Vacation is coming to an end...

I am sad to say that February vacation is coming to an end. We have had such a great week! The boys fought a little and annoyed each other a lot. But overall it was really fun. The big boys and I went skating a couple of times. They skated at stick and puck and had their regular hockey practices. We went to Playland and played outside with the dog. Jonny got out of work early one day and we went out to lunch all together. For the first time in months going to a restaurant was really great. All three boys behaved and ate really well. Then on Friday, thanks to Courtney being here to watch Zachy, Jonny, Ryan, Griffin and I went to a Castleton College hockey game. What a blast that was! Not only the game but watching the boys, especially Ryan, enjoying the game. Ryan had his nose glued to the glass most of the game and was so excited to be there. Griffin...well he was just Griffin. In his own little world some of the time and really watching the game other times. Although, Griffin did get a little annoying about wanting a big green foam finger. Sometimes that kid just blows my mind. He wouldn't give up begging for the foam finger. Of course I would have just given in but Jonny doesn't, so we listened to Griffin whine about it for a good share of the game. We also cleaned the house this week and today we did a little shopping.
Overall it was a really good week...makes me look forward to another school vacation!

A Great Sunday

I am the first to admit that Sundays are not my favorite day of the week. For some reason (that we can not figure out and would love your input) my family has a very hard time getting along on Sunday. We are all a little grumpy, lazy, tired and maybe just a little sick of each other. Sundays in this house are know for being a day of disagreements and just generally annoying each other. Today was different and nice. The big boys and I went to Church. It was my turn to teach Church school. The class was a little rambunctious but we made it though what we needed to do. After Church we met some friends at play place for lunch and playing. It is always nice to spend time with other moms and dear friends. While the big boys and I were at play place my wonderful husband did some laundry and put the Zachy to bed. I think Jonny took a little nap also. The boys and I came home while Zachy was sleeping and we were sure treading lightly (knowing it was Sunday and anything can set us off). They wanted to go sledding but as I said I was treading lightly and did not want to upset Jonny by leaving him again with Zachy. But he was very agreeable. Ryan, Griffin and I packed up the car and headed to Church hill. Of course I sat in the car and knitted while watching them sled. We all got what we wanted today...I love relaxing with my knitting needles. Ryan and Griffin love to play with their friends and sled. Jonny got a break from us and some quality time with Zachy. As much as we love each other maybe our family was not made to spend the day at home with each other.

Fat Lip...

Yesterday I missed a very exciting Tee ball game. Well I guess I should not say the game was exciting but the warm up before the game.
Zachy and I went to the grocery store instead of going to the game. As we are finishing up the produce section my cell phone rings:

Me: "Hello"

Jonny: "Are you at the store yet?"

Me: "Yes, why? What do you need?"

Jonny: "Ummm...Well, Ryan got hit in the face with the hard ball."

Me calmly: "Oh are you going to the ER?" (we always end up in the ER with Ryan)

Jonny: "No...It is just a fat lip, I was hoping you could bring some ice."

Me: "Sorry, we have already starting filling the cart. Is he ok to play? But do not make him if he doesn't want to."

Jonny: "We will see if he wants to play. I won't make him."

Me: "Ok, see you at home Bye"

Jonny: "Bye"

So Zachy and I finish up, and I call Jonny to see if they still need ice. No he tells me, they are done and headed home. Ryan played the last inning and hit the ball really well and his lip looks better.
Well, when I got home this is what I find...I have to say the pictures don't show how bad it really looked...

Come to find out, Jonny was the one that threw the ball. They were warming up, which means it wasn't the softer Tee Ball ball, it was a real hard baseball. Poor kid! They tell me that the swelling has gone down that it looked much better. What?! He must not have been able to open his mouth. Anyway, on the inside of his lip it is dark purple and has a good cut from his tooth. A little ice and some Motrin and he was feeling much better.
I told him that is what happens when you try to catch a ball with your mouth. He didn't think I was funny.

Child Labor Laws...

Not here in Vermont. Just kidding. Ryan has been bugging us for a long time to let him mow the lawn. Tonight when Jonny got home he let Ryan mow a little strip out back. He did great! So, Jonny let him mow most of the side lawn. Ryan is just too funny, how much he wants to be like his Daddy...Our lawn care business IS called Melen and Sons.

Zachy's 1st Birthday!!

I can't believe my Angel Baby is now ONE! He is more a little monster than an angel baby now. He is endlessly into everything. It is funny to see how birth order shows up in the personality of the children. At the age of one, Ryan would only be told once or twice not to touch or do something and he wouldn't do it again. Griffin would get into to things but was easily distracted. But Zachy, he is into everything he isn't suppose to be and laugh as he is hearing you say no or try to distract him. Oh well, he keeps me on my toes.
Every 1st birthday of my boys I have cried. I really expected myself to be a sobbing mess with Zachy, but I was just a little weepy. He is such a character, which makes it hard to be sad even if he is growing up. We only have a couple of pictures of Zachy's birthday. Being the 3rd born, things like this happen. Ryan's 1st birthday (along with everything else) has a ton of pictures. Griffin had less pictures and Zachy has very little. But here is what we have. Oh, I forget to mention, the morning of his birthday, he fell into the banister in our upstairs hallway. He has a cut and a couple of good bruises. There are more pictures of that than of his birthday party.

I can't believe all my little guys are growing up so fast. Ryan having his first school concert, Griffin having play dates at a friends house all day, and Zachy turning 1. I am so sad that I don't have a little baby anymore. I would love to have another baby, but my husband won't allow it (not to mention he has had a vasectomy). Adoption would be great, if our house wasn't so small and my husband agreed. Although, the cost of adoption might just be a little more than we could afford (more like a lot more). Maybe some day we could adopt a little girl.

Ryan's Concert

Last night was the Spring Concert at Northeast Elementary. Ryan's kindergarten class, a couple other kindergarten classes and first graders gave a wonderful performance. These was Ryan's first time getting up on stage in front of a group of people to sing. I was a little worried, he can be very shy and sensitive. Last night he was neither. I am not sure if he sang or just moved his lips but he said he was singing. The songs they sang where:

The Garden Song
Baby Beluga
Somebody has to (Poem by Shel Silverstein
Take me out to the ball game

Of course my other two boys sat quietly and listened to the concert. Being the perfect children they are I wouldn't expect anything less (Ha Ha Ha).

There are a couple of pictures and videos. Sorry they are dark and the video is jumping around, Jonny was singing and swaying with Griffin on his lap.

The little boy standing in front of Ryan is his best friend. This little boy has Autism and Ryan helps him all the time and tells everyone he is his best friend.

***Please Pray for Stellan. He is getting better but can still use our prayers!!***

We are truly blessed...

What a wonderful weekend we had. I truly feel blessed. It all started Saturday morning...
I decided to join Grace Congregational Church a while back, and Saturday morning was the new member class. Over the week I had talked to Jonny about joining with me. He was really unsure of his beliefs and had a lot of questions regarding faith, church and God in general. I asked him to do the new member class just because it was important to me and would love to have him there with me. On top of making me very happy I told him it might answer some of the questions he has. Jonny did come with me on Saturday morning and had a really good time. He hit off with Rev Jon (who couldn't, he is one of the most wonderful guys I know. Not to mention very funny) and enjoyed talking with the other new members. We learned a lot about Grace Church and the UCC. Grace has a wonderful history, it really blew my mind just how rich Grace's history is. The class confirmed my decision to join the Church and gave Jonny the little push to making his decision to join.
After the class we had a wonderful time with my sister Gia, who lives in Maine. She made the trip down to be here for the Baptism of me and my boys. I can't tell you how much that meant to me.
Sunday was the induction of new members to the Church and our Baptism. It was such a nice service. The boys behaved beautifully and the Baptism was so moving. I was the first one Baptized. While Rev. Tracy was placing the water on my head, Zachy was watching every move she made. When she was done he started wiping my head to get the water. It was just so cute. Griffin and Ryan were next and the answered Tracy's questions about wanting to be Baptized and marked as children of Christ very well. I am so proud of them. Rev. Tracy took Zachy out of my arms and held him while she Baptized him. I was a little nervous that he would cry and scream, but it was just as calm and relaxed. As she placed the water on his head he put his little hand up to feel the water. It was just a perfect ceremony. After all that Jonny and I, along with his sister Jodi and about 11 others were announced as members of the Church. Yes, Jonny joined the Churh with me and the boys. Rev. Tracy and Rev Jon and the whole congregation is just so welcoming. After the service we had a receiving line in fellowship hall and every member came up and welcomed us, introduced themselves and congratulated us. It was such a special morning. I will never forget it.

After having such a nice morning, the afternoon and evening could have went down the drain in comparison. But it was just as nice. We had family over for Ted's pizza (which is hands down the best pizza). Then off to an early bed time.

You would think that I should be grumpy from the lack of sleep. Zachy has been waking up all night long for weeks. It is getting old, but even without the sleep I need this weekend was just amazing. Thank you everyone that was part of it.

***Please Pray for Stellan***

Ended up being a good day.

Yesterday ended up being a good day. We were off to a rough start but things did get better. The kids and I played outside for most of the afternoon. It was really a gorgeous day.

The Kids loved playing on the swings. It was a warm day, but not warm enough for bare feet. Ryan on the other hand couldn't wait to have socks and shoes off. The boy never feels cold.

Zachy loved the swing too. He almost fell asleep.

And then there is my STUD Muffin. Sometimes a working man is so sexy. Plus the carharts...what a nice ass butt.

How cute are the two of them. Daddy and his baby. A nice ending to a beautiful day.

****Remember to Pray for Stellan today. According to MckMamma's tweet this morning he is was in SVT all last night and this morning, but did get some sleep***

The weekend is over

As our weekend comes to an end, I am thankful for all that I have. My family is healthy, happy and safe. My boys are growing by leaps and bounds, as healthy children do. My husband and I are "finding" each other again. I thoroughly enjoy my friends company (bloggy friends included). My spiritual life is expanding. I just feel so fulfilled right now. It was only yesterday I prayed to the Lord for some guidance because I could feel the gray of depression sneaking in. I haven't had any symptoms of depression since before Zachy was born. And as the darkness was slowly creeping in I sat down and prayed. I needed some help to overcome this, I knew I couldn't do it myself. It has been many years of trying to conquer it alone, never being able to beat it. Since I have found myself in the Grace of God, I feel I can conquer anything. So, yesterday I prayed and spoke with God about my feelings, and low and behold I am feeling much better. There is a new light in my life. I know it may sound silly, but this is the real deal. I have never in my life prayed like this and never in my life felt so good about everything. I realize my life is not "perfect" but I am seeing all the good that is in it. Believe me when I say there is a lot of "bad" things in my life, hard things, sad things. But with God on my side they do not seem so overwhelming. I pray that all of you can find this feeling in your lives. Like my blog friend CC says "a place called peace".

Well now that I said my piece on faith I just want to fill you in on our weekend. Yesterday, Ryan had a birthday party for his friend from school, Skylar. This was very hard on Griffin. It was the first party or event that Ryan was invited to and was not asked to bring Griffin. I knew it was coming, as Ryan goes to the "big" school, he is going to have a life of his own. Griffin really had a hard time with this. I tried my best to make him feel like he wasn't missing out. We played wii together, and tried to play a few games. But his feelings were hurt and he just wanted to watch a movie. What movie did he pick...."Back to the Future". It is just sooo crazy, he loves these movies just like his father. I can't believe it. So, being the nice mommy I am (even though I can't stand those movies) I put it in the DVD player. Thankfully he fell asleep a few minutes into the movie. So much for having special time with just me and Griffin.
Today we went to church. This was the first time they both went to Church School without giving me a hard time. Griffin has gone a couple of times, but not Ryan. Well today was his day, off he went without looking back. I must admit he went into the preschool class room because he wanted to stay with Griffin, even though he should have been in the upstairs kindergarten room. But we didn't push it, as long as he was going that was all we could ask for. After church we had lunch and a little clean up time, then I packed them up to go to the indoor pool (sorry Jodi, we would have called so you could join us, I just didn't want to wake you. I knew you were going to try to nap). They had a blast, but I got a huge headache from the smell of the chemicals and the heat/humidity in there. I was able to start Ryan's scarf even will the headache. After swimming we picked up dinner at KFC and headed home.

As the evening wore on the boys were bathed and in bed by 7:00pm. WoooHooo. 3 boys clean and asleep. What a great ending to a great weekend.

I just had to share this picture. Griffin is just so cute...even from behind.

I have a question...

Why would a 6 year old waste time and energy sneaking dirty underwear around so he can keep wearing them?

This aren't the dirty undies, I just like this pic. Check out the shoes...HeeHe

I am starting to think I have the stinky kid in school. Sometimes it is so hard to get him to take a shower and then we have to make sure he uses soap and shampoo. We also have to make sure he puts clean clothes on after his shower. For so reason I just believed he was putting his dirty undies in the laundry basket with his clothes. But the last couple of nights I noticed the same dinosaur undies on the night stand (next day clothes get put on the night stand for morning). I know he has a couple of the same undies so I didn't think much of it other than to make sure I checked into it. Well tonight, I made sure to say "get clean undies and socks". The two older boys get their stuff ready for morning, while I fix the beds and other nightly things. As I am walking out of the room I notice the dinosaur undies again. I take a closer look and there is a poop stain! YUCK! Now I know they are dirty!! So I ask "how many days have you wore this undies?" or course I get the "Well, well, I, I". I call him on the dirty undies and point out the poop stain so I know they are dirty. I drop them in the dirty laundry basket and say "New undies every day!!" I shouldn't have to tell him to change his undies. And then I wonder why was he wasting time and energy sneaking the dirty undies around. Just change them!! Man little boys are gross.

On a better note... Zachy must be feeling better. He has been practicing his walking. Sniff sniff. But I think the oral steroid is making him jittery, and he really doesn't like that feeling. About an hour after his morning dose he was really crabby, and very unsettled. He just didn't know what he wanted. But as the day went by he seemed to settle down. Griffin is doing well. His cough has calmed down. But I forgot to give him his inhalers before bed. Nice mom, poor guy.

Tomorrow is my knitting night. I can't wait. Hopefully the boys won't be too sick for me to go. Zachy especially just wants mommy when he is sick. Anyway I need to go to bed. Who knows if we will be up all night.

Until tomorrow, God bless.

Croup

Zachy has Croup again. We went to the dr yesterday after not getting any sleep on Monday night. He had that horrible cough and couldn't breath. That is just so scary to me. The dr gave us oral steroids. Which I hate having to give the kids stuff like that but he felt so much better. I put him to bed at 6:30 last night. He got up 5 or 6 times until 11:00, and then slept until 7:00 this morning. The steroid must be doing its job. We all needed the sleep, it was so nice.

Then this morning Griffin was coughing. He is my little asthma boy. Every time he gets sick it ends up in his lungs. We started his inhaler in hopes that we don't end up on liquid steroids. He really is a baby when he is sick. Whiny and sensitive on good days. Sick days leave me pulling my hair out.

Poor Ryan, he coughs and has a running nose but I never really notice because he just goes about his day. Doesn't really complain about being sick. On the other hand, he drives me nuts with his know it all attitude. I really didn't think I would be dealing with that until they were teens, but at 6, he knows everything (a little like his Dad, hmmmm).

Keep your fingers crossed and say a little prayer that Griffin won't get any worse. That his inhaler does its job and we aren't up all night with him.

Poor Babies

As today progressed the day became a little hard to deal with.

Becca was here, her first day back in two weeks. She has been home with her mom ever since her Dad passed away unexpectedly. It was hard with her today, she just wanted to go home. I understand why she was difficult. Her whole world has been turned upside down. Poor little thing.

Then Zachy has come down with another cold. He is a little grumpy, snotty and drooling.



See the drool all over my ottoman:



The poor baby didn't sleep at all last night, and only took two 20 minute naps today. Normal he naps for 2 hours twice a day. So, as you can probably image he was a gem (Yeah right). It is still a little scary when he gets sick. He had (or still has) a floppy airway. I can't remember how to spell the medical term, but when he gets all congested he can't breath. I thought he had out grown it but the last time he was sick the Dr. could hear it. Although it is much better than when he was little.

Ryan then can home after school. He had a band aid on his thumb. From what he said he cut his finger on some ice on the playground. It was a pretty good cut. Then he went out to sled with Griffin, and he slipped on the ice, which ripped the skin off his pinkie finger. I am starting to think that Ryan and ice really don't mix. But he really wants to play hockey. ummmm.
To be perfectly honest, I am really surprised that something didn't happen to Griffin. He is usually my klutz.
Hopefully we all get so sleep tonight. Tomorrow is another day.

Odds and ends

I have nothing really important to write about (not that my blog ever has really important stuff). I just wanted to gush a little about my wonderful kids and post a few pictures that I took over the last couple of weeks.
My little Zachy is being the wonderful baby we all know and love. Today at the grocery store he was sure to smile and giggle and baby talk to everyone in the store. I love getting the comments about how cute and happy his is. Usually when I go the store I have 3 or 4 kids and all I hear is "wow, you have your hands full" even when the kids are being very good and quiet. I don't think having 3 kids is a lot and when I have Becca that makes 4. Did everyone forget not that long ago it wasn't unusual to have 5 or 6 kids. I have a mere 3, really its not that hard (well, sometimes it is).
Griffin is being extra lovable and huggy. He just wants to cuddle and love us. In between the whining and tantrums that 4 year old have.
That leaves my oldest Ryan. He is such a sensitive guy. He does really think of others a lot. With Brads death he has been really concerned about Abby, Becca and Lynn. He made a wonderful card for them. We are told that Ryan has befriended a little Autistic boy in his class. Ryan tells us how A is his best friend. Ryan takes good care of A. He also helps this little girl L. She has had a very hard life and Ryan helps her with hew tray at lunch, her coat, her backpack and all the little things this girl needs. He is the first one to offer to help with A. When we pick Ryan up from school every child walking by makes sure to say good-bye to him. He is well liked and very nice to all the kids at school. Yesterday I noticed the new little girl was seated next to Ryan. I wonder if it is best he is such a nice boy.
Last but not least. My husband Jonny. I am extremely luck to have him (for the most part). He does a lot of the house work, laundry, and yard care. He does really well taking care of the boys (maybe a little improvement with Zachy). He loves taking Griffin to school and picking both boys up if he can. He tries to include the boys in the work around the house.
I guess by writing this post I am really saying how thankful I am for having such a wonderful family, and I wouldn't be able to carry on without any of them. I am truly blessed.