Homeschool Recap, October 19th (Week 13)...

In my life this week...

My word, this week was a blur, really.  Today, however, tragedy struck... I know it's rather insignificant in light of some other major tragedies in the world today, but Big Tex burned to the ground today at The State Fair of Texas.  I don't know why, but seeing the images of him fully aflame caught me off guard and made me cry!  I couldn't believe it.  I was already sad enough that we weren't able to make it out to the fair this year, but Big Tex "dying" on his 60th birthday is just heartbreaking...

from B.J. Bonnett

In our Homeschool this week...
Tot School: We continued the 1plus1plus1equals1.net "Tot School" printables this week with letter "I" for Igloo and cold!  It helped that we had some cooler days this week... though it's certainly not igloo weather, lol.  We checked out several tool books from the library, including Brr!, Building an Igloo, Polar Bear Night, It's Winter! and Cold Paws, Warm Heart.

Coloring an igloo after learning how they are built.

Getting good at straight lines, yay!

Bible:   Preston started his new memory verse, John 14:6.  We looked up verses in The Discoverer's Bible that talked Jesus being the only way to God, to heaven.

Reading/Writing: We continued Spelling by Sound & Structure.  Preston aced both spelling tests he had this week, again.  Continued with lesson 26 in Primary Language Lessons. We started a new read-aloud, Farmer Boy, by Laura Ingalls Wilder.  The boys are really enjoying hearing a chapter a day over lunch.  We even did an experiment it talks about in the book.  It said you can put a whole cup of popcorn into a completely full glass of milk, and it won't overflow.  They were right!

Our full cup of milk and popcorn.

All of it in ONE cup, didn't overflow!

History:  According to MFW, we were doing "Week 14" but we skipped Thanksgiving week, 'cause well, we're not there yet.  So, even though it's our 13th week of school, we're doing Week 14's lessons.  Anyway, we continued our state lessons this week.  It is a very light run-through of the states, one per day... so obviously not too intense and Preston isn't expected to remember everything and recite it.  I do hope some of it sticks.  I will share a quote from him for each state that he will tell me on Friday, or as I'm doing this recap, telling what he specifically learned, remembers or thought was interesting (and may or may not be correct, lol)...
Connecticut - "It's bird is a robin and it's the Constitution State." Books: Connecticut and The Milkman's Boy.
Massachusetts - "Lots of presidents were born there." Books: Massachusetts and The Boy on Fairfield Street (about Dr Seuss!).
Maryland - "Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross is a native." (No, he didn't remember that, he had to look up something and tell me. Books: Maryland and Molly Bannaky.
South Carolina - "It's motto is "Where I Breathe, I Hope."" Books: South Carolina.
Preston has a notebook page for each state, on the back is a bunch of information and interesting facts about the state, and on the front is a picture of the state, it's motto, state bird and flower, plus the year it came into the U.S.A.  He colors the page, writes the state capital and the state abbreviation.  He also colors in each state on a map of the U.S. as well (I make him hunt down where the state is located).

Finding a state on the map!

Math: Preston started Chapter 5 of his Math Mammoth workbook this week, which is shapes and geometry.  It was a pretty simple review of basic shapes, their names and characteristics.  We also went through patterns and using shapes to make other shapes.

Preston doesn't like coloring, so this was a BIG deal.

Pattern Block Playing

Science:  This week's focus continued to be birds, specifically the state birds for the states we learned each day.  We read from Birds, Nests & Eggs, and listened to CD of bird calls from Sing, Nightingale, Sing and put up a bird feeder.  It's one we put up a while back, but had fallen out of the tree because of wind and then never got put back up.  So, back up it went!  Haven't seen any birds using it yet, guess they have to find it again.

Our birdfeeder.

Music/Art: Started learning "America, The Beautiful" this week, and listened to some more of "The Nutcracker."  The boys worked on some artwork involving cutting or ripping pieces of paper to create new images.  They had a blast with that, of course.

Ripping paper is fun!

Spanish: Continued with the next two episodes of Salsa. We reviewed words having to do with "La Escuela" in our First Thousand Words in Spanish.  And we started with Lesson 6 of La Clase Divertida!.

We are taking a week off next week because I'll be working Share-A-Thon at Power FM Wednesday through Friday.  And... we're ready for a break.  At least I am, lol!

We are using Adventures in My Father's World. See our curriculum here.



[This post contains affiliate links for Usborne Books & More and Amazon.com.  By clicking on those links and purchasing items, you are helping me continue to be a SAHM so that I can focus on homeschooling my children!  Thank you!]

Scorpion Sting

Last week, Michael and I watched a special on PBS about venom and poisonous animals.  It was pretty interesting how scientists are studying venom to create medicine that heals instead of kills.  Of course, watching all those creepy snakes and spiders... I figured I'd have nightmares for a week.  Thankfully, I didn't.

Then, last night, Michael and Callen were sitting on the couch, playing with some little VeggieTales figures.  All of sudden Callen makes this face and starts fussing about his finger.  We thought he had just smashed his fingers between the toys or something, but then he turned, pointed and started saying "Bug!  Bug!"  Then Preston started saying it.  I couldn't see anything, couldn't figure out what was going on for a few seconds... and THEN we saw it!  A two-inch long scorpion on the pillow right next to Callen.  The thing had crawled up on the couch with them sitting right there and somehow stung Callen's pinky finger.  I dunno if reached out and touched it, or if it got him out of nowhere... not sure.  

Photo from here

As soon as we saw it, we jumped up... I grabbed Callen and all those scenes from that venom show started racing through my mind.  I asked Michael, "Scorpions are poisonous, right?  Like, take-him-to-the-hospital-poisonous?!?"  I decided I needed to Google what to do, so I took Callen (who was telling me "Water on it!  Water on it!") to the computer while Michael and Preston hunted the scorpion and killed it.  Google told me to wash his hand (Callen was right!) and use a cold compress on it, and that a scorpion sting wasn't normally a big deal unless it bites your young child or pet.  Um... this was my young child!  It said to seek medical attention.  Just as I was thinking it, Michael told me to call poison control.  They assured us that he should be fine, just wash it, keep it clean and dry.... said he might have some nausea, lip tingling and the sweats.  If it didn't get better by morning, take him to the doctor.  By this time, Callen was wanting to run around and "go see bug?  go see bug?"  He wanted to see it again, geez.  The little finger was a little swollen and thankfully Callen let us put the ice pack on it (he usually hates that!).  He started doing funny things with his lips so I guess he did get the lip tingling the nurse mentioned.  But, it wasn't long before he was running around, acting crazy, just like normal and the sting looked fine. Michael and Preston were able to kill the scorpion with a combination of bug spray and a shoe smash.  However, the bug spray was all over the couch, pillow and rug, of course.  Commence cleaning!

This morning, I checked Callen's finger and it looks fine, just a little pin prick looking site where he got the sting.  When we walked into the living room, he saw that the cow rug was gone (it was soaked in bug spray and we've been saying it's time to get rid of it anyway because it's ragged) and the couch cushion was missing the it's cover.  He launched into a full retelling of what happened last night: "Sit wif Daddy, bug BITE me on here (points to finger), bug on piwwow, OUCH, Dada spay it (makes spraying sound), all done."  Lol. 

Celebrating Ten Years!

Today is my 10th Wedding Anniversary!  I have been married to Michael for TEN YEARS!  I don't feel old enough to be able to say that.  But, since I've been out of high school for 13 years, have a 6 year old and a 2 year old... I suppose I am!

Michael gave me my anniversary present yesterday:

Crash, bang, boom!

Yep, that's my van.  Y'know... the one I was so thankful for last week.  The one I only had for A WEEK!  Praise God that Michael is ok... he got a bit of an airbag burn on his wrist and he is pretty sore today, but overall, he's ok.  Michael drove my van to work, then was on his way to have his brother do some minor repairs that the van needed (it had a small oil leak and needed the struts replaced).  An old man pulled out of a Sonic driveway into traffic, and Michael just couldn't avoid hitting him.  The man had to go to the hospital to get checked out because he was already kind of frail, I guess, and was complaining about his side hurting (Michael hit him in the driver side door, so yeah... yikes).  Praying that he is ok too!  We're not sure if the van is totaled at this point, but considering we didn't pay much for it and the airbags deployed, plus the damage to the front... it most likely isn't worth repairing.  I'm kidding about that being my anniversary present, of course.  Just one of those crazy things.

Our present to each other is shipping the kids off to Grandma's for a few days and getting to enjoy some time alone together.  That never happens, so I'm looking forward to it.  Unfortunately we'll have to spend some of that quality time dealing with insurance/car/doctor stuff.  =/  Oh well, I'll take what I can get!

March 16th, 2002

Happy Anniversary, Michael!  It's been a wonderful 10 years so far!!!

Pumpkins, Chocolate & Moo Cows, Oh My!

Ok, so it all started when a friend of mine, Regina, mentioned something about sending me a package in the mail for my birthday (which is still a month away...). Then, on Saturday, I received this pix message:

And sure enough, Monday afternoon, the mail carrier lady stops at our box, and when I go out to check this mail:

And actually, there are two boxes in there. One is from BzzAgent, and it contains Chocolate Chip Cookies. Um... yay!  But, I quickly find out that those cookies have NOTHING on what's to come in the box from Regina:

What in the world is in this box? Let me tell you!

We've got Chocolate stuff:

Swiss Miss Mocha Cappuccino Hot Cocoa mix, Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups, Trader Joe's Milk Chocolate bars (3-pack), and a Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Bar Caramel with Black Sea Salt. :::drool:::

We've got Pumpkin stuff:

Dunkin Donuts Pumpkin Spice coffee, Paula Deen Pumpkin candle (in a little skillet!), Pumpkin Spice Marshmallows (squee!), Pumpkin Harvest Fabreze room spray, Pumpkin Spice Chai Twinings of London (tea), Pumpkin Spice Jell-o Pudding, Betty Crocker Pumpkin Spice Cookie Mix, Trader Joe's Pumpkin Butter (ZOMG!), Trader Joe's Pumpkin Pancake & Waffle Mix, and Trader Joe's Pumpkin Bread & Muffin Mix.

We've got Cow stuff:

Adorable Thanksgiving greeting card with a Turkey saying "Moo moo." And, a hilarious little packet of "Cow Seeds." The pack says "Herd Starter Kit. Directions: 1.) Start your own herd. 2.) Plant seeds in warm spot right side up. Cow will grow upside down if planted wrong. 3.) Be patient, it takes a long time to start your own herd. 4.) For best results, moo softly while watering." BAHAHAHAHAH!

I don't know what I ever did to deserve such a lovely birthday present (a month early!) and such a wonderful friend, who apparently knows me very, very, very well.  Lol!  But...wow.  Thank you, Regina!!!!!!  And thank you to her husband, Kevin, for allowing her to bless me with such a gift!   You guys are the best, and we miss you sooooooooooooo much!!!

Moo, Rarr, Rarr!!!

The Case of the Missing Laminator...

Back in December, I bought myself a laminator for Christmas. Got it on Amazon, on sale for $16.99, and since I had Amazon credit... I paid a whopping 2cents for it!  I was thrilled.  Only, I didn't really use it but maybe three times, when in early April... I killed it.  I was laminating a project that Preston was doing for Easter, and the laminating pouch rolled up inside the machine.  I called 3M to see if they had any suggestions, and was told... nope, it's dead.  The project and the machine were done for.  I killed it good!  Since I had it longer than the manufacturer's warranty allowed for, I figured... well, I lost 2cents, I'll just have to buy another one.  But, the nice lady at 3M was all "Send your machine in so we can check it out.  If it can be fixed, we'll fix it and send it back... if not, THIS ONE TIME, we'll send you a replacement."  Yay!

Fast foward one month (to May 25th), and I still hadn't heard anything about my machine or received a replacement.  Preston's Kindergarten is complete, and I want to start working on stuff for First Grade.  Stuff that involves laminating!  I call up 3M to get a status update, and the lady is confused... "we shipped that out on May 6th... you still haven't received it?"  Me: "Uhhh, no."  So, she got the tracking number, and we both looked it up.  According to UPS it was delivered on May 11th, signed for by our neighbor.  Hmm, ok.  I walked next door to our sweet neighbors that sign for and bring over our packages quite often.  They have been remodeling their home, so I'm thinking it just got misplaced in the shuffle.  Nope, she didn't have any idea about a package that was delivered two weeks before... and they usually bring our stuff over right away, or leave it by their front door for us.  I believe them, obviously, they've been great neighbors for 8 years!  

So, I called 3M back, and they said they'll do some further digging, get UPS to track it some more, etc.  Meanwhile, I do my own investigation.  I suddenly remembered that our homeschool curriculum box came around that time.  I looked up the tracking info on that, and yes... it was delivered the same day, the tracking info was exactly the same (delivered on this day, at this time, signed by our neighbor)!  And our neighbors brought that over as soon as we got home that evening... why wouldn't they have brought over the laminator at the same time?  See, wasn't their fault!  I'm thinking the UPS man delivered the curriculum and they signed for it, and the signature was posted for both items even though he only delivered one.  Meaning the laminator was obviously lost at some point.

Another call to 3M to see if UPS tracking found any additional info... and they didn't.  Just said our neighbor signed for it, so they must have it.  But, the lovely folks at 3M are sending me ANOTHER machine anyway.  I totally wasn't expecting that... figured they'd tell me to take it up with my neighbor (though I truly believe there is nothing going on there!) and that'd be the end of it.  But, no... again, they went above and beyond.  Thank you, 3M!!!  She even said she'd overnight it, to make sure it got here quickly.  Well, that didn't happen, 'cause I waited a week (most of it was because of the holiday weekend, but it definitely didn't get overnighted)... but that's ok.  Because it's here.  And I can laminate again!  Good thing too, 'cause I had all these things laying around ready for lamination!  What?!  I'm a homeschool mom!  Lol!

I have no idea where that missing laminator got to... I mean, you'd think the UPS Man would have found it left on his truck at the end of the day or whatever.  I'm not sure how all that works, but seems simple enough to just bring it to me the next day.  But... nope, it's gone.  Maybe someone got a free laminator (perhaps Mr. UPS Man is a big fan of doing laminating projects?!?), maybe it got trashed, maybe it'll show up someday randomly and I can add to this post.  Haha!

Pumpkin Pie Inside A Chocolate Cake

Oh.Yes.I.Did!

I saw a show on the Food Network recently where a bakery made a creation featuring a Pumpkin and Apple Pie inside of a Vanilla and Chocolate cake.  Ridiculous!  Read about it here.

The Pumpple Cake at The Flying Monkey in Philly

But, I was kind of inspired.  I didn't want to go THAT far, but Pumpkin Pie and Chocolate Cake sounded pretty darn good.  So, since we've all been 'snowed in' for the past few days... I went for it!  

First, I baked the pumpkin pie. And let it cool over night.

Then, I baked two layers of chocolate cake.  On the bigger one, I used an empty pie pan to bake an indention in the top so they pie would have somewhere to sink into.  It... kind of worked.  I let them cool.

I had to dig out more of an indention for the pie to set in, then put it on the first layer of cake.  And as you can see, I had some trouble getting the pie out of the pie pan in one piece. Heh.

Topped it with the second layer of chocolate cake.

And covered the whole thing with milk chocolate frosting.

Not the prettiest thing in the world, but mission completed!  A pumpkin pie inside of a chocolate cake!

Yum!!!

Headed to the World Series!

That's right, guys... World Series bound!

Wow.  Just wow.  I don't think anyone saw this coming a few months ago.  I mean, we root for the Rangers, we love those guys, we hope they can do well... but going to the World Series?  It's just not an option... until now!  It's time... that's for sure!

Drowning Josh Hamilton with Ginger Ale!

The Texas Rangers have been through so much this year... the controversies surrounding Ron Washington's drug and Josh Hamilton's alcohol problems.  Nearly being auctioned off because of bankruptcy.  It's been a mess of a season for them behind the scenes, but not out on the field!  These guys handled all of it with grace, forgiveness and respect.  The best thing about this team is that they act like a team.  No one is the 'star,' no one is more important than anyone else... they play together.  

Happy guys!

And you can tell they really care for each other, they have fun and enjoy what they're doing!  I mean, what other group of grown men would go around making silly antler signals and claw swipes in public like that?

Rawr!

This is what baseball should look like.  I am so excited for the Texas Rangers.  Can't wait to see what next week brings in THE WORLD SERIES!!!!

Yes sir, you guys did it!

My new best friend is the UPS man...

My UPS man and I are becoming good friends.  I know that he has twin daughters that are seniors in high school and are on the drill team.  Ok... that's about all I know about him.  He knows that I have two kids, one being a baby who is almost always in my arms when I answer the door, making it difficult for me to sign for my packages.  Once, soon after Callen was born, I put a sign on the door that read "Do not ring doorbell.  Baby sleeping!"  I'm sure he assumed I meant Callen, but... I really meant Michael.  Whatever, it works.  He gave me a stack of slips and said if I knew a package was coming I could just leave that on the door for him and he wouldn't even have to bother me at all, would just leave the package on the porch.  He honks as he's pulling up so that I have time to get to the door to greet him as he's walking up (or he waits patiently for me to get to the door) without knocking or ringing the bell.  Plus, he has to see me in my over-sized sloppy shirt and pj pants, hair all crazy every which way (because I usually look like that till around 4pm)... and he never even looks surprised or frightened.  What a swell guy!

That swell guy is always bringing me silly stuff that I order online for practically nothing, boxes full of products I'm supposed to try out and promote, or silly prizes I win from various outlets... but today he brought me something that wasn't so much silly as it was AWESOME.  He brought me a flat envelope, which I thought was pretty weird, 'cause usually he brings me large boxes!  I opened it to find a check from Kellogg's for $250!  Whoa!

I was one of 3,000 grand prize winners of the Frosted Mini Wheats School Year Resolution Sweepstakes.  FINALLY, I won cash!  Add that to my 24 pairs of Ranger tickets, 'Going The Distance '(movie) prize pack, a Xeko pet for Preston, coupons and tiny random things.... oh, and my 24 bags of Strawberry Milano cookies that still haven't arrived!  Yes, a check for actual money that we can put towards bills... now THATS what I like to see from my UPS man!  Granted, he's just the messenger... it's still hard not to give him a little bit of credit.

Mostly, thank you, Jesus, for this unexpected but very much needed gift!  The time I spend filling out those lame sweepstakes entries, playing the silly games with Preston hoping to win some prize or another, giving out my email and phone number to hundreds of companies and then sorting through the junk emails I get thereafter... TOTALLY WORTH IT!  :::doing a happy dance:::  

And actually, I heard today that the Milanos should be arriving via FedEx, so... it's time to make myself a new friend!  =)

Prestonisms on Politics & School

We were driving out to the ranch this past weekend, and we passed a billboard like this one:

Preston's comment: "That sign had a picture of George Bush and it said 'Miss me yet?' And I said 'Yes, I miss Bush being president.'"  Michael and I just turned and looked at each other.  Whoa!  Going 70mph down the highway, Preston was able to read the billboard, KNOW who was on it and understand what it meant!

x

We are taking this week off of school because we're on vacation (or Stay-cation as Preston will tell you, since we're home all week).  On Wednesday, he got up and came into the kitchen and looked at his school stuff.

Preston: Mommy, I wish our Stay-cation was over already!
Me: Why?
Preston: I wannnnnaaaa do schoool.  I misssss it!

It would be nice if that feeling stuck around through the next 12 years of school.  Haha!

When it Rains, It Pours...

Sometimes quite literally... in your house!

September, despite it's cooler temperatures, has brought with it quite a bit of excitement. However it's been mostly the negative kind of excitement. It's less than one week into the month and already our house has flooded, our expensive vacuum and desktop computer have stopped working, we received sad news about some friends of ours, our bank account has dipped dangerously low and my grandma is in the midst of passing away.

On the last day of August, my mom called to say that my Grandma Linda, who has OPCA - a rare brain disease - is slipping away. She has been unwell for a while, but more recently has been in very obvious decline.  And these past few days have been worse and worse.  There was a point yesterday evening that it looked like the end, but she is continuing to hold on, not quite ready to let go.  But it really doesn't look like she'll be with us much longer.  And I think most of us, though as hard as it is, are ready for her to go because we know how miserable she is trapped in her own body and having to experience so much pain constantly.

On September 2nd, after not sleeping well again for the second night in a row, I was up feeding Callen.  I suddenly heard a noise that sounded like the washing machine had turned on.  I finished up with Callen, laid him down and walked into the living room to see a stream of water pouring out of our laundry room into the living room.  I grabbed some towels, and opened the laundry room door to find a couple of inches of water pooled inside and spreading.  There was also water spraying everywhere!  I was still in the waking stages and it took me a second to realize what was even happening... the water was spraying straight up out of the back of the washer, hitting the shelf above and ricocheting down ... it was difficult to decipher where the water was coming from at all.  And it was like movies with the water spraying me in the face and what not.  I managed to grab a shirt, put it over the hose that was busted and spraying the water so that I could get to the faucet to turn off the water.  Just praying the whole time that it would be as simple as turning the handle.. and thankfully it was.  However, once I got it stopped and stepped out of the laundry room, the water was EVERYWHERE already.  The entire living room had an inch of standing water, it was quickly moving into the hall towards the bedrooms and into the kitchen.  I tried to call Michael, who was about to leave work, but it went straight to voicemail.  I couldn't get him, Callen was screaming in his crib, Preston was asking what was going on and trying to help soothe Callen.  It was just so ridiculous!  I was completely drenched, standing in water in my living room, trying to find all the possible towels and blankets and comforters in the whole house to use to soak up the water.  When Michael finally arrived, I kinda freaked out on him "Get in here!!!"  He went next door and borrowed a wet-vac and we were able to suck out most of the water.  We got everything cleaned up as best we could.  I am soooo thankful that I was up and heard it when I did, 'cause if it had been any longer that it went without stopping, it could have really ruined a lot of stuff.  I'm also super thankful that we have tile everywhere except the bedrooms, because it would have meant completely ruined carpet.  It did get into and under Preston's laminate floor unfortunately, and a good chunk of that is ruined.  I'm not sure what we're going to do about that.  Right now I just have a rug over the entrance to his room so that you don't stub your toe on the warped boards.

After we got everything dried out, we went to shampoo my beloved cow run with our expensive Kirby vacuum/carpet shampooer... and the dang thing would not work.  Well, it worked, then we tried to put on the shampoo accessories, took us a while to remember how and then when we got it on right... it just wouldn't even turn on.  Just up and decided to quit.  Thankfully, after just letting it rest a full day and putting the vacuum parts back on it, it worked.  We haven't tried to shampoo again, so we'll see.  But at least it's not completely dead like we thought at first.

And, currently our desktop computer is on the brink of death.  The fan isn't working so before it can even finish booting up, it overheats and shuts down.  I know this isn't the end of the world because we have the laptop, but it's a nuisance just the same.  And we don't have the money for repairs or a new one right now.  So it's just one more thing to add to the list of crappppp.

There are good things that have happened over the past few days, I should definitely take note of some of those.  Callen is about to be 6-months old and he's exploring new foods (carrots, avacado and bananas so far), he's rolling and scooting all over the place and doing his best to make words (mamamama, buh buh buh buh are the clearest and most frequent).  Preston is excited to start homeschool Kindergarten tomorrow and I feel like I am (mostly) prepared for it.  We are using the workbox system that I learned about last week at the Mom's Support Meeting.  It's more for me to make sure I stay motivated and have an idea of what we're doing everyday, but I think it will be great for Preston to work with as well.  He also starts soccer tomorrow evening! 

Anyway, it's definitely been a trying week and is sure to continue as my Grandma continues to slip away.  Prayers are always welcome, especially for my Grandma, so that she doesn't have to be in pain and that she doesn't have to be scared to leave us.  For the family, that we can find peace in letting her go. 

One Month Down...

Callen is a month old!  Whoa, how does that happen?!?!  I've been meaning to blog about him for weeks now, but alas... there's just no time (or energy) left over for such things.  He's sleeping now and Preston is building a fort outta the couch cushions... so maybe I have a few minutes.  We'll see.

It has been a blessed... and very rough month, I have to admit.  Getting used to life with a newborn and a 4-yr-old has been harder than I imagined it would be.  It's been four years since Preston was an infant and since he's now so independent, I guess I forgot how needy the little ones are. 

Breastfeeding has been the biggest issue so far.  About two weeks in, I got a clogged duct which rapidly turned into an infection (like pretty much instantly).  I was just sitting on the couch with the kids, watching cartoons, when I suddenly realized I was shivering and could not get warm.  I got into bed, covered up with several blankets and a heating pad... still couldn't stop shivering uncontrollably.  It was crazy.  I had clogged ducts with Preston, but it never happened like that and it was scary.  I got over that with help of frequent nursing (through the pain) and antibiotics.  But as soon as that was better, I was in severe pain every time Callen nursed... I had developed huge, deep cracks that caused excruciating pain if I even moved wrong.  Callen wasn't latching on properly and I hadn't really been paying attention to it.  He would also constantly get his hands in the way, try to shove his fist in his mouth along with me... and anytime he accidentally touched my breast I had to keep from screaming, it hurt so bad.  Needless to say, nursing sessions were spent in tears (his and mine), we would both get so frustrated (and I was in so much pain).  I kept thinking it would get better if I could just adjust his latch... but even after I paid careful attention to that and got him on right, it still hurt and wasn't healing.  Finally called my doctor and she suggested Gentian Violet and nipple shields.  So, I've been doing that since last Thursday and things have improved on the pain front.  However, that's caused it's own troubles... I guess the nipple shield makes it slightly more difficult for Callen to nurse, so he gets tired quicker and doesn't nurse as long... which means he wants to nurse again soon after.  So I feel like I'm nursing just constantly... but at least it doesn't hurt as badly.  He's also had really bad gas trouble the past few days - either from the gentian violet (?) or because he gets more air from the shields... he's been really fussy and does not like to be put down at all.  Constant feeding and holding has been the recipe of the past several days.  But hopefully my cracks will be healed soon and we can get back to normal nursing!

Other than that, we're doing well.  He's becoming a lot more alert and can follow things with his eyes/head.  If I put him down in his crib for a few minutes, he'll have scooted himself pretty much to the other end.  If put on his tummy, he'll roll over... and he's getting good control of his head.  He obviously doesn't sleep through the nite yet, but at least after nursing he usually goes right back to sleep, so it's not so bad.  I'm extremely glad he doesn't want to stay up and party during the nite, 'cause I sure don't!  I can't really tell if he's gotten much bigger, still seems super tiny! 

Preston is good with Callen.  Sometimes he gets frustrated/annoyed when Callen is fussy/crying.  But for the most part, he talks very sweetly to him and wants to help soothe him when he's upset.  He likes to sing to him too.  We've been having some pretty seriously attitude problems with Preston lately though.  He is having trouble obeying us and tends to be straight up defiant at times.  Patience tends to run pretty thin on my part, especially when I'm faced with a double whammy of both kids freaking out at the same time.  But we're working on it.  I've tried to make sure to get out of the house a few times a week at least, give Preston something to do.  We went to Barnes & Noble's story-time last week and he enjoyed that... both kids were great for that outing!  We've gone to the park or played in the backyard in the nice weather when we can.  Sometimes we don't get off the couch till it's late enough to wake up Daddy - we watch a lot of cartoons, heh.  The grandparents have both taken Preston for me a few times over the past few weeks (so thankful for them!).  We're trying to find our groove, but some days I'm just toooo exhausted or lacking patience to do much of anything.

I attempted church three Sundays ago... Callen slept the entire time, but Preston had a major melt-down, refused to go to his class or go into "big" church with me... just cried and threw a tantrum because he wanted to go home.  We tried to hang out in the Quiet Room till he got over it, only he never did so we had to go home.  Then last Sunday we made it to Easter Sunday service... Michael, Jill and Steve all came.  Preston was great 'cause he knew he would get to hunt for eggs afterwards and Callen slept through the service.  After church we went to brunch, so that was nice.  Michael was miserable 'cause he got up early and just didn't feel good, but I'm thankful he attempted to spend the time with us.  Last nite we were up too much and so going to church this morning was just pretty much out of the question.  We also missed our small group meeting this week 'cause both kids were taking turns having melt-downs.  I guess that's just the way it goes.  Hehe.  I have to admit, being away from work has actually been really nice.  Even though it's been crazy, I could totally get used to this Stay-At-Home-Mom stuff!

Being a family of four is certainly taking some getting used to... but we're hanging in there so far.

Some pix...
 
Trip to the park (naptime).

Attempting a group photo.


Visiting Mema (right at this moment, Callen had a major toot! Haha)


Naptime with Daddy.

 
Easter baskets.

 
Cute booty!

10 Years Ago Today?!?! No way...

(Sorry if this post contains major typos, run-on sentences, etc.; I'm typing as fast as I can before Callen wakes up...)
Ten years ago, on this date.... this happened in Downtown Fort Worth:
The monster!
Or as we called it "Twister 2000"!

I remember it pretty vividly.  It had been a strange day, everyone in my part of the office was in a crazy mood - like hyper crazy.  We had just gotten a shipment in of office supplies that was just for us (we were always having to borrow from other places) and since we finally had our own "office" apart from everyone else, we were really excited that things were coming together.  And along with the office supplies we had also got a big tub of peppermints... for some reason we were really happy about that.  At one point someone looked outside and was like "Dude, it's really green out there" and we all took notice, but thought nothing of it.  It wasn't raining or stormy looking or anything.  Then, just a little while later there were shouts and the sound of stamped or something right outside our door (which was closed)... what the heck?  Andy opened the door and looked out and saw everyone in the other office running for the exit (without notifying us, thanks guys), and he looked out the window and saw the tornado coming at the building.  He yelled something about us needing to get out of there.  I grabbed my bag and ran for the stairwell along with everyone else.  Just as we closed the stairwell door behind us, the building began to shake - it hit!  Because everyone in the other office had already started down the stairs, we were stuck behind this one guy who was... uh, rather large and had a bum leg... so, going down the stairs was rather slow.  As we were headed down the stairs, a huge crack ran up the wall, it was crazy to see.  The whole time I think I was in shock, 'cause I wasn't really scared or hysterical (like most of the other girls running down the stairs)... I couldn't believe it was happening.  As we were running down the stairs, my wise-cracking co-worker remarked "Aww, man, we shoulda saved the peppermints!!!" and we all busted out laughing.  We got to the bottom of floor, the basement, and by that time the tornado was passed... a pipe had burst and the floor started filling with water so we had to go back up to the first floor.  I remember when we came out of the stairwell having no idea where I was, even though I took those stairs all the time and knew where they came out.  But I could see outside 'cause the windows were broken out and part of the building was missing.  It wasn't until we were exiting out the MAIN doors that I realized they WERE the main doors and the lobby.  The first thing I saw when I walked outside was a car thrown up against a tree, then I looked over at the church ( Calvary Cathedral) across the street and the walls of their prayer tower were completely missing but their steeple was still standing strong.  I saw the Bank One building deeper in the city looking all jagged and messed up.  We went to look for our cars which were no longer exactly were we parked them, but the rain started coming down and it was this nasty, stinging rain.  I remember someone saying we should walk towards the city, but seeing the buildings all in shambles ahead of us, some of us convinced the rest it was a bad idea 'cause of the falling glass.  We ended up going across the street to the church, 'cause some people were just outside their door and said their hallway was safe.  So, we went over there to get out of the rain and figure out what to do (our cell phones weren't working - and hardly any of our cars were in working order either).  After what seemed like just a few minutes to me, I suddenly heard my mom calling my name down the hallway... she had seen where the tornado hit on the news and knew it was our building (my mom worked at the same place I did, only she had gone home earlier in the day)... her and my dad had got in the truck and drove through the city before the tornado was even done.  My mom was hysterical of course (I am her only daughter), so I had to calm her down - which was funny 'cause I was the one who had just gone through all that.  We loaded up my co-workers in the truck and took everyone home.  One of the guys lived in Arlington, and there had been tornadoes reported in his neighborhood too, we were all crackin' jokes about how it was his fault - mother nature went after his job and his house, luckily his neighborhood was fine.  The next day we went to check the damage of my car and see the building in the daylight, this is what we saw...
 The red circle is the office I worked in.
 
I'm pretty sure that last photo is where I usually parked, but that day all the spaces were full and I had to park in the main lot... so my car fared slightly better than that, but was still totaled just the same.
When we went back the next morning the FBI was out in full force.  They had an office in that building and a lot of their paperwork had gotten blown away... there was tons of papers floating in the river (right behind our building) and stuff had gotten blown into our cars... so they wouldn't allow us take anything till they completed their clean up and whatnot.  There was a large chunk of marble from the building in my car... I kept it as a souvenir... heh.
Funny story:  One of my college History books had been in my car and it was water-logged and had shards of glass in it.  I took it to the buy back with all my other books at the end of the year, and 'cause they were going so fast, they didn't look it over that well - totally bought it back!  Next semester I went to sell some books back and there was a huge sign that said "If your book looks like it's been through a tornado we will not accept it!" (or something like that)... I like to think that was all 'cause of me.  HAHA!