Jordan's catch phrase

It's really funny, but she says this several times a day, out of the blue:

Somebody farted.

the birthday boy

We celebrated Zach's 5th birthday yesterday, it was a greatly anticipated event. I was so glad he was over his cold enough to enjoy it, too, we had a cold virus to go through our house the end of last week. It aggravated poor Jordan's asthma yesterday, but with advice from my dad we staved off another trip to the doctor/hospital. She's much better today, although we're still doing every 4 hour nebulizer treatments, and one during the night. Anyway, I let the birthday boy play X-Box 360 all morning long while I managed Jordan's breathing, but I probably would have anyway just for a special treat on his birthday. His favorite is a Star Wars game called Battlefront, and the boys usually do it as a 3 or 4 player game. It's so fun to watch and listen to them interact with each other while they're playing, and amazing how good Zach is at it. Jon came home at lunch time in case I was going to have to take Jordan in, so it was really nice to have Daddy home during the day. I made a dragon cake, an idea I got from FamilyFun magazine, I have always been impressed by the cakes my friend Sharon makes her kids for birthdays. And I actually managed to pull it off! The birthday boy got more Bionicles, LEGOS, a tee, a viewmaster projector, lots of new swords and pirate weapons, from my parents he got a t-ball helmet, bat, and ball, and a few other things. All in all it was a "great party" (his words). Oh, and the milestone for the 5th birthday is wiping himself (we'll see how that goes!), we agreed on that awhile back. He's really growing up, and only nurses once a day, too. Ha-ha, gotcha!! Just one still on the breast, and since she's been sick I haven't pushed totally weaning. Call me a wierdo.

a Nathan funny

Yesterday in the car on the way home from picking up Mychael:
Mommy: Nathan, don't forget that when we get home you have to do your school.
Mychael: Nathan didn't do his school today? Why not?
Mommy: He was giving me such a hard time, we just didn't do it.
Mychael: Nathan, why wouldn't you do your school?
Nathan: I was just trying to survive!!

Can I get an AMEN? Sometimes you're just trying to survive...

and a few more...

more pics

Happy 10th Birthday, Mychael Judah!!

I can't believe it, my baby is 10 years old!! He has continued to grow into a sweet kid, always patient with his younger siblings, compassionate and sensitive, funny, and just a joy to have as a son. We had a little celebration at lunch today with Jon's parents and grandmother, and also we had the privelege of having my parents here to celebrate with us, they got in on Friday and leave later tonight, I thought I'd post some of the pictures...

miscellaneous pictures

Upward basketball officially started, the top two pictures are "action" shots of Mychael, and the third is, of course, Nathan (far left) with best buddy Drew and another teammate. Both boys have been very enthusiastic about playing, and the coaches do such a wonderful job of building up their self-esteem. The fourth picture is Nathan doing an impression of Woody, our geriatric feline family member. On a different note, Zach's blood sugars have been doing MUCH better with the changes we made in his basal rate and insulin-to-carb ratio (if it interests you, his basal is set to .20 units/hr from 8am to 6pm, with a lower rate during the night; his ratio is 1:23). Anyway, that's all for now, have a great weekend.

update

I hadn't posted in awhile, we've had a lot going on, and the end of last week was kind of rough. Zach abruptly came off of his "honeymoon" period (during which his pancreas was still producing insulin, therefore we were giving him very small quantities), and I struggled with numbers in the mid and upper 300's for a number of hours both on Wednesday and Thursday. He'd had some high numbers last Tuesday, as well, so Wednesday he woke up with high ketones in his urine (with a bad stomach ache that went along with it). Jon ended up coming home from work because I had also kept Mychael home after he'd thrown up at 5am, and then having to cope with blood sugars that didn't seem to respond to any corrections I made. To make a long story short, he's now getting about 3 times the amount of insulin he was getting a little over a week ago, and I had to make a few more adjustments this morning over the phone with the RN diabetic educator. We've been checking him probably 12-15 times a day during this adjustment time, with at least 2 of those checks during the night (strangely, he was going up at night, but our fear is always that he will bottom out). Hopefully, after tonight we won't be getting up more than once to check him, if the changes seem to have corrected the problem. Tuesday of this week, I think the stress of last week finally caught up to me and I felt wierd all day, perhaps reflux or a bug, I'm not sure. I was just completely drained and with no appetite at all, but I was better by the next day. Anyway. Also, Mychael has been increasingly homesick and doesn't want to continue at the Christian school after the end of the semester next Friday, although I don't think Jon will let him stay home. He thinks he should finish out the year, but I know that every day feels like torture to him, and that's hard for me. School has been going very well for Nathan at home, and Zach continues to learn letters and sounds, as well as beginning addition (he loves doing school). I think I really would like to give it another try with everyone at home...we've made the adjustment with Zach, Jordan is no longer a baby, so the circumstances are more favorable than they were last year. I don't know, we'll see. Plus, I love the flexibility of homeschooling, and getting to go see my parents during times that don't rotate around the school calendar. Well, my still breastfeeding 3 year-old is patting her chest and acting sleepy, I better go tend to her (sorry, but she's my last baby!!). Much love to all.

girl time

The thought of "girl time" used to terrify me, back when I just had the three boys. I guess I didn't feel very qualified for the job as mother of a girl (aside from being one myself, that is), but Jordan has broken me in pretty well. We played Polly Pockets up in her room for over an hour today, she's very particular about things matching, too. She cracked me up at one point when she picked up her princess cell phone, pushed a few buttons, then said, "It's dead." She's fun.

my sister's family

I thought this was a great picture of my sister, her husband, and their baby, Cole. We can't wait to see him in person in March when we go to Florida for Spring break (since we've homeschooled up until this year, it has been hard to get used to only traveling when school is out!).

Christmas with friends

I just wanted to post a picture of the kids with Dub and Carla, we celebrated Christmas with them this past Saturday night. Carla always prepares a feast, and as usual, the macaroni and cheese was to die for!