What's Up?

So, what have I been up to, since it obviously hasn't been writing my blog?

Let's see...

Last Saturday, the Germantown Hills Fire Department had its big yearly fundraiser.  The firehouse is only about two blocks from our house, which was convenient for the 5K road race at 7:30 in the morning, which I ran with my running buddy, Mike Fiedler.  The race course not only was one of my normal running routes, but it also passed right in front of my house!  This means that Jeff and the kids came to see us off at the start and then hustled back home to wait for us to pass by toward the end of the race.  Very cool!

 

I guess we're blurry in the bottom photo because we're going so fast.  Not.  (Actually, Jeff was experimenting with a new camera.)  I ended up finishing the race in 27:17, fourth out of 14 for my age group.  I was pleased.

Later on that evening, the kids participated in a costume contest at the fire station, their first opportunity to wear their costumes.  Before the contest began, however, they were able to "shop" a bit.  The Germantown Hills Business Association sponsored a fun activity where the kids each got a big piece of paper with 25 Germantown Hills businesses on it.  The goal was to visit each business, get a stamp proving that they'd been there, and then draw "Germantown Hills Bucks" (like Monopoly money) to cash in at the fire department on Saturday (like Chuck E. Cheese's).

While the kids enjoyed getting candy and bucks, I enjoyed visiting all of these businesses, many of which I had no idea.  (I discovered a framing shop that has a bigger selection and as good of prices as Hobby Lobby.  You can bet I'll be be back...lots of new pictures coming up!)  At the firehouse, we turned in the kids' completed merchant forms and were placed in a raffle for gift baskets from said merchants.  Believe it or not, Jeff and I ended up winning one!  It had some fantastic gift certificates in it, so this was all well worth the effort.

Anyway, both kids had a pretty good number of bucks to spend, so they stocked up on candy and lots of small toys to get lost and broken.  But they had a good time!

Afterwards was the costume contest.  While neither our little skunk nor our clone trooper won, they both had a good time!

 

We also carved our pumpkins last weekend.  (Well, by "we," I mean Jeff and the kids.  Mostly Jeff.  I took pictures.)  Since that time, we've had nothing but rain, which means our poor jack-o-lanterns are shrinking and rotting.  But they only have to hold up until tomorrow!

Fun!  Hope you all have a great Halloween!

Some Dubious Benefits of Being Pregnant

1.  You can just ignore the scale for the duration.  Sort of.  Unless, of course, you feel the need to worry about whether or not you are gaining weight appropriately because you don't want to give up running.

2.  You have a ready-made excuse to buy new clothes.  Of course, they are all roomy through the stomach and can in no way be used long after the baby comes, especially if you are like me and have no plans for subsequent babies.  (No comments, please.)  But you don't honestly think I paid full price for maternity clothes, do you?!  I LOVE consignment stores.

3.  You become everyone's first choice of a designated driver.

4.  For a few months anyway, you might have a fantastic excuse not to clean your house.  "Really, the fumes make me deathly sick!"

5.  You are on the top of the list for the H1N1 vaccination.  No swine flu for me!

My obstetrician told me, in no uncertain terms, that I needed to get both the seasonal flu vaccine and the H1N1 vaccine, as soon as it became available.  Well, the Woodford County Health Department finally got its shipment and had its first clinic today from 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at a Nazarene church in the town of Eureka, about 20 minutes from where I live.

I've had previous experience at the Health Department, as that's where I take my kids to get them vaccinated.  When Elijah needed his kindergarten boosters and Charlotte needed a chicken pox shot before we went to France, the pediatrician told us that he could vaccinate them in his office for something like $250 dollars or I could take them to the Health Department for $20.  It was pretty much a no-brainer.

Anyway, I guess they figured the Health Department building was too little to hold the crush of people who would show up for the vaccine, so the clinic went on location.  And, when I arrived, I could definitely see why.

I went around 12:20 so I could hopefully get in and out in a reasonable amount of time.  The parking lot was already half full, with a few souls braving the rain and cold to stand in line.  I opted to stay in the car a bit longer, where I watched the hordes swarm in:  lots of moms with little kids, several sickly looking people, a few obviously pregnant women, and one poor guy wearing a mask.  I hopped out and joined the burgeoning line when I spotted someone I knew from France; it was nice to pass the time chatting while we waited the final 15 minutes for the clinic to open.

Anyhow, for all of the hype and the bad new stories and the horror stories about waiting in line, the process at this clinic was astonishingly smooth.  One guy walked down the line with a sheet of paper telling people to identify their priority group.  "Only these people are getting the vaccine today, folks!" he announced cheerily.  (The same guy was at the door a few minutes later explaining to an irate father-to-be that his pregnant wife could have the vaccine today, but he couldn't have it until the baby the born.  How'd you like to have his job?!)

As we got closer to the door, a lady was handing out information/consent forms after ascertaining into which priority group we each fell.  (FYI, the priority groups here, in order, are pregnant women, health and emergency personnel, caregivers of children under six months old, all children between the ages of six months and five years, and any adult ages 25 to 64 with vaguely described "underlying condition.")  I filled out my form, got an additional information sheet from a lady in the gym where they were vaccinating, and was hustled to a table where they were injecting the vaccine.  One poke in the arm later, and we were out the door, the whole process taking under 20 minutes from start to finish.

Not too bad.

Have a great weekend!

The Mind of a Child

Well, today I'll update you a bit on Charlotte and Elijah, as far as this new addition to our family goes.  We've had a variety of reactions, ranging from uproariously funny to quite poignant.  We had Charlotte and Elijah as close together as they are so that neither one would remember being an only child, so it's been very interesting to watch their reactions to the idea of a new child in this family.

After all, we have only two choices for gender.  One child will no longer be the "only" in the family!  A tiebreaker, indeed.

As I may have mentioned earlier, we had to tell the children about this baby earlier than I preferred, when I was little more than five or six weeks along.  This summer was very stressful.  Neither Charlotte nor Elijah were thrilled about moving from France, as both had truly made it home and loved their lives there.

Charlotte took it particularly hard.  She kept asking us the dreaded "why" questions: Why did we have to move AGAIN, especially when we liked it so much there?  Why couldn't we just stay until February, as we were originally told?  Why did she have to leave all of her friends behind?  Heartbreaking questions, all, especially when we were sad and struggling ourselves.

That being said, when we found out about the new baby, I spent hours trying to reconfigure our house.  We have three bedrooms in a split plan upstairs, with the capacity to have two additional bedrooms in the basement.  Obviously, before we moved to France, we all slept upstairs.  Also obviously, we need the new baby's room to be upstairs when he or she makes an appearance, and, short of Charlotte and Elijah sharing the smallest of the upstairs bedrooms, we had little choice but frame up two new rooms in the basement.

Given that Charlotte is nine and Elijah is seven, sharing a room is definitely not ideal, although they are sharing for the time being while we get the downstairs finished.  When we found out about the baby, our stuff had not arrived from France yet, and we were in the process of repainting the entire upstairs.  The kids had picked out wallpaper borders for their rooms and were about to pick paint when we had to make the decision to go ahead and paint Charlotte's old room (and what is going to be the nursery) in the same neutral color as the rest of the upstairs.

I guess we sort of naively hoped that Charlotte wouldn't notice the color we were painting her room, but she did...immediately!  What followed was a pitiful outpouring of frustration, anger, and hurt that we would take ONE MORE THING away from her.  "I just can't think of any good reason that you would take away my room," she sobbed.  "Why can't whoever might be coming to live with us stay in the basement?  Why do I have to go to the basement?  I LOVE my room!  I want MY room, not a new one!"  (Charlotte has major issues with change.)

You'll just have to trust me that this wasn't just one more bratty temper tantrum.  And Jeff and I made the decision to tell the kids about the new baby and swear them to secrecy until we were comfortable telling everyone else!

The kids' reaction was priceless.  Elijah's entire face lit up.  "FINALLY!" he hollered.  "I'm not the youngest anymore!"  Charlotte was a bit more subdued, but the smile that crossed her face was like sunshine, driving out the anger and confusion.

Of course, she did spend an hour still trying to figure out how to keep her room.  "Why can't the baby sleep with you?"  No.  "Why can't the baby sleep in your closet?"  Uh, double no.  "Well, why can't he sleep in the living room or your bathroom?"  Seriously...no!

Finally, Charlotte sighed and said, "OK.  I guess it's OK for the new baby to have my room."  And that was pretty much the end of it.

As far as some subsequent conversations about the baby...

A few days ago, I told Elijah that he was my favorite boy in the whole world.  He turned his big blue eyes on me and whispered, "But what happens if the new baby is a boy?"  I told him that he would then be one of my two favorite boys in the world.  He dropped his head and mumbled, "But I LIKE being the only favorite."

Sigh.

Charlotte seesaws between wanting a baby sister and a baby brother.  In her words, "A baby sister would be nice because I already have a baby brother.  But it would also be nice to be the only girl in the family."

You're never too young to recognize that it's hard to have more than one princess in the family!

And here is perhaps my most hilarious story...

If you read my other blog, you may remember my "away weekend" with Charlotte at the chateau in France, where we spent our time talking about the facts of life.  At some point in that weekend, I told her that most people plan when they have children.  (I know, I know...this is not true of everyone, but it used to be true of us!)

In the course of this new situation, Charlotte heard several times that this baby is a "surprise."  What her little nine-year-old brain put together from that bit of information came out a couple of weeks ago.

"Mom," she inquired, "whose baby is this?"

"What do you mean?" I asked, honestly baffled.

"Well, if the baby is a surprise, that means Daddy didn't know about it, did he?" she said.  "So if it's not Daddy's, whose is it?"

You might imagine the mighty struggle I had to keep a straight face, not to mention tamping down a horror that she might have said something along these lines to someone else!  Or that she thought Jeff wasn't this baby's daddy too!  Can you imagine?  "This baby is a surprise...even Daddy didn't know about it!"

I somehow didn't  burst out laughing, because that would have devastated Charlotte.  And I quickly corrected my error in how babies come about!

While they have their moments, all in all, I think that Charlotte and Elijah are very much looking forward to a new baby brother or sister.  Elijah will pat my stomach and say, "I love you, little baby!"  He also raves about the "cute, snuggly" baby in my early sonogram.  (Yeah, he's a little different.)  And Charlotte is looking forward to seeing how parents teach a baby to walk and talk and to perhaps pitching in with the effort.

Should be fun!

Yeah, Baby!

Well, we've had a few minor hiccups on the road to tonsillectomy recovery, but I think that things are finally smoothing out.  We had a bad run of Charlotte not wanting her pain meds because they tasted bad, which led to a very painful throat and ears, which led to Charlotte not wanting to eat, which led to headaches and lethargy...well, you get the picture.  The kid gloves came off yesterday as we insisted that she eat and take her pain medication to facilitate that.  By this evening, Charlotte was talking and eating and telling us she wants to go to tae kwon do tomorrow.

We'll see about that last one, but I'm awfully glad for the first two.  While Elijah talks enough for ten children, I've missed the sound of my girl's voice!

Now that the tonsillectomy stuff is better, I guess I'll  blog about what you may be much more curious and possibly interested...this upcoming addition to our family!

Let's see if I can answer the major questions...

1.  No, Baby Number 3 was not exactly planned.  OK...not at all planned.  We had, at one point, contemplated a third child, but then we took a look at little Elijah when we could have spaced him and Number Three as equally as him and Charlotte.  And we subsequently decided that one girl and one boy were a perfectly fine family.

2.  Jeff and I are both 36; Jeff will be 37 when this little one is born.  Yes, we probably are a little old for this.  Yes, we do know how these things happen.  Sometimes, God has a plan bigger than ours!

3.  This baby is due on April 13, 12 days before Elijah's birthday.  Let's hope he or she isn't overdue.  Elijah might lose his friendly feelings if he has to share a birthday!

4.  Yes, we are going to find out the gender, if at all possible.  I have an appointment with a perinatologist (high-risk pregnancy doctor) on November 11 for supercalifragilistic sonogram due to my "advanced maternal age."  Hopefully, the little one will cooperate because...

5.  No, we have absolutely, positively no baby stuff left.  It all got sold, given away, or otherwise disposed of during one of the last three moves that we've made.  I've been combing Craig's List for a crib and changing table, and friends have been giving me the heads' up for garage sales with baby stuff.  The only things I kept were heirlooms, things with the kids' names on them and handmade items.

While a bit overwhelmed at this sharp turn in the road, we are also quite thrilled.  After all, it's a baby!!!  You have to try really hard to find a downside to bringing a new life into the world.  We do really like our first two children...why should a third one be any different?!

Coming up...an update on Charlotte and Elijah, including their reactions to our big news!

Recovery

There is nothing like one's child having surgery to make one slow down a bit.  This has certainly been the case with Charlotte's tonsillectomy.  We are in Day Four of being housebound while she recovers!

I've found the process difficult to watch.  Seeing my child in pain is, obviously, not much fun.  Charlotte is normally active and bright-eyed, eager to go to tae kwon do and French lessons, happily practicing piano, and spending her free time making up fantastical games with her brother in the basement, now that the weather is keeping us inside.

For the past three days, she's been lying on the couch, barely able to summon up the energy to read a book!  I think that she must have slept six hours yesterday, not even once asking to watch a movie or to play computer games.  Yikes.

Unfortunately for her, she is passing through every one of the stages of tonsillectomy recovery.  Ear ache?  Check.  Stomach trouble from the pain medication and antibiotic?  Check.  Black eyes from adenoid removal?  Check.  Reluctance to talk or eat?  Check.  And we still have the famous Day Five or Six "relapse" when the scabs start coming off of her throat.

Ick.  This is a really rowdy surgery.  I must say I am glad that I never had to have it.  The one thing that Charlotte has done consistently is drink cold water and eat chopped up popsicles.  This may keep her from getting dehydrated.  As she has a phobia of needles, all I have to do is mention that, if she doesn't eat or drink appropriately, she'll have to go get an IV at the hospital.  So far, so good.

I've been able to take the time here at home with no school or other obligations to get my blog relaunched.  I've been writing entries for two months in my head...it's nice to have a real forum again!  I've also been doing a bit of work in our little home improvement project in the basement.  Yesterday, it was cleaning out a room to get it ready to paint.  Today, I'm taking down ceiling tiles and braces from the drop ceiling in the bathroom so I can remove the rest of the wallpaper, also in preparation of painting.

I'll probably write more about about refinishing our finished basement later on!  For a couple of diehard, non-do-it-yourselfers, this has been quite the experience.

In any case, a little down time is good.  Right?!

Better Late Than Never

Or at least that's what I keep telling myself.  I actually promised people that I would have a new blog up and running by early September.

HA!

I could list a multitude of reasons (read...excuses) for my tardiness that are all true, reasonable, and valid, but I won't.  Instead, I'll make a list of what's been going on at Chez Wilkes since I left you at that other blog.

1. For those of you who don't know, we brought an extra and unexpected souvenir home with us from overseas.  Baby Number Three will be joining our family sometime around April 13, 2010.  (I'll just go ahead and tell you now that this is MY NUMBER ONE, BIG FAT REASON for not getting this new blog up.  And then I won't mention excuses, er, reasons again.)

2. Due to Number 1, our house has now become a construction zone, as we try to get rooms ready in the basement for Babies Number One and Two (aka Charlotte and Elijah) so that the new baby can sleep upstairs with us.  This will save time and energy in the middle of the night.

3. We began homeschooling just before Labor Day.  This was a a bit of an adjustment for all of us after a nice long break in France!

4. The kids are currently signed up for tae kwon do two afternoons a week and French lessons for another two afternoons.  For some reason, running around like a chicken with my head cut off seemed like a good idea at the time.  At least both activities are a mere two-minute drive from my house.  Charlotte also wants to give basketball a try this winter, so we have that to look forward to, as well.

5. Charlotte had a tonsillectomy yesterday, which actually has turned out to be good news for getting this blog up and running.  However, it's not been so great for her.  She did, however, get to audition for the church Christmas play before her surgery, so that was good.

6. We've also squeezed in a weekend trip to Michigan to visit my family, a Lipizzaner stallion show, a half-marathon relay (just me!); hosted my aunt and uncle from California for a delightful overnight visit (they didn't even mind the construction zone!); jumped back into church activities; and plowed through a plethora of real-life stuff that each and every one of you would completely understand.

Several people have said that I would be hard pressed to find interesting things to write about back here in the Peoria area.

Not true.  Not true!

I think there's enough stuff on this list to last for...let me see...awhile!

Talk to you soon!