There really isn't any way to truly say thank you to all of the people who work with our boys on a daily basis.
School is hard for them on so many levels. The noise. The sitting still and listening. The people and expected interactions. It requires a lot of patience and skill to not only reach them, but to help them move forward.
For the second time, we find ourselves at a school that is beyond impressive. We have a group of people who care so much and work so hard to help our boys on their journey. Every single day we feel lucky to know that they are going to a place that they enjoy, and that they are in good and loving hands.
You cannot truly say thank you for that. There is no gift great enough to convey how much it means to us.
But still we try. We do little things that we hope are small indications of how great they are and how much we appreciate and value them.
So yesterday I baked. And baked and baked and baked. All told, there were more than 24 dozen cookies made, packaged and delivered to school. Big trays for the office and one of the rooms that has several different aides throughout the week. Ten individual teachers, aides, therapists and coordinators. And I'm sure there should have been many more. But these are the ones I know, who send me emails and texts and call me about progress and setbacks and just to check in. These are the people who give so much of their time to my boys. One day of baking is small in comparison.
And nothing says love like homemade chocolate chip cookies, right?
We hope so. Because we love them. Each one is like a part of our family. Day in and day out, they are right there beside us, working with our boys, helping them learn and move forward.
It's not a lot ... but it's just a little way of saying thanks, that we see and we know just how much they do every single day, and that it does not go unnoticed or unappreciated.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Christmas at the Lake
Between finishing up the school week, work schedules, and balancing numerous extended family obligations, getting together for the Christmas holidays can be hectic. Usually, we also have to throw in the fact that one family heads south for a beach vacation. And that leads to what we call early Christmas at the lake.
This year it was even earlier than usual, but it worked out just fine. Josh and I took our boys (and Cousin Austin) down to the lake on Friday night. Uncle Brian and Cousin Kyndal came down Saturday morning, following a late Friday dance rehearsal. And that meant we had a whole weekend to relax and enjoy good food and good times with close family.
Saturday Grandma essentially fixed two dinners - turkey and the trimmings from Uncle Brian and roast and noodles for Aunt Cheryl. We all have our favorites, right?
We had an early dinner, then had our Christmas at the lake just as it got dark. The kids were all bouncing off the walls with excitement, waiting to tear into those presents.
Youngest to oldest means that Xander goes first (by all of three minutes, of course, but still the youngest). For the first time ever, both of the twins actually opened most of their presents on their own. They weren't necessarily that interested in the contents, at least not until it was completely removed from the packaging, but they took off the bows and tore off the paper by themselves.
The older three are old pros, ripping into packages, then popping up for a photo op with their gift. And then they semi-patiently waited for their turn to roll around again.
The kids got lots of great gifts, and spent the rest of the night and most of the next day trying out their new toys. Connor's Nerf Dart Tag game was a big hit, though with only two guns there were a few issues. Kyndal's old school Spirograph was a big hit with young and old. There were lots of other great gifts, too.
And Sunday night we had to pack up and come back home. Back to school and work and reality.
Just one more week of school, and then the next Christmas countdown will begin. Connor is certainly going to be ready. And we're even a little optimistic that Sawyer and Xander might enjoy it a little more this year, too.
This year it was even earlier than usual, but it worked out just fine. Josh and I took our boys (and Cousin Austin) down to the lake on Friday night. Uncle Brian and Cousin Kyndal came down Saturday morning, following a late Friday dance rehearsal. And that meant we had a whole weekend to relax and enjoy good food and good times with close family.
Saturday Grandma essentially fixed two dinners - turkey and the trimmings from Uncle Brian and roast and noodles for Aunt Cheryl. We all have our favorites, right?
We had an early dinner, then had our Christmas at the lake just as it got dark. The kids were all bouncing off the walls with excitement, waiting to tear into those presents.
Youngest to oldest means that Xander goes first (by all of three minutes, of course, but still the youngest). For the first time ever, both of the twins actually opened most of their presents on their own. They weren't necessarily that interested in the contents, at least not until it was completely removed from the packaging, but they took off the bows and tore off the paper by themselves.
The older three are old pros, ripping into packages, then popping up for a photo op with their gift. And then they semi-patiently waited for their turn to roll around again.
The kids got lots of great gifts, and spent the rest of the night and most of the next day trying out their new toys. Connor's Nerf Dart Tag game was a big hit, though with only two guns there were a few issues. Kyndal's old school Spirograph was a big hit with young and old. There were lots of other great gifts, too.
And Sunday night we had to pack up and come back home. Back to school and work and reality.
Just one more week of school, and then the next Christmas countdown will begin. Connor is certainly going to be ready. And we're even a little optimistic that Sawyer and Xander might enjoy it a little more this year, too.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Traditions
The holidays mean so many different things to different people. For me, many holidays that I remember were spent on the white sandy beaches of Florida, the result of having parents who worked in the school system and who enjoyed winter vacations on their break.
The early years are kind of a blur. I do remember Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, one of the few times my brother and I went to church (the result of one Catholic parent, and one decidedly non-Catholic parent).
We would leave the house hours before the service, and drive through a few of the nicer neighborhoods in town to look at the Christmas light displays. I remember tape on the door, to keep me and my brother from ruining the surprise on Christmas morning before Grandpa was in place with his camera. And I remember turkey dinners in the middle of the day, after the presents had all been unwrapped and explored.
When Josh and I became parents, we had to figure out our own version of Christmas. We still spend parts of the holiday with our extended families, but some things belong to our family alone.
Every year since Connor was born, we go to the same little tree farm and cut down our real Christmas tree. If you look closely, Connor's picture will be on their photo wall for every year of his life, even that first year when he was a month old and he went bundled inside his carseat carrier.
Another is the family Christmas card - which I certainly need to be working on this week, as it's getting pretty late in the game to be ordering those and getting those in the mail.
And one of the really fun traditions we have with our boys is their Keepsake ornaments.
It started several years back when Grammy brought over a box of ornaments for Josh - some that had been bought for him, but mostly ornaments that he had made over the years. You know, the kind made with colored pasta, buttons, yarn and all kinds of homemade stuff.
I like seeing those on our tree. Past and present blended together. So I decided we would do that for our boys - pick an ornament each year that represents an interest or snapshot of the boys in that year.
There are a lot of Pixar moments for our boys. But there are divergent interests, too. Xander, our artist, has several Crayola ornaments. Connor likes to be different, so there are a few Hot Wheels (his personal favorite) and even Curious George, which the other boys wouldn't like at all. And there are even Little People. Last year Xander had the yellow bus, because he is slightly obsessed with buses. This year Sawyer got the fire truck - a nod to Daddy's new job and his still love of lining up his Little People when he plays.
There are homemade ornaments in the mix, too. Sawyer made a foam penguin last year with his picture in it. Connor has a very heavy ceramic hand print from preschool.
And there are even ornaments that the boys have outgrown - Connor's once love of Ratatouille is long-since over. But there was a moment in time when he loved it - two years ago when we bought that ornament.
This year there is another artist for Xander who still loves colored letters more than anything - we have pages and pages of multi-colored letters he has drawn himself. For Connor there is a baseball snowman, because his whole life has been about baseball the last few seasons. And for Sawyer there is the Little People fire truck - a toy we actually had and something he still likes to pull out and line up when he plays.
It's a timeline of sorts ... about our boys, who they are and what they love in a particular moment in time.
The early years are kind of a blur. I do remember Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, one of the few times my brother and I went to church (the result of one Catholic parent, and one decidedly non-Catholic parent).
We would leave the house hours before the service, and drive through a few of the nicer neighborhoods in town to look at the Christmas light displays. I remember tape on the door, to keep me and my brother from ruining the surprise on Christmas morning before Grandpa was in place with his camera. And I remember turkey dinners in the middle of the day, after the presents had all been unwrapped and explored.
When Josh and I became parents, we had to figure out our own version of Christmas. We still spend parts of the holiday with our extended families, but some things belong to our family alone.
Every year since Connor was born, we go to the same little tree farm and cut down our real Christmas tree. If you look closely, Connor's picture will be on their photo wall for every year of his life, even that first year when he was a month old and he went bundled inside his carseat carrier.
Another is the family Christmas card - which I certainly need to be working on this week, as it's getting pretty late in the game to be ordering those and getting those in the mail.
And one of the really fun traditions we have with our boys is their Keepsake ornaments.
It started several years back when Grammy brought over a box of ornaments for Josh - some that had been bought for him, but mostly ornaments that he had made over the years. You know, the kind made with colored pasta, buttons, yarn and all kinds of homemade stuff.
I like seeing those on our tree. Past and present blended together. So I decided we would do that for our boys - pick an ornament each year that represents an interest or snapshot of the boys in that year.
There are a lot of Pixar moments for our boys. But there are divergent interests, too. Xander, our artist, has several Crayola ornaments. Connor likes to be different, so there are a few Hot Wheels (his personal favorite) and even Curious George, which the other boys wouldn't like at all. And there are even Little People. Last year Xander had the yellow bus, because he is slightly obsessed with buses. This year Sawyer got the fire truck - a nod to Daddy's new job and his still love of lining up his Little People when he plays.
There are homemade ornaments in the mix, too. Sawyer made a foam penguin last year with his picture in it. Connor has a very heavy ceramic hand print from preschool.
And there are even ornaments that the boys have outgrown - Connor's once love of Ratatouille is long-since over. But there was a moment in time when he loved it - two years ago when we bought that ornament.
This year there is another artist for Xander who still loves colored letters more than anything - we have pages and pages of multi-colored letters he has drawn himself. For Connor there is a baseball snowman, because his whole life has been about baseball the last few seasons. And for Sawyer there is the Little People fire truck - a toy we actually had and something he still likes to pull out and line up when he plays.
It's a timeline of sorts ... about our boys, who they are and what they love in a particular moment in time.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Friday, December 2, 2011
On the Mend ...
Last night Sawyer slept for nearly 12 hours.
I probably should have known it was too good to be true. He NEVER sleeps that much. But after staying up late myself to work on a project, I was thankful that he slept in (you know, to 7 o'clock, on a school morning).
Yes, that's sleeping in. I promise. It's much better than 4 or 5 o'clock, which are closer to his normal. The last two or three days were right around 5 o'clock.
So this morning it was a little after 7 o'clock when he came crawling under my covers and into my bed. Daddy was still on shift at the fire station, and he's gotten used to climbing in and claiming his side of the bed on those mornings. He was happy and snuggly and fine.
Or so he seemed.
Just after lunch I got the first text message. Sawyer didn't seem like himself, was crying a little and trying to lay down. One of his classmates had already gone home this week with strep, so his teacher just wanted to give me a heads up. I texted her back that I could come get him anytime, if she thought it was necessary. We've let him sleep it off at school before, especially after a rough couple of sleep nights.
The phone call came shortly after. He was now crying, holding onto his ears for dear life, and nothing seemed to make it better.
These are not good signs. Sawyer rarely, if ever, cries, and certainly not uncontrollably. The kid has put his hand on a hot stove, suffered second-degree burns that blistered ridiculously in a matter of minutes, and not even blinked an eye. Pain tolerance is off the charts.
For him to cry like that, and not stop, means something is seriously wrong.
My work project got put on hold. I packed up a few things and headed off to school to sign him out. I went ahead and called our pediatrician, who is great with the boys and who always makes time to see you, even late on a Friday afternoon. Our appointment was in an hour.
We came back to the house for a quick stop. I rounded up a few things for our office visit, made arrangements for Daddy to pick up the other two boys from school, and we headed on our way.
From the moment I picked him up from school, he never stopped crying.
We made it in to see our pediatrician. She did a quick exam. I explained the symptoms, we made some educated guesses. A quick look into his ears confirmed it. The left ear was really bad. The right one wasn't much better. Double ear infection, both bad. No sign of strep, which was good news.
Next came the treatment. If it had been Connor, we would have done an oral medication. But the twins don't do oral medication. We're lucky to get Tylenol into their systems every once in a while. Today Sawyer fought even that, and he normally likes it.
So it was shots. Two, one in each leg. And honestly, he didn't even really cry about it. He cried more just being at the office and being examined than he did when the shots were administered.
He was asleep in his booster seat before I ever pulled out of the parking space. The combination of the little Tylenol I managed to get into him, and the big dose of medication, were working their magic.
He slept the rest of the day. And woke up about 10 minutes ago.
At least he's not crying. He still looks sad and pitiful, and he can't seem to find a comfortable position to lay down and play his iPad at the same time. But he's not crying.
There is nothing worse for me than hearing one of the twins cry. Nothing makes you feel more helpless. They cannot tell you what's wrong. And they don't cry - not the real cry - very often. So when they do, it's usually something pretty important.
You know, like a double ear infection. A really bad one.
And while I don't know how much sleep any of us are going to get tonight, I think the worst of it is over. Sawyer isn't crying anymore, and that's the most important thing. He is not himself yet, but he doesn't seem to be in pain. And if he wakes up tomorrow and still doesn't feel well, the pediatrician told us to call. They will get him in tomorrow morning for some more medicine if he needs it.
Thank goodness for a good pediatrician. She makes time to see you regardless of the day or time, and she knows the standard treatment isn't going to work with my boys.
And thank goodness for great teachers. They know when something is not right with your baby, and they have your number in their phone and call you the minute they can't make it better.
No, this life is not always easy.
But there are so many people in our lives who help make it easier.
I probably should have known it was too good to be true. He NEVER sleeps that much. But after staying up late myself to work on a project, I was thankful that he slept in (you know, to 7 o'clock, on a school morning).
Yes, that's sleeping in. I promise. It's much better than 4 or 5 o'clock, which are closer to his normal. The last two or three days were right around 5 o'clock.
So this morning it was a little after 7 o'clock when he came crawling under my covers and into my bed. Daddy was still on shift at the fire station, and he's gotten used to climbing in and claiming his side of the bed on those mornings. He was happy and snuggly and fine.
Or so he seemed.
Just after lunch I got the first text message. Sawyer didn't seem like himself, was crying a little and trying to lay down. One of his classmates had already gone home this week with strep, so his teacher just wanted to give me a heads up. I texted her back that I could come get him anytime, if she thought it was necessary. We've let him sleep it off at school before, especially after a rough couple of sleep nights.
The phone call came shortly after. He was now crying, holding onto his ears for dear life, and nothing seemed to make it better.
These are not good signs. Sawyer rarely, if ever, cries, and certainly not uncontrollably. The kid has put his hand on a hot stove, suffered second-degree burns that blistered ridiculously in a matter of minutes, and not even blinked an eye. Pain tolerance is off the charts.
For him to cry like that, and not stop, means something is seriously wrong.
My work project got put on hold. I packed up a few things and headed off to school to sign him out. I went ahead and called our pediatrician, who is great with the boys and who always makes time to see you, even late on a Friday afternoon. Our appointment was in an hour.
We came back to the house for a quick stop. I rounded up a few things for our office visit, made arrangements for Daddy to pick up the other two boys from school, and we headed on our way.
From the moment I picked him up from school, he never stopped crying.
We made it in to see our pediatrician. She did a quick exam. I explained the symptoms, we made some educated guesses. A quick look into his ears confirmed it. The left ear was really bad. The right one wasn't much better. Double ear infection, both bad. No sign of strep, which was good news.
Next came the treatment. If it had been Connor, we would have done an oral medication. But the twins don't do oral medication. We're lucky to get Tylenol into their systems every once in a while. Today Sawyer fought even that, and he normally likes it.
So it was shots. Two, one in each leg. And honestly, he didn't even really cry about it. He cried more just being at the office and being examined than he did when the shots were administered.
He was asleep in his booster seat before I ever pulled out of the parking space. The combination of the little Tylenol I managed to get into him, and the big dose of medication, were working their magic.
He slept the rest of the day. And woke up about 10 minutes ago.
At least he's not crying. He still looks sad and pitiful, and he can't seem to find a comfortable position to lay down and play his iPad at the same time. But he's not crying.
There is nothing worse for me than hearing one of the twins cry. Nothing makes you feel more helpless. They cannot tell you what's wrong. And they don't cry - not the real cry - very often. So when they do, it's usually something pretty important.
You know, like a double ear infection. A really bad one.
And while I don't know how much sleep any of us are going to get tonight, I think the worst of it is over. Sawyer isn't crying anymore, and that's the most important thing. He is not himself yet, but he doesn't seem to be in pain. And if he wakes up tomorrow and still doesn't feel well, the pediatrician told us to call. They will get him in tomorrow morning for some more medicine if he needs it.
Thank goodness for a good pediatrician. She makes time to see you regardless of the day or time, and she knows the standard treatment isn't going to work with my boys.
And thank goodness for great teachers. They know when something is not right with your baby, and they have your number in their phone and call you the minute they can't make it better.
No, this life is not always easy.
But there are so many people in our lives who help make it easier.
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