Gabriel's "Block"

I found this in Gabriel's folder yesterday. What a cute nice surprise. I'm glad they took it on a day he wasn't wearing jeans with holes in the knees (he only has one pair without holes at this piont). :-)
He's done a lot of growing and maturing this year.
We're proud of all his progress.

Impromptu Day Off

Just by a fluke of scheduling I won't have to work today...I think. I need to send in an email to confirm that, but will wait till a little later to make sure all the last minutes needs are already covered. Is that bad? Yes. I should be a ball of productivity, but I don't wanna! If I could just do something with these darn kids they are seriously such productivity inhibitors. ;+D Garrett is having a naughty day. I think he's gonna get thrown outside for a little energy burning time. Well, I guess I'll go get to gettin'...

Cars

Just in case anyone was wondering I loath driving stick shift cars....especially stick shift cars without AC. If you live in an area that people out number livestock then cars ought to be automatics. The hills, insane drivers, hair blowing everywhere because of no AC, red lights, getting cut off...all the joys of city driving in a stick shift. [Deep Breath] Now I feel better and am SO grateful to have my own car back. {;-D

Yes,

they are both mine. Yes, they have the same father. Yes, they are full siblings. Yes, I noticed one is brown and brunette and one is white and blond. Yes, they are both beyond adorable. Yes, we love them both and would do anything in the world for them. Yes, they are both friendly and will someday notice when someone is turning their back on them. Yes, I would love for you to migrate back to whatever upper Midwestern state hole you're "wintering" from and stop being so blatant in your view of my children.

I love the rude "Golden Generation".

It's not like we haven't noticed the color variation in the kids. In fact, watching genetics play out is one of the most fascinating things EVER in my book. Comments or reactions about the differences haven't ever bothered me *except* when it's judgmental. My mom said the lady kinda looked at me like I must've finally straightened myself out and married a white guy or something. I'd noticed her and was hoping it was my own paranoia, nope, I saw right. Good thing I've been loved and nurtured by the best Grandparents and Great-Aunts in the whole world so that I have good people the balance out the rest.

Here's hoping for a really hot snap that will clear all the snow birds out, then a cool down so we can actually enjoy the decent weather before the summer hits.

Love Note...

The boys were sure full of energy this morning. At 7:10 I started trying to get them rounded up and to the car for Gabriel drop off. At 7:25 we finally made it out the door to the front yard, notice I didn't say car, that took till 7:32. I ran around the car getting them all buckled like it was a Chinese Fire Drill for another 5 minutes. When I finally got to my own door I found this little note.

It made me smile that he thought of me this morning before he left. I'm gonna need a lot more than luck.

Then I noticed the saying on the bottom of the paper...

SO TRUE!!

I think I have a new life motto.

Lunch Time

A couple weeks ago I got a call from Gabriel's student teacher. He's gotten in trouble a lot with her. They've kinda come to some common ground, but I think she'd be an ideal teacher for a class of girls. I haven't seen that she understands boys are just flat out different than girls. She mentioned he'd gotten caught in the bathroom during lunch screaming at the top of his lungs along with another kid. I asked which kid, she told me the name, and I knew Gabriel hanging around with this kid was not a good idea. I shared this with her and explained that we're trying to teach him not to be a follower, but that's exactly what he is at this stage. She said she would switch the seating arrangement in class to limit interaction between these two. Gabriel mentions that this kid gets red almost everyday. Then she told me that several girls had told her that during lunch recess Gabriel was hitting them really hard. I was NOT happy to hear this and told her that it would be addressed at home.

Later, I picked him up. He reported he'd been on green all day during school. I gave him a hug and asked how lunch went because I'd heard he didn't have green then. He looked down and knew he was busted. I asked what in the world he was thinking by screaming in the bathroom. His response, "I don't know ------ started it." So, we talked about not copying other people's bad choices. He seemed receptive. I told him if he can't make good choices around ------ then maybe he should play with other kids, like kids that are on green all the time. He agreed that was a good idea.

I asked why he was hitting girls hard on the playground. This is how he explained it..."Mom, they surrounded me and said chipmunk soup, chipmunk soup, chipmunk soup over and over. I didn't like them saying that and couldn't get out unless I hit them." "What's wrong with saying chipmunk soup?" "It's a witch thing!" I'm thinking, 'Great what the heck are they talking about on the playground?' "How do you know it's a witch thing?" (In a semi hushed but forced whisper) "I just know it." That mind of his never stops working...

I told him he's skinny enough to squeeze out and run and play near a teacher next time. It is NEVER ok to hit especially girls. I asked him if he'd ever seen Daddy hit Mommy even when Mommy made Dad really mad. He looked at me like I was crazy and said, "NO". Had he seen Papa hit Nanny? No. Had he seen Mr. ------ (his principal) hit any teachers because they had kids in their classes being naughty? No. Did he think Jesus hit girls that said rude things to him and hurt his feelings? No. We discussed some strategies for managing the girls on the playground and how to avoid them bothering him in the future.

I hope he doesn't get sent on his mission to Kentucky or somewhere that they actually eat chipmunk soup, he'll be traumatized all over again. :-)

Bad Word

The boys like to say, "What theeeee..." and then just leave it at that. I'm ok with it as long as they don't finish it. Nanny does not like it and won't let them say it at her house. The other day I heard Garrett say, "What theeeee". Gabriel responded quickly, "oooo you said a bad word". Garrett got a determined little look on his face and said, "No it's not, only at Nanny's, I'm not at Nanny's".

As long as he keeps it straight which house he's at we should be in good shape.

Crazy Animal

Garrett: You gotta be careful to don't touch the cactus amimals with the poky stickers on it.

Gabriel: Do you mean a "por-kee-pine"?

Garrett: Uh...Yeah! If you touch it, it will poke you with it's stickers. (Garrett has no idea what a porcupine is, but if Gabriel suggested it he'll agree.)

Gabriel: That's called a "por-kee-pine".

Stephen: "Por-kee-pine" or Porcupine?

Gabriel: Por-kee-pine.

Garrett: Don't touch it.



The next day on the way to pre-school with his friend we pick up:

Garrett: You gotta watch out for the cactus amimals, they will poke you!

R: Yeah, if you touch a triceratops they will poke you.

Garrett: Cactus amimals are ginormous.

R: They can get you.


So funny to hear two such different interpretations of what a "cactus amimal" is. I'm puzzled as to what Garrett is talking about most days, but his peers seem to understand him, so I guess all is well.

PAID IN FULL!!

Lincoln...not the pool table.

So, our cute little Linc-a-doo was a "self-pay" baby. We had insurance that was costing us 900 bucks a month, but they didn't cover any maternity or birth costs. Nice. I will never give another cent to Blue Cross Blue Shield ever again.

(No, we don't own a pool table, but Stephen owns a truck and trucks move things like pool tables for people.)

We were blessed that the hospital and Dr both had
discounted self-pay rates that we were able to take advantage of by saving up and paying them in full before the birth. Labs don't care if you're living in a box they will not work with you on lab costs. BUT, I did learn that they send 8 invoices from "internal" collections before they send you to "external" collections and the internal collections will have no effect on your credit score. As each invoice came I'd write something to the effect of 5/8 so I'd know how close we were getting to being sent to the next level. It was the last few labs that they do right before you deliver that gave us trouble.

I pre-paid for the epidural medication, but was not able to ever get any kind of real numbers for what the anesthesiologist would charge. Every time I tried to get a number I was told, "they range in cost from $600-$2,000" Um, thanks that doesn't help, can I request the $600 one please? I decided to just forget the whole dang epidural and be tough. Well, I got to the room and the nurse stood at the computer for a long time then asked how long I'd had an irregular heart beat. I mumbled something about knowing my heart is messed up but cardiologists always blow me off because I'm so "young" and I've never gotten any answers. Then she watched a little while longer and said you're getting an epidural the baby's heart rate is accelerating and not coming down. I'm thinking, "It's because this hurts like &*%^!" I didn't really have time to argue or explain that being told to expect a bill between 600 and 2,000 was not ok with me. The anesthesiologist came in a few minutes later and got it set up. Of course it only worked on one side and they had to do it again, but my heart calmed down and so did his. After everything was looking normal again the nurse told me I needed to get in and find out what was wrong with my heart. Yeah ok. We were on a private insurance policy, you know the kind that if they find out you have a pre-existing condition no one will ever pick you up again. Obviously I never went in. Our lovely bill came and was HUGE. I called and explained that we were self-pay and our financial situation was rapidly deteriorating. They so graciously lowered the bill to $1,500. That was as low as they were willing to go. I had to just accept it and start paying monthly.

A couple weeks ago I saw my Dr. He asked how the baby was etc. I said doing well, and now that my husband has a job we're hoping to get the last bill paid off soon. He looked at me kinda funny and asked, "How old is the baby?" I was a little embarrassed when I told him just over a year. Weeellll, later that week we got a bill from the anesthesiologist stating the remainder of the bill was $300. I couldn't believe what I was seeing, we still owed over $1,000. My breath caught for a moment, I cried a little, then did my happy dance...which I'll spare all of you from seeing. I'd had a goal to pay him off before his birthday, missed that, and set a new goal to have him paid off by his second birthday. We made the second goal.

We now officially "own" our little Linc-a-doo.
* paid * in * full *

Me: Garrett your underwear is wet, why did you pee in your underwear?

Garrett: I didn't pee in my underwear!

Me: It's wet that means you peed in it.

Garrett: NO, I didn't. My dinosaurs did it.

Me: Nice try, but I saw your dinosaurs pee in the potty so I know it was you. Don't do it again.

Garrett: Ok. But I think sometimes my dinosaurs do it.


Lately there has been a lot getting blamed on his dinosaurs....but don't worry we're on to him.

Day Care Kid

For several weeks now every day that I pick Gabriel up from school he irritatedly asks, "Why can't I go to day care?!?" I smiled and explained each time that it's for kids whose Mommy and Daddy both work and they don't have a Nanny's house to go to. He then tells me to start working more so he can go to day care. Hmmm, I feel loved.

Garrett's in the same stage of terror that Gabriel went through a couple years ago...only Gabriel didn't have an older sibling to get things started. I keep seeing Gabriel start things then calm himself down and leave Garrett psycho to get in most of the trouble. If we can keep the big boys separated they both tend to do better on the behavior front. Soooo, Gabriel gets his wish. Tuesdays and Thursdays I work till 5:30. He now gets to go to the after school program and I pick him up on the way home.

Today was his first day, he was so excited this morning when I told him where he'd be going after school. When I picked him up he said it was so fun and he wants to go everyday. Um, let me think about this, NO. Two days a week provide plenty of "recess and snacks" (that obviously I'll have to provide to ensure they're soy/lacto free) for him. He did mention that they "practiced math 160 times" and that was too much. There are 4 other kids from his class that go too. He had fun playing with them.

He knows that this isn't a requirement so we'll see how long he likes it. Hopefully we can get Garrett through this crappy stage and back to being a normal boy with a little separation.

Week 1

We've all made it through week 1 of the academy. Stephen has to be there and ready to go at 6:00 am sharp. It's only a 10 minute drive, but he has to cross railroad tracks and the road he has to take is the only one left open after they shut two others down for construction. Good ol' construction I might get lost without all the orange cones leading me around town all the time. He's built in an extra 15 minutes to allow for trains and all the dumb people on the road with him. He's doing well on the academics and is doing well in the physical stuff despite being in the same group as the "bull". I guess there's a guy coming out of the Marines, I think, that is MASSIVE. Stephen said when we was doing the initial strength testing and all the muscles in his shoulders and neck tensed he looked like a bull. I don't know that he knows he's the "bull" but that's what I call him. You can imagine Stephen standing next to him...I want a picture of it. ;-)

This leaves me against...I mean...with the boys in the mornings. If they all have relatively clean clothes on, clean faces, get dropped off to the right place at the right time, and by some miracle I somehow make it to work on time I declare it a successful morning. I'm blessed that my Mom is willing to feed the little boys breakfast when they get to her house so that just leaves me and Gabriel to feed. You'd think that would be no problem, EXCEPT Gabriel can't focus on something like eating for longer than 2 seconds. Then Garrett sees him eating and wants some too. Even when I do feed them they act like they're starving when they get to my Mom's. There's no winning. All three boys need to be dropped off at different places at different times on Mondays and Wednesdays so those are exciting driving mornings, Tuesdays and Thursdays are a little quieter, Friday, glorious, Friday we're both home, and Saturday I work a little over six hours so Stephen is here with the boys. This should be exciting. Showers are tricky; I love love love my sleep so I want to sleep till the last minute, but if I do that leaves unsupervised wild yahoos in charge of the house. My showers have had to cut into my sleep time and are about a nano second in length, but I'm clean and that's all anyone wants.

I L O V E that Stephen gets home at the same time everyday...nice and predictable. I need predictable, I'm a planner. We are so excited and relieved about this blessing. I pray we can live in a way to show our Heavenly Father how grateful we really are. It's gonna be a wild few months, but we're tough and will succeed.

P.S. If the kids start looking a little raggedy, love them anyway it's not their fault. Their Mom is a little hair-brained these days. Someday I hope I can figure out where I left my brain and get it back again. :)

Swamp Cooler

I got done with work today at 3:05, that would be 5 minutes PAST the time I was supposed to get out, big deal you may say, but I'd been there since 9:00 am and was ready to GO. Stephen had sent a message with the measurements for cooler pads.

**sigh**

'Tis already time to set up the darn cooler again. Swamp coolers are awful! They work pretty well till the monsoon makes its appearance, but then they don't do anything but swirl around wet, warm air. The WORST part is they make your house smell like a fish tank.
D I S G U S T I N G !
That drives me crazy every year. During summers past when I was pregnant there were many a dinners lost due to this little issue. I was chatting with the guy at Home Depot about a little block that is supposed to help with the stink. He says they'll last about two months...just in case you were curious. :-) He suggested we get AC. I said my husband just got a job and AC is definitely on the list....right after the leaking roof, fence that is laying on the ground right now, and catch up is done. He asked if he'd been out of work. I said he had and we were actually grateful to still own a house to hook a swamp cooler up on. As an additional warm fuzzy, the gift card we'd been given at Christmas was the exact amount we needed to get the cooler set up. We'd been saving it for something special. I don't know that this qualifies as special, but it will certainly be something we can use and "enjoy" everyday. :+) Christmas you say, there hasn't even been a post on that. This is true I had no words to describe this past Christmas...and still don't. I will say the Lord sent many to us. We shed tears more than once over the overwhelming amount of love we were the recipients of. Christmas 2009 is in that special place in my heart reserved for things I can't even begin to describe. I know the Lord loves us, and I know there are people here on Earth that love us, and tear up just thinking about it.

I still hold firm, swamp coolers STINK, but I'm certainly not moaning and groaning like I normally do. We'd been thrown down the path that usually ends with losing your home. We've been led by the Lord throughout these last couple years as important decisions came our way. I'm grateful everyday that we listened and followed the guidance or I shudder to think where we'd be right now.

Happy Summer! It's gonna be a HOT one!

Spring Break Did The Trick

After a week off school, Gabriel came home so excited to tell me he'd been on green all day. He's been struggling with excessive talking and being off task lately. He looked at me so funny when I told him being off task is one of the worst things you can do at school. I can't really blame the kid, the main thing his mother got in trouble for during her school years was....talking. His dad, along with two other friends, was named the "vortex of energy". So really the poor kid didn't stand a chance. Although, these little details have never been mentioned to him. ;+)

Today he DID keep himself controlled, stayed on green all day, was the first one to go to the prize box, and earned building blocks for character. He told me he earned "a block". I know about the building blocks for character, but honestly didn't really have any expectation of him earning it. It usually goes to those "good kids" that are easy to teach. There were two girls and two boys total. We're proud. In his district they start teaching several life skills in kindergarten and build on them throughout their schooling. I didn't realize it started so young, but I like it. It's things like be a problem solver, be respectful, be flexible, etc. They're the things that are vital to navigating through all the stages of life. He told Stephen about it; when asked how he earned it he shrugged his shoulders and said, "used my life skills". He's getting it now. He's always reached milestones and learned the things he needed, it's just taken longer than most of his peers. This delayed "getting it" will be something that is with him for a lifetime. It's taken him 3 long quarters of kindergarten, but he's getting it now. I'm glad to see the growth and proud he's been persistent enough to stick with it till he got it. I pray he'll always be so persistent...school goes on for a long time.

I continue to research and re-read resources for helping him overcome the challenges he'll face throughout his life. The Lord's hand guided us to the people we needed to find for him, and continues to nudge or shove, as needed, so he has the tools to succeed in life. He will succeed, he's such a tender hearted little guy, and can conquer life.

Congratulations on a great day my Gabriel!

Conversation with Garrett

I've posted a lot about Garrett lately, but the inner workings of his brain make me wonder sometimes.

We were at church and Garrett says he has to go potty. I whisked him out and to the bathroom. He finished peeing, turned around and announced he had to poop too. He kinda had second thoughts when he saw how big the potty was and realized we didn't have his little seat with us. I told him I could just hold him there. So there we were, he looks me in the eye and says, "Poop is so awesome! There's big ooonneess and little ooonneess, little balls, and GREAT BIG TALL ONES!!" Yeah thanks for the tutorial kid, now get your business done so we can go feel the spirit...or something like that. We're the family that sits down and everyone around us groans because our little dears are NOT reverent, try as we might to keep them quiet.

On our way to the car after church he found a leaf and kept talking about it. I thought he was calling it a Mormon leaf till I focused on what he was saying. He kept asking if I liked his "mormous" (enormous) leaf.

This kid is going to give his teachers a run for their money in ways Gabriel hasn't even thought of yet.