We pulled out the "potty buzzer" this week. It's really a bed wetting alarm, but the boys call it a "potty buzzer". When we were potty training the boys we would set a little kitchen timer to go off every 30 minutes, which meant it was time for the boys to go to the bathroom. We refered to that as the "potty buzzer", but oh well.
Adam has still been using pullups at night, but now that he's 5 it's time to stop. He doesn't always wet and when he does it's usually just a small amount, which I don't really understand. It seems that if you can't hold it then it would all come out.
We used the alarm with Derek and it worked really quickly. Derek recognized the alarm as soon as I pulled it out for Adam and he eagerly showed Adam how it works. Adam was excited that now he gets to wear "big boy" underwear to bed.
The device consists of the alarm which looks like a little beeper case that attaches to the neck of his pajamas and then a wire with a sensor is attached to his underwear. When the sensor detects wetness it vibrates and sounds an audible alarm. The idea is that some kids go into such deep sleep that their minds don't get the signal that they need to use the bathroom. The alarm gives immediate feedback and trains the brain to recognize the situation. Here's a link to the alarm and the store where we got it.
I've already been up a couple times this week to meet Adam in the hallway. He gives me that look of "make it stop". Just like the good old infant days.
Friday, April 27, 2007
Shots
Helen took the day off yesterday because she had an appointment with the allergist for an allergy shot and Adam needed another chicken pox shot in order to start kindergarten this Fall. The schools are requiring kids entering a new school to have a second chicken pox shot. Derek will need to have his second when he goes to middle school. Adam also got another shot, but I can't remember what it was.
The nurse asked Helen if it was going to upset Adam to get the second shot since Helen probably only prepared him for one. Helen responded that, actually, she had not told him he was going to get any shots. When the nurse came in to administer the shots, Adam turned and gave Helen that look of "how could you do this to me".
The nurse wanted to give the shots in the arm now that Adam's older since there's typically more fat in the arm and it doesn't hurt as much, but Adam has always gotten them in the leg so he was reluctant. The nurse finally talked him into taking one in the leg and the other in the arm.
He did good and was rewarded at the doctor's office with some cookies, Sprite, stickers, and a little toy. Helen also took him to McDonald's for lunch. Derek was not happy that he was left out.
Helen has been worn out and very tired the past few days. She said that a lot of teachers at her school have been saying the same thing. They've been going to bed really early or crashing on the couch. So it was good that she and Adam were able to take a long nap.
Derek finished 3 days of CRCT testing at school yesterday. He's also been tired from all the testing.
The nurse asked Helen if it was going to upset Adam to get the second shot since Helen probably only prepared him for one. Helen responded that, actually, she had not told him he was going to get any shots. When the nurse came in to administer the shots, Adam turned and gave Helen that look of "how could you do this to me".
The nurse wanted to give the shots in the arm now that Adam's older since there's typically more fat in the arm and it doesn't hurt as much, but Adam has always gotten them in the leg so he was reluctant. The nurse finally talked him into taking one in the leg and the other in the arm.
He did good and was rewarded at the doctor's office with some cookies, Sprite, stickers, and a little toy. Helen also took him to McDonald's for lunch. Derek was not happy that he was left out.
Helen has been worn out and very tired the past few days. She said that a lot of teachers at her school have been saying the same thing. They've been going to bed really early or crashing on the couch. So it was good that she and Adam were able to take a long nap.
Derek finished 3 days of CRCT testing at school yesterday. He's also been tired from all the testing.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Pensacola Beach Trip Report
Saturday
This time of year is so crazy for us. We throw Derek's birthday party the weekend before we leave on our Spring Break beach trip and then have to turn around and get ready for a week at the beach. We return from the beach, unpack, and then throw Adam's birthday party the following weekend. Easter is usually somewhere in there as well.
We tried to do some packing during the week instead of waiting until Friday night. The boys packed their duffle bags, Helen packed the non-perishable food, and I got some stuff ready so we thought we were somewhat ready - wrong! There was some last minute shopping as the boys had outgrown some of their clothes, the lawn and pets had to be dealt with, and there were still many other things that needed to be packed.
I had a tennis match on Saturday morning. It was a great match and I wish I could have had my head more into it because we ended up losing, but my mind was already at the beach. Helen tried her best to stage things for loading into the van, but she was frazzled when I got home because there was still so much to do. Our plan is always to leave around noon, but by the time we had picked out a bunch of movies at Blockbuster and were headed out of town it was almost 5:00.
The first part of the drive was a breeze - a straight shot down I-85 to Montgomery, but then it started to rain. By the time we hit the Florida line it was pouring and visibility was terrible. We stopped at Waffle House for dinner. It was good and we were all stuffed. Helen ate too much and ended up throwing up just before bedtime.
We arrived at the house about midnight eastern time - about a 7 hour trip. We unloaded the car in the rain and got unpacked with everyone's help. It's such a great feeling to walk into vacation digs at the start of a vacation. The boys love to go scout their new room and see their relatives.
My sister Kelley and her boyfriend Paul were down from Alaska. They drove from Atlanta with my brother Jason and his wife Laine and spent the night around Tallahassee. They checked out that area Saturday morning before driving over to Pensacola.
Jason, Laine, Kelley, and Paul are always nice enough to do the initial grocery shopping so the house is stocked with food when we arrive. When they checked out and the bill came to almost $700, Jason asked the cashier if it was a record and the cashier said it wasn't even close. I guess there's some pretty big grocery bills for people at the beach.
Sunday
The storm had pretty much cleared by Sunday morning, but it was still chilly and windy and the ocean was all churned up. We went on a run and the boys rode their scooters. The sidewalks were messed up to the west as the roads are being rebuilt after the recent hurricanes, but were fine to the east. The east was desolate with miles of dunes and no development. The road led to a national seashore area that's closed since the hurricanes. The boys had fun climbing on the huge dunes that weren't in protected areas.
After my run I was eager to do a little body surfing. I was worried about the rough water, so I went in front of the Portofino where there were other people just in case.
However, we were a little more apprehensive after the lifeguard had to make a rescue about 50 yards down the beach from us. It was very surreal. The person in trouble was a healthy looking college age guy. He had friends around and no one recognized he was in trouble, but the lifeguard who ran back to his truck and grabbed his rescue buoy and swam out to pull the guy in. Evidently, the guy thought he was ok, but quickly got in trouble in the rough surf. The lifeguard called the paramedics to check the guy out because of something called "parking lot" drowning where, after a rescue, a person can seem fine, but water gets in the lungs and the person can't get enough oxygen. They appear to be fine and then collapse, so the paramedics have to actually measure their breathing.
My sister, Katie, brought some crab casserole and venison enchiladas that a friend from Baton Rouge made for us. It was very good.
Click To Play (1:15)
On Wednesday morning, the guys (and Laine) woke up early and went fishing. A storm rolled in quickly about daybreak and just about blew us off the pier. We caught some spanish mackerel and saw a number of pompano being pulled in the morning. Helen and the kids arrived to see a guy at the end of the pier haul in a 60lb cobia.
Click To Play (:45)
Kelley and Paul got a kick out of the Wake Island exhibit since that's where they met while working for some companies doing environmental work. Paul regaled us with his fishing tales. He said he couldn't get excited about the fish we were catching yesterday since on Wake they regularly haul in a boatload of 80lb ahi tuna and ono. He said you have to reel them in fast, though, otherwise the sharks will get them. He said it's not uncommon to reel in just a head after the sharks take their share.
We were stunned this week when one of the Blue Angels crashed at an air show. It was deja vu for us as we had just visited the NASA museum in Cape Canaveral a few years back as they were preparing for the launch of the shuttle Columbia which disintegrated on reentry.
Friday
It was chilly again. We went to the beach, but it was too cold to really enjoy it. The water and beach were still beautiful. Kelley, Laine, and Katie got in for a while and said it was very nice, but took some getting used to.
We did our traditional photo shoot at sunset and then had a birthday party for Adam and Derek. Nini tried to trick them with a single present of some shirts. They had a hard time not showing their disappointment, but it made it all that much more enjoyable when everyone brought the real presents.
We took one last ride along the beach and Adam cried that he will miss the beach. We all will...until next year.
This time of year is so crazy for us. We throw Derek's birthday party the weekend before we leave on our Spring Break beach trip and then have to turn around and get ready for a week at the beach. We return from the beach, unpack, and then throw Adam's birthday party the following weekend. Easter is usually somewhere in there as well.
We tried to do some packing during the week instead of waiting until Friday night. The boys packed their duffle bags, Helen packed the non-perishable food, and I got some stuff ready so we thought we were somewhat ready - wrong! There was some last minute shopping as the boys had outgrown some of their clothes, the lawn and pets had to be dealt with, and there were still many other things that needed to be packed.
I had a tennis match on Saturday morning. It was a great match and I wish I could have had my head more into it because we ended up losing, but my mind was already at the beach. Helen tried her best to stage things for loading into the van, but she was frazzled when I got home because there was still so much to do. Our plan is always to leave around noon, but by the time we had picked out a bunch of movies at Blockbuster and were headed out of town it was almost 5:00.
The first part of the drive was a breeze - a straight shot down I-85 to Montgomery, but then it started to rain. By the time we hit the Florida line it was pouring and visibility was terrible. We stopped at Waffle House for dinner. It was good and we were all stuffed. Helen ate too much and ended up throwing up just before bedtime.
We arrived at the house about midnight eastern time - about a 7 hour trip. We unloaded the car in the rain and got unpacked with everyone's help. It's such a great feeling to walk into vacation digs at the start of a vacation. The boys love to go scout their new room and see their relatives.
My sister Kelley and her boyfriend Paul were down from Alaska. They drove from Atlanta with my brother Jason and his wife Laine and spent the night around Tallahassee. They checked out that area Saturday morning before driving over to Pensacola.
Jason, Laine, Kelley, and Paul are always nice enough to do the initial grocery shopping so the house is stocked with food when we arrive. When they checked out and the bill came to almost $700, Jason asked the cashier if it was a record and the cashier said it wasn't even close. I guess there's some pretty big grocery bills for people at the beach.
Sunday
The storm had pretty much cleared by Sunday morning, but it was still chilly and windy and the ocean was all churned up. We went on a run and the boys rode their scooters. The sidewalks were messed up to the west as the roads are being rebuilt after the recent hurricanes, but were fine to the east. The east was desolate with miles of dunes and no development. The road led to a national seashore area that's closed since the hurricanes. The boys had fun climbing on the huge dunes that weren't in protected areas.
After my run I was eager to do a little body surfing. I was worried about the rough water, so I went in front of the Portofino where there were other people just in case.
Monday
The skies were mostly clear, but it was still windy and the surf was still somewhat rough. There were red flags out and the lifeguards were driving up and down the beach telling anyone, except for surfers, not to go into the ocean because of riptides. People, including us, would still go in whenever the lifeguard drove off. We were having a blast body surfing.However, we were a little more apprehensive after the lifeguard had to make a rescue about 50 yards down the beach from us. It was very surreal. The person in trouble was a healthy looking college age guy. He had friends around and no one recognized he was in trouble, but the lifeguard who ran back to his truck and grabbed his rescue buoy and swam out to pull the guy in. Evidently, the guy thought he was ok, but quickly got in trouble in the rough surf. The lifeguard called the paramedics to check the guy out because of something called "parking lot" drowning where, after a rescue, a person can seem fine, but water gets in the lungs and the person can't get enough oxygen. They appear to be fine and then collapse, so the paramedics have to actually measure their breathing.
My sister, Katie, brought some crab casserole and venison enchiladas that a friend from Baton Rouge made for us. It was very good.
Click To Play (1:15)
Tuesday-Wednesday
The weather cleared, the temperatures warmed up, and the surf died down. We spent a lot of time at the beach. At the house, scrabble seemed to be the game of choice, Laine worked on some art school assignments, and the boys had their pick of people to rope into playing games with them. My Mom (Nini to the kids) spoiled us with a big southern cooking feast: fried chicken, country fried steak, mashed potatoes, etc and a pineapple cake for dessert. Helen added to the eatfest with chocolate chip cookies and carrot cake.On Wednesday morning, the guys (and Laine) woke up early and went fishing. A storm rolled in quickly about daybreak and just about blew us off the pier. We caught some spanish mackerel and saw a number of pompano being pulled in the morning. Helen and the kids arrived to see a guy at the end of the pier haul in a 60lb cobia.
Click To Play (:45)
Thursday
The weather turned colder on Thursday so we took the opportunity to head into Pensacola and check out some things. One group went to the arts district and toured some museums. We went with another group to Naval Air Museum, which is located on the naval air base that is the home base for the Blue Angels. We were disappointed that we missed the practice flights that are done on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Everyone was impressed with the museum. I was expecting a few planes and thought it would be ok, but the museum blew me away! I wish I had a few days by myself to take it all in.Kelley and Paul got a kick out of the Wake Island exhibit since that's where they met while working for some companies doing environmental work. Paul regaled us with his fishing tales. He said he couldn't get excited about the fish we were catching yesterday since on Wake they regularly haul in a boatload of 80lb ahi tuna and ono. He said you have to reel them in fast, though, otherwise the sharks will get them. He said it's not uncommon to reel in just a head after the sharks take their share.
We were stunned this week when one of the Blue Angels crashed at an air show. It was deja vu for us as we had just visited the NASA museum in Cape Canaveral a few years back as they were preparing for the launch of the shuttle Columbia which disintegrated on reentry.
FridayIt was chilly again. We went to the beach, but it was too cold to really enjoy it. The water and beach were still beautiful. Kelley, Laine, and Katie got in for a while and said it was very nice, but took some getting used to.
We did our traditional photo shoot at sunset and then had a birthday party for Adam and Derek. Nini tried to trick them with a single present of some shirts. They had a hard time not showing their disappointment, but it made it all that much more enjoyable when everyone brought the real presents.
Saturday
It was nice that everyone stayed and helped us clean the house and get it ready for checkout. It's such a big production for us with the kids and all the stuff we have.We took one last ride along the beach and Adam cried that he will miss the beach. We all will...until next year.
Monday, April 23, 2007
Weekend Update
Derek's Japanese Table
Ready for Starnival
On Friday, Derek's class had Japanese Day to celebrate the conclusion of their study of Japanese culture. Each of the students made a Japanese style table to sit at while they ate all the goodies that the parents brought in. Adam's school had a carnival and the boys had fun jumping around in the moonwalk and throwing pies into the faces of the teachers.
At home, Helen finished mowing the lawn while the boys played outside with their friends. The lawn was a 3 day project: front on Wednesday, side on Thursday, and back on Friday. Helen and I stayed up and watched "Aeon Flux". It was different so I liked it. Helen thought it was weird and wasn't so sure. She said, "there's something to be said for a nice simple chick flick."
On Saturday, I had a tennis match and the boys had baseball games. At least the baseball games were back to back and the first one didn't start until 11:30. As the tennis team captain, I had to hang around until all the matches were done and didn't get to see Adam's game. I tried to pass the captain thing off this season after doing it for 3 years, but it didn't take so I got stuck with it again. Hanging around wasn't that bad though since I won my match, it was such a pretty day, and the other team had a nice spread of food and plenty of beer.
Helen said that Adam did a great job at baseball and hustled all around the field like he usually does. She couldn't break down the game specifics as I would have liked, but I got the gist.
I arrived at Derek's game just in time to see him hit a triple. When the next batter drove Derek in, I walked over to the dugout to see Derek. He had a huge smile and jumped into my arms. He was very proud. I've been working with the boys on their hitting technique trying to get them to keep their head still and pull their hands through the hitting zone first in order to get more power. It's great to see them realizing the rewards of their effort.
We stopped by home for a quick change and then I took the boys up to the school for Derek's school carnival. Helen changed into her running clothes and ran over to meet us. We saw lots of friends and the boys had a blast on all the super sized inflatables and, to top it off, they got to have Chikfila sandwiches and Sprite.
After the carnival we went home and chilled for a while. The boys were wired and kept wanting to do active things, but we made them sit and play quietly. For dinner, we did Adam's birthday choice of sushi. Helen said she was looking forward to it all week. We saw some neighbors at the restaurant. They were surprised that we were "open" enough to eat sushi. We were thinking the same about them, but didn't say anything. It was a nice experience and we were stuffed. We had planned on grocery shopping afterwards, but made the right choice and headed home.
The boys sleep together on weekends. Derek always reads to Adam while they're waiting for us to come and read. Lately, Adam's been picking the book of Curious George stories that we got him for his birthday. We're starting to work with Adam on reading. He follows along with his finger while we read. We expect him to read some of the words like "I, a, and, the" on his own. Derek is still working on "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire".
Helen and I stayed up and I showed her some of the Disney stuff I've been researching for our upcoming trip. They have nice virtual tours of all the resorts so you can get a feel for them. We're staying at Coronado Springs based on recommendations from MouseSavers.com. We're starting to get excited about the trip. I printed off a bunch of material and read a little each night.
On Sunday, it was nice to have a day where we didn't have to go anywhere. I love days like that because I can do one of my favorite things - get organized. In general, I find organizing things very rewarding and therapeutic, but that's when I'm organizing my stuff - not everybody elses. I worked with Derek for quite a while to organize the clothes and toys in his room while periodically following up with Adam to get his stuff organized. The idea of not keeping things ordered is so foreign to me that sometimes I blow a breaker after the umpteenth time of telling Adam, Derek, (and Helen) to put their stuff where it belongs. Helen was very good and nicely worked me through my meltdown.
Helen went on a long run and the boys rode bikes along with her. Afterwards, the boys took a long and very needed nap. I did a sweep, vacuum, mop while Helen went grocery shopping. For dinner, Helen made some delicious fish tacos with mango and black bean dressing. She made them for the first time at the beach a few weeks ago. They were very yummy.
I finished yet another Harlen Coben novel, "Deal Breaker". Helen had checked out a bunch of Coben novels for our beach trip, so I'll dig into another one tonight.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Adam's Birthday Weekend
Note: The Blogger site seems to be experiencing some technical difficulties and some of the images are displaying as red x's.
On Friday night Helen was looking forward to getting in bed at a reasonable hour, but I sucked her into watching "The Departed". It was a good movie, but she was not happy about staying up so late.
On Saturday I had a tennis match and the boys had baseball games. Adam had a morning game and Derek an afternoon game. I was able to watch the last half of Adam's game before I had to leave to play golf with my Dad, brother, and Uncle. After golf they gave me a poker lesson since, for various reasons, I've never really gotten into poker. Luckily, the lesson only cost me a minimal amount of money.
Helen and the boys went to Krystal and grocery shopping after Derek's baseball game. I made it home in time to put the boys to bed. We were all exhausted.
On Sunday, the cold weather blew in for Adam's "Power Ranger" birthday party. We sent out 8 invitations and only got 2 RSVP's, so we weren't sure how many kids were going to show up. Luckily, only Nanna and Poppy and 3 other families (the Morgan's, O'Callahan's, and Fains) showed, otherwise it would have been too crowded since everyone stayed inside because of the cold weather.
After everyone left and we cleaned up we headed out for Adam's birthday dinner of sushi, but the restaurant was closed so we went to Ted's Montana Grill instead. It was alright, but not worth the $55 bill. We should have just gone to Burger King like Derek wanted.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Kids Say The Darndest Things
Adam insisting that his "real" birthday is not today made me remember another funny story. Ever since the boys were very young we've had a tradition where they take their bath and then holler down for me to come up and "chase" them. They put their hooded bath towels on their head, grab some type of weapon like a plastic sword, and I chase them around as they run screaming naked all over the upstairs.
Earlier this year Adam and I were walking back from taking Derek to the bus stop and I mentioned that it was a pretty day to play outside. I asked Adam what he and his preschool classmates have been playing lately when they go outside. He said he couldn't remember, so I got more specific and went through a list of things that I asked him if they played. I finally got around to "chase" to which he responded that, "his teacher won't let him take his clothes off". I didn't quite understand what that had to do with the question. Finally, after some more digging I realized that Adam thought all games of chase involved running around naked like he does when we play chase after bath time.
Helen and I had a laugh at that one and then wondered how exactly he figured out that he can't take his clothes off at school. We pictured one of his friends asking him if he wanted to play chase and then Adam starting to disrobe before his teacher asked him just what the heck he thought he was doing.
Earlier this year Adam and I were walking back from taking Derek to the bus stop and I mentioned that it was a pretty day to play outside. I asked Adam what he and his preschool classmates have been playing lately when they go outside. He said he couldn't remember, so I got more specific and went through a list of things that I asked him if they played. I finally got around to "chase" to which he responded that, "his teacher won't let him take his clothes off". I didn't quite understand what that had to do with the question. Finally, after some more digging I realized that Adam thought all games of chase involved running around naked like he does when we play chase after bath time.
Helen and I had a laugh at that one and then wondered how exactly he figured out that he can't take his clothes off at school. We pictured one of his friends asking him if he wanted to play chase and then Adam starting to disrobe before his teacher asked him just what the heck he thought he was doing.
Adam Is 5 Today!
Clothes don't count as a presentToday is Adam's 5th birthday. He's been on a high all week, but he was disappointed when he found out that today is not his "real" birthday. It took me a while to figure out that he thinks his "real" birthday is when there's a party and his friends come over. That's not until Sunday so today was a little bit of a letdown for him. Aunt Chris called tonight to wish Adam a happy birthday and she also did a real nice birthday tribute to Adam on her blog.
We wrapped presents and decorated after Adam went to bed last night so he would be surprised when he came downstairs this morning. When we went upstairs to bed Adam was still awake and admitted that he had snuck downstairs and saw us wrapping presents "but he didn't see anything".
Adam was excited that he got to bring cupcakes to school to celebrate. His classmates started dancing around chanting "cupcakes...cupcakes" as soon as we walked into his classroom.
Helen took Derek shopping for Adam's present after school. Derek took the opportunity to exchange some Lego sets he got as birthday gifts for sets that he doesn't already have. He also bought a nerf gun game with some of his birthday money. He and Adam spent the early evening shooting each other and us. I finally took the guns away "for a week" after Derek pegged Adam in the forehead at close range after we told them to quit shooting each other in the face.
Adam picked "sushi" for his birthday dinner, but didn't want to eat it tonight since tonight is not his "real" birthday. So, instead he wanted grilled ham and cheese sandwiches, apple sauce, and peas and carrots.
Helen baked a cake and Adam helped her decorate it. After dinner we ate cake and then opened presents. Adam got some clothes (boo), Legos, a swim mask, a Curious George book, an Air Hog airplane, a tv\video game controller that lets you play the arcade classics: Ms PacMan, Galaga, Pole Position, and a few others.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
We're Back From The Beach
We're back from Pensacola Beach. We had a great time and had some nice beach days in between the rain and the cold. We were a little surprised to return home to such cold temperatures and even more surprised to find out our downstairs furnace was not working (the house temp was 49)!
After the long trip we've been occupied with unpacking, cleaning, yardwork, etc. Then throw in the broken furnace, Easter, and trying to visit with Kelley and Paul before they head back to Anchorage later today. Hopefully I'll find some time soon to catch up on my blogging.
After the long trip we've been occupied with unpacking, cleaning, yardwork, etc. Then throw in the broken furnace, Easter, and trying to visit with Kelley and Paul before they head back to Anchorage later today. Hopefully I'll find some time soon to catch up on my blogging.
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