Sunday, August 22, 2010

Bucket List Part Deux

Just after my Bucket List post, I read an article in a parenting magazine, "Savor the Last Drops of Summer". Basically, a list of things you should manage to do this summer. Many we did, many we did not.

So now a "Bucket List 2011" of all the things we didn't do this year:
  • Visit the seashore (we did make it to a lakeshore this year)
  • Lie in a hammock
  • Jump off a diving board
  • Make a fort
  • Find a rainbow
  • Stargaze
  • Look for cloud formations
  • Take a nap on the lawn
  • Search for sea glass
  • Skip rocks
  • Dig for worms
  • Set up a lemonade stand
  • Put on a play
  • Make mud pies
  • Tell ghost stories
  • Build a sand castle
  • Learn to do a cartwheel
  • Play kickball
  • Do the hula
  • Go on a scavenger hunt
  • Build a box car
It's a good starting point at least. It seems the simple little things get missed the most!!

Saturday, August 21, 2010

6 years and 2 weeks

That's how long it took.

Do you know for what??

For the first of my children to break a bone.

2 weeks after his 6th birthday, Trevor broke his right collarbone. Daddy, Blake and Izzy were present in the room when it happened. Me... I was 692 miles away on vacation in upstate New York!!! Talk about feeling helpless!!

It all started because t-ball was canceled. Although the weather seemed nice, apparently there was standing water on the field.

During the morning, a used disposable diaper had been ripped apart and the little beads that absorb the moisture were all over the floor of the boys room. So Daddy wanted to vacuum it up. He did so with all three kids in the room (kudos to him, but I think that's crazy... I would have put a movie on and left them downstairs!).

As he vacuumed he decided to clean the rest of their room, including under a chair in the corner where the cats sleep. So he moved the chair out of the corner of the room, and into the middle and the kids played on it.

(Can you figure out what happened yet??).

Both boys were on the chair (I have no idea where Izzy was)... T was sitting on it, and B climbed up the back of the chair (which is normal, but has no effect when the chair is in the corner). B climbed up... the chair tipped over... T flew out of the chair, and whacked his collarbone on the bunk bed post.

Immediately, two things were true... Trevor felt no pain and Daddy KNEW it was broken. He KNEW because he broke his twice as a kid. I later learned that his Dad broke his once so it's a requirement for the oldest son on that side of the family. On the plus side, Daddy's younger brother didn't break his, so we can hope B won't either!!

After finding Aunt Kate to come stay with B and Iz, Daddy took T to the ER. It took an x-ray, a 3-minute visit by the Dr, and a $450 ER bill to tell us what we already knew. It took $50 to get T a sling that he HATED (because it has teddy bears and balloons on it and is very babyish).

On Sunday I came home. Nothing much had changed. Monday, as recommended by the ER doc, I took him to an orthopedist to recheck it and see if anything else needed to be done. She said it was fine, nothing to worry about, sling for 4 weeks, no swimming, t-ball etc, and she'd recheck it in a month.

A few days later Aunt Kate provided a great fix for the sling....

For the most part Trev has been pretty good during this last month. But the realization that he couldn't play t-ball (3 weeks left) or swim for the week of summer camp (which started 2 days after he broke it) made him REALLY mad. Mostly because it was Blake's 'fault' that he was injured, but Blake was able to do all those activities. The other part of the problem is that it's never hurt him. It's hard to stop a 6-year-old from being active when the broken bone doesn't hurt!!!

I've tried to take pictures of the two sides, but it's very hard to see anything in pictures. At first there was a visible difference, and even now there is still a bump on the side he broke. I just hope that doesn't mean it healed wrong!!!

Tuesday is his follow up appointment with new x-rays scheduled. In the last week he's been swimming and I even let him play the last week of t-ball (lefty of course!). I'm just hoping that the x-ray shows all is well!!!

Friday, August 13, 2010

Bucket List

When summer vacation started on May 27th, I didn't ask Trev what he wanted to do this summer. In retrospect, I should have. I didn't ask Blake either, but that is probably for the best!!

Regardless, I tried to plan a fun summer that all three kids would enjoy and that would take advantage of all the free time we would have. After all, this fall brings full-time school and that restricts the activities that we can participate in (or at least, when we can participate in them).

As I look back, here's a few of the things we can check of this summer's bucket list:
  • participate in soccer league (Trev)
  • attend graduation party
  • attend mommy's volleyball games (and stay up and out past bedtime!)
  • go to lots of friend's birthday parties and celebrate two of our own
  • go to new village park grand opening, play in soccer tournament, win our first game, play in the rain, and jump in huge mud puddles
  • learn all about reptiles at the library
  • go to lots of new parks and a bunch of old favorites
  • go to a MLB baseball game (not the Cubs!-at the kids request)
  • visit Grandpa
  • learn how to make cool scientific reactions using basic household materials (vinegar, baking soda, m&m's and more) (more fun at the library)
  • go camping and get REALLY dirty
  • go strawberry picking
  • make LOTS of strawberry and raspberry jam
  • go to summer camp
  • learn to swim (Trevor!!!!)
  • practice reading
  • spend the night at Grandma's
  • go to the zoo
  • watch at least two sets of fireworks, and set off some of our own
  • participate in t-ball league (T & B)
  • learn about dinosaurs at the library (and show off our knowledge - good job Blake!)
  • attend Zoo camp and be a "Junior Zookeeper" for the day
  • go to the pediatrician and not get shots (Trevor! Izzy still had to get shots!)
  • survive a week with Mommy gone on vacation (they survived, but there are scars!)
  • go to the movies
  • go to Great America
  • go to the farmer's market
  • go to the 'skyscrapers' (what the boys call going downtown) to various museums
  • go fishing with Grandpa
  • make home-made ice cream
Whew!! Part of me wants to find pictures for lots of those items to put up here, but if I do that this post will never go up. So for the moment, I'm posting this sans pictures. Maybe once school starts again I will get better about blogging more regularly. But I'm not promising!!

Friday, August 6, 2010

Trevor's 6th Birthday (a month late!)

So we celebrated on time, have no fear, but it's taken me until now to post the pictures and story!!

The actual day started with breakfast of Trev's choice, Swedish pancakes made by Daddy, and then tball practice followed by lunch at Culvers! Then we headed home to be there in time for guests and the party!

As always Trev ends up with a backyard pool party, but the kids always seem to have a good time. We ended up with about 10 other kids here in addition to our 3, and while less than many of our regular coffee playdates, it was still plenty of kids and plenty of fun!! But we did miss those friends who couldn't join us! I think all the kids had a great time in the pool and sprinklers, and playing with the water guns and balloons.

spraying each other with the sprinkler
everyone in the pool
it's time to slip n slide

Time for water balloons
everybody run, water balloon fight!!
Izzy slept thru some of the festivities, but that was just fine with her as she wanted NOTHING to do with the pool or sprinkler!
The birthday theme this year was Space as Trev has become very interested in all things space and all 9 planets. He still considers Pluto a planet and is very offended if you dare to say there are only 8!! So Daddy made a space cake, and we had some space decorations as well as themed goody bags.

the space table cloth that the boys painted
Saturn
Neptune

T's cake with the WHOLE milky way on it, including a few extra details (click the picture to see it bigger). This is by far one of my favorite cakes of all the ones Daddy has made so far.
everyone enjoying the yummy beautiful cake!


Later in the evening, Grandma, Kate and Scary joined us for present opening and more cake. Trev was thrilled with all his presents, and the fact that most of them were Lego related!! He's easy to please in that respect these days!!

it's present time!
the fish pillow he's been wanting for MONTHS (and it's almost as big as him!)