If mama ain't happy. . .

ain't nobody happy! I remember reading this saying in my best friend's house growing up. I think about it quite often. I have been in somewhat of a 'funk' lately. I don't know exactly what has been going on, but I have been having a hard time being happy, or nice, or friendly, or any of the above. I apologize to friends and family who may have had to interact with me during my period of unpleasantness. I wish I could promise it were completely over, but I seem to be having a hard time with life lately. It's not just all that's going on with Kenneth, although that certainly must contribute. The children seem to be yelling and fighting a lot lately. Probably because of my bad example. I have not been a calm and happy mother lately. AND, they've all been sick with coughs and colds, so Kenneth hasn't been touching them or interacting with them a whole lot for about a week and a half now. That certainly is contributing to my crankiness. What's worse than your husband being gone all the time working and studying? Him being home all the time, but unable to help with the children!!!!!!
On top of all we are dealing with health-wise, we have been dealing with a mold problem in our home we are renting for about 2 months now. I haven't mentioned it up until this point on the blog because A) for a long time I was trying to pretend it wasn't happening and B) the pile of laundry it created was too big for me to think about and C) It's just not fun to talk about!! We noticed mold growing on the back wall of our master-bedroom closet a while ago. I tried to wipe it down with some bleach. It was still there. I tried to spray it with straight vinegar. It was still there. I tried to ignore it some more. It was still there. Then one Sunday, Kenneth was getting ready for church and noticed there was mold on his suit. Then I knew I could no longer ignore the problem; we had to tell the landlord and get it taken care of. So, they had a mold remediation company come in and they sealed off our bedroom for about a week and a half and removed all our stuff from the closet into the garage, tore out drywall and insulation, ran air purifiers and dehumidifiers for a good 4 days and then put it all back together. Fortunately, we have an extra queen sized bed, so that wasn't too inconvenient, but unfortunately, all of our clothing which was now in the garage had to be washed by US. I don't know about y'all, but I have a hard time keeping up with the regular flow of laundry around here, much less having to wash every article of clothing in my closet!!!! So, once again, I pretended it wasn't there for over a month now. Yesterday, however, it was such a gorgeous Spring day and we were feeling particularly productive, so Kenneth set me up a clothes line in the backyard and we got to work!!! (My ultra-money-wise husband couldn't bear the thought of all those loads of laundry going through the dryer- and rightly so. The sound of all those loads would have driven him mad- he wouldn't have been able to concentrate on anything- all he would have seen in his mind were money signs all day- all that money down the drain!) All that work inspired other things. All of a sudden, Kenneth's inner farmer came out and he started planning out an extensive garden in our backyard. We even went and got seeds and planted some last night!! All the digging in the dirt inspired the girls and I between loads of laundry to start actually pulling all the weeds in our backyard. (When we moved in we were told there was a 'gardener'; so I never actually thought this is something I would have to do and haven't MADE the time for it. But, in actuality, he just mows the lawn.) Well, I should have started pulling weeds earlier. The kids loved it! They actually were in the same space for quite a long time and didn't fight or argue. We had not been this happy in a LONG TIME!! It felt so good to be out in the sunshine with the daffodils blooming, the trees flowering, working in the dirt, hanging laundry, eating oranges off the tree. It was wonderful!!! So, just for remembrance sake and to share our crazy life with all of you, I documented the day:

This picture was actually taken a couple of days before. In addition to the work in the bedroom, extensive work was done on the outside of the home to prevent the mold from returning to the closet. Here are the kids watching the workers prepare and pour cement around the house. How would you like to be one of the workers on the other side of the window mere inches away from 3 little spectators. Poor guys!

Here is Kenneth, preparing the soil for seeds.

Oh the laundry!

Emma picking weeds and Grant enjoying life!

18 months old!

Handsome little guy!

One of his contemplative moments. . .can you tell he is the little brother of 2 sisters? (Notice the headband- he put it on himself)

What a little sweetheart! Giving Dad kisses and zerberts!

I can hardly believe that Grant is already 18 months old! In fact, he was 18 months old about a week and a half ago, but because of our circumstances, it hasn't quite been the milestone it usually is in our life.
Normally, at church, the children can go to the nursery at 18 months old. For the parents, this is a wonderful thing! That means you can finally listen to your class without chasing/consoling/entertaining a toddler. Or it means you can finally teach or lead music or whatever your calling is without having to also pay attention to your little one. But, right now because of Kenneth's chemo, we aren't sending any children to nursery. We feel there are too many germs floating around in there. All those sweet germy children are touching too many of the same things. Arianna, who is technically still in nusery has been going to Primary and Grant goes home with Kenneth after Sacrament meeting. (Kenneth wants to go to church, but also doesn't want to be exposed to too many germs by being around lots of people for 3 hours, so this is the compromise we have decided on.) So, at least for another couple of months, Grant won't be going to nursery.

So, Grant is indeed 18 months old and is such an active, intelligent little guy. He says so many words! Here are the ones I can think of right now: Emma, Anna, Mama, Dada, dog, tractor, yogurt, cheese, milk, juice, light, book, ball, engine, all done, raisins, apple, orange, pants, diaper, car, bird, truck, socks, shoes, sweatshirt, coat, door, water, couch, chair, bench, bread, go, dog, bus, snack, mouth, spoon, nose. He even tried to say 'Joseph' when D and J were visiting. Oh! and he tried to say excavator the other day! Still needs some work on that one, though!

Here are his 18 month stats:
Height: 32 1/4 inches (49th percentile)
Weight: 23 pounds 8 ounces (19th percentile)

He had some blood drawn and the doctors says he is borderline anemic. So, I am supposed to give him Polyvisol with Iron. Anyone else had problems with anemia in their little ones? What did you do to help them?

She's a big girl now!

You know your child is ready to potty train when she refuses to lie down for diaper changes and wants you to strap the diaper on her standing up. Oh, and then you find her strapping the diaper on herself standing up. . .

In the beginning of February, we started to try to motivate Arianna by rewarding her with a Little People animal every time she successfully went on the potty. (I found a whole lot of Little People on Craig's list for a great price, so I have a box full in the garage to give for this sort of thing and for Birthday gifts, etc.) She really wanted those animals! (about 30 of which lined the top of the refrigerator for her to have constantly in her view) Arianna has a thing for animals. She LOVES them. She really wanted to earn them and went on the potty a couple of times when we first introduced them and then lost interest for a few days. Then she became interested again, probably from a string of successes when she realized she could really grow her animal collection if she tried. But, even with all the motivation, until she was ready there was no forcing her. About 3 weeks ago now, Arianna decided she wanted to give all her diapers to Grant. She was finally ready to potty train!! The first day went pretty well. About 36 hours after her decision, I think she regretted it. She had 8 'accidents' in one day!! (I think she thought, "Forget this!!! Who wants to get up and go to the bathroom all the time!! And washing your hands every time!! Far too much trouble for me!! I want to just keep on playing!!") But, everytime she had an accident, we took away an animal. She did not like that one bit! So, she eventually earned them back and then we moved on to sticker charts. If she filled the chart she could get a big toy. She earned the Little People Zoo and the Barn. She was overjoyed! When she had accidents, we took stickers away. She was not happy about that at all! So, she learned to stay dry. We are now 9 stickers away from filling up her last chart (60 stickers total) where she will earn her final prize. We are trying to play it up so she knows after this she is a big girl just like Emma who knows how to go on the potty and doesn't need rewards for it anymore.
What has amazed me most about Arianna is how easy night time training has been. She decided that after she gave Grant her diapers that that also meant she did not need a diaper at night time. Of course, I am thinking, "Yeah right, child!!! You have never woken up dry from a nap or night in your entire life!" But she was adamant. She kicked and screamed and would not let me put a diaper on her. So, I decided not to fight. I put one on after she was asleep right over her panties. Luckily she is a heavy sleeper! She did not even wake up. What amazed me though, was that she said she was going to stay dry and she did!!! She did have a couple of nights after that that she did wet, but for the most part she has stayed dry all night. After a couple of nights she would be upset in the morning when she found out I put a diaper on her. So I made a deal with her that if she went three nights in a row without wetting, that I wouldn't put a diaper on her again. And she did it! What a champ!
We are so proud of her. It was about time. She is over three for heavens sake! I am happy to say that after 18 months of double diaper duty I am back to just one in diapers!!! Hippeeee!!!!!!

Four down, Two to go

Life has kind of gotten away with me again!! I am sorry for not updating sooner!
Kenneth had his fourth Chemotherapy treatment on Tuesday. It went okay, but we are learning some things. As I mentioned before, Kenneth kind of has a problem with needles. We have found that one of the Chemo nurses is in cahoots with Kenneth's veins and can start the IV immediately without any trouble. Unfortunately, she is NOT the one who started Kenneth on Tuesday. Another nurse, who is very dear, was having quite a bit of trouble getting the IV in and therefore was fishing around. Well, that kind of makes Kenneth's stomach turn, drops his blood pressure and makes him feel sick; not a good start to a day of Chemo. So, Kenneth slept a lot during this treatment trying to recover from the traumatic hook-up (and from general tiredness from the last couple of busy, but fun days). So, we have learned that we just need to ask for the right nurse from the start. It makes a huge difference for Kenneth. The last few days Kenneth has been a little more tired and had a little more nausea than after previous treatments.

We also have some good news to share:

• The X-ray that the doctor ordered after the last round of chemo (because Kenneth was feeling a little bit of irritation in his lungs) showed that there is no re-accumulation of fluid around the lungs and the tumors are no longer visible. Hooray!! The doctor suspects Kenneth was feeling the tumors shrinking and tugging on the lung tissue.
  
• The last blood tests show the Liver function is back to normal. At the start of this the cancer was affecting the Liver.
• Kenneth gained 5 more pounds in the past 3 weeks!!! In fact, the doctor very sensitively suggested he be careful not to overdo it. He even suggested some light exercise. How wonderful that he is gaining and not losing weight and this stage!!! We feel very thankful for how well he is feeling.
  
• Last bit of good news: the doctor sees no reason why we cannot go ahead and book our flights back to New York for Kenneth to walk at his graduation from Cornell University in May!!! We are so excited to be able to be there for that event and to visit family and friends in our dear New York.
  

Well, for now that is what is going on around here. I have a few more posts to write about our adventures (San Fransisco, Redwoods, Natural Bridges Beach), challenges (the kids are sick again =( ) and successes (Arianna is essentially potty trained!) around here, but I am worn out for tonight, so goodbye for now!!!

Mr. Grant can moo, can you?

We finally got Grant on video doing all his animal noises. So, if you have a minute and you want a good laugh, it's pretty funny. We love that he clucks when you ask him what a chicken says!

Karen and girls' visit

We had such a wonderful visit with Karen, Kenneth's sister, and her 2 girls. I thought I would share a few more pictures from their time here:

One of the days Karen, the kids and I went to a Farm Park close by. Here are the kids watching the ducks and geese swim in the pond:

Here is Grant checking out the Turkey:
Here are the girls on one of the play tractors- mostly I included this shot so you could see the cool 'barn' play structure in the background:
Here is a good one of the girls on the tractor:
All too soon it was time to say goodbye. Here are the 2 'peas in a pod' playing one more time at the airport before we said goodbye:

Kenneth and Karen:

Thanks again for coming and helping us out, Karen, Alyssa and Joslynn! We love you!

Learn Something New Everyday!

I feel like the kids have been learning so much lately! We all are, I guess. Here is a run down on what we have been learning:

Grant is saying more and more words everyday. He has learned to say banana. It sounds like 'mana', but I know what he is saying and it is adorable! His latest favorite word is 'engine'. As in fire engine. At first when he said it I thought he was saying 'onion'. I showed him an onion a couple of weeks ago and it was a word Emma learned pretty early on, so I just assumed. But, I should have known with this little guy that it was indeed 'engine' he was saying. He loves books about trucks and work machines and tractors.
He has also learned to tattle on his sisters. It cracks me up! He will run out where I am (or Kenneth is) and get in 'the stance' and say which ever sister's name who happens to be the offender at the moment. Today instead of just saying their name he also added a word to describe what the offense was; e.g. "door" when they had closed their door and would not let him come in.
A couple of weeks ago I meant to write a post about how Grant had FINALLY learned to sleep like a normal person!!! He was sleeping all through the night 11-12 hours and for about a week was napping anywhere from 2-3 hours in the afternoon. It was amazing!!! I was so excited that he finally got it after so long of only napping for 45 minutes, or if I was lucky 1 hour and 15 minutes. Well, good thing I didn't write that post because it didn't last! Everyday for the last week and a half Grant wakes up sometime in the 4 o'clock hour. I tried going in and telling him it was still time to sleep, but it wasn't working- he would still cry. So, I tried telling him when I put him to bed at night that I wasn't coming in until it was time to wake up in the morning. So now, he cries from whenever he gets up in that 4 o'clock hour to 6 am when I go and get him. (That is my policy- 6 am is the earliest I want these children awake in the morning.) We've tried putting him to bed earlier to see if that is what he needed, we tried to put him to bed later to see if he was simply getting too much sleep. Neither worked- he still woke up at the same time. The last few days the wake up time is slowly creeping later: 4:20 am, 4:30 am, 4:45 am and this morning 4:50 am. I am hoping that he will creep it right back up to 6 am. Sheesh. I tell ya, I tell ya, I tell ya.

Arianna is learning to potty train!!! She is the complete opposite from most children, however, because she is pretty much doing all of her #2s on the potty and up until today almost always refused to do any #1. Funny lady. We have been motivating her with small animal toys that she can earn every time she successfully does something on the toilet. I really think she is the type that will just have to decide when she is ready to be diaper free. No one can make up her mind for her. That's kind of how the current training came about. One day she just went in there and did it, even though for weeks we had the animals on the refrigerator and she knew how she could earn them.
It's funny, we thought for sure she would train before Emma did. It sure didn't happen that way. Maybe it was the move. She was starting to train a little back in Maryland. For a long time we would ask here when she was ready to go on the potty and she would say, "Tomorrow". Well, today, she decided it was time to give her diapers to Grant- she is a big girl now and ready for panties. (Just to prove her point to me that she was a big girl she brought up the fact that she even showers now). So, as I write this, she is in panties for the first time. The real question is: Am I ready for this? (The extra laundry and frustration) Well, I better be if she is!

Emma is learning to read! She is really getting the concept and amazes us sometimes with what she understands and picks up on. A lot of it at this point is memorization, but she is really learning and it is exciting!! We are talking a lot about what we want to do for school for her in the Fall: Homeschool or Kindergarten. I am leaning towards Kindergarten and Kenneth toward Homeschooling. I was homeschooled myself for a little while and I have worked in a Kindergarten class, so I am biased. We'll see. I went to observe a kindergarten class in our assigned school a few days ago. It was pretty good, but I wasn't completely won over.
Here is Emma at 'resting time'. She doesn't even try to get comfortable anymore; it's all about the books!

I am learning to get back into my workout routine. I was so good when we were in Maryland before we moved. I felt really great- healthy, strong and my clothes fit comfortably. Then we drove across the country, lived in a hotel for a month and then had to move in. I kept telling myself that I would start up again when we were settled in the house. Then I felt like we were never truly settled because there were still unpacked boxes, still things I couldn't find, still pictures unhung. Then. . .Kenneth was at the end of his semester and then all the craziness with the Lymphoma happened. Well, now that we are in a routine with our new life and now that my thighs have been nagging me for a few weeks, I have started again. I already feel better about myself! I am excited to get back in the routine. The kids are learning to stay out of my way. That was another reason I dreaded getting back into exercising- the kids inevitably need something or have a melt-down and I am interrupted and it bothers me. It is easier this time with Kenneth home and willing to help me fit this into our schedule. So, here goes!

What has Kenneth learned, you ask? He has learned to accept the fact that he is a handsome bald man and is now willing to have his picture here on the blog. So, here he is:
This is when we were saying goodbye to Karen, Kenneth's sister, at the airport.

The kids are loving Dad's head- what a great place for the animals to stand!

Kenneth is actually doing quite well. He has a great appetite and feels healthy and strong. We feel so thankful.