First Snow 2011...

Well, as predicted I have discovered the first bad thing about life here in Carmel...winter!  I knew it was coming and had been told by many people to "wait until winter", and they were right, it stinks!  I no longer think there is any possibility I will want to stay here forever.  Despite the nice people and how much I like our lives here, I just can't see putting up with winter every year.  I don't know why anyone would choose to live where it gets cold and snows as much as it does here (and there are places far worse than this).

Today, we got our first snow (except for flurries a little while back).  It is going to take some getting used not having everything close down when it snows.  Instead, despite snow coming down pretty hard and the roads pretty slick I had to drag 3 little boys across town for Colin's soccer game.  Colin did well for the record.  What didn't go well, was trying to get all 3 kids back in the car.  Colin and Evan were fascinated with the snow and kept picking it up and throwing it at each other.  Than Evan cried because his hands were cold.  Logan was crying because he didn't like the icy snow pelting him in the face.  And, I wasn't too happy myself trying to pull out of a parking spot with no visibility.

We made it home safely, but I can't believe it is only the very beginning of winter here and I know it gets a whole lot colder.  Luckily, Dennis is on the same page with me.  He is no bigger a fan of winter than I am.  His drive home was no fun and being in the Camry was not very helpful, he was sliding around a lot.

I am sure all the Indy locals are laughing at us for being "rookie's", and maybe one day we will get used to it, but I'm not holding my breath...I am already dreaming of summer.  Bring on the fruity drinks sitting by the pool, I'll take that every day!

Thanksgiving In Virginia...

The boys were super excited for their first plane trip.  They were actually pretty fascinated with the airport, as well as the plane.  Luckily, the airport was pretty empty when we got there, so we had plenty of time to eat dinner before we boarded.  Colin and Evan did wonderful sitting next to each other and watching a movie on the iPad the whole time.  Logan was a bit more restless.  He didn't cry much, but he is definitely not at an age where he wants to sit on our laps for for that long either.  So, it was exhausting keeping him from playing with the tray in front of us and trying to keep him distracted.  He is the least interested in TV of all of our boys, so we couldn't use that to distract him. But, we survived and were happy to see Grandpa Pritchard when we landed.  He picked us up in my sister, Julie's, minivan (who let us borrow it for the weekend).

Thanksgiving was busy as usual, but great to see both sides of the family too.  We are very lucky to have most of our family all live near each other, so that we get to see so many people all at once.  First was lunch at Grandma and Robert's house, which was nice as always.  The boys were all pretty good and they enjoyed seeing cousin Miranda. 

Then we went to my sister Holly's house for a dinner.  Of course with all the kids on my side of the family, dinner was definitely louder, but fun too.  It's every man for your self with my family, because there is so many people.  The boys always have fun with their cousins.  It was great to see my nephew Jacob, who I had not seen yet (he is my sister Carol's baby).  But, the most exciting part was the news we got during dinner.  We were picking names out of cup of who we would have for our gift exchange for Christmas and Holly picked out a name that she didn't understand.  She said, "I'm confused, what does this mean?".  Then she read the paper and it said, "Baby Pritchard".  Well, it took us all a second to realize the only Pritchard left is my brother.  So, then my brother announced that him and his wife, Fanchon, are expecting their first baby in June!  

Friday we were supposed to watch Colin run in his first race, but he got sick twice during the night so we made him stay home from the race to rest.  He woke up fine though, so I am now thinking he might just of had an upset stomach from all the junk he ate all day.  The rest of us went ahead to Reston Town Center and watched Miranda race (or attempt to that is :-)) and then we met up with my best friend Nikki and her children and watched the parade and had lunch.  It was great to catch up with Nikki and see her adorable kids.

Friday night was a surprise 40th birthday for Carol.  Grandma and Robert were nice to watch all the kids so we could go.  The boys said they had a great time eating lots of mac and cheese and popcorn and watching a movie.  Dennis and I enjoyed the party where Dennis won some money at poker and I ruled the pool table (well, if loosing both times and taking an hour to play one game counts as ruling that is).  I was happy to get to see so much of my extended family while we were in town.

Saturday some of my family came over to Grammy and Grandpa Pritchard's to watch the Virginia Tech game and just hang out before our trip back home.  The plane trip back was great for Colin and Evan again.  Logan was extra restless though, since this flight was later and he was ready for bed.  He was all over the place and I think driving would have been easier.  I tried to buckle him in to the empty seat next to me, but he could undo the seat belt very easily, so it didn't work.  He spent a lot of the trip flirting with the other passengers and walking back and forth across the isle from Dennis and I.  We did have the 2 best stewards I have ever come across and they brought cookies over for all the boys, which entertained Logan for 5 minutes.  We learned our lesson and will get an earlier flight next time!  Anyway, we survived the trip and are happy to be home after a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend.

Thanksgiving Celebrations and Colin's First Singing Performance.

Today was a busy day...

9:15-10:00a- Evan's last swim lesson of this session.  Dennis took him and said he did great swimming a little on his front and back by himself.

11:15am- Logan's class Thanksgiving feast.  Logan and Evan don't go to school on Tuesday's but Dennis and I took them to their feasts today so they could enjoy lunch with their class.  Once again it was cute to see Logan sitting so nicely with all his little friends.

12:15pm-Evan's class Thanksgiving feast.  When Evan got to class 4 different kids ran to him and gave him hugs.  His teacher said that all the kids were talking about the fact that Evan was coming to school for lunch.  I guess he is pretty popular in his class.

1:00pm-Colin's 1st grade Thanksgiving performance.  The first graders were all dressed up as pilgrims, Indians and turkeys and sang a bunch of songs.  Colin did a great job singing and doing all the hand movements.  It was very cute to see.

2:00ish-naps for the little ones

5:30pm-Colin's soccer game.  They pulled off a win during a close game and Colin was able to score a point.  He got hit in the face at one point and cried some but then was ready to go back out.  When Dennis returned to his seat another Mom commented to Dennis that she loves watching Colin play because he is so in to it.

While Dennis was at the game I was busy packing for our trip to Virginia, feeding the little ones, and giving them baths.  We are looking forward to our trip to VA after school tomorrow.

Bragging About My Boy Evan...

I wasn't planning on taking time to write today, because the kids were all in school and there wasn't much to talk about.   However, when Dennis got home from Evan's teacher conference, I knew I had to take time to write about my boy.

An outside tester came in to Evan's school to administer some sort of test called the Bracken School Readiness Assessment.  Anyway, Evan scored in the 96% compared to other kids his age and he is considered "Advanced" and was actually only a couple points away (within error range) from "Very Advanced".  His teacher said he is in the top two in his class across the board.  I knew he was smart, but had no idea he was that ahead of his classmates.

She raved about his artwork and how detailed it is, she said he is just miles ahead of all his classmates.  He spends a lot of time trying to make it perfect and is always asking what they are going to do for art.  He is also very very smart and way above his classmates.  In fact he is only one of two kids who can write his last name, and the other kid only has 2 letters in his last name!

What makes me even more proud then the academics is the fact that she said he is so well behaved.  He always listens to his teachers, follows rules, plays nicely with other kids, and never ever is aggressive.  He is always a great helper for his teachers.  Basically, Dennis said that his teacher painted him to be the model student.  We are beyond proud of him.  I wish I could say he is always this perfect for us, but I would gladly have him not listen to me a couple times if it means being the perfect student for his teachers.

And to show that he has some spunk too, here are some pics from Dennis and the boys jam session this evening, playing guitar hero...

Another Christmas Season Begins...

First of all, an update on Logan.  Our neighbor listened to his heart and said that Logan definitely has a flow murmur.  However, he didn't think that it was one to worry about.  He said of course the pediatric cardiologist will be able to confirm this, as he would be more experienced with what a young child's heart sounds like.  Supposedly, 90% are innocent heart murmurs.  So, when the cardiologist see's Logan in December, he will then determine if any further testing is needed.  I was happy to hear that he didn't hear anything that was too alarming, but I was hoping he wouldn't hear anything at all.

The rest of the weekend was spent running a couple errands.  We went to the mall and I actually bought my first two Christmas gifts of the year.  I have been in denial that Christmas was coming soon and haven't really thought about what any of us need or what to get others.   But, this weekend I worked on getting our lists together and starting the whole process.  14 kids this year to buy for this year, in addition to the adults.  I know I should be spending time looking for deals on the internet as I usually do, or looking around for good ideas.  But, with just starting a new job my mind is definitely elsewhere.

Colin had his church retreat this year.  I volunteered and had a great time with the kids.  Colin enjoyed the different crafts that they did.  The retreat was to make Christmas goodie bags for kids in a local shelter.  Colin was not looking forward to the day.  But, once he got there and saw that some of his best buddies from school were there he got really excited.  He ended up having a blast!

After that was football and hanging out at home as a family.  Dennis and I enjoyed having no plans, but the kids sure do get stir crazy when they are home most of the weekend (especially Evan, who has a bump on his head to show for his craziness).  Needless to say we are ready of 7:30 pm tonight so we can put these tired, restless kids to bed.  Thank goodness they ALL like to color, what a blessing that has been for us...

Logan's 20 Month Well Check Up...

Logan had his 20 month well check up yesterday (a couple weeks early).  His stats at the office were....21 lbs (3%), 34.5 in (85%) and 19.5 in for head circumference (not sure percentile, maybe 75% or so).  When I heard his weight I was shocked because he really doesn't look that skinny.  But the more shocking news came when the doctor looked up at me after listening to Logan's heart and said, "has anyone mentioned a heart murmur to you?".  Of course I said no and she told me that he not only has a heart murmur, but that it doesn't sound "benign" to her.  They have scheduled him for a pediatric cardiologist consult.  Unfortunately, the earliest appointment was Dec. 20th, but I did get put on the wait list also.  I was very concerned because of the sudden weight drop too, however, when I got home and weighed him on our scale he was 27 lbs (with clothes on), so I think something was wrong with their scale.

I think the height measurement could also be off, because he was squirming a lot.  Anyway, one of our neighbors is a cardiologist and he said I could bring him by their house Saturday and he would listen to Logan's heart.  So, I am curious to see what he says tomorrow.  The pediatrician we have here is very young and new, so I am half expecting our neighbor to not even hear a murmur.  We will see...

Other than that, the appointment went ok.  Logan started crying as soon as the nurse called his name (I think he remembers when he had to get the antibiotic shots a couple months ago).  He cried up until the nurse left the room.  He then started back up when the doctor came in.  Luckily, he was absolutely quiet (sitting in my lap) when she was listening to his heart, or she may have missed the murmur.  When the doctor left and I went to grab Logan's onesie to start getting him dressed he was giddy.  I think he thought he was going to be able to leave without a shot.  When I didn't put his pants and shoes on, he brought them over to me and was confused when I wouldn't put them on.  As soon as the nurse came back in he started screaming again.  But, then he quieted down when he realized she was giving Evan the flu mist.  When I said, "It's your turn now, Logan."  He sat in Evan's chair thinking he was just getting the mist too and smiled.  Of course the screaming started right back up when I laid him on the table and he got a couple shots.  But, he bounced back pretty quickly.

Funny Evan story....the doctor asked if Logan's dad was tall and skinny and Evan responded, "No, he is tall and fat."  He continued to say this over and over about 5 times.

The rest of the day we enjoyed at home and then I had a nice dinner out with some girls in the neighborhood.

Busy.

Life is getting busy.  I can't even imagine how busy my life will be in 7 or 8 years.  I can almost guarantee that I will not be writing this blog with any regularity at all.  By the time all three boys are tucked in bed I am exhausted.

Tuesday involved swim lessons for Evan (he did real well and is swimming very short distances on his own, floating on his back for 5-10 seconds, and going underwater for about 7 seconds).  Then we got home and made lemon strawberry muffins, cleaned, did some laundry, made lunch, organized my work paperwork while the boys napped, got Colin off the bus, did homework with him, and got all the boys ready for Colin's soccer game.  

Then I took all the boys to Colin's game.  Colin did great on offense and scored a goal.  He did not so great on goalie.  Not that he isn't good at defense, he is, the problem is that he wants to play so badly and gets so into it that next thing you know he is far away from the goalie box and leaving it wide open.  He didn't get that many scores on him, but that was pure luck!  That boy definitely likes to be in the action.

After the game, I got all the boys home, warmed up dinner and served it up, gave all the boys baths, read books and put them all to bed.  I was wiped.  And if your wondering where Dennis was, he was at a work dinner and got home just as I got downstairs and was done.  Gotta love his timing.

Today, I got to treat my first patient.  As much as I love being home with my boys and would love to be with them all day long, I was reminded today that I do actually enjoy my job.  I had forgotten how much I enjoy going to the patients homes and educating them.  It helped that I had a great first patient.  I am sure I will take that back when I get a 500 lb patient with multiple medical issues and a 10 cats in the home....but until then, I will try and remember that I am pretty lucky to be a part of a great profession.

This afternoon was very busy again, I picked up Colin from after school enrichment (he was mad I picked him up "too early" for the record), picked up Evan and Logan, came home with about 15 minutes to feed the boys (thank goodness I thought ahead and had dinner cooked in the crock pot), packed them all back in the car and got to Evans sports sampler with a few minutes to spare.  I then worked on Colin's homework with him while we watched Evan do his sport of the week...track and field.  We got home just in time to change in to PJs and put the boys to bed.  Dennis was at least home in time to help me get them to bed.

Busy, busy, busy....that is our lives right now and I know it will only get worse as the boys get older.  As busy as it is, I am really enjoying every second of it.  I only wish Dennis was home earlier and could share in the after school dinner/activities chaos with me.  I can't complain about him too much, he is sitting folding laundry as I write this, and I am about to eat some candy, lay on the couch and watch TV.