Schools Out

Another great school year has come to an end.

First day of 6th grade

Last day of 6th grade (right after he ate something that made his teeth orange)

Trevor had a great first year in middle school.  He had fun and made high honors each quarter.

First day of 4th grade

Last day of 4th grade

Nolan had a great year in 4th grade.  He said he had is favorite teacher yet.  She never ever yelled and was super nice.

I can't believe another school year has come and gone.  

The {Preschool} Graduate

Today, in a very sweet little ceremony, Griffin graduated from preschool.  I know, I know, how did that happen?  

My sweet boy has grown so much in the past year.  He is smarter and kinder.  

He is more imaginative and sillier.  

He is a little taller and a little more patient and he is just as sweet as ever.

Griffin, I could not be more proud of you and all you have accomplished in your preschool years.

It is hard to believe you will be heading to kindergarten in the fall {thank goodness it is just a few doors away from preschool}.

I know there is so much more to explore, experience and learn in kindergarten.  And I know you are going to rock it! Griffin, I love you to the moon and back.

The Last Mommy and Griffin Day

Today is the last regularly scheduled "Mommy and Griffin" day.  Griffin and I have had Monday's together for a couple of years.  It has been our special day and Griffin coined it "Mommy and Griffin day".  He excitedly asks almost every morning if it is a "Mommy and Griffin day".  We have enjoyed our time together running errands, hanging at home or having a special event for the two of us.

I got to thinking this morning about the big boys {or "the brothers" as Griffin calls them} last week of school this week and Griffin starting Kindergarten {tears} in the fall.  It is the end of an era.  The end of regularly scheduled "Mommy and Griffin" days. And then I cried big, big tears.  But I use the word regularly because I can assure you that I will continue {every chance I get} to have "Mommy and Griffin" days.  They may not be as frequent but they will be just as special.

Griffin's Oral Surgery

This is a very boring post, but for documentation sake, I feel I must write it.

Griffin had some oral surgery yesterday.  There have been some issues with his back teeth due to extreme crowding.  His back teeth had many cavities between the teeth since they are so tight together.  The doctor said his hygiene is great, which makes me feel better.  I was feeling a lot of guilt about all this.

He had this dental work under general anesthesia due to his age and the amount of work that was required.

He was so sweet and cuddly before surgery.  He was really good but I could tell he was nervous.  I went back into the OR with him and held him (tight) while they put him to sleep with the mask.  I have done this before but it is never, ever easy.  It is so hard watching your baby thrash about and eyes roll back in the head (all normal when receiving the anesthesia). After I gave him kisses and told him I loved him, the doctors took him from my arms and escorted me out of the OR.

He did great in the 1 hour 40 minute surgery.  (Way too long for me).  We went back to recovery before he woke and waited for him to wake up.  We waited and waited almost a full hour.  It was good he slept that long because he woke calm and ready for a drink.

After being awake for a few minutes they removed all the leads and the IV and shorty after we were out of there.  Griffin was so happy to be in my arms and headed home.

Unfortunately, in a month we will be back there for another surgery.

Bam!

Here are some recent conversations with Griffin.

G: Can I have a popsicle?

Me: Sure you can.

G: BAM!

Me: We are going to be spending the summer at our new lake home, Griffin.

G: BAM!

G: I just won the game. BAM!

Not sure where he picked it up, but his new response to {just about} everything positive is BAM!  It is quite silly and cute.  This boy is such a character and I just love him...

BAM!

I'm Back

• Yay!  My computer is fixed.  Fingers crossed it works for awhile.  I really don't want to have to purchase a new computer any time soon.
  
• We had a wonderful Memorial Day.  It was on the cool side but no rain.  Trevor was not feeling great and I was still recovering from lack of sleep from World Finals, but all in all it was good  family time.
  
• Griffin loved waving his flag.  He is so cute, dirty face and all.
  
• Crazy Nolan.  I love this boy.  He got a hat trick in hockey yesterday and scored the only goal in his soccer game this morning.  
• The weeks have been so crazy.  I am looking forward to the lazy summer months.... okay, being realistic, the LESS-crazy summer months!
• It looks like we may be spending a lot of time on Long Pond this summer.  So excited :)
• Griffin is having some oral surgery on Friday.  It's not a huge deal but positive thoughts for a successful, easy, pain free surgery would be appreciated.
• Now that my computer is fixed, I hope to get back to blogging more regularly... we will see how that goes.

World Finals 2013

We had a great time at World Finals.  The kids were so much fun and I was sad to say goodbye to the kids at the end of the trip.  They did a great job and I am so proud of them.

I wish I could share pictures but I came home to a dead computer.  Hope to have a new one or mine fixed really soon.

Until then...

And we are off

After weeks of fundraising and preparing we are finally headed to Michigan for Odyssey of the Mind World finals.  Tomorrow, Trevor, the team and I will be boarding the plane for 5 days of Odyssey fun.

These bright, creative kids are beyond excited.  Their excitement is contagious and I just can't wait to experience this adventure with them.

I will miss the three loved ones (dirty face and all) I am leaving behind.  Griffin keeps telling me he is going to miss me, but not nearly as much as I am going to miss him.  I know we are going to have fun but I will be looking forward to being back under the same roof with my sweet family. 

 

Nolan, Griffin and Rob, I will miss you.

 



The Week

I can't believe it is already Friday.  I have so much to do over the next few days. 

I am loving that it is starting to get warmer and flowers are starting to bloom.  My tree out front is starting to look so nice.

 

I don't like that all this blooming is causing Trevor to suffer horribly from allergies.  A few new prescriptions he got today hopefully will clear it all up.

You are looking at the new Vice President of his class.  Not sure why elections were a month before school is out but Nolan is thrilled to be the VP for the next month.  He sang a song for his speech and gave out candy to his classmates.  He thinks the bribing may have helped :).

 

On Tuesday, Trevor, my odyssey team and I are headed to World finals in Michigan.  The kids are beyond excited and I can't wait to see them experience this adventure. 

 

Have a wonderful weekend.

Mother's Day

I have been feeling quite sorry for myself lately.  With all the medical problems my kids have been having lately, although not life threatening, have really been weighing on my mind.  The worry of my babies having surgery, the pain, the recovery, the coordination and the expense are, at times, too much.  But then I just have to look at these three beautiful, healthy, bright kids and know I am BLESSED.  I am blessed beyond belief and feel so incredibly special to be able to spend this Mother's Day with these boys that I am fortunate to call my own.

I also have the most amazing mom in the world.  She supports me in all I do.  She is the first person I call when I excited about something or crying because of bumps in the road.  My mother is truly beautiful on the inside as well as the outside.  She is one smart, strong mom. She loves my boys (and they love, love her) and is so involved in their every days (which I am so thankful for). Again, BLESSED to have not only an incredible mother but also a best friend.  I love you, Mom.

 

I also have had the fortune of having Debbie in my life.  Although she is not my mother, she has been a huge support in my life.  She has been a proud Godmother to Griffin and a friend, cheerleader, teacher and support to all three of the boys.  Since there is not a Debbie Day, Mother's Day is the day I reflect on the influence and love she has brought to my life (Rob's and the boys).  Happy Mother's Day, Debbie.

 

I also have a loving, supporting Mum. Rob is a good husband and an amazing father and I thank Mum for raising him and instilling these values in him.  There is so much comfort in knowing that she has and will always be there for us. Recently, when I called to let her know T was heading in for emergency surgery, she asked what she could do to help. I appreciate that so much.  I know she would drop anything if needed to be there for us and for that I am thankful.  Happy Mother's Day, Mum.

Muffins with Mom

Today I had the privilege of spending the morning at Griffin's school with him to celebrate Mother's Day.  It is a day that Griffin gets so excited about and I think it is the sweetest thing ever.

Griffin gave me a vase he decorated with tissue paper flowers.  In the card he made, he says, " Mommy, I love that you give me lovies when I wake up in the morning.  Love, Griffin"  So sweet.

 

He also filled out a questionnaire about me.  He thinks I am 4 years old, have white hair and look beautiful when I wear flowers.

I am the luckiest mom in the world.  I have the best boys!  I love you so much Griffin.

Life according to my phone

We continue to be busy, busy, busy.  When will life slow down. Between fundraising for Odyssey and doctors appointments, there is very little time left.  Griffin went for a follow up on his ears.  Things still don't look great so we are going to start him on allergy meds to hopefully clear up some of the congestion and keep his ears free of infection.  It looks like he will be getting a new set of tubes and his tonsils out soon.

So according to my phone, this is what we have been up to...

After 16 months of having braces, Nolan is finally brace-free.  He was thrilled to be able to chew gum again.  He now has a retainer he has to wear.

I chaperoned Nolan's field trip to the State house.  It was a perfect day for it.

Nolan sitting in the chair of one of the house of representatives members. 

The group I chaperoned took a step back in time at the State Museum.

We took the boys to a Japanese Steak House.  They had a blast and want to go every week.

Rob caught a sweet moment between my buddy and me.  Love this boy!

Happy Monday!

Checking In {bullet points}

• Trevor is doing well and recovering nicely.  He is such a trooper.  His stomach is black and blue but he reports it only hurts when he twists.  The pathology reports came back showing that he did indeed have acute appendicitis. The pathology report did show the possibility of future issues with his bowels. I am trying not to worry about this today.  Nothing we can do to change it, he is not currently having any symptoms and hopefully it will not result in anything. 
• I have been really busy with Odyssey.  Trevor and his team decided to go to worlds, so we are knee deep in all things fundraising in hopes to offset some of the costs.  I am excited to take this group of 5 6th graders.  It should be fun.
• Today, after a rainy start to the morning, the sun is shinning, the temp hit 68 degrees and it is really feeling like spring.  Yay!
• Nolan gets his braces off tomorrow after having them for 1.5 years.  He is so excited to be able to chew gum again. 
• Griffin went to the dentist on Monday. He did a great job and sat in the dental chair by himself for the first time. He has some major crowding issues and his teeth are very tight together.  He has a few cavities in these back teeth.  The dentist assures me that this is very normal with young children with tight teeth.  He will have to have some of these teeth worked on under general anesthesia in the next month or so.
• Anyways, with all that is going on, I am just trying to keep my head above water and stay positive, but I must say this has been very difficult.  I just want to have happy, healthy kids {is that too much to ask}. I know things could be worse {a lot worse} but still I have been struggling...
• Looking forward to a beautiful spring weekend with lots of sun!  We have spring soccer games this weekend. 

Appendicitis

After about 40 hours of on and off pain in Trevor's lower right side of his abdomen, I decided to take him to the doctor.  At times he was hunched over in pain and I just had a feeling something was not right.

 

I tried many times to make myself believe it was not appendicitis because he could bend over and the pain was not constant.  As soon as we arrived at urgent care, I started to just know he had appendicitis (I had deja vu because we were in the same waiting room months before with Debbie when she was diagnosed with acute appendicitis).

An ultrasound confirmed that Trevor had acute appendicitis.  Trevor and I headed directly to the hospital to have his appendix removed.

Trevor was so scared (and so was I), but he was so brave and strong (unlike me, I was trying to hold it together but was a mess).

Surgery went well and Trevor is home recovering.  He is glad it is over and wants to put it all behind him.  We can't wait to see him up and about again in a few days, but not nearly as excited as he will be to be up and about.

 

This has been a hard couple months for Trevor.  He had his ear surgery in November and last week we found out he will have to repeat the surgery to fix the graft.  His middle ear collapsed, so they will go in and graft with cartilage this time.  He is not too happy to have 3 surgeries in 9 months.  Enough already.  Hopefully after this second ear surgery in July we will have a nice heathy stretch!

Boston

I am still in a state of disbelief about what happened in the wonderful city of Boston.

What was supposed to be such a patriotic day turned into a horrific tragedy.

My heart aches for all those affected by the act of terror that occurred yesterday, for the little 8 year old boy that lost his life, his family, all the others that were injured, the families and friends of those injured, the people who had to witness first hand such horror and the heroes that helped.

 

These situations are happening all to often and they are so hard to explain to my children.  I will never, ever understand how someone can commit such an act of violence so how can my 5, 9 or 12 year old make any sense of it.

 

I keep reminding myself and my children that there are many more good people in this world than bad people.  Yes, there are far more good people than bad.

 

" Darkness can not drive out darkness: only light can do that.  Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that. ~ MLK Jr.