Walking the Walk

Most of our family & friends know how we have been affected by epilepsy and the wonderful testimony we have to tell of Noah's healing. Noah has been seizure-free over a year & a half now, and this will be his second seizure-free year walking in the Greater Chicago Epilepsy Walk.

Noah is seizure-free and medication-free on the ketogenic diet. We are walking to benefit the Epilepsy Foundation in honor of Noah. This will also give us a great opportunity to tell others of Noah’s story. We hope to continue to be an encouragement and support to others.

The pic below is from last year's walk. This year we have even more walkers!! It's a great time in Lincoln Park- a pretty short walk and then we step right next door to visit the Lincoln Park Zoo afterward!

Saturday May 20 we will walk again as the Buddy Bears team. So far we have raised over $1100! Show your support if you'd like!

Go Buddy Bears!

You know you're a mom when...

You count the sprinkles on each kid's cupcake to make sure they're equal.

You have time to shave only one leg at a time.

You hide in the bathroom to be alone.

Your kid throws-up and you catch it.

As you cling to the high moral ground on toy weapons; your child chews his toast into the shape of a gun.

You hear your mother's voice coming out of your mouth when you say, "NOT in your good clothes!"

You stop criticizing the way your mother raised you.

You know you wouldn't trade this job for anything.

The Happy Hubby

Last night I was able to get out for some long overdue girl time with a few of my dear friends. It was such a blessing and treat to be out for the night to just eat good food & chat with women my age who also have multiple little ones! I felt such a renewing and couldn’t wait to get back home and be a better wife & mommy. I guess my tank got filled!

One thing we talked about was the funny little things we do for our husbands. Of course, we all aren’t perfect and I mentioned how there are times I’ll wake up and hear hubby in the shower and have to run downstairs to get a clean towel out of the dryer because I managed to let the bathroom shelves run out of towels again! But 99% of the time I manage to get a nice clean towel folded & put out for him in time. A good suggestion was to throw a towel in the dryer to get it warm & soft for hubby when he gets done showering- that was a great idea! I am going to make an effort to try that. Some other suggestions are to put out his t-shirt or underclothes so everything is ready when he gets out. As I am typing this, these seem like silly little gestures, but you know all the little things do add up to make a very happy hubby, and a happy hubby makes a happy home!

What are some little things you do for your hubby?

monday's musing

"When my kids become wild and unruly, I use a nice, safe playpen. When they're finished, I climb out." -- Erma Bombeck

Real Men Wear Babies

Reason Why We Babywear
Number 47

I love my hubby!!! This morning I "escaped" to run an errand (a.k.a. Starbuck's.) When I got home, all my boys were outside cleaning up the yard - and Jeff was wearing Gray in the mei tai!

They were cleaning up after the dogs in the backyard, then proceeded to the front to pull up dandelions. My heart grew a few sizes bigger seeing my tough hubby caring for Gray just as I would, and it was his own idea. Swoon.




This has been entered in Peppermint's June Babywearing Photo contest here.

Shhhh

quiet house haiku

the house is quiet
all three boys taking a nap
i think i will too

memory served

Yesterday I was tempted to put a new toy, say some stacking blocks, on the shopping list for Gray since he is sitting up well on his own now. Then I observe Noah with a couple sticks he found out in the yard and has been carrying around all day, and Carter with a drinking straw taped to a couple Legos… suddenly I am reminded of mothering those two previous 6-month-olds. I open the utensil drawer and hand Gray the measuring cups and a little plastic dish. His new favorite toys.

Babies Don't Keep

A familiar poem to some, and one I recite in my head daily. Thanks to Mopsy at Lifenut for inspiring me to post it here.

Mother, O Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing, make up the bed,
Sew on a button and butter the bread.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I've grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue,
Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo.
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo

The shopping's not done and there's nothing for stew
And out in the yard there's a hullabaloo
But I'm playing Kanga and this is my Roo
Look! Aren't his eyes the most wonderful hue?
Lullabye, rockaby lullabye loo.

The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
But children grow up as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep!
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.

- Ruth Hulbert Hamilton

One Of These Kids Is Doing His Own Thing

This photo represents my three boys and their different personalities very well. Noah is our first-born, the leader, and Mr. Do-Good. Carter, the trademarked "middle child" is our goofball, maker-of many-faces, and our most sensitive but also most adventurous so far. Then there's baby Grayson just hanging out- easy going, and happy as can be. As much as I want him to stay a little snuggly baby, I am anxious to see who he becomes. Will he be strong in spirit like Noah and a charmer with the ladies like Carter? I feel so blessed that Gray gets to grow up with these wonderful big brothers as examples for him. He already looks up to them with utter admiration. He's only 6 months old! But, I can see it is his eyes. It melts my heart.

There is no situation so chaotic that God cannot from that situation, create something that is surpassingly good. He did it at the creation. He did it at the cross. He is doing it today.—Bishop Moule

Playing along with a "Weird Meme"

Here's my "Weird Meme." Playing along with another blogger friend's Meme at Actual Unretouched Photo , I am going to tell you six weird things about me.

1) For no apparent reason I gave up chocolate in the 8th grade. I think I went almost a whole year without eating chocolate. No worries- I am making up for it now.

2) I failed my first two driving permit tests. I did not get my driver's license until I was 18 years old. (I passed my driver's test the 1st time, tho!)

3) Even with the information from #2, I graduated high school number 16, with honors, out of 641 students in the senior class.

4) I HATE ants. That's all I can say about that.

5) I used to manage a movie theater and ran the projectors and everything. I know how to splice and put movie film reels together, as well as thread the projector, etc. I also was working there the night Titanic premiered (December 19, 1997 if I remember correctly!)

6) I don't like to wear socks.

buds!

The dogs got out this morning- again!!! All three, and this time they were down the street by the time I threw on my flip-flops and made sure the kids were ok with me darting out of the house.

It took me a couple seconds to even figure out which way they went, then I saw all three clear at the end of our street by the train tracks. OF COURSE there would be a train at this time, with a whole line of cars backed up waiting, and watching me! I yell & call for the dogs- Gucci & Jake are pretty good and come quickly- running to the house. Dobie is a totally different story. Won't come & I can see him marking everything in sight. His diaper is going to be gross, I think! I feel really embarrassed yelling, chasing, coaxing Dobie back home. He acts like he is coming and then goes the other way, then across the street, finally I get him home- and see his diaper is missing. Oh man! Those things aren't cheap! I make sure all the dogs are inside, check on the kids, and then head back out to look for my dog's diaper! Thankfully the train has passed and the cars are mostly gone. I am really hoping no one is on their lawn or looking out their windows at me! I do a quick review of the yards, sidewalks, street... no diaper. I head back in the house to make sure he even had it on when he got out. Sure enough- diaper is on the couch downstairs. Sigh of relief.

Well, at least I got my exercise in for the day. Also- I did notice that my lilac bushes have BUDS!!! This really put me in a great mood! I am not even mad at the dogs anymore!

My dogs wear diapers

... and other Monday musings

Yes- my dogs wear diapers and that is the only reason they still live under our roof- otherwise they were doomed for the pound last week- the doggie diapers have saved them! No more “marking” and peeing on our furniture, and they’re not even trying to take the diapers off surprisingly… it’s a good thing.

Lessons I learned this weekend:

1. It’s OK to throw caution to the wind and let the kids play in the play place at Burger King. I prayed that they will not be infected with some weird play place disease. As a family we ate lunch and had a great time, and oddly enough we had the place to ourselves almost the entire time. (Maybe the other parents know something I don’t?) Seriously, the place was very clean and we did go a little later than normal lunch-time, so I am guessing & hoping that’s it…

2. When getting ready for church and you’re late- (hey- myself, 3 kids, & a husband to wake, feed, & get ready in the morning—if you have it figured out please drop me a line) -it makes no sense to have an attitude when other adults in the house are dragging behind and you have to be on-time for nursery duty… I had a bit of a bad attitude and it didn’t pay off one bit- with my hurrying and snippy-ness I ended up dropping an entire bottle of red wine vinegar in the kitchen, shattering it & splattering it all over myself and the rest of the house… not helping us on time at all, and in the end I felt bad and had to say I was sorry about the attitude anyway. Got to church at an OK time (not on-time, but OK) and there were no babies in the nursery yet anyway.

Learned to think of the big picture: rushing like a mad-woman, Mrs. Snippy Snappy to hubby & kids, all just to be a “good” Christian servant and on-time for the nursery? Sometimes our priorities do get a little skewed.

That was my teachable moment in all its vinegary goodness. Have a very happy Monday!

"To the world you might be one person, but to one person you might be the world." -- Unknown

Nothing Was Taken

4/5/06
I held Noah in his bed tonight, stroking his soft, little boy hair through my fingers. I am continually overcome with thankfulness for this child, as we once almost lost him, in our eyes, we saw him slipping away and didn’t let go. The Lord spoke to me as I kissed his face, clear as day, “Nothing was taken.”

I lay there looking at this angel, my firstborn in my arms, growing up to be a young boy. And nothing was taken. The enemy came to kill and steal, but he did not take. He didn’t get away with it. It was like our home had been “broken into” but nothing was taken. We had a scare and felt violated and hurt, and had to make some changes, but nothing was taken from us.

Proverbs 10:25
When the storm is over, there is nothing left of the wicked; good people, firm on their Rock foundation, aren’t even fazed.

open eyes

Click on the above title or go to http://www.putchildrenfirst.org/- read the page & view the 4/6/06 ad if you are a parent, will be a parent someday, or know some parents... you get the picture!

Can you help me find my cell phone?

"Noah can you help me find my cell phone?"
I hear this coming out of the playroom yesterday. My three year old can't find his cell phone? Funny thing is that this is normal conversation between Jeff & me most days. Usually I just end up calling mine to find its mysterious locations.

Daddy: How old is daddy?
Carter: Thirty!
Daddy: How old are you & Noah?
Carter: Noah's 5 and I'm 3! (Holding up the appropriate fingers)
Daddy: How old is mommy?
Carter: Young and beautiful : )

Carter has a play cell phone and Daddy has been teaching him his cell number and amazingly Carter has memorized it!

Yesterday Carter asks me if I have a cell phone, too. I said yes and asked if he'd like to learn my number, too. He flips open his play phone and says, "but mommy, there is no 'young and beautiful' on my cell phone!"

gRoWiNg GrAy

Gray’s growing up fast! Will be 6 months old in just a few days! He’s sitting up well, but can’t be unassisted just yet. He’s a squealer and a talker… very good at the whole “da da” – we’re still working on “ma ma!” Jeff thinks he says “happy” and I think he tries to say “I love you”- I’m serious- he works his mouth and I think he’s saying it!!! One tooth is already popping through on the bottom… oh that will change his look!! Noah & Carter are still his favorite peeps and he gets the most excited and LOUD when he sees them first thing in the morning. And as I type, he is in the swing and has just found his reflection in the mirror… according to the squealing I think HE is officially his new favorite person!