D's bday

His birthday was June 5, and he turned 15. As my oldest child, he really shows leadership with his siblings. He is usually helpful and rarely complains. He is a straight A student as well as a talented multi-sport athlete: football, basketball, and track. This means that he has practice and/or games afterschool year round, with the exception of a handful of days. He handles this with ease, actually making it seem easy. He is never late, and never forgets things.

He just completed driver's ed, and was eligible to get his permit. Unfortunately I recently misplaced his birth certificate, so we took a copy to get his permit. This wasn't acceptable, and they wouldn't let him get his permit. Instead of being rude, angry, or sullen,. at this turn of events, like many teens would be, he was patient and actually nice. I thought he would be angry with me for misplacing the original, but he was not. Luckily, I was able to find it and he has since obtained his permit.

If he sounds nearly perfect, it's because he is!

Back view

Back view, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

I can't find a "before" back view, but this is how it is now. Previously, there was a pool where there is now house and will be patio.

Side view

Side view, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

Here is a side view of the house now. The red brick fireplace exterior has been refaced with stone (behind left tree), as has all of the blue siding. In the far left of the photo you will see a 3 car garage. Everything left of the main entry has is a new addition.

Oaks side view

Oaks side view, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

Here is a "before" picture from the side of the house, which is where we usually enter. I am standing in the parking area taking the photo. There was no garage.

The door on the left will become the main entry in the next photo.

Front view

Front view, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

Here is the same view (sort of). There was an addition, which wasn't really visible in that other picture. As you can see we have totally rebuilt the front porch, replaced windows and cleaned and sealed the stone.

Oaks front view

Oaks front view, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

To try and give an idea of what our home renovation/addition process has been like, here is a "before" picture of the front of the old part of the house (built in 1862).

Ready for a date

Ready for a date, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

Here I am, ready to go out with Daryl to see Lyle Lovett and k.d. lang in concert. It was a great show!

20 weeks

20 weeks, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

Boots

Boots, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

Introducing Boots! See how identical they are? I can only tell them apart by looking at their faces closely--Blaze has a small white spot on his lip.

Blaze surfing the net

Blaze surfing the net, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

He really was playing with the keyboard, but of course I wasn't fast enough to catch it!

Introducing Blaze!

Proud Mama

DSCN0019, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

Our kittens are now 3 months old. They were born in March, 2 days after their earliest possible "due date." I spent a lot of time reading up on cats giving birth, and felt I was as ready as possible. Although most cats are totally independent, and some even go hide, there are others who need assistance, don't know what to do, and make mistakes. I spent several sleepless nights (I read that they are more likely to give birth at night since in the wild, this would be safest.) worrying that she was in the basement, birthing kittens in different spots and leaving them to die, or worse yet, giving birth in the litterbox and then being unwilling/unable to clean them off so they would smother in litter. (I read that this can happen with the clumping litter, if the cat mistakes her urge to push for an urge to have a BM.)

Keep in mind that this was occurring midway through the period when I believed my own pregnancy was not viable, so my mind was rather addled. I was still excited, but as I told my husband, "It was more exciting when we were both pregnant."

She became EXTREMELY friendly and affectionate during this time, and we all doted on her.

At one point during her pregnancy she developed a skin disorder and I took her to the vet, who said it was allergies and confirmed that she was definitely pregnant. She also informed me that it was not too late to "take care of it" by spaying her and aborting the kittens. She even offered me a surgery appointment the next morning. Although I knew that Daryl was not in favor of her having kittens, I could not bring myself to do this. When she got to 2 weeks from her due date, I informed the kids. She was noticeably pregnant by this time, but they just thought she was getting fat. Daryl didn't find out for another week, since he was out of town. By that point she looked as though she had a bowling ball strapped to her middle, but he still didn't notice!

One morning she began having contractions. Instead of hiding, she was sitting in L's lap (he was home sick from school). I removed her and took her to the box I'd prepared in my bathroom. She was anxious, meowing frequently, but as long as I stayed by her side and kept petting her she was ok. I left the room for 2-3 minutes, and when I returned she had had a kitten, left it in the box, and was at the door meowing for me. I quickly picked it up, wiped it off, and called her over. She came back and did sniff at it a little and gave it a couple of tentative licks. Then, with a single growl, she gave birth to a second kitten. She began licking that one vigorously, and I kept pushing the first one under her nose. Eventually she licked them both off, although I did have to keep coaxing her to take care of the first one. She laid down, and the second kitten began nursing immediately. The first one kept rooting around, but never successfully latched on, despite my attempts to help him. She never chewed off their umbilical cords, so I cut them, since the kittens were dragging the placentas around with them.

After several hours passed and the first kitten still hadn't successfully nursed, I called the vet, who said that I should get some kitten formula and attempt to feed him, since by now his blood sugar levels would be falling dangerously low. i went out to get it, and by the time I returned, he had figured it out. I was relieved, since I wasn't really thrilled at the idea of hand feeding a kitten around the clock for weeks.

Cazzy was laying there contentedly and the kittens were nursing. Although two kittens is a small litter, that is not unusual for a first litter, particularly born to a young and small cat. I had read that kittens are usually born about 30 minutes apart (hers were 5!) and occasionally up to several hours apart, but that if the mother seemed relaxed then that was a sign it was over. She was now sleeping, and I went out to run errands. While I was gone, she had several more kittens. They were born approximately 6 hours after their littermates!

L. went in to check on her, and saw a new kitten. He called for my friend, who was babysitting. When she walked in, she saw that there were actually 2 new kittens. One looked obviously dead. She picked up the other one and wiped it off, trying to get it breathing. While she was doing that, Cazzy gave birth to another. The two that were born when no one was in the room died, but the last one lived. My friend said that it appeared that Cazzy hadn't removed all of the sac from their faces, that it was covering their mouths and may have suffocated them. Interestingly, this time she did chew through their umbilical cords.

The two that died were solid dark grey, and the 3 that lived look JUST like Cazzy, black tuxedo cats with white paws and chests. The female had a white bow tie marking over her mouth, and her 2 brothers did not. I had wondered what they would look like, and had a dream that she had 5 kittens that looked just like her, but never really believed that she would have that many kittens, or that they would look just like her.

Despite her uncertainty about what to do during the birth process, Cazzy proved to be an excellent mother. She took great care of them.

I had 3 people potentially interested in having a kitten, but only one actually did. She took the girl, and we still have the 2 boys. They are in the wild and rambunctious stage of kittenhood right now, and it's good that they have one another to wrestle with.

Cazzy has been spayed, but remains an interested and attentive mother. They still occasionally attempt to latch on, and she lets them, although she has no milk. She enjoys licking them, and sometimes holds them down to bathe them!

I lost my pictures of tiny kittens when the computer crashed, but I'll post current pictures soon.

18 weeks

DSCN0024, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

Here I am at 18 weeks. I have an ultrasound next week, and am praying hard that everything is OK. I feel the baby move quite a bit now, and that is comforting.

Time Consuming

Our home renovation continues, and the intensity has picked up, becoming about a 20 hour a week job for me, which is why I don't post often. My computer crashed and the data on the hard drive was irretrievable, so I lost a lot of photos. As soon as I can get some house photos from Daryl's computer I will post them.

Anniversary

Yesterday my dear husband and I celebrated 20 years of wedded bliss. I am so happy! It really doesn't seem like it's been that long.

Mother's Day Funny

I received this as a forwarded email, but I thought it was hilarious so I'm sharing:


So, we had this great 10 year old cat named Jack who just recently died.
Jack was a great cat and the kids would carry him around and sit on him and
nothing ever bothered him. He used to hang out and nap all day long on this
mat in our bathroom.

Well, we have 3 kids and at the time of this story they were 4 years old, 3
years old and 1 year old. The middle one is Eli. Eli really loves chapstick.

LOVES IT. He kept asking to use my chapstick and then losing it. So finally
one day I showed him where in the bathroom I keep my chapstick and how he
could use it whenever he wanted to but he needed to put it right back in the
drawer when he was done.

Last year on Mother's Day, we were having the typical rush around
and try to get ready for Church with everyone crying and carrying on.
My two boys are fighting over the toy in the cereal box. I am
trying to nurse my little one at the same time I am putting on my make-up.
Everything is a mess and everyone has long forgotten that this is a
wonderful day to honor me and the amazing job that is motherhood. We
finally have the older one and the baby loaded in the car and I am looking
for Eli.

I have searched everywhere and I finally round the corner to go into the
bathroom. And there was Eli. He was applying my chapstick very carefully to
Jack's . . . rear end.

Eli looked right into my eyes and said "chapped."

Now if you have a cat, you know that he is right--their little butts
do look pretty chapped. And, frankly, Jack didn't seem to mind.
And the only question to really ask at that point was whether it was the
FIRST time Eli had done that to the cat's behind or the hundredth?

And THAT is my favorite Mother's Day moment ever
because it reminds us that no matter how hard we try to civilize these
glorious little creatures, there will always be that day when you realize
they've been using your chapstick on the cat's butt.

Good News

I saw the dr. again yesterday. She found the baby's heartbeat easily, and I breathed a sigh of relief. I also passed the 1 hour glucose tolerance test! For now, at least. They want me to take it again at 18 weeks, but I may argue that.

Update

I had another ultrasound one week later, and I saw the baby again. He/she had grown appropriately and the heartrate was excellent. Three days later I had a tiny bit of spotting, so I went in again, and again saw a healthy baby and heartbeat.

Since then I have had my first prenatal appointment at 9.5 weeks. My dr. wasn't able to hear the heartbeat but said that she is unconcerned because the earliest she ever hears it is usually 10 weeks, sometimes later. I am now almost 11 weeks. I have another appointment next Tuesday, when I will be 11.5 weeks, and we should definitely be able to hear it then. Surprisingly, this has not worried me much. I wish we'd heard it, but I FEEL really pregnant (nausea, fatigue) and I can tell that my uterus is growing.

If you are praying for me, please keep praying! I will update after my appointment next week.

Sorry I haven't updated much, but every time I tried to login to Blogger, I got an error message. Finally I figured out (I think) that there is some sort of incompatibility problem with the Safari browser and Blogger, so I switched to Firefox.

Miracles Do Happen!

I have some catching up to do. The bleeding I mentioned in my previous post was only spotting, and didn't last long. I went for another u/s the following Monday. We saw the sac, which had grown to about 19mm, but it was still empty. There was a blurry spot that looked like it might have been a yolk sac, but the ultrasound technician didn't think it was. She showed the films to the dr. who said that I should come back in a week for another ultrasound. He still didn't feel confident saying that the pregnancy wasn't viable. I was told to prepare for the worst, but not entirely give up hope. Later that day I spoke to the nurse practicioner who told me that the doctor said that there definitely was a yolk sac.

On Friday of that week, I called the dr.'s office, attempting to schedule a "procedure" for when my husband would be at home, since he had some upcoming business travel planned. I requested that they see me for a repeat ultrasound that day, instead of waiting until Monday, so that the doctor could explain my various options to me and I could make a decision. They agreed. I cried all the way there, expecting the worst, and feeling really slapped in the face by my loss.

When the dr., who I hadn't met before, but had agreed to see me instead of eating lunch, began the ultrasound, she said, "So you didn't see anything on Monday?" I said no, and began craning my neck to see the screen. As she turned it toward me, she said, "well, I see something now." I saw it, too--a baby with a heartbeat. I began to sob. Once I calmed down, we looked again, and she turned up the volume so I could hear the heartbeat. The heartrate was 128-134 and the baby's size was right for dates. Afterwards, she hugged me, as did the nurse I'd had so many phone conversations with over the past 2 weeks. I go this Friday Apr. 6 for one more ultrasound to confirm that the baby is growing, and then I will go to my regular doctor.

Not Pregnant Anymore

It's been a roller coaster ride of emotions. Last week I had another beta--1464 which was excellent. This week on Tuesday I saw OB endocrine specialists since my regular dr. discovered I had high blood sugar and was hypothyroid. The OB ordered an early u/s. I was so excited! I literally ran down the hall to the room. All we saw was an empty sac. I was informed that the pregnancy was not viable and I could wait to miscarry or schedule a d&c. I was devastated.

The next day I spoke with the reproductive endocrinologist I had been seeing, who said that they had my dates wrong on the ultrasound and that it was too early to see anything. She told me to come to their office next week for another ultrasound. She was shocked that they would recommend terminating to someone who was not even 6 weeks pregnant and without offering a followup ultrasound. Somewhat reassured, I calmed myself as much as possible.

However, last night when getting ready for bed, I discovered that I was bleeding. So I'm not pregnant any more. It was REALLY fun being pregnant for those 2 short weeks.

And why does today's headline have to read, "Baby Found Dead Was Alive at Birth." While I am longing for a baby, other people are throwing theirs away!

Grow, Baby, Grow!

Beta #2 was 144, up from 39. It needed to double in 48 hours, but that's a 3-4x increase!

Pregnant

hpt, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

I am so over the moon! Last time I got pregnant these tests weren't invented yet (or I hadn't heard of them). It's so much fun to see it in writing! Had a beta hcg blood test on Tuesday, it was 39, which is good. Having a repeat today, and we want to see that number at least double, so if you are a cyber friend who prays, pray for me that this pregnancy is successful and ends with a healthy baby in my arms!

What Do I Sound Like?

Since none of you have ever heard my voice, according to this quiz, my "accent" can be described as:

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Inland North   You may think you speak "Standard English straight out of the dictionary" but when you step away from the Great Lakes you get asked annoying questions like "Are you from Wisconsin?" or "Are you from Chicago?" Chances are you call carbonated drinks "pop."
The Midland
The Northeast
Philadelphia
The South
The West
Boston
North Central
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Our newest reader

Our newest reader, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

I love when that lightbulb turns on and they learn to read!

Expecting

Expecting, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

Our cat, Cazadora, is expecting her first (and only) litter of kittens the 3rd week of March. At least someone in the house is pregnant!

Valentine

Valentine, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

Our Valentine's Day dessert--a simple butter cake frosted with whipped cream and decorated with strawberries (heart shaped, of course!)

Roses for the Ladies

Roses for the Ladies, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

Daryl brought each of his daughters a rose for Valentine's day (and some for me too!)

Family Photo

Family Photo, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

This was our Christmas card photo, taken in October at a metropark near our house. What a glorious day!

Rose Bowl

Rose Bowl, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

The boys at the big game. Wolverine fans through and through.

Christmas Past

Since we were flying to Phoenix on Christmas day, we had Christmas with our families on the 23rd and 24th. Having Christmas on those dates is traditional, it didn't really change anything, except that Christmas Eve was a rush. We bought a catered pre-made meal, which was fabulous, that we ate with my parents around 2pm. Then we exchanged gifts, and then a few of us rushed over to the church to save seats an hour before the service was to begin, and got the last seats available in the back row of the choir loft. A few more of us joined them at mass, but Daryl stayed home with the young children who can't tolerate 2+hours in church. Santa came while we were at church. He came while Daryl was showering, but the 2 year old saw him, and told us all about it. We opened the gifts from Santa on Christmas Eve so that in the morning all we needed to do was get dressed and out the door.

I'd been warned ahead of time that we would all have to take our shoes off. Daryl parked the car and dropped the rest of us curbside, where I checked the luggage. I had been able to check in and print boarding passes online, so I was prepared. All we had to do was get to the gate and wait for boarding to begin. When we reached the security checkpoint, there was a man distributing ziploc bags and telling us to put any liquids, gels, lotions, etc. in them. I had some hand lotion, hand sanitizer, Desitin and blistex that I put in a bag. I forgot about the bottle of liquid Benadryl in the diaper bag. Once the items were in the ziploc bag, I put it back in the diaper bag, since we were given no further instructions. Later I learned that we were supposed to show the ziploc bag to the security person. Although the ziploc bag and the bottle of Benadryl must have been visible when the diaper bag went through the xray machine, no one mentioned it. We all took off our jackets and shoes, putting them on conveyor belt along with our backpacks, stuffed animals and blankies. Between us we had 3 laptops and 2 cell phones, all of which had to be taken out of their bags. A. became very upset about having to remove her shoes and coat, and when I laid her blankie on the conveyor belt she began to shriek. Meanwhile, having shown my ID and boarding pass 4 times already, I stowed them in my purse and laid it on conveyor belt. When we finallly approached the metal detector, I was asked for the boarding passes AGAIN. When I told them that they were in my purse which had already emerged on the other side of the xray, the security agent was visibly annoyed. He sent me to retrieve them, and after I showed them AGAIN we were all allowed to walk through the metal detector. After we reassembled and repacked all of our gear, we headed to the gate. The rest of the trip was uneventful. We arrived in Phoenix, picked up the 12 passenger van we had rented, and headed to our friends' home. We had a relaxing Christmas evening with them.

The next week was filled with wine, friends and laughter--good for the soul. My cell phone rang constantly with old friends wanting to get together, and it warmed my heart. We attended a great New Year's Eve party. The next morning Daryl flew to Pasadena with D. and L. to attend the Rose Bowl. I drove up to Sedona, and checked into a resort where we spent the next 3 days. It was so beautiful and restful. While there we hiked, biked, took jeep rides, etc.

False Positive

Turns out, after a 3rd blood test, where my hcg level was 6, that I have something called heterophilic antibodies, which react with the pregnancy test to cause a false positive. They don't harm me in any way, but I just need to know this for the future. A positive for me will have to be higher than 7, and I will need to ask that they perform the test in a certain way to avoid the false positive.

So I wasn't pregnant, even for a minute, despite having a 17 day luteal phase with high temps followed by a visit from AF that resembled a miscarriage.

Almost Pregnant

"I thought there was no such thing as almost pregnant," said my husband, when I told him the news yesterday that the pregnancy blood test (known as a quantitative beta hcg) I'd taken the day before came back positive, but so low that it probably wasn't viable. It was a 7. My dr. said that she has seen a number that low become a viable pregnancy, but it isn't likely. I repeated the blood test today, and the number, which needed to double to even be a possible pregnancy, stayed exactly the same--7.

So I guess now I'm almost not pregnant. Something is going on in my body. I have some minor symptoms, including high basal temps and an absence of "Aunt Flo."

I have grown to hate menstruation fiercely during this past year, (not that I ever really liked it). The fact that it is a reminder that I am NOT pregnant that slaps me in the face over and over again for a few days each month, combined with the sheer annoyance and inconvenience and general unpleasantness of the the experience, makes me feel punished, victimized even.

New Year's Resolutions

1. Get pregnant.
2. Lose 10 pounds
3. Exercise more frequently.
4. Eat less.
5. Eat more healthful choices.
6. Resume doing yoga.
7. Finish books that I begin reading.

Struggling to Keep Blogging

My enthusiasm for blogging seems to have flagged. My posts are so infrequent that I wonder if anyone bothers to stop by any more. Truthfully, I briefly forgot about my blog--as in totally forgot that I even have one! I wonder if I should continue or just let it die. Has anyone else faced this? Did you get re-inspired? If so, how?

It seems as though nothing too exciting has happened and I don't have a lot to say.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas 2006


Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I hope this letter finds all of you happy and well.

2006 was a good year for our family. One major event was the July sale of Daryl’s company, XXXXXXs, to Gore, (maker of Gore-tex) a Fortune 500 biotechnology company located in Flagstaff, Arizona. He continues to teach and do research as a Professor at the University of Michigan and to perform as CEO at his other company, XXXXX.

We have embarked on a major home renovation and addition project. Many months were spent on the planning and design phase with the architects. Currently we are completing the bidding process, which will result in both a final budget and the selection of a contractor to complete the work.

Our family did some traveling this year. We spent almost 2 weeks traveling 1000 miles through Ontario and Quebec provinces. We spent a week in a Baie St. Paul, a small town in eastern Quebec, north of Maine. Since none of us speak French, and most Quebecois do not speak English, it was an interesting and sometimes frustrating experience. The region boasts amazing scenery, both mountainous and water oriented. Located on the St. Lawrence seaway, we were able to go whale watching and sea kayaking as well as hiking, bicycling and horseback riding.

In November we spent a week in Chicago having a city vacation where we enjoyed museums, shopping and a performance by the Blue Man Group. We celebrated Thanksgiving with Paula’s aunt, who lives in Chicago.

We will be traveling to Phoenix on Christmas day. We plan to enjoy time with old friends, some hiking and sightseeing, and the sunshine.

D. is in the 9th grade this year. In September he was confirmed in the Catholic churh, which was a proud moment for all of us. He played running back and corner back on the football team. Although the team didn’t have a winning season, Dillon scored numerous touchdowns and was a vital member of the defense. He is currently playing basketball.

J.’s soccer career ended this year when her team disbanded, so she has taken up horseback riding as her new sport. She also continues to play both the piano and flute. She is in 7th grade and is an excellent student. This past summer she attended Inkstains, a creative writing camp at Eastern Michigan University.

L. is now our lone soccer player, and he is both dedicated to his sport and a talented player. He is in the 5th grade, and doing extremely well in school. He has just begun playing the clarinet and continues to play the piano.

I. has also begun horseback riding lessons and she is passionate about both horses and riding. She is in the 4th grade. She continues to play the piano and to fill her role as our household fashionista.

T. has really blossomed in the past year. She is handling the transition from half day kindergarten to full day first grade extremely well. She has gained a lot of self-confidence and maturity. She is a real math whiz and enjoys doing math problems just for fun. She is now reading well enough that she can read a book on her own.
,
K. is enjoying being at home with his mom and little sister. Astute and observant, he has a terrific vocabulary ,and we are often amazed by the things he has to say. He loves to be outdoors, enjoys playing with dinosaurs and helping with cooking.

A. has gone through a tremendous transformation in the past year, from a baby with few opinions of her own to an extremely particular little girl who is not shy about sharing her feelings. To say that she loves reading would be a huge understatement. Her adoration for books is so great that we have dubbed her “the librarian.”

After several months of watching Isabel and Jasmine with envy, Paula has also taken up horseback riding, and is enjoying the challenges of a new sport. She continues to be a member of a women’s book club, and continues with running as her primary fitness activity.

We hope you all had a terrific year and a blessed holiday season. We wish many more blessings upon you for the New Year!

A great way to contact Paula is email: pxxxx@xxxx. I look forward to hearing from you!


Love,

Paula, Daryl, D., J., L., I., T., K. and A.

What's Up?

You may be wanting to ask this of me, wondering why my posts are so infrequent. My time is being consumed by 2 things, primarily: 1) unsuccesful attempts to get pregnant and all of the obsessing involved, including recent visits to a reproductive endocrinologist to determine if there is something actually physically amiss (results aren't in on that one yet), and beginning tomorrow, visits to the acupuncturist in the hopes he knows something that western medicine does not. 2) the previously alluded to home renovation project.

I will attempt to briefly describe the house as it is. I live in a home built in 1862 with an addition put on in 1975. The house has no garage and 1.5 bathrooms (used by 9 people) and 4 real bedrooms, only one of which has a closet. Additionally, 3 of those bedrooms have adjoining rooms which could be used as bedrooms but would be walk-throughs. One of those adjoining rooms is being used as a tiny bedroom--the 3 girls have a suite, with the 2 oldest together and the younger one in the little room. Another of those adjoining rooms is being used by Daryl as an office. The third adjoining room connects to my bedroom, and it is being used as a combination closet and bedroom for A. 3 of the bedrooms are upstairs but there are no upstairs bathrooms. The upstairs bedrooms sport funky shag and dated wallpaper. The front porch on our house is literally falling off. We have a laundry room that is only big enough for a washer and dryer, no folding area or storage for clothes. The kitchen/family room is dark year round, requiring the lights on at all times. I park outdoors and carry groceries, babies, etc. up a small hill.

The renovation involves: Adding 3 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms upstairs, including a master bedroom, and putting a murphy bed/nightstand unit in the little room that adjoins the downstairs bedroom, which will become a guest suite. Some of these bedrooms will be located in an addition which will include a garage, new laundry room and mudroom, and a finished basement. The downstairs family room, which has large beams in the ceiling, will have the ceiling opened up to the 2nd story with only the beams remaining for a vaulted ceiling with skylights. The kitchen will be renovated to include additional cabinets, a 2nd dishwasher and a 2nd refrigerator/freezer. The old part of the house will receive cosmetic improvements as needed, like paint and flooring.

We spent July-Sept. working on the design with architects. Oct.-Nov. has involved selecting a builder/contractor. We are reviewing bids and hopefully we will have one by next week. We bid out some of the outdoor work separately, which began the week before Thanksgiving. This included removing the nonfunctional swimming pool and deck, clearing brush and rocks, removing and rebuilding the front porch, and sealing the old basement, which leaked, from the inside and outside.

Once the project is in full swing we will need to move out for 5-6 months, so I am currently looking at rental houses.

In other news, we spent Thanksgiving week in Chicago, visiting Windy City attractions like the Science and Industry Museum and the Shedd Aquarium. We also visited friends and saw the parade of lights on the Magnificent Mile. Two birthdays happened while we were there. L. turned 11 and chose to go ice skating outdoors in Millenium Park and to the top of the Hancock building. A. turned 2 while we were there, but we celebrated her birthday when we got home. She was very clingy and attached during the entire week. She is the only one of 7 children who refuses to: ride in the backpack AND ride in the stroller AND ride in the sling AND walk. She only wants to be carried, and only mama will do. Mama's arms get very tired.

We spent Thanksgiving Day with my aunt who lives in Chicago and my parents, who drove in for the holiday.

So that's what I've been up to!

Love Thursday

Love Thursday, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

Need I say more? My oldest and youngest.

How Did We Get Here?

Mothers of large families are often asked: Were you always in total agreement with your husbands about family size? Did either of you need convincing or change your minds? Was it a gradual process or did you always know you wanted more?

The short answer to that question, the reply I give to nosy strangers, is that once we began having children, each one was so special that it made us want to have another.

The extended version is:

When we married, we had agreed that we would have children; at least two, maybe four. After we had our first, I was hooked. Daryl was pretty excited, too. We welcomed a second and a third in quick succession. At this point we were planning to put a larger gap between the third and fourth. The first 3 children are each 21 months apart and the second and third were both difficult toddlers. However, as it happened, our fourth child was born 21 months after the third! While I was pregnant with her, Daryl became convinced we needed a Suburban, instead of the minivan that we owned at that time. I felt that a Suburban was expensive and not really necessary. We could afford it, however, and I agreed on the condition that I was entitled to any one thing I should want in the future, including another child! Daryl readily agreed to this. I got pregnant in late May and miscarried in early July, at 7 weeks along. I was devastated, but fortunate in that the miscarriage was physically easy. I didn't suffer intense cramping or excessive bleeding, and didn't require any medical attention. I felt healthy immediately after it was over, and we tried again the next month. Our youngest was now almost 2 when we conceived our fifth child.

At this point people started to say things to us. We had 2 boys and 2 girls, which while larger than average, was regarded as a cute bigger family. When we went from 4 to 5 children was when we became a curiousity in the public eye. Particularly because we had "2 of each," as though they were matched salt and pepper shakers, people couldn't fathom our wanting another child.

When our fifth child was 16 months old, we moved across the country to Michigan. Although this was a long desired change, our lives were pretty shaken up by the experience. I wanted to have another, but Daryl insisted we wait until things settled down. After we'd been in Michigan for a year, he agreed that we were ready, and it wasn't long before I was pregnant with our sixth child. Once he was born, Daryl felt that he was done, and proceeded to proclaim that rather loudly. This was painful for me, since I knew I wanted to welcome another child into our lives. When our sixth child was 8 months old, I put my feelings in writing and gave Daryl the letter to read while away on business. I felt (and still feel) that we were handling the number of children we had well, and that God had blessed us in so many ways that we should be open to receiving another blessing from him. He returned home and readily agreed to have another child. I got pregnant immediately, much to our delight.

Our baby is now almost 2, and we are hoping and praying that God blesses us with another.

Have you Ever?

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said “I love you” and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game (and survived the crush afterwards)
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk.
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe.
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Touched a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone’s life

Courtesy of Mopsy at Lifenut (see link in Sidebar)

Trick or Treat

IMG_1603, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

Here they are, from left: Fireman, vampiress, hippie (?), soccer ball, medieval queen. Not pictured are D. (14) who did not go this year, and A. (23 months) who went as herself, an obstinate almost 2 year old who refused to wear a costume or pose for a picture. A. rode in the wagon but wouldn't go to the door. After about 30 minutes she wanted to be carried, so I took her to the van and we caught up to the others. By then K. was done, so he got in and we ate animal crackers and read books while the older 4 went on for another 30 minutes. It was cold, 43F and windy.

I wasn't in the Halloween mood this year. We didn't have a party, although we hung our decorations, and we didn't purchase or carve any pumpkins. No one comes to our house due to our set back location on a busy road, so no one ever sees the pumpkins anyway, and sometimes it just strikes me as a waste of time, money and energy, not to mention the mess it makes. Do I sound like Scrooge?

The kids did have the costumes they wanted, however, and face it--Halloween is all about the costumes and the candy. L. wanted to be a soccer ball, and we found a rubber mask but failed to order it in time, so had to come up with our own design, which was a real soccer ball cut in half with eye and mouth holes, attached to a black ski mask, combined with a white t-shirt with a soccer ball pattern drawn on it with black fabric marker. He wanted to win the most original costume award in his class, and he did! (Pat me on the back for that idea!) J. waited until the last minute to decide what to be, so those 2 costumes involved visiting 4 stores on Oct. 30.

What Flower Are You?

I am a Snapdragon What Flower Are You?

"Mischief is your middle name, but your first is friend. You are quite the prankster that loves to make other people laugh."

Feeling Blue

Another month has passed and I am not pregnant. Try as I may to not let it bother me, it is. On the day I took a pregnancy test, only to have it come out negative, I sat down at the computer after doing the test and opened an email from a friend with pictures of their brand new baby. Later in the week another friend gave birth. I am thrilled for these couples, yet it was hard to hear, especially since I'd always thought that by the time they had their babies, I would be pregnant.

Last weekend Daryl shared his disappointment with me, which helped tremendously. I knew he would be happy to have another child, but didn't know that he wanted it enough to feel disappointed that I wasn't pregnant. So I went through the rest of the week feeling somewhat better until today, when my brother-in-law called to announce his wife's surprise pregnancy. Again, I am very happy for them, but still, I cried after I hung up the phone. Had I gotten pregnant this month we would have been due within a week of one another.

And I am struggling with guilt as well. I have close friends and family that are struggling with serious illness, financial crises, and crumbling marriages right now, while everything in my life is going smoothly and happily. I have been blessed in SO many ways, that I have nothing to complain about. I had a well meaning friend point out to me that even if I never get pregnant again, I should consider myself very lucky. I have 7 beautiful healthy children, a husband who loves me, financial security, and my health. I KNOW this, but all of the logic in the world doesn't seem to help change my feelings of sadness. Feelings are feelings, not based on facts.

I guess I'll just keep on hoping. Maybe that new nephew or niece will have a cousin only a few months younger.

Praise the Lord!

Yesterday I got terrific news. A close friend of mine was diagnosed with breast cancer several weeks ago. She is 40 years old and has a husband and 2 young children. She a beautiful woman both inside and out. She is very sweet, a terrific cook, loving wife and mother, great friend, keeps a spotless house, and is really ravishing. She had 2 lymph node biopsies to determine if the cancer had spread. Yesterday the 2nd biopsy came back negative, meaning the cancer has not spread! She will be having surgery to remove her breast soon, so I will be keeping her in my prayers.

A Perfect Day

Fall was at its most glorious last week, and on Friday, Daryl and I had an appointment with John Allegretti, the architect who is designing our home renovation/addition. His office is located in St. Joseph, Michigan, on the west coast of the state, right on Lake Michigan, which is a 2+ hour drive away. It was a beautiful day for a drive, and I had arranged child care for the entire day. We talked and talked. After our meeting, which took about 3 hours (basically until we were stuptefied and could not have made another decision!) we found a small but authentic Mexican place for lunch. We love Mexican food and it's hard to get good Mexican in Michigan. St. Joseph has a great downtown, so we walked slowly back to the car, browsing shops. All the way home we listened to the radio which was playing songs from the 70s and early 80s, basically our highschool and early college days, which was fun. The entire drive was lined with trees in radiant colors, and as early evening approached, the full harvest moon rose. It was spectacular, and right in front of us as we watched it for the next hour.

When we arrived at home, the kids were happy and the house was clean. We quickly changed clothes and I put A. to bed, and then we headed off to a wedding reception for my old college roommate that I was reunited with last winter. She got married this summer out of state, a small family wedding, and was having a reception to celebrate her wedding at a nice bar/restaurant. She married a man who is the head of the local branch of a large corporation. Her husband is extremely well known and well connected in Ann Arbor, so we met a lot of interesting, well-heeled people at the party, including the mayor of Ann Arbor, the mayor's wife who is a professional pianist, the director of the University Musical Society, the director of the Michigan Theater, the principal flautist for the Ann Arbor Symphony, etc.

We returned home around 11:30pm to (mostly) sleeping kids and a clean house. We haven't spent that much time alone together in a long time, and it was a really special day.

Confirmation

On Sept. 16, my oldest child D. was Confirmed in the Catholic Church. It was my proudest moment as a mother thus far. He participated in a lengthy and demanding preparation program. My father was his sponsor, and I know it made him very proud as well. Seeing D. standing there in his shirt and tie, answering the bishop loudly and shaking his hand firmly, made my heart feel like it was bursting with joy.

The ceremony was very nice. The bishop, who is in his mid-70s, gave a great homily, encouraging the youth to go out and make a difference in the world, and to show God's love to those in need. He is charismatic man and a great speaker, who really had a message to deliver.

Unfortunately, the ceremony was at 7pm on a Saturday night, so we got a babysitter for our younger children who would be unable to sit through a 90+ minute ceremony, especially at night. L. was ill, so he stayed home too. All 3 grandparents attended (one grandfather has passed away). We had a meal together before the ceremony and dessert at home afterwards to celebrate. I made a homemade blueberry pie and key lime pie, D's favorite. Next time, however, I will use regular limes. Key limes are miniature, and grating and squeezing about 30 of them took forever! (And I've made it before with regular limes and it was just as tasty!)

Attached

I'm struggling with a situation right now that is making me very unhappy. Some old, dear girlfriends are getting together for the weekend in another state. They will be gathering and staying at the home of one of the old crowd. I've been invited to come along, with a catch. I am still nursing A., and she is very attached to me. I told them that if I come, I would be bringing her along. I figured I would also bring J., who is best friends with the hostess' daughter, as a babysitter. The price of her ticket would be helping me out. We have already discussed it and she is fine with that.

I was worried that A's presence would spoil the fun, and told them to be honest with me about it. So the hostess (who has 5 kids herself, is a dear friend and is A's godmother) just informed me that she really doesn't want A. to come. My friends have left the place that I am at. Their youngest child is 7 so their lives are rather different from mine. I did expect this friend, in particular, to understand, since she felt the same way when her children were small.

I realize it would be good for me to get away with my girlfriends. I also realize that she is old enough to leave behind. However, she still wakes up occasionally at night, and wants her mama. Also, Daryl will be out of town on business part of that weekend, so I will have patched together child care--a combination of both grandparents and Daryl rotating in and out. The real probem, though, is my emotional response. I am not ready to be away from her for the weekend. This time will not last forever, and I cherish it. For all I know, she is my last baby.

Several years ago Daryl and I went to Europe, and I left my then 2 year old, feeling much as I do now, and it took a lot of enjoyment out of the trip for me. That experience taught me that it is just not worth it, for me, to do that.

So I feel sad and insulted by my friend, and disappointed that I will not be going on the trip. And wishing I had more like-minded friends who were in the same spot as me emotionally.

Weird ways we entertain ourselves

IMG_1576, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

I don't know if it's unique to a large family, but hanging out in the laundry room, full of laundry, strikes me as slightly odd!

First Day of School--Late Shift

IMG_1567, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

These girls were excited!

First Day of School--Early Shift

IMG_1565, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

Not all of the early shift look happy to be awake and heading off to school!

Happy Birthday I!

I. turned 9 on Aug. 12. She had 2 friends spend the night and we all went to our small town festival. I gave them each some money and gave the group of them a walkie talkie so they could "call" me if they needed me. They were instructed to buy some food for dinner (pizza slices,etc.) and stay together. It was the easiest birthday party I ever threw. The girls got their faces painted and ate lots of candy, listened to live music and were ready to go home after about 2 hours.

I. is my princess. She always wants to look beautiful, and usually does. She is lively, outgoing and fun, with an infectious laugh. She can be hard to convince that she is expected to do the same chores as her siblings, though! I admire her strength and determination. She walks to the beat of her own drummer and is not easily swayed by what others are doing, thinking, wearing, etc. She is impervious to the peer pressure exerted by her siblings.

She is smart and very perceptive about other people. More physically coordinated than I will ever be, she is naturallly muscular and athletic. My "middle child"--I am so glad I have her!

The Tribe

KIds at Parc national des Hautes-Gorges-de-la-Rivi�re-Malbaie.

St. Anne and her daughter Mary, the Blessed Mother

Inside the Basilica of St. Anne de Beaupre

The feast day of St. Anne was the day after we visited, so there were loads of people there at this time, and many masses and prayer services going on leading up to the day.

A View of the Riviere Malbaie and the Gorge

Library - 140, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

L'Isle Aux Coudres

A view of the island and the ocean. EVERY town in Charlevoix boasts a church that can be seen from literally miles away as they are always the tallest building around. Many are very beautiful.

In the Trailer

K. and A. spent a lot of time, riding fairly happily, in this trailer.

Taking a Break

We rode the chairlift to the top of Mt. Tremblant, then did some hiking. Here are A. and I taking a "mimi" (nursing) break in a mountaintop meadow.

Tremblant resort and Mountain

Paula and Kids at Tremblant

Paula and Daryl

Paula doing the Luge

Bungee swinging at Tremblant

DSC_0712, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

Here is L. in the air. It wasn't actually jumping from a high place, but rather jumping off a trampoline and getting airborne and doing flips.

Baie St. Paul

Our final vacation destination was a little village in the Charlevoix region of Quebec called Baie St. Paul. It is on the St. Lawrence River/seaway, and is known as an artists haven. There were many galleries, in addition to shops and restaurants. We were north of Maine, USA and had traveled 1000 miles to get there. The reason I chose this place to vacation was that the region is boasts and amazing amount of unparalleled beauty and things to do.

The first day was overcast and cool, so we went whale watching. In the summer the whales come to the area where the St. Lawrence joins the Atlantic. We saw 2 humpback whales very close up, and 2 enormous Finn whales, as well as many porpoises and seals.

The next day we took a ferry to L'Isle Aux Coudres. We brought our bikes and rode the 23 kilometer road around the island.

One day we went to Quebec City and spent the day. We stopped on the way at the shrine of St. Anne de Beaupre, a Catholic Basilica. St. Anne de Beaupre is the mother of Mary, the mother of Jesus. She was infertile for many years, but never lost faith, and was blessed with her daughter Mary late in life. She is credited with many miracles.

Another day we spent sea kayaking and horseback riding. We did this in shifts, one group riding in the morning and another kayaking in the afternoon.

The last day we visited Parc national des Hautes-Gorges-de-la-Rivière-Malbaie, named after a series of valleys cut deep into a range of high mountains by the Riviere Malbaie. Steep slopes, beautiful natural surroundings, and the unusual course of Rivière Malbaie fill this park with dramatic scenery at every turn.

We had a great time, but vacationed ourselves into exhaustion. Although I wouldn't have wanted to miss anything we did, I was ready to go home 2-3 days before the vacation was over, and then I had to ride 1000 miles back home! I tried to convince Daryl to stop in Montreal at the airport and let me fly home with A., but he wouldn't go for it! Truly, though, we had a great time.

More vacation

We spent half the day walking around Ottawa, and then headed to Mont Tremblant, a village and ski resort north of Montreal. We stayed at the resort for 3 days. This part of the trip was a celebration of sorts, of a recent business success of Daryl's. The resort is beautiful, bright and clean. There are many free things that go on, like evening concerts, parades, face painters and clowns making balloon animals. In addition to hotels of every style and price range, including condos for rent, the resort is comprised of shops and restaurants of many varieties.

While there we were able to paricipate in numerous fun activities, like the luge, rock wall climbing, and bungee jumping (which were not free!). The area is covered with bicycle trails, and as we had brought all of our bikes and a trailer for the little ones to ride in, we did some biking as well.

Vacation

The last 2 weeks of July we went on a family vacation. As we so often do, we headed to Canada. Our first night was spent in Stratford, Ontario, renowned for its theater festival. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to take in a show. The next morning dawned searingly hot, and we got on the road ASAP. We headed for Ottawa, the nation's capitol. After we'd been on the road an hour, and the very crabby 20 month old had just fallen asleep, Daryl needed to conduct a conference call for work. He wanted to stop while he talked and have the kids and I play somewhere. Due to the intense heat and the napping baby, I was unwilling to do this, so we instructed the kids to be extremely quiet, and I drove while he talked. Amazingly, they remained inaudible for a little more than an hour while he talked! Apparently there were several arguments, and tears, all conducted in whispers so quiet that even I couldn't hear them. By the time the phone call was over, we stopped for lunch. Then we decided to spend a few hours on Lake Ontario, being unable to pass by the beach at a great lake without stopping.

We arrived in Ottawa late, checked into the hotel, went for a very brief swim before the pool closed, and then had a very late dinner from room service while watching Over the Hedge. In the morning, we went out for breakfast, and upon seeing what a beautiful city Ottawa is, spent several hours walking around.

My Heart's Desire

As I mentioned in my previous post, it is my heart's desire to have another child. If any of my dear readers feel so inclined, I'd appreciate any prayers that I be blessed again.

Thanks!

Birthday

The next birthday was mine! I turned 42 on Aug. 2, which is also my 2nd blogaversary (term coined by Chris at Notes from the Trenches).

All I wanted for my birthday is another baby, and it has been several months of trying with no results, which is unusual for us. I had really wanted to be pregnant by my 42nd birthday, and I am not, so I woke up feeling sort of sad and old (and fat, for some reason I've gained about 5 lbs. this summer!)

The rest of my day went something like this. I woke up to a slightly messy house, so spent some time doing dishes, putting cushions back on couch, and picking up dh's clothes off the floor. Annoyed, I asked 6yo, who was the only on up, to wake her siblings up since I shouldn't have to do all the picking up on my bday. She returned shortly saying they refused to get up. More annoyed! About 30 minutes later they did get up and were then very helpful. I made myself a last minute appointment for a pedicure, and rushed off to do that and have lunch with a close friend.

I've never had a pedicure and my feet were horny toads, literally black in areas with very rough dead skin and tons of calluses. Now they are pink and soft and smooth!

I hate hot weather and it was about 95 and REALLY humid here. When I got to the restaurant I discovered that dh had had flowers delivered there for me! I ordered lunch, but when the waitress brought it, it was not what I ordered. I described what I'd ordered, which was the special appetizer, and that's what I said I wanted and pointed to it on the specials menu, but did not name it. It turned out that the hostess had missed one of last weeks specials menus when she changed them over, so the one I was given described last week's specials. I was brought this week's special appetizer. She suggested something else and it was prepared amazingly quickly. It was very tasty, although not exactly what I'd wanted.

After lunch I drove my friend back to her office, and as she got out of the car I realized that I'd left the flowers at the restaurant. I was totally out of gas, so I called the restaurant and they said they had the flowers set aside for me. I thought I felt the car chug a little as I raced to the nearest (expensive) gas station in the downtown shopping district. I was totally drenched with sweat by the time I finished pumping gas. I returned to the restaurant to retrieve the flowers, getting even more sweaty as I walked back to the car. I'd used the last of my cash paying to get out of the parking lot the first time, and was relieved that they would accept Canadian change since that was all I had!

My parents were waiting at my house, which was spotlessly clean (picked up by the kids) and the kids were all happy, cared for by their older siblings, and had all worked together to make me a beautiful banner. My parents had brought a large cheesecake and 42 candles, which I was able to blow out all at once! We visited for about an hour, and after they left I took a long nap.

Feeling refreshed, I did some Pilates exercises while dh, who had just returned home from work, bearing deli meats and cheeses and fresh french bread for dinner, took a short nap. Then he went to pick up D. from football conditioning while the rest of us set out the food and the table. We made our sandwiches, intending to wait for them to start eating, but they didn't return for a long time. My daughter J., concerned that there was no cake, had called dh on the sly and told him to stop at the store and get some dessert. He brought home 2 frozen pies and was astonished that they required 1 hour to bake! Mind you, this man has a PhD! We all got a laugh out of that, and decided to make mango and peach milkshakes instead. My oldest child held one lit candle up for me to blow out while they sang to me.

After dessert I received some nice gifts. Dh got me pearl earrings and the promise of shopping for a treadmill. The girls gave me cash and promised to "take me shopping." The boys gave me a sports watch that is also a heart rate monitor for exercising.

By this time it was quite late so we all went to bed.

July

Independence Day

We spent the long Independence Day weekend at home. I bought a new badminton/volleyball set, since our old one was totally destroyed, and a new tetherball. We set those up, along with horseshoes, and built real pits for the horseshoes. I bought some small prizes at the grocery story and we had a badminton tournament--double elimination so everyone got to play more than one game. I love badminton, despite the fact that I suck!

We didn't attend the fireworks party on July 3 that we usually go to because it was raining. By the time it was late enough for the fireworks, it had cleared but now it was too late to get to our friends' home in time for the show. We live very close to the fireworks, but they can't be seen from our yard due to the enormous trees. So Daryl and the kids jumped the fence and walked onto the golf course at the metropark across the road where the fireworks were being held, where they had a great view. I stayed home with the little ones, who were in bed (it doesn't get dark in our neck of the woods till 10pm at that time of year). I attempted to see the fireworks from the yard, and from a 2nd story window of our house, but couldn't.

On the 4th, we had our own fireworks show. In recent years we've purchased a small set, which our oldest has set off with Daryl's supervision, and oohed and aahed over all those bottle rockets. This year, however, we were driving through Illinos in June, which boasts warehouses full of fireworks that aren't legal in Michigan. Seriously, we shopped in a Costco sized warehouse full of fireworks. We bought 2 large sets, one of which we set off at our family reunion in late June. We also bought several individual mortars. The sets were basicallly bigger versions of what we'd done before, just a lot MORE bottle rockets. The mortars were really cool fireworks that went up high in the air! They scared the pants off poor Daryl but the rest of us loved them! We have enough bottle rockets left for several more years, we'll just need to supplement with a few mortars.

Sold!

On July 6, Daryl closed a business deal that we had been waiting for a long time. He sold a small company that he co-founded with a colleague to a much larger company. This was very exciting news for us. It means we will be able to complete some major home renovations that we have dreamed of. The next day, he left for China and Japan for a week. I spent the week completing our vacation preparations.

Reunion

The evening he returned from his trip to Asia, we hosted a gathering of some of our old college cronies. My dear friend J., one of my 2 freshmen college roommates, always comes to Michigan in the summer and she and her husband and daughters always come for a visit and spend the night. I had recently reconnected with our other roommate (see my post titled Serendipity) after 19 years, so she and her husband came over and the 3 of us (we lived in a "converted triple" which means a dorm room designed for 2 people into which they cram 3!) were all together for the first time in 20 years! Several other old friends were here also, and we had a lovely dinner.

Where I've Been

It's been a busy couple of months, so I'll recap:

D's birthday

On June 5 my oldest child turned 14. Handsome and strong, funny and argumentative, helpful and responsible. He makes me laugh, is interesting to talk to, and just a person I really enjoy being around. I'm so glad I have him!

June

As always, we limped to the finish line with the ending of school on June 9. One more day and we wouldn't have made it! On Saturday, June 10 we headed to Muskegon, Michigan for a family wedding. We spent the night there and went to Michigan's Adventure, an amusement/water park. It features both roller coasters and water rides and slides. I haven't been on a roller coaster in years, and I braved a few, and found them to be actually fun! We had a lovely day, sunny and in the high 60s, but a little cool for water rides. The kids, of course, went anyway! The best part was there were NO lines. Literally, get in line and be on the ride as soon as it returns from its current run. The park also features many rides for younger children, both tiny tot and medium sized rides.

The following week we left on Thursday for Delevan, Wisconsin, (in the Lake Geneva area) where D's sister lives. We had wedding in Madison on Friday, June 16. Daryl and I attended it without the kids, who stayed with their aunt, uncle and cousin. It was a formal evening wedding, and I wore a little black dress that I own, along with some great costume jewelry and rhinestone studded thong sandals. We spend the rest of the weekend visiting with Daryl's sister and her family as well as my mother-in-law, who was there as well. Lake Geneva is a beautiful lake resort town, and we spent some time there, even renting a speed boat and going for a boat ride. We left our 3 older daughters in Wisconsin to visit with their cousin and returned home on Sunday.

K's birthday

My littlest boy turned 3 on June 20, but since his sisters and his Dad were out of town, we didn't celebrate it until June 22. I still wanted to do something special with him on June 20 (even though he didn't know it was his birthday) so I took him to the movie "Cars." It was his first time going to a movie theatre. He had fun, although the movie was actually way above his level of understanding, and he did lose interest before it was over. He enjoyed sitting on my lap and eating popcorn, however, and I thought the movie was quite good.

K. is an active, happy little guy. Still not fully potty trained, and still competing hard with his little sister to be the baby, but slowly making progress toward being a "big boy." He loves his big sister J. more than anything, even me! He is friendly and outgoing and very loving and affectionate. He has a great sense of humor and often makes us laugh. All boy, he loves action figures and cars, balls and bikes, and like the rest of us, adores books!

Another Reader

IMG_1389, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

One of the great blessings in my life is how my children love to read, and how easily it comes to them. By kindergarten each has seemed to magically just "get" it and be able to sound out words, without phonics or special work of any kind on our part. Then they progress steadily until 3rd grade, when they take a huge leap and are suddenly able to read long,difficult chapter books.

It helps that from infancy they are surrounded by voracious readers and heaps of books.

Years ago my oldest child's kindergarten teacher told me that some children begin school not knowing which way to hold a book or turn the pages, which really saddened me.

Here is a picture of A., who already knows how to do that and enjoys "reading" a book on her own.

Riding Lessons

IMG_1397, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

I. has begun taking riding lessons. After teling her yes, I discovered that this is the world's most expensive sport. I am rationalizing that she has not participated in many extracurricular activities, while her older siblings have many seasons of (expensive) soccer under their belts, so from a fairness standpoint, it's OK to spend more on her for a while.

The horse she is on is named Winton. He is 28 years old and has taught hundreds of local children (many of whom are now adults) how to ride, and to say he is mellow is a huge overstatement. Saying that he struggles to stay awake during lessons is more truthful! He is perfect for a beginner, however.

Note the riding boots and helmet, purchased by me. The pants are hand-me-downs from her best friend, who not only rides, but has her own pony.

The biggest problem with takking riding lessons and having a best friend who owns a horse, as far as I can tell, is the constant queries. As soon as she began lessons, the queries began: "Can we get a horse?" I have said no a thousand times, yet she continues to ask. (sigh) Although we live on 8 acres in the country, and are actually zoned to have a maximum of 3 horses on our property, we do NOT have a barn or any other shelter for horses. In addition, her dad and I are NOT horse people. We don't know anything about caring for a horse and are not interested, at this point in time, in doing any of the work involved with owning a horse, not to mention the expense.

Introducing Cazadora

Introducing Cazadora, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

Three weeks ago this little kitten joined our family. She was 6 weeks old when we got her, ostensibly to hunt the mice that are driving me crazy in my old house. Her name is taken from the Spanish word cazador, which means hunter in English. We call her Cazzy for short. She is extremely playful and feisty. She keeps herself very busy climbing (all the way to the lampshade on a tall floor lamp!) , running, chasing, and batting at anything and everything. As I blog, she is playing with the cord on the computer, sometimes climbing the chair and running across the laptop, pausing only to take a few swipes at my hair. Hopefully all of this means she will be a terrific huntress!

What Color Green Am I?

You Are Mint Green

Balanced and calm, you have mastered the philosophy of living well. Your friends seek you out for support, and you are able to bring stability to chaotic situations. You're very open and cheerful - and you feel like you have a lot of freedom in life. Your future may hold any number of exciting things, and you're ready for all of them!

What Color Green Are You?

The Girls and I

The Girls and I, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

Here are the girls and I on Mother's Day.

The Boys and I (minus one!)

The Boys and I (minus one!), originally uploaded by PaulaK.

This was taken later in the day on Mother's Day, unfortunately after K. was already in bed (which is why it was minus one!)

Mother's Day Brunch

Mother's Day Brunch, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

On Mother's Day I invited my mom (and dad) and my mother-in-law to go out to brunch with us, to the Common Grill in Chelsea. We all had matching corsages--(you can see mine in the photo of my daughters and I). We had a delicious meal and a lovely time.

When we got home, I took a nice long nap. D. made dinner, linguine with white clam sauce, and then the kids showered me with precious homemade gifts.

Restless

There is so much going on right now, or rather that I am waiting for and have been for about 6 months, that I am totally crazy from the "in limbo" feeling. Hopefully things will be drawing to a close soon, and we will be able to make some decisions about home, career, and family. That's why I sometimes don't post for a while--there is so much to say but much of it I can't talk about (yet). Good stuff, all of it, and I'm not complaining, but have you ever been in a situation where you are just waiting for events to unfold, and felt very impatient and restless? Uncertainty is driving me to the brink!

Facing My Demons

My kitchen is overrun with little moths. This has been a constant problem, particularly bad in recent months, so I finally decided to clean out the cabinets (again). This is a difficult task for me for 2 reasons: I have to sort through all of the old food, tossing anything moth infested, and wipe down all the shelves, which is an icky job. While doing this I also sort out old, but not moth infested food to throw away. I am somewhat obsessive-compulsive and I HATE to waste anything, so I evaluate canned and jarred goods, thinking "Well, this MIGHT still be good." Yet in reality, if I keep it I will NEVER eat it, because I always think, "I don't really know if that is good anymore." Going through the painful decision of whether or not to throw away each item is a psychologically grueling exercise for me.

This time I was able to part with some canned and dry goods that I know I brought here to Michigan with me 5 years ago, as well as some products that I am now admitting seemed like a good idea at the time, but I will NEVER eat, like the dried kelp and other ingredients I purchased when experimenting with macrobiotics.

Since I finished cleaning out the cabinets and putting moth traps in them, the number of moths has not diminished, despite the fact that there are no longer any unsealed food products of any kind available. If anything, they seem more active and spirited than ever. There are generally at least 2 flying around the kitchen at any time, and the past few days it seems they are constantly flying right at my face or into my hair.