Jul. 11, 2006 He's got a mean right hook
We were at church this morning helping to put together crafts for vbs. I took the dc along so they could play with the other moms' dc. Most of them were boys, my ds13 was the oldest, the youngest boy was 7. Out came the light sabers, and a 'war' was commenced with teams. Except one team kept making rules, and then not following them, but insisting the other team had to. My boys were on the 'other' team. Now, if there is one thing my competitive, stick to the rules oldest can't abide, it's unfair play. He got more and more frustrated, and SHOULD have left the game and walked away.
But he didn't. :sigh. One rule change too many, and a tug of war ensued over one of the 'weapons'. Ds let go, causing the other boy to crash into a wall. Said boy 'came at ds', who proceeded to haul off and hit him in the face. Another boy (the pastor's son) started trying to kick ds (but missed), ds had better aim and left a large red spot on the boy's thigh.
I was stunned at the suddeness and the violence. My ds was the oldest there, and was acting like a 3 yo. He was in tears of frustration, and I think even surprised himself at his reaction. And I was embarrassed that here my *homeschooled* oldest was behaving like a playground bully.
I made him stay with me the rest of the morning, and when he calmed down he actually was a big help in getting things cut out and bagged up. I must admit, I was frustrated that the other moms said NOTHING to their dc involved, even though we discussed that there was 'plenty of blame to go around'. I didn't find out the whole story (the other boys' involvement) until on the way home, but the Mama Bear in me was growling! My ds was definitley wrong--and we talked about at which point he should have simply left the game and walked away--and I punished him by not allowing him to play the rest of the time we were there; but he wasn't the only wrong one there, and he felt the unfairness of that as well (another teachable moment about not being able to control others, only ourselves).
He apologized to the boys; one accepted, the other walked away without saying anything. Tomorrow, we will see them all again at a swimming party at the lake home of a friend. At least I won't be otherwise occupied and can supervise more closely. If I'd been paying more attention, I could have helped ds notice when he was getting to the boiling point and stepped in sooner. (NOT that his aggression was my fault, but that I could have used the opportunity to help him diffuse his anger in an appropriate way).
A good reminder why we like limited, controlled, well-supervised social involvement with other dc.
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Jun. 18, 2006 We have a heartbeat!
I had an appt. with the midwife on Thurs (I was one day shy of 14 weeks), and my main goal for the appt was to hear this little tyke's heartbeat. Mission accomplished! The stinker tried to hide, but the mw was persistent and finally found him. (I do not know, nor will we find out the gender of this baby, so I will switch pronouns from him to her, rather than trying to remember to use him/her).
Hb was strong and steady, around 148 bpm. What a relief! I've never had to wait this long for a hb, and it was a real test of patience. Of course, the early movement I'd felt was sporadic and I hadn't been feeling hardly anything in the past week to give me reassurance. So it was also a test of faith and of resting in the Peace that our Lord can give. I can't tell how many times I had to redirect my thoughts, and place the well-being of this baby back in the Father's hands (where it rightfully belongs), and trust in His perfect will, whatever that might be.
The rest of the appt was routine. Bp was 112/70. I've gained a total of 7 pounds, which I think is pretty good.
Morning sickness seems to be resurging a bit--I was hoping that was subsiding, but it appears not yet. It's not debilitating, so I'm grateful for that.
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Jun. 2, 2006 A beautiful day
Well, after the heat wave of the past couple of weeks, cooler drier air has descended, and it is just beautiful here today. We can actually stand to have the windows open, so I'm feeling a lovely breeze, and listening to a Bob White call outside the window.
Dh is cutting the last of the early hay, the dc are reading, and I should be fixing dinner, but it'll keep till I'm finished here. Oh, I also need to give haircuts tonight.
We put up the dc's pool today. They probably won't actually get in it for a few days to give the sun some time to warm it up, but they played in the water while it was filling.
I'm 12 weeks today! I can't believe the first trimester is almost over. And while I do NOT want to wish this pregnancy away, I will be glad to see the queasies and tiredness subside. Yesterday and today were a bit more 'green' than they had been for a few days.
I think the most exciting thing though, is that I'm pretty sure I felt the baby yesterday! I know it's really early, but I felt the same sort of taps several different times during the day, and in the same spot. It really felt like baby, and not muscle twinges or gas bubbles. Since we didn't get to hear a heartbeat last appt, and I don't go again until June 15, I felt like this was just a little, "Hi Mommy!" moment. I haven't felt it again today, however.
I did some sewing today and got the zipper put in the dress I'm making for DD8. I really dislike zippers! I had to rip out the basting once and redo it, but finally got it in looking good. She wants me to try to finish it so she can wear it to church on Sunday. I need to trim the bottom (it's way long) and hem it and it'll be done. So, it is a possiblity she might get her wish. Then I'm going to start on a couple of maternity dresses for myself. I've got a couple of higher-waisted, full skirt dresses that still work for now, but as fast as I'm growing, those won't hold out long, LOL.
I love summer break when I have more time for projects I just can't get to when schooling.
I also need to get busy going through my Tapestry Year 2 book lists, and checking off the resources I already own. Our homeschool convention is coming up at the end of the month, and I like to buy most of what I need there.
Well, need to go check on a cow that's due to calve any day, and then get to supper.
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May. 26, 2006 Much ado about nothing
It's pretty bad when you blog so infrequently that just to get to your blog, you have to request a new password because you can't remember what you used. LOL.
Figured I'd post something (anything), just to get some words here, and maybe I'll get more in the habit of doing so. And then maybe I'll actually get to the point that I have something profound to say that people might actually benefit from.
I've been super busy today. I'm trying to get the house ready for company this weekend. We are celebrating our oldest's 13th!! birthday. HOW did that happen so quickly? I've been working my way from the mudroom (now the NON-mudroom) to the other end of the house, doing everything necessary in one room before moving on. At least the public areas of the house are in good shape. I'm saving the kitchen till tomorrow. So today, I still have 2 bathrooms to clean, and dusting in the bedrooms. I'm finding I need frequent breaks (or at least I think I do).
Today was our official last day of school, but it really ended up being yesterday. The dc were motivated to do extra yesterday, so they had nothing to do today. DS12 wanted to help his dad rake hay, and wanted to be sure to be available as soon as the dew dried. And DS10 and DD8 wanted to be able to play with their cousins who are spending a few days with Grandma and Grandpa (who live just up the road).
I've started looking into the Tapestry book lists for year 2, to prepare for the homeschool conference at the end of June. After the party's over, I need to get up in the attic and dig out what I have for that time period so I don't double up.
I wanted to get our new car washed as well, but that's not done yet. I think it'll be the dc's job tomorrow.
So, that's today. Nothing earth shattering, pretty normal, everyday stuff. But at least I wrote *something*!
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