One Lump or Two?

I didn't blog about this on the day it happened, because, quite frankly, it make my stomach churn. However, now that some time has passed I can talk about without feeling like I'm going to vomit.

Wesley took a tumble down the steps at Grandma and Grandpa H.'s house the yesterday. According to Grandma, one minute they were walking down the steps together, and the next he was airborne, tumbling head over feet towards the bottom of the steps. I'm so glad I wasn't there because Grandma said she was sure he was going to have a broken bone (or worse, a broken neck.) He was shook up, but OK with only a few bruises to show for it.

When we were on the way home that night, I asked Wesley how he fell down the steps. His answer was, "Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom." This morning, I asked him if he hurt from his fall. He said yes, so I asked him where he hurt. "At the bottom of the stairs," was his reply. Always a comedian.

Speaking of lumps and bumps, Ryan has a little bump on the side of his head. Now, this bump has been there since he was born, but apparently I am the only person who noticed it until a couple of weeks ago. I took advantage of the fact that I had Ryan into the doctor today to have his ears rechecked, and asked Dr. M. about it. At first the doctor was sure it was a node, probably swollen from his ear infection, but when I explained that it has been there since Ryan's birth, the doctor was slightly more concerned. Further poking and prodding ensued and Dr. M. ordered and ultrasound on it. He said that it's either a node or a cyst and that an ultrasound will tell us right away. If it's a cyst he recommends removing it so it doesn't eventually wear down the bone. So, we'll be scheduling that next week.

Oh! And something else we had confirmed at the doctor. Our youngest son is a CHUNK! He has started draining 5 and 6 ounce bottles and is now 13 pounds 10 ounces. That's only 1 ounce shy of putting on a full pound since Oct. 20th!!!

It's OK to Be Jealous

Check out the incredible new entrance to the children's department at the library where I work!

Halloween Preparation

I'm so excited that tomorrow is Halloween, and, more importantly, Beggar's Night. Wesley has been getting into the "spirit" of things this week. Grandma H. bought him a bee shaped treat bucket to match his costume tomorrow night. Wesley immediately dumped the "alphabet cookies" (his magnetic letters) in it and wanted to play trick or treat. Only, he had things a little backwards. He'll bring the bucket up to you and want you to say "trick or treat" then he'll hand you a "cookie." This could so work to his parents advantage tomorrow!

Murphy's Law Kind of Day

1) I took the boys to the wrong place to drop them off this morning. It all worked out fine, but I felt like such a loser. I even sang my dork song because I was so embarrassed.

2) Tried to make Mocha Mummy Cookies to take to work - ended up decapitating half the cookies as they came out of the oven and the "easy" icing was a disaster! I threw them in a bag and took my frustration out by crushing them into a million little pieces.

3) The blankety blank blank computer keeps kicking me off the Dancing With the Stars site before I can vote. If Warren and Kym go home, I'll be really ticked off!

It's the Great Pumpkin

I'm starting to feel a little bit of pressure to get our jack-o-lanterns ready, so the W. family grabbed Aunt Cathy, Sho and Kei and went to the farm to get pumpkins today. Grandma H. and I took Wesley to a fun place last year and I insisted that the whole gang head there today. I'm really glad we did.

Is this an ornery face or what? You know trouble can't be far behind.

Last year Wesley loved the hay cave. This year we could barely get him to go in it. Of course, last year I was able to crawl around it with him. This year, I had Ryan in the tummy carrier. At least Sho and Kei enjoyed it.

One of my favorite features of this farm is the on-site bakery. I don't think I've ever met a baked good I didn't like! We all got a snack there. Sho obviously enjoyed his turnover.

Kei gave his chocolate donut a sign of approval.

Wesley was too busy inhaling his rainbow sprinkle donut to pose for a picture. Speaking of inhaling food, I have to admit that I made short work of my pumpkin donut. Cathy tried one for the first time too - I'm happy to report she quite enjoyed it.

After snack time we headed over to the barn. It's filled with hay and slides and is always a mad house. As a parent, I hate the place. The kids run wild and throw hay and it's really crowded. But I would have LOVED it as a kid, so we tried to make sure the kids got plenty of play time. Of course, the hay was so deep I could barely walk! I'm surprised no one lost a shoe in there.

Wesley and Sho on the hay pyramid

Don't worry, these aren't the pumpkins Sho and Kei took home.

Wesley and Daddy in a shoe.

Mommy and Ryan wait for the hayride.

The W. family on the hayride.

Daddy and Wesley chose two great pumpkins.

Cathy and the boys in the pumpkin patch.

We left a little wind burned, a little chilled, but very happy. Now we just have to find time to carve the darn things!

Impromptu Treat

Duane and I are always telling people how fortunate we are to have our family around to help us with the kids. However, Grandpa P. might have wished he lived further away yesterday. Wesley and Ryan were, how shall I put this, not exactly angels yesterday. Poor Ryan still doesn't feel well and was battling a fever. He screamed for over an hour straight for poor Grandpa. Wesley must have smelled momentary weakness because he turned into a super beaster. After several phone calls to see if things were going any better, I left work and headed home about two hours early. I wasn't much help though because I got stuck in a traffic jam and it took me nearly an hour to get home. Let me tell you, traffic jams are never fun, but they are less fun when you are trying desperately to get home to a sick baby.

I walked in the door expecting to find chaos, but instead found Grandma and Grandpa P., Duane and Uncle Kirk in the living room playing with the boys. Ryan was a little cranky and promptly fell asleep on his Mommy, but everything else was under control. Duane had come home from work a little early and Uncle Kirk just happened to stop by. We decided the only person missing was Aunt Susan and since she works a stone's throw from our house, we called her to come over after work.

And thus the impromptu family dinner party was born. We are fortunate to have a great family run Italian restaurant a block away from us, so we got carry out for dinner and Duane picked up a bottle of wine. What could have been a miserable rainy night was instantly transformed into a treat.

Wanted: For Being Cute

Duane said that the license plate on Ryan's shirt makes these look like mug shots. His only crime is being too cute!

Double Trouble

Poor Ryan hasn't been himself for the past couple of days. His cry has sounded different and he just hasn't been eating right. Over the weekend we noticed that he was tugging on his ear a lot and the Parenting Red Flag shot up! Duane took Ryan in to the doctor today and, sure enough, Ryan has a double ear infection. The good news is that he's not miserable and we caught it before it got really bad.

So why do I feel guilty about it all? I know that kids get sick - happens all the time - but for some reason this time is especially hard on me. It's probably because a) it's the first time he's been sick and b) I wasn't the one to take him to the doctor help him feel better. I hate mommy guilt!

Absolutely the Sweetest

I know most folks think that Sweetest Day is a Hallmark holiday, and for the most part they are right, but my hubby makes sure that I always have a fantastic Sweetest Day. I had to work yesterday, but when I got in the car there was a 24 karat gold dipped rose, a card and a sticky note telling me to listen to the song loaded on the CD player because it makes Duane think of me. I know, I know, so romantic it could make you sick, right? That's my husband!

We also celebrated Cathy's birthday last night. Aunt Susan worked out a great trade. She distracted me by supplying pita chips and this AMAZING dip, then cuddled Ryan while I was eating. She's devious I tell you! :-) She also took some fantastic pictures that I hope she sends soon. In the meantime, I took a pretty good one of Wesley and Sho.




Aunt Sus and Ryan. Aren't they cute?










Wesley and Sho share a book.




I had to work today too - the first Sunday I've worked in 8 months. And do you know what I learned after 4 hours on the public service desk? That I really love ordering and don't miss my old job a bit. I'll be perfectly happy tomorrow at my desk in my little corner of tech services. I guess a little reminder of how good I have it is needed now and then.

Speaking of how good I have it. Duane is giving Ryan a bath so I could blog for a few minutes. Wesley and his bear went up to "help" so I guess I should go check in.

Boo at the Zoo

We went to Boo at the Zoo with Cathy, Sho and Kei tonight. What fun!

Puppy Ryan

Sho and Kei

Wesley the Bee (without antennae)

Mommy and her boys!

Return of the Magic Rattle

While digging through some boxes looking for a Halloween costume, I uncovered Wesley's "magic rattle." It's an ugly, hard plastic Winnie the Pooh rattle that always calmed him down when he was upset. It's magic has apparently faded a little over the past couple of years, but it still works pretty well - meaning while it doesn't always calm Ryan down, he does enjoy it most of the time. And he looks pretty cute holding it!

Random Post

This is going to be one of those posts that should've actually been three or four individual posts, but who has time for that these days! Duane is holding a screaming Ryan (who has a little cold) while Wesley refuses to eat so I have a few minutes of blogging time to catch up. So, enjoy the following random, unrelated Wesley stories.

...The other day Wesley was telling me something that Grandpa P. said. "Hey Wesley," I told him. "Did you know that Grandpa P. is my daddy? He's your Grandpa, but he's my Daddy." Wesley looked at me skeptically then answered, "Well, Grandpa is my friend!"

...Apparently threats occasionally work. Wesley was a little terror at Aunt Cathy's last week. He screamed at her, threw his lunch on the floor, hit Kei and took toys away from Kei. This week he and I had a long talk about how he was supposed to act at Aunt Cathy's. I explained to him that if he was rotten again (and defined last weeks rotten behavior) he would go straight to his room when he got home and there would be no tv and no computer. Cathy reported that Wesley was a totally different kid this week! What do ya know?

...Wesley had the hiccups this morning and he was NOT happy about it. He kept insisting that I was "hiccing his hiccups." Um...oookkkaaaayyy. Poor guy got so frustrated with them that he started asking me to get rid of his hiccups. When I told him I couldn't he said, "Well, somebody has to!"

...It's no secret that Wesley has some trouble sharing things, but apparently his problem goes beyond toys. He and Grandma H. came to the library today while I was working. Wesley walked into the storytime room, them stomped out again with arms crossed and a big frown on his face. "Humph!" he said. "Those people are on MY letter rug!"

You Know You Are Tired When....

This week is my third week back at work full time. For the most part, we've been doing pretty well - getting where we need to go on time, not forgetting things the kids need, not forgetting the kids, etc. Well, this week it's all going to heck! You know the kids and work are wearing you down when.....

...you plan on having beef and vegetable casserole for dinner and realise that you didn't buy any beef at the grocery store.

...you go to make your older child a cup of chocolate milk and accidentally make it in a bottle instead.

...you go to the wrong sitters house to pick up the kids.

....your youngest child rolls over in bed for the first time and instead of jumping out of your own bed and getting the video camera, you call it a fluke because the floor in the nursery tilts slightly, flip the child over and go back to bed.

Little Cutie

Weird Little Kid

This is what Duane and I found when we picked the boys up at Grandma and Grandpa H.'s yesterday. When I asked Wesley what he was doing, he told me that Cat was stuck in the fishbowl. Perhaps we spend too much time on I Can Has Cheezburger.

Potty Time Confessions

Apparently Wesley has found a new use for time spent sitting on the potty - it's also his own confessional. Wesley had a very rough day at Aunt Cathy's on Wednesday. On Thursday (while sitting on the potty) he announced to Grandma H. that "Yesterday was a BIG mistake!" and refused to elaborate any more. Um...ooookaaay.

This morning Wesley told me that "The little green dinosaur jumped in the potty at Grandma's yesterday after I was done and made a big splash!"

"Okay. Did Grandma fish him out for you?" I asked, remembering the little green dinosaur I saw drying on the sink there.

"No, Pops did because if I flushed then I would lose the dinosaur and wouldn't have him to play with anymore."

Hummm....wonder what other things we'll learn as we continue potty training.

Prehistoric Pet Care

Wesley brought Peeve downstairs last night and insisted we read him a book. What book is most appropriate reading for a baby dinosaur? According to Wesley it's "How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food." Peeve loved it.

Way Too Personal Hygiene

I don't think it bodes well for our future that Wesley has some interesting personal hygiene habits.

• Whenever Wesley actually uses the potty and flushes, he sticks his head in the toilet. I try to get him to stop, but he answers, "But Mom, it's very interesting!"
• This morning I wet Wesley's hair down to comb it, but first, I showed him his wet and spiky 'do in the mirror. He laughed at his funny hair, but quickly turned serious and said, "Mom, I don't want funny hair. I want good hair!" I see visions of hair gel and a pocket comb in his future.
• We can't get this kid to quit trying to drink his bath water. Um, YUCK!!!

He'll grow out of all that, right?

What a Blast!

Duane and I went out to celebrate my birthday last night and we had a terrific time! Dinner out was delicious and the show we saw was out of this world. If you live in or around central Ohio, I have to recommend you go see the Shadowbox production of Jesus Christ Superstar. The guy that plays Judas (Brandon) is amazing! Even though I didn't care for JT's Jesus at first, I was in tears by the time he was done singing Gethsemane. Tom and Jerrod were perfect as the priests and in an inspired bit of casting, a woman (Stephanie) was cast as Pontius Pilate. All I can say is WOW!!! I want to go see it again! It's really simple staging, but so good!

Grandma and Grandpa P. babysat the boys while we partied. This morning when I got Wesley up just before 7:00, he asked if Grandma and Grandpa were still there. I told him no, because it was morning. "But I didn't sleep yet!" he protested. Guess he should have gone to bed earlier.

Totally off topic - we had a little case of the pot calling the kettle black today. Ryan was gumming his stuffed monkey's ear while we were in the car today. Wesley looked over at him and sighed, "Ryan, toys are not for chewing on!" Humm...wonder if Wesley realizes how much he sucks his bear's tag!

Not So Bad Birthday

Yesterday ended up being a not so bad birthday after all. Not among the top ten, by any means, but nice. Duane gave me my birthday present first thing in the morning. That sweet man bought me every book he could get his hands on in a horror series for teens that I used to LOVE in middle school. Those books are so long out of print it isn't even funny, but he managed to track down a dozen for me - including some I hadn't read! I can't wait to dive into them!

Cathy, Sho and Kei arrived about 8:30, then it was a mad dash to get the van packed up for the camping trip.

The guys were on the road by 9:00. Poor Wesley was a little upset that his daddy was going camping without him - and taking Sho instead - but the promise of a special storytime at the library helped cheer him up.

We headed to one of the libraries in the system I work for and enjoyed the annual "Touch a Truck" event. A transportation themed storytme (led by one of my good friends, Gabrielle) followed by the opportunity to look at and climb on a bunch of different trucks, cars, etc. Wesley and Kei really enjoyed the storytime. Wesley did all the rhymes and songs and loved the books, but he was less than impressed with the real trucks. He went up in a firetruck and got scared and that was that. No more enjoyment. He pouted almost the whole time we were there. There were a few flashes of fun - he liked the moving truck and the COTA bus, but that was it. Not even Grandpa P. who was there showing his MGB could cheer Wesley up.

Wesley and Kei put on a puppet show while waiting for storytime to start.

Not the kind of treehouse Wesley had in mind, but not too bad.

Hanging out in the COTA bus.

Hard to believe this was his favorite "truck."

After the storytime, we went to Grandma H.'s house. She took pity on me and spent the rest of the day with me and the boys. We went out to lunch and did a little shopping for the boys. Then Grandma came to our house and we had a yummy dinner, gave the boys their baths and watched some of the Ohio State game.

When Grandma went home, Wesley crawled in the "big red bed" with me and we both slept there. Like I said, not a horrible birthday. But I'm still looking forward to Duane coming home and us going out tonight!

Blah

I wanted to post a cute and chipper entry today, but the truth is, I'm feeling a little blah. That could be because the day just started out on the wrong foot. Wesley and Ryan were both awake before I even got in the shower at 6:30. I thought the morning went pretty smoothly - we made it out the door on time and everything, but then all the things I forgot started to hit me. I forgot to take my vitamin, forgot my medication, forgot to pack a snack for work, forgot to put deodorant on. Oh well, at least I didn't forget either of the kids.

Apparently Wesley missed me today, which is nice to hear sometimes. Grandma H. reported that this afternoon Wesley announced that "Cat misses his mommy." Grandma asked where Cat's mommy was. "At work. At the library," Wesley told her. Awww.

If I'm completely honest, I'm a little bummed out about this weekend. See tomorrow is my 35th birthday. I'm not upset about turning 35 - it's just a number - but I am a little sad that it's just not going to be the day I wanted and I feel guilty about feeling sad. Let me explain.

Sho has his first Cub Scout camping trip this weekend. Now, I was obviously never a Boy Scout, but I do know how important these things are to kids. Grandpa H. was going to go camping with Sho (because c'mon, what boy wants his mom along on a scout trip) but he is having trouble with his blood pressure and can't go. So now, Duane is going camping with Sho. And I WANT him to go. I really do, but I'm bummed out it's on my birthday - which I like to be treated like a national holiday. And that's why I feel guilty. I mean, this is part of the reason I love Duane. He didn't give a second thought to going with Sho. And if anything ever happened to Duane I'd want someone to step up and take one of my boys on a camping trip. So why can't I stop feeling sad about it? Especially knowing that Duane and I are going to go out to dinner and to see Jesus Christ Superstar at Shadowbox on Sunday?

I guess I just feel like I don't have much to look forward to tomorrow. I'm taking Wesley to a storytime with real trucks tomorrow. We'll probably lunch at McDonald's. If I'm feeling celebratory I may stop and buy myself a piece of cake someplace. I could eat it with the frozen dinner I eat by myself tomorrow night. Whoo hoo.

OK. I promise to stop the pity party now. No more whining or feeling sorry for myself. It's just a birthday and we're still going to celebrate, just a day late. And Sho needs Duane more than I do tomorrow.

So anyway, I had a cute video of Ryan to post. He was giggling while I was tickling him, but it's so dark I'm afraid you wouldn't be able to see it if I posted it. Instead, you can enjoy the following pictures of my handsome little boys.

Now that puts a smile on my face!