Tennessee Aquarium

I am feeling much better, thanks for wondering. Asher and Derek managed not to get sick, thankfully, and all is back to our version of normal. Aidan had a soccer scrimmage Wednesday night. The first game he was VERY concerned about the other team scoring so when the other team did get possession of the ball, Aidan would run down field (outrunning everyone) and protect his team's goal. He did prevent a goal from being scored but at his level of play they don't have a goal keeper. Not to mention the fact that as he outran all the kids to get to the goal, he could have just kicked the ball away from the other team. He did pretty well, and only fell down once.
After soccer and dinner out, his friend Avery came home with us to spend the night. This was the first time Aidan had ever had spend the night company and the first time Avery had spent the night with a friend. Big night all around. It was a success, Avery wanted to stay Thursday night as well and Aidan wanted him to stay. I had to say no because we went to the Tennessee Aquarium on Friday. Christy(Avery' mom) and I took Avery, Aidan ,Davis and Asher(what on earth were we thinking?). You may notice from the pictures that the boys have on 2 different outfits. That is because they got a little wet in a outdoor exhibit. They were wading in a man-made creek and got their shorts wet and Aidan fell face first in the water and got soaked. The boys loved the aquarium. They touched baby sharks, sting rays and baby sturgeons, saw countless turtles, frogs, fishes, salamanders, alligators,snakes, jellyfishes, birds, butterflies and sharks. One of the funniest things was watching them as they watched the 3D IMAX movie, Deep Sea. As soon as previews started I heard Aidan say "I don't think I want to watch this movie" and Avery wanted a blanket to cover his eyes. They warmed up to the movie after a few minutes but then they were trying to reach out and touch jellyfish that appeared to be inches away. Aidan kept moving his 3D glasses down then up, down then up just to make sure the ocean and it's creatures weren't coming after him. Asher slept through most of the movie.

It was a good trip, but not one that Christy and I will make again any time soon. I did return home without my cell phone, I'm hoping it will be found at the aquarium and returned to me by the staff. At least we made it back with all 4 kids.

My new diet plan

It all started Friday night when Aidan jumped up from the couch, ran to the bathroom and vomited. And then vomited some more. This continued every hour for the next 8-10 hours. I have never seen so much vomit come out of such a small body. Asher got to spend the day with Namaw and Pops, Derek spent the day at the office, and Aidan and I spent the day on the couch drinking a sip of Pedialyte every 10-15 minutes(directions from our doctor). Aidan did manage to keep some of the drink down so we did not have to go see the pediatrician, who was concerned about dehydration. Aidan did vomit once more Saturday night but he felt much better Sunday.

Which brings us to Monday, and my new diet plan. It's the popular "catch the stomach bug from your child so you can vomit too!" plan. Aidan and Asher have now spent 2 whole days with Namaw and Pops (God bless Namaw and Pops) and I have spent those days in bed, with occasional trips to the bathroom. I think I've had a handful of crackers, a few small bowls of applesauce and water. Most of which I've seen later. So here I am, out of bed, trying to convince myself I feel better. I think I'm going back to bed.

Food

Asher LOVES to eat(I think some Hawkins' genes trickled in). In addition to the formula(about 5 bottles, 8 ounces each) he also is eating baby food for dinner. He usually eats 2 jars(2.5 ounces each) and some rice cereal(about 2 ounces). Add this together and it is 47 ozs, a day! If he doesn't slow down he is going to explode. And the crazy thing is he's not fat, he's just thick and he has a long torso. He already weighs half as much as Aidan. I'm about ready to start lying to complete strangers when they ask me how old he is. I can't take the gasps when I tell them he's only 4 months(that sort of is a white lie because he still has a couple of days to go). I'm afraid he may not walk until he's 2 because his legs won't be strong enough to support the rest of him! Of course he is sleeping like a log at night. He usually falls asleep about 8pm or so and is out until 7-7:30am. His body is so focused on digesting all the food that he is sacked out, so there are benefits to his love of food. I do finally feel human again with all the sleep!

Aidan has started soccer. He has had 2 practices and will have a scrimmage game next week. He played last fall for the first time so I really didn't expect much this time but he does seem focused on the field. He was mad today because he did not score the last goal at practice but he didn't dwell on it. So far he hasn't fallen once during practice(this was a big problem in the fall) it wasn't so much that he was falling as he was throwing himself to the ground just because someone else had accidentally fallen. He even got a horrible kick to the head during a game. Of course there are still plenty of practices and games to go so we'll see what happens.

Derek is doing much better, it's nice to have my husband back and say goodbye to the drug-induced zombie that controlled his body last week. He had to go cold turkey and kick the painkiller because it was really doing a number on him. His dentist told him the painkillers were addictive even after a few days and it was true! His first day off the pills was rough but after that one day he was fine. He even had a panic attack in the post office and the shakes all day. Luckily he's back to normal.

Aidan has a spring program at school tomorrow so I will get some pictures and post soon!

To Aunt B in Indiana- We are so happy you are feeling better! You are in our thoughts and prayers! We love you and hope to see you soon!

Splinters and toothaches

It's been a while and I am sure all of our adoring fans have been wondering what is happening to our family, where to begin.....the boys have been busy. Aidan has had a few birthday parties to go to which made him sad because his friends are turning 5 and he is still 4. How do I explain that one day he will be happy to be the youngest? Derek has already started in on me because my birthday is a WHOLE month before his and what a cradle robber I am!

Aidan had a horrible experience with a splinter last week. I had to hold him while Derek backed the splinter out of his hand. There was no part of the wood sticking out so he had to push it back out, it was the worst thing I've EVER done to my child. The second Derek got the splinter out Aidan was perfectly fine and we even saved the splinter! I'll try and post a picture of it.

Derek had to have a tooth extracted, that was even worse than the splinter episode. Derek cracked a tooth months ago and of course did not go to the dentist. The tooth had been bothering him off and on, he still would not go to the dentist and Sunday he woke up in pain. Now this pain did get him out of going with me to teach Aidan's Sunday school class but he was suffering. He finally decides at 7 that night (when all pharmacies are closed) that he needs heavy duty drugs. We found a 24 hour pharmacy and called our dentist. He was nice enough to call in a prescription and I was nice enough to go get it for Derek. After seeing the dentist Monday morning, it was decided the tooth needed to be removed. Asher and I went with Derek because I was the designated driver. Derek was knocked out for the procedure and he was in rare form afterwards. I even had a nurse inquire as to how old our daughter was(silly me, I thought we had two sons!). Derek swears he did not tell her we had a daughter but I believe the adult that was lucid. He is much better now and even traveled to Memphis to watch UAB play in the Conference playoffs(they lost the first game by 1 point).

The weather is getting warmer and I(with quite a bit of help from Mom) worked out in the yard all day today. I'll do the same tomorrow I'm sure.

I had a family friend pass away last week. Steve was diagnosed with a brain tumor about the same time that Daddy was diagnosed with cancer. Steve was a fighter, he survived almost 3 1/2 years after his diagnosis which was 3 years longer than the doctors gave him. Steve would have been 51 this May. He left behind a loving wife, a devoted daughter, and 3 of the most beautiful granddaughters I've ever seen. Life sometimes seems so unfair.