changes

SO much going on right now. We are midway through school vacation and it has been good so far. Aiden and Calleigh spent the night at Nama and Papa's house Monday night at dinner time and they were very excited to stay there until Wednesday afternoon. They got to do all the fun crazy things that mean old Mommy won't let them do at home. I discovered they played "whack the weasel" with big blow up bats that are bigger than they are! They played this wonderful game up one set of stairs and down another. The ring leader of the game: Papa! Isn't it funny how grown men turn into little boys all over again when there are grandchildren around! I love hearing the crazy stories of them with Papa. Today will be a baking day once naptimes are over with. We are making chocolate chip cookies (shhhh....I'm trying to be good!), bluebery muffins, "O" krispies-rice Krispie treats with cheerios and strawberry flavored marshmallows instead of rice krispies, we are going to attempt to make banana bread as well. It will be interesting to see if we can make it all before dinner and daddy gets home!
We are having a problem with our upstairs bathroom. We think there may be a broken pipe under the tub because it leaks into the kitchen ceiling, but only after we take showers/baths! So that has to be taken care of before we have a major flood in the kitchen one of these days! The joys of being a homeowner.
I thought I had made a decision on the stroller, but I keep going back and forth. Such a big decision to just settle for something that you don't LOVE! I have it narrowed down to two choices and it really comes down to are two features worth the extra $150.00? They are key things though so we will have to see what I end up doing. I am SO indecisive and I think I just need a kick in the butt to make up my mind. I NEED a new stroller!
On another note. My house is a disaster area. I think if FEMA were to come into my home right now, they may actually declare it just that. There is a couch that has enough laundry mounded on it to maybe create Mt. Carpenter, the erupting volcano. We have toys just about over evey square inch of the living room right now, not to mention you cannot even see their bedroom floors upstairs because of the toys. I don't even bother to do the dishes until the end of the night because we are going through so many! I would be so embarrassed if anyone were to drop by for a visit! Oh well, the perils of school break.
It has been a busy time, but I am hoping to get pictures up here soon! Things will be interesting here in the next few weeks so we will keep everyone updated.

It's been too long.

It has been so long since I have posted last! Things have been really crazy here. We are now on school vacation and I hate to say this but I already wish it were next Wednesday and school was back in session! I love love love spending time with my kids and doing all kinds of fun things with them. However, right now our favorite thing to do is constantly argue about things. Aiden and Calleigh were screaming at each other because they were using the same color marker to make a picture for Daddy. Everything seems to be an issue. He is too close to her, she is breathing too loud, she took my dog (favorite stuffed animal of the month), he has my blankie, and so on and so on! Today I couldn't take it anynmore and after close to an hour of trying different things and changing activities....I even tried a movie.....I sent Aiden upstairs to play and had Calleigh stay downstairs. It is so hard when school is out because we have our routines at home and Aiden has his routines at school and they are so opposite that it is hard for them to adjust. I never really thought we had such a routine at home, but I have come to realize that we do! It is a flexible one, but it is still a schedule. I hope that a break from the house will do them well. Aiden and Calleigh are going to spend the night at Nama's house and Riley and I are going stroller shopping! I am excited to actually get to see some of the strollers I have been researching. I have become very interested int the Tike Trek 360. One website compared it to the BOB duallie, but we will see!
Aiden had his doctor's appointment last Tuesday and it went okay. He of course did not want to discuss anything with the doctor so it was just me trying to hash it out with Dr. Gerson. We have decided to have Aiden see a counselor that specializes in loss, trauma and attachment. It is just an initial interview with her and she will then recommend if this is the avenue we should go or if we need to see someone that may specialize in ADD/ADHD. We want to try and explore all options before giving into any ind of labels. It could just be the stress and trauma of losing Brandon so suddenly that is causing the behavior issues. We will have to wait and see. Wesley and I have to have an appointment with the counselor to give initial information and then she will meet with just Aiden and then all three of us together to make the recommendations of whether or not to continue or move onto other plans. It is frustrating and stressful to not know what to do. Hopefully we are now in the right direction and we can get some answers.
Riley has his 18 month checkup next week and I am anxious to see if/how much he has grown! He is a peanut, and hopefully we can turn the car seat aorund! He hates being backwards still but I am going to keep him that way until I know it is safe enough to turn him. However, car rides are very painful to experience nowadays!
Calleigh is doing okay. She is doing school on Wednesdays and Fridays now and I am not sure if I like the two days being split apart. She was doing well when they were back to back and she was actually taking naps. I think it just may take some adjusting and getting used to for us to get it right!
I am hoping we get to take some kind of a trip this year. Maybe even just Wesley and I can get away...just for a few days....that would be nice.....I can dream can't I?

Aiden and Calleigh at school

So I am going to combine these two posts into one.
We will start with Aiden. Aiden has been having a tough time at school. He loves going and is very excited about school, but he is having a hard time with both learning and interacting with his peers. He has not been very nice to his friends and he gets very frustrated very easily. He has been in language lab to help him with his writing and recognition of letters. He has made great improvements and he is continuing to do better in those areas. The language lab is supposed to be a 6 week course. He is done with the first 6 weeks, but now will go through another 6 week round of support to help him maintain what he has learned. I feel so bad. For me learning came easy so it is very hard for me to watch him struggle so much, both academically and socially. We have had to do the Achenbach testing twice now. It is a behavioral/academic checklist that helps them distinguish many different things. We did it last winter and we just did it again. He has a doctor's appointment on Tuesday to discuss everything going on at school as well as why he is so tired all the time. As much as Aiden is all over the place and hyper he goes from that to being exhausted very quickly. He can be crazy one minute and then the next you can see it in his eyes and his face how tired he is. Wesley is convinced he has Lyme Disease. I am not convinced it is anything too serious....maybe just hoping it is not. We will have more answers on Tuesday.
Now Miss Calleigh's turn. I never thought I would say these words...my three year old daughter has been banished! Just kidding...sort of. Calleigh has started going to school two days a week now. She was going on Wednesdays and Thursdays so that the days would be back to back and she would get the most out of it. I was asked to switch her to a different day other than Thursday and not on Tuesday either because there is another child there that she feels like she has to "mother". It is someone we knew before she started going to school there and they had played together before. I guess she follows him around and picks up for him and is constantly taking care of him and doing things for him. They said her switching days was more for her benefit so that she does not feel like she has to do that for the other child. So I guess she isn't really banished...just moved around for her own good. I still don't know yet if I find it concerning or funny!

The Great 2009 stroller search

So the hunt is on! My husband has finally said YES! I am on the hunt for a new double stroller. Now that I am so much more active and out and about with the kids I am in need of a sturdy stroller that is comfortable for me to push, comfortable for the kids and won't fall apart on me! We currently have an InStep double jogger stroller and I am not happy with it. I am on the taller side and I feel constantly like I am hunched over when pushing it. The canopy does not even block/cover anything. I currently use my stroller for everything and have thought about just getting a single jogger because Calleigh is getting older and bigger and does not always want to be in a stroller. However, there are times she NEEDS to be in a stroller and we are planning the big Disney trip next year so we will need something for both of them. Plus if and/or when we decide to have another child we would need a double. All in all the double seems the way to go.
I would love, love, love to get the BOB Duallie. It is sturdy and comfortabe and taller and the canopies can't be beat. However, Wesley says that is a little out of our price range. I have looked at the Baby jogger City Mini stroller as well. It is lighter-weight, has great canopies and is thinner. I just worry it will not serve my more active needs. My goal is to get back into running and the Baby jogger would not be good for that. There are just so many to think about and look at. Lindsey and I are going to Manchester next Thursday (VERY excited) to check out strollers. I hope I can find what I am looking for or get Wesley more information on the strollers so we can make the decision together. I will hopefully have more news on the strollers next week!

slacker

So I am lagging in the postings I know...it has been pretty busy around here and I am still using the old computer, which shuts off whenever it feels like it! I will have a lot of postings once the new computer is back up and running and I can post pictures!
some postings that will be in the future:
The great 2009 stroller search!
Riley's new harcut
The scarf (maybe scarves) I have made
Calleigh's banishment
Aiden's school
Mommy time out!
I am worried the computer is going to shut down though because I have been using it for more than five minutes so I will sign off now and hope I can check my email again before it shuts me off! I hope the titles intrigue you enough to come back and read them...hopfully by the end of the week!

Moments like this

Tonight was one of THOSE moments. The ones you wish you could just hold onto forever and never let go. The ones where you want to stop time and revel in it.
We have rare times in our household where we are all in one spot at the same time and there is not some kind of meltdown or event going on. Tonight everything just came into place. We have three places to sit in our living room. One rather large couch, a recliner and a loveseat. We were all piled onto the loveseat watching Alvin and the Chipmunks....a household favorite. Wesley and I were cuddled on the couch, Riley was snuggled in between us and Aiden and Calleigh were sitting next to us. Not a tear was shed, not a scream was heard. Just giggles and singing along to the music. I only wish someone could have taken a picture. We have yet to take a picture of all five of us. How horrble is that!?! We have a family picture when Calleigh was about 9 months old, but that was the last family shot. We have an appointment in the beginning of June with Melissa Brott to have portraits done.....hopefully! My Mom is the one that usually does our photos, but we wanted true professional ones done and Lindsey and Chris had theirs done there and they were beautiful! Anyway...back to the *moment*. It was so comforting and refreshing to have that time and I cannot wait until Wesley is done school and will hopefully be home much more than he is right now. We have been somewhat lucky because he has only been doing school and his main job and not the internship for a couple of weeks. Sucks money wise, but is nice family wise. He is still on 7 days a week though. It would be nice if he had one day off! He hasn't since New years and won't at least until memorial day. We are all pretty tired and stressed with it. Only until June though!
So that is my *moment* and I am going to bask in it until morning when the craziness of Friday rears it's ugly head! Then we head into the weekend and few school days until Winter break when we will have complete (and hopefully somewhat sane) chaos in our home!

It's hit

well, it has hit us. The stomach bug has officially entered the Carpenter household! Aiden had a little bit of it but is okay now and just has a pretty nasty cold. He stayed home yesterday and today, which has been oh so much fun. I had a little bit of the bug, but I am feeling better, just tired. I tossed and turned last night.
Riley got a haircut and looks so cute! He lost his baby look though. *pout*
I want to put pictures up but until I get my new computer up and working I have no way of getting the pictures onto the computer!
I miss the little baby look he had. Along with all of the talking he has been doing. His new favorite phrase is "get out". Which is the common phrase we use when the dog is begging at the table. Now it has become Riley's favorite phrase for everything.
He has also learned a new animal sound. He already has Dog and Duck down. He kind of does a grunting bark for dog and "kack kack" for duck. We have a duck that he is in love with and tries to chase so that is why it is his favorite thing to say. His new phrase is "whoo whoo" for owl!
We have been working on Vaentine's cards for Aiden's classmates. He only wants to do one or two at a time so we have been taking it slow. He has to write out all the names himself and he wants to write Happy Valentine's Day, which is tough for someone just learning to read and write! He has been in a language lab for the past 6 weeks at school to help him through the language and learning the letters easier. He has improved drastically! He was determined to get it and that helped a lot.
Right now I am enjoying about 20 minutes of peace and quiet while everyone sleeps. They are actually all sleeping at the same time ( I probably just jinxed it though!)