Tagged!

Beth from Fragile What!? tagged me for this "First Born." How appropriate to be talking about Chelsey!

1. WAS YOUR FIRST PREGNANCY PLANNED? yes
2. WERE YOU MARRIED AT THE TIME? no
3. WHAT WERE YOUR REACTIONS? excited, and then wow, what have I done!
4. WAS ABORTION AN OPTION FOR YOU? absolutely not
5. HOW OLD WERE YOU? 18
6. HOW DID YOU FIND OUT YOU WERE PREGNANT? I was in the A.F. at the time in California; it was soon after returning from home from Christmas break......1 day late and I went to their clinic for the blood test
7. WHO DID YOU TELL FIRST? The people that were around me
8. DID YOU WANT TO FIND OUT THE SEX? kind of, but John definitely did not, so I decided I wouldn't
9. DUE DATE? September 17
10. DID YOU HAVE MORNING SICKNESS? only once very early in the pregnancy....I ate some jelly beans very early in the morning and they came right back up
11. WHAT DID YOU CRAVE? food
12. WHO/WHAT IRRITATED YOU THE MOST? hot weather
13. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CHILD’S SEX? girl
14. DID YOU WISH YOU HAD THE OPPOSITE SEX OF WHAT YOU WERE GETTING? I don't remember
15. HOW MANY POUNDS DID YOU GAIN THROUGHOUT YOUR PREGNANCY? 50 lbs
16. DID YOU HAVE A BABY SHOWER? Yes
17. WAS IT A SURPRISE OR DID YOU KNOW? A surprise (I don't like surprises.....my husband just shaved his goatee without telling me first.....not happy) (he hasn't had it very long and I wasn't a fan of it at first, but now I am------too late)
18. DID YOU HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS DURING YOUR PREGNANCY? No
19. WHERE DID YOU GIVE BIRTH? Connecticut
20. HOW MANY HOURS WERE YOU IN LABOR? contractions started exactly at mid-night, about 5 minutes after I had fallen asleep....we got to the hospital around 9:30 a.m., and she was born at 12:23 p.m.
21. WHO DROVE YOU TO THE HOSPITAL? John
22. WHO WATCHED YOU GIVE BIRTH? John, doctor, and a couple of nurses
23. WAS IT NATURAL OR C-SECTION? 100% all natural
24. DID YOU TAKE MEDICINE TO EASE THE PAIN? no
25. HOW MUCH DID YOUR CHILD WEIGH? 7lbs 14 oz
26. WHEN WAS YOUR CHILD ACTUALLY BORN? September 21, 1989
27. WHAT DID YOU NAME HIM/HER? Chelsey ........we picked her name out a couple of weeks before she was born.....we were watching On Golden Pond, and John really wanted to use the name Chelsey----I agreed because I was tired of playing the name game. Before that, it was Jessica (Joshua for a boy). It took me a few months to get used to her name.

The Graduate and The 2 Year Old

A "For Sale" sign went in our yard on Thursday, Evan's birthday was on Friday, and Chelsey graduated on Saturday! We had family visiting to see Chelsey during this momentous time of her life. The past couple of weeks, I haven't had much sleep. On Sunday, my throat started to feel sore, and it's now turned into a nasty cold. Imagine that. At least it held off until everything was over so that I was able to enjoy it all. I say enjoy, which I did, but of course I stressed a lot too. I put out the welcome mat for this virus!

My Baby!

My big girl! (but still my baby...sorry Chel!)

Passing by while heading to her seat below

Matt and Kyle, taking it all in, hoping and praying that they never have to do this! :)

The graduates


Standing with the Graduate (John forgot to smile :)




"Please stop taking my picture"

Yay Chelsey!


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The Birthday Boy



Yum!

His favorite new toy. He especially likes to bring the ball to someone so that they can take a shot!

I'm 2!


Enough procrastinating. There are cabinets and closets calling my name...

Awards and Words

This past week, John, Chelsey, and I were invited to a dinner at the high school for the "Top Ten Banquet." This is an awards night where the top ten in the class are recognized, as well as the top student in each department and the class officers. Chelsey received her award for the top student in music. Yay for Chelsey! She was in band from 6th grade through 11th grade (she plays the flute), and then for her senior year, she decided to take choir instead. That switch was a great idea; she has an awesome voice! She also can play the piano. We got a letter in the mail yesterday inviting us to the Senior Honor Night program where she will be receiving another award! I'm not sure how this night is different from the other one. We'll have to wait and see :)

Chelsey and John

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Last night, Evan and I were looking through the photos on my camera. There were several of him in his crib playing "crib soccer." This is a game that John started with him several months ago. John would say, "One, two, three, kick!" and kick the ball in. Evan would then laugh, get the ball, and throw it back out after John would slowly say, "Throw the ball." For a couple of weeks, Evan was saying, "Dough duh ball," but we haven't heard that in a couple of months, and it's probably been a few weeks since the game has been played. Well last night, John joined us while we were looking at the pictures. Evan, with an extreme look of concentration, looked at John and slowly said, "Drough duh ball." It was so cute! He said it a few times, and even though it was close to bedtime (and this game winds him up a bit), we just had to play crib soccer! He didn't say it while we were playing, but he was having a good laugh. I'm guessing it will be a while before we hear it again ): The only consistent words he has are "ball," "uice," and "mommmmm," and even those aren't daily. Sometimes, he'll say something that makes one think, 'Did he just say that?' It's kind of random.

The Diaper Dilema

From a very young age (I don't know, 6 months or younger), Evan learned that if he put his fingers near the tape on his diaper and wiggled them around, he could get his diaper undone. A few months ago, he perfected the technique.

It doesn't matter if he has a onesie on; he just reaches his hands through the bottom of them, peels back the tape, and slides the diaper though the leg opening. It happens during the day, and at bedtime. It's a guarantee that I'll have to put the diaper back on him at least once after I put him to bed. He's usually awake for at least 45 minutes after he goes to bed---just playing....and taking off his diaper. So, while he is still awake, I go and put it back on. Chances are, it will be back off soon after I leave the room. Sometimes, it's not a problem--he stays dry. But of course other times, we have to do a complete change of sheets and blankets.

He has one pair of overalls that he wears during the day that he can't get his hands down to maneuver the diaper (he wears them frequently). I'm going to have to look harder for pajamas that are difficult to get into. I don't like the one piece ones with the feet on the bottom. I used them for my older three, but chose not to for Evan because several years ago, John bought some for me. My feet felt so trapped in them, and most of those are polyester, and personally, I don't like to sleep in sweaty polyester. So, I've decided, neither does Evan! Many stores have the two piece summer pj's out now; those would be like an open invitation for him to take off his diaper. We need short sleeve, long pants, one piece, that don't cover the feet. Not an easy find. I've considered duct tape for the diaper, but I'm afraid his fingers would get stuck in the icky, sticky tape.

He has gone on the potty twice, but I just don't think he's ready to be potty trained. He'll be 2 on the 23rd of this month. I'll continue to put him on the potty occasionally, but it's definitely not something I'm going to push.

Important Dish Soap Information

If by chance you happen to spill an entire bottle of dish soap....say, if it falls off of the top of the shaking washing machine, (where it shouldn't have been in the first place), breaks, and you don't notice until it is all over the floor, don't do what I did.

My method of cleaning the mess (not recommended): Take two bath towels, wipe well, and then clean remaining soap with paper towels. Take the two towels used in the clean-up and rinse in the sink, and think to yourself after a couple of minutes of rinsing, 'I don't feel like dealing with this, I'll just throw them into the washing machine; it won't be that bad' (Important note: our washing machine is an HE; not a lot of soap required for washing). After washer finishes rinsing and spinning, open door and remove an unimaginable amount of suds into a large bowl or bucket (many times), and put into sink. Repeat this process several times, stopping the cycle periodically to remove suds.

Recommended procedure: I don't know, maybe rinse the towels in the bathtub instead?

Benefit of the first procedure: Smiles on the kids' faces

How sad: The soap that I bought was one that was supposedly better for the environment. (I wasted sooo much water in the clean-up process)-:

Celebrate good times, come on!

Chelsey got a letter in the mail today (in a large envelope) from her college of choice.....Indiana Wesleyan University. She wasn't home yet, and I, of course, couldn't open her mail. But, it was a fairly thin envelope, and when held up to the light...... Let's just say, I got my camera ready for when she returned home :)

I was trying to play it cool, but she wanted to take the letter up to her room before opening it! I convinced her to stop on the stairs to open it. You know, as a concerned parent, I just wanted to know what else Chelsey needed to do for the application process ;)

Her reaction!

Proud mommy with amazing daughter!

Mother Daughter Luncheon

Yesterday, Chelsey and I went to the mother daughter luncheon at church. The theme was "quilts." After we ate, we listened to a few speakers. One explained how quilts are much like our lives. Some of the colors we use in a quilt are there only because they complement the other pieces; we may not really care for the color. But each piece plays an important part of making the quilt complete. Just like in our lives, we go through the good times and the bad, but it's all part of God piecing the quilt of our life together; all the pieces fit together. The final speaker was a woman in her 20s who had lost her husband 5 years ago in a farming accident. It was amazing how she was able to "hold it together" while telling her life story (my eyes were welling up); what a strong and inspiring person.

Update on the quilt I'm making for Chel: I finally picked out the material, and it's in the washing machine waiting to be put into the drier. I need to pick up the pace! OK, in my defence, I had to go out of town to get the material; I couldn't find the "right" material here. Quicker progress should taking place from now on. (Unless, of course, I get too busy preparing for her graduation ;)

Yesterday afternoon, Chelsey and I did a little shopping. Let it be known, I don't like shopping, especially on the weekends. I'm not a crowded mall kind of person. We were on a mission to find a white dress for graduation---not an easy task. After trying a few on, and walking through several stores searching for white dresses, we found one in the LAST store that we went to....Sears. It turned out to be a good find all around, because Sears was having their 75% off sale on already marked down items. I was able to get a few shirts and sweaters out of the trip :)

Did You Feel That?

An earthquake....in Indiana? Actually, it was centered in S.E. Illinois, but it woke me up (around 5:30) here in central Indiana. At first, I thought John was up and making too much noise; the handles on the dressers in the bedroom were rattling, and there was a general feeling of moving---as if he was stomping on the floor. I said, "What is all that noise??" My thoughts were, 'It's happening again. I can sleep in a little today (and I could have used that--Evan was up a lot last night), and something is waking me up!' John said, "I think that was an earthquake." He went out to the living room, and I settled back in bed, hoping to get some more sleep. John came back in a minute later and said that the news reported that there was an earthquake. I, of course, felt the need to watch the reports, which meant sleeping was over. Unreal, a day off, and once again, I'm up a half hour earlier than usual!

We've lived here for 16 years. We both grew up in Connecticut where there aren't a lot of natural disaster worries. When we moved here, I was terrified of the tornado reputation of the area. I'm still worried about them, but my heart doesn't start racing anymore at the first sign of a thunderstorm. Now earthquakes? I know, there's a good chance that it won't happen again for another decade or even longer. I just have to keep telling myself that :0

Golf

A three day weekend...hooray! There's no school tomorrow; it's a weather make-up day that we don't need.

Evan did fairly well at story time this week. He didn't exactly sit still, but there was no whining. While we were sitting in our circle when the books were being read, he was standing on my lap and moving all around. But at one point, he quietly sat on his bottom, and I was thinking, 'This is good.' He then scooted over to the other side of the circle to a mom and her little girl. I was then thinking, 'Wow, he wants to hang out with the little girl.' Well, not exactly. When he reached the pair, he stretched out his arm and little pointer finger and pointed to the mother's shirt.... a big picture of Mickey Mouse. I don't know how I didn't see that coming. He quickly retreated back to me.

John is at his golf league match---the first one of the season. They are weekly, with the occasional tournament on the weekend. When I married John (almost 19 years ago), I had more of a love for sports than he did, but I had zero interest in golf. I couldn't understand how someone could not only go golfing but watching it on TV? You'd got to be kidding me! It didn't take long, though, until I started watching it. I began by picking a guy that was left handed, because if I were to ever golf, that would be how I would do it! Phil Mickelson.....John would laugh, sort of at me, every time Phil would "choke," which was a fairly common event. But I stuck with Phil, and I cried with Phil when he won The Masters a few years ago. What an amazing event!
As the kids got older, I was able to go golfing with John, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. A couple of years ago, I received a new set of clubs for my birthday. Then came Evan. I've been out (for 9 holes) a handful of times since his arrival. Maybe this year I'll get some good rounds in :-) Oh, and speaking of Evan, he loves to watch golf on TV, whether it's the real thing or on the PlayStation 2. Daddy is so proud!

Overload

After school, Evan and I went back to the school to have some playtime with the two kids of one of the teachers. This was the first time he has experienced the ball pit....he approved. We were there for 45 minutes, which was probably just the right amount of time.

We then hurried back home, quickly ate dinner, and headed off to the library for toddler time. All the hurrying was not the best of ideas.

Toddler time, where do I start. Well, first, the class size is small (6 kids)---that's good, the person leading it is really nice---another plus, but....the room is on the small size. Evan feels a need to leave the room as soon as we get in it. I bring in a couple of books, which helps divert his attention for a while. Tonight when she read, we weren't even sitting on the floor with the group (which we have been able to accomplish in past visits). We stood close to the walls, looking at the picture of the duck on the wall, as he whined/moaned. The craft----we stood back as I watched the other kids make the rabbit craft. He continued to whine (luckily, not too loudly, I hope). Snack time---he let ME give him his drink (something he is capable of doing, but at this point I was willing to do it for him so he wouldn't whine anymore). They had deviled eggs that were decorated to look like a rabbit; he tried a bite, but wasn't too fond of them.

Ahh, memories. I used to bring Kyle to story time. I think Evan does a little better, but that really isn't all that comforting. When the boys were younger, I rarely explained to anyone that they had Fragile X; I didn't want to make excuses for their behavior. But that approach probably left me feeling a little more frustrated, because not only was I dealing with their behaviors, I was worrying about what other people must have thought of my parenting skills. It's not that I want to tell everyone I meet on the street what's going on, but I think in this type of situation, an explanation might be beneficial. I'm just not sure how to go about doing this.

School and Play

It was a nice weekend with warm weather and no plans. We spent so much time outside. The boys picked up sticks off the yard; it was their share of spring cleanup.
They played some basketball, blew bubbles for Evan (well, it was for them, too!), and chalked up our driveway.

Evan actually got to a point in the morning, after about 2 and a half hours of being outside, where he went to the door and wanted to go inside (he headed straight for his crib). Nice change from me having to bring him and then him getting a little upset.

In the afternoon, a friend of mine drove by and asked if we wanted to have a play date. Sure! We don't get that opportunity often. We went down to a small park near us, and of all days, there was a birthday party going on... a lot of people. It's a very small park, and there are only two baby swings. When I bring Evan there, it's the first thing he heads to. With there being so many people, "his" swing was occupied for quite a while. So he walked around for a while, watched people playing games, and generally seemed content. I got him to go up the stairs so that we could go down the slide together; he liked that. And he sat on the small merry go round as it went around slowly. And of course, he took some time to watch cars go by. Overall, it was a good time!

I went to the high school this evening for conferences. All the teachers are set up at desks in the gymnasium, and when parents walk in, they are given a "map" of where the teachers are and their child's report card. After I talked to Kyle's teacher about Kyle, I asked her if she had heard anything about Matt being in her class next year. Yes, she had. We need to have a conference...soon. I think that what will end up happening is that even though she has a moderate class, she might be his teacher of record, and we can still send him out to other classes as needed. This way, he has a home-base type situation, which he has had since he started school. If he is in the mild program, he'll transfer to different classes (mostly co-taught), and then end up in the MO room when there is nowhere else for him to go (which is basically how they explained it to me at the conference at the beginning of the year). The MO teacher wasn't at that conference, which didn't make any sense if they were planning on sending him there! I'm not too thrilled with either of the options (which are basically the same option--if that makes sense).

To sum up what Chelsey's teachers said, "She is such a delight to have in class!" Awwwww

Quilts are Beautiful!

This photo was taken the day we brought Matt home from the hospital---14 and a half years ago. I love the way Kyle is looking at his little brother; it's as if he's saying, "I have a best friend for life!" They are so good for each other.

The quilt that they are on (folded in half) was made by my mom. It was supposed to be for our couch, but Kyle quickly adopted it as his own. It was his source of comfort, especially on trips. The material belonged to my grandma....very old material. Because of this, it couldn't handle the constant usage that Kyle gave to it (uh, the image below).

My mom is quite fine with what happened to the quilt; she's happy that he was able to enjoy it. He retired it about a year ago when I bought one from the store. My mom is currently working on another one for him (with newer materials). It has pieces that both she and I had cut out.

I love quilts! I have made 3 baby quilts, but it's been a while. I've started some, but they get pushed aside, and I don't get back to them. I recently cut out all the squares to make one for Chelsey, but during a trip to the store a few days ago, I learned that they weren't the "right" colors. She didn't know that I was planning this quilt (I spilled the beans at the store), and when we were looking at material, she was telling me how much she loved the colors pink and grey together (that's not even close to the dark blue and light blue colors I had chosen). The quilt is going to spell out her name, actually, half her name---Chel. Quilting is very relaxing for me (I do it all be hand), but I rarely make time for it. I'll post pictures of my progress (putting that in black and white should help to keep me going on it ;)