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October 28, 2005

creative outlet

some recent cards that i have made:

and some that the boys had a hand in:

just another outlet for aidan's growing creativity:

Posted by cooleys at 05:08 PM | TrackBack

October 24, 2005

adventurous weekend

Well, we got a mini van this weekend. I never thought that this would be something that I would look forward to, but I was WRONG. Having three, young boys that are continually bugging one another and sitting directly behind me in our wagon was enough to make me a bit crazy (as if I needed any help in that area). So, my wonderful husband did an excellent job of finding our family another vehicle while I was in Indiana. The catch was that he had to travel to Grand Rapids, Michigan to get the van leaving me home alone with the boys. I am usually up for a challenge, but I think the trip out of town coupled with the onset of some illness with Oliver was a bit much. We did survive the time alone but not happily. We managed to attend the St. Elmo Harvest Festival during that time and had some fun with paints and potato sack races.

The boys also spent a lot of time in their room building a secret fort where "no girls are allowed." (oh, and I was informed that the secret password is "bear" for any of you who want an in...I guess moms are an exception to that "no girls" rule).

Aidan built a city out of blocks with roads and buildings, trees and people. This may not seem like much of a milestone, but I was reminded of when we received those blocks from some close friends at a baby shower before I had Aidan. Mark was on the floor of our small house that next week reconstructing the Roman Forum out of those small blocks. I carefully explained that it might be a little while before our new baby would be able to play along side of him without knocking his masterpiece over, slobbering all over the blocks, or just losing interest within minutes. I guess Aidan is finally beyond all of that...nearly five years later, but still there. He was quite proud of his accomplishment....

I know, I know. Each entry always ends on an unrealistic, optimistic note. The truth is that I have a really hard time balancing out the great moments with my kids with revealing my inadequacy in the more difficult times. So, if you want to see a picture that really reflects our weekend without Daddy, here you go:

Posted by cooleys at 09:54 AM | TrackBack

October 23, 2005

going for the goal

These pictures were taken at Aidan's final soccer game of the season last weekend. I do not think that anything could make this kid happier than this little medal hanging from his neck.

...a bunch of girls...not a problem...

look at those moves!

He scored three goals during his last game. This came after a few talks about running toward your opponent's goal rather than shooting into your own. He came home a few weeks ago asking, "Mom, why are the coaches ALWAYS calling my name!" I explained, "Well, because you are usually heading toward the wrong goal..." It has been such a blast to watch him play and really enjoy this time with his friends.

Posted by cooleys at 10:04 PM | TrackBack

October 17, 2005

pretty abby

my two year old niece abigail

Abel and I returned from Indiana late last night. The weekend was filled with watching little ones (I cannot ever seem to get away from it--not that I am even really complaining); helping my mother decorate my brother's new house; a lame but very amusing attempt at shooting hoops with my fam; and some shopping in Columbus. I will say that I am completely exhausted today and not handling my responsibilities here at home very well, but the trip was worth it.

Posted by cooleys at 02:17 PM | TrackBack

October 07, 2005

painting pumpkins & caring for little ones

Well, our week of sickness is over. All three children ended up catching something. Both Ollie and Abel had the bacterial pneumonia, while Aidan just threatened to follow down the same path with a bad cough. To say that the past week was difficult would be quite the understatement. The craziness really started when Oliver started wheezing. I jumped up at 4am, got dressed, and sat ready to run my 18 month old to the emergency room. Meanwhile, he started to feeling a bit better and jumped around on the bed giggling at us. We decided to wait until his doctor's office opened to take him in. The pediatrician went through the same routine as with Abel a couple of days before. With a concerned look on her face, she said that the breathing treatments were again necessary. She then explained that the medication that we would have to use was in the caffeine family. I soon understood why she had been concerned. Throughout the next few days I juggled medications three times a day for two kids, breathing treatments around the clock for one, and tried to keep a close eye on Aidan for fear that his breathing would become labored. Meanwhile, Oliver (obviously affected by the meds) ran around the house; tried to jump off the furniture; broke candle holders; screamed when I would not let him run through the glass; got sick in the kitchen (probably from the mix of running around like a maniac with a tummy full of rice milk and meds); took shorter naps; and woke up multiple times at night. It seemed as though my sweet baby had been possessed. At one point I came into the living room to find Ollie on the couch with a leaky diaper. Aidan and Abel were completely disgusted by the wet ring on the couch and were yelling, "We are NEVER sitting THERE again!" I took it off, ran to the trash can, and hurried back with a clean one only to find Ollie standing on top of the kiddie table freely peeing around the room. It is a good thing that I have a decent sense of humor and that my husband works close to home...Oh, and as seen in the picture above, we also managed to paint some pumpkins.

Posted by cooleys at 02:34 PM | TrackBack