O...M...G...

Really, this is a true story... I am not making any of this up... 100% FACT!!!

This past week, we have been up with one kid or another EVERY night - if it wasn't Sam coughing uncontrollably, needing to potty, not wanting to sleep, wanting to watch t.v. etc - it was Jake coughing, puking, crying, and just out-right refusing to sleep. Literally, we have been up for a MINIMUM of two hours for five nights straight.

So last night, Jake did his fit 'early' before I went to bed, so I got him back down by 11. Sam only woke up for a few seconds to ask for a cough drop (which he didn't get) and went right back to sleep. We went to sleep with the potential for no interruptions.

At 2 AM, I awaken to the sound of an airplane or something - not too unusual since we live near a busy airport. But the noise was constant and wasn't going away, which brought me out of a deep sleep into a semi-conscious state. So I get through my groggy fumbling and begin huffing that I'm even getting out of bed AGAIN and go to the window and look. After a brief search, I spot a helicopter hovering nearby (nearby as in our trees in our backyard were swirling from the roters). Not only was he hovering over our neighborhood, but he had a SPOT LIGHT searching the ground!!! Like a good wife, I woke BJ up. We watched and waited, and I finally came to the conclusion that someone had escaped from the prison that is about 10 miles away and they were searching for him. We took comfort that it looked like he moved away from our neighborhood and wasn't REALLY looking HERE. BJ was debating on sitting at the door with the shot gun - just in case.... I convinced him that that wasn't necessary!!! ;)

I talked BJ into calling the non-emergency police number to find out what was going on. The dispatcher told BJ there was nothing going on in Dacula that he needed to worry about. BJ told her that he begged to differ and that a helicopter hovering over his house at 2 AM with a spotlight seemed a little suspect that something was going on. She then replied that they were searching for someone... I think her name badge read "Captain Obvious." Thanks for the tip!

After about 30 minutes, the helicopter flew off. Lucky for him because I was about to take the shot gun and shoot him out of the sky if he had woken one of my kids up!!!! So, we eventually went on back to sleep - shear exhaustion kept us from worrying TOO much!

Come to find out, someone had broken into some cars JUST DOWN THE STREET, and they were SEARCHING for the guy!!!!!!! AHHHHHHH!!!!!

Really???? Did that just happen????

FYI - the kids did not wake up from this and slept through the night (the chopper and his pilot are safe).... now, if the kids can do it again and we can avoid air traffic, maybe we can sleep tonight!? Might be wishful sleeping - I mean thinking!!!

Been awhile...

It is going on three weeks of sickness here... Sam and Jake together, Sam got better (went back to school), Jake got sicker then better and sicker again - he's still a little congested. Sam is better, but not before he spread it to my parents who were bad-sick for a week, and are just now recuperating! BJ and I got it a few days before Mama and Daddy - and I still have little remnants of a cough... this thing is terrible to say the least! Nonetheless, we are all on the mend or well!

When Sam was at my parents, he went fishing (see post below), fed the horses, went to the farm, rode in the boat and enjoyed having Mimi and Pop Pop all to himself. My mom always makes him yummy home-made food while he's there (glad someone does!), and he almost wouldn't eat her mac-n-cheese because "it's not orange!" Mommy makes the fake stuff that's orange. Mimi's real mac-n-cheese is whiter (and much better)... it just didn't look right! Once he tried it, he realized this reality!

Sam is now telling me all the time that he has something special for me... be it a toy, garbage, a shoe, Jake, etc. Sweet to say the least. He also feels that every time we go in a store he "NEEEEDS a prize." And he informs me that he's a good boy and he's not going to hit Jake. Oops... guess I did that a couple times too many!?

Sam told BJ that he has holes in his hair! (Snicker snicker / Oh No!) BJ takes this as his sign to go ahead and shave his head... I'm not so sure about that one!?

Jake is sweet as ever. He gives great hugs and leans his head into you when you ask for a kiss. It's so precious. He's a super-snuggler (as long as he's not wanting down to chase Sam), and he repeats a lot of things we say to him. It's not all coherent, but it's precious!!!

Jake got a 'coupe' for his birthday, which we have already put into use... pictures to come... Sam and Jake both helped BJ put it together (resulting in it taking twice as long), which was so cute and worth every extra minute! Sam picked up the instructions ("Eructions") and said, "What does this say? It says, 'Now everyone bam [hammer] the wheel.' That's what it says!" And he was so proud of himself for reading it!!!!! He's a piece of work!!!

School is still wonderful. Sam took snacks for his class last week and was the line leader for the day. He still comes home with suckers, stamps and stickers - which means he's a good boy. Since Mimi was there to pick him up once, he asks each time we go to school if Mimi will be there when he gets out. He also asked today if I had any scissors - "Ms. Darlene's are red." So I showed him my blue ones... not to be outdone!!!!! ;) He's learning a lot... mostly to be a little more social. He says he doesn't talk much at school, which I believe (I asked him why and he said, "Because everybody's so loud!"), but he has been better when 'strangers' ask him questions - like when we're in line at the store or at church or something. We will be having a parent/teacher conference soon, so I am really curious to hear what she has to say about everything!!!!

Sam's (Mimi and Pop Pop's) Fishing Tale

This is written by Mimi - telling me about Sam's fishing experience!

Sam & Pop-Pop went to buy worms. Sam told the lady he was going to catch Nemo and Domino. He picked out a yellow and red bobber to go on his rod.

Down to the dock! Sam handed everything to Pop-Pop and Mimi to carry. It was "too heavy."

Pop-Pop and Sam put the bobbers on and Pop-Pop put the worm on. Sam slapped the rod up and down in the water. Pop kept telling him to "keep the rod out of the water!" Sam did--for about 30 seconds, then flailed the rod again.

Sam swished the fish net in the water.

Sam hooked Pop.

Mimi caught a small bream. Sam thought it was Nemo, but not big enough! Pop let him touch the fish, but Sam didn't want to hold him. "You do it, Pop-Pop!" Pop let it go and Sam watched it swim away.

Sam hooked the boat.

Sam hooked Rocky.

Sam swished the fish net in the water.

Sam slapped the rod in the water.

Sam dumped the worms out.

Sam mopped the dock with the fish net.

Mimi caught a big catfish. Sam said it looked like Domino, but it fell off the line before she could land it.

Sam threw the top to the worms in the lake. Pop retrieved it.

Pop went to the house and got some bread to replace the worms. Pop put globs of bread on the two rods. Sam ate the rest so we had no more to bait the hooks.

Sam slapped the rod up and down on the other side of the dock.

Sam hooked Mimi.

Sam slapped the rod up and down. Sam reeled in the bobber so hard, it fell off. Sam slapped the rod.

Sam played in the dirt from the worm box.

Sam slapped the rod in the water.

Sam swished the net in the water.

We gave up and went to ride in the boat! Sam was a lot of help to Pop-Pop uncovering the boat. He stood in the middle of the cover and laughed! He liked riding in the front. Said he was "flying in the boat."

Pictures to come later!!!

You're Invited!

We are celebrating Jake's FIRST birthday in a BIG way! With ALL our friends and family - and YOU'RE invited! Here is a link to the invitation so you can RSVP!

http://www.evite.com/app/publicUrl/IGTKVQWJTRGNUYHKNVHV/jakesfirstbirthday

Can't wait to see you there!

Another School Day!

Sam did great yet again getting out of the car (it's been seven days) and going to school again. Mimi was in the car when I picked him up, so he had a wonderful time telling her all about school.

Here's what (I think) I know about his day:

• Sharks eat goldfish. (He made blue water with rubber fish inside)
• He drew a bear - with eyes. (It's a big square with a big blue blob painted on it)
• He made red/white/blue hand prints (for 9/11)
• He sang about a spider - but not very loud (the Itsy Bitsy One????)
• He heard a story about a bear, a doggie and a kitty. Their names are Bear, Doggie and Kitty.
• He ate a chocolate chip cookie for snack. Everyone else had a big one (guess he's watching his figure?????)
• He had a sticker, sucker and a stamp... must have been a good boy!
• He went potty and helped Ms. Darlene aim Mr. Winkie.

HAHAHA.... BJ has been helping him aim Mr. Winkie in the evenings (I do sometimes, but I just do what's quickest and easiest since I have Jake trying to pull up on the potty to see what big brother is doing in there). The other night, I hear BJ yelling, "No Sam! (exasperated sigh) Sam... NO!!!!!! UHHHHH! SAAAAAMMMMM.... Gross!!!!!" (you get the basic picture there). Then I hear Sam say, "What, Daddy? What?" to which BJ replies, "You shot Mr. Winkie all over the bathroom, that's what!" Sam apparently grabbed Mr. Winkie and shot the toilet, shower curtain, floor etc before BJ got his hand over him to just 'take one for the team.' HAHAHA!!!!!! It was pretty hysterical to hear from the other room!!!!!! That's why that's a job for Super Dad!!!!!

Mimi and Pop Pop have Sam. Jake has a cardiologist appt tomorrow. Should be an 'easy' night! We still laugh at ourselves for how 'difficult' we thought it was with just Sam!!!!!!! At least we are entertained... constantly!!!

Not again!!!!!

OK - I don't know what the heck the deal is, but Sam and Jake have colds - AGAIN - SIMULTANEOUSLY - AGAIN!!!!??? How do I get so lucky? Poor Sam was so excited to go to school today, and I had to make him stay home. At first, there was no fever and just an occasional drip of the nose (yesterday afternoon), so I thought we could make it. Then, this morning, we had a low fever (yep, both boys) and yellow snot. SO, my thought was that I WOULD NOT appreciate someone else sending their kid on to school to infect mine, so I best keep him home..... the 'woes' of being responsible! Unfortunately, I don't think other parents use that same logic - especially at the church nursery!!!! Where did this come from??? Wipe-downs/change of clothes/baths, whatever it takes will commence now to try and get rid of those nasty germs when we get in the car after church and after school!!!!!

As soon as I had all of these feelings (and more), I pulled up my email to email Sam's teacher. I saw I had an email from a friend we made while at the hospital with Jake. Their little girl is Jake's age and has already had a second surgery to replace a mitral valve in her heart. Last night, they had to rush her back to the ER because she was breathing really hard. Turns out the valve had stopped working, and she was breathing really hard to compensate. OK, GOD, I get it - LOVING the colds... both of them!!!!

Funny things that come out of the mouth of a two-year-old:

• Sam, why is Jake crying? Because he's sad! (duh...)
• I need my laptop to check my email.
• Why Mommy? Why? (Sam's FAVORITE question these days.... isn't that supposed to come when he's a bit older???? Why???)
• Don't do that to me. (when I kiss him!?)
• Don't spank me, that hurts (right after he hurts Jake)
• I need a loud jet to fly over to keep me awake (as he's swinging and getting droopy eyes)
• OOOOOHHHHH Mommy! Oh! (like he finally understands something I've been trying to tell him.... he doesn't really by the way - he just wants to shut me up!)

OK - more pictures!

Sam and Jake went to the lake while BJ and I went to (another) wedding! Here they are in the boat. Sam looks pretty comfortable, huh? Jake's just happy he found something to chew on!!!

Sam drives anything Pop Pop drives!!!!

Jake too!Pop Pop teaching Sam how to throw!!!!!!Feeding the horses... this is Rooster (Sam named him) the horse. He named Rooster's mommy Chicken!!!Jake's just happy - wherever, doing whatever!!!

So Jake loves chocolate cake now! How, you may ask!? Well, how can you NOT feed this little open birdie mouth??????He's so cute, huh?

Mimi and Pop Pop have been busy... they MADE this lamp for Sam's room! SOOOO cute!

And Mimi made Sam a book bag for school. The ENTIRE thing!!!!This side says, "Look out preschool, here comes Sam!"

Look at those two!What is Jake up to these days? Well, he's TRYING to get those front middle teeth so he doesn't look like the Wal-Mart baby...... the 'Wal-Mart' tooth is just getting longer!!!!!He's climbing stairs like a CHAMP!And he's facing forward in the car now!!!!!!!! It's so strange to look back and see his little face now!!!! I love it - and so does he!

Day Two...

Sam's second day of school... NO TEARS, no sadness, nothing.... pure excitement!!!! I did just fine too! There's such a hype about the first day of school, and it's honestly harder to see your child upset and have to leave them than the actual fact that "they're going to school!" He loves it, and I am SO GLAD!!!!

Last night, BJ was talking to Sam about school while putting him to bed - getting him excited about going this morning (thanks - he woke up at 6:30 AM!!!). BJ told Sam how proud he was of Sam for being such a big boy and going to school. Sam looked at him and said, "I'm proud of you too, Daddy. For going to school!" That kid!!!!!

On the way to school I was prepping Sam for his potty break. (We practiced standing and aiming at home (BLAH!!!) I went into great detail about going to the potty with his teacher - how HE needed to hold Mr. Winkie and aim him at the water for her. Sam looked at me with the most serious face, held his hands out and shrugged his shoulders and said, "We wish we had a potty seat, but we do not!" HAHAHA!!!! What to say to that????? =)

When I picked him up, I asked the teacher how the potty went. She smiled and said he didn't even go, although they went and tried. OK, no biggie! She backed away from the car chuckling to herself then said, "He actually told me that you had told him to aim 'it' for me!" OH NO!!!!!! I bet she had to have been rolling, because we typically refer to 'it' as Mr. Winkie!!!!!!!! HAHAHAHA!!!!!!!

Here's what (I think) I know about Sam's second day of school:

• He possibly made a snake (or did something with a snake)
• Ms. Shirley sang a song... about a horse or with a horse
• He had a stamp on his hand, a sticker and a sucker - must have been a good boy
• He played on the playground and the fish is his favorite (there's only one)
• He doesn't know what he had for snack (believe me I asked a million different questions and still got nothing!)
• He didn't use his markers because he didn't want to mess them up
• His teacher told me he was "serious"..... guess he's not quite himself yet!? =)

Sam's First Day of School!

We made it... or should I say I made it??? Honestly, the build-up was worse than the execution!

Sam woke up asking, "What are we doing today, Mommy?" So I informed him (again) that today was his first day of school, and went through the long scenario of how we would drive up to school, his teacher would open his door, unbuckle him and get him out, he would wave and say "Bye-bye Mommy - I love you!" etc etc. I have a schedule for their class, so I have that memorized and went through all the things he would experience and do at school... all the way to where Mommy picks him back up. I THINK that helped...

Here is the token "I'm off to school" first day pictures!That was enough of that... what's in this bag anyway?
We NEEDED one of Sam and Mommy!!!Then he was off to the playroom - enough of that!This was us ACTUALLY going out the door!
And driving to school. OK, so I took it in the carpool line to drop him off... going down the road proved to be a little tricky and I almost ran somebody off the road (b/c I was in the wrong lane), so I opted for safety over the photo-op!
He did just fine until the lady got him out and set him outside the car to get his bag. I saw the little lip start to pucker, and the lady took his hand and headed into the building with him. Before he reached the door, I heard the sobbing start.

I made it out of the carport and looked down at my lap and saw the camera and said to myself, "I forgot to take his picture!" and I started crying. Guess I needed an excuse!?

After school, when he got back in the car, he had a stamp on his hand (that means he had been a good boy), and a sucker in the other hand. His eyes were bright and I could tell he had had a great time at school. His teacher put him in the car and said that he had been really good, and that she had helped him go potty, but she would like for us to work at home on teaching him to aim for himself. She said she did help him, but felt a little uncomfortable about it. She said she would do it, but to 'let's work on that!' HO HUM....... I have him SIT at home - I don't want him to stand and 'aim' (i.e. spray my toilets and bathrooms!!!!!!) Oh well... guess we'll start - sounds like a job for super dad!!!???? =)

Here he is with his teacher coming back out to the car...

I asked Sam how his day was as we drove off. He was unwrapping his sucker, putting it in his mouth, and responded by saying, "Turn off the radio so I can hear Nemo!" Did that (after I got a please), and couldn't get another word out of him the whole way home!!!!! This is all I got!
When we got home (and I turned Nemo off), I asked him what he did at school. He said, "I sat on a square!" I asked what color it was, and he said, "Blue." He also said, "I got a sucker for being a good boy!"

I think I asked him about 90 million questions, and this is what I know about his day:

• He sat on a blue square
• He cried. For a long time? Yes I did. You didn't cry much did you? No I didn't. Why did you cry? Because a lady drug me out of the car. (This was in NO WAY a part of any story or scenario!?=)
• "I didn't need to be sad."
• He played.
• He ate pretzels. But his new friend ate a cookie. He did not. He ate pretzels.
• He did not sing during music time. "I just stood there."
• He drew a picture of a red horse and named it Rooster. You feed Rooster carrots. (I'm sure this may have confused the teacher a bit, but Sam actually DOES go and feed a horse carrots when he's at my parents. He named the horse Rooster. Rooster's mommy's name is Chicken. No joke - all on his own!)
• He had fun and wants to go back tomorrow. (WHEW...)
• And he wants to know, "What are we doing after my nap Mommy?"

Bless his heart, after he ate lunch, he asked for a nap. His eyes were so heavy that they were pretty much closed before I got his music on and left the room! School is good.....

I Gave...

BLOOD! It's major for me b/c I pass out at needles and blood. BUT, I gave - for Jake! Children's Healthcare of Atlanta is the largest user of blood in the Atlanta area, and Jake received 6 units during is stay at CHOA along with a bag of platelets. Someone gave so my baby could live, so the least I can do is give so someone else (or their baby) can live too. It wasn't so bad!!!

SAM STARTS SCHOOL TOMORROW! I'm not a wreck or anything, just a little anxious. I don't know how he'll do. I can't walk him into his class, I can only drive up and let his teacher get him out, so I'm a bit worried about how he will do with that. HOWEVER, I have been telling him over and over how it will be so that he is prepared. My parents were with him this weekend and Mama told him 'stories' about arriving to school and playing at school and all that fun stuff. He's as prepared as he can be, I suppose!? He'll be carrying his little book bag with his folder all by himself..... he's growing up!!!!!! =( Pictures/the story to come soon...

We took Sam to orientation last Thursday and he did really well. I did too!!!! So did BJ!!!! Sam was holding his crayons and telling us that "These are mine" when the teacher came up to talk to us. When we were done, she picked up the crayons and markers to put them away. After a moment, Sam began to cry... she gave him a sucker and he was fine, but it had to be that she 'took the crayons from him.' Hopefully he doesn't remember that part tomorrow!?

Speaking of growing up... when we got Jake back from my parents, we turned him around in his car seat. He's now facing forward!!!! Both of my BABIES are hitting major milestones in the span of a few days...... my head is spinning!!!!

Sam was sick for a few nights - like, PUKING sick (this was in the midst of HAVING to go to orientation too!!!! Yep, I was that mom, we went anyway!!! Don't tell!!!!). He was OK except that he had a low fever and wouldn't eat. When he ate, he ended up puking. Once in his bed (changed that at 3 AM), once on his 'sick pallet' (AND on me - twice) during the day, and once in our bed (at 4 AM)!!!! YUCK! I believe this was our first bout with VOMIT.... CHUNKY VOMIT!!!! I really believe it was just teething. There may have been a little of something else there, but "Mommy Intuition" says it was really just teething. Nonetheless, we're over it and moving on..... =)

Jake now says "Pop Pop" - no "Mimi" yet (of course!?), and he 'sings' (Ba-ba-ba-ba) and dances. It's so stinking cute!!!!

Pictures and an update on school to come.........