I'm an incredibly fortunate person. I mean that. When it comes down to it, I lead a pretty darn good life.
There are a number of reasons for that. I'll begin with the three tiniest reasons. Connor, Jackson and Sawyer. They make me laugh. Everyday I am reminded of how lucky I am to be their mom. Sometimes its as simple as a laugh...or a funny face.
We had a really good day today. We were in charge of children's nursery at 8:15 today. We barely got there in time. Turns out, there were no kids other than our own. So, we laid on the floor and played with our boys. It was great fun. We all really enjoyed it.
At church, they have a puzzle with the alphabet. I thought I'd test the boys a little. Connor wasn't really interested, but Jackson...he's the man. He knows about half the alphabet. I think S is his favorite letter. He knows a,b,c,d,e,f,l,m,n,o....a whole bunch of letters. And the ones he gets confused with are letters that look similar to other ones...like o and q, w and m, y and v. I'm way impressed!
After church, Connor wanted to go to Burger King and have a picnic. Since it was before 10 am, we decided to drive over to the Strasburg Railroad. Little did we know, it was Day out with Thomas. It was mobbed! But...the minute the boys saw Thomas, they flipped out. We decided to stay. It was spur of the moment...but we had so much fun. We ended up riding a little steam engine and promising that we'd return the next time Thomas was in town. I know this sounds cheesy, but watching the boys the first time they saw Thomas chugging in...it brought tears to my eyes. They were so excited. Connor just kept talking about how great this was, and how neat it was. Wow.
Last week, we went to visit my best friend and her boys Robert, Joe and Mitch. We were joined by two other girlfriends and their kids. It was a great time...except....We were supposed to go to the bay to swim, but the bay was closed. Too much bacteria. Yuck! There were dead fish everywhere, but that didn't spoil our time together. We went to the park...played in the sand...and ended up getting home at 8:45. It was a long day, but a lot of fun. More on that, next time.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Sad
Yesterday I sat in a courtroom and saw a boy who killed three people get sentenced to three consecutive life terms in prison. It was overwhelmingly sad. He was only 16 when he brutally stabbed his best friends' family to death. I'm not sure which is the worst part.
First, his family sat right behind me. i couldn't help but think of their pain. I couldn't imagine what it would be like to see your son in that situation. My heart hurts for them.
The victim's family sat in the jury box. They were so composed at first. They cried quietly as their loved ones were remembered. I tried to hold in the tears.
Then, there was the boy. Just 16 years old when he did this. He pled guilty. The evidence was overwhelming. He'll spend the rest of his life in prison. He showed no emotion. Not a bit. Not a tear, a quake, a shudder. He didn't say anything either. When asked, he couldn't or wouldn't say why he did it.
The DA says he did it just because he could. Because he wanted to kill someone and his friend was an easy target. I don't get it...I don't want to believe that that is possible. I can't wrap my head around it. He stabbed his best friend 15 times. It was brutal.
The only survivor of the family spoke to the court via a video tape. It was hard to watch. The judge released it to the media and we aired it on the 6:00 news. It felt so invasive. It's so sad
First, his family sat right behind me. i couldn't help but think of their pain. I couldn't imagine what it would be like to see your son in that situation. My heart hurts for them.
The victim's family sat in the jury box. They were so composed at first. They cried quietly as their loved ones were remembered. I tried to hold in the tears.
Then, there was the boy. Just 16 years old when he did this. He pled guilty. The evidence was overwhelming. He'll spend the rest of his life in prison. He showed no emotion. Not a bit. Not a tear, a quake, a shudder. He didn't say anything either. When asked, he couldn't or wouldn't say why he did it.
The DA says he did it just because he could. Because he wanted to kill someone and his friend was an easy target. I don't get it...I don't want to believe that that is possible. I can't wrap my head around it. He stabbed his best friend 15 times. It was brutal.
The only survivor of the family spoke to the court via a video tape. It was hard to watch. The judge released it to the media and we aired it on the 6:00 news. It felt so invasive. It's so sad
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Happy Father's Day, Daddy!
It's Father's Day and we had a great day appreciating Dads. I asked Craig what he wanted to eat...he picked ribs, french fries and cole slaw. That's what we had. It turned out pretty well. I had never made ribs before. They were okay. Craig and my dad seemed to enjoy htem.
Craig couldn't sleep in because he had to work. So when he got home, I was going to make him breakfast...thigns were kind of crazy. I think he ate cereal, but I'm really not sure. We got him a few Ralph Lauren shirts and an MP3 player. I think he really like everything. I even took the time to load his U2 CD's onto the MP3 player. I'm hoping he'll use it.
After we ate, we all took naps. We needed them too.
I'll tell you why.
I got home around midnight...Craig was up and we talked until about 1. Sometime around 2:30am, I woke up. I'm not really sure why. I heard something in our room. Since I'm blind as a bat (pun intended) I couldn't really see what was going on. I could make out a shadow moving around our room. I nudged Craig...no respone. I grabbed my glasses and could see the shadow a little clearer. I hit Craig....no response. Now, I realized it was a bat flying in circles around our room. I kicked Craig....I got a grunt. I kicked, shook, shoved Craig...he woke up. I told him what was happening. He slid out of bed and out the door....leaving me lying in bed with the bat overhead. I yelled "hey, what about me!!!" Fending for myself, I leaped out the door.
We stood there, not quite sure what to do for a few minutes. I went and got to brooms to assist the bat with his exit. After a few deep breaths, my courageous husband ran into the room and opened a window. I could hear him grunt and groan (Craig, not the bat)...there were a few tense moments...a big crash as he knocked over the fan in our room. Then, finally, the bat was forced out the window.
What a relief. We ended up laughing and talking for another hour. This acutally happened to me before. When I lived in Harrisburg there was a bat in my bedroom one night. I had to battle it alone then. I'm so glad I had Craig there this time around. I slept with the light on.
Craig couldn't sleep in because he had to work. So when he got home, I was going to make him breakfast...thigns were kind of crazy. I think he ate cereal, but I'm really not sure. We got him a few Ralph Lauren shirts and an MP3 player. I think he really like everything. I even took the time to load his U2 CD's onto the MP3 player. I'm hoping he'll use it.
After we ate, we all took naps. We needed them too.
I'll tell you why.
I got home around midnight...Craig was up and we talked until about 1. Sometime around 2:30am, I woke up. I'm not really sure why. I heard something in our room. Since I'm blind as a bat (pun intended) I couldn't really see what was going on. I could make out a shadow moving around our room. I nudged Craig...no respone. I grabbed my glasses and could see the shadow a little clearer. I hit Craig....no response. Now, I realized it was a bat flying in circles around our room. I kicked Craig....I got a grunt. I kicked, shook, shoved Craig...he woke up. I told him what was happening. He slid out of bed and out the door....leaving me lying in bed with the bat overhead. I yelled "hey, what about me!!!" Fending for myself, I leaped out the door.
We stood there, not quite sure what to do for a few minutes. I went and got to brooms to assist the bat with his exit. After a few deep breaths, my courageous husband ran into the room and opened a window. I could hear him grunt and groan (Craig, not the bat)...there were a few tense moments...a big crash as he knocked over the fan in our room. Then, finally, the bat was forced out the window.
What a relief. We ended up laughing and talking for another hour. This acutally happened to me before. When I lived in Harrisburg there was a bat in my bedroom one night. I had to battle it alone then. I'm so glad I had Craig there this time around. I slept with the light on.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Happy Birthday Barrett!
Connor attended his first "big boy" birthday party today. It was for his friend Barrett who turned 4. We went to high school with Barretts mom and the kids go to the same day care.
Connor was so excited. All morning he kept saying Happy birthday Barrett!. He got a little bit confused when he realized that only he and I were going. He thought we were all going. On the way there, I told him that Daddy was staying home with Jackson and Sawyer...and I was going with him. He told me all about what he wanted to do when we got there. He wanted to play with trains...and race tracks and cars. When I told him that other kids would be there, he was crestfallen. When we walked in the doors, he looked so sad. In his mind, he thought it would just be he and Barrett playing. He was incredibly disappointed when he saw the train table moved out of the way and covered with decorations. For the first 20 minutes, he clung to me. His face was so telling...this was not what he thought it would be.
Eventually, he warmed up to the whole thing. He played with is friends, even took a good whack at the pinata. By the end, he didn't really want to go home. As we were leaving Barrett gave each of his friends a present to take home. Connor was so excited! He said good bye to Barrett, gave him a hug (at my suggestion) then headed for the door.
We held hands on the way to the car. He was so full of joy, I could see it oozing out his ears. When we got in the car, he immediately asked if he could open the present. Since we were heading to Costco I told him sure. He ripped and tore through that wrapping paper like it was his job. He gave me the play by play...mommy, it's a book...mommy, it has fish on it....mommy there's an octopus....The whole time at Costco he sat in the cart and read his book. He was so good the whole time. When we were in line, he wanted me to tell the man next to us that he was my oldest son. Too cute. On the way home, he told me he was tired...within seconds he was fast asleep.
Jackson and Sawyer had a great time with their Daddy. Jackson enjoyed almost entire day with the entire play room to himself. He loved it!
On a side note...Connor and Jackson had a great time yesterday. We spent most of the afternoon in our new blow up pool. Pop Pop came over and played with us. It was great. After that, we sat at the kitchen table and painted. Jackson wanted the green paint. It's his favorite by far. He seemed to really enjoy painting and picking the colors. Connor wanted blue. He told us he was painting a mask...like spiderman. He painted his nose and forehead...and his left arm. He loved it!
Oh, another thing...last Saturday night Craig called me to tell me a cute thing about Jackson. They were sitting in Connor's room reading books when Jackson looked up at the wall. We have the letters to Connor's name hanging there. Jackson looked up and said....E-O-N-N-O-R. Impressive. We're not sure if he just memorized it...or if he really recognizes the letters. I think he may be learning his letters. This week we were watching Sesame Street and the letter N was on the screen. Jackson shouted out "N". So cool.
Connor was so excited. All morning he kept saying Happy birthday Barrett!. He got a little bit confused when he realized that only he and I were going. He thought we were all going. On the way there, I told him that Daddy was staying home with Jackson and Sawyer...and I was going with him. He told me all about what he wanted to do when we got there. He wanted to play with trains...and race tracks and cars. When I told him that other kids would be there, he was crestfallen. When we walked in the doors, he looked so sad. In his mind, he thought it would just be he and Barrett playing. He was incredibly disappointed when he saw the train table moved out of the way and covered with decorations. For the first 20 minutes, he clung to me. His face was so telling...this was not what he thought it would be.
Eventually, he warmed up to the whole thing. He played with is friends, even took a good whack at the pinata. By the end, he didn't really want to go home. As we were leaving Barrett gave each of his friends a present to take home. Connor was so excited! He said good bye to Barrett, gave him a hug (at my suggestion) then headed for the door.
We held hands on the way to the car. He was so full of joy, I could see it oozing out his ears. When we got in the car, he immediately asked if he could open the present. Since we were heading to Costco I told him sure. He ripped and tore through that wrapping paper like it was his job. He gave me the play by play...mommy, it's a book...mommy, it has fish on it....mommy there's an octopus....The whole time at Costco he sat in the cart and read his book. He was so good the whole time. When we were in line, he wanted me to tell the man next to us that he was my oldest son. Too cute. On the way home, he told me he was tired...within seconds he was fast asleep.
Jackson and Sawyer had a great time with their Daddy. Jackson enjoyed almost entire day with the entire play room to himself. He loved it!
On a side note...Connor and Jackson had a great time yesterday. We spent most of the afternoon in our new blow up pool. Pop Pop came over and played with us. It was great. After that, we sat at the kitchen table and painted. Jackson wanted the green paint. It's his favorite by far. He seemed to really enjoy painting and picking the colors. Connor wanted blue. He told us he was painting a mask...like spiderman. He painted his nose and forehead...and his left arm. He loved it!
Oh, another thing...last Saturday night Craig called me to tell me a cute thing about Jackson. They were sitting in Connor's room reading books when Jackson looked up at the wall. We have the letters to Connor's name hanging there. Jackson looked up and said....E-O-N-N-O-R. Impressive. We're not sure if he just memorized it...or if he really recognizes the letters. I think he may be learning his letters. This week we were watching Sesame Street and the letter N was on the screen. Jackson shouted out "N". So cool.
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Overload
it's been too long since my last quick entry. I've got so much to share.
On the top of my mind is Jackson. Last week, we had parent/teacher conference for the boys. Sawyer's went well...he's rolling over and cooing on cue. Connor is good to go too. He's actually ahead of the game in many areas. When it came to Jackson, I knew something was wrong. His teacher couldn't even look at me. She basically said she's concerned about him. My heart sank. How could there be anything wrong with my sweet Jackson.
The teacher's concern centers on his fine motor skills. She gave us a few examples...he doesn't like to paint or color...he doesn't hold his shirt when he goes to the bathroom despite repeated attempts, he doesn't hold his hands flat when he washes them.
Just writing about it hurts. I love him so much, I want for him to never have to struggle in his life...
In some ways, this is a good thing. Its made us examine our focus. Have we been giving Jackson as much time and attention? Are we meeting his needs? Are we babying him because its easy.
We ended up moving him into a big boy bed this weekend. He seems to like it. He looks so cute...so little in that big bed. In the morning, he just stood as his door...not quite sure what to do.
I called our pediatrician. We agreed that the best thing to do is get Jackson assessed by a professional. We're working on setting up the appointment now. She said, don't lose any sleep over this...but I can't help it.
On the top of my mind is Jackson. Last week, we had parent/teacher conference for the boys. Sawyer's went well...he's rolling over and cooing on cue. Connor is good to go too. He's actually ahead of the game in many areas. When it came to Jackson, I knew something was wrong. His teacher couldn't even look at me. She basically said she's concerned about him. My heart sank. How could there be anything wrong with my sweet Jackson.
The teacher's concern centers on his fine motor skills. She gave us a few examples...he doesn't like to paint or color...he doesn't hold his shirt when he goes to the bathroom despite repeated attempts, he doesn't hold his hands flat when he washes them.
Just writing about it hurts. I love him so much, I want for him to never have to struggle in his life...
In some ways, this is a good thing. Its made us examine our focus. Have we been giving Jackson as much time and attention? Are we meeting his needs? Are we babying him because its easy.
We ended up moving him into a big boy bed this weekend. He seems to like it. He looks so cute...so little in that big bed. In the morning, he just stood as his door...not quite sure what to do.
I called our pediatrician. We agreed that the best thing to do is get Jackson assessed by a professional. We're working on setting up the appointment now. She said, don't lose any sleep over this...but I can't help it.
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