Birthday Celebration

Today was Evan and Hudson's birthday party. We had family come over to celebrate with us, and it was a very nice afternoon. I will try to add more pictures tomorrow. For now, this one shows the two of them waiting for Daddy to bring out the cake! I sure do love these two little men.

$6 Spree

I bought all of this stuff for $6 flat! I love it when my totals come out to nice round numbers!

I was quite pleased with my CVS trip this week. I got the following: 2 boxes of cereal, 4 body washes, 1 conditioner, 2 boxes of Ziplocs, 1 toothpaste, 1 Chilren's Tylenol and 1 Children's Motrin. Everything was either on sale, bought with a coupon or gave me an Extra Care Buck (ECB).

I ended up doing two transactions to get these good deals. The first transaction cost $1.72 and returned $7 in ECB's. The second deal cost $4.28 and returned $6 in ECB's! I also got a couple of great coupons printed out on my receipt to be used for future purchases.

To summarize: I spent $6, I saved $50.85, I earned a total of $13 in ECB's, and I received a couple of coupons. Pretty great shopping trip for a small amount of planning yesterday morning!

Happy Birthday Hudson!

Happy birthday to my baby! It's hard to believe that this little guy is already two. While there are parts of me just wishing for him to be older, talking, and capable, there is an equally strong part of me wishing he was still my itty bitty baby.


At 6 a.m. two years ago, Hudson was still firmly in my belly. My doctor decided to induce me on the 13th. I was perfectly fine with this decision, but never really thought I'd make it to the induction date. I should have known then and there how this child was going to cling to me!


Minutes old. After the doctor broke my water at 8 a.m, I labored all day. Hudson finally had to be pulled out with a little help from a suction cup. Eric and I did our best "pushing" work when we were alone in the room together. It seemed that is when I could focus and get Hudson moved down and OUT OF ME!


Yikes! Those hospital lights tend to be bright!


Grandma gets to meet you for the first time.


Then Grandpa got to hold you!


Our first family shot. Your brother thought you were pretty cool! But he also thought it was neat that the hospital delivered my food to me on a tray!


Then a whole year went by and you turned one. Now it's hard to believe that you have been a part of our family for two whole years. It's hard to imagine life without you.


Waiting for birthday cake.


Two boys who can sometimes be very, very sweet and very, very silly. (We went to the Parish Festival today which is why Evan is sporting the multi-colored hair and face painting.)


Just about to blow out the candles.

Hudson Hartman Forcey, you are the sunshine in our world. Your little smile can light up any dark place. Your sweet little face makes a bad day seem a bit easier.

You are so eager to keep up with your big brother, but you definitely aren't going to let him boss you around! You have your own ideas about the world and have an independent streak that goes on for miles. Why should we help you do things when you can do them yourself?!

You are getting so much better at telling us what you want, and what you want is usually a popscicle! You still have a sneaky side to you. Just today you got in trouble for unraveling most of Mom's dental floss!

You are such a smart little man, always figuring out how to open doors, drag chairs around to reach the computer, and push buttons on the phone. Sometimes it's hard to keep up with you.

Dad, Evan, and I love you so very, very much. Happy Birthday Chicken!

Evan-isms and more

This post will be sort of a catch-all of some interesting (to me anyhow) things said or done by the kids.

Today Evan was using the bathroom at home. As I walked by I heard him babbling. I poked my head in and asked him what he was doing. He said, "Nothing. I'm just praying. Talking to God." What a sweetheart!

While driving home from school Evan and I were teasing each other about him having to "stand on his line" after the morning bell rings. The kindergarten kids line up on the line and wait for Mrs. Clark to come and get them and lead them to class. Evan and I were bantering back and forth saying, "Go get on your line!" Suddenly he stopped and said, "It's not fair! The 7th graders don't have to get on a line. They stand in a circle!"

I busted up laughing. He's right! The younger grades all line up in a line near their classroom doors, but the 7th graders stand just to the side of the kindergarten class in a big lump socializing until I walk out to get them. I can't wait to tell my 7th graders tomorrow how Evan has noticed this. See, I'll tell them, the little kids REALLY pay attention to you big kids!

Hudson got in BIG trouble today. He bit Brooke on the back! Yikes! Granted, he was provoked when Brooke stole his toy, but still. Poor Brooke has a welt on her back, and Hudson even bit through her clothes. I used my deep voice and told him he was a bad boy. His little chin quivered and he burst into tears. Poor guy. He had a rough morning and a rough evening.

My dad has been gone for 3 months as of today. It's still very surreal. Since I didn't see my dad or even talk to him that often, I can sort of pretend that everything is fine. But it's not fine. I realized that it was three months earlier this evening. Then I cried. A lot. Then I called my mom. That helped. There's not much to say that hasn't been said. I just miss my dad.

We went out to eat a few days ago, and the kids got balloons. I hate bringing balloons into the house, so I was going to suggest that we let the balloons fly off to Grandpa. However, I didn't say that because I don't want to be overbearing with the Grandpa references. A few minutes later Hudson let go of his balloon. Evan informed me that the balloon was going up to Grandpa! I was stunned that he said the same thing I had just been thinking. It was a nice moment.

I am still trying to work my way up to a 5K. I can now run for five minutes straight without keeling over. I finished Week 5 Day 1 this evening. However, I have a feeling that many people QUIT during week 5. We go from nice little 5 minute jaunts to an 8 minute run on day 2 and a 20 minute run on day 3! Twenty minutes? We'll see how that goes on Saturday morning. I always tell Eric to come look for me if I don't return home by a certain time. Saturday might be the day he has to come looking for me!

Birthdays

A round of birthdays will soon descend upon us. Little Hudson Chicken turns 2 next Sunday, my nephew Hunter turns 8 on Sept. 22, and Evan turns 5 on Oct. 3. When Hudson was born, I remember thinking my poor parents have three grandsons who have birthdays within 20 days of each other! Then there is oddball Logan who has a February birthday just like his most favorite aunt in the whole world!

Anyhow, had to get a birthday background up to mark the birthday extravaganza. I'm not loving the background, but it's all I could find for the moment.

Allergic

We had Evan tested for allergies on Saturday morning. This kid is such a trooper. He's never been afraid of shots, needles or doctors. If anything, he loves to prove how brave he is by sticking his arm out to receive the needle. I've always been amazed by him.

We explained to him how the nurse was going to draw on his back and "scratch" him to see which things might cause an allergic reaction. He was a little nervous, but once she rolled the eight different trays over his back (40 tests in all), he sat there giggling!

His only issue was that he couldn't see his back to know what was going on. We helped him out by taking a picture.



It turns out that Evan is allergic to quite a few things including trees, cockroaches, dogs, dust and grasses. This really isn't that surprising given the fact that both of his parents are allergic to over 100 things each, and his father has asthma to boot. Both of the kids' odds of having allergies/asthma are quite high.

We decided to go ahead with shot therapy. At first I felt a little guilty knowing my almost 5-year-old is going to be getting allergy shots. After talking to the doctor, however, I think it is the right thing to do.

The earlier you start shots (5 is the earliest age) the better chance there is of preventing further allergies from developing. Just because Evan isn't allergic to everything right now doesn't mean he won't be later. I remember my allergies didn't really kick in until I was in 3rd grade. Then they kicked in with a vengeance.

Also, Evan has no problem getting shots. We won't be fighting him each week to have this done. I don't think Hudson would tolerate this quite so well. I have a hunch that Hudson will be more allergic to things than Evan. He already shows signs of asthma where Evan doesn't.

I was so proud of Evan and the way he handled his appointment. Way to go Peanut!

The Best Toy Ever...

is a giant box!



We bought a treadmill today. I am determined to keep up with my running, but I don't enjoy running in the dark by myself. I'll still do some outdoor running, but for the busy weekdays I need to be able to run inside.

Besides, I didn't feel like joining a gym. Much easier to walk out my bedroom and step on a treadmill in another room. Another plus is I can wear what I want when I exercise in my own house. And I wear some pretty weird getups when I work out!


Hudson looks like he's crying, but I just caught him at a funny moment. Evan is under the blankets on the right side.

Once we got the treadmill out of the car and out of the box, the boys immediately confiscated it for their new clubhouse! Evan piled every blanket in the house into the box to make a bed for the two of them. I just laughed. They get to keep their new toy at least until trash day.


The weather here is beautiful today, but it is starting to get into the 80's. Certainly too hot for all those blankets, but what's a secret clubhouse if you can't hide under a bunch of blankets?


Hi Mom! Hudson in his corner of the box/clubhouse playing with two little bouncy balls.

I just heard Evan exclaim, "Hudson, you found my flashlight...Thanks!" I suppose that will make for a perfect addition to the ambiance of the clubhouse. Evan wants to sleep in the box tonight. We'll see.

Snuggle

Evan is still sneaking into our bed. I guess Bandit's bed wasn't as appealing last night. Evan slips in and curls up at the foot of our bed. We found him this morning curled up with Bandit. This is about the only time Bandit will allow Evan to be in such close proximity...when he is sleeping!

Hot dog

Evan told me today that he felt like a hot dog during P.E. I wasn't real sure what to make of this revelation, so I asked him what he meant.

"Well, I was so hot at P.E. today, that I was burning up like a hot dog," was the explanation.

Yeah, well, I felt like a melted pool of sticky wax, and I didn't even have P.E. Standing out at the back gate for duty after school is a "hot dog" kind of job on these 100-degree days.

Crazy Kid

Two mornings ago Evan threw a fit to end all fits. He wanted Captain Crunch cereal for breakfast. We said no. The cereal is for Eric. Evan didn't like the negative answer, so he stood in the kitchen a 6:55 a.m. and screamed at the top of his lungs. I wanted to smack him. I refrained. Let's just say it wasn't a good morning, and the child got his blanket and Game Boy taken away.

We somehow manage to get to school on time. We even make it to the end of the school day. After school Evan runs up to tell me that he was the "chosen one" to get a prize out of the Treasure Box for being such a good boy all day!

I just told him how proud I was of him for pulling it together after such a tough morning. He said, "Yeah, I just had to get rid of my tears." I thought, "Yeah, me too."

This kid is slowly making me crazy.

My mother found this next story amusing. Evan still comes into our room in the middle of the night, but he doesn't get in our bed. He kicks Bandit out of his dog bed and lays in there to sleep. The only problem with this is that Bandit no longer has a place to sleep, so he starts pacing around our bed trying to get up to rest.

Our room has laminate flooring, so if Bandit is pacing around the bed, all we hear is "click click click" as his nails hit the floor. Not fun at 4 a.m. (Bandit can't get enough traction off the floor to jump up to our bed.)

We have had this talk with Evan before, but in the morning I reminded him about the new and ever changing rules regarding bothering us in the night.

Mom: Evan, you know we told you to put Bandit up in our bed if you come in to our room and sleep in his bed.

Evan: But I wanted Bandit to sleep with me in his bed.

Mom: There isn't enough room for both of you in the dog bed.

Evan: Bandit didn't want me to lift him up to your bed.

Mom: I don't care. You outweigh him by 30 pounds. If you come in our room and take over Bandit's bed, you need to put him in our bed.

Evan: Fine.

I feel like I must be the only mother in the world who has to have these bizarre conversations. Who in the world has to remind their child to put the dog in the big bed so he can sleep in the dog's bed? Me, apparently!