Hoo Yeah!

Well, the kids amazed us this weekend.  Charlotte and Elijah both tested for their red belts in tae kwon do this past Saturday, and they had to do their most difficult board break yet.  It’s easier to to just show you pictures of the break than try to describe it, so here are Elijah and Charlotte breaking their boards.

We have watched a lot of tests during our 18 months of tae kwon do.  I think that I have seen maybe two or three people total actually make this break during a test.  This is the first break where the martial artist has only three attempts; usually, the kids whale at the boards until they break, but not with this one.  This is also a kick where, if the person doing it does is wrong on the first attempt, all subsequent attempts are done with a very sore heal, which makes a break even less likely.  If the board doesn’t break in three attempts, the kicker has to use an alternate kick.

I say all of that to say that actually making this break is a huge psychological deal for moving up with the higher belts.  And all three brown belts who were testing this time, including Charlotte and Elijah managed to break their boards!  It took Elijah two attempts, and Charlotte squeaked it in with her third. 

Needless to say, we were all very excited!  Elijah had said, even walking in the door, that he just wasn’t sure that he could do it.  We stopped, huddled up for a prayer, and told both kids to just concentrate and do their best.

It was really something to watch!

Here are our new red belts and a family picture for good measure!

In other news, I have had two good training runs the past two Saturdays, one of ten miles and the other of eight miles.  This weekend is supposed to be another big one, ten to 12 miles.  We’ll see how that goes.  So far, I’m still on track for the half marathon on April 30!

I am also done with 1 Corinthians in my accelerated Bible reading plan.  I’m due to be done with the entire Bible in seven more days.  Woo-hoo!

And that’s what’s been happening here.  Hope that all is well your way!

The Ides of March

So, what have we been up to lately?  To tell the truth, I’m not entirely sure.  But time seems to be marching along rather quickly, so I guess we’re staying busy.  I’m always amazed at how much time and energy that living life takes.

Our new guinea pig, Septimus, has settled in rather well.  Unlike his predecessors, he is eating well and seems to enjoy his new home.  The only thing he doesn’t like at Chez Wilkes is the little boy named Jeremy, who screams at him and doesn’t really understand the concept of gentle petting yet.  So, we mostly just keep the two of them apart.

Jeremy is two weeks away from turning one, and his hair has reached critical mass.  I did get his one-year pictures scheduled for a few days before his hair is cut, so we’ll at least have one final record of what he looks like!  We took this one after his bath one morning.

Today, he managed to crawl into a plastic drawer in his room.  He was pretty happy until he realized he couldn’t get out.  Here he is.  I love his poor little feet stuffed in the corner.

We spent Saturday on the great hunt for spring sports equipment.  Elijah needed soccer/baseball cleats (he’ll use the same for both this year), a baseball mitt, and a bat, and Charlotte needed shin guards and a soccer ball.  We found out yesterday that soccer practice starts next Tuesday, and games start on Saturday, April 2.  This is about two weeks earlier than everything started last year, so our March break from sports has not exactly materialized.  Oh, well.

I also ran 10 miles on Saturday, which is the first time I’ve run in double digits since well before the baby was born.  It was a nice milestone for this bout of training!

This Saturday, the kids will test for their red belts in tae kwon do.  Due to Charlotte’s broken leg and the holidays this year, the kids have been at brown belt level for five months, which is the longest they have ever gone without having a test.  They have a really difficult break this time, so we’re hoping that the extra time between tests has given them the chance to get ready for it.  We shall see.

And that’s what we we’ve been doing.  Hope that all is well where you are!

Look Who’s Joined Us Now!

Meet the newest member of our family.

His name is Septimus, and he’s a ten-or-so-week-old guinea pig.  Of course, there’s a story.   Let me tell you.

As I shared earlier this week, Charlotte’s last guinea pig passed away on Wednesday.  On Friday morning, we had our home school co-op, and then I needed to do a little bit of grocery shopping.  My plan was to shop quickly so that we could get home by 1:00 or so for lunch.  (Jeremy usually eats before we leave co-op.)  As luck would have it, Walmart is right next to a Pet Smart, and Charlotte begged to go inside, just to “look” at what they had by way of guinea pigs.

I agreed, since we were right there, although I really didn’t plan on buying one on this particular day.  As we stood looking at the two guinea pigs on display, an employee named Cindy came up and asked if she could help.  We explained about poor Humphrey and how Charlotte wanted a younger guinea pig this time who would perhaps eat more healthfully.

Cindy proceeded to tell us that she had not only had the guinea pigs we could see, but she also had several in the back, including one that was available for adoption rather than purchase, due to the fact he had a heart murmur.  Who knew that guinea pigs could have heart murmurs?

Cindy first brought up the adoptable-only guinea pig for Charlotte to hold.  Then, Cindy took us to the back to let Charlotte look at and hold every single guinea pig on the premises.  Charlotte knew that she wanted an Abyssinian, which has longer hair and rosette patterns in its fur.  Pet Smart had three:  one on display, one that tried to jump out of Charlotte’s arms, and the one with the heart murmur.

After a bit of deliberation, Charlotte decided that she like the one with the heart murmur the best.  He has the coloring of Spotty, who was a calico, and the long fur of Humphrey, a perfect combination of her first two guinea pigs.  I told her that she could get a healthy guinea pig if she wanted, but she had her heart set on the adoptable one.

So, an hour or so after entering the store, we finally finished filling out the adoption paperwork and checking out with our newest pet.  Each employee with whom we came into contact while adopting the guinea pig had something new to tell us about him.  Evidently, because he was not available for sale, the employees had spent a lot of time handling him to make him more suitable for adoption.

“He’s a cute one, and he loves apples,” the cashier told us.

“He’s a really good little guy,” the manager who signed our adoption paper told us.  “He’s really active and never acts like there’s a thing wrong with him.”

“He really like oranges and green peppers” Cindy told us.  “I’d adopt him myself if I didn’t already have four other guinea pigs at home!”

Alrighty, then.

The only kind of sad thing about the whole transaction was that the cashier had to ring the guinea pig up as “damaged” in order for us to get him free.

Anyway, Charlotte had settled on the name “Septimus” (a character from a series of books she likes) by the time we got home, and we spent about 30 minutes cleaning out the cage and settling in our new pet.  So, it was nearly 3:00 when we finally ate lunch!

But so far, so good.  Septimus has happily settled into his new cage; he has eaten every fresh fruit or vegetable we’ve given him except for lettuce; and he likes to be held.  Here’s hoping that he has a long and happy guinea pig life.

On a more somber note, we finally buried Humphrey today.  This funeral was much less traumatic than the first one, especially since Elijah informed us that he wasn’t participating!

And now we are awaiting the arrival of a neighbor of our from France, who is in Peoria on a business trip this week!  It should be a fun evening.

Hope that your weekend has been good!

Alas, Poor Humphrey

Well, our second guinea pig passed away yesterday, six months to the day after our first guinea pig died.  For Charlotte, this was definitely not a banner day.

Humphrey has been sickly for about a week, and, on Monday, Charlotte told me that she was no longer eating her hay or very interested in the carrots that Charlotte was offering her.  She also wasn’t drinking any water.  As these are Humphrey’s very favorite things, I told Charlotte that we would take her to the vet the next day.

So, an hour, a shot, and $97 later, we were back home with the diagnosis of an upper respiratory infection and an antibiotic.  The vet did tell us that the symptoms of this infection and the signs of scurvy are the same in a guinea pig but that he would treat it as if it were the former and that we needed to get more vitamin C into Humphrey.

I explained to the doctor that we had gotten Humphrey when she was four years old and that she was pretty set in her ways as far what she would and wouldn’t eat and drink.  She refused to drink water with vitamin C drops in it, and she also turned up her nose at green peppers, oranges, and strawberries.  What do you do?

Anyway, we got her out of her cage yesterday to give her the medicine, and I also took the opportunity to clip her nails.  However, when Charlotte returned her to her cage, Humphrey squeaked twice and keeled over.

Poor Charlotte.  As she tearily informed me, Humphrey lived exactly six months longer than Spotty (and a very happy six months they were—we think Humphrey liked being an only guinea pig).  We also got them just about a year ago, shortly before the baby was born.

And now, poor Humphrey is in a shoebox in the freezer, awaiting a proper burial.  The kids had a tae kwon do board breaking seminar last night, but we could tell they were both a bit off.  Usually, they love those seminars, as they get to do board breaks that are normally not allowed, but not so much last night.

Sigh. 

Of course, Humphrey was hardly in her casket when Charlotte starting asking about a replacement.  I think this may be more about really liking guinea pigs than about not grieving Humphrey.  We are still a bit on the fence about replacing Charlotte’s pet so soon, but we shall see.

Hope things are well with you!

Miscellany

Since nothing terribly exciting has been going on around here, I’ll share some pictures!

Jeremy, just in the past two weeks, has become scarily proficient at walking.  He has also seemed to grow a bit, as he can now snag things left too close to the edge of the table.  This is what he managed to snag on Saturday.

Yes, that would be a half-full bowl of sticky rice cereal.  He was having a marvelous time wallowing around in it before I caught on to what he was doing.  I figured that, since he had already gooeyed and stickied himself up, I might as well take a picture.  I ended up stripping him down and rinsing him off in the bathtub.

Lesson learned.  Push things back…way back…from the edge of the table!

Elijah, who is nuts about Star Wars, somehow ended up with a Darth Vader cape and mask.  He thought it would be cute to dress Jeremy up as Baby Darth Vader, although he was wise enough not to insist on the mask.  Here is the result.

One day, I’ll probably tell Jeremy to be grateful that his sister didn’t paint his toenails, put bows in his abundant hair, and dress him up like a baby doll.  All things considered, Baby Darth Vader isn’t so bad!

And, believe it or not, Jeremy will be 11 months old tomorrow.  I can’t believe that he’s only a month away from his first birthday!

In other news, Charlotte is almost done with basketball season.  She had another great game this past Saturday, with one basket and multiple steals and rebounds, and has her last game this Saturday.  Afterwards, Jeff is hosting a party for the team at a local Italian restaurant, so that should be pretty fun.  I will be glad for the March-long break between sports seasons!

We also found out this morning that the negotiations between Caterpillar and the union resulted in a tentative contract agreement.  This is excellent news for us, as it means that Jeff will not have to work second shift in Decatur, Illinois, during the week, instead of being here at home.  It also means that we can plan a vacation.  Up until today, no salaried folks were supposed to make any plans that couldn’t be changed or refunded.

And that’s what’s going on at Chez Wilkes.  Hope things are good wherever you are!

When It Rains

So, it’s been one of those weeks.  And it’s only Tuesday, which leads me to believe that it’s probably not over yet.

This past weekend was actually pretty good.  Charlotte played her best basketball game yet, scoring the opening two baskets.  She also got a couple of fouls in this game, her first ever, so we joked that she’s now a real basketball player!  It’s been really neat to see her develop as a player, becoming more aggressive and confident as she’s moved through the season.  Her team also won 16-14, which was an added bonus!

However, the baby has had a cold for the past two weeks and, over the weekend, he started tugging at and pressing things against his ears.  This is not normal for him, so I called the doctor first thing Monday morning to see if I should bring him in.  Well, of course, the nurse told me yes.

Unfortunately, our regular doctor was completely booked, so we were scheduled to be seen by one of the other two.  The one we saw had her exam rooms down in the basement of this building, a place I had never been in the several years that we’ve taken the kids to this practice.

While the doctor was very professional and competent, her waiting room was a complete zoo.  There were four kids running amok in there, while their dad popped out periodically to fuss at and smack them around.  As I had no idea what kind of germs were floating about, I didn’t want to put the baby down to catch something worse, so I ended up pacing with him up on my shoulders for part of our wait, while he merrily yanked my hair and wiggled.  (I’ve found that, if I try to hold him in my arms, we have a veritable wrestling match, especially in new places where he would like to explore.)

Of course, the doctor was running behind schedule, but, when she finally examined Jeremy, she told me that he just had a bad cold.  While I am happy that he does not have an ear or sinus infection, I found it quite frustrating to go through all that just to find that out!  Better safe than sorry, I know…but still!

So, last night, Charlotte woke up around 4:30 with a sore throat, stopped-up nose, and aching head.  I told her to prop herself up on the couch and try to sleep a bit more, but she came back in at 6:00 to tell me that she hadn’t slept a bit.  Today has been rounds of cold medicine and ibuprofen.  I suspect she has the same nasty cold as Jeremy, as she hasn’t run fever, but she’s pretty miserable.

To top this off, Jeff is out of town all week doing some training in Decatur, Illinois, a town about two hours from here.  He had planned to come back here to run basketball practice tonight, but he called about 4:00 to tell me that his car had broken down about 10 miles out of Decatur!  And would I be up to running basketball practice tonight?

A “Check Engine” light had come on and plunged the Subaru into “limp mode,” which means Jeff couldn’t go above 30 miles an hour.  So, he “limped” back to Decatur, fooled around with the car a bit, and got the light to go off.  But that didn’t get him here for practice!

Therefore, I, who have never played basketball in my life, ended up running Charlotte’s basketball practice.  I had given Charlotte some medicine and told her that she had to go whether she was feeling up to it or not because she knew the drills, and I didn’t.  To make a long story short, we had practice.  And we actually did two of the three drills pretty decently.  That lasted for about 35 minutes, and then the practice descended into chaos, which I ended about ten minutes early.

Whew.  I just hope I didn’t do any permanent damage.  A basketball coach I am not.  Elijah, however, is getting some good babysitting experience, as he was responsible for keeping Jeremy safe and entertained while we practiced!

Thanks for listening to me vent.  Here’s to a better rest of the week!

A Little Excitement

Well, it’s been a slow week with nothing much going on but school and normal activities.  Most time, that is excitement enough for me.  The weekend brought a few more happenings of interest, some better than others.

On Friday evening, Charlotte and Jeff attended a Daddy-Daughter Princess Dance.  They went last year to this same dance, so we bought Charlotte a pretty dress, and Jeff bought her a corsage. 

Charlotte is a funny kid.  She would have been happy to wear the same dress that she wore last year (“I really like it, Mom!”) and only didn’t wear it because it was now shorter than she likes.  (I think she’s grown two inches since last February and will probably be my height by next year…crazy.)  When we went dress shopping, we had our usual challenge of finding something not too frou-frou that is long enough to suit her and well-fitted.  She finally agreed that this dress would do!

Then, we had a discussion about shoes.  Charlotte is not a big fan of dress shoes and actually doesn’t own a pair.  I thought we would get her some to go with the dress, but Charlotte told me that nobody wears shoes during the dance anyway, so she’d just wear her winter boots, these big, bulky heavy things.  However, she does have a pair of dress boots purchased for a special occasion last year, and these ended up matching her dress perfectly!

When Jeff got home, he presented Charlotte with her corsage.  Most girls this age, and every single girl who attends this dance, wear a wrist corsage.  But Charlotte thought it was really cool last year to be the only person with a pin-on corsage, so that’s what she requested again for this year.  The guy at the flower shop thought Jeff had made a mistake in ordering, but not so!

And here they are, all ready to go!

They had a fun evening.  As they joined our friend Von Pugh with his daughter Ryann, Von’s wife Saundi called and asked if Elijah would care to join her and their son for a meal out and Gnomeo and Juliet.  Of course, Elijah was eager to go, so he had a great time, while I sat at home and finished a digital scrapbook after Jeremy went to bed.

Then, this morning, we had the not-so-fun part of our weekend excitement.  Elijah accidentally left our basement door open, and Jeremy took a header down the 12 stairs to the basement.  Yikes!

Jeff and I were finishing up getting ready for church, when we heard a couple of loud thumps and some screaming.  We ran out into the living room to find one of the kids (I honestly don’t remember which) carrying a bloody-nosed, screaming baby up the stairs.  Charlotte told us, “Elijah left the basement door open, and Jeremy fell down!”

When the dust settled and I got Jeremy cleaned up, I was able to assess the damage.  He must’ve taken most of the fall on his face because, in addition to the bloody nose, he has a bruised left eyebrow, a carpet burn by his right eye, some bruises across his forehead, and a raw area underneath his nose.  His wounds are all superficial and look worse than they are.

I was on the phone with a nurse from the pediatric after-hours office for about ten minutes, while she asked me a million questions and told me for what to watch for the next 24 hours.  As Jeremy was walking around and babbling and acting normally within 15 minutes of the fall, the nurse told me that he was very likely just fine. 

I had snapped a picture of Jeremy just yesterday, as he was really looking cute carrying books out for us to read to him.  So, we’ve got a before and an after picture of our poor baby!

I’ll tell you, I sometimes wonder how baby boys survive toddlerhood.

In happier news, we gave the kids their Valentine’s Day gift this morning.  We’re not big celebrators of this particular holiday, as the anniversary of our first date is the weekend before Valentine’s Day, and we try to celebrate that instead.  But I do try to get the kids a little something.  I gave it to them today, before Jeremy took his tumble, as we have a better chance of trying out the game, In a Pickle, this afternoon and this evening, as opposed to tomorrow.  And, no, Jeremy doesn’t get a cupcake.  We try to save that much sugar for first birthdays!

So, that’s been our weekend.  Hope that yours has been good, with no tumbles down stairs or calls to the doctor!