Kiddo Update

I haven't done a general update on the kids recently, and there is a lot going on!

Matthew: He's still enjoying his preschool time, for the most part. I had been doing half a reading lesson per day with him, but realized at this rate we wouldn't finish until July. We do a whole lesson each day, but half in the morning and half in the afternoon. That's really helped, because if I try to do a whole one, he has a complete meltdown. Not because he can't handle it, but because he REFUSES to do that much reading! Kind of sad, because he has picked it up so easily. But he's on lesson 78 now and our goal is to finish the book by the time Daddy graduates in May. He has also developed an interest in math, so I picked up a math workbook at Wal-Mart that is kindergarten level. He's does well, but handwriting is difficult for him. We'll add that into kindergarten next year. Right now, I'd rather he just do what's comfortable for him and we'll learn it more formally later. I figure if most doctors can't write and they still became doctors, it's all good :) We are also enjoying the Brain Quest cards. He is doing the kindergarten level ones, which is good, because they have shown me some learning gaps I can focus on next year. We have pretty much decided to go with Sonlight next year for our kindergarten program. He's asking to go to "real" school, so I thought we could do things a little more formally, but still stay as far away from textbooks as we can. Otherwise, he's having loads of fun playing games every day and playing with his little brother and sister.

Ben: He's having some fun with preschool as well. He mainly just plays with "schooltime" toys while I teach Matthew and he loves it. He'll even sit with a book the entire time and flip through the pictures. His favorite one right now is a Richard Scarry book from his Uncle Andy and Aunt Melissa. He's been having struggles with the potty training, as in accidents. He's okay at night, but sometimes he waits too long and doesn't make it to the potty. Part of his problem is that the stepstool and pretty much the entire bathroom has to be "just right" before he can go. :) The biggest blowout he had was at my in-laws last weekend when Rob and I stepped out for coffee. I have a deeper love for my mother-in-law now :)

Anna: SHE'S FINALLY WALKING!! Ever since we got back from Illinois after her birthday, she's been walking everywhere. I'd say she walks about 50-60% of the time now and it won't be soon before crawling is a distant memory. She can now identify noses and mouths, but only on other people. She also plays a game the boys have dubbed "Shakey." We hide an object in one of our hands and she guesses which hand it's in. Mommy shakes her hands together before hiding it, hence the name of the game. Anna will play it forever and keeps grabbing the object and handing it to us to play again. She's very serious and even gets a bit upset if she guesses wrong! She has also developed a love for dollies and likes her big purple one in particular. It's so cute! Oh, and she's eating tons now...three good meals a day and snacks. She's on whole milk and loves it. The formula seemed to be bothering her toward the end anyway. My next hurdle is to get her onto sippy cups. She actually threw one at me the other day...wonder where that temper comes from?

Rob: On track to graduate May 8th. Planning to attend seminary in the fall to pursue a Master's of Divinity, which means 5-6 more years of schooling. As long as it keeps snowing here, I'm fine with it!!

Me: Still here. I'm on a cleaning rampage to get the house in shape and prepare to have a garage sale with a friend who moved back here recently. My house is clean, just very cluttered. I've always been a clutter bug and it really does bother me...I just lack motivation. I need some of this stuff out of here/stored, however, if I am to have the room I need for school stuff.

And that's us as of the end of March!!

The Newest Litwiller

We had a new individual move into our house today. Most families with small children host someone similar at various times. His name? Not Me.

Rob found some crayon on the wall near the kitchen set. He asked the boys who colored on the wall. They both replied, "Not me!" After a few askings with the same answer, he decided to use a clever little tactic that was used by a fellow educator who figured out which student was stealing from the vending machines. Rob addressed Ben directly, "How did you color on the wall, Ben?" Ben's reply? "I didn't color on the wall!" I posed the same answer to Matthew with the same result. Then Ben pegged Anna as the culprit. Funny, she doesn't use crayons and can't reach that high anyway. Neither one confessed to the crime, so the topic was dropped.

As for the case of the vending machine stealer (for those interested), our youth pastor directly asked the young man in question, "Show me how you got the candy out of the machine." The student promptly obeyed and revealed the methods used in the crime. Funnily enough, the youth pastor wasn't even 100% positive that the student in question was the criminal, but there was no doubt after the demonstration! Gotta love freshman.

Not again....

Wednesday night we decided to pick up a Papa Murphy's pizza for supper. I preheated the oven and it was up to temp before Rob left to get the pizza. He stuck it in, the timer went off, and the pizza was only half-baked. We then realized that the oven wasn't nearly as hot as it should be for 425 degrees. GRRREEAATTTT!!!! The heating element in our 2 year old oven died. The eyes still work (although I turned on one to check and was watching the wrong eye heat up...gotta love blonde moments) but the oven and broiler are dead. So, we have a repairman coming out on Tuesday, but Rob's going to see if it's something simple he can fix himself between now and then.

As for the pizza, we wrapped it in plastic wrap and stuck it in the fridge. I went over to a friend's house on Thursday to finish baking it. Aye-yi-yi....the Lits and all things electrical just do not mix! Maybe we'll go live in a hut, cook over open fires, and tap out messages on drums from now on.

In other news, the boys are having another sleepover tonight. Anna and I are banished from the house at suppertime so we're going to Upper Krust and then out shopping. Ben took a nap so he's ready to go!

Anna's First Birthday

What a bad Mommy. It's been almost a week since my baby turned one and I haven't posted about her birthday. I've been so tired that I can hardly do my normal chores and this is the first day I haven't felt exhausted by evening. And that's with napping!

Anyway, Anna did turn one on Saturday. We went down to Illinois to celebrate the occasion with family. Rob is finished with his hardest class so he knew he could take the time out. We left on Friday when Rob came home from work and had a fairly uneventful trip down...well, except for the four busloads of high school students that unloaded at the rest area and commandeered the vending machines. The boys always look forward to a treat from the machines and we had to skip it this time. Thankfully, I did have snacks in the car. We first stopped at my parents' home for a yummy supper and then went on to Normal after a bit.

The kids settled down pretty quickly for bed and we crashed after awhile. I was pretty tired and sore since I did most of the driving. Rob's glasses snapped right as we left home and his work glasses were driving him nuts, so I took over. (Driving, not driving him nuts....) My wonderful mommy the optician fixed them for him so they work now, but we'll need to get them replaced soon.

Saturday was a very busy day for us. I sang to Anna when she woke up, although she was fairly groggy and not too happy to hear me singing. After breakfast we took the kids to the Children's Museum (remember that reciprocal membership we bought on Ben's birthday?) and met Jamie and Melissa there. Anna remembered her cousin and got real excited when she saw him. Unfortunately, an excited Anna means she says hello and then tries to push over the little person her size. The kids had a great time and we walked over a block to say a brief hello to their Uncle Andy, then we went across town to the Mennonite Relief Sale, sponsored by the Mennonite Relief Society. Rob and I really wanted some jams and jellies, but they were practically sold out. We did get a coffee cake and ate lunch there (thank you, GG!!) and then I looked over the Discovery Toy booth and found a cheap (as in retired and on clearance) science set and a shape toy for Ben to use when I teach Matthew. Then it was home for a nap for the birthday girl and her mommy. :)

That evening, we had a great party for Miss Anna. Many relatives were there and she got all kinds of clothes and toys, including a stroller, a talking purse, the Little People house in pink, and a dolly. We had given her a pink horse that she can ride on earlier in the week. She then smooshed a cake (I THINK she ate some icing) and had enough attention. We visited with relatives into the night and had a wonderful time.

The next day we went to church. Ben surprised us by willingly going to Sunday school in a new class. Anna went into the nursery no problem as usual, but Mr. Matthew refused to go to his class. Not really a problem b/c he always does well in the service with us. After the service we visited GG, who is rehabilitating from a fractured hip. We had a good visit then went out to a Chinese restaurant for lunch (the boys' choice...they love Chinese food!) We lingered through the afternoon and headed home around three. The kids napped most of the way and we stopped in Janesville to eat at the Cracker Barrel, one of our favorite restaurants. Matthew was wishing he had ordered the chicken and dumplings like I did. He liked his meal, but one taste of mine and he has a new favorite. We headed for Watertown in high spirits to end our weekend.

So, happy birthday (belated) to Anna. Can't believe she's already one year old!! She's such a little dolly with curly hair and a beautiful smile. Her current favorite pasttimes include hiding in the side of the entertainment center to play peek-a-boo and walking! She's finally decided it's worth the effort and she walks from object to object, even across the room. Guess she felt she needed to be one first. That's my girl!

Matthew's story

Matthew told me a story today and I thought I would share it with all of you. I was sitting on the couch playing with Anna when Matthew came up and grabbed his water bottle and started the story:

Matthew: This bottle belonged to my son. He died.
Me: Oh, how did he die?
Matthew: Well, he ran out into the street and got hit by a car. Yeah, that's how he died.
Me: Well, where were you? Why didn't you stop him?
Matthew: I was busy typing a paper. But it's okay because I have another son. But I don't have a wife because she died too. She ran out into the street and got hit by a car, just like my son! And she went to the doctor at the hospital and he cut open her tummy and took the babies out. They were twins because I like twins.
Me: What was your son's name?
Matthew: It was Runintothestreet.
Me: There's your problem! You yelled out his name and he ran into the street!
Matthew: We called him that, but his real name is Jack.

Thus ended the story. We bought a Wii Fit this week and Matthew was watching me do my Body Test this morning. When they do the weight, my Mii gets fat (wonder why) and Matthew said, "You know why I'm not fat, Mommy? Because I don't weigh very much." Astute observation.....

And I love the Wii Fit, just so you know. I'm addicted to step aerobics. If I can stop being addicted to chocolate, I might just have it made....

The Kitty

This is Anna. I saw a kitty this morning! I was up early and we heard a loud noise outside. Daddy shot to the window and saw a big grey kitty in our trash can. Mommy took me and Matthew over to look at it while Daddy went to the back door to turn on the light. I really liked seeing that kitty. It was very fat and had a black mask on. And it sat up on it's hind legs and looked at us. It said, "What you looking at? And where's my breakfast? Don't you people ever put out the trash?" Poor kitty...the trash monster took our trash on Friday and Daddy hasn't had to put any in the outside can yet. He must have been a hungry kitty because he left to go to the neighbors after that. I liked that big grey kitty. Matthew called it a raccoon...that must be the kitty's name. Ben missed the whole thing. When he woke up, Matthew said, "Ben! There was a Raccoon in our trash can. A Rac-Coon!" I hope I see the kitty again. It was pretty neat!

Anna Not-so-Funnies

Miss Anna has had something since Wednesday. I'm pretty sure it's rotavirus because it acts just like what the boys had at this time last year. Thankfully, she doesn't seem as bad as her brothers. She has been vomiting, but not as frequent as them, and her diaherrea isn't as frequent either. She seemed to be doing better last night, but then this morning proved otherwise. The following tale is not for the weak of stomach.....

Rob is still finishing his second big paper, so I decided to take the kids to Wal-Mart for a nice, long, leisurely walk around the store. You know, the dangerous kind where you keep finding things that you "need." Anna was a little sleepy but after a short snooze on Rob seemed okay to go. We ran two errands then headed to the store. We found a couple of things then decided to meander around the Easter department. I guess all that pastel was a little too much for Anna because she vomited in about four waves as we rounded the corner to the next aisle. Now, let me describe the scene for you: The kids were in one of those wonderful blue carts that hold three children. The boys were facing Anna. And she vomited right on them. Poor Matthew bore the brunt of the action down his side. He wasn't strapped in, so he quickly shot out of the cart and held out his arm. I dove for the diaper bag and handed him some diaper wipes. Then I moved the cart a bit and it jostled the vomit so that it started heading Ben's direction. Ben was strapped in and kept scrunching himself closer to the edge of the cart saying "Mommy!" repeatedly in an increasingly panicked tone. I got him unstrapped, but not before his pants got wet. Then I used every diaper wipe I had to clean up. Miss Anna, basically unscathed, sat in the cart and jabbered to us, feeling much better.

Of course I couldn't find any Wal-Mart workers anywhere to help with clean-up, so I did the best I could and tried to find one on the way to the bathrooms. I found a checker, who notified someone about clean-up, and then finished cleaning the cart with paper towels while the boys went potty. Anna seemed better but I didn't think it wise to continue shopping since the boys were a mess, so we paid for the few items we had and headed home so they could change.

If the boys hadn't been such good sports and so well-behaved, the incident might have been a nightmare. We went back out after Anna was napping and I took them to the park, out to lunch, and back to Wal-Mart to finish our shopping. Well, begin and finish, I guess. Anna has still been sick today. If it is rotavirus, we should see one more day of this stuff and then she'll be okay. She's been keeping down the fluids since 1:30 and I hope we have no more erruptions today.

Anna Funnies

Last night, Rob and I took the kids upstairs for bedtime when the phone rang. I ran down to answer it, leaving Anna to play on Matthew's bed. (Just a mattress on a pallet on the floor--no legs so the monsters can't fit under it!) When I returned two minutes later, I found Anna dipping a preztel into the toilet water and sucking on it. Ewww!!!! Where was Rob? Right behind her helping the boys brush their teeth. After alerting Rob, I lost it. Turn your back for one second....

Last night, Anna was bending over and looking through her legs. Matthew used to do that and Mrs. Tica always said he was looking for a little brother (funnily enough, Ben was born about 9 months after Matthew started that...). I asked if she was looking for a little sister. Matthew then went up and put his face right into hers. She found that so funny that she shot off crawling around the living room, laughing hysterically!

I was carrying her past the piano yesterday and she fussed at me. I looked on the piano and realized she had seen the camera. She wanted her picture taken! Rob picked up the camera and she smiled real big until he took the picture. What a ham!

And after being so cute yesterday, she had to go and wake up at 4:45am today.

Happy Birthday, Benjamin!

Today is Ben's 3rd birthday and we had a great time as a family celebrating with him. He climbed into bed with us this morning so we gave him his birthday spankings, nose picking, tickles, etc. and then went downstairs to make his favorite breakfast: pancakes and sausage. I made his card last night and that's pretty much the only tangible thing he got today since his party was last week and we gave him the kitchen set on Wednesday. (Took the two of us two hours to put together, and that's with a professional assembler working on it!)

After getting ready, we headed off to the Children's Museum in Madison. The boys had both been there before, but it's been awhile. Anna took a nap on the way and I'm so glad she did because she was ready to take the place on when we got there! We opted to buy a membership at the level where we can use it at other museums (like in Normal!!). We're calling it an educational expense. :)

The boys took off right away and explored every inch of the museum. Ben usually played near us but we had to go looking for Matthew several times. Thankfully the museum is pretty small and we knew he wouldn't leave, but it was rather packed. Matthew's favorites included the clothes line where he and Rob stood on opposing platforms and sent things back and forth, the crane where he could lift small metal buildings, dressing up in every area (his farmer outfit was the best) and the Dream Machine, a ship. He kept pretending to be a pirate and told everyone in there to walk the plank. Benjamin, the birthday boy, found most of the things Matthew liked to be exciting, but he also liked the area with the pretend market and garden. Anna was the most fun to watch since she's never been there. They have a crawling area for the babies and she played with a couple of toys, found herself in the mirror, then crawled over the barricade and headed off to find the boys. It was pretty humorous. She liked the drums, a puzzle in the upstairs toddler area (she could bang the pieces together and make noise!), and especially the rocks in the construction area. She loved touching them and scattering them everywhere. She was so fun!

When it got almost too crowded to move, we left for lunch at Ella's Deli. Talk about a feast for little eyes! It's a Jewish deli that has all kinds of mechanical things on the ceiling, in the tables (ours was a nautical theme), on the walls and had pool balls running all over the ceiling in chutes in some kind of elaborate maze. The kids ate more than usual because they were so distracted watching everything. Anna even had food of her own. They have a baby plate with small amounts of different finger foods. She loved the cheese, turkey, and mandarin oranges best. Ben traded her some fries and pickles for her applesauce. She LOVES pickles! I had printed off a coupon for a free birthday sundae for Ben and it came with a balloon and candy buttons. He shared with Matthew. It's a neat place, but definitely for treats only b/c it was expensive! We figured the price of the meal was half for the food and half for the electrical cost for all those mechanicals. It was a great place to go.

Needless to say, all three of them slept hard on the way home :)

Debate at McDonald's

We went out shopping tonight (awesome deals on kids clothes at The Children's Place and shoes at the Croc outlet) and ended up eating a quick meal at McDonald's. The lady across from the aisle from us was feeling particularly chatty and commented on my adorable children. I always welcome compliments on them (especially when they are behaving) and thought nothing of it. Then she proceeded to open the flood gates on a topic I haven't thought much of recently, but developed a different opinion on while I lived in San Jose: illegal immigration. She showed me a headline in the paper that stated that 25% of Milwaukees public school enrollment this year was Hispanic. I commented that it's not surprising, since they are now the largest minority group in America. Then she started in on how ALL of them are illegals, they are sucking dry the welfare money in America (particularly in Wisconsin), and all sorts of white-bred mis-informed comments on the illegals in this country.

I hate confrontation. I hate getting into debates on most topics, mainly b/c I do not feel myself an expert on anything in particular. I do not like spouting off uninformed opinions. I try to live by the phrase "Better to be a fool in silence than open your mouth and remove all doubt." But personally knowing several illegals, children of illegals, and friends of illegals, I couldn't sit by quietly. I mentioned how many of them are escaping poverty and injustice. She countered that they should just take extra time and do the paper work. Then she proceeded to give me a "history" lesson on how ALL of the people from Europe came here legally and with money and with sponsors. (Had I been quicker, I would have pointed out they lived in squallor, they were lied to and taken advantage of, not all of them were legal, etc...) I did ask her how many of the 6 1/2 million Jews slaughtered during the Holocaust would still be alive if we had lifted quotas and let them in. She said some did come because they had money. I replied by stating that was true and the rest died in gas chambers. She decided to set aside history and go back to illegals from Mexico. (History is one topic I feel a little more confident on)

I even tried bringing in the love of Christ when she mentioned that they would never reciprocate and give us what we give them. She kept giving me analogies and every one was true for my life in situations where I give love not expecting anything in return. Finally, I smiled at her and told her we were at an empass and simply would not agree. She asked if I knew illegals and I told her about meeting some while teaching. Then the conversation turned to California vs. Wisconsin and ended on a pleasant note (until the boys got bored and tried to run outside.)

Whew! I was shaking the entire time! Rob said he was very proud of me for standing my ground. I hadn't realized my opinions on illegal immigration had changed that much, but I guess they have. I don't like the drain on our national resources, but I have a hard time looking a sweet, brown-eyed child in the eye and telling her to go back to live in poverty and pick garbage from the heaps outside her home. I don't have all of the answers and I never will and nothing is going to change the world from a McDonald's debate. But it was interesting, I'll give it that.

February Trip to Illinois

This past weekend, our family trekked down to Illinois yet again. The original plans for the trip did not include Rob, since he was supposed to stay home and work on Large Paper Number Two (this topic on women in ministry, which I find to be far more interesting than the annointing oil in James 5.) Anyway, The Custom Shoppe is closed this week so Rob knew he could take some time off and go with us. I was rather relieved, since I did NOT want a repeat of the last trip and I don't see Rob enough as it is. Plus, Rob's mom decided to throw a small party for Ben's 3rd birthday and Rob really wanted to be there.

We left after Rob got home from class on Friday. I told him the next time we take a trip, I'M going to leave for the morning and HE can deal with all of the "When are we going to Grandma's?" and "It's taking FOREVER before we leave!" We stopped at McDonald's in Johnson Creek for lunch and then hit the road. And then stopped in Janesville to deliver baby items to a friends parents (enjoy it, Rach!), and then stopped in Beloit for coffee to keep Rob awake. I seriously didn't think we would ever leave Wisconsin! (Oh, for those wondering, we did bring a step stool for Ben this time, so no accidents!) The kids fell asleep by the time we hit the Illinois/Wisconsin border and kept sleeping until we had to make a stop for Mommy. :)

On Friday night we headed over to GG's (Rob's Grandma Litwiller) for supper. The boys hadn't been there for awhile so they were very excited to go to her house. We had a very nice meal and good time visiting, then we went back to Rob's parent's home for a nice surprise: his brother and family were there! We had a great time talking to them and seeing Jamie again, who is just adorable. I've never seen a little guy so fascinated by lights (and able to sign "light.") The kids had no trouble hitting the sack that night.

Saturday saw a rather sick Matthew. He had been running fevers on Thursday but was fine on Friday, so I figured he was over whatever he caught. Not so. He did okay in the morning, but lounged around most of the afternoon. Anna was a little cranky as well. Rob and I took her shopping while his parents took the boys to Make-A-Mess. Little Miss Anna was NOT a happy camper and we cut our trip short. We did get some books at the closing Berean, checked out the leftovers at the closing Circuit City (could have gotten a shopping cart for $10), and went to a great hole-in-the-wall international grocery store where they had samosas! Yummy! Oh, we had also taken the boys to Toys R Us for Ben's birthday balloon earlier in the morning.

That night we had a great time at Ben's party. It was held at Rob's other grandparents' home and was attended just by the great-grandparents, the grandparents, local aunts and uncles, and a great-aunt and uncle. The theme was Curious George, a favorite for both boys. They love the books, the TV show, and the movie. Can't go wrong with a monkey that acts like a little boy! Anyway, Ben got loads of fun gifts: toy cash register, toy microwave, play food and pots and pans, a raincoat, a motorcycle, puzzles, books, and Batman jammies. I probably missed something in there. We bought him a kitchen set that he will get on Saturday. I can't believe we actually found one reasonably priced!

The next day saw most of us staying home from church. Ben went with his grandparents and was in their class for the last time since they teach the 2's. Then we had lunch at GG's and it was time to head back. Anna slept until Jefferson, which is 20 minutes from home, Ben slept a good hour or so, but Matthew was awake the entire time. Rob was the only church attender that night and even he wouldn't have gone if we had found subs for our nursery duties.

It was a great trip overall, but I do wish Anna and Matthew had felt better. We're going down again in a few weeks for Anna's birthday party, which will be a bigger deal. I hope Matthew can handle it--the green-eyed monster reared it's ugly head during Ben's party. I think March is going to be a little hard on him until he can get over the jealousy. He did get a neat gift from GG, but it's still hard for a four-year-old to see his brother getting all this cool stuff. At least Ben and Matthew get along fairly well and play together with everything anyway. That does help.

So now we're back to almost normal around here. If there ever is a normal around here. We'll be celebrating Ben's birthday on Saturday by taking him to the Children's Museum in Madison and neat restaurant called Ella's Deli. Should be fun!