Adalyn was standing in the kitchen this morning and asked me, "What's this?" I looked at her and she was holding a metal hanger that was holding a life jacket (that had fallen to the floor). I told her it was a hanger.
"I wanna wear the hanger". She picked up the life jacket and brought it towards me.
"No, that's a life jacket".
A little while later, we asked the girls to get their jackets on so we could leave.
I buzz around getting some things together and notice Adalyn waiting at the front door all ready to go...wearing her life jacket.
Friday, November 30, 2012
Thursday, November 29, 2012
The unknown
After reading a story in her reader, Anna gets to the Comprehension Check. She asks me, " Mama, why was the kitten in the woods?"
Me: "I don't know"
Anna: "Me neither".
She MAY need to read that story again.
Me: "I don't know"
Anna: "Me neither".
She MAY need to read that story again.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Of Mice and Moles
Last year sometime, our girls were REALLY wanting a dog. Okay, let me rephrase that. For a few years now, our girls have REALLY been wanting a dog. My biggest counter to that, has been they shed and they chew. Our girls leave toys, shoes, and small things around the house daily. 'Nuff said.
Well, about a month before Alivia was due, Louis came to me in a whisper and told me to "Come here". We live in a house that's surrounded by woods on two sides, and a horse pasture on the other side. He's said those exact words when showing me creatures that have made their way to our yard (or deck). Ya know: opossums, deer, turkeys, raccoons, foxes, and snakes. So my heart always starts racing a bit when I wonder what it could be. I followed him out the back door to our deck and he brings me this black kitten.
You can imagine my response. Well, maybe you can't if you're an avid animal lover. We are very busy between church and homeschooling activities/field trips. There's not a lot of time or energy I have to care for a pet right now. Maybe in the future, I will be convinced, but not at that moment. (8 months pregnant, slap worn out, and could hardly bend, let alone to clean a litter box- which I shouldn't be doing anyway.) Why would Louis be approaching me with such a daunting proposal? Plus- I thought he was a dog lover!
His confession:
A man met Louis at the end of our driveway with this little black kitten. His case was legitimate, it really was. The ole' tail (yes, that's a pun) of "We have a litter of kittens and need to get rid of them because we can't feed them anymore" got Louis' emotions stirred up a little.
My confession:
Don't ever get a bowl of milk for a starving kitty. It thinks it belongs.
We spent the next two days under the impression it was a he. Then I looked at his belly and saw little nipples, so thought our "he" was a "she". SO, the girls changed his name. (I can't remember to what). Then we had friends come over, and the girls introduced them to _____, and said it was a "she". After affectionate observation on their part, our friends told us, it's a HE....so then her name reverted back to his name of "Rascal". It's still Rascal to this day, thankfully. I had a hard enough time remembering to do simple things like unload the van of groceries and remember what I went in a room to do, let alone trying to keep up with the current name change of the new outdoor kitten.
The poor cat should have left the moment he arrived but I guess he didn't know what was good for him. When Adalyn met Rascal, there became a relentless attachment that couldn't be reckoned with. Afterall, she is two. And terrible is an understatement. I do love her though!
She has choked him, dragged him out from under the van by his tail, and has thrown him from higher places. I wish I could have kept count of the times we said "Easy, Adalyn". That month with that kitten before Alivia arrived, kept me more stressed out than you could imagine. Everytime we went outside to load up in the van, the girls went looking for Rascal. And a holler from the driveway can't be heard if you're in the backyard. Or at least that's their defense. So pregnant Momma Hen would have to traipse all over the yard collecting little chicks. And you KNOW how clumsy you become when you're THAT pregnant. Twigs, leaves, hillside. 'Nuff said.
Of course, when we were indoors, you'd think there'd be no problems. But Adalyn loved sneaking out of the house to play with Rascal. Well, they all did at first. I'd be downstairs doing laundry or schooling one of them, then return upstairs to find a missing child. The adrenaline rush of having a missing child is pretty intense and you would think it was enough to send me into labor at any moment. But it didn't; I went a week overdue.
The good that came from Rascal's arrival:
Adalyn got a crash course in learning how to handle something delicate. By the time Alivia was born, she knew what "Easy, Adalyn" meant. Knock on wood- she has not choked Alivia, carried her upside down, pulled her off of something by a leg, or pulled her ear. Now, if we can just keep her from trying to put food in Alivia's mouth, we'll be doing good.
It's also been fun watching Rascal earn his keep. He catches critters!!!! Hallelujah!! We are surrounded by woods on two sides, and a horse pasture on one side. 'Nuff said. It's been fun watching Rascal play with a mole he's caught, or throw a mouse up in the air by its tail. Even lizards are eliminated!
Yesterday, we needed to be at CBS (Community Bible Study) earlier than normal, because I was helping in the Children's Department. We NEEDED to be there NO LATER than 9:15. Getting 5 girls ready to go someplace is no easy task, but it might go smoother because one was staying home. While our older girls help out a ton, which I am very thankful for, there's still the occasional drama between them. Anyway, we were doing super well with time yesterday. Everyone rose on time, got dressed on time. No catastrophe with outfit selections. No spilled milk at breakfast. No poopy blowouts with Alivia. Backpacks were ready. The girls were politely quizzing each other on their bible verses. Smooth sailing.
Our older girls will often go ahead and open the front door to take things out to the van for me while I finish getting ready.
The discovery:
A dead bird on our front step.
The sound:
Shrilling squeals.
I run quietly from our bathroom (Louis is laying in bed with Aliza, who we don't want to wake because she's sick and won't be gong to CBS) to find out what's going on.
The prediction:
"He must have flown into the door and died".
It's never enough to discover something on your own. You MUST go tell ALL your sisters in a beaming voice. Even the sick and sleeping one has to know. It's also never enough to just observe something from behind a window. You MUST step over the thing, freak yourself out because it moves, then repeatedly scream, "It's STILL ALIVE" and wake up the neighbors while you're at it. Then the toddler sister HAS to be out there too, because she feels left out.
So I'm yelling through the storm door window, "Don't touch it, come inside", while keeping a screaming toddler at bay and from escaping. So, the older two finally burst in and run to tell their daddy...who already is well aware of the situation because he can hear the chaos. And guess who is woken up also? And guess who wants to go to CBS? And guess what she does when she finds out she can't go? And guess who was doing good on time, but now is not?
It wasn't a huge setback, yet. With everyone back inside again and Abigail guarding the front door, I ran back to the bathroom to finish getting ready. Aliza is crying heavily at this point and Louis is trying to calm her down. Tick-tock, tick-tock...I hear the clock in my head because I know that minutes count. After I bust up my gums from the fastest teethbrushing ever, I stop by our bed to calm down Aliza and love on her for a quick sec.
"Ohhhhhhhhhhh nooooooooooooooo", I hear. It's Anna now who's screaming and crying uncontrollably. I run back out to the foyer to investigate. Alivia is now crying because she got scared. Adalyn is crying because Abigail is holding her away from the front door because she keeps trying to run out.
Anna is crying because the cat ran off with the half-dead bird.
Trying to stay calm, rather unsuccessfully I might add, I'm scooping up Alivia who's thankfully already in her carseat, grabbing my keys and suggesting we leave. Abigail never wants to be late (and neither do I) so she's getting upset because she senses we are running late AND SHE'S RIGHT! I get Alivia loaded and the pressure builds. I realize I left my phone in the house!!! So, I dart passed Anna and Adalyn on the porch to go track down my phone. I shouldn't look at the clock, but I do.
Fretting more, I find my phone. I run through the house slamming down light switches on my way to the door. I jump up into my seat in the van, and do a roll call, "Everyone buckled?" Abigail says no. "Get buckled". She says she is. "Okay?" I turn around to discover two kiddos are missing in action. "WHERE ARE YOUR SISTERS?" Abigail, just as frustrated as I am, replies that they are out in the yard looking for Rascal. Seriously?
It's 9 a.m. It takes me 25-30 minutes to get from our driveway to the perfect spot at Community Bible Study. The spot I always choose is just a little wider than the rest of the parking spots. It accommodates our big van very nicely without having to do a million reparks. Then it takes me a couple minutes for us to unload and get everyone to their classes. I'm not forgetting that I have to be in the library at 9:15 to be assigned to a children's class in which to help.
It's 9 a.m.
And two kiddos are in the yard.
Somewhere.
Looking for a cat.
Who got the bird.
That nearly killed himself while flying into our storm door glass.
Who caused so much commotion at our house.
Which caused us to be late.
All because of a cat named Rascal. WHO IS INDEED A RASCAL.
Who was delivered to us 2 months ago.
Who was kept because Of Mice and Moles.
Well, about a month before Alivia was due, Louis came to me in a whisper and told me to "Come here". We live in a house that's surrounded by woods on two sides, and a horse pasture on the other side. He's said those exact words when showing me creatures that have made their way to our yard (or deck). Ya know: opossums, deer, turkeys, raccoons, foxes, and snakes. So my heart always starts racing a bit when I wonder what it could be. I followed him out the back door to our deck and he brings me this black kitten.
You can imagine my response. Well, maybe you can't if you're an avid animal lover. We are very busy between church and homeschooling activities/field trips. There's not a lot of time or energy I have to care for a pet right now. Maybe in the future, I will be convinced, but not at that moment. (8 months pregnant, slap worn out, and could hardly bend, let alone to clean a litter box- which I shouldn't be doing anyway.) Why would Louis be approaching me with such a daunting proposal? Plus- I thought he was a dog lover!
His confession:
A man met Louis at the end of our driveway with this little black kitten. His case was legitimate, it really was. The ole' tail (yes, that's a pun) of "We have a litter of kittens and need to get rid of them because we can't feed them anymore" got Louis' emotions stirred up a little.
My confession:
Don't ever get a bowl of milk for a starving kitty. It thinks it belongs.
We spent the next two days under the impression it was a he. Then I looked at his belly and saw little nipples, so thought our "he" was a "she". SO, the girls changed his name. (I can't remember to what). Then we had friends come over, and the girls introduced them to _____, and said it was a "she". After affectionate observation on their part, our friends told us, it's a HE....so then her name reverted back to his name of "Rascal". It's still Rascal to this day, thankfully. I had a hard enough time remembering to do simple things like unload the van of groceries and remember what I went in a room to do, let alone trying to keep up with the current name change of the new outdoor kitten.
The poor cat should have left the moment he arrived but I guess he didn't know what was good for him. When Adalyn met Rascal, there became a relentless attachment that couldn't be reckoned with. Afterall, she is two. And terrible is an understatement. I do love her though!
She has choked him, dragged him out from under the van by his tail, and has thrown him from higher places. I wish I could have kept count of the times we said "Easy, Adalyn". That month with that kitten before Alivia arrived, kept me more stressed out than you could imagine. Everytime we went outside to load up in the van, the girls went looking for Rascal. And a holler from the driveway can't be heard if you're in the backyard. Or at least that's their defense. So pregnant Momma Hen would have to traipse all over the yard collecting little chicks. And you KNOW how clumsy you become when you're THAT pregnant. Twigs, leaves, hillside. 'Nuff said.
Of course, when we were indoors, you'd think there'd be no problems. But Adalyn loved sneaking out of the house to play with Rascal. Well, they all did at first. I'd be downstairs doing laundry or schooling one of them, then return upstairs to find a missing child. The adrenaline rush of having a missing child is pretty intense and you would think it was enough to send me into labor at any moment. But it didn't; I went a week overdue.
The good that came from Rascal's arrival:
Adalyn got a crash course in learning how to handle something delicate. By the time Alivia was born, she knew what "Easy, Adalyn" meant. Knock on wood- she has not choked Alivia, carried her upside down, pulled her off of something by a leg, or pulled her ear. Now, if we can just keep her from trying to put food in Alivia's mouth, we'll be doing good.
It's also been fun watching Rascal earn his keep. He catches critters!!!! Hallelujah!! We are surrounded by woods on two sides, and a horse pasture on one side. 'Nuff said. It's been fun watching Rascal play with a mole he's caught, or throw a mouse up in the air by its tail. Even lizards are eliminated!
Yesterday, we needed to be at CBS (Community Bible Study) earlier than normal, because I was helping in the Children's Department. We NEEDED to be there NO LATER than 9:15. Getting 5 girls ready to go someplace is no easy task, but it might go smoother because one was staying home. While our older girls help out a ton, which I am very thankful for, there's still the occasional drama between them. Anyway, we were doing super well with time yesterday. Everyone rose on time, got dressed on time. No catastrophe with outfit selections. No spilled milk at breakfast. No poopy blowouts with Alivia. Backpacks were ready. The girls were politely quizzing each other on their bible verses. Smooth sailing.
Our older girls will often go ahead and open the front door to take things out to the van for me while I finish getting ready.
The discovery:
A dead bird on our front step.
The sound:
Shrilling squeals.
I run quietly from our bathroom (Louis is laying in bed with Aliza, who we don't want to wake because she's sick and won't be gong to CBS) to find out what's going on.
The prediction:
"He must have flown into the door and died".
It's never enough to discover something on your own. You MUST go tell ALL your sisters in a beaming voice. Even the sick and sleeping one has to know. It's also never enough to just observe something from behind a window. You MUST step over the thing, freak yourself out because it moves, then repeatedly scream, "It's STILL ALIVE" and wake up the neighbors while you're at it. Then the toddler sister HAS to be out there too, because she feels left out.
So I'm yelling through the storm door window, "Don't touch it, come inside", while keeping a screaming toddler at bay and from escaping. So, the older two finally burst in and run to tell their daddy...who already is well aware of the situation because he can hear the chaos. And guess who is woken up also? And guess who wants to go to CBS? And guess what she does when she finds out she can't go? And guess who was doing good on time, but now is not?
It wasn't a huge setback, yet. With everyone back inside again and Abigail guarding the front door, I ran back to the bathroom to finish getting ready. Aliza is crying heavily at this point and Louis is trying to calm her down. Tick-tock, tick-tock...I hear the clock in my head because I know that minutes count. After I bust up my gums from the fastest teethbrushing ever, I stop by our bed to calm down Aliza and love on her for a quick sec.
"Ohhhhhhhhhhh nooooooooooooooo", I hear. It's Anna now who's screaming and crying uncontrollably. I run back out to the foyer to investigate. Alivia is now crying because she got scared. Adalyn is crying because Abigail is holding her away from the front door because she keeps trying to run out.
Anna is crying because the cat ran off with the half-dead bird.
Trying to stay calm, rather unsuccessfully I might add, I'm scooping up Alivia who's thankfully already in her carseat, grabbing my keys and suggesting we leave. Abigail never wants to be late (and neither do I) so she's getting upset because she senses we are running late AND SHE'S RIGHT! I get Alivia loaded and the pressure builds. I realize I left my phone in the house!!! So, I dart passed Anna and Adalyn on the porch to go track down my phone. I shouldn't look at the clock, but I do.
Fretting more, I find my phone. I run through the house slamming down light switches on my way to the door. I jump up into my seat in the van, and do a roll call, "Everyone buckled?" Abigail says no. "Get buckled". She says she is. "Okay?" I turn around to discover two kiddos are missing in action. "WHERE ARE YOUR SISTERS?" Abigail, just as frustrated as I am, replies that they are out in the yard looking for Rascal. Seriously?
It's 9 a.m. It takes me 25-30 minutes to get from our driveway to the perfect spot at Community Bible Study. The spot I always choose is just a little wider than the rest of the parking spots. It accommodates our big van very nicely without having to do a million reparks. Then it takes me a couple minutes for us to unload and get everyone to their classes. I'm not forgetting that I have to be in the library at 9:15 to be assigned to a children's class in which to help.
It's 9 a.m.
And two kiddos are in the yard.
Somewhere.
Looking for a cat.
Who got the bird.
That nearly killed himself while flying into our storm door glass.
Who caused so much commotion at our house.
Which caused us to be late.
All because of a cat named Rascal. WHO IS INDEED A RASCAL.
Who was delivered to us 2 months ago.
Who was kept because Of Mice and Moles.
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