An update post...since I haven't updated in a while...which is probably due to the fact that i have hardly breathed this summer. i think those relaxing summers eating popsicles all day and napping at the beach is still a ways away...and really...as long as we are pool business owners i can give up those fantasies as well. summer is a whole nother bag when it comes to our business. i am whining...and making it sound like my summer has been awful...it hasn't - not in the slightest...i think it is just this overwhelming blanket of stress we carry in the summer that tends to cloud the vacations and picnics and fishing trips. its that and also the fact that i can not sit idle for one minute with the boys and the ages they are this summer. its pure chaos. chaos and dirt and energy and loudness. for instance...today i had to tell bodie not to play with maggots. not once. not twice. after 3 hand washing and a spank on the hand he finally listened...i think...i hope...am i the only mom on the planet to have to tell their children not to play with maggots? i have a suspicion that i may be...i like to think i am not alone...but its true...i was cleaning up the other day and came out to discover their "maggot farm" as bryson deemed it - they collected them and put them in a bin to stare at. its so gross. i can't eat rice now for like ever.
anyway - i am hoping that chapter is behind us all and we can move on to less disgusting things in our yard...but i am also not fooling myself...they have a disgusting radar...especially bodie...oh i have some stories...but that is not the purpose of this post...and i have a minor tendency to digress for paragraphs and paragraphs and so i will refrain...but did i ever tell you he has on more than one occasion chewed gum he found on the ground? seriously...gross...he is so gross. okay...moving on...i promise...
bryson barnes...the eldest...this boy is awesome and i love his spirit - he is the kind of kid you know is going to go places and i can't wait to see what unfolds in his life. i have been struggling with kindergarten and public school in general and entertained ideas of home-schooling...and then i took bryson out of pre-school for the summer and had him around. all. the. time. seriously - those fantasies are whittling away day by day. i still have some amazing ideas - but am content with supplementing his education for now. juggling working, sewing, a *new toddler* and a 2 year old and trying to satiate bryson's curiosities are more than enough. i think having to structure school and find a way to entertain the littles is too much right now. i am not poo-pooing the idea completely...just back-burner-ing it for now.
in this picture he is holding up his hand to show the bee sting. you can't very well see it, but this boy went down this slide in this park and there was this bee on said slide. and wouldnt you know he got stung? this boy has been stung about 7 times. so excuse me if i forgot about it when he went to bed. the next morning he woke up and his hand was soooo swollen. like if you took a latex glove and blew it up. like scary swollen. i called my sister and she said if it starts spreading or getting hot, looking infected to bring him in.
i waited about an hour and sure enough it started swelling in his wrist and slightly in his forearm. so i packed up the boys (by myself can i please add?) and took them to my sister's office.
i need to mention that while in the car i wanted to prepare bryson for all the possibilities so i told him there was a chance he might need a shot to stop the swelling. okay...good intention...bad idea...he started obsessing over the shot...like crazy. then when the doctor looked at it and agreed he needed a shot he flipped out. seriously. flipped. went nuts. i have never seen him like this before. i tried every mom trick i had...cajoling, threatening, bribing, nothing worked...he was in crazy land. it took 3 of us to hold him down for the doctor to get the shot in his buttocks. afterward he belted out of the office and outside into the parking lot...poor guy. meanwhile i had handed bobby off to one of the ladies in the front office and bodie started freaking out in the room because bryson was screaming, kicking, punching...so that was super fun. i just apologized to every one that i could. i should probably send them cookies or something...it was bad. i even apologized to the people in the waiting room.
so now i get to carry an epi-pen around with me all the time. i also need to purchase one for his school, church and wherever else he stays. we are hoping/praying it was swelling due to infection and not an allergic reaction...but these things are not so clear.
he is doing fine now. he is somewhat excited to start kindergarten. i got his uniform today (navy or white polo with navy bottoms) and still need to get a backpack! backpack! school supplies! ack! so exciting!
Bodie Barnes - the middle. this kid has changed a lot this summer. he is talking SO MUCH! and pretty much everything that comes out of his mouth makes us laugh. partly because of his deep voice and partly because he is such a goofball! He is also potty-training this summer. it is so sporadic and totally up to him, but tonight he went poop on the toilet for the second time and totally on his own, so i am claiming a small victory and hoping that he nails it before his pre-school starts in a couple weeks. you can do it bodie!
my challenges with this kid is that he is 2. the end. the biggest of that right now is him dominating his little brother. i catch him pushing him down often. but he is very quick to say sorry and hug it out.
Bobby Barnes - the littlest. how funny is this picture? bobby...poor bobby. i apologize to him every day. i'm sorry bobby. i'm sorry you are the youngest of 3 boys. this kid is so tough though. he can take a kick to the head like no one! its sad though. we are working on it. we probably will be working on it for the rest of their childhood...and most likely after that. so again, sorry bobby!
bobby just started walking a week or so ago. he is a full-fledged cutie patootie walking little thing. it is so fun to watch. he is learning how to go faster and will be running by his 1 year birthday i am sure of it! bobby is as sweet as can be. he smiles at everyone. waves hi at strangers on cue. people obsess over his (and bodie's) blond hair and tan skin and remind me that they are going to be keeping the ladies away with sticks...which i can picture since sticks are their favorite toys. bobby has 6 teeth right now and just got over a cold, which he powered through like a champ. he says little words and the cutest thing is when he gets on the plasma car with bryson he says "Go!" you would hear "guh" but mama hears "Go!"
so...that pretty much sums up where these little turkeys are at. man oh man, are they so fun...seriously - never a dull moment...but man oh man are they a lot of work. im sure you can imagine. oh..and please don't repeat that story about the maggots...unless you hear another mom tell you their kid plays with maggots...then please let me know so i can find a new BFF...thanks!
