The One About the 2-year Hiatus

      I don't really know why I quit blogging.  I guess we got busy with life.  Last night, something made me drag about the binder where I keep all my printed off blog posts.  The boys and I had so much fun reading through them.  Then I immediately wanted to cry, because I will never have those 2 years of posts for Callum.  I missed 1-2 year old Callum...the milestones, funny stories, etc..  I also missed many moments for the older boys; moments that are lost forever in the caves of my mind.  So I decided that the blog needs to start back up.  I don't even care if anyone reads it, not that I ever did. It was never about an audience.  It's more a way for me to remember all these crazy, chaotic times of parenting. It's a reminder to myself to get those pictures off of my phone and reflect on each moment. It gives me an outlet to write, which I love to do, but rarely take the time to do more than a quick text, email, or Facebook post.  I am not going to try to do a catch-up, but just start with where we are at this point in our lives.

Gavin--Gavin is currently in the 3rd grade.

He is still a bookworm, which I love.  He is very much his mother's son in many ways.  However, he is very messy, unorganized, and a procrastinator, which I know he does not get from me. Those traits drive his mother CRAZY!!!!   He is obsessed (and I do mean OBSESSED) with football:  college, NFL, etc..  He watches the games, reads the magazines, and talks about it constantly.  This year, he started playing Leprechaun football with a team in O'Neill.  So we run him to O'Neill 2x/week for practices and to Norfolk on Sundays to games.  He loves it.  He proudly shows off his bruises after each game.

There are 6 boys in his class who are playing football, so they split them up 2 Ewing boys on each O'Neill team.  

Gavin is starting to change..mature.  I see it little by little, and it makes me sad.  He is starting to spend more time alone in his room, either reading football magazines, playing Minecraft, or watching You Tube videos about the NFL.  He wants his own space.  He is more independent.  He is getting mouthy.  I can usually give him a look when he is throwing his attitude, and he breaks into a huge smile. I see him in public, and he just seems different.  I can tell that he is starting to need me less and less.  It's heartbreaking, but also makes me proud.  I guess that's what parenthood is all about.  

Asher:  Asher started Kindergarten this fall.  To say that Asher has been a difficult child is an understatement.   We had the biting phases at daycare, the no-sleeping phases (who am I kidding...it's never been just a phase), the constant ear infections, the loud bellow that is his normal speaking voice, the attitude/agression/roughness, etc...  I remember thinking, "Let's just get him to Kindergarten."  Well, we did it!!  Yet, I still sobbed all the way home after I dropped him off that first day.  He has grown up a lot since starting Kindergarten, but he is still my baby in some respects.  

He still wants me to cuddle with him on the couch or lay with him at night.  He will still randomly tell me, "I love you, Mommy."  He is terrified of storms, and the tears instantly build up in his eyes when the sky is dark.  Every morning, he asks us if it's going to storm.  We don't really know why this fear of storms started, but I think it dates back to the tornado that destroyed Pilger.  We had the news on a lot during that time and drove the boys through the town on our way to Omaha.  I think that scared him more than we realized and stayed with him.  He now sleeps on an air mattress in our room next to our bed.  We fought and fought with him about sleeping in his own bed for months, but it ended up meaning that no one got any sleep.  He was in our room several times/night.  Finally, I caved in and bought an air mattress.  It's not ideal, but at least we are finally all getting sleep at night and Ernie and I get to stay in our bed. Eventually, I know he'll want to sleep in his room again.  For now, it really isn't a problem.  Honestly, as long as we are all getting sleep, that's what is important. When I am sleep-deprived, it's not good.   

Here is the Kdg class in Ewing.

Callum:   Callum is now 3 years old.  

He is still my tiny boy, but he has an attitude something fierce.  He loves Curious George and Paw Patrol.  He "calls" the TV before we walk in the door. Callum also will randomly say, "I just love you, too."  I think he heard Asher saying it, and just started too.  I love it!  He will also ask me "Want to cuddle in your bed or not?" Cuddling and talking is a big thing in our house.  Callum says, "That's not good" all the time.  The other day, I was cleaning his ears with a Q-tip.  He wanted to see it, so I showed it to him.  He said, "Yuck.  That's not good."  Callum is talking like crazy now.  His language exploded in the last few months.  We are working on colors, shapes, and counting.  We try to spend some time working on those things while the big boys are in school, as well as reading and playing games.  I love my 2 days/week home with him.  I feel like with him being the youngest, he got jipped on the Mommy time.  So now that it's just he and I at home, I am trying to make that up to him. When he isn't watching Curious George, of course.  Asher is really good with Callum and helps work with him on things.  I was asking Callum one day if he was a boy or a girl.  Asher jumped in, "Callum, are you a buck or a doe?"  Now that Asher is learning sounds and blending them in Reading Mastery, he is always coming home and having Callum play school.  

   A few times over the past month, I have caught Callum cursing.  Asher heard it first and told me about it.  I was surprised, but one day Callum was playing with Play Doh.  He dropped a piece, and I heard, "God D$&*#*$(!"  I said, "WHAT???"  He dropped his eyes and said, "Nuffin.  I said Nuffin." I couldn't believe and immediately wondered where he got that from.  Then about an hour later, I heard the words come out of my mouth.  Ooops!

    Lisa Schrunk retired last spring, so 3 days/week Callum spends time with Grandma Karen or Daddy, depending on what's going on.  He is on a waiting list to get into another daycare next year.  I think daycare is good for him.  He has forgotten that he needs to share.  His big brothers usually let him have what he wants, so I think a year of daycare before preschool will be good to get him back in the practice of sharing/getting along with others.   

    Ernie and I are busy with the kids and all of their activities.  I feel like we are always running somewhere.  Ernie has a semi, and is gone overnight every once in awhile hauling corn to Iowa. The farm schedule hasn't seemed as crazy the last few years, or it's possible that I am just used to it now. I am still working as a speech pathologist in Elgin 3 days/week.  I have been at those schools 10 years now, which doesn't seem possible.  Ernie and I celebrated our 11th anniversary in May (well, I don't know if celebrated is the word.  The day came and went...I can't even remember if did anything to acknowledge the day).  :)   There have been many external stressors on our marriage over the last 9 months, but here we are.  I guess marriage is a lot like parenting.  Many ups and downs, and you just try to keep on moving forward, and grab onto the good moments.  My favorite thing in the world is when one of the boys says something funny or something happens, and Ernie and I just look at each other and laugh.  I love our little family.  I am blessed.

  

    

The One About Uncle Nate's Wedding

   Over Labor Day weekend, we traveled down to Garden City, Kansas to watch Uncle Nate and Jess get married.  To be honest, I have been dreading it all year.  Not the wedding, of course, but the 7 hour drive down to Garden City with three boys.  We decided to leave Thursday evening and drive to McCook.  I had to work that day and had a meeting afterschool so we weren't able to leave until around 6:00.  Callum cried for the first 30 minutes or so, and we eventually pulled over so I could move to the back.  That made it worse, because then he could see me and wanted held.  At one point, my phone fell off my lap onto the floor between the seats and I ended up kneeling on it.  It was a tragedy!  I cracked my screen and couldn't use it at all.  I felt like a lost an arm.  Plus, the screen was still showing, so I could see I had some texts and messages, but couldn't read them.  It was torture.  We made it to McCook by 10:30 that evening and checked into the hotel.  Everyone slept okay, but not great.  The next morning, we waited for US Cellular to open so I could get a new phone and hopefully they could get to my contact list, which I had never backed up.  I did get a new phone, but my contacts are probably lost forever.  Live and learn.  After that, we headed to Garden City.  I felt like we were in Kansas driving forever.  There was nothing to look at, except the Buffalo Bill statue.  We finally made it after lunch.  The boys swam that afternoon, and we all got ready for the rehearsal.
    Asher was the ringbearer, actually sign holder.  His job was to walk down the aisle right before Jess with a sign that said, "Uncle Nate, here comes your girl!"  At rehearsal, he wasn't doing it.  He grabbed the sign in one hand, swinging it next to him as he walked the aisle so no one could read it.  Mark told him he would give him $5 to do it, and that did it.  A few other people told him they would give him money if he did it.  He will do anything for money.  The rehearsal supper was at Jess's parents house.  They have a beautiful backyard, with a play area.  Crag & Ann had totes of tractors and toys out for the boys to play with.  They actually were so busy playing, that when we got ready to leave that night Ernie and I realized we didn't even have them eat.  So a late night trip to McDonalds it was.  The next morning, the boys were up and ready to swim by 8:00.  We ate breakfast with Ernie, and then he headed out with the groomsmen and other men to golf.   The boys swam for awhile, and then Grandma Karen, Grandma Kurp, and I took them to the Garden City Zoo.  It was really nice.  You could pay to drive through, but then they had several parking spots throughout so you could pull over and get out and walk.  Which was perfect, because Callum fell asleep on the drive there so he was able to stay in his seat and sleep while we toured the zoo.  We came back and after lunch, the boys went swimming with Matt & Emily.  All the family started arriving that afternoon, so they had plenty of people to keep them busy.  Asher had to be at the church by 3:00 for pictures.  The church had a big playroom in the back, where the boys hung out during pictures and before the ceremony.  Here are some pictures from then (the only time that day I was able to actually get my camera--I was way too busy to take pictures the rest of the time).  I had planned to take several on my phone, but my new phone had no memory and I didn't have a SD card.  So it wouldn't take a single shot.

   
     Asher did great during pictures.  He has been making silly faces in pictures so often, but he smiled and did great.  Before the wedding, I stood in the back of the church with him.  We all reminded him about the money he could earn (like he ever forgot).  He was pumped to do the job.  When Jess walked in the lobby, he kept turning around and smiling at her, holding up his sign so she knew he was going to do it.  When it got to his turn to walk, he took one step in the church, froze, and then backed up into me.  I hear his facial expression was priceless.  I just grabbed his hand, and walked him down the aisle.  At least people got to see the sign.  What a relief when we made it to the pew.  I have been so worried that he wouldn't do it, but he made it.  Mark passed him his money when he sat down.  :)
    The wedding was short and sweet.  There weren't any surprises or hiccups.  After the wedding, Gavin and Asher both handed out the bubbles.

    The reception was held at the golf course, which was beautiful.  Again, I wish I had my camera to take pictures.  There was a beautiful ice sculpture with two hearts.  Jess's family owns Myers Ice, a huge ice business in Kansas.  There was a huge ice cream bar with tons of toppings.  The dance floor had orange and purple lanterns hanging from lights and white fabric draped above our heads.  The clubhouse was huge, so there were different areas set up with the Husker game on.  Jess and her family are huge K-State fans, so there was a lot of banter back and forth.  Both toasts talked about Huskers vs. K-State.
    We all enjoyed the reception and dance.  Callum and Asher left early to go back to the hotel, but Gavin stayed to party till the end.  Jess had glow sticks there for the kids.  Gavin proceeded to adorn himself with glow sticks until the end.  I think he had 30+ glow sticks on, including this long cape of glow sticks that trailed behind him.  It was so funny, b/c he became like the mascot of the dance.  People kept stopping him to take pictures with him.  He said, "Mommy, everybody loves me.  They keep taking pictures with me, even people I don't know."  It worked out well for me, because I didn't ever have to get up from my table to know where he was.  Everyone could see him glowing.  By 11:30 a storm started moving in so they told everyone to go back to the hotel.  Grandma and Grandpa watched the kids, so we could go to the lounge with everyone.  We partied well into the night.
   Asher was up by 6:30 the next morning, so we decided to pack up and take off.  It was a long drive home, but luckily we survived.  I think we all agreed that it was wonderful to be back home.  Nate & Jess drove to Omaha on Sunday to get on the train to Chicago, for their mini-honeymoon.  They are taking a bigger trip in the future, but were able to get away for a few days to enjoy their marriage.

The One About Callum's 1st birthday

     The week before Callum's birthday, we had gone to O'Neill to Beerose Photos to have smash cake and birthday pictures done.  I have seen a few, and am so excited to see the rest.  The boys were really pumped for the smash cake pictures, and cheered Callum on as he poked at the cake.  He didn't really "smash" it, but by the end he had destroyed half of it.
     Because it was a super busy week for us with Nate's wedding, we just had a small birthday celebration a few nights before Callum's birthday.  Here are some pictures from that night:

Aunt Jess got Callum some baby Sperry's, but he wasn't a big fan of shoes.

   I really can't believe Callum is 1-year old.  I know everyone says this, but the year went so quickly.  Luckily, Callum is small so I can't pretend he is my baby for bit longer.  :)  He is 20 lbs, 6 ozs and 30.8 inches tall.  He is in the 15th percentile for weight, which I find so funny b/c the other boys were NEVER under 90th percentile.  I don't think Asher was ever under the 98th percentile.  Callum is so tiny!  He is in the 78th percentile for height.  Callum says Mama, Dada, and a word that sounds like tractor, but he says it randomly, not in reference to a tractor.  The first time he said it, he was imitating Daddy.  Then we made such a big deal out of it that he kept repeating it over and over again.  I immediately grabbed toy tractors so he would realize what the word meant that he was repeating, but I don't think it's sunk in yet.  Callum is standing on his own for several seconds, but not yet walking.  He has taken a step or two at times, but hasn't taken off to full blown walking. Which is completely fine, since I told him he was not allowed to walk before Uncle Nate's wedding anyway.  He walks around furniture, and can crouch down on his own, pickup a toy, and stand straight back up.  Callum crawls three ways:  army crawl, bear crawl, and regular crawl.  He army crawls less now, b/c he can go so much faster with the bear crawl.  The kid can really book it across the room if he wants to.  He is definitely a Mama's boy, and wants to be held most of the time.  If he isn't on my hip and sees me, he immediately starts whimpering for me.  Yes, it's hard because I pretty much have learned to do everything with him on my hip, but I do secretly love it.  I think he knows his place in this family as the baby brother.  He is milking it for all it's worth.  

   

The One About Back to School 2013

     In about 15 minutes, Gavin will be home and we can say we officially completed Week 1 of Back to School.  It was rough, but we survived.  I always hate the first few weeks of school.  It takes a bit to get back into the routine of going to bed early, getting up early, eating breakfast right away, and actually getting dressed rather than lying around in your pj's like we do in the summer.  We had everything ready for Monday morning, and then all hell broke loose around 2:30 a.m.  Callum woke us up screaming and was running a fever.  Not a low-grade teething fever, but a high "damn, he must have an ear infection" fever.  I work on Mondays, and hated to take a sick day my 4th day back at work, so Ernie took Callum to the doctor, and I delivered the other two boys to their appropriate places...meaning I was still 40 minutes late for work.  Oh well, what can you do?  As it turns out, he did have ear infection.  

    Of course, we still made time to take our "first day" pictures.

 

     Gavin acted kind of off that morning, but I assumed he was just tired.  But guess who came home from school with a fever?  He was tired and rundown until about Thursday, so it wasn't the best first week for him. 

      I was busy at work getting my schedule ready, having my transition meetings, and just getting back into things.  We had to get haircuts for the wedding one day, b/c Sue was taking off for her Alaskan vacation.  Because the week wasn't busy enough, I also decided to schedule Asher's eye appointment and Callum's 1-year pictures.  But it's Friday afternoon, and now all we have left are the pictures tonight.  We survived the week!   Now if we can just make it through Nate's wedding week, which also is turning out to be just as hectic.  

The One About the Summer 2013

   I haven't blogged in almost 2 months.  Why?  I guess I was too busy living.  Which is a good problem to have.  The boys definitely kept me busy this summer.  I will try to do a summer summary, since I start back to work next week and Gavin goes back to school on the 19th.  I will have a 1st grader...imagine that?  We have a new backpack full of school supplies ready to go.  I think he is excited, but I am sure he will be nervous that first day until he gets into the swing of things.  Gavin will have Mrs. Ritter (formerly Mrs. Pelster) for his teacher.  Mrs. Ritter was my teacher in Kindergarten and 2nd grade, which seems crazy because she must have been a baby when she started teaching.  She isn't an "old" teacher.  She has always been one of my favorite teachers, so I am excited that she will teach Gavin this year.
     I posted last in June, and talked about how busy we were with Bible School, T-ball, swimming lessons, doctor/dentist appts, etc...  The month flew by.  In July, we spent Ernie's birthday at the new waterpark in Norfolk.  We spent the 4th of July at the Ewing park on the giant blow-up waterslide, and then drove back in to watch fireworks that night.    Asher fell asleep during the fireworks.  Callum was just annoyed that he wasn't able to fall asleep.  We had Asher's 4th birthday party, which turned into a large party with a pinata, fireworks, and a broken playhouse window.  Here are some shots from that night:

I made the boys dress up one morning and do a mini-photo shoot in the front yard.  My goofy boys!!

    With the rain in late July/early August, we were able to do a few family day trips in July and August.  We went to the buffalo ranch in Niobrara and then drove up to Gavins Point Damn.  We went to Bass Pro Shop and the Omaha zoo.  The boys were able to go fishing, swimming, to a few rodeos, and to a demolition derby.  We kept them busy.

     Callum is almost a year old now.  He is babbling like crazy, and calls Ernie "dada" and me "mama."  He understands simple directions.  He likes to stand at the refrigerator and we tell him "duck" when we need to open/close the door.  It is so funny watching him duck his head down.  Callum is doing three different crawls:  normal crawling, army/belly crawling, and now bear crawling.  He sometimes will go across the room doing all three methods.  If he is on a surface he isn't familiar with or is rough like cement, he bear crawls all the way.  He is cruising around furniture and letting go to stand on his own for 5 seconds.  I have given him strict instructions that he is NOT allowed to walk until after Uncle Nate's wedding.  :)  He has just recently starting eating real food.  He is still a peanut.  His 12-month clothes are nice and roomy.  There is no baby fat on this baby.  The other boys were so chubby around this age, but he has no rolls.  He is a very happy boy.  All you have to do is catch his eye, and he breaks into a huge grin as he makes his loud "inhale" squeal.

     Gavin finally lost his first tooth.  He was so sad last year because he was the only child in his class who hadn't lost a tooth.  He has had a loose tooth since May, but it just wouldn't come out.  In the pickup on the way home one day, we were talking about it.  Asher said, "Let me pull it out!"   He reached over and yep, pulled it out.  The tooth went flying through the pickup.  I don't know if Asher actually intended to pull it out, because he immediately started bawling and saying, "I'm sorry.  I didn't mean it."  I think he was also afraid that he lost Gavin's tooth.  He was hysterical.  We found the tooth on the floor, calmed down Asher, and watched Gavin smile the entire way home.  He was so proud!  Before bed that night, I finally got to get out the Tooth Fairy pillow I ordered a year ago for this special occasion.

   August is going to be a busy month with school starting, Callum's 1st birthday, and Nate's wedding!

The One About the First Month of Summer

   I can't believe school has been out almost a month.  Where did those weeks go?

Week 1:  T-ball and getting ready for our 15-year class reunion barbecue.
   
     Ernie and I are coaching T-ball again.  We recruited a coach for the 4-5 yr. old kids so we would just have the older kids on our T-ball team.  There are like 30 kids in town that could play, so this makes it much easier for us.  It also helps that I am not 8 months pregnant this season, so I have a little (just a little) more patience with that many kids in the dugout.  With the rainy weather at the end of May, we ended up only getting in one practice before our first game.  So far the kids are doing great.

    When our class got together for our 10-year reunion, we vowed we would get together every five years.   I see most of these people more often than that, but it is so much fun to get a big group together.  We hosted the barbecue at our house.  Lindy had a great idea to have the meal catered by a friend of hers, so all I really had to do was clean.  We had so much fun.  We've all gotten together often enough that we all know spouses and significant others really well, so that made it even better.  Almost half of the class made it.  I was laughing so hard most of the night that I was crying.  I don't know why I didn't think of getting my camera out that night.  Here is a pic someone took with their phone.  The quality of the picture stinks, but it's all I have.

Greg & Amy are getting married in September, so we are all excited to meet again at their wedding.  Jon has promised to do the worm across the dance floor.  :)

Week 2:   Dentist appts, doctor appts, and more T-ball.  I was running constantly, almost every day.  Callum had his 9-month checkup, the boys had their 6-month teeth cleaning/checkups, Gavin saw an allergy doctor and had allergy testing, and then Asher saw the dermatologist in Grand Island for his bumpy fingernails.  I was worried he had a fungus under two nails, but luckily she didn't think that was the case.  Gavin, it turns out, is allergic to almost any kind of grass, weed, or tree...particulary ragweed.  Basically from March to the first frost, he is screwed.  this year, he has suffered and his legs were just covered with a rash.  After a few weeks of medicine and cream, we got his skin rash cleared up fairly well, so now he is just on Claritin for kids.  I never really thought I had allergies before, but this year I have really suffered too...so it could be because it's our first spring living in the country.  ??

Week 3:  Bible School, T-ball, and a wedding.  I had to run Gavin to town every morning and then run back a few hours later to pick him up.  I knew we would have that issue when we moved to the country, but man...that's difficult when you have two other kids to pack up each time you have to make a trip to town.  Gavin enjoyed Bible School, so it was worth it.  Ernie left this week for Canada, so was working extra late the days before to get his spraying done before he left.  Luckily, I found a babysitter for Saturday and was able to go to Sami Hobbs' wedding in Madison.  I took Callum with me, and of course right after the bride's entrance, he wet through his diaper and onto my dress.  Never a dull moment with kids.  :)

Week 4:  I feel crazed already, even though it's only Tuesday.  Yesterday, my hair appt ran long, so I had to speed home from O'Neill to get Gavin, and get to the ballfield by 6:00.  Then today, we had haircuts for the boys, swimming (holy cow the water was FREEZING!!), and grocery shopping.  We leave for Lincoln Saturday to spend the weekend helping Mark & Shayla move into their new house, and go to my cousin Derek's wedding.   Next week is swimming lessons every day, and yes...more T-ball.  I always think of summer as being a time to relax and catch up on things, but I will say that I am way busier in the summer.  I have found myself longing for the school year more than once lately.
   
    Here are some fun pictures from the last few weeks.  Callum turned 9 months old.  He is belly crawling all over the place.  For some reason, I always find him under the toilet.  If we leave a bathroom door open, he hightails it for the bathroom.  I have no idea why.  He is just starting to pull himself up to standing.  We have tried to give him Gerber puffs, but he gags and even puked one time.  The other boys were eating puffs and even some soft foods by 9 months, but Callum is perfectly content with his baby food and formula.  He is so long and skinny, only in the 22nd percentile for weight...which is odd for one of my boys.  My Mom jokes that I forget to feed him because I am so busy with the older boys, which honestly could be true.  ha ha  My memory is shot after three kids.

We got a few new "toys" at our house.  This is the giant, blow-up waterslide.  The boys have been on it almost every day.

Asher loves riding on the lawnmower deck when Ernie mows.  More than once, he has fallen asleep while riding.  I'll look out and he will be leaning against Ernie's leg sound asleep.