Not so Good

It wasn't such a good week with workouts this week. Got Monday and Tuesday in, but none the rest of the week. Too much snow to drive on Wednesday, but I did shovel. Thursday was just a bad day all around. Val has been giving me fits and I was just tired and decided I wanted to be alone. So instead of running on the treadmill, I hid out in the bathtub. Friday was similar to Thursday in that I just flat out didn't feel like doing anything. Having a hard time motivating myself to accomplish much. We'll see, maybe I'll get motivated tomorrow afternoon, when I can actually go by myself and not tote anyone with me. Here's to a better week next week!

It's Roadhouse Here

I've decided that I am Patrick Swayze from the movie Roadhouse. You know the scene when he is teaching the bouncers how to act and ask customers to leave. This is how the scene plays in my house:

• Be nice - don't just take the toy, ask for it
• Be nice - share the computer
• Be nice - let her have a turn
• BE NICE!

Hopefully they won't start slashing my tires or have a big shootout to finish off the dispute!

Snow...in my car!

I was able to work out today before the snow hit too hard. I took my heavy Lord of the Rings trilogy and read it while I sat on the recumbant bike...30 minutes goes fast when you are reading. Anyhow - the snow really started coming down while exercising. As I was leaving with the girls we made some progress with Ron. Normally she cries and wants to be carried in the snow. Today she was walking in it and it was landing on her and she wasn't freaking out, this is a good thing. I go to unlock the minivan - push the button once to unlock my door, push it again to unlock the rest. Apparently with my gloves on, I accidentally held the button down, which made the windows go down. Now I have to get the girls to hurry so I can start the car and get the windows back up because now it is snowing in the van. Val picked up the pace, but Ron was taking her time admiring all the snow landing on her. It was a lot of snow. Glad swim lessons were cancelled, I didn't want to drive back out in it. Stay warm everyone!

Tumbling Excitement

Val has Tumbling on Monday mornings. She LOVES it. Today was comical in that I have never seen a group of parents move so fast or so much hand sanitizer come out at the end of a class. It is in a gym and we all sit along the wall and watch. I had Ron with me because after class I was going to run on a treadmill. Anyhow - the kids are all doing a "circuit" - backward rolls, jumping over mats, handstands on the wall and forward rolls. We are just sitting there watching and I see a little girl (these are all 3-5 year olds) stand up from doing her backward roll and I see her cover her mouth and liquid come out. As I sit and think "Did she just get sick?" She proceeds to totally throw up. Parents all come flying off the wall and gather kids to make sure no one steps in it or touches it. The two instructors get stuff to clean it up and get a custodian in there. They move the poor girl off the mats and onto the wood floor and one of the instructors sits with her while another parent helps track down her mom. Apparently she wasn't where she said she'd be. When we sign the kids in we have to put down where we will be if we aren't staying in the room. After the initial excitement, a handful of parents helped the kids keep going on the circuit, the instructors put cones around the area where she got sick, and class continued. After the class ended all the moms that had hand sanitizer in their purses, had it out and put it on the kids before leaving the room. You could hear the moms that didn't have it "Come on, let's go wash hands." The little girl's mom did come and get her. I felt bad for her (both mom and daughter), but she didn't get upset. Mine would have probably cried. I'm just hoping it doesn't come back into my house...I've already had a round of the stomach flu and I don't want another one. Sorry if any of you feel ill, but it was an entertaining story. I did proceed to get 2 miles in on the treadmill - so it was a good workout. I need new shoes, hopefully end of February. Gotta fit them into the budget. Everybody stay healthy!

All Is Well

After a rough start...I got 5 workouts in and that included 3 runs - 6 miles. I am very pleased. It has been a good start to the weekend. Last night Sam had her first sleepover. Instead of doing a birthday party with friends I thought it might be nice and a little more sane to just have one friend over to spend the night. So, she picked her good friend M from down the street and we all went duckpin bowling and then out to eat. The bowling started off a little rough for Val. Todd was meeting us there so I had 4 girls with me. We got there and it wasn't busy, so I went and was getting the token for the duckpin bowling. The girls meanwhile are crazy excited. They wanted to take coats off as soon as we got in, but I wanted them to wait until we were ready to get situated and bowl. (This is an important note for the story) Val apparently had hers half off/half on. Her arms were still sort of in the sleeves, but the coat was off her shoulders. Anyhow - I finish getting the tokens and turn around to see Val facedown on the floor and she is screaming/crying. I thought she looked odd, but didn't notice right away...her arms were at her sides. I went over and picked her up, a little perterbed that she had been running around and fell. Well, as I stood her up and looked at her, I notice blood coming out of her mouth. Now it is serious. Round up the other three and try to get into the bathroom as quickly as possible. Note - Todd still isn't there. Get everyone into the bathroom and no paper towels. Grab some tp and wipe off her mouth to try to see what the damage is. She wouldn't let me touch her lip to get a good look, but from what I could tell she was going to be okay. I trek everybody back out of the bathroom and start heading to duckpin bowling. Now she gets upset because we are walking back towards the doors (the duckpin is near the entrance) and she thinks we are leaving. I get everyone sitting in the duckpin area and go get a cup of ice and some napkins. Todd shows up about this time as well. He corrals the other 3 while I get Val to calm down, suck on some ice and let me look at her lip. It wasn't split and she still had her teeth and she was finally settled down. She was fine the rest of the night and ate a decent dinner even. She now also has rug burn on her cheek. I have concluded that she tripped, but because of how her hands were in her coat, she couldn't get them out to slow down her fall and she basically face planted. I'm glad I didn't see it, because it was probably pretty funny to see. She is fine today. The girls all fell asleep around 9:30 last night. Val, M, and Sam all slept in the same room. There was no way Val was going to be left out and with her age we didn't force it. She'll start understanding as Sam does more sleepovers. The only bad thing was they were all up at 6:30 this morning. UGH! We had breakfast and M went home after lunch. I would have to say it was a very positive experience for all of us for the first sleepover. Busted lip and all.

Battling the Dark Force

There is a battle going on. Things aren't going very smoothly for working out. Had a decent run to start the New Year and then the girls got sick. Another good run on Jan 7, then I got sick and was out for a week. My plan was to get back to it this week. Started again on Monday. I decided to go ahead and work out while Val was in gymnastics. Not a treadmill available until 11am and that would be when class is over. The bikes were all in use as well. Managed to get 15 minutes in on the recumbant bike - not my favorite, but better than nothing. Here we are day 2 of the week. Ron has a runny nose and runny diapers - no child care for her. Decide to go in the evening after Todd gets home. It is extremely busy, but this time I get a treadmill. Start going - doing fine. I'm a mile and a half into my run and about eat it because the treadmill stops working. I can't get it to start up again. I almost just quit, but saw an empty treadmill, jumped on and finished the run. My new plan is to NOT plan. I need to start working day by day. Both in exercise and in finances. Today was a good day...I got a workout in and didn't get lunch out for the kids. Just need to make it through tomorrow too. But I'll address that in the morning. I have a tentative plan to work on things around the house, since Ron will most likely be staying home. Then it is off to exercise when Todd gets home and then a meeting at church. Hopefully will be another good day. Say some prayers. I believe that it is the devil and he doesn't want me to exercise and be healthy. Because that is something that is good for me and it is taking care of the body God gave me. I think he is the one that gets in my head at times and gives me all the excuses and reasons to stay home and be lazy. When I think of it that way, it should give me a little more motivation. Happy exercising!

A Few Photos....Finally

The girls had the stomach flu on January 2! Happy New Year!

Celebrating 2009 with friends

Toboggan run over Christmas with family

Appropriate family Christmas Photo

Speak No Evil, Hear No Evil, See No Evil

My little Cheerleader

Seven Years

Well all day I had planned to write this reflective post about the past 7 years with Sam. It isn't going to happen. 7 years seems so long ago and yet it isn't long at all. I'm thankful for every moment I have spent with her. It is amazing to see all the things she can do now. Tying shoes was a big one this year. She reads the bedtime story now. Val lays in her bed and listens and Ron sits next to her and looks at the pictures while Sam reads. Sam is great with her youngest sister, but continues to clash with Val at times. She likes to draw and color and does great at both. There are days/times I would like to send her somewhere, but she is a great daughter. I think she is just too much like me and that is why we seem to clash at times. These 7 years have been fantastic and I wouldn't change a thing. Looking forward to many more challenging years ahead.

Kids Don't Get It

Valerie: Sheri Elfreich (she had already asked me my name), what's your job?

Me: Mommy

Valerie: No, your job. Why did you say "Mommy?"

Me: That is my job. I'm a Mommy.

Valerie: Oh - like checking things on the computer and vacuuming?

Me: Yes - that is all part of my job.

Valerie: Okay

Extremely Emotional

I have taken the following items from friends who have dealt with quite a loss, but have remained strong and faithful and I wanted to share. The note is my friend and Aunt to Jeremy. She has completed an Ironman (she is a mother of 4 by the way) and deals with her own daily struggles of being a Mom, Wife and individual. The link is to some of the pictures that were taken the day Jeremy was born. The photographer did a fantastic job of capturing all the emotions of a lifetime, that occured in only an hour. Make sure you have tissues if you decide to watch. Another friend of mine made the comment how we take an hour for granted. An hour can seem so long at times, but looking at the fact that Jeremy was only here for an hour - it was much too short. I was not able to stay for the service today. I did stop to offer my support, briefly. I was sick over the weekend and had Ron with me and I didn't want to take the chance of infecting too many people or Ron disrupting the service. One thing she did that was very sweet though - when I gave Beth a hug when I saw her, I was holding Ron. Ron has not met Beth, but as I was hugging her with one arm, Ron reached and completed the hug on the other side and gave her a little pat on the back. It was very innocent and very sweet. Please continue to keep this family in your prayers. Now that all the "planning" is over, they are going to need more prayers to help heal. From Laura:

• After going through one of the hardest days ever I sit here in a fog...I know that I have a mission now though -- more people need to know about Trisomy. More Moms and Dads should have the opportunity to meet their own special babies. More communities should be able to come together and support each other, just the way we did today. More people should have the HOPE that we all have in the future. I MUST get my act together and begin to do what I can to raise the Trisomy awareness...I will be joining the Tri-Be. Who am I kidding, I did this the day that I held Jeremy in my arms. What an angel. What a blessing. TRI BE Battle. Breathe. Believe. Across the globe, there's a forgotten and lost tribe of people. They're the children and families of children who have Trisomy 13 and 18. Their children have been given a death sentence. This tribe is hurt and mostly alone, waking up to face death and the fear of death. For those in this tribe, they learn not to live in the past or the future, but in the now. They learn how to be. They must be. Their motto can be summed up in 3 "B" words: (tri be). Battle. Breathe. Believe
• Battle - against pain, fear, death, against the very cells in a body. Against anger. Against ignorance.
• Breathe - trisomy babies are supposed to forget how to breathe and die. As a parent, you never take a breath for granted. And as a parent, you learn to just breathe. You keep thinking you can do something - you can't. In fact, you can do nothing. So, as Robbie Seay the singer says : breathe out and breathe again / know that life is hard, but it's worth breathing.
• Believe - is all we can do and the best we can do. Believe that life is precious. Believe that today is a gift. Believe that there is eternal life for the redeemed. Believe that I have a Savior friend who will see me through this. Believe that there is strength in Him.
• For more info on Tri Be check out www.ironmanforkids.com

http://www.jessicarstrickland.com/albumdesigns/shelby/

Only 8 days in? Really?

Well let's see...we survived the vomiting and have moved on to the other end. Sam has either dodged it or handled it better. Ron seems to have a mild case, but doing okay. Val is struggling. Poor thing was up at 4am telling me her pjs and bed were wet and she had to go potty. Got Todd up to help me get her changed and got her in her sleeping bag on her floor. Not dealing with sheets at 4am. She was up over the next two hours in the bathroom. Went through another set of pjs, but managed to keep the sleeping bag dry (thank goodness). The day was spent changing underwear and listening to her whine and cry about everything. She finally took a nap late in the day and that helped. She missed school, which she was extremely upset about. Ron and I missed her first swim lesson because we couldn't take Val to the Y and I didn't get to work out. It is all okay though - life happens and it is okay. I have the ability to care for my children and they will get better. It is one of the things I reminded myself as I was making Val's bed and grumbling a little because it isn't the easiest thing to do. There are people in this world that don't have the ability to make a bed and wish they could. There are people who are physically unable to do the simple things like change a diaper or change their child's clothes. I'm fortunate that I can do these things for my family. It is difficult to remember that these are blessings when I am in the middle of it, but they are blessings and I'm thankful for them. Hope you all are enjoying your blessings - whatever they may be.

Some Sad News

Well - my friend who was pregnant and diagnosed with Trisomy 13 delivered her baby today. Jeremy was born at 11:17 am and weighed about 6lbs. The families got to spend an hour with him before having to give him up to God. It is very sad that their time was so short, but I know they are thankful for what they had. Both sides of the family were there as well as a few very close friends. They had also made arrangements to have a photographer there to capture some family photos. They were prepared, but of course everyone was hoping for more. Thanks to those of you that do not know this family, yet kept them in your prayers. I know they appreciated it and could feel them. Continue to keep them in your thoughts as they now face coming home with empty arms and aching hearts.

Happy 2009!

• Okay - I realize it has been a while, but now I'm back to it. After a fantastic Christmas with my brother and his family and then Todd's family, we've had a rough start to the new year. But let me start with Christmas. My brother and family arrived on Christmas Eve. We took the kids to the 3:15 children's mass at church and Santa came while there. When we got home we celebrated Christmas and opened presents. The best was Val actually hugging the box that Santa brought with the Ponyville Amusement Park in it. She got so excited about gifts she was shaking. After presents we had fondue dinner. Santa on Christmas Eve is Todd's tradition, fondue is mine. After the kids were in bed the adults and older kids went to the basement for some Rockband and pool.
• Christmas day was a slow morning of breakfast, pictures and packing up the car for heading out of town. My brother went back to celebrate with my parents and we were heading north to celebrate with Todd's family. His parents rented a house on Crooked Lake in Northern Indiana that was big enough for all 25 of us to sleep relatively comfortably. 7 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, 2 fridges, 2 ovens, 2 dishwashers, and 2 microwaves. One of the bedrooms had 5 bunkbeds in it so 10 could sleep there. It was perfect! It was also close enough that a group of us went to Pokehagen State Park and went on the tobaggon run. 2000 ft long. Nothing like reaching a speed of 37 mph on a tobaggon! I'll try to post pictures soon. I'm way behind on the photos, I know.
• Now on to New Years! We had friends over for a kid friendly early celebration on New Year's Eve. We rang it in at around 8:30pm. Kids were in bed by 10pm. Then New Year's Day was time for Football! More friends came over to watch the bowl games. Kids got to bed late again. We were awakened around 6am by Val when she said she got sick in her bed. Went and checked and found a little, thought perhaps she had just gagged on some drainage from her nose. Changed the pillowcase and put her back to bed. She came in about 30 min later saying she was cold. I let her climb into bed with me and all I can say is I'm glad she wasn't facing me. In about 5 min she had coughed which then led to her throwing up all over my pillow. Got the trash can, changed her pjs and went to sit up in the family room with her. She kept going about every 45 min until around 2pm. Meanwhile, Sam and Ron got up and seemed fine. They had breakfast without incident. Sam and Todd went out to sell GS cookies around 9am. 9:45 they were back, she had gotten sick. Now started her rotation of throwing up. Todd and I managed to get showered and are rotating through the other two. I ran to the grocery store first thing to get a few supplies. Around 1pm we decide to give Ron some crackers and get her down for a nap. Now it is her turn to start! That is how we spent Jan 2nd...caring for 3 sick kids. Everyone napped on and off and were finished getting sick around 7:30pm. Everyone went to bed at 8:30, we lined the hallway with towels and made sure the older two had buckets.
• We survived Jan 3 without a problem. Lots of plain, bland food when asked for. All seem to certainly be on the mend. The good news...it wasn't Christmas or Sam's birthday.
• Quick update on my friend with the Trisomy 13 baby...she is currently in the hospital and will deliver tonight or tomorrow. She is the full 40 weeks, which is a great thing. Say some prayers that all goes well and they get to meet little Jeremy. Many blessings to all of you and Happy New Year!