Ezra's Black Eye

Our little buddy has had a rough go the past couple of months. After a baseball game he was playing on the bleachers and his cleat slid out from under him sending him head first into the bleacher bench. This resulted in a seriously nasty black eye:

The morning after

2 days after

3 days after (he had to work hard, but he could finally open his eye!)

He was so embarrassed about it. He wore his sunglasses everywhere; including on stage to sing with the primary!

 Then a couple of weeks ago little Ez and Makaduke crashed into each other running in the house knocking out Ezra's front tooth and bumping two others back making them wiggly. He looked like he got punched in the face for the second time in two months. Awesome. Thankfully his eye is healing (though it is STILL a little bruised.) And his teeth will be fine. It'll be awhile before he gets those grown up teeth in according to the xray, but I am getting used to his new smile and he is figuring out how to eat again. Hoping for no more accidents at least through the summer.

The best part of it was when little Makai came up to me with a very concerned look on his face and said, "Is Ezra turning into a black guy?" Guess all the talk of "black eyes" has him a little confused. haha

The Blue Angels

Last week the Blue Angels came to town. The kids and I had never seen them before so we braved the traffic and went to watch them. Well traffic was so bad that the show started before we even parked, so we just pulled over where we were and watched from the car:

My studly muffins :)

The people that fly these things are crazy. I would be so sick doing twists and flips and turns like they do, but it sure does make for a fun show!

FIRST LOST TOOTH!

On March 5th Ezra lost his very first tooth! He bit into some trail mix and his tooth fell out in his mouth. Daddy was quick to help him to the sink so he didn't swallow it or lose it. Ezra was so sooo excited. He wrote the tooth fairy a letter asking for a new toothbrush (thankfully the tooth fairy was prepared and had one waiting). He kept talking about how he couldn't wait to tell his friends and what kinds of things they would say back to him. It took him about half an hour to fall asleep after because he kept reciting and reenacting what had happened. I cried. My little baby is getting so big!

Since it was late I was the scribe, but this is word for word what Ezra told me to write :)

His "big boy" tooth had already been growing behind the loose tooth for quite awhile, so he doesn't have to deal with a hole in his mouth, though by the looks of it, he will be needing braces one day.

He already has another loose tooth and tries to wiggle it daily to get it out. Makai is determined to not let his teeth fall out now for whatever reason. Maybe he'll change his mind when Ezra starts getting money for his teeth :)

Goings on Lately :0)

One major thing I have learned about Texas and what our life in Texas will always be like is, germs and sickness thrive! Everyone I talk to here says the same thing. It doesn't get cold enough to kill anything and the humidity is perfect for bacteria, etc. Thus said, we have been sick a lot more than usual. Texas has one of the highest flu rates in the country. My poor kids have suffered the most.

Makai and Deklan are just overcoming nasty double ear infections and Ezra and Deklan have already suffered through the next sickness overlapping that one. Makai's ear infection fought it's way through a full round of amoxicyllin and finally cleared up with a second dose of another antibiotic. It's gross and yucky and makes me sad. I hate seeing my poor babies sick:

Makai passed out grocery shopping one morning. Nothing says this boy is sick like a random nap during the day.

We have still been tackling our daily routine of homeschooling, work and craziness. I have been keeping way too busy and my head is spinning off my shoulders. It's amazing how much energy I DON'T have lately. I have been very busy planning church stuff and figuring out taxes and continuing to plan my homeschool curriculum/ fight with my children daily to get through it. 

Ezra is doing well. He's still the best kid in the world ;) and is still my little helper. He cleans his room/makes his bed daily without being asked. He even locks his door so no one can go in and mess it up. He's obsessed with cereal and the wii (daddy's fault, I'm afraid). He lost his first tooth and was beyond excited about it. He rides his big boy bike everyday and always has to show us his new "tricks" on it. He has a best friend (though he won't admit it because he loves everyone and tells me everyone is his friend). He asks me every single day to call her mom so we can have a playdate. We usually do. He just started baseball and is rather entertaining standing out in that field. Right now he is working on perfecting a handstand and trying to blow a bubble with gum. 

Makai is a little stinker, but is getting sweeter all the time. He recently learned to stand to go to the bathroom when I left James alone in the car with the three boys (one of them sleeping) so James resorted to having Makai pee in the car trashcan. Now I find pee i

 my trashcans and he even whips it out in the middle of the park and waters the sidewalks. We're working on correcting that, but this boy is a stubborn one. He goes back and forth between parenting Deklan and pampering him. If he's not scolding him, he's loving him so sweetly. He wants to do everything Ezra and daddy do. He loves to make up stories and has even learned the skill of a lie... Did I mention he's trouble? But he is the cutest little bundle of trouble and he tells me he loves me several times a day, so he knows how to work me.

Deklan is a spitfire. This boy still screams a scream that nearly makes my ears bleed. He has become a picky eater, which is discouraging because he was my best eater until recently. He doesn't like a variety of things during a meal. If you start with broccoli, that is all he will touch (unless we break out a dessert). He still has a dairy allergy, but we give him a little dairy every day in the hopes that he will grow out of it. He is attached to a little puppy blanket thingy AND his binky and will not settle down or sleep without them. My girlfriend calls him Tommy Pickles (from the Rugrats) because he goes on his own little adventures and wants all the freedom in the world. He is a little troublemaker too. He throws things in the trash, at the TV and especially in the bathtub while one of the other boys is bathing. Thankfully I caught him before he threw a wii remote in. He even threw himself in the bathtub one night:

He was leaning a little too far over to splash in the water and we're mean and left him there so we could snap a picture.

James still loves his job and JUST completed his final training test so he is officially off of probation!! They hit their year mark March 18th! So proud of him and all his hard work getting through his training and tests. He has recently become interested in surfing and kayaking. No, he has not gone surfing or kayaking, but he researches both in his spare time and hopes to own a surfboard and kayak in the near future. There is actually a pretty decent surfing area close by, so it's not such a far-fetched idea. Not to mention he is good at anything he tries, so he'd probably legitimately enjoy it. He is obsessed with green smoothies and has entered a serious health kick lately. He gets upset with me because I used to drink these smoothies daily, but since being pregnant I can't stomach them. He is also working on perfecting his handstand.

I am doing well. Feeling baby girl move more and more and am getting so excited to meet her! I am super super emotional and have cried myself to sleep at least once this week. Everything makes me cry. Holy smokes. It's embarrassing. I still lose my meals if I don't take nausea medicine, so I might just be taking it throughout this whole pregnancy. Like I mentioned earlier, I am exhausted and really struggling from "son up til son down". I am starting a bow/headband collection already and can't wait to dress this little baby girl! I have serious anxiety about what this next birthing process will be like since it will unfortunately be nothing like our dream experience when we had Deklan. We have even talked about flying me back to Maryland for the summer to have her there. That is not realistic, however, so I am trying to discard the nightmares from my mind and have faith that everything will be okay here.

Now we are looking forward to Grandma-Lene and our Brother in law Dustin to come visit the end of March and beginning of next month!!!!

Gender Reveal Party!

I have never been one for surprises. I unwrap and then secretly rewrap gifts at Christmas time. I like to know things ASAP. It has been the same way with our babies. I don't know how some people can wait to find out the gender until the baby is actually in their arms. Not me! However... I was sort of forced into waiting a little bit this time around. 

I had some abnormal blood work, so my doc sent me to a specialist who made an appointment for me as soon as they were able which happened to be a day that James couldn't get off work. (By the way, the ultrasound was normal. They did a more extensive blood screening which I will get the results of in a little over a week, but the doctor said she expects it to be okay). When she asked if I wanted to know the gender I said, "of course"but then I remembered the promise I made to my sweet love who couldn't be there and said, "actually, maybe you could write it down for me so my husband and I can find out together." Thankfully they sealed the envelope otherwise I would've totally peaked!

When I picked up my boys from my girlfriends house I told her I had the results sealed in the car and she excitedly asked if she could make a cake for us. I happily obliged. The cake turned into a party! I've never done that before. I loved it! It was so exciting.

I have some great friends here. I have always been blessed with wonderful friends everywhere we have lived and each time I feel so honored to be surrounded by these incredible people. My girlfriend got a couple of our other friends involved in the planning and they threw together this party for us! 

And the inside of the cake was...... 

PINK!!!!!!

Oh my goodness!!! We are getting a baby GIRL!!!!!!!!! I am still trying to wrap my head around the idea, but am soooo excited. I had convinced myself that it was a boy and I was completely okay with that. Ezra and Makai both decided before cutting the cake that they wanted a baby sister and James has been talking about wanting a baby girl this whole pregnancy.

I have felt worse this time around and am showing differently (which I attributed all to still nursing Dek-O), but it turns out it really is a GIRL! AHHH! She will be here somewhere around July 19th and we will be ready with clothes and bows and all assortments of girly things that I never could indulge in before. I used to push myself past little girl clothes and look back longingly and now I get to linger in that section for a bit!!! I have to go shopping RIGHT NOW!

Homeschool

We have had an interesting start at our homeschooling adventure. There are so many things I love about it and so many reasons I try to remind myself that I love when there are days that I don't particularly love it. Truth be told, it is tough for me and I am struggling daily with the battle in my mind about so many different things. I'll stay away from all the confusion that fills my brain and just move on to the fun things we have actually done this year...

Ezra is in Kindergarten. While I am still learning what that means for him, we are exploring the things that he wants to learn. I have no doubt that he is learning a lot this year even on days that my efforts are lacking and I am grateful for that. He is fascinated by so much.

Because there are two other children floating around the house and a sometimes very sick mommy, we have to be flexible with how things are structured... I have recently changed our schedule to have a daily focus subject. We will cover other subjects, but spend most of our time on just one for the day. Thursday is strictly our science day. Ezra's favorite day of the week by far! Friday is generally a craft day/make-up day/occasional field trip day.

He is reading books by himself now and is doing so great at figuring out tricky words. He even reads entire versus of the scriptures mostly by himself and he gets so much pride from that. It is making all those incredibly stressful reading lessons so worth it.

We have had some fun units such as: dinosaurs, jellyfish, volcanoes, geysers, gravity, and hearts. We have also had some not so exciting, but still educational units. Thank goodness for pinterest or most of our lessons would be not so exciting. It's fun when I get a little creative all on my own, but that's rare.

We have also started attending a monthly homeschooling class at the aquarium lab. They get to learn about creatures and they bring in a special guest for them to discover. It's a fun change for Ez to be in a somewhat standard class setting once in awhile.

Makai got to participate a little as well which was fun. Ez is in the striped shirt. He's sitting next to his buddy Haley. We do a co-op fairly regularly with her and they have a great time together. We do experiments, crafts and the even helped each other learn to tell time. It's so fun. He did so well in this class and is such a well behaved child. I had no doubt he would be, but it was fun to see what he is like when mommy isn't in charge.

Ez at the Aquarium before heading to his class. 

All in all, I don't regret my decision to homeschool him. Do I think I'll do it next year? I'm still torn. I have two (almost three) other babies that need my attention and I'm not sure I'm the type of supermom that can divide myself equally. I feel like I'm giving up if I put him in public school, but I also feel like I might be holding him back if I don't. Ugh... It really is the toughest decision to me because I feel so passionately for homeschooling... I guess we'll see what happens. If we lived in a different area I think my heart wouldn't be in such turmoil about it.

For now though we still have some time and some fun ahead of us. I plan to continue schooling throughout the summer (if pregnancy and baby #4 allow me to), so I'll try to be better about tracking our progress and adventures.

Dek-O is ONE!!

My little Dekle Bug turned one on December 29th! And he started taking steps on December 27th!! He has been standing for awhile now, but I thought it would be much longer before he started stepping. I screamed when I saw him. lol.

 We had a handful of friends over that evening for cake and ice cream. I gave him his very own cupcake and he inhaled it. (This kid has a worse sweet tooth than I do!! That is bad!)

You've gotta love those teeth! Everywhere we go people comment on his chompers. I hope he grows into them one day, but for now I call them his Goofy teeth and he wears them well!

He has this rough, raspy little laugh. He has always had sort of a raspy voice, but now he really digs into his chest when he laughs. It cracks me up. He's a social laugher too. He has to join in laughing whenever someone else is. 

Little Deklan is quite the eater. He is sick of baby food and wants to go straight for my sandwich. He devoured half of my sandwich the other day and was still screaming for more. Speaking of screaming... He has the most high pitched wail ever. It pierces my ears and tests my patience daily. It is embarrassing in public and just frustrating at home. He screams for attention, food, out of pain, when he's excited, etc. I love this little boy, but man oh man can he scream!

He still has a dairy allergy, but I am really confident he will grow out of it. I do not give him cheese or straight milk, but he does have things here and there with dairy in them and he will only get a couple of hives, but no swelling or wheezing, so it seems to be very minor.

He loves to poop in the tub. Drives me crazy. He poops all day long and just when I think it's safe to let him soak and play for a little bit, he pollutes the water. Makai refuses to bathe with him any more and I do not blame him. I don't know what it is, but it has become his thing. haha.

His favorite toy is a ball. His favorite food is still sweet potatoes. His favorite drink is still a smoothie. His favorite place to be is in the tub or outside. He loves wrestling and is perfectly content rolling on the floor all day. He hates being alone. He's becoming a great sleeper. He takes great naps and has started mostly sleeping through the night (I know, I'm late on this one, but you should hear this baby scream... it breaks my heart.)

He only has four teeth, but boy does he know how to use them! He does not like plain food. Give him some bread? uh uh. Give him some bread with jelly on it? Heaven. I even have to add salt to his rice before he will touch it. crazy baby.

He's the best. People always ask me if he is always so good and I have to admit, aside from his screaming, he really is good. I say he's the third child, so he has to be easy, but I think it's just because I'm such an amazing mom that I know just how to train my children. BAHAHA!

He melts us. James looked at him a few months ago and said, "How could we not want more babies? Just look at him!" So true.

I love the little noises he makes while he eats his food (especially bananas) and the way he snuggles me throughout the day. I love the way he giggles when I dance or make a funny voice. I love how he watches Makai and Ezra and follows them around. I love how much he enjoys making them laugh. If he does something that gets them laughing, he does it over and over and over again just to keep them laughing. It's the best. I even love his wiggles. I love the way he bounces while he's standing and how he reaches for me to get him out of his crib. I love the way he holds my legs while I do dishes and how still he will sit if I'm with him on the floor. I love how he falls down and then just decides to stay down for a bit just being still. I love him and every tiny bit of squishiness about him.

Happy 1st Birthday Dek-O!

Christmas

Yes, we're alive. I'm so sorry for any of you who have been checking and been disappointed due to my lack of blog efforts the past couple of months. Life is a little busy, here, but it still makes me sad that I haven't been keeping a decent record of our homeschooling adventures and precious milestones in the babies lives. I'll get to that stuff later. Really, I will!

Christmas!! This Christmas was different. It wasn't cold, it wasn't white and it wasn't super magical. Boy do I miss being the kid and letting my mom and dad be in charge of the magic. They did a much better job than I have been doing the past couple of years. I wasn't feeling very well this holiday season, so all my wonderful plans kind of flopped. Our adventurous advent calendar didn't go as planned. Each  day I'd watch the activity card pile on top of yesterday's and I'd say, "tomorrow, we'll try to do that one tomorrow." Ugh. I'm a failure :( I threw half of the activities away and the other half we rushed through and had to combine with other days. Next year, right!?

James had to work Christmas eve. He's on the night shift so that means he sleeps ALL day and then leaves for the night. The night shift is THE WORST because he can't get a good schedule so it literally feels like he is in bed the second he gets home until the second he leaves again. Anyways... He woke up early Christmas eve so the boys could open their "night before Christmas box" (jammies, hot chocolate, popcorn and a movie). I always have to get them matching jammies because they love it and I think it is adorable. Then daddy went back to sleep and then as I was finishing cleaning, wrapping, piecing together toys, and tucking the last gift under the tree James woke up and headed to work for the night.
He was still at work when the boys woke up in the morning so I locked the baby gate and made them stay in my room for 2 hours until daddy got home. It was torture for just about everyone, but we survived :)

When daddy got home we were finally able to peak at the tree and dig into our stockings. The boys were great about their gifts. They would open one, tear it out of the package and play with it for a little before moving on. It was fun. Makai mostly wanted candy and Deklan just wanted to sit on his ride on toy.

After all presents were opened we hung out for a little bit and then we released daddy to go to bed. That was sort of the end. The rest was just a normal day. I semi made Christmas dinner. I ate it alone and then wrapped it up for James and then I went to bed as James woke up.

That's about the gist of our Christmas. It was just fine and the boys seemed to have a great Christmas, so I guess I didn't totally fail!

Ezra got shampoo and Makai got candy. You'd be amazed how excited they got over those things! haha

He looks so big in this pic. This was Deklan's present from mommy and daddy. He sat in for quite awhile :)

I don't know why I love this pic. I think he strangely reminds me of my baby pictures. He is such a precious little guy.

The boys got magnet building tiles from Grandma and Pop-pop and they played with them for a good 10-15 minutes in between opening gifts. I was shocked they didn't just throw their presents aside to tear into another one.

Switch-n-go Dinos from their Aunt and Uncle!

They also got walkie talkies, movies, crayons, flashlights, planes, etc.. They are staying pretty busy post Christmas and Ezra has already marked his calendar for Christmas next year!

This is Christmas evening. The boys fought over Deklan's little riding toy from Nana and Grandpa pretty much all day (and are still fighting). It does 360's so it really is a sweet toy! But I have to remind them that it belongs to Deklan so any time he wants to play on it, they have to gently glide him along since he shares with them :) It works out great until he is pushed too hard and ends up on his back. Oh brothers... But look how happy they are!

I took down my tree on the 28th because I was just ready to put it away. Not like me. I normally have Christmas music going year round and feel sad taking it all down. Maybe it's because Deklan kept trying to knock it over and rearrange the ornaments daily :)

I STILL have Christmas cards sitting on top of my microwave that I need to send out. How embarrassing. They may not all get out, but I do plan on sending some since some have Christmas presents in them! AHH! Next year I'll try to be more organized. 

At least this year I have FOUR really good excuses... Can you guess what they might be? I'll give you a hint... 1.) Ezra   2.) Makai   3.) Deklan  4. ?

LIfe in Texas

At the seaweedy beach. James got a little homesick here and asked if we could leave soon after we got there. The air was too humid, the water was too warm and the beach was "nasty" in his words. He's a coldwater, fancy beach kind of boy.

Life in Texas is good. It is slower here. I mean, the speed limit is 70 or 75 on the major roads and people tend to travel a daring 55-60. Seriously? You make the speed limit 75 in Maryland and people will be going 80-85, but out here they are like, "hmm, no thanks." I try to contain my road rage.

The bugs are huge here. I never saw a cockroach until we moved here and now I see them all the time. IN MY HOUSE! I even found one in my pants one morning while getting dressed!!! Freaked me out to say the least. There are ants everywhere, HUGE vicious mosquitos, and these little tiny dot like bugs that bite as bad as mosquitos.

The weather has actually cooled down a little bit. By cooled down I mean we are able to go outside in the mornings and not wish someone would dump a bucket of ice water on our heads. Other people around here are wearing jackets in the early mornings, we are running out in T-shirts and shorts and finally... a smile! Where has that smile been? I hate hot weather. I am so homesick right now dreaming of beautiful foliage, crisp hayrides bundled in blankets or a warm jacket, a perfect 60 degree day of walking through the woods or apple picking or scouting through a pumpkin patch AND no bugs.

No, I don't love it here. I don't exactly hate it, but it isn't my favorite place. Everyone told me Texas was cheaper, but to be honest, we are finding it to be close to or as expensive as any place we have lived. Including Maryland. Yes, rent was slightly more expensive in Maryland, but Maryland had much nicer neighborhoods, so that is to be expected. The taxes here are outrageous and the gas and electric bills are killing us. Schools here are not wonderful like people tried to convince me of. Maybe other places in Texas are not so bad..

The major upside to life in Texas is that JAMES LOVES HIS JOB! He comes home saying, "Babe, my job is awesome." or "I really love my job!" That makes me happy. That's why we came here.

We have made some good friends and met some very nice people. People hug us in the grocery store and tell my kids they are beautiful. They invite us to their church and squish our cheeks. We are blessed with weekly soccer practices and early morning Saturday games. I was born a soccer mom. It makes me so happy to sit on the sidelines and cheer the loudest. I'll even sit in hot, buggy weather to watch little Ez kick the air as hard as he can in an attempt to score and then the way he sucks in his cheeks with pride after a job well done. Totally makes me want to play, but I have dreamed of Saturday soccer mornings. It makes me smile.

Don't worry, we're not entirely pessimistic about it. Maybe just mostly. Working on that. It's an interesting place, but it's home. Or at least it will be.. :-)

Kindergarten

Ezra started Kindergarten this year and I don't miss him or even make him get dressed. If he's late for school, no big deal. And if he just isn't in the mood, we skip... Okay, not exactly, but real life is in those words somewhere.

We are homeschooling.

For this year at least. Every other morning I second guess my decision and waiver on whether this is the right thing for my child, but I am trying my best to stick to it and make it work. I decided awhile ago that I was going to homeschool Ezra. I have a fairly long list of reasons (which I won't list, but if you are really interested then I might consider sharing..) I'll just share this one: I received an impression that this is what we need to be doing and I'm taking a leap of faith holding on to that main reason.

It is tough. It is the hardest thing I have had to do as a mommy so far mainly because there are so many insecurities and doubts I have, but every now and then I am blessed with a moment or two that reminds me why I truly want to be homeschooling right now. We are still figuring it out and I am trying to be patient with Ezra and with myself while we figure it out and make it work.

I was terrified that I was messing him up, but then I figured that since he is on the younger side of the Kindergarten class this year, worst case scenario is that we act like he never had Kindergarten and then send him next year. (Not going to happen, but it for some reason gives me a little peace of mind to have that thought). I also have a very long list of doubts and fears that sit next to my list of reasons to homeschool, but I'm trying not to focus on those.

So, here's how school works (and sometimes doesn't) for us:

We have goals. We are working on Memorizing, Reading, Writing, Spelling, Math, Science, Geography and Cooking ;) I hope to squeeze a little Spanish in there every now and then too, but I don't want to overload him, so we are taking it slow.

Our goal is to complete 3 lessons from 2-3 different subjects each day. This takes anywhere from 2-5 hours per day(not including my prep time oi!)
We always do reading and then we normally do math and then our 3rd lesson is what varies the most.
We are doing reading lessons from a book called, Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. So far so good. It is several steps back from the reading level he was at, but the complications it promises to solve are complications we have encountered, so we're giving it a try. I am trying to take this year slow and mostly use it as a time to teach him to learn (and teach me to teach).

Our goal is to memorize the 13 Articles of Faith. He has the 1st one down, we are still working on the 2nd. When we are done with these we will move on to simple scripture mastery (ex. key words or phrases)

Our goal is to have 5 spelling words a week and a spelling test each Friday. (These include site words like, "you", "the", "like", "have" and other easier phonics words like "cat", "dog", etc.

For science we are learning about the body right now (Ezra's request). He wants to know everything about how our bodies work, so I am doing my best to roll with this one. I am trying to come up with a new body topic for each week. Some seem harder to spend a week on. Like the 5 senses. I had a week planned, but that really doesn't seem like a week long lesson. We did it in a day and moved on. That's a great perk to homeschooling :)

We just got some amazing helpers from Grandma that has him extra excited about learning! Thanks Grandma! One of the things she sent was a Magic School Bus Chemistry kit. I'm considering joining their monthly science club to get monthly packages because it is so cute.

So this is all trial and error right now. It is stressful and confusing. It is overwhelming and intimidating, but we are doing it. I just hope I don't screw up our babies. It's kind of a scary place to be in when you realize that homeschooling means you can't blame anything on things he learned at school. You are school and what he learns will be your fault, like it or not! ;)