Stormy Weather

In the literal sense, it could be headed our way in a few hours.  Hail, wind, possible tornadoes.

In the figurative sense, we've been in the middle of it for days.  As of right now, I am the only one of the five of us that has not run a fever in the past 6 days.  Am I nervous?  Why yes, yes I am!

Here's the run-down:

Saturday/Sunday: Tyler

Tuesday-now: Alan

Wednesday morning - now: Dale

Wednesday evening - now: Daddy Buffalo

Thanks to Alan and his transplant issues, we made trips to the doctor on Tuesday and Wednesday.  He got a complete workup Tuesday and another test on Wednesday, and we still don't know what it is.  Most likely culprit: a virus of some sort.  

No cold symptoms.  And -oh so thankfully- no throwing up.  Just a fever that stays up no matter what.  Stubborn too, lingering on for days like this.  

But please, don't picture us all laying around on our sick beds. Ohhh no.  I can't convince the boys they are sick.  They have each had a few hours of lying around feeling terrible, but other than that, they've felt... well... great.  They run, they play, they laugh.  And I'm thankful for that too.

The boys before all the sickness.

And in the midst of all this?  I got some fillings replaced at the dentist this morning.  Oh the numbness.  If it wasn't so entertaining not to be able to feel or maneuver half your face it would just be torture.  ...or something.

So.  I am tired.  But -so far- I am not sick.

And that's all I can muster up for the ol' blog today!

A Family Tradition Continues...

Dale has finally hit that stage of childhood.


The one where he goes around with his tongue halfway poking out, or one finger stuck in his mouth....


... wiggling a loose tooth.


He lost the two bottom ones on his own; after much wiggling they just sort of... fell out.


Then the first top tooth got loose.  And hung around for quite a while in a funny, sticking-out-forward position. I started calling him "Bucky".  


Finally, enough was enough, and the tooth had to go.


I certainly was too squeamish to pull the thing, so I called on the same man that had pulled a few of my and my sister's teeth: PawPaw.


I asked him if he was still in the business, and sure enough, he was immediately able to put his hands on that same ol' little pair of pliers.


The pliers, I remember.


The headlock, I think may be new.

Nevertheless, the extraction was successful.


No more Bucky.


Just a cute snaggletoothed Dale!

You know you are a mom to boys when...

... you hastily grab a band-aid for your shoe-blisters before heading out the door, and all you can find is this:

Why Not?

Catching up on my blog reading, I saw that two of my bloggy friends have joined with a third homeschooling blogging mama to form a linky-up blogging group.  Thing.


This week is introductions, so here I am, two days late to the party and jumping right in. :-)

We have three boys, 7,4,1 whom we affectionately call buffaloes.  If you have boys you know why.


Some of our current goings on:


1. Baby #4 is due at the end of September.  Yes, we are planning to find out.  Yes, we fully expect this baby to be a boy, too.


2. The garden.  It's our 3rd or 4th year, and maybe the biggest yet.  The big boys and I should be out weeding right now.


3. Baseball.  More specifically, Texas Rangers.  Speaking of.... I just remembered they are playing this afternoon!  The garden will wait, right...?  ;)


4. I'm sure there are more than these three things going on.   But as soon as I finished #3 I turned on the tv, completely blowing what little concentration I had left for today.  I think it's time to sort some laundry or print some worksheets.  Anything I can do and keep up with this baseball game.  :) 

Where I've Been

In spite of the fact of having a blog and putting all sorts of information out there for the whole wide world to read, I actually tend to be a very private person.

This means that when there is 'stuff' going on, I usually don't blog about it.  And often end up not blogging at all.

Which is exactly where I have been.


It was a long week.  A week that ended in a loved one passing away, followed by the days of preparation, and family, and a funeral service.


This passing was expected.  Prayed for.  In some ways, a relief.


The loss, however, is not a relief.  It is sad.  It is still sinking in.  And though it was expected, I suspect it will continue to surprise me in random moments and memories for weeks and months to come.


And yet, much of the weekend was celebratory.  This was a home-going.  A heavenly reunion.  A face-to-face meeting with our Savior and Creator.  Can you imagine?  Are you ready?  There is only one Way.  Have you trusted Him?


"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."  John 14:6

Thanks for your patience, friends.  I'll be back here (hopefully tomorrow!) with all the usual bits of bloggy randomness. :)

Blanket Training

The basic idea of blanket training is to train your baby to sit quietly in a small space with a few toys.  This keeps him out of trouble and happier when mom is busy, both at home and out and about.  You can get a task done or enjoy a quick visit, and baby can play instead of cry and whine and act out!


The training turned out to be even easier than I thought it would be!  It has transformed our morning Bible time, and has also been great at church and other places.  (I started when Tyler was around 13-14 months old, but you could definitely start earlier.)

Here are my tips:


- Have a positive attitude.  You aren't sitting baby down here as a punishment or a time out.  It is a fun thing to look forward to.  Use a cheerful voice and a familiar phrase.  "Yay! It's Blanket Time!"


- Obedience is a must. Give simple instructions and insist on strict obedience, especially at first. For example, "Sit down." Do not allow baby to stand on the blanket. He must sit.  If he tries to stand, use whatever form of discipline you use at other times to convince him he wants to stay seated.  We use a swat on the bottom. (All you non-spankers are cringing, aren't you?)


- Reserve a special set of toys.  We have a shoebox full of colorful blocks that only come out for Blanket Time.  And really, they only come out for Blanket Time in the mornings when we are having Bible.  If Tyler is awake for our read-aloud in the afternoon, I pull out a set of puzzles for the variety.  For a work-day at church recently I brought our blanket and the Blanket Time blocks.


- Be patient.  I first began blanket training for us to be able to have our morning Bible time without me constantly interrupting myself correcting Tyler.  However, I had to allow time at first for even more interruptions for correcting and training.  For the first week or two, I moved from my place in my rocking chair to sitting in the floor next to Tyler's blanket.  In the end, the extra interruptions paid off, and now I only have to offer a word here and there for him to sit back down.  Also, don't start out expecting your baby to sit contentedly for an hour at a time.  We started with 10-15 minutes.  Tyler can now do up to 20-30 very well.  I expect as he gets older that time will increase.


- Enforce.  Now that we have "made it" and Tyler does well on a blanket, I don't want to relax and lose what we have gained.  So although I can often correct him with just a word and not a bottom-swat, I am still careful to make sure he is staying in-bounds.  Literally.  I do allow him to roll and waller, but not with the better portion of his body hanging off the blanket.  Over half his body must be on the blanket.  No, I haven't explained or even stated that rule to him, but believe me, he knows when he is pushing his limits.  We also do not allow the throwing of toys.


- Celebrate.  When we are done with whatever activity called for Tyler's blanket time, I turn my full attention to him and proclaim, "All done!"  I love on him and praise him for a job well-done.  Then he helps me put away his blocks and I send him on his merry way while I put up the blanket and toys.


- Be creative.  There are plenty of opportunities to grab a blanket, a bath towel, a folded sheet, small rug, or any other definite floor space and plop down a baby, toddler, or preschooler.  In a pinch, anything safe can be a good diversion: measuring cups & spoons, board books, paper and crayons (as long as your kid won't eat them, like mine does)... the sky is the limit.  Well, that and whatever you have available.  Blanket time is helpful at church, home, or anytime you find yourself in a not-so-child-friendly or child-proofed place.

I am fairly certain almost every one of these ideas came from the Duggar's book, The Duggars: 20 and Counting! (Amazon Associate link), but I have seen blanket training on quite a few blogs, too.  Since it has been so great for us, it is now on this blog as well. ;)  (If I am wrong about the Duggar thing, would someone please remind me where all this came from?)

Have you tried blanket training?  What helpful hints do you have?

This post is linking up to Works-for-me_Wednesday @ We Are That Family.

When having nothing means everything

As my Grandmother is in her last days and hours, someone from our family has been with her around the clock.  Throughout the day Sunday and into the evening, things were looking pretty serious.  Quite a few of us stayed together with her until 2am Monday morning.  I fell into bed at 2:30, knowing I would have boys awake and hungry in about 4 1/2 hours.

I have been very aware in recent weeks of the words and tone I use when speaking to my boys.  I have been working to replace nagging and snapping with kinder, gentler words.  Or simply holding my tongue, if need be.  Most days I have set aside a few minutes every morning asking God for his help in that, and simply his guidance in our day.

On Monday morning, somewhere between waking up at 6:30 and getting out of bed at 7:00 I realized what a challenge being patient and gentle would be on this day.  And without a Bible reading, without a formally addressed prayer, without getting up out of bed or getting down on my knees, I simply offered a deeply sincere plea for help.  I did not regret my late night, but I certainly didn't want to take it out on my boys.  And I knew that with the lack of sleep I was working with, the task seemed nearly impossible.

After my short, simple, yet extremely sincere prayer, I got up and began my day as usual.  Our breakfast, school, and even morning house-keeping time (the biggest 'be nice' challenge) were great.  I was very aware of what a normal day it was.  They weren't little angels.  There were problems.  But I was able to handle it just like I had gotten 9 hours of sleep instead of 4.  In fact, I'm ashamed to admit I've done worse on 9, some days.

Last night I was thinking over how the day had gone, thankful for not being a grouchy bear that morning.  Although I had definitely given God the credit, I hadn't realized what made it different.  In one way I had started the day just like many others, with prayer for His help.  But my attitude Monday was different, in that I knew I had nothing to offer.  I had no resources to bring to the table, no faith in myself to do what was right.  I was completely dependent on the Holy Spirit to produce his fruits in me.

The lesson learned is that is the way it should always be.

Jesus said in John 15:15, "without me ye can do nothing."  Nothing.  Not "a little bit".  Not "a few things". Nothing.  Which means, I come into every day as empty-handed as I did yesterday.  But I stay so busy trying to do my part that I am not completely dependent on him.

Now the challenge is to remember that complete dependence and put it into practice, no matter how confident I am in the abilities I think I have.  Or how much sleep I got the night before.

What a handy lesson to learn with weeks of interrupted sleep in our near future.  What a blessing to have more opportunities to remember what little I have to offer, and the perfect source of strength I have available!

And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 2 Corinthians 12:9