Wounds

One thing I noticed when I met Ivy was all the bruises on her shins.  She said she didn't fall a lot, but something caused them.  Recently, she took a tumble on the driveway and ended up like this.

When she first came home and crashed on her scooter, she cried for an hour.  I don't think she ever had the opportunity to get too hurt when she was in the orphanage, therefore, she wasn't accustomed to such physical pain.  She didn't realize that she would really be okay.  It is amazing the peace and the quick recovery she makes now.  I quickly cleaned her up, wiped away the tears, and off she went.  I'm so glad she has the security of knowing that all is well.

The Purge

Sometimes my kiddos need purging.  Is it right to purge our kids?  Once a week, I have to "purge" Eva and Joy.  I should purge Ivy and Jack, but they are getting a bit too old.  When my kids get out of the shower and they still have dirty faces and stinky hair, it is time for a purge.  Last week after spending 20 minutes in the shower with Eva, Joy came out with half of her hair wet.  The other half still had a braid in and it was dry.  I asked Joy if she washed her hair.  She replied, "Yes!"  Thus, the weekly purge of my stinky younger kids.

Their bedrooms are no different.  I dread going into the girls' room.  Yesterday, I ventured in to vacuum.  It wasn't pretty.

What is so enticing about putting dirty hands on windows?  Or computer screens?

Don't ask.

Don't ask, again.  And don't report me.

Notice the black spot on top of the bulb?  Ivy decided to put a blanket over the lamp to make the room darker.  We almost had a house fire.  Then, she was playing Hide-and-Seek in the dark and just knocked it off and broke it.

Broken watch in a glass of seashells.  Why?

Bedtime fun, I guess.  There are 4 various light sources.  Can you spot them all?

 Sorry for the glare from the window.

Ivy actually put water in the jar for the fake flowers.  Months ago.  Nasty.

After the purge.  The whole time I vacuumed it sounded like a machine shop.  Clink, clank, bing.  The girls are really testing my Oreck vacuum.  So much for a Pottery Barn room.  In my dreams.

Another Gluten Post

I'm sure you hear a lot about Celiac's disease.  And, I'm sure you are aware that I avoid gluten because it does major damage to my hands.  I don't know if it is the gluten that does it or the wheat.  It really does not matter because I avoid them both.  If I break down and eat something made with flour, my hands get puffy during the night.  I can feel it when I wake up; the tightness.  Then they get itchy and covered with little water blisters.  If I continue eating a lot of the stuff for more than just a day, the rash will be on my arms and legs.  In extreme cases, it has even gotten on my face. 

So, the word "gluten-free" is a familiar word around our house.  The other day, our girls were playing 20 Questions while we were driving in town.  Then, I heard Eva ask Ivy, "Is it gluten-free?"  Wow.  Weird.

Anyway, I thought I'd show you my puffy pictures that I recently noticed.  These pictures were taken, within weeks or maybe days of each other in May.  It was Joy's birthday, so I'm sure that had something to do with it.  Birthday Cake.  Flour.  Not good for me.

 Maybe you cannot tell the difference, but I sure can.  I've been pretty diligent about my diet lately.  I really do not enjoy being puffy.

And because she is just weird, I had to post a picture of Joy.  She is cold.  It is 75 degrees today and she wears this.  It is because she has no fat on her body.  She doesn't eat enough.  She never wants to eat.  I have two extremes.  Joy, who feels she doesn't need the food; and Eva, who would eat more than she needs.

 

Good Habits

I remember spending all my spare time reading books.  I could spend hours in a library even now.  One Saturday as  teen, I spent my whole day in my pajamas reading a book.  I'm thankful that most of my children like to read.  It brings a whole new world right into their home.  So, I was quite tickled the other evening when I saw this scene in my living room.  They are learning to love reading. 

What you don't see is my husband sitting in his chair reading also.  Now, how do I get Jack to join the gang?

I Cannot Do It

I cannot do it because it is only April.  I cannot do it because it snowed less than a week ago.  Even though my kids were sweating miserably after soccer practice while I was cooking dinner on a hot stove, I refused to turn on the air conditioning!

Even though my girls and Jack thought for sure it reached 100 degrees, I will not turn it on.  I told them to go take a cold shower.  In reality, it only reached 80 degrees today. 

I know it is psychological for me.  It is April.  My house has been shut up all winter long.  I want the windows open with the breeze flowing through.  I want to fall asleep at night listening to the frogs in the pond and wake in the morning with the birds singing me a song.  I know once Mike gets home, I will be forced to listen to the running air conditioning as I close up the windows yet again.  But, until then, I will make my 4 children suffer the agony of open windows!  I know.  I am so mean.

School

I am trying to wrap up school this year.  Trying.  Hard.  I've learned a lot about my youngest 4 children.  I am always learning.

They learn differently.

One child can pick up a concept, while another struggles understanding.

I found it doesn't matter if you start them in school when they are 4 years old or 8 years old.  It doesn't make one smarter.

I have one who is quite clever, and is completely unaware of it.  Another struggles understanding instructions, but is slowly, slowly realizing that if they just take it one step at a time, they can do the work.

One in particular is learning that reading a book is not all that difficult, and it can be quite interesting...with just the right story line.

They are all beautiful.  They are all wonderful.  They are all different.  The only thing they have is common at times, is that I am their mother.

Global Warming

::snort::