worth noting

Just in case you were wondering how the whole mumps thing is going...

Sammy: Mom, want to hear the song I was singing?

M: ok.

Sammy: Mommy loves Johnley, and not meeeeee. Mommy takes care of Johnley and not meeee.


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Yesterday we had to go the the Holt office in Trenton so I could speak to parents who are going to adopt. While I was with them, Johnley wandered into one of the offices and saw our two presidential candidates on the computer screen. After stating that he knows who they are, he tells the woman, "I want Obama to win because he is black like me!"

I guess pointing to Obama for the last 4 months and saying, "This is going to be our first black president" has had some effect!

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While in the aforementioned meeting, I was reminded of some of Johnley's behavior when he first came here. It is hard to believe that I had forgotten some of this, but obvious that I need to record it! When he first came here he:

• refused to wear a coat, no matter what the weather.
• once inside, would strip off all his clothes.
• would strip the bed of all sheets, blankets and pillows.
• would lock himself in the room 900 times a day. (we finally removed the doorknob. It is just now back on!)
• would sit at the counter, pick up his bowl of food or glass of juice, look us in the eye and dump it on the floor.
• would stand in the middle of the bathroom, look us in the eye, and pee all over the floor!

Thankfully, all that behavior is a thing of the past. Now he has come up with new and creative ways to make me crazy!

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Sammy had a dream last week that I peeled my face off and I was a lizard. He refused to sleep next to me for four days. As he said, "I just can't be sure that its not true!" So now I'm affectionately known around here as the lizard. I guess it could have been worse....

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We have been world travelers this week. I promise a post with pics in the very near future.

We have the Mumps

We went to the Doctor yesterday thinkin Johnley had an ear infection. He complained Saturday that his ear hurt. I asked him if it hurt on the inside or the outside and he changed his answer 3 times. By Sunday night he had a knot behind his ear, that I thought was swollen glands. By monday morning it had gotten more swollen, but I still thought it was an earache.

The Dr. checked him out, and said he has a slight infection. Then he looked at his neck and immediately said, 'Oh, that's mumps'! I was horrified!

We had started the immunizations, but took the summer off! I don't know if we had would have gotten the MMR by now, or not. But at the time I felt horrible.

I had no idea what mumps was. For all I knew it was like polio. I mean, why else would there be a vaccine for it? The Dr. started to explain it to me, and it didn't sound that bad. It is an infection of some gland (I forget the name) and there is no treatment. It last about three weeks, and for children there are usually no side effects. I really wanted to say, 'Then why on earth do you vaccinate for it?'

So it turns out that it can be bad for teenagers or adults, but not so much for kids.

It hurts, tho, so everytime the motrin wears off, he cries. He feels fine, so he wants to jump around, and then it hurts.

Here is the little dude. Does he look pitiful, or what

Here he is smiling, tho. Much cuter!

Birthdays and such

What do you do when you have 20 or so people coming to your house in a few hours for a pool party? Do you vacumm your pool? Make some food? Clean your house? No, you update your blog!

There have been so many things I wanted to post about but haven't had time.

First of all...

This little beauty is 15 today. Happy birthday munch!

Her birthday celebration included a trip to NY with our friends Pam and Rachel to see Grease and all that is New York.

The celebration continued with a mini pool party and scrumptious cakes.



Still to come: a day of pampering with her aunt and a weekend in the city with her cousin. Not a bad way to welcome in the 16th year.

Meanwhile, we celebrated Johnley's actual birthday with his friend 'Chuck'

And received the best present ever...thanks Roxanne, Riley and Griffen!


We went to a picnic given by the Holt Adoption agency for NJ families and met all kinds of wonderful people. Around here we talk about birthmoms and such once in while. Whenever someone is having a baby or pregnant or whatever, but otherwise it really doesn't come up. At the picnic, after playing with a new found friend, Sammy came up to me and asked me whose belly he was in. When I hesitated for a second, he said, "My birthmom?" and I said yes and he said, "So did my new friend!"

I'd really like to know what that conversation was like!

We played our first game of soccer

And started Sunday school. Which we love! (it was a little touch and go at first, but its all good now!)

And last but not least, this little angel turned 14 on Sept. 3rd. Happy, happy birthday, Avena!

Johnley's Birthday Party

Good times, good times.



This is Johnley. On his very first birthday (party). First thing in the am! He woke up on Sunday practically bursting. We had been doing the countdown to the birthday and he knew this was the day. He had to keep his hand over his mouth because he couldn't control his smile!


This is when he saw his new bike!

And here is a video of him opening a present from Duncan, Cole and Grady. Thanks guys!

We had a wonderful, Diego-themed party, complete with jungle vines (thanks daddy and Taishauna)! The big hit of the party was the water balloons. Poor Joe sat for over an hour filling them up, and most everybody decided to hit him. (His nieces were actually giddy over the idea!) Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures. Hopefully someone else did and I will post them when I get them.

After we blew out the candles, I went into the house to get a knife, and everyone tried to talk Johnley into biting the cake - somewhat of a tradition in our family - but he wouldn't have it.


Here is the video. Keep in mind that the person operating the camera was celebrating her 31st birthday and was slightly intoxicated!


Actually, he was a little concerned that everyone was going to eat his cake! And they did.
Especially Cara!


We went into the house to open presents and here a little bit of what that looked like.


So many people came and everyone made it a wonderful day. He was one happy, happy, little boy.

The best part of the whole day was when I put Johnley to bed. He was utterly, completely 100%, satisfied. "Mommy, that was the best party ever."

Update on the sleeping arrangements.

Well the best laid plans....

The first night was a disaster. The second and third nights Johnley stayed in his bed all night. Sammy, not so much. He is determined to sleep with me. I wish there was a good answer here. If he wants to sleep with me that much, I want him to. But then Johnley can't be left out (although, I don't think he really cares one way or another - he just wants it to be fair!). And then Nick and I don't get enough sleep.

Ah, the joys!

Happenings

First of all.... How cool is this hair style? We LOVE it!

Secondly... Check this out...

No that is not actually Joe Jonas of the Jonas Bros. It is a rendition of him made out of icing...by my daughter...on her FIRST try ever of doing the cake topper. Awesome isn't it?

And...

Cost of new bedspreads? $38

Cost of new lamp? $7.00

Cost of Wall-E pillow? $11.00 (I know, it made me sick too)
Getting your boys to sleep in their own beds? Priceless.

Ha! I always wanted to use that line. I wouldn't actually know how great it is because last night was a big fat failure! But we are not giving up...It is going to happen...It is...It really is....

Maturity

Okay, after yesterday's COMPLETELY immature act of waking T up at 6am, I feel I have redeemed myself.

You see, Sammy (and now Johnley) have taken to putting their spider man costumes on over their clothes and then putting long pants and long-sleeved shirts on over them....so they can really be Peter Parker - have spider sense- and rip off their clothes to be spider man.

You have no idea how much more cleaning up and possible laundry is involved here. I think its really cute, but I REALLY wish they would stop doing it. At least take it down to 1 or 2 days a week, instead a 1 or 2 times a day!

Anyway, the other day Sammy came out with this outfit on and I blurted out, "Now you just look fat." I had no idea he would be so offended. (where does a 5 year old slim kid get such an aversion to being called fat?) I quickly told him I was only kidding and he did indeed look like Peter Parker.

Now for the mature part. As I was tying his shoe today (he had taken the costume and extra clothes off because we were leaving the house) I realized that all I had to do was tell him that every time he put those outfits on he just looked fat. Then he would probably never do it again. And I would have killed a little boys heart just a little. So I kept my mouth shut.

Universe: 787377373211 Me: 1

The joys of parenting

One would think because I have two boys, ages 4 and 5, they would be the hard ones. And they are not easy, let me tell you.

We have the noise. Ah, there is so much noise. We certainly didn't need any help, but we got it anyway!

And then there are the toys, ouy! the toys. The equipment, the must haves, the mess!

And don't forget the energy. Active, active, active. Never stop. EVER.

But nothing compares to the drama of a girl. A teenage girl. Oh, the drama!

LOL! But sooooo worth it!

The day after the middle of the night antics

So before 8am today, I got into Sammy's face and told him that I am the boss of him and he DOES have to do what I say.

I reminded Johnley and Taishauna that I was the boss of them, too, and they did have to listen to me - all the time.

All this because I am mad at Nick.

Can someone please explain to me why it bothers me so much that Nick goes to the gym everyday and rides 20-40 miles two to three times a week? It make me CRAZY. (And I can say anything I want here because I know he won't look at this site. Even tho he knows about it. Even tho I have shown him the site more than once. Yeah, I'm not bitter!)

Anyway, it doesn't matter that he was up in the middle of the night. He NEVER misses the gym. And he does these bike rides that are like superhuman. Why can't he devote some of that energy and determination to his family?

oh well, more fodder for therapy.

And to all you evil people...Yes, it has occurred to me that it bothers me because I can't exercise to save my life, literally! And to you I say...bite me.