Monday, November 30, 2009

Vacation?

Being a school teacher has it's perks. Shawn gets 5 days off at Thanksgiving. Woo-hoo! I was so excited. After the car accident, Brayden not feeling well and general mayhem, I was looking forward to some reinforcements.
Well, things went okay. Not exactly according to plan. Thanksgiving itself was chaotic but nice. Family and friends just tend to be that way. Friday we started Christmas decorating...again chaos. Introducing tons of untouchables to two toddlers makes for a tiring day. We did have my in-laws over for games, which was fun. But by bedtime, we were pooped. It was around midnight when I heard the crying...
Gavin was sitting on his bed wailing and upon closer look, he was sitting in a pile of vomit. The pillow we just threw out and then the cleaning began. We just about had it all taken care of when my little man says, "Uh oh, Mom. I hurt my stomaaaaathhhpt!" and threw up on himself and the carpet. Round two.
So from there on out, he had the puke bowl and I slept (or pretended to sleep) next to him the rest of the night, waking up about 4 times to watch my three year old's tiny body wrack with dry heaves. It's agonizing. He was a trooper. By 5:30 we were done and about 8 am the family was up. Daddy was sick. Gavin was not doin' so hot and Bray was just whiny.
At nap time, it was Bray's turn to puke. Macaroni in the pack n play. We found him playing with it. Beyond gross. (It will be a good long while before I serve mac n cheese.) Unfortunately, Brayden did not grasp the concept of a puke bucket. However, he did manage to nail a few wisemen and Joseph with the yuckiness. (Oh and his mom as well...at least it gave me an excuse to finally get in the shower).
Sunday, I am happy to say, saw us all doing better and having slept at least 10 hours each. We stayed home from church and just vegged as a family. Brayden sat on laps all day and snuggled (this is unheard of from our little bundle of activity) and Gavin joined mom in bed for an early nap (again, unheard of for our little guys...they usually think our bed is a trampoline or wrestling mat). Later in the day, Gavin and mom did some errands and had a date at Starbucks where we discussed what to get everyone for Christmas. Gav is pretty sure everyone wants trains, but I'm working to help him broaden the scope and at least ask what people want. (He promptly went home to ask his dad and reported back that dad wants an audi...I hope Gavin comes into some money soon).
We spent the night with the boys hanging up lights and putting up the tree. And ended our day together reading books by tree light and enjoy some family time.
I have to say...it wasn't as planned, but Sunday made the weekend worth while. If it takes a little bit of flu to slow us down, snuggle, go on dates and just hang out as a family, then it's worth it. However I am hoping I learned the lesson and next time we will make days like Sunday a priority without the none to gentle reminder!

"Sharing Jesus"

So we were in the bookstore the other day and Gavin runs up to me..."Can I play with Jesus, Mom?" I look around and spot a little people Nativity Scene and tell Gavin..."Sure". That's great, my kid wants to play with Jesus, awesome!
Shawn and I see how into the set the kids are and noting that it is not breakable as our other set is, we decide to get it for them. Gavin, super excited carried his box out to the car and informs us.
"I'm taking Jesus home."
Shawn replies, "Well, when you get home you have to share Jesus with Brayden."
Gavin: "I don't want to share Jesus."
Mom (getting all metaphorical): You HAVE to share Jesus. Jesus is everyone's friend and you have to share him with anyone who wants to play with him.
Gavin: "No mom, Brayden can have the donkey."
Mom: "You have to share Jesus Gavin."
Gavin: "Okay, but I get Jesus first and you're the donkey.

Lesson learned...do not discuss theological metaphors about Jesus with a three year old. You'll end up being the ass.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Accident

Accident: an unfortunate mishap; especially one causing damage or injury

That's right...mommy got in an accident. Definitely unfortunate, definitely had damage...fortunately the injuries were minor. (No airbags, everyone was walking and talking).

Last night on the way home from the doctors (again), I didn't catch onto the slowing traffic soon enough and rear ended a car in front of me. BUMMER! I actually thought I was going to stop soon enough, but no, there was a tap that scratched their bumper and moved my bumper and hood back into places they do not belong.
No one was injured (well, I am sore today and the other folks may be too, but really...nothing serious). But I nearly lost it. This was not supposed to be my Tuesday night. I was not supposed to have to take Brayden to the doctor, I wasn't supposed to have the pharmacy call and say they didn't get the fax for his meds., I wasn't supposed to crunch my new van!!!
It was an accident. Shawn was awesome about it. Brayden was fine. We do actually have the money to cover our deductible. We have another car and Shawn is off for the next few days, so we don't need a rental.
I can name blessing after blessing that God has given us, but for some reason every time I think about the accident I get so angry, as though for some reason I should be entitled to a life with no accidents, no problems and no frustrations! I know in my head that in the scheme of things this is nothing. My son is okay and we are going to be fine. I know many families who are dealing with so much more right now. More than anything, I am frustrated that I cannot shake the irritation over this, because I know I am one of the fortunate ones!
In all this I have been praying for an attitude change. That though there may have been an accident, my attitude choice would be on purpose. May I learn to be grateful in this for what I do have. May I learn the meaning of Thanksgiving, not paying lip service to the holiday, but making it a heart attitude. May I remember the words of the Bible and live out my faith...
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Amidst the busy

Holidays are approaching and time is already escaping me. I am not quite sure where it goes, but somehow the days are packed. I love being busy, but this is ridiculous. Shawn and I have been handing off the kids, giving each other a kiss and yelling "catcha later" as we pass through the door by each other. We are working to slow it down and I hope the time comes soon.
In the midst of the craziness, I have noticed Gavin's tantrums have increased and I have had multiple lovely episodes of him falling to the floor, yelling "No" and defiantely running away from me. It's pretty impressive the drama he presents. Slightly amusing...if you aren't his parent.
Brayden has been sick for two weeks (double ear infection that I caught way late), along with me. Though we are both on the upswing, this has turned him into a cuddle bug. I hope it hangs around a bit. It's really nice to have someone willing to give snuggles when you need them. On the flip side, he was also given to mood swings. With his current form of communication being screaming at the top of his lungs with his hands clenched for both happy and mad,we have had a great deal of high pitched squealing. Gavin's response to this is screaming back "No screaming Bray Bray!" Hmmmm? In an effort to teach Gavin the proper response, I am encouraging him to say, "No thank you, Brayden." He does use no thank you now, but I am afraid it is at a decibel that matches Brayden's.
Sweet moments amidst the chaos have occured and I am trying to savor them. Gavin is contiuing to prove the encourager of the family. He congratulates Shawn and I when we finish our plates of food and he gives Brayden pats and "Good Jobs" when he learns something new. He is constantly trying to teach Brayden words and if Brayden even gets close in mimicing him, Gavin runs to tell me the new word he said. Gavin is also ready to reward Shawn and I if we go potty and always proud of Shawn's stinky poo poo. Thoughtful, huh?
We still get great catch phrases from Gavin,
-"Mom, stop at the cards, we need to buy a birthday card for Jesus."
-After his friend Koen adopted a sister from China, "Oh, Daddy's going on an airplane. Gavy go to and get a sister with him."
-After going to the post office to see about mailing something to our friends in India. "Can we go to India."
"Maybe someday, Gavin."
"Okay, Mom, we'll go in three sleeps. That'll be good, right?"
Brayden is just fun right now. He is so excitable and so helpful. He loves to get people's things for them. He often brings Gavin his blanket, Shawn his ipod and me, my books. If you love it, he wants you to have it (even if he's not supposed to touch it...ie, the ipod, my books, my coffee). He is quite the charmer and has learned to give hugs and kisses, when asked. It's great!
We're having fun, but missing the family time, we so enjoy. Hopefully, we can slow down a bit. We are trying to be careful with our schedules, but also live life to the fullest...it's a careful balance.
On that note...someone is doing the hurt cry in the next room and I need to get us out the door.
Off we go...

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Today

Today, we were running late. No one wanted to get up, get dressed or get going. Today I could not get the CD player to work in the van and Gavin did not understand and would not stop asking for it to be louder. Today my son had a huge melt down at church over a pack of fruit snacks, in front of many moms, and a timeout for disobeying me continually. Today I forgot my coat and there was a torrential downpour that occurred, right when leaving church. The kids fell asleep in the car and Gavin woke up coming inside and cried about everything from taking his shoes off to reading a story, until he finally crawled into bed. Today the kids woke up early. Gavin cried over everything and I mean everything...from there on out. Brayden got into everything while I dealt with the crier. Today my living room floor was covered. Blankets, toys, kitchen utensils...covered.
Today I tried to run errands and thought I would pee my pants because I didn't want to take the kids into a public restroom if not necessary. Today I wiped my nose and Brayden's nose more times than I can count and told Gavin to use a big boy voice more times than I wiped both of our noses combined.
Today Gavin continued to make his brother irate, by slamming his garbage truck into Brayden's dump truck. Today I confiscated the garbage truck and endured a monumental tantrum all through my dinner preparation. Today, while throwing a tantrum, Gavin fell off a chair onto his head and elbow and cried twice as hard as he did for the tantrum. Today Gavin ran to me in tears, stood at my leg and peed all over the floor by my foot.
Today, I tripped over two toys, while holding a pee soaked three year old, on the way to the bathtub. I wrestled two kids through a bath and listened to the microwave timer continue to beep, reminding me dinner was done, but I wasn't going to get to eat it for a good while. Today, I finally sat down to go to the bathroom, looked around at my soaking bathroom floor, covered in pee soaked clothes, a removed diaper, a wet towel and toilet paper Brayden had managed to unravel and spread throughout and I just laughed out loud. Today my husband stopped by the bathroom to ask me if I was okay.
Today I'm okay. I made it. I'm okay.
But I have to admit, I am hoping for a slightly better tomorrow.
"Though sorrows may last for a night, joy comes in the morning!"

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

A proud mom

So, in the last few months, we have had the boys getting various shots at the doctor's office. It's been a bummer and now Gavin is very aware, when we get to the building, there is potential for a shot. On Monday, we had appts. for me and the boys to get the H1N1. Gavin's asthma puts him at great risk, so I bucked up and decided to go in. As we turned in, Gavin says, "Mama, I don't want a shot. Are we getting shots?"
Well, I wasn't going to lie to him. So, I tried to avoid directly answering and gave him all sorts of lines...."Shots can keep you from getting sick." "You're so brave, they don't hurt too bad." So on and so forth. He didn't buy any of it and started crying. Finally, I calmed him down, distracted him and got him into the building. We sat in his Mimi's office (fortunately my mom works there, so at least we don't have to wait in the waiting room and can play with her for a bit...a small perk). Our names got called. I went first. And then came the breakdown.
"NOOOO mamaaaaaaaa!!!!"
I had my mom take Brayden out and it took me and another nurse to hold Gavin down to get one quick prick in the leg. He was so sad and in hysterics. Screaming at the top of his lungs...you would have thought we were breaking his leg instead of giving it a small pinch. I was sad for him, but held it together. When it was all done, he was still sobbing and mom brought Brayden back in for his turn and lifted Gavin to take him out for his lollipop. On the way out, with giant sobs and shaking breath, Gavin says,
"Don't worry Bray, it's okay. It's okay Bray, don't be sad. Be brave, don't be sad."
That's when I started to tear up. My precious boy, amidst his suffering was looking out for his brother! What an encourager and a trooper. I couldn't have been more proud of him if he sat there stoically and took the shot.
I am still so proud and I hope that I too, in the midst of my trials will make an effort to encourage those around me and look beyond myself. Way to go Gavy!!