Corn Maze 2017 and more!

Well HEY! It's been a while. I have been so consumed by work (in a good way!) that I rarely think to post here anymore. We've been in easy mode for quite a while as far as Elijah's medical stuff goes, which has been great! He had a cardiac MRI done about ten days ago (standard procedure for a 10-year-old kid with a complex heart like his) and we get those results on Wednesday. I really have no idea what to expect. If we're told he needs surgery soon I wouldn't be super surprised. And if we're told we get another six months "off" I wouldn't be surprised, either. He's been a bit more tired than usual and as far as we know, he's sleeping fine (for him). There have been times in the past few weeks when he has fallen asleep in class, which is a red flag. We'll see what Wednesday's cardiology appointment brings. I haven't been stressing about it at all and I'm completely just trusting in the perfect timing of everything!

We have officially been in our new house for ONE YEAR! It's surreal, awesome, crazy and strange all at once. Dan put together an amazing play set in the backyard and the boys thoroughly loved having that to play on and a pool to swim in this summer. It is the perfect home for us and we are beyond grateful for every square inch of it! This past weekend one of the trees in our front yard lost every single leaf in a matter of minutes (slight exaggeration), so what did we do? Rake? NO! We made piles and played and jumped and played some more and threw leaves around until it looked like a tornado had come through. 

The boys' new school seems to be a mostly good fit so far. Both boys love their teachers and are doing well keeping up with their work. Elijah has been at the receiving end of some name-calling, which we have stayed on top of. We have conferences for both boys tomorrow, so I'm hoping for a better picture then.

We enjoyed the Corn Maze this year on the muddiest, rainiest, wettest day of fall. Thankfully the corn pit was covered and we all still had a super fun time.

Sammy did NOT like the birds that kept landing on his head. "GET IT OFF, MOM!!!!!!!!"

Of course this was the year that Sammy wanted to walk through the entire maze...through mud and all, with map in hand.

The boys have this entire week off school for MEA/fall break, so we're getting out of the house a bit and trying to enjoy fall and each other. There was a snafu at the health club we had a membership at, so we have an unexpected one remaining month of membership after thinking we'd been done in January. While this is super annoying for Dan and me, the boys are elated! The child area at the club is one of their favorite places, so we plan to make the most of that this week.

Dan has started defensive training with the boys and this is Elijah's don't-mess-with-me face. :) Love it!

Thanks for peeking back in, if anyone is still here! Let me know if you want more updates or if this is overkill at this point in our journey? At any rate, have a wonderful week!

Cardiology update and corn maze pics!

I could just squeeze these two cuties to pieces! Elijah has had a few rough days (ugly at times), but due to a double dose of very sad news at school we are keeping things in perspective. Last week the dad of one of Elijah's classmates died and last night the mom of one of Sammy's classmates died. That's hard for adults to process, so I can't imagine what kids must think of all of that. Sammy especially is so sensitive and takes this sort of thing to heart. We'll have to have some talks in the next days and weeks.

We checked in with Dr. G this week for E's standard six-month cardiology check-up. Everything checked out good! Function and pressures are fine. His valve is in the "mild" range for stenosis for the first time since his last OHS, but that isn't alarming. Dr. G said that when his next big growth spurt happens, we'll likely need to discuss surgery. We go back in six months! Wooo!

The weather in Minnesota has been GORGEOUS. We've been spending every morsel of time outside that we possibly can. Last weekend was one of the most perfect weekends of the entire year. After our Saturday morning routine where one boy goes to boxing class with Dan and the other comes to the club and coffee shop with me (I've been LOVING this quality time with each boy), we made our yearly fall trip to the corn maze! There have been years that we've been bundled up in boots, hats and mittens, so this was quite a nice experience. We hit all of our usual spots, but the favorite was (as always) the corn pit.

The boys love the parakeet house and Sammy thought it was so cool that a bird swooped down and landed right on top of his cute little head.

Then FOUR birds decided that Elijah's treats were best.

Both boys enjoyed the farm animal area more than ever before. It is so fun to watch them notice new and different things every time we come. Elijah was especially drawn to this cow. He kept walking back to him and just gazing deep into his eyes. There is something about him and animals. There's a connection there for sure.

I'm heading out of town for a conference tomorrow that I'm super-duper excited about. I'll be in Austin till next Tuesday and honestly, one less body in our RV for a few days is probably a good thing. Living "normal" life in there is making us all a little bit nutty. We are ready to be in a house. ALL of us are ready ready ready. I fly back home Tuesday at noon and house closing is at 4:00!

Have a great rest of your week and weekend! My next post will be written from our new abode!

Corn Maze 2015

Finally, corn maze photos! And an update of our week at the end of the post.

As always, the boys had so much fun at the corn maze this year. Elijah remembered that he was the driver last year, so the boys switched spots.

Playing on the train, even though Elijah is WAY too big for it. We let him get on anyway.

The corn pit! Sammy was more comfortable playing in the corn this year than ever before. Look at these two handsome boys!

I love getting into the corn with the boys and I always find kernels in our house for months after. In fact, I found a kernel from LAST year in July's laundry this year. :)

The hay bale maze is one of Elijah's favorite things, but Sammy just so-so likes it. He ran through once and was done.

Elijah, on the other hand, ran through the maze at least 5 times. He has always loved it, even as a really little guy.

Brothers posing with the giant hay fireman.

The parakeet house was a favorite again this year. Both boys seemed scared of the birds, but they came around. Sammy sure loves animals.

Elijah stared down this cow for a long time. "Wow, you are a really gigantic and funny-looking cow!" he said repeatedly. :)

After much coaxing, Sammy fed the...uhh, what are these animals? He thought they were going to nibble his fingers off.

I love these handsome boys!

Finding our way through the BIG maze!

I love this beautiful face!

Handsome boys..

This week has produced a TIRED Mama and a TIRED Elijah. We have given Elijah a little too much sugar (there's such a fine line), which has caused some very early morning potty issues. When he is awakened at 3:00-4:00am, he does not go back to sleep. When I am awakened at 3:00-4:00am, I do not go back to sleep. Today we totally cut out sugar and will do so for the next few days to get things back on track. Homework tonight was painful...more difficult than it's been so far this year. :( We are praying for a much better night of sleep tonight. My red, tired eyes are screaming for sleep!

Earlier in the week, Sammy's attitude was sour and he seemed distant. I have made an extra effort to give him one-on-one time and things were better today. Each night after Elijah goes to bed, we sit on the floor in our living room and play a few games of Mastermind. He is SO smart and is getting so good at this game. It is such a special time for us to spend together and I think he cherishes it, too. I love my Sammy! He is my precious, smart and wonderful boy!

That's all for now! More later. Thanks for checking in!

October 2014 fun

I'm finally catching up on October photos! A few weekends ago we made it to the corn maze. The boys had fun, as always.

Sammy and his silly faces, always trying to make everyone laugh. Elijah followed suit.

The corn pit was a favorite activity again this year. We took turns burying each other and then the boys ran around. I am STILL, weeks later, finding corn in my washing machine and random places around the house.

Posing by the hay sculpture!

The parakeet tent was a hit. Sammy is such an animal lover and wanted so badly to connect with the birds. Elijah was indifferent, but enjoyed the experience.

My handsome boys in the middle of the corn maze!

Elijah LOVES this hay bale maze. He always has. Sammy was a bit braver than last year, but kept getting upset about Elijah not waiting for him.

Following are some random pics I took at home the other day. The weather has been gorgeous (as is evidenced by Sammy's tank top)!

Today we spent an ENTIRE day together as a family. It was incredible! I even got a two-hour nap, which is unheard of these days. I loved today and I love spending time with my precious boys. After my mega-nap (thanks to my wonderful hubby for making this happen), we headed to a nearby apple orchard. We picked apples, goofed around, drank cider, rode on a tractor and ate some food. Elijah was SPENT by the end of the day, so we put him to bed super-duper early tonight. We are ready for his first week of half days! More to come on that. Thanks for checking in!