R.I.P. Missy

     Missy, our dwarf hamster, passed away last night. She had a long life with us, over two years, and she will be missed.
    Missy, I want to thank you for coming into our lives. The greatest gift that you gave Eva was the gift of Compassion. While you were not the cuddly hamster she wanted and often nipped us (but that might have been because Eva dropped you a few too many times in the beginning - sorry!), Eva was still excited to see you each morning. She couldn't wait to feed you and give you treats. She loved taking your picture and laughed at your antics. You taught her to love and care for someone/something, even if it doesn't seem that they deserve it; that every one/every thing, deserves to be treated with respect and dignity.  And for that, I thank you. May you be running through fields of clover with the sun shining on you.

The Frog Man

I took the triplets to see the Frog Man at the library today. What a great show! (Click here for the link to his web site.) He brought turtles, frogs, toads, crayfish, and other buddies and talked about them and let the kids touch the frogs, toads, and crayfish. Joey thought it was super cool while Ella and Eddie weren't too sure about it. I picked up a crayfish and showed them - Joey was the only one to touch it. Eddie didn't like the front claws trying to pinch him. And Ella, well, she just ran away, lol.

Ella's first ballet recital

     Today was Ella's first ballet recital. Where has the time gone? She was sooo cute and did a fairly good job. We're so proud of her. Here's some photos of her in her costume:

Miracle League

     When a woman is pregnant, she weaves dreams for her unborn child - what hobbies they'll like or what they will be when the grow up. I was no different. I dreamed that Joey would be a baseball player. And even though he was born at 28 weeks, he had a clean bill of health. Well, almost. He would sometimes forget to breathe, especially when eating, so he came home with an apnea monitor. And all was good until that day the monitor went off and this time, it wasn't a false alarm. And our worst fears were (much) later confirmed when we found out he had suffered "Oxygen Deprived Brain Damage" and it was mild, but would affect his sucking/swallowing, his left arm and both legs. And with the label of Cerebral Palsy, all dreams I had for him went swirling down the drain.
     Several years, and lots and lots of therapy, later, we come to tonight. Tonight was Joey's first night of baseball. Yes, I said baseball. We are fortunate enough to have a Miracle League here in Kenosha, where every disabled child can play baseball with a buddy on the Miracle Field, a baseball field that is cushey enough to soften the falls of playing. And I cried when I saw him out there. Little Joe was playing baseball and doing an AWESOME job of it too! Never doubt the spirit of a little boy was says, "I CAN!!"

Saturday, May 15th, 2010

We had breakfast in a hurry, then rushed to swimming lessons. Came home and ate a quick lunch so we could hike part of the bike trail. Came home to find dad and Uncle John, cutting back some weed trees from the neighbors yard - yeah! No more scratches on the car when we park on that side! (When he talked to the realtor, he was like, sure, because they just got a notice from the city). Then Gerald and I went to see the Producers at the Racine Theatre. Basically, an enjoyable day!

Family Game Night

We had a night of fun tonight. We played some games, then the triplets went to bed. Then Eva and I played a couple of games, then she went to bed. Realized tonight that I need to get some games for older kids, like Sorry. We have A LOT of games for the 4 and under crowd!

 

                                                                                       

 

Stop and smell the roses...

Rush, rush, rush. Always something to do, somewhere to go. This morning was no different, rushing around, trying to get Eva to school on time. As we're leaving, Eva puts her arm out to stop me and I look up. She whispers, "look", and I see a robin outside on our sidewalk, hip hopping through the rain. And I stop, and I watch with her, forgetting for a moment that we need to get to school, and we make up reasons why the robin is in the rain - I say, "he's looking for something to eat (boring, lol) and she says, "he likes to dance in the rain" (so Eva).
I'm glad my children listen to what I say instead of what I do. Because of her, I got to see a robin dancing in the rain.

Happy Mother's Day!

Chorale Concert Today

Eva and Gerald had their concert today. Eva did GREAT with her solo! And the kids choir did an awesome job as did the adult choir. Here's a few pictures:

                                                                                                                                

Dinosaur Museum

Today was a beautiful day! But it was suppose to be rainy and yucky and we had planned to go to the museum. Well, we went anyway! Joey had therapy at 11:30, then I got our bananas and milk at Kwik Trip, dropped them off at home, then we went to the Dinosaur Museum. Poor Joey has been asking for over 2 weeks to go and FINALLY I had a chance to take him!

                                                                                       
Afterwards, we went to Eva's school and played on the playground while we waited for her to get out of class.

He's a Quarterback???

(so this is a conversation I had on Facebook that I had to save. Maybe I'll use it when he is named Quarterback of the Year or on his kids!) 

 

June Grogan In the race for Stupidest Kid of the Year, my son Eddie is in the lead by a landslide, followed by his BIG sister Eva. Eva took off her shoes while out on the front lawn, and Eddie immediately grabbed one and threw it onto the roof!! Fortunately it was the porch roof, but sadly, I still had to crawl out there and get it. (oh, and I'm afraid of heights!!)

Jennifer L Davis     

rotflmao! that is too funny.  my kids had one of those stretchy frogs, and once my brother was over at the house, he says to the kids "watch how far I can stretch this" and before I knew that sucker was up on the roof of the house. it would still be there if we hadn't gotten a new roof lol

Heidi Landree

oh no!! NO way could I have done that June!!! dah dah dah dahhhhhhhhhhhh super mom!!! 

Evelia Yacuta Ragsdale

at least he's good at throwing? 

Angie Cina

Sign him up for t-ball!!! LOL He can take care of all of us once he's playing baseball!!! 

June Grogan

yup yup, he's signed up for t ball. and yes, he's a natural!

Liza Thober

Well he is your future football player.

June Grogan

Liza, I was expecting a Linebacker, NOT a Quarterback, lol!

Playing outside after dinner

 The boys were playing with their bows and arrows after dinner tonight. Didn't take them long to get the hang of it. Gerald still has to fetch one out of the gutter, lol.

And we weren't the only ones who enjoyed the nice weather. Eva brought bunbun outside to nibble on some weeds.   A very nice time was had by all.                                                                                                                                   

Laundry Pillow

"Hey mom, this is a great pillow!" says Joey. "Ummm Joey" I say, "that is clean laundry that needs to be folded. Feel free to fold them" and Joey laughs. sigh

Intolerance

     My heart is heavy right now. Just got off the phone with the school's principal. Seems Eva got into it with another student and Eva was hysterical and sobbing. I told Eva she still had to go to Daisy Scouts and we'd talk about it when she got home.
     I did not want this for my daughter!! I grew up with no friends, endured the taunts from classmates, felt the lonliness when I heared about some birthday party everybody (but me) had attended. I was new to the school in 1st grade, but everybody already had their friends and there was no room for me. There's a whole lot behind this story that I don't really want to go over again. 
     Anyway,  when I found out I was pregnant, my secret wish was that she would have friends. That she would know the joy of having a best friend, the joy of having friends to do things with, share things with. But alas, she has been cursed as well. I don't care if her inability to connect socially is due to her having Aspergers. I believe it's more of others being intolerant. I hate that in order to be accepted, you have to dress a certain way, or have certain things, or do certain things, etc. All those nuances are hard to navigate anyway, but damn near impossible when you have Aspergers. 
     So I baked some chocolate chip cookies and I'll pop some popcorn and put on her favorite movie. We'll sit on the couch and I'll hold her and listen to her and curse all those who were so intolerant as to do this to my baby.

Ella plays with the cat!!

Ok, that may not seem like a big deal, but for Ella it is.  She is so timid around animals and isn't really "into" them like the rest of us are. She doesn't actively reach out to pet them or talk about them like the other kids do.
Then this morning, Ella came to me crying saying the kitty attacked her. I look down and see she's holding a shoe string. I said, "Ella honey, the kitty didn't attack you. She just wants to play with the string you have." I then showed Ella how to move the string along the floor and she giggled when the cat got it.  I then heard the boys getting up, so I handed the string to her and went upstairs to dress the boys. When I came downstairs, she was still playing with the kitty, and laughing!

The new member of the family...

 

Well, here's the newest member of our family, Freddie Fish. Can't see the other guy, but he's a black snail, Sammy the Snail. hmmm, we're starting to sound like a mob family, lol!

Not My Day!!!!!!!!!

"This was NOT my day!!" sobbed my oldest daughter, Eva. I held her and rocked her and just listened to her sob. There was nothing I could say, she was right, sigh.
     "I waited FOREVER to dance and then I didn't do so well"
     "I waited soooo long, that I missed Melodie's birthday party" (lots of sobs)
     "It took us so long to get home, we missed your friends birthday party"
     " My hair didn't turn out tonight and we forgot my bow"
     " I messed up my song that I knew by heart"
     " And after all that, I didn't even win the talent show!!!" (more sobbing)
"I was looking forward to this day and it was HORRIBLE!!!"
"Well honey, maybe tomorrow will be a better day. Today is done, it's over. Tomorrow is a new day, a new page. Here's hoping it's a good one. Remember honey, I love you. You are my sunshine. My world is better because you're in it. XOXOXOXO"
      My poor Eva, it's sooo hard to wear your heart on your sleeve. She's joyful, bubbly, exuberant, energetic, perpetual. But she can crash, and crash HARD! And that's when I hold her, and tell her I love her, and that some times, your best isn't enough, but that doesn't make you a failure, that you're never a failure if you try your best. Fingers crossed that tomorrow really is a better day for her!

  Here she is, all dressed up!

    Tuesday was better, until Joey threw up at dinner! At least he made it through picture day!  And OH! Eddie and Ella's pictures are soooo cute! I guess you could tell Joey wasn't feeling good because he didn't have his usual Joey sparkle.
    Well, Joey slept through the night and seemed fine on Wednesday, so I took him to therapy. The day was pretty good until I got to Eva's school to pick her up from Daisy Scouts and I see her running down the hall! I asked my friend what was wrong and she said, "Eva said she had to throw up". sigh, Yup, she made it to the bathroom on time. So now another one was down. I brought her home and she had a couple more episodes before she passed out on the couch.
     Put the trips to bed at 8. Around 10, I hear Ella whimpering and yup, she was the next one down! Had to strip her bed and her and get her all cleaned up. Put her back to bed and thought we were good, but I heard her whimpering again at 11 and yup, had to strip her bed and her, again.
    When I was done with Ella, I decided to check on Eddie and as soon as I got in the room, I knew I had another one down. He had thrown up in his bed, but then just rolled over! grrr  So I got him and his bed cleaned and he was good for the night. He actually slept in until 10:30!!
     Now it's Thursday and I have three kids at home sick. Eddie and Eva seem fine, but Ella spent the whole day whimpering on the couch. She seems fine right now. They all seem fine as they all ate some noodles for dinner and have kept them down, so tomorrow, they should be able to go to school. As for me, I'm dog tired! I striped everyone's bed, sprayed lysol on everything, remade the beds, then washed all the bedding!! ugh, too many trips up and down the stairs!!
      This just in - Dad is now down for the count! Well, at least we all got it before Sat!!

Monday, blech!

Monday was AWFUL!!  I thought I had food poisoning because not soon after I ate my lunch, I threw up. Oh man, I was soo sick the rest of the day! Was FINALLY feeling better a little after dinner, but still pretty weak. Poor Gerald came home and had to run. He reheated some spaghetti for the kids (but I didn't have any alfredo sauce for Joey, so he had a pb sandwhich instead). Then he had to give the triplets a bath, by himself, because it was picture day on Tuesday. Then he had to put them to bed an read them stories by himself. When he came downstairs, he was finally able to eat his dinner and relax. Poor him, but boy was I grateful that I didn't have to - I don't think I could've done it!! Here's hoping Tuesday is better!

Sunday

Wow! I can't believe it's Sunday already! Where did the time go?  To see what we ate today, click here to go to From a Busy Mamma's Table.
     Well, we got up and got everyone ready and actually got to church with 5 min's to spare! While we're in church, I'm fixing Eddie's hair when I feel a lump on his head. I part his hair to see what it is and it's a TICK!! ewwwhhh! So I'm thinking about it all through church until we get home and Gerald takes it out. (shudder)
     After church, I usually make lunch right away because Eva has irish dancing lessons. Today I have a book club meeting and can't take her. So I get her ghillies on (so poor dad doesn't have to, lol) and I go to my book club meeting. The book this month was "House Rules" by Jodi Picoult.  VERY good book! We met a Dun Bros Coffe where I always get the chocolate nirvana. This time, I also ordered their panini sandwhich and it was really good!

     I came home, threw a load of wash in the washer, made up the company potatoes, sat down and took a nap! ahhh, it was nice. Gerald grilled the steaks on the grill while I made cupcakes. Here's a photo of me frosting the cupcakes. 
      At 8pm, I had the trips take off their clothes so I could change their diapers and  help them into their pjs. Then it was upstairs to bed to brush their teeth, then story time and then lights out. Now it's time to watch what we've tivo'd during the week with Gerald.

I Hate Doing Laundry!!

So I've been behind in my laundry, so I decided to step it up and get it all done as fast as possible. Well, two days later, I've finally caught up!! Used the timer on the microwave so I could go downstairs, take the laundry out of the dryer and put the stuff from the washer in right away. Then put a new load in the washer, then restart the timer all over again. While the laundry was doing it's thing, I just piled the laundry up in the living room to fold after the kids went to bed (which is the ONLY way it was going to stay folded!! lol)  Well, no matter where the piles of laundry were or how hard it was to get to them, the cat was able to make herself a nice little nest to sleep in.  She said she was "helping", but not surprisingly, the laundry didn't get folded!!

Yeah! Packers made it into the playoffs!!

And the triplets were sooooo excited! lol

   

First Eddie, then Joey, then Ella. Remember, these kids DON'T nap!!! Oh, and those cute Packer outfits were Christmas gifts from Uncle John & Aunt Lori!!

Cookie Kick Off!!

Eva and I went to the Bradley Center in Milwaukee today. It was the Girl Scout's Cookie Kick Off and after all the Girl Scout activities, we got to watch the hockey game. We had lots of fun and were very tired when we got home!

Wearing Grandma's Christmas gift

Here's my pretty Ella, wearing the outfit that Grandma got her for Christmas. But could not get her to look at the camera!! lol, oh well, maybe next time!!

Today the boys received a special package in the mail

Today the boys got a special package from Roman and Jacob. I had been complaining at how expensive toddler sheet sets were and what a racket it was. Well Auntie Eve had no more use for hers and shipped them off to us. Eddie and Joey were sooo excited!! Here they are, in their room: