Happy Birthday S!

Happy 5th Birthday S!

Today, S turned 5 years-old. He's been so excited for this day. He's been telling people that his birthday is "the day after church day." I had to work today, so he spent the morning with the sitter, which he thought was cool because he played with his friends. Then, he played with the neighborhood kids. A neighbor has a bounce house/slip-n-slide up at their house for the week so you know where S and C were today.

S got to talk to his cousins, aunts, and grandparents on the phone today. Every time the phone has rung (which has been a lot) he has bounded over to the phone so he can talk. The first person to call today was my dad. S didn't bother to say hi. He just bluntly asked "are you going to sing to me?"

We are so lucky to have S in our family. He is such a character. He keeps us laughing with all his silliness and crazy ideas. He is a very loving brother. He loves to help and loves to make others laugh. He is very creative. He loves to play outside, to ride his scooter, to play the wii, and to play with puzzles. He has a great ability to think through puzzles and piece them together.

Happy Birthday C!

Happy 7th Birthday C!

C turned 7 on July 31st. C has been so excited for his birthday for months now. He's very happy to tell EVERYONE he sees that he is now 7 years-old.

We started the day off with pancake breakfast with a candle in the pancake, of course. He opened presents, played with friends, and ended the day by going to a restaurant for dinner. We waited until Sunday to do his birthday cake since we got home late and C got a free dessert from the restaurant. We are having a combined birthday party for both boys on Wednesday.

C is busy finding out what his new 7 year-old super powers are. So far, he has discovered that he is taller (he demonstrated this to me by showing me how he can barely lay down on the couch now) and he is faster (he will run across the lawn to show you his increased speed.)

As we discover what other 7 year-old super powers he has, we will update you accordingly.

C is a big part of our family and we all love him so much. He is an amazing big brother who cares for and watches out for his brother and sister. He is a great helper around the house and with his siblings. He loves art and makes fun projects. He has great handwriting and does well at math. He loves to play soccer and baseball. And he is a good friend, wanting to include everyone.

Second Hernia During a Summer Storm

A couple months ago, R had to have hernia surgery--his second one just a short 13 months after the first. I had originally worked it out for the kids to go to our sitter for the day, but the night before the surgery we were informed by the hospital that we had to be at the hospital at 5:30 a.m. Yikes! So, I called my parents and asked if the kids could have a sleepover at grandma and boppi's house. They said yes, so I quickly packed the kids an over night bag and hurried them over...and I do mean quickly. I had them packed and strapped into the car in under 10 minutes. That included potty breaks, too. Sometimes, I amaze myself.

And other times I don't.

It was mid-June. It was summer weather. I packed shorts, t-shirts, sandals, swimsuits, and underwear, of course. What I didn't count on was a summer storm to come. I didn't send with them any socks nor sweaters nor anything like that. But, my parents are of the resourceful kind. We used to watch a lot of "MacGyver" when I was younger. Here are some great pictures my parents emailed me while I was at the hospital with R.

First up is MK in the morning. She is a happy girl with her milk and banana. Look at her feet......those are my dad's socks on her feet and legs. They look like leg warmers, don't they?

MK

Next up are all three kids. C and S seem very happy with their sweaters. C is rocking some socks from Boppi. MK doesn't seem so sure. Can you even see her underneath all that?

C, MK, S 

And just because the situation was so funny, Boppi posed with the grandkids. I can hear the laughing. And yeah, MK's expression is pretty funny.

Staying warm

The kids ended up spending 2 nights with my parents. THANK YOU! It was so nice to not to have to worry about them while I tended to R.

As for R, his surgery went very well. He is now a bionic man....okay, not really. But they did a great job in patching him up. He had to spend one night in the hospital. His recovery was shorter than the first surgery. I was looking forward to his loopy state of mind while he came down from the anesthesia, but it didn't happen. He actually remembered things this time! No repeat conversations. No repeat questions. I was looking forward to the funny stories I could tell about him coming out of it, but sorry. I can't. Drat.

I am my Mother's Daughter

It is official. I have become just like my mother. I was always warned that this day would come, I just didn't expect it at 33 years of age. Today, instead of taking a nap during our mandatory Sunday Quite Time (again, thank you, mother) I worked on my quilt. I sat at a sewing machine quilting while I watched "McClintock!" And for good measure, I told my boys "the kitchen's closed!" when they wanted more food an hour after dinner was over.

Job Offer

R has received and accepted a job offer. Hurray!

Beating them off with a stick

Conversation overheard by C

MK: *climbs onto bed to cuddle with her dad and give him kisses*

Dad: Thank you for the kisses. You have such beautiful blue eyes. You are so cute. I don't know what I'm gonna do when you are older, I'm gonna have to beat them off with a stick.

Mom: I recommend your baseball bat.

Next day at church walking in the hallway

C: Mom, is daddy really going to beat off MK's eyes with a stick?

Allergy Update

We took S into the Allergist to have a skin test done. R and I were a bit nervous taking him in....it took me plus hundreds of nurses (ok, not hundreds, but it felt like it) to hold him down to draw blood, we weren't sure how he'd handle being poked for a skin test. S surprised us and did excellent. He wasn't happy about it, but he was so brave and did so well. The good news is that he can eat wheat, eggs, fish, cow milk, corn, and shell fish. He is still higly allergic to peanuts and soy. The Allergist said that many times blood test results are false positives. I'm so glad he's not allergic to all those things; I was very worried. I had visions of him eating only graham crackers and oatmeal for the rest of his life.

Next week: MK gets her skin test done.

Last night, I was talking to a long-time friend about the allergies. She said her dad had always been sick as a kid, going to multiple doctors and never figuring out what it was. He went away to college and felt better than ever. On his first car trip back home, someone in the car was a cat owner. That's when he started to feel sick again. He finally figured out what had caused him to be sick all his life--His parents owned several cats.

A laundry list of Allergies

So, back in December we received lots of treats and cookies from neighbors and friends. S ate a cookie with a BIG chocolate kiss on it not realizing it was a peanut butter cookie. I didn't think any of it either, even though he's never been a big fan of PBJ. Soon after he ate it, he started to wheeze while breathing. He also had red, puffy skin on his nose and under his eyes. Yikes.

I took him into the doctor to have him tested for peanut allergies. That was an experience. He fought so hard, I was worn out. It took me plus 3 nurses and the phlebotomist holding to get his blood drawn.

We just got the results back. Yes--S is allergic to peanuts just like MK. Joy. It doesn't stop there. They think that he is also allergic to cow milk, wheat, corn, soy beans, shell fish, and egg. WHAT? He eats ALL those things and has never seemed to have any problem. Our doctor is sending us to an allergist. Not looking forward to that.