Flushing Nightmare

So as I pulled the plug on Emma's bath this evening we heard a noise from elsewhere in the house. Toby was already asleep so we knew it wasn't him.

Turns out the kitchen sink was full of water!

Right now Scott is outside (9.15pm!) digging the snow out from around our sewer vent. It's probable that there is a blockage somewhere in the drain - likely caused by "flushable" wipes!

Yes, I was warned about them, and no I did not take any notice! They should not say flushable if it means they do not break down. A hand towel is flushable but I wouldn't flush it down the toilet!

I haven't used that many, but given Emma's sickness this week, I used more, more often the past few days.

Argh - stupid little things that cause giant problems.

Which lead on in my thinking...

Little acts can have large consequences. King Saul lost his kingdom for two small sins. His first mistake was not waiting for Samuel to arrive to offer sacrifices. But who can blame him? Samuel was late (from Saul’s perspective) and Saul’s army was slipping away. If Saul didn’t seek the Lord’s favor soon, he would go to war without God’s blessing (1 Samuel 13:5-9).

Saul’s second failure came on the heels of a signature victory. His armies defeated the Amalekites; but rather than destroy everything as God had commanded, Saul and his men “kept the best of the sheep and goats, the cattle, the fat calves, and the lambs—everything, in fact, that appealed to them” (1 Samuel 15:9).

The root of these seemingly insignificant sins was the sin of fear. Saul feared losing his army, either by not offering the sacrifice fast enough or by sacrificing something his men wanted. But he feared his men more than he feared God, and God responded by revoking his kingship.

Learn the lesson of Saul: some sins are understandable, but none are excusable—and all are devastating.

No trial is without lesson!!

Remember this?

We do! This was March 2009, when Emma was 16 months old. Guess who else is almost 16 months old and starting similar behavior of HIS own? That's right - Toby!! (But he's stronger and less inclined to fall asleep!)

In recent days and weeks, as the kids have been sick and we have been on a more unpredictable schedule Scott and I have been more inclined to sleep in. So when one or both the kids wakes up before we are ready, in to bed with us they come. Such a slippery slope!

Additionally, the kids want to stay up later and Emma has taken a shine to hanging out with us in the living room until she passes out with exhaustion. It seemed like a better option than hearing her cough continuously in her room.

So last night, as I stayed home with the 99% recovered kids (Scott went to our bible study - way to take one for the team!!) the bad patterns came to a head.

Toby, was put to bed around 7.30pm after several "If you climb those stairs you are going to bed"-type threats. He proceeded to cry, loudly. Emma was put to bed about 25 minutes later and was agreeable with the promise of a story and 4 songs!

At one point Emma bolted out of her room to the top of the stairs. When questioned she responded with "I miss you." Back to bed! I agreed to come back and see her "later" - the vague timescale that all parents appreciate, along with "soon" and "a minute".

After 50 minutes I lost my resolve with Toby and went and got him. In my defense I was feeling lousy, which I now know is because I was too scared to eat anything and my body was hurting! As I sat with him and tried to watch the episode of House I DVR-ed on Monday I hurt the most pitiful noise.

On Emma's monitor I heard a few whimpers, then a cry of "no, no" followed by crying. Already a broken shell of a mother I called out "Emma, you can come downstairs." Even I was impressed by instant turnaround in a clear and joyful "Now?" "Yes." And then she went a step further, as she ran to the stairs "I'm so happy!"

I hoped that when Scott returned he would take charge and fix it, but apparently he was not in the mood either and it was 10pm before Toby was put to bed (and once again cried), then Emma at 10.30pm, when we went to bed ourselves.

Emma passed out quickly, but not Toby. Scott brought him into our bed before the lights were even out - a new low for us!! But Toby was not settling down to sleep so he was put back in his room.

I don't quite remember the exact turn of events, but I know that he was in our bed when I woke up and he spent most of the night there, curled up against my back!

It's just so hard to hear the wailing and not know if he's actually sick or hurting (top molars pushing through as we speak)! So, it's going to be some tough love for the next few days. Starting with tonight. Both kids will get baths before bed, after a shorter afternoon nap. They are both healthy now, which is great. Eating normally and I'll introduce milk back in today.

To all the parents out there I say "Reclaim your bed!!"

Leave them alone for two minutes...

Update

After at least 15" of snowfall on Wednesday we are all shoveled out and Scott headed off to work today. He's not 100% but he's a trooper and is thinking of the family first. Love him.

I'm feeling much better, and really just felt weak and achy yesterday. I only ate a few pieces of toast during the day, keeping to the BRAT diet - until the kids went to bed and we were super hungry so we had pizza! (If our stomachs were still upset, may as well enjoy whatevers gonna make us sick again!)

I kept the kids on BRAT yesterday, I've never seen anyone so excited to eat a dry piece of toast or some plain apple sauce! Emma was hungry all day and kept asking for a variety of things but I had to refuse because it would give her diarrhea. She only went in the diaper when she was sleeping, the rest of the time she made it to the toilet.

Toby is a bit harder to take care of. While I can hydrate Emma through the tube, and did, Toby is more reluctant to drink if he has not feeling good. He had some big diarrhea after Scott gave them eggs for breakfast (!) yesterday, but since going back on BRAT he's been fine. He's quite a picky eater so I'm glad he's been happy with the toast and applesauce.

The basement is fine - it was just a problem with drainage from our ancient washing machine!

It's going to be a long winter. We've already had over 37" of snow - twice the yearly average, with more forecast for next Wednesday! The kids seem to get sickness on top of sickness, which is pretty standard. However, if Toby is sick, as well as Emma, it means she can't go to therapy or the library. We also need to keep them home from church, which we have not been able to do because of our commitments - we're working on that though, don't want to get other kids sick.

But, it's all good!! Nagging annoyances can make us stronger. No, really!

Icy!

Deep!

Big snow

This is the impression left when I opened our screen door this
morning. Our door is on a 7" step, so the snow is over 10", and
that's on a place where the wind probably blew some away!

That's just from last night since we shoveled the snow from the morning!

Scott obviously took the day off, not least because I was really sick
all night, and he's feeling it today too. Both kids are still sick,
so we are a jolly crew!!

Did I mention that our basement has water on the floor, probably from
a frozen drainpipe somewhere.

It doesn't rain, but it SNOWS!!!

Snow day

The forecast is for 6-10", but it wasn't supposed to be an issue until tonight!

We did not have any plans to go out though, I cancelled emma's therapy
last night for other reasons...

On Monday night Scott and I went out with his sister Julie and her
boyfriend Sean. We had a great time, and the kids were happily at
home with Nanna and Pops.

All was not completely well - Toby threw up on his grandma 4 times,
and all over the living room!

He's been fighting a cold so we think this might be something
flu-like. Overnight Monday he threw up some water I'd given him. On
Tuesday the diarrhea started.

As you might expect Emma soon showed signs of having the bug. Yet not
once did she have an accident, making it to the toilet every time!

I shouldn't be too surprised, on Monday she "held it" for over 10
minutes when we were in the car!!

The other reason I was not planning on going anywhere is that a crack
has developed across our windshield. It was just a few inches on the
weekend but is now a few feet across. It makes me nervous, especially
with the cold temperatures.

On Sunday, Pastor Bob preached a great message regarding temptation.
One of the points that came through to me was that temptations and
tests are different.

Temptations are designed to trap you in sin and make you fail. They
come from the devil.

Tests give you the opportunity to grow and succeed. They come from God.

Right now we are going through all kinds of tests and I thank God for
the opportunity to grow.

Now to avoid the temptation to eat my way through it!!

Doppelganger

Fox has a new cartoon. It's official title is "Bob's Burgers", but there's little doubt around here where they found the inspiration for the main characters 'look'!!!

Pops...
Bob...

Quote of the Day

We are driving to church and I yelled at Emma for taking her boots
off, a regular annoying occurrence.

Em: mummy, you have to stop that because it makes me sad.
Me: stop what?
Em: screaming.

Keep moving

Have you ever jumped onto a treadmill that's already in motion? Even though you know it's moving, it takes a split second for your brain to register how fast the ground is moving and adjust your leg speed accordingly.

That is how the past two weeks have felt for me.

Before the holidays, we were on full speed. With the trip coming fast we were doing everything possible to tie up any and all loose ends before we left, and preparing things for an easy return.

Unlike a break when you stay at home, and all the normal things get done at some point, we took a complete departure from our every day lives. Not only were we physically 3000+ miles away, but we also had limited connection electronically, barely using our phones or email.

When we returned things were pretty much as we expected with a few differences. Scott's work flow has started to dry up - not a huge surprise after 3+ months, but unpleasant nonetheless. On the flipside I was offered some freelance work, which I snapped up (thank you God!), but is likely very short term.

Other than that there are just the usual things happening, but while our friends and church family continued on full speed, we had to get back up to speed, and adjust once more to the pace of life as usual.

It's been a challenge, fitting work time on the computer around the kids, not least because I have not had to have such discipline in over 3 years!! But I am so thankful for the work, and I have to say I feel great and once more contributing to our income - that's probably a pride thing!!

That said, I have paused in my thoughts these past few weeks to look back, as I like to do at the start of a new year. Not to dwell, but to review, analyze and learn!

Looking at the posts from January 2010 there are a few things I notice right away:

• Emma ditched the binky in 2010
• Toby went from tummy-time to Trouble (capital T)!!
• I learned how to surrender to God, and reaped the blessings
• I lost the baby weight (and some) and gained some decent self-esteem (probably related, unfortunately!)
• I got real and shelved the "home-school" idea!
• Emma went from eating 4oz of fruit puree to scoffing a whole grilled ham and cheese sandwich and asking for yogurt after!!
• Scott is still working all the hours God sends, with humility, thankfulness and excellence. What a great example for our kids to have.

Looking ahead, the road is uncertain, covered with dense fog if you like metaphors! However, as when you drive in such conditions, we are simply working through what we can see and believing that the direction will continue to be revealed as we move along, slowly but surely.

Toby tries ketchup by himself!!

Play imitates life

This is exactly what my kitchen sink looks like!!

Not what you think

“‘Do not turn to idols or make metal gods for yourselves. I am the LORD your God.
Leviticus 19:4 (NIV)

You saw no form on the day God spoke to you at Horeb from out of the fire. Remember that. Carefully guard yourselves so that you don't turn corrupt and make a form, carving a figure that looks male or female, or looks like a prowling animal or a flying bird or a slithering snake or a fish in a stream. And also carefully guard yourselves so that you don't look up into the skies and see the sun and moon and stars, all the constellations of the skies, and be seduced into worshiping and serving them. God set them out for everybody's benefit, everywhere.
Deuteronomy 4: 15-19 (MSG)

Idol Worship « Videos « The Skit Guys

Idol Worship « Videos « The Skit Guys

Idol Worship « Videos « The Skit Guys

Poor boy

Toby is not feeling well today. He has a temperature, and as you can
see is not himself. Please say a prayer for him!

Quote of the Day

Take your pick...

Scott was sitting on the edge of the bath holding Emma's hands as she had her pre-bed potty trip. (Two dry nights and naps!!) I crouched down next to them and said to Emma "Emma, we are so proud of you."

Em: Aww guys, you're the best!
Us: You're the best.
Em: No you're the best.
Me: We're all the best.
Em: Is Toby the best?
Me: Yes.
Em: Toby is the little best. Daddy is the big best. Mummy is the big best and I'm the big best!

You couldn't script it!!

Sweater weather

I finally made it over to visit Ashley and Rafael today. He was pretty sick over the holidays, with RSV and was actually hospitalized for several days - don't tell me that colds are no big deal for kids!!

On our end, Emma has had a cough for a couple of weeks, which turned into a drippy cold this week, and jumped to me and Toby. Needless to say I wouldn't let Ashley come over!

Today I popped over by myself - and wore a surgical mask just to be on the safe side!!

Anyhow, he's grown a lot and is over 9lbs now. He's still less than Toby was born weighing, and extra cute because he's so small but can keep his head straight and laugh.

Check him out in the sweater my Grandma knitted...

Hearing about how sick he was with the RSV took me back to Emma's early days at home, when I wouldn't let anyone touch her after they warned us a cold could put her in the hospital. Okay, so those days lasted for about a year!!

And now, she is coughing, nose running like a leaky faucet and she's running around in her princess costume! I haven't even put the pulse ox on her at night. In fact the only intervention we've had is the nebulizer and that is used as much for Toby!!

It really is a miracle how far she's come in just three years, telling me all day that "I really want to see my handsome prince" aka. Daddy!

I can't wait to see Rafael running around with Toby and Emma.

Home Sweet Home

This trip, more than any before, showed me that home is where I am living now. That's not to say I don't miss my family and friends, because I do. But the reality is that my home is not in the UK anymore. Although, I will always feel at home in my family's homes!!

After 12 days in the UK, as much as I did not want to say goodbye to my family (especially not knowing when I might see them again), I was ready to come home. We packed up the car, and I mean packed, to the hilt, and set off for Heathrow. Only then did the sun come out, the one day of the entire trip!

The kids were pacified on all the long car journeys by the DVD system we took with us. It was so worth it. We were also able to connect it to my parents TV, so Emma could watch her favorites.

Once at the airport we had just enough time to get some food (what kind of airport has no fast food places? Not a kid-friendly terminal!) and catch the underground train to our gate.

We had no delays and even though it was smaller plane, it was half empty (yay extra seats) and had the individually controlled TVs. Both kids were asleep before we took off, and Scott and I managed to watch half of Inception before they woke up. We took it in shifts then to finish that and I got most of Wall Street in too (I still don't know what happens at the end!)




One of the things we brought home that we did not take was a small pink toilet seat. That's right - for Emma! Before we went I thought the trip might be a good time to try potty training. My parents have a ground floor bathroom (which we don't) and I would not be working alone! In fact, Scott really took the lead on this as I still felt unprepared to deal with a toilet-trained child!!

By the time we left my parents, Emma was asking to go potty, even stopping playing the DS, and barely soiling her diapers at bedtime. I'm still dreading having to use public bathrooms, but I can see the confidence it has given her, and the $$ we'll save!!

Monday January 10 was my first day alone with the kids in almost 3 weeks! After a restless night tending to Emma, who has a terrible cold, and a jet lagged Toby, I knew it would not be easy. Before lunch I already faced this...

Oh the fun to come!!

I also made the trip to replenish the food we had not been able to store over the holidays. A 2 hour trip, which thankfully did not require a potty break!!

Park Life

The issue of weather is compounded when you have children. During the winter we all go a little stir crazy, stuck inside when it's yucky outside. When you go on vacation the problem is compounded! You don't have all the kids toys, books, etc to keep them amused.

I think we were all pleasantly surprised that my parents house stood up to the kids - Emma, Toby and Scott!! Scott being the worst, because he does not like to sit around idle, and he will do anything to amuse kids!!

For the first few nights the kids were napping at 5/6pm local time and after going to bed around 10pm local time they would be up by 2am!! Since sleep deprivation is for me a serious problem, Scott took the kids downstairs to burn off their energy until he could get them back to bed!

I also found it quite challenging to adapt their usual diet to the UK. Largely similar, for some reason I was clueless about what to feed the kids, and resorted to McDonalds a little more than I should! In the end they both did really well, often eating what we ate. The balance was made up by consuming large quantities of cheese and bananas!!

Back to the weather! It was dark and cold when we got there and barely changed the whole time!! The problem snow was long gone, leaving bare trees, gray skies and damp air. I did not realize how much I had become accustomed to the weather in the US, and the slight differences.

Despite that, on our penultimate day, we were able to go out with my parents and sisters family, except Caitlin who is now in school every day :-(.

We headed to a park that has a big indoor playground,

This slide would never be allowed in the US without supervision!! The sheer drop is quite the precipice!

Outside they had a farm!






Part of the farm was a falconry, so we got to see a Chilean blue Eagle (??) flying around...

Climbing to new heights

Oh dear.

Happy New Year!

New Years Eve this year was a family affair. My sisters family came over to my Mum's and we spent the evening there, eating and playing.

The kids were pretty rowdy and somehow found the energy to keep going all night...

Toby begged Eloise to stop tickling him!!

Grown-ups played the Wii, Emma and Eloise forced Grandma to help them play with the DS!
What's a party without stupid head gear!! My sister's such a good sport!

Toby and Grandad

Playing with their mini lava-lamps

Here's the three girls two years ago...

Bean bags & more

One of the most popular activities during our trip was bean-bag rides!

The first part was being picked up like a hot-dog in a bean bag and swung from side to side...

then there was the "ride" part as the beanbags were dragged at high speed around the living room!
I'm pretty sure Scott could make a decent living as a kid's party entertainer or daddy daycare!!

One one of the days we met up with some of my friends from high school and took all our kids to an inside playground. The dads were most obliging, entertaining the kids while my girlfriends and I caught up!!

Afterwards we headed to a small coffee shop to wind down. On the way we saw these swans, a protected species in the UK, and apparently well fed!! They were bigger than Emma and their necks were almost as thick as Scott's arms!!