September 26, 2010

September 26, 2010

Dear Family and Friends,

It has been back to reality here. The beach was a fantastic little break, but we had to come back to life eventually. Monday my first thing to do was get J an appointment with the doctor. At the doctor’s office they found a pretty good ear infection, but also wanted to have a lung x-ray taken to rule out pneumonia. The doctor said his lungs sounded clear, but he was breathing pretty fast. We walked over to the radiology place and I was so thankful that we didn’t have to wait long. They hooked J into this little torture contraption that held his arms straight up against him, then wrapped around him so he couldn’t move. All while he was sitting on a sort of bicycle seat. I had to leave the room, but I could hear him screaming the whole time. He was not happy. I left and went home to wait the results. I was pretty skeptical that it would be anything. I figured it would be just another ear infection and he was breathing fast from the fever. (That has happened to him before…) Turns out I was wrong! He did have a little pneumonia in one of his lungs. The doctor called in a prescription for him, and so we did a family trip to Costco before dinner and FHE. I felt like a pretty bad mom. He was way sicker than any of us realized, and he really was being such a good sport. Poor guy. After the boys were in bed I went to a little get together for a friend that was leaving town for a while.

Tuesday was the regular school, etc. I’m trying to get things organized at home before this baby comes too. That afternoon we had a friend and her kids over for dinner. Her husband was gone for a few days. After dinner B-man had soccer. M took him while my friend and I finished chatting and letting our kids play.

Wednesday not much was happening. I did have mutual that night. We had a fantastic lesson on the basics of drawing and water color. The woman that taught the class is an amazing artist and I learned so much even though I was in and out most of the evening helping to watch her kids.

Thursday was a day full of appointments. I went to the doctor for a check-up, (things look fine) and then that afternoon I picked up B-man from school and then we went straight to the doctor’s for J. They checked him out and said he was doing much better. And truly he has been a much better baby since getting on medicine. The doctor and I had a conversation about how hard it was to tell how sick he was from how he was acting. Don’t get me wrong, he had many fussy moments, but he would also have moments where he seemed totally normal except for a fever. Not at all lethargic, etc. We ran a few errands before dinner and then B-man went to soccer again. I went for a few minutes with J, and then came home to get J to bed.

Friday I have very little memory of. All I can remember is the afternoon. I had to pick up B-man from school again and took him straight to the dentist for more cavities to be filled. We still aren’t done with that fun project… B-man did really great, but he had a complete melt down as we were leaving. He was hungry, and his mouth was numb, and he was not happy. He thought I called the dentist to make him go, not that he had to have cavities filled. He also did not want any of the soft food I was offering as a snack for him. It was an epic melt down, and I was so happy when M got home and he had someone else to try and distract him. We got some good news about M’ job, and celebrated with Thai food. B-man was in a much happier mood when he got some real food in him, and didn’t even mind the spicy food. J just wanted the rice. After dinner I ran to a baby shower for a friend. I only planned to stay a few minutes, but got caught and stayed longer. M and I finished off the evening with some treats and “Lost.”

Saturday morning the boys were up early. I have had to wake up B-man every single day this week for school, but on Saturday he was up before he needs to be even for school. It is such a mystery. I went to garage sales with a friend, and then ended early so that we could get to B-man’s game. His soccer game was great. He improved a lot from the first game. It also helped that his team scored and won… J was making lots of friends during the game and asking people for their snacks. M and I were mostly cheering and roasting. It has been a HOT, HOT couple of days. After the game we spent the rest of the day working on various projects around the house. Organizing, cleaning, yard things, etc. Later after dinner I went to the broadcast for Relief Society. It was a great meeting. I skipped a get together after so that I could get home and spend some time with M.

B-man showing us his suit I found at a garage sale. The second picture shows his true feelings about the photo shoot.

Today has been a good day. First of all we woke up to rain! It is so nice to have a break from the heat. M and I took turns with the meetings. He had one first, and then I drove to the church with the boys, and then he drove them home and then the Young Women’s Presidency met with the Bishopric. When I got home we had lunch, finished getting the boys dressed, and then headed off to church. Church went well, but we are certainly excited for J to go to nursery. After church we eventually made it home and had dinner. We went on a quick walk after we had finished cleaning up, and then got the boys ready for bed. M is at a Stake Priesthood meeting.

We love you all!

R, M, B-man, and J

September 12, 2010

September 12, 2010

Dear Family and Friends,

Here is a quick recap of our week. Monday was Labor Day. We spent some of the day at the pool, and also worked around the house on various projects. I woke up feeling pretty miserable with a case of pink eye. Later that day we all went to the ward Labor Day picnic held at a local park. The party was very relaxed and low key. We all had a good time. We then came home and got everything ready for B-man’s first day of school. We were all excited for his new grand adventure.

Tuesday morning we were up early and going. I had to wake up B-man, but he was a good sport and didn’t complain. In the mornings we try to get all of this accomplished, feed the boys, dress B-man (maybe J) make bed, brush teeth, make B-man’s lunch, morning prayers, and a family prayer. All of those things are super quick, but for some reason we need an hour to get it all done. I then walked B-man to the bus stop, and sent him off to school. He was so excited! All day it was a little strange to have him gone! But it was nice to run some errands with one less person. When I picked him up from school he reported that the day went great and he had a good time. He said his favorite thing that he did was P.E. He’s been really excited to go to the P.E. class this year. We had a snack and then got to work on his homework. That night was also a big night because he had soccer practice. It was blazing hot, but he didn’t complain and just ran and ran. He had such a great time. After practice he came home and got cleaned up before heading to bed.

Wednesday was more of the same. I had a doctor’s appointment, and ended up taking J. Thankfully it went well and he was a good sport. After the appointment I ran a bunch of errands that were near the doctor’s office. It was extra far away so I was happy to get it done in one trip. Later that night I also had mutual. I wasn’t feeling great. In fact I was feeling pretty crummy with a combo of pink eye/cold, but the Beehives were in charge so I really needed to go. We had a farewell to summer combined activity and took the kids to an indoor pool and rock climbing wall. They had a great time, and we want to do it again sometime when we aren’t so limited by the time.

Thursday I had another doctor’s appointment. Everything looks good with the baby. Now we just wish we had a crystal ball so that we could know when he will come. M will be out of town up to pretty close when this little guy is supposed to come, and I asked a few questions to see if the doctor could give me any advice about when to expect going into labor, but sadly I got none. Just advice to avoid overdoing it, and staying hydrated. After school that day we took B-man back to practice. He had another great time, and is excited for his first game.

Friday was B-man’s birthday! To make it even more fun M had the day off from work. He took charge of the breakfast and went and got some delicious breakfast burritos that we all enjoyed before school. Then while B-man was at school we had a good time working on some projects and watching “Lost.” We did take a break to take lunch to B-man. Our entire school district has banned any food being brought in for birthdays, but we are allowed to bring in lunch and eat lunch with him. We got brought him a “Happy Meal” and he was so excited. I had visions of us eating at a little table with just our family, but instead we had to sit with the rest of the class, and there was even someone sitting in-between us. Oh well. I think he still had fun. He really wanted us to see where he plays after lunch and so we stuck around until the teacher came and got the class to take them to recess. Later that afternoon I also went to get my haircut. It feels great to have some fresh ends on my hair!

That night for his birthday we had pizza, his favorite meal. We also ate on the deck. He always wants to eat on the deck, but we rarely plan ahead and so we end up inside since the table is cleaner. He was so excited to eat outside, and the weather was very cooperative. After dinner I hurried upstairs and wrapped his presents. He opened them up and was appropriately excited for all of them. After the boys were in bed I ran to Costco with a few other women to plan our breakfasts for an upcoming trip. Then when I got home later M and I watched some more “Lost.”

Saturday morning I got up and went to garage sales with a friend. We hit a community garage sale in a really nice new section of town. It was in an area I don’t normally go, but it was worth it. There were a log of sales, and not a lot of people. I got a few very fun things for J and B-man. I also found a mattress for the bunk bed. That means that we can finally get the bed set up on top and let B-man sleep there. We haven’t had time yet, but he is very excited. After I got home we rushed to get ready for B-man’s first soccer game. There were only four players that came, and one ended up running off the field and getting sick. That meant zero subs for our team. B-man didn’t complain though and he worked hard all through the game. They got creamed, but B-man did come close to scoring a goal. It also made it obvious to the coach what they needed to work on… The rest of the day we spent getting ready for our trip to the Outer Banks in North Carolina. It is a narrow stretch of land that extends up the North Carolina coast. We organized food, M made and froze our dinner and we tried to get as ready as possible that evening.

Sunday morning we were up and going early. We finished most of the packing and got ourselves ready for church. M went to his meetings, and then I drove the boys to an earlier church time so that we could get on the road a little earlier. M met us at the chapel for the Sacrament, before leaving for the rest of his meetings. After church we went home and started packing all of the cold food into the coolers. We then met up with one other family and drove about thirty minutes were we picked up another family. We then split their stuff and them into the two cars that were caravanning and hit the road. The drive took less than six hours, and really the kids did very well. We did make a stop to stretch in Norfolk, VA and decided that we didn’t ever want to live there. The weather was just slightly cool and rainy making it easy to avoid going to the beach. We made it to the beach house in the early evening and quickly unloaded the car, organized our food, assigned bedrooms to families, and then worked on dinner for the boys. We rented an eight bedroom house that was only two blocks from the beach. It was clean and comfortable, and because we were doing it after Labor Day it was also super inexpensive. We were all really excited. B-man was thrilled that the house had a pool and a hot tub too. He was pretty much in heaven. We got the kids in bed, and waited up until the rest of the families arrived in the night.

We love you all!

R, M, B-man, and J

I Love This Stage

What can I say?  I love this stage that J is in.  Here is an example of why  he is so fun these days… (Please ignore the random clutter.)

And here he is again from another angle…

September 5, 2010

September 5, 2010

Dear Family and Friends,

This week has been a little slower and a lot less crazy. We meant to try and get in a lot of playing, but J has had some form of pink eye and other issues most of the week. That makes it a little hard to take your children places. Most of the week was spend in preparation for B-man’s birthday party. Luckily he thought that was all very fun. Monday when M got home we went to a very early dinner at place in town. The sandwiches were delicious, and we were amazed at the amount of food that B-man consumed. He finished his large sandwich and the last of one of ours! After dinner we came home and got ready for the pool. J couldn’t swim so we hung out on the edge getting our feet wet and playing with various toys. That night for FHE we discussed Father’s Blessings. We wanted to prepare B-man in advance because he gets nervous about it sometimes. Even with the preparation he ended the night saying he didn’t want one. Hmmm…

The big event for Tuesday was that B-man had his first soccer practice. His practices are kind of late (6:00) and so we had to eat dinner first. We have definitely entered a new phase in our family life. The weather has been insanely hot, and B-man did not complain at all about the heat while at practice. He had a great time. At one point he was in a big group trying to get the ball and he just sat on it. Not so great for continuing the game, but very effective ball control. Because of the heat I wasn’t too sad that I had to leave a few minutes early to get to mutual. For our activity all the girls tie-dyed shirts. We are going to use them in another activity coming up. It was a messy but fun activity. I had never done it before, and it was fun to see how it was done.

Wednesday was a slower day. I went to the farm. It was one of our hottest picking experiences ever. I felt bad for the men that had to do it all day. After the farm B-man had a day of play dates. First we had a friend over that is younger. We saw him at the farm and B-man wanted to have him over. Then after we dropped him off at home I took B-man to another friend’s house for a little bit. He was so happy. We hit the pool that night after dinner. When it is so hot it is the perfect time to go and get refreshed before bed.

Thursday was a busy day. I finished the shopping and things that we needed for B-man’s party during the day. When M got home we had a fast dinner and then got ready for soccer and back to school night. M took J and went to soccer. I went to Back-to-School night. I got to meet the teacher, but it was so fast that we didn’t get enough time to get our questions answered and such. I had just enough time to get the kitchen clean before the boys got home from soccer. Apparently he had a lot of fun again. We got the boys clean and then to bed.

Friday was a busy but fun day. Most of the morning was spent working on last minute party details. We packed the goodie bags (which I then forgot to pass out…), made the cake (several near disasters there) and got everything organized that we would need to take to the pool for the party. B-man has been saying for months that he wanted a party at the pool. I was happy to oblige. It was the perfect place to have a bunch of kids. We invited about eleven, and we had seven that came. It was the perfect number. But before we could focus on the party we had to go to the school open house first. B-man was excited for a chance to meet his teacher and see his classroom. They didn’t stay long and then we headed straight over to the pool to set up for the party. We played some games in the pool, and had a water balloon toss. The water balloons were a big hit with the kids. When the party started we had the entire pool to ourselves. It was wonderful, one of the life guards was helping watch J, and I ran the games while M did a bunch of little details for me. We ended the party with cake and ice cream. B-man wanted a chocolate cake with raspberry filling, and he wanted it to be a Star Wars cake. I am NOT a cake decorator. All I know I learned from watching my mother decorate our birthday cakes. I want to take a class, but I have not. And yet I keep making cakes for birthdays and trying to make them look nice because I can’t stand to spend a bunch of money on a cake. After cake people started to filter home. We stayed at the pool for a while because B-man and J were having so much fun. Eventually I was tired and hungry so I forced us all to go home and get some food. We all got dressed and then went to Costco for dinner. We saw several friends at Costco and had a good dinner before heading home to get people in bed. Such an exciting day!

Saturday morning I woke up with no voice. It was seriously gone. B-man kept telling me that I shouldn’t talk for a long time. .. It didn’t keep me from hunting at garage sales. I felt find I just didn’t have a voice. I found some great things for the new baby and some new cowboy boots for B-man to wear on Sundays. After I got home we let J sleep for a while and then headed off to the farm for their potato festival. It was the first day of the potato harvest and they had free pancakes and we were able to pick some potatoes for free too. I love fresh potatoes. The weather was about fifteen degrees cooler than when we went on Wednesday and made for a much more pleasant experience. After the farm we spent the rest of the day working on things around the house. B-man enjoyed playing with his new toys. We had a summery dinner and then went to the pool, but with the weather being so nice during the day, it made it a little too cold for swimming. The boys didn’t last very long in the water. We then came home and put the boys to bed. We then stayed up and watched some episodes of “Lost.” We got several seasons from a friend and are watching from the beginning since we never really watched the show.

Sunday morning was very lazy and wonderful. No meetings for M, and I had no lesson to prepare. Actually I was supposed to be teaching, but I still had no voice making it impossible so I had to switch with another leader. Church went well, other than forgetting to bring the church bag. B-man was a little bored, but luckily I always carry a few toys in my purse that can distract J. After Sacrament meeting B-man always asks to walk someone to Primary. Usually it is one of his good friends. After church we came home and had a quick dinner of homemade fettuccini alfredo. I usually halve the recipe, but B-man has started eating so much, (and J ate it too) that I am can’t do that anymore. I’m sure it is only a sign of things to come. We had a pretty quiet evening after dinner. We went on a walk around our neighborhood to enjoy the beautiful weather, and then headed home for bed.

We love you all!

R, M, B-man, and J