Making the best...

Adam has been having a lot of trouble with his ears since he was born. We have decided to take a conservative approach and hope things got better on their own. Unfortunately, they haven't. My concern was his hearing becoming impaired due to the concurrent infections. I also worried his speech wasn't on target. After my pleadings, we were referred to an ENT in St. Louis. As it turned out, our appointment was on Good Friday, which allowed the whole family to make the trip. We weren't certain what to expect of the appointment, but were crossing our fingers we would be out in enought time to take advantage of the trip there.

The appointment went better than expected. We were in and out quickly and learned not only is Adam's hearing fine, his vocabulary is excpetional and he is considered advanced in his enunciation and large vocabulary. We had the option of having tubes put in his ears, but with summer coming up, we decided to again be conservative and wait it out. After the appointment, we had lunch at the Cheesecake Factory... delicious. Kagney decided she wanted to visit the Science Center, especially since I told her there was an overpass with plexiglass inserts you could stand on. Once there, Adam's little toddler body realized he was without a nap and acted out for the majority of the afternoon. We tried to make the best of it and were still able to wander a bit through the center.

We had to make the trek back a little early as it WAS Good Friday and Kagney was in an Easter play at her church. She sang "Jesus Loves Me" as a solo. We weren't able to make it that night, but luckily there was a second showing Saturday night that we were all able to attend. I had the foresight to wear waterproof mascara and I'm so glad I did. I was amazed at how well she sang. She handled herself so well and kept perfect tempo and volume. We are so very proud of her!!

Sick of Being Sick

Like everyone else in Southern Illinois, we have had our fair share of headaches, sniffles and misery. Leonard was the first, graciously sharing it with the rest of us right before Easter break. I ended up with strep throat and double ear infections. Leonard, being a good husband, chose to sleep on the couch in order for me to have the bed to myself. I had forgotten what a heavy sleeper Leonard was until I found him sleeping half on the couch. What we do for love...

So IL Luau

Happy 8th Birthday to Kagney!

At Kagneys request, we had a luau at our house, sans roasted pig... The hula girls and boys played "Hot Pineapple", pin the coconut on the palm tree, limbo and a couple other games. In lieu of a birthday cake, we had volcano sundaes. It was a little crazy having all those 8 year olds in the house, but it was worth it to see them all have so much fun.

Kagney's "boyfriend", Ethan, has a little sister named Ava that is a couple of months older than Adam. They had a little ice cream social during the luau. Adorable....

First of many...

Leonard turns another year older March 8th and his birthday starts the domino effect of the many birthdays we celebrate in March. Next we have my Aunt on the 9th, Kagney and my mother-in-law on the 12th, Kagney's step-mom on the 14th, my father-in-law on the 16th, and a few more family and friends scattered throughout. With today being "spring forward" coupled with my husband's difficulty of "springing up," we weren't graced with his presence until noon. Since Adam is still under the weather and I'm not too far behind, we opted to stay home from church. While I agree that isn't the best decision, my sanity and well-being somewhat depended on it as Adam isn't always agreeable during church, even on his healthy days. Since technically it was still breakfast time, I performed my normal Sunday breakfast ritual, just a few hours late. In my flurry, I noticed it was unusually quiet and looked around to find Kagney and Adam having story time in the dining room. If you notice, Kagney is reading to Adam while he flips the pages of a Dean Koonce novel.

After "breakfast," Kagney noticed Leonard, affectionately called Jungle Jim, lying in the floor. This is usually the sign of a sore back. Kagney offered her services as the in-house massage therapist when half-way through, she remembered he was still in need of his birthday spankings! It took a while, but all 32 were given... I hated when my family would perform this ridiculous ritual as I was growing up and looked forward to the birthday when I was too old and mature for it. I believe my immunity has come to an end since Kagney has discovered her parents age, and she can count pretty high...

Not yet eight and full of insight

Friday was the first beautiful day of the year. Leonard and I were fortunate enough to leave work early and enjoy the afternoon with a long wagon ride, or wagon pull rather. Adam hasn't been feeling well, like the majority of Southern Illinoisans this time of year, but nothing perks him up more than playing outside. Being more of an "inside girl," I'm not certain how I ended up with three "outdoor people." Adam insisted on wearing his cowboy "hap" and then insisted on his sister wearing it, then back to him, then back to her. Since Adam has Kagney wrapped around his finger, she does this trade-off without any hesitation.

Once we returned, the kids made a bee-line for the swingset, then the frisbee, then the bouncy balls. Of course, the almost-two-Adam wanted everything his (almost) eight year-old big sister, Kagney had.

Later, I told Kagney I was proud of her for not letting the things Adam does bother her. She told me sometimes it does bother her but she doesn't say anything because he is little and doesn't know better. She also told me it was her job to be a patient big sister, even if he frustrates her sometimes. I tried to explain while I was proud of her for being so understanding, we needed to teach him respect and patience by sharing and learning to take turns. She turned to me and said, "mom, give him a break... he's just a baby."

Day off...?

Although CASA is an independent non-proft, our office space is an in-kind donation from Williamson County. Because of this, we are treated like county workers. This can be viewed as a "plus" or a "minus." One of the "pluses" is we are closed the same holidays as the county and schools - except for one: Lincoln's Birthday! The schools are in session on this day so I get the day to myself, or at least theoretically. I vaguely remember last February 12. I believe the winter storm hit and the schools were closed. So, I have been looking forward to February 12 for about a year now.... Well, maybe a month. I was hoping to get some sewing done and shampoo the carpets among other things that have fallen by the wayside. Sadly, February 10, Adam's daycare calls to tell me he has a fever. Needless to say, it got worse and the doctor told us yesterday he has a cold and another ear infection. Even though his fever is gone and the "sick-eyes" have gotten better, I couldn't bring myself to take him to daycare. So, everything is on hold... again. I posted a picture of him, sitting on the couch watching Handy Manny and looking a little pitiful. Oh well, mom first, house later....

Winter Wonderland

I feel a small amount of guilt for having such a great time on the snow day we had Tuesday and one I had hoped for on Wednesday. I know there are many people without power and I shouldn't hope for bad weather just because I want to stay home with my husband and kids when I know it is hard for others out there to endure it. However, I am grateful for my healthy family, my warm home and the good food we have been blessed with. Kagney has been under the weather the last few days with a stomach virus. She woke up this morning and before her eyes were fully open, asked if she would get to go outside and play in the snow. Being a bit of a winter snob, I told her to pester Leonard about it. Almost immediately upon his entrance to the living room, before HIS eyes were even fully open, Kagney gave him full-blown puppy-face and asked if they could go out to play. Of course, Kagney wanted Adam to go too. Before I could get the breakfast dishes off the table, Kagney was up getting her coat and asking for her gloves. Once I gathered all of what she calls "winter equipment", I had to get Adam's together. Naturally, I layered the clothing on both of them, most likely to a point of immobility. I must say, they did both look adorable......I also must say, I have a lot of laundry to do now....I really don't like winter.