McGee Unplugged

Ryan McGee, Kindergartener

2011-09-08T19:51:00.004-04:00

I can't believe I have a child in school! Where have the last five years gone? I really hope Ryan continues to enjoy school as much as he does right now. He loves riding the bus. He loves learning new things and making friends. I pray he will be a life-long learner!

Yum-o

2011-05-17T12:58:00.002-04:00

Someone recently brought my attention to the Joy the Baker website. I look at the previous posts, the recipe index and my mouth waters. I like the site because it not only has really sinfully looking food ideas, but it also has gluten free recipes. I can't wait to try this cookie recipe! Happy browsing...

Happy Birthday to Ryan

2011-05-16T09:04:00.002-04:00

Ryan celebrated his fifth birthday yesterday. He chose Chinese food for his special meal and chocolate ice cream with jimmies for dessert. He is very excited about being five and getting to go to school in the fall. The weather here resembles the weather during the week leading up to his birth - lots of rain.

Ryan

2011-04-18T20:52:00.002-04:00

I can't believe that Ryan will be five next month. Where has the time gone?

This weekend, I learned two things about my big boy.

#1 He is adapting and changing every day. He wore jeans for the first time, mainly because he wanted to look cool like his daddy and his uncle Vince. He overcame his issue with the rough texture and wore them without complaining.

#2 He really has issues with milk. One day of not drinking soy sent us back down the path we were on almost a year go with constipation and wicked irritability. We are detoxing now that we are back home. We also learned that you have to look in different sections of different stores to fine alternatives to milk. Here's hoping the crankies go away soon since our new babysitter starts tomorrow (I found her on sittercity.com!) and I want him back to the wonderful 4 year old he has been lately :)

Ry - I love you my big boy!

Babysitter

2011-04-06T09:30:00.002-04:00

I have the most amazing babysitter. My kids LOVE her. She plays awesome games with them, builds forts that take up my entire living room and can get Tim to take a nap so easily.

She has a real job that has been keeping her really busy with overtime which forces me to look for a new babysitter. I dislike looking for a new sitter because I need a sitter for Saturday mornings... and let's face it... not many people want to work Saturday mornings.

So my quest begins again. I've put in lots of requests with just about everyone I know to ask around. I have two weeks to come up with someone, but not just anyone... an amazing someone whom my kids will love and whom I will feel comfortable leaving them with for five hours on a Saturday.

This Tuesday, my wonderful babysitter put her mother to rest so she wasn't here. It's a night I need her while I take banking classes. I had a nice plan of how I was going to get through the evening. I took out a new movie from the library, planned to pop popcorn and even set out games for the boys to play together. I expressed to them that I would simply be in the other room if they needed me but that they had to be quiet too.

It was an interesting night. Tim cried... a lot... because I was using "his" computer! He cried because he wanted to watch Dora and not the movie we had running. He did eat all of his popcorn and for the last half hour quietly played with puzzles. The boys were so quiet for the last half hour that I feared they were up to no good. But we made it through class without our beloved babysitter. Thank heaven for the mute button on the phone. I am convinced no one heard my begging them to be quiet because I went to answer a question and was asked if I was still there. I remember the mute button and did answer the instructor and smiled knowing no one had heard our horrible evening.

Reflection

2011-03-12T15:28:00.002-05:00

I enjoyed reading this post that someone shared on Facebook this week and I wanted to share it with you all. It's taken from "The Nine Words that make Christianity make sense."

When I talk to atheists about Christianity, one of the most common objections they raise is the existence of suffering. An atheist friend recently cited one of the more disgusting stories from the day's news and asked: "How can you believe that there's a loving God when something like that happened?"

One self-described ex-Christian explained it to me this way: "They always told me in church that Jesus died on the cross for me because he loved me. I used to believe that, and then my mom got cancer and my sister was killed in a car accident. Now I don't see why Jesus' death on the cross matters, and I definitely don't believe that He loves me."

I can sympathize with those feelings. Though I've never seriously doubted the Faith, the moments when I feel most distant from God, least able to make sense of it all, are when I hear of great injustice and suffering.

This is why we need Ash Wednesday. Because it is there that we receive the key piece of information that makes it all make sense. 'THOU ART DUST AND TO DUST THOU SHALT RETURN" These words from Genesis 3:19 are probably the one thing we can all agree. When we slide into the mentality that our eternity is here, that this world is all there is--Christianity ceases to make sense. A God who permits a finite amount of suffering & injustice doesn't seem so cold when you consider He is leading us toward eternity of perfect peace and justice. When we adopt a heaven-centered worldview, it all starts to make sense.

Where are you going? That's the most important question for a traveler. We are all living travelers. Death calls us all and moves us on. If heaven is not the answer to the question, our whole faith is false. If it is, then there's nothing more important, indeed the whole world is only heaven's womb. When you hear the 9-word-litany Thou art dust and to dust thou shalt return, we are reminded of the truth that our lives here on earth are merely a brief stay in the womb of heaven....

Prayer of St. Therese

2011-03-06T13:04:00.001-05:00

May today there be peace within.
May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.
May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.
May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you.
May you be content knowing you are a child of God.
Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul
the freedom to sing, dance, praise, and love.

It is there for each and every one of us.

Leap Frog

2011-03-05T16:39:00.002-05:00

I love Leap Frog. I like their education toys and their videos. My boys really love them and spend hours with their LeapTop, Scribble and Write and Fridge ABC magnets. We've used the magnets so much that it doesn't always work when the kids put their letters in.

I really enjoy the Leap Frog videos. They have catchy tunes and teach everything from the names and sounds of the letters, to punctuation, from basic numbers and counting to early math skills.

I thought Ryan would never learn his ABCs, he just wasn't interested and since we started watching them on Netflix or taking them out of the library, he's come a long way. Little Tim is using what he learned to read!

I thought I'd share my love of Leap Frog with you. The videos have been a great afternoon show during the winter months and I don't feel at all guilty about letting the boys watch them.

Last day of Feb.

2011-02-28T10:12:00.002-05:00

Poof! And February is gone. We started the month with the the most awful stomach flu. Everyone of us had it and it was just plain awful. The rest of the month has been quite uneventful. We've experienced some warmer days that held the hope of Spring and then all too soon the snow and ice and rain returned.

I am looking forward to March. In the first week I get to go to a cooking class sponsored by the bank I work for. Yay! Then Saint Patty's day will roll around for one of my favorite meals - corned beef and cabbage. Lent will be in full swing and we will be awaiting Easter and hopefully Spring will appear for real this time somewhere in there. :D

Jaunary

2011-01-23T16:13:00.002-05:00

I can't believe January is going by so quickly.

Here are a few highlights from this month:

Tim continues to potty train. He's getting better at it and can sometimes tell me when he has to go. He's even done #2 on the potty once or twice! Go Tim!
I turned 30. It's not as scary as I though it might have been - lol. When I realized a co-worker was 18, I felt so old. I also realized I must stop reading the "in your 20s" part of those articles that cover all the age groups of women...
Ryan continues to improve his speech. He has an awesome speech therapist and a wonderful friend that he meets there every week.
Adam continues to be busy at work, but we're back to our "normal lives" now that the Thanksgiving/Christmas season has past.
We've had way too much snow for my liking, but it's made for lots of sledding and fort building fun!
My boys have decided they like word shows like Super Why, Word World and Leap Frog's Letter Factory and I don't feel guilty about letting them watch them.
Ryan can write both his and Tim's names all by himself!
I joined myfitnesspal.com with some co-workers with the plan of losing weight.

That's all for this month. See you soon with new photos!

Merry Christmas

2010-12-20T15:05:00.002-05:00

If we had mailed Christmas photos this year, these would have been the two we would have chosen from. Adam's schedule has been pretty busy the last two months, so I decided not to stress about Christmas cards or photos and just post stuff on Facebook and this blog. Next year, we'll take our Christmas photo in July ;)

Oh, Christmas Tree

2010-11-30T08:01:00.003-05:00

Ryan and I decorated the Christmas tree together this year. We did it on Saturday. He was so excited to put out all of the decorations and his joy made this task so wonderful.

As I pulled out each ornament and placed it on the lid of our plastic storage container, my mind was flooded with such wonderful memories of Christmas' past. I pulled out an old paper ornament made in my college days that adorned my dorm room door of old Burritt Hall. It's two colored Christmas lights with smiling faces. I have taped them together and added string and they have adorned our Christmas tree since 2002. They remind me of the good old days with my wonderful roommate Betsy.

Thinking of Betsy and all the crazy things we did together got me thinking about good old Greenville and how dearly I miss it and our dear friends still living there. That's when I pulled out some glass ornaments that Sarah, my mom and I decorated on the first Thanksgiving Adam and I spent together in Greenville. Some have broken over the years and others have lost their bows and other embellishments, but I remember making them and the happiness I felt that day to have my family in Greenville and my friends to celebrate Thanksgiving.

On our tree, there are ornaments to mark the times in our lives.... a pregnant woman marks 2005, A John Deer Tractor and Santa mark 2008. There are precious Junkanoo dolls from home and a beautiful seashell one that I place really high so the boys will not break. There's a lighthouse from a friend's wedding, a snowman I got after my first massage, beautiful crosses made by a friend and so, so many more. Each ornament holds a story, a memory, marks a point in time.

I look forward to more sweet memories to adorn my tree in the years to come.

R.I.P. camera

2010-11-26T09:42:00.003-05:00

My beloved camera of seven years died on Thanksgiving day. It won't ready an SD card at all. I'm guessing the SD slot is not something easily fixed. So, I suppose it's time for a new camera.

The bad news is we really have no money for a new one, especially the $500 one I really want. I am hoping Adam can snag a $59 one on sale today, but if not, I suppose I'll have to start saving for a new one.

*sigh*

Rest in peace old camera. You were good to me and I will miss you.

Rant and a request

2010-11-24T10:34:00.003-05:00

I must rant about all the Thanksgiving advertisements. I must.

I used to feel so lucky that Adam didn't have to work on Thanksgiving. We may have had to leave the family gathering early so he could get up at 2 a.m. or something like that to be in at work, but we always celebrated the holiday together. It was the old fashioned way. LOTS of food and then games and conversation well into the evening.

This year, he's working on Thanksgiving so people can get their Christmas shopping done.

First, let me say that the real meaning of Christmas has really been so lost. People only think about what they can get for themselves and for their family rather than giving to people in need. They totally miss that the reason for this season is to celebrate Christ coming as a baby for us and later dying for us on the cross. It frustrates me!

So, in order to buy lots and lots of stuff (that will probably not be appreciated or may be broken two days after Christmas) they shop until they drop on all the days around Thanksgiving. This year, they even get to shop on Thanksgiving day.

So, what about that holiday? I think we've lost the real meaning of it also. What happened to being thankful for the little that we have instead of being so greedy and seeing how much we can get? Believe you me, I see the deals and I'd like some of them, but I refuse to shop on Thanksgiving day. I want to practice what I have been preaching to the kids about Thanksgiving and the Pilgrims and about the one Leper who came back to say thank you to Jesus for healing him. I want them to see the importance of really being thankful, not just on Thanksgiving, but on every day of the year. I want them to see the importance of family and spending quality time with them. I want them to know what our traditions are and to appreciate those and perhaps carry those on as they move out of our house.

So that ends my rant and here is my request. Don't shop on Thanksgiving. Send a message to the jerks who want to make people work so others can shop on a day that's supposed to be a national holiday. If you forget the cranberry sauce, just do without. You'll have stories to tell about it for years to come!

Thank you and a very happy Thanksgiving to you all!

It's November?

2010-11-01T17:31:00.002-04:00

I can't believe we only have two more months left in 2010!

Today marks the beginning of NaBloPoMo and I will not be participating this year. I only ever finished one year and the other two I gave up around the 20th day.

This year, I knew right away I wouldn't set myself up for failure. I'm taking a banking class, which is so interesting and I am totally in love with it. My course has reading... lots of reading. And I have homework... remember those days? And I have tests. Add to that the usual stuff of being mummy to two boys, wife to wonderful honey and bank teller and that's about all I can handle right now.

The boys and I will spend November learning about the letter T. T is for Thankfulness... that's our theme. I was so disappointed today as we roamed around crafting stores and found zero Thanksgiving crafts. Everything in the store was either Halloween merchandise on 50% off or Christmas items. I posted this on Facebook and here's the reply one friend posted: "People would prefer to get presents than be thankful for what we have." That's reality and it's sad.

Of course, we should be thankful everyday for all the wonderful blessings God has given us!

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T08:07:00.000-04:00

Apple Picking

2010-09-26T20:03:00.002-04:00

It's apple picking time again. I LOVE going to the orchard. This is the second time I've taken the boys since the orchard started selling apples this season. Ryan automatically knows what we're going to do when I mention the name of the orchard. He says "First we'll pick apples and then we'll play on the swings." That's usually what we do. This time around we also went on a hay ride (haven't been on one of those since college!), picked a pumpkin and even ventured into the corn maze in addition to our normal apple picking and park playing.

I really love this time of year. I'm trying to spend every last minute outside with the boys before it's too cold to even entertain those thoughts any longer. I'm trying to take lots of pictures too. They seem to be growing up so quickly in these last few weeks!

Were'd the sun go?

2010-09-13T12:27:00.002-04:00

We went from warm sunny weather to dark fall-like days so quickly. I can't believe it's already September! Where, oh where, is the year going?

Today, we're working on moving fall clothing from containers in the basement up here for the boys. I'm so blessed to have a family give us so many hand me down clothes for Ryan. And I save the really good stuff that's left over at the end of a season for Tim. I can't imagine just how much people must spend on clothing since kids grow SO quickly.

We recently had our first yard sale. It was quite the success. I was sad to part with some of the toys because it means our boys are getting so big, but it was nice to make extra room in the house. We will do a sale again... perhaps earlier in the summer next year. Ryan was delighted to help out and he loved giving the customers their change and guarding the money box. This morning on our way to the bank he exclaimed "that's where we had our yard sale. Right there. We sold lots of stuff." He's so cute.

Tim is quite the talker these days. He's discovered that he loves music and is always asking me to sing. They sing lots of songs I don't know at daycare so I've had to have his teacher teach me the songs too! Tim has also recently started putting things in order by shape, size, color... etc. The funniest one recently was his Dora fruit snacks that he sorted by color and character...

Adam and I have had lots of movie nights recently. Last night we watched Hollywood Homicide. I liked it. I also liked one we watched earlier in the week... Inkheart. I highly recommend that one, if you haven't already seen it. I suppose our movie nights are coming to a close, just like summer, as Survivor and the rest of our weekly shows will be airing soon.

Where am I?

2010-07-26T13:56:00.002-04:00

Tim really hates changing his shirts. We've had to make a game out of this twice (and sometimes more) daily activity. When his arms are through the sleeves but his head is not out yet, I say "Where's Tim?" or "I can't find Tim. Where did Tim go?" and when his head pops out he says "Here I am!"

The other day we had to change his clothes after a horrible diaper malfunction and Adam was putting his shirt on and Tim said "I can't find me!"

We had a nice laugh.

Updates

2010-07-21T07:47:00.002-04:00

I am loving this Maine summer. It's been so warm and so sunny. What a huge change from last year! We've done lots of outdoor things and have had such a great time. We've spent lots of time in the pool. I have two little fish :-)

This summer, Adam started working as an assistant manager. I love the three days on and three days off. Most of the time it allows me to see more of him than I had in the past. It was an adjustment for the boys since it meant they'd have to attend daycare while we both worked the end part of the week. (Adam's days rotate so he's with them sometimes on the days I work). They've both done so well there. I love the ladies who take care of them. They are so gentle and so sweet. I couldn't ask for a better place to leave my babies.

I've attempted to potty-train Tim. He loves wearing underwear and will sit on the potty, but that's about as far as we've gotten. I think I'm putting it on hold since he managed to conquer a bad habit. He stopped sucking his thumb! He had started talking to us with his thumb in his mouth and we were firm with him making sure he took it out to speak. Then, we started telling him that if he had his thumb in his mouth he'd have to nap. He didn't like that one bit. In less than one week he'd given up the habit. I think it helped too that Ryan kept saying thumb sucking was for babies! Tim does not want to be a baby anymore. He will tell you he is now a big boy.

Ryan recently spent an entire morning at the doctor's office for serious issues with constipation. Every thing we'd tried at home to combat it wasn't working. He had his thyroid tested, but that isn't the cause. He's had an x-ray to see what it looks like inside and to make sure there's no blockage. He's been set up with an appointment to see a GI doc, but they say that may take a few months. The reason for that visit will be to determine if Ryan has a food allergy that's causing the constipation. The most likely culprit is a dairy allergy, which we've suspected he's had since birth. In the meantime, he's on Miralax to help out. We took our first dose this morning and I'm crossing my fingers that it will work.

Ryan also had blood work done for some enlarged lymph nodes in his groin area. He's had these tested before and they turned out to be fine, but that was almost three years ago, so it's time for a re-check since they are still hanging around. He'll see a hematologist in a few weeks. The blood work showed he doesn't have cancer, but we're making sure that we won't have to worry about these lumps later in life.

Ryan did so good at the doctor. I am so proud of him. He didn't cry for his shots or the blood work (he even watched them take it!) and thought the x-ray was cool.

This update wouldn't be complete without an update on me. This fall I'll start the Master Teller program, which will lead to some raises, but hopefully a promotion by the time the boys are in school. I really do love my job and am excited to start the program. I just hope all these years after college, and with two kids, I can pull off all the studying!

Summer reading

2010-06-16T11:57:00.002-04:00

Last year I signed Ryan up for the summer reading program at the library. Next week, I'll sign both of the boys up for the program. After certain milestones they get small prizes like bookmarks and tickets for ice cream and books.

I also stumbled on this website and plan to use the preschool list as a starter for choices for Ryan to read. I also plan to do my summer reading from the books suggested for grades 11 and 12. I doubt I'll get through the entire list, but I'd like to try. Since Adam been working his three days on and three days off, I've had a little more free time in the afternoons to sneak away and read and I love it!

I just finished reading The Magician by Michael Scott. I can't wait to get my hands on The Sorceress, which is the next in the series. I've been on the waiting list at the library for each book in the series and have really enjoyed reading them.

Hello sunshine!

2010-05-05T13:50:00.002-04:00

Tim hanging out with the dolphin that squirts water.
Saying cheese!
Wee!

Beautiful Boys

2010-05-03T10:22:00.003-04:00

I love this photo of the boys together!

Tim often brings me the camera and asks me to take pictures. I love that he says "cheese!"

This is the tent that Eric made for the boys while Jenni and I were out at a wedding shower yesterday. You can tell Ryan isn't too happy with Tim being in the tent and that Tim has just eaten some chocolate!

Another photo where Tim is saying, "cheese!" My baby is getting so big! I can't believe he will be 2 this month and that Ryan will be 4! Time flies for sure.

Puzzled

2010-04-27T09:07:00.003-04:00

Ryan has really had a hard time with puzzles. They don't make a lot of sense to him. When Adam found this one at Marshall's I wasn't sure Ryan would be able to do it, but I let them purchase it anyway. Ryan worked on it ALL day yesterday and in the evening when Adam came home he asked us if he could show us how good he was at it. It took about 10 minutes, but he put it together all by himself. I am so proud!

Terrible twos?

2010-04-21T20:42:00.000-04:00

I love this photo. They were playing peacefully together. That's not how it was today. Tim has entered the terrible twos. "MINE" is his favorite word. He kicks, punches and hits Ryan. I feel like all I did today was break up fights and put him in time-out. But this makes me smile and I'm glad they had fun playing together. It especially warmed my heart as I tucked them in and Tim said, "Night Ry. Wub you Rynan."

Update

2010-04-14T11:09:00.003-04:00

I haven't posted in a few weeks so I thought I'd give a general family update.

Easter was awesome. I love family time. The boys enjoyed their egg hunt with their cousins.

We've continued with preschool stuff for Ryan. He loves his projects and is always wanting to know what's next. It keeps me super busy. This week, school was put on hold for a few days because Ry was sick. On Monday he had a fever and was rather sleepy. On Tuesday he complained of a sore throat and after a visit to the doctor we discovered he had strep. He's doing much better today!

Timothy has been showing interest in potty training. I'm not sure I'm ready! LOL. He seems so little. But, he's peed on it twice and asks to go, usually after he's already wet his diaper, but that's how it starts. I'm not pushing him at all... he's pushing me to do the whole potty training thing. YIKES!

I was offered a full-time position at work... I will have to decline because day care is just way too costly and it would eat up my whole paycheck. I know the time will come when everything will be just right for a full time job with the bank. There are always positions opening up. This is my last full year with Ry too before he heads off to school... I can't believe he'll be four so soon.

Easter Egg Hunt

2010-03-31T17:40:00.003-04:00

We went on an Easter Egg Hunt this weekend. Ryan only collected four eggs. There were hundreds of kids, so four seems like a great number. Ryan entered the basket raffle. He won, as you can tell by the above photo. I can't wait to plant the flower seeds we got this weekend.

Introducing Annie the cat

2010-03-22T18:25:00.004-04:00

This is Annie, our new cat. We got her on Sunday and she's so precious. I had so many fears about getting Annie. I didn't know if my kids would torment her or what it'd be like to have an animal again. Annie, however, has turned out to be a wonderful new addition to our family.

Here's a little bit about Annie. My co-worker's daughter started feeding Annie who would visit our main branch of the bank. She lived next door, but liked to come over for free food. Sadly, Annie's owners abandoned her when they moved. My co-worker's daughter tried to find them, but had no luck and ended up taking Annie in and taking her to a vet to make sure she was okay (apparently she was rather skinny). Annie wasn't so nice to her cats, so Annie was given to another family, but she wasn't nice to their cat either.

Annie was named after Little Orphan Annie.

We took Annie in and are smitten. She's so sweet and loving. She hasn't even nipped or swatted at Tim when he's rough. She just removes herself from the room. She's a bit vocal at 5 a.m. which I guess is when she's used to being fed, but she'll have to adapt to our later schedule.

R is for Rainbow

2010-03-19T20:20:00.004-04:00

This week we worked on R is for Rainbow. We had an awesome time. We used activities from Confessions of a Homeschooler, the Crayola website, No Ti me for Flashcards, Kotori and Too Busy for TV. We also did a craft from over at Family Fun.

Here are our photos.

More photos of the boys

2010-03-13T15:36:00.002-05:00

The weather was so nice this week. I really loved being outside with the boys. It was so cute to watch Tim ride his bike down the hill.

We had a little trouble with sharing, but they both enjoyed riding this bike the most.

Tim tries to play t-ball like Ryan.

I don't seem to have so many photos of preschool stuff this week. This was Ryan working on color sorting and fine motor skills (he was using tweezers to move the pom-poms).

My husband the hero

2010-03-07T10:28:00.003-05:00

Last night, we were driving home from church when Adam spotted a fire in someone's yard. The really nice weather we've been having meant that lots of people were cleaning up their yards and burning leaves, so I really didn't think anything of it. My thoughts were on getting dinner ready and getting a very tired Tim to bed.

But Adam insisted we turn around because that fire seemed too close to the house. I groaned inwardly because we were on our street, so close to our house. So close to putting a cranky baby to bed... so close.

Today, however, I am so glad Adam spotted that fire (I was so focused on getting dinner ready and getting Tim to bed that I didn't even notice it) because he saved someone from having a huge house fire.

I need to back up here... we turned the car around and there was indeed a fire way too close to someone's house. The fire was relatively small, but growing quickly because of all the dry leaves next to the house. Adam got out of the car and knocked on the door of the house. The kitchen light was on, but no one came to the door. I keep the local non-emergency number for our police department on my phone, so I started dialing. As I was dialing Adam was already in action attempting to put the fire out.

Let me just say that fire spreads so quickly. I mean, I knew this, but things were happening fast here. When we arrived there was a patch of it close to the house and then it was spreading and getting so big that it was making it's way around the house. It was burning a piece of plywood on the side of the house and it was making the siding on the house bubble.

I reported the fire, but by the time the lady took all my information. Adam had smothered the fire with that same piece of plywood and a few nearby rocks. There were just embers and a lot of stinky smoke hanging around when she said the fire trucks were on the way.

I'm glad we live right around the corner from the fire department because, even thought it seemed to take forever, they were there in minutes. By this time the owner and daughter had come walking through the woods and we informed them they had a fire. Apparently, there was someone inside and an older gentleman joined us outside too.

We hung around for another half hour giving statements to the fire department and police before leaving for home. (Ryan and Tim both thought the fire trucks were so cool) The fire inspector found the cause of the fire. Apparently, an old wire that once brought electricity to a detached garage was still live, but was shorting and is what caused the fire.

I'm really glad Adam saw something. That could have been such a huge fire with all that dry brush and leaves and that old wooden detached garage... it would have been a mess. My very observant, quick thinking husband saved that house!

Preschool

2010-03-04T21:40:00.003-05:00

Ryan and I started really doing preschool things at home this week. We've always done arts and crafts and reading and cooking, but nothing as focused as what we've been doing this week. Here are some photos from our adventures in preschool.

Here's Tim sorting paper clips... he tries to do preschool too.

My favorite part of the week involved this puzzle. The clown is holding an x-ray and after doing the puzzle Ryan asked if he could have an X-ray for his birthday. ;-)

Ryan sorting items in a muffin tin. He loved this and played it over and over again.

Here's Ryan working on a St. Patrick's Day sequence.

Ryan making his X xylophone.

TV

2010-03-03T08:24:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, as I was getting Ryan dressed to go outside, our TV came crashing down.

Turns out, Tim had been climbing on our entertainment center. Tim loves to climb. He climbs everything he can and gets into a lot of trouble for doing so.

I was right in the same room when it happened. My back was turned for mere seconds when the tv came crashing down. Tim started crying and I didn't know if I should cry or scream. The flat screen tv that we just purchased last year on clearance was destroyed but my little boy was perfectly fine.

We'll need a new TV. I hadn't planned on spending the money, but the remaining TV is old and doesn't work with the new cable. It can play dvds and vidoes though.

Ryan started preschool this week at home, so we'd been using less of the tv anyway, but with the rainy weather, we haven't been able to be outside much. Yesterday, they played for an hour outside. Today, it's cloudy with a chance of showers. At this point of the winter, their toys no longer hold their interest like they did at Christmas time.

So, we're getting ready to work on things for a picnic and to play in the basement today. I hope I survive.

Something new to me

2010-02-17T12:12:00.002-05:00

I've been looking around for things to do with Tim and Ryan that are educational. We are getting ready to embark on our very own alphabet book and I was looking for other items that would help with that. I stumbled on Confessions of a Homeschooler and really like what I see. Through her website I also stumbled on Tot School. I thought I'd share these two because they have awesome activities to do with toddlers and preschoolers and even older children. I can't imagine that I will do everything that they do, but I will use some of the ideas in my quest to get Ryan ready for Kindergarten. So I thought I'd share what I'd found with you guys in case you were looking for something fun but educational to do with your kids.

Child Safety Leash

2010-02-15T09:00:00.003-05:00

If you'd have asked me a year ago what I thought of those child safety leashes I would have told you to free the leash kids. I hated them. I thought that every child should be taught to hold hands instead of being put on a leash. I thought they were silly.

I thought these things and then came Timothy.

Timothy is my child who will NOT sit in a shopping cart. He will stand up and find his way out. It doesn't matter how tight you put the little belt that they have in them. He will find a way to wiggle free and almost kill himself getting out of the cart. Tim will not hold your hand and stay close by. He just runs full speed to where ever it is he is going. He just goes.

Shopping with this kid is something I so hate. I've started going grocery shopping alone or just with Ryan. When we do shop with Tim and he wiggles out and we allow him to get down and hold our hands he will do all he can to get out of our grip. He will probably attempt to dislocate his shoulder or break his arm just to get free. We will say that he HAS to hold our hand or he gets picked up.

We follow through with this rule and it results in super screaming, head butting and just an all out miserable experience for all of us at the store. If' I'm alone it results in me leaving the store without the items I came for because I just can't handle my wild child.

So, I started looking at leashes. I haven't purchased one yet because I feel there must be another solution to this problem.

Any one have any experiences or ideas?

Books

2010-02-10T09:07:00.006-05:00

These are two of Ryan's favorite books right now. I also enjoy reading them to him, so I thought I would share with you guys. There have been, in the past, a few books that he LOVED and I HATED, so this is a nice change for me.

Where Teddy Bears Come from By Mark Burgess and Russell Ayto is a really cute story of the little wolf who wants a teddy bear. Little wolf can't sleep at night so he asks his mom where teddy bears come from. She tells him to go ask the wise owl and so little wolf sets out on a journey in which he meets the three little pigs, Red Riding Hood and Goldilocks, just to name a few. He does find out where teddy bears come from (well, SOME teddy bears). I like that it mixes characters from other fairy tales and that there is a cute, happy ending.
I may have reviewed this book before, but the Uglified Ducky by Willy Clafin is a twist on the ugly duckling story. It's got all the same elements, but the uglified ducky is really a moose (this may be why I REALLY like it... I love moose!). I think Ryan likes the silly words that sound like real ones, but are just made up kiddo speech.

What good books are your kids reading?

Dreaming of warm weather

2010-02-09T12:49:00.003-05:00

This is what I can't wait for. I am so ready for spring and then summer. The boys are ready to be outside in their pool and so am I. I've run out of ideas of things to do inside. I am just ready.

Tim counts

2010-02-07T07:50:00.003-05:00

This morning I said, "Tim count for me!"

He said, "One, two, six, eight, mommy!"

Then I said, "can you count in Spanish like Dora?"

He said, "Uno, dos, tres, cuatro!"

When I asked if he could say his ABCs he said, "All done mom."

I am thanful for...

2010-02-04T21:26:00.002-05:00

1. Finishing our taxes.

2. A wonderful job that I really enjoy going to each week.

3. An awesome friend who watches our kids every Friday.

4. In-laws who always feed us when we visit.

5. A wonderful husband and two cute kiddos.

6. A nana and papa who spoil our boys with cool gifts.

Sledding

2010-01-23T22:35:00.002-05:00

Fun in the big ball tent

2010-01-17T14:05:00.003-05:00

Mem and pep got Tim this tent and tunnel set for Christmas. Tim calls it the big ball tent and we play in it every day. It's almost like Chuck E. Cheese at home.

Snow!

2010-01-04T10:17:00.003-05:00

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T20:20:00.002-05:00

We celebrated the day doing exchanges at the mall, which wasn't so busy because Maine is expecting a huge snow storm this weekend. Yay for us! I loved the sales because I exchanged one sweater and got two to replace it. It just doesn't get much more awesome than that for me these days :)

We stayed up to watch the ball drop in New York and we both agree that this year can be either twenty-ten or two-thousand-ten, but not two-ten... sorry Bill O'Reilly.

Now to brace for the snow. Let's see if it's really going to be as bad as they say or if the weathermen haven't got it together this year either.

Happy New Year to all!

Merry Christmas

2009-12-25T20:19:00.002-05:00

Merry Christmas from our house to yours!

"May all who have walked in darkness today welcome the light: Jesus Christ, Emmanuel!"
~Rev. Richard Veras

Ryan's letter

2009-12-09T14:22:00.003-05:00

This is Ryan's letter to Santa. I wrote it for him yesterday. He said the words and I wrote them on the paper. Then we signed his name together and he drew a picture of a cookie for Santa. There are a few things I really love about this letter because they really are so "Ryan." First, he asks Santa to "hurry up." He just can't wait for Christmas. Secondly, he signed it Ryan Alexander Mr. McGee. This is what he calls himself. These are some of the things about Ryan I don't want to forget.

It's not the heat...

2009-12-07T16:01:00.003-05:00

Adam and I enjoyed a sleigh ride in Freeport yesterday. We had a small date mixed with lots of Christmas shopping in which we purchased two items. It was cold. The night before we'd had our first snowfall of the season in Maine and everything was beautiful.

While we waited to get on the sleigh, we took a quick walk to the British store each purchased a Cadbury Crunchie. Yum! Then we got on the sleigh and took the little ride around town. From the website's description we'd exected to see more than the loading docks to the stores in Freeport, so Adam made lots of fun about this. But it was festive and it was really good to be together without the kids.

Poor Adam wasn't wearing a hat. His hat seems to have gone missing since we've moved. When we got back to the car we were pretty frozen and I leaned over and said to him (with the movie Cool Runnings in mind), "It's not the heat, it's the humidity that will kill you." He started laughing and then I asked if there was some idiotic saying that people who live in cold places like Maine say about the cold weather. We came up with nothing.

Does anyone know some really stupid remark that people make to others when it's cold out? Just curious.

Hope

2009-12-05T16:01:00.002-05:00

The first week of Advent is coming to a close and we get closer to celebrating the birth of Christ. Every year I pick up a devotional at church. I LOVE the Advent readings and am amazed that each year I get something so new out of them.

This week, it was the words in a prayer that left my thinking about the coming of Christ and how so many people have the reason for this season completely wrong.

Here is the prayer (taken from The Magnificant 2009)

"Even in the darkness that lies between despair and hope, we dare to pray:

O God our Savior, you are the hope of all the earth.

O God, when hope flickers and faints, rekindle within us the fire of your Spirit: that we may burn with desire for your promised salvation.

O God, when despair overtakes the human spirit, fan in us the one desire to pray: that we may find in your fidelity the source of all true hope.

O God, when the darkness threatens those who have forgotten your goodness in the past, stir once again the memory of grace: that, remembering, we may dare to hope once more."

And the scripture reading that went with that prayers was Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have in mind for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare, not for woe! plans to give you a future full of hope."

Christmas Carolers

2009-11-29T18:46:00.000-05:00

Ryan and I made these carolers today. Aren't they cute? You can find the instructions here.

New Moon

2009-11-20T08:21:00.000-05:00

I've had four hours of sleep, but I don't care. Last night I went to a New Moon party and then went to see New Moon. It was worth not getting much sleep. It's not something I do at all, but was so glad that Jenni first got me hooked on the Twilight Saga and then dragged my butt to see the movie last night.

Jenni's party consisted of watching (well kinda) Twilight and making Team Jacob and Team Edward shirts, a Jacob tattoo hunt and a trivia game. Then we drove to the theater two hours before it started and were glad to sit in the perfect seats!

New Moon was WAY better than Twilight and I loved every minute of it. I loved how the audience was really into the movie to keep it quite and really watched. There was NO talking, just lots laughing and sighs and ohs at different parts. We laughed and just had a blast! Can't wait for June 30, 2010 when Eclipse comes out!!!

Vote for Timothy!

2009-11-18T15:01:00.001-05:00

Vote for me in this contest!

Contest details

New website love

2009-11-18T06:46:00.000-05:00

I have a new website I love and I wanted to share it with you guys. The site is called No Time for Flash Cards and it had some awesome crafts and awesome book lists for kids. I can see us spending some time at the library this week looking for these books.

There are other craft websites that I go to often like Enchanted Learning and DLTK's crafts for kids. For a few months now I have also been borrowing Pack o Fun magazine from the library and I also subscribe to Family Fun, though I will say that most of the crafts in these magazines are for older kids. Ryan likes to glue, so I often do a lot of the work and just let him glue.

I really love doing crafts with the kids, though Tim is still at the stage of putting EVERYTHING into his mouth. He also likes the glue stick and has kind of figured it all out. Winter is a big craft time in our house since we can't stay outside running around at the park for hours on end.

A big thanks to Sarah for asking about crafting sites on Facebook because it got me thinking about this post and a big thanks to Val for sharing No Time for Flash Cards with us!

Mommy Tip

2009-11-16T18:59:00.001-05:00

When Ryan was first born, my mother gave me a tip that I use a lot. She said I shouldn't worry too much about keeping the house clean while he was little, but that maybe I could do one thing every day to keep things some-what nice. I've used that tip right up until now and it works wonderfully for me.

Growing up I hated how mom left all the chores until Saturday and I didn't want to do that to my kids. It makes for a boring Saturday, though in my mother's defense I will say we always had time for the beach every Saturday, unless it was raining.

Today, I cleaned the bathroom and washed all the laundry. The laundry is not all put away yet... that may be for tomorrow as well as sweeping the kitchen floor. I've found the one thing a day is nice. I still get the house clean, but I don't get worn out trying to do a marathon cleaning event nor to I ignore the kids for an entire day. A few minutes here and a few minutes there and my one thing is usually done.

Got any mommy tips for me? I'd be interested to hear them!

Updates

2009-11-15T09:44:00.001-05:00

Jaxson is out of the hospital, at home and playing! I am so excited about this bit of news.

I got a free Dunkin Donuts breakfast on Friday. Told you Friday the 13th is my lucky day!

We're in Manchester having an awesome time with friends and, therefore, I do not have time to write.

Happy weekend to all!

Friday the 13th

2009-11-13T06:50:00.001-05:00

I like Friday the 13th. I consider 13 my lucky number. Nothing bad will happen today...

Wikipedia has lots to say about Friday the 13th and the superstitions that surround this day. This About.com article was rather interesting to read about Friday the 13th and how that day might be considered hazardous to your health. There are tons more sites with lots more about Friday the 13th, but I won't list them all. They had lots to say and were all equally interesting.

Happy Friday the 13th. May it be a happy day for you!

**********

On a separate note, some of you have asked about Jaxson. I haven't had an update as of this early morning posting. I hope to know more later. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers for the little kiddo.

Jaxson

2009-11-12T07:05:00.001-05:00

This little cutie is Jaxson. He's my friend, Merri's little boy. He needs your prayers. He's in the hospital with H1N1. He hasn't had a very good couple of weeks and I know poor Merri must be exhausted and worried and all of that stuff that goes along with having your BABY in the hospital. Last night, they removed his IV, but once they did, they had to put him right back on it. Apparently he's also on a respirator. It sounds scary. Please pray for little Jaxson and his family.

Thyroid

2009-11-11T06:32:00.000-05:00

I can't believe I missed a NaBloPoMo post because I fell asleep at 8 p.m. Okay, I can believe it, simply because my thyroid is doing new things these days.

The latest update on that little butterfly-shaped gland of mine is that the radioactive iodine treatment I received four months ago is finally working! Adam and I were worried that I'd need a repeat dosage of RAI or that I'd need surgery. I'm so thankful that it appears I will need neither.

Right now I am tired a lot...again. I was taking meds to lessen the side effects of having hyperthyroidism and now I can't take anything for the start of my hypothyroidism until I get blood test results back next month. So, I'm back to going to bed with the kids until then and should really do my NaBloPoMo posts in the morning. It's clearly too early in the month to be missing posts!

Picky eaters update

2009-11-09T17:01:00.000-05:00

In case you missed this post and the one before it, I should mention that my kids are picky eaters. They like hot dogs, chicken nuggets, anything you can dip and candy. That's about it. It's rather frustrating for someone who like variety in her food life to have to deal with two picky eaters.

I've tried lots of things with them over the months since I made those posts about how my kids were picky eaters and how I was going to try that list of things to see if I could get them to eat. Sometimes they were great and other times they were just plain awful.

While my parents were here, Ryan said all the food "stinks" and refused to eat a lot of things. If we sat him down and told him he had to have three bites, he'd gag and throw up. It was so frustrating. Eating at the table every night while they were here did not help him one ounce. He still ate his chicken nuggets and hot dogs the best and left the rest.

Since Halloween, Ryan has asked for candy A LOT. I tell him if he eats the tiny portions I give him... eats all of it, then I will give him ONE candy. It's like magic! The kid actually does eat! I mean, he isn't eating everything, but he's eating. He's trying. The other night he gobbled up his noodles so fast, I wasn't sure this was my kid. He's tried foods I thought he wasn't interested in and asked for more! It's all because of some candy in a jack-o-lantern like bucket sitting on a shelf in the basement loaded with candy.

I will say I have learned a few things over the past few months.

1. I cannot force another bite if the kid says he's full. It will result in him throwing up.
2. Carrots and celery dipped in ranch dressing is a great "side" to any of his meals. He gobbles them up and they are good for him.
3. Promised treats after a meal make him eat the meal.
4. His portions are WAY smaller than ours and that's okay.
5. Sometimes eating in front of the tv is a great reward, especially if it's with dad and a new movie.

Turkey

2009-11-08T14:33:00.000-05:00

Ryan, my mom and I all worked together to create this fall turkey to decorate the house. Ryan loves projects and is really good at them. He likes seeing his finished work. This craft idea came from Pack o Fun which we get at the library most months. I like the different crafts they have in their magazine. Ryan was really happy with the finished product. Next on our project list are pilgrims to join the turkey.

I enjoy these times with Ryan doing crafts because I love listening to him problem solve and hearing what he thinks will work. He likes it because it's time with just him and mommy. We usually do these crafts during Tim's nap. I can't wait for Tim to be able to join us, but I know that's at least a half a year away. I can vividly remember doing crafts with my mother and grandmother during my childhood. My mum and I had a good laugh about some snowmen we once tried to make. It was a disaster, but we still have that memory. I hope Ryan (and eventually Tim) will look back on these projects and smile someday.

Favorite Fall Fotos

2009-11-07T20:09:00.001-05:00

Well, this one doesn't look like Fall, but it was taken just last week when my parents were here. Tim in his car seat smiling for his Nana.

I like this one of Ryan next to this HUGE real pumpkin outside of Mike's Clam Shack.

Chicken Soup

2009-11-06T18:54:00.001-05:00

We've all been fighting a cold here, so I thought I'd share my friend Kristin's recipe for a really yummy chicken soup. It's a twist on the old chicken noodle version and I love it because it gives me something else to choose from when I just don't feel like the old standard.

Kristin's Easy Chicken Soup

1-2 chicken breasts (literally just one or two from a package)
1/4 cup flour
32 oz chicken broth
15 oz Italian Diced Tomatoes (garlic, oregano, basil)
1-2 tablespoons olive oil.
Diced celery, carrots, onions and potatoes (I used one large of each)

Cut chicken into bite size pieces and coat with flour. Place Olive Oil in soup pot and brown chicken. Remove chicken and add celery, carrots and onions and cook till tender. Add chicken and potoatos and broth. Cook till potatoes are done.

Kristin serves this with homemade garlic bread and tops the soup with freshly grated parm.

Enjoy.

Tired

2009-11-05T18:14:00.001-05:00

The sickies hit our house this week. We've all had some form of cold. After at day I work, I'm just beat. I will write more tomorrow.

Crochet

2009-11-04T11:41:00.000-05:00

In an attempt to save money and have a cute sweater that no one else is likely to have, I started crocheting a sweater for myself.

Today, I had to rip it all out. I swear there is some unwritten rule that says you'll have to rip out an entire project at least once before it's done.

Frustrating...

Coupons

2009-11-03T09:21:00.000-05:00

Another great way to save is with coupons. At work, we do a coupon swap. First, I get the coupons from my mother-in-law who gets the Sunday paper. She usually cuts out the ones she wants and then gives the rest to me. I take my turn and cut out the ones I will use and then pass them on to one of my co-workers who does the same thing. It's a great way to save. She brings in coupons for me too, usually for diapers.

You can also get coupons online for a large variety of things. A great site to check out is this one from Parenting.com. They have a list of about 1o different sites that have coupons. I will say, be careful, though. I was looking for Stride Rite shoes for Tim (he has super wide feet and we can't just buy Walmart brand ones) and it said "get 20% off plus free shipping" but there was no 20% off with that code, just free shipping.

Happy coupon shopping and clipping!

Giveaways

2009-11-02T09:53:00.001-05:00

I have never been a big believer in giveaways, especially the ones where there is "no purchase necessary." I always enter and never win. Okay, so that's not quite true.

In high school, my mom bought gas for the car and I entered the ticket to win a free turkey. I won. They called and asked to speak to me. I'd filled out the form and I won a turkey.

Back in the spring, I entered a parenting.com toy giveaway. It was one of those enter every day to win one of our thirty prizes. I only entered on the days there were things I thought I'd like to win. Last week, a package showed up at the door of our friends' house. I'd won a ball collection for the kids. One soccer ball, one basketball and one football.

Today I signed up for a few more giveaways at parenting.com/giveaways. There are a host of different things to sign up for, toys, vacations and book, just to name a few. I'm hoping I'll win again!

Saving

2009-11-01T17:29:00.001-05:00

Today is the official start of NaBloPoMo. I can do a month of posts. Yes I can!

I've been working at a local bank for about three months now. I really love it. What I think I love most is that I learn things from customers who come in and chat with us ladies. My favorite tip so far was from a lady who was making a deposit for a trip. She's saved up all her rebates, coin and any money saved from using coupons and was planning to take a trip.

The idea behind her plan is that any money you save you put into a savings account. I'll give you an example. This week, I did grocery shopping and saved $6 in coupons and another $6.28 with our Walmart employee discount. That $12.28 will be going into our savings account. My parents were also here for two weeks. I normally spend $70 in groceries each week so we put that same amount aside, too. It's not a huge amount of money, but it's better than not saving at all. Our savings account is starting to look nice. There wasn't a lot in it just two weeks ago.

There's my two cents...maybe it will help you save a few yourself.

Universal Health Care

2009-10-21T19:51:00.000-04:00

I was opposed to universal health care until this afternoon. I was not in favor of this proposed plan simply because I've heard some stories about it in other places. I had a doctor who worked in the UK who said he had the same patient every day simply because she thought he was cute. There was nothing wrong with this particular lady, but because she had access to a doctor she abused it. He told stories of the elderly worrying that they had every disease or that they were dying. The husband also convinced me that we might have to wait in long lines because we have fewer doctors than people living in the USA. It all made sense to me.

And then I went to pick up Ryan's prescription for GERD today and the lady says, "your total is $167.90."

"Is this a three month supply," I asked.

She didn't know so she went to find out. When she came back and informed me that our insurance no longer covered the meds, I wasn't too happy. In case you were wondering, we didn't purchase the meds. We left them there. There's no way that we could pay almost $200 every month (she also informed me that for some reason we were getting this at a discount and that the actual price is $205.25!).

We're waiting to see what the doctor says about what Ryan may be able to take in it's place. He was allergic to the wonderful $4 drug and we'd adjusted our small budget to fit in his needed med... now we don't know what we'll do.

It breaks my heart to think my kid needs a medicine and I can't afford it. Seriously does it cost them this much to make it? Drug companies are handing out samples of their latest work in doctor's offices, so why does this medicine cost so much? I just don't get it.

But I do get what people complain about when they say they just can't afford their meds. So, universal health care has my vote.

Insipiration

2009-10-06T08:47:00.001-04:00

A few things have been inspiring me lately. The first is the Nie Nie Dialogues have really been an inspiration. These are the blogs of Stephanie Aurora Clark Nielson, a mother of four, a wife and a plane crash survivor, who was burned over 80 percent of her body. She's an inspiration because she could be wallowing in self pitty, but she, instead, always seems positive. Thanks Annie for the introduction!

My second insipration is fall. I love it. It's beautiful outside. Yesterday, we ended up at the apple orchard again and we took lots of photos.

On a completly different note, Timothy has begun sleeping in his big boy bed. He's doing quite well. We decided to move him from his crib because he was attempting to climb out. The fall would have been awful. The first two nights it took 40 minutes of repeatedly putting him back to bed to get him to stay. Last night it was just 15 minutes. He puts himself to bed for naps (this kid is awesome!)

Awesome apple pie

2009-09-21T18:29:00.001-04:00

I made an awesome apple pie today with Ryan. I wanted to share my recipe finds with you.

This is where I found the pie crust recipe. It was the first pie crust (for an apple pie) that didn't taste like cardboard. Yay! I don't have a big food processor and just used my Kitchen Aid mixer.

Apple pie filling is pretty easy to make, but I used the apple pie recipe featured on McDougal's website (it's down the page a little). McDougal's is where we pick our apples. The only thing I changed was how I cut up my apples. Thin sliced cooks down too much for me. I don't like apple sauce pie, so I cut my apples a little thick.

Enjoy!

Timmy!

2009-09-20T14:52:00.000-04:00

This afternoon, we tried to put both kids down for a nap at the same time. Tim protested. He threw out everything in his crib. His beloved blanket, his bear, Duke, pillow, sippy cup and even his diaper. Yes, his diaper. He took it off and threw it out of the crib. I would have never known had he not been screaming "mama," which made me want to go check on him. When I got there, I was shocked to see a bare-bottomed kiddo in his crib. I took a photo and sent it to Adam on his phone. He noticed Tim was missing a sock at first, not that he was missing his diaper.

Websites

2009-09-19T14:18:00.000-04:00

Here are two websites that I go to often, for two very different reasons.

The first is Letter of the Week. My mom told me about it and we've started the three year old curriculum for Ryan. We're only on letter B, but he seems to be very excited about "school work." I hope it lasts! There's ideas for things to do with younger and older kids and I love it! I wanted to do some preschool stuff with him this year. Workbooks don't excite him as much as reading, field trips and arts and crafts do. This site has some great ideas for all of those things and even more. I had considered doing an expensive preschool reading program, but then my mom found this. I've also discovered some of the books on that expensive program at the library and get them there. I didn't think Ryan would be interested in a book about art (i.e. sculptures or paintings) but he really loves looking at the different types of art.

The second site I find myself going to a lot lately is the People of Walmart site. I laugh every day because of them and because I have seen the same types of people during my time at Walmart. I'm sure these people are seen in many places, but it seems like they all go to Wally World at some point. I am also amazed at how many people glue things to their car... not something I would ever think of doing.

I just thought I'd share a few of my favorite things with you guys.

Enjoy!

Iowa was fantastic!

2009-09-08T15:07:00.000-04:00

I loved being back in the Midwest this past weekend. It was so nice to see Elizabeth and spend four days with her family. I felt right at home. I love her parents, John and Mary Jane, who made me feel just like a part of the family. While I missed the kiddos and Adam, I really did enjoy myself and had a blast. There were a lot of late nights, but it was well worth it.

Elizabeth's wedding was so beautiful. They had a brass band play and it suited her so much. So much of the wedding showed her personality. She and Chris are so happy! I am so happy for them. God really blessed them in finding each other.

Oh, and the only thing I missed having in the Midwest was biscuits and gravy...

Here are my two favorite photos of the trip..
.

Iowa here I come!

2009-08-31T08:55:00.001-04:00

I can't believe that tomorrow it will be September! The year has gone by so quickly. I cringe when I think of all the scrapbooking I haven't done yet and the journaling I should have done to remember things my kids have said and done this year.

I am also excited when I think of this month! It seems like a long time ago that we started planning for me to travel to Iowa for the wedding of my second college freshman roommate! Now, it is upon us... and in less than a week Elizabeth will be a married woman! I am so excited to meet Chris for the first time and so excited that I can be a part of their special day.

For four days I will be away from the kids and hubby while hanging out with Elizabeth, her family and friends. Adam will have his hands full with our two little boys, but I have full confidence that he will do just fine and that the boys will have a great time with their daddy.

I have a lot to do this week. Clean, iron, plan meals, pack. I also have to hang out with the kids and make these things that I have to do fun for them. We're going to the beach tomorrow with a cousin of mine (I am excited about this!) and maybe heading to the pool at the in-law's house this evening. I expect to be tired when I hop on the plane on Friday morning, but intend to come home well-rested!

Iowa, here I come!

Ryan says funny things

2009-08-15T19:58:00.000-04:00

Today, Adam and Ryan were playing on our bed when Ryan pinched Adam's nipple.

Adam: "Ouch, don't pinch my nipple, that hurts!"

Ryan: "You don't have nipples."

Adam: "Yes, I do and so do you."

Ryan: "NO!"

Adam: "Lift up your shirt and I will show you."

Ryan: (slowly lifting up shirt and points to belly button.)

Adam: "That's your belly button silly."

Ryan: (lifts shirt all the way)

Adam: "These are your nipples."

Ryan: "No it's not. It's a mustache!"

And in the car earlier this week, Adam was asking Ryan a bunch of things to hear his cute responses. He asks Ryan, "Who is God." Ryan doesn't hesitate and says "He's the guy that makes it rain all the time."

Don't you just love kids?

Property update

2009-08-06T20:24:00.001-04:00

The neighbor's wall is not on our property. Yay!

Property drama

2009-08-03T15:50:00.000-04:00

We are having our property surveyed because we want to put up a fence in the backyard. We live in-town on a relatively busy street and it'd be wise to have the kids in an enclosed area.

I am not too happy with the preliminary findings of the surveyor. One of our neighbors appears to have stuck her fence on our property. It's about a foot on our property. This same neighbor cut down one of our trees about three years ago. When we called the cops on that incident, nothing happened. They said they weren't going to deal with such an issue. Both the neighbor behind us and I were so upset about this whole thing. Since when can someone just come and cut down your tree on your property?

In the end, we didn't like the tree anyway and didn't do anything about it. Well, at that same time she had her land surveyed and placed a temporary chicken-wire fence up to keep her dogs in her yard.

While our house was rented out, she put a wooden fence up. Our nice neighbors said they think they noticed her moving her survey markers one night. We couldn't be sure because at the time we had no extra money to do a survey of our own.

I'm really not up for this drama. I hope the guy is wrong and that he just made a big mistake today. I don't want to fight this neighbor in court.

Observations

2009-08-01T21:53:00.000-04:00

We spent the afternoon at Funtown/Splashtown and had a blast! We are all tired and I'm not sure what I am still doing awake...

Anyway, I came away with a few observations from our time in the Splashtown area.

1. Bathing suits that are white should be lined. If they are not, you should not be wearing them. The rest of us don't want to see all of you, nor do we want to answer our child's questions about the parts of you that are showing.

2. Bathing suits with skirts at the bottom are not flattering. They just draw the eye to that part of your body and make it look bigger.

3. Too many tattoos just aren't attractive. We saw a lot of really ugly ones and just a few tasteful ones.

4. It's kinda funny to see a guy with a tan that outlines his wife beater!

5. Being too tan is actually kinda gross. We saw some people who were just orange and well, clearly too brown from spending too much time in the sun. YUCK!

Changing my picky eater

2009-07-31T16:25:00.000-04:00

In the August Parenting magazine that arrived at my door yesterday, there was an article especially for me.

"Food for thought" by Celia Barbour gave five suggestions for the parent of the picky eater.

1. I am not a short-order cook. We never have been, though we will allow the kids a hot dog if they don't eat anything. I found it interesting that she quoted the Guide to your Children's Nutrition "Children will not become ill or suffer permanently if they refuse a meal or two, but parents sometimes act as though youngsters might shrivel up and die." I guess since Ryan has been considered underweight for awhile, I do wonder about him shriveling up and dying. She basically said what my mom has been telling me all along, "Ryan will eat when he's hungry."

2. I can spice things up. Kids shouldn't be subjected to bland food. I haven't done this and I won't. I like my spices and I want them to like them too.

3. I should give veggies the hard sell. If I mix the veggies with the main course, they will eventually eat them. She suggested if I put it on the table first, when they are the most hungry, they may eat them first too.

4. Eat dinner together. We try to,but often, Ryan and Tim are hungry before Adam gets home. It's just the three of us some nights.

5. My kids have to try one bite. Just one. If it makes them gag, they shouldn't be forced to eat every bite.

6. If all else fails, I should bribe them.... no dessert, no seconds and suggest giving it to the other brother. They hate sharing. This one, might actually work.

7. Make them save room for dessert.

I'll let you know if any of these work my picky eaters.

I have a job!

2009-07-30T20:16:00.000-04:00

My interview on Tuesday went incredibly well. Being the good GC grad that I am, I prepped for this interview. I got my resume all pretty and my references all set up. I practiced answering online sample interview questions. I mean, I was ready.

The only question that I had to answer that I practiced for was "so, tell us a little about yourself." The rest of the time we just talked and laughed. I even commented during the interview that this was the first time I recall not being nervous on a job interview.

I left feeling really awesome. This morning I got the call I'd been praying for. I have the job!!!! I actually jumped up and down after I got the call. Ryan was a bit confused, but I had to express my excitement without waking Timothy, who happened to be having a nap.

I can't wait to start. I just have to find a babysitter for two weeks while I get my training. We're hoping family will be able to help.

Picky eaters

2009-07-27T20:53:00.000-04:00

My boys have become picky eaters this summer. Ryan's kinda been a picky eater all along, but Tim would normally eat whatever you put in front of him (except eggs and cheese... he spits them out).

I've been reading online about picky eaters. I'm not sure I agree with sneaking healthy foods (like fruits and veggies) into foods for kids. I'm not sure that's teaching them the importance of eating healthy, especially when they get their broccoli or squash from brownies and breakfast cookies.

I'll be the first to admit it took a long time to like all the veggies that I do enjoy eating (I've been known to eat cookies, cake and brownies for breakfast and have had to stop this now that I have an example to set). There are few I refuse to eat, but I wonder if that is because mum always gave us veggies and we were required to eat them. I can recall only eating the tops of the broccoli and not eating asparagus, but these days I love my veggies... more than I love fruit.

Now, little Tim will eat any fruit... many more than Ryan will eat. I've begun to wonder if that's because we mainly fed Ryan bananas and apples when he was a baby. Those are by far his favs, though he loves blueberries, grapes and recently has started eating strawberries. Tim only likes corn and peas for veggies and spits out green beans and the rest, though he'll usually eat one or two and then decide that's not what he wants to eat. I think I can win him over.

But with summer being here, it's so hot to cook and I'm wondering if anyone has any tips for healthy summer meals for us and how to work with my picky eaters? HELP!

Job

2009-07-25T08:45:00.000-04:00

I'd hoped by now I'd be babysitting for Adam's cousin. However, their loan fell through and they're working on getting another, or possibly renting in another town in the opposite direction from Adam's job.

I talked with her last week and told her that we really need some money, so I'd have to start looking for another job. If their loan comes through before I get hired somewhere else, I'd be happy to start working for them, but we just can sit around hoping that things will work out.

This week, I looked online at many different job postings. I applied for a part-time bank teller job and a job as a before and aftercare person for the YMCA. I also found out my dear old WM is hiring again and will apply there again this weekend.

On Thursday, within hours of post my resume online for the bank job, I got a call back for an interview. I really like this job idea. I love the part-time hours and so does Adam. It'd be Thursday all day and Friday and Saturday half day, which could work out with a schedule for Adam at his job. I asked Adam if he thought I would get the job and he said, "no." He said his feelings are not based on whether I am qualified or not, it's based on the fact that almost four years ago I applied for a bank teller job and was turned down. But, we're both hoping this job works out. We wouldn't need a second car and the kids wouldn't need day care (though we are considering signing Ryan up for a few programs at the Y because he is behind in his social and emotional development...that to come in a different post).

For those of you who pray, we'd really appreciate the prayers for a job. This job interview is Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. Thanks!

Creativity

2009-07-18T07:20:00.000-04:00

I'd love one of these for our kids play room. I think they are awesome, but at $600, the cost is just too much. We're on a tight budget these days.

We thought about what we could do. We could build one ourselves, but that still would cost money. Then I remember the guinea pig cages sitting in the basement. (We made our own guinea pig cage out of those cubes most college kids make bookshelves.)

We went to work.

This is what it looks like and I am happy with our creative results!

Weaning

2009-07-16T10:54:00.000-04:00

We are weaning Tim from the bottle. He loves his "baba," so this hasn't been so easy.

This morning I gave him one of these sippy cups and he opened it and spilled the contents on the kitchen floor. Protesting? I think so.

Then I gave him one of these cups and he drank a little and then cried a lot.

I hate the crying part. He asks for his "baba" often. I know it'll be a few days of cranky and then he'll be happy, but I hate this part.

How have you guys made it through this part of toddlerhood?

We're here!

2009-07-05T21:03:00.000-04:00

We moved all our furniture on a rather rainy day, but we made it here and just about everything is inside. I can't say the boxes are all unpacked, but that's okay, too. Things will slowly get put into their places.

The first night here, my brother arrived after midnight. His flight had been delayed and then Adam and I realized we needed a shower curtain for the morning showers. We were tired the next day, but the kids were up early and made sure we made it to our 9 a.m. appointment for the rental truck. It was pouring when we were moving things. It'd stop when we'd take a break and then the heavens would open up and more rain would descend upon us!

We made two trips of a full moving truck and called it a day, though I made great attempts to set up the kitchen.

Adam and Gillie came to visit, played with the kids, moved some boxes, washed dishes and then had dinner with us.

Yesterday, the kitchen was finally set up and the house was starting to look more like our home. We're really happy to be back and really thankful for friends and family. We were lucky to have my in-laws take us in for almost two years and are blessed to have Nathan here to help with so much. He's mowed the lawn, scrubbed the stove, fixed the tv and so much more. We're grateful to have wonderful friends, too.

More to come when the house looks better and I have more time to write.

Moving

2009-06-26T10:44:00.000-04:00

Yes, we're moving in about a week. I am so excited to be getting back to our house. I hate packing though. I hate how I am confronted with just how much junk we've managed to collect, even when we've tried not to do that very thing. It's not all quite ready to go yet, but most things are in boxes.

Ryan is excited about our move. When we told him he wanted to go to our "new house" that very minute. He often asks if our tenants have moved out and when I tell him they haven't he says "tell them to go, mom!"

Basically, our tenants found a new place with more room, which is good becasue they now have five kids. When they moved into our three bedroom house they had four girls. The older girls shared one room and the younger ones shared the other. Then baby Noah came along and he's been sharing the master bedroom with his parents for about a year now. They really need more space.

I'll be going back to work. I'm going to be taking care of two other boys along with my two. I'm excited and have daycare lesson plans already worked out for a few weeks. I'll see how these ideas work out and then we'll move on from there. The extra money and potentially two full days off with Adam will be wonderful. The four children will be a challenge, but I'm sure I'll find my groove.

I did miss the boys the last two days, though I must admit, I enjoyed my time alone. I got to sleep in past 6:30, which was awesome and I got to do things without worrying about bottles, sippy cups, diapers and changes of clothes. It's nice to be able to be around them again, even if I can't hug and kiss them. Just a few more days and I'll be able to enjoy those hugs and kisses again.

Radioactive Woman

2009-06-24T19:28:00.000-04:00

Adam is calling my radioactive woman today because I received my radioactive iodine treatment today for my messed up thyroid. My morning experience left me wondering if I'd made the right choice, but it's too late to change things now.

I was up early with the boys and gave them lost of kisses and hugs before I left for the endocrinologists office. I won't be able to give them kisses for a week :( They then left to go to Manchester with Adam where they will be away from me until tomorrow night. The doc said the first 48 hours are when the iodine is most concentrated, though I will have to follow some precautions for the rest of the week.

Anyway, I made it to my appointment in the rain (will it ever stop?) and was brought into a little metal room where the doctor opened a metal safe and took out a metal canister. Inside the metal canister was a vial of one horse-sized pill that I had the joy of swallowing. I was then escorted out the back door. I felt a little like a leper.

It's okay for me to be around other people, but I can't share food or drinks and I should limit my time with pregnant women and children for the next few days. I had a nice relaxing day. I went to Borders and looked at tons of different kids of books... even read some magazine articles. I walked around the mall and had a pedicure. Yay for pedicure. I have pretty feet now ;)

Tomorrow I spend the day visit my regular doctor for a follow up, picking up prescriptions for both Ryan and myself (he started a script for GERD and broke out in a rash from it so we have to change the med) and then I get to go to a movie with my friend Jenni. This has been a nice break from the kids, but I do miss Adam and the boys a lot. It's soooo quite here without them. I am getting a lot of reading done!

In six weeks I'll have some blood work done to see how things with my thyroid are progressing. In most cases, people end up hypothyroid after this treatment and have to take thyroid replacement drugs for the rest of their lives. Some end up having their thyroid work like normal again, but that percentage is really low. The blood work will let them know how much replacement drugs, if any, I will need.

I love my kids

2009-06-18T07:03:00.000-04:00

Some days Ryan can be a handful. There are days when I'm so ready to pull my hair out because he's cried all day about nothing. Yesterday wasn't too bad, but he did have a few moments where I could feel my blood pressure rising.

He was up late waiting for his daddy to come home. He's always wanted to be with his daddy at bedtime since he was little. He'd just wake up at the time Adam was supposed to be home and wait. He was so excited to see Adam last night. I love how they get when they're together.

Anyway, at bedtime, Ryan was playing with these magnetic balls and sticks and Adam made two microphones and started singing. I love how Ryan gets into the music and tries to sing. He sways from side to side and bops his head and sings the lyrics a bit late. I couldn't help but laugh last night because he has this little southern drawl when he sings. I'm not sure where he gets it from, but it's funny and cute at the same time.

I also love how Ryan will say "uh huh" when he doesn't know the answer to something and the default color of everything is green. We have these Brain Quest flash cards that we sometimes play with Ryan. I'm always surprised and humored at the answers he gives us. Last night was no exception. There was a picture of a mouse yawning and it asks "what should you do when you yawn." Ryan's response was "go night-night." Then there was a card with the letter "R" on it and we asked if he knew what it was. He said "uh huh" and we try to help him by saying it was the letter his name starts with. And he then goes, "Oh, it's MY letter." We kept trying, but only got answers like "it's my name letter." Of course we told him what it was and then moved on, but I just love these moments with him.

The other day at the grocery store he attempted to pay for the groceries with an expired LL Bean gift certificate. How cute! He wanted to pay with his money because he "eat(s) too."

All of these moments make up for those days when he's most difficult. They make me smile when I think of them and I'm trying to write as many of them down as possible so I can show him later just how cute he was.

Of course, Tim is also a lot of fun these days. He's my little talker and yesterday when we were leaving the park he started crying and pointing at the park and saying "park" in his little Mainer way. He's doing so much right now and it's a lot of fun. He's walking and trying to do everything Ryan does like jumping on the bed.

So while there are days where I feel overwhelmed, I love that I have days when they are angels and we have tons of fun together and they just make me laugh.

Photos and an update

2009-06-13T10:48:00.001-04:00

The guys playing TMNT... I think.

The girls outside Shain's.

Can you see his chocolate ice cream mustache?

I love this photo of my boys. Right before I took this photo, they were all sitting in a row.

My update is that I will be having radioactive iodine treatment on my thyroid on June 24. The endocrinologist said this would be his best suggestion, though we did talk about going back to PTU (really not good long term for my heart) and surgery (not very cost effective and does have some risks). I knew my options because I had the same ones about three years ago. I took the PTU option because I wanted to be sure we could have a second baby. Adam and I had both decided that when the options were put on the table this time, we'd go with RAI and get life back to normal. I'm so ready for that, even if it will take 1-4 months to feel like a regular person again. Because I will not be able to hold the kids for two days after the treatment, Adam will be taking two days off with me and hanging out with the boys. I'll be packing to move back to our house, which we do the weekend of July 4! (that's some big news I haven't yet blogged about).

beach time!

2009-06-09T11:28:00.000-04:00

Tim really didn't keep the hat on, but we tried!

Katy would have wandered right into the ocean if Sarah wasn't watching her. She loved it!

I love this photo!

Isn't she a cutie?

Ryan would not let the sand get on him. He stayed on the towel the entire time. Tim was covered in sand, went crawling in it, ate it... he had a blast!

Five minute photos

2009-06-05T22:27:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, I went to the nuclear department of the hospital and swallowed two pills which were in a plastic bottle and the plastic bottle was in a metal vial. The pills contained a trace amount of radioactive iodine... Adam called me radioactive woman all day.

Today, I had photos taken of my thyroid. I lay in this thing that looks like a CT scanner with a cone-shaped camera while four photos were taken. Each photo took five minutes. Five minutes of only breathing and swallowing. The weird thing is that my nose, neck, chin and other parts of your face itch when I have to sit still for five minutes at a time.

I also had a test in which this robotic arm looking thing tested how much radioactive iodine was in my body versus the amount in my thyroid.

I am awaiting test results (which the nurse at my doctor's office says she'll let me know as soon as she does!) and I see the endocrinologist next week. I bet this week will drag on, but that's okay since Kyle, Sarah and Miss Katy are in town.

Thyroid Update

2009-05-30T09:52:00.000-04:00

So, here's the update on my thyroid. The ultrasound I had last week shows that the nodules on my thyroid have grown and my blood tests indicate that my thyroid is producing too much thyroid hormone (hyperthyroidism).

I'll go to visit my old friend, the endocrinologist, who I like as a doctor, in two weeks. But this week I get to take a thyroid uptake scan. Basically, I show up on the day of the test, take a pill with radio active iodine in it and then return to the hospital four hours later to have images taken of my thyroid. I'm told that this test will show whether my nodules are the reason for my thyroid being nutty or if it's just my thyroid all by itself.

I've done lots of reading about this test. I worry about radio active iodine and being around the kids. I won't be able to hold them on the day of the test and will have to do extra cleaning of the toilet after I use it (since the radio active iodine will be eliminated from my body this way). Adam is taking the day off to be with us, but I still imagine I will have to find time to do things outside of the house or away from the kids. They are both mama's boys. I think Adam will have his hands full with the two of them. Ryan constantly wants to play outside and Tim just always wants to be held these days (he has a cold again!). I'm sure he'll do fine.

That's my update.

Here we go again

2009-05-21T18:01:00.000-04:00

I thought about making this a good, bad and ugly post, but then it just didn't say enough so I'm making it a longer one.

The last few weeks I've been exhausted. Like sleep for 12 hours at night and nap during the day and still feel beat, exhausted. It stinks because I want to do things with the kids, but I go outside and yawn while I watch Ryan run around and Tim is attached to my hip.

I scheduled an appointment with the doctor. I just couldn't take being tired anymore. I was convinced it was my thyroid.

The good news: I am not pregnant! While I knew that I wasn't, I hate taking that test "just in case" because I would hate to be blindsided by a pregnancy. I especially would hate to be blindsided with that info when Tim is just one and I don't think I want more kids.

The bad news is that I was right and my thyroid is being bad again. So today I had an ultrasound which revealed I have two nodules on my thyroid (I think I had two three years ago, but I'm not sure) and I had more bloodwork done on thyroid hormones.

The ugly is that I have to be tired probably until Thursday when I have my follow up visit again.

At least we have a diagnosis!

Potty Train Part Two

2009-05-12T22:13:00.000-04:00

Ryan finally gets the whole using the potty thing! For a long time he's known what to do when on it, but this week it just clicked that he can tell us when he has to go. I am so proud! I am also so very excited that he just gets it.

About a week ago I told him I wouldn't be purchasing any more pull ups simply because they cost too much money. I told him I believed he was my big boy and that he would do awesome using the potty. The first few days were hard. He wet himself often. We changed a lot of pants and did lots of loads of laundry. But we'd go on trips from Manchester to Maine and he would stay try, not wanting his car seat to get wet. I just knew he could do it. I didn't scold the accidents, though I kept reminding him he could let me know when he had to go so I could help him get to the potty on time.

Today, he stayed dry all day. I want to do the happy dance! It was so cute to see him doing that "potty dance" when he had to go and saying "mom, I don't want to be wet.'" and he'd run to the bathroom.

The only pull ups we buy now are for bedtime. He wears Imse Vimse training pants when we go out of the house (these things are worth every penny!) and regular training pants or underwear when we are at home. He loves picking out Mater or McQueen underwear to put on.

Ford Fusion

2009-05-07T08:11:00.000-04:00

We are now the owners of a 2009 Ford Fusion. I was so stressed yesterday as we went through the whole car buying process. I was exhausted mentally when we got home and I couldn't believe how long the whole thing took.

Adam left right away to go back to work and I stayed behind to figure out what will happen with the Passat which is still sitting at a local repair shop. I will be taking care of that on this rainy Thursday.

I have no photos, but I hope to post some soon. Ryan likes the new car, which is good, not that it really matters. I'm just glad he won't keep saying "Mom, our car is broke and is at the doctor's office to get fixed." He's said it about a million times since Sunday night.

Yay for a new car.

grrr

2009-05-03T17:57:00.000-04:00

We were on the way to Wal-Mart to buy Ryan new shoes, since he keeps telling us his feet hurt in the ones he currently wears, when the car broke down. I was the driver and I looked at Adam and said, "I'm pushing the gas, but we're going slower."

We just made it to the side of the road as it died on us. Something smelled like it was burning. We called our friend Kristin (we're again in Manchester visiting) and she hooked us up with th towing company and local mechanic that Enterprise uses (that's where she and her husband work). The towing was cheaper than I expected (Kyle, I was thinking of you and Adam's late night break down in college). Now we wait for the repairs.

We're all trying to think of the positive stuff instead of the cost of the towing, the rental and the repairs. For one, at least this didn't happen at 8:30 this evening on the way home. We'd have gotten there a lot later than planned. The towing did not cost $300. We are all safe. It didn't happen when I was alone in the car with th kids. I tend to panic and not know what to do. I love that Adam is so calm during these situations.

That said, it still doesn't make me happy that we broke down, but we do have a lot to be thankful for.

good day

2009-05-02T19:38:00.000-04:00

We had a nice Thursday together as a family. Adam took four days off to spend with us, mainly because he needed time off, but also because Ry has been acting out because he misses him. I should first mention that Ryan wanted a new piece of his train set and we told him he could get one if he stayed dry all day.

We took Ryan to the Foxrun mall and let him play on the cars and at the little indoor playground. The big kids (Adam and myself) enjoyed some Gloria Jeans. Yum! Ryan used the family restroom kid potty... we were shocked! The pull up was dry.

Ryan then asked to go to Jokers so we took the trip there while everyone except me napped. We played there for a few hours and then decided to go grab dinner with the kids. We went to Famous Daves and let me just say the food is so yummy, but not in anyway diet friendly. I enjoyed my chicken, ribs, corn bread, corn on the cob and spicy green beans. I highly recommend this place.

And we got home and Ryan asked for his train and we said he could get it if he was still dry. And he was dry! He peed on our little potty at home and had been clearly holding it for a long time. Of course, the following day he did not stay dry, but we think we're moving in the right direction.

Ohio

2009-04-29T19:27:00.000-04:00

We were in Ohio last week for my grandfather's funeral. I decided to go because I wanted to be with my mom on the loss of her parent (I missed grandma's funeral about two years ago because we had no money) and also to have that possible one last time to see all the aunts, uncles and cousins.

I can now say that I have performed with my Uncle Tom. He sang a beautiful song called "If you could see me now" and I did sign language for it during the service. I liked this type of funeral since just about every member of the immediate family did some part. It felt special more than just having a service done by a pastor.

I was nervous about flying by myself with two kids. The flight there was perfect. Both boy fell asleep during takeoff and woke up when we landed. The flight back was awful. Ryan cried for 40 minutes straight about a car that didn't exist. He then fell asleep. The guy next to me was really nice, but I wanted so badly to crawl under a rock. I was so embarrassed because it wasn't just crying it was screaming as loud as he could.

I had fun with my aunts, uncles and cousins while in Ohio. My aunt has a new dog named Nessarose and she is so sweet. Ryan was scared of her the first few days (he's been scared of dogs since a pug jumped on him and took his chips), but by the end of our stay he was telling me he liked Nessa and wanted a dog like her. We got home and he was still talking about her and telling me his dog is going to be named Presto. Nessa is a toy poodle and costs about $300... I don't think we're getting one anytime soon. Even Tim liked Nessa, except when she barked at him.

We spent afternoons at a local park and Ryan loved it. It was huge and awesome. I even liked it.

And now we're back and enjoying some warm weather in Maine and wishing to be with family again.

A good Friday

2009-04-18T16:47:00.000-04:00

We had a lovely Friday this week. Adam, the boys, my sister-in-law and brother-in-law and niece all went to Old Orchard Beach to enjoy the nice weather we were having. The pizza and pier fries were yummy. I have to admit I was pretty upset when I dropped my Lisa's Pizza on the train tracks and then had to settle for Bills because we were crossing the street. I am a Lisa's fan.

We took the kids for a walk on the beach. Tim wanted badly to get down and explore, but I could only imagine having to take handfuls of sand out of his mouth. Ryan wanted to go home, apparently sand is not his thing, especially when the wind is blowing.

We had an amazing time. The sunshine on my skin and the sand between my toes made me feel at home.

Adam and I then went to dinner at the Steakhouse in Wells. We both had baked stuffed lobster and steak. Oh so yummy! I love the Steakhouse and was so glad we were able to have a date night. Neither of us could really recall a date night since maybe my birthday in January.

We also had to go to the opening night of Big Daddy's ice cream shop. I ended my perfect day with Kahlua brownie ice cream.

Four days

2009-04-02T07:57:00.000-04:00

I am really excited for the next four days. Adam is here with us in Manchester. On Saturday, we take Ryan (and Tim, but mostly Ryan) to see the Easter Bunny and do an Easter egg hunt. I think it will be so much fun. Today is supposed to get sunny and warm and we'll play outside and bbq our dinner! It will be nice to go to church together on Sunday. It seems like a long time, but I'm sure those four days will fly by.

It's hard being away from Adam for a week at a time, but being here in Manchester has been so refreshing. The sunshine has been awesome. Change has been good.

Ryan draws and paints for Adam and hangs his artwork up to show daddy. He says, "Daddy be so happy of my work!" He's growing into a boy. He's not my baby from a year or two ago. Since we've been here he's managed to tuck himself into bed. He "reads" his books to his Uncle Vince instead of the other way around. And last night he said, "I have to go potty." Then he went in and did the whole thing himself!

And Tim.... he's just getting into trouble while here. He LOVES the cats, but they hate him. He chases them and they run away. He tortured Princess one day till she swiped at him. He isn't allowed to be near the cats or their food. He teases Ryan by stealing his toys and he fights back when Ryan hits him or takes his toys now.

And me....I've gotten to read books during the afternoon because I have managed to get both boys to nap at the same time every day. I've also been working on my Wii skills. Adam brought a new workout game for me so we can continue to work on those stubborn 20 lbs.

And for the next four days I get t hang out with my husband and the kids and have like a mini vacation here in Manchester.

Hmmm...

2009-03-27T21:23:00.000-04:00

So I was in a store today where the woman asked to see my ID so I could use my debit card as credit. I gave it to her and she said, "Wow, you're from Nevada?"

WHAT?

How do you get Nevada out of a driver's license that has MAINE printed right across the top? Did she even read it?

Getting Tim to sleep

2009-03-27T08:26:00.001-04:00

Timothy has been a great sleeper since we brought him home from the hospital. We put him in the crib and he goes to sleep sucking his thumb.

Lately, that hasn't been the case at all. He gets up in the middle of the night and will not sleep in his bed. Being on a higher dose of meds lately has made me extra sleepy, so instead of getting him back in his bed, he ends up sleeping in mine. I needed a solution.

I attempted the Ferber method for going to bed so I wouldn't have to rock him and also for night time wakings. But Tim would cry for an hour if we let him and get all worked up and literally covered in snot and tears. This method worked great for Ryan, but it wasn't working at all for little Tim. He knows what he wants and will stop at nothing to get it.

So I started searching for other methods online and came across a blog in which a mother praised the Super Nanny's gradual method of being in the room as they fall asleep and then eventually not being there at all. I kind of modified it a little and I stand next to his crib while I tell him I'm there and that he doesn't have to worry and can go to sleep. Once I hear somewhat relaxed breathing I start to move out of the room. Tonight I won't be standing next to the crib as he starts that relaxed breathing. I'll be a little bit farther away. It's worked in the middle of the night without waking Ryan up since the boys share a room and I'm happy with our progress. The only time Tim was in our bed last night was for a middle of the night feeding because he didn't finish his bottle before bed.

I guess it's true what they say... every child really is different and requires different styles of parenting. The sure keep me on my toes!