The Beatles

here's what us girls did all afternoon - despite the whines of our kids who claimed we were hogging the wii. 3 hours of beatles rock band. it doesn't get much better than this.

Horton Hears a Who

Here we all are playing the boys' new game from the Cole's - Horton Hears a Who. Sam especially likes it. Good times.

Deja Vu

Does this remind you of any other recent blanket episodes?

Update

Tuesday Damon was diagnosed with Pericarditis. Pericarditis is a swelling and irritation of the pericardium, the thin sac-like membrane that surrounds your heart. He's evidently been having chest pain since Thanksgiving, but has only recently gotten around to mentioning it. Hmf. Men.....

He's been having trouble sleeping because everytime he lays down he feels pressure, pain, and like his heart is racing in his chest. When those symptoms started happening during the day too, he decided maybe it should be looked at. The doctor was ready to send him home with heartburn medication, but decided to monitor his heart for awhile first. After 10 minutes, it was decided that he was too hairy and the electrodes were not making contact, and so they were going to have to shave some patches! :-)

The ECG indicated pericarditis, but they sent him over to Mercy to rule out anything else going on, like fluid around his heart, or that he'd had a heart attack. After an echocardiogram and a chest x-ray, the pericarditis diagnosis was confirmed and it was also noted that there was no fluid or evidence of a heart attack. He's on prednisone and colchicine. It could take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months before he's better. And there's a chance that it could reoccur. There's often times no known cause. It's sometimes viral or could be the result of trauma to the chest. He doesn't think he's been sick so wonders if the boys were too rough with him during a nightly 'get daddy' episode.

I think overall, Damon was relieved to get this diagnosis, because now he doesn't have to worry that he's having a heart attack all the time. Please pray that he starts to get some relief in his chest pain and pressure - it's worse when he lays down - so he can start to sleep better. Also, these drugs can have some side effects, so pray that he can tolerate the drugs well. He's never had to take much medication in his life. If he's not starting to feel a bit better by Monday, he's supposed to call, so that's reassuring.

Damon's always been so healthy - it's something I'm realizing I've taken for granted. Even though this was just a little scare, it's making me more thankful and aware of the precious gift he is to me.

Hammock

Happy Birthday to Will!

Will is 10 today! I can't believe I have a child who has double digits in their age. Here are some of the many things that we love about him:
- his sense of humor
-his energy and enthusiasm
-his mathmatical, scientific and building skills
-his imagination
-his ability to be a friend to anyone
-his goofiness
-the way he looks in his boyscout uniform
-he is the only boy (in our house) that can wipe his own butt. (This one's Damon's.)
-his grin
-his relationship with his brothers

Happy Halloween!

This year Will came up with the idea of he and Sam being Mario and Luigi. After looking online and realizing how much a manufactured costume costs we decided to make our own! Well, I decided to ask my mom if she'd make them...

Didn't she do a great job?!

I came up with the 'facial hair.' isn't it fabulous?!

And then there's this guy:

You can look at more pictures here.

Pumpkin Carving

Here are my two favorite pictures from pumpkin carving:
You can see more pictures here.

Fall Pictures

The afternoon light was great today, so I thought I'd try to get some pictures of the boys - always a challenge - but I got a few great ones!

oh my, the dimples on this boy!


When I say 'challenge,' I mean stuff like below is going on. Hugs seem like a good idea, but they're really not:


Or someone's got a psychotic smile on their face:

...or a pout...
Or giving pirate faces:
There! Now we're getting somewhere:

What are they thinking about?!

Me and the Birthday Boy

Sam's been home sick yesterday and today. Unless something unforeseen happens between now and then, he'll definitely be going back to school tomorrow. He laid around all day yesterday, seemed on the verge of a fever, and threw up once. Today, he's been running around a bit, playing, and has an appetite. You know when they say their 'bored,' that's a good sign!

Sam's New Bike

Still needs to get a bit of confidence, but he'll be zippin' around before ya know it!

Guitar Tutorial

Favorite parts: "you guys are off...you're way off."
Sam's knocking and tapping on all sides of his guitar.
Max patting and strumming his alarm clock.

These guys crack me up. So serious about the whole thing.

Happy Birthday, Sam!

My sweet Sam is 6 today! Happy Birthday, buddy! We love you so much!
We love you because you are you. Here a just a few of the many things that make you special...
*your enthusiasm
*your sensitivity
*your touchy feely, huggy, kissy-ness
*your good-natured spirit
*your famous word mispronunciations
*your special "treasures" that you take such good care of beside your bed
*your relationships with your brothers
*your wearing of food on your face

I can't believe you're 6!

GAK!

EEEE-YAH!!!

After a Hard, Chilly day at school...

....making silly hats in art class, there's nothing better than coming home to a cup of hot chocolate with a giant marshmallow in it.gulp.
Uh, Sam? You've got a little something on your chin.
Sam?....never mind. Just leave it. It's kinda cute.

Sam Can't Wait for the Snow to Stick....

Iowa Homecoming Parade 2009

Tonight we went to the Homecoming parade. Here are the boys waiting for it to start:
Talkin' about something or other:

This is my niece and her "Daddy, I want a balloon!" pose:
This is my niece and her mom and her "I didn't get a balloon and I don't want my picture taken" face:

Iowa Hawkeye fan sweetness:

Some big kid sweetness:


Some Hawkeye Handsomeness (just avoid looking at the turd in the corner.)

More Hawkeye handsomeness:

Is it Planting Season?

Clue number 1 that something's up:
Will: Can I have a container to grow a plant?
Me: Do you have any seeds?
Will: No
Me: Do you have any dirt?
Will: No
So I gave him a gladware container. It's small...how much trouble could he get into? I'm just glad he's outside.

Clue number 2:
Sam: Mom, can we dig a hole?
Me: Yes, but make sure it's in the backyard. (Did I mention that I'm just glad that they're outside playing and decide it's best to not ask too many questions? Is that sad?)

Clue number 3:
Will: We're done!
Sam: Can we have a plant in our room?!
Me: Show me your plant first.

uh...no boys....that's going out on the deck, considering you can't even get it to stand up without the whole thing tipping over....but good job killing an hour outside!

Nummy-Nummy

The Boys Have Some Cool Moves

Lemme Carnival

Friday night was our school's annual carnival and you would have thought that it was Christmas, the kids (especially Sam) were THAT excited!

I was in charge of the arts and crafts table again. Kids pay 2 tickets to decorate a mask, sunglasses, or make a bracelet. I provided the glue, and all of the doo-dads. Here's Sam's creation:Oh, and then he decided to add some eyebrows:

He wore this bad boy all around the carnival the rest of the night! It was a nice night, but he was all hot and sweaty - and glitter stuck to his sweaty face!
On the walk home, he finally decided to take it off, after I suggested he might need a breather. He commented - "I don't know why, but it's all wet in there." Reminds me of the good old fashioned plastic masks we wore for Halloween. They didn't breathe either!

A New Dining Room Table! (Finally)

Yesterday Damon took the day off so we could go dining room table shopping around Cedar Rapids while the older two were in school. We've been without a dining room table since April when this happened. It was hard finding something we liked that was practical (seat cushions would get stained, dark wood shows every little scratch) and that we could AFFORD! We started out at Bills Brothers, hit a bunch of other places, and ended up back there to buy this guy:
We had barely enough time, but managed to get home with the table in a flat box, and 6 chairs assembled in the van. Max didn't like being boxed in too much - he cried all the way home and finally fell asleep when we hit IC. Got in to town right at 3! Now I'm thinking about what would look good on the new table...placemats?....a fun centerpiece?...for now I've got this bowl we got as a wedding present but rarely use and the leaf runner I had on our old table.

Guess Who's Riding a Two Wheeler?!

That's right folks, it's Sam! He asked Damon to take the training wheels off his bike yesterday afternoon, and he just took off! By that night's walk he was a pro! It was kind of amazing!! We've since raised the seat and are contemplating if he may need a bigger bike for his birthday in October!