You know you have a high maintenance baby when:
a. You are convinced he has died because he has been in his crib for more than 30 minutes without
a sound
b. You are thrilled that you had a free moment to clean the bathroom
c. You actually feel like logging onto the blog and bragging about it
d. All of the above
Monday, November 2, 2009
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Steroid Cure
Most of you who are faithful followers of this blog know what steroids do to Ian. He turns into Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde. The other morning, he was in an extremely irrational crying mood. I was doing my best to console him but nothing was working. Then, all of a sudden, I had an idea...
My dad had a cartoon he loved as a child. I listened to his very vivid descriptions of the cartoon that he watched and enjoyed. The details he could remember were extremely descriptive and precise. They were so good in fact, that my brother-in-law was actually able to figure out what cartoon it was and find it on you tube.
We also watched it as a family and my kids instantly fell in love with it. It is hilarious. I had him sit down and watch the cartoon. It took all of about 30 seconds until the tears were dry and the corners of his mouth began to turn up into a smile. By the time the cartoon got to the sunshine song, he couldn't resist chiming in and singing along (it's just one of those cartoons).
It took a while to figure out what they are saying but it goes:
"Sunshine, sunshine,
I just love the good old golden sunshine
Sunshine, sunshine
Just the thing to keep you feeling fine."
The transformation from grumpy boy to happy boy was amazing! It is ironic because the cartoon is actually about the happy people versus the sad people. In the cartoon, the happy people prevail and it proved the case in our home too.
Here is the link to the cartoon if you are interested:
It's old and not good quality, but give it a chance and watch the whole thing. You'll be glad you did.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tZKZiIn1Yg
My dad had a cartoon he loved as a child. I listened to his very vivid descriptions of the cartoon that he watched and enjoyed. The details he could remember were extremely descriptive and precise. They were so good in fact, that my brother-in-law was actually able to figure out what cartoon it was and find it on you tube.
We also watched it as a family and my kids instantly fell in love with it. It is hilarious. I had him sit down and watch the cartoon. It took all of about 30 seconds until the tears were dry and the corners of his mouth began to turn up into a smile. By the time the cartoon got to the sunshine song, he couldn't resist chiming in and singing along (it's just one of those cartoons).
It took a while to figure out what they are saying but it goes:
"Sunshine, sunshine,
I just love the good old golden sunshine
Sunshine, sunshine
Just the thing to keep you feeling fine."
The transformation from grumpy boy to happy boy was amazing! It is ironic because the cartoon is actually about the happy people versus the sad people. In the cartoon, the happy people prevail and it proved the case in our home too.
Here is the link to the cartoon if you are interested:
It's old and not good quality, but give it a chance and watch the whole thing. You'll be glad you did.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tZKZiIn1Yg
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Heroes and Halos
This is National Childhood Cancer Awareness month. Ian, along with the rest of us, spent today at an event that was held for children and their families that are/were battling cancer (heroes) or have lost their fight with it (halos). It was out in Linwood Kansas on a huge farm (it is pretty close to Lawrence where KU is). As I was explaining what were going to do today to Ian, I began to rattle off some names of his friends from the clinic who may be there. I no sooner said, "Patrick may be there" when Ian excitedly piped up and asked, "Will SpongeBob be there too?" Evidently, he doesn't remember Patrick from the clinic as much as I thought he would. It was so hilarious. (Yes I let my kids watch SpongeBob. I will gladly accept my mother of the year award now).
As we began driving out to Eureka, Emma noticed a license plate that said Minnesota on it. She said, "I wonder if they drink a lot of soda in Minnesota?" So between she and Ian, we had some pretty good laughs on the drive up.
We arrived to a farm that was in a remote, peaceful setting. There were tons of lush trees covering the majority of the property; it felt like you were entering the woods more than a farm. The farmhouse was an adorable cobblestone house covered in vines and ivy that sat easily on at least 100 acres of forest.
We found the registration tent where we were all given name tags and gold ribbons. Ian was given a goodie bag with a frisbee, kite, Royals baseball tickets, and many other things. He was asked to sign a big banner that was presented later.
After that, we were free to explore. The first stop for the kiddos was Pony Rides. Ian got to ride on a pony named Spider and he was really excited about it. After that, we made our way over to the 3 firetrucks and the police car. Ian got to sit in both the firetrucks and police car and speak into the radio. He said, "Come out with your hands up!"
There was a path that lead down into a grove of trees into a clearing. As we reached the clearing, we could see that there were 5 treehouses built into the next grove. Each one was different from the other, but they all had beds, as well as swamp coolers. One even had a t.v. in it. The kids thought they were so awesome and Mike and I would have to agree that they were.
Next we headed to the big barn for lunch. The local High School has a culinary arts program so about 10 of the students were there with food they had made. Afterwards, there was a ceremony with a few speakers. One was a young boy maybe 12 or so who told about his journey and survival with cancer. Next was a mother who lost her daughter to cancer and has actively set up lemonade stands to help raise money for cancer research. You may have heard of Alex's lemonade stands and if you haven't, now maybe you'll notice them. The banner that Ian had signed earlier was held up and they began reading the heroes names for them to go up in front so all could see them. Mike explained to Ian that he would need to go up there when they said his name and he nervously looked at me and said, "But I don't know what I am supposed to say." I guess since we had just heard 2 speakers, that he was going to be speaker number 3. Needless to say, he was pretty relieved to learn that all he had to do was stand there.
Tears filled my eyes as they had the families stand who had Halos (children that lost their battle with cancer). One families son passed as recently as last March. I can't even imagine how hard it must be for those families, but they are actively doing what they can to raise money for research so that other children in the future may stand a chance. It made me think of one of my Mom's most favorite quotes (now my favorite):
Two men looked through prison bars;
One saw mud; the other stars.
These are families that instead of wallowing in the mud, are looking to the stars and finding light in even their darkest moments. They are truly inspirational to me.
Several Carnival games were set up and I have to say, they gave out the best prizes of any Carnival I have ever seen. The kids were loving it and they completely scored some good stuff. They will never be able to go to another Carnival again for anything else will seem second rate in comparison.
We took a few turns on the paddleboats and then decided to call it a day.
I am so touched at how many people contributed to make this event so special and wonderful for Cancer patients and their families. I think it needs to be called Heroes, Halos, and Angels.
As we began driving out to Eureka, Emma noticed a license plate that said Minnesota on it. She said, "I wonder if they drink a lot of soda in Minnesota?" So between she and Ian, we had some pretty good laughs on the drive up.
We arrived to a farm that was in a remote, peaceful setting. There were tons of lush trees covering the majority of the property; it felt like you were entering the woods more than a farm. The farmhouse was an adorable cobblestone house covered in vines and ivy that sat easily on at least 100 acres of forest.
We found the registration tent where we were all given name tags and gold ribbons. Ian was given a goodie bag with a frisbee, kite, Royals baseball tickets, and many other things. He was asked to sign a big banner that was presented later.
After that, we were free to explore. The first stop for the kiddos was Pony Rides. Ian got to ride on a pony named Spider and he was really excited about it. After that, we made our way over to the 3 firetrucks and the police car. Ian got to sit in both the firetrucks and police car and speak into the radio. He said, "Come out with your hands up!"
There was a path that lead down into a grove of trees into a clearing. As we reached the clearing, we could see that there were 5 treehouses built into the next grove. Each one was different from the other, but they all had beds, as well as swamp coolers. One even had a t.v. in it. The kids thought they were so awesome and Mike and I would have to agree that they were.
Next we headed to the big barn for lunch. The local High School has a culinary arts program so about 10 of the students were there with food they had made. Afterwards, there was a ceremony with a few speakers. One was a young boy maybe 12 or so who told about his journey and survival with cancer. Next was a mother who lost her daughter to cancer and has actively set up lemonade stands to help raise money for cancer research. You may have heard of Alex's lemonade stands and if you haven't, now maybe you'll notice them. The banner that Ian had signed earlier was held up and they began reading the heroes names for them to go up in front so all could see them. Mike explained to Ian that he would need to go up there when they said his name and he nervously looked at me and said, "But I don't know what I am supposed to say." I guess since we had just heard 2 speakers, that he was going to be speaker number 3. Needless to say, he was pretty relieved to learn that all he had to do was stand there.
Tears filled my eyes as they had the families stand who had Halos (children that lost their battle with cancer). One families son passed as recently as last March. I can't even imagine how hard it must be for those families, but they are actively doing what they can to raise money for research so that other children in the future may stand a chance. It made me think of one of my Mom's most favorite quotes (now my favorite):
Two men looked through prison bars;
One saw mud; the other stars.
These are families that instead of wallowing in the mud, are looking to the stars and finding light in even their darkest moments. They are truly inspirational to me.
Several Carnival games were set up and I have to say, they gave out the best prizes of any Carnival I have ever seen. The kids were loving it and they completely scored some good stuff. They will never be able to go to another Carnival again for anything else will seem second rate in comparison.
We took a few turns on the paddleboats and then decided to call it a day.
I am so touched at how many people contributed to make this event so special and wonderful for Cancer patients and their families. I think it needs to be called Heroes, Halos, and Angels.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Drama At Church
The story I am about to post happened 2 weeks ago if that tells you how far behind I have gotten thanks to a little stinkbomb who likes to keep me from getting anything done (he shall remain nameless but his name starts with a C...)
Ian was complaining when he woke up that the Holy Ghost was in his tummy. I guess the Holy Ghost sounded like something scary to him and he was hurting so that was his way of describing it. The pain was in his right side (appendics). My first reaction was to ask him if he needed to use the bathroom. He went, and felt better. We got ready for church thinking all was well. As we went to get in the car, Ian was laying on his stomach on the hot cement on our front porch. I asked him what was going on; was he cold? Tired? Sick? He wouldn't really say so I figured he was just tired. As we were about a minute away from pulling into the parking lot Ian was saying he felt like he was going to throw up and was gritting his teeth because he was in so much pain. We parked the car and Mike carried Ian inside because he couldn't walk.
Lauryn and I went into the chapel and grabbed one of the doctors who is a doctor specializing in newborns (I am spacing on the official name). We found him and told him something was wrong with Ian and he left the chapel with us. I knew at that point it was going to get some attention; but thankfully, we were subtle enough that only a few noticed and came out to see if everything was ok and if they could help. We were worried that it was appendicitis or kidney stones and asked the doc if we were being overly paranoid or should take him to the ER. Based on Ian's health history we decided it would be best if he went in.
It was a long drive to the ER as I wondered how much more my heart could take if there was something seriously wrong. We got to the hospital and he started throwing up which made me even more convinced that it was appendicitis. They drew some blood and did a urine test to rule out kidney stones. Then we went in for an x-ray and waited to hear the results.
Well, it was the best case scenario. He was extremely constipated so it was an easy fix. I didn't realize he could be constipated if he was going- he had just gone that morning, but evidently, you can be. The fecal matter (aren't I proper) was super high up into his intestines. I know that constipation can be a side effect of chemo and we had Mirilax for it, but I wasn't giving him any because I didn't know he was backed up. He had to get an enema (poor thing) but he felt awesome about 5 minutes later. I think he lost a good 3-5 pounds.
Ian saw the picture and is now convinced that there is a dog living in his tummy because of the way the shadows and stuff look on it (I'll admit, it really does look that way). They gave him a copy of his x-ray which he proudly taped on his wall and shows to everyone calling it his "poop picture". I wasn't about to post it to the site, I have a little more class than that (not much) but if you are disappointed, come to our house. Ian will gladly show it to you.
Ian was complaining when he woke up that the Holy Ghost was in his tummy. I guess the Holy Ghost sounded like something scary to him and he was hurting so that was his way of describing it. The pain was in his right side (appendics). My first reaction was to ask him if he needed to use the bathroom. He went, and felt better. We got ready for church thinking all was well. As we went to get in the car, Ian was laying on his stomach on the hot cement on our front porch. I asked him what was going on; was he cold? Tired? Sick? He wouldn't really say so I figured he was just tired. As we were about a minute away from pulling into the parking lot Ian was saying he felt like he was going to throw up and was gritting his teeth because he was in so much pain. We parked the car and Mike carried Ian inside because he couldn't walk.
Lauryn and I went into the chapel and grabbed one of the doctors who is a doctor specializing in newborns (I am spacing on the official name). We found him and told him something was wrong with Ian and he left the chapel with us. I knew at that point it was going to get some attention; but thankfully, we were subtle enough that only a few noticed and came out to see if everything was ok and if they could help. We were worried that it was appendicitis or kidney stones and asked the doc if we were being overly paranoid or should take him to the ER. Based on Ian's health history we decided it would be best if he went in.
It was a long drive to the ER as I wondered how much more my heart could take if there was something seriously wrong. We got to the hospital and he started throwing up which made me even more convinced that it was appendicitis. They drew some blood and did a urine test to rule out kidney stones. Then we went in for an x-ray and waited to hear the results.
Well, it was the best case scenario. He was extremely constipated so it was an easy fix. I didn't realize he could be constipated if he was going- he had just gone that morning, but evidently, you can be. The fecal matter (aren't I proper) was super high up into his intestines. I know that constipation can be a side effect of chemo and we had Mirilax for it, but I wasn't giving him any because I didn't know he was backed up. He had to get an enema (poor thing) but he felt awesome about 5 minutes later. I think he lost a good 3-5 pounds.
Ian saw the picture and is now convinced that there is a dog living in his tummy because of the way the shadows and stuff look on it (I'll admit, it really does look that way). They gave him a copy of his x-ray which he proudly taped on his wall and shows to everyone calling it his "poop picture". I wasn't about to post it to the site, I have a little more class than that (not much) but if you are disappointed, come to our house. Ian will gladly show it to you.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Super Hero School
We weren't quite sure what to do with Ian as far as preschool went this year. I am absolutely terrified to have him enrolled anywhere especially with all the hype about the Swine flu. Two of my cute friends who live down the street from me, have little boys Ian age and they are best buds. We decided to do a preschool between the three of us. They are completely aware of his situation and I don't have to worry about them bringing their kids sick and I don't have to feel like we are wasting money if he gets put into quarantine and can't go.
As we met and the ideas began to flow, we decided to call it the Super Hero School for Boys (no girls allowed except for the moms of course). It has been so fun planning everything around a super hero theme. Sara is too cute and she actually made uniforms for them to wear which is a super hero t-shirt and a cape with their initial on the back. (When all the capes are together the three boys initials spell either BID or DIB.) They all have matching backpacks as well with several super heroes on them.
They had their first meeting Tuesday at Sara's house where she kind of laid down the rules and tested them to see where they were at. The next morning, Ian started bawling when I told him he didn't have school that day. Then on Thursday, we had our first field trip where we went to the Great Mall and had to find things like the letter S, snakes, slides, gumball machines, etc. Needless to say, it was a hit! I am so in trouble! I am going to be the boring teacher, I can already tell:) Ian said he wants to go to the Superhero School for Boys Forever. I guess we have a lot of work to do in order to turn it into a University:)
Four Months Old!!!
It is hard to believe that Caleb is four months old already. He had his well baby visit and all looks good. He came in at 90% for length and 75th for weight. He has started to roll over (from back to front and only to the right). We also can begin to give him rice cereal now. The kids were so excited to watch his first attempt at eating the stuff. He did fairly well at getting it down although he did need a bath afterwards to get the glued on cereal off.
From the nose down, he is all me. The eyes, are definitely Mike. It is crazy to look at a baby that looks like me. He is the first one where I can truly see it. I don't know if I have a warped memory or not but I don't remember my other kids being as high maintenance as he is. Caleb is a huge cat napper. I will just barely get him down and then he is up within 10-15 minutes screaming. He spends a lot of time in a front pack (which I am sure is going to cause me to spend a lot of time at the chiropractor). I guess I am just to loveable. He can't stand to be away from me because I am such an awesome mom:)
The nights have been so beautiful here lately. He was really having a hard time going to sleep so he and I snuggled up in the hammock while the kids fired up the fire pit and roasted marshmallows with Mike. He absolutely loved it and so did I. It was nice to hold and enjoy him while relaxing without worrying about the next thing I needed to get done. We need to lay in the hammock more. You cannot be stressed while hanging out in one. It is too peaceful.
We are a nerdy computer family. I think pretty much anyone who knows us will concur with that. My kids can conquer Lego Star Wars pretty much the day they can walk. We have more computers than family members (ok, slight exaggeration, but pretty stinking close). Caleb is already being primed as he sits in the crook of Mike's arm watching the screen while he programs (as you can see in the above posted picture). A perfect example of just how ingrained the computer is into our life is Ian. It was his turn to pray at dinner and he folded his arms and sat there quiet for a few seconds before he said, "I forgot the password. I need help."
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Ian had an appointment on Tuesday. He was in a a great mood and it was adorable to listen to him singing "You Are My Sunshine" and "Pearly Shells" all the way to the hospital. The second we got there, he was completely silent and avoided making contact with all of the nurses and Dr. Max. He was brave though and opted to sit alone with me holding his hand as they accessed his port. It was just a routine injection of Vincristine, labwork, and then we were done.
The big event of the week was we took the training wheels off his bike. He instantly took off and was riding! Ian was so excited and proud! He only needs a little help getting started and then he is good to go. I am sure he will be totally proficient at starting alone in no time at all.
He hit the jackpot today and got about a 100 hot wheel cars from a friend of mine. She is soon sending her baby off to college and was cleaning out her garage and they were so sweet to think of Ian. We went over there so he could pick out his favorites. I was blabbing and not really paying attention, but evidently, they were all his favorites as there was not a car that didn't make it into the box we took home. He spent all day lining them up in a perfect straight row and then, sorting them into piles according to color. He had everything from an orange pile, to red, to silver, and camoflauge. Now, if we could just channel those organizational skills into his bedroom...
In addition to scoring the cars, he also scored 2 GI Joe's (Barbie size) and HUGE Hummer that they fit in. I was cracking up to see that he had rounded up 2 of the girls Barbie's and put them in the back seats so that each of the GI Joe's could have a girlfriend.
Caleb is growing like a weed. He gets more and more interactive by the day. We just discovered he is ticklish now and laughs hysterically at all the dumb faces and noises we make at him. He has gotten so strong and is really close to turning over.
It is so hard to believe that the summer is almost over. School starts in about a little over a week. I don't know what I am going to do when the girls leave. They have been such a big help to me. We just got to go and see their new school. It is so nice! Can a school be beautiful? Because, it really was. It is so open and spacious and there are HUGE windows everywhere you go. I think the power could go out and they would barely notice a difference as far as the lighting is concerned. They are so excited to start now. We will find out on Thursday who their teachers are and which friends are in their classes.
The big event of the week was we took the training wheels off his bike. He instantly took off and was riding! Ian was so excited and proud! He only needs a little help getting started and then he is good to go. I am sure he will be totally proficient at starting alone in no time at all.
He hit the jackpot today and got about a 100 hot wheel cars from a friend of mine. She is soon sending her baby off to college and was cleaning out her garage and they were so sweet to think of Ian. We went over there so he could pick out his favorites. I was blabbing and not really paying attention, but evidently, they were all his favorites as there was not a car that didn't make it into the box we took home. He spent all day lining them up in a perfect straight row and then, sorting them into piles according to color. He had everything from an orange pile, to red, to silver, and camoflauge. Now, if we could just channel those organizational skills into his bedroom...
In addition to scoring the cars, he also scored 2 GI Joe's (Barbie size) and HUGE Hummer that they fit in. I was cracking up to see that he had rounded up 2 of the girls Barbie's and put them in the back seats so that each of the GI Joe's could have a girlfriend.
Caleb is growing like a weed. He gets more and more interactive by the day. We just discovered he is ticklish now and laughs hysterically at all the dumb faces and noises we make at him. He has gotten so strong and is really close to turning over.
It is so hard to believe that the summer is almost over. School starts in about a little over a week. I don't know what I am going to do when the girls leave. They have been such a big help to me. We just got to go and see their new school. It is so nice! Can a school be beautiful? Because, it really was. It is so open and spacious and there are HUGE windows everywhere you go. I think the power could go out and they would barely notice a difference as far as the lighting is concerned. They are so excited to start now. We will find out on Thursday who their teachers are and which friends are in their classes.
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