Tuesday, October 22, 2013

T is FIVE

My sweet little guy is 5.  Wait, is that right?  No, he can't be five already!  That is not a little guy!  I'm really having a hard time with this birthday.  I'm not ready for him to grow up.  I'm not ready for this stage of life.  I like the freedom and flexibility we have to do school whenever we want, assuming we want to do it.  But at 5, kids start kindergarten at 5.  Yeah yeah yeah, we don't have to worry about that until next school year, but the fact remains that my kid is old enough to be in kindergarten.  He's just so BIG now.

We had a fun birthday party for him over the weekend.  He wanted a pumpkin patch theme and wanted it at our church.  So we bought pumpkins and set up his little patch.  We brought old tee shirts and painting supplies so the kids could paint their pumpkins.  I expected this to last a while.  It didn't!  But they were very happy to run around like little crazy people.  We had lots of balloons and a few games set up.  We didn't play many of the organized games I planned, though.  They were too crazy.  We were able to play 3 legged race, though.  It was fun.  T and his buddy B (who my sister used to nanny for, so we know him well) won both times.  I was honestly impressed with their strategy and team work!  The first round, they ran to the finish line like it was no big deal!  The second time, they fell down, but it didn't stop them from missing a beat.  They both crawled.  Ha ha!  The piƱata was also a big hit.  I bought way too much candy!  Sorry other moms!

I don't think I have T's birth story written down anywhere, so I'm going to take this opportunity to share it :)

At 37 weeks, I was 3 1/2 cm dilated.  Doctor said he didn't expect me to be back next week!  Yeah!  Baby time!  Next week, I was still 3 1/2 cm.  Sigh.  Again, I left thinking I wouldn't make it to my next appointment.  Half way through the week, I have one contraction which pushed me up to 4, closer to 4 1/2 cm dilated, but still no baby.  For a month, I walked two laps around the mall every morning (it's a huge mall!) and then J and I walked laps around our apartment complex...over and over and over.  Still, no baby.  I was scheduled to be induced the day after my due date.  But finally, at 39 weeks and 5 days, I went into labor.  I called J as soon as I realized I was in labor (around 11) and asked him to come home.  It was a long drive and I was worried about being alone.  By the time he got home, I was having good, strong contractions and hopped in the shower until we ran out of hot water.  After that, we decided to head to my in-
laws house because they have a big Jacuzzi tub.  That was WONDERFUL.  The contractions hurt so much less when I was under the water.  But about 3 1/2 hours after the first contraction, we decided to head to the hospital.  J called to let them know and they told him I didn't sound like I was ready but I could be checked at their office if I felt like I needed to go.  I told him we were going straight to the hospital, not the doctors office.  I was 6 1/2 cm when we got there and so discouraged.  Soon after that, I was asking for an epidural.  Then my water broke.  That's about the time J suggested I wait to be checked again before getting the epi, because he knew how important it was to me to go med free.  9 1/2 cm!  Almost there!  Then labor stalled, I cried, almost threw up with every contraction, held onto J's arm, cried some more, then felt like I had to push.  Yay!  Baby time!  After a while of pushing, the nurse realized baby was sunny side up, which was making it hard to come out.  The doctor said he was too far down the birth canal to try to move him and he would have to be delivered that way.  YIKES.  But the nurse knew some tricks to encourage him to turn himself.  I pushed on my hands and knees for a long time and he eventually turned.  2 1/2 hours later, he was born.  After a total of 7 hours, my 8lb 8oz baby boy was born.  He left me with a 4th degree tear, but was otherwise the best baby.  Nursed ok, slept well, happy as can be.

Here is his yearly quiz :)
Favorite food- corn dogs
Least favorite- spaghetti
Favorite toy- the lazer tag and the remote control truck, both he got for his birthday
Favorite game- tag
Favorite tv show- spiderman
Best friend- little girl who used to live across the street, but moved to the single family area in our community (L)
Favorite place- Chick Fil A
Favorite color- blue
Favorite book- Where the Sidewalk Ends, by Shel Silverstein
Favorite song- Oh no, never let go
Future Career- Stay home to help Mommy with the children.  Ha ha.  He's such a sweet kid.  But this mommy is done having children!  ;-)

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

No School!

We have taken the past few weeks off from school.  While I miss the structure and the time we spend gathered at our table, I thought it would be rough to try to learn academics with all that the boys have been doing.  We've done some fun things, though!  Like....


Busch Gardens!










 
Then, we stayed at a hotel and went to a place filled with trampolines and apple picking.
 









Obviously, a good time was had by all.  We can't wait to go again.  I love spending time with my little family.
 
After our family getaway, the boys tried their own little trip without mommy and daddy.  My parents took them to visit my sister in North Carolina.  T had a great time, L was ready to come home.   In fact, he threw such tantrums that they came home two days early.  J and I planned to go through our entire house, top to bottom, and clean, purge, and organize.  We got through a lot of stuff, but we have a lot left.  Sigh.  Oh well.  Someday, we will have a nice, clean, organized home.  When that day comes, I think I'll miss the excitement and joy young kids bring.  It would be nice if I could have both, though.  A clean house and young, joy-filled kids ;-)
 
Now that we've had a couple weeks off, I'm debating whether to hit the books again, or to work more on chores.  A certain child has a really hard time cleaning up after himself and doing things on his own.  Even things like getting dressed.  Part of me is thinking that I need to take this time to teach them more how to take care of their things (this goes back to my frustration over my house).