Connor

Connor's been a bit busy too!

Connor has been working on his personal project for third grade. This is essentially a project where he chose something he wanted to learn more about, and then decided how he wanted to learn about it, and then how he wanted to tell his class about it. A pretty cool concept; although for this step by step mama it was a bit to wrap my head around!

No worries, Connor decided he wanted to learn more about ham radio. Since I can't help him there, he and Al were on their own. (For this control freak mama that was a bit challenging too!) As you can see, he's been interested in this for a while:

(circa 11/2005)

They did some exploration with electricity. We bought Connor a kids' circuit building kit. (This one, in fact). Connor had an amazing time with the kit from the moment we brought it home. It was the perfect thing for his busy and inquisitive mind. He was very excited to build the different circuits, and I think we've found a new toy category for him!
Once he finished exploring, he also needed to figure out what to present. He did some research this morning with Al, and created a great presentation. In fact, it's so great that I don't understand any of it!

I'm proud of the work he did on this. It wasn't without struggle; he's such a stinkin perfectionist! (No idea where he gets that from....) But, in the end I think he did great and learned a lot. I'm also glad he and Al had an opportunity to work together! He's excited to present it tomorrow, so that's great too!

Aisling

Aisling's been busy lately!

In February her girl scout troop took a field trip to Auntie Annie's Pretzels. Aisling learned how to make a pretzel! She did a great job, and I can attest to the deliciousness!
She also got to sample the smoothie!

YUM!

Also, she participated in an after school gymnastics camp. She had a total blast and wants to take gymnastics class now!

A little about me!

I don't usually post about myself here, as I really consider this blog to be about my kids. But, I thought I would explain my lengthy absence from the blog. (You know, for the five readers who noticed). I've recently begun taking classes toward becoming a BCBA. (Board Certified Behavior Analyst). I need to take 15 months worth of classes followed by a test. I am also required to do a few months of supervised internship, which I can do through my job. This is something I considered doing when I was in grad school. I opted to get my special education certification instead, but always wondered if I had made the right choice. I am so thrilled to have the opportunity presented to me once again to work in the field that I really love so much. I'm so excited about the opportunity, and cannot believe how much I am enjoying working once again with children with behavioral difficulties.

Anyway, basically this classwork entails about 2 hours per night of homework. It's an online class, based out of Florida Tech, so it's all self directed. But, it's a lot of course work. Right now I have a quick two week break between classes, so I have some free time to update the blog. When classes are in session, no time at all!

So, over the next few days I will try to post some updates about what the kids have been up to. We'll see how much I can get done!

Winter=sickness

In our house, the signs of winter also begin to point to signs of illness. All of the kids in this house get sick every single winter. This year was no different. Beginning at Christmas time the kids and Al all got a stomach bug. From there everyone had a really bad cough. The three kids, and Al, were all on Robitussin with Codine. Next up it was asthma time. Connor was put on an oral steriod of Prednisone. Once he improved he got worse again within a few weeks and was placed on an inhaled steroid Flovent. Next up it was Siobhan's turn. She spent a few days with a cold, and then all of a sudden it became awful with an extremely high fever and cough. We waited it out for a little while, making her comfortable with motrin, but when her fever hit 102.4 even with motrin and tylenol, off to the ER we went. Of course, a trip to the ER can only be done in the midst of a record setting snow storm; I think there's an unwritten rule about that.

In the hospital we did a chest x-ray to rule out pneumonia. They gave her some albuteral and made us wait there until her fever (Which had reached 102.7 at that point) went down. Once it did we were able to leave with the "yes she has a really bad cold, keep an eye on things" diagnosis. The trip home, which generally takes about 20 minutes, took over 90 minutes as I drove through at least 18 inches of unplowed snow in white out conditions. (Sunday night we had over 2 feet of snow in a record setting snow storm) I should probably have stayed at a hotel, but I really wanted to be home. Over the next few days we piecemealed it so she could stay home from school. By Wednesday we thought she was good to go back. However, at 2:30 I got the call that she had a fever of 100.5. So, she stayed home on thursday with my dad. On Friday I brought her to the doctor. They noticed an ear infection. they also re-examined her chest x-ray and said that she probably had RSV when we were at the ER, but that she sounded like she was on the mend (not wheezing and rattling and clearing her lungs when coughing; which is good). They did give her an antibiotic since it's taking so long to clear up. We're on day four of that. (Which of course means her stomach is awful).

Let's hope she continues to be on the mend. She still has a rotten cough which we are trying to keep under control with the inhaler. Connor is using his inhaler as well, although not as often. Thankfully Aisling has been okay thus far.

Someone asked me the other day what winter sports Al and I participate in. Our answer? Survival. I cannot wait for a year when we make it through the winter with no trips to the ER or hospital. It's draining.

I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of spring!

Getting older!

Not me, of course!

Connor just turned nine a few weeks ago. I'd say I'm having a hard time believing it, but that would be a lie because BOY has he started with the attitude of a pre-teen! Yikes we are in trouble in a few years.

For his birthday this year Connor opted to have some friends go ice skating with him, and then he invited a couple of friends to sleep over. The group of friends that he invited is a group of kids with whom he has been friends since first grade. They are a great group of friends, and I hope they remain friends.

It was a great celebration and everyone had a great time. At the sleepover, one of his friends had to go home early (like, 3:00 AM early!) because he got sick. That was a bummer, but not surprising for my life!

Enjoy the pictures of his big day! (Al had come from a cub scout event, that's why he's wearing his uniform. I assure you it's not generally a wardrobe choice for him...!)

Our big nine year old!

Connor and Quinten!
These guys are two days apart,
and were roommates in the hospital.

Yes, my son is a nut. I know.

The best group of friends you could ever want for you kid.

The girls!
The sisters and Connor's Godfather's daughters
(who are the exact same age as Siobhan and Aisling)

Seriously.
She just makes me smile!

Is any party really complete without frosting covered two year olds?
I did not make this year's cake.
I know, it bugs me too.

Overall, I'd say he had a great birthday. He got a lot of money and gift cards for his birthday, and was able to use that plus his own money to buy a DSi. He's pretty proud of that.

I am still reeling from the fact that he is nine. He is turning into a wonderful boy, of whom I am very proud. He has an amazing way with both of his sisters. He is so kind and gentle to both of them, and is genuinely concerned if they are not feeling well or something happens. He is an amazing friend too, and I love to watch him around his friends. He has always had an extremely high level of energy, and that has certainly not changed! As he gets older though he has figured out how to channel that into positive things, like dance. He dances constantly and really loves it. I think he's pretty good at it too! He's a bright kid and it's so fun to watch him learn and figure things out. Now that he's getting older it's exciting to sit and have conversations with him about things in the world. He has a great perspective on the world.

Connor, happy happy birthday! I love you very much and am so proud of who you are becoming.

Last year I actually had time to make him a birthday video.
I didn't have time to do that this year, but here's a link to last year's.

For real?

I asked the kids this afternoon; "Kids, why does it smell like nail polish?" (Because I always calmly address my children with 'kids')
Connor answered. (As the oldest, I suppose it was his duty to answer). "Oh, Siobhan wanted some, so I opened it for her."

...

Let's review here:
Siobhan is 2 and 1/2
Connor is 9.
Of the two of these, who do you think would have known not to open the nail polish? Apparently, neither of them.

I thought this stuff only happened in sitcoms.
Am I the only one living an insane life like this?
Never-mind, don't answer that.

"I'm bored!"

This week is school vacation week for myself and the kids. Correction; this week is school vacation week for the kids, and "play-date-scheduling; craft-project-organizing; cookie-baking; house-cleaning" week for me.

All four of the kids are home. So far this week I have organized four play dates (among two children); taken kids out to lunch and to the craft store; organized a morning of painting; baked chocolate chip cookies AND chocolate chip pancakes; helped kids clean out their rooms; organized dance parties in the living room; and generally maintained peace. (well, a semblance of peace).

I am EXHAUSTED! Don't get me wrong, I love that my job allows me to be home with my kids on school vacation weeks, but how is it possible that four small children can make such huge messes? Or such loud interactions? These kids go from being the best of friends to the worst of enemies in seconds flat. They leave a path of destruction from one room to the next; it's like a trail so you can find the kids if they go missing.

My biggest complaint, however, is the constant "I'm bored!" Actually, that's a lie. My kids don't even have the deceny to admit to being bored. Nope. They just hang around me whining or getting incredible silly.

We built an addition on our house five years ago. With that addition came a play room. Yes. An entire room devoted to PLAYING. to TOYS. I could probably sell all the toys these children own, and pay off the house. And yet.... "I'm bored".

So, from out of my mouth comes: "go play with legos, playmobile, playdough, moon sand, crayons, magic tricks, gears, puppets, read a book, play with dolls, play dress up, cure cancer, I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU DO BUT LEAVE ME AND YOUR SISTERS/BROTHERS ALONE!!!!!!


I know I was never this needy.