Joshua burst my bubble the other day. After a whole winter of people telling me I look like a Disney Princess (Anna from Frozen), and walking around feeling pretty good about myself……la-te-da…..

Joshua says, “You don’t really look like Anna to me.  You gotta take us to go see How to Train Your Dragons 2!  Hiccup’s mom is who you really look like!  I mean, you might look a little like Anna, but really you look like Hiccup’s Mom!!  Can we go??  Will you take us??  Will you? Will you?”

Eh. I guess she’s not such a terrible person to be compared to ……child abandonment aside…. Still, I’d rather be compared to a Disney Princess.  Let’s go back to that.

Delusions are so much nicer than reality. : )  Let’s move on…

By the way, How to Train Your Dragon 2 comes to theaters in June.  Joshua is an EXPERT on when all movies and video games marketed towards little boys are released.  We don’t even have cable, but somehow he always knows these things.

Speaking of cable, we cut our cable a month ago, and we don’t even miss it at all!  Guess how much money it’s saving us…..NONE!  Disappointing, isn’t it? Our media services were all bundled up so well, that cutting cable would save us a whopping $10 a month, and since we’re moving in June, that makes it not worth the trouble of having to hunt down the cable store and return the box.  You know?  So we just unplugged it from the wall.

Actually, Alan plugs it in once a week and watches some Revolutionary War tv show he’s into.  Ha!  So I guess we just sort of don’t have cable…..

Guess what else happened last week that I was so excited about?  The boys did so well on their report cards that I took them to Chuck E Cheese to celebrate.  Caleb had his best report card ever, all good grades, and he is now on grade level for his reading.  WAhoo!!!  Go boys, go!  Yeah, Joshua wasn’t so keen on having his picture taken while eating.  In my defense, he moves too fast for me to take his picture when he’s not eating.

They had a great time. Daniel is a Chuck E Cheese Mastermind.  

You can’t make this stuff up:  Daniel walked around to all the machines, collecting the tickets that other kids had left behind.  Before kids realize the power of tickets, they often flitter from one machine to another, without stopping to collect their tickets.  Daniel is our #1 Easter egg finder and our #1 ticket earner.  The older boys earned about 15 each.  Dan earned and collected 50.  Haaaa!

He still isn’t quite crawling yet….Instead, he scoots backwards great distances, but isn’t he adorable?

He’ll figure it out soon. I keep forgetting to mention that he is down to only two breast feedings per day.  He now eats plenty of solid food and drinks whole milk instead.  He would have no part of formula, so regular ol’ milk is working just fine.

Busy, busy week ahead, as usual!  Oh yeah!  Our EFMP paperwork was approved, and we have ‘Request for Orders’ in hand.  One step at a time.  We almost have everything we need to book a moving truck!!  Hurray!!

What’s everyone else up to this week? Hope you are all having a good one.  At least it’s raining and not snowing! April showers bring May flowers!  ; )

Best quote I saw on the internet this week:  “When you have a bad day, a really bad day, try and treat the world better than it treated you.”  –Patrick Slump

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I’m always a little jealous of Dan and his mid-day nap.

I tend to start my days off really, really slowly.  I drag myself downstairs, or usually one of the boys drags me down the stairs.  I feed people.  I make myself coffee.

An hour later, I’m fully awake and ready to tackle the day.  I make a list and have GREAT BIG, HUGE plans to save the world and solve all of my problems that day.  I begin crossing things off my list.

Mishaps happen along the way, and by 1pm, the steam is gone, and suddenly nothing seems important anymore.  Nothing at all.

By this point, I’m thinking, “What?  No one replied to my emails?  Eh.  Who cares.”

“De-clutter 1 hour?  Are you kidding?  JD is napping, and I’m about to sit down for the first time since JD’s morning bottle!”

“Sweep the kitchen?  Nah.  It’ll just get dirty again…..”

You get the idea.  I can either drink coffee and keep going, or I can stop and rest.  Today I’m choosing rest.  : )  Blogging is my chosen rest activity.  : )

Am I the only one?  Do any of you have a mid-day slump?  You know, some countries get a siesta around this time. Can’t we vote that in for the USA???

Daniel is LOVING this! It’s so cute to listen to him answer all of the questions and try to read all the words!!!

Right now I’m doing something new.  I whipped out the “Your Baby Can Read” dvds, and thought I’d give Daniel a shot at an education.

He was all, “No baby videos!!!”  I assured him that it’s for all ages, and since it’s about reading, it must be for big boys.

I’m so glad I tried it.  He’s LOVING it.  We’re going to do this again!!  Maybe it will even work, and he will learn some words.

How sweet is this picture? JD got to spend quality time with his great-grandparents this past weekend, and it was SO SWEET how much he genuinely loved his great-grandmother!!  He just took right to her.

Getting JD to take a bottle was a serious victory. Great job, Nonna!!

One more thought before I get back to work:  the weaning is going swimmingly.  JD HATES formula, though. Believe it or not, spending all day pumping is not an improvement over spending all day breastfeeding.  Boo fun.  So here’s the weaning plan:

Step 1:  Get the boy to take a bottle.  DONE!!!  Nonna volunteered to do this for me, and I am SO THANKFUL.  I was out and about this weekend and sleeping at night, and it was all super wonderful, and surprisingly emotional!  Hormones–geesh!

Step 2:  Begin supplementing a little regular milk into each bottle.  Formula failed.  He hates it, and he knows if it’s in there, so I tried a touch of regular milk.  That worked much better.  I did my research, and a little milk at his age is perfectly fine.  He’s not ready to have cow’s milk full time, but he may be able to handle a little each day.

Step 3:  Gradually phase out all breastfeeding.  Nighttime feedings will be the last to go.  That part won’t be so difficult.  I’ve done that three times before.  Finding milk JD will drink, that is good for him, that has been the tricky part!!

Okay.  I’m going to also opt for that extra cup of coffee now.  Here’s to finishing the day strong!!  Hope ya’ll are having a great one!

The post The Mid-Day Slump appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

Tonight everyone in this house is seriously exhausted.

I am probably the only one that is still awake, and it’s only 10:40 pm!!!  It’s been a busy, busy week.

The biggest and most exciting news–and I have several bits of news!–was Joshua’s great success today!!

Joshua ran his very first 5K race, and when I say that the boy ran to win, you’d better believe it.  He took off like a shot, zipped through his first mile like it was nothing, and thoroughly impressed Alan, who happily ran the race with him.

Joshua completed the race in 30 minutes!!!  That’s faster than I could do!!  We are so proud.  He didn’t slow down a bit until he cut his leg up on a thorny bush, during the last stretch.  Our little hare came in 3rd place for kids 10 and under, earning his very first bronze medal!  WAY TO GO, JOSHUA!!!!!  We are so proud!

Joshua’s buddy, Xavier, also ran and placed 2nd!!  They were so cute together, with their medals.  Yes, Alan took photos!  Unfortunately, they are on his phone, so those are coming soon!

Oh, and Alan placed too!  Way to go, Daddy!!!

Here’s the scoop on what’s been going on:

This is Dan, playing planes on the aircraft carrier he got from Nana and Granddaddy, inside the tent he got from us.  Thank you, Granddaddy and Nana!  This is a serious hit!  It came like the day after you ordered it too–amazing!

Dan opted for these cupcakes, rather than a cake.  We didn’t do a party because our life has just been so hectic.  Dan still had a great time, as did his brothers.

This little fella is being weaned this weekend, or at least we are beginning the process.  Nonna is here, and she has been giving him bottles while I have been leaving the house as much as possible so that he knows that breastfeeding is not an option.

He’s made a lot of headway, as long as you put juice or breast milk in the bottle.  We still haven’t convinced him to drink formula.  He’s standing his ground on that, but I’m just happy to at least have progress.

What I didn’t expect is how much I miss breastfeeding and taking care of him.  Oh, JD, I miss you sooooo much!!!  I’m okay with not breastfeeding, and it’s been so weird to be out and about rather than at home with the baby, but I miss cuddling him all day long (and sometimes all night) way more than I realized I would!!!

GIANT thank you to Nonna, who has worked extremely hard to get this boy to drink, plus done the laundry, plus bathed the boys!!

This is like a vacation.  When JD was born, my mom was doing all of this for me, but I was too much of an invalid to enjoy it.

This weekend I was able to take advantage of it and go touring with our guests:  Alan’s grandparents!

It’s hard to tell in the photo, but this was Batman and another Lego figure, sitting on a sofa, watching t.v.  One of them has a remote control.

Dan got a doctor kit from Uncle Greg and Aunt Amy and a transformer dino/car from Allen and Emily.  He has played the fool out of all of it!  Thank you so much!

Dan loves to get all the remote control trains going on the track, but then JD waits for them to ride by and SNATCHES them. It’s a pretty fun game.

Oh, the cuteness!!!!!!!!!

A little of the tourism fun:

It was COLD! We found good, handicapped spaces in a parking garage near the museum.

Ha!!!!

It was extra neat doing the museum with Alan’s grandparents.  This is the Smithsonian American History Museum.

Granddaddy and Grandmother said things like, “Oh, I used to ride in one of those.”  and “Janet had a van just like that one.”  Grandmother told a story about the first time her father saw an automobile.  It really added to the experience!

We also went to the Holocaust museum with them the day before.

Then tonight they took Alan and me out to eat at Bonefish Grill.  What an exciting weekend!  This never happens, ya’ll.  I can’t tell you how strange I felt without little boys tugging on me:  no diaper bags, no babies to carry around.  I felt like I was doing something very wrong. I just had to keep reminding myself, “They are FINE.  Nonna and DaddyO are there with them.  JD will eat food and drink a little from a bottle.  This HAS to be done.  I can’t breastfeed this boy forever.”

In this photo, I was having a teary-eyed moment–I can’t tell you how strange it felt to have this much freedom–I am an emotional mess.  I was in the museum, and I spotted a spot where we took Joshua and Caleb’s picture just four years ago.  I remember them running all over the Transportation floor of the museum and how much they loved it, and this time they had not even wanted to come.   “Nah, that’s boring,” they said.  Tears!  Tears in my eyes!  They will never be those sweet, rowdy little babies again!!!

Joshua was almost 4, and Caleb was 2!!!  Oh, I miss them!!!  I know I still have them, but I miss that preschool version of them!!!  I’d forgotten that their hair used to be that blonde.

We saw this guy propose to this girl.  I couldn’t not watch!!!

LOVE these blue dishes!!!!

Alan, the professional DC tour guide, driving us around.  It’s always such a  relief when Alan is at the helm and not me!!  I always end up driving down some “Do Not Enter” street or ending up hopelessly lost.  DC streets, I will not miss you!!!!

Tomorrow is Sunday.  Ah, sigh of relief!!!  My day of rest, and I love it so.  It seems like more and more events are being scheduled for Sunday afternoons, as people are afraid to compete with other Saturdays.  I’m trying to stand strong and not get sucked in to another day of running around like a chicken with my head cut off!!  Sundays are my easy.  God commanded that we take a day to rest.  Literally–the sabbath is one of the 10 commandments.  Yes, I know, the Sabbath is really Saturday; let’s not get technical.  The Lord arose on Sunday, so Christians call Sunday the Lord’s Day.  I suppose either of those days is a perfectly good one to rest on!  Thank you, God, for Sundays!!

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