Music

I've been feeling very uninspired by pop music lately, so in attempt to freshen my music perspective, I have decided to allow some of my old band-orchestra-chorus-geek music tastes show through. The songs I've chosen are all known by most anyway, so relax a while and lose yourself in some classical tunes (oh, and some Glenn Miller too!)

Hello Easter Bunny

Friday Jacob had a filling replaced after school. He did very well, and as a reward, we went to the mall for an Orange Julius, a ride on the train and a visit with the Easter Bunny. We ran into my nieces there too! Andrew loved the Easter Bunny. I should have taken him along to the photographer a few weekends ago! Maybe then he would have smiled instead of shrieking!

Perhaps the train isn't as thrilling for Jacob as it used to be!

Reaching out to pat the bunny.

Again, Jacob's thrill level is slightly sub-par!

Keirsten and Brooke look a little more exited than Jacob.

Invasion of Fort Jacob

Andrew has discovered Jacob's new hideout. Can't you just hear him saying, "Brudder, are you in there?"
Much to Jacob's dismay, Andrew has staged a full-on attack, or perhaps in Andrew's mind it was a search and rescue operation: "Hang on, Brudder! I'll save you! I'm coming in!"

Unfortunately, Jacob had to defend his lair, and Andrew was carted off, back to the loneliness of the living room. Poor Andrew. :(

Writer's Block!

Well, I feel like I have a bit of writer's block lately. I have nothing inspiring to write about, and nothing monumental going on in my life to inspire me. In a lot of respects, the equilibrium is nice. I'm not complaining. I just don't feel like I have a lot to say!

The boys are doing well. We went to visit my sister-in-law and my nieces today. Jake had a good time playing with them, but Kiersten had a few go-arounds with Jake and Brooke. Jacob and Kiersten have a textbook example of a "love/hate relationship." They are either best friends, conspiring against the world, or arch-nemeses. At one point today, we heard a ruckus upstairs and when we checked on the kids, Jacob informed my sister-in-law that Kiersten was
"having a nervous breakdown." I thought that was kind of funny. I'm not sure where he heard that phrase.

Otherwise, it's been quiet here. That's the way we like it - boring blogs and all!

What's Old Is New

"Outings are so much more fun when we can savor them through the children's eyes."- Lawana Blackwell , The Courtship of the Vicar's Daughter, 1998.

Yesterday I took the boys for a short walk to our local YMCA playground. Our Y has recently completed some very expensive renovations, and this was the first time that we had been inside to see them. They have completely redone most of the building, and I have to admit, it was impressive. I'll have to take a full tour sometime without the kids, or with Greg for help so I can actually look around.

Even with these costly improvements to the inside, they have totally neglected the outside playground. The Y playground was actually redone when I was in either 7th or 8th grade...like, 18-20 years ago (how did I get so old?)! I can remember thinking how wonderful it was back then! When I looked at it yesterday, especially in comparison to the indoor renovations, I was struck with how dingy it appeared. My lack of enthusiasm, however, was not mirrored by my children. Jacob was thrilled with the playground! We have only gone there a few times, preferring the elementary school playground over the YMCA, simply because the Y gets very crowded. Because of our infrequency there, it felt like a whole new world for Jacob to conquer!

He ran from one piece of equipment to the other, commenting on the wonder of each of them - the plastic tunnels balanced on tires, the giant "monster truck" tires that had painted platforms (one of which was even broken!). He thought the sea saw was fabulous (it was splintering, with the paint worn off!), not to mention the twisty slide, and long climbing coils (which were paled by sun damage).

I asked him which playground he liked more and he said, "This one, mom. It has a lot of cool stuff." Andrew loved it as well. He enjoyed the baby swing (which was one of the old-style ones, with 4 holes cut into a big plastic hoop. Jacob thought it was meant for two babies to swing together, back to back!), and he went on the teeter totter with Jacob. He would have loved to crawl around too, but the ground was just a little damp and muddy.

I didn't mention my opinion of the place to Jake. Why ruin his perspective with my jaded viewpoints? I did, however, think about our varying ways of thinking. It's a perfect example of how a child sees the world with fresh, innocent eyes. Something that was old and unworthy of attention to me, was the highlight of Jacob's day. I should really listen to him more often. I might be surprised at what he finds intriguing!

Jacob daring himself to go down the twisty slide!

Jacob climbing the coil...actually, he was literally walking up the coil, inch by inch, until I told him he had to either climb it, or we were leaving! (I was waiting on his "one last thing" before we left. Clever, isn't he?!)

Andrew loved the baby swing. I actually think this is the first time he's been in a big swing!

We have to get the kid a swing for our porch for his birthday.

Video and Pictures

Still not much going on around here. Yesterday I took the boys to a local photographer to have their Easter pictures taken. Jacob was very good, but Andrew had some issues with stranger anxiety. We got a few nice shots of the two of them, but mostly just of Jacob. Here are some of the pictures - I took pictures of them with my phone, so the quality isn't the best. They actually did turn out very nice.

Last night when I rinsed Andrew off after his bath in the sink, he decided to drink from the sprayer. I thought it was cute, so here's the video of that.

Bath Fun

Andrew had an empty bottle, which he kept shoving under the water. He laughed each time the air bubbles popped against his skin.

Where Have I Been?

Sorry for the delay in posting. Time has just gotten away from me in the last week or so, and I've found myself too busy for much time on the computer. You know I'm busy if I'm not even making time for blogging and email! Here's what's been going on:

Jackie:

I drove to Baltimore last Sunday to visit with Jackie for the day. She is doing very well, considering all that she is up against. I felt better having seen her, and it was an enjoyable visit, even with the underlying sadness and concern.

The results from Jackie's amniocentesis came back this week as normal. What a huge relief! While this does not eliminate the brain anomalies from the excessive fluid, it does rule out several fatal chromosomal defects, which is very good news. She meets with the pediatric neurosurgeon next week, so please keep praying that he has good news for her as well.

Me:

I went to Pittsburgh yesterday to the Headache Center for a follow-up for my headaches. I continue to have success with the Elavil, and he prescribed another medication for occasional breakthrough headaches. That medication knocked the headache out well, but made me feel very shaky, nauseated and dizzy, so I will definitely be taking that only on occasion. Still, you have to love modern medicine....when it works, that is!

I have also begun painting my living room, which those of you who have been to my house know is no small feat. It's a big room and a big undertaking. I'm half way there, but two small children make finding time to paint difficult! I hope to have it done by Easter, or at least by Andrew's birthday.

Which brings me to Andrew:

This kid never gets normal illnesses. Recently he had a blocked duct behind the eyelash follicles on the outside corner of his right eye (not his tear duct). He woke up one day looking like he had been in a boxing match! The doctor told me that this scenario often results in surgery to remove the blockage, but by the grace of God, Andrew's resolved with some eye drops. Two days later, however, he had a fever with no other symptoms, which resulted in two days off of day care, and sabotaged my plans to spend one of those days painting my living room. That health issue seems to be over now too.


Andrew now has two more teeth - the two front top teeth, which he happily grits together with his bottom teeth. YIKES! The noise drives everyone crazy!


His new favorite pass times are banging his head against the washing machine (I guess he likes the sound) and flushing the toilet, namely when I am in the shower!


Jacob:


Oh, Jacob. Where do I begin. First of all, Jacob had a routine dentist appointment this week. Andrew was sick, so my mother took Jake. When I called to check on him, she proceeded to tell me that Jacob sat in the dentist chair and told Dr. Hetrick that he felt his "gray tooth was abscessed." Mind you, Jacob has not complained of any tooth pain whatsoever. Indeed, it is abscessed. Jake self-diagnosed it, and is now on an antibiotic, awaiting a consult and surgery (again) to remove the tooth. I feel like the worst mother in the world! This kid's teeth are a mess, but I swear I brush them! I admit that I don't floss them every night, but I do try to do it a few times a week, and we religiously take a fluoride supplement as well as rinse with a fluoride mouthwash after brushing every day. I'm blaming genetics, namely my ex-husband. I didn't have a single cavity until I was 29, and I haven't had one since! It can't be my genes!


Some lighter news about Jake - he has learned to use the phone very well and has memorized some phone numbers (Greg's cell phone and my parent's home phone). While I am glad that he can use the phone independently, he is now minorly obsessed with calling people, and he calls without my knowledge. One day he tried several times to call my parents, but was unable to get through because of mis-dialing. When he finally did get my mom, he was mad at her, wanting to know what was wrong with her phone. He couldn't believe that he had done something wrong, so when she insisted that it was not her phone, he called Greg. He told me that he was calling Greg to see what was wrong with the power lines (since Greg works at a power plant), but when he actually got in touch with Greg, he didn't even mention it.


Jacob has invited my mother down several times without telling me. The point isn't that she's here without my prior knowledge, but rather that a few of those times, Jacob has left with Greg to run errands and mom has been left in the dust! And once, Jacob talked to Greg for 15 minutes while he sat on the toilet (Jacob, that is, not Greg!). How nice!


Jacob spent the night at my mom's house this week and told her that he was in the school newspaper for being the "heart attack" of kindergarten. Not understanding, she asked him to elaborate. He then explained, "You know, when all the girls love you." Heart throb was what he meant!


One last Jacob story, and then I am signing off. Soon after we bought this house, almost 3 years ago, Greg started playing a joke on Jacob with the TV. While Jake was watching TV, Greg would hide behind the couch with the remote and mute it. Then he told Jake that in order to get the TV to turn the volume back on, Jake had to tap his ears lightly. Jake would tap them, and Greg would reinstate the sound. Greg would do this off and on for 15 minutes, howling in laughter as Jacob innocently tapped his ears waiting for the sound to return. It was really funny. Well, yesterday the sound went off by itself momentarily. Greg wasn't even home, and I looked over at Jacob to see him tapping his ears frantically, waiting for the sound to come back! I had to leave the room and call Greg, it was really hysterical! That poor kid!


Oh, I also felt like I needed some more up-beat music on the blog for a while. I had been feeling very mellow recently, but I think that a happier, faster beat is in order, at least for a little while.


Well, I think that is all the news for now. Sorry about the delay in posting. Hopefully things will be a little less busy in the next coming weeks, and I'll have more to report on a regular basis.

A Little Inspiration

Understandably, my mind has been rather fixated on my friend Jackie's situation as of late. I'm thinking a lot of her and her husband, what she is going through, what she will have to face, and also what I have in comparison. She is handling it very well, a testimony to her inner strength and faith. They are at a stand-still for the moment, waiting for the results of the amniocentesis, and later the appointment with the pediatric neurosurgeon on March 17th. She's very Irish (and Italian) so I hope her Irish heritage brings her a bit of luck and good news on St.Patrick's Day. For those of you who are praying, the baby now has a name - Sean David.

In the meantime, I have two inspirational stories I'd like to share. The first is from my mother:

A friend of my mother's, a woman I don't know, was unable to get pregnant. At 41, long after she had given up trying, she became pregnant. Because of her advanced age, the doctors did all of the routine tests on her. The amnio came back irregular, but they could not specify what was wrong with the baby. The recommendation was to terminate, but she refused to give up on her child. Her husband left her because he didn't want to have a handicapped baby, and in many respects her life fell apart. She prepared herself for the worst, but when the baby was born - a little girl - the only thing wrong with her was that she was missing a fingernail on her pinky. For that, she was almost aborted! What an amazing relief for the mother, and a testament to keeping the faith! Sometimes it's not the experts, but rather a mother's gut that gives the best advice.

The next story is one of a couple I personally know. Michelle and Dave, I don't know if you read this blog or not, but I assume you won't mind me sharing your story. It's such an inspiration. You'll forgive me if some of the details are wrong, but the main idea of what you went through is unforgettable.

Michelle was pregnant with twins when one of the twins died. Michelle, like Jackie, had a terrible pregnancy, vomiting non-stop. The doctors recommended that Michelle abort the surviving fetus, because of a long list of complications that could arise from the deteriorating dead baby in her womb. Of course, Michelle and Dave were distraught over this, but they decided that they would follow the doctor's orders, and try for another baby later. Still, the decision weighed heavily on them both. The night before their scheduled appointment in Pittsburgh, Dave had a dream. He was on a football field and a young man came running up to him. Dave looked at the young man and asked, "Alex? Alex, are you alright?" The man responded, "Yeah, Dad. I'm fine." When Dave awoke, he told Michelle about his dream and they decided not to abort the baby. Michelle gave birth to a healthy baby boy, Alex, that June. He'll be 4 this summer, and he's a strapping and brilliant little guy!

It's easy to despair when times are tough, and it's easy to expect the worst. In some ways, I think preparing for the worst is a survival mechanism, necessary to keep us going amidst potential chaos. In many ways, it is difficult to keep faith when things that feel so unjust and cruel are happening. I sincerely believe that God gives us grief to make us stronger, to help us truly appreciate the blessings we have, and to teach us that it is Him after all who is in control, not us, as we so frequently forget.

I am perhaps on of the worst offenders when it comes to losing faith, questioning too much and tightening my own grip of control, but I have been taught, in my own life, and through the lives of others, that sometimes faith is all we have, and sometimes, against the odds, miracles really do happen.

Jackie and Dave could use a miracle about now, so please keep praying, and sending good thoughts their way.

Some Pictures

Jacob made me a birthday cake. I was about to blink in the picture.

My special cake.

Big Hair Saturday Night - ready to ROCK!

Plastic bags are fine toys for infants!

Group sing!

Ed jams it out with Freddy!

The dinosaur excavation.

"Don't you love my hat?"