Making Memories

No need to head out of town on this extended weekend. We took full advantage of some local activities. And what I like best about that approach? I am caught up on all my laundry. It is the little things, really!

Como Park is fantastic. A zoo. An amusement park. A picnic area. We took full advantage of all three.
Olivia wanted to see the turtles. Jason is always happy to watch the monkeys and Owen was thrilled to know grandma and grandpa would be there (not in a cage).

Two little tuckered out kiddos.

Memories Made.

Sunday the weather was rainy and cold. I took a trip to the mall (by myself - crazy, I know), found some great deals including a cute new swimsuit for Olivia. She carried it around with her for the rest of the day so after naps we headed to the YMCA to take her for a swim.

Olivia is quite scared of the pool. She eventually warms up to it but usually she says she doesn't want to go. She clings to our necks for a good half hour before she gets the courage to let go.
Owen is carefree. Swims like a fish and has no fear (which worries his mom!). But he had his life jacket on and did so well. He was also getting great exercise which I am always looking for ways to help him grow stronger. Jason is right, we need to do this swimming thing more often.
And the best part is they haven't stopped talking about it.


And finally on Monday we spent the day with my brother and his family. Most of the indoor play places were closed so we tried the mall of america. The kids loved the rides from Como and when we told them we were going on more rides they started jumping up and down. I think they are hooked.

I have so many pictures I had to just show a few. Owen went on a big ride. I mean big. He did fantastic. He got a little scared but handled it well. He even asked to go on a second time. Not sure if he will want to go on it again! I love that they let the chaperons ride for free too!

Zebra Hunts....

If you have read the latest FB statuses, you will know we have been on many zebra hunts lately. Luckily each hunt we have found them. But not before we are led on a wild goose chase. Owen always seems to know where he put them. He just likes to tell us dozens of other places to look first. Like under the couch, down stairs, in the kitchen. And where do we find them? In his dresser, In a glasses case, In his pocket (after it went through the wash). It has been interesting.

After so many instances, I made an appointment to get things checked and he has having some major sinus issues lately so we doubled up an appointment with ENT and Hearing. I called to get an appointment but they couldn't get us in to our regular doctors until late July. Really? Luckily I have the email of our fantastic audiologist telling her our dilemma and she got us in in less than a week.

His hearing test came back with no change. Not sure what to have hoped for with that. One of the ear molds wasn't fitting so well so they took a new impression for that. I hope with things fitting better we won't have so many instances of them getting taken out. We can hope anyway :)

Then we were off to a visit with his ENT. His T-tubes still looked good after the massive ear infection he had in February. We talked about his sinus issue that has been going on for the last month or so. Good for a few days, bad for a few days, on/off/on/off. Which we suspect is the reason we have been experiencing so many behavior issues. Since when this happens he also doesn't sleep well. So we will try 2 rounds or antibiotics and see if that does the trick. We can hope anyway :)

Life certainly is an adventure!

Nice to know that our audiologist has never heard of a pair of hearing aids surviving a trip through the washing machine! Maybe it was because it was set on the gentle cycle?

JAM packed

Our strawberry patch is starting to flower!!! yay! We cared for and waited patiently all year last year for that patch to get ready for this year. I can't wait to see those berries forming. Now I just need to figure out what to do with them all? Jam perhaps? Time to dig through grandma's old recipe boxes and find her recommendations....

Other than watching our garden grow in between the few times the rain actually stops we have been packing in the events. Last weekend was no exception. Jason was away for the week so we were very excited to have him home. Saturday the kids spent the day at my sister Lisa's house and played with just about every family member. Thank you everyone for keeping them entertained for the day!  Look at all of those grandkids! (I am pretty sure I spy Owen throwing a bit of a fit here?)

Jason and I spent the day at the Carly May Golf Classic. It was the 4th annual event to honor little Carly May who passed away 4 years ago. The money raised goes to some wonderful organizations and we would not miss the opportunity to participate. Jason and I enjoyed our time together and were reminded once again how fortunate we are. To remind us to appreciate every moment with have with our kids.

On Sunday we had the long overdue baptisms for Owen and Olivia. Both kids did really well. It was great to see how engaged Owen was as they poured the water over his head. I am thankful we did a dry run a few weeks ago so they knew what to expect. And mostly thankful for my sister for organizing Marshall's baptism and including us at their new church. It has been something we have wanted to do really since they were born but we just hadn't made it happen.

Sponsors for Owen: Uncle Nick and Auntie Erin

Sponsors for Olivia: Uncle Ryan and Auntie Lisa

Owen's Baptism

Olivia's Baptism

To top it all off we celebrated Marshall's 1st birthday. Happy Birthday little man, we love you!

Now we just need it to quit raining so Owen can participate in his miracle league program!!!

hodgepodge.

Life is a bit of a hodgepodge lately.

A little of this and a little of that.

School is wrapping up for Owen which means final review of his year. Field trips, school parties and trying to cram work for his goals in to a few more weeks.

Owen has been a bit out of sorts the last few weeks. We believe he is suffering from sinus infections but his behavior has taken a downward spiral. The good news is he isn't hitting. The bad news is we now have a new trend. Pouting/crying in isolation. If he isn't getting full attention or gets frustrated he runs and hides and cries. I can't get him to tell me what is going on so it is just constant attention is what usually fixes it. A bit exhausting.

But in between that, there is always fun to be had. Case in point, there is a reason why I don't make my bed. Because every time I try, this is what happens...

Olivia has entered the screaming stage. When she doesn't get her way, she screams. When Owen growls at her, she screams. So we are battling her behavior as well. Luckily she listens when I tell her to go in timeout or go to her room. Usually it just takes a few minutes to get her to calm down. These moody stages are fun :)
She continues to amaze us with her wit and comprehension. The latest one this weekend was "That's not fair!". I know that will be the first time of many I will start to hear that from her.

She took quite a liking to Cousin Mallory this weekend. Cuddling together, reading books and just playing. Mallory sure plays well with both kiddos.

It was celebration time this weekend with Grandpa since it was his birthday last week. All the kids were so excited for it to be his birthday. Mostly I think because it means there is cake and they get to help blow out candles.

The school year for college is done. That means Ryan is home from Montana. Guess who is over the moon?

A break in the clouds

What a spring it has been. Rain Rain Snow Rain Cold.

But finally a few good days of warm weather and we took full advantage. Only problem was the kids decided it was also time to get sick. They last about 10 minutes of playing before they get cranky, start crying and fighting. But in between all of that we still managed to have some fun.

Swing. Swing. Swing. It is their favorite things on the new swingset. Mommy higher. Mommy higher. Over and over. Little do they know there is a little therapy going on with the fun. Working on core muscles to stay on that swing AND grasp workouts for Owen. Always working ;)

Before the clouds opened up on Sunday I quickly made it out to the garden center to pick up some plants. We have been very anxious to get started.
Starting out the square foot measuring to get my plants in their right places. I really like this technique. It makes such great use of the small space I have. We are trying a few new things this year to go with the strawberries, tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers. Carrots, onions, broccoli and zucchini. Should be fun to watch them!

I had a few little helpers getting things into the ground. In reality they only helped with one plant each because they were stepping on everything. Fighting with each other and I was trying to beat the rain clouds so I was under a bit of a time crunch.

                                                        Even Oscar decided to help out.

And the final product. A little hard to see the little plants now but you can definitely see how well the strawberry patch is doing!



House of Projects

After deciding we are staying put for a while aka. not moving. The list of projects is now starting to get dusted off. I also think we need to stop watching the DIY channel for motivation!

After painting every other room in this house (sometimes multiple times), it was time to finally get our master bedroom walls some attention. A light cream color paint for 3 walls and the main wall now the centerpiece with a woven wallpaper treatment. I wasn't quite sure how it would turn out but I love it. The room isn't back to normal yet so I don't have pictures yet. For now, you will have to use your imagination on what it looks like!

With spring here, it means the wonderful weeds and shrubs that didn't get cleaned up in fall needs some attending to. The weather around here has been completely uncooperative to work on things so half day of sun on Friday did the trick. Not completely done but maybe next weekend naptimes and sunshine will align.

One thing we have been wanting to do for a long time is to spruce up our kitchen and rid it of the laminate counters. We know kinda what we want. At least I do, it will just take some convincing for Jason to come on board with the color choices. Shopping for granite with 2 kiddos in tow = not a good idea. But they thankfully have some grandparents willing to spend a few hours playing so Jason and I can disagree with the selections at the 7 different showrooms in our area. The result is we don't have anything picked out or have any idea who to work with. But the idea is there and the money is set aside. Those are big steps!

To top off all the DIY projects we have going on, we also filed a claim with our insurance to fix our roof, siding, a window and deck staining due to all the inclement weather we had last year. Luckily we don't have to lift a single finger to get all that work done! But there are quite a few more items on the list we hope to tackle this summer. I just have no idea how any one gets anything done with little ones running around. Naptimes are never long enough!

Siblings. the struggle. the love

As a parent we want to give our kids equal attention, equal love, equal encouragement. It is something really hard to juggle as you raise a child with special needs at the same time. A daily struggle to fit it all in. To have the special time and dedication to both. Try to make things fair. Try to treat them the same.

I have listened to a few panel discussions made up of siblings of special needs kids. I learned valuable lessons from those honest discussions. They tell you not to treat the child with special needs any different. Not to give them special treatment against "the rules". Have lots of kids so there is more "help" so one sibling doesn't feel like they will have sole responsibility as they grow older. I obviously left these sessions in tears. Trying to think about it from Olivia's perspective. To make sure if she was ever sitting on one of those panels, she would share a positive experience. 

It is something to think about every day. Some days, every minute, every interaction. 

Olivia may only be 2 but each day is an influence to get it right. She gets over the hurdles so much easier and quicker than we would ever expect. She has an amazing vocabulary and her ability to grasp concepts makes it even harder to not treat her different and expect more out of her. It is only the beginning of the struggle. It will get harder. But the best part is that Owen and Olivia have the most amazing friendship. A friendship like no other.

We will do our best. That is our promise to both of them.