Fibro Treatment, Week 3

This week was full of ups and downs and since I'd rather end the post on a happy note, will start with the downs.

Downs:
1. I've felt worse as the week has gone on, particularly today. But, I know why: the last round of parasites in my system should be dying. He said that's why I felt so crummy over Christmas and now over New Year's. I think I'm going to celebrate Valentine's big time this year to make up for it :)

2. A heavy mug crashed onto our glass top stove and cracked it. Two of the eyes still work, but it will cost as much to fix as it did to purchase, so we're just going to put up with it for now. And since a cracked glass top is not covered under our warranty (even though it was bought less than a year ago) we'll never buy one again.

3. I'm hungry....all of the time....

Ups:
1. Any day now, Dr. W should get my results back regarding food sensitivities so I'll know hopefully next week what I can add back to my diet.

2. I have lost 10 pounds since starting the diet and already fit back into a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt I haven't been able to wear for awhile. Dr. W thinks I'll lose another 10-20 before the end of January...I sense a shopping spree coming on in the spring!

3. I have settled into the eating plan and while I still crave a few things, it's getting easier to eat this way. The kids are eating much healthier as well and are loving the dietary changes...well, all except for almond butter, so we may switch back to natural peanut butter. But they are loving the almond milk!

4. Rob's home for another 3-day weekend :)

This next week, I'll start two new things during my treatments: some type of acupuncture and a decompression table. I'll fill you all in on how that goes next week. Oh, and he did say regarding the thyroid issue and diabetes that we are already doing things that will help, so nothing new on that front for now :)

Christmas 2011

Our Christmas celebration this year was WAY toned down from previous years. Back at Thanksgiving, I made a list of all of the things I wanted to do at Christmas: cookie plates for teachers and neighbors, make homemade gifts for the family, cards, gifts for the kids, and decorate the new place up to the hilt. Then reality set in, along with my fibro treatments, and we had to change our focus. We had already decided not to go to Illinois, but rather stay home and let me continue to get better. Rob decided we would not decorate too much, so we focused on the tree, mantle area (finally, stockings hung by a fireplace!), and our countdown calendar. Our home was festive yet it did not exhaust me to decorate it.

Then came all of the handmade stuff. It became pretty apparent early on in the month that I was not up to making gifts as usual this year, so we had to eschew all gift making, including cookies. I hated to do it, but we decided to just focus on gifts for our family of five. The only thing I really kept up was the card making (so if you got a card, that's your gift this year!) I tried to think ahead and each time I had a card event, I made extras, so by the time I sat down to do the cards, I had most of them already done. Praise the Lord for thinking ahead!

We did have fun spoiling the kids. Various family members sent up presents, so we had quite the slew of gifts under our tree Christmas morning. It was so fun to watch them rip into everything. I'll post later on what they got. Rob's parents were able to make a trip up to see us one weekend, so they did get some grandparent time as well.

We also attended our church's Christmas Eve service, which was fun for all of us. It was mostly music, which the kids enjoyed, and the best part was when our pastor called up all of the children to the stage. He sat with them and read the Christmas story from Luke 2. Our children just loved it! We also had them with us for the service on Christmas Day and it was so special to sit with all three of them.

So our celebration was low-key this year, but just perfect for us.

Fibro Treatment, Week 2

This week was not a good one for me. On Monday, I went to Madison to have a full blood test done. I was rather amazed by the amount of testing my doctor ordered, but very thankful that he ordered all of it. Some of the results are not back yet, but most of them are and it's...well...interesting.

He still has to go through the results with a fine tooth comb, but there are four major things that stood out in the results. My vitamin D levels are low, so I am increasing the amount I am taking. I have inflammation around my heart, possibly diabetes or pre-diabetes, and Hashimoto's disease, or hypothyrodism. That last one comes as a shock, only because my traditional medical doctor did a test for that and it was fine. Turns out, he only did ONE of the tests...what my chiropractor ordered was far more thorough. A normal person has a level no higher than 34. I am 133. So yeah, something is wrong there!

Like I stated previously, he still has to go over all of the results, so I don't know all of what we will be doing about this yet. He will go over that with me on Monday. I do know this: I will be living gluten-free for the rest of my life. The gluten causes parts of my body to attack other parts--honestly, I was listening yet reeling from the info at the same time, so I'm not clear on the details. I am saying good-bye to so many of my favorite foods but I know I'll be saying hello to some new ones as I begin to explore a gluten-free world.

The treatments themselves went well, although I am having a high-pain week. I have had a breakdown almost every day this week just from the sheer "foreverness" of what is happening, along with having to cope with a much different Christmas celebration this year. I'm in so much pain and just so tired all of the time that we can't celebrate as usual. I'm trying hard to still make it fun for the kids and focus on the positive while at the same time mourning the loss of life as I know it. It's really hard, to tell the truth. I did tell Rob that I'd smack the next person who tells me it's all worth it, because I do know it's worth it, I just need to be sad for awhile. In many ways it is like a death. There are many fond memories associated with the types of food I can no longer enjoy and even though I know it hurts my body to eat those things, I still mourn them. I will always have a hard time at gatherings that involve food and at restaurants. I know I'll learn what to eat and how to educate those who might be cooking for me in the future, but it's still hard right now.

In the meantime, my favorite chef has four days off for Christmas, so that will cheer me up. Rob is ready to attack all of this head on and get me as healthy as possible. I'm glad I have such a go-getter in my life. The kids want me healthy too, so they are like little watchdogs, asking if each bite I take is okay. It keeps me going :)

First Week of Fibro Treatment Done :)

On Monday, I started my first week of treatment for the fibro. I am doing six weeks of 3-day-a-week treatments, six more of two-day-a-week, and six of one-day-a-week, then an assessment to see how much more we need to do.

So what does a treatment involve? Well, I get adjusted, focusing specifically on areas of my body that will aid in shutting down the pain centers of the brain, which are over-firing right now. This part is very similar to my regular adjustments, so no biggie. Then I have been doing some oxygen therapy. I put some tubes in my nose and breathe in the oxygen pumped at certain levels while standing on a vibrating machine. I will later do a decompression table while on the oxygen. On Friday, I also did a hand pedal machine while breathing. Pretty simple, and believe it or not, I already have noticed a difference in my mental clarity. "Fibro fog" is a very real thing and by getting more oxygen to the areas of my brain that control the pain, my brain gets less "foggy." I finally feel like I can focus on things and am not getting so easily overwhelmed. The pain is still present, but I'm better able to cope with it. It may take awhile before the pain is completely gone.

And then there is the diet: No gluten, eggs, sugar, soy, dairy, peanuts, beans, oil (other than coconut or grapeseed). You know how many foods that rules out??? Seems like everything, but what I am mainly eating are fruits and vegetables, nuts, and lean meat. And I drink water. Some of these foods I will get back as all of my lab results come back and we see what I'm sensitive to, like beans and dark chocolate. The first few days were kind of hard, but it is getting better and I don't feel so hungry all of the time. I have a special drink for breakfast along with a little meat, so that's helped eliminate one decision I have to make :) I am also taking some supplements and I must admit, I love my fish oil!! Tastes like a yummy orange drink and I haven't burped fish once.

It's not all positive, because it is hard to realize how much I'm missing at Christmas. Eventually I'll be able to use alternate grains to make cookies, but not yet b/c my pain is still at a high level. So no Christmas goodies for me. I'm REALLY thankful my mother-in-law brought some down last weekend BEFORE the diet started :) Rob says I'm thinking clearly now...clearly enough to realize I should have waited to start next week...but the sooner the better to make me better.

So that's it for now. In a nutshell, things are going well, but it's a hard adjustment. We're going to take the kids with us with the dietary changes as much as we can so they will be healthier as well. They are excited about trying new fruits and veggies. I've been blessed with adventurous children :)

My life with Fibromyalgia

As many of my friends and family know, I have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. I've been pondering posting about all of this for quite some time and since I just had my worst attack to date over the Thanksgiving holiday, I figured now was as good a time as any. I don't post my family blog on Facebook, but I didn't want to repeat myself, so that's why I'm letting my FB friends in on this post. I'll think I'll do this FAQ style and have a conversation with myself using many of the questions that have been posed to me by family and friends.

Q: When did you discover you had fibro?
A: Just this past summer, but Rob and I have known for quite some time that something is wrong with me. I tire more easily than a healthy person, have had spells of "lazy" for years, sometimes get muddled in the brain, have memory loss, can be excessively cranky, and a host of other issue have cropped up as well. When I read over the immense list of fibro symptoms people deal with, I realized that I've been putting up with some of them since my high school years.

Q: What does fibro feel like?
A: Well, it depends on the person. All fibro patients have a pain or ache all over their body, primarily in the joints, and the intensity of that pain depends on the day or activity. Beyond that, everyone is different. That's why diagnosing and treating it is so difficult. The only test a doctor can perform is a 19 point pressure test (I had pain in 18 of the 19 areas). I have pain in varying degrees, constantly feel tired but can't ever get a good night's sleep, my brain is foggy (called fibro fog), I get cranky, I have problems processing noises in groups, vibrations hurt (which is why I sit where I do in church AND why I no longer attend more than one service on Sundays.) In a nutshell, I feel like a cranky old lady most of the time.

Q: What is your doctor doing for you?
A: Pfft...my traditional medical doctor wanted to put me on a low-dose anti-depressant to help me sleep. I said no drugs. Fibro can be treated w/o meds...it just takes more discipline and a willingness to break outside of the "take-a-pill" mentality of the medical profession today. I have chosen to see my chiropractor instead, who will be doing a whole host of treatments that do not involve drugs. I will have to change my eating habits and I'm sure many other things, but I'd much rather change my lifestyle and be healthier than deal with the consequences of long-term prescription drug use.

Q: How do you know what you have chosen will work?
A: Well, I did a trial run of an anti-inflammation diet and felt better w/i a week. That tells me I'm on the right track.

Q: How has your life been effected by fibro?
A: Right now, I am pretty reclusive. I have a hard time concentrating on conversations so I don't hold long talks with anyone but Rob, who doesn't mind if I fade out. I have to try very hard to pay attention to anyone, so don't take offense if I appear to "check out" when I'm talking to you :) I have had to remove myself from every church ministry I am involved in. I am still an SU demo, as I am hoping that as treatment progresses, I'll be able to handle more business things. God has removed a number of large events I had planned and I'm grateful that He's in control of my business plans. Not what I wanted, but it's so much wiser for me to just do my two classes right now and the occasional workshop. Homeschooling is fine so far and I just shudder to think how hard it would be to try to be a good room parent if the boys were in school along with shuttling them to and from school and helping them with any homework at night. It's much easier to just do their work at home.

Q: How is your family handling it?
A: Matthew and Anna seem to be doing just fine. Ben is having a rougher time of it. He's testing me daily to see how I will handle him, yet at the same time willing to help. My kids are rather independent and probably do far more things at their young ages than their peers, but it's out of necessity. And it's good for them--someday when they are on their own, they will know how to clean and keep house and cook and fix stuff :) Rob is okay and eager to have me back to my normal self. He's working longer hours to help pay for the treatments and is pretty exhausted, but he wants to keep me. The stat that scared both of us is that fibro patients age nine times faster than the average person. Nothing else I heard convinces me more than that to seek treatment.

Q: Do you need any help?
A: I get asked that question constantly, and quite frankly I never know how to respond. I never know from day to day how I will feel, so it's hard to predict when I'll need help. I guess prayer would be the best way to help me right now.

I hope this helps answer the questions that many of you have had about my condition. I know so many people have said, "I have that!" or "I have an aunt/sister/hairdresser with that problem!" And then I usually get advice on how to deal with it. While I appreciate the care behind the advice, again, every case of this is different and everyone responds differently to treatment, so there is no one answer to the problem. And no, there is no cure. I can get about 95% better than I am now, but I will still have problems for the rest of my life. I'm okay with that...I'd just like to keep the bad time to 5% instead of the 80-85% I'm going through right now.

First room done!

I am please to report that after 17 days of living in our new place, we have one room completely unpacked! Not sorted and put together to my satisfaction, but there are no more boxes in the boys bedroom...or Anna's, now that I think about it! But her room is still in the sorting process, so it doesn't count :) I took a picture of their room and I will post pictures in a private album on Facebook soon.

My stamp area was actually the first "room" put together, but there is still half a box of office supplies sitting in it, so it is not the winner. I'm very happy with my new stamping area, as almost everything is in arm's reach. All I need is an office chair on wheels and I'd have it all :)

The downstairs is progressing nicely. We have a small pile of boxes left in the living room, a larger pile in the dining room, and boxes waiting to come inside on the back porch. Our hope is that we can get most of it put away while Rob is off for Thanksgiving. We've decided to stay home this year and just work on the house. It's been very slow going due to my physical condition, trying to run our normal lives amidst the chaos, and Rob's crazy work schedule, but we are making progress.

The kitchen, while unpacked, is still a challenge. We have no utensil drawers, so we're trying to figure out the best way to keep all of our normal "drawer" stuff from taking over the counter. My long-range plan is to put a buffet piece in the dining room, but for now it's all in decorative tins :)

Rob and I's room is the least put-together. Our box springs broke, so the bed cannot be put together properly. We also have multiple boxes that remain packed--and quite frankly WILL remain unpacked b/c the room is only used for sleeping :)

So we're getting there, even if it's moving slowly. I can't wait to get out the Christmas decorations and see how great this place looks all dolled up for the holidays!

A Moving Story

We're here and mostly settled into our new home. It's been quite the interesting three weeks as we have worked on this move. My dining room still looks like a box factory and the old house has one day of cleaning left on it, but we're beginning to see the light at the end of a very long tunnel.

We started our move by thinking that we would do things slowly, as our landlord gave us until Thanksgiving to get moved over. (Yes, both places have the same landlord.) We thought our big moving day would be the 12th. The first week we moved nothing but storage items over from our old basement to our new attic. That one week alone showed us two things: This was going to take more effort than we thought AND it was sending our lives into a tailspin. We decided to halt all schooling until we were settled and moved up the big date to the 5th. So as the second week started, we were furiously packing whatever we could and making trips to the new house once or twice a day with the van as full as it could be. We even took our babysitting kids over and they helped our kids get their toys settled into the new rooms. (Their mom gave us permission to put them to work.)

Monday of that week was so awful and stressful for me (partly b/c I scheduled a 31 party for my birthday) that on Tuesday we didn't know what to do. Rob's mom called and he jokingly asked her to take the kids for the week...and she agreed to take the boys from Thursday-Sunday. That was such a huge blessing. While they can be very good workers, we could see the strain on them and the stress for me. Anna was such a good girl while we worked in both places and did get to spend the big moving day with a friend.

This past week, Rob has been working on the remaining things in the old place as well as cleaning it. It has been a bigger chore than expected, partly due to his lack of time during the day and the fact that he keeps finding more things to clean! We're trying to leave it immaculate since the previous tenants of our new place trashed it and it took our landlord two months to clean it up. We just plain feel sorry for him.

I have been trying to get things unpacked here as well as keep up with normal household tasks, but it has been very trying. I have had fibro flare-ups on a daily basis, kids that are wired to deal with, and a dryer that no longer heats. I told Rob not to bother with the dryer until he has the other house cleaned up...I can deal with drying racks and drying some loads multiple times. I have finally caught up with the laundry, thankfully, but it has been trying. I'm looking
forward to next week when Rob and I can work alongside each other to put the house together.

We are enjoying our new home in spite of the stress. The kids have such spacious rooms, I have a wonderful stamp area, and even my bizarre kitchen is working out okay. I will have to take a picture of it and post it here...it is a funky set-up for sure! The house was built in 1875 and our kitchen was created in the 1930's when the place became a duplex. We do have a gorgeous curving staircase and chandeliers in three rooms. I can't wait to get the place completed and decorated!

A Moment to Breathe

It has been just plain crazy around our house over the last month. I can't believe it's been that long since my last post! I'm so rarely home in the evenings...or at least at home with just me and the kids. We're hoping that life slows down a bit by Thanksgiving...but we'll see :)

Our busy weeks have included: Stamp meetings or events on Mondays, swim lessons for the boys on Tuesdays, church on Wednesdays, Ben's soccer practice on Thursdays, and some Fridays I have had stamp events in my home. Saturday mornings Ben has had soccer games and of course church on Sundays. And Rob has been working mandatory Sundays this month, so six of the seven nights of the week, I'm alone with the kids. We're looking forward to two nights in a row with no where to go and no one coming over!! Soccer finished last Saturday and there are only two swim lessons left, so that will free up two nights of the week.

We have gotten more involved with a homeschool group as well. On Tuesday, we took the kids to the annual fire house visit and this year they got to run the hose. Quite the treat, especially for Ben. Rob went with us and I'm so thankful he was there--I was pretty tired that day. The boys have joined a homeschool reader's theater group that meets the first and third Monday of the month. They both enjoy it, although Ben had to be a barrel last time :)

My stamp business has really started to take off. I promoted again this month and have three downline members and another in my second level. I have a (hopefully) huge event next month that will let me break out of my circle again. My regular card nights are averaging eight and scrapbook nights around five. We had a book-a-thon recently but I didn't put too much effort into getting workshops because.....

.....we're moving! Our landlord has a three bedroom available and we are hoping to be fully moved over there by the 12th of November. We are going to move slowly, starting with the storage, and want to take our time. I think it would be too overwhelming for me to do a full day move at this point. We have a whole load of things ready and waiting to take over when we get the keys. The new place is only about three blocks from our current home and it is MUCH bigger. Anna will have her very own room.

I have news to report on my health, but I think I'll wait to post. I'm going to be treated by my chiropractor instead of a traditional MD...the chiro is also a wellness doctor and seems to not only know more about fibro and chronic fatigue, but actually is interested in helping me get better, which my regular doctor was not.

Person-by-Person Update

I noticed that I haven't posted in awhile, so I'll give the run-down one person at a time.

Anna: For sale on most days. She is 3 1/2 and showing every bit of her age. Being a girl, she adds whiny to the normal 3-year-old nonsense. I think I'll throw myself a party when she turns 4. But she is still our sweet little girl at times. We have fun together doing her hair and nails. She's changed her Kai-Lan addiction into a princess addiction and her favorite is Rapunzel. She's also been watching some Barbie movies (and the boys enjoy them too!) She's doing very well in preschool and just today identified all of her letters correctly. It's so fun to teach her and watch her develop intellectually. She definitely takes after her father in memorization skills. She learns her verses for Tiny Trackers with no effort and has near-perfect recall on them.

Ben: My little kindergartener is growing by leaps and bounds this year. He is showing a lot of responsibility in household chores and helping me in general. He's doing very well with his schoolwork, especially math, and he loves having Daddy do some of the teaching. Rob teaches math, science, and does Ben's read-alouds. He is enjoying soccer, although he is a pretty slow player. That's pretty typical for him, as he takes things a little slower until he feels more comfortable. What's funny is that he is a self-proclaimed assistant coach. He picks up quickly on what the coach wants the players to do and the reinforces it on the field.

Matthew: I think I am enjoying him more and more as he gets older. He was a fun toddler, but so active that it was hard to just enjoy him. Now that he's older, he is more responsible and fun to talk to. We've been making a huge effort to eliminate as many preservatives and artificial colors from our diets and we can see a change in his behavior. (Those are the things that cause hyperactivity by the way, not sugar.) He is so much calmer in general. He's going great in school, but more importantly, he's doing much better when he plays with other children. We are watching three boys three days a week for three hours each day (catchin' a theme?) and he does so well with them. Actually, all six of the kids are doing very well together, so much so that when the other family's dad worked from home on Monday, all six kids had a fit!

Rob: I love the times when Rob is actually awake...and that's not too often. He is working 50 hours a week, although for the next 2-3 weeks he will work 58 hours. We're very thankful for the extra income and that we homeschool so Rob has a chance to spend time with the kids each day. He loves his new job and we are adjusting to keeping things quiet in the morning so he can sleep in.

Me: I am slowly learning to readjust to life with fibromyalgia. I have learned a few things to avoid eating and have had to cut out a few activities, namely working in the nursery and choir. I'm not sad about leaving the nursery behind as I don't really enjoy it, but it's hard to give up choir. However, it is painful to hold the huge choir folders and stand in one place for long periods of time. Perhaps once I get the pain under control I can return, but until then I will pour my energies into making cards and encouraging others. I was just reading today about art therapy for fibro patients and thought, "Yay! I need to stamp more!" I'm learning each day to take things at my pace, but I am also seeing all of the ways God has prepared us for this season of my life. I need to write it all down sometime.

That's kind of how we're doing at the moment. :)

The Bat Story

I'm finally able to tell the story of the bat attack last week. Granted, I'm doing this in the afternoon and I may still shudder a bit, but at least I can put it into words :)

Last Tuesday night, I put the kids to bed and came downstairs to do some stamping. I was actually awake and ready to work on Christmas cards for a nursing home ministry and work on my classes coming up this week. Part way through cutting some of the pieces to the cards, I heard a strange noise. I went into the living room and turned off the fan and listened. It sounded like scratching on the inside of our tin ceiling. The more I listened, the more I realized that something was up in the ceiling!! I didn't see any way for it to get out and we have heard mice in the walls in the past, so I just figured the thing got a little higher up. And then I saw something start to creep out of the decorative thingy in the center of the ceiling.

I screamed and the whatever-it-was went right back into the ceiling. It did look like a bat, but I didn't really get a good look at it. I then proceeded to wander around the house in a panic and talk to myself. Seriously, what do you do in this situation? Normally, I would have barricaded myself in my bedroom and let Rob deal with it. But he was at work, so it was up to me to take care of It. I tried calling the landlord, but he wasn't home. I went over to our neighbor on the other half of the house, but he wasn't home. While I was outside, I noticed that every single light in the neighborhood was off. I then proceeded to wander around and mutter some more. Then our neighbor came home, so I rushed outside and asked him what to do. He thought it could be a raccoon (fabulous) or a bat (ugh) and just wished me luck. THANK ALOT!!!

I figured at this point the only thing that might keep me sane was going upstairs with the phone, wait for Rob to call, and then BEG him to come home. I folded laundry to keep my mind off the creature in my ceiling, periodically banged on the floor upstairs to keep it away, and played N64. Time went by VERY SLOWLY while I waited for a phone call. When Rob did finally call, I told him right off what was going on. His supervisor very graciously allowed him to come home. He didn't hear anything, but he did call the police to see if there was an animal control service we could call. There wasn't. So Rob stayed downstairs with the lights off to see if he could find it while I went to bed.

Little did we know that the bat (and it turned out to be) had already left the ceiling. More than likely, it happened before Rob came home. We found this out when I woke up at 12:15 am to a bat flapping around my bedroom! I screamed and jumped out of bed, covering my head and back with a pillow as I cowered near the bed. Rob shot upstairs and flipped on the light, which made the bat settle down and perch on a decorative thing. Rob told me to stay put and I said, "Okay." He then changed his mind and asked me to slowly leave the room. I said, "Okay," and didn't move. I was paralyzed with fright. Rob had to pull me off the floor and out of the room. He asked if I wanted to go downstairs, but I really didn't want to find out if the bat had any friends. I crawled into bed with Ben and the boys (who had awakened to my screaming) and I kept tabs on Rob as he proceeded to catch the bat over the next two hours.

The first thing Rob did was go online to find out what to do. He got a heavy coat, hat, and gloves on and went upstairs with a broom, blanket, and bucket. He pulled the air conditioner out of the window in hopes that it would just fly out. He said he spent a lot of time just staring at the thing wishing someone else would do this for him :) But he was very brave and kept working at getting the bat down and out. He kept getting screeched at and was afraid of being attacked, so he took a few breaks to let it calm down. It flew to our window then the bottom of the bedframe before finally flying under the bed and getting itself caught in a bag. Rob tried to shake it out of the bag and out the window, but it was caught. Finally, he threw the whole bag onto the roof and let the bat fend for itself.

For a few days after that, I would jump at the least little noise. I'm still a little hesitant at night and Matthew spent three days sleeping with me until Rob came home. Our landlord did seal the thing the bat was hiding in better and showed us where we had some huge gaps in our windows that needed to be sealed up as well. Thankfully, bats around here are pretty solitary so that should have been it, but my extra-sensitive sense of hearing keeps telling me otherwise at night. UGH!! I'm sure I'm supposed to learn some lesson from all of this, but I'll have to stop freaking out at night first :)

First Days of School

We started our school week on Monday and it was a pretty tough day getting used to a real schedule again. Tuesday went better...then we had a bat incident on Tuesday night that left Rob and I pretty exhausted, so we've just been eeking our way through the material with the boys. Rob had to leave work early Tuesday night to help catch the thing, so he worked 14 hours yesterday to make up for it. Needless to say, we're all pretty exhausted. I'll tell the full bat story once I stop jumping at the least little noise.

Ben had his first soccer practice today and it went very well. He's a great little player and I think he's really going to enjoy himself. Matthew wants to try basketball in the winter, so that's why he's not playing soccer. That and I don't think he enjoyed it a whole lot anyway. Both boys will be taking swim lessons so we'll be a little busy in the evenings. Thankfully, all I have to do is sit during these activities, so there's no stress for me :) And I'm also thankful we homeschool or poor Ben would be completely wiped out by the end of the week!

During the summer months, our church has a Wednesday night program for the kids. Last night was the last night of the program and they gave out awards to the kids who had the top three places in points. Matthew won first place over all of the 1st-3rd graders. We're very proud of him, especially since he did all of his Bible memory on his own. God has gifted him with the same memorization skills as his father :)

The boys both wrote stories today in school, so I thought I'd share them both to end the post. Ben had to write about Pat the Rat, a character in the little stories he is reading.

"Pat is a fat rat. Pat is fat because he eats too much cheese and doesn't exercise. He does not like being fat, so he's going to try to exercise and not eat the fat kind of cheese but the skinny kind."

Matthew had to write a story he heard from a family member, but had to write it from that person's point of view. He chose a story his dad told him about the time Grandpa Litwiller ran over some bunnies. I wonder if Grandpa remembers doing that? I left the spelling errors as he wrote them :)

"My dad was mowing the lawn and accidently mowd over a bunny nest. Two died. Me and my brothers wanted to hold the bunnys. My dad said leave them alone. We held them."

Harzler Hog Roast 2011

We had our last weekend away of the summer this past weekend and we went to the Hartzler Hog Roast. The family who hosted the event are relatives of my husband and they had 150 or so people attend the event. We were really looking forward to it since we had so much fun the last time they had one in '08.

Since Rob works late, we did not leave until Saturday. And I didn't even let him sleep in much because I spotted a mouse in my study! He caught it and no more have been spotted, but I was not about to let a mouse freely roam my house while we were gone.

We arrived around 1pm and had a few moments to see all the fun stuff awaiting us before the delicious potluck lunch. Since we came from a distance, we brought chips and Wildtree Garlic Galore dip and some bakery cookies. I think I'll try to bring a hot dish next time in spite of the distance since there seemed to be a lack of those. But it was a delicious meal and everyone (except Anna) ate their fill. It was rather hot that day, so I wasn't too surprised at her lack of appetite.

The kids had loads of things to keep them busy. As I said a few times, a child would had to work hard to be bored there! Here are the fun things that our children did: Played on a swingset, played in a child-sized play house complete with kitchen set, the zip line, face painting, bubble blowing, holding a kitten and bunnies, pony rides, finding money in a haystack, riding bikes in a barn, barrel rides, and looking at a barn full of animals. I think the only things they didn't do were the hay maze and coloring. Anna enjoyed the pink port-a-potty which even smelled nice. Ben informed me that he used it to b/c it smelled WAY better than the blue one :)

In the evening there was square dancing and Anna liked seeing the pretty dresses. Unfortunately, she WANTED one of them and proceeded to pitch a huge fit about it. She was pretty tired by that point. We headed out around 8pm to get the kids bathed and into bed. They had no trouble falling to sleep that night!

We enjoyed our Sunday visiting with relatives and Anna, my mother-in-law, and I went to look for some dress material. My MIL is going to make Anna a few jumpers and a skirt and we wanted Anna to pick out the material. She did find some she liked, but she also found sheer material with sparklies and all kind of other impractical things. Every time she found one she liked, she said, "Ooo-la-la!" She did pretty good waiting for the "boring" adults to finish :)

We came back on Monday and jumped into a whirlwind, as I had a stamp event Tuesday night. But now we're enjoying a leisurely end to the week before we start school on Monday.

Anniversary Get-Away

Last weekend, Rob and I celebrated our 12th anniversary. We had kicked around the idea of going away overnight and figured out a great way to do it. Last Saturday was our nephew Ezra's third birthday party and since we had never made it to the first two, we decided to go. Then we got the brilliant idea that if my parents were willing, the kids could go home with them and Rob and I could go somewhere overnight, preferably Sybaris. Mom and Dad agreed to take the kids and then Rob and I got to thinking....Why spend a huge amount of money for a hotel when we would have an empty house? We decided to save that money instead and stay home to enjoy the peace and quiet. It was the perfect decision. We could cook in our own kitchen (not that we did much of that), sleep in our own bed, and have the run of a quiet house. We went out to eat two times, once at Perkins and one at El Mariachi, a Mexican place that came highly recommended. It was excellent and the portions were so large that we got two meals out of one. It was also a good tester for us to find foods that fit with the way we want to eat. We went for a walk together, stamped, took several naps, watched a movie and in general just enjoyed being together. It was also nice not to get little people ready for church Sunday morning, but we were almost late ourselves because our "alarm clocks" were at Grandma's!

The kids had a great time with their grandparents and we picked them up Monday at lunch by meeting Mom halfway there. It was nice to hear the chattering again but so wonderful to have two days "off."

Lazy Summer Days

I just realized that I haven't posted anything since Matthew's birthday and I need to remedy that before my dad visits me again to see what's going on. We have been enjoying our summer off and I think since we've been lazier I'll make this post a little lazier and ramble on and on and on....

The Pool: We have been loving our pool passes!! One of the best investments we have made was buying a family pass when they went half price. It's either been too hot or too humid (or both) for the kids to play outside so the pool has been the perfect alternative. And with all three kids out of diapers and two confident swimmers, it's been pretty easy to take them. The boys know their limitations so I never have to worry about them doing something dangerous. Some days they spend most of their time going down the big slide, other days they play around and practice their swimming skills. I've been so impressed with how much they are doing on their own. They can now do everything that they couldn't do in lessons (and their teacher, who is a guard, even noticed that!). Anna also knows how far she can go in the pool and does a great job of staying in her boundaries. There were a few times I took them but did not get in with them and Anna did just fine. Well, other than getting into a spat with two kids, but that was in the shallow end and I was able to wade in and deal with it. Sometimes Rob comes with us during the day, but most of the time I take the kids in the evening. There are far less people so the kids can really enjoy the pool.

The New Business: Sometimes I wonder about myself. I think I get a little too bored in the summer or something, because we have signed up to be Wildtree reps and this is the third at-home business I have done, all signed up for in the summer. But this one is a bit different from Tupperware (patooey!) and Stampin' Up! (my first love in direct sales). We signed up to be Wildtree reps for our family. (If you are not familiar with Wildtree, go to www.wildtree.com to see the product line. GREAT stuff!!) We have felt that it is time for a change in our eating habits and when the starter kit was half off last month, we thought we'd go for it. At first we were only going to buy the kit and use the discount, but now we're going to make a small effort to sell. My SU business comes first, so I will only do tastings (name for a Wildtree party) when Rob is home to watch the kids, unless it gets so wildly successful that I can spring for a sitter like I do for SU workshops. We have quite a few people coming to our open house on Thursday and several more who want to be on our mailing list. We're hoping that the sales pay for our own groceries and help us on our new eating quest. We're even doing a vendor fair next month. We love the product (especially the whole wheat pizza dough!)

Our New Eating Venture: Ever since I was pregnant with Matthew, I've paid more attention to what we eat. I haven't always been real good about doing something about it, but I've been more aware of what goes into the kids' mouths. And last month, we finally decided to act. To the best of our abilities, we are going to cut out foods with preservatives and processed junk. We have informed the kids that all snacks will be fruits, veggies, cheese, and homemade. We've been having fun revamping favorite recipes and finding new ones. So far, we haven't met any resistance, even when we threw away the kool-aid and leftover parade candy. Meals have been more tasty and filling as well. We are so blessed to have kids that have gone along with us and embraced this new eating plan wholeheartedly. We explained what all that junk does to our bodies and they were shocked! And I think it helps that 1) Rob is a fabulous cook and 2) we haven't fed them a steady diet of traditional kid fare. They are used to eating crazy things with us and none of them are so picky that they turn up their noses at new foods. Grandparents: Don't worry...we don't mind if they eat candy and such at your homes. Our rules are for our house only. And it will be even more of a treat to have those things at your house!

Sickness: I went through a week of some crazy sickness last month. I had four days of exhaustion and since that happens fairly regularly, I'm going to see my doctor this week. My mother has both fibromyalgia and thyriod problems and she said my symptoms sound like what she deals with. So we'll see what the doc says. My chiropractor recommended Vitamin D and CoQ10, so I have started on those supplements. And just when I got over THAT, I caught a head cold/virus thing that lasted 8 days, causing me to miss our annual Fulkerson family picnic. I would say that I was really disappointed, but I was so tired that day that it was a relief not to have to leave the couch! I feel sorrier now that I'm healthy again :)

The Library: The kids all finished the reading program and Rob and I did some as well. The kids got loads of free stuff again, but the big winner was Rob! He won a Nook! We've been having a fun time reading books on it and it's not nearly as annoying as I thought it would be.

I think that's all for now :)

Matthew's 7th Birthday

Yesterday was my little man's seventh birthday. He has been strictly forbidden from growing at all this next year as he is just getting WAY too big! I can't believe how time has flown, and yet I have to say that I enjoy him more and more each year as he transforms from the unruly preschooler that he was into a calmer, more focused elementary school student.

We kind of started celebrating on Friday when Matthew got his first birthday card. Grandpa and Grandma Fulkerson sent him a Visa gift card and he thought it was pretty cool to have his own credit card. He bought an airplane and some fishing hooks for his new poll.

Grandpa and Grandma Litwiller came for a visit on Monday and they brought a surprise visitor, GG!! The kids did not know their great-grandmother was coming and they were STILL excited about it when they went to bed that night. We ate at Upper Krust, which Matthew chose because he loves their soup. Then we came home and Matthew opened up presents, which included a large Batmobile (almost a monster truck), a carnivorous plant set, and some t-shirts. He also received a check from his great-grandmother and a children's dictionary from his great-aunt and uncle. We had his cake that day since there were more people to eat it and then the kids played games with Grandma. Thankfully we have been given and have borrowed enough air conditioners that the house is very cool during the visit.

After Rob went to work, we took off and hit the Aquatic Center. The passes went half-price on Monday so we took advantage of that and plan to go a lot this summer. The boys are very confident in the water and other than checking to see where they are periodically, I don't have to worry about them. Which is good, because Anna takes up much of my attention! I'm her favorite playmate so we spend our time playing together.

Matthew was the first one up on his birthday and I let him play Wii until the rest of us got up. He requested chocolate chocolate chip muffins for breakfast and I had to find a new recipe since I couldn't find the old one! Good thing we have air or I would never have baked. Rob joined us just as we started to eat (he works until 2am now, so he sleeps in). We gave Matthew a Lego Pirates of the Caribbean set and he spent much of his morning putting it together.

He wanted to spend as much time at the pool as we could, so we all went at 11am when it opened. I like it when Rob comes with us because then I can go down the big slide without worrying that Anna is going to try and follow me :) We stayed until about 12:30pm, then we treated Matthew (and the rest of us) to McDonald's for lunch. We rested for the afternoon (well, Matthew played N64 all afternoon) and then we headed back to the pool after supper and stayed until 8pm. A local dentist paid for the pool to stay open an extra hour and they had tons of giveaways. Anna won a princess puzzle. The boys were disappointed that they didn't win anything, so I pointed out that the prizes all looked like dollar store toys. I then said, "And what happens to dollar store toys?" The boys replied in unison, "They brake!" I treated them to smoothies before we headed home.

We ended the evening with showers and the first pirate movie. Anna and Ben fell asleep pretty early on (I think Anna caught about five minutes of the movie, which is fine b/c she's too young to see it anyway!) Matthew made it to the end and did say that this was the best birthday ever :) And it's the first one since he turned three where he hasn't worried about getting older!

Birthday Weekend

This past weekend, we made a trip down to Illinois to celebrate two special birthdays. Rob's grandmother turned 100 on the 5th of July and my dad turned 60 on the 7th. I think it's safe to say that we're "caked out" right now.

Rob was able to get time off from both of his jobs, so we took off on Friday morning for Normal. We had a very uneventful trip down, thanks in part to the van. It has really made traveling so much more pleasant! We had a yummy lunch at Rob's parent's home, then Rob and the boys went to the church where GG's reception was to be held to help out with the set up. I kept Anna back at the house so she could rest and hopefully make it through the rest of the evening. And I really didn't want to chase her around everywhere :) She and I watched Snow White and part of a Shirley Temple movie while I mounted some stamp sets.

When the boys came back, I was busy packing up a picnic lunch to take over to my sister's house. I got to meet my sweet nephew Logan for the first time...what a cutie!! We all ended up eating our "picnic" in her dining room and then went to State Farm park. My brother-in-law works for State Farm, and one of the perks is access to an awesome, huge park, complete with it's own aquatic center. We swam for almost 2 hours and had a blast. Again, the boys were very competent in the water and we even let them go to a different pool area than where we were. They had a water slide that ended in a pool with only a 2 1/2 foot depth, so Anna and her cousin Kenzie had a ball sliding into the water. There is also a lazy river and a large kiddie area. Anna found the tunnel slide in the kiddie area and spent a LONG time going down it. She even got caught by a lifeguard when she tried to climb UP the slide! Needless to say, the kids were very tired that evening. Easiest time I have ever had putting them to sleep at Grandma's!

Saturday morning we kind of puttered around and did a little bit of shopping, namely for Matthew since I somehow missed packing him a polo. We went to the reception at 1pm for family pictures and I'd say that overall the kids did pretty well. They, along with one other cousin, sang to GG. They were all so sweet!

Once we saw the kids' behavior start to degenerate, we decided to leave. (Better to get out of there at the beginning of bad behavior than the middle of it!) We tooled around Toys R Us and got some ideas for Matthew's birthday. They had some good clearance deals, so we let each child pick out something cheap. Then we headed back to Grandma's to change clothes and meet over at GG's house for supper. The kids were so well-behaved and for once, we left GG's because it was bedtime, not b/c of poor behavior. They had a ball with their Uncle Dan doing an animal hunt in GG's basement.

Sunday morning we got up, ate breakfast, and headed to Pontiac for Birthday #2. We dropped the kids off at my parents' church and my mom met us at the door to sort the kids into their classes. Rob and I headed over to their house to set up a surprise for my dad. We made a four-tiered "cake" out of cans of Diet Coke and decorated it with ribbon and signs. While there, we got to meet my new niece Annie, born back in March. I also left a surprise for my mom and put our family picture onto the wall with our pictures. (And don't worry, family, pictures are coming. It's just taking us awhile to get them all printed.)

After church, we had a great lunch and then the kids played in the pool. Anna wasn't too keen on playing with her brothers, cousin Ezra, and Uncle Joel, so she went back into the house with Grandma. Rob and I each caught a nap and we ended the evening at the park.

We drove back to Wisconsin Monday morning and have spent the time since then recooping from the trip. It was a fun trip down.

4th of July Parade

One of the highlights of the 4th of July for the kids is the Annual Watertown parade, one of the best small-town parades I have ever seen. It lasts over two hours and the kids come home with lots of goodies. Oh, and the floats are pretty cool, too! We have such a fun town with great hometown pride and a comraderie that can't be beat! And you know you're in the right place when the Republican candidates can bravely walk down the street with no body guards and get lots of cheering from the crowd :)

Rob staked out our spot on Main Street yesterday afternoon. Yes, you heard right, yesterday. If you want a spot on the curb, you have to get your seats out a day early. We have a double captain's chair that we set out and the kids just sit on the curb. They're up half the time grabbing candy off the street anyway, so they don't need a real place to sit. He checked on our seats last night when he took the boys to watch the fireworks and they had been shoved down a bit, but were still on the curb. Oh, and he found us a spot only one block away!

The parade floats line up on our street and it's always fun to see who is out there each year. This year we had old orange tractors, the German Days float from Jefferson complete with blaring loud polka music (not complaining...it could have been the Elvis impersonator or the off-key rock band) and the Jefferson County Fair float sporting a plastic cow and the Fairest of the Fair. Anna thought the girl was a real, live princess because she had a tiara on her head. The kids spent most of the morning dancing on the porch to the polka music and talking to some of the parade walkers. When the "princess" went by on the fair float, she recognized Anna and gave her a special wave, which made Anna's day :)

We got down to our spot with plenty of time to spare, armed with water bottles and snacks and slathered up with sunscreen. Or at least the kids and Rob were. I neglected a few key areas, so I'm a little crispy right now. We did end up leaving a bit early because I couldn't take it anymore in the direct sunlight. Rob didn't want to stay for the whole thing anyway, so it worked out. And the boys are pretty tired from staying up late to watch fireworks.

Highlights from this year's parade: The stilt walkers whom Anna thought looked like fairies, all of the "princesses" from the various festivals and fairs, the Shiner cars (love those things!), the camels, the unruly horse, the boys running out to grab hot dogs from the float cooking them and giving them away, loads of candy thrown out, and our church float done with the teens. They focused on "Teens Serve" and had "statues" of teenagers from the past who have served our country. It was very well done and if they don't win a prize, I will be surprised!

The highlight for Matthew would be getting a fishing pole. One of the local clubs was throwing out balls and if the person who caught it threw it back, they got a free fishing pole. The gentleman singled out Matthew and pretty much gave him the ball. I thought Matthew's eyes would fall out of their sockets! He can't wait to go fishing with Daddy.

We really do have a fabulous parade here in town. Feel free to come join us next year! But bring your chairs a day early or you have to sit behind us :)

Beach Day!

We've been meaning to head to the beach and today we got back there, minus Daddy. He had to work at 9:45, so we started prepping to leave when he took off. The kids were through-the-moon excited to go swimming, especially since it's been so nasty around here, weather-wise. This time, we were armed with Funoodles (large foam tubes) and a pink hippo floating thingy for Anna to sit in that we found at a garage sale (thank you again, Grandpa Litwiller!) We also took along our lunch in case we all got hungry.

The beach wasn't too crowded when we got there and I actually found a decent parking place in the lot this time. The boys took off straight into the water with their Funoodles and I can see a huge difference in their swimming now versus before their lessons. Money well spent, I must say! They were bravely paddling out to the deeper water with the use of the noodles and demonstrating many of the skills they learned. I have to say the biggest change I see is in Matthew, who no longer panics in the deeper water and wants me to show him more on how to swim. We worked on treading water and I demonstrated the side stroke, although he didn't try it yet. I'm so proud of the progress they have made!

And I'm SO thankful for that floating thing! It fits Anna perfectly and she let me take her all over the swimming part of the lake. Last time she clung to me in terror, but in her personal boat she was completely content and sang to herself much of the time. She even let me throw her around a bit. We almost made it out to the far end of the swimming area, but I didn't want to have to swim and pull her rope at the same time. I did notice that when I inched out to deeper water, the boys would join me, and soon they were spending much of their time in water deep enough that they couldn't touch the ground. Again, this NEVER would have happened last year with Matthew!

We had a wonderful time and came home sandy, dirty, cooled off, and sunburned. Well, Matthew and I are sunburned. I KNOW I got his back good, but he's pink anyway. And Matthew is a much better sunblock applier than Ben, because the half of my back done by Ben is a little crispy :)

VBS #2

Sunday night started our church's VBS program and Anna in particular was VERY excited to go. And then we were told that 3's would go to the nursery. Um...no...said I, a veteran parent of 3's at our church. Apparently, the two people in charge (who have been in charge for years) had no idea that parents bring their 3's anyway and put them in with the 4's and 5's. Rob and I had a long talk with the director, who we sent to speak with the person who was in charge of the preschoolers last year so she could tell him how non-distracting the 3's are. He had no idea the 3's don't go to the nursery on Sunday and Wed nights, but sit with their parents or attend the preschool ministry. I'm glad we got all of that nonsense about 3's being distracting cleared up, so maybe the parents of 3's won't have to fight that same battle in future years.

So I took my little cherubs to VBS Sunday night, deposited them in their respective classes, and left for two hours of peace and quiet. And that became our nightly routine this week. We did pick up two extra kids (the ones who took our kids to their VBS a few weeks ago). I stamped and listened to a sermon series and ate supper in quiet. Last night there was a chocolate event at the library, so I attended that and came home with a huge bag of chocolate for Rob and I.

The kids really enjoyed the VBS program. Ben and Anna were in the preschool group, which was run by someone new this year, but it was just as fabulous as previous years. Matthew enjoyed being in his class as well. Like most VBS', there was a competition between the girls and boys to see who could bring in the most offering. They don't count it here, but go by weight instead. There was a table each night where the kids could "buy" a penny roll for 50 cents or a gold brick for $5. The girls won the first four nights and by that last night, the boys (all of them, not just mine) were determined to beat those girls. My boys gave every last cent they had in their piggy banks during the week (even turning a two dollar tip Ben got for a delivery into penny rolls) and they were completely tapped out by Thursday night. So I decided to spring for two gold bricks, one for each boy, and two penny rolls for Anna. I had to laugh as I traveled through the hallway at church...it seemed like every boy had a gold brick or penny rolls...one little boy had TWO gold bricks! And the boys won...blew the girls out of the water, if my boys are to be believed :) I did have a discussion with them about who the real winners were...the missionaries who will receive the offering money. Kind of sobered them up (and prepared them in case they lost again) and put it all back into perspective. But I'm still glad they beat the girls at least one time!

Today is supposed to be ghastly hot and we've already had to cancel our beach trip due to a thunderstorm. We've been warned to stay away from the beach after it rains so we can avoid swamp itch. Doesn't sound pleasant, does it? So we'll have to devise a new plan :)

Swim Lessons and the Root Canal

The boys finished their swim lessons this week and while neither of them passed Level 1, they still did an excellent job. We got a full checklist of the skills they needed to have to pass and Ben had far more of them checked off than Matthew! I'm not surprised, because Ben is much less timid in the water. They were a little more relieved when they spoke with one of their classmates who passed, but said this was his second time through this level. They are both determined to pass next time and want to practice as much as they can. I think we'll be hitting the beach a few times this week b/c it is supposed to be very warm. They also got a free pass to the Aquatic Center, so we'll go there sometime as well.

I had my root canal on Monday and it went as well as can be expected. The procedure took longer than I expected it to take and I was rather sore on Monday night. A friend came over to watch my kids since Rob had to work and another friend brought us dinner, so we were taken care of. The kids did great that night as well, so I had it pretty easy. Well, except for the extremely sore mouth :) I was sore somewhat on Tuesday, but have been feeling fine the rest of the week. The tooth feels MUCH better and I'm thankful I had this done!

Anna says

We were out running errands earlier this week and we passed by a catholic church. Anna pointed to the statue of Mary on top of the church and said, "Look, Mommy! There's a princess fairy on that building!"

This morning, Anna was helping Rob make breakfast and all in one breath said,"Only a boy named David, only a little sling. I want a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Hey, look! I'm a dinosaur!"

"Happy" Father's Day

Well, we knew going into this weekend that Father's Day might not be so happy for Rob. He has the day off work (first weekend off in a month) but with my tooth pain we weren't sure how good I would be feeling. So it wasn't too surprising when I got up this morning and went right back to bed. Yeah, I got to sleep in on Father's Day. The kids got up and made Rob some pictures, which is more than I did b/c I completely forgot about Father's Day cards until late Friday night and wasn't able to get them done. (Sorry Dad and Dad-in-law...your cards will be late). I popped some pain meds and we went to church.

Ugh. Yeah. We had one child who was so unruly that his/her SS teacher had to find me between services. We pulled the errant one out of their second service class and had he/she/it sit with us in the service. The child was NOT too happy about it, but complied and Rob had a nice long chat with him/her. (We're protecting the not-so-innocent, but grandparents may feel free to ask.) Rob and I were both very upset about what happened, so much so that I don't think we caught much of the service. And I was in pain.

We left church and went out to lunch at the Pine Cone, a truck stop restaurant in Johnson Creek. That place is worth a stop for the enormous desserts alone! They are two to three times the size of any restaurant desserts I've ever seen and half the price. But, it's a popular place and very busy, so we had a long wait for a table. Thankfully, our waitress was quick and we had speedy service. The food was delicious as usual, but I managed to have three or four pain attacks while eating.

The kids spent most of the afternoon cleaning up their toy room and bedroom with Rob while he spent loads of time imparting wisdom to them about behavior. We had noticed as the VBS week progressed that both boys were becoming pretty bad behavior problems. It just goes back to the fact that when kids are around kids more, they learn kid behavior, and that's not a good thing. It really has reinforced our decision to homeschool and have our children learn proper behavior from adults, not from kids.

And during all of that, I slept. This Tylenol 3 with codeine is really starting to get to me. One day left!!

So Rob is now making homemade pizza and plans to play some Wii tonight to give himself a better ending to the day. I told him that the next time he has a Saturday or Sunday off we'll have a belated Father's Day celebration and make it a really special day for him. He deserves it...he's such a great dad!!

Dairy Breakfast

We had a great time this morning at the Watertown Dairy Breakfast, hosted by the dairy farmers of the area. Every year on Father's Day weekend, the local dairy farmers take turns hosting this huge event. We have been gone or busy on this weekend in previous years, but since we had wide open plans, we decided to go. We even purchased tickets ahead (and Ben and Anna were free!)

We decided to take the free shuttle bus rather than a) try to find the farm b) have to potentially park in a muddy field and c) spend money on gas. As it turned out, the farm was pretty easy to find, but the "parking lot" was pretty scary looking and the lane was small and shared with tour wagons and the shuttle bus. The shuttles were full-sized school buses and the kids had a ball! They were so excited to ride on a bus! Anna had never been on one and the boys don't remember their last ride, so it was a real treat. Anna couldn't stop smiling on the entire ride.

When we arrived, we got in line for the actual breakfast. It was an all-you-can-eat feast of pancakes, sausage, scrambled eggs, sliced cheeses, and ice cream. The kids thought it was pretty neat to have dessert after breakfast. We all ate our fill, then took a tour of the farm. There was a kid area set up complete with model trains, a petting zoo, and a fake cow to milk. Matthew enjoyed holding a bunny and Ben couldn't get enough of milking the cow. We then walked over to the milking parlor and watching them milking the cows. I didn't think I would ever tear the kids away...they were completely fascinated with the entire process. We then took a wagon tour of the three farms that made up the whole dairy farm. Ben looked like he was in his element and even said he'd like to be a farmer someday. The kids got to crawl up in the combines and I didn't think we'd ever get Ben out!

We walked through a cow barn and the kids enjoyed seeing the cows close up. I asked Anna what she thought of it and she said, "Ooooo....those cows are STINKY!"

The kids were dragging by the end of the visit and Matthew even fell asleep on the return shuttle bus. They have had such a big week that I'm not surprised they were wore out. Rob took them out this afternoon while I had a stamp event, but he kept it pretty low key. Thankfully we have a much simpler week ahead of us!

Oh, and I'm doing okay so far with the pain management. Please keep praying!

VBS #1, Swimming, and Tooth Aches

We have had a rather busy week and while all of it was fun, I'm rather glad that schedule is over! I have a brand new appreciation for "soccer moms" and the amount of time they spend driving around their kids. I must say that one week was enough for me...can't imagine keeping up that pace through an entire school year!!

The above picture is of the kids waiting for their ride to VBS. They were invited to attend VBS at a church in Fort Atkinson and we agreed to let the boys go. Since it's a half hour drive and she's only three, Anna did not go with them. The boys had a marvelous time and really enjoyed getting to know some new kids as well as strengthen friendships with the kids that invited them and a few other friends they knew there. After one day of the preschool class, Ben was moved up to the 1st and 2nd grade class. My friend who's kids invited the boys thought he'd do better in the older group and he did. Rob and I went to the closing program and picnic lunch today and got to see what a fun program the church put on. It's a much smaller church than ours (63 kids was their highest day...we bring more than that on our buses) so they had a chance to see a different type of church. I'm so thankful they got a chance to go!

Now, here's where the fun part came in: The boys had swim lessons at 1pm each day but Friday. VBS ended at noon. That meant I had to pick them up each day, have lunch ready for them in the car, get them changed real quick, and head off to swim lessons. In spite of the distance and construction on the main highway, we made it every day with time to spare. I was rather tired of packing lunches by the end of the week (again...kudos to you moms that do that every day for school!) and a little sore from driving, but none the worse for the wear.

And swim lessons were very interesting. Rob and I feel very strongly that swimming is a vital skill each person should learn, so we enrolled them in the park and rec dept swim lessons. I could teach them myself, but I'm already their academic teacher so we thought an outside teacher would be better. And I must say that I am VERY impressed with the swim teachers in our town. The boys are in Level One lessons, but I wish we had put them in Aquakids when they were four. Rob and I have both observed that class during the boys' lessons and are impressed with how they acclimate the little ones to the pool. Anna will be enrolled in that class next year.

That being said, the boys themselves were a little timid on their first day. Matthew panicked at the thought of going further than the wall and Ben wasn't much better. I realized I had to act fast or our money would be wasted. So, each day I have had a goal for them to achieve and a treat if they earned it. I've seen all kinds of improvement over four short days. They have one week left, so we'll see how it goes. I told them how awful I was during my lessons and how much better than me they are doing already. They felt pretty good after that, knowing that Mommy is a great swimmer and was a lifeguard. There's hope!

So now for Miss Anna: I knew I needed a few activities planned to help distract her while the boys were gone in the mornings. She went along for a few chiropractic appointments, had a playdate with a friend, went with Rob and I to a chocolate shop tour (part of the library reading program), saw animals at a library program, played at McDonald's, went out for breakfast with Mom and Dad, and got the TV all to herself. I'd say she was pretty spoiled by the end of the week! She's excited to attend our church's VBS in a week and was very interested in everything the boys did in the mornings.

On Tuesday of this week, I started having some severe tooth pain. I've had problems with one tooth in particular for awhile, but was told I have an exposed root on that tooth, so I didn't think much of it. By Thursday, I was in so much pain I could barely function (and that day Rob worked at Bass, so I solo parented much of the day...go figure.) I called the dentist, got in for a 3pm appointment, and found out I have a dying nerve in that tooth. They started to prep for a root canal, but since it was 3:30 by that point and Rob had to work at 4pm, I couldn't stay. They gave me a prescription for pain meds and I will go in for the root canal on Monday afternoon. A friend of mine will watch the kids since Rob will already be at work. The pain meds finally kicked in this afternoon, so please pray that I do not develop a tolerance to them and that I make it through until Monday. On a pain scale, it was a 9.5. Thankfully, Rob does not work all weekend and does not work until 4pm on Monday, so I have him around for help if the pain gets worse.

And that's been our week! Tomorrow we're going to the Watertown Dairy Breakfast on a farm and Ben especially is excited about the all-you-can-eat breakfast. He's a BIG breakfast eater, so this is right up his alley!!

Naughty Stoplights

We've been pretty busy this week and I'll blog about what we've been doing when the week is over, but I had to share this Anna-funny.

A little back story: Two Sundays ago, the kids and I were headed home from the morning service and hoped to get there in time to see Rob before he had to leave for work. (He had left the service early.) We got to a stoplight just as it turned red and had to wait for the entire cycle before we could go. But the stoplight decided to skip our side of the street. Four times. The traffic backed up pretty badly as the errant stoplight continued to skip us. The kids and I were getting pretty upset and they asked what we should do. I told them we'd have to call the police (and it looked like someone behind us already was) and have them come out and help. The light finally did turn green, but we passed Rob as he was heading down the street.

Ever since then, the kids have called that light "the tricky light." As we passed by it tonight on the way home, Anna said, "That's the tricky light. If it skips us again, we'll call the police and they will come out and take that light away and lock it in jail forever!" Because that is apparently what happens to naughty stoplights :)

And I did explain that someone could just fix it, but after waiting so long to turn, I like Anna's solution better!

Beating the Heat

We've been trying to keep cool here in Litwiller land during this three-day heat wave. I got lots of advice about where to take the kids around here, then realized we don't have the extra money to take them anywhere. So I got a little creative. We have a covered sandbox in our backyard (one of those frog/turtle things) and it still had the sand in it from last year. Along with a layer of water that ducks have been using as a little pond (I have pictures to prove it!). I had Rob dump all of that out, clean out the box, and fill it with water. I'll have to get a pic of the kids using it, because it's pretty tiny. They can all sit on the edge and dip their feet in or at least two of them can sit in it. Since Anna is not all that fond of water yet, the boys usually get the pool to themselves. It does cool them off some, so it has been worth it.

Of course we have stocked up on cold eats and Kool-aid (which I only allow during hot weather). But today I knew we needed to do something away from home. Originally it was supposed to storm today, so I planned to take them to play at McDonald's. While they played in their pool this morning, I realized that the forecast had changed and we could actually go swimming in someplace large enough to submerge more than an ankle. We have two main options--the beach in Lake Mills or the Aquatic Center. Another brilliant thought dawned on me--I got paid for a babysitting job just last night (I'd do it for free but this mom feels better when she pays me) and it was in the exact amount to get all four of us in at the aquatic center! Perfect! We waited to leave for the pool until after Rob had left for work and had many dreams of splashing around in the cool, clear water. And since the city schools are not finished until Thursday, we thought there would be less people at the pool.

Yeah. There were less people, alright. Zero, in fact, along with a sign that said the pool opened at 4pm. Apparently the large numbers of private and homeschool families in town that are already done for the year wouldn't be enough to get the pool open early. The kids started to show some disappointment (and frankly, I did, too) so I made a snap decision to go to the beach instead. It took us about 20 minutes to get there and when we did, it was packed! But we found ourselves a little spot in the shade and the boys were in the water in no time. We did have to deal with a cranky sunbather who tried to talk to Ben about kicking sand on her leg. I looked her right in the eye and said, "He was merely running past you. He was not kicking sand." She backed off and said, "Oh, I know, it just happened when he ran." Then she tried cornering him later when I was in the water with Anna, so I called he and Matthew over and showed them a path to our things around the Cranky Lady. (Who also tried to tell Anna to get a shirt on b/c she was so pale skinned.) ARGH!! I'm glad she left our family alone after that, b/c I was very much in the mood by that time to point out that her smoking was causing others to breath in toxic fumes, but she left. After yelling at other kids not to run, of course. (One of my biggest pet peeves is when people try to tell kids not to be kids, but I digress...)

Miss Anna was not nearly as brave as last year, so she and I spent most of our time on the beach. Kind of bummer for me, because I like to swim!! But we went at her pace and before I knew it, she was splashing at the water's edge and letting her brothers take her in about knee deep. The boys had a marvelous time splashing around and trying to see how far they could go in the water. Thankfully, there is a roped off swimming area, so I knew they were okay. We did manage to lose a sand bucket somehow when the boys tired of playing with it and left it in the lake. They fussed about it when it was time to leave, but I think they need a lesson or two about taking care of their property.

We left when Anna just about fell asleep on her towel and stopped at McDonald's for supper on the way home. Since we couldn't use my extra money for the pool, we used it for dinner!

And I'm hoping we make it through one more day without melting :) We do have a "new" fan in the living room that has made a world of difference. Rob and I bought an industrial fan back in Cali, but the stand had broken and Rob wanted to hang on to it and build it a new stand. Well, Matthew just happened to accidently knock over our pedastal fan in the living room and the blades shattered. Rob just went upstairs to the closet, took out the industrial fan, and put the two together to make one mean living room fan. It's awesome and about as good as you can get without a/c. We call it.....The Frankenfan. Yup, we're weird like that! But at least his obsession with keeping broken things paid off this time :)

Homeschool World's Fair

This past Wednesday, we participated in a homeschool world's fair. The idea was that each homeschool family choose a country to study and then create a booth dealing with the country. About 10 families participated and it was loads of fun!

We chose The Philippines (of course) and had a ball putting our project together. The former high school teacher in me started planning all kinds of grand and complicated things for our backboard. We checked out a few books from the library and began reading. And then the boys got really bored about half way through the first book. It was then that I remembered my kiddos have just finished first grade and preschool...they aren't ready for all the neat statistics and info that I was trying to find. So I began thinking like a lower elementary student. What kind of things would they find interesting? And how should be best approach decorating our backboard?

After talking to the boys, we decided we would focus on everything fun about the Philippines. After all, what do people REALLY remember at these types of events? The fun stuff! Only teachers actually read all the info...and there weren't any typical teachers present! So we flipped through the books and scanned Wikipedia for anything fun and interesting to kids. Since Rob and I have a wealth of info already on our country of choice, we were able to easily direct the kids. We had one whole side of the backboard dedicated to food (lumpia and halo halo, anyone?), another side with rice terraces and dancers, and we did our more "serious" info in the middle (flag, pic of the capital, map, etc.) Ben, Anna, and I used the Big shot to cut out letters in the colors of the flag, Matthew cut out pics and matted them, I glued them to the board. We found a game from the Philippines, a dress shirt that Ben had worn, a Filipino version of Coke, and missionary cards that we were able to add to our display.

I found a sitter for Anna that day so I wouldn't have to chase her around the room and we were off. We got our booth set up in no time (yay for really big backboards!) and were able to wander around and see what everyone else had done. The boys learned about China, Guatemala, Japan, Egypt, Romania, Ghana, India, Ireland, and Germany. Many of the booths had food and the boys decided we need to add that next year. We were planning to make lumpia (Filipino eggrolls) but Rob had to work that day and I don't know how to make them.

Speaking of Rob, he showed up in between jobs to visit us, but just as he arrived, Ben came out of the bathroom and had had an accident. Rob ran him to Kohl's to buy some new shorts and came back in time to leave again :( Poor guy...some days we just don't know if he's coming or going!

It was a great way to end our school year and the kids really enjoyed the fair. I asked them if they actually read any info and they told me no, so I knew we did the right thing by focusing on pictures :)

Memorial Day Weekend, Part 2

The kids were eagerly awaiting the arrival of their grandparents on Saturday night. We kept them pretty busy by giving baths/showers and cleaning up the little bits and places that still needed some attention. The kids were wild with excitement at seeing their grandparents here. Thankfully, it didn't take too much to get them calmed down for bedtime (or maybe I don't remember that part b/c Rob put them to bed.)

The next morning Miss Anna decided to wake up at 5am and join her grandparents. We stopped her and got her to stay upstairs until 6am, but she woke up her brothers in the process. So we were a rather tired group of people attending church that morning! Poor Rob had red rings around his eyes, but at least he and I were at the nursery desk during the morning service. Well, we crossed paths, at least. He manned the desk while I was in choir and then I took over when he left for work. He worked all afternoon, poor guy!

After lunch, we took a little tour of Watertown, hitting a few places my parents wanted to see again. Then we ended up at McDonald's for ice cream cones and some playtime for the kids. Rob came home and grilled up a delicious dinner of chicken, pork, and loads of veggies. We did s'mores over the grill and we all went to bed happy and well-fed.

On Memorial Day itself, we took to the park early to avoid the heat (and crowds). We fed the ducks and then played at the park. Then we headed home to avoid the heat, had lunch, and my folks took off. We took off as well and met Rob after work to do a little shopping. Then it was home to grill again for supper!

And now I think I'm done!!

Memorial Day Weekend Part 1

We had a fun-filled, action-packed holiday weekend. I must say we were kept hopping most of the time, and that was partly due to the fact that Rob had to work the entire time. I wanted to keep the kids busy so they didn't miss Daddy too much.

On Friday, Rob worked from 10-1 at Bass and 2-10 at G & V, so we really didn't see him much. We grocery shopped, made a few stamp deliveries for my boss, and hit the park for a good long while. My boys have discovered that they LOVE sandboxes, so we keep sand toys in the trunk of the van for park usage. The park we went to on Friday had a rather lousy sand pit, but that didn't stop them from digging in! The funniest part about that visit was the end. I tried calling the boys over, but they didn't come. Then Anna yelled out, "Minions assemble!" and they shot right over! (That's a line from on of her favorite movies, Despicable Me.

On Saturday, Rob worked from 9:45 to 4:45, so I found a few activities for us to do. We packed a lunch just in case we were still out and about when we got hungry. We tried garage saling, but there wasn't much available seeing as it was a holiday weekend. We found one sale where Anna bought a "new" baby doll (the hair completely fell out w/i two hours of reaching home) and the boys got some balls to play with outdoors. Then we went over to Eberts, one of our favorite places. My intent was to let the kids play and then leave. The boys were concerned that I would drag them into every single greenhouse on the property, but I reminded them that Daddy wasn't with us on this trip :) We did end up buying some flowers anyway. After the kids played in the kid's village for about an hour, we walked through a few greenhouses and found one that was entirely pink. Anna picked out a geranium, then Ben wanted a red one, so we hunted to find the right shade of red. Matthew had his heart set on lamb's ear, which is a very soft plant. He found just what he wanted and proceeded to pet it while we were in line to pay.

Oh, speaking of being in line to pay, so the line was REALLY long and just as we got into it, Ben had to go potty. No problem...the bathrooms were right next to the line so he took himself. Then Anna had to go. Now there was a problem. I tried to convince Matthew to hold our place in line, but he just followed me over to Anna. There was a line for the ladies room, so I got Matthew back into the check-out line (now at the end b/c we lost our place) and told him to stay put. Ben was back by this time and the nice lady behind us said she'd help the boys. So I went back over to take Anna potty, but there was STILL a line and as I checked on the boys, they were speeding up the check-out line b/c a third register had opened. ARGH!! I decided to take action and ushered Anna into the empty men's room (a very nice men's room, if I might say so.) She went potty and then we headed back to the boys, who were by this time next in line to pay. Praise the Lord for the nice lady behind us!!

After Eberts we headed to Ixonia for a tractor expo. I had no idea what to expect, except that there would be tractors and a flea market, so we headed over to find it. We parked next to a small park and ate lunch, then went to see the tractors. Matthew was determined to find a tire big enough to sit inside of, and he found it with no trouble. I do think it would have been a bit more fun and informative if we had either grandpa there to help us out, but they enjoyed it anyway. The had a free kiddie ride and the kids really enjoyed it. It was also a very long ride, so Mommy enjoyed her free time looking around the flea market a bit. After their ride, we walked around the flea market and bought some kettle corn. Then we heard the emcee talking about a kiddie tractor pull. I had seen that in the advertisements but wasn't sure if the kids would be interested. I explained what they had to do and all of them were excited! I wasn't intending to enter Anna at all, but when they weighed in, she followed her brother's example and stood on the scale. All three were in a separate weight class, so they didn't have to compete against each other. They played on the playground until the event started, and Anna's group was up first. She went first and moved it about one foot, but it was far enough, as she got second place! Only three kids in her group, but she ended up with a medal. The boys didn't fare as well, but they did have fun and agreed that it was pretty hard. We headed for home afterwards and waited for Daddy to come home. My parents came over that night, but I think I'll save the grandparent visit for a separate post. I'd hate to undo everything my chiropractor has been working on by typing too much!

Fixed the Problem!!

I finally figured out my problem with posting and so I should be able to post more frequently. I wrote that previous post over a week ago and haven't been able to post it. I'm now using an updated browser, so problem solved!!

An Update

I have been informed by my father (who called on an outdated number...hint, hint Dad) that I have not blogged in awhile. I guess I've just been so busy enjoying my life that I haven't had time to blog about it!

Let's see, since my last post was Easter Sunday, I've got mucho catching up to do. I guess I'll just hit the major highlights of the past few weeks. We took a trip down to Illinois the weekend after Easter, but left Rob at home to work. I will say that I don't think I'll be doing that again. Driving that far by myself was a little rough on my body and, well, I just really missed Rob! The kids had a wonderful time playing with their grandparents and a few cousins. The main reason for the trip was for me to do two SU workshops, but we had to cancel one because my sister went on bedrest for a bit. We still went over and visited her, so that was fun. The other workshop went well, but I forgot to bring a punch that was crucial to the card. Thankfully, one of the ladies had it at home and her husband brought it, but not until we were almost completely finished with both make 'n takes. Argh....not my finest hour, but at least everyone had fun and ordered lots. :)

Just to stay on the business theme, I had a great card night last week with seven in attendance. I'm having a workshop tonight and overall I'd say my business is really taking off. I enjoy it and love any excuse to stamp!

Mother's Day happened in these missing blog weeks. That wasn't much to write about, mainly because I was sick all day. I had a headache and some weird stomach problems. I did get treated to breakfast in bed and they bought me Lego Pirates of the Caribbean for the Wii, complete with my own little Lego Jack Sparrow.

We finished our school year on Monday of this week. I had one week left to go and the boys agreed to do some schooling last weekend so we could finish. Rob had to work on Saturday and Sunday, so it was the perfect time to work. They are both excited to NOT have to do school and I think I'm just as excited....if not more so!! I am planning to do a little schooling over the summer, but nothing real big. My goal is to keep working on Ben's reading skills and help Matthew get more confident in his math facts.

We do have a few things planned for the summer. The boys are signed up to take swim lessons in June. They are in the same class, so I'm hoping that will help with their confidence. If they both pass, I'm going to sign them up for the next level class in July. All three children will get to do the library reading program this year, which starts in June. Otherwise we plan to hit the parks and the beach as often as we can! I'm going to work on my scrapbooking and learn to braid hair. :)

We have found a fantastic babysitter. When Rob starting working second shift, I realized I need a sitter if I am to keep my business alive! The kids absolutely love her to pieces and I feel very confident in her abilities. Anna asks me almost every day when she's coming back.

I think that's all for the activities going on at our house. And I hope you're happy, Dad!!

Easter at Our House

This morning I was awoken by an anxious three-year-old trying in vain to get her dress on. Of course, she had grabbed the wrong blue dress and hadn't had her bath yet, so I helped her out of the dress and into the tub. As I was bathing her, I talked to her about what Easter means. As I finished talking about Jesus rising from the dead she said, "And He's coming again!" I guess she has been listening to all the times we've spoken of it before!

The kids were all very eager to wear their new clothes so they dressed right away. Anna has a very pretty blue dress made by Grandma Litwiller, along with a matching purse, hat, doll dress, and doll diaper. She's was simply adorable in her ensemble and I even allowed her to take the doll to church since she had an Easter dress, too :) The boys had new shirts and ties. They flip-flopped their colors from last year and looked just as handsome. I realized this morning I had nothing new for Easter, so I just threw on something spring-ish.

Ben and Matthew tried to make breakfast this morning for all of us. Ben made the toast and did just fine, but Matthew had some serious trouble with the scrambled eggs. Namely, he didn't pour the eggs into the pan, but rather all over the stove. Rob hastily cleaned it up and helped Matthew start all over again. It turned out good anyway :)

I worked in the nursery this morning during Sunday school and Rob was at desk, so we missed the big Sunday school breakfast. As it turned out, the 3-year-old teacher and her crew brought in breakfast for the nursery workers! She said she was tired of not being an adult :) I made sure I was covered when I needed to leave for choir because we sang "Worthy is the Lamb" from The Messiah. I haven't sung that since college and I just love The Messiah!!

We had a big lunch when we came home (ham, escalloped potatoes--Rob's grandma's recipe, green beans, rolls, and fruit). After stuffing the kids with food, we had our egg hunt. The kids painted eggs the day before and we hid them around the living and dining rooms, along with the two chocolate bunnies Matthew won in the egg hunt yesterday, and a bunch of beach toys. We bought a big kit of them since I plan to take the kids to the beach a lot this summer. And, we also bought them the third Narnia movie, which we enjoyed this afternoon. I was a good mommy and let them rip right into the bunnies and devour them. After all, what's a holiday without a good candy gorge??

They have been happily playing inside and outside all afternoon and we'll head back to church this evening. That is, if I can wake up Rob. He's out like a log on the couch.

The Egg Hunt

This morning we got up bright and early for an Easter Egg Hunt at Pick 'n Save, our local grocery store. The hunt started at 7:30 to avoid the shoppers, I suppose, but there were plenty of people shopping already! The kids were so excited that they woke me up at 5:50am. I promptly sent them back to bed :) Rob decided to join us even though he doesn't get home from work until after midnight. He said he needed a shopping cart and free coffee to keep him upright, though.

I couldn't find their Easter baskets, so they went with an odd assortment of containers. Anna had a bunny purse my mom had sent her during a previous Easter, Ben used his Halloween pumpkin, and Matthew grabbed a plastic grocery sack. We headed over to the freezer section to wait for the hunt. Rob decided to do our grocery shopping and come over when it started.

The kids were divided into age groups and of course, mine were in three different sections. I deposited Anna in the 2-3 group and then helped the boys find their aisles. I pushed my way back to Anna to help her, but the parents were not allowed into the aisles with the kids. Unfortunately, most of the parents didn't get the hint to move aside and let the kids through! I used my big voice to part the way for the little kids behind us and helped shove them past the moms who couldn't take a hint. They had Hershey eggs scattered all over the floor along with a few plastic eggs.

Once it began, the kids went crazy grabbing eggs. I had a friend of mine who is six foot eight take a picture of Anna's group since I couldn't see past the wall of parents. I then hurried to take pics of Ben and Matthew's groups, who were already almost done! I got back to Anna's group and the wall of parents had moved forward. That group took the longest to pick up the eggs. They weren't in a hurry, I guess!

I went back and found the boys. Matthew and I had talked a little stratgey and I told him to quickly get past the big crowd and move toward the back. He found three of the plastic eggs, each of which earned him a big prize! He got a jump rope, two chocolate bunnies, and two big packages of Oreos. We now know for next year to go for the plastic eggs :)

And since they have so much chocolate I don't think Mom and Dad need to buy them any at all! Good thing, because it just occured to me last night that I hadn't bought any presents for them. I have their cards done, of course, but nothing else. We'll see what Rob and I come up with for tomorrow :)

Matthew at the Dentist

At Matthew's last dental visit we found out that he has three cavities. One of them is in a tooth that he's likely to lose pretty soon so the dentist wants to wait a while before filling that one. The other two are in the back and won't come out in the near future, so he needed them filled. At that appointment, the hygenist showed him the gas mask he would have to wear and explained what would happen.

Today he woke up a bit nervous and kept saying that he wished the appointment was in the morning. Poor guy...he knew it wouldn't be fun! We decided it would be best for Rob to take him since Rob could hold him down if necessary. I would have to pick Matthew up since the appt was very close to the time Rob had to go to work. (And the nice part about that is that the dental office is on the edge of town, so Rob had less traffic to deal with on his way to work.)

The other two and I decided to get a nice distracting present for Matthew since we thought he'd be all loopy and sore. We went to Family Video and found the latest Lego Wii game (based on Star Wars' The Clone Wars) and two of the free kids videos. We then headed to the dental office, but did not have to wait long. Rob came shooting out and left for work with Matthew close behind him. Apparently, Matthew did NOT want the gas and just did the two fillings with no shot and no gas! He said it didn't hurt at all, only stung a little at one point. I can't believe my child who hates doctors and needles was so brave. He's a little sore right now, so I gave him some Tylenol and he had some soft mac 'n cheese and a milk shake for supper.

I'm just so proud of him!

Stonefire Pizza

Rob had today off from Bass, so we decided to make good on a month-old promise to the kids and went to Stonefire Pizza for lunch. If you've been to Chuck E. Cheese and Dave 'n Busters, just put the two together and that's where we were! We took off around 9:45 and got there a little early, so we had to wait. Remember waiting for things to open when you were a kid?? I have to say waiting is much easier on this side of things :) The kids got to see a bit of the place from the waiting area, which only whet their appetite for more. We decided to take a walk around before lunch and found LOADS to do. The place was enormous. There was a large arcade with both video games and games that spit out tickets. In that area was a ride, bumper cars, and Ball City. Ball City is where the boys spent the majority of their time, and here's why: It's a three-story high structure filled with nerf-like balls and guns and cannons to shoot the balls from. We couldn't believe how amazing it was! And there was a slide from the third story down to the first. Watching the boys was like watching Rob and I in this thing. Matthew (mini-me) ran from thing to thing, trying each one and getting more and more excited as he went along. (I saw many happy dances as he discovered each new ball gun.) Ben (or mini-Rob) took his time and really explored each gun/cannon. It was so funny to watch him figure out the cannon. While Matthew loaded and pelted Ben with balls from the second story, Ben meticulously loaded the cannon, figured out how to aim it, and blasted Matthew with about 10 balls all at once. There were three dining rooms and we opted to eat in the one that Matthew described this way, "It's like eating inside the Children's museum!" Besides tables and chairs, there were a number of small playrooms, all visible from the eating area. Anna had her pick of a water play area, train table, face painting, play pizza parlor, and a McDonald's-style play structure. Of course the boys were young enough to play with all of it too, but Anna is the one who played there the longest. And then there was the food! Huge buffet filled with all types of food, including about 10 different types of pizza. We had plenty to eat as well as a sundae bar for dessert. Due to the expense of the place, we opted to pay for lunch (of course) and VIP braclets so the boys could do the three big activities in the game room. Today they had a $5 special for the bracelets and the boys made full use of them! We weren't sure if Anna would like the ball room or the one ride she's tall enough for, but I think she'll do it next time. Rob almost paid to join the boys in the ball room!! So we had a fabulous time exploring a new place. The boys are ready to go back tomorrow. I'm thinking maybe in July for MJ's birthday....maybe.... :) And I'm sorry my posts have been nothing but huge paragraphs...I can't figure out why they are posting this way.