Just a few new pics

A Plague O' Both Your Houses...

Since we had nothing better to do this weekend, we thought perhaps we'd share a flu bug with our good friends the Kuf's. In retrospect, this was a *bad* idea, a VERY bad idea, because between the two families, we've had six sick kids, two sick husbands, and two sick mommas. EVERYONE knows that when momma is sick, there's trouble and boy oh boy was there trouble this week.

I am fairly certain we've done more laundry in the last week than we do in a month, Geo and I have missed more work this week than in many many months (I haven't missed two days of work since starting in July) and Gabe has missed two days of school, possibly three, depending on how he feels in the morning.

The last time we got sick was right around this time in 2008. Why would I remember that? Only because the kids got horribly sick, Geo got horribly sick, and I did not. No, no, momma did NOT get the flu bug, instead she ended up with emergency surgery in the middle of a blizzard...that was fun...or not :P

We are all on the up and up now, looking forward to not getting a flu bug again for another two years, which will be too soon, but at least we're safe for a while.

Hope you're all healthy and NOT getting over the plague like we are...whew...

What Does This Say?

Gabriel is an emergent reader; he recognizes all of his sight words (all 41 of them) and he's reading quite a few small books on his own. It's an amazing process to see. I've gotten to watch him going from just spelling the letters out, to sounding the letters out one by one, to sounding out syllables, to saying the beginning sound quietly to himself, and finally by just looking at the word and *knowing* it. It's so much fun to see him reading and really enjoying himself. He's an excellent reader already; he understands how to use context clues, he's got great comprehension skills, and he really ENJOYS reading.

A few years ago, my mom gave him Robinson Crusoe for his birthday, it's been patiently sitting on the shelf waiting for him to be big enough to enjoy the story. A few days ago at breakfast (which is where Gabe and I do the first of our three daily reading together times) we decided to start it. We're three chapters in, Robinson has just been captured by pirates, and he is in LOVE with this book. Today, he and Bits are sick. Bits has a stomach bug and a fever, Gabe has the cough that came with the prize...both are miserable, but making the best of it. I just came downstairs and Gabe ran up to me with the book, so excited. He said "mom, I just read all the chapter numbers and look at these pictures (he flips to pages) I know these words" and he proceeded to read captions on pictures.

*GRINS* I was so thrilled, I mean, honest-to-God thrilled. I am a huge reader (currently on my 26th book of the new year) and to see him gobbling up books makes me so happy...but more importantly, it makes HIM happy, and really, what else can you want for your kids but for them to be happy? *sigh* if you need me, I'll be on the couch with Gabe, finding out if Robinson escapes from the pirates or not...

Mommas Helping Mommas

Not too long ago, eight months ago, maybe, I was lamenting the fact that it was hard being an outsider in the middle of nowhere, especially since Geo and I are not "main stream" parents (We're more the barefoot, breastfeeding, co sleeping liberal parents lol)

Children are the great equalizer, though, and we've made some pretty good friends out here, friends who don't think it's weird that I nursed Bits until she was nearly two, friends who have children who sleep in their beds, the whole bit. It's great not being the odd balls :)

A dear friend of ours is pregnant and, like most of us, doesn't have a whole lot of money. It's been amazing to see how quickly our little group of girlfriends has been able to pull together maternity clothes, cloth diapers, baby clothes, and all sorts of things she's going to need in the next few months (years even!)

A friend recently blogged about mothers tearing each other apart on the internet (and in "real" life as well) and it so true. A lot of us (myself included, I'm ashamed to admit) take out our insecurities on other mommas. Formula vs breastmilk, cribs vs co sleeping, cloth vs disposable, heck even naming your child can turn into a major battle.

I'm so thankful that I'm part of a group of wonderful mommas, who rather than cut down or ridicule one another for our parenting choices, root each other on and help each other; we're all of the "village" mindset and have no qualms about asking for help when we need it, whether it's a sitter for the morning (thank you Tiff and Miranda) or a shoulder to lean on when we're having a particularly rough day (thanks Steph) or maybe it's maternity clothes and a reassuring email saying that NO you're not fat, you are a gorgeous momma-to-be.

Women can be their own worst enemies; I'm glad to be part of a group of mommas who don't behave that way...here's to you, ladies!

Oh So Silly

Two very quick tidBits...

SarahAnne walked up to me with a Kleenex and said to me "Mom, take this sneezer, will you?" It makes sense, we sneeze into Kleenex...two year old logic works

After eating a particularly messy snack, SarahAnne asked me to wash her hands. I refused until she would dance with me a little bit. She looked at me and VERY sternly said "My hands are FILTHY and I cannot DANCE with filthy hands, PLEASE wash them"...and then the little snot wouldn't dance with me after having her filthy hands cleaned either...

Oh Bitsy girl, you crack me up!

Happy Birthday to You...

A very very happy birthday to our favorite Great Grandpa in the whole wide world :)Have a wonderful day today...love you!

Out, Out Damned Spot!

I have a persistent black spot on the end of my bed. As a general rule, the spot is right near my feet, though sometimes it migrates to Geo's side of the bed. It's a huge black spot; I'd say about 14 pounds :P In case you hadn't guessed it, my black spot has four huge paws, a long twitching tail, and purrs like a motor. Since getting Cicero, Boni has had to mark his territory (so to speak) by sleeping at our feet. As a general rule, he prefers to sleep on Gabe's bed, but Cicero stole that spot. For about two weeks now, I've been trying to figure out how to sleep with a giant cat on my end of the bed and last night I figured it out: If I slide my feet under him two things happen: One, my feet get incredibly warm (definitely a good thing) and two, the cat generally moves over to Geo's side of the bed to get away from my feet. It's a win-win situation for me-warm feet AND he goes and annoys Geo :P Also, if he's on Geo's side of the bed, I don't have to deal with the inevitable 4 a.m. cat fight on my feet. The last cat fight involved claws and (my)toes being bitten, it was unpleasant to say the least and now Geo gets to deal with it...he he.


It should be noted that Boni does NOT approve of this post and would like me to tell you that he only weighs 12 pounds and does NOT bite toes. His hope is that by looking at his picture, your soul will become his, as all of ours have...don't say I didn't warn you...