Tuesday, May 31, 2011

At B's school, they don't have any fine art classes, so the PTC pays to have an artist in residence come in and work 2 times with each grade. This is the picture his class worked on, a red winged black bird. I was quite impressed. I think he has his dad's artistic abilities.


This picture just cracks me up...I love when he sleeps in this pose, which is a favorite of his.....

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Our afternoon and evening.....

Picking up rocks to throw in the river



Digging up and collecting rocks


Playing on the bridge


Sliding


Counting while playing hide and go seek


Climbing trees


Hiding


Catching some air

Climbing on top of tunnels



Underdogs


More swinging


Learning soccer moves


Resting


Playing more soccer


Chase


Getting mad


Even more soccer


Blowing dandelions


Blowing more dandelions....spreading those seeds


Then finished off the day with one of these


Had some of these (not the best picture with the sun in the back)


Oh how good they were


So thankful we did not get the overnight or early morning snow showers they were predicting and that it warmed up to be a beautiful afternoon and evening.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Here is my soon to be second grader who has just moved up one level in cub scouts..


Here is my precious middle child coming to give me flowers (dandelions) that are behind his back


Here is my boy that never quits smiling. He has this funky walk now where he sasheys (spelling?) his hips and shoulders....all the while smiling!

Monday, May 23, 2011

Not sure why I am better at some weeks blogging than others. I guess some days hold more information than others.

Jbird and I planted our garden today. Was quite surprised to see what we could grow last year (just lettuce and onions) with out a clue about what we were doing. We planted corn, watermelon, two kinds of peppers and carrots. Have no idea how any of it will grow, but we will see. Anything is better than nothing. Maybe as the kids get older and play in the backyard less, we can use more of it for gardening. We put popsicle sticks in the ground to mark things. Jbird decided he needed to glue the seed packets to the sticks. My fear, JB will come along and pull them all up.

This Friday B's classroom is celebrating his birthday! I am glad to know they celebrate summer birthdays. Having two summer babies and one spring break baby, my kids otherwise would never get to celebrate.

Yesterday JR and I got a babysitter and went for a 2 hour (turned into 3 hour) bike ride. Set out on some gravel roads behind our house. Probably meandered for 10 miles. At one point I told JR I was dragging and then he finally got it. I had a flat. No wonder I was working so hard to peddle. He rode back to the house to get a pump and I decided to sit in a grassy field for 30 minutes and look at the snow capped mountains and watch the clouds. It was a beautiful afternoon.

Already starting some preparations for the 4000 mile road trip coming up in a few weeks. Really looking forward to hitting the road again. With every road trip it gets easier to plan, partly because the boys get older! Will be seeing lots of family this trip and a few friends. Just excited to get away and play with the boys.

One of the original pinochle players is in town, so looking forward to 2 very late nights this week hanging out and shooting the moon!

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

A quiet week here. JB is now big enough to reach doorknobs. He cannot turn the knobs but he loves going around and closing all the doors behind him. He continues to produce lots of sound immitations during speech, but his consistency is still not good (giving 5 variations for the same word in a 30 minute period). She is starting to push him for closer imitation sounds and he does not seem to mind the correction.

B is counting down the days to school. 10 days after today. I was going back through his school box today. He brings home a lot of paper! But neat to see how far he has come when comparing things from the first of the year until now. I am already starting to gather things (math sheets) for him to periodically do throughout the summer. It is so hard to get him into homework, I certainly don't want him to stop cold for 3 months. I have presented a Fun Run idea to the PTC at the school. Looks like I am chairing it up so lots to work on this summer. Excited though to be a part of a new, never tried before, fundraiser. B has his official cub scout graduation tonight, so he is soon to be officially a wolf, I think.

We recently bought an older Toyota Corolla so JR can get to and from the bus stop in the summer (no more taking him at 7am). I really like the little car but feel like I am in a go cart! The boys love riding in it because they can roll down their windows. When we go through a drive thru, they fight over who gets to sit behind me so they can roll their window down and get the food. Today I mentioned the trunk and they both said 'what is a trunk'. That is about like kids not knowing what a pay phone is.

Saturday, May 14, 2011

B had a great time on his overnight trip with his friend. His friend's mother told me he was such a well-behaved, well-mannered child. Music to my ears. You never know how your child acts around others. On Thursday night when B packed his stuff, Jbird was not to be out done and he packed a bag too. They were both rolling their bags around the house. Then Friday morning, first thing after waking up, Jbird starts crying that he will miss B. B and his friends spent the last 24 hours swimming, playing video games and eating at Chuck E. Cheese! Jbird was of course not left out having mom and dad (almost) to himself. We all had dinner last night at Subway (Jbird's bi monthly date time), this morning, during the garage sale, he went with JR to some friends house to help brand the calves. Then this afternoon I took him to run a few errands and we stopped at DQ for a 50 cent ice cream cone!

The garage sale was fine. Sold most of my stuff (only one small box left). A friend joined me and she said our location is a lot better than hers. Thankfully, the wind did not start whipping around until we were packing up!

On Friday I was making cookies for B to take on his trip. Jbird and I were talking in the kitchen and for some reason the subject of bears came up. It reminded me of a time when a bear had broken into our house. We lived in a nearby resort, at 8,000 feet and 3 miles back on 480 acres. B was about 18 months old. He and I had been hanging out at the house all day. I had made some cookies and for some reason they had burned. So I opened up the kitchen window (and forgot about it). Later that afternoon we ran out to the post office for about 30 minutes. At the time we were caretaking for some people and living above the 3 car garage. So you entered on the ground floor but immediately climbed a tall flight of stairs. When we got back from the post office, we unlocked the door and immediately heard some rattling. I remembered the window and assumed that maybe there was a squirrel or something in the sink clanking dishes. I called up in the event that it was the owners, no answer. I then went to the owners house and called JR. He was about 15 minutes away. I got in the car. The garage was built into the side of a hill, so you were able to drive around back. Sure enough, there was a bear sitting on our back deck. I drove back around to the front and for some reason, opened the door. Then I heard it. The clicking of the gas stove. Now I had a problem. Somehow the gas stove had gotten turned on. Lots of propane floating around an apartment is not a good thing. I took my chances that the bear was still on the back deck and went upstairs. The bear was still outside. Turns out while he was in the apartment, he had eaten the 18 cookies I had sitting on the stove and that is when the stove got turned on. He also ate a bowl of bacon grease but managed to leave our half eaten sandwiches at the table. You could see his paw prints going from room to room. JR came home and the bear was off in a distance but he fired a warning shot. Looking back, it was totally God's hand because we were home all day and I don't know that the bear was smart enough to case our house, but he entered during the 30 minutes we were gone. Plus, we kept a thick cutting board on the burner that got turned on and another 5 minutes or so, it probably would have been on fire. (Not too long after that I had walked downstairs on a Sunday morning to put some stuff in the car. About 1 minute later JR went back down there and saw a bear over by the driver's side of the car.)
Jbird of course had a thousand questions about the bear, the cookies I had made, how the bear got in, etc. Thankfully we live in the 'city' now.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

The last 3 or 4 days have been overcast and rainy. So when the sun came out today, we set out on this.

My bike is obviously in front, a tandem bike in the middle and then our bike trailer. We were out in it for about 6 hours. (JB was in the trailer, Jbird's friend John was on the tandem and Jbird chose to ride his bike) Much easier to peddle the bike this way than with just the trailer. We rode to the school and played for a long while while we waited for B to get out of school. Then he hopped on his bike and set off with us. We ended up close to some railroad tracks and the boys loved getting (fairly) close to the tracks as a train went by. One of our stops while on the bikes was at the audiologist. She said JB's ears got all the right 'readings'. Yeah. (We have our follow up appt with the ENT tomorrow). All in all, Jbird rode about 4 miles!

After coming home for dinner, the older two boys and I set out again on the bikes for t-ball. After the game we were coming home, B was on the tandem and Jbird in the trailer. We were just crossing a street when I heard a terrible crash. I thought Jbird's bike, which was strapped to the top, had fallen off. I turned around, and we had lost the trailer! The bolt had come loose and finally fallen off. Poor Jbird! I think he was more stunned than scared. When I got back to the trailer, he was still laying on his back (the trailer flipped bakc)trying to figure it all out. Thankful JB was home with JR. I need to get that bolt tightened down good because we will end up taking it out a lot this summer. Great way to get around. (Although I do feel like I am driving a small train).

B has his first real overnight outing with a friend this weekend. His friend Tommy is having a birthday so the parents and grandparents are taking a few kids to a nearby (2 hours) town for hotel/swimming and Chuck E. Cheese. B is so excited! I am sure I will be doing lots of praying while they are gone.

I am trying to gear up for a last minute garage sale Saturday morning. Problem is, I can't decide if I have enough stuff for a garage sale. Can't believe I am even saying that! The weather is suppose to be nice, though, so why not!

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Friday Jbird, JB and I spent most of the day in the backyard. I am getting the 'garden' ready to plant. We will be planting in twice the space as last year. Jbird picked out corn, watermelon, carrots and red peppers. Still want to pick up some onions and lettuce. Will be interesting to see what we can grow. Am hoping to make some type of garden blanket/row cover to keep things warm for the next couple of weeks. Jbird was amazed at how many worms we found. Every time I unearthed a worm, he had to look at it. I am glad he is not afraid of them and would happily pick them up.

Today we spent a couple of hours at the t-ball fields. B played catcher again and really seems to enjoy it. It is perfect for him, because he is not around any of his teammates so he does not get distracted. Went for a bike ride this evening. The boys loved crawling in the culverts where the water irrigation ditches go (no water in them yet). I warned them of possible bugs, but it did not deter them.

All around quiet weekend! Projects around the house and just hanging out!

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

JB is rocking and rolling with speech. The therapist said last week that she quit writing tick marks for all of his imitations. It is coming together for him. He now can almost consistently put "up" together and the word "off". It might take several tries but he watches me and can often imitate the first sound of a word. We celebrate everything he gives us at this point. The therapist finds it interesting that he often, when trying to imitate a word, he will leave off the first sound and get the middle and end. This is just backwards to the norm. At least she is getting sounds, albeit not always right sounds, but he is starting to figure it out and realize it is more productive than his whining. This last session when he walked into her office he immediately started producing sounds and did not even mess with signs.

Jbird is so excited that flowers (dandelions) started growing in our yard. He will just cry one day when he realizes that they are weeds and people don't like them. We were driving in the car today with his friend John. They were both making crazy sounds and I heard Jbird say to John 'I will annoy JB, you annoy my mom'. At t-ball there are two other 3 year old boys who have siblings on B's team. Jbird and the other two have hit it off. I am so excited to find a few more friends for Jbird and I seem to hit it off with their parents.

B is finishing up the school year strong. He started strong then seemed to fault a little 2nd and 3rd quarter, but seems to be coming back around. The boys just love hanging out at the school and playing once the bell rings. Sure is hard with the warm weather to get them into the car. Fortunately, not much of a hurry - we are usually one of the last to leave. B is planning on end of the school party for some of his friends. We might do a sleep over, not sure yet, but I would love to have some kind of a tradition like that for the boys to kick off summer. The more the merrier is my motto around here!

Monday, May 2, 2011

Gorgeous day. The kind of day that makes me realize, again, why I tolerate cold and snow for 6 plus months. I am hoping today is a good indication of how the next 4-5 months will be. Drove B to school this morning and left his bike. After the mid morning nap, Jbird and JB and I loaded up the bike trailer and headed off to the park for 2 plus hours. We played and enjoyed the sun. Then headed over to the tennis courts. The boys loved it - I give them some old raquetball raquets. I got a little bit of hitting in. JB is just content swatting the ball and chasing it all over the place. Jbird is now at the age where he wanted me hitting him balls the whole time! (I am just glad to be back out and playing - I even ran some lines). Then we headed to the school, had snack and loaded up with B leading the way home. With me pulling the trailer, B and I ride a pretty close race, at least for a short distance.

Glad today was nice because Friday night we got a few inches of snow. Had to cancel t-ball opening ceremony! Not sure that has ever happened. They seem pretty die hard baseball people up here, kind of like they are with football in the south.

Pictures from the day!



Friday, April 29, 2011

B had two t-ball games this week. As was expected, it has been windy and cold...not my idea of t-ball weather. (I can now just begin to appreciate the time my mom and dad spent out in the cold watching me play my sports. It is great when it is warm, but overcast, cold, windy and some rain and snow.....you want to be moving around, not sitting.) B is having a good time!




My week with 2 extra kids started catching up to me today. The last 2 days I have had a third child (while his mom worked) during the days. Crazy stuff. We have all survived and every morning everyone sleeps in a little longer. Marquis had baseball games opposite days from B, so between getting home from school, doing homework, getting everyone fed and then out the door to baseball, there is not much time for anything else. Sure gives me a taste of what it will be like next year if both boys play - one in t-ball and one in rookie. Their mom is suppose to be back by the end of the school day on Friday (unless a snow storm delays them...yes, spring up north).
I did somehow manage to keep the house somewhat clean!!

I am going to be helping a friend of a friend out this summer with some catering events. She puts the crew together and hopefully there will be some parties, etc to work most weekends. I have my first 'gig' this Saturday night for a few hours. Not tons of hours but enough to get me out of the house. Sounds like it will be a lot of setting up, serving, refilling, etc...just up my alley.

Other than a t-ball game and a few hours of work, a quiet weekend. I am ready.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

The boys got small kites for Easter. (JB got one too, he was just sleeping when this one was taken).


We first took them out into the field behind our house. Then we loaded up the bikes and bike trailer and all headed to the Middle School. The boys had a blast. The older two have learned how to start their own kite, which cuts down on my work. The boys would let out about 10-20 feet worth of string and just run and run and run.

JB and JR decided it was much easier to just lay back and watch it.....

B got smart at one point and jumped on his bike while holding the kite. That was fine until he lost his wind and the string got all tangled up in the bike.

JB loved holding the string and regardless of how close you were to him, when he let the string go, you knew it. He would scream and jump up and down. I would tell him to run after it and he would bend down to try to grab it and the wind would push it further along. There were several times I picked him up as I ran to get it and he laughed pretty hard at that.

Since they were not a huge investment, they don't hold up real well. I will definitely buy a few more to last us the summer. No better way to burn energy than running up and down a field as Mom can sit back and watch.

Monday, April 25, 2011

Easter weekend was beautiful!!! On Saturday we rode our bikes to a local park where a church had an egg hunt. My favorite hunt because they conclude with the resurrection story told with the Resurrection Eggs.

I taught Children's Church on Easter and the kids did a short Easter Presentation. Afterwards we came home and had a snacky lunch. I have decided it is too much work to cook the all out Easter dinner. Especially given my boys do not yet appreciate it! Maybe one of these days they will eat ham, creamy potatoes and green bean casserole. (Anytime we have the 'traditional' meal, they eat rolls and dessert.)
A friend from church was having a neighborhood egg hunt, so went over there. It was the most organized thing I have ever seen. Kids had very specific colored eggs they were looking for. All the eggs were stuffed accordingly based on ages. Each kid found 10 eggs. Poor JB got so confused. He would find an egg and put it in his basket. I would tell him it is the wrong color and then I would take it out of his basket. Then he would find the right color, I would put it in his basket and then he would take it out.

I spent the better part of Easter evening cleaning the playroom carpet. JR painted some pictures on the climbing wall for our Super Hero loving boys.

Somebody did not put the paint away. Little hands got into the washable green paint! There was a spot about 2 feet x 2 feet on our carpet - it was saturated. It took me about 1.5 hours with our small steam spot cleaner to get it up. The verdict is still out. There is still a slight green tint, but sure blends better now than it did before all of my elbow grease.

We picked up the two boys today that will be staying with us for the week. Looking forward to having them.

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Probably my most favorite song at Easter.....The CROSS - just one of the many things that says LOVE - God's unconditional love! Of course thankful for the cross, but also thankful for the EMPTY TOMB and the victory it brings!

ON A HILL FAR AWAY
On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,
the emblem of suffering and shame;
and I love that old cross where the dearest and best
for a world of lost sinners was slain.

Refrain:
So I'll cherish the old rugged cross,
till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
and exchange it some day for a crown.

O that old rugged cross, so despised by the world,
has a wondrous attraction for me;
for the dear Lamb of God left his glory above
to bear it to dark Calvary.
(Refrain)

In that old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine,
a wondrous beauty I see,
for 'twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died,
to pardon and sanctify me.
(Refrain)

To that old rugged cross I will ever be true,
its shame and reproach gladly bear;
then he'll call me some day to my home far away,
where his glory forever I'll share.
(Refrain)

Friday, April 22, 2011

JB did great on Wednesday with the ear tubes. The ENT said there was quite a bit of fluid behind his right ear. My guess is, his first tube only stayed in for a week and then came out. Everyone at the hospital was amazed how well he did. The anesthesiologist took JB from me and walked off. JB did cry a little later when he accidently saw me down the hallway. I did remember the camera this time!





He has been to speech twice since his surgery and both times he has had an awesome session. The first one she heard over 30 imitation sounds, more than any previous session. Let's hope things continue on!

B is out of school Friday and Monday. Therefore his class had their Easter egg hunt yesterday. Every child was to bring in 1 doz filled plastic eggs. She needed volunteers to hide them, so I volunteered. I headed out with 26 doz. eggs. I did not know of any others helping, so I called a friend who met me over at the park. We ran around like crazy for 15 minutes hiding eggs all of this park. About the time the kids were to show up, my phone rang. It was the teacher and I was at the wrong park. Yes, I had hid 26 doz eggs and now I needed to go gather them all up. It was a big park/area, but fortunately, not a lot of really good hiding places. Most eggs were very easy to see as you got close. I recruited two other people and we got them all gathered up in about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, the kids happily played in the light rain at the other park. When I showed up, some parents were humored and some not so much. Oh well. We got them all 'hid' on a baseball field and the kids did not seem to mind a bit. They were just excited to be out running and finding stuff. (To my credit, I came back home and pulled out both of the notes the teacher had sent home about the egg hunt. The first one said it was at the fire dept park. The second one said it was at the ballfield park. I guess when that first note came home I just put it in my head it was at the fire dept park and never thought about it again.) Needless to say, I think in the coming years, I will volunteer to help hide eggs but I will not be the parent that shows up with them!

Monday is the first t-ball game. Monday is also the day the other two boys will come and stay the week with us. Should be pretty low key (commitment/meeting) week but lots of running around town, picking up kids, doing therapies, baseball, homework, etc.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

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


Monday, April 18, 2011

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.