Stella's art sale

So.... last fall Stella came up to me during the afternoon in her usual, matter-of-fact way and stated, "I'm going to have an art sale."

"Okay..." I said. "What exactly are you going to sell, when, and where are you going to be doing this?"

"I'm going to have an art sale in our garage. I'm going to sell some drawings I made," she replied. "I think I could get $20 for a picture."

Trying to hold back a snicker, I replied, "That might be a bit much for a sketch by a five-year-old, but you can try." I really was trying not to discourage her, but the situation was a bit bleak. When I asked her what she was going to do with her money, she said,

"I don't know. Keep it and put it in my piggy bank, I guess."

I thought it was pretty cool that she wanted to do an art sale in the fashion of your regular lemonade stand, but I was a bit concerned that she would be in our garage, where no one could see her, and no one would come buy her art, and she would be heartbroken. I told her as much, and she just shrugged, and said she was having an art sale.

Needless to say, after we were outside for a while (with Ezra riding his bike like a maniac, me knitting), she came to me, obviously frustrated and said, "WHY is no one coming?"

After explaining that no one knew she was there, nor could anyone see her, I suggested we make some signs and try the sale in a few days after we posted some flyers around the neighborhood. I also suggested that maybe if she were to raise money to buy something meaningful, perhaps people would be more inclined to purchase a drawing. This peaked her giving-oriented little heart, and I asked her what she might want to do with the money. We had recently received a catalog from World Vision, so I suggested that she look through there and pick something out that wasn't too expensive (we want to have a reasonable goal to attain so she could have success), but substantial enough to feel really big for her.

She was excited by this point, and after perusing the magazine chose the animal section. We found a listing for a goat and two chickens for $100. I told her that if she were going to pick this, she would have to make a LOT of drawings. She looked at me like I was crazy and said something about how she could sell a few drawings for a LOT of money and that would be the end. Not wanting to make it seem like her drawings weren't WORTH a lot of money, I told her most people wouldn't want to pay lots of money for a simple, quick drawing that a five-year-old made (excepting family members and grandparents, of course, but none of these people would be AT the said sale). We were able to agree that a drawing could definitely be sold for a dollar and when she realized she needed to make 100 drawings her eyes got big, and she said, "I've got a LOT of work to do!"

Well, SHE got right to work, but you know how life is with young kids. Life happens, something that was a big deal one moment is simply forgotten the next, and time goes on. SO, here we are, almost a year later, and Stella came to me last Monday and announced that she was GOING to have an art sale. The tone suggested RIGHT NOW, which made me realize that if she was coming back to this idea almost a year later, this was very important to her. She unearthed the folder where she had been saving her drawings, and got right to work adding to it.

Our neighborhood was having a flea market-type community garage sale, so we set up shop this Saturday and were able to raise $36!! Combined with a few other donations from this winter, we're right at $56. She is SO EXCITED to see the fruits of her idea, and it is so fun to see her so pleased to help others.

She was a bit frustrated that she didn't get to sell everysinglelastone of her drawings at our sale, and so I said we could ask our friends and family for help, That's where all of you come in!

For a suggested donation of $1.50 (or less or more--the 50¢ is for postage. Make it $2 if you don't want your picture folded and we'll mail it in a large envelope), you will receive one bona-fide Stella Schulte original drawing, painting, sketch, possible sculpture, you never know what this girl will come up with thing-a-ma-jig. All YOU have to do is email us (if you're reading this, I'm assuming you have my-Heather-email and I will not post it publicly here) your snail-mailing address, and then send us your donation via paypal. (Our pp account is Nick's email address. If you need that info, contact me.) We will promptly mail you your artwork.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me. Also, if we get more money than her goal, we'll choose some other animals, or school supplies or something else from their catalog to send to children in need.

I'm really excited to see how all this plays out, and for Stella to see how one seemingly simple and small idea can effect change for the good and betterment of others in the world around her. Thanks in advance!

Happy 3 month birthday, Titus!

You read it right! Titus is 3 months old today. Time flies when you're busy busy busy...

I love that he's finally smiling while AWAKE, though I was jealous this week of all the people who he smiled at besides ME. He finally shot me one later in the week and melted my little heart. He was very happy during our photo shoot, though I'm pretty sure it was mainly from all the little (and NOT so little) toots he was producing. He thought it was pretty funny.

He's doing GREAT, even though he's had a cold already. Thankfully it wasn't anything major--icky nose and a cough with a very low fever. The Dr. gave him some nose drops to help keep him cleared up and they seemed to do the trick. I was a little worried, just knowing that preemies are at higher risk of getting secondary infections and such from simple colds, but this was not our case, thank God. After about a week he was doing much better. I'm not sure how much he weighs at the moment, but I would guess around 8 1/2 pounds, if not a little more. He is VERY strong, and loves to lift his head up, and when you hold him up on your shoulder he's usually up and looking around. As far as personality goes, I'm thinking he's a morning person for now. He's happiest in the morning, at least. The evening times get pretty hairy as he's pretty fussy. As I recall, at least Stella, if not Ezra, too, was this way. It's amazing what you forget in such short time! Titus is definitely NOT colicky, just fussy before bedtime. Usually walking him around does the trick.

It's been fun seeing Titus be awake and a bit more interactive. He's most content while being held, of course, or taking a ride in the sling with Mama. Thankfully, he's starting to like being in his swing for periods of time, so Mama can get breakfast ready for Stella and Ezra, or wash dishes, etc. He also likes to "stand" on your lap and do leg push-ups.

Speaking of the other two, they've been having much fun with our very spacious house and furniture that is not ours. The cushions to the couch and chairs are of particular interest, and have become many different kinds of forts, houses, castles, etc.

Wait, who's in there?

Peek-a-boo!

The weather has finally started to look and feel spring-like (the daffodils and forsythia are blooming and I see buds on the trees!), so we've been enjoying time outside. There's still days

where it's rainy and chilly, but these are getting fewer.

Look out, he's armed with his "shooter thing."

This weekend we hosted a BBQ in honor of some dear friends who are moving next weekend. This next month is going to be a hard one for us as we say good-bye to many folks who are leaving, and then leaving ourselves! Meanwhile we have a LOT to get done...

Hit the ground running...

Well, it's now been officially one month since our arrival home! Time has FLOWN by, which is understandable with all we've had on our plate. We've had all kinds of Dr. appointments to go to for follow-up care, lots of running around in preparation for our move, organizing and the packing itself, and now we're in the stages of fine tuning our planning of getting ourselves to the US. May 15th (our flight date) is going to come SO SOON, I know!

Thus far, our adjustment home has been a good one. I'm thankful for a speedy recovery so I can be much more functional as a Mom to the other kids, caretaker of our household, and a help to Nick than I otherwise would be if I were just a few days out from giving birth (one huge bonus to having a long hospital stay--plenty time for recovery on my part!).

Titus has been doing very well. He had an appointment for checking his eyes and his retinas were deemed fully developed and looking great, for which I am grateful because those are NOT fun to witness. He's also had pediatric appointments to check his growth (I'm happy to report he is now 7 POUNDS!!), and tomorrow he has his hearing test. He's sleeping well, now having his days/nights figured out (though definitely NOT "through the night," which is perfectly fine and normal). He has good periods of being awake and alert during the day, too, which is very fun for Mom and Dad to see. He loves hanging out in the sling while I'm doing housework or helping the kids (have I mentioned how much a lifesaver a sling is when you have multiple children?). So far, so good.

Stella and Ezra have thoroughly enjoyed having their little brother home for good, as well as Mommy. Ezra still occasionally asks Nick if I'm at the hospital, especially when Nick gets him up from his bed, and constantly asks if Titus is "okay" whenever he cries. He has such a caring heart. Both kids are always asking if they can pat his head and give him kisses. Ezra says, "Me pet Titus?" They love helping me (if I'm taking a shower or what have you and Titus is in the swing or wherever) by singing to Titus as you can see in the following video.

Stella especially loves holding Titus any chance she gets, and sometimes gets upset if she didn't get to hold him all day. She's doing very well being the biggest sibling, taking care of Ezra at kindergarten, helping me whenever she can by clearing the table, sorting laundry, picking up toys, etc. She even says, "Mommy, I'm going to help you keep the house clean." Believe me, I'm encouraging this every chance I get! She's enjoying her ballet class and has a performance coming up in another couple weeks. I'm currently finishing up her mermaid costume, and having a BLAST doing it. She's also making progress in her swimming lessons, though it has been a big challenge for her. She's very intimidated by swimming in the "big" pool, and expressed it by not wanting to go to her lessons. We're trying to be encouraging with a firm hand and explaining to her how important it is to learn how to swim in the big pool, and that learning will help her get over her fears. It's SO HARD helping your kids work through their fears! Today will be the first time I get to go to her lesson with her, and I'm hoping my presence will help give her more confidence. I'm just excited to see what she's been doing the past couple months!

We've been trying our best to help our kids have fun with all the chaos and turmoil we've had in our normal routine for the past few months by getting them involved in some of the decision making. Even simple stuff like what we have for dinner and letting them help me prepare it lets them feel more a part of what's going on. We were at the grocery store the other day and Nick bought some funny glasses for the kids to wear. I still have to get a photo of Ezra with them on...

I feel like we got gipped, though, as they don't have the mustache part.

Oh, and speaking of mustaches, it's March, which means the annual growing of mustaches has been going on... Ezra thought Daddy's was so cool he wanted one, too, so I drew one on him for fun. :) He is constantly talking about it, which is funny to me. He drinks milk and gets some on his upper lip and says, "Me have mustache. Like Daddy."

The craziest bit of the past few weeks has been frantically preparing for the packers to come. Funny thing, they were scheduled to arrive on my due date. Weird! From the date Nick called to arrange our pack out date to the pack out date itself we had 11 days. I must say I am thankful that we have a small house and not a ton of stuff, because 11 days just barely cut it (what with Drs. appointments, three small children, a nursing newborn, daily housework in general, etc.). The worst part was when they arrived, having told us it would be two days of packing and one of loading the truck, and informed us they would do it all in one day. Now, mind you, I was on the one hand relieved, but on the other breakfast was still hot and on the table, the kids were still at home and not dressed yet, and we had still had stuff out that we DID NOT want packed. Within mere minutes of them walking through the door, there were packers everywhere (well, only five, but when you only have 3 bedrooms, a small kitchen and a living/dining room, it feels like they're everywhere) and boxes, tape and paper flying about at random. Ezra kept running around and I had to order the kids glued to the couch to prevent them getting run over. Nick and I then frantically ran around and threw the random DO NOT PACK items (like Nick's wallet, Titus' diapers, my diaper bag...) into the bathroom, tried to tell them to not take apart our computer (which they did anyway), and attempted (somewhat successfully) to keep the kids on the couch all at the same time. (Are you panicking yet? I was!) Then, Nick decided to get the kids off to school (SO THANKFUL for the kindergarten), and I was by myself with Titus and 5 huge Turkish men. One had almost completely emptied a closet that had "don't pack" stuff in it, which I had to explain with very large arm motions and then help him unpack it from some boxes, and then found he had also wrapped up a couple suitcases that were still out (I'm telling you, these guys were ALL BUSINESS and crazy fast.) While that was going on, the guy in the living room had packed up our computer (my heart still flutters a bit at this, but at least we still had the original boxes to put it in, so it shouldn't get broken. I hope.), my favorite sweater, and Stella's pillow and blanket and I didn't notice it until WAY later. When he was getting ready to pack up our bedding with the other couch, and I explained that we needed those sheets and pillows, the guy in our bedroom was packing away Titus' blanket and our only cell phone charger. *sigh* It still exhausts me thinking about it. They had our entire house packed and loaded onto a truck, into the crates and nailed shut in NINE HOURS. Amazing.

Stella and Ezra came home moments after the truck pulled away with 95% of our worldly possessions. Stella's first question was, "Is my bed gone?" And then I had to explain that it was gone along with her pillow and blankie. Thankfully no fit throwing ensued. The kids had fun riding their bikes around inside our now spacious house while Nick and I finished up sweeping and mopping the dust bunny strewn floors. Once we were done, we went out for dinner.

Now, the whole thing with them moving us in one day was fabulous--I had already arranged for the kids to be at a friend's house that day and had not made further plans yet, so that was convenient. However, the temporary furniture (i.e. beds and such) that we were planning to use until we actually leave Germany was scheduled to arrive after they packed up the truck on the 3rd day. Problem. We called to see if they could come earlier, but the best they could do was the next day. Providentially, as the moving truck was pulling away, our neighbor came over to see how we were doing and if we needed anything, and lo and behold, they had two air mattresses. Problem solved! We still had Stella's matress and a pack 'n play for Ezra and a borrowed cradle for Titus, so we were good to sleep. The next morning, just as we were preparing our picnic breakfast, the truck pulled up with furniture for us. Yeay!

Now we're all settled into our very spacious and echo-y and LOUD house. Thankfully, the sun has been out and the temperatures in the very comfortable 60s, so it's been much cheerier than it otherwise would be. Plus, Nick had off the three allotted days, so we've been able to do some much needed work on planning our travels, etc. We bought our plane tickets for visiting family and friends: We fly from here to TX on May 15th, then May 24 (Stella's 5th birthday!) we'll be landing in Omaha and hopefully visiting Lincoln on the 25th. The 26th we'll drive up to Sioux Falls area to see Nick's family, then fly to Birmingham on the 31st to visit my family until the 4th of June. Then it's back to Texas for a couple days before Nick has to get back to work. We have one week (the 15th-24th) to find a house, find a car, unpack some, get internet/phone/utilities/etc. set up. AAAHHH!! I can't wait until it's July and all this is behind us and we're settled. Then again, I want to savor every moment we have left here in Germany with our wonderful friends here, too. *sigh* That's life this side of Heaven I suppose. Never quite right. In the meantime, we're thankful for what we've been blessed with, which is a whole lot more than we deserve.

Sweet homecomings...

Yep, you read it right! We're HOME for good, with Titus. (HUGE sigh of relief) It feels so good to be at home with the whole family together. (Titus is happy, too!)

The past few days have been great. Titus is now officially over 6 pounds (6 lb 1 oz last night!), and had a lot of last appointments. He had his eyes checked again, and everything looks great so far. He got circumcised (and handled it fairly well, considering...), and passed his car seat test after one failed attempt. The first try he got about half way through (45 minutes!), and his O2 levels lowered into the 80s and wouldn't come back up. There was a LOT of action in the NICU at the time, so the nurse suggested we try again in the middle of the night when stuff quieted down. I slept while they tested him again, and he passed just fine. This morning he got a couple shots (one the last dose of the meds that help his body produce more blood cells, which have been helping as his numbers were up this week, the other was a pseudo vaccine against RSV), I picked up his vitamins from the pharmacy, and we were discharged. Nick came and picked me up with our cooler in tow to pick up all the milk I had pumped over the past 5 weeks (what they hadn't used in the NICU for Titus' feeds, i.e. the EXTRA), and there's so much the cooler wouldn't close! Anyone know anybody who needs to feed a baby? I could be feeding twins right now! We definitely won't use it all, since Titus is nursing so well. Nick has been joking about making cheese or ice cream...

Once we were all set to go we went and visited all the units we've been intimately working with since this whole story started. We stopped in at the postpartum ward first, as that was the staff I got to know the best. Most of the nurses hadn't met Titus yet, so it was fun for them to see him and for us to thank them and say good-bye (or see ya later really). Then we stopped in at Labor and Delivery, and finished up at the NICU. Here's a photo of us with the chief neonatologist, Dr. Welch.

We have been so blessed to have such amazing doctors and nurses such great care of us. I truly cannot thank them enough for all their compassionate, hard work. Things would have been so much more difficult without such caring people taking care of Titus and me!

Then, it was off to home...

A friend of ours spent the afternoon with Stella and Ezra while a team of ladies came and cleaned and tidied up the house in preparation for our homecoming. The kids made signs to welcome us, which was very fun! Stella wrote the sign herself. They were both proud of their work!

The kids immediately asked to hold their brother, of course! Ezra was super cute, especially when he noticed Titus had a booger in his nose. He looked at me and said, "Titus have booger in nose? Mama, get it." Then I told him we could just leave it alone, and he proceeds to grab Titus finger and say, "Me show Titus how get booger," and tries to stick Titus' finger up his nose for him. Oh, dear, the mischieviousness has begun. I can only imagine the tricks Ezra will teach his little bro in the future...

We've had a very nice evening together as a family under one roof! Dinner was ready and keeping warm when we arrived (thank you again, my friend!), and we spent some time hanging our and getting unpacked (and opening the 10 packages Nick picked up from the PO!). Now we're settled and Nick's enjoying spending some QT with little man.

Gotta love it! Thank you all again, from the bottom of our hearts, for everything; every prayer, well wish, facebook note, phone call, etc. Without the outpouring of love and care we've experienced, our family would be struggling right now instead of rejoicing. We love you all and look forward to introducing many of you to our little, but getting bigger daily, Titus very soon!

A Valentine's Day visit

Titus and I were visited by the rest of the family yesterday.  It was the first time we were officially all together in one room as a complete family, and a great way to celebrate Valentine's Day.  I had entertained myself Saturday by making some pop-up valentine cards for the kids.  Very fun!  

The kiddos got to hold their baby brother for the first time, too. They both loved on him and were enjoying their time, until they got to watch a Thomas the Train video.  Then they were otherwise occupied.  :)

Things are still going very well.  On Friday, Titus had an "event" where his heart dropped, so we can expect to be discharged no earlier than Wednesday, and the Docs expect we should be able to leave ON Wednesday.  That's VERY exciting news, as it's only two days away now! Titus has been holding steady while "rooming in," and is steadily nursing better and longer, without so many drops in his stats.  It's been nice having him in the room all the time, just to get to know him a bit better, and see how he settles down to sleep, etc.  Titus has had many more periods of awake time the past couple days, which has also been really fun.  He just looks around the room and checks out his surroundings.  

We've only got a few more hurdles to get over before we get to leave.  He's got another optometry appointment, a circumcision, and then a car seat "challenge" where they moniter his vitals while he is strapped into his car seat.  Beyond that, they're just watching his weight to make sure he's gaining steadily, which he has been so far.  He had a little drop right at first this weekend, but has recovered and is slightly below 6 pounds as of last night and I expect that he'll break six tonight!  

That about covers it for right now.  Nick and I are watching some of the Olympics tonight while the kids spend the night at a friend's house.  Nick has to work tomorrow, so our friends will watch the kids for the day.  Believe me, they're not disappointed to have a fun place to go play!

We'll let you know when we're HOME for good.  We are all looking forward to that day very much!

A new roommate...

I was getting lonely, so I decided to try and find a roommate...

He's pretty cute, eh?  

Yep, that's right.  Titus is rooming in, officially.  Here's some photos of his big journey down the hall:

Here's his nurse getting him ready to go...

On the move...

This is the ramp Ezra loves to run down.

Waiting for the Pediatric ward to open the door...

I must say, I'm SO excited for him to be here with me!  This whole month has just been kind of weird, not really feeling like we have a new baby, since I wasn't responsible for the full care of him.  So far, the past few hours have been great!  A few diapers, a couple feedings, a successful giving of vitamins (in and of itself quite a challenge!) and now he's sleeping again.  He's a great roomie so far!

Today Titus is 1 month old!  It's so hard to believe a month has gone by already, but it feels like forever at the same time.  We have reason to celebrate, for sure!  

Can you see anything different about Titus?

See it yet?

Now?  His feeding tube is gone!  They took it out yesterday morning.  The Drs. have been pleased with his ability to eat on his own, and decided to remove the tube and see how he does.  The tube pretty much blocked one of his nostrils completely, which can cut down his oxygen supply when nursing.  This should make it easier for him; even swallowing should be better since the tube won't be in his throat.  The only major bummer about not having the tube is that his vitamins (liquid form taken orally) must now be given by mouth.  They are nasty tasting, and NO baby likes them.  They tried just giving them to him mixed with a bit of my milk through a bottle lid (like the top that any baby would suck out of), and he was NOT impressed.  He choked, gagged, spit it back out, etc., so much that he de-satted (all his stats went down: heart rate, breathing rate, and O2 rate), and really did turn blue in the face.  He came out of it just fine, but it was a little nerve wrecking.  At least now I know what it really looks like if he's having trouble breathing and stuff.  When we give them tomorrow, we'll try mixing it with more milk to hopefully make it not so concentrated of a taste.  I don't know what I'm going to to when I get him home and have to do it myself!  

By the way, do you see the double chin he's working on?

RIght now it's looking like as long as his eating goes well, and he keeps gaining weight, he could potentially be rooming in with me on Friday.  The other factor keeping him from rooming sooner is the last time he had a true de-sat that was unrelated to eating (or vitamins!) was less than a week ago, and they won't take a baby off moniters until it's been at least 5 days since the last "event."  They don't want him to move into my room while still needing to be on the moniters.  I'm excited that the day is potentially so soon!  That also means that he really could be coming home this weekend or early next week!!!  We are so ready for him to be home and all of us be OUT of the hospital.  

I had to take this photo for my friend, Melody, who gave us this outfit.  It's a preemie onesie, and will definitely NOT be fitting for long!

We are all very much looking forward to being together as a family 24/7 again.  I'm thankful I'll actually be able to function nearly normally when we get home, instead of having to be completely off my feet, etc., like you normally are right after giving birth. I'm thankful I had the time in the hospital to do the immediate recovery, and now it's just slow healing and not pushing myself too hard.  Nick will still be taking leave most days, which will be nice to have him be home when need be, and also have time to get our moving stuff rolling.  

Speaking of Nick, he's still a bit under the weather, but is feeling a little bit better.  Hopefully a good night's rest will help him, and in another day or two will hopefully be fully recovered.  

The kids are well, and are looking forward to a fun day tomorrow.  Their kindergarten has a Fasching party (like Mardi Gras) and they are dressing up as tight rope walkers.  A friend is getting them ready in the morning, and hopefully will have some fun pictures to show.  Then, they get to go to a friends' house for the afternoon and Stella gets to spend the night.  Nick is planning on coming up to the hospital with Ezra, and hopefully Titus will be in my room by the evening.  It will be fun to hang out and not be in the NICU.  

We are so excited that the end (well, really a whole new beginning) of our crazy story is coming so soon!  Thank you all for your love, support, and prayers.  They have carried us through this very trying time.  We love you all!