Last Thursday was conferences for all 3 kids. It went very well = ) Mack was the first one up. She has taken a strong interest in writing. For instance, she made little book about horse. You have to color in the body part of the horse and then write the name of the body part on the paper. So, forehead, body, tail, hindlegs, forelegs, etc.. Her horse was a little different as the hindlegs were in front and forelegs in back = ) Without her sister to follow, she has blossomed into a leader for the younger students = ) The challenge school and ourselves face is keeping the expectations high and communicating those expectations. For example, she can buckle her seat belt. But there are times when for whatever reason (tired, lazy, just doesn't want to, etc...), she won't buckle it.

Eli continues to speak new words on a daily basis. Even words that the school nor us as parents remember using. Books are a huge interest to him. He will take a large stack in the corner and flip through them. His ample climbing skills was noted as well. He's been found almost over the chain link fence at school. It doesn't take but a second or two for this to happen - we know from experience!

Schuyler is a strong student all around. Her teachers and fellow classmates find her very enjoyable to be around. She is one of the first to help when needed. I like to hear this as it's more a reflection of her. Along with the regular reading homework, and math, they are now adding spelling to the mix. They each have individualized spelling words to work on.

Our very good friend's, the Fogo's, were in town this past week for a couple's baby shower. They are expecting their first at the beginning of February. I can't wait to meet the little man. The parents have more energy than anyone I know so I'm sure their child will have an energy level off the charts.

If all goes as planned, I'm taking tomorrow off and the kids, myself, and Grandma Cindy are heading to Vala's pumpking patch. Also, I think we are very close to buying Mark a new car = ) We may be going to Kansas City this weekend to pick it up. Again, knock on wood

I took pictures of the Montessori kids again this year. I got this new backdrop off ebay and am loving it. Here's one of Eli. So much for keeping him clean that a.m. You can see some dark spots on his shirt. You can see more pics here.

One of Mack and Eli. I have to go back and rework this one. It's a little "flat" for my taste.

STOP class

I spent last night at STOP class and will be finishing up tonight. Can I say it's not nearly as painful as it was 9 years ago! The officer is is a great lady with personality and I've learned a lot from her real life stories as compared to the lecture man I had way back when. It makes me appreciate the job they do - not that I didn't in the first place - it's just they deal with so much than I ever realized. I've also come to the realization that there are a lot of driving teenagers and college students that really don't have a clue!!

Take female teenager #1 as our first example. She is 19 which means she's had her license a whopping 3 year. During this time, she has managed to go to 3 STOP classes - all in different counties and is on her 3rd car and has received numerous traffic violations. She was sitting next to a lawyer who offered her business card and said "Here, you'll probably need this!". Another comment was, "Let us know when you leave and we can all leave after you or before you".

Example #2 - male college student who was bragging that he was drinking and driving and only received a speeding ticket. Um, hello! Do you not realize the teacher is an officer!! He also believes it's incorrect for late night eating establishments (ie Amigos, McDonald's, etc) to call the cops if they small alcohol on a customer's breath or if the custome is acting irridically. I was shaking my head to myself in the back of the class room when the gal next to me piped up and asked if he, a family member or a friend had ever been effected by drinking or drinking and driving. His answer was of course "No". She replied, "You'll think different when it does". I said an Amen!

Mack has been diligently working on writing her name. However, we have found her autograph on the light switch, her sister's pillow, and the wall. She tried to blame her sister, saying Schuyler was the one writing McKenzie on everything. We working on this lying she has developed.

Eli has become a fountain of words, at least for him. He's putting two words together... bye da, mo please, help please, etc... and lot's more of one worders... buckle, strap, spray.

Schuyler got to practice with her soccer team on Monday. She was disappointed she couldn't play but who ever was sitting out would come and sit with her! She also got best dribbler award, which she was very proud of. She was able to do jazz yesterday so something to entertain my active girl. We saw the Dr. on Monday for a follow-up. The bones are still aligned nicely and she'll be in the big cast another 3 weeks.

Here's the cast again. This was after she woke up from a 3.5 or 4 hour nap. The girl was exhausted!


My sweet Eli. He can be the sweetest!

broken wrist = (

I'll start with the bad news (2 things) but I do have some good news, so if I forget, please remind me = )

Schuyler broke her left wrist on Sunday. Things have been a whirl wind. Where should I start?

On Sunday, I dropped Schuyler off at her best friend's birthday party at Lost in Fun, an indoor playland. I filled out the waiver form and on it left my home number. Mark was at a golf tournament and my dad was watching Eli and Mack so I could go to my photoshoot. Around 3:30, I get a call from my dad. Schuyler has fallen and her wrist/arm is injured - she is upset. They had tried calling my home but my dad couldn't answer at the time but luckily, my aunt was at the same place with her grandson and saw Schuyler and was able to call my dad on his cell and bring her home. Dad promises to keep me updated. I get the 2nd call just as I'm finishing the photo shoot. It doesn't look good and I probably need to take her some place. My photoshoot is within blocks of my home so I quickly say my goodbyes pack my gear and head home. I can tell my baby is hurt - it's in her eyes and it's painful for her to move it. We head to Linc Care and wait for what seems like an extraordinary amount of time. It's not until I take off the make-shift splint her arm was wrapped in that I can tell it's definitely broken. They x-ray the bones and agree. The PA comes in to tell me that it's broken and we need to see a Orthodpedic in the a.m. and prescribes Tylenol with codeine.

I'm upset for a number of reasons: I never got to actually talk to the Dr. on duty, it seems like service was so slow, what exactly did I sign on the waiver since I didn't actually read it, why didn't I call our Pediatric Dr. to see if they were open, why do these things happen when Mark is gone etc... It's a difficult night for Schuyler. She's in pain, restless and doesn't sleep much. We put her in my bed with me and Mark volunteered to sleep in the basement. I'm supposed to only give her the Tylenol every 8 hours or when needed but I didn't really follow this.

Monday comes with very little sleep for Schuyler and I. We get her into Nebraska Orthopedic at 10:30. It's actually broke in two places, but the one is barely broken, just "cracked". It's her left arm, right by her wrist. Dr. suggests that we re-align the bones with a manual procedure to insure proper healing. This means she has to go under anesthesia and a trip to Lincoln Surgical Hospital. They wrap her again - in a much better wrap and we're on our way to Lincoln Surgical. I call Mark to have him take the afternoon off. They get her prepped and she's a trooper - SO brave! The procedure is successful and the Dr. and Anesthesia Dr. come and talk to us and rave about what a great patient she is. However, after her stay in post-op, they bring her to me and she instantly starts crying. She is very confused. I'm holding her and she keeps saying I want my mommy, I don't like this hospital - I want to leave, mommy don't ever leave my side again, my tummy hurts, my arm hurts, I'm dizzy etc... It was more than enough to break my heart. The anesthesiologist says she was not like that at all in post-op but it is normal behavior. We try to get something in her stomach but she refuses and they won't give her pain meds until she eats. Ugh! We get her to eat a tiny something and they give her med. Then, she vomits = ( The nurse gets her a popsicle and Schuyler is okay with it. She's still confused but I just wanted to take her home b/c I'm sure she'll calm down just being out of the hospital. Mark's pulling the car up front and I'm in the wheel chair with Schuyler in my lap and sure enough, she starts to vomit and like most Mom's I try and cup my hands to catch it - Yuck. After that, she felt better. We got her home and she slept most all the remainder of the night.

She is in a cast up to her shoulder - it's yellow of course = ) She'll be in it for 3-4 weeks and then an abbreviated one for 2-3 weeks. Hopefully, we'll have it off by Thanksgiving. She was determined to go to school on Tuesday despite the fact she woke up at 5:45 a.m and had huge bags under her eyes. Her teacher called me before lunch and thought I should come pick her up - she's tired and her fingers are swollen. Schuyler rests and elevates her arm but isn't happy about missing school. She made it the whole day yesterday.

She's thought everything through - like the fact she's done with soccer for the year and will miss volleyball camp. We're not sure how long she'll be out of dance. She's very independent and doesn't like the fact she sometimes needs help when using the bathroom at school. However, she has enjoyed having friends and relatives sign her case but I'm pretty sure she still wishes this wouldn't have happened = (

Here's a few pictures to document...

Schuyler finally falls asleep watching TV on Sunday evening. Taken with super slow shutter speed so a bit blurry.


She's not looking but there is a frown on her face. This is before we went to NE Orthopedic.

The official wording, "displaced fracture @ distal end of radius proximal to wrist Left".

The major breakage is on the right side of the picture and the less concerning break on the left.

Tuesday a.m. Mark signing the cast.

The cast in it's full yellow glory!

The other bad news. Mark's car died on his way to Beatrice, prior to the arm breaking. The official word is it's done dealing and would need a whole new image. The cost of replacing it is not worth it. So, I think we're looking for a new car.

And, a little good news = ) I picked Eli up last week and they said they had news. I'm never sure how to interpret this since it could be good or bad! Eli went to the bathroom on the little potty. Wow! Apparently, he's been watching the older boys. So, we decided to get out our little potty out of storage. Just last night, before bed, he went for us. I'm not sure I'm ready to do the full potty training in full but he can certainly start sitting on it = )

H, for hard love and Huskers

So, I finally had the chance to go to a Husker's game. It's been at least 2 years since I've been to one in person b/c I've been pregnant or nursing. It's too bad it couldn't have been a better game. I also have to admit that these night games are just not my cup of tea. I am NOT a night person and my body just starts shutting down after a certain time! I went back to the van at the start of the 4th qtr and while Mark listened to it on the radio, I fell asleep! Sheesh!

Ms. Denie met with Eli last week at the Montessori and yesterday we had our home visit. She is establishing a relationship with him and working on speech. She is also coaching me on dealing with certain behaviors. He had one of his extreme meltdowns yesterday. Which is good from the standpoint that I need to know how to deal with it. It's also hard in the fact that I know I'm doing some things wrong. For example, I can ignore tantrums to a point. But once they get to that cry, the one where the gasping for air, or he's banging his head, I go and pick him up and give him loves. Well, this is rewarding him for his negative behavior. I'm not so good at the tough love thing. Let's just say there is room for improvement. This is where Mark compliments me well, he's much better at dealing with these situations than I am.

Schuyler has another loose tooth! Seriously, the girl has no front teeth how can she lose another one and how on earth is she going to eat. That would be a total of 5 teeth missing. Although, 2 of the bottom ones are slowly coming in. And, how does it go from barely loose to hardly hanging on in 1 day! I swear the girl plays with it all day long. She was saying this a.m. how she hopes it falls out at school so she can go to the nurses office!! Silly girl!

Here are some pictures. I'm always looking for a good excuse to take some pictures = ) So, when my niece Maddy found this dress of Schuyler's and we had other cordinating outfits, it only made sense to go take some pics. She was much more enthused than my kids. I like fresh meat!!

Here is one in b/w...

I like most of these in color. It's the combo of her beautiful blue eyes, dark hair, and gorgeous freckles!

Love the blue background of the dumpster, yes a dumpster, and the wind blowing their hair. See, Schuyler has NO teeth!

Ms. Mack working the camera!

Had to throw this one in! Last week, Schuyler's best friend rode with us to their Soccer game. I think she could totally fit into our family of blondies!

McKenzie - you know she's up to something! Liking the bowl that I just used to make scones. I guess you would call it scone dough! See the remnants around her face!!