Disney Pics!

Sorry For The Delay!

Whew! This has been a very busy month. Our trip to Disney was AMAZING!!! It was a blast, and we can't wait to go back sometime! The boys did an amazing job. I thought for sure that Aidan would have several large meltdowns because of the weird schedules every day, but he did so great! We made special schedule cards specific to our vacation, and those seemed to help him a lot. We took the cards everywhere, and he relied on them heavily. Disney is so much fun, and also so exhausting! I have not walked that much in such a short time in my whole life. My feet felt like they were going to fall off by the end of each day. Four theme parks in four days, oh my goodness!!!

But, like I said, it was so worth it. Aidan rode almost all of the big roller coasters and liked looking at the maps. Austin was pretty much afraid of everything, especially all the 3-D stuff. Every time we told him a ride wasn't going to be scary, sure enough, a villian would pop up somewhere and send him into a panic. No matter how scared he got, he wouldn't look away or close his eyes! He was terrified but had to keep watching. So weird! He is scared of movies at home now that he has watched a million times before. I don't know what we are going to do with him! :) I am pretty sure we traumatized him so much he is going to need therapy some day!

Aidan had an allergic reaction to something while we were there and broke out in a strange rash all over his face and legs. So that was fun. Austin had a runny nose the whole time and ended up with a sinus infection when we got home. I lost my voice while in Disney, but at least I felt OK. I just couldn't talk or shout when one of the boys got away from me in a crowd! Two days after we got back, Austin came down with the stomach flu, and he is still not doing very well. After 5 days of throwing up (from both ends mind you!), fevers, and a very whiny boy, I am pretty much ready to be done with all sickness in this house!!!!!! Watching my little 3 year old hugging the toilet is just about the most pathetic thing I have ever seen. He was so sad last night, it made me cry. Ugh! Go away sick germs!

Alright, I am off to watch the election results. I love the media. They are so neutral and unbiased. :)

Cherene :)

Ok, So I Am Exhausted!

Doing homework with Aidan is exhausting. That's all I have to say about that. :) Really though, nothing tries my patience more than sitting down to help my little guy with his homework. He is very bright, but he gives up so easily. Or he looks around the room and comments on some obscure something else other than his homework. But, we are going to see a therapist with him on the 20th. She will hopefully perform the battery of tests on him to find out more about how he ticks. Then, maybe we will get some good ideas on how to help him and work with him. Still, his teacher is being so great, and his principle has been nothing but supportive. He now gets to go to the sensory room twice a day to give him a break. He is also going to go to group social once a week with other students and the Student Support Coordinator (counselor). She is going to work with him on his impulsivity and opposition (which he mostly only pulls at home!). I am confident that we can get this all figured out and get him on the right path to success, but getting there is so exhausting! Did I mention this process is exhausting?

You know what else exhausts me? Political commercials. Can't stand them. They are all so completely ridiculous. We all know that they are slanted and biased, so why do they even bother. Seriously...Ok, sorry I'm so cranky. But it really annoys me!

Anyways, life really is pretty good. Just extremely stressful and busy. :) We go to Disney in 13 days, so we are all excited about that. Aidan and Austin can barely contain themselves. I just keep praying for everyone to stay healthy and no rain while we are there. Is that too much to ask?! I can't wait to see the boys' faces when we get there.

So, I am a big, fat loser and haven't posted any pictures of the boys' first days at school. They are still stuck on my camera. I really need to get those off before Disney! I'll add that to my ever-growing TO DO list. When will life slow down? Oh, that's right, not until January, if we're lucky! Ok, I am off to do something I am actually supposed to be doing...

Cherene

My Baby's In Preschool!

Austin started preschool this week. He did great! It's at our church so he calls it "church school". He goes twice a week for two and a half hours. He has 21 kids in his class, so it's a full bunch! There are three teachers though, so they get lots of attention. He loves it so far, and he loves wearing his Diego backpack every day.

Yesterday, Aidan got mad at Austin for something and bopped him on the head. Austin looked right at Aidan, and in a rather loud and stern voice, let him know that "his teachers said no hitting!" It was so funny cause he was so serious about it.

Anyways, I can't believe both of my boys are in some form of school. Now if I can just get rid of those pesky diapers at nap (sadly, the nap is quickly disappearing and that's another post in and of itself!) and bedtime. He is being so stubborn with potty training! I just want to be done with it!!! Diapers are the last baby hurdle to be jumped in this family, and we are so ready to keep running past "baby life" and never look back!

Cherene :)

Arrrrrgh!

Well, it seems that Aidan is facing many of the same struggles he faced last year in school. His teacher is really great, and stays in constant contact with us, so for that we are thankful. She is trying all sorts of things to help him, and I really can't believe how patient and caring she is being. I know it's her job, but she truly seems to care about Aidan.

He is having trouble focusing, staying on task, working independently. He doodles a lot, bounces and moves a lot, sings a lot, talks way too much!!! He is also very impulsive and now getting in trouble for for bad behavior. He plays in the bathroom (has always struggled with this for some reason, and we have no idea why!). She gives him many more warnings than the other kids because he can't help much of what he is doing, but he continues to be disruptive in class. When he is supposed to be working on a task by himself, he rarely gets anything done, and what he does do is rushed and not his best work. When an adult sits right with him and keeps him on task, he does much better. It's the same at home when he has to do homework. He can't be left alone to do it, and if there are any other distractions in the house, forget about it!!!

I love that boy with all my heart, but my goodness is he stressing us out! His teacher has set up some sort of meeting with herself, the principal, mom & dad, and some other people (I think the meeting had a certain name but I can't remember, not an IEP but something else). In the meeting we will work out some ways to help Aidan improve and be successful. He may also do group social once a week to work on his impulsiveness. She already has some strategies she is putting into place, and then we will meet again in like six weeks to see if he is doing better. If not, we will have to go to the next step (clinical diagnosis and medication maybe?) Aidan does really well with the timer she has in her class, so she is getting a personal one that he can use at his desk. She has moved his seat, but she doesn't want to put him completely by himself and isolate him unless she absolutely has to. She is also going to put some sort of large rubber band around the front legs of his chair. This should allow him to bounce his legs and feet without being disruptive and making noise.

We have always said that if he could handle school, we could handle his behavior at home and outside of school. But lately, he just seems so out of control. His body is constantly moving and he cries and throws tantrums about everything! Friday after school is awful. Church is even worse! It's at the point now where I don't even want to take him to church for fear of how is going to act in front of other people. That's so awful for me even to admit!

I know a lot of this is due to him getting used to being in school all day, instead of just the afternoon. He did seem to mellow out a couple months into school, but he's not in Kindergarten anymore! 1st grade has so much more work and so much more is expected of them. We are afraid to let this go to far and have him fall behind. That's why we are being so proactive right now. He is a really bright boy, his teacher even says so, but his issues are causing him to not be able to concentrate and do the work.

On a brighter note, at least he still likes school. I know he has a great teacher because even through all this, he hasn't complained once about her or about school. It doesn't even seem to phase him really, not until he gets in trouble at home for getting in trouble at school. Then the "I'm sorry's" come along with weeping and gnashing of teeth (only cause he just got something taken away!)

Whew! Sorry for the long post. I just needed to get that all out. It's so frustrating watching your child misbehave and struggle. I hope and pray that we can figure out a solution for our little guy! He is so outgoing and funny and imaginative. I just want those qualities to shine through and not all the other stuff!!!

Cherene

Busy, Busy, Busy

So...sorry about the long delay in posting. We have been really busy with school starting and church going to one service this coming Sunday. We (ok, mostly Chuck) have been painting the downstairs of the church and rearranging all the kids' rooms, so that has taken up a majority of our time the last couple weeks.

School started for Aidan, and so far so good. I will have to post some pictures as soon as I get them off of our camera. The first day they had a choice of cheeseburger or grab bag for lunch. He chose grab bag, but when he got home he told me he had a cheeseburger. The grab bag, he discovered, did not contain a toy!!! We had to inform him that lunch would never come with a toy at school. Very cute! His teacher is super nice and staying in contact with parents is very important to her. She even called two nights ago to check in with us and let us know he was doing really well. She has noticed some of the concerns we talked with her about (trouble focusing in the afternoon, doodling more etc...) but said it's nothing to be concerned with yet. He has awoken every day ready to go to school, so we are hopeful that the good attitude will continue!

Aidan had to get a tooth pulled yesterday, and he was so brave. His mouth is very small, and he needed more room for at least the 4 bottom front teeth to come in right. The dentist did let me know that he was in for lots of dental work and braces when he gets older. Woo Hoo! Large dentist bills, just what I always wanted!!! His oral surgeon and the whole staff were extremely friendly and great with Aidan. After he got some laughing gas and the dentist came in, they sent me out of the room. Aidan did completely fine. They said he layed very still for them, and he even had to get two stitches. Aidan told me later he just grabbed his legs instead of squeezing my hand. He absolutely loves going to the dentist. He wasn't scared at all, and he practically talked the nurse's ear off before the procedure! Needless to say, the tooth fairy brought extra last night. She even left a note with fairy dust on it. She also allowed him to keep his tooth for a few days so he could show it off. (I'm not sure how I feel about perpetuating the tooth fairy lie to that extreme, but he got a huge kick out of it. We'll just be paying for lots of therapy later on, along with the dental bills!)

Ok, I am off to bed. It's been a long week, and I really hope my boys sleep in tomorrow. Now that we are on school schedule, I am highly doubting it. But since they stayed up later, there is that slight chance. A girl can hope, right?!

Cherene :)

End of Summer Blues

Wasn't it just yesterday when I was saying I didn't know if I could make it through a whole summer with Aidan home all day long?! I cannot believe how fast these last 3 months have gone by. I feel like I am just getting into a good groove with the boys, and now our world gets flipped upside down again. There was so much more I wanted to do with them. I hate it when my days feel so uncompleted! I am just not looking forward to battling it out with Aidan every night over homework. I know, I know, I should be more positive about it, and I really am with Aidan. But it's my turn to be grouchy, so there! :)

Although, I should note that Aidan said today he was excited for school to start. When I heard that I about fell out of my seat. What did he just say? He then clarified that he just meant he was excited to meet his new teacher and make new friends. Ok, but still, excited?!?! I can go with that!

Anyways, summer is almost over, and crazy life begins again. There are just never enough hours in the day. But somehow we will make it through the bleak winter and back round to lazy summer days again. Plus, we have our Disney trip to look forward to in October. We all can't wait!!! Just gotta get over the hurdle of transitioning back into school life. But hey, maybe it will be perfectly smooth and surprising!

Cherene

Oh My Goodness!

I cannot believe that my baby boy (Aidan) went to church camp today! And he did great! That makes me feel so old. Camp was always such a big part of both Chuck and my summers growing up. It just seems so insane that I have a child old enough to go! It was only day camp, from 9 AM - 4 PM, but it was worse for me than his first day of Kindergarten!!! I didn't cry, but I did get a little teary eyed dropping him off. I think it was because we were going to be over 30 minutes away, as compared to 5 minutes away from his school. It didn't even phase him that he had never been there (at least not since he was a baby) and he didn't know a single person there. I told him we were going to leave and would pick him up later. I barely got a goodbye! But that's good, it just made me realize how quickly he is growing up. He is ready to spend the night next summer.

On another fun note, we (myself, Chuck and Austin) got to go visit our wonderful friends Brian and Lisa Walter. They live about 30 minutes south of Lake James Christian Assembly, so we decided to stay in the area instead of going all the way home, just to turn around later to pick Aidan up. It was so nice to see them. I miss hanging out with them dearly. They were our closest friends at Great Lakes Christian College, and we were in each others' weddings. They have an 18 month old boy named Luke and a 2 month old little girl names Ella. I got to snuggle her, and Austin liked admiring her and trying to make her smile. Very cute!

Overall, we all had a fantastic day. Aidan fell asleep on the way home and then went back to sleep on the couch when he got in our house. They tired him out at camp! I am so glad he had a good experience.

Cherene

Aidan Is Growing Up!

Last night, while Aidan was getting ready for bed, he picked out a few books to look at in bed before falling asleep. He does this every night, but admittedly never actually reads any of the words in the books, he just looks at the pictures. Well, last night he spotted a book about trains that he used to love. He decided to take that one to bed, but this time he thought he could try reading it. He even asked if he could read it to me. Now, for Aidan this is a huge deal! Getting him to do any kind of school work, especially reading, is usually an enormous task, and one that I normally fail at miserably.

Well, instead of hurrying him off to bed and ignoring his request to read to me, I excitedly told him I would love that. Aidan then proceeded to read the entire book to me. I helped him in a few spots, but for the most part he sounded out all the words he didn't know all by himself. It was so awesome to watch because every time he read a big word, he got this sparkle in his eye and this look on his face like he was so proud! He also didn't stress out and lose it halfway through the book, pouting that he couldn't do it or it was too hard. The hardest thing was getting him to focus. He kept wanting to talk about the pictures or would get distracted easily by something else in the room. It was frustrating for me, but I tried not to show it.

I am just so happy that he enjoyed reading. I hope this continues into the coming school year!

Cherene :)

Restful Vacation

Well, we just got back yesterday from being up in Shepherd for a week. It was great! We got to sleep in every day (the boys slept until at least 9 AM every day!) and just enjoy being around family. It was very relaxing and fun. Thanks Mom, Dad, and Mona (who gave up her room for our family) for putting up with us in your house all week long. Aidan went early to have some time with Oma by himself, and he loved every minute of it. I think he would spend the whole summer up there without us if we let him! :) Cousins just got a trampoline recently, and our boys spent half their time in that thing jumping around for hours! It was nice to have them all "caged" in one place and not worry about where they were or what they were doing! I gotta get me one of those!!! Here are some cute pictures of our vacation with Uncle Murdoch and Aunt Jan visiting from Seattle:

Silas & Austin - two silly peas in a pod!

All 5 boys with Aunt Jan

Aidan and Gideon - Fun at the Isabella County Fair!

Aidan & Austin at the fair

Cherene

Murdoch & Jan

Two of my most favoritetest people in the whole wide world are visiting Shepherd this week, and we made the trek up to be with them. My Uncle Murdoch and Aunt Jan flew in from Seattle, and I love hangin' out with them. I once labeled my uncle as someone who "doesn't mind embarrassing himself in public." Granted, I wrote that in a report in the 5th grade, but I believe that is still the case! He is also an award-winning author and para glides in his spare time. Jan is a terrific woman (who also para glides!) and I could sit and talk with her for hours. They both shower the Marckel and Howard boys with lots of love and laughter. I am so happy to be spending time with them this week. Thank you Murdoch and Jan for sharing your experiences and love with me. Words cannot express how much you mean to me.

Ok, I had better end this before I get truly emotional and start blathering on about some obscure childhood memory with them. Maybe I'll save that for the next blog entry!

Cherene

Officially A Blogger!

The other day when I was in Burger King having the conversation with Austin (see previous post) I told myself to file it away in the "blog later" folder of my brain. Now, according to only me, I am officially a blogger, saving tidbits of my life to share with all of my devoted readers (or just my mom!) If only my Mommy Brain didn't make me forget what I wanted to blog about when I actually sit down to blog it!!!

Cherene

My Little Austin

As I sat eating lunch at Burger King with Austin today (Aidan was at camp at the library), I decided to work on spelling words and stuff like that. We were going through three letter words and sounding them out together. Then I asked him to count for me and do the ABC's. It was a good chance for me to see how much he knew without his brother around giving him all the answers. I know I am biased, but Austin is wicked smart. So much so that it's almost a bit creepy. I realize that most of it he picked up when listening to us work with Aidan during the school year. But seriously, where did that kid come from?

Anyways, I digress. I decided to ask Austin where he lived, just to see if he knew the name of our city. He looks right at me and answers "at Earth." I laughed and said "yup, you're right!" Before I could ask him where he learned that, he told me at church yesterday his teacher told him about everyone living on earth. He then proceeded to list everyone he knows who lives on earth, including anyone in Burger King at the moment. It was pretty cute! Then I asked him who made the earth and he told me "God." I was so proud! I told him we live in Temperance, and at first he wanted to disagree, insisting we live "at Earth." But then later on when I was laying him down for a nap and I asked him again "where do we live?" He responded by telling me "we live in Temperance and then at Earth." So funny.

Cherene

Life...Crazy But Good

So life for us is pretty crazy right now. With the church still in transition and starting to look for a new Senior Minister finally, it seems like it would settle down a little. But not so. It just seems to get busier. But it's good stuff, so that I am thankful for. We are forging some really great friendships with people in our new church, and I am also very thankful for that. I have been missing our friends from up north a lot lately, so it's been nice getting to know families here and finally feeling like we can be ourselves around them (without fear that they will run in the opposite direction screaming and crying!)

Aidan ended up doing fairly well in T-Ball this summer. He still had some major focusing problems, but for the most part he did great. He had really fantastic coaches, so that helped. They were very patient and encouraging with him, while at the same time being stern when they needed to, but not mean. He hits the ball really well when he tries, but he will not run seriously for the life of him! He is always trying to make people laugh! If he keeps playing ball, we are going to have to work on that!

I can't believe July is almost gone. This summer is flying by (didn't I already say that in June?) It's already time to buy school supplies, wow! I'll have to write about school supplies in another post. My sister-in-law and I have this weird love of buying school supplies. It's not normal. But I'll save that discussion for another day!

Cherene

The Challenge of Slowing Down

I need to slow down. Not really for my own benefit, but for my kids' sake. I often say that my children seem to do everything in slow motion. Everything takes twice as long as is should because they are so slow! And Chuck and I constantly find ourselves rushing them along.

The weird thing is, I tend to move slowly at certain times also. And it drives Chuck absolutely crazy. So I guess they come by it naturally. I enjoy taking my time shopping, and it's difficult for me to make decisions at times. This also drives Chuck bonkers! My kids are the same way, and it makes me want to pull my hair out!!!

Lately, I have been trying to mentally slow myself down when I get the urge to hurry them up. It is such a challenge! For instance, the other day I took the boys to the mall while Chuck was out of town. It went fairly well, and we were there forever! We spent 20 minutes in Bath & Body Works smelling practically every bottle of lotion. Normally, I would get what I wanted and get out, but I decided to go with the flow and let them smell to their little hearts' content. And instead of a fight to get them out the door, we happily left when we were done smelling (and nobody gave us dirty looks on the way out!) I let them take their time looking at toys, and making a choice about which snack to buy. But man, did they take forever! On top of that, Aidan wanted my opinion on how to spend his hard-earned garage sale $5, but even when I gave it to him, he still couldn't decide. But we left the Disney store in one piece and very content with our purchases. It was actually quite amazing!

My kids just do things slowly. They get in the van slowly, they eat slowly, they brush their teeth slowly. They transition from one activity to another VERY slowly, they get dressed slowly, and they come slowly when we call them. And we rush them to eat, rush them to get dressed, rush them to get going or we're going to be late (that happens A LOT!), and say their name twenty times (getting louder each time of course) to get them to come to us.

I am trying to slow down. I want to enjoy all the little moments I am missing by rushing them. If nothing comes of this challenge but me calming down and not stressing so much, I will be happy with that. I can't seem to change their turtle personalities, so I might as well embrace it! After, Chuck hasn't been able to hurry me in a store after 10 years. He just avoids shopping with me whenever possible. Since I can't avoid my kids, I might as well enjoy their perspective on life. They tend to notice the little things that I don't. Thank you God for my Pokey Petes!

Cherene

A Teaching Moment

Austin was reading his birthday card from Papa Chuck and Marcie (which must stay in the van by his seat for him to look at whenever he chooses) yesterday. Aidan then informed Austin that "Papa" is his first name and "Chuck" is his last name. It made me giggle, especially since he was so serious when he said it. Aidan then proceeded to read the card to Austin. And that in turn sent Austin into a screaming fit because according to him the card says something completely different (and it's always the same!) and no one may tell him anything else. This in turn causes Aidan to stress out because he knows what it says for real, and gosh darn it, he will not let it go. Like it's his role in life to make sure Austin knows what the card really says. Welcome to my world! I tell Aidan every time just to go with it, but that is so not his personality. Ahhh, I love 'em!

Cherene

Our Little Ladies' Man

Aidan sat next to a girl on the bench tonight for T-Ball (waiting for his turn to bat). We were sitting behind the bench, so we could hear everything he was saying. He touched the girl's necklace and said "that's a pretty necklace." Then he added (very smoothly I may add) "you're pretty." I'll give him one thing, he sure does know how to work it! Two weeks ago he was at a wedding and spent half the night holding hands with another little girl and dancing. It was a proud moment for Chuck! Of course, Austin spent the same amount of time fighting to dance with the same girl and then pouting cause he couldn't cut it. It was precious.

Cherene

30 On The 30th!

Happy Birthday to me! Ha! I am old now. Chuck played a pretty funny prank on me today. Yesterday, at church, he handed out postcards to people that gave my phone number and said to call me on my birthday. It also said not to leave a message but to make sure to talk to me on the phone because I don't really enjoy talking on the phone all that much. Plus, he had a bunch of my family members do it. Altogether, he contacted 30 people to call me for my 30th birthday. It was pretty darn funny. I didn't catch on until about the 10th phone call. I finally realized that he must have said something yesterday in church. People were calling me nonstop all day long! At one point, I got 4 phone calls within like 10 minutes! My family was cracking up!!! I want to say it was a sweet gesture to have people wish me well on my special day, but we all know better than that, don't we? :) Still, I was impressed at his amount of planning and thinking ahead. That doesn't usually happen! Thanks Chuck for making me laugh all day long. I love ya!

Cherene

My funny 3 year old

Austin's observation today: "Everyone has yellow pee."

Gotta love him!

Cherene :)

Summer Days

I just posted a whole darn post, and of course as I go to publish it my internet goes out. Man, I hate that! Well, the gist of it was that I am actually starting to enjoy the summer with my boys. I have started trying to schedule our days a little more, and that really seems to be helping Aidan. Both of the boys have been better behavior wise. I just let them know what I have planned for the day, and knowing the schedule seems to empower Aidan to be more in control of himself. We'll see where this takes us...

Cherene

Whew! Where Did June Go?

I can't believe the month of June is almost over? Where did it go? With the end of school, birthdays, and a trip up north, we have been busy!!! The trip up north was tiring, but fun. It's hard traveling by myself with the boys, but I'm getting the hang of it. My mom and dad were so great, and the help was so much appreciated.

Without the structure of school, Aidan has become a bit squirrly. Ok, more than a bit. He can barely control his body at times. It's so frustrating. I am sure the lack of sleep (due to several late nights in a row) doesn't help any! And then Austin just feeds off of Aidan. I know I need to put more structure and schedule into their day, but it's so not me. It's hard because I just like to be laid back and do whatever. But it's very obvious that Aidan needs that structure in order to maintain any sort of sanity in his little body and brain. Threatening, rewarding, taking things away, doesn't do any good with him. We have to figure out some other way to deal with his behavior. It's just so hard because I know half of the time he really can't control what he is doing. The other half of the time, he's just being a typical 6 year old who doesn't want to listen to his parents. Ahhhhh!!!

Ok, I am off to bed. I need to start trying to go to bed earlier. I am so darn tired and cranky in the morning! I never want to get out of bed, and I have no energy. Now, I do realize most of that has to do with the fact that I am a biggen'. I'll add losing wait to my ever increasing To Do list. But going to bed earlier has to help a little, right?

Good Night,
Cherene

I Hate Packing

I hate packing. I am stalling by means of blogging so I don't have to pack. It's pathetic, I know. Plus, my gall bladder is acting up and so I feel pretty crummy right now. The boys and I are taking a trip up north to see family. I am not looking forward to driving, but am looking forward to spending a few days with family. Chuck is away all week at a conference with some youth from the church. I figured if I stayed here all week, one of us would not survive.

Ok, I don't think I can put it off any longer. The suitcases are calling my name. I've got a lot to do before Aidan's first T-ball game tonight! I probably won't be able to blog much while I am gone, so sorry about that to my millions of fans in cyberspace!

Cherene

The Season of Birthdays Is Officially Over!

Well, we have finally come to the end of celebrating the boys' birthdays. They had their party today, and they had a blast! I have included a few pictures of the festivities.

The cake didn't turn out too badly, especially when looked at from far away. It took forever to make and frost, but the boys loved it. I realized last night, after I had the entire Pikachu made and frosted, that I forgot the tail. Luckily, I had picked up another box of cake mix! So I had to make a whole other cake just for the stinkin' tail. Aidan came in my bedroom this morning after seeing it and told me I could be a pastry maker. That made my day!

The party went really well. The weather was perfect, and they even got to go on the slip n' slide. When everyone sang happy birthday to them, Austin conducted through the entire song. It was great!

My sister-in-law, Kristie, got the boys each a Savings Bond. A while back, Kristie had asked them what they wanted for their birthdays, and Aidan told her he wanted a Savings Bond. What she didn't know was that they had recently watched the new Alvin & The Chipmunks movie. In the movie, Dave gives the chipmunks Savings Bonds for Christmas. Hence, the odd request from Aidan. He loved it though, so I'm glad she did it. Austin wanted to know what it was, so I tried to explain it to him. After doing so, he looks at me and says "what is it?" I gave up on that one!

It was a good time for all, but I'm so tired now!

Cherene

Ow, Ow, Ow!

I wrote about my poor big toe yesterday. Now, the rest of the story! Right before bed last night my big toe was really throbbing. There was an enormous amount of pressure under the nail because of the blood pooling under it (sorry for the graphic details!) Chuck said I would have to poke a hole in my nail to drain it. Well, that sounded rather awful to me. But the pain was only getting worse, so I decided to research online. Everyone said the same thing. Grab a trusted friend, a needle, and a match. Well, I didn't have a trusted friend around, so I grabbed Chuck (kidding!). He took a needle, got it hot with a flame, and poked three tiny holes in my nail. The first didn't hurt, the second two did! Anyways, I did manage to drain it some, so it feels a little better. I gotta tell ya, having him jam a hot needle into my big toe was actually quite terrifying for me. I cried like a baby! :) But it's over now, I hope. Now I just have a gross, black, ugly big toe to show for it.

Cherene

Point Taken, Chuck

Since I started this blog, Chuck (my dear, sweet, encouraging husband) has pretty much mocked me continually. That's Ok, I would do the same if he had started one. Anyways, every time I post, I ask him if he read it. Well, today he answered me by saying "No, I haven't read it. Isn't that the point of you having a blog." Meaning, didn't you start this so I wouldn't have to listen to you flap your jaw all the time. I added the extra sarcasm, but he did make sense. That is the reason I started this blog. So, I guess I'll stop asking him if he read it! Now he is having a fit because I am blogging twice in one day. But I had to blog about him not wanting to read my blogs and making fun of me blogging!!!

On another note, entirely not related to what I just wrote, I seriously messed up my big toe tonight. As I was trying to get ahead of schedule and make the cakes so I can frost them tomorrow, I dropped a pan right on my big toe. The really stupid part is, it wasn't even a big pan. It was a small round cake pan. However, that small pan packed a good punch. As I stood in the kitchen yelling and moaning in pain, not one of my boys (including my loving husband) got up off the couch to see if I was OK. Thanks a lot guys! Of course, being boys, they all wanted to see my black and blue toe. Maybe if I yell "blood" next time they'll come runnin'! I can't even walk on the thing it hurts so bad. Seriously, I am the clumsiest person ever. I'd post a picture of it, but really, that's just gross.

Cherene

Birthday Cakes

Ok, so we are celebrating our boys' birthdays together this Saturday. I love planning their birthdays. I feel like kind of slacker this year cause I haven't gotten into it as much. But still, I am trying to do my part as the "coolest mommy ever." Every year I attempt to make their birthday cakes to fit whatever theme they have chosen. This year it's Pokemon. Ok, so pretty much Aidan chooses and Austin just gets stuck with whatever. Good thing he really doesn't care. The only thing he says is that he wants a "yellow birthday." That I can do! I am going to try to make a cake in the shape of a yellow Pikachu tomorrow. It's going to be interesting. I am really not that good at making cakes! My father-in-law still mocks me for the Adidas soccer shoe I tried to make for Aidan's first birthday!!! For those of you who don't know, I have included a picture of Pikachu the Pokemon creature.

We were sitting at lunch today, and I mentioned to my family that I would be making the cake tomorrow. Aidan says "mom should open a pastry store." Chuck and I just looked at each other and laughed. I told Aidan that "pastry" was a great word and asked him where he learned it. He just looked at Chuck with all sincerity and said "pastry means cake." So we laughed again. He said he just heard it somewhere. That guy picks up on everything! And then Austin picks up on everything that Aidan picks up on. It's like we are living with two parrots.

A few examples:
The other day we were driving through Toledo and passed what I believe is another blasted Rite Aide being built. Aidan says from the back of the van "those building are taking over the world."

I made Pokeball cupcakes for Aidan's class at school to celebrate his birthday (see picture at right). They didn't turn out too bad. When we took them to school he told his teachers "my mom tried to avoid Pokemon as long as she could, but my neighbors like it and now I do." Oops, I think I tell people that a lot!

Ok, last one. Aidan had to go see the ENT for a check up. He kept talking and talking and talking. When there was no one in the room, he turned to me and said "I'm going to talk their ear off." Oops, I guess I say that all the time, too!

Wish me luck tomorrow on the cake! It has the potential to be a huge disaster! I'll let ya know how it turns out!

Cherene

Birthdays...

Ok, for my first rant on this blog (see Murdoch, I told you I would rant) I want to talk about restaurants in Toledo. My boys each had a birthday this week. Aidan's was last Friday and Austin's was today. We usually take our boys out to the restaurant of their choice on their birthdays. Of course, we always tell the waiter or waitress so they can prepare dessert and come marching out singing the appropriate birthday song for that particular restaurant. Practically every restaurant in Mt. Pleasant did this. Well, apparently in Toledo they are too good for the birthday song and dance. We went to Olive Garden for Aidan's birthday and got nothing, not even dessert. Needless to say, our drama king who loves attention did not appreciate this. Today we went to Applebee's for Austin and our waiter did bring dessert, but no song. Seriously, is it that hard to drag a few workers out and make my kid's day? They look really forward to it, darn it! And I'm not just trying to be some cheap parent who doesn't want to buy dessert, although that is nice! Aidan and Austin just get such a kick out of the whole thing. We always clap along for other people's birthday songs in restaurants. It's just a good time all around.

I will give props (yes Chuck, I did just use the word props - how many cool points do I lose for that?) to Red Robin. We went there to celebrate an early Father's Day for my father-in-law when he was visiting. On a whim we decided to mention the boys' birthdays (it is after all the "season" of their birthdays!). Well, thank you very much, we got the whole obnoxious song and dance and dessert, and my boys loved every single moment of it! They had to stand up on their seats, hold their sundaes over their heads, get a balloon, and a loud song that went on forever. Our waitress even took 3 seconds to learn their names and how old they were in order to announce it to everyone sitting around us. Now that's what I'm talking about. Not only did they get to enjoy the moment, but they got to annoy every person sitting nearby. And there were at least 3 other birthdays just while we were there. Gotta love Red Robin. So, thank you Red Robin for making my kids smile. And it only cost you two scoops of ice cream and thirty seconds of your workers' time.

Okay, my first official rant is now over. I know, it was a big one. Next time I'll try to tone it down a little!

Cherene

What Is Mommy Brain?

Ok, so I finally decided I needed to give this a try. I figured it would give me somewhere to purge my thoughts when my husband was tired of listening to me (or pretending to listen). Since most of our days revolve around our two sons, we rarely get to say complete thoughts, let alone have entire conversations. So there ya go, I can type away and not worry about anyone screaming "mommy" in my ear twenty times. That assumption of course is based on the fact that I will never, ever, ever be able to blog when my children are awake!

Anyways, on to the really important stuff. What is "Mommy Brain" you ask? I believe this phrase was coined by my sister-in-law. She told me that is what I had when I was pregnant with my first son. I think I once heard that a woman's brain shrinks when she is pregnant. Hence, Mommy Brain! Every mom knows what this is. You suddenly can't remember anything. You are forgetful, absent-minded, clumsy, and downright stupid at times. Every smart thought you ever had has left you for good. I fully believe that Mommy Brain never goes away. I have been cursed with it for the rest of my life. My sons are now 6 & 3, and still, I am dumber than rocks. My head is so full of doctor appointments, T-ball practices, snack schedules, and homework assignments, that my brain really can't compute anything else!

So, I have decided to fill this blog with all the mundane things in my life that drive me crazy, make me laugh, or simply puzzle me. Thanks for reading, and I hope you visit often!!!

Cherene