(Some Scary) Stuff

We have had a little bit of a scare the past few days, though we didn't know why. Noah has been throwing up and we didn't get it. We're used to Lily throwing up for various reasons (though she hasn't pulled that trick in a very long time), but this was weird for Noah. We thought it was because he was gagging while coughing. It turns out that we think it may have been linked to this. The good news is that he has been fine today, though his appetite is still not 100%. Nevertheless, I don't think we need to take him to the pediatrician.

We tried a new church today. I knew that it would stretch the kids because they were with me for the whole service (I prefer the term "gathering.") It was just me because Amanda is in Pennsylvania for a funeral this weekend. Lily was sort of dreading sitting through a sermon. I really knew she was in a bad way when she wouldn't join in singing "Mighty to Save," which is one of her (our) favorites. I gave her the bulletin to take notes on the sermon and she really got into it. In fact, she was gushing about how much she enjoyed it by the end. Noah didn't enjoy it nearly as much, as you might imagine. My plan is to get each of them special notebooks that they only use on Sunday mornings. I think that will help. Also, I sweetened the pot this week by offering an extra 30 minutes of electronics if they behave. We won't do that every week, but it was a good start.

After that we went to Sam's Club. We had lunch, which was interrupted by Noah's need to use the facilities. Lily took him while I hung out. After that he had a better appetite, but not what he normally has for a hot dog. At the end of our shopping he wanted to look at the Wii games, as he usually does. He did that and Lily and I started looking around too. Apparently he lost track of us because when I went to get him he was gone. I then heard them paging me over the PA and I found him standing there crying. He was very glad to see me. I think we've done well with that being our first really lost child at a store in 9 years of parenting. I don't remember ever getting paged for Lily and certainly never for Noah before. I don't think he was too traumatized by it though.

We came home and I got some Crock-Pot dinner going while they changed clothes. We took Oreo for a walk on the Black Creek Greenway, which was a nice time on a beautiful day. After that we took him to PetSmart to get his flea control medicine. I am writing this at the end of the 90 minute electronics-a-thon. It's almost time for dinner anyway.

Take a Hike

After all the tumult of the past few weeks we wanted to do something fun together as a family. The weather was very nice yesterday, so we took advantage of it with a walk at Umstead State Park. There is a creek with some big rocks where the kids like to play. Amanda had bought picnic supplies at Trader Joe's and baked some homemade bread for the occasion. We packed up and headed over, though the kids' attitudes were a bit lacking during our preparation.

Taking a break on a tree God seemed to design for it

Once the five of us got going we had a good time. Oreo seems to really enjoy hiking, so that's a plus for the little guy. His only problem is that he gets a little tentative on the small bridges that have gaps between the planks. Who can blame him for that?

The hike went well, except that the kids got some blisters. Noah had new Crocs and they irritated his ankles. Lily had old Crocs that were a little too small. Nevertheless, they had a great time playing in the creek. The only negative for me was having to carry Noah back up the hill on my shoulders. When we got back to the van he had the nerve to complain that his butt was sore. As for me, my neck is still feeling it a little bit.

But, despite all the complaining and the blisters, I have no regrets over taking that walk. We really try to take advantage of the nice weather we get in the spring and fall here. We hope that these little walks in the woods will become fond memories for the kids.