Cousins, Bugs, and a Princess Bike

Last Saturday, we went to Jesse's sister Christy's house to celebrate our niece Leah's 4th birthday. The boys LOVE their cousin and the feeling is mutual as whenever we walk in the door, Leah always (no joke, every time) yells excitedly "My cousins!! My cousins are here!!"

The boys played outside the entire time we were there. Wyatt thought our nephew Patrick was super cool because he caught a butterfly in Leah's bug catcher.



That was all fun and good, but Christy & I didn't think it was super cool when Patrick caught this bumblebee too. Can you see that stinger?!? OUCH!!


Patrick tried to trick Leah by rubbing some of the yellow off the butterfly's wing and telling her that if she ate it she'd be able to fly. As you can tell by this picture, she was slightly disgusted by the idea, and (thankfully) didn't believe him! Geez, I wonder if all big brothers are like that? I can't imagine what Waylon will try to talk Wyatt into doing. Wow, ER here we come!

The big hit of the day was Leah's new princess bike and helmet. She wore the helmet and elbow pads most of the time while we were there, but as soon as he got a chance, Waylon had to try them out. I have to admit, even though it's pink, he does look stinkin' cute in that helmet!! He's very secure in his manhood already, well, maybe he just REALLY wanted to get a turn with that helmet & bike!!

We've survived the first week...almost...one more day to go!

I know I said I was going to wait until Friday to do a big first week of PreK post, but I have a little time today, so here it is.

Day 1- Dropped him off, he acted like he'd been doing it all his life, no tears, no nothing. However it did take 45 minutes of crying for him to go to sleep at naptime.

Day 2- He CRIED!! But by the time I made it back to mom's office and called to the room to check on him, he was ok. Asleep in 2 minutes at naptime.

Day 3- Aunt Tania dropped him off, he cried, and Mrs. Christy said it was about 10:30 before he quit whining. Naptime was great, he was ready and went right to sleep.

Day 4- He started crying when we pulled into the parking lot. Screamed when I peeled him off of me and handed him off to Mrs. Wendy. Maybe I cried a little too. The lady that does sidewalk duty by his building (whom I have no idea who she is) stopped me and gave me a hug and reassurance as I walked out of his building a bawling mess! Bless her heart, she was so sweet! I got back to mom's office to get Wyatt and Mom called over to Way's classroom, he was still whiny and joined to Mrs. Wendy's hip, but getting better. Mrs. Christy called me about 9:15 and said he was better and participating, and she was excited that it didn't take until 10:30 today!! She also said she was going down the list and calling mommas to ease minds. It seems he's not the only one. Tuesday and Wednesday, one other kid was crying when I dropped him off today, there were at least 4 of them howling.

God bless Mrs. Christy & Mrs. Wendy. I know when I leave him, even though it KILLS me, I know he's in good hands & that they seem to love all those kids almost as much as us mommies & daddies do.

I'll try to get some pictures up soon, we're still getting used to this whole school routine, and Mr. is not all about getting his picture taken or anything else while we're fighting to get ready in the mornings. He likes to lay in his bed and say, "I no go school. It night-night time." Yeah, wonder where he gets that stubborn streak from?

Pre-K Preview

Well, Waylon took the big step...he started Pre-K on Monday. I'm going to wait to do a big post at the end of the week, as I'm sure I'll have very interesting things to post!! More to come...

Splash Park

Last Friday, I took the boys to the splash park for a little while along with my friend Monica. We all had a really good time, and just a word of advice, if any of you take your kids, be sure to plan on getting wet too!! It was great fun & not busy at all. We went in the morning, then followed up with lunch, and by the time we got home, my boys were tuckered out and ready for a nap.

The actual splash area isn't very big, but it's perfect for toddlers and maybe up to about 6 or 7 year olds, I think that much older than that and the kids would be bored. It's got about 10 or so little fountains and a large grassy area surrounding it. There are bathrooms and picnic tables, it's all fenced in, and best of all.....it's FREE!!!

It's possible that pressure means you just have to "go"

Most of you know that I work in Labor & Delivery. As you can imagine, we see and hear some pretty amazing things, not necessarily amazing as in like, awestruck, but amazing as in "good Lord, are these people really procreating?!?" Hope you all enjoy!

#1-A young girl comes in to L&D in a wheelchair, complaining of abdominal pain. It went something like this:
Me: Hey there, what's going on?
Her: I been having these pains down here in my belly.
Me: Is this your first baby?
Her: Yes
Me: How far along are you?
Her: 17 weeks
Me: OK, well, are you hurting now?
Her: No, but I just wanted to be sure that everything was ok with the baby, because I couldn't feel her heartbeat today.
Me: *sitting here with puzzled look on my face*
Her: You know, like I can put my hand on my belly and feel like a double heartbeat, you know, mine & hers.
Me: OK, well let's just take a little listen and make sure the baby's ok

Wow, never knew you could do that "feeling of the heartbeat" thing. Hmmm....anyway, it was determined that she was having some ligament pain and she went home.

#2- A woman came in at 36 weeks pregnant with her 3rd baby, huffing and puffing, stating she thought her water broke and was having so much pressure and the baby was coming NOW!! We rush her to the room where we notice, first of all, her bottom is dry (hence her water may not really be broken) check her cervix and find she is 1cm dilated and the baby's head is so high we can barely reach it. But she still insists there's SO MUCH PRESSURE!! The Dr then wants to do a speculum exam to see if she has indeed broken her bag of water. The Dr sits down, is about to put the speculum in when the pt says, "See, it's coming out again!" Yeah, she was having lots of fluid pouring out, but in the form of, you guessed it, urine. The bad thing is, she had brought her & his whole family along. Great, now your whole family knows you need to poop and you pee on yourself. Wonderful.

#3-*Note: If any of you EVER come in with a birth plan, I will not claim you*
With that said, do not bring in a birth plan. If you're having a baby, and you're coming to the hospital, we will try to be as accommodating as possible, but bottom line, our priority is the safety of you and your baby. If you want to be all granola, go to a birth center. You came to the hospital for a reason, so you'd be there in case of an emergency. We have rules to follow. Don't come in preaching about how you don't want an IV. No one beats down the door asking for IV's, we know you don't WANT one, but too bad, it's non-negotiable. Don't gripe and complain about our monitoring system. We want to be able to make sure your baby's safe in there. Once again, we follow rules. We don't care if you wear your own clothes during labor, but they're gonna get nasty. Labor & delivery are generally not clean. Plus, when you do end up getting that epidural that you DON'T WANT, anesthesia won't let you wear your own clothes. You might as well put the gown on now. All of those other things you say you don't want, well if you're that adamant about not having them, go ahead and sign up for them. Just for having that "plan" pretty much means karma is gonna bite you in the butt and you'll end up with every possible intervention, and a c-section. Along these lines....don't take everything you read on the internet or every "baby story" you see on TV to heart. A little ignorance is healthy I think.

#4-A girl comes in in labor, most of her pain is in her back. The nurse goes to put the monitor on and the girl's mom says, "No, you need to put the contraction monitor on her back, because that's where she hurts."

#5-One of my favorite questions that (surprisingly) we get alot. "I've changed the diaper, I've fed her, why is she still crying?" Ummm...maybe because she's a BABY?!?

#6-A woman comes in (with a birth plan and surprisingly has made it without interventions). She is pushing on her hands and knees and starting to poop as the baby is coming out. The nurse is trying to keep things clean, and the woman yells "Get your finger out of my butt!!!!" Fine, poop on your baby's head. See if we care. (By the way, for inquiring minds, the nurse's finger was NOT in the pt's butt.)

#7- A woman has her baby, and the baby is having some difficulty breathing. They take the baby over to the warmer where they're having to give him oxygen and bag and mask. The woman keeps insisting that we give her her baby so he can breastfeed. Umm, last time I checked it's sort of more important to be able to breathe rather than be able to eat, right?!?

Fun times in LDRP for sure...

Back to School

For the first time since I've been in school myself, I am acutely aware that summer is drawing to a close. With being a big kid in the adult world, then having a job, having kids, I never really paid attention to the beginning or end of summer. I couldn't tell you when "back to school" was happening. This year, my Waylon will be starting Pre-K on August 17th. We all know I've had great reservations about him starting school, but as the time gets closer, I'm actually pretty excited. We will go to Pre-K orientation this Monday at TES, where we'll meet his teacher, see his classroom, and finish up all the necessary paperwork for him to start school. I'm sure we'll also receive a massive list of supplies he'll need! I'm kind of excited about going shopping for school supplies. I'm not sure if that's weird, but if it is, it runs in the family because I know my sister Tania loves school supply shopping! I've already bought Way some new school clothes and I must say I'm very proud of myself. I got all these shirts, plus a pair of shorts and a shirt for Wyatt (not pictured) at K-Mart for $24.00! I love a bargain to begin with, and I figured for as friendly as these prices were, I couldn't pass up the good deal, especially since I'm sure he'll get them really messy at school!

You'll have to turn your head sideways, couldn't get this one to load in the right direction

With the start of school coming up, I know our free days of running around are coming to a close since we'll have our first year of conforming to school hours, but I have to say, we've had tons of fun this summer, especially since the boys are now big fans of "swimming." We've spent quite a few Saturdays at the pool, and we've had a blast every time.

Waylon has developed a love of "flying"

Wyatt has developed a love of lounging


We've also had time to just be at home, playing around and being silly....

I'm so excited for this new chapter, but sort of sad to realize that my baby isn't such a baby anymore. These past 3 years have gone by so incredibly fast, and before I know it, both of them will be in school....then what will I do with my days?!? Oh yeah, sleep without earplugs...I forgot about that....mmmmm!

Water Bugs

Today is the last official 24 hours of my vacation. Sadly, I have to go back to work tomorrow night. So today, myself, Mom, the boys, Tania & her kiddos all headed down to Crystal River to the Scott's condo for one last hurrah on my vacation. (Tania will probably post on this too...it's a race to see who'll get the post on first...you'll have to pop over & read her version!!) We had a blast! We swam for a couple of hours, did some shopping and enjoyed each other's company.

I have to brag a bit on my boys. For being Florida babies, they've never been too fond of water, swimming, etc. Today, something changed I guess, because as soon as we got to the pool, both of them wanted their swimmies on and went right into the pool, no persuasion necessary. Waylon even shucked his boots at the gate *jaw dropping here*. I was expecting huge meltdowns and dragging them into the pool, but (not complaining) they proved me wrong. It was so nice to be able to play in the pool without any whining! Wyatt got to be Mr. Independent, didn't want anybody holding onto him and wanted to "swim" around all by himself. He also wanted to jump off of the ledge of the pool, but got very offended when anyone offered to catch him. Oh no, he wanted to jump off and go underwater all by himself, no help needed. Waylon wasn't quite so brave, but after a while, did float some on his own, and also jumped off of the ledge (but only into someone's waiting arms).

My boys are getting to be so big and changing so much everyday. The potty training is getting much better....Waylon kept a dry pull-up all day long and peed in the potty when he had to go!! BIG EXCITEMENT!!!!!!!! He's actually doing really well, it's finally clicked, not to get my expectations too high up there, but he's doing way better than I thought he would. Wyatt is getting there, a few more accidents, but for just being barely 2, I think he's doing amazingly well.

Tomorrow we have plans to go take the crew to the movies...last week they did pretty good, I'm not holding my breath for tomorrow! I seem to find that if I go into these things with very low expectations, I'm usually not too disappointed with the outcome....try it sometime!