Dazzling Party

Some friends threw a fun Twilight party last night. I am going to post a few pictures, so I hope those of you in the shots aren't disappointed.

We had a few games, yummy foods and a viewing of the movie. I have to say that my original impression of the movie stands. This is how I explain it. Have you seen 'Sky High' where Kurt Russell is teaching future super heros? Dan's little sister used to watch it a lot. I could sit there with her and watch it, but wouldn't turn it on myself. If I were flipping through the channels I might stop long enough to see where in the movie they were, but wouldn't stay more than 5 minutes before finding something else. So it is with Twilight. However, if I pick up one of the books just to have a nibble, I'm stuck at the buffet until I've tried it all! Well, I skip the sections with Jacob, but I don't feel too bad since I'm full of everything else.

I picked up Kasie to come with me. We were worried about being the only movie critics there, but really I was pretty tame compared to a few of the ladies.

Spring Break II

The last few days have been trying on this mother, but I have great news that the boys came out of it alive and unscathed. I love having Alex home, but I'm done with the fighting! Mostly our troubles stem from Ryan being used to doing what he wants and has had a hard time with being limited to fewer options.

The Wrights were good enough to help us relieve our tension by babysitting while I went to the dentist, going to the aquarium with us, and watching 'Monsters vs. Aliens' with us. After the movie Alex said, 'Wow, we saw the Wrights 3 days in a row!' I'm not sure why that was so amazing. He normally sees Alex 6 days in a row. It doesn't matter if he thought it great, because it was great to have another mom to vent with about our troublesome and wonderful boys.

At the aquarium I thought Ryan would jump in with the rays. He loves to pet them. I paid an enormous price for a shrimp chopped up so we could feed them. Even Anxious Alex took a turn feeding the rays!

And of course the boys were more excited about the high winds, palm fronds and ditches at the aquarium than the fish. I wish I had got the full frond in this picture. It was a good 5' long.

Not for the squeamish

Dan got a real cast on yesterday. It is blue and sturdy! Here are the x-rays of the pins (skewers seems more accurate to me.) I'll leave off the actual picture of his hand since it is jaundice looking from 2 week old iodine. He asked the dr if he could wash his hands before they put the new cast on. He was sort of laughed at; you can't wash your hand when you have skewers sticking out of it!

Majee Legends

I am opening up our May book group to any and all interested in reading Bethany Fuller's book, Majee Legends. We'll meet the 7th with a time and place announced once we have a head count.
Check out this commercial.


Let me know if you are coming so we can plan on it. Thanks!

Giraffes

On Friday we went to the Tucson zoo. It is a little zoo, but full of the animals you love. This zoo has a giraffe feeding area. As ever Anxious Alex wouldn't even consider getting close to the giraffes and Reckless Ryan was all over it! (notice the drool)

Emily went with us. This was the last day of her pink cast. However, she will have to wear another brace for 4 weeks and then an even smaller brace after that. And lastly, they had a conservation building. There was a skink and a snake for petting. Ok, knowing my boys you know who touched the snake and who touched the skink with legs.

Allergies, Asthma and Senstive Gag

These three things make for a tiresome life for the kid who has to endure it and the mom (or grandma!) who has to clean up the side affects. We went to Tucson for the weekend and had hoped to stay a few days longer but I awoke two mornings in a row to find that Ryan had puked in the night. He had a runny nose the whole time and then Saturday he got this cough. Just in time for the piano recital. So we had lots of stares as Ryan coughed until it sounded like he was going to throw up. Which luckily he did not do at the recital!
As far as we can tell the cats and pollen teamed up against my wild child to slow him down this weekend. I'm going to see if I can get him tested for allergies and then it is on to a test with Singulair to see if we can keep this kid breathing freely. Although, will he gain more energy with more oxygen in his system?

Spring Break

Alex gets a two week break. What have we done so far? Not much. The boys have played together really well. We've been to a few parks, watched a few movies, and went to Alex's first baseball game last night. He had two hits and one run. Coach put him at the pitchers mound where most of the action is (only not when Alex was there!) and had him 2nd in the batting lineup. He was nervous (he said he was just excited) but did a great job.
Today me and boy 1 and boy 2 are off to Tucson for some fun at Grandma's. She has a trampoline, a dog, a cat, RockBand, and tons of movies. We'll head to the zoo one day and maybe a round of mini golf. (Oh, and if I call the boys by birth order they immediately reply that they are 6 and 3 and Ryan is adamant that he is the big brother, which one day soon he will be bigger than Alex, so maybe it is just foreshadowing!)
We are leaving Dan behind. He can recover and watch basketball in peace this weekend. Hopefully he won't be tired of eggs and hot dogs before we get back!

Coach Pitch

It is time once again for another round of sports. This season is coach pitch baseball. We are doing it through the City of Avondale and have been really impressed by their organization. Alex is on the Diabondbacks. His coach has 4 seasons of experience coaching and he does a great job.

Alex is the youngest and the smallest on the team. I had reservations about it, but I was told that he is the best hitter on the team, so I guess he'll do OK. I guess when you start pitching to a kid when he is 2.5 that gives him an advantage. He has games once a week on Wednesday nights. I apologize in advance for his grumpiness on Thursdays. I dread that, but I'm not too worried. He is always good at school. It is just me he'll drive crazy!

Alex is in the front. Saturday was Opening Ceremonies. All the teams got to walk around the bases and shake hands with a city official. They were served pizza and drinks and then there was a game of t-ball coaches vs coach pitch coaches. It was fun, but unfortunately Dan was about to pass out in the heat! (It wasn't that hot; he is just recuperating.)

Healing

I suppose since I didn't post a funeral time you all assumed that Dan made it through surgery. He did not want to wake up from the general anesthesia. The nurse got mad and was worried that he couldn't wake up. It was a long day at the surgery center for Ryan and I (since Dan wouldn't wake up!) but we survived thanks to Sponge Bob.
Unfortunately he isn't in much less pain. He tried to go to work Friday, but only stayed a few hours. His company had a huge set of layoffs while he has been out and I guess he wants to get back to work to prove they need him! He gets a real cast on the 25th. I hope he gets to feeling better soon. The only upside has been that it is March Madness right now, so Dan has something to watch.

Ryanisms

I have a feather pillow that sheds like a wild duck being chased! Ryan loves finding the feathers. Yesterday he picks one up and says, 'Mom, Mom. Look a duck leaf!'

'That gives me a headache.' Really, I don't think I say this too often, but Ryan picked up on it. The things that gives him headaches: loud crickets at night, chores, and Alex's singing.

Ryan has a fake burp that sounds very real, especially to the unsuspecting. He uses it most during prayers (public and private) and at the dinner table when we either guests or have guests.

And thanks to RockBand he likes to sing 'My dirty little secret.' I don't mind in the car, but during church when the sacrament is being passed is a little too much for this mom.

Update

Dan has surgery tomorrow morning. He gets to have pins; the kind that stick out. Ugh! He'll wear a cast for 4 weeks. The Dr said he shouldn't be driving (just 'cause if he gets in an accident he'll be more liable) and not to work while he is on the pain killers. Probably not to do anything at all until Monday. All for a little bball and exercise...

Church Ball

Ok, here will be a sounding board for Church ball injuries. I'll start with Dan's and I hope you'll add your story.
Saturday Dan took Alex for a little early morning basketball. I was on my way up there to do my report (VT). We passed on the road so I inquired why he was headed home. "I busted my finger." "Like, you jammed it?" "Uh, no. I busted it." Well, whatever that means. So, I go do my report and when I get home Dan's hand is a balloon! I suggest he head to urgent care. "Well, I guess I should." Men, honestly; I would have gone to get medical attention before coming home!
It turns out he was blocking a bounce pass and stuck his itty bitty right pinky out there. He snapped (yuck!) it and thinking it was dislocated he pushed it back. Unfortunately he actually snapped it (the x-ray shows a nice diagonal break) but he did a good job putting it back in place according to the urgent care Dr. (or whatever they have there).
He is splinted and will be heading to another Dr. today to get it set. Oh, that is going to be painful! It has been interesting what a stir a little pinky can cause. We have had to switch sides of the bed so I don't whack it. He is driving my car since he can not shift his truck. I get to help with his showering and drying. We'll see today how it slows down his typing at work.
I have no pictures of this, but imagine your little pinky sticking out at a 90deg angle just above the knuckle. I'm glad I didn't have to see that!

Alexander Daniel

I've noticed where folks put up pictures of their little ones from the beginning 'til the present, and I thought I would do the same for my Alex.

I know this picture looks scary, but really it wasn't. I was never afraid or worried about Alex. I cried that he had to be sedated and didn't open his eyes for 3 days, but I never thought that he wouldn't survive. He was in NICU for 14 days and since then has hardly ever been sick. He started out at 5lb 4oz and really hasn't gained much since (yet, he keeps getting taller...)!

Alex was born in Feb and blessed in April (which was when he was due, so that worked out!) Would you look at how beautiful he was. Man, everyone thought he was so pretty. Ok, we look pretty awesome here too.

Here is a collage of birthdays 1-5. We've had Nemo, Buzz lightyear, Go Diego Go, Transformers and this year Star Wars. I don't think there is much left in the boy genre; super heros I guess. Ok, I had to add these last two because I thought it would be fun to see our friends when they were little. Stan and Haley are next to Alex. The Rays kids, Alex W. and Luke is facing the other way.
Ok, you can't see the kids faces, but can you pick out K.C., Stan, or Luke?

Star Wars Party

Alex turned 6 Saturday. On Friday, Ryan and I went to school with cupcakes. The battery was out on the camera, so the pic of him at the table is the goods he got from his teacher at school. Alex woke up Saturday at 6:00am to celebrate (and I quote him) 'The best day of his life.' It is unfortunate that he did since his party wasn't until 5:00pm. This is the longest day we've had to endure for a while! His bed present was the clone outfit. It was $5 at KB when they were going out of business and the suit was destroyed by the end of the day! At least he has a real mask so he doesn't have to pretend with his sunglasses anymore.

The party was a big success. We mostly just sent them outside to play light sabers and guns. There was a lot of bossiness going on, but I stayed out of it. There were a few whimpers from each kid, but hey, war is war, you're going to get hurt playing it. Last year I now remember (after the fact!) that the party was 1.5 hrs which was perfect. When I made the invites this year I thought it was 2.5 and thus planned for that. Alas, it was 30 minutes too long. But I don't think they minded. We ended with a Clone Wars episode to calm everyone down. Oh, and I made a target game out of laminated pictures tapped to boxes. They shot the Nerf gun and they got a 'whoppers' candy for each point they earned. The kids loved it! That was cheap and fun if you ever need a great party game.

Thank you to all who brought or sent Alex gifts. We had a great time Sunday building and playing with them. As for the cash, Alex is anxious to spend it. I hope I can reign in the spending so he doesn't invest in more things for me to pick up!