Estelle

Todays post is in memory of my MIL Estelle who passed away 3 years ago today of ALS. Estelle was very special to me and close to my heart. When she started to get ill Rick, Aaron & I moved in to help take care of her and I would not have to work so I was able to stay home with our baby. Aaron was just under one. I never really had a clue what would happen through out that time. We went through a roller coaster of emotions the whole time. Estelle was always able to answer any kind of questions that I had in the past and eventually we had to spell out everything she was trying to say. She always stood up for me when Rick and I fussed. I could always count on her to back me up. :) Most of the time she was able to take her disability with some amusement. We would laugh at Richard when she pointed out that he "mouthed" every word she would say while he stood there and tried to understand her. At least she knew she had his attention. I remember pushing her across the room in a desk chair to help get her ready to go somewhere. I gave her a hard time about buying such thick carpet. She would tell me to quit complaining with a laugh and just push.
Estelle had a huge heart and she would always be there for anybody even though she was going through her own problems. One day comes into mind, I was beginning to lose my cool about life in general and she knew it (she would have known even if I wasn't so obvious) She called me over to her bed and I bent over her and spelled out what she was trying to say. I went through the alphabet and every letter that was right she would nod. She spelled out, "Are you ok?" Word for word, letter for letter. I looked at her with tears in my eyes and said, "yes". I was knocked back into reality when it hit me. I had a new appreciation and love for her. She was laying in a bed all day, not being able to move or speak and she was wondering if I was okay. I just want to give you a sense of what a warrior she was and how proud I am to be her daugher in law.
She would always laugh and sing until she couldn't anymore. Lookie lookie lookie here comes Cookie was one of her favorites. Her dogs name was cookie.
When Rick and I went through our tough times she was the only one who could convince me that it would all be okay.
She loved her grandkids. That was the only time I felt that I was number two and that was just fine with me. She prayed for all of us regularly. The prayers that she did for all of us then are still being answered and will continue to do so.
She love the touch and sounds of our babies. I miss her terribly and I really don't know if it has got any easier. My children will grow up knowing her and what a wonderful lady she was. I don't know why God needed her more than we did, but the selfish side of me wants her back. I don't understand why the good people have to go.

Birthday Party

We had Aarons birthday party and I believe it was a complete success. It was at Pizza Hut and was a small party with some family. He had a good time. The picture of him with the cake was taken right after Aaron and I finished decorating it. Later at Pizza Hut we put the decorations on it. Spider Man decorations that is. I can't believe it, another year older. He is four now. Wow! Today I took both boys to their doctors check up. Here are the stats:
Aaron 41 3/4 inches tall
36 1/2 lbs.

Aiden: 36 1/2 inches tall
30 lbs.

Both are in the 75th percentile for their height. Growin like weeds.

Park

Another thing we did on Aarons birthday was go to the park. Here are some pics of that...have a good weekend!

Geocaching

One of my favorite hobbies is geocaching. I call it a modern day treasure hunt. It gets me and my family outside and walking with a purpose. Hehehe You goto the geocaching website and locate hides that people have placed through out the world and then, armed with a GPS and some coordinates we try to go out and find the cache. I have a really good time with it. People sometimes have caches large enough to leave "treasures" inside which my children really enjoy. If you take something out, you need to put something back in its place. I enjoy it and if it at all interests you just look up www.geocaching.com and go find your first treasure.

Yesterday, we found a couple of caches. Linda, a geocache newbie went with us and located her first find. Woohoo Linda! I think she is going to do it again with her daughter next time. We were going to do another one after that but the boys had all they could take.

Busy Day

Today was full of activities for the boys (and mommy too). First and most important, today is Aarons 4th birthday. I can't believe it. I remember Misty and I sleeping in the hospital room the night he was born and listening to every little breath he took. That I remember like it was yesterday. Some things I remember clearly and others seem like a blur. That is why I do this. To help me remember! :)



We left early this morning to meet our Parents as Teachers group at the local dairy. It was pretty exciting for the boys. Aiden I believe was fifty pounds heavier today as I lugged him around (why didn't I bring the stroller!?!?) and kept fighting to keep him in my arms as he tried his best to escape. He wanted to RUN and mom was really being an annoyance. My arms ache tonight. Tomorrow I think I am going to try out for American Gladiator cause I think I can kick their butts! Hehehe Anyways, on to my story...the boys were able to see how the machine milks the cows and stuck their thumbs in the milking machine to see what it felt like to the cow. Aiden got a kick out of that and them he kicked when his turn was over. He wasn't finished. Next we went to see the calves. The boys were able to give them a bottle and brush them. The calves were all under a month old. It was really neat. The bottle for the calves was about as big as the boys were. After that they got to go milk ole Bessie. Aaron did a real good job. Aiden wouldn't even touch. Hehehe Finally I found something to slow him down. The last thing was to go and taste test some milk. They had chocolate and root beer flavor. I was really surprised how yummy the root beer milk was. Tasted like a root beer float. Yum yum.

After that we went to the school were Gram works and had lunch and then we went to the park. Run, run, run, play, play, play...this was getting to the end of their rope. The boys were running on fumes.

The last thing we did was go geocaching. That was for mommy. That is another hobby of mine that I do when I have the gas and energy to corral the kiddos. I will tell you more about it tomorrow. For now I am taking this aching body to bed. Good night and happy birthday Aaron baby!

Dangers of a stay at home mom

I just want to share with all of my friends and family about the heroic morning that I had!!! I was outside trying to complete at least one task today by hanging out some laundry. I had probably three items up when I hear my dogs barking and a neighbor yelling. Arrgggghhhh! Why can't they stay in the yard!?!?! We live on 4 acres and they still have to run off and cause trouble. So, I left my task and proceeded to yell for the dogs and planning to beat them with my flip flop when I get to them.
After I lugged each dog to their pin and put them in, I continued with my job. Everything was going pretty well until...I saw a clothes pin that had a web all around it. With a sick stomach I took a closer look and there was a huge, I mean a HUGE spider laying inside the clothes pin. He filled what little space there was. I hit the line and he ran out. OMG!!! He is bigger than I thought. I was getting mad. All I wanted to do was hang up some stinkin clothes and he wouldn't budge. With my cat like reflexes I kept hitting the clothes line and he hung on. Dang it, dang it dang it. Then an idea came to mind. I took a hold of the clothes line and pulled it back. This took alot on encouragement on my part because when I pulled on the line, that would mean the spider would become closer and closer to me. I knew he could smell my fear.
Like David with a sling shot and a rock I pulled on the line like I was aiming for Goliath. Zing!!! I let go of the line. WooHoo! Victory! He was gone and I continued to hang up my clothes (minus the clothes pin that went with ole spidey) Don't worry spider lovers. He landed safely in the pompus grass and probably plotting his revenge.

Seasons change...oh well

I am a warm weather kind of girl. I hate the idea that summer is coming to an end. BUT...at the same time I enjoy the change. I know I am confusing but I have been this way for years. Oh well, what can you do. Our biggest project of the weekend was taking down the *sniff sniff* pool.



I have to say that we were pretty successful this summer. Through swimming lessons, Aaron has turned into fish and swims pretty well under water. He can hold his breath for a nerve wrecking amount of time. Aiden can go under water as well but he still comes back up with a look of complete surprise everytime. Aiden even went down the big slide at the public pool. Once.


I was the proud finder of our pool at home from a garage sale. Got a great deal and once we patched up the holes we were well on our way. Opps. My hubby still even says it was a good deal. Therefore, I feel that it was a complete success.

One good thing about losing the leaves off of all of the trees is that once again, we will have a better view of a pretty spectacular sunrise from our bedroom window. But you know, the sunsets are just as awesome.

my home...my zoo

Today was literally a zoo at my house. I was sitting on the steps trying to talk to my neighbor Amy on the phone. I mean I set the kids up with Blues Clues and everything! Eventually, they still worked their way onto the steps and became very klingy. I kept telling them to go into the living room. Aaron said, "but I am an alligator, mom!"

"So" I said.

"Well I want to sleep and I have to sleep here" as he lays on the floor at the bottom of the steps.

"No Aaron, alligators can sleep in the living room too." I said rolling my eyes. I never thought I would say anything like that in my life! He continues to "sleep" at my feet and Aiden takes the more direct approach and just climbs on my back and saying "Eat mama, eat"

Needless, to say, my grownup conversation with Amy was cut off short.

Later Aaron turned into a dog. At least he is still wanting to eat at the table instead of on the floor. Shhhh....don't remind him that dogs do that.

BTW...Aiden and I have been spending countless hours of lost sleep during the past few nights. I took him with myself in tears to the doctor again. His breathing was very labored and he would have terrible coughing fits. This all happened during the night. I was giving him breathing treatments every three hours. The doctor wanted to admit him to the hospital. She told me that he had asthma and that everytime he gets a cold he will have to deal with this.

She gave Aiden a breathing treatment and checked his oxygen and sats level. Everything was looking good. She didn't know why the hospital gave him the antibiotic that he was on so she decided to put him on steroids and a different anitbiotic and gave us the option of trying this at home instead of putting him in the hospital. I jumped at the chance.

Yesterday, Rick took Aaron out to grams for a while to let Aiden and I sleep and last night Aiden and I slept downstairs. The night went alot better, he woke up only twice with the coughing. One time I gave him a breathing treatment and the other time I was able to calm him down and get him back to sleep. His spirits are up today and I think we are on the road to recovery. The medicine seems to be helping even though he hates taking it. If it flairs up again we will be going to the hospital. I don't think that will be the problem.

Shhhh...I think I hear a cougar...BYE!!!!

M.O.P.S.

Tonight was our first MOPS meeting for the fall. For those of you who don't know, MOPS stands for mothers of preschoolers. It is an international organization that helps to encourage, equip and develop every mother of preschoolers to realize her potential as a woman, mother and leader in the name of Jesus Christ.


About once a month we get together and have topic discussions, great food, general conversations that are over the age of three and some crafts. It is really nice to get out for an evening of fellowship and walk away with some encouragement. This year they are talking about Dwelling: Living from the Space you call home. I am really excited to see what all is going to take place this year. Tonight we talked about a home was kind of like a cocoon. It resembles the warmth, security and growth that happens in a family. You want to pass that on to your children. Even the people that might need a place to stay from time to time. Eventually your children will grow and be released like a butterfly would from a cocoon and carry with them the traditions and values you have taught to them.


Our craft tonight was to make our name tags and they are in the shape of butterflies! Thanks so much Amy for putting it together!! But did we have to use super glue? Okay, I will forgive you if you let me borrow your finger nail polish remover! Hehehe. Thanks to all fellow MOPS for a nice night of strength and encouragment you are passing on to us.


Okay, you know, my boys, my boys, my boys. They play so hard during the day and I guess where ever they land is where they are going to sleep. I try to make sure that they lay their tiny heads on their pillows and get tucked in snug as a bug in a rug. But, for some reason I guess a miniature tornado sneaks into their rooms and blows their little bodies into all sorts of nooks and crannies!! Aaron, I mean was he on his way down to tell me that Aiden was out of bed, then got stuck and thought, Hmmmm....I think this is mighty comfortable...ZZZZZZ. If my tail was where his was wedged in, they would have to pry me out and maybe, if I am lucky, I will walk in a week or so.
Aiden, why won't the boy stayed covered up!?!?!? I don't think he will ever need a security blanket cause apparently he does not believe in them! *giggle giggle*
This winter and every winter until he learns to cover up like I like, he will be dressed in head to toe blanket sleepers! The poor boy will never see his feet again!
Well, thanks again for reading my ramblings! Check back again later. Good night all and stay warm!

The big bad steps

Last week a neighbor and I took our kids to the park and we really had a good time! Our kids are really getting used to each other and are playing well together. I was nice to sit down and have an adult conversation while the kids entertained themselves. Aaron was a dinosaur and chasing everyone around and then it switch to another imaginary game. I think that it was the first time I went to the park and wasn't ready to leave when the time came.
Aiden made big accomplishments while we were there. There are two different slide setups and one is for the smaller kids and the other for bigger ones. Aaron seems to breeze through everything now. Even with flip flops! His little brother usually doesn't pay much attention, until today. There are some steps that lead up to a large slide. The steps are spaced out where you could fall though between each step(why did they build it like that). Aiden decided to climb this today. Which really suprised me. He usually like being sturdy on the ground but he was determined. He had some sort of comment to make up every step but he kept truckin on. As he got closer to the top of the steps his legs got shakier and shakier. You could tell he was nervous but he didn't give up!!! The last three steps he would yell. "Hand! Hand!" So I would hold his had for a minute until he grabbed onto the railings so he could continue on.
The last step as a doozy! He would shake the most there and also had to step up. But he did it! Then he would turn around and do some sort of king of the hill holler and dance. It was great. The next step was to go down the slide. He sat up on the top while I was trying to get him to slide down and catch him so he wouldn't fly off onto the ground. The other kids (mainly his older brother) didn't understand his problem and would "help" him down. This led to screaming, biting, hitting and what ever else Aiden could do to protect himself. Eventually, HE DID IT! Not a problem, I didn't even need to be at the bottom sweating like I was. He jumped off with a hoop and holler and went back over to the steps to start over again! BTW....The youngest girl that was with us also defeated the steps!!! What a day of accomplishments!!! Woo Hoo!!!!















Okay, I am a total goof and accidently deleted the pics of the park and Aidens first time on the steps!!!!! Grrrrrr!!! When I am done kicking myself and take the kids back to the park, I will get some more pics then. Until then, here are some pics of the boys at our house. The one with Aarons face like that is because he was watching a neighbor boy play with a frog and he wouldn't let Aaron have it. I think Aaron is planning his attack.

Benefits of no naps

There are some days that just seem to be over before they even start. I don't remember time going so fast when I was a child.
Anyways, today was one of those days. We were constantly on the run with no naps. Ahhh....Early night for babies equals quiet night for mommy! Woo Hoo! Talk to you more later! The boys are in bed and I am going to watch Fly Boys...a netflix rental that I have had collecting dust on the shelf. Thanks for no late fees netflix!

Holiday

Hope everyone had a good holiday weekend! We decided to spend ours at the hospital. Everyone is fine. Aiden has a tough cold and we were worried about him and the doctor gave him a shot and told us to keep doing what we are doing. I think we mainly went for our own sanity more than anything. We had a tough night with him and everytime Rick finally went to sleep and it was my turn for "Aiden patrol", I would wake Rick up and told him I wanted to take Aiden to the hospital. Rick says, "Whatever you think." You know how many times I talked myself out of it? My mother told my to trust my heart. God gave me womens intuition for a reason. I just hate going to the hospital. I don't go real often. Anyone who was around me during my ruptured appendix time knows what I am talking about. I hate it when people look at me with a kind of pat my head attitude and send me on my way back home. We took Aaron to the e-room one time when he was about a month old. He cried for such a long time. He had just had his circumcision and was upset about that and who could blame him? Anyways, he cried alot longer than I thought he would. We took him to the hospital in the middle of the night and guess what! He was the e-room entertainment committee for the night. Laughing and loving life. Needless to say, Rick and I felt like total fools. All he did was get a tiny little gown on and the doctor looked at him for a total of five minutes and we were charge a huge bill. It just kills me.
Anyways, Aiden needed to go, I was right this time. The shot has helped him. He slept real good last night and today he is coughing up all the crap in his lungs. The kicker of it all is that he never acted sick. He has played hard all day and never ran a fever. This has been such and exciting voyage! I don't practically jump out of my skin everytime they take a tumble anymore but they sure keep my heart racing in different ways regularly.