What We Do

For school.  

 This is just to record a few of the resources we like, and some of our favorite books.

Last year, Demetri listened to about ½ of the Tarzan series.  I only got bits and pieces, so I’m still not sure if I like it.  We’re considering Sherlock Holmes.

He read Swiss Family Robinson, Treasure Island, Island of the Blue Dolphins, Hatchet, Number the Stars, The Little Prince, Zia, A Door in the Wall, The Whipping Boys, Little House on the Prairie, The Giver, The Wright Brothers, The Sign of the Beaver, Sounder, Where the Red Fern Grows, Julie of the Wolves, North by Night, Little Women, Just So Stories, The Jungle Book, Kim, and many more that I can’t remember right now.  I wish I’d kept better track:(.  Shawn decided partway through the Wrinkle in Time series that he didn’t like it.  They are halfway through the Scarlett Pimpernel, and A Little Princess (which is being read to the little boys too).  Last year Shawn read Journey to the Center of the Earth with Demetri.  Demetri is reading Pippi Longstocking to the little boys.

The younger boys get lots of Dr. Suess, and picture books.  But what I really like to read to them is Betsy-Tacy.  We stopped after I had the baby, so now I have to get back into it again.

We like to get audio books from libravox.com.  Demetri had an mp3 player (before it went through the washing machine) that he would download books to and then listen while he did chores in the morning.  It might have made him a little slower, but I didn’t really mind.  He also took his audio books to the playground!  I think I’m going to have to get him another mp3 player for his birthday.

We’ve been liking books by Steve Sheinkin for history.  We use Discover the Scriptures for gospel study.  We like the Beethoven’s Wig cd’s for music.  

For “preschool” I usually just buy a workbook they can do at the same time the others are doing school, and we play a few phonics card games here and there.  We use Janeen Brady’s Standin’ Tall Series, and Safety Kids.  

Everyone does math on the computer (even preschoolers).  We use the Linux math game—free, but it’s a whole operating system.  It’s the best math game I’ve seen so far for drilling.  We have a math board game we pull out sometimes, with 3 different math games in it.  They like the dino math one.

Writing consists of writing letters to friends and family, though Demetri has tried a blog and writing a book.  Letters are the most consistent.  I’m working on a short fantasy story that has the kids in it to try to inspire them to write more.  

We use pop-up Chinese, and Growing Up With Chinese, for, you guessed it, Chinese study.  But we haven’t done very well at that one yet.  I’m working on it.  And Shawn thinks the best resources are little kid’s books in Chinese.  I have yet to get through one, even with his help.

We have sports down!  This year I want to focus a little more on drama and piano (the only instrument I can teach them).  We do sporadic art lessons—Olie’s favorite, and last year I conducted a “community” (neighbor kids) cooking class and art over the summer.  Shawn also did Science Saturdays with whatever kids wanted to, usually an experiment, possibly with a short lesson. 

I’ll have to keep writing down my favorite resources as I find or remember them, so that by the end I can remember all the things we liked.

This year we plan on reading Anne of Green Gables—because I’m the mom and it’s one of my favorites, Around the World In 80 Days (Shawn and Demetri), the rest of the Betsy-Tacy books, Little Men, Sheinkin’s Bomb (along with a WWII documentary we have), 5 Little Peppers and How They Grew,  The Second Jungle Book,  The Prince and the Pauper, we might do some more Thornton Burgess this year.  I’m thinking of Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!  and other books by Mo Willems. 

I also like suggestions and favorites!

A Summary

On Monday I was sick, and worried I’d end up in the hospital.  I did tons of herbal stuff to prevent it.  In the end, I had a blessing that helped immensely.  Tuesday morning our car was stolen.  They happened to have my keys (left in the mailbox by a child) so we are very grateful it was the car and not the van.  Going down to one car is a pain.  I’ll have to get up at 4:30 a.m. with all the kids to drop Shawn off at work a couple of days a week when I have to have a vehicle.  At least both cars aren’t gone!

Wednesday was rough.  I felt like I didn’t get anything done.  I decided to write down everything I’d done.  It amounted to 10 11 diapers changed—but who’s counting, 8 feedings—which came to 4 hours out of the day, 4 loads of laundry done, 3 meals made, and 2 ½ haircuts—Shawn helped with the rest.  I changed my mind.  I got something done.  Now I’m going to go buy myself some cheesecake.

Thursday and Friday went by too quickly.  I ran errands on Friday and spent too much time at every stop, probably because I was relishing being alone for a while.  It still went 5 times faster than if I’d had the kids with me!  I still didn’t get everything done I needed to.

Today is cold and rainy.  The kids did a good job getting their chores done, so my house isn’t too messy, and I’m thinking popcorn and a movie would make the evening fun and easy.  Of course, it will be a very old black and white movie.  I want the boys to develop good taste! :)

A Birth Story

Lorenzo Quincy Pitcher

What a different birth experience from any of my others!  I had been having Braxton Hicks for the last week or two and was getting a little frustrated with it since I’ve never dealt with them before.  But this morning, Januray 9^th, at 2:25 I woke up with what I recognized to be real contractions.  It looked like my normal labor pattern again, 5 minutes apart and they stay that way for the next several hours.  We start off with a bang.  But these only stayed 5-7 minutes apart for about an hour and a half, and then started to get closer.  At 3:30 I woke Shawn up, intending to let him go back to sleep after he turned the hot water heater on and up (we have it pretty low for the kids, and it’s on a timer so it’s off at night, but I wanted to be able to fill the birthing tub up later and I wanted in the shower pretty soon).  But after he was finished with the water heater I decided I wanted him to set up the birthing tub.  By the time it was set up I decided I needed it filled!  It was 4:20 a.m., and my contractions were coming 2 minutes apart for 1 minute.  It was harder than I ever remember it being for that “early” on in labor. 

He watched me through a few contractions and insisted that I call the midwife.  I didn’t want to wake her so early, but he finally went and got his own phone to call her, so I did it.  She said she’d be over in about an hour and to call her if I needed her sooner.  I thought an hour would be plenty of time.  But about a half hour later I was suddenly moaning through contractions and worried about how on earth I was going to do this for another 6 hours or so!  I told Shawn I wanted to go to the hospital because I was sure I couldn’t do it this time.  (He just kept filling the tub and told me I didn’t really want to go to the hospital.)  I felt like I was being such a baby and a wimp because it was still early labor, but there was no way I could take those contractions for several more hours.  I tried to tell him he didn’t understand what was happening, and I didn’t think he liked me at all J.  I said a prayer, and felt somewhat better, and then suddenly realized I was feeling pushy. 

I told Shawn he needed to call the midwife right now and find out where she was.  She said she was 5 minutes away.  Then her aid walked in the door, looked at me, and called my midwife.  She ran out to help bring stuff in, while I kept pacing.  I walked through this entire labor until I got in the tub.  I’ve never known 5 minutes to take so long, and had just told Shawn I couldn’t wait and I was getting in the tub when she walked in the door (I wanted her to check me before I got in the tub).  I was an 8, with a lip (which I usually have).  I jumped in the tub the moment after she checked me, at 5:40, and couldn’t suppress the pushing.  It only worked when she breathed with me in the way she wanted me to.  I tried that through one or two contractions and then had her pull the lip back so I could push the baby through it.  It didn’t even hurt!  Usually that part is excruciating!  I was still slightly panicked and told her there was no way I could actually do this.  She just held on to me and told me I’d have a baby very soon.

I’ve never felt a baby actually moving down the birth canal before, but I could definitely feel this one, and in just one contraction.  I told her I was sure the head would be out in one more push and had her feel to see if I was right- I was so bewildered.  I’m used to having to push hard, and for a long time.  It was definitely a head, which was born with the next contraction.  She made me stop pushing so I wouldn’t tear and tried to help me breathe him out. The cord was around his neck, and I didn’t believe anything could be harder than the “ring of fire” but not pushing was harder.  I’m pretty sure I was screaming something about dying and that I couldn’t do it, but I don’t remember what exactly I was screaming even a few hours later.  He really did just slide out mostly on his own when I stopped pushing.  My midwife told me to push the rest of the baby out and to pick it up.  She had to hand him to me, but suddenly all the pain was gone, and I was holding the most beautiful baby in the world.  It was 5:59, 20 minutes after the midwife arrived!  They rubbed him for a few seconds to get him breathing, and I talked to him.  When I checked his gender all I could say was, “Oh no, you’re a boy!”  I didn’t mean that I didn’t want a boy, just that I had all the girl things out and hadn’t even bothered to wash boy clothes/blankets. A little later Shawn said, “We have 5.”  I said, “Yeah, 5 boys!”  “That’s what I was thinking,” he said. 

When they weighed him he was my smallest ever, at 7 lbs 9 oz., and the longest (22 inches)!  He is even more mellow than Xander so far, which is hard to top. Big brother Demetri got to cut the cord J.

I’m very grateful that it turned out the way it did.  Shawn was home instead of having to call him home from work.  He worked the whole time on filling the birthing tub!  I don’t know what I would have done without that tub.  It was so much better for pushing.  He made me call the midwife.  If he hadn’t been there, both of them would have missed it.  I wouldn’t have called anyone in time.  And I didn’t have to worry about what to do with the kids, as they were still in bed.  (At 4:30 that was my main concern, what on earth we were going to do with the kids when they woke up for breakfast…)  A 3 ½ hour labor, and I’m feeling great, and frustrated that I’m supposed to stay in bed for the next several days.  Lorenzo Quincy has pretty much been sleeping since the minute he was born, waking a little to eat and then going right back to sleep.  The boys have been taking turns holding him all morning and even little Xander keeps trying to hug him and hold him.

The whole thing was so fast I’m sure I’m forgetting some details, but shell-shocked as I still am, I’m incredibly happy J.

Christmas 2013

Christmas was good.  I have pictures. Somewhere.  Actually, it might just be one very long video.  Shawn and I have taken up the tradition (from my family) of eating breakfast before opening presents or peeking in stockings.  We decided on Costco muffins, orange juice, and eggnog (rice nog this year, haha) as our Christmas morning breakfast.  Because they are easy, and we decided Costco muffins are not particularly healthy but are okay if we eat them once a year...I think.  We, once again, wrapped 2 or 3 presents, and the rest went into the nesting boxes we have come to love.  The kids love to find the "key" and tell everyone which box is for who.  They loved the presents that came in the mail all month from family members!  Somehow, we still made quite the mess.

Christmas Eve we went to our friends' house for dinner and put on the Nativity with them.  That was a lot of fun too.  They have the cutest, most social and articulate 2 yr. old ever.  My kids love to go over to their house. 

I did not get to do all the fun things I looked up.  I wanted to do a "25 days of Christmas" kind of thing where we do something fun or Christmas-related every day.  Turns out, I was too busy, tired, etc.  I didn't even make the snowflakes I wanted to hang from the ceiling, or go caroling :(.  We watched Mr. Krueger's Christmas, put up lights and decorations, dressed up and put on the Nativity, went to several Christmas parties (work, gymnastics, church, friends), and tried to minimize the sugary food and gift exchanges (part of my minimalist effort!).  I even sent out newsletters (okay- we're still sending a few!) I guess it was a success?  In a way.  I didn't have a nervous breakdown, didn't hate Christmas this year, and planned gifts out in a timely manner.  So I'm counting it as a success this year.  I found out my husband hates the tradition of stockings, and we're considering what we're going to do next year...  He also went on a last minute shopping trip, and afterward informed me that we are not doing that ever again.  We're going to be much more prepared next year.  (Ha!  I'll remind him of that next year in October sometime.)

Pregnancy Update

My midwife came to the house today because I'm now at 37 weeks.  This pregnancy has been completely different from any other.  First, I've only gained 25 lbs instead of my normal 50 or so.  I have exercised (almost) the whole time.  I have stopped, but then decided I better keep jogging.  Right now I'm mostly just walking, and not even a lot at that, but it's more than I've ever done with other pregnancies.  I'm eating way better...although I've slipped up a little during this holiday season.  But mostly, there's just no sugar/junk food/processed food in my house so I only have healthy choices even when I want something else.

Second, I have had no swelling, no fatigue, no headaches, no heartburn/indigestion and minimal acid reflux, no leg cramps, or most of the other unpleasant stuff that comes with pregnancy.  This is the first time the baby has been really engaged in my pelvis for the last few weeks though so when I'm walking and she moves she hits a nerve that drops me to my knees.  That usually happens several times a day, and people panic when it happens in public.  It's painful, and extremely annoying.  But it's the only problem I've had at all.  Surprising, and nice, for this stage of pregnancy.  And because the baby is so low, I can even breath fine.  Usually they are so high I wonder where my lungs could possibly be hiding.

So although I've never really cared before, and I've never done much for exercise after high school, I'm becoming a huge advocate for exercise and a good diet before and during pregnancy.  Because it's the only explanation I have for the difference.  I guess if I have another one I'll have to try it again and test it, but I can't imagine another reason it would be so vastly different...unless it's the awesome Hawaii weather :).

As a side note, my midwife thinks this baby is coming very soon.  I'm praying for after Christmas, and counting on after New Years' too.

The Centipede Episode

I've seen about 7 centipedes since I've lived here.  It's unnerving to find them in your house though, and this is the second one.  As mentioned on Facebook, the neighbor was singing off-key at the top of his lungs around 1:00 a.m., and I was not in a good mood.  Finally I woke Shawn up to go talk to the neighbor or the manager.  He's awesome like that.  So he was talking to the neighbor and I grabbed a broom to sweep something up when I spotted a centipede in the hall by my bedroom door.  I silently screamed and followed it with the broom, knowing there was no way I could kill it with a broom (because stomping on them with boots isn't even a sure bet).  I guided him a little with the broom, trying not to lose him, but he was mad- and fast, and slipped into the molding when I thought I had him pinned against the wall.

When Shawn got back he had to rip the molding off and find a knife and cut it in half (the only way we know to kill them instead of just injure them) while I didn't watch.  Poor guy was up half the night (not that he probably could have slept anyway knowing there was a centipede in the hall).

I just didn't sleep.  I couldn't really.  I scoured the internet for ways to keep them out of my house and yard.  I might not have cared so much if I hadn't already been bitten in my bed in the middle of the night, and then spent the next two weeks in pain.  As Shawn says, "There are some things I won't miss when I leave Hawaii."

Guilty Pleasures

What I should be doing= cleaning the house.  What I'm really doing= reading a book.

I remembered about books today.  That I like them.  Shawn happened to be able to go with me to library story time today because we didn't go on our normal day.  Usually, we sit and listen to the stories, color a picture, and then pick out books and go home.  I'm busily running after a 1 year old the whole time and keeping tabs on 4,6,and 10 year old boys who are grabbing books at random (except Demetri- who is supposed to look them up first and find what he wants) and asking if we can bring them home.  (We now limit picture books to age.  The 4 yr old gets 4 books, etc.)

Today, since Shawn was there to watch kids for a little while, I got to go...UPSTAIRS, to the adult section of the library (*squeal*)!  I was a little hurried, but I picked up three books and my house has been suffering for it ever since.  The kitchen is clean and that's the important part right?  I even had two people separately drop by today (of course, since I didn't clean much), and was able to let them in my house :).  So I figured maybe I could get away with reading for a while.  I asked for books about developing a music curriculum- like Kindermusic or something.  There wasn't anything like that so I'll have to peruse Amazon.  But there were a couple of about music and young kids in the home, and I'm always looking for new activities or ideas for singing, rhythm games, and anything else related.  They know all the ones I remember...and it's starting to get repetitive.  You can only play "Who Stole the Cookie From the Cookie Jar" so many times.  They like "The Telephone Game" and there are definitely some favorite songs.  They love to "throw people out the window"- haha.  But still.  Variety is good.  So I'm making a list :).

Oh, and Olie has been super duper excited all weekend because today he was able to get a library card.  The librarian told him he could have one if he can sign his whole name, but he had to talk to Shawn and me first.  We decided he is old enough, and he has a place to put it (he got a wallet as a prize for losing his first tooth a month or two ago), so now he gets to be more responsible for his own books.  He borrowed a movie today too because he's been saving money (it costs $1.00 at our library).  He's been proudly showing his library card to anyone who would look at it :).  

And with that, I think I'll go back to my book!