homework

OK... let me remind you that Andrew is in Kindergarten... Yes folks Kindergarten and he has geometry homework (otherwise known as "everyday math").  A homework folder is sent home every week with pages for him to complete and return the following week... along with a reading book, and everyday math projects.  Although I sometimes have to nag a bit to get him going he really loves his homework projects.  So this is what he is working on today.  They had to build shapes (3-D) using mini marshmallows and toothpicks and then answer a series of questions about which shape used the most number of marshmallows or toothpicks, which structures held their shapes the best and so on.  Andrew loves building thing so this project was right up his alley.

 

waiting...

Andrew runs in the house to tell me that he is waiting for the ice cream truck... he was helping Dad in the back yard when he heard that erie & unmistakable music that only small children and dogs can hear and came running into the house and then ran back out just as quickly.   I yell after him that he can't go out to the road by himself.  He informed me that he was "just getting ready for the ice cream man" and went back into the back yard.  So I open the front door to confirm that he is not playing in traffic and to listen so that I know the precise moment that he will risk life and limb to ensure that that ice cream truck stops in front of our house.  However, I could see that Andrew has already posted a sentry to keep watch...

Upon closer inspection you might notice Andrew's piggy bank on the front porch.  He bought it out there to wait for the ice cream man.  The ice cream truck has been circling for hours now and has yet to make an appearance on our block.  Torture for any 6 year old.  The days of him believing us when we told him that it was the "music truck" are over... he knows that frosty goodness is stock piled inside that awkward little vehicle.  Not to mention,  he was blessed with abnormally acute hearing... for all we know the ice cream truck is in Wisconsin.  So Piggy is manning his post... waiting for any sign of the ice cream truck.  

just me and my boys...

...havin' some fun with the photo booth widget on the 'puter.

I am going to loose my mind today... I have already decided.

It is day 2 of teacher inservices at school... so the boys are home and restless and I am pretty positive I will loose my mind today.  It is yucky and rainy and the weather man promises severe thunderstorms later in the day.... no hopes of outside activity.  They are in rare form today as they were kept in captivity for most of the day yesterday too.  We dragged them all to a Assisted Technology Expo to look at possible new wheelchairs for Sam... although they most likely will not put this activity on their top 10 list, I am sure that they will enjoy spending more time at the park instead of watching mommy have a melt-down because she can't push Sam's current set of wheels through the wood chips or grass (who knew that sometimes "all-terrain" refers to only hard, flat, smooth surfaces???  anyway I hope to be placing an order for his new chair in few weeks...yippee for me and my  back!).  

Anyway... back to the kids!  It is a dangerous thing to bottle up the energy of small children... a dangerous thing indeed.  If only there was a way to convert their extra day-off-from-school energy into viable electricity perhaps I would have less guilt about letting them watch mindless TV all day. I pray that the cable TV remains intact throughout the storm...let's face it... I cannot be everywhere at once and if the TV will keep them from body slamming each other or coloring on my walls for 30 seconds while I use the bathroom then it is alright by me.  You have to pick your battles... and Today I would much rather let their brains idle watching mindless TV than be sitting  in the ER waiting for some resident to remove a fork from one of their skulls (go ahead and laugh...but those Collins' think up some crazy things when they have too much time on their hands).  Therefore, I see the TV as a necessary evil...and did I mention that thanx to this lovely front moving in, we all have runny noses, sinus pressure and headaches (well I do atleast, and the boys are acting like I feel so I assume that they are feeling the pressure too). That being said, I am quite positive that there are not enough Scooby Doo videos/re-runs in creation to sustain them much past 1:00.  Never fear... my gears are turing and I hope to have a solid plan devised by then.  I am all for child labor and maybe I can put some of their excess energy to good use (before I get a ton of spam... let me re-phrase... I am all for my children helping out with chores and besides, Sam loves to dust with the swiffer).   

As of now... Sam has lost his pants.  I am not sure where he removed them or if he had assistance... perhaps he was an innocent victim of big brother hazing...or perhaps a newly acquired self-help skill...either way his diaper is intact and I am grateful for that (thank you for small miracles).  Andrew has informed me that he will only eat waffles today. This poses a slight challenge.  Sean is pulling to stand and is determined to add a "decorative edge" (with his teeth) all around the coffee table. We are now calling him Beaver.  

***note to self***

must determine a set place to leave lost mind for future use 

SPRING

It's here... it is really, really here!

I don't know what this flower is but it is growing on a big bush behind our house.  Eventually the flowers fall off and we are left with a bush filled with waxy sort of long oblong-ish green leaves.  Still quite beautiful but the flowers are stunning.  Does anyone know what this is??? Here is a pic of the rest of the bush. 

***update*** it is a Star Magnolia bush

thank you Tasha

We do feed him... really!

Sean has learned to pull to stand if only for the sole reason of gnawing on the wood furniture. Of course he leaves the cheap fake stuff alone and goes right for the real wood...the boy has his standards.

The face of innocence... NOT

caught in the act

ok.... not what I was expecting...

 a bit woody but over all nice full bodied flavor...

something I could really sink my teeth into.

yummy

yea... I know I'm cute

And these are the chairs that Tyler built...

Tyler (15) built these chairs for me the end of last summer and they have been in my basement ever since. Well this weekend I primed them and gave them a fresh coat of Apple Red paint. They are now where they belong.. out on the deck... placed for optimal viewing of the back yard, play area and Andrew's favorite fishing spot. All I need now is a bottle of wine and a bug zapper and I am ready for summer... after all I am realistic. Obtaining a bottle of wine and a bug zapper are more likely than a flat stomach and a nice tight @$$ in time for bathing suit season... a girl can dream.  In the mean time I can't wait to enjoy my new chairs.  

Thanx Tyler.

A boy and his fish...

We have this little retention pond behind our house... the locals like to call it a lake.  Anyway... it is fully stocked and fishing is allowed from the shore... catch and release only.  Andrew has a fishing pole and loves to fish.  He is not however, very fond of touching them.  Well this is what he caught today and he is so very proud...he reeled in this Bass all by himself.  And  just so that I don't get a ton so spam on animal cruelty ... no fish were harmed the the creating of this blog.  You will be happy to know that the fish was released back into the pond and swam away unscathed.

Earth Day Fun

This morning we went to the annual Earth Day Event put on by our village.  Although the sun wasn't out, it was warm and the kids had fun.  We toured the police office, ate some hot dogs and of course participated in the Nut Hunt.

 Getting ready for the Nut Hunt... the mounting excitement is almost too much to contain.

Andrew is so focused on the prize he can't even pull his eyes away for a quick picture.  Those "nuts" (brown spray painted easter eggs full of goodies) are calling to him.

Sam didn't quite get the point of it all...he just liked crawling around in the grass with all the kids.  He found a few nuts and tried rolling them and then moved on to a new nut.... at the end of the frenzy a little girl noticed that Sam didn't have any nuts of his own and she gave him one of hers with a prize ticket inside.  That was sooo sweet and Sam is now the proud owner of a container of chocolate chip scented bubbles.  

Sean gearing up for next year's nut hunt...

but he preferred the swing instead.

Sam got to meet some firemen and crawl around in the big fire truck... he even got to try on a real fire hat.  The hats are really heavy, but one of the firemen was kind enough to help Sam keep it on his head for a quick pic.

update...

Andrew:

My budding thespian will be presenting a dramatic reciting of Humpty-Dumpty... in front of the camera...to his Kindergarten class today.   He prepared well for his on-screen debut... and even prepared his own props and dressed for the part.  The soccer season has started... Go Shockers! I think he already has his whole summer planned out... we are gonna be busy.  

Sam:

x-rays revealed that his foot is not broken...Yipeee!  However, I can only assume that his foot is still tender after the recent dislocation of his toe... learning to walk does have a price. Therefore, baby tipping will most likely continue until he feels better.  This morning he woke up full of piss and vinegar... I am counting the minutes until his school bus pulls up.  I am quite confident that his teacher is grossly under paid.  Today he has swimming at school...that should make him very happy... may God help the person who's job will be getting Sam out of the pool.   On another note the bus driver called me this morning to inform me that Sam has figured out how to wiggle out of the approved bus transportation harnesses on his wheelchair (mind you I requested a different harness and was refused because the one we had was deemed "acceptable and sufficient")... department of transportation suggested another type of shoulder harness to be used in conjunction with the wheelchair harness but since it took them nearly 6 months to provide the driver with proper tie-down restraints I am not expecting to see any new harnesses any time soon.  I will call the school and get the ball rolling but in the mean time the advice I was given was to "tighten the straps"... ok done... but since Sam has figured out how to push the little red button and unlatch his seatbelt straps I don't see how just tightening the straps will help???  In the mean time Sam happily helped me UN-fold 3 loads of laundry... that will teach me to put folded clothes away immediately instead of taking time to blog.  

Sean

Sean has become quite demanding... he knows what he wants and he wants it NOW!  He is mastering the fake cry in a desperate attempt to get his way... I cannot teach this child sign language fast enough so he can relay to us in a less whinny voice exactly what it is he wants.  He has also become quite the story teller and somewhere along his journeys he has seen the most beautiful things and likes to tell us all about them.  He gets this euphoric look on his face and sing-song babbles about what appears to be the most wonderful things.  He has also raised the bar so to speak... he has started pulling to stand so we had to raise the rails on the crib.  And he is very close to crawling... I am in such trouble.

Garth

He has put Sean on the fast track to his "How to treat the cat with respect" course.  He is very gentle with the kids but he is getting older and obviously becoming less tolerant of Sean's tough love.  I don't remember him schooling Andrew until he was about 3... when Garth felt that he was old enough to know that whisker pulling was unacceptable at that age... before that he would just lay there and take it or get up and go away or come over and bite me... but never the kids. However he obviously feels that he has been through this 3 times and enough is enough... "can't you humans teach your offspring some manners already!"   Sean is learning the fine art of "fair is fair"... you bite me and I will bite you.  Garth is still gentle but none the less the lessons have begun.  

Pat and I are doing well but since I know you only really want to hear about the kids I won't bore you with the mundane details of our daily routines.  But believe me... if something exciting happens you will be sure to know about it.

Girls Nite Out

I went out on the town with 2 of my girl friends... we don't get out together often but we always have fun when we do. The three of us were brought together by our kids... we all have boys who have Down syndrome + other medical issues. We email and call each other pretty often but it is a rare treat when we can get a night out to ourselves.  

As you can see we had some drinks and a few laughs... and what's girls night out without a few pictures that make you look like a total lush!

(and no those are not both mine but I don't get out very often so I had to make it look good)

cheers!

until next time...

 

Creature Feature

Matronism

NEWS FLASH!!!

Sam stood up in the middle of the room...

 and took 5 steps!!!  

Whooo Hoooo!  This is the first time I have seen him get up to a standing position all by him self without pulling up on something.... and then he thought it would fun to throw in a few steps!  He did this a few times in a row and you could tell he was soooo proud of himself.  Could it be possible that he could be a walker by the end of the summer??? Oh my goodness.... you bet.  More later.... right now I have to do a little happy dance!

 

just a little snack before lunch...

Mooooooommmmm! I think the baby is REALLY hungry!

Sam I AM!

Yesterday for the first time Sam pulled to stand and walked to the middle of the room with no prompting... he did it just because. No one was encouraging him, no one was saying "here Sam...walk to me Sam",...nope he just decided that he wanted to walk and he did. I about fell off my chair and Andrew was screaming at the top of his lungs. We have been working on "walking" for a very very long time...years in fact... all the while knowing that Sam would walk when Sam was good and ready to walk. He is soooo close and I almost feel the need to hold my breath... this is so huge. Below is a video from his physical therapy session this morning...just look at him go.  Fingers crossed, Sam will be an official full-time walker by his 6th birthday.  Way to go Sam!

SAM I AM!!!

***Walking***

slow and steady wins the race

yes, that is me squealing in the background doin' the happy dance

 

Creature Feature

 Sha-Wakka DaKill

(I don't name 'em I just post 'em)

3 Note worthy items...

1. This past weekend Andrew and Pat (along with some good friends) got to "sleep with the fishes" at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. I guess they got very little actual sleep but who really sleeps at a sleep over? Andrew's big thrill of the night was being able to witness the night time feeding of the Green Moray eel.

2.  The Tooth Fairy must be going green and is practicing the 3Rs... Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.  Yesterday Andrew lost a front tooth and the Tooth Fairy left it for Sean!  He now has 3 shiny, sharp little teeth. 

4. Today is Pat's birthday... no foolin' (yes his birthday really is on April Fools Day).  Happy Birthday honey!