On The Mend

On The Mend, originally uploaded by iamaprice(Amanda).

Feeling well enough to sit up and zone out in front of a movie, at any rate.

The older three are fever free today, but poor Walnut went down hard this afternoon.

Sick

Sick, originally uploaded by iamaprice(Amanda).

My kids have been down with fever, croup, and tickle-y death coughing all weekend. They are so miserable, poor lambs.

Josh and I have been taking turns tending to them round the clock and we are both exhausted. I expect we'll be going through the worst of it ourselves when the kids are *just* well enough to bounce off the walls.

Times like these make me so thankful for health. For routine. For a few solid hours of sleep.

The Builder

The Builder, originally uploaded by iamaprice(Amanda).

Joshy at 6 is always making/building/inventing something. He delights in all things mathematical and mechanical. He reads well now so I often ask him to read to the others when they're bouncing off the walls and I'm too busy with my daily things to stop and settle everyone. He enjoys a good story, but has a frustrating time with spelling. Vwls it sms, rn't rlly ncssry. He looooves to do physical and outdoor work like Daddy and is always the first to volunteer to help move something heavy. It's wonderful to see how much heart he pours into it. He's still a rascal and a teasebox and loves to wrestle with Josh and Walnut. W doesn't take it too kindly, but Josh does alright. ;) His latest interest is movie-making. He's got 5 or 60 ideas he'd like to try. Should be fun.

Three

Three, originally uploaded by iamaprice(Amanda).

Missy blue turned three in December. She is big now. Her favorite things are cuddling, wrapping herself up in her creamy fuzzy blanket and looking at books, playing knights and princesses with Em and Joshy, tattling on all evil-doers, bossing whenever she can, making buns and "torrr-tee-yas", writing 'A', drawing circles, and playing legos. She knows her ABC's, 1 2 3's up to 14, and most shapes and colors. She is a dedicated mother to her babies Dolla and Babe. Sometimes she gives them to Emmy for keeps but they seem to find their way back to her eventually. Don't mistake her tricycle for a hunk of red metal. Oh no. It is a horse. It trots. Her favorite psalm is still "Shepherd". She's trying to teach it to Walter but, to her great dismay, he is a poor student. Potty training has been up and doooooooooooown for her, but lately it's been mostly up. Whew! She doesn't like to take a break from whatever is occupying her at any given moment, so I've had to break out a new secret weapon.

The stool.

If she has an accident, I give her a big drink and ask her to sit on the stool in the hall. The idea is to train her to react to the first signal her body gives her so she will make it to the potty in plenty of time. So far, it has been very effective though I'm not going to hold my breath.

Determined

Determined, originally uploaded by iamaprice(Amanda).

My 4 year old girl (5 at the end of Feb) has been an absolute sponge in her lessons. She likes to run wild outside when I make her go out, but she'd much rather be reading, drawing, writing, making cards, and in the kitchen helping me. She's flying through grade one and has such an appetite for learning that it's been a breeze to teach her. She blanks once in awhile during math, but it doesn't take long for the light bulb to come back on. She is a tender-hearted girl. She never loses an opportunity to tell someone she loves them or make them a card to encourage and cheer. She has been attempting to fix her own hair every morning for the last few months. Sometimes she does amazingly well and sometimes it looks like swallows are settling, but I love to see the satisfaction on her face for having done it herself. She is Walter's favorite. He loves to dance and she is very obliging. One of these days I'll get some snaps of that. She is constantly hurting herself one way or another. Some things never change. :)

To my dear girl,

To my dear girl, , originally uploaded by iamaprice(Amanda).

Sometimes big brothers can be annoying with their constant pestering and breaking the rules to 'What time is it, Mr. Wolf?'. Yes, he knew that you were the wolf. Yes, he was supposed to run away from you in panic and fright when it was "time to eat you!". No, he wasn't supposed to usurp your wolfship and tackle you instead. Don't let it get you down. Things could always be worse. I could have decapitated you like I did poor Addie, right?

Ok? Feeling better now? That's my girl.

Love you,
Mom

His "Mama, I hear a DOG!" face.

His "Mama, I hear a DOG!" face., originally uploaded by iamaprice(Amanda).