Leggo My LEGO

Up until this week Isaac has been very content to watch Orry build LEGO sets.  Sometimes he would peek into the big box of LEGO toys, maybe even attempt to click a few bricks together.   But this week, that all changed.  Isaac was very insistent that he put a set together.  So I humored him.  Little did I know that I would be the one with all the giggles.

 He did very good for his first try.  He put all the pieces together by himself.  I was simply there to help him find the pieces that had gone astray and to help him understand some of the symbols in the instructions.  It probably took him a solid hour, but he completed the set and was ready to work it again.  (It was a Creator set, for those of you who know LEGO.  It is one set of bricks that can be built into three different things.)  I didn't get any pictures that time because I was too busy having my mind blown at just how focused he was on completing this task.  It goes without saying that I could wipe the grin off my face.  My little boy is growing up!

So the next day, I took some photos.  This time he went for the log cabin set.  Here's how it went:

So many pieces...

Building the walls...

Putting in the table and chairs...

The fireplace, complete with bull horns

All that's missing is the roof (and can you find the chicken leg?)

Oh, and don't forget the water and the duck.

It took just about everything in Orry's power not to take over the project.  Orry is a faster builder.  He doesn't ask as many questions as Isaac.  He's had more practice.  But lucky for us we have plenty to sets to keep them both occupied.  It has actually been a strange week.  Isaac's new interest in the LEGO toys has renewed Orry's interest.  I find there is less fighting when they are together if they are both working on a set.  And they do interact with each other.  Orry has been very helpful, giving pointers and telling Isaac where his mistakes are.  It's quite nice, I must admit.  Quiet too.

Now, as for that problem of the tiny pieces that somehow always go missing....

Once For All

Funny story.  Orry and Isaac were sitting next to each other in the back of the van.  Orry turns to Isaac and says, "Put your arms out like you're on the cross.  I'm going to hammer you to the cross."  I turn to look and sure enough, Isaac is sitting there with arms wide open and his head hanging down.  Crucified.  Orry had his turn at it.  I'm sure that he could give Jim Caviezel a run for his money.

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Easter weekend.  Here's a bit of what ours looked like:

Sandcastle #2

About to sing in the Easter Eve service

Way too early to dig into baskets in their underwear...

Hunting eggs in rain boots

2 out of 3 ain't bad

"For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.  He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit."

Waves of Optimism

We finished off this week with more rounds of Brainwave Optimization.  I will update you now and tell you that Isaac has been doing really well, physically and mentally.  He's growing leaps and bounds as far as learned knowledge goes.  He loves to do his "work" as he calls it.  It's a preschool workbook full of concepts that children should learn, like the difference between big and small, first and last, red and blue.  As far as his health is concerned, he seems to be fine.  And by fine, I mean that it's the first time in a long time that I forget about the diagnosis and really consider him to be just another normal kid.

We scheduled the treatments now (as in this weekend) for a couple of reasons.  First being that Grandma Tammy has so generously offered to pay for them.  We are so blessed.  The second is that doing the next round of treatments within a relatively short time of the first round will give us the maximum results.  It also helps us avoid the cost of another assessment.  And finally, Troy was able to help out on Saturday, when we scheduled two of the four sessions.  Remember, we have to wait for him in our car, so the extra hands do help.

I'm very optimistic about the results from this mini session.  Isaac is pretty sure that this work on his brain is going to make him a genius (his words).  I wouldn't mind the genius factor, but I'm just shooting for good bowels.

Since we were all together, and out and about, we decided to make an adventure of our Saturday.  Our adventure, going to beach.  I know, I know.  We've been plenty since moving to Houston, but what differed this time was the time of day when we went.  Usually we wake up before the sun does and head out there and enjoy the beach with few others.  It's nice to beat the crowds and the heat.  So we were really shaking it up this time.

It was pretty sunny and a little windy.

We kept with our tradition of building a sand castle.

We rescued a tiny fish from the moat around our castle.

The boys did a great job making it look really ruinous.  

Here we are taking credit for Daddy's work.

Daddy found a small hermit crab.

Then he found some more.

Annie had to rescue them all.

Going to the beach in the late afternoon was surely a different experience.  It was pretty warm outside when we got there and pretty sunny.  We managed not to get burned, but it did cool off pretty quickly as the sun set.  We felt less rushed in the evening.  Troy even mentioned staying around for longer than we did, but the kids were getting pretty cold and tired.  Another difference was the amount of people.  We were not the only ones on the beach.  It's okay, a crowded beach and all, but I prefer the quiet time away from the people.  *Sidenote- What is this new mullet of a bathing suit style that women are wearing now a days?!  It's almost a one piece in the front and definitely a bikini in the back.  Huh.  Back on track.   The sea gulls were out in flocks in the evening.  I'm sure it has to do with dinner time/people out there feeding them.  But we managed to avoid any droppings, so that's good.  We will probably do the evening beach excursion again.  We will definitely do the early morning excursion this summer as well. 

In summary, I'm enjoying the wave that we are riding on now, so to speak.  Good health and great fun.  In my opinion it's a great way to start off the sunny season.

*Sidenote- Happy April Fools!

Deep Breath In

A friendly hug outside Whole Foods

To say the least, I was conflicted about starting this last week.  Isaac underwent 10 sessions of brainwave optimization.  That in itself was exciting.  The office where we got the treatments done was clear on the other side of town.  The treatments were each 2 hours long and we were doing 2 a day with a 2 hour break in between.  Those were the things I wasn't looking forward to.  Deep breath in.

I was looking forward to Isaac getting the treatments and excited about the possibilities it held for him.  I wasn't looking forward to a 40 minute drive each morning, waiting in a waiting room for 4 hours total with my other two kids, and then driving back 40 minutes to get home.  But we (I) pulled it all together, gritted our (my) teeth, and "happily" went along with it.  Deep breath in.

In our van

Now, I won't drag it out.  I'll let you know right now that after the first 2 hours in the waiting room, I was politely told that my kids were too loud for this office's reception area and that I would have to find some place else to wait.  A really deep breath in.  Now, I won't deny that my kids made noise while we were there.  They're kids.  Duh.  But I will defend them and say that they were well behaved and getting along and making the best of being in a waiting area that definitely wasn't made with a single child in mind.  So where did we go from here?  Our van.  Yep, we spent 4 hours each day waiting in our car for Isaac to get his treatments.  Deep breath in...

On the flip-side, Isaac did really great.  He had a good time and behaved himself just fine while having the treatments done.  It's too soon to tell how well it will work for his bowels, but we can already tell a difference in his concentration, speech, and sleeping behaviors.  And chances are that we will see some results in the next 1 to 6 weeks.  

What do you think it is?

All things considered, it was a good week.  Our lunch breaks were spent at the dinosaur museum and Whole Foods.  We got to dig for dinosaurs and learn about malacology.  We played at the park and watched movies on the laptop.  We survived.  Deep breath out.

But the end of the story involved a broken water pump, smoke coming out of the hood of our van, a tow truck, a constable, and eventually a rented car.  Deep breath in...and hold...

Nursery Rhymes

We have really been impressed with Isaac lately.  His speech is getting clearer and his sentences are making so much sense.  We credit a lot of this to the little day school that he attends 3 time a week.  They have been working on recognizing letters and writing them.  They have recently started in on working with numbers.  Throughout the year they have been singing as well.  Turns out that Isaac really loves singing.  His choir teacher has noticed lately that he's "come out of his shell" and really started to belt out the notes.    To say the least, we're proud parents.

This past week Isaac's class has been working on the letter N and nursery rhymes.  I don't know about you, but I like nursery rhymes.  My favorite has to be "There was a little girl who had a little curl right in the middle of her forehead.  And when she was good, she was very, very good, but when she was bad, she was horrid."  I guess it reminds me of someone I know.  Yesterday Isaac's class worked on "Hey diddle diddle, the cat and the fiddle, the cow jumped over the moon."  Well, I'll just show you what he learned.



He's something else, to say the least.  Thanks for watching and thanks for keeping up with us!  Feel free to tell us what your favorite nursery rhyme is!

Resolutions

I asked Orry what his resolutions would be this year.  He asked what a resolution was.  Trying to keep it simple, I said that it was a goal that you would like to achieve or something that you would like to change about yourself or something that you think you can do better throughout the year.  Orry's resolution for the year is make everyone happy.  A lofty aspiration, but that doesn't mean that we shouldn't try.  He went on to say that he would like to make kids happy.  Maybe even have a parade that kids would enjoy and throw beads.  Sounds familiar...

I asked Isaac what his resolution was going to be.  I wasn't expecting much, to be honest.  From what I can gather, it has something to do with dinosaurs.  I'm imagining that he would like to visit more dinosaur museums and maybe go on a real dino dig.  Maybe that's just my resolution for him...

I asked Annie what her resolution was.  I got nothing.  Well, that's not true.  I got a goofy grin.

I asked Troy what he resolved to do this year.  He mentioned trying to get his kids' names right every time.  We both have a hard time calling each kid by his or her right name.  Just the other day, Troy called Annie "Telcia".  He would also like to eat less meat and dairy.  And there's more excercise and better communication with his siblings.

I asked myself what my resolutions would be for the year.  Here's what I've got.  I'm going to send out birthday cards and do my best to get them to people on time.  I'm going to make sure that Troy and I celebrate Valentine's Day and our anniversary with something special because we typically tend to not do anything on those days.  The big one for me is that I'm going to try to not buy new clothes this whole year.  Shoes, underwear, and socks are not included, but everything else is fair game.  Thrift stores and consignment, here we come!

I'm sure there will be more as we go through the year trying to be the best we can be.  And that's okay with me.  I'm really excited about having another great year.  Have you made a resolution this year?  Well, go on, let's hear it!

For the Love of Dinosaurs

Our vacation was awesomely wonderful!  But like all good things, it had to come to an end.  So on the 30th of December, we rolled out super early and headed back home.  

About halfway between Twin Falls, ID and Albuquerque, NM there is a little place called Price, UT.  In Price, there is a dinosaur museum.  For us, it seemed to be the perfect place to stop and let the little ones stretch their legs and get out their wiggles.  And it was.   

The kids were in their jammies, but we didn't care.

We got to dig in a cool sand pit.  I found a nickel.

There was archaeology, as well as paleontology.  (Orry said his favorite part was "the killer man".)

And there were some dinosaurs that we had never seen before.  Like the Gastonia (shown above) and the Chasmosaurus (shown below).

We completed the first leg of the return journey and made it to Albuquerque by 11pm that same day.  We stayed up late, playing with the cousins.  In the morning, we played some more before heading out of town.  Now, with the remaining 14 hours to Houston, we decided to take it slower and go the distance over the course of 2 days.  The 31st was a pretty good driving day.  We made it to a hotel in Childress, TX by 9pm and spent the last few hours of the year watching movies and resting up.  We had a great night in a comfortable, quiet room.  Little did we know that we would need that good rest and comfort to help us get through the first 7 hours of our journey home.  In the end, our 7 hour leg took us 12 hours...

When Isaac woke up that morning, he wasn't feeling that hot.  He complained of belly ache and nausea.  Sometimes these symptoms are common with people with UC, so we chalked it up to that.  Once he felt okay enough to travel, we headed out.  It was 9:30am.  Before leaving, we decided to stop in Glen Rose, TX, home of Dinosaur Valley State Park and Dinosaur World.  It would extend our trip by an hour, but we thought it was worth the effort.  But a couple of hours into our trip we started to hit some "road bumps".  

First off, Isaac threw up a couple of times after eating some of those yummy clementine oranges.  So we nixed the oranges and kept on truckin'.  Then Orry had to go.  I mean, he really had to GO.  Now, if you've ever had the pleasure of traveling through Texas, you would know that sometimes rest areas and towns are hard to come by.  So it was with this part of our trip.  We ended up pulling over twice to let him go.  He felt better, so we moved along, but all the stopping was starting to wear on our nerves.  Then it happened.  Annie was crying about having to poop.  And so began Poopapalooza.  Annie couldn't hold it.  A mess was made.  Lucky for us, we were one mile from an exit at this point.  We pulled into a Burger King and I had the honor of taking her to the bathroom to clean her up.  15 minutes later, she's clean and we go out to the car to find out that Orry had to go again.  So we waited, all the time wondering what could have made our kids feel so lousy.  Then it happened again.  That distinct cry from Annie signaling that another mess was made.  Yep, round two.  So as Orry comes out the bathroom, Annie and I go back in.  20 minutes later, we're back on the road, worse for the wear.  

Now that would be fine if that was the end of it.  But it wasn't.  Three miles down the road, Annie had to go again.  Hello, CVS.  Meet Annie.  We ran to the bathroom, this time she was going to make it in time.  Yes.  No.  She didn't have to go.  False alarm?  I don't know.  Sometimes with babies you just don't know.  So we walked around the store for two minutes.  In hindsight it was two minutes too long and there was another accident and more crying.  Now, here's a side note.  When they tell you that bathroom floors are dirty, they are right.  They are dirty because of people like Annie and me.  Poop was everywhere.  It was the worst yet.  It took about 40 minutes to get it all cleaned up and for Annie to sit long enough to rule out there being any more trouble.  I wised up, finally.  I got some diapers (which we didn't need to use, thank goodness)  and we hit the road.  

We had planned on getting to Dinosaur World around 1pm.  We arrived at 4:15.  The park closed at 5.  Dinosaur World is a mile circuit of "life sized" dinosaurs.  We ran.  Literally.

Half of our pictures look like this because of the running.

Was it worth it?

I'll let you be the judge of that.  

But, with 100% certainty, I can say that it's so good to be home.  

All About Isaac

Peek-a-boo

This morning was another morning spent in the doctor's office.  We went over the results of the latest biopsies, talked about how good Isaac was for his procedure (no tears), and discussed future treatments.  And I'm sure that some of you would like hear all about it.  Well, truth be told, I'm tired of talking about.

There's a lot more to Isaac than his UC.  I admit that sometimes I get wrapped up in what he ate, how many times he went to the bathroom, and whether or not he got all his doses for the day.  But today we set out to change that.  We packed our picnic lunch and decided to go to the zoo after his appointment.  I made it a point not to rush the kids and to let them decide what we would see and when we would see it.  Of all the animals at the zoo, Isaac requested to see the rhinos, ostriches, flamingos, and reptiles.  And so we spent 3 hours at the zoo, leaving only because we had to be home in time to get brother from the bus stop.  

And so, to continue celebrating Isaac, I'll share a few more tidbits about him and what he's been doing lately.

He's been going to preschool now for 3 months now.  He loves to go and carry his "jet pack" all by himself.  I'm quite pleased with the things he's learning.  His speech has improved and he's identifying and writing the letters of the alphabet.  One of the most impressive things he has pick up on is understanding what it means to be frustrated and to verbalize that he's feeling that way.  And recently he's started to draw things other than scribbles and dots.  Here's a look:

Yep, that's a stegosaurus.  

Isaac is super excited about Christmas.  He's got that holiday spirit.  The other night I took him shopping for things to make a Christmas wreath and some yard decorations.  Whenever he sees Christmas lights or a Santa Claus he exclaims, "Look, Mommy!  It's Christmas!".  I don't mind so much because I know that he's learning about Advent in school and he knows that we're waiting for the birth of baby Jesus.  

At home he's been solving online jigsaw puzzles of dinosaurs, making tons of funny faces, and helping out with laundry and various other chores.  He's learning to play the Wii (which is a little bit hilarious).  He's learning to tattle (not so hilarious).  He's learning that he likes to beat me when we race to do simple tasks, like buckling our seat belts.  And he's learning to tell better jokes.  They're not great, but they're better.  And they're hilarious nonetheless.  

Thanks for all the prayers for our little man.  They certainly have helped.  We have been blessed with a wonderful kid.  Wonderful just the way he is!

Bon Appétit!

For weeks I could see the light at the end of the tunnel and finally, we have arrived.  We are officially enjoying our Thanksgiving vacation!

Last week the boys both enjoyed a Thanksgiving feast at their schools.  Isaac's class had a very age appropriate feast with turkey cubes and pumpkin cupcakes.  He had a great time and brought home a feathered headband and three sweet corn sprouts that he planted at the beginning of the month.  Orry's school invited all the parents and siblings to join the students for a Thanksgiving feast provided by the cafeteria.   I wasn't too thrilled about taking the two little ones to a crowded cafeteria to eat cafeteria food, but it meant a lot to Orry that we go, so we signed up for 3 meals.

We ended up not making it to Orry's lunch.  Isaac's doctors appointment ran long and we ended up stuck in traffic due to an accident.  We did get to see Orry finishing his lunch and decided to take him home early so that we could start enjoying our vacation that much sooner.

Our baked stuffed pumpkin!

This week we are going to travel to Louisiana.  We will dine on a wonderful Thanksgiving feast cooked by my wonderful mother.  And so we have come to the topic of this blog.  Holiday foods.  Yummm...I'm salivating already.

Now, I've never cooked a Thanksgiving dinner.  So I won't be giving you any pointers on getting that done.  But I will give you a few ideas of things you can make that sure bring about that holiday feast feeling.  These are things that we've made over the past couple of weeks.  Things to bring about that holiday cheer.  The aromas that fill the air.  The familiar tastes that come once a year.  Let's get to it already.  I'm drooling.

Mulled Cider

You will need:

• 1 gallon of apple cider (filtered or unfiltered)
• 1 Tbsp of honey
• 4 Tbsp of mulling spices (Best bargain is to find this in the bulk spices, if you can.)
• 6 cinnamon sticks
• cheese cloth and string (for the mulling spices)

After you tie the mulling spices in a square of cheese cloth (or use a tea ball), add everything to a large pot and boil for 20 minutes.  If you would rather do it in a crock pot you will need to make sure you use filtered apple cider and cook it on high for 2 1/2 to 3 hours.  

Either way, it's delicious when consumed warm on a cold evening!

Baked Stuffed Pumpkin

Here's the recipe that I sort of followed.  I did take some good ideas from the recipe.  They are 1) that you should bake it at 350 for 2 hours, 2) that the pumpkin should be filled to the top (don't leave any room), and 3) that the amount of liquid you use should make the mixture look moist, but not like it's swimming.  That being said, here's what I put in mine:

• 1 lb bulk pork sausage, cooked
• 3 cups rice, cooked
• dried currants
• 2 diced apples
• cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, oregano, salt, pepper
• 2 cups Italian cheese blend
• spinach and arugula
• enough milk to make it look moist
• note: I used a medium sized pumpkin.

The basic idea is this.  Cut the top of the pumpkin off and clean it out really well.  Generously salt and pepper the inside flesh, all around.  Place the pumpkin on a baking sheet or in a large enough casserole dish (parchment should be used to prevent sticking).  In a large bowl, mix all your stuffing ingredients together.  Stuff that sucker.  Put the lid on and bake for 2 hours.  If at the end of two hours you notice that it looks a little too liquidy, take off the top and let it bake for another 20 minutes to bake off that excess moisture.  When you serve it, be sure to get some of that delicious pumpkin flesh in with the stuffing. 

What a treat!  Just make sure you invite guests over if you are making a medium to large pumpkin because this can sure make a lot!

Peppermint Ice Cream

*This recipe is for a Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker.  I'm sorry if you don't have one and still want to make this ice cream.  I can't help you.  I can however say that I've loved every minute of having my ice cream maker and consider it to be one of the best investments I've ever made.  And by investment, I mean that we spent 15 dollars on a used one that we found on craigslist.  Cha-ching!

You will need:

• 1 cup whole milk
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 1/2 tsp pure peppermint extract
• 1 scant cup of crushed peppermint candies

In a medium bowl, whisk the milk and sugar until the sugar is dissolved.  Add the cream and extract.  If you would like, you can add a few drops of green food coloring to make it look minty or a few drops of red to make it look pepperminty.  Get your machine together, turn it on, and pour it in.  After 20 minutes, add in the candies.  Let it all swirl around for another 5 minutes.  At this point you could eat it, but it would be like eating really soft serve.  We put ours into a container (32 oz yogurt container holds almost all of it) and freeze it for 2 hours.  That way it scoops nicer.  

Ours lasted almost 24 hours.  I'm sure we could have disappeared it faster than that if we tried.  

I certainly hope that you all have a great Thankgiving.  Break out the sweat pants and feast away!  And if you have time between bites, tell me all about some good holiday recipes that your family is trying this year!

The Line Up

We had a Luigi (minus the mustache because a certain little boy complained to the point of tears about how itchy the glue was on his face).

Look at that shiner.

Our resident Pterodactyl was present.

And bringing up the rear were the Bees.

There was Baby Bee.

And Momma Bee and the Beekeeper.

Can you see our grumbly bee?

We had a great Halloween.  Troy took all the kiddos door to door while I made dinner and handed out candy.  We finally had to turn out the lights since we ran out of candy and had to put the kids to bed.  October was a lot of fun, but alas, on to November!