Ah, water.....

Sometimes nothing feels as good as a hot shower!! And brushing my teeth!!! We had our water back on by 8:30 this morning, despite my pessimisticly whiny last post. The Water Dept guy was very nice and fixed the problem - the master valve was off (outside where the city had been working before), so he had to put a very long pole down the valve and twist it on. He came in to check the water pressure to make sure it was full blast, which is was! He even patted Loki a couple of times. The roadblocks were removed this afternoon too, so we can get to our driveway from either direction again. It was weird having our street so quiet, with no buses or cars zooming past us.

Later on the kids and I discovered the only toilet in the house wasn't
filling with water - uh oh! So, we spent the day at Aunt Sarah's!!
Roy got a replacement part at Menard's and the toilet should be working
much better now. Hopefully our water woes are over?!

My new 2008 Scion xB was delivered yesterday, and as soon as it's not minus bazillion outside I'll take some pics and post up more details - YAY!!!

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Like Moses in the desert....I need a rock!

The City of CR has been doing some repair work to a water leak on the city's side of our yard and our neighbor's yard. (i.e. Not our cost!) Our street is blocked off right after our driveway, and they had a huge hole dug down to the water main.

On Thursday, our water was off from 11am-7pm, but they told us it would be. It was back on Thursday night, and everything was fine yesterday morning.

Lily and I got home around 5 yesterday to find the street still blocked, but no work trucks or backhoe, and the hole was filled back in. The water pressure was low, but working in the kitchen. We weren't home very long, and though nothing of it.

We went to Scion Hockey Night in Ames, where the Cyclones suffered a last minute defeat by 1 point. We hung out at Old Chicago with our buddies, and headed home.

We got home very late, around 1:30 am. Guess what? NO WATER, NO NOTE, NOTHING.

I woke up at 5:30 am very thirsty, and found we only have milk (eww) and Dr Pepper Cherry Chocolate (EWW) to drink.

So, at 7:15 this morning I called the Water Dept Emergency Line and someone is coming to check it out.

It's 8:03 and he's not here yet.

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Warning! Undersocialized Homeschoolers

While at a local restaurant, I saw a middle schooler with a t-shirt that read, "Warning! Undersocialized Homeschooler." We love our homeschool friends and all they do, even if it's not a choice I'd make myself! This video pokes fun at the "cliches" surrounding homeschooling, from a homeschool dad - comedian Tim Hawkins.

Newsweek Video

A couple of weeks ago a reporter from Newsweek came to our church to interview some of us for an online piece on Iowans in preparation for the caucuses. Roy and I were army-volunteered to interview (thanks Sarah!), but thankfully we made it to the cutting -room floor.

The video prominently features our pastor, Richard Marsceau. It also happens to show lots of our friends at church, plus Sarah holding David, and me holding Zoe. The reporter told me my little baby was so cute, but I had to correct her - "She's my niece!"

Click here for the video (updated link).

Whiners on Parade

Sick, sick, sick! Everyone in my house is sick, except me! Could it be a flu shot? Nope, only Lily got one of those, and she was vomitus muchus yesterday. Papa Bob watched her for us, which consisted of snuggling on the couch most of the afternoon. Roy is very ill today, and Aaron seems to be hopping on board too. Me? Nope! I think it's all the Airborne I've been cramming down my throat. I got the Target/generic brand, which just isn't as tasty, but I've been drinking it anyway. Get away Sickies, eww! And wash your hands WITH soap!

So, everyone except Mommy is sick. What does that mean? WHINERS ON PARADE. Lily was sick yesterday, so Roy kept her home today. Lily was feeling better today, but Daddy wasn't. When I called to check on Lily, she said there was nothing to do, and Daddy wouldn't play any games with her. The guilt trip earned her a quick game of Candyland before Daddy said it was naptime (for both of them). I got an email from him this afternoon that said, "I just want someone to take care of me." WAAH, you're a grown up! He went up to bed at 6:00 p.m.

Since no one was hungry except me, I ordered a delicious pizza with
mushrooms, ham, black olives, and green olives - YUM!! The other
members of my family are boring pepperoni-pizza only people. Eww.


Aaron and Lily are on the couch fighting over who gets to pick the TV show. Aaron has a temp now, but no upset stomach - yet. Lily is still Miss Whiney-pants because she feels better but not 100%. They're both trying to eat some ramen noodles and/or Jello. Eww. Is it possible to whine and eat at the same time? YES IT IS.

I'm counting the minutes until bedtime.

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Aaron

Drama Queen

Since Lillian is starting Kindergarten next year, it was time for immunization shots yesterday. She was all geared up for it, and Papa Bob had promised he would take her our for ice cream if she didn't cry. She brought her Carebear along for moral support.

The first part went fine. Her height/weight ratios are great, and she's very smart. The doctor we go to often has students working with her. The student doc asked Lily what a curtain is, and she said, "It's so people can't see you, for your privacy." That one wasn't a typical 5 year old answer! He asked her to copy a square, then to draw a person. She did all of it, but acted like, "Duh, I can do that, can't you?" She also hopped on one foot and did the sobriety-check walk (heel-toe, heel-toe steps).

The time came for shots. 4 immunizations plus a flu shot. The flu shot was the one that did it, I think. They did them all at the same time, with both the nurse and doctor each taking a leg. She said she only felt one poke, but they kept "pushing on it, and it really hurt, and I DON'T want any ice cream Mommy." She alternately fussed and wailed out of the doctor's office, even when I told her she might scare some "little kids", which usually gets her to put on her big girl/brave face. NOT TODAY. She said her leg burned and it felt like a bruise too.

I promised to get her some pain medicine, then we'd go to McDonald's. We went to Walgreen's for some children's ibuprofen, and she wouldn't even walk! I put her in the cart, but it bent her legs too much. She finally sat up on the edge of the cart, holding on with both hands. Not the safest position, but by this time I was picking my battles. We got drivethru at McDonald's, then came home to rest. She was all propped up on the couch, with her blanket and her Carebear. She called Papa later and said maybe she was ready for ice cream, but we were watching the twins last night, so maybe tonight or Saturday.

When we were watching the twins, her pain reliever wore off about 8:35 p.m. Whew! She turned into a puddle, couldn't sit, couldn't walk, she was done. I know she's dramatic, but WOW, that took the cake. She fell asleep on the way home, so I carried all 43.6 pounds of her in the house, dosed her up again, and helped her into her pajamas, since she wouldn't do it. Drama Queen!!!

From my all-time favorite movie scene - You know you love it too!

This is SO wrong, but SO funny

There goes the neighborhood

Our neighbor had a Haunted Yard for Halloween this year. He made everything himself, out of wood, PVC pipe, and styrofoam, including the fence. Take a look:



Bill had planned this for months. He waited until the kids were in school to set everything up, so they were VERY surprised when the got home from school. He had a crew of 8 actors to jump out, stalk, and otherwise scare people from 5:00-10:00 p.m. Two air compressors were in our shed, so no one could hear them, and he even changed our front porch bulb to a lower wattage blue bulb, to create more of a shadow on one side of the house (Roy ok'd that, but didn't tell me!). The only thing that didn't work was the lightning effect, due to a blown fuse. Otherwise, it went off without a hitch!

The faith of a little child

On Sunday morning, Lillian brought her little pink purse to church, with her little pink wallet. Usually we'll give her a dollar for the offering plate, but she said she had money already - she put in her only $2 bill.
Then at lunch, Papa Bob had a $2 bill for each of the grandkids! I pointed out that she gave her money to God at church, and he gave her another $2 bill!!

Then on the way home Sunday evening, we saw lots of black smoke up ahead-something was on fire. We turned off on our exit before we saw what it was. The kids were riding with Roy, and he told me Lily said, "Daddy, should we pray for the people in the fire?" So they prayed. Turns out it was a semi that had flipped on it's side and was completely on fire. But you know what? The driver made it out before the truck caught on fire! I told Lily later that the driver was safe - her prayers worked!!!


If you're up for a heart-wrenching, completely inspiring, guaranteed bawl-out-loud crying jag, click here.

Knobbly Knees

What do two Scottish descendants and their lad and lasses do on a sunny Saturday afternoon?
Sarah and I took Lillian and the twins to Celtic Fest at Usher's Ferry in CR! We saw our cousin Pete in a kilt (yikes!) and learned a lot about our Scottish heritage and traditions.

One tradition that I had no clue about was the Knobbly Knees Contest.
Somehow I was picked out of the crowd to be a judge - maybe it's the reddish hair?? Now, having never seen a "Knobbly Knees" contest, much less even heard of one, I had no idea what I was getting myself into.

It's a contest where men or boys (kilts required) come up on stage, and a judge or two feels their knees to see how "knobbly" they are. Yes, I was a judge, and I felt lots of knees, including some very rough knees, and some very ticklish knees, and some very knobbly knees! Bribes were abundant - a dollar for each judge tucked in the top of each stocking, a bit o' whiskey offered from a flask pulled out of a sporran. There were lots of taunts and barbs between the contestants too, such as, "A real Scotsman would never give away TWO dollars."

The man that won the contest had very knobbly knees, it felt like 3 knobs on each knee! His prize was a bottle of Scotch or whiskey and the title of reigning champion for the year. All I got was a dollar!

Pics are posted here.

Small World

Due to my work schedule, and Roy being in Kenya, Dale and Myriam took the kids overnight Friday. We met in Manchester for the kid hand-off, and I stayed at home Friday night. Saturday I drove up to Garnavillo after work and stayed last night. The kids and I drove back today. That's WAY more driving than I'm used to, usually Roy drives when we go up there. I finally found my way around the construction in Strawberry Point, so was later than I planned last night. On the way home, we took the posted detour. Duh, me.

We went to the Elkader Evangelical Free Church today. We've been there a few times, when we're staying in Garny for the weekend. I mentioned to a friend there that Roy was in Kenya, so he added him to their prayer requests during the service. It went something like this:

"This lady over here is a Duff from the Volga Duff's, and her husband Roy is on a mission trip in Africa with some eye doctors. She has that square car out there." After the worship service, a man from the Volga area talked me up about the Probert and Duff families being the first in Volga, about how they inter-married between the families, etc. He mentioned all the work my cousin Pete had done in Volga and that I should go see it sometime. Then he said I got the Scottish red hair, so I talked about the Celtic Fest, and they wanted to go but didn't this year. SO, after we left Roy's parents' house, we went to Volga and saw the new fountain, and we went to the Highland Cemetery and found pretty much all the Duff tombstones, including my Grandma Lillian's. There were lots of Robert Duff's there, kinda weird. Aaron was fascinated by all the tombstones. We saw old tombstones from the 1800's. Visits to the cemetery may seem morbid to some people, but I think it gives us a sense of our history, and respect for the people who lived before us. I only wish we'd gotten some flowers for Grandma Lillian's stone. It's been 5 1/2 years since she was gone, and with our Lillian's 5th birthday this week, I've been thinking about her.

He's a traveling man, made a lot of stops, all over the world...

Roy leaves for Kenya with a medical missions team on Thursday and will be gone for 10 days (until Oct 7th). He's going with his boss Dr Fitzgerald and 4 other people, a PA, and RN, a photojournalist, and another optometrist from their office. They are going as a humanitarian mission through Dr Fitzgerald's non-profit organization, but they are partnering or being sponsored by Empowering Lives Int'l (ELI).

They are going to a village called Kipkarin, which has a medical center. Part of ELI's mission is to train native Kenyans to sustain themselves, while still spreading the Word of God. The team plans to set up an optical lab so they can manufacture their own lenses after the team leaves. So far the only electricity is generator power, but the village is supposed to have electricity soon (as in within 5 years??). Roy has extensive lab experience, so he will be helping mostly in this area. He is very excited!

We would appreciate everyone's prayers for Roy and the team as they travel and work over there. Last year no one got sick and everything made it (27 boxes!). This year they're taking 25 boxes so are in the same situation. Please pray for protection from injury, disease, and no tariffs/taxes on the boxes.

Thank you,

Bridgit

They Say It's Her Birthday!

On Sunday we celebrated Lillian's (it's no longer Lily if you ask her) 5th birthday. Her actual birthday isn't until Wednesday, but Roy is leaving for Kenya, Africa on Thursday, so we needed to have it this
weekend. Her brother gave her a present of his own choosing - a Transformer toy of his that she always plays with. She was NOT pleased about getting a "boy" toy and stared him down a couple of times until they both started giggling.

She also got LOTS of High School Musical (HSM) stuff - blanket, dolls, singing card, handheld game and even an HSM UNO game. Also Barbie clothes, My Little Ponies on top of her cake, an art set and paper, her very own scrapbook with paper and supplies, and a picture album of her very own. A Sorry game, girly stuff like lip gloss and headbands, and various other items that a spoiled 5 year old girl loves.

We got her some books for her LeapPad, a bike helmet and new knee pads, elbow pads and bicycle gloves. But no new bike? Well, Papa played along with us and pretended he was going to the bathroom, but he really went outside and got her new bike (from Mommy and Daddy). Papa teased her as he brought in the bike, and said "Lily, look what I found in the bathroom!" She was confused for a little bit until we told her that Mommy and Daddy bought the bike for her! She was wearing a long straight skirt, but she still put on all the gear and tried out her new bike!!! The training wheels will come off very soon.

Lily, oops, Lillian starts Kindergarten next year since she has a late September birthday. The babysitter's daughter is a year older than her, but she's in school most of the day so Lillian gets to be the big helper and she loves that position. They do lots of phonics and one of her favorite quiet activities is writing letters and short words on "school" (dash-lined) paper. The fall and winter seasons also mean lots of crafts.

Aaron is 8 1/2 and in 3rd grade. He is becoming a block-out-everything reader. We have to call him a couple of times to get his nose out of a book. He tends to choose books that are too easy, so Roy got him the first two Harry Potter books. Of course, Roy read them first since they were really for him anyway!

Be sure to checkout lots of new pics in PARTY TIME and DAVID & ZOE!

I can't possibly sleep Mommy

Since Lily has a sore throat, we went to HyVee for some pudding. After taking her sweet time eating 2 cups of pudding - 1 lemon and 1 chocolate, I told her it was time to lay down. She begged me to let her sleep on the couch with the TV on. An hour later, she informs me that she just can't sleep, it's too hot, and she can't sleep with it noisy or quiet. I gave her the choice of laying down in her bed in her room, or she could clean her closet. She huffed upstairs and told me she would try to clean her closet all by herself. It's been 30 minutes, so I just checked on her.

Yeah, you guessed it:


She's asleep.

Who knew the last 2 weeks would be so......?

My twin niece and nephew were born on August 14th, and both got to go home on Aug 17th. Since then, life has been somewhat chaotic!
Monday the 20th I drove my sister to the hospital, where she was admitted for 2 days due to fluid retention in her lungs, high blood pressure, and a host of other complications. Diuretics, blood pressure medication and 2 pints of blood later, she's home by the 22nd.

Tuesday August 21st Aaron starts third grade. The ensuing attitude of a sophisticated young man develops rather quickly (see previous post).

Thursday night something possessed me to think I could stay overnight and help take care of the twins. It went fine, I'm just out of practice! Luckily I had Friday off to sleep, right?
Um, no. I went shopping at this great consignment store, and it was fill a bag for $20!!! I even got a box of free plastic hangers! Then i had to eat lunch, and finally laid down for a nap around 1:00. Then I read my book until I fell asleep around 2:30. Then I had to get up at 4 to pick up Lily & Aaron. So Friday night Mommy was CRANKY! Saturday morning came too soon, but I was doing better.

The kids and I spent Saturday with Sarah and the twins, and the kids noticed David's diaper contents were orange. They teased Aunt Sarah about feeding him carrots!

Sunday at church was great, we had an excellent sermon from one of our "young" elders - I think he's about my age. His sermon was initially about grief, but developed into more of a message about hope.

By Monday the 27th, David's diapers were looking red, as in blood. Sarah and Brett took him to St Luke's hospital here in CR, where they conducted lots of tests. The likely culprit was a severe milk allergy. Amazingly, David was calm and not fussy or screaming, like most babies do with a milk allergy. He is a laid back little guy, but this was definitely the Hand of God for him not to have any pain. Monday night David was taken to the U of Iowa Hospitals in an ambulance, so he could see the pediatric gastroenterologist there, to confirm the milk allergy. Sarah and Brett had a hard time finding the UI Hospital, as St Luke's gave them the wrong map, and valet parking was closed by the time they got down there. David, Sarah and Brett spent the night at U of I. The grandparents took care of Zoe back at home.

Tuesday the twins were 2 weeks old! David had an endoscopy (scope up his bum), where the doctor found a small inflamed area that was likely causing the bleeding. They also took a couple of samples for a biopsy to be on the safe side. The specialist was reasonably sure the problem was the severe cow's milk allergy as suspected. They sent him home with a special formula called Similac Alimentum. Sarah says it smells like dog food, but David likes it, and his diapers are now a weird greenish color, much better than red!

Papa Bob and Grandma Iris got to take Zoe to her regular 2 week check up on Tuesday. We joked that people wouldn't be able to guess if they were the parents or grandparents! David weighed 6 lbs 10 oz at the hospital on Monday, and Zoe weighed 6 lbs 10 oz at the doctor's office on Tuesday. They're twins, but who knew they'd weigh exactly the same at 2 weeks old??!

Due to all the hoopla, we didn't see the twins until last night (Wed the 29th). Wouldn't you know, they both look BIGGER?! David's cheeks have even filled out, though I doubt his cheeks will ever be as chipmunky as Zoe's! She was born with those cheeks! When I changed Zoe's diaper she peed on me as usual. She's peed on me more than anyone else I think. Luckily I'd taken off her sleeper since i knew she had a nasty #2 in there. She still managed to soak the changing pad and table cover. David likes to pee on people too, as he has a boy shooter. We told Sarah she should put a target up on the wall by the changing pad.

Sarah got a call from UI last night that David's biopsy was normal!! They can continue on the Alimentum formula, or try breastmilk or another formula. Miss Cheryl from church was there dropping of a meal, and she shared how 2 of her grandsons had milk allergies, and it took months of switching formulas to figure it out. Brett and Sarah have decided to leave David on the Alimentum, as it's working well and he's not having any problems. God has blessed in so many ways!

It amazes me how much our kids love taking care of David and Zoe. There's still some boy/girl favoritism, Aaron wants to hold David first, and Lily wants to hold Zoe first. They both love to feed the twins their bottles, and change diapers. Aaron didn't even mind too much when David peed on him. They can't stand it when we get there and the twins are sleeping, but we just explain that babies sleep - A LOT!

Today (Thurs the 30th), Lily's babysitter emailed me that Lily had sore throat and a low grade fever. I picked her up and took her to the doctor. She was really brave when they did the strep swab with the giant Q-tip. She even got a Barbie Fairytopia Mermaidia sticker! (That's VERY cool). Luckily it's not strep throat, just a virus. We'll have to stay away from the twins for awhile.

Wow, long post, and that's not even everything. I forgot how exciting baby diapers are, right?! If anyone is grossed out, you've probably stopped reading a long time ago, so no apology here!

Bridgit

Photos!

Our kids, Sarah & Brett's babies, etc. Click HERE! and on the album below. Sorry it's such a cheater post, I'll actually type more later, I promise.

Photobucket Album

On the first day of 3rd grade...

...my mom made my dad take my picture. He actually came in the building, in front of my friends and everyone. Don't they know I'm a third grader now? This is SO not cool. He even gave me a hug goodbye.

Notice his shirt says, "Parents for Sale: Buy One Get One Free".