Still Extreme Sporting

Max went snow boarding today. He spent yesterday prepping for his trip, getting his gear together and waxing his board. I could just tell he was so excited for this trip. The past few years he hasn't been able to get much boarding in because of the kids but now that they're getting older we're seeing a little bit more freedom. We've always felt a bit guilty about leaving one or another alone with 3 kids, young kids that is, for long periods of time. As a result, we haven't ventured off solo very much. To be honest we also haven't venture with them as much as we would have liked either.

So now I encourage him to go off and do things he enjoys, but I have to admit this extreme sporting stuff makes me nervous. I worry that he might get injured while snow boarding then I'd have to not only care for the boys but help rehabilitate him too. And the thought of losing his help around here just makes me anxious, thinking that I would have to do everything solo for awhile makes me cringe. So when he says he wants to go snow boarding, or he would like to learn to ocean kayak, windsurf, or get a motorcycle I secretly panic with a smile on my face of course as I encourage him to explore his interests.

As for the snow, initially, we'd also planned to take a family trip to the snow this weekend but with Aidan's injured finger, we've had to postpone that trip and any other activities that risk him injuring/ re-opening his wound. So for now, we'll postpone the sledding and snowman building while Max continues to enjoy his thrill seeking activities.

Do A Dot- An Art Favorite

Since we've had several days of rain and the kids have been home bound due to illness for the past 4 days, we've been exploring and re-exploring some art favorites (in a desperate attempt to keep the kids entertained while keeping my sanity). After some games of bingo, story time, and Lego's, I began to dig through the pantry shelves I have designated for kids crafts. Playdoh, no...I'm sorry but I get grossed out when kids play with playdoh while they have snotty runny noses. I just imagine all those germs getting rolled up in the playdoh and it just makes me want to wretch. Floam, no for the same reason, then behind those what did I discover or actually rediscover? These great Do-A-Dot-Arts, a gift from grandma awhile back. I remember they were a hit when we first got them and continued to be a hit today. I was so happy to have these today and so where the boys. These come in a variety of colors, we happen to have the "Shimmers" set. I pulled out our roll of butcher paper and we began to have some fun...I think we'll be saving this paper for gift wrapping, just one more way of reusing something in our attempt to living a greener life. I love it when something old becomes new fun again.

Get Ready For Valentines Day

I've been working on some Valentine's Day projects including some cards for my Etsy shop.. Stop by an check it out. This is just a few of many more I still need to photograph.

As for the boys, I would really like to have them make valentines for their classmates. It might be a huge undertaking that I may end up regretting later..or it might just end up being a great rainy day activity. Of course I'll have to come up with something that guarantees some sort of success. That means something simple! I've see lots of great ideas out there to inspire me but still not quite sure what we'll be making. Liam did say he would like robots so at least I've got one theme to possibly build on. Stay tuned to see if we come up with some creative goody.

Pink Eye Now - Are You Serious!?

The boys now have pink eye, officially known as conjunctivitis, along with a new set of colds. Yes, I'm serious, they're sick again. It's like a long running bad joke. The boys have literally been sick since they started preschool in November with just a few scattered days within where they were ailment free. It's so frustrating and lets not forget exhausting too. Not only is there lost sleep, extra loads of laundry, and trips to the doctors but there's the psychological torment that comes with it too. The "oh no, please don't let me catch it" anxiety, the "I'm just out of TLC" guilt, the "we cant see our friends again" isolation, and the "I just don't understand why you're sick again" melancholy bordering depression. Let's hope they recover from this soon.

Save That Finger Tip

After 10 years of hospital and clinic work, I'd seen it all, gashes, burns sores, blood galore and the occasional death. I've never flinched, felt faint or thought twice of it. It was always just part of the job to attend to the problem at hand. None of this prepared me for my own child's bloody wound that had me woozy, trembling and on the edge of losing consciousness.

Aidan had an accident at school today during their motor skills (commonly known as PE). He collided with one of his classmates while on motor boards (balance board with wheels). Although he managed to walk away from this collision, he walked away with a badly lacerated left pointer finger. Some graphic details coming up, so if you're faint at heart stop reading now...his finger tip was literally filleted open all the way down to the first metacarpal joint so the pad of his finger was dangling. When I first saw the wound I didn't see the finger pad that was laying amongst the bloody paper towels somewhat separated from his finger attached only by a mere centimeter give or take, that I thought he had lost a part of his finger.

Keeping it together but struggling at this point, as I knew my son was depending on me at this time to handle the situation. I bundled up my ashen shock-ridden first born and got him in the van. Thankfully his pediatrician's office is able to function as an ER for accidents like this. After I phoned them they told me to bring him in and they would determine whether he needed to see the hand surgeon. We arrived, they quickly attended to him and determined that bone, joint and ligament were all intact so they would be able to manage his care. They thoroughly cleansed it, inserted injections of lidocain, pulled over the flap and sutured it closed. I stood there and braced him throughout the entire ordeal. He was so brave, a few screams during the cleansing and injections and lots of tears but, it could have been much worse.

As for me, I was struggling to keep my tears at bay and trying to keep my chin up. Surely I wouldn't want poor Aidan to think he needed to console me at his time of need. Motherhood has taught me plenty of lessons including this one: Despite my ability to be reticent at the sight of physical trauma, my own offspring's blood loss can breakdown my state of composure in about 5 seconds flat.

His prognosis, good, he should have full function of his finger in no time. Stitches to be removed in 7 days if all goes well.

Daddy Makes Yummy Meals

One thing we love about daddy is he sure can cook. Although his work schedule keeps him very busy, every once in awhile he decides to throw on his chef's hat and cook us a meal. This usually happens on weekends of course but, I love it when it happens and he sure has a knack of making something the kids enjoy too.




This last meal was a coconut curry shrimp and a yummy ginger pork stir fry. Lip smacking delicious.

A Lesson about MLK

Aidan at 5 yrs old, knows he doesn't go to school this coming Monday because it's a holiday to celebrate Martin Luther King. Then he says the following,

Aidan: Mama are we going to Martin Luther King's birthday party on Monday?

Me: Aidan MLK is no longer with us.

Aidan: You mean he died?

Me: Yes Aidan, he died. But, we're celebrating his birthday because he was a special man.

Aidan: Yeah, I know he helped when black people and white people were separated.

Shower - More Miles Poetry

Shower Mama
It's like the rain.
Water comes down.
Hard rain.

Poetic Miles at 3 yrs old during his shower that I was giving him.

Some New Fun

We've got some new fun in the house. The boys got a new game that I was a little wary about at first. I've struggled finding games both suitable for 3 yr olds that will still hold my 5 yr olds interest. We've tried several games that have ended up in tears or time outs. So, when we got this new Boggle Jr. I thought "here we go again". I was pleasantly surprised, when everyone enjoyed it. Although the spelling part is a bit easy for Aidan, he really likes rolling the dice for letters. As for the twins, they had the challenge of identifying letters and they too enjoyed rolling the die. Instead of tears, we had smiles and squeals making this game a hit. Yay!



My boys have also very much enjoyed playing with their new Melissa & Doug Wooden Rescue Vehicle set. So much so that Miles insisted on sleeping with one of them.

Silver Fish Swimming

Yay, Aidan is now a "Silver Fish" meaning he's graduated to level 3 out of nine levels in his swim class. He loves going to swim class and we're cheering him on to keep up the good work.

Miles also loves swimming and you can spot his big smile in the water a mile away. He looks like he's having so much fun in there, makes me want to jump in and join him (but I won't of course).

Liam on the other hand takes a little encouragement to get in the water and has had to go in several times "as a pass" meaning one coach passes him in to another in the pool while he struggles, kicking and screaming...not really pleasant at all. He's even had to go in with his shirt on since he's refused to let anyone take it off. He's warming up to the idea of swimming, each time the struggle is just a bit shorter and this last time he was even seen playing with some of the water toys versus clinging onto the platform for his dear little life.

A Lesson In Helping Others

A friend of ours was recently released from the hospital after a terrible case of pneumonia. To demonstrate our support and caring I delivered a meal to their home today. I took over turkey meatball soup, something I thought kids and adults would enjoy equally. I explained to the boys why I did this, that "Mommy had delivered dinner to their friends home in order to demonstrate caring for their family in time of need" Miles and Liam understood that their friends daddy was sick and that I had taken food over but I'm not sure they really got the connection. Aidan on the other hand truly got it. He demonstrated understanding by giving other examples of when we would help out, whether it would be with a meal, watching friends or giving a ride to someone. It really touches me that my kids are learning the act of caring and helping others.

Ringing in 2010

Thinking about 2009 brings fond memories and a few not so good memories but they are all my memories to keep and learn by. Now that it's time to say good bye to 2009, I'm welcoming 2010 with wide open arms. 2010 began with a freshness and beauty of the blue moon and I do hope this is a marker of what 2010 holds ahead for us. Some thoughts for 2010...

1. 2009 was a year of friendships for me. Old friendships flourished while new ones blossomed as well as, my relationship with my siblings. We became much better friends this past year. In 2010 I hope to keep nurturing those relationships that bring joy and fulfillment into my life and let the rest just be.

2. Although there were many moments of creativity with the boys this past year there were fewer moments of self-expression for myself than I would have liked. I would like to continue to enrich the boys learning with plenty of opportunities for creativity and also plan on focusing on more opportunities for me as well.

3. I definitely want to continue to document all those cherished family moments we have as well as the things that I enjoy so that my boys will one day be able to look back at their documented history and remember who we were.

4. I did manage to get plenty of de-cluttering done this past year. The goal for 2010 is to continue to streamline our belongings and live as green a life as possible.

5. I'm fortunate to be able to stay at home, this really helps with us being able to slow down and live life at a steady speed and allows for us to spend time together enjoying simple pleasures in life. In 2010 I hope to keep our family's focus on this. Life is what we make it, ours is enjoyed taking in the surroundings, respecting nature, and appreciating our community and what we have.

6. In 2010 I'm living life for myself, my kids, my hubby. Life is too short to take on toxic energy.

Welcome 2010, I embrace you with wide open arms!