Adventures of the Supersized 6

We came home from our small group meeting to hear the dreaded fate of our beloved Maytag dishwasher. The motor is toast. It will be $180 to replace it. Ouch, it is painful but true. Aaron and I seeked council over our laundry room wash tub. Since the dishwasher needed to be "unhooked" to be inspected I have no running hot water and I can only use one side of the sink in the kitchen. So our options are the bathtub, or the wash tub in the laundry room. We put the rack from the dishwasher on top of the washing machine and Aaron washed and rinsed while I dried and put away. It went quickly and it was actually nice. It reminded me of our late evenings in Sycamore. We would meet at the sink and spend time talking over our day while tending to the dishes. Last night reminded me of how much time we spent talking before our dishwasher. What a concept. We managed to get all the dishes done and put away. I felt we really accomplished something.

I woke this morning knowing that I needed to do a little grocery shopping. I realized that it was the first day at UC as well. Aaron asked me what my plans for the day was, I laughed and said I should have been in Biology class. What a nerd, I was skipping my first day. I went to campus and dropped my schedule, better to wait till fall and get it all paid for then to take a loan out for one semester. I still felt like a quiter despite knowing why I was doing it. Aaron tended to the younger two and the house while I was out. I came home groceries in tow. We put them away together, once again talking. I liked having moments of time where although we are focused on a task we are doing something together and communicating at the same time. He went off to work and I figured I would get to some laundry, I am behind. I looked and he had done the dishes for me, and there they were in the dishwasher rack on top of my washing machine. I smiled, put them away and put the rack on the floor in the hole where my dishwasher usually lives. Kinda sad to look at, but I didn't feel sad. Maybe I will as the meals pass and the stack well stacks. But I can also look forward to having time to talk with my husband. It may be a while before we get wonderful Maytag fixed, or find a suitable replacement, so Aaron and I may have some time to find a new "hobby" to do together and continue our "talk" time. We will just be using lots of paper plates!

TLM

The day I used my dishwasher for the first time was a glorious day. I loaded it with care, paying close attention to where I would like the bowls the cups, and I planned for the little basket that would clean the bottle rings and nipples for Annika's bottles. Not having used a dishwasher for the last 4 years it was as if that whole chore was wipped clean from my daily to do list. Even emptying and re-loading was taken over by my wonderful husband. I was able to give more time towards the other looming chore monster in our house. Laundry, and there is always plenty to do, I have an everage of 3 loads a day. If I fall a few days behind it is painful. With the dishwasher loaded last night I pushed the magic buttons that would wake it up to clean like the wonderful little creation it is during our slumber. I was all ready this morning to open that door and see the gleaming clean shine of new dishes. Oh, it was horror! They were still dirty!!! I stood there shaking my head, it was impossible. But true. Aaron and I took turns pushing buttons and waiting. It continued to go through a strange cycle making strange noises.

I called Mr. Joe. He is a very generous man who is like the "appliance whisperer". He can make any unruly appliance work again if there is a chance. And all he asks for is chocolate chip cookies. I am glad my oven works! After taking a few things apart he gave the diagnosis: A clogged pump. New style washing machines do not like powder detergent. It blocks up the works. So our dishwasher will be flushed out and hopefully be good as new tomorrow.

As I cleaned up after dinner stacking dishes, cleaning utensils and surveying how much I had to do I remembered my grandmother, and Aaron's grandmother. Neither woman ever owned a dishwasher. They both were of the financial means to obtain their own amazing machine, but both chose to use the same dishwashers they trusted for years, their hands. My dryer takes two dry cycles to dry one load, I complain. these women relyed on a clothes line to dry their clothes. They washed clothes by hand. I am glad to be of the generation that has these amazing machines as my alies and helpers in my daily chores. I depend on them to do the work for my so I can spend more time with my kids, and really let's face it, I don't like washing dishes. My dependency on them, and their occasional disappointment only makes my admire these wonderful grandmothers and all that they did daily for their families in the name of love.


TLM

As a child in Southern California the idea of getting out of a day of school for the weather was a non-issue. We heard tall tales of children in other states who got out of weeks of school simply because of snow. Wow, I wanted to live there. We never got a day off, even if there was flooding, landslides and earthquakes. And if the weather called for snow in "higher elevations" meaning Mt. Baldy, Big Bear, or Lake Arrowhead it meant nothing. Well once I got into high school it meant we took our own "un-authorized" snow day. My friend and I would decide that we were ditching and going to the slopes to ski. One of us had a boyfriend with a truck and chains and we would make our trek up for a day of fun. Now as a mom a snow day has a whole new meaning. I gotta keep 4 (well now 5 since Max stays at our house when his grandma is at work) kids busy for an entire day. We were having some nice "spring" like weather but it was only a tease. The advisory's went out and we were hearing 4-6 inches by some, 1-3 by others. But it all came down to the simple fact, we were going to get snow. Here in Southern Ohio anything above a dusting is reason enough to call off school. Heck they call in door recess if it hits 40 degrees. In Chicago the kids were outside until the wind chill hit 0. I was about 80% sure after watching the 11pm news that when I woke I would see scrolling across the bottom of the screen, "Bethel Tate schools: closed" - translation: "Tina Mundy: you're in for it!". I woke at 6:45 looked out the window and I couldn't see the road. They hadn't plowed yet. Although I already knew my fate, I turned to the news and there was my day's itenerary scrolling across the screen. Max's grandma called to see if we would take Max for the day? Sure, why not. I made them all eat breakfast, and then it started, "Can we go outside?". I made them wait till about 10. My neighbor called to see what we were up to, they were bundling for snow fun as well. We both have pretty good hilly yards to sled on. By the time we got outside they were on the hills on the side of their house that faces ours. So we joined them. Annika got her first sled ride and promptly screamed. She watched from the sides the rest of the time. Nikki and I were road patrol. The hill goes down into a ditch of sorts and then up onto the road that divides our houses. The road sees little traffic and had not been plowed yet. If the kids continue their ride they will go off the road and into the steep creek that is on our property. Not cool. The kids were up and down that hill with little injury. Two did bump heads pretty hard, and Alex nearly went into the creek. Nikki said she grabbed him by his hood. Once we were all frozen we treked home and threw our shoes, socks and coats into the dryer. We debated on lunch and decided to put our newly dry and warm gear back on and head to Frisch's. Warm soup and a burger was just what this tired busy momma needed. We headed back to the ranch and made chocolate chip cookies and the kids finished the day with some video games. Which I was glad that they lasted until 4 before they turned them on. I felt that I really accomplished something there! With it being a snow day for the West Clermont district as well Aaron was able to go in early. He was home at 5:20 and it was wonderful to complete the day with him helping me for an evening with the kids.

All in all this (hopefully) last snow day of the season was as wonderful and exhausting as I could hope for. I enjoyed being able to spend a day with the kids where there was no homework, no schedule, no stress!
Ok, now I am ready for Spring. Seriously, where is my 70 degrees!!???

TLM

There are times when God provides things out of the blue. You didn't ask for what you recieved (you didn't know you were going to need it), and you may have scratched your head when you got it. But then the reasons are revealed and you praise God for His amazing provisions. Aaron and I have had many blessings in our lives. And a few were just like this one we received. I opened our mailbox and there was an innocent envelope addressed to Aaron and I. I looked on the front and the back and there was no return address. We opened it and to our surprise there was a note "God loves you and so do I." with some money in it. We scratched our heads, and began to ponder who would have done such a thing, and why? God provided just what we needed when we needed it. The way He always does, and the way I know He always will. He is so amazing and faithful to me, even when I am not amazing and fall short of being faithful to Him. He reminded me when I saw that wonderful little note that He does love me, and others do to, despite of myself. I have always struggled with offers of help, gifts, complements, or big to do's, even simple acts of love have been hard to accept. I avoided having a wedding because all the attention seemed overwhelming. I was always told to do for yourself and if you need help it shows your weakness. But to help others in need, and I feel blessed in knowing that my actions may have blessed someone so I give of myself as often and I can and as God leads me to. But I need to be willing to accept the blessings that others are offering to me so that they too can feel the blessings of giving.

Thank you Father for providing all that we need. And I hope that our anonymous admirer is blessed as they have blessed us!

TLM

My 4 year old is an amazing little guy. All the kids are, but Noah cracks me up some times. I was just thinking about our ride home on Sunday. The kids started to give their best attempts at knock knock jokes. Noah must have been thinking hard for his turn. He yelled "knock knock!", and we answered in unison, "whose there?" Ok, I am laughing as I type, "Chicken Run!" I am thinking of the movie made by the Wallace and Gromit people. "Chicken Run Who?", "Chicken Run or I am goin to eat-cha!!" I laughed so hard I cried. Noah let us laugh for a few moment and then came his trademark, "OK that's enough.".
I just had to share before I forgot all about it.

TLM

Today may be a typical Friday to some, but it my house it is an extra special day. My baby, sweet little Annika turns 1. My clock is reading 2:15 pm. Exactly 20 minutes ago, Annika turned a year old. I am excited to see how she grows and how she is becoming he own person but there is some let down as well. This is that time I will have a little baby of my own in the house. Our last big 1st birthday celebration. I don't remember feeling this way when Noah had his first birthday. We had decided after him that we were done, but I wasn't as emotional about his growing as I am with Annika. When I found out of my pregnancy with her I was mad and dissapointed. I felt at the time that I was done. We couldn't do it. But she proved me wrong! I was never so excited as I was when I looked on her for the first time. If I could prolong her growing up I would. I enjoy her so much. It is not that she is so much "better" that the other 3, she is simply a different baby. And in some aspects I must be a different mom. More relaxed than before, more sure of what I am doing, confident. I will be turning 30 this year, and with 4 kids already and Aaron declaring that he is officially done with having any more I am trying to enjoy every moment I can. I knew I desperately wanted to have a family. I remember vividly being a child and talking to God in the dark of night asking him to give me a family. I wanted a husband that was a police man, 8 kids, and a 2 story house. I wanted lots of animals. If He could put a pool in the backyard that would be great. I must have been 7 or 8 at the time. Funny how 20+years gives you perspective. I have a great husband, not a police office, but still a wonderful guy. I even have the 2 story house, that was easy. And if things go right we will have a pool (a simple blue above ground) in our backyard this summer. Although I didn't meet my goal of 8 kids I am blessed all the same. Annika has been virtually the easiest, happiest baby the world has ever seen. She rarely cries, rarely fusses, and is full of snuggles. I can only hope that this wonderful disposition follows her through life. I have enjoyed mother hood to the fullest. I never thought I would recieve so much enjoyment out of it, but it has exceeded my expectations. Within months I am sure our abilities to have any more children will be gone, and with that my goal of 8. 8 is a bit more than I think I could handle. The 4 that we have keep us very busy. I am blessed beyond measure to have 4 little beings that God has trusted in my care. Why am I so emotional, maybe hormones. The idea that 365 days ago God gave me yet again the most significant task, motherhood. I strive daily to be the mom He calls me to be, to be the mom that Jacob, Madison, Noah and Annika need me to be. I feel selfish to say that I would have more. But when is enough enough. I would have many more, I would adopt children that need a family. I just love kids. But I guess our square footage is letting us know. We are at capacity. I am so blessed to have each of my children, and I truly do feel that children are the most precious task we can be called to. I am thankful that God gave me the chance and trusted me enough to experience it 4 times over. What more can I ask for? I am looking forward to spending a few moments tonight with Annika. I just want to hold her, smell her little head, listen to her sleep and try to capture in my memory what it was like to have my last baby as a baby. All too soon she will become a toddler to busy running to and fro to snuggle and let me smell her hair or kiss her cheeks.

Happy Birthday Annika! May you be abundantly blessed by God! May you grow to be a mighty force for Him, and may you bless others as you have surely blessed our family!

TLM

Seeing as how my intentions were to journal or vent. That is exactly what I am going to do:

Having 4 kids is rough. Having 4 kids and one small income is rougher. But having 4 kids, one small income, and then finding out that our financial aid amount changed, and not for the better is when counting every penny in your checking account makes you neurotic. I have been wondering if this is God's way of trying to tell me that it is still not the right time for this. Becoming overwhelmed with all this, to the point where it really is too much stress and worry, is it really worth it. There is massive amounts of transition going on around me, and I am trying to keep it all together in my head. I feel completely and udderly unorganized right now. Which only drives me even more crazy. We have never had it easy, but then I don't think we ever expected the easy route to begin with. We started with 2 penny's between us that we rub together every chance we get to make something for our little family. This is not to say that many amazing opportunities and blessings haven't appeared in our time. They have and at just the time we needed them to. Which is why I am currious to see what God has in store for us now.
We are in the middle of some legal proceedings. My divorce left me with some financial "baggage" that was never attended to. The baggage weighs about 35K. A heavy load for us since we havn't pulled in much dough since we were in Chicago. Couple that with the "baggage" we have collected in our 8 year journey (although a fraction of my previous baggage it doesn't help matters) and you end up with a lot of ugly luggage! When we moved here there were lots of differences from Chicago, our home, our surroundings, our schedule, where we shopped, where we worshipped, and even the amount in our checkbook after bills was drastically different than it was in Chicago. Aaron had to change jobs when we got here, and his previous employer was bought out. So we would have been forced to do this regardless. We cashed out all that we could to get our first home. Now I find even though we have enough to pay our mortgage, utilities and meet our basic needs, I feel like we are being penalized. My financial aid for this year is very different than it will be next year because we cashed everything out to buy our home. It looks like income for the year in question to the government, and therefore I have to pay more (roughly 70%) towards my education this year. Because we are in the midst of a legal process, I don't know if I can get a student loan for this semester, or if I would even want to go that route. Do I really want to add a few more logs to this massive bonfire of debt I got going on? And if I wait a mere 5 months ( I have already waited 8 years, what is 5 more months?), my finiancial aid become 100%. I feel like a brat for saying that 30% is not enough but being realistic we can't really comfortable foot the 70%. So what is God wanting me to do with all this? I don't know. I know that I have my family to consider in all of this, it is not just me here. I knew that I didn't start winter quarter for a reason, I would have taken an imcomplete with all the medical chaos that has insued since January. But should I start now. Even in this detail God is there. There is a choice to make, and I am seeking his coucil on makng the right one. When does 5 months make a difference. Will it when I am working? When I am going to retire? Will those 5 months show up then? If I take 5 more months will it hurt anyone but myself 30 years from now? If I even last 30 years. So the schedule is delayed 5 months, and so is that starting income. If I deduct what it would eventually cost to get a loan for the two sememsters I would have to pay for it seems silly. We have mananged to keep it together for 8 years, when I graduate is that 5 month delay going to put us out on the street? no. Am I making this a big deal for nothing? Maybe. I don't know how it is all going to play out, I never have and I am sure that I never will figure out all the details. But I do know that God does, he has already planned it all out. And although I am stressing down to the last penny, he had mapped out every detail, yes, down to the last penny.

TLM

I checked my status and I have been accepted, confirmed, and verified as a student of UC. I thought yeah, I am going to regisiter online to get it done and out of the way. Oh, not so easy. I have to go to the orientation and only then and there can I register. So next Tuesday evening I will have to go to campus for the 4 hour process of orientation, and registration with an advisor. I just want to be sure I get my classes!!! I checked and the 4 that I want are filling up fast. One of my required classes is effective public speaking, I am really looking forward to that class. (Not really at all) There are about 5 classes offered and there are only 5 seats left in one. Of course it is the Friday night/Saturday morning class that only the newbies like me will be stuck with being able to take. Auugghhh. Why is not easier? Because nothing ever is. In the meantime I will just cross my fingers, say a prayer and hope that there is still a seat left in these 4 simple little classes I would like to cross off my requirements list. I am required to do "this" but before I can do "this" I need to do "that", but then I have to verify "that" and make sure that I can continue the process for "that". Requirements are required, but they sure are a pain in the butt.

TLM

So the first parasite test is negative. yeah I know, what it is? The ped said that if 100 people have a parasite, an average of 65 will test positive the first round. So I told him that I would see how things go for 24 hours before I will come get the 2nd collection kit. Oh what fun. Oh, and Jake is not ADD. I really didn't think so, but having the evaluation done make it easier for further testing. And it did give the doctor a good look from many sources. He said that there are some begingings of anxiety disorder, and that he very well could have an LD of some kind. I am currently looking into getting an evaluation done for dyslexia. I am hearing that the school district does not have the means to diagnose it, that I would have to go through an independant source. But I intend to follow up with that. In the meantime we are spending roughly an hour a night on memorizing spelling words.
Other big goings on is Annika's big birthday party in Springfield this weekend. She is turning 1, and I can't believe it. She just doesn't seem that big to me. It is hard to imagine that a whole year has passed. But that fact is that my baby will be 1 in just 4 days. I am looking forward to spending a day with Aaron's family who has been a wonderful support to us, and our big little family. Aaron will be going next week to see the doctor who will with a few little snips end any aditional little people into our home. It is a strange place to be at 29, closing the door on some things yet opening the door to others. I am a mother of 4 starting college and then onto a really neat and fulfilling career. It is emotional, exhuasting, but in retrospect I wouldn't want to do it the conventional way. I have been able to be the mother I wanted to be when my kids needed a mom. I was able to give the security to them that I felt they needed. I was able to be the one there for every new experience. I was there for the firsts of everything. I was able to lay down a foundation and although my job is not yet finished I feel no guilt for the time over the next 2 years that I will take to gain my degree andd provide a little extra for my family. It may be in part to the fact that I know that when I am class Aaron will be here. They will always have one of their parent's at home to help guide and direct them. I pray that when the time comes that Aaron and I both have to work that God will work it all in such a fashion that one of us will always be home to continue to be there for our kids. Time will tell and God knows how it will all play out, I just need to be patient and faithful.

TLM

Actually it could have been walmart for all I know. We went to our trusty ped. last week with Noah. To tell you the truth, I don't remember what for now....Oh yes the mystery rash. He weighed in at a hefty 39 pounds, and although we could not find the origin of the rash we were given a new nasal spray to try in hopes that it would help with Noah's chronic sinus/allergy/asthma issues. That very evening Noah experienced (although we all experienced it with him in our own way) explosive ****. I will refer to the Poop as **** so as not to gross myself out while I type, as I have been up to my neck in **** for an 8th straight day now. These volitile incidents continued through the weekend. And it was only 1-2 times per day. We watched for dehydration-none. We watched for a fever-none. We watched the toilet traffic of all the dwellers of our house-none, well, not like Noah's frequent commuting. He wasn't complaining of pain. By Tuesday I called the Dr's office to see if it might be related to the nasal spray. I was hoping that it wasn't because this spray is like liquid gold to me now. Noah could breath, and it really cleared him out. It was amazing. They said I was more than welcome to take him off the spray and see if the **** subsides. Wednesday there was not toilet visit of any kind by Noah. I thought maybe we were on the right track. What he lacked on Wednesday he more than made up for it on Thursday. And of course it was all in the late evening. The poor baby ended up with the worst rash on his behind. Just from trying to get into the bathroom to be cleaned. Sorry, I know too much info. But I really feel for what this little guy is going through. His little ego of being a big boy who goes to the bathroom on his own is shot. I have resorted to putting him in pull ups to contain it. I was tired of washing out 3 sets of underoos and pants a day. He feels crushed, but at least it is an easier clean up. I decided last night that regardless of what he did in the morning I was calling the ped. first thing in the morning. I did, and we got in at 10. Seeing as how we know it is not the wonder spray, we moved onto a virus, but now that we are on day 8, a virus would have blown through the rest of us by now. No pun intended. So we now are looking at bacterial infection, or a parasite. Which our Ped. is leaning towards parasite. Noah seems to be feeling fine, a few tummy pains every now and then, but no fever or dehydration, only down side, he has lost 2 precious pounds. Which for Noah is huge. It is 4 and barely tips the scales at 37 pounds. Oh Fun! To add to the hesteria of all of this, I got a cute little collection kit, yes, to collect ****. If the test comes back +, they will know what med's to treat him with. I started to wonder as today passed whether or not our new little friend habitating in Noah's tummy was gone, or still causing problems. I toted the kit with me to dinner and to Aaron's parent's house. No ****. We come home and not 30 minutes and Noah is informing me that **** had happened again. I guess I got a preview of what my chemistry class will be like. There were liquids to mix with the "sample" and spoons, yes, spoons. I did have gloves which was reassuring. But it ended with the "sample's" being mixed and stored properly awaiting their deposit and inspection by the lab first thing in the morning.

Once again, I reallize that this burdon is lighter to carry than that of the mother in darfur who is searching for food to keep her child alive. People deal with this everyday. Just like the strep, the pneumonia, the ear infections, the viral infections, the Gallbladder infections, the broken ribs, the need to wear braces to walk... And I am thankful that it is not something worse, there are children in the East contracting the avian flu. This will pass ( no pun intended) and this will all be forgotten to Noah. But I have a feeling that this journey in 06' will be a reminder to me of God's unfailing love and faithfulness to my little family.

TLM