A sigh of relief

Today I took Grant to the doctor after dealing with this awful cough and wheezing since Sunday.  He was diagnosed with bronchitis again...or still.  I didn't admit to the doctor that I'd found it impossible to give him the medicine a month ago and just decided, after looking online, that I didn't really need to give it to him anyway.

Just call me non-compliant Dr. Mom.

Anyway, I again brought up the thought that Grant may have asthma and might need a daily medicine so we (hopefully) would not have to deal with the breathing treatments quite so often.  I sort of expected more of the same, ("Oh, I think he is fine.  We'll just wait and see. Yada yada yada...") but our pediatrician actually agreed that maybe it was time to start a daily inhaler.

*Phew!*  I am breathing sighs of relief.

It's not that I wanted a child with asthma.  I'm sure life is easier without it.  However, I want what Grant needs.  If he needs a daily medication so that he can run and play and do the parachute at Awana without collapsing into coughs that elicit stares of concern, I'm all about it.  I've traveled this road personally, and I think we'll be okay.  I am glad, after three years, we may finally have something that makes life better for my little boy! 

"Thomas" and the nebulizer

*cough, cough*  "Can I have a breathing treatment...and watch 'Thomas'?"

Grant having his breathing treatment this morning at 5:20

This, my friends, is how my day has started at 5:15 the past two days.  I am not sure if it is the coughing fits (trust me, this is not a little cough, but a hacking up the lungs, belly, intestines, etc. cough) or the promise of watching "Thomas" that wakes up my little boy so stinkin' early in the morning.  I do sympathize.  As an asthmatic, I have had my fair share of coughing and breathing issues, but 5:15 is so early! 

Do I sound whiny?  Because I feel sort of whiny!

It struck me on Sunday morning (when I was awakened at 4:45 because of a different boy's nightmare) that parenthood is the ultimate test of selflessness!  This morning I so badly wanted to start the treatment and go back to bed just like Sunday I so badly wanted to pat Jack's head after praying that he would have good dreams and roll over and fall back asleep.  I decided to be a good mom and stay up with the boys, in case you were wondering.  I am still waiting on my reward.

So now I am debating whether or not to call the doctor to check out Grant...and I must admit that the prospect of another too early morning is weighing into my decision.  Is there something he can give to Mr. Sickie to help him sleep later in addition to curing his cough?  If so, THAT is what I want!  If we have a rerun of the past two mornings tomorrow morning, Mom of the Year I may not be--maybe I can let Ryan be Dad of the Year instead!  Yeah, that sounds more like it.

My First Race!

Okay, I will preface this by freely admitting that the past few blogs have been about me.  There--I've said it, I know it.  Here is one more to add to the list...

On Saturday my dad and I ran in the Carmel 8k, my first.race.ever.  (I don't really count Race for the Cure--not as much of race as it is herding cattle people.)  I had been checking the weather religiously all week for any forecast of rain, with the chances finally dropping to 10%.  Seeing as I am more of a treadmill runner than an outdoor runner, the idea of rain did not make me too excited.  I was fine with the cooler temps but was hoping for sun.  Excuse me, God?  Can I just order up my perfect race weather?  Thanks!

The day dawned with my cooler temps (downright cold, if you ask my fingers!), and my dad and I had our adrenaline to pump us up and keep us warm.  As we arrived the half and full marathoners were taking off so we had a half hour to wait.  Finally they called us to our corrals, and we waited for the race to begin.  I saw someone I knew so that was fun, too.  I had expected my dad and I to run separately from the way he was talking (downplaying his speed and all), but we stayed together until about halfway when his shoe came untied.  My mom thought I was cruel to run off without him, but we met up at the end.  We both ran a great race and, more importantly, had fun doing it.  I loved being there with my dad and experiencing it with him.  I am starting to think that maybe those half-marathoners are not as crazy as I once thought they were--still not sure about the marathoners, though! :) 

my dad and I pre-race, freezing our patooties off!

post-race, feeling proud of ourselves

Hair!

My titles lately have been so exciting, right?

Three years ago I started growing out my hair to donate.  I figured it was an easy thing to do to help someone else.  The first year was challenging, but after I got past a certain length, I kind of got used to my hair.  Of course, who can argue with the ease of a ponytail?

Each time I've gone to get a trim lately my stylist has asked, "Is it time?"  And each time I've said, "No, not yet."  Of course, it doesn't help when someone tells me, "You look so much younger with long hair."  Hmmm...this is not something you really wanted to hear when you're growing out your hair specifically so you can donate it!

 However, something has changed recently.  Ponytails are just not doing it for me, and I'm getting annoyed with the long hair.  I think, really, I am a short hair kind of gal.  So today was the day--the big cut!  Woo-hoo!  Here are my pictures:

I forgot to take a picture pre-cut (really unhappy about that!), but you can sort of see how long it was was. 

She cut off 12 inches.  Yay for short hair again!

Jack wanted to get in on the "after" picture.

the side view--hopefully it's easy and low-maintenance!  I am used to my ponytails!

And just a little fun with the braids--maybe Ryan will be growing out his hair next??

Running!

This is how I like to imagine I look when I run--pretty sure I don't!

When I was in 9th grade, I joined the track team.  Looking back I am not quite sure why as I didn't want to run and wasn't quite the shot put/discus thrower/jumper type.  I also hated the short shorts.  Hmmm...so why did I join?  Yeah, that's what I'm wondering, too.

Fast forward about 15 years...My wonderful husband takes up running, and I tell him that I will start running when I see someone running who looks like he/she is enjoying it.  I mean, seriously, have you ever seen someone running who is smiling and happy?  No, they all seem to look as if they are in pain!  Not the activity for me.

Well, last spring I decided I was getting a little tired of the elliptical and wanted to add something more to my routine.  Plus, my main motivation was that I'd be able to run races with Ryan and exercise anywhere.  When I first started, I kept thinking about how many more calories I could burn on the elliptical.  How sad is that.

Enter today: at MOPS I was talking with two separate people who called me a runner.  I was sort of taken aback by that.  Aren't runners people who run outside (as opposed to the hamster wheel treadmill) and do marathons and get "Runners World" and stuff?  Are people who run 3-4 miles 4-5x/week runners?  What I can say is that I have been injured and sick the past month and have been unable to run consistently and have (dare I say it??) missed it.  Eek!  I might just be a runner after all!  Take that 9th grade track with the short shorts I actually love to wear now!

More Fun at Mimi and Papa's

For such a quick weekend in St. Louis, we had a lot of fun.  Here are some more (in photos) of our time there.

Not only did we have the Easter Egg Hunt, but also we visited Lone Elk Park.  We did, in fact, see a lone elk.  We also saw a small herd of buffalo standing next to the road.  It's crazy to think these animals used to roam the plains--brought back memories of "Dances with Wolves" and Little House on the Prairie books. 

Caroline had fun at the Easter Egg Hunt, but I think her favorite part was dumping the eggs out of the baskets (her own as well as her brothers', much to their chagrin--Grant was her favorite target!) and picking them up again.  She also liked to open and close them.  I love that this can occupy her for awhile.  However, we now have eggs (mostly separated into tops and bottoms) spread around our house--not so fun.

The boys have become slightly (hmmm...maybe that's an understatement) obsessed with the game "Angry Birds" on Ryan's iTouch.  Anytime they see the characters they get excited, to the point that Grant even took a Wal-Mart ad to school to show his best friend the picture.  Here they all are gathered around watching Ryan play "Angry Birds."  I don't get it, but Ryan said it's a game made for little boys--cartoon characters bombing other characters (or something like that--I have never actually played it).

At the Easter Egg Hunt they had a bucket full of rubber ducks free for the taking.  Jack grabbed three for himself and for Grant and Caroline.  Those ducks were his favorite part of the hunt.  He took those things everywhere, and they are all currently lined up on the edge of our tub.  Right before we left he decided to do a newscast where he interviewed his ducks and bear.  Who knew little rubber duckies would be so entertaining for a six-year-old!

My three kiddos were willing to sit for a few quick pics right before we left: one with the kiddos only (wearing their souvenirs from Mimi and Papa's recent Hawaii trip) 

and one with Mimi.  Papa (or Pa-ah, as Caroline calls him) had already left for work.

This is how all of the kids (and maybe even their parents) felt after our time in St. Louis, but Jack was especially exhausted.  We had so much fun that Jack is already looking forward to Mimi and Papa camp (the kids are going to stay with my parents while Ryan and I take a 10th anniversary trip--win-win for everyone!) and has insisted on turning our wall calendar to June, in the hopes that somehow the time for camp will come sooner!  Too cute!  Thanks, Mimi and Papa, for a great vacation!

Easter Egg Hunt Fun!

Over the weekend we visited my parents for a quick weekend, which is always a fun time.  Who can argue with grandparents lovin' on three adorable, *sometimes ornery* kiddos?  Plus, it's just nice to relax and enjoy family--so thankful for family!

One of the highlights of the weekend was an Easter Egg Hunt.  A few years ago we went to my parents' town's Easter Egg hunt and loved it.  It was the boys' first hunt, and they collected a ton of eggs and had a lot of fun.  When I saw that this year's hunt was the weekend we were planning to visit, I knew we'd have to put that on our schedule!

We got to the school where they were holding the Easter Egg Hunt bright and early.  The boys lined up in their area with Ryan and my dad while Caroline lined up in her area with my mom and me.  I tried to explain the object of the Easter Egg Hunt to Caroline, and I knew she sort of had it when she walked out and put one of the eggs her basket.  Under the watchful eyes of other parents (or at least that's how I felt) I told her we had to wait (the bad part about being there early!) until the appointed time.  She kept walking out there to get her egg, only to be told she had to return it to the ground.  Poor girl!  Finally, the time to hunt came--and she stood there along with a lot of the other kids.  It's funny to see all the parents trying to coax and explain the directions to their little ones who don't quite get it.  Once she figured it out, she was ALL about it, grabbing eggs left and right!  The boys were a different story.  The horn sounded, and all of the eggs were gone within a minute.  Jack was satisfied with his 2-3 eggs, but Grant filled his basket.  No wonder some of the kids over in Caroline's area looked closer to the 4-year-old mark!  I think I'd rather have my kids in the laid back, 0-3 age group as opposed to the aggressive 4-6 year-olds!  Oh wait, Grant (my 4-year-old!) was apparently one of those quick hunters! 

waiting to begin

a little brotherly love before the hunt

Jack!

the 4-6 year-olds hunting for eggs (Technically, it's probably more accurate to say gathering, as the eggs really weren't hidden!)

Caroline's collection

Grant's collection

I think we'll plan to do this again next year, especially since Jack got a new bike helmet for only $5!  That's almost worth the crazy price of gas to get there! :)

Great Neighbors

Last weekend our awesome neighbors went away for Spring Break and let the boys borrow their Power Wheels ATV.  The boys have been begging for a Power Wheels car for awhile, but a) we have nowhere to store it and b) I would rather have them burning off energy by riding their bikes as opposed to sitting on a motorized car.  I know--we're mean like that!

So, when the boys heard they could "take care" (I think this if how they worded it) of the ATV for a whole week, they were in heaven!   We were a bit concerned they would fight over it, but they did a GREAT job sharing and taking turns.  It was really funny to see their personalities come out during their rides.  While Jack drove the Power Wheels like he was going for a ride around the block, Grant tore up that road and spun out the rear wheels.  We've always known he was our little daredevil in training, and this week once again confirmed it!  These pictures do not really show the contrast between the two styles as well as I thought they would, but at least you can see them riding.  Jack usually had his bear with him, too, but I guess you cannot see it.

Jack on the ATV

He may have spun out on this turn!

Notice Grant's determined stance--the boy would even stand up and lean over to get more of a rush.  I fear the teen years with this one when his testosterone really kicks in!