Christmas Morning

We're Still Here!

It's just that it's hard to keep up with two blogs! And with 3 boys and a dog. Here's some highlights from our life lately...

On Monday, we were singing "Amazing Grace" during Bible time. I sometimes forget how much Aidan understands that Gresham doesn't. I was realizing that Gresham probably doesn't have much of a clue about what the hymns we sing are about, so I asked him, "When it says 'I once was lost, but now I'm found,' do you know what that means?" "Yes. I do," said Gresham. "It means he was lost in the desert, and then he came out of the woods, and THERE was his house! Right there! And so he was found!"

On Tuesday, we went to the doctor for Gresham's foot. He has a plantar wart on the bottom of it. The doctor said we caught it early, and we can treat it with over the counter stuff. Unfortunately, Gresham won't leave a band-aid on it. Or throw the band-aids away. (Remember that little tidbit.)

On Wednesday, we took Owen to the doctor for a well visit. He got two shots. We also had his blood drawn to test iron levels and lead levels because of his obsession with chewing on anything that isn't food (Toys, paper, the dog leash, sticks, cork that he scrapes off my coaster stones with his teeth...). Apparently, eating non-food items can be a sign of anemia.

Today, Owen ran a fever from the shots. This is our first shot reaction for any child. I had to teach today, and hated to leave him, but I couldn't really justify staying home. We went to pick up the babysitter. We came back home and I was giving her some instructions for the day, and had to stop to fish something out of Owen's mouth... it was Gresham's discarded band-aid from earlier that morning. So now my son is having a shot reaction, and is ingesting salicylic acid. Lovely.

Tomorrow is Friday, and I'm pretty sure we are going to take the day off from school...

Moths...

Gresham: Watch out, Mom! There's a moth that lives in here!!
Mom: It's okay, it won't hurt us.
Gresham: Oh...
Mom: Did you think that moths sting?
Gresham: Yes
Mom: Aidan, did you know that moths don't sting?
Aidan: No, I thought they sting you 'till your dead!
Mom: (laughing) No, who told you that?
Aidan: Next-door neighbor boy...

More Puppy Pics!

Happiness is a new puppy!

We did change his name... He is now Tucker! He has an ID tag and collar, so it's official.

Aidan has been doing a lot of the feeding and taking Tucker outside, and Gresham wanted a turn to feed the puppy. He was very "hands on..."

Are you drinking your water, Puppy?

So far things are going well! Busy, but well. Housetraining is a slow process. Our carpets needed cleaning before Tucker came, but now they REALLY need cleaning! We were planning for that, though, so it's okay. We had a few rough nights at first, but now Tucker is settling into a routine and not whining/howling so much. The weather has been beautiful and much cooler than it had been, so I am very thankful for that!

Puppy!

Our puppy is here! We have had him since Friday night, and he is doing well so far! We took him to the vet on Monday, and they declared him to be healthy. That was a huge relief...

He definitely has more energy than our sick pet store dog, and so he is a lot more work - but also a very fun puppy, and once we train him, I think he'll be great. He is already very attached to the family and wants to be wherever we are. The boys are having a lot of fun playing with him. He is a very frisky dog, but doesn't bark much and settles down easily.

We decided to name him Scout, but I'm not sure that name is going to stick...

Monday was our hardest day. Well, and yesterday was pretty rough too. It really wasn't my plan to have this dog arrive just as school (homeschooling as well as my teaching job) were starting up! But this is what we have, so we'll make the most of it! Owen has been very sick this week, so we had an appointment for him Monday morning and then an appointment for the puppy in the afternoon. In between appointments, I was cleaning up a potty mess on the floor and heard the phone ringing. I decided to let the machine get it. I could hear the automated voice of the public library announcing that we have 22 overdue book...

This is a temporary stage. One day, we'll look back on this and laugh... it's just a stage...

Bedtime Shenanigans...

So, Aidan was always easy to put to bed. He has two speeds: on and off. He is so active during the day that falling asleep is never any problem. I was hoping that we would escape the bedtime stalling that seems to plague most houses with small children...

And then we got Gresham.

Gresham was recently potty-trained just shy of age 3 1/2. I thought the day would never come! Now that he is wearing underwear, even at night!, he likes to get up to go potty about 47 times before falling asleep. Seriously, he can get up 5 times in 30-45 minutes and sometimes he is still awake at 10:00 p.m. He's very quiet and goes right back to bed, but we are worried about how much sleep he is getting.

This week, he is also giving up his afternoon nap, so we decided to get serious about putting a stop to the bedtime potty trips.

Monday night: Gresham got up. Gresham got up again. Daddy told him that this would be his very last potty trip. Didn't hear from him again.

Tuesday morning: Gresham informed me that his bed was wet because the night before, Dad had told him to only go potty once, and after that to potty in his pants, so he did. I was fairly certain that that was not Dad's intended message. Turns out I was right, and Dad set the record straight after he got home from work.

Tuesday night: Gresham got up. Dad told him that this would be his one and only potty trip.
A few minutes later, I was working on the computer and suddenly sensed the presence of a child standing right behind me. (Gresham does this in the middle of the night, too. I'll be sleeping and then suddenly have this sense that he is standing right next to me. I wake up, and there he is...) Gresham was naked from the waist down. He informed me that he needed clean pants because Dad told him not to get up anymore, and so he had no choice but to potty in his pants. Since it had been about 7 minutes since he last went, I found this hard to believe. Sure enough, he had squeezed out about 3 drops into his pants, and we had to find clean underwear...

Wednesday night: No nap today, and a long day at my school... No potty trips, and Gresham is asleep!!!!

We have a 2nd Grader!

We have successfully finished two days of second grade!

I don't know about him, but I'm totally worn out! Maybe we can call it a year... just kidding.

We are doing some new things this year, and I really like them so far. We're doing Sonlight Core 1+2, which is world history in one year. Our favorite so far, though, is the Apologia science book that we got. It's zoology - birds and insects. It's good stuff with lots of experiments and activities.

Now we just need a nanny to keep Owen out of trouble while we do school, and a maid to do all the cooking and cleaning!

A Shocking Turn of Behavior!

So, I have posted in the past about all our grocery store woes...

The other day, we were at Target, and the boys were acting wild, as usual. I gave them the usual corrective speech. A few minutes later, Gresham started up the silliness again, and Aidan said, "Gresham, I'm not going to do that. I'm going to do what Mom says."

Who is this boy, and what has he done with Aidan??? But, I'll take it!!

My new blog has moved!

My new blog has moved to frugalfun4boys.com!

No blogspot in the URL, otherwise it is the same.

I haven't quite worked out the layout yet, but we're getting there. The learning curve is pretty steep for setting up a new website!

Check it out here, and please pass on the link to anyone who might be interested in this type of blog!

Owen reads... instead of eating the book!

It seems like all kinds of development starts to take place once kids are walking. I was SO hoping this would be the case for Owen (who is into everything) and it seems to be true! He has been walking well for a few weeks now, and he is starting to play with toys more instead of just taking things off shelves and putting everything in his mouth.

The other day, I was reading to the boys before nap time, and after we were done with Owen's books, he took one of them over to the chair and started looking at it! Usually he just tries to eat the pages. Hallelujah!! Progress!! Now if he would just eat his food...

New Blog!

We started a new blog today! I say "we" because the boys are going to help me a lot with this one. We will be blogging about fun activities for boys. Aidan is very excited. He is always bugging me to do crafts or science experiments, so I figured that we will blog about things we have done in the past and new ideas that we'll be trying out!

Click here to see it!

I just bought me a domain name, but I haven't figured out how to get it working... for now it is a blogger address: www.frugalfun4boys.blogspot.com, but hopefully in the next couple days it will move to www.frugalfun4boys.com

Dog Story, Part 4

So we were supposed to get our puppy last Thursday, but...

The breeder let us know a couple weeks ago that our puppy was turning out to be on the smaller side and was a really timid guy, probably because he was the smallest in the litter. Cavachons are outgoing dogs in general, so we decided with the breeder that it would be best if they kept him an extra week and put him with younger puppies to see if he would come out of his shell a little. Well, we called Tuesday night to check on him, and they said that some boys had been in to play with the puppy that they are taking home in three weeks. Our puppy was with that litter. While the boys were there, they tried to pick up our puppy, and he yelped and was very bothered. They said that they have never seen a puppy be so afraid of heights, and that he's also bothered by loud noises. Definitely not the dog for us...

The picture at the top is the dog that we are getting instead! He is going to be bigger (probably 15-16 lb. as an adult) and he is already more outgoing even though he is three weeks younger.

We are supposed to get him around August 26th. We're all disappointed about the wait, but that will give this heat wave time to go away.

Any name suggestions? We had named the other puppy Crockett, and now we're not sure if we should call this one Crockett? Or choose a new name?

Toy Story 4, or also titled "An Afternoon with the Boys"

It was a lazy summer afternoon. The toys were in Andy's room, minding their own business and playing a round of the Memory Game. They were playing for Mr. Potato Head's hat.

Little did they know... some evil bad guys were scheming to capture Sheriff Woody! One of them looked like a police officer, but he was definitely no good guy!

And they knew to never trust a monkey with an ax!

The bad guys quickly overpowered them, and it looked like Woody was a goner! This was a job for Evil Dr. Porkchop!!! Unfortunately, Aidan had talked himself out of buying Evil Dr. Porkchop with his birthday money!

Buzz Lightyear to the rescue! (insert laser noises here) Take that, bad guy!!

Buzz, are you okay?
Whew, the coast is clear.

Until Big Baby came along!!! Help! He's slobbering on the toys!

Big Baby is rearranging Mr. Potato Head!! Help!! Buzz, we need you again!

Aidan is 7!

7 Years Old!

Opening a Playmobil set from Gresham

We got him a watch. He was super excited because he had one that he ruined by getting in the pool with it. He is so time-oriented and loves to constantly know what time it is...

Because of it being VBS week, we didn't do a big celebration on Aidan's actual birthday. We did have taco salad for dinner (his choice!) and then played outside in the sprinkler. I'm happy to see that life is still pretty simple when you're 7!


On Saturday night, we celebrated Aidan's birthday with Grandpa Packard since their birthdays are only two days apart.

Opening a new Woody toy from Grandma and Grandpa. He's so cool - just like the movie one with the pull-string and everything.

Happy Birthday!

Cute Pictures

This is Gresham's superhero stance. He and Aidan are always ready to defend against bad guys at a moment's notice. This may come in handy someday.

Aidan's birthday is this week, and so I took him yesterday to get this bear at Build-a-Bear. We got a coupon in the mail for a completely free animal (up to $12, which was about 4 choices). Pretty good deal! Aidan picked to get the Buzz Lightyear outfit for it as a birthday gift.

I am having lots of fun taking better portraits with my new camera! Jordan was behind me getting them to laugh. Now I just need to get good shots with something other than the TV in the background...

Here's a Good One

This is what I mostly get when I try to take a picture of all three boys. Click on the picture to make it bigger so you can really appreciate their little faces...

Another Doctor for Owen

On Monday, we took Owen to a new GI specialist. There are several reasons why we switched doctors, and it's kind of a boring story, so I won't post it on here. I was very impressed with his new doctor! He really listened to us, and seemed to get what it's like to live with a kid like Owen. We are trying to figure out what reflux medicine he should be on right now, since he didn't do well without any medicine, and that has been kind of complicated. We are doing Nexium again, but he just won't swallow the stuff. I can't say I'm surprised. A kid who turns down cake and other treats is certainly not going to be willing to drink a gritty suspension! I'm waiting to hear back from the doctor as to what they want us to do since we are having trouble with the Nexium.

I wish that we were just out of this stage. I wish that he would just eat food like other kids, and drink milk (or formula even!) out of a sippy cup. He won't hold his own bottle. Eating is just so passive for him. He still drinks bottles every few hours like a newborn. He eats three bites of something and then stops. I know that he is not going to be like this forever, but some days, eating real food seems like a milestone that is going to elude us. Especially when I'm checking out at Target with two $27 cans of formula (which will last us just under a week).

But then, God is always faithful to remind us of His provision. We have a great dietician and feeding specialist that we are working with, and they are both so patient with my many phone calls. They are also some of the very best in their field, so we know that we are getting good help.

Last year, when Jordan lost his job, it looked from our perspective like the worst thing that could happen. But now he is making more money at his new job, and we have had enough to pay for all of our medical bills and formula expenses.

I am ashamed to say that I have so much trouble trusting God's provision when He has proven Himself faithful time and time again! I tend to expect the worst, when God is using every situation to accomplish the very best.

On Monday night, I went to go fill Owen's Nexium prescription (which I knew would not be cheap). Instead of being filled with anxiety over the bill, I was praying that God would show us how He was going to provide for this additional expense. When I got home, Jordan went to the website for the manufacturer of Nexium and found a savings card that we could print right from the site! If we stay on Nexium (we may not), we can use this card next time and save a percentage of the cost!

So all this to say... I would love for Owen to start turning around. I am thankful that he drinks his bottles well, because that has definitely not always been the case. But most importantly, I am finding myself appreciative of the humility that comes out of trials over which one has no control. I can't arrange my life at the moment, because the variables are not up to me, but I can find rest in the One who works all things according to His purposes. I know that His purposes are good. He does not provide all that I want, but I wouldn't want Him to. I don't know enough to know what I should want!

"The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, because he trusts in You. Trust in the LORD forever, for in GOD the LORD we have an everlasting rock."
Isaiah 26:3-4

Cars

Aidan: I think I'll drive a mustang when I grow up.
Gresham: I'm going to drive a tractor.
Aidan: You can't drive a tractor all the time. You have to have a regular car, like a Honda.
Gresham: Ok, I'll drive a limousine.

July 4th

Look who's walking!!!

This was the best we could do on a group shot after a million attempts. All of the failed attempts would make a good post, but I don't have time at the moment to edit all of those shots... This is a very Gresham face and a very Owen face...

A phone conversation with Aidan

Mom: Hi, is Dad there?

Aidan: He's feeding Owen.

Mom: Oh, okay. I need you to go in the kitchen and tell me how much beef I need for a recipe.

Aidan: Ok.

Mom: Find the cookbook that's out on the counter.

Aidan: Ok, I got it. It says, "Beef Lumdy... Lurdy... "

Mom: Beef Lombardi

Aidan: Yeah

Mom: Ok, look the the list of ingredients and tell me how much beef I need.

Aidan: Umm, I don't see it on here.

Mom: It should say "ground beef"

Aidan: Here's ground chuck...

Mom: That's it. How much does it say to use?

Aidan: One l-b

Mom: L-b means pound. So one pound. Thanks!

Aidan: Bye Mom!

A Comprehensive Guide to Grocery Store Behavior

My dear children seem to be in need of a refresher course in this area, and so I am preparing this manual for them... Actually, we did have a pleasant moment today in the store when Aidan asked if we could look at toys, and I said no. He responded with, "okay," and another shopper commented, "Wow, that was easy!" However, for the most part, all of our obedience and good sense leaves us the moment we enter a retail establishment.

In the parking lot:

• We do not run.
• We do not skip.
• Or jump. Or play hop scotch. Or anything else that should happen into our punkin' heads.
  
• We do not climb on the structure that holds carts. That is made for putting carts away, not for children to use as a jungle gym.
• We do not pick up interesting things that we find in the parking lot.
  
• We watch for cars, but we do not point our fingers at cars like we are shooting them.
• We do not climb up the outside of the building. (One of mine has tried this. More than once. No joke.)
  

In the store:

• We do not say "can we buy" or "do we need" or any other variation on this question.
• We do not run.
• We do not run in circles around the cart.
• We do not run in circles around those posts that go up to the ceiling (do those have names??)
• We do not walk s-l-o-w-l-y and then yell, "MOMMY WAIT FOR MEEEE!" as we run full speed ahead to catch up with Mom who is 2 ft. ahead.
• We do not swing our arms wildly while walking.
  
• We talk to our siblings, but we do not play tickle games or hiding games.
• We do not point out to Mom every single item we see that is JUST LIKE one that we have at home. Mom does not need to acknowledge every box of Life cereal, loaf of bread, or box of kleenex that is "just like we have!"
• We try our best not to be in the way of others. We try not to take up the entire aisle with just our family.
• We do not run our hands along all the price tags that stick out from the shelves.
• We do not run our hands along the raw meat case.
• We do not touch all the packages of raw meat.
• We try to not ask "What's this?" while point to items (some of them embarrasing) more than 5 times in a single aisle.
  

In the check-out:

• We do not climb up onto the bagging area.
• We do not push the button to make the conveyor belt move.
• We do not touch all the packages of candy and toys.
• We do not ask Mom to calculate how much more allowance we need to afford a yo-yo ball while she is trying to pay.
• We do not play with the credit card machine.

Hopefully this instruction guide will be helpful in your family! Or, you can follow my best rule of all, which is that Mom does most of the shopping while the kids are home with Dad!

Dog Story, Part 3

This is our new puppy!!! He is another cavachon, coming from a breeder in Iowa. We have been really impressed with these people. Granted, we haven't met them in person or seen their kennel, but they really seem to be very professional and care a lot about their dogs. We can't get the dog until he is 10 weeks old, which was a big selling point to us. These people don't wean their dogs until 8 1/2 weeks and won't let them go until 10 weeks, and so the dog should be a little more mature and ready to train when he gets to us. And, Lord willing, this dog will be healthy!

Aidan is planning to name him Crockett, after Davy Crockett, of course. He is coming by airplane on July 29th.

Owen Update

Owen is now 13 months old, and we are still working on getting him onto solid foods... He actually has been doing pretty well lately. He has been drinking his bottles well for a few months now, but his solid food intake has been really up and down. A meal for him can be 5 cheerios or 3 bites of toast. I'm not kidding... My other two were picky at this age, but ate the foods they liked in mass quantities, so feeding Owen has been an interesting adventure! Last week he did great - he ate all kinds of things like taco meat mixed with pasta, fresh cooked green beans, bananas, etc. This week he is not doing so well, but he had a molar poke it's way through the other day, and more are definitely on the way.

We stopped his Nexium per doctor's orders on Wednesday. The thinking is that he should be over his gastritis by now, and it's a good age to try getting him off the medicine. So far, it doesn't seem to be bothering him to be off it. He's not eating great, but I think that is from the teething. It's so hard to know, and there are so many factors that it just gets very frustrating at times. I wanted to try him on dairy again before stopping the Nexium, but I never got a chance. We've tried to re-introduce dairy twice, and both times he has started spitting up and waking up from naps screaming, but both times there have ended up being other things going on - teething or the onset of a cold... I've been waiting for a good time to try dairy one more time, but that just hasn't happened yet! My gut feeling is that he is truly bothered by dairy. He tested negative for a dairy allergy, though, so it would just be an intolerance that he would most likely grow out of. The bummer is that he really likes grilled cheese and macaroni and cheese and eats those things really well.

I keep telling myself that I'm sure he won't be taking his bottle of alimentum to Sunday School while the other kids eat goldfish and animal crackers... Surely one day we'll be past this stage!

He is walking now, though! I'll have to post pictures. It's very cute. By the way, I am having trouble posting videos from my new camera. It records in high-def, so maybe that's just too much to upload?

How many blog readers do I have?

I'm just curious... how many blog readers do I have?

I would love it if you would leave a comment.

I'll try to enable it to take comments from people who don't have a blogger account.

A few funny things...

I have been teaching the kids a new song during Bible time. We are learning about Joshua, and I taught them a song from high school youth group based on Joshua 1:8-9. Aidan was singing it the other day...
"Do not let this book of the law, book of the law depart from your mouth. Medicate, medicate, medicate on it day and night..."
"It's meditate son, not medicate."
"Oh."

The boys and I were reading a library book. It was a mystery about a farm and some missing peppers.
Aidan: What are peppers?
Mom: You know. Green bell peppers and red peppers.
Aidan: Oh yeah...
Gresham: And wood peppers.
Mom: No, those are wood peckers...

Snack Time

Usually we have a basket of library books on this shelf, but I had to take away the library books this week after Owen ripped FOUR of them... He loves to eat paper. Cardboard, book pages, toilet paper, any kind of paper... We really do try to feed him, but for some reason he just can't get enough paper. And soap. He tastes soap whenever he can. Anyway... yesterday he was sitting on this little shelf and reaching into his diaper bag to find some wipes to chew on (similar enough to paper), and he discovered a baggie of goldfish. He had a great time sitting there eating his snack, and I was happy that the snack was food!


After pulling Owen out of the millionth "no-no" of the day, I put him in his pack 'n play so that I could make dinner. I started hearing rustling paper, and thought, "He's in the pack 'n play, it can't be Owen with MORE paper!" Well, sure enough, he had found some paper!

This is our John MacArthur study Bible, so it was a good choice. Well, a good choice for reading, not ripping. We'll say he was trying to read it...

Gresham

Dog Story, Part 2

Poor Martha... we miss her... I sure hope that the pet store people actually treated her sickness and didn't just try to pawn her off on someone else...

So after poor Martha was gone, we went on a quest for another puppy. A healthy one. Well, actually we had to wait for our computer to get back from being fixed, and then we started perusing the options.

We could get another cavachon from a real breeder, but that would cost big bucks, so we decided to try craigslist.

On Monday, I found a litter of shih tzu puppies for a reasonable price, so I loaded up the kids in the van, and we went to look at them. After ringing the doorbell many times, the lady finally answered as we were just giving up and walking to our car. She apologized, and said that they were busy giving the puppies baths because they had discovered fleas... The overall situation at this house was not great, but it wasn't like we would ever have to see these people again, so I couldn't decide... but in the end, we decided to hold out for a different breed.

On Monday night, I found some schnoodle puppies (schnauzer poodle mix) for an even more reasonable price. Jordan and I talked and decided that I should investigate this one, and if it was a no, we'd pay the big bucks for the cavachon and just be done with it. We didn't want to drive all over the place looking at craigslist dogs and get the boys' hopes up and then come home without a dog.

I called the lady, and she suggested meeting south of downtown Ft. Worth since she lives 25 miles south of Ft. Worth. She suggested a restaurant that she knew of. We agreed to meet at 10:00 a.m.

We got to the restaurant right at 10:00, and the lady wasn't there, but we weren't worried yet. Actually, given the restaurant (sleazy cheap steak house with broken glass all over the parking lot) I should have taken that as a sign and just headed for home... but we didn't... I finally called the lady, and she said that she was just leaving the house and would be another 25 minutes. Fine, no problem, we went to get gas. That killed about 15 minutes. After it had been 35 min, I called her again. They were just getting out of construction traffic and would be another 10 min. Fine, we went to a gas station to get water bottles.

She had told me to look for a gold camaro. That description ended up being kind of a stretch. "Spray painted yellow" would have been a better fit.

The puppy was sure cute. Gresham would have nothing to do with her, though, because he wanted another "Martha." Aidan liked her. As I held her, fleas were crawling onto my shirt. The lady said that she hadn't had any shots yet. Hmmm. This was not exactly the healthy dog I had in mind. I called Jordan to get his opinion, while the lady and her daughter hovered over me and Gresham ran laps around the van (which was running). He shows his displeasure by being uncooperative.

Jordan figured that we could spend a lot at the vet on this dog and still not spend as much as a cavachon, but said that it was up to me since I would be the one to have to get rid of her fleas and such. I hesitantly decided to go for it.

Bad move.

Next time, I'll go with my gut reaction.

As soon as I paid, Gresham burst into tears that it wasn't a "Martha." We drove home, and the dog's nose kept running... here we go again... fleas were getting all over Aidan while he held her in the car.

I decided that this dog needed more care than we could give her. The people lied about her age, because she was obviously not really 8 weeks. (A vet later confirmed that she was 6 weeks.) She had more accidents in her first afternoon than Martha had all week. Aidan and I spent afternoon nap time trying to rid her of her fleas. Jordan gave her another flea bath right before bed time, and so we put her in her crate on the back porch so that the fleas could jump off her out there. By morning, the crate was covered with poop, and the puppy needed another bath.

But, the story has a happy ending! I was able to give the puppy to a teacher at my school who has been looking for a schnoodle! She took her to the vet and found out that she needs vitamins, antibiotics, and flea treatment. When I called to see how the puppy was doing, she had the vaporizer running for her. This dog is going to be a whole lot happier at their house...

Her new family named her "Ruby."

So now, we're saving up to buy a cavachon from a reputable breeder... maybe in the fall...

I told you there'd be more to this story...

So... the dog is already gone. Sad times. We actually loved the dog very much, and everyone did great with her. I think we only cleaned up 2 or 3 puddles on the rug. But then... we had her vet check-up to make sure she was okay and keep our warranty with the pet store intact.

I had been worried that something was wrong when the dog started coughing on Wednesday. I could feel things rattle in her chest when she breathed. Then on Friday, she spent most of the day sleeping and didn't want to do much. I was glad that we already had a vet appointment scheduled for Saturday morning.

The vet checked out poor little Martha, and said that she was a very sick puppy. We would need to do tests to find out what exactly what was wrong with her ($$$), but the vet was very concerned about her poor health. The vet heard fluid in her lungs and a nasty cough, and she had discharge from her nose and, uh, other areas. Aidan immediately started sobbing, and Gresham alternated between sobbing and hitting things. It was not a pretty picture.

Jordan headed off to the pet store with her, because they had said that if the vet check revealed anything that they would take care of the problem. That turned out to not quite be the case, and the shop wanted to argue that she only had a slight head cold. So Jordan ended up getting a refund on the dog.

The boys are very sad, and want another cavachon, which they plan to name "Martha" as well. We have found some good options of breeders (not pet stores. ). Unfortunately, none of them are local or cheap, but Jordan has some offers to do some yard projects for some neighbors, so the boys said that they would like to help and we can earn the money for a healthy cavachon. I also have some violin lessons I can do. It will be a fun family project. At least I hope...

In other news, the Obeying Olympics was a disaster. Aidan did show some improvement. The other two... not so much. Gresham earned three stickers the first day for eating neatly at each meal. Then, after breakfast went bad the next day, he pretty much gave up and has been putting his silverware in his drink, licking his plate, etc, etc. **Side note to Gresham's future wife: I'm sorry. I tried.

No, really, we are going to keep trying. We just need a new plan.

One thing that has been successful is our "Christian Soldiers' Club." Gresham doesn't like Bible time (basically, he doesn't like to be told what to do by God or anyone else...) so I decided we would call it Christian Soldiers' Club. I bought them club notebooks to write their verses and prayer requests in. We have been studying the armor of God, and we traced Gresham's body and made a life-size soldier with all of the armor on.

Never a dull moment around here...

Martha puts life into perspective...

When we brought this dog home on Sunday, I knew that we would be living in "survival mode" for a while. We already live in survival mode because of the amount of time it takes to feed Owen and keep him from getting into things (his favorites to get into are shampoo, remote controls, shoes, and any paper that he can get in his mouth...), so I figured that it was as good a time as any to do a puppy too.

Things like adding a dog (or even going out in public with the kids) reminds me of how diligently I need to be in training them, because it becomes very difficult for me in those situations when they won't obey. They were born sinners just like the rest of us, and they don't automatically obey! Their hearts are continually tempted by selfishness, laziness, pestering and fighting, and failing to obey. I need to be more consistent in discipline. I also need to teach them what actions and attitudes honor God. Ultimately, they need to be pointed to Christ and realize that only through a relationship with Him can we have the ability to do anything good.

In the interest in making this task a little more fun, we are having the "Obeying Olympics" this week. Each child has two goals for the week. Owen's are to not touch the dog crate, and to not touch the dog food. Gresham's are to eat with good table manners and to not whine. Aidan's are to do a good job at each task he is asked to do and to not say or do things that stir up fighting. Both of the older boys have a jar of marbles to help track their success. They each get 15 marbles at the beginning of the day. Gresham has to take one out every time he whines, and Aidan has to take one out for a job poorly done or a rude comment. They can also earn marbles back for doing things well.

So far we have seen some progress. We have more to do. It's just as hard for me to keep at it as it is for them! It's easy to be distracted by the things that seem like they have to get done - meals, dishes, laundry, etc. and forget the value of training my children.

It we can keep it together until Friday, we're going to have a medal ceremony. We'll keep you posted...

Martha

This is Martha - our newest addition to the family! Aidan named her after the PBS kids show "Martha Speaks," which is about a talking dog.

Yes, we are crazy to add a puppy to the all the craziness that already goes on at our house, but in a way, I figured it might be good to get our crazy stage all done with at one time. We already have to keep toys with small parts off the floor for Owen, so we might as well do that for the dog too!

She is a Cavachon - a mix of Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and Bichon Frise. Not a likely mix, but we liked her for the Cavalier laid back personality and ease of training (our next door neighbors have one, and he is a great dog). The Bichon mix makes it a good dog for allergy sufferers.

Isn't she adorable?

Do you like this last picture? I thought about cropping out Owen and Gresham, but it's a good snapshot of what life is like at our house. Owen is licking a gun (a toy gun!), and who knows what Gresham is doing!

Aidan is the perfect age for a puppy. He can take her outside by himself, and he can already tell when she is about to go... He is old enough to be responsible, and young enough to be completely amused by having someone to be in charge of. Hopefully he keeps having fun, because he is going to help care for her even after the novelty wears off...

Martha thinks that Owen is another puppy. When he crawls, she runs after him and nips at his feet. He is not a big fan, but he'll be walking any day now, and then she'll probably leave him alone more.

I'm sure that this new acquisition is going to lead to lots of stories in which you can laugh at our expense, so stay tuned!!

Baby Owen is 1!!!

Owen turned 1 on May 18th!! We had his party last Friday night. It was a fun time with lots of friends and family here to celebrate! This picture is Owen watching everyone singing to him.

Daddy blew the candle out for him with perfect timing as he reached for the flame...

Hmmm... what is this?

Aidan and Gresham are really into Buzz Lightyear and have been wanting Owen to have his own Buzz for quite some time. When I found some Toy Story duplo legos that were released to go with the new Toy Story 3 movie, I knew I had found the perfect thing for the boys to give him!

He took his first couple of steps this week, but is still pretty content with crawling. His standing gets better every day, though. It won't be long!

Late to bed, early to rise...

Every year, as we approach summer, the sun starts getting up earlier. And every year, my children feel the need to do the same.

Gresham has just discovered bedtime stalling, and along with getting up with the sun, he is getting very little sleep. Tuesday morning was the worst. Gresham came in at 6:20 a.m. to ask me to wipe him, which means that he probably got up to go potty at about 6:00 based on how long he'll sit there hoping someone will come wipe him before he gets up and goes to find someone. By the time I got up for good at 7:00 a.m., the boys were fighting in their room and had woken up Owen. Such a refreshing start to the day!

I gave them a firm reminder of the morning rules. I told them that they had gotten up at the ridiculously early hour of 6:00 a.m. They are not to get up until 7:15. Once it's 7:15 (so thankful that Aidan can tell time!), they can read in their beds until I come get them. After my lecture, I asked Gresham to tell me what the rules are.

He said very seriously, "Don't get up before A.O.M!"

Owen's Silly Faces

Owen has this silly new "wrinkle up his nose" face that he does. None of these pictures quite capture it perfectly, but they're still cute...