catching up

Once again I have been lagging on keeping the blog up to date. It's been very busy around here with 3 boys playing baseball (one of them playing on two teams) and dad head coaching one team and assisting with two more. Basically I just grab Bryson and go where my schedules tell me to go. Other than baseball, not much has gone on. We have had some storm damage that will require a new roof and some ceiling repairs - that's all minor in my opinion.

Mother's Day was a couple of weeks ago. It's really a special day for me. I consider myself the luckiest mom in the world. I have four healthy, happy, gorgeous boys who make me crazy and make me smile every single day. My oldest is too old for all that sweet stuff now but my two middle ones can melt my heart. Jackson will sometimes tell me out of the blue "you're beautiful Mom". Nathan is my little sweetie who never fails to bring me flowers for no reason and they both love to make cards and drawings for me. Of course I keep them all and if I had enough wall space I would frame each one. My house is large, but not that large.

Today is my Jackson's 5th birthday. He is so excited he can hardly stand still. He can't wait to be five, can't wait to go to Kindergarten and can't wait to play baseball for WKU and the Cincinnati Reds. Since it's his birthday, I will talk a little about him. Jackson is a gorgeous child....deep dark brown eyes that are huge and a smile that will melt your heart. He is a mischevious little child and will now and then say a bad word when he thinks no one is listening. He has a major obsession with sports - all sports, not just one sport, all sports. He is particularly fond of basketball and baseball and for someone who just turned 5 today, he is a "stud" at both". He is not only good, he knows the games, the rules, the scoring, etc. He learned to count by twos and threes by shooting basketball every day this winter and spring. I have watched him hit 9 out of 10 shots on an 8 foot goal more than once. His love for baseball is unlike anything I've seen. He is playing 5/6 yo pee wee this year - the Padres. When he bats, he holds his hand up to call time (even when there is no umpire behind the plate) to take a couple of swings. When someone doesn't do something right on the field, he points it out to all involved. He asks the coach when he gets to first base if he can "lead off". It's a real hoot watching him. I could go on and on about him and some of the funny things he says but I haven't got all day.

Anyway, on this day, I am ever so thankful for my third little baby boy - 7lbs 15 oz boy with a head full of black hair that stuck straight up for the first year of his life. God has truly blessed us with these boys....they are all different and all so precious to me. I love you Jackson - on your 5th birthday - (we're going to "Crabs" for dinner tonight (that's Red Lobster).

neverending excitement

I didn't realize I had not posted in almost a month; that was not my plan when I started this thing. Oh well, times gets away from me sometimes. Things have been going quite well here; we are finally over all the illnesses and getting started in baseball, playing church basketball and enjoying March Madness (GO TOPS!!). We've had 75 degree days and also 4 or 5 inches of snow. My 3 youngest boys had never seen that much. Nolan, Nathan and Jackson were able to play on the golf course in the snow for a bit, while our amazingly smart puppy Bailey, took a swim in the ice cold pond. Apparently icy water has little effect on her.

A couple of other interesting things have gone on too; Nolan's high school won the regional tournament and will play in the State tourney beginning this week at Corrupt Arena (inside joke). During the district tournament, I was able to make it to a game; the finals. Nolan went with friends (he always ditches us these days) and spent the night with a doctor/co-worker of mine and his son. The next day I picked him up and he had something in his left eye...this something wouldn't flush out. Turns out, it was metal. Had a little eye surgery on the 9th; got the metal out and then polished out the rust ring. He was patched for 24 hours and then went back to see Dr. Tade. They eye healed nicely but it definitely had a chunk out of it for a few days. The metal went in about 1/2 way down into the cornea. Nolan was allowed to miss a day of school so he wasn't too torn up over this.

We then went a whole two weeks with no real excitement...until today. I have this little saying that goes ..."unless you have a bone sticking out or blood coming out an orifice, you're fine". Well, today I ate my words. I have managed to make it through 3 boys without anything in an orifice (except that chewing gum incident with Nolan's nose when he was 5 or 6- it came out so that doesn't count). This morning around 10 I was working and Nathan (spring break wk 2) was playing; I heard Bryson begin to cry...one of those "I am in pain bigtime cries". Nathan suggested that he hit his head but when I picked him up, he was not rubbing his head. I couldnt' find anything until I saw blood on his hand....then blood pouring out of his left ear. This, cannot be a good thing. After a bit of investigation, it was determined that my sweet little baby boy who never gets into anything or gets into trouble, jabbed a Qtip into his EAR. Blood from the ear really is not a good sign so after a call to peds, we ended up at the ENT with our friend and fellow baseball dad, Hugh.

Yes, when my children do something, they do it well. Bryson punctured about 20% of the area of his eardrum. The plan now is drops x 10 days and then a recheck. If it's not healed in 10 days, a trip to the OR will ensue for a patch to close the area. We won't know about hearing loss for a few weeks or a month and if there is loss, there is nothing we can do to treat it. What have we learned from this??? Hide the Q-tips where the child cannot reach them. He has never seen anyone use a Qtip so I am not sure why he discerned that the Qtip should be placed in his ear canal....I will assume he is a genius! The first dose of drops did not go over well with my otherwise jovial baby boy and I fear the next 19 doses will share the same outcome. I pray for no infection and quick healing; I do not like having my little boys taken to the OR for any reason, even if it's minor.

I suppose that is all I'll write about for now. I think 2 foreign objects in body parts is quite enough for a while. My friend Deb told me today that she doesn't know how I'm so calm when these things happen; that has always been my nature - the calm one during crisis. With 4 boys, you cannot be to spastic but I do think I will tweak my signature phrase regarding bones sticking out and blood coming from an orifice...I'll think on that and get back to you!

"Motherhood has relaxed me in many ways. You learn to deal with crisis. I've become a juggler I suppose. It's all a big circus and nobody who knows me believes I can manage, but I do." Jane Seymour

Big News

As everyone who knows us can attest, baseball has been a primary part of our lives since Nolan was 4. We've been thru it all, tee ball, pee wee, little league, prep league, travel ball, state tournaments, world series, laughter, tears, joy, anger, the works. Nolan has always been a great player. His fundamentals are the best out there hands down. He tried out for high school ball last year and didn't make it as an 8th grader because he was "too small". Yes, he is small but he can outplay anyone out there. So, he waited, trained, got stronger and this year tried out again.

Now unless you have a child who is a good athlete and tries out for various teams, all star teams, etc., you have no idea what the waiting is like (for the parents I mean). It is pure torture; horrific and painful and LONG! We had a feeling that Nolan would make the team but you just never know. All the schools in our county/city have Freshman teams except ours, so in the other schools, everyone makes it. It's not like that at Greenwood....it's only the most talented (for the most part - occasionally one slips in who isn't that great but...).

This past Tuesday, the 19th, Nolan got the word from the coach that he made the JV team. He will be playing 2nd and shortstop. Of course, two people called to tell me before Nolan even got home so I had some quiet time to scream, yell and jump up and down prior to his arrival. I also had time to make a balloon run and get some yellow and green balloons out in the driveway for him when he arrived.

The only thing that really bugs me about this whole situation is how unexciteable Nolan is. He is so much like his dad....we could win the lottery and they would just smile slightly and nothing more. (Thank goodness Nathan and Jackson are like me and go crazy when they are excited). I am in the foyer jumping up and down with Nolan (dragging him up and down is really how it happened) and he looks at me like I'm a fool. I had to express it though. This is his dream and one of our many dreams for him and I just cannot contain myself.

Actually, there is one other thing that bugs me now that I think of it. Other people don't act as excited as me (some do, close friends who have children in sports). I heard sthe same thing over and over "well, are you surprised he made it? did you think he wouldn't" or "I would have been more surprised if he didnt' make it". It's not that I didn't think he could or should make it, it's that people don't realize that you can't take these things for granted. Yes he should make it and yes, he could make it but until I get confirmation that he did, I cannot get excited. Therefore, everyone should be as excited as me!! As I said, unless you have an athlete/all star child, you just don't understand the excitement and the joy.

I am now going to have to start a new scrapbook just for HS baseball...how exciting. Nolan's baseball scrapbook is done from his first year up to 2005 I believe. I will have a separate one for HS ball and will begin soon. I will post a page or two when I get it going.

The screaming is over for now; the excitement is calming some. We had a celebratory dinner at Crabs (Jackson's name for Red Lobster) last night but I still feel like I have not completely expressed my overwhelming joy. I guess Iwill have to hold it in or someone might have me committed for my random outburts. I will post once the season starts and keep this updated.

"All kids need is a little help, a little hope and somebody who believes in them". - Magic Johnson

sickness

This week has been filled with bugs...all sorts of bugs. Nolan started feeing rough last Sunday - Super Bowl party day and since only one Urgent Care facility is open on Sunday (to care for 100,000 residents, plus the thousands from surrounding counties), we were not able to get near the registration desk, much less get him to see an actual physican. I diagnosed him with strep throat about mid way thru the day Sunday and managed to secure some anti-biotics from a friend (Yes, I do this type thing when necessary...I am a nurse and we do what we have to do). Monday, our doctor confirmed that Nolan had strep and put him on his very own antibiotics....So, Nolan was home with me Monday and Tuesday - he's a good sick person though - he sleeps, eats a bit and then plays video games.

This brings me to Tuesday night when little Jackson (almost 5) tells me that he doesn't feel good. I knew it was coming so I kept him home Wednesday - he spiked a fever too. I diagnosed him with a sinus infection or some viral type thing. He's a good little sick person too...lays in bed and watches TV and that's about it. I slept with Jackson Wednesday night until about 2:30 am when along comes Nathan with "mama, I don't feel good". Yep, he had a fever and when he dozed off, he moaned like he was about to die. I diagnosed him with the flu right away...even his eyes were hurting.

Thursday, Jackson and Nathan were home with me and we were off to the pediatrician (2nd visit this week, 3 kids). I told him that Nathan had the flu and he agreed to test both the boys just to be safe. I was 2 for 3; Jackson AND Nathan had the flu. What joy. This was not your typical, layin the bed, ache, cough, vomit, near death experience kind of flu thank Goodness. This is a look worse that you feel kind of flu. Nathan and Jackson were given Tamiflu and Nolan was given a 10 day does of Tamiflu for preventative measures. (Pat and I didn't get a thing with regard to preventative measures...I guess it's okay if we get it and take to our beds - who will care for the children??). Do you know how much Tamiflu costs? I didn't have any idea as we have not been blessed with the flu bug until now. With our 20% co-pay, Tamiflu is $58.00 a prescription, without insurance it appears to be in the neighborhood of $275 to $300 a pop. Thank goodness for insurance!!! Today is Saturday and after the days home from school, the boys are now back to their old selves...running, playing and doing all the boy things they normally do. Thank goodness this is a mild case. My friend Deb, who I love dearly, has no children of her own and she tells me that she cannot fathom how I stay healthy with all my "typhoid children" running around. I agree...hopefully Bryson, Pat nor I will get this nasty thing...we all know it's worse on the old people. Ha. Thankfully, my kids are good "sick people" and do not act too sick. For this, I am grateful and I am also extremely grateful that this was a respiratory things and not the good old-fashioned "puking virus".

So that's been our week...well, my week. Pat has been off on his "father's life out" work and pee wee baseball functions while I am at home tending to the sick and weary. I guess that's okay...hopefully the boys will choose NOT to put me in a home for the elderly when I get old!!

Hope that next week is without illness.....

Addendum February 16 (Saturday). Next week was not without illness as I had wished for. On Tuesday the 12th, Nathan's teacher called at 2:30 and he was crying with his ear hurting. I knew that this was trouble so I loaded up on Tylenol and picked him up. The minute he got in the car I gave him some pain medicine and we headed for the MD. Sure enough, he had a fairly significant ("ugly") infection in the left ear. (2nd one in 7 years). He was put on Onmicef and we headed home for Advil, antibiotics and sleep! He felt fine the next day and went to school; his brothers were out for a snow day (except we had no snow).

Skip to Saturday 2/16 (today). Bryson has had a snotty nose for 2 weeks. The child has never, ever in 19 months been to the doctor for anything other than a well-baby check up. Last night, he woke up in the middle of the night. He wasn't crying but awake. I immediately had a flashback to when Nathan was a baby and had ear infections all the time. I knew that Bryson had one. Even though he had no symptoms, I took him to the MD. I was right. He had an ear infection in the right ear so....more antibiotics. This time, Amoxicillin x 10 days. He's feeling fine, just a little snotty and a little grumpy from the meds.

Now, let's home the upcoming week is healthy!!!

Who ran to help me when I fell, and would some pretty story tell, or kiss the place and make it well? My mother. - Ann Taylor

party

Nathan's birthday celebration was Friday night; we started out at our house with 4 of his little friends, took them bowling and then back to our house for cake and presents. Following this event, I promised myself that I will never, ever, again speak ill about my children's behavior, nor will I allow my husband to speak of the children's behavior in a detrimental manner. The reasons are as follows: at one point at the beginning of the party I entered my sunroom to find two of the partygoers SCREECHING at the tops of their little lungs. I have never heard such a sound come from a human body, much less a human so small and a human who is not being hacked to death by a machete. These little boys RAN through my house, made bodily function noises at the table and continued to disregard any requests on my behalf for quiet. I am not sure what happens to these little darlings when they arrive at someone else's house but I have warned all of my boys that if they should ever think of acting this way at our house or at someone else's house, they will surely be sent away to military school. I am so very thankful I have good boys.

From this birthday celebration, I have also learned that as a parent, you must ALWAYS use caution when speaking about personal information in front of your children. I have shared the following story with my friends, because it makes me laugh and it also scares me to think about what children say OUTLOUD sometimes. My husband Pat and I took two vehicles to the bowling alley Friday night. I had two little darlings with me and Pat had 3 with him. I was discussing sports (imagine that) with my two little passengers (both 7 years old) and then the two of them went on talking about various sports injuries and getting hit in the "weenie" with a ball...the weenie conversation went on for most of the drive (just a short drive...maybe 5 minutes...but) and then I heard something come from the mouth of one little darling that has scarred me for life. The little boy says..."you know, it hurts getting hit in the weenie but 'my dad, he has one of his testicles that don't work'". YES, he said that...exactly what I wrote. At that very moment, I thought I was going to wreck my car and wet my pants. How could I not laugh outloud? It is very hard to hold a laugh like that inside your body but at the same time I was completely MORTIFIED because I know this man and his wife. He would die a thousand deaths if he knew that his baby son told the world (well, just me and another 7 year old, but still)that one of his testicles did not work. Can you imagine ???? I guess I am thankful that all of our body parts are in working order and this is a glaring reminder to me and my friends to watch what we say in front of our kids. (it was tooooo funny though).

I suppose the main thing is that Nathan had such fun with his buddies and they are a sweet little group.....I did notice however that Nathan and his little buddy Jack (who was our neighbor in our other neighborhood) were so much better behaved than the other children, which makes me very proud of my boy!!

"My mother taught me to walk proud and tall, as if the world was mine. - Sophia Loren

birthday

Today, February 1st, is my Nathan's 8th birthday. I can hardly believe that this child is 8 years old. For many years, after Nolan, I didn't think that I would ever have another baby so when we finally made it past 20 weeks and were home free during my pregnancy, I was elated knowing that we would have another son. My children's actual "birth" days are memories so fresh in my mind, they are almost like yesterday and I hope it stays that way forever; those 4 days were the happiest and most memorable I've ever had or will ever have. The moments following his birth are so clear to me that I can still remember what his skin felt like and tasted like when I kissed him on his forehead for the first time. I remember asking over and over if he was alright and I immediately ordered my husband to leave my side and go straight to Nathan and the nurses who were taking care of him. The little guy had some trouble with fluid in his lungs following the c-section and was in the NICU for 8 hours or so, but he did just great and came home right on schedule.

Being Nathan's mom is a true gift, ,mostly because of his gentle, sweet spirit and his kind heart. As I have mentioned in an earlier post, he sees the good in everything and everyone and I truly wish that I could be more like him in so many ways.

I try earnestly to teach my boys the things that are important in life - strong morals, standing up for what you believe in, trusting in God, loving your family, being kind to others, etc, yet I find that the children teach me just as much or more than I teach them. I never really thought about that happening until I'd been a parent for a while, however now I learn from my boys on a daily basis.

My prayer is that Nathan will always be the loving, compassionate person that he is today; I know in my heart that he will be. I hope he knows each and every moment of his life that he is truly a gift from God; he proves it every day! I love you Nathan.

"Who is it that loves me and will love me forever with an affection which no chance, no misery, no crime of mine can do away? It is you, my Mother". -Thomas Carlyle

phone call

I did not realize that I hadn't posted in a week; time gets away from me. We've been doing more remodeling and getting prepped for our Super Bowl Party on Sunday so I've been busy!

I did want to post about a wonderful phone call I received yesterday; I guess I should give a bit of history regarding the caller! My mother's mother (who passed away when my mom was a teenager) had 4 sisters. All four have lived away from Kentucky for 60+ years; 3 of them in the western part of the US however we've always kept in touch with them. For some strange reason, at Christmastime this year when I sent my Aunt Clella (the oldest living great aunt) her picture of the boys, I wrote her a 4 page letter. I guess because she is the aunt that I have spent the least amount of time with over they years, I felt like I wanted her to know more about our lives and my boys. She sent me back a card telling me she loved the picture and she would write more later. Well, I hadn't heard from her until yesterday when she called. What a great surprise. These great aunts of mine are so interesting and are full of stories that I could listen to for hours. Since I never knew my grandmother, they can share things that I otherwise would not be privy too. This particular aunt lives in California and has for over 60 years. She has written her memoirs and is waiting to get them published. I've read excerpts and they are so interesting to me; of course, it's my family history she is writing about. I suppose this phone call is not interesting to anyone other than myself, but it was such a blessing to me. I think the best thing was that she told me goodbye by telling me that she was so very proud of me and that she knows that I'm a great mother and she knows that my boys will be strong, great men. Can a mother recieve a better compliment from someone? I was touched beyond words.

"The noblest calling in the world is that of a mother. True motherhood is the most beautiful of all arts, the greatest of all professions." - David O. McKay

decorating for the holidays

As you know, my Nathan, who is almost 8, is the kindest, sweetest child in the world. His heart is as big as the sun. He is the type who will play with the lonely child on the playground because he or she has no one to play with or he will give his last bite of ice cream to his brother just because he asks for it. Nathan also is my most inquisitive child. He wants to know everything about everything and he shares his knowledge with anyone who will listen (including the window installers at our house today). This brings me to my Martin Luther King story.

Today is MLK day and prior to today the schools have been teaching the children all about MLK, what he stood for and how he helped change things in our world, as well as about his death. Friday, on our way to Nashville for Nathan's vision therapy, he began telling me all he had learned about MLK at school and told me that Monday was "Martin Luther King Day, a holiday". I told him how federal and state offices and schools and banks we closed on that day but that Mommy and Daddy had to work because not all businesses close for MLK day. We talked about a few other things and then Nathan asked me if we have any Martin Luther King "things". I asked him what he meant and he said " you know, posters and stuff to decorate with". He said he really wished we had an MLK sign to put up in our yard. I explained to him that people don't really decorate for MLK day - we just think of him and the important things he did during his lifetime. I think he was somewhat satisfied with my answer but wouldn't have been surprised to see Nathan on the computer printing out pictures of MLK to tape to our windows and doors.

I suppose those that don't know Nathan personally don't really understand the meaning of this post or why I chose to write about it. Those that do know him understand completely. He is full of wonder and sees the best in everyone and everything. I aspire to be more like him!

"Blessed is the home where each puts the other's happiness first" - Anonymous

prayer

My two middle sons, Nathan and Jackson always pray before we eat dinner. Our baby boy, Bryson, who is 18 months old, is very perceptive and picks up on everything (scary, yes I know) that his older brothers do. I realized this yesterday when I sat Bryson in his high chair for lunch and he put his little hands over his face and started praying his own little mumbling prayer. Moments like this just melt my heart and make me realize that even though my boys do things to drive me crazy and push me to the edge of insanity sometimes, they are the most precious beings on this earth. They grow up too fast and I have vowed to treasure the sweet moments and let the not-so-sweet moments move to the back of my mind.

"Children are bits of stardust blown from the hands of God."

first blog

I've been thinking about blogging for some time but never took the time or had the nerve to do so. Right now I am not going to share this blog with anyone; I want to see how it works and feels for a week or two before I take that step. The primary reason I am starting a blog is because my children - 4 boys- ages 14, 8, 4 and 1, say and do things on a daily basis that either make me laugh or make me cringe (mostly laugh). I really need to document those precious moments, not only for myself but for the boys when they are older. I have a dear friend who I share my "boys" stories with daily and she tells me that I need to write a book. HA! No time for book writing but I think the blog just might be a solution. My goal is to post daily however baseball starts soon and there might be times that I am unable to do so. (If you do not know about our lives, baseball is a huge portion of our time). Some of my posts might only be a sentence or two that I jot down to remind me of something that one of the boys says or does or I might ramble on and on about something that makes me mad or drives me crazy (there are lots of those things!!!). At any rate, here goes .......

"Maybe I've been put on earth to be an ordinary person. Not to do anything great but to do something small that involves great love." anonymous