Tidbit

Katie to John - Look! We are driving close to the ocean.
John - We can't see the water yet, we just see the cranes putting the containers on the ships.
Katie - Oh yeah, the containers go on the Chicargo Ships.

Chi-cargo ships... Are those cargo ships built in Illinois? She cracks me up!

Boys? Or just my boy?

Someone with experience raising boys (or any good advice even if you don't have boys!) please help...
John is a disaster. Defiant, defiant, defiant. As soon as I start to tell him to change his behavior or attitude he argues with me, talking over me and assuring me that he is in the right and everyone else is wrong. His most annoying behaviors... Laughing when I discipline. Shooting Allison in the face while she screams "Don't shoot me!" Then yelling at me that they are fake bombs when I take all of the guns away. (THAT is why we don't have toy guns in our house!!!!!!!) Pushing on the stairs. Pushing Allison into the pool. Swimming when I am not outside. Passing at mach speed on his bike. He has that 'I know everything and I can do everything better' attitude that irks me about other kids. GOOD GRIEF! What am I going to do?????????
The cherry on top... He locked me out of my parents' house today when I took the trash out.
Really, help. PLEASE!

Daily Doodles

I wonder... Often! What are they thinking? Do they wonder what I am thinking. Nope! They assume they know what I am thinking.

Today John decided that drinking water is best when it comes from ice. He spent most of the afternoon putting ice in a cup, placing the cup in the sunshine and returning every few minutes to sip the melted bits. He was so excited about his discovery! He even recounted the steps for Grandpa tonight at dinner.

Claire thinks the best part of being at Yia Yia's is the shoes lined up near the door. She puts a new pair on every few minutes and stomps around in them. None of them are hers. :)

Katie wants to know if Dr. Seuss is Yia Yia's doctor. She also wants me to go on a date. Spence won't be thrilled about that! What she really wants is to see the babysitter! I can arrange that even if Spence isn't here to go out on a date with...

Allison. Yikes, Allison! She is my challenge these days. Why must we survive these stages? She doesn't like anything we have and she doesn't want to do anything we are doing. AAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

Where in the world are we?

Ha. I have not given up my blog! We have been traveling and preparing to travel almost every day since my last entry. The first weekend of May Spence and I took Allison and Claire to Utah for Talisa's (Spence's cousin) wedding. The following weekend Uncle Russ arrived for a long weekend visit in Indy at the same time I flew out for a longer solo weekend in Miami with Patti. The third weekend in May we packed up the whole family for a road trip to my parents' place in Suffolk, Virginia, where the kids and I are spending the summer. The next weekend Spence and I took Uncle Gregory on an adventure to Germany and France where we did the tourist bit with Uncle Chris and Aunt Beth. This final weekend of May we are seeing Spence off as he begins his journey to Honduras. So you see... I have not given up my blog. It is just on hold for a few more days.

Spence's Shadow

Spence has been doing some pre-move cleaning. He was doing laps from the basement to the garage this weekend and everywhere Spence went John followed. At first John just walked up and down with him. Then John walked up and down carrying a load with him. By the end John was doing all but the heaviest of loads solo with Spence walking alongside him. The conversation was very one-sided; John was talking Spence's ear off. A tidbit from the conversation... John to Spence, I don't think we need these helicopters anymore Dad. They are Cobras and we like Blackhawks better. The Blackhawks are faster and awesomer, right Dad? Yeah, we like the Blackhawks. It was sooooooooooooooo stinkin' sweet. I've always enjoyed watching little boys interact with their daddy idols. It is even more sweet when the boy/daddy combo is my own. :)
When they were done with the moving chores my guys went outside to practice some bike riding. Less than a month ago John (who just turned 4 in mid-December) tried going on 2 wheels for the first time. He has no fear! Spence has spent hours pushing John to get him started and running up and down the street holding onto the collar of John's shirt to keep him upright... Those days are done! After spending a few hours 'working' with Daddy John decided he could do it solo. AND HE DID! Yay John!!!

Making Miracles

I witnessed my first miracle. Well, I've certainly unknowingly seen many of them... So, I recognized my first miracle on Saint Patrick's day.
It was a Tuesday morning. Spence didn't have PT and I didn't have much on the calendar. We were slowly getting up and starting our day. We didn't have any reason to believe that morning would be unlike any other...
I went into the little girls' room to get them up for the day. I immediately knew something was not right with Claire. Her position seemed odd to me. I leaned over her and enthusiastically engaged her. Her eyes were open, but her only response was to slowly look away from me. She was limp, lethargic, jittery and barely conscious. I immediately wondered if she was postdictal (if she had been having seizures). I scooped her up, continually engaging her, begging her to pep up. I took her temperature, though I knew without looking at the read out that she didn't have a fever. I buckled her into her carseat, left everyone else at home, and raced to the ER. I prayed, out loud, as I drove the 5 minutes to our hospital Please God let this be reversible!
In the ER she was triaged and we were sent to a bed behind a curtain immediately. Claire turned her head to new, loud sounds. Other than that she remained limp and without response. While we waited for the doctor to see us she put her head on my shoulder and went to sleep even though she had just awakened from a full 12 hour night of sleep.
My poor baby girl was so sick and I had no idea what was wrong. :(
The wait to see the doctor seemed to last forever though I suspect it was less than 10 minutes. He came in, introduced himself and asked me what was going on with Claire. After listening to less than 15 seconds of my story he stopped me, stepped out of the room and came back with someone to check her blood sugar. The weight of the world lifted from my shoulders at that moment. Aha, low blood sugar. That explains ALL of her symptoms.
Sure enough, her blood sugar was 38 (it should be 70-110). Claire didn't even have the energy to cry, move her hands and legs or protest in any way when they poked her 4 times for blood samples and an IV!
Halfway through her IV Claire opened her eyes, lifted her face up to me and gave me a kiss. I shed a few happy tears. What a blessing she is!
I am thankful to God for so many reasons... For my intuitive realization that Claire needed immediate help, for Dr. Brantley who instantly knew what was wrong with her and for the scientific and medical resources we have that allowed her to return to her normal self so quickly. No so long ago (and still, in some parts of our world) Claire's condition wasn't reversible.
I remained completely composed through all of Claire's experience. (On the outside only!) Her nurse in the ER even stopped by at one point to thank me for being so patient and at ease with the process (especially the multiple needle sticks). A month later I am just able to write about that day. I still can't talk about it without experiencing significant anxiety and a few tears.

Road Trip!

Monday - I look at the calendar and realize that there isn't anything on there next week. A completely unscheduled week? That never happens! Hmmm... I call Spence mid-day and ask, "Do you want to go to Disney next week?" Before the end of the day I received an email with a suggested itinerary, a route of travel and a budget. (It was in quad chart format, of course.) Yep, we were going to Disney!


Wednesday - I asked the kids where they would like to go for vacation. They were unanimous in their answers - CRACKER BARREL! Oh to enjoy such simple pleasures.


Saturday - We were on the road at 7:30 a.m. It was the start of our family cavation (Allison's new word). We made it into Florida, 14 hours later, with only 2 stops. I dare you to try that with 4 kids under 5. Go on, I dare you. :) Dry erase boards entertained Katie, John and Allison for many hours. They quietly colored for so long... And then I heard from Allison, "Mommy, I am decorating!" I turned around and found my little warrior, in full face and body paint, smiling at me from the back seat. Note to all moms: Dry erase cleans off of faces just as easily as washable Crayolas and the entertainment value is well worth the clean up!


The week that followed was wonderful and joyful. We spent a day with Mema (my mom's mom) and Agnes (Mema's sister). Gigi and Ray happened to be there that day so we shared a great dinner with lots of family. The kids were (and I am so very thankful for this!) well behaved and they can't wait to go back to try out the pool! We spent a day with Grandma Dyer (my dad's mom) and another house full of relatives. Katie, John and Allison braved the cool pool water - all day long. That night as we waited for Spence's mom to arrive Katie declared, "I hope Elle brought her cookies. She is a great cookie maker!" I'm quite certain that in the minds of my children Grandma Elle spends all day making cookies and that she is never without them.


Our two days at Disney were better than anyone could have predicted. The temperature was moderate and the skies were overcast. It was lovely. The lines were short. We all rode Dumbo, Pooh, Peter Pan, It's a Small World, Cinderella's Carousel... We even made it through the Haunted Mansion, though Allison was traumatized by the lights out thunder and lightening in the beginning. If I hadn't been holding her hand I don't think I would have found her when the lights came back on. Katie and John tried Splash Mountain with Spence and me. John loved it. Katie was not pleased to be splashed. Nor did she enjoy the drops going over the hills. She won't be braving the roller coasters any time soon. John, on the other hand, was willing to try anything. He even rode the Dinosaur and Everest with us at Animal Kingdom. Some of the funniest moments were after the rides when he interpreted what happened. When asked what their favorite part of the Disney park was they all agreed - Cotton Candy treats! Once again, such simple pleasures. :)

Check out our Disney slideshow. You can click on it to see it fullscreen.