We had to cancel Preschool Monday because I had some weird type of stomach issues, which I think were mostly caused by tater tot casserole.  Apparently, a person my size should not eat half a pan of that stuff.  Especially if that person is lactose intolerant!  Lesson learned.

I was very sad because I had prepared our house and my lesson plan for the day.  A neighbor took Maryn for the entire morning, Josiah slept (he was up all night, too, screaming and screaming), and I did stuff on the computer (facebook...a sick person's best friend).

Anyway, when Maryn got home, I was feeling so much better so we did Preschool Monday, just the three of us.  What a sweet time it was, too.  Maryn was just READY to go.  She patterned (yay!) and counted (yay!) and wrote letters all by herself!  This girl is amazing me.  She just LOVES to school.  I don't know where she gets it!  ;-)

We also did a LOT of painting.  We have been watching some paint mixing videos on YouTube since she is so intrigued by it, so we used some of the things we learned about paint mixing to create some beautiful paintings.

She did apple prints with the apples we picked from the orchard.

She did a big painting using "contrasting colors" for a purple and yellow flower, and she painted some scenery around it.  A bear eating an ice cream cone, the flower is in the middle, and a lemonade stand.  We pulled a fork through the paint to add some "texture."  She said, "That's some NICE texture, Mommy!"  :)

She also painted a giraffe.  With huge green WHISKERS.  lol.

Yes, so we went to Joe Huber's Family Farm and Orchard in Starlight, Indiana on Saturday morning with a group of friends.  I can't believe we didn't get a big group picture.

So there's John chasing Maryn, and you see Avery right there in the middle.  Her daddy was just behind her, chasing her as well.  The kids just loved running through that orchard.  We picked Red Delicious and Golden Delicious Apples.  When we got home, we made apple walnut muffins.  Muffins are too much work from scratch, in my opinion.  I don't care for muffins, but this recipe was actually pretty good.  I've discovered the secret to a good muffin recipe is cream cheese and extra sugar.  I didn't bother doing the streusel topping on the muffins either because I was just plain worn out.

Maryn is actually learning to pose for pictures!

And Josiah!  He's my little pumpkin bear.  I really feel like I now have TWO little kids.  There's no baby in this house any more.  He is a tiny human tornado.  It is unbelievable the mess two children can make together.  I was so behind on everything this week.  It's one thing to be a few days behind on laundry, but it's entirely another to be a few days behind on dishes!  John was gracious enough to get us caught up and our house, tonight, still remains "clean."

Josiah has been teething and SCREAMING.  But I think the worst of it is over and his two cutesy little toofers (incisors) are now poking through the gums.  It's only taken 4 months for them to come in!  The doctor told us at his 9 months appointment they were starting to come.  Sheesh.  He's 13 months old now.

Hugs and kisses from me and my babies (I purposely left John out of that farewell because I know he does not care to hug and kiss everyone)!

Teething

When I was reading the book Stepping Heavenward, the main character spoke of lancing babies' gums when they were teething. I was hoping this wasn't as bad as it sounded, but apparently, in the 17th century, this was a common practice. Since the beginning of time, it seems, teething has been blamed for all sorts of infant distress, and was blamed in many infant deaths every year. Lancing of the gums was seen as a way to get it overwith, I guess.

I found this article a bit fascinating. It comes from the British Dental Journal and is called "It's Only Teething: A Report of the Myths and Modern Approaches to Teething." According to this article, the only real symptoms of teething that have been proven in studies are drooling, sucking, loss of appetite and day time restlessness. Fevers and ear rubbing (Maryn's common symptoms lately) cannot be attributed to teething, apparently. Neither can diarrhea or rashes. However, it does say that if there is significant teething distress, the baby could have Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV). I don't know what I believe, but I don't think Maryn has had too much teething difficulty. But I guess a herpes virus might make sense.

Anyway, the article is interesting. It talks about how teething has been treated through the centuries. Including LEECHES. Imagine putting leeches on your baby's gums! Tying amulets around babies' necks (that's a good idea, eh?), and having them chew on corral. Blech. But the one that really gets me is the lancing of the gums. What in the world were people thinking?

I wonder if someday people will look back on photos of Maryn chewing on a frozen washcloth and ask, "What was her mother thinking?!"