Freedom!

In honor of Memorial Day, I thought this was wildly appropriate.

Thank you to all our service men and women, active duty, reserves, and retired, who make sacrifices every day so we may be able to enjoy all of our freedoms.  And thank you to their families.  The sacrifices you make are just as big.

Happy Memorial Day!

"...they may take our lives, but the will never take our FREEDOM!" - William Wallace, Braveheart

Jackson's Birthday

On Friday, Jackson turned 4 years old.  It's amazing how quickly the years have gone by.  It seems like only a year has passed since he was born, and I decided to stay home.

Andrew took Friday off from work, and we all went to the Cameron Park Zoo in Waco.  Cullen and Jackson had a blast.  The zoo isn't huge, but it's perfect for our little guys.  We walked the whole thing, looking at all the animals.  Jackson loved the monkeys, fish, giraffes, and elephants.  Cullen loved the fish, lions, tigers, and the snakes were his favorite.  He would have watched the snakes all day if we would have let him.  It was especially cool to him because a lot of the snakes were slithering around instead of hiding and coiled up.  Sawyer hung out on Andrew in the Baby Bjorn until he fell asleep.  Sawyer was a little trooper and loved looking at the fish.

There's an alligator in the background partially under water.

Another fun snake to see slither.

After we made our way around the zoo, we headed over to Ninfa's to grab lunch.  Andrew was even nice enough to order me a margarita.  Love my husband!  I lovingly/begrudgingly shared it with him.  You know I love him if I share my Ninfa's margarita with him!  Otherwise he might have lost a hand grabbing the glass.

The boys were well-behaved at the restaurant.  Andrew and I usually avoid restaurants like the plague because getting the kids to sit still long enough to eat and enjoy the meal rarely happens.  This time both boys sat still the majority of time, and Sawyer was a trooper and ate great.  The chips and salsa helped as well.  I'm pretty sure Cullen ate an entire bowl of chips by himself.  Jackson did get a little antsy and wanted to dance to the music at the end.  I let him.  There's no harm in gettin' jiggy with it every now and then.

We piled into the SUV and headed home after Ninfa's.  The kids fell asleep on the way home.  The silence was welcome.

Jackson opened his presents a short while after we arrived home.  Patience is still a virtue we work on daily with our children.  The whole family sang Happy Birthday to him which he was stoked about.  Then Jackson proceeded to blow out the candles on his cake after dinner.

Overall, it was a fun filled day.  It left myself and Andrew wiped out.  The boys went to bed early for the sanity of their parents.  That was mainly because mom and dad were wiped out and needed some peace and quiet.

Happy 4th Birthday Jackson!

Blast Off!

Thursday evening, Sawyer desperately needed a late afternoon nap.  He was cranky and crying.  I tried to put him down earlier, but Jackson and Cullen kept waking him up with their obnoxiously loud noise level.

I finally kicked them out of the house and told them to play in the backyard.  I put Sawyer down for a nap successfully after the house became quiet.

The boys were playing on the back porch with their toys.  My parents had called not long after Sawyer was down.  I was talking to them for a little while.  After I hung up, Jackson came inside asking for his milk.

I look down to answer him, and I see his hair soaked in sweat and matted to his head.  His face is beet red.  I said, "Why don't we get some ice water instead?  You look thirsty and hot."

Jackson was stoked about getting ice water.  I filled up Cullen's water bottle as well.  I go outside to check on him and see he is just as red and sweaty as Jackson.  Naturally, I'm wondering what they are doing.

"We're playing with rockets!" Jackson answered quite enthusiastically.

"What rocket?"

"That one," he says while pointing at the grill.

The door to the grill was off.  The boys climbed inside the grill which was covered with a tarp and sitting out in the sun.  My kids were playing inside the grill.  It was at least 90 degrees outside and probably close to 100 inside the tarp covered metal grill.  They couldn't have picked any of the patio furniture to play the rocket.  Only the hottest piece of equipment would do.

The boys could have only been playing in it for about 5 minutes.  Long enough to get overheated.  I calmly stated we were going back inside to cool down and drink some water.  I'm extremely thankful I found them playing when I did.  Otherwise, I could have been dealing with heat exhaustion.

Granted, I applaud their imagination.  I just wish they had used another piece of furniture (like a patio table) instead of the tarp covered metal grill.  The joys of having little boys.

Hiking and a Party

Have you ever had the weekend go by so quickly on Monday you're wondering what the heck happened to your weekend?  That is what happened to us this weekend.  It went so quickly; I need another two days off.

Saturday morning, we went over to west Austin to go hiking on a trail Andrew found.  After getting everyone dressed, we headed out the door.  Of course, we forgot the diaper bag and bottle of water, but I had 36 rolls of toilet paper in the back of my car!  You never know when you need toilet paper or when you just forget to bring it in after going to Sam's.

We had fun on the hiking trail.  Jackson and Cullen loved seeing all the plants, trees, rocks, and streams.  It was a short hike of 1.3 miles.  I had Sawyer strapped to me, and Andrew eventually had to put Cullen on his shoulders after he got tired.  We even saw a small snake sunning on a plant.  Let me point out that I saw the snake after everyone else passed it (I was bringing up the rear).  I did not scream or cry out or freak at said snake.  I just calmly stopped and said, "Look, check out this snake boys."  And feet came a runnin'!

The trail head was next to a park with a playground.  Afterward, Jackson and Cullen wanted to play.  Andrew and I could have happily gotten in the car and drove home, but we let the boys play.  After finally running out of energy, we climbed into the car to head home.  I had a box of animal crackers still hanging out in the back of my car (next to the toilet paper), so I was able to give Jackson and Cullen a snack.  They were starving.

Saturday evening, the family went to Mass.  Jackson and I sat in the congregation instead of the cry room.  He's almost 4 years old, so it is definitely time to learn.  We made it all the way to the beginning of the homily before we made our journey back to the cry room.  Jackson was pretty good, but he would not shut up!  The kid is a motor mouth.  He wanted to check out the stained glass windows.  He wanted to go up to the alter to see the 'prince and princess' chairs.  I explained to him we couldn't go up to the alter and those chairs were for the priest, deacons, lectors and alter servers.  I got barraged with questions of why and could he go kill that bug in the walkway.  I eventually gave up after he said he needed to go potty.  Off to the potty and cry room we went.  A little at time and a whole lot of patience on my part is needed.

Jackson had his birthday party Sunday afternoon.  All morning I was running around making sure we had everything we needed because I'm a control freak and perfectionist.  It's a bunch of 2-4 year olds, so I have no idea why I do this.  I think I was more afraid of forgetting something like candles or forks or a kid.

Quite a few of his friends from preschool couldn't come because Disney on Ice was in town.  I didn't even know it was here, good parent I am.  Jackson had fun with his friends there, and that's all that matters.  He had a super hero theme because it is his new obsession.  I can't believe my little man will be 4 on Friday!

Sawyer's Patch

Here is Sawyer with his patch on. His glasses have been ordered. We have to wait until they come in, then the frames have to be shipped off to get the lenses put in.  Hopefully,  he'll have his glasses in about 2 weeks.

 

When Sawyer tried on the glasses,  he didn't fuss or grab at them.  He sat in my arms like what are you people doing to me?  He didn't even cry!

 

I'm very thankful he has been so good throughout this entire process.  On the road to correcting his vision.

 

Sawyer's getting glasses

This morning Sawyer had another appointment with the Pediatric Ophthalmologist.  After watching him for a couple months to see if his eyes would get any better, he determined it's time to intervene.  In case you haven't been following, Sawyer has Strabismus.  Both of his eyes cross inward about 12-15 degrees.

In essence, Sawyer gets to wear glasses.  I'll go tomorrow after dropping Jackson and Cullen at preschool to get them.  He's getting special Miraflex frames made for kids and babies.

Sawyer also gets to wear a patch over his right eye for 1 hour everyday.  His right eye is starting to become more dominant.  In order to ensure Sawyer is using his left eye, the right one is being patched.  I'll have a pirate for an hour a day!  Argh Matey!

As soon as I get the glasses, pictures will be posted.  I will be documenting all of this so I can show Sawyer in years to come.

Sawyer will go back to the Ophthalmologist in a month to see if his eyes are any better.  He's not optimistic the glasses will work.  They rarely work in kids with his condition, but he wants to try before discussing surgical options which would be the next step.  That's that.

On a good note, my allergic reaction rash to amoxicillin has diminished.  I can still see parts of it, but unless a stranger looked really close, it can't be seen.  Thank goodness!  That is not something I want to have to go through again.

Allergic Reaction

I found out the hard way I'm allergic to amoxicillin. 

With the sinus infection I had, I was prescribed amoxicillin and steroids at the same time.  I took my last steroid on Saturday.  Sunday, I broke out in a rash all over my arms, the back of my knees and calves.  It was not pleasant to look see.

Monday morning, I called the doctor when the clinic opened.  My rash was getting worse on my arms and legs.  It also spread to my thighs and neck.  I was told to stop taking amoxicillin immediately, take Benadryl, and apply hydrocortisone cream as needed.

Because I wanted to share my splendid news, I took a picture of one arm and sent to it to my brother and parents.  My brother, the doctor, texts back saying, "That's definitely a drug allergy rash."  Why yes it is!

Lucky me inherited my mom's allergy to amoxicillin and all things 'cillin.  For future reference, I'm not to be given any cillin antibiotics.  I would prefer not to go through this again.