Reid's Musical Performance

Last evening Reid had his Kindergarten musical performance. Four of the eight Kindergarten classes came together to sing songs of peace. He did a great job. His lips were moving during the songs, and he yawned and chatted with friends at each break in the music. That would be typical Reid. It was fun to see Reid being the focus of our family's attention. For years we have watched Hayden's performances, it was nice and somewhat bitter-sweet seeing Reid upfront with all of his friends, teachers and classmates. Our baby boy is growing up. As an update for those who may be concerned, James' blood tests came back normal, and his heart monitor showed nothing abnormal. He has a follow-up appointment scheduled for 2/4. The dizzy spells have stopped and he has been feeling much better. Perhaps it was a virus?! Hopefully we will find out more later.

We're Back!

Wow! It has been quite awhile since my last posting. Thankfully our computer is back up and running, so here is our latest news. Christmas was great and very drama free. Hooray! As usual, we spent New Year's Eve at Wendy's. It has become an annual tradition to start the evening at Wendy's and then we walk up to the square in Red Lion to watch the cigar usher in the new year. Good food, family and fun it doesn't get any better than that! Now, since the first of the year, this Mama feels as if she has been on an emotional roller coaster. At Hayden's yearly eye exam we found out his left eye is turning out again. His vision hasn't changed, but the muscle in his eye is weakening. He has been referred to a vision therapist and will have his first appointment on Feb. 11. Hayden also received a firm diagnosis of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis from Dr. Bingham at Hershey Medical Center. He is currently on an anti-inflammatory to help decrease the swelling in his knee and is scheduled to return to Hershey in March. Reid is still plugging away in school. He has made much improvement and continues to love going to school. We will have a meeting with his teacher in May to discuss whether first grade should be considered. James has been having random dizzy spells. He has been to the doctor twice. They have run blood tests, an EKG and strapped him to a heart monitor for 24 hours. Thankfully all the tests have come back normal. If you ask me the boy needs to learn to eat better and stop eating processed crap from truck stops and convenience stores. He needs to come to terms with being 41 not 21! Not that I would have an opinion and not that James would listen if I had one! Ha! At least Ella and I are holding it together. Well the boys will be coming home in minutes. Love you all, take care!

Update

Our fish survived! Other than the loss of Mr. Jack Sparrow sucker-fish, all of our fish have survived! Now, the train under the Christmas tree is another issue. It has been derailed for over a week, and no one seem to care. Personally, I am very gratefull. I was begining to get tired of yelling, "Who left the bathroom water on!" Anyone who has heard the train running would understand. Today's life lesson: Before becoming totally amused by the little person working across the street, make sure it isn't just a man standing in a hole!

The Great Debate

This morning while getting ready for school, Reid and Hayden began to argue. Honestly this is nothing new;however, instead of the usual screaming, they were actually debating an issue! I asked what they were fighting about and Hayden yelled, "Reid said the Crocodile Hunter isn't dead!" Reid instantly turned around, with a straight and very serious face and said, "Him not dead! Him was saved by a whale and is helping monkeys in Alaska!" I love the inside of that boys head! Now you may be wondering why they are debating this now. Well, my boys, like most around the world, were deeply saddened by the death of the Crocodile Hunter. Now Bindy, his only daughter, has her own show. This show, Bindy the Jungle Girl, has clips of her father. Talk about confusing, he's gone but he's not. I can understand Reid's thought process, but who knew there were monkeys in Alaska! I am not going to be the one to burst a bubble like that!

Ok, how can you even begin to lable this!

I love my life, I love my life, I love my life...... There are moments when this mantra needs to be repeated constantly. For example, last evening Ella decided to feed the fish. Not only does she know she is not allowed near the tank, she has been told repeatedly to NEVER open the tank. Well, apparently last evening her need to help surpassed her need to listen. Her "helping" resulted in the entire can of food being dumped into the aquarium! A new, full can of food dumped into the tank! So far all but one of the fish have survived. Reid's beloved "sucker fish", named Jack Sparrow, was the only casualty. I suppose the soggy blanket of food, which instantly covered the bottom of the tank, proved to be too much for the little guy. Reid has been very upset and has therefore waged a mini war on Ella. (Nothing new there.) Anyone looking through our kitchen window would have enjoyed watching James and I gagging as we cleaned food and insanely stinky water out of the tank. Hopefully we will have no further deaths as our fish continue to go through "food detox" . Oh, but wait there is more! Not only did we have the fish tank to deal with, we also had Sheldon. Remarkably Sheldon has been very quiet. As many know, each fall Sheldon (our 7 year old Border Collie mix) becomes ill. Thankfully this year he managed to stay away from the nasty Locust leaves and therefore remained healthy. Great! Well it's been great until today! Sheldon, when left out this afternoon, stepped in his own "business" and then tracked it through the house! Thankfully it was only on the laminate and NOT on the carpet! By all means everyone, come visit. Who wouldn't want to visit a house full of sh*t and dying fish in rank water! How yummy! Again....I love my life, I love my life, I LOVE MY LIFE!

Letters to Santa

Now that Hayden is 8 he is beginning to question Santa's existence. Our house is covered with rough drafts that read like this:
Dear Santa,
I am having trouble figuring out if you are real or not. Love, Hayden.
Well today, after the boys left for school, I found a letter written and decorated by Hayden. He drew a large Santa head and a sleigh with reindeer at the bottom of the page. At the top he wrote the following:
Dear Santa,
All I want for Christmas is for Reid and Ella to have fun. Love, Hayden.
How awesome and wise is that! I love that boy!

American Heros

During this time of year I can't help but think of America's heros. As most people know I hate history. It's boring. Therefore, I married a history genius. By marriage I am now a very educated historian (provided I am standing directly next to James). Anyhow, why does this time of year make me think of America's heros, you ask? Well, I can't help but wonder if Elizabeth Cady Stanton stood in the front of her mother's shopping cart, stiff as a board, refusing to sit while SCREAMING "LET ME OUT!" If anyone reading this was a Target while Ella was doing this, I would like to apologize. However, if you are reading this you know me, if you know me then you should realize I WILL NOT GIVE IN! Sit or scream either way I am purchasing the items on my list! Did I mention I love the second year of life? Two, ah, lovely terrible two! Although Reid taught the lesson of 3 can be worse than 2, but let's not go there. Oh, before I leave my thoughts on American heros, do you think the Wright Brothers were experts on manipulation, harassment and assault from the top bunk of the bunk bed?
I know I have fantastic, bright, funny, amazing children. I know I am blessed beyond my own worth. I just want to know it's going to turn out OK. God gave them to me, I know he won't let them down. What am I saying, as I look around at others who have grown children I can't help but thinking, this might be as good as it gets. I know where they are sleeping, I know who they are with, and my babies still love me! Life is so good!