On the Farm

This weekend we went down to Illinois for the Hartzler Hog Roast, a family/friend get-together hosted by a second cousin of Rob's. We spent two nights with my parents and on Saturday went to the farm and had a wonderful time! This pic is of Anna enjoying herself on top of a hay bale. I'll be posting more pics on Facebook whenever I get around to it :)

We did not start the trip until around 5pm on Friday b/c Rob had to work a 10 hour day. I had another bought of exhaustion (which means I felt like I had lead weights all over my body) that day, so I wasn't able to start packing until right before Rob came home. The kids and I had a great time loading up the bags, especially since each of the boys packed their own (with Mommy's supervision, or Matthew would have ended up with 3 pairs of pj's and nothing else!) We didn't take off until close to 6pm, but since we weren't on any time schedule, it didn't matter. We stopped for supper at Burger King (which was one town later than we remembered) and ate in the car. If you've tried sitting in any restaurant with 3 kids under age 5, you understand why :) We made one more stop after that, which I consider to be pretty good for our little group. Anna wasn't too happy, but she slept alot, so that helped :) Matthew's also pretty good about feeding her when necessary.

We made it to my parents' home by 10pm, so we made good time. The boys played for a bit and then Rob attempted to put them to bed. In the same bed. Yeah, that worked. They settled down by midnight when we finally turned off every light in the house. Anna played around in her crib until 11:30 when she gave up! Amazingly, Rob and I were both awake by 6am and ready to go on our breakfast date. We walked over to a restaurant downtown, but since they didn't take debit card (what is up with that anyway??) we walked back to Mom and Dad's, got the car, and drove to a different place. We had a yummy breakfast and then walked around Wal-Mart's toy department to get ideas for the kids for Christmas. We already have their presents (go ahead and be impressed) but we needed ideas for those who ask. And it's alot easier to look at toys w/o a chorus of "Can I have that? Can I see that? I want it!" to deal with.

After the date, we went back and found Mom trying to get the kids dressed. It would have helped if Matthew had put on HIS clothing instead of Ben's. :) We then went for a walk so Mom could show off the grandkids and then went over the park and played for a bit. Later, she and the boys went and picked apples off her tree while Anna napped. And napped. And napped some more, so we finally woke her up and fed her so we could get to the farm!

We had a wonderful time out at the farm. We ate ourselves silly and had a great time seeing family, both immediate and distant. Anna stayed on the blanket with her adorable cousin Jamie most of the afternoon. My boys (all three of them) were not as easy to keep track of. Once Matthew and Ben figured the place out, they were constantly on the go. There wasn't much trouble they could get into so we just let them run. There was a hay maze, a bunch of kiddie bikes and tractors to ride, a tire swing, tractor rides, a combine ride, and oodles of cousins to play with. I was surprised that Ben took off so much since he is the shy one, but he had a blast running around. We tried to wipe him off whenever he flew past, but dirt seems to find him so he went home pretty filthy. Matthew and Rob were harder to keep track of than Ben. Rob just gets caught talking to everybody. I prefer to stay in one spot and talk to people I know well, which was just a well since I was pretty tired that whole day.

We left just after the fireworks that evening and dumped the kids into a bath tub upon arriving back at my folks. Mom scrubbed down the boys (and probably the tub afterwards) and they went to bed. I was so exhausted that I couldn't see straight so Rob sent me to bed. Then I spent most of the night in agony from toothpain (no meds or Orajel worked for long) so I'm trying to find a dentist that will take our health plan (no luck yet..grrr....)

The next day found me too tired to go to church, but the rest of the fam went. Then my sister and her family came over and I got to bond with my niece, who napped on me for over an hour. I tried to steal her, but there wasn't enough room in the car. We left around 4 and got back around 8 with a pretty pleasant trip. We're tired today, but in good spirits.

I'm Okay

I saw the doctor today and found out I have a hormonal imbalance and will probably start medication if the problem recurrs. And I'm on iron tablets. Not nearly as scary as I thought.

In other way more important news, Matthew accepted Jesus as his Saviour on Sunday night. He has been talking about it for months and asking loads of questions ranging from simple to so complicated we need a doctorate to answer them! He made his decision at bedtime, but then was so excited that he kept Rob up for another hour asking more questions. At first I didn't know whether or not to believe it was real, but Rob said that if it wasn't, it was the best acting job he's ever seen. There is also a different light in Matthew's eyes and when he misbehaves, he acts guilty afterwards. It's so neat to see him already growing in his new faith. He's been telling everyone what he did.

Matthew's new mission field is Benjamin. He keeps telling Ben that he has two choices, heaven or hell. Ben repeats it by saying, "I have two choices, heaven or school." Since we're homeschooling, I'm thinking I'm just going to leave that one be for the time being :)

Me Update

I've been kind of quiet lately on Facebook and the blog, so here's why: I sprained my wrist. I hurt it a few weeks ago, but did some more serious damage on Monday. I'm probably going to get into trouble for even typing (as I hear Rob coming downstairs) but I thought I'd throw something up to let you all know what's going on.

I have also been extremely exhausted and had other symptoms so I went to the doctor on Monday (so convienient that I hurt my wrist that day!) I don't have thyroid problems, diabetes, liver trouble, kidney trouble, and I'm not pregnant. (As for the last one, I certainly wouldn't mind another child, I just couldn't handle another pregnancy. Maybe Rob could carry one....) So, I'm off to see another doctor on Wednesday for the other symptoms (if you really must know, contact me by e-mail....it's not going on a public blog.)

And that's me in a nutshell. I'll probably pay for all of this typing later...it kind of hurts right now.....

Squirrel Attack!!

The kids and I were outside this morning playing around. Matthew ran back inside to go potty and Ben joined Anna and I on the porch. Suddenly, two squirrels ran across our neighbors porch and tried to run across ours, but ran into Benjamin instead. (So glad the two-year-old protected me!) Anyway, we both yelled and the squirrels changed directions and headed for their tree. Matthew came back outside and I said, "Matthew! Two squirrels tried to attack Ben!"

Matthew said, "Well, I guess that's because they think Ben is nuts!"

Found Her!!

We have found a wife for Matthew. She turns four at the end of the month, is blonde, and very cute. They have played together in the nursery but miss each other since Matthew moved up to the 4's class. She and her mommy were here last night for my Stampin UP! party and she was too excited to nap b/c she got to play with Matthew. Her name: Kaitlyn.

How do we know he found her? Well, he kissed her. Before she had to leave, Matthew gave her a kiss on the lips. Then they looked at each other and wiped their mouths with the back of their arms. It was too funny! Her mom and I agreed that this little incident goes into the baby books!

I'll have to remind him of this when he goes through his "girls are gross" phase in a few years....

Wanted

Wanted: One wife for a four-year-old.

Last night during devotions, Matthew informed Rob that he needed a wife. He then asked, "Daddy, when am I going to get a wife?" You know, because that's just something we can pick up for him at Wal-Mart. Rob told him to wait just a few more years before worrying about this problem.

During our reading lesson yesterday, Matthew could not keep still. I've had to move from the couch to the table in order to corral him more, but he still could not sit still. In exasperation, I said, "Matthew, would you please just sit still?" His reply? "Mommy, I'm just a wiggly little boy!" Point taken, I'll get out the five-point harness....

Settling into a New School Year

We have just finished our first week with Rob going back to school. It really hasn't been as bad as I expected it to be. Last year, the kids went nuts and had to be retrained discipline-wise with Daddy out of the picture. Whatever we did with them this summer seems to have worked because I have not seen such good behavior out of them ever! Here are a few examples:

Mom's group was on Thursday of this week and afterwards we had the mad scramble to get our children out the door without having them run all over the church. The boys saw me and ran out of the nursery. I asked them each, individually, to go and sit on the bench by the nursery and wait while I picked up Anna. When I came out of Anna's nursery, the boys were actually sitting on the bench and waiting for me. I almost expected to hear Twilight Zone music playing! We all walked out (not quite together, they ran on ahead as I spoke to another mom) and they got into the car with a minimum of fuss.

Yesterday, we made our weekly trek to the library. We walk, seeing as it's just around the corner. I take my double stroller for safety reasons because I have been teaching Ben how to walk with me this summer. He has a leming-like tendency to run out in front of traffic...a habit that is most disturbing. We reviewed the rules and consequences before we left and then he stayed right with me, held onto the stroller as we crossed the street, and was a good boy. We reviewed the library rules right before entering the building. The boys even looked at books in the children's room while I quickly found one I was looking for in the education section. We reviewed check out rules in the elevator and they stayed with me while we checked out our books. Matthew even amused the libarian by signing "Curious George" for her and chatting about her desk being messy (that was b/c our books were on it!)

At home, they have been as active as usual, but still obeying. Rare is the time that I have to issue corporal punishment with either one of them. I have found that what works best with the boys is reviewing rules one step at a time, having them repeat the rule, and having them tell me the consequence of not following the rule. By repeatedly reminding them of the rules, they have learned what to do and are very good. A friend of mine from Cali gave me that advice and it works beautifully. Here's a sample conversation:

Mommy: Ben, what do we do when we're on a walk?
Ben: We stay with Mommy.
Mommy: Do we run across the street?
Ben: No.
Mommy: What happens if you run away from Mommy?
Ben: I have to ride in the stroller.
Mommy: Do you want to ride in the stroller?
Ben: No, I want to walk.
Mommy: So, what are you going to do?
Ben: Stay with Mommy.

I use this pattern for a lot of things we do and it works. They say an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure and that sure applies to behavior!

Rob is enjoying his classes and does have less work overall, but still alot to accomplish. He's determined not to let things slide like last year, but last year he had a high-maintainence pregnant wife to deal with and lots more housework. He can focus more on schooling this year for sure. He has a total of 17 credits left, 8 this semester and 9 next, then he should graduate in May. After that he'll be hanging around here for another 3-4 years for seminary work because Maranatha now has a seminary! You can all now start praying for a larger home for us since we will outgrow this one very quickly. Three children in one bedroom works when they're small, but it won't much longer, especially since one is a girl!

Matthew is enjoying his schoolwork as well. He especially enjoys the reading book we are working on (that 100 lesson thing). I checked it out from the library to test it on him and he's doing well so far. His motivation to read is so he can read to Benjamin :) He's so cute!

That's is from our house right now. I need to go put a little boy down to nap so I can go grocery shopping and finish my string of errands. Saturday is the only full day I have access to the car, so I have to get as much done as possible!