Four More Years

Three years ago I wrote a list of 45 goals that I hoped to achieve before I turned 45 years old. That's only four years from now! A few more of the goals were achieved over the past year or should be achieved in the near future such as: we took the kids to a Sight and Sound production (Jonah) last June (and plan to return this June to see Noah), we plan to go to the Magic Kingdom next month, we've been to Hershey Park and Knoebels and already bought tickets to go to Sesame Place for the first time in June, and we plan to pay off Paul's undergrad school loans next month. If we can possibly afford it, I'd like to go to Hawaii next year before Oliver turns two (and thus requires the purchase of another airline ticket). That's been a dream vacation for Paul and I for years! At first we were doing really well towards my goal of going on at least 40 dates over the seven year time span, but from May 6, 2012 to April 22, 2013 we only went on one date (on December 7, 2012). Hopefully we'll start going out more regularly again as we need to go on 22 more dates over the next 4 years to achieve that goal. I had achieved the weight loss goal after having Ian, but I haven't gotten back down there yet since having Oliver. I am determined to do so in the near future!

Since I haven't reviewed my goals for 2013 since early February, I thought it was also time to look at that list again as well. I've been working on feeding Oliver solid food (#3). He still needs to figure out what do to with his tongue. He does better if I really make the food thick (add a lot of rice or oatmeal cereal to it) or give him yogurt (which he loves). He does chew when I put something like a Cheerio in his mouth.  The kids are showing some improvement with enjoying a wider variety of foods (#5), although there's still a lot of room for growth! Ian is making more and more progress with feeding himself (#6). I don't break his bagel into pieces any more at breakfast, and now I only cut his sandwich (for lunch) into fourths rather than eighths.

 

We're already on our 16th chapter book so we should have no problems achieving the goal of reading at least 25 this year (#10). The next one Nadia wants me to read to her is The Wizard of Oz.  I'm still nursing Oliver, albeit only once a day at this point (#14); the best way for me to deal with feeling like an utter failure (#39) is to just try not to think about it. We shall see if he can continue that for at least 3.5 more months. Nadia's handwriting, coloring, and cutting skills have improved a LOT over the past four months, and I recently purchased a book on teaching children to draw that I am hoping Paul will use to help Nadia with her drawing skills. I've been working with Nadia on her patterning skills (#20) during the math portion of our "school time" most mornings. We've gotten in a good pattern with Nadia's school work (#30) although I haven't been writing lesson plans yet. I have been doing some Spanish with Nadia and Ian (#31). Nadia is doing soccer now (#38)! I have been doing better with showing patience toward the kids (#40).

As mentioned, I did buy our tickets to go to Sesame Place on June 8 (#12), and our trip to Florida (#13) is just around the corner! I've still been submitting applications for Paul (#21), and I'm hoping that will draw to a close in the VERY near future. Delhi said they will hopefully let him know this week whether or not they picked him. I'm trying very hard not to get worried about his job search (#34). At Nadia's initiative she has started attending the worship service with me already (#25). I've done a really great job of purging (#29). If we find we are moving this summer, I would like for Paul to do a little purging as well (I don't dare throw away any of his stuff without his permission). If we find out we're not moving, the first thing I want him to do is hang the letters that spell Oliver's name on his bedroom wall (that we've owned since early September!).

Reading the goals periodically is helpful because I forget some of them otherwise. I didn't record any videos of the kids in March - oops! On April 13 I recorded a 2 minute video of Nadia's very first soccer game, and yesterday I recorded two videos - one of Ian singing Happy Birthday and the other of Ian and Nadia singing together. I need to take a video of Oliver this week.

Nadia and Ian made me cards and bought me some Turtles (candy) at the Dollar Store with Paul yesterday afternoon, and last night Nadia and I went on a Mommy/Daughter dinner date at a fancy restaurant in our town that gives you a free meal (up to $19.99) if you go on your actual birthday. We very rarely take the kids out to eat, but I took them to Perkins last Tuesday, my parents took the kids and I to Cracker Barrel on Saturday, and I'm planning to redeem one more free meal coupon at Red Robin tomorrow! I think they are enjoying celebrating Mommy's birthday! I'm enjoying it also as I hadn't eaten out much over the past eleven months. I ordered a grilled ham steak last night, and since it was a one pound (!) portion I brought a doggie bag home (as did Nadia) which means we get to enjoy the food again today. I splurged a bought a piece of peanut butter pie for dessert. Yummy! Including a generous tip, I paid $15 for our meals. It was very special to take Nadia to a nice restaurant for the first time in her life. I also enjoyed receiving three birthday phone calls, skyping with my brother, and reading many birthday greetings on Facebook. It was a very nice birthday!

Forty-One!

As of today I'm 41 years old. I feel incredibly blessed. My 35th birthday was really a hard one emotionally. Now six years later my arms are filled with three adorable children. Thank you, Lord! I am also very grateful for my loving husband and for the fact that he recently completed his Ph.D. and encouraged me to be a stay-at-home, homeschooling mom. My life is full of love. It must be in the DNA of children to pick dandelions and give them to their mothers. Nadia brings me a host of weeds every day because she loves me. Yesterday the bouquet included some hyacinths from my flower bed. OOPS! My parents showed their love for me by spending 7 hours on the road to spend 21 hours up here with us. They cheered Nadia on at her second soccer game yesterday morning at 9am. I would estimate that each team scored about the same number of goals this week. The most contact Nadia had with the ball was when she did a few throw-ins. She's by no means the strongest player on the team, but I also think she's the youngest child on the team. Unlike last week when we played a team from another town, this time we played another team from our town. Our town has six U6 teams so most of the games we will be playing one of those teams, which is why our kids were wearing green over their uniforms to help distinguish between the teams since everyone had the same color uniform. 

 

My parents also watched the kids for 35 minutes at the mall so I could buy three new blouses to go with the skirts I recently bought on eBay, and they took the kids and I out to Cracker Barrel for lunch yesterday. When I came home I tried them on with the skirts. I loved one of the combinations. Definitely a "winner." I am wearing it today, and it feels GREAT to be wearing something new (or at least new to me in the case of the skirt). Today I also wore one of my new pairs of sandals for the first time (even though it's rather chilly out today) as well as necklace and earrings that Nadia gave me for Christmas. I feel very pretty, which is a great feeling considering generally I'm afraid someone is going to nominate me for the show "What not to wear" because I wear a turtleneck almost every day in the winter. One of the blouses I am going to be taking back to Sears at some point because I didn't like it when I tried it on with the skirt I had in mind for it. Being able to shop for 35 minutes without any children was definitely a treat. It meant I actually was able to enter the fitting room and try on a bunch of blouses before I picked the ones I was going to buy! It had been more than a year since I had entered a fitting room. My parents also gave me some money to buy myself a birthday pie. I am going to do that on Tuesday while Nadia is at ballet/tap. Nadia and Ian could not wait until they arrived around 8pm on Friday night. They asked me about every 5 minutes the ENTIRE day if they'd be arriving soon. Maybe I should make it a surprise next time. My parents definitely had a very enthusiastic welcoming committee upon their arrival!

 

Last year on my birthday I was pregnant and in the middle of the feeding program at Hershey with Ian. How our life has changed in the past year! Ian can now chew and eat normal foods, Oliver has brought such joy to our family the past 8.5 months, and Paul finished his Ph.D. There might be a lot of changes in our lives over the next 12 months. If the FET is successful, I will have four children by my next birthday. Paul will most likely be a professor at this time next year, and we might be living in another state. Only the Lord knows!

 

Paul very graciously fed Oliver at 4:45 this morning so that I could sleep until 6:30am. That was MUCH appreciated! He also made me an omlette for breakfast this morning, which was another special treat. Last night I was so full from the big lunch at Cracker Barrel that I just had a yogurt for dinner so I was hungry for breakfast this morning! Nadia sat with me during church, and I was thrilled that we sang one of my top five most favorite hymns this morning (Heaven Came Down). Nadia and Ian had fun opening my presents this morning. I received a waffle maker from Paul's parents, three albums to store the 11x13 photos of the kids from Paul and my sister Wendy, and a basket for the stairs from Paul. Nadia really wanted to go shopping and buy me a gift (with some of her money) so Paul is going to take her to the Dollar store this afternoon. He's also going to help Nadia and Ian make me birthday cards (at my request). The kids and I had lunch at church today, and I was thrilled that Ian fed himself a fluffernutter sandwich and a piece of chocolate cake. That never would have happened last April!

 

In general I don't feel differently in my 40's than I did in my 30's. The one exception would be that I definitely got a lot more gray (actually white) hair over the past year. I have contemplated getting my hair highlighted or something like that, but I'm going to hold off for now. I didn't picture myself having babies in my 40's, but God's timing is perfect. I will say that my age is causing me to want to do the FET sooner than later.

Thankful Thursday

1. Although Oliver was awake from 2:15-4:00am this morning, I am grateful that it was the first time in a week that he had a feeding during the night.

2. Enjoying classic movies with Nadia and Ian from the library. Over the last few days we watched Mary Poppins (49 years old). The next ones will be The Wizard of Oz (74 years old) and then A Little Princess.

3. Nadia finished listening to The Wizard of Oz and A Little Princess. She's in the middle of The Magician's Nephew (C.S. Lewis). The next will be Peter Pan. Each of these are unabridged. Her comprehension (I ask her questions) and memory amazes me. Once we were talking about Jesus' death and resurrection, and she said, "that's just like Aslan." I was blown away that she figured out at least some of the symbolism of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe on her own!

4. I've been reading Pippi Longstocking at lunch. We're all enjoying it! Next up is Ramona's World. When I've been reading Pippi, Nadia often tells me what is going to happen next because she listened to the audio version.

5. For the goodies we bought at the yard sale yesterday and the skirts I bought on eBay this week.

6. For homemade chocolate peanut butter chip cookies.

7. For Paul's upcoming interviews (tomorrow and next Thursday). He also received a third invitation today! That interview would be for a local university (not where I taught) for a one year FT adjunct position. This was very encouraging because the chair sounded very interested in Paul! He wanted to meet with Paul next week, but Paul has pushed it off until the week of the 29th in light of his interview at Colgate next week.

8. For the sweet things Ian says from time to time like "You're the best, Nadia" or "You look so beautiful, Momma." That boy can melt my heart!

9. Oliver's smiles and laughter are often the highlights of my day.

10. For the moments when Nadia and Ian are being sweet to each other. All of these pictures were taken yesterday. The one I snapped while pushing the stroller home from the park when I noticed that Ian and Nadia were holding hands.

11. For the exercise I got today while mowing the lawn for the first time this year.

12. I'm looking forward to my parents coming up to our house tomorrow night!

13. For a lovely (and very cheap) dinner at Perkins with my three little sweethearts on Tuesday night.

First Tooth!

Oliver's first tooth broke through today on the bottom. The whole thing hasn't come through yet, but I can definitely feel part of the tooth protruding through his gum. The poor guy isn't too happy about it! He woke up at 11pm last night. Paul was up, and I was sound asleep. Paul just rocked him a bit and put him back down (no milk). I think teething is the culprit. He has been sleeping an average of 10 hours at night for almost a week now. Yay! His naps were awful yesterday and today. I again think teething is the culprit. Yesterday his afternoon nap was only 30 minutes, but I discovered a messy diaper was the cause that time. I changed his diaper and put him back to bed. He slept for another hour. Once the whole tooth has come through, I will try to get a picture of his pearly white. I know from experience that is a difficult thing to capture with a camera!

Lately we've been staying at home every weekday morning, but I decided to venture out this morning because a preschool really close to the library was having a large yard sale. We went to the yard sale and then to story time at the library. Oliver, just like Ian when he was this age, paid attention better than Nadia or Ian did to the librarian! It was humorous to watch. Oliver's eye's were fixed on her for a solid 20 minutes, and often he was smiling at her as well! I guess he enjoyed the stories she was reading about elephants today. I thought the clothing was a bit overpriced at the yard sale. They also didn't have much in the way of boy clothing (far more girl clothing). I made a wish list a few weeks ago of things I am hoping to buy at yard sales - such as some summer clothes in size 12 months for Oliver as I have absolutely NOTHING in that size for him right now because Ian turned 12 months in December so he never wore size 12 months in the summer. I did buy one thing off that list today - a bicycle helmet for Ian. We only owned one, and it's pink. Now Ian has a blue one to wear. Nadia used her money ($3) to buy a tower playset for Rapunzel that retails for $35. In addition to the helmet I bought three puzzles (a floor puzzle of Mater, a Toy Story puzzle, and a 100 piece VeggieTales puzzle), two hardback books (Polar Express and Gallop), and a Thomas the Train Mega Blocks set that retails for $30 for a grand total of $9.50.

The weather was glorious, so we enjoyed a trip to the playground as well as some time playing in the yard after dinner. Ian and I baked some chocolate peanut butter cookies while Nadia was at Cubbies because I didn't have choir tonight as the choir director is in Florida.

You're brave

A few years ago I signed up for emails from a few restaurants. Some of these send you a coupon for a free meal for your birthday. Red Robin and Perkins give you a two week time span in which to redeem the coupon. There is a Perkins very close to where Nadia has ballet/tap on Tuesdays from 4:00-4:45. I decided to take the three kids there today for dinner. I told them this morning about my plan, and I said that if they did a good job, I would take them to Red Robin next Tuesday. When I walked in to Perkins with Oliver, Nadia, and Ian, the hostess looked at me and said "You're brave." I thought she might be thinking "or stupid." Well I am pleased to say the meal went very smoothly. We colored with crayons until they brought us our food. I ordered one kids meal (2 pancakes with sprinkles that came with apple juice and a large cookie). I asked for an extra plate. Nadia ate one whole pancake plus had a little of my eggs and breakfast potatoes. Ian ate almost all of his pancake. I broke the cookie in half, and each child ate half. Because my meal was free, including the tip we paid a total of $5.78 for the three of us to have dinner. A few months ago the thought of taking my three little ones to a sit down restaurant by myself would never have crossed my mind, but I've now become adjusted to having three kids age four and under, although I still prefer to do my grocery shopping at a time when I don't have all three with me. Hopefully our dinner at Red Robin will go just as smoothly next Tuesday. My parents are taking the kids and I out to lunch on Saturday at Cracker Barrell. I'm enjoying stretching out my birthday celebrations!

What a long nap!

Ian took the longest nap today that he's ever taken in his life. Saturday night the kids got to bed two hours later than usual. I knew they'd be going to bed a bit later than usual, but I wasn't thinking it would end up being two hours later than usual. I bought the stunt dog tickets months ago. If I had checked the Disney on Ice schedule first, I wouldn't have bought the stunt dog tickets, but I promised the kids a trip to Disney on Ice before I realized they were taking place the same weekend.  I didn't think they would get home much past their bedtime last night since the show started at 4:30pm, but they went to bed a full two hours later than usual once again, and to make matters worse, Ian didn't nap in the van.

Altogether Ian lost at least 5 hours of sleep. This created a VERY tired little three-year-old. He cried and had tantrums over EVERYthing this morning (for example because I insisted he wear a jacket when he went outside to play because the temps were only in the 50's). He had a royal tantrum over joining us for lunch even though I made him what he requested. I told him that he either needed to join us or go to his room. He had such a fit that I carried him to his room. He screamed for awhile and then I went up and hugged him and tucked him in bed at 11:30am. Normally he goes down for his nap at 1pm. Today he took a FOUR hour nap. Wow! He woke up in a much better mood. Whew.

This morning I asked our neighbor (who burns things from time to time), if he would be able to burn our yard waste. He said yes! I used the wheelbarrow and carried over several loads to their property of the bushes and ground cover I removed last week. Problem solved. I also solved my skirt shopping dilemna today. I am not sure why it didn't hit me sooner, as I bought all my maternity skirts on eBay. Previously I didn't buy myself any clothes on eBay aside from maternity clothes, but I decided to see what I might find in the way of skirts. I bought two today and paid a grand total of $14.98, much less than the price of one if I bought it at the mall. Hopefully they'll fit, and I'll like them. That's the disadvantage of shopping via eBay. I didn't have a new outfit to wear on Easter, but maybe I'll have a new skirt to wear on my birthday this Sunday. Maybe on Saturday I can buy a new top or two at the mall and have two truly new (to me) outfits.

Had I known Ian was going to take such a long nap, I would have mowed the lawn. After I carted the bushes across the street, I did a little weeding and spread one bag of mulch. After Ian and Oliver woke up, we went to the playground. We stopped at Cheri's house first, and she joined us, which was a treat. I am amazed that both boys napped for a total of 4 hours today. Oliver slept from 8:45-10:15am and 1:00-3:30, and Ian slept from 11:30-3:30. I doubt that will ever happen again!

I did it!

Nadia sat with Paul and I during the worship service on Easter Sunday. It was her idea. She has talked about it several times since then, but I didn't figure it out until this morning that she was wanting to continue joining us. I am thrilled that she wants to do this. I was planning on having her join me starting in September, but I love it that it's her idea rather than mine. Since the choir wasn't singing today, I asked her if she wanted to join me. Normally I sit up in the choir loft for the first part of the service, but the choir director is in Florida visiting her daughter this week. On Easter Sunday she only lasted one hour, but this morning she stayed for the entire service (almost 90 minutes). At the end, she proudly exclaimed, "I did it!". I had no idea this would give her such a sense of accomplishment. It's definitely a bit distracting for me (trying to teach her how to be quiet for that length of time), but overall I think she did very well. She used a pencil from the pew rack to write the alphabet and did a little drawing. Her favorite part is when we sing. If she's going to start joining me for the worship service, I think I'm going to have her bring her Bible (she used to bring her Bible every Sunday but once Oliver was born I ditched that as I usually ended up carrying it for her and I had one too many things to carry), and I'm also going to put a small notebook and a few crayons since crayons are quieter than a pencil and especially the eraser. She was somewhat paying attention to the sermon because she told  me it was about Noah (and it was!). My little girl is growing up! Poor Oliver didn't fare as well during church because no one fed him the bottle I had in his diaper bag when he woke up from his nap. He was not a happy camper. He was asleep when I checked on him in between Sunday School and church. I guess I should have checked on him during the worship service. I felt terrible when I found out how unhappy he had been and figured out the reason was he hadn't been fed during the 3 hours he was in the nursery.

 

After church we came home and ate a quick lunch as then Paul took the kids to his parents' house, and then the five of them went to Hershey to see Disney on Ice. I don't begrudge the fact that stores aren't open as long on Sundays, but it's so much easier to shop with only one child. I was thinking what should I do with myself with all this free time with only one child, and shopping at the mall was the first thing that popped into my mind. If Oliver took a 3 hour nap as he often does, I wouldn't have been able to go shopping as the mall closes at 5pm, but his nap was a little less than 2 hours long so after I fed him, we hopped in the car and arrived at the mall at 4:15pm. We first went to Payless. I wanted to get myself two pairs of sandals and at least one pair of shoes for Nadia. I ended up getting her one pair of white sandals ($7.99) and four pairs of sandals for myself (wow!) for a total of $50.37. I got the casual brown and black pairs as planned, but then ended up splurging and getting dressier white and black pairs, which frankly was a good idea because the ones I use to walk to the park and such get beat up rather quickly so I'll save the prettier ones for church and such.

I also was hoping to buy myself a skirt as aside from maternity ones, I haven't bought myself a new skirt or dress in five years. I spent 15 minutes at the shoe store so I could have spent up to 30 minutes clothes shopping, but Oliver got tired of being in the stroller, and I found myself completly overwhelmed with the notion of buying a new outfit. I have lost touch with pricing due to shopping for the kids on clearance racks, yard sales, and consignment shops over the past five years. I would like some new clothes though. Maybe I'll try shopping online. Our shopping trip ended at CVS where I still do some couponing now and then. I bought six boxes of Kellogg's cereal, five 2 liters of Coke, and one tube of Colgate toothpaste for a grand total of $2.51. Gotta love CVS!

 

 

First Soccer Game!

Nadia had her very first soccer game this morning! Including Oliver, she had six family members there to cheer for her as Paul's parents came as well. I videotaped a few minutes of the game. I am planning to do the same near the end of the season. Hopefully we'll see some progress! I helped out in the concession stand for one hour prior to the start of the game. There are nine kids on our team, and the way these U6 games are played only 3 kids play from each team at a time (no refs and no goalies). Our team was split in half so Nadia was one of five kids on our (nameless) blue team. The team we played is from the town where we go to church, and this team was MUCH better than our team. They weren't keeping score, but I would estimate they scored about 10 times more goals than our team did. Part way through the game our team did seem to figure out which goal was theirs. At the very end Nadia came very close to scoring a goal. She did a lot of running around the field! She enjoyed herself and learned how to give the other team high fives at the end of the games.

Several days ago she told me that she really missed gymnastics. I told her that it would be too much to do ballet/tap, gymanstics and soccer at the same time. I told her that in the fall she could pick two of those, and she told me she wants to do gymnastics and soccer in the fall. She must really be enjoying soccer! It definitely was humorous to watch the game. Another mom at the field today was one of my students last summer. I was caught off guard when I heard someone address me as "Dr." as that doesn't happen very much these days.

This evening Paul took Nadia and Ian to see a Stunt Dog experience. I am home with Oliver. I bet they are having a blast! Tomorrow Paul afternoon Paul will be driving them to his parents' house and then the five of them are going to Hershey to see Disney on Ice. I took the kids last April during the intensive feeding program. I am sure they will really enjoy that also!

Last but not least, I have to congratulate Oliver for sleeping from 8:30pm to (drumroll, please) 6:15am! Last night was the first time in months that I was in bed for almost 9 hours straight. It felt heavenly! Thank you, kids!

 

 

 

 

 

Ian's first trip to the ER

Yesterday around 6:15pm while Nadia was having soccer practice, I was sitting on the bench of a metal picnic table. Oliver was sitting on the table, and I had my arms near him to catch him if he toppled. Ian was standing on the ground near me and suddenly started crying. I turned and saw he had collided with the bench. At first I thought he hit his teeth, but after I picked him up and saw the blood on his hand I then saw he was bleeding under his chin. I used some tissues from my coat pocket to try to apply pressure and slow the bleeding, and I asked if there was a First Aid kit nearby. Someone brought me a bandaid. I was going to take Nadia from the practice a few minutes early, but the practice ended at that same time. I called Paul on the cell phone and asked him to have our first aid supplies ready so we could clean Ian's wound as soon as we got home. We used soap and water and some antiseptic spray. I would have been content to stick a bandaid on it and call it good, but Paul thought the laceration was deep enough to warrant stitches. I suggested we take Ian across the street to our neighbor who is a nurse. He agreed with Paul that we needed to take him to the ER. I called the Pediatrician to make sure they weren't open (it was 7pm at this point), and the doctor on call said we should take him to the ER. I called the local hospital to see if they are considered "in- network" by our current insurance, but at that time of night the billing department is closed so I decided to take him to the bigger hospital a few minutes farther from our house that is definitely "in-network" because it's owned by the same company as our insurance.

We arrived at 7:45pm, and it took 35 minutes to get through registration and triage. Ian fell asleep in my arms at 7:55, and the triage nurse was able to take his temperature and blood pressure and such without waking him up. We then sat in the waiting room for 45 minutes before we were called back to one of the "Fast Track" rooms (truly a misnomer). Ian slept in my arms until 10pm. He then was awake for about 45 minutes. At 10:30pm a Resident put something on his chin to numb it, and Ian fell back asleep at 10:45. She came back at 11:05 to clean it and also put some DermaPlast (glue) in the laceration. We walked out of the hospital at 11:25 and pulled into the driveway at 11:55pm. Our adventure lasted a total of 4hr 40min. If Paul wasn't dirty from work, I would have asked him to take Ian. The next time one of our kids needs to go to the ER at night, he can have the honors as I am not a night owl. Over the past 12 years I don't think I've ever driven a car anywhere near that late. Usually I try not to drive past 9pm as I am prone to falling asleep behind the wheel. Maybe they should make DermaPlast available OTC to save us a lot of time and money.

The good news is that we've been parents for almost five years, and this was our first time taking a child to the ER. I'm hoping five more pass before our next trip. Ian actually was in an ER when he was five weeks old as we brought him with us when I was bleeding badly due to the retained placenta. That time we skipped registration and triage (at the local hospital), as they could see the blood pouring off the wheelchair onto the floor. Over the past 21 years I've only been a patient in an ER twice - the first time was when I was single and fell on some ice outside my apartment building and the second was in January 2010. The other "unplanned" trips to the hospital all took me straight to Labor and Delivery at three different hospitals. Over the past 12 years, Paul has made three trips to an ER. The first two times I took him to the Pottsville Hospital for an infected cyst in his forehead (he did end up getting admitted to the hospital the second time), and the third trip was to the ER at the Bloomsburg Hospital when he got a piece of metal in his eye at work. I've spent a lot of time in the hospital we were at last night - I've seen the RE, MFM, hematologist, and OB/GYN, all three kids were in their NICU, Paul saw one of their cardiologists and neurologists, Ian has seen their allergists, dieticians, urologist, and feeding team, Nadia and Oliver saw their opthamologist, and Oliver was there for OT/PT, but last night was my first trip to the ER at this hospital. I actually wasn't sure where it was located! I found that ironic as I walked was wheeled through the ER at the hospital in Harriburg many times last summer en route to the MFM clinic.

While we were waiting in the room, Ian spotted an ultrasound machine in the hallway (the doctor used it on the patient next to us who had a hematoma on his thigh). Ian said to me, "We can see the baby! No, we can't because Oliver is at home with Daddy." I was really surprised that he recognized that piece of equipment and remembered being present for an ultrasound last year. Ian's trip to the hospital made it into Nadia's journal. Today she wrote, "IAN HURT HIS CHIN AND WENT TO THE DOCTOR." Obviously his trip to the doctor was a big deal to her (albeit she was at home asleep most of the time we were away)  because up until today all her journal entries were about a princess (Cinderella, Belle, Ariel, etc.) or orphan Annie.

I've certainly been awake at 12am many times over the past 4.75 years due to the kids, but I honestly cannot remember the laat time I didn't get any sleep before midnight. I think we'd have to go back more than 20 years, and it's happened very few times in my life. Paul helped out in two regards. First, he did the dishes for me while I was at the hospital, and secondly he offered to help me out with Oliver whenever he got up (after I nursed him). I really appreciated Paul's help, and the nap I got this afternoon also really helped, as I was really dragging this morning. His wound was bleeding a little bit more today. To be honest, if I had to do it over again, I would skip the trip to the ER, but hopefully it was worthwhile.

Thankful Thursday

1. For the gorgeous weather we've had lately! I should have checked the forecast before getting the kids dressed today. We'll be changing into warmer clothes for soccer practice this evening because the temps are about 30 degrees cooler today compared to yesterday.

2. For Paul's upcoming interviews in New York (19th and 25th).

3. Application #48 will be going to a school in North Carolina. The pace of ads being posted has slowed down dramatically, but I am thankful that it hasn't totally come to a stop. I think about 1/3 of those are still "active".

4. It's been years since I had a pedicure, but I did take the time to paint my toenails yesterday, and pretty toenails put a smile on my face. I should take the time to paint my fingernails now and then, but I'll wait on that right now in light of all the yard work I've been doing lately.

5. Oliver slept through the night the past two nights (almost 10 hours straight)! Now we just need to get him to be able to stay up later at night. He used to go to bed between 8:00-8:30pm, but the last two days his second nap was less than an hour long and so he fell asleep for the night between 7:30-7:45pm. However I'll take starting my day at 5:15am over 3 or 4am any day of the week. If I can keep him up until 8pm tonight, I'm hoping he won't get up until 6am tomorrow. My conspiracy theory held true though as Nadia got me up at 3am.

6. I found an affordable local photographer! Three FB friends (who go to my church) gave me suggestions. I contacted all three. One would have cost us a LOT more than we're used to spending, another was very similar in price to what we've paid and actually is a better deal than Picture Me because the packages I was looking at include a CD containing all the images (so I can use them for photo books, Christmas cards, etc.), and the third was in the middle as far as the pricing went. I contacted the most affordable one and am working on setting up an appointment with her for early August. At that session I'm hoping to get a nice family photo (all 5 of us), a nice picture of the three kids together, and some pictures of Oliver for his 1 year photo shoot. I'm trying not to feel guilty about the fact that he will have gone 9 months in between professional photo shoots. Paul says I shouldn't feel badly because I take lots of pictures of him. :)

7. Two weeks ago I filed our federal taxes (we're getting a nice refund - not as big as last year's, but probably the second biggest we've ever gotten). Last week I did our state taxes, and this week I did our local taxes. It feels good to have that task off of the "to do" list, and the refund will be greatly appreciated!

8. Paul submitted his dissertation last Thursday, and he got an email today stating it was accepted. There is nothing more he has to do at PSU! His degree will officially be complete as of May 5. He's not participating in the commencement (he didn't for his BS or MS either). The last time he wore a cap and gown was in 1988.  Oliver is wearing his PSU pants today in honor of his Daddy!