My brother arrived home safely last week after being stranded while doing missionary work. You can read his blog here: https://www.sevenapples.blogspot.com/ Looks like he'll be returning next Spring...and our mother is NOT happy about that. …
My brother sent us all into a panic this week when he phoned and emailed my mom to let us all know that he and his beautiful wife are currently stuck in another country. …
My mom came to visit for the weekend. I hadn't seen her in a year and she was only here for about three days total so I was very sad to see her go. I don't know when we'll see her next so that made her parting all the more painful. …
Richard's mom and her boyfriend left on Tuesday morning. We had a fun visit and, on leaving, his mom hugged me and said I was a "good hostess." So, I want to thank all of you who sent in easy recipes for me to use while they were here! I'll admit, we did eat out while they were here, too, but that sure can get expensive. I enjoy cooking at home much more. We took them to Bar Harbor for a day, to our favorite antique mall, and spent Sunday driving to our land, which was resplendent in its fall colors! It was gorgeous and we are dreaming of next spring when we'll start building. …
In anticipation of the arrival of my mother-in-law this week, we cleaned the house from top to bottom. Ali (age 15) complained the ENTIRE time I spent in her room rearranging drawers, sorting clothes, looking under her bed and hope chest (pretty scary!), and arranging her books, among other fun things. But, she was very happy with her new room when I was finished. The very next morning, I walked into her room and was horrified to discover it looked like I've never even been in there! …
Last week, I posted a note about my recent surgery that followed a litany of other challenges we've experienced over the Summer, including the doctor telling us Mason might die, and my resulting anxiety attack. I went to the doctor last week and posted an update to last week's missive on Wednesday afternoon. If you read the issue before the update was posted, you can see the update HERE. …
While most people probably wouldn't share this with the masses, it's my opinion that if we all talked about this stuff openly, maybe more people wouldn't be afraid to ask for help when they need it. So, here goes... …
I'm a high anxiety type of person and nothing makes me more anxious than something that is beyond my control - namely health issues. Two weeks ago, I was literally freaking out. I can't think of a more accurate term. I was too upset to write about it then, but I can write about it now. …
Max has been nursing a cold and I was terrified Mason would catch it. After our ordeal with Mason's hospitalization when he was 12 days old, I was absolutely thrilled when, at his 2-month checkup last week, the doctor said these 6 magic words, "You have a perfectly healthy baby!" …
We stopped at a truck stop diner for lunch during our trip last week. Richard offered to take Mason to the men's room for a diaper change, but I am a bit nervous in truck stops so I told him I'd take him to the women's restroom instead. That was a decision I would live to regret. …
I was sitting next to Max in the RV on the way from New York to Massachusetts. He kept making blowing noises with his nose. When I saw him put his finger in his nose, I asked him if he needed a tissue. He replied, "No." I said, "Don't you have boogies?" He said, "No, it's a rock." …
We're currently on vacation in Pennsylvania. We left last week in our RV and meandered our way down here. The weather is a bit warmer than we're accustomed to, and humid, too, but the delicious home cooking found here, along with the beautiful scenery, makes it all definitely worthwhile! You can read about our travels here: https://www.wirelesstrips.com Now, if you'll excuse me, the children want me to take them swimmming. ;) GUEST COLUMNIST! …
Last weekend, Max, who will be five years old next month, came upstairs, into our bedroom, and asked if he could watch cartoons. I told him no because I was working, and needed it to be quiet. He walked out. Richard was downstairs preparing for our upcoming RV trip. Mason (age 7 weeks) was asleep on my lap. The other kids were away for a day trip to a friend's camp. About 30 minutes later, Richard came upstairs and asked, "Where's Max?" …
Last Thursday afternoon, Grandma finally decided to leave us and join her parents, husband and sister. We were sad because we'll miss talking to her, but also happy for her because she's been missing her husband for so long and now they're together again. The memorial service will be in Pennsylvania at the end of this month so we'll take the RV down there in a couple of weeks. …
While the in-laws were here, we drove out to our new land. When we got there, which is located an inconvenient distance from any store, I was horrified to realize we'd left the diaper rash cream at home. Mason has very sensitive skin and his bottom was flaming red that day. In a panic, I reached for a tube of Chapstick that was in the diaper bag... …
We've been to Bar Harbor, on a day-trip to our land, out to a great lunch with author Mark LaFlamme (The Pink Room) and his wife, and to an endless array of restaurants. We've been shopping, the women have been cooking together, and the men have been fixing things around the house. …
Richard's dad and step-mom are here for a 9-day stay. We'll be entertaining them during the day on most days and we'll be working nights to stay caught up. We have lots of fun, touristy activities planned. …
We don't know how to even begin to thank everyone for their prayers and warm wishes sent after learning Mason was in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit last week. We received hundreds of emails from all over the world. After I read a few dozen, I started saving them to print for Mason's baby book. He's going to have one thick baby book and he's going to love reading those loving notes someday! …
Last Wednesday, I woke up at 4:30 a.m. with a somewhat painful contraction. Since I'd had three weeks of off and on contractions, I didn't give it much thought... …
Mason's due date came and went on Father's Day. I sure was looking forward to giving Richard the ultimate Father's Day gift. However, it's now going to be a bit late. …
I've been monitoring my body for the past two weeks, and even taking notes, and have come to the conclusion that I've been misinterpreting my body's actions and nothing, and I mean nothing, I've experienced means that labor is imminent. …
I'm staying ahead on all my work in anticipation of the baby's arrival. …
After bragging over the past few weeks about the baby being fully engaged and ready for launch, we were shocked to learn last week that Mason's head is NOT fully engaged after all... …
We are having the baby at home (unless something happens, of course), and Ali, our 15-year-old daughter, will be helping Richard blog the event with frequent updates and maybe even some photos (no nudity, not to worry - I'm far too modest for that!) if things are progressing slowly. We were originally going to set up the blog up for family and friends, but so many readers and authors have asked to be notified of the event that Richard set up an email list so we can tell everyone when I go into labor and where to access the blog. …
We escaped the northeast flooding and it was sunny and warm here all weekend long. My computer was in the shop so we spent the entire weekend outside. …
Here's something you may or may not know about us. While Richard can fix just about any computer or electronic gadget, we usually hire someone to fix things around the house (plumbing, electrical, roof, etc.). We've always wanted to be a bit more handy, but just haven't gotten around to learning about those types of things. …
The weekend was absolutely gorgeous here and we spent several hours lounging in the sun while watching the river lazily slip by. Well, the children and I lounged. Richard did some work on the RV and bought supplies to fix the fence where it shifted during the winter due to frost heave. …
Max enjoyed helping me plant seeds for leeks, onions, two different kinds of sugar peas, green beans, tomatoes, hot peppers, and much more. I'm wondering if the garden is even big enough for the ambitious plans we have for this year! …
I've been fighting a croupy bug for almost two weeks now. I'd get a little better, then worse, then better, again. I felt better on Friday and ran some errands. We then went to our friends' for dinner that night. On Saturday, I woke up very ill and spent the day in bed. I can count on one hand how many days I've spent in bed for an illness...and that includes childbirth. …
Zach (age 19) got two new Beta fish over the weekend. You can't put them together because they'll fight to the death, so Zach's aquarium has a separator in it. Since Zach is such a busy guy and is rarely home, and since we have four cats, the rest of us placed a friendly family wager on how long the fish would survive. Frank bet three weeks, Ali bet six weeks, I bet three months (the 4th of July to be exact), and Richard just rolled his eyes and shook his head. …
Two weeks ago I got to drink a nasty orange concoction and then have my blood tested. Last week, the results were in and I was told I'm borderline diabetic. I was pretty discouraged by that news and was ordered to cut way back on sugar and carbs for the remainder of the pregnancy (lots of protein and veggies, brown rice instead of white, that sort of thing). …
Unfortunately, we had to take a surprise trip to the emergency room last Thursday night. No, it wasn't for one of the children. It was me. …
Gifford's opened for the season last weekend and we were very excited. The opening of Gifford's is a sign that Spring is imminent. We asked Max (age 4) is he remembered what Gifford's was. His response was a puzzled look. …
Last week, I told you Max (age 4) said he was pregnant. The other night, he crawled up on our bed, lay down, and started rubbing his stomach and moaning. I looked at him and noticed his face was quickly turning red. I knew he was pretending something and asked, "What are you doing?" …
After weeks of feeling the baby move in my tummy, Max (age 4) has announced he's pregnant, too. His baby is a "grill" (that's how he pronounces girl) and if you put your hand on his tummy, he pushes it way out and says his baby just kicked you. …
The old cell phone model I use is a gadget our children now call archaic. Richard keeps asking me if I want to upgrade but I always say no. My first excuse was that I didn't want to spend the money. Only when Richard let me know the new phone would be free with our plan did I admit my true reservations, whining, "But then I'd have to learn how to use a new phone all over again!" …
Before we knew it, I had three humongous piles of bread dough on the table. We had to remove all but one shelf in the oven because the dough was rising so high. It was actually fun...albeit a bit scary (how big will it grow?!). …
We recently taught Max (age 4) how to use the TIVO controller so he can now rewind and replay his favorite parts of Blues Clues over and over again. However, today, I kept hearing the same dialogue from the television in the other room. I investigated and discovered that Max was watching an eHarmony.com dating service commercial over...and over...and over again (sigh...). …
We've had a really unusual winter this year. As I am writing this, there is no snow on the ground. Yes, that's right. It's supposed to be the coldest, nastiest time of the year for Mainers. But, it was in the 50's last weekend, sunny, breezy, and downrights Springish! I ran errands on Saturday and didn't even need a sweater. …
At the new sonogram, she was MUCH bigger and they couldn't get her entire body on the screen at one time. She was moving her mouth (chewing) for a few minutes, and later was sucking on her finger. Max thought that was just the neatest thing in the world. (He thought the blue goo they put on my belly was pretty neat, too.) Needless to say, we were all absolutely shocked into hysterics, when the technician panned over Izzy again and a very prominent, very large... …
In anticipation of the new baby's arrival, we've all been learning sign language. Babies can sign long before they have the ability to speak. Surprisingly, Max (age 4) has tackled signing with gusto. He can easily learn and remember 5-10 new signs each day. He's been watching a baby signing video and he's now teaching all of us new signs. He was signing to me at a lunch last week with some women I'd never met and I had to tell them that, yes, he can speak. He just prefers signing right now. It's really neat to watch him get so excited about learning something new! …
Richard and I have hired a midwife to deliver the baby at home. It's a long story that I'll try to detail next week (I'm a bit behind this week because of the virus). Basically, the local hospitals won't allow VBACs (vaginal birth after cesarean), even if the doctor doesn't feel it's in the patient's best interests to go through that major surgery... …
As you may recall from last week's missive, Frank was sick with a severe case of strep throat for several days and, when he started showing signs of improvement, Max start showing symptoms... …
On Christmas night, Frank was lying in bed watching TV, despite the fact that many of his new toys from Santa were still lying on his desk, unopened. He even had a friend over for the night. I was concerned, but he didn't feel warm so I decided to wait until the next morning to see what might be going on. …
I'm wallowing in the glow of the firelight (well, the fake flames on our heater), enjoying the snowflakes dancing on the other side of the dark, cold windows, munching on leftovers, and savoring an entire week off with my family. I hope you're all doing the same! Happy holiday hugs to all! Ang …
