Done for another Year

Christmas was a big success again. Unfortunately we didn't make it out to Nana's on Christmas Eve because of the huge snowfall. Dean and I just were not comfortable putting the kids in the car. The roads were horrible. So we spent out first quiet Christmas Eve together as a family. The kids went to bed early and amazingly slept till 6:15am. Then the day began.

Jordan's biggest score was his laptop. Logan's was the Air Hogs Zero Gravity car. Santa also brought them RockBand and the Wii Outdoor Challenge. Needless to say, they haven't been bored since then. We had a quiet day with just Ma and Papa, and Ma cooked a wonderful turkey.

Boxing Day was our annual Open House, but obviously due to the weather, only the neighbors showed up. It was small and nice and lots of time to visit with everyone.

Sat/Sun that followed, Dean and I played in a ball tournament. There was so much snow on the ground that you couldn't help but have a good time. As I tell everyone, it's how us big people play in the snow. We did well, and won our division for the second year in a row.

Holy Snow Fall Batman!

We got dumped on! It started Saturday night and hasn't stopped yet. On Monday morning we have over a foot on the lawn. The kids are loving it! We went toboganning again Sunday and laughed so hard. The boys were flying down the hill. Of course Dean and I had to get in there and try too. By 9pm, the boys were begging to go to bed.

Mondays commute to work was not so fun. The roads were completely compacted and I actually had Dean drive me in. Even with snow tires I don't think that my car would have made it in. Going home was better but not great. Jordan was out the majority of the day yesterday and zonked out on the couch at 6:45pm. I love how the fresh air beats them out!!

I'll get some pictures up soon.

Christmas Vacation!!

I love Christmas vacation. No kids to wake up in the morning, no lunches to make, no homework to nag about and most of all.....no schedule to follow!!!

Jordan had pancake breakfast and pajama day at school today. I got the call last night that the lady co-ordinating it was sick and that I was going to have to do it. Crap! I just wanted to go in and be told what to do, not tell everyone else what they needed to do. Anyways, it was a huge hit, as it always is, and the kids had fun with the crafts as well. It's always fun seeing everyone still in there jammies, and I decided that I was going to stay in mine all day too. So here I am at 4:20 after having gone and taken Logan for a haircut, done some shopping, and taken Jordan to guitar lessons all in my jammies! But it's amazing how many people look at you. Mostly I think that they wish they were brave enough to do it themselves.

I have a little shopping to do, mostly just "fillers". And I haven't taken the kids to see Santa yet, so I think that I will do that tonight.

Let it Snow

Today is a very first real snow fall for the season and it's beautiful. I went to work today and the drive was okay because at 5:30am there isn't too many people on the roads. But the drive home took an hour. I don't get it. The roads were a little slushy, but for the most part they were fine. What's the big deal people? Put it in drive and drive! Just because you see some white flakes following from the sky doesn't mean you have to become stunned when you drive!

The boys are loving the white stuff. Logan spent most of the day outside with Daddy shoveling snow and playing in the backyard. Then once Jordan got home, we spent another hour outside. We came in, had dinner, then headed up to the school to go "boging"...that's what Logan calls toboganning! The boys had a blast. It was wonderful that they were able to walk back up the hill on their own and never asked for help.

I will add a picture later once they are uploaded!

3 or 4...we are losing count!

My sweet little Jordan. What an amazing guy you are. To have already gone through 4 surgeries in your short 9 years and to never have complained...well, I think we could all learn a thing or 2 from you. This latest surgery on November 13, 2008 you had your Pronator tendon transfer. This was probably the biggest surgery of all so far, but like the others you handled it amazingly. Here's how the trip to Portland went:

Thursday 4:30am Mommy, Daddy and you left to drive the 5 and 1/2 hours to the hospital. Of course we stopped for lunch, and then to the book store to get you a new book. We checked into the hospital at 1pm and then it was visits from the nurses, care co-coordinator, doctors, anesthesiologist, and more nurses. They went through everything that was going to happen, took all your stats, weighed you, measured you and made sure there was nothing that you were worried about. It was 5:30pm when we were finally done and allowed to go for dinner. Of course it was your choice and of course you picked The Old Spaghetti Factory. We have a wonderful dinner then headed back to the hospital. That night we were all pretty tired. I think that we just watched some T.V and you played some video games, then we hit the sack.

Surgery Day, Friday: We had the dreaded wake up call from the nurse at 5:30am. It was off to the big bath tub for the wonderful Chlorhexidine bath. You don't mind having it, except that the soap is so cold and it stinks!! I washed you all up and got you in the very stylish hospital gown!
Then the nurse came in to numb up your hand for the I.V , and gave you some of that disgusting medicine. It's midazolam and it's so that you don't remember anything. Well, you hate it and when you took it, you sort of gagged and spit some right back in the nurses face. Mommy thought it was a little funny and her fault for having her face so close to yours..lol. Dr Thayer then popped up and talked to us more about the surgery while we were in the elevator on the way down to the holding room. There they gave you a beanie toy, and put the I.V in, which you didn't even realize they had done until you looked down and it was already done! Then it was off to the O.R for you. Of course Mommy cried.

Surgeries NEVER get easier. The first one is just as scary as the 4th one. I try not to cry, but I'm emotional on a good day, never mind surgery day.

3 hours later you were in recovery and doing wonderfully. While you were in surgery, Mom and Dad had gone out and bought you a stuffy to have when you woke up. You loved it and had a big smile on your face. Shortly after it was back up to the room. You pretty much slept for the next 2 hours. You woke up and boy were you hungry! We had to start with ice chips, then jello, and so on. I think you finally got a decent dinner around 6pm. By that time, we had all been to the games room and played ping-pong, pool and air hockey. The nurses were amazed at you and couldn't believe it. They had no problems discharging you at 8:30 the next morning.

As soon as we got home Friday night at 6pm we got ready to go the New West Fire Fighters VS Canucks Alumni hockey game. It was there that your arm started to feel sore. Mommy knew that if you were telling me it's sore, then we are beyond the point of Tylenol. So if was off to the ER to get a prescription for Codeine. The pediatrician there was awesome! Gave us some pain killers and sent us home. You only took 1 of the 4 doses he gave us and never talked of pain again.

The cast came off December 12. All I can say is that I'm truly amazed by this surgery. Not only is it easier for us to suppinate your arm, but I think that you have more finger movement. We are going to work very hard with therapy to try and get you to suppinate it yourself!

I love you my little Trooper.
Mommy!

It seems like a Pattern

That I have to keep summarizing the months as they go by. It's funny, I can log into the Garden, I can play pogo game, and I can read everyone else's blogs, but I can't ever update my own. The one that was started for the boys. The one that I was going to be so diligent about updating. Ha!! But really if you know me, you know that I always take on way too much.

That being said I'm wearing a multitude of hats this year. Since September, I've become Co-Chair of the PAC, continued my roll as Hot Lunch Coordinator and taking on the great position as Coach of Jordan's soccer team. The "Nike Swish"boys are great, and I am enjoying it alot more than I expected. I have a great group of parents (but as you know, there is always 1!!) and a fantastic manager who seriously leaves nothing for me to do except coach. It's great. And I'm slowly learning something about this game. Hopefully by March, I'll know atleast 1/2 the rules!

Jordan really enjoyed his cross Canada tour with Ma and Papa. I think the best part for him was getting to visit Nan and Pop in Newfoundland. It was a hard 8 weeks for Dean and I without him, but knowing that it was the best experience in the world for him we sucked it up. I really think that Logan missed him tons.

Jordan's now in grade 4. He's doing really well in school. We just got his report card and I was impressed. He continues to struggle in the language arts area, but with the help of an SEA he's doing great. He started swimming lessons again and in January will be going into level 8. He breezed right through levels 6 and 7, and boy, is he ever a fish! Swimming seems to be one of the areas where he's really excelling. Perhaps in the summer, I will put him in a Swim Club. He wants to also try skating again. But we'll talk more in January about that.

Logan started his second year of preschool in September, but it's not really his thing. He's doesn't get excited about going, and really could care less if he goes. So he won't go back in January. He'll start Kindergarten in September and I want to cherish these last months that he's at home. He's doing really well in swimming and is just finishing Preschool Level 5. He's becoming quite the little fish like his brother. Dean's also got a project on the go with him. He started skating lessons in September and once or twice a week Dean takes him to parent and tot hockey night. The kids get all suited up and go out and pass the puck around with their parents. In January he is going to start Tips for Tots which is a program that teaches them the basics of hockey. I'll post a picture later of Logan all suited up.

The boys are both very excited about Christmas. It's going to be a quiet one because Ma and Papa are going to Seattle to see Clara and Emma....oh yeah...Kevin got married to Stacy in August. Great wedding and we are very happy to have Stacy and Emma in our lives.

That's all for now, and no promises when I'll update again.
Love you all,
Kelli

A Little Step Up

We sold the motorhome and bought a 25 foot travel trailer. Not new. It's used. It's a 1988 Komfort. It's very clean inside and it's not orange and brown!! We've moved up to dusty rose and grey. It's actually very nice. There is a small bedroom in the back for us then Jordan will have the couch that folds into a double bed and Logan will have the table which also folds into a bed. There is a bathroom with a decent size tub and shower. The kitchen is a great size and we now have a microwave. There is so much cupboard space and even after I brought the stuff from the motorhome into the trailer I still have all the bedroom cupboards, plus the tall cupboards that I haven't even touched yet. I'll post a picture of it once Dean's got it all washed up!

The boys just completed swimming lessons and they both did really well. Jordan will go into level 7 when he gets back after summer. Logan will start Preschool level 2 next week. They both did really well, and I was very proud of them.

Last weekend we took the boys out to White Rock and spent the entire day out there. The boys had a blast and we're absolutey exhausted when we got home.

Spring Has Sprung

And now begins are very busy time of the year. I love spring and summer. We spend so much time outdoors and this year we are going to be doing alot of camping. Dean has just gotten the motorhome all ready for our first trip this weekend. He's like a little kid in a candy store. So excited. Last week he spent a couple hours taking the tarp off from the winter and washing the whole outside of it. Yesterday he spent alot of time inside, making sure the fridge and water was working and most importantly the furnace. I think we are going to need that in the mornings still. Today he was doing all the little "touch ups". It's stocked now and ready to go. It will be nice when we sell it and get a trailer. We need a little more room than what we've got, but I'm not complaining. It's still better than tenting it. What I really want in the next trailer is bunk beds. It will be really nice for the boys to have their own beds rather than sharing them.

It's supposed to be beautiful weather this weekend. It's going to be so nice to have the boys outside all day. I'm sure that they will crash each night, but of course it's going to have to be dark before they fall asleep. I'm looking forward to kicking back and relaxing all weekend. Their is nothing more relaxing than pulling up a chair next to the campfire and just sitting back with a book or watching the kids playing.

Jordan's guitar lessons are really coming along. I'm amazed how well he can already read music. Thankfully he takes after me for that. I've also been paying attention during his lessons, and often find myself with his guitar in my hands playing what he had learned each week. He's also doing really well in swimming lessons. The boy is a total fish! He's very attentive in class and his teachers always love him.

Logan's newest thing is "Dude". We are all dudes. "Yes dude", "No Dude" "Okay Dude" I must hear that about 100 times a day. The other thing that he learned from his best friend next door is "Sweet". Nothing is cool or good anymore, it's sweet!! It's very funny. Oh yeah, and if it's not sweet, it's excellent..lol. He's such a sweetie!!

Have a great long weekend!

Sick Boy

My little Logan is sick. It started on thursday with a high fever and feeling pretty lethargic. Friday he was okay until the late afternoon and then a fever again. Sat, not too bad but the runny nose started, then Sunday he was just not well at all. When you asked him if he was sick, he would say..."I'm feeling well". One thing about my 2 boys is that they never complain when they are sick. Today he doesn't have a fever but still has the runny nose. Hopefully he's over it soon.

The weekend was fun. Uncle Kevin, Stacy, Clara and Emma came up to visit. The kids all had fun together as usual. We celebrated Papa and Uncle Kevin's birthday as well. Jordan had 2 ball hockey games. They won one and lost one. Jordan is really enjoying playing and Dean is loving helping out coaching.

How Awesome for you Jordan!

Ma and Papa are taking their trip that they've had planned for awhile. They are driving across Canada this summer. From here all the way to Newfoundland, then back home through the States. Well, they have decided to take you with them! At first you were unsure, but now you are so excited. Mommy and Daddy are going to miss you tons, but we also know that this is an amazing opportunity for you. You will get to see and experience so many wonders. And one of the best things is that you will get to see Nan and Pop in Newfoundland. They can't wait to see you. I really hope that you will take the memories from your trip and remember them forever. You are so lucky to have such wonderful grandparents.

Spring Break

And it's soccer camp for Jordan. Everyday, rain or shine. And boy did it rain yesterday. My poor guy was soaked, but that didn't matter to him, because he was playing his favorite game. Today Ma and Papa will take you to a movie when camp is over. Logan's not sure if he's going to go. He's such a homebody. It's funny. He gets excited to somewhere, but almost as soon as we are there, he wants to go home. Unless of course it's to Markus's house.

Easter is coming this weekend. Neither of you have really mentioned it. Jordan because he's not a big chocolate person, and Logan, well, probably because he doesn't realize it yet. I can predict how this is going to go. Jordan will have a basket of eggs that will last him until next Easter and Logan will have a basket of eggs that might last till the next day. Logan's are chocolate boy. Of course if the weather is good we will go to Easter in the Park. The Easter Bunny will be there and there will be lots of rides for the kids. I'll post pictures of that next week.

One thing I wanted to mention was that on Saturday night we had some friends over to play Rummoli. Jordan's now at the age where he understands how to play, so we let him play a few rounds with us. I was so proud to watch him use two hands while he was playing. It's pretty amazing to think how his hand was and to see now how it is. I should post some progress pictures. Yeah...I'll go through my pictures tonight and see what I can come up with.

That's all for now.

Happy 4th Birthday Logan

Saturday we celebrated you for becoming the next member of our family. On March 14th,2004 I put Jordan to bed and kissed him good night. That would be the last night that I would have only 1 little boy to kiss goodnight. The next morning Daddy and I said goodbye to Ma and Papa as we were on our way to the hospital. We were so excited. You came into the world with a huge scream. That scream is one of the most beautiful noises. You were beautiful. Perfect little round head. We were in total awe over you.

You were a very active baby in my tummy. At all hours of the night you kicked and moved around. Funny....isn't that just how you are now? My go getter! You have an agenda and that's what you are doing. Nothing gets in the way, except mommy's stern voice. I love listening to you talk. You articulate your thoughts and feelings so well. You love printing. You are always wanting us to sit down and show you letters and ask how to write them, then you copy them perfectly. You amaze me. And numbers....you love to count. You really enjoy preschool. I really thought that you would be to shy, but you've made friends and adore your teachers. Cooking class was another fun time for you. And wow! You sure made mommy a yummy lunch.

You and your brother are mommies pride and joy. Every moment I live is for you two. I'm truly honored to be your mother. You are a very polite boy. You know to behave when we are visiting people, yet at home, well...a holy terror! You adore your big brother and get very mad when he won't play with you. You are very sensitive and your feelings get hurt very easily. I guess you are alot like mommy that way. And I think my favorite thing about you is your sense of humor. You are definitely like Daddy there. You will turn anything you can into a joke. Just last week and I asked you what the movie was that you watched at preschool. You told me it was a secret. You wouldn't tell any of it. It was your secret. Well, a couple hours later, you told us that you didn't remember what it was. So your way of telling us that you didn't remember it was that you told us you didn't remember. Mommy does alot of laughing every day because of you and your brother.

So, after saying all that, I really wish you the best 4th year of you life. I hope that all you wished for on your birthday comes true. I love you to pieces punky doodle.

Love

Mommy

August?? That's the last time that I found time to update this blog. Wow! I'm pathetic! Apparently playing pogo games is more important than blogging about my children. That's so not true. It's been so hectic. Why do I say it's been hectic? It's always hectic!! 2 darling boys, and man do they keep me busy.

So here it goes: September Jordan started Grade 3. I'm still in shock over it. He's done so well. Spelling is great, reading is getting there, and math, well my poor man doesn't have a great mentor. Mom and Dad both suck at it. Despite that he's really starting to get it. It took a little while, but now I think it's all good. His teacher is absolutely wonderful. You've really got to admire a teacher that takes the time after dinner to call you at home to let you know how your child is doing.

Also in September, my little Logan started Preschool. The picture at the top is his first day. He was the same teachers that Jordan had when he went there and he loves those two ladies. He's really well behaved at school (which is often hard for me to believe..lol) and loves going. He's made alot of friends, but Logan's alot like Jordan in the fact that he's kind to everyone, but only has 1 or 2 close friends. Markus next door is his best friend and although they don't go to the same preschool, they are best buds. Logan's a smart cookie. He LOVES numbers. He counts to 30 no problem, no all his ABC'S, can spell and write his name and recognizes numbers and letters when he sees them. Recently he's been very proud of the fact that he knows his left from right. Every chance he gets he tells us to turn right, go left, etc. I love it!!

Christmas was wonderful and white!! The boys thought that was the best! Jordan got his Wii, and Logan got the games for his DS that he wanted.

That is all I will post for now, but I'm going to sit down and update what's happened in the New Year tomorrow. So check back for more in a couple days!

Love

Kelli