Coincidence, or the holiday/vacation curse?

I'm the Dude. So that's what you call me. You know, that or, uh, His Dudeness, or uh, Duder, or El Duderino if you're not into the whole brevity thing.

As I never add any content to my blog, Bridget invited me to contribute to her blog.

So here I am.

Today is Christmas eve. After sleeping in until about 8 this morning I awoke to find Bridget getting the boys dressed down the hall. Bridget quickly pointed out how a rash that Aaron had on his stomach had gotten worse and that he now had spots on his face and neck.

Bridget called the pediatrician and has Aaron there right now. It's probably nothing -- no big deal. It made me think about how something like this always seems to happen to us. I know I won't be able to remember them all. I'll let Bridget add to the list later and to clear up the Duder's foggy mind.

1. It all started on our honeymoon in St. Lucia in 1999. We spent nearly an entire day at a third world hospital with a beautiful view but unfortunately no bar.
2. Our first trip to Disney World in 2001. I had a business meeting that was held at The Grand Floridian resort in Disney. We were only there for a few days but Kaeli developed a rash toward the end of our stay. Bridget took her to the medical station in the park. We were actually escorted out of the park for fear of spreading Chicken pox. It was just a rash.
   
3. On an early family vacation in 2002-ish (only Kaeli I think) we ended up in a West Virginia (third world?) emergency room because Kaeli's elbow was dislocated.
4. Disney World 2006 - Ryan does a header into a cast iron bench and we visit the same med station we did with Kaeli.
   

I know there are more than this but I am supposed to be doing something else right now, I can just feel it. We have to be ready to depart for Mommom and Poppop's house when Bridget and the boys get back from the Doctor.

I'll make sure Bridget adds to the list....Merry Christmas!

Student of the Week!

Paige was chosen as the next "student of the week"! We are so excited for her because she's been very patient with the whole process. Her teacher was using the honor as an incentive for the more challenging kids so they were being chosen earlier. Paige has always been so quiet and so shy that it's easy for to get "lost in the crowd". But, she never complained......not once. She did once mention that the last "student of the week" always gets in trouble, but it wasn't in a complaining type of voice--just very matter-of-fact.

The girls just melted my heart today. Student of the week is always announced for the whole school to hear. Paige said that one of Kaeli's classmates told her Kaeli started crying when she heard Paige's name because Kaeli was so happy for Paige. I can't even put into words how proud I was of both of my girls. It's obvious that no matter how much they drive each other crazy, they still love each other very much. There's a lot of competition between the two of them, but I think this proves that in the end each of them just wants to see the other one succeed.

A little too much excitement around here tonight!

Kaeli, Paige and Ryan were outside playing this afternoon with the neighbors. Around 5:00 Kaeli came running into the house screaming at me with panic in her voice. She just said there's a car running all over everybody's property out here. I ran out the front door and saw a cloud of smoke and a full-size pick-up truck crashed into the mailbox across from us. I slowly approached the truck because my first thought was that maybe this person had some kind of medical emergency. I got close enough to realize this man was probably drunk. I backed off then because I started getting all those weird fears like maybe he had a gun or something crazy like that. Thank God he broke his steering column when he jumped our curb and drove through our yard because he was trying very hard to leave. The police arrived very quickly and we found out that not only was he very drunk, but he is also a town employee. The officer that responded to the accident said the driver tested 3 times over the legal limit and would probably lose his job. There's little chance this guy will get any preferential treatment because he just happened to get stuck in the yard of our newly elected state representative. One good thing about our neighborhood is that there are lots of politically-active and influential people.

Thank God none of the kids were injured or killed! It's so scary to think what could have happened. Kaeli said they were near the curb in the neighbor's yard and ran into our yard when he crashed across the street. But, by the time he drove through our yard the kids were up close to the house. But, because of what COULD have happened I plan to follow this to see what happens to this guy. I know it's speculation, but he's a town employee and the town's Christmas party just happened to be today as well. It's so scary to think that your kids could be run over in their own yard by a drunk driver!! And, we live on the inner part of a neighborhood on what we *thought* was a fairly quiet street. But, at the very least the kids learned a valuable lesson. I used this as a teaching moment to help them understand why I don't allow them to play in the street. You just can't rely on the drivers to be paying attention or......to be sober.

But, all's well again. I'm just glad it's over. It was a pretty crazy hour or so and the kids were very hyper afterwards. I guess it was the adrenaline pumping through everyone's veins.

My soft spot

Most Thursdays I go to Kaeli and Paige's school to help their teachers a little. The girls just love it. Most of the time I'm very proud of how they handle it. They both understand that I'm there to help the teacher and the whole class so neither of them tries to monopolize my time. And, since I ALWAYS get asked this question---my mother-in-law watches the boys for me on that day. She's a tremendous help and I appreciate it more than words can express.

Now on to the point of why I'm writing. There is a little boy in Paige's class that has found a special place in my heart. Last Thursday I spent a lot of time helping him with one of his worksheets. Then during his group lesson with the teacher he just started crying for no apparent reason. It was breaking my heart so I took him in the hall and tried to talk to him while we colored together. He wasn't really in a talkative mood so we mostly just colored together in silence. The guidance counselor came and got him and I left for the day. Today I was in the classroom again. He didn't really say anything to me, but I didn't expect him to. The teacher took the class over to read a book and he stayed in his seat. He stayed there with his head down the whole time I cleaned the tables off. When I finished cleaning the tables I sat down in a chair. The minute I sat down this little boy came over, sat in the chair beside me, and without a word, laid his head on my shoulder. Just like I would do with one of my own children I instinctively picked him up and put him in my lap. He sat there in my lap during the entire story, with his head on my chest and my arms wrapped tight around him. I think he just needed a hug and I was very happy to oblige. But, I just can't get him out of my head. I asked the teacher about his home life and she couldn't say anything more than "it's not very good". I understand she can't go around announcing stuff about all the kids so I certainly did not push the issue. But, I just wish I knew what he's going through. I wish I knew what to do to help him. For the moment, I've just decided that every week when I go in I will be sure to give him just a little extra time and attention. I know it's not much, but I hope it makes even a tiny bit of difference for him.

I just felt the need to write about my day because I can't seem to get that little boy out of my mind. It also reminds me that even on the days that I feel like the world's worst mother, I know my kids are lucky. They know they have a family that loves them and they know they are safe at home with us. In the end, I think those are the most important things we can give to our children. It's just hard for me to accept that there are so many children out there that don't even have that.

Ready for Christmas!

I'm FINISHED!! All the cards are in the mail, most of the gifts are bought and wrapped, and Santa has his workshop all organized and ready to go. Well, Santa's right-hand man "aka Steve" is still working on one last gift for Ryan and AJ. He's building a train table. He just has to finish staining it--I can't wait to see the final product. From what I can tell, he's really done a great job!

Yesterday I took the kids to see Santa. Kaeli and Paige did just fine--although Kaeli was slightly apprehensive. It took a small amount of coaxing to get her near Santa. Ryan started screaming and clinging to me for dear life before we even got near Santa. AJ did fine until I tried to put him in Santa's lap. So, now our Santa pic this year has me in it. Kaeli and Paige are in Santa's lap. I'm kneeling by the chair with AJ in one arm and Ryan hanging off my other side. He looks like he's trying to keep himself as far away from Santa as possible. When we were done I walked over to pay for pictures. I heard Ryan crying and realized he was stuck on the other side of Santa. He was so scared of Santa that he didn't even want to pass in front of him to get to me on the other side. Last night I started to read him a Christmas book and he pushed it away. He doesn't even want to see a picture of Santa right now.

Now I'm just excited and counting down the days! I have a very hard time keeping secrets and it's driving me crazy to know I have all these presents stashed all over the house and not able to give them to anyone. Christmas is alot of work, but it is soooooo much fun!!

Funny conversation with Kaeli this morning

I had to write about this ASAP so as not to forgot too many of the details. This is one of those conversations Kaeli will deny ever having one day, so I want to have it in black and white. Besides, the end gets really funny.

This morning Kaeli and I ended up in a conversation about school and how she will go to college after 12th grade. Kaeli LOVES school so it caught me a little off guard when she said "but I don't *have* to be go to college if I don't want to". So, naturally I was a little concerned about why she wouldn't want to go to college. My concern quickly faded when she responded by saying "I don't want to go to college because then I'd have to leave you......I NEVER want to leave you!!" HAHA!! As long as that's the only reason, I guess I can feel confident that she will be going to college one day.

Here's where it just gets funny. I told her that she'd be glad to leave and go to college when the time comes. I explained to her that she'd be living on her own and be old enough to make her own decisions without me having to tell her what to do all the time. So, she then responds with "well, why can't I live on my own and make my own decisions now". Very gently, I tried explaining that when we're young we have a lot to learn and we need our parents to help us learn all those things and that following our parents' rules is part of the learning process. I must say her next response shouldn't have come as a surprise, but I still had a hard time not laughing. She was very serious when she said "but I already know everything so I shouldn't have to follow your rules anymore"!!

She seriously thinks she knows everything! That alone proves she has ALOT to learn.

An actual conversation!!

I had my first real conversation with Ryan tonight! Now, granted, there weren't many words exchanged, but it was a meaningful, two-way conversation. I also think I learned a valuable lesson in the process. Ryan needs lots of wait time after a question.

For the past couple of weeks I've been trying to prepare Ryan for Christmas and give him some idea of what to expect. Since he's not really talking, it's always hard to know how much of Christmas he really understands. We haven't actually gone to see Santa at the mall yet. But, one day I did stop in the mall and point Santa out and explained all about who Santa is. Santa waved at Ryan, but Ryan didn't respond. Every night, I read a book to Ryan about Christmas. Every night, I tell him that he has to tell Santa what he wants for Christmas. Of course, I've coached him a little on what he should ask Santa for.....he's asking for a train set and a trampoline (it's a little tiny, personal size trampoline). Every night I ask "what are you going to tell Santa you want for Christmas?" Every night, except for tonight, he just says "no" (translated to mean I don't know) and I remind him. Tonight was different. Tonight I made up my mind that I was NOT going to remind him and just wait for some response other than no. I waited and waited. Ryan thought and thought. Finally he jumped up off my lap and started jumping up and down. I said "oh, you want a trampoline?" and he said yes! So, I told him all about how we would go see Santa soon and he would need to tell Santa that he wants a trampoline (I did tell him he could just say jump because trampoline is just absolutely impossible for him at this point-not that he can say jump, either, but he can at least make an attempt at that word). He didn't really respond, but I could tell he was doing LOTS of thinking. I gave him the time he needed to really think things through. Finally, he did the sign for scared. He was telling me that he was scared to talk to Santa! This was incredible in so many ways. It was so far beyond the usual "here and now" or "getting needs met" conversations. He actually put a word to an emotion he was feeling--even if he's not able to articulate the word, he was able to communicate it through sign langauge. We "talked" a little longer and decided that I will talk to Santa for him. I wish I could get a video of his expressions in these types of situations. His expressions just say it all and they convey so much meaning. It'll be very interesting to see what kind of reaction Santa gets when we go see him. I'm thinking maybe I should write Ryan's list and let him just hand it to Santa.

What a sweet, wonderful little boy! I can't wait until he's able to express himself more. It's so obvious that he has a lot to say.

The Christmas frenzy has begun

We got our tree this weekend and it's all decorated. We had to put it in the foyer because it's huge! Steve took Kaeli, Paige, and Ryan to a tree farm and cut it down. When we got the tree put up, Paige said, "MOM! I think the tree got bigger after we brought it home." It was funny because I know exactly what she was thinking. In the tree forest, outside, next to all the other trees it looks like a normal-sized tree. You get in a house and suddenly it looks a WHOLE lot bigger! Decorating the tree is definitely becoming more of a challenge now that we have 4 very young children. I realized that none of my kids know the meaning of "wait a minute". After putting on the first 2 or 3 decorations we suddenly realized how impossible of an undertaking it was. We decided tree decorating would have to wait until AJ was safely tucked away in bed for the night. Just in case you're wondering, having a 14 mo old roam free in a room full of shiny round objects that are not only fragile, but also have thin metal hooks on them, is not exactly a good idea. Ok, maybe if it's your ONLY child you can manage. But, don't try it with 4 kids. Fortunately, there were no accidents, but if we had continued on much longer I can pretty much guarantee there would have been MULTIPLE mishaps. Oh, but as evidenced in the pictures, he sure was adorable before he went into meltdown-mode. The other 3 enjoyed decorating the tree later and it was slightly more manageable.





Other than that, I'm feeling pretty good with where we are in terms of preparation. The kids have already started on their gifts for teachers and classmates. We'll do a little baking next week. Although, I have to let everyone know--I'm pretty sure Christmas cards will be late this year. I just ordered them last night and they won't get here until next Monday. So, it all depends on how quickly I get them addressed and sent out. I'm still trying to figure out how it is that I start "thinking" about Christmas right after Halloween and yet I'm still always struggling at the last minute to get everything done.

AJ's First Haircut

AJ actually got his hair cut back in October....I believe it was October 10. I didn't want to, but I had to get his curls all cut off. We were beginning to hear "she's so cute" way too often. It didn't really matter if he was dressed head to toe in blue with footballs all over his shirt. People would see the curls and automatically assume he was a girl. The curls are gone, but I think he still has a good bit of "waviness" to his hair. I think if I ever let it get long enough, the curls would come back.

He did great for his first haircut. He didn't move an inch. The hairdresser said she doesn't have too many kids sit as still as he did. All 4 of our kids have been that way. They almost seem too scared to move! :)

Kaeli thinks she wants to be a vegetarian!

Actually, I think I persuaded her to rethink her position. But, tonight I was making breakfast for dinner. This is usually one of her favorite meals. The first thing she asked was "wait, are you cooking bacon?". She then told me she couldn't eat the bacon because she's going to be a vegetarian now. Why does she want to be a vegetarian? Well, the biggest reason is because Chris (Chris is her best friend, and yes, he's a boy) said he's a vegetarian. Chris lives on a farm and tells Kaeli all about what happens to the animals when they are eaten. She thinks it's mean to kill the animals and eat them. I went along with it and told her she could be a vegetarian if she researches why people become vegetarians and what they eat in place of the meat. Many questions and complaints later, she decided that she wouldn't become a vegetarian after all.

Now, of course, to know that a boy has this much power over my daughter's mind did concern me a little. I asked her if she has a crush on Chris. Of course not!!! In the past I've told her that she really shouldn't have boyfriends yet. I told her she can have a boyfriend when she's in college-I thought it couldn't her to remind her of that during this little opportunity. Her response was actually cute! Keep in mind she had just very indignantly informed me that Chris is just her best friend and NOT a "boyfriend". She said "But, I do hope Chris goes to the same college as me because I want to live on a farm with him one day". I had no response for that one! :)

There is a nuclear power plant several miles from here, but close enough that we can see the smoke on cold days. Kaeli noticed it today and asked if there was a fire. I explained what it was. She then told me all about how bad pollution is for the environment. When I told her that without that power plant we wouldn't have electricity she told me "well, I'd rather not have electricity if it's going to pollute the environment"! I wonder how she'd feel about that if I put her in a tent outside for the next 24 hrs?

Finally.....a month later.......

WOW! Time really does fly when you're having fun, huh? Somehow I will get back into the groove of updating my blog regularly.

Right now the big news is that AJ is completely weaned from the bottle. He hasn't had a bottle in one week. Surprisingly, he now sleeps through the night, too! I have to say I'm not one bit sad to realize my last baby has officially left babyhood behind and entered toddlerhood. When AJ was born, Ryan was only 19 mos and just barely-so I never really got much of a break between them. It feels like I've had an infant for almost 3 years straight. I had to go to the grocery store today. I actually felt like I was forgetting something because I didn't buy any baby/toddler food and no formula. Our last hurdle to jump will be getting everyone out of diapers. I don't see that happening anytime soon, though. But, the good news is that I have a monthly subscription for diapers. Paige's pull-ups and Ryan and AJ's diapers just show up at my doorstep once a month.

We had a nice Thanksgiving! Steve's family came to our house to celebrate. It was a beautiful day-I'm guessing the temp was in the mid-60's! Beautiful weather for smoking and frying turkeys. We don't bother with roasting turkeys anymore. The guys cook 2 turkeys and both are done outside--one fried and one cooked in a smoker. It works out really well. The ladies chase the kids around and do the cooking inside. And, to be honest, when it comes to frying a turkey being in the house is the best place for me. Don't get me wrong, they are very safe.....I'm just really nervous around open flames, oil, and propane tanks. But, the turkeys were delicious (as usual) and I think everyone had a great time. The girls worked very hard to make the placemats this year. I wish we had gotten pictures of the table. Maybe I can at least get a picture of their placemats to post on here.

In other news, Ryan has an appointment with a geneticist tomorrow. I don't expect to learn anything new. To be completely honest, I have no idea why the developmental pediatrician referred him to this Dr. But, we will go and see what they say.

I do have some wonderful news to share about Ryan! His speech therapy session last week was one of the best ever! He was labeling animals on a puzzle and even making their sound. Then, when it was time to put the pieces away he was able to say bye to each piece....as in "bye pig", "bye sheep", etc. It's still a big struggle for him to retrieve the word he needs in a situation like that. But, he was working so hard at it and really taking his time to find the words all by himself without prompting. I was so overcome with pride and happiness that I started tearing up. When his speech therapist saw me crying, she started crying. Ryan must have thought we were nuts! I'm going to try to get it on video at his next session because it really is a huge milestone for him!! When you are so close to something it's hard to actually see the progress (similar to how we don't really see how much our children grow from year to year because we see them everyday), but that animal puzzle is a great marker for measuring his progress. At his first session Heather used that same puzzle. 7 months ago he couldn't say any of the animals names or sounds even with a prompt. Now he's naming them all AND combining two words to say bye to them all. He's a long way from sounding fluent, but he's at least able to do it now!! Sometimes I think I lose sight of the fact that all his little baby steps toward learning to speak are monumental for him. I get frustrated because his progress has seemed slow and daunting. Each month I would look forward to the 11th (because he'd be a month older) and I would secretly hope that THAT would be the day he suddenly started talking. I'm more accepting now that this could be a long road of lots of baby steps, so I'm learning to celebrate his small accomplishments instead of always waiting for the HUGE overnight improvement. I won't lie, though, right now I'm holding my breath waiting for Feb 11th. He'll be 3 on that day--maybe he'll suddenly catch up and all my worries will be a distant memory. I've heard about that happening to many kids and all my hope is hanging on that happening to Ryan. But, I'm also trying to remind myself that it means nothing if it doesn't happen. He will get there when he's ready. He has so much to say, I know it's only a matter of time before he's able to tell us everything on his mind.

Time to do some catching up!

I can't believe it's been almost 2 weeks since my last entry! Actually, it's not hard to believe considering what the past 2 weeks have been like for us. It's been CRAZY around here!

I left off with Kaeli getting the stomach bug. She missed Tue and Wed from school. Went back to school on Thursday, but came home complaining that her tummy was cramping again. No school on Friday because of an in-service day so she got to stay home and try to recuperate.

Thursday night Ryan woke up vomiting. He got hit HARD!! The poor kid had no idea what was going on. He continued to throw up all night long. I did lots of laundry through the night and slept on the floor next to his bed (when I got a few minutes to actually sleep).

Of course then Friday morning AJ wakes up vomiting!

Saturday was pretty tough to get through since everyone was VERY sick and Steve had to work. But, we survived! By Saturday night things were looking up. I actually thought we had made it through the worst part.

UNTIL.....Kaeli came to my room at around 4AM limping and said her leg was hurting really bad. She pointed to her upper thigh and I assumed it was probably just a muscle cramp. I gave her some Tylenol and put her back in bed. I was slightly worried as I drifted back to sleep because she did start pointing to her groin area when I asked her again where exactly it hurt. But, I thought "what's the worst it could be?". Maybe some soreness in her lymph nodes or just cramping from dehydration. Around 7AM Paige came to our room to tell us Kaeli couldn't even get out of bed. She was in some serious pain. She said she couldn't even move her leg because it hurt so bad. I reluctantly put a call in to the on-call ped. I felt a little silly for calling about a hurt leg, but I didn't know what else to do. I couldn't just let her lay in bed and suffer without me trying to do something. The on-call Dr told me to take her to the ER at the Children's Hospital. Based on my description of her symptoms he was concerned she could have a joint infection. This is when I realized her hurt leg could be a serious condition.

We finally made it to the ER around 10:30 or 11:00 and our day just went downhill from there. The wait was sooooo long and Kaeli was getting pretty irritable. Her aunt Kristen was in town and everyone else was at Mom-mom's house having a party for Kristen. Kaeli had been looking forward to this day all week and she was EXTREMELY disappointed! Also, by now Kaeli has missed lunch. A bored, crabby, disappointed, hungry, and thirsty 7 yr old is NOT very good company! She was not allowed to eat, though, because they weren't sure what was wrong with her.

After answering a gazillion questions a gazillion different times the tests started. First thing they did was an x-ray. The attending Dr said that unfortunately they didn't see anything on xray. So, from there they had to do a blood culture and various other blood tests. The concern was that she could either have a joint infection or a blood infection. Her tests came back showing a high WBC count and two different tests for inflammation came back high. Kaeli was passed off from the attending ER Dr to an Orthopedic surgeon (yeah, that made me a little nervous). Two different ortho Dr's looked at her and her lab results. After consulting with each other, they determined she needed to be admitted for overnight observation. Because the WBC count was high they couldn't completely rule out an infection. Overnight they gave her anti-inflammatory IV meds. By morning she was a different kid!! She had some pain left in the leg, but she could at least move it and could put a little bit of weight on the leg. I was so incredibly relieved by her improvement. If she hadn't improved so much they were going to put her under anesthesia and use a needle to aspirate some of the fluid. WHEW!!

We were finally released from the hospital Monday afternoon. Kaeli and I were thrilled! Kaeli said she always thought it would be cool to stay at a hospital. But, after this experience she has changed her mind. She said they kept waking her up all night long. LOL Also, she said she was mad at the Dr's. They were supposed to be making her feel better, but instead they kept moving her leg all around and it made her leg hurt even more! Although I have to say she was real trooper when it came to the Dr's moving her leg. She was trying not to complain and would keep smiling as they tried to move her leg. They could feel the resistance in her movement and would finally say "is this hurting?". Through a clenched smile she'd say "yes" in a really cheerful voice!! I was laughing because when I even touched her she'd scream out in agony!

Another sick kid!

Paige ended up missing 3 days last week as a result of her stomach virus. Wouldn't you know Kaeli just developed symptoms this morning? She went to school all day because she only complained that her stomach hurt this AM. She ate her breakfast and she didn't complain very long. So, I didn't think much of it. She came home from school this afternoon and was just an emotional wreck. She was crying over everything. She finally asked me to take her temp because she wasn't feeling well. Sure enough, she had a fever of 101.2. She has only puked once so far. I'm expecting tomorrow to be the worst day since day 2 was the worst for Paige.

I just hope this bug stops with Kaeli. I can't imagine going through this with Ryan or AJ.

Paige is so amazingly empathetic. She was very upset about Kaeli throwing up. She didn't even want to sleep in the same room because she was afraid Kaeli would throw up in the middle of the night. She really cannot stand to watch anyone else suffer in any way, shape, or form. This intense ability to empathize with another person seems in such contrast to her ability to hold her own emotions inside. She hardly ever shows her own emotions or weaknesses. But, it's like her cryptonite is watching another person suffer. She actually seems to FEEL whatever the other person is experiencing. It's just amazing!

Quite an Afternoon!

I often get comments like "you certainly have your hands full" or "how do you do it with 4 young kids?". I'm sure many of you reading my blog have wondered that also. Well, the truth is some days are incredibly challenging and I wonder how I survive them. But, the good news is that I can look back at the challenging moments and laugh. So, this entry is all about one of those challenging moments.

Paige stayed home from school today because she wasn't feeling well. She slept most of the afternoon and didn't really eat anything because her tummy was hurting. I had to wake her up so we could go pick Kaeli up from school. Now, let me first say the arrival home from school is never a smooth transition. There's a lot of excitement and everybody wants something. And, as much as I've tried to teach my kids this fact, they still don't seem to understand that I'm only one person. So, we walk back in the door after school. Ryan and AJ are let loose on the floor. Kaeli and Paige are both vying for my attention. Paige asks for a drink of water because her tummy is starting to hurt REALLY bad. I get the water and, before handing it to her, ask her if she's ok. She just answers with "My tummy is just hurting so bad I think I need medicine". My heart truly goes out to her-but there's nothing I can do except offer a hug and kiss. I then hand her the water. She goes to take a drink and pukes right into the cup. I grab her and try to get her to the bathroom, attempting to leave as little of a trail as possible. Just as we get to the toilet Paige slips in the vomit and falls right into it. She's now covered in stinkiness. I have to leave Paige at the toilet to fend for herself because by now I realize AJ is trying to crawl into the bathroom. In case you're wondering, I don't think it's because of his concern for Paige. I think it's that he realizes the bathroom door is open and he now has access to his two favorite past-times--eating toilet paper and splashing in the toilet bowl. So, I quickly wash his hands (because I don't need him to catch this bug) and stick him in the high chair. He doesn't like being confined so he screams and cries during the remainder of this incident. I hear Kaeli screaming because Ryan is walking right through the vomit. I don't quite remember how I did this, but somehow I managed to simultaneously throw Paige in the bathtub and strip Ryan's pants and socks. I put Ryan on the other side of the gate so he can't get into the mess again. He also doesn't appreciate this confinement, so he proceeds to scream. Fortunately, Paige seems much better once she's in the tub. With much screaming in the background, Kaeli assists me by getting paper towels, cleaning supplies and garbage bags. Of course, she's keeping her distance because she informs me that she feels like she might throw up because of the smell. I get the floors cleaned and put all the dirty clothes in the laundry. Then I bathe Paige and wash her hair in record time! Now I can finally release Ryan and AJ and things begin to settle down. WHEW!!

AJ's first steps happened after the mayhem. So, that explains why Kaeli and Ryan don't have on pants, why AJ's overalls are unbuttoned, and why Paige is not involved in the fanfare.

Paige seemed much better after that one incident. Hopefully that was the end of it.

Look Who's Walking!!!

Ok, so he's not officially walking, but AJ did take his first independent steps today. It was completely unexpected! I've heard stories of babies who just get up and walk one day. That may not be exactly how it happened, but I have a feeling that's how I'll relay the story one day--many years from now when my memory has started to blur. Oh, who am I fooling? I suppose it would be just as accurate to say one or two years from now.

Here's the story of the first steps!! AJ was trying to get into a drawer at the bottom of the entertainment center. I closed the drawer and just left him standing there. He stood there, just staring at the closed drawer, for maybe 30 seconds. Then, to my amazement, I watched him take 2 very steady little steps toward the drawer before lowering himself to the ground. Of course, I immediately called Steve to tell him the story. I guess it doesn't sound nearly as exciting in writing. But, I just never experienced that with any of the other kids. With each of the other 3, the first steps only came after a great deal of cajoling.

Of course, I immediately pulled out the video camera. Obviously, you will not witness his first steps, but it's pretty close. Don't ask me why my kids seem to all be missing their pants--I don't have an answer. Oh wait!! Yes, I do!! I just remembered that we had a rather eventful afternoon. You'll have to read about that in my next entry.

So, without further ado.........

Update on Ryan

I don't think I have really mentioned much about Ryan's progress lately. A month or so ago I wrote about his first two word sentence. Unfortunately, he didn't really keep up the momentum from that first phrase. I found myself becoming a little discouraged. BUT! I'm so happy to now be able to write that he is getting better and better with 2 word phrases. He's working harder at repeating two word phrases; but, the best part is that he's actually coming up with several of his very own phrases. He's now at least attempting almost every word we ask him to. His speech therapist is also very proud of his progress. I decided to get a little bit of video of him talking so that I could share it on here. This video was taken Friday night. You can also see him using some of the sign language he's learned. Because his articulation needs alot of work, we still rely pretty heavily on sign language. Oh, and keep in mind you are supposed to be looking at Ryan---NOT ME! :) I was pretty much ready for bed, so keep that in mind.

On Sept 21 I started Ryan on dietary supplements. I won't go into the details on here, but I am very hopeful that maybe I'll see improvements soon. So, the video was also a way for me to record his "starting point" and allow me to track his progress--rather than rely on memory alone.

Student of the Week

I'll let the picture speak for itself:

Amazing conversation with Paige

I am so excited to be writing about this! Tonight I was reading a book to Paige. Somehow something in the book made her think about how at school she has to keep stretching her fingers during the day because of all the writing she has to do. So, I seized the opportunity of Paige actually sharing information with me. Of course, I kept all of my questions very low key and non-threatening. But, we actually sat and talked for probably 15-20 minutes!! It was just one of the most amazing things ever to have a real, back-and-forth conversation with her that consisted of more than "I forget" on her part. I learned so many things today that I never knew. I now know that she loves to play on the monkey bars at recess. Up until tonight she said she just sits on the benches the whole time. I know that she's actually excited and looking forward to being star of the day again soon. The teacher only has a few more students to go through before she starts over. I learned that every Friday a new line leader is chosen. And, Paige is actually looking forward to being line leader one day. It was also so great to talk to her about emotions she experiences when she feels nervous or when she has a peepee accident at school (she's had 3 so far). She was able to tell me exactly what she was thinking prior to each accident. One amazing thing that started out the whole "emotion" conversation was when we were talking about why her friend Emily doesn't always sit next to her at lunch. I was telling her Emily probably just quickly finds a seat without looking around because she might feel too embarrassed standing there looking for a seat. Paige, completely unprompted, says "when I'm looking for a seat I think about it first--I think do I want to sit on this side or that side?; Is there an empty spot on this side?; Where are my friends?". I felt like pinching myself!!! That is the first time I have EVER gotten a glimpse into the thought processes in her head!

The funny thing was that I had to keep acting like none of this was that big of a deal. I would just go back to reading the book every now and then before casually asking another question. But, inside I was brimming with pride and excitement!

When I put her to bed tonight I told her that I think she grew up alot today. She said she didn't think she was any heavier and that she's still not a grown-up. :) I told her that I think she grew up alot in her mind. Then I gave her an extra big hug and kiss and told her how special tonight was for me. I told her that I look forward to talking to her like this again tomorrow night. Then my sweet little girl blew me a goodnight kiss and said "mommy, I can't wait to talk to you again tomorrow".

Moments like this are why I'm so glad I created this blog! This is not a day I want to forget!

AJ's First Birthday Party

We survived another birthday party! WHEW! Parties are fun, but they are certainly a lot of work and EXHAUSTING! Thanks to everyone that attended! We appreciated the effort it took for those of you that made it. And, I hope the race traffic didn't ensnare anyone. Our party album is linked in this blog.

AJ got around to opening his gifts this evening after his afternoon nap. Actually, I should probably say Kaeli, Paige and Ryan got around to opening AJ's gifts. But, we did attempt to have AJ open at least one of them. We even have it in pictures. I think the highlight for AJ was the curly ribbon bow. He got lots of cute fall/winter clothes and some really cool toys! Our toy room is now looking more like we have boys living in the house. One toy that I'm sure will be a hit is the bouncing zebra from Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop. We just didn't have the energy to put it together yet. But, I can see Ryan and AJ playing on that often. Anything to help them burn off some of that energy.

We had a beautiful day and AJ handled all the commotion in stride. He even seemed to enjoy playing in his birthday cake. Kaeli was eager to see what his reaction would be. Not too long ago we watched old video of each of the kids at their first birthday. Kaeli was embarrassed to see that she was afraid of her cake at her first birthday. I think she was secretly hoping AJ would act afraid, too. :) He mostly enjoyed squishing his fingers in it. But, he did finally realize that it even tastes good. :)

Here's the video.....



Now let's all keep our fingers crossed that we tired him out so much that he actually sleeps through the whole night!!

Now I think the realization is actually sinking in that he's 1 and heading into toddlerhood. I can't believe he'll be walking soon. Although, I will admit I'm actually wondering when he'll walk. He can stand great, but he has never attempted to take a single independent step. He's still pretty wobbly when I try to get him to walk holding onto one hand. Oh well, I wasn't really expecting him to walk by a year. Paige was the only one of our kids that did. I'm thinking he'll start walking close to 15 mos. That's just my guess. It'll be interesting to see how close I am.

Friday, Sept 21

Yes, AJ did turn 1 two days ago. I don't know why it slipped my mind to update here. We didn't do much, honestly. He got a couple of gifts from us and we sang happy birthday. We're having a big party for him on Sunday, though.

Today AJ got one of his gifts from Mimmi (my mom). It's a pop-up tent that has a ball-pit in the bottom. He also got a crawling tunnel from all of us. The tunnel attaches to the ball-pit. The whole set-up seems to be a big hit--not only with AJ, but all 4 of the kids! I knew AJ would love it. Each week I take the boys to a playgroup and AJ's favorite activity is to crawl back and forth in the tunnel. His other favorite thing to do is sit in the ball pit when Ryan goes to group therapy. Interestingly enough, Paige is currently sitting in the tent looking at books and playing with Little People sets.

Ryan had his weekly appt at the behavioral clinic. It makes for a VERY tough day, but I feel like it is so worth it. The clinic is at the Children's Hospital that is an hour from us. But, I get alot from the sessions. I also feel more confident in whatever they tell me because it's not just one therapist. Ryan and I sit in a room with one therapist, but there is a team of Dr's and psychologists watching through a window/mirror. They watch and listen during the whole session. The therapist always leaves in the middle of the session to talk to the team before coming back and giving me tips/advice. Today, I learned that I need to help Ryan move toward self-soothing. He almost always needs me to hold him for a good 10-20 min to help him "recover" after a major tantrum. It's going to be hard, but I have to let him get through it on his own. We had our first opportunity to try it out today. It was not fun at all! I think the entire tantrum lasted about 30 minutes. But, I was very happy that he did eventually recover all by himself! Hopefully this will get easier each day!

Kaeli did not get chosen as student of the week. Fortunately, she didn't seem sad at all. She was, however, very angry that they didn't get recess today. I can't say I blame her, though. Recess was preempted by an assembly? Now who came up with that idea? I'm thinking they were lucky there wasn't an all-out revolt led by an angry mob of 2nd graders!

Monday, Sept 17

WOW! Typing the date just reminded me that my baby will be 1 yr old in just 2 days!! I remember by this time last year I was crying because I was seriously beginning to doubt the child would ever decide to be born! I still think there should be a law that a 4th baby cannot be a week overdue! But, he did come out and an entire year has almost gone by.

Every Monday Kaeli brings home all her tests from Friday. Today I was looking through her folder and she started "warning" before I got to her reading comprehension test. She's telling me how she's embarrassed about it and that she didn't do as well as she thought. She was disappointed because she tried her very best and only got a 99! I know I shouldn't have, but I really couldn't help but laugh. After we talked about it, she seemed to feel much better about her 99. Oh, and was very excited to tell me she was "reader of the day" during library today. The librarian chooses one student each week based on good behavior. Kaeli's very excited now because she explained to me that being chosen as "reader of the day" increases your chances of being chosen as "student of the week" on Friday. Maybe I need to implement "kid of the week" in our house! I can't even imagine how sugary sweet Kaeli is being at school this week. I hope she gets chosen this time. It really means alot to her.

All last week we had a significant amount of trouble getting Paige to go to school. The guidance counselor had to literally drag her into school kicking and screaming. But, I'm so very happy to report that she went into school today without shedding a single tear. She just asked me for a hug and walked off. I was very proud! But, I talked to her teacher this afternoon and heard that Paige clung very hard to Kaeli when she got to the classroom. We're just going stay the course and hope this plays itself out. At least today was a big step in the right direction. Her teacher gives out tickets for good behavior. Then the kids can trade the tickets in for various prizes. Paige has been saving her tickets since school started. She didn't know what she was saving them for, but she didn't want to use them. Today I found out she finally used them. Her teacher was laughing because she said she had to pull out the really good prize box to entice Paige into finally trading in some of her tickets. She had a ton of tickets saved up by now because the ohter kids trade theirs in on a regular basis. What did it take to entice Paige into finally trading in her tickets? 2 beautiful, sparkling gumball rings. :)

Ryan started group therapy today. This is going to be a really good transition for him to preschool. There are only 4 kids and 4 therapists, so each child gets lots of one on one attention. The therapists also work to keep each child involved in the activities. I was so proud of Ryan today because he did not cling to me AT ALL! His speech therapist (Heather) was there, so he walked off with her and didn't seem to mind at all. That was a big step for him! I was so proud of him today! He's looking like such a big boy now! He also had his first dentist appt today. He's been pointing inside his mouth and saying "ow" for a while now. I was happy to hear he does not have a cavity.

Ryan had his appt with the developmental pediatrician on Friday. She really didn't have any answers for me right now. Alot of the disorders can't be accurately diagnosed until age 3. She also knew that I had some concerns about AJ, so she went ahead and interacted a little with him. Most likely, AJ will have similar issues as Ryan. She asked me to bring both of them back in 6 mos. Ryan will be 3 and AJ will be about 18 mos. She also referred us to a geneticist. It's her opinion that it would at least be interesting to see if the geneticist comes up with something since both boys seem to have similar developmental paths. Ryan also had an appt at a behavioral clinic at the same hospital an hour after his appt with the dev ped. She came over to that appt to give the team of psychologists some opinions on what she though was going on. She ended up being a GREAT help! The most valuable piece of information I took from the two appts is that I need to slow my speech down for Ryan. I also need to stop using so many words when I talk to him. Since Friday I've been trying to use shorter sentences (preferrably 2-3 words) and it really does seem to make a big difference in how he reacts. She explained that he's probably having a hard time processing too many words at a time. So, he'll respond better when he doesn't have to work so hard to process what I'm saying. I feel a little silly in public when I talk to my 2.5 yr old like a young toddler, but if it works that's just how it will have to be.

No problems so far

I'm happy to report that the first 2 days of school have been just great! Kaeli and Paige are both adjusting perfectly and I'm thrilled.

My fear that Paige might have an accident (pee) seems to no longer be a concern. Yesterday when I picked her up from school I hugged her and tried to check her bottom for wetness without letting her know what I was doing. I didn't want her to think I had doubted her ability to stay dry. But, she knew what I was up to. She didn't seem to care that I checked. But, I can't get her to tell me if she actually spoke to someone to let them know or if she just got up and went. I think she's training for a life in the mob. If she ever got interrogated I don't think she'd give up any information! It's like pulling teeth (very stubborn ones) to get her to talk about her day at all. When I ask her a question her canned response is "I forget". This afternoon Steve and I were working really hard at getting *anything* out of her. Here's a small piece of the conversation:

Steve-Did you do any worksheets?
Paige-No
S-Did you color?
P-Yes
S-What did you color?
P-I don't remember
Me--Did you color on the table?
P-no
S-did you color on the person next to you?
P-no
S-then what did you color on?
P-I don't remember
Me-did you color on a piece of paper?
P-yes
Me-did the paper have a picture on it?
P-no
We ended up finding out that ALL she did in K all day long was color on a blank sheet of paper. LOL No, we don't really believe that, but it was so funny when we came to the realization that we were not going to get much out of her.

But, here's the funny part. A little while later we were giving baths. I was in the middle of washing Paige's hair and out of nowhere she says "guess what? I was Star of the Day today!" Steve and I were floored! She never thought to mention this when we were badgering her over how her day went? So, I thought...great! now she's going to tell us all about being star of the day. I was wrong. The line of questioning began again. All I got out of her was that she got to sit by the teacher as star of the day.

Now, all that in contrast to Kaeli. I picked her up and I have heard almost every single detail of her day. Kaeli is very good about sharing every detail and every emotion she experienced during each moment. She can even act it out! :) Yesterday I heard all about how it was too hot to play on the playground so she sat under a tree. But, then a boy kept hitting her in the head with a branch. So, (her words) the playground was just horrible. Imagine that said with a GREAT deal of indignation. I also heard all about how a boy got in tons of trouble on his first day. Overall, though, she had a wonderful first two days. She's so excited about school and really loves it. Today she had her Accelerated Reader test. No word yet on how she did. She assumed she did "horrible" because the questions were incredibly difficult. This is very typical of Kaeli, though. I asked her if the questions at the beginning were hard, too. She said "No, those were REALLY easy....but the last questions were so hard I didn't even know what those words meant". I tried explaining to her that this is a kind of test that keeps getting harder until you start missing the answers so that it can see what level you are on". That didn't make her happy. She still thinks this means she's going to be on the very lowest reading level. I have no idea what this was about-but, she told me she and another student got taken out of class today to do "like 15 pages of math sheets!" Sounds like maybe to see what level she is at in math. She said the math was SUPER hard and that she didn't know anything. Who knows what that really means for Kaeli. It could mean that a few questions were hard or it could mean that she didn't understand any of it. I have a hard time believing she couldn't do any of it. But, her opinion was that it seemed like 4th grade math......so who knows. She also said the accelerated reader test had questions that seemed like it was for 4th graders and I know she's reading on a higher level than 4th grade. 4th grade is the highest level this school goes to so she must think all knowledge maxes out at 4th grade. :) I plan to email her teacher to figure out what it was about.

Ryan had speech therapy today. He is such a hard worker. His speech therapist also works on his occupational therapy goals. One of his goals the past couple of weeks is to learn how to do the shape sorter. He has trouble with this because he doesn't really stop to look at the shape first. He just grabs it and starts trying to shove it into a spot. He usually gives up after the first couple of shapes because it just seems too hard. Today I told him that if he got it right, I'd tickle him. We had so much fun doing that shape sorter after that. He really worked at finding the right hole for each one and didn't give up so easily. He loves to be tickled and it's so cute! He especially likes it when he gets the little goosebumps all over his legs. :) Heather (the speech therapist) and I talked about increasing his sessions to twice a week. She mentioned it a couple of weeks ago but never followed through. So, hopefully he'll start getting ST twice a week. I think it'll be good for him because he really does work harder in therapy than he does for me. I know I've mostly avoided discussing Ryan's developmental delays and therapy. But, for better or for worse it's part of our lives. I've hoped and hoped that it would only be for a short time. But, the reality is that it's looking like therapies will be part of our lives for the foreseeable future. Ryan is due for his next round of evaluations in November. His speech therapist says she's sure he'll still qualify for services. So, that means in January he'll be starting a "developmental preschool". He'll attend 3 half days a week. His speech therapy and occupational therapy will be done at school. They will also work on any other delayed areas. It sounds like a great program. There are only 8 students in the class. 4 are special needs students and 4 are typically-developing kids. So, he'll have plenty of good role models. The preschool is completely free for him since he has more than a 25% delay in 2 areas of development. The therapy he receives now is all free as well.

Not much to say about AJ at this point. He's still a VERY big baby! In fact, it's looking like Ryan and AJ might be sharing clothes this fall. AJ is growing out of his 12-18 mo clothes and the next step is 18-24 mos (or 2T). Ryan is still wearing mostly 2T's. He has a few 3T's, but they are still quite big on him. I just find that so funny. I always knew they might wear the same clothes one day, but I had no idea it might happen so soon!

First Day of School 2007

Photobucket Album

The First Day of School

Kaeli and Paige are over halfway through their first day of school by now. Steve was able to go with me this morning in case I needed some back-up during drop-off. But, neither Kaeli nor Paige gave me any trouble.

Paige just walked right into her class without a moment's hesitation. No clinging, no crying, no complaining.....is this what it's supposed to be like? I even had to ask her for a hug. She made it so easy on me that I didn't even cry. I'm just so proud of her and I hope she had a wonderful day. I will admit I'm slightly nervous that she will be wet when I pick her up. In the past, she's been known to wet her pants because she's too shy to tell anyone she has to go. Then, she doesn't even tell anyone that she's wet. But, I really hope she's past that by now. I think it's been almost a year since it happened last (beginning of 4 yr old preschool). Other than that, I'm betting on the fact that she's had a wonderful day!

Kaeli tried to cling a little bit when she first had to go into her classroom. But, it seems that each year gets a little better. This year her teacher just had to take her hand and guide her into the class. At least no one had to pry her fingers off me and drag her into the room screaming. So, I would say we've made TREMENDOUS progress! I'm sure she had a great day as well.

I can't wait to hear all about their first day!

Ryan seems a little lost without his favorite playmate-Paige. He has asked about her several times today. He also doesn't know what to do without her. To occupy himself he did make up a new game this morning. The beanbags were at the bottom of the stairs. He would walk to the top and pretend that he was going to jump to the beanbags. Let me tell you--it scared the heck out of me when he did it the first time. I really thought he was going to jump from the top step. But, instead he walked down as fast as his feet would go then jumped off the 2nd to bottom step landing on his KNEES into the beanbags. He just kept doing that over and over until he actually hurt himself. I have no idea how he didn't get hurt the first 5 times, but that's Ryan for you! I'm thinking he's going to have to put on some weight and just become a football player one day. He loves to run into things and it takes a lot to hurt him! I don't think ever wrote about this....but this is as good a place as any. Last Wednesday Ryan had to have some blood drawn for some lab tests. I was anticipating crying and fighting. But, instead he didn't flinch! He never once seemed the least bit scared and the actual needle going in didn't seem to hurt him at all! I could not believe he watched the lady get the needle ready and then watched her as she poked that needle into his arm. I was just in awe. I asked the lady if she's ever seen a kid react that way and she said maybe a few, but that it's very rare. She said they usually start crying as soon as they see the needle. But, Ryan has never let shots or needles concern him. When he got his last immunizations he just very calmly said "ow". The nurse was stunned--she said she'd NEVER seen a kid react that way. I'm telling you, the child must have very dull pain sensors! He's napping now. Soon after he wakes up it'll be time to go get the girls. I'm sure he'll be happy about that!

AJ's world didn't change much. He still just crawled around and tried to put anything and everything in his mouth.

Me? Well, I can say that the day has gone MUCH faster than I thought it would! It's already 1:00 and I feel like I just dropped the girls off! We spent some time running errands this morning, so hopefully we'll have more time just for fun the rest of the week. Ryan, AJ, and I will probably have lots of stuff going on every day. Ryan is still getting speech therapy one day a week (1 hour). Within the next week or two they'll most likely be adding a day of early childhood education therapy. I know therapy sounds boring, but really it's alot of fun! Ryan loves it. His therapist always brings a bag of cool toys. I'm also going to start taking the boys to a developmental play group once a week. Most of the kids there also have developmental delays and there are therapist available to help guide the kids during their play. I've been wanting to go, but it was just too much with all 4 kids at home. It should be a good opportunity for both Ryan and AJ. And, hopefully we'll have time to go to library story time once a week. So, as you can see, we are going to have plenty to keep us busy! But, I'm very much looking forward to it!

Tomorrow is the Big Day!

I can't believe tomorrow is the first day of school for the girls! I'm not going to know what to do with myself when I only have 2 kids at home during the day. But, I'm definitely looking forward to it. Not only because the days will be slightly easier, but also because it'll be nice to have the opportunity to focus more of my energy on the boys. Most days I feel like I'm just on autopilot doing what has to be done. I envision myself now slowing down to really enjoy more of the special moments with Ryan and AJ. In the blink of an eye they'll be heading off for their first days of Kindergarten. I'm already shocked that AJ will be a year old next month!!

I just tucked the girls into bed. It's so funny to see the contrast between Kaeli and Paige. Kaeli is this big ball of energy! She's so full of excitement and nervousness all at the same time. She was talking non-stop--which she tends to do when she's feeling nervous. She kept squeezing her stuffed animal really tight as she talked. I know she wants to feel excited, but she's so afraid of the unknowns. So, I think the nerves are taking over for now. I wonder what time she'll finally fall asleep? Now Paige, on the other hand, is kicked back in bed with very little emotion either way. I know she's excited because she's very much looking forward to starting school. But, she's not tipping her hand at this point. This is so typical of Paige. She just isn't the kind of person to outwardly show a lot of emotion. I'm wondering how drop-off will be tomorrow. Will she just walk into her class without a care in the world? Or will she actually shed a few tears? I think this is exactly what Paige likes to do--keep everyone around her guessing. :)

I'll update tomorrow. I will be sure to add some pictures, too.

School Shopping

I took Kaeli and Paige shopping this weekend for school clothes. Daddy stayed home with the boys...so the girls were rather excited to say the least. Our first stop was to buy purses. :) They had a couple of dollars and decided they HAD to have purses to put their money in. And, here's the funny thing......they also had to find something to spend their few dollars on. So, by the time we were done at Claire's, they each had a purse.....but no money. Kaeli had a hard time finding anything for 2.00 and I kept telling her maybe she could save the money since she couldn't find anything. Nope, not a chance! She had 2.00 and by gosh she was going to spend it on SOMETHING! :) Finally, Kaeli and Paige bought a package of nail polish for 3.00 together. Kaeli contributed her 2.00 and Paige contributed her 1.00. You should have seen these 2 girls prancing around the mall with their new purses slung over their shoulders full of their nail polish THEY had just bought with their very own money! They looked as proud as peacocks.

We then proceeded to one store after another. Paige is still at a very easy age to dress. It also helps that she's pretty easy-going and doesn't have any problems with how clothes feel on her. I'd pick up something, say "oh this is cute" and she'd agree. She'd try it on and say "I like it". Ahhhh, can I bottle this age up and keep ALL our shopping expeditions just this way? Well, there was ONE minor issue. I showed her 2 shirts that I liked. When she tried them on, she could only choose one to get. It just so happens that the one she REALLY loved was not my favorite of the two. I relented and let her get it. I figured she had been so easy up to that point she deserved it. I just love the outfit she got for her first day of school. It's so sweet! You'll have to wait until next Monday to a pic, though.

Now Kaeli was not quite so easy. The first problem is that she's now in the "tweens" size range. 7 yr olds are buying clothes from the same section as early teens. So, I found many of the styles just not very cute. Kaeli was also not impressed. Thank goodness, she still loves pink and cutesy. That's NOT what they are designing for little girls these days. The 2nd problems is that Kaeli is very sensitive to how clothes feel on her. So, even if it's cute on the hanger, it has to feel just right on her. We managed to walk away with 2 outfits. But, one has to go back. The skirt and shirt just don't match. I knew that was the case at the store, but I was just tired of trying to find 2 things that she'd actually agree to wear. She's agreed that we can take the outfit back and try another mall. This was soooooo infinitely easier last year when she had to wear a uniform.

In the end, we all survived. We do need to venture back to the mall again for Kaeli, but only for one outfit. We're all stocked up on school supplies, too. So, this week we'll start working ourselves back into a routine before school starts next Monday (Aug 27).

When I wrote earlier about how Kaeli and Paige had a few dollars I realized I didn't mention how they got that money. I don't give the kids an allowance. I buy them what they need and will occasionally buy them something special. They are expected to help me out quite often when I ask and keep their room clean (well, at least kind of clean). Sometimes they ask what they will get if they clean a mess their brothers just made. Steve and I always remind them that they will be getting dinner.....they get the point. But, since the beginning I've always told them that they don't just get special stuff for doing everyday, ordinary work. Or even for doing things that I ask them to do. They can earn extra stuff by going above and beyond the "call of duty". For about a week now, Kaeli's been asking for more Webkinz pets, charms, or trading cards. Finally, one morning she woke up, snuk downstairs to the basement, and cleaned the entire basement (toys and such). She came up and took me down to "surprise" me with what she had done. Because this was one of those "extra special" jobs that no one had even asked her to do she got 2.00 and 2 packs of Webkinz trading cards. Paige wanted something, too, so she went found a little job she could do and earned 1.00. So, that's where the money came from. The basement job was really neat! I didn't even know she was awake yet. At one point, I saw the basement light on and turned it off. A bit later, I saw it back on but I was too busy to turn it off right then and just thought maybe I had not actually turned it off the first time. When Kaeli and I were later talking about what she had done, I was very impressed. When I turned the light off the first time, she didn't say a word and just turned it back on so that I wouldn't know she was down there. That's VERY impressive for Kaeli because she normally freaks out! So, that took a lot of self-control for her to maintain her composure. It was a proud moment for me because I feel like it's teaching her a good work ethic. So many employees these days think they only have to do the bare minimum of their own job. I want my kids to understand that to really get noticed and earn more in life you have to go above and beyond the basics of what is asked of you. She wanted more and sought out a way to get more! I was very proud! :)

August 2007 Beach Vacation

Click on the image and you'll be taken to my album!! It shows some of my favorite pictures from the trip. Much better than just posting a few on the posts. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any pics of our tent or a full view of the trenches I dug. But, you can see they are pretty big because there is a picture of all 4 kids in one of my trenches. :) ENJOY!

Photobucket Album

Thursday, August 16

We are back from the beach. I just can't seem to remember to update this often often as I had "planned" to. What's new, right? :) The last several days have just been quite busy. There's always the unpacking and settling back in after vacation.

When we got home Saturday night Kaeli had a voice mail from her "very best friend in the whole world"-Amanda. They called earlier in the week to invite Kaeli to her birthday party. The party was on Monday and though it was very last minute we HAD to go. Fortunately, Cheri-the mom-didn't mind that I had to bring my whole crew. All the kids had a great time and I'm so glad we were able to go. Amanda is moving to West Virginia in a week so it was also a very, very sad goodbye.

One funny thing about the party. One of the moms asks me "so do you find having 4 kids to be easy or hard?" Ummmmmm......did she seriously ask me that question? I was tempted to say I thought it was incredibly easy and that I was planning to have 4 more. HAHA!!

Yesterday I had to do the lovely "prep" for a colonoscopy. Let me just say I'm quite happy that is over with! Being on a liquid diet all day when you still have to feed the minions is no easy task. I will admit my patience was GONE by the end of the day. Oh, and I thought the liquid diet was the hard part. Little did I know the "ocean water" (as one friend termed it) I had to drink would be absolutely disgusting! I've heard people say prepping for a colonoscopy wasn't that bad.....well, I have to disagree. I have to admit-I ended up not drinking the last 16 oz. I seriously couldn't bring myself to drink another drop. But, I survived and am now DONE with the procedure. No abnormal findings! Hmmmmm.....I guess that means I just have irritable bowel syndrome. I've heard it can be brought on by stress so I guess that's not unreasonable. I always have to laugh when Dr's, etc ask if I'm under any unusual amounts of stress. I don't quite know how to answer. Well, of course I'm under stress. Wouldn't you be if you had 4 kids under age 7?

Oh, and to celebrate the fact that I can eat as much as I want today.....I'm having large amounts of pizza for dinner and maybe even a beer or two. :)

I promise I'll be adding pictures sooooooonnnnnn!!!!

Friday, August 10

Wednesday and Thursday were mostly beach days again. Basically more of what I already wrote about. Kaeli and Paige played with their new friends-Laney and Danielle both days on the beach. We actually saw very little of them. We also found out their friends actually own a house here just a few houses down from where we stay. So, Kaeli got their phone number so that we can meet up with them when we are down. This is what Kaeli has always hoped for! She has been wanting a friend to play with here since I can remember. AJ continued to eat sand at every opportunity. The child would just grab a handful of sand and cram it into his mouth! I'm looking forward to next summer already when he'll be almost 2 and I won't have to worry about him crawling and eating sand. This was a very hard age to have at the beach. Out of the 4 kids, he's the first one still ONLY in the crawling phase when he came here for the week. Kaeli and Ryan would have only been about 6 mos the first summer and 18 mos the second summer. Paige would have been a newborn the first summer and 14 mos the second summer. But, we all survived and it can only get easier from here......right?.....PLEASE tell me I'm right. :)

So, today is Friday-our last day here. We'll spend the morning cleaning and packing tomorrow and head home by early afternoon. We decided to take a day off from going to the beach. After a relaxing morning (well, as relaxing as anything can be with 4 young kids) we had lunch then headed to Ocean City again. We decided to go back to Wonderland since the kids enjoyed it so much earlier in the week. This time we remembered the camera and video camera, so I think we got some good pictures and videos of the kids on all the rides. Hopefully, we'll actually take some time to figure out how to upload videos to the computer when we get home. Even if we don't get that done right away, I promise there will be lost of pictures next week! So, keep checking back.

Right now the boys are in bed and the girls are playing Barbies. Steve is going to grill some seafood for us and we are going to drink a little beer and relax (shhh, don't tell anybody). While we've had a wonderful week here, I'm definitely looking forward to being home again and being in our normal routine again.

Tuesday 8-7

Today was another beach day. We got there at about 10 again and set up our camp. Basically, it was a repeat of Sunday. Kaeli and Paige spent most of the day in the ocean, Ryan mostly played in the sand trenches, and AJ spent the day eating sand. He did actually take a nap on the beach, though! That is a rarity for my kids, but it was much appreciated. Kaeli met a few friends, so she was thrilled. We got home by 3 again. The little guys had naps while the girls watched a video. Steve and I just tried to recuperate.

We chose tonight to do our sunset tradition because it was supposed to be a sunny day/night with minimal clouds. Our sunset tradition is something we do every year during our week-long vacation here. We got to Harpoon Henry's in Cape May, have dinner, and then walk across the street to the bay beach to watch the sunset. In the past, we've gotten some great pictures during this time. Unfortunately, there was a LOT of haze so we didn't get a sunset at all. :( Oh well, we did get a few pictures and the kids still had fun running around on the beach.

The night got interesting on the way home. One of Kaeli's top front teeth has been loose for a long time! On the way home she dropped the headphones on herself and somehow managed to mostly knock the tooth completely out. But, it was just barely hanging on. She tried and tried to get that tooth out, but it just wasn't coming. It was so sad. She spent a good 30-45 in the bathroom working on that tooth. She was so very upset. But, by 10:00 we decided she needed to give up on the tooth. I'm slightly worried that it might come out while she's sleeping, but hopefully not. I'm SURE it will be out tomorrow. But, the good news is that we were able to notify the tooth fairy that it will be happening VERY soon so that she could prepare herself for the unexpected trip to the beach. See, the tooth fairy got herself in a bit of trouble. She gave Kaeli a Webkinz for the other top front tooth and left a note saying that the top front teeth are extra special. So, she always leaves an extra special gift for the 2 top front teeth. I don't think the tooth fairy was prepared for the other top front tooth to come out while we were at the beach. BUT, like I said, she is now prepared! ;)

Not sure where else to put this, but it was funny, so I have to put it somewhere. A lemon wedge was served with my dinner. Ryan kept acting like he wanted it. There's no way to reason with this child, so I gave it to him. I figured he'd taste it and hand it back. After handing it to him I started eating my dinner. A few minutes later I look over and he has eaten half of the lemon. I don't just mean the pulp part. He has literally eaten HALF of this lemon wedge...peel and all! YUCK!! I tried taking it away and he got upset. Hopefully lemon peel can't cause any damage. Luckily, he stopped eating it after another couple of bites. I still have no idea how he could do that without it even phasing him! Yep, there's no doubt about it....our kids march to the beat of a different drummer. :)

Monday 8-6

Today was not really a beach day. It was raining during the morning and looked like it would rain off and on throughout the day. We decided to cook a big breakfast, let the little guys have early naps, and then head to Ocean City. Ocean City has a really great boardwalk with lots of interesting stuff for the kids.

It was past lunch time by the time we got to the Ocean City boardwalk so we stopped for pizza first. Then we headed straight for the amusement park. There are a couple of different choices, but we took the kids to Wonderland Pier because they seemed to have a bigger selection of kids' rides. The kids had a fantastic time!!!

First, let me just say that Kaeli has turned into quite the little thrill-seeker. Anyone who has known her her whole life knows this is absolutely unbelievable!! She rode 3 or 4 thrill rides. But, the one that I find most shocking is the Pirate Ship. She rode on the Pirate Ship with Steve in Rehoboth about a month ago close to the end of the ship. I really thought she'd be scared. NOPE! She couldn't wait to get on the Pirate Ship at Wonderland. She marched right on that ride without me OR Steve and headed straight for the very last row of seats! We were able to watch her face from our vantage point. She did have a few moments where her face showed pure terror, but the rest of the time it was all smiles. She loved it!

Paige tends to stick with the in-between rides. Not really the "baby" stuff, but not the big thrill rides, either. I think her favorite was the swings. They go really fast around and it makes her fly into the air. I also think she really enjoyed the ride where you sit in a seat and it shoots you up in the air and then drops you back down. She had a few looks of terror on the way down, but it was always followed by a big smile.

Ryan rode the Merry-Go-Round and little cars without much emotion other than a few smiles. But, I wish I had had a video camera when he was on the last ride of the day. It was an airplane ride where he had a stick to move the airplane up or down as it went around. Ryan didn't really understand what the stick did, he just kept pushing/pulling it really fast. The airplane was bouncing up and down with each push/pull. He was going up and down so fast he was actually bumping up out of his seat. He loved it and had this huge smile on his face. He wasn't quite sure what was happening, but he knew it was FUN! I was laughing so hard watching him that I had tears streaming down my face. I can't believe we left the video camera in the car! We might have to go back there this week JUST so I can get that on video.

Before we left we stocked up on fudge, Irish Potatoes, and Saltwater Taffy. We also got t-shirts for the kids.

We were exhausted by the time we got home! Steve and I were looking forward to bedtime for the kids when we could just sit and relax.

Sunday 8-5

Now, today is the day we really got serious about the beach! We were on the beach at 10:00 and it was a BEAUTIFUL day!! We got our tent set up and we were ready to go. I'll have to be sure to post a picture of our tent. It's a lot of work, but I think it's the only way we can spend so much time on the beach. Poor Steve, he's the one that has to drag the tent AND the overloaded wagon all the way to the beach and back. I'm sure he's looking forward to the day that I'm not either pregnant or carrying a baby. OH YEAH......that will be NEXT summer!! :) Kaeli and Paige are now finally at an age where they can help. They carry their own backpack of toys over all by themselves! The new rule is that if they can carry it they can take it. This stops them from wanting to take everything they can throw at us.

So, the day was terrific! Nice breeze off the ocean, water temp was perfect, and the air temp was just right. The girls are just amazing now! They LOVE the water and the waves. It's hard to believe Kaeli was terrified of the ocean until she was about 3. But, I'm also very proud to say that both Kaeli and Paige seem to know their limits and don't go too far out. Ryan enjoys the ocean, too. He doesn't mind the waves, but he also doesn't go too far out. The funniest thing is that he doesn't get terribly upset if he goes under. The tide was coming in today so the waves got a little rough even close to shore. Ryan lost his balance a couple of times and went completely under. He came up laughing each time! Of course, me being me, I did practically dive in after him once. Steve even got that on video and I'm looking forward to seeing how silly I look diving in to save my son from probably less than a foot of water! Not only that, but I had AJ in my arms. In my defense, I think it's an instinctual reaction after raising Kaeli. If she had gone under at his age, she would head back to the tent and not go near the water again for the whole week. She would have been traumatized.

AJ was just too cute! Not too long ago he was slightly scared of the sand and the ocean. We could plop him down in a little hole at the edge of the surf and he wouldn't move. He would just splash in the little bit of water for a LONG time. Actually, he did that pretty much the first half of today. But, then he got pretty comfortable. After that, he just looked like a little sand monster. He would take off crawling through the sand and it didn't phase him a bit! He'd get his hands wet, stick them in a pile of dry sand, and then stick his hands straight into his mouth. It didn't phase him! I kept trying to keep him from eating too much sand, but then I realized it was a lost cause. I just couldn't keep up with him. He's still not too crazy about the waves, but he certainly seems to LOVE the beach!

Oh, and I will also be posting a picture of my trenches to save our camp from the rising tide. I'm thinking that if only I had been in New Orleans with a child-size plastic shovel, Hurricane Katrina wouldn't have caused all that damage! :) I'm going to submit the picture to President Bush and ask if I can be named head of Homeland Security. I also saved a few other beach-goers behind us and they were very grateful. I have no idea why, but I actually ENJOYED digging all those trenches. The kids also loved playing in them.

We got the kids home by 3:00 so that the little guys could have naps. We rested for a few hours, had dinner, and went to bed.

Saturday 8-4

Today was the first day of our vacation. I had to get the grocery shopping done for the week, so it was kind of a "work" day. We just spent the day settling in. Late afternoon we took a walk and made a little stop at the ice cream store-Sweet Pete's. MB, if you're reading-thanks for the gift certificate. :) Kaeli and Paige LOVE Sweet Pete's! They almost always get the Holy Cow--cotton candy ice cream, sprinkles, and a cow shaped brownie. I know!! It doesn't sound all that appealing to me, either, but they certainly get a thrill out of it. :) Ryan just takes whatever we choose for him--a scoop of mint chocolate chip. AJ takes a few tastes when he can get it and otherwise tries his best to get down and crawl. I know walking isn't an easy phase, but it's definitely easier than the crawling phase! At least you can let them walk around just about anywhere. When they are crawling you just can't let them down to crawl many places, but that's ALLLL they want to do!

Ok, so after our ice cream stop we headed home for a quiet evening and headed to bed early. And I do mean early! I think I was in bed myself at 8:30!

Vacation in Sea Isle

We have been in Sea Isle for a week-long vacation since Friday. We've been staying busy and having a great time. Since I forgot I had a blog, I haven't been writing much in here. So, I'll do a little bit of catching up here in the next few posts. When we get back home this weekend I'll try to add some pictures. Of course, realistically, that may not actually happen until the middle of next week. But, I'll do it ASAP. So, on to my catch-up posts.

Vacation in Sea Isle

We have been in Sea Isle for a week-long vacation since Friday. We've been staying busy and having a great time. Since I forgot I had a blog, I haven't been writing much in here. So, I'll do a little bit of catching up here in the next few posts. When we get back home this weekend I'll try to add some pictures. Of course, realistically, that may not actually happen until the middle of next week. But, I'll do it ASAP. So, on to my catch-up posts.

Daddy's Little Shadow

Steve really better watch his step these days! Ryan loves to follow along and do whatever his Daddy is doing. I happened to catch it in pictures yesterday. Steve was outside working in the yard with the shovel. Ryan hurried out and picked up his own little yellow shovel and followed Steve around pretending do whatever Steve did. The best part is to see the huge expression of pride on Ryan's face. I think it makes him feel like a big boy. No wonder there's such a special bond between daddies and their sons.

A Special Entry for AJ

My baby just got his first pair of shoes today!! I can't believe he's getting to be such a big boy now. We put the shoes on and he proceeded to chew on them the rest of the day. For the past few days he's been practicing standing without help. The shoes seem to help with that just a bit. He just LOVES trying to stand. I let go, he stands for a second, and then he just erupts into laughter. His laughter is absolutely contagious.

He loves to laugh and does it at the drop of a hat. He's incredibly ticklish, too. He always has been. It makes me think back to when he was much younger, as early as 3 mos I think, when he would just do these big belly laughs the whole time I tried to change his diaper. I also have a memory of him laughing at one of his well baby checks. I think it was about 6 mos. As the Dr was looking over him, he laughed the whole time because the Dr was inadvertently tickling him. It was at that appt that the Dr said some children to become ticklish as a learned/social type thing. Then there are some children that are just born more ticklish. He said AJ was obviously just born that way.

We've been waiting for his first tooth for a long time! He finally got his first tooth right after he turned 10 mos (last week). I've always heard stories of this happening, but I've never seen it personally. But, he got a total of 3 teeth in 2 days! One top and one bottom erupted at almost the same time. Then the 2nd top tooth came in. We're still waiting for the 2nd bottom one. He's going to look like a little toddler before I know it. How do these kids grow up so fast when I feel like some days will never end?

I think that's all the catching up I can do for today. I'll try to update on a regular basis now.

This picture was taken about a week ago-before his new teeth and new shoes-but I thought it was cute anyway. Don't you just want to squeeze those adorable little cheeks?

AJ's New Game

This morning I realized AJ has a new favorite game. It is so much fun. He actually initiated the game today. He makes this cute high-pitched "ah" sound while waving his hand in the air. Then he waits for me to say "ah" back. We continue this back and forth game until one of us gets tired of it. Yes, it's usually me. He laughs between each exchange. I think he enjoys this game more than peek-a-boo!

He also has a new babbling sound. He's been saying "dadadada" for 2-3 months now. Within the last week or so he added "babababa". I'm hoping he starts babbling a lot more soon. I'm so hopeful that I won't have another "late talker".

Just adding a line in here about adhd to see if I can get some other ads on my blog. ;)

Our Shopping Adventure

I guess I'll just jump right in with both feet!

Today I decided to take all 4 kids to the mall to get shoes for everyone. Stride Rite was having their semi-annual "Buy 1 Get 1 50% off sale". Now having 4 kids pays off. See, if I only had 3 kids to buy shoes for, I'd have a dilemma on my hands. I'd have to buy that 4th pair of shoes anyway, right? Well, now all the kids have their shoes for the fall. I even bought Kaeli and Paige a pair of "dressy" shoes. Last year I was accused of being a "mean mom" because Kaeli only had one pair of sneakers and that was it. According to Kaeli, she was the *ONLY* girl wearing sneakers on picture day. Yep, she obviously went around the school and checked out what every other girl was wearing on her feet that day. I had no idea this would start at such a young age! So, now she will not have to suffer such a tragedy on picture day this year. WHEW!

After the shoes we headed over to the water fountain. We never go to the mall without a supply of pennies to throw into the fountain. I can't help but wonder how much money they make from the water fountain. Seriously, until I had kids I never knew what a huge incentive throwing pennies into the fountain could be. This is always the highlight of any trip to the mall. Kaeli, Paige, and Ryan all had a great time throwing their pennies into the fountain while AJ had his bottle.

After the fountain, we had lunch at the food court. Nothing eventful there. Believe it or not, they were very well behaved through lunch. AJ was overdue for a nap by now and it was time to head home. On the way out, I decided to let the kids each choose a book from the bookstore. This was not pretty! AJ was crying most of the time. Kaeli couldn't make up her mind which book she wanted. Ryan wanted every book he laid eyes on. Problem is he'd pick one up and then just lay it in the middle of the floor when another one caught his attention. Thank goodness Paige was the easy one. She chose a book very quickly and helped me put books away as Ryan put them all over the floor. FINALLY, we headed for the checkout counter. The lady rang us up and handed each a bag with their own book in it. What a nice lady......UNTIL I look in my wallet and can't find my credit card. I look at her and explain that I must have left my card at the last place I used it. I kid you not.....this lady acted like I had purposely caused her extra work and that I had this big scheme planned out. I was pretty irritated by now. I told her I certainly didn't plan to have this happen and that I'd come right back. Outside the store I decided to check my pockets just in case I had put it in there--of course, there was my credit card. But, the books stayed at the book store. I was so mad at that lady that there was no way I was going back in there. I was actually surprised at how well the kids took the news. Maybe they realized I had had enough for the day. But, surprisingly they didn't argue at all. Thank goodness for small miracles!

The rest of the day was very easy in comparison. We got home just in time for Ryan and AJ's nap. Paige doesn't usually nap, but today even she was tired. She only likes to take a nap with me, of course I had to oblige. So, Kaeli entertained herself while the 4 of us napped. Now THAT is a good ending to a day.

Here is a little funny story from the day. As usual, I had plenty of people say to me "you certainly have your hands full". After what felt like the gazillionth time, Kaeli looked at me and said "Why does everybody keep saying that to you?". I thought it was cute.