Life With Sons

I had four girls in a row before any boys came along. I remember life being much more quiet and reasonable.
I have always made Christmas cookies to share with others, and included my children in the process of baking and decorating. I realized last evening how different it is to make cookies with boys, than it was when the girls were all little.
Last evening we were decorating sour cream cut out cookies. I found myself saying odd things, such as: "don't lick the top of the cookie to smooth the icing". "If the little golden dragees fall on the floor, don't put them on the cookies. We have plenty more." "Don't put your nose on the cookies to smell them". "No, we don't want all the colored sugar mixed together". "Don't hit your brother with the icing spreader". (For those of you who recieve cookies from us, I have those cookies kept seperate, for family consumption only, not for sharing!)

The odd comments continued today. "If you put your finger in your sister's mouth, she will bite you". (This was said as Trinity chomped down on Christopher's finger, and he let out a blood curdling yell).
"Let's not put our pb&j sandwich on the Christmas tree, please." "and don't feed it to the dog either!"

Life was much more peaceful with only girls, but I have to admit, it was not as interesting and fun.

I also had some "awwwww" moments today. Josh made cards for me out of constuction paper, that said "I love you mom". He covered them with Xs and Ls, he doesn't get the it that it is supposed to be Xs and Os. But that is ok, I know what he means.
Another precious moment was when Christopher signed "Signing Time" to ask to watch the DVD of that title. He has been signing and saying many of the words he is learning from the DVD. He signs for "cat" and "dog" as he calls for our pets. He signed "tree" while we decorated our Christmas tree last night. How's that for a Christmas gift?!

The Spouted Sippy Cup

In a previous post I shared our discovery about the spouted sippy cup not being a good idea for children with Down syndrome. I wanted to report our progress.
I had thought we would wean Christopher off his sippy cup. I thought he would feel deprived, or frustrated, if we did it abruptly. But I discovered that as long as I had the sippy cups in circulation my girls, who are wonderful helpers, were continuing to give him his drinks in them. So, the spouted sippy cups had to go! I bagged them up to store until we need sippy cups for Trinity. The transition has gone smoothly.

What a big difference it made! He is doing so well with sucking from a straw. He is even working at drinking from a regular cup. He is having better lip closure and the drooling has decreased greatly. He still needs reminders to keep his tongue in, especially when he is tired. But that is happening less often.
Last night, when he gave me kiss at bedtime, I did not need to wipe the drool off my face. Ahhh, I like nice dry kisses from my little guy!

Since Christopher got the tubes in his ears, he is again saying many words and attempting many more.
We are also playing a kazoo, blowing whistles and sipping from the long bendy straws. All this leads to better lip closure, tongue control and stronger mouth muscles.

Progress is so exciting!

Life With Christopher

When Christopher was born and diagnosed with Down syndrome I knew my life would never be the same. Just because it would not be the same does not mean it will be bad. I'm certain I would not want it to be the same.

I have heard some people believe that children with Down syndrome see angels that the rest of us cannot see. I don't know how they come up with this theory.
This is what I believe Christopher sees. He sees the puppet show in every sock! He spends his day gathering random socks, or taking the socks off Trinity's feet, or his own. Then he puts them on his hands and starts a dialog, one sock talking to the other. It is very entertaining!

Christopher also sees the dance in every song. He can dance to anything, whether it is a worship song, Elmos's World, or a commercial jingle. He is never at a loss for dance moves.

Christopher also sees the need for every foot to be tickled. He sees every lap as a place for him to sit and snuggle.

The Long Awaited Appointment

Josh had his appointment with the lens specialist today. The insurance finally got their act together and negotiated reimbursement with the doctor.

The lens specialist was very personable, and had a sweet way with Josh. After examining Josh's eye and using an expensive looking contraption to take measurements, he went to another room for a lens. The lens fit well and Josh was was able to see again.
When Josh read the eye chart, he tested at 20/60. The doctor commented how remarkable that was. I pointed out that Josh had been seeing 20/40 before the contact lens problem began. He felt confident we will get him back to that again.
The lens Josh has now is on loan to him. We will see if it continues to feel well in Josh's eye, and the specialist will make Josh one of his own next week.
Josh has a lot of scar tissue on and in his eye from the six surgeries he had. It is no wonder the Silsoft was not fitting well. He also has a ridge from the way the Silsoft cupped the eye. The new lens will have a larger diameter and will extend beyond the ridge.
The doctor warned me the new lens is more delicate than the Silsoft lens and I will need to be careful when I remove and clean it, or it will tear. Ahhh, one more thing to worry about.
All in all, it turned out to be a faily simple visit. Much easier than the one Josh had when he was 2days old and was first diagnosed with PHPV.

The Appointment That Wasn't

We drove all the way up to the contact lens specialist's office today, an hour drive. Only to be told that insurance is denying coverage.
We waited there while they talked to the insurance company, and I made calls to them, as well. They said they needed more information. The lens specialist gave them the same info, billing codes and diagnosis codes. They said it was in processing.
I was told by the insurance company that I should use an in network provider, yet they did not have one to recommend. They told me to ask our ped. ophth, well, we did and this is who he refers his patients to. I was told I needed to talk to our primary provider to have them do an out of network referral. Well, we did. We did everything we were supposed to do, the doctors did everything they were supposed to do, yet the insurance was still denying coverage of this medically necessary contact lens and fitting.
The specialists office told me I could pay for it myself, but insurance would not reimburse me. When I asked what I was supposed to do, since I could not afford the bill, she told me, "parents are expected to provide for their children". That was very hurtful and uncalled for. We so provide for our children. My husband works very hard to do so. We also have insurance that is part of that provision, and we expect them to do what they get paid for.
If there were somewhere else to take Josh, at this point, I would. I do not like to give people like that my business.
On my drive home, the specialists office called to tell me the insurance approved the lens, but not the visit. She told me I could come back and have the lens fitted and just pay the office visit, which is $125. Or, I could appeal the decision.

When I got home, I called the insurance, they said the reason the office visit was denied was because it had not been requested.(?!) What a big mess. It was requested, in the out of network referral request by our primary doctor!

Now we wait for the insurance company to talk to the lens specialist's office to negotiate what the least amount they can get away with paying.
Josh's appt was postponed til Dec. 1st, unless they have a cancellation.

I have been fighting, begging, pleading, petitioning, going to state representatives, you name it, for the past almost 6 years on behalf of Josh. I am weary of it, so I am sitting in my house crying this afternoon. I cannot understand why things have to be so hard for my little boy. After Thanksgiving, I will rally my strength and begin the fight again, but for now, I just need a break.

Lens Appointment Tomorrow

The ped. ophth. called me Monday afternoon. He spoke with the contact lens specialist and they are making arrangements with the insurance companies for out of network care for Josh. So, hopefully, the insurance will cover a good portion of the bills for the new lens.
The next big hurdle was they were not able to see Josh until next Monday. They promised to call me if they had a cancellation and could see him sooner. I posted a prayer request to our church, as I was also praying for an opening. Not more than an hour went by and they called to say they had an opening! Praise God!
Josh will be going tomorrow at 9:45am to see the lens specialist! I am eager, yet apprehensive about the appt. I think many parents who have children with special medical needs can relate to feeling apprehensive when it comes to change. Even if the change will be positive, and I hope this is positive, it is still hard to adjust.
Josh told me today that his left eye was very tired. His left eye is his healthy one. I told him it makes sense that it is tired, since it is having to work harder since his right eye is not doing any work right now, without a contact lens.

I have not required any school work from Josh during this ordeal, but he continues to get his school books and work anyway. He is learning to read, and is eager to continue. He loves to draw, color and cut. Today, he drew little pilgrim boys, colored them and cut them out, to decorate our kitchen walls.

The challenging thing might be getting Josh in the door at the lens specialist's office. He told me he does not need another doctor, Dr. M takes good care of him, and he does not want to see anyone else. When I explained to him that Dr. M wants him to see this other doctor, he said, "No, I don't think so".

Ordained Days

We had an appt for Josh to see the contact lens specialist tomorrow. But needed to reschedule for the following Monday. We are hoping to make some sort of arrangements for insurance to cover the care. They sent paperwork that said we would owe anywhere from $130- $800, and this does not include the office visit. It is only for the specialty lens.

I made a number of phone calls and tracked down another lens specialist. This one takes insurance, but not for patients who have a medical diagnosis, they bill for vision only.

So, we continue to wait to see what will happen after our ped. ophth. talks to the other specialist tomorrow. It is very frustrating, since Josh is walking around with 20/800 vision without his contact lens. He is still young enough that amblyiopia will get ahead of us and he will lose the vision he has worked for.

It is hard for me to keep in mind that God has all this under control. He has this all figured out for Josh. I am again reminded of a verse that someone directed me to shortly after Josh was born: Psalm 139:16 All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

One of Those Days

Well, it actually started last night with a phone call from my 19yo daughter. Her car had overheated really bad while she was waiting for the cop to write her speeding ticket. She was at a friend's house and they were bringing her home and letting the car there.

I had an appointment to take Christopher for his post-up exam at the ENT, which is close to my daughter's school. I left early so she could get her equipment from her car and dropped her at beauty school.

It occurred to my husband and I lately that this daughter seems to assume we will take care of things for her, and then does not express any appreciation. This weighed heavy on my heart all day today. We decided she needed to help with fixing her car, even if that meant helping her dad get parts from the junkyard.

Most of the way home, I felt like I was getting the cold shoulder from her this evening. Then she finally admitted that when her dad talks about what her car needs she really does not understand, and she does not mean to appear indifferent or like she has a poor attitude. I explained to her how she could easily explain that, and have a bit more humble presentation and it would go a long way.
When she began talking to her dad, he felt she should try to understand how a car works. I pointed out how his eyes glaze over and he appears disinterested when I try to explain our children's medical issues to him. Ahhh, now he understands.


Allura's car needs new heads, whatever that means. She stopped at the bank for money for the parts and they went to bring the car home this evening. But dad is no longer trying to tell her how the car works, except that she needs to not push the gas pedal down to the floor quite so far(!).

Josh got a brand new lens on Wednesday. It was in his eye 24hrs and caused irritation. So, another call to the pediatric ophthalmologist. He now feels it could be the fit of the lens. Josh will need to go to a contact lens specialist, to be custom fitted. Silly me, I thought that was what eye doctors did!
The big problem with this is the contact lens specialist does not accept insurance. So we will need to pay up front and try to get reimbursed from insurance.
We do not really have a choice since Josh cannot see with his right eye without a contact lens.
Did I mention it was one of those days?

On a brighter note, I am seeing improvement in the participation with chores. I came home today to my daughters making a new chore chart. They were working it out and it was looking do-able.

Being Firm Can be Tough

With all the extra doctor appointments lately I have been lax on enforcing the rules of our house. This has led to some chaos, and we are all having to pay the price.
We have a routine and we have a chore chart. Everyone knows what is required of them, whether Mom is standing over them or not. Lately, the chores have been done without enthusiasm and haphazardly. This does not work in a large family. We have also encountered bickering about chores. Yikes!

So, I have had to make some new rules and become firm when enforcing them.

I told my older children it was fine if they did not want to do their chores. I am not going to remind them, and I'm not going to tolerate bickering. If they don't get to them quickly, it's ok, too. (It isn't really, I'm teaching them something with all of this.)
I will quietly do their chores for them, and once I begin, they are not allowed to take over. Sounds too good to be true, doesn't it?! Well, here's the catch. If I have to do their chores, they get to stay home. This week, it meant no homeschool group activities.
I know to many it does not sound fair that the entire family missed out on a fun day with other homeschool families. But this teaches my older children that what we do affects others. The choices we make cause others to suffer, not just ourselves.

This is causing me to suffer, in that I am doing much more of the work by myself. But I am also not taking one of the older children along to help me with the younger one's appointments this week. This means getting two little ones in and out of the carseats alone, and managing a stroller and a toddler at appointments. (Something I did when I only had two children, but it was easier back then, when I was younger.)
Why not just take a helper? Well, the one who is my usual helper feels privileged to go along, since my helper usually gets a treat from McDonald's. We usually run errands while we are out, and this often means a stop to the craft store. It also means time away from the constant activity of the house.

This is not a permanent situation. This is to get their attention. Today is Wednesday, our third day of implementing all of this. I already see signs that it will not need to be longterm. I see children going quickly and quietly to their work. I am hearing less arguing.
I will re-evaluate on Monday. If the attitudes are changing, the privileges will be re-instated.

All of this is very hard for me. I enjoy having my children go places with me, and I enjoy taking them to homeschool group, and doing things with them. I tend to feel guilty because I need the older children to help out more since the two boys were born with health problems,etc. I am really having a hard time being tough. But I know it is for their good. If there were no consequences for their actions, they would never learn.
You see, it is not so much about whether they help keep our house neat and tidy. It is about their hearts. If they do not have diligence in their hearts now, and have healthy work habits, it will affect their future. Who wants to hire someone who won't do their work, or does it carelessly? Who wants to marry someone who is contentious?
I will be relieved when my life in the shoe is back to functioning peacefully again.

Another Trip to the Eye Doctor

Josh developed eye redness again Wednesday morning. He got up crying in pain, his eye very red, and very sensitive to light.
His pediatric ophthalmologist asked us to bring him in on Thursday. By then, of course, the eye was not as red, since we took his contact lens out right away. He was also back on the abx drops. But it was still red.

The ped. ophth. said he needs a new contact lens, and not to put the old one back in his eye. We have one ordered, but it can take up to 2 weeks, depending on the mood of the insurance company. Funny thing, sometimes, the insurance company will tell us they only cover contact lenses if they are medically neccesary, and will deny Josh's lens. Then I have to do battle with them. Do they really think I would put a contact lens in my 5 1/2yo son's eye if it were not medically neccesary? Do they think we would have started this at the age of 6wks just because we did not like how he looked in glasses?! (He looks very cute in his glasses, by the way, but they do not take the place of his contact lens, they only help the contact lens, not replace.) We can go along for a while, with insurance paying for the lens, then suddenly, with no rhyme or reason, they give us problems and refuse to pay. So far, I have always managed to get them to pay. But there have been times I have had to write very strongly worded appeal letters. Hopefully, this will not be one of those times.

While we were at the ped. ophth's office, Josh fooled the tech when she tried to check his vision. She was holding the chart and stepped close to him, to push his glasses up on his nose higher. During that brief moment, Josh memorized the first 4 symbols on the chart. He had a smug look on his face while he pretended to read the eye chart.
I have noticed when he does not have his contact lens in place, he will not look at the eye chart during the exam, he will look down at his lap and guess. (unless, of course, he memorized the row.) I think he knows they would like him to try, so he just guesses, thinking this will make everyone happy. When they check his left eye, his healthy one, he will look at the chart. I pointed this out to the tech yesterday. I don't think she was aware of what he was doing. The ped ophth said it is hard when your child is a frequent flyer.

Fun with Christopher

We have been concerned about Christopher's poor control of his lips and tongue. We know it is all about the poor muscle tone that goes along with Down syndrome. We have been working on improving his posture by playing with toys that have him reach above his head. This strengthens and lengthens his back muscles. We also run our fingers down his spine, to tickle him, as a reminder to sit straighter, when he is slouching. I am delighted to say his posture is much better. He is standing so straight and tall....most of the time, now. The posture has a lot to do with the ability to keep the mouth closed.

We also remind him to close his lips by making kissy noises at him and showing him with our fingers how our lips are closed. But he was still having a lot of the tongue protrusion and drooling. This made me sad. I do not want others to avoid him due to this unsightly flaw. So, I decided to do some studying.

I came across an article that talked about how children/toddlers with Down syndrome should not use a spouted sippy cup. This was a shocker for me, as the OT we had through Early Intervention and the feeding specialist though the Cleft Palate Clinic both insisted he use a spouted sippy cup. With the combination of his low muscle tone and the cleft palate, we had to search to find a sippy cup that would work for Christopher. It was not cheap! but it worked, and he was able to get his nutrition and hydration. Little did I realize it was causing him problems in the long run! With a spouted sippy cup the tendency is to have the tongue out beneath the spout.

We are now working on replacing the sippy cup with a cup that has a soft rubber straw, which we cut to make less space for him to wrap his tongue around. We bought this from Kmart, in the housewares department. If we were unable to find a suitable cup locally, we would have looked into ordering a "honey bear" cup. I have discovered that many times a simple, inexpensive product that is easy to find in department stores, works as well as the expensive professional products.

I am excited to report that after one session with the new straw cup Christopher is demonstrating much better tongue control and lip closure! We plan to work on it at meal times, after he has eaten his food, until he is using it, instead of the sippycup for all liquids.
The other things we have been using is a kazoo, and whistle. These take lots of pucker power and are lots of fun. My husband plans to pick up some Thomas the Tank train whistles in one of the shops, at the company where he works. These come in a couple different styles, and vary in ease of use (and price). My days will be filled with lots of noise, but it will have a purpose.

Christopher's Sunday school teacher shared with me today how Christopher loves music time. This comes as no surprise, as he dances and sings and does hand motions at home. Today, they were deciding what to do next in his SS class, music time or snack. Christopher immediately began placing the little chairs in the straight line they always set up for music time. I guess he made it clear what he preferred to do next.

Recipes, as Promised

Our all-time favorite pumpkin recipe is:
Pumpkin Cheesecake
Preheat over to 350
Crust:
1 1/2c graham cracker crumbs
1/3 c melted butter
1/4 c sugar
Press into bottom of 9in. spring form pan, bake 6-8min. Cool 10 min.

Cheesecake:
3 eight oz pkg cream cheese
1c sugar
1/4c brown sugar
2 eggs
1 can (15oz) pumpkin (or equivalent of home processed pumpkin puree, I think it about 1 3/4- 2cups. either way won't make a lot of difference in the finished product)
2/3c evaporated milk
2T. cornstarch
1 1/4tsp. cinnamon
1/2tsp nutmeg
Pour over crust and bake 55-6o min til set in middle, but still moves slightly.

Topping:
16oz sour cream
1/2c sugar
1 tsp vanilla
Pour over cheesecake and bake 5 min.


Our newer favorite:

Pumpkin Torte
Crust:
24 graham cracker sqs. crushed
1/3c sugar
1/2c butter
Press into 9x13 pan

1st layer:
2 eggs, beaten
3/4c sugar
8oz cream cheese
Pour over crust and bake at 350 for 20 min. Cool.

2nd layer:
2c pumpkin puree
3 egg yolks (hang on to those whites you'll need them later)
1/2c sugar
1/2c milk
1/2tsp. salt
1T cinnamon
Cook til thickened and then add:
1 envelope unflavored gelatin dissolved in 1/4c water
Cool. Then beat the 3 egg whites left over from earlier with 1/4c sugar and fold into pumpkin mixture.
Pour over cooled crust.
Top with Cool Whip, or sweetened whipped cream.
***Yes, I know this recipe is disgustingly rich and sweet. That is why we only make it one time a year! But believe me, your family and guests will LOVE it! it is worth the work!!


Pumpkin Pie:
1 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1 T. flour
2 eggs
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1/8 tsp. cloves
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
1/2c sugar
1 1/2c milk
1/4 tsp salt
Mix everything except milk til well blended. Gradually pour in milk. Pour into an unbaked pie shell and sprinkle with additional cinnamon, if desired. Bake at 375 for 50-60 min. Makes 1 pie.

Sometimes I use Pillsbury crusts, but usually make my own from scratch. If you need a pie crust recipe let me know and I'll post mine.

I make pumpkin pie for my 2nd daughter, Allura. She likes pumpkin pie more than the cheesecake and torte. She is my skinny girl who does not enjoy rich cooking.


I hope you enjoy these recipes and maybe make one of them your new holiday traditional dessert. And, as always, if you use any of my recipes, let me know how it turns out. I will try to share some pictures of my goodies as I make them for the holidays.

In the Kitchen

It has been a busy time of canning for me here in the shoe.
I have been making applesauce and canning it. So far, I have made about 40qts, I plan to make more. For those who have never had homemade applesauce, you don't know what you are missing! It is much more flavorable than store bought. I have to chase my children away while making it, or they will eat it as it is coming out of the strainer!

I like to use a variety of apples, so my sauce is never exactly the same. The last batch of apples I got was Stayman. I did not remember them being so dry. So, I decided to save out some of the sauce and make some apple butter. It has been many years since I've made apple butter. I love the aroma of the apples and spices filling my house. Since the apples were not especially juicey, it did not take as long to cook down either.
If you want to try making apple butter this is how I made mine:

4lbs apples (about 2qts sauce)
3cups sugar (you can add another cup if you use tart apples)
2tsp cinnamon
1/4tsp cloves

Simmer on stove until butter can round up on a spoon, and when placed on a cold plate does not seperate.
make sure you stir frequently, to prevent sticking to the pot.
If you accidentally let it cook til it is too thick, you can add a bit of water or apple cider.

Ladle into jars, leaving 1/2in. head space, process 20min in boiling water canner.
This makes about 4pints.

The other thing I made this week was sauerkraut. I cut up two huge heads of cabbage, packed into qt jars, added 1 tsp salt to each jar and filled with boiling water. I covered each jar with a canning disc and ring. Two heads made 15qts. Now they are sitting in pans in my basement to ferment, which will take a few wks, depending on the temperature. I love the flavor of homemade sauerkraut, it is naturally sweet. I can hardly wait to eat it!

Yesterday, I finally brought in the pumpkins my dad left on my back porch several wks ago. They were the large gooseneck type. I peeled then, cut them up and boiled them til soft. (They only have a few seeds in the rounded fat end, which I removed while cutting them up.) After they were soft, I drained them well and put them through my strainer. Then I packed the pulp into quart jars and processed in my canner for 3 hours. This is the first time I ever canned them, I always froze them in the past. But my freezer space is limited now, so I needed to come up with another idea. My house was very steamy by the time the pumpkin was done. I canned 6 qts, and used another quart to make into pies for dessert last night.

The pumpkins Dad gave me were very hard. I'm not sure why. I had a very difficult time peeling them, even after sharpening my knife a few times. I cut my hand three times in the process of peeling. I was so glad when I finished peeling those pumpkins! The cuts are very tender today, but my jars of pumpkin look very pretty lined up on my basement shelf.

I will be sharing some recipes for good things to make with pumpkin in the next few days. I have some little boys who need my help with math now, so I have to run.

Josh and Christopher

This has been a busy week. Josh has been struggling with an eye infection, which required the additional eye drop that needed instilled six times per day. Originally, it was to be 4 days, when the redness did not go away, I was to continue them and have him seen today. So, today we made the long trip to his pediatric ophthalmologist.
Turns out the eye muscle surgeries Josh had in the past have made it more difficult for Josh's eye to clear inflammation. It is more sensitive than it would be otherwise. I thought that eye was rather tough, since it can handle the not so gentle contact change each week. Not that I try to be rough, it just takes some manipulating to get a contact lens out of someone else's eye.
The plan is to leave the contact lens out of Josh's eye til Sunday. If it is still red, we will call the ped. ophth and see what he thinks.
Just a little perspective in regards to Josh's vision. With his contact lens, his vision is 20/40, which is great considering his diagnosis and all the complications. Today was the 1st his vision was really measured without the contact lens. His vision without it is 20/800. Amazing what a tiny piece of silicone can do! (20/200 in both eyes is considered legally blind.) Is is any wonder that Josh has been very tired this week and easily irritated? He is having to work really hard with his contact lens out.

October 2009, Josh went for a routine exam under anesthesia. We had been through many routine EUAs. They are basically an eye exam under anesthesia, so they can also measure eye pressure and get a good look at the optic nerve. These things can be hard to accomplish with little ones. I went to the surgical center feeling very confident and light hearted, never thinking they would find anything wrong, it was one more thing on my 'to-do list' before I was due to give birth to Trinity. That was the day Josh was diagnosed with aphakic glaucoma.
Since that day in October, I have felt stressed about Josh's eye health. Any bit of redness is cause for concern and sleepless nights for me. Acute glaucoma, or severely elevated eye pressure, has the similar symptoms as an eye infection. Redness, pain, and sensitivity to light. There is no way of knowing for certain, unless we take the long trip to have his pressure tested. Or we start abx drops and they cause the symptoms to go away rather quickly. I often feel like I will never have peace. I feel like I am waiting for the day the meds for glaucoma stop working.

On to Christopher. He was scheduled to have tubes put in his ears this past Monday.
I had everything ready, clothes laid out, special blanket and favorite Elmo toy packed in his backpack. His sippy cup was ready for his post-op clear liquid. Gene said he would wake me at 5:15, and if he overslept, Sarah had her alarm set. (I am not an alarm person, it gives me a headache.) Well, Gene had a cold and took cold medicine the night before and overslept. Sarah turned her alarm off and fell back to sleep. I awoke in a panic at 5:45, with barely 30 mins to get ready and rush out the door.
After I got myself pulled together, hair washed and dried, make up on, dressed, I went downstairs to nurse Trinity. While I was nursing, Sarah was getting Christopher ready to go. I was almost finished when I realized Christopher was undressed again. When I questioned Sarah about it, she said he got banana on his shirt. She fed him a banana before we were to go to the OR!
I had to reschedule the procedure. He will be having it done Nov 1st. When I called the scheduler, she talked a bit rudely to me. At first, I was offended and almost spoke rudely to her. But then I realized we probably did look like goofs since we fed our child before a scheduled surgical procedure. Oh well.
I can laugh about it now, but I was not finding the humor in it on Monday. I know it was an honest mistake, and she had love in her heart for her brother.

Getting Older

Today is my 44th birthday. It seems like only a couple years ago I was 22yo and eagerly awaiting for the birth of my first child. Now I am the mother of 10 children.
When I was 22yo 44 seemed very old to me. My mom and my MIL were in their 40s and they were both old. Looking back, I know they were probably not as old as what I thought at that time. But in ways, I still feel they seemed older. Neither one had had a baby in over 20 years. They both talked about their "female troubles" and their aches and pains.
I feel like my children are keeping me young. Old women don't have babies, right?? I don't have "female troubles", I think this is due to my female organs being used the way God intended, rather than artificially kept barren after a certain number of children. I don't have time to think about my aches and pains, I wonder if I even have as many as my mom and MIL. I would think being busy with all my babies keeps my body in better condition.
My older daughters make sure I don't look like an old lady. If my eye brows get a bit too furry, they will point this out to me, even if we are in the middle of the grocery store when they notice. LOL! Sometimes, I let my eyebrows go a bit, just to check to see if they will notice. They notice.
They also make sure I stay on top of my gray hair. This is easier now that I have a daughter in beauty school. She also makes sure my hairstyle is not old lady-ish. Although, she enjoys getting me in her chair and styling it like an old lady, just for laughs. She doesn't leave it that way, of course.

In some ways, my teenaged daughters make me feel old. I'm not dillusional, I see the wrinkles on my face and the lumpy body that has birthed all these children. I know my blond hair now comes from a bottle. But they also keep me sharp. I enjoy talking with them and with their friends. It keeps me from becoming stagnant and stuck in my ways.

My husband took me to dinner last evening. We had Trinity along with us, as I do not leave my nursing baby behind. The waitress asked if we were babysitting. I need a reality check from time to time. This keeps me humble. I know that 44yo is not the typical age for a woman to have a 10 month old baby. We explained to her that Trinity is the youngest of our 10 children. She exclaimed, "Wow, you look great for having 10 children." I'm not certain this is a compliment or not. What is a woman with 10 children supposed to look like?! Does anyone from our current era even know?

Forty-four finds me with much to be thankful about. Ten healthy children. A husband who still loves me even though I'm 44yo:) Jesus as Lord and Saviour of my life. Just naming the important ones.

At the ENT

Christopher saw the nurse practitioner at the Ear, Nose and Throat doctor's office today.
His hearing tests were not so good. There were flat lines on the graph where peaks should have been. I knew he was not hearing as well as he had been.

The tube in his right ear was out, and laying in his ear canal. The one in the left ear is in, but protruding at an odd angle. The NP thought maybe it was causing irritation and was the reason for the ear drainage.

Christopher is now on ear drops to clear up any infection that is remaining after 10 days of oral antibiotics. He goes back in 2 weeks. At that time, they will make sure the infection is all cleared up. We will also sign pre-op paperwork for more tubes to be placed in his ears.

In the meantime, I felt so sad because Christopher will be missing out on so many sounds.
We went to Joanne Fabrics on the way home. One of the ladies that work there goes to church with us. She wanted to play peek-a-boo with Christopher from a couple aisles away, and poor Christopher had no idea anyone was calling to him. He was sweetly oblivious.
We also went to the grocery store. While I was there, I had one of those moments where I felt like God had tapped me on the shoulder. This time, I am certain he was telling me I have so many things to be thankful for and should not be feeling sorry for myself.
There was a little boy in a cart with his little brother. The thing that stood out about the little boy was the big scar across the back of his head, and his scalp that was completely hairless. He was so fragile looking, and pale.

My little boy with Down syndrome, is only having his fourth set of tubes placed in his ears. This is nothing compared to what that other mother has been going through with her little boy. I had to fight the tears as I finished my shopping.

Christopher's Day at Church

Christopher enjoys going to church. He doesn't know much about God, or worship yet. But he knows he is among people who care about him.

When we arrive at church, we help him out of his carseat. He walks across the parkinglot, holding my hand, or the hand of one of his older siblings. At the door, he stops to shake hands with the greeter. We have a rotating schedule for greeters, so it is not always the same person. Their faces often register surprise and joy, as Christopher extends his hand to them.

Christopher knows the way to his classroom. He recently moved up to the next class, and will get a bit confused as he passes the door to his old one. He enjoys going to children's church. They have a playtime, with many things we don't have at home, such as a sand table, and tiny toy kitchen.
They serve a snack to the children. I was concerned about this, since Christopher cannot bite and chew as well as typically developing children. But the teacher and helpers do a good job helping him and making sure he is not just cramming the food into his mouth.
They have music time, which, I believe is Christopher's favorite thing in class. He enjoys music and loves to clap, dance and play rhythm instruments. The teacher expressed to me today how much she enjoys seeing Christopher participate in music time, how his face lights up with joy.

Most children Christopher's age have a difficult time with sitting still for storytime. We have always made it a point to work with our little ones at home, so they are better able to understand and cooperate during children's church.

After church, Christopher likes to visit his favorite people and places in the building. He seems to always manage to go to the stage. There are many interesting things there, and he is drawn to it. We had a puppet show and a play in the recent past, and Christopher will sit on the chairs and clap excitedly, like he is hoping for an encore.

Our church is at the bottom of a long hill, and usually, by the time we are at the top of the hill, Christopher is sound asleep. It has been a full morning of fellowshipping with others and, in his own unique way, of worshipping the Lord. I believe in my heart that the Lord is pleased with Christopher's worship.

The Latest Happens for Christopher

Christopher seemed to be having decreased hearing about 2wks ago. I called to make an appointment with his Ear, Nose and Throat doctor. The soonest they could see him is October 5th. Last week, at bedtime, I noticed he was having drainage from his left ear. I took him to see our family doctor the next day, he had an ear infection. So that is why he was having a decreased hearing.

Christopher has tubes in his ears,his third set actually, to promote the function of his eustaision tubes. This is why his ear drained so freely when infected. Children with Down syndrome tend to have problems with fluid in the middle ear, as do children with a cleft palate, which Christopher has both. Children with Down syndrome also have a decreased perceptoin of pain, and I felt bad when I realized he had probably had some pain for a while before I noticed something was wrong. He had acted grumpier than usual, but I thought it was just a phase, as all little ones go through from time to time.
He is on an antibiotic and seems to be happier. He is back to playing with Trinity, his baby sister, instead of taking all the toys from her and hoarding them for himself. (funny how that was how he acted while sick.)

One evening, Christopher has bloody saliva streaming from his mouth. We thought maybe he had bumped his mouth. Upon further investigation, we realized he had been chewing the inside of his mouth. He had the inside of his cheek open and bleeding. I was so concerned this would turn into an ugly habit and wanted to do something to prevent continued chewing.
This is how we nipped this one in the bus, well, hopefully, we nipped it in the bud. One of my older children and I took turns sitting with him as he played that evening. Everytime he would egin biting inside his mouth, we would gently squeeze his cheeks. Then we would point out his toys, and he was, in this way distracted.
We also began using his battery operated toothbrush more frequently. We are using it several times a day now, to brush his teeth, gums, inside his cheeks, and tongue. He loves it! Our thinking is, maybe he needed more stimulation in his mouth, so we wanted to provide that for him. We are also using a soft brush and brushing the outside of his mouth and cheeks. He is very ticklish, so he is having a lot of fun.
I am pleased, so far, that our work is paying off. I will try to remember to update again about his progress in this area.

Grace Like Rain

I'm not sure who sings the song, I'm not even certain the name of the song. As I was driving home in a downpour today, courtesy of Hurricane Earl, the song was on our local Christian radio station.
The rain was coming down so heavy at times I had difficulty seeing. I was concerned that certain areas would be flooded and I would need to detour.
Then, *that song* came on and I found myself singing along, "hallelujah, grace like rain, falling down on me".

Usually, when I hear that song, I think of a gentle spring rain. Soft, refreshing. Not the gully-washer we had today. Now I have a different perspective. Maybe this heavy, soaking, drenching rain is really what the song is talking about. So heavy, we can't see much else but God. So drenching, we are fully saturated by his grace.

I felt very blessed during my drive home. I didn't start out feeling blessed. I had not planned to go out in such extreme weather, but my 18yo daughter's car would not start, so I took her to beauty school. If she missed today, they would have added three weeks to her schooling. I had most of my children with me, and part of the way home, I feared I had been foolish. Then *that song* came on, and I felt very much at peace, and began to praise God for pouring out his grace like rain!

The streams were flooded and had spilled over their banks, but none had flooded the roads I needed to take!

How warm, dry and inviting my house appeared as I pulled into my driveway!

My husband is picking up Allura after he gets done work, another reason to rejoice!

Home Alone

My husband took the older children to Hershey Park for the day. I am home "alone" with five children 9yo and younger.
This morning, when I got up, I did not think it a daunting thing, to be home with my five little ones. But as the day wore on, my feelings changed. Now, I am wondering how did I ever manage back in the days when my older children where my little ones and I had no one to help me. I don't remember feeling so busy.

Christopher has an ear infection, so that has made him more clingy. It has also made him irritable and he does not want anyone "in his space". Suddenly, all the toys in the house belong to him, or he is not happy. I will be glad when the antibiotic makes him feel better.
Trinity has been fussy, also. I think Christopher shared her toys just long enough for her to catch the grouchy bug, which includes a runny nose. No nap for her today, that would be too easy.

Seth, my 9yo, has been a big helper. He emptied the dishwasher all on his own this morning. That was a huge help, now it is ready to fill as the day progresses.

I have been trying to make a dent in the laundry pile today. This is usually a chore that belongs to one of my older girls. But I will often get them caught up if we have had a busy week and they are behind.
I also realized the apples were starting to go bad, so I baked an apple crisp. When my husband called at lunch-time, I told him not to count on any left-overs. It turned out esp. good this time.

I still have hopes of working on the diapers that I am making as a baby gift for a mom-to-be at our church. I have them all cut out, it is just a matter of having a few minutes at the machine. I love making diapers, I find it addicting and relaxing at the same time.
Before my husband left this morning, Sarah begged to stay home. She was afraid I would need her help. I reminded her that I took care of babies long before she was old enough to help me. However, I think I will be very tired by the end of this day.


Recipe for Apple Crisp *adapted for a large family

approx 12 baking apples
3/4c water

crumbs:
2 3/4c brown sugar
2 3/4 c oatmeal
3/4c flour
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4c butter

Preheat over to 375. Peel and slice apples into a greased 11x15 pan. Add water. Combine dry ingredients, and cut in butter til crumbley and spread evenly over apples. Bake 40-45min.
You can serve it with milk or icecream, but we like ours just as it is, while it is still nice and warm.
I always add an extra apple to accomodate the slices the children swipe out of the pan as I am peeling:)

If you give it a try, let me know how it turns out!

A Fair is a Veritable Smorgasborg, Orgasborg.....

Can anyone else remember the words to the song in Charlotte's Web that is sung by Templeton the rat??
Last week was our local fair. I sang that song over and over 'til my children begged me to stop. LOL! It was great!
I can understand why Templeton thought a fair to be such a smorgasborg. Everywhere we went was candy, candy and more candy. We filled our bags with it, as well as pencils, pens and note pads. We bought cotton candy, icecream, and the most wonderful thing of all....fair fries. Our local fair makes the best fries!

We entered our handcrafts, flowers and baked goods and won many ribbons.
Sarah 13yo won 6 ribbons. She won 2nd place on her baked zuccini bread. She used her grandmother's recipe, so that made it even more special. She won 1st place on her embroidered pillow cases that she made to give to a friend as a wedding gift. She won ribbons on her flowers, and knitted hat.
Beth 15yo won 5 ribbons. She got 1st place on her jewelry, sculpey clay flower, and a knitted hat. She also won 2nd on a clay doll mask and sweater.
Aaron 11yo won 5 ribbons, too. He made a leather wallet, which got him a 2nd place ribbon and various ribbons on his flowers.
Seth 9yo, Jesse 7yo and Josh 5yo all entered pumpkins, but did not get any prizes. They were ok with that, they were just excited about going and getting candy.

I entered a knitted wool soaker, which did not win any ribbons. I don't think the judges even knew what it was. When I took it down, the ladies who register the knitted items did not know what it was, did not have a catagory for it, they put it with "useful items". An older lady saw it as we were discussing where to enter it, and knew what it was, commented it had been a very long time since she had seen one. The little hat I knitted for Trinity won a blue ribbon, even though I did not think the work was my best. I also entered a PUL diaper wrap, made of Thomas the Tank print.

It was fun visiting all the booths and animals. Our favorite was the alpacas. They had a 3wk old alpaca baby, so pretty and soft!

All in all, it was a good year for the fair.

Typical Day in the Shoe

People often assume I am very regimented and organized. They will often ask me what my typical day is like.
There is no such thing as a typical day. I have goals and ideals, but these are often laid aside to meet the needs of my children.

Ideally, I like for my older children to get up at 7:30am. But there are times their bodies need more sleep.
It is my goal for breakfast to be over and cleaned up by 9am. But this is not always the case. Sometimes, I will have a little one that sleeps in and will need to eat a later breakfast. Or, I will be up throughout the night with a fussy baby and need a few extra minutes of sleep.

We generally begin our school work between 9-9:30. We do our math 1st. My husband likes us to start with the subject that is least enjoyable to the children, and that is math. Once it is done and out of the way, the day goes more smoothly. Another plus, they get to do their most difficult subject while their minds are still fresh from a good night's rest.
We work until lunch time, taking breaks to throw loads of laundry into the washer, or into the dryer, or hang them on the clothes line.
We do our basics in the morning, this includes math, reading, grammar, spelling, writing, handwriting, depending on the child. We also work with Christopher during this time, which consists of playing with toys and games, and singing songs.

We break for lunch at noon. We eat a light lunch, which usually consists of snadwiches. I have called a halt to making other foods for lunch, as it is too time consuming. On occasion, I will allow soup or macaroni and cheese.

At about 1:30 Christopher goes upstairs for a nap. This is when we do our other subjects. This is also when I do some one on one work with my early learners.
Currently, we are using The Prairie Primer. This includes our science/history/crafts/nutrition and more.

Now for the non-typical. I have needed to be flexible for doctor/specialist appointments. Unfortunately, specialists do not have evening and weekend hours.
Also, I cannot plan when one of the children will be feeling extra needy, or need extra help with certain subjects, or is just being uncooperative. So, even though it is our goal to be done with our school work by 3pm, it can be extended til much later.
The beauty of homeschooling is being able to be flexible. To take a day to go to the park for nature walks, go to the county fairs, local attractions, run up to see Daddy at work and take a train ride. It also means we can take a trip to the library and research subjects of interest, learn new crafts. We can make popcorn and watch a classic movie. Or we can curl up and read a book together on rainy days. Or count snow days as PE.

So, what does your typical day look like?

Different is Good.

I recieved a notice from the school district last week. They are having an evaluation clinic for 3 and 4 year old children. I recieved one of these each time one of my children were 3-4 years old. In the past, I threw them away, without bothering to read them. This time, I opened it and read over the skills checklists.

With my other children, I had no concerns about their skills. Even if they were not doing something on the checklists, I knew they would be able to learn, without any intervention. But Christopher is not exactly like my other children. He has an extra chromosome, and extra 21 chromosome, to be exact. He has Trisomy 21, commonly referred to as Down syndrome.
Most days, I can happily go about my busniess without thinking about Christopher's extra chromosome. It is just a part of him, like his blue eyes and blonde hair. I really do not think about him in terms of skills he can or cannot perform. He developes at the rate that is appropriate for him.

But the Evaluation Clinic was a reminder that Christopher is different. Different in ways that many people are not comfortable with. His biggest area of delay is with language skills. He has quite a vocabulary list. But does not put the words together to form phrases and sentences. But I am confident he will. He understands so much more than he can say at this point. He can express his likes and dislikes, joy and sadness, and is quite opinionated, all with a limited vocabulary.

Some of the things on the list are just rediculous, in my opinion. Whose child, at 3-4 years old, "will ask permission to use a toy a peer is using"? None that I have ever seen. And who lets their 3-4 year old answer the phone and talk to adults on the phone? That sounds a bit risky to me and I have never allowed my young children to answer the phone.

There are so many things that Christopher does that is the same as other children, as opposed to different.
He goes to Sunday School and sits in the little chairs during story time. He clangs the little cymbals together while they are singing songs to Jesus. He greets others, adults and children, with a smile, and waves to everyone who passes the sliding glass doors of his Sunday school classroom.
He knows when others are sad and is quick to offer his comfort to them.
Actually, maybe these things are different in a good way. Maybe different is a good thing. Wouldn't it be a boring world if we were all the exactly the same?

Homeschool Snobbery

Last Sunday, our pastor spoke on James chapter 2, which talks about favortism. He pointed out different areas in which we can be snobs. We can be social snobs, spiritual snobs, financial snobs.
He failed to mention homeschool snobs.
Those who have been around the homeschool community for any length of time know what I am referring to.
Some homeschoolers seem to think they are better than other homeschoolers because they do certain things a certain way, or use a certain curriculum.
Some examples of homeschool snobbery:
I only use xyz curriculum.
I only use text books and have school at home.
I only use the Charlotte Mason approach.
Unit studies are the best.
We get all 180 days in by April.
We homeschool year round.
My child could read by age 4.
My child graduated at age 15.
I grow all my own food, make my own clothes, bake everything from scratch, bake my own bread, grind my own wheat,etc.
I homeschool, homebirth, work at home, home church, etc.

There is nothing wrong with any of these things. But doing them will not buy you favor with God, and not doing them will not cause God to turn his face away from us. God cares about our hearts. If we are doing these things out of pride and vain glory, we are missing the mark. If we place those who do these things in a place of honor, yet snub our noses at those who don't, then we are showing favortism. We elevate all the good things about homeschooling to a place of idolatry, and those who do them become our gods.

If you enjoy doing all the things I listed, that is fine. But in doing them, lets make certain we are not putting pressure on others and setting goals for them when we have no authority to do so. Let's be certain we do not belittle those who cannot perform to our expectations.

The Lord working in me

Some verses the Lord continues to bring to my attention lately:

Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Philippians 1:27
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Philippians 2:3,4
Oh, Lord. Please forgive me for the many times I failed to conduct myself in a manner worthy of you. And for the times that I selfishly cared only of my own interests and ignored the things that are important to those you have brought into my life. Please help to to consider others better than myself.
Amen.

More on Josh's eye

The new drops for Josh's eye caused him to be extremely sleepy. So much so, that we could move him around and put him in various poses without him waking. The pediatric ophthalmalogist wanted us to call him if they made him drowsy. Well, drowsy was an extreme understatement.
The ped. ophth. ordered a different eye drop. When I picked it up, I read on the package insert that it could, over time, cause increased pigment of the iris and the eye lid.

He has brown eyes, so I was not concerned about how the increased pigment of the iris would look. But I was concerned about how darkening of the eye lid would look. If just a bit dark, no problem, but I kept envisioning darkening that looks like a birth mark.
I contacted our doctor. I told them I know I sound petty, since we are dealing with potential loss of vision. But his affected eye already looks different, and my hope is for as close to normal vision as possible, with as close to normal appearance as possible.
The doctor told me he is running out of options. The origanal medication was losing its effectiveness, then 2nd medication made him too drowsy. There just are not too many options, as far as medication, for Josh.
My heart is heavy. I know that the new medication will most likely lose its ability to control Josh's eye pressure before we have to worry about it causing pigment changes. When that happens, then we will be looking at more surgery. It breaks my heart that there is so little that can be done for my son.

My Daughter on a Mission

On a mission trip, that is. Bethany 15yo left on Sat. morning with our youth group to go on her very 1st mission trip. They went to Cherokee NC.

As I was leaving the church parkinglot, I had to feel sorry for the person who was driving the van my daughter was riding in. She was with 3 of her friends. So, at 4:30am, they embarked on a 10hr trip with 4 very noisey teenage girls. I sure hope the driver had earplugs.

Bethany called me the 1st day to tell me about a rash she had on her face and ask what to do about it. Instead of "phone a friend" it was "phone a nurse". When she called 2 days later to ask me if it is ok to use things that had bug spray spilled on the wrapper, she did not mention the rash. I am assuming the hydrocortisone cleared it up.
She said she hurt her knee, but is having the best week of her entire life! The knee must not be hurt too badly.

We recieved an email update from one of the leaders. The group is doing home remodeling and repairs for a single mom who has 3 children. They are doing drywall, laying flooring, repairing a roof, and painting. What a blessing to be able to minister the love of Christ in such a tangible way!
I can hardly wait for Bethany to get home. I am eager to hear how the Lord has been working in her heart this week, and I am eager to see pictures!

The Saga Continues

Josh, my 5yo with PHPV, was seen by the pediatric ophthalmologist yesterday.
His eye pressure is creeping up again, which indicates the Cosopt drops are not working as well. We knew this was going to happen. The ped. ophth. warned us when Josh was diagnosed with aphakic glaucoma that the drops would lose their effectiveness over time. Now he will be getting another drop, as well as continuing with Cosopt.
Josh is amazing. I am certain none of my other children would sit patiently on the big chair while the doctor tapped their eyes with the tonopen. I would have a hard time with this myself. But Josh sits there and is so brave. As long as they give him Hershey Kisses afterward, he will do just about anything.

The appt was not all bad news. Josh's vision in his affected eye is now 20/50 with correction. The doc said typically you will have about 20/100 with correction in an eye with PHPV. One would expect possibly less than this, since Josh has had so many complications and surgeries. God is good!
The doctor attributed Josh's good vision to God looking out for him and to me, for persisting with the daily patching. I think it is God blessing Josh's hard work with daily patching.

We go back in 6 wks to see how the new medication is working.

Like Christmas in July

Fellow homeschoolers, can you relate? Our order arrived from Rainbow Resource Center today. The children were so excited. Before the box was even opened they were calling "dibs" on things. They were begging to know what I had ordered for them. What excitement and anticipation filled our house!
When we opened the box, we got an added surprise: wads and wads of brown packing paper! The boys were so tickled to discover there was actually enough for each of them to have a piece. Thank-you Rainbow folks!!
While I looked through the new school books, the boys enjoyed outlining each other on their paper and drawing faces on their life-sized likenesses. Are my kids the only ones that get so excited over packing paper? This was almost as much fun as bubblewrap, but much quieter!

I love new school books! The look, the feel, the smell of them. The pages all clean and smooth.
I took some time to highlight some things in some of the books for some of the children. For some reason, some of my children will completely overlook the instructions to take a quiz, unless it is highlighted. My life in the shoe can quickly overtake me at times, and I can easily overlook things to, only to realize several days later that certain things were missed. That is why I am trying hard to organize now.

I have one child, my little worker bee, Sarah, wants to start school today. She thinks the new books look much more exciting than the old ones we just finished. Funny, I think I remember her saying the same thing last summer.

Homeschool Planning

While the children are all enjoying their break from homeschooling, I am busy planning for the coming school year.
We will be using the Prairie Primer, which is a unit study, which is based on the Little House on the Prairie books. I used this with my 2 oldest children many years ago. I look forward to reading through the series again and doing the crafts and home arts with my children. I look forward to reading Bible passages with the children, passages that held special meaning to the real Laura Ingalls Wilder, that were relevent to her life and see how they apply to our lives. It will be fun singing "Three Blind Mice" and "Bean Porridge Hot" with my little ones again.

We will be using Primary Language Lessons and Intermediate Language Lessons, for language arts. Aaron will be improving his writing skills with the help of Wordsmith Apprentice. I also used this for my older ones and they enjoyed it. Beth and Sarah will be using Wordsmith. I have never used this level, so I am eager to see if it is as enjoyable as the Apprentice.

Math is always a toughy. Beth will be doing Keys to Geometry. Sarah wants to do CLE math. Aaron and Seth will be doing Mammoth Math. Seth used this last yr and we liked it, however, it does seem a bit advanced and I try to just ignore the numbers on the front and let them work where they need to be.

Jesse is still working his way through Alpha Phonics. Josh is still enjoying his Rod and Staff workbooks and his marker board. Christopher 3yo is working on his fine motor skills, speech and gross motor skills. (I will blog more on him another time.)

Where have I been??

My life in the shoe has been very busy, in a different sort of way lately. One of the things I have put on hold is this blog.

June 19 my children were scheduled to have their homeschool evaluations, as required by state law. I had worked hard on portfolios, cutting and gluing pictures of our school yr and sliding them into plastic sleeves. Sorting through school papers, picking out which ones to include as examples of what each child had done, progress they made. We were happily looking forward to getting done, we had plans for our summer, beginning with one son going to summer camp June 21st and the 18yo daughter starting beauty school the same day.
But God had other plans. I awoke at 3am on June 19th with horrible pain below my right rib. I couldn't lay down, I couldn't sit up, I couldn't walk around. I tried to wait it out til my family doctor was in his office. By 7am I had had more than I could take of the pain and asked my husband to drive me to the ER. After being examined and being scanned by ultra sound, it was determined my gallbladder needed to come out.

The doctor led me to believe I would recover quickly. It has not been that way. Three weeks later, and I am feeling much better. But it has not been a speedy recovery.
The difficult thing has been the order to refrain from lifting anything greater than 15lbs for 4 wks!! My 7month old daughter, Trinity, weighs over 18lbs. I am so thankful for my older daughters, who have graciously done all the heavy work for me.

We finally went to see the evaluator June 28th after Aaron 10yo came home from summer camp. Allura has three weeks of beauty school behind her. She is doing well with her tests and did her 1st official haircut yesterday.

Now the next step, planning for the new shcool year.

Homeschool Portfolios

I began assembling our portfolios today. For those who live in states with more user friendly homeschooling laws, we have to make portfolios for each child each yr. Plus, we have to have the child and the portfolio seen by an evaluator. It is a bit of work, but it is fun to look back at the portfolios later.

I am not an especially organized person. But one thing I do to keep myself from having to search for everyone's work at the end of the school yr is this. I have a file folder for each child, in the filing cabinet. It is labeled "Porfolio Possibilities". Each child then puts things into this folder throughout the school yr. Special papers, things from church or homeschool group. Pictures, artwork. Spelling tests. They all go in. As I get pics developed during the yr, I put them in there, too. Then, when it is time for evaluations, all I have to do is assemble everything in 3 ring binders, and make a few notes and captions. It is not hard, just time consuming.

I was in the attic recently and saw the boxes and bins of portfolios form yrs past. Two of my children have graduated, yet their schoolwork is still there.
I hate to throw them out, they contain so many pics and their writing. But I doubt anyone wants a stack of 3 ring binders to lug around through life, move from place to place, shelf to shelf, attic to attic.
This is my plan: Go through the binders graduate for each one that has graduated, and remove all the clear plastic sleeves full of pics, along with their stories and any other special reports, and highschool term papers. Then, put them all together in one big binder. One for each child. It will look more like a cherished scrapbook rather than a stack of papers.
After next week, when the evaluations are over, and I have a bit of time, I will start working on this project. I can hardly wait to present my graduates with these special albums.

Some pics of my recent work

From top to bottom: Cherries, Rhubarb jam, Strawberry banana jam (for recipe, see pp), and apricot jam

Walking Down Memory Lane

I made apricot jam today. As I was putting the jam into the jars, I noticed that the jars were the ones my Memom gave me.
Memom had canned in those jars for many yrs, mostly pickles and saurkraut, since they were pints. Some of the jars have the Anchor Hocking emblem on them, some Atlas, some Kerr. I even have some of the blue Mason quart jars in my basement. She gave them to me soon after I got married and she was ready to give up canning.

We use to live close to Memom. Mom and I would work side by side with Memom in the garden, planting, weeding and picking. We worked together as we peeled cucumbers, snapped green beans, peeled and sliced peaches, skinned tomatoes,etc.
I remember being hot and sweaty, and complaining about it, like I was the only one that minded it. I don't know how they put up with my whining:( Memom would just look at me over the top of her glasses and keep on working.

Funny, I think the things canned in those old jars taste better than things canned in the newer jars I bought. Those old jars certainly have held up better than the newer ones. I have never had one of them break during the canning process. Must be all that love from yrs of canning that make them more rugged.

Strawberry Banana Jam

I made a batch of strawberry banana jam today. The recipe makes about 5 pints. It is easy and delicious.

4 3/4 cups prepared fruit (about 2 quarts strawberries and 3 fully ripe bananas)
3Tblsp lemon juice
6 3/4 cups sugar
1 box sure jell (or a heaping 1/3 cup of bulk Dutch Jel_ which is what I use)
1/2 tsp butter

Stem and thoroughly crush stawberries. Measure 3 1/4cups into 6-8 quart saucepot. Mash bananas thoroughly. Measure 1 1/2 cups and add to pot. Stir in lemon juice.

Measure sugar into separate bowl. Stir sure jell into fruit in saucepot. Add butter. Bring mixture to a full rolling boil on high heat, stirring constantly. Quickly stir in all the sugar. Return to a full rolling boil and boil exactly 1 min. stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off any foam with a metal spoon.

Ladle quickly into hot sterilized jars, filling to within 1/2in of tops. Wipe jar rims and threads. Cover with 2-piece lids and screw tightly. Invert jars 5 min. then turn upright. (you can use the water bath method, but I don't.)

Teen Drivers and Sick Babies

Teen Drivers are a scarey thing. They are a test of faith that is beyond any other. My 2nd child passed her drivers test today and became an officially licensed driver. In some ways it is wonderful I was beginning to wonder if I was going to have to drive her to beauty school every day beginning June 21.

Now she has to learn that it costs money to go to work. We never charged her for gas when we drove her. She has been learning, little by little, how to budget and manage money. Now she will be learning a little more. Gas and insurance and cell phone. (wouldn't it be nice if this were our only expenses?)

She drove herself to work all alone today. Then off to youth group, where her sister had been dropped off earlier. She will be bringing her sister home.

Then tomorrow, she is driving about 25 minutes away to apply for a job. It is about half way between home and the school she will be attending.

It is really hard to see the little bird stretching her skinny wings. Seems like just yesterday she was wearing out my livingroom carpet with the pink Barbie convertable;)

We continue to have the spread of illness in our house. The baby who is only 6 mos is now sick, as is the 3yo and 13yo. The others that had it are still sick. Total of 7 sick children.

Another day of Canning

I canned another 20 quarts of cherries today. We have a few more out there. If it is raining tomorrow, we might let the birds have the rest.
I also canned 7 pints of rhubarb jam. I used a different recipe this yr, which does not contain strawberry jello. My jam looks like honey. I am eager to bake some bread and slather it with some homemade jam! Mmm Mm! Rhubarb jam does take a lot of sugar. But at least it does not contain high fructose corn syrup, like most commercial jams and jellies.

I also thought I would try bulk Dutch gel, instead of the little packets of Sure Jell. So far, it looks like it will set up the same. It is so much cheaper to buy it in bulk. Those little packets almost make homemade jam not cost effective.

I will try to post some pics of my finished products tomorrow.

I still have sick little boys. My 5 yo may be going to the doctor tomorrow. We are having a hard time getting him to drink enough to comensate for his fever and the hot weather.

What a Weekend

Yesterday was such a pleasant day. The girls and I went to the annual Large Family Picnic. My boys were still under the weather, so they stayed home. It was rather nice to not have to chase all the little boys. I could actually have a conversation without running off after someone and having no idea what I had been talking about. I would have rather had them healthy though.

I got to connect with another mom I had not seen in years. The last time I saw her, she only had 3 children and I "only" had six. I still think of her as a young mom, barely past the newlywed season:) Yet, in reality, she is an experienced mom with a lot of wisdom to offer new moms.

I got to meet some of the moms I am friends with on an online support site called momys. Momys is an acronym for Mothers Of Many Young Siblings.
What a blessing it was to spend time with like-minded women. It is great "talking" to these women online, but to spend an afternoon of fellowship was wonderful!


While I was fellowshipping, and then shopping with my girls, Gene was home with the boys. After the nappers went off to bed, he spent the afternoon picking cherries from our lone cherry tree behind our garage.

Today, after church, I started on pitting and canning cherries. So far, I have 14 quarts! I still have at least that many in the laundryroom refridgerator, and that many still on the tree. Cherry cobbler and pie will taste so good this winter!

After I got done canning, and the jars were lined up on my counter, I enjoyed the pinging sound they make as the lids seal. I remember canning with my mom and she would always get so excited about the sound. Funny how it seemed silly back then, now I know it is a special kind of music. When I shared this with my 18yo daughter, she thought I was being silly. Some day, she will understand. She assures me she will not be canning, seems pointless to her.

After canning, we ate cake and icecream, to celebrate one of my son's birthday. He was 7 yesterday. He was not up to eating cake yesterday. We gave him a parachute man, a pirate ship kit, and a geode. When he opened his gifts, he thought we gave him a rock. He is eager to see if his geode is filled with crystals, like the ones his brothers broke open for science class.

Sickness continues

I took my almost 7yo to the doctor yesterday. He has bronchitis and is now on abx and an inhaler. What made me decide was his temp was 103.5 1st thing in the morning.
He vomitted a good portion of his abx. Hopefully, we have more success today.

Last night, around bedtime, I noticed the 5yo felt warm. He had a fever of 101.4 He was very indignant about his brother "making him sick". It was sort of funny.

Then the almost 9yo wanted to check his temp and decided to wash the digital thermometer. Now it doesn't work:( We have two other thermometers, but they are hiding, probably under the sofa. I think the 9yo is fine, he is just having sympathy heeby-jeebies.

We had planned to go to a picnic on Saturday for large families. Now, I'm not certain we will be able to. I don't want to risk exposing lots of children, or preggy women to sickness. I guess we will see how all the children are on Saturday morning.

What is PHPV?

PHPV stands for Persistent Hyperplastic Primary Vitreous. Does that help?

PHPV is a birth defect of the eye. When the eye is developing, it has blood vessels that come from the back of the eye that supply blood to the developing lens. At a certain point, the vessel is supposed to shrivel up and die, it has done its work and is no longer needed.
With PHPV, the vessel does not shrivel up, it keeps supplying blood to the eye, causing scarring in the vitreous and the back of the lens capsule. This scarring is a cataract. PHPV often causes the eye to be smaller than normal, microphthalmia, it also makes it more prone to elevated pressure, glaucoma, as well as other complications.

Five yrs ago, I had never heard of PHPV. Since then, I have learned more about it, and eyes, than I ever wanted to know.
Why would I care to learn about congenital cataracts?? My 5yo son had PHPV in his right eye. Josh's PHPV eye is microphthalmic, and he has glaucoma.

Josh had his 1st of 6 surgeries when he was only 4 weeks old. Cataract surgery in infants is different than adults, in that they are under general anethesia and they do not implant artificial lenses into infant eyes. So, mom had to learn how to change a contact lens. The 1st time I changed it, Josh was about 2 months old. I'm not sure who cried more, him or me. Now, it is very easy. But we went through a lot of difficult times to get to this point.
Another problem with PHPV is amblyopia, lazy eye. The brain tries to ignore the eye with blurry vision in children. So, even with surgery to remove the cataract, and a contact lens to take the place of the natural lens, he would still not develope vision unless we did something to help him. This "something" is daily patching of the unaffected eye. What a challenge that has been at times. Currently, we are at a peaceful season with the patching. But we are ready to be firm if he needs us to be again. It would be cruel to have put our little son through so many surgeries, and then not enforce the patching therapy.

Our biggest concern right now is the eye pressure. Drops to lower the pressure do not always work long term in young children. Josh is seen frequently to have his pressure checked. What a brave little guy he is. Elevated eye pressure can cause a lot of problems, which could cause him to lose his vision. So we fight to keep his eye as healthy as possible and his pressure under control.

Illness visits the shoe

I was awakened at 2am by my husband and our almost 7yo son. He had a fever before he went to bed. Now he was having some trouble breathing. My husband said one of the other boys woke him up and said we needed a doctor.
When I got out my stethoscope, I could tell right away his lungs were clear. The noises I heard were all in his throat, which was a bit swollen. After a couple of good coughs, all was well again. He needed treated again for his fever, and I kept him near me the rest of the night. His fever has been up and down today, but no more breathing problems.

When people imply that I am wasting my nursing education by being a SAHM, I disagree with them. With several kids with asthma, one with PHPV and one with Trisomy 21, I use my nursing skills a lot. I am so grateful the Lord made it possible for me to become a nurse, as the knowledge I aquired has been such a blessing in caring for my children.

Distractions

I went out to my back yard today to check to see if the cherries are ready to be picked. We have one lonely cherry tree that gives us a bumper crop on the yrs my husband remembers to spray them;) This year looks good. The cherries are not quite ripe.
But while I was there, I noticed the grass was getting tall. So, I decided to mow the edges, as I had promised my 13yo daughter I would do the summer. Next thing I knew, I had mowed the entire lawn and had ran out of gas.

The only trouble with this is that it was not what I was supposed to be doing.
I ended up causing my 18yo daughter to be late for orientation at beauty school. She does not drive yet, so I needed to be ready to take her.
She will be taking her driving test in 2 weeks. I hope she passes. I really need another driver in the shoe. But teen drivers are so scarey. I think there should be roads designated for them alone.

Introduction to the Shoe Dwellers

I am the "little old woman" who lives in this shoe. Well, I don't really think of myself as being an old woman, at 43yo. (yes, I am not afraid to post my real age.) But, in reality, I am not a very young woman anymore.

My husband and I have been married for soon to be 23yrs. We have 10 beautiful children. Our oldest is 21 and has left the shoe. Our youngest is 5 1/2 months. We have 5 girls and 5 boys! We had 4 girls in a row, then came the 5 boys. We were delighted to again have a darling daughter!

I use to be a nurse, and have worked in the nursing field off and on throughout my yrs of marriage and motherhood. Currently, I am a SAHM.

I have been homeschooling since 1994! and have graduated 2 of my children, so far. My oldest is now a nurse. My next one is enrolled in beauty school. (Yay, free haircuts!)

We are wrapping up the current school year, and planning for the new one. In our state, this is a lot of paperwork, a lot of planning and expense. I look forward to a break.