New Attic Window

 

Fall Festival Pics

 

Fall Festival

I forgot to download last weeks pics on my computer so I can’t blog about what we did on Saturday. Well I guess I can journal and add the pics later.

Last term, I was on the Hospitality Committee and this term I AM NOT!!! I really enjoyed it while I was on it but don’t miss it now. We planned social activities to encourage unity. Now I just get to attend the activities and than leave when we are done!!!

Saturday was Fall Festival. There were several booths for kids to play games and win prices (chocolate stuff from the states). Also face painting, Levi was dressed as Spider Man so he had a huge spider painted on his nose and the legs extending all over his face. Caleb went in his Cheetah PJ’s. He was ok with fleece PJ’s at 8:00am but by 11:00 it was close to 80 degrees. He was sweating. He took the top off and wore it with the hood on his head and the sweatshirt part hanging down his back. Than he had cheetah spots painted on his stomach. Also cookie decorating, a bouncy castle, craft table, and a hotdog roast. We had a good time.

Seth now has 11 teeth. Yes my baby boy is 13 months old and has 11 teeth. He is happier, he sleeps better, he is starting to eat, his constipation is manageable. Oma is coming! He needs a haircut badly. But I thought I would let her see and feel his fluffy blonde hair before we cut it. He needs a cut before we go on vacation. This morning he was babbling in his crib when Ryan got up at 6:00 am. When they came to wake me up around 7:00, Ryan’s first comment was different than it has been the last several weeks. He said, “Seth was so much fun this morning”! Otherwise it was comments on his crabbiness and a look of weariness on my husbands face before he went into work. This morning he left with a smile on his face cause he had a good time with his son.

My Seth-A-Cakes

My Seth-a-cakes

He is weighing heavy on my mind! Not to complain cause he is a joy but his odd quirky health issues could drive me to drink.

The child is constantly, chronically constipated. Nothing, I mean nothing helps!

He has eczema which I treat every day! We rub Nivea, Vaseline, Eladil, Johnson’s and Johnson’s, antibiotic ointment on his parts and pieces. If I don’t put some kind of lotion on his ankles and than cover them with socks, he will rub his itchy feet on the carpet until they are raw. Hence the antibiotic ointment til they heal again. He chews on his fingers cause he is teething til they are bright red. And sucks whatever lotion I had applied off!

Tooth number #10 appeared with much fanfare. He had a rash for a week, than a fever for 60 hours. Tooth #10 appeared on his right upper jaw. But the crabbiness and finger chewing continue and the area where tooth #11 should be is red and puffy. Yesterday I was trying to bake Ryan’s favorite Vanilla Oatmeal Raisin cookies for his Birthday along with a nice dinner that he requested. I put Seth in front of the TV with toys, a dry bottom, a dose of Motrin, and a full tummy. He whined and fussed for an hour while I cooked and baked. I kept checking on him and he had no tears, his face wasn’t even red with frustration, he just had this constant fussy whine. HELP! This is not my Child! Where did he GO? When will he return!!! Hopefully teeth number 11 and 12 will come soon and we will have a break from teething.

Lets see where was I? He is refusing to eat. Hopefully just a short hiatus while he teethes but he only wants a bottle. Since he doesn’t get full during the day, we are back to once a night feedings. I can’t change him to milk cause it makes him more constipated but I am TIRED of buying formula. Since it is milk based, I have a feeling it aggravates his eczema and constipation, we go in circles. Soy makes him grumpy. Goat milk was recommended but I can’t find it in the stores and I am not buying a goat for my back yard and milking it twice a day. I’m sure the kids would like a pet goat though!

Crawling and walking! I realize when the crawling truly begins I will miss putting him in one place and expecting him to stay there. But he might be more content if he could chase after the toys he likes to through outside of his reach.

In a year, all of this will be a memory to laugh at, but not today!

Caleb's Five Year Portrait

 

Caleb's Five year Portrait

 

Levi's Three Year Portrait

 

Seth's One Year Portrait

 

Caleb's Birthday pictures

 

Caleb's 5th Birthday

Caleb's Birthday started Sunday afternoon. All 5 of us walked to Java house and had toasted chocolate almond fudge icecream. Back at home, Ryan pulled the queen size mattress off our guest bed and put it on the living room floor. He also lit a fire in the fireplace and we all watched Jungle Book on the floor. I think Ryan, Caleb, and Levi settled down around 9pm and I went upstairs and enjoyed the silence with a good book. The next morning I heard all the stories of who kicked who and how Levi ended up side down with his feet on his pillow.

We went grocery shopping cause that's what I do on Mondays. Than I made home made Pizza for lunch. Deluxe, Sausage and Cheese, and Plain Cheese. At 4:30 the Toewes kids came over for cake, icecream and opening presents. He got a train set to go with the one he already has, and a yoyo from the Toewes. Seth really like the yoyo. They have been playing with the train set from dawn til dusk. At 6pm Ryan took Caleb and Levi to see Cars in the theatre. They loved it.

I think we officially celebrated each kids birthday and I am done for another year!

Shopping and Cleaning

My downtown shopping trip has been postponed. We are going to try again this Friday. I was bummed cause I had measured windows, rug areas, shower curtians etc. I want to find some kind of basket with a cover, one for each boy to put their treasures in. I am tired of finding play money they made, coins, special rocks, paper airplanes, bottle caps, etc. on the carpet with Seth reaching for them.

Saturday Ryan, Joyce, Wanza, Titus, and myself spent the whole day cleaning the attic, scrubbing carpets, furniture, footlockers, and curtains. The attic is clean! After Seth's carpet was cleaned it didn't dry fast enough. It's been too cloudy and rainy. So it smells like wet chickens. It might need to be replaced. I found a carpet weaver that does really nice work. I can pick my colors and design and they look even better than Thelma Hops! Is that possible. I haven't priced them yet but would like to put one in Seth's room.

Than this week I have been taking curtians down in the rest of the house and putting them through the washing machine. Joyce irons them and rehangs them for me. We are counting the days til Oma comes! One of these days when Ryan gets home on time, we are going to drill more wholes in our cement walls and finish hanging pictures. All of this just feels really good. I want to clean three times a year. Again before Christmas when Nanna and Poppa come and before Titi Diane comes next summer. But probably not the carpets again!

Caleb's Stories

This month Caleb was assigned to write an explanation.

God’s Story and My Story

I like to collect shiny rocks, morrier leaves in our front yard and light dirt. I like to sell and deliver them. I sell them for nothing. They don’t have to pay. And I like my fish and I like your roses and I like Jesus with our plants to love Jesus but no Satan.

My Fish

My fish like to eat with God and we like to eat with him. The plants like the fish and our fish like the plants and the fish tank and books. The chameleon would like to see our fish. The End

One of the Bible verses he is learning is about no one can serve two masters. So he asked about that and I tried to explain that we can't follow both God and Satan, we can't sin and not sin at the same time. This morning at breakfast he said he was going to follow God.

Family Picture

I had to post the picture below so computer whiz Diane could put it in my profile. Isn't she great? Aren't we cute?

The Williams

 

Attic Windows

I don’t have any new pics to post so you’ll just get the news. We are putting a window in our attic. Caleb and Levi have a cool bedroom up there. It’s by far the biggest bedroom in the house. Ryan and I would have put our room up there but the doorway and stairway are to narrow for a queen size bed to fit up. Two years ago when we moved into this house, the attic had not been used as living space recently. Many missionaries ago had put in a ceiling and built a wardrobe up there. The wardrobe had to go up in pieces and be put together up in the attic and will never come down again. Someone else had put mosquito net on the two lever windows. But the windows are way over our heads and only let light and air in. You can’t see out them, they are so high, and I haven’t attempted to hang curtains around them.

When we moved in we repainted the ceiling and walls white. And hit a yearly sale at Tile and Carpet and managed to carpet the attic for $150. It’s gray patterned carpet with no pad underneath but sure added nicely to the attic. Also at that time we had a new railing installed around the stairway. We now have 3 beds with similar African quilts on them, one for each of the boys. And two twin futon chairs for friends. And legos, train sets, and blocks. We hung a wall hanging up and two shelves with blocks that spell Caleb, Levi and Seth. It’s really a nice bedroom.

This month we are adding a window. It’s 40 inch by 40 inch. And it adds so much to the room. It’s nice to be able to see out. We had to have it specially made with security bars and a fire escape easy access. So it’s a bit cumbersome. They busted the hole yesterday and today they are cementing the new window in and placing the glass panes. Friday, three girl friends and I are going down town curtain shopping.

I am also getting a new shower curtain and window curtain for my bathroom. And a new curtain for Ryan’s bathroom. He is going to use my plain off white shower curtain but we are going to put a border on the top and bottom of whatever material I find for his window curtain. I have never had a kitchen curtain so might look for that too. My kitchen rugs are 7 years old and soooo faded I am not sure what their original color even was. So could look for that. Just excited to go shopping with girlfriends. Going downtown can be intimidating. One of the ladies is getting a driver so as we shop we can place our purchases in the car and all will be safe. He also knows his way around and can drive and park a whole lot easier than I can.

My house is so dusty with all the construction that Saturday is cleaning day. Both Wanza and Joyce are coming to help put the attic back together. Ryan and I carried everything out of the attic except the beds and mattresses. Than we rolled back the carpet as much as we could. Ryan borrowed tarps and we covered everything. But the dust has slowly seeped throughout the house. I figure while we are cleaning I might as well do some deep cleaning. So am going to have Titus, our outside worker clean carpets. He’s not Stanley Steamer but can maybe get some of the spots out. Also want all my wood furniture wiped off of fingerprints. Want to take beds apart and wash everything, turn mattresses, wash curtains. Wash two wicker bathroom cupboards. Resort everything in the cupboards. You know Oma is coming and I just want to get it done so we can relax and enjoy a clean house.

We had a huge garage sale in June which emptied out my cupboards but I haven’t utilized the space very well. I need to make more stuff easier access for the boys so they can be more independent. They can get their own cereal, milk, and spoon in the morning but they can’t reach the bowls. The Play dough toys are in a bad spot. Their clothes cupboards need some major sorting. All three have out grown stuff since the last time I sorted stuff in March when we first came. They also always pick the same favorite shirts and trousers.

Anyhow, that’s me. I am at the hangar uploading pics to Snapfish which takes forever to do just 10 pics at a time. But I want to order them so OMA can bring them! That's why I have been rambling!