Yesterday, we went to the doctor. L hasn't gained any weight but is in the average range for his age. He also has grown taller almost 2 inches. He doesn't have an overactive thyroid. He didn't get any shots but both he and B have appointments on June 1 to get FIVE shots each! Then they won't need shots for quite awhile. These are the dreaded kindergarten shots that are required to start public school. We also went to my school yesterday and the boys ran up and down the hall. It's nice to have a place where they can run without having to worry about them slipping on the ice, snow or slush outside. Today, our case worker visited bright and early this a.m. The boys were still in their pajamas. After she left, we went to a thrift shop here in town where the boys each picket out 3 small toys (L hit the jackpot and got a bumblebee transformer). After that, I had promised them we'd go to the only playground we have in town that is shoveled out. When we got there (the elementary school), there were prisoners shoveling off the roof so we didn't get out of the van. We instead drove to Bangor and went to the McDonalds playplace. Both boys did very well behaviorally. I can't say the same for some of the other kids there. I complained to a parent about a boy after I watched him push down a 2 year old and threatened him..."do you want me to make you bleed?" Certainly not the role model we would like for the boys. Thankfully, the parent had some brains because he told him to get down and put his coat and boots on and they left. I would have liked for him to have to apologize, but leaving was high on my list too. It was much nicer after he left and the rest of the kids all played well together. After we left there, we went to the Salvation Army store across the street from there and the boys picked out books (L got one named, "Wonderful Wendy") and another toy. They slept in the car on the way home and have been building forts in the living room with blankets, pillows and chairs. We are having lasagna, bread sticks and salad for dinner. A is still at her mom's and they have not had any luck finding a dress for A to wear to her mom's wedding this summer. The plan is for A to return to her mom's at the end of June. The wedding is in July. We are getting a big snowstorm tomorrow night; up to a foot of wet, sticky snow. Finally! Snowmen and a fort are being planned. Our snow woman is going to wear a Hannah Montana wig and heart sunglasses and the fort is going to have an ice sunroof.

Colds and Laundry

Sundays are usually our house cleaning, grocery shopping and laundry day. Andy and L have colds and are pretty miserable. The boys just played inside all day due to L's cold. I'm hoping he feels better tommorow so that they can play outside for awhile if it's as warm as it was today. They still want to make a snowman. Tommorow, L has a doctor's appointment. It's just a routine check. I'm hoping he doesn't have to have any of the 5 shots he needs before kindergarten. B needs 5 too. A is visiting her mom until next Wednesday. It will be strange to have her gone for that long but we're glad that her mother was able to have the schedule to keep her for some of her vacation. Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention that all of us, except for Andy, are on vacation for a week. The neighbors came to visit today. They are the ones who moved away, Andy's doctor and his wife, who I have taught with for the past 8 years. We miss having them live next door even though we still see them quite a bit as they are fixing up the house to sell. The boys like them a lot. They moved to just outside of Portland, which is about 2 and a half hours from here. They live next door to a llama farm now.

Went to Bangor

Today we went to Bangor which is an hour from us. We got the boys some clothes at Kohl's, some thrift shops and Walmart. We got some more stuff for B's upcoming birthday too. We went to Texas Road House again. It was a madhouse! We had called in a reservation but still had to wait forever. Both of the boys had the Chicken Critters with applesauce (aka chicken strips) and chocolate milk. At Walmart, we got the fridge phonics set that teaches the long and short sounds of every letter. Soon it will be kindergarten screening so we figure it can't hurt. The boys listened to a Thomas cd on the way to Bangor and a Spongebob one on the way back. They both love the Spongebob song, "It's the best day ever". Tomorrow, we are going to a sledding party on the hill my great-great grandfather settled at. My dad lived there as a child until the house was struck by lightening and burned. My aunt and uncle now have a house there. In the afternoon, we have baby shower to go to. My brother's ex is having a baby (so the baby will be my nephew's sister). I don't know if the boys will want to go or stay home and play. My mom is going too.

Lots of Sugar and Red Dye!

Both boys had lots and lots of sugar and red dye today. They have been bouncing off the walls. When Andy picked up L from school, he was having a tantrum because he couldn't find a cookie he had set down somewhere. He had all the teachers running around frantically while he screamed. B had a tantrum soon after he and I got home because I wouldn't let him eat candy before supper (just after 4). He had just had a Valentine's party with cookies, cupcakes and candy at 3:00. But, despite that, both boys had a fun day and got lots of Valentines and loved their parties. L arrived home to find a surprise that made his day. His birthday box from his mom and dad arrived. He was thrilled with his presents; a gameboy with 12 games!, monkey pajamas, a CD and 2 stuffed animals. He loved them all! He decorated the box and is keeping that too :) We had french toast, bacon and applesauce for dinner and played for awhile and now are both in bed. I'll add pics tomorrow.

We're having a bit of an ice storm today. It's pouring rain and the walkways and backroads are all ice. The boys are excited about their valentine's parties tomorrow. Remember when you were little and Valentine's Day was a BIG holiday in your mind?

This is from left to right, Jaida, E.J. B, Caleb and Jordan; now 19, 20, days from being 5, 17 and 21. This was somebody's birthday.

Today, L made a valentine at school for his teacher, Jenny-Lynn. She's out for almost 2 weeks. L loves her and misses her. She's young and full of energy. She's the head teacher at his preschool. We had shells and chedder with hamburger and green bean casserole for dinner. L cleaned his plate and ate dessert. He's a picky eater generally but there are some meals he'll just scarf down. Right now, he and B are playing Speed Racer. I think L would like the hot dog octopus's on a sea of mac and cheese. We'll have to make those again. The boys are starting to get geared up for Easter. We always have an Easter egg hunt and dye eggs. Of course, the Easter Bunny comes too. Here's A and B with their egg hunt loot and B dying eggs.

This lake is East Grand Lake in Orient, Maine. It's in Aroostook County and across the lake is Canada. The lake is actually international waters. It is such a beautiful lake, so crystal clear and cold. The boys love to fish and swim here. There is an "old" camp and a "new" camp here and we stay in whichever one has room for us. Here the boys are fishing without hooks. They were practicing casting and reeling in and had a blast. The sandy beach picture is Sand Beach at Acadia National Park. This was L's first trip to the Atlantic Ocean.

Here's some more summer pics.

Here's the Grave Digger truck the boys have. Neither one is very good at driving and I sure hope they improve before they turn 16 and try to get a license. We usually take it to Grammy's to drive in her big backyard. The other pics are the boys in some costumes from our costume box. They love to dress up and get their pictures taken.

L had a rough day at school today. Mondays are hard for everyone. B brought a transformer to school and lost it. L had therapy after school and he and Andy went to McDonalds. B, A and I went to the Nor'easter.

Sledding pics from Saturday

More recent pics

More pics...l's birthday cake, boys in their snowsuits, etc.

Last weekend we had L's 5th birthday. He turned 5 on Friday and his school gave him a card and a Thomas the Train necklace that his teacher made. He has a bunch of teachers at his school but he has a bit of a crush on his head teacher, Jenny-Lynn. On Saturday, we had a training day so he and B spent the day with the agency staff, first going to the Children's Museum, then out to eat and then to an area school where they played in the snow. When the training was done, we went to Toys r Us where L got a free balloon and a crown. He picked out his big toy. It was a tough decision. We are a shelf stockers nightmare I'm afraid. Everytime he changed his mind, we would replace his new choice with his old choice on the shelf. He decided on a Little Einstein's rocket. It is very fancy and plays music, has interchangable part and when you press buttons it will go in a variety of patters such as a figure 8 on the floor. B has a rocket that's about a year old and although it looks about the same, does very little. After Toys r Us, we went to Texas Road House as that is what L picked. He loves to throw the peanuts on the floor and then stomp on them. He also likes that he can be as loud as he wants and doesn't get shushed as it's so loud there. Last time we went, he and B danced with the waitresses. They were a little disappointed this time that we got a waiter. They stood up and danced as you can see in the pictures. I'll try to post the video of L shaking his booty. On Sunday, we had his party. He had picked a Speed Racer party. We had the following guests: cousin Annie-4, cousin Jacob-7, cousin Griffin-8, friend Simon-3, friend Kelly-6 and friend Hunter-8. My parents and Andy's mom came too, as well as all the kids mom's. We had quite a houseful. We started with pizza, then had the scavenger hunt where he had to find his presents and the prize bags, then we had cake and ice cream, then the pinata and then opened presents. After everyone left, he and B came up with an interesting way to pop the balloons. I'll try to post the video.

bendaroos

Here's some pics of the boys playing with Bendaroos. These are those things they keep showing a commercial of. I listened to "I WANT THEM!!!!" screamed at the top of 4 little lungs until I couldn't take it anymore and whipped out the credit card. They are way too expensive but they have been a hit. I found out after I bought them that I could have bought something called wiki stix which are the same thing, only cheaper. Autumn made some very fancy things for the boys which were all accidentally broke but at least I got some pics firts.

Sign on the line

Today I made the boys sign their valentines for their Valentine's Day parties on Friday. You would think I asked them to clean the house or something else horrible. When bribes didn't work, I resorted to threats. No signing valentines=no party for them. Suddenly, they signed with abandonment, finishing in less than 10 minutes. These pics were of yesterdays valentines and an old pic of them sitting at the SpongeBob table. I got it at a thrift shop and the boys love it!

February Fun!

Today, the dynamic duo was awake by 6:00 a.m. ready to roll! We had promised them a fun filled day and ended up having just that. The boys filled out some valentines this a.m. and have to do ones for their preschool classmates tomorrow. As they go to different preschools, we are working with 2 different lists. B made one today for the love of his live, Marie. Marie is an older woman; 7. B is 4. He spent over an hour drawing her small hearts and coloring each one a different color. He composed a song for her and sweetly sang of his love for her while working on it. He drew a picture of the two of them holding hands and he painstakingly wrote her name on the envelope. It was very cute. L worked for quite awhile on a valentine for H and J. He spent a long time making it just the way he wanted it. He did become quite angry when I told him the one surface he could not color was the front of the envelope as the address needed to go somewhere. We went afterwards and mailed it. After lunch we went sledding at the fairgrounds in town and we had the hill to ourselves. Both boys and Andy certainly got their exercise and rosy red cheeks too. I was the photographer and only went down the hill once. I went off the trail and mired myself into about 3 feet of powder. I felt like a beached whale trying to get myself back on the trail. It reminded me of trying to walk on sand while wearing ski boots...it just wasn't going well for me. Of course, my audience thought it was hilarious. We went to the Covered Bridge Restaurant for dinner and got to have Jaida as our waitress. The boys were very happy to see her and both stated that when they grow up they are going to work there with her. L wants to be a "food cooker" and B wants to work the "money machine" and say "Thank you! Come again!" After dinner we went to my school and the boys tried out their rollerskates in the hall. They didn't do very well but had fun trying to stay on their feet. After they tired of that, they got on the stage and took turns singing and dancing for the video camera. They are both quite the entertainers. They would introduce each other and took turns nicely. All was going smoothly until B shut his finger in the door at the bottom of the stage stairs. It is swollen but he can move it. We put a splint on it and will take him to the emergency room in the a.m. if it's not any better. He can move it but it's very painful. We arrived home by 7:30 and both boys are now in bed and sleeping.