The Kids

The Kids

Saturday, March 31, 2012

Hiatus

Every time that I sit down to write on here, something else gets in my way.

It usually is this almost 18-month old who thinks he owsn me.  Quite often it is our busy life now that soccer has started.  Oh, and there is this book series that I have been caught up in-The Hunger Games.  I truly did not mean to follow the crowd, but our book club chose to read this months ago, not realizing we picked the month when the movie would be coming out.

200 people on the wait list at the library for the second book.  200.

Anyway, while my mind has been distracted by fictional characters battling for their lives in a future world, I have been putting off writing.

And while I put it off, I realize how much I miss it.

There is something therapeutic about it.  When I find myself going days without adult conversation, it is a way to feel like I am connecting with other people.  To not feel alone.

Anyway, after a week of soccer practices, a field trip, and an ever-growing Noah, I have lots of stories to share.  Oh, and I have this really amazing dad who celebrated a birthday a couple of weeks ago who I want to brag about.

First, I need to go read a book.  No, not the Hunger Games (book three is soon to be delivered to my house).  Noah is throwing books at me and I must give in.

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Spring Break

This past week has been Spring Break for the kids.  And Nick. 

Kind of wondering when I get a Spring Break.

Because of Spring Break, my writing has been ignored.  With the total chaos of everyone home, quiet time has become a lost cause.  Even as I am attempting to write this, Noah just broke a shelf on the bookshelf, causing things to fall all around him.

I wish I was kidding.

Ironically, the box of stuff that fell off the shelf was my box of things to do.  Pictures to file away, frames to fill, scrapbook things that probably will not get placed in an album until Noah is in college.  The box just keeps getting more and more full while I realize my attempt to take care of it is in vain.

Anyway, it has been a nice...

Oh, excuse me...I have to go take the fish scooper out of Noah's hands.

So, it has been nice having everyone home.  It was great for Nick to be able to spend time with the kids, which becomes a rarity during baseball season.  The next month will be non-stop games and practices that he has to coach.  Soccer and baseball are starting for the kids so this past week was a nice break before the chaos begins.

Two of my closest friends!


We were able to go and see my family for a few days.  Instead of driving all over the place with our limited time, friends and family came to us, which was a huge blessing with $4/gallon gas.

What the heck is that all about?  How is anyone supposed to afford that?

We had an Easter egg hunt for the kids.  I think my parents are still finding eggs outside.

My best friend's older two kids loved the Easter Egg hunt!


After we packed our car and headed home (making sure that we had all of our Daffins chocolate accounted for), we made it home.  Without any incidents.  No flat tires, no running out of gas, no throwing up in fast food bags.

It was surreal.

Well, I guess I should count the one time where Caleb had to pee in the middle of the stretch of nothing between Cincinnati and Columbus.  We took an exit, had him stand in the van and aim.  He thought that was pretty cool.

The kids and I went to see Rapunzel at the Children's Theater.  We spent lots of time playing outside and being creative inside.  And we had a movie night at home last night.  The movie of choice?  Harry and the Hendersons.

Ever since Nick and his obsession with the show "Finding Bigfoot" began, he was hopeful of watching Harry with the kids.  Apart from a few swear words (that the kids did not even notice) the movie was a hit for Abby and Caleb.  As they cuddled in their sleeping bags with their bowls of popcorn, they laughed at Harry and the great 80's story.

Now, as we face the last day of break, I am thankful for the break from the routine.  But, also looking forward to accomplishing things while everyone is at school. 

I need to stop writing now.  Noah is continually throwing his books at me, begging to be read to.  Love that kid.



Thursday, March 15, 2012

Value Of Life

I came across this article the other day http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2012/03/10/parents-get-2-9m-in-down-syndrome-girl-wrongful-birth-suit/.  Take the few minutes to read it and then continue with this post.

Unbelievable.  I cannot fathom the thoughts of these people.  How can you say in one breath that you love your child, but also admit that if you could do it all over again, you would have aborted her?  Why?  Because she is not perfect.

Okay, I can kind of get the legal aspect of it.  It comes down to simple malpractice, giving them the right to sue the doctors for misinformation.  Trust me, after the number a surgeon did on my grandma during her brain surgery, I have often wondered why we have not gone after him.  But, to think that these parents would have killed their little girl if the test had come out positive?  And that they still think this even after meeting her?  It is simply unbelievable to me.

So they received $2.9 million for the cost of their child.  Because the doctors failed to prepare them for the expensive child they would deliver.  Hmm.  Where is my extra money for all the trips to the ER I have had with one boy so far?  Where is the extra money for parents whose children develop physical or mental challenges later in life? 

There are no guarantees when it comes to children.  We have no promises of perfect health or an easy road of parenting.  There is no way of knowing the decisions that they will make or how long they will live.  If there was some magic test to tell us of all the heartache that we as parents would face, then we might all give up and decide it was not worth it.

I have read many arguments about the value of this child's life.  Some who are in favor of the lawsuit argue that people should be able to abort their special needs children because of the quality of that child's life.  Seriously?  Who are we to say who is valuable and worthy of living?  Who are we to know what kind of life these DS kids will go on to live?  Every single day is a gift.

Nick's Aunt Judy had Down Syndrome.  She was a lovely person who passed away when I was pregnant with Caleb.  As the youngest sibling in my father-in-law's family, she was a joy to everyone.  Yes, I am sure it was a challenge for her parents and siblings, but would they change that?  Absolutely not.  Ask anyone who knew her and they would tell you how full of joy she was.

To this day, when we sing certain songs in church (especially anything with an Alleluia in it), we think of Judy.  She would belt out her favorite songs from the back row, loud enough for the front rows to hear.  I can imagine that she is leading the choir in Heaven right now.  Judy's love for Jesus and her family was amazing.  Everytime that the Rosenfeldts get together, we still miss her presence.

Judy was valuable.  She was worthy of life.  Just like every child who is killed because they are not good enough for their parents.  Or because they might cost a little more money than they are prepared to spend.

Oh, and by the way, there is this beautiful thing called adoption.  I have seen the arguments that special needs children do not get adopted.  Check out http://theshepherdscrook.org/.  This family in our church seeks out to adopt special needs children.  And they are not the only ones in the world.

Life is beautiful.  It is messy and most often not easy, but it is still beautiful.  It seems to me that every child should be given a chance to be a part of it.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Smells

Caleb had to fill out a paper at school titled "Things I Smell."

Always a fun question for preschoolers.

When I get up in the morning, I like to smell...EGG
When I play outside, I can smell...AIR
One thing I sometimes smell in the kitchen is...COOKIES
Another thing I smell at my school is...SNACK
One thing I don't like to smell is...ELEPHANT
My favorite smell of all is...EGG

So, apart from the obvious love of eggs and cookies that my boy has, he clearly has been to the zoo and visited the elephant house.  It does get pretty bad in there.  I mean, he could have mentioned Noah's diapers or our ridiculous fish tank, but he had to go with elephants.  He aims big.

I am still trying to figure out what air by itself smells like. 

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Preschoolers Thoughts About Guns

After the infamous You Tube clip about the Invisible Children went wild last week, my kids started to pay attention.  Caleb saw the Today show talking about it while he ate breakfast and it really got him thinking. 

On the way to school that day, we picked up Caleb's carpool friend, Izzy.  In the midst of the kids singing silly songs and picking on each other, Caleb said, "Mom, can you tell Izzy the news?"

At first I did not understand what news he was referring to.  As far as I knew, our family did not have a baby on the way (I promise!) or had plans to sell the house and that is usually the first two things to think of when hearing "news."

He said, "You know, about the kids in Africa."

Now, it is one thing to explain the Invisible Children to my own kids in my own way, but to explain it to someone else's child?  Um, a little uncomfortable. 

I explained to Izzy that in some parts of Africa, there is a bad man who takes kids from their homes and teaches them to use guns to kill people.  I also explained that we should pray for the people in those countries. 

Caleb chimed in with, "He even makes them kill their own parents!"

Thank you, Caleb.  And thank you, Today show, for announcing such things at 7 a.m. 

Izzy thought about this for a moment, and then had two profound statements.

"My daddy uses a gun, but he doesn't use it to kill people."

And...

"There is going to be a lot of pets in Heaven.  Every time our pets die, they go there because God likes them so much."

Okay.  We went from Invisible Children, to dads who use guns to pets in Heaven.  I simply love preschool children.

Later on that evening, Caleb came up with a plan.  He said, "Mom, if that bad guy takes me and tells me to shoot people, I'll just shoot him."

Ah, the logic of my five-year old.

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Another Wording Mistake

I just have to add to my previous post about my kids and their knack for saying the wrong word.

Caleb has had some chapping under his lip and just said to us, "My lip is chopped."

Sure.

Friday, March 9, 2012

Friday Deal

Anyone else have chapped lips during these winter months?  I know I do.  That's why I use the Satin Lips set.

Okay, cheesy commercial aside, if anyone wants to order the Satin Lips set from Mary Kay, you can get it for $15 instead of $18 for the next few days.  The first part of the set is a mask that you leave on for a couple of minutes.  Then you follow up with the lip balm.  They leave your lips feeling super soft.

Check it out and all of the other cool stuff that I sell at www.marykay.com/trosenfeldt.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Say That Again

-Abby was working on her research project while she was home sick this week.  She was told to look online to learn more about her animal of study, the Okapi.

The what?  Yes, the okapi.  Pretty sure that when I was in first grade, I was still learning about the basic animals that Noah could currently spot.

Anyway, she told me, "I'm allowed to look online.  I can go to Google and Ikeapedia."

Ikeapedia? 

When I asked if she meant, "Wikipedia," she said, "Oh, that's right!  Wikipedia!"

What a different world my little girl lives in than I did.

-Caleb has painful chapping under his lip right now.  He just came out of his room and said, "I need some more gasoline for my face."

Could he mean "vasoline?"  Let's hope so.

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

The Chronicles Of Poop

No one ever told me how much being a mother would involve poop.

Yes, I figured it out that I would be changing a bunch of diapers for the first couple of years.  I guess I just failed to see that it would be a couple of years-per child. 

Even so, I figured once they were potty trained, my concern for their bowel movements would not be that high on my list of things to worry about. 

Not true.

While Abby is a sweet girl who does her business and sees no need to describe it to me, I also have a son.  Mr. Caleb finds it fascinating to see how big his movements can get or what the shape resembles.  I cannot tell you how many times that I have heard the phrase, "Mom, you gotta look at this!" come from the bathroom.  Add on his stomach issues and needing miralax every day, my professional skills with the plunger and I am pretty much over discussing Caleb's poop.

Oh, but wait-I have a second son. 

Noah seems to have read the book on "How to be a boy to your mom who is a girl" and really worked on his special present for me yesterday.

He was napping (i.e. goofing off in his pack-n-play in my room) when I checked on him.  I could smell the poop from the stairway so I figured I was in for it.  When I picked him up, I realized that he had taken off his pants.  After I placed him on my bed to change him, I noticed that he had poop everywhere. 

Everywhere.  On his legs.  On his shirt.  On his fingers.  And, oh yes, on his face.

Now, my first reaction was to leave and flee.  If he is independent enough to remove his pants, then he can clean himself up, right?

I finally remembered his age of 17 months, grabbed the wipes and got to work.

Unfortunately, he must have been playing around in there for quite awhile because it took a lot of work to clean his hands.  I used those wipes and scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed the poop off his fingers.  Noah, of course, sat there giggling.  Nick's son was not making me very happy.

I finally cleaned him up and went into Caleb's room to get new clothes.  When I told Caleb that Noah had pooped everywhere, he said, "Oh, I want to see!"

I immediately shut the door before he could follow me.

After putting Noah back down to nap and washing my hands for a very, very long time, I heard Abby run to the bathroom.  As I ran upstairs and held her hair back as she lost her two saltine crackers and ginger ale, I thought, "No, Abby, you're my clean, pretty girl that doesn't gross me out!"

But, instead, I rubbed her back and told her that everything would be okay.

And it will be. 

Monday, March 5, 2012

Why Did I Leave The House?

Ever have one of those mornings where you probably should have just stayed home?

Got everyone ready for school this morning.  Started getting texts from friends warning me about the roads.  Apparently, there was black ice and accidents everywhere.  Sure, why not?  I was just wearing flip flops two days ago so that makes perfect sense.  Ah, Ohio-you have such lovely weather.

Packed the backpacks and the diaper bag, grabbed my camera and purse, and headed out the door.  At first, I thought, "The roads are fine.  What's all the fuss about?"  Then I actually left my neighborhood. 

Cars were off the road, crashed into each other everywhere.  Once I turned onto the next street, I noticed that the traffic was just sitting there.  So, we joined in and sat there.  Finally got to my carpool friend's neighborhood, where I had to wait to turn into because two (yes, two) tow trucks were blocking the entrance, saving stranded drivers.  Finally got in there, picked up her daughter and left my crying Noah there (had to volunteer in Abby's class today and that goes much easier without Noah) and got back on the road. 

Went about three miles an hour for awhile.  A long while.  Thought about turning onto another road at one point, but then the school bus beat me to it so I figured that he was not the best person to follow.  Finally reached another street where we could get out of the never-ending line of cars and cut through the lovely Indian Hill.

Amazing.  The wealthy people of Indian Hill even get to avoid traffic.  No one was on those roads.

Eventually got to school, only ten minutes late, where they were thankfully not counting tardies since the whole city was running late.  Checked in the preschoolers and headed to Abby's class.  As I sat in the back of the classroom, about to help lead the students in exercises where they learn what it is like to be blind, I noticed that Abby was not looking too great.  She came back to me, said her stomach hurt, then put her hand over her mouth and ran to the bathroom.

Good news-she made it to the bathroom.  Bad news-the bathroom is a kindergarten bathroom, where the toilet is really low to the ground, so half of what she lost landed on the floor.

As I rubbed her back and held her hair back (really wishing that she had put a headband in this morning), my heart hurt for her.  Thankfully, another parent was in the building that could take over my assigned duties and I got Abby out of there pretty quickly. 

Grabbed some ginger ale and saltines on the way home, picked up Noah (who had not yet taken a nap since he was still being grumpy about me abandoning him-little stinker) and got everyone home.

Best part of it all?  Abby was moaning in the backseat when I asked her, "So, what movie do you want to watch when we get home?"  I heard silence and then, "I get to do that?"

Oh, sweet girl.  That is the only good part of being sick...laying on the couch in front of the tv.

So, now she is laying around, watching Annie and sipping ginger ale.  And I am wondering why I left the house at all.

Friday, March 2, 2012

Friday Deal

If you love the Timewise Cleanser, why not follow up with the Timewise Moisturizer?  Usually $22 and for limited time only, you can get it for $19!  I use both the cleanser and moisturizer every day and love them both.   www.marykay.com/trosenfeldt

Brought to you by a stay-at-home mom who is trying to help provide for a family of five.

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Underground Railroad

Okay, so perhaps I am bragging, but I just had to share what my little 1st grader wrote for her theme, I know a lot about the underground railroad."  The students had to pretend that they were traveling the Underground Railroad.

One night there was a storm.  Now is the time, my dad said.  Earlyer we had sung songs telling it was time to go.  Tomorrow there was no work, so Master woud't miss us.  We began to pack some food.  Soon we were all ready.  We set out in the storm.  We were both very nevous.  Soon it was almost dawn.  We hid in a cave.  We waited until dusk.  Then we started out again.  Hour after hour we walked.  Days past and one lucky day we came to a safe house.  We knew it was safe because we saw a lantern in the window.  The people there were Qackers.  The next day they took us to another safe house-the church.  we hid under a secret hideout underneath the floor.  At night we started out again.  Soon we came to a river.  Lake Erie, my dad said to me.  He made a sign on the ground.  Someone came and looked for us.  We jumped out of hiding.  The person gave us very good clothes.  We dressed like we were going to church.  That will make you look like you are free, the person said.  He helped us get on a boat.  After many days of riding, He said I see land!  We went very fast in the boat and soon we came to land.  We were finnaly free!  We were very happy.  We had been a slave all our lives and now we were free.  It was January first, 1912.  We were extra happy.  We had took our freedom.  We hope someday the whole world will be in freedom.  Until then, I hope we can help as many as we can.  Mabe even one hundred!  I hope people will be free soon.

Love it.

I must mention that her teacher did correct the year of 1912-I think she has read so many American Girl books that are set during that time period that she just automatically wrote it.

I love the little shout out to camp by mentioning Lake Erie.  In her seven-year old world, that is the only big water that she could think of, apart from the ocean.

What a worldview she has, to think that helping one hundred people is a lot.  Compared to the whole world of people in need.  I suppose, though, that should be our view as well.  Instead of thinking the whole world is hopeless and there is nothing that one person can do, we should start by helping one person. 

I love my little writer.