Thursday, April 30, 2009

A Visit to our family Friendly Dermatologist

Took all three boys to Dr. Luther Richardson's office at 4:15 today for Parker's recheck (plantars warts and adolescent acne). Thank goodness the waiting room had cleared out and our dear, dear friend Burdette came to run herd with us--I mean visit with us. Never has there been a more tolerant office. The twins were everywhere, with Henry even checking out the snacks in the kitchen area since at the last visit he was served cake and watermelon. Parker, I'm sure was thanking his lucky stars they called him back to his room within 10 minutes. Dr. Richardson was kind enough to take a glance at Henry's dry scalp and recommended Neutrogena Shampoo Anti-Residue--which worked wonders tonight!

Came home and played a bit in the backyard, had a feeding frenzy of leftovers, took baths, read books. Had an interesting moment with Neil in which he took full advantage of having no diaper after his bath and decided to take care of business standing by the bed in the nursery. I glanced over at him (while putting on Henry's pj's) just in time to leap across the room and catch the deposit in my hand and run to the toilet with it. Whew! Seems like I vaguely remember doing that with Henry about a year ago.

We finally got around to subscribing to MLB online so that Parker could watch his beloved Sox. The first game he got to see the Rays nearly had a no hitter and ultimately shellacked the Sox 13-0. Dad wants a refund.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Little boys, a big boy, and honeysuckle

Yesterday afternoon (April 28, 2009)

What a whirlwind of backyard activity. I head outside with Henry and Neil so Parker can have some peace and quiet to get his work done. I have never seen Henry and Neil so busy in the backyard at the same time as today! Henry discovers he can climb up the slide, turn around and come back down--while Neil is heading up the steps and down the slide on his belly. At one point Henry says, " Mom, can you climb up the slide?" I say "sure." I do so, only to look behind me to see Neil trying to come up at the bottom of the slide. I'm stuck. What could I do but throw one leg over the piece of wood at the top of the slide and come down the steps. (I've tried going down the slide before and the 45 year old hips are a wee little wide.)

Then, on to a red wagon ride to our honeysuckle crop where Henry insists only the yellow ones are any good. Neil, is sitting patiently while Henry snacks on the blossoms--dodging the WWI bugle that Henry occasionally picks up to blow while in the wagon.

Out comes Parker with bat and ball (plastic I must add) ready for Mom to throw a few. With attention divided by three now, I do my best to keep everyone safe and happy. Parker, my ever-patient child, waits in between throws while I chase a baby. Neil decides to head for the tree house ladder. He can now easily get to the fourth rung very quickly, repeating "up, up" as he goes. Henry settles into the sandbox for a few sweet moments. Parker whacks the ball, keeping an eye out for his brothers with me.

Henry and Neil have an outside shower together, complete with Dad's shaving cream.

What tremendous joy to have them happy and healthy.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Typical Morning

Our house from 6:15 to about 7:30 in the mornings is not so much a three ring circus as a circus stampede. JP sets his alarm (most nights) and gets up first, heading straight to the shower. That usually wakes Irene or me, and one of us gets the coffee started, trying to be quiet to keep from waking the twins. Occasionally we'll try to sit down for a few minutes to chat or read the headlines, but that rarely works for long anyway and just makes us late. Once the twins are up, we shift into high gear, trying to meet everyone's needs while maintaining some semblance of order. Diapers, breakfast, clean up the breakfast mess, wash faces, get dressed, pick up, crisis du jour (e.g. Henry running down the hall bare-bottomed saying he's done with the potty and ready to be wiped), feed Willie, get everyone packed for the day, huff puff, sign paperwork of some sort that Parker forgot to show us last night, book and lunch bags, frantic search for something inevitably misplaced (glasses, keys, shoes...), hugs and kisses all around at least once and usually a couple of times to make sure no one missed anything, goodbyes as Parker and I head to the car (bye bye! says Neil, waving furiously), a trip back in for something we forgot, hugs and kisses all around once more, and finally JP and I are off, leaving Mom with the final preparations and to get Neil to RISE and Henry to AIDB.

Regarding schools, we had thought Henry would be going to RISE with Neil next term, but things didn't work out and we're actually sort of relieved, thinking that while the program is perfect for Neil, Henry really probably needs Mom more. He'll still have the option of the AIDB program whenever Mom needs a morning for errands or whatever, but mostly he'll be with her. Parker will be at the magnet school a few hundred yards away, which should help lower the intensity of the mornings at least a touch.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Lake Lurleen

What a fun, nutty day. The weather is gorgeous, warm and breezy, not too hot, and we decided this morning to take all three boys to Lake Lurleen for a fishing trip. We stopped along the way to get crickets - 100 for $3.00, such a deal - and worms. The proprietor spotted us right away as mere worm drowners rather than real fisher folk and was clearly amused by us.

Mom actually thought we might catch a fish, though Dad knew that once we opened the doors to the van the fish would vacate that end of the lake. We had fun dodging hooks and chasing crickets all the same, and spotted a couple of nice size fish who had hung around to see what all the commotion was about but had better sense than to actually bite anything we offered.

When we wore out on this we moved on to the beach, much to Neil's satisfaction and largely in fact at his insistence; he just was going to get in the water one way or another and the beach seemed a better option than the muddy (and probably snaky) banks around the fishing pier. Anyway, we waded around here for a while, reminding each other that though Henry has no fear of the water it wouldn't take much for him to go under.

Before long everyone was hungry and thirsty and we moved on once more to a table under the trees and enjoyed the picnic Mom had packed for us. After lunch we waded around in this (muddy and probably snaky) area, took a few pictures and packed for home in order to get the boys and Mom down for a little nap and get Parker to his tennis match.

Whew!

Post script. The remaining worms (most of them) are now happily improving the soil in our garden, while the crickets were released to serenade us in the evenings (though a few, I fear, fell prey to birds in the process). A fitting end to an early summer day.

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Henryisms

I'm in a big mood today. 12-12-09

Henry the day before his haircut. "Mom, I want iddy biddy hair like Daddy's."

Did you have a good day today Henry? We had a great day today, Mom, and we couldn't have done it without you.

Mom you are really naked.

I don't like my gross crayons from the gross man at the grocery store.

Henry comes running in first thing in the morning, Look who's awake! [himself]

To Mom while eating lunch today, Mom, I wish skunks would not put their tails up. 5-1-09

I'm so exciting.

I'm so upset that my toe hurts.

I'm big for that. [i.e., big enough]

They are friends of me too. [Parker and Jake]

April 17, 2011

We'll just home school him. (in response to the answer to the question of why Parker will be gone in three more years, i.e. college)

When someone comes around that corner I'll scare the tuna salad out of them.

How do you spell "f" he asks. We admit we're stumped. "Ef" he says.

Another Day in Paradise

Henry to me the other day: “Mom, my penis has grown big! I’m getting bigger. Now it’s grown little again.” It occurs to me that I should be keeping track of this sort of thing. We blogged about Neil's experiences when he was in the hospital so much, but hey, these guys are so much more than that and there are so many things I want to keep track of for myself, whether anyone else sees them or not. What better way than a blog?