Life with Dylan and Aidan

Holy Cow!! There are less than 4 weeks left

2008-09-29T14:53:00.002-04:00

until my due date. Where has the time gone? I am so not ready for her to arrive. I have so much to get done and just no energy to do it. Thank goodness Dave is being such a big help as well as my mom and dad. Dave is actually doing laundry for me, well separating it and throwing it in the wash. I am still folding it but that is okay.
I am just hoping the next 4 weeks go by smoothly and nothing happens too early. If it does though she should be okay because they estimate her to be 6 lbs already.

OMG, the cost to help the environment

2008-09-16T08:58:00.003-04:00

So, as you know from my previous post I enjoy watching Planet Green. Even before watching this channel I knew how benefitial solar panels are for your home and how you can basically make your electric meter turn backwards from harnessing the sun's energy.

Since we are building up next year on the house I thought now would be a good time to look into the option of adding solar panels to the house to help cut our expenses on electric. Well in my initial findings I found that it would cost about $35,000 to get the panels. I was shocked at the cost. I had been hoping they would help heat the house and heat the pool in the summer. So, now I am on to looking into green roofing to see if that is an option to help reduce our energy needs.

New Favorite Channel

2008-09-04T16:37:00.003-04:00

I have recently discovered a new channel that I have added to my list of favorites or ones I will always tune to to see what is on. And that channel is Planet Green. It is really a great channel and I have learned a bunch of eco-friendly things to do and how to do things better for the environment. Yesterday I was watching a program and learned how horrible gel shaving creams are and plan to stop using them and switch to good old soap and water. In the gel there are the same ingredients used to make napalm; not something I want to be rubbing on my skin anymore.
If you can find it in your cable/satellite offerings check it out.

Where is Karma???

2008-08-11T11:13:00.002-04:00

In the past 2 weeks I have done two good deeds for my fellow neighbors, but have not seen something good in return, in fact the opposite has happened.

The Sunday after we came back from vacation I saw a little white dog wandering up and down our street, a dog I didn't recognize so I got in my car to follow it and when I found it again it let me approach it and I saw that it didn't have a collar on. So I took it home to try and give it some water as it was really hot out that day. Got the boys and Dave in the car and we drove around the neighbors asking certain people if they knew who owned the dog. Finally we found the owner and returned the dog to her.
Then last week when I was going grocery shopping I noticed a checkbook laying in the middle of the road. So I stopped and picked it up. Luckily the checks had the owner's name and address on them so I drove to return the checkbook to the owner. Still don't know how someone's checkbook ends up in the middle of the street about 1/4 mile from their home.

So those were my two good deeds and I really didn't expect anything special or nice to happen in return it just felt good to help someone. Well I really wasn't ready for what happened to me this past Thursday. My mom and I had gone to the outlets with the boys and on our way home after turning into our development something came flying and hit my windshield, scaring everyone. At first I thought it was a water balloon, but after stopping and pulling over I realized it was an egg as I saw shells on the street and could tell by the splatter on my car. I then proceeded to go look in the backyard of the house that it happened in front of but there was no one back there. So I proceeded to the front door to talk to the parents and tell them what happened. Of course no one answered the door, but there were three kids' bikes laying on the front lawn so I knew someone was there. We left and proceeded home. Luckily a neighbor of ours is friends with my mom and he was kind enough to clean the egg off of my car before it got "cooked" on anymore.
That night Dave went over to the house 3 different times to speak to someone but no one ever answered the door. He tried again on Friday and Saturday and got the same results. He will try again tonight and if the same results happen then a letter will be written.

It was quite scary and when we stopped there on Saturday Dylan didn't want us to because he was afraid it would happen again.

It looks like a moose

2008-07-30T14:56:00.003-04:00

Monday Dylan had his quarterly appoitnment with his endocrinologist (diabetes doctor)--everything is going well and we are doing a good job with him. Anyway while we are in the room and talking with the doctor I hear Dylan say to grandma (grandma came to help keep Aidan under control), "it looks like a moose". At first we weren't sure what he was talking about but then he said "parts of the body in that picture look like a moose's head". On the back of the door there is a picture of the human body with certain organs shown. The ones he was referring to was a woman's uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries. It made us chuckle and the doctor agreed with him that it did indeed look like a moose's head. Grandma then told him that his sister was growing inside the moose's head.

I still can't get it out of my head and will now always think my reproductive organs look like a moose's head.

OMG, 26.

2008-06-24T14:05:00.002-04:00

A little less than 2 weeks ago I was getting lunch ready and had to test Dylan before he eat. He was acting normal and hadn't done any reall physical activity that morning. I tested him, looked at the meter and saw 26!!!!! I was in shock, literally. I sort of started to panic because that is a seriously low number for him. I quickly grabbed the glucose tablet bottle and gave him two and told him to sit on the floor and relax and let the tablets kick in. He kept arguing with me about it because he was hungry and wanted to eat; of course he was hungry his sugar level was 26 (remember he should be between 100 and 200). I convinced him to sit down on the floor and wait a few minutes. Then I let him get up and tested him again after 10 minutes and he was only 54. I let him start eating but as he was eating his eyes began to droop and it looked like he was going to pass out. I kept talking to him and rubbing his head to keep him awake. Decided to give him another glucose tab and some juice to get him higher. Eventually he was more awake and was onto the second half of his sandwich. I gave him his shot and he asked me what had happened to his other part of his sandwich. He was so out of it that he didn't remember eating the first half. Quite scary.

It took me awhile to write this because it was pretty upsetting for me to experience. And I pray he never goes that low again.

Ducks in the pool

2008-06-04T10:05:00.002-04:00

I think it was the day after we opened the pool we discovered a male and female duck standing near the edge of the pool around 7:00 am. Once I opened our bedroom window to get a better look they flew away. The next day they were swimming in the water; again just opening the window scared them off. We had thought that maybe once the water was cleaner (it was a bit dingy after removing the cover) it would have no appeal to them. Well we were wrong.
During that week I saw them a couple of times, but not every morning, either in the water or standing along the side. Dave was talking to our neighbor behind us one night and she told him that she has found them under a bush on the side of their house so they might have a nest there.
This past weekend we saw them standing along the edge again and this time let Baxter out to scare them. Well all they did when he got near them was jump in the water. Of course Baxter won't go in the pool so they swam around for a bit until Dave turned the filter on and then they flew off.
Didn't see them for a couple of days until yesterday when I saw just the female swimming in the pool. I banged something on the patio and it scared her off. But evidently now the filter being on doesn't scare them off. This morning Baxter woke us up at 5:00 am barking at the sliding glass doors and low and behold when I looked out the window I could see the silhouette of a duck. Eventually it flew away. But then around 8:00 I saw the female standing on the edge and yelled at it until it flew away.
Did some research and discovered that usually a dog will scare them away for good after a few times of the dog going after them or the dog needs to go into the water after them (of course Baxter would never do this). I also read that it is suggested we float beach balls and other pool floaties in the pool and/or string mylar tape across the pool or some fishing line to distract them from landing in the water. So tomorrow I am off to the stores to buy some stuff.

No more pacifier

2008-06-04T09:59:00.002-04:00

So I finally decided to get rid of Aidan's pacifier over Memorial Day weekend. The first couple of nights and naps went okay with him crying just a few minutes and then going quiet. He would sleep through the whole night without a problem and took his normal nap without a problem.

But after a few days of things going that way I thought it would get better, but it wasn't, it was actually getting worse. He would scream for 15-20 minutes at a time until he would finally quiet down. And now for the past week or so he gives us a hard time whenever we say it is night, night time or nap time. He used to go so willingly and easily. Now when we try to read to him or sing to him before we put him in the crib he fights us to get out of the room. Then when we finally put him in the crib he screams for about 10 minutes and then is fine and will sometimes talk until he goes to sleep.

I just thought that by now things would be so much easier and he wouldn't put up such a fight. I am praying that this doesn't continue until we switch him over to a bed because then I am sure he will not stay in the bed and will continuously get up.

Never thought it would be this long of a process; we are going on almost 2 weeks now.

"Why is Jesus on the cross?"

2008-05-12T14:41:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was Reid's (my cousin's son) christening and I was the godmother so Dylan and Aidan sat with Dave and my parents. Well Adian got to a point where he just kept whining "momma, momma" so Dave had to take him outside. So Dylan sat with Grandma and I found out after the ceremony that Dylan asked my mom, "Why is Jesus on the cross and why did he die?" My mom told me she wasn't sure what to tell him so I told him that Jesus died so that we could all get in to heaven. He then asked why he was on the cross so I told him, "Way back then they used to put bad people there and they thought Jesus was bad". This led to Dylan asking, "what kind of bad people, what did they do?" I told him, "bad people like those people that steal things and those that aren't nice to others". Thank goodness this ended the discussion and he moved onto something else. The kid really keeps you on your toes.

15 weeks

2008-05-05T16:02:00.002-04:00

Well as you all know by now I am pregnant with baby #3 and today marks 15 weeks. I am amazed at how much of the pregnancy has gone by already. Probably because I kept wishing for the first trimester to be over because I was so miserable with nausea. Now I am at that in-between stage where I no longer have the nausea as a reminder that I am pregnant and I am not yet feeling the baby move. For me, after having 2 miscarriages, I tend to worry when there is nothing to reassure me that all is well. So now I am wishing/hoping for the days when I can feel the baby, or as we refer to him/her, "pumpkin" move.
My next appointment is May 15 when I will have the opportunity to hear the heart beat and then after that my next appointment in mid-June is for the big 20 wk ultrasound when we will find out the sex. Yes, this time we have chosen to know ahead of time. That date can't come soon enough for me :)

Mighty Putty

2008-05-02T09:59:00.003-04:00

So, this morning before The Backyardigans came on there was a commercial for Mighty Putty (commercials on Nickelodeon is one reason I don't like the channel). For those that don't know what Mighty Putty is here is their site https://www.mightyputty.com/spark/index.php?tag=mpsc100
Anyway after watching part of the commercial Dylan said "Mighty Putty is cool, how does it do that?" I told him not to believe everything he sees on commercials. From now on I will try not to tune into that channel until exactly 9:00 to avoid more impressionable ads like those for toys :)

OMG....I am 35

2008-04-09T12:24:00.003-04:00

Yes, it finally dawned on me a week after my birthday that I am 35 years old. Can hardly believe it.
It was a nice birthday; I go some cards in the mail and gifts. I got a great gift from Dylan, Aidan and Dave.....I got a Nano Ipod. Was really shocked because I had mentioned it awhile ago on how it would be nice to have one so I don't have to always bring the boys' CDs back and forth from the car to the house and back again. Now I just need to read how to use it. Wish me luck! :)
Now that I am an old lady I need to go and get some rest.

gDiapers

2008-02-14T14:46:00.005-05:00

To help reduce our contribution to the amount of garbage in this world I have decided to switch Aidan over from disposable diapers to gDiapers. I would love to do cloth but thought this transition would work best for us.

For those who are unfamiliar with what a gdiaper is here is info directly from their site:

"gDiapers consist of a washable, cotton outer pant and a plastic free flushable refill. They are made of breathable material just like sports clothing. So, babies stay dry and happy and are far less likely to get diaper rash.
Can't flush? It's ok to toss flushable refills because they're plastic-free. Or garden compost the wet ones. They'll break down in 50-150 days"

I started with a starter kit and found them to be easy to use so now I have ordered more and hopefully Aidan will be wearing them all the time (except at night when I will continue to use overnight disposables).

The thing I like best about the gdiapers is that I can still throw them out when they are too messy to flush and not worry about them taking up a lot of space or not biodegrading quickly. And once I get my compost pile started this spring I will be tossing them in there. And I just LOVE how cute Aidan looks in them:

The things he says/asks

2008-02-13T12:57:00.002-05:00

Today I was putting Dylan in for a nap and I am not sure how the conversation started but here is how it went
Dylan: "God made me special" (he has listened to a Veggie Tale CD that is titled this)
Me: "Yes he did"
Dylan: "How did God make me?"
Me: "He put you in Mommy's belly"
Dylan: "And you took pictures"
Me (after realizing he is referring to the ultrasound pics on my dresser): "Mommy's doctor has a special camera that took those pictures of you and Aidan"
Dylan: "Did I see God?"
Me: "No, noone really sees God? Can we stop talking about this now?"
Dylan: "No. How did God put me in your belly?"
Me: "I don't know. God does things that we don't always know how he does them"
Dylan: "Does he have a magic wand?"
Me (sort of laughing): "No, he is magical and somehow puts babies inside Mommies. OK?"
Dylan: "Ok"

There have been some other things he has said that are comical, like one day in a conversation at lunch I told Dave that I had chocolate on my mind and Dylan said "I don't see any chocolate Mommy"
Then another time when having lunch with Grandpa Dylan was doing some annoying things and I said to him, "Dylan, you know you are really pushing the envelope" and he said "Where's the envelope?"

9 1/2"

2008-01-20T17:34:00.000-05:00

That is how much was cut off of my hair Friday afternoon. I had decided awhile ago when my hair was getting long to grow it and donate it. Well it finally got to the length where I could cut it and make the donation. So on Friday afternoon I put my hair in a ponytail that measured 9.5" and told Michelle to go ahead and cut it. I am donating the hair to Pantene's Beautiful Lengths program. Here is a before and after picture. I never really did realize how long my hair was.

Dylan draws

2008-01-16T17:20:00.000-05:00

Yesterday after dinner Dylan, Aidan and I were playing with their Magna Doodle. I decided to try and see if Dylan could copy pictures/symbols that I drew first. Well after doing circles, squares, and plus signs I drew a smiley face (mine is on the right) and then Dylan drew one of his own. I was quite impressed since he has never really drawn anything before.

Confused

2008-01-13T09:13:00.000-05:00

My bulbs that is.

Yesterday when we came back from a trip to Target I noticed that my crocus and daffodil bulbs have sprouted their little green stems already. I guess the mild temps the past couple of weeks have confused them as to the time of year. I don't remember the last time I actually got my crocuses to bloom in the spring. They always bloom in February/March. This is the first year I have seen the daffodils come up early. And of course we are due for a snow storm tonight.

Another stomach bug, another trip to the ER

2008-01-10T10:48:00.000-05:00

This past Sunday Dylan, Aidan and I came down with a stomach bug. I didn't have it nearly as bad the boys. Aidan has had it the worse and is finally coming around to feeling like himself again. Still not eating a whole lot, but that is to be expected.
Dylan just had the one night of being sick and the neck day was just laying around and eating ice pops to help his sugar levels and settle his stomach. On Tuesday Dave was home again (thank goodness as I wasn't 100%) and Dylan was eating some of his meals. Then yesterday came and DYlan just didn't want to eat anything so for the entire day I was chasing low sugar levels. The poor kid didn't even want to drink Coke, have candy, juice, or anything special that was sugary. Between lunch time and 9:00 at night we ended up having to give him 2 emergency mini doses of glucagon just to have his liver kick out some sugar to get his levels up. But of course there is a catch 22 in that since he hadn't eaten much all day (did eate a little bi of dinner and 3/4 of his bedtime snack) he didn't have much extra sugar in his liver to release. So last night at 9:30 when he was 52 and we couldn't get him much higher than 70 and he was absolutely refusing to put anything in his mouth Dave drove him to the ER.
Once Dave got to the ER his levels were just above 100 (guess the bedtime snack was starting to finally kick in). They stayed for about 2 hours for observation and then were home by 12:30 and his level at that point was in the low 200s.
So now today he is on very little insulin because he still doesn't want to eat. I am just hoping that I don't see any lows later today. And that Aidan is finally rid of this nasty bug.

I told Dave that we have to just accept the fact that whenever Dylan gets some sort of bad stomach bug that he will probably end up in the ER for them to help regulate his levels back to normal. At least it will be that way until he is old enough to understand how important it is to eat/drink something when he is so low no matter how bad he feels.

I am also hoping and praying that Dave continues to be immune to the bug. He was such a wonderful husband and father taking care of all of us on Monday and Tuesday and we were lucky that he was able to take the time off of work.

"I need to test her"

2007-12-27T13:15:00.000-05:00

As some of you know when Dylan has high sugar levels or is sick we have to check his urine for ketones. In simple terms ketones are sugars that dump into urine. And usually we have to tell him to wait to pee until we get in the bathroom because we need to test him (his urine).

Well for Christmas Aidan got a Little People bath toy that has a girl, a raft, and a dolphin. Since the Little People person is made for the bath she has an extra hole underneath to help drain the water out. Well last night in the tub we were playing with her and I noted to Dylan that when the water came out it looked like she was peeing. Well a few minutes later Dylan was playing with her and while the water was draining out Dylan said, "I need to test her". Dave and I thought it was pretty funny.

Christmas gifts

2007-12-27T13:06:00.000-05:00

It was a wonderful Christmas and we all had a wonderful day. Dylan is at that lovely age where he thinks it is all about him and getting, getting, getting. But all in all he was good (besides having a terrible congested cough) and did very well for himself. Thanks to all :)

I too did very well this Christmas but wanted to post about two of my favorite gifts this year. One of them is the nomination charm I got from Dave. It says "I Love Someone With Diabetes". Not sure why, but it made me tear up. And the other gift that I truly love and that made me cry is the necklace Dylan got for me. At his school they have a Santa sale where the kids bring in money and can buy gifts for relatives. The volunteer parents wrap them and everything. On Christmas morning he handed me a jewelery gift box and when I opened it there was beautiful heart necklace in there. It was the sweetest gift. It just brought tears to my eyes to know that he picked it out himself for me.

Aidan's finally saying.....

2007-12-21T14:47:00.000-05:00

"mama"!!!! YAY!!!!!

Though he doesn't always say it for calling me, but I am just super excited that he is finally making the effort and can say it. I was starting to worry about when he would start talking and if it would be an issue at the next doctor appointment, but he is really starting to try to say different words and make different animal sounds.

Yay, for Aidan!!

No luck this time of year for us

2007-12-08T11:43:00.000-05:00

Well as you all know Dylan was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes last December and now we have another family member that has been struck ill at this time of year. Yesterday we woke up and noticed that Baxter was limping and not putting pressure on his front left paw. We thought maybe it was just bruised so we let him relax yesterday. Last night it still wasn't better and during the night he was shaking at times, especially when he inhaled. I was quite upset not knowing what was wrong. The shaking did stop but this morning he was still limping.

I decided not to put it off any longer and called the vet. We, yes, we meaning all four of us, took him to the vet. The vet examined him and said his ankle was a bit swollen and he had a bit of a temperature. He said it could be lymes disease and that they could do a quick 15 minute test to see if that was what it was. If not then they would move on and do an xray. Well we waited 15 minutes and the vet came out with the tester and showed us it was positive for lymes disease. Luckily it is treatable with antibiotics but he did say that some people believe you can't really cure it and about 20% of dogs will have recurring cases. So we just pray that after 21 days of the antibiotic he is all better.

It just bugs me because we use Frontline (a flea and tick preventive medicine) on him and he hasn't really been anywhere in the past few months except our backyard and the boarding kennel where he could get a tick on him. A gentleman in the waiting room did tell us that birds tend to carry the deer ticks around as well so maybe that is how one got in our backyard. Dave and I are going to be so much more deligint about checking the boys even when they are in our own backyard.

It's SNOWING!!!

2007-12-02T09:50:00.000-05:00

Who could ask for a more perfect backdrop to us decorating the tree today. Just wanted to share :)

December 1st---a date we will always remember

2007-11-30T18:42:00.000-05:00

Hard, and sad, to believe that tomorrow marks one year since Dylan was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. I didn't think I would be one of those moms that thinks about the pre-D days, but for the past few days I have been thinking about those days and the days leading up to his diagnosis. I will never forget that shocked feeling I had when I took him to his pediatrician and he told me the news. It was utter shock and I don't think I understood the huge turn our lives were about to take. And then seeing my poor little boy spend the next 5 days in the hospital.

Luckily we are spending the weekend busy with Christmas decorating so it won't be such a downer of a weekend. We have plans to have portraits taken tomorrow, visit with Santa either tomorrow or Sunday, decorate the tree Sunday and build a gingerbread house. Quite a busy weekend but at least we won't be thinking about what a horrible time it was for us a year ago.

I just hope that soon we will be able to remember a more important date----the date he gets a cure.

Our first fever

2007-11-14T12:37:00.001-05:00

Well it finally happened, one of the boys has a fever. Aidan woke up several times last night and we thought it was just from his teething. So Dave would go in and give him back his pacifier since he was having a hard time finding it. Around midnight nothing Dave did could console him so I went in to see if there was anything I could do. I sat down in the glider with him and immediately could tell he was really warm. At first I thought that maybe it was because Dave was holding him (Dave tends to run on the warmer side) but after a few minutes he was still warm. We gave him some motrin and took his temp. It was 101.8 degrees.

Since this was our first experience with one of them having a fever we weren't sure what constitutes a high fever so we called the on-call nurse and she told us it was a low grade fever and to continue to give him motrin. She said the fever could spike again before it goes away and that it could be the result of his flu booster shot he got yesterday.

He had a hard time sleeping last night so he slept with us from 3:30 on and was acting fine today besides being a little cranky (probably from the fever and fatigue). He has eaten okay, not great, and is nursing fine. His temp at 9:00 this morning was 101.2 degrees. Hoping it continues to go down and is back to himself soon. He fell asleep early for his nap and hopefully it will be a nice long one to help him get better.

"Trick-or-Treat; what's this?"

2007-11-01T15:20:00.000-04:00

So yesterday was Halloween and Dylan was all excited about going trick-or-treating. He knew exactly what to do: knock on the door and say trick-or-treat. We told him that after he got the candy/treat he had to say thank you. Well, instead Dylan would get the candy and ask, "what's this?". And it wasn't just the first few houses, it was every single time he got something (unless it was M&Ms which he recognizes). After awhile we told him to say thank you and then come down to me or Dave (whomever was down at the sidewalk) and ask us what it was. He said, "okay". But of course he never did. He continued to say "what's this?" Dave or I would answer him and then he would say thank you.

Another funny note about the evening was toward the end we went to a house and the owner put the bowl out for them to pick something. There was a bunch of candy in the bowl and some juice boxes. Dylan said, "ooooh, a juice box, yay!" and grabbed a juice box. As we were walking away I reminded him that he can't have juice. He said, "I know unless I am low". Dave and I chuckled and told him that he was correct and he could have some when he was low.

All in all it was a fun night and they both got to sample a treat or two while we were out and about.

A Sweet Moment

2007-10-29T15:38:00.001-04:00

Every night when Dave or I put Dylan to bed we sing him some songs before leaving the room. On Saturday night Dylan wanted both Dave and I to sing to him. So Dave was standing in his room and I was standing by the doorway. Dylan said, "No, Mommy stand IN my room". So I moved into the room next to Dave and, with our arms around each other, we started singing. Dylan then said, "I have an idea. I will sing with you" and proceeded to stand up in his bed so we could hold him. So, both Dave and I held Dylan up and together in a big hug the three of us sang Dylan's bedtime songs. It was a really sweet moment for Dave and I.

2007-10-27T12:26:00.000-04:00

Boy it sure has been a long time since I posted. And since I have a quick moment without Aidan hanging on me by the computer I can sit and post.

This past Thursday Dylan had his Halloween party at school and I signed up to help in the class. I got to be there the whole 2 1/2 hours he is there and watch him with the other kids. It was a lot of fun. I helped the kids glue together a witch craft and then they got to make a pumpkin with a rice cake, orange icing, and candy corn. I was worried about what would happen when the other kids ate theirs and Dylan wouldn't or only would get a piece of it. Well lucky for us they don't allow the kids to eat them (or other food projects) because of allergies that some kids might have. They pack them up and send them home. It was such a relief and it makes me more comfortable for future party crafts if I am not able to be there. I also got to witness him dance around with the other kids. It was a nice experience and hopefully I will be able to do it again. I was thankful Grandpa was able to watch Aidan for me so I could do it.

Well that is it for my post for now because Aidan is whining in the living room which means that Dylan is probably trying to take something away from him.

Next week Dylan gets to dress up in his Halloween costume and partake in a Halloween parade at school.

My big boy has started school

2007-09-13T15:37:00.000-04:00

Well the day I have not really looked forward to all summer has come and gone. It was this past Tuesday when Dylan started school. Wiat, let me change that, I guess the real day I wasn't looking forward to was last Thursday when he had orientation and I had to discuss with the teacher about his diabetes. That went just fine and the next day Dave and I sat down with the school nurse, teacher and principal of the pre-K program and showed them how to check his sugar levels. Luckily he is only there from 9:00 until 11:30 and the only issue would be to make sure he has his snack at his normal snack time. The teacher was kind enough to arrange the schedule so that snack time was at 9:45. And the nurse has experience with diabetes because there is a little girl in 3rd grade at the school that has it. So, after this meeting I was a little more comfortabel about him being away from me.

So Tuesday morning comes and I am excited for him but nervous at the same time. How will he be when I leave, will he wonder where I am, will he make friends. Dave took the morning off and we both dropped him off. As soon as we took his book bag off his back he went right over to play with the toys and didn't look back. We stuck around for a few minutes and then said our good-byes. He was really good about it. However, there were about 3 other kids in the class that were clearly not happy about the situation and their mom leaving them. I thought that I would get upset walking back to the car and on the drive home, but I was okay. I think I was more nervous; wondering how his sugar levels would be.

We went back at 11:30 to pick him up and the teacher said he was just fine. He told us he loved school. We checked him when he got in the car and his sugar level was just fine. So no worries. He did tell us that he asked the teacher where we were at some point during the day and that she told him we were right down the hall.

Today was day #2 and I was again worried how he would be after I had told him that I would be going home when I left but would be back later to get him. Once again as soon as the backpack came off he left me. This time there were only 2 other kids screaming. As I walked out this moring I was a bit more emotional; maybe because I didn't have Dave to talk to to keep my mind off of things, but it was definitely more upsetting for me this morning.

It's hard for me to accept that there is now a part of Dylan's life that I am not involved in 100%; that he will have experiences I won't get to see or hear. I am, however, glad we made the decision to send him at this age; I couldn't imagine the emotional wreck I would be if I waited until he was of kindergarten age (5) before sending him off.

To CFL or not to CFL

2007-09-01T15:43:00.000-04:00

I have been debating the issue on whether to convert all of our light bulbs to CFLs. I know the pro is cutting down on the use of energy, but the con is that they have mercury in them. I have read that when it comes time to dispose of them there really isn't a safe way to do it without risking the mercury leaking into the environment. I know that the bulbs will last a long time and maybe by then they will have a safe way of recycling them, but will they?

Here is an article I found on the subject if you are interested:
article

A mixed blessing

2007-08-31T15:38:00.000-04:00

So, now in addition to Aidan being able to climb he is walking about 90% of the time. This has made some things easier but other things a bit more difficult. It is now easier at the parks because he can actually get out of the stroller and go and climb on the apparatuses and interact with the other kids. However it is now harder for me to keep an eye on two kids. Today, at the library (yes I have said in a previous post that we go weekly) I let him out of the stroller to play with the stuff the library has for kids. Well Dylan goes down one aisle of books and Aidan turns the corner to go around another. So I scamper off after Aidan while Dylan calls out my name to help him pick a book. I do believe I will be keeping Aidan in the stroller as much as I can for my sanity.

Maybe I should let him walk through the airport when we go to California in 4 weeks so he tires himself out enough to sleep on the plane :)

Oh, and to add to the insanity of the climbing fascination he now decides to walk on the couch.

Bows on frogs????

2007-08-24T11:37:00.000-04:00

Today we took our weekly trip to the library. On our way I noticed something blow/hop onto the road so I stopped not knowing what it was. I backed the car up a bit so I could see it and it was a frog. I got out of the car to try and startle it to go back into the grass on the side of the road. Well the darn thing wouldn't budge. So I got back into the car and drove around it. I looked in my rearview mirror and saw that when the next car passed it it hopped back into the grass. Anyway...Dylan asked me what it was so I told him it was a frog. He asked me if it was a boy or a girl frog.

I said "I don't know" (an answer I give him frequently).

He said, "It was a boy frog Mommy because it didn't have a bow on it; girl frogs have bows".

I said, "oh, like Daisy Duck has a bow and Donald doesn't?"

He said, "yes"

I did tell him that real ducks don't wear bows but he swears he has seen a real duck on television with a bow. Not sure where.

Yo Gabba Gabba---some strange tv

2007-08-21T10:37:00.000-04:00

Okay, so today is a dismal rainy day and I decided to let Dylan watch a little bit of television and the only channel with anything appropriate for him is Nickelodeon. Well at 10:30 this morning this horrible (in my opinion that is) show Yo Gabba Gabba was on

Dylan seemed to enjoy it. Did some research and discovered that Elijah Wood filmed an episode as did Tony Hawk and Biz Markie, as well as some other musical guests. To me it seems a bit on the strange side.

Aidan and the couch

2007-08-21T10:23:00.000-04:00

OMG, Aidan is such a daredevil and just loves to do the things Dylan does. Up until last week Aidan was not able to get up on the couch on his own and would just see Dylan up there. And let me tell you that Dylan doesn't always just sit on the couch, he will hang/climb/sit on the arm of the couch. Well Aidan has finally been able to figure out how to get himself up onto the couch and will now do exactly what Dylan does (which Dylan is no longer allowed to do).

Aidan will use all his strength and pull himself up onto the couch. At first he will just sit there like a good boy, but then if I turn my head and then look back at him he is sitting on the arm of the couch almost falling off or he is dangling head first over the arm. The best is when I go to take him off and yell at him "No" he gives me a sh*t a$$ grin.

And he has no reservations about getting off the couch no matter how he does it. Just now I believe he fell off (not sure how as when I turned my head I heard him hit the floor) and just climbed back on up. He will also scoot in a sitting position to the edge and then just dangle his feet over and slowly inch forward until he falls off.

Definitely won't be getting much peace now that he can do this and I am sure once he is walking 100% things will just get worse.

Say goodbye to the trees

2007-08-11T09:28:00.000-04:00

As of this morning our house and yard will no longer have any shade. We have been fortunate enough to reap the rewards of the large trees growing in our neighbor's back and side yards. They provided shade for the kitchen and den and some shade in the backyard for the boys when on the swings and in the sandbox in the early half of the day.

Yesterday we got home and found a note on the door to call our neighbor. Dave called and was informed that they were going to be cutting down the two trees in his backyard and the one on the side yard this morning. They arrived at 8:30 this morning and began the work. It is now 9:30 and the one on the side is already cut down and my kitchen is so much brighter now.

The pros to the situation are that my den will be warmer in the winter (but hotter in the summer) and we may have more success with grass growing in the one bare spot in the backyard.

I really hate to see trees getting cut down as I love the green foliage; we may just need to plant a tree in our yard somewhere to make up for the loss.

And now there is one

2007-08-08T12:36:00.000-04:00

Last year right before Aidan was born Dylan received 3 goldfish from a friend of the family. Within two months of getting them all set up in their tank one of them jumped out of the tank and didn't survive.

Then there were two which Dylan named Nemo and Jaime (not sure how he came up with those names) and things have been fine. Then about 2-3 weeks ago I was in the living room and Dave and Dylan were in the den (Aidan was in bed) and Dave went into the kitchen and called my name, sort of panicky. I ran in and there on the kitchen floor was Nemo, or was it Jaime (who could tell). I quickly picked him/her up and put him/her back in the tank and he/she swam around just fine.

This morning I went in to start our normal breakfast routine and while pouring cereals into bowls I noticed only one fish. Now sometimes the tank will play tricks on my eyes and the other one is just laying low in the corner. Well not this morning. The other one, once again no idea whether it was Jaime or Nemo was laying on the counter behind the tank. I grabbed the net and got it up off the counter and put it in some water to see if maybe it had just happened. Nope, it was all over for him/her. Since it was 7:15 in the morning we chose not to mention anything to Dylan, plus he never even notices them. So I put Jaime or Nemo in a plastic bag and put him/her out for the garbage men this morning. And now there is one.

I did tell Dylan that there is now only one fish in the tank because the other one jumped out and couldn't breathe and is now in fish heaven. And of course because Dylan always asks questions, that was followed up by 3 minutes of questions like where is fish heaven? up above our house? and so on.

Pictures

2007-08-07T11:37:00.000-04:00

So, a month after his first birthday I finally got around to taking Aidan for pictures for his 1st birthday. I had thought about going to Picture People because I hear they are really good with kids that move around a lot (the photographer moves around with the camera). But since JCPenney's is only 10 minutes away I opted to go there this morning (and it is cheaper so if the pictures aren't great I won't waste a lot of money).
Now, Aidan is teething and been quite cranky, but I figured he would be okay, might not smile much (doesn't do that anyway when out in public) but would give it a try. Well it was just as I thought, not one smile. I think we got one good shot of him with a birthday cake with a slight smirk, that looks like a smile. Then I had the photographer get a couple of Dylan and Aidan, which went just the same. Dylan kept saying cheese, but Aidan was emotionless. Out of the 4 he took of the two boys I only liked one. The photographer wasn't overly kid friendly; he put a puppet on his hand and kept squeaking it, but didn't do much to try and get Aidan to smile. I kept trying and even tried to recruit Dylan, but it didn't work.
Luckily I only spent $8 and will be taking them to Picture People to see if I can get some really good pics of them.
Oh, and while I was reviewing the pictures learned that having Dylan play peek-a-boo with Aidan makes him smile and laugh; now if I had only known that 1/2 hour earlier :)

New pics

2007-07-29T19:06:00.000-04:00

Here are some recent pics as well as some from Great Adventure (just click on the picture to see all of them)

July 29

A Great sweaty Adventure

2007-07-29T18:37:00.001-04:00

Saturday was the official kick-off for the JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation) 2007 Walk to the Cure (see the link on the side for making a donation; just click on the "donate" button near the thermometer). All team captains were invited for a day at Great Adventure (of course after a meeting and a free lunch). So how could we pass that up. We got there and as soon as we stepped out of the car at 10:00 in the morning you could feel the humidity. There was a nice breeze blowing so we thought it wouldn't be too bad. After we checked in and they let us all into the park we then proceeded to follow the committee people through the park to a picnic grove at the other end of the park. This was when I was kicking myself for not bringing the double stroller. Poor Dylan had to walk the whole way. Luckily at lunch time his sugar level was okay.

So we got a free lunch and after some motivational speakers about raising money for the cure we went our own ways to enjoy the rides. Now we had to make the walk back toward the Wiggle World section that Dylan kept bugging us to go to. By this point Dave and I are soaking wet with sweat from either pushing the stroller or carrying Dylan on and off to get there quicker. After a few Wiggle rides and us trying to find shady spots for quick stops we headed off to Bugs Bunny land (which of course was on the other side of the park). We went on a few rides there and luckily there was a "water tower" that released water every few minutes so we all cooled off before heading for ice cream and an end to our day.

Luckily Dylan was a trooper walking as much as he had to in the heat and humidity, as for me and Dave we couldn't wait to get back to the car and crank the a/c. Oh, and Aidan , the poor kid was exceptional for being stuck in the stroller the whole time, even without a nap for the whole day. And they both fell asleep on the ride home.

Finally I see white

2007-07-22T16:34:00.000-04:00

That is, the white of Aidan's third tooth. Yes he is just over a year old and is just getting his third tooth. I believe by this point Dylan had 7 already. But that is okay because they say the longer it takes for them to come in the stronger their teeth are.
Well anyway, Aidan has discovered that he has this new tooth poking through and will now grind the bottom two against the small amount of tooth cutting through the gum. Such a delightful sound....NOT!!

He likes it, he really likes it

2007-07-14T12:35:00.000-04:00

The other night right after dinner I quickly sat at the computer while Dylan was in the living room watching tv and Aidan was with me in the den. Being the little boy that never sits still Aidan made his way toward the kitchen. I heard him crawl through the kitchen and then heard him in the living room. I got up to go and be with them in the living room and noticed Aidan had a bunch of drool coming down his chin; he is teething, but this was not teething drool. Then I noticed he was playing with something in his mouth with his tongue. I opened his mouth and discovered a half dissolved/half chewed piece of dog food. I guess as he made his way through the kitchen he made a quick stop at Baxter's bowl for a bite to eat.

So proud of him

2007-07-10T16:32:00.001-04:00

Today we had a mommy group get together at one of the mommies' house. It was a get together to celebrate those who had a birthday in June. All the other kids sat down to have lunch at 11:15 (Dylan eats at 12:00 and has to because of his insulin regimen). Then at 11:30ish we all sing Happy Birthday to the birthday kids and they bring out munchkins and brownies. Dylan says he wants one and I tell him he can have a munchin with his lunch later. He says okay and goes off to play. I was just amazed that he didn't have a fit because the other kids all ate lunch already and were eating the treats. 12:00 rolls around, he eats his lunch and then nicely asks for his munchkin.
I know it won't always be like this with the diabetes but I was just so proud of him today.

He's not getting away from us now

2007-07-10T13:36:00.000-04:00

Yesterday Baxter had his annual appointment with the vet. While waiting I saw a sign for the chip that they put in pets so that if they ever run away/get lost they can be scanned and returned to you. It stated that it only cost $19.99 which included the chip and your first year subscription. Dave and I had discussed getting it done last year but at that time it cost $59.99. I thought about the possible future reactions Dylan and Aidan might have if Baxter ever got loose and we couldn't find him and I knew Dave and I would be upset as well (as much as we say he drives us nuts some times, we still enjoy him being a part of our family). So, for those reasons I decided the $19.99 was a good deal and had the chip implanted in Baxter.

So, if Baxter ever gets loose and an animal control officer or vet or shelter get a hold of him all they have to do is scan him and we will get a call to come and get him. He's not getting away from us now.

7-7-7 Aidan's 1st birthday

2007-07-09T15:42:00.000-04:00

Okay, so where did the past year go??!! I can't believe my little boy is a year old. He had a wonderful birthday party to celebrate the big occasion with friends and family. We went with a "Lucky 7s" theme and served 7-up, 7 layer bean dip, 7 layer salad (and sandwiches). I made cupcakes (took 3 hours; from 8 pm until 11pm Friday night; to make about 60 cupcakes) and arranged them to show 7-7-7. I had also purchased Lucky Charms to serve but totally forgot to put them out. I was running around all day and it just slipped my mind.

All in all I think he had a wonderful time and was such a good boy the whole day. He had little interest in opening his gifts, which was just fine with Dylan because he got to open them for him :)

I am just still amazed that his first year has come and gone.

Jumping humor

2007-06-27T14:59:00.000-04:00

So the best thing lately with Aidan is how he finds his brother so humorous. Dylan just has to do some little silly thing and Aidan cracks up at it. For instance today when Dylan and I went to get Aidan after his nap we found Aidan holding onto the side of the crib and sort of practicing jumping/bouncing on the mattress. So Dylan held onto the railing from the outside and started bouncing and Aidan was cracking up at it. I wanted so badly to get the video camera but knew once I got back with it it would all be over.

Getting started

2007-06-26T15:31:00.000-04:00

Okay, so this is my first post and I thought I would start with a cute tidbit from Dylan. Yesterday I was reading him a Curious George book before his nap and there was a line in there that read "Thank you, you saved my grandson's life". After I read that line Dylan wanted to know where the "life" was in the picture. He thought it was some sort of object. I had a hard time trying to explain exactly what a "life" is. The next time I read it I am going to omit the word "life" to stop any future questions :)