That Must Be Some Diaper

"Mom!" Wesley yelled. "Ryan said he pooped his diaper!"

"No, I didn't," Ryan replied.

I heaved a sigh and answered, "I'll check your diaper after breakfast, Ryan."

"Okay, Mom," Ryan chirped. "It's good looking!"

Making Friends

Making friends can be kind of hard when you are a working parent with a desk job. I mean, I have people I consider to be friends at work, but a lot of my work friends are in different places in their lives and it can be hard to get together outside of work sometimes. Two of my closest friends are former coworkers and we have kids that are of similar ages and they all get along, but trying to coordinate three grown up work schedules, three or four different school calenders and various kid activities tends to limit our get togethers to once a month (assuming no one gets sick.) My dear friend for over 20 years now lives across the country (thank goodness for Facebook!!)

So yeah, making friends can be kind of hard.

Today Wesley had a play date at a classmate's house. I met this boy's mom last week at the PTA meeting and liked her immediately, so when she suggested a play date for Wesley, J., Ryan and D. (her younger son who is about Ryan's age) I jumped at the opportunity.  Another boy from their class (also a J.), his little sister and his mom also joined us.

The six kids played really well together and, even more exciting for me, I felt totally at ease with the other moms. We sat and chatted and let the kids do their thing while we all got to know each other a little better. And here's the weird thing - it didn't feel awkward at all. It felt like hanging out with friends. No one was trying to one up or "out mom" each other. It was relaxed and wonderful. And the best part is, the boys will be in the same class as long as they are at that school because there is only one class per grade!

So to sum it up, Wesley is making friends with other boys who happen to have siblings Ryan's age and really cool moms. Sounds like a trifecta to me!

It's the Little Things

Duane and I have won two small battles with Mr. OCD himself lately.  Perhaps I shouldn't be so excited about it, but Wesley has so many slightly obsessive behaviors that it feels wonderful when we can stomp on one.

The first one was at dinner the other night when Wesley wanted one fork for his mac and cheese and a different fork for his sliced hot dog. Duane refused to get him more than one fork and gave him a napkin to wipe his fork off with instead. I thought Wesley was going to have a bit of a melt down, but he relented. YAY!

The second was the next morning at breakfast. I gave Ryan a small bowl of Boo Berry cereal to eat and Ryan was very excited to pick the marshmallows out and eat them first. Wesley came into the kitchen and asked if he could have some cereal too. Now, you could have knocked me over with a feather because Wesley does not eat cereal, but I said sure.

"But make sure it's just the marshmallows," Wesley said.

"Wesley," I sighed, "The cereal and the marshmallows are all mixed up in the box. I am not picking the marshmallows out for you."

"But I want the marshmallows!"

"I'll put some cereal on your plate and you can just eat the marshmallows if you want, but I am not picking them out for you," I said.

"But I don't want the cereal to touch them!"

I showed Wesley the inside of the box. "They are all mixed up in there. See?"

Wesley declined the cereal, but we avoided a melt down and didn't waste a bowl of Boo Berry. I consider that a good morning.

Mr. Manners

As the parents of a six year old and a three year old, Duane and I spend a lot focusing on manners. For example:

• Say please
• Say thank you
• Use your napkin
• Say excuse me when you burp or "toot"
• Say "bless you" when someone sneezes
• Take your plate into the kitchen when you are done
• Share your toys
• Don't interrupt people when they are talking
• Use your inside voice

We have more success with some than with others - I'm not sure Wesley will EVER learn to use an inside voice. But Ryan has really latched on to the whole saying "bless you" or "excuse me" thing. It's actually pretty cute.  If you sneeze twice, he will say "bless you" twice. If you sneeze once, he'll say it once. But you'd better show the same courtesy to him. If he sneezes twice, one "bless you" will not suffice.

Same thing with burping. If Ryan burps once, he'll say "excuse me" once. Two times equals two "excuse me"s and so on and so forth. You'd better own up to your own burps though or you'll hear a little voice say "Excuse you!"

Now if only I could get him to say "excuse me" when he toots instead of laughing about it. But I guess it's to be expected - he is a boy!

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to http://www.mycharmingkids.net/ to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

I was not extra happy at the doctor's office when the nurse said my blood pressure was "beautiful" And if I was, it certainly was not because I focused on the "beautiful" part rather than the good blood pressure numbers.

I did not put on a dress I refer to as "channeling my inner Donna Reed" to go to a PTA meeting.

I did not accidentally use my iPhone as a coaster one evening.

I know I did not allow Ryan to have Chex Mix for breakfast one morning and justify it by saying, "at least part of it is cereal"

Working on the Weekend

This weekend I am getting the full "back to the fall routine" experience. It's my first full weekend working since May (the library is closed on summer Sundays).  It sounds silly, but those four hours totally reshape my entire weekend and it really does take some getting used to.

So I'm being a heathen this morning and staying home from church so I don't feel totally rushed for the whole day. Of course, I'll have to deal with the guilt of skipping church, so I guess it's kind of a toss up.

Mommy and Ryan Day

I have to admit, I have been looking forward to having a Mommy and Ryan day ever since Wesley started school. Today was the first school Friday that I didn't have to work, so after I dropped Wesley off, Ryan and I had the whole day to ourselves.

We went to Ryan's tumbling class, did a little shopping and spent several hours at COSI. It was just so wonderful to be able to focus all my attention on him - and so much easier to only have one child to entertain.

It was such a good day!

I Wanna Be Like You

One of my favorite things about the ages the boys are now is how Ryan absolutely adores Wesley. After I dropped Wesley off at school yesterday, Ryan said, "Wesley is my bestest bestest bestest bestest friend!"

He followed that statement by asking if Wesley liked school. When I told him that Wesley did, Ryan replied "I go where Wesley goes!"

I explained to him that he wasn't old enough for Kindergarten, but if he would start going on the potty all the time like a big boy, he could go to preschool like Wesley did last year.

"I a big boy right now!"

Oh, if only it were that easy.

But maybe the idea of school will give Ryan some incentive. Apparently when he and Grandma went to pick Wesley up from school, Ryan suddenly stopped walking and started crying. Grandma asked him what was wrong and he tearfully told her that he had to go to potty. 

Grandma calmed him down and assured him that someday he will start to go on the potty all the time.

"But I want to go to school too!"  Aw, such a sweet boy.



Hmmmm... perhaps this post should have been titled, "I Wanna Pee Like You."

Secret Ingredient

Every cook has a some kind of secret ingredient. Some will tell you it's love. Some will tell you it's butter. But cooks in the know will tell you it's salt.

Now I don't mean salting the food until that's all you can taste, but let's be honest, a little bit of salt does wonders for so many foods. Steamed broccoli - add a little salt.  Green beans - a little salt. Your egg at breakfast - a little salt.

But perhaps Duane and I should stop calling salt the "secret ingredient." This morning at breakfast Wesley sat down and put a little secret ingredient on his egg. I walked into the kitchen to get my breakfast and when I came out Ryan was diligently salting his pancake and even his bacon!! Ack!

When I asked what he was doing he replied, "It's the secret ingredient. It tastes good."

And even though my stomach turned at the thought of salted pancake, he ate every bit. Um...yum?

Take a Deep Breath

The good news: Wesley's school has a wonderful staff that is trained to handle emergencies. They even know the Heimlich maneuver.

The bad news: We now know first hand that they are well trained to handle emergencies and know the Heimlich maneuver.

I got a call from one of the nurses at Wesley's school a little before noon today. Apparently Wesley was literally choking on a chicken nugget in the lunch room and one of the teachers had to do the Heimlich maneuver on him. The nurse assured me that Wesley was fine and that he had gone out to play at recess right after it happened, but all day long I was plagued with thoughts of what could have happened.

When I got home from work, I asked Wesley how school was. "It was FUN!" he answered.

"Did anything exciting happen?" I asked.

"Nope. Nothing," he said. "Unless you mean me choking at lunch."

He went on to tell me how Mrs. N. had to push on his stomach and he threw up a little bit and then was all better.

Coincidentally, at dinner tonight Wesley asked if there were such things as superheroes. Duane explained that there are no such things as super powers, but that regular people can be heroes by doing brave and good things. I told Wesley that firefighters and police officers are heroes.

"Do you know who else is a hero?" I asked him.

"Mrs. N.?" he answered.

You bet. Tonight I think she is the greatest hero on earth.

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to http://www.mycharmingkids.net/ to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

I did not brush my teeth and then immediately walk to the fridge and grab a can soda. That would have been ridiculous and completey negated any good the teeth brushing did.

I did not eat Nutella smeared on a bagel the same morning I had planned to have a nice healthy bowl of oatmeal for breakfast.

I certainly did not allow my children to eat potato chips and s'more for dinner one night. What kind of mom would that make me?

I do not refuse to cut the crusts off of Ryan's sandwiches in a misguided attempt to keep him from being the kind of picky eater that Wesley is.

Hog Roast Time

Yesterday was one of my favorite days of the whole year - hog roast day!!! Sho and Kei joined us this year and I think they had a good time too.

Getting ready to go. You can't tell, but Wesley was just about to put bunny ears on Ryan in this picture.

Ryan loved the buckeye tree. He could have spent the whole time picking buckeyes and stomping on the shell to extract the nut.

There was a very sweet puppy there named Trixie. She really liked Kei's soccer ball and Wesley REALLY liked Trixie.

Three of the four boys.

Peas in a pod - me and my mom

Me and the most wonderful, amazing hubby. Have I mentioned how much I totally love this guy?

Ryan ate BBQ chips for dinner. That's it. Of course, I think he ate half the bag.

Wesley checking out the view

Kei and Wesley

Grandma and Grandpa H. relaxing

Wesley eating his s'more - the only thing he wanted all night. I ate two!!

Two happy s'more eaters.

Kei, armed with a marshmallow roaster.

Kei vs. the s'more. I think the s'more is winning here.

Ryan learned he could climb up and down the gate by himself. He kept himself very busy doing that.

Ryan and Grandpa H.

My little farm boy.

Talk about a fence full of trouble!

Kei and Ryan enjoy some hot chocolate by the fire.

Watching the sparks and the stars.

Of course, the cutest photo opportunity took place when I wasn't around - which means the camera wasn't around. The Amish gentleman who does the hayride every year let Wesley hold the reigns and drive the horses for awhile. Wesley even wore the gentleman's hat. It completely made it "the best day ever!"

Playing Possum

Before I go any further with this post I need you to know two things.

#1: I have my father's sense of humor. I always tell people "I look like my mom, but I act like my dad" and it's very true.

#2: I tend to speak tongue in cheek or a bit sarcastically.

Got it? OK, you may read on.

Wesley asked me the other day what a possum looked like.  Remember facts one and two above? Well, it took every ounce if self control not to answer his question like this, "You know the dead, half flattened animals we see on the side of the road? Well, the brown ones are ground hogs, the ones with the stripes are raccoons and the grey ones with the long thin tails are possums." 

However, I decided it would be better not to call my animal loving son's attention to the roadkill we see in the city, so I came up with some relatively accurate description of a possum. It was good enough for Wesley to understand what I was talking about because he said, "Oh! I get it! A possum is the same as an opossum!"

Once again, the sarcastic, slightly warped humor part of me had to try to very hard not to answer, "No, an opossum is the possum's Irish cousin."

But I didn't say it.

Poor kid doesn't stand a chance in this family.

Celebrity Crush

In the midst of all Wesley's girlfriend complications, my little boy has developed his first celebrity crush.  Who is the celebrity object of his affection? Children's recording artist, Joanie Leeds.

Many of you know that I am a materials selector for a public library. Part of my job is ordering kids music and I often use my children as a test audience. I figure since we are in the car a great deal they make the perfect captive audience. We have checked out a couple of Joanie's CD's in the past and the kids have enjoyed them, so I was really excited to check out her new CD "What a Zoo." I figured that an artist they enjoy plus songs about animals would be a winning combination. If only I knew how winning it would be.

Now that Wesley is reading, he likes to look at the case of whatever CD we are listening too in the car. He loves to read the titles of the songs as they come on. "What a Zoo" happens to have a picture of Joanie on the back of CD where the song titles are listed. Something about her picture has tugged on Wesley's heartstrings.

Wesley: What is this lady's name?

Mommy: Her name is Joanie.

Wesley: Is she nice? She looks really nice!

Mommy: I think she is probably very nice. After all, she writes and sings songs for boys and girls like you.

Wesley: I think she's nice. I want to meet her someday!

I thought this was a very cute exchange so I got onto Joanie's Facebook page and left a post on her wall. She answered me almost immediately and I passed the message on to Wesley.  He was really happy!

Fast forward to the next day in the car, when Wesley is once again staring at Joanie's picture on the back of the CD.

Wesley: Mommy, will you write Miss Joanie and ask her to send me a map to her house so I can go visit her?

Mommy: Sweetie, I'm pretty sure Miss Joanie lives in New York City and that's not that close to us.

Wesley: New York City!?! I've always wanted to go to New York City! We can go there and stay for five days and see Miss Joanie!

Mommy: We don't have any trips to New York planned right now, Wesley. Maybe you could write her an email or letter, or draw her a picture instead. We could send that to her.

Wesley: That's a good idea! And I can sign my name and then she'll know who I am when I meet her!

Perhaps I should explain the difference between "crush" and "stalker" to my child.

Wesley's new concern is when we have to return the CD to the library. I told him we could buy the music on the computer and download it and then we'd always have it. I'm not sure that will work though - no picture. 

Hummmmm....I wonder if she'd send Wesley an autographed picture for his room.

Relationships Are Complicated

We all know how complicated relationships can be - turns out relationships among kids aren't any easier.

Many of you know about Wesley's girlfriend C. from preschool. You know, the little red headed girl he's totally in love with? Even though it's been a while since he's seen her (different schools now) he even bought her a bracelet at a flea market over Labor Day. Wesley saw C. at a birthday party last weekend and received a big hug after giving her the bracelet. I mean, you know he must be serious if he's spending his allowance on pink, plastic jewelry.

But Wesley is a practical boy too. He understands how hard it can be to maintain a long distance relationship.

The other day, Grandma told me that a little girl in Wesley's class, L., gave Wesley a big hug after school and wanted Wesley to be her boyfriend. I couldn't resist asking him about it on the way home.

Mommy: So I hear L. asked you to be her boyfriend.

Wesley:  Yeah.

Mommy: Well, what did you say?

Wesley:  I said yes.  (He was quiet for a beat then continued) She kinda forced me to.

Ryan Words

One of my favorite things about having a young child is listening to him talk. I love Ryan's little chirps and the chatter that I can (mostly) understand but still have to translate for others some times.

Ryan has three words that I just think are the most words on the planet. They are nuggle, nola and pampa. Allow me to provide some simple definitions in case you don't speak Ryanese.

Nuggle: to sit closely with another person-usually a parent or grandparent- and have their arms wrapped around you. Used in the following manner, "Mommy, you sit on da chair and nuggle me?"

Nola: A sweet mixture of grain, fruit, nuts and sometimes chocolate, often consumed in a bar form. Used in the following manner, "Can I have Nola bar peese?"

Pampaw: Male grandparent AKA that guy who is married to Grandma (called mamaw in Ryanese). Used in the following manner, "We go to Pampa's today?"

So cute. I don't want this stage to pass too quickly.

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to http://www.mycharmingkids.net/ to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

I did not spend all day the Tuesday after Labor Day (and Wesley's first day back to school from being sick) as a big ol' bundle of nerves, convinced the school would call me and say my child was still sick and I would have to go pick him up again.

I have not lost my mommy immunity to many of the gross bodily functions of my children and pretty much begged Duane to do some disgusting types of clean up this week, just so I wouldn't "lose my cookies."

There is no way I had to deal with a bodily fluids issue in the children's department of the library I work in the day after I wrote the above "not me"

I did not drive to the wrong place to take Wesley to his theatre class. And it was not a minor miracle that we managed to get back to the car and to the correct location before it was time for class to begin.

A Day to Remember

Ten years ago today the lives of every American changed.

I remember that day so clearly. It was gorgeous out. The sky was the most vivid blue, the sun was shining and it looked to be a beautiful day. It was the kind of perfect fall day I have a bit of a hard time enjoying now, because part of me still thinks, "It was like this on September 11th."

My then husband and I had just come back from a trip to Chicago on September 10th. We arrived home a little after 5:00 that evening and, of course, had no idea how much our world would change in the next 24 hours. He had gone to work, but I wasn't scheduled to be at work until 1:00 When I got up that morning, I turned the television on to Good Morning America as I did the laundry and other household chores before work.

I remember that after the first plane hit, everyone was a bit confused. No one knew what was really going on. I thought it was a sad accident, but then, with live cameras rolling, I watched as the second plane slammed into the other tower. I could not believe what I was seeing. And then we learned about the plane that hit the Pentagon and it was obvious that America was under attack.

I went upstairs and sat on the bedroom floor as I called my then husband and told him what was going on. I remember him yelling at his co-workers to shut up so he could hear, and then to turn a radio on.

I remember feeling so scared as I watched the coverage about the fourth plane that had made a turn around in Ohio, the uncertainty of what it's target might be and the mix of horror and relief after learning that it crashed in a Pennsylvania field.  I cried and cried as I watched coverage of people jumping from the towers and of pedestrians running away from the horror. I didn't want to watch the images of the towers falling, but I couldn't look away.

I spent the morning on the phone with various family members because I couldn't stand feeling alone and vulnerable. I remember the heart break of learning about the thousands of people that donated blood for the survivors and realizing how few survivors there were.  I remember looking at the sky with fear and awe as all flights across the country were grounded. And I remember the way my heart jumped the first time I saw a plane in the sky again days later.

At the time of the attacks, I had never been to New York (I've been twice since then). It had been years and years since I had been to Washington D.C. and I had never even heard of Shanksville, but that day I felt a connection with the people there.

The terrorists did succeed in destroying our feeling of safety. They did cause the deaths of thousands of innocent people. They did bring America to a stand still. But none of that lasted. And that's what was amazing about the attacks in a good way. I have never seen people pull together the way they did that day, and in the months following. You would think that people would have immediately become more suspicious of each other, but instead Americans rallied together. I saw people connect in a way I never have before. We shared each others hope and pain and fears. Most importantly, we shared each others strength. There were fewer strangers surrounding us in the time following the attacks.

September 11, 2001 changed my life in a very personal way.  For days afterwards I fell asleep crying. Even though I had no real connection to the people and cities immediately involved, I had survivor guilt. So many innocent people lost their lives. People like me. It felt so wrong to carry on when they couldn't.

It was in the weeks following September 11 that I realized how short and precious life really is. That there are no guarantees as to how long we have on Earth. I spent a lot of time reflecting on my life and realized I didn't like where I was, the person I was becoming and that I was no longer happy in my marriage. For a few months I tried to pretend things were okay, but by the end of the year, I knew my marriage was over for me. I knew I would be leaving it.

And now here we are a full decade later. I like who I am now and I like the life I am living. I am happily remarried to the man of my dreams; the man who makes me feel complete and makes me want to be a better person. We have two beautiful boys who are the the light in my life. They are too young to understand what happened that day so long before they were born. And really, do any of us understand it, even now?  We haven't talked about that day with them since they are both so young still and I haven't watched any of the memorial coverage with them around. In fact, I can barely see images of that day, even ten years later, without crying.

I know the day will come when the boys will ask me where I was on September 11, 2001. I know I'll be able to tell them exactly where I was. I will always remember. I will never forget. I will be able to share with them the sadness and fear and the strange closeness everyone felt. I will be able to tell them these things, but I know they won't really understand my words - and I pray they never will.

Being a Parent

Most days I love being a parent. I love watching the boys learn and explore new things. I love hearing Ryan's cute little voice and the incredible grown up sentences that come out of Wesley's mouth. I love their laughs and their smiles. I love seeing them play together and hearing about their days. I love snuggling with them and absolutely adore falling asleep with them.

And then there are the other days, the challenging days. The days when both boys end up in time out multiple times. Days when they whine nonstop and hit each other. There are the days when they cannot be in the same room together without fighting and hitting and calling each other names. There are days when I have to use my mean voice all the time.  I hate those days.  A lot.

Guess which kind of day today is?

Act Two

Many of you know that Wesley took a theatre class over the summer. He loved it so much that he chose to take another this fall instead of play any kind of sport. Not that that is a big surprise to anyone who has spent any amount of time with Wesley.

Today was the start of the fall session. Wesley's class is focusing on the Anansi the Spider books which should be a lot of fun. Wesley loves those stories (the librarian part of me had to check a bunch of the books out for us to read together as soon as he was signed up for the class) so I know he'll have a great time in the class.

I got to eavesdrop a bit on today's session. They talked about what actors are, who the characters are in a play and what the director's job is. They played "spider tag", which was tag except they had to walk like spiders (think the crab walk).  The kids also talked about which character they want to be when the class starts acting out and retelling the stories next week. Wesley is dying to be Anansi. I'm not surprised he wants the lead - the kid loves the spotlight!

Mr. Picky vs. School Lunch

Like many moms, I dread coming up with lunches for my child's lunch box. It can't be anything that will get soggy, or have to be heated. You want it to be relatively healthy, but also something your child will eat. When you throw a picky eater into the mix, packing the lunch box becomes a nightmare.

At home, lunch might be grilled cheese, or a hot dog, or mac & cheese or baked nuggets. Can't really pack those.

Wesley has packed bologna every day that he has packed his lunch since school started. Not a bologna sandwich, just bologna - along with cheese or yogurt, some fruit, crackers or baked chips and a little treat for dessert. Not a horrible lunch, but it's a pretty boring one. The only other thing I can come up with to pack is a peanut butter sandwich, which sometimes he'll eat and sometimes he won't.

After several days in a row of bologna, I informed Wesley that he'd be buying his lunch for the remainder of the week. We looked at the menu and I told him that there would be pizza on both days. Wesley loves pizza and the school's pizza uses low fat cheese and is on a whole grain crust. But was he excited by the possibility of having pizza for lunch two days in a row? No, of course not. Wesley sighed, "Why does it always have to be pizza?"

"It doesn't always have to be pizza," I told him. "Your school has three different things to choose from every day. You always choose pizza because you are picky."

Turns out he didn't have pizza today - he chose something different. I don't know how much of it he ate, but I'm proud of him!

Thinking of You

Why does this picture make me think of my boys?

Reason 1: Ryan is obsessed with food that turns his tongue colors. He loves to show us his green/red/blue tongue after eating something. Sometimes he shows us his tongue thinking it has turned colors, but it hasn't. It's pretty cute.

Reason 2: One of Wesley's jokes in his stand up "routine" is "What do you do with a blue mouse?  You cheer her up!"

Another School Report

Have I mentioned how much I love Wesley's school? Have I told you that I find myself smiling every time I am in the building?

Wesley went back to school today after being gone since last Wednesday morning when he developed a fever and I had to pick him up. Last Wednesday happened to be the last day of the month, which is the day that the Kindergarten class celebrates the birthdays from that month. Parents are allowed to send in treats from the very strictly monitored and approved snack list to celebrate on that day. We sent Wesley to school with Scooby-Doo fruit snacks for his birthday treat - but then he got sick. When I picked Wesley up today, he informed me that his teacher said they didn't the fruit snacks because he wasn't there and they will have them tomorrow. I love his school!

Ryan still isn't so sure about Wesley going to school. As soon as Wesley shut the car door this morning, Ryan looked wistfully out the window and said, "Mommy, I will miss Wesley so much."  Awwww.....  It's almost enough to make you forget the fighting they do on a daily basis.  Almost.

Trying This Again

In a way I feel like tomorrow is the first day of school all over again. I hate that Wesley missed nearly three days being sick, yet I'm nervous about sending him back. His fever is gone - and has been gone - but he has a little bit of a cough. I'm so afraid that I'm going to get another call from the nurse tomorrow telling me I have to come get him again. I'm also worried about him catching up after his absence. I know, I know, we are talking the second the week of Kindergarten here, but I'm still a little concerned.

Oh well, the clothes are laid out for the morning, the homework is done, the excuse is written, the backpack is full and the lunch is packed. I guess we're as ready as we're going to be for tomorrow!

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to http://www.mycharmingkids.net/ to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

I did not kind of think Wesley was faking it when the school called and told me I needed to pick him up because he was sick. I don't know how I thought a six year old was going to fake a 100.9 fever at school.

I know I didn't not give the pharmacist the wrong birthday for Wesley - and I know I wasn't completely embarrassed when I had to correct myself.

There is no way I took Wesley swimming when he was home sick from school. And I certainly didn't justify it by saying "He's not running a fever now, but has to be fever free for 24 hours before sending him back. Plus, he says he feels fine!"

I did not end up cancelling most of our plans for the holiday weekend and end up staying with two sick children.

Stuck on You

Who needs a sticker album when you have a super cool $2.50 stool from Target? Not Ryan!

Besides you can't use a sticker book to get to stuff on the fireplace that you aren't supposed to reach!

Little Photographers

This is what I found on my camera this evening. I guess I know what the kids were doing when I was in the shower on Friday morning.

Someone Hand Me My Cane

Duane was giving the boys their baths tonight He was telling the guys something and had to repeat himself several times. Finally he said to Ryan, "How many times do I have to tell you this? This stuff is getting old."

Ryan looked at Daddy with those big blue eyes and said, "Like you and Mommy?"

Ouch!

Fan Boy

The Browns may have lost the last pre-season game last night, but let's focus on what's important. Check out how cute Ryan looks in his jersey!

Sort of Sick Update

100.7 - no school tomorrow either.

Sort Of Sick

Wesley is home from school again today. He acts fine and he says he feels fine but he tested positive for strep yesterday. No sore throat. No vomiting. Just a low grade fever all day yesterday. I'm just happy he isn't miserable. He really wants to go back to school tomorrow because Fridays are when a new student of the week is chosen in his class. He has to be fever free for 24 hours before he's allowed to go back, and I'll admit that I will be taking his temperature frequently today. I want him to go back to school too! And he won't be contagious later today (24 hours of antibiotics), so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Why do I want him to go back so badly? Well, I don't like the idea of him missing school (especially when he says he feels fine.)  I don't want him to think missing school is okay.  And to be honest, Ryan and I have some fun plans for while Wesley is at school tomorrow and I want to be able to do them. I know, Bad Mommy!