Amaze me, would ya?

Some times out of the blue, my boys amaze me

It's usually on a day when I'm feeling worn and searching for a little sign that I'm not failing

My boys are far from perfect
 and many days I feel like the only thing we get done is directing and disciplining

but then they do something and I'm like, holy moly, they are getting it!

Here's what's going on in the life of my kiddos

Spence is finishing up his 6th grade year and I'm teary eyed thinking about how fast it went

We expect a lot out of this boy and sometimes I feel like maybe we should let our guard down a bit
but lets just say, we know this boy and we know what he's capable of

Middle school has been great for him
He has straight A's and his teachers love him

They keep him on his toes which is what he needs

I always say- Give the boy to much time and freedom and you'll regret it

His mind and body need to stay moving 24/7 but there are some down falls to this

Spence is like the energizer bunny but when his batteries finally run dead they are done

When he gets run down and tired, we have to watch for migraines

We were at the University of Iowa Children's Hospital last week for a check up for his migraines

Dr. Bonthius wants to take Spence off his medicine

Spencer flat out told him he won't stop taking it

If the doc refuses to refill the prescription, we will be finding a new doc
It surprised me when Spencer was so adamant about not going off of it
It's kind of a shocker when your kids start talking to the doctor and rolls are reversed
 I was siting in the corner listening to the conversation and was like, woooh what just happened?
It was odd but awesome to see Spencer taking the rings
He's definitely becoming a young man
Ready or not

Spencer has been a little under the weather this week
On Wednesday, he forgot to go to his private orchestra lesson
I asked him if I needed to email his teacher, he told me I could if I wanted to but didn't need to
I told him that maybe he should email her since it was his lesson and his mistake
Boy was I shocked when I got home from work and he told me he emailed her

We are trying to raise these boys with manners and respect
I'm sure his teacher appreciated that the email came from her student and not just another mom

It makes my heart sing when I see these kids making good choices

While I enjoy these little things that are happening,
lets not grow up too quick

A couple of weeks ago we were standing in the kitchen and out of the blue,
Spencer asked if I like anyone before I married his dad
Followed by: I kind of like this girl
I'm so glad he feels like he can talk to me but
I can't help but feel like they'll be grown in the blink of an eye

That's what's going on with Spencer


Parker has been my side kick this week
Under the weather doesn't even begin to describe what's going on with this little guy
This kiddo has been down right miserable
His allergies and asthma are totally out of whack and now he has bronchitis

On Monday I duked it out with the school
I felt there was a lack of concern for his health and safety
after leaving school having an asthma attack that no one caught onto
Walking in the school got me no where but pissed off
It's amazing what an email directed to the right people will do
All is well in our world again

I've spent hours on the phone this week that I'll never get back
I spent an entire paycheck on meds, meds and more meds
This boy is my life and I will do whatever it takes to help and protect him

His doc mentioned more medication and I just can't do it to him
He's on so much already
I don't know how the boy functions some days
He must be used to it because on Monday he brought his midterm grades home
Parker has an A in every class and we couldn't be more proud
He has never loved school
 He goes because he has no choice and he continues to amaze us

I love that my sweet little man is still so sweet
I love that he still gives me hugs and asks to have his back rubbed at bed time

That's what's going on with Parker


These boys amaze me and I LOVE them with all my heart



Easter 2014

Easter has become one of my favorite holidays

One of the reasons is - My kids no longer believe in the Easter Bunny
 

When it comes to Easter, we raised the boys the way I was raised

I grew up knowing the meaning of Good Friday and Easter 

but my parents let us experience the other side of Easter as well

 The candy, egg hunts and a new outfit for church on Easter morning

 

Easter has never been about the EB, Easter baskets, egg hunts and candy

but now that we have that all out of the way,

we focus on what Easter is really about


On Friday the boys had the day off
so they spent it with their friends getting their first sunburn of the year

Saturday was spent working on the deck but we made time for some fun
I decided last minute that I would have an egg coloring party for the boys friends
I set up a table outside in the driveway
I preboiled my eggs so they were all ready and I mixed up a bunch of color

We experimented with kool aid this year and I won't resort back to Paas dye
The kool aid smelled AMAZING {no nasty vinegar}
It took 10 minutes to set up and 5 minutes to color eggs
3 of the 6 kids had never dyed eggs, what's up with that?

Saturday night I finished stuffing things in the kids baskets
I had fun shopping for them and bought them things they needed, not just candy
I didn't set the baskets out this year hoping one kiddo wouldn't wake the other when they got up
They both came walking through my door at 7AM Sunday morning
They LOVED their baskets

The boys got new swimming trunks, sunflower seeds, Power Aid,
money, candy, gum, mac and cheese
Parker got a drawing book and Under Armor sandals
and Spencer got a book and a pair of Nike shorts

Sunday morning we went to church
Parker woke up with a cold/allergies that morning but I insisted we go to church
I felt like an awful mom when the music got a little loud for his aching ears
We set him out in the foyer until prayer and then he came back in
We ended up leaving a bit early from church to make it to family dinner on time
We had great food and conversations as always
My cousin Erica was home from Atlanta and we had fun catching up
 {she got her dream job with the CDC and we miss her tons}
The boys played outside with my Uncle and cousins husband
My Aunt has the most beautiful yard- if you don't believe me, see for yourself
I could sit out there all day, especially when it's 80 degrees like it was on Easter

I didn't take many pictures on Easter
The boys didn't get cute new Easter clothes
and
Parker looked absolutely miserable with watery eyes, red nose and chapped lips


We had a GREAT Easter!






 



Life in a nut shell {lately}

I feel like we're running a hundred mph

Is running errands considered exercise? I sure hope so!

We're crossing the end of the school year things off of our list quite quickly

Science Fair was a success

{I still need to write a post on this}

Talent Show tryouts happened 

{BARELY- I'll explain more in a post about the talent show in May}

The kids rocked it and we found out on Monday that - THEY MADE IT


Spencer scored a 1 rating at Solo and Ensemble last Saturday

I think he has just about out grown his tie

We had our Secret Sister reveal at church on Sunday
When I presented my final gift to my SS, she started jumping up and down and said "I knew it was you!"
Am I that predictable?

Here are just a few of the gifts she received over the last year



I LOVE the chick egg holder and almost kept it for myself



Spencer is a great model

A canvas I made to put on top of her box of sunshine

Lisa's box of sunshine

I will be making more of these this fall 

I enjoyed having a SS and I'm sad they're not going to continue it but on the bright side,
maybe I'll have time to get some of my own crafting projects done

I've been busy working on teacher appreciation gifts
46 staff members didn't seem like a lot until I burnt my fingers with  hot glue

We had our first night of ball practice for Spencer Tuesday night

Spencer got his bottom braces on yesterday morning and has been pretty sore
I ended up making him pancakes at 7:30 last night because he needed something soft to eat
Poor kiddo!
I should take a picture, his braces look like they were put on in a chevron pattern
His top teeth are already looking beautiful after 4 short month

I can't wait to see the end results

Spencer has an appointment with his neurologist next week

The deck is coming along {slowly} but we're getting closer

My parents are coming over Sunday to help with the addition {whether permitting}

With all that's been going on, house work has been put aside

I've been planning to wash bedding for 4 days now but every time I go to strip the bed, I find this

and I just can't find it in me to disturb her

This morning I found her here so the bedding got washed

Oh how I wish I had time for a nap with that girl

Give the kid a break

Last Monday Parker was seen by his allergy/asthma doc

I thought things were going well

We keep him on Zyrtec year round and we add Singular as soon as it hits 50 degrees

We noticed that Parker's eyes were starting to look a little puffy but that's nothing new for this time of year

His doctor and I discussed his meds, activities and the normal stuff and she looked him over

She noticed the puffiness right away and asked if he had anything else going on

Nope

Well.... one look in his nose and throat proved me wrong

He has severe post nasal drip which would explain the clearing of the throat all the time

{how can a boy on so much allergy medication still be having problems- I thought it was a nervous habit}

and his nose is inflamed

He's a mess and spring just got here

His doctor suggested keeping him on the same meds and trying a nasal spray again

We took him off the nasal spray two years ago because of nose bleeds

She told us that we're running out of options and allergy shots may be the only way to go

I feel like we're over medicating him yet I don't know that we're ready to commit to 5 years of shots
If the success rate was 100% or even close, I wouldn't be as hesitant

I'm struggling as a mom with what to do
Where's the parent handbook when you need one

This boy loves to be outside
Always has, always will

Being outdoors wrecks havoc on him but he's tough and takes it in stride