Spring is here!

Spring is here, spring is here! I don't think I've EVER been more happy to say hello to spring. We are eagerly waiting for the birds to start frequenting our yard and for the big, beautiful trees to start turning green. The sunshine and warmth we've experienced recently has helped improve moods all around our house. Last weekend we were able to enjoy an OUTSIDE fire for once! Ahhh..

The boys are as cute and funny as ever. Since it's been warmer, they've been exploring our backyard and making up creative imaginary movies and games to fill their time. Everything usually turns into Pokemon somehow and there are fake "battles" that take place. The way these two talk back and forth about Pokemon reminds me of two old men talking politics. They are quite schooled in the Pokemon world and Elijah especially knows very specific details about EVERY character. "Oh, him? Yeah, he's on page 97 in the Pokemon manual. He weighs 237.4 lbs and he is 7'9"."

Do you see Sammy's Sharpied nostrils? Yep, constant antics around these parts.

School has been going great for both boys. They are both still enjoying chess club on Wednesday afternoons. If you asked either of them how our winter was, they'd say, "Awesome!"

I recently brought Elijah to his 6-month urology check-up and everything checked out great! They did an ultrasound of his one kidney (we hadn't had this looked at for years) and it looked wonderful. It's nice and big, which is great since it's taken over the other kidney's job as well as its own, and it's functioning well. We've continued to cath him daily since his surgery last summer and it's been working! Third time's a charm.

His well visit last week was great, too. Dr. S recommended that he see an orthotist for shoe inserts to help with his very flat feet. He's been experiencing leg (knee, I think) pain for over a year and the flat feet could very well be the culprit. That appointment is on Monday!

Other upcoming appointments in the next few months: cardiology, ENT, pulmonology. We are also in the process of getting him some extra assistance through the county/state and once we're through all the paperwork this will be GREAT to get him some extra help! He's doing so great. We are constantly so proud of Elijah and Sammy!

We hope you are all doing great! Work for both Dan and me have been insanely busy, hence the minimal posts. That should slow down soonish. Thanks for peeking in! More soon!

Croup: Season 9, Episode 3 (Elijah) ..and other!

At 3:00 this morning I was awakened from a strange dream involving staircases filled with water by a cough. I went into Elijah's room first and found him sitting up in bed, quietly looking at me. Before I could say anything he said, "Uhhhh yeah, I have croup." Thankfully it was mild and I appreciated that he was able to stay so calm. I gave him a teeny tiny dose of steroids and we were all back asleep. He seemed perfectly fine this morning.

The last few weeks have been a bit of a blur. Aside from Elijah's tiny croup episode early this morning, we have all remained free of sickness and I'm super thankful for that! Dan has been traveling off and on, I'm working super hard on a project, Elijah has been up and down with behaviors at school and home and Sammy has been making all of us laugh. We are saying goodbye to a beautiful Minnesota weekend and one that we spent together as a family!

In the past week I have experienced three strange but cool saved-at-the-last-minute-by-Sammy situations that I cannot help but share. A week ago Saturday I was madly preparing for a freezer meals party I was hosting. Sammy and I ran out for an errand in the morning and when we got back I started washing potatoes. Water running through my fingers, I looked down to see that my Sammy ring was not on my finger. Dan gave me a ring with each of our boys' birthstones on the day each of them were born. I particularly love Sam's ring. I get compliments about it all the time. It is beautiful. When I saw that it was gone, I panicked. I told Sammy it was missing and started digging through the contents of the garbage disposal. It wasn't there. I started crying. Then poor Sammy started crying. After a while, he wisely said, "Mom. I know you love that ring, but.. at least I'm still here." I hugged him tight and then he said, "You always tell me to retrace my steps. Where were you last?" We had just come inside from the garage, so I walked outside. Sammy followed and sat on our porch swing while I searched the car. As I walked past him, I looked at the ground as he swung backward and I saw the ring perched perfectly on the cement directly below him. We hugged and cried happily.

The second Sammy-save started while I was waiting in the school pick-up line a few days later. I inched around the corner toward the school in my car when POP...my back tire hit the curb and my hub cap rolled down the sidewalk. I watched it roll away in my rear view mirror. UGH. I'd grab the boys and pull around to get it, I thought. Once the boys were in the car, I drove back and the hub cap was gone. I got out of the car and asked a few kids if they'd seen it. One girl pointed her finger to the east and I climbed back into the car in defeat. Sammy said, "Well Mom! Follow her finger!" So I drove east. Nothing. I stopped in the middle of the road at the first cross street and looked to my left and THERE IT WAS, sitting smack in the middle of the road. I popped it back onto my wheel and drove off happily.

Sammy's third save happened a few days later. Dan was out of town and ALL of my boys (dog included) were up early with the birds. Sammy had come into my room making a little more noise than usual because "Your doorknob just fell off in my hand!" He left the room and closed the door behind him. I didn't think much of it until Buddy started whining. I let him out of his kennel and turned the doorknob to leave the room, except.. it wouldn't open. No matter which way I turned it, the door would not budge. Through the door I instructed Sammy what to do. "Put on your boots. Grab my shoes. Go out the back door. Help me out of the window." I crawled out of the window into the snow and made it back into the house. I removed the doorknob with a screwdriver but the door still wouldn't open (this is the second door in our house that has done this). I spent 20 minutes yanking, pulling, twisting, pushing, banging and finally decided to call a locksmith. Poor Buddy was on the other side whimpering and I knew he had to pee. It had snowed overnight so the locksmith had called to tell me he was a few minutes behind because of traffic. Literally TWO minutes before he arrived, Sammy zoomed by me with a pair of scissors in hand. A second later, that dang door was open and Buddy was happily running up and down our hall. I called the locksmith, told him that we had taken care of it but to come anyway so I could pay him for his drive time. He insisted on no payment and went back home. That was the third Sammy Save in a five-day span!

Elijah has some appointments coming up that I will write updates about in the next few weeks. We've just been trudging along with work and school and loving the unseasonably warm weather. The boys and Buddy have already been exploring the snowless yard and enjoying it. Buddy keeps climbing onto the pool, which is still covered but has ice on top that he likes to chew on. Silly puppy. That's about all for now! Thanks for stopping by!

Valentine's Day 2017

Happy belated Valentine's Day! Our boys love Valentine's Day and are not shy about sharing their love for everyone. Yesterday after school they put on a "show of love" in our living room where they sang and danced for me for 40 minutes. Sammy kept writing down lyrics and professing his love for mama. He wasn't always comfortable performing so he'd make Elijah sing on those songs while he took care of drumming or dancing. It was great and I soaked in every word!

Dan and I celebrated in typical fashion with a steak and crab leg dinner after the boys were in bed. YUM!

Two weekends ago the boys and I visited the Stillwater ice castles. They were so cool! Elijah and Sammy had fun navigating their way through the castles with maps in hand.

And the cutest little first grader ever had his Valentine musical performance at school on Friday. It was ADORABLE. Sammy participated in the singing AND actions for the first time ever! He kept glancing our way with a cute, toothless smile on his face. This boy melts my heart!

My boys are constantly making me laugh, but this is the one thing I can think of from recently. Sammy has been crawling into bed with me early every morning. If it's before 6:30 I ask him to be very quiet, no talking, sleeping only. One morning he agreed to that request and after lying next to me quietly for a minute, he loud-whispered, "MOM. In the morning, can I tell you about my nose?" It was so funny and random that we both laughed forever.

Elijah has been doing great in school! He's had many great days and we are so proud of him! We had stellar conferences recently for both boys. Elijah's grades are AWESOME for Elijah and Sammy's grades are AWESOME for Sammy. We learned that Sammy is in the 99th percentile for math (wow!) and that he is excelling in every subject.

Elijah has had a few specialist appointments recently that have gone great. He has a few more in the coming weeks. In the next few days we'll be gearing up for his TENTH birthday! Crazy!

Thanks so much for reading and my apologies for being so scarce recently. It's been a bit of a rough start to the year, but things are looking up!

Boys on skis

Elijah started skiing with the Courage Kenny program and he is rocking it! Last year he made such huge progress with snowboarding, so I figured skiing would be great to try. His instructor is AMAZING and I could not have asked for a better match. He instantly made a genuine connection with E and understood that getting him down the hill and on the chairlift needed to happen asap in order to alleviate anxiety. That boy skied down an entire hill 2 or 3 times on the first day (with assistance, but still so cool).

My silly boys have been in such a creative zone lately. I love watching them play and seeing how their little minds work. I'm so grateful that they have each other and that they (usually) love spending time together. Last night I walked into the bathroom after bath to find that they had transformed into Frankensteins.

I bought a used pair of skis and boots from a friend and put them on Sammy this week. This is a HUGE huge deal since he's been declaring for years that he would "never ever ever" go skiing. First step was our yard. Next we'll try a bunny hill and magic carpet. :)

The boys have their daily moments, but for the most part have been doing so well. Elijah has had many great days in school and overall has had great days at home, too. I've been in my usual post-holiday funk but hopefully will get my head above water soon. That's all I've got for now! Thanks for stopping by!

Mother's Day 2016

Happy belated Mother's Day to all of you awesome women and mamas! Women make the world go 'round, right?! I had THE most fabulous Mother's Day this year. My boys spoiled me rotten and made my day very special. After breakfast in bed and receiving the most thoughtful cards and gifts (Dan is teaching these boys well!), we went to church and listened to an amazing sermon. After church we went to a nearby park and enjoyed yummy food while the boys and puppy played. It was perfect! I'm the luckiest mama and wife on the planet, hands down.

We have some big news! It is very big and very recent. So recent that almost nobody knows about it (surprise, Family!). We are putting our house on the market! Everything has happened really quickly, but we feel like this has been in the works (the PLAN) for a while. We want to sell ASAP, so this week we have frantically began cleaning, purging and packing. Today I got a good portion of the kitchen done. Painting and re-carpeting is in our near future.

Our near future seems very uncertain, as we have absolutely no idea what is about to happen in a few different realms. As always, we trust that the plan is in place and we are just living it out! It's exciting (and a little scary)!

Elijah has had a GREAT past few days, both at school and home. He has gotten a few super reports at school lately. So super that his teacher let him sit in her chair all day today! He was very excited about this. I stopped in both boys' classrooms today and it made me so happy to see such happy smiles on both of their sweet little faces.

One thing I've been wanting to write down so I never forget it is how Sammy does a muffled SCREAM when he loves something that he's eating. He says "MMMmmmmm!" as if he's screaming it, except with his mouth closed. It is the cutest thing.

Both boys have been extra snuggly and complimentary lately. I love these precious boys and I'm so grateful that God chose me to be their Mommy!

Have a great rest of your week! Thanks for peeking in.

Warm weather = smiles

I thought I'd do something I rarely do and write two posts in two days! WHAT?! Buddy and I had a rough morning. There was a lot of chewing on rugs, pillows and blankets. We have a crate downstairs now, so every time he started chewing on things he's not supposed to I put him in his crate until he calmed down. By 1:00 I just needed a break, so I crated him for two glorious hours. He really is such a good pup. I keep reminding myself that he's not even 4 months old. He's just a babe! Grace!

Elijah had another GREAT day at school, yay! I stopped by this morning to spend time in both boys' classrooms and they were both happy and working hard.

I took a few cute pics tonight of the boys and the Budster (Sammy's favorite name for him).

We have some big things in the works right now as far as getting even more help for Elijah. He is doing SO WELL, but we always want to stay way on top of things. After many months of waiting, he is finally "in the system" with the state and is eligible for PCA care. We are getting all of that sorted out and will hopefully have things in place within a few weeks.

Tonight Sammy called me back into his room as he often does after bedtime. He said, "Mommy! Do you know how many percent I love you? Like 5 quadrillion percent. Times INFINITY!" :) He then requested "as many smooches and hugs" as I could deliver. That boy. I love him!

The weather was GORGEOUS today! I walked outside around lunchtime with a coat and quickly shed it. We so enjoyed being outside tonight. It lifted our spirits so much!

Isn't this pup adorable?!

I'm off to relax on the couch for a bed before an early bedtime. Thanks for peeking in!

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 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!

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." :)

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!

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!)

One man's good days trigger another man's rough ones???

Elijah has had a GREAT past couple days. When he gets off the bus I can instantly see whether he is doing well or not. His spunky, bright-eyed spunkiness has been back this week. Which somehow has cued Sammy to bring out the sass. Tonight was ROUGH with our sweet little Sammy. It began when he got onto my computer without asking. I kindly told him that he couldn't use it and he defiantly unplugged it, stuck it under his arm and started marching downstairs while saying, "I'll do what I WANT!" Uhhh...I don't think so, sir! After telling him that he'd be having a little visit with Daddy for the defiance, he went back upstairs to write out a slew of Mommy hate mail on scrap paper. When Dan got home Sam got a little spank on the bum for all of the above, which sent him into a tailspin. Sammy informed us that he was running away from home and tearfully broke the news to Elijah. He then begged me to help him prepare to run away. "If you're going to be on your own, you may as well learn to do things for yourself!" I told him. He did not like this, so after 30+ minutes of whining and crying he let us know that he had changed his mind. He apologized and required THREE sets of snuggles before bed because he felt so bad. That strong will of his! In a way, I love that he has it but goodness he can be a little stinker!

Elijah's sweet friend A came over tonight and I witnessed one of the SWEETEST moments I've ever seen in my life. His friend loves Pokemon (just like E!) and recently had her entire collection stolen. Tonight while she was here I happened to find Elijah's old book that was empty because he had upgraded to a bigger one. I pulled him aside and suggested that he give his old one to A since hers had been stolen. I didn't push it and wanted him to do it on his own if it was on his heart. A little while later he approached her and I heard him say, "Um, my name is written on this book, but I'd really like for you to have it to put Pokemon cards in if you'd like. I'd love it if you had this! Do you think you want it?" She said, "Elijah! This is the NICEST thing anyone has ever done for me! THANK YOU! This is so sweet!" My heart melted into a puddle from the other room. They are such a great team and I'm so grateful for the connection they have.

A quick funny before I forget.. The other night we were driving somewhere and we were on a street that had a ton of Christmas lights strung through trees. I heard Sammy whisper under his breath from the back seat, "Thank you, Jesus, for putting this here." :)

Good news! Today was my LAST day (possibly ever) working in Cannon Falls! They have been sooo good to me and I have verrrrrrrrrrrrrry affordably acquired tons of home decor and good paychecks from them, but this also means more time working on my own projects and more time at home.

We are wrapping up our week before Christmas break begins! The boys are SO excited for Christmas and everything surrounding it. We have tons of fun stuff coming up! Have a great rest of your week!

Croup: Season 6, Episode 1 (Samson)

You can't make this stuff up, people. Sammy came into our room verrrry early this morning barking like a wounded seal. At first I thought it was a part of my dream and I couldn't make out what the sound was. Usually Elijah's stridor comes with frantic screaming, so it was unique hearing a calm but stressed breathing. Dan sat in a steamy bathroom with him for 20 minutes and it got a little bit better. He came to bed with us (post-croup protocol) and we did NOT sleep for the remainder of the night. But at least I could monitor his breathing. I stayed home with him again today because the stridor just did not leave and he looked pale and tired. We gave him oral steroids before bed tonight and we are praying for a peaceful night!

He made himself a little fort today and tucked himself into it, feet sticking out. He said in his deep growly voice, "I'm resting, Mom.....I could stay in here for HOURS." :)

We watched a bit of tv today, but did a ton of art projects, as well. This boy is an artist! He loves painting and drawing and coloring and even creating his own fonts ("fancy letters"). He is so creative and takes pride in his work. I love it!

A few funny things he said to me very early this morning..

Before he got sick, he ran out of his bedroom a few times and into ours. When I told him to go back to bed he said, "Yeah...I do keep running back to my bed. You know why?" "Why, Sam." "Because it's UN-COZY out here."

After the croup-shower treatment, he laid in bed with me and tried to talk except his voice was super scratchy. He said, "Oh no! My body isn't letting my voice work!" .....long pause and some thinking.... "MOM! What if I don't know the sign language for a word and also can't SAY the word to you?! What will I do!?!?"

A silver lining from staying home with Sammy today was that I had time to organize and clean! I dominated our kitchen! :) I reorganized a handful of our dreadful cupboards and threw tons of unnecessary stuff away. (If you're wondering if this photo is a before or after shot, it's AFTER!)

I also made a delicious soup in the crockpot, washed and put away every dish and article of clothing in our home, cleaned out our fridge and wrote up a detailed dinner menu for the following week. I also wrote a list on our white board of every item of food in our freezer and fridge and which ones should be used sooner rather than later. A day of progress!

NOT along those same lines, Elijah has had a really tough past couple of days both at home and at school. We are seeing glimpses of last year and while it is frustrating and difficult, we understand it now. Daylight savings is always KILLER for him (so much worse for the early early birds) and we also gave him a few doses of steroids during and after croup this week (which always makes him extra edgy). Tonight was rough and I remembered just how difficult EVERYTHING can be when a single force is working completely against me. Literally the second he stepped off the bus today, the aura of the day totally changed. We are praying for a restful night of sleep tonight and for things to fall back into a more peaceful place.

Thanks for peeking in! Pray with us for PORTA PEACE! :) And peace for all of you, of course, as well!

School updates and boy funnies

I don't have anything specific or huge to report. We have had a mostly good past couple days. The weekend was nice since none of us were sick! We went to see a movie at the cheap theater and we cleaned (exciting!), went to church and to the club and hung out at home. Elijah's sleep has been good and bad and as always, the challenging periods come in spurts and they are usually related to potty issues. I received a heartbreaking call from his teacher today. A few kids in his class conspired and put a HIT ME sign on his back. :( Another kid stood up for him and told the other kids to take it off. It sounds like it was a fairly big ordeal. Parents were called and kids were talked to. I talked to Elijah about it very gently and he seemed sad about what had happened. Other than that and a few minor things here and there, things at school are going well for him. I am constantly reminding myself how far we have come and how much progress Elijah has made! It's pretty amazing, actually. I tell BOTH of my boys how proud I am of them all the time and I think it confuses Elijah to hear that because it has become so ingrained in him that he makes bad decisions (scars from the past two school years). I constantly try to remind him how much he has learned and about the good decisions he makes now.

Sammy is doing great in kindergarten! His sweet teacher has told us that he is very patient and kind and a hard worker and good friend. His handwriting and reading have improved SO MUCH since school began! He could read maybe 15 words starting the school year and now he can read at least 50. He will actually come home from school and create work sheets for himself and complete them. He has his first class field trip on Thursday and I'm so excited that I'll be able to go with him! Last week he got invited to a birthday party for a little boy in his class and it broke my heart when Elijah read the invitation and excitedly said, "Can we go, Mom?!" :( Sammy was able to go to the party and he had a blast. Such a blast that he woke me up at 3:00 the next morning to tell me that he wanted to go back. Seriously. Elijah was upset that he wasn't able to go along, but we arranged a Daddy-Elijah date during that same time and they had a great time.

I'll end with some boy funnies that I've been collecting. Thanks for checking in!

One night Sammy didn't want to eat dinner and kept trying to get Dan to take bites of his food so he would need to eat less and still get dessert. Sammy grabbed a name tag that was lying on the table near him and that Dan had worn at a recent conference and that had his name on it. Sam turned to me, held up the name tag and said, "Send this guy over here!"

After getting mad at me because I ONLY got Sammy a cookie at Subway and not a cookie AND chips he said, "You are NOT my favorite person." I quickly reminded him that we always need to be grateful for every little thing and he was silent for a few minutes. Then he whispered into my ear, "The word 'not' was actually supposed to be silent. I meant to say that you ARE my favorite person."

After giving Elijah after-school snuggles today as I do every day (usually upon his request) he said, "You're the greatest woman in the world. You're like a little good person!" :)

Dan: Elijah, if you had to pick ONE of the following which would you choose...the biggest lollipop ever OR a giant pool of chocolate?
Elijah: Hmmmmmm....wellllll....normally I'd choose both. (long pause) But if I had to pick one...hmmmm.....I'll pick the pool of chocolate.

Sammy's bedtime prayer one night last week: Dear Jesus, thank you for this day. Thank you for Earth. Thank you for life. Thank you for my faaaaaavorite person in this family, whoooo iiiiizzzz.......(long dramatic pause)......my sweetest brother Elijah. Amen.

Sammy (calling from bed): Mommy! My toenail is rubbing on my sheets. Will you clip it?
Me (wielding clippers): Ok, which one is it?
Sammy: Foot ONE! Toe ONE!
Me: Would that be right foot, big toe?
Sammy: You got it, clipper woman!

Surgery today and a few funnies!

I promised corn maze pics, but that'll have to wait! I meant to write a post last night, but slipped away. Elijah's urologist feels comfortable going forward with surgery today even though he is being treated for a UTI. Sammy is off to school and we are just chillin' and mentally preparing for a trip to the hospital. It should be in and out with only a few hours spent there, assuming everything goes as planned. Prayers are appreciated!

We have had a good week! Yesterday brought some behavior that we hadn't seen in a while (home and school both), but I'm attributing it to surgery nerves, the UTI meds (his body NEVER does well with these) and having a substitute para at school.

I have a few funnies to share that I've written down recently. Forgive me if I repeat any of these. There can never be too many funnies, right?

Sammy: Elijah, I want you to plummet!
Me: Sammy! Do you know what the word "plummet" means?
S: Yep! To fall fast!
(this boy is smart!)

As I was coming toward Elijah to hug him, he yelled, "Aaaghhhhhh! A lady who wants to kiss me!"

Waking up one morning, Sammy said, "Ohhhh it feels so ouch in the morning."

I walked down the stairs and heard Elijah say, "There's the little lady carrying a box of snuggles!"

Sammy heard music playing somewhere and asked, "Is George Washington making that music?"

Elijah: Mommy, you are a REALLY good cook. Except...I don't like most of the food you make. But your desserts are good! Yeah, you make REALLY good desserts. Fantastic desserts.

Elijah (after walking a lot through the corn maze): MOM! Me feet are bloply and tired!
Me: What does "bloply" mean?
E: EXHAUSTLY!

After coming out of the bathroom, Sammy announced to us, "Ladies and Gentlemen! I.....HAVE ARRIVED!"

Sammy's super sweet bedtime prayer that is so perfect: Dear Jesus, thank you for this day. Thank you for Sammy, Elijah, Mommy and Daddy. Thank you for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Thank you for LIFE. Amen.

Me: Ugh, my eyes hurt.
E: Why?!
Me: Oh, because I'm a tired mama!
E: I...I really don't have a response for that, interesting red-eyed woman.

The other night Elijah picked up one of my tank tops from a pile of laundry and asked, "Mom, is this one of your boobie packs?"

A few random things about today

- Elijah dunked his head under water FIVE times today during swim lessons! His teacher was sooooo shocked and excited. Brave boy.

- I took Sammy to kindergarten intake today and he did great. He was so stinkin' cute. He is certainly ready for school.

- While Elijah was in OT, Sammy and I ran out to the post office. On our way to the car, he started running quickly down the sidewalk in the opposite direction of our car. I yelled, "Sammy?! Where are you going?" He yelled over his shoulder, "Don't worry! I'm just takin' a long-cut!"

- The boys have been talking about the two high school graduation parties they went to on Saturday with Dan while I was shooting a wedding. I noticed today that instead of "graduation," they have been saying "congraduation." I like it!

- The boys were playing "doctor" with me tonight. Sammy was my doctor and Elijah was my mom. Sammy gave me about 10 shots and then went to test my reflexes and said, "Ok, I'm going to hit you REALLY hard now!" :) Elijah said, "Umm, I think you're a REALLY bad doctor!"

- We had mostly really great behavior today with just a few hiccups. I'll take it!

The past TWO weeks in numbers

3 trips to the swimming pool

8 swim lessons (E)

2 visits to child psychologist (E)

2 visits to Fraser - social skills class (E)

2 visits to OT (E)

2 visits to PT (E)

1 visit to pulmonologist (E)

1 visit to development pediatrician (E)

1 visit to pediatrician (S)

2 photo shoots

1 full day of wedding photography

6 blog posts written

4 soccer games (S)

1 birthday party thrown

7 trips to the gym

10 loads of laundry done

5 trips to the grocery store

2 photo sessions edited

4 parks visited

Summer has been soooo crazy! We are enjoying it, but wow! Swim lessons end this week, so next week will be a bit lighter. But then we'll be getting ready for our big trip! The little boys and I are road-tripping out east again this summer. First stop: Kentucky, to visit one of our favorite heart families, Evan and Co. Second stop: North Carolina, to visit my dad and stepmom. We are excited!

As you can see from the above list, we've been spending a lot of time in the water. I am determined to get these boys swimming! Both boys have been terrified about dunking their heads under water, so we have been working hard on it. FINALLY, after much coaxing and a bit of bribery, Elijah willingly went under water today THREE TIMES! His swim instructor is going to be soooo happy tomorrow to see this! He also went down a huge water slide all by himself six times and (kind of) jumped off the edge of the pool into my arms. Progress! And have I mentioned that Sammy is actually excited to get into the pool these days? That is such huge progress compared to last year!

We are currently in a night-time potty transition, which means...sleep disturbances. Which means...we are having a hard time controlling our behavior (all of us). Things had gotten a bit better but they are a bit rough again. Don't get me wrong, it is GOOD that night-time potty is finally being addressed. In the long run, this will be a good thing as long as we can stick with it.

I hope you all are enjoying summer! This weather is fabulous. I'll end with a few Sammy funnies:

cardboard = "carveboard"

instead of "fall in love," he says "follow in love"

Time of transition

I am always amazed by how much bigger and older the boys look when I do these photo collages. Look at that growth!

Saying good-bye to second grade has been a bit tough! Elijah has come to me nearly in tears a handful of times in the past few days talking about how much he misses his teacher. This morning he told me that he was nervous for third grade. I've never heard him verbalize being nervous about anything. I think he really understands how great of a teacher she is and how much she did for him. Next year is going to be a change, just like every year is!

His teacher sent me an email about E's last day of school. He had forgotten a letter he had written for her at home and he was devastated. He cried and cried and after a few minutes he whizzed by her mumbling, "I know what I can do.." and ran to the scrap paper drawer. He composed the following letter right there in class:

Not only is this just the sweetest letter, but it is impressive that he thought of a solution to his problem! This is a new thing and we've seen it happen at home a few times in the past few weeks. Progress!

On the other hand, behavior this week has been challenging. Elijah has regressed on many levels and we are seeing behaviors that haven't been around since February. I don't think he has been sleeping very well, but I would need to have him wear the fitbit again to know for sure. I'm not sure what exactly is going on, but I'm going to give it another week or so before I start to worry. Maybe the end of the school year caught up with him and he's spent. Maybe the end of second grade is weighing on him.

I have also noticed another slight runny nose, which always interferes with sleep juuuust enough. Tonight he laid down on his pillow to go to sleep and immediately began wailing in pain! His ear is bothering him, which could be an ear infection. I gave him pain medicine and lightly pressed my hand on his ear until he fell asleep. I am PRAYING for that to just GO AWAY. No thank you!

I thought by this point in the year things would open up for us and I'd feel much more relaxed, but that is not happening. This week is going to be crazy. I'm ready...let's do this.

I'll wrap this post up with a few funnies!

Tonight as the boys were crawling into bed (before Elijah began screaming), Sammy informed me that he was NOT going to bed tonight. He would lock himself in the bathroom and hide in the cupboard. He would NEVER sleep again. He would get up in the middle of the night and LEAVE THIS HOUSE. I continued the routine as usual and acted like everything was wonderful. I asked if I could tuck him in and he said, "NO!" I asked if I could give him a hug and kiss and he began to look sad at the thought of that not happening, so he held one thumb pointing straight up and the other pointing to the side. He said, "Do you know what THIS means?" Ugh, I didn't want to know but said yes. "It means, 'Yeah, maybe.'" This boy! So clever. Later when I came in to deal with Elijah's ear, Sammy said, "Remember earlier when I said I didn't want you to ever snuggle with me again? I changed my mind. I'd like you to snuggle me tomorrow."

Dan is in DC right now, so the boys are always asking questions about what he's doing and seeing, etc. Today Sammy referred to DC as "George Washington DC." :)

Last week Sammy got upset with me about something and told me that he didn't want me to be his mommy anymore (this happens often, sadly). I heard Dan say to him, "Sammy, you could search the entire world and not find a better mommy!" Sammy replied, "Then I think I'll travel outside of Earth to find one."

Have a great week!

Sammy-Jammy's FIFTH birthday!

Five years ago I was in a hospital room snuggling with the cutest, sweetest newborn. I fell in love with him the second I met him. I remember not wanting to put him down...to the extent where Dan would pry him from my arms so that I would get some sleep! Sammy has always felt like the most perfect addition to our family. I can't imagine my life without his snuggles and constant stream of hilarious antics. Happy fifth birthday, my PRECIOUS youngest boy! I love you to pieces!

I can't help but spoil my boys rotten on their birthdays. I do. Today was no exception.

I stayed home from work to spend the day with my cutie pie! The two of us went to the Mall of America and rode a couple rides, followed by lunch, visiting Dan at work, quiet time at home, making cupcakes, opening presents, family dinner at Applebee's (always his favorite!) and dessert at home. Whew! What a day!

Isn't that the BEST, happiest birthday face?

At dinner tonight Sammy doused me with "colossal hugs" (as he calls them), smooches and snuggles. He kept saying, "I will never EVER leave you! I love you soooo much! I'm going to snuggle you FOREVER!" And in standard Sammy fashion, he finished by saying, "But...I'm leaving for Russia tomorrow."

I have to share another funny from today. I said to him, "SAMMY! How do you feel about being FIVE years old?!" He said (without skipping a beat), "I am powerful and impressed with male pattern baldness!" Wha..?! I had no idea that "male pattern baldness" was a part of his vocabulary!

Today was Elijah's last day of second grade! There are a lot of emotions wrapped up in that (for me). Dan leaves for DC on Saturday and the next few days are PACKED with fun adventures for the little boys and me. It is officially summer break, which is such a strange feeling. Yay and yikes!

Have a great rest of your week and thank you for checking in!