money, honey

I don't really remember how old I was when I realized money had to be earned and people just weren't standing on the street corner handing it out.

************************

The other night....

Me: Dylan, what do you want for your birthday? Its coming up you know, you should make a small list.

D: (rattles off some high dollar items that all involve the Wii of course, and some kind of Nerf paraphernalia and some other random stuff I've never even heard of)

Me: Well, you know maybe you should pick the one or two things you really, really want the most and put them on the top of your list.

D: Why Mom?

Me: Those things all cost a lot of money, we can't buy them all.

D: Why Mom?

Me: Well, there's only so much money to go around.

D: Well, why can't we just get more?

************************

Last night, 30 minutes before I was going to start cooking dinner, Logan goes to the pantry (UGH, the dreaded PANTRY he's in every 10 minutes. We put a lock on the outside but I always forget to lock it and there he is again, fingering the fruit leathers and graham crackers.). So anyway, I'm sitting on the floor playing something with Dylan, and Logan brings me the box of Nilla Wafers.

Me: Oh no, no, we're not having a snack now. I'm cooking dinner soon, you need to eat dinner before you can have those.

L: Cookies!! Cookies Mom! Yes! Yes!

Me: No honey, we need to put those away until after dinner. (and I go to reach for the box)

L: NO MOM! Mine! These are MINE COOKIES! (we're hearing this a lot these days)

Me: Oh really? Did you buy them with your money? Because I'm pretty sure those are my cookies that I bought with my money.

L: (Runs over the the loveseat, puts his hand between two cushions, and pulls out two fake little plastic $50 bills that he must have stuffed down there who knows when and brings them me.)

Me:

L: Mine cookies Mom.

Happy Birthday Mom!

We love you more than words can say. Have a Happy Birthday Grandma Lynn!

new habits

I found this article today on 14 foods that lower cholesterol. The great news is, I like almost all of them. Andrew and I have both been exercising with our new Wii Fit every morning, and we've set some goals for ourselves. I'm walking everyday. I'm suddenly paying full attention to nutritional information and health articles. We're adjusting what we eat, and how much we eat.

I feel like my eyes are wide open and I'm ready to roll.

This is good. I feel good.

taking it to heart

The phone rang Friday with the results from my physical from two weeks ago. I haven't had a physical in Lord knows how long. Its been at least 6 years, since before I was pregnant with Dylan. When you're pregnant, you're at the doctor all the time being poked and prodded, checking and weighed. You think you're covered. Then you get pregnant again, and add some more craziness to your life. You put everyone else's needs before your own, and forget how to make time for yourself. You go for months without painting your toenails. You forego the gym membership and put that money towards Christmas and birthday parties. And when you have a child like Logan, who didn't start sleeping thru the night until 2 years and 4 months old, you go to bed early and sleep as long as you can. You volunteer for a million different committees and clubs, and clean your house everyday because it makes you feel in control. You come up with every excuse under the sun to put your health low on the list. That's been my life. And along the way, I've found some weight. And then some more. And then learned I had a thryroid disorder. And you know you don't feel your best, but you continue to let the chaos of life bog you down, and ignore making the life changes necessary to feel your best. But I knew it was time to get myself to the doctor and pay the fiddler.

Well, that was yesterday. Today I have a whole new attitude. And I really have no choice, because on Friday I learned my cholesterol is high. Really, scary high. And I have one choice - to adapt a whole new outlook and change my life.

They have put me on a cholesterol lowering medication (almost everyone in my family suffers from this condition), and I will be re-tested in three months (sometime in June). But that alone won't be enough. Its time for some major changes around here. Better food choices, smaller portions, LOTS more exercise. Putting my health FIRST all the time, and setting a good example for my boys. I want to be around a long, long time to watch them grow up. I want to grow old with my husband.

I can do this. I have everything I need: a loving supporting husband, complete motivation, a support system of incredible family and friends. I can do this. I will do this.

Some keys for me will be variety in my exercise routine. We got a Wii Fit this weekend and a giant trampoline this weekend, and I can't wait to use them both. We have a recumbent bike in the basement where I can work out. Logan and I took a 2.5 mile walk today. We're heading into good weather and good produce and both will make it easier to get into some healthier habits. As my friend Danielle says, its not a diet, its a lifestyle change. Right now I don't even care about the weight loss, that will come. I want to lower my cholesterol and I want to feel my age. I want to run with my kids and have the energy to keep up.

My friend Dianna over at Tatertown put it this way, and I love this. I've adopted it as my new mantra:

“You are freaking GENERAL in the army of your life--just redeploy your troops to a new operational theatre. That might mean that things won't be as perfect in the area you leave or reduce troop support for, but you've got to go where your vital national interests lay. And right now that is your health."

so you know the economy is bad...

....when you pull up to your house at 2:30 in the afternoon on a Thursday, see your husbands' car in the driveway and immediately think "Holy shit, his job is toast!". Then you enter the house, only to find him clutching his stomach, writhing in pain, and you wipe your brow in utter relief and say "Whew. Only a stomach virus."

Happy Birthday Uncle Chris!

Today is my brother's birthday. My one and only, totally rockin', would do anything for anyone, can cook some killer steak fajitas and jerk chicken like nobodies' business, makes a mean drink, loves his family and can fix anything brother.

Happy Birthday Chris. We love you! And I forgive you for smashing my gerbil under your toy box 32 years ago. Its all good.

drunk monks

Andrew's Mancation to the Sebring races in Florida was a hit. The group of friends he went with (and many other attendees) dress up every year in different themes. Some of the groups alter different vehicles and drive them around all week (like buses and stuff, they turn them into giant floats and throw beads at everyone). Hilarious. I really think he should do a guest blog post about his five day adventure and entertain us all. They couldn't take a shower because the RV shower was full of cases of beer (sounds like college days on spring break!). So anyway, his friends decided to be the ‘drunk monks’ this year. Some of the drivers asked them to ‘bless’ their cars, and they’d dip their hands in beer and sprinkle it like holy water.


Here they are, featured on Motorsport.com in their holy glory (Andrew is in the back middle):





Their flag, flying proud:

10 for Daddy

Andrew returns home tonight from his Mancation. We've missed him; its been a long five days of me being the sole bather, feeder, entertainer and cleaner-upper with no back-up. And Logan's been particularly moody this week. If he knew how to give me the middle finger, I would have seen it often. However, I'll forgive him because I think he's just been upset that Daddy was away. I'm glad Andrew got a mental break and had time with friends, we all need that from time to time.

I did take the opportunity the past two nights to have girlfriends over to enjoy chick flicks that I know Andrew would have never sat through (Sex in the City and Twilight) so he can thank me for that one; now he's off the hook.

Anyway, in honor of Andrew coming home tonight, I'd like to share the answers to some questions I asked Dylan today about Daddy.

1. What does Daddy do at his job?

He works on the computer in an office. I think he plays games on there and then makes words.

2. How old is Daddy?

Hmmmmm, 106?

3. What does Daddy like to eat?

Vegetables, right?

4. What is Daddies' favorite thing to do?

Watch football on TV

5. What makes Daddy laugh?

Me and Logan being silly

6. What makes Daddy angry?

When Logan touches my weenie. Well....first he laughed and then he got mad.

(Note from editor: OK, this is not a frequent happening here, but I feel I must explain. The boys both run around naked before bathtime each night and inevitably Logan got curious one night and reached out for an up close and personal. Boys will be boys right? I'm not sure where the 'weenie' terminology came from, we have always called it the penis. Oh well, I'm sure there are worse things he could call it.)

7. What does Daddy like to do the most with you and Logan?

Maybe go somewhere like to a park or something.

8. What does Daddy like to drink?

Soda. He needs it, its good for him.

9. Whats something Daddy knows how to do that you wish he would teach you?

dive! (as in SCUBA)

10. What does Daddy say to you all of the time?

I love you!

the simple things

Last night after the boys and I dropped Andrew to catch his flight, we pulled into a park next to the airport. Even though it was late, even though we had a long drive home ahead of us. And we sat and watched the planes taking off and landing. They went right over our heads, so close we could see the pilots thru the cockpit windows. We waved to every plane and I wondered if those people on those planes looked down and saw us. To the boys, watching those planes up close for 30 minutes was completely captivating and awe inspiring. And I won't lie, it was pretty darn cool.

They won't always be this young, innocently able to appreciate the simple things. I need to remember that some days. Sometimes, just taking a few minutes to do something a little wacky and out of the ordinary is what you most remember later. Last night, as a huge jet roared over us and we could feel it shaking our insides, Logan on my lap squeezing both of my hands tightly with his tiny hands, and Dylan hugging me close with both of his little arms, telling me "I love you so much", right into my ear.

The best moments in parenting happen when you can strip everything else down and just appreciate the purity of the moment for what it is. And its simple moments like last night I hope I never, ever forget.

we're ready

Surely, this must mean spring is near. Right?

the wonky tooth

Its been a slow news week here so far. Dreary weather and all holding our breath to see who gets sick next. Fortunately Logan's last-week plague seems to have kept to itself, and I think (knock on wood) we're in the clear.



Today Andrew leaves for a trip through Sunday night, so I'll be holding down the fort. I'm sure five days of no work and no kids will be paradise for him, even if he's spending them in an RV at a car race in Florida with non-showering guys drinking beer at 9 a.m and eating corn chips for breakfast. I know we'll all be looking forward to picking him up from the airport Sunday night. Daddy plays much better basketball than I do, and he's better at the bedtime routine too. By that time of the day, I'm a pile of mush.



So lets talk about Dylan's tooth. His top front tooth has been loose for months it seems. But within the last few days, it seems perilously closer to finally letting go and joining the others $5 bills he is saving towards his anticipated purchase of a new Wii game. He's only lost the bottom front two teeth so far, which didn't really change his appearance all that much. When this one goes, it will be a whole new bigger boy look.



Here is the wonky tooth, in all of its glory:

recovery

I ended up calling our pediatrician and taking Logan to the ER late yesterday afternoon. He had been throwing up for 9 hours every 20 minutes and couldn't even keep a teaspoon of water down. When he cried, he had no tears and that worried me. I didn't want him to continue throwing up and getting more dehydrated throughout the night. A good friend and neighbor watched Dylan until Andrew could get home, and Logan and I zoomed off to the hospital.

I was fully expecting to encounter a waiting room full of sick kids. Our hospital has a nice new pediatric ER and I just knew it would be full of kids. I didn't know how long we'd have to wait, so before we left the house I threw a bunch of supplies in the car - extra clothes, Matchbox cars, towels, books... But when we arrived and signed in, they had an empty room and they put us back right away.

Logan was completely lethargic and pale and just laid in bed, still, watching Curious George, while they ran various tests and took X-Rays to rule out pneumonia. The ended up giving him Zofran to stop the vomiting, and tested its success later by giving him juice and a turkey sandwich. If he kept it down, we'd be released. If he didn't, they'd give him an I.V. and start fluids. We had a 50/50 chance.

The Zofran worked almost immediately. It was like watching a deflated punching bag lying limp on the ground rapidly fill with air and stand up. And then start flying around the room like a firefly on a sugar buzz. He drank three apple juices, and ate all the bread of the sandwich.

And then he became Corn Julio.

They wanted to give him an hour and a half and make sure he didn't throw up again. Which was plenty of time for him to explore every crevice of the 8 x 10 room, push every button, play with the automatic faucet on the sink, figure out how to elevate the hospital bed, and lick every single flat surface in the entire room including the chair arms, the sliding glass door and the sink counter. So it will be a small miracle if he didn't infect himself with another Plague of some sort. They said there might be a wave of diarrhea before this whole thing is over. Fun! At least he's still in diapers and we can contain that, unlike the projectile vomitorium all over the house yesterday.

They released us at 7 p.m. and he blew kisses to all of the nurses and slapped the doc a high five. He's a charmer. Today, he's already eaten a pear, some cereal, a fruit smoothie and painted three pictures, played Hungry Hippos, helped me unload the dishwasher, blew bubbles and terrorized the dog.

Yep, I'd say he's back to himself.

plague

I knew we'd been too lucky this winter in avoiding The Plague. Logan woke early this morning throwing up, and has not been able to keep anything down all day. Its a total laundry-o-rama going on over here. Dylan is at school, and Logan is laying on beach towels on the couch watching movies until the next wave comes. So far Andrew has taken his whole bed apart and put it back together, and I've scrubbed the carpet and couches three times. And I'm using towels that have already cycled thru the laundry once today. Poor guy can't even keep down a sip of water. He's already had three baths today from throwing up all over himself.

I'm praying for a miracle, that somehow the rest of us avoid coming down with this nasty thing.

Speaking of praying, this has been a very sad week for several of our friends who are mourning the loss of loved ones. There seems to be a lot of that going on in the past few weeks. Our hearts go out to all of you, and you're in our thoughts.

ready for MTV

Dylan and Logan had a playdate over this afternoon. It wasn't five minutes into the playdate before all the boys stripped down and raided the costume bin. It was a music video just waiting to happen. Maybe next time...

spring in the air..

Although St. Patricks Day is still a couple of weeks away, Old Town Alexandria holds their giant annual parade a little early each year. We decided to take advantage of the incredible early spring weather we're having and head out for a field trip.

Afterwards since we were so close anyway, we headed over to the new National Harbor to take a stroll. Although many stores aren't open yet, there was plenty to keep us busy for an hour or so including playing on The Awakening waterfront sculpture (left my camera in the car though) and taking a stroll thru The Gaylord National Conference Center (incredible).

And, stopping in at Ben and Jerry's for a scoop was just the right end to our first spring family outing of the season!

meet me at the hop

Dylan's school held a Sock Hop last night; his first school dance. It was really fun and cute, and crowded! The gym teacher DJ'ed and rocked the house, and even participated in a dance-off with a student. All the kids were dressed so cute, and we even got a little video footage (which I hope to post soon). Even Elvis was in the house!

The dance off!

Doing the bunny hop..

Gettin' down with their bad selves...

a proud mama

Logan was offered a morning spot at my #1 choice preschool for next fall. I'm so excited for him! Its a wonderful school, and I'm thrilled he got in. It will be a really great experience for him. I really can't believe he'll be going to preschool in 7 months. It seems far away still, but part of me feels he is still so young. We'll be working his speech therapy around his preschool schedule. Its going to be a busy fall.

And before he can attend preschool, we have to have him fully potty trained. I'll have my work cut out for me. While he is so competitive to keep up with Dylan in so many ways, he just has no interest in being diaper-free yet. I hope we can tackle this one long before summer so I can put my mind at ease. The thought of being rid of diapers forever almost makes me giddy.

And while this week opened with a big dump of snow, today we're almost to 70 and the warm weekend weather is forecasted. Its a welcome change for sure. Tonight Dylan has his first school dance, a 50's Sock Hop, and we're all attending. I love watching him interact with his friends, and I'm guessing Logan will also have fun shaking his groove thing. Hopefully we'll get some good photos to post here. Tomorrow we're thinking about going to Old Town Alexandria for their huge annual St. Patrick's Day Parade. Sunday morning, Dylan was invited to a bowling birthday party for a school friend. He's very excited. We'll have to keep this our little secret from Logan; if he finds out Dylan is going bowling and he isn't, he'll not be pleased.

Speaking of birthdays, we've been trying to brainstorm what to do for Dylan's party in mid-April. He wants to have it at home, so we're leaning towards a Wii party but haven't worked out the details yet. I think we'll be keeping it really small this year since it will be indoors and we'll probably have the parents drop off. The past three years we've had his party outside, where the kids could run amok.

Dylan brought a permission slip home yesterday for a field trip they'll be taking to DC in May to see a play. Andrew or I hope to chaperone so one of us can go with him and the class. And, he's been doing so well on his sight words. The teachers sent home seven lists of 10 words each. Once he masters a list, we send it into school for his teacher to quiz him. He was awarded another Sunshine Award at school yesterday, too. I can't help but look at him sometimes and wonder where our little baby went. He's such a big boy now, and is doing so well at school.

I'm such a proud mama, of them both!

finding the right words

For the past four months, we've been working with the county school system to have Logan evaluated. We were interested to see if he might be eligible for any special services based on his expressive speech delay. Along the way, he's been evaluated by an occupational therapist, a speech-language pathologist, a child psychologist and a social worker.

Today we had our big meeting with the school system. Based on all of the evaluations, it really was no surprise to us that he does not meet their definitions for being a child with a disability. He has scored very high in all cognitive areas.

However, we're thrilled they did find him eligible for speech therapy services through the school system. At 2 1/2, he has pretty poor articulation and is only understood about 30% of the time. For reasons no one really understands, he has some issues with some sound omissions and errors. From what I understand, this is pretty common, especially with little boys his age.

I think a lot his frustration in life right now lies within the fact that he knows exactly what he wants and needs but when he tries to say it, the words come out wrong.

The speech services will start sometime in early April and will take place at Dylan's elementary school twice a week. I'm really hopeful this will help his articulation, and boost his confidence while easing his frustrations.

These speech services will be in addition to whatever community based preschool we enroll him, which will also likely be twice a week. We're going to have a busy fall! Dylan will be a big first grader, with more homework and projects than he has this year (which already seems like a lot sometimes).

I think this is the right thing for Logan. He’s come so far in the last year in so many ways. We just need to do everything we can to help him improve his speech so we can all understand him. He has a lot to say, we just can’t always understand what it is yet!

the jedi mind trick

This morning after breakfast, the boys wanted to watch a Thomas the Train movie while I cleaned up. So after all the previews at the beginning, it finally got to the screen to push play and start the movie. Dylan went to the DVD player to push play, but he didn't know I already had the remote control in the kitchen. I beat him to the punch, and hit start just before he pushed the button. "Wow, that was pretty cool!" he said. Jedi Mind Trick, I said to him.

This totally made me remember a funny story from last summer that I don't think I ever shared here. A video clip of this would do it much more justice, but bear with me..

Dylan, like most boys his age, loves Star Wars. Last summer at the lake house, we played a great trick on him. One of the toys there is a fake log, and on the log are things to shoot at - some fake bottles, etc. It comes with a gun and there is a mechanism that allows you to 'shoot' each item off the log (it just falls over backwards) and makes a pistol shooting noise.

Completely by accident one day, we discovered the TV remote control activates the mechanism in the log toy that makes the shooting sound and caused the bottles to fall off, one by one. I think Andrew went to change the channel and somewhere in another part of the room we heard the log going off, and we were the only people in the room. The Jedi Mind Trick was born.

When Dylan came inside, we told him to stand in front of the log and close his eyes, focus really hard and use the Jedi Mind Trick to envision the bottles flying everywhere. Pow! Pow! Pow! When he had his eyes closed, we pressed the remote control buttons and bottles were flying off that thing like it was a total shoot out. Dylan opened his eyes, completely convinved he had tapped into some special Jedi forces in his brain. Oh how I wish I had video taped this. It was totally hilarious every single time we did it. The trick worked on my stepsisters' son Trent, too. We went on all week, the boys showing every new person arrived at the lake house their Jedi Mind Trick. We never told them the truth.

I wonder if this summer, we'll be to pull it off again or if they'll be onto us this time?

snow day

March roared in like a lion yesterday, and last night we got our biggest snowfall of the year - about six inches or so. Schools are closed today and we were outside by 9:30 am, rolling and frollicking as only a two and five year old can.

happy blog-o-versary

Today marks the official one year anniversary of when I started writing this blog. It seems like much longer than a year; I don't know if that's good or bad. But regardless, I'm so glad I started, and now I can't imagine not having a place like this to document all the little stories and photos that define our family life. Its become such an outlet for me, and my only wish is that I had started it sooner, when Dylan was born almost six years ago. I sometimes go back and read entries from six months ago, and realize if I hadn't written about that particular memory I might not be able to remember all of those details now. Something happens when you have kids, and your brain is barely able to keep the basic information in it needed to just get through a day, let alone remember a hilarious conversation with your five year old from last summer.

For me, this blog is a digital scrapbook,but even better. I'd never have the time or patience to sit down and make creatively embellished scrapbook pages that could capture all of the stories and memories. Having a place to write these words... that is what really matters to me. A way to share all these conversations, jokes, frustrations and thoughts.

I recently was tickled to find a website service that will print your entire blog into a hardcover bound book, so I plan on doing that soon. One book for each year; something I can keep forever and share with the boys someday.