In The Grip Of Grace

My first 5k is coming up!

2011-05-11T10:12:00.003-04:00

My sister and I signed up for our first 5k run this Saturday and I am sooo nervous about it! Probably more than I was for my first 2.2 mile run!

My husband is also running the race with me but I've asked him to race for himself. He's gotten really fast plus I want to see what I can do without anyone there to push me. I know I can finish the race but my competitive side (which I never knew was there till I started running!) wants to run it fast and never have to walk. On a good day that wouldn't be much of a problem. Unfortunately, I haven't run much for the past 2 weeks due to a horrendous head cold and only getting 3 hour stretches of sleep at night since Jack was sick as well. I just don't feel ready. I have one training run left to do today so we'll see how it goes!

Let the communication begin!

2011-04-17T13:58:00.004-04:00

Saturday, I got the letter in the mail stating Austin was approved to have an ipad!! We haven't had it 24 hours and I can already tell he's going to do really well with it. He gets very frustrated easily when he gets an answer wrong on the games but with lots of patience I think I'll be able to teach him to make choices! I've started him on the app 'tap to talk' but plan on buying proloquo2go very soon. He's kinda confused with tap to talk but since this week is spring break for him we have plenty of time together to learn it!

For those wondering how in the world I got the ipad: Austin receives SSI and after our finances were evaluated, SSI realized we were owed more money than they thought. It was a large sum so instead of just releasing it to us (oh how I wish they would have!) we had to put it in a special account just for Austin. We are only allowed to use the money for specific purposes such as nursing home care, aides for home, medical care, communication, etc. So I put in an application requesting some funds be released so we could get Austin an ipad for communication and a month and a half later of impatient waiting we were approved!

Lovin' this spring weather!

2011-04-09T18:54:00.003-04:00

Rallying for Kameron

2011-03-25T15:29:00.004-04:00

I found this link through a blog I follow and being a mom of a child with special needs, I couldn't help but donate a few dollars to help bring Kameron home.

Rallying For Kameron

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2011-03-18T15:56:00.001-04:00

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I almost got to use my fire extinguisher!

2011-03-16T12:51:00.006-04:00

Okay so I'll try to make the story short!

I had just finished nursing Jack when I sat him up on my leg to burp him and SPLAT! He exploded right out the sides of his diaper and the contents started running down my leg, on the computer chair I was sitting in, and then onto the floor. Yuck.

I put Jack down on a receiving blanket, changed my clothes and turned the oven on that way by the time I was done bathing Jack I could put my lunch in the oven to cook. Once I had put Jack in the bathtub I realized I forgot to grab a diaper for him (our bathtub is upstairs and the diapers are downstairs). After giving Jack a quick bath, I wrapped him in his towel and headed downstairs when I noticed a strong odor of smoke.

My first thought was "oh great, did I turn the stove on instead of the oven and something is melting on the burner?". I ran down the stairs with Jack where the smell was a bit stronger. Getting worried, I laid Jack on the floor at the bottom of the stairs hoping and praying he wouldn't decide to pee all over the place. I got to the kitchen and realized the oven was indeed on like I thought I did. I opened the oven door and out came the smoke! I quickly shut the door and realized there was a fire in the oven! Opening the oven door gave the fire oxygen so it was burning pretty good inside. My mind was racing on what to do so I grabbed the fire extinguisher just in case I needed it. That's when I realized if I kept the oven door closed and the oven off the fire should go out on it's own. I opened the windows and quickly went to check on Jack who was happily rolling around on the floor butt naked. And dry! I put a diaper on him and went back to the kitchen and saw the fire had put itself out. WHEW!

Once I was comfortable opening the oven door back open this is what I found inside:

That's when I realized what happened! I had baked brownies last night and left the oven door open to let the heat out (it's still cold here in NY!). Austin has a tendency to shut the oven door when he sees it open but I wasn't too concerned because by the time Austin saw the door open, the oven had already cooled. My guess is when Austin slammed the oven door shut, he knocked my oven mitt into the oven! When I preheated the oven, I was cooking my oven mitt.

Well now my house smells horrendous but all is well! Here's some cute pictures of Jack I took the other day!

My first run

2011-03-12T13:47:00.009-05:00

I've always wanted to be able to say 'I'm a runner'. Today was my day.

Ben and I before the race

Five weeks after Jack was born my sister brought up the idea of starting the Couch 2 5k running program. I thought "sure, why not? It would be good to get the pregnancy weight off and become the runner I've always wanted to be". So my sis and I set out on the program. Just so you are aware, my sister and I are NOT athletic by any means. We've never run before and nor do we play any kind of sport. Yes, we're on the thinner side but definitely out of shape. The first few weeks, running 60 or 90 seconds at a time was a KILLER.

About 6 weeks in to the 9 week program, I had lost all my pregnancy weight and was running 10 minutes at a time!

Today, I ran the 'Shamrock Run' in our city! You could choose the 2.2 mile race or the 5 mile race. Being my first run, I chose the 2.2. And yes, we NYers ran outside in 32 degree weather! I finished the race, happily tagging myself as a runner. 2.2 miles in 21 minutes 56 seconds. And I had a baby 4 months ago. So proud of myself!

the running crowd

My sister and I before the race

stretching before starting our run

Footed pj's!

2011-03-08T17:14:00.004-05:00

If you read my recent comment on facebook about Austin's nighttime escapades, here's my first step to solving my problem!

For those who didn't: Austin likes to get into his pullup during the night and scratch his rear end. Every. Night. And every morning his hands smell like poop and his fingernails are disgusting. No matter how often I bathe him or how short I cut his nails, the problem was still there. And I was sick of it. So I have set out to find one piece pj's for my big boy. I did find two pairs of winter footed pj's at Burlington Coat Factory (though frustrated they weren't on sale!) but not quite sure what to do for summer. A relative of mine has offered to create him something but I haven't heard from her in a week so we'll see if that happens! I checked Target, Walmart, and JCPenney and no one piece jammies.

Austin likes his new jammies but doesn't like having 'feet'. He always takes his socks off for bedtime and now he can't. He keeps asking me to remove the feet of his pj's. Sorry buddy!

**By the way, Austin's scratching is purely a sensory issue nothing medical going on!**

Is it happening?

2011-02-17T19:22:00.003-05:00

Here's a facebook posting from Austin's teacher:

"and now another moment brought to you by room 2 at Starbuck Elementary: Austin ALL day "Mom?Mom?Mom?"-distinctly different than the consonant babbling of "mamama" as he has been know to do-actually summoning "mom" with intent.and then....drumroll...."are you saying mom, Austin?"....that beautiful sly smile and he starts signing "dad" and questioning as if "yeah, and where's dad?"......This has been a very productive "verbal" week in our classroom! and again-we all were touched and sniffling!"

Austin has yet to form any words so this is monumental! I pray it continues! It just goes to show you that prayer works. Sometime in the last 5 days my 5 year old niece prayed that 'Austin would find his words and talk'.

This 'Mom' is very. very. happy.

One Year Ago Today...

2011-02-10T09:31:00.002-05:00

It's been one year!

Happy 3 Months Jack!

2011-01-29T10:52:00.006-05:00

Pictures of Jack...one week old, one month old, 2 months
(a few days late!), and 3 months old!

Being serenaded at 2am

2011-01-26T13:03:00.004-05:00

I was in Jack's bedroom this morning (2am) quietly nursing him, marveling at the peaceful, calm, quietness of the house. It was quite dark in Jack's room with the exception of his baby monitor casting an eerie yellow glow. I had just settled myself on the end of the full size bed in his room when out of nowhere comes Andrew's little voice...

"Dat Dah Da Da, Dat Dah Da Da! Start spreading the news....I'm leaving today! I want a great big part of it! Come on Marty, you know the words...two little words! New York! New York!"

Um, yeah. 2am people. Not only did Andrew sing that whole line from Madagascar once, he sang the song three times. At the top of his lungs!

By the time I finished nursing Jack, Andrew's performance was over and all was quiet again. Guess Andrew felt I needed a little pick me up!

2011-01-18T20:05:00.003-05:00

Austin progresses slower than a lot other children with RTS (or maybe it just seems that way?) so when I get a small glimpse of a new achievement, my hope is renewed. Austin's teacher called me into the classroom to show me something new. (Andrew's Pre-K class is directly across the hall from Austin's classroom so when I pick Andrew up from school, I often see Austin). An aide called Austin over and asked him to say 'mama' and he signed 'Mom', then asked him to say 'dada' and he signed 'Dad' (with some help). Then she asked him to say 'bicycle' and he signed 'bicycle'!! He'd never signed it before! I guess he LOVES the plasma cars in the gym so they make him sign 'bike' before getting on one and the work has paid off!

A few pics just because...

2011-01-11T20:52:00.005-05:00

This past Sunday, Ben and I dedicated Jack to the Lord.
If you are wondering why Ben is miked, it's because he's the worship leader at our church!

Jack (taken today!) @ 10 weeks old

I finally got it on camera!

2011-01-03T09:47:00.005-05:00

Jack (9 weeks)

Jack had his 2 month check up on the 30th and it was confirmed that he is my biggest boy yet!

Head: 15 1/2 (50th percentile)
Weight: 10 pounds 14 ounces (50th %)
Length: 23 1/4 inches (75 %)

This may seem like nothing to some of you but to us it's huge! Both Austin and Andrew have always been below the 25th percentile!

The 31st and 1st brought us very warm temperatures (and melted all our snow) so before it melted away Ben took Andrew outside to make a snowman. Poor Frosty looks so awful because every time Ben made a ball of snow, Andrew would kick it! He's all boy!

Pictures from Christmas!

2010-12-28T22:20:00.004-05:00

Nieman Family of 5!

Our new addition...sleeping!

Austin checking out his new gerbils

Austin testing out his new trampoline

Why hello there neglected blog!

2010-12-21T15:42:00.008-05:00

Yes, I've fallen off the face of the earth. I've crashed landed into utter chaos of laundry, dishes,nursing, diapers, appointments, and normal day to day happenings. It's been good though! Jack is a good baby and just giggled for the first time yesterday! I was putting lotion on his belly after a bath and he broke out in a fit of laughter. So sweet! We've still yet to catch him smiling on camera...
Here are some pictures to enjoy!

11 days old

One Month Old!

Andrew reading a Thomas book to Jack

7 weeks old!

Notice there aren't any pictures of Jack and Austin. Austin is just not that interested in him! He doesn't want to hold him at all but he does randomly come up and kiss his head so I guess that's a plus!

My big boy

2010-11-28T16:27:00.003-05:00

Decorating the tree at Grandma and Papa's house!

And the winner is...

2010-11-10T10:20:00.004-05:00

My sis, Amy!

She correctly guessed Jack's birth weight AND his length! Since you won the baby pool, I'll let you change all the itty, bitty diapers you want. Cause of course, that way you can spend time with him. Since he's your nephew and all. Hee Hee.

Jack's arrival and pictures

2010-11-09T19:22:00.007-05:00

So yes, I've been gone for quite some time but you all know that seems to happen when you have a new baby in the house!

39 weeks 4 days pregnant

After spending almost the entire day (October 29th, my due date!) sleeping since I was overwhelmingly tired, I went into labor around 8pm that night. Nine hours later (my longest labor!) Jack Arthur arrived at 5:14am weighing in at 6lbs 14 oz. and was 20 inches long (my longest baby!). I was quite surprised at his size. I figured since he was my third, surely he would be over 7 pounds! I guess I just carry 6 pound babies! Here's the boys stats:

Austin: 6lbs. 6oz. 19 1/4 inches
Andrew: 6lbs. 15oz. 19 1/2 inches
Jack: 6lbs. 14oz. 20 inches

Jack's delivery was the easiest of the three and I'm sooo happy I'm not pregnant anymore! Cindy, you were right! Caring for 3 boys is much easier than caring for 2 boys and being 9 months pregnant. I see what you mean now!

Seconds after being laid on the warming unit, Jack peed everywhere!

Our attempt at our first family of 5 picture

Still pregnant!

2010-10-22T15:45:00.006-04:00

There's still time to put your guess in for the baby pool on the right side of my blog! See if you can guess when Baby Jack will arrive! I wish it was today (or yesterday for that matter!) but I'm being as patient as I can. No. Not really. But I try!

Yesterday, the boys were watching a Signing Times video and having a picnic on the living room floor when I noticed an interesting sight. I pretty much knew this was the case but to see it in a picture gives it a new perspective:

Andrew's head is definitely bigger than Austins.

Yesterday, was our 10th wedding anniversary so my sister, Amy, took Andrew off our hands for a few hours while Austin was at school. Here's a conversation she had with him:

Amy: Andrew are you excited for baby Jack to be born?
Andrew: Yes
Amy: Is Mommy excited for baby Jack to be born?
Andrew: No. She's just tired.

Aren't kids great?!? LOL

So, I'm still pregnant and today I'm 39 weeks. I'll have to remember to have Ben take another picture! I'm going for weekly visits and the last two appointments my blood pressure was slightly higher but nothing to be concerned about. Gained another few pounds putting my total at 33 pounds so I'm happy with that! Just waiting now...

38 weeks pregnant tomorrow!

2010-10-14T12:19:00.001-04:00

We're getting down to the wire...I hope. Both the boys were born after their due date so we'll see! If you'd like to guess when Jack will make his arrival, enter in the Birth Date Baby Pool to the right! Have fun!

Andrew has laryngitis!

2010-10-12T16:56:00.004-04:00

You may need to turn your volume up...he can barely whisper!

OB update and pics

2010-10-04T16:43:00.005-04:00

Picture taken at 36 weeks 3 days

OB visit at 35 weeks 6 days...

BP: 123/61
weight gain: 3 pounds
total weight gain: 29 pounds

Got the all clear to let him be born whenever he wants to make his entrance! Would LOVE to have him early but Austin was born 2 days late and Andrew was 5 days late so we'll see if the trend continues.

Oh yeah, gave Andrew some kids chapstick to occupy him at the store. He enjoyed it so much that he looked like a clown with yellow makeup on! You may need to click on the picture to fully enjoy it.

Let's play catch up!

2010-09-17T14:15:00.009-04:00

We've been pretty busy these last few weeks! The boys started school (Austin 3rd grade and Andrew Pre-K), we went apple picking, and dr.'s appointments!

Attempting pictures before heading off to school

Apple picking in Mexico, NY

Wednesday, Austin had an appointment with the geneticist (2 1/2 hours away) that went pretty well. It had been 5 years since we'd last gone so it was about time! I just didn't feel it was necessary to take him earlier. Plus at the time, Austin was seeing so many dr.'s that it was overwhelming. Now that we're in a period of less appointments, I decided we'd better get it out of the way.

Other than updating information, nothing new was discussed. I expressed my concern that I couldn't find anyone within an hour drive to take Austin on as a pediatric dental patient. I've been trying for the past year and to no avail. Thankfully, the geneticist is setting us up with a terrific (or so I'm told) dentist there. Yes, it'll be a 2 1/2 hour drive but it's worth it. Besides they have great shopping and restaurants! Heehee!

Austin was weighed and measured while we were at the appointment. It utterly shocked to me find out that he's gained yet another 3 pounds since June! That's 13 pounds since June of 2009! My little scrawny Austin is porking up! On the bright side, he also has grown another inch so that's helping. I think we've finally hit the stage in RTS where the pounds pile on but the growth in height starts slowing down. =(

I also had an OB appointment this morning so here's the latest picture of my round self taken at 33 weeks 3 days.

34 week OB appointment
BP: 118/64
Belly measurement: exactly 34 weeks and still head down!
Weight gain: Doing good! gained another 3 pounds
Total weight gain: 26 pounds

Just to clear things up!

2010-08-31T14:14:00.005-04:00

After posting the latest pictures of Austin as a baby, fellow RTS blogger mom, The Happy Ones pointed out that it looked as though Austin wasn't born with the classic black hair most RTS babies are born with. Guess what? He was! These aren't the best pictures to show his hair but they were nearby so that's what I scanned for you! His hair fell out as most babies do and when the new hair grew in, it was blond. Enjoy!

Picture of Austin while still in the hospital (less than 3 days old)

Austin at approximately 5 weeks old

OB checkup and some old pictures

2010-08-26T17:06:00.006-04:00

30 weeks 6 days

BP: 122/64
Weight gain: 4 pounds in 2 weeks (holy cow!)
Total weight gain: 23 pounds (trying not to gain over 35...we'll see!)

I'm measuring right on and got some acid reflux medicine to try. Now only if I could get something to relax my back at night so I could sleep! Two weeks till my next check up!

Now here are the old pictures I dug up for you to enjoy! I know I did!

Ben and Austin (3 1/2 yrs old)

Ben and Austin (7 weeks old)

Austin (5 months old)

Pregnancy Update

2010-08-21T19:00:00.003-04:00

Picture taken at 29 weeks 6 days

Latest OB visit:

28 weeks 6 days

BP: great
Baby update: Jack is officially head down and a bit over 3 pounds (according to ultrasound)
Weight gain: 4 pounds putting my total weight gain at 19 pounds.

Having a lot more 'complaints' than I ever did with Andrew and Austin but hanging in there are doing good. The countdown begins...less than 10 weeks left!

Pregnancy Update

2010-07-21T16:06:00.006-04:00

Twenty six week along...where has the time gone? While being distracted by 2 other needy kids, I haven't paid much attention to the months on the calendar going by! Last Wednesday, I had another check up and here are the stats:

25 Week appointment

belly measurement: 26 weeks

BP: a bit higher than usual but that's probably because I got a frustrating phone call minutes before they took the reading

weight: Eek! Gained another 5 pounds putting my total weight gain to 15 pounds. I have a feeling I'm going to gain more with this pregnancy than I did with Andrew's pregnancy...bleh.

Made an appointment for another ultrasound since the tech. didn't get a good measurement of Jack's spine and an appointment for the lovely glucose screening test. Wonder what flavor I'll get this time around? With Austin, it tasted like orange soda and with Andrew it was really sweet lemonade. We shall see!

Andrew is 4!

2010-07-21T14:27:00.005-04:00

My little man is 4 years old now. Wow! Andrew had a great birthday party including a bounce house and the ever special 'lion cake' he's been requesting for the last 4 months!

Pregnancy update soon...along with updates on Austin and his schooling dilemma.

Today I hate RTS

2010-07-13T21:38:00.003-04:00

It's been an interesting past few days with Austin. One frustrating thing after another! It all started Thursday/Friday (I can't recall which day it was!). After a full week of temperatures in the mid 90's with no air conditioning, no a/c at Austin's school, and no a/c on Austin's bus, I think the heat got to the poor kid. He came home from school and an hour later threw up all over my carpet. He wasn't acting sick and didn't choke on anything so I'm *fairly* sure it's from the heat. He recovered pretty quickly since the temperatures cooled down on Saturday.

Fun Saturday? Weeeelll, I was in the middle of changing his pull up on my couch when I noticed he was getting a rash so I left him to go get ointment. I came back to find him in the process of peeing all over his belly and my couch. Not a happy mommy! I stripped the couch cushions and washed those (24 hours after washing vomit covered clothes and towels).

Sunday was a cooler day as well and Austin was his usual self. Sunday afternoon, he starts having some build up in his eyes. Thinking, it was just allergies we kept our routine. Three hours later, Austin's eyes are pouring out nasty gunk, his eyes are swollen shut, and he's got full blown pink eye. Trip to the pediatrician Monday morning to get eye drops...still acting perfectly normal (cooler weather again).

Of course, I kept him home from summer school Monday since he was contagious from the pink eye.

Tuesday (today) was supposed to be not too hot but really really humid. Well, the forecast was wrong and it was hot AND really really humid. Austin comes home from school and won't eat dinner. He puts up a fuss about laying down for bedtime (a little unusual but not completely) and sure enough, 15 minutes later. He's throwing up in his bed. It's 83 degrees DOWNSTAIRS in our house so I'm guessing upstairs it's probably 86ish.

So, is Austin getting headaches from the heat? I don't know. Is he feeling hot or dizzy? I don't know. It's all a big mystery. We try to get him to drink water but it's not something he enjoys. He drinks juice and milk and we've tried to get him to drink mostly water with some juice but he won't touch it. To make matters worse, I went to take his temperature and the battery on the dumb thing goes dead.

I'm calling the pediatrician in the morning but today I have decided that I hate RTS.

My view from above

2010-07-03T21:02:00.010-04:00

Yeah, feeling pretty large now and still have 4 months left! I'm one of those lucky ladies that loses her belly button when her belly gets huge!

Andrew insisted that I take a picture of his belly as well!

This morning we had a picnic lunch at a state park a little ways from our house. We also walked one of the trails on site with the boys. Austin rode in his stroller since he's not great at walking long distances.

After walking 3/4 of a mile, we let Andrew rest his legs in the stroller and made Austin walk. Yeah, he was pretty mad about it! It took lots and lots of encouraging and at one point he did what he always does when he gets mad that we make him walk. He stops. And refuses to move!

You can barely spot him in the picture but he did finish the walk!

Dr. visit update

2010-06-24T20:24:00.003-04:00

Seen at 21 weeks 5 days...

BP: good
Baby's Heart rate: 155
Weight gain: 4 pounds
Total weight gain: 10.5 pounds

Need another ultrasound (oh darn right? LOL) since they didn't get a good measurement of the baby's spine.

Flashback!!!

2010-06-22T19:22:00.006-04:00

I'm cleaning out my house for a huge garage sale this weekend and found these pictures I thought you all might enjoy!

Our first 'family' Christmas picture, Arizona 2002

Austin 9 months old

Austin 2 1/2 years old

Austin and Andrew Year 2006

Andrew and Austin Year 2006

Good catch...bad mommy

2010-06-19T18:54:00.004-04:00

Most of the time I walk behind Austin while he's going up our stairs. He's been walking up stairs instead of crawling for less than a year so he's still pretty unstable. Today was one of those days. We were heading upstairs for a bath and all of a sudden Austin lost his footing and fell backwards down the stairs. THANKFULLY, I was on the stair below him and caught him. As quick as I could. So he didn't drag my big pregnant self down the stairs with him. But grabbing him quickly meant I got him with my finger nails. I tore his skin pretty badly but Austin never cried. He just yelled and grabbed his arm. =( I'm soo sorry Austin but it's better than a broken bone!

It's a....

2010-06-16T17:21:00.004-04:00

BOY!

This morning was my 20 week ultrasound and our little one wasn't modest one bit. He's all boy! I was really hoping for another boy so I was pleasantly surprised. I really did think I was carrying a girl! Andrew has been telling me it's a boy all along so I'm glad I don't have to convince him otherwise!

So, the end of October we'll be welcoming baby Jack Arthur!

Austin's idea of having fun

2010-06-13T20:37:00.006-04:00

I spent some time at my sister's house this afternoon with the boys. Austin asked to go outside and I obliged. (they live in the country) My sis had a wading pool full of water and I saw Austin head right to it and start splashing. Sure, I didn't necessarily want him to get wet but he was just playing with his arms in the water. I periodically checked on him, noticing that he was splashing more and more and water was now dripping off his chin and his forehead. Oh well, right? He's having fun. Who cares? More time went by and I decided to go outside and actually watch him play. This is what I found:

Pregnancy Picture Update

2010-06-13T13:12:00.004-04:00

Growing and growing and growing...20 weeks 2 days! This Wednesday is the ultrasound so we're hoping the baby cooperates so we can find out if it's a girl or a boy!

Austin's new stroller

2010-06-10T19:13:00.004-04:00

Here it is!! So excited and can't wait to use it! Austin finally broke through the material on his toddler stroller (must be that hefty 10 pounds!) so I knew it was time to step up to a special needs stroller. THANKFULLY, NY state has funds set aside for families who have children with special needs and offers it to them whenever a larger expense comes across. I am soo thankful to live in this state and that they haven't nixed this program yet! I've been able to use it several times and this time we used it to purchase the Maclaren Major Elite stoller. It holds up to 110 pounds and only weighs 12 pounds. I don't mind telling you all how much it costs, considering I didn't pay for it! It was a whopping $429.00! Eek! Now, you understand why I'm so thankful, right?

Some have asked why even bother buying Austin a stroller so I have to explain. Austin isn't a good walker. He has that wobbly gait that goes along with the syndrome, he walks VERY slow, and can't walk long distances. He has very poor balance so I think he feels more secure in a stroller as well. We mostly use a stroller when we have long trips to the mall, are going to a museum/aquarium/zoo etc. The funny thing is he loves being lazy and sitting in a stroller so much that when we do make him walk a longer distance he gets soo mad at us! He'll literally stop in his tracks and won't move unless someone carries him or puts him in a stroller. Stubborn little booger, huh? Haha!

*the stroller has accessories that you can purchase, such as a shopping basket, sun shade, rain cover, etc. Definitely going to purchase the shopping basket!

My chunky monkey

2010-06-07T18:54:00.006-04:00

Austin had an appointment today with his pediatrician for a check up and his 'stats' blew me away! I knew Austin had had a growth spurt in the last year but no where near what I thought.

Here are last year's stats at 7 years old:

Height: 40 inches

Weight: 35 pounds

On the RTS chart he was 5th % for height and 7% for weight...

This year Austin's stats at 8 years old:

Height: 42 inches

Weight: 45 pounds!!!!

Yes, I typed that correctly! He gained 10 pounds in one year! For the FIRST time since birth Austin is on the 'typical' growth chart for weight!!! Let's throw a party! Granted he's only at the 5th % but still!

On the RTS chart he is still around the 5th % for height but now he's around the 25th % for weight.

OB checkup

2010-05-26T21:23:00.004-04:00

More for my note taking than anything ;)

17 week check up
BP: good
baby's heart rate: 156
weight gained: 6.5 lbs. ACK!

Made an appointment to have another ultrasound...June 16th! Three weeks till we *hopefully* find out what we're having!

Being 8 is just soo tough!

2010-05-24T19:54:00.003-04:00

Ben took this picture today while I was out and I thought it was quite comical! The little girl is my niece and yep, that's Austin floating in the background!

Picture of the new sleeping arrangement-minus the new beds!

2010-05-22T22:29:00.003-04:00

Took this picture tonight of Andrew and Austin sleeping together. Hopefully soon I'll actually get one of them in the bed together! You can tell Andrew must have been 'reading' and Austin was looking out the window before they fell asleep. Such stinkers!

Embracing becoming a mother to 3...AHHHH!!!

2010-05-21T12:18:00.003-04:00

Soooo many changes have had to happen for our family to adapt to becoming a family of 5! Thankfully, the changes have gone MUCH better than expected and my sanity is still intact. Well, at least I think it is for the most part!

On Monday, Ben and I decided to step out on a limb and ask Andrew if he wanted to sleep in Austin's room. He was soo excited! Here's a breakdown of how it's going:

Monday
took 2 hours for boys to fall asleep
Austin kept opening the door (he's gated in)
heard mild "arguing"
boys both slept on the floor next to each other (no idea why, there is a bed in the room!)

Tuesday
took 1 1/2 hours to fall asleep
Andrew asked to sleep IN the twin bed with Austin (very worried for Andrew's sake...Austin hates having people get close to him)
Andrew wakes up early (6am) but Austin continues to sleep til 7am (whoo hoo!)
Ben and I decide this is working so we go buy bunk beds

Wednesday
bunk beds arrive and Andrew is thrilled!
Andrew refuses to fall asleep on the top bunk (even though he loves it)
He INSISTS on sleep on the bottom bunk with Austin
takes them 45 minutes to fall asleep and Austin miraculously doesn't push Andrew off the bed!
boys are still sleeping when I go to wake Austin for school. I take Austin out of the room without waking Andrew!

Thursday
Andrew is settled on sleeping with Austin and Austin doesn't care!
boys are asleep within 20 minutes (hoping to get a picture soon)
get Austin up for school and Andrew is just getting up

Holy cow, who would've thought this would ever happen?!? Austin is VERY territorial and has completely thrown it out the window. He usually won't even sit next to Andrew on the floor or couch.

PLUS...this afternoon Ben and I sign the papers on our new addition. We will be the owners of a blue Nissan Quest (or as I like to call it, the big blue bus). I'm sad to see my SUV go (a Mazda Tribute). I am now driving a mommy mobile. Never thought that would happen!

Austin's 8th birthday

2010-05-16T18:01:00.007-04:00

As you can see from the birthday ticker, Austin's 8th birthday was Saturday. We didn't have a party for him this year (it stresses him out) but we had a small family party at my parent's house for him. Austin is obsessed with Veggie Tales so my sis appropriately made him a really cool Larry the cucumber cake.

Austin got great presents, including this really cool shirt from my parents.

Yes, that's Christmas wrapping paper! It's all I had in the house! At least it's not Christmas colors! LOL

My sis and her husband bought Austin a gift that was recommended by some RTS parents and it was a hit! They bought the Little Einstein's piano and he LOVES it. Great toy! It's not extremely loud like some of his other toys and it lights up!

All in all, Austin had a great birthday and loved having everyone sing him 'Happy Birthday' all day!

Wanted: Advice and Ideas!

2010-05-12T17:15:00.005-04:00

What do you do when you're expecting your third child and your house can only accommodate 2 comfortably? Ask the experts!

Our house isn't very spacious. No open rooms, no vaulted ceilings, no walk in closets. It's more like a two story built in 1880 with original doors that have knobs that don't work, tiny tiny closets, and more walls than needed. I'd take a picture but currently my sleep comes before housecleaning. =)

So where will we put our newest addition? We honestly have no 'perfect' solution. We have two obvious options. Both will cause major headaches.

Option 1:
Andrew moves into Austin's room and the baby sleeps in Andrew's room.

Problem:
Austin takes FOREVER to fall asleep. He goes to bed very easily but will play with musical toys, open his curtains, slam dresser drawers, etc. anywhere from 30 minutes to almost 2 hours. Andrew falls asleep immediately in his own room (with a box fan to drown out Austin's noise) so Austin would obviously keep Andrew awake. Austin also randomly gets up at the crack of dawn and slams his bedroom door. Not all the time but you get my point. No sleep for poor Andrew who is a great sleeper in his own room.

Option 2:
Austin keeps his own room which he needs and Andrew shares a room with the new sibling regardless if we're having a boy or girl.

Problem:

We'll keep the baby in our room for approx. 8 weeks but I'm a firm believer in letting babies sleep in their own bed. I value my rest too much! =) A crying baby and having me come into the room every 3 hours to nurse would also disrupt Andrew's sleep. I remember the nights of letting Andrew cry for 10 minutes and then hoping he would fall asleep on his own. Would this work with both kids in the same room?

HELP!!!

What would YOU do? Or What have you found that works for YOUR family?

Every option we think of is not an easy one by any means. Someday we will buy a bigger house but not any time relatively soon!

Austin's school pictures

2010-05-01T09:18:00.003-04:00

Austin received his new school pictures recently and they weren't the best so we decided to redo them at Sears this year. He wasn't very cooperative...just wanted to look around. It was so hard to get him to smile! Here are my two favorite pictures.

Pregnancy Pictures

2010-04-27T20:27:00.003-04:00

Pictures of me at 13 weeks along with baby #3! I know I haven't posted anything regarding the pregnancy but when you've been pregnant 5 times and have 2 kids, it's hard to get excited about yet ANOTHER pregnancy. Pregnancies #5 and #6 were 'oops' babies and I really, really, really, was done having kids once Andrew was born. Can't say that I'm excited about having another baby yet but I have finally accepted it. Took long enough, I know! Honestly, there's much more to it but I don't want to come across as ungrateful or that I'm unhappy because there are so many women out there who want a baby so badly and would love to be in my place. Yeah, feeling a bit guilty but I'm hoping that when I start to feel the baby kicking (should be within the next week or 2) things will change. Still have a lot of hurdles to overcome considering Ben and I built our lives around 'having 2 children' so you'll hear more about those hurdles in the coming weeks cause I need opinions!

Yes, the pictures were taken in my bathroom. Ben and I were giving the kids baths and the only room on the 2nd floor that has finished walls is the bathroom! LOL The other rooms are ugly wallpaper from the 80's (one of those somedays projects)!

Pictures of Austin's accomplishment!

2010-04-22T12:28:00.003-04:00

Ben took these pictures for me yesterday morning while we put Austin on the bus. Yes, I'm in my sweats! LOL Austin has gotten on the bus 3 mornings in a row without any assistance!

One small step...

2010-04-20T09:43:00.002-04:00

on the bus!

I wish I had taken a picture but didn't think of it till just now! Usually Austin's 'bus routine' involves a moderate amount of help from me and the bus aid but this morning, he got on the bus all by himself!

Here's our usual routine:

First step: I lift Austin up on the first step (his legs are too short to lift his foot to the step)

Second and Third step: He does all by himself with the help of the handrail

Fourth step: He reaches out to receive assistance from the bus aid to help pull him up the last step since the railing doesn't extend far enough

This morning I asked the bus aid if she'd wait and see if Austin could do it himself and sure enough he did it! He walked right up to the stairs, climbed the first 3 stairs and stopped at the top for his usual help. I told him " No, you can do it, yourself" and held his hand down for balance. He then used all his OWN strength and climbed the last step alone!

WAHOO! Let's celebrate the small things!

Here we grow again...

2010-04-01T17:24:00.002-04:00

Yep, that's a little peanut...OUR little peanut...at 10 weeks along. God seems to think I need the extra drama. ;) I'm due November 1st and we got to see the healthy heartbeat this afternoon. Yes, still in a bit of shock. This is my 6th pregnancy after all!

Check back on Thursday...

2010-03-30T14:10:00.002-04:00

On Thursday I will FINALLY post so check back soon!

Part Three

2010-03-03T13:59:00.011-05:00

**yes I fixed my background. Not quite sure why it's fixed now but whatever!**

Friday, Feb. 12, 2010

Well today would have been the day that I was supposed to fly back home to NY. After dealing with the stressful recovery of Thursday you can understand why I had a very hard time saying goodbye to Ben. Lots of tears. After a couple of phone calls, my sister (who had Andrew) and my parents (who had Austin) graciously agreed to keep the kids for a few more days so I could stay with Ben. What a relief! Another Plus? Due to the winter storm on the East coast, the airlines didn't charge me a penny for changing my return flight!

Needless to say, Ben was thrilled to see me Friday morning at the hospital. They had changed his medication to morphine and Ben was finally able to get up and walk the halls a bit. As the day wore on and Ben's system began 'waking up' from the anesthesia the nurses began taking out all the tubes and such. Unfortunately, Ben was still in significant pain.

While visiting, Ben's parents and I played Skip Bo with Ben and we all got a good laugh at Ben's expense.

Ben lays down cards # 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Ben's Mom: Ben, you just laid down a 1, 2, 3, 4, 3. That's not a 5, dear.

Confused, Ben picks the '3' up again.

Later on in the game, Ben also tried laying an '11' card down insisting it was a number '1'.

Yeah. We laughed a lot at him.

A couple hours later, Ben complained that his pain wasn't under control with the morphine so he was given Percocet. Instant relief! Ben was back to himself again with minimal pain! His slumped over, shuffled walk was gone and he was walking almost normally again.

Ben eating his first meal in 3 days, clear liquids only!

View from Ben's room

Saturday, Feb. 13th, 2010

Ben is unhooked from everything!

Sunday, Feb. 14th, 2010
We say our goodbyes and I fly back to NY to be with the boys. Much easier saying goodbye now that's he's in the process of being discharged from the hospital! Ben stayed at his parent's house to recover for the next week and a half, returning home to NY, Feb. 24th, 2010!

***Warning!!! Surgery incision pictures ahead! Feel free to look away!!***

The following pictures are of Ben's incision 24 hours after surgery, then 2 days post surgery, then 3 days post surgery. He currently has no bruising!

Yes, they shaved his belly ;) Also, did you know they fill you with 7-10 pounds of fluid (water, saline?? don't remember) before they close you up after a donor surgery? Explains the swollen belly!

Ben's uncle is doing really well to date. Still accepting the liver and continuing to have his blood tested every other day. I'll post pictures of Ben and his uncle together as soon as I'm able. I'd do it now if Ben didn't leave his camera in Arizona! LOL

Yes, I will finish it!

2010-02-26T21:28:00.002-05:00

LOL Yes, Part 3 IS coming...soon. Just haven't had a chance to type it out since Ben just returned home from Arizona.

UPDATE: Ben's Uncle is doing really well. The Dr.'s changed his medication and things are going smoothly now. He had an appointment this morning and all the blood flow and such are flowing perfectly! Praise the Lord!

**Can anyone tell me why I suddenly cannot see my background on my blog? Can you see it?!?

Ben's surgery Part Two

2010-02-18T12:39:00.005-05:00

After spending 15 hours at the hospital and getting Ben in his room in the ICU, I got to go 'home' at Ben's parent's house.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

I got to the hospital early Thursday morning to find Ben looking a bit better than the day before. He was currently on Toradol (for pain and immflamation) and Diloted (pain meds which the nurse told me is 3x the strength as Morphine). The Diloted was what the pain button was for and it made Ben very sleepy. If he pushed the button, he'd be asleep within 30 seconds! Needless to say, he slept A LOT! He also would randomly start talking out of nowhere or he'd sometimes comment on a conversation going on in his room. Here's an example:

This conversation didn't actually happen

Ben: ZzzzZzzzz (snoring softly)

Ben's mom: We're thinking of buying a new car. One that gets good gas mileage.

Me: Yeah that sounds like a good idea. I'd like one someday.

Ben: ZzzzZzzz....No, I want a truck...ZzzzZzzz

Conversations like that happened A LOT. It was so funny! It was as if his subconscious was hearing conversations even though he was sleeping!

For those of you wondering what tubes and such he has, here is the breakdown:

An arterial line in his wrist
an I.V. in each wrist
A NG tube in his nose to drain stomach acid so he doesn't throw up (OUCH!)
oxygen in his nose
A line in his neck
Circulation stockings to keep from getting blood clots
Electrodes all over his chest and back for EKG's
Blood pressure cuff
Catheter
The occasional shot of blood thinner in his stomach

Before I arrived at the hospital the nurses tried to get Ben to sit up in a chair and it didn't go well. That's all I heard. It concerned me but all Ben said was that he felt nauseous and dizzy. A bit later, the nurses tried again. This time Ben got to the chair. He immediately started sweating profusely and got real pale. Ben's eyes started getting droopy and he was acting slightly strange. Unfortunately a nurse was changing Ben's sheets on his bed (funny story about that later) so Ben had to wait a few minutes to get back in bed. While waiting, Ben's heart rate dropped quite a bit. A safe heart rate is between 60-100 and Ben had usually been around 75-90. While sitting it fell to 49-55. Not fun. The nurses had to keep Ben awake and smelling salts to keep him from passing out. It was a strange thing because Ben's blood pressure was just fine and his oxygen saturation was great. After a few scary minutes (and watching helplessly with his mom) Ben was able to get back in bed and over the next hour his heart rate sloooowly crept back up and his sweating stopped. The nurses consulted Ben's surgeon and came to the conclusion that Ben had a bad reaction to some medicine they gave him. (can't remember what it was, started with an H...)

Well since this post took longer than I thought, I'll post Part Three later!

As I wrote this post, I got word that Ben's uncle's body is trying to reject the liver so please pray!!

Our trip to Arizona- Part One

2010-02-17T13:56:00.011-05:00

I wanted to blog about our trip out to Arizona for the liver donation surgery and finally figured out how I wanted to do it to make it easier on me! I'll break it down day by day and will blog about Part Two later and Part Three once Ben is home and gives me more pictures!

Monday, Feb. 8th, 2010
We started our trip to Arizona by driving one hour to the airport only to discover our flight to Philly was delayed an hour and a half. This meant we'd miss our flight from Philly to Phoenix so we booked another flight which unfortunately gave us a nearly 3 hour layover. Ben and I made the best of our long layover and enjoyed a leisurely lunch/dinner without the kids and then made our way to our gate which, of course, boarded 45 minutes late. Sigh. Instead of arriving in Phoenix at 6pm, we got there at 10pm (midnight to our bodies). Yuck.

Tuesday, Feb. 9th, 2010
After arriving in Phoenix late, Ben and I got up early so we could make it to an appointment at the Mayo Clinic. Headache all day from lack of sleep! Ben had labwork done and we spent the rest of the day together, kid free!

Ben talking to his Living Donor Coordinator

Wednesday, Feb. 10th, 2010
Ben and I arrived at the hospital (with his parents) at 5:45am for check in. An hour or so later, Ben and his Uncle Wayne were called back to get prepped for surgery. Once they were ready, I got to go back with many family members and pray with Ben and Uncle Wayne. While I was there two nurses put the circulation stockings on Ben so I took pictures of course!

After a slightly tearful goodbye, they took Ben off to surgery. Ben's surgery lasted 4 hours and at one time we had 14 family members/friends in the waiting room!

We played games, ate donuts, and I updated facebook as I heard news. After several long hours and after Uncle Wayne's surgery was started, the nurses let me go back into the recovery room since they didn't have an open ICU room for Ben yet. As soon as I got back and saw my extremely pale husband with tubes everywhere, Ben says "hey I know you!". A little joke between us...he wanted to see if he'd remember to say that while he was drugged up.

I was only allowed to be with him for less than 5 minutes (it was very busy) so I went back to the waiting room.

While waiting (once again), the Dr. performing surgery came out and announced that Ben's liver was working inside his uncle! Many "Praise the Lord!" were said! He also went on to tell us some interesting facts:
-Ben had a large liver so Ben got to keep more liver than they expected (Ben kept 35%, his Uncle received 65%
-Ben has an abnormally large and long appendix that runs up along his side, under his arm
Kinda funny huh?

Once again, the nurses called me back to recovery and allowed to me to stay with Ben while they waited for a room in ICU to be prepared. I didn't watch the clock much but I think I stayed with Ben for 3 hours which he doesn't remember at all. Ben was really swollen (especially his hands) and his voice was raspy from his breathing tube. He would chat with me for 10-20 seconds then fall asleep for a half hour. At one point when the Dr. was with us, Ben kept moving his hand all over his chest looking for his pain medicine button. He asked the Dr. where his button was and the Dr. replied with a grin "it's in your hand". LOL Don't worry, many more funny drugged up stories to come!

To be continued...

Here at the Mayo Clinic

2010-02-10T12:57:00.004-05:00

Okay so I haven't blogged in a very long time. It's been rather crazy at our house and frankly, I just wanted to read other blogs and not deal with mine. =)

I'm blogging from the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, Arizona right now. My husband, Ben, is donating part of his liver to his Uncle who has liver cancer. Surgery began 2 hours ago and I have heard that he is doing well and the surgery is going smoothly. The surgery is supposed to last 4 hours long and then I'll eventually get to see him. Ben is a perfect match on all levels for this surgery which is just amazing. There is way too much going to with all this to sit down and blog about it in one sitting...(which is why I haven't blogged about it previously). No clue where to start!

Ben will be in the hospital for 4-7 days and then he'll have to recover at his parents house for one week before they'll allow him to fly home to NY. Though I would love to stay here in Arizona and be with him, I can't. My kids (and those who are watching them) wouldn't appreciate that. =) I fly back home in 2 days and Lord willing, Ben will be home the end of February where he has to be 'babysat' for 6 weeks and limited to lifting only 5 pounds.

I may blog more about it. We'll see how things go...

Update: Ben is out of surgery and doing well. Surgery went smoothly and he is on his way to recovery to wake up. I get to see him in an hour to an hour and a half (and post more pictures!)

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T13:42:00.011-05:00

Andrew and I enjoyed playing outside in the snow this morning so I thought I'd share some pictures!

**A few explanations! Yes, Andrew is wearing Ben's hat. It shrunk. A lot. It barely fits Andrew's head! Andrew has MANY other hats but insists on wearing Daddy's. =)

Yes, Andrew is also wearing Austin's snowsuit. Austin hates the cold and the snow and I'm not about to go buy Andrew a snowsuit that will last only one year. Soo, he's wearing a 5T (he's a 3T) snowsuit with the sleeves and legs rolled up! Works for me!

And for the many, many people who ask/comment nearly every day. No, Andrew's not cold, have a fever, etc. He has eczema on his cheeks so they turn red in cold weather. =P

Where's Austin you ask?

Inside, where it's warm, watching a Veggie Tales movie. =)

Success!

2009-12-27T13:38:00.010-05:00

This year was a definate success for finding a toy for Austin for Christmas! Each year (and birthday as well) is soo difficult. Austin doesn't really play with toys and would much rather watch tv all day long (which to his dismay is not allowed LOL). So yes, DVD's are a hit with him. Find a perfect toy? Now that's another story.

This year Austin received two gifts that he LOVES! I thought I'd pass the ideas to other families with children with RTS.
The LeapFrog Text and Learn

Austin loves that it talks to him, has dancing objects on the screen, and is handheld (not too heavy). The only downside is there is no backlight so you can't play it in a semi-dark room.

His other favorite gift: his red bean bag chair (Thank you Tena for the idea!) He loves it when we hold him up high and throw him down on the bean bag. =) He also loves flipping upside down on it and laying on his belly.

Here are some random pictures for you to enjoy!

Merry Christmas!

My son is a tattletale...on himself!

2009-12-17T16:37:00.003-05:00

Conversation between Andrew and I:

(I was upstairs showering and Andrew threw open the door exclaiming...)

Andrew: Mom! Austin's mad!

Me: Why is Austin mad? (I can hear him crying downstairs)

Andrew: He's crying!

Me: I know that. I can hear him. Why is he crying?

Andrew: I hit him on the head. (smiling)

Me: You hit him on the head?!?

Andrew: yes mom!

Poor Austin. Andrew picks on him all the time!

Here's the update on my 'decked wall'! Can you spot your Christmas card?

Decking my halls

2009-12-10T17:19:00.005-05:00

This is what I do with all my Christmas cards. Can you spot the one you sent our family? =) If you click on the picture you can see the cards better!

What mischievious boys do on a gluten free diet...

2009-11-22T17:18:00.005-05:00

This morning I purchased a dozen donuts for my Sunday School class at church. I brought the leftovers home and put them on the counter. I'm not sure how many he ate (no more than 2 I'm thinking) but when I went to check on Austin this is what I found. So much for a gluten free diet today!

Sorry for the dark pictures, my battery was dying!

Gluten Free update and HELP!

2009-11-15T14:50:00.010-05:00

Many of you have asked how the Gluten Free diet is going so here it is!

Austin is still on the Gluten Free diet although I have to admit I've had SEVERAL days where I either wish he wasn't or that I feel bad that I'm making him do it. Some days are really easy and other days are really hard. We've recently had quite a few birthdays in my family (with mine coming around the corner!) so I made Austin the Betty Crocker Gluten Free Brownies. He loves them! He actually gets mad at me when I cut him off from the chocolately goodness. =)

Austin is only on the Gluten Free diet at the time. I'll do this diet for a time and then *hopefully* we'll add in the Casein free diet as well. (No milk/dairy) I have read that the casein free diet may help with digestion and self stimming but haven't really seen anything about the GF diet doing that. Austin stims a lot and sometimes we stop him, sometimes we don't. It all depends on how distracting it is for the rest of us!

I haven't seen a ton of changes in Austin since I started the GF diet but all books/articles state that it can take up to a year to clear all Gluten from your body so I'll give it at least a year and go from there. His teacher has seen changes in him at school though. She claims he's more attentive, willing to sit in his chair, and able to follow directions better. He's also started making some new sounds/pitches with his voice recently so that could possibly be from the diet as well.

On to other things...

HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!

Several months ago, Austin started yelling at the TV. It's not 'inside' voice level that you can tolerate either. It's the top of your lungs (or close to it) yelling with all his might. Thankfully, Andrew is gracious enough to keep quiet and has yet to tell his brother to be quiet or to complain that he can't hear the movie. Mommy on the other hand is quickly losing her patience and her mind. I cannot stand him yelling at the TV. He does it every 5-10 seconds for the ENTIRE movie. We've tried redirecting him, we've tried pausing the movie and talking to him, and we've tried sending him to his room. Nothing works. Plus pausing the movie isn't fair for Andrew. I seriously am contemplating getting those noise reducing ear muffs.

Seriously, it's that bad. I get a headache and my patience gets paper thin. We purchased him a weighted vest (more on that later when I have a bit more sanity) but we haven't seen the slightest change with his yelling. Any and all comments are welcome!

*The video is of quiet yelling. To get a true impression, turn your volume up all the way. =) And no, he doesn't always sit this close to the TV. I've just reached the end of my patience and don't care at the moment! ;)

THANK YOU WALMART!

2009-11-08T18:56:00.003-05:00

Okay so keeping up with the gluten free diet is hard. Not only do you have to give up what you love but it's stinkin' expensive. Seriously, I pay $6.50 (unless it's on sale!) for bread mix for my bread maker. Ben and I were in Walmart here in town (they're nearly finished converting our Walmart into a Super Walmart) checking out the new layout and food displays that they've been working on. Would you believe I saw a sign that read 'Gluten free'! The other Super Walmart near our house doesn't carry but one or two gluten free items but this new Super Walmart has a whole section for it! WHOOO HOOO! Go ahead, ask my husband. I did a happy dance right there in the middle of the aisle. LOL The bread mix I mentioned above is going to cost me $4.88 at Super Walmart! Not only that but they had 10 (or more) different kinds of cereals and a bunch of other items I didn't know existed. I'm so thrilled to know I can now shop at ONE store for ALL my needs. I usually shop at Walmart or another grocery store and then head to the health food store for Austin's gluten free food but now I don't have to!

Can you tell I'm really excited?!? Hee Hee!

Thank you Walmart!

Just helping myself, that's all Mom!

2009-10-18T16:25:00.004-04:00

I made a fresh loaf of Gluten Free bread this afternoon. I cut it in half to cool so I could freeze half of it. Then I left it on the counter to cool. A few minutes later, I found Austin at the table eating one half of the bread.

Family pictures!

2009-10-09T15:05:00.003-04:00

A few days ago, our family had professional pictures taken by a good friend of ours. She just started her photography business and she's really good! Oh course, Andrew just HAD to be clingy that day and would not leave Ben's lap for the pictures. When we did manage to get him off his lap for the 'couples' picture, we couldn't get him back for another try at a family picture! Three year olds. They have such a mind of their own, don't they? Anyway, enjoy the pictures!

Click here to view!

Pictures

2009-09-29T19:49:00.008-04:00

Wondering where I've been? I was able to attend the annual M.O.P.S. (Mothers Of PreSchoolers) convention held in Nashville, TN this year. Ben held up the fort (and the GF diet!) while I was away for 4 days without the kids! Last year it was held in Grapevine, TX as you can see here.

Here are some funny pictures of Andrew. Even though he's attempting to cut out his nap, he still can't quite make it all day without one.

Sunday afternoon Ben fell asleep on the couch and Andrew wanted to be with him. So what's a 3 year old to do? Climb right on top of sleeping daddy and lean over and watch his face and...fall asleep in the process. Haha! He slept practically upside down for 45 minutes!

No Gluten!

2009-09-18T16:20:00.004-04:00

Last night I made a BBQ chicken sandwich meal (just like shredded BBQ beef but with chicken) and it dawned on me to check the ingredients on the BBQ sauce label. We love Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce and 'modified food starch' was listed. I've read somewhere online that modified food starch can sometimes contain gluten so unfortunately I didn't feed the yummy dinner to Austin (and Andrew) but gave them an alternative that was just as yummy. I emailed the BBQ sauce company and they quickly replied by this morning saying "Sweet Baby Ray's Products do NOT contain any gluten!" WHOO HOO!

New loaf of GF bread and cute video

2009-09-15T18:32:00.004-04:00

Today I made my 2nd loaf of GF bread. This time I tried another box mix and it came out MUCH better. The color looks more like typical bread and it's nice and moist. Here's a picture of the box. It gives you options on which ingredients you can use but for this loaf I chose the milk, whole eggs, and butter. The other option is water, egg whites, and vegetable oil.

Once we had finished dinner, Austin started rocking himself to sleep and I quickly grabbed my ancient camera with no sound and videotaped it. =) The food in front of Austin is his GF bread with peanut butter on it. He ate the peanut butter off the bread cause I gave him the heel. Silly kid.

GF Diet update

2009-09-14T15:16:00.003-04:00

For now on I've decided not to post daily on Austin's food schedule but to post when we come upon a solution, problem, or discovery. Here's the latest:

Problem: Tonight I had planned on making a pot roast with potatoes, celery, and carrots. Gluten free, right? Right. Yeah for another gluten free meal! Well as I was preparing it, I read the ingredients of the seasoning and go figure the seasoning has gluten in it. Boo.

Solution: I have a package of single serve ham steaks in the fridge that only need heating before serving! Thankfully, Austin won't care a bit.

Discovery: Two days ago, Austin did something he's NEVER done. Do I chalk it up to him growing up and changing or could this be a subtle change from his diet? Hmmm.

I was sitting on the couch watching the news and Austin walked up to me, climbed up on the couch, wiggled himself under my arm, wrapped his arm around me, and snuggled. For the first time ever. Even as an infant, Austin hated snuggling. He had to face out at all times or he'd cry. When Austin is sick, he does lay around a lot BUT the only way he allows us to snuggle with him is for us to cover his ear with our hand. (strange I know but he loves it). We can't put an arm on him, play with his hair, nothing. This time he loved it. =) I sat there for 20 minutes, loving the change!

Hopefully there will be more to come!

Gluten Free Day #5

2009-09-13T13:34:00.004-04:00

Forgot to post Day #5 so here it is!

Breakfast: WHOO HOO! We finally had success! I gave Austin the Envirokidz Leapin- Lemurs GF cereal (peanut butter and chocolate flavored) and he LOVED it!

Lunch: ate leftover GF pizza, GF pretzels (which taste exactly like regular ones), and yogurt

Dinner: Kelbasa and baked beans (one of our family's favorite meals and it just happens to be gluten free!)

A friend who is also on the GF diet let me borrow her Gluten Free, Casein Free Diet book and I love it!! It's easy reading and is written by a bunch of parents who's kids are on the diet. It's full of helpful tips and things you wonder about such as 'what to do on vacation', 'how to handle Halloween candy' (for casein free mostly), etc. Some of it is a little confusing cause she'll recommend not eating an item and then it takes me a minute to realize it's because it's dairy. We're not doing that diet just yet!

This book was written by parents who live in our area and it states on the back that it's $15 so if anyone is interested in purchasing it, I can see if I can get one for you.

Gluten Free Day #4

2009-09-11T20:44:00.003-04:00

Today was a better day, food-wise. Still no real success with breakfast. Austin ate the GF toast this morning with peanut butter and he ate a 1/4 of it. Trying a different GF cereal tomorrow. *sigh*

Lunch today was the same as usual.

For dinner, my sis decided to come over with her kids for a playdate. We planned on having pizza so I racked my brain at what to give Austin since he couldn't eat the pizza dough. I decided to try our local health food store in search of a gluten free pizza so he wouldn't feel left out. When I walked into the store (never been in it before) I was overjoyed! The gluten free section was a good size AND they had a freezer section too! Another tip from me: Check your local health food store!!!! Yes, some items were more expensive but I found 3 kinds of GF pizzas! While I was there I also purchase cereal and cheese crackers. Dinner was a huge success! He loved the pizza and ate 3/4 of it! (It was slightly bigger than a Pizza Hut personal pan pizza)

Another helpful tip: Quaker's Quakes Rice snacks are gluten free! I bought Austin the caramel ones today but have yet to see if he likes them. If not, I know I do! =)

Gluten Free Day #3

2009-09-10T17:41:00.003-04:00

We did pretty good again today. Still not much success regarding breakfast but that was mostly my fault. I ran out of GF bread so he had to have cereal instead. I'm going to pick up some more GF cereals tomorrow and see if he prefers something else. Isn't the guessing game just fun?!? Lunch was spent at school and I haven't heard anything negative so I'm not worrying about that yet. Dinner tonight was hot dogs (need to go grocery shopping!) which is always a hit. Austin never ate a bun before the diet so this wasn't any change for him.

I made my first loaf of GF bread with my new breadmaker! It does look a little strange on the outside but I tasted it and I even like it! If any of you are thinking about trying the diet, I'd highly recommend finding what works for your family regarding breads. Some make their breads by hand but frankly I don't have the time to do it! I'm lucky if my house is picked up sometimes! So, if you're like me, get a breadmaker and don't bother with the store bought bread. The first kind we tried was called Tapioca bread from a grocery store called Hannaford. Don't bother. Just step away from the breads and don't look back. You'll thank me for it. =)

Now that I have a whole loaf of GF bread, Austin will try it in the toast form tomorrow.

Gluten Fee Day #2

2009-09-09T22:29:00.004-04:00

A bit more successful than yesterday but still a little bump. I'm having trouble with finding something Austin enjoys for breakfast. This morning I offered him a GF cereal bar. He ate a bite, kept it in his mouth awhile. I then slathered it in peanut butter (which he loves) and he ate another bite. Then he gave it back to me. =) Sooo, tomorrow we're shooting for a different kind of toast. A fellow RTS mommy gave me the idea of a GF cereal her daughter enjoys so once I buy that, we'll try that too!

I'm guessing lunch went okay at school but the lunch bags were accidentally left at the school so I'm not sure what he ate. I didn't hear otherwise so I guess no news is good news.

I was extra brave with dinner! My parents took Andrew off our hands for the afternoon/early evening so Ben and I decided to try Burger King with Austin. I asked the lady at the register for a dietary breakdown since our son is on a new diet and would you believe they have a large, fold out menu completely broken down and stating if it contained any grains! WHOO HOO! So, Austin ate the grilled chicken with no bun (I cut it into cubes) with french fries and he loved it! Success!

By the way, I purchased a breadmaker (thank you craiglist!) still in the original packaging for $40 this afternoon. Going to try that tomorrow!

I'll close with a couple of pictures. One is of Andrew helping Ben wash the car and the other is a picture of Andrew's organizational ability. Can you tell he loves the Cars movie?

Gluten Free Day #1

2009-09-08T20:11:00.004-04:00

Well today was semi-successful! I started Austin's day with gluten free toast with peanut butter. He took a big bite, chewed a bit, and gagged on it. He then took another bite, then burst into tears and handed it back to me. He does NOT like gluten free bread! I do have some mixes that others have tried and said they're really good so there's still hope! I tried the bread myself and it was like biting into a dried up sponge (not that I've ever done that!). So his breakfast was gluten free cereal this morning instead.

I sent him to school with a gluten free lunch (minus the pb&j sandwich I planned on making him with that nasty bread) and his teacher said he loved it. For dinner, I had planned on making a lasagna but didn't want to leave Austin out since he can't eat the pasta (haven't bought them GF kind yet) so I made him a GF Penne Rigate instead. The dishes cook for roughly the same amount of time and use nearly identical ingredients. I just used the GF Penne noodles. He loved it! Even had seconds!

So day 1 is over and I'm trying another kind of bread tomorrow. This one was handmade by a friend who is also on the diet so he SHOULD like this one. I'm also trying a GF cereal bar for breakfast tomorrow since the GF rice chex bored him a bit. =)

Bottom pic is from today as we were waiting for the bus!

Tomorrow is the big day!

2009-09-07T21:14:00.003-04:00

Tomorrow is not only the first day of school for Austin but it's also the day we start our gluten free diet with him. After doing a bit of research, it's surprised me how much CAN eat. The only really hard part will be eating out (which I'll blog about). I've had many people tell me how gross the gluten free bread is but I decided to try it with Austin anyway. The kid will eat anything so I thought if I used it for just toast it might work out. We'll see! Right now, I'm looking for a bread maker (on craigslist and in stores) so I can make bread that actually tastes good! Thankfully, I don't have to worry about his diet at school. His teacher is on the diet as most of his classmates are as well. As soon as I'm able to get a note from Austin's pediatrician that states he is now on the GF diet, I should be able to get free GF meals for Austin for school lunches. I may have heard wrong on that but we'll see. The ped's office was closed today so I'll try again tomorrow!

And here it goes!

2009-09-03T13:31:00.003-04:00

Well it's official. We are going to put Austin on the gluten free diet. We've decided to wait to try the casein free diet since doing it all at once sounds so complicated. I've got enough to worry about without adding more!

This morning I had to run to the store (forgot to purchase ingredients for a meal) so I decided to keep my eye out for gluten free items. I was 3/4 of the way through the store and hadn't seen a thing til I saw the Rice Chex cereal. There were 3 kinds of Chex that said they were gluten free! Once I got the bread aisle, I found a relatively small section of nothing but gluten free items! I was soo delighted to see it but when I saw the prices, my heart sank. I'm going to have to take out a small loan to pay for this diet! I'm used to paying under $1 for spaghetti and the gluten free stuff was $3.99! Yes, this is the only store I've shopped at so I'm going to look around and check Aldi's, Super Walmart, and our local health food store and see who's cheapest but good grief! I stocked up on several gluten free foods (regardless of price, just to get started) and here is what I got:

Rice Chex cereal
semi-sweet chocolate chips
Betty Crocker brownie mix
Betty Crocker yellow cake mix
Betty Crocker chocolate chip cookie mix
Spaghetti noodles
Chocolate Caramel bite size cookies
Bread mix (thought it might be cheaper to make it myself but we'll see!)

I will be frequently blogging about my attempts at this diet for Austin and what changes we see since many are curious about it. I still have a ton of questions about what he can eat and what he can't so once I figure out a few days worth of gluten free meals we'll start Austin on it.

GFCF Diet

2009-09-02T12:55:00.003-04:00

After hearing so much good stuff about the gluten free, casein free diet I think I may try it with Austin. He seems to be at a stand still learning-wise and a small amount of aggression has shown it's ugly face. Thankfully, I know several people who use the diet and can help me but the whole idea of making sure Austin eats ONLY GFCF foods sounds really hard. He's the kid that will go up to just about anybody and take food from them or beg them for it. And then there's the thought of 'what if he wants something he cannot have?'. It's all rather daunting. If you use the diet or know someone who does, let me know how they started! The cupboards are becoming bare so a grocery shopping trip is in the near future so any help would be appreciated!

Austin is toothless!

2009-08-25T17:49:00.003-04:00

Pictures!

2009-08-18T19:08:00.009-04:00

I just realized I forgot to add the pictures from Andrew's first day of soccer so here they are:

A couple of Andrew's coaches watching him while waiting for class to start

A recurring theme: the coaches making Andrew hold his hands behind his back to encourage him to keep his hands off the ball. =)

Andrew's first day of soccer, Austin swims!

2009-08-18T18:41:00.007-04:00

Today was Andrew's first day of playing soccer with other 3 & 4 year olds at the Y. He did so good at following directions! He absolutely loved it and we're looking forward to it again next Tuesday. The video is of Andrew just playing around while we were waiting for class to start. Next week I'll share a video of him doing drills. It's just too cute!
Here's the video I promised of Austin swimming! Our next door neighbors are gracious enough to let us use their pool whenever we want! Just 3 visits ago to the pool, Austin would only sit on the stairs and occasionally make me hold him while I brought him around the pool. One day, Austin decided to swim! We didn't teach him anything! He treads water, pushes off the side of pool, keeps water out of his mouth, and floats on his back ALL BY HIMSELF!! This is huge for him since he is evaluated around the mental age of 2/3 yrs old. I'll make sure to get a video of him floating on his back, it's quite funny! So enjoy the video of Austin doing something he taught himself! (Can you tell I'm excited?!?)

Yes, that's Ben in the background with his leg propped up on a floatie. He broke his foot playing soccer 3 weeks ago. =)

Wordless Wednesday

2009-08-05T15:42:00.003-04:00

So it's been a while

2009-08-04T13:20:00.004-04:00

I haven't been in the mood to blog lately. Sure there is always plenty to say but frankly, sometimes I enjoy just reading everyone else's blogs! Our family just returned from a vacation to New Hampshire for a family reunion and of course I brought my camera. I just happened to leave the memory card at home. =( Boo! We visited the Boston Aquarium (not impressed I must say-Baltimore is much better) and the Clarks Trading Post in NH.

Summer is winding down and next week is Austin's last week of summer school. We'll then have 2 weeks of 'free time' and then school starts back up! I have some ideas in mind for a new routine to set up with Austin but haven't figured out a good time of day to impliment it. Hmmm. More about that later.

Birthday Pictures

2009-07-21T20:51:00.011-04:00

How the time flys...

Andrew (10 mo)

Andrew's 1st Birthday

Andrew's 3rd Birthday

I am happy (actually I'm quite thrilled!) to say I finally got to see one of my kids blow out their birthday candle for the first time this year! Insignificant to some, but I was so excited!

Andrew is turning 3!

2009-07-13T13:26:00.005-04:00

Since Andrew's birthday is Saturday, I thought I'd get his 3 year pictures done this morning. Boy, was that fun! LOL He was incredibly hyper and didn't want to do anything asked of him. He held onto a yellow shovel the entire time and sometimes would put a bucket on his head for the picture. =) There were also moments of quacking like a duck and jumping up and down. Anyway, I did get two decent poses and bought one of them (the one without the shovel showing) so I was happy!

Last day of school pic and 4th of July

2009-07-06T13:30:00.007-04:00

Okay, so yeah I'm putting this up really late but it's here now so enjoy it.=) Austin finished school the end of June so it's not that late! BTW, I didn't realize it til I loaded the page but Austin's face is awful shiny! No, it's not sweat...it's sunscreen!

Our spring/summer here in Northern NY has been quite chilly. Our 4th of July was no different! It was windy and mid 60's! Brrr! Here's a pic of my dad enjoying the sound of the ocean and view of the palm trees with Andrew (he was pretending he was sitting somewhere warmer!). The boys wore matching patriotic shirts but it was too cold to show them off. =(

Wordless Wednesday

2009-06-24T13:31:00.003-04:00

Not Quite What I Meant

2009-06-23T12:48:00.003-04:00

Andrew is an avid colorer. He'll easily color for a half hour straight or even longer if someone colors with him. Well, this morning Andrew was refusing to pick up his crayons. Here's our conversation:

Me: Andrew, pick up your crayons now. If you don't pick them up, I'll take them away for the rest of the day.

Andrew: (silence)

Me: Andrew, pick them up now. I'm going to take them away and you won't be allowed to color the rest of the day.

Andrew: (silence)

Me: Ok then, no more coloring today. I pick up the crayons and put them on a shelf.

Andrew: Good choice Mom! You picked up the crayons! You did it!

Umm, yeah. Not what I had in mind. LOL

Austin lost tooth #4!

2009-06-20T13:50:00.003-04:00

For the last few days, Austin has had a very loose top front tooth. By today, it was literally hanging on by it's last thread. =) A few minutes ago, Austin bravely let me pull the rest of it out!

A worthy cause and my backward children

2009-06-15T15:48:00.001-04:00

A friend of mine from church, Christian Crafter is currently holding an auction on her blog to help raise funds to send the youth of our church on a missions trip run by World Changers. Stop by her blog to see what's up for auction and to find out more about where the funds will go!

Now, I'm sure you all want to know how in the world my kids could be backward. =) As you all know, we're in 'semi potty training mode' with our boys, both at the same time. We're not pushing it but giving them plenty of opportunity to succeed when the moment arrives (great wording for that huh?). So, most kids learn to pee on the toilet first, learn to poop next, then train for stay dry overnight. MOST kids. Not mine. Like I said, backwards.

Andrew has managed to stay dry overnight for at least 5 nights in a row now. Does he go during the day? Nope. (he did have one success this morning though!) Austin has pooped in the toilet 4 times in the last 4 days. Does he pee in the toilet? Nope. Backward kids. Am I grateful? YOU BETCHA!

Thrilling news from Austin's school

2009-06-12T13:07:00.004-04:00

Well, I've back off on potty training Andrew for the time being. I haven't quit (much to his dismay) but we've reverted to pull ups. This seems to be working out just fine for him (and myself) and I'm convinced he'll just decide one day to cooperate when I take him potty. =)

I had thought of trying to potty train Austin again while training Andrew but as soon as he started giving me fits about it, I realized there's no way I can do them both at the same time. At least not now anyway. Austin was 1/2 trained when he was 4ish and would consistently go as long as we took him. He never told us he needed to use the potty but we didn't give up. After a 2 week break (no clue what caused this, possibly a surgery), Austin seemed to have forgotten how to go. No matter what we did, he wouldn't go. So, it's been 3 years since Austin went potty somewhere other than his pull up.

TILL TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I got a call from Austin's teacher and she said she had a great news for me about Austin that she wanted to share! Okay, so a big part of me was dying to hear that he had said his first word but the news was still thrilling. She then put Austin's aid on the phone, and Mrs. C told me that Austin had been rather gassy this morning so she decided (for the first time) to take him to the nurse's room and put him on the toilet. After 10 minutes of sitting, Austin started yelling at her. Mrs. C, figuring he was sick of sitting, picked him up and noticed that he'd had success! He must have been yelling to tell her he was done! Let me remind you, he's 7 and it's been 3 years since this has happened. WHOO HOO!!!

It doesn't end there! A couple of hours later, Mrs. C calls me again and tells me they were out at the playground and she noticed that Austin was squatting so she whisked him up to the nurse's room again. Success again!

As exciting as this may be, I am skeptical. I do hope I am proved wrong but when he gets home from school we're going to start taking him to the bathroom regularly again. Hey, who knows, maybe Andrew will get jealous!

day #3

2009-06-10T11:01:00.003-04:00

My goodness my son has the largest stubborn streak ever. Tena, I think he's right up there with Avery! After a 'small' accident after waking up this morning, he thrilled me by staying dry while I went grocery shopping for over an hour! I thought for sure he'd go while we were out. So, my stubborn little man has sat on the potty ever since. And he's STILL holding it. It's been 3 hours...can we have success this round?

Potty training Day #2-small success

2009-06-09T19:41:00.005-04:00

Wow, what a stressful day! I have a headache from it all! Today we had roughly 3 accidents and 2 (and a half) successes. Andrew sat on the potty for over and hour (and held it quite well in fact) then decided to empty his bladder on my dining room floor. I thanked the Lord it wasn't the carpet!

He woke up from his nap and I promptly put him on the toilet to his dismay. Not the place he wanted to be. Deciding to try a different route, I lugged out the potty seat and placed it in the living room and hoped for success there. This is where the 'half' success came in. He peed, but only half of it made it in the potty seat. The joy of having boys. =) I took this as a success and he had his treat and the whole hoopla.

Our next round included Andrew holding it for over 3 hours. We had to rotate between the toilet and the potty seat cause he kept complaining his butt hurt! It finally got the point where the stinkin' child is DRIPPING but is still trying to hold it in. I had to hold him there while he cried. =( Broke my heart but then I quickly realized that when he cried, he couldn't hold it in. He then went 5 times (each time he realizes he's going, he stops midstream!) so we've had 'small' success today. Good thing I'm just as stubborn as he is. LOL

Let the potty training begin...ugh

2009-06-08T15:52:00.003-04:00

Well I decided to start potty training Andrew this week since I have pretty much nothing on my calendar. He is sooo ready but has yet to actually 'go' in the toilet. Today he's had 4 accidents in his underwear (with plasic pants over them) but 3 out of 4 times he's announced his accident after the fact. The 4th time he was watching a movie with Austin. =)

So for the next several days, you'll get to hear all the high and lows of potty training at our house. That is your forwarning for talk of bodily functions. =)

The interesting part of Andrew's 'readiness' for potty training is he won't use his diaper/pull up while sleeping. Several times a week (and the last 3 times he's slept), he'll wait until we've shut the door and off comes the diaper. He quite capable of holding it but we always find his diaper on the floor and have to put it back on him while he's sleeping. Since I 'banished' diapers this morning, I had him wear a pull up for naptime. Well of course, he removed the pull up during his nap-then proceeded to poop on his bed. So nice of him to keep his pull up completely clean, isn't it?

I think it'll all click once he can go in the toilet but until then, we'll keep plugging along.

UPDATE
Well, Andrew is in bed now and I hate to say we didn't have any success today. In terms of peeing in the toilet anyway. He's willingly trying to go so that's success in my book. There's always tomorrow...

Pics of Austin

2009-06-07T15:07:00.007-04:00

Ben and I recently went to D.C. without the kids, leaving Austin with my parents. My mom took a bunch of pictures of Austin and here are some I thought I'd share!

Austin swinging on their swingset (he did this for an hour!)

Austin's Papa helping him eat at McDonald's

Austin being silly

Austin and his cousin 'A'
She's 3 1/2 years, Austin is 7 and they're the exact same weight and height!

Austin's yearly checkup

2009-06-03T13:54:00.003-04:00

This morning I took Austin to the pediatrician for his yearly checkup. It actually went quite well. He cooperated for everything but the tongue depressor and of course, cried hysterically for the shot. He calmed down much quicker than usual so that was nice! No huge gains in the growth department but his height did take a *small* leap. His Dr. actually told me Austin needs to weigh a little bit more than he does. I explained to her that children with RTS often become overweight/obese since they grow so slowly and aren't typically 'tall' so Ben and I monitor what Austin eats and how much of it. He rarely eats sweets as well. So as of today we have the go ahead to let him chow down more often with more calories!

Here are his stats:

6 Year Check up: 34 pounds 38 1/2 inches tall

7 Year Check up: 35 pounds 40 inches tall

On the RTS growth chart he's around 5% for height and around 7% for weight.

Very small child even compared with others with RTS. =)

Yeah, it's been a while..

2009-06-02T15:14:00.004-04:00

Okay, so I haven't blogged in a long time. No good excuse, just nothing all too exciting going on here. =)

Today I received a report in Austin's backpack that upset me. Not real bad but frustrated me none the less. Austin was graded in gym class on his physical fitness. And, yep, they grouped him with all the other 'typical' kids grades and of course sent home the results with the capitals letters FAIL circled. I'm well aware of Austin's delays and there's no doubt in my mind he failed the test. But my goodness, did I seriously need to see it yet AGAIN on paper?!? You'd think the teacher would at least make a short remark on the bottom of SOMETHING positive he can do! I got to sit in on Austin's gym class a couple of week ago and I was thrilled at what he was doing! Granted they were modified, but he was doing sit ups and push ups right along with the other kids. Yes, he may have been slower and his feet weren't on the floor but the idea of it was so exciting! Here is what he was tested on:

Sit ups
Pull ups
Shuttle run (quickness test)-Fair for boys is 11.5-13.3 Austin got a 31.
Sit N Reach (touching toes)-he couldn't do it
Push ups
Squat Thrusts
5 minute Run-he just learned to run in the last year!

Okay, so I guess I'm just not thrilled with all this. He's attending a different school next year so hopefully his new gym teacher will be a bit more encouraging.

I think I need to go find some chocolate...

Austin is 7!

2009-05-16T11:27:00.005-04:00

Yesterday was Austin's 7th birthday...my goodness...he's 7. I'm telling you, the last 3 years have flown by. But then again, when I think about it, Andrew was born 3 years ago. LOL Ben is out of town for the weekend as well as my parents but I had a small get together at the bowling alley anyway. I think Andrew enjoyed it more than Austin but it was fun! Austin loved standing over the blowers where the balls are. =) Thank you to all who gave me ideas for his birthday! Austin did receive the Handy Manny tool box (although when Austin is at school, Andrew claims it as his) as suggested! I'll have a great Christmas list for him this year with the rest of the suggestions!

Wide Eyed Wonder

2009-05-14T14:12:00.004-04:00

Ok, so my apologies for the fingerprints on the fishtank and the freaky looking fish up close but I loved Andrew's expression!

PBS Ready, Set, Fun!

2009-05-09T13:42:00.006-04:00

This morning I took the kids to our local fairgrounds for the annual PBS Ready, Set, Fun! Local businesses, authors, etc. all come and set up booths all geared toward reading, learning, and exploration. Every year the kids come home with lots of books (they give them away!), stickers, pencils, etc.

One booth had an obstacle course set up and lo and behold, Austin was interested!! Austin has an extreme fear of being unstable and unbalanced. I put Austin at the opening of the tunnel and he went through with only a slight bit of encouragement! The second tunnel I didn't have to encourage him at all! I was so proud of him!

In The Grip Of Grace

My first 5k is coming up!

Let the communication begin!

Lovin' this spring weather!

Rallying for Kameron

Take a break from aftertaste with a FREE sample.

I *almost* got to use my fire extinguisher!

My first run

Footed pj's!

Is it happening?

One Year Ago Today...

Happy 3 Months Jack!

Being serenaded at 2am

A few pics just because...

I finally got it on camera!

Pictures from Christmas!

Why hello there neglected blog!

My big boy

And the winner is...

Jack's arrival and pictures

Still pregnant!

38 weeks pregnant tomorrow!

Andrew has laryngitis!

OB update and pics

Let's play catch up!

Just to clear things up!

OB checkup and some old pictures

Pregnancy Update

Pregnancy Update

Andrew is 4!

Today I hate RTS

My view from above

Dr. visit update

Flashback!!!

Good catch...bad mommy

It's a....

Austin's idea of having fun

Pregnancy Picture Update

Austin's new stroller

My chunky monkey

OB checkup

Being 8 is just soo tough!

Picture of the new sleeping arrangement-minus the new beds!

Embracing becoming a mother to 3...AHHHH!!!

Austin's 8th birthday

Wanted: Advice and Ideas!

Austin's school pictures

Pregnancy Pictures

Pictures of Austin's accomplishment!

One small step...

Here we grow again...

Check back on Thursday...

Part Three

Yes, I will finish it!

Ben's surgery Part Two

Our trip to Arizona- Part One

Here at the Mayo Clinic

Happy New Year!

Success!

My son is a tattletale...on himself!

Decking my halls

What mischievious boys do on a gluten free diet...

Gluten Free update and HELP!

THANK YOU WALMART!

Just helping myself, that's all Mom!

Family pictures!

Pictures

No Gluten!

New loaf of GF bread and cute video

GF Diet update

Gluten Free Day #5

Gluten Free Day #4

Gluten Free Day #3

Gluten Fee Day #2

Gluten Free Day #1

Tomorrow is the big day!

And here it goes!

GFCF Diet

Austin is toothless!

Pictures!

I almost got to use my fire extinguisher!