Big Scare

Yesterday, we had a big scare.  Big Daddy had a procedure on Tuesday to remove a benign spot on the back of his head.  Ever since then he had had a pain under his left rib cage that he didn't mention until yesterday.  It started nagging at him and he said something about it to me yesterday morning.  I began to worry that it could possibly be a clot forming when he acknowledged it might be warmer to the touch in that location.  I told him just to be safe, take aspirin until he heard from his doctor. 

The morning chaos continued here with putting a teething WHS to bed while our sweet Carolina was here.  JLS and I zipped to JBS' end-of-year school program.  I got a call from my mom during the program and I texted her back as to where I was.  She doesn't know how to text, so I didn't even think to look for her reply.  When the program was almost over, I looked down at my phone and my mom had texted, "Dad in Er.  Pray."

First, my Dad has never been sick and he never complains.  Babe jokes about Dad that while mom is saying, "Big Daddy, take your shoes off..." or something of the like, Dad is walking thru the house with two inches of mud caked to his shoes and blood dripping off his arm.  Big Daddy is notorious for cutting himself and not knowing it until someone points out that there is "Blood on you!"  Complaining or being sick is not something we are used to with Big Daddy.

Second, my mom doesn't panic (with the one exception of when my sister went in to labor with Go-Go three months early) and knowing I am a worry-wort she doesn't often give me just cause to worry.  With mom learning how to text in a matter of minutes and telling me to "pray" without talking to me in person, I panicked.

I bolted out of the program, literally dragging JLS by his pinky finger as he yelled, "What wrong, Mommy?" to the entire Sanctuary.  When I called Mom, she said that the pain in Dad's ribs changed enough to worry him and he called her at her meeting to tell her that he was driving himself to the ER.  This set off the domino effect....Dad was worried, so Mom got worried and that just about did me in with both of them worried.

When the program was over, JBS could hear my phone conversations and asked what was wrong.  So, I told him that Big Daddy had a pain in his side and he wanted a doctor to look at it. The longer Big Daddy was in the hospital, the more at ease we became.  All the tests were checking out well, despite not knowing what his pain was. 

By last night, Dad was home, and everyone's hearts were slowing down.  JBS was asking about Big Daddy and told me, "You know, if you stay in the hospital too long, you die."  A boy who says it like it is.  A little taken aback, I said, "Maybe so.  Where did you hear that?"  His response, "Lost."  While I haven't watched Lost, Babe does and obviously JBS picked up something regarding hospitals.  Ironically, having worked in a hospital, I feel the same way.  Get out of there before you get something else!  I also didn't realize at the time that JLS saw me talking to Grammy teary-eyed at the program.  Last night, JLS came up and put his arms around my neck and whispered in my ear, "Mommy, can I call Big Daddy?"  Precious baby.  Of course!  He just wanted to talk to him and make sure he was still Big Daddy.

After JLS and Big Daddy had been talking for a few minutes, JBS walked in and asked who JLS was talking to.  When I told him, "Big Daddy," JBS replied in shock, "You mean he's still alive?"

God love 'im.  Amazing how lightly life is taken with little guys and how little he really understands about living and dying.  It provided a good laugh for us all.  Big Daddy is still kickin'....and he will more than likely out live us all!  And for that, we are very grateful.

This Little Toot of Mine

We are in a "squeezable" phase.  It has been at least a few weeks since I have wanted to hang the boys up by their toenails.  All in all, the boys have been a whole lot of fun lately.  So much, that I just look at them, listen to their words and their funny logic and just sit back in total awe that these are my children.  Somehow I ended up at this point in my life with three beautiful boys, a wonderful husband, home, and life.  How in the world did I get to be here?  Oh my, how I have been so blessed.

What I look most forward to in the summer is morning snuggle time in my bed with the boys.  We do this now, but Momma is not always coherent at 6am when the boys sneak in to my bedroom.  Summertime will allow for them to snuggle on my time....and lazy time!  Every morning as JBS climbs in bed to snuggle with me, JLS comes to my side of the bed and in a very quiet whisper asks, "Mom, can I have a milkshake?"  (aka Pediasure)  I always find enough zest to spit out a "yes" and roll over.  I lay in bed and can hear JLS slurp down his milkshake in the kitchen and pitter patter back in to my room to snuggle with me and JBS.  Like clockwork, when he crawls in bed, he again whispers, "Mom, can we watch Little Bear?"  I muster a "Yes" and he hands me the clicker.

In the "olden days" he handed me my glasses because he knew I couldn't read the TV screen to find Little Bear.  Now, once in a while he forgets I had Lasik and asks, "Mom, do you need your flasses?"  Sweet boy.

The rule is that when it is 7am, Mommy gets to turn on the news.  The other morning, 7am rolled around and I couldn't find the clicker to switch over to the news.  I searched high and low and could not find the thing, which made me want it even more.  I looked at JLS and said, "JLS, I think you ate the clicker!  It is nowhere in this bed!"

He looked at me in all seriousness and said, "But Mommy, I am not allowed to eat clickers!"

Photo Shoot

Last week at JLS' "ET," as we prefer to call his eating therapy/occupational therapy, WHS and I were getting bored.  WHS used to sleep thru ET or at least sit quietly in his stroller sucking on toys and toes.  These days, WHS wants to play play play!

He started rolling and crawling on the floor, so I filled my time taking his cutie little pictures.  The ultimate position for WHS, which I love, is the "down dog," for you Yoga fans.  This is one of his favorite positions to be in and for some reason I absolutely get giggly when I watch him go in to "down dog."

This toot is a total ham.  He knows when the flash is going and he responds.  He sees the flash and he starts smiling and laughing...a true performer he is.

Striking all sorts of poses and batting his eyelashes...

If only his eyes were open in this one...

Sweet little toot.  He ate Moo Goo Gai Pan yesterday....and enjoyed it.  He dabbled with a little cheese, loved breadsticks, but he is not so keen on the meat sticks, yet.  Lordy how JBS inhaled those things.  He is already way ahead of JLS in the world of foods...

Can't believe this little toot has grown up so!  I just want to eat him up...

Organizing

I have picked up my organizing tasks from where I left off prior to WHS' arrival.  I was nesting and I was nesting in a good way last summer.  Then, WHS came and it all went to pot.  I am slowly getting back in to "flushing" it all out.  Nothing feels better!  When we moved to this house in September of 2008, I made it my mission to not put things away haphazardly.  I made it my mission to dispose of and giveaway many of the things that sat in storage for almost a year that I didn't miss.  I hauled countless Suburban-loads of things to The Goodwill.  It was invigorating.

Long about April, I had unpacked the house, recovered from morning sickness and was back in the groove.  I started organizing all the closets and cabinets with the things that "made the cut."  In July, Babe graciously granted me the opportunity to call....California Closets.  Not for our closet, as we still need that mission, but for our utility.  I had so much unused space in there and I was about to go crazy with shoes and backpacks and...and....and.... I was so excited.  I was completely amazed at the space the cute California Closets girl came up with.  For the record, I priced 2 other companies that sent very nice men out to make the design.  The girls have it by a long shot.  Women just know how to make the most use out of small spaces.  Rachel was awesome and she got the job.

My utility is quite small.  However, she added big functional shelves above the washer and dryer for appliances and stock items...like toilet paper and paper towels.  She gave me 3 beautiful locker areas for all the boys....treasures.  And, around the lockers more shelving for arts and crafts items and a laundry hamper.  Then, behind the door she mastered the awkward wall where our stairs pushed thru.  The builder, of course, said he couldn't do anything with it.  She planned it like there was nothing in the way.  She rocked!

So, today, I show you the area under the stairs and behind the utility door.  Two before's and an after.  Now, I have a great place to store all my "Grocery Game" stock items.  I love it!  I love organizing and I love shelving!

WHS' Swimming Pool Debut

I took the boys to the pool last weekend and they have been begging to go again ever since.  There is a reason the pool isn't open during the school year.  It is next to impossible to get home from school and get ready for the pool and make dinner and eat and get ready for bed for the school day tomorrow. It's crazy, really.  But, I gave in. 

What I loved most about the pool we are going to this summer is the childcare.  Since it is part of my gym, I can put WHS in childcare for 2 hours.  This makes such great sense so I can keep WHS out of the sun and be able to play with JBS and JLS in the water.  In the midst of my "giving in," my heartstrings were pulled and I wanted to take WHS to the pool with us.  Three boys, all different swimming abilities at the pool....with me alone.  I must be crazy.

JBS and JLS promised to stay close and be within eyeshot of me the whole time.  This worked for about 10 minutes.  JBS is pretty safe to be alone.  JLS is just OK.  I still like to keep my eye on him.  Then there is WHS.  Sweet toot.  The pool is a zero entry pool which is perfect for da babies.  We sat at the edge of the pool and splish-splashed as much as possible.  WHS loves water on a normal day....he goes nuts in his bath.  However, due to poor planning, WHS was pooped.  He thought is was just OK, he was not a fan of the hat I made him wear and he was tired.  If I had waited for timing to be perfect for me, JBS, JLS and WHS, we would be waiting all summer.

The childcare is looking better every day.   At least, if I am at the pool with all 3 alone again.

Twansformers

As I am sure is the case for most kids, JLS has been in hot debate over the theme for his 4th birthday party.  Initially, I didn't even plan to have a kid party, as JBS didn't have his first friend party until he was five.  When I told JLS this, he said, "What about my fwends?"  Recognizing that we moved to Houston one month before JBS' 4th birthday and we didn't have friends to invite, I relented.  It broke my heart to not let JLS invite his "fwends."  Sooo, we are having a small party at our pool on Saturday.  At first, JBS wanted a "Robin" party, as in Batman and Robin.  Then, he wanted another Batman party, then it was Darth Vader, which I convinced him to have R2D2 since I already had the cake pan :)  Ultimately, he decided upon Transformers....Bumblebee to be exact.  This mom is less than excited about making a Transformer cake, in fact, the cake pan is so boring and ugly, that I might set my commitment to cake-making aside this party and order the Transformer cake from HEB.

The boy is crazy for Bumblebee.  You  might recall potty training?  It was the Bumblebee underwear he didn't want to tarnish and ultimately potty-trained my child.  I should LOVE Bumblebee. 

Since we are having a very small party with just some neighborhood friends that I planned at the last minute, I called on Paulie to work up some fabulous invitations.  When I received the proof, I knew JLS would love them.  I called JLS in to the computer and told him I had a surprise for him.  I pulled up the proof of his birthday invitation and his chin dropped.  He looked at me with his cute little smirk and said, "Mom, I just don't believe it!"  It was hilarious.  And the invite was quite impressive on the screen.  Once again, Paulie pulled through in the clutch for me...and for JLS.

Yesterday morning, Grammy and Big Daddy wanted JLS to open their packages via Skype.  How fun is that?  A virtual grandparent party.  So, JLS sat in front of the computer with Grammy and Big Daddy and opened....a Bumblee costume.  To top it off, JBS received....an Optimus Prime costume.  The boys were so excited.  JLS walked in the door after school yesterday and said, "Bake!  Let's go play Transformers!"  "Yeah!"  "Yeah!" and they were off.  The best part was this.  They both came downstairs dressed in their complete costumes....with cowboy boots and  their holsters with guns.  Unfortunately, I could not contain my laughter and they refused a picture.  It was the cutest thing ever.  But don't worry.  I will get that picture someday soon.  It was priceless.

To Bumblebee!!

A Heart of Gold

Today, my JLS turned four!  Holy cow!  Where does the time go?  The first two years of his life seemed to take an eternity with his (and thus, my) lack of sleep.  Since then, time has flown.  It just occurred to me that we moved to Texas when JLS was still in a crib.  Wow!  It is sad to me that JLS has no memories of Tulsa and JBS' are fleeting.  They are both true Texas boys now...

Last week was Teacher Appreciation at our school.  The mom's prepared a brunch for them one day and a lunch another day.  On the last day, the kids were asked to make a card for their teachers and bring each teacher a flower.  The flower thing was new to us when we moved here, but such a great idea.  Each child brings one flower and puts it in their teacher's vase.  In the end, each teacher has a beautiful assortment of flowers from the kids.  My boys love being a part of this.

So, the night before "card day," I told both JLS and JBS to make a card for their teachers.  JBS made great cards, as he can read, write, and draw a card for each teacher on his own.  JLS wanted to do the same.  After some time, JLS came downstairs and asked for tape.  His precious card was truly his own creation.  He had torn two pieces of spiral bound paper from a book, drawn a picture on each and decided to tape them together. (He has 2 teachers, so I wasn't completely following the logic, but let him do what he wanted.)  Then, he returned upstairs and proudly brought his very deflated Chick-fil-a balloon down from his room and attached it to their card.  He loved that balloon.  I had a flashback to his Darth Vader sacrifice for Will. 

Friday morning, he strutted in to school with his hand-scribbled notes and deflated balloon as the sweetest gesture of appreciation for his teachers, completely unaware of the other kids' cute mother-guided notes.  I wasn't able to walk him in that day, so I sent his sweet teacher a note via FB over the weekend telling her that as "sad" as the balloon and notes looked they were straight from his heart.  This was her response:

"I saw that balloon and the handmade note I wanted to cry. Luke is such a sweetheart and to know that he wanted to do it himself....makes me feel really special. He is an amazing little guy! I love the balloon too! Flat as it is, it is taped to the class door! I can see why he was proud, I was proud to receive it!"

When I walked him in to his classroom yesterday I asked to see the door.  There, among all the pretty and perfect notes that other mother's made for their kids was JLS's precious deflated balloon and drawings he made for his teachers.  I am so grateful for his wonderful teachers and even more grateful that they understood his mess of scribbles, tape and a flat Chick-fil-a balloon was a masterpiece in his eyes and made especially for them from the depths of his precious little heart.

Sweet Sickie

Unbeknownst to me, the first sign of illness in sweet WHS would be that his eczema flares on his face. We finally got the eczema under control a few weeks ago by switching his formula to a soy-based formula.  I was so thrilled that we could finally take his "6 months" picture...at 8 months without a red patch on his kissable cheek.  We made an appointment at one of the mall places on Thursday.  The whol crew loaded up for an exciting day at the mall...shoppping, lunch, and pictures of WHS.  The boys were thrilled.  Between the time that we left the house and arrived at our appointment, WHS' poor face had flared, even in places that had never flared before.  I was so sad for him, as I was sure it was uncomfortable and at a total loss for how to help him.  We cancelled our appointment and headed home.

By the evening he felt warm, but I suspected tooth number three might be rearing its ugly head.  Friday was fabulous for me, as I was able to get a hair cut and (sound the horns) a massage and (more horns) lunch with friends while our wonderful babysitter, Cathy, watched WHS.  While I was basking in the real world, Cathy called me and said, "Something's not right."  WHS was getting progressively worse.  He was puny, warm to the touch, and whiney.  Whiney is something WHS is not.  The poor baby was up all night that night and was raging hot.  Tylenol didn't work, Motrin kind of worked....praise the LORD for a Saturday clinic at our doctor's office.  By the time we arrived he had dark circles under his eyes and he looked so sad.  Even the receptionist said, "You don't look good, honey!"  While we waited for the doctor, WHS found the most entertainment in playing with the paper on the table (above).  As suspected, he had an infected ear, another on the way and infected tonsils and throat.  He was miserable.  Considering how his ears and throat looked, he was putting up a pretty good fight.

When we arrived home, I put him down for a nap around 11am.  After a full night of rocking and snuggling and comforting, I immediately followed suit.  I checked on him regularly and by 6pm I decided it was time to wake the child up!  A seven hour nap is unheard of in our house.  When I rubbed his back and said, "hello" he looked up at me with the sweetest smile, something I had not seen in two days.  I picked him up and his fever was gone!  It was a beautiful moment.  I can't be certain, but given how hot he was and how long he slept, this might have made me the most nervous of any of my kids' illnesses. That precious smile.

With medicine, we are on the mend...slowly. The kicker is that Babe got it, too.  Not sure which is worse to endure...WHS being sick or Babe.  I am just grateful that everyone is looking up, the big boys seem to be untouched and we are starting our week off well!

The Final Word on Spring Break

Heavens! It is almost summertime and I am still posting on Spring Break.  This will be the last...certainly!  So, I mentioned we had a few pretty days.  And these days were definitely spent outside...walking, playing, scooting, hiking, you name it.

Professional scooter-men...

The most serious of all...

Mr. Cool is always along for the ride...

Otherwise, he was inside entertaining himself with his beloved Exersaucer...

I love this pictures because it shows a little bit of frustration on his face.  WHS rarely shows frustration so it's fun to capture...

And, of course, where WHS usually ends up...in Big Daddy's lap.  The two snoozers always manage to find each other.  Give them just a few minutes and they will be sawing logs as a team...

Spring Break Continued

When we headed to Oklahoma, we first went to Bartlesville...for me.  I hadn't been back home in 2 years!  So, we spent a couple days at home before we headed to the lake.  And this is what our world consisted of...super heroes!  Big Daddy sure has his boys, now!

When we got to the lake, it was chilly for a couple days, warm for a couple days and then downright cold.  Here's to the chilly days...A nice campfire to roast S'mores...

The campfire master and head chef...

Remember that armadillo?  Here is his remnants...

WHS and I trying to partake...it was just too cold for us Houstonians...

Bird watching with Big Daddy...They had an owl spotted in the trees.

And the very next day...birdwatching proved to be a little prettier and MUCH colder...

Oklahoma weather never disappoints!

This Toot Can Scoot

When I said it was all going to move quickly, I didn't know we would hit 2 big milestones in a weeks time.  My precious WHS cut TWO teeth at once and my babysitter discovered them as I was running out the door to my Lasik surgery.  They are now fully functional and the child wants big boy food.  He dives at our plates at dinner time.  So far, he's dabbled in mashed potatoes and he loves loves crackers of any kind.  Unfortunately for WHS, he is still working on a pincer grasp.  When he can handle that part, he will certainly be able to shovel the food in his mouth like his brain really wants him to do....now!

On top of two new teeth, WHS can officially crawl.  He works hard on his skills in his bed in the mornings, until the big toots crawl in and cramp his style.  Sunday, JBS and I were playing Wii Fit together with WHS rolling around the room.  He loves to be on all fours and rock and roll.  He is so proud.   At the same time JBS and I looked at each other and said, "Did he just crawl?"  He did.  WHS has finally put it together that his knees and arms can work together and move him forward.  He has not mastered this art yet, but by the end of the week, I am certain he will be cruisin'. 

WHS is developing his personality for sure.  Make no mistake he is still my laid back kind of dude with his foot propped (at all times) outside his car seat, his high chair and his exersaucer.  Feet are always propped.  If they aren't propped, they are in his mouth.  However, as he gains confidence in his mobility he REALLY wants to keep up with JBS and JLS.  He hops and jumps and scoots and makes any movement to try to get up and at 'em.  Be certain, he WILL be a force to be reckoned with when he gets his groove on.

Mother's Day

My Mother's Day was fabulous.  JBS and JLS had been discussing their plans for at least a week.  Obviously, the talk in school was about Mother's Day with their precious art projects that were starting to come home.  JBS was intent upon making me breakfast in bed, so twist my arm.  Babe asked what my request was on Saturday and I wanted Bird-drop biscuits (a family specialty), sausage and scrambled eggs.  Delish!

I woke up Sunday morning to JBS in my bed singing, "Happy Mother's Day!" while JBS and Babe immediately headed for the kitchen.  I was instructed to stay in bed, which is no easy task for a mother who hears pots and pans crashing, a baby crying, and a 3 year-old calling for someone to wipe his bottom!  I pulled the covers up over my head and held my breath as I drifted in and out of sleep until my fabulous breakfast arrived.  One day out of the year and it was fantastic to lounge in bed...like life before kids.  The boys gave me a bouquet of flowers, multiple masterpieces, a "Bath Bomb" and a massage at Villa Sport.  (This was encouraged on my part, as you get 2 hours of child care at my gym if you use the spa...how smart is that?)

We headed to church where we heard a wonderful sermon on mothers and I received more precious pieces of artwork.  When we got home, we put WHS down for a nap at 1pm and I followed shortly thereafter.  It was so nice to know Babe was in charge and also being intent, myself, on not tackling any laundry or housework and just enjoying my day.  WHS and I both woke up in the four o'clock hour.  Seriously!  I took a 3 hour nap.  Honestly, it was not as great as it sounds, as I got so much sleep that I woke up feeling even more tired.

Babe cooked out while I played catch with my future major-leaguer.  WHS watched from his high chair and JLS swung from the play house in full Batman regalia.  How does life get better than this?

At one point during dinner, JLS looked at me and said, "I wuv you Mommy."  When he saw how happy that made me, he hugged me and looked up at me and said, "Except on Fursdays.  I don't like you on Fursdays."  I made a sad face and said, "But I like you ALL the time!"  So he said, "Don't look at me and let me fink about it.  Let me fink."  A few minutes later he deduced that he liked me on "Fursdays," too.  (Thank goodness!)

All those mornings of lounging in bed prior to kids are not worth missing any of this.  Even if I only get one morning a year.  Until next year...

Fishin'

My, oh my, how my boys love to fish.  The best part about it is that they both can fish on their own now.  Reverting back to Spring Break, we have many a fishing picture of the boys.  Fishing is always at the top of the list for all of the boys, G2 included.  Even better, the boys are old enough to walk down to the pond alone.  G2 is 8, JBS is 6 and JLS is 3 going on 16.  With JBS keeping an eye on things, JLS is just fine.  Plus, I can sit on the deck and have a good eye on the boys should they need anything.  The kicker is the little 3 year-old toot refuses to use a kids pole.  He won a Shrek pole at a fishing tournament there when he was 2.  Everyone was impressed with his desire to fish and he was the youngest one out there.  Unfortunately, in JLS' eyes that Shrek pole is for "bebe's."  So, Big Daddy strung up a big pole for JLS.

Between G2 and JBS, each of the boys can get their hooks baited, they can cast their own lines and reel them in.  And I still haven't had to let them in on the little secret that I know how to do it all, too.  For now, I allow it to be a Daddy or Big Daddy activity.  Someday I will shock them by baiting my own hook and tossing a line in the water.  Until then, it's our secret.  I am thrilled to just be sitting in the peaceful house with no one wanting me for anything at all.  Nothing....aaahhh!

I love this child...

And this one, too.  Short of the Paul Frank Tee and neon orange OSU pants, this one could have been a portrait fit for a magazine...

The 3 steps of casting that Grammy was so proud of her little JLS...

All the little fisherman trying to earn their keep...

By the way, JLS doesn't count those "bebe" fish.  They have to be big ones to be worth reporting...