Adventures on E

'Twas Five Days Before Christmas

2011-12-20T13:12:00.001-09:00

I went to Brenden with the first line and a half and told him I needed help writing a poem and he took it from there.

'Twas Five Days Before Christmas

by Brenden Boehme - age 8

‘Twas five days before Christmas and all through the house,

The decorations not up and Mom scurried like a mouse.

We went to the Internet to find stockings there,

In hopes that St. Nicholas won’t have to use our underwear.

The children raced around, their faces red,

With the words “HURRY!” and “QUICKLY” stuck in their head.

Mamma insane and I in my thinking cap,

Trying to figure how to decorate in a snap.

Out in the garage there was such a clutter,

I went to find something and started to mutter.

Away to the store we went for some shopping.

The kids slowed me down, but there was no stopping.

There were hundreds, and hundreds of so many rows!

Of toys, trains, candies, and bows!

When, what to my tired eyes should appear,

But the perfect star and our friend, Mr. Deveer!

Just as we finished, my brother got very sick,

And threw up all over the store’s St. Nick.

More rapid than eagles, home we came,

But then there it was just more of the same.

We continued to clean and decorate in a hurry,

Then, we decided that it was worth all the scurry.

We made cookies to eat and left Santa some,

We’re all ready now, for the big man to come.

As I fell in bed the world was all right,

Merry Christmas to you and have a good night!

Background: We are in search of the perfect star for our 11 foot tree, we really haven't decorated, our garage is full of boxes containing the Christmas decorations, and Brenden helped me search for stockings online last night. As for the end, we have not made any cookies and are in no way ready for the big man to come - here's to hoping that our day will end just like Brenden's poem.

**If you would like to comment on Brenden's poem, please follow the link to his blog on the right hand side. It is called The Good Life. You can comment there and it will go directly to him.

The marriage of eggnog and pumpkin

2011-11-24T01:42:00.000-09:00

Although I do not like eggnog, while trying it for the something-like-the-11th year in a row, I decided it might be okay if mixed with pumpkin. That became this year's Thanksgiving challenge - create the perfect dessert to combine eggnog and pumpkin. Tomorrow, or rather later today, we will be eating pumpkin eggnog swirl cheesecake. That will be plenty of dessert for our family for Thanksgiving, but the next in line is a pumpkin/eggnog layered pie, perhaps followed by a layered pumpkin/eggnog pudding pie. We're gonna be HUGE by the time this holiday season is over! Hey, I used light eggnog and 1/3 less fat cream cheese - we're still being health conscious.

Royalties

2011-10-29T09:53:00.002-08:00

Doug and I told Brenden that after he sells his first book, through a publisher, he can buy himself a DSi, otherwise, he was NEVER getting one because we're not buying it. He has been marching around saying, "I can't wait until I get my royalties, I can't wait until I get my royalties..." It has at least motivated him to finish typing and editing the book he wrote last year.

And while we're on the subject of Brenden, I just have to tell you how amazing my kid is. He is currently reading at an 8th grade reading level, at the beginning of 3rd grade. He was tested for the Quest (gifted and talented) program at school at the end of 2nd grade and we just met to discuss the results. In order to be admitted to Quest, you have to earn 3 out of 6 points on various testing. Rarely do children earn all 6 points, but Brenden did. Some of the tests earn 1 point and others 2.

The first qualifying factor is general testing in the areas of math, reading, and other academic subjects. Usually kids qualify in 2/3 areas, but Brenden had high enough scores in all 3, being in the 99.9th percentile in written language. He loves to read and it shows in his writing.

Second is a drawing "exam." They have several different boxes with different shapes of lines drawn and he had to the turn the lines into pictures and create an appropriate label for his picture. The kid amazes me with the things he comes up with, I always wonder where it comes from. It is scored on several different levels, but he did very well.

Another area is IQ. Brenden is in the 99th percentile in his age group for general full scale IQ. The score that truly amazed me was his 99.7th percentile in verbal comprehension. VERBAL. He is, on all measurable levels, deaf, but his score testifies to me the correct decision we made to give him cochlear implants. Cochlear implants are amazing things and I couldn't be happier with the results he has had with them.

The last point is given because he has a "disability," so to be fair, not all children can get 6 points on the test. The point is given in fairness to children with something that might have kept them from scoring 3 points in the other areas, so as not to dicriminate children with other things holding them back, like being deaf. He didn't need the point, but it gave him a perfect 6.

Maybe there was another test in there too, but if there was, I can't remember it. This meeting was immediately following 3 parent/teacher conferences, so tests and results were running together at that point - and Cameron was about 4 hours late for a nap and showing it. Brenden's love of reading has really made him who he is. He wants to be a writer and 99.9th percentile in written language will hopefully get him there. He might have to be a NASA scientist on the side though.

Glue

2011-09-27T12:53:00.001-08:00

Our family seems to be having a rough time lately. Doug's work schedule is terrible and the kids and I are having a hard time with it. The saddest thing I've heard lately though was Sunday afternoon. As Brenden was bawling, he said, "I feel like the glue that holds our family together is melting."

Cameron, after one year and one week, has learned to crawl. Whew!

Brenden's Blog

2011-09-03T16:23:00.001-08:00

Brenden is starting a blog today. Beware. I don't know what will appear.

Brenden's Blog

I asked him what he wanted to call it. He said "Pokemon!" I said NO. Then he came up with The Good Life - specifying THE Good Life, not A Good Life.

Butt Dial

2011-08-29T13:16:00.000-08:00

Doug butt dialed me this morning while taking the boys to school. I didn't answer and it went to my voicemail. I listened to the whole message. This was my favorite part.

Doug: Ethan, please hold his backpack while he gets buckled. Brenden, please help him buckle.
Brenden: GET BUCKLED!!!!!!
Doug: I asked you to help him, not yell at him.
Brenden: I'm helping him by yelling at him!

Ethan’s First Day

2011-08-25T20:18:00.001-08:00

Cameron has become a lizard. He loves his tongue.

I guess maybe he learns it from his brothers.

School Time?

2011-08-24T19:56:00.002-08:00

Ethan has been DYING to go to school. He has Nolan's classroom and teacher from last year. When we dropped Nolan off last year, Ethan ran ahead every day to announce Nolan's presence to the class. Ethan is thrilled to be going to Ms. Pala's class. Tonight, I was hurrying him along with his shower, dinner, and bedtime routine to make sure he got enough sleep before morning pre-k. After getting up for the gazillionth time to go to the bathroom, he was tossing and turning in his bed, so I went to tuck him in one more time. He couldn't hear me coming and didn't see me coming, so I kind of surprise him and he jumped a little and said, "What!? Time for school?" I wonder if he'll sleep at all tonight. I'm sure he'll pop right out of bed in the morning. He can't ride the bus for two weeks, which will probably kill both of us.

Nolan had a huge grin plastered on his face when he got on the bus this morning. He's never ridden the bus TO school, so he was pretty pleased. I had to pick him up from school yesterday after I told him he was riding the bus home, and I thought he was going to cry. He is enjoying kindergarten so far. He recited all the bathroom rules to me last night, one of which is "No touching poop." They have a kid in kindergarten that is allergic to peanuts, so Nolan can't take pb&j for lunch. That limits our lunch selection. I guess Nolan will have to have it on the weekends, because he's a big fan.

Right now Nolan is out fishing with Doug. Only the second day of school and already we are late for bedtime. Nolan is a great fisherman and will tell anyone that shows any interest, all about the huge salmon he caught last week (and will include over and over again that grandpa's salmon was tiny). I love how when he tells the story, he says, "It was big and I'm just little and I caught it. The string (fishing line) kept coming out and out and out." Nolan is patient and even enjoys the days that they don't catch anything.

Brenden jumps right into school like it's nothing new. I had to pick the kids up from school yesterday because we got a call that the optometrist had a cancellation and could see Brenden. He sees about 20/40 with his eyes individually and 20/30 when he uses them both. It's not bad enough for glasses yet, but I think we know what's coming. He was horrified that the doctor might say he needed glasses. He really doesn't want them.

Brenden asked me at the beginning of the summer if he could have a credit card. I told him no and that he could get one when he got a job. So, Brenden started his own business selling sticks. He whittled them and sold them as weapons - some as much as $23! He was disappointed I wouldn't spend over $2 in his shop. One day he asked me again if he could get a credit card. I told him no. He responded, "But I got a JOB!" with a whiney inflection in his voice.

Brenden kind of loves money. Who doesn't? Evidently his teacher "pays" them for doing homework and being good class members. They can buy school supplies, like mechanical pencils (which they're not supposed to have accoring to the school supply list, so it's something special) and erasers. They can rent a workout ball to replace their chair for the day. They can also rent the teacher's chair. He is pretty excited and I'm hoping it will teach him a little bit about finances for the day he gets himself a credit card.

Cameron had an appointment on Saturday with the helmet doctor. He was impressed with Cameron's progress and says Cameron will probably be done with his helmet on September 16. That was fast! I am beyond thrilled, but in my opinion, things probably would have worked themselves out without the helmet. Once he was sitting up and off of his flat spot, his head started shaping up.

Tomorrow we will likely have super cute pictures of super cute Ethan to post!

Back to school 2011

2011-08-23T22:49:00.001-08:00

Ethan’s first day is Thursday, so his will come then!

What did you do this weekend?

2011-08-07T23:59:00.002-08:00

15 weeks ago I set out to complete a triathlon. Yesterday I did just that.

I think it may have been March that Doug told me about our local Kenai triathlon. I was so excited until I found out it was on a Sunday. I got on the internet and started searching for Saturday triathlons and the Why Not Tri in Wasilla is what I found. It's over 4 hours away, but still "local" considering our location. I even looked at flying to Utah so Brenden and I could do a triathlon together. The Kenai triathlon had a kids' race and I wanted so badly for him to do it.

And so, for the last 15 weeks, I swam, biked, or ran 6 days a week. I had forgotten how much I loved to swim, developed a new obsession for biking, and a tolerance for running. I still can't say I love it, but it is what it is. As I said before, it is a good thing it is light in the summer in Alaska until all hours of the night, because there were many nights that I was out riding my bike at midnight or at the track at 11:30 - because I might be able to out-bike a moose (I doubt it), but I certainly can't out-run one. Doug gets home around 10:00, so that's about the time my training started. Next time around, I might opt for getting up early, but I can't guarantee it.

Friday we drove the 4.5 hours to Wasilla, with a stop at REI, the store that my children groan when we pull up to. (Brenden once told me that I wasn't ever allowed back there because I wasted 3 hours and $400, so now we couldn't buy him any more Pokemon cards.) We drove the bike and run routes and found the incredibly nice triathlon coordinator to ask all of my questions. I have heard it said before that triathletes are some of the nicest people on the planet and I truly believe it now. That night, the coordinator, who had to have been stressed out of her mind, put me at ease and two volunteers, who happen to also be triathletes, looked through my lists and mentally walked me through my transitions.

We found some dinner, headed to the hotel, and then I decided I NEEDED a lap-counting watch, so I went to Fred Meyer at 10:30, when I should have already been asleep. I found a watch, went back to the hotel, freaked out for a while, and then tried to sleep. And tried. And tried. And tried... And Doug snored. And snored. And snored. Finally, around 7:00, I got up, showered, had breakfast... and freaked out some more. Doug dropped me off at 8:30.

I set up my gear like REI.com told me (with some help from lots of youtube videos too and the friendly volunteers). And then I stood there and stared at it while I freaked out quietly inside. Eventually I asked the girl next to me if she had done a triathlon before and successfully made a friend to spend my day with. The race meeting was at 9:30, with a start at 10:00. When you end up with number 330 though, you get to stand around a lot. Stupid me, I actually STOOD around instead of sitting and resting.

My new friend and I went in search of food around 11:00. I would come to find out later that this was a bad idea.

I had to be on the swim deck at 1:00. I waited in line (again, freaking out quietly inside) until there was an open lane and then did my thing, totally forgetting to start my lap counting watch that I HAD to have. Somehow, in my opinion, I ended up with the worst lane. It was connected to the diving area and the kiddie pool. My depth perception was off and I completely missed the wall once on my flip turn. I was getting waves from both directions and I just felt sloppy. My swim time was significantly slower than any time in the last 2 months and I was disappointed. (Actually, I hopped out of the pool, my timer told me my time and instead of nicely thanking her, I said, "Oh, that sucks.")

The swim to bike transition is included in the swim time, which is why I wanted the special watch - so I could keep them separate. I ran to my bike, got dressed and rode off. I couldn't get clipped in, I couldn't get my breath, and I couldn't make my legs move as fast as I wanted them to. Within the first half mile, I was re-tasting my sandwich. I got into the groove a little over a mile into it and felt pretty good for the most part. I would like to try a longer bike race someday, 9 miles is about the point where I feel like I am really getting into it. And then it was over.

I rode back to my transition area, changed to my running shoes, and I was off again. I really wanted to run the whole thing. And then I saw people walking and I thought, "That looks really nice, and this is a really big hill." So, I caved to peer pressure and walked briefly. I'm not kidding - it was a pretty big hill and the turn around was at the top. I ran all the way back though.

Along the bike and run, I kept seeing my white suburban drive past, with little people yelling, "Go mom!" During my first transition, my whole family was standing nearby yelling, "Great job mom, get going!" Doug pulled off every now and then and hauled everyone out of the car to stand on the side of the road and cheer me on. During the run, the boys hopped out, gave me high fives, hopped back in the car, drove ahead, hopped back out and gave me more high fives. I had several people comment on my cheering section. I couldn't have done it without them. I know it was a long day for Doug, but it really made my day feel more special to know he was there with the boys rooting for me. I dressed everyone in orange so I could pick them out easily. I bought myself a pretty orange bike jersey and decided to call us team orange. They were such an important part of my team and I love them for all they did for me.

I finished and my kids swarmed me. They wanted to see my medal and they told me over and over how proud of me they were.

I looked over the results right before I left. With only maybe 5 people left out on the course, I was 1st in the swim (including the transition), 8th in the bike, and 20th in the run putting me 8th in my age group. I kicked myself for walking, but I was pretty happy with the whole thing.

We arrived home very tired around midnight. I walked in the house and the smell of natural gas hit me. We have smelled it off and on for a while, but as soon as we thought it was bad enough to call someone, the smell would go away. It was bad enough this time. We called the gas company and they sent someone out who told us that basically every connection, valve, knob, whatever on the boiler and water heater leak - and probably have for a while. Even the meter outside was leaking. He took everything apart and we are without heat (glad it's summer) and hot water until we find a plumber and new appliances. The joys of home ownership.

I did sharing time today. I am tired and now it's early Monday morning and I am not asleep. Goodnight!

Helmet Head

2011-07-17T00:43:00.001-08:00

Cameron got his helmet last Wednesday. He doesn’t seem to mind it, but has to wear it 23 hours a day. I have a friend with a vinyl business, so we’re going to have to talk décor – it’s pretty plain and boring.

My little bank robber

2011-07-03T16:58:00.004-08:00

About 2 months ago, I took Cameron in to get a physical therapy assessment and they decided that yes, he needed PT. During the assessment, the physical therapist shared her concern about Cameron’s head shape. Doug had been concerned about it before as well. He has a flat spot on his back right section which is in turn pushing out the right front and back left section of his head also making the front left slightly flat. This is also causing his ears to move with it and they are extremely uneven. They referred us to a “helmet doctor” as I like to call him.

Cameron’s head shape is either cause by a condition called torticollis or his torticollis was cause by his consistently turning his head to the right. Either way, the muscle issue has been worked out. He has balance issues and is still learning to support himself appropriately while sitting and reaching. Those are the main reasons for PT. He is developmentally behind in mobility, but so were the others, so I know it will come eventually.

The helmet doctor’s office called to set up the appointment for two weeks later. The doctor is from Anchorage, but comes down to the peninsula every other week. On the morning of the appointment, a Friday at the end of a long week of driving 45 minutes to Soldotna once, if not twice a day with 4 kids, I got all of the kids out of bed, dressed, fed, and out the door to Soldotna once again. We arrived about 2 minutes late for the appointment. When I walked in, there was the receptionist at the desk and a bald man sitting at the desk behind her. I asked if I was in the right place for the helmet doctor and she told me I was. We then talked for 10-15 minutes about the boys’ hair (they currently have mohawks), their outfits, life with 4 boys, blah blah blah until we ran out of things to say and were staring at each other. Finally, I asked, “Is there some paperwork I need to fill out?”

She turned to the bald man and said, “I don’t know, Steve, is there some paperwork she needs to fill out?” He replied, “For what?” His office had failed to “save” the appointment in the computer after scheduling it. He asked me if I had the referral and when I had called to make the appointment. A) I NEVER had the referral, the PT faxed it to them and B) HIS office called ME to set up the appointment. Anyway, he didn’t have the equipment he needed to scan Cameron’s head because he didn’t know Cameron was coming. He saw us briefly (you know, cause then he can still bill me for my wasted 45 minute drive) and made another appointment for 2 weeks later when he would bring his scanner.

That appointment was Friday. Guess what. No scanner. Apparently, it quit working sometime last week. So, he said we would have to do this the old fashion way. Apply a cast and cut it off. He warned me, “Cameron won’t like it… and he’ll cry.” He did WAY more than cry. Cameron hates pretty much anything on his head.

Cameron fascinated by the doctor’s stuff

Layer 1: I don’t like you.

Layer 2: I hate you.

Marking the bank robber mask: Yep, still hate you.

Applying the cast: I couldn’t hate you more.

Cameron hates hats

Cast being cut off: I lied, now I hate you WAY more!

Removing Cameron’s cast

He came out of the whole thing very, very sweaty. We will have the helmet fitted while we are in Anchorage in a week and a half for our 8 audiology appointments. Also last week – Wednesday – Cameron failed his vision screening and is being referred to Anchorage for an optometrist. I haven’t been contacted yet to set that up.

I went to the doctor for myself last week and my experience was just as bad. I left there crying and in awe at the doctor and her attitude. I will be filing a complaint with her office and the hospital they are associated with – and that’s really not like me. I can’t even explain how she made me feel, but it was a very low, low feeling and I will never see her again.

I am to the point where I expect everything to go wrong and Friday, after Cameron’s casting experience, I called my mom laughing. It can only happen so many times and make you cry before it gets really, really funny. It seems we’re always forgotten or canceled or something fails.

Brenden went to drama camp for the last two weeks. I wish I could post the video of his play, but it is too long. It was hilarious and Brenden was amazing. He played the part of the hero very well.

Brenden and Nolan are in soccer again this year and doing a great job. They are having a great time. Ethan is totally bummed ALL the time that he just missed the birthday cut off to play this year. If he had been born 2 weeks earlier, he would have been on Nolan’s team. He wore cleats 2.5 sizes too small to all of the boys’ soccer practices because he wanted to play so badly.

Nolan is still in gymnastics for the summer. It seems he never quite got all of his skill back after the last leg break, but he is having a good time and getting better. It is just taking longer this time.

Ethan’s highlight of the week is speech. He loves his therapist and from what other people tell me, he has her wrapped around his little finger. He is quite the charming, silly little man – when he is not being totally defiant.

Brenden and Nolan are obsessed with Pokemon lately. They are training Ethan to feel the same way. I really, really strongly dislike Pokemon and I have since about 1997 when I babysat a little Pokemon obsessed boy every day for an entire summer.

Cameron has physical therapy once a week and is being evaluated monthly for occupational therapy. He is supposed to stay out of his car seat as much as possible (because of the head shape thing), but it just isn’t happening. He likes to flip his hearing aids off his head and loves to eat them. He can’t wear them unless he has my 100% full attention and, let’s be honest here, how often is that? Not very.

Cameron has the silliest personality. Doug sees it more often than I do, but Cameron like to tease Doug. Cameron loves to give his daddy kisses, but he only says mama. Cameron lights up every time he sees Nolan. He isn’t a busy boy. He is laid back and happy. He likes to show off his 4 teeth and is especially proud of his new top two.

In general, it is a busy, but good summer. My mom comes tomorrow and Ethan asks daily (many, many times) how many days until “gwamma” and “Howie” (Halle, my niece) come. Ethan says, “I wuv gwamma and gwamma wuvs me” in a very matter of fact way. I have more to share, but for now, I must get ready for gwamma!

Not forgotten

2011-06-12T15:48:00.002-08:00

I have not forgotten my blog – the thought of updating it haunts me nightly. I have been busy (that’s new, right?), but in ways that aren’t my mundane daily tasks and are for me. Now, THAT is something new. It is hard to fit in time for myself, but I am making it happen. It’s a good thing it is light in Alaska until all hours of the night or it wouldn’t happen.

Saturday, Tiffany and I participated in Run for the River.

My children won’t let me cut their hair:

Cameron falls asleep reading books just like his big brother:

Our May file has A LOT of pictures, so we’ll come back to that.
5/29 Doug had a birthdaywith all his favorite foods:6/2 We planned on hiking, but got out of the house too late, so we took a walk along the riverand played in the park.Then we took the kids and their bikes to the track. Can you tell who sits still the longest?
I wrote the post below back in March and never posted it because I wanted to include a video, but life happens and videos don’t, so here you go.

February

I’ll be back.

Hunt

2011-04-04T12:41:00.000-08:00

For my birthday, my mom sent me on a scavenger hunt to find my gift. It was hilarious, heartfelt, and rhymed perfectly. Not only was it a hunt, it was like a peek back through my life. Along the way, there were gifts for each of us, but mine was the grand prize. Yesterday, in honor of grandma, Brenden made me a scavenger hunt.

1. In what cooks that starts with O try to find where it is so. (oven)
2. Now you found it the next one begins in script. (scriptures)
3. You have found me that is true. The next clue is in wee CB. (Cameron)
It was so cute. I had been holding Cameron earlier and Brenden came up to me and asked me to close my eyes. I could hear paper rustling and I snuck a peek to make sure Brenden wasn't giving paper to Cameron to eat, but he was shoving the paper through the crotch of Cameron's pajamas.
4. You found me, great try 8 (Brenden)
5. Good and best, try a crest. (toothpaste)
Brenden had asked me earlier in the day if we had a family crest. I was confused, but he found a way to use his clue.
6. Try to figure out how it ends, with pill it begins. (pillow)
7. Good job, we're almost done try finding out in the chi_ _ey. (fireplace)
8. Yay, you found me. The next one is in Brenden's po_ter. (poster)
Brenden made a poster earlier in the day advertising himself as an author. I hadn't seen it at the time, but the back said Love you everyone!

We took a video of the hunt, per Brenden's request. My mom also took a video of my birthday hunt. When we finished the hunt, Brenden said, "Now will you put it on your blog?" So there you go, record of the hunt is now on my blog.

Report Cards

2011-03-29T20:14:00.000-08:00

Evidently Nolan's teacher was "directed" to my blog a while back. This entry is for Ms. Pala: Thank you for validating me in Nolan's report card by acknowledging the fact that I put his folder in his backpack 9 out of 9 weeks. I don't know that Nolan will ever be "proficient" in listening or following directions. Sorry about that.

Brenden's teachers are both on maternity leave. He has two teachers who were due within a week of each other. He really, really likes them. Their report card comments are always worded in a way that would make any mother proud of her son. They always manage to highlight Brenden's best traits and I appreciate it.

Finally, today is Brenden's 8th birthday. I love that boy. He never once complained that today wasn't all about him. Tuesdays are rough.

We're BACK!

2011-03-25T23:18:00.000-08:00

Most people don't even know we were gone, but we spent the last two weeks away from home. We visited our families in Utah and Idaho. More on that later. I just had to share something before I forgot.

Brenden is usually sensitive (or annoyed, I'm not sure) about other kids asking him what his cochlear implants are. On the plane home, an 8 year old boy asked him what they were and he slouched down in his seat and mumbled "implants." The boy asked him what they were for and Brenden told him they were for hearing. The boy then said, "Those are SO COOL!" Brenden noticeably sat up taller and prouder and told the boy all about his CIs. He also proudly shared all about his brothers being deaf too.

Brenden's new CIs are really cool. I think he is happy with them and they have cool covers to decorate them up. I was so glad that boy was on the plane with us. I was thrilled to see Brenden show some pride in his implants.

Brenden's new implants are black. I gave him the option of brown to match his hair color, but the black looks really cool and tech-y, like the computers and tvs that are out right now.

With the mini battery

Brenden's favorite cover

We also have these covers:

The covers for little girls are way cuter - I have mine all picked out for the day I become deaf. Ethan's implants are charcoal color. The boys each have soccer covers and share the others.

Coolest thing EVER!

2011-03-10T00:11:00.004-09:00

Click for a way better, way bigger picture

We missed the best part because all of Doug's camera batteries were dead. He plugged the battery in just long enough to get 2 shots. Now that he has it all figured out, we'll get you better pictures next time. This is from our deck. If we drove a little ways or walked out onto the lake, we could do much better - but it's cold.

Edit:

And then he charged it again.

He's still out there taking pictures, but I need some sleep!

ABR

2011-03-09T15:11:00.011-09:00

Doug and I drove to Anchorage on Friday morning for Cameron's ABR. It was so nice to have Doug go with me. Tiffany kept the other boys so that Doug and I could dedicate our whole day to Cameron alone. We had to keep Cameron awake on the drive to Anchorage, which is not easy - usually I depend on him sleeping the whole way there. Doug sat in back with him half way and then I took over for the second half.

We arrived at the audiologist, they hooked Cameron up with the electrodes, and he went right to sleep. He woke up quite a few times during the test, so I had to keep feeding him to put him back to sleep. He slept well enough that they have pretty reliable results and Cameron will get his hearing aids this Friday. Brenden will also get new implants on Friday, the same kind that Ethan has.

I am so glad to live in a time when technology is so advanced that they can test an infant, program digital hearing aids, and eventually perform cochlear implant surgery so that my totally deaf children can live life like a hearing child. Cameron will most likely get his cochlear implants earlier than the other boys did, so his delay should be very minimal. It all depends on how quickly he loses his hearing.

I am thankful that my kids have terrible hearing instead of moderate. That will most likely sound odd to most people, but I can't imagine having a kid who didn't quite qualify for a cochlear implant, but hearing aids didn't help enough. There is a fine line there that I couldn't handle.

I am including pictures of all 3 boys' first audiograms. Brenden was tested so late, his hearing was basically non-existent. On the picture, the x's are the left ear and the o's are the right ear. There is something called a "speech banana" that shows where the sounds of speech are found on the audiogram. If their x or o is below the sound, they are not able to properly hear the sound thus less likely to properly produce the sound. Also included in the picture are other common sounds.

Finding Cameron's results so early will be very benefitial and he may be able to avoid the huge delay we had to combat with Brenden. But look at Brenden now. He won't let anything stop him.

I also must say how glad I am to have my degree in Deaf Education. The whole situations surrounding being admited to the program was amazing and inspired. I knew it would be important in my life, but I have to say, I never thought I would use it as much as I do - every.single.day. I had to take audiology and speech classes and I think that, above all else, these have been more important on a daily basis than anything else I could have learned. I have been in the process of being prepared for these kids since I was a teenager and I can fully recognize that now. No teenager sits in her weekly sign language class or a deaf ward with her whole family and thinks, "I might have deaf kids someday." Or three.

A woman came to me at church on Sunday and said, "It never occured to me that something like this would bother you. To me, it's the same as having a child with blue eyes and another with brown. Then again, I never had a blue eyed child." I was completely shocked and had no reply.

It occurred to me last night just how insane our family schedule is, I guess I had always looked at my own personal schedule and thought that was bad enough. My mom called me when we were in Anchorage and asked me to make a video with our whole family. It doesn't sound like a hard thing to do, but we still haven't all been together since then. By the time we picked up our boys that night, it was 10:00 and we rushed them home to bed. Doug left for work by 8:15 Saturday and was home at 7:45, after the kids were in bed. Sunday, Doug was gone to work by 9:15 and the boys and I were rushing to get to church on time. Doug was home a little after 7:00, in time to read a book to the kids and get them to bed. Monday Brenden is out the door by 8:10 and Doug isn't home until 9:45, Tuesday Ethan is out the door by 7:20 and again, Doug isn't home until 9:30 or so. Tonight, Doug is off work earlier, but he and I both have meetings at the church at 7:00 and Ethan is supposed to be in bed by 6:30 when he has school (since he has to be up at 6:55). Thursday Doug works late again and then Friday morning, we all have to leave by 8:00 for Anchorage again. Sometimes I look at our schedule and I am amazed.

Doug has worked the last 5 Saturdays and 6 Sundays in a row. I am pretty grumpy about it. I did not sign up to be a single mom.

I have a whole much-more-fun-for-you-to-read blog ready to post as soon as I edit the videos.

I’m ok

2011-02-27T19:57:00.003-09:00

Really, I am. I threw my little tantrum and now I’m ok. I think I just needed to get it out there. I dress up in my “I can handle anything” costume and parade around in it and then one day I couldn’t find my costume anymore. I have been keeping it all in for a long time and stewing over it and it’s out there and I’m fine. We’ll get through it and I know it.

Doug asked me what a person who is already on anxiety/depression medication does when they are stressed and depressed more. The answer is eat. I have gained 5 pounds in the last two weeks and it must stop!

When Cameron was 7 weeks old (11/12/10), he had his first ABR – auditory brainstem response. It is an electrical signal evoked from the brainstem by the presentation of a sound such as a click. Basically, they send a sound in through the ear and measure the response with the electrodes placed on the head. It usually takes about 2 or 3 hours. It is totally painless, and effortless for that matter - they have to be sedated or asleep. Ethan had 5 of them in his first year of life.It doesn’t hurt, Cameron was just really, really tired – just like he was supposed to be. The audiologist told me things looked fine, but I found out later that her report showed a mild loss in the left ear.

Cameron has another one on Friday this week. It should give us some more information about where we are with his hearing, or lack thereof. I have noticed a significant decline in his responses.

In preparation for the ABR, I took the hearing aids to the audiologist last week and we had ear impressions made for earmolds.Cameron with Jess, the amazing audiologist, whose favorite color is also orange.

I was right about the ENT doctor visit. I drove 7.5+ hours to see a doctor who sat down and said, “What can I do for you?” I said, “I don’t know, why am I here?” He said he didn’t know either. He didn’t even want to look at the CT scan because he read the report already. I told him that the radiologist who read it isn’t really an expert and suggested that perhaps he, the ENT, would like to take a look at it. He told me to just hold onto it. I asked if he needed to look in Cameron’s ears or anything and he said no. He then proceeded to talk to me about the economy in Nikiski, of which there is none. He talked about the Chevron plant closing and the fertilizer plant that closed a few years ago, halibut fishing, the Alaska oil pipeline and the potential future natural gas pipeline that has been talked about for 20 years, and a few other things I don’t care about, like politics. He did, however, tell me that our family is a statistical anomaly. 75% of our children should not be deaf when each child only has a 25% chance of it – something I already knew and had kind of counted on. He also threw in there that with the statistics, one of our children should also have Pendred’s Syndrome since it has also been associated with LVAS, which is what they have. He was also kind enough to clarify why I should stop holding a grudge against the doctor who was supposed to do Ethan’s cochlear implants and then “quit” the day before we flew down. It had been explained to me all wrong and I am glad to stop being mad about it. Then I paid him $204 and drove home.

Here is Ethan showing the CT machine since I failed to take a picture while Cameron was IN the machine.
I have other, fun updates – like birthdays and my mom coming, but I only do what I can do in the time I have to do it. I will share soon though, the pictures are too cute not to.

Cameron

2011-02-21T13:34:00.001-09:00

Wednesday February 9 Cameron had a hearing test. We have been following his hearing fairly closely since he failed his newborn hearing screening - something NONE of my other children have done. At 6 weeks, he was a borderline pass/fail - kind of a watch and wait situation. The 9th, Cameron's results finally indicated some action needed to be taken. Jess, the amazing audiologist, immediately started talking about sedated ABRs and CT scans, ENTs and hearing aids, ear impressions and cochlear implants. I put on my brave mom face and went into "office manager mom" mode - the one who makes all the calls and appointments and deals with the paperwork, but nothing more. I spent the next few days trying to arrange all of these things. I was just fine with all of it the entire day until Doug and I were laying in bed that night and he asked me how I was. I lost it.

I have been depressed for years. I have been medicated for a very long time. Cameron came along and all of the sudden I was happy. Like giddy with my life happy. I saw my life in a new light. Ethan would be in preschool next year where he would receive speech services in the school instead of 45 minutes away and Nolan would be in full-day kindergarten. I would have less running around to do and the longer the kids have had their cochlear implants, the less often I have to go to the audiologist in Anchorage with them. I saw myself being able to send the kids off to school and spend some uninterrupted low-stress time with my baby.

Now, all of the sudden I saw speech therapy visits twice a week, constant audiology visits, a trip to Seattle for cochlear implants, and arrangements for the other children - all of the things I thought I was leaving behind. Just as I thought my life was ready to slow down, it is picking right back up again.

I feel like I spend my life running around from office to office with my children. I spend most school holidays in the audiologist's office, which almost always means an overnight trip with my kids and without Doug. I pretend I don't mind. I mean, it is what it is and I can't change it. Most of the time I am fully aware that it could be so much worse. I am grateful that my kids are only deaf, a realization that comes when you have taken them to a children's hospital and seen other kids with tubes coming out of their heads. I do everything in my power to keep from letting myself feel how hard this all is. I take it as it comes and deal with it one thing at a time. This time I just felt like the future I saw, the one with me laying on the floor playing with Cameron on a lazy afternoon, was ripped out from under me. And I haven't gotten over it.

When Ethan lost his FM equipment in January, I totally freaked out. I always do when they lose their stuff. It is small and extremely expensive. I had a total emotional breakdown. I was so sick of cochlear implants and hearing aids, ear molds and batteries, listening checks and FM systems. I didn't think I could take it another day! Life went on though. And just when I thought I was over my little hissy fit, this hit.

The hospital in Anchorage called to set up the sedated ABR (a 2-3 hour hearing test that is done while the child sleeps). I have been through 11 ABRs to date. Cameron's last ABR was done in the audiologist's office at 7 weeks during his regular nap time. This is the way all of Nolan and Ethan's ABRs were performed when we lived in Idaho. I took them at nap time and they slept during the procedure. Brenden's one and only ABR was sedated. By the time he had his, his hearing was so far gone, they never needed another. Wanting and needing some good results, the audiologist and I decided to have Cameron's ABR sedated.

When the hospital called to set this up, they told me the procedure took 4 hours. I was a little surprised, but it didn't seem like a big deal. Then they told me that with everything they needed to do, I should plan to be at the hospital for 7 hours. And then they told me I could feed Cameron for the last time 4 hours before I arrived at the hospital, which was set for 7:00 a.m. Cameron still eats every 3 hours during the day right now and they expected him to make it 11 hours without eating? Admittedly, he goes 11 hours at night, but I didn't know how he (or I) would do this during the day. Needless to say, I was concerned. I made the appointment for March 30 and decided I would deal with it when it came.

I had a hard time getting the CT arranged. Cameron's doctor didn't want to place an order for a CT because it puts him under high radiation. The fact that it is the only way to diagnose his potential condition was my only reasoning point. After calling insurance, the ENT, the family doctor, the hospital (and back around again - a few times over the course of a few days), I had everything arranged.

Thursday February 17 Cameron had a CT scan. He was supposed to be sedated, but after speaking with the doctors, we decided to sleep deprive him and it worked perfectly. I had to have Doug off work to drive us so I could sit in the back seat and keep him awake during the hour long drive. If it didn't work, we would have had to reschedule and have him sedated. The doctor got a perfect scan.

Since sleep deprivation worked so well, when we got home, I called the audiologist to see if we could please try one more sleep deprived ABR in the office instead of the 7 hour sedated one. She said she was more than willing to give it a shot and we set it up for March 4. She asked me to go ahead and bring all of Ethan's old hearing aids and equipment, so I knew what she expected the results to be.

I received a call from Cameron's doctor this afternoon to give me the results of the CT scan. Cameron has bilateral enlarged vestibular aqueducts as well as enlarged vestibules. This means he has the same condition as the other boys and he will be deaf. Cameron has an appointment to see the ENT in Anchorage on February 24. I don't know what more he will have to tell me, but we're going anyway. I have a feeling I will spend 7 hours driving for him to see me for maybe 10 minutes and tell me the same thing I was told today.

I know that God will only give us what we can handle, but sometimes I think he thinks too highly of me. I know I can do this - I have done it twice before, but I really, really don't want to.

I told everyone that if Cameron was deaf, we were done having children. Logistically speaking, it just makes sense. Through all of this though, I have had a very strong feeling that we are supposed to have five children and they are all supposed to be boys. My feeling tells me that the last one is also not supposed to be deaf. Where this feeling takes us, I don't know.

Among all of this, I have had what we think is a stress ulcer since Cameron was born. The first thing I told the nurse after I delivered him was that my chest hurt - really bad. The doctor has run several blood tests, none of which gave us any clue to my chest pain. I have been on the highest dose of acid reducing medication and it doesn't touch the pain. There are days when I can't even stand up straight due to the pain. I have a feeling it's not going anywhere any time soon.

If this is the first that you are hearing about all of this, please do not be offended that I haven't called you. To be honest, I have talked to Doug about it as little as possible. It is taking everything in my power right now to hold it all together, so I have chosen not to talk about it. Don't think that you are the only person who hasn't heard because almost no one has heard until now. I am maintaining "office manager mom" mode until I know I can deal with everything that I have been feeling.

February

2011-02-20T15:17:00.001-09:00

February started with my mom coming. She arrived on the 1st. Nolan’s birthday party was on the 2nd at the pool.
Nolan’s birthday is actually the 3rd. I have a thing for birthDAYs – the actual day means a lot to me. Nolan picked eggs and monkey bread for breakfast and all the wanted to do for the day was ride his snow machine and eat at the Treehouse restaurant. He got both.

Sadly, on the 8th, we drove my mom to Anchorage so she could catch her flight home. The 9th, we had audiology appointments. What does Doug do while he waits in the car? Take pictures, of course!

Doug had to work on my birthday, so Tiffany threw me a party at her house. Here, Blakeley pulled Cameron’s sleeve so his arm is stuck in his shirt.Tiffany made me a carrot cake.
2/16 Doug is so proud to call Ethan his son. Shorts and boots… what a proud moment.
2/18 Brenden makes THE absolute BEST grilled cheese sandwiches ever.

Valentine’s Day

2011-02-14T21:45:00.001-09:00

The pictures imported backwards, so I’ll tell you about our day backward.

For dinner we had heart shaped pizzas. I was going to make pizza anyway and then this morning Doug gave me a new cooking magazine with a thin crust pizza recipe in it. I couldn’t find a pizza stone anywhere, so I bought a piece of travertine and it worked okay, but I’m not sure I would recommend it yet. I’ll let you know after we cut it down so it actually fits in my oven instead of hanging part way out. Doug also bought mini pepperoni last week that worked perfect for mini pizzas.

I didn’t take pictures, but the kids (and Doug) had scalloped heart shape sandwiches for lunch.

For breakfast I was making birds in a nest with heart shaped cutouts when Brenden announced he wanted heart shaped pancakes. I made pancake batter using the strawberry milk I made for breakfast and then threw in some mini chocolate chips and put strawberry syrup on top. Not the healthiest breakfast ever, but perfect for a day full of sweets.

The kids took Valentines to class today. I think they turned out pretty darn cute. By the way: Walmart photo hates me (but gave me a $15 gift card for my trouble) and Safeway photo is a lifesaver.

I don’t normally drink a lot of pop, but when I am really stressed, sometimes I need a diet cherry Pepsi. (Hey, it’s better than some things I could turn to.) I have been really stressed.

When I started making breakfast, I kept opening cupboards to find little (and not so little) presents hidden – all with chocolates attached to them. It’s a good thing Doug loves me no matter what my size because I am being fattened up by all who love me.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Adventures after midnight

2011-02-05T01:57:00.000-09:00

(This is not my picture)

NICT, Japan : http://slamon.nict.go.jp

Doug and I just got home from watching THIS. We took pictures, but it's early (not even late anymore), so they will come later.

Tustamena 200–year 3

2011-01-30T13:42:00.001-09:00

For the third year in a row, we went to the Tustamena 200 dog sled race. This year the start seemed much shorter than in the past. We always start out a little ways down the trail and watch the dogs run past and then make our way to the starting line. I kept telling Nolan to wait a little longer and we would go to the starting line. Finally, I said, “After this one goes past, we’ll go.” It was the last team. By the time we made it to the race start line, it was almost deserted. I felt really bad, but he seemed okay with it.

I felt terrible for this poor guy. One of his dog stopped to poop and then the other dogs got tangled and then they tried to take off with the sled without him.

Ethan didn’t want to take pictures, he just wanted to watch the snow machines.

Then we drove around town and checked out some of the ice carvings. We didn’t make it to see all of them, so we’ll have to head back soon.

Dairy QueenDentist’s Office Surf’s Up penquinLeprechaun

By this time, the kids were too hungry to see anything else, so we went in search of food.

When we got home, the kids just wanted to snow machine.

Friday night we went to Nolan’s school Family Night.

Nolan’s Family Night

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Sometime during the evening, we discovered that Cameron had a fever. We gave him some medicine and Doug brought him home. He slept great that night, so we still took him out for the day on Saturday. When we arrived at the T200, I fed him and he promptly puked all over me and our car. You can tell from most of the pictures that he didn’t feel well. He didn’t eat much all day. We are home from church today and hoping he feels better soon.

For the record:

2011-01-27T16:34:00.001-09:00

Nolan has been well behaved at school for the last three days straight. I doubted him on Tuesday. He got off the bus without the good-behavior indicating sticker. This happens a lot. At one point I discovered that he sometimes lies about "losing it on the bus." Tuesday though, he said, "We don't get stickers anymore."
"Really, I'll call the school right now and ask." (I tried, no one answered)
"I mean, I lost it on the bus."
"It sounds like you're lying."
"No, I'm not, check my backpack, there is no note from Ms. Pala." (the one that tells me what exactly he did wrong that day - he has been known the throw them away on his way out of the school or in the bathroom trash when he gets home)

That night, he stayed in his bed and NEVER ONCE left his room until morning.

The next day when I dropped him off, I asked his teacher and she said that he had, in fact, gotten a sticker the previous day and she had seen it fall off on his way to the bus and he had put it in his pocket. The next day he got two stickers because he was especially good. Today, a sticker again! I asked him what he did good today.
"Everything."
"Did you stop coloring when you were supposed to?"
"Yes"
"Were you quiet and listening when Ms. Pala was teaching?"
"Yes, mom, everything you are going to ask, yes."

After thoughtful consideration, and my mom will back this up, I have decided that Nolan was given to me because of all of those times when my mom would tell me, "I can't wait until you have children of your own." I certainly wasn't known for my honesty or ability to clean my room. Nolan also has difficulty in both of these areas. As for the rest of my lacking traits, I am scared to re-live my childhood through my own child, but be the one who has to figure out how to make this little person grow into a reasonable adult.

Nolan's reminders

2011-01-26T13:35:00.001-09:00

Everyday before Nolan heads off to school we have the same talk.

Make good choices about who you sit by so you can be good.

Only be silly when it is appropriate.

Don't talk when Ms. Pala is talking.

When it is time to stop coloring, stop coloring.

When it is time to go in from recess, go in.

Walk in the halls.

Only laugh at the things that are actually funny.

You get the drift...

Yesterday as Doug was taking Nolan to school, he started in on "the talk." Nolan said, "Dad, I already know what you're going to say. Everything you're going to say, mom already said."

So, he remembers, but he doesn't remember.

Fun on the lake

2011-01-25T15:31:00.000-09:00

Storytime with Ethan

2011-01-25T01:11:00.000-09:00

Difficult

2011-01-24T22:28:00.006-09:00

Lately I am convinced Nolan is mine only to test my patience. Don't get me wrong, he's cute, lovable, and a fairly good big brother, but darn that kid can be frustrating. He hasn't been listening to his teacher at school - like when she tells him to stop coloring, he totally ignores her, or at recess when she says it's time to go in, he hides. He is loud and goofy, laughing ridiculously at anything the teacher says - funny or not. He is the same way at church and every Sunday his teacher looks like she is going to cry. If she asks to be released from her calling, it's because of my kid - and that's my problem because as the First Counselor, I am over all of the CTR classes. I stopped in yesterday and asked him if he was being good. "Yes," he replied. The look on his teacher's face told me otherwise. The Sunday before, he was being goofy during the prayer. I don't know where to go from here. Brenden has almost always been well behaved at school and church.

I have made Nolan verbally apologize and trace long apology letters. We have tried time out after school (lasting until dinner at times), taking things away, and the promise of a reward if he is good. I have tried to turn it positive and offer things if he can control himself. Nothing seems to work and then he is totally shocked when I follow through.

The kid won't even stay in his bed at night and we fight and fight and fight until I lock him in his room (literally) and completely ignore him.

This morning he wanted to watch monster trucks before school. I told him that if he was good at school, I would turn it on for him the second he walked in the door - even before his chores. Nope.

Tonight we read Transformers books before bed. He said he wanted to watch the Transformers movie in the morning before school. I told him that if he could stay in his room tonight, I would put it on for him first thing in the morning. He managed a whole 30 minutes at most. He opened the door and I said, "This better be pretty important to be losing your movie over." He said it was. "Mom, I just wanted to tell you that I am going to stay in bed tonight." Too late for that. A little while later he came out to tell me that I had to wait in the morning to turn the movie on because he might have to poop. Too late again - he already lost the privilege of a movie. We might have had two or three other times he came out before I locked his door - the lock is on the outside.

We put a CD player in his room thinking that maybe listening to some music at bedtime would help. If he comes out, his CD is taken away. Then we just fight some more. He also likes to turn it up as loud as it goes. I am deafened from the living room.

Pardon my venting. He just fell asleep, which redeems him in some ways. I have to remind myself that really, he could be so much worse. He is a class clown, but he is the same way at home. Maybe he just needs more attention.

I think he is just totally disconnected sometimes. I can say something to him over and over and it isn't until I scream that he finally returns to Earth and out of his own little world. I usually try to start by saying his name when I talk to him to try to grab his attention. I have tried to make sure we have eye contact before I talk to him, but by the time I finish what I had to say, he is back in his own world. Usually he can't even tell me what I just said. Sometimes he looks completely shocked and has no idea why he's in trouble. I am fairly certain he'll grow out of it. The deaf ones are easier, but I think they have to consciously LISTEN to hear.

I didn't actually start to write a blog with the intention of complaining about Nolan. I had to share the note Brenden sent home in his lunch box today. Friday Brenden didn't eat his lunch because he wanted to work on a project. I saved his lunch and sent it with him AGAIN today (peanut butter lasts forever, right?) His lunch came home again with a handwritten note:

Sorry! I managed to eat a orange and I didn't eat my sandwich because my water bottle squished my sandwich. But I ate one bite but the stuff in my sandwich squished out.

I am impressed he spelled everything right, but the sandwich was squished by the time it was put in his backpack this morning and a fairly dry 3 day old peanut butter sandwich isn't squishing anything anywhere. I got a whole lecture on how the water bottle should be under the sandwich, not on top.

I love my kids, I love my kids, I love my kids. The good news is that Ethan hasn't been playing the role of "devil" lately. Cameron can pretty much always bring a smile to my face, but he can't talk back. I like that.

Storytime with Nolan

2011-01-20T18:33:00.000-09:00

The Three Billy Goats Gruff

(it's really long, and possibly only appreciated by a loving grandparent)

Big and Tall

2011-01-20T15:04:00.003-09:00

This one is for Emily and Jared

Cameron went in for his four month check-up yesterday. He is:

16.4 pounds (+3 pounds in 2 months) 78th percentile

26.5 inches (+2.5 inches in 2 months) 94th percentile

That explains so much - like the fact that he almost completely skipped the whole 3-6 month clothing stage - he is the height of an average 6 month old. He has chubby cheeks, so he looks chubby, but he isn't really all that big.

This morning:
Me: (while taking an orange out of a bag) Nolan, do you know what I love?
Nolan: ME!
Me: Yep, you and oranges.
Nolan: More than me?
Before we had kids, I used to leave Doug notes around the house that said, "I love you more than oranges." That means I love him a.lot.

1/14 Ethan making cookies

Toothless (aka. Brenden)

Cameron thought his frog was HILARIOUS until I tried to take a video.

I LOVE blue eyes!

Cameron supervising the playing of the Wii.

4 months

2011-01-20T03:00:00.003-09:00

Nolan

Cameron

Gray Hair

2011-01-13T16:23:00.000-09:00

Brenden was telling Nolan what a "hint" of something was.

Brenden: Like, when you're getting old, you'll have just a hint of gray hair.
Me: I had some gray hairs!
Brenden: (looks confused) I don't see them.
Me: I had FOUR - I pulled them out. I think you (Brenden), and you (Nolan), and you (Ethan) gave them to me.
Brenden: (whispers) No, it's called being old. (not whispering) But dad's not old, he doesn't have gray hair.
Me: Neither does Grandpa Boehme.
Brenden: Neither does Grandpa Kline.
Me: Oh yes he does!
Brenden: No he doesn't he's BALD.

So then Brenden and I discussed how he will most likely be bald when he gets old. He doesn't think that's fair.

I noticed four gray hairs about 2 days after I discovered pieces of Ethan's implant missing, I am sure they have something to do with each other. My mom has reminded me that gray is better than bald, so I better stop pulling them out.

Nolan and Ethan have their evil laughter going, so I am pretty sure they are being naughty. Yep, now I hear things hitting the walls. I am glad they are finally enjoying each other (although a LOT of fighting still occurs - more than their fair share), but they sure are noisy about it. Everyday Nolan gets home from school and he and Ethan start in on their obnoxious, high pitch, evil laughter and wake Cameron up. The poor kid almost never gets to wake up on his own - he's always woken because I have to haul him somewhere (which really mean I have to take someone else somewhere and he has to come) or the other boys wake him up.

By the way: It was a good thing I had Brenden proof reading over my shoulder. I misspelled about 5 things.

Report Cards

2011-01-12T17:13:00.000-09:00

Brenden and Nolan got their report cards today. Each has a summary at the end.

Nolan:
Nolan has an amazingly positive attitude at school. He is continuing to work on his listening skills. (The nice way of saying he doesn't listen.) Please help him review his counting at home. In the coming months we will be working daily on writing and weekly on scissor skills. Nolan returned his folder 9 out of 9 weeks. (Ha! NOLAN returned it? More like, "Mom put his homework folder in his backpack 9 out of 9 weeks.") Nolan read 1160 out of 400 required minutes. Keep up the great reading!

At least there was no mention of his classroom behavior - good or bad. I found today's note from the teacher in the trash in the bathroom. Evidently he hid when it was time to go in from recess.

Brenden:
Brenden is such an amazing boy. You can always count on him to remember what happened in our read aloud or bring up an interesting point to discuss in small groups. His creative side always shows through in his writing. Even the most basic of assignments he adds his own personal touch and completes it with the greatest detail. Brenden has really taken on the Accelerated Reader challenge this quarter and is leading the primary wing in points earned. Keep up the good work, Brenden!

I'm so proud of my boys!

It's a new year...

2011-01-08T22:59:00.003-09:00

... and I still haven't finished blogging about last year.

Well, after trying to figure out my new computer, I think I still prefer my Mac's iphoto software - even with its exporting issues. I guess I should try a blog just to see how I feel about this one.

As I said, most of my pictures are still a little unavailable to me, so here's what I have.

12/31/10

My friend Tiffany's family always gets together for New Years. When the festivities were moved to Tiffany's house due to driving conditions, we decided to crash their party.

Most of the kids and a few adults sat on the shed to watch.

Ethan didn't like the fireworks - even without his implants.

1/1

Doug took the boys out snow machining. I tried to take Cameron out for a while, but he was not a big fan of the outdoors.

Nolan was so excited to finally ride.

This is all Brenden wants to do anymore.
He is at least nice enough to give Ethan a ride now and then.

Nolan was keeping warm with hot chocolate.

1/3

Super baby's cape is made of footed pajamas, of course!

Super baby rolled over this far by himself.

1/8

Doug has been doing quite a bit more ice fishing lately with his new work schedule. Today we all went. We were there for 6 hours - and it was 7 degrees. Do you know how scary it is to drive onto a lake for the first time? A little terrifying, even knowing the ice is nearly two feet thick.

This is the second round of "I want to eat him!" The first one was cute, with less tears.

Spencer and Nolan danced around that flopping fish for a long time before I decided to try to capture the moment. Nolan hauled that silly fish (which was frozen stiff at 7 degrees) everywhere with him - even when he rode in the sled behind the snow machine.

A terrible video of Brenden on his snow machine:

While we were fishing, Brenden and Ethan's speech therapist stopped to talk with us. He tested Nolan's speech on Friday and told us all about Nolan's demonstration of his use of synonyms.
Nolan: Do you know what another name for house is? Home.
Mr. Hufford: Did you know that sometimes a car is also called an automobile?
Nolan: I know another name for poop!
Mr. Hufford: What?
Nolan: Turd. Brenden calls me that all the time.

New computer = no blogs.

2011-01-05T14:43:00.000-09:00

So, here's the deal - we got a new computer, and I need to send my laptop off to get fixed. I have been trying to send all of our pictures to our external hard drive, but I have to do them day by day and create a file to send them to... blah blah blah. It's a Mac, I'm sending them to a PC, the Mac has the only copies of the pictures. Harder than it should be. It is taking forever. I am up to August 17, 2008. Yeah, only 2.5 more years worth to go. Anyway, we put our New Year's pictures on the new computer, so I'll try out some blogging from there tonight. I know, I promised you some blogs. I might have lied. So sorry. Here I am, promising again. Hopefully I'm not lying again.

Christmas 2010

2010-12-25T21:40:00.003-09:00

Christmas Eve ended with decorating cookies. One of Nolan’s new favorite Christmas Books is The Gingerbread Pirates, so we made gingerbread pirates for Santa – and we left celery for the reindeer.

Christmas morning, Nolan and Brenden were up at 9:15 and they opened their stockings while we waited for Ethan and Cameron to wake up, which happened around 10:30.

Our family gift was our new computer, wrapped inside the desk.

Cameron enjoyed his hand and foot rattles.Brenden got some K’Nex Nolan loves transformers.

I love this kid – he’ll even pretend to be excited about underwear. Nolan LOVES Stinky the Garbage Truck .If this was the case in our house, our children would pretty much ALWAYS be disappointed:

That kid reminds me of Ethan.

Christmas was mostly books, books, and more books.

This was Ethan’s big highlight – a Cars garage. Christmas was a wonderfully lazy day full of fun.

12/27

One of Brenden’s highlights was his snap circuit set. He has been creating things with it ever since Christmas. Sometimes he allows an assistant.

Sledding Christmas Eve

2010-12-24T20:51:00.002-09:00

Christmas Eve we met our friends the Leys, Quiners, and Maws at our elementary school sled hill. All the schools here have a sledding hill since we have 9 months of winter. It was a fantastic day – even at –10 degrees.

Brenden at the top of the sledding hillEthan on his way down…John testing out the jump – for safety, of course. Matt, being the good EMT that he is, also needed to test the jump. It was deemed safe for the children.

Brenden on the jumpLochlan on the jump Brenden – same jump, different sled

I can’t tell under the layers, but I think this is Alyssa and Savannah.I had to try it out too, of course. Not for safety sake, but for my own entertainment.The hill was pretty much all ice, so it was a hard landing!
Brenden has decided his New Year’s resolution is to learn to snowboard. Angeline, Tiffany, and MeIt was an incredibly fun way to start our Christmas Eve!

Pictures with Santa

2010-12-18T21:20:00.000-09:00

Ok, so I know I am like WAY behind, but I thought I ought to post our pictures with Santa BEFORE Christmas. I am downloading pictures for my big quarterly update (that I wish was more like weekly). Friday we spent the day cleaning in our pajamas and then got dressed to go see Santa and decorate cookies at the Senior Center. Doug had to work.

Nolan is miserably sick.

I had to include this picture because this kid was so funny. He asked my friend Angeline what was on Brenden's head. When she told him Brenden is deaf, the kid said, "That's so sad." The kid then came and asked me if the kids were really totally deaf and when I told him yes, he kept saying, "How can you be happy about that? It's so tragic!" He wanted to know if we had any other deaf people in our family and I pointed to Ethan. He thought that was really tragic. He wanted to know if we had any blind people in our family and if the kids couldn't hear anything. I told him that was what the implants were for and he thought that was so cool that they could fix their hearing in a single second! When I told him the kids had to have surgery for that, he was again telling me how tragic our life is. (Boehme family who came to visit this summer: we think he is the "Will someone please look at me!?" kid.)

Today:

Brenden singing a made-up song all about the fire in the fireplace to try to cheer up Cameron.

I can't get enough of this little boy's smiles.

Ethan thought the fire was too hot to pose in front of.

This was a much safer spot.

I am missing church tomorrow with sick children, so expect a better update soon!

Flying diapers and belly buttons

2010-10-17T22:59:00.000-08:00

I was woken on Friday morning by two deaf children screaming at each other repeatedly.

Brenden: Ethan, come here! Come here!

Ethan: Brenden, look at this! Look!

The problem is, neither one was wearing implants or looking at the other one, so they just continued to scream assuming the other one would eventually come. Not the case - I had to go turn them both around to look at each other. Then everyone was sent to find their cochlear implants.

One day last week, I was in my room changing Cameron's diaper on my bed. Without looking, I tossed the diaper out my bedroom door. This is what I always do - and then when I leave the room, I pick up the diaper and take it to the trash. Seconds later, I was hit on the side of the head by a flying diaper. My 3 year old has great aim. He hit me right on the temple. Evidently, he was standing in the doorway when I threw the diaper and it had sailed right past him, so he was returning it to me. Since then, he has been throwing diapers at me - a lot.

The boys were out of school on Friday. In the morning, we painted monster trucks.

Nolan went first

And then Ethan

Brenden waited patiently for his turn.

In the afternoon, the boys went out to play for a little while and then we made monster cupcakes - see post below.

This is the only picture I took of making cupcakes because

the other children were doing things like:

tasting purple food coloring.

I asked Nolan if it was good.
Nolan: It only tastes good if it's warm.
Me: No, it's still not good if it's warm.
Nolan: Then why does it taste good in frosting?
Me: Because of the frosting.
His chin is still purple.

I don't know if I wore them out or if they were just cranky, but by 6:30, I had 3 out of 4 children crying - the other one was standing behind me spitting at me - and I was trying to quickly make dinner (you must try this!) so I could put them to bed. I thought I had planned a great day for them and then it turned disastrous at the end. Doug saved the day when he got home and sent Cameron and me to time-out in my bedroom with the door shut while he got everyone ready for bed. I love that man. Have I told you that before? Well, I do. Very much.

Brenden is writing a book. It is 22 pages long right now and it is very exciting! When I say 22 pages, I mean 22 full lined pages, top to bottom, with, generally speaking, no margins. His wording and vocabulary impress me. He wants it to have "specific details in the plot." It is a mix of Harry Potter and Secrets of Droon, two of his favorite series of books, with his own twist. The main character is named Zack Pegoata Cobur. Some of my favorite parts:
"She saw the letter clutched tightly in Zack's arms. Zack's mother was always fussy about the letters Zack got."
"... there was a pond with a sleek and slender dolphin"
"He made a swift move with his wand."
"Jabertooth let out a mad cackle."
"... Jabertooth was being escorted out..."
"Zack's body started tingling with excitement! It was nightfall..."
That is just up to page 7. The further he gets into the book, the better the phrases get. His capitalization and punctuation are pretty good, but I have to say, I am darn impressed with his spelling. It's an exciting story and Doug and I like to read it nightly to see what's been added.

Tonight at dinner, Brenden was narrating. "(sigh)... he sighed"

Nolan get his cast off on Wednesday. Yay! No more scratched up furniture from a course cast, no more hobbling, no more wet floor after a bath, no more lots of things! Maybe now we will be able to get his pants on! We are limited to the pants with large leg openings. He can finally wear both of his new school shoes. Last time he had to be re-cast, but I asked Nolan and he says he thinks it is all healed and he won't need another cast. We can all hope. He's tired of sleeping on the floor. He normally sleeps on the top bunk.

Nolan was good all week at school. I am relieved. His teacher said she still has to do a lot of reminding to get him to stop talking and eat his lunch, but that is no surprise. He does most of his dinner eating after everyone has left the table and he has no one left to talk to. He really likes to talk.

Last Sunday in church, my friend was feeding her baby from a bottle. Nolan is incapable on talking quietly. He said, "My mom doesn't use a bottle. My mom feeds my baby from her belly buttons. She has great big belly buttons."

Ethan is defiant at times and completely agreeable at others. While I'm nursing, this is how things normally go:

Me: Ethan, put that back.

Ethan: No.

Me: Ethan, please put that back.

Ethan: No.

Me: Ethan, do you want to go to time-out?

Ethan: No.

Me: Then please put it back.

Ethan: No.

And then I do the old mom fake-out where I pretend I am getting off the couch to make him put it back and he usually either puts it back like I asked or runs out of sight with it. He is starting to realize that most of the time, I'm not really going to get up.

Cameron is predictable. You know - eat, sleep, poop, repeat. The other night I fell asleep with him in bed with me and he slept for 8 hours straight. Now if only he could do that in his bed. I can't sleep well with him in my bed, but I was too lazy to get up and put him in his own bed. I generally have a no-baby in bed policy, but sometimes being tired will make you break your own rules.

I feel like a horrible mother. Cameron has changed so much since I have posted pictures of him - amazing how newborns do that. I haven't even taken pictures of him to post. That might have to be number one on the to do list tomorrow. That means I better put the sleeping boy on my lap into bed and go to sleep myself.

Monster Cupcakes

2010-10-17T20:56:00.004-08:00

Friday the boys and I made monster cupcakes. We had fun experimenting.

These didn't quite turn out.

*Note to readers: do not attempt to use "whipped" frosting from a can for this project. It is runny and sticky when you heat it.

Sunday I attempted to re-try the purple cupcakes that hadn't turned out. After seeing what fun I was having, Doug joined in. He's the crafty sort.

Now we have a lot of cupcakes. Please come eat them.

Just pictures

2010-10-17T20:50:00.001-08:00

Doug has selected the following photos to sum up the last two weeks or so.

Doug is always on the look-out for caribou...

... and moose.

Lightning McQueen is Ethan's love in life.

Ethan's form of raking leaves.

A final boat ride for the year.

Ethan and Nolan had grandma wrap them up in ace bandages several times a day.

This was October 3. Today, October 17, we have absolutely no leaves on our trees.

Doug saw a pair of swans and three cygnets as he was taking Nolan to school one day.

The camouflage cast.

Enlarge this picture to appreciate just how handsome my Nolan is.

Doug and Ethan sweeping leaves.
Time for winter - the boats are out of the water.

Grocery induced stupor

2010-10-14T17:18:00.000-08:00

I made it almost 4 whole weeks without ever stepping foot in a grocery store thanks to my fabulous husband, wonderful mother-in-law, stupendous sister-in-law, and food storage. I think I might have gone longer than that, but it is not documented - basically I never left my house at the end of my pregnancy. Today was my first trip for groceries in a long time and Cameron and Ethan were complete angels. Ethan stayed with me and was super helpful (a little too helpful at times - I found more than a few items he silently added to the cart). Cameron slept the whole time.

I don't get it. Every time I go to the grocery store, I put great effort into making sure that my produce is all together, cans, frozen food, dairy, boxed items, etc. in hopes that it will be bagged together. I would assume this would be easier for the bagger and of course, it would be easier for me when I get home and need to put groceries away. Why can they NOT be bagged that way? Like, ever? Why is it necessary to mix produce and canned goods? I understand the need to put a loaf of bread or a bag of chips on top of heavier items, but really? Why do I want my frozen shrimp in a bag with my muffin mix - and in a completely different bag than the other bag of frozen shrimp? I just don't get it.

And that's my soap box for the day.

Guest Room/Nursery

2010-10-13T17:11:00.002-08:00

I have wanted to finish another bedroom in our basement for a long time , but it would cut 1/4 out of the boys' playroom. When we found out we were having visitors for 8 weeks it became more of a priority. Then when we found out we were going to have an addition to our family, the need for another room became more urgent. We tried to figure out how to fit a baby into the space we already had, but Brenden's room has no space for a crib and Nolan and Ethan already share a room - we had 3 boys in one room in Idaho and I didn't want to do it again. Before we left Idaho, I bought new bedding for our master bedroom, but then my mom bought us bedding that I loved so much more and so the bedding I bought sat in our closet for two years unused. This new bedroom was the perfect spot.

And since I am kinda crazy like that, I needed a matching bed for little Eva when she came. My friend Tiffany gave us this cute red bed and I bought a twin duvet on Amazon (for WAY cheaper than I could have bought coordinating fabric - AND it matched!) and cut it apart. I even made matching sheets.

Ethan has recently decided this is his bed of choice.

And then crazy really set in when I decided to make my own crib bedding - skirt, bumpers, and sheet. The little bag hanging from the crib is for pacifiers - there is nothing worse than crawling around in the dark looking for a pacifier, which is usually between the wall and the crib. Pacifier storage will (hopefully) save the day.

The room has a little weird spot between Brenden's room and our storage room that we discovered was the perfect size for a mini-crib.

So then I needed a matching mobile.

I bought a mobile and took it apart. My mom bought and saved us all a huge collection of Beanie Babies when we all lived at home. Some of mine have finally found their purpose in life.

My final crazy attempt was a contoured changing pad cover.

Doug and his brother Jeremy created a solution to our biggest problem - a door for the room. One side of the room has double pocket doors open to the play room (and will someday have built-in shelves), but the other side has a four foot opening that we needed to keep four feet. And therefore the four foot door was created.

When it comes time to sell our house, this room will be listed as an office because it has no window, but it makes a perfect bedroom for us. The room is a long way from our bedroom - like almost directly under it (good for guests, bad for babies), so Doug and I will probably move down there for a little while until Cameron sleeps through the night. Doug loves the mattress and hates our king mattress, so he is eagerly awaiting the day we move down there. It still needs some decorating and paint, but for now, this is our guest room and nursery all in one.

Appetizers and Private Parts

2010-10-12T23:06:00.009-08:00

I've had this blog post typed up since last Thursday and I haven't posted it because I was waiting to put pictures on. As I said, Doug has recently stolen all of the pictures. Okay, so really my computer is full. Here are some - I will post more soon.

Cameron has a middle name... David. It is my mom's dad's name and I like it. Doug held out for Ozzie for as long as possible, but when I went to the hospital for Cameron's second PKU, I filled in the birth certificate paperwork.

Last Tuesday, so at 10 days old, Cameron was 8 lbs. 3 oz. and still 21 in. He's already growing too fast for me. He is starting to get chubby cheeks and little rolls on his thighs.

Cameron went back at 16 days for his hearing screening and passed right away in the right ear, but after about 10 tries, still failed in the left ear. I have emailed the audiologist the other boys see in Anchorage and we have a plan of action. I doubt he has a loss at this point (he is my first to fail a newborn screening), but Doug and I have kind of decided to go ahead and have a CT at about 6 months and just find out then if he has enlarged vestibular aqueducts like Brenden and Ethan. It is a progressive loss, so it's just something we would be constantly watching for and it would put our minds at ease to just know.

Nolan set up his tent just for Cameron

Nolan is funny. One night when Cameron was crying, Nolan said, "He needs his appetizer... (thinks for a second)... what's it called again?" Pacifier. He is the best big brother in the world and is the one that constantly wants to hold the baby and talks to him and gives him kisses.

This afternoon Nolan asked me if dad was at work. "Yep." "Why does dad have to go to work?" "So that we can live." "What does live mean?" "Pay for our house, food, that kind of stuff." "So when we have enough money at home, Dad won't have to go to work anymore." Notice it's a statement, not a question. Oh, the innocence of children. I called Doug and told him that. His response was, "Tell him someday... but by then he'll have a wife and children of his own."

Nolan is an aspiring photographer

On the other hand, Nolan has become the class clown at school and gets everyone all worked up so no one can learn. This week I have received a note home one day and a phone call on another. I made him verbally apologize one day and tell his teacher he would think before he acted. Another day I even made him write his teacher an apology letter and he told me he would try his best to be good. His very best is not very good, evidently. That day was his worst day yet. He even had to sit at a completely different lunch table than the rest of the class.

This is Nolan's old cast, but he wore all the way through it and now it is covered in camouflage.

In other news, Nolan's cast comes off on the 20th and then we will find out how the healing is progressing. We decided that perhaps he had a vitamin D deficiency, as many people in Alaska do, so we have been giving him an adult dose of supplements everyday.

Brenden brought home a school assignment last week and it said:

(click to read)

I always tear up a little when he talks about it. I know he thinks about it - a lot. For it to come home written on a school assignment took me a little by surprise. He wants to know why he has to be deaf when all of the other kids can hear. He didn't like my most recent answer about Doug needing glasses because he can't see. Brenden pointed out that Doug isn't completely blind like Brenden is deaf. Very true.

I sometimes have to think twice when Brenden comes home and announces that he "made it to third base today!" I have to think for a second before I remember that it is their classroom behavior reward system.

I saw Brenden's friend walking through the yard Saturday while I was nursing and asked Brenden to get me a blanket. He got the blanket and then whispered, "Why do we have to hide the baby?" I told him I wasn't hiding the baby, I was hiding me and my private parts. He opened the door for his friend and announced, "Don't look over there, my mom has private parts."

Doug's mom left last Monday and Doug went back to work on Wednesday. It took Ethan a whole 10 seconds to figure out I can't do anything when I'm nursing and he can do whatever he wants and get away with it. The up-side is that the kids have been in bed early every night. As early as I can justify.

Saturday Cameron was crying while I was making dinner, so I took him and laid him by Brenden and Nolan, who were sitting on the couch. They both tried the pacifier with no luck and were finally yelling at me to come feed him. (Why is it that every male in this house seems to think that's the answer to every cry?) Ethan came to me and told me he needed to hold the baby. I put Cameron on his lap and he sat there with him and let him cry himself to sleep. We were ready to eat dinner, so I went to take Cameron from Ethan and he told me he wanted to hold the baby more. He held him, asleep, on the couch for half of dinner. I never thought I would see a nurturing side of Ethan. He's kind of evil.

I can't believe that I wondered if I wanted another child. Doug's brother and his family stayed with us for 8 weeks this summer. They came with a 3 month old (and left with a 5 month old). During that time, I always felt like I should have been thinking, "Oh, he's so cute! I can't wait to hold my baby!" but in reality, all I thought was, "I really don't want to do this again." When I was about 5 months pregnant, I walked into Babies R Us and had a little panic attack as I looked around at all of the things involved in having a baby... and I had forgotten about so much of it. I can't believe how much I can love a little boy that I wasn't sure I wanted.

Introducing...

2010-09-26T23:41:00.006-08:00

Cameron Boehme

(middle name still being debated)

September 19, 2010
7:33 a.m.

7 lbs. 13 oz. 21 in.

Doug and I stayed up late on the 18th watching The Back-up Plan (and making fun of the lady in labor in the movie. The YouTube video misses the best part - she sounds like a goat.) and then went to bed. I woke up in pain and looked at my watch at 1:44 a.m. I silently had contractions every 5 minutes for the next hour. Finally, the contraction that began at 2:45, I leaned over Doug (fully intending to wake him up - and it worked) and he asked me if I was okay. I told him no.

I got out of bed and walked around and around my kitchen island and back and forth across the dining room to see if the contractions would continue and immediately they were 2 minutes apart BUT they only lasted 30 seconds. Supposedly, if you are really in labor, contractions last 60-90 seconds. Around 3:00 I got in the shower, just in case I had to go to the hospital. At 3:30 I called the hospital (while still standing in the shower) and told them I lived 45 minutes from the hospital, this was my 4th child, I was having contractions 2 minutes apart, but they only lasted 30 seconds. The nurses had a little discussion about me and decided I was not in labor, but I should call them with an update in an hour. My contractions finally started lasting 45 seconds, so I decided we should probably call someone to come over to our house, just in case.

You see, I have had family visiting for the last 8 weeks. They left on the 18th. I was due on the 20th and Doug's mom arrived on the night of the 21st. I had a whole three days with no family here and I had to go into labor on day one of those 3 days. Oh, and Doug was supposed to be at work all of those days too. I had no plan.

We called a very nice woman in our ward who happens to have 3 teenage daughters and asked if she could spare any of them for the morning. I felt terrible since we never even previously discussed this with her. She, herself, came to our rescue. While we waited for her to arrive, I did my hair and make-up. Doug takes a lot of pictures. You must always be ready for a photo shoot.

At 4:15 we left for the hospital. Contractions sitting in the car are terrible. I just want you to know that. I called at 4:30 (when I was supposed to call with my update) and told the nurse I was on my way. 5:00, I was at the hospital. Doug had been saying for weeks that we needed to get some "belly shots." This was our last opportunity.

5:20, I was wearing a gown with my rear end hanging out the back. It is also hard to leave a urine sample mid-contraction. When the nurse told me she was going to check me, I told her I would hit her if she told me I was dilated to a 2. I had been 60% effaced for 4 weeks and dilated to a 2 for a week.

I was a 7 and "very squishy." I'm not sure, but I am almost positive that "very squishy" is not a medical term. We heard the nurse call the doctor and tell her that she couldn't tell how effaced I was because I was so "squishy." My doctor had also used this term when she checked me at 36 weeks and was surprised at my "squishiness" for being a 4th time mom.

My contractions got harder, but really, not that much longer. I hated the doctor when she finally made me climb into the bed because then I had a harder time dealing with the contractions. I will admit that a time or two, I swatted the doctor's hand away or asked, "Do you really have to do that?" during the final stages of labor.

When the doctor asked if I would mind if the resident was involved in my delivery, I guess I missed the part where she implied, "The resident will deliver your baby, right after we have a debate about your cervix, where the resident will be unsure if you are complete or not." I kind of thought "involved" would be a little less involved. As the resident felt around (not comfortable) and tried to explain what she felt to the doctor, I wanted to yell, "Could YOU, the DOCTOR, please stick your hand in there because she is taking a REALLY long time and appears not to have a clue what she is doing!" I was patient and kept my mouth mostly shut.

I about squeezed the life out of Doug's hand when I delivered Ethan, so this time I refused to hold his hand at all. I did however, in the very end, squeeze his arm - hard. Doug was so reassuring and kept telling me what a great job I was doing. He loves me.

7:33 a.m., after pushing for 8 minutes (I won't go into detail why, but this could have taken less time), Cameron arrived. I pushed through 2 contractions laying on my back and then once they had me turn on my side, his head popped right out. Doug cut the cord, Cameron peed on all the medical equipment, and then I cuddled with my new, naked, little boy.

And then the resident took forever to deliver the placenta. I kept thinking, "Can't you just pull it out? That's really not pleasant." and then the doctor said, "Just pull it out." and then there was relief... until the doctor started massaging my uterus. They shouldn't call it massaging. It ruins the entire word for me.

I really like the hospital here. I delivered Cameron in the same room I stayed in for the entire time I was there. They do everything in that one room. I have never seen the first bath, dads always get to go to that, but they did it right there in the room. They can do everything except the hearing check (which Cameron failed - we will assume because of fluid in his ears) right there in the room. And they have good food. And lots of it.

I got up, showered, did my hair and make-up, and felt great, other than the uterine cramps that can make a woman wish for death. I promise you, they get worse with each kid.

My stay was pleasant. By the next afternoon, I was off all pain meds, Cameron was nursing great, and the nurses were wondering why I was still there. They kept asking me what more there was that they could do for me. One nurse asked me if I was ready to go home. I replied, "I have 3 kids at home," she said, "Oh, that you need to go care for?" and I said, "No, dad can do that." She obviously has never had 3 boys at home.

"Doug is such a good dad, he could be a mom" is what my grandma told me when I called to tell her about Cameron. She is right. Doug took over my mom duties and made an insane number of trips back and forth between schools, home, and the hospital. All hauling a boy with a broken leg. He has made lunches, taken the boys everywhere they need to be, and made sure I am well rested.

I am taking advantage of having Doug home for two weeks, as well as his mom here. They are taking great care of me. For the past week, I have basically had one child to care for, not four. I am taking every opportunity to hold Cameron because I know that when all of my help is gone and I have to go back to my life, he will get held much less. Brenden, Nolan, and Ethan love their little brother and are sweet and gentle with him. We're excited to have Cameron in our family and love him to pieces already.

More pictures and updates to come!

Never a dull moment

2010-09-06T11:41:00.002-08:00

I know I have a lot of updating to do, but remember this?

Today we have this:

And he ate breakfast like this:

Same bone, same break, same boy.

Last night around 7:00, Nolan was doing his gymnastics and things got a little crazy. Nolan fell to the ground and screamed, "I broke my leg again!" We were in the ER until a little after 11:00 and got Nolan to bed around 12:30. He slept most of the night and is doing very well so far today. We are trying to figure out the logistics of school and gymnastics and everything (everything including the fact that I am 38 weeks pregnant today), but he is happy and only occasionally in pain. (A few minutes ago he plastered on the most pathetic face he could muster and looked up at me and said, "Swedish fish would make me feel much better.")

The x-ray lady showed us Nolan's previous x-ray and it looks exactly the same as the new one. The orthopedist told me last November that Nolan's bones hadn't properly fused, so we have been wondering if this would happen again someday. The doctor we saw last night said he has NEVER seen a kid whose bones didn't fuse. I will call the orthopedist first thing tomorrow morning and they want to see him Tuesday or Wednesday. Nolan is still too short for crutches, so he might be going to school in a wagon for a little while. I am not sending him until he has a hard cast.

And THAT is my update for now. I have some very cute first day of school pictures to share as well as our adventures with our 8-week visitors and 15 people in my house. I just have to get the pictures from Doug. He stole them all.

Clueless

2010-07-21T09:52:00.001-08:00

We don't have t.v. at our house. We have a t.v., but no t.v. service. Right now we are at a hotel in Anchorage. When commercials come on the t.v., everyone starts yelling at me for changing the channel. Right now the satellite isn't working great and keeps stopping in the middle of the show. Originally, the kids assumed that I was pausing their "movie" and just now Nolan suggested that maybe the movie is scratched. I keep trying to explain it to them, but they are just clueless when it comes to t.v. And I'm ok with that.

Sun

2010-07-19T13:23:00.002-08:00

Nolan's theory on where the sun went:

It went to go visit it's grandma in Texas.

Baby Belly

2010-07-18T20:20:00.000-08:00

My friend Tiffany and her kids went on vacation for 6 weeks - and a baby belly can do a lot of growing in 6 weeks. When Gavin, Nolan's best friend, got home, he asked me, "Why is your belly so big?" I told him there was a baby in there. He has had a lot of questions since then, like, "How does the baby eat?," but the best one yet he asked me yesterday.

Erin, did you eat a baby?

No.

Well, have you ever eaten a baby?

Camping

2010-07-18T00:20:00.005-08:00

It's funny - we've been here two years and yet we still always get excited about moose in the yard.

Momma

and the twins

7/15/10 Thursday morning, Doug and Ethan mowed the lawn.

Then we spent the rest of the day getting ready to go camping with our friends the Leys, and our tag-along Boden, who was staying with us while his parents were in Anchorage. We thought for sure we could be ready to go in time for soccer and then leave from there, but we have realized that our camping stuff needs some attention in the organizing department. I took the kids to soccer and Doug continued to pack.

It's really hard to play soccer like this...

you can't even turn your head to look at the ball.

Brenden played hard.

(I have to throw in here, as an explanation, that Brenden wears the headband to keep his implants on. Not to look cool. 'Cause he doesn't, really.)

On the way to where we were camping, we saw a bear cub.

He ran off into the woods when we tried to drive closer.

7/16/10

Silly Nolan

Ethan, Gavin, Izzy and Nolan on a boat ride.

Brenden chopping wood

Savannah chopping wood

I think Ethan would have even slept on the boat if we would let him. He never wanted to get off. He made a good fishing buddy for Doug.

Doug took 7 kids on the boat. Incredible or insane?

We came to camp and found a squirrel in the trash.

The kids started swimming partially clothed

but the clothes came off pretty quick.

You have NO idea how cold this lake is. Like, my toes froze. It's over 1000 feet deep - that makes for a cold lake.

I came back from the lake and found Nolan doing this:

Thanks to peer pressure, Nolan's training wheels finally came off.

His friend Gavin has the same bike and his training wheels broke, so he had no choice but to learn to ride his bike. Nolan thought he'd try it too.

Doug took the kids on a hike, which turned out to be more like rock climbing.

(Izzy, Nolan, Savannah, Brenden)

Brenden, Nolan, Izzy, Boden, Savannah

There are two specs on the road - they are Ethan and me.

I laughed out loud at this picture.

A slightly better one...

And what hike can end without a little dance party?

Brenden insisted he had to read before bed. He didn't make it long.

7/17/10

Doug, Ethan, and I went for a boat ride.

I told you he really liked it.

We came back to find Brenden and Savannah reading Calvin and Hobbes out loud, Brenden read all of Calvin's words and Savannah was everyone else.

Swimming in cold water... again.

Naked bike riding boys

Brenden popping a wheelie

We packed up and headed home, but stopped to see the wood carving competition on the way.

This is a lot like how camping felt... giant mosquitos out to suck every ounce of our blood.

Doug has a intriguing question for everyone (and he really does want an answer.) Why are football, baseball, and basketball one word and soccer ball is two? (He was typing our packing list when he came up with this one.)

Ethan is 3!

2010-07-17T22:15:00.003-08:00

Ethan's birthday was the 14th. We knew it would be a busy day and Doug would miss most (if not all) of it, so we opened most of Ethan's presents the evening of the 13th.

Ethan was with me when I was shopping for gifts for him. He had picked this out a few months ago and we had managed to "lose" it from the cart somewhere in the store. He was heart broken. (And let me tell you, heart break is not a quiet thing...) This time, as we passed the Lightning McQueen toys, he swept it off the shelf and said, "Appy Birkay Gekan!" I couldn't refuse him.

On the way home from the store, Ethan kept saying, "Open. 'Appy Birkay Gekan!" When we got home, he fished the toy out of the bag before I even unpacked everything from the car. He was carrying it around trying to convince me that is was his birthday RIGHT NOW. I kept telling him that it would be his birthday soon and he just didn't like that answer. I finally stole the present when he put it down to go to the bathroom and he knew just where to find it - up high in my closet. The next morning, I woke to a little boy pushing a very heavy chair across the kitchen and into my room in order to scale the clothing and reach his toy. It didn't work out for him.

Every day, several times a day he would tell me it was his birthday, sing himself a little birthday song and tell me it was time to open his present. He was beyond thrilled when I told him he could open his present - and he knew just which one it was, wrapping and all.

Could he be any happier? We tried to put him to bed then, but it didn't work out. He played with the truck until after 11:00 when he finally passed out on the floor.

Wednesdays are our long days. We leave the house at 9:30 to go to speech, which is 45 minutes away. Ethan was up bright and early and playing with his truck when it was time to leave. He had a very difficult time leaving his truck behind.

After speech, Nolan had gymnastics. After gymnastics, Ethan had a doctor's appointment. Since I made him get a shot on his birthday (what kind of mother am I?!), I took him to Carl's Jr. for dinner - that, and the fact that it is in the Safeway parking lot, so Doug could walk to our "party" and go back to work. We were pleasantly surprised when Doug arrived to hear that he had been give the rest of the day off to play with us! That just meant he had off until 7:00 when he had to be at the church for mutual, but still..., he got to spend more than 30 minutes with Ethan on his birthday!

Putting the candles in the cake

A remote controlled Lightning McQueen!

Since we had about an hour before Doug had to go, we went to the park to play and took a walk.

We checked out the dip netters on the beach

and found a fun tree to climb on.

I think Ethan had a good day. I thought he would be very worn out, but for the second night in a row, he played with his truck until he passed out on the floor. I didn't have the heart to take it away from him.

We love having Ethan in our family. He may be moody and slightly mean, but he is funny and charming and we all love him to pieces. I yuv you, Gekan.

President

2010-07-12T14:36:00.000-08:00

Last week Brenden started a club. He had sign up forms that we all had to sign and he even faxed one to Doug at work to see who wanted to sign up. He came to me and asked me what a president does. I told him that the president of the club would make decisions and tell the other members what to do. He announced that he was the president, to which Nolan responded that he wanted to be president. Brenden made Nolan the vice president and told him that the president tells the vice president what to do and the vice president tells everyone else what to do.

Today the boys were outside playing and I asked them to come clean up their Legos and then they could go back out and play. In the process of cleaning, Nolan told me I needed to come help. I responded that I was cleaning the kitchen and they needed to do the Legos.

Nolan: Brenden, you're the president, tell mom she has to come help.

Brenden: But I'm not the president of this house, just of our club.

Nolan: Who is the president of our house?

Me: Dad is the president and I am the vice president.

Brenden: No, mom, you're definitely the president.

Up to date!

2010-07-12T00:46:00.004-08:00

I think that (for the most part) my blog is officially up to date!

Brenden and Nolan are both in soccer. I need to get some pictures because they are both so cute in their soccer uniforms. The first game mostly consisted of them dancing all over the field and I wondered why I didn't just spend the money on dance lessons instead of soccer, but since then they have both gotten into the game quite a bit more.

Nolan is still in gymnastics and loves every minute of it. He is actually becoming very good.

Ethan is doing absolutely amazing with his cochlear implants. His word and sound recognition baffles me. He hears every little sound and wants to know what they all are. He will be re-mapped (programming on the implants) next week in Anchorage. He has speech therapy twice a week and we do a lot of listening activities at home. His speech is becoming more and more understandable. I am thrilled.

Doug's whole life is work, work, work. Right now he is filling in for another pharmacist on vacation, so when he is done he will have worked 11 days straight of 10 hour shifts. Maybe sometime this summer he will make it out on the lake.

I have been preparing for baby. We didn't have a good spot for a full-size crib, so we got a mini crib. I have been making bedding to match the decor in the guest room since baby will get a small corner in there. I sew and sew and sew. I am learning a little at a time. Baby has no name, other than baby. Doug wants to call it Ozzie and whether I like it or not, he says he will call it that. I hate it, just in case you cared to know.

We had pictures taken of the boys two weeks ago. Thanks Leaca - we miss you! Some of them turned out really cute, but for the most part the kids were uncooperative. My computer won't read the disk, so these aren't the best quality and I am at the mercy of whatever Doug decided to put on his facebook account - since that is where they are coming from. I will figure out a better solution later.

(Nolan really had to pee...)

There is a really cute one that Leaca is making for my blog header of Brenden standing by the 1, Nolan by the 2, Ethan by the 3, and me and my big belly by the 4.

Update 1

2010-07-11T21:34:00.005-08:00

I am only adding this update for my own personal future use. It's long... Feel free to skip it, and the next 800 posts. (When I say that, I don't really mean it. I want you to read it, but I am giving you an "out.") Doug told me I should just categorize all of this by month. It is so outdated it is ridiculous.

3/19/10 Easter Egg Hunt at Grandma's house

The cousin train

3/27/10 Brenden had a last minute birthday party since I was going to be out of town for his birthday.

Pokeball Pizza

Doug is our resident face painting expert

Pin the power on the pokemon

A game that made at least 3 people cry

Pokeball cake

The next day Ethan and I flew to Seattle for his cochlear implant surgery.

3/29/10 Seattle Children's Museum
Ethan LOVED the Seattle Children's Museum. We walked there from our hotel and spent at least 4 hours there. If you ever have the chance, please go there.

Fun with water

Who knew ping pong balls and a vacuum could be so fun!?

By far, the best part of the whole place was the grocery store.

The bakery workers were working pretty slow.

Ethan waited patiently.

We spent a long time on the bus too.

There are an awful lot of things there that we didn't even get pictures of. I'm telling you... GO THERE!

Update 2

2010-07-11T21:30:00.001-08:00

3/30/10 Pacific Science Center
Ethan and I met up with my friend Julie and her children. I may have seen Julie once or twice in college, but for the most part, I hadn't talked to her since high school. Julie and her kids showed us all of their favorite things about the Science Center.

Julie and me (16 weeks pregnant)

This one is for my friend Abby - her son was bitten in the eye by a scorpion and I thought of her as soon as I saw this.

Lots of bees - Ethan buzzed right back at them.

The butterfly area - there is one on my backpack.

Surgery

2010-07-11T21:25:00.002-08:00

3/31/10 Ethan had bilateral cochlear implant surgery. There aren't many pictures because I was too busy being Mom.

We had to arrive by 6:00 a.m.

The only thing keeping Ethan calm...

Here we go...

I was able to go back with him and hold him until he fell asleep. It's not an easy thing to do. The kids fight the urge to fall asleep and look up at you with pleading eyes as you hold an oxygen mask against their face. The doctors and nurses all seemed surprised that I was able to do it. I don't think they understood that it wasn't a first for me. Ethan was in surgery for what seemed like forever and came out of it groggy and not feeling so well.

We were in recovery for a short time and then they sent us back to the hotel. Just before we left, Ethan threw up blood. The nurse was unconcerned and told me it was fine. He then threw up blood for the next 5 hours, making it impossible to take his pain medication.

(Brenden wore the same pajamas after surgery)

He was in so much pain that he couldn't sleep and he couldn't eat or he would throw everything back up - all over his pajamas and blanket. I finally called the doctor and he told me that it was NOT normal and that I needed to get to the Seattle Children's Hospital as soon as possible.

The hotel we were staying at had a free shuttle to the surrounding hospitals. I went to the front desk and asked if there was a shuttle available and they said they could leave in 10 minutes. I gathered some things for Ethan and myself for the night, assuming we would be staying in the hospital and returned to the front desk, carrying 3 bags, Ethan, a car seat, and a puke cup. They escorted me to the shuttle and then we waited. 15 minutes later a family arrived and the driver told me that he needed to drop them off at a restaurant. It took the shuttle driver over an hour to get us to the hospital, with Ethan puking all along the way. I was so mad!

As we pulled into the hospital, the driver asked me where I needed to be dropped of. Uh, THE EMERGENCY ROOM! We were supposed to check out of the hotel by noon the next day. I asked him what I was supposed to do if we didn't make it back in time. He told me I should have packed up all of my stuff and they would have stored it for me. I'm sorry, I wasn't aware that I was going to the EMERGENCY ROOM in enough time to gather all of my things and pack them neatly for an airplane ride the next day.

The hospital checked Ethan in (and was nice enough to wash his pajamas and blanket) and we were given a room at the quiet end of the ER all of the way at the back. Ethan was given an IV and some pain medication along with some nausea medication. About 4 hours later, Ethan was doing so well (meaning he was finally sleeping), they were going to discharge him. We woke him up to pack all of his things and he promptly vomited everywhere. We were immediately admitted.

I don't know who decided that hospitals should have shared rooms, but the idea that a pediatric hospital should have shared rooms is just plain IDIOTIC. The only way Ethan had fallen asleep in the ER was to have me hold him in his bed. The room we were given only had a crib for him, which he was not a fan of, but that kept me from being able to crawl into bed with him. They told me I could sign a waiver stating that I wanted him in a bed and they would come back when they found the waiver. Around 4:30 a.m, they brought the waiver. By then it was useless. Around 1:00 a.m, our teenage "roommate" noisily arrived, along with a long line of family members, nurses and doctors. I don't think I slept at all that night. Pregnant, no sleep for days, and a sick little boy make for a teary eyed mommy.

In the morning, the med students came through - all 12 of them. We were prescribed a nausea medication that I had to go to the pharmacy to pick up. I didn't have a way to GET to a pharmacy, so I had the hospital fill it. Can I just say that I find it ridiculous that Safeway will only allow us to fill our prescriptions at Safeway, no matter where we are? Even in a hospital. I asked if there was someone who could sit with Ethan while I ran down to pick it up in the hospital pharmacy and the nurse said she would. I specifically requested that they NOT remove his bandages as I wanted them on for his plane ride. I came back to the room to find that the nurse had left our "roommate" in charge of Ethan and he was no longer wearing his bandaging.

We were discharged, I called the hotel to let them know we were coming, and we returned to the hotel only an hour past check-out. We went back to our room and I found a housekeeper going through our drawers trying to figure out why all of our stuff was still there when her paperwork said we should have checked out by now. I very quickly showered, packed, and headed to the airport.

We had entirely too much stuff for me to even attempt to carry (they give you two extra suitcases, 2 boxes, and 2 bags after cochlear implant surgery), but were offered a wheelchair. Ethan refused to sit in it, so we piled all of our stuff into it and I carried him through the airport. We had the nicest man helping us along the way. We had tickets on completely different ends and sides of the plane and only after announcing for an hour, "Are there any passengers willing to move seats so a mother and child can sit together?" did someone finally come through for me. You would think that a kid with 3 inches of bandaging on his head (I made the hospital put it back on) would somehow make people feel sorry for you and be willing to change seats. I guess only after an hour does the sympathy start to kick in.

We had a nice man offer to carry all of our things off of the plane for us, but the lady waiting with the wheelchair was not so kind. Again, Ethan was unwilling to sit in the wheelchair, so I piled all of our stuff into it and she practically dumped it on the floor telling me that the wheelchairs are for passengers ONLY. I kept asking her how she expected me to carry everything and a child who was still too tipsy to walk. She fumed all the way through the airport and left us at the luggage area. Another nice man helped me haul everything to the curb to wait for our hotel shuttle in Anchorage. We were lucky to find so many kind people to help us.

I am sure that, had I written this post a month ago, it would have had an even more negative tone. I have had some time to forgive and forget some of the things that went terribly wrong.

Implant activation

2010-07-11T21:20:00.001-08:00

4/2/10 Ethan's implants were activated. The audiologist didn't think we would be able to do it because his head was so swollen. She was shocked and said she had never seen a kid so swollen. She had to find some pretty heavy duty magnets to get his external stuff to communicate with the internal stuff, but we were mostly successful.

Getting everything situated

Playing listening games

The new Nucleus 5 Cochlear Implant

How does Ethan feel about his new implants?

Update 3

2010-07-11T21:15:00.002-08:00

This is my 3rd try at this post. I am starting to get mad.

4/4/10 Easter

The Hunt

The dye wasn't even dry before Nolan was eating every egg in sight.

Brenden painted ceramic eggs. (Ignore the Christmas wreath in the background... it came down sometime in May...)

And what is Easter without these?

4/17/10

I love when I walk in the living room and find this:

He might be stinky and hairy, but he sure is cute.

4/20/10 Cleaning out the dishwasher requires standing on the counter (Brenden had just gotten down) and it does not require pants (no, Brenden isn't wearing any either).

4/24/10 New TOY!

4/30/10 Pinewood Derby

Brenden's was one of the few cars not painted by a parent.

He did well, but was disappointed that he didn't win a trophy.

5/16/10 Doug went to school with the author of this book (Jessica Day George - Dragon Slipper) and took this picture to send to her. (Does it imply that her book put my child to sleep or that he loved the book so much he couldn't put it down and fell asleep reading it? I guarantee the latter is the case...)

5/20/10

I am a slave driver...

5/26/10

Still instituting slavery...

5/29/10 Doug's Birthday

For his birthday, Doug decided to pick up an extra shift in Homer.

While he worked

the kids and I played.

Poor Doug was so sick that he didn't even eat his birthday dinner.

Family comes to visit!

2010-07-11T21:10:00.004-08:00

6/3/10 We went to Anchorage for audiology appointments and to pick up my family that came to visit.

They both wonder why I never want to share a bed with them...

This is where I will refer you to my sister's blog because I was terrible at picture taking while everyone was here and then I didn't download anyone else's pictures before they left. If anyone else ever blogs about it, I'll refer you there as well, but I am not the only bad blogger in my family!

6/3/10 Palmer - we took Jared to a meeting and then killed time before we needed to pick up the rest of the family at the airport.

(Ethan, Halle, Nolan, Jared, Brenden)

My boys and Halle

6/5/10 My brother told me that when he came to visit, he wanted to sit and my house and never leave. That's pretty much all we did.

(Jared, Emily, Paulette, and Dustin)

Kolton

6/6/10

This is the way Halle looks at me:

and the way she looks at Doug:

Nolan is excited to roast hotdogs and make s'mores.

The Kline boys

Hayden

My kids spend a lot of time rolling down hills in various toys.

Hayden

Nolan and Hayden

6/7/10 Doug went halibut fishing with Emily and Jared. The other 11 of us went to the beach in Homer, but evidently I didn't take a single picture.

All sealed and ready to take home.

6/9/10

Too cute, isn't it? (Brenden and Hayden)

While I slept on the couch, my family went on a late-night mildly successful bear and moose hunt - with no actual hunting involved.

6/13/10 Silly Cousins

Update 4

2010-07-11T21:05:00.004-08:00

6/15/10

Cowboy Nolan

I was the girls camp director this year. Camp was at a horse ranch, so I made all of these cowboy hats.

6/17-19 Girls Camp

Brenden made the girls this sign:

Doug and the boys brought all of the camp gear in the truck and helped us with set-up.

It started raining shortly after we arrived (and continued for the entire rest of the time we were there).

The girls had to move their non-waterproof tents indoors.

We were very lucky to have the option of staying in the barn.

The girls rode horses, kayaked, did camp certification, and had a lot of fun.

6/20/10 Father's Day

For Father's Day, Doug just wanted to spend the day on the boat.

Toothpaste

2010-07-08T14:58:00.000-08:00

Brenden after picking out new watermelon flavored toothpaste: (inhales deeply) "Mmmm... it has such a savory scent."

Doug has been bugging me for DAYS to update, so I will work on it, I promise. Updating you since March seems like a tall task, but I'll see what I can do for you. We have soccer tonight, so don't hold your breath today. I suppose I should update before we have a baby or some really big news to share.

Taco Brain

2010-06-28T19:28:00.002-08:00

While making tacos and trying to think of toppings:
Brenden: I am thinking in my mind there is something missing...
Nolan: Uh, a brain?

Black Eyed Boys

2010-06-21T22:45:00.003-08:00

I'll have to play catch-up (and tag) later. For now, this is what 2 out of 3 boys look like...

It's so much less impressive looking in the pictures. Nolan looks much better than yesterday, he was practically swollen shut. No, they did not give the black eyes to each other... Nolan decided to dismount his bunk bed without using the ladder and Ethan slipped while we were out in the boat. They just so happened to get the same eye in the exact same place.

I need more time...

2010-06-10T23:19:00.002-08:00

If you are even still checking my blog, I am so ashamed to admit that it has been over two months since I have blogged. We have been crazy busy and I currently have a house full of 14 people and girls camp next week. I promise to blog again after June 19. If you haven't heard...

Baby

boy (as indicated below) #4

will say "Hello World!"

around September 20. It was a bit of a shock to me (both the pregnancy and the gender), but we're getting ready to welcome another little man into our house.

Ethan is doing AWESOME with his implant and we couldn't be more pleased. I will share pictures and more information later.

Thank you all for understanding that my blog has been neglected for the good of many other important things, but I WILL return to it, I promise.