May Day, Mayday

Wow, April was insane!!!!

It started with a failed hearing test for Liam, proceeded to blocked inner ears and then scheduled surgery for him to get tubes.  For Graeme, it was a bit on the happier side as he lost his first tooth.  For me, I had a bad bout of the stomach bug for Easter, though on the plus side I also discovered an amazing recipe for a flour less chocolate cake.  Mike has been making huge progress in our attic project as well as dealing with some work craziness. Throw in our first outing to play in the sand at the beach, some backyard camping, a train ride at the mall and getting everything in order for Graeme to start kindergarten in July and April was nuts!

Now we are hoping that May 1 becomes a may day for the start of new adventures.  I will say that so far these adventures have started a little earlier than I would like.  I was up at 4:30, coherent by 5 a.m. so that Liam and I could head over to Rex Surgery Center for Liam to get tubes put in his ear.  We had to be there at 6 so we could wait 45 minutes to go back for pre-op for an hour so that Liam could go in for the 15 minute procedure and 15 minute recovery.  Liam threw up the drainage when we got to the car (fortunately before we actually got in the car and he did not get me with it) and so changed him out of his pajamas and into some spare clothes.  We were home and chilling by 9am just as Mike and Graeme got out of bed and got their day started.  Liam is chilling with the iPad and drinking fluids, eating applesauce and slowly letting his crazy come back out.  We will go back to the doctor in a week for a check up, but so far so good.  Hopefully this will really help out his future adventures with the ability to hear.

I hope to be a more consistent blogger and share the fun adventures and crazy life of the Hales.

Signs that I'm not meant to get up at 5 a.m.:

-I chose "jammies" last night that also doubled as my outfit for the day aka t-shirt and sweat pants

-I came back to make my tea and realized I had never turned on the burner to heat the water
-"Punchy" does not even begin to describe how my brain is functioning (Michael is already looking forward to me getting some rest and returning to my "normal" state of insanity)

Tuesdays

ARGH-Tuesday!!!!  2014 has been tough on Tuesday.  It seems that most everything has been happening on Tuesdays this year.  Most of the major weather has come in on Tuesdays.  The first snow was fun but each Tuesday lost a little luster with each added bout of ice/snow/sleet mix.  Until late March, Graeme had missed more school on Tuesday than he had gone.  Last Tuesday we had the failed hearing test.  We finally managed to mix it up this Tuesday with some fun mixed in with our crazy.

Our day started with the usual Tuesday morning at speech therapy for Liam.  He loves going to see his speech therapist.  She is great with him and he had a good day.  While waiting, Graeme kept picking out books for me to read to him (and we had a couple other kids come over to listen during the Dora Valentine's Day book).  I love that Graeme is really starting to love books.

After speech, we headed over to a nearby used book store.  While I love finding discounted books, Liam especially loves to run laps around the bookshelves.  Graeme, of course, must chase him down. They actually are very nice about it and the boys enjoy being around the books.

Tuesday was also the annual free cone day at Ben & Jerry's.  I promised the boys a trip for ice cream after the bookstore.  We headed over to grab our free cones, but turned out to be almost an hour early.  Much to the boys chagrin, we went back to the car, grabbed our packed lunch and had to eat lunch before having dessert.  We ate, hung out and ended up being first in line when they opened.

Our last stop of the day was the Ear, Nose, Throat doctor to check on Liam's hearing.  A misunderstanding of timing had us there extremely early.  This place was great and actually got us in early (we actually were completely done before the scheduled appointment time).  They did not do a hearing test on Liam as when they used their equipment his inner ears were filled with fluid.  His eustachian tubes appear to be blocked and cannot drain the fluid.  Our first step is antibiotics to try and clear this up.  We will find out in a couple of Tuesdays!

After this we finally got to do what Graeme had been asking to do after each stop-go home!

Some Crazy, Some Fun and then Some Crazy Fun

So it has been two days since we went to the zoo to start our spring break and yet it feels like so much longer.

On Tuesday, we started the day with Liam's audiology appointment for the process of getting him into Wake County Preschools next year.  He failed it.  It showed no movement in his middle ear and some problems with ear drum response as well.  To make sure it wasn't an ear infection (first time I've ever prayed for my child to have an ear infection which I knew was unlikely as he didn't have a cold and he doesn't have a history of them either), we scheduled an appointment with his pediatrician and headed there next.  As expected, his ears were clear as far as they can tell.  The pediatrician then referred us to a pediatric Ear, Nose & Throat specialist and we have an appointment there next week.  (We will make that appointment better with free cone day at Ben & Jerry's afterward)

After this craziness, we grabbed some lunch and played at the Waverly Place Play area for a while where the boys enjoyed some more beautiful spring weather.

Graeme loved the twirly thing

The shared drink looks almost as big as Liam in this picture :-)

Wednesday was a return to truly fun adventures.  A friend invited us to join her and her 3 kids to visit a place called Three Bears Acres about an hour north of us.  It is a great outdoor play area where kids are encouraged to be kids.  They had a blast!

Our first stop was the jump zone. (It was also our last)

Graeme with his friend Zoe bouncing around

Next the three "big" kids tried out the rolling "pipes".  They are actually pretty light and the kids could roll them up the hill without a lot of help from me.  It took a few moments to adjust to the fact that the  "pipes" wouldn't just roll down the hill on their own and would need some effort from the kids.  

Liam let Graeme and Zoe do all the work, he was just along for the ride.

After the sand pit, I didn't really have a chance to get out my phone again.  The boys enjoyed (though they weren't very good at) the tennis ball slingshots, they loved sliding down the giant wet carpet slide on snow sleds, and the big play set was a huge hit. 

The only part we were a little sketchy on was the port-o-john toilets.  That many kids in one place does not lend itself to a clean restroom much less a clean port-o-john.  

A great time with friends and a great way to find smiles after the stress of Tuesday.  Tomorrow will be another great adventure, this time with daddy (mommy will be home alone!)

Spring Break Day 1

We are finally enjoying some beautiful spring weather as the boys begin their break.  I'm hoping that this week will be filled with lots of fun adventures for us. Since the weather was so lovely, we decided a zoo trip was a great way to start our week.  

Graeme donned his explorer coat, hat and bag and with map in hand, helped us make our way around the zoo.  We got there just after lunch and though very nice and warm, it was not too crowded.  Since there are certain exhibits we can NEVER miss, we parked and started our adventure on the African side of the zoo.  The giraffes and zebras were our first animals of the day.

Our next stop was the elephants.  There are two things we must always do when we go to the zoo.  Graeme must find the cot in the expedition tent and take a nap (this involves lots of fake snoring).  

We must also head over to the helicopter they have in the elephant tracking exhibit.  Today was one of the few times when we have gotten to this exhibit and there was no one else there.  The boys enjoyed climbing in the cockpit (and Graeme of course checked the map to make sure we knew where we should head next.    
The animals were very cooperative today.  They all were out and about and enjoying the sunshine and warmth.

We came up just after lunch for the gorillas.   It was fun to watch as this mom (Olympia) gave her son Apollo a ride on her back and then took him over to climb and play while she snacked.  Not so different from some of my afternoons with my boys.

The zoo is celebrating its 40th year and they have just opened a bug exhibit featuring some fun LARGE animatronic arthropods. The boys really enjoyed checking out all the different creatures and Graeme gave me some great "scary" pictures in front of the spider web and tarantula.  There were also some mounts and some live arthropods at the end (I just can't call them all bugs-it goes against my zoology background) that the boys enjoyed checking out.  Graeme took out his magnifying glass to check out the small critters.

Next we crossed over into the North America section of the zoo.  We enjoyed the bee garden.  Liam loved checking out the bees and their hive.  Over at the Sonora Desert exhibit, Graeme liked the cactus and pretended to be extremely scared of the snakes.  He was excited to see the ocelots (though he really wanted them to be jaguars).  

We didn't do much with the bears and bisons today, the boys were ready to get to the playground and do some climbing and sliding.  Liam really enjoyed himself and Graeme finally admitted that the day might be too hot for his jacket.  (I also realized that he had put his shirt on backward this morning-if you look closely you will see the slight v-neck to the shirt on his back :-)

After playing, we stopped for some applesauce and carrots.  Graeme also asked to take my picture so here is proof I took my boys to the zoo today!

After snack, it was time for the polar bear and the seals.  We enjoyed seeing a polar bear back on exhibit and watching the seals swim and play.  We also enjoyed the informational and interactive displays.  The "ice cave" was a fun adventure especially when we found a Graeme dinosaur lurking inside!

Over in the Cypress Swamp exhibit, Graeme had us tiptoe past the alligators so we wouldn't wake them up.  A bit further on there is a small pavilion where they have a couple of alligators, some turtles and snakes on exhibit,where one alligator was basking with its mouth open.  Graeme apologized for talking loud and waking up the alligator :-).  We also found a small swamp boat where the boys enjoyed a round of "Row, Row, Row your Boat".

Our day ended back on the Africa side as we made our way back to our car.  We had to stop and check on the red river hogs (or as Graeme calls them-the three little pigs) and we even saw a small snake on the edge of the path.  

Before that however, there were the lions who for once were up and wide awake.  There was some roaring, some walking around, and the male was feeling quite frisky.  We'll have to keep checking to see if there will be any little cubs joining the zoo family :-p.  

What a great start to our break!

Finally, the Home Tour

So even though the floors have been in for a few weeks now.  Thanks to rainy weather, continually runny noses and the general craziness of life I haven't quite put everything back together and still more cluttered than we are hoping to be.  I (and my house) will likely always be a work in progress.

Our entrance way (also realized best shot showing our beautiful new floor).  We moved the secretary desk from our room and have a wall shelf with pegs to hold coats and my bags.  We put the chair in the middle so it can be pulled around for the desk or more often used to sit on to put on shoes.  Now we have to go through our shoes and pass on the ones outgrown.

We moved the dining table behind the couch so that we wouldn't waste the space given over to the dining room and could still have our "play room."  It's been great, though the chairs rarely stay around the table as Graeme is utilizing them to "build" ships, houses for reenacting the three little pigs, bridges, trains or whatever else his imagination can come up with.  Lots of fun until we actually need to sit down to eat :-).

The only new thing added is the entertainment unit, which has been great.  With the cozy space between it and the couch, my boys and I have found a great dance floor to get the last of the energy out before bedtime each night (our favorite song right now is from the Lego Movie-Everything is Awesome and is the first song we start with every time)

Fun fact-we ended up putting the space heater where the horrid fireplace used to be.  We are finally getting heat from that space :-)

Glad to have places to sit again!  Still working a bit on the hutch holding our dishes.  Very pleased with top two shelves but still figuring out what to do with Easter decorations as both boys are finally old enough that can decorate during different seasons and holidays.  (Liam thinks he should hide plastic eggs throughout the house for Mike and I to find).

Our "play room" still has the yellow couch under the window looking out into the backyard (lots of fun watching the bird feeders).  The china cabinet now holds books (as does bookshelf next to it :-)-so happy to finally be able to have books out again without too much worry for little hands tearing them up).  Enjoy the view of fun rugs I found at Target, it is generally covered in Legos, Duplos, trains or Octonauts depending on what the boys are interested in.  We decided not to bring our big coffee table back in and leave this as a great open play space and we have loved it.

Another great use of our vaulted open flow space.  Mike took the shelves that used to be where we now have the TV and put them on the narrow wall by the kitchen so that I can finally have my cookbooks in a useful and handy spot.  Lacking cabinets, the dresser underneath holds our casserole dishes, bakers, and serving bowls.  

It has been a long project but so excited with how the remodel has ended up making such better use of our space.  The boys are now starting spring break so we will make use of the space next week as well as we hope to have some fun adventures to share!  We are ready for April and for spring to show up, NO FOOLING!

In Like a Lion

March, oh March, where are you going?  This month and 2014 has been pretty crazy in this Hale-raising house.

What's been keeping us so busy?

-DYI house renovations-mostly Mike (though I've pitched in where it felt useful :-) has taken our very poorly laid out (and carpeted) living and dining area and made it lovely.  He started by pulling out the nasty blue carpet and removing the useless gas fireplace half wall.  Then had to do some rewiring, patch up walls, and then paint them.  Then we put in the hardwood laminate through the space and then Mike finished last weekend with the shoe molding.  We started the project the day after Christmas but thanks to the next thing that has kept us busy, it finally finished up last weekend and now we are getting the house back together! (Will post a "tour" after we get the last few things back in-my handy hubby did a fantastic job)

-Our unfortunate source of craziness has been sickness.  Mike has been hit the worst with a bout of bronchitis and a bad case of yuck, but the boys and I have not escaped either.  The boys would miss school and then just when I felt they could be sent back,  the next crazy occurrence in our year would keep us home.

-Winter, winter, please don't come back.  It was fun to have some real winter weather, but 2 snows, several ice storms have been really harsh on this Southerner who just isn't prepared for that much cold.  And just as we think spring is coming in to stay, a bout of cold comes to bring the coats back out.  I'm ready for my flip flops to hang out a while and to have a real spring.  Winter take a break and summer heat hold of for a bit please! Really hoping that the phrase stays true this year and March goes out like a lamb!

-Children are always crazy and unexpected-that is to be expected!  Ready for the boys to be my regular daily craziness again :-).

10 Things That No Longer Surprise Me

As a parent, I am still learning that adult logic and child logic are worlds apart and that personal space is a true thing of the past.  In honor of my sweet progeny, here is a list of ten things happening often around the house that no longer surprise me, in no particular order . . .

1.  Discovering plastic cups (and a variety of other thankfully waterproof items added while I'm not looking) in the washing machine (this after hearing a mysterious thump, thump, thump after starting the wash).

2.  That the yellow stuff around the window screens isn't always pollen but is present all year long (sidewalk chalk is also fun to use on window screens).

3.  That laying down my head on a pillow generally sends off a signal for one of the boys to wake up. 

4.  That when we get sick, snow days will happen as soon as the kids get better and can go back to school. (Twice in under a month this happened!)

5.  That the only guarantee at the dinner table is a sudden need to go to the bathroom. 

6.  That the kids will play together well until you sit down and try to read for 5 minutes.  (Addendum: they will also be silent in the car UNTIL I put in an audiobook).

7.  That the house is really a race course. (Especially true during our floor renovations as the furniture is out in a storage box and there are no major obstacles to a good race or chase).

8.  That naps are now things to be dreaded.  If Liam falls asleep in the car and ends up taking a nap, he has no desire to go to bed until 10pm and will throw crazy fits at his 8:30 bedtime.

9.  That a made bed is mortally offensive to a 3 1/2 year old and must be destroyed!

10.  That though the boys love to be tucked in with multiple blankets and their stuffed animals, they are always on top of their covers (and in Graeme's case generally completely turned around) when we check on them later.

It is always an adventure and I'm looking forward to expecting more of the unexpected.  

"Insanity is hereditary; you get it from your children."  (Sam Levenson)