The Rest of the Story

Here are the decorated pie pumpkins from our feverish week. Aaron's is on the left, and he named it Rainbow. Kaleb's is in the middle; he named it Spooky. Braylen named his Nostril. Silly boys!

A highlight of the week that I forgot to mention--Braylen and Kaleb served me breakfast in bed! They were feeling much better by Thursday morning, and fixed me two pieces of buttered toast, grapes, and a glass of water. As he handed me the plate, Braylen said he wanted to thank me for taking such good care of him this week. Awww! Being a mom sure is hard. I give so much of myself to them every day. But in that moment, my boys took care of me. They showed their love with their actions and their words. A simple breakfast. An everyday morning made extraordinary!

Feeling Feverish

It took a week--an entire week--but I think I can say we are on our way to wellness around here. Last Saturday, Kaleb started running a 102 temp. By Monday he was back in school, and it was Braylen's turn to be sick. Braylen didn't get better in 2 days like his brother. *sigh* 104.1 degrees at times, and his fever hung on for 5 days. 5 very long days. I knew it was bad when at 2am I listened to him complain that Adam and Eve brought sin into the world and this was why he was sick. I can't fix that!! Tuesday night Aaron joined the fever party, and his illness mirrored Braylen's. *sigh*

Things could have been worse. We only had one puke episode. Derek and I didn't get sick. No visits to the doctor's office. Nothing major on the calendar, so why not be sick? Still, after 7 days of passing out tylenol and ibuprofen and taking temps in my sleep...I was done. All of us wanted to be done. Braylen was bored out of his gourd. Too sick for video games and tv. Too sick to read. And when Braylen and Aaron get sick, they do not sleep. They lay around and bemoan the fact that they're sick. (they are men-in-training you know!) Kaleb passes out in his bed--maybe that's why he recovered so much quicker?! Anyway, I'm not sure if we had H1N1 or some other virus, but whatever it was, our flu shot that we got 2 weeks ago didn't help with this at all. It kicked us in the shorts, as my husband likes to say. Lysol wipes, lysol spray, open windows--I'm trying it all in hopes that it leaves and never returns!

Some good things happened this week too. Kaleb, our only healthy one on Thursday, was invited to a friend's house for a play date. My mother-in-law went to the store for me and brought us some groceries and extra goodies. The kids spent Friday afternoon decorating and painting their pie pumpkins from Grandma, sticking window clings on my kitchen windows, and (shocker!) laughing. :) I took a picture of these pumpkins and they are a riot--but my camera is not here for me to download it. Next post! One day after Kaleb came home from school, Braylen said, "It's happier with Kaleb here." Awww. When they felt up to it, we ate lunches on the couch and watched vintage episodes of "The Dukes of Hazzard." I read "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH" to Braylen for part of his schoolwork. I never get to read to him anymore, so that was a treat. Walking the dog was heavenly for me--fresh air and no temps to check! :)

This morning when I checked temperatures, God showed me His sense of humor. Everyone's temp was 98.6. Woo-hoo!

Just Camping With Dad

The title of this post can also be "Camping with JUST Dad!" Being the youngest, Aaron doesn't get much one-on-one time with Derek. Braylen and Kaleb can hunt with Dad, target-shoot with Dad, and share Cub Scout outings with Dad. But one thing Aaron and Daddy can do together is go camping. :)

This is our spot

Put the tent right here Daddy!

Friday afternoon, Derek loaded up the Suburban and away they went. Stopping only for fish bait and donuts, they made it to their camp site in time to build a campfire for a hot dog roast. Derek was amazed at how truly helpful Aaron was. He listened and followed directions...something his older brothers have forgotten how to do. ;) While setting up the tent, he snapped the poles together as high as he could reach. When gathering firewood, he carried all that his little arms could carry. Derek delighted in Aaron, even learning to live in Aaron's pace of life. While walking to the bathrooms, Aaron stopped to kick every single leaf along the way. At first, Derek told him to keep moving. Then he thought to himself, "What for?" So he walked beside Aaron as they zig-zagged their way to the bathrooms.

The hot dog roast

Aaron wanted only one marshmallow--Daddy wanted lots more!

One of the things they did a lot of on their camping trip was bike riding. Derek had his odometer to keep track of how long they rode. Can you believe they rode 8 miles together? Aaron's quite the bike rider! Every now and then he'd wipe out for no reason--he'd be riding along just fine and then wham! Down he went. That is SO Aaron. :) His funniest wipe-out came down a small hill where he fell off his bike and the bike crashed into the fire pit! Fishing was another thing they enjoyed together. Aaron managed to hook Derek's ear with a jitterbug, and he drowned the worms while telling them, "That's what you get for not catching me any fish!"

Our littlest fisherman

Sleeping in the tent was another big hit. Aaron woke Daddy up to hear the owls. I'm sure Daddy was sound asleep anyway. :) Snuggled in their sleeping bags, Aaron did lots of talking while Daddy did lots of listening.

Our Cookie Monster staying warm :)

What a special time for Derek and our precious youngest son, who reminds us every day that he's not that young anymore...

Mid-September

Beautiful Ginger is growing up

Another week gone by. More running for Braylen, lots of allergies for Kaleb and Aaron, plenty of job security for Derek, and 5 schedules for me to master. Really, I don't remember the allergy season ever being this bad. Kaleb gets red puffy bags underneath his eyes while his nose runs like a faucet. Aaron sneezes and sneezes...I've started to think of him as my dwarf named Sneezy. I wonder when I give in and test them for allergies? Round after round of allergy shots does not appeal to me, and there's no guarantee they would work anyway. So instead, the Zyrtec flows like water over here. Just like their noses. I keep hoping it will work?

Aaron wants to make a pinewood derby car (he calls it dervy)

Derek's kept his hours pretty normal, but the work he's doing during those hours is anything but routine. Thankfully the weekend is here. I can hope and pray he gets 2 full days of it without any callouts.

With all of Braylen's running at school and running at sports practices, I was beginning to wonder if it's time for deodorant. No more wondering. One more small step towards growing up. :)

Aaron's enjoying a special weekend with Daddy...more of that to come in my next post. Until then, here are his latest funnies. :)

A conversation with Daddy at bedtime...

Aaron: Braylen's supposed to be moved out of the house by now cuz he's 8 or older.

Derek: Umm, do you mean 18?

Aaron: Ah, I'm not good at keeping counting straight...

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A conversation with Mommy and Daddy at bedtime...

Aaron: The evil people believe there's lots of gods, but we know there's only one God to believe in.

Derek: How do you know that Aaron?

Aaron: Dad, I'm 5 years old--I've been learning these things all my life!

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When seeing reflectors reflecting light at the side of the road, Aaron says, "Look! Lighter-uppers!"

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Mommy: Aaron, we need to go to Grandma's house and use her sewing machine.

Aaron: You have a sewing machine Mommy--we don't need to use Grandma's.

Mommy: I don't have a sewing machine.

Aaron: Oh, we just have a sticky machine, right?

Mommy: Umm, do you mean an iron?

Aaron: Yeah! An iron!

Okay, so my son thinks my iron is my sewing machine. Can you tell I only use my iron to put patches on his Cubbie vest? He's never seen what an iron is actually for. Ha!

Half-Marathon

Braylen's been getting up extra-early 2-3 days a week to participate in our school's running club. He runs from 7:15-7:45, then eats a quick breakfast in the cafeteria before the bell rings. This past Friday he came home with a certificate declaring he's logged 13.1 miles, which equals a half-marathon! It makes me tired just thinking about it! Great job buddy! While I can barely function without my morning coffee, my son is running his way to a marathon. Oh how he puts me to shame! :)

Lasts and Firsts

Waving at me as I took his last first-day-of-preschool-picture

We sent Aaron to preschool this week. This is it--my last one in preschool. Almost every day this week he tells me, "Enjoy this year with me at home Mommy, because next year? Kindergarten!" As if I needed to be reminded, right? Ah Aaron, I AM enjoying this year with you at home.

Aaron standing at his "locker" on his first day

Last night I took my boys to our high school football game...in the rain. Never done that before! This is our third year going to these games, and it's become such a fun time for us. We look forward to it all week, so not even rain stopped us from going! Derek works the games, and the boys especially like seeing him there. Someday they won't like their dad's job, but I don't like to think about that... As we sat in the bleachers on a plastic tablecloth, huddled underneath 2 umbrellas, I thought this just might be my favorite game with them yet. Braylen didn't wander the stadium with his friends. Aaron kept remarking how neat the rain looked in the stadium lights. Watching the rain fall felt cleansing to me. In less than 2 years, Braylen will be sitting in the middle school section. Kaleb and Aaron will follow. Friends and peer groups will be their world. I will sit alone, with my own friends, or maybe even Derek, if he's not working. I will remember the days when my boys sat with me and wonder where those days went. I'm dancing on the edge of some changes along this journey called mothering, and honestly, I'm not sure I like how it feels. Yes, I'm enjoying these days I'm in now. No, I'm not living in fear of days to come. They will bring good things too. Let's just say I've been reminded to not take any stage for granted. I can enjoy what's in front of me, even when it's raining.

Season of Change

Labor Day weekend brought clouds and wind. Appropriate transition from summer to fall I think. We spent one last weekend at the lake--kinda sad, kinda not. The kids braved the weather and went tubing. I stayed dry in the boat. ;) It's just not the same when instead of jumping in the water to cool off, you stay in the boat to keep warm. Still a fun weekend though. The boys just love riding their bikes all over the lake town. Aaron can start himself on his bike now, and I'm already having a hard time remembering what it was like to help him with that. We played with light-up frisbees in the dark, and realized Kaleb's white hair glowed almost as much as the flashing frisbees. :) All in all, we enjoyed our time together as a family. I will miss these days.

Watch out--Mommy's driving the boat. :)

Smiles and goggles :)

Goodbye lake...see you next summer

Back at home, we spent our actual Labor Day doing a whole lot of nothing. I figure that's the way it should be, right? Derek had lots of play time with the kids, I ran 10 loads of laundry through my washer and dryer, and treated myself to a movie that night while I folded everything. Derek even surpised me by watching the movie and folding with me! I have to laugh at our tv situation. Our "big screen" died last week. It's actually a 10 year old tv that used to belong to my grandma, but it was a nice size for us. Now that it no longer works, we're using our only other tv we have in our house, which is no bigger than an oversized square computer screen. Derek found me on a beanbag chair pretty close to the screen, and so we sat there together, feeling like we'd stepped back in time. Once upon a time we were 2 married college kids watching a small tv in our apartment on the floor with no furniture. Now we're 2 married thirtysomethings sitting on our kids' beanbags watching a small tv in our basement. :) Oh well.

Wrapping up this post, I'll give an update on our puppy. She's fully recovered from her surgery 2 weeks ago and continues to grow like a weed. I lost track of how many weeks old she is, and am now keeping track of all that by months. She's 5 months old and we think she's such a pretty dog. Don't you?

Boyspeak

Aaron ADORES his big brothers. He wants to be like them and he wants to be with them. He misses them when they're at school and when they all go to bed at night. He even wants to SOUND like them! For example, they call each other "Dude." I hear this all of the time: "Dude, look at this. Dude, come over here. Dude! No way!" On and on. Aaron will even come over to me and say, "Dude, check this out!" I raise an eyebrow at him and he says, "Oh--I mean dudette." Ha!!! I don't speak boyspeak. I can barely understand it! :)

As I've said before, we've decided to wait and send Aaron to kindergarten next year. I wondered what it would be like this fall--would I regret that decision? Well, we are 3 weeks into the school year and I am SO glad we're giving him this extra year at home. We're enjoying many tender moments and laughs together. He picks me dandelions every day when we walk Ginger. He hears a song on the radio and asks me questions about it. He practices writing his letters and numbers while I make grocery lists. He knows that after trillion comes quadrillion. We pick veggies from the garden. We ride our bikes around the neighborhood while he pulls his brother's homemade "trailer" behind him. We make decorations with cereal and string. We paint and play games.

And that's just the first 3 weeks worth of fun. Dude. :)