A Much Overdue Update

Well, it's 10:45 and my entire family is sleeping. In the past few weeks all the kids have had the stomach bug. It's the same bug that all the kids at church have had in the past month or two. If your kids haven't had it, brace yourself. It's coming. I had it yesterday and Jesse is coming down with it. It's really not that bad: just a 24 hour bug with occational vomiting. Thankfully Hannah and I are not vomiting kind of girls. Hannah used to throw up daily. Yes, I said daily. But, the great state of South Carolina cured her of that. Seriously, since we have moved here, she has stopped throwing up. I, of course, do not puke. It is aganist my code. I think my throat flapper is broken. I'm on my fourth pregnancy and no puking. Not once. I've had countless stomach bugs and even a severe case of food poisioning during college (fie on MickeyD's) and I had not puked.

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So, instead of puking, I have simply been painfully tired. My house is feeling the effects. I was caught up on laundry but after two days of non-stop sleeping, I'm a little behind. How does this happen? My girls run around naked or in panties all day and still I have mounds of laundry everyday. I'll tell you how this happens. Every time they bathe, they pour gallons of water upon the bathroom floor. This creates the need to wash towels. A lot of towels. I also wash the bathrooms rugs. Daily. The spin cycle gets all the bath water out of the rugs and keeps them from mildewing. Bedding is also a constant issue. It's like a contest to see who can have clean sheets most frequently. Hannah is in the lead but Katie is holding a close second.

So, that is the update for today. We are all fine. Tired and sicky but fine. Soon I'll post about Christmas. It was awesome and certainly deserves it's own post, with no mention of puking.

Motherhood: Not for the Faint of Heart

Motherhood is not for the faint of heart. Pictures like the one above may give pregnant women feelings of comfort and serenity but it's not realistic. Mothering small children has lots to do with waste management and little to do with pastel bedding.

Yesterday was one of those waste management days. Like I said, mothering is not for the faint of heart. It is also not for the weak of stomach. Elijah doesn't dirty his diaper on a regular basis. For several days he is so easy, just wetting his diaper. Other days he turns into the poop-o-matic. Oh yeah. Yesterday was a poop-o-matic day. You don't want all the details but I will tell you that I finally gave him a bath after lunch. Not because he had pooped again, but simply because his entire body stunk. He let up after his bath and hasn't dirtied his diaper (or his highchair, or his clothes, or his bed) since yesterday.

Every time Elijah does this I think, "Oh yeah. Several days of not pooping means one day of pooping like crazy." But I forget inbetween. If I had the presence of mind to remember, I would be sure to put him in tee shirts and not onesies and I would not pick him up without checking his back for excess poop from his diaper. Gross!!!

Fearful and Wonderful

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. -Psalm 139:13-16

We are happy to announce that God is knitting together our fourth baby. God's been working on the baby for about 12 weeks and we expect Him to be finished near the middle of May. We are grateful and humbled by God's tremendous blessings to our little family.

New Favorite Blog

I stumbled upon this blog and it's fabulous. I don't know these people and I'm sure that we will never meet in this lifetime. Still, I think I'm hooked on reading it. This family has 9 children under 9 years old. Check it out at http://www.hishandshisfeettoday.blogspot.com/. Happy reading.

Cranky Day

Elijah is no longer sick. I am so thankful. He ran a fever all weekend. I didn't take him to the doctor since he was sick over the weekend. He wasn't terribly sick: just feverish and congested. He's better today but he is cranky! He's driving me crazy. We had a lovely trip to the grocery store this morning. Well it was lovely if by lovely you mean loud with lots of crying and gnashing of teeth.

Oh well, the oldest and youngest children are now sleeping. Dinner is in the crockpot. The kitchen and living room is clean. Katie and I are going to wipe down the bathrooms and then fold some clothes. Sigh. Just another day in the life of a stay at home mom.

Sick Baby

Elijah is sick. He has been running a fever since 1:00pm today. He is so sad. He just nurses and sleeps. Poor baby. Right now he is asleep in the bed with Jesse so he will take a break from nursing. Earlier he threw up a little. I really think his tummy was just too full from nursing so much. Of course, I want him to nurse so that he will get all the fluids and antibodies that he needs. So that's the update. I don't have any cute pictures of my sick baby to post. He's too sick to photograph.

Days of the Week

Hannah and I have begun homeschooling. This year is a little more structured than last year because she is now preschool age. We are loosely following a preschool curriculum with the intent to prepare her for kindergarten material.

Today I went to the local teachers' store and picked up a wall calendar like you see in elementary schools around the country. I hung it in the dining room for us to review each morning. We will review the days of the week and the date. So, today is Tuesday. We discussed that tomorrow will be Wednesday. Hannah and I have discussed days of the week before so I asked her, "Today is Tuesday so tomorrow is?"

"Threes-day!"

"Threes-day? No, not Threesday."

"But Mama, it's Twos-Day, then Threes-day! Is there a Fours-day?"

At this point I feel like the conversation has digressed. "No, Hannah. After Tuesday is Wednesday."

"Then what?"

"After Wednesday is Thursday."

"Twos-Day, then Ones-day, then Threes-Day? That's crazy!"

"Umm, yeah. Okay. So, what is the date today?"

"Nine!!"

Okay. Sure. I'm going to be totally compentant at this. I can feel it.