Summertime

The last day of school was last Friday, and it was a bittersweet ending to the year for both boys. They grew attached to their teachers and classmates and were sad to see the year come to an end. But, of course, there was the prospect of all the beauty of summer vacation looking them straight in the eye and they got over the sadness fairly quickly. The weekend started out fantastic - the kids got to spend the night at their aunt and uncle's house. Chris and I took them to see Kung Fu Panda 2. We hung out together and enjoyed the three-day weekend.

Then Chris decided he should mow the grass. A chore that needs doing regularly. The kids love to chase the riding mower around and they followed Chris out to do that. However, the allergens in the air packed an unexpectedly fierce punch and it was a short time later that the kids came inside with swollen, red eyes that were having a terrible and violent allergic reaction. The swollen eyes have taken their time going down. We've shut the house up and turned the air conditioning on in an effort to reduce the allergens indoors. Declan's developed a consistent, low-grade fever and headache that don't seem to be responding to any of our medicines in the house and Logan is still sniffing and wiping his eyes constantly. We're headed to the doctor in a couple hours in the hopes that he'll be able to give us something better for managing this crap.

So hopefully this is not an indication of how our vacation will go. I'm crossing my fingers that our pediatrician will help us get this under control and the kids can run and play and enjoy their various trips this summer without another allergic reaction like this. Apparently it's bad in the area this year - when Chris went to the store to get some Benadryl, he said the shelves for the allergy stuff were nearly cleaned out. So we're not the only ones. But I think I speak for all of us when I say that after a couple days of this junk, we're over it.

Ketchup? Catsup? CATCHUP!

The boys had their regular visit to the dentist last month and passed with flying colors. Our Dr.-Seuss-lookalike-dentist said that Logan will need braces at some point (doy) and Declan's got a couple loose teeth. Like a week after that visit, Declan lost his first tooth and it was a magical experience for all. At the dentist he also got his first dental x-rays. They went through about four of those stupid things you're supposed to bite down on in the right way before Declan understood that he's supposed to just hold it there in his mouth instead of flipping it around and chewing on it. Sometimes we have a listening problem.

Logan's developed quite the fear of spiders recently. He's always been sort of afraid of them, but lately it's been panicky. He came running into the kitchen one night breathing a little heavy like he was panicking and Chris and I asked him what the problem was. He said, "I'm just waiting in here while Declan kills a spider." As Chris and I looked at each other and asked Logan if he was really making his little brother kill a spider for him, we heard a faint thud from down the hallway followed immediately by Declan's voice calling, "It's ok, Logan! I got him!" And Logan happily scampered back to his room to continue whatever he and Declan had been playing. Well...ok, then.

We went bowling as a family a few Saturdays ago and had a blast. I won, but Chris thinks there should be an asterisk beside my win since I made judicious use of the bumpers put on our lane for the kids. And I'm like, "Use it if you got it!" The kids had so.much.fun! They had some sweet 80s music playing and the entire time that Declan was not bowling, he was dancing his pants off to the songs.

Declan got a scratch on his arm a few days ago when he learned about thorns on rosebushes. It was bleeding, and Logan wisely told Declan to lick the blood so it would get back inside his body. Good tip, Logan.

And can I say that I'm so freaking glad April is over because that means the end of April Fools jokes around here? Logan loved April Fool's Day so much that he decided the whole month of April was made for foolery. So I've been listening to things like, "Mommy! There's a spider on your shirt! APRIL FOOLS! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!" allllllll freaking month.

We dyed easter eggs, as requested (or demanded) by the kids. They had such a fun time with it. I remember having such a fun time with it when I was a kid, but now all I can think about is the potential mess. This is one of the ways I know I'm old. Anyway, in classic Logan style, he participated shirtless. I don't know what exactly my kids have against clothes, but I've finally decided on a compromise that they only have to be dressed when we leave the house or we have visitors over. The rest of the time they can underwear it up if they feel the need. And boy, do they feel the need.

Yay Six!

Me: Hey Declan, whatcha doin' today?
Declan: Oh, just turning six.

Since his last birthday, Dex has been to Rhode Island, been to Washington D.C., started Kindergarten, and started martial arts classes. He's grown a ton and looks more like a second or third grader than a Kindergartener. He's still best buddy to Logan and my most consistent shadow. He's incredibly kind and sweet, as long as you're not trying too hard to make him do something he definitely does not want to do.

Declan loves, LOVES, animals. He had a field trip to a big farm yesterday and assured his teacher that everything would be fine since he can communicate with cows. They some nature film in class a few weeks ago and after school Declan was telling me about some kind of bug where the mom leaves the babies after they're born and some of the babies get eaten by other bugs and he started crying at the thought of it. When he grows up he wants to be a "vetatarian"...or maybe a rock star.

With the combination of Declan's birthday and Mother's Day on its way, I of course am spending a lot of time thinking about how lucky I am to be mom to these kids. Yay!