This afternoon I picked the boys up from school for a variety of reasons (I'll let you know shortly) :-)
First, Brayton asked last night if they could be picked up from school today because his change in his wallet was getting very heavy and he wanted to trade it in for paper money. We went to the Credit Union first and he got to work the change machine (they have one in the lobby that you put your money in and when it's done counting, it will give you a receipt, which you take to a teller and request to deposit, get cash, etc.) and then we asked the nice teller to give him the cash back. Of course it was $6.95 and I didn't bring my purse in, so that's what he got back, which was okay because he counted it all out and she did a good job because she gave him the exact change! (I want them to always remember to count their money right away because if there is a discrepancy, it's hard to prove that after leaving the bank! ~ you learn that from being a teller!!)
Then I wanted to turn in Taite's registration for the summer courses that he was eligible for. I hope he gets the classes he was hoping for! I was going to let him choose whatever he wanted, but his 2nd choice was about Harry Potter and for what we had to pay, I would rather he learn something he might be able to use later in life . . . (sorry Carmen, he wanted to make you proud) :~)
We grabbed sodas and then were off to Rochester. Well, the soda thing was kind of funny. . .I wanted a pop so I stopped at a machine outside the grocery store. Brayton asked if he could get one too and I said I'd have to see how much $$ I had first. I had a $20 and $1.70 ~ pop was $1.50/bottle. Brayton jumped all over that and couldn't wait to buy a pop! Taite was going to skip it because the $1.50 was too much. Well, I didn't say anything and then next thing, Taite changed his mind. (this is interesting in a little while)
We had to go to Rochester because last week I bought Taite some shoes and today when he went to wear them to school, Chris informs me they are too small (I had measured his foot and thought we had allowed for some wiggle room ~ they were a size 6 in boys). I took them back and we ended up getting a men's (YES MEN'S) size 7.5!!! After exchanging for these bigger shoes, the boys wanted to go to Target because they had found some Star Wars cards at Shopko and didn't have their wallets last week (not something I will buy for them!) but had them today. So, we went into Target and they found what they were looking for (actually, they were looking at something ~ in the trading card area that was $14.99 and I said "too much!") so they settled for these card things for $5.99. On our way home, I asked Taite why he so quickly spent his $6.41 (with tax) for those card things and had a hard time spending the $1.50. . . Brayton wondered too because "$1.50 was much cheaper than $6!" Oh and I forgot to say that Taite was carrying his change, wallet and cards in his hands as we walked out of Target, so I told him to put his change in his wallet. He went to do that and realized he had $.14 instead of $.09 ~ the cashier had given him a dime instead of a nickel. He went back inside to get the correct change and was quite proud of himself ~ with good reason!!
Tonight the boys spent most of their time putting together the Star Wars things. I thought they were trading cards ~ oh NO! They are thin like a credit card, but thinner and more flimsy and they have to try and put them together. So far we have tried to glue two of the pieces back together, but I wish I could take a picture so you could see how small these things are. . . Nearly impossible ~ what we do for our kids :~)
Well, tonight I broke down and put my snowman dishes away. I was just delaying because Chris likes the coffee cups, but I'm sorry, Spring is coming and he needs to deal with the different cups. Although, I can relate to only liking certain ones (which is why I delayed this for him) :~)
Now you really know everything that has happened with us so I'll let you be (for the night) LOL
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Hi!!
I am finally feeling like spring is coming! Even though we have snow/showers in the forecast for tonight, it's sunny here now and I can see very dark skies to the north of us ~ I'll take it! LOL Now all we need is a good thunder storm to green things up! Then I'll have to think about our outside projects. . . The front step re-do or the pond. . . OR the patio out back with re-doing the retaining wall and adding a pergola. . . So many options, so little money! haha!! Oh yeah ~ Brayton mentioned the other day that he thought we were going garage saling too (there weren't any to go to)! That's my boy!!!
Have I mentioned how excited I am to help with Bray's class on Friday? Oh, and I am signed up to help with the field trip next Tuesday morning (they are going to St. Mary's and the public library). I haven't been on this trip (not sure why I didn't go with Taite's class. . .) so I'm kind of excited! should've
Tomorrow I can drop off Taite's sign up for those special classes this summer. They are filled on a first-come/first-served basis and I imagine the CSI class will fill up fast, so I hope that Taite gets in it (so I can learn what he learns LOL).
I am also feeling relieved because I've decided NOT to have Bray's birthday combined with Easter at our house. . . I really want to have the "friend" party on the same day as the "family" party so we are going to do that Saturday, the 18th. I don't know why, but this just stresses me out and Chris' solution is to not have a party ~ well, we CAN'T do that!!! So, I have a little "breathing" room before I need to send out invites and stuff {:~)
Last night at supper Brayton was in a silly mood and every chance he could, he was making Taite laugh. It kind of got out of hand when Bray came close to spitting out his food and Taite started choking. That was more than Chris could handle (remember ~ he's not getting much sleep with his cold) and he lost it. Of course, after that I started to giggle, but I kept facing the dish washer and didn't let the boys see me! They eventually quit choking and laughing, but it got me remembering how Chris has NEVER liked it when either of the boys choked. It's not that I don't mind, but if it's something they swallowed wrong (liquidy) I figure, it's something we all do ~ and live! Back when the boys were babies, if they cried and got so mad that they held their breath while crying for an extended period of time Chris didn't help when he'd freak out and say "Breathe, damn it!!" I'm pretty sure no child has cried themselves to death. . . I am going to tell Taite this story so he might better understand his dad's strong fear of something happening to the boys. If we wouldn't have been eating soup for supper, I'd have been a little more concerned :-)
I am finally feeling like spring is coming! Even though we have snow/showers in the forecast for tonight, it's sunny here now and I can see very dark skies to the north of us ~ I'll take it! LOL Now all we need is a good thunder storm to green things up! Then I'll have to think about our outside projects. . . The front step re-do or the pond. . . OR the patio out back with re-doing the retaining wall and adding a pergola. . . So many options, so little money! haha!! Oh yeah ~ Brayton mentioned the other day that he thought we were going garage saling too (there weren't any to go to)! That's my boy!!!
Have I mentioned how excited I am to help with Bray's class on Friday? Oh, and I am signed up to help with the field trip next Tuesday morning (they are going to St. Mary's and the public library). I haven't been on this trip (not sure why I didn't go with Taite's class. . .) so I'm kind of excited! should've
Tomorrow I can drop off Taite's sign up for those special classes this summer. They are filled on a first-come/first-served basis and I imagine the CSI class will fill up fast, so I hope that Taite gets in it (so I can learn what he learns LOL).
I am also feeling relieved because I've decided NOT to have Bray's birthday combined with Easter at our house. . . I really want to have the "friend" party on the same day as the "family" party so we are going to do that Saturday, the 18th. I don't know why, but this just stresses me out and Chris' solution is to not have a party ~ well, we CAN'T do that!!! So, I have a little "breathing" room before I need to send out invites and stuff {:~)
Last night at supper Brayton was in a silly mood and every chance he could, he was making Taite laugh. It kind of got out of hand when Bray came close to spitting out his food and Taite started choking. That was more than Chris could handle (remember ~ he's not getting much sleep with his cold) and he lost it. Of course, after that I started to giggle, but I kept facing the dish washer and didn't let the boys see me! They eventually quit choking and laughing, but it got me remembering how Chris has NEVER liked it when either of the boys choked. It's not that I don't mind, but if it's something they swallowed wrong (liquidy) I figure, it's something we all do ~ and live! Back when the boys were babies, if they cried and got so mad that they held their breath while crying for an extended period of time Chris didn't help when he'd freak out and say "Breathe, damn it!!" I'm pretty sure no child has cried themselves to death. . . I am going to tell Taite this story so he might better understand his dad's strong fear of something happening to the boys. If we wouldn't have been eating soup for supper, I'd have been a little more concerned :-)
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Hidie-Ho Neighbors!
I know it's been awhile and we've been kind of busy with work. The economy is still impacting us (I think I've mentioned this before) with the imports down and the exports "trying" to rise, it makes a difficult situation for us. So, I'll try to sum up our goings on. . .
This next week (starting on Tuesday ~ no school tomorrow) Brayton is the Star of the Week. Early last week his teacher sent a list of what to send to school: pictures, a pillowcase (their friends all sign it), a stuffed animal. and something for their estimation jar. True to my procrastinating nature, I had to drive the boys to school on Friday (these a/m items were due) because we were just printing pictures on Friday before school. After I got home, I realized I had still forgotten to pack his stuffed animal. Oh well, I'm sure he can bring that on Tuesday. I am excited because his class has stations on next Friday and I haven't gotten to help since February (we were going to go to the March stations, but they were after Bray's surgery and he didn't feel up to it). I do love his class, friends and teacher!
Taite brought home a little booklet thing last week and said I needed to read it before throwing it away (I'm not sure if his teacher helped him with that one or if he came up with it himself ~ I've caused him to have a few warnings because I throw away a piece of paper that he's supposed to use for math practice. . .in my defense, they haven't had to do that until recently, so before, it was garbage!) I did take the time to read what he gave me and he has been invited to participate in a program for not really "gifted" students, but those who the teachers or someone feels has special potential. So, it's not offered to everyone and kind of special. It's expensive, but I think it would be an excellent opportunity especially since it's not offered to everyone. It's at the Kasson/Mantorville school and are mornings only for 1 week in June. There are 2 sessions and a 1/2 hour break in between the sessions. There are various courses he can choose from, so I thought it kind of sounded like college/high school, where they get to pick their classes. I'm jealous of his choices because one of them is CSI!!! They study fabric fibers and something else in the 3/4 grade session (in the 5/6 grade session, they actually study blood spatters!) ~ I wonder if they need a helper??!!
Chris is sick with another cold. I'm calling it one last one before the summer season! We have to hope, don't we? This morning he was in the recliner in the living room and I decided it's not fair that I only bring out the "sick table" for the boys. We have one of those plastic/resin tables that you can adjust the height on and when the boys aren't feeling well, I dig it out and they can put their Kleenexes, bucket, drinks, remotes, etc. all within reach on the table. The "tablecloth" I made for Taite for his How To speech fits perfectly on the "sick table". Chris just felt bad because he thought I was doing everything for him, but shouldn't I? He felt like watching a movie today and after Taite left to go to a friends, we went and watched the movie Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins (wouldn't recommend it). To make Bray not feel so bad that Taite was gone, we made popcorn and he got pop ~ he was happy despite getting the same cold that Chris has, we think. After the movie, I decided to get to work on my light blocking project for the window on the living room downstairs (to make daytime movie watching more enjoyable) :-) While I was working, I heard Brayton come down to watch the UNC basketball game with Chris. It was so cute ~ it was like he wanted to be by Chris, so he joined him with what he was doing. Here's the cutest part. . .he brought down some salted in the shell peanuts to share with Chris. He even remembered the garbage can for the shells and he had a little Winnie the Pooh cup full of peanuts. It's one of those things that brings tears to my eyes because Taite is already beyond that sort of thing. He gets bored and would rather play a computer game by himself instead of just "hang out". Brayton was asking Chris questions about the game and just tried to understand what was going on which was watching UNC win! Chris was happy because that's "his" team and they are now in the final 4.
Yesterday the boys hung out at Grandma & Grandpa's while Chris and I went to town and shopped and kind of looked at stuff. Chris was kind of rejuvenated because we could spend time together OUT of the house :-) We went to a consignment shop that I wanted to stop at and, of course, Chris was the only one who found something! It was a good deal though, so I couldn't complain ~ he found an overcoat by London Fog with a zip out liner for $5! We almost bought one last winter and they were like $80! It was fun to have a leisurely afternoon and all we had to do was provide supper to the baby sitters ~ LOL
Oh, I almost forgot to give the update on Baby (hehe) Last night she had to sleep in the closet (in her kennel) because she wouldn't move so she'd quit snoring :-) Chris felt like crap anyways and then she was noisy, so I had to put her in the closet. It worked fine because we couldn't hear her and she slept soundly, or we assume!
This morning we didn't go to church again. I always feel guilty about that, but then again, they say right in the bulletin, it says to stay home or not shake hands if you aren't feeling well. I was going to go by myself, but I would have to make noise to get ready and Chris slept until 9 this morning trying to feel better. So, instead, I cooked. I made oyster stew so we could use up the oysters in the pantry before summer rolls around and we don't hardly ever have soup. I also made the oyster crackers to go with it (you know the kind that have the Hidden Valley Ranch seasoning and dill weed on them ~ excellent with the soup!) and broccoli salad for lunch. Then I even had time to exercise before we ate ~ I was kind of busy this morning. As we were eating, it dawned on me how lucky or strange, however you want to look at it, that Chris and I both like oyster stew and the boys both like it and they DO eat the oysters! I wouldn't say that is common now days!
So anyway, I would like to end on a good note. . . tonight I noticed at 8:03 pm, it was still a little light out!! So, even though we have blizzards and snow in the near forecast, it won't last much longer. . .
I know it's been awhile and we've been kind of busy with work. The economy is still impacting us (I think I've mentioned this before) with the imports down and the exports "trying" to rise, it makes a difficult situation for us. So, I'll try to sum up our goings on. . .
This next week (starting on Tuesday ~ no school tomorrow) Brayton is the Star of the Week. Early last week his teacher sent a list of what to send to school: pictures, a pillowcase (their friends all sign it), a stuffed animal. and something for their estimation jar. True to my procrastinating nature, I had to drive the boys to school on Friday (these a/m items were due) because we were just printing pictures on Friday before school. After I got home, I realized I had still forgotten to pack his stuffed animal. Oh well, I'm sure he can bring that on Tuesday. I am excited because his class has stations on next Friday and I haven't gotten to help since February (we were going to go to the March stations, but they were after Bray's surgery and he didn't feel up to it). I do love his class, friends and teacher!
Taite brought home a little booklet thing last week and said I needed to read it before throwing it away (I'm not sure if his teacher helped him with that one or if he came up with it himself ~ I've caused him to have a few warnings because I throw away a piece of paper that he's supposed to use for math practice. . .in my defense, they haven't had to do that until recently, so before, it was garbage!) I did take the time to read what he gave me and he has been invited to participate in a program for not really "gifted" students, but those who the teachers or someone feels has special potential. So, it's not offered to everyone and kind of special. It's expensive, but I think it would be an excellent opportunity especially since it's not offered to everyone. It's at the Kasson/Mantorville school and are mornings only for 1 week in June. There are 2 sessions and a 1/2 hour break in between the sessions. There are various courses he can choose from, so I thought it kind of sounded like college/high school, where they get to pick their classes. I'm jealous of his choices because one of them is CSI!!! They study fabric fibers and something else in the 3/4 grade session (in the 5/6 grade session, they actually study blood spatters!) ~ I wonder if they need a helper??!!
Chris is sick with another cold. I'm calling it one last one before the summer season! We have to hope, don't we? This morning he was in the recliner in the living room and I decided it's not fair that I only bring out the "sick table" for the boys. We have one of those plastic/resin tables that you can adjust the height on and when the boys aren't feeling well, I dig it out and they can put their Kleenexes, bucket, drinks, remotes, etc. all within reach on the table. The "tablecloth" I made for Taite for his How To speech fits perfectly on the "sick table". Chris just felt bad because he thought I was doing everything for him, but shouldn't I? He felt like watching a movie today and after Taite left to go to a friends, we went and watched the movie Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins (wouldn't recommend it). To make Bray not feel so bad that Taite was gone, we made popcorn and he got pop ~ he was happy despite getting the same cold that Chris has, we think. After the movie, I decided to get to work on my light blocking project for the window on the living room downstairs (to make daytime movie watching more enjoyable) :-) While I was working, I heard Brayton come down to watch the UNC basketball game with Chris. It was so cute ~ it was like he wanted to be by Chris, so he joined him with what he was doing. Here's the cutest part. . .he brought down some salted in the shell peanuts to share with Chris. He even remembered the garbage can for the shells and he had a little Winnie the Pooh cup full of peanuts. It's one of those things that brings tears to my eyes because Taite is already beyond that sort of thing. He gets bored and would rather play a computer game by himself instead of just "hang out". Brayton was asking Chris questions about the game and just tried to understand what was going on which was watching UNC win! Chris was happy because that's "his" team and they are now in the final 4.
Yesterday the boys hung out at Grandma & Grandpa's while Chris and I went to town and shopped and kind of looked at stuff. Chris was kind of rejuvenated because we could spend time together OUT of the house :-) We went to a consignment shop that I wanted to stop at and, of course, Chris was the only one who found something! It was a good deal though, so I couldn't complain ~ he found an overcoat by London Fog with a zip out liner for $5! We almost bought one last winter and they were like $80! It was fun to have a leisurely afternoon and all we had to do was provide supper to the baby sitters ~ LOL
Oh, I almost forgot to give the update on Baby (hehe) Last night she had to sleep in the closet (in her kennel) because she wouldn't move so she'd quit snoring :-) Chris felt like crap anyways and then she was noisy, so I had to put her in the closet. It worked fine because we couldn't hear her and she slept soundly, or we assume!
This morning we didn't go to church again. I always feel guilty about that, but then again, they say right in the bulletin, it says to stay home or not shake hands if you aren't feeling well. I was going to go by myself, but I would have to make noise to get ready and Chris slept until 9 this morning trying to feel better. So, instead, I cooked. I made oyster stew so we could use up the oysters in the pantry before summer rolls around and we don't hardly ever have soup. I also made the oyster crackers to go with it (you know the kind that have the Hidden Valley Ranch seasoning and dill weed on them ~ excellent with the soup!) and broccoli salad for lunch. Then I even had time to exercise before we ate ~ I was kind of busy this morning. As we were eating, it dawned on me how lucky or strange, however you want to look at it, that Chris and I both like oyster stew and the boys both like it and they DO eat the oysters! I wouldn't say that is common now days!
So anyway, I would like to end on a good note. . . tonight I noticed at 8:03 pm, it was still a little light out!! So, even though we have blizzards and snow in the near forecast, it won't last much longer. . .
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Early Celebratin'
I am finally warm tonight with 2 sweaters, 1 ~ 3/4 length sleeve shirt and 1 tank top on. This wet/cold weather is so difficult to stay warm in! Today I looked out the window at one point and had to blink a few times ~ yes! It was snowing. . . Soon this will all be behind us and we'll be happy again LOL
Tonight was the night that Grandma had put in her request to take Chris out for his birthday. She wanted to go on Wednesday because at Baker's Square they give you free pie for buying anything. Yes, anything. Mom and Grandma have gone there after Dr appts and just bought the coffee and the pie is still free! There were a lot of elderly there enjoying the good deal. We even heard one guy say they come and eat every Wednesday!
Tonight Bray had a little meltdown before going, which is never good. Of course it was Taite's fault and never mind that Bray was tired and somewhat crabby already. He is always pointing the finger at someone else. . . By the time we got to BS, everyone was calm and had an enjoyable time. Our latest argument with Taite when we go out to eat is if he has to order from the kids menu or not. Tonight my mom saved him and said she would share the adult extreme mac & cheese (it had bacon and stuff on it) with him. So, he asked the waitress if it was big or not and she said it was. . . it came ~ it wasn't. They still split it and everything worked out okay. Most of all, he was happy and I wasn't a bad mom. . . (I don't think!)
Well, I'm off to bed ~ seems like Bray waking up early these past couple days has my internal clock reset now. . .
Tonight was the night that Grandma had put in her request to take Chris out for his birthday. She wanted to go on Wednesday because at Baker's Square they give you free pie for buying anything. Yes, anything. Mom and Grandma have gone there after Dr appts and just bought the coffee and the pie is still free! There were a lot of elderly there enjoying the good deal. We even heard one guy say they come and eat every Wednesday!
Tonight Bray had a little meltdown before going, which is never good. Of course it was Taite's fault and never mind that Bray was tired and somewhat crabby already. He is always pointing the finger at someone else. . . By the time we got to BS, everyone was calm and had an enjoyable time. Our latest argument with Taite when we go out to eat is if he has to order from the kids menu or not. Tonight my mom saved him and said she would share the adult extreme mac & cheese (it had bacon and stuff on it) with him. So, he asked the waitress if it was big or not and she said it was. . . it came ~ it wasn't. They still split it and everything worked out okay. Most of all, he was happy and I wasn't a bad mom. . . (I don't think!)
Well, I'm off to bed ~ seems like Bray waking up early these past couple days has my internal clock reset now. . .
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Just Stuff
I am going to jump around, so hopefully you can keep up ;-)
On Saturday, my dad, Chris and the boys went to a farm show in Owatonna, so my mom and I joined them for breakfast (dad paid ~ hehe) and then we went shopping. I found a book in TJ Maxx that looked like something Taite would like called the Diary of a Wimp (or nerd, or something) and it was kind of like comic drawings, but very similar to our sense of humor ~ you know, he would get the funny parts?! The only thing was it was $9 and I know that might not seem like much, but remember I do most of my shopping at Savers or Goodwill or garage sales. So, I put the book back in the hopes that I could find it at one of the a/m stores (or if not there, then Walmart). I thought it would be a perfect gift from the Easter Bunny (yes, we are still into that for maybe one more time. . .). I bought a bunch of books, but no Diaries. I did find a Star Wars book that the boys were very excited about! Taite could hardly wait to take it to school and read it on the bus. As an added bonus, I found a Star Wars egg decorating kit at Goodwill for $.49. I figured we couldn't beat that price and then when the boys opened it ~ it was very cute! I should've bought both of them. . .
It seems that our few nice days were just "teasers" because our weather is now depressing and icky! The only positive thing this week is Chris' birthday on Thursday (hey, let's surprise him and you can send him a birthday greeting ~ hehe ~ his email is cheinz@kmtel.com )
Tonight the boys caught me up on the goings on at school:
Taite's class had to earn the letters to spell "perseverance" and they finally did it so there will be a party on Friday. They are watching the movie Bolt and his teacher's son, Colin, has a birthday so he is coming for a visit. Taite was very excited!
Brayton's class is getting a new student tomorrow. She came today to see the classroom and her name is Samantha (I believe, I can't remember for sure).
Bray told a joke:
Kid: Dad, my feet are so tired from running.
Dad: Well you have your shoes on the wrong feet!
Kid: These are the only feet I have!!
(Bray laughed and laughed at this one!)
Bray also came to tell me a funny part from a show he was watching:
The boy was trying to speak Spanish and I don't recall what he was trying to say, but he said "My bellybutton grows watermelons" ~ this one also got a good laugh!
On Saturday, my dad, Chris and the boys went to a farm show in Owatonna, so my mom and I joined them for breakfast (dad paid ~ hehe) and then we went shopping. I found a book in TJ Maxx that looked like something Taite would like called the Diary of a Wimp (or nerd, or something) and it was kind of like comic drawings, but very similar to our sense of humor ~ you know, he would get the funny parts?! The only thing was it was $9 and I know that might not seem like much, but remember I do most of my shopping at Savers or Goodwill or garage sales. So, I put the book back in the hopes that I could find it at one of the a/m stores (or if not there, then Walmart). I thought it would be a perfect gift from the Easter Bunny (yes, we are still into that for maybe one more time. . .). I bought a bunch of books, but no Diaries. I did find a Star Wars book that the boys were very excited about! Taite could hardly wait to take it to school and read it on the bus. As an added bonus, I found a Star Wars egg decorating kit at Goodwill for $.49. I figured we couldn't beat that price and then when the boys opened it ~ it was very cute! I should've bought both of them. . .
It seems that our few nice days were just "teasers" because our weather is now depressing and icky! The only positive thing this week is Chris' birthday on Thursday (hey, let's surprise him and you can send him a birthday greeting ~ hehe ~ his email is cheinz@kmtel.com )
Tonight the boys caught me up on the goings on at school:
Taite's class had to earn the letters to spell "perseverance" and they finally did it so there will be a party on Friday. They are watching the movie Bolt and his teacher's son, Colin, has a birthday so he is coming for a visit. Taite was very excited!
Brayton's class is getting a new student tomorrow. She came today to see the classroom and her name is Samantha (I believe, I can't remember for sure).
Bray told a joke:
Kid: Dad, my feet are so tired from running.
Dad: Well you have your shoes on the wrong feet!
Kid: These are the only feet I have!!
(Bray laughed and laughed at this one!)
Bray also came to tell me a funny part from a show he was watching:
The boy was trying to speak Spanish and I don't recall what he was trying to say, but he said "My bellybutton grows watermelons" ~ this one also got a good laugh!
Note to self. . .
You cannot use waxed paper as a cheap substitute for parchment paper when baking (as I'm drinking a glass of wine making supper ~ maybe that's not a good idea either. . .)
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Just and update. . .
Yesterday it was GORGEOUS outside! I got around to all my flowers and got rid of the dead stuff. Not my favorite job, but I was surprised by all of the green that I uncovered so early in the season! Very refreshing!! Only as I was almost done, did Chris happen to come out and he had to cut down a tree so he cut off the grasses for me with his saw. . . sure wish he'd have come out sooner! It cut in no time what was taking me at least 15 minutes to cut with one little hand trimmer that wasn't really sharp. While I was busy with the "dead stuff" Chris and the boys played a little BB in the shed ~ which didn't start out so well. The boys had walked in mud before entering the shed and then the mud was falling off their shoes all over the floor. Chris sent them outside to clean their shoes off and they go to the step right outside the door to clean them off. . .that didn't go over so well either! Then the neighbor dog came for a visit (Niko) and he peed on the truck tire (the truck was in the shed) which also made Chris' blood pressure go up a little more than it already was! Once we were finally done with everything everyone needed to clean up (the dog needed the a bath ~ rolled in something AND needed the cockle burrs pulled out of her fur) for supper and then Sonja & Greg came over to visit and we stayed up wayyyy past our bedtime, but it was fun (kind of a prep session for camping)!! Something we don't do very often ~ okay, never!
Today's weather was not at all like yesterdays and it was difficult not to just lay around and do nothing. Chris decided to get the boys down to the shed and they were going to play basketball. I joined them and we had a lot of fun! After basketball, the boys rode bikes and scooters and we were all grateful to have some shelter from the wind so we could get some exercise (some of us more than others LOL ~ Taite said he was tired out after 30 or so minutes of basketball). We had been outside for 2+ hours so the boys were more than ready for bed tonight. After all that activity, we did have to give Bray a shot of Albuterol, so we still don't have that situation perfected yet. That will come with time.
I created a blog for the boys today. They have been asking for awhile to have one and I finally took the time (all of about 45 minutes is all) to create The Heinz Boyz World (Brayton insisted it had to have the word "world" in the title, but I think that's because Matthew's blog is called Matt's World). At first I set theirs up a little differently so only the people who were emailed and had their addresses on the list could read it, but through tracking our blog, it's not like that many people read our blog who aren't family. So, if you want to check it out, here is their blog: www.justtheboyz.blogspot.com . They are very excited, but don't quite get the concept yet, but I told them to just type about anything they would want to talk about. Brayton chose the picture on the blog and wanted to add more pictures, but we had the laptop with zero pics on it, so that will have to happen another day. Don't forget to leave a comment because they will be thrilled to know someone is reading their blog!
Have a great week!!
Today's weather was not at all like yesterdays and it was difficult not to just lay around and do nothing. Chris decided to get the boys down to the shed and they were going to play basketball. I joined them and we had a lot of fun! After basketball, the boys rode bikes and scooters and we were all grateful to have some shelter from the wind so we could get some exercise (some of us more than others LOL ~ Taite said he was tired out after 30 or so minutes of basketball). We had been outside for 2+ hours so the boys were more than ready for bed tonight. After all that activity, we did have to give Bray a shot of Albuterol, so we still don't have that situation perfected yet. That will come with time.
I created a blog for the boys today. They have been asking for awhile to have one and I finally took the time (all of about 45 minutes is all) to create The Heinz Boyz World (Brayton insisted it had to have the word "world" in the title, but I think that's because Matthew's blog is called Matt's World). At first I set theirs up a little differently so only the people who were emailed and had their addresses on the list could read it, but through tracking our blog, it's not like that many people read our blog who aren't family. So, if you want to check it out, here is their blog: www.justtheboyz.blogspot.com . They are very excited, but don't quite get the concept yet, but I told them to just type about anything they would want to talk about. Brayton chose the picture on the blog and wanted to add more pictures, but we had the laptop with zero pics on it, so that will have to happen another day. Don't forget to leave a comment because they will be thrilled to know someone is reading their blog!
Have a great week!!
Friday, March 20, 2009
Have I mentioned . . .
Tonight we were eating supper and Chris was talking about his class size in high school. The conversation went something like this:
Chris: Taite, when I was in school, there were only 7 boys and 3 girls.
Taite: What does that mean?
Me: You wouldn't have good odds as a teenager!
Brayton: Were you one of the 7?
Chris: What do you mean ~ was I one of the 7 or the 3?!
Yep ~ that's what he meant & his sense of humor!!!
Boy have we missed it! It's sad that I could forget something like that, but the better he feels after his surgery, the more stuff like that he says! LOL
Today, I am so excited to say that we got his red bike from his birthday list @ Walmart!!! I can hardly wait for his birthday now. That doesn't seem like a big thing, but I am going to confess something here. It really says what a bad mom I am, but I don't really like the boys' birthdays. Well, let me explain. . . I like to celebrate them! I just don't like planning the party, getting everything ready for the kid party and the family party. I don't like the worrying about having enough food, having enough things to entertain a houseful of 7 year olds and making sure no one gets hurt (from the kid party, not the family one LOL)! I used to make the boys cakes (Taite liked trains, so that was fairly easy), but that also added to my stress. Thankfully, Chris has taken over the cake decorating and is very good at it too! So, I'm hoping that with an awesome gift for Bray this year will help me to maintain enthusiasm for his party planning and celebrating. Then just when I think I'm doing good to get all of this stuff done, I hear about another mom who has made goodie bags for the whole class for their child's birthday and that adds a whole new level of stress because how could I NOT think of something like that?! This being a perfect parent thing is soooo hard!
Tonight for a family movie, we watched The Legend of the Sea Horse or something like that. Not something I would normally watch (I'm not a fan of fake creatures like that) but it was a really good movie and I'm glad I took the time to sit with my boys, all 3 of them, and enjoy some "family time". I'm really going to miss our HBO when the free trial period is over!!!
Well, that's all I have to share, hope all of you are healthy and happy!!
Chris: Taite, when I was in school, there were only 7 boys and 3 girls.
Taite: What does that mean?
Me: You wouldn't have good odds as a teenager!
Brayton: Were you one of the 7?
Chris: What do you mean ~ was I one of the 7 or the 3?!
Yep ~ that's what he meant & his sense of humor!!!
Boy have we missed it! It's sad that I could forget something like that, but the better he feels after his surgery, the more stuff like that he says! LOL
Today, I am so excited to say that we got his red bike from his birthday list @ Walmart!!! I can hardly wait for his birthday now. That doesn't seem like a big thing, but I am going to confess something here. It really says what a bad mom I am, but I don't really like the boys' birthdays. Well, let me explain. . . I like to celebrate them! I just don't like planning the party, getting everything ready for the kid party and the family party. I don't like the worrying about having enough food, having enough things to entertain a houseful of 7 year olds and making sure no one gets hurt (from the kid party, not the family one LOL)! I used to make the boys cakes (Taite liked trains, so that was fairly easy), but that also added to my stress. Thankfully, Chris has taken over the cake decorating and is very good at it too! So, I'm hoping that with an awesome gift for Bray this year will help me to maintain enthusiasm for his party planning and celebrating. Then just when I think I'm doing good to get all of this stuff done, I hear about another mom who has made goodie bags for the whole class for their child's birthday and that adds a whole new level of stress because how could I NOT think of something like that?! This being a perfect parent thing is soooo hard!
Tonight for a family movie, we watched The Legend of the Sea Horse or something like that. Not something I would normally watch (I'm not a fan of fake creatures like that) but it was a really good movie and I'm glad I took the time to sit with my boys, all 3 of them, and enjoy some "family time". I'm really going to miss our HBO when the free trial period is over!!!
Well, that's all I have to share, hope all of you are healthy and happy!!
Cute Quote
I forgot to add a cute quote from Bray the other day! I was talking to my sister last night (they made it to Georgia just fine and even Josey didn't mind the plane ride) and remembered what Brayton said about PE on Wednesday. Because of his surgery, he wasn't supposed to participate in PE (they had it Wed & Thurs this week) so I asked him on Wed what he did in PE. He said "Oh, I got to play catch and do you know what I learned??!! If you keep your eyes open when you are playing catch, you can see where the ball is going!" (and then catch it more often. . .) He kind of said this as something he was sure no one else had discovered! It was pretty funny. Now that's the end of what we have to scale back after surgery on. His meds/treatment is another story. We tried the Zyrtec, but still had to give him some albuteral after 2 days, so that won't work. We tried the Singulair last night and had to give him cough medicine at 10. One thing Chris read about is the coughing is most likely just post-nasal drip and most people think of the lungs when they hear coughing, but a nasal spray would work wonders (also an option on our med list to try). The only problem (you didn't think it would be problem-free, did you?!) with the nasal spray is that when Chris was on it ~ he was a bear to live with! Even he knew it, but couldn't help it until he figured out it was the cortesteroid that was doing that to him! If only Bray would outgrow this like Taite did. . .
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
March of Dimes March for Babies
Hey everyone ~
I just received an email from my cousin, Stevie, and her and a co-worker are giving chair massages at the March for Babies instead of walking for them ~ how cool is that?! What does that have to do with you, you ask? Well, they need donations and are hoping to raise $750. You can even go to their site and donate right online! Doesn't get much easier than that. . . Here are the details:
please visit our team page: http://www.marchforbabies.org/659142 and leave a donation
And look, it all fits on one line ~ super easy!! Oh, and pass this on if you know of anyone that would like to help out! Remember we are talking about helping BABIES!
I just received an email from my cousin, Stevie, and her and a co-worker are giving chair massages at the March for Babies instead of walking for them ~ how cool is that?! What does that have to do with you, you ask? Well, they need donations and are hoping to raise $750. You can even go to their site and donate right online! Doesn't get much easier than that. . . Here are the details:
please visit our team page: http://www.marchforbabies.org/659142 and leave a donation
And look, it all fits on one line ~ super easy!! Oh, and pass this on if you know of anyone that would like to help out! Remember we are talking about helping BABIES!
The boys have a new routine now that the weather is nice and Brayton is in school. They come home, have snack, veg in front of the TV, eat supper, do homework and head outside. They've been really into playing Star Wars outside and tonight were trying really hard to find a cool place to play. . . with hills, and not much for trees, we really don't have any "cool" places to play! They tried the rocks in front of the house and the dog joined them up there which left not much room to play on them. Chris was frustrated that Brayton found mud, but I figure we've only just begun dealing with the mud! I should have gotten outside sooner because Brayton had on his bucket hat and it matched his backpack that he is wearing was his "bag of tricks". They are now bathing and 
getting all good smelling. Well, if we had 'Axe' they would be good smelling :) Taite came home the other day and asked me what Axe was. I had no idea, but Chris said it was body spray for guys. I asked Taite how he heard about it and he said there was a teenage girl on the bus and she was telling her younger brother (who Taite thought was in 5th grade) to lay off the Axe. I thought that was kind of funny and sounded exactly like what an older sister would tell her younger brother. Tonight we had another discussion about moving to SD. Chris' investigation into unemployment insurance or something in SD is WAY cheaper than in Minnesota. Ironically, MN has much higher fees, taxes, etc, but we (MN) are always behind in our budget! Oh, and they don't have an income tax, so every year that we don't move, he's got it calculated out how much money we are behind LOL Of course, Taite was adamant that there is no place for him except Byron, MN and Brayton, as always, is up for anything!
I started washing all of Brayton's bedding today so we can get started on drying out his room and getting rid of the mold on his window sills. We need to take the window out and clean it thoroughly and then spray the track for the window with bleach to let sit so it can dry and then be cleaner. We bought an air purifier yesterday so we could filter out anything that we don't get cleaned up too. Hopefully this will all work towards making him more healthy!
Bray's birthday is coming up and he's started a list. Since I have it in front of me right now, I will share it in case some of you wanted ideas.
~ Razor Havoc Helicopter (at Target according to the ad and it's remote control)
~ GameBoy Advance Super Mario Brothers game
~ Wii MarioKart game
~ GameBoy Advance Legend of Spryo game
~ Star Wars Legos
~ a red bike (this one tears at me because he never gets the new bike ~ always the hand-me downs! he doesn't complain, though, just happy to have something to ride! this one only came up because we were talking about Matthew getting a new bike for his birthday)
He's so funny because he was looking through the flyer we got from Target with all kinds of kid stuff in it and they also showed the party goods available, so his list even lists:
Plates, cups, and napkins \ Star wars (too cute!) and on the back are his friends he wants to invite. Now, we just cannot lose this sheet or we are out of luck! LOL
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Back to school
Today was Brayton's first day back after surgery. He was thrilled that it was also St. Patrick's Day so there would be 2 reasons to celebrate. He was giddy this morning as he went to the bus. We weren't sure if we needed to give him a shot of albuteral, but he wasn't coughing, so we sent him off as-is with an email to Mrs. Bendzick asking her to please let us know if he began coughing. Well. . . we didn't hear anything all day from her and when Bray got home he said he didn't cough all day ~ yippee!! Chris asked him if his friends were happy to see him and he said he didn't know. Apparently he just jumped back into the swing of things and didn't feel that anyone noticed he was gone. I'm not so sure I buy that since his teacher said that everyone was excited for him to come back.
Tonight before and after supper, the boys played Star Wars outside. They wore their tennis shoes, so they were all over the yard. Taite kept putting the dog back into the house and we kept letting her out because she just ran around the house to the doors to see if she could see the boys outside. We finally convinced Taite that she would be okay outside when they were out there and wouldn't run away. . . She was excited just to run with the boys. While all of this fun was going on, I had the job of cleaning up the dog doodoo in the yard. It wouldn't be so bad if Niko wasn't doing his business in our yard in addition to our dog ~ that made me gag!
On Sunday Monica and Matthew came over for lunch and to watch the college basketball team that Monica's husband is a fan of (he was sick ~ or Chris just thought he was not sure Duke would win) :-) They gave Brayton a get well gift of a cool black hoodie and a little lantern. Brayton has hardly taken off his new favorite "coat". He had to take it off yesterday for the allergy test, but it's been on most of the rest of the time. I'm glad it's black because his favorite part are the thumb holes in the cuffs of the sleeves! I might have to get him another one for his birthday so we can trade off the clean/dirty one :~)
Chris is stressed lately about work and the effects the economy is/will have on us. Strangely enough, his eyes are taking the hit from his stress. They are so gross/red looking ~ but just the inside corner of the eyes, though. He did some research online and couldn't find anything on the stress and red eyes, but I definitely notice they are worse if he speaks to someone who gets his blood pressure up! The only thing he did find was that if his eyesight isn't effected, then just leave it be. I've requested that he use Visine, but he can't ever seem to find any, but he tried allergy eye meds. . .
I went in tonight to kiss Bray good night (he was already sleeping) and I'm still amazed in how quietly he sleeps. I actually had to stand there to watch his chest. I am so glad we had that surgery done and, again, Dr. Erbach is our hero!
Tonight before and after supper, the boys played Star Wars outside. They wore their tennis shoes, so they were all over the yard. Taite kept putting the dog back into the house and we kept letting her out because she just ran around the house to the doors to see if she could see the boys outside. We finally convinced Taite that she would be okay outside when they were out there and wouldn't run away. . . She was excited just to run with the boys. While all of this fun was going on, I had the job of cleaning up the dog doodoo in the yard. It wouldn't be so bad if Niko wasn't doing his business in our yard in addition to our dog ~ that made me gag!
On Sunday Monica and Matthew came over for lunch and to watch the college basketball team that Monica's husband is a fan of (he was sick ~ or Chris just thought he was not sure Duke would win) :-) They gave Brayton a get well gift of a cool black hoodie and a little lantern. Brayton has hardly taken off his new favorite "coat". He had to take it off yesterday for the allergy test, but it's been on most of the rest of the time. I'm glad it's black because his favorite part are the thumb holes in the cuffs of the sleeves! I might have to get him another one for his birthday so we can trade off the clean/dirty one :~)
Chris is stressed lately about work and the effects the economy is/will have on us. Strangely enough, his eyes are taking the hit from his stress. They are so gross/red looking ~ but just the inside corner of the eyes, though. He did some research online and couldn't find anything on the stress and red eyes, but I definitely notice they are worse if he speaks to someone who gets his blood pressure up! The only thing he did find was that if his eyesight isn't effected, then just leave it be. I've requested that he use Visine, but he can't ever seem to find any, but he tried allergy eye meds. . .
I went in tonight to kiss Bray good night (he was already sleeping) and I'm still amazed in how quietly he sleeps. I actually had to stand there to watch his chest. I am so glad we had that surgery done and, again, Dr. Erbach is our hero!
Monday, March 16, 2009
Phase II of Operation Brayton Healthy
Today we saw the allergist/asthma Dr. They did a lung ability test and he did very well on it, but he still thought Bray sounded wheezy and that combined with other things would point towards asthma. They also did an allergy test to see what he's allergic to: results ~ almost all outdoor allergies with a slight mold allergy (only one type of the 3 that they test for). With that said, he recommended using Singulair to treat the allergy/asthma all in one. After coming home and reading more about Singulair (actually, Chris did the research) we are going to go with Zyrtec and hopefully that will take care of it. There are just too many unanswered "issues" with Singulair and I would hate to give it to him only to find out it was put on the market with out enough testing, like Guardasil was. Obviously Singulair isn't killing people, but it is being researched to see the connection between the drug and "suicidal tendencies" ~ not something I want our son to have the effects of!
Here is how the allergy test works: They have 5 foam/tube looking things with a needle in the middle of each one and these are all on a handle thing so this is done 4 times with different solutions ~ 2 on each arm. These hurt when being done and then they itch like crazy. Bray wasn't thrilled, but held out and once again was a real trooper! He had to sit like this for 20 minutes and then after the timer went off outside our room, wait another 10 minutes until the nurse came in to clean this off his arms.
On his right arm, they have the controlled prick, histamine, glycerin, pet allergies and mold. The only one that got really red and looked like a mosquito bite was the histamine and a slight mold. My camera on my phone didn't really show the redness very well, but if you look closely, you can see the red.
On his right arm, they tested the tree allergies, grasses and weeds. This poor arm was all red and welty looking! They put the marks on the arm so they can see where the pricks were in case they don't swell up. They also have to label what row was what, so on his wrist is 5, 10, 15 & 20 to mark the numbers that would coordinate with the sheet that they have the tests labeled on. The thing he is most allergic to is Orchard Grass, which we have never heard of. . .
I just have to let everyone know the camera trick that Monica told me about. I've been noticing when I take pictures that they look so much better if I don't have to use the flash. Sometimes that isn't an option because the picture just won't turn out, but Monica had read that if you cut out a coffee filter just so it will cover your flash, that filters the light and it SO works! Here is an example: (I was trying to take a picture of Bray and get the light just right)
TOO DARK:
TOO LIGHT (WASHED OUT):
JUST RIGHT (obviously not Bray, but you can see how we are not washed out at all!):
The boys are now out on the deck playing in their slippers, enjoying the 60+ degree weather we have ~ so beautiful!!! Perfect for sitting on the deck enjoying a beer, but I've already had a glass of wine and that's enough. ;-) Okay, I just have to clarify what they are playing. Taite quickly finished his homework so he could play with Bray. They are playing Star Wars. While playing, Niko (the neighbor dog) showed up; muddy as usual this time of year. He came up to the patio door to torment our dog ~ okay, maybe it was just to see the boys ~ when Brayton had an idea! Niko could be the Code Commander (I think that's what they called it ~ Star Wars is not my thing) so they sent him off to find out what the enemy was up to. Niko went into the yard about 50 feet and stopped and turned towards the boys. Brayton says "Oh, wait, he sees something!" Taite yells "What is it?!" Have I mentioned how much I LOVE their imagination? Oh, that and Brayton feeling good??
Here is how the allergy test works: They have 5 foam/tube looking things with a needle in the middle of each one and these are all on a handle thing so this is done 4 times with different solutions ~ 2 on each arm. These hurt when being done and then they itch like crazy. Bray wasn't thrilled, but held out and once again was a real trooper! He had to sit like this for 20 minutes and then after the timer went off outside our room, wait another 10 minutes until the nurse came in to clean this off his arms.
On his right arm, they have the controlled prick, histamine, glycerin, pet allergies and mold. The only one that got really red and looked like a mosquito bite was the histamine and a slight mold. My camera on my phone didn't really show the redness very well, but if you look closely, you can see the red.
On his right arm, they tested the tree allergies, grasses and weeds. This poor arm was all red and welty looking! They put the marks on the arm so they can see where the pricks were in case they don't swell up. They also have to label what row was what, so on his wrist is 5, 10, 15 & 20 to mark the numbers that would coordinate with the sheet that they have the tests labeled on. The thing he is most allergic to is Orchard Grass, which we have never heard of. . .
I just have to let everyone know the camera trick that Monica told me about. I've been noticing when I take pictures that they look so much better if I don't have to use the flash. Sometimes that isn't an option because the picture just won't turn out, but Monica had read that if you cut out a coffee filter just so it will cover your flash, that filters the light and it SO works! Here is an example: (I was trying to take a picture of Bray and get the light just right)
TOO DARK:
TOO LIGHT (WASHED OUT):
JUST RIGHT (obviously not Bray, but you can see how we are not washed out at all!):
The boys are now out on the deck playing in their slippers, enjoying the 60+ degree weather we have ~ so beautiful!!! Perfect for sitting on the deck enjoying a beer, but I've already had a glass of wine and that's enough. ;-) Okay, I just have to clarify what they are playing. Taite quickly finished his homework so he could play with Bray. They are playing Star Wars. While playing, Niko (the neighbor dog) showed up; muddy as usual this time of year. He came up to the patio door to torment our dog ~ okay, maybe it was just to see the boys ~ when Brayton had an idea! Niko could be the Code Commander (I think that's what they called it ~ Star Wars is not my thing) so they sent him off to find out what the enemy was up to. Niko went into the yard about 50 feet and stopped and turned towards the boys. Brayton says "Oh, wait, he sees something!" Taite yells "What is it?!" Have I mentioned how much I LOVE their imagination? Oh, that and Brayton feeling good??
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Things are good!
Last night Chris slept in Bray's room and took over med duty. That's not the best sleeping and for whatever reason, I thought he had set the alarm in our room so I could wake Taite up. Well, Taite woke me up at 6:52 and the bus comes at 7:05. You know how a normal person would be running around like crazy? Not Taite! He just tells me "I slept in." I made him hurry up so he could still make the bus. Needless to say, he only brushed his teeth and got dressed before the bus came. I sent him to school with a water bottle and pop tarts for on the bus (hoping he wouldn't get caught ~ they can't eat or drink on the bus).
We stopped all Bray's pain medicine and he hasn't complained at all about his throat hurting, so that's a good sign. Today he was Picasso. He painted his thank you's for his class and Sonja and Greg. He painted a Dot picture (that is his class' story for the week The Dot), a picture of himself standing in the kitchen painting and all the house features he could see, and a picture of dragons fighting ~ one spit fire and the other water and one had a sword, not sure which one. At 2 he was asking me how much longer before Taite came home. Mrs. Bendzick emailed me a cute conversation she overheard today:
the boy were talking this morning and Josh yelled out, "I wish it were Monday!" (The kids usually don't like Mondays because they have to come back to school). Then Cameron goes, "Oh yeah...I can't wait until Monday!" So I asked..."Oh what's so great about Monday?" They both yelled out "Brayton will be back!"
Tomorrow they are having stations in the morning for only an hour or so, so Bray and I are going to go in for stations. I think it'll be good for him to see his friends and is just the right amount of time so he won't over do it! We also made an appointment for him to see the allergist. Since we've met the deductible on him for the year, he's going to be all "figured out" by the time December 31st rolls around! His appointment is Monday for that and hopefully it doesn't take too long to get the results with allergy season right around the corner!
Tonight Grandpa Tom came over with movies for the boys and a humidifier for Bray's room. We went out to eat and Brayton looked good, but got a little tired during the meal. It's hard to remember that he looks normal, but is still healing! We went to Victoria's to eat (Italian) so after I was done with my meal, I asked Taite (discretely) to see if I had anything in my teeth (I smile gently). He opens his mouth awkwardly, as if in pain and scrunches down to inspect my teeth! Geez the kid has no finesse! I told him to look not so obviously, but he wanted me to sit with a smile plastered on for 5 minutes while he inspected. . . I have a little work to do with him! It turned into a big joke for us (I did have 2 glasses of wine, so I wasn't all that mortified at his reaction to my teeth inspection request ~ hehe). Oh, and did I mention that Taite had a crush on the waitress. She was cute and had a super personality and every time she left the table he'd turn to me and say "we have the best waitress!" Then he'd get embarrassed when I said he had a girlfriend ~ go figure!
We stopped all Bray's pain medicine and he hasn't complained at all about his throat hurting, so that's a good sign. Today he was Picasso. He painted his thank you's for his class and Sonja and Greg. He painted a Dot picture (that is his class' story for the week The Dot), a picture of himself standing in the kitchen painting and all the house features he could see, and a picture of dragons fighting ~ one spit fire and the other water and one had a sword, not sure which one. At 2 he was asking me how much longer before Taite came home. Mrs. Bendzick emailed me a cute conversation she overheard today:
the boy were talking this morning and Josh yelled out, "I wish it were Monday!" (The kids usually don't like Mondays because they have to come back to school). Then Cameron goes, "Oh yeah...I can't wait until Monday!" So I asked..."Oh what's so great about Monday?" They both yelled out "Brayton will be back!"
Tomorrow they are having stations in the morning for only an hour or so, so Bray and I are going to go in for stations. I think it'll be good for him to see his friends and is just the right amount of time so he won't over do it! We also made an appointment for him to see the allergist. Since we've met the deductible on him for the year, he's going to be all "figured out" by the time December 31st rolls around! His appointment is Monday for that and hopefully it doesn't take too long to get the results with allergy season right around the corner!
Tonight Grandpa Tom came over with movies for the boys and a humidifier for Bray's room. We went out to eat and Brayton looked good, but got a little tired during the meal. It's hard to remember that he looks normal, but is still healing! We went to Victoria's to eat (Italian) so after I was done with my meal, I asked Taite (discretely) to see if I had anything in my teeth (I smile gently). He opens his mouth awkwardly, as if in pain and scrunches down to inspect my teeth! Geez the kid has no finesse! I told him to look not so obviously, but he wanted me to sit with a smile plastered on for 5 minutes while he inspected. . . I have a little work to do with him! It turned into a big joke for us (I did have 2 glasses of wine, so I wasn't all that mortified at his reaction to my teeth inspection request ~ hehe). Oh, and did I mention that Taite had a crush on the waitress. She was cute and had a super personality and every time she left the table he'd turn to me and say "we have the best waitress!" Then he'd get embarrassed when I said he had a girlfriend ~ go figure!
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
We did the right thing
Last night Chris and I were preparing to wake Brayton to give him his dose of pain killers at 9:30 and he was sound asleep. We can't ever remember hearing him sleep so quietly. It was amazing! I even slept in his room in case something happened and he slept like that all night. No matter what else we find out (we're taking him to the allergist now that we've maxed his deductible on the insurance) we've decided the good nights sleep he will undoubtedly get will help him tremendously in dealing with any other ailments!
Chris was researching (I know, you're shocked, right? Chris ~ researching ~ hehe) adenoids and he found a site where other parents have had similar problems and such. One mom had a 4 year old who was on 5 different kinds of meds all trying to treat different things, where if they would just find the cause of the initial thing and treat that, the poor kid wouldn't be all doped up! Anyway, that wasn't my point to the story, Chris found where someone had said that if the adenoid (he also read it's not a multiple thing, so there should be no 's' ~ too bad I don't have his time on my hands) :~) that was taken out was of significant size, the child will sound nasally when they talk. This is due to having adapted to speaking around the large blockage (adenoid) and can take up to 6 months to change. This is weird because when you listen to Brayton talk, he does talk like that, yet he can clearly breathe through his nose so he doesn't have to talk like that. I don't even want to wonder how long ago we could have fixed this for him!
On a more normal note, our chore charts are not working as we had hoped. Tonight we had to "make" the boys help with supper clean-up and then Brayton volunteered for a job, but Taite was trying to take jobs away from Bray so he could get more money. . . Bray decided he wanted to wash the table and for an extra good job, washed the chairs too. He said that should get him and extra 10 cents, but Taite was mad. I don't think we can win here. We'll keep trying though!
Last night when Taite got his homework out he was a little upset. He asked me if I knew where his math homework was from the previous night (luckily when I'd cleaned the table off, it was on top of the garbage) I didn't think I did, but we went through that which was in the garbage. Can you believe it was in there?!! Neither could I! Well, Taite was upset because he had to "pull a card". I had forgotten the discipline plan for Taite's class because quite frankly, we've never had to know it! In his class this year "pulling a card" is equivalent to getting a check mark. Taite was very concerned about this, but I assured him it was my fault for not checking with him before throwing papers away. I reminded him he should also double check to make sure his math homework is back in his binder to take to school, but no, he would not get any money deducted for bad behavior at school. That's one way to "speak" to take; bring money into the conversation!
Well, I am not used to getting up so many times during the night, so I am going to sign off. Thank you so much for all the calls, emails and cards for Brayton. Every one of them has made him smile! (his class each made a card for him and his teacher said they were all very concerned about him yesterday ~ they talked about him all day ~ Bray said "that's why I love my class!" aaawwww) Good Night!
Chris was researching (I know, you're shocked, right? Chris ~ researching ~ hehe) adenoids and he found a site where other parents have had similar problems and such. One mom had a 4 year old who was on 5 different kinds of meds all trying to treat different things, where if they would just find the cause of the initial thing and treat that, the poor kid wouldn't be all doped up! Anyway, that wasn't my point to the story, Chris found where someone had said that if the adenoid (he also read it's not a multiple thing, so there should be no 's' ~ too bad I don't have his time on my hands) :~) that was taken out was of significant size, the child will sound nasally when they talk. This is due to having adapted to speaking around the large blockage (adenoid) and can take up to 6 months to change. This is weird because when you listen to Brayton talk, he does talk like that, yet he can clearly breathe through his nose so he doesn't have to talk like that. I don't even want to wonder how long ago we could have fixed this for him!
On a more normal note, our chore charts are not working as we had hoped. Tonight we had to "make" the boys help with supper clean-up and then Brayton volunteered for a job, but Taite was trying to take jobs away from Bray so he could get more money. . . Bray decided he wanted to wash the table and for an extra good job, washed the chairs too. He said that should get him and extra 10 cents, but Taite was mad. I don't think we can win here. We'll keep trying though!
Last night when Taite got his homework out he was a little upset. He asked me if I knew where his math homework was from the previous night (luckily when I'd cleaned the table off, it was on top of the garbage) I didn't think I did, but we went through that which was in the garbage. Can you believe it was in there?!! Neither could I! Well, Taite was upset because he had to "pull a card". I had forgotten the discipline plan for Taite's class because quite frankly, we've never had to know it! In his class this year "pulling a card" is equivalent to getting a check mark. Taite was very concerned about this, but I assured him it was my fault for not checking with him before throwing papers away. I reminded him he should also double check to make sure his math homework is back in his binder to take to school, but no, he would not get any money deducted for bad behavior at school. That's one way to "speak" to take; bring money into the conversation!
Well, I am not used to getting up so many times during the night, so I am going to sign off. Thank you so much for all the calls, emails and cards for Brayton. Every one of them has made him smile! (his class each made a card for him and his teacher said they were all very concerned about him yesterday ~ they talked about him all day ~ Bray said "that's why I love my class!" aaawwww) Good Night!
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
WE MADE IT!!!
Taite
After last night, Chris thought one of us should take Taite to school to give him a little attention. I thought I'd do it and then take him to McD's for breakfast (since I wasn't the one going without food with Brayton). Taite and I chatted while Taite got full on pancakes and sausage. So much so he couldn't even finish eating them! :-) As I was waiting for Taite to get ready to go to school, I thought that we might not be back in time to meet the bus, so I mentioned that Grandma might have to meet him when he gets off the bus.
After last night, Chris thought one of us should take Taite to school to give him a little attention. I thought I'd do it and then take him to McD's for breakfast (since I wasn't the one going without food with Brayton). Taite and I chatted while Taite got full on pancakes and sausage. So much so he couldn't even finish eating them! :-) As I was waiting for Taite to get ready to go to school, I thought that we might not be back in time to meet the bus, so I mentioned that Grandma might have to meet him when he gets off the bus.
Pre-op
10:15
We left the house with our backpack all packed with camera (to Chris' horror), GBA games, water bottles (for after surgery), a Spiderman blanket and Stitch. Brayton complained that his stomach hurt, partly from being hungry, but also from having to go to the bathroom.
Only after his shower did he start to cough. I truly thought it was a perfect sign that today was starting off without any coughing. Recently, most other mornings, we listened (rather difficultly) to him cough at least one of his lungs out; or so it sounded!
10:15
We left the house with our backpack all packed with camera (to Chris' horror), GBA games, water bottles (for after surgery), a Spiderman blanket and Stitch. Brayton complained that his stomach hurt, partly from being hungry, but also from having to go to the bathroom.
Only after his shower did he start to cough. I truly thought it was a perfect sign that today was starting off without any coughing. Recently, most other mornings, we listened (rather difficultly) to him cough at least one of his lungs out; or so it sounded!
11:45 am
We are now in our private room while Bray is coughing like he hasn't coughed in a very long time. I thought at one time he was going to throw up, that's how hard he coughed. I am now regretting having Chris come with. He is very stressed out because the Anesthesiologist wanted Bray to neb before he would agree to put him under for the surgery today. He asked him a bunch of questions to determine if this was just a chronic cough and not something that was a sign of infection. Of course Brayton answered the questions as follows:
'no, he didn't feel good'
'he feels worse today than yesterday'
'he didn't feel like playing'
UGH! Chris would repeat the questions so Bray would understand (If Josh or Cameron were here, would you go out and play with them ~ 'yes') and I stressed that he hasn't had anything to eat since last night at 9 pm, so of course he doesn't feel good ~ he's STARVING!
His coughing is now tamed a little since he has been nebbed and we are now praying that when the anesthesiologist comes back to listen to his lungs, that they will not have any signs of wheezing. . .
Chris confirmed with the ENT that this surgery should certainly help with the fluid running down the back of his throat causing all the coughing. We can only pray!
We are now in our private room while Bray is coughing like he hasn't coughed in a very long time. I thought at one time he was going to throw up, that's how hard he coughed. I am now regretting having Chris come with. He is very stressed out because the Anesthesiologist wanted Bray to neb before he would agree to put him under for the surgery today. He asked him a bunch of questions to determine if this was just a chronic cough and not something that was a sign of infection. Of course Brayton answered the questions as follows:'no, he didn't feel good'
'he feels worse today than yesterday'
'he didn't feel like playing'
UGH! Chris would repeat the questions so Bray would understand (If Josh or Cameron were here, would you go out and play with them ~ 'yes') and I stressed that he hasn't had anything to eat since last night at 9 pm, so of course he doesn't feel good ~ he's STARVING!
His coughing is now tamed a little since he has been nebbed and we are now praying that when the anesthesiologist comes back to listen to his lungs, that they will not have any signs of wheezing. . .
Chris confirmed with the ENT that this surgery should certainly help with the fluid running down the back of his throat causing all the coughing. We can only pray!
11:52
Anesthesiologist just came back in and said there isn't much difference in his breathing ~ still wheezing. . . He's not comfortable going forward with this surgery. He's going to get a second opinion . . . second opinion guy was too busy. . . The nurse came and asked Brayton if he wanted something to drink before we left ~ Chris and I agreed, nothing to drink as we are still holding out hope that the surgery will still happen even though the 1st Anesthesiologist didn't think it would work today. Don't feel bad, (he tells us) there is another family here today that has gone through this 3 times now, but the 3rd time was a charm for them! They are having their surgery today. I honestly don't think I could do this that many times! We've done everything we could by keeping him out of school the whole week before surgery, nebbing him, even seeing the Dr. last week to make sure his lungs were clear! VERY FRUSTRATING!!!
Anesthesiologist just came back in and said there isn't much difference in his breathing ~ still wheezing. . . He's not comfortable going forward with this surgery. He's going to get a second opinion . . . second opinion guy was too busy. . . The nurse came and asked Brayton if he wanted something to drink before we left ~ Chris and I agreed, nothing to drink as we are still holding out hope that the surgery will still happen even though the 1st Anesthesiologist didn't think it would work today. Don't feel bad, (he tells us) there is another family here today that has gone through this 3 times now, but the 3rd time was a charm for them! They are having their surgery today. I honestly don't think I could do this that many times! We've done everything we could by keeping him out of school the whole week before surgery, nebbing him, even seeing the Dr. last week to make sure his lungs were clear! VERY FRUSTRATING!!!12:30
2nd opinion Anesthesiologist finally was able to come (this was after many tears and Chris voicing his frustration to Anesthesiologist #1). He said that Brayton sounded a little tight, but sounded better than the 1st Anesthesiologist. described him as sounding. We waited another 15-20 minutes and had broke the news to Bray that today he wouldn't have surgery when the 1st Dr. came to say that his lungs sounded great ~ no wheezing!!! We apologized for getting upset earlier, but we've dealt with this (coughing/nebbing/wheezing) every winter since Bray was a baby (almost 7 years)! It's not that we wanted to jeopardize Bray's safety under anesthesia, but we really had no good answer
s as to how to “fix” his coughing and thought we'd be back to square 1 with him and finding a solution. Just this morning I was feeling blessed because this is all we have to deal with, nothing terminal! How quickly I'd forgotten that when we weren't going to have surgery today. I am now feeling lucky again since we are back on again.
2nd opinion Anesthesiologist finally was able to come (this was after many tears and Chris voicing his frustration to Anesthesiologist #1). He said that Brayton sounded a little tight, but sounded better than the 1st Anesthesiologist. described him as sounding. We waited another 15-20 minutes and had broke the news to Bray that today he wouldn't have surgery when the 1st Dr. came to say that his lungs sounded great ~ no wheezing!!! We apologized for getting upset earlier, but we've dealt with this (coughing/nebbing/wheezing) every winter since Bray was a baby (almost 7 years)! It's not that we wanted to jeopardize Bray's safety under anesthesia, but we really had no good answer
s as to how to “fix” his coughing and thought we'd be back to square 1 with him and finding a solution. Just this morning I was feeling blessed because this is all we have to deal with, nothing terminal! How quickly I'd forgotten that when we weren't going to have surgery today. I am now feeling lucky again since we are back on again.1:20
We are still waiting for the surgery that we are now behind (were before, previously) to be done so we can send our little guy in to be healed. I think we have a small miracle here on our hands. Thank you, Lord!
We are still waiting for the surgery that we are now behind (were before, previously) to be done so we can send our little guy in to be healed. I think we have a small miracle here on our hands. Thank you, Lord!
1:30
The anesthesiologist brought some “sleepy medicine” so he (Brayton, not the Anesthesiologist) isn't so nervous when they take him back to start surgery. Now, we just have to wait approximately another hour. Our little trooper is doing great! He's played his GameBoy and is now watching Cartoon Network. Even when we were in limbo as far as the surgery goes, he'd only asked once or twice for water or something to eat. But when we told him he couldn't have any, that was it. He is being such a sweetheart especially since this is taking MUCH longer than we had anticipated. Lesson here is that we should have nebbed him at home before we left so he wouldn't have had any wheezing by the time the Anesthesiologist came to him. Chris had called 2 or 3 different numbers at OMC and no one could answer his question about nebbing before surgery w/anesthesia. Apparently (according to the anesthesiologist) it's an easy question, but none of the people Chris spoke to could answer it for him. With Brayton, it just took longer than normal for the neb to help open his lungs and they didn't allow enough time after the neb to initially check his lungs.
Chris is also hanging in there for not having had anything to eat so far today. He did have to have some water so he could take Sudafed, but Bray didn't notice, so it's almost like it doesn't count, right?
The anesthesiologist brought some “sleepy medicine” so he (Brayton, not the Anesthesiologist) isn't so nervous when they take him back to start surgery. Now, we just have to wait approximately another hour. Our little trooper is doing great! He's played his GameBoy and is now watching Cartoon Network. Even when we were in limbo as far as the surgery goes, he'd only asked once or twice for water or something to eat. But when we told him he couldn't have any, that was it. He is being such a sweetheart especially since this is taking MUCH longer than we had anticipated. Lesson here is that we should have nebbed him at home before we left so he wouldn't have had any wheezing by the time the Anesthesiologist came to him. Chris had called 2 or 3 different numbers at OMC and no one could answer his question about nebbing before surgery w/anesthesia. Apparently (according to the anesthesiologist) it's an easy question, but none of the people Chris spoke to could answer it for him. With Brayton, it just took longer than normal for the neb to help open his lungs and they didn't allow enough time after the neb to initially check his lungs.
Chris is also hanging in there for not having had anything to eat so far today. He did have to have some water so he could take Sudafed, but Bray didn't notice, so it's almost like it doesn't count, right?
2:00
Brayton is still watching TV and is talking much slower and slurrier. :-) He's definitely got the “glazed over” look and talking with his usual wit. He can't remember what the show is about that he is watching, so Chris asked him if he remember Chris' name. Bray answered “dad” then Chris asked him if he remembered his own name and he said “son” (with a smile on his face) ~ yep, that's our boy!!!
Brayton is still watching TV and is talking much slower and slurrier. :-) He's definitely got the “glazed over” look and talking with his usual wit. He can't remember what the show is about that he is watching, so Chris asked him if he remember Chris' name. Bray answered “dad” then Chris asked him if he remembered his own name and he said “son” (with a smile on his face) ~ yep, that's our boy!!!
2:05
The OR nurse came to get Brayton. She asked if he had any loose teeth and he wanted to know why she asked. She said because you have to blow up a balloon and we don't want to knock any teeth out. Bray's concern after that ~ did he get to keep the balloon??
The OR nurse came to get Brayton. She asked if he had any loose teeth and he wanted to know why she asked. She said because you have to blow up a balloon and we don't want to knock any teeth out. Bray's concern after that ~ did he get to keep the balloon??
2:15
Chris and I enjoyed our lunch of chips, diet Dr. Pepper and a Snickers for dessert. Chris is double-checking the side effects of Albuteral (what he was nebbed with earlier today) and they are: tightness in the chest, wheezing and coughing. Kind of a catch-22!
Chris and I enjoyed our lunch of chips, diet Dr. Pepper and a Snickers for dessert. Chris is double-checking the side effects of Albuteral (what he was nebbed with earlier today) and they are: tightness in the chest, wheezing and coughing. Kind of a catch-22!
Post-Op
2:40
The ENT Dr. came to say that he took one very large adenoid out and it went very well. They didn't see anything that said he needed tubes, so just adenoids. The anesthesiologist also came by to say that everything went perfectly and apologized again for the roller coaster of emotions we went through this morning.
2:40
The ENT Dr. came to say that he took one very large adenoid out and it went very well. They didn't see anything that said he needed tubes, so just adenoids. The anesthesiologist also came by to say that everything went perfectly and apologized again for the roller coaster of emotions we went through this morning.
2:55
Brayton was wheeled in. The nurse hooked him up ~ one blood pressure cuff, one pulse ox, and still attached to the IV. The OR nurse said we were lucky to have him back because everyone in the OR wanted to keep him. (remember the wacky meds and him still having his sense of humor. . .)
He started to cry because his throat hurt. We did get him to drink a little apple juice and they brought him an Italian Ice to eat. He ate most of that with his eyes closed (very sleepy). He finished that and started to cry again that his throat hurt. The nurse said she'd bring another Italian Ice and some ibuprofen for the pain. He continued to cry and had a very deep barky cough ~ we tried to help him think about something else and kept feeding him the cold ice stuff so that would help. Why is it the meds always take the longest to get?? We had to wake him to take the meds (yep, that's how long it took ~ done crying, done eating and back asleep) and he is now snoring ~ which should go away with reduced swelling. Chris is wondering what we will have for supper :-)
Brayton was wheeled in. The nurse hooked him up ~ one blood pressure cuff, one pulse ox, and still attached to the IV. The OR nurse said we were lucky to have him back because everyone in the OR wanted to keep him. (remember the wacky meds and him still having his sense of humor. . .)
He started to cry because his throat hurt. We did get him to drink a little apple juice and they brought him an Italian Ice to eat. He ate most of that with his eyes closed (very sleepy). He finished that and started to cry again that his throat hurt. The nurse said she'd bring another Italian Ice and some ibuprofen for the pain. He continued to cry and had a very deep barky cough ~ we tried to help him think about something else and kept feeding him the cold ice stuff so that would help. Why is it the meds always take the longest to get?? We had to wake him to take the meds (yep, that's how long it took ~ done crying, done eating and back asleep) and he is now snoring ~ which should go away with reduced swelling. Chris is wondering what we will have for supper :-)4:30
The nurse suggested that we wake Bray to see if he could drink/swallow some more without
complication and then he can go home. He finished his 2nd Italian Ice and apple juice and when asked if he wanted something more, he chose ice cream ~ vanilla, of course! He ate the ice cream in good time and wanted to know if he'd had his adenoids out yet? Yeah! We were on our way home. :-) On the way home, he got to open his Get Well card & gift from Sonja & Greg. He was very excited that he got to keep his balloon from the OR!! Shortly after all this commotion, excitement and movement, he felt a little icky, so we leaned his seat back and he tried to get as comfy as you 
can in a car, wearing a seatbelt. We got home and he ordered oatmeal for supper. While eating, he wanted to know if he could have one of my biscuits (the “new” recipe I posted a while ago). I told him we didn't have any and he said “well, if you make some, can I have one”. . . um, no. I told him it would be too scratchy for his throat and then found the list of suggested foods after surgery. He said he wanted to read it himself so when he goes back to school, he'll be a better reader :-) He was reading along and could not figure out who would want to eat “cooked cereal”!!! I pointed out that he was eating oatmeal for supper and that was a cooked cereal. “Oh,” he says, “I was thinking like 'who would want to eat cooked Cheerios?!'” LOL
He is now enjoying his Wii Rubik's world game from Sonja & Greg (thanks!) and was yelling upstairs while I was making his oatmeal to tell me all about it. Yep, I don't think recovery will take very long :-)
So, that is a diary of our day. Not as we expected, but still with the same result, so we are very blessed. I am tired already (6:15) due to the stress of the day and am going to sleep with Brayton tonight because he cannot sleep alone and also to keep on top of the med schedule (every 3 hours alternating ibuprofen and acetaminophen). Wish me luck :-) I may have to sleep in tomorrow LOL
The nurse suggested that we wake Bray to see if he could drink/swallow some more without
complication and then he can go home. He finished his 2nd Italian Ice and apple juice and when asked if he wanted something more, he chose ice cream ~ vanilla, of course! He ate the ice cream in good time and wanted to know if he'd had his adenoids out yet? Yeah! We were on our way home. :-) On the way home, he got to open his Get Well card & gift from Sonja & Greg. He was very excited that he got to keep his balloon from the OR!! Shortly after all this commotion, excitement and movement, he felt a little icky, so we leaned his seat back and he tried to get as comfy as you 
can in a car, wearing a seatbelt. We got home and he ordered oatmeal for supper. While eating, he wanted to know if he could have one of my biscuits (the “new” recipe I posted a while ago). I told him we didn't have any and he said “well, if you make some, can I have one”. . . um, no. I told him it would be too scratchy for his throat and then found the list of suggested foods after surgery. He said he wanted to read it himself so when he goes back to school, he'll be a better reader :-) He was reading along and could not figure out who would want to eat “cooked cereal”!!! I pointed out that he was eating oatmeal for supper and that was a cooked cereal. “Oh,” he says, “I was thinking like 'who would want to eat cooked Cheerios?!'” LOLHe is now enjoying his Wii Rubik's world game from Sonja & Greg (thanks!) and was yelling upstairs while I was making his oatmeal to tell me all about it. Yep, I don't think recovery will take very long :-)
So, that is a diary of our day. Not as we expected, but still with the same result, so we are very blessed. I am tired already (6:15) due to the stress of the day and am going to sleep with Brayton tonight because he cannot sleep alone and also to keep on top of the med schedule (every 3 hours alternating ibuprofen and acetaminophen). Wish me luck :-) I may have to sleep in tomorrow LOL
Thanks for all your prayers and God bless!
Monday, March 9, 2009
We're almost there!
Today I could call in from 1:30 to 3:00 to find out what time Brayton's surgery is for tomorrow. Drum roll. . .
Not until 12 :(
We can check in at the hospital at 11 and then we sit in his private room until around noon when they should come and get him for surgery (remember no food or drink after midnight tonight ~ well, in his case, it's going to be 9). Chris has vowed to not eat or drink anything either, so they just finished their late night snack and Brayton is now in bed. After coughing all morning today, I pray that this surgery does exactly what everyone is hoping it will do!!
~ We can't wait to have a healthy boy who will sleep through the night without waking himself up coughing.
~ I don't know what he will look like without the purple under his eyes.
~ We all wonder how much he will grow right away because he will have a restful sleep!
We are all just excited ~ on second thought, not all of us. Taite is playing the guilt card because Brayton got to stay up late tonight and is getting special treatment. I told Taite we did do that for him too when he had surgery, but it's never the same, especially when he can't remember. I think he cried himself to sleep, but I did listen to his reasons for feeling the way he does. I so don't want to dismiss them just because that's my first reaction ~ seriously - his brother is having surgery! He said he was upset because we never play Wii with him at night and we are always working. I couldn't really argue the second half of his statement, so I told him to come ask me when he wants to play Wii. Normally, they just get on the computer or watch CN so they could care less if we were working. I just reminded him that even though he assumes I'll say no, it couldn't hurt to ask me. (side note ~ he has not cried himself to sleep yet, he just remembered he has to find a snack for school ~ sheesh, no wonder he is crabby!!! He thought it was difficult getting up this morning!)
So, wish us well (prayers accepted too) and hopefully we will bring home a boy on the road to recovery tomorrow afternoon!
Not until 12 :(
We can check in at the hospital at 11 and then we sit in his private room until around noon when they should come and get him for surgery (remember no food or drink after midnight tonight ~ well, in his case, it's going to be 9). Chris has vowed to not eat or drink anything either, so they just finished their late night snack and Brayton is now in bed. After coughing all morning today, I pray that this surgery does exactly what everyone is hoping it will do!!
~ We can't wait to have a healthy boy who will sleep through the night without waking himself up coughing.
~ I don't know what he will look like without the purple under his eyes.
~ We all wonder how much he will grow right away because he will have a restful sleep!
We are all just excited ~ on second thought, not all of us. Taite is playing the guilt card because Brayton got to stay up late tonight and is getting special treatment. I told Taite we did do that for him too when he had surgery, but it's never the same, especially when he can't remember. I think he cried himself to sleep, but I did listen to his reasons for feeling the way he does. I so don't want to dismiss them just because that's my first reaction ~ seriously - his brother is having surgery! He said he was upset because we never play Wii with him at night and we are always working. I couldn't really argue the second half of his statement, so I told him to come ask me when he wants to play Wii. Normally, they just get on the computer or watch CN so they could care less if we were working. I just reminded him that even though he assumes I'll say no, it couldn't hurt to ask me. (side note ~ he has not cried himself to sleep yet, he just remembered he has to find a snack for school ~ sheesh, no wonder he is crabby!!! He thought it was difficult getting up this morning!)
So, wish us well (prayers accepted too) and hopefully we will bring home a boy on the road to recovery tomorrow afternoon!
Friday, March 6, 2009
My 100th Post!!
Just as I was clicking on "new post" I saw that I have had 99 posts, so this is sort of a milestone. . .
Today Brayton stayed home from school. No surprise there, but we've come this far, we are not sending him on Friday ~ not even sure we'll send him on Monday either. I don't think Taite was on the bus for 15 minutes when Brayton showed me the song he'd written. I was very impressed with the characteristics his song had. Here is his song (I'll type it exactly as it is written on the very large piece of easel paper):
What if by Brayton H
Whaaaat if ther was a com-
bine driver looking for corn so
he was bineing in his feilds
Whaaaat if ther was a trooooo-
ll looking for my brother so we
said gooodbye we said gooodbye.
What if we were alone I said
Whaaaat if we were alone.
I thought it was very cute and don't care to analyze it too much ~ the troll and alone parts especially.
I broke it to him that his music concert was last night. I'm not big on lying to the boys and he was disappointed but I reminded him that we need him healthy for his surgery so he can really get better and that was the end of his disappointment. He sang us some of his songs from the music program tonight. We played store a little again today, but it was kind of a hectic work day so our play time was cut a little short.
I picked Taite up from school today since he was our gopher with Brayton's homework for the week he is going to be gone after surgery. In case anyone is wondering, Bray is not in jeopardy of being gone too much. Monica said there's a little boy in her son's class who is gone weeks at a time on vacation, multiple times this year! Anyway, I picked Taite up because I was feeling guilty ~ he's such a good kid and Brayton seems to be getting all the attention lately. Today at school the 3rd & 4th graders got to watch Madagascar 2 as a reward for the whole school meeting their reading goal for the month. Brayton also missed out on this, though I don't know what movie (not that it matters). Before I went to get Taite, my dad called and said there was another hockey game tonight and Sonja & Greg & dad were going; wanted to know if Taite wanted to go too. I said I'd ask because it would be his choice: go to the hockey game or family fun night (just he and I). He was a little distressed having to make this decision, I must say. He finally came to this conclusion: The most fun thing to do would be to go to Family Fun Night, however, Brayton could not go, which isn't fair. There will most likely be another Family Fun Night next year and we will definitely go to that when Brayton can come too. So, he chose the hockey game on the promise that I do everything I can to make sure Brayton had fun at home while Taite was at the hockey game. We shook on the deal. Isn't he sweet??!! We had been home from school only about 1/2 hour when I heard screaming coming from downstairs (Brayton is the screamer). When I went downstairs, Taite was in his room (he's a lot like a turtle when there is a problem ~ he retreats to his room). I called him back out and he said they were playing boxing on the Wii when Taite didn't want to play anymore, Brayton launched an attack on Taite with the Wii remotes. Brayton swears he didn't hit him, but I had to say that the screaming I had heard would go with the hitting which just made Brayton madder, since I didn't believe him. I told Bray to sit in his room for a break and Taite needed to take a shower before going to the game. After working a little more upstairs, I thought I'd go see if Taite had changed his mind on his plans for the night after his brother attacked him. Taite was showered (minor miracle, I only had to tell him once!) and he had only his jeans on and was in Brayton's room playing video games with him on the Gameboy, like nothing had happened just 15 minutes ago. I love that brotherly love they have for each other!!! I told Taite when he was waiting for his ride why I had gone downstairs before and he said "Why would I change my plans?" AAhhhh, those two will be friends forever! Guess now we don't have to buy MarioKart for Brayton because no one went to Family Fun Night LOL
Chris is still fighting his cold. Every day we think it has to get better and yet today his head was completely stuffed, but he could breathe through his nose ~ you know that sucks! I keep telling him that no sleep = not getting better, but that doesn't help him sleep though :-)
Today Brayton stayed home from school. No surprise there, but we've come this far, we are not sending him on Friday ~ not even sure we'll send him on Monday either. I don't think Taite was on the bus for 15 minutes when Brayton showed me the song he'd written. I was very impressed with the characteristics his song had. Here is his song (I'll type it exactly as it is written on the very large piece of easel paper):
What if by Brayton H
Whaaaat if ther was a com-
bine driver looking for corn so
he was bineing in his feilds
Whaaaat if ther was a trooooo-
ll looking for my brother so we
said gooodbye we said gooodbye.
What if we were alone I said
Whaaaat if we were alone.
I thought it was very cute and don't care to analyze it too much ~ the troll and alone parts especially.
I broke it to him that his music concert was last night. I'm not big on lying to the boys and he was disappointed but I reminded him that we need him healthy for his surgery so he can really get better and that was the end of his disappointment. He sang us some of his songs from the music program tonight. We played store a little again today, but it was kind of a hectic work day so our play time was cut a little short.
I picked Taite up from school today since he was our gopher with Brayton's homework for the week he is going to be gone after surgery. In case anyone is wondering, Bray is not in jeopardy of being gone too much. Monica said there's a little boy in her son's class who is gone weeks at a time on vacation, multiple times this year! Anyway, I picked Taite up because I was feeling guilty ~ he's such a good kid and Brayton seems to be getting all the attention lately. Today at school the 3rd & 4th graders got to watch Madagascar 2 as a reward for the whole school meeting their reading goal for the month. Brayton also missed out on this, though I don't know what movie (not that it matters). Before I went to get Taite, my dad called and said there was another hockey game tonight and Sonja & Greg & dad were going; wanted to know if Taite wanted to go too. I said I'd ask because it would be his choice: go to the hockey game or family fun night (just he and I). He was a little distressed having to make this decision, I must say. He finally came to this conclusion: The most fun thing to do would be to go to Family Fun Night, however, Brayton could not go, which isn't fair. There will most likely be another Family Fun Night next year and we will definitely go to that when Brayton can come too. So, he chose the hockey game on the promise that I do everything I can to make sure Brayton had fun at home while Taite was at the hockey game. We shook on the deal. Isn't he sweet??!! We had been home from school only about 1/2 hour when I heard screaming coming from downstairs (Brayton is the screamer). When I went downstairs, Taite was in his room (he's a lot like a turtle when there is a problem ~ he retreats to his room). I called him back out and he said they were playing boxing on the Wii when Taite didn't want to play anymore, Brayton launched an attack on Taite with the Wii remotes. Brayton swears he didn't hit him, but I had to say that the screaming I had heard would go with the hitting which just made Brayton madder, since I didn't believe him. I told Bray to sit in his room for a break and Taite needed to take a shower before going to the game. After working a little more upstairs, I thought I'd go see if Taite had changed his mind on his plans for the night after his brother attacked him. Taite was showered (minor miracle, I only had to tell him once!) and he had only his jeans on and was in Brayton's room playing video games with him on the Gameboy, like nothing had happened just 15 minutes ago. I love that brotherly love they have for each other!!! I told Taite when he was waiting for his ride why I had gone downstairs before and he said "Why would I change my plans?" AAhhhh, those two will be friends forever! Guess now we don't have to buy MarioKart for Brayton because no one went to Family Fun Night LOL
Chris is still fighting his cold. Every day we think it has to get better and yet today his head was completely stuffed, but he could breathe through his nose ~ you know that sucks! I keep telling him that no sleep = not getting better, but that doesn't help him sleep though :-)
Thursday, March 5, 2009
The Countdown Continues
Hey There!
Yesterday and today Brayton stayed home from school. Yesterday I was ready to send him to school because he obviously missed his friends! He wanted me to make up creatures/animals with special powers so he could pit them against each other in imaginary battles. He talked, talked, talked and talked some more! I went to exercise and he followed me ~ I told him he had to be quiet so I could hear my show, but he kept talking! After I told him for the 3rd time (kind of rudely) to be quiet, he left the room. This morning he gets up again and sounds terrible. . . Our routine has been to neb him in the morning and then later in the day if needed, so I was kind of concerned that he was getting worse and his cough was turning into pneumonia or bronchitis. So I thought I would have him checked out this morning as long as we were already at the clinic. They told me his hearing test would take an hour, so while Bray was in the room, I went to Pediatrics to see if a Dr. could just listen to his lungs to make sure they sounded okay. They told me they could squeeze him in and it would only be a slight wait. I double checked to see if I could go to the Fast Clinic at Shopko and she said "oh, it's up to you, but it would only be a short wait" DON'T EVER BELIEVE THEM WHEN THEY TELL YOU THIS!!!! Remember, all I needed was a quick listen to his lungs which I could do myself if I had a damn stethoscope and knew what the hell to listen for! We waited an hour and 1/2 to see the Dr!!! I could've driven to the Shopko in Winona to see if they have a Fast Clinic there in that amount of time!!! To top it off, we are trying to keep him away from any more germs than we have at home and 90 minutes in the Pediatric waiting area is not the place to do that! When the nurse comes to get us, she knew I was pissed because she has to re-take all the vitals they just took upstairs at his hearing test. Then she has these stack of papers she's looking at and figures out they printed all this "stuff" off from when Brayton had been in to see the allergist when he was 4! By the time she took us to the room to wait Brayton's like "why are you crying mom?" I was so mad and frustrated, I couldn't help it!!! At least we didn't have to wait for the Dr. long and he was in there about 4 minutes and said his lungs sounded great! Yippee for small miracles! Just another $1000 down the drain!
Tonight was Brayton's music program for the school year. :-( I look forward to this each year because their teacher does SUCH a good job! We didn't remind him that he missed it, even though his picture he drew for the program cover came home with Taite. I asked if his was chosen (they choose about 5 different student's drawings for the programs at the concert) and he said no. The shows name was NUTS! and here is what Brayton drew:Above the squirrel (the animal looking thing on the ground below the tree) are all the types of nuts that Brayton could think of. We have a dish with mixed nuts in it and the boys like to crack their own nuts, so if you look closely you might be able to recognize the types of nuts. I'll give you a hint that not all of the nuts shown need a nut cracker :-)
One of Brayton's favorite things to do when he is home alone is to be creative (that reminds me, I haven't taken a picture of his latest one) and this is one he did earlier this week:
We still have the easel out from our family meeting last weekend so Brayton decided to draw a picture of each of his new characters that were in those bathtub balls that Hondoh sent with Chris on the last business trip. He's very good at getting all the small details. Yesterday we practiced a little with real coins since he is missing school and playing "Store" sounded fun to me too :-) I was very impressed with his ability to count money so I mixed it up and when he told me how much an item cost, I'd give him too much money, so he'd have to make change. He was great at that too. Amid all of the attention Brayton is getting, Taite is feeling a little left out since Bray is getting a lot of "sympathy" stuff (new - to them - Gameboy games, no school, etc.) so I decided that it's not fair for Taite to have to miss out on Family Fun Night tomorrow night at school. Brayton is excited to have his surgery so he will feel better, so we won't have a difficult time reminding him of staying germ free and Chris will stay home with him. Of course, when it comes down to it, Taite feels bad because Brayton won't be able to go, so he is already planning on how to make it up to him: buy MarioKart for the Wii for Bray. We were in Best Buy a week or so ago and they had MarioKart on the Wii there to play. The boys really liked it and Brayton wanted to buy it. I told him he could put it on his birthday list, but at Taite's rate, he'll have it next week LOL
I figured out tonight how we'll become millionaires: I will get training in listening to lungs and looking in ears and will have in-home shows (like Pampered Chef) so parents like me can save time, money and crying (both the kids and parents) by determining if our children really need to see a Dr. or not! Of course my husband said I'd have to have a lot of insurance for something :-)
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Time goes by too fast. . .
Tonight Brayton went to bed and was coughing terribly. We got him up and nebbed him so he will hopefully get a good nights rest. For the neb, Bray wanted something to play with (this is almost an hour after we put him to bed, so, no, no toy). Instead, I asked him if we could just rock. He agreed and after his neb was all done, he had his eyes closed, so we rocked. It's sad how quickly they grow up. I look at Steph and her troubles with getting Josey to sleep and I remember all those nights that I was content to sleep with a baby on my chest, just so all of us could get some sleep ;-) Now, I have to be content with stealing a few moments with a sick boy by rocking him after he's gone to sleep, but know that I can't stay like that for long because he really isn't getting very good rest. Chris carried him downstairs and my arms feel empty. . .
Tonight I was helping Bray get through his homework (it took about an hour) after being gone today. One sheet he had to do was math. This kid is a whiz at math and I'm not quite sure. Here's why:
He had this problem to solve ~ 3+5=?
I'm thinking '5, 6, 7, 8' (using fingers is still acceptable at this age)
Brayton talks a little to him self, I catch 'add 2. . . it's 8'
WH - HUH?? So I asked for an explanation.
Well, you know that 5 is more than 3, so you add 3+3, which equals 6 and then you add the 2 left over from the 5 to get 8.
I asked him if this was a way he learned this at school or just his way and he said he taught himself that. . .I guess if it all works out in his head and he gets the right answer every time. His teacher did say that he doesn't read like anyone else, so maybe he does his math differently too!
Of course last night Taite was trying to figure out what you could multiply 6 by to get 24. He said "oh, it's 3!" So I said "3x6 is what?" As I am waiting for Taite to answer, Brayton yells out (supposed to be doing his own homework in the kitchen) "it's 18! Am I right? Isn't it 18?!" Taite recalculated and then figured it out that 6x4 will give him 24 :-)
Tonight I was helping Bray get through his homework (it took about an hour) after being gone today. One sheet he had to do was math. This kid is a whiz at math and I'm not quite sure. Here's why:
He had this problem to solve ~ 3+5=?
I'm thinking '5, 6, 7, 8' (using fingers is still acceptable at this age)
Brayton talks a little to him self, I catch 'add 2. . . it's 8'
WH - HUH?? So I asked for an explanation.
Well, you know that 5 is more than 3, so you add 3+3, which equals 6 and then you add the 2 left over from the 5 to get 8.
I asked him if this was a way he learned this at school or just his way and he said he taught himself that. . .I guess if it all works out in his head and he gets the right answer every time. His teacher did say that he doesn't read like anyone else, so maybe he does his math differently too!
Of course last night Taite was trying to figure out what you could multiply 6 by to get 24. He said "oh, it's 3!" So I said "3x6 is what?" As I am waiting for Taite to answer, Brayton yells out (supposed to be doing his own homework in the kitchen) "it's 18! Am I right? Isn't it 18?!" Taite recalculated and then figured it out that 6x4 will give him 24 :-)
8 days until surgery
Yes, our days around here are all about Brayton's surgery. Well, almost. Yesterday morning Chris had the coffee pot all set to go and when he turned it on, the light would come on and nothing would happen. It was just one of those Gevalia ones that you pay like $14 for and you get 3 lbs of coffee with it, so we weren't real heart broken, but he wanted coffee dang it! It was kind of funny because he was in a little bit of a panic. He's normally not a big coffee drinker, but since we've bought the Folger's that is easy on your stomach (supposedly made from "good" beans) he can drink some and it doesn't bother his stomach. I keep trying to convince him that we need a new pot with a carafe so it'll keep the coffee warm for a long time without the pot being on, but he didn't like the price. . . MEN! So. . . if anyone wants to get him a auto off coffee maker with a timer for his birthday (maybe a carafe kind ~ hehe) for his birthday, he'd love it :-) For the time being, we are using the one out of the camper that has the cord wrapped up because when we used it at the office, a mouse chewed the cord ~ ick!
This weekend my mom's sewing machine quit, so of course we had to take it to be repaired yesterday . . . oh about 8:30 we had to leave because Saver's has their $.99 tags! I found a few things (one pair of pants still had the mfr. tags on!) and my mom found me a set of salt/pepper shakers (you wouldn't believe how hard it is to find a decent set!). After Savers mom went to Michaels and I went to Old Navy because Josey needs a sweater to go with her baptismal gown (baptism is next Sunday). When I walked into ON (or Old Lady as the boys used to call it!) there was one of their racks I LOVE to see up front: the $.97 rack!! It had a bunch of hooded sweaters for women on it and I picked out 2. I made my way to the baby stuff and happened to find 1, yes only 1, sweater that was white and happened to be the right size for Josey! I figured the price could NOT be correct because I had 2 sweaters for an adult woman at $.97 each, so $17.49 did NOT sound right, but thought if they can't find anything else, might have to work. As I turned around, there was another rack with winter (well, not really heavy ones) coats on it ALSO for $.97! I found one that I kind of like how they look on other people, but wouldn't normally buy it because I don't need a coat, but for $.97 I like to have the option of another coat! I'll get rid of a couple of them that sat in the closet all winter and I have yet to wear! We ate lunch at the Chinese restaurant that's kind of a 'given' when we go to Savers on Monday and then looked for more sweater options for Josey and finally got the sewing machine dropped off. We got home and I had an hour before I had to get Bray for his appt. (not a real busy day at work for me!)
I picked Brayton up for his appt (he was a little concerned ~ remember the last time we had lunch, but it wasn't for a good reason . . .) and we didn't have to wait 1 1/2 hours this time! Yea! I did witness something in the waiting area that enraged me, however, in the short time that we were there. To simplify things, I'll label the people:
Woman #1: doesn't look real on top of things, sloppy dress, the girls didn't listen really well (one decided to take her sock and shoe off just to walk around ~ mom didn't notice it happening and then announces (always loudly, you know those people who feel like everyone wants to know what they are doing/talking about?) "where did your sock and shoe go?" as the other daughter takes her shoe off too to be like her sister) so that's kind of that family ~ the girls looked to be about 2 & 3 years old
Woman #2: Dressed nicely had twin infants in car seats who had just brought them in for shots. The twins are in the car seats as the mom gets situated to go to the car
While W#2 was getting her gloves on and ready to go, the girls from W#1 were talking to and kissing the infants. W#2 didn't seem to care and was chatty with W#1 and finally when she was all ready, W#2 picked up her babies and left. She probably didn't have them loaded in the car when the nurse opened the door to the waiting area to announce that W#1's daughter's culture was negative, but they would retest in 48 hours!!!! I could NOT believe it!!! W#1 was there because she thought one of her kids has strep and she lets them kiss and touch those infants ~ how stupid (I'm sorry, I have to use that word!) can you be???!!! I was so mad, I felt like going to the desk to tell them to contact W#2 to let her know her kids may have been exposed! UGH!
Anyway, Bray's appt. went well and they said that he has to get better from the cough that he has and have no fever develop for his surgery to go as scheduled. If any fever develops or if his coughing get worse, they'll postpone this elective surgery! When we made the appt, the next available one wasn't until March 31st, so we need to keep him healthy, or get him better anyway before next Tuesday! That's why when he asked if he could sleep until lunchtime today, I didn't argue! Please pray for his health! We need to get this surgery done ASAP. After we left his Dr. appt, he slammed his thumb in the van door ~ ouch! We did get him 2 GameBoy Advance games, though, so the day of surgery and after, hopefully they will help him to stay occupied. Taite is a little upset that Brayton is getting "everything", but I might have to buy the new movie Beverly Hills Chihuahua that comes out today (well, maybe it's for me too ~ hehe ~ it just looks so darn cute!)
Oh yeah, we laminated their chore charts yesterday and they are so excited! Well, I should rephrase that ~ Brayton was excited, Taite thinks there should not "decimals before the numbers" on what they get paid for each job! He thought he should get paid more for each job! I think he'll be surprised how quickly it can add up, though, when he does his chores each day!
Well, I hope you are all healthy! Until next time. . .
This weekend my mom's sewing machine quit, so of course we had to take it to be repaired yesterday . . . oh about 8:30 we had to leave because Saver's has their $.99 tags! I found a few things (one pair of pants still had the mfr. tags on!) and my mom found me a set of salt/pepper shakers (you wouldn't believe how hard it is to find a decent set!). After Savers mom went to Michaels and I went to Old Navy because Josey needs a sweater to go with her baptismal gown (baptism is next Sunday). When I walked into ON (or Old Lady as the boys used to call it!) there was one of their racks I LOVE to see up front: the $.97 rack!! It had a bunch of hooded sweaters for women on it and I picked out 2. I made my way to the baby stuff and happened to find 1, yes only 1, sweater that was white and happened to be the right size for Josey! I figured the price could NOT be correct because I had 2 sweaters for an adult woman at $.97 each, so $17.49 did NOT sound right, but thought if they can't find anything else, might have to work. As I turned around, there was another rack with winter (well, not really heavy ones) coats on it ALSO for $.97! I found one that I kind of like how they look on other people, but wouldn't normally buy it because I don't need a coat, but for $.97 I like to have the option of another coat! I'll get rid of a couple of them that sat in the closet all winter and I have yet to wear! We ate lunch at the Chinese restaurant that's kind of a 'given' when we go to Savers on Monday and then looked for more sweater options for Josey and finally got the sewing machine dropped off. We got home and I had an hour before I had to get Bray for his appt. (not a real busy day at work for me!)
I picked Brayton up for his appt (he was a little concerned ~ remember the last time we had lunch, but it wasn't for a good reason . . .) and we didn't have to wait 1 1/2 hours this time! Yea! I did witness something in the waiting area that enraged me, however, in the short time that we were there. To simplify things, I'll label the people:
Woman #1: doesn't look real on top of things, sloppy dress, the girls didn't listen really well (one decided to take her sock and shoe off just to walk around ~ mom didn't notice it happening and then announces (always loudly, you know those people who feel like everyone wants to know what they are doing/talking about?) "where did your sock and shoe go?" as the other daughter takes her shoe off too to be like her sister) so that's kind of that family ~ the girls looked to be about 2 & 3 years old
Woman #2: Dressed nicely had twin infants in car seats who had just brought them in for shots. The twins are in the car seats as the mom gets situated to go to the car
While W#2 was getting her gloves on and ready to go, the girls from W#1 were talking to and kissing the infants. W#2 didn't seem to care and was chatty with W#1 and finally when she was all ready, W#2 picked up her babies and left. She probably didn't have them loaded in the car when the nurse opened the door to the waiting area to announce that W#1's daughter's culture was negative, but they would retest in 48 hours!!!! I could NOT believe it!!! W#1 was there because she thought one of her kids has strep and she lets them kiss and touch those infants ~ how stupid (I'm sorry, I have to use that word!) can you be???!!! I was so mad, I felt like going to the desk to tell them to contact W#2 to let her know her kids may have been exposed! UGH!
Anyway, Bray's appt. went well and they said that he has to get better from the cough that he has and have no fever develop for his surgery to go as scheduled. If any fever develops or if his coughing get worse, they'll postpone this elective surgery! When we made the appt, the next available one wasn't until March 31st, so we need to keep him healthy, or get him better anyway before next Tuesday! That's why when he asked if he could sleep until lunchtime today, I didn't argue! Please pray for his health! We need to get this surgery done ASAP. After we left his Dr. appt, he slammed his thumb in the van door ~ ouch! We did get him 2 GameBoy Advance games, though, so the day of surgery and after, hopefully they will help him to stay occupied. Taite is a little upset that Brayton is getting "everything", but I might have to buy the new movie Beverly Hills Chihuahua that comes out today (well, maybe it's for me too ~ hehe ~ it just looks so darn cute!)
Oh yeah, we laminated their chore charts yesterday and they are so excited! Well, I should rephrase that ~ Brayton was excited, Taite thinks there should not "decimals before the numbers" on what they get paid for each job! He thought he should get paid more for each job! I think he'll be surprised how quickly it can add up, though, when he does his chores each day!
Well, I hope you are all healthy! Until next time. . .
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Maybe it's a bad time. . .
The boys have been asking us for an allowance. To earn one, we've discussed jobs they could do and we'll have a set amount of money they will receive for doing those tasks. Chris and I were supposed to be figuring this out all week, but still didn't have anything, so yesterday we got out the easel (the boys love playing with that!) to brainstorm. We made a list of chores and deductions. Then we went back and assigned rates/fees. They were very disappointed to learn that say getting a check mark at school would cost them a dollar, but feeding the dog only earned them 10 cents. Taite was discouraged by the earning amounts, but what we tried to show them is if you do all the little things every day (picking up toys and rooms) it will be easier and they will earn quite a bit by the end of the week. Apparently when the boys were up late the night before and fighting colds still, is not a good time to start this. They were fighting and complaining more than before we started. So, we finished the day deciding we would start the chores at a later date, but at least we got a good start on planning and understanding how it will work. Now, I just need to make up a chart for each of them to mark what they did/didn't do for keeping track. It also wouldn't help that in a week, Brayton wouldn't be able to do his chores anyway from a couch or bed.
The boys are already enjoying Grandma & Grandpa's new movie room! Yesterday Taite decided he wanted to try and watch Pirates of the Caribbean again to overcome his fear (they watched it Friday night, but he spent some of that time upstairs because it was scary). He got all dressed and brushed his teeth and to give him grief, I asked him how he was going to get over there. Next thing I know, the door bell is ringing! Taite called Grandpa and asked him to "go for a short drive (to our house)" to pick him up so they could watch movies! Little turd! So, while they were gone, Chris and I covered the windows downstairs in the living room and watched movies too. Chris would absolutely LOVE to have a movie room too, but we just don't have the space. Maybe after the boys move out, we'll change one of their bedrooms to the exercise room, but that is a few years off ~ LOL (oh, just found my fav. squiggly thing on the baby laptop! yea!!)
Today I woke up with a congested head. The kind that Brayton had earlier. My nose is clear, but there is so much fluid that I'm afraid to yawn because my left ear pops and then hurts. It also rings constantly or sounds like static now. UGH! I wish it would warm up soon and with daylight savings next week, spring is right around the corner, right?? Along the same lines, we've had to neb Brayton a couple times this weekend. I hope that goes away soon so he can have his surgery as scheduled. Otherwise the next openings weren't until the very end of March! Hope everyone has a good week!
The boys are already enjoying Grandma & Grandpa's new movie room! Yesterday Taite decided he wanted to try and watch Pirates of the Caribbean again to overcome his fear (they watched it Friday night, but he spent some of that time upstairs because it was scary). He got all dressed and brushed his teeth and to give him grief, I asked him how he was going to get over there. Next thing I know, the door bell is ringing! Taite called Grandpa and asked him to "go for a short drive (to our house)" to pick him up so they could watch movies! Little turd! So, while they were gone, Chris and I covered the windows downstairs in the living room and watched movies too. Chris would absolutely LOVE to have a movie room too, but we just don't have the space. Maybe after the boys move out, we'll change one of their bedrooms to the exercise room, but that is a few years off ~ LOL (oh, just found my fav. squiggly thing on the baby laptop! yea!!)
Today I woke up with a congested head. The kind that Brayton had earlier. My nose is clear, but there is so much fluid that I'm afraid to yawn because my left ear pops and then hurts. It also rings constantly or sounds like static now. UGH! I wish it would warm up soon and with daylight savings next week, spring is right around the corner, right?? Along the same lines, we've had to neb Brayton a couple times this weekend. I hope that goes away soon so he can have his surgery as scheduled. Otherwise the next openings weren't until the very end of March! Hope everyone has a good week!
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