School dazes...

Today when I picked up the boys I found that Gabriel and Michael's teachers had both left me a letter.... again not a good sign...

Gabriel's teacher's note informed me that Gabriel has decided he no longer likes to take a nap at school and he doesn't think the other kids should take a nap either.  So, instead of being silent and lying quietly on his mat, he has decided to laugh and giggle out loud and then slide (or in Gabriel's term...slip) his mat over to the boy next to him to start playing.  After a firm talking to and a lesson about listening to the teacher Gabriel completed his first hand written letter.  This is what Gabriel will be taking back to school tomorrow...

And Michael... poor Michael... today while playing on the playground Michael got into a colony of fire ants.  Living in the desert I think we've all probably been stung by a fire ant or two, and learned our lesson to avoid them at any cost. Michael learned that lesson today by going into battle with a whole troop of fire ants.  He ended up losing the fight.  Two hours following recess and after scratching the bites unti his skin was scraped off, his teacher found his legs swollen, feverish and pussy.  After getting him home, cleaning him up and covering him in anti-inch medicine, here's his a shot of his battle wounds from today...

Tomorrow he'll be taking a note back to school too.  A note from Mommy that begs the teachers to keep him out of the wood chips!

Until next time,
Angie

I know I'm biased but...

how can one not agree; these boys are absolutely adorable...

Until next time,
Angie

The story behind a picture...

The other day I know I told a story about how Michael likes to carry the bag when we take Jack for a walk.  Can you guess what he did in this picture?

 Instead of carrying the bag in his hand he put the bag on just like one would put on a backpack.  I had to give him credit, I don't think I would have ever thought of that.

Michael and Jack have a love/hate relationship... sometimes they love each other but most of the time they, well, avoid each other.  Here is a rare moment of Jack and Michael sharing their love...

 The last time we went to the Library we checked out the old classic movie, Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer... the boys LOVE the movie and since then have been playing Santa Claus and Rudolph.  Here's a shot of how to play Santa Claus and Rudolph.  Can you guess who is Santa and who got to be Rudolph?  (Note they wanted to wear red and white but it was a fall Saturday and you know who was playing)

 Oh and the toys in the "sleigh" were being delivered all over the house to the boys and girls across the world.


Gabriel is our early morning riser, sometimes he rises so early, it is actually the middle of the night.  We've gotten into the habit of letting him get up on his own and go do quiet activities.  The other morning (if you could call it morning yet) I heard something out in the living room, thinking it was a fan that was off balance or something I wandered to the living room to see this...

Should I dare say I'm looking forward to the day when they want to sleep in?  At least 5:30 a.m. would be nice on Saturday mornings!

Here is Michael's attempt at dressing himself..

This is progress... at least the pants and shoes were on the right way!

Until next time,

Angie

Daddy's birthday...

This past Monday Daddy turned 31.  Three years ago Jarrett was in the middle of fighting cancer and from that experience we learned not to take birthdays for granted.  So we celebrate each and every birthday, even if it means we are getting older.
Of course for a 3 and a 4 year old birthdays are a wonderful thing and they couldn't wait to help Daddy celebrate his special day.  I had been asking the boys for a few weeks what we should get Daddy and every time they replied... "Mommy I think Daddy would like a tiny car."  "You mean like a matchbox car?"  "Yes Mommy a green one."  Instead of a green matchbox car, we decided homemade cards from the boys would be perfect.  As I watched and helped the boys create the cards for their daddy, Gabriel and Michael were talking about their daddy and singing him happy birthday, even though he was still at work.  I sat quietly and listened to them have the following conversation... Gabriel drew a heart on his card for Dad and Michael immediately noticed.  He said, "Gabriel why did you draw a heart?"  "Because it means I love you."  Michael said, "Gabriel who do you love?"  "Michael, this heart is for Daddy."  At which Michael replied, "Gabriel, why do you love Daddy?"  "Because he is my dad." 
It was as simple as that and although Michael immediately accepted Gabriel's answer and continued on talking, Gabriel's answer struck me and made me realize just how blessed both the boys and their Daddy is.  I guess if you'd ask most children why they love their parents, you might get a similar response.  To think that Gabriel has only known his "dad" for 4 months, it amazes me how his love can run so deep. It makes me realize just how powerful love is.  God has a plan for everything and I can't say it enough... I think He did a great job putting this plan together.

In addition to Daddy's homemade cards, we decided to get Daddy a bike stand that he's been asking for for a while.  Here are a few shots of the boys helping him open and admire his new toy...

 The boys wanted to carry Dad's present to him... it was a little big for them but they did it.

 The homemade birthday cards the boys made for Dad.

Until next time,
Angie

Short stories...

Disneyland:  We've been talking a lot lately about Disneyland, Disneyworld and Mickey Mouse.  I think I've mentioned before that the only reason why the boys think Jarrett and I work is so that we can "buy money to go to Disneyland".    Yesterday, after picking the boys up from school, we were headed home when all of a sudden Gabriel said, "Mom, does Mickey Mouse have a potty at Disneyland?"  "Yes Gabriel he does, why do you ask?"  "Well Mom, Me and Michael have to go potty a lot and what would would happen if we go to Disneyland and have to go potty? I'm so happy Mickey has a toilet for me and Michael." 

Patience:  Jarrett and I have been trying to teach the boys about being patient.  I think this is one of the harder lessons to teach and it seems our boys are so excited about everything that patience is , in Gabriel's words "A really hard" lesson to learn.   Today we had a series of appointments and errands to run and while we were in the car running from here to there, Gabriel, Michael and I were having one of our normal conversations... "Mommy?"  "Yes Michael?"  "Mommy, I love you!"  "I love you too Michael."  "Mommy?" "Yes Gabriel?"  "Mommy, can I have my sucker now?"  "No Gabriel, you can have your sucker after we stop at the store and after your doctor's appointment, if you are good."  "Mom, I have to be patient?"  "Yes honey you do."  Then, out of the blue Gabriel said, "Mommy?"  "Yes Gabriel?"  "Mommy, after we stop at the school and go to the doctor, I'm going to give you a big hug for being so patient and waiting for me while Michael and I were at Sally's house.  Thank you mommy for waiting for me and Michael to come live with you and Daddy." "Gabriel?" "Yes Mommy?"  "Gabriel, I love you!"

Superheros and Leaders:  The other day Gabriel's teacher stopped me as I was dropping him off.  With Gabriel standing at my side, Mrs. Stacey went onto stay that Gabriel is one of the leaders in her classroom and that she wants our help in encouraging him to be a stronger leader and to not give into peer pressure when his friends (or him) decide to make bad choices.  She encouraged us to read leadership style books and push him to become an even stronger leader.  I thought about what she said for a few days as I was trying to figure out exactly how do I talk to a 4 year old about being a strong leader.  Then I decided to try the old Superhero trick.  Gabriel loves superheros and I thought if we had the conversation that Superheros are leaders maybe he would understand the concept of how leaders and superheros make positive choices and that is what we want him to do.  I said Gabriel do you know that Superheros are leaders?  He responded with the normal answer, "Why Mom?"  I then went on to share that superheros, like Superman are leaders because other people want to be like him and that he makes good choices to help people.  Those are qualities we want you to have as a leader.  "Mom, how come I can't see superheros?"  Well honey, did you know that  police officers, ambulance drivers, and firefighters are superhero?"  "Really Mom, is that because they make positive choices to help people"  "Oh really Mom, the next time we see a police officer can you stop mom so I can ask them if they are a superhero and a leader?"  Sure Gabriel I will.  Ten minutes later Gabriel decided we had to call my brother, Uncle Jonas, who is a volunteer firefighter, to see if he is a superhero. Thankfully Jonas went along with my idea and agreed that he is a leader, being a superhero was more a stretch but at least he was convincing enough to satisfy Gabriel's curiosity.

Until next time,
Angie

A busy and fun weekend...

Our house has been looking forward to this past weekend for several months.... this was the weekend the Hawkeyes were suppose to dominate the wildcats from down south.  Instead, of showing how a #9 ranked team performs, the Hawkeyes went to sleep. 

Not knowing how the game was going to go, we were all excited to head down south and watch our beloved Hawks.  Here's a few photos of the highlights... there really weren't that many.  As you can see the Wildcats saved us Hawks some great seats.. these are the same views provided by the Goodyear Blimp.  I think we could have reached up and touched it just by standing up in our seats...

The game was disappointing but it was sure nice to be back around some Hawk fans.

Because it was so late when we got home on Saturday, Nana and Papa had a sleep over at our house.  The boys were very excited to wake up and find Nana and Papa were still here.

 On Sunday afternoon we had over Uncle Jeremy, the boy's cousins and our friends Dave and Tara and their two little ones for a swimming party...

With 7 kids, 6 years old and younger, you could say our house was a little chaotic.  But boy did we have fun.  Here's a shot of Nana reading to the kids... she ran out of lap space so she moved to the table and soon a the little ones followed. 

Later we all went swimming and enjoyed the last few days of the 110+ degree weather (at least we hope it is some of the last days of this heat).

And finally after swimming the kids were wiped out and decided to sit down for some quiet time...

What a fun weekend we had.  Dad and Mom were tired and so were the boys... last night I think we were all sleeping before 9:00 p.m.

These are the moments that make my heart overflow with happiness.

Until next time,
Angie

The school has LICE!

Everyday when I arrive at school we have to check in and check out the boys on the school's computer.  It is a pretty good system and tracks exactly down to the second what time you pick up and drop off. It is also good for sharing updates and announcements because when you check in and out it is a requirement for the parents to also read the messages (I guess that is the school's way to make sure their messages are being heard).  Usually the messages are: don't forget to pay your bill before the end of the day on Friday, We are having a special musical guest on Tuesday,  and school pictures are Thursday. 

Monday afternoon when I stopped to pick up the boys, I went to the computer to check out the boys and the big message box appeared.  Not thinking anything special of it, I opened the message to read, "A case of lice was found in the 2 year old room today, please take all of your child's personal belongings home to wash."  WHAT???? I turned around to the directors desk who is right inside the door.  Please tell me a little bit more about the message today.  She started, "Yes, unfortunately we found a little girl in the 2 year old room who had lice.  She went home and we are taking every measure possible to avoid the spread. Please take home any backpacks, jackets, blankets and wash them."  Lovely I said and continued onto pick up the boys in their classroom.

Exiting the school as quickly as possible and without touching anything, I loaded the boys into the car and asked them if they had touched anyone at school... Gabriel/Michael you didn't hug or touch anyone today did you?  Looking at me like I asked them to list of the names of the US Presidents in order of service, they looked at me, then at each other and shrugged their shoulders.  I don't know Mom Gabriel said.  Starting to freak out, I explain that someone at school as lice and that we have to go home take off all of their clothes and take a hot shower just to be safe.

As we pulled into the garage, I unloaded the boys and closed the garage door before going into the house.  Standing at the door going into the house I told the boys to take off all of their clothes in the garage, leave their shoes outside and once they had done that they could enter the house by throwing all of their clothes into the washing machine, which is so conveniently located right inside the door from the garage.  Again looking at me with a confused look Gabriel said, "Mom, you want me and Michael to get naked in the garage?"  Yes, honey that is exactly what I want you to do.

They must have sensed my urgency and concern as they did exactly what I said without saying, "But Mom" (which recently Gabriel has learned is a way to question everything I ask him to do).  Upon entering the house the boys ran straight to the shower which I scrubbed every inch of their body and hair for 20 minutes each.  Finally feeling like they had been decontaminated, I let them out of the shower into their pajamas to enjoy the rest of the evening.

That was day 1.

Day 2:  Hoping the one case of lice in the 2 year old room was just a fluke and isolated case, I sent the boys back to school on Tuesday with specific instructions not to touch anyone.  If someone wants to give you a high five or let them play with their toy, backpack, blanket, anything, just say NO.  If they ask why, just tell them my mom says I can't touch anything or anyone until she says it is safe again.  (Okay I know I've gone off the deep end on this but seriously I cannot have any part of this in our home or family).  The boys seems very agreeable to the order and went to school with the smile on their face and the rule in their mind. 

At pick up on Tuesday afternoon I prayed that the message screen would NOT appear and it would just be a normal pick up as most other days have been.  As I opened the door to the front desk a whole gaggle of parents were gathered around the directors desk.  That should have been my first sign.  I proceed to the computer and checked them out.  Immediately the message screen appeared.  I clicked to open it.  "Unfortunately we have had multiple (no number listed) other cases of LICE in all of our 2 year old rooms, and our 3 year old rooms, please take all personal belongings home and wash them with hot water."  YIKES!  Immediately rushing to Michael's room to get him out of the disaster zone I ran into his teacher who said, "I'm so sorry we had a case of lice in our classroom today.  We've checked all of the other children including Michael and he is fine but just make sure to wash everything he is wearing and his jacket in hot water.  You'll just want to check his hair over the next few days to make sure you don't see anything.  Feeling hot and sweaty I politely said thank you and ran out of the school with both of them running behind saying "Mom, wait for me!" 

In the car, feeling overwhelmed with the outbreak that seems to be apparent in the school, I said, "I'm going to pray to God that you boys do not get lice."  Saying it more as a statement of desperation, in please don't let this be happening, the boys took what I said literally.  All of a sudden I hear Gabriel from the back seat, "Dear God, mom says we need to pray to you so Michael and I don't get mice" I couldn't help but burst into laughter, you are right Gabriel lets just say a prayer right now.  "Dear God, please protect Gabriel and Michael, and for that matter Mommy, Daddy and Jack so we do NOT get lice. Amen!" 

Given them the run down again of what had to happen from the moment we pulled into the garage, the boys got out of their car seats, stripped down in the garage, threw their clothes in the washer which I washed in super hot water for 2 hours, and immediately went into the bathtub.  I told them we were going to scrub all up again and they went all along with it  Thankfully (thank you GOD) the boys have no signs and according to their teacher have not been in contact with the children who have it, but I am taking every precaution possible to make sure we do not bring this experience into our lives.  We continue to break out in prayer every few hours just to make sure our prayers are being heard above loudly and clearly.

In fact the boys were able to have a play date with dad.  Making the decision it wasn't worth entering the danger zone for a third day, today the boys spent an exciting day at home with their daddy.  It was a wonderful day, or at least it seemed, the house wasn't in total ruins when I got home and they all seemed to be very happy that all the boys got to spend the day playing with cars, Lego's and blocks.

Tomorrow they'll be going back to the war zone and I'll reinforce the no touching rule.  I'm just counting down the days until the weekend when we hope what ever danger is left at the school can be eliminated before Monday.

Oh life is exciting these days, as if we didn't have enough excitement, adding in lice at the school is about as much excitement as I can handle.  Lets just hope it stays at the school.

Until next time, I'll be scrubbing, decontaminating, inspecting and praying!
Angie

Taking Jack for a walk...

Before we openly welcomed Gabriel and Michael into our family, Jack, our puppy, use to rule the roost.  We'd adjust our normal schedule so we could give him two lengthy walks a day, we'd pamper him by getting him groomed on a regular basis, we event spent an outrageous amount of money to have his teeth professionally cleaned because I've been told it increases their life expectancy and overall health.  If you'd ask anyone, I think they would have agreed, Jack was one spoiled doggy.  (Note the tense of that statement... past.)

That all changed when Gabriel and Michael joined us and just as everyone warned us it would happen, it did.  These days Jack lies around the house mooping for attention and begging for someone to give him a walk.  He is always on his best behavior staying quiet when the other boys are screaming as loud as they can.  He shares (not that he has a choice) all of his toys, including his beds and he waits patiently while everyone else is attended too before him.  Then on most nights, just before Jarrett and I ready to collapse, Jack perks his head up, wags his tail and gives us the look that gets us every time.  It is the look when he begs to go for a walk, the one and only highlight of his day. 

Yesterday Daddy was at work so the boys and I spent the day together and around dinner time I was starting to feel very guilty that little Jack hadn't received an ounce of attention, so I gathered up the boys and asked Jack if he'd like to go for a walk.  Jack knows the routine and as soon as he sees the first clue that a walk might be in his future, he starts acting like he's been given a shot of that 5hr energy drink stuff.  He springs up, dances in a circle, hops up and down and wags his tail faster than the windshield washers on my car can go during in a mid-west rainstorm.  The boys go with us on some occasions and when they do they want to take part in the event.  Gabriel likes to carry the keys (it seems most of the time his pants are the only one with pockets) and Michael recently has asked to carry the plastic bag (which I'm sure you can guess what it is for).

As we started out on our walk to enjoy the beautiful cooler weather, we started talking and I noticed Michael insisted on following behind.  Normally, a half a block ahead of me, I thought it was strange but just wrote it off to him having one of his "poky Pete" moments.  We continued around the block when Michael announced "Mom, why hasn't Jack gone poo poo yet"  "Um, probably because he doesn't have to yet Michael," and I continued to answer Gabriel's question about what Disneyland is like.  We continued on Michael still a few steps behind Gabriel, Jack and I,  when all of a sudden Michael started screaming like he had found a pirates treasure.  As we turned around Gabriel and I witnessed Michael say, "Mom, I found some poo poo" as he bent over picked up (with his bare hands) some dried deposits another dog had left behind.  Before I could even react with a scream of "NO!"  he deposited the droppings into our plastic bag, looked up and smiled, waiting for a response of appreciation from me.  "Gross" Gabriel yelled and Michael turned his head and made a puzzled look.  Trying not to freak out, I calmly said, "Michael please don't touch anything else with that hand, hold it out away from your body and far from Gabriel and me okay?" I then went onto explain that we never pick up poo poo with our bare hands, when Mom and Dad pick up Jack's stuff we always wear gloves or other covering because it is very yucky.  Michael seemed to get it after the fact but we still had half way to go to get home. 

We ended up making it back home and even though Michael was complaining his arm hurt from holding it out as far away from his body as possible for a long long long long way, it think we learned a valuable lesson.  Mom, needs to hold the bag and Jack from now one and we need to distract Michael from looking for poo, maybe we'll try airplanes next time.  Michael was completely disinfected with multiple soaps, warm water, disinfectant hand sanitizer and a few more hand washes.  I'm very confident we got the germs off because this morning when he woke up he said, "Mommy my hands scratchy".  He was sure right, let's just say we've been giving him lotion all morning trying to moisturize his little paddy's.

Until next time,
angie

Can I talk to you for a minute?

I’ve quickly learned it usually isn’t a good thing when the teacher asks you to talk to them for a few minutes. Yesterday when I dropped the boys off for school, Michael’s teacher said, “Do you have a minute, I’d like to talk to you about something.” Immediately my mind went to the worse possible scenario. Did Michael hit someone, tear up another little girls project (note the word ANOTHER), or not listen to the teacher’s directions? Yikes, what was I in for?


Once Mrs. V had gotten Michael engrossed in their morning activity she came to the door to “talk”. She said, I wanted to tell you about something that happened yesterday during nap time. I immediately jumped in, “Did he refuse to take a nap? I know he doesn’t like to take naps sometimes, especially when he is over tired.” No she said, “Actually he was very good about taking a nap. It was what happened during nap time.” “Um, okay?” I said. “Well Michael got up from his mat on the floor in the middle of nap time to go to the restroom. I guess he must have still been half-way asleep because he finished up his business and went back and laid down. It wasn’t until a few minutes later that I looked over on the corner of the room where his mat was to see that he was missing!” “Missing?” I said. “Yea, he wasn’t there so I started looking around the room and then I saw him, sleeping on little Suzie’s mat with her.” Michael’s told me about Suzie and how she is the prettiest girl in his class. His teacher continued, “ It was so darling, he must have been cold because he had curled right up next to her and covered himself with her sheet. In fact I think they were spooning.” Upon hearing the teacher’s use of “spooning” I burst out laughing . She continued, “I wish I would have had a camera but I didn’t so instead I just called all of the other teachers from the other classrooms to come in and look at how cute they were. When they woke up, it was funny they sat up and looked at each other and started giggling. Suzie then said, “Michael did you want to sleep with me?” Mrs. V said, I think Michael was a little embarrassed he went to the wrong mat because he just smiled bashfully and walked over to his seat at the table.

I’ve learned Michael is a pretty deep sleeper but I had no idea he’d be able to put the moves on his little crushes in his sleep. Oh and his reputation has now gotten around school. Today when I walked in the teachers greeted him with “There’s our little romancer,” and “How’s our little charmer doing today?”  I guess there are worse reputations to have, right?
Until next time,

Angie

Is it Halloween yet?

Fall cannot come fast enough for us it seems this year.  Jarrett, Jack and I are ready for some cooler weather,and although the boys could care less if it cools down, they too, are excited for fall.  For fall to them means that Halloween is getting closer.

I think since the middle of June we've been talking about Halloween and what they want to be.  Originally I thought I'd attempt to be the Martha Stewart type of mom and make their costume.  Yea, I think I realized that idea was silly the moment I attempted to go back to work, take care of them, support Jarrett and maintain somewhat of a resemblance of a home.  These days I consider it a success if the boys are not wearing their pajamas to school.

So once I came to the conclusion that we'd be purchasing their costumes, the discussion was on.  Since August 3 when it happen to only be 103 outside instead of 115 and I said, "Oh boys it is getting cooler out in the morning"  they assumed that meant that fall had arrived and the green light was on to ask, "Mom, is the Halloween costume store open now? We have to go get our costumes before somebody else buys them."  This past weekend Grandma and Grandpa from Iowa came to visit and in some conversation I missed, Grandma and Grandpa agreed to take them to the Halloween costume store. 

Even before entering the store I could picture in my mind how the scene was going to play out... it went something like this...Little boy walks into a store filled with a million and one cool items to touch.  Little boy crosses store entrance with burst of energy and takes off running down the isle to try and find his dream costume.  He disappears behind a row of hanging adult themed costumes.   Second little boy, even smaller than the first, follows behind his big brother rushing full-force into the store and spreads his arms wide open to touch every object in the isle as he does his best to catch up with his role-model.  Half-way down the isle of small slimy insects and other disgusting Halloween objects, littlest boy gets distracted and starts mixing up plastic containers of bats, beatles, spiders and cockroaches.  Mom, does her best to take after the first while the second one kicks and screams not wanting to leave his newly found insect farm behind.  Mom gives up, throws her hands up in the air and starts looking for her own Halloween costume... 

Having full well prepared myself for just that scenario I laid out the ground rules of the store before I opened the back seat child-proofed doors.  Okay boys, you must always have the hand of Grandma, Grandpa or mom and you can NOT touch anything unless you ask permission first okay?  Thinking I had covered my grounds we entered the store expecting a truly chaotic experience.  Surprisingly the boys did a very good job holding onto hands (with only a few reminders) and of all of the rules to remember, asking permission was the one thing they grasped.  I don't know how many times they asked, "Mom, can I touch this?" "Mom, I need to hold this okay?" "Mom, I'm going to touch this okay?" "Mom, can I see what this is?"  Although a few times the item was in their hand and down two isles to show Grandma and Grandpa before they asked, at least they asked."

We browsed through several isles until we found the rack of costumes with a ray of light shining down from above.  With a big CLEARANCE sign above it, I knew I had found the spot to start shopping.  Gabriel and Michael were very set on what they wanted to be.  Surprisingly enough the two characters they want to be were on the clearance rack. I could hardly believe it.  Unfortunately we couldn't find a costume small enough for Michael so we had to go with plan B, which he went along with very willingly after Grandma and Grandpa explained how cool it was.  The boys were so excited as soon as they found their costumes they were perfectly content to leave everything else behind and head for the check out.

Upon returning home they couldn't get out of the car fast enough.  They raced inside and immediately started to put on their costume.  They spent a good part of the day in it yesterday and when they awoke this morning it was the first thing they wanted to put on.  I had to convince them that it was NOT okay to wear their costumes to school that they would have to wait until it was "Trick or Treat" time to take it to school.  That worked but as soon as I picked them up from school it was costume time again.  At least I have to say, I think we'll get out money out the costumes, in fact they might be worn out by October 31st.

As we celebrate fall and Halloween for the next 54 days, there will be two boys who will be in their glory...Gabriel and Michael also known as "Clark Kent (aka Super man) and Red Ranger (Power Ranger Michael)...

Superman!

Red Ranger saves the day!

Grandma and Grandpa got pretty worn out having to fly two superhero's around all afternoon.

Until next time,
Angie