Kenan's t-ball escapades (part one of many I'm sure)

Last week Kenan played his first t-ball games and let me tell ya, he was hilarious to watch!  He played 1st base and he made some good play!  It was fun to see him out there.  He wears baseball pants that used to be Timmy's and with the way that he is built he looks like a mini Babe Ruth. 

 Since there are no outs in t-ball all the kids get to run the bases and score a run.  There is no need to slide, but Kenan insisted he slide into home, and sure enough he did!  I didn't see it, but this what my husband relayed to me later.  Thursday Kenan filled his hat with dirt, and his glove with dirt.  He play fought with another boy in the field while the game was going on and no matter what the coach did, Kenan and Theo were determined to keep playing with each other.  He got bored with that and practiced his sliding while waiting in the outfield for the ball to get hit to him.  

The funniest part was when he was up to bat.  The catcher was a little boy from Kenan's preschool class named Daniel.  Kenan was mid swing when he suddenly put the bat down by his side, turned to Daniel and said "We have the Sandlot movie!"  

That night when I was tucking him into bed, I said to him "Next time you play ball don't fill your hat with dirt."  Kenan said "Why?  It's fun!"  

Oh Kenan!  I love you!

Family Vacation - Day 1

Today is Day one of our vacation to the North Shore of Lake Superior.  We have had so much fun so far today!  We got up to Duluth in about 2 hours.  You can get there pretty fast going 80 most of the way.  ;-)  We stopped at a Rest Stop on the South side of Duluth where the kids were able to get out and stretch and run around.  It was a good break for mom and dad too.  It was fun until it was time to put Micah in the car.  He kicked and scratched because he didn't want to get back in.  Let me back up by saying that he has never been a fan of really long car rides and this qualifies as one of those.  Today is also, not only mother's day but his 2nd birthday.  So I guess he's entitled to fuss and cry if he wants too, but kicking and scratching isn't okay.  

So we finally got him in the car and we drove to the Duluth aquarium where for $8 more than the admission for our family we became members.   We walked around that and explored for a little while.  The kids had a blast looking at the fish and touching the lake sturgeon and freshwater stingray.  They even have a toy model of the great lakes system and boats for the kids to sail in the water.  It was all good and fun until Micah decided he was going to step into the water and walk, with his shoes on!  All's well that ends well though.  His shoe was barely wet and his pants dried pretty quickly.  

Next stop, lunch.  We grabbed lunch to go at McDonalds and went to a park right on the shore to eat.  The kids had fun throwing rocks in the lake and Micah slept in the car the whole time.  Kenan said he was making a rock home for the fishies by throwing the rocks into the lake.  This time also ended with a kid ( the 4 year old) slipping and his foot landed in a puddle.  Soaked his whole shoe, and sock and pants.  We just walked to the car and changed his soaking wet sock.  I never would've guessed that we'd need extra shoes on our trip.  :-)

Our next stop was Gooseberry Falls.  The kids picked out souvenirs and we went walking down the falls.  Micah had fun, except when he saw a dog on the path.  Usually he would turn and head the opposite direction away from the dog if it was coming toward him.  To me, that was the best part of the day!  

Finally we drove to our hotel.  Our hotel has a 110' water slide, and a mini water slide.  We got in and settled, ordered pizza for dinner then finally the moment the kids all waited for!  The Water slide!  They had a blast.  Kenan isn't tall enough to go down the big water slide but he was just as content with the mini water slide that looked like a frog.  Kenan was so excited to go swimming that he jumped into the kiddie pool with his shoes on!  We were all like "Kenan!  You have to take your shoes off."  He said "oh"  What a silly guy.  I think he will have soaking wet shoes for the rest of the weekend.  They are next to the fireplace right now.  Hopefully, *fingers crossed* they will dry really well overnight.  The hardest part was settling Micah down for the night.  He learned he can pull his mattress up from the pack n play and he just didn't want to settle down.  He had a hard and stressful day considering he is quite timid when it comes to new situations.  He was really tired and wanted to go to sleep and finally he settled down and fell asleep.  

Tomorrow is a new day full of exploration and adventure.  I will post a link to the pictures when I get them up.  I will put them on Facebook and post a link to see the pictures because there are just too many to post on here.  Until next, Have a good night!  

a mother's day gift

On Wednesday, Kenan got in the car with a paper bag all beautifully decorated with stickers.  He first said he had a party in school and then he said that the cup was his and the treat was for papa.  He finally fessed up that the cup and treats were for me for mother's day.  He sheepishly handed them over, but kept the chocolates.  Well I shared, that was fine with me.  I thought it was very funny that he wanted to keep it all.  Then yesterday (Thursday) he came out of school with another bag and this time he told me this was for me for mother's day and that he loves me.  I told him that we could share the mugs together.  The mugs were the kind with the paper inserts that you can decorate.  They have his hand prints on them.  What a keepsake!  Then, later that afternoon, I heard Lisa Barry say this you are under 18 and love your mom to give her a call.  So Kenan (with my help) called Lisa Barry and told her how much he loved me and why.  This was how their call went:

L: Hi KTIS who's this?

K: I love my mommy!

L: You do?!  Who's this?  What's your name?

K:  umm, Kenan.

L: Why do love your mommy?

K: umm, cuz.

L:  What makes your mommy special?  Why do you love her?

K: She plays with me and she hugs me

L: Well she sounds like a great mom!  You must love her?

K: Yeah

L: You have a good day.  Bye

K: Bye

This is as close to how I remember it going.  She is going to play all the calls on Mother's day.  I'm hoping to hear it.  

an update

On Wednesday I visited the Dr. about my blood work saying that I might have Celiac disease. He is not totally convinced that I have it. I agree since my symptoms have gone away since starting antibiotics for a bladder infection. The Dr. said that same antibiotic is one that they use for some GI problems. He did find it strange that I tested negative for pretty much every problem they tested for, but maybe there was something they missed or something. Weird. If my symptoms return, then he will want to evaluate me further. He didn't have enough suspicion to to put me through an endoscopy and intestinal biopsy. He said he'd rather have to do it at a later time than to do it and find out no. I agree. I'd rather not go through it if I don't have to. So no drastic diet change for me! I'm pretty happy about that. :)

On a lighter note... Micah turns 2 on Sunday. We are sharing his birthday and Mother's day this year. That will be pretty special. We are also leaving to go up North that day! We will stay at a hotel with a water slide on Sunday night, and on Monday we will drive to the Bluefin bay. Both places are right on the shore of Lake Superior. I'm looking forward to relaxing and listening to the sound of the waves crashing on the shore. We will come back on Thursday. It'll be a short trip, but a much needed one for our whole family. Everyone is very excited!

A beautiful day!

Today was an absolutely beautiful day!  I was sitting on the couch after lunch and Micah was laid down for a nap.  Hubby was going to do some yard work and I was pondering what I could do.  I got the urge to go buy some flowers and add some color to our very dull looking yard.  Hannah and I went and picked out pansies, and a flower pot.  We came home filled the flower pot.  Then we found more places to add pansies.  We dug up the soil really well and planted some wild flower seeds and the pansies.  We now have color all over!  Hannah helped me out by working so hard.  It was a nice mother daughter bonding time.  

At dinner time tonight, Kenan opted to not have sloppy joes like the rest of us.  He decided that he would have just corn, and a plain hamburger bun.  He ended up making a corn sandwich.  He must've thought it would taste good, and yes it sounded like an interesting idea, but he took about 1 bite and that was that.  No more corn sandwich for Kenan.  But can you blame him?  Would you eat a corn sandwich?

This is fun!

Today, I went to Home Depot and bought a holder for our hose.  We hate coiling up the hose so we bought a crank less hose winder/holder.  It's so neat.  When you're done using the hose, you switch the lever while leaving the water on, and it automatically winds your hose using water pressure.  It's so cool!  Using the hose will be a lot more fun now that I don't have to get all dirty and bruised while cranking the handle on the old one!  There is now handle on this one!!  I seriously could do on of those commercials where you'd see me in black and white struggling to coil the hose, my hair all disheveled, and mud all over me with the hose thing wiggling and flopping all over the place.  Cut to the next scene, and it's a sunshiny day and I'm dressed in pristine clothes just casually watering the grass.  I amble over to the holder, switch the lever all the while smiling while the hose winds up.  Can you see it?  8^)  I give this product five stars out of five stars!

the last few weeks

It's been awhile since the last time I've posted so here's a recap of the last couple weeks.  Pictures to go along with everything will follow.  

Easter was fun and tiring at the same time.  Over all it was nice time throughout the whole day, but it was busier than I'm used to for Easter so I guess that's why it was tiring.  And I guess I was beginning to not feel well too.  For lunch we went over to my sister's house and celebrated with her husband's family which included his mom and dad, 2 grandmas and his sister and her husband and 2 kids.  We had a delicious ham, and lots of yummy food.  The kids had a blast playing with each other and hunting for the many many eggs.  It seemed that Kenan somehow managed to find the most eggs.  

Baseball season started as well.  Timmy is in the minor league and he is on the Yankees.  It's kid pitch so that makes it seem more like a ball game than say, a pitching machine or t-ball.  His coach is really great!  He makes each kid do their best, encourages them positively and brings the best out of them.  Timmy loves it and he was hit in the head already with a ball and games haven't even started.  He wasn't paying attention and kid threw the ball at him.  He caught it with his forehead.  You could see the marks from the seams of the ball imprinted on his forehead the next morning.  I watched their first scrimmage last night and that was really neat.  It was really fun to see them really get the hang of the game.  There is a lot of work to do, but it will be great to watch them develop their skills throughout the season.  I don't have a picture of Timmy playing ball yet, but I will soon.  

 

Kenan started t-ball and he has loved that.  He whacks the ball off the t with one swing most of the time.  And, like most 4 year olds out in the field he loves to dig and play in the dirt.  I guess it's pretty boring out in the field at this age.  But maybe it's all in how you look at it.  Maybe they aren't bored since they are having fun playing in the dirt.  He has a constant smile on his face so I know he's enjoying himself.  He's been through watching Timmy and Hannah do their stuff, so now it's his turn to be part of something that they have to watch him do.  

I haven't been feeling well over the last few weeks.  I went to the Dr. and went through a bunch of tests.  My blood work came back positive for celiac disease, which means that I might have an intolerance to gluten and wheat products.  I will find out for sure in the next few weeks.  I go see a gastroenterologist on Wednesday, and he will do some more testing to confirm the diagnosis.  From what I understand, is that he might do more blood work.  If that comes back positive then he'll do a biopsy of my intestine, which is the only sure way to confirm the diagnosis.  This means a huge change to my diet.  At first I was upset about the possibility, but I'm okay with it now.  I'll do what I need to do to be healthy.  My husband and even my kids are supportive of me as well which is so helpful!

My husband graduated on April 29th!!  For those of you on Facebook, you already know this.  He started Dunwoody back in 200o and went for 2 years.  He graduated in 2002.  Hannah was 4 1/2 and Timmy was just about 2.  Then he got a job with the City in the fall of 2002.  It is a union position and requires 5 years of training.  He would've started the apprenticeship training that fall but the union was on strike so he had to wait until the following fall to start school.  So he started his first year in 2003.  He had to drop out of his 4th year in 2006 due to a brain abscess that needed to be removed.  He restarted his 4th year in 2007 and he finally finished his 5th year this past 2008-2009.  It was a long hard road for the whole family, but we are so proud of Jeff for sticking it out and not giving up.  He will get teased forever though about the fact that he went to school for 7 years.  

As it is best put in "Tommy Boy":

Tommy: Did you hear I finally graduated? 

Richard Hayden: Yeah, and just a shade under a decade too, all right. 
Tommy: You know a lot of people go to college for seven years. 
Richard Hayden: I know, they're called doctors.

quote courtesy of  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114694/quotes

We are so proud of him!  We are going to celebrate by going up North for a few days in couple weeks starting Mother's Day.  Our whole family needs a vacations to relax and enjoy each other.  I am really looking forward to it!  On May 23, I, with the help of my sisters, are throwing a graduation party for Jeff.  This is an accomplishment to be celebrated!!

Tonight, the kids are going over to my in-laws to sleep over.  Jeff and I are going to a graduation dinner put on by the pipefitters union.  I am looking forward to our date night and I am looking forward to sleeping in without interruption the next morning.  Our son Kenan is an early riser who likes to wake up at 6:30 am and ask for cartoons.  He will come in our room and clap or click his tongue in his mouth.  He will pat me on the head and pretty much do anything he can to keep us from enjoying our sleep, even if cartoons are on.  It will be nice to have a break from that. :)  

This turned out to be one heck of a recap!  I'll try to keep up with my blogging from now on.  I can't forget that we now have a macbook with wireless internet so being able to update my blog is more fun and a lot easier too.  :)