It is always an adventure around here

As always, my life with my children is an adventure. Sometimes it is great fun and sometimes filled with heartache and then sometimes, humiliation. We are well into summer now and we have had a lot of fun and the boys have had a lot of activities until the last week and a half. Ben must have decided to spice it up a little because he fell two nights ago and hurt himself. I mean why not, it has been about a year and a half since our last major injury.

So, Ben is running like a crazy man to his bedroom for bedtime. He always runs so nothing new there. He bangs into the wall somehow and falls? Sam saw it and both Sam and Ben say that Ben fell. He cried and said it hurt, long story short, nothing broken and in a splint for a few days.

Today, Ben still said it hurt a little. Ryan was concerned with the weekend coming up and us having experienced nursemaids elbow before, that maybe he did have nursemaids elbow (small dislocation) which does not show up on the x-ray.

Make a doctor appt and leave to go run a couple errands with the boys. So starts the adventure.

First stop: Target - we all love us some Target. As soon as we get inside both Ben and Hayes need to tinkle. Hayes needed to do a little more so he gets on the potty, not well balanced and splash, into the toilet. Can we say GROSS as it was a Target. His shirt was wet and that was that.

Second: Bank for money. Get a call from the doctor office, "Can you get the x-ray and come staight to the office?" I said yes, we go to Todd's office and the twins go nuts. So embarrassing in front of Todd and his office. We leave and get on the elevator. The door opens and Ben hits the "call" button. While it is ringing Ben darts into the nearest waiting room. By the time I get there he is nowhere to be found. The people in the waiting room point to the bathroom. He is in there. I get him out and basically drag them by their little hairs to the car.

I take Sam to Ryan's office, drop money off at the house for the cleaning lady and head to the doctor's office. Turned out that he probably just badly bruised his arm. We have kept the splint off and he is good, running all around like he normally does. Thank goodness it was only a bad bruise. Crossing our fingers that we are good for a while on the injuries.

As if there were not enough events for the day, it had quite a bang that capped it all off. I was on the treadmill and heard Ryan telling the twins to head back upstairs before bedtime. Then I hear "no, no what were you doing???" I go out to the living room, Hayes has pooped on the stairs and pretended, yet again, that it is model magic all over the stairs. SERIOUSLY!!!!! REALLY!!!!????

For crying out loud, as if we did not have enough stuff today. Ryan got the pleasure of cleaning it. As you recall from prior posts, I have always been the lucky one.

Trying to be Fun

A friend of mine said she was going to try to be more fun and involved this summer when her kids are at the pool and not sit and just watch them. I am trying to do the same, although I do think that I am fun most of the time. :)

The boys have been having their swim lessons and while Sam can swim like a baby fish, the twins swim like little tadpoles trying to find their way to the surface. They are doing great and have come to LOVE swimming. They have their cute little frog goggles and huge smiles. They progress a little more each day.

Over the weekend we were in the water with them a lot. Well, Ryan was. I was not so into the pool yet. He was there so I figured I could read a book and cheer them all on. Plus, it still seemed a touch chilly and I did not want to mess with wet hair.

Well, today we had a big day of Vacation Bible School and it was the last day of swim lessons. We got home and rested and went to the "beach" as the kids call it. I was not dying to get into the pool. A new swimsuit and an attitude adjustment got me in though. Thank goodness, the water was warm. We ended up having a blast. Ryan got home about an hour after we had been in the water. The twins were jumping off the diving board yelling "more" over and over and "my turn" over and over. By the time Ryan got home I was tired but so happy to have enjoyed that time with them.

I foresee a summer full of swimming and I pledge to try to be a fun mom who gets involved with the pool and swimming (even though I don't always want my hair wet because it is pain to have to wash and dry, ask any woman). I remember my friend and what she said and it spurs me from being a lazy bump to a fun participating mom. And that is good because I want my kids to have special memories of me playing with them and us all having fun together. Why have kids if you aren't going to be fully involved and engaged with them? The reward is definitely worth the effort, most of the time. Oh ok, all of the time.

Most Precious Moments

Some of the most precious moments occur when you least expect it. Thankfully, they usually happen when you really need to be reminded of how precious they are because you are tired from a long day. And, I mean TIRED. You have, or at least I have, usually been a referee, done the dishes, prepared several meals like the short order cook you are,washed clothes and put up the same toys 3 times. I could go on and on with the list. Anyway, when those precious moments occur, your heart just melts and you realize just how blessed you are. All those moments that have occurred during the day, like losing my patience or frustration from the fighting or bickering, just goes away and you forget how everything except how precious your children are and how lucky you are.

One of the moments happened tonight. When I went upstairs to tuck in my sweet baby boys, (Ryan keeps saying they are not babies anymore but they will all always be my babies) they were so sweet. They loved having their books read to them, being tucked in and then they ALWAYS want a kiss. It has kind of been their MO lately with the delaying of things. But I digress as usual. Hayes lays down and hugs me tight and says "Kiss my lips". I do that. He says "No, kiss my lips, right here" and points to his little sweet lips. I savor that. I know there may be the day when they are not so gung ho on a kiss from mommy. Ben is the same way. He loves a kiss from his mommy.

I also savor those moments when they are asleep. Not just because they are sleeping and you have some peace and quiet but because they are so innocent and vulnerable. You realize that you are their protector, their champion. It is a big responsibility. When Sam was a baby, I used to crawl into his crib and snuggle him. He is a champion sleeper so he never woke up. I can't really do that with the twins, they both sleep light as a feather. Anyway, when you see your precious sleeping child, all you want to do is wrap them in your arms and hold them forever. All the angst of the day just floats away and you run to your husband and say "Gosh, we are so blessed that these babies are ours."

I was kind of mushy tonight but since this is my blog I can do what I want.

Swim Lessons

Summer is here! It is hot, it is sticky, it is time for the pool. Ben and Hayes are not swimmers yet so we start swim lessons yesterday. Ms. Suzy is awesome! Sam loved her last summer and so I just knew that the boys would love it. Well, I was wrong, which is rare :)

Hayes was kicking and screaming all the way into the pool. You have thought he was about to be dipped in hot oil. Ben, on the other hand, loved it. He was wanting "more, more more". Sam is in the lessons as well and doing great. You would think that having both of your brothers there would make you happy but not my Hayes. He does not want to swim, does not want his hair wet (what?) and wants me to stay there the whole time.

At the end of the lesson Ms. Suzy said that Ben and Sam could have a lollipop but that Hayes could not. Little does she know that Hayes dislikes lollipops and did not probably care.

His poor little lip was already quivering this morning about going today. He has two weeks of this so hopefully, it will get better. My hope is that the boys are all swimmers by the end of this but I guess we will see.