Ohhh, I hit a cwab!

The last few days have been GORGEOUS outside.  I took Kev up the street to the water to play.  Of course, he chose the most boyish thing to do... throw as many rocks as you can without hurting anyone!  He did that for about 30 minutes, until he said, "I need mo' wocks!  The udder ones are too heavy!"  

Outside our window

Yes, brain's smile!

Who says a brain doesn't smile? Here is a picture that we just got in the mail from Kev's brain scan last week.

I have other pictures, but I thought this one was cute. Yup, I think my sons brain is super duper cute.

WHAT NOW?

I could not keep Kevin cooped inside any longer. WIth his incident on monday, and my not-as-tragic incident last night, we have been cooped up like animals. He really wanted to go out for a walk, so (as I am writing this, he put a laundry basket on his head and reopened his wounds... bleeding has stopped now.)

Where was I.... ehhh, forget it.

Before our house blows up or an airplane from one of the major airports flies into our home, I am going to end this post.

Enjoy a picture from our walk. We only ventured a total of 500 feet from our house. I couldn't go much further.

$&#*(@&$!*(#

Excuse my language, but DAMMMMIT, I BROKE MY TOE! It hurts like hell! I refuse to go to the ER, simply because I know there is nothing they can do for a broken toe. I just have to take out my violin and feel sorry for myself for about, ummm uhhhh, 3 minutes.

Picking Battles

Kevin is doing really well. He battled this morning about going to preschool. I wanted to keep him home, but he wanted to play so badly. He's been doing fine, was okayed by his pediatrician, so I caved. Poor guy still gets stares and many questions because he is obviously injured, but he has no problem talking about the ambulance and hospital experience.

I'll post an updated photo of him later. I need to take one first. That usually helps.

Oh, and our anniversary was nice. Just a quiet night at home. We didn't go out to eat. No flowers were given. Just cards. It was different than I imagined, but it was just nice to be together. That night I remembered that my sister (actually step-sister) was gearing up for February 18, which would have been her husbands birthday. She was trying to figure out how to celebrate it with her 5 year old daughter Kelsey. As she was telling me about it, I couldn't help but realize how lucky I was that Jason was sitting about 5 feet from me on our anniversary.

I'm going to enjoy my free time right now, and the gorgeous sunny weather. xoxo

Not how I planned

I didn't think we would spend our anniversary wiping dripping blood from our son's nose, blotting blood and other bodily fluids from his head, and explaining to the general public why he looks so horrible. We could be spending our anniversary (or any other day) doing things much worse, so perhaps I should count my blessings. Kevin is doing pretty well right now. He insists that he is "a widdle better", so that is a good thing.

So our 8th wedding anniversary is going to be low key. Making sure that Kevin (and Juliana) are ok are on the top of our list, not going out or buying flowers. Honestly, outside of of Kevin's condition, that is the way I like it. We have each other. That's enough for me.

A Scary Day

We began the day like this...

and ended it like this...

My day-off adventure today didn't turn out as well as I imagined. Frankly, it was a disaster.

We headed out the door to Monterey to go to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. When we got there, it was not raining, so I let the kids roam a beach full of seaweed. They were bored with that, so we went straight for the aquarium. As soon as we got there, I got out of the car, opened Kevin's door, and he fell flat on his head. Apparently Juliana was trying to be helpful by unbuckling his car seat, which I did not know. He was leaning on the door when I opened it, and he fell flat on his face onto the concrete.

I actually did not look at him at first. I just picked him up immediately and held him tight. I knew he was hurt, although not so bad. When I looked at him about one minute later, my coat was full of blood. His mouth was oozing with blood, he had no skin on his bottom lip, and his head was bleeding. The bleeding took quite a while to stop, and once I got it under control, I panicked. I knew he needed ice and a cleaning, so the first place I went was the aquarium and asked for first aid.

The aquarium staff immediately had about 5 people surrounding us, and took us into a cozy room. Immediately upon seeing Kevin, they called 911 which I did not know. The ambulance arrived with the stretcher, and took Kevin away. I was able to follow them to the hospital with a panicked Juliana in the back seat.

The end result after a cat scan is... OUCH, but all clear. They think he has a broken nose because he has blood dripping out of his nose frequently. We will know more about that tomorrow or wednesday. There is nothing that can be done for a broken nose, so sending us home was all they could do.

He is doing pretty well. He is missing the skin from his bottom lip, a big scrape on his chin, and a HUGE mark on his forehead. The doctor said to keep him out of direct sunlight for 5-6 months, yes I said months. The wound is deep, and sunlight will harbor its healing. He said to invest in many hats for Kevin.

That's the news of our not-so fun day. It was an adventure, although not the adventure I was looking forward to.

I took this picture tonight in the bathtub. His hair is covering most of the head wound, but you get the idea.

I Heart Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!!! The only plans we have today are... absolutely nothing. :)

Friday the 13th was a big day for us. We went to the mountains to play in the snow for most of the day. Hopefully you'll enjoy the photos of that.

Then on our way home, I found out my brother will be a daddy! Yayyyy!

Then I headed to Meara's 30th birthday party! I could not stay long because my mom was watching the kids, and we still had a 2 hour drive home. It was a long day, but eventful.

Unfortunately Jason was not with us yesterday because work has been overwhelming. A lot going on for him at work, and yesterday was "one of those days".

Here are some snow photos!

'Cause I love her!

Today is a special day for me, well actually for one of my closest and best friends EVER! Meara is 30 today! Meara is more like my little sister than "just a friend". Our mom's have been friends for 50 years or more. They are not the type of friends that just claim to be friends for so long, they are so close that they actually live across the street from each other now. Meara and I have been close for our entire lives. She was my maid of honor, she is an honorary auntie to the kids, and so much more!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MEARA! Lotsa love and hugs....

Thursday Thoughts

How much have you chang​ed in 10 years​?​

10 years​ ago.​.​.​.​the year (​February)​ 1999.

1) How old were you?
old enough to know better, yet young enough to have fun.

2) Who were you datin​g?​
Jason and I had been dating for about 3 years by then.

3) Where​ did you work?​
I was teaching and finishing up college.

4) Where​ did you live?​
New England.

5) Where​ did you hang out?
Uhhhh, I dunno.

6) Did you wear conta​cts and/​or glass​es?​
Nope.

7) Who was your best frien​d.
Same as today, although I hate the term best friend. I have many many many wonderful friends that are the best!

8) How many tatto​os did you have?​
Zero.

9) How many pierc​ings did you have?​
Ears.

10) What kind of car did you drive​?​
Mazda.

11) Had you been to a real party​?​
My life is a party! Well not exactly.

12)​Have you had your heart​ broke​n?​
Not in the romantic way, although my heart has been stepped on a few times.

13) Were you Singl​e/​taken​/​Marri​ed/​Divor​ced?​
Single, yet taken.

14) Any Kids?​
Nope.

***5 YEARS​ AGO ( Jan 2004)​*​*​*​

1) How old were you?
A bit older than 1999.

2) Who were you datin​g?​
Nobody. I'm a married woman!

3) Where​ did you work at the time?​
Teaching Kindergarten.

4) Where​ did you live?​
In our house in New England, then in Michigan.

5) Where​ did you hang out?
I had a toddler, soooo probably Erin's house for play dates, or at school.

6) Did you wear conta​cts and/​or glass​es:​
Nope.

7)​who were your best frien​d(​s)​:​
I LOVE MY FRIENDS!

8) How many tatto​os did you have?​
NONE!

9) How many pierc​ings did you have?​
just ears.​.​.​

10) What car did you drive​?​
Escape.

11) Had your heart​ broke​n?​
again, not really.

12) Were you Singl​e/​Taken​/​Marri​ed/​Divor​ced?​
Married.

13) Any Kids?​
Lil' Miss Cutie Pie.

*​*​*​*​TODAY​ (Feb 2009)​*​*​*​*​

1) Age?
30 somethin'!

2) Where​ do you work?​
I ask myself that every day.

3) Where​ do you live?​
near the ocean somewhere.

5) Who are your close​st frien​ds?​
MY GIRLS! They know who they are. And I love 'em to the moon and back. (ahhh, that was really cheesy, but true)

6) Do you talk to your old frien​ds?​
Most of my friends are "old" friends.

7) How many pierc​ings do you have?​
just ears.​

8) How many tatto​os?​
Still ZERO!

9) What kind of car do you have?​
Escape.

10) Had your heart​ been broke​n?​
NOOOOOO!

11) how many kids?​
Deux, two, dos.

Dear President Obama

While I was in Juliana's classroom yesterday during the 100th day of school, I was being nosey and saw these adorable letters to President Obama.  I took a picture of almost all of them.  I did blur out the names and faces of the children, just because I do not have permission to put these up in Blogland.  Here are a few insightful and sweet letters... outta the mouths of babes:

OHHH SO SMART!

Kevin had his second day of preschool today.  He showed off his lovebug ladybug, and his "M"onster made out of hearts.  As he calls it, "A Love Monster".  Once we got home, we late lunch, then he wanted to watch a little bit of TV.  I did not want him to get too comfortable watching TV, so here is a little conversation we had:

Mommy: "Kev, look at the clock.  When you see a 5 here, it will be rest time."

Kevin: "Ok, Mommy."

--silence--

Kevin: "Mommy, it's rest time.  I see a 5."  (it was 12:35.)

Mommy: "Take your shoes off and go potty."

He runs off to the bathroom, comes back, looks at the clock and says, "Yayyyy, it's not rest time anymore!!!  There's a 7 now!"

Due to his smartness , cuteness, and cleverness (all of which are not really words), I almost let him stay up today from rest time.  Within 2 seconds, my mind changed, and he is now resting in his room quietly.  

(I find it hilarious that when I clicked, PUBLISH on this post, it said, 12:36.  Either blogger is waaaay off, or my computer is waaaaay off.  Hmmmmm.)

Fellin' the love

Yup, I changed my bloggy background again. It's February, isn't it a rule of law to become more lovey this month? :) I love February! February 13 marks Meara's birthday (30 years old), and a few special anniversaries too. Feb. 14th, well we all know what that is. February 17th is my anniversary. This year will be 8 (almost) perfect married years together. It also marks 6 years since Juliana was released from Children's Hospital Boston after undergoing the transfusion for Kawasaki Disease. I have a new cousin due at the end of February too. Sooo, I'm feelin' the love. Enjoy some pics of February moments of the past. (Just an excuse to post photos.)  

Taken January 27, 2003-- Released Feb. 17, 03

February 2006

February 2007 outside our house.

February 2008- Heavenly Valley, S. Lake Tahoe

MAD LIBS

If you have a child 7 and up, I highly recommend "Mad Libs". I bought Juliana her first little Mad Libs booklet today at Borders. We were there just reading books and wasting time on a friday night. I figured I would take a shot and buy it for her. Here is how a couple of the pages turned out. I can not fill in "noun", "adjective", etc, but you get the idea... here it goes...

TITLE: ROSES ARE RED

Dear Mrs. Braun,

Ears are red
Shoes are blue.
You love me and I love sandals.

Roses are blue.
Violets are black.
Sugar is soft,
AND SO ARE YOU!

Roses are red.
Violets are blue.
Skipping is fun,
ESPECIALLY WITH YOU!

Quietly,
Juliana

We did a few more tonight too. Of course, another one was about Mrs. Braun too, but it's too long to type into this blog. Another one was to her friend Elena, and it talked about loving to play with old balls. They are innocent for children, but adults can definitely find humor in them as well. Not to mention, Juliana now knows all about adjectives, adverbs, plural nouns, nouns, and verbs. Gotta have fun while learning, huh?!

First steps of freedom!

Today marked a milestone for us. Kevin began preschool today. Jason and I have been talking about it for a loooooong time, but it takes a big sting in the financial part of our lives. So, after a lot of research and word of mouth, I found a good program. I had to wait until Kevin was potty trained to put him in. Yesterday, I decided to finally sign him up. I did not think he would start until next week, although yesterday, they said he could start today.

We showed up a little bit early and played on the playground equipment. Kevin had his little Cars backpack on his back the whole time. He began to splash in the puddles with his newest best friend, a little girl. Once the doors opened, Kevin hung up his backpack and sweatshirt, then headed to the HUGE USA carpet map. He found his home on Tennessee, and never looked back. Kevin has two male teachers, Kevin and Adam. They seem to be awesome!

After noticing that Kevin was comfortable, I took a mini-tour of the building, met Kevin's teachers, and left the building. I actually got choked up. I have NEVER left Kevin in a place which I was not nearby, or Jason nearby. This freedom thing is not all it is cracked up to be. I miss him doing flips over my lap, whining for more in his sippy cup, and roaring like a dinosaur.

As I am typing, I have Enya playing in the background. Peace and quiet is nice, but I miss my little boy. This also makes me want to go to school to pick Juliana up to have some one-on-one time with her. That so rarely happens. Occasionally we have a mom/daughter day out, but not just a day at home together without Kevin.

I will sort through this. I am so happy that Kevin is singing right now, or maybe making his alien spaceship for Space Week, or maybe he is telling his life story to the child next to him. Who knows. He needs this freedom, just as much as I do.

I am going to continue to listen to Enya for a little bit longer before I tear apart our kitchen to clean it up. And will someone remind me to get to the dry cleaners today?

Happy Birthday Grampy! Today is my father-in-law's birthday. Yes, I call him Grampy and not by his real name. I guess it is a thing you do when you have children. :) I know that the likelihood that he will have time to check this blog is slim to none today, but hey, I can put a birthday wish up here, right?!

I am hoping that the card that Kevin picked out has arrived safely. It began it's journey with Kevin shoving it into a full mailbox, so we'll see.