Target - School - Toilet Paper

I suppose if I'm sticking this picture in, the title should be No Pants - Nebulizer - Spider. Just random stuff in the picture. This was the day the kids were muddy and the boy's hadn't gotten clean pants on when I took it. And there is my big five-year-old school girl! Where do the years go?! I know she was just born last week. It feels like it.

I've been remiss in letting you know that our eldest is going to school...in five days!

Ok. Mostly because we've been a little busy and partly because we didn't know. That she was going in five days, that is. There was an open house on Thursday night which we heard about at the local cafe when we went for lunch. On Thursday.

Sara said she'd mentioned it to me a couple of days ago but neither of us had gotten any information from the school - until Thursday. We just keep shaking our heads about the lack of communication with our school. I'm loving the small town and the small town school, but not so much the lack of communication from the school to the parents. ;) (Oh. They put it in the newspaper! - We didn't pick up the paper this week). Still, newspaper aside, there's much to be desired when parents of first-time school kids aren't notified ahead of time.

So, off we ran to Target today. The drive north is so beautiful. I love it! Our nearest Target is not so near but it's a very pretty area. I'd seen a really cute backpack (Hello Kitty) in the ad a couple of weeks ago. And I wanted to investigate the toilet paper holder thing.

What luck! I got one for under 8 bucks. Not on sale. Not too bad, I think. And a matching towel holder. (I'll get pictures later...once they're hung up). Oh the little things I get excited about lately. But It'll be nice not to have to reach around behind oneself to grab the toilet paper anymore.

Nikayda is so excited! Little does she know that her mother is sitting here feeling more and more apprehensive as the day closes-in. I didn't think I'd be like this. I've never felt sad about her going to school. Not once. Until a day or so ago, and each day as it gets nearer, I feel like dragging my heels in the dirt and holding onto time as long as I can.

But I have to let go. I know. It's part of life. I have to let her go out into this big ol' world and let her grow up. But I so don't want to. I want her to stay young and innocent for awhile longer. But she is so excited. She can hardly wait. I wonder if she'll be able to sleep on Tuesday night. Her first day is next Wednesday. I think all of the kids from church are in her class. And there are a bunch! I'm so happy about that. (That means that Will is in her class too). She'll be going to school with good kids because there are a lot of them from splits as well. Only a couple who aren't. At her table, in her class, there are 5 kids and I think 3 or 4 of them are from church.

When we got home from Target...

Nikayda: Mom. I was so excited on the way home.
Me: Why?
Nikayda: Because I get to go to school!

Two Cute Little Boys

Danny

Will

I'm dedicating this post to my baby brother, Danny, and my nephew, Will. Danny's not much of a "baby" anymore at 11! I can hardly believe he's that old. He was born the winter after I graduated from high school. In fact, he was the baby when I moved away from home and he was, by far, the most difficult to leave behind. He was and is such a ray of sunshine. I used to love taking him with me when I'd run to the store or other errands. Even on trips home while I was single, it was so fun to take him out with me.

Little did we know when we were younger, that we were to be blessed with such a special little guy. (Make that two). :) His birth made such an impact on all of us. It was life changing, really. Something that you can't explain to those who aren't blessed with such a special child. He was the most adorable little baby ever. He has warmed our hearts a million times over with his crazy ways and silly antics. He does everything "Danny-style" as many of you have seen first-hand and on posts on my mom's blog, and you can't help but laugh. Most of the time, that's just what he wants. He loves to make people laugh.

And he loves to tell people that he loves them. He loves everyone. And sometimes, I think he truly means it. He tells his bus driver, the librarian, his teacher, the man walking by on the street, the cashier at the grocery store... Pretty much anyone he meets. At home, he has a habit of telling you that he loves you about 100 times a day. :) Although, sometimes that can drive you crazy, (Lol. ;) you gotta love a kid who's so full of love for everyone. We could all learn from that. ;)

I'm not exaggerating either. I brought him to the store one time and as he was getting his treat from the cashier, he turned around and said,"I love you," as he was saying goodbye. They didn't understand him and I quickly ushered him away. Lol. But he really says that to everyone. :)

I have so many cute pictures of him. Makes me really wish I had a scanner so I could post a bunch of them. The reason I wrote this post is because I was just on a craft blog and discovered there is a whole set of Down Syndrome pictures on Flickr! It was so fun to see so many beautiful little faces. I have such a weak spot for babies in general, but that doesn't even compare to little Down's babies. They're so beautiful!

The kids and I recently met a little boy with Down Syndrome named Phil. He's just gorgeous. I wish I had a picture of him! We met him at the beach, last summer. He didn't remember us but I remembered him because he's so cute. :) We ran into him again at Wal-Mart a couple of months ago. He's so handsome with dark hair and stylish little glasses. And he's really well mannered. He was so cute talking to the kids while I chatted with his mom. She's a school teacher in a nearby town. I sure hope we'll run into them again...maybe at the beach or school. He goes to the same school that Nikayda will, so I'm sure we'll see him again. :)

My original intent was to dedicate this post to Danny but I couldn't do a post about Danny without mentioning Will (5 yrs. old). :) We've been truly blessed with two very special and amazing little boys in our lives! Jon and (my sister) Sara's little Will has Williams Syndrome. It's a similar syndrome to Down's - only different. I'm not really sure how to begin to describe the difference. Either way, a description of the syndrome does not make the boy. They are each their own beautiful person with their own beautiful personalities. I've linked both syndromes to Wikipedia. I don't know which site would be the best as far as descriptions, so I went with that. But at the bottom of each Wikipedia page is a list of sites. :)

I love to see the two of them together. I know mom and dad have some cute pictures of them. (Mom, I wish you'd post one). :) I know there is at least one that I absolutely love. I wish I had a copy. I think it was from when Sar was home one time. From last year...or the year before...?

We never talk much about the fact that Danny has Down Syndrome or that Will has Williams Syndrome. They're just Danny and Will. Just two cute little boys.

So special.

So different.

So the same.

So happy.

So...normal.


Danny and Will. :)

Oh Danny Boy...

The last lines of this song by Conway Twitty are often sung when Dan's around. Sometimes it drives him nuts. ;) Sometimes he loves it. ;)

Will

Another allergen. (Wheat, not will!) ;)

Sara & Jon's little Will was recently diagnosed with Celiac Disease. It means that his body is unable to digest gluten. He is unable to eat anything with wheat, rye or barley. Wheat is found in a tremendous amount of our daily food. From crackers to bread to many kinds of candy to pretzels (one of his favorite foods) and it's in so many other things we eat as well.

He's always gotten tummy aches and he's been to the doctor's several times while trying to figure out what was wrong. I know it's so nice to finally have answers but there will be a period of adjustment, I'm sure, while trying to figure out a whole new diet! And not just for him, but for the whole family.

Edited to add: When he went in this last time, the doc found a ball of carpet, the size of his (the doc's) fist in Will's tummy and removed it. He's been "eating" bits of carpet and threads for a long time (couple of years...??) as a reaction to an iron deficiency. Initially, they were thinking they'd have to remove all of their carpet and chairs with thread on them. But the doctor assured them that with iron this habit should go away on it's own. And our Willy, Willy-Woo will be good as new! :)

Firewood

We've had two evenings out at the house lately sitting around the fire. It's so nice and relaxing...when Carter's good. ;) He was last night but not so much the first night (this weekend). I love sitting out there enjoying the stars and the occasional bat swooping overhead doesn't bother me...too much. And NO neighbors. I love that part so much! The privacy.

I'm hoping for a very productive day tomorrow! Sara just called and offered to take my kids. An offer I couldn't refuse. I'm very hopeful that I'll get a bunch of packing and straightening up done around here.

Just a quick post, popping my head in because I haven't yet today. I hear a small voice down the hallway, "Momma...momma..." That would be Carter waking up from his nap. Aapo fell asleep about an hour ago. So here is to a long night! They sure won't be going to bed early. Might as well head out to the house and roast some hotdogs and enjoy the fire again. The lumber is about endless at the moment so it's pretty handy!

Nikayda went to Rena's (James & Gretchen's) this afternoon. Rena called to have her over for a swim. She was thrilled and so was I. I feel so bad for these kids, they never get out much this summer because I feel like there's so much going on. I'm looking forward to fall and having things settle down a bit but then I have to think about my little girl going to school!!!

Carter's Yesterday

We had the most perfect weather for fireworks!! By the time we left the house it was near 70 and while we were watching it had dropped into the high 60's! Absolutely perfect! There weren't too many bugs either and we all wore long sleeves and pants. The kids enjoyed it and Carter had a ball as he drank about three glasses of rootbeer! (We were parked at the A&W).

Carter woke up this morning doing fabulous! And I mean that. I didn't post about yesterday because my dear mother would've been a nervous wreck. ;)

He woke up yesterday morning with blue lips and blue between his nose & lips. He was sweating profusely and his little head was soaking wet. But his breathing seemed fine. He lay with us for a long time as we all lounged in bed. I was freaking out about the bluish/purple color!! (But Mark thought they looked fine).

So we got up and ate breakfast. Carter sat at the table (instead of his highchair) and ate for the longest time. Nothing unusual there! Then I noticed that his feet were a purple color too. (Mark was off at work by this time). He was acting fine so I decided to massage them and they went back to their normal color but his lips were still purplish. I got him dressed and sent him to play in the bedroom with the kids.

In the meantime, I felt like I was a nervous wreck and called Sara. I felt better after I got off of the phone and went to check on him realizing that he seemed a little quiet (as I couldn't hear him with the other kids), and found him sound asleep on Nikayda's bed. He was perfectly fine! But it was unusual as he'd never done that before. He likes his own bed.

He slept for about five hours! I checked on him many times, needless to say, and each time breathed a sigh of relief as he was fine. At the same time, checking to see if his lips were purple and they had gone back to their normal color. I was on-edge all day. Tense but not too frazzled yet. But by five o'clock when he woke up I was, even though by this point he was perfectly fine!! When Mark got home, I just went in my bedroom and cried (and felt better). I had been so tense all day.

If anyone is sitting here thinking," WHY ON EARTH wouldn't you bring him to Emergency?!" I didn't because we don't have health insurance. And no I would never leave my baby in danger ever, but I've learned to wait-it-out with everything. And I mean, everything. As his breathing was fine, I waited to see how he'd be and thank heaven, this time, he was fine!! I don't run into the doctor's OR the Emergency room unless we absolutely have to. If his breathing had been labored or different in any way, I would've gone in without hesitation.

Now I feel like I kind of lied about saying he was better yesterday, but essentially he was. So, I'm sorry about that! But he really was doing fine by evening. And I didn't want anyone...ahemm...mom....cough...cough...worried sick over it! :) (Although, you probably are even now - after the fact). :)

Now he's back to being himself and we're planning to go to Dave & Shirley's since we didn't get there yesterday. I still need to call there. (I'm putting that in there for their benefit, in case they see this before I get a chance to call). I really would like to visit with Christi and let the kids play - so we'll probably go over there, this afternoon. I need to pick up Albuterol for Carter so hopefully he'll be fine too!

This old house we're renting is filled with mold and I know that's a factor in his allergies. The bathtub is especially bad. I'm constantly bleaching it, which I don't like to do so much either but I do. (The bleaching - it's so bad for everyone!) It'll be interesting to see how he does at our new place. And we're not putting in any carpet because of Carter's (and my) allergies. I'm REALLY hoping that will help too. We won't have air for awhile either. In many ways, I'd like to just have ceiling fans everywhere to cut down on that allergen factor as well. We'll just have to see how it goes. It seems like I've read about air conditioning systems that actually cut down on allergens/pollutants in the air... I'll have to do my research. I'd welcome any feedback here if anyone has any! :)

Happy Belated Birthday!!

Happy Belated Birthday Willy-Woo!!!!
I'd almost think it were summer or something the way that I remember nothing these days. Will turned 5 a week ago Monday (June 18) and I didn't realize this until Friday night! At which time, of course, they were not home because their whole family had gone to Fargo, ND for the night!

And Happy Belated Birthday to my dear Grandpa T.!!! His birthday was yesterday.

Edited to add: And Happy Belated Birthday to Michael (Joe & Christi's). Which would not have been belated had I remembered it when I was posting these other belateds. Oy!* (That's my new word.) I am so not on the ball these days. I tell ya! Lol.

* I find myself saying "oh my gosh" far too much! Not very fond of it... So I've been trying to train myself to say "Oy".

Lars (Maggie & Al's) with Addie in the background. He was so cute! I took a few of him. Every time, he'd get so pumped and say cheese but he'd turn to look at Maggie!

Lori

Lori reaching for the camera.

Will

Jane

NOTE: Sorry family. I realized after I was posting these that I never got one of Paul!

Wildlife

After posting wildlife pictures yesterday, I thought I'd fill you in on a little event that happened around here recently!

So, I'm talking to Sar this morning on the phone and she says,"Did you hear about what happened at Itasca State Park?" (It's about 40 minutes north of here).

I'm like,"No."

Sara,"You didn't hear about what happened the other weekend? Before Memorial weekend?"

Again, I'm like,"No... What?" (Thinking, for sure, something happened to someone we know. Racking my brain. - Suzy* said they just went there but she didn't say anything unusual happened).

Sara,"A guy got attacked by a bobcat! When I heard about it, I thought of you".

(Wasn't that sweet of her? A guy gets attacked and she thought of ME).

Me,"What?! Are you serious?!!"

Sara,"Yeah. He got attacked while he was sleeping

in-HIS-TENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

(Thanks Sar. That really eases my mind. I think my death-like-fear of big cats is ALL GONE! In fact, let's go camping right now.)

*Suzy Moe, my sister-in-law.

Jane & Nikayda

They wanted me to take a picture of them with their Barbies, yesterday. They all turned out kind of blurry. This was the best one.

(The pictures turn out blurry in natural light, with this camera. I've got to learn to really steady my hand!)

My niece Lori.

(Jon & Sara's).

Lori & Nikayda

(Notice their hands - I thought that was so cute).

I watched Sar & Jon's kids on Friday night. It was Mary's birthday (Peterson) and they all went out for dinner to West 40.

Lori Took One Look at Me...

(I have this effect on her. Poor girl!)

My Mom & Dad's Minnesota Grandkids

Top row L-R: Jane & Nikayda

Middle row L-R:

Carter (looks miserable, doesn't he?), Aapo, and Paul

Bottom row: Left - Will, Right - Lori

Lori

This is probably my favorite picture from the day. Isn't she darling?

Jon & Sara's Kids

Jon & Sara's: Will, Jane, Paul and Lori

Lori