Summer has Begun, but the Rest of Life Seems to Stand Still....

I simply cannot believe that it's June. I'm still stuck somewhere between March and April. Myra is almost 9 months old, Boo Boo is two and Angelica Pickles is 4! Poor Angelica Pickles, we had to postpone her Fairy-themed birthday party because of how sick Myra has been on this ACTH medication. Us girls decided that, since Myra's immune system won't be 100% until September, we would reschedule and have a Fairy party for Brynnan's 4th, Myra's 1st and Princess Pea's 6th birthdays! And only ONE party for Mama! I think I got the deal in that arrangement!

I haven't had a chance to post Princess Pea and Angelica Pickles' dance recital photos yet. I left the hospital one Saturday to take them. They were adorable! Their entire class forgot what to do on stage, but they are just up there to look cute anyway, right?

They posed this one themselves!

Well, it's been a month since Miracle Myra has been on this evil mediation. Here are before and after photos:

Myra before starting ACTH

Myra 1 month on ACTH

Thankfully things have been going pretty good since we left the hospital on May 24th. Myra's potassium regulated by the 28th and the oral potassium and daily blood draws were finally over. She still has some weekly home healthcare to monitor her glucose and blood pressure, and we will have to start checking her potassium levels next week when we start to lower the ACTH dosage. She did get another double ear infection. I tried to get rid of it with some natural methods, but after four days things weren't getting better and we were going out of town at the end of that week, so we unfortunately had to start antibiotics.

I.hate.antibiotics.

But, that's finally over and she has been so happy and smiley this past week! She did another video EEG on Monday, June 7th and her neurologist said she saw NO seizures or Infantile Spasms! Wow, amazing new....right? Except, she is still doing the physical symptoms of the spasms...? She actually did them during the EEG, too. The neuro didn't really explain why she was still having the symptoms, but said she was likely to have partial seizures that were uncontrolled forever. Well, I really hate that they keep speaking that into my daughter, but besides that, this is exactly what she was doing with the Spasms! And if they ask me in a few months if she is still spasms-free, we will have NO clue! AND, if she isn't developing, we won't ever know if it's because she has started the spasms again, or if it's due to the underlying brain damage... Ugh. So, I sent a copy of her EEG to our neuro down at Riley and hopefully she will give me some more information. We see her on July 12th.

Happy during EEG

As for the rest of my life besides little Myra, it's a disaster. Homeschooling is so far behind we will likely start "next years" curriculum in January 2011. Hopefully by the 2011-2012 school year we will be caught up! My house is the worse it has ever been. It's not like me to have a messy house. Toys all over maybe, but not dishes piled up, laundry waiting for weeks to be put away in baskets, dirty laundry piling up, mail not gone through for a month or more, no vacuuming for weeks, bills paid a month late, bathrooms dirty, etc.... I seriously do not know how I will get back on track. I have great friends offering to help, but no one can do this work for me. I will probably have to utilize the home childcare lady who has been watching the kids for us to get some stuff done. Myra is doing so much better so she doesn't need held all the time, and she is getting back into nap routine and all that. So, that will help. Just imagine having a newborn for 9 months: diaper changes 8+ time a day, lots of cuddling, short naps, up on and off every night, nursing every 2hrs. It's exhausting for 3 or 4 months, let alone 8! But, I really do love my time with her, just can't take where that leaves the rest of me...

After all the hospital chaos, we took a quick trip to IL for the wedding of a dear friend of mine. I have known Linz for almost 20 years now! Sounds crazy just saying that! Can we really be that old? Anyway, all four of my own bridesmaids were in her wedding, too. We all did 3 wedding together back when the first three of us were married, and now Linz just got married and the last one, Manda, will get married in September! Very exciting year! Along with the birth of Bec's first born, too! Life is just moving so quickly these days.... Here are some photos from her beautiful wedding. I only agreed to take all the kids because both my parents and their spouses would be there to help!

PaPaw and Princess Pea

Grammy and Angelica Pickles (being a booger)

Grandmama and Poppy dancing with Boo Boo

Poppy and Boo Boo had some fun games going on the whole wedding

Mr. Prince and Myra - both gorgeous!

Angelica Pickles, Princess Pea and Miracle Myra

Ok, this was funny... Sid the Science Kid was very shy and nervous to go dance until 3-year-old Lily asked him to dance. She is the cutest, most outgoing 3-year-old I've ever met! Anyway, he agreed and they had a blast. I even heard her shout, "Sid, chase me!" and one point and he followed her direction. Until....

Miss Becca, who is also seven, introduced herself to Sid and decided that since they were the same age, they should dance together. She replaced Lily hands with her and off they went!

That was a true steal! And Becca and Sid danced the night away... That, or Sid chased Becca all night long while she played hiding games with her girlfriends and teased him to no end. He still loved it! Too funny!

And so summer begins. Watching Daddy play softball on Monday nights, walking to the fountain to play in the hot sun, visiting Grandma and PopPop, parks, picnic lunches, birthday parties... Mr. Prince is a math teacher at a Clubhouse school program for 4-5 weeks in June/July every summer. Last year Sid the Science Kid had a blast learning about the 50 states and the history of our country for his first year of Clubhouse. This year, my precious little helper, Princess Pea, was dying to go in the kindergarten class. So, I'm am -2 for the next 5 weeks! I'm actually sad about it. Though I can get some one-on-one attention with my littles, I will miss my helpers and the daily interaction with them. I went to Clubhouse yesterday to be with them on their first day and loved the kisses Princess Pea would sneak to Myra between activities and the smirks Sid the Science Kid would give me after he answered something correctly. This is my niche with them, teaching and learning. I love teaching. And I love the family bond it creates. But, I think these two of my kids would very much love school. I loved school myself. And sometimes I feel sad that they won't get that interaction that I had. Though, I know it's is more of a curse than a blessing, which is why I'm homeschooling. Still, there are things I can't provide for them here that I'd like them to experience, or things they can't experience very often. Kick-ball games, messy art classes, healthy academic competition with peers, obedience of authority other than myself, learning how to make a new friend, a school bus ride (yes, this apparently is very important to homeschooled children). So, being that my husband knows these teacher and students very well, it's a small town, and it's faith-based, it's the best environment I can think of to give my kids that "school" feel. It's not necessary, but it's fun for them. So, I'm all for it. We still watch the situation very closely and will adjust accordingly if we must. Last year, Sid did not go on all the field trips. This year, I like all the field trips and I will go with them on all the field trips. It's all balance. I could NOT do this every day for 9 months thoguh, NO WAY!

So, for now we continue to work on getting our life back on track and raising 5 godly little ones. It's hard work. But, oh how I love being a mom!

My Boys

Mr. Prince with Sid the Science Kid and Boo Boo. They all were so cute on the way to church this morning with the same little cargo pants and a plaid shirt!!

Vacation is over...yet, it's really only the beginning...

Every year we take a summer trip to visit my parents in Illinois. The last two years we've spent a full week at my mothers and a full week at my father's. It seemed a little long last year for the kids, but they are older and we aren't planning another trip for another year this time. We used to travel a few times a year and always for the holidays, but money is tight and traveling is more difficult with four kids. Here Angelica Pickles and Boo Boo are having some down time looking at a book together. One of the things we can't get away with not packing every trip is a ton of books!

The klan has enjoyed my parents' fenced in back yards these weeks. We have a chain-link fence at home, but it's nothing compared to the lockable 8 foot shaddow box fences around here. I don't even feel like I have to watch the older three play outside, when at home they wouldn't be outside alone for a mear second. They've enjoyed the hummingbirds, four puppies from the neighbor's yard, slugs, pool, moonwalk and slip'n'slide. Boo Boo doesn't like the sun in his eyes, but there have been plenty of days the sun was behind the clouds so he could venture out for a time, too. The weather has been perfect!

MommyK has enjoyed the free entertainment of the children, home-cooked meals made by others, and time away from the daily grind of homelife. I've wandered around a number of days in the afternoon with nothing to do. No laundry, dishes, cleaning, organizing. I haven't even wanted to work on all my projects I've brought either, most days. Although, I did do some sewing and homeschool planning. It's been nice to relax and just spend time with the klan without the distraction of the home or the phone. Although, they really like playing on their own and don't care for me to be around most of the time. So, Boo Boo and I have had some great times together. My grandmother stayed with us while at Grandmama's house and the children always enjoy spending time with Grandma Liz. I didn't get pictures this year of them riding the lawnmower with Popie or Grandmama. That's always a treat for them!

We went to the local zoo in Springfield, IL while we were there. I grew up with this zoo, but now, compared to our local zoo here in IN, it's pretty bleak. It seemed a little better kept this year, though. The klan, of course, enjoy any type of zoo. So, it was well worth our time anyway. Sid the Science Kid enjoyed actually seeing a bald eagle since he just learned it is our nation's bird. And Boo Boo actually got to see more animals than he ever has because the cages were smaller and the animals were a little closer.

We also went to the Chatham Sweet Corn Festival while we were visiting. I grew up in Rochester, IL and Chatham was our rival. My parents both moved to Chatham after I went to college...odd...but now my mom lives in Springfield and my dad in Chatham. The kids were excited to visit the capital of Illinois now that they know what that means. At the festival they played games, ate the best sweet corn there is and Sid the Science Kid went rock climbing for the second time this year! The kids wore there "Big Brother" and "Big Sister" shirts and we all matched. It was fun. The festival was just a small walk from Grammy and PaPaw's house.


Mr. Prince took a small break from vacation and went back to Indiana to interview for teaching positions. He is promised a full-time position next year, but we aren't sure where that will be. He turned down his only job offer last week and now he has to pick his top three positions of whatever is left and they will just place him this week. Hoping for a good position and at good school that is close by home. Not having him work 5 blocks away will be an adjustment. But, of this three pics, there really isn't a bad one. So, I am pleased. They are all about 10-15 min away and good schools.


Homeschooling is planned to take off next week! I have a ton planned, but still feel like I have hours of planning still to do! It would help if I didn't change every curriculum I get my hands on, and if I quit changing my mind on everything! Now I'm debating doing something completely different with my girls than Sid the Science Kid. But I have a feeling Sid will want to do everything they are doing and they will want to do everything he is doing. *sigh* And, I realistically won't have time to do everything I want to with Sid, so I need to just STOP! Sid continues to enjoy his knowledge from Clubhouse and constantly draws pictures of the world and patriotic things. In the first picture here he was playing with our Banangrams game pieces by himself and later he put all the states in alphabetical order. The flag is made out of cuisenaire rods. I really don't have to "teach" the boy anything, do I?

It seems odd to think I only have 9 weeks before the baby arrives. Mr. Prince is thankfully home for 5 more weeks, but that time always flies so fast. I haven't even scheduled out our summer projects yet! I have lots of mind work to do this week...

We have some good friends visiting us this next weekend. They have 3 little ones, so it should be interesting during naps and bedtime. For now we will leave Boo Boo in our room, though we plan to move him into Sid the Science Kid's room as soon as we can. The girls are still frustrating us at night and we still haven't found a remedy for that. Angelica Pickles often ends up in the hallway sleeping, but still gets into mischief in the bathroom or sneaking into Sid's room. Very frustrating. But, I do expect a lot of her being just three years old. She communicates so clearly, so I expect her to act like her almost 5 year old sister, which isn't fair. We did successfully train her to stay in her bedroom until 8am each morning before she turned three, though! That has been wonderful! But, bedtime is still quite difficult. I'm bribing her right now and telling her that her friend won't come visit if she doesn't go to bed at night quietly. The last two nights have been an improvement...


We got a letter from Catholic Charities on our way out of town two weeks ago that implied we were to move forward with our foster parenting. Confused, I contacted the lady who did our homestudy and she investigated further. She found out we were denied a licenses, but the regulations that were stated to us were not correct. The actual state mandate for ages of children is that no foster family can have three children three-years-old and younger, not four children under the age of six like we were told previously. It doesn't sound much different, but in our case it is! We won't have less than four children under the age of six until 2013 or later. By June of 2010, Angelica Pickles will be four and we will only have Boo Boo and BKM under three. So, at least until we deliver baby #6, we should be able to do foster care. I'm really excited to possibly have this opportunity in the next year and hope they will consider us again next summer. We will still be within the four years of our original 30 hours of classes, so we won't have to take any additional courses either. My heart really is to adopt, so we might just do foster-to-adopt at that point since we will be limited in how long we will be able to foster. Once we have six children in this house, we will have no additional room for foster children. So, a more positive ending to our foster care journey for the time being.

Well, off to clean. Lots to do before company comes and school starts!

Why I Hate Unions Rant...

So, my husband is a teacher. He's expected to join the union. In general, they seem like a good idea. They are supposed to protect the teachers from false accusation and unfair treatment and they fight for salary raises and benefit options. Sounds good, right?

Well, what does paying $3000 into a union over the course of five years do when the union does nothing to protect your job?

Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

My husband is being threatened and treated unfairly by his principle, but the union says they can do nothing! They advised him to find a position elsewhere! Where the heck did my $3000 go??

I've always said that we shouldn't join the union, but my husband disagrees. He thinks he needs protected as a male teacher from false accusations of harm or abuse because of how today's society is. I think we shouldn't make decisions out of fear. I think we should trust that God will take care of us and not leave it in the hands of some organization to protect us if false accusations should arise. What are the chances anyway? And they aren't protecting us, so where has it gotten us?

$3000 less.

That's it.

Unions suck.

I Love My Husband Because...

...he loves me for who I am, despite all my faults.

...he is the most loving and involved father I know.

...he looks hot in khaki shorts, a t-shirt and flip flops.

...he is committed to his family and works hard for us every day.

...he makes me laugh.

...I feel safe in his presence.

...he is willing to cross over typical marriage roles and do laundry and cleaning.

...he doesn't complain about changing cloth diapers.

...he has beautiful eyes that change colors with different shirts he wears.

...he massages my feet almost every day.

...he cries when his babies are born.

...he believes in my abilities as a mother and homeschool mom.

...he is a gifted teacher that wants to make a difference in the lives of children.

...he still finds me attractive after 4.5 pregnancies.

...he is always the first to apologize, but most of the time he shouldn't be.

...he encourages me to have 'girl nights' and time away.

...he never tells me no if I want something.

...he sticks up for me, whether I'm right or wrong.

...he loves Christ and desires for his children to understand the depth of His love.

...he is great at cuddling.

...he has dealt with a hormonal pregnant/nursing wife since our honeymoon, with no break.

...our goals in life are the same.

...he thinks I'm beautiful even with 40 extra pounds and a basketball tummy.

...he appreciates the work I put into our home and children.

...he never complains when I get behind on housework or laundry, and still apologizes when I get upset that he forgot to take the recycling out.

...he is the better half of our marriage.

...I believe he is exactly who God created for me to be with the rest of my life, and he agrees.

I am a lucky woman, and I know it. The challenging is showing it in every day life with 4.5 children. Thankfully we both know that no matter what, we are a team. We are one. And we will remain that way until the day that one of us dies, which will hopefully be many, many years from now.

I love you, My Prince!!

The Klan is Now Spoiled with a Backyard Playset!!

MommyK and Mr. Prince decided with a toddling Boo Boo who still takes a morning nap and a hot, pregnant Mommy, that our family would benefit from a backyard playset this summer. I researched playset for almost a month and we visit all the local shops in town. We knew we were on a tight budget saving up for a new van next year, so we had many limitations. Although we couldn't afford a brandname product that has a lifetime warranty and free installation, we did get a comparable playset with all the features we wanted and a 10 year warranty. Oh, and Mr. Prince had to put it together...

Some good friends of ours came over as a family one Wednesday and Mr. Jason helped Mr. Prince put the playset together. They worked from sun-up to sun-down with six children running around the backyard. By the end of the night the playhouse was constructed, the swings were up and the climbing wall was assembled. The ladder and slide would have to wait for another day, including all the accessories.


The follow Saturday the Klan spent the day outside and Mom and Dad finished the ladder and slide. The children were ecstatic! They have been enjoying it every day MommyK feels like going outside...HA! Accessories are still not up, but the importat parts are. Accessories will have to wait until after our homestudy on June 3rd.

Sid the Science Kid and Princess Pea testing out the playhouse.





Boo Boo LOVES his swing















He also loves Princess Pea taking him down the slide!