Bye Bye crib

Well Maks has made the move to his big boy bed. Technically he should have been in it about 10 months ago when he started climbing in and out of his crib, but mommy was not ready to give up the crib yet. I am still sad over it, he is our last and I feel the last part of "babyhood" has slipped away. Well we are still in pull-ups, but he is definitely not my little baby anymore.

This all happened over the weekend. He had a rough night with a cough, so I brought him in the twin bed and slept with him. The next day for nap, he said no to the crib and said, "bed naps" and climbed into the twin bed.
Same thing that night and that was it. He says "night night" to his crib and gets into bed with his bears and his blanket.
I am proud of him, but heart hurts as I look at the empty crib.
It just all goes way too fast.

In other bed related news, it seems Alek just doesn't nap anymore. At school and camp, he does quiet time with books while others are napping (though once a week we get a note he was a little disruptive). Weekends he won't nap unless you lay down with him and pretty much force him into it.
For the most part he is ok without a nap, the plus is he goes to bed earlier and sleeps longer.
The minus, those 2 hours of getting some cleaning and laundry done in peace are gone!
He does have days when he is melting down by 6pm, but they seem few and far between anymore.
Again, where does the time go?
I miss my babies.....

In other activity related news:

Alek has been enjoying camp, which comes to end tomorrow, he is none to happy about it and has let me know each day. I promised him next year he could go all summer. I am trying to sell the extra activities at school and the private swim lessons and the biddy sports camp we signed him up for. I think it is working!

Maks is really starting to do everything Alek does, he lost most of his fear (unfortunately) and throws caution to the wind and goes for it. I hold my breath and hope for the best! His agility is improving alot, he has mastered pedaling his big wheel, balancing and riding a scooter and climbing the swing set. He is so proud of himself, his self confidence has really taken off as his speech has improved. It is great to see.

We all are enjoying the start to summer, lots of fun so far!

One Cool Dad

Happy Father's Day Kevin! You are a great dad and it has been so much fun watching you with the boys and how much they just love being around you and hanging out with you. Alek always says, "Daddy is cool", Daddy is a big guy" and "Daddy is really strong", and of course, when he grows up he wants to be one of "daddys workers". Alek and Maks adore you and you are truly an amazing father. I love watching them help you work, play baseball or soccer with you, read with you and wrestle. You are their hero and it has been a blast sharing their lives with you--we are so lucky!!

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Escape

After all the craziness of the last month, we finally snuck away to the beach for the weekend.
It was a great weekend, aside from the invasion of the horseshoe crabs and their annual laying of their eggs on the beach. The boys thought it was cool though and they became crab rescuers, turning over the crabs that were stuck on their backs. Gotta love boys for the dirty stuff! I did learn more about horseshoe crabs this weekend then is really necessary, but actually pretty fascinating.
So we spent saturday morning looking for more cool rocks to add to Alek's collection and watching out for the crabs. Kevin bought Alek a spiderman fishing rod and a Lightning McQueen net for Maks, so Alek practice his casting and Maks practiced catching bugs and rocks in his net. It was very cute.
Pop and Noni stopped down for a visit and a nice walk on the beach. After lunch we headed down further to Lewes to hang out with friends on their beach, sans the crabs, so the boys could swim a bit. It was cold but it didn't seem to bother Alek, Maks was a little more hesitant. The timing was perfect as it was low tide and they got to explore the sandbar. There was much excitement as we found a very large conch, so the boys got to see its "foot" and now it moves on the bay floor.
Alek got to go fishing for real at a local pond and he caught a handfull of sunnies, of course, leave it to daddy to forget to take pictures. Married to a shutterbug, you think he would know by now! So Alek got to throw them back in and also wound up in the pond himself, there is a surprise!
Sunday was extremely hot so we headed home early. It was a very nice weekend and just great to get away!

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Our little camper

Today was Alek's first day of camp. He is going twice a week for a month. I think mommy was more nervous than Alek. He walked in excitedly and loved checking out all the new toys and books. Then we went outside to the playground and off he ran. He came back to tell me how neat it was a couple times, then I told him mommy was headed to work, he gave me hugs and kisses and then ran back for a high five.

I sat outside and watched him play. I still can't believe my baby is old enough for this. I was thinking about all those years I worked day camp and all those little cute 4 year olds I taught in the pool and now I am the mom to one.

Kevin and I were both excited to pick him up, but I got to do it. He was playing trucks with two little boys when I got there. They said he did great and he loved the pool, which is not a surprise. They said he did great during lesson time in the water and loved the games they played.

He was so happy, he said he loved camp and loved the pool.

He told me he was too excited to take a nap there, but he would try next time.

I am happy it all worked out, although now we are thinking maybe we should have signed him up for June and July!

So here is our little camper in his new camp shirt!

Warm weather fun

The unofficial start of summer has been fun already. The weather has been great and the boys are having lots of fun.

Each day I feel better and better after surgery and slowly my energy is coming back.

I got the all clear from the surgeon, so I can lift my little guys again, I know Maks is very happy about that!

Memorial day weekend was filled with activites for the kids. Alek and Maks had their first fishing lesson thanks to Jeff and Daddy. Alek did great, he really surprised us at how well he was casting. So he is ready for some fishing at the beach. They both were fascinated by thw worms used for fishing, of course.

They had a blast at the annual picnic and parade at JoJo's house. Maks loved catching the candy thrown from some of the participants in the parade, he was sticky all morning!

Alek and Maks loved the slides and tunnel and moonbounce as well. Except we couldn't get them out of the tunnel, which held up the line, lots of dirty looks from some angry parents and kids waiting their turn, definitely one of those embarrassing mom moments!

Alek got to ride a pony as well, he loved it. He wants a pet horse now. At least that is smaller than the pet elephant he has been asking for lately!

Alek starts day camp this week. I can't believe it. It doesn't seem real that he is old enough for it. We are sending him two days a week for the month of June, he seems excited at all the new things he will get to do. They have swim lessons in the morning and then free swim in the afternoon, so that is what he is most excited about. I am nervous of course, hoping he won't be scared or shy in this new environment.

Maks' speech has really taken off lately. He has alot of two word sentences and so many new words each day. It is so fun to watch. You can see his frustration level decrease each day, now that he can communicate what he wants or needs. It has been easier too for the boys to play together, although Alek's days of blaming everything on Maks are over as Maks can now tell us who did what!

So we are looking forward to a fun filled summer and lots of time at the beach!!

Boys

This is their favorite thing to do lately, driving. They love it and ask to do it everyday. It is so fun, they chase each other, race each other (altho the John Deere is not made for speed). Maks surprises us at how well he steers and drives. Alek calls his ATV his TVS, he can't get the initials right, it is funny.

Kevin thinks he is ready for a gas powered on, I shot that down right away. 3mph with a battery is fast enough for me!!

Update

Well I am a week out of surgery. Surgery went really well, just as we wanted it to and I was home the next afternoon. Many thanks to JoJo and LaLa for helping out with the boys that day, they had a blast. I missed them so much that one night. Kevin said Maks cried in his sleep most of the night, calling out mama. Alek slept well but was upset when I wasn't there in the morning. I did talk to him and he was rattling off all he did the day before, it was sweet.

It was really hard not being able to pick them up and hug them tight.

I unfortunately have had a couple set backs this past week with infections, but hopefully this week will be brighter! It is really hard for me to feel this fatigued. Alek keeps asking me when I will be better and Maks is obsessed with my boo boos, he loves examining anyone's boo boos (I see a future in medicine...).

Grammom came up on Friday to play with the boys, so I got some good rest and woke up to the wonderful smells of cooking, a roasted chicken, stuffing and homemade mac and cheese, just what the doctor ordered for a cold rainy day! mac and cheese is the ultime comfort food in my book!

Alek got his first buzz cut of the season, which was perfect timing as daddy was trimming we found a tick. So much easier to look for ticks with the buzz cut! It just makes him look so much older!

So I am looking forward to a better week and fun Memorial Day weekend with the family!

Kuddos to Pearle Vision

Finally a company who got it right! Thank you for this beautiful Mothers Day message!


http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1315793544/bctid1546350694

Happy Mother's Day, to all the mom's out there, great-grandmom's, grandmom's, mom's, birthmother's, first mothers, God-mother's, aunt's, friends, mom's to be, and those dreaming of motherhood! I have always felt this was more a day to celebrate all the women in our lives and any woman who is important in the life of a child!

May you have a peaceful and beautiful day!

So while I will not be celebrating Mother's day with our annual party, our family is in our thoughts today!

So I will be raising a glass or two, of the clear liquids I can have today, to all the women in mine and my children's lives!

This was emailed to me the other day and it gave me a good laugh!

You're Really A Mom When...

You count the number of sprinkles on each kid's cupcake to make sure they are equal.

You want to take out a contract on the kid who broke your child's favorite toy and made him/her cry.

You have time to shave only one leg at a time.

You hide in the bathroom to be alone.

Your child throws up and you catch it.
Someone else's kid throws up at a party and you keep eating.

You consider finger paint to be a controlled substance.

You mastered the art of placing food on a plate without anything touching.

Your child insists that you read "Once upon a Potty" out loud in the lobby of the doctor's office and you do it.

You hire a baby sitter because you haven't been out with your husband in ages, then you spend half the night talking about and checking on the kids.

You hope ketchup is a vegetable because it's the only one your child eats.

You find yourself cutting your husband's sandwiches into unusual shapes.
You fast-forward through the scene when the hunter shoots Bambi's mother.

You obsess when your child clings to you upon parting during his first month at school, then you obsess when he skips in without looking back.

You can't bear to give away baby clothes--it's so final.

You hear your mother's voice coming out of your mouth when you say, "Not in your good clothes."

You stop criticizing the way your mother raised you.

You read that the average-five-year old asks 437 questions a day and feel proud that your kid is "above average."

A little update and things that I love

Last weekend was a busy one! On Friday morning I was chosen as the lucky customer to have breakfast with my favorite shoe designer, Donald J Pliner. It was so exciting and very fascinating as well, it was a great experience, he is such an amazing guy.

Friday night I had a girls night out at one of my favorite restaurants, great food, great drinks, great friends. It was a lot of fun, although I was up so much later than I am used to and that meant nothing to the boys who were happily waking me up at 6:30!

Saturday Alek and I went to see Backyardigan's Live. He loved it, he was so into it, dancing and singing, it was really cute.

Saturday night friends were over to christen the new grill and cheer the Flyers on as they wrapped up their series over Montreal.

Sunday was a family communion party and then I went to see Hairspray that evening, it was a great show, an amazing performance-we really loved it!

So needless to say when that alarm went off Monday, I was so not into going back to work!!

Today is my last day at work for a few weeks. My surgery is scheduled for Monday, so my nerves have really kicked in, definitely have a lot of fears, so I really just want to get this over with!!

But in the meantime, I am going to try and enjoy the weekend and Mother's Day (even though I can only have a light breakfast, followed up by clear liquids all day--but I have my jello so I am ready to go!).
Yesterday, Alek and Maks gave me a beautiful little flower that they planted in a very pretty mug, at school, for Mother's Day. Alek was very excited about it. It is so cute. He was telling how I have to take care of it and how they plant flowers and how they grow. So sweet!

Things that I love and that make me smile:

They way they say certain words:
Alek: smarshsmellow, gaal (girl), Corlie (for Corie, our dog), tweezlers (tweezers)
Maks: Melmo (Elmo), Alyek (Alek), mooooose and moooon (he just drags the word out so long and when he sees a bus, he yells bus! and that says boop boop for his horn sound.

Funny things Alek says:
"Mom, Dad, you are a genius!"
"Well actually...."
"Mom, your my princess"
When he didn't have a great day behavior wise at school and I was talking to him about it: "Well mom, that is why I shouldn't go to school".
I love how he wants to marry me (well there is me, KeKe, Isabelle, Molly...) I tried to explain you can only have one wife, he said no he is marrying everyone!
I love when after playing with KeKe or Isabelle, he says, "she's my gaal".

Maks-will show a month's old boo boo to anyone new he meets, he says Hi and gets sad and holds his thumb out and says booboo
I love how he holds tight around my neck when we are hugging or when I am carrying him.
I love his excitement now when he sees me, he is smiling and keeps yelling mama mama. I love that he gets excited over family pictures on the fridge and says everyone's name. I love that he shares my love for shoes!!!

I love how daddy has instilled his fascination with trucks in both boys, they love construction sites. Alek wants to be a "worker" like daddy when he grows up.

I love how they all wrestle together at night, poor daddy gets the worst of it! I love to watch daddy pitch them balls in the yard and their excitement when they get a hit.

I love watching them learn new things each day, it just amazes me. I love how excited Alek gets when he gets his letters right in his Phonics computer or how proud he is when he writes out his letters on paper. I love how his drawings of people are all head with arms and legs and no bodies. I love that when the boys are coloring, they only like one color per picture-it cracks me up.

I love their belly laughs and giggles when they slide down the stairs or when they are supposed to be hiding from me during hide and seek-they haven't quite figured out how much noise travels.

Most of all I just love having the opportunity to watch these two little guys grow!

My turn

Last week was my turn to blow out the candles. As usual Alek was disappointed there was no big party, but he settled for singing and cake.

We ate outside as it was a gorgeous spring day. The boys were dirty and muddy and at least let me wash their hands before digging in, but wanted no parts of their faces being scrubbed yet!

Kevin surprised me with a beautiful new Adirondack chair for the front porch, so I was a happy girl! Now I can sit out front, read and be a nosy neighbor!

Saturday night we spent in Philly with friends. It was a good time and the Flyers won a great game too. The mojitos I enjoyed were fabulous and had me dreaming of the islands!

Grammom and Poppy kept the boys overnight and were craziness to also have Joe and Reilly stay over. 4 kids under the age of 5, God bless them. I checked in around 5:30, just as Poppy was unlocking Joe and Alek from the bathroom, apparently the boys thought it was funny to lock themselves in. Maks and Reilly competed for Poppy's attention and potty time as well.

They had fun, but I am sure it will be awhile before Grammom and Poppy volunteer for that kind of adventure again!

So it was a fun birthday for sure!!

Two weeks until my surgery. I have pre admission testing this week and my nerves have really kicked in, I have had way too much time to think about this and way too much time to question whether I should go through with it!

It just needs to get here and I just need to get it over with!

Happy Birthday!

(that scowl looks very familiar!)

Happy Birthday Kevin!! So I guess you are officially, over the hill now--but still looking pretty darn good!!

Alek was looking forward to a big party, he wanted to jump out and yell surprise, but daddy beat us home.

So we settled for some singing and cake.

Hopefully the new birthday grill will be ready for pick up this weekend!

Wonder what the chef will be grilling up?

Happy Birthday! We love you and hope this year is extra special and extra fun!!

Soccer starts

What a nice weekend we had. Saturday morning we spent at a Family Fun day set up by the international adoption clinic at CHOP. There were all different play stations and lots of activities. It was so nice to meet up with some families I had only spoken to online. It is wonderful to see all these amazing, beautiful families, and children from all over the world. Alek thought they were all from Russia, but I explained to him all the different countries of the kiddos he met. Once Maks warmed up to the situation, he really enjoyed himself. He loved the basketball nets and the moonbounce the best. Alek loved the moonbounce and swimming. He was so proud of himself that he did two flips in the water without taking a breath, he said next time he wants to do 3.

It was such a great morning, we all enjoyed ourselves.

The boys were even more excited to wake up from nap to find out Keeley and Ryan were coming up to play. As we were going to bed, Alek said he had such a fun day and wanted to do it all again tomorrow.

Today was the first day of soccer. Alek started with an ear infection last night, thankfully in the ear where the one tube is left, so it is draining well and the drops seem to help. Alek was very excited for soccer, especially since his shirts this season are orange. His favorite color. He did great during practice sesssion, altho it was so windy and he was complaining his ear hurt. Next up was game, he was ready, started taking the ball down field, and it was taken away by the opposing team and then came the tears. He was so mad they took it away. He went out and tried again, but he kept getting so upset. I could tell his ear was hurting him and it was draining alot. So we called it a day, apologized to the coach and headed home. Hopefully next week is a little better!! He said he would practice with daddy this week.

Isn't it Ironic?

Since being diagnosed with endometriosis 8 years ago, I knew eventually I would be looking at a more permanent treatment option. I have tried every medication (including a clinical trial), many surgeries, and alternative treatments. Everything works for awhile and then my symptoms rear their ugly head again.
Since our family is complete and we had no desire to ever try to get pregnant, I focused on just dealing with my pain. I had a good run for a little over a year, but the past six months I pretty much have been taking anti-inflammatories daily. I knew I was risking GI issues, so it was time to discuss the H word (hysterectomy). After several consults and discussions, I made my decision.

It is finally scheduled for May 12th, yes the day after Mother's Day. Kind of ironic to me that all I will be having removed was supposed to make me a mother, but didn't. Well I guess in a round about way, they did. They failed and we now have our two awesome boys and experienced the journey of a lifetime, so I guess I should really thank them for it. I have fondly named these parts, "the bitches". Seemed like a fun name for the group. I know this is the right decision as this is definitely affecting my quality of life and I have lots of worries of my increased risks of ovarian cancer as well. But it was definitely a tough decision to make.

I have definitely been going thru a wide range of emotions. I am looking forward to getting it over with and being able to hopefully live each day pain free. But I am also sad at losing part of what makes you a woman? I also am scared, scared at being young and going on HRT, scared of surgery and all the what ifs.
Thankfully I will be undergoing this laproscopically using the Da Vinci system (it is actually pretty cool). This makes my recovery time significantly shorter ( 2 weeks is all I will be out of work), altho I have been forewarned that it could take awhile to feel back to normal in terms of energy and strength. But I am optomistic.

So hopefully this all goes smoothly and by the end of the summer I will be a new and improved woman!!
I will try to enjoy my last month with the "bitches" and say my good byes!

To be a kid again

The boys have their new favorite game, I know, probably won't win me the Mother of the Year award I have been vying for, but I so remember doing this with my brother and the rug burns on the belly and all the laughs that went along with it. It totally cracks me up watching them do this.