My Creative Niche

At last, I found my creative niche!  My husband introduced me to some software that he uses for his work.  It's called OmniGraffle.  He does computational drug discovery work, and I'm not exactly sure what he does with this software, but I like to use it to make cards.  I am not an artistic person at all.  I struggle to draw a straight line with a ruler.  But, I do get algebra and geometry and could spend all my "free" time playing with OmniGraffle.  At this point, I think David is wishing he never introduced me to OmniGraffle!

Here's a sampling of my creations:

This one was for Mother's Day.

This one was for my nephew's high school graduation.

This one was for our dads for Father's Day.

This one was for David for Father's Day.

I made these cards for each of the girls to give to their friends before we move.  This one is for the girls.

And this one is for the boys.

Chop, Chop, Chop

After mowing the grass on Thursday, I filled up the baby pool with water to cool everyone off. I don't know how other families handle the yard work, but my strategy is to put one boy in the exersaucer and one in the jumperoo on the porch. This works well for me, especially since the sisters are constantly buzzing around providing sufficient comic relief! Everyone was really hot and sweaty and appreciated the water. It was Matthew and Jonathan's first swim. Even though the pool was really crowded, everyone enjoyed themselves. The boys were so happy to be able to splash water everywhere--in the pool, out of the pool, on each other. (Keeping the water in the bathtub is a major issue these days!)  Jonathan did crawl out of the pool and got himself covered in grass, since I use a mulching mower!

You might think that would be enough excitement for one week. No way!  Not for us Mobleys.  Mary begged for me to cut her hair again (the day after she said that she wanted to grow it long again!)  She really doesn't like to wear hairbands, so she wanted it really short so that she could keep it out of her eyes without them.  Then, of course, Maggie wanted hers cut, too, but not as short as Mary's!The funny thing is, after years of struggling with Mary and hairbands, we had finally agreed upon a hairstyle, one hairband on each side and then one joining the two ponies in the middle.  Oh, well.  I think the short hair cuts are really cute and at last I am free from the morning torture routine!

Then, I realized that Matthew and Jonathan were looking pretty shaggy around the edges, too, so I got the clippers out and gave them their first haircuts!  I knew they would be squirmy wormies, so I fastened them in their high chairs for the blessed event.  In retrospect a five-point harness would be preferable.  I started with Jonathan.  I just handed him a cheese stick and gave him a five all over.  Then, I did the same to Matthew and the torture session was over.  With the new haircuts, they look more grown up to me (sigh) and they look a lot more alike, since Matthew's curls are gone!

To top it off, I also took the munchkins in for their 15-month check-up.  These boys are such troopers when it comes to shots, especially Matthew.  He didn't even cry at all.  He is our little tough guy.  I am still flabbergasted at what God has done for these boys.  For the first time ever, the doctor gave us a good report and said, "See ya in three months!"  She had no concerns with their weight or development.  What a relief!  Up to this point, the two words that can describe Matthew and Jonathan are LOW and SLOW!  Low in the weight department and slow in the development department.  Although such things should not be a reflection on my caregiving, it has been difficult not to interpret LOW and SLOW to mean that I am a very bad Mama.  After all I am the round-the-clock caregiver.  And, what other performance evaluations do I get?  But, these boys have gone from LOW and SLOW to normal.  They are now perfectly proportioned according to the growth charts, Jonathan at 25 percent for both height and weight and Matthew at 5-10 percent for both height and weight.  Praise the Lord!

The Mobile Mobleys

Matthew and Jonathan have become incredibly more mobile in the past week. They are delighted with their ability to walk holding on to things and will use just about anything to get just about anywhere. The chair, the end table, the vacuum cleaner, the step stool, the rocking chair, even the Lego box, oh, and they also use the actual push toys, too!

Sometimes they collide:

Sometimes they work together:

Sometimes, there are even shrieks when they get stuck in corners!  Such a fun stage of life!

David took this video of our He-Man Jonathan while I was bedridden with the flu:

Our Saturday

We had a pretty exciting day today! The morning started out like a typical Saturday morning around here: I made a double-batch of pancakes, a batch of waffles and one loaf of bread. Then, David took the girls off to the library for the Summer Reading Program Kick-Off Party. The girls had a great time, especially playing in the bubbles! With all the bubbles, one would think they came home clean as a whistle, but they came home happily covered in mud from head to toe!

Then, I took Maggie to Barnes and Noble to buy a book.  Barnes and Noble has a summer reading program also.  If you read eight books, then you can choose a free book (from selected titles).  The program started on Tuesday and Mary had read all her books by Friday (we're talking long chapter books!)  Maggie is too young for the program, but she has been making great progress in her reading, so I told her that I would purchase a book for her if she read eight books to me.  She surpassed this goal in one week!  She read all twelve books from the first set of BOB readers.  I purchased these books for Mary when she was first learning to read, but she never enjoyed them.  Maggie, on the other hand, loves them!  She finds great satisfaction in being able to read a whole book all by herself.  She also really likes the silly stories and pictures.  Maggie KNEW that she wanted to find a Hello Kitty book.  I didn't know if they would have one, but they had this Hello Kitty Busy Book.  It is a story book and also has Hello Kitty figurines and a playmat, too.  It is the perfect sort of book for our imaginative Maggie!  

And here are some pictures of the afternoon excitement:

And this is why you should not let your three-year old have stickers during quiet time.

And this is why you should not let your three-year old play with her brothers after a sticker quiet time!  This is child #3, so of course, I needed to get a picture before taking them away.  I think he even managed to swallow one!

Jonathan is clearly feeling ill.  He didn't even try to eat the stickers.  I think he was somewhat disgusted by them and tried to tear them to shreds!

This picture was actually earlier in the week.  The paper towels were a hit with the boys.  They crinkle.  They roll.  They're soft. 

Hales Pediatrics, Can You Move With Us?

We are really, really, really going to miss our pediatricians here!  When we first moved here, we took the children to the only doctor's office in the area that was a preferred provider.  For the most part, we had great experiences with the doctors, but the support staff was, well, not supportive!  When I called to schedule Matthew's first well-baby check-up, I was told that they did not have any appointments available.  Excuse me?  Fortunately, after some pushing, I was able to get an appointment for him.  The appointment did not go very well, though.  We waited in the examination room for one hour and still did not see anyone.  No resident.  No doctor.  Finally, we told someone that we were still waiting to see the doctor, so they decided to investigate.  SHE WASN'T THERE!!!  Why in the world did no one know that the doctor was not there???  I was in tears.  Matthew was so teeny-weeny and I was very concerned about him.  Also, I had wanted to go to nurse Jonathan who was still in the NICU following our appointment but missed his feeding because of the delay.  The doctor did rush over immediately and provided excellent care for Matthew.  She even gave me her cell phone number and had a test expedited to check him for jaundice (he was admitted to Children's Hospital for jaundice that evening).  Nonetheless, at that point, we had really had enough unpleasant dealings with the support staff and thought it was time to obtain care elsewhere. 

I called my friend Sarai who works at a pediatrician's office, called Hales Pediatrics and scheduled an appointment right away.   Upon entering the office for our first appointment, I felt at home.  The support staff was courteous and efficient.  The office was filled with classic toys for children: puzzles, books, bead mazes, even a fun house mirror!  I believe the annoying electronic toys that just flash lights and make noise have been banned from the office!  The walls were decorated with unique quilts.  There was even a sick room to keep the sickies from infecting those seeing the doctor for well check-ups. 

At Hales, they have adopted a very unique approach to pediatric medicine.  There are no nurses or medical assistants or exam rooms!  The doctors see patients in their offices.  They examine babies right on their laps.  And the doctors are the ones to administer the shots!  Did I also mention that they are always on time???  The support staff is incredibly supportive and helpful and efficient and LOVE children!  Also, we have had to call the office with questions on many occasions.  The doctor has been the one to call us back every time.  Not the support staff.  Not a nurse.  Over this past year plus some, we have developed such a love for the doctors at Hales Pediatrics and their way of caring for our children.  We are really going to miss them!

Thunderstorms

I will certainly miss the amazing thunderstorms we have witnessed here in Louisiana!  I expect they will be few and far between in Irvine.  I also expect if we do encounter any they will pale in comparison. 

One time it rained so hard in a short amount of time that the water simply could not be pumped out fast enough.  Our street flooded and the water came halfway up our lawn.  Talk about excitement!

Another time I was at a block party hosted by a local church.  The girls had played many of the carnival games outside including jumping in the bouncy castle.  While we were inside eating and playing the indoor activities, a funnel cloud formed very close by.  It lifted the bouncy castle into the air, swept it down the block and then back again!  Fortunately, no one was inside the bouncy castle at the time:) 

I think the reason that I enjoy thunderstorms is that they are to me an awesome display of God's power. I am sure we will see God's power in other ways in Irvine.  After all, we will be very close to the ocean, also an awesome display of God's power.  Nonetheless, we will definitely miss loud crashes of thunder, bright streaks of lightning across the sky and torrential downpours! 

By the way, these pictures are of Mary and Maggie playing in the rain the other day.  I had to chuckle at Maggie.  She does not like getting wet at all!  One drop of water on her clothes and she wants to change.  Yet, here she is playing in the rain, soaking wet and so happy about it!

Boys--A Whole New World

Matthew and Jonathan have definitely reached the mischievous almost toddler stage.  I can hardly keep up with them!  It seems like the girls are always saying, "Mama, Trouble!"  Dishwasher trouble!  Trash trouble!  Cat food trouble!  Bathroom trouble!  And, sometimes, they just sit quietly and watch them bail cupfuls of water from the toilet without so much as a peep!  I definitely believe that boys and girls are just wired differently.  I submit ten pieces of evidence from my own personal experience:

1. The girls dropped sippy cups from time to time; the boys pretend they are torpedoes!
2. The girls made elevator music with pots and pans; the boys form a marching band!
3. The girls splashed in the bathtub; the boys bail water drenching the floor and Mom!
4. The girls peered into the toilet; the boys bail water from it!
5. The girls tried to take their bibs off; the boys take them off and pretend they are hats dumping food and milk all over!
6. The girls like to play with the trash bags, the boys pull banana peels out of the trash and eat them.
7. The girls never played with the diaper pail.  Period.  The boys, ughhhh!
8. The girls liked to pat things; the boys are honing their carpentry skills!
9. The girls cried when something stood between them and where they wanted to be; the boys just barrel through any obstacle, even if that obstacle is a sister!
10. The girls occasionally tried to eat cat food out of the bowl; the boys dump the food out all over the floor and then try to eat it!

I still love these boys even if they are TROUBLE, I mean, CURIOUS!