Last Day of School

Baby Talk

The other night I was tucking the boys in. Anthony says to me, "Mom when am I going to have a baby sister?" I said, "You'll have to talk to your father about that." Anthony says, "I want to call her Abby." My friend that watches them, her daughter's name is Abby. Chase then chimes in saying that how that would be great to have a baby sister.

Eric happened to walk by and heard us talking. He said, "Don't put the blame on me." Well he is the one telling me we are done. I told the boys they would have to settle for a baby girl cousin. Miranda is due in early October.

The next morning Chase and I are talking and he he asks, "When is the next time we can go on an airplane." I told him it would be next winter. I explained airplane tickets are very expensive, especially when you are buying them for a family of four. Chase says to me, "Well, there is no way you can have another baby then. Otherwise, we can't go on on vacation."

So Chase is laying down his foot on this one too! I thought it was very funny.

Chase and Madilyn playing in the big pool.

Nana, Hanna and Tony Playing in the Kiddie Pool

Chase Holding a Crawfish

The William H. Black

This steamer was used from 1937 to 1973 to drudge the Mississippi River. Chase, Madilyn, Hanna and Anthony.

I'm Seeing Double

The National Mississpi River Museum and Aquarium

We had a great time at the museum. We learned about the steamboats, got to tour all 2400 miles of the Mississippi River. We got to touch crawfish and pet a Sturgeon.

Anthony's First Sleep Over

Last night Anthony finally got to have a friend sleepover. After work I picked up Kendra from Angie's. We went to the Science Center to play and then home. Chase was just as excited as Anthony to have Kendra spend the night.

We let them stay up and play until 9:30pm. Then they all crashed in their sleeping bags on the floor. They were all up by 5:45am this morning! We played Elefun and Ants in Your Pants. We played the Wii and went outside to ride bikes. We then took Kendra home and off to the dentist we went.

Teeth

I took Chase to the dentist today to get one cavity filled and a tooth pulled. The dentist came out to get me and explain that Chase had an abscess on his gum above one of his baby molars. So she was going to pull both teeth and would wait to fill his other tooth, because it wasn't too bad yet. She also showed me the x-rays and once he loses his eye tooth, the permanent one will be coming in sideways. She said that his tongue and lips might help turn it around. I see braces in our future!

At the moment Chase's mouth is still numb. I have a feeling he is going to be in a lot of pain. They gave him this cute Spiderman ice pack he can use. Hopefully that will help.

4 year old Preschool

I put Anthony's application in for preschool today. Iowa has an education grant that covers the cost of preschool. However, there are a limited number of spots. Angie, who watches Anthony has a daughter that will be 4 in May and watches another girl that will be 4 in April. So we sent their apps in together and requested they be placed together. Angie said she would take and pick up, which is wonderful for me. I wasn't sure how we were going to swing picking him up everyday at 11:30.

Spring Break

Chase had conferences Wednesday night, and they went well. He is above in his reading and writing. He is going to second grade for math and it is starting to get harder for him. So we are going to work with him on subtraction of two digit numbers and carrying it over. They are also going to have him stay the whole time for the math lesson, rather than leaving early to come back for reading. So that is good news. It might be hard to learn a concept when you don’t get to stay for the whole lesson!

We then stopped at the book fair. Each kid received a $4 credit, plus books were 50% off. We bought four new books for $4.75, I was very excited. We also learned that Jackson Elementary is getting remodeled starting in June. So Chase will be going to a different school for a year. I am told it is over by the zoo. I need to look it up on the map. They will bus him back to McKinley for Metro Kids, which is right on my way home. That is good news for me!

Chase is now on spring break until March 23rd. I am going to take the boys to the Des Moines Art Center after work. We have never been, and “American Gothic” painted by Iowa native Grant Wood is on display. It is a primary example of Regionalism, a movement that aggressively opposed European abstract art, preferring depictions of rural American subjects painted in a representational style. I am pleased that we will have an opportunity to take it in.

Spring Break is going to be pretty low key. They will go to Angie’s and then next Friday I am taking off and the boys and I are going bowling and then to a movie. We are then leaving for Galena, IL Saturday morning to meet my mom and nieces for the weekend. The boys haven’t seen her since Christmas and she isn’t coming to Iowa until Mother’s Day. I told her that was too long to go without seeing their Nana. So we decided to meet half way. We are going to drive into Dubuque and go to the Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium. I’ve heard good things about it.

World Math Day

Chase participated in an Internet math competition on March 4th. It is divided by 1st and 2nd grade, 3rd & 4th and 5th & 6th. Yesterday he was presented an award for completing the most math problems in his school, within an hour and a half. He finished 1051! They also gave him a t-shirt with a red star on the sleeve. He was very proud and so are we. I struggled with math, and Eric was a whiz.

Good News

It has been a long road, but we are finally seeing results. After three urinary tract infections, four trips to the urologist, one uro-dynamic test, (I never want to experience as a mother again!) and a month of taking Oxybuttin, it appears Chase's bladder is responding to the medicine. It seems his bladder is no longer having spasms or contractions on its own. He senses when he has to go now, and it isn't waiting until it is too late. I see such a change in confidence with Chase. He is very proud of himself, and is thrilled to be wearing underwear again.

I don't know how long he will have to be on this medicine, but we go back in two months and we will see what the doctor thinks.

Tony Hamming It Up

Chase's First Basketball Game

Gentle Reminder

Friday afternoon it started snowing. I got to help at Chase's Valentine's Day party, which was a lot of fun. It got over at 2:30. He asked me if I was going to bring him home. I told him to stay, because I needed to do some more work. Looking back, I should have taken him home with me! When I went back out at 4:30 the roads were terrible. I went to turn and kept going straight. I was an inch away from knocking over the stop sign. I then couldn't get up the hill, so I had go in reverse a few blocks and try another street. I finally made it to get Anthony and then Chase.

Instead of going home, which any sane and rational person would have done, I decided we would get the boys haircut and buy paint for the kitchen. A trip that takes 5-7 minutes took us 35 minutes. The good news was we got right in for their haircuts. We were in and out in 15 minutes. We then drove across the parking lot to Home Depot. I would rather buy my paint at Menards, but getting there would have taken too long. So we are walking into Home Depot, and I hear this guy shouting, "Ma am, ma am." I turn around and he says, "I am about to hit your van, I can't get my truck to move." So I go running back to the van. He is six inches away from hitting the driver's side door. He was in a pick up with rear wheel drive. I have to get in from the passenger side and crawl over. I was able to move the van over to the next row.

After leaving Home Depot, we are making our way to the stop light. I look up ahead and see a cop car and an accident. I said, "Shoot, we are going to be stuck here for awhile." Chase says to me, "Mom, we really should say a prayer for those people that were in the accident." My heart melted and my impatience disappeared. What a beautiful heart my boy has.

Attack of the Flamin' Cheetos

Thursday afternoon I had an error in judgement. I let the boys talk me into buying them Cheetos. We were at Walgreens, I needed to pick up a few things, they were hungry and pestering me, so I gave in.

Chase had the Flamin' Hot Cheetos. He ate a majority of them. I then insisted he have some strawberries before we went to his first basketball game. He ran like a mad man and had a great time. After the game he said he was hungry.

I stopped at McDonald's and got him a cheeseburger and fries. It was 9pm and past their bedtime. I asked Chase to brush his teeth and go to the bathroom. He is standing by the toilet and he says he doesn't feel good and can't pee. I thought it was strange, but I told him to get in bed. My mistake! He starts walking out of the bathroom and Eric is walking down the hallway. He sees this bright red puke coming out of the doorway all over the hallway carpet. I run out of the bedroom and tell Chase to get back over to the toilet. He finishes his business there. Eric and I stand there in disbelief. It is the brightest red we have ever seen. I would have sworn he drank a gallon of fruit punch.

I didn't know where to start. I went to get the rubber gloves and a bucket with water and disinfectant. It was a 30 minute clean up job and a bottle of Resolve. I have pink carpet, but we were sure it was going to stay red, so we can live with it for now. We laughed and said, "Maybe now is the time to look into new carpet." It will be six years in April that we have been in our house. I have told Chase I will never buy him another bag of Flammin' Cheetos!

Christmas Celebrations Begin

Sunday we had Eric's family over for Christmas. Meagan flew in from Portland on Thursday. Miranda and Rob came over Saturday night from Omaha. Lisa and her two girls drove over from Omaha on Sunday and Stephanie and her kids came up from Knoxville. Meagan requested lasagna. It worked out well. I made it Saturday night and Eric threw it in the oven while I was at church. I also made a salad, fruit salad and threw some bread in the oven. I stopped at Village Inn for a French Silk and put a Mrs. Smith apple pie in the oven. It worked out great. It was a very stress free Christmas gathering.

The boys were super excited, because they got to see their aunts and got presents. Miranda and Rob bought the boys a joint present. They got a motorized Speed Racer race track. They love it. All their Hot Wheels Speed Racer cars go on it. It take 4 D batteries, I see us going through a lot of them!

Meagan decided to take the boys shopping for their Christmas presents. On Friday Meagan took Anthony to Toys R Us. He picked out a Batman and Superman, a Superman Monster Truck, which is really big and a robot arm that can pick stuff up. He also picked out two outfits at Gordman's. Meagan also took him to see Santa, which is his first time. Santa had heard Meagan talking to him, so when it was his turn Santa said, "Hello Tony, come on up!" He couldn't believe Santa knew his name. She also took him to Chuck E. Cheese. He had a great day with his aunt.

Chase had his day with Aunt Meagan on Saturday. They went to Toys R Us, where he picked out a black and blue basketball and a Pixo's maker. You can design art. The are little plastic balls and then you spray water on them and turn a fan on and they are suppose to stick. It takes practice. The first piece Chase made, we didn't put enough water on them. After shopping Meagan and Chase headed to Sleepy Hallow for some sledding. Chase had a great time. The best part was getting pulled up the hill on the rope tow.

Meagan leaves to go back home tomorrow. She should be flying out right before the snow starts really flying. It has been great having Meagan here. Anthony saw her when we went out to Oregon for her wedding in June of 2007 and now. So she is planning on coming back to visit every couple of months, as long as their business continues to prosper. She doesn't want her nephews growing up and not knowing her.

Poor Baby

Two weeks ago we were outside playing. Anthony came running over screaming. He said the bees were attacking him. He had wasps all over him. I started killing them and got him inside. He was hysterical. I was freaking out, because I didn't know if he was allergic to bees or wasps. I gave him benedryl and Tylenol and started stripping him down. He started screaming again. There was one more wasp caught in his pants leg and it stung his toe. Anthony ended up with seven stings. I made a baking soda paste and then got him to lay still for awhile. Thankfully he did not have an allergic reaction.

Eric went to find the nest. It was in a chipmunk hole. He kicked the mulch and they came swarming out. Eric and his friend were both attacked and got stung! They ran off to Wal-Mart to buy spray. After three cans of wasp killer, two cans of brake cleaner and stuffing the hose down the hole, they were extinguished. The neighbors next to us and across the street came out to see what all the excitement was about.