Fed Up

I have had it with our school system. I really am just at my wits end. When i posted about Phabian's school problems almost a month ago i thought i was their but now i know i am. Since the last post i have talked to the teacher a few more times and attempted to get in contact with the vice principal and principal to no avail. I have left messages, and even showed up. Nothing! Nada!

Today we got his report card for the semester. He got all "s" (satisfactory) except one. He got a "n" (non satisfactory) in completes independent work carefully. So maybe this isnt a big deal to anyone else but to me it is odd that a 5 year old, boy to boot, is expected to write neatly. Maybe i am reading into this too much or wrong but to me it just seems a little overboard. To add to it at the bottom of the page where the teacher can leave comments she said and i will quote here:

"Phabian is still doing very well, and is a good reader. His behavior has changed a little in this past 9 weeks. I'm hoping its due to the holidays and excitement going on around here. I'm sure he will come back ready to work and learn."

Now it has never been brought up to us in any meeting that he wasn't willing and ready to learn. For that matter it has always been told to us that he is a great student and loves to learn. He always finishes assignments quickly and picks up fast on new things. So i am confused by that last sentence. If there is a lack of work ethic going on it needs to be addressed.

It seems to me like a brush off of everything i have talked to her about. Like it was never discussed between us that Phabian has been acting out and how we could possibly correct or divert this behavior. I am just a little livid at the way the school is treating this situation.

But this is not why i am tyoing today. What i came here was to ask for help. I have decided to look into home schooling. I am lost a little as to where to start. I know a lot of mothers who blog also home school and i would like to talk to you guys. Where did you start? What resourses do you use? How do you keep your sanity?

I am not sure if i can do it or not. I am not sure if it is a affordable option for us as well. All i know is i am not happy with the way things are going and short of camping out at the school to catch the vice/principal at a free moment i am lost. So please if you home school or know someone who home schools send them to me. Give them my email, blog, what ever it is that you can to get into contact with me. I just want to get information and make an educated decision.

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?

Update On Phabian and Other Randomness

Phabian had his follow up with the Plastic Surgeon yesterday. Honestly he didn't tell us anything we didn't already know. Just a little reassurance that everything looks good and is healing properly. It actually took me longer to fill out all the paper work then it did for him to talk to us. We go back on Tuesday for another check.

Phabian went to school today. I kept him home Wednesday because the school was acting like it was too much of a hassle for him to be there. They said he wasn't focused and his arm was hurting him. Well DUH! He has a 2nd degree burn on his arm. I think i would be crying my eyes out, but not Phabian. He just tells you if it hurts and goes on with what he was doing. Anyways, I let him go today because, well honestly, i needed him to go. I needed the break and since he wasn't in pain (or minimal at least) i told him he needed to go. He was actually excited. He hates, and i mean HATES to miss school.

Tomorrow is Sione's 1st birthday. I am still in shock i think. It hasn't registered that i am no longer the mom of a newborn. He is actually a toddler and in many ways it breaks my heart. This time last year i think i was sitting mad on my couch, swearing that this child would never come out. Today i was one whole day past due and completely done. At the same time i was being patient and knew he would come when he was ready (or at least hoping he would haha).

I am stuck in this hole of emotions. I am excited that my baby is turning 1. I am sad that another year has passed by so fast and that my baby is growing up even faster. I am mourning the fact that i might never get to do this again (by choice of course) and it seems like it went by way too fast. I am dreading the days that i know will only go faster from here. How else do you explain the fact that i have an almost 6 and 5 year old when just a few days ago they were born? But most importantly i am feeling blessed that i have 3 healthy, beautiful children and a loving, supportive, hard working husband.

Time just moves too quickly. There is so much that takes away from enjoying those moments that are so fleeting. You have to work extra hard to capture the memories and enjoy the special moments. I can honestly say that this past year has been amazing. We have struggled, we have had ups and downs, but most of all we have lived, loved, laughed, and enjoyed our family.

And in the end i think that is what truly matters.

Wild, Scary Ride We Call Life

It has been an extremely long and scary weekend. Things went all haywire, time stopped, sped forward, slowed down, and crept at a snail pace.

Lets start with Saturday. For the most part Saturday was normal. For the MOST part.

We got up and went to Saturday morning football practice. After practice they had a birthday party/lunch for all the teams. Anyone who has more then 1 child, or works in a school, church, nursery where you deal with more than one child at a time, knows it is difficult to coordinate anything involving a lot of kids. Well lets say serving lunch to about 120 kids plus 30 adults, in a room built to hold about 50 people, out of a kitchen the size of a bathroom, is not an easy or fun task.

After that was over we headed home to take a little nap. Hubby left for work at 3 as is the norm. The rest of the afternoon went pretty well. But here is where it gets sticky.

My SIL (lets call her C) was hosting a sleep over Saturday night for her son and my kids. The reason for this was because she was watching MJ and Sione' all day Sunday while we were at the Super Bowl games and we didn't want Phabian to feel like he missed out on the fun. Since the buses run funny at night Hubby had to take the car to work with him leaving me no way to get the kids to my SIL's house (her car is in the shop). So we called his niece (lets call her A) and ask if she would mind coming by around 6 and taking the kids to said SIL's house. She said that was fine and all was worked out and well.

At 6 that evening i texted A and ask her is she was still planning to take the kids to C's house. She said yes but she was waiting on her boyfriend to get home. I said ok i was just checking and to call when she was on the way. About 3 seconds later she texts me back and said she didn't know what was going on that C was at Granddad's house. So i said ok let me know whats going on. So i waited. All the while my kids are now screaming and crying because they think they are not going to get to go to the sleepover.

At 7:30 i texted her again. She proceeded to tell me that C was with my BIL (lets call him F) getting her cell phone fixed. Ah so this explains why my 3 calls and 10 texts have not been answered. So A tells me that she is not coming to get the kids. That since F is taking C home he is coming to get the kids. Ok that makes sense to me. So i text F to confirm and see how long it will be.

By now it is 8 and the kids are over the moon howling about how they are late and they are not going to get to go. The baby is exhausted and ready for bed and my temper is teetering on boiling. After texting F he tells me i will have to meet him at the house cause he doesn't have room in his car. I said i do not have a way to meet you there and that A said that she had already confirmed with him that he was coming to get them. He laughed and said ok we will figure it out.

Finally at 8:30 they pick up the kids and i am left home along waiting on Hubby. Breathe a sign of relief!

Fast forward to Sunday morning. We are up way early because we have to get everything ready for the day, pick Phabian up from C's, go pick up a few other people, and be at our home field by 10 to join in the parade to the Super Bowl field.

Hubby had ran to my MIL's house to borrow a few dollars and i was fixing my hair when the phone rang.

This is where time did all the stopping, slowing, speeding, and crawling.

C called in tears to tell me Phabian had spilled boiling water on his arm (i hear his screams of panic and pain in the background) and he needed to go to the ER right away.

TIME STOPS!

In a panic i tell her ok we will be there asap.

TIME IS STILL STOPPED!

I call Hubby at his Mom's and scream at him to get home NOW because Phabian is hurt.

TIME IS CRAWLING!

TIME IS SLOWING EVEN MORE!

Hubby finally gets home i jump in the car and we speed off.

TIME IS STILL CRAWLING!

We pull up at C's house i just out of the car bust in the house. Run up a flight of stairs to find my baby calmly sitting on the bed with a towel wrapped around his arm. I prepare for the worst.

TIME STARTS TO FLY BY

I look at his arm, slowly unwrapping the towel. I don't see bone (ok worst averted), but the skin is all peeling back and my poor baby's skin is red as a fire engine. We rush him to the car and to the ER.

They get him in quick and give him some Ibuprofen for pain. This is where i get to brag about how brave my boy is. They had to cut away the dead skin and put medicine and bandages on his burn. It is a 2nd degree burn we are told and no worse then a really bad sunburn. He didn't even flinch. He laughed and joked with the nurse and doctors all while they cut and bandaged his poor burnt arm. We are released with the instructions that he is not allowed to play int he Super Bowl and to return the following morning for a check up.

We proceed to the football field (still making the parade). He joins his team on the field where they give him a jersey to wear and let him instruct warm ups. He stays with his team and cheers them on from the sidelines. I am so proud of my boy. They lost 32 to 14 but still held their heads high as they accepted their 2nd place trophies.

The day was long and dragged out. We were at the football field from 11am to 7pm. By the time we picked up MJ and Sione' got some food and got home all we had energy to do was pass out.

Monday morning we got up and get MJ to school and Sione' to my MIL's. Then headed to the ER for our check up. Once again they got us in and out with instructions to change the bandage 2 - 3 times a day and follow up with a plastic surgeon in 2 - 5 days.

So that was our weekend. It was long, scary, sad, and hard. I hope to never have another weekend like that again. Changing Phabian's bandage last night was hard. the nerves are getting feeling back and it hurt him so much. I cried with him as i washed and rebandaged his burn. this morning wasn't as bad as it is starting to scab over and try to heal.

It is going to be a long recovery but hopefully in the end it will heal well and all will be ok. Just keep my baby in your prayers. He is a brave brave boy.

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.

Firsts

Yesterday was my first baby's, first day of kindergarten.

I am still not sure how i feel about it in all honesty. It's like letting go of a balloon and watching it float away. It seems like it takes forever to disappear into the sky but in reality it only takes seconds. That is the closets i can get to explaining how i felt yesterday.

He finally gets to ride the school bus which excited him more than anything. Me? Well it made the bottom drop out of my stomach. Kinda like when you go down a steep hill on a rollar coaster and your butt lifts off the seat, and your stomach hits your throat. Yea that would be the feeling I had yesterday as i watch the bus pull away from the curb with my baby boy on it.

All his life i have been there. Protecting him, making decisions for him, helping him to make decisions as he got old enough to, showing him which way is right and which is wrong. Yesterday i had to let go. I had to watch him climb those bus stairs to go off into a world where Mommy is not able to be.

He looked so small but not a bit scared. He left the scared part up to me haha. I worried all day long. I kept waiting for the call from the school telling me he was in tears and screaming for me. It never came. And i think in the end that was almost as bad as if it would have came.

The day went fine until school let out. First i must explain what is happening with our schools right now so that you will possible get a better grasp (or as good as i have since no one seems to be able to help anyone understand) of the situation.

We have 2 schools that are very old and are being combined into one brand spanking new school. The new school, however, will not be ready til after Christmas break. In order to make the transition easier they split the grades up according to school. kindergarten through second grade attend one school and third through fifth attend the other. They did this, so we are told, to allow the teachers to already have their classes sorted and when we all combine into the new school all they will have to do is assign a class room instead of having to sort kids into new classes. This made since to me for all of about 5 seconds until i realized the chaos it is causing for everyone.

The bus schedule runs like this: Phabian's bus (314) picks him up on the cornor at 7:30am then proceeds to pick up all the other kids. He arrives at school 1 (not his school) and is shuffled off his bus (314) and onto another bus (210). Bus 210 proceeds to take all the k-2 kids to school 2 (Phabian's school). At 2:45pm school lets out. Phabian and other kids are loaded onto bus 210 where they then go to school 1 and are shuffeled off of bus 210 back onto bus 314 and then ride home.

Now if that seems confusing to you imagine how it must seem to the 5 year old who has never riden a school bus to school and this is his very first day of kindergarten. Overwhelming? Most definitely.

Now take into consideration we (the parents) have not been informed of any of this. No one has told us anything more than where to catch the bus and the bus number 314, and where to pick our kids up and the bus number 314. We knew nothing about transfering buses or bus 210.

So Phabian's teacher calls us at 2:30 and asks us where his bus stop is so she can place him on the right bus. We told her and she put him on what we assumed was but 314 (the only bus we knew about.) 30 minutes later we call her back since we have not seen heads or tails of the bus. She tells us then that he is on bus 210 and that the principal is on the bus with the kids. She at the time had no idea that the bus would be going to the other school as neither did we. She told us she would call the principal and call us back asap. 45 minutes since school let out she calls us back he is stillon bus 210 and they are at the other school picking up kids.

Ok here is where all hell breaks lose. At 4pm an hour after school has let out bus 314 pulls up drops the other kids off...Where is my son??????

They inform (being the bus driver and the other bus aid) us he is still on bus 210 and should be along soon. We call the teacher back. Now here is where i will tell you I LOVE HIS TEACHER! She was just as concerned as we were and kept in contact with us the whole time. She gave us her personal cell number and up to the second we finally got him off the bus kept us informed of what was happening. She is a great woman and did everything she possibly could to make sure we were and Phabian was ok. She did her job and put him on the right bus and what happened from there was in no way her fault.

Finally at 4:30 after i was ready to bite someones head off bus 210 pulled up (with the principal on it) and dropped my handsom smiling son off to us. He was no worse for the wear and seemed to have even enjoyed his extended bus ride. The following conversation went something like this:

Me: May I ask you (the principal) if this is the bus he is suppose to ride home or did something go wrong?

Principal: (in snotty tone) Well he was SUPPOSE to get on bus 314 but he didnt know where his bus stop was.

Me: (trying to stay calm) Did you try to contact his teacher because she knew.

Principal: (getting more snotty) Well we are all confused! We ask him where he was going but all he could tell us was the church with the white buses. We had no clue. So we just kept him with us!

Me: (taking deep deep breathes) OKAY! Thank you!

Honestly what i wanted to do was jump on the bus and strangle the woman. How can you possibly blame my 5 year old son, who has never riden a bus before, to know where his bus stop is. He was probably confused and terrified. So all i could do was walk home, breathe deep, and curse under my breath. And i did! All three!

So needless to say we are hoping for the best today. He now knows he is suppose to ride 314 home. So if asked he tells then 3-1-4 when someone asks what bus he rides. Now if it happens again today i am telling you there will be bad stuff. My husband is not here to help me stay calm and i am not a patient woman when it comes to my kids being toyed with.

His teacher said she was going to make him a tag today so that he and the bus aid (or who ever) would know. We also introduced him to one of the kids on his bus and told them to help each other when it came to switching buses. Phabian is a smart kids but he is only 5 and even most of us adults cant comprehend this mess.

So i let my 5 year old spread his wings yesterday. He flew brilliantly. It is the first step in a long line of firsts and letting go inch by inch of the balloon string. His teacher later told me 9when i called her to let her know we had him) that he did great at school. He listened well, sat quietly, and played nice with the other kids. She said he was a model student on his first impression and she was glad to have him in her class.

My baby is growing up. He is excelling in his ability to do things seperatly from his family and as much as it breaks my heart to watch him go out into the world i know he will do well. He is smart, loving, kind, and gently but also so so strong.

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!!!

Phabian's Birth Story Pt 2...

So now where was I? Oh yes we had just arrived at the hospital.

Our local hospital locks its fronts doors between the hours of 11pm and 8am so we had to ring the bell to security and tell them where we were going. At this time i was having minor cramps and my back pain from the night before had returned. So i wobbled over to admittance and filled out some papers (this is why you should always pre-register cause if I was in full blown labor i would have been so mad). They ask me if i needed a wheel chair and i am all like, " no i walked from the car i think i will be able to make it up the elevator, through the doors, and down the hall just fine thank you!".

So i did just that. All the while my cramps never got any worse but my back pain sure did. Once again i dismissed the back pain as just a side effect of being really pregnant. I, at the time, had no clue what labor felt like, and even though we took the birthing class i had never head of back labor.

When i got into my room they told my husband he had to wait outside for 30 mins while they did intake and ask all the personal questions (am i the only one who finds this dumb; as i don't hide anything from my husband). I got into a gown and peed in a cup so they could confirm i was indeed in labor and that my water had indeed broken.

The doctor came in around the same time as my husband and checked me. I was 3 cm dilated and 75 percent effaced at a +2 station (Phabian had kept his head in my pelvis from about 27 weeks on or so). I was so excited that i didn't even notice the pain in my back. The monitors the had me strapped to showed that i was only having small, mild contractions so i didn't pay any attention.

At about 9am they moved me to a labor room but i was not allowed to get out of bed because my water had broke. This is where my birth goes down hill and my plans fly out the window.

I had already informed the nurse that i had no intention of getting any pain medicine or having any unnecessary procedures done. I was going to do this all natural and i was going to enjoy it lol. She smiled and agree but had me sign the papers anyways so that if i changed my mind i wouldn't have to worry about signing anything while i was in immense pain.

They came in and hooked me up to an IV (because i had GBS [Group B Strep]) so they could administer my antibiotics and without me knowing also Pitocin. I also at this point was informed that i was not aloud to eat. So now i am mad because i have not eaten since 9pm the previous night.

By about 11am my adrenalin rush had come down and i was feeling like my back was being ripped apart. I tried to roll over to my side but every time i moved they would put me back on my back because they would lose the monitors. Needless to say when your back hurts the last thing you want to do is lay on it.

Finally at 11:30 i screamed for the nurse to get me an epidural!!! My spine felt like it was going to break in half. I was always under the impression that i had a very high pain tolerance but i guess i was wrong. Nothing in this world tests your pain tolerance like back labor and doctors who wont allow you to move around.

My sweet nurse told me that they had to check my cervix before they could administer my epidural and i was all like," Well hurry the F*CK up" because when you feel like you are being sawed in half with no anesthesia the last thing you want is some nurse sticking her hand up your crotch!

So she checked me and i was 6 cm, 85% effaced and +3 station. So she ordered my epidural which took (a life time) 30 mins to get there. All the while i was withered in pain and crying.

The Anesthesiologist came in and told me to roll to my side and hold my knees to my chest. This was the most relief i had, had in hours. I will spare you the details of the epidural itself but it was quick and effective. They had me on a very low dose so that i could still feel my contractions but not so much the pain in my back (turns out Phabian never lost the ability to be a pain the butt, um i mean back). Here i am happily on the phone after my epidural kicked in.

At around 12:30pm i fell asleep in between contractions. When i woke up at 2pm i told the nurse it felt like i had to poop! She reassured me it was just the pressure from the baby dropping. She told me i was a first time mom and that i would probably be in labor for at least another 4 or 5 hours. Yea ok!!!

So by 2:15 the sensation to poop turned into a sensation to push. At this point i looked at my nurse and told her she needed to go get my doctor "NOW". She insisted that i needed to be checked first and that i was probably only around 8 cm. Boy was she in for a surprise.

She checked me and i was 10 cm, fully effaced, and at a +4 station. She immediately left the room and called the doctor to report the news. When she came back she turned my epidural drip off so i could feel even more and push efficiently. We did about 2 practice pushes before the Doc came in at 2:30.

Now because this is a teaching hospital (and i was the only vaginal birth of the day) there were a million people in and out of my room all day. None of them being my doctor because he was not on call that day. So i ended up with a very funny (not so funny when you are in labor, but after when you think about it) and sweet resident. At 2:35 i began to push. About 5 mins in she decided that i needed an episiotomy!!! At that point i didn't even care. I just wanted this kid out of me (because thats what labor does to you).

She sliced me open (a 2nd degree cut i do believe) and then told me to push. I pushed 4 times and out popped my handsome baby boy at 2:51pm. He was sunny side up which is what i was told was the reason for the episiotomy.

They swept my boy away to the warmer and did all the weighing and stuff while i was being stitched up. The adrenaline ran so high that i didn't feel a thing. I just wanted my baby boy in my arms.

Thirty mins later (after about 3 people had already held him before me) i was ask if i wanted to breastfeed and he was handed over to me.

At the time i was so happy to have him in my arms that i didn't think about any of the things that didn't go my way. I was just overjoyed that Phabian was here and in my arms.

Nothing will ever compare to the first time i looked into those big blue eyes. I knew that day that my heart was way bigger and capable of more love than i had ever thought. I am still amazed everyday by the blessings i have been given even if it didn't happen exactly how i planned.

Tomorrow (or the next time i have time) i will starts MJ's birth Pt 1.

Phabian's Birth Story Pt 1...

So i have put a lot of thought into Hospital vs Birthing Center and Midwife vs Doctor. It is something i have thought about since i became pregnant with Phabian. Unfortunately my thoughts didn't transfer over into a plan until this 3rd pregnancy. But this post is not about plans so much as it is what made me get my butt in gear and choose the plan i have this time around.

I have wrote before about how i wanted my pregnancy and birth to go with Phabian but never really elaborated as to how it did go. I have been reading a lot of birth stories lately and thought i might share mine as well.

The story really starts on March 8th 2005. Hubby and I had just got our income taxes back and decided to go get some last minute stuff to prepare for the birth of our first child. We did not have a camera or a printer for the computer so off we went to Wally World (other wise known by people as the evil corrupt Wal-Mart). We walked gazing at all the precious baby boy outfits and gadgets, that as all first time mother's find out, are not as important as you think they are.

After an hour of browsing the clothes and toys (and picking out some cute little outfits) we made out way over to the electronics department.

Now i will add in here that my due date was not until March 30th so i had no worry of early labor. It is common knowledge that first time mom's have long labors and often go past their due date. So when i started having contractions on the way to pick out a camera i didn't think another thought about it. I just figured they were Braxton Hicks or something of that nature.

We spent another hour picking out the perfect (cheap) camera and a printer that was good enough to print out pictures of Phabian once he arrived. By the time we left i had stopped having contractions but my back was in agony. I just gave it up to standing on my feel for 2 hours and walking all over God's green earth.

You know big belly + bad posture = back pain.

By the time we got home my back was in knots. I went and took a long, hot shower just letting the steamy water beat on my back. When i got out i felt 100 times better. So i figured the first pictures taken on our new camera should be of my big, beautiful 37 week pregnant self, and boy oh boy am i glad we did.


This would be the last decent image we got of me pregnant with Phabian.

At 4am i woke up and was wet. I thought i had peed on myself (cause you all know you have had the infamous potty dreams and couple that with lack of bladder control when your pregnant...yea you get the idea) so i got up changed clothes and went to the bathroom. I crawled back in bed and fell quickly back to sleep.

I awoke again at 4:30 wet. This time it struck me as odd. So i woke myself up fully and went to the bathroom to discover light pink blood when i wiped and a lack of control over the fluid that seemed to be leaking out of me.

I flipped out and ran to the bedroom, flipped on the lights, woke up my hubby (who needless to say was not happy) and made him sniff the tp. Yes you read that right! I made my half asleep husband smell the light pink, bloody, used tp. I needed his opinion as to whether or not it smelled like pee or not. He confirmed what i already knew at the time. It indeed did not smell like pee. My water had broke!!!

The next hour seems like a blur to me. I changed clothes again, gathered my things, and called the hospital who told me to come in asap. No waiting on contractions, no laboring for awhile at home, just get in the car and come now.

And so we did. If only i knew then what i know now. We arrived at the hospital at 7:45 am and although i was having contractions i was soon to find out that back pain isnt just always regular back pain when your pregnant.

Pt 2 tomorrow!

Update On Phabian and School!

So as i mentioned before Phabian is back to school and they have already completed their initial testing that they do at the beginning of each year. You might remember my bragging from last year, so i promise this is not as braggy but more for record purposes. However i am a very proud Mama!!!

So, Wednesday i had a parent teacher meeting with Phabian's teachers. Phabian did very well. He scored above average on everything but especially high on his Motor Skills.

They measure it by setting a normal range (which is 4y4m-4y7m) for his age. He is 4y 5m and scored an overall of 4y 11m. He scored 83 and the cut off was 72. He scored at 5y 1m on is Motor Skills, a 4y 11m on Language, and a 4y 6 m on his Academic. His teacher said he would have scored higher on his Academic but he was getting very bored towards the end and lost a lot of interest in the counting part (She gives him 10 blocks and then asks if he can hand her 5, 7 and 9 blocks back. He gave her the 5 but then refused to do the 7 and 9 even though we know he is able.)

She said he can identify his full name and age but did not know his address which she said most kids don't at 4. He knows all his colors and count to 30 (he is only asked to count to 10). He can identify all the objects asked of him (ladder, scissors, leaf, nail, duck, fish, tractor, snake, but she said most kids cant identify the nail and tractor[they have to say tractor not truck or mower]). He can pick an odd object out of a line up of objects that are the same, and can draw all of his shapes. He can identify all of his body parts except ankle and jaw.

I am just so proud of my big boy! We talked about how the schools focus too much on testing a not enough on the actual learning but how these basic tests can really help the Pre-K teacher know how to help kids in a specific area before sending them off to Kindergarten.

We also talked about MJ starting soon and how MJ and Phabian are like night and day. She is in for a big surprise when she gets MJ in that classroom lol. He is just as smart but expresses himself so much differently than Phabian.

I must say i love my smarty pants boys!!!

First Day of School

I have the great pleasure of my kids attending year round school.

Now some might not see this as a good thing but i personally LOVE it!

For are family it means being able to plan our vacation not just during the hot summer months but during any of the multiple 3 week breaks. There schedule goes something like this:

• School year starts in July (attend for 9 weeks)
• Break in late September/early October (3 weeks)
• Back to school in October (9 weeks)
• Out in late December/early January (3 weeks)
• Back in January (9 weeks)
• Out late March/early April (3 weeks)
  
• Back in April (9 weeks)
• Out in early June for 5 weeks
• And repeat....

So the upside besides vacation is my kids don't have a lot of time to forget what they have learned through the school year. Now in my area the only schools that have this are the Head Start Programs and the Elementary Schools (only 3 of them at that). I wish they would expand it to all schools but they say it would be inconvenient to the sports (specifically football season).

Now i told you all this just to lead up to this...

I got the great pleasure of being their for my beautiful niece's (my best friend's daughter) very first day of school. She is now attending Pre-k with Phabian. Chelsie's camera was dead so i also got the pleasure of taking the pictures. Jayden looked beautiful as always and Phabian was so excited to have his best friend their with him.


They love each other so much! The last picture is by far my fave!

22 Weeks: The View From Here

Happy Easter!

I would love to do a more meaningful post about Easter but i am busy running around like a chicken with my head cut off preparing dinner and Easter eggs hunt fun! So i guess you will just have to do with cute pictures of these two handsome boys dying eggs and opening their baskets!

(UBP) The Game

My boys...the ones that i gave birth to and love with all my heart! The same ones who are driving me insane on a daily basis cause i haven't really had a solid week of work in about 2 weeks! They have found a new favorite game. Do you want to guess as to what it is? I will give you a moment!


Ok do you have your guess?



Well you are probably right if you are a mom of multiple kids. They have found out how fun it is to play in the bathroom. Now this isn't exactly new as they both at one time or another have played in there but the doing it together is new. And it is double the trouble.

We are feverishly trying to potty train MJ. He decided on his own that he no longer wants to wear diapers but instead wants to wear big boy undies. I am just following the lead this time around and letting him figure things out in his own way with a bit of gentle guidance. He is doing great except that he wants to be in the bathroom 24/7 and where he is Phabian thinks he needs to be as well.

This wouldn't be so bad if i felt like sitting watch in front of the bathroom 24/7, but i don't. I have other stuff to accomplish during my days other than sitting in front of the bathroom door. About 3 times a day i find myself running them out of the bathroom and cleaning up what ever mess they have made at the time.

Over the past week or so these are the situation i have ran into.

They have clogged up the toilet about 5 times causing it to over flow. This wouldn't be that bad is the idiot who built this house hadn't put carpet in the bathroom. Do you know how hard it is to clean gallons of blue water off of a pink carpet? Even the though of soggy wet carpet makes me cringe.

I have had 3 bottle of deodorant destroyed. They seem to find it fun to take the deodorant and find anything they can to dig every last piece out of the container out and onto the said above wet floor. I now have went (regrettably) without deodorant for 3 days.

The same above said problem has happened with all my body spray. They seem to think it is bubble stuff or something and open the bottle to poor it down the drain. MJ has even mistaken it for Kool Aid and tried to drink a bit of it but lucky for me i caught him before he was able to down it.

My hair brushes have gone missing. Now i have about 4 hair brushes because i admittedly lose then often myself. Now all 4 of them have disappeared without a hint as to wear they went. Maybe they found there way down the toilet with the whole roll of TP!

Also my counters and mirror have been painted with multiple tubes of tooth paste. Beautiful shades of pink, blue, sparkle blue, and white. If you have never tried to clean tooth paste off of something after it dries then you are lucky. It is like cleaning rubbery glue. If it gets in the carpet instead of a hard surface you minus well give up and by new carpet.

I just am at wits end with this situation. How do you guys handle your kids wanting to play in the bathroom. Is there a trick i am missing? Some kind of trap to stop them. Do i need to rig the door to only open when i say a magic word? What punishment is acceptable? I don't want them to feel like they have to ask to go to the bathroom but at the same time i don't want to clean up 20 gazillion messes a day in the bathroom. HELP!?!?!?!?!?!?!

As a side note i am still partying hardy at the UBP 2009 over at 5 Minutes for Mom! Hop on over there and check out the prizes and all the people who are partying as well. I also added a Mr. Linky to this page so that when you stop by my blog you can leave a link so others can find you.