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Pay it forward

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We have 4 children.
Our children were all born within 4 years and 10 months of each other.
We know how fortunate we are that we can say “planned it” this way.

Lolo and Unc are 10 and 11 years younger than I am (respectively), if we were able to influence it, J and I wanted our children to be close in age – to have each other from their earliest memory.

Bob and Belle are 16 months apart
Belle and Bean are 18 months apart
Bean and Puppy are 22 months apart

It hasn’t always been easy, but I have an amazing life partner, parenting partner, an amazing man I call my husband. Our kids have their moments, we have our moments. But together we have navigated this world of parenting….from the looks of it, we are doing ok.

Bob reading Franklin and the Tooth Fairy to Belle – 1-14-07

Belle reading Are you My Mother to Bean – 3-19-08

Bean reading Hop on Pop to Puppy – 3-9-10
 

What a blessed life we lead. What miracles we have create.
May they be there for each other every step of the way all the days of their lives.

Make that a half dozen

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Friday night we got the call that made our children number 6. No, we didn’t have twins, nor did we adopt children – we borrowed two girls for two days while their mom and dad went to the hospital to give birth to their baby brother.

I love these two little girls like they are my own and the mesh between children has been tremendous.

Personal space? Who needs it?

These 6 children don’t have any cousins…it looks like if they ever do – it is going to be a long time from now, and the age difference will be too great to say they “grew up” together. These 6 children (ok now 7 but we have yet to meet #7) have each other. And we have seen through this past week of togetherness, that they take each other through the good the bad and the dirty!

Over the past 40 hours I have watched these beautiful children cuddle together, help each other “get something from upstairs,” help each other get into pjs, play games with each other, read stories to and with each other..

Over the past 40 hours I have watched these beautiful children yell at each other, growl at each other and throw things at each other…

But most of all over the past 40 hours, I have watched these beautiful children become a closer family.

Welcome to the world Groundhog, thank you for sharing your sisters with us….next family get together we’ll make it a baker’s half dozen! (Does it work that way? Don’t know….work with me I’ve had 6 kids for 40 hours!)

Soon we will give back the two we borrowed and they will each be one of three instead of 6.

Hopefully they know they are welcome any time, that their “family” is here if they need anything…

and they can bring their baby brother too…look there is room between Puppy and L!

Feet belonging to Puppy, L, Bean, E, Belle and Bob

Average Adventure with SNOW? You’re Joking! Part 2

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To see part one click here….

The impending birth of our closest friends’ third baby. NES was due Friday. We have a mutual track record of taking care of each other’s children when big events are happening. M, NES’s dh was Bob’s favorite person in the world when Belle was born. So M and NES came to take care of him till back up could come.

We took care of E when M had surgery, and then again when L was born.

We are two families that have moved far from our parents – we have taken on helping each other out when we need family near by.

When Puppy was born over Thanksgiving weekend, NES had all my immediate family – Mom, Dad, Unk, Lolo, Bob, Belle and Bean all over for dinner while J and I spent our first few nights with Puppy in the hospital.

Wednesday, NES and I went for queso and chips and talked about what to do. How could we get 30 inches of snow, have them plow out of their driveway, drive to us to drop of E and L and then get to the hospital in time for the impending birth of the “groundhog?”

NES decided to convince M that the best bet was to move all four of them in with us, so that if they had to go to the hospital, M and J could shovel us out and they could make it to the hospital.
But then the snow came:

Friday night the power went out…it stayed out through Sunday night — 4o hours, 6 kids ages 2-9, a very pregnant NES. We couldn’t send the kids out to play in the beautiful powder…we would never have been able to warm them up if they cam back in!

We made it through – all children are safe and loving time together, parents are still friends, and the groundhog still has not come out to check his shadow….but, the weather men say we are getting another 10-12 inches tomorrow.

Though it is pretty – I think we are over it.

Average Adventure with SNOW? You’re Joking! Part 1

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To see part two click here…

For many weeks now we have been planning and coordinating two events. One – the graduation of our babysitter (A) from high school – B’s daughter, and Two – the impeding birth of our closest friends’ third child.

Let’s go to number one. Our babysitter has an older sister, 4 years her senior. Four years ago we held a friday night dinner for her sister M (our first ever babysitter). A group of friends called a Chavurah brought over a pot luck dinner in M’s honor- and now A’s honor – to celebrate Shabbat and their respective graduations from high school! And we made a cake!

Puppy was just a few months old – and it was great for all the kids to be together to celebrate such a milestone. So we offered to do something similar for our second babysitter from that family.

But with the this weekends impending storm, alerts of 5-10, then 10-20, and eventually 28+ inches of snow, the Chavurah members were getting weary, as was the family, her extended family was having a hard time getting into town.

Not only was the dinner postponed, but so to was graduation. Very sad for poor A.

Simultaneously let’s move to number two.

Hockey Night in JYAA!

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J is a Canadian. This means the boy didn’t grow up with baseball (go Yankees!) like I did, or even basketball and football – he grew up with Hockey, to be more specific, Canucks Hockey.

To be honest, it is one of the reasons I married him. No, not cause he loves hockey, but because he could care less about the other sports, and really had no interest in watching hockey unless it was CANUCKS hockey. Living in the DC area, out of the country and timezone of the Canucks, not many games are televised here. “Woo Hoo!!”

See, I grew up in a house with a dad and brother (mostly my brother) who watch sports…every sport, just didn’t matter…it was a sport. I love them dearly, but didn’t want that for my household.

So heavily weighted on my husband check list was this “not so interested in sports” gene. And J got a check!!

Women plan, and god laughs.

Who knew that the “love of and need to watch every sports gene” would get to Bob through my dad and brother all the way in NY? Not me, that is FOR SURE! Bob, from VERY early on has had this love/need/obsession. But it isn’t one sport, or even major sports….it is everything.

He’ll start with Baseball (go Yankees!! then maybe Nationals), then move to football (go Giants! then maybe Redskins) then to Hockey (go Canucks, then maybe Capitals) or basketball as necessary (go Wizards, then maybe the Knicks).

But the child doesn’t stop there if there isn’t one of those sports (any team) on, he’ll move to Tennis, Golf, Bowling, Swimming, Running if it is a sporting event competition of any sort…he will watch it.

What I didn’t know was that the “love of and need to watch every sports gene” could work retroactively…or could be latent. See as soon as Bob really got into it, J started watching with him, and is no longer the guy I married the guy who could “care less about the other sports, and really had no interest in watching hockey unless it was CANUCKS hockey.” Talk about bait and switch!

Last night my boyz – J and Bob, got into bed to watch a rarely televised Canucks game, for the record, I do not begrudge him the Canucks…I knew this one before I married him!

A bit into it, for the first time, Puppy joined them. There they sat in bed together watching – when Puppy asks:

“How do the boys get out?!?!”

Maybe there is hope yet for him!

People who get it.

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Bob woke up this morning, and not unlike him he complained of a headache and being dizzy. We sent him back to brush his teeth, get dressed, and make his bed..unlike most days he listened! Something was wrong. Few minutes later I found him on top of his made bed, fully clothed back asleep. After a temp reading of 102.4 it was confirmed.

We went off to the Dr. to get him checked out. After a quick look over and a swab Dr. G walked into the room and said with a wink and a smile: “We have a firm diagnosis! It’s strep.” It was music to my ears.

Dr. G got it. Just one short year ago a fever, a fever of unknown origin wreaked havoc on our family and (according to the nurses and office staff) our two loving pediatricians!

Don’t get me wrong, I hate when any of my children are sick or not feeling well. But a firm diagnosis, a diagnosis that a course of antibiotic, blee eyen harrah, will be have him 100%, is a fantastic feeling.

Seeing Dr. G smile and acknowledge the beauty of a “simple” firm diagnosis and wonders of antibiotics in a caring and not belittling way…reconfirms my love for this practice.

Feel better Bob…and thanks Dr. G.

One year tomorrow…

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One year tomorrow…

One year tomorrow….I need to say that again. One year tomorrow. This journey began one year ago tomorrow. I watched my Bean dance today…with every joint of in her body – her hips, her knees, her elbows, her wrists, her ankles, her sholders, her neck…
One year ago tomorrow this journey began. But today, she danced!

Planets shift alignment…

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Puppy had his allergy testing today. 4 scratch spots on his back – he’s allergic to nothing! What does it all mean…guess the boy can have milk…after almost 4 years…talk about realignment – we went out for milkshakes!!

He did have an off day after the testing. (OK he got his H1N1 after it too). He cried all the way to school, and all the way into school – it was very sad. Even on the way home he continued to be sad.

The older kids tried to help distract him. Belle says to him – “Puppy where do you live?” Puppy answers – “Earf!!”

Bob then says to him – “Puppy where do Grammy and Grandpa live?” Puppy answers – “Mars!!”

It all came full circle.