Carter had to go in for an out patient surgery this week. I was a nervous wreck. I couldn't stand the thought of my little boy having surgery. He was so brave I couldn't believe it. He has never been great with doctors or nurses, He has had to deal with them enough in his short life so far. But this time he was cool and calm, not bothered a bit by them, he even gave the doctor a bad time and bantered with him. He was nervous at first about each of the steps, like putting on his gown, so we had his monkey, Montey put one on first. Then Montey and Carter got ID bracelets and laid down in the wagon that would wheel them back to the OR. While they waited for the doctor they tested out the oxygen masks that would help them go to sleep. Before we knew it they were both waving goodbye to us as they were wheeled into the OR by the doctor and nurse. Several hours later the doctor came out and told us things went really well. He was in recovery and they would get us right back there because he was crying and upset. He settled down a little after he saw daddy and mommy. We showed him Montey and he wanted to hold him. He was quite upset about the iv needle in his hand and so the nurse was able to remove it after a short time. He was given a bright red popsicle that he ate about 1/4 of and an large assortment of bandaids for him and Montey to use as needed. After he woke up a little more he was excited to see that Montey had the same big bandage on his abdomen as Carter did. It was only a short while after that and we were allowed to go home. There Carter got nauseous and vomitted quite a bit. he settled by late evening though and slept snuggled in with his Mommy and Daddy while the other kids stayed at Grandma and Grandpa's. Grandma and Philip brought Carter a big whale balloon, a airplane fan/candy and some new crayon stix and paper to keep him entertained in a quiet activity while he recovered. Luckily his recovery was pretty quick and he is pretty much back to himself.
Sunday, April 22, 2007
A Friend to Lean On
Monday, April 16, 2007
Imagine Museum
With a name like that is has to be a great place right? I can't believe how much fun we had at the Everett children's museum. It was a great way to wrap up our Spring break. Jose had the day off work and he decided we should go take the kids to do something fun. We had originally planned on the zoo but lucky for us it was a rainy day. We decided to explore somewhere new and after looking up local hot spots for kids online I thought the children's museum would be a great destination and it was! Rarely does a place live up to all you hope it will be for your kids, but this museum was more than we had imagined it would be. There was so much to do, and it was all hands on and engaging. The kids could learn and explore. They could build and play.
They each had their own favorite. Carter of course loved the water area. He could have played 
with the those boats and squirters for hours. He wanted to know how each instrument worked and find out what happened when you pushed each button or turned a knob. He also had his own out of the box ideas for the water area, wanting to see what would happen if you stuck a boat here or there, under paddles or nozzles, wanting to stack all the funnels together and pour water through them rather than play with them individually. His mind works in mysterious ways and I am fascinated watching him at work.
Addie seemed to enjoy the craft area because she got to cut. The girl has talent with scissors 
when she choses to use them appropriately. She really likes to use her hands, she loves anything crafty, and you can see her beam with prie when she knows she has made a masterpiece. She has a long atention span when she is doing artwork, and she is usually in a state of calm, as long as she is given room to create as she wishes without rules or restrictions.
Sadie liked the farm area. She used her excellent math skills to weigh and add up plastic fruits
and vegetables. She pretendeed she was milking a cow, which she was an expert at since her class had recently taken a field trip to the Lynden Milk Makers fest. It is especially rewarding to see Sadie in a place like this because it gives great insight into her way of thinking. She has advanced into a level of play that includes using real life skills and acquiring new knowledge. She actually took time to read the signs and answer the questions they asked.
Philip's favorite area was undoubtably the construction zone. He loved putting the nuts and bolts together and getting to make something real, an actually ride on toy car/robot mobile. That boy is a natural with tools. Notice the tongue hanging out of his mouth? That means there is some serious concentration going on. I noticed as I watched him that he stuck his tongue out farther and farther the harder he worked. It would start just peaking out the corner of his mouth while he planned his contraption, then it would show itself a bit more as he began to put his plan to work, and here it is fully exposed as he tries to solve a difficult problem involving a stuck bolt.
They each had their own favorite. Carter of course loved the water area. He could have played 
with the those boats and squirters for hours. He wanted to know how each instrument worked and find out what happened when you pushed each button or turned a knob. He also had his own out of the box ideas for the water area, wanting to see what would happen if you stuck a boat here or there, under paddles or nozzles, wanting to stack all the funnels together and pour water through them rather than play with them individually. His mind works in mysterious ways and I am fascinated watching him at work.Addie seemed to enjoy the craft area because she got to cut. The girl has talent with scissors 
when she choses to use them appropriately. She really likes to use her hands, she loves anything crafty, and you can see her beam with prie when she knows she has made a masterpiece. She has a long atention span when she is doing artwork, and she is usually in a state of calm, as long as she is given room to create as she wishes without rules or restrictions.
Sadie liked the farm area. She used her excellent math skills to weigh and add up plastic fruits
and vegetables. She pretendeed she was milking a cow, which she was an expert at since her class had recently taken a field trip to the Lynden Milk Makers fest. It is especially rewarding to see Sadie in a place like this because it gives great insight into her way of thinking. She has advanced into a level of play that includes using real life skills and acquiring new knowledge. She actually took time to read the signs and answer the questions they asked. 
Philip's favorite area was undoubtably the construction zone. He loved putting the nuts and bolts together and getting to make something real, an actually ride on toy car/robot mobile. That boy is a natural with tools. Notice the tongue hanging out of his mouth? That means there is some serious concentration going on. I noticed as I watched him that he stuck his tongue out farther and farther the harder he worked. It would start just peaking out the corner of his mouth while he planned his contraption, then it would show itself a bit more as he began to put his plan to work, and here it is fully exposed as he tries to solve a difficult problem involving a stuck bolt.They also enjoyed the racetrack area, where Jose jumped at the chance to pose as the 1st place winner. Another favorite was the near life size plane, with a cockpit including steering device, levers, buttons and switches to play with. Addie got a little upset in this section when she thought she was permently stuck in the seatbelt of one of the passenger chairs. They were impressed with the glowing black light/ shadow creation area. And Jose and the kids took a turn with the green screen pretending to be famous actors on tv. We really had an amazing time and can't wait to go back. I even caught Jose having fun and that is rare treat. 
On the way home we stopped at McD's and let them get some of their running energy out chasing eachother throught he tubes. When they each got a chocolate dipped cone they thought that topped it off as the best day ever. It was a nice family fun day, and I hope to have a summer full of them this year.
Monday, April 9, 2007
Eggsellent Times
We hope everyone had a great Easter. This year I think my kids finally got it. They may each have got it on a different level, but this was the first year that I felt like they all shared some joy and understanding in this holiday. We celebrated the ressurection of our savior in several ways this year.
First in our celebration was getting crafty. We had lots of fun getting our hands busy making decorations for our home. We pulled out feathers,glue, sequins, pom-poms, pipe cleaners and construction paper to make our simple and adorable spring creations. We had chicks popping out of eggs, fuzzy bunny's, stained glass window eggs made from melted crayons, and decorative crosses. Each day was a new project and the kids really got into it.
Of course a few days before Easter there was the traditional, and more commercialized Easter egg hunt with hundreds of plastic eggs filled with gobs of candy, stickers, bubbles, and other fun prizes. We had many of our friends over to share the fun with us and there were plenty of eggs for everyone to find, more than enough sugar to give them all a buzz, and tons of great photos ops. For anyone who didn't get in on it with us this year, we are sorry and didn't mean to exclude you, it was really a last minute idea, but we hope to have another fun gathering next year.
Then of course there was the actual dying of easter eggs. Knowing how
much all of my kids enjoy making a mess, this is something I look forward to and dread at the same time. I have decided to take it all in a stride and see the inevitable mess as a great photo opportunity and just picture the cute scrapbook pages that will follow (some year when I get them actually made) and enjoy the moments of creativity just as much as my children do. This year we dyed just 3 dozen eggs. Not too overwhelming a number so it went by very quickly with 5 kids dying eggs (my niece Tori joined us for this activity). We had two basic dye kits, some crayons, five unusually patient, generous and kind spirited kids and loads of creativity that led to some beautiful easter art. 
For the past few Easter's we have added another activity into our Easter eggs, they are called ressurection eggs. It is a kit we bought at our local Christian book store. They are a dozen plastic eggs each a different color and conatining a different momento of the Easter story to help bring the story to life. My kids love each of the miniture figures and replicas, and it helps hold their attention and brings details to light while we go through the story of the ultimate display of love.
We also spent lots of time reading Easter books and talking about the meaning of Easter.
Remembering what a wise children's minister had shared with me about letting God use the gore for the purpose of getting their attention, I shared the story more vividly then I had in the past. To this day I can't mention the name of Jesus without one of my boys going into some kind of detail about how He was beaten, forced to wear a crown of thorns, then nailed to wood to die on the cross. But it wasn't until I asked Philip why Jesus did that, that I could see how the message sunk in. And in the words of my blunt four year old were wise words far deeper then I expected "So we can go to heaven mom, just so we can go to heaven, it doesn't make sense." And surely it doesn't, who are we to be worthy of such gift of grace?
First in our celebration was getting crafty. We had lots of fun getting our hands busy making decorations for our home. We pulled out feathers,glue, sequins, pom-poms, pipe cleaners and construction paper to make our simple and adorable spring creations. We had chicks popping out of eggs, fuzzy bunny's, stained glass window eggs made from melted crayons, and decorative crosses. Each day was a new project and the kids really got into it.
Of course a few days before Easter there was the traditional, and more commercialized Easter egg hunt with hundreds of plastic eggs filled with gobs of candy, stickers, bubbles, and other fun prizes. We had many of our friends over to share the fun with us and there were plenty of eggs for everyone to find, more than enough sugar to give them all a buzz, and tons of great photos ops. For anyone who didn't get in on it with us this year, we are sorry and didn't mean to exclude you, it was really a last minute idea, but we hope to have another fun gathering next year.
Then of course there was the actual dying of easter eggs. Knowing how
much all of my kids enjoy making a mess, this is something I look forward to and dread at the same time. I have decided to take it all in a stride and see the inevitable mess as a great photo opportunity and just picture the cute scrapbook pages that will follow (some year when I get them actually made) and enjoy the moments of creativity just as much as my children do. This year we dyed just 3 dozen eggs. Not too overwhelming a number so it went by very quickly with 5 kids dying eggs (my niece Tori joined us for this activity). We had two basic dye kits, some crayons, five unusually patient, generous and kind spirited kids and loads of creativity that led to some beautiful easter art. 
For the past few Easter's we have added another activity into our Easter eggs, they are called ressurection eggs. It is a kit we bought at our local Christian book store. They are a dozen plastic eggs each a different color and conatining a different momento of the Easter story to help bring the story to life. My kids love each of the miniture figures and replicas, and it helps hold their attention and brings details to light while we go through the story of the ultimate display of love.
We also spent lots of time reading Easter books and talking about the meaning of Easter.
Remembering what a wise children's minister had shared with me about letting God use the gore for the purpose of getting their attention, I shared the story more vividly then I had in the past. To this day I can't mention the name of Jesus without one of my boys going into some kind of detail about how He was beaten, forced to wear a crown of thorns, then nailed to wood to die on the cross. But it wasn't until I asked Philip why Jesus did that, that I could see how the message sunk in. And in the words of my blunt four year old were wise words far deeper then I expected "So we can go to heaven mom, just so we can go to heaven, it doesn't make sense." And surely it doesn't, who are we to be worthy of such gift of grace?Thursday, April 5, 2007
Furry Friends
Puppy meets Bunny
Princess and Stormy met today for the first time. They got along fabulously. At first i brought bunbun in the house to meet princess and see how they would get along. I thought Princess would bark or chase her, but she just sniffed her and then kept laying next to her. She was really fascinated by the bunny, but the bunny was less than excited but very tolerant, until we went to play in the yard. Outside Princess got a little too excited and kept 
wanting to chase Stormy and play. Stoemy hopped across the yard, then Princess hopped across the yard copying her. Princess can hop just like the bunny, it was pretty cute. We do have a few places where they can both fit under the fence though, so our play time had to have careful observation and was kept pretty short. I must say they look pretty cute together though.
wanting to chase Stormy and play. Stoemy hopped across the yard, then Princess hopped across the yard copying her. Princess can hop just like the bunny, it was pretty cute. We do have a few places where they can both fit under the fence though, so our play time had to have careful observation and was kept pretty short. I must say they look pretty cute together though.
Balto and Princess
Princess was infatuated with Balto from first sight, can't quite say the same for Balto but he was more than tolerant with her exuberantness. She loved to jump all over him and then would prance up his back and slide down his stomache like he was her personal playground. He kept giving me the look that said "oh brother how long do I have to put up with this" but soon she settled down and they just lay in a cuddle position for a nap.
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