Dillon's Surgery

Well, we made it through the day. Dillon did pretty good. He started out a lot happier than he ended. The nurse found him some Mickey Mouse pajamas and she brought him a little puppy to hold duringhis surgery. He named it Black Jack. The surgery took less than 30 minutes. He was crying when they took him away from us and he was crying when they brought us back to him in the recovery room. His mouth and throat were hurting and his tummy was sick. They brought me a rocking chair and let me hold him while they monitored him. Then we went back to our room to finish out the stay. After we got back to the room he had a popsicle and some juice and seemed to be doing better. Then he started throwing up. He rested a minute and then drank osme more. The nurse came in and told us we could get ready to go and then he threw up again. She decided to make us stay for a little longer. He took a good nap and when he woke up he drank some more. The nurse came in and took out his IV, he got dressed, and then threw up again. They gave us some bags and kleenexs and told us we could go. By the time we got home he was doing great. He drank juice, ate 3 popsicles, pudding, jello, banana and crackers. He was playing with the kids and you couldn't even tell he had ever had anything happen. When bed time came he was a little nervous and started complaining about his mouth hurting. We think he was scared so we let him sleep with me and he stayed pretty close all night long. He woke up once when I got up with Olivia and I gave him some pain medication then. This morning he swallowed too big of a bite and that hurt his throat, but other than that, he is doing great. Thank you to everyone who called and sent things in the mail. It was sure nice to feel all of your support.

All about me!

I finally did it! I have lost 22.2 pounds since joining Weight Watchers! I am so excited. I got a key chain and everyone clapped and cheered. They think that having 6 kids and being able to still lose weight is amazing. It has been hard but well worth it. I am finally down to my Olivia pre-pregnancy weight. Now I will work towards my Zeke pre-pregnancy weight. I am quite pround of myself as you can tell, but hey, I've worked hard. Things have been crazy here lately with stomach flu, strep throat, ear infections, speaking in church, 4-H projects and meetings, losing the second motor in our van in less than 2 months, Michael's trips and getting ready for Dillon's surgery tomorrow. Plus we've had all our day to day things along with it. I'm not trying to brag or make myself something I'm not, but I am proud that through all that stress I was able to keep going and reach my first goal. There's still a long ways to go, but I've already reached one goal so I know I can keep going. Enough celebrating and boasting, I hope everyone who reads this has a great day. We'll let you know how everything goes tomorrow.

Dillon

Today Dillon got a package in the mail from Munu (that would be grandma Joyce). He is having his tonsils and adnoids taken out Wednesday so she sent him a coloring book, some money for popsicles and ice cream and a big bag of M&Ms. The book and money were for him and the M&Ms were for him to share with the others. It came right at the end of lunch time - the boys were finishing up pizza. Well, of course as soon as Zeke saw the M&Ms he was done with his pizza and milk. Zane was a little concerned that nothing was for him but when he found out that Susie was supposed to share the candy he was okay. Now comes the time for him to do the actual sharing. Zeke is still sitting in his chair whining for "locklat" and Susie is saying that no one can have any until he finishes his milk. He'd take a little sip, put his cup back down, pick up the bag of M&Ms and shake it, put the bag down and take another sip of milk all the while telling Zeke "not yet." Then they start arguing over who gets what color. Zane wants blue and Dillon knows this so he says Zeke gets the blue ones and Zane can have the purple ones. I tell Dillon that everyone can have all the colors. Dillon finishes his milk and I ask him how many he is going to share with the boys. Three. That's all. Do you know what happens when you give Zeke three plain M&Ms and tell him no more? It's not pretty. Dillon wants 6 for himself. Zane counts his then Dillon's and quickly realizes that he got ripped off. I ask Dillon if they can have three more. He's not sure he has enough for them to have three more. So I take the M&Ms and put them all in a baggy so he can see how many he really does have and then it's okay to give the boys three more. Everyone has six. Everyone's happy, except Zeke. For him six is not any better than three. As Susie gets down from the table he tells me that when the girls get home from school he will share with them too. They can each have two. You give a 3 year old a little power and look what happens! Not very often does a little boy have that kind of control over his older siblings. Just holding those M&Ms in his hand gives him all sorts of special treatments and promises. I think it is one of the best things that has ever happened to him! And for the rest of us, it is rather humorous to watch how their bargaining skills are and what can be accomplished with a few M&Ms. Hope you all have a great day!

Sunday Potluck

Today was potluck Sunday. The branch was celebrating one of the members 89th birthday. I love potlucks. The food at these things are incredible. The kids love potlucks. Some one always remembers to bring a crockpot full of hot dogs and there are so many treats that the kids can hardly decide which one to choose. Michael, on the other hand, doesn't get quite as excited about potlucks. Trying to keep the kids contained and quiet can get kind of hectic. I must admit that since having children, the potlucks have lost some of their enticement. I mean, how many times can a hot dog roll off your plate onto the floor and still be okay to eat? Michael usually sits and holds Olivia while I take the rest of the kids through the line. So here I am with 5 little kids, all with their own plates, all asking for different things at the same time, forgetting that they are holding a plate (hence the hot dog on the floor), remembering that they wanted something that was at the beginning of the line while we are at the end of the line, sitting down and realizing that somewhere along the way the silverware got lost and then trying to sit and wait for Michael to go through the line and come back with silverware all for nothing because by the time he gets back they have somehow managed to eat everything with their fingers (jello salad and all) and now want to go back for seconds! So today we opted out. We came home and ate summer sausage (made from deer meat for all you meat lovers), cheese, crackers and smoked salmon. Not quite the same as a potluck but a lot easier to do.

Daddy's Home!

Michael got home about 7:00 last night. It was a long trip for him. At one point it took him 4 hours to go 100 miles. He saw over 30 accidents, one was a truck that rolled right in front of him. There were so many accidents that the police were basically just going from wreck to wreck making sure everything was all right and then putting up yellow tape around the scene and moving on while they waited for the rest of the emergency vehicles to get there. I was very glad to see him get home. Not as excited as the kids were although it was for different reasons. Picture it - he walks through the door and six little kids come running at him (all at different speeds, with Olivia crawling in the rear). They are all screaming "Daddy's home! Daddy's home!" Then they give him hugs and immediately ask, "Where's my candy?" Michael hands out the candy and htey all disperse to their different spots and dig in. Now Zeke has thigns all figured out. He eats his M&Ms rather quickly giving half of one to Olivia. Then he puts on his cute face. Kind of like the one I posted here. Then he goes from kid to kid quietly holding out his hand waiting for them to fill it with their treats. Really, how could you resist such a face? It's as if he has some sort of power over them. Every single on of them, without question, start putting candy in his hand. After the first time around, they actually start calling him and asking if he wants another piece! He has got it made. I'mnot sure ifhtis look will work once he gets into high school but for now he has the system down! Poor Olivia just crawls around looking for crumbs on the floor. Unfortunately for her, Zeke can move faster so he not only gets the treats but the crumbs as well. Olivia just gets to chew on the empty wrappers. Susie at some point did notice and gave her a piece of licorice but we had to take it away because she couldn't chew it very well. Eventually we all got to bed and even to sleep before we had to get up and start all over again. Today the boys are doing exciting things like fighting bad guys and standing in the sunlight punching the dust as it floats in the air. (We have a lot of dust from the woodburning stove) It provides hours of entertainment.

Weebles wobble but they don't fall down

I suppose you have heard that song. Well, it's not entirely true. You can ask Zane. When thrown at your head with pretty good accuracy by a strong little two year old, not only do the Weeble Wobbles fall down but so do you. The only thing that goes up is the bump on the side of your head.

Now here's a question. You know when you go to the doctor for a well baby check up and they ask you if the baby eats paint chips, clay, ashes, dirt, etc.? You always want to answer no of course, but does sucking on the end of the fireplace poker like it's a sucker count as any of those things? The babies seem to enjoy it. I don't know if they like the taste or the way it turns their mouth and drool black.

Today, Daddy is coming home! The kids are so excited. Each time he goes on a trip he brings the kids back their choice of a candy bar or treat. Whenhe first started making these trips the kids were always wanting ot call him to tell him that they missed him. Now they call to make sure he didn't forget or eat their treat. We even say our prayers that Daddy will have fun driving and "bring me soome skittles". At least their prayers are honest!

Introduction

Welcome to our blog! Let me introduce you to the 6 Little Christiansens. First there's Maddi. She's 7 years old and in first grade. She loves school, dance, sports, playing with the boys and being int he middle of all the conversations. Next there's Makenna. She is 6 years old. She is a whirlwind of fun and emotion. She loves to play with her friends, riding horses and dancing. Then comes Zane. He's 4 and calls himself cowboy. He loves his daddy and would rather be with him than in school. Dillon is 3. He is a mamma's boy and loves to give her kisses when daddy's not looking. He loves horses and would spend all day watching his daddy ride if he could. Zeke is 2 and he's a little monster. He loves to follow the big kids arounds and do what they are doing. He always keeps us laughing and he loves to watch the horse races. Olivia and 8 months old and is a happy baby. She gets lots of love from her older siblings and loves every minute of it. Michael (daddy) keeps busy managing the horse farm here in Astoria, SD. He loves to ride horses, hunt and most anything else outdoors. Emma, that's me, gets to keep track of every one. I love going for walks and bed time. We have alot of fun watching the children grow and change and try to learn and grow ourselves as we go along. That's the family! Hope you keep comgin back for more as we share our lives and daily moments with you.