Awards Night

Tonight was Awana Awards night and it was a much anticipated ceremony. Roman got recognized as one of the Puggles (the new toddler program) and Deacon received his first Cubbie book award. Deacon has done a great job learning his verses and stories from the Bible. The one he remembers most, he says, is the one about Paul and Silas.

As Deacon stuffed the last of his post ceremony cookie and lemonade into his mouth I asked him, "Dekes, was the ceremony everything you had hoped for?" He very seriously answered, "yes". I am glad. He had a great year, learned a lot of Bible verses and really has grown up a lot. We are proud of him!

(maybe we can get some good ceremony pictures from Genna? Ours didn't turn out well)

The Top 20 Reasons for Neglecting my Blog

1. 1000 piece puzzle of London Bridge

2. Cleaning for more showings

3. Running, Biking and Swimming (Noah now refuses to swim in my lane because I kicked him rather hard this weekend- I guess I will have to swim among the strangers)

4. Cleaning A LARGE WAD of toilet paper out of the bathroom sink. Apparently Roman thought that the stopper wasn't adequate.

5. Birthday Parties! Happy Birthday Erica and Genna!

6. Working the graveyard shift

7. Wiping runny noses (We all got major nasty spring colds. Yuck)

8. Hauling sod in my little red wagon (Thanks, Jamie!) (If anyone was driving by wondering what that girl was doing wearing goldenrod yoga pants and a camo jacket and hauling a wagon full of dirt, well, that was me and I was cheaply trying to fix my yard.)

9. Stomping on sod (so I got it home and put it in the bare patches. Then I saturated it (and the kids) with water and stomped on it. Why? Because that is what Jamie told me to do. I hope she wasn't joking.)

10. Buying white summer clothes

11. Returning white summer clothes (seriously. What was I thinking?!)

12. Looking at all the cute stuff in my closet (stuff I bought trying to be a "cool mom") and then grabbing my yoga pants and sweatshirt.

13. Thinking of all the things I could be blogging about

14. Driving around the parking lot of a restaurant with a screaming baby while my food sat on a table inside.

15. Admiring things at REI and finding a super deal on Keens for my sister's birthday present

16. Talking cameras with Noah. We found one we are going to get, so look for new pictures soon!

17. Trying to figure out how old Michael and Christie from GT and the Halo Express really are.

18. Sewing on Awana Cubbie Patches (his award ceremony is tomorrow!)

19. Obsessing over Lincoln's brand new tooth that has a notch in it.

20. Reading our new stash of 30 library books, building zoos and playing dodge ball!

How we announced

Another blog I read, www.thekingsmissus.blogspot.com ,asked about how others announced their pregnancies. Instead of writing a long description in her comments section, I thought I would just do it here.


This is Deacon Christopher (he does insist that his middle name is James, but that is a story for a different time). I found out I was pregnant with him on April 15, 2003. I took Noah on a Jimmy John's picnic and shared the news. We were trying, so it was expected. We announced him to our families by mailing his little sonogram picture in little baby picture frames to our mothers for mother's day.

This is Roman James. To announce him, we made a onesie for Deacon to wear that said on the front __Enterprises. On the back it said, "look for our newest model coming Fall of 2005". We brought him over to the grandparents wearing it...it did take people awhile to read it. A while later we delivered him to the church nursery wearing it and the news soon spread. Of course everyone at work knew already. Because of the slightly worrisome hazards of my job, it is important to avoid certain patients etc during pregnancy so everyone has to know.

And this is Lincoln Andrew. We didn't really announce him. Well, I knew I was pregnant and Noah was leaving on a weekend retreat on a Friday afternoon. He and my sister insisted I take a pregnancy test before they left for the weekend. It was a tough weekend for him to be gone! I think my parents and sisters found out that weekend (they sort of already had guessed because I had been so tired etc. and I had been in denial for quite some time, refusing to take a test because I didn't want to know). I had some moments of panic after that, but once it was verified I was happy enough. We want 4 kids, and getting pregnant with Lincoln at that time made us decide that we apparently were just going to have them all in quick succession. Anyway, we announced him to Noah's family a few weeks later by signing the wedding card for Noah's sister with an inclusion of his presence. I didn't tell anyone else (except at work) until I was at between 16-20 weeks pregnant. Pretty much I waited until people started wondering. We didn't find out sex with any of them, so that just announced with the birth call.

The principle of the Duck Billed Dinosaur

When Deacon was just a little guy we attended an event where there was a table of prizes. As a special treat, we decided to get him something. There was a collection of plastic dinosaurs that he was interested in- especially the Duck Billed Dinosaur. Unfortunantly for Deacon, Noah thought the Duck Billed Dinosaur was a little lame, he preferred the Stegasaurus. Of course as young parents we were convinced that if we got the Stegasaurus for Deacon he would soon see the error of his ways and realize that the Stegasaurus was much cooler than old Duck Bill. So we did. And Deacon would have nothing to do with that Stegasaurus. Ever. The end.

Well, not really the end. We refer to the "Principle of the Duck Billed Dinosaur" often when we are tempted to "control" the kids' choices. When one of us is tempted to step in and choose something for the boys that we consider "better", the other one of us gently says, "remember the dinosaur". Then we sheepishly grin and say no more about the merits of the black sweatband versus the blue one or the normal looking googles versus the silly ones. We believe in teaching our children that their decisions matter and have consequences. Deacon can learn that he is welcome to wear goggles, my headband (which is what he wore as a sweatband until Daddy took him to the "sports guy" store to get a real sweat band) and his backward pants to Target - but at the same time he will also learn that people may laugh. Then he gets to decide if he is going to dress normally or if he is going to not let their laughter affect his strong fashion sense :)

Now, I am not totally cruel. I don't always know if he is aware that his clothes are not right, so I do usually say something like, "Dekes, your shorts are on backward. Do you want me to help you straighten them out, or are they ok?" And he almost always replies, "I like them this way, mom". So I say, "ok, let's go".

The antics of the 4 ICUs

My other job, as most of you know, is as a RN in the MICU (medical intensive care unit) of a busy downtown hospital. *the following post is based off of information from various websites, and my own observations*

I work MICU because I am opposed to seeing the insides of my patients (which is what happens in the burn unit and SICU). I like my patients looking good on the outside, regardless of the state of their internal organs. I don't like my patients being able to use their call lights to tell me "I am having the worst chest pain of my life!" (which is what happens in the CICU. My first, and only, unexpected patient death on my shift happened right after my patient said those very words...no wonder I am skittish).

Let me tell you a little more about the units:


1. SICU (Surgical Intensive Care Unit)- this is where the traumas go. Basically, car or snowmobile meets patient plus alcohol. (yes, I know, we all know people in traumas that were not intoxicated, but I did read a study that stated that 1/3rd to 1/2 of traumas that end up in critical care units involve alcohol.)

2. The Burn Unit- this is where people go after attempting to let fire and alcohol coexist in their lives. (once again, don't get offended please).


3. The CICU (Coronary Intensive Care Unit)- This is the less alcohol area...it is where you end up when you have a heart attack- risk factors for those are smoking, obesity etc. By the way, I read something that said tobacco and alcohol account for 3/4th of substance abuse ICU admissions.


4. The MICU (Medical Intensive Care Unit)- this is where we get the substance abuse, detoxing patients as well as the GI bleeds, liver failure, kidney failure,and respiratory failure. Unfortunantly, a lot of the multisystem failure patients have a history of alcoholism. I've been telling Noah for years that it seems like 50%-75% of my patients have at least a history of Alcohol. Unfortunately, even if it is not the primary reason for their admission it does complicate the admission when they start withdrawing in addition to their primary problems.

This link talks about AUDs in the ICU. http://www.news.vcu.edu/news.aspx?v=detail&nid=2125 (AUDs are alcohol use disorders.) This particular author claims that in his ICU more than 40% of his MICU admits have AUD. According to the article, patients with AUDs are more likely to be ventilated mechanically, which is more dangerous for the patient and also costs more. I read on a couple of different sites that give slightly different numbers, but basically what I found was that the cost of medical complications that relate to alcohol range from $100 billion to $185 billion a year. http://www.hcupus.ahrq.gov/reports/statbriefs/sb4.pdf is a site that talks about statistics relating to alcohol abuse in the general hospital admissions. Alcohol abuse disorders were the 4th most common admit reason for the uninsured and men age 35-44.

I was going to commentate, but I am not going to now. I don't know how to find a solution to this, although I do have some ideas. Just thought I would share some of the details about another part of my life :)

One cleaning session after another...

UPDATE ON THE HOUSE:
We have been averaging 1 showing a week. I am getting better and faster at cleaning- at least now I have been making an effort to stay on top of the problem areas like laundry so I am not too panicked when we have a showing. I also have become adept at getting people to help me! Today, due to a miscommunication, my mom was at my house washing dishes while I was at the Y with the kids!

UPDATE ON THE TRI:
Noah and I have remained very dilligent in our training. We are going to register for the Tri soon and then in addition to our training, we are going to need to learn to change tires quickly and swim in lakes. It takes a lot of time, but we are starting to see improvements, so that is encouraging.

UPDATE ON THE KIDS:
-Deacon is very excitable. That sums it up. He definitely does not take after Noah in the "chronically underwelmed" department. He was looking at pictures today. I pointed out one where I was about 5 months pregnant. He said, "but I don't see any fatness!" Bless his heart. Soon I will teach him never to refer to a pregnant woman as having "fatness".

- Roman is talking more and more. And still getting into lots of trouble. He pouts a lot, but I have started to see occasional tender moments between him and his baby brother. He is really cuddly lately too.

-Lincoln is cruising everywhere and is very determined to get where he wants and what he wants. He is ALWAYS happy to be cuddled and held, however and it will distract him from nearly anything.

I gotta go take a nap before my shift. Maybe it will help my chronic tiredness? Update on my shoes and alcholism and hospital admissions soon! Bet you can't wait!

5 Things I have learned about boys

1. When they are sick, even the toughest ones will crash

*These next pictures were taken by Deacon with his own (new but used) camera. I hijacked the pictures since I am still experiencing new picture withdrawel.*

2. If the picture looks like it was taken from the roof of the toy house, it probably was.

3. Fences are good, locks on the gate are better.

4. Rocks are cheap things to paint, look at, find worms under and, heaven forbid, throw.
5. If a baby looks like he has product in his hair, it probably smells like syrup.

Baby Week

I knew 3 people who's babies were due this month, and they all had them this week! There is something so endearing about tiny newborns. They aren't that cute in a traditional "cute" way but they are beautiful because they are such minature and intricate little beings. (Now do you know why we have so many children already? Yes, it is telling how much I love babies when I refer to them as 'miniature, intricate little beings' even though I have spent the majority of the day telling my former miniature and still intricately mischevious children to quit changing clothes, stop opening the refridgerator and that what I have thrown away is supposed to stay in the garbage can.)
Lincoln loves Roman. Lincoln loves Deacon too- he really likes Deacon to play peek-a-boo with him and he likes to watch Deacon put on puppet shows for him. It seems, however, that Lincoln had found in Roman more of someone to hang out with and fight with. Lincoln rarely tries to take Deacon's stuff, but he is constantly into whatever Roman has. Roman is usually trying to get away from him, as former posts have attested too...but this morning they seem to have found something to do that they both enjoyed. They went into the kitchen and Roman would open a cupboard and then they would sit next to each other trying my bowls and other stored items on their heads. It was amusing for everyone involved. (It did add more work to my life, however, as I had a lot more dishes to wash. I had to say that so you wouldn't be afraid to eat at my house.)
I overheard Deacon talking to someone the other day and he asked, "If some of the children are afraid of stages will they just watch the show?" That is the definition of "stagefright" I guess, but I have never heard it overexplained like that.
We were leaving the Y today and I told him that Dad was still swimming. He said, "I am sure he will be along". Do we talk like that?! Apparently someone does! It must be Noah.
Roman's new thing is discussing his feelings. His language is just exploding the last couple of weeks and it is pretty funny. He told me, "I missed you, mom. I cried." Which isn't that funny, except when he says, "I cried" he makes motions of tears running down his cheeks. And the fact that he hadn't cried when I left. Maybe he was crying in his heart. He did the same thing when he announced, "I don't like that bug. He is going to come and eat my car cars and I will cry." I guess we have been reading too much "Big Bad Bully Bug" from the library.
Anyway, I am taking a meal tomorrow to one of the new baby's families. That means I have to figure out what I am going to make...I guess I'd better quit blogging and start looking at recipes!

I love this picture

Ramblings of a mom with TKH

No new pictures and I am too tired to search through archives tonight. I have been so tired lately (no, I am not pregnant!) that I have been contemplating going to the doctor to try to figure out what is wrong. Everytime I think about it though I think of my mom's diagnosis: TKH (three kids and a husband). That is most likely what it is!

I have been reflective today because it was 5 years ago exactly that I found out officially that I was pregnant with Deacon. That means that I have been pregnant or breastfeeding continually for 5 years! No wonder I am so exhausted! I had confirmed the pregnancy that day and then Noah and I met for a picnic and I told him we were going to have a baby! No, I didn't plan an elaborate Frances-like picnic with homemade everything. I just picked up Jimmy Johns. Even when I didn't have the TKH excuse I wasn't extremely motivated or domestic.

Why didn't I get more done before I had kids? Why didn't I get anything done when I only had 1 kid? Or even 2? It is a piece of cake to just take care of 2 kids!

Which brings me to the park story. Last week Noah and I had the kids at the park. There was a dad at the park with 2 kids. Notice he only had 2 kids. I think he was yearning to try the 3 kid scenerio because he kept trying to take over ours. But he doesn't understand the 3 kid scenerio. He kept trying to help Roman down from things. Finally he looked at me and said, "aren't you worried about him?" I paused briefly to think about that question and answered, "not particularly."

You see, I wanted to tell him that I do worry about Roman. I worry about him running out into the street. I worry about him trying to drive my car. I worry about him jumping into bodies of water. I worry about him hitting other children. But I don't worry about him falling off of playground equipment. Maybe I should. But I don't. I wanted to tell him, "listen, I have TKH. I can only worry about a certain number of things. The possibility of Roman falling off a ladder 2 feet of the ground is not going to make the list for a really long time."

Then he informed me that Deacon's shoelace was untied. So like any good mom would I faked a, "oh my, thanks for telling me. Sweetie, come over here right now so mommy can tie your shoelace. You don't want to get hurt!" Between you and me, I only worry about untied shoelaces around bikes, escalators and treadmills. I spent the rest of the time at the park with my fingers crossed hoping that Roman wouldn't dive off of anything and require an ED visit.

And that brings me to today at homeschool gym and swim. (Can I be a homeschool mom...the closer it gets the more I wonder if I am there...Noah, yeah, he could fit in, but me? I don't know. I guess I may just keep running during the class instead of rehashing the latest environmental scares and education techniques. Running benefits my family. It allows me to catch Roman when he heads for uncharted waters.)

The moms were all talking about how the world is going downhill and discussing their lead testing kits and their radon detector things and their osmosis purifiers. I bit my tongue as I remembered fondly the song from who was it? PFR? "We're all going to die. Sorry to upset you, but we're all going to die. One more thing to look forward too. Get hit by a truck while crossing the street or get salmonella from a bad piece of meat..." Then I remembered the more important words, "Do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about itself, each day has trouble enough of it's own." and "Cast all your anxiety on Him because he cares for you."

It looks like

We are going to be getting some more of this...

Oh no...

Our camera broke. We have to look into having it fixed or buying a new one. What we think it broken on it would probably not be cost effective to fix - I guess we will see what happens. Current pictures may be scarce...I may have to dig into the archives. These are the pictures that broke the camera! (my Grandpa Earl would think that was funny.)



On another note, yesterday we were in the grocery store and I had bought potato salad. Deacon kept asking, "Is that for the public, mom, is that for the public?" I was confused until the light dawned and I said "oh yes, Deacon, it is for the potluck!" I kind of think that "public" is a good name for it, because certainly all the potato salad was not for our private consumption!

Roman's words:
Mo Lo = More loud (used in the car when he can't hear G.T.)
Kachow= Lightening McQueen
Tuck= I'm stuck, mom, help me out
bike= his big wheels that he is extremely attached to. He drives like a wild man.
No baby, no= Get out of my stuff, Lincoln, why do you torture me?
hit D= Deacon hit me
where D= Where is Deacon?

Roman actually says a lot of other things. But the other things aren't as funny.

Our day in the sun

That's our boy

Yes, he is 10 months old

Yes, he is not yet walking

But he is apparently climbing...I thought we might get a break with this one...

Nothing much going on

I thought I would put an old Christmas picture in (that is Roman) in honor of the newly fallen snow.

Deacon has been learning to play on the Wii. He is getting a little better and refers to himself as a "crazy Wii tennis player". I have to get some video of it sometime- it is hilarious.



Unfortunantly, right now our life is mostly consisting of work, taking care of kids and exercise. All that is good, but there is not much time left to write songs or take pictures.



I was thinking about Dairy Queen the other day. Does it bother anyone else that they have a "Blizzard of the Month" but you don't get a discount on it? What is the point of having a blizzard of the month if there is no perks associated with it? I considered writing them a letter, but then I decided that I should find better things to do with my time. I also thought they may consider me slightly psychotic.



So instead of writing them a letter, I made up a list of some goals for my life. I wish they would all happen immediately, but I doubt they will.

1. Potty train Roman

2. Wear make up at least 3 times a week

3. Cook healthy meals

4. Reach pro Wii bowling level

5. Pass my CCRN test

6. Go to Wisconsin Dells

7. Convince Noah that I need a laptop (so I can blog in the kitchen)

8. Buy new running shoes and triathlon clothes

9. Improve my swim

10. Work on the boys fine motor skills

Ok, I could write a lot more, but those are the things I am concentrating on today. And tomorrow. And probably that is enough for the rest of the year, really.