Qualifying for the Brickyard

First of all, I just put all the pictures from my phone onto the computer, and my brain was flooded with the images of the past year as they quickly downloaded. "Only" a year, but already, they're memories. At least one of those memories will make it to my blog...

The Brickyard!

We went to this race 2 days ago. It was the first race for the boys and for us. Yeah, John and I aren't what you would call NASCAR fans, but because of the boys' extreme interest in this sport, I guess we kind of are. I mean, I do have two favorite drivers...Jimmie Johnson and Juan Pablo Montoya. How did I pick them? Not sure about Jimmie (maybe just because he's good), but with Montoya, I just like the way his name sounded, lol. Really, though, that's why I picked him. So imagine my excitement and the bragging rights I had the day before the race when we found out that they were starting in the first and second position...one of them was going to win, right? Hmmm....

Let's back up, way back, like 9, 10 years ago. I'm not sure exactly when, but sometime around this time, Kyle, master of the remote control even at a young age, was flipping through channels.

And he made one of his greatest discoveries, NASCAR. Immediately, both of the boys were fascinated by these cars that were whizzing around the track. Really, before this time, I'm not sure if John or I could have named more than 2 drivers. Kyle quickly changed all that for us. So what would be the logical thing to do? Bring them to a race, of course...not. There is no way that they would have been able to handle the crowds, noise, duration, etc. So we started out slow and brought them to a practice.

I think the year was 2001, Kyle would have been almost 10, Matt, almost 8...I think. Oh how I wished I journaled back then, because I don't remember a lot of details. My biggest memory is that Chelsey was in a non-talkative mood and sat away from us, lol...yeah, she would have been almost 12. I also remember that it was a fairly quick visit.

I don't think that we brought them the following year, and maybe not even the year after that. But the past few years, they have gone. After last year, I was kind of regretting that we didn't go to the actual race...they were ready!

So this year, it was a "must." We were all going to go (minus Evan), but I waited till the week before to ask my mom to watch Evan; she couldn't. We don't have babysitters for Evan. We thought of a few that could possibly watch him, but Chelsey, who isn't all that into racing, graciously offered to watch him. I felt really badly about this, but she insisted it was ok. sigh

We asked a boy in Kyle and Matt's class if he wanted to go with us. He's someone who Matt likes to joke around with, and I was fairly certain he was into NASCAR. It was also his first trip to a race.

Summed up, it was GREAT! They had a really good time. Our seats were in the shade (YES!), we had backs to our seats (YES! although my back still screamed), and we had a good view...across from the pits but with a good view of one of the turns. This isn't to say that there weren't times when I wanted to take I nap, or that I wasn't very annoyed by the 3 smokers in front of us, but THEY loved it!

Oh, my drivers? For whatever reason, when they introduced Juan Pablo Montoya, we were surrounded by BOOS! What!? Did they not appreciate how cool his name sounds? Jimmie had a mixed review from the crowd. Matt was loving this part, because he's all about razzing.

And then when Montoya crashed, pretty much all by himself with only 14 or so laps to go, after having the lead for a huge portion of the race, they cheered.

The nerve.

Now that it's over, Kyle's choice of conversation...The Poconos this weekend. We won't be making that day-long drive.

Flavors

Today, we went with the all the kids to Flavors Coffee place. John and I often go there on Saturday, but without all the kids. We tried once this past winter bringing them...didn't go so well for Evan. The noise of the blender had set him off, and he wanted very little to do with the place.

But, time has passed, and he's improving with dealing with noises. For example, we don't have to take him outside when we vacuum anymore! I just tell him that I'm going to vacuum the floor, his eyes get really big, and then he heads to the computer room and shuts the door until I'm done. Much improvement.

So, we head into Flavors, not too many people in there, and we order our food. Chelsey and I got a blender drink even though I knew it could mean trouble. To play it safe, Evan and I went into the bathroom where it could barely be heard while the drinks were made. He didn't exactly like hanging out in the bathroom, but he was ok.

We went back to the table, and we were able to stay there enjoying our breakfast for quite a while, actually, longer than the amount of time John and I spend when it's just the two of us.

AND, someone ordered a blender drink halfway through our visit. He got a little upset, but quickly composed himself when they finished making the drink.

Yay!

I'm Going to Try, Again

I don't know why I let so much time go these days between getting on here...

Evan's potty training is going GREAT! Last summer, we were doing well, but I knew that sending him to school and to my mom's was going to be tricky...and it was. So potty training throughout the year was hit and miss; BIG miss at school.

But this summer, it's been wonderful, and he will be going back to school without a diaper!

His vocab is still very limited, but luckily, it's not to difficult for him to say, "pee," which he says for both, very convenient.

Other vocab? "No Deal!" Yes, he's been watching game shows with his brother this summer, plus Matt has that game on his DSi. Other than that, he still really isn't putting words together. His biggest vocabulary comes when we're identifying animals....still. Yep, loves his animals. I know more about wildlife from watching Animal Planet than I ever have in my life!

The older boys are doing well. Tonight, they are going to an Indianapolis Indians baseball game with Matt's Best Buddies. I adore Matt's BB, she goes above and beyond...a true friend with a huge heart.

That's it...I just really want to get back into this...I know I've said that before! lol

Trip To California

Recently, my Mom, Chelsey, and I spent a long weekend in California for my niece's wedding. The wedding was in Berkeley, we stayed in Oakland, and we visited San Francisco.

The last time I was in CA (Monterey for 6 months), was a little over 20 years ago! I don't think I appreciated the beauty of it then.

We arrived in SF late Friday afternoon. The first adventure was finding the car rental place at the airport...I wasn't expecting it to be so far away!

Next came the driving. The van was in my name, so I was the only driver. And what was one of the first things I had to do?? Cross a very long bridge! I've never been a fan of going over bridges, but I do much better when I'm the driver. And after going over a few very long bridges several times, I kind of like them now! I was actually sort of fascinated by them. Yeah, sounds kind of corny, but let's remember, I've lived in the middle of the corn fields for 18 years now!

After a quick stop at the hotel, Chelsey and I went to Sarah, Zachary, and Quinn's

house...which was only minutes from our hotel! And to top that off, we were met there by Vicki, Joel, and Holly!

Unfortunately, due to how long it took to make our way out of the airport, the visit was kind of late, so the kids were a bit tired...one more than the other. ;-)

But wow, how awesome it was to meet them! I started this blog because my daughter had one...that was it. I had never thought I would get the opportunity to meet some incredible people who happen to have a flaw in a gene in common with our family.

Anyway, the visit was great, yummy pizza and wonderful people to visit with! It was a long day, with the Dramamine making it a little longer for me (even the less drowsy version knocks me out a bit).

On Saturday, we hung out with my brother (father of the bride), saw some sites, and just enjoyed being there.

That evening was the wedding....so beautiful. The reception was unlike no other I've seen; I loved the change.

Sunday was more sight seeing, SF and Berkeley. The weather was a bit uncooperative (rainy and chilly), but it was still a good time.

Of course, how could we go to SF without seeing the Golden Gate Bridge!?

This bridge is so long! And there were cars above us; that's a bit freaky for one who has a little fear of bridges....

Yeah, we don't have hills like that in Indiana...didn't take much to entertain me.

My brother and Chelsey

Great time, would love to go back!

Recent Stuff

I really want to get my blog going again because I want to print this stuff out for a "journal"...here's another attempt at it!

So I guess I'll start with Evan updates. Last weekend, I went to California with Chelsey and my Mom for a four day weekend (for a wedding--that can be another post!). Before I left, his version of his name was "E--en" or "E--e" (short "e" sound).

John and the boys picked us up from the airport, and on the ride home, I asked him what his name was--just because he loves to say it and he's so cute when he does. To my surprise, when he answered, he said "Evan".......VERY CLEARLY! Yay!

Sleep: he's been doing much better with sleep the past couple of months. He's usually sleeping through, isn't taking as long to fall asleep...an hour maybe, sometimes less...and he's getting better at keeping the jammies and diaper on! He is also becoming more aware when his brothers go to bed (9), and will ask (in his way) to go too....much better than 10 or so.

Interests: Still loving his alphabet toys and animal books. He can't get enough of his animal pictures! They have to be real pictures of animals, with a preference for safari type animals, whales, sharks, and dolphins. Some of them he can say fairly clearly: cheetah, whale, shark, "jraff" (giraffe), eagle, wolf, seal, deer, zebra, roar (lion ;-), and even elephant is sounding pretty good, while others are getting there. :-)

And just as he's getting to the age where I really shouldn't be carrying him anymore, he can say "Care-cue" (carry you), melts my heart and often gets him in my arms.

A couple of days before I left for California, Evan had a fall at school. Yeah, fell off a platform on the playground and ended up with a good old bump on his head with a bit of a cut. I brought him home and he immediately fell asleep on my lap. Didn't like that. So, I brought him to the hospital to have him checked out. I'm usually not one to rush to the doctor's office with my kids, but this one made me nervous. SO, after 3 HOURS in the ER (probably worse than the fall for him), I got the reassurance from the CT scan that everything was alright. The black and blue is starting to fade, and he has a small scab.

On the topic of playgrounds, he's been loving the playground recently! He no longer sits on a platform to watch the kids run around him; he's all over the place! It's hard keeping up with him, ya know, to MAKE SURE HE DOESN'T FALL OFF A PLATFORM (he kind of loses awareness of where he is in space when he gets all excited), but it's worth it! I get a good workout, and he has a great time.

As I type, John is outside putting up a swing set we just bought today. I was out there helping, drill and all, until Evan woke up from his nap. Evan and I are on our way out to check the progress. :-)

Trains

Kyle has always been a fan of trains...especially Thomas the Tank Engine. He started off with the die-cast ones, then the wooden ones, and finally, the battery operated plastic ones. Over the past 18 YEARS, we've gained many trains (and tracks) and have gotten rid of, basically, none. That's a lot of trains!

So when Evan came along, I thought for sure his love of trains would start from the very beginning. For his first birthday, I got him the Thomas Train and he could sit on and "drive" or push. It has the buttons that play the little jingles....how great. Well, he's played with it a little, but it was never a huge hit.

At our old house, Kyle's room was upstairs, and Evan's was down. This prevented Evan from having very much exposure to the trains set up in Kyle's room. At our current house (a year and a half), both of their rooms are upstairs, and Evan also has mastered the stairs enough where he has freedom to go up and down as he pleases. This summer when Kyle was home, he had a constant track with the battery operated plastic trains set up in his room. Evan did NOT like them! He would scream, cry, etc. It was awful. This stage lasted for a month or so. THEN, he went through a stage of still crying, screaming, etc., but yet, he insisted on standing in Kyle's room to watch them! Of course, Kyle didn't care to have his little brother in there screaming while he was conducting the Island of Sodor. But, Kyle, having the big heart that he does, put up with it quite well. Gradually, he was able to spend time watching the trains for several minutes before the overload and the screaming/crying would start. This often happened before bedtime...not a good way to ease into a good sleep.

Now, after several months, I can proudly say, Evan is a true Thomas the Tank Engine fan. For Christmas, we got a track set for him (to Kyle's relief), and he is becoming quite the little conductor of trains.

I can hear the trains going now. :-)

Peep peep!

Losing Our Dads

Wow, Oct. 3rd...it's been a while. Before I can start writing about the everyday stuff that happens around here, I need to write this post.
John's Dad passed away on Nov. 11th, and my Dad passed away on Nov. 19. Sometimes it still doesn't seem real.
John's mom and dad were just here in July, and he seemed like a healthy, energetic 74 year old. Then, in September, he started a "cough." At first, they were treating him for bronchitis...that wasn't going away. It got progressively worse. A couple of weeks before he died, they said it was possibly pulmonary fibrosis. He started on a oxygen tank at home on Nov. 6th. On Sunday, Nov. 8th, he went to the hospital because he was having such a difficult time breathing. I think it was Tues. that he was told he had full-blown lung cancer. John had a flight scheduled to go to Florida on Thursday morning; unfortunately, his dad passed away Wed. afternoon.

Cigarettes suck.
He was such a larger than life person. He's greatly missed by out family!

My dad went to the hospital on Monday, Nov. 9th...the day after John's dad had entered the hospital. He was having great difficulty breathing...fluid in his lungs. He was 87, had bladder cancer, and had suffered a stroke two and a half years ago. At this point, he was very weak. He had the health conditions, and he hadn't been eating much. At the hospital, they gave him something to help relieve the fluid on his lungs, an antibiotic, and blood (his blood count was low...he was losing blood through his bladder). He came home on Friday with the hospital bed was set up in my parents living room; Hospice was helping out. He went downhill rapidly. I'm thankful that I was able to be with him during this time--I took off work---but it was also so difficult seeing the process of death. Tuesday morning till around noon was the last time his eyes were open, and he could attempt to say something. Wednesday morning, his eyebrows moved slightly when I tried talking to him. Thursday morning, his breathing was slowing down, and he passed away around 9:30.

I know he was 87--that's considered a long life--but it just didn't seem long enough for me.

I feel like there aren't many people who know our boys...really know them. It's not only hard losing as our Dads, but these men were also Grandpas who loved and accepted our boys for who they were.

Meet "Mo"

Look who joined our family today!

We went to the Humane Society today...it really wasn't in our plans of the day, although we have talked about getting another dog. A picture of a Pomeranian that was in the paper a couple of days ago inspired us to go. That dog was no longer there, but there was another Pomeranian...along with this Terrier mix who came in together three days ago. The Pom. was pretty, but this other dog was, well, cute!

He's 2 years old, and his name was Buddy. After much discussion in the family, his name is now "Mo" or "Maurice." John wanted Gordon, Matt wanted Elvis, and Kyle suggested Henry. We were calling him Gordon for a couple of hours (although I didn't think it fit him). Mo was my choice, and John liked it...he just liked Gordon even more. But, after talking to Chelsey (who liked the name Mo much better), John agreed to it.

He's adjusted quite well so far. He's very fond of Evan, and I think Evan likes him, too! Tonight when I brought Evan to bed, he followed us up to his room; Evan was laughing. But then, the dog didn't want to go back down with me. When I made him come out of the room with me, Evan expressed his disapproval.

Side Note----Evan and bedtime: He's had great nights the past couple of weeks!

Evan also was riding (with help) his tricycle this evening that he got for his birthday---5 months ago. All summer he wanted nothing to do with it; tonight, he couldn't get enough of it. As I pushed Evan around the house (while my back was screaming), Mo followed us the entire time!

Gigi and Mo in the "getting to know you" stage.

AND, the BEST part (so far), he seems completely house trained (although he will be in a cage at night and while we're gone), AND, he doesn't chew on things---two big pluses!

iHeartFaces: "Blue"

I haven't put in a picture for iHeartFaces in quite a while! This week, the theme is "Blue." This is a picture from when we went to the Dunes. John was throwing sand Evan's way--they both thought it was rather humorous!

~~~Check out the other photos at iHeartFaces~~~

Blankie

From very early on, Evan has found security in his blankie. It started out very innocently...he would keep it close to his neck when he slept. It was just an ordinary receiving blanket, a bit over-sized. I had picked out the snoopy material before he was born, and my mom had sewn the edges of it.

For the longest time, blankie was only used during sleeping...but gradually, that changed.

Blankie started coming downstairs with him, blankie tagged along in the van, and blankie was getting more and more hugs.

Then there was change---not a good change---blankie was getting chewed on. Of course, it started out rather gradually, but over a period of time, the chewing increased. I would cut small lose ends for fear that he might choke on them. Blankie got smaller and smaller.

After he would fall asleep, I would usually go into his room and remove it from around his neck because, well, it was usually very wet from being chewed on...gross...
It would smell---badly---and it would get washed...a lot.

It didn't take long until blankie no longer looked like a blankie.

Then one day a few weeks ago--it was a Saturday--I just couldn't give it to him before his nap. It was this ever so small wad of ick. I would post a picture, but.....no......

I hated the thought of him not having it. It had comforted him for so long.

I put him down for his nap, explained to him that he wasn't going to get blankie, and to my complete surprise, he went to sleep with not complaints.

Could it really be this easy??

That night, same thing. He went to bed, and he was fine.

Yeah!

Well, almost.

On Sunday, he started making it clear that he needed his blankie. I think if he could talk, he would have said, "Mom, this is the longest you've ever taken blankie away to clean it. Obviously, it's clean now. Give it back to me...now."

For the next couple of days and nights, there was crying with the occasional call for "key." I felt so badly. At one point when he was in his room crying, I went to the kitchen and reached up to the top of the fridge to retrieve it.

Only, when I put it up there, it had been wet....it was now a crusty, hard ball of ick. There went that idea.

Although he had another receiving blanket, a yellow one--material bought the same day as the snoopy material---he was never attached to it. At some point, I went to the closet where our blankets are. In there, was a receiving blanket we had from when Chelsey was a baby--I had never given it to Evan, not sure why. It has baby Disney characters and a few letters on it, was still in excellent condition, and I thought maybe he would like it because of the letters on it (he really likes letters).

When I gave it to him, he immediately smiled and started pointing to the letters....yes!

Over a period of a couple of days, it appeared that this might be the new blankie. The adoration started slowly....then, it was clear...this was the new blankie.

And there appeared to be a bonus...he wasn't chewing on it! And if I had written this within the first 2 weeks of his adoption of the new blankie, I would be saying that as if it were set in stone! Yeah, that didn't last....but we are keeping a closer eye on this behavior and greatly discouraging it.

I wonder how long this one will last....

20.....20!

Beautiful baby....

....gorgeous young lady!

Chelsey, you're an amazing young woman with a heart of gold. I'm glad you're my daughter...keep filling the world with your sunshine! Happy Birthday!

"She's a butterfly, pretty as the crimson sky

Nothing's ever gonna bring her down

And everywhere she goes

Everybody knows she's so glad to be alive

She's a butterfly

Like the purest light in a darkened world

So much hope inside such a lovely girl

You should see her fly, it's almost magical

It makes you wanna cry, she's so beautiful

God bless the butterfly,

give her the strength to fly

Never let her wings touch the ground

God bless the butterfly,

give her strength to fly

Never let her wings touch the ground"

~~~Martina Mcbride~~~

16.....16!

An adorable little boy....

....a handsome young man!

Matt is 16 today!

Matt, you're an amazing son.

I love being your mom!