HGTV

If you ever wondered why you don't ever see pictures of the boys together, the top 4 pictures pretty much answers that question. By the way, Kai usually wins as you can see, he finally escaped!

The next picture is of Bei going to the state fair with one of his cousins Gina who we call Saint Gina because she is the sweetest nicest person you would ever meet. I gave each of the kids money to spend at the fair, so what does Gina do with hers? She buys a bunch of gifts for Bei and Kai. She is a very sweet girl!

Dan came home about two weeks ago and said he wanted to move...what? where? when?...now? Good Lord Dan don't you think we have had enough changes in our lives in the past two years??? We built our house as newly weds so we have been here a very long time! To get our house ready for sale, I went into Project Management mode and came up with a three-pronged strategy; fold the unending piles and piles of wash that refuse to fold themselves, second - throw as much junk into the dark recesses of the nearest closests and then clean the house like it has never been cleaned before. It seemed like a reasonable approach to me, however since I was feeling overwhelmed I called my super-organized, workhorse, friend Terrie and asked her if she would spend a day with me getting my house ready for sale. So Terrie comes in and she starts pulling everything out of my kitchen cupboards and I mean everything! Uh...Terrie, there is alot of work to do, let's get folding and hiding the junk. Nope, she said that we need to declutter, organize and clean the kitchen, starting with the cabinets. Uh...isn't that where we are going to be hiding everything??? Wrong again! She informed me that people will be looking in my cabinets to see the amount of storage space. I call my agent and she confirms Terrie's message to me!!! For a non Type-A person like myself I think this is crazy-talk! I'm starting to hate the TV network HGTV, which I believe is the culprit of all this "showroom house" madness. Why can't people all accept that we all live in our houses and there is clutter, dust and unscrubbed toilets? Oh how I am missing the old days right about now. I can see how the first call from my agent is going to go; I will be putting the final touches on my Broccoli, Cauliflower, Onion and Cabbage soup, when I get a call from the agent saying they will be here in 10 minutes to show the house. It may look like a "showroom" house but it definitely won't smell like a "showroom" house!

Preschool Trauma

Bei and his "villianous" teacher! Actually, we feel very blessed to have her as a teacher she has a passion for children and it just exudes from her.


Perhaps this blog should be titled "Preschool Melodrama." I took Bei to his first day of preschool on Tuesday of this week and it was all going well until it was time for me to leave. Bei started crying and didn't want me to go. Somehow I dug down really deep and was able to walk out of that school and leave my crying son in the hands of his teacher. I have to admit that I didn't cry...I SOBBED all the way home! It was the most awful thing that I had to do. As I drove home I decided that I was going to form an organization with the Acryonym MAP and it stands for Mothers Against Preschools! It was going to be a revolution that will sweep the country, rallies would be held everywhere! This whole concept of children being taken from their mothers by these villianous preschool teachers at the age of 4 was just ridiculous in my mind! However, I got home and I spent the next 2 hours cleaning the house and having one on one time with Kai Kai Sweetie Pie..hmmm...maybe, just maybe, this 2.5 hours, twice a week thing where those really NICE ladies watch your kid is a good thing??? Well Bei did not like school at all and spent the night in near tears telling me how he did not want to go back. It broke my heart and I told him not to worry about it that we would figure out something. In the meantime I receive an email from Bei's teacher that says Bei settled down within 10 minutes, enjoyed painting with marbles, made a new friend named Easton and was very verbal asking lots of questions throughout the 2.5 hours that he was there. I question Bei and he told me all the things that he liked about school...so there is hope! We went back today and there were tears by him, not me, and lots of smiles when I picked him up! So you may wonder what made a wimpy mom like me able to walk out the door when my baby was crying??? I am trying to avoid the scenario of Bei attending his prom when he is 17 years old and someone saying; "So who is that old lady with Bei and his date?" "Oh her?" "That's just his mom, she goes everywhere with him". As much as I would like to attend Bei's prom, I think I owe him a normal childhood. Therefore, I will do my part of starting to tear at the apron strings a tiny bit.

Little Miss Large and in Charge!

"Large and in Charge" is what I called little Miss Anna who came to visit this past week. She is a 15 month old pint size dynamo who wanted to dominant Kai! She came in on Monday afternoon and she swatted Kai, she tried to bite Kai, she kick Kai and then next she would kiss Kai and then hug Kai and then back to the agression again. By the way, she did this all with a smile on her face like it was the most natural thing in the world. What did Kai do? He swatted his hand at her like she was a fly, and wasn't fazed by her at all. This cute little dumpling is Kai's youngest cousin, my brother and his wife's "oops" baby. But there is nothing "oops" about her, she is pure JOY and LOVE. As you can tell I was smitten with her and wished we all lived closer because she made me laugh alot.

We are all seeing a big difference in Kai since he has been put on his anti-seizure medicine. This week alone the neurologist increased his dose and in that I can see even more improvement. The way I say it is he seems more "bright eyed and bushy tailed". Tonight he and Dan played with a ball and we both saw a side of Kai that neither one of us has seen. He belly laughed for a half an hour straight, Dan would throw the ball softly into Kai's stomach and Kai would throw his head back and laugh really hard. If you have not met Kai it is hard to explain except to say you can tell things are connecting better for him. Another great update recently was that Kai is truly starting to crawl. I was so grateful that Dan's parents and brother Mark and Gina were able to witness his first crawl because they have been so incredibly supportive of Kai. I am also grateful for my sister Nanette because she came and helped with the kids during some difficult doctor appointments and then gave me a much needed reprieve by letting me run errands and even getting a pedicure! Both of our families, along with our friends have been so supportive and we really appreciate it! I get the sense that everybody is rooting for this little boy. I also have to Praise God because I promised Him if he would help get Kai diagnosed quickly I would give Him all the Glory. I believe that prayer is really powerful especially when it comes to children. God hears us!

On to our other little man and what a little man Bei is developing into...confident, loving, kind, funny and just the most well adjusted kid. Next week he starts school! Yikes! I already warned him that I'm going to cry. And we all know that is because I'm NOT well adjusted! The good news is that I really think he is so ready for school and he is very excited!

Lastly, I need to share some great news with all you prayer warriors out there. At Nick Nick's last doctor appointment they flew out to New York fully expecting that he would need Chemo treatments again, but the doctor had good news. He said "the tumor was all but gone". Yeah! Please keep him in your prayers!

Kai Kai Sweetie Pie

Doesn't Dan looked Terrified of that fish??? This was Bei's first fish that he every caught and it was all on his own! He loves to fish!

Yep, that is what we call our little guy "Kai Kai Sweetie Pie." The first 1,000 times I said it he would giggle and do his Irish dance for us, but now he looks at me like "come on lady come up with a new one." Well our little Kai Kai Sweetie Pie is always keeping us on our toes. Most recently he was diagnosed with Epilespy or now they call it Seizure Disorder. We are in the midst of many doctors appointment, EKG's EEG's, and therapy. I actually have a funny blog written in my head about all that we have gone through with Kai from the very beginning, however I won't be writing that one because I'm feeling much more reflective and sentimental today. I feel so incredibly grateful to God that I was chosen to be Kai's mother and that He has that much faith in me to take care of this very precious and special child. This little gift from God that was abandoned at birth, left for 14 months with apparently very little physical contact, who could not hold his head up, lift his arms, grasp my finger, babble, passed out at the drop of a hat and had epileptic seizures. I feel very honored and blessed to be his mother. I just LOVE him sooooooooooooooooooooooo incredibly much!!! His special needs seemed to have bonded us even closer together. I wanted to share with you a writing by Erma Bombeck that my friend Becky gave to me and I think it pretty much covers every mother regardless if the special need is a learning disability or cancer. We have all been chosen to parent the children that we are given, give your little one or big ones an extra tight hug today!

THE CHOSEN MOTHERS By Erma Bombeck Most women become mothers by choice, some by accident, a few by social pressures, and a couple by habit. Did you ever wonder how mothers of children with life threatening illnesses are chosen? Somehow, I visualize God hovering over Earth selecting His instruments for propagation with great care and deliberation. As He observes, He instructs His angels to make notes in a giant ledger. "Armstrong, Beth, son, patron saint Matthew. Forrest, Marjorie, daughter, patron saint Cecilia. Rutledge, Carrie, twins, patron saint Gerard." Finally, He passes a name to an angel and says, "Give her a child with cancer." The angel is curious. "Why this one God? She's so happy." "Exactly" smiles God, "Could I give a child with cancer a mother who does not know laughter? That would be cruel." "But, does she have patience?" asks the angel. "I don't want her to have too much patience or she will drown in a sea of self-pity and despair. Once the shock and resentment wears off, she will handle it." "I watched her today. She has that feeling of self and independence that is so rare and so necessary in a mother. You see, the child I'm going to give her has it's own world. She has to make it live in her world and that's not going to be easy." "But, Lord, I don't think she believes in you." "No matter, I can fix that. This one is perfect. She has just enough selfishness." The angel gasps -"Selfishness? Is that a virtue?" God nods. "If she can't separate herself from the child occasionally, she'll never survive. Yes, here is a woman whom I will bless with a child less than perfect. She doesn't realize it yet, but she is to be envied. She will never take anything her child does for granted. She will never consider a single step ordinary. I will permit her to see clearly the things I see...ignorance, cruelty, prejudice...and allow her to rise above them. She will never be alone. I will be at her side every minute of every day of her life, because she is doing My work as surely as if she is here by My side." "And what about her patron Saint?" asks the angel. His pen poised in mid-air. God smiles, "A mirror will suffice."

Kai Update

I want to shout from the roof tops because I am so excited; Kai's development has really taken a leap forward.   The first thing that happened is that he can know sit up from the lying down position...that is huge progress!   He will scoot around a little when he is sitting to play with his toys.  He also is standing up by hanging onto furniture!  And is trying to walk when you hang onto his hands...imagine Frankenstein's first steps.  Plus, he now is holding onto me when I hold him, so I am not carrying around a 25 lb sack of potato's.   I sure hope I don't lose my pipes that I have developed by carrying him.   And he is now babbling up a storm.  Now we just have to work on his sleep issues...please pray!  

 

Again I request that you lift our little buddy Nick Nick up in prayer.  He is having another go around of treatment today because the last Chemo treatment was not effective.   They are really in a battle to keep his sight since he is already blind in the other eye.    

And then he grew up...

For some reason I was under the misconception that I was in total control of Bei's development including his independence from me. However the reality of life somehow likes to come along and kick me along side the head every now and then. The first time I realized I wasn't in total control of Bei's every thought and therefore his life, is when he told me he wanted Alison to be his mom. Let me fill you in on the details of how that all went down. We had spent the morning with Alison and Savannah swimming in our pool. I had noticed that Bei was all over Alison the entire time. Climbing into her lap, hugging her and wanting to be by her all the time. We had just gotten home with Kai and I attributed his need for physical attention to the fact that I was busy with Kai. The odd thing about it is that Bei doesn't know Alison that well, they recently moved into the neighborhood and he had no prior relationship with her. So, Alison and Savannah left and Bei and I were having lunch, when Bei mentioned that "I think Alison should be my new mom and you can be Savannah's mom." Uh...no...that is not how it works....Bei kept insisting that he wanted Alison to be his new mom. Okay, I admit, I started getting jealous... "Bei honey, what do you like about Alison?" Bei's response was "Her skin." Her Skin? "Mom, why is her skin brown?" What? "Mom, why is Alison's skin brown?" Let me describe Alison to you...she is a young, blue eyed, thin blonde with what I would call beautiful sun-kissed skin. You know the kind, it is golden year round and doesn't look like she will ever age... Okay, now I am a scorned mother...he is insisting on a young beautiful mom with unwrinkled, sun-kissed skin and instead he has me! What I really wanted to yell was "If Alison is your mom she isn't going to give you 65 popsicles everyday or let you eat Cheetos for breakfast and she is a bad driver and...and...and...I would make up stuff if I had to...sad on my part, I know. But I gained my composure and instead I said, "okay after nap time we will talk about Alison being your new mom". This next part is kind of mean on my part, but I wanted to nip this in the bud; After Bei woke from his nap, I cuddled him and then said, "okay, lets go get a suitcase to pack your clothes and you can pick two toys out to bring to your "new mom's" house. The rest of the toys are staying here. I sure will miss you Bei." Bei smiled and said that he wanted me as his mom after all. Wheww...that was a close one! Okay, it may be trivial stuff to you all, but it was the first time that I realized that I might not be the "total cats meow" in Bei's world.
So onto the second kick to the head. Recently we were at our cabin and Bei went to visit Dan's brothers kids who have a cabin 2 miles down the road from us. Now, Bei hasn't spent much time away from me. We have never had a babysitter even, but he has gone down to Mark's cabin for an hour or two at the most. Anyway, he was down there for several hours when I asked Dan if he would go down and pick him up. To be honest, I was missing him! Dan came back and there was no Bei. Uh oh...where is Bei? He had gone to Shell Lake with Mark's wife...big uh oh...panic set in for me! I knew he was tired and would fall asleep in the car. I worried that when he woke up he would be scared and cry and scream for me. And to top it off, he didn't have his blankee with him. I started calling Gina, then Mark, then Gina and then Mark and then Gina and finally got a hold of Mark a while later to find out that indeed Bei had fallen asleep, but woke up from his nap with a smile on his face. Hmmm...interesting...why does he cry when he wakes up with me??? Anyway, I got into the truck and drove down and as I pulled up to their cabin, I see Bei and Morgan in the yard. I started waving furiously at Bei, I just missed him so much! He gets this mischievous grin on his face, grabs Morgan's hand and runs the other way around the house. I think I just got a 4 year olds version of the finger. He comes around from the corner and I go to him and kiss him and hug him and tell him I miss him and he says. "Mom, I'm having fun, I want you to go home." What?? I ignore his statement and say "Did you miss me?" "Nope!" Huh? Maybe he didn't hear me. "Did you miss me Bei?" Nope! I decide to let him stay a little longer and I end up talking to Mark and Gina for a while. Bei needs me in the bathroom and sadly I start badgering him. "How much did you miss me?" And I show different measures with my hands. And he says "Nuthin" I'm crushed! But the idea starts creeping into my mind that this is a good thing. This has been my goal all along, I just needed a kick in the head to realize that Bei's self-confidence and independence are a good thing for the both of us. Nobody said I have to like him growing independent, but I promise I will stop badgering him every time we are separated and will support his independence in the future...I admit, I stumbled the first two rounds but will come back in full support in the future. Nobody said raising kids was easy, it is actually very very hard! But I am loving it!

Family Pictures

Once Uncle Nick picked up Kai he wouldn't go to Dan or I...little rascal!
Now where are the keys Uncle Kevin to start this machine??

Bei loves diggers and loaders and all types of machinery...thanks for the ride Uncle Kevin!


Beautiful Baby!

Matt and Bei check out the Koi fish in their newly created pond

Kai loves to boat!

This was a much needed sisters weekend with our husbands. There is something about sisters, that they are able to fill up your emotional cup and give you the boost to keep going. Not to brag but I really have the two best sisters in the world! Lucky me!