My summer sucks! (Complaining ahead...)

Aiden has been sick since Sunday night. He has had a fever at night (and in the mornings) for four nights now. He was been chewing on his shirts until the entire front of them are soaking wet and Jude and I really thought he may be breaking in teeth. During the day, he acts fine. Well, last night Jude was about to give him some Oragel and I got a flashlight to look at his teeth. It's not his teeth, it's his throat. Puss filled, red, yucky throat. Now, Aiden and Roman get this about twice a year. It is just a sore throat with fever, and they usually pass it to each other. We take them to the doctor, they test for Strept, it comes back negative, and we go home with no medication. Today, that is exactly what happened, again. I'm drained staying home, basically locked inside, with all three little children. I want to do stuff every day! This week it is Aiden, and next week it will be Roman. Cullen is eating me out of house and home, and the not listening is making me yell. I do not know how parents do it with children that have ADHD and do not have them on some sort of medication for it. I have to tell him to stop doing things five times, in a row, all day long. Annoying his two little brothers until they scream is his top priority this summer. Then, he will turn and ask why am I fussing at him more than them. OMG!!! I may just run away before the summer is over, forget medicating myself as I have said previously.
Me: "Cullen, leave your little brother alone!" x5
Me: "Cullen, go brush your teeth." x5
Me: "Cullen, stop doing that." "Cullen, stop doing that." "Cullen, stop doing that!"...
Me: "Cullen, do not talk to me like that." x5
Me: "Cullen, who is the parent here?! I've got this!" x20
As far as eating (since med-free), he wants TWO breakfasts, TWO lunches, and TWO dinners, with snacks every hour. He has gained TWO pounds in the past week, no kidding. (What am I going to do when all four boys are in the teenage years?) He gained two pounds total all year while taking his ADHD medication. I feel like I am losing brain cells this week cooped up in the house, repeating myself over and over and over. I need a place to escape to so they can burn energy on a daily basis because this "petite" house isn't doing it.

Let me out the house!

This morning Aiden woke up fever free and all three boys were home. I tried my best to stay home, worried that he could relapse, but around noon I said screw it. I was going nuts. Each child was sent to their room at least once this morning. Cullen has been quite the handful, too.
**About a month ago, I went to Cullen's pediatrician to ask about his ADHD medication. He has only gained two pounds over the past year and the doctor said five to ten pounds is the norm. I informed him that I am concerned about Cullen's slow growth rate and was worried his medication could be affecting him. My goal was to ask for the patch, as I have heard it is better than pill form for eating habits. Well, goal-schmole. The doctor said that his current medication was the best one and if I was worried about his eating habits, I should take him off his medication during the summer to fatten him up. Not what I wanted to hear, but he is the doctor and Cullen does eat like a horse on days he forgets to take it. So, once summer started, oh, a few days ago, Cullen was ready to heed the doctor's advice. (He hates the fact that he has to take medication.) Friday morning he stopped his ADHD meds and my old wild Cullen is back. I think by the end of this summer, pregnant and all, I will need medication! My next option is to put him on a lower dosage, so he eats a little more and still has a little help from his meds. I am trying med free first, for Cullen's growth and for his preference.**
Getting back to today, I called Amy by twelve and asked if she had any plans. She didn't and was happy to get out of the house as well, so we headed over to a bounce house and let the kids run free. The boys played so well together, it was refreshing. An hour and a half later, it was nap time. Nice! Cullen rode his bike and I enjoyed the quiet. It is going to be one extremely long summer.

Manic Monday

Let's see...
Aiden had a fever last night and this morning. We had to skip the gym and cancel our play plans.
My car was broken into over night, and so was Jude's. They only took two pair of factory wireless headphones out of my car, as far as I can tell. The sheriff's office came out and did reports (some neighbors had the same issues) and crime scene cops did fingerprinting.
Then, we took all three boys grocery shopping together.
Surprisingly, that last part isn't that bad. Jude and I have found a way to grocery shop together, with all three boys, and not go insane. I write my grocery list on Monday, and then when Jude gets home around 5 pm, we load everyone up, tear the list down the middle, and do "teams". We race through the store and whomever finishes first is the winner. (No prizes, just bragging rights.) I usually take Aiden and have him pick up the things I tell him I need that I point to and he puts them in the cart. He has no time to whine, look for things he wants, etc. and he enjoys being my helper. Roman gives Jude hell about wanting out the buggy so he feeds him most of the time to keep him quiet, and at some point, Cullen usually gets mad at me for telling him he can't have everything in the store and follows Jude around the second half of the time. I shop fast, Jude gets to shop too (he likes the grocery) and the boys are content. It's like a family outing. lol
Aiden had a fever again tonight after our yummy dinner. I'm not sure what is going on with that.

Over the river and thru the woods, to grandmother's house we go

This morning, Aiden, Roman, and I went to church together for a little praise and worship. Jude had to work. There, they have a child's church they attend and the rule is, if they are good and get a smiley face report, we stop at the gas station and they get to pick out whatever candy they like for a special treat. One time not too long ago, Roman got a sad face and just dropped to the floor after he saw it when we were picking him up from class. He had to watch his brother's enjoy their snacks that day. Since then, they have all had good reports. Once we got home, we were going to take off to the Northshore to visit MiMi and Nanny. Well, the skies opened up and it poured and poured. After about an hour, I decided to brave it and off we went. Roman and Aiden got their fill of love and attention from grandma and great-grandma the few hours we were there, and then we returned home in time to have dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant with Jude. It was a lovely day.
Roman and Aiden with MiMi

Little people, BIG attitudes

All day the boys have been in rare form and I couldn't wait to get them to bed. Of course, things didn't change there. Aiden asked me to read them a book and I agreed. They get a book read to them six out of seven nights. He got a new paper back Transformer book today and as I started to read it, I found it was pretty easy to skip pages without them realizing. (I mean, I am exhausted from all the 'tude today.) Well, I thought no one realized. I got to the very last page and Aiden says, "You skipped a page, and you skipped a few pages here, here, here...". I said, "Then I can just reread it to you tomorrow night with all the new parts. I didn't realize I missed pages." How did he know with it being a brand new book?!
I came and sat on the recliner in the peace and quiet and I can hear them giggling, talking, arguing, and so on. Then, Aiden starts crying. It was an attention cry so I didn't bother getting up. (You can tell the difference in cries.)
He kept on and on with the whining, then he says "Mom! Roman poked me in the eye!".
I said "Aiden, I don't care. You need to go to sleep. Now!! I am tired of the games at night and I specifically told you two I didn't want to hear a peep."
Aiden yells back "You don't care if I die?! I could die. He poked me in the eye!".
Then, I hear Aiden say in a lower voice "Roman, I am going to poke YOU in the eye!".
Before I could respond, I hear Roman crying.
I fuss at Aiden to stop it and to go to sleep. I threaten to punish him from his Lego game on the computer and he starts all kind of back talking. I punish him for one day. I hear in a low voice "Mom is stupid. She doesn't care. She says I am punished from my game and I didn't do anything. Hmmfph!".
Myself, saying loudly "That's it. Two days off the computer."
The reply from Aiden is "I didn't say anything!".
I said "I heard you call me stupid, Aiden."
He says, "I called myself stupid, not you! I said that I'm stupid."
We must have argued for what seemed like an hour with him getting himself in more and more trouble. I think by the time he finally went to sleep, we were at two weeks with no computer games. (Jude is working tonight.)
Roman had his moments all day, too. I think he got fussed more today than he has in his entire three years of life.
Sometimes, Jude and I just don't know WHAT to do. It feels like our kids rule us at times. Especially at dinner time. Definitely at bed time. We read parenting books, we have stacks, and the advice always sounds nice until you are in the moment and things aren't going "text book" ways. It is so hard being a parent, yet so rewarding at the same time. Some days, I look at Jude and ask "Why? Why did we do this to ourselves?". Other days, I look at him and say "Could you imagine how boring and empty our lives would be without our children?". Parenting is a catch-22! All I know is that I am aging FAST.

Happy 5th birthday, Isabel!

Aiden has been counting down the days till he could attend his friend's birthday party from school, Isabel. We had to wake him up early this morning for his last T-Ball game of the season. Then, he went and shopped for Isabel's gift with his daddy and came home to take a nap. After he got all of that out of the way, it was time to go. He was so excited coloring her wrapping paper on the way there. He did a fantastic job!

When we got to her house, there were way more girls there then there were boys and he got beat. It was a water party and they had lots of water fun. The girls were pulling his arms, beating him with floaties, pouring water on him, and so on. He loved every minute of it! He was in childhood heaven playing with his friends from school. I like to watch him interact with his peers because he is so much better behaved than when he plays with his brothers at home. He's a different child. I got to visit with some of the moms and sno balls were served, which were quite yummy. There was the biggest pinata I have ever seen, too.


It was a great party!

I hope these two get to play together some over the summer and we will definitely see them next year for Kindergarten Spanish Immersion. Just look at that smile on the way home...

Just ONE date, please

Jude was off Thursday and Friday this week, which is different. Thursday we had a ton of to do's and didn't get to spend a lot of time together. But today (Friday) we made up for it.
We woke up late and went to the gym with two of the little monkeys. When we got home, I was sitting here thinking it has been forever since we have had a date. So, Jude called his parents and they agreed to babysit for a few hours. We dropped all three boys off and went to lunch at Copeland's. We had tickets to go see Sex and the City 2

and were enjoying our nice relaxing adult (child free) time when Cullen's dad called me and asked if we could bring Cullen to a baseball tournament game on the WB at 8:00pm. Ughh, children! Of course, I said yes. We went to the movies and I loved it. Our only issue was there were these obnoxious women at the very top we were sitting near who were so loud and ridiculous, that we actually moved many seats down (after people behind us cursing them out). Odd, adults don't know how to act. We were running very short on time; we rushed to Jude's parents to get Cullen, rushed to our house to get his glove, rushed to Eddie's mom's house to get his uniform and bat and then rushed to the field, only to arrive just minutes before the game started. We missed warm up. It was sweet to watch Cullen pitching, as his dad has pretty much taken over the sport of baseball with him, near his home.

Jude tried to take a few pics, but the lights and camera didn't mix well together.
After, we brought Cullen to sleep at his Maw Maws' and had a very late dinner of McDonald's, then went to bed. It was a long day, with just a touch of relaxation in it, that must get me through the next few weeks of summer until we can sneak away again.

School is out for summer

Today was Cullen's last official day at school and ALL three children will now be home ALL day on a some what regular basis till the middle of August. (Please pray for my sanity!) When I picked Cullen up from school, he and I went to the store to pick him up a new bike for having all A's and B's all year in academics (not conduct). He did so good on his LEAP tests, too. He really tried this year, you could see his efforts, and it was a brand new school that he had to adjust to on top of it all. He has made us proud and I felt he needed a little reward to encourage him for the next school year. He is now entering the fifth grade. Wow! I told Jude that it really makes me feel old because I can remember the fifth grade like it was yesterday. Now, I am the mother of a fifth grader. *Looking in the mirror for wrinkles.*
Also, I picked up Aiden's report card today from school and he had all 3's (equals proficient) for his final grades, which is the highest you can get. My little Pre-K'er did so well! He also got all green smiley faces in conduct ALL year long except ONE yellow face ONE DAY (for looking under a bathroom door, lol). That is a big change from what I experienced with Cullen in his younger days. I was the parent always in the parent/teacher conferences, trying to explain his behaviors with reasons and trying to find solutions. That boy put me through some sh*t. Aiden's conduct IN SCHOOL is very refreshing!
After, Jude and I took the three boys to see Shrek 4 and it was cute. Cullen thanked us over and over, telling us he had such a great day today, and you know what, I did too:)

The name game

Naming your first born child is hard. Naming your fourth born child is even harder. Jude and I throw names at each other every once in awhile, but nothing catches. Well, Saturday night, Jude found a few he liked and wrote them down for me. I actually really liked one of the names. So, Sunday, while we were in church, I picked the perfect middle name: Rene, after my friend Brandi, who passed. It was her middle name, and conveniently, it is a unisex name. So I passed a note to Jude in church, and he just kinda nods to acknowledge me. I was teary eyed from excitement. When we got out of Sunday's service, he said Rene was a girl name and he has never heard of any guys named that. Well, I know a few and went on a Facebook mission to get others to back me up, asking if it was unisex or not. The responses were great and the final outcome was, YES, it is unisex. So Sunday when he got home from work in the evening, I showed him the FB thread. After I learned the meaning of the name, I was done. "Reborn" is the french definition. No negotiating. Jude wasn't happy with me at this point and we dropped it, after me nagging just a little bit. I mean, our last two boys have his family names as middle names. I want ONE. When he went to bed that night, there was a lack of attention for him:) The next morning, Monday, there was a note on the chalkboard for me. I love him so, so much.

*The first name is blocked out because I don't want to confuse anyone, in case we change our minds.
The last name is blocked out because, hello, this is a public blog.
(He did misspell Rene with an extra E, but I am not taking any points off for that.)
I wrote him a note back at the bottom.

Slide, rinse, repeat

This morning I woke before Aiden and Roman, which is extremely rare. When I went in their room to check on them, they were cuddling. I had to sneak a pic.

Then, we all got ready and headed to the gym. I hadn't been there in a very long time (months) and I was happy to be there, exercising. When Amy and I were done, we walked into the gym daycare and all three boys were coloring pictures at a table. Adorable.

After, we went home (Xan came with)

and I cleaned the house while the boys played so well together. In no time, everyone was back in the pool having a blast.

Slide, rinse, repeat...for hours.

Summer is among us

The baby pool was put up yesterday evening in anticipation of today. After church this morning, Aiden, Roman and I put on our swim suits and took a dip in the warm water. It wasn't long before I was chased out with splashing and craziness, but I did get to cool off from the hot sun every once in awhile. We called our best friends and asked them to come play with us, too. Pool, water sprinkler+slide, toys, snacks, and pizza equaled a fun Sunday afternoon.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Nathan!

Today we went to one of our fave bounce houses to celebrate cousin Nathan's birthday, who is just a few weeks younger than Roman. It was great to see Jude's family and our two little monkeys played like crazy. Every time Roman would lose Aiden, he would walk up and ask "Where's Aiden?" and vice versa. They were so cute chumming around together.
Here are a few photos:
The birthday boy, Nathan

Chuck E Cheese, please

Last night Cullen slept at his dad's house, so this morning the boys and I slept in, past nine. (Aiden's last day of school was yesterday and Cullen's is next Thursday.) As I was laying in bed with pissy thoughts about Leo checking out of the slammer today with the bond bomb, Amy called me and was ready to start some summer fun. Her and the kids came over and then we headed to Chuck E Cheese, where many other parents and children were today. The boys had tons of fun, and didn't even complain when it was time to go. Next, we stopped to say hello to my friend Stacey, went to Walmart, picked Cullen up from school, and the two little ones took naps while Cullen and I cleaned the house. I paid him five dollars and he did half my load of work. It was sweet! After, he took off to his dad's for the weekend and I made a homemade lasagna and a molten chocolate surprise for dessert. It was a very busy day. One that I am thankful for because it took my mind off of some terrible things for many hours. I am so glad summer is here. I can't wait to spend some quality time with my little herd; that is, until they drive me crazy. lol
Ro-man, who didn't want his picture taken

Aiden, with his new Nerf gun obsession

Aiden and Roman are both ALL about sunglasses and nerf guns at the moment.
Picture at their request.

Aiden's Pre-K 4 End of the Year Program

Aiden's last day of school was today and he was looking (and feeling) sharp.

They were to be dressed in their Sunday best. Aiden kept looking in the full length mirror and smiling while getting ready this morning.
Jude and I enjoyed the performance the kids put on, thoroughly. In fact, I cried a little too. It is sad to see our little baby complete his first chapter of school.

Iguana's

Diva Isabel in the blue dress

Aiden, with his teacher, getting his Pre-K certificate

Aiden with Ms Crystal (asst teacher) and Ms Beatriz (teacher)

Isabel and Aiden

Mom, Dad, and Aiden (thanks, Paw Paw)

Aiden with Nanny and Paw Paw (Jude's parents)

Maria and me (Isabel's mommy)

His 'Tooty Ta' performance

Leap Test

Cullen changed schools this year from Catholic to Public and has been doing really good academically, socially, and even in physical education. They actually play sports at this school during P.E. and his little football team even won an award, competing against other classmates. He is playing there instead of just hanging out like at his old school, which is helping him is his after school sports tremendously.
So anyway, he took the LA Leap Test a few weeks ago and his results came in today.
The results fall into these categories on Leap Tests:
advanced, mastery, basic, approaching basic and unsatisfactory.
Cullen's results were as follows=
English Language Arts-Mastery
Mathematics-Advanced
Science-Mastery
Social Studies-Advanced
He was so excited to get in the car from school and tell me the results and I am so very proud of him.

Dear Cullen,
You are a very smart young man and you never cease to amaze me. At times, you have no faith in yourself, but mommy has enough for the both of us. You make me very proud and one day I hope you see your own potential, grab it, and run with it.
I love you with all my heart.
Mom
Now, if we could just get him to stop talking in class...

The annual picnic

This morning we woke to a terrible storm happening outside. It was pouring down rain and church was in an hour. We also had Jude's annual work picnic to attend later on. I decided we were going to both, no matter what. We have missed the last few weeks of church and the cycle was going to stop today. We all dressed, put on our rain boots, and as the boys and I walked out the door, it stopped raining. Thank you, God. *wink, wink* After a nice Sunday service, we went to the WB to meet daddy and eat some yummy crawfish.
(Jude's pot is always the best.)

The boys had a blast, playing in mud puddles and helping Jude boil.
They made crafts,

ate a ton of sweets, and kept busy the entire time. I got to visit with Jessica, whom I see three times a year at the work events, which was nice. After eating way too much, the boys and I decided to leave before they did some pie throwing contest, where all the employees there were able to smash a pie in the face of a manager that they wanted to for $2. Now, with Jude being the boss, I totally think this is a terrible thing to do and to some point, a little disrespectful. There is always some idiot who will put a little too much force behind that pie. I personally didn't care to witness it and knew it would be happening soon, so the boys and I left. We're home now, the boys are napping, and I am right behind them. All in all, it turned out to be a great day.

Baseball player #2

Aiden started playing "baseball" at the local YMCA recently, and he loves it. He is following in his big brother's foot steps.


Cullen is playing baseball again this year by his dad's local park and he is the pitcher for the team. He's a terrific player!