Happy 8th Birthday Sophia!
Sophia's birth story

It is with the greatest joy we welcome our newest daughter into our family:
Sophia Zevin
Arrived on June 20, 2002
At 2:29 PM
by planned c-section
Weighing 10 lb. 5 oz
Measuring 21 1/2 inches long
Head circumference: 14 inches

Here is an account of the hours before and the 24 hours following the arrival of my newest daughter. When we found out that she would have to be delivered by c-section I searched the web and all I could find was birth stories from women who were either upset with their cesarean experience or who had been unprepared for having a c-section. I wanted to share my account, hoping that it is as honest as possible. For us the most important thing was insuring the safe arrival of our daughter and I am not disappointed that it took a c-section to give us that outcome.I couldn't sleep at all the night before the scheduled c-section.

Every time I would drift into that state of semi-sleep where you are half asleep but still awake I would have vivid hallucinations about the delivery and everything going wrong. The fears that I had harbored my whole pregnancy, that we would get to the very end and lose this baby filled every recess of my mind. I tossed and turned so much that when I finally pulled myself out of bed Thursday morning, I felt like I imagine a marathon runner must feel like after a race. Note to self: If we every plan to have another baby delivered surgically, ask doctor for drugs to help me sleep the night before.Spend the early hours of Thursday morning doing 2 loads of laundry and cleaning up the kitchen. The kitchen was barely half done when I realized I had to get the kids to my friend Michelle's house. Of course as ran around like a frantic nauseated chicken with my head cut off, Jay leisurely enjoyed a shower and the morning paper. I dropped the kids off and kissed and hugged everyone. Got weepy at the thought that it was the last time I would kiss Cade when he is the baby of the family. Drive back home, radio blaring to keep from completely losing it.

Jay has the bags ready to go in the minivan when I get home. I don't think we said a word to each other on the ride down to the hospital. Neither of us is doing well with the reality of the surgery looming over us. We arrive up in Labor and Delivery at 9:55 AM, five minutes ahead of schedule. We get some bad news. One of the 2 operating rooms is down so now the 6 c-sections that they have scheduled will have to run concurrently instead of simultaneously. We are shown to our room, and told we will either be taken back earlier than expected or up to 3 hours later than scheduled. Bet you know which one happened! By 1:15 no one had even been in to tell when we would go back. But then all of a sudden, things began to happen in a flurry.

Mike, the anesthesia guy, comes in and explains our anesthesia options. I tell him I would prefer to go with what Dr., S prefers. Mike replies that Dr. S prefers spinals so he discusses the procedure with me and he mentions that I have a 3% chance of developing a spinal headache because of the anesthesia. He mentions that they will give me duramorph after surgery and that is MIGHT make my skin itch. He then asks me if I have any questions. No questions, lets just get this show on the road. Nurse Kathy comes in and has me drink an antacid to help neutralize my stomach acids. It tastes like sour sweet tarts crushed up in lukewarm water. YUCK! Next she inserts the IV in my left forearm, honestly she did the best job of any nurse who had ever put an IV in me. She managed to do it on the first try and it didn't hurt at all, she even positioned it so it was COMFORTABLE when I moved my arm. IV in place, she proceeds to shave my abdomen and the upper section of my pubic hair. Talk about a WEIRD sensation. Baby moving, contractions, and a woman you barely know whipping a very sharp razor over your abdomen. Note to self: If we ever do this again, arrange for a bikini wax the day before. Once she is done shaving my abdomen, she gives Jay paper shoes and a paper hat to wear into the OR, I am also graced with a BEAUTIFUL paper hat to wear during the surgery.They wheel me down to the OR right in the bed that I have been sitting in since 10 AM. I am a bit surprised when they don't make me change into a sterile gown, and even more surprised when they take the pillow off of my bed with me into the OR. Jay is whisked away to scrub up and be prepped to watch the surgery. I wish I had had someone take a picture of him in his surgical garb!The moment of truth is upon me. I am taken into OR.

The room is WAY SMALLER than I had imagined. In the middle of the room is a single table with 2 outstretched arm rests. I can't help it, the first image that pops in to my head is the table that they use for lethal injections in death penalty cases. I feel a wave of panic come over me. If I had thought my legs would have worked, I probably would have bolted from the room at that point. Mike tells me to sit on the table, lean forward and RELAX-yeah right, I am going to relax and lean forward over this massive huge belly of mine. He pokes around on my back a bit, I get more and more apprehensive, anticipating what it to come next. He scrubs my back with something COLD and SCRATCHY. He tells me I will feel some pressure as he injects a numbing agent and I just about BOLT out of my skin, he promises the worst part is over. Turns out he was wrong. He can't get the needle into the spinal space he was hoping for so he has to move further up my back and do the whole thing over again. It wasn't as bad this time, partly because I knew what to expect and partly because I was a little numb from the first round. He gets the spinal administered and tells me to QUICKLY swing my legs up onto the table before they get too heavy for me to move them. I made some crack about them always being too heavy for me to move them. He wasn't exaggerating though, my legs were numb and dead weight within a couple of minutes. Although it seemed to take forever, the whole spinal procedure had taken less than 10 minutes.

Spinal administered and me numb, except for the fact that I could wiggle my toes (very odd, even according to Mike) the nurse inserts the foley catheter. I will say it is a totally ODD sensation to know someone is down between your legs in your genitals and you can't feel them. One of the nurses in the OR is busy counting instruments and another nurse is checking them off as she counts. Probably a good idea so they don't lose any of them inside me. I think in this day and age I would have a hard time convincing airport security that my doctor had accidentally left a retractor inside of me.Jay and Dr. S enter the OR. Jay looks pale and disoriented. I am a bit nervous he may pass out. The nurses position him on a stool right by my head. Jay keeps asking Mike why I am not asleep. Mike re-explains to him the spinal and the fact that I will be awake for the whole surgery. More color drains from his face. I am thinking I should have done a better job preparing him for the c-section. I thought that since he had talked to some any people whose wives had had c-sections that he understood I would be awake.Before they make the first incision, Mike does a pain test to see if I can feel him pricking at my skin with a sharp point. It is really weird to know he is touching me but I can't feel it. I am completely numb from about 2 inches below my saggy breasts to my toes. Dr. S takes a pen and draws a line to guide his first incision. Time of first incision, 2:02 PM. The weird thing is once the surgery is underway the mood in the room becomes more relaxed, although Dr. S makes a couple comments in a hushed tone that make me worry a bit. Either time is standing still or this whole thing is taking much longer than I had thought it would. Everything I had read on the web or in books had said from the start of surgery (first incision) to birth was less than 10 minutes. Probably a good thing that I can't see the clock or I would be freaking out. I feel absolutely no pain as he slices layer though layer, but merely this odd sensation that I can only describe like this. Imagine yourself on a ride at the amusement park. You are wearing a blindfold so you can't see what is ahead of you, but you can feel the sensation of movement and occasionally even a moment where you feel nauseated, like your stomach dropped after going down that big hill on a roller coaster. You feel some rocking and rolling from side to side. For brief seconds the movements seem overwhelming, but a deep breath and you feel settled again. I comment to Mike that I feel like I am on an amusement park ride and he laughs, saying he bets I wouldn't buy a season pass to this amusement park. I comment back that I know I will like the prize at the end of this ride much better than some giant stuffed Tweety Bird I could win at our local amusement park.

Again I feel waves of movement, then I hear what sounds like a cry. I say "Is that my baby?" by the time I have the question out, the answer is clear. Lusty cries fill the OR and Dr. S announces "It's a GIRL!" and then he adds " A BIG GIRL!". As they hold her, covered in vernix and blood right next to my face for me to see for the first time, Jay and I look at each other and almost simultaneously exclaim "She has hair. She has DARK hair!" One of the peds asked why we said that and Jay told her that our others were BLONDE and BALD! Time of birth is recorded at 2:29 PM, a whole 27 minutes after the first incision.The pediatricians assess the baby right by my head, so I can see the whole thing. Our little girl scores a 9 on her 1 minute apgar and a 10 on her 5 minute apgar (it isn't until the next day that I realize how impressive this is, when a nurse who had been at that hospital for years tell me she has seen only one other baby given a 10). They clean her up a bit and the moment of truth is upon us. They put her on the scale. The scale was directly behind me, so I couldn't see it, but I could hear everything they were saying. Everyone kept saying how BIG she was, but I think everyone was shocked when they clicked to convert the 4666 grams to pounds and a WHOOPING 10 lb. 5 oz came up on the display. She beat her big sister by a matter of ounces! Once she is weighed she is wrapped up and Jay sits and holds her right by my right arm during the rest of the surgery. I almost have to laugh at the irony that our "surgical" birth has ended up with the least amount of intervention and no separation from our baby.

The exciting part of the surgery over, they begin the repair and suturing. Dr. S asks us what the baby's name is. The moment of truth, Jay and I both say DIFFERENT names and then admit to everyone in the room that we haven't even DISCUSSED names. We tell them the only thing we know for sure is her middle name will start with a "z". After finding out the other kids middle names (Zachery, Zoe, Zara, Zane, Zaren, Zavier) everyone starts throwing out "z" names. I think the best one had to be Dr. S suggestion of Zeppo. After exhausting the "z" names the room starts suggesting first names. It quickly becomes apparent that Mike and Jay must have watched every one of the same sitcoms over the past 20 years. Names like Ginger (Gilligan's Island), Marsha (Brady Bunch), Uma and Mulva (Seinfield episodes) are amongst the most memorable they suggested. Dr. S gets paged and says that an emergency has come up and asks if I mind if the attending doctor finishes closing me, he is up to the top layer. I say that is fine and he leaves the OR. I tell the doctor doing the suturing, to make sure that all my stretch marks get lined back up. The room explodes in laughter! Apparently I lucked out that the person doing the closing liked suturing and opted to close with disposable sutures covered with steristrips rather than staples, which means I wouldn't have to have ANYTHING removed!Once I am sewn back together, the remove all the draping and sterile dressings and prepare to move us back to the room.

They wheel the bed I rode down to the OR in right back into the OR and transfer me into it. It kind of freaks me out a bit that they wheel the bed right through the blood on the floor and then right out the hallway and back to the room. The hospital is set up that you go immediately from surgery back to your postpartum room and they send a nurse with you. She is required to sit with you for an entire hour. Once we get back to the room, I am hooked up to a heart monitor, pulse oximeter, a blood pressure cuff and my catheter and IV are both still in. As soon as I am hooked up to everything, the nurse puts the baby in my arms, she is barely an hour old at this point. Never again is the baby out of my sight. The nurse helps me position her to nurse and since I am still numb from the spinal, I feel no pain.Once she finishes nursing, the nurse says they have orders from my pediatrician to test her bloodsugars. If her level is below 40 they will need to test it 4 more times and have it register above 40 before they consider her to be in the clear. With her bassinet right by my bed, my hand patting her tummy, they draw the first level. Unfortunately it comes back 36, too low for the healthy baby standard. The nurse standing there suggests that we supplement her with one ounce of formula to rapidly bring her sugar up. She says chances are since I haven't eaten in 18 hours my own blood sugar is so low that I won't be able to bring it up on my own. Knowing I didn't want her to be supplemented or given a bottle (great thing about being at a hospital that doesn't promote formula or give out samples is they are very supportive of breastfeeding moms) the nurse suggests giving her the supplement from a cup. I had serious doubts that a baby less than 2 hours old could drink from a cup and was utterly AMAZED to watch my daughter drink down an ounce of formula with only one drop rolling off her fat little chin. As much as I hate formula, it brought her blood sugar up to 46 the next time they checked it. After that we just relied on her nursing to keep it up and she did!About 7 PM Mike (the anesthesia guy) came in and removed the heart monitor. I was told everything else would remain in place until about 8 AM the following morning. Of course that meant I would be stuck in bed ALL NIGHT! The scary thing was that I was left alone in my room with my baby. Jay went home to take care of the other kids so the baby and I were solo with me drugged up the first night. The nurses were wonderful, anytime I rang they were right there to change her and hand her to me. I spent most of that night holding her, smelling her, nursing her and fading on and off into sleep. Although I wasn't allowed anything solid to eat, I was given all the juice, ice and lemon frozen ice that I wanted through the night. The duramorph really made my skin ITCH, but an unbearable itch but more an annoying itch, like when you have a bug bite. The percocet they gave me made me have hot flashes and made me sleepy, but it took the edge of the pain. Worse than my incision pain was the aftercramps, full blown gut tighten cramps every time baby nursed. 800 mg of motrin barely touched that pain. Every time I would drift off to sleep I would kick of the pulse oximeter and make the alarm go off. Finally the nurse agrees around 5 AM to remove the pulse oximeter. What a relief to be able to move my foot without setting off an alarm!About 6 AM the nurse helps me out of bed for the first time since the surgery. Even with the IV still attached and the catheter still in place, it is such a relief to be upright and out of bed. The baby seems to like our new more upright position and settles in for a long nursing session.At 8 AM I am surprised to see my obstetrician, Dr. S walk into my room. He had told me the day before that he wouldn't be in the hospital the following day because he was scheduled for vacation. I asked him what he was doing at the hospital and he says he had to come check on "Ginger Zeppo". He also tells me that he was sorry he had to cut me so far across, apparently from hip to hip because he couldn't get the baby free. Suddenly the hushed whispers and the fact that it was more than 25 minutes from incision time to delivery all becomes very clear. He tells the nurse to disconnect my IV and remove the catheter.

Less than 20 hours from the start of the surgery I am complete free of all tubes and wires!

12:30 PM I eat my first soft meal, Roast Beef, Mashed potatoes and gravy, cottage cheese and pears, and iced tea.

1 PM : Jay and the kids come to visit. The kids are THRILLED with their newest sibling and it isn't surprising that they argue over who gets to hold her and for how long. We have a family discussion about names and by the end of their 2 hour visit, her first name is at least decided. Sophia, named for her great grandmother that she never got to met, is welcomed into our family. I only hope she has half the stubbornness and tenaciousness that her great-grandmother had.

2 PM: 24 hours outside of the start of our surgery, my bladder FINALLY kicks back in. It is unreal the feeling of urinating through a urethra traumatized by a foleycatheter. My bladder seems to empty fully, but I am completely FREAKED OUT that I can't seem to control the flow of urine. Note to self: KEGELS, KEGELS, KEGELS!So there you have it, our c-section story.

I sit here typing this 3 days post partum (we came home at 7 PM on Saturday following delivery) and I am very sore, but taking only motrin for the cramping. I decided against getting the percocet perscription filled, I felt it was better to feel some pain and use it as a gauge for when I was overdoing it. Our first night home brought some tears on my part, it was almost impossible to get up off the couch or roll out of bed, but things get easier by the hour! Sophia is nursing well and adapting to life in our large family. Every bit of discomfort, every ounce of pain is worth it because I now have my daughter safely in my arms!

Tealtown Tigers Schedule

Here is the most updated version of the schedule for Grant's team. We have 3 make-up games still to schedule. Red games are home games.

Monday June 14th 6:30 PM at Villa Hills vs Dales Devils

Wednesday June 16th 6:30 PM at Tealtown vs Sycamore Aves

Friday June 18th 6 PM at Bellvue Vets vs Grau Titans

Sunday June 20th 2:30 PM at Madeira vs Madeira Tribe

Tuesday June 22th 8:30 PM at Crosley Blue Ash (grass infield) vs Sycamore Aves--this is rescheduled from the original date of Monday June 28th!

Wednesday June 23rd 6:30 PM at Tealtown vs Sycamore

Friday June 25th 6:30 PM at Tealtown vs Ky Hurricanes

Saturday June 26th 11 AM at Newport High School (900 East 6th St. Newport KY) also called Mussman Field.

Sunday June 27th 2 PM at Tealtown vs Grau Titans

Tuesday June 29th 6:30 PM at Tealtown vs Campbell County Cranes

Thursday July 1st 6:30 PM at Tealtown vs Campbell County Sharks

Free Woodworking Projects:

Lowe's- free kids projects on a couple of Saturdays each month- https://www.lowesbuildandgrow.com/ You need to preregister online!

Home Depot- free activity 1st Sat. of the month from 9 AM until noon- http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ContentView?pn=Kids_Workshops&catalogId=10053&storeId=10051&langId=-1 Designed for ages 5-12.

Free Summer Movies

We are fortunate to live in an area that is offering FREE summer movies for families! Lots of locations locally and lots of choices.....

Rave Cinemas (this is the info for the Milford 16 theater):
FREE FAMILY FILM FESTIVAL:
Rave Free Family Film Festival is an 8 week movie presentation on Tuesday & Wednesday mornings at 10 am offering free family friendly movies as well as discounted concession items to our community.
The movies we are showing are as follows:
June 8 & 9th: Alvin & the Chipmunks- the squeakquel
June 15 & 16th: Ice Age- Dawn of the Dinosaurs
June 22 & 23rd: Astro Boy
June 29 & 30th: Planet 51
July 6 & 7th: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
July 13 &14th: Monsters vs. Aliens
July 20 & 21st: Hotel for Dogs
July 27 & 28th: Shorts

In addition to admission being free we will be offering a dollar off our movie meal box.


Pierce Point Theater in Amelia:
http://www.ourshowtimes.com/kidsflix_amelia.html
Showing Wednesdays ONLY at 10 AM
Wed June 9: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Wed June 16: Planet 51
Wed June 23: Fantastic Mr. Fox
Wed June 30: Where the Wild Things Are
Wed July 7: Coraline
Wed July 14: Alvin and the Chipmunks the Squeakquel
Wed July 21: Tooth Fairy
Wed July 28: Shorts


Regal Theater Deerfield Township:

http://www.regmovies.com/nowshowing/familyfilmfestival.aspx

5500 Deerfield Blvd
Mason ,OH 45040
513-770-3186

Regal offers 2 choices each week!

06/15/2010-06/16/2010 Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs (PG)Hotel For Dogs (PG)

06/22/2010-06/23/2010 Pirates Who Don't Do Anything (G)Imagine That(PG)

06/29/2010-06/30/2010 Aliens In The Attic (PG)Monsters Vs. Aliens (PG)

07/06/2010-07/07/2010 Polar Express (G)

07/13/2010-07/14/2010 Tale of Despereaux (G)Surf's Up (PG)

07/20/2010-07/21/2010 Doogal (G)Bee Movie (PG)

07/27/2010-07/28/2010 March Of The Penguins (G)Kung Fu Panda (PG)

08/03/2010- 08/04/2010 Wallace and Gromit (G)Open Season (PG)

08/10/2010-08/11/2010 Mr. Bean's Holiday (G)Fantastic Mr. Fox (PG)

Field Day----AMAZING!

Today was our 6th annual FIELD DAY! Field day was the only thing my older kids missed about being in school, so I decided to attempt to recreate it for them!

Here are the details.....we had 75 kids show up and participate this year!

Where: Miami Riverview Park Loveland, OH
When: Friday, May 28, 2010. 10:30 AM
What to bring: Lunch, water bottles (can be refilled in restroom) and sunscreen, a bag of NON-CHOCOLATE and NUT FREE candy to be used for prizes at the end of the event, a stopwatch (if you happen to have one!). There are no vending machines in the park and fast food is a couple of miles away so be sure to pack something for your family to eat.
RSVP: Laura

Join us for a day of fun and games! Participants will be divided onto teams and compete in fun events like relay races and twisted t-ball.Please wear gym shoes as some games may involve running or jumping.Open to ALL ages! We created this day to replicate the field day my children enjoyed so much when they attended school (it was the ONLY thing they missed about being in school!)

ALL ages are invited, but some may be too young for some of the games.Any children that are too young to participate can take advantage of the wonderful playground and HUGE sandbox. Plenty of shaded areas to keep out of the sun. CLEAN restrooms with running
water.

Directions: Take I-275 to exit #52 (Loveland/Indian Hill) and turn LEFT at the bottom of the exit ramp. Follow to the first road on the right (Hopewell) and turn RIGHT onto HOPEWELL. Follow about .3 mile to Branch Hill-Loveland Rd (you should see a small brown sign on the
right hand side of the road pointing to the park) and turn LEFT onto BRANCH HILL-LOVELAND RD. Follow about 1.5 miles to the park entrance on your RIGHT. MIAMI RIVERVIEW PARK. We will meet near the playground, most likely in the large shelter.

We started out by dividing the kids onto 3 different teams --one headed by Hannah and Emily (beavcoons), one headed by Chris and Jacob (the winners) and one headed by Grant and Gaige (dragons). We started the day with 4 events: skateboard race (where the kids sit on the skateboard and do a relay race), dizzy t-ball, soccer goal kick and the obstacle course (described below) . After each team completed each of those activities we had lunch. After lunch we did 3 more activities where the kids competed head to head: sack races, shoe relay (where everyone takes off their shoes, puts them in a pile,races to pick their shoes up and put them back on) and a tunnel relay (where they had to go under the legs of everyone from front to back and when the first person gets back to the front the race is over).

This year we made the event even BIGGER and BETTER by adding an OBSTACLE COURSE ! The kids LOVED it and it was hysterical to watch them race through the course.....it started with hula hoops (set up like tires, but I figured they would be much safer!), then a cardboard box tunnel, a balance beam, a ramp, hurdles and then weaving through cones! Not too bad of an obstacle course if I do say so myself!

The day ended with a water balloon toss.....thanks to so many amazing parents, we have TONS of balloons and the kids had a blast and enjoyed cooling off!

Winning team was HANNAH and EMILY'S BEAVCOON! Second place was THE WINNERS and last but not least was the DRAGONS!

The day pretty much went off without a hitch, it is so nice to see so many of the parents step forward and offer to help! I could never do it without them!

Half Price Books Summer Reading Program- Feed Your Brain

Tuesday June 1st - Saturday July 31st
How kids 14 and under can participate:
1. Get a Feed Your Brain Reading Log at Half Price Books or at
http://www.halfpricebooks.com/pdf/FYB09/generic-log-C.pdf
2. Check off each day for five days that they read for 15 minutes or more.
3. Fill out a reading log, and have a parent or guardian sign it.
4. Bring the completed and signed log to Half Price Books.
5. Get a Feed Your Brain Reading Reward: $3 Shopping Card at Half Price Books.
6. Repeat steps 1 through 5 every week through Saturday, July 31, 2010.

Get all the details at
http://www.halfpricebooks.com/for_parents_and_teachers.html

Double Dog Dare--Borders Summer Reading Program

It's that time again! This year Borders is offering a free book to any child 12 years old or younger who reads 10 books over the course of the summer!

Check out the details:
http://www.borders.com/online/store/MediaView_doubledogdare?cmpid=SA_20100505

Valid 5/4/2010 to 8/26/2010

Someone tell me what happened to my sweet 2 year old? Seems he has been replaced by an ill-tempered, tantrum throwing, hitting, sassy, screaming, refusing to take a bath, 3 year old. I want my sweety back! It was like someone flipped a switch the day after he turned 3, this has been going on for 2 weeks now.

I am really trying to figure this one out and am at a complete loss. I don't remember any of the other kids ever acting this way. Of course when the other kids were 3, I would have been chasing a newly mobile infant around the house (since most of the kids are about 2 years apart), but I really think I would remember being smacked, spit at, screamed at and kicked. I just have no idea where he could possibly be getting this behavior from!

In addition to his odd behavior, he also has a new stunt....he refuses to wear a diaper...which would be FINE if he wanted to at least attempt to pee in the toilet (or heck, at this point, I would be happy if he was willing to pee on a tree!), but NOPE, he just wants to wear underwear and then go and change it when he pees in it. I think we are on our 5th pair of underwear already today. At least he keeps throwing the wet underwear (and shorts) in the diaper pail, guess I should be grateful for small things!

I hope this phase passes quickly!

Mill Creek Water Study:

Below are the results I sent to the Mill Creek Restoration Project www.millcreekrestoration.org. Unlike Keehner Park, where we did our fall study, this stream is in excellent condition (according to the data we collected), I will let you know if I hear differently.

Date: Wednesday April 28, 2010

Site: Union Center Blvd

Time: 12:30 PM to 2:30 PM

Air Temperature: 63 degrees

Weather: Sunny no clouds

School: Homeschool Network of Greater Cincinnati

Fecal coliform:

We only have purple colonies (there can be purple, green and blue)

We have 19 purple colonies which indicates excellent

All of the quick coliform tests (from the younger kids kit) turned mt dew color/foamy yellow-green.

MacroInvertabrate Study:

Group A:

Water Penny Larva (a)--found 3

other snails (a)--found 1

Group B:

damselfly nymphs (a)--found 3

dragonfly nymphs (b)--found 11

sowbugs (a)--found 3

Group C:

aquatic worms (a)--found 2

The kids also found a frog and 2 salamanders which I know aren't on the sheet, but I know they are an indicator of water health. We also found tons of snail and salamander eggs.

Water Temperature:

Temperature (group 1): 12-12=0

Temperature (group 2): 14-12=2

Temperature (group 3): 10-10=0

Official average temperature change: less than 1 = excellent

Biochemical Dissolved Oxygen:

Three groups had a result of 0

Two groups had a result of 2

Overall BOD: less than 2 = excellent

PH:

Three groups had a result of 7

Two groups had a result of 8

Overall average is 7.4 = excellent

Total Phosphate:

All 5 groups got a result of 2 = good.... we had a hard time interpreting this result as it looked more yellow than pink....we went with 2, since it wasn't clear.

Turbidity:

All 5 groups got a result of 0 = excellent

Nitrates:

3 groups have 0

2 groups have 2.5

Average would be 1.0 =excellent

Here are the field trip details:
What: Mill Creek Restoration Water Quality Program
Where: Union Center Blvd Creek You park in the parking lot for the RAVE Theater near the second entrance to the shopping center (the sign says theater entrance). The stream is down under Union Center Blvd.
When: Wednesday April 28th 12:30 PM (please eat lunch beforehand)
Who: Homeschoolers ages 6-14
RSVP: Laura

Please come dressed for the weather (rain or shine--the program is held regardless of weather) and wear boots or water shoes as we will be getting into the water to do the macroinvertebrate study, water temperature and to pull water samples.

The water quality study is extremely hands on and includes macroinvertebrate collection, water sampling, and running tests on the water including nitrate levels, water turbidity, phosphate levels,
dissolved oxygen, ph levels, water temperature and fecal coliform bacteria testing. Each child will get to participate in running each of the tests, they will rotate in groups through stations where each
test will be conducted.

Mill Creek in southwest Ohio is one of the most severely polluted and physically degraded streams in the United States. In 1997, because of its multiple stressors and sources of pollution, the national river conservation group American Rivers designated Mill Creek as "the most endangered urban river in North America."

The stream flows 28 miles south from its headwaters in Butler County through the geographic heart of Hamilton County and the City of Cincinnati to its confluence with the Ohio River, just west of the
downtown riverfront. Its watershed covers southeast Butler County and approximately the central third of Hamilton County and encompasses all or parts of 37 political jurisdictions. Within the City of Cincinnati, over forty neighborhoods are located in the Mill Creek drainage basin.

Today's discover: Snapping Turtle































Who would have ever thought, living in the middle of a city, just 2 blocks out of the downtown business area, that we would encounter so much wildlife! Today's find, a SNAPPING TURTLE! He measures 9.5" long and 8" across. Neither Emily or Cade had any issues with holding him. Jay is guessing he weighs about 8 lb. Me? Well, I will stick to taking pictures of him!

From http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=1021

Snapping Turtle: The common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentine) is the largest turtle in Ohio. They may weigh as much as 35 pounds.

There are many "snappers" in Ohio but they are seldom seen. Unlike other turtles, they rarely sun themselves except in early spring. They prefer to stay in habitats of shallow freshwater, buried in mud except for their nose and eyes. They even hibernate under water.

It has a large head and thick legs and tail. Its carapace has at least three large ridges. The plastron of the snapper is so small that it does not have the ability to go into its shell for protection like the box turtle. Its body length averages 8 - 18.5 inches.

Breeding begins in April and runs through November. The secretive reptile lays an average of 25 - 50 eggs (maximum of 83).

The ill-tempered snapping turtle gets its name from its powerful jaws. They are very aggressive and should be considered dangerous. These powerful jaws are used in capturing its diet invertebrates, carrion, water plants, fish, birds and small mammals.

From the prehistoric cultures to modern residents, Ohioans have hunted the snapping turtle for food and used its shell as a container and for decoration. Today people, with a valid Ohio fishing license, still hunt snappers.

Apple Computer Store Garageband Field Trip

Where: Apple Store Kenwood Mall

When; Friday April 23 10 AM to 11:30 AM

Who: Students grade 4-8th grade

Cost: FREE!

RSVP: Laura (Yes, that's me!)

When you RSVP, please include your student's name and their t-shirt size, as each participant receives a free t-shirt. Please arrive on time so that we can start the program promptly at 10 AM.

Apple Computer store offers free fieldtrips once a year and I managed to secure a spot. The kids worked on a music project called "garageband". We participated in this fieldtrip opportunity last year as well (although last year we did a movie making project) and Grant has dubbed this his favorite fieldtrip of the year! The staff at the store is amazing and the kids jump right in and start working on the project. The staff even commented on how confident the kids were (oh, I guess he didn't see the piece on Good Morning America where my kids are supposed to be backwards social misfits!). I plan to upload the music the kids composed to the computer soon, as soon as I figure out how to do it since Luke broke the cd/dvd drive! If I remember, I will share it! All of the tween/young teen girls somehow managed to disappear BEFORE we took the picture, gee, I wonder why?

Happy 14th Birthday Grant!
























And today we mark the LAST of our April birthdays! Since Grant was born bright and early in the morning, he is OFFICIALLY 14!

Icecream the breakfast of champions!


















Yes, I am feeling a bit snarky after watching the piece Good Morning America ran on unschoolers this morning. Reinforced how much I dislike the liberal media. So when I walked back into the living room to find my 2 always unschooled boys eating ICECREAM right out of the carton for BREAKFAST I had to snap a picture! Can't say that the bright flash agreed with either of them!

Who me? 3?
























Luke looks absolutely terrified in every picture I took of him with his cake! Is it the calories? The gluten? Or the fact that he is now 3 and no longer a BABY?

Luke's Birth Story (originally posted on this blog April 2007)
It is with great joy that we welcome Luke Zaid (aka PUMPKIN!) to our family!

Luke Zaid Riesenberg
Wednesday, April 18,2007
2:35PM via planned c-section
weighing 9 lb 8.2 oz
measuring 21 inches

Here is Luke's birth story (and the story of our 48 hours in the hospital after delivery!)

We were supposed to be at the hospital by noon, but we ended up running late. It didn't help that the majority of the elevators in the hospital were being serviced and that some maintenance guy with a bunch of big equipment seemed to think he took priority over a very pregnant woman and her pack-mule husband (poor Jay was carrying 2 suitcases and his newspaper!). We ended up arriving up in triage about 12:10 PM. It was oddly quiet and we were registered immediately and sent back to the surgical prep suite. It was so quiet that we ended up with 3 nurses attending to us! One of the nurses, Laura, went to start the IV, a procedure that I always hate as they tend to never get it right the first time. Unbelievably, even though she has to use the vein in the side of my lower left arm, she gets it started on the first try and it doesn't even hurt going in. Turns out her son plays football for UC (local college) so she and Jay chat about the new coach. They start the IV fluids, they need to get two bags in before heading into the OR. They test my blood sugar (77) and they fill out all the paperwork needed for the chart. Jay and I talk about names and the odd sense comes over me that since we easily picked a girl name, that this baby will be a boy! All of the nurses offer suggestions for names.

Shortly after 1 PM, Denise, the nurse anesthesist , comes in and discusses the procedure for the spinal. She is wonderfully cheery and upbeat, reminding me of the anesthesia guy we had with Sophia. It sets a great tone. One of the nurses shaves my massive belly to prep it for surgery. About 1:45 PM, Jay is handed his scrubs (which look like a biohazard suit) and told to get dressed while they start my spinal. I walk into the OR (a different experience since I had been wheeled into the OR for both other c-sections) and asked to hop up onto the table. The room looks almost identical to the OR at the other hospital I delivered at, the only bad thing is that I notice that the infant warmer and scale are at the foot of the bed, so I won't be able to see the baby or the scale once baby is born!

Denise tells me to sit indian style and to slump forward and relax! Easy for her to say, she isn't the one who is going to have a needle shoved in her back. She administers a numbing solution and I barely feel anything. I had felt tremendous pressure with my other spinals, but this barely hurt, I couldn't believe it. I was skeptical at first that she had even done it right, but as the familiar warmth and numbness rose through my legs and into my torso, I knew things were alright. By 2 PM, I was completely numb. While Denise does the spinal, the familiar sound of counting instruments is heard throughout the OR. They put a wedge under the right side of my back and strapped my legs to the table. Surprisingly, my arms were left completely free (another new experience). Denise put oxygen on my nose and Laura inserted the foley catheter. A screen was set up to block our view, but it wasn't very high. It was game time!

Doctors who perform the c-section: Dr. Andrews, Dr. Altman, and Dr. Valley.

Jay comes in and joins me just as the doctors test to see if I am completely numb. 2:05 PM the procedure begins. I can smell burning flesh and then realize I can see exactly what the doctors are doing in the reflection of the light. Jay can see right over the screen. The mood in the OR is light, lots of laughing, talking and joking. Denise agrees to snap pictures of the baby being pulled from the incision. Lots of PRESSURE and TUGGING! Jay stands up and actually manages to stay on his feet! Up baby comes into the air..... 2:35 PM....IT'S A BOY! I am completely and totally shocked, I think I even asked them if they were sure! I had spent my whole pregnancy preparing myself for a girl!

A funny sidenote. As baby is being delivered, the song "Rock Star" by Nickleback is playing in the OR. The night before (or more accurately at about 4 AM that morning) I awoke from a dead sleep with the words from that song streaming through my head. I had been dreaming about having the baby. The whole think gives me chills. I mention it to the delivery room. Everyone thinks it is funky!

Jay goes over to the table to watch them assess the baby. Apgars are 8 and 9. The moment of truth, baby is placed on the scale. 9 lb 8.2 oz. What a tiny little sprite for a Riesenberg baby at full term! He is 21 inches long. Dark hair and the most distinguished of cries. Ironically he looks NOTHING like any of his brother's at birth.

While they are assessing the baby, the doctors are busy finishing the surgery. I can see my insides being reassembled in the reflection of the light. It is kind of cool and kind of weird at the same time.

Jay comes back and sits down and is handed our beautiful son. Jay is right, he looks nothing like the other Riesenbergs! They finish sewing me up and staple the incision shut, not that I really notice, I am in total awe of the beautiful baby in Jay's arms. We are wheeled out of the OR and back into the surgical prep suite. We will spend at least the next hour in there being carefully monitored!
An initial blood sugar is taken from the baby. It comes back 37, just below what would be considered normal. Mine is also checked and reads 66. They decide to let me try nursing the baby to see if his blood sugar will come up on his own. i am worried since he has just been exposed to all the meds they gave me, but unbelievably he latches on the VERY FIRST TRY and then continues to suck for an HOUR! We finally take him off the breast because they have to wait 30 minutes after he finishes eating to recheck his blood sugar. I cradle him in my arms the entire time. They retest his bloodsugar and it comes back 43! YEAH! Jay finally leaves our side and calls the kids to tell them the news! We leave the surgical prep suite, baby still in my arms, and head downstairs (Labor and delivery is on the 3rd floor, post partum rooms on the 2nd floor). By 5PM we are settled into post partum room number 220!

We call the kids again. I am given juice to drink. Boy it tastes good after not eating anything since midnight. Baby nurses again for about 15 minutes (6:30 PM). They bring my meds bedside (ibuprofen, gas-ex) and tell me that I can take them when I need them, no more than every 6 hours. If I want narcotics, I just need to call the nurse. Jay heads out to run a few errands and to go home and be with the kids. Nurse until shift change is Mary.

After Jay leaves, I call my mother. No congratulations. Only her saying she hopes that this is the last baby we have. At least she holds her tongue and I don't get a white trash comment from her this time around. I don't get it and I never will. Oh well, not my responsibility for her to take joy in her grandchildren. It certainly is her loss!

7 PM is shift change. Night nurse is Phyllis and the PCA is Lori.

By 8:30 PM, I am eating Jello. Oh, how I HATE jello! I call Deanne and chat with her a bit, but don't feel up to calling anyone else.

11:30 PM, I am given a sandwich, applesauce, and cookie to eat. A very dry turkey sandwich has never tasted so good!

4:45 AM: Catheter is removed.

Baby was up the whole night! He nursed some, but mostly fussed.

5 AM: They test my bloodsugar. It comes back 85! YEAH!

7 AM: Dr. Wall comes to visit. Baby is happily nursing once again. He removes the dressing over the staples. OUCH! He reminds me to keep the incision clean and dry. Yeah, like I want to let it get infected! Baby finally falls asleep. Shift change and our nurse for the day is once again Mary and the PCA is Bonita, who is wonderful sweet!

7:30 AM: Breakfast! For a hospital, it really sucks nutritionally! An egg, danish, juice, milk, cereal! But I am hunger so I eat the danish and the egg and drink the milk, even though it is 2%.

8:45 AM: 4 hours after catheter is removed, I finally PEE! What a relief, although it is obvious that the bladder is still being affected some by the anesthesia as it is hard to control the flow. It gets easier to pee over the next two bathroom visits and things are pretty much back to normal by noon.

10 AM: Baby is taken to nursery for circumcision.

2:35 PM: Happy 1 day birthday baby! Checked for jaundice and level is 7.4, just under what would be considered worrisome at 24 hours old (a reading of 8).

4 PM: The gang arrives for a visit! By the end of the visit, Luke has been named! Will insists that his baby's name is PUMPKIN! Emily even changes a poopy diaper!

7 PM: My mother visits. She HATES the name. It so happens her father's name was Lucas so she hates it. She is hell bent on holding onto the past, I much prefer to create new memories and a bright future. The way I see it, it really is not my problem if she likes the name or not, after all, how much contact will she have with him? If her past behavior holds true, maybe on holidays and an occasional baseball game. She leaves by 7:30 PM. She comments that I need to lose weight, even though she brought chex mix and trail mix with her for me to eat. I will NEVER understand this woman!

8 PM: Hannah returns with Sarah and Deanne for a visit. They bring a chicken sandwich from Penn Station with them! YUMMY! It is great to have company that actually wants to be there! OK, the kids wanted to be there, but they were VERY LOUD!

Baby is taken to the nursery to be weighed (this is normally the only time each day baby is taken from the room). 8 lb 12 oz. Night shift nurse is Jeanie and PCA is Alice.

12 AM: Luke screams for almost 1 hour. Nothing makes him happy. Hopefully this isn't an omen of things to come!

1 AM: I am in so much pain from the incision,backache and cramping (with baby #9, post partum contractions during nursing are worse than labor contractions, and each contraction is accompanied by gushing blood) that I ask the nurse for perocet. She is a sweetheart and takes Luke out of the room with her and says she will bring him back when he needs to eat. Apparently I pass out from exhaustion ( I slept less than 1 hr the night before) because the next thing I remember is the nurse standing over me with Luke at 4 AM saying he wants to eat! It is amazing what just a few hours of sleep does for the spirit and soul!

4 AM: Luke nurses for an hour! We fall back asleep.

6 AM: Dr. Wall comes to visit. Says we can go home if we want. Incision looks great according to him. It isn't oozing at all! Home health nurse will remove staples when she visits. Need to make appointment for follow up visit in 1 week and at 6 weeks. No long car trips for at least 2 to 3 weeks because of swelling in my legs.

6:15 AM: SHOWER! What fun it is to be CLEAN!

10 AM: Hearing test is administered. Once the vernix is cleared from Luke's ears, he passes with flying colors!

11 AM: Peds round and agree baby can go home! They check a bilirubin on baby at it is 9.4 at 45 hours of age. They do the PKU test and also test baby for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a fatal disorder that only afflicts baby boys. They have just started offering the screening for this disorder and we agreed to participate in the pilot study.

By 3 PM we are heading home. Just 48 hours after surgery and we are reunited with the family!

LIVING HISTORY!

A few years back the kids and I visited the Christian Waldschmidt Homestead and Civil War Museum down in Camp Dennison (between Milford and Loveland on Rt 126) and had a wonderful time. I just learned about this great upcoming opportunity and hope others might decide to attend! The last time we were there, we just had a tour of the property and the museum and it was amazing, I can only imagine how much fun it will be during their American History Days!

INVITATION TO HOMESCHOOLERS: AMERICAN HISTORY DAYS
Demonstrations of Early American Life
When: May 13,14,15, and 16
Hours: Thursday, Friday & Saturday 9:00 AM TO 5:00 PM Sunday 12 Noon TO 5:00 PM
Where: Christian Waldschmidt Homestead & Civil War Museums 7567 Glendale Milford Road (State Route 126) Camp Dennison, Ohio 45111
513-295-6422 or 513-576-6327
Admission Fee: Adults $5.00, 6-17 year olds $2.00 Children 5 and under Free

Bring your students to the Waldschmidt Homestead for a Real Life Lesson in American History

Related Topics for Educational Enrichment: Appearances throughout the week will include interpreters George Rogers Clark, Patrick Henry, Mrs. William Henry Harrison, Harriet Beecher Stowe, General Sherman, Jacob Messerschmidt, Gunsmith, the Sons of the Civil War, various

demonstrators including the Weaver’s Guild, Dulcimer Society, Chair Caning, Blacksmith, book, beads and rug maker, school teacher to help children learn to crochet, Paul Wilkes with his amazing flag display, Amelia Ahner with Regency Period clothing, a real Conestoga wagon, President Garfield’s original surrey with the fringe on top, and much, much more.

Opportunities for learning:
1. Comparing and contrasting tasks for daily living found in frontier days with those of today.
2. Learning about the different methods of travel during the colonial and frontier days.
3. Seeing a simple time-line encompassing the Revolutionary War through the Civil War as displayed through the property and exhibits.
4. Learning the different steps involved in making paper during the time of Christian Waldschmidt.
5. Learning about the different types of communication available on the frontier, including newspapers.
6. Will learn to appreciate the quality of life provided by the modern inventions and conveniences that he now enjoys.

Options for further study (preferably before your visit):
U.S. History:
The Revolutionary War
Flags of America
The American Civil War
Morgan’s Raiders
Mason-Dixon Line
Railroad expansion
Westward Expansion
Land division (townships, etc.)
Industrialization

Ohio History:
Judge John Cleves Symmes
The Symmes Purchase (Miami Purchase)
The Northwest Territory
Governor William Dennison
The Ohio River watershed
Achieving statehood in 1803
Native American tribes
The Treaty of Greenville
General (also Governor) Arthur St. Clair
Population growth from 1790
National Road and Zane’s
The Ohio River and its tributaries
History of the Little Miami Railroad

German-American History:
German-American Settlements
Genealogy
Religion: Pietism & Lutheranism
The Pennsylvania Dutch
German troops in the Civil War
David Ziegler, Cincinnati’s 1st mayor
German mercenaries
German paper cutting

Frontier Life:
Paper making
Mills and grinding
Textiles: artistic
Colonial flower
Lighting Devices
Travel: flatboats, horseback, and wagons
Clothing of the 18th and 19th centuries
Sugar production –bee keeping, maple s
Food production, preparation, and storage
Buildings: cabins, clapboards, and stone
Wild animals and/or hunting
Religion
Subscription schools
Commerce and trade, currency
Recreation, games, music, and dance
Medicines & herbs
Weaponry and protection

Appearances throughout the week will include interpreters George Rogers Clark, Patrick Henry, Mrs. William Henry Harrison, Harriet Beecher Stowe, General Sherman, Jacob Messerschmidt, Gunsmith, the Sons of the Civil War, various demonstrators including the Weaver’s Guild, Dulcimer Society, Chair Caning, Blacksmith, book, beads and rug maker, school teacher to help children learn to crochet, Paul Wilkes with his amazing flag display, Amelia Ahner with Regency Period clothing, a real Conestoga wagon, President Garfield’s original surrey with the fringe on top, and much, much more.

HAPPY 12th BIRTHDAY TO JACOB!

Jacob was the most beautiful of all the Riesenberg babies, but one would NEVER know that from his HORRID newborn picture! Unfortunately he was born before we really started using a digital camera, so this is the ONLY newborn picture I have of him on the computer! Maybe I will break out the scanner and find a better picture to share!
























Jacob's Birth Story:

Jacob Zaren Riesenberg was born on April 14, 1998 at 3:03 PM weighing in at 8 lb 12.5 oz (he would have weighed even more if he hadn't peed all over everyone and everything before being placed on the scale) and measuring 22 inches.

Jay and I headed down to the hospital on Monday, April 13th around 1 PM. I was having contractions 3-5 minutes apart and lasting at least 1 minute each. I kept thinking it wouldn't be long at all until we met our 5th child. After all, I had been at the midwives four days earlier and I was already 4 cm and 60% effaced. We spend the afternoon and early evening in the labor room hoping that nature would take its course. They started IV antibiotics since I carried group B strep and they hoped the treatment would keep the baby from being infected. I consented to an internal exam around 8 PM, I was convinced that I would be at least 6 cm by then, imagine how disappointed I was when Sara (one of our midwives) did the exam and there was absolutely NO CHANGE! 6 hours at the hospital with intense back labor and nothing. Jay and I spent the next 2 hours in the jacuzzi shower, the warm water was WONDERFUL, I almost forgot how bad my back was hurting! By the time we dried off and were sitting back in the bed, it was after 11 PM. We watched the news and the late night talk shows. By 2:30 AM, Jay dozed off and I sat there....contracting, exhausted, feeling defeated. At 4 AM, I asked Sara to check to see if I had dialated any more, I was still having horrible back labor. ABSOLUTELY NO CHANGE! I LOST IT! I sat there and SOBBED for almost an hour. At 6 AM I had collected myself somewhat and Sara and I walked the halls until almost 8 AM. Karen, the other midwife, showed up at 8 AM and after talking a while said she felt we needed to make a decision. Either go home and wait or start pitocin, wait for stronger contractions to return (the strength of the contractions by this point had backed off) and then she would break my water. Jay and I agreed. We had been at this for almost 24 hours. We were READY to meet our baby! We opted for induction with pitocin and hoped we were making the right choice!

At noon we started pitocin. Horrible contractions. At 2:15 PM, Karen checks me to find that I have finally started to make some progress. I am now 5 cm and 80% effaced. She ruptures the amniotic sac. At 2:40 PM (only about 25 minutes later), I tell her I feel the urge to PUSH! She checks and I am 9 1/2 cm and 100% effaced. She tells me I can push if I truly feel the URGE, but that the baby is still very high and that it might take a while. At 3:03 PM, after about 15 minutes of pushing, Jacob slid forth onto the bed and Karen immediately placed him in my arms. I had never felt so wonderful in all my life! Within minutes, Karen decided they needed to further assess his condition, because he aspirated so much fluid they needed to suction him and give him oxygen. His limbs were very blue so they took him to the NICU for further suctioning, oxygen and observation. Once again I sat helplessly by as they wheeled one of my babies from the delivery room off to the intensive care unit. Jay followed Jacob down to the NICU. Karen repaired a small internal tear that needed 1 stitch. I showered and by 4:30 PM had joined Jay down in the NICU. Jacob was having a difficult time maintaining his body temperature, was grunting rather than crying and his limbs were still very blue, signs we were told of a possible septic strep infection. He would need to be watched closely. After showing signs of active nursing and holding his body temperature, they allowed us to take him back to the room around 10 PM and we were finally able to spend some quiet time as a family.

They treated Jacob with antibiotics. They never did decide if he had group B strep or not. There was a fire in the lab the night they sent over his lab work. How strange is that?

Can someone explain to me.....

Why the Cincinnati Homeschool Convention (http://www.cincinnatihomeschoolconvention.com/) would allow the Virtual Community School (http://www.vcslearn.org/) and K12 (http://www.k12.com/who-we-help/homeschoolers/) to set up booths at their convention? Does this seem to anyone else like La Leche League (http://www.llli.org/) allowing formula companies to set up booths at their National convention? Virtual Community School and K12 are NO MORE HOMESCHOOLING than formula is BREASTMILK. They are NOT THE SAME! Virtual Community school and K12 are PUBLIC SCHOOL over the internet.....you are NOT HOMESCHOOLING your child, you are allowing public school to be administered IN YOUR HOME! If you are going to allow VIRTUAL SCHOOLS to PURCHASE booth space at a HOMESCHOOLING CONVENTION, then why not let the local private and public schools to purchase space as well...why even call yourself a HOMESCHOOLING convention if you are promoting options that AREN'T HOMESCHOOLING?

It really irks me when people who enroll their children into these virtual academies like VCS or OVHA think they are homeschooling or even worse, portray themselves to the rest of the homeschooling community as homeschoolers. It bothers me even more when these families lead others astray and encourage them to "homeschool" using a virtual academy. One homeschooling list that I am part of, that isn't very big (probably less than 100 families), has about 10 families participating in virtual academies and they frequently sent out emails to the group encouraging others to join. Now if I was to send out emails extolling the merits of our local school district and encouraging everyone to enroll their children in a local school, the emails wouldn't even make it onto the email list, they would be edited out by the moderator (as they should be), but for some reason it is OK to perpetrate the lie that virtual schooling is HOMESCHOOLING. Part of me wonders why as VIRTUAL SCHOOLERS they even join HOMESCHOOL groups, seems to make about as much sense as me joining the PTO at the local school.

It annoys me that when someone puts Ohio homeschooling into a search engine, because they can AFFORD to pay for the advertising (with our tax dollars!) that Ohio K12 (http://www.k12.com/ohva/) is the FIRST LINK that appears, I just pray most people are smart enough to go further down the page. And just so they get their "fair shake" here, I can't forget to include Connections Academy (www.connectionsacademy.com) who seems to almost MONTLY send me a postcard in the mail encouraging me to join their virtual school. I am not sure if they just do mass mailing to everyone with a school aged child within the state of Ohio or if they target us specifically as a homeschooling family. Neither would surprise me.

Yes, virtual academies have their place. I am sure for some students and parents they are an absolute God send, the answer to their prayers to keep their child/children out of the local school system. But call it what is it.....it is PUBLIC SCHOOL at home. It ISN'T HOMESCHOOLING!

Grant's baseball schedule

OK, the much anticipated schedule is ready! Let the games begin! Home games (played at Tealtown ballpark in the Eastgate area of Cincinnati, OH).

Tuesday May 4th 6:30 PM at Tealtown vs. KY Longhorns.

Thursday May 6th 6:15 PM at Madeira vs Madeira Bombers.

Monday May 10th 6:30 PM at Norwood Millcrest Fields vs Norwood

Saturday May 15th 4 PM at Tealtown vs Dales Devils

Wednesday May 19th RESCHEDULED do to 8th grade banquet conflict

Thursday May 20th 6:30 PM at Tealtown vs Amelia

Monday May 24th 6:30 PM at Tealtown vs Norwood

Wednesday May 26th 6 PM at Tealtown vs Madeira Tribe

Saturday May 29th 6:30 PM at Pendrey Fields vs Campbell County Cranes

Monday May 31st Noon at Pendrey Fields vs Campbell County Sharks----NOTE THIS IS MEMORIAL DAY!

Thursday June 3rd 6:30 PM at Villa Hills vs Kentucky Longhorns

Saturday June 5th 2:00 PM at Blue Ash Sports Center (Field #3 Riverfront) vs. Sycamore--Rescheduled from May 19th

Friday June 11th 6:30 PM at Tealtown vs Madeira Bombers--rescheduled from June 5th due to tournament conflict with Tealtown fields.

Saturday June 12th 1 PM at Amelia vs Amelia Heat

Monday June 14th 6:30 PM at Villa Hills vs Dales Devils

Wednesday June 16th 6:30 PM at Tealtown vs Sycamore Aves

Friday June 18th 6 PM at Bellvue Vets vs Grau Titans

Sunday June 20th 2:30 PM at Madeira vs Madeira Tribe

Wednesday June 23rd 6:30 PM at Tealtown vs Sycamore

Sunday June 27th 2 PM at Tealtown vs Grau Titans

Monday June 28th 8:30 PM at Crosley Blue Ash (grass infield) vs Sycamore Aves

Tuesday June 29th 6:30 PM at Tealtown vs Campbell County Cranes

Thursday July 1st 6:30 PM at Tealtown vs Campbell County Sharks

We are still working on scheduling 2 games against the KY Hurricanes.

City Tournament starts July 6th

Happy Birthday Cade!

We now have another child with a DOUBLE DIGIT age! 90 more birthdays to go to make TRIPLE DIGITS!
























10 years ago today...this is how things played out!

After an ultrasound on Friday, April 7, 2000, the ultrasound tech estimated the baby to weigh about 8 LB 12 oz, just under Dr. Howe's 9 LB threshold for avoiding a cesarean section. After consulting with Dr. Carpenter (who would be on call on Saturday), Dr. Howe scheduled an induction for 7 AM Saturday, April 8, 2000, our DUE DATE! After 40 weeks, it seemed unbelievable that the end was finally so close. We scramble to make plans for all of the children the following morning. Michelle came to the house and watch everyone from 6 AM until they could be picked up by friends. Brett ended up staying with Evan H, Hannah and Emily stayed with the Kramers and Grant and Jake went home with Michelle. The weather had turned rather nasty. At midweek we had been wearing shorts and t-shirts, but the forecast now included rain and snow, with temperatures falling through the 30's, what a gloomy day. About 6:50 we pull into the hospital parking garage and head over to triage. It takes forever to get checked in and moved back to the
labor and delivery area. The doctor checks and says that the cervix is high, firm, and just under 3 cm dilated and that baby is at -3 (still floating). Doctor asks if we would be interested in participating in a research study for a new induction drug. The one drawback is that it can take up to 48 hours for labor to start. We had been through two long inductions already (Grant was around 20 hours and Jake had been over 36 hours) so we felt we had nothing to lose. Finally just after 10 AM a labor room is open and we are transferred. At 10:45 PM the study drug is administered. The doctor says she will be back in to check on us in 4 hours unless we need her sooner, and then we can ring for her. Experience some mild cramping but we both end up
taking a nap. At 12:45 the doctor returns to discuss my concerns about shoulder dystocia and she feels that given that Emily was rather short and round that this baby appeared to be much longer that this baby should emerge rather easily. Since she was in the room, she decides to check for dilation and announces that I am now 100% effaced and close to 4 cm...I haven't felt
hardly anything, she decides to stop the study drug (obviously labor is now underway, there is no turning back) and says she will transfer us to a birthing room and start pitocin as soon as one opens up (little did we know at that point that 15 other women were also in labor...YIKES). The nurse brings up a lunch tray and I DEVOUR everything (I had been told not to eat
after midnight). Around 2 PM Jay and I start to play to alphabet name game, we each pick at least one name for each letter of the alphabet (minus the letters the other kids names start with) it helps to pass the time since basically nothing is happening at this point, mild contractions, we watch bits of a movie on TV and once again we nap (remembering what a long rode we
might have ahead of us given our other birth experiences). At 3:30 we are FINALLY moved to the LDR room. The nurse administers IV antibiotics because I was group b strep positive with a previous pregnancy. Jay and I decide to narrow the list of names and rather quickly have to pinned down to 3 names (Dalton, Lance, and Quinn) for a boy and 3 names (Veronica, Alison, and
Sarah) for a girl, the question is will we still agree on any of the 3 once the baby gets here! At 4:35 the PITOCIN is FINALLY STARTED....a sidenote here, at about 4:15PM I decides to have Jay pull out the camera so it is ready and I discovers that the batteries I just bought on 3-18-00 are completely DEAD, a photographer's/scrapbooker's worst nightmare! Jay runs out to get new
batteries, and I digs out a cheap disposable camera for the labor bag in case it is needed. By 5:10, the contractions are starting to piggyback...vivid memories of my last labor and the 15 hours of piggybacking contractions that did NOTHING keep flashing in my mind. Jay makes it back
with the batteries and I am feeling pretty miserable. Dr. Carpenter agrees to break my amniotic sac even though baby is still very high in order to get labor rolling along. Within an hour of the sac breaking contractions and pressure are really building I can remember thinking to myself please let these contractions be doing something. Dr. decides to check and says we are
at just over 6 cm. I am so relieved because I stayed stuck at 3 cm with my last baby for over 12 hours. Jay comments on how smoothly things are going, we have made it to more than 6 cm and that we are in the home stretch and he hasn't gotten yelled at once or been made to massage my back for hours on end.

Somewhere shortly after 9 PM I feel a contraction that I know is different, the sensation that maybe I could push is there. The next contraction I try to completely relax and listen to my body, as the contraction builds I can feel my body being called to push, about 90 seconds
later the next contraction begins, I moan, look at Jay and say "go get the nurse and the docs it is time to push", everyone rushes in, Dr. Carpenter checks me at 9:40 PM and declares I am complete and that I can push whenever I want. Since I had gestational diabetes, the room begins to fill with medical personnel, along with the 2 OB docs and 3 nurses, there are also 5 pediatricians in the room. Empowered by the freedom to finally push we didn't go with the typical controlled pushing to the frantic count of 10, Dr. Carpenter allows me to push as many times as I choose through each contraction. The head rapidly descends, I can feel bone moving through bone. Someone's pager keeps going off and I make some comment to the affect that
they either need to answer the damn thing or given it to me so I can throw it out the window. Dr. Carpenter comments the next day that she has never had a patient keep her sense of humor the way I did during pushing. I probably push a total of 20 times, through about 8 contractions. I will never forget that WONDERFUL FEELING as the face cleared the pubic bone. What a wonderful feeling to know that the baby is almost here. The head completely out, I know from previous experience that once more good push and baby should be free. I push and NOTHING. Suddenly all 10 members of the medical staff in the labor room fall quiet. I know our worst fear has come to pass, the shoulders are stuck. Head of the bed is rapidly dropped (talk about a head
rush) and I am practically doing a headstand. Later Jay tells me that at this point the baby's face is getting grayer and grayer and he admits that at that moment he thought the baby was dead. In a last ditch effort to free the baby, Dr. Carpenter slides her fingers between the pubic bone and the tightly wedged flesh of the baby's shoulder, maneuvering her fingers under the left
arm pit, and she rotates the arm in and up popping baby out. Free at last at 10:01 PM, IT'S A BOY!!!!! An interesting side note: Cade has a single umbilical artery! A cord is supposed to have 2 arteries and 1 vein, one of his umbilical arteries is missing! Ironically, most babies with this abnormality are GIRLS and have a CHROMOSOMAL problem.....not our baby....a BOY and PERFECTLY HEALTHY!

Despite spending 8 1/2 minutes without oxygen, Baby Riesenberg pinks up very quickly and is given to mom to nurse. Dr. Carpenter lets the placenta deliver itself (10:26 PM) and then makes a final check for tearing or skid marks, not a single stitch is needed. Thanks the Lord for flexible tissue. After about 40 minutes baby is taken to NICU to be assessed. Jay and I both agree that he looks just like Jake and we decide none of the names on the list seem fitting. About 11:30 PM one of the pediatrician comes back into delivery room and tells us that baby broke his
humerus (bone in his upper arm) during delivery and also has suffered some nerve damage, and that they are consulting with an orthopedic doctor from Children's Hospital. After the delivery I felt pretty good with the exception of feeling like my pelvic bone is bruised and the fact that my
afterpains (especially when I nurse) feel like labor contractions . I was moved to my hospital room around midnight and baby is brought back to me at 1:45 AM, little splint on his arm and all! Baby Riesenberg spends the first night of his life nameless. I call Jay the next morning and ask him what he thinks of Cade as a name and he says OK (I woke him from a dead sleep, wonder if he would have been so agreeable if he had been awake!), so it is SET.....I fill out the birth certificate immediately so there is no turning back!!!

RECAP:
Cade Zavier Riesenberg
4-8-2000
9 lb 2.3 oz, 22"
10:01 PM

Of all of the Riesenberg kids, Cade is the one who still resembles his newborn picture the most!

Explorers!

Last fall the boys discovered the woods across the street from our house, yes, I know we have lived here almost 5 years now, but it wasn't like I was going to let them wander across the street by themselves when we first moved in. We aren't sure who owns the property, it is really just a steep wooded hill with a creek at the bottom, but it is plenty big enough for them to explore!

Thursday they went over and explored returning with a salamander that they had found under a rock! They were so excited and googled salamanders to learn a bit more about their spotted friend! He was returned to the rock they found him under about an hour later!

Yesterday (Friday) I returned from a shopping trip to be greeted by about an 18 inch water snake! They were thrilled with their discover and made "SSSSSSILK" a home in a rubbermaid container. Unfortunately "SSSSSSILK" was a bit smarter than the boys and escaped while they were inside eating dinner. Hopefully he found his way back across the street! Honestly I am surprised no one got bit as much as they handled him all afternoon.

Today, the discovery was a VERY LARGE crayfish (crawdad)! Cade measured him with a ruler and he measures a WHOOPING 4", pretty darn big if you ask me! Neither Jay or I have ever seen one so large. Again, the discovery led to the boys googling what crayfish eat and if they will fight each other. I love watching their natural desire to learn! Learning for the sake of knowledge, not because some teacher standing at the front of a classroom is telling them that it is going to be on some stupid test!

I can only wonder (and wait to see) what tomorrow's discovery might be. A different species of salamander or snake, another macro invertebrate....as long as it isn't inside my house, I guess I won't complain!

Grant, Emily and I had the privilege to see the African Children's Choir perform at River Hills Community Church in Loveland, OH. All I can say is AMAZING, ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! If you ever have the opportunity to see them, don't pass it up!

What: African Children's Choir

When: Friday March 19, 2010 7 PM

Where: River Hills Christian Church

6300 Price Road Loveland, OH 45140

Enjoy an evening of music and dance by this world-renown group. Admission is free. Love offering will be taken. Helping Africa's most vulnerable children today, so they can help Africa tomorrow. www.africanchildrenschoir.com

Interactive Passover Event

I attended the most amazing event at the Jewish Discovery Center http://www.jewish-discovery.com/ today with the kids. It was an interactive walk through that explained the story of passover. It was very hands on, each plague had a hands on activity connected to it. Before we began, they dressed each child in a robe (made of felt) and a head wrap to represent how the Jewish people had dressed at the time of the first passover celebration. We started out our tour with the water being turned to blood (drank red juice), then onto the frogs (the kids were given small plastic frogs to have jump around), lice (the kids played in rice with rubber bugs in it and each left with a plastic spider ring), wild animals (everyone made animal mask) and domestic animals dying, boils (popping bubble wrap), fire and hail (firey lollipops to eat), locust (popping ball game) , darkness (sunglasses), death (we colored doors with red crayons). Then we heard the story of the unleavened bread and watched a video about making matzoh and made our own paper matzoh to carry with us. We made a lamb craft (to symbolize the slaughtered lamb) and also had a mock Seder. We learned so much! Sophia and William were so funny, they knew the answers to so many of the questions because they learned the story of Moses last year during vacation bible school! I was shocked to hear them answer the first question she asked "what was the king called" and they answered in unison "Pharaoh" and she said "what did Moses ask of Pharaoh" and they both said "Pharaoh, let my people go"...surprisingly, the also knew most of the plagues!

The woman that led our tour said they will most likely offer the program next year, a few weeks prior to passover. This is the second year they have offered the program. If you live in the Cincinnati area, I would encourage you to attend next year if you have the chance. The only thing that we didn't like was that the space was a bit cramped, but they made the most out of the space they had and made is feel so welcome!

A few pictures....I didn't take very many, but I thought I would share these!

Bracketology 101--Riesenberg Style

So the much anticipated NCAA tournament pairings are announced, the printer is set into overdrive trying to spit out enough brackets for everyone to fill out. Every year the prize is always the same--$20 for first place, $10 for second place and $5 for third place. Let the FUN begin!

Luke--colors in the entire bracket with a red crayon, I can almost guarantee that he will get as many right as I do!

William--understands brackets far better than any 5 year old should and knows how to fill them in completely on his own.....he needs some help reading a few of the teams names, but he knows who he thinks will win each game. He is more a name or mascot kind of kid!

Sophia--picks the highest seeded team each time

Cade, Jacob and Grant--a little bit of research and a lot of heart!

Brett--research, research research

Laura--takes most of the favorites, picks a couple of underdogs and then MUST take Xavier (dh alma mater) to make it at least to the sweet 16 if she wants aforementioned dh to continue speaking to her.

Jay--knows each teams record, the RPI, and if they play well on the road with limited fan support (or if they have fans that will sell out the arena). Picks with his head, not his heart, even where Xavier is concerned! Of course is Xavier's cross town rivals (UC bearcats) were to be seeded #1 overall, there is no way he would pick them to win the whole thing!

Let the MADNESS begin! I'll let you know who wins in about 3 weeks!