Sickness and Funny Kidisms...

So, on Sabbath, I, Kim, decided that we would skip the kids' naptime and go on the hike with the school.  David was on supervision and would have to go, but I could've taken a nap.  Guess I was feeling out of the ordinary adventurous to suggest skipping naptime, 'eh?  ;)  Yeah, yeah.  They're only almost 8 and 5 1/2, but they still nap almost every day they go down, so naptime (and my quiet time) continues...=O  Anyhow, I announce my spontaneous-like decision very soon before we need to walk out the door, and I'm met by Isaac crying, saying that he has a headache and would rather take a nap.  See, when Isaac gets headaches, it often progresses to nausea and sometimes the real deal throwing up.  So, I reluctantly decided that Isaac and I would stay home (David said he'd still take the girls).  Gave Isaac some good 'ole Tylenol, which sometimes stops the nausea from happening.  Guess his headache started when we got to church, or something, and got worse when he and Jadelyn cracked heads while playing "Red Rover" after lunch.  That game is trouble waiting to happen.  I almost always felt like my wrists were going to get broken playing that game.  But, I digress.  Because Isaac was napping, I laid down on the couch to read, which lasted the approximately 10 minutes that it normally does before I feel very, verrry tired.  So, I took a nap.  Isaac woke up from his nap after only an hour.  He did not come to see me.  That was strange, but I figured he really had to go potty after drinking a cupful of water right before naptime in an effort to get his headache to go away.  I waited around 10 minutes and went to find him.  Fella was sick.  I think he had thrown up by that point.  So, we cuddled in the bathroom for 20 minutes or so.  Long enough for my posterior to become quite sore.  =P  Then, we moved the cuddle session out to the living room.  After a while, little man was fine (as he often is in situations like that.)  We continued with our evening plans as usual with no problems. 

For some reason that nobody knows, David and I forgot how old we are and stayed up 'til midnight on Sabbath.  Finally hit the hay, and shortly after, hear the pitter patter of Isaac's feet running to the bathroom.  Lovely.  He was sick.  Sick, sick, SICK.  Threw up every 30 minutes or so until 3 or 4, and then slowed to about 1 throw up an hour 'til 7.  Oh, and at some point in there it progressed to throwing up AND diarrhea.  Thankfully the worse occurrence of that happened during the hour and a half or so that David was getting up with I-see.  Also thankfully, David is strong-stomached and Isaac didn't want a new pair of jammies and just wanted to just sleep in his undies (first time in his life, I believe).  This made changing easy, since he went through 4-5 pairs of underwear that night.  Only the first time was bad.  After that, it was just a little.  He learned to sit on the potty and heave into the garbage can.  Again, thankfully, I heard him going at it, and ran into the bathroom to find him sitting on the toilet heaving into thin air.  Enter garbage can.  Life saver.  Although I don't think he was really bringing anything up by that point.  Needless to say, I did NOT get much sleep.  But, during one strange episode of sleep, I awoke to a little face at the side of my bed saying that her belly hurt.   Around 5:30am.  Ruby.  Well, it had been about 1 hour before that she woke up to come check on Isaac, who she heard throwing up from her bedroom.  I figured her belly hurt 'cause she was worried, so tried to reassure her that he was fine (for in-between throwing up, he said he felt good and would act totally normal.  Said his belly didn't feel like it normally does when he's "throw-up sick".  Yes, our family has a well-used term.  For throwing up happens around these parts a LOT.  Nobody knows why.  But it does.  =P  Poor little man.).  Anywhos.  Sometimes her belly hurts and if someone pushes on it real well it feels better.  (She's learned this from Isaac, who used to ask Ruby to sit on his belly if it felt bad).  So, I instinctively pushed on her stomach and rubbed it and told her that Isaac was okay.  She said she wasn't worried about Isaac.  And what'dya know.  She started puking soon after.  That lasted until 7am THIS morning.  Yes.  Over 24 hours.  Though really she went from like 8:45 last night 'til 5:30 this morning with no puking.  Strange thing is, she really NEVER brought anything up.  But child wanted to throw up so bad and sometimes would say "help me" as her head swung around in her sickness.  Poor girl.  Every time she'd go an hour without being sick and I'd let her have a tiny sip of water, she'd throw up about 30 minutes later (or maybe that was 30 minutes after the 2 sip time.  =O  Yes, I think that was mostly it.).  So, finally I decided I was going to have to break some rules to hydrate the child, plus I figured that maybe she was throwing up 'cause she was SO HUNGRY by that point.  Gave her ice chips and said she could have as many as she wanted and felt like she could handle.  She had almost an ice-cube tray worth of ice chips.  Then progressed to Gatorade and then broth.  She likes broth.  Couldn't handle jello at lunch time - said she started feeling a little sick when she tried it.  So, broth again.  Then she napped for 3 hours and woke up saying she felt "good" but was tired.  Ate at supper, helped clean up the house, and played hide-n-seek.  I think she's on the mend!!!  =)  This is good.

Aren't you glad you just read so much about puke?  =O

Oh, and in that puke story I forgot the cuteness.  Ruby, after throwing up and asking me to pray for her, then prayed for herself.  And for Isaac - that he wouldn't get sick again.  And Isaac reported that he prayed for Ruby when he heard her puking in the other bathroom.  Seriously, I had one kid camped out in one bathroom, and one in the other bathroom.  There were times I would be talking to one of them after they were done being sick, and I'd have to cut it short 'cause I'd hear the other one at it in the other bathroom.  And during this my belly started not feeling great and I had one end of the sickness (=P).  I was thinking we might really regret not having the 3rd bathroom completed, but all worked out.  =P  Oh, and then David took Jadelyn to work with him on Sunday morning for a few hours so I could get some sleep and such, and when he brought her back, she just quietly colored in the living room, looked at a book or so in her room and then colored on a dry erase board in Isaac's room.  Was all great 'til I found 4 different places this morning that dry erase marker made it on to Isaac's carpet.  =P  That's still a work in process to get it out - any suggestions?  =P  OH!  And at one point, I came out and gave Jadelyn a run-down on her siblings situation.  "I don't care" she told me, "I just like to color."  Ai yai yai.  =P

We got our first hard frost last night, so Isaac and I went out and picked all the tomatoes and tomatillas we wanted to salvage.  4 of our 5 kitchen window sills are now full of tomatoes at different stage of ripening.  When Jadelyn saw all those tomatoes, she said that there were so many tomatoes, "I can't believe my eyes -- I'm about to hit my eyes!"  Okay, then!!!

Another time, something was so funny that Jadelyn exclaimed, "I'm about to laugh my feet off!!!"  Versus "head off", I'm guessing.  ;)

And then she said that Isaac "cracked me up so much I'm about to die!"

There was another good one that Ruby and I overheard from the living room, but I don't remember it.  It gave us a good smile, though.  That Lynnie.

At lunch today, I was telling the kids how Thanksgiving is coming soon and telling them what's on the menu.  Jadelyn didn't want me to "ruin our surprise", but I did anyways.  Isaac was reminiscing to 3 years ago when we had the relish tray on the table and how he wants to do that again.  Funny guy.  I was telling them how I use Gram's recipe for dip, but mine is never as good as hers.  Isaac then said that maybe Gram has a sprayer machine that is a little cone with a hole in the end.  Once she mixes up the ingredients it sprays in a little something extra to make it so delicious.  Must be!!!  My dip never tastes like hers!!!

And tonight, when I was tucking Isaac in to bed, he told me, "I have to talk to you."  He often talks at bedtime.  And talks and talks and talks, even as we shut the door.  So, I figured he was just buying time before he had to be quiet for the night and go to sleep.  But nope.  He really had something on his heart.  So, back to the story.  "I have to talk to you", he says.  I asked what about?  "My brain".  Period.  Pause.  Oh...hmmmm...this could be interesting.  Then, he tells me that his brain tells him things and he thinks and thinks about it.  Then he plays and forgets, but then he stops playing and remembers.  And he needs to tell me.  His brain tells him to pray a lot 'cause Jesus is coming soon.  And he wants to go to heaven.  And he needs to tell this to Jadelyn, and Ruby, and me, and Daddy, 'cause he wants us to pray a lot and go to heaven, too.  Sweet man.  I asked him if his brain tells him that he should stop aggravating his sisters.  Nope, his brain hasn't sent that message yet.  ;)

OH!!!  And on Sabbath night, I taught Ruby how to add and subtract up to 4 places with borrowing and carrying and all that, and she thinks it's so fun she wrote some of her own problems to work.  I love planting messages like, "Math is fun!!!"  Yeah, I think I totally told her that.  ;)

We were supposed to claim their Book-It Pizzas tonight, but with the sickness I thought we'd better hold off.  Hopefully soon.  We're partying this week.  More on that on Thursday, maybe...;)

Oh, yes!!!  The other day, we were running late for story time and I was tired out.  I told Ruby that the other day, Isaac read to me, but I didn't read to him, and I read to her that day, so on this day, she was going to read to me, but I wasn't going to read to her.  She left the room to get her book.  "You broke her heart!!!" Isaac exclaimed.  Sure enough, Ruby re-entered the room with the saddest face and quiet tears.  Then Isaac, my sweet fella, pipes up something like, "Ruby, you can have my story and I just won't have mine."  This is a big deal, for Isaac has been working his way through a library book about elephants and really treasures his story time.  It was the sweetest cheer-up message.  I told Ruby she should give him a hug, so she got down of the chair, went over, and hugged and kissed her favorite twin brother.  Then, Jadelyn pipes in something like, "Isaac, I'll pick the elephant story so you can hear it."  So, Isaac went and hugged his little sister and everyone was happy.  Until I didn't read the elephant book to them because they weren't present when they were supposed to be.  But that would ruin the happy feel-good story, yes?  ;P

OH!!!!  (Again...=O)  Tonight, we played hide-n-seek.  When I was "it" the second time, I walked around singing about where my lost children were and I needed to find 'em.  And then, Isaac was "it" next and he started by walking around singing the same song, except for his song was about his lost "girls" and where is his Mommy.  =)  Funny guy.  And after I shut the door on him when saying goodnight tonight, he sang a quick "Goodnight, little Mommy, goodnight" to the closed door.  Earlier he was singing his own composition that I really need to get on video, "1, you know I'm coooomiiinnng!!!  2, you know I'm cooommming!!!  3, you know I'm coooomingg!!!" and on and on.  About the second coming, of course.  Maybe his brain was thinking about what it's been thinking about lately.  Jesus loves you, my I-see.  He wants to be your very best friend.  Keep using that brain. 

Blurbs....

David was going out of town for meetings, and was going to be gone one night. Ruby asked him if he was going to eat bagels at the hotel. She then asked him not to. Because if he did, it would "break my heart" because she wouldn't have any bagels to eat. Oh, my dear, sweet, dramatic Ruby. =)

David asked the kids to be big helpers for Mommy while he was gone to his meetings. This did not appear to happen until we were outside, and I was cleaning up the yard of stuff. (How does "stuff" pop up all over my yard, anyways? =P) Anyways, on this trip, I was carrying one of the kid's bikes out to the barn. Ruby then remembered that she had told Daddy she would help me while he was gone, so she proceeded to grab onto the bike and "help" (aka pull down on the bike, making it more heavy, and pull back, making me need to walk slower) me. It's the thought that counts, right? =)

According to my notes, I mentioned something about needing/wanting/something arms that could reach the fridge from an undocumented location (so therefore I don't remember it). Isaac said that I might need "a special machine" to help me with this. That boy and his machines.

I love how Isaac says "large". You know, that really big one over there. It's very large. Things like that. He's just a cutie. =) I also love how he gets his sister's attention, "Hey, gowos" instead of "Hey, girls!" Now to correct that speech problem......

Isaac got his wish and his sisters came out to the top of the playhouse to blow bubbles with him. First it was Jadelyn. Then, Ruby joined them when she was done with her trips around the garden, and after the girls came inside, Alpine the cat joined Isaac. He was well loved that day! =)

David had to bring the nursing home's minibus to the meetings, so he drove it home after the meetings were over. The kids all got to go for a ride, and boy, were they excited! =) Sometime after, we were having a lunchtime conversation. Isaac wants to know when he can go to school (presumably so he can ride a bus). We then talked about how we were going to homeschool because some of the things that are taught in public school are not things that we want them learning right now. We talked about church school and how there aren't any around here. We talked about how Grandpa was a teacher at a church school and how that church school closed down soon after Grandpa went on disability. We talked about how Aunt Tracy worked really hard to try to get that school re-opened for years, as she wanted her kids to go there. We talked about how it takes a LOT of money to re-open the school. The kids were wondering if it would take so much money that if we had it here, it would fill our house. Or at least our living room (I think). Then, Ruby had a solution. We will just go to our bank and ask them for all our money, which we could then give to Aunt Tracy to re-open the school. I had to educate Ruby that we didn't have enough, and how banks only give you the amount of money that you had in the bank. So, resourceful Ruby came up with another idea - we will just go to our bank, then another bank, then another bank, then another bank until we had enough money. Somehow I don't think she completely caught the gist of my "bank education". ;)

Ruby asked Isaac and Jadelyn to not "distract" her with toys on the day that she has to get her cast/have surgery. Because she is going to walk around and walk around, since she won't be able to with the cast on. I wish we could have it over, already. The "anticipation" (to put it positively) is difficult. Quick update: second-opinion-doctor pretty much agreed with the first doctor as to the plan of care. So, we're waiting on the CMT blood test, and if Ruby has CMT, surgery it will be. If not, casting it will be. Results are supposed to be back on the 22nd of December, but I'm hoping and praying for an earlier date. I'm worn out from waiting. =P

Overheard Ruby telling Isaac that she would help him open a container for the ornaments or Christmas lights or something because it was hard for Isaac, and Ruby is older. Oh, being one minute older than Isaac is something that Ruby will NEVER let Isaac forget! =P

Jadelyn drew a yellow-banana-shaped oval and later told me that it was a "banana!" I was impressed. She then pointed to a round green circle that she had drawn and told me it was an "apple". I was getting really impressed. Until she pointed to another green circle and told me it was a "banana!" Rats. =P

Ruby was helping Jadelyn put crayons away when she excitedly said, "Mom, look what we did! We alternated them!" Then, "there,you have alternated crayons, Jadelyn." I love Ruby's organization (except the fact that she hides things all over the house. And sometimes I need those things. And Ruby sometimes forgets where she hid them. =P) and her big-word-usage. =)

Ruby was being the "Mom" for Isaac, and "baby" Isaac just wasn't settling down to sleep like Ruby thought he should. Which prompted this outburst, "I have to stay up late when you keep messing around." Oh, Ruby...you have no idea....=)

I looked out the window last Sunday to see the sweetest thing EVER. Walking from the barn to the house were my three kiddos. Isaac holding Jadelyn's hand, and Ruby holding Jadelyn's other hand. Then, when crazy Hickory would charge at them, Ruby and Isaac would circle around Jadelyn to protect her from having the dog jump on her. Seriously SO SWEET! I love moments like that. Hickory kept pestering them, so I had to go save them. My sweet little heroes! =) Ruby also informed me that while we were at Noah's birthday party, Noah's Daddy was acting like a lion (or Ruby was pretending he was a lion. Or something. I need to not get this far behind in blogging. =P), and Ruby was protecting other kids. Ruby and her no-fear. Except of this surgery/cast/blood-draw business. =P

Ruby had been very excited about Jadelyn's upcoming 1/2 birthday. And she had great plans. To sing "Happy 1/2 birthday to you! Happy 1/2 birthday to you! Happy 1/2 birthday, dear Jadelyn! Happy 1/2 birthday to you!" She forgot that on the actual day, but on the big day we went to Wal-Mart. I had completely forgotten that it was Jadelyn's half birthday. Until Ruby informed the lady behind us in the check-out lane that Jadelyn turned "2 1/2 today!" Ruby, my walking calendar. =) Today, she said, "today is....wait.....don't tell me.....1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11....December 11th!" That girl.

The other day, Ruby came out of her room. Jadelyn was lying on Ruby's new bean bag (for positioning her comfortably when she's casted). Instead of the usual, "Hi, Ruby!" Jadelyn called out, "Hey, sister! I on your Pack 'n Play!" Ruby, of course, quickly informed her that it is NOT a Pack 'n Play, but a beanbag. =P

Jadelyn likes to say "7 clock" when asked when something will happen. If Ruby and Isaac ask her when they can have the toy she is playing with, she will answer, "7 clock", and Ruby and Isaac will then start quickly counting from 1 - 7, inform Jadelyn that it's now 7 o'clock, and then ask for the toy. Well, Jadelyn doesn't always fall for that now. She also answers "7 clock" when asked "why" or maybe even "where" questions. Not helpful to get a response of "7 clock" to those types of questions. Just so you know.

The other day, after Jadelyn screamed (for the millionth and second - or maybe more =P) time in her life, Isaac asked, "why does she always scream?" Ruby piped in, "she's saying, "Mommy, may I have a consequence, please?"" Ha!

Today, I asked Jadelyn what her name was. "Jadelyn", she responded. (Not "Nini! =O) Then, I asked what her middle name was...pause...."Jadelyn", she responded. So I then asked her what her last name was...."hmmmmmm..................Stinky Poo!" Oh, dear. Guess I should be more careful with my nicknames. =O

Tomorrow is Ruby and Isaac's 5th birthday. I simply cannot believe it. 5 just seems so....OLD. =O It was a little sad for me saying goodnight tonight to my 4 year-olds for the last time. How does time pass so quickly?