tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-106206122011-12-13T15:55:32.085-05:00Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.comBlogger8151100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-24351064352947815842011-07-11T03:37:00.004-05:002011-07-17T03:50:12.768-05:00

I took Patrick to the audiologist for a hearing test today. He did well (hearing threshold 30-40 db and above) and as expected failed the tympanogram, which is a test of the eardrum. There is fluid in his middle ear, so the eardrum is not working properly. Since the purpose of the eardrum is to amplify sound, when it is unable to move due to an obstruction, it leads to conductive hearing loss.

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-68334089206052423672011-07-08T07:50:00.002-05:002011-07-08T08:01:23.780-05:00

Patrick had an appointment with an ENT today. We have been a bit concerned about his hearing lately. At 21 months, he is still not talking very much. He used to sing songs but he has stopped doing that as well. The doctor cleaned out his ears, which were blocked completely by wax. He was very cooperative during this procedure. One of his tubes is out now and the other one is nearly out. He

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-55064993995616661292011-07-06T06:51:00.002-05:002011-07-06T07:01:13.369-05:00

Here is the slideshow I made after Julia's birth.

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-2156489674755482442011-07-06T06:07:00.003-05:002011-07-06T06:20:18.002-05:00

Or a lot. In any case, I've lost track. I've been to the doctor two, no, three times this week. Already. Two children have fevers and I forget which ones they are half the times. It changes on a daily basis. Caroline and Patrick have fevers today. Tomorrow, who knows? Isaac and Anna have been sick, but that was last week. I've been sick. We passed around strep two weeks ago. Last week

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-56222690586083043212011-06-27T03:29:00.003-05:002011-06-27T03:44:36.836-05:00

I've been away a while. We have had a lot going on and I have not made time to update on the blog.Here's the short update. Todd got a new job in Singapore. We moved to Singapore last November and had a baby in May. I think I covered all the high points here.As for other news, my mother died of breast cancer. It has been over a year, but it still feels like it happened yesterday. I miss her

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-15783523873028281082010-03-10T08:46:00.003-05:002010-03-11T18:41:45.188-05:00

Patrick is 5 months! We just had our doctor's appointment and he is now 15 lbs, 5oz and 26.8 inches long. (30% for weight and 83% for height). He had tubes put in his ears last month and later this week we will find out if they are helping his hearing. UPDATE (03/11/2010): Patrick went to the ENT today and we discovered that his tubes were blocked. The ENT was able to unblock one of the tubes

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-5715563579219663932010-02-08T23:41:00.001-05:002010-02-09T20:54:40.863-05:00

 

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-4320426404678355362010-02-08T23:25:00.000-05:002010-02-08T23:25:48.958-05:00

 

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-49216078847155660422010-01-30T09:31:00.001-05:002010-01-30T09:33:35.706-05:00

   &nbsp

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-30570171400575017622010-01-29T14:22:00.000-05:002010-01-29T14:22:12.431-05:00

 

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-56628053272317146242009-11-22T17:27:00.000-05:002009-11-22T17:27:28.469-05:00

 

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-23399917495151724662009-11-22T17:25:00.000-05:002009-11-22T17:25:13.016-05:00

 

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-11926281113629591992009-11-21T20:43:00.000-05:002009-11-21T20:44:01.230-05:00

 

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-19056316150292394572009-11-21T14:31:00.000-05:002009-11-21T14:31:51.668-05:00

 Here is another photo from this morning.

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-9242318928063566882009-11-21T14:29:00.001-05:002009-11-22T17:36:32.738-05:00

 We attempted a photography session with our bunch this morning. There were a few okay shots, though none were quite in focus. We will try a little later today, outside, where I think the light will be better.

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-8917581104649197932009-11-20T16:28:00.000-05:002009-11-20T16:28:30.699-05:00

 Patrick is 6 weeks old and getting so big. I haven't weighed him recently, but I suspect he's around 11 pounds already. He sleeps well and is a very happy, peaceful baby. We are so blessed to have him in ou family!

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-43279447664109432202009-11-16T09:03:00.000-05:002009-11-16T09:04:05.317-05:00

 

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-55566446589898644822009-11-15T09:11:00.000-05:002009-11-15T09:11:46.645-05:00

 Patrick has reddish hair. I'm not sure where he got that from, but it will probably become brown/dark brown eventually.

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-16796780171464520222009-11-13T21:19:00.000-05:002009-11-13T21:19:18.838-05:00

 Poor little guy! He's had a double ear infection for a long time and we've just found out about it. :-(

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-71419237385152947902009-11-13T17:48:00.003-05:002009-11-13T17:54:08.810-05:00

Today Patrick met with an Ear, Nose and Throat doctor for further evaluation. First the staff audiologist tested Patrick's hearing and asked some questions. He failed all the hearing tests. The ENT looked in his hears and couldn't see anything so he cleaned them out a bit. He found very thick fluid and an ear infection. We now a script for antibiotics in the hopes that this will help clear up

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-41247358915136408612009-11-11T13:18:00.003-05:002009-11-12T12:19:44.715-05:00

Patrick did not pass his followup hearing test this morning. He even managed to fail it in the other ear, which we thought was okay. I'm not quite sure what all this means, but it is possible that there is something blocking his ear drum (both of them) or that he has has some type of hearing loss. Say a prayer that we get some answers soon!UPDATE: I scheduled him for a Tonal ABR (auditory

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-73678202082536556072009-11-08T22:47:00.000-05:002009-11-08T22:47:45.163-05:00

 I haven't been able to coax Patrick to smile for the camera. I can get smiley pictures when he is looking in the mirror or at his daddy but as soon as he sees the camera, Mr. Grumpy shows up and there is no smile. However, I put this funny winter hat on his head and he immediately smiled.

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-83953477779311625662009-11-08T22:32:00.000-05:002009-11-08T22:32:59.821-05:00

 

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-91190762786394668702009-11-05T09:31:00.000-05:002009-11-05T09:31:42.572-05:00

 

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-26524421744716769412009-11-05T09:28:00.000-05:002009-11-05T09:29:05.361-05:00

 

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-30453538850425240562009-11-01T21:55:00.000-05:002009-11-01T21:55:28.104-05:00

 I tried editing the earlier photo. Not sure if I like the result, but I haven't really done much editing before.

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-46147193303180089972009-11-01T21:24:00.000-05:002009-11-01T21:24:12.712-05:00

 

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-40816137827762055042009-11-01T13:10:00.007-05:002009-11-01T13:23:02.943-05:00

We dressed the kids up this year and went to a Halloween Parade, followed by a festival and later, a party. The kids had lots of fun in costume and enjoyed getting candy from strangers. Anna dressed up as Elmo (of course!) and Isaac was Spiderman and Caroline was a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Patrick was a pod of peas, but he wore his costume for only a few minutes.

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-88169526028431584402009-10-28T19:15:00.000-05:002009-10-28T19:15:39.973-05:00

 A yawning Patrick.

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-46188205297701913232009-10-28T19:04:00.000-05:002009-10-28T19:04:42.657-05:00

 A final picture of Anna as the baby of the family. Patrick was born 7 hours later.

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-58330874865685935632009-10-28T16:46:00.001-05:002009-10-28T16:50:00.600-05:00

 This photo was the first taken after Patrick's bath. I swaddled him in one of his blankets and he slept very peacefully.

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-44598644879019452222009-10-28T15:28:00.000-05:002009-10-28T15:28:31.923-05:00

 

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-1639433872070618782009-10-28T15:26:00.000-05:002009-10-28T15:26:39.629-05:00

 

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-30711945385784148252009-10-28T15:24:00.000-05:002009-10-28T15:24:35.034-05:00

 

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-25914019304944858872009-10-28T15:23:00.000-05:002009-10-28T15:23:20.281-05:00

 

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-78597148773943612462009-10-28T15:22:00.000-05:002009-10-28T15:22:36.638-05:00

 

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-6021748919145144032009-10-28T15:15:00.001-05:002009-10-28T21:14:29.759-05:00

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-44924906976701612612009-10-28T15:11:00.000-05:002009-10-28T15:11:10.754-05:00

 

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-2948640150773846502009-10-28T15:09:00.000-05:002009-10-28T15:09:58.055-05:00

 

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-18855572127380511302009-10-28T14:52:00.002-05:002009-10-28T14:57:59.141-05:00

Caroline: The new toilet paper is beautiful! Thank you!Me: (confused, and thinking about that last roll of toilet paper I fished out of the toilet) You're welcome??Caroline: It has beautiful hearts and flowers on it!

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-59439662787279281252009-10-26T06:57:00.004-05:002009-10-26T07:30:18.659-05:00

Patrick Henry's birth was my fastest, lasting a whole 2 hours from 1st contraction to the birth. It started out very innocently when I decided to head in to Labor & Delivery for an evaluation. I had a few random contractions throughout the day and I was not comfortable not knowing how close I was to starting labor. Plus, my labors are fast and have gotten faster. Anyway, I arrived at L&D and

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-41211370975277678362009-10-08T17:57:00.003-05:002009-10-11T15:47:06.196-05:00

The Lewis family has welcomed a new member, Patrick Henry! He was born October 4, 2009, 2 days past his due date. He weighed in at 7lbs, 10 oz and was almost 21 inches long. We stayed at the hospital for an extra day due to jaundice, which fortunately resolved quickly. He is nursing well and gaining weight so we are very happy.

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-24188500452930436962009-09-15T16:44:00.003-05:002009-09-15T16:46:16.898-05:00

Yeah, I know. I'm about 16 days away from my due date and busy trying to get everything in order. We are all well and I intend to write some more thorough updates but I have been so busy. I hope to post some new photos soon.

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-78202600405962500142009-07-18T20:31:00.010-05:002009-07-18T20:44:33.045-05:00

We've moved things around in our apartment quite a bit in the last several months. The kids have taken the master bedroom and it is now filled with their toys and books and beds and, well, everything. We've moved our bedroom to the office space, which was much much smaller. Anyway, a result of this is that is no space for a crib or bassinet in our new room. I plan on cosleeping for a few

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-69139366321810473002009-07-12T21:39:00.000-05:002009-07-12T20:39:25.533-05:00

I'm so far behind. I've been wanting to change this blog around completely over the last few months. I've been wanting to update it. Post photos, post funny things the kids say like "I want to go to the dentist" and "I need a nap" which aren't exactly funny, but who has ever heard a 2 year old say THAT? Well, apparently, I'm not so good at this whole being a parent of 2 toddlers and a

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-35850652793352883832009-07-12T20:24:00.002-05:002009-07-12T20:26:55.803-05:00

I've been rather slack about updating this blog. To all of my readers, I'm sorry. This pregnancy has been hard work and I find myself completely exhausted after a full day of feeding/playing/cleaning with the kids. We are having a good summer for sure. I'm working on a few posts and a new format for the blog. I hope to have them up this coming week.

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-7507817934208119822009-06-19T11:16:00.000-05:002009-06-19T11:17:05.533-05:00

 

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-6759637345496126812009-06-19T11:14:00.000-05:002009-06-19T11:14:23.906-05:00

 

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-73614625183455533332009-06-16T10:47:00.004-05:002009-06-16T10:52:20.640-05:00

Yesterday Caroline proudly announced: "fish are mammals!" to a friend of mine. My friend noted that "fish aren't mammals" to which Caroline replied "but Dolphins and whales are mammals!" Ha ha! We all got a good chuckle out of that one.

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-7608326711679624702009-06-14T10:36:00.002-05:002009-06-14T10:43:01.181-05:00

I'm going to try to write a quick post while the kids are busy with crayons. I used to hate crayons with paper on them. Now, I love them. The kids will peel crayons for an hour or so, which generally beats their attention span with other toys. Isaac has a new habit of telling us he is tired and needs to go to bed. Seriously. He will be at the playground and sit down next to me and insist.

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-57303587307326979272009-06-06T21:01:00.003-05:002009-06-06T21:17:32.553-05:00

Today I had the lovely experience of receiving a bill at a restaurant with a "Mandatory Gratuity" of 18%. It was a smallish pizza place near 42nd St and Broadway and the menu made no mention of their mandatory gratuity policy. I would also like to add that the mandatory gratuity was added on AFTER the tax was calculated (9% sales tax+ 18% gratuity). Ridiculous. The service was TERRIBLE. We

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-63902939063095943022009-05-25T20:30:00.002-05:002009-05-25T20:51:54.972-05:00

Husband here, posting about the kids.The fighting among the kids lately has been unpleasant. I think that our living near the arctic circle at the summer solstice has something to do with it; they are waking up at 5:15 every day and are cranky for the rest of the day. This part of moving them to the other bedroom hasn't worked out so well.I have been known to spank the kids; as he who

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-57652176435223644112009-05-19T08:15:00.000-05:002009-05-19T08:16:32.948-05:00

This morning Anna waved and said "bye-bye" to her daddy. It was so cute!

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-30142613505238154062009-05-18T15:50:00.002-05:002009-05-18T15:57:03.572-05:00

Caroline is studiously trying to learn to read. We are very close, I think. I found her in her bed with a pile of her daddy's papers on Programming in Martin-Lof's Type Theory (the O in Lof, has an umlaut above it, not sure how to do that in blogger) and an old pair of his glasses. She was showing me the words and making reasonable attempts to sound them out. I'm not sure what she was doing

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-40923964317629109012009-05-15T21:28:00.000-05:002009-05-15T20:28:22.707-05:00

Anna has a slew of new tricks these days. She is such a character to be around. She is dramatic and loud and fast. She can climb furniture and is working on the windows (we have window guards). She likes to wear my shoes around the apartment. She refuses to wear her own shoes anywhere. She takes them off when she's in the stroller and throws them. I've stopped bothering with shoes when she

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-41698342432242002009-05-15T15:10:00.003-05:002009-05-15T15:15:44.122-05:00

Isaac's newest trick is to pick out his clothes and dress himself. He is getting good at both tasks. His opinions on what looks good together, however, are very interesting. He loves his sweater vests. And his button up shirts. And he loves wearing sweater vests with button up shirts with his swimming trunks. I don't understand it, but he has his own sense of style. And confidence. And I

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-26618798828130701132009-05-15T15:01:00.004-05:002009-05-15T15:09:44.653-05:00

We have been teaching Caroline about mammals. She knows that mammals have hair/fur and mammal mommies feed their babies milk. We recently have taught her how to distinguish primates from non-primates. Just the other day, she announced to a Parks Department employee that while giraffes are mammals, they are NOT primates. And then said "they don't have thumbs". We are trying to teach her about

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-49254929177830435162009-05-15T14:56:00.003-05:002009-05-15T15:01:11.894-05:00

Today marks the official half way point in my pregnancy! We are having a baby boy. I'm so excited about the sweet little baby we saw smacking his little lips together on the ultrasound. We saw his little fingers and toes and everything else. He looks very healthy and active and weighed in at 12 oz or so. I'm so blessed to be the mommy of 2 girls and 2 boys! We are going to name him Patrick

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-49132416758740021312009-05-13T17:35:00.001-05:002009-05-13T17:35:30.275-05:00

It's a BOY!

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-20945968195542118052009-04-24T20:27:00.001-05:002009-04-24T20:27:57.900-05:00

 

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-71128744234129747942009-04-24T20:27:00.000-05:002009-04-24T20:27:21.230-05:00

 

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-51834117961470738122009-04-24T20:26:00.000-05:002009-04-24T20:26:44.932-05:00

 

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-51410815396923241392009-04-24T20:24:00.000-05:002009-04-24T20:24:25.211-05:00

 

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-68028134278970712232009-04-24T20:21:00.000-05:002009-04-24T20:21:47.893-05:00

 

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-59956408193612853922009-04-24T20:19:00.000-05:002009-04-24T20:20:01.776-05:00

 

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-6857126351108740392009-04-24T20:17:00.000-05:002009-04-24T20:18:10.223-05:00

 

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-71171939516061880832009-04-24T20:15:00.000-05:002009-04-24T20:15:38.806-05:00

 

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-79004593640169594792009-04-24T20:13:00.000-05:002009-04-24T20:13:37.822-05:00

 

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-8697616289739837662009-04-13T20:57:00.003-05:002009-04-13T21:03:17.612-05:00

We are having another baby! We are very excited about seeing our family grow. Caroline is very excited about the baby and asks me all the time how the baby is doing. When I take my prenatal vitamin, she likes to note that I'm giving the baby medicine. My due date is October 2 and I'm about 15 weeks into the pregnancy.

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-56512407133695110472009-04-06T21:02:00.002-05:002009-04-06T21:13:32.115-05:00

Todd here, posting for Mary Ellen.Things Caroline has said recently:1) May I have a peanut butter and jelly-fish sandwich please?2) I want ketchup and monsters on my hot dog3) The rhinocerous will eat you, but it won't eat me, because I am nice.4) I want a ladder to climb up in the tree and grab the giraffe's horns. That would be fun.5) C: I want to ride on a giraffe. M: How would you get on

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-83678015574007383432009-03-12T17:12:00.001-05:002009-03-12T17:14:20.666-05:00

I'll give you one guess as to who said this. When the kids are safely in bed and I am safe from the dinosaurs, I'll tell you all the story.

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-49538614284324165132009-03-03T19:25:00.002-05:002009-03-03T19:34:17.850-05:00

I've been pretty lousy at this "blogging" thing lately. It's winter and I'm tired of being cold all the time. We run our heaters a lot, but the windows merely slow down the wind coming off the Hudson. Some nights there are very strong winds that pound on our windows all night long. Our, single-paned, el cheapo apartment windows. Anyway, the cold has put me in a grumpy mood and blogging

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-60907271578397979722009-01-19T19:01:00.000-05:002009-01-19T19:02:01.342-05:00

 

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-84751236905070282542009-01-19T13:39:00.000-05:002009-01-19T13:39:43.433-05:00

 

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-52150617246564679762009-01-17T20:35:00.000-05:002009-01-17T20:35:55.577-05:00

 These silly children are hiding in mommy and daddy's bed!

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-41908687871947863622009-01-17T20:34:00.000-05:002009-01-17T20:34:21.827-05:00

 Isaac loves drawing. He is very good at making "snow" by hitting to tip of the crayon on the paper. He also loves to draw lines and circles.

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-86107914909512135962009-01-17T20:31:00.000-05:002009-01-17T20:31:55.954-05:00

 Caroline loves to play with blocks! She makes towers and castles and snakes and elephants and houses for her little dinosaurs.

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-91539498979977625852009-01-17T20:15:00.004-05:002009-01-17T20:21:33.554-05:00

When your 2 year REFUSES to go to sleep. He may giggle every time he gets out of bed and runs to greet me, but I'm not giggling with him.

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-15663567302495128312009-01-16T16:27:00.003-05:002009-01-16T16:37:28.084-05:00

I told a friend of mine that I was teaching Caroline to read. She said "so I guess you are homeschooling, right?" I think this is one of the big problems with the system of education in this country. Teaching a child to read has little to do with homeschooling. Parents either don't think its important to teach their children to read or they don't think they are capable of doing so. They rely

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-43255503684317442312009-01-15T17:19:00.002-05:002009-01-15T17:22:19.294-05:00

Just a little while ago, a plane crashed into the Hudson River, about 2 miles from our apartment. There were 153 people on board the plane and according to recent reports, all of them are off the plane and there were no major injuries. Praise God for such a miracle!

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-41137257402959147472009-01-15T13:09:00.002-05:002009-01-15T13:20:07.550-05:00

I know this blog has been kind of pathetic lately, but I am trying to do better! Anna Sophia is walking all over the place and impressing everybody. She looks so tiny to be walking around! She about the size of a 6 month old, even though she is gaining weight well now. She also can clap her hands and wave to people.Caroline is continuing to progress on her reading. I was attempting to teach

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-47722542175700720032009-01-09T12:38:00.000-05:002009-01-09T12:38:26.741-05:00

 She won't show them off for the camera, but trust me, they are there!

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-51208153182808143482009-01-07T22:50:00.005-05:002009-01-07T22:55:23.806-05:00

Caroline is learning to read! She is only reading small words like Cat and Sam, though she is picking up on the process of sounding words. She is always noticing words that start with CH and letting me know that it sounds like Church or Cheerios. We are using the Bob Books series to teach her reading and so far, everything is going wonderfully. She is so proud of herself when she figures out

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-2604344467465325562009-01-05T21:46:00.003-05:002009-01-05T22:10:17.095-05:00

Caroline is eligible to go to Kindergarten this coming August. Do I send her to school and let the public education system teach her what they feel is important? I really don't like the school environment and I feel it can be harmful to young children. For example, when I entered kindergarten mid-year at a new school, I was tracked with the "dumb group" as I remember it. We were the group,

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-9968483097565927862009-01-05T09:29:00.000-05:002009-01-05T09:29:34.564-05:00

  You can sort of see where Isaac's stitches were in this picture. His mouth has healed completely at this point, so that is good.

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-90292993178761493712009-01-05T09:27:00.000-05:002009-01-05T09:27:48.888-05:00

 

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-58922108548461579262009-01-01T10:23:00.000-05:002009-01-01T10:23:24.531-05:00

 

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-78949444569127784892009-01-01T10:20:00.000-05:002009-01-01T10:20:38.042-05:00

 

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-22171948018275888372009-01-01T10:19:00.000-05:002009-01-01T10:19:22.781-05:00

 

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-90648015060679484712009-01-01T10:15:00.000-05:002009-01-01T10:15:25.789-05:00

 

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-45409444832956778632008-12-26T19:56:00.004-05:002008-12-26T21:00:22.095-05:00

I was going to write a post about our wonderful Christmas, but I'm really quite distracted right now, because Isaac is at the hospital getting stitches at this moment. He is okay, but he fell pretty hard and cut the area right below his lip with his teeth. I'm hoping the plastic surgeon does a good job and that all goes well. Caroline is a complete wreck and is wondering where Isaac is and why

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-8270285927919043562008-12-26T14:49:00.000-05:002008-12-26T14:49:53.487-05:00

 The kids had fun unwrapping their gifts!

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-74313633309645199682008-12-26T14:48:00.000-05:002008-12-26T14:48:23.977-05:00

 

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-61701099381210881152008-12-26T14:46:00.000-05:002008-12-26T14:46:19.331-05:00

 

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-28619275207532966272008-12-26T07:59:00.000-05:002008-12-26T07:59:34.357-05:00

 We had a wonderful Christmas yesterday. Anna started walking too!

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-8116245632507147352008-12-17T09:21:00.002-05:002008-12-17T09:23:52.995-05:00

Isaac came to me the other day and stated "I need a tissue." I gave him a tissue and proceeded to follow him. He went to the kitchen and on the floor next to his cup, there was a little milk spilled. He wiped it up and announced happily "All clean!"

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-6863232200059309462008-12-11T11:18:00.003-05:002008-12-11T19:39:52.847-05:00

Last night all three kids slept in the same room again. After finally getting everyone to sleep (Isaac posed a problem here) the evening went well. Isaac woke up around midnight and ended up in our bed, but his restlessness made this situation untenable for long. I moved him back to his bed and he did not stir until 7am! Anna slept really well too, only waking up once at 6:15am. I'm so glad

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-69964115631044656592008-12-10T08:02:00.004-05:002008-12-10T08:11:29.879-05:00

I moved Anna's crib to her brother and sister's room last night. She has slept in our room from day 1 and I thought I would try moving her finally. The 3 kids do not sleep very well at all and I figured that they could wake each other up for a change and *I* could get some sleep. Just joking. A little. Getting all 3 kids to sleep was challenging, though not impossible, as they were all

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-59573878967131171332008-12-06T07:39:00.003-05:002008-12-06T07:53:19.708-05:00

Caroline had her 4th birthday a few days ago and we had a wonderful celebration. Her dad took her to the American Museum of Natural History, which has amazing animal exhibits and dinosaur models and skeletons. She had a fantastic time and came home to see some friends and open some birthday presents.

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620612.post-27706436193876244712008-12-06T07:34:00.000-05:002008-12-06T07:36:57.150-05:00

I started planning for turkey day about a week before Thanksgiving. I planned our menu, recipes, shopping lists and so on. I made about half of our meal the night before and stuck it in the refrigerator (or as Caroline says "Defrigidator") to ease the work load in our tiny kitchen. I will try to post the recipes somewhere on the blog, just in case any one is interested. Anyway, I watched

Mary Ellenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17641383923629701694noreply@blogger.com2