My wheels are turning

I am reading a book called Crazy Love by Francis Chan and I have only just finished the first chapter but he has got the wheels in my brain turning! If you have not read that book I encourage you to order it now!!! The first chapter he tries to explain how big God is and who He is and what He is.  He gets your brain thinking about how mighty he is and really how there are no words to describe him.  “If my mind is the size of all the oceans, it would be stupid for me to say He is only the small amount of water I can scoop into my little can.  God is so much bigger, so far beyond our time-encased, air/food/sleep-dependent lives.”  My mind is just bombarded with thoughts that if I try to put them into words it would sound so crazy! So I will try to un-scramble my thoughts but really buy the book!

So update on Brian.  He went back to the dr last week and he still had a lot of blood and protein in his urine.  This is what happens when I can’t go with him because all this time I had to idea it was high protein in his urine too, I thought it was just blood.  Anyway the dr just looked at him for a couple of seconds and told him that she has no idea what is wrong with him.  At least she is honest, right?  She ordered a ct scan for him so he is going to do that on Wednesday.  The results from that will direct our next step.  Either she will treat whatever it might be or he will be referred to a specialist.  So please keep him in your prayers.

I have started to potty train David and I maybe 4 days into it and I am ready to throw in the towel.  I am getting the feeling that maybe he isn’t ready.  I guess I just expected him to catch on quickly and within a few days, viola we have a potty trained boy! Not so much.  I have these pull ups that have a little picture on them and if he pees it makes the picture go away.  I have been trying to entice him with that and with m&ms but every time I ask him if he has to go potty he says no.  So I have been setting the timer for every 30 minutes to go to the bathroom but that gets a tad annoying and if the timer does not go off he pees in his pull up.  So I guess I just need to keep at it but man it is a lot of work!

Jonathan is doing great! His top favorite words are snack, bite, more, no, mine, mommy, dayday, dada, and now he says Larry!! He is getting his bottom two eye teeth so he has been cranky, fussy and oh so fun!  He just had his 1 year check up and he is doing great! He weighs 25 pounds 10 ounces and I think his about 30 inches tall.  He is really not too far behind his brother.  I love watching the boys play together and be brothers! There is nothing  greater than a sibling!

I will post an update when we know the results of the ct scan.  Please keep Brian in your prayers.

What a day, what a day!

This crazy day actually started yesterday.  I got a call from Brian around 1 saying that he felt too sick to drive.  He was light-headed and dizzy and did not feel right.  I picked him up by 3 and when we got home around 4 he went straight to bed and only came down to eat a bit and then back to bed for the night.  I got up around 6:30 because I needed to shower and get ready before the boys woke up because we had to take Brian to work and then Jonathan had his 1 year check up today.  We left the house at 7:45.  As we were driving Brian was saying that he still did not feel right and that he felt horrible and if he did go to work he was not sure if he would be able to drive home.  He was able to get someone to cover for him and we took him right away to urgent care, oh but we stopped at McDonald’s for some breakfast.  We were at urgent care for about an hour and a half to learn that maybe it is vertigo but he has a lot of blood in his urine and that worried the doctor.  She ran a bunch of tests for mono, strep, flu and also sent in his urine to be tested.  He has an appointment tomorrow at 3:30 to get the results.  In the meantime the doctor prescribed him some medicine to help with the dizziness.  He still has felt horrible all day and has been in bed all day.  Brian is by no means the type to lay around all day.  He gets bored very easily and needs to do something, so I know that he really is not feeling well.  After Brian’s visit we took him home dropped him off and me and the boys headed to Jonathan’s doctors appointment, which I had to call and push back to 11.  He is one happy healthy boy! He weighs 25 pounds 10 ounces and is 30 inches long.  To me he seems like a beast but he is in the 80th percentile for height and weight and off the charts in his head circumference.  While we were there I asked the dr to look at Davids feet because he has a bazillion splinters in them.  While we were at my Moms house I would let him play in the backyard with no shoes on.  I think the splinters are from their mulch because you can’t get splinters from the type of wood they have on the deck.  So she looked at them and said “Wow this would take you hours to get all these splinters out.  See these ones here are red and look infected, I will need to prescribe him some antibiotics to treat them”.  Well what do you know, there goes my mother of the year award!!! So after we left there I went to McDonalds AGAIN!! So does that mean my Mother of the year award is gone for next year too??? After we left McDonalds I went to CVS dropped off  the prescriptions and went home to put the boys down for a nap.  As soon as they were down I had to go to Kroger to get stuff for a french toast casserole and Quiche that I am making for my MOPS meeting tomorrow morning.  I put my groceries in my trunk and got in my car to start it and it would not start-up but the lights and the radio worked.  I sat back and I just had to laugh because of course this would happen to me on this crazy day.  I called a dear sweet, sweet friend Hollis to come get me and she gladly agreed.  While I was waiting for her I walked over to CVS to pick up everyone’s medicine and then called John our car guy to see what it could be.  As soon as Hollis got there and started to transfer my groceries to her car and take me home, John asks me if the car is in neutral.  I look down and its in DRIVE!!! I put it in park and it starts right up!!! AAAAAHHHHHH.  Of course, right!! I was so embarrassed.  Hollis had come to rescue me and even canceled a dr appointment to come and get me.  Well praise God for great friends, a great car guy and that my car still works! Amen! So guess where I go again?  MCDONALDS!!! Three times in one day, really?  Brian wanted something for lunch so I grabbed that for him and went home.  I put my groceries away and got the boys out the door to go to work at 3.  Work was actually normal which was a nice break in my day.  I come home feed the boys a great dinner that my dear sweet friend Hollis got for us.  I bathed them and put them to bed by 7:30.  Now I am sitting here in complete peace and quiet because everyone is in bed! I have already pre made my french toast casserole for tomorrow but I am thinking I will need to get up way too early to make the Quiche and bake everything before we leave the house at 6:45 to get Brian to work on time and for me to get to MOPS by 8:50.  UGh I am tired all ready just thinking about it! Like I said, what a day!!

California Adventure-Day 21

I can’t believe that I am actually writing that today is my last day here on my California Adventure! When I first got here I felt like 3 weeks seemed like an eternity.  My time has flown by.  This day was spent just being together! My Mom spent all day with us.  She took David to the park this morning while Jonathan napped and I showered.  David was so exhausted from the horrible night of sleep he got last night. So after he went to the park with my Mom I put him to bed for a nap.  We pretty much just hung outside for most of the day.  Jonathan went back for a nap around 12:30 and I fell asleep in the palacio!! Oh it was heaven! To sleep outside in the warm sun was a treat! Around 2:30 we went to Starbucks, then to CVS to buy more diapers and then we went to a birthday party for my friends 6-year-old son! That was really fun to see old faces and to get a chance to say goodbye to the old faces that I had seen these last 3 weeks.  We left there about 4:45 because my Mom had a work dinner to go to.  Renee and her boys came over around 5 to spend the night with us on our last night here! My dad left to go to dinner with a friend so we had the house to ourself! We fed the boys dinner and let them play in the backyard together! Oh man those two have so much fun together.  We bathed them all because they were so dirty, they got to watch a movie and then we sent them off to bed! Renee, my Dad and I ate Pizza and watched a movie together while I packed up all our stuff! My Mom came home from the dinner and we hung out and talked and then headed off to bed! I think that next time for sure Brian will have to come with us because 3 weeks away was just way too hard for everyone! We all missed each other so much.  I am so thankful for our time together and the amazing 3 weeks I got to spend with my amazing family! I am so blessed!!

California Adventure-Day 20

Last night we had our BIG sleep over with Renee and her boys! Normally her boys don’t wake up until 8ish but this morning Jack decided to get up at 6:45 because he wanted to see dayday! So shall I say it again that I was up at the crack of EARLY!!! I again, quickly brewed up some coffee.  We made the boys french toast for breakfast and we just let them play all morning long!  Renee had a meeting to go to in the morning so she took Colton with her and I watched Jack.  My Mom took Jack and David to the park while Jonathan took his morning nap and when he woke up we met them at the park! We feed the boys lunch and put them down for a nap.  While the boys slept I went to Denica’s to get lunch for me and Renee! I love love love that place but man it was packed.  Of course by the time I got home everyone was up! Renee had some things to do from 3-6 so I watched the boys for her.  They played outside and watched movies! At around 5ish my family came over for a bbq! My mom made grilled chicken cordon bleu! Oh man it was so tasty! I appreciate and love my family so much!  I went to bed around 11.  David woke up at 1am whining.  He would not stop whining.  I was afraid that he was going to wake up Jonathan.  He would say his knee hurt, or that he had to poop, or his whatever hurt.  So I finally took him downstairs to watch some tv so that he would not wake up Jonathan.  We came back up to bed an hour later on the condition that he would stop whining.  So of course he starts right back up.  Finally he falls asleep but at 6am he starts whining again about his nose hurting.  So it is obvious to say that this was a horrible night sleep!!!!

California Adventure-Day 19

My mom took today off as well! It is so fun to hang out with her and the boys all day long! Plus it is nice to have an extra pair of hands! My mom had some work to do most of the morning, so while she worked upstairs I played in the backyard with the boys! That is one thing I will really miss is having a huge backyard to send them off to!  My Mom thought it would be fun to take the boys to Super Franks after their nap.  So when they woke up we called Renee to find out when she would be here and she said the boys had just woken up around 3:30 and she was going to back some things to spend the night and then come over.  She did not get here until about 5:30 so we skipped out on Super Franks feed the boys some dinner here, bathed them and put them all to bed! Mike was the babysitter while us girls went out to a Mom and daughters dinner! We went to Peasant and the Pear in Danville and sat out on the patio.  It was the cutest setting out there with their hung lights and the live band.  We didn’t get out of the house until about 8 or 8:30 so we finished with dinner and dessert around 11.  We came home and we all went to bed!

California Adventure-Day 18

Today we had no plans! We just hung out at the house ALL day and the boys got on my last nerve ALL day!! They are so tired and so ready to see their Daddy! David says everyday that he wants his Dada and he wants to go to his Gigi and Papa’s house! It is so hard to explain to a 2.5 year old that it’s not quit time to go home yet but soon! So today really was just playing either inside or outside, eating,  and sleeping! That is what our day looked like today!  Today it has started to hit me that I am going home soon.  I can’t believe how fast the 3 weeks went by.  It is so hard to leave and not know when I will be back.  We have another year until we have to pay for a ticket for Jonathan but add him and Brian into the mix and it gets really expensive.  Emotionally today was a hard day.  I have had so much fun with my sister and with the Tutino girls and my family and I don’t have those type of relationships yet in Tn and it’s really hard.  I love Tn but I am still trying to make close friends and feel connected.  I know that no one could ever take the place of my sister and the Tutino girls and I treasure that no matter what, we always just pick up right where we left off.  I wish California was not so expensive and that I could live my dream here but it is expensive and I had to go to a place that I had family and that I could live my dream, to stay home with my boys.  Today was a good day but an emotional day.  I am sure as Monday nears it will only get harder.

California Adventure-Day 17

Today we got up at our usual 6:30 selves! I quickly brewed up some coffee and made the boys some breakfast.  Today we are taking pictures with us and the boys! A friend of Renee’s is a photographer.  We were supposed to meet in Livermore at the photographers home by 9:30 well due to traffic for Renee and running late for me we didn’t all get there until 10:30.  Oops! So Crystal (the photographer) jumped into the car with Renee and I followed them into the middle of nowhere in Livermore to take pictures.  She has taken photos in this abandon house with a barn in the past but apparently someone has just recently moved in.  So instead we pull up just past this house and decide to take pictures in fenced off field!  So picture this, it is incredibly windy, we have 4 boys, me, Renee, Crystal, and this peacock colored chair Renee brought for a prop and we are all trying to get over this fence.  Well we made it! We took about 300 pictures and luckily we left without anyone playing in disgusting old troff water, falling off the fence they were climbing, or getting hurt by crawling into a small fenced off area with a gas thingy in it! Whew, to be a Mom to two wild boys!!!  So after we dropped Crystal back off then we went over to our friend Courtney’s house! We had lunch there and let the boys and Chloe play!  It was a good time to get caught up and see each other! After that we went to CVS and to fill my insulin prescription.  I paid for a 3 month supply because it was cheaper than doing it for 1 month.  They have to be refrigerated so I will have to come up with a crafty idea to get them home on the plane! So when we were done with that we came home and I let the boys play for a while.  I fed them dinner, gave them baths and put them to bed at 7! My Dad went and picked up some chinese food for dinner and when my Mom got home at 8 we just hung out for a bit and then I went to bed around 9:30.  It was a good day and I can’t wait to see how the pictures turned out!  Here is a sneak peek of some of the pictures!  Oh they are so cute!!  I love the one of Jonathan by himself in the chair!! My little Asian baby!!

California Adventure-Day 16

My Mom took today off to hang out with us so that was a real treat! She was up when we were up at the crack of 6:30!!! Thank God she had the coffee brewed and ready to go!  We hung out drank coffee and had breakfast and then around 11 we headed to Renee’s house in Brentwood.  Once we got there we let the boys play for a bit and then we headed to Discovery Bay to have lunch! The restaurant was right on the water and we sat on the patio and enjoyed the beautiful weather! We did not leave there until 2:30! No wonder the boys were so antsy! We went back to Renee’s house and let the boys play together while Colton had his beauty sleep! It is so fun to watch the boys play together! No one but Colton had naps today so you can only imagine the great spirits they were all in!!  We left Renee’s around 4.  I feed the boys dinner, gave them baths and put them to bed at 6:30! They were exhausted!  Once the boys were in bed my Mom grilled some salmon and peppers for dinner! It was so good! We watched Date Night, drank wine and relaxed! It was so fun to just sit and hang out together! It was a blessing to just enjoy today with my Mom!

California Adventure-Day 15

Of course the boys decide to get up early when their Momma goes to bed late! I woke up and started the coffee first thing!! My Uncle Grant came over around 8 to help with the after party clean up! I let the boys play outside while we started the clean up party! We cleaned up for about an hour before tradition called for the “after party beer break”!  So at 9 am we were serving up the rest of the Stella from the night before! We cleaned up for a while and the boys played in the backyard.  After the boys woke up from their nap we went over to Grammy’s house and swam with Reid and Ryle!  David had so much fun swimming with his second cousins! I have come to realize more and more that my boys have no fear of the water!  It is a good thing but a scary thing at the same time.  I had fun spending time talking with Grammy!  When we got home I put Jonathan down for another nap and made David watch a show to rest! We headed over to Jeff’s house for a BBQ around 5! I can’t wait to post some of those pictures on here! My boys looked like they were fresh out of a dumpster they were so muddy and dirty!  Jonathan had eaten a chocolate cupcake that dropped in the dirt so he was covered with chocolate and dirt! It was priceless!  I left there around 7 to get the boys bathed and in bed! After they were asleep I went back over to Jeff’s house to hang out a bit more with my Tutino girls before we had to say goodbye!  We talked and laughed until about 11 when I needed to go home to sleep.  It is always so hard to say goodbye to them! They mean the world to me those girls! The greatest thing about our friendship is that no matter what we alway just pick up where we left off! Man I am so blessed to have them I love them so much!  We said our goodbyes not knowing when we would see each other again and I went home and went to bed!

California Adventure-Day 14

So today is the big party day!! Summer bird for those of you who don’t know is Thanksgiving in the summer hence the name summer bird! My parents rent tables and chairs and go all out in the backyard with decorations, food and beverages to celebrate Thanksgiving in the summer! Basically its a great excuse to party with family and friends! So this morning we again just played in the backyard and helped get ready for the party! The boys went down for naps and when they woke up we went to feed the ducks! We meet the Tutino girls, Jeff and Dana, and George and Jane at the Blackhawk Plaza and let the kids play on the play ground and feed the ducks! It was fun and beautiful outside.  We got home and I put Jonathan down for another nap and I slept for a bit while David watched a show! We put on our party clothes around 5:30 and got ready to party! It was so great to see family I have not seen in a while and friends that I have not seen.  For dinner my parents served up my Dads ribs, turkey, salad, bread, beans and potato salad! My Uncle John and his band played some great dance tunes, we used the deck as our dance floor! Once they were done around 10ish, then we plugged in the iPod and kept on dancing!! We had such a great time! The last dancing crew consisted of Mollie and her friends, the Tutino girls, Me, Renee and Allison! Oh and you can’t forget about the crazy party crashers!

Right after dinner we noticed this young couple and no one seemed to notice who they were.  We asked if they were Mollie’s friends but they weren’t! Finally Aunt Kristen goes to them and introduces herself to get the inside scoop as to who the heck they were, well come to find out they were “Janet’s daughter and boyfriend”! Ok Janet does not live in the court she lives on the cross street about 5 doors down from our court.  Her, her daughter and the boyfriend heard the music and saw the bonfire from their house and decided to come through the golf course to crash the party!  These party crashers decided to get trashed!!!!  They were the oddest family.  The boyfriend was offering my young cousins beer and Janet’s daughter was doing a drunken strip tease during the iPod dance party! Before the party crashers left they piled a bunch of food on a plate and staggered their way home! Although they crashed the party they sure did give us something to laugh at during and after the party! Tonight was so much fun! My family and friends sure do know how to party!!!