These Boys



These boys right here have the uncanny ability to drive me up one wall and down the other.

These boys right here have the ability to make the worst situations better just by smiling.



These boys right here....yes them...they are the reason my world turns.

These boys have my heart. And although they squeeze it a little too hard sometimes; They never abuse it.



Advanced

When i was a kid starting out in school, advanced was a word i heard often. My teachers would say to my mom, "Courtney is really advanced for her age", or "Have you ever thought of advancing her a grade".

When i started Kindergarten, having never attended a preschool, i already knew how to read and do basic math. I could write my name as well as other small words and sentences. Back then (20 years ago) that would have qualified me to go straight to the first grade completely skipping kindergarten.

My Mom refused to advance me. She felt that it was important for me to have that kindergarten year to become accustomed with how school worked since i had never attended a preschool. In other words she wanted me to be socially smart as well as intelligent smart.

I had my problems in kindergarten. I got bored a lot since i already knew a lot of what the other kids were just learning. I was given special assignments to help keep my attention. I was aloud to go to the library and read if they were doing something that i already had mastered. It made me feel a little separate from the other kids, but over all i can not complain about my kindergarten experience.

I had the best kindergarten teacher in the world (and still hold her as my favorite teacher to this day). And the school dealt with me in what i would call a perfect way. They did what they could to help me excel and gave me things to do that both helped my education and my social abilities.

Now 20 years later i am facing a similar problem only in the position of my mother.

Phabian started Kindergarten back in June (year round school). After about 3 months of school we came to realize that he is a little more advanced then the other kids. He is pretty much reading now and writing wonderfully with little help. He can count and do simple math. Socially he is even doing great. I accredit this to his 2 years in preschool with the worlds best pre-k teacher and aid. They however accredit it to me. 

Now as we approach the end of the 2nd semester he is starting to get bored. He is losing focus and getting in trouble a lot. Not anything major but little things that insinuate he is bored with what he is learning. Unlike the school where i attended as a kid, his school is apparently not prepared to deal with this. He is forced to sit through things and grin and bear the outcome of his boredness.

After a parent/teacher conference with his teacher a month ago i confirmed i am not happy with his environment. She pretty much told me that he should have been skipped a grade but it was too late now since we are already half way through the 2nd semester and the 1st grade curriculum would be too advanced. I was a little furious. We have known he was advanced since the year began back in June so why was this option not mentioned to me earlier.

I am not ok with my child constantly getting in trouble because, essentially, he is TOO SMART! How is that teaching him anything? To me it is telling him, " Hey your too smart, so maybe if you weren't smart you wouldn't get in trouble".  To top it off they have a daily grading system. It goes from a Paw (best behavior) to a D (worst behavior). If at the end of the semester they do not have enough Paws that child will not be aloud to attend the field trip planned for that semester. So once again Phabian might lose out on something fun because he is too smart.

Yes i understand he still has to learn to behave and follow instructions. I get that, i promise. But what would be wrong with giving him something more advanced to do if you are working on something that you already know that he knows. If you are working on the letter F and you know he already knows that, why cant you give him a book to read or something else to work on? Is it that hard to give him busy work so that he doesn't get in trouble?

So here is where the big dilemma comes in. I have talked at length with MJ (and Phabian's) pre-k teacher. She knows all about Phabian and the trouble he is having. She suggested to me that i might want to go ahead and have MJ tested to be advanced to 1st grade instead of starting in  kindergarten because he is also showing signs of being very advanced for his age.

I don't want to face the same problems with MJ that we are having with Phabian. MJ is already starting to read. He is learning from his brother and is almost on the same scale as his brother in some things. If i have him tested i don't know if there is a down side. If he passes the test (which i have been told is pretty hard) he will have proved he is smart enough and mature enough to be advanced, if he doesn't then it isn't any skin off anyone. He will just go to kindergarten and no one knows the wiser.

I hesitate because i worry how Phabian will feel about this in the long run. Phabian has always took pride in being the older sibling. He is older in age, he got to play football when MJ wasn't old enough yet. He got to start "real" school first. He gets to do homework. If we do choose to skip MJ a grade he will be right there with his brother. Possibly (even though i doubt it) in the same class. I just don't know how Phabian will feel about that or even how to ask him about it. They attended pre-k together for a year and never had a problem but they are older now and have had a whole year apart in separate classrooms.

So help me out here. I need opinions from everyone. If you know a teacher send her/him over so i can get that opinion too. I am just so confused as to what i should do. Advance MJ or don't? How can i help Phabian? What suggestions would you make if you were in this situation?

Operation: Save the Baby Bird

This is one of those stories i should have posted forever ago but have just been busy (or not).

The few weeks ago i was sitting on the front porch deeply involved in a book. The kids were in the back yard playing with their day. It was a nice warm evening. Peaceful and quiet.

Then out of nowhere i hear a scream and my kids running through the house. I being the great Mom i am, and not the least bit self absorbed in the book i am reading, yell at them from the front porch to stop yelling before they wake the baby up.

Phabian then comes out to the porch and whispers to me that there is a baby bird in our back yard. So i put down the book and venture out to find this.

Laying right in the middle of my yard is a baby bird that apparently couldnt fly as well as he thought. He had taken off from a near by tree and had a semi soft crash landing in our yard.

So what do i do? I call my friend and ask what to do, thats what. She informed me we should use a towel to pick it up and place it in a tree or bush and see if it flys home. So what do i do now?

I go grab my camera of course (and a towel). I think i frightened the poor thing with my flash.

So after our photo session i used the towel to pick him up and put him in our pine bush in the front yard.

We went back out back and played for awhile. Checking the baby bird about every 10 minutes cause the kids couldnt resist.

Finally when we went back before bed (about 2 hours later) he was gone. We scanned the yard to make sure he hadnt fallen out again. The kids took every precaution tip toeing around as to not step on him incase he was on the ground.

Alas he had flown away back to his Mama. So we saved a baby bird. The kids learned a lesson.

I must say though when i was explaining to the kids why we cant touch it, they didnt quite understand why the Mama bird wouldnt love it anymore if it smelled like us.

"But mommy you will always love us no matter what we smell like right?"

Ah yes my loves. No matter your smell mommy will always love you.

Hey...Over Here...Yes It's Me

I am alive! I know are you shocked? I have been gone for so long. Busy busy busy I have been!

Lets see where do i start!

The boys started teeball last month and are loving every minute of it. Phabian really enjoys running the bases and no matter what happens he has a surprisingly great attitude about it. MJ is not as happy all the time. If he doesnt get to hit the ball when he wants he gets mad. When his team heads into the field he always comes over to sit with us. Over all thought he enjoys it and i think by next year he will truly be into it like Phabian is now.

We just got back from vacation. We went to Myrtle Beach, SC for a week and it was wonderful. The weekend was spent talking and eating with extended family as it was our family reunion. I have family all over but most of then came from Tennessee. It was great to see everyone and all though we are all so very different in our beliefs and ways of life it is nice to connect and get to learn things about one another.

After they left on Sunday we spent the rest of our time with my Aunts. They had paid for the room and it was fantastic. It was a 3 bedroom suiet. It happened to be on the 16th floor and had the most beautiful ocean view i have ever seen. I took a lot of pictures of the view; both of sunrise and night. The sun rising on the water and the moon making a silver streach were 2 of the most magnificent things i have ever witnessed.

I however forgot the camera for most of our family excursions. We took the kids to the Ripley's Aquarium and how i wish i had picture of that to share but as most of you have probably seen an aquarium at some point you can use your imaginations. I was glad to be in the moment instead of behind it for once. The kids really enjoyed it for the most part. MJ was rather scared of the underwater tunnel. He thought the sharks were going to fall through but got over it quickly enough and enjoyed the rest of his time there. Phabian being my little Marine Biologist loved every second. Petting the sting rays was by far his favorite and i had to hold him still to keep him from falling inthe water to swim with them lol.

My husband and i snuck away a few times by ourselves. We went out for drinks one night and then for a little private walk on the beach at night. Once there on the beach far down from our hotel he stopped me and dropped to one knee. Yes my sweet, romantic, loving husband ask me to marry him again. He said he wants to be married on that beach under the hotel's gazebo. It is beautiful and i do have a picture of that to share later. He stunned me and made me cry of course but it couldnt have been more perfect. To know the man that i married still loves me enough to want to do it all over again is an amazing and powerful feeling.

We spent a good deal of our time at the indoor pool. The ocean was freezing and the outdoor pools were not much better so indoor was the way to go. It was on the second floor overlooking the ocean and it was heated but the cool breeze was let in by balconies. It was spectacular. Phabian is on the verge of swimming on his own. The whole pool was only 3 ft deep so he was able to take off his lifevest and go onhis own. By the time we left he was doing back flips and front flips in the water and swimming with his snorkle gear we bought him. He really is a fish in the water my little Picese. Mj is much more concervative and spent a good deal of time in the luke warm hot tub (there were 2, one that was really hot and one that was luke warm). He loved the bubbles created by the jets and proclaimed that it was a big bubble bath.

Mr. Sione' enjoyed every minute of his attention. He loved the pools and his young cousins from New Hampshire enjoyed holding and spoiling him. Not so great now that we are home and i dont want to be holding him all the time but he enjoyed it then atleast. He also enjoyed the pool. He is a natural swimmer and with only the slightest hand to hold him up was doggy paddeling around the pool. It amazed me. I have never seen a baby do such a thing but it was brillant to watch. He also loved to fall asleep on our hotel balcony listening to the waves crash on the shore. Who could blame the little guy as even i have to admit it was very calming to the senses.

We aalso took the boys to play Putt Putt and wasnt that fun. It was the hottest day there and we all were sweating and steaming by the time we were done with our 18 holes of pirate funny. MJ however did not like the rules of the game and would move his ball constantly to where he thought it should have landed. It was so much fun to just be with them in those moments.

My Grandma celebrated her 83rd birthday while we were there. She says she doesnt feel much older and who can blame her when she is surrounded by the youth of her great-grandchildren. She has survived so much in her life and i love her so much.

We made it home safe and sound after getting treated to a storm and a double rainbow on our last day there. I have some beautiful pics as soon as i get them on the comp and loaded i will be sharing.

Now it is back to everyday life. School, kids, cooking, cleaning, teeball games, and soon football season will be upon us. Man life is moving so fast and i am finding it harder and harder to keep up.

I will be back soon with pics from vacation and Sione's 6 month update. Til then i hope you all are having a wonderful time enjoying what life has to offer.

Doc Appointments

So we had doctor appointments today. All three got to see the doctor and have a good chat.

Phabian is up to date on his shots and should not have to have anymore til he is atleast 12. He is 43 ins tall and 41 lbs. His eye sight and hearing are both great. He got to show off by writing his name and identifying all of his colors. He is really proud of himself and had no problems. Dr. wrote us a prescription for both og the boys for there allergies and there exzema. She is 10 fold better than our last peditrician.

MJ is doing great although he will have to go back for his 4 year shots in about a month or so. He is 33 lbs now and 36 ins tall. He also got to write his name and tell her his name and age as well as his colors. He is such a ham. He was so apprehensive about the new doctor. He kept asking if she was going ot give him a shot lol. He finally warmed up to her when he realized she wasnt going to hurt him.

Sione' is 4 months old now. It amazes me every day how much he has changed in just 4 months. He weights 17lbs and is 25 ins long. He is able to pull up on your fingers and jump around in a bouncy. He is so strong and so sweet. He was not happy about his shots but now he is sleeping it all off. He goes back in 2 months.

So i am blessed to have 3 healthy happy growing boys. They are all smart as can be and happy. And that makes me a happy Mama!

Im So Behind

I am so behind in all my blogging.

Sometime this week i will be getting Phabian's 5 year post up. I still am having a hard time wrapping my mind around the fact that my first born baby is 5 and will be starting kindergarten soon. But with 5 it seems a lot of attitude has come. The rebellious, i can do what i want to do attutude that drives me nuts.

Also coming up this week i will be posting Sione's 4 month post. He is so chunky and so sweet. I can barley resist his cute little face. I just cant believe he is 4 months old aready. Time is flying by and i just wanna press pause.

All the kids have a doctor appointment tomorrow. That should be fun. Since hubby has to work i ask a friend to come with me to help me out. It would be interesting trying to get all three kids in the car and ready to got in a timely manner.

So to recap...Phabian is 5, Sione' is 4 months and MJ will be 4 next month...ahhhhhhhhhhh!

Resemblance

(Click On The Picture To See Full Size)

Do you see it? Can you tell me what it is? The shape of the eyes? The little button nose? The arch of the brows?

I dont see a huge resemblance between my children, but there is something. When i look at them all at the same age...i just dont know.

What do you see?

2 Preschoolers + 1 Bag of Flour = Mommy Fail

So the other day i decided i wanted to make Christmas Cookies with the kids. So i made the dough before dinner and put it in the fridge to rest. After dinner i pulled out the dough, the flour, the rolling pin, and the cookie cutters.

I dusted the table with flour and gave each kid a ball of dough to roll out and cut their own tree, santa, train, and angel out of. They had such fun and yes they even got a little messy.

However i had a 'duh' moment when i went to put the cookies in the oven and set the timer. I forgot to remove the open, whole bag of flour from the table where 2 very curious boys were still sitting. This is what i came back to find:

In the end all was well. The bath tub was full of paste and the next night we decorated and ate the yummy creations we made.

Proud Big Brothers

People keep asking how the boys are taking to Sione' and answer hasn't changed since day one. Although they are completely infatuated with him right now i say give it some time.

Phabian loves to hold him and rub his hair. He is always the first to his bed side if he cries and loves putting his paci back in when it falls out.

MJ loves him but is keeping his distance. I figured it would be harder on him since he has been the baby for so long. He does help out by bringing me diapers and putting the binkie in his mouth but for the most prt he still does his own thing.

Neither of them will come close to a dirty diaper but they are the first to tell everyone about their baby.

We have been lucky so far that Sione' doesn't seem to bother them much at night when he wakes. I dont know if that will continue to be the case but i sure hope.

So for now we are one happy 5 person family! And i must say i am happier than ever!!!

MJ's Birth Story Pt 2

Ok where was I?

Oh yea i had just ate some fattening, grease filled Mickey D's and was headed back to the hospital.

On the way we called the plethora of people that we needed to inform of my impending pain. Including my cousin and my sister who both were to be present at the birth.

We got back to the hospital and checked in at about 2:45. I was still not having any contractions and was rather happy with how things were going thus far. Although i did not really want to be induced I felt like i didn't have much of a choice. My doctor said that is what needed to be done so that is what we did.

As soon as they got me in the room here comes the nice nurse with all the paper work to be signed. Emergency c-section paper...check! Circumcision paper...check! Release forms, acknowledgement papers, will (ok not a will but you get the point)...check!

Next came all the fun stuff. The immediately put in an IV with fluids and antibiotics. When i ask why the antibiotics were needed, I was told because i tested positive for Group B Strep with my first child (but i did not with MJ) so it was just a precaution. I was not very happy about the unneeded antibiotics but once again the doctor said so and i would do anything for my baby's health.

Then they took my blood and hooked up the pitocin. All of this was done and the pitocin drip was started on a low dose at about 4pm. I was still really comfortable and managed to take a small nap before friends and family started to show up. At around 7pm my sister and cousin both got there and hung out as most everyone else had gone home (its not fun to just hang around with a woman in labor).

I was having mild contractions but still not really feeling them. The doctor decided to check me and i was about 6 cm so they broke my water at 8pm and cranked up my pitocin. Every 15 mins after that my nurse came in and ask me if i was feeling the contractions yet.

Dumb, dumb, dumb me always replyed not really (which was not a lie but i should have just shut up) and she would crank it up again. Finally at about 9pm they had the drip set on 400+ml per hour and i was beginning to feel it bad.

By 9:20 i was screaming for an epidural. No back labor this time just too much pitocin too fast and it felt like my uterus was being ripped out of my body. She checked me and said i was still at 6.5 cm and then called the anesthesiologist. By 9:40 they had finished my epidural.

But wait what is this! I feel the sudden urge to push. My epidural hasn't even fully kicked in yet!

I tell my sweet nurse (and i am not being sarcastic she was young and very nice) that i need to push and this was her response.

"You cant be ready. Your just feeling pressure. Here have some more meds in your spine."

She reaches over me and presses the button about 5 times and my whole lower half goes warm!

I look at her and laugh. I still need to push i said in a not so polite way. So she checks me again and is floored. I mean literally her jaw dropped to the floor and bounced back up.

In the 20 mins between when she checked me and they finished my epidural i had went from 6.5 to 10 and ready to push.

We called in my cousin and sister so we could get this baby out.

Just for the sake of mentioning, this was the first live birth my sister had seen and i am pretty sure it will be her last.

At 9:50 i began to push. Since we all know i am a pro-pusher from Phabian's birth story, you can guess it didn't take long.

At 10:01 pm Marcus Eugene Jr made his way into this world.

In attendance was myself, my husband, my cousin, my sister, 4 residents, 2 nurses, and 1 doctor!

I was happy that they didn't have to cut me this time around and I managed by with just a micro tear.

They of course swept him away as soon as he was out and over to the warming table where he was not at all happy being cleaned up.

My poor sister looked like a streaky faced ghost! My husband once again was a proud Papa of a healthy 6lb 2 oz, 18 3/4 in long baby boy.

When i finally got him in my arms he took straight to the breast.

I was so overjoyed that i didn't even notice the fact that my epidural had really kicked in now and i could not feel anything from under my boobs down.

The nurse politely escorted everyone out and after MJ has nuzzled at my breast for about an hour she took him to the nursery and me to my post partum room so i could rest for a bit before his next feeding time.

MJ's birth was a lot less stressful than Phabian's mainly because i was not a new mom but a more experienced one. I knew what to expect and i was not as easily panicked. My nurse was a doll up until the end and i wasn't starving the whole time.

I had a new red haired, brown eyed, daddy-looking, baby boy. He made and still makes me smile everyday. I could not and would not give him up for anything in the whole world. He is so unique and so special.

MJ's Birth Story Pt 1

I have been putting off writing this for awhile now and not because it is a complicated story but because i just could not find a way to word it.

MJ's birth story does not have a big lead up like Phabian's did so i am instead trying to remember what we did in the days leading up to his birth.

I guess it really starts about a month before his birth...

Just as a back story so you can get a real understanding i will start when i was about 5 month pregnant.

We moved from my Dad's house where we had been living since we got married and finally got our own apartment. It was in a little town and tucked away back in the mountains about a 15 to 20 minute drive from all my friends and most of my family.

I made friends with my neighbor who had a little girl 13 months older than Phabian (which is ironic since MJ and Phabian are 13 months apart), but still i felt isolated from the world.

I was a good 1/2 mile walk to the nearest little shop and since i didn't drive that was too far for a pregnant woman of my out of shapeness. Marcus was still working security so he spent many late nights and evenings at work and i was stranded in the middle of nowhere literally!

I rarely got visits from friends since no one wanted to make the drive to see me and i just felt alone most of the time. So i told Marcus that we had to move before MJ was born. I was terrified of being stuck there in that small town dealing with Post Partum Depression as i did with Phabian.

About 1 month prior to his birth we got a call from the apartment complex we had been on a waiting list for and happily took the new place. Needless to say moving right before the birth of a brand new baby is stressful and tiring.

So here we are in this new apartment and i am trying to get things all settled in and arranged. I was having lots of little Braxton Hicks Contractions but nothing serious or major. It was just a waiting game and walking seemed to be my only cure.

I walked a lot. Up and down the stairs to the laundry room, up and down to the playground, up and down to the store. This became a daily pattern. Labor never bored its ugly head.

So imagine my surprise when i went to my 38 week appointment and the doctor announced to me and my husband that i was 5cm dilated!

5 CM DILATED???? But i have not had any real contractions! My water hasn't broke! Are you sure you are feeling correctly down there???

He informed me that it is hospital policy that i must be induced since i am so far along (dilation wise). I asked him if there was any way we could avoid it and he said no that i could go home and arrange a sitter for my other child but to return immediately and they would be ready for me.

So learning from my previous mistake with Phabian, I left and went to the nearest McDonald's and ordered a Big Mac, Biggie Fry, and Large Coke so i would not starve in the process of birth. Phabian was already with his Granny so that was taken care of. I grabbed my things and off to the hospital we went making many calls on the way there to inform everyone of the shocking news.

Part 2 tomorrow, but for now here is the last preggo pic i have of me and MJ.

Whatever Works For You...

Some of you may have already seen this as i posted it on Twitter (follow me here) the other day. However i am just in love with this picture and thought it worked well to post it again today.

This is a toy box in case you can't tell. Santa brought it this past Christmas, but apparently my boys have gotten bored with using it for it's proper use.

In the last 2 weeks it has been a spaceship, a fishing boat, a pirate ship, a hide out, a car, a truck, and now....

A comfortable reclining chair for watching TV. MJ put 2 pillows in the box part, lined it with his blanket, grabbed his blankey, and curled up to watch Mickey Mouse Club House on Saturday morning.

When i walked in to check on him i could not resist snapping a picture (and then cropping it all to Hades so you couldn't see their messy room in the back ground). Didn't bother him though. He just kept on lounging and watching his TV as i snapped a few pictures.

One thing i love about MJ! He is so laid back and doesn't let anything interrupt his priorities.

For more please visit Wordless Wednesday, 5MFM, MomDot, Ordinary and Awesome, and Seven Clown Circus!

A Thousand Words Thursday

Yesterday while Phabian was at school MJ and i made biscuits from scratch! I have not had this much fun in awhile. Just watching him take so much precision in rolling and cutting the dough was enough to make my heart melt with pride and joy. Sometime between August and October he will start school as well and i will spend my mornings alone until Sione arrives. It is moments like these that i will miss the most.

Can You Find MJ?

These are a few of the only pictures i have from 4th of July. I didn't take many as i was too busy enjoying the family time.

22 Weeks: The View From Here

Wordless/Wordful Wednesday 11

This handsome boy right here

Has a surprise!

He has been wearing big boy undies...

Since Monday morning. He has only had a few accidents but apparently he has developed a fear of the big potty. Although he has went 2 whole days with no accidents in his underwear he has pooped and peed in my floor several times. I don't really know what to do as he was peeing in the potty fine up til now. I don't know if it is a rebellious thing or if he is really scared of the potty. I guess we will be investing in a little potty and seeing if that helps. Either way i am so proud of my big boy and his big boy ways.

His reward if he makes it to Friday!!!! A all expense paid trip to Chuck E. Cheese! Isn't that every kids dream come true lol!

3 Years Ago...

Three years ago today you came into my life and changed it for the better!

At 6 pounds and 2 ounces and 18 3/4 inches long you made an irreversible impact on our lives!

Your Daddy could not have been more proud to have another son!

Your Aunt Chelsie thought you were so handsome and sweet!

You were Mommy's little love bug!

And in three years of life not a thing has changed! You have changed so much over time. From my small baby boy! To My handsome 3 year old big boy!

You are so smart and kind! You love to cuddle with your Mommy and especially right after you wake up. Your smile can light up my day and your little voice with its tiny lisp makes my heart melt. You can count to 20 and you know your ABC's. You recognize letters and can spell MJ even though it isn't your full name. I am always astonished at the new things you learn to do every day. I love watching you grow and learn. You love Cars and i think it is quite possible that you might grow up to be a race car driver. I love to watch you zoom around from room to room pretending to be Lightenin McQueen! Your imagination is beautiful and i pray to God that you always keep it.

I want you to know that even though Mommy and Daddy are having another baby you will always be our baby boy. You are special to us beyond compare and no one on this Earth could take your place. I look forward to many more years of cuddling with you and watching your grow. I hope you never out grow my hugs and kisses. And please know there is always room for you in Mommy's arms!

I love you Marcus Eugene Jr! More than you will ever know!!!