Snippets…

On Saturday, Isaac scored his very first goal since he started playing in the AYSO Under-10 division!   He really has been making a good effort, even though it has not been easy for him.  We were so proud, and so was he!

On Tuesday the weather finally cooperated and Jonathan actually got to play soccer!  He was so excited since his last two games were rained out.  He did great, had a blast, and scored a few goals.  When someone asked him if his team won, he replied, “There’s no winner.”  I’m glad that he enjoys the game at this stage without needing to keep score.  And we were thrilled that he was able to burn off some of that extra energy.

Ben has had a few trips to our friendly tertiary care center.  He has been picking and pulling at his MIC-KEY button, so last week we saw his g-tube nurse.  We have determined that the tube size is appropriate, but we think he has a mild yeast infection at the site.  We are treating him with some Mycolog ointment, but I’m not so sure it’s doing much good…he succeeded at PULLING OUT HIS MIC-KEY BUTTON for the very first time a couple days ago.  For now we’re continuing the ointment and keeping his belly bound with an ACE wrap.  Poor Ben.  I hope he stops messing with it so he doesn’t have to sweat all summer.

Today we went to  have Ben’s hearing aids adjusted.  He got new molds, and I told the tech about the severe feedback (whistling) we were getting.  She had a neat device which actually was able to cancel most of the feedback (I’m not exactly sure how it works), but Ben will finally be able to wear his hearing aids again.

Lately, Nate has been doing lots of new things.  He has begun teething, rolling over very well in both directions (finally catching up to big brother Ben with his motor skills), trying to crawl on hands and knees and really wants to learn how to pull to stand.  He has been learning how to feed himself and has been scarfing down those little Gerber fruit puffs like lightning.  But he has also been sooo needy these days and cries if you just stand up…before you even have a chance to leave the room!  He really loves Ben and enjoys playing with Ben’s face, hair, arms, feet, etc.  Ben usually tries to roll out of the way, but this week he really seems to be noticing Nate and interacting directly with him for the first time.

BTW, Mark found these neat shirts for the little boys at Toys ‘R’ Us to help everyone see that they are not twins.

Ben turns three tomorrow, and Nate is 9 months old.  Right now Nate officially outweighs Ben.

I suppose it won’t be long before they won’t seem like twins anymore.

When it rains…

What an eventful week!    My husband Mark also blogged most of this, so my apologies for being repetitive.

Nate has been sick for the entire week.  Initially he had just a fever and a nasty cough, but by Monday night he started wheezing.  We took him to see the pediatrician on Tuesday.  The pediatrician diagnosed a viral syndrome, and started Nate on albuterol nebulizer treatments.  We did those faithfully, but on Thursday Nate was definitely worse.   The pediatrician started him on some oral steroids, and thankfully they seem to be helping.  But Nate hasn’t been sleeping well, poor thing, and neither have we.  During the day, he wants to be held and carried everywhere, so we also haven’t been getting much done around the house.

Tuesday was Ben’s preschool evaluation, but that will merit its own separate post.  Hopefully I’ll get to it later this week!

Meanwhile, for the last week and a half, my car (my previously trusty 1995 Oldsmobile) has been overheating.  On Wednesday we took it in to our mechanic to have it looked at.  Unfortunately, the problem was more expensive to fix than we anticipated.  We decided that night not to repair it, but to replace it.  After all, the car is 14 years old, and has been becoming less and less reliable with each passing year.  I just hated the thought that it might leave me  stranded somewhere on the Interstate.

The very next day, 0n Thursday I drove our van (1999 Pontiac Montana) to work.  About a block from my office it made a noise and it seemed to me that the accelerator wasn’t as responsive as it had been a just few minutes before.  I convinced myself it was just my imagination.  However that afternoon when I went to leave, I discovered I had a major problem.  It wouldn’t go into reverse AT ALL.  The transmission was fried.  So I was stranded at work, and Mark was stranded at home.

A kind co-worker dropped me off at the mechanic so that I could pick up my overheating (but at that time still driveable) Oldsmobile from the mechanic, and I made it home OK.  Unfortunately, I made the mistake of driving it to work on Friday.  It became dangerously hot on the way home that night, and I ended up returning to my office and getting a ride home from a dear friend of ours, who left her Lenten fish dinner to rescue me.   How embarassing!

So in a few days we had gone from two vehicles to zero.

The van was towed to our bemused mechanic, where it will undergo extremely costly repairs.   After all, we can’t afford to replace two vehicles in the same year, let alone in the same week!  On Saturday, Mark bummed a ride from our next door neighbor to the local car rental place so that he actually had a vehicle to use to go car shopping.  (We really like the rental car, BTW!  Isaac and Jonathan were extremely impressed; they’d never been inside a brand-new car before!  I’ve certainly never driven a car this nice.)

Anyway, on Saturday Mark bought us a used van to replace my car, while I stayed home with the boys.  We thought it made more sense to buy a van because there are now 6 of us in this family, and I can tell the Montana probably won’t hold up too much longer.  I hear the new van is very nice, and I’ve seen photos, but I won’t see it in person until it is delivered to our house tomorrow.  I hope it knows it has to last us for YEARS AND YEARS!!!

I hope this week is less eventful.

Adjusting

This was my first week back to work after a too-short 8-week maternity leave.  Work is OK, but it certainly has been a challenge adjusting to life as a working mom of four.   And of course, Mark is adjusting to being the primary caregiver of four young boys!  We used to have a fairly predictable routine, but all that has changed with Nate’s birth and Jonny starting kindergarten.  The kids are having a little trouble adjusting to this new life too this week.

Isaac is doing great in second grade so far.  He is a good, obedient student, and we never have to worry about his behavior at school.  He seems to enjoy his class, his friends, and he seems to like his new teacher.  He and his friends play with these Bakugan figures at recess (apparently it’s the new cool toy for second graders), and he is always pestering us to buy more of them.

Isaac is playing AYSO soccer, and moved up to the under-10 team this fall.  He’s not too happy about the change, because the game has suddenly become more challenging.  He says he wants to quit the team, but of course we told him that he can’t until this fall season is over.  We have tried to remind him that he felt the same way when he started the under-8 team two years ago, and by the end of the second year he was really enjoying the game.

Jonny started all-day kindergarten, and it has definitely been a huge adjustment for him, since his preschool last year was just three mornings a week, and was decidedly unstructured.  Jonny is an active, gregarious child, so his teacher is already having issues with him talking in class when he shouldn’t be.  Poor Jonny.  I really want him to enjoy school, and I don’t want him to be labelled as a problem child in kindergarten.  Maybe we should have waited another year before starting school.  We’ll give it a month or two and see how he does.  I suppose we can always pull him out of kindergarten if it doesn’t work out.

Jonny is also playing soccer this fall, and he’s having a BLAST!

Ben and Nate are adjusting to each other.  They’ve been hanging out in their double stroller during soccer games and practice…

Adjusting isn’t always fun.  I can’t wait until we settle into a good NEW routine.

Family Shopping Expedition

We’ve been a little stir-crazy this winter with all the snow and ice and sleet. This weekend, despite the cold and windy weather, we decided that we’d had enough of sitting around the house waiting for spring, and decided to go on a little shopping trip. Actually, what really prompted the trip was the fact that I’d worn holes into the soles of my only pair of brown work shoes.  Ordinarily I would have replaced them weeks ago, but I HATE going shopping in winter.

So we packed everyone into the van, and off we went.

At first everything was fine. We bought some shirts for Isaac. I headed into a department store to look at shoes with Ben in his stroller. Mark took Isaac and Jonny to get some pretzels and lemonade. Then things quickly turned sour. Mark waited in line a LONG TIME for pretzels. Almost immediately after they paid for their food and got settled, Jonny managed to dump an entire 32 oz cup of lemonade on the floor. Jonny started crying, “It was an accident!” and Isaac started whining that he was thirsty. Meanwhile, a shoebox (containing shoes) managed somehow to fall from the top of the stroller (where I had rested it precariously) onto the top of Ben’s head. That ruined Ben’s previously sunny mood completely (I wonder why), and he became cranky, and refused to sit in his stroller anymore.

By then Mark had begun to think that maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. The two big boys were whiny and not on their best behavior, and Ben was irritable and demanded to be carried. We went to three more stores, and I did manage to find some shoes (and a couple pairs of winter boots on clearance), and then we left. Mark (who is normally a talkative soul) was strangely silent for most of our outing.

Then it was dinner time. We had originally planned on going to the Olive Garden, but unfortunately, their parking lot was a disaster.  So we drove around looking for other options. Mark was just about to suggest going through the Mc Donalds drive-thru when we spotted a Japanese restaurant we’d never been to before.

That restaurant saved the day. The food was great, the boys didn’t complain, and even Ben’s mood brightened. And Mark started talking again.

All in all, I’d say the outing was a success! Can’t wait for the next one.

It’s Been a Good Year…

 

Today was my one year blogiversary.  How time flies!  When I first started this blog, Ben was only 5 months old and 9 lbs, and had just had his Nissen fundoplication/g-tube surgery.  We were still reeling from the shock of having a new baby who had so many medical and developmental issues.  I started this blog mainly to keep in touch with friends and extended family.  I also hoped it would help me remember to be thankful for all the happy, funny and silly times that we have, even though life is difficult sometimes.  I think blogging has definitely helped, and it has been therapeutic for me.  Best of all, I have met so many other awesome people who are also sharing their stories online, and that has helped me alot on my journey.   

 

We’ve been busy lately.  My Mom is paying us a visit all the way from Trinidad, and the boys have ALL been very excited to have her here.   Isaac is thrilled that she enjoys hearing him play his Legend of Zelda piano solos, and Jonny has someone else to bother since Auntie Rhoda isn’t here anymore.  And Ben enjoys having someone else to spoil him.

Last weekend we went to the pumpkin patch.  The weather was actually not too cold, so Ben didn’t mind at all this year, and actually enjoyed being in the stroller.  The older two had a great time (Isaac is still wearing his soccer uniform from the morning’s game).

 

We did carve the pumpkins, but perhaps we did this a little too early.  We had 70 degree weather and rain all week, so I fear the pumpkins will be nothing but mush by the time Halloween rolls around!

My Boys

I am hopelessly outnumbered!

Here are Mark, Isaac and Jonathan getting their photos taken for soccer this evening.  Mark is coaching Isaac’s team this year.  We finally found out that Jonny’s uniform is black, a very forgiving color for a little boy.  Today, to my relief, the weather was actually rather warm, that is, until the sun set.  Then the cold set in rather quickly.

Look at this neat thing I found for Ben at Target!  A tray for his Bumbo seat!  I had seen them online before, but this way I didn’t have to pay for shipping.  It doesn’t hold him in the seat, but it is great for putting his toys right where he can reach them.

One of Isaac’s top teeth fell out this last weekend.  He now has a slightly snaggle-toothed appearance – very cute I think:

Mark played his double bass for praise and worship at church last Saturday night.  I was desperately trying to arrive on time with the three little ones, but that’s when Isaac chose to lose his tooth (in the parking lot!!)  Church was running late, so we still made it on time.

And finally: the miracle story of the week!!!!!

This is our 6 year old GE washer.  It died last Saturday.  The repair guy told us on Monday it would cost $250 to fix it.  We only paid $320 for it, so we figured it wasn’t worth it.  However, my ever-resourceful husband managed to fix it for a fraction of the replacement cost, and it’s now running beautifully as we speak!

This weekend we are heading off to Pittsburgh to visit our extended family, and also to attend the CdLS family gathering in Pittsburgh.  We’ve never met any other kids with CdLS in person before, so we’re looking forward to meeting other families.  Have a great weekend!

Salt-Crusted Tenderloin and Blueberry Tea Cake

 

My husband Mark and I are big Food Network fans.  One of our favorite shows is “Good Eats”, starring the most awesome cook in the world (in my opinion, anyway), Alton Brown.  Beef tenderloin was on sale at our local butcher shop, so we bought half of one.  Prior to seeing Alton preparing tenderloin on his show, we might never have attempted cooking it for fear of ruining such an expensive cut of meat.

We made Beef Tenderloin in Salt Crust; a great recipe we’d tried once before.  Basically, the tenderloin is surrounded by fresh herbs and wrapped in a crust made of flour, egg white and lots of Kosher salt.  Sounds crazy, but boy is it good!  On the outside, like Alton says,  it looks like an ugly loaf of bread, but the meat inside is to die for.

 

We were just getting ready to sit down to dinner.  The only thing left to do was to slice the meat.  Unfortunately, the electric knife jumped out of Mark’s hand, clattered to the floor and sliced his right middle finger in the process.  So dinner was interrupted for a couple of hours.  Three stitches later, Mark is doing just fine.

We finally sat down for dinner, and the meat was moist and flavorful.  And no, we don’t like meat well-done.

We had this Lemon and Blueberry Tea Cake from an Emeril Lagasse recipe afterward.  I was inspired by all the fresh local blueberries for sale in recent weeks.  I am not usually a person who likes fruit-containing desserts, but I thought it was very good, especially when served warm with vanilla ice cream.  I’d better hit the gym every day this coming week!

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

OK, maybe not the whole vacation, but it took up most of yesterday.  We rented this wonderful piece of equipment from Lowe’s, and cleaned all three of our rugs and the living room couch.  Everything was embarrasingly filthy.  We had a perfect 100-degree day to set everything outside to dry.  The whole process ended up being tons cheaper than hiring someone to come and do the job, but it was soooo much work.

Now we are all set for an overnight visitor to sleep on the perfectly crisp, clean couch!

Did You Ever Have One of Those Days?

 

Today started off like any other Saturday – after I went to the YMCA, I took one or more of our sons (today I had Jonny and Ben) on our weekly shopping expedition.  I went to Target first, reasoning that anything I got there would be non-perishable and therefore would not melt/wilt/spoil in the 85-degree heat.  So we went to Target, I got everything I had to, and then went back out to the car, strapped Jonny in his booster and got ready to open the trunk to put my purchases in.

And I couldn’t find my keys!

I checked everywhere – my purse, the diaper bag, Ben’s carseast, my purse again.  Nope, still couldn’t find them.

Frustrated, I got Jonny out of the car and went back in the store.  Nobody had turned in any keys to customer service.  I retraced my steps and called Mark.  Unfortunately he and Isaac were doing a little shopping of their own, a good 30 minutes away.  He promised to make his way back to meet me at Target.  In the meantime, I fed Ben, got Jonny a cookie and some vanilla milk from the Starbucks inside Target, and retraced my steps again.  No luck.  At one point, Jonny said, “I guess we’ll have to stay at Target forever” in a resigned sort of voice.

Ben needed a diaper, so I went back to the car to grab one from the diaper bag.  And that’s when I found the keys – neatly tucked into one of the side pockets that I’d thought were such a great feature when I bought the bag.  I was relieved, but I felt like such an idiot.  Sheepishly, I called Mark and told him the good news.

Jonny and Ben were such good sports for the entire afternoon, even though our shopping expedition lasted about an hour longer than it should have.

The rest of the afternoon didn’t go too well either – I knocked over a display of porcelain angels at the dollar store (amazingly, none broke), I spilled a carton of raspberries when I got home (I never knew they were so squishy and fragile – never had them before!), and when Mark finally got home, he arrived to find that I’d left the car door ajar, the trunk open, and my purse in the front seat (I was salvaging what was left of my precious raspberries).

I think I should have just stayed in bed today.