Night Owl

He loves to eat, just like Logan.

He is easily coaxed to smile, like Lane.

He is easy-going, like Emma Jane.

BUT, unlike his siblings, he does not care too much for sleeping at night. He is still up twice nearly every night. He's so perfectly plump that I know he has no need to eat. (See the cheeks above.) I think he just wakes up and can't seem to put himself back to sleep.

In our old house, I would have simply closed his bedroom door, turned off the monitor and left him to put himself back to sleep. Here in our apartment, though, there is a lower crying threshold, particularly because we have neighbors above and below us. And did I mention that one of those neighbors is our landlord?

So each night, I eventually rescue a wailing baby from his crib, snuggle him or feed him, and then return him to his bed. The most surprising thing to me is that I don't mind. I have had no more than 6 hours of consecutive sleep for 6 months (and no naps), and it's okay with me. I've contemplated this for awhile, and talked it over with other people, and in Melissa fashion, have come up with a two part explanation for it all.

One, I have had an unusual amount of strength over the last six months. I don't mean that I can lift heavy objects. I'm still a weakling in that category. I mean that I have the stamina to do the next thing, to meet the next need. I have experienced the Lord equipping me with the physical strength that I have needed day after day to care for all 4 of these little children. He gets the credit for energizing my 30 something body!

Second, I am a much wiser mommy than I was with baby #1. Now I know that the little baby phase is short. Before I know it, he'll be talking, running and taking his own trips to the ER just like his brothers. So I'll take the extra snuggles and cuddles with him, no matter what time of day they come. Eli truly is a blessing from the Lord.

Kindergarten Comedian

It's fun to see Emma Jane's sense of humor developing. As Derrick cleaned out a box of old books from my classroom, he ran across a whole book of cat and dog jokes. This book has become a new treasured favorite of hers. We had to teach her how to deliver a joke. Initially, she only read the first line of the joke and then waited for us to laugh. Now she includes the punchline, too, and gets a much better reaction.

Here's an excerpt from the routine she's working on.

"Where does a cat go when it loses its tail?"

"A retail shop"

"Where does a person go when they lose their knee?"

"A reknee shop"

Like I said, her sense of humor is developing.

Not So Happy Birthday

Yesterday was Derrick’s birthday. Weekday birthdays are hard to celebrate in the adult world. It seemed as a kid that the world just stood still for one day each year in acknowledgement of the fact that you were born. Not so as an adult. Derrick had a long work day scheduled already, leaving only a few good celebrating hours.

So, the pressure was on to make those few hours count.

We had a date night planned for the following night complete with 2 baby-sitters (1 doesn’t quite cut it when there are 4 kids ages 5 and under). Still I wanted to make a big deal of Derrick’s actual birthday.

A dinner out was out of question (the whole 4 kids thing again), so I decided that a nice dinner at home would be the best alternative.

So I had 2 main tasks for the day- clean the apartment and cook dinner.

Oh, and home school. And take care of 4 kids.

When I opened the refrigerator, the meal options seemed pretty bleak. Carrots, eggs, those were pretty much the only fresh things. I scurried around the cabinets and freezer and eventually drummed up the ingredients for a homemade barbecue pizza and sugar cookies (with Fourth of July sprinkles that I bought on clearance at the grocery last month). Not too bad.

Fast forward to 6:00, and everything was reasonably together. Derrick was planning to pick up a couple movies on the way home to watch after we put the kids down for the night. Dinner was almost done, the rooms were clean and the rest of the stuff was at least out of sight (the whole 4 kids thing). The kids hung streamers all over the house and made at least 8 birthday cards throughout the day, so it was beginning to feel a little bit exciting.

But then Derrick’s train broke down. After sitting on the train for an hour, he was finally able to jump off two stops away from his stop.

So Derrick finally arrives home at 7:00.

Eli was particularly fussy, but I passed him to Derrick so that I could put dinner on the table. Finally, we all sat down. The pizza was good, I thought. Derrick said that it was one of my best. However, the kids did not agree.

“This tastes like poop”, said Logan.

“I’m throwing mine in the garbage”, Lane chimed in.

Emma Jane said nothing, but threw her pizza slice across the table.

And the festive atmosphere took a nose dive.

Let me say, right now, that this is not normal dinner behavior at our house. You may not believe me, but I’ve never had all about rebellion in response to a meal I’ve fixed. But here it was.

Happy birthday, Derrick.

Somehow we made it through dinner and moved on to dessert, purple sugar cookies (because the kids mixed the red and blue sprinkles).

Before we knew it, bedtime was here. Wearily, we tucked everyone in and headed to the couch to watch our movie. Less than halfway through, we both fell asleep on the couch. We woke up a few hours later and started to get ready for bed. Then Logan began to cry. Then he threw up. We divided and conquered. I bathed Logan while Derrick stripped the bed and set Logan and me up to sleep in the living room.

We knew that tomorrow night’s date would be cancelled. It would ruin our friendship with these girls to knowingly expose them to the germs festering in our home.

So the nose-diving birthday celebration was now an official crash.

As I lamented to my mom, she told me to think about the funny things and the special things. I was quite annoyed by that piece of advice at first, (sorry Mom) but now see that maybe she was right. So here is my list of funny and /or good things that my mom practically made me write.

1. I have a sweet husband to share my days with and to do even disgusting jobs with me.

2. Derrick is able to laugh at the most inappropriate times. As I held Logan’s throw up bucket, I turned my head away and made a rather ridiculous face. Derrick laughed at me and made me laugh, too.

3. My life is full to the brim with these little children, and I love taking care of them.

4. Obviously today is better, because I had time to blog.

5. Between rounds of vomit, Derrick and I had a really good conversation. I think that life is so challenging right now, we can’t possibly maintain the façade that we have it all together. That makes for good conversations.

6. The Lord promised not to give us more than we could handle with His strength. Therefore, we would not despair over a disappointing birthday, sickness, and work days and needs that seem to never end.

7. We have half a movie to watch tonight after the kids go to bed.

Birthday Boy

We recently celebrated Logan's 4th birthday. For months he had been talking about his party, so I was a little concerned that we wouldn't meet his birthday expectations. I couldn't figure out how to throw him a party in a city where we had no friends and no family. Quite the dilemma. Having virtually no concept of time or distance, he assumed all his little friends from Kentucky would just make a trip up for his party.

Thankfully, his grandmother, aunt and cousin surprised Logan with a visit. We headed downtown to Millenium Park. Here is Logan poised underneath a giant sculpture. It's supposed to be a cloud, but it is affectionately known as the giant bean.

I think Logan enjoyed riding the train more than anything else. The look on his face was sheer pleasure.

After an afternoon traipsing around downtown, we went back home for deep dish pizza. After tasting this pizza, I'll never go to Pizza Hut again.



He received a host of "boy" presents: cars, knights, horses, games. Logan has enjoyed all of these new toys. I can't help but notice that they were quite different than last year's presents. He is definitely growing up. For a little boy, he is quite expressive and imaginative. I could fill an entire blog with all his funny sayings, but I'll just share two of my recent favorites.

I can tell that Logan has been listening to me and Emma Jane during our history lessons at home. During lunch one afternoon, I questioned him about his new Sunday school class. He said that he liked it and he met a girl in there named Pharoah Menes.

Another day, we read from Isaiah 1:19-20 as part of our Bible time

"If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land;

but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword."

We went on to talk of how, just like the Israelites, we each have a choice to either obey or rebel. Much later that day, Logan disobeyed somehow, and we sat down to talk about it. I said, "Now, Logan, were you willing and obedient or did you resist and rebel?"

"Resisted and rebelled," he replied.

"Now what must Mommy do?", I asked.

With a serious face, he answered, "Devour me with the sword."

After I suppressed the mental picture of myself with a plastic pirate sword, I explained that the punishment I had in mind was not nearly so severe. What a funny little boy he is! Logan has brought much laughter and tenderness to my life. He tries me and pushes me more than any of the other kids so far, but he has a tenderness that is just precious.

I think that's why I love my kids' birthdays so much. They cause me to rise above the diapers and dirty dishes and remember the preciousness of that moment when that little baby entered our family.

Happy birthday, Logan!

Next Birthday...Reid

The next birthday party was in honor of yet another one year-old. Our nephew Reid had a football themed party with this adorable cake. When he was born, he ushered in the double digits as the tenth grandchild. He had a short reign as the baby of the family since our Eli came along just 8 months later.

Here, Reid is anxiously awaiting his cake and presents.

Reid appeared quite conflicted about making this important decision between family rivalries at at such a tender age.

Happy birthday, Reid. You are such a sweet little boy. And thanks for making the trip to Chicago to visit us!!

Party Time

Fall starts the birthday season in our family. September is a month of seemingly endless cake. Our first stop on the birthday circuit was my nephew, Colby. With those dark brown eyes, clearly he is Cassie's son.

Luke was a proud big brother and a great little host for the party. After 7 weeks of separation, EJ, Logan and Lane had a blast playing with their cousins.

I think the green icing really brings out his eyes.

Anyway, in an effort to win by a landslide the favorite aunt contest, my other sister Kristi rented Colby a bouncy house as a birthday surprise. It was much bigger than we expected. The kids had fun.

There was even an "adult swim" time. Yes, that's Cassie showing off. I even managed to jump in for a few minutes. My headache and dizziness afterwards reminded me that I, too, am getting older and have an approaching birthday.

Thanks for throwing a great party, Colby!

Miracle On Our Street

After days of anticipation, opening day of the festival finally came. Derrick had to work late that night, so I strapped Eli into the Bjorn and headed downstairs and outside. For their first ride, EJ and Logan chose a rickety roller coaster. As I looked around at all the kiddy rides, it seemed to be the most daring. I was really surprised by their choice. Neither one of them is particularly brave. I think that's a trait passed on to them from their mother. After the ride, we sipped on snow cones in the beer garden and listened to the live music. Loud crying from a hungry Eli ended round 1 of the carnival festivities.

Saturday evening Derrick took the kids once again. They rode more rides. Emma Jane kept talking about the "miracle-go-round". No matter how many times we corrected her, she continued to call the spinning cars the miracle-go-round. I guess when you're a kid, it seems like a miracle when a carnival parks itself in front of your bedroom window.

During the night, the rides, booths and port-a-potties were packed up. What took 3 days to set up disappeared in a matter of hours. By the time we got up this morning, there were very few signs of the party that had just been there. The kids were a little disappointed but had forgotten by the afternoon. Fortunately, we have a fun holiday weekend with family coming. Now they are busy anticipating that. I think when you're a child, the anticipation of something exciting is as much fun as the event itself.

Blame It on the Wind

Each afternoon, we have rest time at our house. The two youngest boys nap. Emma Jane and Logan play quietly by themselves. Since we only have three bedrooms, two kids have to share. I opted to put Logan and Eli together because Eli seems to be able to sleep through almost anything.


Logan and Eli were resting in my room one afternoon. When I left the room, this is what it looked like.
Eli on one side of the room.


And Logan on the other.

When I came to check on them an hour later, this is what I saw.

Eli was still awake, staring at Logan as he "read" him a book.

I asked Logan how the pack and play moved all the way over to the bed. Without hesitation, he said, "The wind blew it." I couldn't help but giggle. With Logan, I'm still trying to find that fine line between imagination and flat out lying. He's a tricky little guy.

Emma Jane finds other ways to amuse herself during rest time. She listens to music and writes or draws. Today, she emerged proudly with something she had made for me. It was an old ledger pad that she converted into a workbook for me to do. She wanted me to be well-rounded, so she incorporated math, science and art.

The first page, a counting exercise, said, "Ad dots".

The second page featured a flower. The instructions said, "Colr the flawr".

The last page showed a girl with body parts labeled. There were lines identifying "hans" [hands], "her" [hair] and "pats" [pants].

I enjoy my quiet time in the afternoons, but I'm also thankful for these funny little interruptions.

Let the Festivities Begin

A Catholic church close to us is hosting a street festival. The city is shutting down our block for 6 days for this event. For weeks we have been receiving polite notices on our windshield and in our mailbox warning us that we would need to forfeit our street parking spaces to make way for the carnival rides, live music and beer garden. Can you believe it?!?

Well today is the day.

There was quite a commotion during breakfast this morning. I looked out our living room window, and this is what I saw.

It's a carousel. That's right, a carousel is right outside our front door. It caused quite a disruption to our home schooling time this morning, but you can't really blame the kids. They've spent much of the day reporting to me the progress on the construction of all the carnival rides.

Seeing as the festival doesn't actually start until Friday, then continues through 9 pm Sunday, I think that will be the theme of the week.

Of course we'll have to go to the festival. I normally hate those kinds of things. It would be cruel to allow the kids to watch all the festivities from their bedroom windows yet not participate. I guess we'll be raiding the laundry jar (we have coin laundry in the basement) and heading to the festival on Friday.

I'll let you know how it goes. Surely it will be an interesting week. It's not often that the carnival comes to you.

To the Zoo

Over the weekend we visited the Brookfield Zoo. Despite the scorching 90 degree temperature, it was fun for all.








Derrick took lots of pictures of the animals and the family with his newest camera lens.

I thought it was kind of tacky that you could purchase a bison burger adjacent to the bison viewing area. So much for the zoo's emphasis on conservation. I bet the burgers were fresh though.

The kids were introduced to push-pops. You can tell that Lane wasn't quite sure what to do with his.

It was at this point that things started to fall apart. Here we are posing in front of the zoo sign just before we started the long walk back to the car.

Everyone was hot and tired, so by the time we actually got to the car, this picture best describes the mood.

That's okay. I've decided that crying, even from multiple kids simultaneously, does not mean that an event was a failure. Tears are just a part of life when you have little children. It was a fun day and and a sweet memory at the zoo. That's what I'll be remembering.

City Living

I knew that living in Chicago would be vastly different from living in Lexington. Here is what I've discovered.

In Chicago...


*Bicyclists don't have to follow traffic rules. They can run stop signs and red lights as well as drive the opposite direction on a one-way street. Bicyclists have no fear.


*The postal service doesn't pick up your mail from your house.


*A family of six is a large family, not the norm.


*It's okay to bump another car when parking.


* At times I would rather walk somewhere than give up a really good parking space.


*Gelato is even better than ice cream.


*I like living in a smaller space. Less space=Less cleaning


*It's quiet at night.


*Walking is more relaxing than driving.

Most surprising of all, I like urban living! I've traded in some conveniences for adventure. I just wish I could bring old friends and family here to experience it with me.

So when are you coming to visit?!?

Here's Eli

Here are some recent pictures of Eli. I can't believe he is already 9 weeks-old!

Here he is laying under the play gym. He likes it, but it's not the safest spot when you have 3

siblings running around you.

A sweet smile...

And a squeaky laugh.

He still sleeps in a swaddling blanket (nicknamed the baby straight jacket). It seems to keep him from startling and waking himself up. Otherwise, Eli is a great napper and can sleep through anything.

Though my attention is divided between 4 children, Eli is not neglected. Emma Jane is very nurturing and helpful. She definitely still needs supervision, as demonstrated by the time she put a saltine cracker in six-week old Eli's mouth! Besides giving me a good scare, there was no harm done. Logan also likes to help with Eli, but only in one minute intervals. Then he's off to something else.

As I look at Eli, sometimes my mind goes back to this exact time last year. It was then that I found out I was pregnant, not with him, but another little baby. How painful, both physically and emotionally, to lose that baby. Yet it was only because of that loss that eventually Eli came to be. I am reminded of Job's words,

"The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord."

I don't understand why things happened the way they did, but I know that Eli's life is a blessing from the Lord. I am thrilled to have him as the newest addition to our family.

Welcome to the Neighborhood ER

After a fun but steamy cookout at Humboldt park this evening, Derrick put Logan and Lane in the bathtub to cool off. The relaxing evening bath took a nose dive when Lane slipped and sliced open his chin. Derrick scooped him up in a towel and brought him into the living room. Lane's a pretty tough little two year-old. He cried for a couple minutes. When he saw Derrick hurriedly gathering an insurance card and diaper bag to head to the ER, he began shouting, "I want to go! I want to go with you , Dad!" A few minutes later, he and Derrick headed out the door to the hospital, conveniently located only a block from our apartment.

Meanwhile, chaos erupted for a few minutes at home. Eli was screaming because I cut his dinner short to help Derrick. Logan was upset because I packed Lane a snack for the hospital (in case it would be a long wait) and he didn't get one. Emma Jane was crying hysterically because she was so concerned about Lane. I think she was also reliving her own chin injury she received last year during a game of hide-and-seek with a baby-sitter.

Eventually things calmed down. Emma Jane and Logan busied themselves with coloring pages to comfort Lane. They put their coloring sheets and Lane's favorite stuffed animal (at least for this week) on his bed for when he came back. It was sweet to see their genuine concern for him.

In record time (less than an hour), Derrick and Lane were back home. Lane's face was beaming as he walked through the door. The doctor was able to use Dermaglue instead of stitches. Lane proudly pointed out his chin and his new bracelet. Then he distributed Toy Story stickers brought from the ER as "souvenirs" for each member of the family. We were all relieved that the gash had been easily repaired and that Lane was incredibly cheerful about the whole experience.

Now I can cross off "Find a hospital" from my to-do list.

Last week was a week of milestones. Emma Jane started kindergarten! I have been thinking and planning for this for so long that I can't believe it's finally here. Even though we're homeschooling, it feels like something has changed.

To help mark the significance of the her first day of school, the night before we all walked to Forever Yogurt. It's a self-serve frozen yogurt restaurant where you can also add your own toppings. It was a fun way to celebrate her special occasion. And by the time we walked the two miles round trip (yes, even EJ and Logan), we burned off most of the calories! That's a benefit to living in the city.

As if starting school was not enough, Emma Jane ended the week by losing her first tooth! I didn't even know it was loose! She was quite brave about the whole matter. Derrick asked her if he could pull it out, and she agreed. That was it. She was so proud.

Later that evening, she placed her little tooth in an envelope and labeled the outside, "Tooth Fairy, Emma Jane Snyder". When we checked in on her later that night, she was asleep with the envelope in her hand.

She awoke this morning to find four shiny quarters under her pillow. I suspect the tooth fairy dipped into the quarter jar for the coin laundry in the basement. A definite drawback to living in the city. Anyway, Emma Jane is quite proud of her new smile!

It was fun to watch her excitement over this childhood accomplishment, but I couldn't help but feel a twinge of sadness. I remember when that little tooth came in 5 years ago. And now it's gone. We're on to a new phase. I'm excited about the school years and what is to come next. It is such a privilege to be able to share all these sweet moments with her.

Criminal Preschool Activity

It's midnight and I'm blogging. All 4 kids and Derrick are tucked away in bed, and it's quiet in our little apartment. I have been reluctant to blog over the last few years because I didn't have much material. Now that we've moved to the city, everyday seems like an adventure. It has been 3 weeks now, so I've accumulated quite a list of interesting experiences. What story should I tell first?

"Driving the Wrong Direction on a One Way Street"

"You Must Be Mexican To Have So Many Children"

"Play Group"

At church one Sunday I was invited to join a playgroup at a park. It sounded like something good for me and the kids to do, so I agreed to come. Up until this point I had been quite nervous about driving in the city on my own. This was my first independent outing, and we were going to a new park. I loaded the kids into the van, turned on the GPS and set out for the park.

As I arrived, I felt a sense of accomplishment. I was thinking, "I can drive in Chicago. It's not so difficult. We're going to be just fine".

I circled the park, looking for a street parking spot. Suddenly two police cars zipped in front of me and pulled into the adjacent lot. Four policemen jumped out of the car with guns raised and ran towards a man out front. I watched the pursuit and felt a sense of panic wash all over me.

"What kind of place is this?" I wondered. "This isn't safe. I'm not taking my kids to this playground".

I circled the park once again, then decided to stay against my better judgment. The playground was full of children, and no one else seemed concerned about the scene playing out next door. I took a few minutes to collect myself. After that, we got out of the car and made our way to the playground.

I met up with the other moms and kept what I had witnessed to myself.

About an hour later, I glanced back over at that adjacent lot. The same scene was playing out again! Two police cars, four policemen pursuing a man...Finally, I asked another mom if she was aware of what was going on. She explained that it was a police training center.

I had not witnessed a crime. I had witnessed a training exercise.

Maybe this place isn't so bad after all.

More stories to come!