Monday Musings--13 July 2011

Right now...it is just about 6:00 a.m.  I am so grateful for a good night's sleep, as my own two week cough seem to finally be on its way out and all but one of the kids have colds.  Gemma was so congested last night that I was quite certain she would wake up frequently, and she did not.


This weekend...was nuts.  On Friday Dominic had a fever he had developed in the night, and he just lay about drifting in and out of sleep all day. Una also lay about all day with chest congestion very much like what I have been dealing with.  I made the calls/emails to cancel our Pentecost party.  My dad went back to Charlotte on Saturday morning.  Dominic still had a slight temperature and Adrian developed one.  Gemma began to get a runny nose and Sebastian a sore throat.

In the evening we had a scare.  I had made the kids smoothies, using all the same stuff I normally use.  Gemma loves smoothies and had some, although she didn't finish it.  She began to look uncomfortable and hold her stomach and say "ow-ow".  I gave her some homeopathic tablets for stomach upset.  Her discomfort grew, and in time she was wincing and crying.  But what really got me is that she kept drifting off to sleep for 10-30 seconds between her pains, like a woman in labor might.  She had had a nap--two and a half hours--less than three hours before this episode, so I didn't think it could be tiredness (although afterwards I did think about how she had stayed up much later than usual the night before, since it was my dad's last night with us).

The kids were all in Una's room, and Bret and I decided to take Gemma to the ER.  I yelled for the kids to tell them to get their shoes on, and they came running out.  Just then, Gemma began to gag and I ran to the sink.  She threw up.  I asked, "Does your tummy feel better now?  Is the ow all gone?"  She affirmed that it was, and she asked for water and took a couple of sips.  Bret sat with her and she looked tired, so I asked her, "Do you want to go to bed?  Night-night?"  She said yes, so I put her to bed in my room at 6:30 and checked on her frequently.  At about 11 she was flopping about restlessly.  I asked if she wanted to go to her own bed, and she did.  I transferred her back to her crib, and she slept well the rest of the night.

We all made it to Mass for Pentecost, but we went to the early (less populated) Mass and those of us with full-blown colds sat in the vestibule area to avoid contact with others.  At home we pretty much lay about taking it easy.  It was a very low-key, Pentecost compared to what we had originally planned: a party with 40-odd people, 30 of them kids!

Some plans for this week:  ordering school stuff.  Ack, it is so expensive, but I can't substitute for those programs which really work well for us!  I am really sold on the Institute for Excellence in Writing (before this year, writing was a constant battle with Una--now she loves it and is self-motivated to do it).  Teaching Textbooks for math is another boon.  Sebastian and Una are both using it, and although neither of them love math, Sebastian is doing well with it, and so is Una.  Saxon was great, but Una hated it, and I figured Sebastian might just leave home if I made him write out every problem.  Gabe will use it next year and since he is a computer freak (he will do anything to get on the computer), I figure it will be great for him, too.  I am also pretty sold on Rosetta Stone for language.  I wanted to use the much cheaper First Form from Memoria Press, but Una really disliked the Latina Christiana I and II, and I don't want to throw money away.  Rosetta Stone at least has a 6 month money-back guarantee.  Those are the big purchases.  All the others are comparatively insignificant.

I have to schedule dental check-ups for the kids. I ought to fill in a bit more on my Menu Plan (I need to have one in place when the next school year begins!), and I need to start thinking about history.  I wanted to do US history this coming year, but I feel like I could spend months just on the Revolutionary and Civil Wars.  I plan to do a lot of "living books" and just use the textbook as a guideline for our studies.  Any ideas, anyone?

If I get some time to myself, I would like to...finish the first sleeve and begin the second on Sebastian's sweater.  I have the yarn and the pattern for Gabriel's already.  I haven't ordered the yarn for Una's yet, but the colorway we want is on backorder anyway right now.

Some prayer intentions for this week:  for the speedy recovery of all the snuffly, coughing kids in this house; for Bret to get some work in; for the intercession of St. Joseph with regards to the construction of our new house; for my wonderful brother-in-law, whose birthday is tomorrow, and for Una's intentions, as today, the feast of St. Anthony of Padua, is her baptismal feast.

Something that makes me smile:  this guy.  Dressed as, I don't know, InflataMan?

If you want to do your own Monday Musings, feel free to grab the header image for your post and just leave a link back here in the comments so that I can stop by.  Have a blessed week!