Just Another Day

5/19/09 – Tuesday. Margaret kept the kids today. They played upstairs this morning and then outside some. This afternoon, they played outside while I swept and mopped the kitchen and swept the foyer. Before supper I put some addition problems on the board for Deann mostly to see if she remembers how to add. She got all but one right. We put one of the single chalk boards on the front of the door and I wrote Come in. Deann read it so she knows the word come. Then we wrote a couple more things and then she wrote Come in now OK and drew a sun. In the bath tub went over the letters B, P and K with the boys. Also identified the colors of the letters. After their bath, I worked with the boys on the computer with the Starfall program. They could identify the following letters with no problems:

Scott – X, O, S, C, P, H, B, M, T, K
Kevin – X, S, M, H, B, O, P – sometimes he can get K

Scott’s favorite letters are those in his name especially the S. Kevin’s favorite letter for some reason is the M which he tends to call lots of letters.

We worked for a while on the Starfall program doing several of the books and activities. They have really neat activities. The boys got to make a gingerbread man, snowman and pumpkin picking out the eyes, nose, mouth, buttons and even the colors. Deann did one of the activities. She has done most of these on her own but needs help in order to do them correctly.

Invasion

It's not enough that we have deer eating our trees and turkeys and rabbits making full use of our yard, we have now been taken over by the ladybugs. I expect them to be answering the door any time now. They are everywhere! They like to congregate around the windows in the bathroom and climb all over the bathtub, the sink, mirrors and the windows. Darryl has gotten mad at me quite a few times for not closing the lids on the cereal box because he kept finding ladybugs in his cereal. He really blew it when he ate one. I was only leaving them open a few minutes because the kids always want more.

Darryl wants us to respect the ladybugs and not kill them (even after he ate one) because they supposedly eat bugs that harm the Christmas trees. I'm not sure how they can do their job living in our house. They must have a short life because we see an awful lot of dead ones. The kids have begun to respect them a little more and at least don't play with them so much (except Kevin). Maybe they have finally gotten bored with them. We opened the windows in the bathroom to let some of them out in hopes that they might find the trees they are suppose to help. Unfortunately the wasps flew in. At one time I counted 10 wasps in the bathroom.

Darryl wants us to respect the wasps also (they may have a purpose but if so I don't know what it is) so I stopped killing them. He says this kind is not the violent kind. My theory was that if we killed them, that would be less wasps to fly in the window. His theory was that the queen wasp noticing that fewer wasps were returning would just produce more. The kids use to be deathly afraid of wasps and hollered and screamed whenever they saw one. With our nonchalant attitude towards them, they have begun to watch them and are no longer as afraid. We now use a broom to get them to go back out the window. We discovered that this worked by accident. They cling to the broom and it is easier to get them back out. Scott even said the other day that Margaret told him that if you didn't bother them they wouldn't bother you. Seeing that they were no longer afraid of wasps, I did caution them not to pick one up. Deann even said that she liked watching them. That was until one flew in her bath while she was in it. She freaked out! She screamed so loud that I thought she had been stung. I had a heck of a time getting her to get back in the tub to wash her hair even after I had gotten rid of it.

I've wondered if it would be profitable to gather up all these ladybugs and sell them.

From My Journal

4/3/09 – Friday. Nana kept the kids. Read a couple of books to the kids this morning on the bed. They are as interested in reading books as they are watching movies. The kids played this morning. Janie got here about 10:00. We did read a couple more books on the couch. The kids watched Barney and then Deann watched Princess and the Pauper. After work they watched Scooby Doo. This evening we played Hi Ho Cheerio each of them winning one game. Deann gets upset if she looses several in a row. We tried again to play Chutes and Ladders but the boys don’t really enjoy this game so we generally quit about two rows up. We put together the Alphabet Train Puzzle. We got out the other floor puzzle and Kevin worked for quite a while trying to put it together. While he was doing this, I worked with Scott on writing letters on the chalk board – H, I, T, A, S, C, O. Worked with Kevin on the chalk board and he wrote H, I, T and then got off on his own thing. He is more difficult to direct and wants to play and do his own thing. Next, I wrote the numbers from 10 to 20 on the chalk board. Deann could identify most of them but missed 13, 14, 15, and 17. Also doesn’t know 20. Scott did identify quite a few letters in the bath tub including K and X which I didn’t know he knew. The boys were playing with magnets on the refrigerator after our chalk board lessons while Deann was doing the dishes. Scott made an I with the magnets and then told Kevin this was an I. I also noticed him trying to correct Kevin’s pronunciation of fire the same way we tell him how to say fire. He kept saying no you say fire not bire. Kevin can say it correctly if he thinks about it. It is so funny to see Scott trying to instruct Kevin. After the boys bath, the kids all drew pictures – their task was to draw their family. Scott drew monsters, Kevin drew a spider and then himself and then started to draw Scott but wound up scribbling. Deann did draw her family. Deann started to do a lesson in her 100 lessons book but just seemed too tired. She tried on her costume again to show her Daddy. She loves the gloves.

Back to Posting

Ok, I know I quit posting but between all the things I have to do it seems to be a problem. I'll try to just copy my own journal although this may be a bit boring.

2/25/09 – Tuesday. Margaret kept the kids. They read several books. Deann looked through her High Lights book. They played HiHo CherryO. Deann watched Hanzel and Gretel (the scary one) while I worked. Janie & Emil came about 4:00. Deann showed Janie her map and could point out where we live, where Janie lives and where Grandma Suzi and Papa Mike live. We went out to the greenhouse and while Grandaddy worked on the fan, the kids all planted their own pots of seeds. They filled their pots with dirt and then planted cucumbers, squash, eggplant, tomatoes, etc. The boys just liked playing in the dirt. We labeled each child’s tray and then Deann watered them. She said she thought she could see them growing. The kids played a little Candy Land with Janie and then HiHo CherryO.

After the boys bath, they were both hollering “me first, me first” about getting dressed. I said, “I know who gets to go first, the mouse” and then pretended to dry and dress a little mouse. The boys watched this intently and then Kevin kept looking where he thought the mouse should be and then laughed and said “you dried the mouse.” They love to pretend at this age. The boys watched Barney while Deann was taking a bath. Tonight Deann told me a story about a bride and the minister falling in the water that Margaret had told her. She said that we needed one of those things that Margaret had that told you about stuff that happened. I asked her what that was and she said a TV. She said we needed a TV like Margaret’s.

Not So Funny Things

Since my last post, Scott got better quite on his own. However, I almost gave in and gave him the antibiotic. Right on schedule, though, he no longer had a fever by the 3rd day (Saturday) so I didn't break down and give it to him. I am dead set against antibiotics but the pressure is there to give them just in case. I keep thinking how bad I would feel if he really got sick because I didn't give them to him. This time his body fought his virus on its own and he is acting and playing as always. I think he may have gotten a little too much attention, though, because he seems a little spoiled now. Kevin noticed all the attention Scott was getting and mentioned something about him not getting to sit on my lap ever.

Darryl's grandmother died. Last weekend and we went to the memorial service in Wilmington. It was sad for him and a little sad for me because time seems to be moving so fast now. People around us are getting older and dying. My grandmother, Mama Nik, is in the hospital now and they don't think she will make it very long. I found out about this today and have been weepy this afternoon. I knew that her health was deteriorating and that she wouldn't live much longer. They say these things happen in three's.

While we were in Wilmington we spent the night in a motel with the kids and then went to the Fort Fischer aquarium on Sunday. The kids were as excited about the motel as they were the aquarium. Deann kept calling the motel a house. She was so excited when we first got there that she kept running around saying, "Look Mama, it's got beds, it's got a sink, it's got a toilet." Finally they discovered the TV and the remote control. Deann LOVED the remote control once she figured out she could change the channels. We don't have TV at our house - the kids just watch movies. They were fascinated by all the choices. Deann still doesn't quite understand commercials. She thinks the movie has ended when a commercial comes on or that there is a problem and wants us to restart the movie. Darryl tried to explain it to her but I'm still not sure she got it.

The kids had a great time at the aquarium and kept running around yelling "Look at this fish!" We saw alligators up close. Darryl & I were amazed at how still they were. At first we thought they were stuffed. The kids got to touch a few things and then we saw the hugh tank with sharks. We also saw lobsters, octopus, eel, stingrays, jelly fish, poison dart frogs and all kinds of colorful fish. The boys got one of those souvenir pennies - Darryl ran out of coins so Deann didn't get one. She handled it quite well. The kids seemed glad to get home the next day.

This weekend the kids are at Nana & Grandaddy's tonight (Saturday) and then tomorrow. I am waiting to hear word on how Mama Nik is doing. They don't think she will regain consciousness so we decided not to go down there right now.

Lice, Fever & Other Things

Well, I think we are about over the Lice scare. We have checked and checked the kids heads and my head and don't see any signs. I have learned quite a bit more about lice than I wanted to. I am thinking to avoid this scare in the future we need to stay home.

Today, Scott has had a fever. He threw up all over me and himself but luckily missed Darryl's couch. It got up to 104.8 at the doctor's office but since we have come home, it went down to 99 and now he doesn't seem to have one at all. The doctor is thinking an ear infection/virus. This evening he has been playing and acting just like himself. He got a candy cane from the pharmacist and carried that around all evening. Kevin was quite jealous and wanted his own candy cane even though I wouldn't let anyone actually eat it. I think a full grown candy cane is just too much sugar for small children. I was really impressed that the Doctor called us tonight just to check on Scott. Great customer service!! Darryl wanted to know what they did to him to make him seem well so soon.

I really think we need to have more education for doctors and patients about medicine and antibiotics. In fact, we need more education for the public on how the body works in general. Maybe if everyone understood how the body works, we would treat it better. We recently bought a copy of the movie Human Body Exploring the Limits. It was really good and the kids were also fascinated by it. It has a lot of music, action and explains quite a bit about the body. I think that the body can heal itself in some cases if we let it. I don't understand why it took the medical community so long to figure out that a fever was the body's way of getting rid of the disease/virus. If we have figured out that bugs like lice can't stand heat, then why couldn't we deduce that maybe the body heated up to kill the infection. Why do we encourage people to take medicine that blocks the bodies natural defenses (like a fever) against disease?

We need a lot more public education about antibiotics. So many people still take only part of the prescription and save the rest for later. People routinely use other people's antibiotics when they can't get to the doctor quickly. Many people feel that antibiotics will cure anything so you need to take them if you are sick. We need public service messages about medication as well as education for doctors. Our local doctors have only recently begun not medicating over every little thing and still you will walk out the door for a prescription for antibiotics for an ear infection - even if it is a wait and see. Pretty much if you want an antibiotic they will give you one. How many people wait and see? We seem to expect that a cold or infection should clear up in a day or two when a normal cold may take two weeks or more. I think the public needs to understand that antibiotics don't cure everything immediately. We need ads on TV, public service messages, bill boards, whatever will work to curb our dependency on medication. Whey don't we have that? Because medication is big business!

Why do doctors keep prescribing medication we might not need? Because you go to the doctor for a product. If you go and they don't give you anything, you think you've wasted your money and really why would you need to go next time. Instead we need to be going for assessment and education.

Ok, off the soapbox. Happy New Year!

Their Heads are Different

Ok, I'm new at this blogging thing. Everyone else seems to be doing it so I thought I'd join in. Truthfully, I'm hoping maybe for some advertising advantages (www.charmcountry.com) but if not, maybe a journal for the kids.

Christmas has been good for us this year with lots of time for visiting family although not so much that it is overwhelming. Much better than year before last where we missed Christmas at Mama Miller's altogether because ALL of the kids had a meltdown.

We spent most the day at Mama Miller’s. Daddy and Suzan were both there all day. The kids rode the golf cart several times, played outside some and then played inside some. They watched a little bit of cartoons toward the end of the day. About 5:30, we went to John and Phyllis’ house for a soup party. We brought cans of soup as a joke. The boys both went all day without peeing even a little in their pants. They both wore big boy underwear (not underpants). Scott told me this morning that he needed to poo poo. Yesterday, he told me after he had started but then stopped and finished on the potty. He told me once today that he needed to pee pee – a great improvement. I think they are both potty trained although they may have a few accidents. We are going to continue with the big boy underwear with underjams at night. They like the word UnderJams.

The funny thing - When Suzan and Daddy first arrived in NC, they stopped by our house. We were on our way to Janie & Emil's and all the kids were in the car. Hallie asked Deann "How do you tell them apart?" Deann said "Their heads are different." This is funnier the more you think about it.

It is really fun watching Deann's thinking. She is figuring out new words. She kept talking about the road being certain. I finally figured out maybe she meant surfaced. Today, I went in to get a lottery ticket for Darryl and she asked if I had gotten a lawyer ticket.