Now A Family of *gulp* Six.

Kept meaning to post this. There's a trio from my hometown that recently took off on a sailing trip around the world. Yes, really! You can follow their adventures at The Captain's (B)Log . It is a couple, and half of another couple (the other wife is not willing to leave the grandkids!). They are currently around Toronto, and expect to sail West around the world. The wife & other members of the families will meet them at various spots around the world. How cool is that? Dream of a lifetime. But we can all go along with them, so to speak.

Now that I have half-a-laptop (long story, but the monitor is dead & now it's a "portable desktop" as Doug calls it), I have access to pictures again. Thought I'd share some recent photos of our life. By scrapbook category, of course! CELEBRATIONS: Kristen is getting married in September, & my best girl buddies helped her celebrate! Obviously Kristen in the middle; Nicole & Sheryl on the left; Angela on the floor (don't ask!); & me on the right. PEOPLE WE LOVE: Got to see my childhood friend and her baby "tobo," born in mid-March (like Charlie was supposed to!). Friends since 1st grade, and due dates within a week of each other. Isn't that something? EVERYDAY LIFE: Charlie was moved up to a "big baby" tub. And the only caption I can think here is, "uh, Mama? What're you doing down there?!" Everyday Life, continued: This was taken just a day or two ago. Roman is quite willing to interact with Charlie now, even...

Wow. What a powerful statement. And it has worked wonders the past couple days. I'm sure Roman is just trying to figure out how to combat this new form of non-engagement, but until then we're enjoying a lot more peace in our house. Well, Doug and I are. Roman gets madder & madder when we say it, which means we're probably doing something right. An assuring call with Doug's brother, who has a child the same age & one older, led us to feel a lot better that we're not alone. In fact, Roman was so mad Sunday night at bedtime because Doug left the room, he stood at the door shouting all kinds of things like "no, you don't love me!" After heappeared worn out (and we kept repeating "I love you too much to argue"), he finally yelled "FINE! I'll go lay down on my BED!" Exactly. Doug and I just grinned at each other. Score! Ro started VBS this week at our church, with the focus on obedience, compassion, kindness, etc. He went t...

One has to be very careful when listening to a 5-year-old. If my self-esteem was based on my child, I would be in the gutter. Such uplifting phrases as "Daddy, I love you more than Mommy" and "Mommy, you make the worst grilled cheese sandwiches" are heard with greater frequency the longer Roman & I spend together. One morning recently when he awoke to my smiling face after I was thinking loving thoughts about him, he immediately spat out, "I want Daddy!" I felt like crying. I had to remind myself that I'm the grownup and my self-worth is not linked to my children. Ever. Roman does appear to be recovering from the trauma of springtime when his world was turned upside down. He also appears to be getting ready for school, as evidenced by an increasing attitude, giving "lip," and refusing to follow our directions because he knows everything. Doug and I can't decide which is worse - not following directions/refusing to listen, or the const...

Doug described the human body to me this way: A regular physician is a chemical engineer, balancing your body with drugs when necessary. A chiropractor is the mechanical engineer, balancing your body by making sure everything is in alignment. With this in mind, I went to the chiropractor today for the first time in about 10 years. My back is so messed up from when I was a transcriptionist, and the stress I carry (along with bad posture, extra weight, etc.) makes it so my muscles never quite heal. I always have knots or sore spots, and even have a large clunker in my left shoulder (from being left-handed, in general - have you ever tried to take notes in college with right-handed desks?). My right shoulder flared up with Roman early on but went away with PT... I should have known that eventually, adding a second child would bring it all back. It's to the point that I wake up at night when I change positions, because my right shoulder/neck is all cramped up. Chiropractors are amazing...

I do have one, you know. It's hard to find lots of days. Currently I am slowly uploading 49 digital scrapbook pages to be printed . I did them all between January & now, isn't that cool? I was never this productive in paper-scrapping. It's like a mini-Christmas, getting the big box of layouts. Because on the computer, they're only 8x8 & I print 12x12. There's a learning curve, certainly, because what looks right on the screen sometimes looks goofy when blown to 12x12 size. I use PhotoShop Elements, and there's definitely a learning curve to that as well. I don't use the fancy stuff with photos yet, don't alter them too much. I prefer to have my pages look more like paper-pages. I completed a project using pictures from the local fair. I think the original idea of the album was Disney, but I tried to use the more generic embellishments. I like how it turned out. The inside is envelopes, with tabs on sheets of paper/pictures to pull them out & ...

Charlie’s ped. appointment went well, except for the usual Roman interruptions that happen anytime someone starts talking about Charlie. Even after I say, “now that the dr. is in the room, you have to sit quietly and play with the MagnaDoodle. Do not talk to me unless I talk to you first.” Five minutes later, while we’re discussing feeding… pulling on my leg, “I have to ask you something important” blah blah blah. He wants a mint. A d*** mint! Grrr. However, Charlie. He is 18 lbs, 10.5oz, and has grown 2 inches in 2 months. Dr. has decided to hold off on PT as his legs appear somewhat better; she was not concerned about his arms since he does bring them to midline & also reaches out for toys. For the legs, we will encourage “Indian style” when he’s sitting on the floor. We also talked about feeding, & she’s thinking he might be playing us with the ol’ 3am-4am wakeup. If his last decent bottle is around 7:30 or 8pm, she said he should be able to hold himself 9-11 hours. She told...

Roman's words when we finally got him on the pontoon. He thought it was the greatest thing in the world - the only time we could get him to sit still was for this picture! I'm a fan of the baby bottle & wine cooler on the table. :) And Charlie can't talk yet, but I know he's saying "this is awesome!" as well as he sits in his stationary walker. Look at that face - pure joy. It's the face that brings me pure joy every day.

Cloudy & a little cool today. Boys went in the water this morning anyway. Nicole & I went shopping this morning for a little girls' time, as I have lost a total of 15 lbs now and need new shorts. I have dropped 2 sizes! What a pleasure to try on clothes this time. Going to visit some old friends who are in the area & meet their new son later this afternoon. Then back here for a late dinner, and hopefully a pontoon ride. Roman has been looking forward to it but the men have tried to get him on the speedboat instead. That's a big no from him. We played the game "Knights & Cities," an expansion game for Catan, last night. I won for the 2nd time. I don't know if they'll let me play tonight. PS: Dad, I apologize (with a giggle!). We will husk from now on!

Thursday was a crazy day. The Early On worker came at 8am. They decided to open a file on Charlie, but all that means is she'll check in with him at 6 months. We set some goals, such as "Charlie will be crawling" and "Charlie will be using his pincer grasp" when she returns again in January. That reminded me I have to call the ophthalmologist for Charlie's followup in January as well. It's up to the ped. if she wants Charlie to have PT, and we'll ask next week. Mid-morning Doug came home for an extended lunch, so I could go to Shay's funeral. He took Roman & Charlie to Roman's swim class, and I experienced a 2-hanky funeral. Saw some of my closer coworkers there, though. About 5 people got up to say something, including one of his former students, & one of my coworkers. It was a nice sendoff. I then flew over to the pool to relieve Daddy & stayed to swim with Ro & Charlie about an hour. Charlie just locked up when I first got ...

When I was in Meijer last week, almost all their summer items were cleared out. A couple patio sets, some lonely lawn chairs... and that was it. And then I realized why... they were putting up the banners for BACK TO SCHOOL! Already. Now, I get very excited when I realize it's time to start perusing the office supply store again. But usually that's in August. I mean, July? Although Doug's comment was, "I'm surprised it wasn't Halloween stuff." Heh. Charlie has a followup with the Early On person tomorrow. Basically to relay her formal report and tell us if they're going to open a file on him or not. If they do, it'll be to do check-ins every few months. I have noticed his tone has gotten better in his legs, and worse in his arms. He just doesn't want to raise them, especially over his head, and when I put them straight up he gets very grumpy with me. However, he is reaching out to play with overhead toys now. It's really fun to see. His gri...

Got an email through work last week stating that a retired teacher-friend, Mike Shay, had fallen off a ladder doing stuff on his house & was in a back brace. Got a call on Sunday from a colleague to let me know that he had been hospitalized with a stroke; he was on life support but they were basically waiting for his daughter to make it from out of state, and then they would remove him. He died yesterday evening, 67 years old. It's odd in so many ways. Mike had enough energy for 3 normal people. He retired after 31 years teaching Social Studies, but still coached basketball every year because he loved the contact with kids. He remarried about 6 years ago, and he & Bev were like schoolkids in love. We even caught them making out in a closet at a dance for the middle schoolers, when Shay was supposed to be taking pictures for the yearbook. It was great to see, because when I first met him in 2001 he appeared to be a "re-bachelor" for life. Doug and I were even invit...

We visited my parents this weekend, & I'm happy to report my mom is recovering well from knee surgery. Well, as she puts it, the therapist says she's doing fine. She's moving around with a cane, & does the stairs a couple times a day. Gets real tired toward the end of the day, but I think & hope our visit cheered her. Doug and I were able to get out on Saturday sans Roman and go to the Art Fair. I really enjoy it as it's a juried art fair - meaning the craftsmanship is usually top-notch. I was hoping for jewelry that was reasonably priced but unfortunately didn't find it. Did find some metal-sculptured flowers that were hand painted that I loved; if they don't have a price, however, I probably can't afford it. We did buy from our photographer-man, Zeny . I have been collecting his photos for years & years now. He has many from Russia that are just beautiful. We bought 2 (buy one get one free postcard!), a closeup of St. Basil's, and one...

Roman went to his first karate class Wednesday night. It's a great place, very family-oriented. Doug was really pleased with how it went. Roman wants to keep going so he has been signed up for 7 weeks. He also got a brand-new uniform and was officially dubbed a white belt. When he got home he couldn't wait to show off his new moves. Ready stance, horse stance, punching, and then some of the exercises - the crab, the frog, pushups, & jumping jacks (in which he is totally uncoordinated) -he showed me them all. I include the above picture because it shows an actual authentic smile, which he doesn't usually do for the camera. Anyway, the best part of the night was while Roman was showing off his punching moves on our Superman bopper. Charlie was in the swing watching, and Daddy was calling out "left! right!" When Roman landed an especially hard punch and then did a pratfall, Charlie began to laugh! Roman began punching Superman again, and Charlie had big belly la...

I'll post stories & other pictures later, but I have to sincerely apologize for this video first. I wasn't thinking and taped it in "portrait" position. That means it will play sideways. Now, I could download fancy software to flip it, or you could just tilt your head. Tilting your head is cheaper for me. And I've learned my lesson. Anyway, I present to you - Charlie, actually laughing. And talking, a lot. (ignore the movie "Enchanted" in the background!)

After some drama joining the Rec Center (they overcharged us $800!) we have it all figured out and I went to exercise for the first time today. I want to call it something different, like… “shake my flab” or something of the sort. Cuz that’s really what it is right now. I started slow, just 10 minutes on the elliptical (target: gluteus & quads) and then 10 minutes around the track. I lost count of how many times I went around, but assuming it’s a ¼-mile track, I did almost 2 miles. There are some muscles crying already. My legs were rubbery leaving the place! The boys went in the playroom and had a good time. Charlie was held and smiled a lot; Roman said he wanted to stay longer. My ever-brilliant & ever-thoughtful husband offered to pack his lunch 3x a week so I could use that money to put the kids in the playroom. Awesome. Roman began swim lessons yesterday. He is absolutely petrified of putting his whole face in the water, and he finally confessed this morning it was because...

Our picnic dinner at Greenfield Village. Goofing around before the concert. Poor Charlie is trying to sleep! At the zoo Sunday. Clearly we didn't want a Penguinarium in our city! Map boy. Roman would've spent half the day checking the maps & planning his route if we let him. Outside the Arctic Ring of Life. Riding the zoo train! At the end of a great (hot!) day. Our spoiled family; Roman got a new pet giraffe (complete with leash); I got a new t-shirt.

Doug and I had a trip-up this week. We did it completely consciously, even agreeing to it. We took one look at the cheese/cracker/sausage plate being offered at Greenfield Village, looked at each other, and agreed - forget the diet for a couple days. I'm surprised we went this long, honestly - just about 6 weeks before we gave up for a couple days. We're back on track now, but it's hard to get back "on the wagon" when you've splurged. Who could pass up that snack platter, or the line next to it: ice cream with Sanders hot fudge poured over the top? Oh, heaven. We had a picnic at a friend's house on Friday and did pretty well, though. There are cookies in the house due to Roman wanting to bake (and who would say no when a 5-year-old boy wants to bake?), and that's dangerous too. I've put them out of my line of vision, but it's still hard. So this week is a wash, weight-wise. However, we have noticed great things happening. Like I've mentione...

"...that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." -Abraham Lincoln, from the Gettysburg Address In the Detroit Free Press editorial section today, they posed a question: "What Is An American?" It's the same question I pose to my eighth graders on day 2 or 3 of school to open our first unit. A group called the Bradley Project has a website dedicated to this, having polled 2400 Americans on their beliefs & thoughts about our country. Their sound-byte quote from the report is scary to me: “America faces an identity crisis. The next generation of Americans will know less than their parents know about our history and founding ideals. And many Americans are more aware of what divides us than of what unites us. We are in danger of becoming not ‘from many, one’—E Pluribus Unum—but its opposite, ‘from one, many.’” On this, the 232nd birthday of Am...

Roman's already such a typical boy. Short answers, very nondescriptive. He went out today with Evan & his mom. She took them to McDonald's for lunch, to see the movie Wall-E , and then for ice cream and a romp in the park. This was his explanation of the day: "Tell me about the movie!" I don't want to talk about it. When it's on video, then you can watch it. "What about McDonald's?" We didn't go in. We ate in the car. That's all there is. "Ice cream?" We went to Coldstone. I had strawberry with gummies. "Did you have fun?" Yes, but Evan was mean to me. "I heard you were mean part of the time, too." Yes, well, I'm older so I'm the boss of him. Needless to say, he's in his room right now for a nap! He's exhausted, and therefore rude. His eyes are "itchy" and that's why he's rubbing them (yeah, right - he can barely keep them open!) & my offer of a song before naptime el...

Whew! Wow, the days get busy in the summer. Roman has been playing with our neighbor Evan every afternoon. Which is great! We had been wanting a friend in the neighborhood for so long. They even have their battles, and then an hour later are upset that it's time to go home. They play awesome together. It makes me wonder how long this summer would have been if we hadn't found a friend! This past Saturday we celebrated our town's birthday with a fair. It's free to get in, but boy did it cost us for rides! Roman is the perfect age for going on most of the kiddie rides, and Daddy and I even got in a ride apiece. Charlie spent time in a new stroller (well, our Jeep one from Roman's days) and did very well in it. It was cooler than his carseat-stroller, and it reclines almost all the way down for good naps! Sunday I traveled to Kalamazoo to celebrate the upcoming nuptials of my friend Kristen. There were close to 25 people there and it was a good time! Today we had the re...