Colin's 7th Birthday - Part 1

Since we celebrate birthdays in style around here, this is just the first post of many regarding Colin's 7th birthday. On March 3, he'll get his presents from the family, pick a restaurant for dinner and take treats to school. We'll decorate his place at the kitchen table, sing to him a zillion times and otherwise spoil him for a few days. On Saturday Colin had his birthday party at the Longmont Humane Society. He really enjoyed seeing the animals and the shelter dog that we spent time with was so sweet. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Mom...Can I?

These are the questions I have been asked in the last 20 minutes. No joke.

Mom, can I have more pretzels?

Mom, can you sew me a robber costume?

Mom, can we go to the store?

Mom, can you log onto Disney.com?

Mom, can you cut up some apple?

Mom, can I have a present on Colin's birthday?

Mom, can you build me a fort?

Mom, can I use the glitter?

Mom, can I have a gumball?

Mom, can we go outside?

Mom, can I watch a show?

Mom, can you read this to me?

Mom, can I play wii?

Mom, can you play this game with me?

Mom, can I have a milkshake?

Mom, can you write this card for me?

Mom, can you go upstairs, sit in a nice warm bath, read a book in peace and quite and take a nap? (Oh wait, that was just in MY head, not Cam's.)

Ten on Tuesday

1. Seriously parents, if you kids are sick, DO NOT BRING THEM TO OPEN PLAY PLACES. We have been stuck in the house for weeks and weeks because of our sick kids. Now that we're better, we'd like to spend a few weeks cold free before the next big thing hits. Please keep your snotty nosed hacking children at home!

2. Cam had a 2nd round of blood work yesterday. It was just as bad as the first. On the bright side, Cam did say last night that he thought the next time he might not cry as hard. Hopefully there won't be a next time buddy.

3. Colin has made a really good friend at school. Yesterday, he had a play date at the WOW Museum. Colin and his friend spent an hour creating this poster. We were the lucky winner and now the poster has a beautiful place in our play room.

4. Colin's birthday party is this weekend. We had to schedule it the weekend prior to his birthday since the Humane Society was booked the weekend after. I can not believe that Colin will be 7. I also can not believe how unorganized I am right now. I have only bought 2 presents and ordered a cake. I'm not sure what else I need to do but I feel like I am missing something. I hate that they put a strict limit on the number of kids that can be invited. We had to pare down Colin's list quite a bit. He wanted to invite most of the kids from his current class and from his previous class. I wanted to invite MY friends but I guess I have to invite HIS friends instead. Bummer.

5. Camism from yesterday; there was a woman driving very slowly in front of me. I might have mentioned something about her general "slowness' loudly enough so that Cam heard me in the back seat. His comment, "Where'd you get your driver's license lady, Clown School?" Oh my goodness.

6. Still mulling over what I want to be when I grown up.

7. I finally got my repaired Maui Jim's back. Oh how I love those sunglasses.

8. The colder it is outside, the more I want to go to the beach this summer. Mountains are fine and all, but I might need a beach instead of a staycation.

9. Cam's speech therapy is going well. He's finished with his L's and we're moving onto R's. He might just be finished with speech before summer.

10. Come on spring!

My President's Day "Off"

My President's Day "Off"

9:00am - 12:00pm - WOW Museum with kids

12:15-12:45pm - Go home and throw lunch at the kids

1:15-2:00pm - Speech appointment for Camden

2:15-3:00pm - Dr. office for Cam's blood work

3:05-3:25pm - Wal-mart to let Cam (and Colin by default) pick out new toy for torture of blood draw

3:30pm-4:45pm - Eye appointment for Colin

5:00pm - Collapse from mental and physical exhaustion of the day but still have to keep going because my kid need to eat dinner.

Cleaning is Good for the Soul

I know, I'm a bizarre person. I get anxious when the house gets messy. After being stuck inside with Camden for 3 weeks straight, I just couldn't take it anymore. His room made me anxious. We swapped out a toy shelf in Cam's room to store all of our Legos and that left no toy storage in Cam's room. Since we promised him he would get his room redecorated, I didn't want to invest in any cheap storage for his room.

Here is what his room looked like last week. Gasp!

I started painting on Saturday morning and Steve went to pick up the new bed. It was so sad to take down the nursery theme. Camden decided that he wanted a Batman Lego theme for his room. Changing out the light sage green for a slate grey was a step from Cam being my baby to Cam being my school age boy. Sniff.

Camden loves the "hide out" underneath the bed. Colin helped him decorate it with stuffed animals, pillows and push lights. Camden asked if he could sleep in his hide out last night. He decided right before bedtime that he wanted to sleep on top of his bed. That was probably a good idea.

As you might have guessed, the boxes that the bed came in were utilized for a fort. The boys were getting along so well this morning, I had to draw a line down the middle of the fort and claim sides for each child. Sounds a little like my own childhood.

We're not done painting Cam's room yet. I have all the paint ready for the Batman Lego project. Steve has to draw the characters on the wall since I am a challenged artist. That being said, I let the kids color on the lower half of the wall yesterday before I started painting. My only rule was that they could not color on the blue part of the wall, only on the green. I emphasized several times that I would be very upset if any crayon reached over the line. Guess what? Really, you can't guess?

Ha. Bet you were wrong. It was COLIN that colored over the line. I did not even have a chance to get really upset because he went into a complete tailspin. He was so upset with himself. It was a pretty big ordeal.

The second mishap of the day occurred when Camden managed to put the bottom of his foot up against a wall. Not really a big deal until you consider the fact that he did not realize that he had paint on his foot. He then proceeded to walk all around the room before he noticed. Super. So his carpet now comes with a few assorted shades of gray embedded into the fibers. At least it matches his walls. I could have screamed and yelled. But I have found that the only thing screaming accomplishes is me being really mad, the kids crying and I still have to clean up the mess. So, I just cut to the chase, cleaned up the mess and heaped an uber amount of guilt on the kids with this simple sentence, "I'm very disappointed in you." Ironically, that seems to do the trick.

I feel better now that Cam's room is at least organized. He's still not feeling 100% himself. He is still having trouble with his legs. I did take him to the Dr. on Friday for her to check him over. She ordered blood work which was a complete hour of sheer hell for me. He was absolutely freaked out about having blood drawn. The whole thing ended with me telling the nurse that unless he was willing to hold him down and use brute force, there would be no chance that he could get Cam's blood drawn that day or any other day. Cam either had to be held down or it was not going to happen. It took three of us to hold him while the nurse drew blood. It was an awful experience that I hope I never have to go through again.

Cam was exhausted yesterday and by the evening, was really complaining about his legs. I hope that the Dr. has a diagnosis and a solution to this on Monday because this grouchy kid is wearing on me. But, at least his room is organized.

Ten on Tuesday

1. Cam is walking again. We dogged a bullet there. I was ready to take him in for a bunch of tests. What a difference 9 days make. I am glad he is better but it was a long haul getting here.

2. Today was a gorgeous Colorado day. It was sunny and 65 degrees. I know we'll probably get another snow before spring gets here but we sure enjoyed today.

3. We found Cam a bed and dresser at American Furniture. He was pretty adamant about not wanting a day bed until he realized that this one comes with its own secret hide out underneath. We don't have the furniture yet as they were out of stock and should get more in on Saturday. That will (maybe) give us time to paint Cam's room before we move the new bed and dresser into place.



4. Colin seems to be doing better with school. He has made a really good friend that he talks about constantly. I think that has made all the difference.

5. On Valentine's Day I delivered flowers to a resident at The Balfour in the Hospice Unit. I have never met Delinda before in my life but I wanted to put a smile on someone's face on Valentine's Day. The idea was to extend love to a stranger. I was so taken back with her gratitude and attitude. She was just the sweetest lady.

6. I have successfully cut $500 from our monthly budget. I have basically scaled back our groceries. I don't buy things that are not on the list and use coupons and plan meals according to the sale ads. I thought I was doing a good job of this before, but I guess not. Now that I am really paying attention and trying to save, it's working. I wonder what I should do with my extra $500 a month?

7. Camden complained through the entire meal tonight that he did not like steak. I served him turkey. I wonder if that is a good or a bad thing?

8. I have started exercising again after a good two month hiatus. I can't exercise if I can't breath. I have been surprised that over the last week I have made it back to a 4 mile run pretty easily.

9. For Valentine's Day Steve gave me a gift card for a massage. To top it off, he wrote me a note that stated he would take a day off of work so that I could have a "work week" day to myself. That makes me a very happy girl.

10. I have been reading a book, One Thousand Gifts, by Ann Voskamp. It has inspired me to start keeping a list of all of the little things that I have to be thankful for. Here is a small start....snow dripping off of the roof, bubbles crackling in the bathtub, the smell of citronella candles in the seasonal isle at Target, the rustling sound of legos, soft hugs from my boys.

What Valentine's Day Means to Me

Valentine's Day used to be a measure of flowers, candies and fancy dinners. It used to be me holding my breath at work in wonder if my guy would send me flowers so the whole office would know that I was special to someone. It used to be surprises and secrets and a little bit of stress to make the day "just right".

Valentine's Day has certainly changed over the years for me. It's not about stuff and expense. It's no longer about being a couple and holding secrets. It's about family. It's about being sweet to someone. It's about the little things. It's about putting a smile on someones face on a special day. It's not all about "me". It's not about what am I going to get?

Yes, I know I have a husband that loves me. Yes, I know my kids love me. I'm reassured everyday that the hugs and kisses will never run dry in this house. I am kissed a bazillion times a day by my kids and I wouldn't change it for anything. Colin was so sweet last night. He made all of us a homemade card. No prompting, just thoughtfulness. Cam made each of us an individual card last week. He couldn't wait for Valentine's day. He had to give them to us right that minute. Steve's gift this year was thoughtful and sweet. He really knocked it out of the ballpark.

But today, I will celebrate Valentine's Day in a different way. Today I will go out of my way to put a smile on someones face that I don't even know. Here's the plan. I will pick up some flowers and take them to a local nursing home. I know of a few in the area. At the front desk, I will ask that those flowers be given to a resident that does not have family close by. I will say a prayer for that person and keep them close to my heart by just knowing their name. Today I want to put a smile on a strangers face. I want someone that might not otherwise experience love, to get a chance at a minute of happiness.

I am so thankful that my sis lives close to my elderly grandmother. I know grandma is well taken care of and that she gets frequent visits from someone that loves her. But not everyone has family close. Today I will honor my sis and my grandma by reaching out to another that might just need a little pick me up.

Happy Valentine's Day. How will you make someone smile today? I'm off to the flower shop!