates and their moms and siblings.

Zeke gets as low as he can go to ring the bell on deck the Elizabeth II.

Moreover, these are homeschoolers we’re talking about, so most of these kids are extremely well-behaved; hence, the twins’ antics stood out more than they usually would. Plus, our CC community meets in a church that is extremely echoey, so the whole pointless exercise was dramatically sucky.

Houston, however, gets major kudos for holding it together at the CC event. Not only were his bros exhibiting horrible behavior, but his best bud, Asher, was also leaning toward the naughty side. Way to go for not caving into the intense peer pressure, Houston!

Luckily, the twins were able to redeem themselves this morning at the first CC community weekly meeting of the 2012-2013 homeschool year. Although, they are in the Little Learners nursery, while Houston and I attended his Abecedarian class with six other (all-boy) students, their moms and the tutor, Ms. Murphy.

I can’t believe we’re officially homeschooling Houston as of today! I will write more on all that later, as I have to wrap up this blog of older info and then need to prepare for tomorrow’s CC, phonics and math lessons: the first at-home kindergarten class for Houston, while brothers (hopefully) play merrily, yet quietly in the living room.

Sure, it’s going to be a challenge, but others make it work by taking it one day at a time. Case in point: Ms. Murphy is a single mom of four homeschooled boys. Can you believe it? She and the other veteran homeschoolers are such inspirations. They’re just normal folks who have a passion educating their kids and know God will equip them for the journey.

Gabriel leaves his mark while checking out one of the tents in the English Settlement Site. (Click to see Roanoke Island – Part 2 pics.)

Another inspirational story: While shopping a few weeks back, I struck up a conversation with a man on the pull-ups aisle. “You’d think after three kids, I’d know how to price these things,” I said with coupons and calculator in hand.

“I still can’t and I have six kids,” he replied, adding that his three boys and three girls range in age from 3 to 21. “Anyone who says it’ll get easier is lying,” he continued with a chuckle, as two of his young daughters frolicked about.

He left as I did my price-by-the-unit math, but returned. “Back so soon?” I asked.

“Yeah, I’m tired, man,” he said with a half-hearted sigh, picking up the forgotten item. “Well, next time I’m complaining about being tired, I’ll be sure to think of you,” I said. Amen to a little perspective, right?!

On 8/19, the 3 Amigos attended the church sermon, since their Sunday school teachers had the day off. They actually did surprisingly well. This vacation for staff was in preparation for Promotion Day, which took place the following Sunday on 8/26.

Gabriel and Zeke’s new room is about the same as their previous pre-school class, but Houston’s kindergarten class is drastically different. The Elementary Ministry focuses on Bible stories and how they relate to the kids’ lives, scripture memorization, and building rapport with their small group leaders.

Gabe, Kara & Houston battle it out New World-style.

I wasn’t sure how Houston would handle the more mature class setting — especially since his new room has no toys and the older kids gets no outdoor play — but he is enjoying it. “I can’t wait to go to my new class on Sunday,” he said excitedly before last weekend’s trek to church. So far, so good.

Houston is also involved in t-ball again. This was Daddy’s doing, as I didn’t want to bite off more than I could chew this fall with additional activities on top of kicking off official kindergarten homeschooling.

It has been a great opportunity for Houston and Daddy to spend some quality time together, and Stephen loves the sport to boot. There has only been a meet-and-greet and two practices, but Houston and his Oriole teammates have their first game this Saturday.

Our Labor Day started out a bit rough with Houston’s 5 a.m. nosebleed. Man, was it a gusher. He hasn’t had one in a while, so Stephen and I were out of practice with what to do, but Granny set us straight and we stopped the bleeding pretty quickly.

Before our history adventure on Roanoke Island, we enjoyed a seafood feast @ Stripers in Manteo.

Then after shopping for Houston’s school supplies and Zeke’s bike, we headed over to Christie and Logan’s for a cookout and good conversation. We had a wonderful time with our newest awesome friends and, of course, our six wild children had a blast getting muddy in the back yard.Some other fun items from late August:

  • I took the boys to see The Adventures of Tin Tin for the last film of the free-kids-movies summer series.
  • We made our first visit to the aforementioned spray-ground with Christie, Beth and the kids. It’s a beautiful, new facility and is only 15 minutes from home.
  • Daddy, the kids and I attended Dixie’s 6th birthday party. It was a nice afternoon of neighborly fun.
  • Daddy took the BB gun shooting in the back yard. Houston actually hit a can and the BB made its way clear through the can and out the other side.

Lastly, as many of you know, losers hacked both this site and gallery and used it for nefarious purposes, namely sending out unsolicited bulk email. Stephen “the computer super star” worked all day for two days last weekend to fix the problems. Not only did he clean up the code and upgrade our plugins and software, but he managed to protect all past blogs and photos, as well as beautify the site.

But if things look a little off or don’t work exactly right, please be patient with us and our growing pains. And in the meantime, let’s all give a hardy shout out to Stephen: THANKS A MILLION, BABY!

Coughing & hacking

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That has been the story lately, but more so me and less of the boys. In fact, I finally got Gabriel and Zeke’s cough-variant asthma under control, although it took many sleepless nights and a few pre-6 a.m. starts of our days.

Conversely, I have been hacking for nearly two weeks with no signs of improving. Admittedly, I had been taking an array of different meds, since I wasn’t sure if my sickness is due to allergies or a cold.

Really, my only symptoms are a constant cough, occasionally feeling achy, and fatigue, yet I’ve remained fever-less and with hardy appetite, so I’m leaning toward allergies. I’m now taking an expectorant to make my cough more productive, along with with some allergy meds, so I hope to knock this thing out asap.

Gabriel, Houston & Kara love swimming in the Albemarle Sound during our family vacation in mid-July.

Interestingly, Houston hasn’t had a cough, so I was also unsure of the root of his recent sickness. His only symptoms had been a sore throat and a major runny nose — which prompted him to quite dramatically act as if the world were coming to an end– that is, until Thursday morning.

Yes, Houston’s aforementioned symptoms has stopped by then, thankfully. But that poor child woke up with such red, puffy skin on his upper face that he could barely open his eyes. He didn’t have any goop or crust in or around his eyes; he was just a swollen mess.

I tackled what was obviously a flair up of Houston’s seasonal allergies with an ice-cold facial compress, antihistamine eye drops and other allergy meds. He’s doing much better now, as are the twins. Hopefully, I will be on the road to recovery soon, as well.

Health beyond allergies 

It’s amazing how brave the kids are during doctor visits. On Monday, the twins had to get two vaccines each. Sure, they cried, but got over in about 20 seconds.

Then on Thursday, the 3 Amigos had a dental appointment. Houston, who used to abhor going to the dentist, politely requested that I not hang out with him during his cleaning. And while Gabe and Zeke still needed me nearby, they didn’t want to be held or coddled. Instead, they just relaxed and did as the dental professionals asked.

Zeke goes Hulk on Cousin David while frolicking @ “the calm beach.”

Speaking of teeth, Houston finally lost his tooth on Thursday, although this monumental occurrence happened during his nighttime brushing and said tooth plopped perfectly in the drain. Despite my best efforts, the tooth moved further down the hole. Fortunately, Stephen was able to disassemble the piping and rescue the incisor the sink abyss. Thanks, Daddy!

A giddy Houston put his first lost tooth in the tooth fairy pillow Granny bought him and awoke this morning to a dollar bill in the pocket. It sure pays a lot more to lose baby teeth in the 21st century than it did when I was a kid.

Last Tuesday, I met with my orthopedic specialist, Nikki. Since my last appointment, my mobility has improved and my pain has decreased. So, she modified my stretching regimen and assigned me strength-training exercises, and I plan on following her directives to a T. Here’s to getting limber, strong and healthy!

Being naked really works

Well, potty training in July ended with lots of poop in pants and even an explosive Gabriel dooky that got all over the couch. (Sigh.) Yet, in the face of such rebellious acts, I opted to give the twins the Thomas spin-brushes I had purchased for them months ago.

Yes, they were often using their pull-ups like diapers, but they were also going solo sometimes. Plus, I thought that the positivity of a reward might do them some good, since I tend to get bummed out when they have accidents caused by indolence and/or indifference.

Then last week, the brilliant Miss Christie told me about naked potty training. She used the method with both her sons, and the thinking is that if a kid has nothing on down south, he will resist soiling himself.

Houston & Kara teach Black Beard a lesson during a shopping outing.

On one hand, I thought, “I’m not sure if Gabe and Zeke would even care if poop or pee were dripping down their legs.” But on the other hand, I considered, “I’ve attempted every other potty-training method known to man, so why not give this one a shot?!”

Granny and Grumps visited last weekend, so we gave the naked thing a whirl starting on Saturday morning. Amazingly, it worked! The only accidents that have occurred since then are when the boys are in pull-ups or undies for sleeping, outdoor play or jaunts away from home.

This has totaled one accident per day per child, with the exception of Zeke’s no-accidents day yesterday. The dudes have been doing such a fantastic job that they have earned back their motorized trains and being able to watch Thomas & Friends on Netflix.

Once we run out of our pull-ups stash, the plan was to use prefold cloth diapers and Thirsties covers, which Christie lent us, for nighttime and around-town use. This would not only save us money, but would also help motivate the boys to stay dry and clean, since prefolds aren’t near as wicking as disposable pull-ups.

However, I may be reconsidering this. First, I tried out the prefolds during our trip to the dentist, and both Gabe and Zeke drenched his (seemingly) without any hesitation or regret. It just didn’t seem the phase either one of them.

Moreover, this morning began with sweet music to my ears: “Mommy, I went doo-doo in the potty,” Zeke joyfully said. And indeed he had done so totally independent of me. Therefore, my concern is that he may not have been able to accomplish this feat if he had been wearing a cloth diaper and cover ’cause he probably wouldn’t have been able to get it all off by himself.

Zeke poses w/ “girlfriend” Lorna, who he admittedly plans to steal from David.

Plus, Zeke awoke with a dry pull-up yesterday, and Gabe’s have been virtually dry for the past two mornings. As of now, I’m unsure if I want to hinder them being able to deal with their first potty of the day solo. Any advice?

It’s not all poop & pee

Even though potty training is a drag, we’ve still managed to have some good times this past week, most notably, a playdate at our house with Beth and Christie and the kids. It was quite wild with three adults and eight kids in our small casa, but it turned out to be great fun for everyone.

On Monday, Houston’s harvester ants (for the ant farm Daddy and I gave him for his birthday) finally arrived. Getting all the ants in their new habitat was pretty hairy, but Miss Jessie and I pulled it off. Houston adores his new critters, tends to them carefully, and takes them to bed with him every night.

Last week, we had another pool date with Christie and her crew. Yet again, the 3 Amigos’ skills improved vastly from our last time in the water. I wouldn’t be surprised if Houston is actually swimming soon. The twins still have a ways to go, but it shouldn’t be too long till they’re right there with big bro.

And then today, the boys attended Maddie’s Tae Kwon Do birthday party. And then Houston took a dip in Alyssa’s new above-ground swimming pool for the first time.

Multimedia entertainment

In late July, Stephen and I decided to give Houston back the privilege of playing video games. He is allowed to play online educational or super-hero games for short sessions throughout the week, but he can only play on the weekends with Daddy and for closely monitored periods of time, as well.

Having to watch the clock like a hawk is a pain, but we don’t want him vegging out in front of a screen for any significant amount of time. (Our rule is no more than two hours max of TV and/or video games a day, with the goal being much less.)

“Go ahead, make my day,” says a gun-toting Gabriel during a fire fight w/ bros.

Some research shows that playing video games activates dopamine, a chemical in the brain that supposedly makes kids want to keep playing games nonstop. I’m usually distrustful of child-centered research and overzealous safety information (’cause it often plays on emotion and not science or logic).

But I must admit that Houston can get a tad bonkers when asked to turn off his games — hence, the original hiatus. However, I think our new very limited and strict approach is working. My proof? “Hey, I’ll let you play Marvel Kids for a little bit after lunch,” I told Houston recently, to which he replied, “That’s okay. I think I’ve played enough lately.” Let’s hear it for self-control!

Wednesday night, the boys and I finally finished The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe. What an incredible read. Since then, we have watched the movie twice, debating whether the book or film is better, and continue to discuss the heavy themes in the classic.

One of my favorite lines, which is quite apropos to critiquing today’s political and cultural climate, is when C.S. Lewis describes how Peter, Edmund, Susan and Lucy reigned in Narnia, after the great Aslan crowned them kings and queens:

“And they made good laws and kept the peace … and generally stopped busybodies and interferers and encouraged ordinary people who wanted to live and let live.”

Click the top photo to see all “Sound Swimming” pics and the above shot to view all “Chilling” photos from vacation. Lots more OBX pics are forthcoming.

Dog days are doggone

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The definition of dog days means “a period marked my lethargy, inactivity.” But our late July and August have been anything but.

Vacation Bible School 

The kids attended VBS from 7/23-7/26. Everyday from 9 a.m. to noon, the boys had a blast exploring the VBS theme, Babylon: Daniel’s Courage In Captivity.

While they were busy making new friends, and participating in lessons, games, crafts, songs and dances, I took advantage of the free time to run errands, make necessary phone calls and appointments, start reading a new book, treat myself to robust coffee at Starbucks, and even visit Auntie Merdy and baby Rorie.

We bought a CD of all the celebration music learned during VBS and began listening to it nonstop when we got it later that week. The 3 Amigos were (and still are) really into it, belting out all the lyrics and dancing the moves that accompany each song. Very cute!

Houston’s first fishing experience catching freshwater trout in the mountains w/ cousins Terri & Patrick in late June. (Click to see all June pics.)

That Friday night, our church hosted a Hotdog Family Supper. This was, of course, less about food and more about observing the Biblical instructions learned, and the awesome efforts of the 500+ kids who participated in VBS and all the volunteers who made the successful week possible.

Stephen and I separated and took turns hanging with each boy’s class as they went from activity to activity, moving about our large church at quick pace. This took some maneuvering, considering that Gabriel and Zeke were in different tribes — a great experience for them, but a challenge for the parents of twins plus one.

That Sunday, all the VBS kids performed two of their songs on stage before both sermons. We couldn’t see Houston, who was in the back, but Gabe and Zeke were front row, unabashedly dancing and singing their hearts out in front of a congregation of a few thousand.

My hip & everyone’s hacking

In late July, I had a session with a new orthopedic specialist, Nikki. I had been experiencing more pain than normal since my last physical therapy with my former specialist a couple months ago. My mobility and strength had drastically improved after my first session with him, but then plummeted after the second.

Zeke goes all out Boba Fett during a Moms Club outing in early June.

Nikki did a battery of tests, but didn’t do any major manipulation of my body like the previous specialist had done. Instead, she took a more mathematic and pragmatic approach, measuring my abilities (or lack thereof) during particular stretches.

Well, my diagnosis is the same: stressed my left hip during my first childbirth > exacerbated it over the years > it never had a chance to recover, so my right side overcompensated and my left side became increasingly clenched > it spread from hip to lower back to right thigh and into a debilitating problem.

However, my treatment and recovery is different. Nikki assigned me three new, easy stretches that have to be done in twice-daily sessions. The routine will alleviate the pain, making it more intermittent. Thankfully, this has been the case over the past week.

But she was also confident that I would be CURED of my ailments within six weeks, as long as I stay diligent in my routine. I pray the good therapist is right. So far, so good. Thanks, Nikki!

Houston devours Jessie’s solar system cake & the twins munch ice cream, while grill-master Daddy takes a load off, during Houston’s 5th birthday party.

At their last appointment in the spring, the twins’ asthma specialist had advised that I start them back on their meds in August. The hope is that they’ll need to do the antihistamine pill and puffer for just one more season, which regrettably runs from late summer to late spring for their condition (cough-variant asthma).

Considering that Zeke’s dry, unproductive cough came back with a vengeance even earlier than expected and Gabe’s arrived right on time, I’m not quite as optimistic as the doc that they’ll grow out of CVA as soon as she had thought.

It’s an annoying, restless nighttime cough that has caused some major disruptions to our already fragile sleep cycle. But now that the meds have finally seeped into their little systems, our collective states of slumber — which have been in peril for about a week now — are a bit more gratifying with each passing night.

Unfortunately, I’ve had a yucky cough for a few days, as well, and Houston’s been complaining of a soar throat. I’m pretty sure it’s all seasonal-allergy related, but that still doesn’t make it any more pleasant when dealing with whining kids or even my own phlegm.

Houston & Asher — another version of “double trouble” — take turns jet-spraying guests @ the party. (Click to see all birthday pics.)

Swimming & hiking

On 8/3, Zeke finally got his one-on-one with Daddy from a diamond contest he won months ago. He chose to go swimming at the Y, and both Stephens (Beeler and Ezekiel) reportedly had a wonderful time.

The day before, the boys and I went swimming with Christie and her posse. The kids played well, freeing me up to enjoy some adult chitchat. And the dudes showed great confidence and improvement with their aquatic skills, namely kicking, attempting strokes, submerging themselves, and just being comfortable in the water.

On recent boys-only outings, Daddy took the crew hiking; to the NSC to see a mummy exhibit (although it was an extra fee, so they ended up not seeing the preserved bodies); shopping to spend Houston’s remaining birthday money; and twice to Chick-fil-A.

Homeschool prep

On 8/7, Stephen, Christie and I attended a Classical Conversations orientation at the home of our community director, Jen. It wasn’t anything groundbreaking, just more an opportunity for everyone to get together and for us newbies to hear the encouraging words of a few seasoned homeschoolers.

Jen also mapped out what the weekly community tutorials will entail for students and some of the fun things planned for CC families this fall. Can’t believe summer’s nearly over and school is almost here!

Gabriel, as with most things, is very serious about his gun-fighting skills.

Peeve of the day

Every time I go to a store, I get asked during checkout to make a donation to help local kids buy school supplies. Isn’t that what my property taxes are for … to fund government education?

This altruistic-pushing practice is especially maddening during shopping trips when I’m crunching numbers, budgeting monies and deciding what to buy and what to hold off on for my own kids’ education. I mean, if you want to do it “for the children,” do it.

But putting the onus on consumers as some of us are coupon-cutting and trying to keep our heads above water during this economic malaise is just irritating. I believe in voluntary charity, but this is do-gooderism sleight of hand. Thanks, but no thanks.

And if you really want to help the kids, let the money follow the student, and let parents choose the schools that he or she attends, whether that be public or private. Furthermore, I’ll take a tax deduction for homeschooling expenses while you’re at it.