1.10.13 Ten on Ten

Whew! I'm a little late to the party, but doggonit, I'm getting these photos posted! Some months it can feel like a small miracle to remember it's the tenth and then to actually take the ten photos. This month, downloading, editing, and posting was just a bit too much to try to do all in one day. So, here's my ten... on the eleventh :)

We've been sickies here all week. Thankfully, no tummy bug, but the deep chest cough, fever, and congestion road instead. Baby and I have been the worst. But, I think we're both turning a corner now.

One of the nice things about having slightly older children is being able to go to the bathroom or take a shower without fear for anyone's life. Or without having to constantly stop the water because you are just sure you heard the baby crying.

The hot, hot shower felt so nice. My head and face were so sore.

Not all of the children are sick, but I was. So, more or less, this was a sick day for us school wise. We got a little bit done in the afternoon, but it wasn't a full day.

Baby loved the extra playtime.

We were making a meal for some friends who recently added three children to their family. My older girls were so, so helpful. You know the old saying... many hands make light work!

Reading during the younger ones' rest time...

And a little playtime afterward.

I lost a little time getting to my next shot. I was driving the meal over to my friend's house. I remembered about ten on ten just in time and took this with my phone on the way back.

A side benefit of taking meals to others is that I can just double (or triple) whatever I'm making, and we wind up with an extra nice dinner for our own family, too.

Don't they looked thrilled to be doing this together? ha ha ha.

All in all a good day. Kind of a "family effort" kind of day. Which is always encouraging, to see your children help out extra when you're just not 100%. My kids bless the socks off me.

10 on 10: december

Linking up with Rebekah for 10 on 10.


Annnnd... just for kicks... a little Money Shot Monday.


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It was a graaaaaay Monday here in Ohio. I'm afraid the winter has begun :( It gets very gray for a very long time here... until about late March.

Boo.

I'm tempted to be a big grump today because of the rain and the Mondayness, so I'm going to fight the good fight by chasing hard after thanksgiving instead. 10 photos in 10 hours... on the 10th... with 10 great reasons to give thanks, praise God, and stop grumbling.

Amen? Here's our day!

No. 1 - Thankful that our teething little peach decided to sleep in. That was NICE.

No. 2 - Thankful that at least one of my children made at least part of their breakfast choices well today.

No. 3 - Thankful for reminders of the promises of God... and mercy that is new every morning.

No. 4 - Thankful that my kids will do their school work pretty well without a lot of prodding from me. Also, thankful for this little guy's love of drawing.

No. 5 - Thankful for cheerful Christmas decorations and the extra two living room shelves that Sam installed last night!

No. 6 - Thankful for my eldest waiting for her lunch date pick-up and for a husband who chooses to work hard on relationships... even when it's not easy.

No. 7 - Thankful for full tummies and healthy bodies... and Justin Bieber Baby hair.

No. 8 - Thankful for kitchen dance parties. (That's my money shot).

No. 9 - Thankful for Etsy and beautiful fabric delivered to my door.

No. 10 - Thankful for sewing during naptime and for being able to give her a cozy, happy nursery.

The End.

june: 10 on 10

I took my ten on ten this month! Wootie woot! I'm not getting it posted until 2 full days after the fact, but I will woot nonetheless.

This was a fun one, because we headed up north to Extremely Rural Ohio to visit Sam's grandma after church. I love Grandma so dearly (she'll be 94 this summer!). And her farm is almost as wonderful as she is. It's a bit of a drive, so we don't get up there all the time, but it's always so good when we do.

Here's a recap of the day in pictures. 10 photos. 10 consecutive hours. We started out at 12:45pm.


Such a great day.

April 10 on 10

I do not make bacon for breakfast very often at all. I had half a package leftover in the fridge from a recipe last week, and it was about to go bad if it didn't get used up soon. So, I made it this morning. The children were ecstatic. The skillet is still sitting in the kitchen with the grease all up in it. Why does cleaning up the grease bother me so?

nine o' clock

I used to make big breakfasts a lot on weekdays. Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. But, as our school schedule has gotten more demanding, our breakfasts have simplified. Toast, cereal, muffins if SweetP wakes up early and wants to make them. But the rest of us generally don't wake up early, and the children took forever to eat this morning, so we were starting to get behind already. I had to get on their cases to wrap it up so we could start lessons.

ten o'clock

Scripture memory. Then, morning lessons.

eleven o'clock

noon

A little free time while I made lunch. Right around this point in the day, I felt it coming on... a migraine. I started popping pills like a mad woman, trying to head it off. If I get to the ibuprofen/Excedrin rotation quickly enough, it will often only last a few hours. And I drink water like it's going out of style.

one o'clock

It didn't take long for it to get bad, though. Little Dude went down for his nap, I gave each of the girls specific jobs to occupy them, and I took a hot, hot, hot shower. Letting the hot water pour down my forehead helps for some reason. When I came downstairs, Punkin rubbed my head while she read her book aloud. I look like I'm really paying attention.

Back in the day, when everyone was smaller, Sam would sometimes have to come home from work on a day like this. I'd just be too out of it to safely care for the children by myself. This headache wasn't quite that bad, I was clued in to everything going on around me. But, it was certainly nice to have children old enough to help. And sweet enough to be willing.

two o'clock

I was about to put the camera away for the day and just skip this month's ten. But, then I thought - "This is today. This is part of what happens in our life. I get headaches." And I kept the camera beside me on the coffee table.

SweetP took the shots of me in my infirmity.

three o'clock

It's humbling that my kids are going to grow up with memories of their invalid mother sprawled out on the couch like this. Then again, humbling is good for me. Baby was down for her afternoon nap, and the girls heated up my rice sock for me. Yes, that's a sock. With rice in it. Hot rice. It feels so good on an aching head.

The times for these afternoon photos are more or less accurate. I didn't set a timer or even look at the clock much. I just guessed when I thought enough time had passed. At some point when both the younger two were napping and the olders were completing some lessons independently, I dozed.

four o'clock

Three blessings. #1 - After my third dose of painkillers and a little snooze, I was feeling much better. #2 - Baby took a really long afternoon nap. #3 - our monthly Amazon book order arrived on the front steps. New books. Hallelujah. Everyone immediately had something interesting to do while I languished.

around five thirty

And not long after that, I was feeling much better, but hadn't shaken the headache completely. It was time to get ready to head out for Punkin's first soccer game. Sam came home to take her, and I decided to keep lying low at home with Baby and SweetP... drink more water, take one more dose of Excedrin.

Less than an hour later, I was good to go. No more headache.

What a weird 10 on 10.

six forty five

Heeeey, look! It's the acclaimed Gray Fleece!

I think Baby had been wondering what was up. We were both glad to get a little snuggle time.

And that, friends, makes it ten. So far, I don't think I've felt like any one of my 10 on 10s has been truly representative of our daily life. But, like I said, these kinds of days do happen... once every month or two.

And now, it's documented for all time. Like it or not.

march: 10 on 10

Hey, check it out! Can you believe I remembered 10 on 10?!

On a roll!

My parents were here for part of the day, just like last month's 10. Weird. Also, just like last month, my bloodstream is pretty much completely saturated with caffeine, so this should be a nice, zippy post.



10 on 10 begins. 9 am. I don't really get up early so much. Coffee. Stat. Sam was already out the door with the two oldest girls for a 9:30am soccer practice.

Icky.

I slept in as long as Baby would allow. Ate a nice, slow breakfast while the younger three played. Revved up (is that poor spelling?) for the day ahead.



10am. I got all artsy with this edit. I'm so hip.

So, I rock my babies to sleep. Or sway them to sleep. A little of both? I didn't with the first two. Then, with baby 3, with two very little ones in the mix, the crying just about made me bonkers. So, I started rocking them to sleep and doing all kinds of things sleep experts tell you not to do. They've all (minus the dude) slept awesome... through the night way early. No discernable difference between my rocked babies and "sleep-trained" babies. This little one's so easy. I rock her maybe 3 minutes and she's out cold. I kind of think it's all about timing.

Well, timing and the fact that this child is Wonder Baby.



11am. Cheekers! Short morning nap because we were planning for a loooooong afternoon nap. Bathtime. Mom took this. Her first time using a dslr. Didn't she do a great job?



noon. Loving on the grandbabies.



1pm. My sister came with her children (new baby!) to visit for a little bit after lunch. Lots of kiddos in one room. Lots of LOUD.



2pm. Sam and I finally got started on the room we're working on. The first year we lived here, we would spend all Saturday, every Saturday from morning to evening working on house projects. We definitely got a lot done, but it started to take a toll on our family. Now, weekend projects get mixed in with lots of other activities. It means we get less done, but things are better overall.



3pm. Still cutting in. The younger two are napping. This room is SweetP (11) and Shug's (almost 10) bedroom. We've been working on it

for.

ever.

But, it's starting to get to the rewarding stage. Punkin is hunched over my iPhone here. Playing tic tac toe. And that's not paint in my hair. That's guh-ray, sistas.



4pm. Cutting in is done. Wonder Baby is still sleeping, and it's time for Mama to head downstairs and snack on the vanilla pudding SweetP's been making. Vanilla pudding, nilla wafers, and banana slices. Weird? Maybe. But, tasty!



5pm. Little Dude woke up from nap a little before this (Baby was still out like a light), so I went downstairs to see what they were up to and to goof around with them for a bit. They had made a tent in the family room. I almost broke my neck trying to get in the timer shot before it clicked. It didn't really work. Or maybe it did? I love their happy faces. Focus is optional.



6pm. Wonder Baby is my first bottle-fed babe. She just never got the hang of nursing. And, believe me, we tried. SweetP took this for me... she's getting pretty good at framing shots.

And that's 10! Now we're getting ready to eat an easy dinner (pasta and jarred light alfredo sauce) and then SweetP's going to help me roll the first coat of paint on the walls. Then, once we finish, Sam's going to head over to the church - it's our week to clean - while I put the kids to bed. That's the plan, anyway. Subject to unplanned interruptions. Hopefully, Sam and I will have time to gaze into each others eyes and actually TALK tonight. Planning on an at home date night.

Thus the massive amounts of caffeine.

Full day. Good day. And we rest all day tomorrow :) Thanks for reading!