Make a Joyful Noise

Wesley and Ryan both have music as their special activity on Fridays.

"I don't like having music on Fridays," Wesley told me. "In fact, I don't really like music."

"How can that be?" I asked him. "You were so excited about choir at church and said you wanted to do it all year long and do the Christmas musical. How come it's different at school?"

"I don't know.  I guess because at church we sing God songs and I like those."

Happy Birthday Wesley

I have an eight year old boy in my house. I'm not really sure how that happened. When I went to bed last night I'm pretty sure there was a seven year old in Wesley's room, but now he's eight.

Today was kind of whirlwind day. I woke Wesley up by singing "Happy Birthday" to him, then the boys and I made a doughnut run before school.

 

As you can see, Wesley wore the "Birthday Boy" button today. While we were eating an older gentleman from the next table came over to us. "Excuse me, ma'am," he said to me. "I see it is your son's birthday. With your permission, I'd like to give him this," and he held out a Tim Horton's gift card. "My grandchildren live in Wyoming and Missouri and Maine and I don't get to take them out on their birthdays, so I'd like to do something for your son."

I was so touched by the man's gesture - and even more happy that the boys got to witness someone being so generous to a stranger. For me, that was the gift.

The boys went to school then. Wesley got a card from his class and he said they sang to him twice today.

After I got off work, we met Uncle Kirk, Aunt Susan, Grandma and Grandpa P., Grandma W. and Grandma H. at a restaurant for Wesley's birthday dinner. It was kind of hectic, but it was what Wesley wanted and I think he really enjoyed himself.

The birthday boy

Wesley's having a friend's party on Saturday, so I'm sure I'll have more pictures and birthday stories then. Before bed I asked Wesley if it was great to be eight. "Nope. It's AWESOME!" was the answer. I hope this year really is awesome for you, Wesley. You deserve it!

My Little Philosopher

Ever wonder what exactly goes on in your child's mind? Maybe they are stressing about school, or imagining a new story or wondering what to be for Halloween.Well, I got a chance to hear some of the deep thoughts Ryan ponders in the mornings when I overheard him talking to himself while he was getting dressed.

"I wonder why I'm so good at armpit farts?" he asked aloud.

He didn't have to wonder for long because he quickly answered himself. "I guess it's because I practice so much."

Of course that statement was immediately followed by a rather impressive armpit fart solo.

I just....I don't know what to say to that except that boys are weird.

Return of the Heart Melter

Ryan spent all his money this week on a red pleather bracelet with sparkly silver letters that spell out "love." I'll admit, I tried to talk him out of his purchase, but he absolutely adores it. 

Shortly after he got the bracelet he told me, "This bracelet helps me tell a secret." Then he pointed to the bracelet and pointed to me. "That means I love you," he explained.

And the heart went melt again.

The other night Ryan put on a pair of pajamas that read "Mommy's Super Hero."

"See what my shirt says," he asked me.

"I sure do!" I told him. "You are my super hero. And I know what your super power is."

"What is it?" he asked.

"You are a heart melter. You say such sweet things that you just melt my heart."

Ryan thought about that for a moment before replying, "But if your heart melted you'd die. You need your  heart."

Guess he'd better just use those powers for good.

Fictional Non-Fiction

Wesley: We read a book at school today and it was supposed to be nonfiction book, but it lied to me!

Mom: It lied to you?

Wesley: Yes! Everything was supposed to be true, but I know one part was a lie!

Mom: What book was it?

Wesley: It was a book about Dr. Seuss.

Mom: And what do you think was a lie?

Wesley: It said that no one else could have thought of the things Dr. Seuss did, but I'm pretty sure I could have.

Oh Wesley, with your imagination,  you just might have been able to. I can't wait to see what you create someday.

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama.

I was not completely embarrassed when Ryan did the whole limp noodle thing to try to avoid having his picture taken by one of the classroom aides on his first day of kindergarten. And part of me was not actually considering pretending that he wasn't my kid at that point.

We did not have a family fast food pig out at 9:30 one night. And there is no way it involved the entire family sitting on the couch eating french fries, and sharing a chocolate shake while Duane and I ate burgers. And it certainly didn't happen after we got home from a baseball game where we had already eaten ballpark food.

I did not accidentally set the smoke detector off in our house when I was grilling a steak in the grill pan. And I most certainly did not set the smoke detector off a second time in the same day when I accidentally used wax paper instead of parchment paper to line a pan and smoked up the oven.

I am not incredibly happy that Duane went ahead and told me his plans for my birthday. What kind of person doesn't enjoy a surprise?

I did not accidentally call Cleo by Sanders name as she and I were cuddling.

I know I didn't put a spoonful of piping hot milk caramel in my mouth, knowing it was going to burn and probably cause a blister. Surely I have more self control than that. 

The Heart Melter Strikes Again

Saturday was a very busy day. Duane and I generally prefer to do errands and things together because at least we get to be with each other then. However, there were so many things to check off our "to-do" list on Saturday we decided the only way to get things done was to divide and conquer. Duane took Wesley to soccer practice while Ryan and I headed to the grocery store.

Can I just say what a treat it was to grocery shop with only one child. It was like a grocery store vacation! I could even let him push the cart sometimes without inciting a sibling war.

Ryan and I had just about crossed the final item off our list, when suddenly he blurted, "Stop the cart, Mom! Stop the cart now!"

Surprised, I quickly stopped the cart. "What is it?" I asked.

Ryan beckoned me to lean in close to him. I did expecting to hear that something was wrong. Instead he said, "I love you," grabbed my face and planted a big kiss on my lips. Then he continued on down the aisle like nothing had happened.

The Heart Melter strikes again!

Full of Hot Air

Tonight the W. family took a trip to a nearby town to take in a hot air balloon festival.

Here's a little secret about me, even though I am very wary of heights, I dream of flying in a hot air balloon. It's one of the things on my bucket list (along with zip lining, going to Italy or Greece and maybe France, and driving along the Gulf Coast in a convertible.)

We were hoping to take one of the tethered rides that were being offered, but when we walked in (an hour after the gates opened) all the tickets for the tethered rides had been sold. Ryan and I were kind of bummed out about that, but Wesley was pretty relieved. I guess we know to show up early next time.

Despite missing out on the rides, we had a lovely time. We got some dinner and watched several balloons inflate and take off while we ate.

The tethered balloons for rides

The pink pig balloon being inflated.

 Ryan and Wesley loved watching the balloons. They kept pointing different ones out to me as we watched them float into the sky.

"I can't believe I finally got to see a real hot air balloon!" Ryan exclaimed. Wesley was equally impressed, "This is the best day ever!" he said. He has a lot of those.

There was an illuminated balloon launch/balloon glow to close the event, but we decided to duck out a bit early and skip that part. I'm sure it would have been beautiful to see (and Wesley wanted to stay), but the idea of sitting in the parking lot for over and hour with several thousand of my not so close friends afterwards prompted us to leave. We did manage to see a couple of the balloons glowing on the launch field as we were leaving though, so I guess we didn't totally miss it.

We got each of the boys a toy hot air balloon as a souvenir of the night.

I'm pretty sure they are going to have high flying dreams tonight.

At the Ol' Ballgame

We went to a minor league baseball game last night to celebrate the fact that boys completed the library's summer reading league. I love the fact that my library has not given out tchotchkes in several years, but instead gives out experiences.

Last night the boys got to parade the track around the ball diamond before the game started. They even wound up on the big screen!

Getting ready to walk

That track is pretty big, and Wesley was wearing out at the end. And you can see where Ryan ended up - in Duane's arms

Mission complete!

We are not really a big baseball family, football is where it's at for us, but we do enjoy going to one or two games a season. Although with the kids "going to a game" means eating a bunch of ballpark food, 2-3 innings (tops) and walking around/playing in the fountains - which is exactly what we did last night.

I don't know that I've ever seen such a stylish way to eat a breadstick

What he lacks in style he makes up for in enthusiasm

 

All sass and style

Selfie with my youngest. Excuse his orange teeth, he was eating bright orange ice cream

Selfie with Wesley.

What a dude!

And a little dude

How you doin'?

We didn't see much of the game, but it was a beautiful and fun evening.

Stamp of Approval

Well, we've wrapped up the first week of school for the boys and I think it was a pretty successful week overall.

Ryan didn't fuss about having to go back a second day, although he wasn't overly thrilled to learn that there would be more people in his class (half the class went Wednesday, half the class went yesterday and all of them were there today.) Being the oh-so-sympathetic mom that I am I told him it wasn't his choice and he'd just have to deal with it.

Ryan's only other concern seemed to be about how much the teacher talked yesterday. He told Wesley it had been kind of boring. Good thing Ryan has Wesley to show him the ropes though. Wesley made sure to explain things to his little brother. "The first day is always when the teachers do most of their talking for the whole year. It gets better after that," he assured Ryan.

Wesley is taking the whole "little brother at his school" thing very well. Yesterday before Ryan woke up I had a private talk with Wesley telling him that he now has a new job at school - watching out for Ryan. "You don't need to see every single thing Ryan does," I told him. "But I want you to help him if he needs help, even if that means getting a teacher, and I want you to sit with him on the bus."

Wesley has been taking his new job very seriously. Wesley didn't let Ryan out of his sight on the playground yesterday morning, and later reported to me that he had gotten a little worried when I took Ryan inside and didn't know where he was for a minute, until he remembered I was taking Ryan to the Kindergarten room.

Having a little brother at school isn't the only change for Wesley this year. The kids are starting the day on a different playground until the first bell rings. Mrs. B (the principal) shared a story with me about Wesley's first morning on the playground. She saw him kind of standing to the side and not really playing, so she asked what was going on.

"I'm just not feeling this new playground yet," he told her.

She took a moment to point out some of the fun things he could do, but he just shook his head, "I'm just going to walk around for a little bit. I'm not feeling it yet."

There's also a new classroom, new classroom rules,  a new behavior chart, a new drop off spot. That's a lot of change for a kid who thrives on sameness and routine. He must be adapting well because this morning he told me, "You know, Mom? I think all the new stuff at school is going to work out just fine."

And there it is. The official Wesley Stamp of Approval.

Kindergarten Man

So it finally happened. My baby started Kindergarten today. *sniff, sniff* 

Ryan woke up in a terrific mood - almost hyper. And the good mood continued on the way to school.

We got to school a bit early, but I wanted Ryan to get used to routine for normal time I drop them off, which is about 15-20 minutes before school starts. We went to the playground and Wesley showed Ryan where to leave his backpack while they played. As luck would have it, a family friend and classmate of Ryan's, M., arrived at about the same time, so she and Ryan happily played tether-ball until the bell.

Once we got into the classroom things went downhill a bit. Ryan did not want to have his picture taken by one of the aides. Really, the amount of whining and limp-noodle body flopping was quite embarrassing. He finally got his picture taken, but it was not pretty. And writing out his name tag for today was not much better, as evidenced by the following picture.

Doesn't he look thrilled?

Luckily, M. wanted Ryan to sit by her for the first part of orientation. I cannot tell you how happy I am that he already has a friend in his class.

The kids went out to play while the parents got the school run down and paperwork festival. They were outside for about 35-45 minutes and came back in covered in sweat. The aides said Ryan did really well outside and talked to them a lot. But as soon as they came in, Ryan immediately came over to me and asked, "Is it time to go home now?" Not even close kid. But it was time for me to leave.

I worried and wondered about Ryan for the rest of the day, but I guess things went fine. Ryan said he had a good time and he ate most of his lunch. He even liked the bus ride home - and the bus was only 15 minutes late today!

Overall I think it was a successful first day. Oh! And I LOVE the Kindergarten teaching team, which is good for me. I think we both may enjoy this year.

My Big Second Grade Boy

Wesley had his first day of school as a second grader today.  Although he didn't say it, I think he was excited to go back. He even woke up before the alarm clock and helped me make breakfast!  I hope this bodes well for the coming school year.

Of course, my big concern today wasn't the actual school day - it was the bus ride home. I took a little time off work so I could meet Wesley at the bus stop today. Duane went too because he'll be the one meeting the boys after this and my dad and Ryan went along 1) so my dad could see Wesley on his first day of school and 2) so Ryan could see what the whole bus thing was like before tomorrow.

We got to the bus stop about 10 minutes early, figuring that on the first day the bus might run a little early or a little late. A little late would have been fine. The bus was quite late. Late enough that I was starting to worry and actually called the school only to find out that the buses left the school late. Late enough that my dad sat down in the grass to wait. Late enough that Ryan said to Grandpa, "Can't we just go home now?"

"I want to see Wesley," Grandpa answered.

Ryan shot Grandpa a rather unhappy look and said, "Didn't you just see him yesterday?"

Our patience was rewarded though and Wesley's bus arrive about 28 minutes late (but who was counting).  Any fear I had about Wesley riding the bus disappeared when I saw this.

You may not be able to tell from this picture, but Wesley was sporting a huge grin. He reported that the bus ride was long, but awesome! He said his teacher was really nice too.

Here's hoping Ryan's first day (tomorrow) goes just as well.

I've Discovered Ryan's Superpower

Ryan's secret superpower is a secret no more! 

He is a heart melter.

I've been told this is a fairly rare power, but this kid has it in spades.

Want proof?

The other night he told me, "I love you more than a thousand million birthday cakes."  And if you've seen the cakes Duane makes, you know that's no joke!

Last night Ryan looked up from the LEGOs he was playing with and said, "Do you know what I wish I could have?"

I figured the answer would have something to do with more toys, or some junk food, but still I asked, "What do you wish you could have."

Ryan turned the full power of those baby blues on me and said, "A whole day alone with you."

Heart officially melted.

One More Reason My Children Will Need Therapy

Wesley asked me not to tell anyone about this, but it is too funny not to share. So if you see Wesley - don't tell him I told you. It will be our secret. *wink*

Last night was the back to school ice cream social at the boys school. Because this was a PTA event, Duane and I pretty much let the kids run around the playground while we scooped ice cream and did other odds and ends things that needed to be done.

The boys seemed to be having a great time, but about half an hour before the event ended, Wesley came up to me and said, "Don't worry, Mom. I went ahead and told Ms. C. and Mrs. W. (the kindergarten teacher and aide) all the bad things Ryan does."

ACK!!!! So much for Ryan starting kindergarten with a clean slate! Here's hoping he can prove his big brother wrong.

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama.

I did not stand at the counter, eating Tiramisu Ben and Jerry's out of the carton and then wash it down with red wine. Surely I am classier than that.

I did not burst out laughing at the Stan Lee cameo in "Phineas and Ferb Marvel Missions," and then had to explain my amusement to the children in the room (who still didn't get it).

I also did got practically go into a depression after my nephew and I agreed that the 2nd episode of the Star Wars movies was the best, only to discover he meant the prequels and I meant the original trilogy!

I did not seriously consider buying a bottle of champagne to pop open on the first day of school - but only to celebrate surviving this summer.

I have not realized that when the boys start school I will actually be able to sleep in later than I've been able to most of the summer

Find Awesome Here

My work has a fantastic community relations/publicity department. Our slogan for the library is "Find _____ here." The blank is filled in with just about anything - stars, divas, bacon, cowbell, pirates, adventure. It's often followed with the words "Find yourself here."

We recently got new shirts that look like this:

front

back

I wore my shirt to work today and kept it on when I got home. During dinner Ryan looked and me and read my shirt out loud. "Find awesome here," he read.

"That's right," I told him.

Ryan got a devilish little grin on his face and said, "Uh-uh. Find awesome here!" and he pointed to himself.

We all burst out laughing. But guess what kind of shirt Ryan wants now?

I Choose to Believe

I have been thinking about this post for several days. I have written it out in my mind at least a dozen times. I have debated as to whether or not to post it. You see, despite being very active on social media and having my blog, there are some things I tend to keep quiet about.

If you know me in real life, you know I don't talk politics much. If you know me well, you know my political leanings and you know the issues I feel strongly about. If you read my blog, or know me in real life, you probably know that I am a Christian. If you know me well, you know I consider that as much a part of me as being a woman, or a mom or any other way you might define me. It's part of who I am.

I'm not stating this to start shoving my religion down anyone's throat. I have friends that are Jewish, that are non-believers, that are Wiccan. We all get along. We all hang out. But I choose God. I choose Christ. I choose to believe.

I've had a rough summer, as most of you know. There has been a lot of stress. There have been a lot of tears. Still, I believe that God has been with me and that if I look, I can see Him in my life every day.

I see God in the little things - like when I decided I couldn't afford to take four kids someplace only to get a a buy one/get one admission coupon in the mail that very day, or when we discovered a bus route for the kids that drops them off mere steps from home at the perfect time of the afternoon.   You can call it coincidence or good luck. I choose to believe.

I saw God when Ryan gave half of his VBS offering to a child who didn't have anything to give. I saw God when one particular nurse at the hospital jumped into action and very likely saved my stepdad's life two weeks ago. You may say that Ryan was simply acting in kindness or that the nurse was only doing his job. I choose to believe.

Over the last few weeks I have spent more time in hospitals than I have ever wanted to spend. I have cried and despaired, truly believing that my stepdad would die. Tonight, I joked with him and held his hand and we talked about when he'd move over to rehab. This week I have seen my niece born premature at 27 weeks. I have looked at her tiny hands and feet and spoken to her through her incubator. Do I have the doctors to thank? ABSOLUTELY! But I choose to believe God was at work there too. I chose to believe miracles can and do happen every day.

Yes, bad and horrible and unthinkable things happen as well. In the last few years two of my friends have lost their husbands to cancer. I have lost family members. I have had friends and family suffer miscarriages. I have grieved with a friend who lost her young son in a car accident. Life is hard. Sometimes it is damn near unbearable. You may wonder how I can believe when I see my friends' pain and when I ache along with them.

I don't believe in a vengeful, hurtful God, one that wants to punish us. I believe in a God who has given us free will and allows us to experience consequences.  A God who cries with us when we cry and suffers when we suffer. But even through this pain, I believe God is there if we choose to look, choose to see Him.

My friends who have endured loss that I can only imagine have taught me so much. They have taught me to how to grieve, how to carry on - sometimes with grace, sometimes with sadness or anger or tears. They have taught me that it is possible to live through it, even when they may not want to. Through their actions, the love they continue to give and receive, their determination to make it through one more day, I see God.

This isn't to say I don't have bad days. I have horrible days. I have days of doubt and heartache and pain. I have days when I want to crawl into my bed and never come out again, but I know I will make it through and that I don't have to do it alone. I choose to believe.

Library Cat

I got to work in a bit of a state yesterday morning. Cathy went into labor (at 27 weeks) and I could not get her and the baby off my mind. I arrived at my desk, started unpacking my work bag and found Ryan's stuffed cat Violet had hitched a ride to the library with me.

Because I didn't want Ryan to freak out about where his stuffed furry friend was, and because I needed something to keep me distracted, I decided to send occasional updates to Ryan (via photos and text messages to Grandpa P.) about what Violet was doing at the library.

This is Violet arriving at work for the work day. As you can see, she couldn't wait to get her paws on the mouse. Normally cats aren't permitted in the library, but she was obviously working. Duane said I could consider her a service animal - her service was amusing me.

After going through emails, Violet spent some time on the phone. 

 

 

Time for a coffee break! Heavy on the milk, please!

I had planned to keep going that way all day, but I went to hospital to be with Cathy.  Ryan really loved Violet's field trip though. He asked if I could please take her to work with me again to take more pictures. Maybe on his first day of school.

And in case you are wondering, my new "niece" Sylvia Renee was born yesterday. She's only 1.95 pounds, but lovely. We have a long road ahead, but she's doing quite well all things considered.

 

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama.

I was not so wrapped up in everything going on at the hospital that when I got back to work I accidentally typed "ICU" instead of "OCLC" in an email to a coworker.

I did not forget whether or not I washed my hair in the shower and wound up washing it a second time. And it certainly didn't happen more than one day.

There is no way I was looking forward to a dinner out and wound up having Taco Bell and a beer at home at 9:30 PM instead. And it wasn't for a very good - no, wonderful - reason!

I certainly did not ask my brother to please bring me Star Wars movies just because I was in the mood to visit a galaxy far, far away

To Bus, or Not to Bus? That is the Question

I know that things must be going much better with my stepdad, because I'm starting to obsess about little things again. For the past week and a half the little things have gone by the wayside, but now that Tom is improving, I find I can start thinking about things like Wesley's birthday party, what to bake when I have friends coming over and how we will deal with the back to school routine.

The hours of the boys school have changed for the upcoming year. Instead of 8:30-3, they will go to school from 9-3:30. Duane gets home from work between 3:45 and 4:00, meaning we have about 20-30 minutes of after school care to account for. In the past, grandparents have done the after school pick up and watched the boys until one of us could get home, but there are other factors in play this year.

For one, we don't know how long Tom will remain in the hospital. I am guessing a week. Duane is guessing two more weeks. We just don't know. That means, we don't have my mom and him to count on right now. Let me tell you, I'm really beginning to understand how easy we have had it with child care for the past 8 years!  Grandma and Grandpa P. are wonderful and have been pulling extra days to help out, but when school starts, they'd essentially be driving for 20-25 minutes each way to watch the boys for less than half an hour. That doesn't make a lot of sense either. We've considered asking a friend whose children attend the same school if she could watch the boys for us for that short amount of time, but I hate imposing on her like that.

The answer may have literally fallen in our lap.

Yesterday when we opened the mail we found bus assignments for the boys. We were shocked. Since we lottery-ed into their school, we didn't think a bus was even offered. Come to find out, not only is the bus offered, but it picks up and drops off at the top of our street - about 6 or 8 houses away. Even better, the drop off time is 4:02. If the star align correctly, they could ride the bus home and Duane could meet them at the bus stop and walk them home. Once Tom is home, Grandma and Grandpa H. could possibly meet them on days Duane might have to work late. I'd still drop them off at school in the morning, but the time we'd need childcare for would be taken up by a bus ride.

Sound like the answer to our prayers, right? Well, it does, but it scares me for some reason.
 
I don't know if it's the idea of entrusting my kids to someone else on the road, or if it's just another sign of their independence that I'm not really ready for, or what. While part of me rejoices over the possibility, another part of me cringes. I guess I worry about Wesley, who is so sensitive, and if he would get picked on while riding the bus. And Ryan's my baby. He can't possibly be big enough to ride a school  bus, can he?

I swear, I'd be like that dad in the car commercial, who drives next to the bus on the way to school.

Wesley hates the idea of the bus, but I think we're going to have to use it, one way, for at least a little while. Just someone hold my hand about the whole thing, ok? 

Off the Deep End

Wesley actually started swimming on Friday! He can swim the entire length of Grandpa and Grandma P.'s pool - although the video shows him swimming the width of it. We're hoping to have a swim night one evening sometime soon so we can watch the magic in person!

He's Back!

The only news that matters today is that Tom woke up! I know we still have a long recovery ahead, but he's talking (whispering) and responding. He's off the vent and he's back!  I actually cried with happiness at the news! 

Hospital Field Trip

I'm heading back to work this evening. It's time. My dad and Lynne are on the mend and Dad seems to think that he'll be up for the keeping kids tomorrow. It will be good for Wesley and Ryan to get back into some kind of routine. I'll still be able to go to night visiting hours at the hospital, so I won't have to feel too guilty about not being there.

Wesley, Ryan and I went to the hospital with my mom around lunchtime today. We just discovered yesterday that kids can be in the SICU waiting room as long as they have an adult with them. "Tag-teaming" our visit with the boys today meant that I could see Tom and still go to work tonight.

Wesley and Ryan were a little concerned about going down to the hospital. They knew they weren't going to be able to see Grandpa H., and they weren't sure what to expect. On our way to the main hospital from the parking garage Ryan told me "I want to see Grandpa!"  I explained again that Grandpa is in a room for very very sick people and you have to be older than 12 to go in because littler kids tend to have more germs and we don't want the patients getting even sicker.

"But I won't go in," he pleaded. "I'll just peek in the window and I won't touch anything so no germs."

I had to tell him again that he couldn't.

"Can you take a picture so I can see him?" he asked.

I told him I didn't know if I'd be allowed to.

"Is he going to die?"

Oh gosh.  This makes the third time one of the Webihara boys has asked this. First Wesley, then Sho, now Ryan.

"Ryan, we don't know for sure. We sure hope not and he's trying to get better. He has doctors and nurses doing everything they can to help him get well." I figured honesty was the best policy.

Ryan didn't say anything else about getting to see Grandpa and sat very nicely with a snack in the waiting room. He and Wesley read books, did mazes and played games while Grandma and I took turns visiting.

There still isn't a lot of news, but Tom is on less sedation and no antibiotics right now. BP, sodium and temp are all good. He's still on a vent and they are still suctioning his lungs. He didn't follow commands today, but he has started opening his eyes again occasionally. I know it doesn't sound like much, but it feels a bit better to me. I didn't leave the hospital and cry for a change. In fact, I left the hospital and took the boys out to lunch for their good behavior during our trip. Sure beats tears.

Another Day

I wish I had a bunch of good news to report, but there really isn't much change around here. I was off again today since my dad and stepmom are still getting over their illness and my mom spends her days at the hospital. I decided to take the boys to a historical farm today to get out of the house and keep our minds off of things.

It started out really well

Checking out the chicks - I mean, the chickens

Getting a drink from the pump at the farmhouse was Ryan's favorite activity

The equivalent of early tv

Games in the parlor

A corncob "dart" for throwing at the target

Kei tried to master the stilts

Ryan hated the smell of the barn

We had fun until Wesley started whining that he was thirsty, and tired, and wanted to leave right then. Basically he managed to make the rest of us miserable until we did finally leave. I just can't take the whining, and sometimes that's the only language Wesley seems to speak.  He whines, I yell and we both end up mad. The farm was fun for a little bit though.

 We had a pretty quiet afternoon at the house. The boys played with squirt guns outside and after dinner we went to a neighborhood night out celebration at a bakery/restaurant that opened nearby. Free ice cream for the boys.

 
Not a lot of change with Tom today. They took the drains from his surgery out, so that's good, but there isn't any other significant news. I'm heading down to the hospital with my mom in a little bit to say goodnight to Tom. Even though I know there isn't going to be a big change, I can't help but get my hopes up like I do every time. One of these times it has to come true, right?