Night #2 without supper

Luke refused to eat dinner again tonight. It was taco lasagna, corn, and tortilla chips. Wilson ate it right up. Another night of crying, trying to get him to take a bite, and guilt. Although I know we're doing the right thing. It is hard for me to stand firm but with Andy's encouragement we aren't giving in. The plate is ready and waiting in case he changes his mind before bedtime. How many nights of this will it take before he gives up and eats dinner?

He will, won't he??

* Check out my friend Tricia's new blog here!

Stubborn: It runs in the family!

Oh, I'm having some parenting guilt right now. Both of the boys are in bed. One with a full tummy, one without a full tummy. Luke would not eat his dinner. I made a delicious Turkey Pot Pie with some leftover thanksgiving turkey. Andy, Wilson and I all enjoyed the dinner. Luke just kept saying "no way". Dinner went something like this: I shoved a bite in his mouth. He spit it out. He screamed and cried. Andy took him to time out. He came back crying. I held him and pushed a carrot in his mouth. He cried and spit it out. He wouldn't even try it. So he didn't get anything else other than his milk. I left it out in case he became hungry but he didn't. He never fussed about not eating and I know it is okay to do this, the doctor has told us and I've read it, and my mom has said it's ok but oh it is bothering me now! It was really hard to not give in and make him something that I know he likes. Andy and I just don't want to teach them they can have a fit and get what they want. But it is hard to be just as stubborn back. Even though Andy is stubborn. I am stubborn. Wilson is stubborn. But it was hard for me to be stubborn tonight. I didn't like it at all. Any ideas? I am not willing to fix two dinners every night - Luke will learn to eat what we have, right? Wilson has and he does well eating a good variety. Being the parent is HARD. As you can see, the rest of us really enjoyed dinner!

Thanksgiving Feast #2

What a great time we had in WV! We went to visit Andy's Nanny along with Danny, Steph & family. We went back to our old tradition of heading to Nanny's house. We got there Wednesday evening and left Saturday morning. There were 10 of us in all, which is smaller than the usual 18 (going on 19 but don't worry, it's not me!). We had a lot of fun watching the kids run around, painting acorns and rocks after finding them by the creek and oak tree, hiking after some snow had fallen- just a little but enough for Wilson to eat it off of everything, the girls headed into "town" to shop at the Dollar General (that is all there is other than Rite Aid and Foodland). We watched a couple movies and played games. It was relaxing and nice. We had a great Thanksgiving dinner too. We missed Mimi and Poppy who were on a cruise. Erin, James and family were in KY and Katie and David were is FL. As we were eating Nanny said "Now we all need to go around the table and say something we're thankful for." She shared hers and Meg said she was thankful for sweet potatoes!! Then the table fell silent as we were all thinking of the MANY things we are thankful for and how could we possibly choose just one to share when Andy hit the nail on the head. He said, I'm thankful that none of us are sick. The rest of us chorused our "me toos" and reminisced UNfondly of last Thanksgiving--the Thanksgiving from HELL. Have I told you that story? Here goes...
For the past 3 years we travelled to a camp and rented a cottage- large enough to fit all 18 of us. We'd outgrown Nanny's house and this seemed a good option. Well last year we were all looking forward to meeting up at camp. We had lots of plans- good plans- like paintball for the guys, making turkey cookies, the annual play the kids put on, playing games, relaxing, hiking etc. A few days before we left for camp Wilson caught a virus. A bad one, with throw-up and other stuff. I think I caught it next, a very mild case- but we were feeling better in time to leave and thought everything would be okay. Boy were we wrong. By the time we left the cottage on Saturday the virus had spread through I think 15 of 18 people. It. was. awful. And of course it was our family's fault so I felt a lot of guilt. We shouldn't have gone. Each day we woke up the virus had spread to at least another person. I had to take Andy to the ER because he was so dehydrated. It hit him really hard. He had to get two bags of fluid. We spent a couple hours in the emergency room. It was just a horrible time. If you know me at all you know I live for breaks from school to be home with my boys (even though I love my job!). All I kept thinking was I can't wait for this weekend to be over so I can go back to work and get out of this nightmare. It really did feel like a nightmare. Thankfully our family still speaks to us! But here is something I don't know that I've told anyone- except those that were there- the poor girl who works at the camp and went in to clean the cabin after we left- yep, you guessed it, she caught the virus from just walking in the cabin. I mean we had already done some cleaning, emptying the trash, vacuuming, cleaning all the dishes, stripping the beds etc. And she still got sick. Talk about guilt. That was one awful, nasty virus that spread like wildfire. And during the horrible nightmare we couldn't leave because people were to sick to travel. It was the longest several days of 'vacation' ever.
Thank goodness this year was so great, it really makes Thanksgiving memories seem happy again! Maybe in a few years we'll laugh about last year's virus filled Thanksgiving- the nightmare- but not yet. No, not yet.

Pictures of this Thanksgiving to come!

Fun in the Leaves!

On Saturday the boys and I headed to a neighboring county and met up with Stephanie, Meghan, Lily and Trey to play in the ginkgo leaves. We had so much fun! Luke was a little unsure at first but quickly warmed up to the idea. Wilson and Luke had fun throwing leaves up in the air. Wilson made piles of leaves and a campfire- we roasted ginkgo leaves on sticks! He is getting such a great imagination. Luke had fun thowing leaves at daddy and throwing some up in the air. Meghan and Lily got buried in the leaves and stuffed their clothes with leaves like they were scarecrows! It was a lot of fun! Thanks for inviting us, Steph! You can see her post here.

Thanksgiving Feast #1

Sunday night the boys and I went over to my Maw and Paw's house for Thanksgiving dinner. Andy couldn't come because he had to work. We missed you babe! We had a good time and enjoyed great food. It had been a long time since we had all been together. We ate turkey, ham, stuffing, green beans, mashed potatoes, rolls and fruit. My mom also made a delicious cake- it was so good and chocolatey! I brought a big plate of food home for Andy and a big slice of cake. He ate it all last night when he got home.

My sister and Jason shared AWESOME news! They are hoping to adopt a precious boy named Silas from China. He turned one in September and has special needs. He is so cute! Their story of how this all came about is really neat. I'm hoping they'll start a blog and then I can just link you to and let them tell you! I'm so excited!!

Madelyn & Wilson and Luke & Caroline began dancing towards the end of the evening. It was so cute Jason took a video of it from his phone.

Luke Matthew- Man of MANY words!

Luke is talking up a storm! He will repeat almost anything but has sooo many words he uses on his own all of the time. About a week ago he started saying "witson" (Wilson) - it sounds so cute! He says so many things I can't list them all. When I set his dinner in front of him, if it is warm he yells "HOOTT" like he can't believe I set something in front of him that was too hot to eat. His favorite stuffed animal, Henry is "renre". He loves chocolate milk- when he wants that he says "choc". We have gotten to the point (since he is only allowed to have it once a day!) that we pretend to put the "choc" in but only put a drip or two!

He had a check-up with the ENT last Thursday. Everything about his ears is fabulous! He hasn't had a single ear infection since his tubes were put in. You can read about that here. He has had them for about 6 months. At our next checkup in about 3 months, they'll test his hearing and see if the tubes are ready to come out. The tubes were the best thing we could have done for his poor little ears.

A Day to Breathe

Wow. I didn't realize what a day was like without stress! I am working towards my National Board Certification this year. I have to complete 4 rather large portfolio entries that reflect and analyze my teaching and accomplishments, take two video tapes of myself teaching, and a written test. They estimate it to be a 200-400 HOUR commitment. Anyway my school district gives 5 paid days to work on your portfolio. Which is really nice! So today I took a NB day. I woke up at my usual time and got ready. Then I went to Panera with my laptop and began writing. I started around 7:30 am. I got home this afternoon around 3:15. I had written a little more than 10 pages today, almost the whole draft of Entry 4 - Documented Accomplishments. It was so NOT stressfull of a day for me! I didn't have to repeat myself 10 times for anything! I didn't even talk to anyone until after lunch when I was getting rather lonely so I decided to call Andy and check in on the boys. It was a really quiet day. Around 10ish this morning I moved over to the public library to keep writing. It was quieter there and I focused a little easier. By 3 though my brain was shot. So for Entry 4 I only have a 2pg reflection left to draft. I'm going to have Andy proof it tonight (he was thrilled when I asked!) and then have Jenn proof it (she just found out last week that she is National Board Certified!) and then my NB Mentor proof it. During all the proofing I'll be gathering my evidence- I can have 16 pages of evidence to prove my documented accomplishments. The whole process is very detailed and specific all the way down to which pages you can paper clip together. I really hope I can keep on top of this process- next I'll be working on the reading entry. I'm sure you'll be hearing about this off and on from now till March 31st- that is the day my portfolio is due. If (I mean when) I pass, I'll be Rank I certified!!

Tricia's Wedding

Tricia and Curtis were married on October 27, 2007. The wedding was beautiful! I am so happy for them! The wedding was at 3:30- Tricia looked gorgeous! The bridesmaids wore cranberry and carried cream flowers. Tricia carried white and red roses. They had an excellent photographer, great music and lots of friends and family around.

There was an overall theme of Mickey Mouse on the program, invitations, cake, etc. They even went to Disney World for their honeymoon! The ceremony went well and Tricia and Curtis are now Dr. and Mrs. Curtis and Tricia C.!! So happy for you all!! The reception was really nice. The place was beautiful and the food was great! They had a dinner for the guests with a picture slide show , a DJ, and dancing. It was fun. I got to catch up with some old friends. It was so nice! We missed you Jana! Wilson and Luke really enjoyed the cake.

Congratulation Curtis and Tricia! We love you!

My Man!

Yesterday, Andy had a birthday! He turned 29. We had a nice evening of celebration! The day was long for him as I didn't get home until 6:15 (national board meeting after school) so I felt badly about that. We had planned to order Pizza Hut for dinner. I also had made a peanut butter pie, his dessert of choice. Here he is with his present, which was a big surprise! These are hiking poles. He had been wanting them for a couple of years. These are not just from me, also from my parents and he is using his birthday money from his Nanny to go towards them too. He is ready for a strenuous hike!

Back to the birthday dessert, here he is with a delicious piece of pie, hamming it up for the camera. We also had cupcakes because Wilson did not think pie was a birthday dessert! Danny, Stephanie, Meghan, Lily, and Trey came over to help us celebrate. They helped us sing to him and enjoyed some dessert with us.
Then we listened to some loud drumming by Wilson and Lily and had a foam block fight! It was fun! The kids were having a blast as were the adults. When they left I had a bit of a headache! Got the boys a bath and into bed. They were tired little things! To my wonderful husband: Happy Birthday! I love you!

WHAT? I can't hear you!

Yes, that is what Andy and I are saying to each other all the time now! Well no, not really. But my dad, Wilson and Luke's gampa, bought a drum set for them. We talked about it, and I knew it was coming. It was a great idea on my dad's part as a behavior incentive for Wilson. Wilson earns time on his drumset by being a good listener. When he isn't listening or following directions he loses time on the drum set. It seems to be working! He's had the drums for about 2 weeks. My dad repairs musical instruments so he bought it at the music store where he works. Funny story, I sent him the picture posted here and he printed it out and hung it in the music store with this "Another Satisfied Customer" with the brand of the drum set printed on there too, like an ad. Sounds pretty cute! Luke enjoys playing too and Wilson has done a great job at sharing his drums. So, if you come over and ring the door bell or try to give us a call and we don't answer, it might be because WE JUST CAN'T HEAR THEM!!!!

Trick-or-Treat & Harvest Party

Our Knight! Being a bit shy at trunk-or-treating!

Pooh Bear!

A beautiful sunset on the hayride!

Sunday night we had a Harvest Party at our church- chili cook-off, trunk-or-treating for the kids, hay ride, pumpkin bowling, etc. Wilson and Luke had a blast! Some of the pictures are from that. It was so cold on Sunday night.


For Trick-or-Treating the weather was beautiful! We went part way down our street and came back up the other side with the boys. Then we passed candy out to trick-or -treaters at our house. Gamma and Gampa came over to see the boys. Wilson was a Knight and Luke was Winnie the Pooh. They were cute! After the grandparents left we drove over to Ma and Pa's to trick or treat there. Wilson was shy about going up to the houses. Luke wouldn't talk, but he sure was willing to hold his pumpkin out for candy! He ended up with way more than Wilson. Will's favorite treat from a house was a small thing of black play-doh. He found that pretty cool. Luke'll stick to the candy!

Wilson carved the small pumpkin in the middle. Check out the eyes! I was so proud of him!
Lukie with his hunny pot out trick or treating!