Being Home

The morning we got back I took Madi (along with the other 3) into the dr. to get her checked out. She had been having bad pains the last 2 days, and I was pretty sure it was a urinary tract infection. After being there for over 2 hours (mostly waiting there for her to pee in the bag) we finally got it confirmed that she did have a UTI were able to take care of it with an antibiotic. She had her 2 year well-check this last Friday and they checked her urine again (oh my gosh that is such a big ordeal for her. After 1.5 hours we ended up going home with a cup, she proceeded to hold it for several more hours, confirming to me that she is ready and capable of potty training!) and anyway she's fine now. It was a traumatizing day for her with 3 shots, that stupid pee bag, and random throwing up (many times) later that day. We spent our Friday night taking the car seat apart to wash every part of it(it had throw up all over it) and doing laundry. Thankfully Kenny had Friday off so it was just me and her at the appt. this time, not everyone. That, on top of Tyler and Kelsey getting sick again sure ruined our weekend plans. We did nothing but take care of sick kids and run a few errands. But such is life. After getting no sleep last night, I kept Ty and Kels home from church today, and pray that everyone recovers quickly.

It's nice to be back and doing our little routines again. That includes playgroup in the church gym on Wednesday mornings where they love riding their bikes and scooters and playing with other kids, and gymnastics for Ty and Bryn on Thursday mornings. It gets old fast because we stay there for 2.5 hours, plus the hour of driving. But they really love it, so I guess it's worth it. We just bring a couple bags full of lots of stuff to keep everyone busy and happy, including some school work for Tyler.

Tyler is always wanting to feed Kelsey. I've been looking for things I can have him do that help him to feel more responsible and like he's really helping out. So one day I told him he could feed Kels while I put Madison down for a nap. When I was coming back up the stairs he said, "we're almost done!" I smiled, thinking about how nice and easy that was to be able to take care of two kids' needs by letting him help. Then I came in and saw this:


hahaha. I'm pretty sure she was wearing at least half of it! But he was so proud of himself, and she didn't mind a bit :).

The kids helping me grind wheat to make some homemade pizza dough. They ALWAYS have to watch the wheat, it's like watching the popcorn pop. They can't miss it. :)

It warmed up to about 40 degrees one day this last week so we enjoyed a nice long walk and played outside. It was a beautiful day.

Kelsey has also started walking!! She doesn't do too much yet. But it's so fun to have her walk back and forth between Kenny and I. I love love this stage. She is into everything, obsessed with the dishwasher and emptying out drawers and cupboards, and just loves exploring. She's also mastered the stairs and can go up and down. HUGE relief for me :). She says "uh-oh", "hi", and "wooOw" in a really cute way. I can't believe she'll be 11 months in a couple days.

Madison got her stats at her check up this week and she's in the 90th% for weight, 99% for height, and 90th% for head. She is just a big girl, and everyone thinks she's 3. Not just because she's big for her age, but because she talks like a 3 yr. old. She's very smart,

Brynlee and Tyler are doing well too and love whenever it snows. They enjoy (for the most part) doing school every day. I get really frustrated teaching Brynlee, because she doesn't seem to retain much of anything. She does have other strengths, but I think I'm just used to Ty.

Tyler's started piano lessons from me. He wanted to do violin, but Kenny wanted him to do the piano for the first year since we already have a piano, and as a way for him to prove that he's ready and willing to take on the responsibility of an instrument. That he actually will sit down for practicing, etc. I didn't think that was necessary, so we compromised at 6 months of piano, then he can do the violin if he still wants to play that. Sometimes I get overwhelmed because anything that gets added on for anyone in the family just means more from me. More and more and more from me. Trying to find a way to stay on top of things, and do it cheerfully. I second guess myself a lot with whether or not to homeschool, if it's the right thing for Tyler or not. We're still thinking/praying about it. But in the mean time, I am submitting his name into the lottery drawings for the 2 charter schools that we'll be living near once we move to our new house this summer.