The 8 Steps Addendum

Dear Son,

Thank you for waiting to throw up until 30 minutes before my alarm was set to go off, instead of at 2AM! Many thanks for throwing up in one spot on your bed. The cleanup was so fast and easy. Also, thank you for hitting the spot in the MIDDLE of the mattress. The times when your siblings made my life miserable by throwing up in the corner of the bed by the wall still haunt my memory. Pulling the bed out and scrubbing all the way down to the carpet is something I never want to repeat. I love you and hope you are feeling better really soon!

Love,

Mom

So during this latest escapade, I recalled a few things that I left out in my past post, How to Deal With Throw up in Eight Dreaded Steps.

1. When you put your child in the tub, make sure the puke bowl is within reach. Thankfully, I thought to put it next to him this morning and what do you know, he needed it two minutes later. So grateful for that inspiration! There's nothing worse than having to drain the tub and start all over again. Wait, there is something worse....it's the puke down the side of the bed thing.

2. My sister recently gave me some bedding she was getting rid of. It included a REALLY NICE mattress pad so I put it on my son's bed. When I took off the soiled blankets after the ralph-accident this morning, the mattress was totally clean. I'm a believer now. Invest in waterproof mattress pads! I still sprayed the mattress - mainly to get rid of the smell in the room. What a joy not to have to scrub a mattress, not to mention keeping the mattress soil-proof!

3. DoTerra's DigestZen is amazing to help soothe the stomach. Put a drop under the tongue and also dilute with fractionated coconut oil to rub on the abdomen. What would I do without this? 

6 family members down. Hopefully, no more to go!

More to Come...but until then, Stick-to-it!

Marriage and Mission: A Double Whammy

Completely overwhelmed with joy.

Happy Thanksgiving! Two grand announcements for our family occurred yesterday....a marriage and a mission. It all happened within 1.5 hours of each other. 

Marriage
Our daughter came home at 5:45 PM with her fiancee and gave us the news...she's engaged, and she's gained a dog, too - a Saint Bernard puppy, a gift from her one and only. They named him Tank. Date - To Be Announced. They are so happy and we are thrilled for them!

Mission

Our son opened his mission call yesterday evening at 7:15 PM...

"You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You are assigned to labor in the Chile Santiago East Mission. It is anticipated that you will serve for a period of 24 months. You should report to the Provo Missionary Training Center on Wednesday, April 10, 2013. You will prepare to preach the gospel in the Spanish language. Your assignment may be modified according to the needs of the mission president..."

President Thomas S. Monson

Wow! We are so excited for this wonderful opportunity for him to serve the people of Santiago, Chile - the same area that Grandma served in a few years ago!

A Marriage and a Mission Announcement - all in one day. This is truly an amazing and joyful Double Whammy!

What a blessed and happy Mama I am this Thanksgiving Day!

More to Come...but until then, Stick-to-it!

How to Deal with Throw up in Eight Dreaded Steps

I'm sorry if your name is Ralph!

We've had a bit of a stomach bug this week. Dealing with all manner of bodily fluids always makes me grateful for good health. It also tends to remind me of past sicknesses which brings up memories of how I coped. It's taken a lot of years to learn how to deal with the stomach flu. I remember the melt downs I had as a young mother, the feelings of being overwhelmed, the drama and stress of having a sick one, and not quite knowing what to do. If I could have read a book called, "How to deal with throw up in eight dreaded steps", my life would have been much easier. Considering the nature of this post, you may want to stop now and go do your laundry. However, if this blog post can be that booklet for my children, they will have an easier time when the puke hits the fan. Sorry, I couldn't resist. Oh, and just so you know...no photos, in case you were worried.

1. When you start seeing the signs of sickness (complaining of a stomach ache, not eating, no energy), have the child stay in one place. Offer a container (bowl, pan, plastic lunch box, ice bucket, bed pan, large ziploc bag - anything that will hold liquid. A plastic yellow doctor kit, Kath?). Don't try to run them to the toilet or the garbage can. Bring it to them. It's better to clean up throw up in one place than a trail of mess from the living room to the bathroom. Trust me on this. This has happened and I cried the entire time I was scrubbing carpet.

2. Prepare the spot. I NEVER let my sick child into a bed for them to throw up all over it. Our spot is between the kitchen floor and the living room. Put down a waterproof covering (shower curtain works well or plastic garbage bags). Cover it with something that easily washes. I use an old mattress pad folded in half. It provides a lot of cushion and washes nicely. I NEVER give my sick child a pillow. Pillows and throw up just do not mix. We use a folded towel inside a pillow case. All washable. When we had really young children that were sick, one of us slept with the child on the floor to help them make it to the bowl. 

The worst thing is when your child vomits during the night in bed. Oh, the dread that washes over me when this occurs. Supplies Needed: Grocery Bags, Paper Towels, Wash Cloth, Cleaner (more on that in a bit), Spoon.

This is how I handle such an event:

3. Wake up your spouse. This is a two person event, especially if the child is really young. If they're older, I let him sleep. Get the child in the tub first thing. Start the bathtub and take out any bath toys!  Use a paper towel to get out anything significant (aka chunks) before entering the water. Warm water makes everything feel better. Fill the tub with just enough water to rinse the hair and body of all undesired mess. Drain and rinse the tub then fill it again. Wash the hair a couple times! This is where you need the extra person...to help the child in the tub while the other person cleans up the mess.

4. Once the child is squared away, conquer the mess. Use paper towels first to scoop up all the substance that you can. Use a spoon to scrape stuff out of blankets or carpet. The more you get cleaned up before the bedding hits the washer, the better. Deposit everything in a grocery bag for disposal. Take all bedding and clothes to get washed and start it immediately. Don't wait until the morning. Your laundry room will smell horrid the next day. Set the machine for the extra rinse cycle!!!

5. Time to tackle the mattress and the carpet. Make sure you have on hand a product called Nature's Miracle. It is geared toward pets but is amazing for all types of waste - vomit, urine, blood, etc. It is a non-toxic, organic cleaner that has a nice smell and is extremely effective for getting out smells and stains. You use is straight - no dilution. I pour this on the mattress and the carpet and let is sit for 10-15 minutes. Take a wet washcloth and scrub the area. Repeat if necessary. 

6. Once the child is out of the tub, brush his teeth and put her in the prepared spot (step #2). I tend to wait on any liquid for a little while.

7. As far as food and liquid while the child is sick, stick with clear fluids. I rarely give food until they have stopped throwing up. When he's ready for food start with a homemade clear soup broth, then move to banana, rice, toast, or oatmeal.

8. Nursing infants can get dehydrated so quickly when vomiting. I follow Dr. George Wootan's advice found in his book, Take Charge of Your Child's Health. According to him, you have to cut back to a nursing schedule of fifteen seconds of feeding, then wait fifteen minutes. Repeat. Then nurse 30 seconds and wait fourteen minutes. Thirty seconds, wait thirteen minutes. Forty-five seconds, wait twelve minutes. If the baby throws up, go back two steps and start again. The baby will be very frustrated but he says that if you follow this schedule, it will prevent dehydration and hospitalization. He says, "I do not know of any cases where it has failed to work." I have used this method myself with each of my sick babies and even though it's heartbreaking to see your child cry, it really does work.

There you have it. If you made it through the 8 steps, you deserve a prize! Oh, the prize is more knowledge for the next puking event...sure to come!

More to Come...but until then, Stick-to-it!

The Birthday Roasting Skit

You make some food, yah. You have a lot, yah.

You add some friends, yah...and you mix them all about.

They put a skit together for the sixteenth birthday girl.

That's what the fun's about!

We don't have a hot tub or a pool. We don't have a fire pit to roast marshmallows. We don't have foosball, ping pong, pool or air hockey. We don't have a volleyball net, tetherball, or a basketball court. We don't have a trampoline. We don't have a theater room or even a fancy entertainment system. However, we do have creative minds and the ability to make good food... and a lot of it. When you put those two things together, you can have a fun and successful party without all the frills that many people think you need.

Now imagine 20-25 boys and girls (ages 14-17) at my daughter's 16th birthday party. What do you do with them? Well, first you feed them. Hawaiian Haystacks - perfect. They didn't even put away half of what we had prepared. Oh well, leftovers for the whole family the next day!! Once everyone is sufficiently stuffed, we need an activity. Here's my favorite activity at a party...the birthday roasting skit. No, not a roasting stick, roasting skit. 

Here's a little background...when I was a senior in high school, our church group had an activity called "The Senior Roast".  First, there was a dinner and then the program commenced which consisted of the Juniors getting together a roast of the seniors. It was a planned skit that poked fun at personality traits, emphasized talents, rehashed funny memories, or entertained with inside jokes. It was an activity we all loved and looked forward to. Fast forward 20 years and I'm now using this same idea for my children's parties; just recently, my daughter's 16th.

We split the attendees into 4 or 5 groups, depending on how many people you have to work with. We tried to mix them up into groups from different walks of life...church friends, school friends, life-long friends, neighborhood friends. When you have a group of 4, 5, or 6 kids that know the birthday girl from different angles, you get a fun twist. Plus, people that don't know each other get to know each other and that's always a plus at a birthday party.

Give the groups 15-20 minutes to put together a random skit about the person-of-honor. They are allowed paper if needed and any prop that can be found in the house. Everyone in the group needs to participate. After the prep time, the groups take turns performing the skits in front of everyone. Of course, I record them so my child has this special gift from her friends. The skits are hysterical and fun. They are randomly varied. Some may sing a familiar tune, penned with their own words. Another may be a game show or a newscast. Or, one ends up being just a silly skit full of inside jokes and commentary. Whatever the case, it is a fabulous way to involve everyone, take up a good chunk of time, and provide a feeling of love and support for the birthday girl.

Happy 16th Birthday, Sweetie!

More to Come...but until then, Stick-to-it!

November Theme - Be Smart

"Be Smart. Don't be Foolish."

Gordon B. Hinckley

November's focus for our yearly Family Theme is Be Smart! We read the chapter as a family and noted the emphasis on educating the mind and the hands, being an influence for good, preparation, proper manners, and clean and neat hygiene. With that in mind, we've decided to concentrate on the following ideas:

1. Be Smart Quotes
The quotes below are taken from the Be Smart chapter of the book, Way to Be...

"Train your mind and your hands to become and influence for good as you go forward with your life. And as you do so and as you perform with excellence, you will bring honor to yourself and to your family."

"Be wise. Be intelligent. Be smart about training yourself for the future. Be wise about preparing for what lies ahead."

"You don't have to be a genius to do great things. The important work of this world is done, for the most part, by ordinary people who do their work in an extraordinary way."

We have these displayed in the kitchen for all to work on memorizing. Prizes are awarded for participation.

2. Today I Learned...
We created a poster on our kitchen door for everyone to write down the things they are learning. We hope to completely fill it up, showing that we are ever-learning and the importance of a desire to gain knowledge.

3. Pick a Project...
Each person in the family has been assigned a project - to choose something they want to learn or a topic to study. At the end of the month we will present our projects. One daughter is well on her way. She is learning to cross stitch and LOVES it.

4. Musical Selection
The Wise Man and the Foolish Man is a children's song that emphasizes the importance of being wise, or in this case, being SMART. All of our signage for the month has this logo, to remind us of good and wise choices...to "be smart. Don't be foolish":

5.  Scriptural Insights
The word "Smart" is virtually non-existent in the scriptures, except for one mention in Proverbs that doesn't apply. So, we've turned to other words to study for our evening devotional...knowledge, wisdom/wise, learn, prepare, study, and train. I'll share some of my favorites another day.

6. Reading Reward
None of my children are big readers. The older children read well, but it's off and on for pleasure. The younger kids are a work in progress. We created a reading reward last week, namely for the youngest four children who really need the emphasis. They each have a reading chart that they mark after 20 minutes of reading. Once it's full, the given reward will be received.

We have some additional activities and plans for the month, but we'll save those for later. 

I'll leave you with one way to be smart: 

"To avoid some of the deepest regrets of life, it would be WISE to make some resolutions today. Therefore, let us resolve to spend more time with those we love, resolve to strive more earnestly to become the person God wants us to be, and resolve to find happiness, regardless of our circumstances."
Dieter F. Uchtdorf

More to Come...but until then, Stick-to-it!

The Ring

The Ring

A circle has no beginning or end

Eternal in nature and a symbol of Him

Who created us all, of which he did send

Us to Earth to prove valiant, but not on a whim;

For a plan was set forth that we may return

To live once again with loved ones so dear.

How will we make it, oh, how will we learn

To heed the voice of One, oh so clear.

The father was troubled, he wanted a plan

For his daughters to see and remember, and know.

 That promises kept, and lived surely can 

Bring joy and happiness while they stay true and grow,

Into fountains of virtue, skies full of love,

Flowers of goodness, meadows of hope.

What will assist to recall Him above?

But a ring that's a circle, eternal in scope.

The ring is placed on her finger with care

By father on the birthday sixteen, no less.

 A bright, shining emblem to happily wear

With words of true kindness that do deeply bless.

She shows it with pride and keeps it from harm

While thinking of values, age-old and true.

The ring reminds of the heart, oh so warm

That tells her to bear the phrase, "I love you."

Written By: Julie Bushman

And so it is with our two daughters when they turned sixteen. Their father presented a ring to remind them of the things they've been taught and to stay true to them throughout their life; to wear the ring until it is replaced by another. 

My only regret is not getting a photo with each one and their Dad!

The Ring - a symbol of purity and virtue, a reminder to stay true.

More to Come...but until then, Stick-to-it!

The B.G. Celebration

"Sincerely giving thanks not only helps us recognize our blessings, but it also unlocks the doors of heaven and helps us feel God's love."

Thomas S. Monson

Though it's the middle of November and we're well into our Be Smart month (more on that later), we spent part of this month finishing up our October theme with a Be Grateful Celebration. We celebrated in stages so everyone could be a part of it, except out two oldies that are rarely around. (sad) 

We started out with a movie night, surprise, surprise. There is nothing better than a great movie and popcorn after a long day. November Christmas is a beautiful movie about a town coming together to bring an early Halloween and Christmas to a young girl suffering from cancer. It made me cry. We watched it on Spirit Clips - video on demand. Learn More! What a perfect movie for this time of year! It reminded us to have gratitude for family, friends, faith, health, home, food, goodness, and love.

A few days ago, we finished off our Gratitude Posters, a page for each member of the family where we expressed our gratitude for them. To get everybody going, we turned on the Newsies soundtrack. What a great way to get people hyped to participate in a task. We passed around the posters to finish filling them up. Gratitude for each member of the family overflowed on the pages. After finishing, we turned off the music and took turns reading the lists. It was a beautiful moment hearing the sentiments of gratitude. 

Touching Moment: Our little boy was reading his college brother's poster with the help of his older sister. His voice started getting shaky. Sister asked if he was sad. "Yeeeesssss", followed by a crying outburst. He missed his brother! Reading all the gratitude notes about his brother touched his heart so. 

I love the big red letters. That's our cutie pie that loves to write but can't quite make sense of it. Note to self - time to scrub the couch again.

Next, we played gratitude bingo. Who doesn't love a game of bingo? We didn't have any cool treats for our markers, so we used pennies, which is probably better anyway. We followed up with peanut butter cookies and milk.

Last night I passed out my gift to the family - a framed, family photo with the words "Be Grateful". I want the children coming away from this monthly focus with a greater feeling of gratitude for their family. When you are grateful for something, you tend to treat it with more care. We need more care and love in our home.

And that wraps up our Be Grateful month!

Other "Be Grateful" Posts:

October Theme - Be Grateful

The Red Headed Hostess

Gratitude Attitude

"Every day bring something beautiful if we are just willing to look up and see it." - Marjorie Pay Hinckley

More to Come...but until then, Stick-to-it!