GO BIG DOGS!

Today is 'the big game'. Of coarse Nathan calls every game that he's able to attend 'the big game' but tonight is our homecoming game. He's waited a month for this weekend to come. Not only is it the high schools homecoming, but it's also our college homecoming as well. In our town we have one parade a year. One. I'm never going to understand this. Why only one? I might just change that some day.

Anyway, tonight I'll take him to the game and tomorrow we'll go to the parade. To say that our football team has been less than stellar is an understatement. We've yet to win a game and not only have we not won, but in 3 of the 5 games, we haven't scored a single touchdown. Oy vey!

Believe me when I say that Nathan could care less whether we win or lose. Going and cheering on Lance Tolley is what's important. Being around other people and sharing in the excitement of the day - that's what's important. So win or lose - we'll still be there cheering on our DOGS!!!

Crawling - Jack Meyer style

Here is a video of Jack crawling. He's really trying to get the hang of it. Justin was talking to me and didn't realize I was recording Jack. =) Watch Jack's left leg. He tends to get that one stuck under him. He pushes off with the right more so than the left. Nonetheless, he's trying to crawl. YAY!!!! =)

My crib or yours

When the time came for Claire to give up her crib and move to her big girl bed, she wasn't too happy. We figured that this.......wasn't going to cut it anymore for Jack. We put Claire in her big girl bed and she, of coarse, wasn't all too fond of it. I laid in bed with her one night and she was pointing things out in her room. "What's that?" she'd say pointing. "A ball", I'd say. She pointed out a few things and then stopped. I pointed to the crib and said "What's that?". She got a disgusted look on her face and in a very matter-of-fact manor said "MY BED". Ha!

Finally we put the crib in Nathan's room. He was excited to have his new roommate. Things have been going pretty well in that department. No real problems.

This morning I went to get Jack out of his crib from his nap. Claire beat me up there yelling "I get you Jaaaack. Quaire get you!" I put Claire in there with him - and - let the party begin!

While I was in there, I thought I'd show you some things that are painted on Nathan's walls. I started this a very long time ago and then had Jack. =) Lord only knows if it will ever get done. (Sorry Jamie, I didn't draw most of these.) =)

(Notice the markings by Scooby on the wall? Nathan thought that since his Mommy was drawing on the wall, he could too. I decided not to cover it up. Art, after all, is art!)

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Jack's 9 month pictures from Black Studio's

Kindergarten lunch - Nathan Meyer style

I don't recall my mom or dad ever having lunch with me at school. I don't recall any ones parents eating lunch at school. While writing this post I asked my mom about it. She said she ate with me when I was in 1st grade. I don't remember it at all. I don't remember much about my life before my parents divorce. Trauma does funny things to your brain, but that's a whole different post.

A few years ago, one of our friends found himself in the middle of a divorce. It hit home. He had a daughter who was the very same age I was when my parents divorced. The circumstances of his divorce were the same as my parents. I felt very strongly about helping this child through it as much as I could. I took her swimming and school clothes shopping. I did all I felt I could. She asked me to go to her school to have lunch with her and I did. I've never forgotten the experience.

Yesterday, I had lunch with Nathan at his school. He couldn't have been happier that I was coming. Yesterday morning while he was brushing his teeth, he warned me that it would be loud in the lunch room. "I just want to warn you about that" he said. I was excited to go to see how he acted with the other children. I remembered from my past experience that all the children around me want to talk to me as well. When I went with the little girl that I mentioned before, the topic of discussion was very funny. This little girl is Native American. We were sitting with another child who was also Native American. However, that little girl told me that she was an Indian while the girl I was eating with was a Native American. Funny!

Yesterday I waited in the lunch area for Nathan. The kindergarten kids are the second class to eat. I'm not sure who the older kids were, but I got to watch them file in, get their trays, and sit down before the kindergarten class came in. I got to watch these older kids bicker back and forth, raise their hands to tell on each other, while dodging the task at hand - eating.

Nathan came around the corner and was so excited. He quickly went from excited to all business. He said "Follow me and I'll show you were to go". This was serious, people. He kept telling me "Just do what I do". He grabbed a fork and watched to make sure I followed suit. We got our tray and headed over to the milk. He said "You can grab some milk, mom." Thankfully I had a bottle of water in the van that I brought with me. I passed on the milk. We got to where I was supposed to pay and the elderly lunch lady was so sweet. She said "Welcome! We're so glad to have you here." Nathan was still watching where I was and what I was doing. He was all business.

We got to our table which filled up quickly. Nathan was struggling to open his milk. I asked if he needed help. He didn't. He wanted to show me that he could do it on his own. Finally he got it open. He was proud. The little girl across the table asked if he could open hers. He couldn't. He was serious as a heart attack when he said "I can't do that for you. You have to learn to do it on your own." Well, not today. I said "Sweetie, I can open it for you? Would that be ok?" I did and it didn't seem to bother Nathan much.

Nathan was on my right and a little boy with dirt on the end of his nose was on my left. Across from him was Nathan's friend, Sean. Sean told me that he didn't know Nathan when he lived in Sioux Falls, but he's very happy that Nathan is his friend now. =) Sitting across from me was a little girl with bangs who'd obviously been cut by someone other than a professional. After opening her milk I said "Did you cut your own bangs?" She said "No, ______ did." I didn't understand who she said it was, but my guess is that _______ might also be a child.

We looked around the room and saw many kids from daycare and previous years of preschool. I got to see Dawson and wave to him. There is a little girl in Nathan's class who seems very fond of him. She's such a little cutie, but also a handful. When she sees Nathan, she likes to hug him and lift him off the ground. It makes me laugh. Nathan saw her and said "There's _____ Mom." I turned to look. She's just so cute! Sean said "Oh goodness, ______ loves me tooOOOooo much." HA! That was some funny stuff!

I made sure to speak to all the kids around me. There was a boy sitting by Sean that seemed to want to say something but maybe was a bit too shy. Finally he said "I ate all of my sloppy joe." I said "You sure did. Good job buddy." His face lit up.

We were done eating and Natey got back into 'serious - learn from me while I teach you' mode. He said "Stand behind me and do what I do". I noticed the child behind me taking that a little too serious. If I moved, he moved. Ha! We got our dishes where they were supposed to go. Nathan hugged me and walked me to the door. He said "Mom, thank you so much for spending the day with me. It was really special." It was so 'melt your heart sweet' that it took my breath away. It was a lot of fun. I hope to do it often!

Looks like Jack has no choice but to be Dracula for Halloween. :)

(PS: Thanks for all your comments yesterday. They are truly appreciated.)

Jack's Neurology Appointment

I have a lot of information to share, but I don't really know how to share it. Please bare with me.

When we got to Dr. Bunch's office yesterday, she said that she saw something on the MRI that she wanted to talk over with the Radiologist. Jack was hungry so I was feeding him some baby food. She came back and we talked about the things that Jack can't do or things that we're concerned about.

(A side note - why does the nurse come in, ask the questions, write down the answer, only for the doctor to do the same thing? Moving on....)

I told Dr. Bunch about the things Jack does or doesn't do with his left side that I thought were odd. She noticed that he could hold something and grab something with his left hand and thought that was good. She noticed that he held himself up well while sitting on the floor. These are all pretty new things for us, so we too are happy about it.

As we spoke, all I could think of was 'when's the right moment to ask her about the MRI?'. Finally I asked. She said "I want to show it to you. Leave your stuff here and come with me." We walked across the hall to look at the images on a computer screen. The whole time my brain is saying "I knew it. I knew that thing wasn't normal." She said that she and the radiologist don't agree on the reading of the MRI. The radiologist says it's normal while Dr. Bunch disagrees. She said she'd agree with him if Jack's left side functioned in the same manner that his right did.

She showed me a part of his right brain that was damaged - "A chunk missing" as she put it. She asked if I was ever sick or if I ever had spotting while I was pregnant." It seems to me that I once had a cold when I was pregnant. She said that the damage was done while he was in utero. Jack also has more fluid on his brain than he should. I'm sure she must have told me why this was, but for the life of me I can't remember. Anyway, she's unsure how much he'll be affected, but she feels that he'll be able to compensate for the loss. She wants to see him back in 3 months to see what kind of progress he makes.

She said that occupational therapy is going to be the key in his therapy. Jack might never get any better than he his now and will then have to compensate for what is lost. I didn't think to ask if it was going to affect his speech or the way he walks. Don't ask why - I don't have the answer. Don't take this the wrong way, but I was just so happy to have an answer and to know that I wasn't crazy that I didn't have the questions until later. I've put a call into the nurse to see if I can get some of the answers.

Anyway, there are the results. It's not really what I expected. I was a bit angry that I was told that the test was negative, but I understand that it's just two different opinions. I tend to believe Dr. Bunch. Her opinion makes much more sense to me than the radiologist's.

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Random photos - growing up

When I posted the picture of my sister and I on her birthday, Wendy said "OMG, Kerrie ... that toddler photo of you looks exactly like you. I swear, if someone showed me that picture out of the blue, I would know it was you." (As a side note, if you aren't going to Wendy's blog every day, you don't know what you're missing. Go. Visit. Say hello. You'll enjoy her.)
After I read her comment I thought it would be fun to get some random pictures and post them. Fun!

Crazy working weekend

I've been working weekends for the past 5 years. Sure, I can have the weekend off, but I have to do so by taking vacation. That will be a plus when I start at the salon - no weekends. I might work a Saturday morning here and there, but I'll be able to decide that when the time comes.

My normal schedule is to work from 8am-4pm Thursday thru Sunday. Then on Sunday I have 8 hours off and then work midnight-8. It sounds much worse than it is. I was working Tuesday night, technically Wednesday morning from midnight-8, then my regular Thursday-Sunday. This is much better.

This weekend is a crazy schedule. One of my co-workers needed me to switch a shift with him. He wanted to work my day shift on Sunday and he asked that I work his midnight to 8 Sunday morning. Confused yet? Let me make this simple.

Saturday - work 8-4, have 8 hours off, go back to work at midnight and work until 8am (Sunday), have 8 hours off and work 4-midnight. Then I have to get Nathan up for school on Monday, get him, Jack and myself ready. I'll take Nathan to school and then take Jack to the doctor. Clear as mud?

Eeeek! I'll for sure look like that crazy cat in the end. I'm sure of it.

This and that - take 4

I bought a new magazine last night. I saw it on the rack and HAD to have it. You should buy it too if you have kids. There are GREAT recipes in there. If you live in my town, you can get it at the grocery store. If you want to see more about it, click here. I bought the Harvest Baking issue. I can't wait to make some of the stuff with the kids.

Jack update:
He sees the Neurologist on Monday. I'm not sure what the deal is with his left arm. It's just strange. I'm teaching him to sign, starting with more. He has some control of his right hand/arm, but his left hand does nothing when he tries to sign. It's very strange I tell you. He still either pins his left arm when he's in his high chair or it gets pinned and he could care less. Now, if it happens to his right arm then he gets VERY angry and wants it free - NOW. It's just very odd. I hope that Dr. Bunch can shed some light on the situation. Other than that he's doing well. He's trying to crawl. He's getting teeth like crazy - poor kid. He's got 2 of the 5 that are coming in on the top. The sprouted a second one on the bottom as well.

Yesterday I spoke to the owner of the salon that I'll be working at. My start date looks like the first week of November. I guess she's having my vanity custom built. That makes me laugh because I had a dream the other night that I was working there and she told me that I was at the wrong vanity. When she pointed to the one I was to work at - I was horrified. It was - large and in a semicircle. Pretty funny now, but in my dream I was horrified. I'm looking forward to spending more time with my family, but stepping down to part time dispatcher makes me sad. I love my job. Normally when you find a new job it's because you don't like the one you're currently at. That's just not the case for me - and it kinda sucks.

Nathan's attitude is going to drive me right up the wall. His mouth gets him in quite a bit of trouble. I had no idea that sending him to kindergarten would mean that he knows every single thing under the sun. Lucky me! I though that happened when he was a teenager. Not so much. DO NOT tell me that it will get worse. Let me live in Kerrie Land; allow me to think that this will all go away. I guess the good thing is that he likes school, however, it doesn't out weigh his lacking respect for his parents. Arg!

Have you ever heard of Kerrie Land? It's a wonderful, magical place. It's where I live. It's a place where children don't get hurt and people are kind to one another. It's the place in my brain that won't allow me to think that there is bad in this world. I'm often reminded that the reality of Kerrie Land doesn't exist, but I feel safe there. Think of it as your happy place if you will.

Because you've asked - yes, yesterdays picture were of my feet and my socks. I really like toe socks. I don't wear them all the time, but I enjoy them.

Peachy Pie is doing well. She often wants to know where Brother is. I'll say "Where is brother?" She says "He at gool". She isn't always awake before he goes to school. Sometimes she seems to miss him, other times she seems to be taking roll. She enjoys going to pick him up though.

Jack has therapy on Monday and Wednesday mornings. Claire thinks this is great. They bring all kinds of toys that they usually let her play with too. She identifies the colors she knows in Spanish. No wonder Natey was concerned about not knowing Spanish. Ha!

Other than that, things are the same. I don't feel as though I have anything of any real importance to say, so there is your update. Enjoy! :)

Tis the season!

For toe socks!!!

In Remembrance of them

We will not forget

to fly it LOUD

to fly it PROUD

We will not forget!

The Festibal

Saturday, Tracy and I took the kids (minus Caymen and Jack....again) to the Fall Festival. On Friday night I told Nathan that I planned to take him and Claire on Saturday. "I LOVE that fall festibal" he said. Justin and I both tried to help him say festival to no avail. Finally he just cleared it up by saying, "I like saying festibal". Uh-huh - sure you do. ;)

Nathan had a blast doing his thing while Claire enjoyed the cake walk. I actually won a cake on my first try. I chose cupcakes. Then we walked with Tracy to try to help her get one. She finally got one on her own. Then Claire and I walked some more and then Claire won one. We let Nathan pick it out though. I think Claire would have walked in that circle all night long.

Actually, she got pretty tired. She and Tracy were looking at some baskets they had on a silent auction and I thought Peach was going to fall asleep on Tracy's shoulder. We had a good time at That Festibal.

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Busy weekend

We've had a fun, busy weekend. Friday night Tracy and I took the kids (less Caymen and Jack) to the football game. Justin joined us after the sitter got to the house and got settled. This was Claire's first football experience. She enjoyed it! Nathan and Dawson have their favorite player, #17 Lance Tolley. I stalked took pictures of him while the boys cheered for him - entertaining the people around us. The Bulldogs didn't play very well, but we all had fun in spite of the loss.

The boys had the best seat in the house.

The girls said cheer - so Claire did. :)

People - why are you not cheering?

You've heard me talk about Pam, the kids' daycare provider, right? Well here she is!

Has anyone seen this boys mother? ;)

Stalking Watching Lance. (giggle)

This is Pam's daughter, Kassie. She's a cheerleader.

Watching the 'Big Game' - as Nathan calls it.

They had a great time! - More of the weekend to come......