For Real This Time

What on earth happened with that last post? Well, I was typing along, minimized to download some pictures, maximized, got back to work, went to put in some pics, and lost the whole thing. I am so technically disinclined, that I hung up the whole mess and went to bed. So, I am back, and there's lots to tell.

This week was kind of crazy. On Wednesday, I had to get the four older children to my MIL's so that I could take Henry to his four month check up. He is amazingly huge: 16lbs., 7oz. AND, he's 27 inches long! Holy cow! He's already almost as big as his two oldest brothers were at one year. I'm going to be looking up at him when he's 10. He had to get three shots. I've said it before, and I'll say it now, I hate shots. I know they are for the greater good, but, wow, hearing my baby scream like that just goes right through me. He was pretty cranky Wednesday evening, and all of the next day.

I thought that if we took Jim to his appointment at the VA Hospital in Bath, NY, it would give Henry a good chance to sleep in the van. Well, on the way out there (it's about a 90 minute drive), I kept feeling worse and worse. My right breast was really painful, and I thought, "Uh-oh, I'll bet I'm getting mastitis." Yup. By the time Jim was done with his appointment, I was very sick and couldn't drive back home. We were planning on stopping at a friend of his who also keeps bees so that Jim could check on this guy's hives. We still went, but I laid on their couch and slept for most of the time we were there. Thankfully, the children were very well behaved. When we got home, I took my temp, and it was 102.6. I called my midwife and she called in a prescription for me. I was so relieved that I didn't have to go to the ER. Friday, was no picnic, either. My temp went up to 103, and I really felt lousy. However, after a couple of days on the antibiotic and lots of Tylenol and water, I am feeling much better.

We are all singing the "Rain Rain Go Away" song. We still don't have any lettuce, spinach, green beans or summer squash in our garden. I also don't have my herbs planted. This isn't working out quite as well as we were hoping. My MIL said, "It'll really eat into your winter food bill." As if we could help what the weather has been doing for the last three weeks. We haven't had two dry days in a row in ages. Our garden soil is very heavy, so we would be mudding everything in. It works much better when the soil is dry. Hopefully later this week.

I guess we are going to start school again this week. I think we are going to keep it light and simple, though. We can just do some measuring review and money for math, and they are still on a mad hunt for all sorts of bugs to identify for the summer reading program at the library. That will cover science for about a month. July is usually very laid back. I will have all of their materials together to do proper work by the beginning of August. Even taking several days off, we could still be finished by the end of March. I think I'm going to stretch it out a bit more, though and go until at least the middle of April. If we breed our sheep later this year, like we did last year, then I won't have that much work to do until the end of April. Four kids with very little to do when the weather isn't all that nice yet is a recipe for disaster. They behave much better if they know what their schedule is going to be and they aren't left to their own devices all day.

I did not make the deadline for the afghan. The wedding was last Saturday. Let me say that it was just beautiful. What amazed me is that the young man had only kissed his bride one time (!) before the wedding and that was when he gave her the engagement ring. They courted for about a year and a half. I didn't know anything about courting, so I read a few things. It seems like a very nice way of getting to know a person without having to have "relations". I would think that the physical part of it would work itself out, but really knowing each other's souls should make their marriage very strong. They were renting a cabin in the Adirondaks for a week after the wedding. I told them I hoped they had lousy weather so they didn't have to go out. ;-)

As far as the afghan goes, I started on the last section of the trees pattern today. It will take me the rest of this week to do that part, then I have to do the border and sew it on. I will definitely post a picture of it when it is finished. I want to get it done because I will need something smaller to take to Rochester with me on July 7 when we have to take Noah for his check-up with the cardiologist. More on that another time. For now, I'm going to go knit a couple of rows!