Could it be Spring?

I wished it this morning as I looked longingly at my summer shirts, wondering if I could actually get away with a sleeveless shirt today. Then I had a moment of euphoria as I watched the weather channel and saw it is going to be in the mid 70's this weekend.

But the real spring is here moments came as we played in the backyard all morning long. First giving the walls a new coat of chalk scribbles and then playing catch and dodge ball with the balls we have stashed all over the backyard. I got some yard work done, trimming a few bushes with the trimmers that haven't seen light in almost a year and then laid on the lounger, reading my magazine, while the boys played in the sandbox.

The boys ate their lunch outside -which the dog loves all the food dropped!- and now they are all worn out and arguing enough to make up for the peaceful morning we had and then some.

But hey, at least the sun is shining and spring is in the air!

Climbing on the Walls

Just a matter of speech or not?


Things are back to normal-ish around here. The boys are all back to acting like themselves once again -lots of playing with trains and lots of playing outside. Also lots of arguing over trains and sand box toys. I think they all got babied in their own way while they were sick, and they don't understand why they can't just have what it is they want anymore.

It is nice to have the laughter (and even arguing) back in our house. It is crazy and loud -the noise once again makes it impossible to get through a magazine- it is good to have them back.

Family through the generations

My family has no limits. My closet cousins are not the ones who are my mom and dads nieces and nephews. They are the cousins who in this day and age, I am blessed to even know they are related.

When I was in third grade, we moved from where all my family was (Western New York) and down to Florida. A few years after Florida, we moved and a few years after that, we moved again, this time landing in Nevada. Being isolated from the big family really made me forget about so many family things. The family drama for one, I have no tolerance for, but that is because I don't have to deal with it, being so far away. You can just choose not to pick up the phone if someone is disagreeable.

But the flip side of that is that you lose the connections and etiquette of family dynamics as well. You forget that it IS important that someone felt snubbed, or that someones birthday has passed. In all the years that have passed and my independence grew, I have adapted an attitude of sorts that the family we make is the family we have.

When the boys were born, my Grandma Bette offered to stay with us for six weeks when Don had to go back to work. She came out and stayed up with me until 2am, helping with late night feedings and came up with ways to ease Jaxon's colic. I don't know what I would have done without her help in those weeks. I had finally found my groove right before she left, and I am positive I would have been a crazy woman had it not been for her help.

In the past couple months, I have had my cousins come out to visit. First was my cousin Annie and just a couple weeks ago, my cousin Jennifer came out with her daughter, Gracie. Along with Jennifer was her mom Jean who stayed with my mom since they grew up together as well.

In the past few months Don has flown to see his brother and his family in Virgina as well as his extended family out in Houston. He stayed with his cousin and kept telling me how awesome it felt. Like finding home again. I could totally relate, seeing I feel the same way when I see my cousins as well.

There is no other way to describe it than to say it feels like coming home. It is so odd that months (or years) can pass by without as much a birthday card, yet you are placed in the same room together, and it is like you had just seen each other last week. No awkwardness, no pretending, just instant acceptance and good feelings.

My mom and Jean worked to keep in touch the years where you had to pay long distance charges or sit down to write a letter if you wanted to hear form one another. No emails or cell phone calls on the run for them. Thankfully they made the effort, and we had three generations of families in my house a couple weeks ago. Beth and Jean, Jennifer, Leigha and myself, as well as Gracie and my kids were all just family hanging out and having a good time.

A couple days later, my moms Aunt and Uncle were in town. They were family I haven't seen in probably 20 years except once for a couple hours at Jenn's wedding years ago. Conversations were easily begun, pictures of new family was shown and we all had a nice time.

It is such a beautiful thing that family can be so easy. With just a little love from both sides, we all make each other comfortable and at ease.

I know I have been all over the place in this post, but I just am always surprised at how much love our families have. It is easy to forget how much you mean to someone after not seeing them for so many years. I am surprised to even find that they remember us since we have been gone so long, let alone hold a special place in their heart for us.

So thank you, both Annies :), Jean, and Jennifer for always being a constant presence and giving us the feeling that no matter where we are, if we are with family, we are home. It has been a beautiful lesson relearned in the past couple months.

Jaxon-isms

The every day things he says
"Hey, you guys..."
"Hey, I got idea!"
"Som-fing wrong"
"shhh, I hear som-fing"


When his knee is dry and in need of lotion, he tells me, "my knee is broken"


When he knows his brothers are not being fair or truthful, he tells them, "I not playing your game"


Yesterday at church we didn't want to leave him at the church nursery because he was sick. He sat with us through the service and behaved really well. As he was getting in the car, he told me, "I really proud of you guys".


When there is too much going on and I am feeling unsettled, I need to decompress some how. Jaxon is the same way. He loves his arms to be squeezed -hard. Really hard -starting at the top of his arms and down to his fingers. He also likes his hair roughed up. He just smiles a big drunk smile and says "I love this!"


Even though I am sure there are plenty more, the last thing that comes to mind is Jaxon's constant celebration of tasks completed. His main mantra around the house is, "I did it, I did it! Yeah, yeah yeah! I did it, I did it, yeah yeah yeah!"

What's up Doc?

Well after almost $200 last week in Dr co-pays and prescribed medicines, things seem to be looking up for Lucas and Wyatt. Although it took Lucas four full days to get better after he got the antibiotic shot, he and Wyatt are running around, almost as good as new -attacking Don on the couch and laughing at silly things.

Jaxon on the other hand, is coming down with the something quickly. He tells everyone who will listen that "I don't feel well" and wants me by his side constantly. Tonight we went out for a quick bite to eat and he laid in the booth the whole time, only eating one single bite of a roll.

I am thinking we should be back to normal by Monday, the kids have been asking about going to school and I am dying for a morning to breathe. Let's keep our fingers crossed.

How Jax stays busy

I walked into the bathroom to see Jaxon brushing his wet hair -with a can of Glade in front of him. Trying not to jump to conclusions, I glanced in both sinks to find them bone dry. Then picking up the can of Glade room freshener, and feeling the ice cold metal chill an aerosol can gets when it is used until the last drop -my nose suddenly filled with the "Fresh Linen" scent that the spray promises.

It was so hard not to laugh out loud when he conflicted between being proud of himself for brushing his hair, or worried about being in trouble for using what he must have thought was hairspray.

There's no fun like Strep

Earlier this week, we brought Luke in to see the Dr after it became obvious his reflux was not getting better. The reflux is directly caused from the three rounds of antibiotics he went on beginning October because of an ear infection that just did not want to go away. I gave him probotics for a few weeks, but when he began waking at night because his "mouth" hurt and he cried saying "it tastes yucky", Don and I knew he should go see his Doctor.

The Doctor heard me out, looked at the funky lump on the side of his neck and checked him out. Then she did a strep test on him that -surprise! came up positive. I was amazed because other than this night time issue, we have had no other reason to worry about him. So after a big fat shot in his leg we were out the door with a prescription for prevacid.

Knowing that strep is highly contagious, early the next morning I brought Wyatt and Jaxon in to the Drs office. As I was asking if it is possible the boys could pass strep back and forth, I saw her cringe as they passed a bottle of water around after they had each taken a sip. Yeah, probably not the smartest thing for me to allow them do.

Luckily both boys tests came back negative. Wyatt is having respiratory issues and needed steroids as well as a new nebulizer medicine. Jaxon is perfect, not an issue to be spoken of. He is being a champ around the house as well. Both Luke and Wyatt have been needy in the saddest way, but Jax is being quiet and keeping himself busy.

It is so sad to see Lucas an Wyatt this sick. Neither wants to eat(Luke will if spoon fed) , but they are drinking when reminded to. They are just lying around where ever we put them, silently staying put until they cry to be held.

Hopefully we see them getting better in the next day or two.

I give him a TEN!

Don and I have had some house guests the past few days. My cousin Jenn and her daughter Grace have been camping out in our guest room and the boys are loving having a cousin their age around! If Grace is not within eye site, they will stop what they are doing and ask us where "Grazy" is. The first time I heard them ask, it sounded like "you crazy?" instead of "Where Grazy?"

Today Jenn was on the couch occupying all four kids. I grabbed the camera to make sure I got a picture. After I took the picture, I went over to investigate what they were up to.

I couldn't believe what Wyatt was doing.

This past month Wyatt has gone through many changes. First and foremost, he has gained 5 pounds! Since his tonsils came out, he is an eating machine! It is so good to see some skin on his body! Second, he has gone from having the smallest vocabulary to keeping up and possibly surpassing his brothers in talking. And last, he has taken a big interest in drawing. He has always loved to color, but drawing has his attention now. His monster the other day was the start of it. Today, Wyatt took it to a new level in freehand drawing the number 10!

It is unbelievable how much his development has come in leaps and bounds since his tonsils came out (6 weeks). In speech, language, and now writing! I can't help but wonder if all this food he is eating is helping his brain absorb and process information better. Whatever the reason, it is amazing to see him come so far, so fast!

Happy Valentine's Day

Holy Clothes Batman!

Around Christmas time I began seeing really good deals on children's clothing. After Christmas a few more poked up here and there that were too good to resist. Maybe only 4 or five times, but take that 4 or 5 times and multiply it by three children.

The hall way was being littered with a box or two from Crazy 8, and then a recent one from Children's Place was on the landing. A huge bag from Carters was stuck next to my desk. I have company coming in a couple days, so Tuesday while my mom was here, I decided it was time to tackle it.

We pulled all their "grow into clothes" out of the huge plastic container I had most of them stashed into. I have jackets and jeans, pajamas, bathing suits, and too many shirts to count -all waiting for the boys to grow into them. Most were in the big plastic container, but some were in drawers, on their closet shelves and then we still had the new clothes I wanted to add.

Our system was to organize by clothing size first, size 4's on Jax's bed, 5 and 6's on Luke's and anything larger went on Wyatt's. About 95% of the clothes we have for the boys we pay no more than $6 for. The other 5%, like jackets and a couple pairs of jeans are a necessity and not normally found under $6, but I do have a few that have been.

When everything was organized by sizes, we went through the clothes they currently wear and decided which didn't fit or shirts I just never liked to put on them for whatever reason. Now I have two huge bags of clothes to donate and sell.



Now everything is clean and organized. Hopefully seasonal clothing won't have to be tackled again for at least another year. I am thinking we should make it almost until next summer before it will need to be tackled again. Thank goodness!

Can you believe it?

Today was the boys Valentines Day party at preschool. They got to pass out valentines as well as receive them. The amount of candy they brought home was reminiscent of Halloween, not to mention they each had a couple of cookies as well.

On our way home, I gave the boys one cookie each to snack on, to tie them over until lunch. Lucas -as usual- plowed right through his cookie. Knowing he couldn't get another one since my hands were busy with driving, he asked Jaxon for a bite of his cookie. To which Jaxon replied, "oh sure" and gave Luke a bite. This happened about three times before I thought to take a picture on my phone.

Can you believe I have three year olds that willingly share their cookies? All the way until the last bite. They are such sweet monkeys.

South Paws

While watching the boys eat the other day, my mom noticed something I had not until that very moment. Lucas and Wyatt are both South paws.

To be sure I don't sound totally oblivious to which hand my children use every day while they color, eat, or race their cars- I have noticed all three of them sometimes used left, sometimes used right. But since she pointed it out,
every time I watch them now (at school and at dinner) they are favoring their left hands.

I think we have some baseball players in the midst. What do you think?

Pull Over!

With Don out of town this past rainy weekend, I tried to keep the kids as busy as possible to prevent the issues that accompany bored boys.

The first thing on our agenda was little Reagan's birthday party. After a couple hours of jumping to their heart's content in the bounce house and eating some delicious cake, the plan was to drop Nana at her house and then go play at Cathy's house. After dropping Nana off at her house I glanced in my rear view mirror and saw the boys were nodding off a bit, so I decided to run back to our house and buy some time to let them sleep.

Almost an hour later, with less than 10 minutes to reach Cathy's house, Wyatt woke up crying. "I have to go pot-ty!". Trying to hush him so he wouldn't wake the other two only made him louder. "I have to GO POT-TY and it HURTS!".

Cursing myself for not keeping a potty chair in the back of our car for more than a month, I got off at the next exit. With his wails of woes getting louder by the second and the other two now awake and wondering what in the world was going on, I pulled over on the side of the exit ramp.

In the pouring rain, I whisked him out of the car and over to the railing side of the exit -trying to keep him as close as possible to the car so he could be sheltered from passerbys. Back in the car Lucas and Jaxon were wide eyed and completely confused, never before have we had an emergency like this one.

Every time we pass this exit now, Lucas asks "Wyatt pee peeed outside?" It's something like this, that makes me wonder if it will be their first memory.

Crafty

JoAnns had a huge sale last week and scrapbooking paper priced at 6 for a dollar! I snatched a bunch of papers up and made us a little valentine decoration for our entry way. I am sure that something similar could have been purchased at the Dollar Store, but then I'd have no excuse to have Don wash the dishes for me.

Imagination Station

Wyatt with his first monster picture and his face showing the scariness it all.

Today the boys started doing new things. Boy things.

Where do they learn these boy things? I know their Dad is of course a huge fixture in their life, but I also know Don doesn't draw monsters or run around with a blanket -uh I mean cape around his neck.

Or does he?

And why does being a boy have to include making these faces?

Pajama Day

Today was a preschool day. I was feeling pretty good this morning- completely on top of my game. I straightened my hair, cooked french toast for the kids and had them out the door by 9:01. 9:03 is the norm time, so I was even a few minutes ahead of schedule. We were in the car -almost half way to school- talking about our friends at school when I went to remind them about Valentine's day next week.

SCHREECH! All the sudden my mind went 100 miles an hour.

Today was "Wear Your Pajamas to School" day! And they were not in their pajamas!

So in my mind I decided I would rather them be late than not be able to participate, so I whipped the car around and raced back home. Pulling up to the house, I unbuckled all three of them, raced them up stairs and barked orders for them to get undressed. Frantically I searched their room for clean pajamas (seriously, we have like FIVE sets of PJ's for them!)-only coming up with zippered feet pj's and being it felt like 70 degrees outside, that was not a good mommy choice.

I quickly jumped in their closet, pulling out their spring clothes box and found some new pajamas. Praying the new pj's would fit, I tugged them over the boys heads trying not to mess up their hair and put all six shoes back on their feet. Running out the door with their animals and blankets in hand I was thankful it felt like 70 degrees since the pajamas they were wearing had short sleeves with coordinating shorts.

The kids buckled up in their seats faster than ever before (I think they were a little frightened) and off to school we went. Going back to change clothes made us almost a full half hour late for school -but it is only preschool. No tardies or pink slips yet.

When I went to pick the kids up, the teacher was inviting the parents into the classroom. Luke was dancing under his blanket while the other two were having a good time making their little animals participate in the hokey pokey. It was a crazy morning, but much worth it.

And that's what it's all about.

To the Library

After preschool today, I made a change in the normal plans. Instead of going straight to the playground next door, I made the executive decision to bribe the kids with going to the BIG playground after they woke up from their naps. See how I worded that? Leaves no room for discussion and if you do not nap, then how will you wake up from your nap? If you don't wake up, then we can not go. Even when they were in their 2's they understood that logic.

Why the change in after school plans? Because today while the boys were at preschool, I decided to go to Borders instead of stuffing my face with a yummy bagel and cream cheese. All sorts of books I never knew I needed were there, titles jumping out at me as I walked down the aisles. Books about knitting, raising boys, and how to get motivated to lose this weight. With only three in my hands, the total equaled way more than the People magazine I originally intended to buy. So off to the library I needed to go.

So with the library rules outlined to the boys, we headed inside. In the years since I have last looked for a book in a library, I had forgotten about the Dewey system. Not quite sure where anything other than the children's books were, I led the kids to the children's corner. Immediately ignoring all the wonderful stories surrounding them, they all gathered around the bead and wire machine.

After they were beaded out and I had my information in hand, we slowly walked over to the adult section. Asking them to sit quietly on the floor was somehow translated into "please lay in the bottom shelves of the bookshelf". But since it did keep them quiet and busy for the few minutes it took me to gather my books together, I welcomed the silence and ignored the looks people were shooting in my direction.

Now we are about 8 books richer in our house. Kids books, knitting books, weight books, and raising kids books. And in two weeks, we get to go back for more.

Scrap Page