A Day with Sidewalk Chalk!

Dennis was in the hospital - so the kids were making cards for him.  I will update on Dennis in another blog.

 The boys making silly faces for a picture...   LOL...

 We went outside and were playing with the sidewalk chalk.  I made Kaedyn a track for his cars to get him outside for awhile since it was nice out...  

 Nathan next to the flower I made him....

Noah making his own track....

Kaedyn - aka Captain Underpants (which you'll see in a minute) ... playing on the track ....

 if you are wondering, it's underwear with game controllers on them...

Noah smiling ....

Calahan doing what he does best... LOL...

Haircuts!!

So today we did some haircuts.  All four boys got haircuts ...  much ... needed ... cuts!

Nathan jumped right into the chair.  You'd expect him to react since he's got Autism and Sensory Processing Disorder - but he jumps right on up!

Before & After...

Kaedyn on the other hand.... he cannot stand change.  You get him new shoes, he rejects and screams and refuses to wear them - but once you get him to wear them one day - he's fine.  If you even mention haircut he'll start stressing and being angry and crying and carrying on ...  You can mention it prior in hopes that it'll help prepare him, but no ... not at all.

Well today ....  my mom reminded me of it, and I just said - okay - we're going to just get it done.  So we did Nathan first, and Kaedyn fretted the whole time -even though my intention with Nathan going first was to show him it didn't hurt, it wasn't scary....  but... didn't work that way.  I got him in the chair and he's screaming and crying and I take the clippers and I let him feel the vibration and that didn't help either.... so I got him situated and I made the first run with the clippers - and Cal shouts "His nose is bleeding!" Then he tells me I have to stop.  After he's all situated with paper towel to his nose, I keep going.  I can't stop - he's just going to stress more!  And it may get to the point where he's fighting so hard I can't cut it.  So they are holding the paper towel and I just keep cutting.  We get it done, and it doesn't look bad at all.  And funny enough - his nose stops bleeding the second I'm done cutting.  Stress nose bleed anyone?

Calahan and Noah got their hair cuts too.... but I didn't get real good before pictures.  So here are a couple pics of all four kids :)  

Happy St. Patrick's Day

So I'm Irish ....  over a quarter Irish.  My kids just as Irish as I am, and Dennis is right around a quarter too.  So, St. Patrick's Day is a must in our house.  We all wear our green - so we don't get pinched.  And we have a good time - minus the drinking.  A lot of people celebrate St. Patty's Day so they have an excuse to drink and party.  We just have fun.   So we don't decorate for St. Patrick's day cuz our Irish is up all year round!

Green goes in the cooking too!

Green Kool-aid.

 Usually we have the traditional Corned Beef and Cabbage - but no one really eats it but Dennis and I - so we decided this year he'd make Shepard's Pie with green mashed potatoes...

This is before putting the potatoes on ....

 The side view....

Dumping the green potatoes on ....

The bowl o' green....

Finished product....

This is going in meh bellah ....

Happy Valentine's Day!

We're not doing much - but ...  I do have a few things to share.

 We made some handprint "trees" ...    Noah and his

 Nathan and his

 Captain Underpants and his...

 They came home with a few things on Valentine's Day ...

 Nathan made the one above and below.  His classmate valentines were in the giant heart.

 Kaedyn made an envelope ...

 The wall....

And Calahan met up with his girlfriend Alana.  He gave her a ring, a necklace & earrings ... a bear...

And here they are together....

Becoming a Ginger....

So every once in awhile I get this need for a change....   so I either cut my hair or give myself highlights.... but this time....  I just wanted a change...  so I picked up some red hair dye....

Here is my before pic ..... I actually really like this pic... LOL

Smothered in hair dye...

 After (hair is still wet)

 Next day ....

A few days later .....

I like it :)

Happy 11th Birthday Noah!

Once upon a time, I got pregnant.  I had already suffered five miscarriages, so I wasn't oblivious in my thinking that nothing bad could happen, but I never expected what I experienced.  I was so excited, I had wanted another baby for so long and had fought hard for one.  But it was apparent, early on ... that things just weren't .... normal ...

Soon we found out that the baby I carried had a rare genetic disorder called MOSAIC TRISOMY 16.

I was told, "he'll die in utero, if he doesn't he'll die shortly after birth.... and if by some miracle he comes home, he'll be so mentally and physically delayed, it won't be worth it."

Imagine how heartbreaking that was.  Especially hearing your child would die.  No doubts about it.  That doctor sat there and gave the baby I fought for a death sentence.

He was born alive, all ONE POUND TWELVE POINT TWO OUNCES of him.

There was barely anything to him.

He didn't die....  infact, he started to breath on his own after only 40 hours and doctors would stop and wonder why this tiny baby wasn't on a vent.  But he beat all the odds he was given.  Sure, he had medical issues going on... he's been hospitalized.  He almost died in 2007.  ALMOST.  He has grown and he has thrived, he learns at his own rate and he is amazing.

Today.........  he turns ELEVEN!

For Noah's birthday he wanted to hang out in his PJ's all day and have cake and Chinese food ... and open gifts.  :)

So that's what we did.  We got Chinese for lunch, and he got to open his gifts.  He got some World of Warcraft Legos, a book, a movie, WOW subscription .... and cake!

We celebrate his life EVERY YEAR!  So little is known about MT16 and we never know what could happen.  My miracle is 11 today ....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NOAH!!!