Team Fulkerson

long time

2011-09-02T03:58:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time since Team Fulkerson posted on this blog! We blame moving. Please, no comments when we're still blaming all of our shortcomings on the move in two years' time. We'll probably still be unpacking.

I won't even attempt to catch you up, other than to say that it's been a busy summer dominated by home improvement. Please pardon our dust.*

And by dust we mean giant piles of cr*p.

An example of the previous homeowners' idea of "patching a hole." I wish I was kidding.

Moving on....

We were lucky enough to take a vacation to Keystone, Colorado this summer. It is unspeakably beautiful there! Here is a shot of the ski runs. I didn't really know what they'd look like (never been skiing before), or that the trees would be so close to the runs. Incredible!

We had the pleasure of visiting with dear friends from our Misawa, Japan days. Hold onto your hats, fellow Misawa-ans...pictured L to R: Noah, Nate Lovewell (who has the distinction of being the last baby Dan ever delivered!), Emma, Miranda Peasley, Luke, Daniel, Aaron Peasley, and Tim Lovewell. The last time these kids were together they were preschoolers! It was surreal - they are nearly all taller than I am ! Great kids, one and all!

Leah reading to Baby. This photo shows off the mullet she managed to grow this summer! Yay, hair! :)

Kids enjoying the pool

You may have noticed in the shots of Luke that he doesn't have any front teeth. Again. His front four teeth didn't form correctly and for the last three years we've had all sorts of adventures with cosmetic dentistry. We're about to have (another) partial denture put in on Monday. He's planning to spend his Labor Day weekend eating gummy bears and chewing gum!

Emma's latest cat drawing

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Amy's brother Eric and his wife Tia gave birth to their precious baby Jude. Our adorable nephew count is now up to three! Here is Emma cuddling with him on the day of his Baby Dedication.

Our crowd at Jude's baby dedication

We hope you've had a great 2011 so far! Stay tuned....

leah rocks

2011-02-02T06:05:00.000-08:00

We have to keep an eye on the ipods around here. Leah thinks they are all hers.

January

2011-02-02T05:12:00.000-08:00

Team Fulkerson has had a busy couple of months trying to orchestrate a move. Seven people, eight years-plus of accumulated stuff -- readying to move about five minutes up the road. We still have a few weeks to go before the big day, but when we look back at January 2011 we'll definitely remember purging, cleaning, the beginnings of packing...and seeing this in the front of what will be our new home. It was taken during a *brief* pocket of time around New Year's Day when we didn't have any snow. ;)

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Some people are just more resiliant than others. More creative. More adaptable.

Take away Luke's markers...and he finds a pen.

Luke has loved the pre-move chaos so far. First, mom's distracted. That always works well for him. There are boxes everywhere. There are stepstools- normally reserved for painting- unfolded and at the ready. He's decided this beauty is his new dining seat. Lovely. I guess it does make our other furniture look better by comparison.

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Dan and Leah have a nightly ritual. He likes to read for a few minutes before he goes to sleep.

Leah... helps.

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January also marked the beginning of an era: Team Fulkerson now has a teenager. :) Emma's birthday photos didn't come out very well, unfortunately. We'll try to take more very soon. I didn't want to make this post without mentioning that big event.

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Team Fulkerson hopes you all stay warm and safe during this winter storm!

image of the day

2011-01-01T08:26:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year

from

Team Fulkerson!

there's a baby on the table

2010-12-29T09:31:00.001-08:00

I can't believe how happy Luke looks in this picture, considering his sister's location.

Leah is a climber.

She's not our first climber - we remember Daniel climbing on the kitchen table a handful of times- but Leah has practically taken up residence there.

She dumps drinks. She sticks her hands in cereal bowls while her siblings try to eat. She spills entire boxes of crackers. Nothing is safe.

In related news, Leah's popularity with her siblings has taken a bit of a nosedive this Christmas vacation. ;)

Leah is also our first toddler (that we can recall...maybe we just have selective memory?) that likes to play in the toilet.

Team Fulkerson, buckle up! This may be a bumpy ride. :)

Christmas 2010

2010-12-29T09:05:00.000-08:00

Leah and her "Beeebeee"

Amy's Grandpa Krou with five Fulkersons and a Dillow (Team Fulkerson's nephew/cousin).

Can you tell that our children love their cousin baby Max? The poor kid gets no peace!

Noah and Max

Leah insists on being thisclose to him all the time. :) Thankfully he's very mellow.

Yes, our tree looks exactly like you'd expect...lopsided angel, lower third completely empty, ornaments on the floor, and obviously decorated by the children.

I go to other people's homes to see pretty trees...we refer to this as our happy tree.

Noah, dressed as Joseph in the Sunday School Christmas program

Daniel and Leah, just because.

We have more thank-you notes to write and a whole lot of cleaning up to do...but it was a Christmas full of blessings. Team Fulkerson hopes you are enjoying the Christmas season as much as we are!

smile

2010-12-29T08:52:00.000-08:00

Our near-annual trek to JCPenney's photo studio yielded these shots this fall. We were happy (thrilled) to get some usable images, because as we all know the more people you add into the photo the more opportunity for disaster.

Time never stands still; in the month and a half since these were taken Emma's started wearing contact lenses, Noah lost a tooth, Luke gave himself a haircut and Leah has grown a little more hair.

self-expression

2010-11-23T12:27:00.001-08:00

These are some of Emma's projects from art class at school and Monart (her Saturday morning class).

Nice! :)

Here is Luke's latest handiwork....

a trim (look closely toward the back and you'll see a spot that's kind of bald). I know...it could have been much worse! We're assuming this isn't going to be his only attempt. All of the scissors are hidden.

The next picture was taken the same day. He was on a roll. These were taken after multiple attempts at scrubbing it off, including a full-blown bath.

Why do the non-washable markers always always always get mixed in with the washable ones?

At least he chose a good color.

Here's Luke's preschool photo. We love how innocent he looks in it. Hahahahaha~

fall catchup 2010

2010-11-08T10:31:00.000-08:00

This is going to be one of those posts where Team Fulkerson catches up. Random, yes, but it will make me feel less behind. I need that some days.

First, preschool. Luke has started preschool and he is loving it! It took a little while for him to decide he loved it, though. This is his photo before his first day.

And this is the after.

hmmm. not quite sure about that.

He's enjoying drawing these days, which is great!

You can see if you look closely that he decided to draw this on the back of a note I'd written to one of the other kids' teachers. I hope it made her smile when she got it...it's much fancier than the notes I normally send to school!

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Leah has decided to start walking. The day we carved our pumpkins was the day...she'd fall down and immediately get back up and keep going. Don't you love when babies start walking that they don't even have anywhere to go, they just walk randomly around the house for the sake of walking? Sometimes she's looking one direction and her legs take her the other direction, almost like she's going against her will. It was really odd to see her upright for a few days, and now, like every other childhood milestone, it's become normal in the blink of an eye. I'm thankful she's healthy and reaching milestones, but it also makes me want to cry.

Slow down, baby Leah.

Mommy's not ready.

Emma, Leah, and a book. :) Perfect

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pumpkin carving and Halloween

Clone Trooper, 10 yr old boy who handed out candy with Dad, princess, football player, bat

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finally, here are Daniel and Noah meeting cousin Max :)

So sweet!

We hope you're all enjoying a fanastic fall!

Love, Team Fulkerson

san francisco

2010-11-08T04:57:00.000-08:00

Dan had a work conference in San Francisco a few weeks ago. My mom was an absolute angel and kept all five kids for five nights so I could go with him. It was our first truly kid-free getaway since Emma's birth nearly 13 years ago.

It was awesome!

Dan went to class sessions and I wandered around. I love touring cities on foot. I walked around with my camera and had a fantastic time. We also took a bus tour to wine country for a day. It was so beautiful there!

These images are of Artesa and Silverado wineries, Napa

Look closely...olive trees! Hoosiers aren't used to that. In my experience they come in a jar or in a salad bowl at Olive Garden.

Below is Old St. Mary's Church, Chinatown

The streets of Chinatown made me feel like I was back in Japan. I know that isn't *right* but a general 'Asia' vibe was close enough to make me giddy!

We had a fab-u-lous dinner with Dan's coworkers here! Thanks, Shapiros! I went back the next morning so I could take a good picture in the daylight.

I took the bus (!) to the Haight-Ashbury area to see all of the hippie lore. This chess set was probably my favorite find...on the box it said, "Dude, whose turn is it again?"

Loved the hilly streets and houses thisclosetogether!

Dan in a park near our hotel

One of Dan's research papers was chosen to be a featured 'poster' at this meeting.

Silly me, I thought that meant there would be an actual poster with the abstract printed on it or something.

Turns out the attendees have to stand at computers and look at the posters digitally. Here's Dan with his 'poster.' :)

Our first night there Dan and I found a sushi place and darn near ordered everything on the menu! We always get outvoted when we want sushi for dinner at home. Yum-o!

streetcars running through the downtown - how cool is that?

Thanks to our brave Nana for our getaway!

noah's 8

2010-10-30T15:46:00.000-07:00

Noah's 2nd grade photo

Cookie cake

Noah and his friends throwing the pinata after the hook broke off (three times).

Dan's a master at Simon Says (who knew?) and Jodi (Dan's sister) knows how to fold dollar bills into origami shapes for prizes. Impressive!

Happy Birthday Noah! We love you!

maxwell michael

2010-10-30T14:42:00.000-07:00

our new nephew Max

Amy's sister, Lori, gave birth to baby Max about a month ago. We are very biased, I know, but isn't he CUTE?

Our kids can't get enough of him. He's so snuggly and sweet!

Welcome to the family, Max! Way to go, Aunt Lori and Uncle John!

football

2010-10-29T17:13:00.000-07:00

Let's start by saying that it took football season ending before I've had time to post about football!

Whenever Daniel and Noah play a sport at the same time -and Daniel continues to take karate classes -and Emma takes art classes, confirmation classes and is involved in two after-school clubs-- my quality of life takes a hit. For the past few months it wasn't uncommon for us to be coming and going between 5:30 and 8:15 p.m. four nights a week! That means that dinner happened at 4:45 p.m. and cleanup of said dinner didn't happen until after everyone was in bed...or the next morning.

Yeah, it's been kinda ugly. I know many of you can relate!

Soooo not a lot of blogging time.

Here are some photos from their season!

Daniel played center and was #41. His team wound up winning their division's Super Bowl! It was a fantastic year for the Eagles!

Daniel's primary position was center (#41)

It just so happens that Noah's team, Killer Orange, tied for a win in their division too! Noah wore number 7 this year. His age group requires the coaches to move the kids around to different positions. His favorites were quarterback, running back and wide receiver.

Noah, #7, playing QB

Leah's one!

2010-09-19T11:37:00.001-07:00

Aunt Lori, due to deliver a baby boy cousin next week.

Doesn't she look fantastic?

Mommy, Leah and Daddy.

Why is it that our backgrounds always seem to feature the *aftermath* of party preparation?

Leah's first cupcake...and the first shot where you can really see her new earrings!

Those were as much a gift for Mommy as they were for Leah.

Probably more.

Leah and Nana (Amy's mom), who celebrated a milestone birthday this week, too.

See Mom, I didn't say which one.

You're welcome.

Cupcakes, made by big brothers and sister - pink for Leah, green for Nana.

Princess Leah

Yes, baby Leah had her first birthday yesterday!

No, there isn't anything wrong with the camera. I've been reading lots of blogs where people fade out the colors and antique them so I've been playing with those features on iPhoto. I thought these faded-out, vintage style images were fitting for a little girl's first b-day pictures.

Maybe not so much for the next post -- which will feature big brothers in manly football gear. :)

new tricks

2010-08-19T16:23:00.001-07:00

August is flying by for Team Fulkerson!

Football (x2) is in full swing. Karate and lots of back-to-school-parent-meeting-open-house outings are keeping us hopping.

Here at home Luke taught himself to cut with scissors.

Not quite proper form, but he gets the job done.

Oddly enough, Luke learned how to use the vacuum cleaner the very same day.

He might like the vacuum a little too much.

Baby Leah, 11 months old, loves showing off in her new favorite place to play.

It's also new schoolyear!

Alex (our nephew) and Noah, ready for the first day of second grade.

Daniel, awake at the crack of dawn for the middle school bus. 5th grade is middle school here in Zionsville. I personally think it's criminal to make middle school last any longer than necessary, but here the kids get treated to four years of it. Blech.

Emma, our seasoned middle-schooler, starting grade 7.

We hope you are enjoying these last days of summer!

Love, Team Fulkerson

summer

2010-07-19T06:35:00.000-07:00

The weeks since Dan moved home have flown! We are loving every minute.

Dan's new work wardrobe :)

Our fourth of July tradition is driving downtown to watch the fireworks in Indy. Our friends tipped us off to the fabulous trick of letting the kids climb on top of the van - a pleasure they look forward to all year (thanks, Gills!). Luke didn't love the noise. He was thankful Daddy was home to hold him.

We had the chance to take the kids to an amusement park in Santa Claus, IN (yes, you read that right) called Holiday World. It's well-known in these parts for 1) being in the middle of nowhere, which says something if people from rural Indiana say it's in the middle of nowhere. 2) boasting rides and water slides for kids of all ages - a major plus for a family like ours with a wide age spread and 3) providing free soft drinks and sunscreen throughout the park. Yes, you read that right! The amount of Sierra Mist that Luke consumed by himself during our day there was probably worth the cost of his ticket. ;) Seven Fulkersons worth of sunscreen for an entire day? Score!

Some highlights:

Emma, Noah and Daniel . This IS Indiana, so the manger scene was just around the corner. :)

This seemed like a more appropriate photo op, though -- complete with signs warning us not to climb on Santa.

Noah was a great sport- he rode the smaller-kid rides with Luke all morning.

Dan with Luke, Leah, and our massive bag of gear. It's a good thing Holiday World doesn't charge fees for oversized, overweight baggage like the airlines do! It would certainly offset the free drinks and sunscreen.

Every July I subject the kids to a group photo. As expected, adding one more person adds to the challenge, especially when that person loves to arch her back and try to fling herself to the ground when someone tries to hold her still. We did the best we could, and we took a few individual shots too. You can kind of see the wiggling, even though these are still shots.

Emma, age 12

Luke, age 3

Leah, 9 months

Emma 12, Leah 9 mo, Luke 3, Daniel 10, Noah 7

one of MANY attempts. Photo day always makes me grouchy. Then when I remember that I can sometimes edit out non-compliant siblings I feel better.

Daniel and Leah

Emma, Daniel and Leah

Keep enjoying your summer! Team Fulkerson

the end....and the beginning

2010-07-01T13:35:00.000-07:00

Team Fulkerson is finally, once again, living under the same roof! We successfully moved Dan back to Zionsville last weekend, leaving Texas Children's Hospital --and Houston-- behind. We started driving at 11 a.m. on Friday morning and were in Indianapolis at 6 a.m. Saturday morning. We weren't kidding when we said we were ready to be FINISHED with that commute!

Here are a few photos from his last few days in Texas.

Dan ordered brain-themed cookie cakes to leave for his co-workers on his last day- or as close to brain-themed as Kroger's bakery gets. Cute, eh?

Good scotch, I guess? I wouldn't know. It made an appearance at Dan's going-away party.

The night before we left Dr. and Mrs. Luerssen threw Dan a lovely going-away party, Texas BBQ-style! It was so much fun for me to meet everyone!

The pediatric neurosurgeons from Texas Children's Hospital raise

their glasses.

It's July 1, so today was Dan's first day at his new job! He's not on the Goodman Campbell Brain and Spine website yet, but I'll post a link when he makes his appearance. He's been photographed and fitted for his coat so we have progress! Below is his business card, just in case any of you are in the market for a pediatric neurosurgeon.

It's official! :)

We are so thankful for all of the prayers said on our behalf this year. Prayers plus adrenaline kept us going.

Counting our blessings,

Team Fulkerson

countdown, single-digit style

2010-06-17T12:11:00.000-07:00

Hello to all!

There are EIGHT DAYS until Dan is finished with his fellowship!

In four days my brave mom is coming to take care of the oldest four kids while Leah and Amy fly to Houston to help Dan clear out of his bachelor pad and drive home. Say some prayers for her as she gets ready to take up residence in our minivan...that's certainly where I have been for the last few weeks!

Note to self: Scheduling a whole summer's worth of organized activities into the span of three weeks is not fun. For anyone.

Wow, it's been a long time since Team Fulkerson managed to post.

Here are a few highlights from the last month.

Okay, more than a month. Humor me.

Emma participated in her art school's exhibition.

We acquired a new family member - a pet anole named Zipper. It changes color like a chemeleon, which is cool. It only eats live crickets or live worms. That's not so cool.

Luke drew his first life-sized self portrait on the wall.

Again, not so cool.

Leah continues to teethe. Poor girl still has no teeth.

Woe to anyone -and their unsuspecting body parts - that she can reach.

We finished 6th (Emma), 4th (Daniel) and 1st (Noah) grades. This is Daniel and Noah on the last day of school.

Leah learned to play in the grass. This is her 8 month portrait. :)

(Below) Daniel attended Dwight Freeney's football camp. It was very cool.

flying time - or- a great big catch-up post

2010-05-11T08:24:00.001-07:00

Dan's fellowship is over in 45 days! We are hatching a plan for me to pick him up at the hospital on his last day and head directly to the highway....Houston, buh bye! We'll see if he and I will really have the energy to follow through with pulling an all-nighter that night. Anyway, I got this in the mail yesterday:

Do you people see the word GRADUATING on this invite? This is an invitation to Dan's graduation dinner!

WOOOOOOOOOOO-HOOOOOOOOOOOO!

I hope they have a delicious dinner and really live it up that evening! The kids and I will surely be raising a glass (of lemonade? Sprite? ) to him that evening from our kitchen table in Indiana!

So far as I know, this is the LAST time Dan will graduate. ;) He's been really good at it all of the other times!

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Now for some parental (rather than spousal) bragging...

A few weeks ago Emma had an Academic Superbowl competition here in Indianapolis. She was so nervous in the weeks leading up to it, certain that she was the weak link on her team. She studied and studied the topic: "An American Generation: 1964 - 1980."

I know...seems like kind of a long time period to study, doesn't it?

Her specialty area was social studies. We're happy to report...

that Zionsville West Middle School won!

Emma even knew a few answers that her teammates didn't --what an awesome feeling! Way to go, Emma!

Emma with her Academic Superbowl ribbon. We are so proud of you, Emma!

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Daniel turned 10 in March and I am just now managing to post his birthday portrait.

Daniel - age 10

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Leah, age 7 months, has decided that she doesn't like pureed baby food. No, despite her toothless state, she wants her food in chunks. She crawls all around our house in search of leftover bits. Cheerios are her current favorite, but she is pretty fond of goldfish crackers too. And blueberries. And wads of paper. And Legos (eek). Mom spends a lot of time doing the finger-sweep motion. A big shout-out to Daniel for digging out that Lego this weekend!

Leah has also decided that being the earliest roller, sitter, real-food eater and crawler in the bunch wasn't enough - she now pulls up to a standing position. Here are a couple of shots of her showing off her newest trick.

Team Fulkerson is in real trouble now.

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Noah was stuck at home last week with a fever.

As in ALL FIVE SCHOOLDAYS last week. Isn't that awful?

He built legos to pass the time. He was also home to watch some handyman *revisions* take place.

[Team Fulkerson is glad to report that things in THAT department are going much better!]

Here are a few shots of Noah's handywork last week:

Careful, Indy! Don't fall!

That kind of says it all, doesn't it?

Team Fulkerson hopes that none of you are stressed (streast) out today!

Have a great Tuesday (Lostday), everyone!

Luke's third birthday

2010-05-11T07:23:00.001-07:00

Luke turned three a few weeks ago (OK, going on a month ago is more accurate). I have been distracted, OK? I thought I'd catch up with his birthday post while he's down and out with a fever. Poor guy! Never fear, he's watching Little Bear and sipping apple juice from his sippy cup, so all is right with the world (other than the stinkin' fever, of course!).

Luke with birthday loot! I wish he would look directly at the camera. You'll notice that he refuses to do that in all of these pictures - unless he's looking very sad, of course.

He chose white cupcakes with sprinkles for his 'cake.' That's good, because my attempts at making fancier cakes have fizzled so many times that I've pretty much given up. I'm not sure why he looks so miserable in this shot - he'd just blown out all three of his candles and was handed a cupcake!

Yeah, these are out of order. I'm ignoring the urge to delete the pictures and switch the order around. Here he's waiting for the cupcakes and candles to be placed in front of him. He kept looking at us like he wasn't sure what we were going to do to him.

Now THIS is the three-year-old Luke we'll all remember! He'd just pilfered a freshly-baked cupcake (not even frosted yet) and, well, did THAT to it. Notice his "little guys" all over the floor. Maybe he wanted to share crumbs with them? They're there pretty much all of the time. We're considering working them into the decor on a permanent basis. Could we weave them into a rug or something?

At age three, Luke's favorite things are:

Using an "H" sound wherever a "Y" or an "L" should be, meaning his name is Hukey, his baby sister is Heah, ("Heah is hittle."), he eats hogurt and one of his fave Star Wars characters is Hoda.

Throwing things.

Licking (hicking) sticks of gum.

Watching Little Bear, Curious George (love) and Spongebob Squarepants (UGH).

Wrestling with Daddy.

Getting piggy-back rides from Daddy.

Eating McDonald's french fries.

Wondering aloud "Why baby Heah doesn't have no hair?"

Getting a hot dog at the baseball concession stand

Playing at the park

and going to Chuck E. Cheese

We love you, Luke! What a big boy you're becoming!

(Sniff...)

home improvement?

2010-05-01T02:10:00.000-07:00

Mother's Day came early this year! This week Team Fulkerson has delved into some much-needed, much wished-for home improvement projects.

We had the carpets professionally cleaned for the first time ever! What a concept...I kept playing with the kids, doing dishes, folding laundry...and the carpets were cleaned at the same time!

Only problem was that the guy who did the carpet cleaning asked for a tip.

Twice.

I wasn't expecting that. I'm new to this...someone needs to warn me about these things! I don't tip my furnace maintenance guys or the guy who carries my water softener salt down into the basement.

Have they both hated me for the last 8 years?

We also hired a handyman company come do some things around the house. I've been wishing for a new bathroom faucet and some new light fixtures for years...so I had high hopes. I was so excited to get started!

Then the handymen arrived.

One of them spilled coffee on my cleaned-less-than-24-hours-ago stairs and didn't cop to it or say he was sorry. I found the spots after he left. That's a lucky thing for him. He'll get an earful if he ever comes back this way. I thought that was pitiful.

Maybe he's friends with the carpet cleaning guy I stiffed.

The guy who was assigned to work on our to-do list for three days apparently is handy when it comes to patching drywall and painting (good!) but not so handy with having the necessary tools, being willing to go buy the necessary supplies, or plumbing in general (bad, considering I wanted a faucet installed). Without giving you all of the gory details, I'll just say that after three days we still can't use our downstairs sink, we have several holes in the walls surrounding the new light fixtures, and the other major project he was hired to do (build frames for our existing vanity mirrors) wasn't even started.

Here are a few photos so you can all enjoy the view.

Is it normal for the after to look decidedly worse than the before?

Maybe just for Team Fulkerson.

Have a great weekend everyone! Be thankful you're not our handyman's boss, who's coming bright and early Monday morning to finish the job!

This used to be our drain...and one of our nicer hand towels.

Mirror and faucet look good. It will be great when we can use this bathroom again! I know I should pick up the towel and clean up the mess but I'm being obnoxious and leaving it for the handyman's boss to see Monday morning. (Tattletale).

I am so happy with our new light fixtures! Too bad the previous light hid several holes in the drywall that are now exposed (see the rectangles next to the globes?). Our handyman doesn't carry drywall in his truck, nor does he go to places like Lowe's (literally a mile away) to acquire some. Instead he asks ticked-off housewives with crying children to go to Lowe's - for the second time that day- to go buy drywall instead.

Interesting approach.

The good news is that the wood frame surrounding our front door is repainted and we have a functioning doorbell for the first time in six months! Aah, the little victories in life. The doorbell chime was only installed upside down for a little while...

coundown

2010-04-29T04:00:00.000-07:00

Where has this week gone? It's a great sign that the days are flying by, right?

Dan has 57 days to go in his fellowship.

More soon! :)

countdown

2010-04-20T05:52:00.000-07:00

MMMM, post-its! I promise I didn't let her swallow it, nor did I let the lid from the box behind her fall on her head! Maybe I should have cropped this picture a little smaller... ;)

Leah likes sweet potatoes! Emma enjoys feeding her. Win-win for Mom!

Smiling at a sibling standing behind me. I don't remember which one.

Dan's fellowship will be over in 66 days!

Leah is now 7 months old! She crawls and sits up earlier than any of her siblings. Uh oh. She also has a love for Cheerios that blessedly serves as both nutrition and entertainment.

Happy Tuesday everyone!

sweet irony ( warning - this post contains obnoxious bragging)

2010-04-19T12:12:00.000-07:00

Daniel has taken part in a program called Math Pentathalon the last two years. They meet before school two mornings a week from January until mid-April.

They play math games.

For fun.

I can't think of very many things I'd find less fun.

Obviously this is not my genetic input at work.

Daniel had a great time this past Saturday at the Math Pentathalon competition in Indianapolis. He won all of his games...something no one from his school has ever done there! Way to go, Daniel!

Way to pass on those math-lovin' genes, Dan!

countdown

2010-04-14T16:22:00.000-07:00

Springtime in Indiana! We may not have palm trees like they do in Houston, but won't Dan be glad to ditch the apartment and come back to Chez Fulkerson?!

Coming milestone: Dan is poised to give his 60-day notice to the apartment complex. WOOOOO HOOOOO!

Team Fulkerson sincerely apologizes to our "followers" - we are getting worse and worse at posting our countdown numbers on Mondays.

Today (Wednesday) I'm happy to report that we're at 71 days left!

I'd say that daily life has been pretty tame for us throughout the winter months. Emma had two after-school clubs each week as well as weekly art classes. OH, and youth group at church, but our church-friend-and-neighbor has driven her to that all year (fantastic baby gift, eh?).

Daniel had twice-a-week karate classes and a before-school club that also met twice per week.

That was it! Considering the number of children we have I thought that was not too bad! Manageable, even.

Well, now that spring is here things are ramping up a bit. So far this week we've already had six extracurricular activities (would be seven if we'd made it to karate tonight - oops!), a fitting for a new scoliosis brace, an evening choir concert, an after-school playdate, a 4-hour-long van maintenance appointment, a MOPS meeting, spring school photos and an MRI at the hospital.

Hard to believe it's only Wednesday...

Hurry home, Dan! :) We miss you!

Enjoying the sunshine,

Team Fulkerson

Easter 2010

2010-04-06T04:01:00.000-07:00

Dan went back to Texas on Good Friday, so we celebrated Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday without him. Boo! We missed him! Glad to have distractions, we were thankful to have an Easter egg hunt at church on Saturday. We also colored Easter eggs.

On Sunday we had church and a family get-together. Our Easter tradition is for the older cousins to stuff and hide the eggs so the younger kids can hunt. Here are a few photos from our weekend.

Luke - ready to hunt for eggs at the annual Christ Church Easter egg hunt :)

Emma's two-tone egg...I love those shades of blue!

Aren't they beautiful? I remember coloring eggs on Holy Saturday every year at my Grandma's house. I associate the scent of vinegar with this tradition, for sure! :)

Of course I should mention that this year I bought 18 eggs to boil and color...then forgot to put them out for guests at Easter lunch. Anyone who lives nearby and is craving hard-boiled eggs should come to our house - and soon!

I'm kicking myself for not getting a group shot of the kids dressed up and better shots of the family members that came to visit that day. Guess there's always next year, right?

Dan - don't let me forget!

Cousin Tim (sporting his Indiana University Little 500 bike-team-solidarity haircolor!) with kids searching in the ivy.

Leah - flapping with joy

Luke with loot from his Easter basket

coundown - late!

2010-04-06T03:38:00.000-07:00

Dan was with us for Spring Break last week! We enjoyed having him home with us so much!

His fellowship will be over in 80 days!

Leah has now tasted her first bites of baby rice cereal. She didn't like it any more than the other kids did. I mixed the cereal with formula - that's probably why. Maybe we'll try it mixed with baby applesauce soon. I remember being so excited to feed Emma baby food. Now I see baby food as a whole lot more work than it's worth! Anyway, we have a few high chair photos to share. There will be more - eventually! ;)

love

2010-03-23T05:50:00.000-07:00

Noah had been spinning around and blowing bubbles to entertain Luke. I caught him literally jumping for joy. That's a really 'Noah' thing to do so it's making the blog. :)

Noah's Valentine's Day assignment that has been waiting for me to post. I thought today would be a good day. :)

Emma and Leah, before the middle school bus comes. They like to have girl time before the boys wake.

This is Luke last weekend. While we were doing some lawn cleanup he discovered my empty-of-plants-but-still-full-of-dirt planters.

He also pounced on the unattended bottle of bubbles.

Bubbles + potting soil = the most fantastic mud ever.

art

and more art

YES that's our dining room chair. No, sadly, it doesn't look much worse than all of our other dining room chairs. We've already trashed one set of slipcovers.

Maybe I'll manage to buy, iron and install more before we host Easter lunch?

I doubt it. :)

I'm thankful for my mess-makers, my helpers, and all of their expressions of love.

Our love to all of YOU on this beautiful day,

Team Fulkerson

countdown

2010-03-23T05:45:00.000-07:00

94 days til the end of Dan's fellowship! Dan will be here next week to celebrate spring break, Holy Week and Easter with us! We love counting down the days.

Leah is six months old! Here are some Leah photos to make you smile.

double digits

2010-03-18T08:57:00.001-07:00

Emma, age 2

Daniel, age 1

Noah, 3 months

Luke, 2.5 yrs

Leah, 3 months

We're all smiles because there are only ninety-nine days til Dan's fellowship is over!

countdown

2010-03-15T13:43:00.000-07:00

This is what happens when *kids* leave an open package of gum on the table.

Yep, he tasted every single one.

102 days til Dan finishes his fellowship! OOOOHHHH I can't wait until we're less than 100 days! Stay tuned for that glee-filled post!

Love to all,

Team Fulkerson

countdown - and Daniel's birthday

2010-03-11T05:38:00.001-08:00

I'm very late in my countdown this week!

106 days until Dan is finished with his fellowship!

***********************************************************************************

We recently celebrated Daniel's 10th birthday!

Aah, baby Daniel. We have a hard time finding pictures of Daniel as an infant where he WASN'T crying.

Cute - yes. Quiet - no.

Christmas 2000 ... about 9 months old. He was already after my camera! This was also the year that he spent the entire holiday season trying to pull the Christmas tree down on top of himself. He succeeded a few times, too.

Fall 2001 - go Irish!

Daniel at six months. After (too) many months of colic, Daniel suddenly became the happiest baby known to man. The transformation was incredible.

yellow belt in karate :) age 5

Celebrating this year on Daniel's actual birthday. You can see Dan (Skyping) behind him. It was so cool that Dan could sing with us and watch Daniel blow out the candles in real time!

**********************************************************************************

At ten, his favorite colors are blue and green. His favorite foods are pasta and sushi. His favorite sports are football and (of course) karate!

Daniel has made it a point to drive back and forth with me to the airport to collect Dan (and send him back) during this odd fellowship year. He hasn't missed a trip yet, which is saying something, since our pickups are sometimes as late as midnight. It's "our" thing now...Daniel always tells me that it will be ok and not to cry. Then while I cry my way home from the airport we search the radio dial for something we both like.

I'm going to have to be sure that Daniel's around when it comes time to take each and every one of his siblings to college!

;)

We love you, Daniel!

countdown...made it to March!

2010-03-01T10:50:00.000-08:00

This is the look Luke gives me when I yell at him for 'dropping' Play Doh on the floor.

Leah

was

in a great mood!

This is Daniel dressed as George Rogers Clark. The fourth-graders at his school put on an annual "Wax Museum" of Famous Hoosiers. Turns out George Rogers Clark, brother of the "Clark" part of Lewis & Clark, was a Revolutionary War general who captured Fort Vincennes. He was born in Virginia, though...an odd fact that makes the classification for being a 'famous hoosier' kind of hazy. Oh well. I guess they can't have everyone dressed as David Letterman and James Dean.

I was thankful for Dan's Air Force coat because without it I don't know what we would have used for his costume! It's probably not quite *right* to take safety pins and a hot glue gun to a military uniform, but hey... we have no other plans for it, right, Dan?

Right?

Please tell me I'm right.

The last day of Dan's fellowship is 116 days away! It's a new month, too -- HELLO March!

Leah is 5 months old and just might get her first taste of baby food this week. I'll keep you posted.

countdown

2010-02-23T04:17:00.000-08:00

Love it when the little bum goes up in the air!

Whoops, Monday came and went this week! Guess we'll have to settle for a Tuesday (or LOSTday, as we call it around here) post!

Dan has 122 days left in his fellowship!

Leah is 5 months old. She is not only a master roller, but now she's starting to inch and scoot to reach things. I have a strange love for this stage...such effort to go such a small distance. It reminds me of my attempts at rock climbing. It must be exhausting to be a baby! Maybe not as exhausting as being the mama, but still.

Have a great week, everyone!

countdown

2010-02-15T17:14:00.000-08:00

Daniel, Noah and Emma - February 2005

129 days until Dan's fellowship is over!

Baby Leah is just a few days shy of being 5 months old!

Have a great week, everyone!

surprises

2010-02-13T10:24:00.001-08:00

We all know that surprises can come in all forms. I've learned to tread lightly around here as I never really know what's coming my way.

Example: I decided to put some peanut butter on a banana earlier. I take off the lid of the peanut butter and without really looking I stick the knife in. Something catches my eye. Upon closer inspection this is what I see.

No, I don't know how it got there.

I can guess, though.

Then there are good surprises.

Emma emerged from her art class today carrying this.

Cool, eh?

Also, Girl Scout cookies are here! I didn't think they would arrive until March...but we had some for dessert last night! Nothing better than the first thin mint of the season, is there? Thanks for the special delivery, Eve and Alyssa! ;)

My best surprise of the week is that Dan texted me to say that his last day at Texas Children's Hospital is Friday, June 25! That means that our countdown was shortened by FIVE DAYS!

You can imagine all of Team Fulkerson doing a happy dance in response to that news!

Everyone have a great weekend!

are you lost?

2010-02-09T10:02:00.000-08:00

I don't know about you, but at our house we're addicted to LOST.

I am embarrassed to say that although I've seen every episode I still don't understand some of the plot lines.

Even some of the major ones.

Like, for example, should I know at this point if the others are bad guys or good guys?

Did we ever find out why the giant statue only has four toes?

What happened to Claire? Where IS that girl?

This series has been going on for such a long time that I suspect some of these questions have been answered, but it was so long ago that I don't remember the answers.

Dan is the perfect person to watch Lost with because he not only remembers all of the subtle plot points but all of the faces, too. I don't know how many times someone appears in an episode and they're new to me...but Dan remembers them from six seasons ago and already knows their name. I'm lucky he's a patient person as he explains (and re-explains) what's happening. It's downright embarrassing.

The idea of watching Lost solo this season really ticked me off until I realized that I can still ask him annoying questions in real time...via text! During last week's premiere I could be seen frantically typing during all of the commercial breaks...

So is Locke bad now?

Is he Esau? Didn't we think he was Jacob last season?

Wait, how is he dead and alive simultaneously?

Why does Jack have a cut on his neck? Should I know that?

Yay, it's Charlie! I've missed Charlie.

If YOU understand what's going on, please feel free to fill me in.

Cross your fingers for Dan that he'll be home from work in time to watch.

Oh, and don't bother calling either of our cell phones on Tuesday nights.

We'll be busy.

countdown and Dan's birthday!

2010-02-09T06:35:00.000-08:00

Dan, 6 months

Dan and his dad on the shore of Lake Michigan, 1972

Dan and his sister Jodi in front of the Hesburgh library, University of Notre Dame

Dan and Luke, rockin' this weekend

142 days until Dan moves home!

Dan was home for three days this weekend! We were celebrating his birthday (he was born in 1970 so it was one of those milestone birthdays...) AND we were excited about the Colts' Superbowl appearance. Even though a Colts win would have been a fantastic birthday present, it was a great blessing for Dan's visit to fall between two snowstorms. We were so glad to have him here!

We love you, Dan!

As for the Colts...there's always next year. :)

Tradition is to mention Leah. The poor girl has her first real winter illness right now. She's our first infant to ever vomit so hard that milk came out of her nose. I'm glad to say that only happened once. Once was plenty.

Have a great week,

Team Fulkerson

countdown

2010-02-02T12:48:00.000-08:00

Luke napping. In goggles. I have no idea why.

Dan moves home in 148 days!

Leah now rolls over the moment I put her down. And so it begins...

countdown

2010-01-25T06:39:00.001-08:00

Today's photo is of Daniel at 9 months. The kanji symbols behind him say Misawa - the name of our home at the time. Daniel's going to be awarded his official black belt tonight at karate class. :) We can't wait to see it!

OH, and I have to mention the upcoming Colts vs. Saints Superbowl! It's going to be a fun couple of weeks in this city!

Dan's fellowship will be over in 157 days! You know it must be getting closer when the number of days is small enough that it sounds kind of not so far away. Sort of. If we don't think about it too much.

Four month-old Leah weighs 12 pounds.

Have a great week!

countdown

2010-01-18T16:29:00.000-08:00

This is what happened to Noah's homework last week. Luke likes to color - have I mentioned that?

It's Monday...and MLK Day. Dan's sister, Jodi, wisely pointed out that Dr. King might have liked for us to be in school on a day designated in his honor. Hopefully everyone had the chance to reflect on his message of peace at some point today, whether it was a 'vacation' day for you or not.

Dan has 23 weeks left in his fellowship. OH how Team Fulkerson loves seeing that number get smaller!

Leah is 17 weeks old! She has been rolling over and blowing bubbles. The boys say she is SPITTING but I like to say it's bubble blowing...more ladylike.

Have a great week, everyone!

happy birthday, Emma!

2010-01-11T12:46:00.000-08:00

Emma, age 12

Emma, age 3 months (March 1998)

Emma turned 12 last week!

(say what?!)

That's what my brain does every time I think about it.

Since she is *twelve* (say what?) I have to tread lightly with this post.

You know- make her feel good, not embarrassed.

Here goes....

A few of Emma's favorite things...

book series: Warriors by Erin Hunter (Fictional stories about clans of wild cats)

movie: The Lion King

color: purple

creative thing to do: sculpt

thing to do on a rainy day: read

song: n/a (she'd rather listen to a book on CD than to music any day)

comic strip: Calvin & Hobbes

aspiration: to become a cartoon illustrator and/or an author

We love you, girl!

countdown

2010-01-11T12:43:00.000-08:00

Dan has 24 weeks left in his fellowship.

Leah is 16 weeks old. :)

Happy Monday, everyone!

how we spent our Christmas vacation

2010-01-04T13:53:00.000-08:00

We tore the couches apart. Many, many times.

Some of us had a less-than-stellar attitude about practicing handwriting.

We baked some really ugly cookies. Note to self: don't bother with the cookie cutters next year. It's just not in our genes.

We had lots of screen time (and watched others have screen time -- an activity I've never understood). This 'activity' (or, rather, lack of ) drove mom nuts.

We enjoyed having a baby sister.

We played in the snow.

We celebrated with Dan's sister Jodi (and her son Alex) as she's just finished her Master's degree. Jodi, we are so proud of you!

We cheered for our Colts (what an odd two weeks it's been...).

And, of course, we worshipped. Noah was a wise man (far right in photo) in our church's annual Epiphany service.

Team Fulkerson hopes you enjoyed every moment of this Blessed holiday season!

countdown milestone!

2010-01-04T13:40:00.001-08:00

Luke at 2 1/2 years

Leah's 3 month portrait

When everyone else was celebrating the new year, we were celebrating something even cooler. Jan. 1 marked the beginning of the second half of Dan's fellowship.

Half.

Way.

There.

Way to go, Dan! We'd like to think that the hardest part is behind us! Er, him, actually.

He's the one performing surgeries on teeny tiny people.

And trying to speak Spanish to many frightened, stressed-out parents.

And hardly sleeping.

And living alone in a strange city.

And joining all of the rest of us in suffering through the last two regular-season Colts games- gah.

25 weeks left in Dan's fellowship.

Leah is 15 weeks old.

Happy New Year to everyone!

countdown x 2!

2009-12-28T07:19:00.000-08:00

In all of the pre-holiday rush I forgot to post last Monday! I'm going to catch us up !

As of today Dan has 26 weeks left in his fellowship.

Leah is 14 weeks old!

Merry Christmas to all!

what color is your belt? -or- one proud mama

2009-12-20T10:30:00.000-08:00

Maybe the site of his birth had something to do with it - Daniel has always been excited about karate. He started taking classes when he was in preschool. He has had the goal of earning a black belt for years. (I've always thought it was cool for such little kids to be introduced to goal-setting! Think of the possibilities...)

Yesterday was Daniel's black belt test (junior black belt, first degree).

The history portion was administered firing-squad style - orally. The students were expected to know several typewritten pages of karate history, ranging from its origins to the lineage of Adamsons' karate dojos.

The physical conditioning portion of the test included 50 perfect-form push-ups. (Let that sink in...whoa.....). There were other exercises too, but none were as feared as the push-ups.

In front of a panel of about 30 black-belts, the students demonstrated seven different kata routines (the karate equivalent of a dance routine - each a minute or two long, it's a series of fluid poses to be performed with an attempt at perfect form). One of the katas included nunchucks, which you can imagine was not popular with mom for indoor practice!

The final portion was three forms of self-defense demonstrations. Could you quickly take down a series of 'attackers' that come at you one at a time? What if the guy chasing you has a club (made of foam, mercifully!)? What if there were three attackers coming at you at once? Add in the fact that the test had been going on for more than three hours before this portion even started. I was exhausted at that point and all I'd done was hold the baby and pray!

After months of spending both weekend afternoons in 3 hour-long boot camp classes (along with weeknight classes, seminars and independent study) we made the drive to Adamson's Karate dojo in Avon, IN. The test was a nerve-racking 4-plus hours long. Here are some photos...

(Photo below caption)

Daniel is visible in the near-left window as Shihan Adamson (in the dark suit) makes his way up and down the line asking history questions.

Action shot during a kata routine. Don't ask which one - I have no idea. I should, considering I'm the one who has driven Daniel to 99.8% of his karate classes over the years. The katas all have Japanese names. (Despite living in Japan I never learned more Japanese than what it took to say hello, excuse me and I'm very sorry thanks to our three small children at the time. )

Here Daniel stands in front of the panel of 30 black-belts awaiting judgment on one of his kata routines.

The big announcement is made - Daniel passed! They ALL passed this time around--how cool is that? It does NOT happen every time. Some of these kids have tested before - multiple times. What a feeling of elation (and relief!) filled the room!

The real, custom-made black belts -- complete with each child's name embriodered in Japanese kanji-- will arrive in a few weeks.

Daniel, Michael and Noah - these guys trained together, carpooled, and studied while we parents wondered when OUR black belts would be awarded for our time and trouble. Sensei Paul Adamson, who's been Daniel's Sensei since he graduated from the preshool program, is standing behind them. (He was awarded his sixth-degree black belt recently!)

Fantastic job, Daniel! If you can do THIS when you're nine, I'd say you don't have any excuse not to set goals and stick with them in the years to come!

countdown

2009-12-14T16:43:00.000-08:00

Noah and Daniel, 2002 (Man, these two look like Leah and Luke !)

On to our countdown...

Leah is 12 weeks old!

Dan has 28 weeks left in his fellowship.

Have a great week, everyone!

debate

2009-12-10T12:53:00.000-08:00

The kids have discovered a love of texting Daddy. They all jockey for turns with my cell phone to send him messages. It makes it challenging when Dan and I try to text one another since several children run to the phone to read the message when the chime sounds.

Yesterday Dan texted me that he was stuck at work - probably 'til midnight - again. Our favorite phrase for events like this is shortened to one word - s*cks (rhymes with trucks...) as in, that s*cks.

Because it does.

We don't use this phrase around the kids because, you know, it's not very nice.

Noah, who's a first grader, was the first one to grab the phone the next time Dan responded. He glanced at the screen, saw the word s*cks, and asked if that word said SHUCKS.

Uh huh - sure does!

Shucks all over the place.

The next time you're tempted to say that something s*cks, think of Noah, my fib, and say SHUCKS instead. Works surprisingly well...

I really hate parenting debates like this. Which is worse...fibbing or teaching our 7 year-old a rude phrase?

I'm so thankful for a fresh start each day! God knows that I certainly need it in this job He's given me.

late fall

2009-12-10T12:23:00.001-08:00

I don't know where the last few months have gone. Baby Leah's arrival this September was such a gift! Time never goes more slowly than when I'm pregnant...and never goes faster than when I have a newborn. I've been sifting through our family photos from the last few months and found some good ones that haven't made the blog yet.

Emma is so thankful to have a sister! Leah brings our household so much joy. She's also brought with her a whole lot more PINK than we've seen in years!

Noah lost one of his top front teeth...I just love that! We're happy to report that he lost this one the traditional way. No older siblings --ahem-- assisted with this one.

For weeks the kids said Leah looked "surprised" (confused?) all of the time. We're glad that she has some new expressions now!

Here is Daniel playing in our front yard. This is the first year we've had enough leaves to play in! (One tree produced these...our subdivision isn't very old!) Noah dutifully raked these into a pile...then we did nothing with them. Now they're covered in snow. Good thing we don't live somewhere with mature trees or we'd be buried.

countdown

2009-12-07T17:45:00.000-08:00

Leah is 11 weeks old! She's becoming very conversational. The kids love it when she sticks her tongue out at them.

Dan has (drumroll)....29 weeks left to go! We've made it into the 20's! That's something to celebrate!

countdown

2009-11-30T05:49:00.000-08:00

Leah is 10 weeks old.

Dan has 30 weeks left in his fellowship. OOOOHHHH - almost in the 20's! PROGRESS!

He was just with us for four days. It just feels right when he's home. We are thankful that he has a job, and will be even more thankful when his job and his family can be in the same city. :)

countdown

2009-11-24T08:22:00.001-08:00

Leah is 9 weeks old. She weighs 10 pounds now! Many of her teeny baby clothes are too small !

Dan has 31 weeks left in his pediatric neurosurgery fellowship. He's coming home to spend Thanksgiving with us, so he only has a 3 day work-week this week! No one deserves a few days off more than he does!

This week's photo is Dan with Daniel. Dan's at work in the Misawa Air Base hospital's ER. We stopped in to visit him occasionally, and we definitely weren't the only people with kids hanging around. Some of the moms on our base realized that Dan was great with kids so they took their children to the ER to see him rather than going to the pediatrics clinic. These were the beginnings of where he finds himself today. We're so proud of him!

I think he secretly likes pediatrics for other reasons too. If he is a kid doc, he needs to know about stuff kids like, right? He has a free pass to play all of the new video games and watch all of the kid movies from now 'til he retires.

countdown

2009-11-16T11:27:00.001-08:00

32 weeks left in Dan's fellowship. November is halfway over!

Leah is 8 weeks old!

perspective

2009-11-11T09:13:00.000-08:00

Dan's a veteran. We lived on a military base for four years. As Captain Fulkerson he was an emergency room physician. You can see him pictured above in his emergency gear. Yeah, as a civilian it was wayyy reassuring that all of the active duty folks were issued gas masks...I kind of wondered where mine and the kids' were, just in case...

You can imagine how *easy* it was to treat patients dressed that way.

Anyway, those years were a fantastic education for me about what it really means to sacrifice. Of course ours were small sacrifices in the grand scheme of things - I in no way mean to say that our experience even begins to approach that of the men and women who lose their lives or their health during their time of service. These are definately lower-case sacrifices I'm referring to.

Being in the military (or being married to someone who is) means being told where to live. It means you don't know for sure when you're moving until you have orders, and those orders can most certainly be changed. Multiple times. (Oh how our families celebrated when orders were cut sending Dan to a base near Las Vegas, Nevada...only to be changed to a remote base in northern Japan a few weeks later.)

It means your children will change schools every few grades.

It means being told you have to wait for your belongings to arrive --- on the government's watch. ( We all heard stories of entire crates worth of household goods disappearing, never to be seen again.)

It means limited choices - in clothing, toiletries, shoes, movies, books, you get the gist. (We were active duty just before it became possible to order anything and everything online!)

It means being assigned to your doctors and dentists and often waiting a looong time for appointments. It means specialists are only available a few times a year (so you'd better pray that your child's facial injury happens when the plastic surgeon happens to be in town).

It means holidays alone and learning to make new traditions.

It means that your friends will come and go at a dizzying rate.

It means knowing that your friends may never see their spouse alive again, and trying to figure out how to be encouraging to them as they sweat out those deployment months.

It means that lots of households morph into single-parent families for six months to a year at a time-- over and over again-- during their years of service.

It means the US government is in charge of every element of your life. If you can recall going to the BMV or the post office then you can appreciate having similar experiences with all of your family's healthcare and housing needs.

Stop and ponder that for a moment...

Yeah.

Dan has been a civilian for several years now. I am so proud that he served our country. If he hadn't I would never have had the same appreciation for our great nation. We have many friends whose families are still living an active duty military life and we are so thankful for all that they do. Their sacrifices, great and small, keep us free.

Thank you, Veterans! Dad, Grandpa Krou, Engen, and especially our Dan....we love you and are so proud of all of you!

countdown

2009-11-11T05:15:00.000-08:00

Dan has 33 weeks left in his fellowship.

Leah is 7 weeks old.

She's sprouting some peach-fuzz on top of her head. I'm encouraged that maybe she won't be as bald as I was as a baby! Crossing my fingers....

Team Fulkerson is a few days late with our countdown this week. I hope you're all having a great one! Today is Veteran's Day. We are so thankful to our country's brave Veterans. If that is you (or your spouse!), thank you! You keep us safe and you keep us free. Those are incredible gifts that are easy to take for granted. More on that soon...

costumes

2009-11-06T11:58:00.000-08:00

I'm a real humbug about halloween. It's one of those 'holidays' that I consider not at all worth the hype and effort. Buying or making costumes for all of the kids...talk about pressure! Remembering to buy pounds of candy that I then have to successfully hide until trick-or-treat day doesn't add to my serenity, either. All of this effort and expense to do what? 'Celebrate' morbidity and evil.

Ugh.

I know, I know. What a stick in the mud! I'm a huge scrooge about it... until it's actually time to trick-or-treat. When I see how excited the kids are it helps me remember how much I looked forward to the yearly ritual when I was little. For those two hours I actually think it's fun! This year Dan was home to hand out candy while Aunt Jodi, Emma and I walked up and down the street with the younger children. I was so thankful to have help!

Don't get me started, though, about the joys of monitoring the candy consumption of four children for weeks afterward. It makes me glad Leah doesn't have any teeth - yet.

Dumb holiday.

Leah's baptism

2009-11-04T05:21:00.001-08:00

Leah's baptism was this past Sunday at Christ Lutheran Church here in Zionsville, IN.

It was so moving for me to see our tiny daughter in this dress. I can remember going to the fabric shop many years ago with my mom and grandma to choose the fabric, lace and ribbons. My grandmother made the dress for my little sister Lori's baptism in 1982. Emma wore it to her baptism in 1998.

Our cousin Diana Nixon is Leah's godmother. I was the nanny for two of her children when we all lived in South Bend, IN in the early 1990's. She has been a fantastic mentor for me as I've navigated through learning how to mother. I'm so thankful that she and her family live in Bloomington, IN so we're able to see each other a few times a year. I know Diana will pray both for me and for Leah in the years to come. What more can a parent ask for than to know that another mama is praying for them? Priceless.

I love what our pastor said after the baptism - Leah became a new princess in the kingdom of God. Now she is Jesus' baby sister. That's what I call a blessed day!

Thanks be to God.

countdown

2009-11-02T04:23:00.000-08:00

Dan has 34 weeks left. Putting him on the plane every other Sunday really stinks, but picking him up from the airport every other Friday is so FANTASTIC! Worth every penny (I'm sure Continental Airlines loves us...)!

Leah is 6 weeks old!

Have a great week, everyone!

Noah's birthday portrait

2009-10-26T13:40:00.000-07:00

Noah has the distinction of being THE middle child out of five. He has an older sister, an older brother, a younger sister and a younger brother. You could say he gets it from all directions.

On report card day last week Noah yelled from the family room, "Mom, Daniel said I get an F in existing!"

Emma had an eye doctor appointment a little while ago. The rest of us were in the waiting room, cleaning up the toys we'd enjoyed while we were there. During the cleanup Luke threw a toy at Noah's head hard enough to draw blood, right there in the waiting room. I don't know if that's worse than the (full) sippy cups that Luke chucks at Noah's head every so often - we'll have to ask Noah which he prefers.

I was excited for Noah's birthday to come around so we could celebrate him for a day (or three, the way it happened to work out - party on Saturday, real birthday not 'til the following Monday...). I think he really enjoyed it!

We all love you, Noah--even the members of Team Fulkerson that hurl insults and heavy objects at you! Think of what a strong person you'll become...

countdown

2009-10-26T13:32:00.000-07:00

Dan has 35 weeks left in his fellowship. The kids and I hope to count how many DAYS he has left during this fall break. Maybe we'll get it done tomorrow! ;)

Leah is 5 weeks old - and getting balder by the day. I'm thinking hats...

countdown

2009-10-19T10:11:00.000-07:00

Dan has 36 weeks left in his fellowship.

Leah is 4 weeks old!

Today is Noah David's 7th birthday! Happy Birthday Noah! Hopefully I will remember to post some "big kid" pictures of him soon, but today I can't resist posting some of my favorite baby Noah shots. How the years fly.

Sorry I can't credit the photographer - a lady (whose name I no longer remember) took great pictures in one of the rooms of her home on the Air Force base where Noah was born. If any of my Misawa friends knows her name, please remind me! I feel guilty using her images!

4 whole weeks

2009-10-17T09:49:00.000-07:00

God sends you what you can handle, right? Leah has, so far, been our easiest newborn.

By far.

She sleeps for 5 hours at a stretch during the night. Let me just say that is UNHEARD OF with previous Fulkerson babies.

She can be put down sometimes without screaming the moment her back hits the bassinet -- so novel!

She loves her swing, too. We haven't had a baby who liked the baby swing since 1998.

We have all enjoyed her so much these past four weeks! The other kids argue over whose turn it is to hold her. Dan's even been bonding with Leah from Texas! She is fussy in the evenings when we Skype with him, but when we hold her up to the computer screen she quiets down, looks and listens. I truly think she knows his voice. It's really cool!

Here are a few pictures we took yesterday, in honor of Leah's four-week birthday. :)

great expectations?

2009-10-12T04:10:00.000-07:00

A very wise friend once told me the secret to her level of calm. This friend (who happens to be the mother of four, three of whom are triplets) says

high expectations = low serenity; low expectations = high serenity.

I loved this and started applying it to my life. Immediately.

Now, is it a bad thing to say I have low expectations? Fifteen years ago I would have been appalled at the very idea! As a student (and eventually a teacher) I would say that high expectations are the key to getting people to do their best work! Why should anyone purposely have low expectations ?

Here's why. We've been on this merry-go-round before.

Elementary-aged kids have school projects out the wazoo. First-graders take a loooong time to read a book out loud (no matter how loudly the baby in your lap is screaming). Two year-olds are destructive and cooperate the least when you need it the most. Babies scream the loudest when you need for them to be the quietest.

If you expect these things to happen then you're not surprised or disappointed!

If, by some miracle, things go BETTER than you expected, well, then it's been a great day.

Yesterday afternoon was the perfect example. A neighbor (also the mother of a two year-old) called to invite Luke over to play for awhile. He smiled and was excited....until she came to the door to collect him. He refused to go with her, saying STAY AT LUKEY'S HOUSE. Of course Lukey's house currently had one child with a fever camped out on the couch, another child painting a homemade salt-dough map of Indiana in the next room while his brother waited patiently for me to find something for him to paint too; and a screaming baby in a sling around mom's neck. Never mind that the kitchen counter wasn't visible and everyone was starting to get hungry. I invited the neighbor and her daughter in to play for a few minutes, hoping that Luke would cooperate ...

You already know how this goes.

The two year-olds fought non-stop over the same toy. The sick kid kept coughing, reminding us all that we're exposing neighbors to germs. The brother that was waiting to paint was forgotten, baby continued to scream. The twist I wasn't expecting was for Luke to stick his finger up his nose and start a huge gusher of a nosebleed, causing him to need a complete change of clothes (not to mention a new load of laundry and a floor mopping for mom). Then the kid who was waiting to paint fell down the stairs.

Friends from church dropped by briefly to bring us homemade soup and a rose (on behalf of Leah's birth, a tradition in our congregation). Luke grabbed the rose and took off. Not thirty seconds later it looked like the photo at the top of this blog entry. I guess Leah should get used to her gifts being presented in pieces.

Our kind neighbors and friends didn't say a word about the chaos. I'm guessing they won't believe me the next time I insist that we're fine---because thanks to all of the prayers said on our behalf, we are.

Well, the prayers plus my seriously low expectations.

Special thanks to Maureen, the source of my mantra. :)

countdown

2009-10-12T03:48:00.001-07:00

Dan has 37 weeks left in his fellowship.

Baby Leah is 3 weeks old! :)

Hope you're all staying healthy! We're keeping the hand sanitizer manufacturers afloat all by ourselves around here!

Cheers,

Team Fulkerson

countdown

2009-10-05T03:39:00.000-07:00

Dan has 38 weeks left in his fellowship.

Leah is 2 weeks old. :)

Have a fantastic week, everyone!

Cheer, cheer for old Notre Dame!

2009-10-04T12:12:00.001-07:00

I can't remember how Dan managed to get this photo, but this is our own Dan with (then football coach) Lou Holtz.

In Lou's office.

At Notre Dame.

Cool, eh?

Fall Saturdays always make Team Fulkerson long to be back in South Bend, Indiana.

Go Irish!

countdown

2009-09-28T04:47:00.000-07:00

Dan has 39 weeks left in his fellowship! We've made it into the 'thirties,' folks! We're about a quarter of the way done! Progress is a beautiful thing!

Team Fulkerson would love some prayers this week, especially for our children. Dan left yesterday and is back in Texas now, after a blissful couple of weeks here with us. We all miss him terribly.

To make it an even more sad day, our very special next-door neighbors moved away yesterday. They've been wonderful friends (and playmates) for several years. They have doted on Luke since he was Leah's size and I'm not *quite* sure how to help Luke understand why they aren't there...

God's handiwork

2009-09-24T14:05:00.000-07:00

ode to a nap

2009-09-24T04:42:00.000-07:00

In the weeks leading up to Leah's birth I was a complete basket case.

I was worried that Dan would miss the birth.

I worried about giving at home with no one but the older kids to help me (Noah's birth was very fast), thus scarring them for life.

Conversely, I also worried about needing to be induced (more about that soon).

Thankfully Dan came home a few days earlier than planned and I breathed a huge sigh of relief - he'd be present! If I have another fast birth, I thought, he can deliver the baby (and oh, how he'd love doing that.)! Surely, I thought, when he's home my body will relax and she'll come!

Nope.

Now I have to explain that I have a huge fear of pitocin - the drug they use to induce labor. I had it with Daniel. It makes the contractions so much worse than if you have them without pitocin. I also was pretty adamant that I did not want an epidural. I had one of those with Daniel, too, after hours of laboring under the effects of pitocin and only making it to 4 cm before I couldn't handle it anymore. My beef with the epidural? I hated not being able to push effectively (or even keep my own legs on the table). After two unmedicated births when you see that your body really knows what to do and all you have to do is cooperate with it, it seems really inefficient to mess with the process. No, what I really wanted for this birth was an unmedicated experience that required no pitocin and as little medical intervention as possible. I spent hours, days, weeks pondering this plan.

Then add in the sleep deprivation. For about four months leading up to induction day I woke nightly around 3 a.m., often unable to go back to sleep for any length of time before the 6 am alarm. The night before the scheduled induction (still praying to go into labor on my own) I woke up at 2:30 a.m. and never went back to sleep before we headed to the hospital.

OH, not good.

I cried the whole way there. Poor Dan, driving along....I'm sure he was wondering what our day was going to be like. Well, actually, he probably knew. I'm lucky that he didn't drop me off and sneak back home.

By the time they hooked me to the pitocin and the blood pressure cuff I was not only exhausted but furious. I started taking pictures because that was just the mood I was in....how on earth was I supposed to try to give birth with pitocin in my system, without an epidural, WITH ALL OF THESE THINGS ATTACHED TO MY ARMS? Every time I had to go to the bathroom the poor nurse had to unplug me from four different outlets and drape all of the cords around my neck as I dragged the IV cart into the bathroom with me and tried not to drop said cords into the toilet.

So not good.

It took the whole morning for me to make it 5 cm. At that point I realized that I couldn't deal with the pain anymore. When the doctor put in the epidural I cried and cried - hysterical, boo-hoo crying. I couldn't stop. They didn't even bother giving me a tissue - they handed me a huge washcloth.

You know what came next? A NAP. Probably the best nap I've had in my entire life. I am not being flippant when I say that this nap was truly a gift from God. It was exactly what I needed, and God always provides! They woke me up to tell me it was time for baby to come out - she had a head start on us! I won't subject you to any more details, other than to say thank you to all of my wise friends who said GIVE IT UP AND JUST GET THE EPIDURAL! To my friends who encouraged me to try to have unmedicated childbirth, thank you, too. I consider it a personal victory that I lasted one whole centimeter longer without an epidural during Leah's birth than I did with Daniel's. If I hadn't at least tried I would have always kicked myself. I surely don't need any more reasons to do that.

Last, I propose that you add the word pitocin to your favorite list of expletives. If you hear me say PITOCIN, DANIEL! FOR THE TWELFTH TIME, PICK UP YOUR SOCKS! you'll know what I'm saying. I'd even suggest the alternative phrase, "OH, PIT!" (as in, "she's still smiling, time to crank up the pit!" like one nurse said when I was hooked up to that horrible stuff during Daniel's delivery) -- but that one might get Team Fulkerson into trouble...

Baby Leah, you were worth every moment!

countdown plus more pictures!

2009-09-21T04:35:00.001-07:00

Counting down is especially fun when Dan's on vacation! Forty weeks until he's finished with his fellowship!

Here are a few more shots of Leah and her adoring family....

she's here

2009-09-18T17:46:00.000-07:00

We're so happy to announce the safe arrival of Leah Marian at 1:55 today (9/18/09). She weighs 6 lbs 11 1/2 oz and is 19 1/2 in. long.

Quotes from the kids:

Emma: I love her too much, Mom.

Daniel: Can I take a picture of her to school?

Noah: Her nose is smaller than a button!

Luke: What's that guy?

You know there will be lots more photos to come... :)

Feeling God's blessings,

Team Fulkerson

our first baby girl

2009-09-14T16:51:00.001-07:00

We're so anxious to see what Baby Girl looks like! Her big sister Emma came out looking exactly like Dan...right down to his hairstyle! I know many of you remember this, but I can't help myself. Check out that hair! Coming from a family where babies are usually bald, this was something to behold. You can get a closer look if you click on the picture, though his dark shirt and her fantastic coif kind of blend together in the scanned photo.

Team Fulkerson is anxious to post photos of our newest member...coming soon!

belated birthday wishes

2009-09-14T16:44:00.001-07:00

My brother had a birthday during the Labor Day weekend. How can my little brother be 35?

I always love this time of year because for a few months we're only one year apart in age. None of our babies have been that close together! Anyway, happy belated birthday wishes to Eric!

countdown

2009-09-14T16:41:00.000-07:00

Baby Girl could show up at any point! :) As of now she's still "in."

Dan is home for his "baby vacation." Can you think of anything more relaxing during a well-earned vacation than bringing home a newborn and being in charge of four other children?

If he survives this "vacation," Dan has 41 weeks left in his fellowship.

We've enjoyed incredible September weather for the last few weeks. Hope it's equally beautiful where you are!

Feeling blessed,

Team Fulkerson

countdown

2009-09-07T18:33:00.000-07:00

Dan returns home for his "baby vacation" on Wed. 9/16. We have an induction scheduled for Fri. 9/18...if she's still "in" at that point! So...countdown to baby is about a week and a half. Unless she decides to come sooner....nah, not going to think about that.

There are 42 weeks left in Dan's fellowship.

Hope you all had a great Labor Day weekend!

Cheers,

Team Fulkerson

dial down the crazy

2009-08-31T12:25:00.001-07:00

I don't know if other people get this way, but the last several weeks of pregnancy bring out a whole new level of crazy in my already- distractible self. It's a good thing Dan knows what he's getting into when he arrives for his weekends home. How could I really explain it to anyone else who had to live with us for a few days at a time?

I sleep nightly until 3 am and then am wide awake for at least an hour...sometimes for good. That doesn't help. I should be sleeping now, as a matter of fact.

I start projects all over the house and don't manage to finish them. Like, any of them. Drop by and I'll show you proof.

My internal conversation goes something like this...

Hmmm....Monday. Let's see, what should we do tomorrow?

We need groceries. Yuck, that will take hours. We should go to Target. I think they sell Baby Bjorns there. I should check the price online at Amazon and see which place sells them for less.

I should take a picture of our old one. It's so threadbare. I want to capture what four babies can do to one of those things before it disintegrates.

Where is the camera?

Ooh, and there's a Michael's coupon in the paper... what do we need from Michael's?

I think we have a bottle of paint to return there.

Where is that ad?

I need to return the random thing I bought to the children's resale shop. I wonder if they're open on Labor Day? I should call them. Darnit, I bet they're already closed.

I should look up the number.

Start to walk to the computer.

Labor day...OH! I should finish packing that bag for the hospital.

Start walking upstairs.

I wonder if the dryer is done - I was waiting for a nightgown that's in there.

Walk into to the laundry room. See the MOUNTAIN of clean clothes that are waiting to be put away. Pick up and fold, oh, three things. Notice a bad smell. Turn around and walk out.

What is that?....OH LUKE. Let's change you!

Luke: No, mama, I ok!

He runs.

I should chase him.

The dryer stops. I should pull those clothes out so they don't get wrinkled.

Wait a minute, do I hear the phone downstairs?

Me: Emma, Daniel, is the phone ringing? (No response as their heads are bent over their Nintendo DS's).

I trip over a lightsaber on my way through the playroom. That makes me think of Alex (our nephew).

Alex! I need to burn the photos of his birthday party onto a disk for Jodi (Dan's sister)! Before I forget! Before the baby comes!

Walk downstairs to the computer. Smell Luke again but still don't see him.

Me: Emma! Is Luke out there with you?

Emma: Yeah, I think so (barely audible).

Crud, I forgot to start running the water in the washing machine. Those sheets really need to be done by bedtime. Do I even have enough time before bedtime to finish them?

What time is it? Man, I'm hungry.

Go back upstairs to start the water and add the soap. Fold two more pieces of clothing in the pile then remember I should burn the photos.

Burn...I need to bring the emergency escape ladder that I bought upstairs! I need to show the big kids how to use it in case we're ever trapped upstairs in a fire! What if that happened this year and I'm here alone with five kids to evacuate by myself! I need to get it! Now!

Back down the stairs, this time grabbing the laundry basket full of photo albums sitting at the base of the stairway. Each album contains one picture I've been hoping to scan into the computer for weeks. For this blog.

I'm hungry.

I hope Luke doesn't hurt these albums, they're getting kind of frail.

Now I'm sitting at the computer about to scan photos.

OH, and burn photos!

Burn! I need to look for that ladder! Did I put it in the basement?

I look at the screen and realize we never finished our Amazon.com order. The one Emma has asked me about three times.

She has really been doing a good job of babysitting the older boys, that girl. I should follow through with helping her order her book.

Should I add the new Baby Bjorn to the cart? Oh, better talk with Dan about that first. Darnit, he's still en route to Houston. We'll have to call him later.

OK, photos.

Do I remember how to burn photos onto a disk?

Where are the disks?

Noah: Mom, Lukey smells bad!

Darnit, he's wearing a cloth diaper. That's going to be a huge mess.

Suddenly our kids see the neighbor children outside and with shouts of glee they all RUN out the back door. This, of course, includes Luke. Drag him back into the house to be changed.

As I'm dunking and flushing the cloth diaper Noah walks up behind me and asks for apple slices. You know, the way Miss Chris (my very organized, calm friend) makes them, with the peanut butter spread right on them?

Me: Just a minute, I need to finish this. Maybe you could just wash and eat an apple?

Noah: Nah, I'll wait.

Luke, noticing that I've turned my head to talk to Noah, runs.

Now where was I?

*******************************************************************

I have to confess that I started this post a week ago. It's taken me this long to finish.

countdown

2009-08-31T12:19:00.000-07:00

Baby girl should make her appearance in about two weeks...give or take. :) You know how these things go...

Dan's fellowship will be over in 43 weeks.

Have a great day!

Team Fulkerson

simple

2009-08-29T05:46:00.000-07:00

Is there anything that brings a two-year-old more joy than a balloon?

Even better for mom, a free balloon?

We love you, Trader Joe's!

Special thanks to two big brothers, who shared their balloons with Luke after the red one he chose sailed skyward while we were trying to load into the van...

the view from here

2009-08-27T04:18:00.000-07:00

I don't want to hear a word about the state of my pedicure. When I look down, this is what I see.

For a few more weeks, anyway...

tired

2009-08-26T13:07:00.000-07:00

You won't hear him admit it, but Dan is tired.

I don't know exactly what his days entail, as he says he loves to come home and NOT have to talk about work. What I do know goes a little something like this.

He gets up at either 4:00 or 4:30 a.m., depending on the day. He packs his lunch and drives to work, Diet Coke in hand. Some days he gets to sit down and eat lunch, others he doesn't get to eat again until he tears into it during the drive home. He works until the work is done, which means he might come home at 4:30 p.m., he might come home at 8:30 p.m., or he might not come home at all. If he's lucky enough to make it home in the evening he eats, Skypes* with us, and goes to bed. He is on call 24-7 except for the weekends he comes home...so that's 12 days at a time. Some of his pages (in this Jetsons-age we live in) can be answered by phone using his laptop to download films; others require him to go back to work, no matter what time it is. The next day it starts all over again.

When he climbed into the van at the Indianapolis Airport last Friday night at nearly 11:30 p.m. I could tell by looking at his eyes that he hadn't slept in... awhile. He didn't want to answer my questions but finally admitted that his last night of sleep had been on Wednesday - though he was quick to point out that he'd caught an hour-long nap at some point on Thursday before he was paged back to work.

Dan doesn't talk about the children he meets at Texas Children's Hospital. I think that some of their stories are too sad to dwell on so he does his best to leave them in Texas when he climbs aboard his bi-weekly flights. After "sleeping in" on his Saturday mornings here (meaning he gets up at 7:30 or 8:00 a.m.....even though that's 6:30 or 7:00 a.m. to his body clock) he starts his work with our children. They take turns throughout our two days together, choosing what they'd like to do with Daddy. Emma usually chooses to have puzzle time with him. Daniel and Noah like to play sports in the backyard. They all play board games together --which is usually most successful when Luke is napping. Luke likes to wrestle on the floor and read stories.

Dan insists that I take a nap while he works through his rotation.

Between his Daddy-time appointments he fits in haircuts, "honey-do" list items and booking more airline flights home. He always exercises - often for the first time in the two weeks since he's been gone. He reads his Sports Illustrateds, The Indianapolis Star, and starts working through whatever medical journals have arrived. Our whole family goes to bed around 9 p.m. Saturday night to help him recoup some of the lost sleep. Too soon it's Sunday afternoon and we're on the way back to the airport. During the drive he always asks the kids to figure out the countdown to his next visit. He tells them to start making lists of all of the things they want to do together when he's here next time. Then he's gone.

I'm so proud of Dan for taking this year to train as a pediatric specialist. I've been told over the years that he does a great job explaining things to parents and answering their questions. Even more important to those parents, he talks or jokes with their sick children to try to put them at ease. It takes a special person to do his job day after day. Hats off to all of you who teach, heal, and tend children for a living. They're jobs that require lots of prayer to sustain with glad hearts.

I cringe when I hear stories about crass doctors, impatient doctors, or surgeons who don't look their patients in the eye when they meet. I wouldn't want to make excuses for purposely treating patients that way - ever. Having met lots of physicians during these 'training' years, here's what I can offer by way of possible explanation, if you ever have a less-than-fantastic interaction when you're at the doctor's office.

If your physician is ever a little "off," keep in mind that they might be ill, although of course they'd never tell you how they're feeling. I know our own (very special) pediatrician fought terrible all-day sickness for half of (each) of her pregnancies, seeing patients between her own vomiting sessions. I doubt many people are able to hide sickness as well as she did!

Sometimes your doctor may have a disorder of some sort that makes their bedside manner - eh- not great, but makes them a very meticulous surgeon. (Is obsessive-compulsive disorder necessarily a bad trait in your brain surgeon or your cardiologist?)

Maybe, sometimes, they're just tired.

Please keep Dan in your prayers this year. Thanks, in advance, from Team Fulkerson.

countdown

2009-08-24T04:04:00.000-07:00

It's about 3 weeks until Baby Girl arrives!

Dan's fellowship will be over in 44 weeks.

Have a great week, everyone!

say what?

2009-08-20T05:45:00.000-07:00

This story relates to yesterday's OB/GYN visit (see previous post).

I am the first to admit that my medical knowledge is minimal. I was an elementary education major in college, and my minor/concentration was a kindergarten endorsement (early childhood education classes). I never took anatomy and really only know a few basic things from living with Dan all of these years that he's been training.

When the doctor came into the room yesterday (not my doctor, but one of her partners) she noted immediately that I have an induction date scheduled already, with a question in her voice. Here's the following exchange.

Me: Yeah, we have it scheduled so hopefully my husband will be here. He's doing a fellowship in Texas this year.

Dr.: OH, what field?

Me: Pediatric neurosurgery.

Dr. : You must wonder what you were thinking, planning to be pregnant THIS year!

Me: Well, you know...we were planning to wait one more year but this is when God sent her so this is when she's coming! (I've delivered this response so many times it's automatic, even though to most people who ask I'd rather say IT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS, or THANKS FOR POINTING OUT OUR STUPIDITY.)

Dr.: Seems to me like maybe the neurosurgeon needs some neurosurgery of his own, if you know what I mean!

Me: Blank stare.

In my mind I'm trying to figure out what it is that she means...

Is it choice A) that it is so crazy to have another baby that my husband needs brain surgery?

B) that she thinks neurosurgeons perform vasectomies.

Dr.: You know, some neurosurgery for himself.

This doctor is about my mom's age -- I don't feel comfortable correcting her. Not knowing how to respond I just spill even more personal details about our plans for our procreative future.

Those of you who are medical professionals can feel free to clue me in...but when did the male reproductive parts become part of the neurological system?

Just something to ponder.

Happy Thursday to all!

how was your wednesday?

2009-08-19T16:47:00.000-07:00

I'm not normally someone who tries to stuff too much into one day. That just begs for trouble. I especially try to keep our days low-key when I'm pregnant, because I tire easily and am very scatter-brained. Still, I throw caution to the wind this morning and take Luke out to do several errands. We race home, unload groceries for 10 minutes and pack some lunch, then drive back to the babysitter's so Luke can hang out while I have my 35 week OB appointment. (That appointment was my gift today, as Baby Girl is head-down and perking along perfectly. That in itself makes the rest of this post downright petty.)

I try not to be too annoyed when the OB (one of my doctor's partners) points out that it wasn't very smart to plan to have a baby when my husband isn't living with us. I really try not to be annoyed when she suggests maybe he should go get some surgery to take care things. (Wouldn't you think OBs would like people having babies?). I'm thankful I'll be with my doctor again at the next visit, and make a mental note to start praying that this doctor is NOT the one who delivers Baby Girl, because who knows what I might say when I'm in labor. I mean, Dan and I are in our late 30's - we get it. I prefer my doctor's partners would smile, introduce themselves, say things look great and send me on my way. I don't necessarily need to explain the words SURPRISE BLESSING to them. You'd think in their line of work they'd be a little more sensitive to that.

On the way back to the sitter's I notice that we have very little gas left in the van, but since I have to go to town two more times this afternoon I figure there's always time to stop later.

We head home for a quick nap. Yeah, I'm complaining on a day that I had a nap, for Pete's sake.

Sad.

Although, had I not had that short nap, I'm not sure I would have made it through the rest of the afternoon without causing some kind of public scene.

Emma arrives home and 10 minutes later we are on the road to pick up the boys from school in order to get to Emma's physical therapy appointment on time. The four boys (our three plus our nephew Alex) are going to be easy to entertain, I tell myself...we'll drop Emma off and head to their shangri-la...McDonald's. The on-and-off rainshowers have since stopped and by some miracle none of them needed to use the bathroom, so we are free to eat ice cream and let them play on the outdoor playground. Fantastic! Easy! I am going to win all sorts of brownie points for this!

The rest of the afternoon goes something kind of like this:

The Mcplayground is wet and slippery-- it must have rained longer in town than it did at our house-- which means the boys love it. Soon they're sopping wet, but hey, who cares? We're heading straight home, right?

It's time to leave and everyone is really wet. Sopping shoes, nearly-in-tears-because-it-feels-so-yucky wet.

I assure them the appointment will be over very soon and we'll be on our way home.

We drive to physical therapy. We park a few feet away from the doorway so I can leave Daniel in charge while I run in to collect Emma.

Emma's not done.

Four wet, complaining boys are stuck in the van. When I step inside the office again to pay the bill I look out office windows to see Daniel hanging his socks out the van window, wringing the water from them.

Emma's still not done.

I sit in the van and listen to the discourse, which includes great phrases like YOU SQUEEZED MY WIENER and LUKEY KICKED MY PRIVATES, all delivered in REALLY LOUD VOICES.

Emma's still not done.

Twenty minutes have gone by and there's no sign of her....then the desk clerk realizes she's been curled up in a quiet corner. Reading.

"Why on earth didn't you come out to the van?" I ask.

"It's a really awesome book, Mom."

We make it back out to the van. Where is my cell phone? It's gotta be here...

Daniel announces with a grimace that the book he's supposed to read for homework isn't in his backpack. It's only the third day of school. Sigh.

We're only a few blocks from the library so, with great irritation, I decide to try to find a copy of Caddie Woodlawn. I figure it will be easier than trying to chase down a copy from a classmate- and we still have to drop off my nephew, eat dinner, and take Daniel to a karate class this evening. Like, within the next hour.

Where is that cell phone?

We drive to the library and I tell everyone we must quickly run inside and get the book. Wet boys are complaining now not only about being wet but hungry, too. Emma sits down to search the online catalog while I keep a death grip on Luke's shirt. For some reason library = run away to that kid.

No copies available.

I see a dear friend, who takes one look at me and asks what she can do to help. Since she doesn't have a magic wand I'm guessing not much.

We load back into the van.

WHERE IS THE CELL PHONE?

Do I have enough gas to even get back to the physical therapy office - the last place I saw the stupid phone?

We drive back to the office and I see the phone on the ground when I open my van door...I have missed driving over it by a few inches.

Relieved, we finally head toward home, winding through the country roads due to a detour.

Then I remember that we are running on fumes.

Back into town we go so we can fill up. Maybe the steam coming out of my ears has clued the kids in--no one asks what we're doing or why. It's actually quiet in the van.

Drive to our neighborhood, drop Alex off, home at last. Forget karate - he can take a make-up class. At this point you couldn't pay me enough money to get back in that van, and we wouldn't have enough time to get there, anyway.

Food, drink, routine. All is well.

I haven't even lost the cell phone since we got here.

countdown AND first day of school!

2009-08-17T13:10:00.000-07:00

It's about 4 weeks until Baby Girl arrives! Dan's fellowship is over in 45 weeks.

Today was the first day of first grade (for Noah, as well as our cousin Alex), fourth grade (for Daniel), and sixth grade (for Emma)!

Happy back-to-school day, everyone!

countdown

2009-08-10T05:14:00.001-07:00

It's about five weeks until Baby Girl arrives.

There are 46 weeks until Dan's fellowship is over.

It's Indiana State Fair time! The "featured" foods this year are chocolate-covered bacon and beaver BBQ.

I don't think we're going to the fair this time around...

Have a great Monday!

Team Fulkerson

it's gotta be done

2009-08-09T10:32:00.001-07:00

I'm not one who relishes my own maternity photos. Love the babies, love the anticipation of the baby coming...not so much in love with the pregnant version of myself. I have been looking online for ideas for maternity photos and boy, are there some people out there who REALLY want to capture what they look like heavily pregnant. Like, how every naked inch of themselves looked while heavily pregnant - sometimes close-up.

Good for them...though some of their pictures make me cringe almost as much as my own fully clothed ones! If you don't believe me, do a google search. Sorry, but however miraculous it is, it ain't always pretty.

Being this far along always makes me crazy-obsessed with something. This week's obsession was capturing photos of the kids and the baby belly together in some form. Dan was home this weekend and was a great sport about serving as photogtrapher. He's a brave man, knowing I'd spend a lot of time obsessing over the pictures, cropping like a mad woman, likely finding fault with every single shot. I have to say I think he did a great job considering that most of his subjects didn't really understand what on earth we were trying to capture. At least Luke didn't ask questions or complain- he just yelled "lollipop!" over and over...the right bribe for this task, thank goodness!

photo of the day

2009-08-06T06:03:00.000-07:00

This was a Christmas gift this past year - I love love love getting photos for Christmas! :) Many thanks to Dan's mom (who knew how much I'd love this!) and the Warsaw Times Union.

countdown

2009-08-03T18:27:00.001-07:00

Hey all,

It's about 6 weeks until Baby Girl arrives. :)

Dan's fellowship has 47 weeks left.

Hope your Monday has been great!

tradition

2009-08-02T08:18:00.000-07:00

A few years ago we started taking a group photo of the kids in the summertime. We used to make the trek to JCPenney every time, which yielded great results but filled everyone with dread. Team Fulkerson voted and decided to let Mom take the photo here in our own yard a year or two ago, and we've stuck with that method. Announcing it's picture day still fills the photo's subjects with dread, but it sure makes Mommy happy. Here are some of today's results...

love all around

2009-07-31T14:40:00.000-07:00

God knows that we need little reminders of how much we're loved (especially with Dan 1000-plus miles away). Check out what we've found in the last week.

Love to all!

Team Fulkerson