Category Archives: Health

Ketchup

Posted on by
1

I’m not only playing catch-up with photos (obviously), but I’ve also found myself falling behind with keeping the blog up to date. Here are some recent happenings, along with a few older items to boot.

The vine that ate the South

As some of you know, I’ve been battling kudzu on our wooded property for years. I finally had to call in an expert in late February. The landscaper and his crew spent two days creating a buffer between Liberty Loop and the evil weed (which can grow up to a foot a day) still residing in my neighbor’s yard.

The landscaper clear-cut all the dead trees and dormant kudzu, and dug up and sprayed as much of the root system as possible to create a clearing. The thinking is that this buffer, which the kids named “the mountain,” will stop the spread of the vining vegetation.

I still must remain vigilant, keeping an eye out for any attempt at encroachment. But with my newly sharpened machete (thanks, Mr. Milt), my hardcore weedkiller and my keen kudzu-spotting kids, I am hopeful that we will eradicate (or at least, control) the evil plant.

It takes true grit & teamwork to get the easel box open. (Click to view “Christmas – Part 1” pics.) 

Now if I could just get rid of those darn moles — which are a protected species in my wacko state — that are infesting much of our subterranean lawn for the second year, my yard-improvement progress would be even more appreciable.

Who says child labor is bad?!? 

Wth all this work to be done, I am teaching the boys how to be good little yard-workers themselves. In early March, they assisted me in demolishing the old rip-rap-bordered sandbox and building our new “sand egg”: a much larger construction, which is oval and surrounded by vinyl landscape edging.

Since then, the dudes have helped me plant two fruit trees, and weed and mulch our berms, beds and gardens. And being the fans of water that they are, the 3 Amigos also enjoy using the huge watering can to soak our thirsty plants.

“The home is the ultimate education lab.”

This comes from a book I’m reading by Terrie Lynn Bittner, Homeschooling: Take a Deep Breath — You Can Do This! And like the above lessons in horticulture, everyday life is brimming learning opportunities.

Miss Jessie and I find these sentiments ring true with pre-schooling. Here are some things the boys have been working on:

  • Ocean-them week — Learned about the seven seas and many of the critters that inhabit the water through books, art and games. Jessie also brought over “Finding Nemo,” which enthralled the dudes and evoked many pressing inquiries. We tied up the week by feasting on fish at Libby Hill, the kids’ favorite seafood restaurant.
  • St. Patrick — Learned about the Apostle of Ireland, pressed shamrocks, went on a leprechaun treasure hunt and ate green pancakes.
  • Ireland — The agenda for our coming is week is more about the Emerald Isle: history overview, early Christianity there, the Great Potato Famine, cooking Irish Meat Pie, etc.
  • Vikings — We will also introduce the kids to these Norse warriors through their time spent in Ireland and will continue with that theme the following week.
  • Pirates — Since vikings are infamous for their acts of robbery and criminal violence at sea, I thought that would tie in nicely with a much-overdue lesson on pirates, which is one of the boys’ main obsession these days.

Zeke, one of our resident train aficionados, is in choo-choo heaven. (Click to view Part 2).

Sunday school

Our church has outstanding children’s programming and the 3 Amigos truly enjoy their classes. But for whatever reason, kids are sometimes aloof about discussing what they learned in school.

However, Zeke bolted from his room last weekend and eagerly asked, “Hey Mommy, you want to know what I learned in class? I am not ashamed of the Gospel!” He was so proud of himself and his succinct recitation of the lesson. And as a mom, it was wonderful to see my child’s enthusiasm for learning about the Bible.

Español

On 3/8, I attended the open house for a Spanish-immersion magnet school. Although, it seems like a phenomenal public school, I’ve decided not to sign up Houston for their kindergarten lottery.

Instead, we will work on Spanish at the home front, weaving the language into the kids’ lessons and conversations whenever possible — something Miss Jessie, Stephen and I are already doing. Eventually, Stephen wants to implement a Spanish-only day, in which no English is spoken during the allotted time.

Amigo merriment

Here are some fun things the boys have been up to lately:

  • The kids love to dance, especially to the current pop song, “Move Like Jagger” by Maroon 5. Zeke is particularly gifted at boogying. It is hysterical watching him shake his stuff just like the Rolling Stones frontman … very groovy indeed!
  • On 2/23, we attended two play dates. In the morning was interactive-sports activities hosted by Moms Club. Then in the afternoon, we met Miss Christie, Asher, Jackson and Piper at McDonald’s for eats and Play Land fun.
  • Dina, Kara and Meredith visited the weekend of 2/24-2/26. As always, we had a blast with our Virginia brethren.
  • Gabriel finally got his pool date with Daddy on 3/2. (This was for the second diamond competition.) Stephen said it was a blast and looks forward to his next one-on-one outing with Houston, and then the with Zeke, who just won the most recent round.
  • On Thursday, Houston went to Alyssa’s for a “game date” — a new reward opportunity that treats Houston to an hour of Wii video gaming at her house. This helps limit his video game requests for at-home play and serves as a powerful leveraging tool for motivating good behavior.
  • On Saturday, the family attended a reenactment of the Battle of Guilford Courthouse. The boys we enamored with all the different types of soldiers, the cavalry, the wartime musicians, and of course, the weapons and artillery at the 231st anniversary of the dramatic Revolutionary War struggle.

The boys check out the globe — one of the two gifts Houston requested from Santa.

Soccer studs

We signed the 3 Amigos up for soccer. This is Houston’s third sport and the twins’ first! The Y league is for 3-4 year olds and the dudes are all on the same team. (We didn’t want to have to attend three separate practices and games.) We met their coaches last weekend and then their first practice was Friday.

The players were broken into two groups: Houston and Zeke trained with Coach Nellie and Gabriel was with Coach Tiffianie. I think splitting them up whenever possible will be a healthy thing for the boys.

Daddy, who watched the whole practice while I took off to get some exercise on the recumbent bike, said they did fantastic following instructions and delighted in all the kicking and running. I caught the first few minutes and it was simply too cute!

Merriment for Mommy & Daddy

On 3/8, our pastor’s wife, Donna, invited the woman from our Families On the Grow class to her house for eats and conversation. It was nice to get to hang out with some of these ladies outside of Sunday school, and it was lovely to get to know Donna.

Stephen happened to return from a biz trip that night , so I met him out for a bite to eat en route home, since Miss Jessie was already babysitting the kids.

Then the next morning, we continued the kid-free theme with a jaunt to the gun club. This outing was actually my idea. Who says “date nights” have to entail romance and darkness? I can’t think of anything much more enjoyable than heading to the great outdoors with your hubby to tear off a few rounds for target practice and stress relief with? It was incredible fun!

Mommy milestones

  • February 21 marks the day that I completed my first entire book since becoming a mom. (Having the opportunity to read uninterrupted and without distraction is definitely one of the perks of riding the recumbent bike at the Y.) Sure, I’ve started a few tomes over the years, but haven’t made it cover to cover in a long, long time. Sadly, this was a huge deal for me!
  • Then on 3/1, I took my first shower while the boys were awake and I was the solo caregiver. (If you can’t use TV for that, then it ain’t worth having.) It actually went fine: nobody got into the kitchen knives, opened the door to a stranger or burned the house down. And it proved that the dudes are indeed growing up and can take care of themselves when need be. How liberating!

Gabriel & Houston open yet another Christmas present.

Small world

  • During one of my recent visits to the local CC communities, I ran into the midwife who tended to the latter stages of my agonizing 32-hour labor and delivery with Houston. Turns out that the person who brought my first beautiful baby boy into this world now homeschools her kids and uses the method we’ll begin using in the fall.
  • It also turns out that one of Stephen’s co-workers has twins and his wife had a difficult pregnancy, which required a high-tech operation. But beyond that similarity, they also went to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, where the very same surgeon who saved Gabriel and Zeke also did their prenatal surgery.

Zeke’s lungs & Houston’s eyes

Speaking of fancy operations, I emailed Dr. Petty, the surgeon who performed Zeke’s lobectomy to remove his CCAM back in June ’09. I inquired as to whether Zeke’s “yucky” might reside in a jar somewhere on the campus of Wake Forest School and if we could possibly come sneak a peek at it. He said after the pathologists made slides for studying it under a microscope, the actual mass was incinerated.

However, the good doctor was kind enough to send me some links in hopes that they’d “hit the ‘gross out factor’ the boys are looking for.” I haven’t showed the images to the kids yet, but click here if you wanna check out what a “yucky” looks like. If that’s intriguing to you, here is another one. I’m sure the 3 Amigos will find these disturbingly cool.

The drops we were using to treat Houston’s bloodshot eyes weren’t helping. On 3/15, I finally took him to Dr. Gay, who diagnosed him with pink eye. She said symptoms of the virus aren’t always goopy and/or crusty eyes, which is what I had been looking out for and why I hadn’t taken Houston to the doc sooner. Anyway, his new Rx seems to be doing the trick.

Turning the proverbial poopy corner

Posted on by
1

However protracted the journey has been, we have come a long way from the twins sticking their hands into a dirty diaper to investigate their doo-doo status.

Or the boys trying hard to convince me that they still need to go potty, even though a big poop was already residing in their undies. Man, has it been a messy ride!

Gabriel gets fashionably festive for cookie decorating @ Matthew & Jonathan’s house.

As of now, the dudes wear undies all the time (around the house and yard, on every adventure and outing, and even on road trips). Accidents are still semi-commonplace, but seem a little less frequent with each passing day.

Gabriel and Zeke mostly have the peeing thing under control. In fact, they just recently began peeing in the potty without any assistance, and they are amazingly adept and hygienic about the whole process.

I attribute these good mechanics to the fact that Gabe and Zeke have been going solo in the backyard for a while now. Once they mastered the downhill rule, all that remained was target practice: aiming at blades of grass, leaves, tree trunks and the like.

Bowel movements are bit more elusive. Luckily, most of their poopy accidents occur while in diapers, which they only wear during nap time and to bed at night. My theory is that they make the conscious decision to hold it and hold out for diapers.

Fortunately, the twins can physically control the urge, yet they opt for the ease and convenience of soiling a diaper and letting mommy change it. I know they will eventually outgrow this indolent habit. Plus, it’s better for me than dirty undies and the nasty cleanup that follows. Buy hey, progress is progress.

Houston breaks in the new easel — the boys’ main Christmas gift from Mommy & Daddy.

In other health news

On 2/10, the twins had their first head-to-toe wellness check with our new pediatrician, Dr. Gay. Gabe came in at 39 pounds heavy and 39 inches tall, while Zeke is just a tad lighter and shorter — odd since Zeke typically has the hardier appetite.

To my surprise, the boys were much farther behind on their vaccinations than I had thought or hoped, and they each had to get three shots. For a couple days thereafter, Zeke had a fever, which is a normal yet unfortunate reaction for some kids. But good news is, the twins are finally up to date with their vaccination schedules.

Dr. Gay also found a small amount of fluid in Zeke’s ears. It wasn’t enough to warrant antibiotics, so she advised me to give him Claritin for a few weeks. At his check-up yesterday, one ear was clear and the other had a few droplets. The doc said to continue with the meds throughout the spring, which is a good idea considering our family’s history with seasonal allergies. I have already been giving Houston Claritin for a while now due to his increasing allergy symptoms.

Houston & Zeke do their best @ following Twister’s rules.

And then some time last week, Houston’s left eye became persistently bloodshot, so we’ve been giving him eye drops to boot — a regrettable course of action since he detests anything eye related. But just yesteray, Houston decided he would rather be brave and have the trauma be brief, than kick and scream and have the experience drag on and on.

So out of the blue, Houston accomplished a Herculean feat all on his own. I mean, I had accepted the exhausting ritual just ’cause a mom’s gotta do what a mom’s gotta do. So thanks, Houston, for being such a mature boy!

Speaking of growing up, I attempted the triple-threat endeavor of taking the 3 Amigos to the dentist all by myself on 3/1. Unlike less volatile and fear-inducing visits to other docs, going to the dentist has always been an parental exercise in patience, compassion and safety in numbers.

None of my go-to folks could accompany me, so I mentally prepared for the worst and forged ahead. But to my great surprise, the dudes were casual, as if getting a dental cleaning was no big deal. They were calm and care free, friendly and fearless. Boy, have they come a long way!

Gabriel helps Salty, the dockside diesel, chuff down the track.

I got a free orthopedic screening at the Y on 2/15. The physical therapist diagnosed me with “quadratus lumborum tightness” and a “hip flexor strain,” which are conditions stemming from my 32-hour labor and delivery with Houston. My pelvis area and the surrounding tendons on the left side of my body have never felt right since then.

Over the years, this has spread to my hip, lower back, outer thigh and even my shoulder — pain felt only on the left side of my body. That’s the reason I’ve taken a hiatus from swimming. Can’t really do freestyle or backstroke without a working shoulder. Major bummer.

So, the therapist taught me how to do some core-strengthening stretches, which truly have improved things. Wanting still greater mobility and certainly less pain, I plan on visiting the good therapist so he can help work out my kinks even more effectively.

Bob (the cat) is cashing in on her nine lives. See, I was seriously considering putting her down a while back. Her physique was gaunt and her personality was manic. Bob has always been a weirdo, even for feline standards, but she seemed quite unhealthy.

Not a hard sell for the biggest sweet tooth in the bunch, Zeke was thrilled w/ his belated gingerbread-man treat.

Despite her age (15 and a half) and the cost of the initial testing, we decided that the loyal, but peculiar cat deserved another shot. Turns out, she has hyperthryoidism.

After three expensive trips to the vet, we now have her Rx tweaked. Surprisingly, the meds are fairly inexpensive, and even more shocking, she takes the small oral pill without much of a fight.

In short, Bob’s doing great: she has gained weight, is much less crazy and is a lot more tolerable these days. She is still a pain the butt, but I’m glad to have her around for a few more quality years. We love you, Bobby!

Click the above photo to view December’s part 2 gallery and the top image to check out part 3. The train shot is a teaser for the forthcoming Christmas-day pics … keep your eyes peeled.

Becoming

Posted on by
Reply

“A mom who is able to learn a new path and then respond. A woman who does things differently because God is growing her up.” — “Becoming,” as defined by Angela Thomas, author & speaker

That pretty much encapsulates the increasing effect of my recent spiritual transformation. Sure, it takes diligent, intentional work on a daily basis, and of course, an understanding that there is still so much more ground to cover on this journey.

But it has already given me a resilience I have never known before. I now feel a growing strength, which has in turn given me a greater flexibility to begin changing some old ways of thinking (being a perfectionist) and patterns of behavior (feeling defeated when perfection doesn’t materialize).

Live “boldly, yet wisely”

That was the message from last Sunday’s sermon from Ecclesiastes 11: 1-6. For those of you who know me well, I have rarely had trouble with the boldly part. I get my mind set on something and there is no stopping me from reaching that goal. Sometimes it’s a blessing, such as my determination to make a long-distance relationship with a guy seven years my junior work or managing to earn a degree from UW-Madison.

Zeke talks Thomas the Train w/ Santa while @ Sugar Plum Farm.

Rubber meets the road 

But my tenacity has many times hindered the wisest execution of a plan (past examples are too numerous to cite). “I will homeschool my kids no matter what … I will never put my kids in public schools … it would be a dereliction of my duty as a parent to do otherwise” were all refrains I have said over the years. But when you have a kid who should be entering elementary school in a matter of months, soliloquies don’t cut it anymore. Pragmatic action is required.

Covering my bases

During my pre-becoming funk earlier this year, I realized (with the help of some much-needed advice) that I may not be able to pull this homeschooling thing off, if I didn’t get my act together. Ever stubborn, I ignored the wisdom at first, but soon realized that I should take the opportunity to check out all my options.

And I have. Houston is on the lottery for a National Heritage charter academy and will also be on the list for a Spanish-immersion magnet school, once I attend its open house next week.

Growing confidence

Thankfully, my maturing spirituality has led the bold-but-wise me to do a lot of homeschooling homework, as well. Point is I have never felt more optimistic about officially taking on the new role of kindergarten educator.

Houston requests a globe & video game from Mr. Claus.

On 2/9, I attended a Classical Conversations open house at Westside Chapel with Christie and her hubby, Logan. We learned a great deal, asked many questions, met other homeschool families, and got Houston and Asher onto the waiting list for the weekly tutorials for this particular CC community. It’s called Abecedarian (Latin for learning the alphabet) and is the first part of the Foundations curriculum for ages 4 to 6.

We also contacted Central Baptist and found out that this CC community has no waiting list for Abecedarian students. So being the proactive gals that we are, Christie and I visited them yesterday. It is an incredible organization: structured enough to get things done in a timely mannerly, but relaxed enough to have a down-home feel.

Case in point, the morning group lesson was about orchestras. The CC tutor who led it — a harpist with a music degree — had the kids conduct concertos with chopsticks, talked to them about what instruments comprise an orchestra, described all the woodwinds (since that was the day’s emphasis), and of course, taught them about classical music in the process. Very hands-on and very cool.

If nothing happens, as Nanny Quate used to say, it looks like the 3 Amigos will begin CC homeschooling next August, and Houston will be attending Abecedarian tutorials at Central Baptist, while the twins have fun in the Little Learners program. And if something (drastic) happens, hopefully the charter or magnet school will pan out.

Santa can hardly contain a wide-eyed Gabriel. (Click to see all the Thanksgiving fun.)

Mommy & Miss Jessie’s Pre-School of Hard Knocks 

The boys finally completed their Amazing Word Wall. So now we’re kicking off Mondays with one letter and concentrating on the chosen letter for the rest of the week. Miss Jessie has been getting extra books from the library and printing out related activity sheets all on her own time, and the boys are showing great progress. Houston even caught me the other night skipping some words in a lengthy bedtime book.

We’re still teaching the calendar, time and the solar system, as well as other science stuff here and there, like nature, the properties of cooking, etc. In early February, Miss Jessie started math with the boys, mostly addition with some subtraction sprinkled in, and I’ve been working on the fundamentals of money, fractions (splitting coins into thirds) and general sorting.

Last week, we began our “lessons in other cultures” with Mexico. Jessie went over some basics about our neighbor to the south and brought in a few fun props. I cooked taquitos and rice and beans for dinner, we listened to Los Tigres del Norte while eating our Mexican feast, and then the boys played Go Fish (with numbers in Español only) with Jessie. Daddy rounded it all out by doing Spanish flashcards with the 3 Amigos over the weekend.

Zeke & Houston are ready to find the perfect Christmas tree.

All work & no play makes Rebecca a dull girl

Despite the grind of it all, we still know how to have a good time. And February has been a fabulous month …

  • 2/6: Miss Christie and her kids (Asher, Jackson and Piper) attended their first play date here at “the zoo.”
  • 2/8: I scored some cheap circus tickets through GMOM and took the boys to opening night. “Whoa, cool!” exclaimed Gabriel and Zeke initially, but soon morphed into “When are we going home?” They were polite and patient, especially considering this was their first circus experience, and we made it through the long first half of the performance. This was Houston’s third year, so he really enjoyed the show, most notably the Shaolin (warrior monks) and the lions and tigers.
  • 2/9-2/10: Gramsey and Papa visit. They also gave the boys walkie talkies, which have since provided tons of entertainment on Liberty Loop.
  • 2/10-2/12: Granny and Grumps visit. That Saturday, we finally rewarded the boys with a jaunt to Chuck E. Cheese. (Remember, they earned 30 marks on the Chuck E. Cheese chart for exhibiting good manners at the kitchen table?) Miss Jessie met up with us for the greatly anticipated celebration and, despite the throng, we all had a blast.

Gabe thinks getting a choose-&-cut tree is the No. 1 Thanksgiving family tradition.

  • 2/16: I had a girls-night out with Miss Lorrie. Too much food and libation were consumed, but good times abound.
  • 2/17: Stephen and I had our first date night in a long, long time. Again, too much food and libation. We hope to mix up our dates a bit and not purely do typical dinner dates. Perhaps an afternoon outing to the gun range?
  • 2/18: It’s a boys-only Saturday, so Daddy took ’em to the Natural Science Center. The kids showed courage in the dinosaur room and even attended a dino-related film. And a diligent Daddy then treated them to lunch at the International Market food court.
  • 2/19: In another show of bravery, Zeke got over his “man on the donkey” fear while dining at Rio Grande, and Gabriel almost fully conquered his trepidation over the longhorn skull. We also ran into Miss Christie and her kiddos while there. Random post-church fun.
  • 2/19-2/20: It snowed for the first time this winter. We only got about 2 inches, but we definitely made the most of it. Sledding, snowball fights, snow angels, a lame-looking snowman … any recreation that derives from snow was done. Gotta love the white stuff.