Our Day at DuPont

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

This last Thursday, the boys and I made another trip to DuPont Children's Hospital in Delaware. At one point in time, we were going there about three times a week, but now that Michael is doing so well, we end up going every few months. This trip was a bit different since Frank wasn't able to go with us. It's the first time that I have taken both kids down there by myself.

I got most of our stuff packed up the night before and then finished with the final packing on Thursday morning. We were in the car and all ready to go by 9:00am, just as I had planned. The drive down was pretty easy considering that I missed most of the morning traffic. I actually took a different route than I normally take, staying more on the major highways and letting GPS lead the way (although it is very easy to get to).

We got there and started to unload the car and noticed that there were no red wagons. For those of you who have never been there - this is a necessity! The kids love to ride in these big red wagons and the parents love to put all of the bags into these big red wagons. I couldn't believe there was not one wagon to be had! This was so not cool! I asked the gentleman who was handling the valet parking (yes - they do have valet parking here and it's awesome!) if he happened to know where we could find one. Unfortunately, he was unable to help so I continued to unload the car and put the baby in his stroller. I carried some of the bags and then strapped some onto the back of the stroller - not very convenient, but it worked. And Michael had to walk.

Since we made such good time on the drive up, I decided to spend a few minutes in search of a wagon before checking into the blue module where the doctor we we were seeing was located. We made our way to ER and asked at the check-in desk if they happened to have a wagon for us. They sent us over to the security guard to check with him. Can I just tell you that he was the nicest and most helpful security guard I have ever met! He immediately jumped up and went in search of a wagon for us. Michael was so excited when he came back with a big red wagon for us. Michael jumped right in, I started loading the rest of our bags into the wagon and off we went in search of the blue module.


Everything at this hospital is so well organized and well labeled that we found the location immediately and were pleased to find that the doctor was waiting for us when we arrived (25 minutes early!) The appointment went great! The developmental pediatrician was thrilled with Michael's progress and was very surprised by some of his skills. What a blessing! She finished her testing, we established a new gameplan for him and set up our next appointment. Wow - we were all done with the appt in a little less than 2 hours!

It was now lunch time, so we headed over to the cafeteria where I fed the boys the lunches that I had packed that morning. As you can see from this picture, they seemed to enjoy each other's company.






When they were both done eating, we packed up and headed out. On our way to the main lobby, we passed by one of Michael's favorite spots - the train! We stopped for a few minutes to check it out.

By this time, it was already 2pm and I still had not eaten. I didn't pack a lunch for myself and nothing in the cafeteria looked appealing enough to spend money on, so I decided that after a long day, I deserved a drive thru! Chic Fil A is my favorite (but since the closest one was about an hour away), I opted for McD's, which was right on the way home. After enjoying a nice fattening lunch - filet of fish and fries, I started the trek home. While leaving the McDonald's parking lot, I noticed that Michael was awful quiet - normally he won't stop begging for food until I give him a few fries (kinda like a puppy). Sure enough....he was out like a light! Well, one down and one to go. It took a few minutes for the baby, but about 15 minutes into the trip, the baby joined Michael in dreamland.

It was a quiet, peaceful ride home. After a long day out and about, we finally arrived home at 3:00pm. I was so exhausted at this point - I guess I failed to mention earlier that Michael had gotten up about 5 times the night before and although Frank got up with him so that I would be alert for the drive, I still woke up each time he started crying. I couldn't wait to get to bed that night!

The Last Time I Cried...

Friday, June 20, 2008

As some of you know, my amazing hubby is a pastor (Director of Adult Ministries) at CCV. Recently, our youth pastor left and Frank has stepped up to lead this additional ministry until we find a replacement. To help carry the load, the church has brought on 4 wonderful interns to help him out. Sometimes they hang out at our house and last week when we had them over for dinner, Frank led us through an interesting discussion. He calls it 'The Hot Seat'. Basically, the person on the hot seat is asked a question (of any topic) by each person in the group. Nothing is off-limits. I wanted to post about one of the questions that was asked of me - When was the last time you cried and why?

For me, this was an easy question. It just so happened that I had cried the evening before. I had an amazing experience and was so touched by some individuals' generosity that I was overcome with emotion.

Our oldest son, Michael, had a number of challenges during that first year of his life that led to two surgeries and numerous hospitalizations. Since then, he has received some great therapy and almost overcome the delays that resulted from those challenges. Very soon, he will be caught up to his peers. One of the last areas that he is a little behind is core muscle strength. We noticed this when we saw him attempt to ride a tricycle. His physical therapist had recommended an organization called Ambucs that specializes in creating tricycles for individuals with special needs. We met with several representatives from Ambucs last Thursday night. I went to the meeting thinking that they may evaluate him and agree that he qualified for a specialized tricycle and then put him on the waiting list. Instead, we went home with one!!! We were all in tears as we saw my little angel get on the tricycle all by himself and independently ride around the room. He was so proud of himself! Here is a picture below of his first ride around our neighborhood on his new tricycle...with Lightning McQueen, of course!





Happy Father's Day!

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Happy Father's Day to the three dads in my life - my hubby, my dad and my father-in-law. I consider myself to be very fortunate to have such wonderful men in my life. I just pray that we can raise our sons to be as amazing as you!

I hope all you guys had a wonderful day!

Lots of Love,

Shelli

New Method for Hair Removal

Sunday, June 8, 2008

All you girls out there will appreciate this! I feel a bit guilty posting this, but it's just so funny that I can't resist! :-)


A few days ago I happened to be working on the computer while Michael was playing with his toys. I noticed that he had picked up a small roll of blank address labels. He absolutely loves stickers, so I tore off about a dozen of them for him to play with. It's always humorous to see where he ends up sticking them. When he gets stickers from his pediatrician's office, his favorite spot to stick them is his pants. Well, now that the warm weather has arrived, I have been dressing him in shorts. Do you see where this is going yet? Anyway, about 20 minutes later, I sat down on the floor to play with him for a little while and noticed that he had lined one leg with all of the stickers.


















Most of you know that my little one is a bit on the hairy side (or as Frank says - looks like a rug when he's laying down!) As soon as I saw this, my heart just sank. I knew what had to be done. My first thought was to have him pull them off himself so that I wouldn't be the one inflicting the pain. Brilliant idea, except for the fact that he wouldn't do it. He kept saying 'mama help'. Ugh! I thought about it for a few minutes and decided that fast was the way to go - isn't that what everyone always says? So, I tried to explain to him that I was going to pull it off fast and just as I finished telling him - I yanked the first one off. The poor thing yelped a bit and then looked at me sternly and said "No! Slow!" Great! Not only will he not help me out here, but now he's telling ME how to do it! I finally decided he should have a bit of say, so I tried pulling the next one off slowly. Honestly, I don't think that it really made much of a difference how we pulled them off - it was gonna hurt no matter what we did. Anyway, we finally got them all off and at this point, I highly doubt that he'll be putting stickers on his legs any time soon!

In this picture, you can kinda see the hair that was removed! OUCH!!!

Sleep Your Way Thin!

This was the title of an article I recently read in the Parenting magazine. A new study at Harvard Medical School has concluded that "moms who slept five hours a day or less were three times more likely to retain extra baby weight by their baby's first birthday than those who slept seven hours a day." They continued to say that catnaps count too!

I think we can all agree that it is nearly impossible for us to get that full seven hours of sleep the first few months after giving birth. But, I do also think that this means that we are to catch up. I can't imagine "having to" take a nap each day with the boys! But, if it's gonna help...... :-)

I should mention that if you try to call me and I don't answer, just leave a voicemail. I'm obviously trying to "force" myself to take a nap. You should do the same!

Little Known Fact

Saturday, June 7, 2008

Am I the only one who has never noticed that there is a tab at each end of a box of aluminum foil and saran wrap so that you can "lock" it in place, avoiding the scenario where it "jumps" out at you when trying to unroll it? A friend just sent me an e-mail about this, so I went to the kitchen drawer and pulled it out to see if this was true. Sure enough, the tabs are right there in plain view with instructions. But, do you think that I would have ever noticed this? Noooooo. Just thought that I'd pass on this interesting tidbit.

The Farmer's Market

Wednesday, June 4, 2008
















The boys and I met some friends at the Phoenixville Farmers Market on Saturday. We had a good time. AJ loved all the activity and Michael was thrilled when he got a green balloon. My highlight was buying bread from Great Harvest Bakery. My favorite is the cinnamon swirl (which is just like a cinnamon roll). Other than buying it from the Farmer's Market, the closest location to us is in Wayne, PA. It's a wonderful chain of stores that originated in my hometown of Great Falls, Montana! Imagine that!

Preschool Party

Michael's preschool hosted a picnic to celebrate their last day of school. Everyone had a great time. The weather was perfect, there was a lot of good food and they even bought two huge inflatables for the occasion (which the kids loved). Thanks to Miss Beth and Miss Jen for making this first year so wonderful! Below are some pics from the picnic.


















Strike a Pose

I can't help but think of the phrase "Strike a Pose" from Madonna's song "Vogue" every time I see AJ in this position. I'm not a big fan of Madonna, but I just happen to be a girl from the 80's and 90's.


This is one of AJ's favorite new positions. After moving around the living room a bit, he stops, takes this pose, and then surveys the room to see where he will head to next. It's actually quite funny to see.

Not sure about sharing

Sunday, June 1, 2008

Usually when company comes to stay at our house we put AJ in a pack-n-play in our bedroom and put the guests in the guest room (where AJ has taken up residency). Our plan has always been to have the boys share a room, so both the crib and toddler bed have been in Michael's room for quite some time. Well, now that AJ is 9 months old, we decided to try putting them together last night. Unfortunately, at about 3:30am Michael started crying because he got tangled up in his covers. I ran in there as soon as I heard him and tucked him back in. Within about half an hour, AJ started crying, so I nursed him back to sleep and went back to bed myself. About an hour later I heard them again. This time it was both of them. As tired as I was, I have to admit that what I saw when I went in this time was kinda cute . Michael was sitting up in his little fire engine bed giggling at AJ who was propped up on his elbows in his crib facing Michael with a big smile on his face. At that point I realized that it was silly to even think that I was going to get either of them back to sleep. Needless to say, we were up VERY early this morning.

As tired as I was when naptime came this afternoon, I thought I should give it another try. So, Michael was put to bed first. I then put AJ in his crib and decided to try to catch a quick nap myself. All was well for about 45 minutes and then Michael woke up and proceeded to wake up his little brother. After a short night and an even shorter nap, you can imagine that I had a bit of crankiness in the house this evening. Bedtime couldn't come too soon! :-) I have to admit that I am probably a glutton for punishment....but yes, I did put them together again tonight in hopes that as they grow up, they can share a room and develop that special bond between siblings. I guess we'll see what happens. I just hope we all get a good night's sleep. Tomorrow just happens to be one of the mornings each week that I get up at 4:45am to go work out at the gym. Ya, I know - another crazy habit of mine! Anyway...wish us luck!