Some information taken from http://www.redenvelopeday.com/index.html
When: March 31st, 2009
Get a red envelope. You can buy them at office or party supply stores.
On the front, address it to:
President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington , D.C. 20500
On the back, write the following message:
This envelope represents one child who died because of an abortion. It is empty because the life that was taken is now unable to be a part of our world.
Please mail the envelopes with us on March 31st, 2009. Not before and not after. If we all do this together, then the President will be overwhelmed with our message in a short amount of time.
If you agree with our motivation, please forward this event to every one of your friends who you think would send one too. There were 50 million children in the United States that died without having a chance to live. We are hoping to match that number with these red envelopes.
Those who believe abortion is wrong find it hard to use their voice and when they do, they are left feeling ashamed. I believe it is true that those who feel abortion is wrong are in a minority.
So find yourself a red envelope and help us show the President that we have found our voice and what we have to say needs to be heard.
Yo
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Back to life, back to reality....
Hey all -
I'm saying back to reality because staying at The Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs was most definitely not my reality!
If you have no idea what I'm talking about, then you need to read my blog updates more often! :P Quick background - because of Facebook, I found an old friend who couldn't brush me off so easily like she has in the past. (Love you, Katie!) She hasn't been very good about keeping in touch, but she was getting better at it and we both started talking about my flying out there to see her (it's been 10 years). We planned on my coming out there before Bryce turned two in mid May, leaving on a weekend and being gone a couple week days, which meant Devin would have to be taken to day care until I returned. Then my husband found out that the conference he would be going to over the week of his birthday would be in Colorado Springs. My sweet hubby suggested I come along with him, that is, of course, if I could find someone to take care of the boys while we were gone.
I was short on time because the tickets needed to be bought fairly quickly. I called my parents who said they'd have to check their calenders and while I waited I called my sister Amanda who said she would do it if my parents were unavailable. Thankfully my parents came through for me, so a ticket to Colorado was mine!
My parents arrived late last Saturday afternoon. On Sunday morning we took them to their first NE Ohio pancake breakfast which is a big deal around here. They tasted the sweet nectar of our local trees atop pancakes that soaked up the thin syrup like a sponge. By the end of the day they said they felt they had a handle on the boys' routine, so Tim and I packed up and headed to the airport to catch an 8:00 A.M. flight Monday morning.
It got very windy that night but the rain stopped and we were airborne without a problem and headed for Houston. Every seat on that plane was taken. Anything left open was filled by passengers waiting on stand by. Like my hubby, the man in the window seat must be a frequent traveler because his eyes were closed when we buckled ourselves in and didn't open once during the two hour and forty minute flight south. He shifted a bit, but he never looked upon the wonder outside that window. I hadn't flown since our flight to Florida back in 2004 when we boarded a cruise ship, so my eyes were glued to that small portal for some time.
We had about an hour layover in Texas and then we boarded a much smaller plane, two seats on one side of an aisle, one seat on the other. Tim told me that most of his travel time was spent on these smaller and much louder planes. I had the window seat this flight and even though I've seen it before, I was just in awe at the marvel that is air travel. Until we were embraced by the clouds, I looked down at the landscape like it was all a model, a child's play land or an adults hobby town. But then, ugh, I remembered I hadn't taken out a piece of chewing gum. It not only helps the ears but it calms my stomach and head.
We landed in the second largest state without incident and walked to our rental car. Seeing what they assigned us I had to wonder if Enterprise felt we deserved something nicer than the typical four door vehicle. Did they know I was a mini van mom, soon to be driving to practices and games (more of that later), or see Tim as the truck guy that is and will forever be? They gave us a silver Dodge Charger. It didn't take long for my hubby to roll down the windows and crank up that base! He sure did look good behind the wheel! :P
We cruised to the hotel where we were greeted by a gentleman in a suit. He welcomed us to The Broadmoor, gave us a colored map and verbal directions to where our room was inside the West Tower. He also put a cream colored placard with a computer print out of our last name. We drove up what I'm sure in warmer months is a well groomed drive and pulled in under a two columned overhang and were greeted by two handsome valets. One opened the door for me and then took our bags out of the trunk while the other opened the door for Tim and then drove the Dodge away. Both took notice of our name behind the windshield and greeted us formally. That was the first sign of the little details that makes The Broadmoor stand out among other hotels (but not like I've been to a lot!).
If I remember right, the hotel was built in 1918 and it still had probably the same look as when those gold colored trim glass doors first opened! I like flowers and all, but there was way too many of those prints for my liking. I don't think there was a single stretch of carpet that wasn't all flowers or bordered in flowers. All the chairs were high backed and comfortable, most a thick dark wood with tasteful designs carved along the majority of the exposed wood. To save time for all of us, let's just say we were treated like celebrities.
We asked the valet to keep the car close as we were just dropping off our bags. One thing I wasn't prepared for was how often I interacted with a hotel employee and felt I needed to tip. Tim didn't have anything to give the man who wheeled our bags up to our room. I had a five dollar bill but thought that was too much to give him. However, during the walk to the elevator he told us some of the history of the hotel, where we could find what we needed while there and some local attractions we might want to visit. He was very well spoken and a wonderful representative of the hotel. He deserved that five dollar bill of mine.
Once back out in the car, I set up Richard (my TomTom GPS unit) and looked up the Air Force Academy and saw it was about 15 miles away. We took the exit to the visitor's center and were surprised that the building was inside the main gate. We pulled up to a female soldier who asked Tim for his ID, his reason for being there, where the rental car was from and looked in both the back seat and the trunk. I lived four years on a base in Utah and never had my car searched, but I can understand her precautions. Along the two mile stretch to the visitor's center we passed a couple of scenic pull overs which we enjoyed on that windy day. I don't remember for sure, but I think the only picture I saved from that trip is the one of the chapel. The day was grey with brown grass and naked trees. It just didn't make for a pretty picture.
There was a small museum in the visitor's center. It consisted mostly cadet pictures and what they have to do to be accepted and what they do while there. It also had a dedication to the first academy graduate to get the purple heart. Tim wanted to get himself a shirt, but they were very pricey. I had my eyes on a pair of earrings but changed my mind. I did pick up a toy jet for Devin.
Afterwards we headed back out and stopped at a liquor store and picked up a bottle of wine. We were going to see Brandon, a high school classmate of Tim's, and his wife for dinner and weren't sure what to bring. We picked a bottle that goes with everything and found we need not have worried as they love all wine and had two wine racks plus a bar full of other yummy adult beverages. While the men took the biggest hunks of meat I have ever seen outside to the grill, I stayed in the kitchen and drank a Corona with a fresh lime and chatted with the lady of the house and the cutest one year old blondie I have ever met. The children's names are alluding me, but they have a four year old boy and their daughter just turned one. Even though her mama says she was sick, the little thing was an adorable ray of sunshine on that chilly evening. Her laugh was the softest I had heard in a toddler and it was contagious.
Tim doesn't know this but I saved him from a serving of peas! Along with fresh steak we were being served salad with veggies, mashed potatoes and it would have been peas if I hadn't shared the fact that Tim has banned the small green balls from touching any of his dinner plates. So instead we got sweet corn kernels and they had chocolate chip and macadamia nut cookies for dessert. Oh, yes. I also had a few too many glasses of wine.... If you've read my geocaching blog then you already know that I missed breakfast with my hubby and couldn't get out of bed until almost noon! If not, click here after you've spent all your time reading this one! :P It was an enjoyable evening and I'm glad we got to see Brandon after all these years and meet his wonderful family.
To find out what I did with a hangover echoing through my head, read the blog I mentioned above. Afterwards, I headed over to see an old classmate of mine. One I hadn't seen in just about ten years! Katie has lived in Colorado a few years now. Before then she was in Virginia, but has now found a good place in the high altitudes of the Centennial State.
I hadn't traveled all that way to do anything special. Just seeing her and reminiscing was my primary objective. I actually arrived at her house about a minute before Katie did, so it was her "Mini Me" who answered the door. Rae-Ann looks so much like her mom, I thought I had gone back in time. That moment was one of many I would have of Katie in her younger years. Some of those looks...whoa!
Katie and I decided to go out for a couple hours by ourselves. There was a Mexican restaurant down the street where we could talk about the good 'ole days. Besides Rae, there was the oldest Martin, or Marty, and then the middle child, Taylor, whom Katie referred to as Stump. I hadn't heard her younger brother Kris's nickname in a very long time! I could see Kris there in Taylor and I think the trophies on the wall reflect some of his uncle's great sportsmanship.
However, the kids weren't all that keen on letting us go. I asked them if I could have their mom for an hour or two because I hadn't seen her for many years. They said OK, but we would soon find out that they didn't mean it. They acted out as kids tend to do. It started not long after we sat down with a phone call from one of the boys saying that he got into a fight with his brother and Marty's glasses were broken. The eatery was slow and dinner arrived not long after, but Katie had only just begun enjoying her Spanish rice when her cell phone rang again. Her other son was calling to tell her that they had now broken the leg off the small table by the front door. Katie predicted that Rae would soon call because the other two did, and she was right! We finished up and headed back to the house where Katie asked me to stay behind in her Jeep. What was said between her and the children is for her and them alone, I'll just tell you that while eating some ice cream at the local Dairy Queen, Katie experienced another blast from the past. We couldn't text on cell phones back when we were young, but Rae-Ann used this technology to fulfill the wish Katie's mom once hoped for years ago; that her daughter would have a daughter of her own that would do unto her all that Katie had done to her mom. In Rae-Ann was all the drama young Katie had layered on her mom over the years. Hmmm. Maybe I should stop complaining about having all boys? :)
I was out late that night, but there was still a shivering valet waiting to take my car. I saw no one in the hallways or the elevator and my hubby was snoring when I let myself into the room. The next morning I headed over to Katie's again. I didn't have to share her with the kids as they are all in school. We had plans to meet another old school mate, Tom, but when Katie called and said we were on our way into Denver, he said he wasn't feeling well and to have lunch without him. So instead Katie showed me the good and the not so good side of the city. We eventually slid into a Wendy's and had a simple lunch with a lot of talk. Right as we were about to order Tom called and said he was ready for lunch. He was on the other side of town and we were hungry, so we said we'd come over when we finished. What I remember most about the city is the new football stadium. It's not a closed circle but is open on two of the sides and the tops of those sides make a wave instead of being circular. Also, when no one is in the seats you can see the color is blue, but in the middle of one side you can see a horse made up of white colored seats with two red ones for the eyes.
With the delay before seeing Tom we could only stay a couple hours. It was great seeing him after all these years and apparently he has a much better memory than I do! Some things I remembered, like him being the first boy to give me a pair of earrings, but other things, like my telling him to get off the back of my tandem bike and leaving him behind, I don't remember. He says it's because he was shaking the bike and made us fall, and if that's true then it serves him right! LOL
We headed back to Katie's to discover along the route that my dinner plans had been cancelled. I came into the house with Katie and we discussed with the kids what we should do. A few ideas were tossed back and forth but none of them panned out because of time, money or lack of desire. Katie suggested I tell them what geocaching was all about. At the time I didn't think she was truly interested, but we had nothing else to do and the kids perked up at such a strange word.
I told them briefly what it was and showed them on their computer where to go. They said they wanted to try it so we all climbed into Katie's Jeep and I put my GPS in her window and told them what it was and what it would do for us. (I'm not going into a full description about it. If you'd like one, please see my other blog.) I had found two caches hidden not far from each other less than two miles from the house. When I shared the name with them Taylor knew right away where it probably was. The names are usually a clue of some sort, either in location or a hint of some sort of the actual hiding spot. Once there I showed them my handheld GPS and how my hubby gave me this one because it was more rugged and made for being carried by hand, unlike my TomTom on their mom's windshield which can break if dropped and the antenna would be covered if I were to carry it outside the car.
Skipping over the details here, I'll say all three kids and their mom were hooked! Katie has since, with the kids and with adults, found five caches and she's only been doing it a week!
On Thursday Katie was supposed to work but she decided to play hookey and came up (or was it down?) to the hotel to have lunch with Tim and I. After that she wanted to find one more cache with me. It was great seeing her and now she won't be able to get rid of me! :P
Later that evening my GPS led me to an old stone church that had been refurbished and turned into a restaurant and bar. There I met one more childhood friend. Erika left the school we both went to back in the 3rd grade. It was my good luck that my hubby had a biz trip in that state and even better luck that three people from my past were able to meet up with me. She didn't have a lot of time, but in that short span we shared memories of people, places and things. It was great seeing all of them again. We've exchanged phone numbers and emails and I'm hoping we'll stick to our promise of keeping in touch.
On Friday morning we returned our flashy rental car and boarded the same flight we took to get there and backtracked. Our layover in TX went by so fast that when we arrived at our gate they had already been boarding the plane for twenty minutes. Like our flights to Colorado, the flights back to Cleveland were booked full. I had a window seat again in one, and like before, the man with the best view in that tin can closed the blind half way and went to sleep in the other.
Our last flight was full of bumpy turbulence, but that wind helped us along and we landed 30 minutes early. We caught a shuttle to the truck and I called the house to let them know we were on our way. My parents had a couple problems with some things inside the house, but it sounded like the boys were wonderful and it was overall a great time. My parents were quick out the door the next morning, skipping breakfast and on the road before 9:00. It wasn't because we were back and they wanted out as fast as possible, (at least that's what they led me to believe! LOL) but because my grandma back in Michigan was in need of their assistance and they wanted to get back for her.
OK. That took forever. A couple things I'd like to say about my boys. Number one is a question to myself. Why, oh, please tell me why, did I go through the effort of scrubbing the walls of pen, marker, crayon and pencil when there is still a toddler who doesn't know any better in the house?!? Hunter prefers a pencil because it's easier to erase and they don't use pens all that much in school, but he was writing a letter to his cousin and I wanted him to use a pen so it wouldn't smear. I think some blame should fall on Hunter. Why he pushes his chair in every other time but not this one is beyond me, but he left the chair out and the pen in the open position. Bryce almost always sits next to his brother at the table. Many a picture I have taken with Hunter doing his homework and Bryce scribbling on paper next to him. Hunter left, Bryce switched chairs. First Bryce turned the page of the notebook, leaving Hunter's letter clean of ink scribbles but covering his homework on the next page. Then he made circles and lines all over my Amish made table, which bothered me the most, then he climbed down and left his mark all over both sides of the dining room half of the kitchen island. He was decorating the second side when I found him. I won't be cleaning that again any time soon.
Dev is doing great. The weather is warmer so he's been going in and out about twenty times a day. He loves his big Santa gift. He drives that Jeep all over the back yard and we've been out to the pond to feed the fish. He doesn't mind Bryce as a passenger and neither of them want to come inside, even when the light is fading and the cold air comes back to remind us that summer isn't here quite yet! He can't seem to hush up and has even corrected me when he thinks I say something wrong. Like 55 minutes on the timer isn't 55, it's 5-5 minutes. He also reminds me to turn off the light when leaving a room and, listen to this! If I'm dumping poo in the toilet and don't close the lid, he tells me to put both seats down! Hooray! LOL
Hunter Bud has gotten himself in trouble three times this week. Devin had been hitting him and instead of telling me, Hunter kicked him in the crotch. They were downstairs when I heard Devin start screaming and crying. He was able to tell me what happened and Hunter hung his head because he knew it was wrong...or he was mad he got caught. We had to have a talk about that and then a few days ago he lied about what homework he had (it was a writing assignment), saying he was only supposed to read from his Ohio History book when he was supposed to write a letter to a pretend friend saying why he signed his name to the Declaration of Independence. I didn't realize this until I was helping him gather his things back together to put in his book bag and glanced at his planner. It was bed time already so instead of getting up and watching cartoons in the morning, a fresh piece of paper and sharpened pencil were waiting for him.
The third incident happened just today (Thursday). I asked him what homework he had and he pulled out a two sided math work sheet and said he had to write a comparison between what he eats today and what the settlers ate back in the late 1700's. Wow, I said, that's the most homework you've had at one time. I asked if he had OT or ST because he leaves the room to work elsewhere and sometimes misses out on classwork, but then I read the following in the communication notebook:
Hunter has a ton of work. I asked him to stop reading. He did not stop and most of what he is bringing home is "in-class" work. Check planner.
I'm saying back to reality because staying at The Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs was most definitely not my reality!
If you have no idea what I'm talking about, then you need to read my blog updates more often! :P Quick background - because of Facebook, I found an old friend who couldn't brush me off so easily like she has in the past. (Love you, Katie!) She hasn't been very good about keeping in touch, but she was getting better at it and we both started talking about my flying out there to see her (it's been 10 years). We planned on my coming out there before Bryce turned two in mid May, leaving on a weekend and being gone a couple week days, which meant Devin would have to be taken to day care until I returned. Then my husband found out that the conference he would be going to over the week of his birthday would be in Colorado Springs. My sweet hubby suggested I come along with him, that is, of course, if I could find someone to take care of the boys while we were gone.
I was short on time because the tickets needed to be bought fairly quickly. I called my parents who said they'd have to check their calenders and while I waited I called my sister Amanda who said she would do it if my parents were unavailable. Thankfully my parents came through for me, so a ticket to Colorado was mine!
My parents arrived late last Saturday afternoon. On Sunday morning we took them to their first NE Ohio pancake breakfast which is a big deal around here. They tasted the sweet nectar of our local trees atop pancakes that soaked up the thin syrup like a sponge. By the end of the day they said they felt they had a handle on the boys' routine, so Tim and I packed up and headed to the airport to catch an 8:00 A.M. flight Monday morning.
It got very windy that night but the rain stopped and we were airborne without a problem and headed for Houston. Every seat on that plane was taken. Anything left open was filled by passengers waiting on stand by. Like my hubby, the man in the window seat must be a frequent traveler because his eyes were closed when we buckled ourselves in and didn't open once during the two hour and forty minute flight south. He shifted a bit, but he never looked upon the wonder outside that window. I hadn't flown since our flight to Florida back in 2004 when we boarded a cruise ship, so my eyes were glued to that small portal for some time.
We had about an hour layover in Texas and then we boarded a much smaller plane, two seats on one side of an aisle, one seat on the other. Tim told me that most of his travel time was spent on these smaller and much louder planes. I had the window seat this flight and even though I've seen it before, I was just in awe at the marvel that is air travel. Until we were embraced by the clouds, I looked down at the landscape like it was all a model, a child's play land or an adults hobby town. But then, ugh, I remembered I hadn't taken out a piece of chewing gum. It not only helps the ears but it calms my stomach and head.
We landed in the second largest state without incident and walked to our rental car. Seeing what they assigned us I had to wonder if Enterprise felt we deserved something nicer than the typical four door vehicle. Did they know I was a mini van mom, soon to be driving to practices and games (more of that later), or see Tim as the truck guy that is and will forever be? They gave us a silver Dodge Charger. It didn't take long for my hubby to roll down the windows and crank up that base! He sure did look good behind the wheel! :P
We cruised to the hotel where we were greeted by a gentleman in a suit. He welcomed us to The Broadmoor, gave us a colored map and verbal directions to where our room was inside the West Tower. He also put a cream colored placard with a computer print out of our last name. We drove up what I'm sure in warmer months is a well groomed drive and pulled in under a two columned overhang and were greeted by two handsome valets. One opened the door for me and then took our bags out of the trunk while the other opened the door for Tim and then drove the Dodge away. Both took notice of our name behind the windshield and greeted us formally. That was the first sign of the little details that makes The Broadmoor stand out among other hotels (but not like I've been to a lot!).
If I remember right, the hotel was built in 1918 and it still had probably the same look as when those gold colored trim glass doors first opened! I like flowers and all, but there was way too many of those prints for my liking. I don't think there was a single stretch of carpet that wasn't all flowers or bordered in flowers. All the chairs were high backed and comfortable, most a thick dark wood with tasteful designs carved along the majority of the exposed wood. To save time for all of us, let's just say we were treated like celebrities.
We asked the valet to keep the car close as we were just dropping off our bags. One thing I wasn't prepared for was how often I interacted with a hotel employee and felt I needed to tip. Tim didn't have anything to give the man who wheeled our bags up to our room. I had a five dollar bill but thought that was too much to give him. However, during the walk to the elevator he told us some of the history of the hotel, where we could find what we needed while there and some local attractions we might want to visit. He was very well spoken and a wonderful representative of the hotel. He deserved that five dollar bill of mine.
Once back out in the car, I set up Richard (my TomTom GPS unit) and looked up the Air Force Academy and saw it was about 15 miles away. We took the exit to the visitor's center and were surprised that the building was inside the main gate. We pulled up to a female soldier who asked Tim for his ID, his reason for being there, where the rental car was from and looked in both the back seat and the trunk. I lived four years on a base in Utah and never had my car searched, but I can understand her precautions. Along the two mile stretch to the visitor's center we passed a couple of scenic pull overs which we enjoyed on that windy day. I don't remember for sure, but I think the only picture I saved from that trip is the one of the chapel. The day was grey with brown grass and naked trees. It just didn't make for a pretty picture.
There was a small museum in the visitor's center. It consisted mostly cadet pictures and what they have to do to be accepted and what they do while there. It also had a dedication to the first academy graduate to get the purple heart. Tim wanted to get himself a shirt, but they were very pricey. I had my eyes on a pair of earrings but changed my mind. I did pick up a toy jet for Devin.
Afterwards we headed back out and stopped at a liquor store and picked up a bottle of wine. We were going to see Brandon, a high school classmate of Tim's, and his wife for dinner and weren't sure what to bring. We picked a bottle that goes with everything and found we need not have worried as they love all wine and had two wine racks plus a bar full of other yummy adult beverages. While the men took the biggest hunks of meat I have ever seen outside to the grill, I stayed in the kitchen and drank a Corona with a fresh lime and chatted with the lady of the house and the cutest one year old blondie I have ever met. The children's names are alluding me, but they have a four year old boy and their daughter just turned one. Even though her mama says she was sick, the little thing was an adorable ray of sunshine on that chilly evening. Her laugh was the softest I had heard in a toddler and it was contagious.
Tim doesn't know this but I saved him from a serving of peas! Along with fresh steak we were being served salad with veggies, mashed potatoes and it would have been peas if I hadn't shared the fact that Tim has banned the small green balls from touching any of his dinner plates. So instead we got sweet corn kernels and they had chocolate chip and macadamia nut cookies for dessert. Oh, yes. I also had a few too many glasses of wine.... If you've read my geocaching blog then you already know that I missed breakfast with my hubby and couldn't get out of bed until almost noon! If not, click here after you've spent all your time reading this one! :P It was an enjoyable evening and I'm glad we got to see Brandon after all these years and meet his wonderful family.
To find out what I did with a hangover echoing through my head, read the blog I mentioned above. Afterwards, I headed over to see an old classmate of mine. One I hadn't seen in just about ten years! Katie has lived in Colorado a few years now. Before then she was in Virginia, but has now found a good place in the high altitudes of the Centennial State.
I hadn't traveled all that way to do anything special. Just seeing her and reminiscing was my primary objective. I actually arrived at her house about a minute before Katie did, so it was her "Mini Me" who answered the door. Rae-Ann looks so much like her mom, I thought I had gone back in time. That moment was one of many I would have of Katie in her younger years. Some of those looks...whoa!
Katie and I decided to go out for a couple hours by ourselves. There was a Mexican restaurant down the street where we could talk about the good 'ole days. Besides Rae, there was the oldest Martin, or Marty, and then the middle child, Taylor, whom Katie referred to as Stump. I hadn't heard her younger brother Kris's nickname in a very long time! I could see Kris there in Taylor and I think the trophies on the wall reflect some of his uncle's great sportsmanship.
However, the kids weren't all that keen on letting us go. I asked them if I could have their mom for an hour or two because I hadn't seen her for many years. They said OK, but we would soon find out that they didn't mean it. They acted out as kids tend to do. It started not long after we sat down with a phone call from one of the boys saying that he got into a fight with his brother and Marty's glasses were broken. The eatery was slow and dinner arrived not long after, but Katie had only just begun enjoying her Spanish rice when her cell phone rang again. Her other son was calling to tell her that they had now broken the leg off the small table by the front door. Katie predicted that Rae would soon call because the other two did, and she was right! We finished up and headed back to the house where Katie asked me to stay behind in her Jeep. What was said between her and the children is for her and them alone, I'll just tell you that while eating some ice cream at the local Dairy Queen, Katie experienced another blast from the past. We couldn't text on cell phones back when we were young, but Rae-Ann used this technology to fulfill the wish Katie's mom once hoped for years ago; that her daughter would have a daughter of her own that would do unto her all that Katie had done to her mom. In Rae-Ann was all the drama young Katie had layered on her mom over the years. Hmmm. Maybe I should stop complaining about having all boys? :)
I was out late that night, but there was still a shivering valet waiting to take my car. I saw no one in the hallways or the elevator and my hubby was snoring when I let myself into the room. The next morning I headed over to Katie's again. I didn't have to share her with the kids as they are all in school. We had plans to meet another old school mate, Tom, but when Katie called and said we were on our way into Denver, he said he wasn't feeling well and to have lunch without him. So instead Katie showed me the good and the not so good side of the city. We eventually slid into a Wendy's and had a simple lunch with a lot of talk. Right as we were about to order Tom called and said he was ready for lunch. He was on the other side of town and we were hungry, so we said we'd come over when we finished. What I remember most about the city is the new football stadium. It's not a closed circle but is open on two of the sides and the tops of those sides make a wave instead of being circular. Also, when no one is in the seats you can see the color is blue, but in the middle of one side you can see a horse made up of white colored seats with two red ones for the eyes.
With the delay before seeing Tom we could only stay a couple hours. It was great seeing him after all these years and apparently he has a much better memory than I do! Some things I remembered, like him being the first boy to give me a pair of earrings, but other things, like my telling him to get off the back of my tandem bike and leaving him behind, I don't remember. He says it's because he was shaking the bike and made us fall, and if that's true then it serves him right! LOL
We headed back to Katie's to discover along the route that my dinner plans had been cancelled. I came into the house with Katie and we discussed with the kids what we should do. A few ideas were tossed back and forth but none of them panned out because of time, money or lack of desire. Katie suggested I tell them what geocaching was all about. At the time I didn't think she was truly interested, but we had nothing else to do and the kids perked up at such a strange word.
I told them briefly what it was and showed them on their computer where to go. They said they wanted to try it so we all climbed into Katie's Jeep and I put my GPS in her window and told them what it was and what it would do for us. (I'm not going into a full description about it. If you'd like one, please see my other blog.) I had found two caches hidden not far from each other less than two miles from the house. When I shared the name with them Taylor knew right away where it probably was. The names are usually a clue of some sort, either in location or a hint of some sort of the actual hiding spot. Once there I showed them my handheld GPS and how my hubby gave me this one because it was more rugged and made for being carried by hand, unlike my TomTom on their mom's windshield which can break if dropped and the antenna would be covered if I were to carry it outside the car.
Skipping over the details here, I'll say all three kids and their mom were hooked! Katie has since, with the kids and with adults, found five caches and she's only been doing it a week!
On Thursday Katie was supposed to work but she decided to play hookey and came up (or was it down?) to the hotel to have lunch with Tim and I. After that she wanted to find one more cache with me. It was great seeing her and now she won't be able to get rid of me! :P
Later that evening my GPS led me to an old stone church that had been refurbished and turned into a restaurant and bar. There I met one more childhood friend. Erika left the school we both went to back in the 3rd grade. It was my good luck that my hubby had a biz trip in that state and even better luck that three people from my past were able to meet up with me. She didn't have a lot of time, but in that short span we shared memories of people, places and things. It was great seeing all of them again. We've exchanged phone numbers and emails and I'm hoping we'll stick to our promise of keeping in touch.
On Friday morning we returned our flashy rental car and boarded the same flight we took to get there and backtracked. Our layover in TX went by so fast that when we arrived at our gate they had already been boarding the plane for twenty minutes. Like our flights to Colorado, the flights back to Cleveland were booked full. I had a window seat again in one, and like before, the man with the best view in that tin can closed the blind half way and went to sleep in the other.
Our last flight was full of bumpy turbulence, but that wind helped us along and we landed 30 minutes early. We caught a shuttle to the truck and I called the house to let them know we were on our way. My parents had a couple problems with some things inside the house, but it sounded like the boys were wonderful and it was overall a great time. My parents were quick out the door the next morning, skipping breakfast and on the road before 9:00. It wasn't because we were back and they wanted out as fast as possible, (at least that's what they led me to believe! LOL) but because my grandma back in Michigan was in need of their assistance and they wanted to get back for her.
OK. That took forever. A couple things I'd like to say about my boys. Number one is a question to myself. Why, oh, please tell me why, did I go through the effort of scrubbing the walls of pen, marker, crayon and pencil when there is still a toddler who doesn't know any better in the house?!? Hunter prefers a pencil because it's easier to erase and they don't use pens all that much in school, but he was writing a letter to his cousin and I wanted him to use a pen so it wouldn't smear. I think some blame should fall on Hunter. Why he pushes his chair in every other time but not this one is beyond me, but he left the chair out and the pen in the open position. Bryce almost always sits next to his brother at the table. Many a picture I have taken with Hunter doing his homework and Bryce scribbling on paper next to him. Hunter left, Bryce switched chairs. First Bryce turned the page of the notebook, leaving Hunter's letter clean of ink scribbles but covering his homework on the next page. Then he made circles and lines all over my Amish made table, which bothered me the most, then he climbed down and left his mark all over both sides of the dining room half of the kitchen island. He was decorating the second side when I found him. I won't be cleaning that again any time soon.
Dev is doing great. The weather is warmer so he's been going in and out about twenty times a day. He loves his big Santa gift. He drives that Jeep all over the back yard and we've been out to the pond to feed the fish. He doesn't mind Bryce as a passenger and neither of them want to come inside, even when the light is fading and the cold air comes back to remind us that summer isn't here quite yet! He can't seem to hush up and has even corrected me when he thinks I say something wrong. Like 55 minutes on the timer isn't 55, it's 5-5 minutes. He also reminds me to turn off the light when leaving a room and, listen to this! If I'm dumping poo in the toilet and don't close the lid, he tells me to put both seats down! Hooray! LOL
Hunter Bud has gotten himself in trouble three times this week. Devin had been hitting him and instead of telling me, Hunter kicked him in the crotch. They were downstairs when I heard Devin start screaming and crying. He was able to tell me what happened and Hunter hung his head because he knew it was wrong...or he was mad he got caught. We had to have a talk about that and then a few days ago he lied about what homework he had (it was a writing assignment), saying he was only supposed to read from his Ohio History book when he was supposed to write a letter to a pretend friend saying why he signed his name to the Declaration of Independence. I didn't realize this until I was helping him gather his things back together to put in his book bag and glanced at his planner. It was bed time already so instead of getting up and watching cartoons in the morning, a fresh piece of paper and sharpened pencil were waiting for him.
The third incident happened just today (Thursday). I asked him what homework he had and he pulled out a two sided math work sheet and said he had to write a comparison between what he eats today and what the settlers ate back in the late 1700's. Wow, I said, that's the most homework you've had at one time. I asked if he had OT or ST because he leaves the room to work elsewhere and sometimes misses out on classwork, but then I read the following in the communication notebook:
Hunter has a ton of work. I asked him to stop reading. He did not stop and most of what he is bringing home is "in-class" work. Check planner.
His love for books has finally gotten him in trouble. He always stopped before but it sounds like this time whatever story he was reading just wouldn't let him go. I understand that completely, but I only get in trouble with myself, or my hubby if he runs out of undies, when I choose a book over my chores. Hunter got in trouble with his teacher. I told him that what he did was disrespectful to her and that he can only read books during his free time or if he asks his teacher and she says yes. I also told him he can read a book on the bus instead of playing his Nintendo DS, but I don't think he's going to trade the video games for a book yet!
All right. I'll end this novel here. I still have quite a few new pictures to post. If you read this entire thing, I thank you! Hope you are all well. I don't have my new email up and running yet, so you can still continue to use yolandag@bpafreekids.com or hunterandyo@yahoo.com. Everyone be safe and I hope this weekend feels like spring wherever you are!
Yo
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Dear Mom and Dad. What the heck are you thinking? :)
I dedicate this update to my parents, Eldon and Kathy, who have agreed to take care of my boys next week. This is a cross between a belated update and a letter to them.
I've been delaying this update hoping I could get my website up and running. I've had enough of the poor service from my provider. I've complained about them over the years; website down, no incoming or outgoing email. Sometimes no incoming but have outgoing, sometimes vice versa. It's been pretty pathetic so I told my hubby I was going to make the change. He told me he'd find me a new provider, but the man went one step further and got things pointed in the right direction, but too soon! I didn't have my site ready to transfer over and now, poof! Gone. I've been in touch with my provider, who made a snide remark about my transferring providers as well as gave me the info I needed. I'm hoping I can figure it out myself as my hubby has been working late and would like me to do other things besides work on my site.
In the mean time, I've been doing some spring cleaning around here. From jobs as easy as dusting to a bit more in depth like cleaning and organizing closets to things that take a bit more elbow grease, like washing walls of caked on food, decorative crayon/marker/pen designs and wavy, zig zag creations of juice from the spout of a sippy cup in the pudgy hands of Bryce. I think I'm going to miss those reflections of light on those dried up liquid tracks on the walls of my hallway. There are some marks I've left alone, some I haven't gotten to yet. I'm in no hurry as I'll be cleaning them up for the next three years at least!
I considered delaying the posting of this update until after say, 10:00 A.M. Saturday morning, when you, dad and Kath, will already be on your way from Northern Michigan to NE Ohio with no Internet access and the chance to turn around. What I share in this blog entry might make you think twice, but you were game and prepared when we arrived for the Christmas holiday. After telling them about B knocking our Christmas tree over and taking off all the ornaments, and I'm sure I told them other, wonderful, memory making things as well, they came up with a solution. They picked up a live Christmas tree to avoid a repeat scenario and will be planting it whenever spring finally arrives in N. Michigan. They are two, so if they split up and each cover one half of the house, they might survive my boys OK! :P
Why, do you ask, are my parents coming to visit? Why not?? It's not just a 48 hour drop by and go, the kind we're used to around here, but they are staying for a WEEK! My wonderful, amazing, terrific, and superb mom and dad said yes to my request of caring for my boys while Tim and I left on a plane Monday through Friday. You see, my hubby has to go on another business trip. This time he's headed to Colorado Springs, CO for a conference. My thoughtful hubby remembered my interest in visiting my friend and cousin Katie who lives near Denver. We have discussed it, but never really came to a decision. Than he found out where his conference was going to be and he said if I could find someone to take the boys for that week, I was welcome to come with him.
I called my parents with high hopes, and they didn't let me down! They had to check their schedules of course, but my dad was fairly confident they could pull it off. Thanks to them I can get away for a few days and stay in a nice hotel and see people I haven't seen in years! Not only does Katie live in Colorado, but so do two other people I went to school with. I'm very excited to go and fortunate my parents gave up a week of their lives in Michigan to spend with their grandchildren. I know it's a long drive and they have their own lives. I travel so often back to Bellaire because I want my boys to know who I'm talking about when I say Grandma and Grandpa. Your saying yes and showing your excitement when we talk or in your emails proves to me that you want to be with my boys as much as I want them to be with you.
So, they will arrive here sometime Saturday afternoon. They'll take a part in the daily routine in our house, get themselves reacquainted with the surroundings and on Monday morning, take the place of Tim and I for five days. Hunter wrote them a letter to say how happy he was that they were coming and told me he hoped Devin wouldn't annoy them too much!
I'm pretty sure they'll read this before heading out, so, Dad, Kath, here are some things you can look forward to!
Bryce loves Cocoa Puffs. It's his favorite cereal. Even though it turns his poo almost black, I don't mind him eating a big dry bowl of it in the morning. One morning though, he had one of these bowls and afterwards I cleaned up his chocolate face and let him loose to continue running circles around the house. I went downstairs to fold another load of laundry and when I came back up with an armful, Bryce's mouth was dirty again. I wondered if he had found some lost Cocoa Puffs. I didn't think much of it and started down the hall to the bedrooms when Dev called out, Mom, look at his hands! I looked and they were covered in something brown...and then I breathed in that smell. A smell that seems to coat my nose even when I know no one is poopy. A stench I can pick up on in the food court of a busy shopping mall. 21 month old Bryce was covered in his own poo!
He was not just covered in it, oh, no. He was eating it! What I thought was chocolate on his face. No. It was poo. What I could see on his tongue and on his tooth. Poo. There on his shirt, his pants and in his hair. P-o-o, spells poo! So Bryce got his bath at 10:00 in the morning and he was not happy about it. Afterwards I inspected the floor, the recliner and couch, the banister and the walls, but it seems B was still focused on the poo on him and hadn't outsourced any of it yet.
You'd think I'd remember to do one simple thing. How can I not notice when I pass it by 50 times a day? You'd think I'd remember what happens when B takes notice and what I have to spend time doing afterward! I'm talking about the easy task of pushing a chair in at the table when it's not being used. My passing it over this week led to me brushing off and then vacuuming up salt he made a pile of between his legs as he sat happily in the middle of my Amish manufactured table. Hunter is very good at remembering, but he left his half drunk root beer there and Bryce helped himself to the puddle he created by climbing up from Devin's empty chair. I often let Bryce scribble on paper while Hunter is doing his homework next to him, but B thinks that sitting on the table gives him a better viewpoint of his artwork. Maybe it does!
During a wave of spring cleaning, I cleaned out and organized our craft supplies. I found an ink pad at the back of one of the drawers and decided that it shouldn't be in there. I put it on the top of the organizer to return to later. As Mommy Syndrome dictates I didn't return and it stayed there until I saw it some time later in the black hands of Bryce who was standing in the living room fussing at it with lips, teeth and a tongue as black as our lab! Not only that, but on the floor were two little ink foot prints. Now you might be asking, what were Tim and I doing while our child was eating black ink? Tim was watching TV and I was reading a book...B was right behind Tim and behind the table from me. That just goes to show you how quick and silent they can be! I think he may have shook the craft organizer trying to get a drawer open and knocked the ink off the top. I can't say where I was when that went down. I plead Mommy Syndrome.
And the last thing one should know when spending time with my Bryce is not to using a scolding voice when he's holding something hard, like a baseball! If he knows he's not supposed to have it or thinks you're going to take it from him, he'll throw it. He's Tim's boy and brother to Devin, so he throws surprisingly well and his force and aim is just right for knee height of a woman my size! (Bring your shin guards, grandma!)
Now, you might think B is sounding like a handful, but his brother is almost two years older and about a head taller. First I'll says he says the cutest things like, Let's rock and You're going down while playing pirates with his dad. After seeing me snacking on a couple small candies from Hunter's school Valentine's Day party, he brought another piece of candy to me and said, I brought you something. Can you open it for me? He can surprise you with hug requests and knows how to compliment, but what's the opposite of a sweet child?
Dev whines A LOT these days. He hollers no and cries over simple matters and has been spending time alone in his bedroom or on his bottom with his back to a wall. Hunter said the other night that Dev may hold the record for the world's biggest whiner!
When he's not whining, he goes up and down on the pee pee coaster. Sometimes he's eager to run to the toilet and use it like a big boy, and sometimes he screams and cries. I tried making it a game, like how many times can we give Mr. Potty our pee to drink and watch him swallow it down like a whirl pool. It worked great the first few days, but not so much any more. Before he would tell us when he was poopy, but now he doesn't and when we find out, he throws a fit and tries to run away. But when he does create those small bubbles he aims to pop, he is one happy little boy and eager to slap out some high fives.
And then there's our open floor plan. Our living room and dining room are together in a rectangular shape with a kitchen separated by an island that is like the tip of an arrow. It leaves plenty of room to run around in circles, which the littlest man of the house loves to do. Devin has been running circles around B for a long time, but now, Bryce is running too and soon they'll be making risky passes like Nascar drivers. Right now, though, Dev wants to crash like a race car, but the one he wants to see crash is Bryce. They'll be running in circles, Bryce leading the way laughing the entire time, when Dev will come up behind him and make his move. He puts his hands on his back and gives a little push. Usually nothing terrible happens. Bryce falls down, catching himself on hands and belly, still giggling, maybe a little gasp. But sometimes Dev gives a little bit harder push or Bryce falls on a toy or maybe Dev pushes him at the wrong place in their track like he did last week, when B fell face first into the short wall of the kitchen island. His nose was immediately bloody and cheeks streaked with tears. Devin was quick to apologize and he's been better about keeping his hands off his brother. I'd holler at him about it, had him sit on his butt enjoying nothing when I catch him, but it wasn't until I told him about what blood is and that it really hurts when you bleed that Dev took it easy with Bryce. He still pushes at his brother, but it's in the living room area, the widest part of their personal race track and not around the walls. Still he needs to be reminded and although they are having fun and it makes me smile, accidents happen.
He had a great time with a couple of sticker books. The have now been tossed out because he would stick and peel off and stick back on and peel back off until the stickers would fall out and to the floor as he walked with the book. We found stickers on our socks, on the seats of our jeans, stuck to the top of the dogs head and Kit was seen doing a little dance to get one off her foot before she tore at it with her teeth (brings back memories of my dad putting tape on the cat's feet. He did it first, Kath. Honest!). I thought I collected all the stickers but I still find some in the clean laundry or stuck to a toy.
I'm looking forward to the warmer weather. More trips to the playground, but on cold and rainy days, a trip to the soft playground in the mall is great entertainment. The last time we went Dev followed around one little girl with curly blonde hair. I tried to get a picture, but they were moving too fast. He never really said anything and she didn't mind the attention!
Even though Hunter is in school all day, it doesn't mean you can't take my place yelling at him when he's home. :) OK. Don't yell at him because he thinks he has to get up so darn early to catch the school bus. Your an early riser, Kath, so you'll probably stay up with him. Me, I rise slowly to make sure he has his lunch and he's not wearing his dad's pants and then I crawl back into my warm bed. So if you want to go back to sleep, go for it!
Don't yell at him when he gets distracted by his brothers while trying to do his homework or by his own pencil or fingers. If he wants to do the homework in his bedroom, that's fine, but please do check on his progress or a 20 minute assignment can turn into an hour.
I know you wouldn't yell at him unless he was in danger or putting someone else in danger, but when was the last time you yelled at a kid? My sisters and I haven't been under your roof in years, I won't say how many, but a long time! I know you're out of practice, so, please do yell at him if he plays a computer game that is inappropriate for his younger brother, who likes to be with him after school. Please do holler when he swings back at Devin for hitting him. It's actually great that he's not sitting there and taking it like he has in the past, but I'd rather not have them getting into fist fights when they are still so young! And do scold him when he hesitates to the question, Have you brushed your teeth? Of course, if you feel the need to yell at him or any of my boys for other reasons or to hug them just because, please do so. :) (But do remember what I said about Bryce holding something hard!)
One more thing about Hunter before I sign off is this: He takes a spelling test every Friday. I can count on one hand how many times he's gotten two or more wrong. Even though he sees his great scores and he hears praises from us at home and his teacher at school, he didn't have the confidence to participate in the spelling B. He said he didn't want to be up in front of the whole school, and I can understand that part! Anyone have any suggestions on what I can do to help him get the courage to join his classmates in an event like this? I know he would have done very well.
Apparently I'm not getting any email and haven't been able to send out using my hunterweekly.com account for some time. Hopefully I can get my site back up and running soon! I know you all can't wait to lay your eyes on some good looking boys! :)
Hope everyone is well!
Yo
I've been delaying this update hoping I could get my website up and running. I've had enough of the poor service from my provider. I've complained about them over the years; website down, no incoming or outgoing email. Sometimes no incoming but have outgoing, sometimes vice versa. It's been pretty pathetic so I told my hubby I was going to make the change. He told me he'd find me a new provider, but the man went one step further and got things pointed in the right direction, but too soon! I didn't have my site ready to transfer over and now, poof! Gone. I've been in touch with my provider, who made a snide remark about my transferring providers as well as gave me the info I needed. I'm hoping I can figure it out myself as my hubby has been working late and would like me to do other things besides work on my site.
In the mean time, I've been doing some spring cleaning around here. From jobs as easy as dusting to a bit more in depth like cleaning and organizing closets to things that take a bit more elbow grease, like washing walls of caked on food, decorative crayon/marker/pen designs and wavy, zig zag creations of juice from the spout of a sippy cup in the pudgy hands of Bryce. I think I'm going to miss those reflections of light on those dried up liquid tracks on the walls of my hallway. There are some marks I've left alone, some I haven't gotten to yet. I'm in no hurry as I'll be cleaning them up for the next three years at least!
I considered delaying the posting of this update until after say, 10:00 A.M. Saturday morning, when you, dad and Kath, will already be on your way from Northern Michigan to NE Ohio with no Internet access and the chance to turn around. What I share in this blog entry might make you think twice, but you were game and prepared when we arrived for the Christmas holiday. After telling them about B knocking our Christmas tree over and taking off all the ornaments, and I'm sure I told them other, wonderful, memory making things as well, they came up with a solution. They picked up a live Christmas tree to avoid a repeat scenario and will be planting it whenever spring finally arrives in N. Michigan. They are two, so if they split up and each cover one half of the house, they might survive my boys OK! :P
Why, do you ask, are my parents coming to visit? Why not?? It's not just a 48 hour drop by and go, the kind we're used to around here, but they are staying for a WEEK! My wonderful, amazing, terrific, and superb mom and dad said yes to my request of caring for my boys while Tim and I left on a plane Monday through Friday. You see, my hubby has to go on another business trip. This time he's headed to Colorado Springs, CO for a conference. My thoughtful hubby remembered my interest in visiting my friend and cousin Katie who lives near Denver. We have discussed it, but never really came to a decision. Than he found out where his conference was going to be and he said if I could find someone to take the boys for that week, I was welcome to come with him.
I called my parents with high hopes, and they didn't let me down! They had to check their schedules of course, but my dad was fairly confident they could pull it off. Thanks to them I can get away for a few days and stay in a nice hotel and see people I haven't seen in years! Not only does Katie live in Colorado, but so do two other people I went to school with. I'm very excited to go and fortunate my parents gave up a week of their lives in Michigan to spend with their grandchildren. I know it's a long drive and they have their own lives. I travel so often back to Bellaire because I want my boys to know who I'm talking about when I say Grandma and Grandpa. Your saying yes and showing your excitement when we talk or in your emails proves to me that you want to be with my boys as much as I want them to be with you.
So, they will arrive here sometime Saturday afternoon. They'll take a part in the daily routine in our house, get themselves reacquainted with the surroundings and on Monday morning, take the place of Tim and I for five days. Hunter wrote them a letter to say how happy he was that they were coming and told me he hoped Devin wouldn't annoy them too much!
I'm pretty sure they'll read this before heading out, so, Dad, Kath, here are some things you can look forward to!
Bryce loves Cocoa Puffs. It's his favorite cereal. Even though it turns his poo almost black, I don't mind him eating a big dry bowl of it in the morning. One morning though, he had one of these bowls and afterwards I cleaned up his chocolate face and let him loose to continue running circles around the house. I went downstairs to fold another load of laundry and when I came back up with an armful, Bryce's mouth was dirty again. I wondered if he had found some lost Cocoa Puffs. I didn't think much of it and started down the hall to the bedrooms when Dev called out, Mom, look at his hands! I looked and they were covered in something brown...and then I breathed in that smell. A smell that seems to coat my nose even when I know no one is poopy. A stench I can pick up on in the food court of a busy shopping mall. 21 month old Bryce was covered in his own poo!
He was not just covered in it, oh, no. He was eating it! What I thought was chocolate on his face. No. It was poo. What I could see on his tongue and on his tooth. Poo. There on his shirt, his pants and in his hair. P-o-o, spells poo! So Bryce got his bath at 10:00 in the morning and he was not happy about it. Afterwards I inspected the floor, the recliner and couch, the banister and the walls, but it seems B was still focused on the poo on him and hadn't outsourced any of it yet.
You'd think I'd remember to do one simple thing. How can I not notice when I pass it by 50 times a day? You'd think I'd remember what happens when B takes notice and what I have to spend time doing afterward! I'm talking about the easy task of pushing a chair in at the table when it's not being used. My passing it over this week led to me brushing off and then vacuuming up salt he made a pile of between his legs as he sat happily in the middle of my Amish manufactured table. Hunter is very good at remembering, but he left his half drunk root beer there and Bryce helped himself to the puddle he created by climbing up from Devin's empty chair. I often let Bryce scribble on paper while Hunter is doing his homework next to him, but B thinks that sitting on the table gives him a better viewpoint of his artwork. Maybe it does!
During a wave of spring cleaning, I cleaned out and organized our craft supplies. I found an ink pad at the back of one of the drawers and decided that it shouldn't be in there. I put it on the top of the organizer to return to later. As Mommy Syndrome dictates I didn't return and it stayed there until I saw it some time later in the black hands of Bryce who was standing in the living room fussing at it with lips, teeth and a tongue as black as our lab! Not only that, but on the floor were two little ink foot prints. Now you might be asking, what were Tim and I doing while our child was eating black ink? Tim was watching TV and I was reading a book...B was right behind Tim and behind the table from me. That just goes to show you how quick and silent they can be! I think he may have shook the craft organizer trying to get a drawer open and knocked the ink off the top. I can't say where I was when that went down. I plead Mommy Syndrome.
And the last thing one should know when spending time with my Bryce is not to using a scolding voice when he's holding something hard, like a baseball! If he knows he's not supposed to have it or thinks you're going to take it from him, he'll throw it. He's Tim's boy and brother to Devin, so he throws surprisingly well and his force and aim is just right for knee height of a woman my size! (Bring your shin guards, grandma!)
Now, you might think B is sounding like a handful, but his brother is almost two years older and about a head taller. First I'll says he says the cutest things like, Let's rock and You're going down while playing pirates with his dad. After seeing me snacking on a couple small candies from Hunter's school Valentine's Day party, he brought another piece of candy to me and said, I brought you something. Can you open it for me? He can surprise you with hug requests and knows how to compliment, but what's the opposite of a sweet child?
Dev whines A LOT these days. He hollers no and cries over simple matters and has been spending time alone in his bedroom or on his bottom with his back to a wall. Hunter said the other night that Dev may hold the record for the world's biggest whiner!
When he's not whining, he goes up and down on the pee pee coaster. Sometimes he's eager to run to the toilet and use it like a big boy, and sometimes he screams and cries. I tried making it a game, like how many times can we give Mr. Potty our pee to drink and watch him swallow it down like a whirl pool. It worked great the first few days, but not so much any more. Before he would tell us when he was poopy, but now he doesn't and when we find out, he throws a fit and tries to run away. But when he does create those small bubbles he aims to pop, he is one happy little boy and eager to slap out some high fives.
And then there's our open floor plan. Our living room and dining room are together in a rectangular shape with a kitchen separated by an island that is like the tip of an arrow. It leaves plenty of room to run around in circles, which the littlest man of the house loves to do. Devin has been running circles around B for a long time, but now, Bryce is running too and soon they'll be making risky passes like Nascar drivers. Right now, though, Dev wants to crash like a race car, but the one he wants to see crash is Bryce. They'll be running in circles, Bryce leading the way laughing the entire time, when Dev will come up behind him and make his move. He puts his hands on his back and gives a little push. Usually nothing terrible happens. Bryce falls down, catching himself on hands and belly, still giggling, maybe a little gasp. But sometimes Dev gives a little bit harder push or Bryce falls on a toy or maybe Dev pushes him at the wrong place in their track like he did last week, when B fell face first into the short wall of the kitchen island. His nose was immediately bloody and cheeks streaked with tears. Devin was quick to apologize and he's been better about keeping his hands off his brother. I'd holler at him about it, had him sit on his butt enjoying nothing when I catch him, but it wasn't until I told him about what blood is and that it really hurts when you bleed that Dev took it easy with Bryce. He still pushes at his brother, but it's in the living room area, the widest part of their personal race track and not around the walls. Still he needs to be reminded and although they are having fun and it makes me smile, accidents happen.
He had a great time with a couple of sticker books. The have now been tossed out because he would stick and peel off and stick back on and peel back off until the stickers would fall out and to the floor as he walked with the book. We found stickers on our socks, on the seats of our jeans, stuck to the top of the dogs head and Kit was seen doing a little dance to get one off her foot before she tore at it with her teeth (brings back memories of my dad putting tape on the cat's feet. He did it first, Kath. Honest!). I thought I collected all the stickers but I still find some in the clean laundry or stuck to a toy.
I'm looking forward to the warmer weather. More trips to the playground, but on cold and rainy days, a trip to the soft playground in the mall is great entertainment. The last time we went Dev followed around one little girl with curly blonde hair. I tried to get a picture, but they were moving too fast. He never really said anything and she didn't mind the attention!
Even though Hunter is in school all day, it doesn't mean you can't take my place yelling at him when he's home. :) OK. Don't yell at him because he thinks he has to get up so darn early to catch the school bus. Your an early riser, Kath, so you'll probably stay up with him. Me, I rise slowly to make sure he has his lunch and he's not wearing his dad's pants and then I crawl back into my warm bed. So if you want to go back to sleep, go for it!
Don't yell at him when he gets distracted by his brothers while trying to do his homework or by his own pencil or fingers. If he wants to do the homework in his bedroom, that's fine, but please do check on his progress or a 20 minute assignment can turn into an hour.
I know you wouldn't yell at him unless he was in danger or putting someone else in danger, but when was the last time you yelled at a kid? My sisters and I haven't been under your roof in years, I won't say how many, but a long time! I know you're out of practice, so, please do yell at him if he plays a computer game that is inappropriate for his younger brother, who likes to be with him after school. Please do holler when he swings back at Devin for hitting him. It's actually great that he's not sitting there and taking it like he has in the past, but I'd rather not have them getting into fist fights when they are still so young! And do scold him when he hesitates to the question, Have you brushed your teeth? Of course, if you feel the need to yell at him or any of my boys for other reasons or to hug them just because, please do so. :) (But do remember what I said about Bryce holding something hard!)
One more thing about Hunter before I sign off is this: He takes a spelling test every Friday. I can count on one hand how many times he's gotten two or more wrong. Even though he sees his great scores and he hears praises from us at home and his teacher at school, he didn't have the confidence to participate in the spelling B. He said he didn't want to be up in front of the whole school, and I can understand that part! Anyone have any suggestions on what I can do to help him get the courage to join his classmates in an event like this? I know he would have done very well.
Apparently I'm not getting any email and haven't been able to send out using my hunterweekly.com account for some time. Hopefully I can get my site back up and running soon! I know you all can't wait to lay your eyes on some good looking boys! :)
Hope everyone is well!
Yo
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
School reports, wonderful poo and bath burps.
Hello everyone. I hope all who read this are enjoying life and good times. It's getting better here now that we're thawing out! It's predicted to be in the 47 today (Monday), 58 tomorrow and 61 on Wednesday! There is a downside though - out with the snow, in with the mud.
Let me start with Bryce this time around because he's behind me now, climbing from one side of the back of my chair, standing there and patting me on the back before climbing back down on the other side and doing it again.
If you haven't been to my web site yet, please visit and check out the duet he and I have going in video form. I've been trying to get him to say ma-ma. Yeah, yeah, it IS usually da-da, but he's my kid so I'm gonna try! I should have turned my camera on about ten minutes before, when Bryce was real interested in the going back and forth we do through out the day. I didn't think about taking a video until after he had walked away. I grabbed my camera and went down the hall looking for him and found him "reading" books in his bedroom. So his participation wasn't as eager in the beginning, and in the middle, there's a pause where he either forgot what he was doing, or just wanted to stare at the camera. It's still cute to watch.
While that was fun to be a part of, something else wasn't. I let Devin choose a new toy after I had done something to him on accident (which I'll mention later - serious mommy guilt!). He wanted an ambulance so we brought the toy home, which is about the size of his garbage truck, but if you haven't seen pictures of that, then I'll say it's about the size of your typical bathroom trash can. Why I thought of that as a comparative, I haven't a clue.
Anyway - Bryce was playing with the buttons, opening and closing the doors and pushing it back and forth, sitting next to the kitchen island, but on the living room side. I don't know what he did but I heard his pain cry and found him standing up in the place where he was sitting with the ambulance a few feet away. I knew he hurt himself something awful, because his mouth was open with eyes clenched tight, but nothing was coming out. It was like he was behind a sound proof glass wall. But then he inhaled and that transparent barrier shattered as my baby let loose. There was no blood so I cuddled him for a bit and when he settled down I took a look at him. He had small, angled indentations on his left cheek and the bridge of his nose (which is probably what hurt the most) and a purple mark just below his eye brow. I've been trying to imagine what he did, but he's 19 months, so it's anything and everything!
Bryce loves to take a bath and his baths are taken with Devin. They both splash and dump cups of water, ignoring most of the toys in there with them for a cheap restaurant kid drink cup! Devin is much better at dumping, but Bryce has no complaints. The more Devin pours the water, the more Bryce laughs. Faster and faster they go. Pretty soon, Dev is getting B with the water and he gasps as he partially drowns and then laughs. No matter how many times you tell him it's too close, Dev always gets closer and Bryce continues to gasp and laugh. At the end of bath time one night, I reached in to get a thoroughly soaked B and he let out this huge belch. Too much bath water!
Not only is Devin helpful in rinsing his little brother in the bath, he's been helpful in taking off his own wet Pull-Up and putting a dry one on. A few weeks ago, he was wearing one Pull-Up all day long because he was making it to the potty (pee only), then he just stopped. He was going through so many I ran out and didn't have enough training underwear as back up. I called my hubby at work and asked him to bring home some more and he came into his house, a house where testosterone rules, with a package of pink Pull-Ups! I could not believe it. I said, Babe, did you not notice these are pink? He said he saw the 3T-4T size and grabbed them. Uh-huh. Pink for girls, next to them would have been blue for boys. He scowled at me and said, That's what you get for asking me to get them. OK. So now his three year old son is walking around in Disney princesses and the colors pink and purple!
So, Devin is being helpful by telling me he's wet and proceeds to take off his pants and wet diaper and throws it away and puts on a dry one. I don't always know he's doing this until he tells me so or I see him throw it away. Unfortunately, he does more than pee in them. One time he hollered for me and I found him with poo smeared down his leg and the Pull-Up around his ankles. Another time I found him with legs clean of poo, but the circular poo, hence the cleaner legs because it stayed in a single clump, had rolled out of the dirty diaper and onto the floor. Tim was the lucky one when a third time, home alone with the boys, Dev took his diaper off and, I'm guessing it got stuck, sat his poopy bum down on the carpet. Wonderful times! Thanks for the great memories, Dev! I think he's going to tell us he's poopy now BEFORE he takes off the trainer. Better yet, he might just go sit on the potty. Fingers crossed everyone!
On a sad note, I don't think Devin will be going to gymnastics anymore. The past few times we've gone there, he's refused to go in, and once in, he refuses to cooperate and sits on a line while the other children bounce, roll and flip around him. When we're home he wants me to look at him do the things he's learned in gymnastics, but once there, he's a brat. It brought back memories of Hunter not wanting to play the piano anymore. All was fine there, though, until Mr. Miller moved away and then his replacement moved away and Hunter had to start all over again with a third instructor. I didn't push him then and I won't push Devin now. I would have loved to be involved in gymnastics and I took piano lessons but quit. But they aren't me so I'll back off. Gymnastic lessons last all year, so we'll try it again in the fall.
Tim has a different car seat in his truck. Once Devin is in, there is front part like an arm rest that is pulled over his head and down in front of him. Then you have to snap the belt into the buckle between his legs to secure it. The straps are at their longest and still tight on Dev when he's in his winter coat. I'm not very familiar with this car seat as I rarely have the truck alone with the kids. One day I did, though, and when I pushed down on the buckle of the car seat...I pinched Devin between the legs and he screamed and cried...that's why he got a new ambulance.
A couple weeks ago, Hunter's class was scheduled for a field trip to a science center. Since I now have a part time day care provider I was going to chaperon, something I hadn't done since Hunter was in Kindergarten. The day before the outing a group from the science center came to the school and talked of what the children would see and do. In a note Hunter brought home later that day it said the field trip was canceled because of some safety concerns. When I asked Hunter about it, he said some boys were sniffing one of the items the science center group brought with them and others had thrown some red powder up in the air. So some bad choices from a few ruined it for all. And for me. I wanted to go on that field trip! :P
It ended up being a good idea that they didn't go because I got a phone call late the next morning saying Hunter had thrown up and had a fever of 102. I had decided to take myself shopping and was about 40 miles from the school when my cell phone rang. I had to call Tim, who I knew was in a meeting, but I caught him at the right time. They had just taken a break and he was able to pick Hunter up and meet me back at the house. Hunter stayed home the next day as well, so he got a four day weekend, but he really wasn't himself until Sunday.
Hunter had his first book report due last week. It was actually called a book commercial with an oral presentation. He picked an AR book, which is a book he's read and been quizzed on for comprehension. He had many to choose from and it took him two days of looking through them to decide which one he wanted to talk about. He choose Swindle by Gordon Korman and when he brought it home I was a little concerned because it was fairly thick and he only had a few days to put his commercial together.
The assignment was to take a small paper bag and put on the front the book title and author's name and then an illustration about the story. On the side panel the main characters and a description about them, the back panel a short summary and the last panel (the bag would be cut flat and it was planned to be in that order), Hunter's rating of the story, one to four stars and why he rated it the way he did.
Then he had to gather together four visual aids. Hmm. The main visual aide we should have had was a baseball card since the story revolved around that. Hunter doesn't own any of these and we probably could have made our own if our computer didn't think it has a perpetual paper jam (grrr)! We went over his main characters and summary and decided he'd cut out a house and we'd prop it up and he'd use two of his Star Wars characters for the two best friends in the story, then a small stuffed doberman pincher from a McDonald's Hotel for Dogs Happy Meal and a ghost finger puppet (because the house is supposedly haunted).
The hardest part for Hunter was the oral presentation. Well, following all directions for the oral presentation was rough for him. It involved writing cues on index cards he would refer to while standing in front of the class. He sat at the table with paper and pencil with the goal of writing down the main points of the story. Half an hour later, he had written down only two things. I've talked with Hunter before about him not writing things down. His reading grade has dropped because he's not putting thoughts down on paper. He told me that he has so many thoughts in his head, he can't get them down. Tim, the teacher's and I are working on this. A new goal has been added to his IEP. I'll talk more of this after the book commercial.
So I sat down across from my son and took the paper and pencil and told him I'd act the scribe. This way I learned about the entire story in ten minutes with Hunter talking and me jotting down what he agreed were the main points. I actually copied everything but the title and author's name for Hunter onto his paper bag. He'd need a double sized paper bag with his printing! I sent in the work Hunter printed out and my notes from his re-telling so his teacher can see that he did do all the work himself. I put his index cards together and we did a practice run through, a small part of which you can see in the video on my home page.
When he finally had his turn in front of the class, his teacher wrote in the notebook that he did an excellent job. During the practice run, Hunter never even looked at the cue cards we created. He said he didn't need them during his presentation, either, and that his classmates and teacher laughed and were grossed out during the part where one of the boys reaches his hand up into the body cavity of a frozen turkey!
Hunter's grades dropped in reading and TEN POINTS in math. He is now one point above failing in that subject. I had no idea he was doing so poorly. We knew he wasn't asking for help and had an emergency meeting that resulted in Hunter putting a book on end at his desk to let the teacher know he needed help. He doesn't like to ask for help and we're thinking it might be because he doesn't like the attention drawn, although sometimes he thinks he can just do it without help.
A few weeks ago I had another meeting with his teacher and we talked about how his writing comprehension isn't where it should be. As was very evident in his re-telling of the story to me for the Swindle (do I underline that or use quotes??) oral presentation, he has no problem comprehending it. But when asked to write the words down himself, he falls very short. During that meeting, math was mentioned only ONCE. She said that during the math test this year, Hunter can't go back and forth with a scribe; he can't say yes in one area and not the next. It's either an all or nothing thing.
In the teacher comment section of his report card, she wrote, Doesn't ask for help. This really irked my husband because there was a meeting about exactly that and if he's not asking for help and she can see his grade going down hill, then he thinks, and I agreed, that she should be offering him help or finding out why he isn't asking for help and determine if the current set up, if he's using it, is working like it should. Some fault lies with Hunter, can't blame the teacher for everything :). He often refuses to use extra paper and tries to work out a problem in a small space that his big, blocky printing just doesn't fit into. His works gets squished into each other and he ends up computing the wrong rows or can't make out what he wrote among the jumble. He has absolutely refused to use large block graph paper in the classroom. The teacher and OT said he actually got mean about it. He doesn't want to use anything that makes him different from the other kids. Instead we're trying to get him to use a piece of scrap paper so he'll have more room. If he thinks he has room on the actual worksheet, he uses that. I'd love to have his worksheets be printed where there's no space between problems, but they don't come that way.
Hunter didn't like it at first but he's accepted the fact that he has to do two things from me, math and writing, each night on top of the homework his teacher assigns for him. He has to re-write the math problems on a separate piece of paper and he does a writing assignment. The last one I had him do was, Imagine you can fly. Where would you go? He gave me three good five sentence paragraphs, but the paragraphs were more like a list, like, I would do this...I would do that.... I re-wrote his ideas into a three paragraph story and we talked about the differences in how the paragraphs looked when compared to each other and how they sounded to read them. If you're curious, Hunter wanted to go to Australia because he would get privacy there and eat his favorite snack of cheese without interruption. He said he'd wear his best looking outfit, fly very fast but not let anyone see him because he'd want his super power to be a secret. He concluded that he'd fly to important places and be people's hero because he knew himself to be a good person.
My sister Tiffany called me two Tuesday's ago at 10:00 PM. I knew she and her hubby Mark were wandering the countryside again as they tend to do a couple times each year. I was a little perturbed with her for calling me and saying she was on another jaunt and currently in West Virgina. I admit I got a bit mad because they had once again set off from their home in Marquette and my house wasn't on their itinerary! That was on Sunday and when she called Tuesday night, there were two thoughts in my head. Either it was an emergency or she was coming my way. I''m happy to say that she was coming my way!
They thought they'd be here between 1:00 and 2:00 A.M. Well, I'm sure you read or heard about the ice storm that hit Kentucky. Well, they got into some of that and then the winter storm warning in my neck of the woods. I told them I wouldn't be up when they arrived but that Tim and I would get the camper nice and warm and the bed ready so they could just crawl into there and I'd see them in the morning. When I got up with Hunter at 5:45, their car wasn't in the driveway! I called and got Tiff and they said their were sitting in a block of ice and had to pull over often to knock the build up off their windshield wipers. They were in Akron which is, on a typical day, a 45 minute drive. I headed outside to try to shovel away my worries with the foot of snow in my driveway when they still hadn't arrive at 8:00 and Tiffany didn't answer my call. At about 8:30 they finally arrived and I was so relieved.
My BIL immediately went into the camper and fell asleep. Tiff came in and had some breakfast. Hunter was home to see her because school had been canceled that day. We didn't do much with the terrible weather and they left the next morning, but it was great to see them even for such a short time. I'm looking forward to hugging her again in the summer.
You've shown your love for my boys and I if you've read all of this. Many hugs and kisses to you! Hunter has a four day week this week and next. I'd love to just pack up and head north, but not this time. Two years ago my sister Amanda came down from Charlevoix because her girls had the same days off as Hunter. No visit from them this year. She has said that she'd like to come down this summer and take the girls to either Cedar Point, which is about two hours away, or the water park, which is twenty minutes away.
Everyone take care.
Yo
Let me start with Bryce this time around because he's behind me now, climbing from one side of the back of my chair, standing there and patting me on the back before climbing back down on the other side and doing it again.
If you haven't been to my web site yet, please visit and check out the duet he and I have going in video form. I've been trying to get him to say ma-ma. Yeah, yeah, it IS usually da-da, but he's my kid so I'm gonna try! I should have turned my camera on about ten minutes before, when Bryce was real interested in the going back and forth we do through out the day. I didn't think about taking a video until after he had walked away. I grabbed my camera and went down the hall looking for him and found him "reading" books in his bedroom. So his participation wasn't as eager in the beginning, and in the middle, there's a pause where he either forgot what he was doing, or just wanted to stare at the camera. It's still cute to watch.
While that was fun to be a part of, something else wasn't. I let Devin choose a new toy after I had done something to him on accident (which I'll mention later - serious mommy guilt!). He wanted an ambulance so we brought the toy home, which is about the size of his garbage truck, but if you haven't seen pictures of that, then I'll say it's about the size of your typical bathroom trash can. Why I thought of that as a comparative, I haven't a clue.
Anyway - Bryce was playing with the buttons, opening and closing the doors and pushing it back and forth, sitting next to the kitchen island, but on the living room side. I don't know what he did but I heard his pain cry and found him standing up in the place where he was sitting with the ambulance a few feet away. I knew he hurt himself something awful, because his mouth was open with eyes clenched tight, but nothing was coming out. It was like he was behind a sound proof glass wall. But then he inhaled and that transparent barrier shattered as my baby let loose. There was no blood so I cuddled him for a bit and when he settled down I took a look at him. He had small, angled indentations on his left cheek and the bridge of his nose (which is probably what hurt the most) and a purple mark just below his eye brow. I've been trying to imagine what he did, but he's 19 months, so it's anything and everything!
Bryce loves to take a bath and his baths are taken with Devin. They both splash and dump cups of water, ignoring most of the toys in there with them for a cheap restaurant kid drink cup! Devin is much better at dumping, but Bryce has no complaints. The more Devin pours the water, the more Bryce laughs. Faster and faster they go. Pretty soon, Dev is getting B with the water and he gasps as he partially drowns and then laughs. No matter how many times you tell him it's too close, Dev always gets closer and Bryce continues to gasp and laugh. At the end of bath time one night, I reached in to get a thoroughly soaked B and he let out this huge belch. Too much bath water!
Not only is Devin helpful in rinsing his little brother in the bath, he's been helpful in taking off his own wet Pull-Up and putting a dry one on. A few weeks ago, he was wearing one Pull-Up all day long because he was making it to the potty (pee only), then he just stopped. He was going through so many I ran out and didn't have enough training underwear as back up. I called my hubby at work and asked him to bring home some more and he came into his house, a house where testosterone rules, with a package of pink Pull-Ups! I could not believe it. I said, Babe, did you not notice these are pink? He said he saw the 3T-4T size and grabbed them. Uh-huh. Pink for girls, next to them would have been blue for boys. He scowled at me and said, That's what you get for asking me to get them. OK. So now his three year old son is walking around in Disney princesses and the colors pink and purple!
So, Devin is being helpful by telling me he's wet and proceeds to take off his pants and wet diaper and throws it away and puts on a dry one. I don't always know he's doing this until he tells me so or I see him throw it away. Unfortunately, he does more than pee in them. One time he hollered for me and I found him with poo smeared down his leg and the Pull-Up around his ankles. Another time I found him with legs clean of poo, but the circular poo, hence the cleaner legs because it stayed in a single clump, had rolled out of the dirty diaper and onto the floor. Tim was the lucky one when a third time, home alone with the boys, Dev took his diaper off and, I'm guessing it got stuck, sat his poopy bum down on the carpet. Wonderful times! Thanks for the great memories, Dev! I think he's going to tell us he's poopy now BEFORE he takes off the trainer. Better yet, he might just go sit on the potty. Fingers crossed everyone!
On a sad note, I don't think Devin will be going to gymnastics anymore. The past few times we've gone there, he's refused to go in, and once in, he refuses to cooperate and sits on a line while the other children bounce, roll and flip around him. When we're home he wants me to look at him do the things he's learned in gymnastics, but once there, he's a brat. It brought back memories of Hunter not wanting to play the piano anymore. All was fine there, though, until Mr. Miller moved away and then his replacement moved away and Hunter had to start all over again with a third instructor. I didn't push him then and I won't push Devin now. I would have loved to be involved in gymnastics and I took piano lessons but quit. But they aren't me so I'll back off. Gymnastic lessons last all year, so we'll try it again in the fall.
Tim has a different car seat in his truck. Once Devin is in, there is front part like an arm rest that is pulled over his head and down in front of him. Then you have to snap the belt into the buckle between his legs to secure it. The straps are at their longest and still tight on Dev when he's in his winter coat. I'm not very familiar with this car seat as I rarely have the truck alone with the kids. One day I did, though, and when I pushed down on the buckle of the car seat...I pinched Devin between the legs and he screamed and cried...that's why he got a new ambulance.
A couple weeks ago, Hunter's class was scheduled for a field trip to a science center. Since I now have a part time day care provider I was going to chaperon, something I hadn't done since Hunter was in Kindergarten. The day before the outing a group from the science center came to the school and talked of what the children would see and do. In a note Hunter brought home later that day it said the field trip was canceled because of some safety concerns. When I asked Hunter about it, he said some boys were sniffing one of the items the science center group brought with them and others had thrown some red powder up in the air. So some bad choices from a few ruined it for all. And for me. I wanted to go on that field trip! :P
It ended up being a good idea that they didn't go because I got a phone call late the next morning saying Hunter had thrown up and had a fever of 102. I had decided to take myself shopping and was about 40 miles from the school when my cell phone rang. I had to call Tim, who I knew was in a meeting, but I caught him at the right time. They had just taken a break and he was able to pick Hunter up and meet me back at the house. Hunter stayed home the next day as well, so he got a four day weekend, but he really wasn't himself until Sunday.
Hunter had his first book report due last week. It was actually called a book commercial with an oral presentation. He picked an AR book, which is a book he's read and been quizzed on for comprehension. He had many to choose from and it took him two days of looking through them to decide which one he wanted to talk about. He choose Swindle by Gordon Korman and when he brought it home I was a little concerned because it was fairly thick and he only had a few days to put his commercial together.
The assignment was to take a small paper bag and put on the front the book title and author's name and then an illustration about the story. On the side panel the main characters and a description about them, the back panel a short summary and the last panel (the bag would be cut flat and it was planned to be in that order), Hunter's rating of the story, one to four stars and why he rated it the way he did.
Then he had to gather together four visual aids. Hmm. The main visual aide we should have had was a baseball card since the story revolved around that. Hunter doesn't own any of these and we probably could have made our own if our computer didn't think it has a perpetual paper jam (grrr)! We went over his main characters and summary and decided he'd cut out a house and we'd prop it up and he'd use two of his Star Wars characters for the two best friends in the story, then a small stuffed doberman pincher from a McDonald's Hotel for Dogs Happy Meal and a ghost finger puppet (because the house is supposedly haunted).
The hardest part for Hunter was the oral presentation. Well, following all directions for the oral presentation was rough for him. It involved writing cues on index cards he would refer to while standing in front of the class. He sat at the table with paper and pencil with the goal of writing down the main points of the story. Half an hour later, he had written down only two things. I've talked with Hunter before about him not writing things down. His reading grade has dropped because he's not putting thoughts down on paper. He told me that he has so many thoughts in his head, he can't get them down. Tim, the teacher's and I are working on this. A new goal has been added to his IEP. I'll talk more of this after the book commercial.
So I sat down across from my son and took the paper and pencil and told him I'd act the scribe. This way I learned about the entire story in ten minutes with Hunter talking and me jotting down what he agreed were the main points. I actually copied everything but the title and author's name for Hunter onto his paper bag. He'd need a double sized paper bag with his printing! I sent in the work Hunter printed out and my notes from his re-telling so his teacher can see that he did do all the work himself. I put his index cards together and we did a practice run through, a small part of which you can see in the video on my home page.
When he finally had his turn in front of the class, his teacher wrote in the notebook that he did an excellent job. During the practice run, Hunter never even looked at the cue cards we created. He said he didn't need them during his presentation, either, and that his classmates and teacher laughed and were grossed out during the part where one of the boys reaches his hand up into the body cavity of a frozen turkey!
Hunter's grades dropped in reading and TEN POINTS in math. He is now one point above failing in that subject. I had no idea he was doing so poorly. We knew he wasn't asking for help and had an emergency meeting that resulted in Hunter putting a book on end at his desk to let the teacher know he needed help. He doesn't like to ask for help and we're thinking it might be because he doesn't like the attention drawn, although sometimes he thinks he can just do it without help.
A few weeks ago I had another meeting with his teacher and we talked about how his writing comprehension isn't where it should be. As was very evident in his re-telling of the story to me for the Swindle (do I underline that or use quotes??) oral presentation, he has no problem comprehending it. But when asked to write the words down himself, he falls very short. During that meeting, math was mentioned only ONCE. She said that during the math test this year, Hunter can't go back and forth with a scribe; he can't say yes in one area and not the next. It's either an all or nothing thing.
In the teacher comment section of his report card, she wrote, Doesn't ask for help. This really irked my husband because there was a meeting about exactly that and if he's not asking for help and she can see his grade going down hill, then he thinks, and I agreed, that she should be offering him help or finding out why he isn't asking for help and determine if the current set up, if he's using it, is working like it should. Some fault lies with Hunter, can't blame the teacher for everything :). He often refuses to use extra paper and tries to work out a problem in a small space that his big, blocky printing just doesn't fit into. His works gets squished into each other and he ends up computing the wrong rows or can't make out what he wrote among the jumble. He has absolutely refused to use large block graph paper in the classroom. The teacher and OT said he actually got mean about it. He doesn't want to use anything that makes him different from the other kids. Instead we're trying to get him to use a piece of scrap paper so he'll have more room. If he thinks he has room on the actual worksheet, he uses that. I'd love to have his worksheets be printed where there's no space between problems, but they don't come that way.
Hunter didn't like it at first but he's accepted the fact that he has to do two things from me, math and writing, each night on top of the homework his teacher assigns for him. He has to re-write the math problems on a separate piece of paper and he does a writing assignment. The last one I had him do was, Imagine you can fly. Where would you go? He gave me three good five sentence paragraphs, but the paragraphs were more like a list, like, I would do this...I would do that.... I re-wrote his ideas into a three paragraph story and we talked about the differences in how the paragraphs looked when compared to each other and how they sounded to read them. If you're curious, Hunter wanted to go to Australia because he would get privacy there and eat his favorite snack of cheese without interruption. He said he'd wear his best looking outfit, fly very fast but not let anyone see him because he'd want his super power to be a secret. He concluded that he'd fly to important places and be people's hero because he knew himself to be a good person.
My sister Tiffany called me two Tuesday's ago at 10:00 PM. I knew she and her hubby Mark were wandering the countryside again as they tend to do a couple times each year. I was a little perturbed with her for calling me and saying she was on another jaunt and currently in West Virgina. I admit I got a bit mad because they had once again set off from their home in Marquette and my house wasn't on their itinerary! That was on Sunday and when she called Tuesday night, there were two thoughts in my head. Either it was an emergency or she was coming my way. I''m happy to say that she was coming my way!
They thought they'd be here between 1:00 and 2:00 A.M. Well, I'm sure you read or heard about the ice storm that hit Kentucky. Well, they got into some of that and then the winter storm warning in my neck of the woods. I told them I wouldn't be up when they arrived but that Tim and I would get the camper nice and warm and the bed ready so they could just crawl into there and I'd see them in the morning. When I got up with Hunter at 5:45, their car wasn't in the driveway! I called and got Tiff and they said their were sitting in a block of ice and had to pull over often to knock the build up off their windshield wipers. They were in Akron which is, on a typical day, a 45 minute drive. I headed outside to try to shovel away my worries with the foot of snow in my driveway when they still hadn't arrive at 8:00 and Tiffany didn't answer my call. At about 8:30 they finally arrived and I was so relieved.
My BIL immediately went into the camper and fell asleep. Tiff came in and had some breakfast. Hunter was home to see her because school had been canceled that day. We didn't do much with the terrible weather and they left the next morning, but it was great to see them even for such a short time. I'm looking forward to hugging her again in the summer.
You've shown your love for my boys and I if you've read all of this. Many hugs and kisses to you! Hunter has a four day week this week and next. I'd love to just pack up and head north, but not this time. Two years ago my sister Amanda came down from Charlevoix because her girls had the same days off as Hunter. No visit from them this year.
Everyone take care.
Yo
Friday, January 23, 2009
Sickies, sickies and even more sickies.
Those of you who are lining up and eager to come and see us, it is now safe to do so! The last two weeks here have been with sick germs abound! First it was the common cold, graduated to the flu and then some of us even had the stomach flu. It really started the last couple days we were north for the Christmas holiday. Then we were free of all viruses just to have them return two Tuesday's ago, when Bryce got sick and I couldn't bring him to the sitter, which meant no gymnastics for Dev. It lasted a few days and then Tim started feeling it. The following Tuesday, instead of going to gymnastics happy and healthy, Dev then had a fever and body aches, so once more we stayed home. Before he caught the bug, he had been complaining of his ear hurting and we found he had an ear infection and I started giving him the cold pink antibiotic. It was his first one ever.
We thought Hunter might get by with just a cough and runny nose, but as I took a shopping day last Thursday, the school called my cell phone, telling me Hunter had vomited and had a fever of 102. I was 30 miles the other way and called Tim to see if he could pick up Hunter. He did and we got to the house about the same time. Hunter still wasn't feeling well Friday so he stayed home that day, too. I had a meeting scheduled with his teacher on Friday, but we rescheduled for later today (I'm writing this at 6:00 a.m.).
We all seem to be better now, so come on down, up or over, whichever direction you need to take to get here! :)
Hunter did miss another day of school and not from snow, ice or the sickies. The Friday before MLK, Jr. Day many schools in our area, around the country actually, were closed because it was just too darn cold! The week before we got over a foot of snow, the next week I don't think it got higher than 10 degrees. Hunter calls Mother Nature crazy because this past Saturday it reached 40 degrees. The boys and I watched the icicles drip from our frozen gutters and the sparkling, fluffy snow in the yard that was over a foot deep lost its shine and pushed down on itself and is now just a couple inches above the shoveled driveway. We had plans to go sledding at a friends house this weekend, but we all agreed there wasn't enough snow anymore and what we did have was hard with crusty ice. Now the weather is back to being freezing and there is a winter storm coming our way. (If you are on your way, drive safe! :P)
I'm going to change things up and start in reverse and start with me. I've had my nose in the books I got for Christmas, so the house has suffered! Before I got into that zone, I had cleaned out all three boys' rooms of old, broken and unwanted toys. I did the same to the family room downstairs and then tore into organizing and cleaning out the store/dog room (a room that doesn't get a lot of heat. Brr!) Most recently I cleaned out my pantry and am happy to report that only about a half dozen items were past their "Best use by..." date! Now I need to give my attention to the most unorganized room of the house, my computer/hobby room.
Tim twisted his ankle on Sunday during his weekly basketball game. He's been favoring it since, but doesn't think it warrants a trip to the doctor. The building Tim works in has been around for many years, but as the company grew, they didn't relocate, that just slapped on new offices as they went. Therefore, there were windows not to the outside like you would think, but from office to office. You could sit at a desk and have a conversation with someone on the other side of a wall through a window with the glass removed. Besides that, it was just run down looking inside. It has finally been gutted and redone with new carpet, new paint, new furniture. Tim's office is actually going to get a window to the outside! If I hadn't recognized the building from the outside before opening that door a few days after the work was finished, I would have thought I'd gone to the wrong place. It looks 110% better.
Bryce is getting so big! He is catching up to Devin and they are 22 months apart. He has been sleeping through the night four out of seven nights. Last night was one of them and it feels great to not wake up until you want to! I opened my eyes this moring at 5:50, ten minutes before the alarm was to go off to check on Hunter. I came upstairs and sat with my oldest until he headed out to meet the bus at 6:17, bundled in a warm coat, hat and mittens.
I took a two minute video of Bryce. He's been vocalizing a lot. Tim and I have started the ma-ma and da-da wars, but so far B is ignoring us both and saying ya-ya. He's also waving bye-bye (toward himself) when he gets down on his belly to head downstairs. The past two nights he has sat down at the table and eaten not only his entire meal, but he's climbed down and come around the side to eat mine!
We are still calling him The Destroyer of Homes as everything he passes, from magnets on the fridge, whatever on any and every table, books on shelves, toys on the floor or put away, it doesn't matter. Everything he touches is either thrown, tossed or pushed aside and there is this cluttered path left behind him. Every time, too many times, each and every day! Oh, well. How much fun can a floor really be with no toys and just the clean lines of a vacuum? (It does look good while for the short time it's clean though!)
Except for the Mohawk I can't tame on Devin's head, my middle son is doing well. He spends most nights sleeping soundly under his favorite blanket with a couple of stuffed puppies close by. As his room is directly above ours, we don't need a monitor in there to hear him cough or cry out in the night. Now and then I hear him cough, but he has been sleeping through most nights.
For some time he was using the potty every 30-45 minutes, keeping one Pull-Up or training underwear dry from morning to night. Now he's being a stinker about it and is refusing to use the toilet. If he does, he complains about it the entire time. Now he's been wetting himself often, even getting the chair and couch wet. We'll keep at it and hope he'll get over this hump.
Everything coming out of his mouth is understandable. I'm not remembering the last time I had to ask him to repeat himself. I often tell him to look at me when he's talking and speak up, but each word coming out of his little mouth is a real word. I didn't note anything down, but I do remember him telling me to go away when he wasn't feeling good (sniff), telling me to, Stop that, when I tried to tickle him or play with his hair (which he still does to me), and he did call one of his toys stupid (there are worse words, I suppose).
I don't remember if I mentioned this in my last update, but Hunter was bullied again by the same boy who was picking on him on the school bus. This time around this boy had a friend in on it. This was during recess and apparently really got Hunter down. The teacher noticed and was able to talk to him about it. I know the teachers of these boys know and am told the parents were notified. Anyway - it's been a couple weeks since then and Hunter tells me there hasn't been anymore incidents between himself and either of these boys.
He keeps bringing home high scores on his spelling tests, but it seems his teacher is concerned with his writing skills. From what she briefly wrote in the communication notebook, there's concern of how Hunter is doing in writing assignments; taking what he's read and writing about it in his own words; how, why and his feelings. We need to decide if he's just writing something simple and short because it's him having to print it, or if he's not understanding what needs to be done. When he's had a scribe write for him, he says a lot more because he's not the one writing it. This year the school did get him an Alphasmart, so maybe it's just he needs to be able to use it more than what he's being allowed to. On my end though, I think I do need to get him some sort of typing course.
I'll end this entry by typing out one of Hunter's assignments he brought home. It was a worksheet he did after his class read a story where one of the characters helped his father sell newspapers in his newsstand on Saturday nights. First off, I didn't think it was Hunter's because the words had spaces in-between and the letters were the same size. Hunter confirmed it was his work and his dad and I got a good laugh from his honest answers.
The question: What jobs or chores do you have to do in your house?
Hunter's answer: Clean my room (he has more than that, but that's the biggest one).
Question: How is doing these chores a help to your family?
Answer: I just do it.
Question: Would the jobs get done if you did not do them? By whom?
Answer: Yes. Mom and dad.
Question: What job do you like the most? Why?
Answer: None, because I don't want to do any of them.
Question: What job do you like the least? Why?
Answer: All of them - cause I do.
Question: Are there some jobs that you work on together with your parents or sisters and brothers? What are they?
Answer: Yes. Clean up other rooms.
Question: If you could make up the job assignments in your house, which jobs would you give?
Answers:
Yourself: Nothing
Your brothers and sisters: Everything
Your parents: Everything
Your pet: Nothing
Do you think it is important that people are assigned chores in order to help out in a household? Why or why not?
Answer: Yes. It goes by faster.
I hope everyone enjoys the rest of their week.
Oh - since Tim rebuilt my computer I don't have my address book, so please send me an email so I can put your address in my address book.
1:31 P.M. - Hello again. I typed the majority of this update in my comfy recliner chair under a blanket with my hubby's lap top. I didn't get it finished and proof read before he appeared by my side to take it to work at 7:45. So, I've finished it up now, but since I haven't posted it yet, I can tell you how my meeting with Hunter's teacher went.
It seems that Hunter is having difficulty writing paragraphs. He just wants to write one or two sentences about the subject, but he's not completing the assignments by being so brief. We talked about ideas of how to get him interested in writing more and we put together an outline of how the paragraph should look like, what questions he should answer, etc. He's writing again to his cousins, so hopefully that will help.
He's been refusing help from a scribe, probably because he's the only one in the class with one. It's obvious to us that his assignments are longer and with more detail when he dictates what he wants to say to the scribe. I'm going to try and show him this by having him write out what he wants to say about something and then record what he wants to say about the same subject. I hope I can show him how much more he can do with a scribe in this way. I was told today that his 4th grade testing is an all or nothing thing. He can't have a scribe for certain areas. He either has one or he doesn't. They did a practice math test and because he refused the scribe he didn't write detailed answers and did poorly on those problems. He also has an Alphasmart in the classroom. I've started researching typing classes for him.
Thanks for reading!
We thought Hunter might get by with just a cough and runny nose, but as I took a shopping day last Thursday, the school called my cell phone, telling me Hunter had vomited and had a fever of 102. I was 30 miles the other way and called Tim to see if he could pick up Hunter. He did and we got to the house about the same time. Hunter still wasn't feeling well Friday so he stayed home that day, too. I had a meeting scheduled with his teacher on Friday, but we rescheduled for later today (I'm writing this at 6:00 a.m.).
We all seem to be better now, so come on down, up or over, whichever direction you need to take to get here! :)
Hunter did miss another day of school and not from snow, ice or the sickies. The Friday before MLK, Jr. Day many schools in our area, around the country actually, were closed because it was just too darn cold! The week before we got over a foot of snow, the next week I don't think it got higher than 10 degrees. Hunter calls Mother Nature crazy because this past Saturday it reached 40 degrees. The boys and I watched the icicles drip from our frozen gutters and the sparkling, fluffy snow in the yard that was over a foot deep lost its shine and pushed down on itself and is now just a couple inches above the shoveled driveway. We had plans to go sledding at a friends house this weekend, but we all agreed there wasn't enough snow anymore and what we did have was hard with crusty ice. Now the weather is back to being freezing and there is a winter storm coming our way. (If you are on your way, drive safe! :P)
I'm going to change things up and start in reverse and start with me. I've had my nose in the books I got for Christmas, so the house has suffered! Before I got into that zone, I had cleaned out all three boys' rooms of old, broken and unwanted toys. I did the same to the family room downstairs and then tore into organizing and cleaning out the store/dog room (a room that doesn't get a lot of heat. Brr!) Most recently I cleaned out my pantry and am happy to report that only about a half dozen items were past their "Best use by..." date! Now I need to give my attention to the most unorganized room of the house, my computer/hobby room.
Tim twisted his ankle on Sunday during his weekly basketball game. He's been favoring it since, but doesn't think it warrants a trip to the doctor. The building Tim works in has been around for many years, but as the company grew, they didn't relocate, that just slapped on new offices as they went. Therefore, there were windows not to the outside like you would think, but from office to office. You could sit at a desk and have a conversation with someone on the other side of a wall through a window with the glass removed. Besides that, it was just run down looking inside. It has finally been gutted and redone with new carpet, new paint, new furniture. Tim's office is actually going to get a window to the outside! If I hadn't recognized the building from the outside before opening that door a few days after the work was finished, I would have thought I'd gone to the wrong place. It looks 110% better.
Bryce is getting so big! He is catching up to Devin and they are 22 months apart. He has been sleeping through the night four out of seven nights. Last night was one of them and it feels great to not wake up until you want to! I opened my eyes this moring at 5:50, ten minutes before the alarm was to go off to check on Hunter. I came upstairs and sat with my oldest until he headed out to meet the bus at 6:17, bundled in a warm coat, hat and mittens.
I took a two minute video of Bryce. He's been vocalizing a lot. Tim and I have started the ma-ma and da-da wars, but so far B is ignoring us both and saying ya-ya. He's also waving bye-bye (toward himself) when he gets down on his belly to head downstairs. The past two nights he has sat down at the table and eaten not only his entire meal, but he's climbed down and come around the side to eat mine!
We are still calling him The Destroyer of Homes as everything he passes, from magnets on the fridge, whatever on any and every table, books on shelves, toys on the floor or put away, it doesn't matter. Everything he touches is either thrown, tossed or pushed aside and there is this cluttered path left behind him. Every time, too many times, each and every day! Oh, well. How much fun can a floor really be with no toys and just the clean lines of a vacuum? (It does look good while for the short time it's clean though!)
Except for the Mohawk I can't tame on Devin's head, my middle son is doing well. He spends most nights sleeping soundly under his favorite blanket with a couple of stuffed puppies close by. As his room is directly above ours, we don't need a monitor in there to hear him cough or cry out in the night. Now and then I hear him cough, but he has been sleeping through most nights.
For some time he was using the potty every 30-45 minutes, keeping one Pull-Up or training underwear dry from morning to night. Now he's being a stinker about it and is refusing to use the toilet. If he does, he complains about it the entire time. Now he's been wetting himself often, even getting the chair and couch wet. We'll keep at it and hope he'll get over this hump.
Everything coming out of his mouth is understandable. I'm not remembering the last time I had to ask him to repeat himself. I often tell him to look at me when he's talking and speak up, but each word coming out of his little mouth is a real word. I didn't note anything down, but I do remember him telling me to go away when he wasn't feeling good (sniff), telling me to, Stop that, when I tried to tickle him or play with his hair (which he still does to me), and he did call one of his toys stupid (there are worse words, I suppose).
I don't remember if I mentioned this in my last update, but Hunter was bullied again by the same boy who was picking on him on the school bus. This time around this boy had a friend in on it. This was during recess and apparently really got Hunter down. The teacher noticed and was able to talk to him about it. I know the teachers of these boys know and am told the parents were notified. Anyway - it's been a couple weeks since then and Hunter tells me there hasn't been anymore incidents between himself and either of these boys.
He keeps bringing home high scores on his spelling tests, but it seems his teacher is concerned with his writing skills. From what she briefly wrote in the communication notebook, there's concern of how Hunter is doing in writing assignments; taking what he's read and writing about it in his own words; how, why and his feelings. We need to decide if he's just writing something simple and short because it's him having to print it, or if he's not understanding what needs to be done. When he's had a scribe write for him, he says a lot more because he's not the one writing it. This year the school did get him an Alphasmart, so maybe it's just he needs to be able to use it more than what he's being allowed to. On my end though, I think I do need to get him some sort of typing course.
I'll end this entry by typing out one of Hunter's assignments he brought home. It was a worksheet he did after his class read a story where one of the characters helped his father sell newspapers in his newsstand on Saturday nights. First off, I didn't think it was Hunter's because the words had spaces in-between and the letters were the same size. Hunter confirmed it was his work and his dad and I got a good laugh from his honest answers.
Helping Out
Hunter's answer: Clean my room (he has more than that, but that's the biggest one).
Question: How is doing these chores a help to your family?
Answer: I just do it.
Question: Would the jobs get done if you did not do them? By whom?
Answer: Yes. Mom and dad.
Question: What job do you like the most? Why?
Answer: None, because I don't want to do any of them.
Question: What job do you like the least? Why?
Answer: All of them - cause I do.
Question: Are there some jobs that you work on together with your parents or sisters and brothers? What are they?
Answer: Yes. Clean up other rooms.
Question: If you could make up the job assignments in your house, which jobs would you give?
Answers:
Yourself: Nothing
Your brothers and sisters: Everything
Your parents: Everything
Your pet: Nothing
Do you think it is important that people are assigned chores in order to help out in a household? Why or why not?
Answer: Yes. It goes by faster.
I hope everyone enjoys the rest of their week.
Oh - since Tim rebuilt my computer I don't have my address book, so please send me an email so I can put your address in my address book.
1:31 P.M. - Hello again. I typed the majority of this update in my comfy recliner chair under a blanket with my hubby's lap top. I didn't get it finished and proof read before he appeared by my side to take it to work at 7:45. So, I've finished it up now, but since I haven't posted it yet, I can tell you how my meeting with Hunter's teacher went.
It seems that Hunter is having difficulty writing paragraphs. He just wants to write one or two sentences about the subject, but he's not completing the assignments by being so brief. We talked about ideas of how to get him interested in writing more and we put together an outline of how the paragraph should look like, what questions he should answer, etc. He's writing again to his cousins, so hopefully that will help.
He's been refusing help from a scribe, probably because he's the only one in the class with one. It's obvious to us that his assignments are longer and with more detail when he dictates what he wants to say to the scribe. I'm going to try and show him this by having him write out what he wants to say about something and then record what he wants to say about the same subject. I hope I can show him how much more he can do with a scribe in this way. I was told today that his 4th grade testing is an all or nothing thing. He can't have a scribe for certain areas. He either has one or he doesn't. They did a practice math test and because he refused the scribe he didn't write detailed answers and did poorly on those problems. He also has an Alphasmart in the classroom. I've started researching typing classes for him.
Thanks for reading!
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Happy Belated New Year everyone!
I think this will be the shortest update on record! I just finished posting pictures for you to see and spent the better part of the day purging the boys' bedrooms of toys they don't play with or are broken, but mostly just cleaning it out. (Tomorrow I do the bathroom. How many expired items do you have in your medicine cabinet?) Hunter's room took forever and he is no help at all. I just want to go and spend my remaining time sitting in front of the TV ignoring Mt. Laundry next to me. I'm imagining that pile would make one nice pillow....
Our drive up north was the best. The boys rode well, the roads were clear; we had no issues at all. My poor husband on the other hand had the worse time. It took him much longer than normal because he was driving up on icey roads and in the snow. Thankfully he made it up there safe and sound.
Like last year we had no plans until the rest of my sister's arrived the day after Christmas. So the boys and I attended my moms side of the family get together on Christmas Day. Tiff and Mark actually arrived earlier than in years past and were able to join us there.
We spent Christmas morning with the IL's, went to the get together mentioned above, and returned to stuff our faces some more back at the IL's that night.
The next day we had our holiday with Amanda and Saturday, a gift exchange with my dad. Our boys opened their Santa gifts at the IL's. Check out the picture slide show to see what Santa brought Dev. Hunter's big gift was a Nintendo DSL. (Bryce can share in Devin's present.)
We had fun in the snow, fun with the Wii, fun playing board games and enjoyed each other's company while making one heck of a mess in the house (five kids and seven adults staying the night with more coming during the day!) Of course, those who enjoy the hunt went on a few geocaching adventures! Check out my other blog to read about those.
Tim headed back to Ohio the Sunday after Christmas, but the boys and I didn't come back until the following Saturday. Those last few days were pretty rough for Dev and B. They caught themselves a stomach bug and had a bit of a fever and both threw up, but thankfully on different nights! Our last night there I considered staying another day because Bryce was up every hour fussing. Before we left my dad gave me a roll of paper towels and a garbage and said if I'm prepared for the baby to throw up then it won't happen, and he was right! The ride back home went just as well as our ride up.
Except for a few Christmas decorations Devin had brought into his room, our house is back to its original state.
I'm sure I've missed something worthy of sharing with you, but I didn't keep track and I'm impatient to get this up. I've been home for a week now and should have done this before!
I hope you all had a safe and happy New Year and wish you the best of health and good fortune in 2009!
Yo
Our drive up north was the best. The boys rode well, the roads were clear; we had no issues at all. My poor husband on the other hand had the worse time. It took him much longer than normal because he was driving up on icey roads and in the snow. Thankfully he made it up there safe and sound.
Like last year we had no plans until the rest of my sister's arrived the day after Christmas. So the boys and I attended my moms side of the family get together on Christmas Day. Tiff and Mark actually arrived earlier than in years past and were able to join us there.
We spent Christmas morning with the IL's, went to the get together mentioned above, and returned to stuff our faces some more back at the IL's that night.
The next day we had our holiday with Amanda and Saturday, a gift exchange with my dad. Our boys opened their Santa gifts at the IL's. Check out the picture slide show to see what Santa brought Dev. Hunter's big gift was a Nintendo DSL. (Bryce can share in Devin's present.)
We had fun in the snow, fun with the Wii, fun playing board games and enjoyed each other's company while making one heck of a mess in the house (five kids and seven adults staying the night with more coming during the day!) Of course, those who enjoy the hunt went on a few geocaching adventures! Check out my other blog to read about those.
Tim headed back to Ohio the Sunday after Christmas, but the boys and I didn't come back until the following Saturday. Those last few days were pretty rough for Dev and B. They caught themselves a stomach bug and had a bit of a fever and both threw up, but thankfully on different nights! Our last night there I considered staying another day because Bryce was up every hour fussing. Before we left my dad gave me a roll of paper towels and a garbage and said if I'm prepared for the baby to throw up then it won't happen, and he was right! The ride back home went just as well as our ride up.
Except for a few Christmas decorations Devin had brought into his room, our house is back to its original state
I'm sure I've missed something worthy of sharing with you, but I didn't keep track and I'm impatient to get this up. I've been home for a week now and should have done this before!
I hope you all had a safe and happy New Year and wish you the best of health and good fortune in 2009!
Yo
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Mostly gross but with a few laughs.
Hello all!
Even though I changed my home page to show some holiday spirit and posted some pictures a few days ago, I'm only just now sitting down to tell you about the last two weeks.
I didn't think I would be writing this at all, at least not during day time hours! I stayed up late the night I posted the pictures because,, my computer died. It was bogging down and freezing up, being overly annoying when I only have a handfull of minutes at a time to sit there. Then I left for the weekend and my hubby turned it off. Now we know he shouldn't have done that, because, sadly, it won't boot back up again.
My hubby can fix it, as he's done previous computers in the past. He actually built this one quite a few years ago and saved us a lot of money. However, when someone works with computers all day every day, you can't get that someone to come home to a computer job, not willingly or happily, at least! I don't know when I'll be able to use it, so instead I have his lap top to use in the evenings. During the day I can use the smaller computer downstairs, but that is supposed to be for our business only. There is no firewall, no virus protection on it what so ever. I have an Internet connection there only to view my orders and to print postage. As I am addicted to computers, I have been wandering down there often to check my email and chat with some ladies I've known for a few years now.
I have presents divided and packaged up in piles designated as Tim and Yo. My hubby isn't heading north for the holiday until the 23rd. He'll have a lot more room than I will, so will be taking a large plastic tub filled to the top with presents. I'll only be bringing up exchange gifts and a selection for each of my boys to open at a family gathering held the same day as our arrival up north. It actually starts at 2:00, but to make that hour we'd have to leave here by 6:00 a.m. That's probably not gonna happen! We'll shoot for 9:00. With potty breaks and half hour for lunch, we should be there by 5:00.
Let me get down to it as it's getting late.
Usually I have more to say about Dev and B than I do Hunter, but not this time! I took note of a few things to share with you, the first on my list are the 95-100% grades he's been getting on his weekly spelling tests. A recent one he came home with was for 101% because his penmanship was clear and even!
On December first, Hunter's 11th birthday, the regular fourth grade teacher returned. I've told you about it before, so I won't repeat myself. I requested a meeting with her and she agreed. My babysitter is only part time and already had a full house for that day so I brought Devin and Bryce with me. Devin was very excited when I said we were going to Hunter's school to meet his teacher. Devin ran to his room and came back with his Go, Diego, Go! backpack.
Mrs. G's planning hour started at 11:00, so Dev and B and I arrived jus before then. Hunter's school is called an intermediate school, located in a much older building in front of the elementary school. The layout was poorly made. There is a big front door, but that's not where they want you to enter. I park on the parking lot, which is at one side of the school. I walk past the front door carrying Bryce and followed by my backpack wearing three year old with this face consuming smile on his face, to the other side where there is a walking path from this school to the one behind it (Hunter has to go to the elementary school for lunch and gym. Lovely.)
Afer being buzzed in we then had to climb three floors to the office to sign in and be announced to Hunter's teacher, who we must go back down two flights of steps to meet in her classroom. For some reason Devin wanted me to get to the bottom of each flight before he would take hold of the handrail and come down. Had Bryce been his usual wiggle, let me go self, I would have had less patience!
I was a little put out when I first entered the classroom and saw Mrs. E there. I don't recall her title, but she's like a coordinator between parents and the IEP team. This wasn't anything official, I just wanted to meet the woman who was spending more hours with my son than I was.
Mrs. G is probably in her early 50's, but you wouldn't have guessed that if you were just looking at her mouth and the neon yellow gum she was chomping. After the introduction it wasn't that noticable in her mouth. Maybe she was just freshening her breath. We discussed how Huner handeled the meeting she, Mrs. T and Hunter had the week before. How Hunter was behaving with Mrs. G in the classroom and the differences between the teaching stles of Mrs. T and Mrs. G. To cut myself short, I feel pretty good about the situation and Hunter has no complaints. (Devin did great sitting in few different desks and checking out the chalkboard. I sat B in Hunter's chair and he spent most of the time scribbling on the back of Hunter's paper. The rest of the time he spent climbinb all over me.)
Hunter takes forever in the bathroom at night. Using the toilet, taking a shower and brushing his teeth can take over an hour. I've cut it down considerably by taking the book away from him before he goes in there. Now he gets the job done and reads the book before going to bed.
I'm wondering if there's one book I should confinscate because of what it's teaching him! After he was done in the bathroom I entered to find the walls splattered with spit balls! LOL I told him he could do that all he wanted, as long as he cleaned up the mess!
I'm not sure how it happened, but Hunter came home from school one day with his eyeglasses broken. The left side was completely snapped off near where the screw is. It was unfixable so I called the eye doc and asked what kind of warrenty there was. He's only been wearing them since the spring. I was told as long as we turned in every piece we'd get a complete replacement, even the transitional lenses, which were scractched up. Even though the woman put a rush in with the order, it would take a few days and that meant duct taping his glasses back together. What I used wasn't exactly duct tape. I really didn't want anyone seeing the grey tape or the black of electrical tape holding my son's glasses together. I found a cloudy clear tape that we've used to help visquine our windows and that held his glasses together until yesterday, when we traded them for the new pair.
Oh...yesterday. I got a horrible scare yesterday. I'm going to break off and tell you about it. Hunter gets home about 3:20. We left the house and traveled the 30 minutes to the eye doc to make the switch. We came back to the nearest town to our house and went to the BK drive thru. Tim and I were going to his company Christmas party and leaving the boys with a sitter, hence the fast food run. I made a left turn from the BK, behind a black pick up who then entered the right turn lane onto the bypass that was put in a few years back to help ease the congestion that is created when you put cars and Amish buggies together.
Before the truck turned I saw a car stopped at the sign at the end of the bypass and then it was blocked from sight by the black pickup. I started to accelerate as the truck moved away, when the car suddenly appeared in front of me! I clenched the steering wheel with both hands as I slammed on the brakes. As I squealed to a stop just inches away from the back panel of that car, I saw the startled face of an older woman who continued driving away. I stayed there for a minute or two, catching my breath and expressing the greatest grattitude to a van which is up there in miles but has a good set of brakes! The car behind me gave me all the time I needed, no blares of the horn to get moving. Had the roads been even the slightest bit icy, I'd be needing a new van. All three boys were safe and secure, although it did wake Bryce up from his nap. We made it home, I handed the children over, then I proceeded to drink four glasses of wine too many and felt it in the morning!
Back to Hunter...he got a phone call! Tomorrow they are having some sort of carnival for the last day of 2008. He and another boy will be managing a game where they will build a pyramid of plastic cups for kids to throw a ping pong ball at. The boys have talked together twice about their booth.
This last one actually happened over the Thanksgiving holiday, when Hunter's grandparents were here. Apparently Hunter had an upset stomach one night and ran to the toilet to vomit. His grandma found the evidence and cleaned up the commode the next morning. However, I didn't know the extent of the sickness until Hunter tells me right before he goes to be that he needs new bed sheets. Why? Because he threw up in his bed before making it to the bathroom and spent the rest of the night on the floor instead of coming to tell me. I got his room cleaned up and told him to come get me right away if this happened again.
If you think that was gross, then read on.
Through Bryces's baby monitor I can hear when Devin is crying. One night I heard his cries, so I put my soft and warm terry cloth robe on and stumbled my way up the stairs. He met me at his bedroom door and said that he needed me. I asked him what was wrong, in which he replied with a cough...and then he puked all over the front of my robe! Thankfully I was protected in that or else it would have been a thin t-shirt and nothing on my legs to stop what I couldn't see coming at me in the dark hallway! After that purge, a new sleeper and a drink of water, he went right back to sleep.
Don't stop now, keep reading....
Devin is learning about things that are smaller and bigger. I've been showing him different sized balls and he uses the words himself in describing things. When children sneeze, they often close their mouth. Devin did this and told me he had a small amount of snot on his nose. I wiped it up with a tissue and we carried on. He sneezed again and came running, shouting, It's bigger, mama. It's a big one! Um. Yeah. The bottom of his face was all snot. It took two Kleenex's to get that off. Bigger was right! (Hey, Uncle Mark! Ya ready to spend some qaulity time with your nephews?!?)
Devin has been testing my patience to the limit. He's throwing things at the dogs and chases poor Kit around so much, she spends a lot of time in my shadow. He hits, pushes and takes things away from Bryce that I'm imaginging myself dividing the house, one side for Dev and the other for B. I had had enough the other day when Dev took an orange plastic recorder (like a small one piece clarinet) and hit Bryce on the head. He knew I was mad because he was apologizing before I had covered the short distance between us. I don't have a problem with smacking a little bum now and then and this was one of those moments where I was going to try and make an impression. I grabbed his right shoulder with my right hand and pulled back with my left. Devin's instinct was to put his hands on his backside and still clutched in his hand was that darn recorder! The bottom knuckle bone of my thumb hit that hard plastic and I instantly froze up in pain! I had a purple spot for two days afterward. Note to self: Take offending toy away first!
But Devin is nothing compared to Bryce, The Destroyer of Homes. At least Devin is old enough to listen and obey when we say no. Bryce? He laughs in our face. Sure he does stop, but look out as he throws whatever it was we wanted him to stop doing at you. If you're within a few feet of him when he drains his sippy cup...watch out, because he chucks that thing hard and contines to pick it up and throw it until it's been refilled and placed in his hands. Is there a coffee table in your house? Does it have drinks, books, perhaps clean clothes neatly piled atop it? Bryce is faster with his hands than Knight ever was with his gator tail! Forget to push in your dining room or office chair? Too bad, because now you have salt and pepper on the table, napkins thrown on the floor and paperwork, CD's, or your computer behaivng strangley because a 19 month old changed a setting you have no idea how to switch back.
I called my parents the other day to warn them of Bryce. They smiled and they chuckled. He's the typical toddler, they said. We're ready for him, they claim. I tried to explain that B is like a set of twins in one body, that you think you have him where you want him, but then he's way over there pouring out your drink you thought was safe because he was with you over here and while you're soaking that up, he's at the other side of the house, checking to see what plants were watered and which ones weren't and then suddenly deciding that they all needed to be repotted.
On Sunday I'll be driving to Traverse City to pick up Devin's big Santa gift. I told Tim that I'd probably just leave all three boys with my parents if they were going to be home. My husband says, Oh, no. Don't leave Bryce with them. Why not?, I ask, becoming a little defensive about his apparent lack in trust of my parents babysitting skills. He replied, Don't leave him with them on your first full day there. They won't want to watch him again!
I've closed myself up in a room with no heat so my typing won't keep Tim up. I'm tired, I'm shivering, and I have a lot of packing to do tomorrow!
I hope you have a safe and happy Christmas!
Love to all,
Yolanda
Even though I changed my home page to show some holiday spirit and posted some pictures a few days ago, I'm only just now sitting down to tell you about the last two weeks.
I didn't think I would be writing this at all, at least not during day time hours! I stayed up late the night I posted the pictures because,
My hubby can fix it, as he's done previous computers in the past. He actually built this one quite a few years ago and saved us a lot of money. However, when someone works with computers all day every day, you can't get that someone to come home to a computer job, not willingly or happily, at least! I don't know when I'll be able to use it, so instead I have his lap top to use in the evenings. During the day I can use the smaller computer downstairs, but that is supposed to be for our business only. There is no firewall, no virus protection on it what so ever. I have an Internet connection there only to view my orders and to print postage. As I am addicted to computers, I have been wandering down there often to check my email and chat with some ladies I've known for a few years now.
I have presents divided and packaged up in piles designated as Tim and Yo. My hubby isn't heading north for the holiday until the 23rd. He'll have a lot more room than I will, so will be taking a large plastic tub filled to the top with presents. I'll only be bringing up exchange gifts and a selection for each of my boys to open at a family gathering held the same day as our arrival up north. It actually starts at 2:00, but to make that hour we'd have to leave here by 6:00 a.m. That's probably not gonna happen! We'll shoot for 9:00. With potty breaks and half hour for lunch, we should be there by 5:00.
Let me get down to it as it's getting late.
Usually I have more to say about Dev and B than I do Hunter, but not this time! I took note of a few things to share with you, the first on my list are the 95-100% grades he's been getting on his weekly spelling tests. A recent one he came home with was for 101% because his penmanship was clear and even!
On December first, Hunter's 11th birthday, the regular fourth grade teacher returned. I've told you about it before, so I won't repeat myself. I requested a meeting with her and she agreed. My babysitter is only part time and already had a full house for that day so I brought Devin and Bryce with me. Devin was very excited when I said we were going to Hunter's school to meet his teacher. Devin ran to his room and came back with his Go, Diego, Go! backpack.
Mrs. G's planning hour started at 11:00, so Dev and B and I arrived jus before then. Hunter's school is called an intermediate school, located in a much older building in front of the elementary school. The layout was poorly made. There is a big front door, but that's not where they want you to enter. I park on the parking lot, which is at one side of the school. I walk past the front door carrying Bryce and followed by my backpack wearing three year old with this face consuming smile on his face, to the other side where there is a walking path from this school to the one behind it (Hunter has to go to the elementary school for lunch and gym. Lovely.)
Afer being buzzed in we then had to climb three floors to the office to sign in and be announced to Hunter's teacher, who we must go back down two flights of steps to meet in her classroom. For some reason Devin wanted me to get to the bottom of each flight before he would take hold of the handrail and come down. Had Bryce been his usual wiggle, let me go self, I would have had less patience!
I was a little put out when I first entered the classroom and saw Mrs. E there. I don't recall her title, but she's like a coordinator between parents and the IEP team. This wasn't anything official, I just wanted to meet the woman who was spending more hours with my son than I was.
Mrs. G is probably in her early 50's, but you wouldn't have guessed that if you were just looking at her mouth and the neon yellow gum she was chomping. After the introduction it wasn't that noticable in her mouth. Maybe she was just freshening her breath. We discussed how Huner handeled the meeting she, Mrs. T and Hunter had the week before. How Hunter was behaving with Mrs. G in the classroom and the differences between the teaching stles of Mrs. T and Mrs. G. To cut myself short, I feel pretty good about the situation and Hunter has no complaints. (Devin did great sitting in few different desks and checking out the chalkboard. I sat B in Hunter's chair and he spent most of the time scribbling on the back of Hunter's paper. The rest of the time he spent climbinb all over me.)
Hunter takes forever in the bathroom at night. Using the toilet, taking a shower and brushing his teeth can take over an hour. I've cut it down considerably by taking the book away from him before he goes in there. Now he gets the job done and reads the book before going to bed.
I'm wondering if there's one book I should confinscate because of what it's teaching him! After he was done in the bathroom I entered to find the walls splattered with spit balls! LOL I told him he could do that all he wanted, as long as he cleaned up the mess!
I'm not sure how it happened, but Hunter came home from school one day with his eyeglasses broken. The left side was completely snapped off near where the screw is. It was unfixable so I called the eye doc and asked what kind of warrenty there was. He's only been wearing them since the spring. I was told as long as we turned in every piece we'd get a complete replacement, even the transitional lenses, which were scractched up. Even though the woman put a rush in with the order, it would take a few days and that meant duct taping his glasses back together. What I used wasn't exactly duct tape. I really didn't want anyone seeing the grey tape or the black of electrical tape holding my son's glasses together. I found a cloudy clear tape that we've used to help visquine our windows and that held his glasses together until yesterday, when we traded them for the new pair.
Oh...yesterday. I got a horrible scare yesterday. I'm going to break off and tell you about it. Hunter gets home about 3:20. We left the house and traveled the 30 minutes to the eye doc to make the switch. We came back to the nearest town to our house and went to the BK drive thru. Tim and I were going to his company Christmas party and leaving the boys with a sitter, hence the fast food run. I made a left turn from the BK, behind a black pick up who then entered the right turn lane onto the bypass that was put in a few years back to help ease the congestion that is created when you put cars and Amish buggies together.
Before the truck turned I saw a car stopped at the sign at the end of the bypass and then it was blocked from sight by the black pickup. I started to accelerate as the truck moved away, when the car suddenly appeared in front of me! I clenched the steering wheel with both hands as I slammed on the brakes. As I squealed to a stop just inches away from the back panel of that car, I saw the startled face of an older woman who continued driving away. I stayed there for a minute or two, catching my breath and expressing the greatest grattitude to a van which is up there in miles but has a good set of brakes! The car behind me gave me all the time I needed, no blares of the horn to get moving. Had the roads been even the slightest bit icy, I'd be needing a new van. All three boys were safe and secure, although it did wake Bryce up from his nap. We made it home, I handed the children over, then I proceeded to drink four glasses of wine too many and felt it in the morning!
Back to Hunter...he got a phone call! Tomorrow they are having some sort of carnival for the last day of 2008. He and another boy will be managing a game where they will build a pyramid of plastic cups for kids to throw a ping pong ball at. The boys have talked together twice about their booth.
This last one actually happened over the Thanksgiving holiday, when Hunter's grandparents were here. Apparently Hunter had an upset stomach one night and ran to the toilet to vomit. His grandma found the evidence and cleaned up the commode the next morning. However, I didn't know the extent of the sickness until Hunter tells me right before he goes to be that he needs new bed sheets. Why? Because he threw up in his bed before making it to the bathroom and spent the rest of the night on the floor instead of coming to tell me. I got his room cleaned up and told him to come get me right away if this happened again.
If you think that was gross, then read on.
Through Bryces's baby monitor I can hear when Devin is crying. One night I heard his cries, so I put my soft and warm terry cloth robe on and stumbled my way up the stairs. He met me at his bedroom door and said that he needed me. I asked him what was wrong, in which he replied with a cough...and then he puked all over the front of my robe! Thankfully I was protected in that or else it would have been a thin t-shirt and nothing on my legs to stop what I couldn't see coming at me in the dark hallway! After that purge, a new sleeper and a drink of water, he went right back to sleep.
Don't stop now, keep reading....
Devin is learning about things that are smaller and bigger. I've been showing him different sized balls and he uses the words himself in describing things. When children sneeze, they often close their mouth. Devin did this and told me he had a small amount of snot on his nose. I wiped it up with a tissue and we carried on. He sneezed again and came running, shouting, It's bigger, mama. It's a big one! Um. Yeah. The bottom of his face was all snot. It took two Kleenex's to get that off. Bigger was right! (Hey, Uncle Mark! Ya ready to spend some qaulity time with your nephews?!?)
Devin has been testing my patience to the limit. He's throwing things at the dogs and chases poor Kit around so much, she spends a lot of time in my shadow. He hits, pushes and takes things away from Bryce that I'm imaginging myself dividing the house, one side for Dev and the other for B. I had had enough the other day when Dev took an orange plastic recorder (like a small one piece clarinet) and hit Bryce on the head. He knew I was mad because he was apologizing before I had covered the short distance between us. I don't have a problem with smacking a little bum now and then and this was one of those moments where I was going to try and make an impression. I grabbed his right shoulder with my right hand and pulled back with my left. Devin's instinct was to put his hands on his backside and still clutched in his hand was that darn recorder! The bottom knuckle bone of my thumb hit that hard plastic and I instantly froze up in pain! I had a purple spot for two days afterward. Note to self: Take offending toy away first!
But Devin is nothing compared to Bryce, The Destroyer of Homes. At least Devin is old enough to listen and obey when we say no. Bryce? He laughs in our face. Sure he does stop, but look out as he throws whatever it was we wanted him to stop doing at you. If you're within a few feet of him when he drains his sippy cup...watch out, because he chucks that thing hard and contines to pick it up and throw it until it's been refilled and placed in his hands. Is there a coffee table in your house? Does it have drinks, books, perhaps clean clothes neatly piled atop it? Bryce is faster with his hands than Knight ever was with his gator tail! Forget to push in your dining room or office chair? Too bad, because now you have salt and pepper on the table, napkins thrown on the floor and paperwork, CD's, or your computer behaivng strangley because a 19 month old changed a setting you have no idea how to switch back.
I called my parents the other day to warn them of Bryce. They smiled and they chuckled. He's the typical toddler, they said. We're ready for him, they claim. I tried to explain that B is like a set of twins in one body, that you think you have him where you want him, but then he's way over there pouring out your drink you thought was safe because he was with you over here and while you're soaking that up, he's at the other side of the house, checking to see what plants were watered and which ones weren't and then suddenly deciding that they all needed to be repotted.
On Sunday I'll be driving to Traverse City to pick up Devin's big Santa gift. I told Tim that I'd probably just leave all three boys with my parents if they were going to be home. My husband says, Oh, no. Don't leave Bryce with them. Why not?, I ask, becoming a little defensive about his apparent lack in trust of my parents babysitting skills. He replied, Don't leave him with them on your first full day there. They won't want to watch him again!
I've closed myself up in a room with no heat so my typing won't keep Tim up. I'm tired, I'm shivering, and I have a lot of packing to do tomorrow!
I hope you have a safe and happy Christmas!
Love to all,
Yolanda
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
