Yesterday B wanted to audition for a Pinocchio play. This is put on by a traveling pair with a children's theatre. The students audition on Monday, practice all week and then perform on Saturday. I had several conversations with B about all the kids that will be there and he will need to focus during auditions if he really wants to participate. I went to pick him up after auditions (last year he wanted me to stay and I did and he ended up not auditioning, so figured he would do better if I was not there, plus, did not know how I would entertain the other 2 for those 2 hours). I could tell the second I saw his face he was not chosen. He looked sad and dejected. I knew he was watching for my reaction, so tried to not play to his emotions too much. He did not want to talk about it and told me he would not talk to me about it until he was in second grade. Fortunately, some sleep helped to change his mind. We did talk about it today. After talking with a parent that was there for the audition, she said B and another kid had a hard time sitting still and listening, so obviously that is why he was not chosen. During the audition I prayed that God would allow whatever He wanted. I was not 100% convinced that he was ready for that time commitment and I was right. It was a good lesson for B in following directions and that 'life is not fair' and you can't have everything you want. I still think he has some great acting skills and with time, he just might get to use them.

B has found a science experiment book that I bought a while back. He has had fun learning. Tonight he wanted to try his own experiment. He was curious what would happen if you mix vinegar, flour and sugar and then freeze it. (Guess we will find out in the morning.) Sure hate to squash those learning tendencies. He is also expressing an interest in taking things (old electronics, locks, appliances) apart. Sure is fun to see how their minds grow and learn and things we can do as parents to encourage that. B is having his vision checked next week. Seems there have been several different situations recently where he has mentioned not being able to see the classroom board well.

Jbird spent part of the weekend throwing up. Just a 6 hour thing, thankfully. But not feeling too hot today, although he has kept everything down so far. He actually was playing at John's house today and John's mom called me to come pick him up. She told me she had never seen him so mellow.

JB has a hearing test tomorrow. At his age they can't do a full on test but will be interesting to see if anything is picked up on that might have been missed earlier. He is babbling more and I am hearing a few new sounds.

Had a great time of worship and teaching at church on Sunday. Still mulling some of it over, but one thing that struck me was during the song "I exalt Thee". It is referring to God/Christ and one of the worship leaders spoke about what it means to exalt. It is simply lifting up. We were challenged about whether we lift up Christ higher than our problems, or we allow our problems to exalt over Him. Very timely words for me given some things I am working through right now. Amazing how a slight shift in your perspective can change things 180 degrees.

We have a few speech appts this week and I am heading up to the school Thursday to look at some curriculum the counselor will be presenting to the kids about touching, etc. Sad it has to be addressed but so thankful that they are in a school that encourages and invites parents to preview material so that we can work along side it. (I was very impressed with how the kindergarten material was presented last year.) Also will be helping out in the classroom on Friday. B informed me that only 46 more days of school. Saturday is a spring activity with the boy scouts. Not too much going on, just enough to get us out of the house and hopefully enjoying the warmer weather.

JB just amazes me. Every morning and evening I tell him we need to put his ear drops in. He lays down and turns his head to one side and then to the other. He just does not bat an eye. I sure hope someday soon I can catch his laugh on video. It is the most hilarious thing. We will be in the car riding and he will be babbling and laughing - when I open the door to take him out of his carseat, he will hide his face. Jbird use to do that and I always would say 'where is Jbird' and then start looking all over the car. Astounds me the things kids pick up.

The older two boys are at the age where they are starting to annoy each other, just to get a reaction. So we do the 'you know it is not right' talk and then the 'just ignore them' talk and they will stop. Today Jbird and his friend John were in the car with me. Jbird was singing some song that John did not like. John asked him to stop, to which Jbird said 'but I am ignoring myself'. (Neither Jbird or B fully get the pronunciation of ignore so we all say anoring around here.)

Jbird was getting ready to ride his bike and was putting on the helmet and knee/elbow pads. He brought them to me and asked me to put the pads on his arm pits.

B and I were talking today about his extra curricular activities. He is not sure what he thinks about cub scouts. I was trying to explain to him that if he stays with scouts throughout his school years, how respected eagle scouts are. Jbird listened intently and then just went off on supporting me. "B, that is right, you should listen to mom, it is really true....' He said it with such certainty, like he had just finished a book on the greatest eagle scouts of all times.

Often times as we are walking out the door I will give a consequence to one of the boys. The intention is that when we get to our destination or back home, they will have a time out etc. I am finding the boys saying more often 'what if you don't remember?' Guess I need to start making huge mental notes of things like that, or maybe hang a memo board up about what consequences need to be carried through. Fortunately, they often remember and carry it out anyways, or the other one will remind me! Maybe I am just too flippant about saying things like that and then forgetting. Good thing for kids to keep me on my toes.

We have two milestones that are bound to happen in the next couple of months, so have tried to hold out for both of them, since, in my opinion, they are two of the biggest things that change the appearance of a child - first haircut and losing the first tooth. So, I am going to try to wait for JB's first haircut until after B loses his first tooth. (I have cut JB's bangs once - as for the back of his hair, I don't think it is even on the collar yet, so it grows slows at this point)

Today was early release, the end of the third quarter. Hard to believe. We have the t-ball meeting, so twice a week practices/games are just around the corner. Sure hope the weather stays nice.

Jbird had a good time at his birthday party. He had five friends over. We did pizza and the typical birthday fare. 2 hours is the perfect length of time. The weather did warm up just before the party so we were able to get outside and run around.

JB is doing fine. Would never know he had surgery on Friday.

Yesterday we picked B up at school. There was no snow on the ground. So nice to let the kids run in the grass and JB got in on the action. Today we woke up to snow! Welcome to spring in the north! The third quarter ends this week, hard to believe we are down to about 10 weeks left of school. B continues to do well and I think is settling down more. As his reading improves and math skills, homework is not such a chore. It is still weird to hear him read a book by himself.

Despite wanting to yell at the scale (I know I should just get rid of it), my clothes are telling me a different story. I put on a pair of jeans after they had been washed. They easily slipped on. Yeah! I am still able to get to the gym usually once a day, often times twice a day. I have also started a quest I found on hundredpushups.com. My brother had told me about it and then saw it in a magazine. You work up to 100 push ups in a day over a 6 week period. Since I am not doing much strength training at the gym, mostly cardio, figured this and a few other things at home would be good.

JB's procedure went well. The doc said there was quite a bit of glue like fluid in both ears that looked like it had been there a while. His adenoids were also rather large, creating more problems. I am sure it is coincidental, only time will tell, but when we got home, I asked him to make a certain sound and he did it twice, on demand. I was quite excited, so will see if I can get more sounds out of him this weekend. Maybe with him feeling better, there will be more of a desire to work on things.

Took the kids to the public library today. My boys just love the handicap button that automatically opens the doors. I don't like them pushing it, telling them it is not a toy but sometimes it happens before I can stop them. Well, the front entry way to the library is pretty small, with not much room between the inner set and outer set of doors. Jbird pushed the button before I could stop him. Then I saw it coming and could do nothing about it. In the little entry way is a bookshelp where people can leave read magazines. There was an older lady looking through the magazines. She did not realize the handicap doors were opening. She did not move in time and got squished between the bookshelf and the door. I was mortified. I felt so bad. I can still see her face, she did not know what had happened. I was very apologetic and Jbird also apologized. Sure am glad she was not hurt, I can just see the headline now.....

Took the bus Thursday to the mall with some friends. Her two boys are close in age to B and Jbird, so it was a lot of fun. With the price of gas, I envision lots of bus trips this spring and fall. It is so easy to make a day of it and hit all the major stops.

Nothing on the agenda for the weekend except Jbird's party tomorrow. I purposefully kept the weekend clear in case JB was not feeling well. I don't think the surgery will slow him down a bit. (I guess it is the tonsils that knock people back a few days...his ears or removal of adenoids seems to be causing no problems. Have not even given him tylenol.

Another birthday has rolled around. Happy 4th bday to Jbird! Oh the joys you bring to our lives.

Your enthusiasm makes me smile. Your excitement with how well you stay in the lines when you color. The way you say YYUUMMMMMMMMMMMM when you eat something for the first time and like it. The fervor with which you try to help around the house. The way you jump up and down and say 'are you serious' when I tell you something fun we are going to do.

You keep me on my toes more than any other. I can't leave you alone in the shower with a bottle of anything, otherwise it becomes suds. You crack me up how you dig holes in the bar of soaps - took me a while to figure out why there were perfect little holes in soap that I had just opened a few days prior. The numerous candy wrappers I have found stashed behind the couch. The way you love to sneak into the refridgerator.

The things you do that just make me laugh. Playing hide and go seek with you and listening to your little laugh as I get close to finding you and listening to you count to 20 as you skip various numbers. Watching you ride your scooter and bike and all the tricks you (try) to perform. I never know what foods you will like that day, or what clothes you are going to want to wear. The fun you have playing with all the kids as we wait for B to get out of school. Your bursts of energy.

How adventurous you are. Jumping between objects, jumping off of objects, all without fear. Careening head first down the stairs. The things you will stand on top of. The hills you will sled down or ride your bike down.

What a blessing God provided in you!

He recently broke out into spontaneous song and I got it on video. As you can tell, in some regards it is Christmas all year long at our house. (When I try to test play the video, it shows an error - hopefully it will work once posted - if not check back)


In other news, took JB to the ENT. Seems that he needs little tubes in his ears, they are just not draining on their own. His adenoids are creating some problems so those will be removed. All of this will be about a 15 minute procedure on Friday.

Saturday is when we are having a few friends over for Jbirds birthday. It sure is hard to get a 4 year old to understand the difference between his real birthday and when it is celebrated. He is so excited that this morning is his birthday - just not quite getting it that the whole day is his birthday.

Friday started spring break. Since the local kids' museum has free admission on Friday nights, decided to take the boys there. They loved it! Lots of hands on playing with things.

Had a quiet Saturday. The weather over the weekend was sunny! Yeah! We have officially pulled the boys' bikes out. Sunday after church we headed to a local hotel for one night. I had never been to the hotel but heard great things. It was the coolest. The interior was kind of like what you would see in Cabela stores. The big large rocks and boulders and animals mounted on them. They had 4 individual hot tubs amongst the rocks, a waterfall and fish. The pool area had another hot tub and kid pool. We ended up seeing some of our friends, who had the same idea we did. B had a blast playing in the pool with them last night and for about 4 hours this morning. Jbird and I floated between the hot tub and pool and JB loved just throwing the tennis balls into the water. The boys were up until 10pm. Had an awesome breakfast buffet. They were so exhausted when we got home today all three of them took a nap! Hopefully we can do it more often!

Tomorrow we have several different appts and hopefully weather in the mid 50s!

Took JB back to the doctor. His ears are no better and they have referred us to an ENT. Also thought to take him to my chiropractor. He (chiro) said that his tubes felt pretty bad and gave me two different things to do with his neck and ears in hopes of opening them up. His speech therapist said that he dug his heels in unlike any time before. Poor kid, we all seem to be ganging up on him, trying to get him better and talking. We are checking into the insurance, but hopefully JB can get approved for twice a week therapy. The therapist really feels he could benefit from more frequent sessions.

It has been warmer the last two days, so getting out for some walks. Jbird has taken a nap the last two days!!! That usually means a nap for me. He is enjoying his bike and JB loves the stroller. Although a couple inches of snow are expected tonight, it will be gone soon and the shorts will be here to stay!

Hoping to get a video downloaded in the next day or two.

Seems a sinus infection has somehow crept into my little head. Where does all that junk (snot) come from??? Did not sleep well last night but after some ibuprofen, feeling better. Got outside for about an hour while the boys rode bikes. I just sat in the sun. Probably one of the favoritest times of the year. People start coming up, you can start shedding layers and daylight savings time - this weekend! Yikes.



Our little Jbird will be turning 4 next week! Hard to believe and hard to imagine our lives without him. We will probably invite a few friends over for pizza, cake and ice cream. Next week is also spring break and I am committing myself to getting a schedule for our 5 days off. Not a strict schedule, but at least a 1-3 hour something every day (ride the city bus, children's museum, play date, park, etc). We are planning on taking the boys to a local hotel on Sunday. Something close and not too expensive, yet helped us feel like we got 'out of town' and did something for spring break. Will be fun to swim, grab all the not good for you snacks and just be crazy.

B put on a pair of jeans this past Sunday for church and he looked so tall. Really losing that baby look. Will only intensify when he finally loses a tooth. JBird seems to be coming quite the jumper. I am amazed what he will jump off of or jump from one thing to another. JB has discovered a new game. He gets all of his sippy cups out of the drawer and throws them all in the air. He just cracks up laughing when he hears them hit the ground. I just wish he was as enthusiastic about picking them up. I will be taking him back to the doctor tomorrow. I think he is better, but I don't think anywhere close to 100%. Will see what they say.

Hoping for a good workout tonight, as I just scooped up way too much white rice with corn chips (how good the carbs tasted though). One of those days with the boys, putting out fires from sun up to sun down - oh, it it not sun down yet!

JB is still sick. Took him back to the doctor and his ears are not any better and still the nasty cough and congestion. They did comment on how much better he looked than the previous week though. He has been on antibiotics for 10 days. They want to see him back early next week. He is starting round two of meds. Not sure what the plan is if he is not better. Just wish I knew why his body was not kicking this or responding to meds.

He went to therapy yesterday. The therapist comes out laughing and says I got a few more sounds out of him. I looked at her and told her she gets more in 45 minutes then I get in 168 hours. She told me I will not get this stuff at home. He only has 45 minutes with her and he knows he has to perform to get something. (Made me feel good for her to validate that the sounds will come last at home) So far her therapy sessions have been divided. The first half she battles the will and the second half he will use some signs. This past week, he started giving her (after the will battle) single sounds for things. B for ball. So starting next week, she is not going to allow him to use many signs but push him for single sounds for things. So there is progress, although I don't see it at home. The whining the past couple of days has been horrible, to the point of where I put him in his crib because I can't listen to it any more.

My niece ended up coming out for a few days. She is a freshman in college and decided to spend part of her spring break with us (how privaleged we feel). The weather did not really cooperate - too warm to sled, ice skate, ski but too wet to get out and hike. One day we dropped B off at school and JB off at a day care and she and I took Jbird to an indoor climbing place. Kelster ended up doing way more climbing than I did - I did most of the belaying. My arm strength needs some work. Jbird loved climbing up about 4 feet (to the same spot) and then wanting to come down (ie float/swing in the air like spiderman......) Here are some pictures that we took.

Since I was on the other end of the rope, Jbird took the Kelster pics. They were either blurry or the totally unflattering shot from right behind her.

Not sure why but this one cracks me up!

Later that day we picked up B and all headed to the mall. My intent was to play indoor mini golf (it really is mini). I had some coupons and figured we would have one adult and one child play. That way we could swap out every other hole - assuming their attention span would not be that long. It was a disaster. One kid kept whining cause he could not play, one was throwing golf balls and hitting people because he was mad and the other was moving so fast through the course no one could keep up, much less switch out clubs. Then we raced cars on this electric track they had. Other than the cars kept coming off the track because they did not grasp the concept of slowing down around turns, they enjoyed it.

The next day we hit some of the local downtown stores. The boys were great until we walked into the stores. No matter how hard I try to get them to use inside voices, my boys are just loud! Their voices carry!

Here is a picture taken of all of them reading one night.

I weighed in tonight. To date I have lost 8 pounds and 5 inches (4 of those pounds were this week). I will take it. Of course I want a 10 pound weight loss one week, but that is not practical. That is the bad thing of watching the Biggest Loser. I have to remember they work out 8, 10, 12 hour days and in a very controlled environment. If I can keep it up at averaging 2 pounds per week, I will be thrilled. I think one thing that is helping is getting to the gym 2 times a day, even if each time is 30 minutes. Gets the metabolism going first thing and just before bed. The first couple of weeks were sluggish but I think I am getting in a good groove!

Off to bed..seems like I have acquired JB's cold and I am wiped out!