Christmas Favorites

Now that I'm over my post Christmas Migraine, I can finally share some of our favorite memories. Lily's real favorite was her Zune, but she also enjoy the flat iron for her hair. Isaac loves his gigaball, a 5ft. inflatable ball that you can climb inside (bottom picture). Sam and Eli treasured their "digging for dinosaurs." I got some fun stuff, but my favorite were the blooms on my Hibiscus. The picture of lights is actually the firetrucks that came blaring through the neighborhood about 8:30p with Santa and Mrs. Claus atop wishing everyone a Merry Christmas. Nate's favorite is his dirt devil vacuum that he uses everytime I vacuum for real. It's always worth the work to see kids' pure joy.

Christmas Proof!

Yes, the DeLapp's have Christmas. Here's the proof...we had the tree up for a total of three and a half days. It's quick but intense!

Washington D.C. Temple

Tonight we to see the Christmas lights at the temple. Brrrrrrrrr! It was COLD! It was also one of those memorable family experience that get us in the right frame of mind to celebrate the birth of our Savior. Enjoy the beautiful pictures thanks to Mike.

Multiple Blessings

On a nondescript day in August of 2002 I worried that our 18 week ultrasound would play the same cruel joke it had our first two pregnancies...an undetermined gender identification. First things first, we saw baby and its heartbeat (healthy and strong) and measured for age (a little small by about 2 weeks) As the Dr. questioned the accuracy of my memory regarding my cycle dates, he was making me seasick with the back and forth motion across my belly. After a scary moment of silence and an extended "Hmm", the Dr. finally announced that he indeed saw TWO HEADS!  I nearly peed my pants and not just because I had drank 32oz before the test. Lee was standing at the end of the table, squeezed my feet and asked the Dr. if he was sure that there wasn't three. Naturally I tried to kick him and told him to keep his mouth shut while I was in SHOCK. I don't remember much else until I started to call my family to share the "gender" news. My Dad was first and guessed before I even said anything. My sister, Rhonda who had a set of twins 12 years earlier, laughed hysterically for TOO long and then advised me to remember this..."The lows are twice as low, but the highs are twice as high." After a six year roller coaster of lows and highs raised to the power of 2 and MANY sleepless nights, I know I am one LUCKY Momma! HAPPY BIRTHDAY Sam and Eli!

Fast and Furious

Okay, it's been furious but actually not so fast for me. I went to bed Wednesday night feeling stressed and extremely tired. Wednesday was a busy day including an initial IEP meeting for Eli, speech for Sam and Isaac, and Scouts with Isaac. I awoke about 2 AM violently ill. As I was suffering, I kept telling myself that if it is this intense, it'll be short lived. (wishful thinking) Lee stayed home on Thursday to help with the kids. I'm not sure that I remember much of Thursday other than we sang "Happy Birthday" to Sam and Eli from my bed (no one was allowed to actually touch the bed, though). Over the next two days, one by one the kids have "dropped". Lee was up most of the night doing laundry and helping sickies. It hit Lee this AM. I am finally up out of bed, however, I can't stray far from the powder room. My friend brought some necessities from the store and I guess we're hunkering down for the next bit. Saddest part of all is that Lily misses her first two performances for the singing and dancing group she's in. I'm sure this will come up in therapy years from now. Now to find a silver lining...I'm happy we're at home sick and not the hospital.

???

Isaac got of the bus today and reported a good behavior day, but wouldn't let me see his backpack or daily log. Hmmm...I eventually got to his backpack and read a note from his case manager. It read, "DEC. 8, 2008 Isaac completed last weeks reading test in AM. He refused to complete any work after the reading test. While the teacher was out of the room, Isaac stripped off his clothes down to his underwear. He refused to complete any work throughout the remainder of the day".

Transportation Fiasco

So I have kids attending three different elementary schools. Shouldn't be much of a problem, right? It is if you are Stafford County Transportation. Isaac attends Moncure and has had reliable transportation on his AM bus #74 and his PM bus #61 for months now. Sam just started at Anthony Burns and is supposed to ride bus #112 in the morning and #220 in the afternoon. Yesterday, bus #220 came to Sam's school to pick him up. However, the paperwork said she was picking up Isaac. She refused to transport Sam, because he was not Isaac. As Sam was recovering from the identity crisis, the school calls me to see if I can pick up Sam. I could, but I couldn't leave the house for 30 minutes or so until Isaac got off his bus. (I can't be in 12 places at once.) We decided that there weren't many options, so Sam would wait. 5 minutes later, the school called back and said that the driver had talked to transportation and told her to go back to the school and bring Sam home. Problem solved, right? Nope! This morning Isaac bus is late, very late. A empty bus #15 comes to the stop and says he's here to pick up Isaac. It's not out of the ordinary to have substitute buses or drivers. So I start to put Isaac on the bus and am asking my 20 questions like, Who are you? What happened to the other bus? Where are the other children? Where is your monitor? (an additional adult on special needs buses) What school are you driving to? Come to find out he was trying to transport "Isaac", aka Sam to his school. I denied transport for Sam due to the driver's insufficient answers. I also drove Isaac because I finally figured out that his original route was canceled because you can't have the same student on two different routes at two different schools. Are you confused yet? Me too, and I was there! Later, the special needs route coordinator returned all my calls, apologized profusely, and promised that it was all fixed. We'll see this afternoon...to be continued?

What are you thankful for?

I am thankful Thursday evenings, the night without any have to's. I am thankful for bedtime and the occasional naptime. I am thankful for vibrant children and teachers that can tolerate their energy. I am thankful for a washer, dryer, dishwasher, and running water. I am thankful for potty trained children (that endeavor to aim). I am thankful for an almost six year survival rate on raising multiples. I am thankful for the word "go" (Nathan's latest). I am thankful for cheaper gas prices. I am thankful for melatonin. I am thankful that the days of per minute long distance phone calls are long gone. I am thankful for "yard passes" (from the loony bin) and alone time. I am thankful for together time. I am thankful for teeth without cavities. I am thankful that Nate patiently waited for me to finish this post. I am truly blessed.

Sam's New School

Monday is Sam's first day at Anthony Burns Elementary. We've been working on this since Spring. We knew Sam would need some extra help, but the school system didn't get on board until September. Finally, after a million IEP meetings, we're ready to go. Sam's met his nice new teacher and is super excited to be a dragon (Burnie is the school mascot). Yes, there will be a transition time and I'll have kids at 3 different schools. Well worth it to have an appropriate placement.

So homesick

I miss my family like crazy...It's been 2 years since I've seen my sister, Lara, my brother, or my Dad. Much more than that for everybody else except my Mom, but it seems like forever with her too. This time of the year is hard to be on the other side of the world. I guess that's why we have blogs and cell phones.

My own space

Thanks to my husband, I am no longer borrowing his or the kids' computer...trying to sneak in time to blog and such. We bought the few extras we needed and Lee worked tirelessly to give me my own computer again. Thanks a bunch babe!

Tired of worrying my mother

So there I was, not standing in line at the bank, but waiting for northbound Rt. 1 traffic to clear so that I could make a left turn to take Eli to school on Friday morning. There wasn't much southbound traffic, so I wasn't looking in my mirrors, when a Nissan Pathfinder slammed into the back of my van. CRUNCH! The general consensus was that she was going nearly 35-45 mph. The back of my seat even bent. I realized what was happening and somehow got my van off the road, asked Eli if he was okay, and called 911. I called Lee and a neighbor brought him and Nate down to the scene. Timothy's Dad was driving by and stopped to help. I was put in a neck brace and on a board to ride to the hospital. My blood pressure was 160/110 (after I was calm, it dropped to 107/55) and I vomited a couple of time in route. The paramedic had to tip the board so I wouldn't choke on my vomit. YUCK! After x-rays and a CT scan and 4 hours being flat on my back, I was cleared to go home. Sore and battered, but okay. I am so thankful for all the heaven sent blessings before, during, and after the accident. Haven't heard about the van or the insurance nightmare to follow, but I will update as I can tolerate the stress.

Lest we forget...

Each of my three school-aged  boys came home today, let's say, not "on green."  When they forget their good manners, I like to remember how it all started...beautiful and innocent and pure. Tomorrow will be better.

Shenandoah National Park

The kids were out of school for Columbus Day, so we accepted an invitation to join Mike and Joan, Randall and Rose, and all the kids, on a day trip to Shenandoah National Park. It's up in the Appalachian Mountains, inside Virginia, west of where we live. Isaac really enjoyed the ride. The weather was beautiful. The food was extra nummy. I'm sure because of the elevation. Can hardly wait to do it again.

 
Here we are at the entrance to the park after the hour and a half drive.

Nathan was the first to dig in.

Lily and Kyle had fun sketching the scenery.

Randall and Muffin took Isaac for a walk.

Lunch time was the only quiet time.

Isaac, of course, wanted "Some of Everything".

Eli couldn't resist climbing a nearby tree.

Nathan was investigating bugs in the grass.

Sam enjoying a quiet moment in the dirt.

October in Virginia.

 
Isaac wants to move our house to the top of the mountain.

Nathan was trying to scoot down the mountain.

Doesn't that say it all!?

WWF "Family Style"

New Calling

I'm now a Den Leader in Isaac's Cub Scout pack. I've been going to assist him since the beginning, but now it's official! Here's a picture of Isaac that sums up how he feels about scouting (and socializing in general)...

Budding Barber

We've all been there! You know, when life gets so stressful that we do something drastic... like telling the stylist to "take it all off" instead of "a little off the top".

As you can see, Sam was his own stylist. After creating the masterpiece he came to the kitchen crying and requesting help. At that point the only help we could offer was to take it all off! Poor baby!

It's all better... Sort of.

No More August!

I am so done! All of us suffer from burn-out at the end of summer and, when life keeps coming at you, it doesn't take long to use up any reserves. This past weekend Nathan ran a fever. It resolved on its own by Monday afternoon. Monday evening he started acting "weird." He had been walking/running for 3-4 months already and now he was crawling and scooting backwards. When you stood him on his feet, he just pivoted in a circle. He tried to reach for an object out of my hand and missed it by a good 3 inches. He ran his head along the floor and was flip flopping about even though he didn't look like he was in pain. ??? After suffering with a day of unknowns and testing for the worst (spinal tap included), he was diagnosed with post viral cerebellar ataxia. Long story, even longer...The body fights off the infection and then doesn't stop. It keeps attacking the body causing inflammation in the cerebellum and messing with the motor/balance parts of the body. The Doctors say that he should take a couple of weeks to return to baseline. I don't think it will take that long; he's already made great strides. After all is said and done, it wasn't so bad just very scary.

Out of this World Paint

We decided to paint the boys' room. It started out as a weekend project that turned into almost a month. Jeannine and I painted the dark blue and Lee is responsible for the artistic touches. The black is chalkboard. Eli doesn't like us to draw on "his" space room. In fact, after all that work, Sam and Eli both want it back to the original color. Eli cries when we send him to bed. The "space guy" freaks him out. Too bad, so sad.

Foreign Body Removal

Oh, Eli! Believe it or not one of my darling 5 year-olds swallowed a quarter on Friday. He was coughing and crying trying to tell me what happened. He said, "I ate a quarter and it's stuck!" I told him it wasn't stuck because he was breathing. Initially I didn't think about it being stuck in his esophagus. His body was busy trying to expel it while I was on the phone with the pediatrician. She told me that it could be stuck or have possibly done damage and he needed to go to the ER for an X-ray. Sure enough it was very stuck just below his vocal cords. He was sedated and taken up to the OR for a esophageal scope and foreign body removal. We got to come home, with the quarter, that night after a 8-9 hour ordeal. Eli doesn't seem worse for the wear, but I am still recovering.

Missing In Action

Where have we been? No vacation or anything exciting like that...just endeavoring to survive the summer. Now that we have 15 days left, we are totally into the summer routine of going to bed at midnight or after and getting up about 10am...thanks to the end of summer school and start of the Olympics. Life is gonna jerk us into reality soon. Nathan and I are busy planning all the fun we're gonna have with the others at school.

Day Camp

This week Lily and Isaac attended Day Camp. The girls went on Tuesday and Wednesday when the weather was gorgeous in the low 80s. Isaac and I went on Thursday and Friday when the weather was like a typical VA summer-99 degrees and 80% humidity. For anyone that doesn't know, that's down right miserable! We still had lots of fun. They had both indoor and outdoor activities. Isaac favorites were "Blow Dart Tag, Bolivian Slingshots, and Soda Pop Rockets." They also had a rain gutter regatta which I thought was fun. Lily's favorites were making candles and making a pearl necklace. On days like these, I wish I was still a kid.

A Day at the Park

The kids and I were missing our Aunt Rose, so we picked her and her camera up and spent the afternoon at park. Thanks Rose. Enjoy some our favorites.

Computing Skills

Nate's developing "pooter" skills already. Lee installed "Baby Smash" on the kids's computer. You are supposed to be able to let kids push any and all keys and fun shapes and color come on the screen to keep the babies happy. Nate did that for 10 seconds and then climbed on the keyboard pushing ctrl, alt, delete all at the same time, rebooting the computer. Some much for kid proof fun. We're so proud of him!

Day 3 of Summer Break

This morning the boys painstakingly filled water balloons in the basement bathroom. I mean filled...to their capacity. Some were a big as beach balls. Only by a miracle did they all make it outside. 30 seconds later, Sam, Eli, and Isaac were soaked and balloon-free. What fun!!!
Nathan has been busy too. He pulled a carton of eggs off the table and broke our last 6 eggs. Isaac tipped a bowl of milk all over the wood floor trying to keep Nathan out of the trash can. All BEFORE breakfast!
76 days and counting.

79 Days and Counting

All the kids are finally out for summer break, and I'm counting down to the first day back.

Terrific T-Ball

Sam is #11 on the Ironbirds (like the Plane) and the Air Force sponsored us.

Eli #9 is showing the "baseball ready" stance. The boys stand on the field and literally scream their rallying cry.

Eli was caught chatting up a girl on the opposing team!

The best part...of course, snacks!

The very best part of t-ball was hitting "lightsaber" hard and running "race car" fast.

Sometimes Sam needed a little encouragement from the coach to keep out of the ever enticing dirt.

Sometimes they took the game seriously...

Sometimes not.