Staying busy

This weekend went very fast. Friday evening, while Jack-Jack and I took Ethan to Choi, Jason and Alex attended a Cub Scout/Boy Scout activity at a local fire station. They worked on the Readyman activity badge and learned about first aid techniques including the Heimlich maneuver! I was surprised with what Alex was able to tell me when they got home. He's excited by all of the activity badges they've been working on lately, and we are looking forward to some coming up in the next few months.

His den leader is also the Popcorn Kernel, and was able to give almost all of his popcorn order to us the same night. Alex is very proud of himself, as he not only met but exceeded his goal, selling over $1000 of popcorn. He and I spent part of yesterday trying to deliver the product and collect the rest of the money. I say "try" because many people weren't home. We went to about half of the homes we needed to deliver to, and only a handful of them were there. Thankfully all but one of those had cash, and the one check written to me is for a very small amount. This Saturday (if not before) we plan to deliver the rest in our neighborhood, and today we are delivering to 4 school employees as well as 3 instructors at Choi.

The older boys each had Catechism class on Saturday. Alex's is in the morning and this week it was "Family Advent Workshop". I figured with the word family in the title it would be a fun-filled learning experience for the whole family - well, the 3 boys and I at least. Not so much. While there was some learning, and there were a couple of fun hands-on activities, it was really just planned for the students themselves to do the activities with help from a parent. Personally, I would have called it "Parent and Student Advent Workshop". I wouldn't have dragged E and Little J along. Jack was being a typical preschooler, getting bored, wanting to do everything, talking loudly, etc. E learned a little but for the most part was bored. Next time, it will be just Alex and I or Jason.

Ethan had his confirmation class in the afternoon, and they are required to stay for Mass, and usually youth group. After dropping him off, I had a couple things to return to the store before picking Alex up to attend Mass with E. By the time we made it back to the church, we had about 10 minutes till the start of Mass. We saw Ethan standing up and singing with a little girl by the couple who run the music ministry and the piano. He saw me, finished the song, and came out into the entrance area to have a quick snack and let me know he was singing during Mass!! I knew they were going to be having the Confirmation students take on different roles in Mass, from music to altar servers and other needed areas, and it was nice to see E was chosen or volunteered. Throughout Mass, I could hear him singing the hymns loud and clear.

New shoes were needed for both Ethan and Alex, as they outgrew (and Alex managed to destroy, in 4 months...) their old shoes. After finding them each a new pair yesterday, we decided to go to a local Mexican restaurant for dinner. I ordered something different - chicken chimichangas - and OH MY GOODNESS, were they so delicious!

We got home fairly early and the boys wanted to play Minecraft, and for the first time in a while, they actually played survival mode. I liked watching how they cooperated and were trading items. I learned a few things, and Jason and I both noticed how much they do get from this game, compared to so many others out there. After all three boys were in bed for the night, I decided to go read in the bedroom for a bit while Jason watched football. Nearly an hour later, I realized it had gotten very quiet (as in no TV noise), so I went to check on him. I thought for sure he'd fallen asleep or something. Nope. He was sitting there playing Minecraft in creative mode. I just laughed. He looked up and said "What?!" Nothing, nothing at all. Just kind of neat to see him playing it, without the boys even. I love that it's become a way for them all to bond, too.

A few other things: Ethan and Alex are still loving Choi, taking 3 classes a week. We bought a few private lessons (1 free each and 2 additional per), and they are taking their second this week. I noticed a huge difference after their first one last Thursday. They stayed for the 5pm family class, and normally E would have been getting upset over perceived mistakes, and Alex would have let his form slip. Both were on point and doing their absolute personal best!

They both know their highest pattern and yellow belt speed drill, and are possibly testing this coming Saturday for their GOLD belts!! Not quite 4 months in and they are just about ready for their second belt test! That's amazing. They are not the same kids, especially E, that started there all those months ago. Both of them have really blossomed, and are really more self-confident.

I asked them a couple of days ago to practice some push-ups for me, and they just said "ok, how many?" and busted out 10 like it was nothing. And I mean, pretty great push-ups! 4 months ago, heck, ONE month ago, you would have been hard-pressed to get them to do one without getting upset. They impressed me. They also practiced both their patterns and speed drills in each stance.

Ethan has been more communicative lately at home, expressing himself, asking more questions. Things like "I don't understand why anyone would WANT to go outside when it's cold out." He's been more clear on his opinion and how he feels when certain things happen, or why he doesn't like such and such. I've also caught him saying hi to other students that I've never met, and USING THEIR NAME! He's always had the tendency to not remember names, or just say hi after being prompted. But lately, he catches that they are talking to him, and responds appropriately or even initiates it. Another boy from school attends our church, and we saw him Saturday, and Ethan and I stood talking with him for a few minutes before Mass. He was looking forward to hanging out with E at youth group, which unfortunately got cancelled. Luckily they have class together and seem to have quite a bit in common. The other boy also attended the summer social skills camp Ethan did, and so I suspect he's on the spectrum as well. I like that because they have even more in common and "get" each other. E even asked me about emailing the young man a couple of weeks ago, and at the time I wasn't sure who he was talking about.

This week we have Choi classes on Mon, Tues and Friday, as well as private lessons on Thursday. Alex's pack meeting is on Wednesday with a flag retirement ceremony. Saturday, if they are ready, is belt testing. We signed up to help sort and distribute Thanksgiving food boxes at our parish on Sunday evening from 4-7. We decided on that before knowing that E was required to help either at that on Sunday or Monday or at the Christmas giving tree gift sorting/distribution in 3 weeks, for his Confirmation Christian Service hours. I'm glad we had already signed up, and that he wanted to before he knew he had to. He chose to give his time to help others. And now it's still going for his service hours :) We may try to sign up for the giving tree sorting too, but it's on Mon/Tue/Wed which are all usually super-busy. It's already been decided that we are each taking a tag to buy an item though.

In two weeks, on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, we are attending Mass to celebrate the Rite of Acceptance with Ethan for his Confirmation. I remember mine, 9 years ago (Alex was just a baby at the time!) and my sponsors, fellow RCIA candidates and I when to the Basilica in Washington, DC. It was absolutely beautiful there. I've always wanted to go back and attend Mass as a Catholic Christian, but never made it before we moved from Maryland.

Last year, Alex wanted to sign up to light the Advent Wreath before Mass one weekend as a family, and we didn't. I've already signed us up this year, for December 7th. I'm hoping to dig out our personal Advent wreath and light our candles at home each Sunday as well. It's just a matter of finding it and the candles.

I'm taking this moment to remind myself that while we are busy, and this is the busy season of life - when kids are young, in school and activities, learning about life - it doesn't have to wear us down. WE have to be the ones that make the busy-ness of it enjoyable and fulfilling. While that's not always easy, and I've been failing miserably at that lately by complaining, it's a good goal to reach towards. Today is a new day, and even though we will be tired at bedtime, we will have enjoyed our time, and done something productive. At the end of it all, we will have a delicious home-cooked meal, and nice, warm beds to sleep in. So no complaining about being busy, it's a life we choose, Crystal. Enjoy it. Watch them grow, and learn, and live. Get out there and grow, learn and live with them. It's your life, too.

For the birds

Alex wanted to do a "big" project from his Bear Cub Scout book and we decided on a bird feeder. There's no real plans in the book, but I had seen a picture of a simple one somewhere (where I don't remember) and it gave me a starting point on writing up a plan for him to follow. 

Starting with a 12"x24" craft plywood board, Alex measured and Jas cut - using power tools - a 12"x12" section. 

 Then Alex took the two 1/2"x4"x24" boards, measuring and cutting them into four sections, using a handsaw. Two of the sections were 12" long and the other two were about 11 1/4". As they were building the frame, we realized that a little section had to be cut off the shorter pieces for it to fit together correctly.

Alex got to hammer the pieces together with Jason bracing them for him. He did really well with the hammer. Nobody ended up with any swollen digits!

Finished frame

 Next, they attached the bottom 12x12 piece to the frame with some small nails.

Dad adding a couple of starter nails to hold it in place for Alex

"Put one right here to start"

Look at that guy!

Next, they drilled a small hole in each corner, and screwed in 4 small screw hooks.

Using s-hooks, he attached two chains (each 2 feet long) diagonally, connected them with an additional s-hook in the middle, and attached a 3rd 1-foot long chain to hang it from.

Finished project!!

It's now hanging in a tree in our front yard. We are hoping to get some neat photos in the future of different birds.

First update in quite a while!

Finally! It feels so nice to be typing on the laptop and actually writing! I'm pleased with the work the computer repair place did. It was a great price too. While we had to wait almost 3 weeks because the screen was backordered, they replaced it within about 3 hours this past Saturday. We were using the laptop hooked up to our desktop monitor. Not very convenient. The only time we were even bothering was to pay bills or for Jason to do his homework.

It's been a very busy couple of months around here. Ethan and Alex finished swim lessons for this session just a couple of weeks ago, Catechism is wrapping up for the year this next weekend (I believe) and all the hard work they put in to play rehearsal paid off. Saturday was spent at Catechism in the morning followed by "call" at 5pm and the show at 7pm. I went alone to watch that night, while Jason stayed home with Jackson. It turned out so great! The director did a great job casting the parts. The actress who played Annie has an amazing singing voice! As well as many of the other actors and actresses. Ethan and Alex did good in their parts. I wish I would have gotten some pictures or video but no luck. On Sunday, Jason's parents came up for a visit and to go to the show. The boys had to be there at 1, and the show started at 3pm. Jackson slept for about half of it and near the end he got antsy so we stepped out. It worked out nicely since I had gone the previous night. Everyone else was able to enjoy the show.

We had the Blue and Gold banquet a few weeks ago for cub scouts and my parents came up for it. It was really nice.

My dad's SMILING!! For a PICTURE!!

My beautiful momma and handsome daddy! They just celebrated 41 years of marriage!

My dad showing the boys his Eagle Scout card!

Daddy and Jack-Jack <3

Our Pinewood Derby was March 23rd and Jason's family came to watch and to celebrate my father-in-law's birthday. It was great to see Jason's dad, sisters, brother and niece. We missed having his mom come up but were glad his mom and dad made it to the play. Alex's car did really well coming in 2nd and 3rd for each race. While he didn't win a trophy OR a spot in the regional races, he had so much fun and loved making his car this year. We all got to see Jason in action emceeing the race. He's such a ham...

Last week, Jackson and I spent the whole week volunteering at the Scholastic book fair. It was crazy busy for a lot of the time, but we had a good time. He keeps begging to go to the "library" - where we held the fair - and to school, since he got to hang out in the preschool classrooms on and off throughout the week. I am so thankful to the preschool teachers and the other 2 moms who were also working at the fair, including the fair chairperson. She did an amazing job with it, while also working in the preschool in the mornings. She was always right there when I had a question or needed a hand and I hope I did as good a job as she says I did. She even bought pizza Friday night for my boys and I and her family! And took Alex to the spring carnival while E, Jack and I kept the fair open late that night! Talk about awesome teamwork. I would work with her again in a heartbeat. Plus she's such a nice lady! Shout out to CINDY!!

I wanted to write a quick update on our winter fun list so here goes.

We dropped a few more things: sledding; snowman/snowfamily; ice bubbles; s'mores; origami; coloring contest.

We did the following but mostly without pictures: paint a picture - just mom and Jackson; make a fort; play payday - just the boys.

Also I decided to move a few things to our Spring activities. It will be an "unofficial" bucket list and will most likely blend over into Summer. Just things we still want to do but haven't yet. No pressure. Those items are: Lego movie; bonfire; ice skating - indoor arenas are plentiful; go for a hike; video game contest; Detroit Institute of Art; Detroit Historical museum; library event.

The family portrait is being added to our 2014 goals.

Unfortunately, we fell very far behind on our "Saint studies". The nice thing about it not being required is that we can do it at our own pace and will catch up and keep going throughout the year :)

Tomorrow I'll share a 2014 goals update since it's somewhat long!

By the way, April is Autism awareness month! In fact, today is World Autism Awareness! Let's not just promote awareness, but acceptance.

2014 Goals: Part 4 - The little Hamers

*A quick note about these goals. I have asked the boys for their input on these, but they have yet to get back to me. I am writing up some things that Jason and I would like for them to achieve as well as things we know they can achieve. I will add more as they share their own selections. *

Ethan

1. Complete Level 2-4 of swimming lessons. Currently enrolled in Level 2 as part of our Winter Fun List activities. We are hoping to "graduate" to the next level and finish Levels 3 and 4 over the spring and summer.
2. Read 50 books. He will be keeping a list to share with mom and dad.
3. Start learning a second language, his choice.
4. Participate in a play. There is a school musical in March, and he has auditioned. We should know something soon.
5. Learn to cook at least 3 recipes/meals/foods. Considering signing up for a cooking class at the rec center.
6. Take a video game design class through our rec center.
7. Make a comic book and share!
8. Volunteer with mom.
9. Go to overnight camp.
10. Go to a school dance. This will be easy as there's one coming up!

Alex

1. Complete Level 1-4 of swimming lesson. Currently enrolled in level 1 but as he has previously taken and was *this.close* to "graduating", they may move him to level 2 (it was in late 2011/early 2012 when he and Ethan took their first classes, so he has had a couple of years of practice in his grandparents pool.) Hoping to finish Levels 2-4 throughout the spring, summer and fall.
2. Earn his Bear badge for Cub Scouts. He has actually finished all his requirements, we are just waiting now ;)
3. Become a Webelos Scout.
4. Earn 5-10 belt loops for Scouts. We just found out last night that as of March 2015, they are discontinuing the belt loop program, so he is hoping to earn a few more before then.
5. Participate in a play. Same as Ethan, he has auditioned for the school musical and should know in the next few days.
6.  Read 50 books. He will also keep a list for mom and dad.
7. Start learning a second language of his choice. He takes Spanish still in school, so he may consider expanding on that using Duolingo.
8. Learn to cook at least 3 new foods/recipes/meals. Also considering a cooking class at the rec center.
9.  Practice and master fractions. He can do it but seems to be having a bit of a hard time with them.
10. Go to overnight Cub Scout camp!
11. Go to overnight camp with E. 

 Jackson

1. Potty-training!!! YAY! ;)
2. Move to his own room. Yes, he's currently still in our room, but in his crib most of the night from bedtime till 3am or later. He's been sleeping better every night, and last night, not even a peep from 8:45pm till 6:15am! Thankfully we have a guest/extra bedroom, we just need to clear out the queen bed and E's desk. I have some ideas on how to rearrange the house to still allow E a "private area" for homework.
3. Transition from crib to twin/toddler bed. I'd LOVE to get him a car or fire engine bed or even a train!!
4. Level A and B swimming lessons. This month's sessions for his age groups that are at an open time are full, so he isn't enrolled yet. We are hoping to enroll in March, and continue through the summer. He can't take Level C until he's 3 but then may be able to repeat to keep learning/practicing.
5. Learn some simple words in German. I chose German for him, because of my own knowledge of the language and ability to teach him some objects, foods, colors, etc. It will truly be simple words, as my skill level, especially for teaching, is beginner/intermediate. Should be fun, though!
6. Learn colors. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, black, white, brown. Currently working on.
7. Learn basic shapes. Square, Rectangle, Triangle, Circle, Oval, Star, Diamond, Crescent. Somewhat knows most, and is able to actually name them. Can point to correctly most of them, when asked, most of the time.
8. Learn to count to 10. Currently counts to 2 consistently and occasionally 3 and 4.
9. Learn his ABC's. He currently knows A-G of the ABC song :)
10. Spend the night at his grandparent's house. This may be harder for me than him...

A good weekend

Decided to do scouting for food yesterday morning. Gathered quite a haul! Jackson bounced between riding in the stroller, walking, my arms and (sitting on the canned goods) riding in the wagon. E helped pull the wagon and push the stroller. Alex did the heavy lifting and the hardest part of the job: knocking on doors and asking for donations! I'm very proud of all of them!

After we were done, we decided that since Jason was still in Detroit doing some maintenance, we would go to lunch. The boys have asked before about going to Strawberry Fields but we never have. Since it was right near the VFW hall where we were for scouts, we popped in for lunch. E and Alex were amused by this sign, and we thought a picture would be fun.I didn't catch the purposeful irony until we were inside. Beatles memorabilia everywhere and song references throughout the menu. A quick google search on my phone led us to the reason behind the restaurant's name. 

We had an enjoyable lunch before heading home to do nothing much for the rest of the day.

This morning, after Jason cooked the boys breakfast and they were all building with blocks in the living room, I "snuck" out alone to the grocery store. Jackson wasn't thrilled when he saw I was putting my shoes on and grabbing my purse, but it needed done and I thought the 3 boys needed time with daddy. By the time I got home, Jason and the younger 2 were outside playing while E was reading in his room. Between the 5 of us, we made quick time putting all the food and toiletries away. After a late lunch and some dawdling on my part, we headed to Jungle Java, a nearby indoor play place. The kids had a blast running around for over an hour and a half. Time to head home for dinner and showers. We ended up ordering out from a local Mexican restaurant and Jack fell asleep while Jason was gone picking it up :( He's been up and down the last few hours, and didn't want dinner when he did wake up. Thankfully he's still nursing so i know hes gotten dome nutrition this evening as that's all he wanted when he woke up. He's sleeping soundly now and so are the other 2. They have school tomorrow (charter school) but Jason doesn't have work or class. I'm going to take my boys' cue now, though, and get some shut-eye. 6am comes quite early ;)

Behind on pictures!

I was just looking through a bunch of photos I uploaded, trying to find a couple from today, and realized I never shared the ones from Alex's first Communion! My sister managed to get a few good ones at church and I got a couple there and some fun ones at the party after.

You can barely make him out but that's Alex standing by the cross

Ethan :)

Jason, Alex and I

All the First Eucharist students with Deacon Dennis and Father Chris

Deacon Dennis, Alex and Father Chris

Jack didn't want to sit still for this one ;)

Finally a great picture of all 3 sitting together!

Alex, Jackson and Ethan

And...we're off!

My nephew Jake, reading to Jack (my dad and sister Heather are there too!)

Ethan had to sneak in to the picture, and I love the look on Jack's face here.

Jake, Jackson, Dad, Mom and soon-to-be BIL Matt

My beautiful (slightly) older sister, Heather Jean

Dad (Gale), Mom (Linda), BIL Matt, and his daughter (niece-to-be ;) ) Megan

Miss Julie!!! Matt's other daughter, another new niece-to-be, Ashleigh, and Ethan

Ethan and Miss Julie's nephew

Heather and Jake

Being silly ;)

Tired after a LONG day!

Here's some cub scout pictures too.

flag retirement in the winter

Alex at Blue and Gold

Dad and Alex

Dad H (Joe) and Alex

Getting his awards at Blue and Gold

Awards :)

More pics to come later!

Summer Bucket List 2013 - Hamer Style ;)

If you follow us over on FaceBook or Twitter, you saw me post earlier this week about a summer bucket list and The Happy Family Movement!

I've been putting ours together with a little input from the boys, Jas and even our cub scouts Fun for the Family book! We have 100 fun things we are planning to do over the summer, starting THIS weekend!

Without further ado:

Our Summer Bucket List 2013 - Hamer Style!
(in no particular order)

1. Visit Toledo 5/25-5/26
2. Play charades
3. Make ice cream sandwiches
4. Read-a-thon - read aloud book(s) with everybody taking turns (cub scouts 3P) Didn't really take turns reading, but mom read aloud from a chapter book. We never did finish it :(
5. Cookout with friends
6. Dance party
7. Go to Jungle Java
8. Technology-free day - Boys pick activity for the day
9. Pajama and movie day with snacks
10. Catch frogs
11. Fly a kite
12. Obstacle course (cub scouts 5L)
13. Puppet Show
14. Play cornhole
15. Money games - Monopoly/PayDay (cub scouts 2K)
16. Watermelon seed spitting contest
17. Celebrate the Date (cub scouts 1B) - Moving to a Fall activity :)
18. Go to the beach
19. Heritage party (cub scouts 1I) - Fall activity, due to planning :)
20. Story Creator - write a story by taking turns adding to it (cub scouts 3R)
21. Tour Morley Candy 
22. Go to the library weekly - after school is out only made it once so far, but we did get a ton of books :)
23. Make homemade sorbet 
24. Go fishing
25. Catch fireflies
26. Make "recycled robots" 
27. Make your own pizzas
28. Picture scavenger hunt - use pinterest for inspiration on lists/ideas, can be nature, or in a city, even around the house!!
29. Make - or paint - suncatchers 
30. Drive in movies - Field of Dreams Drive-in or Ford Drive-In (Find one near you here) 
31. Lemonade stand - here's some cute printables 
32. Have a garage sale
33. Make tie-dye shirts
34. J's baptism - hopefully first Sunday in July!! (also satisfies "church visit" cub scouts activity 3B) - moved to later in the year
35. Water "sponge-bomb" fight 
36. Try a new restaurant 6/2
    
37. Visit River Raisin National Battlefield - check out free National Park days for a park near you! - Fall activity:)
38. Kids' Workshop at Home Depot June 1st - Lawn Mower Pencil Holder 9am
39. Kids' workshop Home Depot July 6th - Despicable Me 2 surprise craft! 9am  - missed this one due to a trip to their grandparents :)
40.  Banana splits/ice cream sundaes 
41. Play Simon Says
42. Go to Bay-Rama Fishfly Festival missed this one :(
43. Nature Honor - grow a small flower/plant (cub scouts 5J) - moving to spring :)
44. Go apple picking - Fall activity :)
45. Make chalkboard paint and make individual chalkboards for each boy
46. Face paint
47. Go to a Farmer's Market
48. Go bowling - up to every week!! Check out kidsbowlfree.com - 2 free games for each kid, every day at a nearby bowling alley from now till September, plus a family pass available for sale for up to 4 adults (not necessary but if you want to bowl with the kiddos, it's a great deal)! went twice so far but hope to go a time or two more before the end of summer.
49. Star Wars movie marathon - all 6 may end up taking a few days to complete with littlest.
50. Family campout in backyard (cub scouts 3D)
51. Memorial Day parade (and cub scouts potluck after) (cub scouts 3H) 5/27
    
52. Make homemade doughnuts 7/7
53. Backyard Angry Birds - some great inspiration on pinterest
54. Build a city with blocks
55. Make sidewalk chalk/paint and draw all over the driveway Never made the chalk but we did have a cool looking driveway ;)
56. Go to the Detroit Zoo or Toledo Zoo
57. Visit the DIA
58. Picnic
59. "Hamer" family reunion
60. Hide and Seek
61. Go to the playground/park 5/27
62. Treasure Hunt (Geocaching) - tried, but no luck so far
63. Family Game Day/Night (cub scouts 2F)
64. Water gun fight
65. Make S'mores
66. Play Sardines
67. Have a bonfire
68. Go swimming 
69. Take a hike at Stony Creek Metropark or Wolcott Mill Metropark
70. Visit Michigan Adventure 
71. Go to Tons O' Trucks - June 1st 10am-1pm
72. Watch fireworks
73. "House upon a rock" - build a sandcastle (cub scouts 1K)
74. Play mini-golf - Jason took the two older boys :) We did go a second time and Jack enjoyed watching us play.
75. Go on a bike ride (cub scouts 4a)
76. Wash the van/truck together ;)
77. Paint rocks
78. Star-gazing
79. Make a butterfly feeder
80. Watch the sunset
81. Make a name-book (cub scouts 1o)
82. Baseball game - Detroit Tigers or Toledo Mud Hens
83. Ice cream truck
84. Build a fort
85. Family restaurant (cub scouts 2d)
86. Play in the rain
87. Carriage ride - next summer possibly, with Mackinac Island
88. Go to Mackinac Island  - moving to next summer possibly, due to constraints
89. Play a card game
90. Collect shells
91. Fudge from Mackinac - next summer with 87 & 88
92. Neighborhood pixie (cub scouts 4n)
93. Finger paint
94. Make cookies
95. Video game tournament
96. Make mini-marshmallow guns
97. Guess who? (not the board game!) (cub scouts 2h)
98. Make a pool noodle race track and race cars
99. Pillow fight
100. Adventure Time marathon 

Pictures to come later of our bucket list "cards", if blogger will let me upload some pictures!

The boys are excited to do this, so even though they have about 3 weeks of school left, we are starting this weekend with 1, 48, and 51. Talk about a great start to a fun summer!

To be honest,

I don't really want to go. I don't want to take Jackson who will be tired and cranky, because he won't have napped before, and he won't nap there. I don't want to take E who will most likely be bored and end up having a meltdown. I don't want to take myself, because I am not in a good mood. I am not in a mood that is conducive to being supportive and cheerful and the mom I want to be.

Alex has his first pinewood derby race in just over an hour.

We got up, E and Alex showered, ate breakfast and dressed for Mass. Jason fed Jack while I showered and got ready to go. After he finished, I dressed him and we were ready to head out for Mass this morning. Having only 10 minutes to get to our parish and not be late, I thought it would be prudent to go to a different parish today. The closer one is larger and has quite a few more families, so it's usually a little more crowded. I didn't anticipate how crowded it would be being Palm Sunday, so when we pulled in the lot and found not only every actual parking space filled, but also each curb "space" full, I decided it was just time to go home.

I guess it's a good thing we did, because when we got home, I checked Mass Times to see if there is a later (evening) Mass in our area and I realized that the Mass we almost went to started at 9:30 not 10:00. So we were very late anyway ;)

Regardless. Since we've been missing Mass a lot lately, either because one of us - or several! - are sick or because I can't get us all moving or don't want to "deal" with 3 kids at church by myself again, I really did want to go today. I was honestly looking forward to it. Not going, well, it put me in a bad mood. I know, it's silly really. But it's the truth.

Now it makes me not want to do anything today. Jason says I have my priorities screwed up. Because I was planning to take them to church, but I won't go support our son doing his Cub Scout activity.

Here's the thing though. I did plan to go to church. I planned to go to the derby too. And even though we didn't make it to Mass, and even though I don't want to go to the derby, even though I told Jason I plan to just drop Alex off and bring the other two home, I won't do that. I am his mom, whether I am having a good day, or a bad day, whether I want to do something or not. I will go, I will support him, I will cheer him on. Because I LOVE him and I want him to always know and remember that.

So yeah, maybe my priorities seem screwed up, especially when I spout off at the mouth. But, to be honest, my boys will ALWAYS come first, their needs, their wants, whether it's a good day or not.

Off to the pinewood derby in 35 minutes or so and I'm sure we will all end up having a good time, despite a cranky, tired toddler, a 10yr old Aspie's anticipated meltdown from boredom and a crabby mom, because sometimes, you just need to get out of the house and do something, anything to change everybody's attitude :)

Spring brings lots to do!!!

We've got a busy few weeks ahead of us! Starting with this weekend, Friday is the school carnival, Saturday the boys have their final Catechism class of the year, and Alex has his first Pinewood Derby on Sunday.

Next week, I'm helping out at the school book fair pretty much all week - Monday and Thursday from 8-4 and Tues and Wed from 8-12 - and of course, Jack-Jack will be with me destroying the displays helping the kids all pick out books ;) Then Thursday evening, E and Alex have the school talent show with their friend J. Good Friday starts their Spring break, and Easter Sunday, we may or may not head to Ohio to see family. Not entirely sure what our plans out, so we shall see.

At some point over their break, the older two boys are going to visit Jason's parents for a couple/few days, probably the following weekend. My birthday is also that Saturday (April 6). Since I'm in my sister Heather's wedding - Matron of Honor - and we are still doing all the dress fittings and looking for the perfect bridesmaids dresses as well as making the table decor, we decided that weekend is perfect to go down to Columbus. So after Jack's 15 month dr appt., we are driving down (probably dropping E and Alex off at the in-laws that afternoon, on the way) to my parents to pick up my mom and then down to Heather's house till Sunday afternoon. I'm thinking we should go to The Cheesecake Factory for dinner as a birthday treat ;)

A week after that is Jason's sister Jorie's wedding. It's in Florida and we aren't going to be able to go. :( It makes me sad that we aren't going. I really, really hope that her and Matt's special day is perfect and they enjoy their day surrounded by everyone who loves them and that they know we are thinking of them.

The following Sunday - April 21st - brings Alex's First Communion. We are having a small celebration with immediate family and a few close family friends - I'm talking like 30-35 people, including the five of us!

Thankfully after that, it's pretty mellow around here for awhile. At least as mellow as it can be with 3 young boys, and a crazy husband ;)

Or if this crazy mama forgets something!!

Very rough day and night

I picked the boys up from school yesterday, only to find out they both had "questions". It's the school's disciplinary actions. First they get a warning, then RTC questions (what was I doing? what should I have been doing? What can I change? etc.) then finally they go to the RTC (responsible thinking classroom) room for a little while and talk to the vice principal or whomever.

Alex always seems to get his questions from talking, interrupting or not listening to the teacher. His "problems" are never too bad, and he's 7, in the third grade and the whole class is a talkative bunch, according to his teacher.

Ethan, on the other hand, has been having some meltdowns. He's our Aspie. I love my children dearly, but there are certain things that I don't understand when it comes to E's frustrations and anxiety. I don't know how to help him. 3 or 4 weeks ago he had started hurting himself on a daily basis. He would get upset about something and punch himself, pinch his cheeks, smack himself with a book, etc. He was doing it out of anger. E has never hurt anyone else, and never seriously injured himself, thankfully. The worst incident was a few months ago when he smashed his head on the office wall and put a small dent in it, but he was uninjured. Anyway, about 2 weeks ago, after talking to him till I was blue in the face, for the gazillionth time about why we shouldn't hurt ourselves, that feeling angry is ok, but there are better ways to deal with those and ALL feelings, I came up with our incentive plan. If he could go all day with no self-injurious behavior, he would earn a star. After 40 30 stars, I would take him to go buy a used DS game. He loved the idea and it seemed to give him something to focus on and help him calm himself in class. E went 8 days of school (so Wed-Fri of week 1 (started on Wed), and Mon-Thurs of week 2(no school Fri) and Monday of this week) with no incidents. Then yesterday, every little thing started bugging him. He ended up punching himself in the right cheek, and it came to the point that the teacher, after asking him to stop, had to gently take his hand and hold it so he would stop. Then he went to the office for a break. He has a behavior plan and built-in breaks, for whenever he feels he needs them. The boys go to a public charter school and E is in a "regular" classroom, self-contained 6th grade, instead of switching classes with most of the middle schoolers. The school added a 3rd sixth grade this year and this is how they did it. We chose to have him in there, as he's a year younger (10) than most of the other kids and thought it would give him another year to mature and learn responsibility and organization. He does have a first hour that he goes to that switches each trimester, currently Spanish. This year, his IEP is focused on social skills and behavior, as academically, he is at or above grade level (even after being a grade ahead!).

So, after all that, I go to ask him what happened and he says "I'm sorry, I accidentally punched myself." Sigh. Really, buddy? How can you accidentally punch yourself, over and over. It makes me sad. Regardless, we talked to the teacher, and he had a better afternoon. I ask several times if he had all of his homework. Yes, mom, of course I do.

We get home and I tell the boys to do their homework, the play 60 challenge, and the March is Reading Month calendar. E proceeds to tell me that he forgot a sheet of paper to do his vocab pictures. Seriously? Well, I let him know he still needed to do them and to figure it out. I'm proud of him, because a few minutes later he lets me know that he's going to draw them on another sheet of white paper and paste it on the yellow construction paper when he gets to school tomorrow. Hooray for problem solving!!

At this point, I'm starting to not feel so hot. I've had a cold off and on for a few days, Alex has had a sinus infection and is on amoxicillin, and Jack is coughing and has a runny nose. E is the only one of us not sick. Jason's out of town for work and Alex has cub scouts. So I hurry up and make scrambled eggs, sausage and toast for dinner, we eat, I put Jack in his jammies, and we leave. By the time we get to cub scouts, I feel dizzy, chills, achey, and have a really bad headache starting.

We left a few minutes early and by the time we got home, I was ready to just go to bed for the night. I had the boys take showers and go to bed early and Jack was sleeping until five minutes before I was ready for bed (HA!). I had the worst sinus pressure. It was so bad, my teeth were hurting. We don't have any aleve, ibuprofen or tylenol (only 3 meds that I know are safe for breastfeeding for pain) and I can't take sudafed because I get heart palpitations from it usually. Jack and I laid down and I think between him waking up due to a stuffy nose or wanting to nurse - he didn't eat well at dinner last night, and slept right through lunch so he had a light snack around 3:30 and so he wanted to nurse on and off all night last night - and me waking up due to sore muscles and my head still pounding, we were up at least every two hours from 8:30 till 5:30, sometimes for over an hour. The little sleep I did get was very restless. Finally at 5, I dug through our medicine cabinet and found some advil congestion. It has pseudoephedrine in it, which I was leary about but I had to do something! By 5:30am, my headache/sinus pressure was waning, and I fell asleep on the recliner with Jack till 6:45.

Since I had told the older boys the night before that if I wasn't feeling any better, I might just keep them home today, E came out and asked how I was doing. I told him I was ok, and to go ahead and get ready for school. He looked very relieved. :) We were running a little behind and I think he was probably marked tardy for Spanish today, so hopefully that doesn't ruin his whole day. :(

Here's hoping they both have a better day and less homework! I really want to just come home and spend some time with them. We are going to sit and do cub scout stuff maybe. Alex has his Light of Christ book so he can get his religious pin, and the Fun for the Family book with activities we can all do together and earn pins/patches! I was thinking we can sit and pick out which ones they would like to start with from each section. Also we have to decorate their pillowcase for the talent show. I still haven't gotten everything I need, but I have some stuff around here, so I may be able to improvise.

Kudos to all the single parents out there. I have done it alone before, when Jason was in Afghanistan for 6 months and Louisiana for a few months with just the two older boys and when he was in California for a month when E was 2, and then when he first started working at this job and he was only home 2-3 days a week (usually the weekend) and he was living up here in an apartment during the work week for over a year. It was hard. This seems harder, having a third child thrown in. I don't know if it's because Jack is still so little, or maybe it's because we are (almost) all sick right now. But I miss Jason, I miss his help, and his jokes, just his presence. He and I really do feed off of each other, good and bad, but right now, I could use the calm, collected side of him. It always seems like when I have a bad day, he's able to be the rock, and vice versa. We are a pretty great team. Most of the time. ;)

Proud of my boys

This weekend was a big one for the 2 older boys. E had the regional spelling bee and Alex had the blue and gold banquet for cub scouts.

I took Ethan along with my mother-in-law and Jack to the community college where the bee was being held. I made sure E was okay with me not sitting backstage with him. Last year, Jas sat back there, just in case. He was so funny. He said to me "No, mom, I'm ok. I'm mom's big boy. I'm your big boy!" LOL. Yes, buddy, you sure are. So we went and sat down to wait for the kids to all be called back so they could start the bee. We waited for almost an hour! Finally they called the kids back and announced the judges and the gentleman who was giving the words, as well as stated the rules. E was #25 so we had a little of a wait. During the first round, each child had to state their name and school and then spell their first word. Of course, my son, the ham that he is, had everybody in the audience laughing. I even heard at least one person behind me say she remembered him from last year. He really does shine, and make an impression on people. I really don't know why I worry about his future so much. He's going to do just great out there in the big wide world some day. I just hope that "someday" doesn't get here too quickly... Anyway, he got the first word right: denture. They were having difficulty during the first round with sound so after all 75 students had a turn (53 made it to the next round), they took a 15-20 minute break.

Second round came and it was eventually E's turn again. This time: oratorio. He spelled it incorrect - ouritorio - but after a big sigh of disappointment, he walked off stage calmly and was just fine. :) I found out later that 38 kids went out in the second and third rounds, and round 12 ended with just 2 left. The last 2 boys battled it out for 13 more rounds, when the top speller finally run in round 25! Crazy! Anyway, so after E got out, I gathered our things, met my M-I-L and Jack in the lobby and picked E up from backstage and he got his "prizes" - a certificate, a dictionary, and a tote bag with a ruler, pencil and pad of paper inside. He decided since he has the same dictionary from last year, he wants to donate this year's to his classroom. When I asked him how he felt about getting out so early on, he said he was ok, and "how am I supposed to spell the word right, when I couldn't even understand what he was saying?" and "I don't remember even studying that word!" Ha. He is certainly something else.

Big thanks to Marsha - my M-I-L - for helping me out with Jack. I wouldn't have been able to do it without you!

Alex went with Jason and my F-I-L to the blue and gold banquet. They got to eat chicken shack and enjoy some time visiting. After lunch, they had the awards ceremony, starting with the younger kids (tiger, wolf and bear) and then the webelos got their awards and they did a special "arrow of light" ceremony.

Alex received his Bobcat patch and pin (finally!), his Wolf patch and pin, his Blue and Gold patch, Order of the Eskimo patch (for winter fun day), Scout Sunday patch (for wearing his uniform to church in February for Scout Sunday), and his Gold Arrow Point for finish 10 electives in his Wolf book.

He was so excited to show us when we met up at the house. I don't think he stopped smiling at all! Love it! We are excited to work on more electives with him, as well as belt loop activities, the family fun book and the Light of Christ book (so he can earn the family badge, and the pin/badge for Catholic 2nd graders!). I'm planning to drive over to the Scout store and pick those 2 books up this week, so he can finish them before the end of the school year.

At his next pack meeting, he should get his first two belt loops - collecting and video games. He is starting to collect coins from around the world and has a pretty nice start from old coins Jason and I had and gave to him. He found a 1943 steel penny at the consignment shop a couple of weeks ago that we are going to go back and get one of these days. ;)

As soon as we get all his patches on his uniform shirt and patches/pins on his red vest (before next Tuesday's den meeting?), he wants to wear his uniform on their next casual day - probably this Thursday! - to show the kids what he got. Seriously, the boy is so excited!

These two make me proud, not just because of what they do, but because of how they handle things. Even though Ethan didn't win, he took it in stride, mostly, and worked hard up until then. Alex worked hard to earn those badges, and wants to continue to work hard to earn more. So I'm proud that they aren't giving up, that they are building character, trying new things, working hard, learning, and having fun all the way! Speaking of learning and trying new things, Ethan went up to two of the other contestants on Sunday to introduce himself. While we probably need to work on his etiquette a little, he's made great strides in that. Before, he would have been oblivious to the other boys and girls, but he told me he wanted to go meet them! Baby steps are becoming leaps...

Oh yeah, and a big shout-out to my in-laws, Marsha and Joe! Thank you so much for treating us to dinner Sunday night and for coming with us to the boys' activities! It meant a lot to us and it was so nice to see you guys. I hope we can make it down your way sooner than later. And even though my mom had to work, thanks to my mom and dad, Linda and Gale, for thinking of us, texting me to find out how they did, and for trying to watch the live-stream, even though it was a crappy audio! I can't wait to see you guys again. It's been too long. :(