FINALLY got a good family photo - of course before haircuts.

This kiddo needs a haircut.

So does this kiddo.

(Although his hair always look ragtag when he has slept on it because he loses his curls.)

I had said I would not give either a haircut until something happens. Well, IT finally happened.


B finally lost his first tooth. Once he lost that first tooth, the one right next to it was loose. B wanted the other tooth out, so dad grabbed the pliers. By the end of the day, he had lost 2 teeth!



He finally got to use this, a gift for his 6th birthday from his Granny.



So, as much as I did not want to, I did IT.





The two of them watching Beauty and the Beast. JB did awesome. Did not utter a word and did not move much at all.



He looks like such a big boy and amazed how narrow his face looks. I actually see some of B in him.

In other news, JB went back to ENT. Now the PA on Friday told us his ears were clear and it looked like the tube was in but protruding out. Today, the doc said there is fluid in the ear and the tube is laying (stuck to) the eardrum. The tube has come out. It happens in about 1% of the cases and in this case, our child is in the 1% category. So, they had a cancellation for Wed, so we are going back in to have them redone. At least this time around it should be even shorter because it is the gas mask and not general anesthesia. Last time when we got to the hospital I was kicking myself that I did not have my camera. I guess I get a second chance to take pictures of him in his little hospital gown.

Took JB to the ENT yesterday. As I pulled into the parking lot, I remembered Fridays are his surgery days, so knew we would be seeing the Physician's Assistant. After looking in his ears, she had no explanation why the right ear is still testing as a normal ear drum (as opposed to one that has a hole/tube in it). She said it looked like it was starting to pull out a little bit (like what you would expect 9 months after insertion), but that it still appeared to be through the ear drum. She and I went back and forth. I told her I have done 2 rounds of the ear drops and he always let me willingly put them in, so I did not feel like it was a matter of them not getting in. She kept saying the only explanation she had was the tube was plugged with fluid. She suggested we do another round of ear drops and come back in 2 weeks. Fine. Then as I was checking out, she stepped out and said, can you come back on Monday and let the Doc look at it. I would feel better if he looked at it. Sure. So, I guess on Monday the Doc can put a puff of air in his ear (the PA was not very good at this procedure she said so she did not try it) and see what the ear drum does. Either way, it does not seem to bother JB. JB actually has some upper respritory stuff right now and neither of his ears are fluid filled or infected, so probably a good sign. It just bothers me that there does not seem to be an explanation to this problem (other than they think I am not putting drops in).

Last night was our homemade pizza for dinner night. The boys did really well helping this time.
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It is nice that they are getting old enough to actually be productive help with certain tasks.

This morning I turned them loose on the old CD player. We have probably taken about 25 screws out and they are amazed how many more screws there are. Jbird has decided while B works on the CD player, that he will go and take off all the lightswitch plates. All I know is they are entertained and working on those fine motor skills. Would be nice if in a couple of years they were able to make sense of it all and build things.

B has never eaten a hot lunch at school. He always takes his lunch from home. I usually send a sandwich, chips and then one or two other fun things (granola bar, cookie, etc). I have always been able to monitor how much he eats cause his trash always came back home. I guess he got tired of me commenting about how he does not eat all of his sandwich but eats everything else. So he has gotten smart and throws all his trash away at school. I can only hope he is eating everything and not throwing things away. As for eating and Jbird, he is my messy eater. He no longer asks for napkins but goes straight for a wet washcloth.

Marquis, the friend we take to AWANA and Sunday School, and his 3 year old brother are going to be spending 4 nights (school nights) with us. Their mom has the opportunity to take a trip with her parents, so we are taking the kids. We will have t-ball/baseball every night, have 5 kids to get out the door by 8am, do homework and take two kids to therapy appts twice a week. It will be very chaotic, but really looking forward to having them in our home. They come the Monday after Easter through that Friday.

Off to see what damage has been done with screwdrivers.

We have finally pulled out all the bikes and put up most of the winter gear. (It is never safe to put it all away, as we can get snow 12 months out of the year.) These were taken on a recent nice day.

I love the tongue in the next picture.

JB was down yesterday with a fever and has another cold.

JR and B both went to the eye doctor yesterday. B has no problems with his eyes, but JR needs bi-focals. JR is quick to tell me that I am older than him but now I have one more way in which to tell him that I may be older in years, but my body certainly thinks it is younger.

Had first t-ball practice. Went pretty well. The team appears divided, as far as boys and girls. Will be interesting to see how B does this year, being one of the older ones. Hopefully the leader in him will emerge.

Took JB back to the audiologist to test his right ear. She is still getting the same reading, indicating that there is something wrong with the tube (either it is not actually in or still plugged - not likely it is still plugged because we are still doing ear drops). We have a post op appt with ENT on Friday.

On Sunday afternoon we had a scout outing with our Den. We went to visit the local University's Research and Teaching Farm. I had always known it was there but had not a clue what they do. Now I do. They have horses, sheep and cows. We got to meet two of their very special 'science' cows. These 2 cows have a canula inserted into them. It is about as big as a frisbee, with two identical sides, kind of put together. In the middle is a plug that can be popped out. One side of the canula is sewn into the cow's hide and the other side of the canula is sewn into the stomach wall. Yep, you guessed it. You pop the ol' plug out and you can see directly into the cow's stomach. Some of the scouts donned shoulder length gloves and reached on in. My boys could not bring themselves to do that, so of course, mom did not want to show them up, so I declined too. Everyone kept saying how warm (it's about 100 degrees inside their stomach) and squishy it was. Just looked like lots of watered down hay. The two cows are so big, 1800 pounds, that a few days before our arrival one of them got stuck in the walkway on the way to the chute. So, the lady showing us around had not fed the cow we saw in about 24 hours. Amazing how much stuff was still in her stomach. There are several different ways these science cows are used. If a rancher has a cow that has some stomach issues (diahrrea), the rancher can bring a thermos to the University farm and get a thermos full of good gut material to take back and inject into his sick cow's stomach. They will also take these 2 science cows, empty out their stomaches, then send them out to pasture with different grains. Then after a few hours, bring them back in to see which grains were preferred. They also use them to test minerals, etc. It was all very interesting. We went and saw the sheep too. They each have a numbered electronic tag in their left ear. Their feed is set up so that it sits on a scale and only one can eat at a time. So, anytime one eats, the number of the animal, the amount eaten and how quickly, all pop up immediately on a computer screen. Here are a few pictures. Here is all the kids standing in the chute. This is where the animal is contained for testing or for them to weigh them before giving meds. Here is a side view of the canula. Here is a kid sticking his hand inside the cow. Here is a close up of the canula. Could not really get a good shot of the cows showing there size.... The only time that B puts on his uniform is for a scout event. So, he does not wear it often. There have been a few times though, either before or after an event, that we were out in public. The comments we get from people when they see his uniform is amazing. Almost similar to what I would expect a military person to receive. So many of the comments are along the lines of 'good for you', 'stick with it', 'what an honor to wear that uniform', 'hope you make Eagle someday', 'takes a special person to wear that uniform'. It makes me proud to see him wearing it. He has decided to continue on next year. I am very glad for this.

A quiet week!

JB has made some breakthroughs with speech. This week he started twice a week. The therapist is hearing more and different sounds, just not on demand - which is the goal. He is babbling a lot more at home too. This past week he mastered the 'f' sound while trying to blow out a candle. As the therapist said, he needs to realize that sounds come from air moving out, so we are getting baby steps. Still he does not have any intentional words, although we are getting a few intentional sounds.

Several weeks ago I noticed JB was pooping so decided to put him on the toilet. He loves sitting on the potty now. I don't know that we have timed things right yet for him to be productive, but he is getting the concept down. Hopefully running around without a diaper this spring/summer will help. Ready to be done with the expense of diapers - although I have been supplementing with some of the diaper covers/pads.

I have been doing some more purging. I tend to think we don't have much more to purge, but I always seem to find another bag to fill. We have a few empty kitchen drawers, cabinet space under all the sinks and empty shelves in all the closets. Still trying to decide if I want to have a garage sale in May or just give everything away. I have a few more weeks of the weight loss challenge. Have not been doing as well as I had hoped, but still losing every week. I am hoping in another 4-6 weeks I will have to do some clothes shopping.

JR has been busy working. With the end of the ski season though, the after 5pm work should slow down considerable. He is hoping to go out next weekend camping somewhere in the woods. Hopefully it will be the first of several weekends getting out this camping season.

I anticipate May will be a month of milestones, as several things are in the works with the kids! We have a wall upstairs where we measure the kids and mark it on the wall. In the last 5 months, B and JB have grown 3/4 of inch and Jbird has grown 1/2 an inch.

Yesterday we went bowling with the cub scouts then walked to a park to pick up trash. Had a really good time. The cub scouts sure know how to put on an activity. The adults even had a good time and I had a pretty good score, thanks to the bumpers they put up.



JB had his hearing tested last week. He passed with flying colors. However, she noticed that one ear gave her a reading that she would expect with a hole in the ear drum (ie a tube). The other ear gave her a reading that she would expect in a normal ear (ie no tube or hole in the eardrum). The ENT seems to think that maybe one of the tubes is plugged from some of the fluid draining. We did ear drops for 10 days to prevent that, so not sure what is exactly going on. The ENT would like another hearing test in 10 days, just prior to our 1 month post op appt.

One thing that I love about this time of year is all the fresh fruit and that the prices come down on a lot of it. We were at Costco yesterday and bought 4 pounds of strawberries. The boys finished them in less than 24 hours. (How can I say no to them wanting more fruit.) We also buy the 3 pounds of frozen mixed berries. We polish those off in about a week. While shopping at Costco I always like to watch the Vita-mix demonstrations. JR was with us, so the five of us stood there for about 10 minutes and sampled several things. The fruit juice drink was good, as was the black bean soup (that was made in about 3 minutes) but what really impressed me was the cabbage, spinach and lemon sorbet. Jbird and JB licked their samples clean. B hardly tried it. It was really pretty good and a great way to get their veggies in them. Will have to consider getting one. I think JR was even impressed with what it can do. (Anybody have one and if so, would love to know what you think...)

Going to enjoy the last quiet week. T-ball starts in a week and then the craziness begins until school gets out.

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!

Hanging out

Not much going on here. JB is still feeling yucky, he stayed home from church today. Some of his bloodwork came back elevated, so gonna be watching it. We go back to the doctor mid week.

I finally got the boys to eat some homemade french fries the other day. B looked at them and said, are these made from potatoes? I don't know where he thought they came from. Despite coming from potatoes, which he says he does not like, he ate the french fries. We have also decided it is time for a more formal bedtimes around here. So I was explaining to B that he will get to stay up a little later than Jbird and JB. He looked at me and said 'now, is this a good thing, should I be excited about it?' Maybe it will help Jbird get to sleep easier, without someone to talk with.

B's Blue and Gold ceremony with scouts went well. It was mainly for the boys that are crossing over from cub scouts to boy scouts. I am amazed at the time that commitment takes! They really do become your family in a sense.

Nothing on the schedule this week, except maybe a surprise (to the boys) visit from a family member for a few days. Sure hope it works out - flying standby and with all the crazy weather, you never know.

Took JB in for his 18 month check-up. Poor kid. He is so sick and I did not even realize it. He has two very infected ears (about the 4th time in 6 months), there is some rattling in his lungs, a very red throat, he was just beginning to get a little rash so they tested for strep and we did a complete blood work up. Hopefully the blood work comes back normal and we can get him started on antibiotics. Will need to be watching for a drug reaction though. The doctor even commented on how good he was for how sick he was.

B has his annual blue and gold ceremony this weekend with the cub scouts. He will be moving up the ladder, from a bobcat to a wolf, I believe?

Yesterday a friend took the younger two while B was at school. This is the second week in a row she has done this (we swap) and for 2 straight weeks, I have done nothing productive (housework)!

I have gotten into a really good routine this week. I go to the gym for an hour and then come home and read my chronological bible, shower and get breakfast started all before the boys wake up. Amazing how much smoother my days go! The scale at home has started to move, so I sure hope the one at the weigh in tomorrow night does too.

Although I am behind in my bible reading (going through the one year bible) and wanting to catch up, it is interesting reading things as they actually happened, verses how the bible was put together. Just getting through Genesis so not much different other than Job was inserted towards the beginning of Genesis. Just reading through Genesis again and seeing things a new once again. So much deceit and how that deceit just got handed down from generation to generation. A great reminder to me of how much my kids will follow my example and not necessarily my words!

Just wanted to check in. I know that warmer weather has to come and stay awhile sometime soon. Looking forward to running while the boys ride their bikes. I am pretty confident they both will be keeping me to a pretty fast pace!

B is now signed up for t-ball. I ended up taking a box of chocolates to sell in hopes of off-setting some of the cost - I just need to be sure I sell them quickly! This past Monday we toured our local paper with the cub scouts. Very interesting to see everything that goes into printing a newspaper. Had teacher conferences with B's teachers. Academically, he is doing well, although not always performing to the best of his ability. He has improved significantly in his reading over the last quarter. Still some minor behavioral issues that we are trying to figure out and come up with a game plan.

I weighed in on Tuesday. Did not lose as much as I had hoped pound wise, but am starting to feel differently. I am going to the gym every morning around 5am for an hour and some evenings I go back for a little more. My resting metabolic rate (what my body needs with nothing but 24 hours of rest) is 1530. So they recommend eating 200 less calories to lose weight. With working out, I have been trying to stay somewhere around 1400. It has gone pretty good so far. I have about 8 different meals all figured out with calories, protein and fiber. It has been hardest hitting my fiber every day - I am sure veggies would help with this, but thanks to beans and flat bread, I come pretty close. I hear that you know you are getting enough water when your urine is pale yellow or clear, so that is my water goal. It means hitting the bathroom quite frequently.

JB continues on a very slow road of speech therapy. Making very small strides in some areas. Still fighting the therapist at times, but when she pushes him, he buckles down and tries to give her what she wants from him.

A quiet weekend and no school on Monday, Presidents' Day.

JB and I got back from Texas on Sunday. The three I left behind did just fine (glad they are getting old enough to not require much more than supervision). I left them several days worth of clothes already picked out and found several of them still folded when I got back. If the worst that happened while I was gone is that they wore their clothes for 3 days, oh well.

JB did pretty good. The morning we left, Wednesday, I realized at 8:30 am that my flight left at 10:30, instead of 12:30. These are the times when I am glad I live about 7 minutes from the airport. I got the last few things together and went to pick up my friend who was dropping us off. I made it to the airport with about 50 minutes to spare. Here is a picture of JB waiting while eating a cookie from our friend Lisa - (they were very good).

He did pretty well on the flight, considering I was asking an 18 month old to be contained in a very small space for 1 hour 45 minutes. Our 3.5 hour layover in Denver turned into 5.5 hours, due to a frozen bathroom. They could not defrost it in time so brought in a different plane. We got a $100 voucher and free dish tv on our second leg. This is the first time I have flown without a stroller. I did not want the hassle, since I knew I would not need it in Texas. I extended the handle on my rolling bag and it made for a perfect stroller, I just pushed my bag instead of pulling it behind me. JB loved the moving walk way. He did very well, just needed a hand getting on and off. He really wanted to go on the escalator, but I was not feeling good and did not trust my sense of balance - carrying him and manuevering a rolling bag.

Enjoyed the time in Texas. It was a nice funeral and good to see some of the family I have not seen for a couple of years. The weather was decent. JB loved playing with his cousins (Kenna and Kolby)

The return flight was good, with only a 45 minute layover in Denver. As we approached Denver, I have never been on a plane that bounced so much just moments before landing. Not sure what the problem was, but as I was looking out the window, I braced myself about 5 seconds before the wheels touched down. The plane was just rocking back and forth. When I arrived at our airport, both boys greeted me with flowers and box of chocolates - they are learning young!

JB's rash is gone. However, during our trip he would have small welts that would appear for 10-15 minutes. Not a lot of them, but welts none the less. Usually appearing on his extremities, shoulders and face. Two of the times they appeared he had recently had a little peanut butter and the other time one almond. The other times could not trace it to anything particular. Maybe need to explore some food allergy testing at his next appointment.

A busy week, as far as evenings are concerned. T-ball sign-ups. B has decided he wants to play again. T-ball is for 5-6 year olds. Since B is a young first grader, most of his 1st grade friends will be playing in the 7-9 year old league. I have two parent teacher conferences, one with his homeroom teacher and one with his reading teacher - I know we will have lots to talk about. Thursday I have my first weigh in (since I missed last week). We have been well above freezing and watching the snow melt. Has been nice to get outside without hats and gloves.

Here is a random picture I took on Super Bowl Sunday. I bought some fun snacks for the boys, and told Jbird to help himself. He did and was obviously afraid I would be taking the bowl of M&Ms away from him...I am sure he was shoveling them hand over fist.

JB

Took JB back to the doctor. Consensus is it was a drug reaction mixed with some kind of a viral thing he had going on. So, no amoxicillin in the future. She said it could take up to 2 weeks to work itself out of the system. We will just continue to watch the rash and all the weird things it is doing.

JB and I are flying to Texas tomorrow for 4 nights. My uncle died and we are going down for the funeral. I am busy trying to get all the things for B and Jbird squared away. Will be good for JR to experience the morning and evening routines all by himself :-). Until today, I did not know if what JB had was contagious, did not think so, but had been working on plans for Texas. But now I have a doctor's note stating it is not contagious, so should not have a problem with security wondering if my child had something that was going to get spread.

Rash

We are into day 2 of JB's rash. At least this morning he perked up and was walking a bit. Yesterday we switched medicines to something that treats bacterial infections. Looking at all kinds of pictures on line, it does not seem to resemble any one specific thing. Yesterday when you would hold him and then put him down on the ground, he would just sit where you left him, not moving. When you would put him on his back, he struggled to roll over (I am guessing it hurts his shoulders?). The rash is just working its way around the body. Still not sure where it came from, someone mentioned maybe with the cut on his tongue, he picked something up. Still a low grade fever, but not much itching. Here are pictures from this morning and it does look better, not as deep red as it was and not very warm to the touch.

Plan on hitting the gym later and then hanging out with the boys (and possibly neighbors) for the Super Bowl.

Ramblings

Finally was able to download pictures. Here are some from the other day when the boys were painting.





Actually got out today with the younger two and Jbird's friend John. We again had a warmer day, so between errands made a stop at a park. The boys really enjoyed it.



JB is starting to make a few more sounds in therapy, but also frustrations. This past week he 'swatted' at the therapist when she did not give him what he wanted without proper signs/words. She immediately put him in a chair and told him 'no hit'. She said he pouted for a few seconds then got up and worked really well. For several weeks now he has been using a few signs correctly. Slowly coming together.

B got his report card. Continues to do well, but still has some of the same issues. One of the biggest ones is him being concerned for himself and not always worrying about others and being able to follow routines. Will be interesting to talk further at parent teacher conferences in a few days.

Here is a random picture of Jbird I took. He was excited to find his old pair of sunglasses. (I have all bought them new pairs for valentines day - I find that I always want to buy them candy....trying to get creative.)


A few weeks ago I was talking with a friend about trying to get back to the exercising, etc. I told her the one thing I have never really had and think I would do well with, is competition. Well, this past week saw an ad in the local paper about a weight loss challenge. It is for 12 weeks and it is $35 to enter. $25 of that goes into the pot and the top 3 winners split it. You meet once a week for weigh in and some informational stuff. Already signed back up at the gym and completed my first 2 miles on the treadmill. (Given I don't like the cold, I won't be consistently getting outside to exercise for a few months, hopefully about the time the challenge is over.) The winner of the last group won a couple of hundred dollars...motivation enough for me, not to mention time outside the house!

Was back at the doctor today with JB. Around 10 this morning I noticed a strange rash. My first thought was the chicken pox, because he was exposed 2 weeks ago....however, it does not look like that, not at this point. The doctor was not real sure what it was either. No fever and not itching too much. Sometimes when you hold him close he will wimper like it hurts when you press on it. Other than that, no other symptoms. Gave him Benadryl, thinking it was some type of histaminal (allergic) thing. Did not clear it up. Will see how it looks in the morning. His torso, face and arms have flat round red circles and his legs have huge red welts. Poor kid he just looked pitiful, but did manage to get a decent picture. (The only thing he had unusual was Apple, Strawberry, Kiwi juice but he has had kiwi and strawberries before, plus it was probably mostly apple.) Guess we are laying low this weekend!

Glad to hear that so many of you that normally don't experience a hard winter, are getting a taste of it. The good thing for those down south, you know it won't last, whereas we have 5 plus months of cold and snow and no snow days (schools have not shut down once in the last 3 years!)

JB's tongue is healing nicely. Probably another day or two and will be totally healed. Just amazed that it has healed so quickly.

It has been a quiet week. Report cards come home today. They recently celebrated 100 days of school! The computers at the school are not 100% yet - so still getting handwritten notes from the teacher.

B is gearing up for his blue and gold ceremony (scouts). From what I gather, it is when he will promote up to his next rank. Still seems to be something he really enjoys. I have jumped on board as the pack treasurer, so getting more involved myself. Just a really neat group of people.

Jbird and his little friend John are getting too comfortable with each other and becoming quite mischievious. Not sure who puts who up to things sometimes. Yesterday we pulled out the paints. I made it very clear that you paint on paper. Before I knew it, they had both crawled under the table and were painting on the floor! They are both very fortunate it was washable. I had to give both of them a time out twice. Once I had put Jbird on the bathroom step stool. Big mistake closing the door on him. He made quite a mess with the toilet paper!

JB was not real sure what to think of the paint. Twice I caught him as he went to put a full paintbrush in his mouth. He certainly did not like his hands dirty with paint. (My computer and my camera have not wanted to communicate with each other the last two days - for some reason - so I can't download some recent pictures.)

Just got a call from one of the AWANA teachers and seems leaders are out sick, so going in to help today. One more reason I am glad I am able to stay home and help out in places when needed. Speaking of helping out, last week I was in B's classroom. His teacher told me one day she was, due to family emergency, a few minutes late getting to the classroom in the morning. She was shocked when she walked in and all the kids had already said the pledge and were in their seats waiting quietly.