coming home :)
I did stay the 'extra' day because of a c-section but sometime today we'll have all 7 of the Cornish family in one place!
Lynae was brought to me around 6 this morning because she was fussing... she's only been away from me maybe for 2 two-hour blocks of time last night. She's content as ever laying on my chest as I type this, though. Such a sweet beautiful baby girl! Off to begin the day so we can come home in a little while :)
The Cornish Family... Chasing God's calling...
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Happy 3rd Birthday Micah!
On Saturday morning we celebrated Micah’s 3rd birthday, but today is the day! Here are a few pictures of the birthday boy enjoying the grandparents and aunts and uncles. We did a very low-key birthday party for him this year (can’t imagine why…) but he had a great time :)
Of course it’s only Sunday when I’m writing this (nope, not nearly THAT dedicated of a blogger to be putting this all together after having a c-section!) but… today (Thursday) Micah should be coming up to visit and meet his new baby sister :)
All 4 kids love this truck. Micah thinks he should ride it everywhere :)
The balloon that Aunt Elizabeth sent was a big hit with the birthday boy :) Doesn’t he look BIG in this picture??
Uncle Robert… my brother. The kids were glad to see him!
Grandma with the birthday boy
Grandmommy getting in some snuggles
Yes… he REALLY liked the balloon :)
Everyone helping open packages. K and B were really good about just looking… Emma wanted IN on all the action though :)
Micah figured out how to unwrap gifts pretty quickly :) Ok… he looks little again on Daddy’s lap!
Kristopher drew our family and Brianna colored to decorate their gift to Micah. I love seeing Kristopher’s artwork :) All the beautiful colors are from Brianna LOL
Brianna’s getting the hang of this… Micah… loves to spin it and look at it. Once he figures it out I think he’ll love it tho :)
Thanks Grandmommy for making the cake! It’s very cute (and there was no way for me to squeeze in one more thing this week! LOL)!
Micah didn’t want the cake near him. He was sure someone might make him eat it. Poor guy, he’s still on just mashed foods and even spit out the pudding that Mike mashed some cake into. He liked the plain vanilla pudding I’d made just for him tho :)
Emma liked the cake!
K and Bria liked it too! (wow, Brianna looks so big in this one… what is happening? Are they allowed to grow this fast???)
My mom, Mike’s mom, Michael, Micah, and Mike’s Dad
My dad, my aunt and uncle :) Robert sat next to me and so did Emma so they didn’t make it into the pic’s!
This IS Micah’s personality. Tongue out, big grin, and ready to go :D
HAPPY 3rd
BIRTHDAY MICAH!!!
Pictures of baby Lynae Sarah
Waiting for her arrival
Lynae Sarah Cornish, born at 12:36 on 09.09.09, weighing 6lb, 4oz. She is 19” long!
Wednesday, September 09, 2009
Welcome newest Cornish!
Baby Girl Cornish arrived just after 12:30 today. She weighed in at 6 lbs 4oz 19 inches long. Baby and Mom are doing well.
I should have pictures later as well as a name!
I should have pictures later as well as a name!
We're headed to the hospital
The c-section is scheduled for 11am... thank you for supporting us in prayer for a safe delivery, a strong healthy baby, and a quick recovery! My sister, Elizabeth, will post when there's news to share :)
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
I THINK we're ready...
and if not, there's not much we can do about it :)
Can't wait to meet our newest daughter tomorrow!
Today we went in for pre-op "teaching" and I have to say... the volunteer that was asked to walk me from the 2nd floor to the 3rd floor was QUITE an interesting person. They require me to be escorted so she can use her badge to get me in on the maternity floor. But wow, I don't mind pressing the button and waiting for them to look through the window and admit me!
She arrives with a wheelchair-- after being told we don't need a wheelchair. At the clerk's insistence that I can walk just fine and the wheelchair isn't necessary and that patients are walked up all the time, the volunteer replied that SHE doesn't do it that way. So... sit I did. Who am I, at 9 months pregnant, to argue with a heated 70 yr old woman with a power issue that wants me to sit in the wheelchair?
So up to the 3rd floor where I told the volunteer Mike would be meeting us. She then asked me twice (quite seriously) if I was sure I knew him. Um... yes, he's my husband, baby's father, he's allowed in too... PROMISE.
The ladies at the desk just looked at me when being wheeled in and said "oh, um... hmm... never had someone wheeled in for pre-op before..." I just smiled as I stood up out of the wheelchair and said yes, well, she insisted I sit. The volunteer was leaving the room. I said I don't argue when there's no choice in the matter!
Pre-op was casual, the nurse was very nice and one that's also working tomorrow so that's always good.
My biggest concern is that having blood sugar issues I don't know how well I'll handle not being able to have ANY food or drink after midnight. I often feel lightheaded after getting up if I don't eat or drink anything and that's not a great way to start the day. I understand the 'safety' for the sake of anesthesia, but it seems an excessive amount of time to not even have a drink of water. The nurses shrugged and said it's not their rule, they can't say anything different. But no matter what time my surgery is scheduled, I still can't eat or drink after midnight. Hmm...
After pre-op we went to dinner with Mike's parents, my parents, and my brother and all the kids. It was a nice relaxing evening. Mike had to go back up to work to tie up some loose ends and should be home soon. K and B both fell asleep in my bed with me laying between them tonight. B was having trouble falling asleep and I let K stay in there too instead of going to bed as long as he laid nicely. He did ;)
Off to bed in an hour or so... but I'll take advantage of the midnight cut-off and have a glass of juice (which hopefully won't keep me awake too badly) before going to sleep. I'll have plenty of time to sleep tomorrow... right?
Can't wait to meet our newest daughter tomorrow!
Today we went in for pre-op "teaching" and I have to say... the volunteer that was asked to walk me from the 2nd floor to the 3rd floor was QUITE an interesting person. They require me to be escorted so she can use her badge to get me in on the maternity floor. But wow, I don't mind pressing the button and waiting for them to look through the window and admit me!
She arrives with a wheelchair-- after being told we don't need a wheelchair. At the clerk's insistence that I can walk just fine and the wheelchair isn't necessary and that patients are walked up all the time, the volunteer replied that SHE doesn't do it that way. So... sit I did. Who am I, at 9 months pregnant, to argue with a heated 70 yr old woman with a power issue that wants me to sit in the wheelchair?
So up to the 3rd floor where I told the volunteer Mike would be meeting us. She then asked me twice (quite seriously) if I was sure I knew him. Um... yes, he's my husband, baby's father, he's allowed in too... PROMISE.
The ladies at the desk just looked at me when being wheeled in and said "oh, um... hmm... never had someone wheeled in for pre-op before..." I just smiled as I stood up out of the wheelchair and said yes, well, she insisted I sit. The volunteer was leaving the room. I said I don't argue when there's no choice in the matter!
Pre-op was casual, the nurse was very nice and one that's also working tomorrow so that's always good.
My biggest concern is that having blood sugar issues I don't know how well I'll handle not being able to have ANY food or drink after midnight. I often feel lightheaded after getting up if I don't eat or drink anything and that's not a great way to start the day. I understand the 'safety' for the sake of anesthesia, but it seems an excessive amount of time to not even have a drink of water. The nurses shrugged and said it's not their rule, they can't say anything different. But no matter what time my surgery is scheduled, I still can't eat or drink after midnight. Hmm...
After pre-op we went to dinner with Mike's parents, my parents, and my brother and all the kids. It was a nice relaxing evening. Mike had to go back up to work to tie up some loose ends and should be home soon. K and B both fell asleep in my bed with me laying between them tonight. B was having trouble falling asleep and I let K stay in there too instead of going to bed as long as he laid nicely. He did ;)
Off to bed in an hour or so... but I'll take advantage of the midnight cut-off and have a glass of juice (which hopefully won't keep me awake too badly) before going to sleep. I'll have plenty of time to sleep tomorrow... right?
Monday, September 07, 2009
Happy Labor Day!
Seems like Labor day somehow gets thrown into the mix of Memorial Day and Veteran's Day by default... but Labor day is actually a day to celebrate... the American Worker :)
Just for fun, here's what the US Department of Labor says about the history of Labor Day...
Just for fun, here's what the US Department of Labor says about the history of Labor Day...
The History of Labor Day
Labor Day: How it Came About; What it Means
Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.
Founder of Labor Day
More than 100 years after the first Labor Day observance, there is still some doubt as to who first proposed the holiday for workers.
Some records show that Peter J. McGuire, general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and a cofounder of the American Federation of Labor, was first in suggesting a day to honor those "who from rude nature have delved and carved all the grandeur we behold."
But Peter McGuire's place in Labor Day history has not gone unchallenged. Many believe that Matthew Maguire, a machinist, not Peter McGuire, founded the holiday. Recent research seems to support the contention that Matthew Maguire, later the secretary of Local 344 of the International Association of Machinists in Paterson, N.J., proposed the holiday in 1882 while serving as secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York. What is clear is that the Central Labor Union adopted a Labor Day proposal and appointed a committee to plan a demonstration and picnic.
The First Labor Day
The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union. The Central Labor Union held its second Labor Day holiday just a year later, on September 5, 1883.
In 1884 the first Monday in September was selected as the holiday, as originally proposed, and the Central Labor Union urged similar organizations in other cities to follow the example of New York and celebrate a "workingmen's holiday" on that date. The idea spread with the growth of labor organizations, and in 1885 Labor Day was celebrated in many industrial centers of the country.
Labor Day Legislation
Through the years the nation gave increasing emphasis to Labor Day. The first governmental recognition came through municipal ordinances passed during 1885 and 1886. From them developed the movement to secure state legislation. The first state bill was introduced into the New York legislature, but the first to become law was passed by Oregon on February 21, 1887. During the year four more states — Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York — created the Labor Day holiday by legislative enactment. By the end of the decade Connecticut, Nebraska, and Pennsylvania had followed suit. By 1894, 23 other states had adopted the holiday in honor of workers, and on June 28 of that year, Congress passed an act making the first Monday in September of each year a legal holiday in the District of Columbia and the territories.
A Nationwide Holiday
The form that the observance and celebration of Labor Day should take were outlined in the first proposal of the holiday — a street parade to exhibit to the public "the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations" of the community, followed by a festival for the recreation and amusement of the workers and their families. This became the pattern for the celebrations of Labor Day. Speeches by prominent men and women were introduced later, as more emphasis was placed upon the economic and civic significance of the holiday. Still later, by a resolution of the American Federation of Labor convention of 1909, the Sunday preceding Labor Day was adopted as Labor Sunday and dedicated to the spiritual and educational aspects of the labor movement.
The character of the Labor Day celebration has undergone a change in recent years, especially in large industrial centers where mass displays and huge parades have proved a problem. This change, however, is more a shift in emphasis and medium of expression. Labor Day addresses by leading union officials, industrialists, educators, clerics and government officials are given wide coverage in newspapers, radio, and television.
The vital force of labor added materially to the highest standard of living and the greatest production the world has ever known and has brought us closer to the realization of our traditional ideals of economic and political democracy. It is appropriate, therefore, that the nation pay tribute on Labor Day to the creator of so much of the nation's strength, freedom, and leadership — the American worker.
The little things
In preparation for the baby, I know we have just ONE more full day... and that one day is already a little 'scheduled out'... school drop off, pick up, pre-op, and the unknown of the 'situation' at school which we may have to go in about. So today we're trying to do those little things that we can to have our home ready for me to leave for 2-4 days, for others to be here and taking care of our children, for the school week to go smoothly as far as things that I usually prepare, and for the house to be ready for our 7th family member when we come home.
Some of the things on the list for today... or the next few days if they don't get done :) :
Sounds like he's ready to be up so we're off to Wal-Mart then a relaxing afternoon at home while we get out clothes and make lunches :) Hey, those can be relaxing... right? I'll definitely be much more 'relaxed' when they're DONE!
Some of the things on the list for today... or the next few days if they don't get done :) :
- Finish painting the bathroom (Mike)
- Raise the crib mattress for baby
- Put the playpen w/ bassinet attachment up in the family room- safe spot for baby!
- Clean up spare playpen and set it up for Micah's early mornings in the living room
- Get baby's car seat ready- tags off and head insert in it
- Print 2-3 family photos to finally send them in to school
- Look back over our routines sheet and check if it's still accurate- add Micah's reflux meds on to it
- Pack this week's lunches
- Set out clothes for the 4 kids for the week in their hanging bins
- Have the twin mattress bagged and stored back in the garage from the guest room
- Grocery shop for the week
- Put away diapers that my parents brought over
- Re-install Brianna's car seat to tighten it, move the center buckle in, and move Emma's seat to the 3rd row
- Finish packing my hospital bag and Mike pack some clothes for himself
- Launder sheets on B, E, and M's beds and ours
- Put sheets on the guest bed
Sounds like he's ready to be up so we're off to Wal-Mart then a relaxing afternoon at home while we get out clothes and make lunches :) Hey, those can be relaxing... right? I'll definitely be much more 'relaxed' when they're DONE!
Obama's Speech Tomorrow
In case you're interested, the full speech is available at the White House website. I read it... it says do good at school. Nothing really controversial. I don't know how much Kristopher will even understand or if he'll know that's the president before they tell him :) My only concern was if the classroom/teacher activities were going to be more politically based since those aren't regulated by what has to be said. But Kristopher will be attending on Tuesday and will hear the speech with the rest of the class and I'm sure all will be fine.
The lesson plans for the teachers to use are also available at the White House link above.
The lesson plans for the teachers to use are also available at the White House link above.
Sunday, September 06, 2009
Trucking along
It's been a busy few days, but very good as well!
Saturday we had Micah's birthday party. A VERY low-key party with just some local family but he had a good time and that's the idea :) Pictures to come... His birthday is Wednesday!
After the party we got the kids set up with lunch and Mike's mom stayed and let him and I go out for one last day away before the baby arrives. We headed over to Orlando, grabbed some sandwiches for lunch, window shopped (and did a little bit of 'real' shopping too), and just walked around and talked. Then we went out to dinner at TGIF and came back to town just as the kids should be going down. So... we detoured to Wal-Mart because our arrival would make bedtime last another 30 minutes :).
We filled in the few gaps we had of necessary baby items. Found a 'bath sling/seat' that will fit inside our bigger toddler tub rather than buying a baby tub... picked up a few other mommy essentials for the first days home.
While we were out we got a 'baby gift' for Kristopher (something for him to have when he comes to see her at the hospital-- we already bought things for the other 3), found a "big sister" shirt in Emma's size on clearance for $3. It was the only one... but she got it along with 2 pr of $2 shorts that are long and cotton so she can sit in the wheelchair nicely in them at school. LOVE Carter's Outlet sales!
We also found what we didn't know we were looking for... don't you love when that happens?? We ran across a clearance sale at Office Max and they had those flimsy 3-ring binders that have a plastic cover... for $0.70 each. YAY! I bought TEN! I also got some rings made for binding notecards to flip over... When I got home I cut the notebooks apart and made each cover into 2 pages. 4 pages per notebook. Then cut then down to be just bigger than a 4x6 photo and punched 2 holes in the top of each piece. Instant... TRANSITION BOOK!! It's VERY durable! The photos are laminated and will have velcro on them. This way the teacher can add as many pages as she wants or take out ones they're not using. It was a multi pack of rings, so the size ring can be changed too depending on how many pages they have in there. Best of all, the folders and rings were only $13 all together. Velcro added a bit to the price (about $13 on its own for 12 feet) but still, it should last a long time and be reusable even for other things. I used the 2.5"x 5" "scraps" from each page and punched a corner hole in those as well in case someone else in her class can use it. Most kids use 2" squares, but we went with bigger photos because of Emma's vision as well as her ability to focus. Bigger for her is better.
Anyway, we got home about 7:45 and put K down for bed then hit the sack. My throat was sore :( I woke up several times during the night with the sore throat and didn't feel great this morning. We went to church, came home and did lunch, Mike took K in the pool for rest time while 2 slept and Emma and I hung out. Made up about 60 containers of babyfood which are now in the freezer for Micah and got the family room moved around to accommodate the baby swing/playpen and so I can see the playroom from the couch (a definite plus!). Then... I went and crashed for 2 hours! I was out COLD.
Now, it's almost 11:30 and I should head back to bed. Tomorrow's the day for last minute things that have been sitting on the 'to do' list for a while and family time too. Hopefully Tuesday will just be a relaxing day with school and family time... and pre-op.
Please pray, as we've had a situation come up at the school that will likely need to be dealt with this week. I know Michael will be able to handle whatever comes of it, but it definitely is adding a bit of stress to the plate on an otherwise exciting (but already stressful) time. Please pray specifically that the kids' adjustment to the new baby won't be any harder due to this school issue. No worries, everything WILL be ok. But until we know what "ok" looks like, it is always a little hard. Thanks!!
Saturday we had Micah's birthday party. A VERY low-key party with just some local family but he had a good time and that's the idea :) Pictures to come... His birthday is Wednesday!
After the party we got the kids set up with lunch and Mike's mom stayed and let him and I go out for one last day away before the baby arrives. We headed over to Orlando, grabbed some sandwiches for lunch, window shopped (and did a little bit of 'real' shopping too), and just walked around and talked. Then we went out to dinner at TGIF and came back to town just as the kids should be going down. So... we detoured to Wal-Mart because our arrival would make bedtime last another 30 minutes :).
We filled in the few gaps we had of necessary baby items. Found a 'bath sling/seat' that will fit inside our bigger toddler tub rather than buying a baby tub... picked up a few other mommy essentials for the first days home.
While we were out we got a 'baby gift' for Kristopher (something for him to have when he comes to see her at the hospital-- we already bought things for the other 3), found a "big sister" shirt in Emma's size on clearance for $3. It was the only one... but she got it along with 2 pr of $2 shorts that are long and cotton so she can sit in the wheelchair nicely in them at school. LOVE Carter's Outlet sales!
We also found what we didn't know we were looking for... don't you love when that happens?? We ran across a clearance sale at Office Max and they had those flimsy 3-ring binders that have a plastic cover... for $0.70 each. YAY! I bought TEN! I also got some rings made for binding notecards to flip over... When I got home I cut the notebooks apart and made each cover into 2 pages. 4 pages per notebook. Then cut then down to be just bigger than a 4x6 photo and punched 2 holes in the top of each piece. Instant... TRANSITION BOOK!! It's VERY durable! The photos are laminated and will have velcro on them. This way the teacher can add as many pages as she wants or take out ones they're not using. It was a multi pack of rings, so the size ring can be changed too depending on how many pages they have in there. Best of all, the folders and rings were only $13 all together. Velcro added a bit to the price (about $13 on its own for 12 feet) but still, it should last a long time and be reusable even for other things. I used the 2.5"x 5" "scraps" from each page and punched a corner hole in those as well in case someone else in her class can use it. Most kids use 2" squares, but we went with bigger photos because of Emma's vision as well as her ability to focus. Bigger for her is better.
Anyway, we got home about 7:45 and put K down for bed then hit the sack. My throat was sore :( I woke up several times during the night with the sore throat and didn't feel great this morning. We went to church, came home and did lunch, Mike took K in the pool for rest time while 2 slept and Emma and I hung out. Made up about 60 containers of babyfood which are now in the freezer for Micah and got the family room moved around to accommodate the baby swing/playpen and so I can see the playroom from the couch (a definite plus!). Then... I went and crashed for 2 hours! I was out COLD.
Now, it's almost 11:30 and I should head back to bed. Tomorrow's the day for last minute things that have been sitting on the 'to do' list for a while and family time too. Hopefully Tuesday will just be a relaxing day with school and family time... and pre-op.
Please pray, as we've had a situation come up at the school that will likely need to be dealt with this week. I know Michael will be able to handle whatever comes of it, but it definitely is adding a bit of stress to the plate on an otherwise exciting (but already stressful) time. Please pray specifically that the kids' adjustment to the new baby won't be any harder due to this school issue. No worries, everything WILL be ok. But until we know what "ok" looks like, it is always a little hard. Thanks!!
Friday, September 04, 2009
It's long, but worth the read :)
Mike and I both just enjoyed this read. What true compassion... and a well written story :)
Here's the original source
He lay on his back in the dirt of the Pittsburgh ballpark. His neck hurt. Striking his face on the crushed rock along the first-base side felt like breaking through glass. He was bloodied. And the foul ball was gone. He had missed it, missed his one chance to grab a game ball for his son on the boy's 21st birthday.
Tim Tepas, a retired schoolteacher, wanted only to climb over the short railing and sit back down next to his son. Disappear. Forget the whole thing. But the television cameras were on him. The stadium seemed to gasp in unison at his fall along the sidelines of that Pirates-Cardinals game in early August.
Tepas struggled to stand. He heard a voice behind him, felt hands on his back.
Please lie down, sir. Don't try to get up, sir.
The hands, huge meaty mitts, eased him to the ground, held him still.
Don't try to get up, sir.
Tepas was struck by the voice, its confidence, its calm, the way he was called "sir" again and again.
He looked up at the sky and struggled to focus on the face above him. He studied the man's ballcap. He could make out the number 5 written under the bill.
Albert Pujols. The father just knew. This is Albert Pujols.
Two strangers, one a fan and the other a superstar athlete, both fathers of children with Down syndrome.
Some say it was coincidence. Others call it fate.
Whatever caused that accidental meeting there along the edges of the ballgame that night outlived anything that happened on the field. During the entire 8½-minute ordeal on the field, Pujols stayed with Tepas. TV and radio announcers were mystified. Fans talked of witnessing a moment of pure concern.
But to truly understand what occurred — to understand what, in some small way, drove Tepas to reach for that foul ball — you have to know about Tepas and his son Keith.
And you have to know about the letter, the one Tepas wrote to Pujols long before the game, but never sent. A letter about doubt and acceptance and the parable of the bumblebee.
When Tepas fell, the letter sat forgotten in a white tote bag under his seat just a few feet away.
-------------
Father and son had driven down from Buffalo, N.Y., in Tepas' Hyundai. They loaded up on Gatorade and music for the 3½-hour trip on Friday, Aug. 7.
They both wore Cardinals T-shirts. Keith wore a red Cardinals cap. He plays on the Cardinals in a softball league for disabled adults. He sleeps on Cardinals bedsheets at home.
The father liked Pujols — more as a person than a player. Tepas recalled reading about Pujols and his 11-year-old daughter, Isabella, who has Down syndrome. She was 3 months old when Pujols met her mom, his future wife. Pujols became an advocate for Down syndrome children with his charitable foundation.
For Keith's birthday, Tepas at first planned to take his son to a minor league game in Buffalo. They have season tickets. Keith can name players who years ago played there. In Pittsburgh, he would point to right field and note that the Cardinals' Ryan Ludwick used to play for the Bisons.
But the Bisons were out of town. So Tepas, an impulsive and gregarious 63-year-old with gray hair and a mustache, aimed for something grander.
Tepas splurged on tickets for the Pirates game — $224 for the pair. Section 7, right along the field.
He figured it was an important milestone for Keith. It was an important milestone for Tepas, too. He had spent years battling his own doubts, worrying about his son, wondering what would become of him as he grew older.
The doctors warned Tepas and his wife there would be delays with Down syndrome, a genetic condition that causes developmental disabilities and distinctive physical features. Keith would lag behind children his age. It wore on the father. Watching other kids walk. Other kids talk. Wondering when it would be Keith's turn.
"During the first three years, you're like, what's wrong with this kid? When is he going to blossom?" Tepas says.
He adds: "It's been challenging, I'll be honest with you. I heard that when you have a special needs child, as many as 90 percent of those parents end up divorced."
Tepas was divorced after one year. His former wife got custody of Keith. But Tepas stayed in the boy's life. Saw him four days a week, sometimes more. Attended his therapy sessions, his sporting events, his Boy Scout meetings.
Tepas remembers when he began to see his son in a new way. Keith was 7. Father and son were running side by side in a county park. They tossed a blue-and-yellow foam football back and forth. It felt so ordinary, so simple, this staple of fathers and sons.
The father told himself: OK, Tim, you can stop worrying.
-------------
"I consider him a real blessing in my life," Tepas says now.
He can rattle off his son's achievements, apologizing as he goes for sounding boastful. Two years ago, Keith became an Eagle Scout. He graduated high school this summer, his father buying him a custom-fit suit for the occasion. He's good at spelling. And miniature golf. He does not talk much, preferring to telegraph his speech through simple words or gestures. But his father can glean more than enough from one of his son's gleeful thumbs-ups.
"It's kind of neat in a way, because of his innocence, I don't think he's ever going to change much," Tepas says. "He'll still hug me when he's 30 or 40 or 50. He's uninhibited that way."
The relationship between father and son developed its own routines. Keith loves routine. In recent years, one routine has centered on playing baseball, starting in the spring and lasting until it gets too cold.
Three days a week, Tepas picks up Keith and they head to a little league field. Tepas pitches from a box of old balls. Keith wields the bat. The father keeps stats, tracking the progress of his son like he is a major league prospect. The father notes with precision how many balls Keith hits over the fence, how far they travel. He walks off the distances to be sure.
With the number of home runs, the father can see his son's growth. Keith is not tall, standing just under 5 feet 2. But he has a slugger's swing. Two home runs the first year, eight the next, then 26, 53, 97 and 94 so far into their private season.
And every visit to the ballpark ends the same way. A private celebration modeled on the Friday night fireworks at Bisons games. They huddle together and rest one hand on top of the other in the middle. They shout "1,2,3, fireworks!" Their hands shoot skyward in imitation of the pyrotechnics.
Only then is the game truly over.
-------------
In Pittsburgh, during the middle of the seventh inning, with the game tied 4-4, Tepas considered leaving. They faced a long drive home. Tepas reminded himself to remove the homemade orange-and-white "Happy 21st Keith" sign taped atop the railing.
But they stuck around.
The Pirates were at bat. Chris Carpenter was on the mound. One out. Two runners on base. Garrett Jones, a lefty, at the plate. Carpenter's first pitch was outside. His next pitch was low. But Jones reached for it, striking the ball straight-armed, like he was hitting a sand wedge. The ball spun into foul territory toward the stands.
This is going to be easy, Tepas thought.
The bouncing ball appeared to be headed straight for him. He stood up, reached out with his left hand. He planted his right hand on the railing. But his view changed as he stood. The ball appeared farther off to his left. Difficult to backhand. He extended his right hand. He flipped over the railing. His body launched downward, his arms offering no protection, his legs thrown high above. His face slammed to the ground.
The ball caromed off the railing and scooted into right field.
"Man down," said a Pittsburgh TV announcer.
"Wow," added the play-by-play man.
"Wow. Oh my goodness."
Pujols, playing first base about 40 feet away, reached Tepas first. He knelt beside him. He urged him to lie down.
Pirates first base coach Perry Hill arrived next. He grabbed Tepas' feet. Hill had never seen a fan suffer a fall like that. Stadium staff ran over. Trainers from both teams and paramedics crowded around Tepas. Pujols still knelt by his head.
Hill glanced over his shoulder at Tepas' son. He had noticed the pair earlier in the game. Now he picked up Pujols' mitt and walked over to Keith, still in the stands. He asked Keith whether he would like to touch Pujols' glove. They talked about the handmade "Happy 21st Keith" sign. Hill tried to position himself to block the son's view. Hill looked back at the field, saw Pujols still there.
"The way he landed so awkwardly on his neck," said Cardinals TV play-by-play man Dan McLaughlin, reacting to a replay. "His neck was bent. It's not so much the cut on the forehead that you saw, but I'm sure they're very concerned about his neck area and his back."
Lying on the ground, Tepas was annoyed to hear Pujols tell the trainers he did not like the way he landed on his neck. Tepas felt fine. Woozy, battered, but fine. Yet he was not going to fight them. They asked him to wiggle his fingers and his toes. He did. They asked about tingling, about radiating pain. He felt none.
Minutes ticked by as they strapped Tepas to a board and secured his neck with foam blocks. And still Pujols was there, in the thick of it.
"I'm almost wondering if this is a friend of Albert's," said Al Hrabrosky on the Cardinals TV broadcast.
Mike Shannon, doing the Cardinals radio show, sounded incredulous.
"Look at Albert, he's right in there! He's going to help lift the stretcher. Better get Albert out of there," Shannon said, laughing. "Move him out of there! We know he has a lot of compassion, but we don't need him hurting his back lifting him up."
Pujols let the paramedics wheel Tepas out on a stretcher through the right field fence. Pujols stood, hitched up his pants and walked over to Keith, who now sat on a small ballpark utility vehicle, about to follow his father. Keith sat facing away from the medical drama. He tugged on the bill of his red Cardinals cap as he scanned the diamond. Pujols leaned over and tapped Keith on the shoulder, spoke to him. Pujols smiled. Made sure Keith had gotten the foul ball his father wanted for him.
-------------
Tepas was released from the hospital after midnight. As he left, the hospital staff teased Tepas that he was famous, his fall already appearing on ESPN and YouTube. His neck was sore. His face was bruised. But he had no serious injuries. Tepas wanted only to get home, where in a few days a Pujols autographed baseball would arrive for Keith. They drove through the night. The father asked his son whether he had been scared by what happened on the field. The son said simply, "No."
And in the back of the car sat the tote bag with the letter.
Tepas was not sure why he had written it. Pujols did not need to hear from him. But Tepas needed to share his son's story, wanted another father to know what he knows, what he took so long to learn. About his son. About the bumblebee, too.
The letter, after a short introduction, starts with a note: "According to the laws of aerodynamics, the bumblebee can't fly. But the bumblebee doesn't know that. So it flies." The letter details in numbers and statistics Keith's hitting prowess and his off-the-field achievements.
And it ends like this: "He is a blessing in my life and I thank the Lord for putting him in my life. Like the bumblebee, he doesn't know that he's not supposed to fly."
This weekend, Tepas and Keith are driving back to Pittsburgh for a series with the Cardinals, attending at the Pirates' invitation.
No need to bring the letter. Tepas finally mailed it last week.
And he plans to let others chase the foul balls.
Here's the original source
St. Louis Cardinals fan feels uplifted after fall
AUG. 7, 2009 -- Pittsburgh Pirates first base coach Perry Hill (8) and Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols (left) come to the aid of a fan who tried to retrieve a foul ball during the seventh inning of a game in Pittsburgh. (AP)
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
He lay on his back in the dirt of the Pittsburgh ballpark. His neck hurt. Striking his face on the crushed rock along the first-base side felt like breaking through glass. He was bloodied. And the foul ball was gone. He had missed it, missed his one chance to grab a game ball for his son on the boy's 21st birthday.
Tim Tepas, a retired schoolteacher, wanted only to climb over the short railing and sit back down next to his son. Disappear. Forget the whole thing. But the television cameras were on him. The stadium seemed to gasp in unison at his fall along the sidelines of that Pirates-Cardinals game in early August.
Tepas struggled to stand. He heard a voice behind him, felt hands on his back.
Please lie down, sir. Don't try to get up, sir.
The hands, huge meaty mitts, eased him to the ground, held him still.
Don't try to get up, sir.
Tepas was struck by the voice, its confidence, its calm, the way he was called "sir" again and again.
He looked up at the sky and struggled to focus on the face above him. He studied the man's ballcap. He could make out the number 5 written under the bill.
Albert Pujols. The father just knew. This is Albert Pujols.
Two strangers, one a fan and the other a superstar athlete, both fathers of children with Down syndrome.
Some say it was coincidence. Others call it fate.
Whatever caused that accidental meeting there along the edges of the ballgame that night outlived anything that happened on the field. During the entire 8½-minute ordeal on the field, Pujols stayed with Tepas. TV and radio announcers were mystified. Fans talked of witnessing a moment of pure concern.
But to truly understand what occurred — to understand what, in some small way, drove Tepas to reach for that foul ball — you have to know about Tepas and his son Keith.
And you have to know about the letter, the one Tepas wrote to Pujols long before the game, but never sent. A letter about doubt and acceptance and the parable of the bumblebee.
When Tepas fell, the letter sat forgotten in a white tote bag under his seat just a few feet away.
-------------
Father and son had driven down from Buffalo, N.Y., in Tepas' Hyundai. They loaded up on Gatorade and music for the 3½-hour trip on Friday, Aug. 7.
They both wore Cardinals T-shirts. Keith wore a red Cardinals cap. He plays on the Cardinals in a softball league for disabled adults. He sleeps on Cardinals bedsheets at home.
The father liked Pujols — more as a person than a player. Tepas recalled reading about Pujols and his 11-year-old daughter, Isabella, who has Down syndrome. She was 3 months old when Pujols met her mom, his future wife. Pujols became an advocate for Down syndrome children with his charitable foundation.
For Keith's birthday, Tepas at first planned to take his son to a minor league game in Buffalo. They have season tickets. Keith can name players who years ago played there. In Pittsburgh, he would point to right field and note that the Cardinals' Ryan Ludwick used to play for the Bisons.
But the Bisons were out of town. So Tepas, an impulsive and gregarious 63-year-old with gray hair and a mustache, aimed for something grander.
Tepas splurged on tickets for the Pirates game — $224 for the pair. Section 7, right along the field.
He figured it was an important milestone for Keith. It was an important milestone for Tepas, too. He had spent years battling his own doubts, worrying about his son, wondering what would become of him as he grew older.
The doctors warned Tepas and his wife there would be delays with Down syndrome, a genetic condition that causes developmental disabilities and distinctive physical features. Keith would lag behind children his age. It wore on the father. Watching other kids walk. Other kids talk. Wondering when it would be Keith's turn.
"During the first three years, you're like, what's wrong with this kid? When is he going to blossom?" Tepas says.
He adds: "It's been challenging, I'll be honest with you. I heard that when you have a special needs child, as many as 90 percent of those parents end up divorced."
Tepas was divorced after one year. His former wife got custody of Keith. But Tepas stayed in the boy's life. Saw him four days a week, sometimes more. Attended his therapy sessions, his sporting events, his Boy Scout meetings.
Tepas remembers when he began to see his son in a new way. Keith was 7. Father and son were running side by side in a county park. They tossed a blue-and-yellow foam football back and forth. It felt so ordinary, so simple, this staple of fathers and sons.
The father told himself: OK, Tim, you can stop worrying.
-------------
"I consider him a real blessing in my life," Tepas says now.
He can rattle off his son's achievements, apologizing as he goes for sounding boastful. Two years ago, Keith became an Eagle Scout. He graduated high school this summer, his father buying him a custom-fit suit for the occasion. He's good at spelling. And miniature golf. He does not talk much, preferring to telegraph his speech through simple words or gestures. But his father can glean more than enough from one of his son's gleeful thumbs-ups.
"It's kind of neat in a way, because of his innocence, I don't think he's ever going to change much," Tepas says. "He'll still hug me when he's 30 or 40 or 50. He's uninhibited that way."
The relationship between father and son developed its own routines. Keith loves routine. In recent years, one routine has centered on playing baseball, starting in the spring and lasting until it gets too cold.
Three days a week, Tepas picks up Keith and they head to a little league field. Tepas pitches from a box of old balls. Keith wields the bat. The father keeps stats, tracking the progress of his son like he is a major league prospect. The father notes with precision how many balls Keith hits over the fence, how far they travel. He walks off the distances to be sure.
With the number of home runs, the father can see his son's growth. Keith is not tall, standing just under 5 feet 2. But he has a slugger's swing. Two home runs the first year, eight the next, then 26, 53, 97 and 94 so far into their private season.
And every visit to the ballpark ends the same way. A private celebration modeled on the Friday night fireworks at Bisons games. They huddle together and rest one hand on top of the other in the middle. They shout "1,2,3, fireworks!" Their hands shoot skyward in imitation of the pyrotechnics.
Only then is the game truly over.
-------------
In Pittsburgh, during the middle of the seventh inning, with the game tied 4-4, Tepas considered leaving. They faced a long drive home. Tepas reminded himself to remove the homemade orange-and-white "Happy 21st Keith" sign taped atop the railing.
But they stuck around.
The Pirates were at bat. Chris Carpenter was on the mound. One out. Two runners on base. Garrett Jones, a lefty, at the plate. Carpenter's first pitch was outside. His next pitch was low. But Jones reached for it, striking the ball straight-armed, like he was hitting a sand wedge. The ball spun into foul territory toward the stands.
This is going to be easy, Tepas thought.
The bouncing ball appeared to be headed straight for him. He stood up, reached out with his left hand. He planted his right hand on the railing. But his view changed as he stood. The ball appeared farther off to his left. Difficult to backhand. He extended his right hand. He flipped over the railing. His body launched downward, his arms offering no protection, his legs thrown high above. His face slammed to the ground.
The ball caromed off the railing and scooted into right field.
"Man down," said a Pittsburgh TV announcer.
"Wow," added the play-by-play man.
"Wow. Oh my goodness."
Pujols, playing first base about 40 feet away, reached Tepas first. He knelt beside him. He urged him to lie down.
Pirates first base coach Perry Hill arrived next. He grabbed Tepas' feet. Hill had never seen a fan suffer a fall like that. Stadium staff ran over. Trainers from both teams and paramedics crowded around Tepas. Pujols still knelt by his head.
Hill glanced over his shoulder at Tepas' son. He had noticed the pair earlier in the game. Now he picked up Pujols' mitt and walked over to Keith, still in the stands. He asked Keith whether he would like to touch Pujols' glove. They talked about the handmade "Happy 21st Keith" sign. Hill tried to position himself to block the son's view. Hill looked back at the field, saw Pujols still there.
"The way he landed so awkwardly on his neck," said Cardinals TV play-by-play man Dan McLaughlin, reacting to a replay. "His neck was bent. It's not so much the cut on the forehead that you saw, but I'm sure they're very concerned about his neck area and his back."
Lying on the ground, Tepas was annoyed to hear Pujols tell the trainers he did not like the way he landed on his neck. Tepas felt fine. Woozy, battered, but fine. Yet he was not going to fight them. They asked him to wiggle his fingers and his toes. He did. They asked about tingling, about radiating pain. He felt none.
Minutes ticked by as they strapped Tepas to a board and secured his neck with foam blocks. And still Pujols was there, in the thick of it.
"I'm almost wondering if this is a friend of Albert's," said Al Hrabrosky on the Cardinals TV broadcast.
Mike Shannon, doing the Cardinals radio show, sounded incredulous.
"Look at Albert, he's right in there! He's going to help lift the stretcher. Better get Albert out of there," Shannon said, laughing. "Move him out of there! We know he has a lot of compassion, but we don't need him hurting his back lifting him up."
Pujols let the paramedics wheel Tepas out on a stretcher through the right field fence. Pujols stood, hitched up his pants and walked over to Keith, who now sat on a small ballpark utility vehicle, about to follow his father. Keith sat facing away from the medical drama. He tugged on the bill of his red Cardinals cap as he scanned the diamond. Pujols leaned over and tapped Keith on the shoulder, spoke to him. Pujols smiled. Made sure Keith had gotten the foul ball his father wanted for him.
-------------
Tepas was released from the hospital after midnight. As he left, the hospital staff teased Tepas that he was famous, his fall already appearing on ESPN and YouTube. His neck was sore. His face was bruised. But he had no serious injuries. Tepas wanted only to get home, where in a few days a Pujols autographed baseball would arrive for Keith. They drove through the night. The father asked his son whether he had been scared by what happened on the field. The son said simply, "No."
And in the back of the car sat the tote bag with the letter.
Tepas was not sure why he had written it. Pujols did not need to hear from him. But Tepas needed to share his son's story, wanted another father to know what he knows, what he took so long to learn. About his son. About the bumblebee, too.
The letter, after a short introduction, starts with a note: "According to the laws of aerodynamics, the bumblebee can't fly. But the bumblebee doesn't know that. So it flies." The letter details in numbers and statistics Keith's hitting prowess and his off-the-field achievements.
And it ends like this: "He is a blessing in my life and I thank the Lord for putting him in my life. Like the bumblebee, he doesn't know that he's not supposed to fly."
This weekend, Tepas and Keith are driving back to Pittsburgh for a series with the Cardinals, attending at the Pirates' invitation.
No need to bring the letter. Tepas finally mailed it last week.
And he plans to let others chase the foul balls.
Hand of God...
Sometimes it's not easy to recognize the purpose when defeat seems like the immediate feeling.
Sometimes it's not easy to look past what is now to see where God is leading.
But God brought everything together for our dossier to be submitted to Ukraine in November of 2007- one week before they closed for 3 months. We then received one of the fastest travel dates there had been up to that point! That brought us to Ukraine about 4 months earlier than it would have been if we didn't get a fire under our seats because Sasha was transferred...
His MERCY is great. We got to meet Sasha, our intended child, and to know that she is alive and well and tho she is not in a home and doesn't receive everything she needs... she is not tied down or abused. It took us a week to go through the process of meeting her then saying goodbye... but what is a week in light of eternity? She will forever be the daughter of our hearts.
Then we spent a week in Kiev waiting... and waiting... for another appointment to get the file of another child. This time a child with major medical issues. One we would NOT have been comfortable committing to 5 months prior when we started the process, for fear she would take a downward turn and would pass away before we got there. One who was not available 5 months prior because another family planned to come for her. But here, in the country, knowing she was alive... we could do this.
The day we got our referrals was probably the day Micah was first available for adoption. There was a 14 month 'waiting period' before children's referrals were shown, and he was 16 months old. He wouldn't have been registered until at least a month or two old... so he was brand new. Had we been any earlier-- not spent that week with Sasha or the week waiting on the SDA-- we would have been too early to get our son. Then, just 2 short weeks later, we had court and adopted our children. Emma's 5th birthday was the very next day. Had we been just 2 weeks later, Emma would have been transferred to a mental institution as well. One we already know is NOT a place she should be.
In fact, just a month after our adoption of Emma and Micah, the flu went through that mental institution and with no medical care or sanitary conditions to stop the spread of it... many of the children died. At 5 years old and 17 lbs with a major heart defect... there is no doubt that Emma would not have survived.
God's hand is BIG. HE is great and worthy of our praise. Not for our efforts to be praised, but His hand and His GLORY in the details of our everyday lives. What a mighty God we serve!! He cares for the orphans and brings the captive from their bindings! Continue to pray for all the orphans of Ukraine and yes, in our own backyard too. Seek His heart and look for the Hand of God :)
Sometimes it's not easy to look past what is now to see where God is leading.
But God brought everything together for our dossier to be submitted to Ukraine in November of 2007- one week before they closed for 3 months. We then received one of the fastest travel dates there had been up to that point! That brought us to Ukraine about 4 months earlier than it would have been if we didn't get a fire under our seats because Sasha was transferred...
His MERCY is great. We got to meet Sasha, our intended child, and to know that she is alive and well and tho she is not in a home and doesn't receive everything she needs... she is not tied down or abused. It took us a week to go through the process of meeting her then saying goodbye... but what is a week in light of eternity? She will forever be the daughter of our hearts.
Then we spent a week in Kiev waiting... and waiting... for another appointment to get the file of another child. This time a child with major medical issues. One we would NOT have been comfortable committing to 5 months prior when we started the process, for fear she would take a downward turn and would pass away before we got there. One who was not available 5 months prior because another family planned to come for her. But here, in the country, knowing she was alive... we could do this.
The day we got our referrals was probably the day Micah was first available for adoption. There was a 14 month 'waiting period' before children's referrals were shown, and he was 16 months old. He wouldn't have been registered until at least a month or two old... so he was brand new. Had we been any earlier-- not spent that week with Sasha or the week waiting on the SDA-- we would have been too early to get our son. Then, just 2 short weeks later, we had court and adopted our children. Emma's 5th birthday was the very next day. Had we been just 2 weeks later, Emma would have been transferred to a mental institution as well. One we already know is NOT a place she should be.
In fact, just a month after our adoption of Emma and Micah, the flu went through that mental institution and with no medical care or sanitary conditions to stop the spread of it... many of the children died. At 5 years old and 17 lbs with a major heart defect... there is no doubt that Emma would not have survived.
God's hand is BIG. HE is great and worthy of our praise. Not for our efforts to be praised, but His hand and His GLORY in the details of our everyday lives. What a mighty God we serve!! He cares for the orphans and brings the captive from their bindings! Continue to pray for all the orphans of Ukraine and yes, in our own backyard too. Seek His heart and look for the Hand of God :)
scratch that
Monday ALL the kids will be home.. and Mike! It's Labor Day! Hmm... a 3 day weekend and 1/2 day Tuesday. Wish that "nesting energy" would kick in :)
Thursday, September 03, 2009
Counting down
Today: Emma's 1st private PT session since starting school
Tonight: 9 adults and 14 kids for dinner group
Tomorrow: Micah and Brianna home, and bringing dinner to friends that had their baby last Sunday
Saturday: Micah's 3rd birthday party
Sunday: church
Monday: Micah and Brianna home
Tuesday: pre-op
Wednesday: meet baby girl :)
Micah and Emma's TB tests are NEGATIVE!! YAY!! After bringing them back to school I cleaned house a bit today. Well, at least got the laundry cycled through and dishes put away. Essentials :)
Looking forward to the afternoon and evening! And the countdown has begun. I can just say "Wednesday" now... and that sounds REALLY really soon!
Tonight: 9 adults and 14 kids for dinner group
Tomorrow: Micah and Brianna home, and bringing dinner to friends that had their baby last Sunday
Saturday: Micah's 3rd birthday party
Sunday: church
Monday: Micah and Brianna home
Tuesday: pre-op
Wednesday: meet baby girl :)
Micah and Emma's TB tests are NEGATIVE!! YAY!! After bringing them back to school I cleaned house a bit today. Well, at least got the laundry cycled through and dishes put away. Essentials :)
Looking forward to the afternoon and evening! And the countdown has begun. I can just say "Wednesday" now... and that sounds REALLY really soon!
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
Guess what I got in the mail yesterday...
My brand new copy of WrightsLaw: From Emotions to Advocacy. Now, to find time to open it.
Those phone calls
Thursday was the first day that I left Micah at school all day on his own. And not long into the morning I got a call from the school saying he'd gotten into ants.
Today is the second day that I left Micah at school all day (they all had dr's appts yesterday and got to school at 11:15) and when I went to see what phone call I'd missed... my heart dropped as I read "Public Schools" on the caller ID. Ugh.
Is it bad that I immediately assume that someone is 1-hurt or 2-sick and needs immediate attention when I see this on the caller ID? This time it was neither!
They just had the health department there and Emma's immunizations need updating. Surprise! We had that done yesterday :) But she can't come back to school until the records are updated... And... I'll be picking up the shot records tomorrow along with an updated physical form for Micah when I go in the morning WITH the 2 kids in tow to have their TB tests read. How's that for timing?
So tomorrow... yet again... Micah and Emma will be getting checked-in late to school for ANOTHER doctor's visit. Too bad our dr's office doesn't open until 9! School starts at 8 and being 25 minutes apart from each other, it's a guaranteed 2 hours they miss of school any time they need to see the doctor. IF the dr is on schedule. Yesterday our 9 and 9:30 appointments for the 4 kids got us out of there at almost 11am. Ouch.
So far, this is the 4th week of school...
Brianna was checked out once for her Endo appointment.
Emma missed 2 days due to Strep
Brianna was checked out early 1 day to get tested for Strep (and stayed home the next but she doesn't have school on Fri anyway)
Micah missed his 1st day of school to go to the GI doctor after his IEP (so he just started the next day)
I spent Micah's first day at school except the last 90 minutes to help the teachers get to know him... and keep him corralled!
Emma, Kristopher, Brianna, and Micah ALL came in late after a doctor's appointment yesterday
Emma and Micah will come in late tomorrow so they can have their TB tests read (which so far look FINE! YAY!)
Now... everyone's had antibiotics (well, the 3 little ones), everyone's had flu shots, everyone's immunizations are up to date, and everyone's follow-up visits should be done for a little while.
But Monday is a holiday, and the Monday after that is a teacher-work-day. Seems like there's not really all that much SCHOOL going on yet!
Today is the second day that I left Micah at school all day (they all had dr's appts yesterday and got to school at 11:15) and when I went to see what phone call I'd missed... my heart dropped as I read "Public Schools" on the caller ID. Ugh.
Is it bad that I immediately assume that someone is 1-hurt or 2-sick and needs immediate attention when I see this on the caller ID? This time it was neither!
They just had the health department there and Emma's immunizations need updating. Surprise! We had that done yesterday :) But she can't come back to school until the records are updated... And... I'll be picking up the shot records tomorrow along with an updated physical form for Micah when I go in the morning WITH the 2 kids in tow to have their TB tests read. How's that for timing?
So tomorrow... yet again... Micah and Emma will be getting checked-in late to school for ANOTHER doctor's visit. Too bad our dr's office doesn't open until 9! School starts at 8 and being 25 minutes apart from each other, it's a guaranteed 2 hours they miss of school any time they need to see the doctor. IF the dr is on schedule. Yesterday our 9 and 9:30 appointments for the 4 kids got us out of there at almost 11am. Ouch.
So far, this is the 4th week of school...
Brianna was checked out once for her Endo appointment.
Emma missed 2 days due to Strep
Brianna was checked out early 1 day to get tested for Strep (and stayed home the next but she doesn't have school on Fri anyway)
Micah missed his 1st day of school to go to the GI doctor after his IEP (so he just started the next day)
I spent Micah's first day at school except the last 90 minutes to help the teachers get to know him... and keep him corralled!
Emma, Kristopher, Brianna, and Micah ALL came in late after a doctor's appointment yesterday
Emma and Micah will come in late tomorrow so they can have their TB tests read (which so far look FINE! YAY!)
Now... everyone's had antibiotics (well, the 3 little ones), everyone's had flu shots, everyone's immunizations are up to date, and everyone's follow-up visits should be done for a little while.
But Monday is a holiday, and the Monday after that is a teacher-work-day. Seems like there's not really all that much SCHOOL going on yet!
How you know...
Today, miraculously, I have no children at home. Seriously, not even ONE. I thought yesterday that I would be keeping Micah home today. His class was going to have 2 subs and since he's BRAND new... and a bit... not... easy... in addition to the aspiration and just concern for his safety, I was going to keep him home. But, I got a phone call this morning from his teacher saying their regular aide was going to be there and to send him in. So... off they ALL went for school :)
And I went to the grocery store.
But then... by 10:15 I was HOME, had the groceries unloaded, and had put away the cold items before crashing to the couch because that did me in! LOL
So... how you know that you're REALLY used to having kids with you...
And I went to the grocery store.
But then... by 10:15 I was HOME, had the groceries unloaded, and had put away the cold items before crashing to the couch because that did me in! LOL
So... how you know that you're REALLY used to having kids with you...
- You open the side door to the car and look around before realizing what you're doing... there ARE NO KIDS to get out!
- You walk up to the house and try the handle. Kristopher didn't run to unlock the door, and there's not a grandmother on the other side with the kids (the usual situation if I don't have the kids!)
- You keep closing the door behind you on every trip in and out of the house so no one escapes... until you realize what a pain it is and that there's NO ONE to escape.
- You leave your keys in your hands for the first 2 trips to the car before realizing that no one will be locking you out of the house on accident either.
- You come in and put away half the groceries then realize you CAN take a break and no one will "help" unpack the rest of them for quite some time.
- The "drop off rounds" at the school seems to be a cardio workout
- Pushing a full grocery cart isn't so bad because at least you have something to lean on
- Standing next to the car and pumping SLOW gas, then scowling at the machine when it fails to print your receipt brings a cautious older man waiting for your pump to make sure you're ok before he pulls in :) (nice man LOL)
- Climbing in and out of a 12 passenger van is no longer graceful. (hmm, was it ever?) 'Nuff said there
- When shopping, people stop and comment on their guess of the gender of the baby by "how you're carrying"... except 1/2 of them are wrong. (surprised?)
- When going anywhere with my children in tow, people begin counting heads, then drop their jaw when they realize the large belly hiding behind the triple stroller.
- Bringing in groceries is the follow-up to the cardio workout with weights.
- Putting away groceries involves doing squats. I'm telling you, you get more exercise while pregnant than not!
- Sitting down a minute is not simply getting in a chair, but getting a drink, the telephone, using the restroom first, and grabbing the computer to find a comfy spot on the recliner and put your feet up. Because if you need to sit down a minute, there's no way you're getting up for any of the above necessities for a little while...
- And lastly... when every time you sit down a certain... someone... decides it's her time to wake up and 'dance'. Oh my, does this little one ever have her days and nights mixed up too...
Monday, August 31, 2009
Dr's all around
Today baby and I (and Mike came along) had a doctor's visit. My LAST visit before she's born!
Up to this point I've gained about 16 lbs (I think?) and baby is growing well :) I asked the doctor to guess at a weight for the baby for her delivery next Wednesday and he says 6lbs 4oz. We'll see how close he is! I'd guessed 6lbs 8 oz and Mike right at 6 lbs. How is it that I feel like she's bigger than everyone else does? Maybe because I'm the one carrying her around 24/7 at the moment!
I'm still anemic... guess I have to be more diligent with the iron even tho it upsets my stomach :( But 9.8 isn't SUPER low... 11.5 is the low-normal. He wants me at 13...
Tomorrow morning is Micah's 3 yr visit and flu shot. And Emma's update for vaccines and flu shot. And TB test for both of them. And Brianna's flu shot. And Kristopher's... flu mist? Not sure yet.
And yes, my mom is coming with me tomorrow :) I don't do more than 3 at the doctor's without some help if I can!!
Then it's off to school with all 4 of them!
Up to this point I've gained about 16 lbs (I think?) and baby is growing well :) I asked the doctor to guess at a weight for the baby for her delivery next Wednesday and he says 6lbs 4oz. We'll see how close he is! I'd guessed 6lbs 8 oz and Mike right at 6 lbs. How is it that I feel like she's bigger than everyone else does? Maybe because I'm the one carrying her around 24/7 at the moment!
I'm still anemic... guess I have to be more diligent with the iron even tho it upsets my stomach :( But 9.8 isn't SUPER low... 11.5 is the low-normal. He wants me at 13...
Tomorrow morning is Micah's 3 yr visit and flu shot. And Emma's update for vaccines and flu shot. And TB test for both of them. And Brianna's flu shot. And Kristopher's... flu mist? Not sure yet.
And yes, my mom is coming with me tomorrow :) I don't do more than 3 at the doctor's without some help if I can!!
Then it's off to school with all 4 of them!
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