The Smith Family Adventures

It’s no secret that sunny weather is my favorite. Something about the sun just makes me feel more alive. I’ve been soaking up as many rays as I can the last few days. We’ve been to picnics at the park and stayed to play after school on the play ground. We’ve been on evening walks and had picnics in our backyard. It’s been wonderful!

Normally on the weekends all I want to do is get some rest. This weekend we probably worked harder than we have in a long time…and I feel more rejuvenated than ever. Isn’t that ironic?

The weekend started out with a sleepover. It was Simon’s turn to go to Ama and Baba’s house, and therefore, Elias’ turn to have one on one dates with Mommy and Daddy. Saturday morning I took him to the zoo. It was crowded, but we got there right at opening so it wasn’t too bad. Seeing elephants swimming was the highlight for me as far as animals go, but it was more fun just to have time to devote to my oldest child.

When we got home I fed Caleb and we had a picnic in the backyard together. Then we played out in the sun. Caleb sure has gotten the hang of this sun thing. I wish this was me right now.

I took him inside to have a proper nap with no sunburn, and then Nathan, Elias, and I got to work in the yard. I pulled weeds for hours. Weeding feels so good because you can actually see results! I cleared one (of many) sections of our yard and it looks very nice now. Elias helped clear the yard of moss and dead pine needles for a bit, but then he disappeared into the side yard and I didn’t see him for a long time. When I decided to check on him I found him making mud. He had found a bucket of rainwater next to our compost bin, and was adding dirt and stirring. What can I expect? He’s a little boy.

Then guess who woke up and was happy to be back outside with us?

In the afternoon we started on the main project for the weekend: making our swing set safe for the kids. Here is our before pic:

The problem was that the grass was so muddy that the kids were slip sliding around or just plain not wanting to be out there. Plus it was no anchored to the ground and the entire structure rocked back and forth when they used the swings. We arranged for the use of my dad’s truck by bribing my parents to stay for dinner after dropping Simon off from his sleepover. Then we stole my dad’s truck to go pick up some bark chips. When the truck returned, Simon and Elias were excited to help unload.

That was all for Saturday. All the real work was saved for Sunday. We went to church in the morning, then came home to begin the real work of our project. Nathan measured and cut the wood, and we laid it out to double check. We had to place it just right so that we didn’t cover and sprinkler heads.

Call me naive, but I did not know that ripping out sod was such backbreaking work. Nathan did most of the work. I tried using both the hoe and the rake and was pretty ineffectual. I was demoted to dirt removal which involved lugging very heavy bucketfuls of dirt to the side yard out of the way. At least I was useful in some way. In the picture below you can see my tiny patch of removed grass compared to Nathan’s large one. Also, I never knew so many worms lived in our grass.

The boys got to play outside all day. We made a special exception and did not make them go to quiet time. They just played and played and had the best time. Here they are preparing our planter beds for seeds.

Caleb was such a trooper all day. We had him in the bouncer watching us from the shade and he just loved being out there and looking up at the birds or watching his brothers.

Eventually, Caleb got hungry so I had to go inside. Before I did I recruited the bucket brigade so that dirt removal could continue even in my absence. The boys had a lot of fun helping and were actually really good dirt removers.

After the ground was prepared, we laid weed barrier fabric, and then our one injury of the day occurred. We were careless and let Elias get a hold of the hoe. He accidentally whacked Simon in the face with it. Even at bedtime Simon still had a big diagonal line across his face. Luckily there will be no lasting damage, but I decided to send the boys inside to rest and watch some Curious George. Nathan took advantage of the peace and quiet to secure the frame together.

Then we moved the swing set back in and Nathan anchored it to the ground.

By then we decided we had earned ourselves some take-out: pizza! Elias is the only one in the family who doesn’t eat pizza, but he wanted me to take a picture of him enjoying his dinner. We all earned it today!

Finally, we added the bark chips and voila! We were done! (Unfortunately due to a small math error we will have to get more bark chips to spread before we are actually fully finished, but we were definitely finished enough for today!) The boys were so excited to play in their new play area!

Both Nathan and I are tired and sore, but as I said before, I feel great. It was so nice to be productive, and to get outside to enjoy the sunshine. The boys were able to play for about ten minutes before the rain came. Almost perfect timing! Luckily, only a day or so of rain is expected before we can be back outside in the sun again.

Our spring break started out great. We had a couple of fun play dates scheduled, we had lots of time at home to play and relax, and I had some fun activities planned.

When Simon was a baby, I did so many fun things with Elias to ensure I had one on one time with him, and to teach him things I wanted him to know. I planned letter of the week activities. It’s been about two years since I did anything like that and I’ve missed it. I figured spring break would be a great way to try out some new, more structured time with the boys. (While still allowing for free play of course).

I decided to make Monday “make it Monday.” What did we make? Easter cookies! The boys mostly just love decorating cookies so that was the highlight, but they helped me make them as well.

On Tuesday, I decided to try a science experiment since the boys loved the vinegar and baking soda “love potions” we did during valentines. I chose a color mixing experiment which also can be used for capillary action, but I got two blank looks when I tried to describe that. Unfortunately, this experiment worked a lot slower than I was hoping. We had to end up leaving it overnight before the water actually moved into the center cup. The boys were a bit disappointed, but still had fun looking at the glasses in the morning.

Color combo #1 – Before

Color Combo #1 – After

Color Combo #2 – Before

Color Combo #2 – After

Now here comes the part where we can’t catch a break….

Our week was going pretty swimmingly until Wednesday morning when I woke up with a very sore throat. Those of you who read this blog often will know that I had scarlet fever not too long ago. I had finished my course of antibiotics on Sunday, just a few short days before this. Wednesday I generally felt awful and then I the scarlet fever rash reappeared. Oh no!

Meanwhile, I discovered a large lump on Simon’s neck. I took him to the doctor and was sent home after being told it was a normal enlarged lymph node.

We decided to check all of the boys’ throats even though no one was showing any symptoms just to be safe. It’s a good thing we did! Elias’ tonsils were enormous.

So today I spent all day going between various urgent care, doctor, and pharmacy visits. First I went to the urgent care, and am now being treated for scarlet fever yet again. Then I took Elias to get his tonsils looked at. He tested positive for strep throat (even though he insists he has no throat pain and has no other symptoms besides the enlarged tonsils). The pediatrician recommended we get Nathan and Simon tested as well just in case. So back to the doctor I went with Simon. Sure enough, he is positive for strep.

Please excuse me while I spend the rest of my spring break feeling sorry for myself. Just kidding (only sort of). We will make the best of tomorrow resting at home and trying to keep Caleb healthy. At least this little cutie seems to have escaped everything so far.

We are so thankful and lucky to have access to antibiotics and will hopefully all be feeling better soon!

I tried to take advantage of the little bit of sunshine we’ve had in the past couple of days. It was so nice to get outside. Yesterday, I spent an hour or so finishing up the pruning of our hydrangeas. It’s so late to be doing that, but I just haven’t had another chance. While I pruned, Simon dug around in the dirt and Caleb napped.

Actually, it’s been so long since we’ve played in the backyard I think Simon forgot how. When I first made him come outside with me he wanted to go in the front. When I wouldn’t let him he threw a twenty minute tantrum in which he cried and banged on the sliding glass door and said he wanted to go inside. I pretty much ignored him and kept to my pruning. Then, I noticed that I didn’t hear him anymore and looked up to see that he was digging around in the dirt. He played happily digging and investigating and just being a little boy outside for about 45 minutes before Caleb woke up and I had to make him come inside. I’m so glad we’ll be getting outside more often (hopefully) these days.

Then today Caleb was napping again, and I took the boys out front to play with chalk. They were so happy playing and making chalk pictures together.

I weeded a bit in the front and drew chalk pictures with them for awhile as well.

This evening Elias went to kick off spring break with a sleepover at Ama and Baba’s house. Nathan took Simon on a Daddy-son date to the movie theater to see Zootopia. So it was just me and baby Caleb spending a few hours together. After we were both fed I plopped him in the ergo and decided to get some more sun.

It was great to get some fresh air and walk around the neighborhood for an hour or so. It was Caleb’s first time wearing a sun hat. He just looked around happily for the entire walk. Winter babies experience the wonder of spring even more since they have been inside most of their lives!

Caleb has been doing much better with tummy time in the past two weeks or so, but I think I’ve unlocked the secret to a successful tummy time: brothers!

Brothers just make life more fun. Both Elias and Simon like to read Caleb stories, but they also come up with interesting ways to entertain Caleb.

Look at this neck strength:

Elias was pretending to be Mary and Joseph in the above picture. Then he had to give Caleb a turn as well.

Hopefully this is the start to many pleasant tummy time adventures.

I haven’t posted much in the last week because I haven’t been feeling well. It all started with a sore throat. Being a mom of three young boys, I don’t have much time to think about having a sore throat. I knew it hurt pretty bad, but mostly just attempted to ignore it. Moral of the story…..bad idea!

Last Tuesday evening while Nathan was out at a church meeting, I started to feel really bad and went to bed early. Wednesday morning I woke up and felt so awful I knew there was no way I could care for the boys. I asked him to use his last sick day to stay home and help me. I couldn’t even stand without feeling really dizzy and like I was going to faint. All I did that day was feed Caleb when Nathan woke me up. Wednesday evening, though, my skin turned red. Uh oh!

On Thursday, Nathan was out of sick time and had to go into work. I am so lucky my parents are in town and are willing to help out. My dad picked up all three boys and took Elias to school, and I went to urgent care. It turns out I had scarlet fever!

Most people I tell say they though scarlet fever was extinct. Where are we, the Oregon Trail? But actually, scarlet fever is strep throat. When strep throat goes untreated, the bacteria leaves the tonsils and enters the body. It usually travels to the heart valves or the kidneys and then releases a chemical toxin that turns the skin red. Hence…scarlet fever.

I got a very stern lecture from the doctor at the urgent care about putting myself higher up on the priority list. Then I got some antibiotics. After over 72 hours on antibiotics, I was feeling much better! In fact, almost my normal self! Since I wasn’t contagious anymore, I was able to go to church and rejoin the real world.

So far, none of the boys have shown any symptoms. (Other than Nathan who had his usual sore throat for a couple days and then gets better on his own). I am still praying they’ll stay healthy! Here I am on Thursday evening trying not to breathe on Caleb: