Baby loves books

Ds#4 discovered that the baby is ready to be read to. I don't usually read to my babies the way people recommend -- I'm usually just walking around in a daze with spit-up all over me trying to decide if it's worth it to change my clothes for the 3rd time that day. When we were all laying around sick, though, it was really hard for Ds#4 to leave the baby alone -- so he was coming up with ideas to get to spend time with his brother. This one was a hit and the baby really liked it!

On The Mend

This has been an exhausting, concerning and expensive illness these last few weeks. We had Influenza A and a few kids had Strep Throat along with it. Dave and I being so sick and having all 5 kids down at the same time -- whew! Now that everyone is better I feel like I just ran a marathon -- exhausted but exhilerated that we're through the worst of this! I hear this has quite a long recovery, so we'll be easing into regular life.

First Giggle

As many of you know, we've had some horrible broncial & sinus infection this week. High fevers, a cough that rips out your throat. Dave feels like he has ribs broken from coughing and his chest being so tight. After his apendectomy 2 years ago we tease him about "crying like a little girl." He's been threatening to do that again after every sneeze & cough.

2 days ago the baby had his first fever 103.5F -- not a pretty thing. At 11:45pm I called the Dr. at home and woke him up to see what the dosage would be to get his fever down. (THAT'S a wonderful doctor!)

Yesterday, he'd felt so bad that he'd cry himself to sleep in my arms hour after hour. Then, after 20 hours of piggybacking ibuprophen & tylenol which kept the fever down, the baby's fever finally completely BROKE. We were all very happy about that. Apparently, the baby was the happiest because while his daddy was playing with him we heard his first giggle (without any hiccups). It was so cute and such a welcome sound after all that crying.

Thank you to everyone who has been praying for us. It's been so difficult for me running a fever myself and trying to take care of the 5 kids and Dave and myself. Dave's still in terrible shape, but the kids have all started responding to the medicine as of this morning. I'm hoping they're all on the upswing, now.

Memorize Presidents?

This is a great President's Day question asked on one of the message boards I'm on.

Do you have your kids memorize the presidents?

I don't. I want them VERY familiar with major events in US History & which president was in office at the time. We make a book of presidents by having them research each president and write a paragraph about each along with a coloring page on the facing page. I found whitehouse.gov very helpful for presidents' biographies and their coloring pages were GREAT! Each child does this over the course of a year or two as we cover American History for kids in grades 2-8.


My goal in doing this is that they'll find facets of different presidents to relate to and find some favorites. I think that will help them stick in their memory in a meaningful way more than if I had them just memorize them in order.


I think that if I really wanted them to memorize the presidents, I'd do it to music (the painless way to memorize most things for us) during their early years and then do the research in their mid to late elementary years.

P.S. As I was looking for a good example of a presidents song I'd let my kids listen to on youtube, they heard the songs, came rushing in from their school and asked if they could pleeeaaassseee learn one of the presidents' songs.

Quote of the Day

A discussion over a chili lunch with Ds#4 and I :
Ds#4

Mama, how long before the chili goes through so the baby can have some?

Mama

About 12 hours.

Ds#4

So the baby can have LEFT-OVERS!

Stations of the Cross Booklets

Stations of the Cross Booklets for Kids

• I really liked the pictures in this free online coloring book.
• I click the "Print" button in the PDF file.
• Then the "Properties" button within the print box.
• Then the "Finishing" tab.
• Half-way down the page on the left-hand side, I choose the "Pages per sheet" pull-down menu and select "4".
• Then I hit "OK"
• I chose to only print pages 1-16 since 17 is blank and it prints out pages we can cut, color & staple for a Stations of the Cross booklet the kids can take to Stations with them.

I'll follow the advice from the Remain in Me book I just got from CHC. It suggests having the kids put their own meditations on the page opposite the picture they colored for each station. I love the sisters that run those schools: Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist. The kids call them "Mama's Nuns", because I pray for them and love them so much. They host a married women's Catholic retreat in Advent that is sooo wonderful!!

Quote of the Day

The kids have been on Martial Law for 2 weeks, now. Dd#2 is still under almost all restrictions for wasting time and not getting her school work done. As of today, she's been working hard, so we showed mercy and reset the clock -- she's no longer behind on her work. This is what she's learned :

The past really affects the present. And the present affects the future. And if you try and try and try you can dig yourself out if you keep trying. And it's not worth it to get behind on your work. But if you try and try and try you end up here - done with our work and a fresh new day!

Happy Baby

This is what has been taking up all my time. When I'm not feeding the baby, changing the baby, consoling the baby, or keeping the kids from waking up the baby, I'm trying to make him smile. When I'm not doing any of those things...I'm trying to keep the kids attention on their school and trying to stop them from making the baby smile. We're still waiting on the first giggle. Each time we think he's going to laugh, he gets the hiccups.

A blogger slow down

I've been getting a few comments about the fact that I'm not blogging as much. I'm typing one-handed at this moment.

So here's the highlights from this & last week:

• The kids are under Martial Law for not being diligent during school time (serious problem). It's much more work for me to have them on Martial Law - but it'll be worth it eventually.


• The baby's diapers have been changing and last week he went 6 days between poops. He doesn't appear uncomfortable with it - but it'd disconcerting.
  
• Nothing too exciting around here -- but I'm praying heartboken after reading this article about Romanian Orphans.
  
• We're studiing the time of the apostles this month and I found St. Peter with Omar Shariff at the video store - his acting was captivating. The dubbing was a litle distracting, but the kids didn't seem to notice at all.
  
• Another great Catholic kids book on the topic was The Man Who Never Died: The Life and Adventures of St. Peter, the First Pope