Organized Wrestling

We have a house full of boys which means that there is always going to be wrestling.  In an effort to control it, we long ago implemented "Organized Wrestling" into our family.  And I don't mean WWF (which strangely enough I've been to in person back on a blind date in college, but that is another story for another time).  In order to keep stuff from getting smashed around the house or people getting hurt, we discourage the boys from wrestling each other. 

(The picture above is one of the boys wrestling at the end of our family photo shoot this month.)

 
When the boys were really little, we decided wrestling was going to be daddy's domain.  To be honest, I didn't think I could handle multiple kids literally jumping on top of me--motherhood itself is already enough of a contact sport for me with carting around babies & toddlers on my hip, kids tugging on my clothes (or sometimes lifting my skirt up in public) and using any part of my body as a tissue.  Jon's willingness to do this with the boys makes me love him even more if for no other reason than I get a good break from being stepped, pulled or slobbered on.  I prefer my contact to be snuggling up to read a book together than having a 40 pound boy jump on my back when I'm trying to stand up from picking things up on the floor.  :)

The exact details of the wrestling game have varied over the years.  Sometimes he pretends to be a sleeping Giant that they wake up or a wolf that is chasing them.  The details of the game are constantly changing, but the results look the same: the boys get to attack Jon and he tickles them, throws them in the air and indulges them in all sorts of rough play. 

 

(The boys checking out the sleeping giant)

(Anticipating their name being called out)

Usually this is done at the end of the night so the boys all get in their jammies and ready for bed.  Next they must sit on the couch (except for K who is still little enough that he's allowed to toddle around).  Then Jon lays on the floor.  He calls out one name at a time and then pretends to fall asleep.  They must wake him up and then he gets them.  They LOVE it.  Seriously love it!  And I love the giggles, pure glee and delighted screams that fill up our living room.  They each get several turns and then when Jon is just about sufficiently worn out, he allows them all to attack him at the same time.  That is their favorite part. 

Here are some shots I took of them during this week's wrestling-fest. 

Anesthesia

Let me start out by admitting that I had to look up the spelling of Anesthesia because I tried spelling it several times and it never looked right (probably because it wasn't).  Today Andrew underwent anesthesia for the 3rd time in his short life.  The other procedures were relatively minor ones as well and he always did fine.  That being said, its always a little scary and nerve-wracking to have your child be put to sleep.  The waking up is always traumatic.  They don't understand where they are and how they got there. Thankfully this time he was old enough to articulate that he was scared and wanted me and I could talk him through the fog until he was more coherent.

Andrew's procedure today was to get his nose cauterized.  He's been having frequent nosebleeds and it had just gotten to the point where it was invasive (middle of the night, riding in the car, at the breakfast table, at the park).  It was unpredictable and messy.  He was sick of it.  I was sick of it.  And, bleeding at school is no fun.  So, we bit the bullet and scheduled the procedure.  Because they have to burn the blood vessels that are open and causing the bleeding, you have to be put to sleep.  The procedure itself only takes 5 minutes.

We headed into the outpatient clinic late this morning.  We had packed a backpack of books to read while we waited (since we had to be there an hour later).  We read through the books pretty quickly and then we read through several on the shelves there.  It actually was a super sweet 45 minutes of us snuggled in his hospital bed reading through lots of his favorites: Olivia, Elephant and Piggie, Superfriends, and Dr. Seuss.

When they took us to the pre-op room, they gave Andrew some fancy paper boxers to wear.  He thought they were hilarious, so we took a picture.

Then they gave us some awesome socks (why do the hospital socks never stay on? I had flashbacks of these lovely babies and wearing them at the hospital after each csection).

And the most exciting part was getting to pick out the flavor of the anesthesia mask (if nothing else, writing this post has sealed it into my memory how to spell anesthesia correctly).  When they asked him what flavor he wanted, he said "cookie dough" and laughed saying he knew they only had fruit flavors.  The nurses thought that was hilarious and he decided on orange. Mmmm..smells so yummy. 

One of the well-meaning nurses said he could take it home with him, but it wasn't on his bed when they wheeled him back in, so I forgot about it.  Andrew did too, until we were 2 blocks away and then in his post-surgery stupor, he was getting pretty worked up about it.  So we went back for the mask.  He wanted to bring it home to show his brothers.  The nurses gave him a new one and put in extra orange flavor.  Later when James smelled it, he said "smells just like cuties!"

Supposedly, you aren't likely to have an appetite after surgery.  At least that's what the nurse told me.  But in the short recovery time we were there, Andrew had 2 popsicles, a glass of water and 2 bags of cracker snacks and he was still complaining about being hungry.  So, we stopped for his favorite mac & cheese on the way home. 

Once the bowl was in front of him, he dug in even though it was piping hot.  I've never seen him eat like this..  He didn't talk until he had finished the whole thing.  And then he asked for a cookie.  Where does he put all of this?!?! So much for not having an appetite.  Last bite and now he is officially a member of the clean plate club.

And now if we don't have to do anesthesia ever again, I'm more than okay with that.

First Day of Kindergarten

Well.  We survived.  And by "we", I mean me.  The boys were delighted to go to school this morning.  Last night we had laid out their clothes in an effort to make it faster to get ready in the morning (I read this tip somewhere on how to 'streamline' your mornings so that you don't turn into scary mom who barks orders about hurrying up in order to get your kids out the door).  Don't ask me how it worked.  Supposedly if you pick your clothes out the night before, there will be no issues getting dressed in the morning.  I suspect this is not as true for my friends with daughters rather than sons.  Now if we could just figure out a way for them to get their shoes on that doesn't involve wrestling or touching one of their brothers in any way.  Seriously, if you know how, please let me in on the secret.

This morning at 7:14, Andrew and then James glided into the kitchen completely dressed for the day and without their blankets.  They usually comes downstairs in their pjs and with their blankets (Yes, they all still sleep with their baby blankets.  Apparently, their dad had one until the day before we were married, so I figure its in the genetics, why fight it?).  Needless to say, I was a bit shocked to see them all ready to go.  Andrew informed me that he got dressed super quietly and that all that banging around was James, not him. 

I, like every other day, made a hot breakfast (pancakes, sausage, fresh cut peaches) because I am a total morning person.  I love getting up in the morning--the earlier, the better.  Okay, I'm lying.  I am so NOT a morning person.  In fact, I am so much NOT a 'morning person' that last night at bedtime James suggested to me that I should stock up on granola bars.  When I asked why, he explained that school starts at 9 and usually I am still in bed at 8:30 or 9 so they'll need a fast breakfast.  So, I felt a little embarrassed that my 6 year old was calling me out on being a slacker.  When I suggested that I could in fact get up and make breakfast before school, he didn't seem to believe me.  So, I had to prove him wrong.  And now that I've done that, I can go back to sleeping in and letting them eat granola bars.

After breakfast, we did the obligatory before school pictures in the front yard.  We've done these for preschool the past few years, but this year's pictures seemed more official.  Not because it was kindergarten instead of pre-school, but because we had a homemade chalkboard to write on and hold in the photo (thank you pinterest!). 

And then we did a few "old school" photos with mom and dad.  Sorry, no fancy pinterest crafts in these ones folks. 

After that, it was off to school.  Daddy was able to join us.  His presence was just as much for my benefit as the kids (maybe more?).  I think he wanted to make sure that I didn't lay on the ground in the school's front hallway creating a scene by crying.  And for the record, I didn't. I was upbeat.  I was excited.  This was a great day. 

When we got inside, it was time for the boys to go their separate ways.  Being able to go to different classrooms on opposite sides of the school (so that they wouldn't see each other for most of the school day and get to just be their own person) was one of the big draws of putting them in this school.  That being said, this is the most time that they've spent apart from each other.
I'll never understand the twin bond because I'm not a twin.  But these boys have something special between them that I will never fully grasp and has amazed me over the years.  Before they spoke English and just talked in incoherent babbles, they would say something repeatedly.  I would have no idea what they wanted and then finally the other one would walk across the room, intentionally grab something and take it to the other one which appeased him.  They had their own language.  If they couldn't say a word, they made up a new one.  We only ever decoded one or of their substitutions.  They were each others' first buddy and have known each other since before their mom and dad even got to meet them.  They could write a book on sharing.  They have been sharing since the first day their hearts were beating---starting with food and space.   I use to joke that we would never going to be as important to them as they are to each other.  But in all seriousness, I think its true.

They started out sharing a bassinet, then a crib, and now just a set of bunk beds in their bedroom. 

So, when it came time for them to go to rooms in opposite directions, I slightly panicked.  Do we send them on their own?  Do we walk them to their rooms separately with Jon going with one and me with the other? Do we walk them one at a time and make someone wait?  I said "Do you want us to walk you or do you want to go on your own?"

Before I realized I had said that, James replied that he wanted to go on his own.  So he took off.  About halfway to his classroom, he turned and said loudly "Goodbye mom!  See you later!" in the most cheerful, not embarrassed by his mom voice.  I wish I had my camera out at that moment to snap it, instead I will have to rely on the mental picture that is etched into my mind of my boy with a big smile planted on his face, lunchbox in one hand and the other hand waving enthusiastically.  And that's when I lost it.  A few tears trickled down my face as a nearby teacher put her hand on her heart and said "Aww...so sweet!"  Yes, my sentiments exactly.

Then I remembered I was missing out on Andrew heading to his class, so I quickly brushed my tears aside and followed my other big boy down the hall.  He said we could follow behind him a little bit, but not too close.  Thanks buddy!  I was able to snap a quick picture of him weaving through school traffic on his way off to his locker.

After we got Andrew settled into his room, I decided to sneak back down the hall and just make sure James had gotten to his room.  Yes, I'm that mom.  I saw him walking back to his locker to put his backpack away, so I snapped a quick picture.  When he saw the flash, he looked up and said "hey! what are you doing there?"  Busted! 

And lest you think I'm the only one who is a little protective, Jon went back and to check on James himself and got this picture of him looking over a drawing that his 1st grade buddy had made for him.

After that, we enjoyed a little time at our school's Boo Hoo Brunch celebrating the first day of school with other families sending their oldest to school for the first time. The rest of the day was a glimpse into our new "normal".  I went home with just 2 kids for the next 6 hours.  Weird!  It was so quiet in the house.  Aaron liked having the playroom to himself and we read a few books without interruptions. Caleb treated me to a 3 hour nap (probably because of his new sleeping issues, which I will get to in another post).  And, I treated my 2 littles to a lunch at 2 Toots Train Cafe in Bartlett in celebration of the first day of school.

We sat up at the counter.  Caleb was very serious about the train going past repeatedly.  I'd love to know what thoughts were going on in his head.

 After lunch, we celebrated with cupcakes and pony rides for everyone (okay..maybe just Aaron and Caleb, I mean I was wearing a sundress after all and I'm a lady).

Shhh..don't tell the big boys that we were partying while they were at school.

The Night Before Kindergarten

I knew this day was coming.  Its not like it was a surprise. I've known for years (six to be precise) that we would be sending our "two boys" to Kindergarten in August 2012.  Knowing it and being ready for it are two entirely different things.  And the boys being ready for it and mom being ready for it are also two entirely different things. 

The boys are excited.  Beyond excited!!!  They've been counting down the months, weeks, and days since summer break started (Someone remind me of this in a few years when they are dreading the start of the school year).  They were excited to pick out school supplies, to drop them off at school, to find their lockers, and to meet their teachers.  My heart loves their excitement for this next phase of life.  I love that they are ridiculously excited...almost bouncing off the walls excited for school. They've yet to express any nervousness, fears or negatives.  But I am not surprised.  That's how these boys live life---expecting things to be great, happy-go-lucky and always ready for the next adventure.  Sometimes I think they have got more to teach me than the other way around. 

And because of this, I am not scared or nervous to let them go to school. I am excited for them.  I cannot wait to hear about their new friends, the things they learn and their new school "lives" apart from each other. 

But, I'd be lying if I didn't admit that there is a big part of my mama heart that is weeping.  And if I'm totally honest, its not just my heart that is weepy and crying right now.  I have been weeping and crying on the outside too.  Last night, I teared up during the church service we attended.  This morning, I had a little cry in the shower.  And tonight at bedtime when I read them the letter that their dad & I wrote them and prayed for them, I got choked up.  I made it through without an all out bawling though, so I'm proud of that. 

My heart is sad.  Sad because this is the first "baby" step in a series of many that will lead these wonderful boys away from me.  Its the start of a journey of independence.  They will be spending the most time they've ever consistently spent apart from me and from each other.  Its the end of the "stay at home with mom" era.  And I think its okay to hold these two emotions in my heart at the same time (sadness and excitement) because this is a big milestone.  Not just for the boys, but for me, for our family.

The past few weeks, I've been trolling pinterest to look for some Back to School traditions.  I had decided that along with the annual picture-taking and a special post-school snack that I would also write the boys letters.  Something to read to them the night before school.  I had told my husband and started drafting a letter in my head.  Then a friend posted this letter: http://momastery.com/blog/2012/08/23/the-talk/

I shared it with my husband and we decided it would be one of our annual school traditions.  We used most of the letter but tweaked it a bit to reflect a little more of what we wanted to share.  Tonight I read this letter to the boys before bed.  I had written it out in my cursive handwriting.  It took 4 pages.  Needless to say, my hand was sore from writing it out this afternoon.  They snuggled in close and let me read to them.  The letter was from both of us, but Dad wasn't here to read it with them tonight, so he's going to read through it again with them tomorrow (per their request).  I'm sure they didn't "get" all of the letter. But we talked through some of it and they got the main points.  After that, I prayed for each of them individually and let them pray for their teachers, classroom and new school year. 

Here is our version of the letter from the link above:

Dear James and Andrew,

Hey Boys, Tomorrow is a big day.  Kindergarten--wow! We hope you are excited about the new adventures you will have and all of the new things that you will be learning.

Did you know that when we (mom and dad) were little and going to school, there were many kids who sometimes didn't quite fit in?  Sometimes the other kids teased some of them.  Have you ever seen a kid who was being teased or made fun of by others? We never teased kids, but we also didn't always tell those other kids to stop doing it either.

We didn't talk to most of these kids that needed friends.  Looking back, we should have invited them to sit next to us at lunch or to play with us at recess.  Most of the time, they sat and played by themselves, probably feeling alone and we just ignored it.

Do you think these kids remember us?  Probably not. 

We think that God puts people in our lives as gifts to us.  The children in your class this year, they are some of God's gifts to you.

So please treat each one like a gift from God.  Every single one of them.

Boys, if you have Jesus living in your heart and you see a child being left out, or hurt, or teased, a part of your heart will hurt a little.  We want you to trust that heart-ache.  Your whole life, we want you to notice and trust your heart-ache.  That heart-ache is called 'Compassion' and it is God's signal for you to do something.  It is God saying "James! Andrew! Wake up! One of my children is hurting.  Do something to help them!" Whenever you fell compassion-be thrilled.  It means God is speaking to you, and that is a miracle.  He trusts you and needs you to help him and his other children.  Please do not ignore God whispering to you.

Sometimes compassion will make you step into the middle of a bad situation right away.  

Compassion might lead you to tell a bully to stop and asked the teased child to play.  You might invite a left-out kid to sit next to you at lunch. You might choose a kid for your team first who usually gets chosen last.  You might talk to someone you don't know because they look lonely.  You might ask someone who is playing alone to come play with you.  These things will be hard, but you can do hard things.

Sometimes you will feel compassion but won't step in right away but choose instead to tell your teacher and then tell us.

Asking for help for someone who is hurting is not tattling, it is doing the right thing.  You also can always come to us and we can help you come up with a plan for how to help.  We are on your team!

James and Andrew--we don't care if you are the smartest or fastest or coolest or funniest.  We don't care if you are the teacher's favorite.  We don't care if you have the best clothes, most toys or coolest gadgets.  Its not important to us if the girls think you're cute or whether you get picked first or last for kickball or if you get the best grades in your class.  There will be lots of contests at school, and we won't love you more if you win a single one of them.  Do you know that we already love you as much as we possibly could?  You do not have to earn our love or pride and you cannot lose it. That's done!  We want you to try your hardest and give your best efforst in all you do, but we don't care if you have higher grades than your friends or which one of you gets the most awards or better grades.

What we do care about is that you show others the love that you have been shown.  You have been blessed to have a family that loves you and taught you about the one above who loves you even more than us.  We send you to school now to practice being brave and kind.  To show others the love that you have been shown. 

Kind people are brave people.  Brave is not a feeling that you should wait for. It is a decision.  It is a decision that compassion is more important than fear, than fitting in, than following the crowd, than being comfortable.

Trust us boys, it is.  It is more important.

Take care of those classmates of yours, and your teacher too.  You are blessed boys...with all of these new gifts to unwrap this school year.  Enjoy and cherish these gifts, this time in your life.

And remember--we love you!!!

Mom & Dad

When we were done, James said to me "You prayed for each of us, but you used different words to explain to God because we're different and it doesn't have to be exactly the same."  And on the way up to bed, Andrew asked if "he could keep the letter forever."  Yes, these boys can be loud, wild, and fiercely competitive but they also have this super sweet tender side.  Hearts that are being formed and reformed by God.  Thoughts that are working through what they are learning and how to put it into practice.  And I love watching that unfold.  

In an effort to be organized for the morning, I had the boys pick out their first day of school outfits tonight and hang them up so they're all ready to go in the morning.

And then I tucked my babies into bed. First Andrew on the bottom bunk.

 And then James on the top bunk.

Cupcakes

I love cupcakes.  Baking them, decorating them, but most of all eating them (if you don't like cupcakes, I'm not sure we can be friends anymore).  One of my dreams is to own one of those adorable cupcake shops.  You know the ones I'm talking about, right? Super cute decor, delicious cupcakes in all sorts of interesting flavor combinations and perfectly decorated cupcakes. If I couldn't own one, maybe I could vacation in one for a week?  Pretty please!  Just long enough that it would make me sick and never want another cupcake.   The cupcake has become incredibly popular in the past few years and cupcake shops have sprung up all over, there are cupcake tours, cupcake trucks and cupcake ATMS.  If you haven't noticed the rise of the cupcake, you've been living under a rock.

If you're a food network junkie like my husband and I, you have likely watched more episodes of Cupcake Wars than you care to admit.  Its probably no surprise that I usually end up baking a batch of cupcakes within 24 hours of watching this show.  This is why I keep asking my husband to not have Food Network be our default TV station because it just makes me want to eat, bake and eat some more.

Of course, owning a cupcake shop or any kind of bakery isn't going to happen anytime soon, at least not for me.  While I love baking, I am a baker that follows recipes, not creates them.  So, what I do is troll several baking websites.  One that I love is Brown Eyed Baker.  My friend Jaime told me about this blog and my life hasn't been the same.  I'm not kidding.  This website introduced me to chocolate chip cookie dough brownies.  If you haven't tried these, you MUST.  They are Ah-mazing!  http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2011/07/21/chocolate-chip-cookie-dough-brownies/   Of course, it is also because of the introduction to this website that I must keep running thirty miles a week in an attempt to burn off those wonderfully delicious desserts. 

Today I tried a recipe for Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting.  While the cupcakes are good.  I decided that they next time I make this.  I will scoop out the middle of the cupcake and pipe the peanut butter frosting inside.  Then I will top it with a layer of chocolate ganache.  I think this will be an improvement (how can more chocolate not be?). And I'm a huge fan of stuffed cupcakes. 

Anyway. Here is my finished product. Aren't they pretty? 

My husband liked the cupcakes, but sadly, only one of my 3 big kids did so this probably won't make it into a regular rotation.  So, I passed along half the cupcakes to another family (a family with kids who actually like peanut butter frosting). 

Another great thing about this recipe is that its only for 12 cupcakes instead of the 24-30 that many recipes do.  I like this because while I crave cupcakes, once I have one, I want to move on to another flavor.  Recipes that make smaller batches are my favorite for this reason.  Here's the recipe in case you're interested.  http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2010/06/10/dark-chocolate-cupcakes-with-peanut-butter-frosting/

First Post

Okay.  I did it.  After lots of encouraging (especially from a certain friend--you know who you are), I started a blog.  I don't feel "qualified" to have one. I follow several blogs and this is what has kept me from doing one.   I don't think I can be humorous in a blog like my brother Dan.  My friend Sarah has the most poetic and beautiful way with words which I could never duplicate.  Her expression of her thoughts always impresses me.  My friend Yvonne is so honest about her faith and has such a sensitive heart from her children that comes through her blog.  And my friend Jaime's blog is clever.  I love her honesty and her references to all my favorite movies in her blog (The Princess Bride).
Consequently, I feel intimidated at the idea of trying to put my thoughts into words and not have it be the most boring thing ever.  On the flip side, I'm excited to write down my thoughts. I feel like I have a million of them a day and I wish I was writing them down so I could remember this time.  Remember what it felt like to be a mom of these energetic kids and the things they teach me on a daily basis, make me laugh about and the ways they challenge me.  Remember this day to day life that seems to be passing by at the speed of light. Remember the lessons I'm learning and the ways I'm growing.  And, I think I've outgrown the space on my facebook status lines and I'm pretty sure I'm exceeding the photo limits too.  I need more room to write down all these words and places to put up all the pictures I'm snapping of the boys.  So, here I am.  I cannot promise it will always be interesting, clever, or deeply insightful (remember, I am taking care of 4 little people, I don't have hours for this).  But it will be from my heart.