Sleep Solutions

We've been playing musical bedrooms at our house. All in the effort to integrate baby #5 into a four bedroom house.

Up until a few weeks ago, baby Jewel has slept (lived) in our bedroom. This is the first baby who has slept in bed with me almost the entire night, every night for this long! Finally she was getting too big to be really comfortable curled up in a tight ball against me. Not to mention, she is over 18 pounds now and my whole arm goes numb, and I wake up with one terrible crick in my neck!

So with lots of encouragement from Manly, we moved Jewel to the crib to share a room with Angel. Things went much better than we thought possible, but it was difficult to get them both asleep at the same time. And with winter sickness, colds and earaches, the two youngest were continually waking each other up and making their parents sleep deprived. I'd take care of Jewel, and Manly would take care of Angel. Things got pretty tricky the week Manly had to work the night shift! I'm SO grateful he doesn't work that schedule regularly!!!!

Baby Jewel began getting really fussy at night time, wanting to be rocked continuously, and so we made the decision to begin the "Ferberization" method. (Dr. Ferber has a famous sleep solution) This is where you put your child to sleep with their normal night routine, and then if they are crying you come back after 5 minutes, then 10 mintues, then 15, then 20 and then every 25 minutes. (if they're still crying) Each time you go in their room, you spend 1 minute comforting them, talking and singing and assuring them, but YOU DO NOT PICK THEM UP. It's so agonizingly hard, but it's worked wonders for each of my kids, and for most of them, it only took 2 or 3 days. And when its done, they've learned how to comfort themselves back to sleep, they're not dependent on Mom and Dad for help going back to sleep, and they love their beds.

We moved Angel into the big girls' room for the duration of the adjustment period.

I forgot how hard it was to let your baby cry like that. It's torture! For both baby and parents. My kids were horrified after all my lectures of helping the baby right away when she cries, that I was letting her do it ON PURPOSE. But I'm so happy to report that after 3 days, Jewel is a pro at going to sleep. Each night it took less and less time for her to settle down. And with Manly almost never being home in the evenings, that's a real blessing to me and the rest of our crew!

Now I've got to decide whether to keep Angel in with the big kids, or move her back with Jewel. She had a hard time getting used to her new sleep location, but I'm kind of liking it. I was putting Angel to sleep in that room anyway for her naps so that her naptime wouldn't conflict with Jewel's. It's nice for Angel to nap in her own bed instead of Louisa's.

And poor Einstein felt so left out. He wanted to know why one of the kids couldn't move into his bedroom. He's been begging for a roommate for years. I keep waiting for him to wake up to the luxurious realization that he's the ONLY kid who will probably ever get his own bedroom! Right now, the kids have a special tradition of doing a big "sleepover" on Friday nights in one of the kids' bedrooms. They look forward to that, but we don't do it every week cause it's a pain for Mom to pull out floor mattresses and sleeping bags, and they stay up almost as late as they would if they were having a real sleepover.

Right now I'm really enjoying Jewel having her own room, and I'm considering keeping it that way. The biggest pain is that with potty training, Angel keeps on needing new clothes, which are always in her bedroom while the baby is sleeping. I've begun keeping a pile of spare clothes in the hall just for her!

I wish I could wave a magic wand and double the size of my house... or at least put on one more bedroom!

p.s. since posting this last night, I have to ammend that I never let my baby cry it out if she's crying because she doesn't feel well. For that, I just have to rely on Mama's Intuition. If she's sick or teething, I will rock her all night long. Last night I got only 3 hrs of sleep because she's fussy...and I'm hoping it's teething, and not another earache. I was hoping that I could just take her back to bed with me, but now that she loves her crib she won't sleep in my bed anymore. In my family, that seems to be the price of my children learning to love their crib. Once they learn to sleep there, they don't like being rocked to sleep in Mommy's arms anymore, and that just breaks my heart. But for me, that's better then your child never going sleeping their own. It's a trade-off; I wish I could have it both ways!

Candy belongs in the Trash!

Like all kids, my kids LOVE candy!

I don't like taking them to the Dollar Store with me because they always want to spend whatever money they have on candy. I don't like my kids eating sugar, they're hyper enough! We've really cut down on sugar at our house lately. Someday I'd like our family to be sugar- free. So I grumble and groan about them buying candy, but I did it as a kid and so I let them. I figure it's their money to waste and maybe they'll get irresponsible purchases out of their system when they're young.

But the drama doesn't end there. Soon there are candy wrappers strewn around their bedroom floor. And then there is the bargaining and bartering where they trade candy or "buy" candy from each other (with money, toys, or personal favors) Then there's my 5 year old who occasionally sneaks from her siblings, and then has to pay back what she owes them. Then there's the bullying from older siblings trying to trick younger siblings out of their candy. Then there's 2 year old Angel who wants candy, but doesn't have candy, and no one will share with her. Then there's little baby Jewel who nearly chokes on a jolly rancher wrapper. Then our food-sensitive beagle, Lucy, begins making secret stealthy forays into the backrooms snatching whatever candy she can find. (she's normally not allowed back there!) We caught her several times trying to run outside with an airhead in her mouth. You know you're in deep trouble when your two year old is banging on the 10 year old's door crying and shouting "I want a watermelon flavor! It turns my mouth red!"*sob*

At this point I was about ready to go through the whole house, scour all the candy out and throw it in the TRASH while imperiously announcing that candy is hereby OUTLAWED!!

It turns out I didn't have a chance to do it because they ate it all in 48 hours. I'm definitely going to work on that NO CANDY rule! They can save up their money for something else! They are all going to the dentist in April, and if any of them has even one cavity, I'm going to use it for emotional leverage to state my case! And I won't even feel guilty doing that! (well, maybe just a little)

To illustrate our conflicting stance on candy:

Our Halloween candy is always gathered immediately in one huge tin, stored on top of the refrigerator, and then promptly forgotten for the year until it's so old it has to be thrown out... I DON'T WANT MY KIDS EATING TRASHY CANDY! Why do we then go trick or treating? I guess the getting is more fun than the eating?....I don't know. One of those unhealthy American traditions we can't seem to do without.

Here Einstein the builder has created a magnetic candy holder for all his candy. With it all out in the open, no wonder it went so fast. I wonder if Lucy was jumping on his chair and sneaking candy off of those magnets?

Einstein learns to sew

Einstein loves machines, doesn't matter which kind!

I still remember after theater classes one day, he and his cousin disappeared. I finally found him drooling over an ancient, antique typewriter! Those boys were in love! Nothing we said or did could pull them away. After several frustrating minutes I pulled him by the arm out the door, while he protested, "But Mom, it's just too BEAUTIFUL!" It ended up being too distracting a prop for the play. The boys wouldn't stop touching it, so they couldn't use it in the play. Silly boys!

If you ever find a typewriter at a yard sale, or if you have one gathering dust in your attic, please let me buy it from you! I think it would give hours of entertainment to the kid!

So one day when a friend came over to finish a sewing project she was doing for me, Einstein was entranced. He begged her to use it. He begged to use mine.

So a few days of go for a schoolwork project, he finally got to play around with a sewing machine. It's too bad that I'm not a great seamstress. I wish I could give my kids more help in this area, but you can't teach what you don't know!

But Einstein did sew a rice bag, and now's he's started on a big bag to hold toys in. It was pretty exciting to watch. And he can sew a straight seam! I can't believe it! I can hardly sew a straight seam myself!

Anyone out there want to teach a 10 year old to sew? Or give me sewing tips so I can teach my kids better?

New Pictures!

Jewel had her 8 month old baby portraits taken last week.

To view them click on this link:

https://www.smilesbywire.com/home.asp?AC=LTPP0131109831JCP

and then enter the name Laura Dotson in the user name blank.

Enjoy!

Kid Quote of the Day

Cute quote of the day:

Duckie comes running into the room shouting, "I have a great idea!"
"What?" I ask.
"We could post a note on our door that says 'no dogs allowed' and then Lucy won't sneak back into our bedrooms!"
"Dogs can't read." I replied.
"Oh." Duckie was crestfallen. "But Wait!" She shouted again,"We could draw a picture of a dog in a circle with a red line through it and THEN she'd look at it and know it meant no dogs allowed!"

Cute reasoning for a 5 year old!

Jack and Jill

Today while I was busy doing morning preparations, I saw Angel running up and down the hall with a metal pail. Every once in a while, she'd trip and fall and the bucket would CLANG with a loud and satisfying metallic sound.

After a big fall when she was rubbing her head I went up to her and asked if she was okay, she just stared at me like I was crazy.

So I went about my business, and then in the background, I could hear Angel singing.

"Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water....Jack fell down, (CLANG) and broke his crown, and Jill came tumbling after..."

OH MY GOODNESS! It was so darn cute to see her running up and down the hall acting out that nursery rhyme. She did it over and over and over again. Soon all the other kids noticed. I was trying to nurse baby Jewel and put her down for a morning nap when I could hear all four kids running up and down the hall, singing it with Angel and joyfully falling on purpose with surprisingly loud clunks. My kids sounded like a herd of Elephants. Too bad that Daddy was trying to sleep on the other side of the wall.

Of course, Mommy had to be the Party Pooper and stop all their fun before they woke up the baby, too.

It was a pretty amusing sight, and I got a good laugh out of it!

Angel a few months back when she got a good shiner

I totally caved

So I totally caved.

So much for all my high mindedness and soap box speeches and thinking I was above the psychology of behaviorism!

Angel decided she was interested in potty training again, and she was doing pretty good despite the occasional accident. One day, I could tell she really needed to go pee, but she was refusing to go on the potty, she just wasn't interested. It was temporarily unimportant.

Then I said it. "If you go pee-pee, you'll get a treat!" I was so shocked that that came out of my mouth, I literally turned around to see who heard me say it. All the older kids were staring at me (they know how I feel on this subject) they started to protest,"but Mom! You said..."

"I know what I said" I declared helplessly... "I've changed my mind!" In a moment of desperation, I sold my morals for a temporary quick-fix. Each kid is different though, maybe this time it will be a huge success and I won't regret it! (hope hope hope hope hope!)

Angel's eyes lit up, she happily went pee pee and then gleefully collected one jelly bean.

So now we have a potty chart above the toilet, and every time Angel goes #1 she gets a small sticker and a small treat. For two days she has gone potty 90% of the time in the potty and has even been wearing underwear! We haven't made any progress on #2 however, despite the bribes of a BIG sticker and a BIG treat.

Well, time will tell if this will work or backfire like it has in the past for me. So far, so good, though. Angel is pretty excited about all the hoopla. She's crazy about stickers, and it's making her feel pretty darn special that she is the ONLY one in the house getting cute little valentine treats. Older siblings are jealous of that, but older siblings also have money that they wasted away on trashy candy from the Dollar Tree....and then hoarded in their room refusing to share it with Angel.

Naughty Naughty Dog

These last two weeks Lucy the incorrigible beagle has picked up a new bad habit.

We raised her as a puppy to never go back into the bedrooms. She is only allowed in the front of the house. For the last 3 years she's been pretty good about it. But the kids and Hubby have wanted me to relent and let Lucy back there.

Well in light of her new bad habit, I'm not too excited about that idea.

Last week we began to find chewed up diapers scattered about the back yard. I was wondering how they got out there. Then I began seeing Lucy, sneaking into the back bathroom when she thought no one was looking. She'd grab a diaper from the trash, then sneak it outside to chew beneath the trampoline.

She used to do it occasionally, but now it's a daily fetish. When I got back from the store yesterday I found ALL of the diapers lined up in a row across her bed in the house.

YUCK YUCK YUCK YUCK YUCK YUCK YUCK YUCK YUCK !

SO now NO ONE is allowed to put any diaper in the inside trash cans. Straight to the garage they go!

Naughty dog has also discovered Jewel as a new source of food. The high chair, excersaucer, and other eating places are her new regular haunts. Today I saw her throwing a biter biscuit she had stolen from Jewel around the backyard. She likes to play with her food before she eats it.

School House Rock!

I just want to say that School House Rock....rocks!

I grew up with watching School house rock shorts between Saturday morning cartoons. I loved them then, but I like them a whole lot better now! They are so clever! And catchy. They get stuck in your head.

They are great resources for homeschooling, too. Their songs for teaching grammar can't be beat. The Science and math songs are also fun. But my favorites are the ones about America.

The kids and I just memorized the Preamble to the Constitution. We've been singing it non-stop since first listening to it on a CD from the library. So for fun today we looked it up youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30OyU4O80i4&feature=related

look up "We the People" or "Preamble" under the topic of America school house rock.

So much fun!

Scary Dentist Trip Part 2

So I had to go to the dentist this week. Three more fillings. At least this time I wasn't as scared. Knowing that they were regular cavities instead of possible root canals helped.

I got four shots of novacaine all on the left side of my mouth. I was numb from my eyebrow down to my chin! Even my ear was numb!

Last week after my one big cavity was filled, I tried to eat when my mouth was numb and as a result my jaw was sore for days. So this time, I got smart and ate right BEFORE I went in.

I am so grateful that I did since it took FIVE WHOLE HOURS for all the numbness to wear off.

That night at dinner when I could finally chew, I realized my teeth didn't fit together right. I couldn't chew without pain because where two of the fillings were, my teeth were banging together.

Very discouraged, I had to make another trip to the dentist the next morning. The dentist drilled and polished down the two offending cavity fillings, and so far so good. (except for a sensitivity to both hot and cold, but they say that is normal-bleh!)

I hope that it is a very very very long time before I have to go and sit back in the dentist chair!

This is the prayer that never ends...

Guess who out of all our kids, (including the parents!) says the longest prayers?!?


Angel!

She just recently began wanting to say her prayers by herself, without any help. This is impressive for a two year old. Especially considering that 5 year old Duckie still likes occasional help.

But just this week, Angel has discovered that she holds a lot of unprecedented power when she volunteers to pray for family or mealtime prayers. Everyone in the family stops whatever it was that they were doing and listens to HER. What 2 year old (and 4th child) wouldn't love that kind of attention?

So her prayers have turned into a list, where she thanks God for everything that crosses her mind, and then she starts talking to him like he's right there next to her and He's her best friend. It's so adorable. It's a WONDERFUL thing! With such childlike innocence and faith, it's a great example to all of us.

But what do you do when the prayer doesn't end? What do you do if 20 plus minutes have passed? If you interrupt Angel, or try to prompt her in anyway, she gets very upset. Offended, she insists on having to start over from the very beginning.

Tonight this happened for her bedtime prayers. It went on forever, so cute, rambling on about how she loves baby Jewel, and how she ate blue jello, and about all the books we just read...etc....etc. and then she'd pause, for a really really long time trying to figure out what to say, but if I prompted her to close the prayer. She'd shout "NO, MOM! I SAY THE PRAYER! NOT YOU! I SAY THE PRAYER!" and then she'd start all over. After the 4th time this happened, the ludicrous situation got to me and I started giggling uncontrollably. Angel was just too cute, and the situation was just too funny. I had been trying to hold it in for some time.

Angel was very delighted with this turn of events, as it garnered her more attention. Now she was even more excited to say another prayer. I guess Mom doesn't laugh enough, Angel was impressed that Mom could giggle.

But as it was now almost 1 hour past her bedtime with the multiple prayers repeated over and over, I had to put an end to it, cut it short and just turn off the lights and tuck her in bed.

Angel had a melt down and threw a fit. And I felt really bad and guilty for doing it. What parent tells their child to STOP praying? That's just fundamentally wrong!

*sigh*

I have a feeling that Angel might fit this whole episode into a regular part of her nighttime routine. If so, I'll need to try and find a more tactful way of ending her prayers early, but reasoning with a strong willed 2 year old is no easy task!

I'm glad she likes saying prayers, though. I have another daughter who still has a hard time wanting to pray meaningfully, so I'll count my blessings.

I guess I just need to be more patient. And schedule an extra hour into the girls' bedtime routine!!!

The Blankie Queen

Angel is the ultimate Blankie Queen. If she had only one toy, and it was a blanket, she'd be happy! Her use of the blanket reminds me of Arthur Dent's use of a towel in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy book series. It is her most indispensable item. Don't you wish a blankie could make you this happy?

I can do it Myself!

Most kids hit the I can do it myself stage by the time they are two, but Angel who is almost 3 just hit it recently. Now she wants to buckle her own seatbelt, cross the street by herself, go up and down stairs and run down steep inclines, all with no help from Mom. It's hard for her to understand why I can let her do some things herself (like clean up her own spills) but not let her do other things by herself (like walking across a busy parking lot). It makes for a lot of melt-downs and crying. I have the greatest sympathy for her predicament....but I hope she outgrows it soon!

Here are some pictures back when Angel was happily potty training of her personal Declaration of Independence....I DO IT MYSELF, MOM!

Happy Angel!

Pinewood Derby

It's the LAST Pinewood Derby!!!

Wow, I can't believe it, but last week was Einstein's 3rd and last pinewood derby race with the cub scouts.

The first year Einstein's car won 2nd place, only losing one race...to a girl. It won the award for the most unusual looking car. (he painted it himself, no outside help)

The second year Einstein's car won pretty well, but there were several creative cars. Two memorable ones were Cordon's who made his look like a watermelon slice, and Sanford who made his an army tank.

This third and last year, Einstein made a submarine, which was really fun, but it didn't race all that well. Too blocky. But it was so much fun to make and paint and race, he didn't mind. This year Cousin Sanford made a battleship. The boys loved racing them. Instead of leaving them on shelves to collect dust, they want to play with them!

A Menagerie

I always knew it would happen!

My husband, Manly, just loves animals of all kinds. (except cats!) :P

Manly helps Angel check out Aunt Mary's baby chicks on Easter

So I knew he would follow in the footsteps of his father and pick up animals of all different kinds until our house was a true family circus....a menagerie!

Right before I gave birth to Louisa, he came home with a gerbil because he said he was lonely for an animal to play with. I said to him, "Isn't a new baby good enough?" He said "No, I need a pet!"

We already had a beta fish and a frog. What he REALLY wanted was a bulldog, but since our current rental didn't allow dogs, he had settled on a gerbil. It was a cute intelligent little thing that we named "Trouble" but it did smell horrible! Einstein loved it too....he's just like his Daddy. The only family member who didn't really care about it was me....I admit it...I'm NOT an animal person!
Our fish tank is only 10 gallons, and the kids are always begging for a HUGE one with lots of tropical fish. Duckie thinks she wants her own Nemo fish. But considering how expensive those are to maintain, it's not happening any year soon!

When we moved to our new rental house in Oregon, the first thing Manly did was purchase a 10 gallon fish tank and fill it full of fish. It was his Father's Day present. We still had the gerbil. It lived in Einstein's room, and the fish tank made a great nightlight for the girls room. I discovered to my dismay, that fish can smell bad too! (yuck)

Then we moved into our first house. It came WITH a dog! Everyone was so excited. It was a well trained, adorable daschund named Neuman. We had it for two years until tragedy hit. He loved jumping into our laps, but the last time he ever tried it I was 9 months pregnant with Angel. My tummy was so big, I didn't have much lap left. So he bounced off of my belly and hit his back wrong on the floor. He injured his back really bad, and lost all feeling in the lower half of his body. His back legs didn't work at all, and he had no control over urinating. We tried for a few weeks to use medicine and dr. visits, hoping he would heal, but it wasn't getting any better. We were having a new baby in a few days, and we couldn't care for him in his present condition. Two days before we had Angel, we put Neuman to sleep. It was a very hard, heart-breaking decision.

Everyone in the family (and yes even me sometimes) missed having a dog in the house. So when Angel was 7 months old, we got a Beagle puppy, our little hyper mischevious Lucy.

A few months later, Manly came home with a bunch of New Zealand Black bunnies. That started our bunny business. We now have Californians, and some American Whites as well.

Grandma Jean holds a baby New Zealand on EasterHere, Cousin Katie pets an albino New Zealand. Every Easter at my Mom's house, we bring our bunnies, and my sister brings her baby chicks! A fun new tradition!Grandma Linda loves our baby bunnies

Someday when we own land, I know Manly will enjoy getting all kinds of farm animals, as well as other miscellanious pets. We already have 5 chickens hanging out in our garden, and we hope our neighbors will be forgiving. (we're not quite clear on how legal it is, but its worth it to try an get some free range eggs!)

Here are my sister Mary's kid goats, hanging out at Dallas City park during Sanford's Birthday party. Here the goat is trying out some lemonade!

Our current animal collecion includes a Leapard Gecko which is one of Einstein's prize possessions, but our menagerie is nothing compared to what Manly grew up with! Oh the stories you can hear his Dad tell!

Here is Einstein's Leapard Gecko hanging out on his shoulder.

Besides many varied cats and dogs, my in-laws have owned: an Emu, 2 baby joey kangaroos, a monkey, alligators, turtles, hedgehogs, prairie dogs, snakes, birds, pigeons and mice for the snakes, tarantulas, a black widow spider, racoons, opossums, and probably a few more that I haven't heard of yet!

I'm glad Manly's interest in animals goes more towards cows and other farm animals rather than the exotic kinds, but really, who knows what kinds of animals we'll end up with someday.

I'm not too thrilled about it all, but I'm happy to go along with the flow because it brings such wonderful learning experiences for my children! Duckie takes care of Lucy, Louisa takes care of the chickens, and Einstein feeds and waters all the rabbits, as well as caring for the fish and the gecko. I'm glad my children can learn to love and take good care of animals. I am grateful that they have real chores and responsibilities that have to be done each day.

But, I truly feel like our house has been transformed into a menagerie!

Thankfully, our menagerie currently doesn't have an octopus! Duckie here is our fishy girl. Mention anything that lives under the sea, and you bet she'd love to have one of her very own! Even an Octopus!

This is the reason we won't ever own an octopus. *wink* This one at the Oregon aquarium thought Einstein would make a tasty snack.

Baby Want a Cracker?

Yummy first cracker!

Even though she's had very little solid food, she did great with it!

No teeth yet, that's okay, Mommy can wait a few more months!

Scary Dentist Trip

On Monday, Manly and I went to the dentist for the first time in 18 months.

We let crazy work schedules, lots of kids, and a pregnancy get in the way of regular dental visits. Whenever Scott's schedule would get changed, I'd cancel our appointments and then forget about them. I wasn't too worried. We were brushing, right? We'd gone way longer between visits and so I thought this one would be no big deal. I've only had one small cavity in the last 7 years. So what could be the worst, one more cavity?

Well, I should have been more careful! Either I haven't flossed and brush nearly as good as I thought, or that last baby sucked the enamel right off my teeth! After my tooth x-rays came out on film, I noticed the dentist and hygienist bent over the display for a very very long time.

Not good!

It turns out that I had 4 cavities. One noticeably big and yucky, the other two more normal. But the last was one really really big cavity where the tooth was rotting from the inside out, and it had grown so big it was very close the nerve. My dentist wondered how a cavity could grow that big in just 18 months. He told me it was so close to the nerve that they might have to do a root canal.

Now I know some of you out there may think that a root canal is no big deal, but I have two friends who have had negative and painful experiences with it...and so I was VERY freaked out.
I was hoping I might be lucky enough to live my entire life without a single root canal.

The dentist said that they wouldn't be able to tell how bad the tooth was until they opened it up and looked inside. But he wanted to take care of it ASAP.

So this morning, I got to sit in that horrible chair and be drilled into. It's so funny, I brought a book on my mp3 player to listen to so I could relax and be distracted from the shots and drills, etc. But I was so scared and nervous that I couldn't even concentrate on the book. I ended up just turning it off and doing deep-breath relaxation exercises. (I was shaking so bad I was worried that I wouldn't be able to keep my mouth open, or that I would bump the dentist so that he made a big mistake.)

When the dentist looked inside my tooth he said, "This is a very deep cavity. I can see the nerve, but it doesn't look damaged in any way. At least it's not bleeding. So even though you are in the gray area, we're going to be conservative and do a filling today instead of a root canal."

*big sigh of relief*

But then he informed me that we wouldn't know if the filling was successful till later, and that in the future the nerve might give me pain. He said I could expect tooth sensitivity to hot and cold and pressure for a few weeks, but that if the pain became severe, I needed to come back in and they would take care of it with a root canal.

So I might have to go through this on the same tooth again? YIKES!

So I've got my fingers crossed, and in the meantime my tooth hurts, and my jaw is very sore. I think this is my new weight loss solution. If you can only eat soft and liquid foods because your mouth hurts, you are bound to lose weight!

One cavity down, three more fillings to go....

Potty Training Trials

Last week in the middle of our household of sickness, Angel decided she wanted to potty train!

The first day she was amazing! She spent the whole day in underwear and didn't have any accidents. She was just so excited to do it all herself! It was amazing to watch. She even insisted on carrying the little potty cup to the big potty and flushing it all out herself.

I began to let myself have hope. Perhaps I would have one child who was easy to potty train? The kind of child who independently does most of it themselves?

Too good to be true.

She actually did pretty good that week, even though she had a few accidents everyday. I gave her lots of praise, and she loved all the attention. She loved wearing underwear. She loved how easy it was to take on and off herself.

But then the same thing occurred that has happened to every single of my potty trained girls. They discovered that it was WORK to have to sit on the potty. An INCONVENIENCE. They would rather play, eat, etc. than interrupt their day with a potty trip. And so because of this, Angel began having more accidents. Each day she regressed more and lost more interest in the potty. And just like my other girls, she discovered she liked the freedom and feel of the underwear, but she still wanted to treat them like diapers.

Now she hates diapers and only wants to wear underwear, but she has no interest in keeping them clean...so back to diapers she goes!

At this point I could bring out the potty charts and use all kinds of motivational rewards, but I'm really opposed to that kind of thing because in my experience, they just don't work in the long run. The kids get so focused on the reward, they can't concentrate on what they are suppose to learn. And several of my kids became potty trained temporarily for a big present or trip, and then went right back to regular accidents as soon as they had obtained their one time goal.

So right now, I think I'll just wait a while...wait until warmer weather so my child doesn't have freezing legs from sitting half naked on the potty all day. (our house is often quite chilly with heat only from a wood burning stove) Praise, attention, and the thrill of being a big kid should be enough motivation for any kid! The pioneer kids didn't have sticker charts, and they learned to use an outhouse just fine!

Angel is perfectly capable at this point in potty training herself with no help from me! I saw it that first day. So I'll wait, and hopefully she will become interested again sometime soon!

Dotson Potty Training History

When Einstein was 3 years old, we started potty training, and it took about 3 months to be completely accident free. I thought it a huge trial at the time, and was excited that my second child was a girl because I heard that girls were so much easier than boys. He did respond pretty well to a potty chart. He was eager to please, so it wasn't too hard. We went to the zoo to celebrate when he was 100% there. He has been my easiest kid to potty train so far, even if he did like to sneak away and hide behind doors to make his accidents. He outgrew that relatively fast.

With Louisa I discover the theory that girls are easier than boys a big pack of lies. I tried to start her at 2 1/2 because she was so far advanced in everything else, but she fought me hard (she loves power, and has to have complete control over her own life) so I gave her a break. I tried again at 3 yrs and it was just a horrible ordeal. She was so terrified of the potty, that it took 18 months till she was accident free. It was literally a nightmare. There were a couple of months where I felt like we couldn't even leave the house. I thought it would never end. We had a couple of medical problems in the meanwhile: she had to take regular medication and that did help a little bit. I learned more potty training tips than I ever wanted to know...and NONE of it worked with Louisa. She was beyond the books. At one point, I bought her a new care bear she was coveting, and I hung it from the ceiling. I told her she could have it when she was accident free for two weeks. Well she was, she got the bear, and then a few days later she regressed to the usual. It took months more to help her overcome her particular issues. I let her keep the bear, she had kept her side of the bargain, after all. I never told her she had to be accident free forever!

With Duckie, I thought she would be a breeze because she was always so in tune with her body. She was always the princess and the pea, so aware of the slightest problem to take offense at. She is still that way today. (Today she spent an entire hour crying because her black tights had a tiny hole over her toe and it bothered her) At first, she did terrific, like Louisa at the very beginning, but then it all went downhill. We had a year of drama and accidents. She wasn't fully potty trained till 4 years old. I got to the point where I made her clean up all her own messes and even start her own dirty laundry. That didn't even phase her. She just grew out of it when she was ready....and it took a horrible long time.

Angel....will she be easier than the last two? I hope so! You hear stories of kids who potty train themselves in one day with no accidents ever...and you have to wonder, are those kids real? What do you have to do to get a kid like that?

Einstein's first NEW YEARS PARTY

Einstein has never stayed up till midnight before. He has never rung in the new year. So he was SO SO SO excited when we told him that 10 years old was old enough to stay up and celebrate with Mom and Dad! I half expected him to fall asleep on the couch, but he surprised me by being chipper the whole time.

Einstein piles all the party hats on his head, ready to stay up late and party!

Except this time, he got to stay up with just Mom since Dad had to work. We would call Dad right before midnight so we could be together in spirit!

The other kids were very disappointed and jealous, but I assured them that their time would come! This didn't make them feel much better, and Louisa stayed up till 11 p.m. reading books in her bed with a flashlight.

To make it up to the little ones, we did most of the celebrating with them with lots of games and treats. Then, at 9 p.m. we watched the ball drop on the internet and opened traditional party crackers. We also saved some for midnight as well.
All those party hats came out of the crackers.

Einstein thought it was pretty cool to stay up and watch movies and play games. While Einstein watched ROBOTS, I played on my blog, and then we watched the ball drop and opened our party crackers while on the phone with Daddy at work.

It was a very quiet NEW YEARS, but I'm happy about that. We have future years ahead with 5 teenagers in the house and loud parties...I am in no rush to get there!

Einstein gets ready to open his party cracker at the stroke of midnight.

Why all mothers hate markers!

WHY ALL(or most) MOTHERS HATE MARKERS!

Doesn't Angel look so happy with herself for having sucked all the juice out of the green marker? Mommy wasn't too pleased, but decided to record it for posterity.

I just wanted to post this to illustrate (ha ha) why it is that most, if not all mothers hate markers.

1. Kids suck on them and get multi-colored mouths, babies will too if they can get them.
2. Your child likes to treat markers like fingernail polish for their hands.
3. Your kids draw on their siblings as a way to get revenge.
4. Your kids think that it's cool to make their own body tattoos.
5. Marker ends up on your mirrors(my kids treat it like a white board).
6. Marker on your couches.
7. Marker all over the desk or table, anywhere EXCEPT the paper.
8. Guest children not accustomed to markers, draw on any available object, such as pillow cases or mattresses. (happened yesterday)
9. Markers lose all their lids and then dry out and waste your money.
10. And of course, Marker on your white walls...it's the biggest, most accessible white easel available.

Then, at long last, the mother with secret glee throws them all away!

(I usually do that once a year, but right now I'm trying not to because Louisa is such an artist and relies on them daily)

These pictures aren't modest, but I had to take them to show to Duckie when she grows up so she can have compassion when her own children do this! She covered herself from head to toe in marker, and drew a pink sun around her belly button. She was pretty proud of herself, and it took over a week for the marker to fully fade.
This is what happened when she and her cousin were left to themselves for a few minutes.
Duckie looks like a combination between a Celtic warrior and the Illustrated Lady of a circus.

House of the Sick

This last week has been pretty miserable.

It started last Sunday with Jewel being extra fussy. She cried a lot and didn't want to take her naps. That night she came down with a high fever. She spent a good part of the night crying and pulling at her ears. So, I assumed that she had another double ear infection. Since she had just overcome some ear infections, and I had given her antibiotics for it, I was loathe to give her any more drugs. The fact that I had just finished treating both her and I for thrush added weight to my reluctance.
Here is baby Jewel with a purple mouth from being treated with Gentian Violet for treating the thrush.

So I decided to wait another 24hrs before taking her to the doctor. I tried some herbal and homeopathic remedies. None of it seemed to help. That night she was worse with more fever and hours of inconsolable crying. I was really worried about her, and decided I had to take her into the Doctor to make sure it really was her ears, because what if it were something worse?

I left all the kids with my sister and got Jewel checked out. My pediatrician gave me good news and bad news. The good news was that her ears were fine. No sign of an infection. The bad news is that she definitely was sick with a virus which meant there was not much any of us could do about it. We'd just have to wait it out.

That very night, Angel got a really high fever. No matter how hot her head burned, she said she felt cold and was shivering. The next morning she began complaining of ear pain. We thought she probably caught the cold Jewel has and maybe we could treat her earache with natural remedies instead of making another long trip to the doctor. Since we knew a virus was the main cause, antibiotics might not have done anything anyway.
Here is Angel feeling sick with a fever, happily snuggling down under her favorite blankies.

The day after Angel got sick, Duckie began wilting. Little happy, bouncy Duckie who is usually bouncing off the walls and getting into mischief, sat drooping on the couch. I could tell just by looking at her eyes that she had a fever. Her fever lasted 3 days, with occasional stomache pain. I'm assuming that Duckie got the same cold that Jewel and Angel had, but that their symptoms manifested themselves differently.

The worst part of Jewel's illness was her congestion. She was so congested she could eat hardly anything. It was very frustrating for both her and me. She'd try to eat, and then choke, and then cry and cry in frustration and rage. After a few days, she stopped trying to nurse at all, and would just cry because she was hungry. I had to pump breastmilk to keep myself from getting an infection. Jewel could drink from a bottle and eat baby food, but she couldn't nurse. Even when her congestion started to break up, it took a while to convince her to nurse again because she had developed such a negative experience around it. Heartbreaking!

Thankfully, that only lasted a day or two. I'm not sure I could handle much more of it. Nobody in the house was getting any rest. We used a lot of steam (warm moisture) and baby vicks vapour rub to give her as much comfort as we possibly could. Baby Jewel could only sleep if she was mostly upright. By Thursday, her severe congestion began to break up. I am so grateful to see her getting better now after a week of illness. It's so nice to sleep at night again instead of spending hours walking the house with a screaming baby. It's so nice to see her being happy and smiling again! She's finally letting me put her down to play instead of demanding to be held 24/7.

So far, Einstein and Louisa are the only ones who haven't gotten ill. Manly and I have both felt under the weather during this week, but we feel like we've fought the cold off. Having 3 kids sick at once was pretty crazy. Nothing in the house got done, and even dinner fell by the wayside. Everyone had to fend for themselves part of the time.

I'm so happy that everyone seems to be on the mend. Angel's ear is still bothering her a little bit, but she doesn't have a fever anymore, and I think it is making progress. I'm crossing my fingers that it stays that way! There's nothing like a little opposition to make you appreciate your own health and that of your family's! Good health it truly one of the greatest blessings that anyone can have!

Just today, however, Jewel has been crying again and pulling at her ears. I'm hoping it's just teething and not another earache!

I'm wishing and hoping for a very healthy 2009!

Girls Club by Louisa

GIRLS CLUB THOUGHTS!

The next Girls Club I'm going to is about Laura Ingalls Wider!

I'm supposed to bring a photo and a story my mom or dad told me.

I just can't decide!!!

Maybe I should do something real life, like when I played golf.

Or maybe something pretend, like me turning into a unicorn.

Oh,the possibilities!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good bye!!!!!!!!!!

THE END!(Louisa)

Mr. Popper's Penguins: a Book Review by Einstein

Yesterday I read Mr. Popper's Penguins.

It is a book about a man named Mr. Popper who has a job as a house decorator and painter. He wrote a letter to Admiral Drake who was doing an exploration of the Antarctic. One day on the radio they were broadcasting from the Antarctic, and they said hello to Mr. Popper and to expect a surprise.

The next day a package arrived in the mail. It was the biggest package Mr. Popper ever saw. It said, "Keep Cool." and "Fragile." He opened it up and then a Penguin jumped out! Mr. Popper was surprised! He named the Penguin Captain Cook. He filled up the bathtub with cold water and gave him a bath.

The Penguin explored the house. The family decided the penguin's house would be the ice box. Mr. Popper called the refrigerator man to put holes in the refrigerator door. The fix it man thought Mr. Popper was crazy. He also had a handle put on the inside of the door. The penguin liked his new home but then he started to do some odd things. He got lots of things from around the house like string, and bouncy balls....he was trying to make a nest out of them! Instead the family made a nest for him out of ice cubes.

Then Captain Cook got very ill. They thought the man who owned a nearby aquarium would know how to help heal him. This man owned another penguin who was also very ill. They thought the penguins were sick because they were lonely. So Mr. Popper got another penguin from the aquarium man and named her Greta. The Popper family installed a freezer plant in the basement and a furnace upstairs. It was worth it to keep the penguins cold and the family warm. Now they had almost no money left, so the freezer man let them do it all on credit.

The penguins lived in the basement. A few days later laid they laid an egg! Then another, and another, till there were 10 eggs in all! There wasn't enough room under Greta for all 10 eggs so they kept them warm with hot water bottles and electric blankets. The freezer plant didn't make small ice cubes, but big hunks of ice, so there was an ice castle in the basement for the penguins to slide on. The eggs all hatched, making cute fuzzy baby penguins. The family bought live fish to feed them all, but they were very expensive and had to be individually shipped.

Mrs. Popper began worrying about food and money. Mr. Popper then had an idea of training the penguins and turning them into a show! First they trained them to march like a parade, then he trained them to pretend fight. They called up the manager of a big theater, Mr. Greenbottom, to see the penguins. He let the penguins rehearse at his place. The Poppers traveled by bus, but the passengers complained, and so the Poppers and the penguins all had to get off and walk the rest of the way.

The Popper's act was a success! Soon they were performing all across America and they were famous. The family slept at fancy hotels, but the fish for the penguins were too expensive. So they began feeding them Owen's Organic Shrimp. Mr. Popper had a new idea, he wrote "Mr.Popper's Penguins Thrive on Owen's Organic Shrimp", and the company owner loved the advertisement so much that he gave them coupons for free shrimp anytime, anywhere. There was also a spinach and oats company, who wanted Mr. Popper to say his penguins thrived on eating their products, but Mr. Popper refused because he was honest and he knew his penguins would never eat spinach or oats. He did this even though the large sum of money they offered would be very useful.

One day the Popper's Penguins went to the wrong theater and ruined their current show. The theater Manager was angry and they all got sent to jail. Then Admiral Drake came and freed them from jail. He was so surprised to find out Mr. Popper now had 12 penguins! Admiral Drake wanted to set up a colony of penguins up in the north arctic. But Mr. Greenbottom wanted to put the Penguins in the movies. They gave Mr. Popper a day to make a decision. Mr. Popper decided the penguins should get to move north with Admiral Drake. Mr. Popper and the children were invited to come to, and they did.

I loved this book because it is about Penguins, and it's really funny and a very good book. I hope you will like to read it too.


Here is a picture of the author, Einstein, with a favorite activity: a book!

THE END.

Charlotte Mason Education

As a homeschooling Mom, I am always on the lookout for new helps and tips when it comes to education. I've heard many people talk about Charlotte Mason Education, and I've heard it recommended by many who are seeking a "Leadership Education" (Thomas Jefferson Education).

My sister-in-law sent me some great websites I wanted to post here for any interested in finding out more:

simplycharlottemason.com is the basic website. I was very pleased to find more information about this method of learning, and I think I will begin applying it more to our homeschool.

I found out to my delight, I was familiar with many of Charlotte Mason's methods from using 2 years of Sonlight Curriculum.

This link leads you to a list of the basic methods Charlotte Mason used:

http://simplycharlottemason.com/basics/started/charlotte-mason-method/

I like for my kids to memorize scriptures, and we haven't been doing it recently, but this way of doing it trumps all others, check it out:

http://simplycharlottemason.com/timesavers/memorysys/

I'm going to begin doing our family scripture memorization this way!!!

A new home for the chickens, by Louisa

A new home for the chickens!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!By Louisa!!!!!!!!!The chickens made themselves a new home in the garden!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!The chickens are probably thinking..................We are free!!!!!We are free!!!!!Today I fed the chickens by throwing their food and saying........................................here chick chick chick chickie!!!!!!!!!They crowded around the food and started pecking.the end!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Never, ever assume!

Four kids in the Four Corners of the USA!

When it comes to kids, never EVER assume they know something! Be willing to teach them over and over and OVER again.

I have rediscovered this principle this week. A few days ago I was horrified to find out that Angel has NO clue how dangerous and sharp knives are. She's almost 3 years old and I thought she would have picked this up by now from all my other lectures to the children.

wrong. wrong. WRONG!

I was doing the dishes, and Angel was right next to me. There were some knives on a cutting board next to me. She has never shown even the slightest inclination to pick a knife up before. But this time she picked up a big steak knife saying, " Mommy look!" And then stabbed it on her forehead right above her eyeball. I nearly screamed. But I collected myself, collected all the knives WAY out of her reach. I began my very very dangerous lecture that I thought she knew. Thank goodness the knife didn't break skin. You could say she's only two years old (almost 3) and just doesn't know better....but she's always shown so much good common sense above her age level, that maybe I was over estimating her abilities by leaving those knives within reach. At least I was right there next to her!

ANOTHER ILLUSTRATION:

A few days before Christmas I saw Duckie laying next to the Christmas tree. She was staring at the outlet by which the Christmas tree was plugged in. I stepped closer to see what she was doing, I nearly fainted in panic! She was repeatedly sticking some tiny thin plastic toy in and out of the holes in the outlet!!!! I am so glad it was plastic and not some other material, or my sweet daughter might no longer be with us. Nevertheless, I was thoroughly freaked out that she acted as if she had NO CLUE that outlets were dangerous. On to my dangerous: don't touch! lecture again. I know I've taught her this before, but obviously, once is NEVER enough.

So if you are reading this and you have young children, please take the time to reaquaint them with any household dangers: poison, outlets, knives, cold cereal, whatever. The whole kit and caboodle. Once is NEVER enough.


I first learned this a year ago when our family was on vacation. We were driving in the dark toward Carlsbad, New Mexico and all the kids were eating cold cereal for dinner in the back of the car. I asked them if they were done eating because they were playing around and goofing off, and Duckie answered, "What did you say? I can't hear really well because of these Kix stuck in my ears."

I thought she was joking. She wasn't.

Ensued a family emergency that has since become a classic family story that all the kids laugh about. But it wasn't funny at the time. Duckie stuck one kix in each ear, because she thought it would be funny. But then she couldn't get them back out. We tried with flashlight and tweezers to grab them, but they just fell further in. We arrived at the hotel in Carlsbad at 11 p.m. and tried to flush them out with water. I think it would have worked if Duckie had cooperated, but there was no way to convince her we were trying to help. She was in pure panic mode. So after talking to Manly's Dad who is a doctor, we elected to try and correct the problem at a Doctor's office in the morning instead of pulling an all-nighter at a hospital emergency room. Sure enough, next morning, the Doctor had no problem flushing the kix out of her ears with warm water. She was bribed with two lollipops to hold still. One lollipop for each ear. You can ask her about it today, and she will cheerfully tell you the whole story.

Because of that fiasco, we almost missed any chance to see the Carlsbad Caverns that we had driven so far out of our way to go see. The Dr. appt took so long that we got back in time to go with the very last tour of the caves before they closed everything down for the night.

Here is Manly holding Angel at the end of the long Carlsbad Cavern hike. We're in the carvern here and the photo is totally dark...you can't see any of the cool formations behind them.

That same morning, I found out to my chagrin who had taught Duckie to put kix in her ears. Einstein had done it first! Only difference is that he was able to get the kix out of his ears before we found out about Duckie. If he hadn't told me about it, I would never had known. Things you THINK your 9 year old son would know. So we drilled them "What do you put in your ears?" "Nothing!" they are supposed to reply.

Just a few months after this scenario, you think Duckie would have learned her lesson. But I found her sticking popcorn kernals up her nose! They almost got stuck, but we got lucky that time. When I asked her why she did it, she said she was trying to smell the popcorn smell on them, and when she stuck them up her nose they felt funny.

I think I'll stop asking "Why?" The answers from children never satisfy!

And if you ever happen to ask Angel why she did anything...no matter what it is, she'll always answer, "I don't know!" in the silliest tone of voice.

Here the whole family is at the famous UFO museum in ROSWELL, NM