Here are some pictures from his birthday party at school today. Of course he had to have cupcakes with "Chick Hicks" green icing. He is also sporting a new shirt with Chick on it and new shorts. Inside his present from Mommy and Daddy he found a "Chick Hicks" die-cast car, which is now his favorite toy! Big suprise! We are off to Chuck E. Cheese, Camden's pick for dinner. Happy Birthday Big Guy, We love you!!!!
After hearing really good things about Sprouts from several different people, I decided to take a drive and find out what it is all about.
What I found was a great little grocery store that is all about being healthy. Most of their products are organic and many are gluten-free. What I was after was everyday products that were low in sugar for Brian to try. Found those too. We brought home, cheese, fruits, veggies, pasta, hot dogs, breads and a couple of different types of chips that are good for you and taste great! I found that the prices weren't too bad. I have been told that they are much lower than Whole Foods. If you get a chance, drive over and check out Sprouts!
Brian goes to see an Endocrinologist tomorrow. Will update when I have more information.
Noah starts T-ball practice tonight and I have mixed feelings about his coach. It is the same coach that he had for his Soccer team. He cancels practices on a whim and is not very organized. He also tends to play favorites with his own child. I know they are just 5, but I would like to have a good foundation of the fundamentals because Noah really likes baseball.
That's all for Now. Tomorrow my baby will be 3 and we are counting down the minutes. Will blog about that tomorrow.
This pictures pretty much sums up our afternoon.
Things were going well in the morning when the kids were in pre-school. After school, everything changed.
We came home to find millions of termite swarming in the garage. After a quick panicked call to my dad, I got off the phone to hear Noah yelling that Camden was hurt. No biggie, someone is always hurt. Noah's voice changed and just like with the broken arm I knew something was very wrong.
Camden was lying face down on the carpet and when I picked him up he had blood all over his face. I applied pressure and then looked. I have never seen a cut that requires stitches before, but I knew instantly that this one did. I couldn't get the bleeding to stop so 2 minutes after my last phone call to my dad, I was calling him back. How do I get to the hospital while holding Camden and applying pressure? The good Lord had the answer. The bleeding stopped the entire way to the hospital.
After explaining to the E.R. check-in nurse, that just last week I finished paying off our last visit and would have appreciated a little more time before the next one, we were in an exam room.
Before I describe what happens next, I want to say that Camden is a very tough, brave little boy. Camden was strapped to a body board to immobilize him. The only thing he could move was his head and and E.R. Doc. had that pretty well immobile as well. The Doctor then shot him in the wound with numbing medicine and put in four stitches. Two stitches were put through skin that wasn't numbed. Why do I tell you this? Camden never screamed or tried to get out of his situation, he did whimper and was uncomfortable. He responded better to this situation then he does to a typical time-out. He is tough as nails.
Camden and Noah are eating a star ice-cream from Dairy Queen, which always makes any E.R. visit better. Until next time...
I am awake with fever, chills and body aches and no relief in sight, so I am going to blog. It is 1: 15 a.m. and I am tired of this routine. Friday night at 6:30 p.m. to be exact I felt like I was hit by a run-a-away freight train. Saturday, I tested positive for the dreaded flu. Flu, you might ask? Yes, the flu. I am 2-3 months late for getting it, but I wanted to make sure that I didn't miss out on it this year. Yep, I got a flu shot. 1 in 8 people still get the flu, I was told. Well, we have at least 3 maybe 4 people in this house who have had the flu in the last week. We blew that statistic out of the water. Maybe they should call our house to ask figures for next years census.
Camden is miserable, Brain is still on the fence on whether he is going to give in to it, but I don't think he has much of a choice. Noah had it last week and is delighting us with his energy this week. I need help! I am barely functioning and Brian is doing the best he can.
Tami flu. The jury is still out on this one. I have heard wonderful things about it from other people. It may have lessened, on slightly, my symptoms. However, I am just plain miserable. Have I said that before? Well, this is my forum and I am going to complain. It has provided me with an upset stomach and insomnia. For this, am I thankful? Maybe, it has given me this opportunity to blog which I otherwise wouldn't have had. It didn't do much as far as prevention for Camden.
Speaking of Brian, his sugar levels have hovered around 250 all weekend. Doesn't seem to be dropping much more. I think he is in denial and your prayers on his behalf would be much appreciated.
Thanks for listening to me rant. It's back to shivering.
I have been a bad blogger lately. It's not that there isn't stuff to write, its just that I don't have as much time to write anymore.
We had a nice Easter, if you don't count that I threw my back out wearing new shoes and a new bra. That's a story for another day though.
Sharon, a.k.a. Tutu, and Ross were here visiting and we spent the day all together at my parent's house. It turns out the stomach virus Noah had on Friday was really the adenovirus and he was pretty miserable until Thursday. We battled high fever, bad headaches, vomiting and extremely swollen tonsils and adenoids. If you listened to him you would have believed that he was full of nasal congestion, in reality it was his adenoids so swollen. The kids were reatlly excited to see that the Easter Bunny had brought them "Cars" beach towels and swim suits this year.
The kids had fun at their Easter parties at school. Brian and I had fun watching Camden collecting Easter eggs with his school friends. He was so polite, when he found his allotted 8 eggs, he went and sat down and waited for is friends to finish. Brian and I looked at each other and asked "who is that child?" Next, it was time for Noah's class to hunt eggs. They shot out of that class like a freight train coming down the track. They ran as fast they could while stepping on eggs trying to beat their friends to the eggs. They all had fun, but the intensity between the boys age groups was a little frightening.
A while back I blogged about Brian injuring his elbow. He finally west to see an Ortho. doctor who prescribed a steroid and physical therapy exercises to do at home. I am happy to report that the arm is doing great but Brian had quite a scare from the steroid. He started having some scary symptoms and went to see his G.P. They did some blood work and all of his levels were way to HIGH!. His sugar level was 600 on Wednesday. He was quickly given some medication and and lots of paperwork on Type II Diabetes. He saw the eye doctor today because his vision has been blurry for three days. Good news, the pressure in his eyes has stayed the same but he has a sugar glucose coating on his eyes that should go away when his levels return to normal. The nurse checked his sugar today at school and he was down to 250. He returns on Sat. and Wed. for more testing. Please pray that this is just temporary and his levels return to normal once the steroid is out of his body. Please pray that if they don't return to normal that we will have an easy adjustment to a new healthier lifestyle.
Camden is excited about turning 3. He wants and will get a "Chick Hicks" birthday cake. He is fascinated with Chick. He is the bad guy from "Cars" and Camden is all about the bad guy! We ordered him his very own t-shirt with Chick Hicks on it and personalized with Camden's name. I have no doubt that shirt will be worn EVERY day! He still eat, breaths, lives race cars and specifically Chick. He still thinks he is a race car and we have to remind him that we "don't crash people". He is officially potty trained and he acts like it was no big deal. One day I will remind him that we worked on this feat for a YEAR!!!
I will do my best to blog more often. We are very busy the next three weeks and I really want to capture everything in writing.
BRIAN!
Friday was another day with four kids. Friday was different because Brian took care of four kids while I went to clean my dad's house. Here are some of the highlights from their day.
I get a call about 10:00 a.m. asking, "where are the diapers?"
"They are in the diaper bag", I say.
"No, they aren't!", he says.
"Yes, they are. There are about 6 of them in the bottom of the diaper bag", I say.
"No, they aren't!!!", he says.
"Well, put a pull-up on her, or go buy some.", I say. No easy task with 4 kids.
Brian then loads 3 boys ages: 2, 4 & 5 and a little girl 7 months old into the car and drives to lunch at Fuddrucker's on lower Greenville Ave. with his Aunt. They got a front row parking spot and things were good.
Once inside and the food arrived, Brian left the table to fix his hamburger. On the way back to the table he met Aunt Tish and Noah, who had just gotten sick all over the floor in the middle of aisle. Apparently, Noah has a stomach bug and waited until in a public restaurant to tell his dad.
After lunch, Brian swings by the drug store to pick up some diapers. After much debate with himself about what size to buy, he settles on size 2 diapers.
Back at home, he changes baby D. into her new diapers only to find that size 2 doesn't fit this seven month old. She wears a size 4. So, Brian tells her to "suck it up" while changing her diaper and hopes that her legs don't turn blue from poor circulation.
When I arrived home later that afternoon, I was greeted with "You may go out and drink all night every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, no questions asked!".
It's nice to be appreciated.
Whew! Adding 2 more children to your family on a daily basis several times a week can prove challenging sometimes. Last week, I took them to a gymnastics place that had an open gym. The boys and the baby loved it. The baby just watched everything that was going on and completely wore herself out. Then it was off to a park to eat lunch and walk along the paths. It wss difficult to push a stroller, feed a baby and make sure that one of the older three did not fall into the stream. Thank goodness for good friends who helped me watch the older three.
Today, I ventured to Wal-Mart with all four to buy flowers and soil for the flower beds. There were two rules... 1. No running and 2. We all stay together. So O.K., in the end we all ended up some where in the HUGE garden department. That counts doesn't it? I didn't lose anyone and the boys only picked the flowers off of at least 77 flower pots. Sorry Mr. Wal-Mart man!
We came home and while the baby napped, we planted the flowers and collected hundreds of doodle bugs. Some of which we will share with the other set of kids grandma. She will be so thrilled!
They are all sleeping right now, which is no small feat. They have been so good today, so when they wake up chocolate chip cookies will be waiting for them.
Hope your day is super!
Tomorrow is a big day. Tomorrow my baby will be enrolled in Kindergarten. Noah is so excited and so ready to go. Mom and Dad are also very excited and know that he is ready to go as well. It really doesn't seem like 5 years have already gone by.
I worry how all of this will affect Camden. He has never been without his brother for so long. He has been Noah's shadow and has not really made his own decisions. This will be good for him, but it won't be easy.
On another note, the boys constantly make me laugh.
I was listening to them sing "This Little Light of Mine" one morning in Sunday school. Once Camden's "light" (finger) was lit, he then aimed it like a gun and proceeded to shoot the air. Then Ms. Shannon would re-light his finger and again he was shooting. I would like to think he was shooting the devil away...but I don't think so.
The next Sunday as the boys were singing, I rounded the corner to hear them singing "Deep and Wide,... Kapow, Deep and Wide... Kachow". Maybe we have seen the "Cars" movie one too many times.
I am not real thrilled that they have destroyed perfectly good Christian songs, but then again what can I do, they are boys.
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Camden is doing great with potty-training. It has almost been 3 weeks since he got serious and decided he didn't want to be a baby anymore. The first time he pooped in the potty, he gave us a lengthy list of all the rewards we had promised him over the past year. Boy, that kid is smart. So... we have been to Chuck E. Cheese several times, Planet Pizza, and he has consumed more ice cream and popcicles than the law allows we also have been to the all-time favorite, Toys R Us out pick out a toy. We are taking things slow and letting Camden make the decisions.
I will try to post more often. It has been busy lately and is likely to only get worse. I have been watching two extra kids three times a week. The oldest child is 4 and plays great with my boys. The baby is 7 months old and is just a sweetheart. We have enjoyed having them here and will miss them when they are gone in a few months.
If it's not one it's the other.
Tuesday marked the first day back to school for the boys. They had a great first day! When I went to pick up Camden I had an incident report waiting for me to sign. Camden's description of the event went something like this:
"I was racing really fast and I got a broken tire."
The official report states that:
"After running full throttle, Camden tripped over a mat on the playground and badly scraped his arm and leg and he sustained a large bruise on his forehead."
I went to pick up Noah and he was also sporting a scraped arm from tripping over the same mat on the playground.
Brian returns home on Tuesday night from his basketball game with his arm swollen and immobile. He and another player tangled and went down to the ground with his teammate who is easily Brian's height and weighs more, landing on Brian's elbow. After an x-ray on Wednesday that ruled out any obvious breaks he is contemplating how to be a "lefty" for a few weeks.
That would bring us to Thursday. No signs of trauma on anyone yet, but it is still early. Camden did have a near miss on a tricycle at school today but it ended well. Playmates, a fence and a large parked SUV were all targets when Camden started pedaling downhill very fast with no chance of stopping (since he doesn't know how). I was told that he did a pretty good job of bobbing and weaving though!
Spring break has come and gone and we are now back to our routine. We didn't go away for spring break, just stayed home and caught up on a few projects. We tried to catch up on some sleep as well, but Gracie, the dog didn't allow us to do that.
The last I blogged she was getting sick in the backyard and I thought it was a one-time deal and she would be fine. I was wrong. She had eaten the burnt, blakened food that is in the bottom of our bbq grill, while we were cleaning it out. She was up every hour needing to go outside for at least two days. Then for the next 4-5 days she only needed out 4 times each night. She appears to be on the mend and I hope she has learned her lesson, although I am not holding my breath.
With spring, the ants have moved into our house. We think that we have them under control in one room and they appear in droves in another room. I awoke this morning to at least 200 ants in our bathroom. It gives me the creeps to see that many ants. Noah and Camden think having ants in the house is great and are proud to put on their bug collecting tools and go hunting for bugs.
Camden has a fascination with adhesives. Not long ago, I found that he had used a bottle of glue to hang his favorite artwork on our refrigerator. Luckily, I found it before the glue had time to dry and it was a fairly easy clean up.
Yesterday, Brian walked in the kitchen to find him wrappped up in scotch tape. He had pulled a VERY long piece of tape out of the dispenser and then was turning in circles trying to figure out what to do with it and got wrapped up in the tape. What a sight!
Hope this satisfies the blog nazi's out there. I will post again when there is something exciting going on.
The boys have both been sick and after another visit to the Dr. today they are good to go. Noah got a clean bill of health and Camden has a sinus infection that will go away with drugs, Yeah!!!
Since they are better, we are going to take advantage of the beautiful weather today and play outside. The sunshine always makes me feel better and I need to get out and rake the leaves and clean up the porch after the long winter we had.
Another reason I may be feeling better is that I gave up breads and pasta for Lent. I have noticed that they tend to drag me down. I am eating lots of fruits and veggies and actually enjoying it, which surprises me, because I am not a huge fan of either.
Mark and Tiffany's pre-wedding festivities are in full swing. Brian and I enjoyed being part of each of their bachelor and bachelorette parties the past two weekends. They are very blessed to have a wonderful group of godly friends. Their wedding will be here before we know it!
Noah has been busy playing soccer. He is probably one of, if not the fastest kid on the team. His love of running is huge! He is still very cautious in a huddle of kids to kick the ball, which does not surprise us because he is not aggressive by nature.
Camden has been busy playing soccer as well, just not on any official team. He believes he is part of Noah's team and it is quite a challenge at practice and at games to keep him off the field. He is loving it and we can't wait until he is 3 so he can "officially" play. Watch out when he does play, because his aggressive nature will be something to watch on the field.
Some cute things the kids have said:
Noah - "Mommy, don't sign me up yet for the... snow... riding on the board... down the hill... sport yet. I haven't had enough practice for that yet."
Mommy- thinking to her self... "What? When have you ever snow-boarded?"
Camden - "Mommy, my ears are broken. Dr. Daniel needs to fix them, he has an ear tool to do that."
I'm a bit grumpy today and not really liking life. Why?
I am functioning on about 3 hours sleep because we had a kid up sick all night.
There are two half naked kids running around the house wheezing, coughing and with nasty goo coming out of their noses.
They are currently underneath a pop-up basketball game that is about 4 ft. long and 2 ft. wide and they are running full tilt with total disregard for their lives and for the possessions in our house.
I see the E.R. room in our future today.
If we don't make it to the E.R. then we will be in the DR.'s office during nap time today. which is always a pleasant experience! I just love being confined to a 6 x 6 room with two sick, restless kids and nothing to occupy them.
We will be at the Dr.'s office so long that the exhaustion will turn into out of control energy when we get home and nap time will totally be lost.
There is a large brown dog out back throwing up. I am too tired to find out why.
Somebody slowed down the speed of the mouse for the computer and I am unhappy and frustrated.
It's only 10:30 a.m.
| You Are Coffee Ice Cream |
 Energetic and lively, you are always on the go. You're doing a million things at once and doing them well. You tend to motivate others and raise spirits. You are most compatible with chocolate ice cream. |
I was greeted to a sweet Valentine's surprise in my bed this morning. Both boys and Gracie were snuggled up warm watching a bit of T.V. Since I thought they looked so cute, I took them, minus Gracie, to Crispy Creme for a heart-shaped donut for breakfast. Gracie wasn't too happy!
After breakfast we headed home and I was surprised to find Tulip's, my favorite flower, waiting for me in the kitchen.
The kids had their school Valentine's Day parties yesterday and had a great time. They each made their own Valentine holders and a special present for Mom & Dad. Camden also made a "Love-bug" hat to wear for the festivities. They received lots of sweet treats from their friends that have caused quite a sugar high. They were sporting new red Valentine's shirts from their Great Nana & Great Papa, Thank You!!!
Tonight for dinner, Mommy is making a special dinner of Pork loin, potatoes, carrots, salad and dessert! Can't wait! We wish you a very special Valentine's Day!
It's that time of year. The soccer craze has hit our house. Noah had his first game on Saturday and was completely wore out after running for approx. an hour. It may also have something to do with he is still fighting off a stomach virus.
Boy do I wish they let 2 year olds play soccer in our town. Everday for the last week Camden has been decked out in soccer gear. He "borrows" his brother's soccer socks and puts them on. They are so cute they go all the way up to his hips. He then puts on Noah's old soccer shoes, which are 3 sizes too big and Noah's soccer shirt from last season. Once he looks good he strikes a pose and yells "Soccer" and then runs as fast as he can go through the house kicking things.
Camden was not happy at all after Noah's soccer game. He kept telling me that "it made him sad". After much decoding of a 2 year olds language, I understood that he was sad because he was not asked to play and "kick the ball". He is keenly aware of the fundamentals of the game on and off the field. He told me tonight after I brought in the gatorade that I bought at the store that "soccer players drink one red drink at a time, only one mommy." O.k. buddy.
Well, we now have two sick kids with the stomach virus. It is funny how different they respond to the same virus. Without going into too much detail, they are both sick from different ends. Not pretty around here.
We have been through our fair share of Lysol, hand washing, baths, washcloths, towels, loads of laundry and the always popular B.R.A.T. diet, which no one seems to like. As I was sitting at the table this morning, I realized that I am the only one who hasn't had the virus yet. Not a welcome thought because I know what is to come!
I am home today taking it easy with Camden. Turns out the defiant potty-training boy really wasn't being difficult at all, he has a stomach virus.
Poor little guy, it's not very often he just sits and wants to be read to or cuddled. I will indulge his every whim today and soak up his sweetness.
I thought I would try a new tactic with Camden today. All we are lacking is for him to poop in the potty. So I decide to tell him that whenever he wanted too, it was alright to just go ahead in poop in his pull-up. Of course I got the response that I was looking for "no, I am going to use the potty". Great, now let's wait and see.
At lunch he started to go in his pull-up. I asked him if he wanted to go use the potty and he of course said "no". So, I then told him that if he continued to go in his pull-up that I would not change him until after his nap. He was going to have to sleep in it.
Sorry guys if this sounds harsh, but at this point we are trying everything!!!
He walked off and continued his business. Next thing I know Noah is hollering that Camden threw-up in the living room. I didn't hear any sounds of that nature and knew instantly what it was. Camden had a massive explosion in his pants that leaked all down his leg into his shoe and left a large puddle on the carpet. Yuck!
30 minutes later after cleaning Camden, the bathroom, the living room, and myself with disinfectant, Camden now is asleep with a clean pull-up on.
Camden won.
New tactic tomorrow.
You know the one... where your child is screaming so loud and your ears are ringing so much that you can't hear yourself think.
You know the one... where your child is screaming so loudly that the entire front quarter of Wal-Mart has stopped to watch you and see what is going on that makes him yell like that.
You know the one... where everyone has that look on their face like "why aren't you making him stop?"
You know the one... that there is no logical explanation for this situation, because after all what set him off is that you bought the wrong birthday card...and HE can't even READ!!!
You know the one... that the yelling lasts all the way into the parking lot and people again stop to stare and don't move because they are a. annoyed, b. stunned, or c. like to witness someone else having a bad day!
You know the one... where you have to physically restrain your kid in the car just to buckle him into his car seat. To the innocent bystander, it looks more like abuse but you know that it is love.
You know the one...where you hold your head up high and try to feel like you have control when inside you just want to melt away and it's only 9:30 a.m.!
You know the one... where 5 minutes down the road, he is still screaming and you are dreaming of your "happy place".
You know the ONE!
