Many Kids and Many Years Later, I Still Love This

I think I first heard this poem, Song For A Fifth Child by Ruth Hurlburt Hamilton when I was pregnant with my first child. I loved it then and I still love it now.

Image from Bing Images

I have had six grandchildren born in the last nine years. It feels like they are growing up even faster than my own kids did. With my 7th grandchild due in a couple of months this poem has been back in my mind again.

I know everyone has probably seen it many times, but, to me, it is worth seeing again. Here is the whole poem.

Song for a Fifth Child

Mother, oh, mother come shake out your cloth,

Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,

Hang out the washing and butter the bread,

Sew on a button and make up a bed.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?

She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

 

Oh, I’ve grown shiftless as Little Boy Blue

(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).

Dishes are waiting and bills are past due

(Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo).

The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew

And out in the yard there’s a hullabaloo

But I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo.

Look! Aren’t her eyes the most wonderful hue?

(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).

The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,

For children grow up, as I’ve learned to my sorrow.

So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.

I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.

Even though the wording is a little old fashioned,

the message is timeless. 

Doc And Dodger Go To Hollywood, Or Maybe Not

I have mentioned before that Doc is a just a little twitterpated about our dog, Dodger. I'm often required to agree that "yes, he is a very handsome boy"  or to come see something really cute or smart that Dodger is doing. So when a a couple of people at the dog park yesterday said nice things about Dodger, Doc came home with a little extra swagger. One lady said Dodger was so cute that he should be in commercials. Another said that he looked like a Hollywood dog and that he should be in movies. Doc has now started calling him "Hollywood".

Of course, I think Dodger is a very handsome boy, in a scruffy sort of way.

But I think I am going to need to remind Doc of a couple of things. Apart from the fact that we probably don't want to expose our boy to all the temptations Hollywood has to offer, his level of training probably doesn't make him a very good candidate for a movie career. I think he would at least have to learn to sit before the second or third request.

Then there is the problem that his eyes often look very shiny or bright green in pictures.

 And he can sometimes be a bit camera shy.

Hmm, maybe those shiny eyes could get him a bit part in a horror movie.

Yes, We Do Know How To Celebrate America's Holiday

I have read on blogs and heard people talking about all the great plans people have for the 4th of July holiday weekend. People are going camping, having cook-outs, watching fireworks, going to ball games, all manner of all-American holiday fun.

Well, Doc and I know how to celebrate with the best of them, so we are ready to party on and mark the birthday of our country in a big way with a little known but dearly beloved or soon to be all-American custom of getting new toilets. Yes ma'am, our holiday celebration includes getting not one, but two of these little beauties.

I won't dwell  too much on the fact that this particular model has a very French sounding name which led me to believe that there might be a bidet involved (there's not).

This holiday extravaganza came about because the new tile in our bathrooms raised the stool just enough in one that the previously nearly inaccessible tank became completely inaccessible under the countertop.

Let the party begin!

Photo from Google Images

A Postscript To My Previous Post

Addison's counts have risen enough for him to resume his chemotherapy. This picture of Addison and his friend, Bella, getting ready to receive their chemo was so compelling to me that I wanted to share it.

Notice their hands

You've gotta have friends

A Really Mean Thief and An Addison Update

You can click here  "Help Addison Kick This Thing"  or on the logo to the right if you have not met Addison.


Following are exerpts froma a story that appeared in the Boulder Daily Camera newspaper after a gift that was given to Addison that helped him get some much needed exercise and outdoor time was stolen from his back yard.

 That Tuesday was going to be a bad day for Addison Kleinhans, no matter what happened.


Addison, 6, was diagnosed in April with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. That Tuesday, June 8, he was due for an appointment at The Children's Hospital in Aurora, where doctors would draw his blood, yet again.

The test would show if Addison could progress to another round of chemotherapy and if his immune system was strong enough to allow him to be around other children.

Not that Addison would have any energy to play, because the chemo took that away, too.

"The first two months were really hard. He just slept all day," said his mother, Sarah Kleinhans.


Doctors didn't like the results, meaning at least another week inside and away from kids, Sarah Kleinhans said, but Addison did have one thing to look forward to on that day of bad news.


A family member had given Addison a 6-foot-tall yellow Giga Ball the day before. Addison could climb into the ball and roll around in his backyard.

51" Giga Ball

The Giga Ball is a toy and wouldn't protect Addison from germs, but Addison's parents hoped that it would encourage him to play and get some exercise.


"Anything that made him want to move was perfect therapy for him," his mother said.


Addison had spent the prior evening playing in the backyard with his sister, Madelene, 8. It was the first time in a long time he seemed to be having fun.

Addison with his sister, Madelene

But that night, the ball disappeared from the Kleinhans' yard.


"He was just crushed," Sarah Kleinhans said.


A neighbor, said she and her husband awoke about 2 a.m. the night before to discover a prowler in their backyard. They confronted him and he fled, but by that point he had been in the yards of several neighbors. Neighbors suspect he vandalized several homes and yards and stole Addison's ball.


Instead of feeling threatened about the prowler, the neighbors are just angry about the  playful little boy down the street being crushed about losing his Giga Ball after going through so much.

Addison's family and large network of friends -- the Facebook group "Help Addison Kick This Thing" has 864 members -- aren't interested in seeing the thief punished. They just want to make him understand.


"If they caught this guy, he needs to spend a day with Addison in the hospital, to get a finger poke and to see the kids throw up," Kleinhans said.


The story has a happy ending, though. A friend got Addison a new Giga Ball.


About 80 percent of children are cured of the disease, according to the American Cancer Society. But the full course of treatment takes three years, and there is a small but statistically significant chance of relapse.


"Relapse is one of those things we'll be afraid of until he's 100," Sarah Kleinhans said.


As of a couple of days ago, Addison"s blood count was still not up enough for him to resume chemotherapy, but it is going up, so he will hopefully be able to resume his treatment soon.  He has to endure the dreaded finger poke every few days to check his blood count.

Addison with his new Giga Ball

Thanks to everyone for the interest, kindness, support, donations and prayers for Addison and his family.

Swimming With The Big Dogs

Our experience with our dog, Dodger, is that he does not like water. When we get him out of the car at the place where we give him a bath he starts to shake and pulls as hard as he can on the leash to go the other way. When there is water running in a shower or a bathtub, he will not go near the bathroom. If we are using a hose outside or the sprinklers come on, he immediately runs into the house. If he sticks his head out of the dog door and there is even a sprinkle of rain, he comes right back in. He even walks around puddles.

So we were very surprised when he was running with a couple of bigger dogs at the dog park and ran right with them into the dog swimming pond. Doc was afraid Dodger couldn't swim and thought he was going to have to go in after him. I told him they call it "dog paddling" for a reason. It is something dogs know how to do. (Doc is a little over-protective where Dodger is concerned)

 

He ran into the water without a moments hesitation.

He retrieved sticks

and balls.

He swam

and played with the big dogs.

Doc didn't even have to get his feet wet.

Today he got to meet Vista, the new puppy in my daughter Jill's family.

Even though he was brave enough to swim with the big dogs, I suspect Dodger will still walk around puddles.

Toddler Angst

Toddler angst may not be as bad as teenage angst,

but it can be pretty rough.

At least it doesn't last as long.