Funnies and a Weekly Update

Sammy's bedtime musings tonight..

Sammy: Mommy? How many minutes are in 4 hours?
Me: 240.
S: Soooo that means there are 240 seconds in 4 minutes?
Me: [how the HECK does he know this?]

S: Mom, I have a question about a certain farm animal. It's a chicken. Which came first? The chicken or the egg?
Me: This is a great question! Why don't you think about which YOU think came first.
...2 minutes later...
S: Mommy! I know the answer! The chicken HAD to come first because all babies need a mama and not all mamas need a baby.

Woo! We have had quite the week! Buddy has been adjusting to his new home and we have been adjusting to having a new, very energetic member in our family. The first 48 hours were a bit rough. Dan got very sick and has acquired a strange leg infection/rash in both legs that has kept him off his feet. The timing hasn't been wonderful, but we have made it work like we always do.

Buddy is so cuddly and soft and lovable! The first few days he was here he peed ALL over the place. Today he only peed in the house twice and both times he made sure to do it on the tile (thanks, Bud!). After dinner, I found him patiently sitting by the door and I took that as a sign that he needed to go outside. Success! Let's hope this continues!

He loves to play (and still nips a bit). He is a LOVER and totally loves being touched and snuggled (our type of guy for sure!). He doesn't like walks yet and literally stops at every house we pass thinking it's ours. He will sit in each lawn and whimper because he wants to be home. He obviously needs exercise, so we have to push him a bit with this. When we walk alongside busy streets he doesn't seem to like the sound of traffic, so he walks directly behind me and tries to bury himself between my legs.

Sammy and Elijah both adore him, but they are timid around him and worry about his nipping. It's so cute to watch the three of them when the boys get off the bus. They all huddle on the sidewalk together and LOVE on each other. :)

Dan's legs and throat are on the mend. We are hoping for a turnaround day for him tomorrow. Our family has endured so much dang sickness this winter and we are just so done with it! Yuck! As of this evening, the boys are on spring break for 10 days! We have some fun things planned and we're looking forward to spending some quality time with each other. More later!

Our Buddy!

Meet the newest, softest member of our family...Buddy! This has been in the works for about a month. Dan's dad found an amazing yellow lab breeder in Northern MN who happened to have ONE puppy left in her most recent litter. He mentioned it to us and we both felt like we should jump on the opportunity. It is a small miracle that it was on MY heart to get a dog because I have felt so opposed to it up until now. The timing just seemed right for our family!

Dan and his dad picked Buddy up today! He is 12 weeks old. He is super soft and sweet. He very curiously explored every corner of our house and Sammy diligently followed him with the bitter apple spray while spraying everything Buddy should not be nibbling on. :) He has peed on our carpet six times, but we are working on showing him the proper place to go. Buddy plays HARD but then rests very easily (a lot like us, ha!). We know this first day must be hard on him, so we are giving him tons of love. We are so excited to bond with our new pup! Life with a dog is completely foreign to me, so this will be a huge learning experience.

We are all recovering a bit from vacation still. Dan and I had the most PERFECT vacation ever. It was honestly just plain perfection. It was such a needed time away together that happened to be at an amazing and beautiful resort. We made some unforgettable memories. The boys had tons of fun with their Auntie and cousins while we were away.

The boys have a few more days of school this week before spring break begins. We have a few fun things planned while they are off school next week. Thanks for peeking in. I'm going to go snuggle on our Budster before bed!

Easter Blessings

This time of year gives me joy. The warmer weather is obviously a huge bonus, but Easter holds a super special place in my heart. A few years ago we had just started attending a new church and we were LOVING it. A few weeks into our new church venture, Elijah was able to be a part of the children's Easter program. The kids went in front of church and performed sign language along with singing to Jeff Deyo's Bless The Lord while Jeff Deyo himself sang on stage behind them. I remember being so completely overwhelmed and moved as I took it all in. It was Elijah's first time performing in church. It was Easter, which obviously has precious meaning. The music was INCREDIBLE. My heart was full and I felt the Holy Spirit sink into me. After that service I was on cloud nine. As we left church, I realized that I had not previously truly known Jesus before walking into church that day. When I walked out of church, He was with me and He has been ever since. So now, every time anyone mentions Easter I feel happiness and peace. Easter 2013 was when I finally understood and felt Jesus for the first time in my life.

Despite the sickness that has been running rampant in our family for the past three months, I feel a buzz in the air. Easter is upon us. It's the third anniversary of my true understanding and also the celebration of Jesus' resurrection. And so it seems fitting that we were immensely blessed today. 

Elijah was up early as usual this morning. He was reading in the loft at 6:30 and came RUNNING into our bedroom. "MOMMY! MOMMY! Someone is furiously ringing our doorbell!" I could barely comprehend this, but knew that I should force Dan downstairs to scope things out. :) As he got dressed I peeked out the window and saw a ton of footprints in the fresh snow in our yard. I stared, confused! Who came to our house? What was going on?! Just then a car pulled up and the passenger stared at our front door. I had the thought that maybe our house was burning down or maybe someone was trying to rob us.

When we opened the front door there were three huge Easter baskets filled with goodies greeting us, along with dozens of Easter eggs (candy inside) sitting in the snow for the boys. We were filled with confusion as we pulled everything inside. The boys put their boots on and excitedly collected eggs in the near-dark. As we dug through the baskets, we realized that some very generous people had come to our house. We were completely overwhelmed by the gifts we received. We are still trying to wrap our heads around the generosity.

Dan and I have been chatting about it all day. It is hard to accept such amazing gifts or feel like we are deserving, but we DO receive them and appreciate the generosity and we will of course pay it forward. This time of year brings such major blessings! We are grateful. God is so good to us all. Blessings are ALL around us!

Thanks for peeking in! Bless you all!

Another great cardiology visit!

We are breathing easy tonight. PHEW! I can't even explain how relieved I feel right now. We had been thinking that maybe something was going on with Elijah's heart, but his echo today revealed NO CHANGE from his previous echo (times 10). Amazing! No heart intervention will be necessary at least for the next six months.

Our two main concerns and the reason we brought him in early were: Falling asleep at random times and heightened heart rate.

Dr. G's response to these things were that the sleep issues are related to his chronic sleep problems and NOT his heart. If it were his heart, he would no longer be able to do the things he loves to do (going to the park, waterpark, taking walks, etc). Making this differentiation was huge for us. Most likely, on the days Elijah sleeps during the day he has likely had a lousy night of sleep. He is becoming more self-aware and he is more able to let us know when his body needs rest.

The "high" heart rate and BP that other doctors freak out about is not at all a concern to Dr. G. He told us that anything from 50-150bpm and 120BP is just fine for him. This is such a relief! He knows Elijah's heart better than anyone and we trust him completely.

The relief I feel tonight is indescribable. I was secretly mentally preparing for intervention soon. I feel like we have gotten yet another free pass. It has been nearly FIVE years since his last heart intervention and that is amazing! We will take it! Thank you, Jesus, for more answered prayers and for protecting our kiddos. 

Porta Waterpark Trip 2016

Our sixth annual Porta Waterpark Adventure has sadly come to an end. My boys and I cherish this time together every year. Each one of us looks forward to this trip and we all feel sadness as we leave our hotel room for the last time. This year the boys asked repeatedly if we would ever get THIS VERY same room again. They were so upset when I answered, "Probably not."

Here are the boys getting their first glimpse into the waterpark! Kinda hard with the frosted glass.

Here we are, doing our customary JUMPING ON THE BED when we arrived! The boys think this is hilarious. This year Sammy played out "Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed," along with actual falling on the floor motions and hitting of his head. :)

My cuties are getting SO big! We always have to climb up to the top bunk and get a picture. This was the first year that Sammy was interested in sleeping on the top bunk, so each boy got a night up there.

This year's hits for snacks: veggie straws and cheese balls. BOTH bags were totally demolished within 24 hours.

The first night we arrived we spent a bit of time in the waterpark. It was nice to have time there when it wasn't crazy crowded. I have to mention that both boys left the waterpark without tears or complaining every single time we departed. This is HUGE, especially for our waterpark-lover Elijah. Yay for maturing!

Look at these cute boys! Both of them were so brave in the water this year. Sammy willingly went into the wave pool AND the lazy river! I was so proud of him. And Elijah went on the BIG waterslide with me, which was really huge for him. On the walk up the 10 flights of stairs I could tell he was getting anxious. He asked me repeatedly if everything was going to be ok. Are we going to be safe? Are we going to go under water? Are you going to protect me? Once we were in the giant tube, all was well. We had a blast! It was one of the highlights of the entire trip.

Even though the boys are too old to be bathing together, we made an exception for this trip just for the sake of tradition. Sadly, it may be the last.

Just like at home, the boys asked to constantly listen to worship music every time we were in the hotel room. Here is Sammy jamming out to one of his favorite songs. I LOVE that cheesy hand in the air.

More worship music time with some snacks and apple juice.

My sweet oldest boy still likes to snuggle.

Sammy kept asking me to take random pictures of him so I could send them to his teacher. :) He took VERY good care of our room key, making sure to keep it in its protective sleeve so we wouldn't forget our room number. Mr. Organized!

Cutie.

A snapshot I keep in my mind every year is of the boys running down the hallway toward our room. They still love to run run run!

And we spent our last night in the arcade, as we always do. We had tons of fun! I reminded Sammy about just a few years ago when he would run and hide behind the arcade machines because he wanted nothing to do with being there. Every year Sammy gets more comfortable and enjoys more parts of this trip. I was so happy to see him truly enjoying the arcade this year!

We earned a ton of points and both boys were super excited to get prizes.

The boys with their loot!

We are super thankful for another adventure together! I love our traditions and that we all cherish them so much.

Elijah has a cardiology appointment right away in the morning. Prayers are appreciated and I will write an update as soon as we get home!

Our little teachers

Have I shown you the boys' haircuts yet? I don't think I've taken pictures of them since all their hair was chopped off! Here is the back of Sammy's head at his kindergarten music program last week..

Being in this small group was the only time he participated in actions. I suppose he figured that not participating when in the spotlight would make him the center of attention even more. When he was in the masses on the stands, he sang the songs but did NOT participate in hand or body movements. That's our Sammy! The cutest little bumblebee ever!

We have all been healing this week. I mean, I have been healing this week! Everyone else has been doing great! We are all super excited for our waterpark trip that begins tomorrow after school. This will be our sixth annual waterpark adventure!

Elijah has had another super week at school! We are so happy about the reports that have been coming home. I have been trying to spend as much time at school as possible and I like to think my hugs help.

Today after school we had Elijah's BFF over for the first time in a few weeks (due to the crazy sickness). She approached me privately and told me that there is another girl in their class who has been getting in the way of Elijah and A's friendship. Today at recess when A was pushing Elijah on the swings (how sweet is that??), this other little girl came up and said, "I'VE got this taken care of....you can leave, A." So after A told me this story I explained that Elijah truly cherishes their friendship and that she just needs to talk to him about this. So A said, "Elijah! I need to talk to you!" E said, "What did I do? Am I in trouble? Are you mad at me?" :) I sat on the sidelines and listened to their chat. A told him her concerns and Elijah replied in the most mature way I ever could have imagined. His response was better than anything I could have come up with! He said, "A....that other girl is my friend. I like her, but I don't like her as much as I like you. You are more important to me. Tomorrow I will talk to her and straighten everything out." She kinda sat speechless (as did I) and I jumped in and expressed how proud I was of both of them for communicating so well and sorting through an issue. It was awesome! I love that E and A are such great buds and that they complement each other so well.

For the past few mornings the boys have been playing "school" before Dan and I get out of bed. They are awake by 6:00 and either play quietly in their room or in the loft until 7:00 when we get breakfast ready. A few mornings ago I walked into a "classroom" where Elijah was teaching a handful of stuffed animals about sea creatures, while Sammy had a few students pulled out for reading. It was seriously the sweetest thing. I couldn't believe the organization involved and the dedication to the project. I took the above video later that afternoon....still dedicated to teaching their students!

If Sammy becomes bored in the morning before 7am, he has been coming to my side of the bed and asking to get into bed with me. This is NOT typical, but I have loved it. A few mornings ago he said, "Special DELIVERY! SAMMY SNUGGLES coming INNNNN!" Once I had my arms wrapped tightly around him in bed, he said, "Mommy? At the end of the day at school when we do circle-up, I'm going to say that my favorite part of the day was THIS. Snuggles with you are the BEST!" He always asks me to squeeze him tighter tighter TIGHTER!!!! This morning as I was squeezing as tightly as possible without suffocating him, I told him that I had to get in the shower. He said, "But you smell so good! PLEASE don't wash that delicious smell off you!" Oh that boy..he melts my mama heart.

Have a great rest of your week! We'll be back early next week!

A bit of tachycardia and some funnies

The sickness has lived on for the two adults in our house. Just when I think I'm feeling better, I have a terrible day. Today was better. Dan feels like this weekend will be our turnaround and I sure hope he's right. The boys have been great! Sammy healed quickly from his flu and praise GOD it never touched Elijah. It's a miracle!

We have had a few other concerns with Elijah lately. He has been falling asleep at school on occasion, which is something that has just never happened in the past. Then on Sunday he laid down on the couch and said, "I'm REALLY tired and need a nap." I was kind of anticipating the flu, so figured it was finally hitting him. But then he never got a fever or had any other symptoms, so I was back to scratching my head about the request for a nap. I called Dr. G right away Monday morning and he wanted to move Elijah's standard 6-month cardio visit up by a month based on what I'd told him. We will go in for a check-up on 3/14. We had his well visit with Dr. Judy scheduled for today, which was timely.

In addition to the naps, E has also experienced some headaches (maybe 2/week) and random body pains recently. Dr. Judy felt like the pains and headaches were side effects from taking Strattera, which is what my gut had been telling me. The naps and exhaustion, though, could be a concern. When she checked his heart rate in the office it was 130bpm at rest. She checked it a few different times and it didn't change. She was mildly concerned by the tachycardia and told us to keep an eye on it. If it gets above 130bpm before 3/14, we should bring him back in. His blood pressure was high today, too, but that has slowly been increasing over the past few months. My gut tells me that some sort of heart intervention will need to happen soon (maybe a cath) due to increased pressures. We will find out on 3/14!

Other than these concerns, Dr. Judy is super happy with Elijah's growth and progress! He's in the 4th percentile for height and the 51st percentile for weight. Considering everything, our oldest boy is doing GREAT!

Speaking of great, Elijah has had a few really great days at school this week. Today I got a few reports that used the words "super" and "fantastic." Wow! He has been buckling down and doing work at school that he previously was fighting and refusing. 

I'll end with a few funnies..

When I was super sick last week, Dan was helping me change clothes when I literally could barely move on my own. Sammy happened to walk by and yelled into the room, "Take care of your WIFE.....Dad." :)

While we were waiting for Elijah to get done snowboarding last Saturday, Sammy grabbed some supplies from the cafe. He had a few spoons and packets of salt that he was playing games with and I didn't think much of it. On our drive home Sammy said, "Mom, I'd like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch, please.......And you won't need to get out the jelly. Because I've got these.." as he passed me the jelly packets that he had stolen from Afton Alps. :)

I've been trying to consistently make time to be at school with the boys on Wednesday mornings. I go into Elijah's class first and then Sammy's. I LOVE spending time at school with my cuties. It is such a special time for me. I help their teachers out with whatever they need and I give lots of hugs to my boys in between tasks. I have loved getting to know their classmates a bit, especially Sammy's friends who I've been able to spend more time with. Mrs. H has had me take a few students out in the hall and play a numbers game so they can become more familiar with writing, recognizing and saying numbers. This week for the first time Sammy questioned why I never pulled him out for the numbers game. I told him it was because we could do our own game at home, so I have started writing some challenging numbers on paper for him to read back to me. This boy! He is so dang smart! I have been testing him with numbers in the millions such as 7,002,004 and he can read them back to me accurately. So impressive!

And tonight Sammy used the word "approaching" correctly in a sentence. While in the bath, he said, "Mom, look! The minion is approaching a waterfall!" I can brag about having smart boys, right?! :)

Tomorrow we will attend Sammy's kindergarten musical performance which involves him being a bumble bee. We can't wait to watch! Sammy warned me that he probably won't be singing in front of anyone because he "hates performances." :)

Thanks for checking in! More later!

Influenza A-bomb

In the wee hours of Monday morning, Influenza A unleashed itself in my unsuspecting body. I.A., as I lovingly call it, ended up being the most intense sickness I have ever experienced. I knew it was bad by 6am Monday. In grunts, I let Dan know that it was bad. I ended up canceling every single thing on our calendar for the entire week, sadly including a little family vacation we had planned. Our waterpark adventure has been rescheduled for Mar 10-12, which was a huge disappointment for our boys.

Ironically, the only thing I could not cancel this week was a work project I had to complete. When you are a food blogger, working is NOT fun when sickness is involved. I had to look at, touch and smell lunch meat and cheese on a day when I wanted NOTHING to do with food of any kind. 

Sammy also had the flu last week and missed a day of school. He was much more resilient than I. Later in the week Dan was diagnosed with Sinusitis and Bronchitis. Seriously! We cannot shake the garbage! Sam, Dan and I currently have matching coughs, which is just great. The doctor I saw on Tuesday as I was writhing in Influenza pain told me that this version of the virus is VERY contagious, so to expect it to make its way through the family. Obviously with Elijah's heart condition, we have to recognize the flu asap and get him on Tamiflu. I have been SO careful this week about washing hands and not breathing on him. When I hug him, I do so carefully and usually while holding my breath. We are so thankful that he has not yet gotten sick and we pray for a bubble to continue to surround him.

It was so unbelievably nice out today (nearly 60 degrees!), so we woke up and decided that we would ALL bring Elijah to his snowboarding lessons. Dan hadn't seen Elijah do his magic in person yet, so it was fun for him to see. E's instructors said he boarded more today than on any other day. We went out and watched him at the end and he did so awesome. He was much more confident and much less afraid today than ever before. So proud of him!

Going into a fresh, new week we are praying for HEALTH and improved spirits all around in our family. Also praying for health for all of you! Did you know that February is the #1 month to get the flu? Also, that getting a flu shot reduces your chance of getting the flu by 7%? Just a few little facts I learned this week. :) Have a great rest of your weekend!

Happy 9th birthday, Elijah Daniel!

Happy 9th birthday (one day late) to our oldest boy! As I drove Elijah to snowboarding yesterday morning, I reminisced about the day he was born and for the first time ever he was interested in hearing the details. The details from that night are still so clear and I remember being so afraid yet so excited. When he was in the NICU, Dan and I spent every possible moment by his side. I would rub my fingers in circles around his soft face, telling him over and over how loved he was and that everything was going to be ok. I remember chatting with a NICU nurse and having her tell me that "These heart kids are ALWAYS uniquely special." At the time it was so hard to envision what that could mean, but it stuck with me. Nine years later, I can say that she was right on. It is hard to wrap my head around how far we all have come and how many hurdles we have leaped over and sometimes dragged ourselves over. The past nine years have been a collection of big and small miracles and our boy HAS turned out to be awesomely, uniquely special! One day I hope Elijah understands all of this. For now, he gets that he was and always will be LOVED and that is the most important part.

The party yesterday was a smashing hit. Dan and I agree that it was probably the most enjoyable one yet. It was the perfect collection of people with great treats, good company, awesome gifts and smiling faces. We invited only family, with the exception of Elijah's bff. She fit right in! We sooo appreciate her friendship!

Tomorrow I'll try to remember to post the video from Elijah blowing out his candles. That last one just would not go out, so he tried to snap it out. It was cute!

Look at these cute, happy faces! I love it!

Snuggling with Auntie Lissa and cousin Emma! They are the best!

If I had to count all of the minions that are in our house right now, I'd need a piece of paper to keep track. I feel like they are going to join forces and take over our home.

Elijah caught another little bug on Thursday. He got through school Friday and collapsed during pizza movie night. He ate two bites of his pizza, which was a red flag. I considered keeping him home from snowboarding the next morning, but he seemed to be in better spirits. Not only did he get by, he made huge progress! He can now shimmy and hop on his snowboard and go without hands for quite a while. He can put his board on and take it off and even get up all on his own! And yesterday he accomplished a huge feat...he rode the chairlift for the first time! His instructors said he was pretty anxious about it, but once he was on he said, "This isn't so bad!" His instructors are SO sweet and they went out of their way to make his morning extra special. They taped birthday hats to his helmet and brought him candy.

By the end of yesterday he was totally exhausted, so we put both boys to bed early. Then this morning Sammy woke up sick! Ugh! He was lethargic and feverish all day and at the end of the day could hardly even stand up. Poor kiddo. Most likely he and I will be hanging out tomorrow!

Later this week we have our annual family winter waterpark trip and we are all super excited! We are praying for good health so we can enjoy fully. Have a great start to your week and thank you for peeking in!

A few quick funnies to sign off with..
At bedtime tonight I said to Elijah, "I love you, my big boy nine-year-old." He said, "Oh Mom, I love you, too, my 40th-year-old woman."

Yesterday as the boys' cousins were leaving, they were all giving hugs and Elijah hugged his cousin Bella. He said into her ear, "Awww, thanks for coming...I think you are very important to me." :)

Hair Brothers

Check out these long-haired #BROS! :)

Part of me does not want to cut their gorgeous hair!

We attended the boys' school conferences tonight. Both went well! Sammy is above average in every area. He is a good friend and a good student. Elijah has progressed IMMENSELY from last year. He is great at math and reading and he is controlling himself much better than last year. Both of our boys have AMAZING teachers and we are so grateful for them.

Elijah BEGGED for us to put him to sleep tonight, which could possibly indicate sickness. We are praying against it, but....more to come!

Wordsmiths

We had another busy weekend filled with friends and fun. We ventured out of town for a night to spend time with friends we don't get to see very often. We took the boys sledding and had a BLAST, even despite Sammy's pleas not to force him to do such a dreaded thing. :) I was so proud of how adventurous he was once he experienced the fun.

Dan and I have been clinging to a sickness for the past week that we can't seem to shake. The boys have been in mostly good spirits and making me laugh all the time. Yesterday they had the day off for Presidents' Day, so we went to see a movie and spent a relaxing day together.

Maybe it's the exhaustion I've felt lately, but I've been feeling so sad about the idea of the boys growing up. When I buy them clothes, I always find myself in the little-little boy section wishing they still fit into the cute, innocent dinosaur shirts. The big-little boy section is still foreign to me, with t-shirt prints that I don't understand. Skateboarding and video game references maybe? There is a kiddy play area at a mall close to our house that the boys have LOVED playing at since they were babies. Well now they are too big for the toys in the play area, so instead of facing that fact I just avoid the mall altogether. That happens to be where we get their hair cut, which is part of the reason they both look like Shaggy from Scooby Doo. If I bring them for haircuts, they will ask to play and I will have to explain that they are too big and can never play there again and likely will start sobbing my eyes out. I wish they could stay little forever.

Speaking of haircuts, just this morning Sammy came into the bathroom and said, "Mom. PLEASE give me a haircut. I just looked in the mirror and this hair makes me look SO SILLY." I helped him comb it down a bit and promised a haircut this week.

Adding to their big-boyness has come a surge of big words. I've noticed both boys using words that I don't even hear adults use in everyday vocabulary. I have heard Elijah replacing "finishing" with "completing," "trying" with "attempting" and "keep going" with "continuing." Then yesterday I was telling the boys about a silly dream I had had about a cow who was grazing in our front yard. Sammy said, "I am visualizing a cow munching on our bushes." My five-year-old used the word "visualizing" in a sentence. This is crazy!

This coming weekend is Elijah's ninth birthday (9! wow!), so we are gearing up for that. I have jotted down a few funny things that have happened and been said in the past few days..

- Sammy has been standing next to the curb and sticking out his thumb when the bus pulls up in the morning. Hitchhiking to school at such a young age!

- Both boys, but especially Elijah, has been needing so much physical contact with me recently. He wedges himself backward into me and asks me to wrap my arms around him tightly. I try to always say yes when he asks for this.

- Yesterday we went to see The Good Dinosaur in the theater. The first few scenes were a little rough. The Dino Dad died pretty quickly and then the main dino almost drowned in a river. Sammy made his disgusted noise and loudly proclaimed, "This movie is HORRIBLE!" :) He ended up pushing through and enjoying it, for the record.


Have a great week and thanks for checking in!

Croup: Season 6, Episode 2 (Samson) and a busy weekend

Our weekend was packed with fun things and fun people and when it was all wrapped up we were pleasantly exhausted. We enjoyed an evening away from home on Saturday night. We brought the boys to some friends' house and they loved exploring new territory. Sunday we had two of my awesome cousins over to watch the Super Bowl, as well as Elijah's bff. It was a huge success! Everyone had a great time and we stuffed ourselves with calorie-laden snacks.

I'm a few days behind in posting about this, but Sammy got croup a few nights ago. It was mild and we managed it with oral steroids, a steamy bathroom and Mama snuggles. As usual, the stridor lingered for a few days but never became severe.

We are ALL at different stages of sickness that just will not seem to totally go away. I got hit with another round of congestion over the weekend and now Dan has been hit, as well. I'm ready for total health for us! Elijah has been the healthiest of all of us this winter.

I am loving being able to work from home and really focus on my food blog. Dan has had some work drama that has added a bit of stress to our lives. Elijah is doing mostly well in school, with rough patches here and there. After a routine appointment to his developmental ped last week, we are going to increase anxiety med dosage again. Sammy is as sweet and sassy as ever, giving me TONS of "love" letters and snuggles and then telling me what a horrible mom I am in the next breath. Ugh.

That's us in a nutshell! I hope you are all healthy and starting your week off great!

Snowboarding video

This boy was almost three years old before he started walking. Back in those uncertain days, I never envisioned him being able to snowboard. I held back the tears today as I recorded this video. (I have a potential plan to get Sammy on the slopes next weekend...we'll see!)

Croup: Season 8, Episode 2 (Elijah)...and frogs and crickets.

Based on lots of sneezing and a certain little something I could hear in Elijah's breathing yesterday, I knew there was a chance that croup would happen last night. At 11:00, he woke up with mild (thank goodness) stridor. We gave him a dose of oral steroids and I sat with him in a steamy bathroom until he complained that the room was too hot. I brought him to bed with me for a bit just so I could hear if it was going to get worse. Sometimes it does, but usually the steroids help. After listening to him snore for an hour, I brought him back to his bed. This morning he had a bit of a cough, but was doing much better and seemed to sleep great for the rest of the night.

Speaking of sleep, we may have discovered something that helps Elijah sleep better. His in-home behavioral therapist was here earlier in the week when E was having a really rough time. There was a lot of screaming and refusing to do anything that was asked of him. So she got out her phone and turned on a noise app. She told him he could listen to any sound on the app and he chose....FROGS AND CRICKETS. Uhhh, ok. He immediately calmed down! So that night he asked if he could turn the noise machine in his room to FROGS AND CRICKETS as opposed to the white noise we always use. We were hesitant because who the heck wants to have frogs croaking in their ear while they sleep? We let him do it and he slept till nearly 6:00am! This. Never. Happens. We have turned on FROGS AND CRICKETS every night since and he has slept until at least 5:30, sometimes even a little past 6:00. This morning I said to Dan, "Seriously? FROGS? And CRICKETS? That's all he needed?"

The frogs and crickets have NOT helped with behavior this week. Oye. It was a DOOZY week. My energy and patience were depleted and I remembered just how challenging things could be when the wind blows violently and directly against me. We did a med increase at the end of December, but I'm wondering if we need to do another. We have an appointment to see Dr. M on Monday, so we'll see what he says and go from there. Even with the tough week we had, I don't and NEVER will blame Elijah for it. He is not the difficult one. Those detoured pathways in his brain are to blame. They make him overwhelmed and things get scary for him when that happens. It's not his fault. If anything, even through the very frustrating moments, I feel so terribly for him because I know he doesn't feel good. I have experienced anxiety in its truest meaning and it is a HORRIBLE feeling. The worst feeling. I am not always able to do this because I sometimes am too worked up and upset, but sometimes I'm able to pull out a miraculous bit of patience in the midst of a storm and.....HUG ELIJAH. It is counter-intuitive on so many levels, but it helps.

Amidst the stormy seas of NLD, we have done a few fun things in the past week! Dan and I had a night away from home without the boys. It was sooo nice and relaxing and left me wanting more! This year we will celebrate our 10-year anniversary, so we are determined to celebrate all year long! We feel super grateful that we have not only survived these 10 years, but THRIVED! That's something to celebrate.

I can't remember if I mentioned the field trip I went on with Sammy's class last week. We had so much fun snowshoeing with his class! He has the best little group of friends. They are all so sweet and kind and respectful. Which brings me to Sammy, my sweet boy. He has gotten a few extra reminders to have good behavior this week at school, which is unlike him. His teacher isn't concerned, but since it's not typical for him she thought it was worth mentioning. I asked what sorts of things he had been doing. Are you ready for this? While standing in the lunch line, he bent over and made his butt cheeks "talk" to his friends. Yep! He was SO UPSET when we gently tried to talk to him about the reminders he needed. He was so worried that his teacher was mad and that we were mad. I assured him we definitely were not upset, but that we at least needed to discuss it. He covered his ears and buried his face in the couch because he couldn't handle the thought of being in trouble at school. Yesterday he didn't need any reminders, so the gentle talk must have worked! The butt cheeks have been silenced. :)

The boys don't have school today, so they are at daycare for the first time since summer so I can work. They were so excited to see their daycare friends! Dan will be out of town tonight, so it's just the boys and me for pizza movie night. Tomorrow Elijah has snowboarding and Sammy will get to watch him for the first time. I'm still trying to figure out a way to get Sam on the slopes without a meltdown. Ice skating and sledding will be good first steps and I'm hoping to make those happen in the next few weeks.

Have a great weekend! Sorry for the ranting post. That's what happens when I only post once/week!

A testimony and a punch

It's the weekend already?! This week flew by, as they all do. Dan and I started the week by terrifyingly getting up in front of our church and sharing a testimony about the miracle we experienced when Elijah's ear was healed a few years ago. I avoided speech class at all costs in high school and college, but it was strongly on my heart to stand in front of 500 people and share our story. I knew it would be good for us and I hoped that it might bless others. It felt so good to get it out! You can watch it here (we speak about 15 minutes before the end of the sermon)! The healing that occurred inside Elijah's ear can only be explained by a miracle and I promised myself I would NEVER forget that and I also promised that I would share it with others whenever appropriate.

Elijah had a rough couple of days this week, but things are a bit better today. We moved his bed from our closet back to the boys' bedroom and since then he has been sleeping later in the mornings. We are constantly adjusting and readjusting and thinking and rethinking everything. Nothing is ever static and I suppose that is a good thing. It keeps us sharp and on our toes (when we're not unsharp and exhausted)!

Sammy, oh my little Sammy. We had some doozie moments this week! I will tell one story from Monday which sums up the week for him. The boys had the day off school, so they were ITCHING to go to the club with me in the morning. As always, I told them what I expected while they were in the child area...no rowdiness, no potty talk and no name calling. When I picked them up they let me know that each of them had broken a rule, therefore no treat from the cafe. As we walked by the cafe, Sammy said, "Well I'm going to go STEAL something then!" I said, "The police arrest people who steal!" I kept walking and heard him running toward me from behind. Just as I had the thought WHAT IS HE DOING?! he punched me as hard as he could in my back! I turned around, TOTALLY SHOCKED, and said, "Did you just PUNCH me?!?!?!?!?" We quickly got to the car and had a very quiet ride home. In our bathroom at home as I was calmly explaining to him why he was going to get spanked, he slowly poured soap into his hand. I asked what he was doing and he said, "If you spank me, I'll rub this soap all over you." THAT is how my boy thinks when things don't go his way. Instead of figuring out how to change behavior, he tries to figure out how to escape from us nasty adults. I'm sure this is partially a 5-year-old thing and partially a strong-willed thing. Whatever it is, I love him to pieces. He is smart and sweet and strong-willed and creative and such a perfectionist and I love him! Punches in the back and all!

Elijah has snowboarding tomorrow morning and then both boys are heading to Grandma's house for a fun overnight visit while Dan and I have a night to ourselves. We are all looking forward to it! Thank you for peeking in. Have a great weekend!

Champion Water Chugger

Dan made it back from his work trip safely and we are happy to have him home. The week has been pretty standard, but today we received some news that wasn't ideal. I brought Elijah in for his 4-month post-surgery urology check-up. Things are better since surgery, but not great. He will need to have another dilation, this time followed by needing to be cathed DAILY for six months following. It's a bit of a punch in the gut. We were hoping to put this hurdle in our past. As always, we WILL get through this and come out stronger and hopefully Elijah will be finally be healed from this particular obstacle.

At his last urology appointment (before the last surgery), the doctor required that he have a full bladder and we ended up being in the office for 2.5 hours waiting for his bladder to fill up. This time he needed a full bladder, as well, so when we walked in Elijah declared, "We are NOT going to be here forever like last time." The nurse did an ultrasound to check bladder size and informed us that it wasn't full enough. I looked over and saw Elijah absorb this news and then proceed to start CHUGGING an entire bottle of water. He set it down and asked for a refill and then CHUGGED the entire second bottle, which was followed by, "We are NOT going to be here forever." Sure enough, a few minutes later his bladder was full. We were in and out in less than an hour! :) I loved his determination. I did not, however, like the two very urgent pee stops we had to make on our way home.

Elijah has been waking up super early again (3-4:00a), so a few mornings ago out of desperation I pulled him into bed with me and squeezed him tight with the Hug Machine in mind. It worked! The first night I tried it, he was up at 3:30 and my Mama Hug Machine helped him to sleep until 5:40! He NEVER would have gone back to sleep on his own without it. I don't know if I'll do it every day (I will occasionally need more than 5 hours of sleep/night), but it's good to know it helps!

We don't know much else this week! Have a great weekend!

Slopes and snuggles

One week of 2016 is done! My week started off a bit rocky after catching Sammy's little sickness and also struggling getting back into the swing of things. After two weeks free of a schedule and a totally crazy holiday month, it was almost like I was experiencing Holiday PTSD. The week improved and we are getting back into the groove. By WE I mean ME because everyone else in my family seemed to bounce back without a problem! :)

Elijah is now officially a snowboarder! I signed him up for Courage Kenny's adaptive skiing/snowboarding program and so badly wanted to get him into skiing. I started skiing when I was a kid and I always envisioned my boys skiing young, too. The only openings available were for snowboarding, but I signed him up anyway. Guess what! The location they placed him at is THE SAME ski resort where I learned to ski as a kid. As I stalked Elijah and his instructors today, I discovered that he was learning how to snowboard on the EXACT same hill I learned to ski on. I couldn't help but get nostalgic and a little emotional. It's so crazy how things work out! Who would have ever thought.

I was worried that Elijah would be anxious about snowboarding, even though he seemed pretty excited about it beforehand. He did way better than I ever could have imagined. He liked having a hand helping him most of the time, but toward the end of the lesson (in the FREEZING cold) he went hands-free for a few seconds both on the way down the hill and on the "magic carpet" ride up. He was so genuinely excited about today and the progress he made. Eventually they will get him on a chair lift and possibly use a tether rope to help get him down some bigger hills. I'm so proud of him for being adventurous and willing to try new things!

I've been working on Sammy. Every time I ask him if he would like to ski with me he screams NOOOOOOO! Now that I've got Elijah on the slopes, I may just have to trick him. Sorry, sweetie, but you'll thank me later. He has started saying this week that he wants to learn how to ice skate, so I'm going to leap on that and get that boy in skates!

Dan left town for work today and will be gone through Wednesday, so the boys and I have some quality time on our hands. Today we got home from Afton and Sammy and I both CRASHED. Hard. Shockingly, Elijah (who should have been the most tired of all of us) stayed awake for an entire Curious George special. After that was a very snuggly pizza-movie night where Sammy kept insisting, "SNUGGLE ME HARDER, MOMMY!"

That Sammy. I still call him Sweet and Sassy (like the bbq sauce) because is the SWEETEST boy, but can also be the SASSIEST boy. He pushes his little limits and can get so upset when we stand firm with rules. It's like he can't help getting so worked up and mad about being told what to do and does/says things that go against his sweet nature. After a bit of time, he always feels bad and asks for snuggles. "Mommy, I'm moving to the other side of the planet! Please snuggle me!" :)

Elijah had a GREAT week at school, yay! Our new med dose was a good call and the transition time occurred over break...just in time for school, which was perfect. He got "great" reports every day this week. His teachers said that he was engaged and stayed on task and had a great attitude all week.

That's all for now! Have a great rest of your weekend and thank you for stopping in!

Happy 2016!

We got home last night from our week in southern Indiana. The boys did GREAT in the car. They are such great travelers and I'm thankful for that, considering how much I enjoy galavanting around the country. Time with family was good. I have photos to share, but I've been too lazy to retrieve my camera. Or...too busy. We have been unpacking, packing, cleaning and doing more organizing since we have been home. Our Christmas tree is sadly gone, as are all of our decorations. This took a toll on Sammy. He has a tough time with this every year. He sat on the couch for 30 minutes today, sucking his thumb and processing the end of Christmas 2015. Eventually he picked himself back up and helped to pack up the decorations. He even helped to label the boxes.

Sammy has spent most of the past week sick. He has had a fever off and on, a goopy nose and a cough that kept him up for a few nights on our trip. Dan and I brought him to urgent care in Indiana because his fever and cough worried us enough. The doctor started him on antibiotics and ever since he has slowly been getting better. We got up to head back home yesterday morning and I knew I had caught Sammy's sickness. I have mostly pushed through it, but tonight I am feeling an ear infection invading the right side of my head. Dan is feeding me garlic and rubbing Thieves on my back, so hopefully those things help.

We all came home from vacation EXHAUSTED. It wasn't the restful reprieve we had hoped for, but we are glad we went. It was nice spending time with my dad, stepmom, brother and bro's girlfriend. The boys had such a good time and they (especially Sammy) fell in love with my brother's dog. When I asked Sammy what he missed the most from vacation he said, "The puppy, technology and eating SUGAR!" :)

Christmas is done, the new year is here and tomorrow we will mentally prepare for school and work on Monday. I pray that you all had a wonderful past few weeks being with friends and family! Happy 2016! May this year bring MANY blessings for you all!

Christmas 2015

Merry Christmas! We wish you all the best and thank you for being here. We had a great day filled with games, snuggling, playing, present-opening and a bit of sickness. This progression of photos will show you how Sammy has been feeling. Tonight he went to bed with a bit of a fever. We are hoping for healing tonight because we are leaving for vacation in the morning. Enjoy the faces..

Despite the sickness, we had a great day. Dan and I increased Elijah's med dosage a few days ago and we have already seen an improvement in behavior. He has been sick AND he slept only 6 hours last night and despite all of that his behavior was impressive today.

I was trying to get Sammy to bed early tonight because he was not feeling well and he was being defiant. Elijah, without prompting, saw my distress and grabbed Sammy's favorite toy and brought it over to us. "Sammy!" he said, "I'm bringing this upstairs, so you should come, too!" It worked. I was grateful because Sammy went to bed without dispute and Elijah helped...and without any prompting! After Sammy was in bed, Elijah asked if his prompting had helped. YES! Dan and I were super impressed with the forethought.

Our "big" gift for the boys this year was a little drum set. Elijah has impeccable rhythm and I have always had visions of him being a drummer at our church. :) Both boys had fun playing with the drums today. Elijah asked for exact timing, so I found a metronome app that helped him stick with a rhythm.

Right away in the morning we are heading to Illiniois. Sunday we will head to Indiana, where we will spend five wonderful days with my family in a rental home. We are so excited! Thanks for peeking in!!

Happy Merry Crazy Christmas!

We received our family photos that Hope Kids took for us this past fall. Look at these handsome boys!

We have had a bit of a crazy past week. Both boys have been sick on and off. Two nights ago Sammy was borderline for a croup episode. It was minor enough not to report on here officially. :) After a very brief and semi-unnecessary steamy bathroom stint, he grabbed his favorite blankies from his bed and said, "Well?! Are you going to help me with these, or what?" "OH! You're coming to bed with me??" And yes, he came to bed with me. It was wonderful because I LOVE having him close to me, but I typically do not let our boys in our bed. Sammy is a restless sleeper, so we didn't sleep much after that. It was worth it, though.

Ever since, he has had his typical lingering croupy cough. For the past few days, Elijah has had some random ailments, too. Tummy pains, headaches, sore throat, random aches....and today he woke up at 2am FOR THE DAY. When I saw him this morning I actually gasped. I have NEVER seen such tired and bloodshot eyes on my oldest boy. NEVER. And that is saying a lot. It was a rough day. I'm grateful today was timed well. We have a BIG agenda ahead of us and I want to be sure our boys are feeling good for the days ahead.

This holiday season has been so crazy, but we remain grateful and feel so blessed. Merry Christmas to all of you! Thanks for checking in. xo