In the Spotlight

Kaitlyn was in a play put on by her class and another class. It was called "School Daze". She was selected to sing a solo. She was soooo nervous and that was reflected in her voice. But she did it and didn't forget the words, etc. I was so proud of her and she had a ball with it. Dirk videotaped it and burned it to a DVD for the teachers. Now some of the families have requested them so he's made 3 and has 8 more to go.

The play came a week after Kaits spent a week at home with her horrible hives. The timing couldn't have been better, if it had to happen. She would have been devastated if she had missed the play.

Singing her solo.


The beloved Mr. Herman. He will be greatly missed!


June 11 was the annual dance recital. The girls were in the same classes this year so it made it a little easier at the recital. They were the first number in the first show and we were able to leave right after that. Then, they had 2 numbers in the second show. Again, the first one and the second one after the intermission. It wasn't an overly hot day but the auditorium at the Middle School was HOT! Apparently, the AC wasn't working. Those poor girls who were in multiple numbers must have been exhausted! The recital lasted 3 hours but was very good. I was so proud of the girls, especially Renee. She had missed the rehearsal because she was sick so the first dance wasn't as good. But they did a great job for the second one. Renee was a little moody but she willingly danced and seemed to have a good time. We went to Pizza Hut afterwards so it was close to 9:30 before they were sleeping.



Miss Lori Williams, their CDT teacher. Both girls have had her for 2 years now.




Kaitlyn and Jaycee Karelus

Renee and Camryn Karelus














This is Miss Tara, their Acro/Hip-Hop teacher.








The following day the first graders were getting their Bibles so I got up and walked to church while Dirk and the girls stayed home. Renee was still sleeping when I left before 8:30. She was a tired little girl.

This is their last week of school. They have half days through Thursday. Kaitlyn is very sad about the year ending and so am I. She has had an amazing year. I thought last year was awesome but this year has been every bit as awesome. She continues to blossom as a learner and has tons of friends. I am glad the year is ending for Renee though. It's been a tough year socially and the class is not very good behaviorally. She is looking forward to a better year next year. Academically, she has grown and I need to continue to foster that over the summer. Her reading skills are beginning to develop but they're not strong enough for her to read very independently. It will come, though.

Unwanted Visitor

We had an unwelcome visitor at our home this morning. Her name is "THE MOMMY MONSTER" and she physically resembles me. But let me tell you, she is NOT who I want to be or who I want my children to remember me by! Here's what happened. Grab a cup of coffee, it might be long. (I just need to vent. Sorry!)

Last Thursday, Renee had a field trip to Tinker Park. Earlier in the year, her class went to the Strong Museum and she told me because she had been there lots of times she didn't want me to go. Fine. It turned out to be the same day as the 2nd. grade sing-a-long. Well, don't ya' know, come the week of the trip, she changed her mind. The tears started, "I want you to go" etc. She ended up being placed in a group with her teacher and I think she had an OK time. So, when the paper came home about this spring field trip, I signed up right away. The day of the trip arrived and although I was all set to go, she complained about going. It turned out to be a sunny day but windy and COLD. We were lucky if it hit 60. She was a grump most of the time and the other kids in our little group even asked why Renee was in such a bad mood. At one point, she said she didn't feel good but I hear that a lot when she's being a grump so I didn't take her seriously. On the bus ride home, she sat on my lap and we snuggled but she seemed OK. I thought for sure I would have a fight about her coming home with me but she told me goodbye in the hall and went back to her classroom. I ran my errands and life was good. WRONG! When she got off the bus, she said she didn't feel good and laid down on the couch. She felt warm so I took her temp. and it was 100.7. She slept for 1.5 hrs. and barely ate any dinner.

Friday she barely made it off the couch. Her throat hurt and her fever fluctuated all day, from 103 to 101. I took her to the doctor on Sat. morning and the rapid strep test came back negative but we went ahead and started her on meds. just in case. Because she had strep in May, they put her on something other than the amoxicillin, which she likes. The new stuff tasted nasty so it was more of a struggle to get her to take it, but NOTHING like Kaitlyn, thank you very much. Poor thing, she missed her dance rehersal and still felt lousy. At one point, her fever went up to 104.2! Sunday was a repeat. Monday she felt a little better but not much. The strep results came back negative so we stopped the Rx but kept doing the Tylenol/Motrin routine.

To top it all off, I came down with a horrible sinus cold on Sat. and wasn't much good to anyone on Sunday. I wasn't able to keep Nicole on Monday because I felt so lousy. But I never had the fever that Renee did. She never had the snotty nose that I did. If you combined both of our symptoms, we would have been REALLY MISERABLE!!

Tuesday she stayed home and played in the morning beautifully. But once again, barely ate anything. She fought with me to get in the tub and have her hair washed before bed but finally settled down and talked about going back to school.

So, this morning, she came downstairs at 7:40. grumpier than grumpy. She was mad because I didn't wake her up or carry her downstairs. Then she complained about being starving but wouldn't tell me what she wanted to eat. It was my fault, of course, because I didn't carry her downstairs or wake her up. I finally took her back upstairs and put her back in her bed and said we would start over. It took her a good 40 minutes to cooperate and she finally was dressed, ate a quick granola bar and was ready for the bus. She even let me brush her hair. But none of that happened without some tears, some yelling and a few spanks. I tell ya', that little girl sure does know how to push my buttons!! She is so stinkin' stubborn and grumpy. I can hardly wait for the teen years, to see what kinds of battles we have then.

This has been a tough year for Renee at school. She had a wonderful friend in Pre-K and they were so good for each other. Not to say that we never had our struggles because we certainly did, but at least she had a special friend while she was there. This year she walked into her Kindergarten class knowing NO ONE!! Her teacher is very sweet and nice but doesn't have the classroom management skills necessary for a well-behaved class and Renee doesn't like that kind of environment. She hasn't made a lot of friends and often complains that she doesn't want to go. Today she told me that another teacher in their building told them they were the worst kindergarten class. She is a rule-follower (Ha...isn't that hilarious!) and tries so hard to be a good girl. I'm praying that she'll have at least 1 friend in her first grade class and a better structured learning environment.

Memorial Day marked the 7th. year since Dad passed away. We headed to the lake after school on Friday and knew going into the weekend that we would have to spend at least one night in the cottage. We got there around 7 and I quickly cleaned the bedrooms and bathroom plus the front of the cottage. Kaitlyn slept on the top bunk and Renee was on the bottom. It was close to 10:30 before Renee finally settled down. She didn't want to sleep there, she wanted to sleep on the top bunk, she wanted to sleep in the trailer (which was still on the basketball court), she wanted to go home, etc. I was in tears because frankly, I didn't want to stay there either. I have not spent a night in the cottage since the night we found Dad and it was just a little too painful. So I was ready to take her home and bag the whole weekend. Dirk was the voice of reason and managed to talk some sense into her and she finally fell asleep. We repeated that scenario the next night too but at least then she was willing to sleep in our bed until we went to bed.

Dirk and Jack Baker attempted to move our trailer onto our lot but were unsuccessful. It was too swampy across the road, where the tractor needed to be. To say we were disappointed is an understatement. But Jack called me this morning and said we'll all set to go now. He moved it yesterday and he wanted my little girl to know she could sleep in her own bed now.

As the day has gone on, I have worried about Renee and her emotions. She was crying on the bus but I hope it was short-lived. Today they were going to start handprinting white t-shirts and it was her day to take a special book for the teacher to read, along with a special snack. She choose cheese balls so she had a big plastic container of them, along with her backpack that I swear weighs 30 lbs. I should weigh it.

Thanks for letting me vent. I will post another day and include pictures from Kaitlyn's theatrical debut and their upcoming dance recital.

Mother's Day Recap

Mother's Day was not the most memorable this year. The day before, Renee started complaining of a sore throat and had a fever in the afternoon. Kaitlyn and I were planning on attending her friend's first communion and Dirk wasn't home so Renee ended up going with us, in spite of her fever. She was pretty chipper during the party afterwards, though. Sunday morning Kaitlyn started complaining that her throat hurt too. She also had a fever. So I stayed home from church with them and then Dirk came home so I could go and help in the first grade Sunday School class. We went to Grandma Ann's for dinner at 2. The girls were in their jammies still. Do you think I could get one nice picture with my 2 children? Guess who wouldn't cooperate?
At least I didn't have to cook. My gift is a clothesline, which hasn't come yet. I asked for one last year but got scrapbook stuff instead. Don't get me wrong, I loved the scrapbook stuff and am using it but it doesn't help me save money or energy.

I took the girls to the doctor on Monday morning and they confirmed what I was suspicious of: strep throat. I love that Wegmans has free antibiotics! Renee does AWESOME with her medicine. It usually takes her less than 10 seconds to drink it. Kaitlyn showed great progress with her chewable tablets but required saltines to do them. She could do it within minutes.

7 days into the amoxicillan, Kaitlyn started having an allergic reaction. It started with hives on her neck and then spread to the groin. She also complained that her hands hurt and she couldn't make a fist. So it was back to the doctor. Diagnosis: serum sickness. No more amoxicillan for her! The doctor prescribed a steriod to help dry up the hives. The other night her back was raw and she was covered with hives. Poor kid!



Did I mention that she is HORRIBLE at taking medicine? It usually takes her 20-30 MINUTES to take 2 tsp. The steriod is horrible tasting so I called the office in the morning and got it switched to tablets. When she took it that night with chocolate pudding, she didn't do a whole lot better. She gets so worked up about it and instead of just eating it, she cries and dilly-dallies and drags it out. I have NO patience left after 10 minutes of this nonsense!! Today she mixed it with yogurt and was CHEWING it like it was a steak. I had even chopped the tablet in my food chopper so there was nothing to chew!!

I decided last night that it's times like this that I really hate being a mom. I hate that my daughter is miserable with itching but yet won't take Benadryl to make it get better. I hate that this new steroid has a side effect of "difficulty sleeping" so my daughter is awake in the middle of the night and crying because she wants to sleep. I hate that she can't take medicine without tears and I don't have the patience to endure it.

Here's another story to add to my dislike of motherhood. I needed to go to Target and Renee wanted to tag along. Not my plan but I said OK. She needs a new umbrella so while we were there, we looked at some. We tried opening and closing them and the one she wanted was just too difficult for her to operate. I told her we would try another store on another day. Well, that was NOt acceptable to her. So she proceeded to push me, hit me and pout. She kept muttering, "I want to get an umbrella." Our next stop was Wegmans and the behavior continued. On the way out she saw some umbrellas and had a fit that I wouldn't stop to look at them. Here's our conversation on the way to the car:

R: I don't like you very much right now.
M: I don't really like you right now either.
R: I wish you weren't my mother.
R: I hate you. You're mean to me.

Blah, blah blah. She did apologize when we got home and all was forgiven but she did tell me one more time, in case I forgot, that she wants an umbrella. That child is relentless!

Kaitlyn is looking better but will still not be going to school tomorrow.

On a postive note, I started babysitting Nicole this week. She is such a good little girl: she only cries when she's tired or hungry. She's only 3 months old so is tiny, especially next to Alex. I had both girls today and they were great. I also watched Makaela for around 6 wks. every Tues. and Thurs. morning. Her last morning was this past Tues. She's 4 months old so was a little more work than Alex. At one point they were both crying and hungry. Luckily, it only lasted for 30 minutes. I'll keep Nicole until the school year ends. Makaela is a sweetie, too so I enjoyed watching her.


Renee got glasses on April 1. She looks absolutely adorable in them.

Lest I Forget

There are some things in life that you just don't forget, or can't forget. I have several of those experiences.

Dec. 6, 1981 I was a junior in high school and my best friend called to tell me a girl in our German class, Amy Smith, had been brutally murdered the night before, along with her boyfriend, Steve Rosenthal. Robie Drake, a senior, was the murderer. I will never forget the feeling of shock and the horrible silence that ran through the halls of NTHS.

March 1982 Dan Welchoff, a senior at my school, died during an inddor soccer game. Once again, the horrible silence of grief that filled the halls of NTHS. Grief counselors just didn't exist back then.

Jan. 1986 I was a junior in college when the space shuttle blew up.

Sept. 11, 2001 If you were alive on that day, you will always remember where you were when you first heard of the terrorist attacks. It was such a horrible thing....the images of planes flying into the towers and their eventual collapse will forever be stuck in my mind.

May 28, 2004 Hearing Dirk's words, "Dad's down in the shop. I'm going to get Les." I will NEVER ever forget that day and all of the pain and sorrow that went along with it. The visuals are still there, too. But the Lord has taken the sting of their pain away.

But I have many happy memories,too. Memories that I don't WANT to ever forget.

June 30, 1999 The day Dirk asked me to be his wife.
June 30, 2000 The day Dirk and I got married.
Sept. 26, 2002 The day Kaitlyn joined our family.
Aug. 25, 2004 The day Renee completed our family.

I don't ever want to forget the feeling of utter exhaustion and exileration as I held my precious daughter for the very first time. She was so helpless and yet so strong. Perfect in every way. I don't ever want to forget the feeling of accomplishment after I delivered Renee without the assistance of medication. I felt like I was Super Woman. (OK, she dropped out of me, but that's beside the point.) The feeling of exhaustion wasn't there but the exhileration was just as strong.

I don't ever want to forget the little noises my babies made or the sweet smell of their skin after their bath, mixed with Purex Baby laundry soap. Or the softness of their skin against mine. Even the middle-of-night feedings really weren't that bad. I don't want to forget the closeness that a mom feels to her baby as she is nursing her. Watching Grace and Alexandra these past few months has reminded me of how much I don't want to forget. Their first reactions to solid foods, first words, first steps.....I remember Kaitlyn's first sweet potatoes but not Renee's. I remember Renee's first steps but not Kaitlyn's. It bothers me that I can't remember everything about them but I also know that that is why I kept a scrapbook of their first year. I tried to keep track of those little details so that when life marched on, I could reflect back on those days.

I have loved just about every moment of being a mom. Both girls have given me trouble....they are not perfect as I first thought. They are human. But they are precious to not only me, but to their Heavenly Father. I have learned so much about faith through my children. I remember one Sunday when Kaitlyn was just a few months old. I was nursing her and she had fallen asleep on me. I was so overwhelmed by the love I felt for her but was reminded that as much as I loved her, Christ loves her (and me) even more, to the point of death on a cross. How can anyone deny that kind of love?

Both of the girls have invited Jesus into their heart. They did so at the lake, during Family Camp. It is exciting to see that innocent prayer begin to take root and grow. Renee has a tenderness about her that causes her to want to pray for others; her teacher, the other children in her class, the people of Japan, etc. I don't want her to loose that sensitivity.

So, lest I forget what is happening in our lives now, I need to blog more, continue to scrapbook and record those things that are precious. This middle-aged mama will one day be an old lady with grown children and I won't be able to remember the ups and downs of life with 2 girls.