Luke's foot

Little Luke may have fractured something in his foot a week ago. Our last night @ the beach with Greg's fam, he jumped off the bunk bed like his cool bigger cousins. Monday morning, when it was still hurting, I took Luke to the pediatrician and he sent us to get an xray of Luke’s foot but couldn’t see anything, but since Luke still could’t walk on it, he put a partial cast on it for a week. At the end of the 7 days, they’ll remove it and see if he can walk and bear weight on it. If not, they’ll send him on to an Orthopedist. The foot has a reddened bump and bruise on the top, on that bone above his insole. He was not to walk on it or swim this week which was hard with his cousins TC and Josiah here – at the same time, they were a big help in entertaining him. While at the hospital for the x-ray, Ben fell off a chair and got a good knot on the back of his head J. It was a challenge managing 4 boys and an infant at the doctor’s office and the hospital all morning, since Luke had to ride in stroller which meant Elsi was being "carried" (worn, actually) so I couldn't deal with Ben bonking his head very easily, but we survived!

Camp T-siah Day 2

We went to see Igor today, me and five kids. The movie wasn't that great, but at least we had something to do for a while. I forgot to take pictures though. TC and Josiah were very helpful with the younger guys, especially Luke, since he has to be carried or pushed in a stroller everywhere he goes. TC took Luke and Ben to get drinks out of the water fountain and Josiah pushed him in and out of the theater. TC has also taken up the role of Elsi's guardian. He puts her paci back in her mouth or picks her up anytime she cries. So sweet! I think the big boys were probably bored this afternoon, but they say they're not homesick, so I guess they're okay.

Camp T-Siah Day One

Today was a little chaotic. Probably tried to pack too much into one day. TC and Josiah, our nephews from Atlanta (Greg's sister's kids) are visiting. TC made up the nickname Camp T-Siah as a combination of both of their names, saying they are running summer camp this week for Luke and Ben. We had to take Luke to the dr. this morning to get his foot checked out, which then required a visit to hospital for x-ray, then back to dr.'s office for a lightweight cast. Dr. says it may or may not be broken -- hard to tell with little kids -- but it still hurts obviously. We'll go back in a week and they'll cut the cast off. If it doesn't hurt anymore, we'll assume it was sprained/strained(?) and move on, but if it still hurts, we'll have to take him to an orthopedist. TC and Jojo were so good and so helpful that I wanted to do something fun. So, we went to the aquarium. Ben however, melted down about halfway through, desperately needing a nap and knowing that Mommy was a little tied up because I was holding Elsi. Not sure if they had fun or not, but at least we're home now and they can play video games uninterrupted since the little boys are FINALLY napping!

Our trip home from Family Vacation

Last week we were with Greg's family at Seagrove Beach near Panama City Beach in FL. Our trip back was awful because we sat in mostly stopped traffic for a couple hours about halfway through our trip. We should've been home about 5:30 but it was after 8:30 by the time we finally got there. TC and Jojo, our 9 and 8-yr-old nephews are with us for the week. We stopped at a gas station near the end of the trip and let all the boys out in a grassy area to run around while I fed Elsi. They started dancing around and singing silly songs to try to get cars to come into the gas station we were at. I managed to snap a pic of Jojo dancing while my boys tried to throw stuff down the covered drain.

Joker

Elsi had oral thrush and since we couldn't get her doc to call in a
prescription after hours we had to resort to the gentian violet.

We're on vacation with Greg's family, having a great time. They boys are pretty much occupied playing with their cousins. We're all swimming in the pool a lot and going to the beach. I've been talking lots of naps too. I am very content just to stay around here and not go out and do anything. Not really sure why, but it probably has something to do with how much more work it takes to get three kids out the door to go somewhere than just me and Greg -- like I can even remember that! ;-)

Sleeping until 8

Elsi slept until 8 this morning, with minimal intermittent moaning starting at about 7. I fed her at midnight, then we both went to bed by 1. 7 hours in one stretch! How 'bout that?!?!?

Fun weekend

We had a fun and tiring weekend. We went to Atlanta to hang out with Greg's fam. His brother Roger got a speedy boat and the boys spent the day riding on it. I swam to it and got on and off, but Elsi couldn't ride because we didn't have a life jacket for her, so I just enjoyed swimming and relaxing. Lyd and Gabe came down too for the afternoon, which was awesome! Greg's probably more exhausted than when we left, but he had a good time. Luke rode on the tube behind the boat. We also spent more time than usual hanging out with Greg's siblings and their families, which was really fun. Sadly, I didn't take a SINGLE picture!

Happy Mommy

Elsi smiled at me today. It was the first time that I was SURE she was smiling AT me. Naturally, I loved it =). I'd post a picture, but you know it will take an eon to get a picture of her smiling!

sports weekend

We had a lot of fun going to semi-pro games this weekend. Baseball last night and soccer tonight. Luke liked the baseball better. Why? There were fireworks at the end.

printing a retraction

Greg is "only" 34, not 35, which is good news because it means I'm only turning 33 this year, not 34.

Elsi's Growth Chart

She's gaining on them!

Loving my family

I am just so thankful for my family tonight. Ben is so cute with his hair cut and I'm so proud of him that he's swimming all over the pool in his tube and loving it. Elsi's growing -- today she was 8lb. 15 oz (10th %ile); 21.5" (25th %ile!) and head 37 cm (5th %ile); working on learning how to smile and coo. Luke is loving his friends, reading, writing letters, cutting with scissors, playing with the web cam embedded on the laptop and just generally loving life. Greg turned 35 today and has been such a wonderful husband and Dad -- I've really enjoyed his company since I got back from Lyd's wedding and I'm just so thankful!

Trying to clean

I tried to clean the boys' room today in a way they can maintain. Will they put away their toys if they have marked boxes with pictures saying what goes where? Any body wanna place any bets?

Blue Dukas Mentality

One of the things that is taking too much of my time lately is the effort of trying to save money. I HATE paying full price for things -- I feel like I'm getting duped or something. Do you think that comes from the "blue dukas" mentality?

There used to be this little souvenir market in Nairobi; I think it was near the Sarit Center. We used to love to go there to buy artsy/crafty-type souvenirs, like wood-carved animals, soaptstone coasters and candle holders, baskets, etc. The thing about the blue dukas that was different from a regular store is that you were supposed to barter for things -- if you didn't, you'd be getting duped for sure. In places like those blue dukas (and there are lots of places like that in East Africa for souvenirs), bargaining can be a majaor process, depending on how much time you're willing to spend on it.

I don't barter for things here, but I look for coupons and sales that can be used together. I don't even bother even looking at sales racks that aren't at least 50% off. There are even a few blogs and websites I look at where they tell you what's on sale and what coupons have been in the paper that can match up with those sales. Even with that information, I spend a lot of time putting all my coupons together with all the sales, but it makes me feel like I'm doing something good for my family, so I guess I'll be fitting it in now when I can. I just need to be a little more disciplined about getting to bed at a decent time!

Weighing in at 7 pounds

Elsi weighed 7 pounds today on her one month birthday. She's doing great!

Visiting Grandpa

My boys are out with my dad right now. He took them to the park and to Wal-mart. They love having him around, and so do I! I got a nap and a shower and Greg got his car registered. It was way over due. Dad got pulled over in Knoxville a couple days ago when he was driving it, but luckily, he just got a warning.

I got to dress my baby in a dress today!

I actually got to put a dress on one of my children today. It was very fun for me =).

Selling Point for our Neighbor's House

Greg's take home police car is apparently a selling point for our neighbor's house. Not working really well, however, since the house has been on the market since last summer!