We don't have it together-ever

I think that there should be some government program where you find teenagers who want to have kids and then send them to a family that never has it together that way they can see what life is really like. If you pay me I am more than willing to help discourage 16-year-olds from wanting to start a family so young.

 Luke has been battling a fever, I thought it was getting better but at 2:30am it spiked. I run a cold bath and neither of us are at all happy to be there. Once we get settled back into bed, Pete decides to sleep in the Luke's bed. At 6am his fever spikes again, so I put a cold wet washcloth on his forehead-- he was not pleased with this and kept throwing it off his head. This is usually the time I get up and get breakfast going and make Jack's lunch, but today I knew Pete would be dropping Jack off by himself, plus Jack had already raided the fridge for bologna so we settled back into bed. Luke never did make it back to sleep but he did manage to kick me in my back, side, chest, neck, butt, and legs for about 20 minutes before I made him go sleep on the couch.

At noon we get a phone call saying Jack has a 102 fever. Turns out that his teacher noticed Jack wasn't his usual active and exuberant self and sent him to the nurse. Gotta love that it was Jack's lack of karate which tipped off the teacher. The nurse said when she asked Jack questions he wouldn't or couldn't respond because he felt so badly and once she told him he could lay on the cot he was asleep in about 30 seconds.

The boys were to get penicillin but when Pete went to Kroger they didn't have it. Neither did Walgreens, but  Walmart did and said it would be ready at 3:50pm. Well, this turned out not to be true. After Pete waits in a 15 minute line with Thomas he is told they can't find the prescriptions because all three pieces of information they request don't match with what they have in their system, so he has to go stand in another line. Then it turns out they spelled our last name wrong but they still can't give us the medicine because they didn't realize we were coming today. They say they will work on it. Pete just has to walk around the store with Thomas. Then he goes back and they still have our name spelled wrong but finally he gets to buy it. Once he has paid for it they ask if he is going to take it with him now. Umm......yeah we just paid for it. Apparently they can't mix penicillin until you pay for it so it will take even more time before it is ready. Pete believes this is all a big scam to get you to buy stuff at Wal-Mart, which he decides he will not do for a long time in protest to this horrible service.

Once home I give Luke his medicine and he promptly spits every bit of it out all over the floor. Yucky yucky yucky becomes his cry. Well, on to Jack. Jack hears Luke's cries and he begins to scream-NO!! It is yucky!!!!! He then refuses to open his mouth. When he does he pulls a Luke and lets the medicine flow freely out of his mouth. Now we have two kids just screaming and crying while Thomas eats dinner. I try again with Luke-pinning him down and putting the syringe way in the back of his throat. The whole time he is crying, wrestling me, and trying his best to bite the syringe. At first I think success but it turns out nope-he just starts throwing up.Gross. This does not help our cause with Jack. Now all the kids are crying and the two parents who normally like each other pretty well are yelling at the kids, each other, and themselves. Total chaos. We finally decide to mix the medicine with just a splash of Sprite to see if this works any better. After much more coercion, Jack finally succumbs and takes his medicine. Luke was a much harder sell. We had pour his medicine into a thermos, tell him that we got rid of his medicine, and now he was drinking a special truck drink. Even then it took him about an hour to drink his medicine-I am not sure that is at all effective but at least he didn't spit it out for a third time. By this time it was time to start over with the ibuprofen since by this time their fevers were coming back. Needless to say, that didn't go over well either.

By this point I needed a drink to help take the edge off the day. I poured myself a glass of wine only to finish it about an hour later because of poop. Warning-- this involves poop. Well Luke has had runny poops all day so I have had to change his diaper almost non-stop. Well, I guess Thomas didn't want to be left out of all this madness so he decided that he would start pooping a ton too. I would change his diaper, change Luke's, and then start all over again. Well, Thomas pooped and for some reason, I can't even remember right now, I let him go sans diaper for just a minute while I did something. I come back to poop on the floor, his feet, his legs, his butt, and by this time--me. Oh man. Really. I clean this up and when I reach for the diaper the box is empty, so I go to get another from our stash but it turns out Thomas has escaped. I go to find him and see that he is my room laying on his stomach very very still. Hmm.. I move in closer to see once again poop on the floor, his legs, his butt, his feet, and of course me. What?! No No No No.

Seriously, I rarely think that we have it together. Yesterday I learned Jack let some girl do his school work for him because he didn't know how so he just asked her and she said yes. Distracted I sat Thomas on the counter next to the knives and would have gladly kept him there without realizing it but Pete happened to notice this was not a good idea. At the grocery store the other day I put our stuff on the belt only to realize Luke has opened the bubble bath and poured it all over all of our groceries and then proceeded smash any food that was in a box.

Squeezie is funny and Jack's first week of school

For a long time Luke didn't talk. Jack basically came out talking. This gives you two very different perspectives on intelligence, personality, and child development. It is easier when they talk. You can beat a lot of tantrums. Not talking seems to have enhanced Luke's emotional IQ- he can read facial expressions better than Jack, once he cried and cried during a movie because of the facial expressions of the characters, he also became quite scared for the same reason. It has made us appreciate his new found voice even more. One thing we have learned about Luke is that he is super funny. In the car on the way to and from taking Jack to school Luke entertains us the whole way. Here are some examples of Luke's wonderful humor.

Pete: who eats dog food at grannys
 Luke: I don't know

Pete: does granny have dog?
Luke: no

Pete: who barks at granny's?
Luke: me

Pete: you don't bark.
Luke then says: bark bark bark

Pete: be serious who barks at granny's house
 Luke: uncle bark.
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Luke likes to ask why like many 2-year-olds and after asking why in a normal voice he goes-
Wwwhhhyyy - in a soft whisper like that little kid from the tv show In the Middle.
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We were either talking about trucks or had just passed some and Luke spent about 1 minute just saying:
Mommmy, mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy

I then turn around and say-Yes Luke.

He says in a deep from the belly voice-Biiig Truck!!!!!!!!
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Jack asked Squeezie - are there sharks in that water?
No, rocks.
Pause.
Shark rocks. Biig Shark Rocks!!
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Jack has started his first week of school. He has seemed to enjoy it but when you ask him about it he says his favorite thing is playtime and his least favorite thing is doing work because he just doesn't like to work.

One day he came home from school telling me that he got moved from table 4 to table 5 and not everyone got to do that. I ask him what that means and he says it means that he and another boy can't sit at the same table because all they do is fight so Jack got moved.

In the hall you are supposed to be quite and walk in a straight line. Jack likes to do karate in the hall with a boy named Frank.

In class he has a friend named Charlie that he says he breaks the law with by laughing when they aren't supposed to and they don't always follow the rules in class.

These things have caused Jack to have his rewards system at school, which is called Mr. Ticket, changed to yellow most everyday. Red means a note home and no recess- yellow means no reward. I guess so far so good that it isn't red. Jack has informed me that to keep Mr. Ticket on green is very hard because you actually have to try to not get in trouble and talk or do anything because there are just so many rules-too many.

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Pete and I are trying to adjust to this new schedule. Pete has had to adjust his study schedule because he comes with us to drop Jack off at school. I have had to wake up at 6am everyday which is not fun for me. I have to nurse Thomas(he only nurses first thing in the AM now), make breakfast, get dressed, hound Jack for at least 25 minutes so that he will get dressed and brush his teeth, get the other two boys ready-ish, take Tigran out, wake up Pete, and get everyone in the car by 7:30am (which so far has been 7:40). We are almost late every single day. At his school if the kid gets to school between 7:30-7:50 then the child is supposed to be dropped off and walk into the gym by himself until the teacher picks up the class at 7:50. If you get to school after 7:50 then the parent is supposed to walk the kid to the classroom. School starts at 8am- we get to school at 7:58. As Pete has experience with tardies he thinks 7:58 is plenty early enough.

So hard to let go

My son starts kindergarten in a few days. This is a huge milestone for any parent. This little boy that I have elected to stay at home with, this little boy who has helped to fill my days with laughter, stories, fun along with frustration, worry, and arguments is leaving me. Perhaps I shouldn't phrase it this way-leaving me- but I feel that way. When I wake up in the morning, which will be much earlier than I really want to talk about, it will be in preparation of getting him out of the house and when I come home I will no longer hear his stories, games, and imagination at work. I will feel lonely. It was with him that I became a stay-at-home mom, it was with him that I first learned to be a mom, how to love in a way that is bigger than me, to give and desire for him more and better than I ever hoped for myself. Yes, I will get more time with Luke and Thomas, yes, I may have a couple hours to relax or at least finish all the laundry, but it is the beginning of Jack pulling away from me. Oh I know it was bound to happen, I know it has to happen, but that doesn't mean I like it. Right now he wants pictures of me and Pete in his bedroom, he thinks I am the prettiest lady in the world, he picks me flowers, and tells me how nice I am and how I am the best mom in all the world, and when I asked him how he felt about going to kindergarten he answered- excited because he gets to play and learn to read and write but nervous because he has to leave me all day. The fact that right now my little boy loves me enough to still enjoy hanging out with me all day is a wonderful blessing. Kids have no idea how hard it is on parents to let go- I guess it has to be that way otherwise he would be single, 40, and living in my basement, which would be pretty weird I admit. So along with the rest of the moms sending their babies off to kindergarten this month I will take loads of pictures, post them on facebook, make him a big breakfast, smile and get really excited to see him walk into his classroom, and then wait anxiously all day to hear about how that first day went. For you see it is a big day for him too. His first foray into academics, new friends, growing up, memories that he will be able to flashback to when he is older, leaving the comfort of his home and entering a world that isn't always nice and kind, and learning how to be a functioning member of society without his mom there to help out-it is quite a big deal. I hope we are both up to the task. I think we are. You see we have both been teaching each other quite a lot over these last 5 years and neither of us are the same person we once were. I know he will have a wonderful first day even if he is a bit anxious and he knows I will have cookies and milk waiting for him.

how we are and our family pictures

So this summer has been a little different than the summer we envisioned for ourselves a few months ago. People have worried about us and asked how we are--thank you enough for caring it is very sweet. We are doing fine. We move back to Indiana in a week and are very excited. We have made many great memories staying with Granny and Pappy this summer, and I am sure this special time with grandparents will benefit the boys greatly. Still, it will be nice to finally feel like we are completely settled back into our lives. We had pictures taken of us this summer by Sarah Ward who did an awesome job and was very patient with the boys-- and let's be serious-- with the adults as well.

So here is a tiny bit about how everyone is doing and then enjoy our family pictures.

Thomas- he is almost 1 now and I can't believe it. He loves to sing and talk (sometimes he actually says words like hi, bye, and ball). When he smiles he scrunches up his nose and it is the cutest thing ever. He can pull up and cruise but doesn't seem very interested in moving away from furniture just yet. This summer he has loved balls and swimming in the pool.

Luke- has made huge advancements in his language skills and it is so awesome to hear him begin to talk. When we left he only said one or two words--sometimes--and he was 2. Once in Germany he began to say 3 or 4 words in German. When we came back he continued to use his German words but very little else. Then about a month ago he just had an explosion in language. I am not sure if it is because he has had so many aunts and cousins around who have helped him or if he just decided it was time to start, but the difference from the beginning of summer to now is amazing. He has loved having the aunts and cousins around because they would carry and play with him like he was their little pet. He likes having little baby things (small tiny things) to carry around and be his pets-like toys, balls, or balloons. He took swim lessons this summer for one week and loved that he got to be a big boy and do something Thomas couldn't.

Jack- has taken to the water like a fish this summer. At the beginning of the summer he was nervous of the water and unsure about what to do while in it, but now he has no fear. He jumps in , does cannonballs, can doggy paddle the length of Granny's pool, has jumped off the diving board multiple times, puts his head completely underwater,is starting to learn the frog kick, and wants to be in the water every day. It has been so fun to see this transformation and emergence of confidence. He went to VBS even though he didn't know anyone in it and it was at a church he was not familiar with-I was so proud of him for doing something that I know was outside his comfort zone.

Pete and I are doing fine too-- there isn't much to report on us so you will just have to take my word for it.

Ok let the family pictures begin----

here we were going for all the boys laying on their stomach but it didn't work out

didn't work here either

basically this is when we gave up on that idea

injury, running, and an anniversary

Thomas was sitting in his booster seat, I was making eggs, and the other kids were just wandering around the house waiting for breakfast. Suddenly, I hear a crash and a sobbing, painful, frantic cry. Thomas was still in his booster seat but now the booster seat was on the floor and Thomas's face had attempted to break the fall. Luke was just standing there staring. Luke had pulled the booster seat off the chair, but didn't quite understand that this is what was causing all crying. I picked up Thomas to find that his mouth and nose were bleeding. I couldn't take it- I went to wake up Pete until the bleeding stopped. It was determined that Thomas broke his nose but since babies mostly have cartilage in their nose and it had broken straight there wasn't much we could do other than give him Tylenol and make sure he didn't hurt it further. Oh my. This after Jack jumped backwards into the pool causing him to smash his mouth on the ladder causing his tooth to go straight through his lower lip. I think I am going to have to get used to injury since I have such active boys.

after his fall and after the crying stopped

Jack has decided that he is going to be our running man. He decided that while his Granny and uncles were running in a 10k he would run in a 1 mile race. So on the 4th of July Jack and I ran in our race, probably the first of many for Jack. It was very hot already that morning and Jack wasn't real sure about running without seeing the finish line, but ultimately we finished. We started out running but then switched to a goal oriented run walk method: run until the stop sign, walk until the big tree at the end of the street, and finish up the last bit running hard.

before our race

during our race

after the race

Also, Pete and I celebrated our 7th anniversary this month. We went to the French Lick/West Baden Resort. It was very nice and relaxing. We spent one night away with no kids and enjoyed a Sprudel Bath at the spa, sitting poolside while having drinks brought to us, a nice dinner, an hour gambling in the casino, and finally a room service breakfast we enjoyed while watching Wimbledon.

inside hotel

outside hotel

Summer Summer Summer!

These are some of the words and things that have been part of our summer so far: Family, swimming, hot, playing, Jack's busted mouth, fireworks, Squeezie being a pet, throwing and skipping rocks, girl cousins, trampoline fun, trail walks,and crazy times.

Goodbye Germany

When we left Roxel we didn't have a lot of stuff, but we had some stuff, and it had to be removed from the apartment. Not sure what to do,the secretaries suggested we just leave it on the street. This is just what we did, and it turns out that many other people in town saw us doing it and thought it was a wonderful idea. When we first started doing it a man asked if it was pick up day. In Roxel there is a day every 6 weeks or so where you can leave anything you don't want on the street and the town picks it up. We weren't sure when pick up day was, but we knew we couldn't leave our stuff in the apartment and things like a bed wouldn't fit in a dumpster-- so to the street it was. By the time we had made a few trips we noticed that our entire street was getting in the mood and so was our whole apartment building. We left before we found out when pick up day was, but we did start a trend.

Our plan trip home was a bit more difficult--dealing with children wise-- but we made it. The long trip was long but ok. Once in America one of our legs involved taxiing the runway for an hour and Thomas screaming the whole time, while I sat wedged in between to men. Once off that flight almost every single person said something about it-not negative but still they ALL felt the need to comment. Then after 24 hours of travel we thought we were a 45 minute plane ride from being pick up by family when that flight got cancelled and we had to spend the night in a hotel, and by night I mean the 4 hours until we were booked on a new flight. Still-- we were glad to be home.

We are back in the States and spending the summer in Kentucky. When school starts in August we will be moving back to Purdue.