Gotta Start Them Young...

  Not really, of course.  We DO start our kids young on laundry, but not ages 2 and 1.  No, our sweet young ones just LOVE to mess with the washer and dryer.  We like the front loaders, but the buttons are accessible and both machines make cute little noises when the buttons are pushed.  Downright irresistible.  At least there is a Child Lock feature for both machines.

The Location of the Plastic Dishes

   I thought I'd mention one little thing we do to make life easier around here.  First, we use plastic bowls, cups, and plates for most meals.  That, of course, is to minimize the chance of breakage.

  Another big thing we do is we have these items stored in a lower cupboard so they are accessible to short people.  Our 6 year old currently sets the table.  She can easily reach in and grab what she needs.  I don't need to help.

  Our 2 and 9 year olds, who empty the dishwasher, can easily put the plastic dishes away. Yes, our 2 year old is starting to help with this.

  Just a little tidbit that I thought might be helpful. I read about this idea somewhere -- having the dishes near ground level -- and it has been a huge time saver for me and enables the children to do more.

The Last Couple of Days

Isaac finally succumbed to the illness on Thursday night. Thankfully, he was only sick for a few short hours and was mostly recovered by Friday.  He does have lesions on his face, one of the fun symptoms of this illness.

Yesterday, Lydia and Isaac walked way back to check out the fall colors and kick large mushrooms on the ground.

We've been on a chess craze this week.  I don't enjoy chess, but most of the children do.

Kevin made very tasty sticky buns!

They were delicious!

One morning, it snowed.  In late October.  Kids were thrilled.

One By One...

  At the beginning of the Fellowship of the Ring (the first of the Lord of the Rings movies), the narrator solemnly intones something like: "One by one, the free peoples of Middle Earth fell to the power of the One Ring."

  Here, it is more like, "One by one, the children fall to the power of the Hand, Foot, and Mouth disease."

Ok, it doesn't have quite the same ring (ha ha, pun!) but you get the idea.  The kids are sick.  Daniel got it exactly a week ago and is close to recovered.  Miriam and Angela got it yesterday, and spent much of today huddled in miserable, weepy balls on the couch.

  All the children have had it except Isaac and Naomi, and N. may have gotten a touch of it. Kevin has it. So far, I do not. I have a remarkable ability to stay healthy until everyone is healthy, and THEN I get sick. Usually I get quite pompous about my immune system, and then I fall to The Illness.  So we'll see what happens this time.

  In some ways, a semi-major illness is a total pain.  The kids are unhappy, I get less sleep than usual, and I have extra work because some kids cannot do their chores.  On the other hand, in some ways life is simplified.  I fairly often battle anxiety about whether I am using my time well. Should I do extra school?  Should I take the kids on a field trip?  Should we go to the library? The park? 

 When we have a fairly serious illness, I know what I need to do. Stay home.  Keep the routine moderately stable.  Minister to the sick. Comfort the miserable.  There is less anxiety because I don't have to wonder if I am using my time wisely. Basically, we are in crisis mode and I just want us to survive :-).

  Of course, I don't WANT us to be sick, but I am trying to be content in all circumstances.

Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease

   So we have another illness sweeping the Kendig nation.  I have to admit that "hand, foot, and mouth" disease sounds very impressive, though apparently it is not a huge deal.  A few days of fever and fatigue and if we are REALLY lucky, bumps and lesions.  Daniel got it first, almost a week ago. Coincidentally, it was the day after he got a vaccination so at first I thought the fever was from the shot.  After 3 fussy days, he broke out in a rash. That was when I took him in to the pediatrician, and she diagnosed hand, foot, and mouth.

 Joseph got it rather suddenly on Saturday evening (AFTER the Fall Festival at church).  He is old enough to just go to bed instead of whining and fussing incessantly. Then Sarah got it yesterday. She was cranky for a couple of hours yesterday morning, then spent much of the day asleep on our Lazyboy chair.  It was very adorable, but you know that kid is sick when she falls asleep on a chair. She is very much a child who sleeps in her bed and nowhere else.

 Lydia has it now. 

  So 4 kids down for sure, 4 kids to go, maybe.  Naomi felt a bit off 2 nights ago, but was fine yesterday.

  It'll be a quiet 44th birthday for me, but that's OK.  I decided against doing formal school, though Angela is trying out a Reading Eggs game online that is supposed to help with reading.  Several kids are in bed, and I'm hoping for good naps for both Sarah and Daniel.


 

Fall Festival at Church

Our church hosted a Fall Festival today.  There were many cheerful volunteers, good food, good drink, inflatable bouncy houses, pony rides, a climbing wall, and a mechanical bull! 

Ritter's ice cream. Cold but GOOD.

Yes, her hair really is green!

Lydia astride a BIG pony.

Miriam, hanging on carefully.

Isaac going up the climbing wall (Miriam is on the far left. She didn't get very high up as it was difficult climbing for little people.)

Lydia about to fall off the mechanical bull.

The children had a great time in spite of problematic weather.  LAST year the fall festival fell on a cold and windy day. I hoped and prayed this year would be better but the Lord sometimes says no. Today it was cold, windy, and rainy too -- or at least the first hour we were there it was rainy.  I feel like I earned many Mommy points today, because I wanted to be home taking a nap, not shivering through a Fall Festival.  But of course it was worth it, as the children had a lovely time.  I'm so grateful to the staff and volunteers at our church, who put on a great show for the children.

Good-bye, Cast!

Today was a day long anticipated.  Today, Lydia was released from the bondage of her arm cast.

 They took x-rays. Her bones look healthy.  She is still having some soreness in a few spots, so they put her in a removable brace for a couple of weeks.  She will remove it to exercise the wrist (which is stiff), and to take showers. Showers have definitely been a pain since we had to wrap her cast in plastic wrap.  She is so happy to have it gone.

So all seems well...she can't do everything as usual, but she can do more things.  And we're working ourselves back up to a 100% healthy Lydia.