Filed under: Home Sweet Home, Illness and Injury | Tags: H1N1, pregnancy, swine flu
There was one day when I kissed my kids goodnight and cried, thinking I’d be in the hospital dying before they were awake the next morning. I have never felt so awful in my life and I was sure there was no way I would make it through. I know it sounds dramatic, but it was honestly felt. I just couldn’t bear the thought of not seeing them again. With that was the thought that even if I lived, I would lose this precious life I am carrying. My mother said that swine flu was a very bad thing to have when you’re pregnant and my doctor had told me that she knew one person who had miscarried. I tried all I could to not be afraid, but sometimes it’s easier to succumb to it than fight it off.
Late Tuesday night, after being so sure of death at the end of this, I threw up. It was pregnancy related and not from the flu at all and somehow I felt a lot better afterward. Maybe it was life reminding me of its determination to keep me, or my baby telling me - as Mike said – that I wasn’t about to take it down with me. The unfortunate thing is that overnight, I ended up with a splitting earache – a second trip to the doctor confirmed an ear infection. An ear infection!! My kids get ear infections, I do not. But apparently swine flu put me into a childlike state physically speaking (and at times, emotionally). Thankfully antibiotics fixed that problem quickly – I was over the pain after less than two days.
On Thursday the boys came down with swine flu. We called the doctor and after describing Erik’s symptoms, including respirations and heart rate, she prescribed tamiflu for him. I thought I was saved a third trip to the clinic, but when I got to the pharmacy, the prescription wasn’t there and I had to go in anyway to straighten things out. This was of course, breaking my bed rest yet again, but I figured that a drive to the pharmacy would be less work than watching the kids if Mike went to get it. It would have been were it not for the additional drive and walk into the clinic. I felt like falling over as soon as I got home.
If I’ve learned anything, it’s that swine flu takes it out of you. And swine flu plus pregnancy equals misery. But I’m getting over it – still coughing a bit and still very tired. I felt like tackling my kitchen today, it was in such a state, but after I got up and fed the kids breakfast and put on a movie for them, I knew it wouldn’t be happening. I’ll be lucky if I feel up to it by the end of the week. Mike is back to work today but was home all last week and we didn’t go anywhere for more than a few minutes – and that was just sending Mike out to get Tylenol or food. We had a few very kind women (my mother-in-law and sister-in-law included) who brought us meals and baked things. I have more cookies, buns and treats in my house right now than I have at any Christmas past. Just a few minutes ago, a friend and her daughter came by and gave us a bag full of snacks. My friend said that her daughter decided that they needed to get us a present – she is good friends with Jenny and has been since birth. It’s nice having so many people thinking about us and praying for us, but it will be even nicer to get out of here and see some of them.
We’re watching a move tonight and I’m just hoping I won’t regret it – for both the sake of the content and subject of the movie, and for staying up for the next few hours. Tomorrow afternoon I have my first maternity appointment and I’ll be able to confirm the health of this little life I’m carrying.
Or was it eight..? Anyway, I committed myself to staying off the computer for one week, focusing instead on getting my house in good order and getting some projects done. I let people know where I needed to last Monday and shut the computer down. And about an hour later, Mike called to tell me that he was being sent four hours north of here for work, probably for five days or so. Had it been two or three days, we may have stayed home, except that Mike’s sister and her husband live there and we had been promising a visit. Mike would be staying there anyway because his work there was in their garage (the house is company owned, he works for the same company as our brother-in-law..yada, yada). So we packed up and left Tuesday afternoon for a town a good deal smaller than ours, to a house with two Great Danes and no children. And stairs.
Six days later we came back, worn out and so glad to be home after a rough week. Erik fell down the stairs twice, I found myself in tears at least three times, we were perpetually covered in dog hair and constantly telling the kids to not do this or not do that. As far as good things? Jenny learned to swim by herself..with water wings. Previous to this trip, she wouldn’t even let us let her go at all, and in two trips to the pool, she was all over the place by herself. We did try taking the water wings, but the thing that worked best was just giving her a pool noodle to put under her arms. Elias, on the other hand, spent his time in the pool clinging to us in total fear. Erik sat in his little baby float with his face smushed into the front of it, looking completely relaxed and rather unamused by anything. We walked to the pool twice out of three times and took lots of walks – in fact, I determined that I had some form of exercise every day we were there. It helped my mood, but certainly didn’t prevent the inevitable clashing between families.
Anyway, it is wonderful to be home and yet my children insist on being a pain in the neck even though they are back in their own space. I’ll be glad for the long weekend coming up and a bit of a break from being on my own.
Filed under: Home Sweet Home, Kiddos, Life, in general, Money, reading | Tags: large families, multiple children, space solutions, small house, Mary Ostyn, A Sane Woman's Guide to Raising a Large Family
I am currently working my way through A Sane Woman’s Guide to Raising a Large Family by Mary Ostyn. It is fantastic so far. The author is the mother of ten – four biological children and six adopted – and she advocates attachment parenting and co-sleeping andis a Christian to boot. She also has a very relaxed attitude about her large family. She obviously takes it seriously, but isn’t uptight about it. My favourite part so far was when she admitted that she doesn’t make her bed every day. Ahhh, how nice. A little reality when it comes to housework. She talks about the perceptions people have of the mothers of large families – that they are either insane or incredibly organized – and how she is neither.
Anyway, I’ll probably get around to a more detailed book report when I finish the book, but I realized that what I wanted to write about today tied into what I learned reading this book.
One of the things that Mrs. Ostyn advocates is room-sharing between children. Obviously this is necessary in a family with ten children unless you are millionaires and can afford a house with eleven rooms. She also encourages readers to change their current space rather than assume they need something bigger when they add to their family.
I would not be considered the mother of a large family – yet. I intend to be in that category eventually, but with only three children, I’m not quite “crazy” yet, especially living here, where it is very common to have a minimum of four children per family. Knowing that I at least hope for more children makes me want to think of myself this way even now and prepare our family for more children even before we are expecting them (yeah, that answers that question – I am not pregnant again…yet).
We currently live in a two bedroom, one bathroom home with no basement and only about 800 square feet of living space. We have a shed for storage, but no attic and no garage. We have three children sharing one room that contains a bunk bed, a toddler bed, a playpen, bookcase, toy box and Little Tikes vanity. We have a total of two closets in our home. Yes, two. No pantry and a minimal amount of kitchen cabinet space. We currently have over the door hooks or organizers in every room, just for extra space for toys, towels and clothes. There was a time not too long ago that I looked around this house in despair and wondered how we would manage if we could not move before another baby was born. I have talked to God about this and asked that He not give us another child until we can move, but now I think He may have other plans for us. Fifty years ago, families lived in houses the size of ours with four kids – and often more. They did not have huge television sets, computers or an abundance of modern appliances taking up space. Their children did not have every new Playskool toy from the Sears Wish Book (was there a Wish Book back then?) and did not need what our children seem to “need” now.
I will admit that we have too much stuff. We have more clothing than we need, my children have more toys than they need and we have managed to fill much of our space with other things that we very seldom use.
While getting rid of at least some of this stuff will help our space issues immensely, adding better storage solutions will help with the things we can’t go without. One issue I have is running out of places to store food. It is a huge money saver to buy in bulk and limit your grocery shopping trips as much as possible. The problem I have is that when I do stock up like this, I end up with food all over my counter tops and even on the floor in my kitchen because there is no cabinet space left for it. Yesterday while putting something up on the wall in my hallway, I realized that if we put shelves up at the top of the walls in the hallway, they would not be seen by most people (as the hallway is mostly hidden from view when in the living room) and they would hold some of the gadgets I don’t use often, or the bulk foods I don’t have room for in the kitchen. The size of our house comes in handy here, as the hallway is right outside the kitchen and I wouldn’t have to walk far to get to what I needed. Yes, it may make our house look a bit cluttered to have shelves all over the walls, but it is a space solution that is relatively cheap and does not require any actual construction.
I have determined that we could easily sleep four kids in the second bedroom, although the space will get tight when it comes to clothing and toys/books. Under bed storage will be used under every bed (including the play pen when possible) and whatever isn’t needed in the house will go to the shed. I am also considering buying a second, smaller shed to go just off the back deck so that the kids’ clothing could be stored there when not being used (i.e. larger and smaller sizes that are being saved for other kids). In the winter, it is a pain in the neck to have to walk all the way across the back yard to get to the shed for kids and maternity clothes when needed, but there is simply no space in the house for the dozens of bins required to hold all that clothing.
My hope is that by using our space more efficiently, we will be able to stay in this house much longer than we assumed we would be able to. We paid $126,000 for this house four years ago and our payments with property taxes are under $900 a month – you cannot beat that without living in a trailer or renting. Currently, we would have to pay upwards of $250,000 for the size of house we would want to move into – something with a minimum of three bedrooms and a basement. Staying here a little longer will enable us to save money and build up the equity in our home. It will also help us down the road to know how to live in somewhat cramped circumstances and know that we can manage it without any trouble (or without much trouble, anyway).
Stay tuned for more on the book in a few days (I’m almost done!). And if you don’t want to wait, buy the book – or do like I did and check it out at your local library.
Filed under: Home Sweet Home, Illness and Injury, Life, in general | Tags: housekeeping, surgery recovery, tonsillectomy, wisdom teeth
Well, I’ve quit my pain pills already, which is great because I was starting to get overwhelmed by all the different times and doses of meds throughout the day. I also thought that the naproxin might be making me feel sick, so I thought I’d test my theory. Unfortunately, I was dreadfully sick to my stomach most of yesterday and ended up getting less than six hours of sleep because it took me so long to fall asleep and then Erik threw up and wouldn’t sleep in his own bed and I had to try to fall asleep next to him smelling puke. (Big breath out, that was quite a sentence). So this morning I felt great when I woke up – not too tired and not sick. And then I took my antibiotic. Within ten minutes I was hurting bad again. I had some breakfast and I do feel a bit better now, but I have to eat with my afternoon dose and if it still makes me sick, they’ll give me a new antibiotic. This SUCKS because when I get my tonsils out in a week, they’ll have to give me another antibiotic. Three different antibiotics in a month is a bad thing. So with any luck I’ll feel better this afternoon.
Last night I wrote a long to-do list and a shopping list. My plan is to get as many loose ends tied up this week as possible and to stock the cupboards and make at least three meals to freeze. I don’t want to resort to sending Mike for take-out all the time, so while I feel decent, I’ll make a few things that he can throw in the oven when I’m recovering from my surgery. The kids have basically eaten macaroni and cheese and alphaghetti all weekend, so I figure it’s probably a good idea to have more options for them.
I’m quite certain that my list contains lots of tasks I won’t manage to get done, and I’m not going to start much until tomorrow, as I was told to take three days to rest after surgery. I feel good enough to get a few things done, but I’m going to try to keep it to making phone calls and other things I can do without moving too much. I’ll have to stretch my grocery shopping out a bit if I don’t want to totally wear myself out and at the moment, I’m beyond thrilled that my house is in decent order right now because cleaning it like crazy does not sound like it would feel great. I’ll have a bit to do right before my surgery, just to make it a friendlier place to be for my friend who is coming to watch the boys, but otherwise, most of the big work is done. Except our bedroom. Which I am NOT looking forward to cleaning. 
Anyway, the good thing is that the recovery from having my teeth out seems to be going as fast as I expected it to, although I am a bit concerned that my jaw will still be stiff next Monday, which could be bad for a surgery that requires reaching back into my throat. I’m just guessing that they have to keep your mouth wide open to do that.
I’ll keep updating as things change, but then I may be silent for awhile depending on how busy I get and how hard the recovery is next week.
It’s snowing today. Lots and lots of snow. In May. Erik needs to go to the doctor because he’s been coughing all the time for more than a week and his nose is running constantly. Taking him to the doctor means going out in the snow. I packed away my winter boots already. The snow shovel is now buried under snow. Oh, there are just so many problems with this day. I don’t feel particularly overwhelmed or anything, I’m just having a hard time deciding what to do. I would call someone and get them to come here so I don’t have to take the kids out, but my options are very limited and I think I’d feel bad about it since that would mean they would have to go out in the snow as well.
This post sure is full of run-on sentences.
Anyway, what I was originally going to write about is my checklist. I am happy to say that yesterday I fully updated Itchy Fingers with all my latest craft projects. I also folded and put away three loads of laundry that had been sitting around for some time. Mike had to go back to work for a while after the kids went to bed and I felt like I should be getting things done, but was way too worn out by then. I am still sick – still on antibiotics for tonsillitis and with some sort of sinus/cold/cough thing on top of that. I will be doing one thing at a time this week because I don’t want to overdo it. My mind is more than ready to get everything done, but my body just can’t keep up.
Now on to today and what to do. If it would just stop snowing, I would go to the doctor with all the kids. It looks almost like a blizzard right now, though. It may not get any better by afternoon, but I’ll probably wait a bit anyway.
Filed under: Art, Home Sweet Home, Life, in general, The H Word | Tags: goals, to do list
A list of goals:
Clean up my house. Yes, you read that right, no need to fiddle with the monitor.
Finish craft projects already started before starting new ones. This is going to be incredibly difficult for me, but I’ve got way too many half-finished projects hanging about right now. I have a list of them somewhere and I’m sure I have more to add to it by now.
Update Itchy Fingers with all the new crafts I’ve done in the last month.
Gradually work on the scavenger hunt craft swap that I signed up for on Craftster.
Blog somewhat regularly here without spending too much time on the computer…..and….
Spend less time on the computer and more time actually working on the non-computer related goals on this list. As it is, I spend a great deal of the day on here and it is something I need to change.
We’ll see how well I do with this little to-do list. I don’t have a great track record with check lists, but at times, I have been known to complete half of one. Cleaning is at the top, so maybe I’ll get that far at least. 
For a reminder of what I am doing this month, read this post.
Ephesians 2:4-5
…But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)…
I hope all of you had a relaxing and refreshing Easter holiday – we spent most of our at my in-laws, playing games and eating way too much. More on that later…
I like the descriptive nature of this verse. It does not just tell us what God did for us, but tells us why – because of the great love with which He loves us. His love is not a shallow, self-serving love (although this kind of love can hardly be called love at all), but a GREAT love. How blessed we are that even if we are utterly alone in the world, our Creator loves us greatly. Not only does He love us, but while we were still full of sin – dead in our trespasses – He made a way for us to live with Christ. Wouldn’t it be something if everyone could know the feeling of real life that He provides for us with salvation?
I had intended to relate these verses to my life as a housewife, but many of them in the last week have been more broad – relating to salvation. I am thankful that I am saved, and it should be something that permeates even my life at home. It was interesting trying to explain to Jenny yesterday why we celebrate Easter. I don’t think she understands the concept of sin, salvation or even God entirely yet. She knows how to pray, and does so often before meals or when she wants to remind God about that sister she doesn’t have yet. I just don’t think she gets it yet. I’m okay with that, and will just keep telling her about God’s great love and His sacrifice until she is old enough to understand.
The Duggars are expecting a grandchild – if you haven’t heard about them, here’s their story. I watched an interview with the family today and at the end, Meredith Veira asked Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar what parenting advice they would give their son and his wife and their first response was to bring up your children teaching them to love God with all their hearts. I was so impressed that they spoke so boldly for Christ and that they stressed the importance of this one thing in parenting. No matter what we do wrong with our kids, if we teach them this one thing, it will have been worth it to see them grow up knowing that God loves them and they ought to love Him as well with all they have.
As I said before, we had a great Easter weekend – we ate meals at Mike’s parents Friday, Saturday and Sunday and I’d be amazed if I didn’t put on a pound or two from all the good stuff we ate. We had our fair share of issues over there, as it’s not quite as kid friendly as our house and Elias doesn’t seem to get that he can’t touch certain things. But all in all, it was fun and relaxing (the hot tub doesn’t hurt in that department). I’m going to have a bit of trouble getting back in the swing of things at home, particularly having to cook meals again after getting a three day break. Speaking of which, I should probably start planning for supper tonight before I break down and go out to eat.
This verse of the day comes from VOTD.
For a reminder of what I am doing this month, read this post.
Luke 6:43-45
“For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush.
A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil.
For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”
What is in our hearts will surely be brought to light in one way or another. If there is good in our hearts, it will show itself in the fruits of our lives – our actions and words towards others, our attitudes about circumstances and situations, and the decisions we make. In my own life, I can only hope to find good in my heart by the good in my actions. When my heart is holding bitterness, anger, deceit, etc., it is made known through my words and actions. It is not easy to say “I love you” to my husband and kids when these things fill my heart. It is easier to get angry, lash out verbally or close myself off from them if my heart is full of bad things.
One thing I have had to learn over time is that cleanliness is not necessarily close to Godliness. Many people mistake this for a Bible verse and use it on their kids in order to get them to clean their rooms, wash behind their ears or do chores. A clean heart is so much more important than a clean house. Thankfully, a clean house often follows a clean heart, and I find that when I’m on track with God, it is easier to be on track with daily chores around my house. There was a time when I equated my dislike of housework and my often messy home with a lack of faith on my part, but this was no necessarily true. I watched older women of faith keep things spic and span and perfectly tidy and figured that it meant I was a bad Christian as well as being a bad housekeeper. While I know that clutter is not good for my family and it is healthier to have a clean home, I also know that it is possible to get so caught up in cleaning that you miss the things that God has put right in front of you. My husband’s grandmother spent years keeping a clean house and then realized that she could never go back. She has encouraged me to forget about stressing over it and just enjoy my kids while they are young. I am trying to take that advice and put it into practice while keeping balance in my home.
As for the kind of fruit we are bearing - our houses may be cluttered and in need of vacuuming, but if we are reaching out to others, putting God first in our lives, loving our children and spouses as we are taught to, we will be bearing good fruit.
I feel a little distracted right now (Erik’s crying is not helping with this), so hopefully this comes out making sense. Thanks for reading!
This verse of the day comes from VOTD
Filed under: Faith, Home Sweet Home, Life, in general, The H Word | Tags: housework, Matthew 6:8, perspective, Philippians 4:13, prayer, Psalm 36:7, Psalm 81:6
For a reminder of what I am doing this month, read this post.
Psalm 36:7
How precious is your unfailing love, O God! All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of your wings.
No explanation for why VOTD had no verse for March 31, but today’s verse was an April Fool’s joke (not appreciated, although it was funny), so we are back to Air1 for our verse of the day today.
I have just returned from an awesome prayer meeting with three of the girls from my Thursday morning Bible study. We are all young moms, which certainly makes it easier to understand what the others are going through, and I think it also made praying together more natural. We met after our kids were in bed, which further enhanced the experience, since for the most part, we weren’t spending time worrying about them.
This verse is therefore so appropriate for today, even though I have only read it just now, after eleven at night. I felt as though we really were under His wings tonight, and that He was there with us, listening to our requests, both mundane (in our eyes) and serious. We prayed for our families, for pregnancies, for health, healing, wisdom, encouragement, peace, patience, and so much more, and through it all, He was with us. I felt led to other scriptures during our time praying and they, too, were proof of His presence. I have forgotten over time what it feels like to be in His presence daily, but I want that to change. I truly want to see His unfailing love as precious, and to take shelter in the shadow of His wings.
I spent the first twelve hours of my day running here and there, doing errands and cleaning my house, taking a break in the middle to share some sushi with a dear friend who kept my kids for me during most of this time. I feel very satisfied with the work I got done, but it all pales in comparison to the feeling I had during that prayer meeting. It really put things in perspective for me, anyway.
Now I just have to hope I get enough sleep to be awake during Bible study tomorrow. I suggested to the girls that maybe Wednesday nights are not the best night to meet, as it gets late and we all have to get up early the next morning. It sounds like this may be happening as often as every two weeks, which I would really enjoy and benefit from.
Anyway, may you look at things in perspective today – even if your house is a wreck, God is listening, watching and loving you every minute. If your life is a wreck (even if your house is clean), this is still true. Nothing you have done can take His love away – it is unconditional and eternal. He knows your needs before you have even asked Him (Matthew 6:8), He will take the burden from your shoulders (Psalm 81:6) and you can do all things through Him who gives you strength (Philippians 4:13)!
For a reminder of what I’m doing this month, read this post.
Matthew 16:26
For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
This verse comes on a day when I was determined to get things done and instead just feel tired and mildly sick. To me, gaining the whole world may mean having a house that is a perfect, peaceful haven of cleanliness, or perhaps having children that impress everyone with their perfection, or even having more material goods that I feel would make my life easier (a newer van, a bigger house, the ability to go on nice vacations). Even if I have all of this someday, the most important thing I can do is to have a relationship with my Saviour. There will come a day, in eternity, where all of this will only matter if I used my time wisely or wasted it. It won’t have anything to do with how often I mopped my kitchen floor, but rather, how often did I reach out to my neighbours? how often did I tell my kids I love them and that Jesus loves them, too? did I make time for God in my daily life? This is both reassuring and terrifying. I focus all too often on the daily chores I have to do as being all important and too often worry about what other people will think of my skill (or lack thereof) as a homemaker, when really, I should be putting my first thoughts and greatest efforts towards Godly living. I know deep down that if I put this effort in, I would have an easier time keeping things in order, or at the very least, having a lot less stress about it. The last thing I want to do is reach the end of my life and realize that I put too much of my time into worrying about my house or what people think about me, and not enough time with my family and friends, and most importantly, God.
This verse of the day comes from VOTD.
