Daybook

Outside my window...it hasn’t decided whether or not it is going to rain.  it keeps getting cloudy and windy, but nothing happens.

i am thankful for... our neighbor, karen, who dropped off a coloring book for the kids this morning.  she is incredibly thoughtful and has left gifts at our door before for them, always biblically oriented.

from the learning room... i downloaded a bunch of worksheets and such for stinkerbell to do in school this week, focused on the letter B.  she loves working with dry erase markers and scissors.  i used almost a whole printer cartridge printing them out.  *sigh*

from the kitchen... crumb topped tilapia tonight with mashed potatoes (kids aren’t too thrilled with rice) and fruit

i am wearing... jeans and my eeyore sweatshirt.  it is cold in here today

i am creating... lesson plans in my head.  more grandiose ideas that probably won’t come to fruition because i am horrible at follow through

i am going... to take tic tac to the dentist, pick up my paperwork at HR and then try to clean stinkerbell’s closet!

i am reading... 31 days to clean.

i am hoping and praying... that this new job change is going to be all we hope from it.

i am hearing... children dancing in the living room to “Elijah” and the Singing Bible

around the house... are small piles of laundry, toys and dishes.  the norm.  the dining room table is covered in stinkerbell’s school supplies and the kitchen cupboards have children’s artwork all over them.  i think my father must have a heart attack when he comes over. 

one of my favorite things... when my dad drives up for a visit.  he always brings a dozen or so doughnuts and we sit down, have a doughnut and a cup of coffee before he runs his errands. 

a few plans for the rest of the week...i have new hire orientation wed-fri and then i work in the ER on sunday.  we will be able to go to church in the morning, though.  i am looking forward to going to church every week instead of every other. 

i am rejoicing... that God has allowed me to have a quieter voice this week.  i feel that i have managed to hold my tongue better than usual.  i did lose it a couple of times, but i was able to reign it in before i got too loud.  i am really trying to stop yelling at the kids.  it doesn’t do anyone any good.

here is a picture thought:

he has been climbing into any open box/basket... then getting stuck!

have a wonderful week!

linking up to simple woman’s daybook. 

simple woman’s daybook

how i wish life were simple.  things are just way too crazy for words most days, let alone thinking.  i cannot even seem to come up with an original thought these days.  conversations are constantly interrupted, children are always bickering, laundry is always mutiplying, messes are always being discovered (they are too sly to make them in front of me anymore), dishwashers are breaking, basements are backing up, and someone is always sick.

on the flip side, squeezy hugs from mommy are always in high demand, tickle practice is a must, the chaos means my children are still young enough for me to have some influence (please, God, let it be positive), our furniture and carpet aren’t new and can handle 4 kids and a dog, the 6-tooth wonder can melt me with his big magoo grin, jigsaw puzzles are more fun with several people, and there are plenty of opportunities to show my children how much i need Jesus as my Savior and to point them to the gospel so that they can see their need as well.

so, for today...

outside my window...

there is a gentle breeze making the swings move in time.  the yard in nicely shaded now that the trees have gotten their leaves in

i am thinking...

that i am grateful my husband cancelled small group tonight.  i don’t think i have enough energy to get the house up to ‘company’ level while battling this head cold

i am thankful for...

our ROKU player and Netflix account.  they are providing moments of peace and quiet, commercial free, so that i can rest

from the learning room...

not much the last few days.  this head cold has left me pretty useless.  i even have laryngitis so i cannot read anything aloud.  pretty much means school isn’t happening since our curriculum is driven mostly by going through read alouds

from the kitchen...

i need to cook tonight, so i will be making another e-mealz recipe.  so far we have really enjoyed the recipes from our subscription.  tonight it is a chicken pasta toss with pesto

i am wearing...

capris and a mickey mouse tee

i am going...

absolutely nowhere.  this upper respiratory thing is kicking my butt

i am reading...

 i just started ann voskamp’s book.  i have been counting my gifts for a while, but i think my lists are going to be changing after reading her book

i am praying...

for a little boy named isaac who had to be rushed to the ER on mother’s day for respiratory distress.  he is thankfully doing better today, but is still in the hospital.

i am hearing...

Life at the Pond on our HisKids radio while everyone eats their tuesday tortillas

around the house...

evidence of small children... a sinkful of dishes, toys scattered around the living room and on the stairs, a stray sippy cup with questionable contents, a dog under the table picking up the cheerios that the baby throws down for her.

one of my favorite things...

see above

a few plans for the rest of the week...

work tomorrow and then the weekend, get better (!) and get my voice back (like i have any say in this whatsoever), cook, clean and all the other household tasks that need done

here is a picture thought

slowly…

each week i tell myself that i am going to count up my gifts.  and each week it seems like i fail.  but, this week, thanks to illness, i have been on the computer a little more, and managed to get some down.  whew.

246.  turning one 

247.  turning 6

248.  daddy love

249.  a new job with a promise of less time away from home

250.  Lay’s stacks with french onion dip

251.  jellybeans at 50% off

252.  new crayons

253. newly sharpened pencils

254. vanilla ice cream with salted peanuts and Special Dark syrup

255. easy recipes that i can make ahead of time so that my family still eats a meal when i am at work

256. beautiful, handmade sentiments from my children on mother’s day… unprompted! 

257.  a gorgeous ring from my husband given on the eve of mother’s day

258.  my minivan

259.  gorgeous weather that allows me to open up the windows all day

260.  no need for air conditioner or heater for a time

261.  chocolate chunk cookies

262. bedtime clocks

263.  chore wheels

264.  dinner and games with friends

265. Little People

266. coffee freshly brewed

267. curly, blonde scalp fuzz (cannot really call it hair)

 

join in counting up your gifts with ann at a holy experience.  click the button below to join in, read about others and be blessed!

what a start!

the day before this handsome little boy turned one, we had a big scare!  it has been a few weeks since it happened, so i think my PTSD has resolved enough to write about it. 

we have 2 sets of stairs into the basement.  there is one leading from the upstairs living room into the family room below.  this one has been gated for a while as we spend a lot of time in this room, and i really don’t like the idea of a child going tumbling down them.

the other set leads down off the landing entrance to the garage.  our sunroom leads into this landing, and the kitchen and sunroom are adjoined with a step.  there is a gate leading blocking the entrance to the sunroom from the kitchen, but there wasn’t one blocking off the garage landing (or the stairs).

do you see where this is going? 

moose is rarely in the sunroom, and if he is, it is usually in my arms.  this particular day, however, i was printing some school pages for the day and i asked my oldest, tic tac, to keep an eye on moose while i was at the hutch. 

needless to say, tic tac got distracted.

the next thing i heard was the scream of my 8 yr old,

“Oh, NO, Moose!  No! No! No!”

mind you, i was only 3 feet from the landing.

i heard a sickening thump, followed by the sound of a large object (moose) rolling down the stairs at a progressive rate.

i came around the corner to see him go down the last two steps and land at the bottom.

my heart, i swear it stopped.  i swear the moments it took for him to cry were eternity.

but they weren’t.  he started to cry immediately and even got himself up.

my ER nursing skills kicked into high gear, and i imagined all sorts of dreadful outcomes.  should i call 911?  should i put him in c-spine? A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H-I (trauma nursing assessment) went through my head in a flash and he looked great.

but, mommy mode is way more powerful and that soon overrode my rational thinking.

i also had to keep it together because the 8 yr old was completely beside himself. 

and my husband left his cell phone at home and i couldn’t reach him.

i took moose in to the ER where i work and one of the MD’s graciously looked him over for me with lots of compassion.  i had to take all of the children with me, and i am so glad they were well behaved.

my adrenaline had worn off by the time i got to the ER, and my tears were flowing freely as i watched moose be examined. 

he fell down 12 stairs, all carpet, and didn’t have a scratch on him.  no blood behind his eardrums, no obvious signs of concussion or intracranial bleeding.  normal level of consciousness and interaction.

i was told i could take him home if i would be the one to watch him, so i had to call off from work.

the rest of the day, i just tried to keep it together.  i had many moments of tears that just overcame me as i thought about how bad it could have been. 

i had to comfort my eldest son numerous times through the day as we watched moose for signs of brain injury.

it was a scary day, one i really don’t want to repeat.

and, oh, by the way.   there is now a gate installed at the landing, too, just in case.

a rough way to finish up your first year of life, to be sure.  but we ushered in year number 2 with gusto :)

praise God for His mercy in sparing moose any severe injuries.