It's been so long since I've blogged that Blogger has completely changed the way everything is done. Maybe I'll start blogging again so I can check it all out. Or maybe I'm just teasing you.
Here's some blog worthy news: Logan lost his first tooth today. :) While eating an ice cream cone. So fitting for him. LOL
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Sunday, October 16, 2011
We have a blog?!
Really? Since when? :)
Yep, it's been almost a year since I posted. Does anyone read this anymore? Doubtful. I thought I had stopped blogging because I was spending more time on Facebook. While that's partly true, I think it's more that I didn't have much to say. I haven't been taking as many pictures and didn't feel like posting about just the positive stuff anymore. I guess better than saying "life sucks" I just didn't say anything at all. And it's not really that we have it that bad...many more people have much larger problems...but you know me, I always say "good" when you ask how I am. If I do say something different it's usually about something temporary like a headache. I never share if something is really bothering me. So really the last year has been ok but full of the ups and downs of life....
Connor was in a big show at the Longmont Theatre Company in December - he was Randy (the younger brother) in A Christmas Story. I think I posted about it a bit when he first got the part. He LOVED it, had no qualms about performing in front of 250 people for 9 shows. But it was a huge time commitment for both of us and I was really glad when it was over. Spending so much continuous time with him and with more adults than kids around really highlighted a lot of the issues I'd been explaining away for years...you know...since he was born. :) So in January we began facing all the problems head on. We started paying for extra tutoring in reading because he was just barely keeping his head above water and not at all enjoying it. We met with his teacher, the principal, the school psychologist and the school counselor. We saw his pediatrician. His teacher filled out paperwork and so did we. All of that took time and, eventually, we all decided (or in our case, admitted) that he has ADHD. Even typing that still breaks my heart. Those letters have such a stigma to them and the last thing I want is for my outgoing, compassionate, happy little boy to be thought of as 4 little letters with a lot of crazy meaning behind them.
But he started a medication to treat it. And guess what? A very different kid emerged. One that likes to read. And write. And draw. And sit still for longer than a minute. It hasn't been without its trials, but medicine was definitely a step in the right direction.
The summer was good. Second grade started and he is making great strides in his schoolwork. Not long ago he told us his eyes water a lot when he's reading and that he thought he needed glasses. We took him to be tested and, sure enough, he is slightly farsighted and could use glasses especially when reading. He picked out the coolest glasses in the place, of course, and loves wearing them. Continuing down that "watery eye" path we also took him to an allergist. Turns out he's allergic to most trees, grasses, cat and dogs. Yep, we have a dog. And trees. And grass. :) They're not bad enough to need allergy shots at this point but we'll keep an eye on the allergy index and use over the counter allergy meds as needed.
And his schoolwork has improved so much that we agreed he could audition for an acting company. He had a great audition and the director thought he was so mature (!) that she placed him in a higher age group!
Now we're dealing with some issues when the medication wears off at night - lots of negotiating, complaining and low self esteem. After dark a switch goes off and he suddenly thinks no one loves him. It's so odd given his usual bubbly, brave and cooperative outlook but is apparently a common side effect. Sigh...
Logan is good :) He started kindergarten after a long debate about whether he would be ready or not. His late July birthday had us wondering for a year or so whether we were making the right decision sending him at 5 instead of "red shirting" him and waiting until 6. Academically I still think we made the right decision - he's reading, writing and doing math much more and better than Connor was at this age. But he has a super sensitive heart and cries easily. He gets tired in full day kindergarten but we're working through it...
Ever since my company cut 15% of our pay and then another 7% of that as cost saving measures for the company a couple years ago, our finances have been totally screwed up. My pay has been restored but we're still trying to recover from the years of less money. Stressful. Jeremy took a second job delivering newspapers so he was sleeping less which made me not sleep as well. Lack of sleep plus money worries do not exactly equal loving romance :) We're working through that too.
So, to sum it all up, I've pretty much felt like a horrible mother and wife for the last year.
Oh I forgot how our dog recently had to have super expensive emergency surgery on a big gash on her neck. She's been wearing the "cone of shame" for a couple weeks now. I can handle blood on my kids but for some reason on Bailey my stomach turns just thinking about it. She has to sleep in her kennel at night because otherwise she spends hours shaking the cone and doing whatever she can think of to get it off. I miss her being curled up next to me on the bed. And now that we know Connor is allergic to dogs we're supposed to be keeping her as far away from his bedroom as possible. :( And put hard flooring in his room, which will cost money of course. It's a vicious cycle.
Well, this post has just been all sunshine and unicorns, huh? That's life, I guess. You win some and you lose some. Here's hoping we win a few more soon...
P.S. I'm sure I'll regret posting this in the morning, so read fast :)
Yep, it's been almost a year since I posted. Does anyone read this anymore? Doubtful. I thought I had stopped blogging because I was spending more time on Facebook. While that's partly true, I think it's more that I didn't have much to say. I haven't been taking as many pictures and didn't feel like posting about just the positive stuff anymore. I guess better than saying "life sucks" I just didn't say anything at all. And it's not really that we have it that bad...many more people have much larger problems...but you know me, I always say "good" when you ask how I am. If I do say something different it's usually about something temporary like a headache. I never share if something is really bothering me. So really the last year has been ok but full of the ups and downs of life....
Connor was in a big show at the Longmont Theatre Company in December - he was Randy (the younger brother) in A Christmas Story. I think I posted about it a bit when he first got the part. He LOVED it, had no qualms about performing in front of 250 people for 9 shows. But it was a huge time commitment for both of us and I was really glad when it was over. Spending so much continuous time with him and with more adults than kids around really highlighted a lot of the issues I'd been explaining away for years...you know...since he was born. :) So in January we began facing all the problems head on. We started paying for extra tutoring in reading because he was just barely keeping his head above water and not at all enjoying it. We met with his teacher, the principal, the school psychologist and the school counselor. We saw his pediatrician. His teacher filled out paperwork and so did we. All of that took time and, eventually, we all decided (or in our case, admitted) that he has ADHD. Even typing that still breaks my heart. Those letters have such a stigma to them and the last thing I want is for my outgoing, compassionate, happy little boy to be thought of as 4 little letters with a lot of crazy meaning behind them.
But he started a medication to treat it. And guess what? A very different kid emerged. One that likes to read. And write. And draw. And sit still for longer than a minute. It hasn't been without its trials, but medicine was definitely a step in the right direction.
The summer was good. Second grade started and he is making great strides in his schoolwork. Not long ago he told us his eyes water a lot when he's reading and that he thought he needed glasses. We took him to be tested and, sure enough, he is slightly farsighted and could use glasses especially when reading. He picked out the coolest glasses in the place, of course, and loves wearing them. Continuing down that "watery eye" path we also took him to an allergist. Turns out he's allergic to most trees, grasses, cat and dogs. Yep, we have a dog. And trees. And grass. :) They're not bad enough to need allergy shots at this point but we'll keep an eye on the allergy index and use over the counter allergy meds as needed.
And his schoolwork has improved so much that we agreed he could audition for an acting company. He had a great audition and the director thought he was so mature (!) that she placed him in a higher age group!
Now we're dealing with some issues when the medication wears off at night - lots of negotiating, complaining and low self esteem. After dark a switch goes off and he suddenly thinks no one loves him. It's so odd given his usual bubbly, brave and cooperative outlook but is apparently a common side effect. Sigh...
Logan is good :) He started kindergarten after a long debate about whether he would be ready or not. His late July birthday had us wondering for a year or so whether we were making the right decision sending him at 5 instead of "red shirting" him and waiting until 6. Academically I still think we made the right decision - he's reading, writing and doing math much more and better than Connor was at this age. But he has a super sensitive heart and cries easily. He gets tired in full day kindergarten but we're working through it...
Ever since my company cut 15% of our pay and then another 7% of that as cost saving measures for the company a couple years ago, our finances have been totally screwed up. My pay has been restored but we're still trying to recover from the years of less money. Stressful. Jeremy took a second job delivering newspapers so he was sleeping less which made me not sleep as well. Lack of sleep plus money worries do not exactly equal loving romance :) We're working through that too.
So, to sum it all up, I've pretty much felt like a horrible mother and wife for the last year.
Oh I forgot how our dog recently had to have super expensive emergency surgery on a big gash on her neck. She's been wearing the "cone of shame" for a couple weeks now. I can handle blood on my kids but for some reason on Bailey my stomach turns just thinking about it. She has to sleep in her kennel at night because otherwise she spends hours shaking the cone and doing whatever she can think of to get it off. I miss her being curled up next to me on the bed. And now that we know Connor is allergic to dogs we're supposed to be keeping her as far away from his bedroom as possible. :( And put hard flooring in his room, which will cost money of course. It's a vicious cycle.
Well, this post has just been all sunshine and unicorns, huh? That's life, I guess. You win some and you lose some. Here's hoping we win a few more soon...
P.S. I'm sure I'll regret posting this in the morning, so read fast :)
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Quick fall recap :)
Connor is in Cub Scouts and their big fundraiser is selling popcorn. Thanks to all who ordered! Connor sold the most of his entire pack!! As you probably already know, Connor is super outgoing so selling door to door is easy for him. He's not afraid to talk to anyone! He quickly learned that if someone looked like they were going to say no or said they didn't like popcorn that there were alternatives like sending popcorn to the troops or ordering pretzels. :) He won a marshmallow crossbow for his efforts and is supposed to attend a party at some point too.
Our camera gets used the most during fall because I LOVE leaf pictures :) Don't be surprised if you see one as our Christmas card pic!
I was done taking pictures but then Connor posed a few times in the tree telling me exactly when to take the photos and from what angle. He told me these are the shots he wants to keep and that Logan can't have them :)
The most important decision during October is, of course, what to wear for Halloween! Logan flipped through a costume catalog in September and decided that he wanted to be "a box man" AKA the UPS man. He was totally set on it so we went with it! Connor wanted to be a secret agent. He drew many pictures of how the costume should look - all black clothes with a hat and mustache with a white belt, a briefcase and special glasses. We did the best we could :)
Our camera gets used the most during fall because I LOVE leaf pictures :) Don't be surprised if you see one as our Christmas card pic!
I was done taking pictures but then Connor posed a few times in the tree telling me exactly when to take the photos and from what angle. He told me these are the shots he wants to keep and that Logan can't have them :)
The most important decision during October is, of course, what to wear for Halloween! Logan flipped through a costume catalog in September and decided that he wanted to be "a box man" AKA the UPS man. He was totally set on it so we went with it! Connor wanted to be a secret agent. He drew many pictures of how the costume should look - all black clothes with a hat and mustache with a white belt, a briefcase and special glasses. We did the best we could :)
Saturday, November 06, 2010
Our crazy lives
Connor started first grade this year and we had heard that this transition could be difficult - more time spent learning and doing it all day 5 days a week. And it was true, of course, the first few weeks Connor came home and zoned out. He would just sit and stare at the wall he was so tired! So we didn't want him to be involved in too many activities outside school so his body and brain could adjust to this new level of work. We signed up for Cub Scouts which only meets 2, maybe 3, times a month so it seemed doable. He adjusted to the demands of first grade and in October we decided to add a gymnastics class - Trampoline and Tumbling - once a week. Connor is a really active, physical guy so it was a good way to get out some of the extra wiggles. Great.
Well then somehow we heard that the Longmont Theatre Company was going to put on A Christmas Story and that they needed boys to audition for several roles. Connor has always loved acting and, since it's a real community theater and he is just 6 years old, we figured the audition would be a good experience for him but that he'd never actually get a part. We had to put together a resume (did I mention he's 6?! ha!) and head shot. Then we went in for the audition. There were LOTS of kids and parents there. Connor was paired up with a second grade girl, Zoe, and given a short scene to read with her. He and I read through it once together, then he practiced with Zoe twice and it was time to read for the director. Once again, did I mentioned he's SIX?? :) He's right at first grade level for reading, still sounding lots of words out, etc so he's not exactly a fast, proficient reader and reading through something just 3 times before performing it seems crazy! He and Zoe had their turn with the director and unfortunately were far enough away from the parents that we couldn't hear what they were saying. I did see Connor point to Zoe's script when it appeared she lost her place. Funny! So they finished reading for him and talked to him for just a minute and we were done, sent on our way and they said they'd call to let us know if any callbacks were necessary - don't call us, we'll call you. :)
We went on about our lives. The very next day, though, the phone rang. You guessed it, he got a part!!! He was cast as Randy, Ralphie's little brother! In case you don't remember the movie (shame on you!), Randy is the little boy who doesn't want to eat anything - his mom struggles to get him to eat by calling him her little piggy and he oinks. Then every time they walk to school Randy is so bundled up that he can't put his arms down and always has to "go wee-wee." He likes to hide behind the couch and under the sink.
Anyway, we were shocked! Performing in this show would mean rehearsals FOUR times a week - a total of about 13 HOURS EACH WEEK! And NINE performances! NINE! I'm not sure what we were thinking, aside from the fact that Connor was SUPER excited and that he loves acting, but we agreed to it.
So our lives have been nothing short of crazy since then - school, rehearsals, Cub Scouts, gymnastics, oh and some eating, sleeping and playing in there somewhere. Did I mention Logan is playing soccer which means practice once a week and a game every Saturday? And that he changed preschools in October? And that I'm co-room mom for Connor's class so I helped plan the Halloween party and collect money to pay for the 2 class parties and teacher gifts? And that I still work "part-time"?? ACK! ;)
Crazy, yes, but also lots of fun :)
Would you like to see Connor perform in A Christmas Story in December? Opening night is his 7th birthday! You can order tickets online here.
Well then somehow we heard that the Longmont Theatre Company was going to put on A Christmas Story and that they needed boys to audition for several roles. Connor has always loved acting and, since it's a real community theater and he is just 6 years old, we figured the audition would be a good experience for him but that he'd never actually get a part. We had to put together a resume (did I mention he's 6?! ha!) and head shot. Then we went in for the audition. There were LOTS of kids and parents there. Connor was paired up with a second grade girl, Zoe, and given a short scene to read with her. He and I read through it once together, then he practiced with Zoe twice and it was time to read for the director. Once again, did I mentioned he's SIX?? :) He's right at first grade level for reading, still sounding lots of words out, etc so he's not exactly a fast, proficient reader and reading through something just 3 times before performing it seems crazy! He and Zoe had their turn with the director and unfortunately were far enough away from the parents that we couldn't hear what they were saying. I did see Connor point to Zoe's script when it appeared she lost her place. Funny! So they finished reading for him and talked to him for just a minute and we were done, sent on our way and they said they'd call to let us know if any callbacks were necessary - don't call us, we'll call you. :)
We went on about our lives. The very next day, though, the phone rang. You guessed it, he got a part!!! He was cast as Randy, Ralphie's little brother! In case you don't remember the movie (shame on you!), Randy is the little boy who doesn't want to eat anything - his mom struggles to get him to eat by calling him her little piggy and he oinks. Then every time they walk to school Randy is so bundled up that he can't put his arms down and always has to "go wee-wee." He likes to hide behind the couch and under the sink.
Anyway, we were shocked! Performing in this show would mean rehearsals FOUR times a week - a total of about 13 HOURS EACH WEEK! And NINE performances! NINE! I'm not sure what we were thinking, aside from the fact that Connor was SUPER excited and that he loves acting, but we agreed to it.
So our lives have been nothing short of crazy since then - school, rehearsals, Cub Scouts, gymnastics, oh and some eating, sleeping and playing in there somewhere. Did I mention Logan is playing soccer which means practice once a week and a game every Saturday? And that he changed preschools in October? And that I'm co-room mom for Connor's class so I helped plan the Halloween party and collect money to pay for the 2 class parties and teacher gifts? And that I still work "part-time"?? ACK! ;)
Crazy, yes, but also lots of fun :)
Would you like to see Connor perform in A Christmas Story in December? Opening night is his 7th birthday! You can order tickets online here.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Facebook killed my blog posting mojo
Yep, Facebook killed my desire to compose blog entries. It's just so much faster to post a picture and a one line explanation of what I'm doing at any moment of the day.
So, if you're not already Facebook friends with me, WHY NOT? Everyone is doing it. You know you want to. :) Here's my profile. Joining is free. Yes, I should update the blog. It's a goal but it's far down on the list. So while you're waiting for me to find some blogging mojo, you can find me on Facebook. :) Just remember that if you choose not to be my Facebook friend you're missing little gems like this:
Nikki Marchman Dean Logan: Mommy, you're a queen! Me: Aww, thanks Logan. Logan: And I'm King Soopers! :)
August 19 at 8:59am
See? Pure awesomeness that you can't live without. :)
So, if you're not already Facebook friends with me, WHY NOT? Everyone is doing it. You know you want to. :) Here's my profile. Joining is free. Yes, I should update the blog. It's a goal but it's far down on the list. So while you're waiting for me to find some blogging mojo, you can find me on Facebook. :) Just remember that if you choose not to be my Facebook friend you're missing little gems like this:
Nikki Marchman Dean Logan: Mommy, you're a queen! Me: Aww, thanks Logan. Logan: And I'm King Soopers! :)
August 19 at 8:59am
See? Pure awesomeness that you can't live without. :)
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Logan
Love love love this picture of Logan I took with my phone today...
Connor has only 7 1/2 days left of kindergarten. :( and :) all at once...guess that would be :S haha
Connor has only 7 1/2 days left of kindergarten. :( and :) all at once...guess that would be :S haha
Sunday, May 09, 2010
Well Hello :)
Just sharing some pictures...don't expect too many details! :) LOL
Before the Blue Mountain Talent Show
Easter Eggs!
During Spring Break Jeremy took Connor to a Nuggets game. He LOVED it!
Also during Spring Break we went to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Here are the boys eating lunch :)
At this very moment I can't remember where this picture was taken...haha
We went to an Earth Day event at NCAR in Boulder. Even though it was super cloudy the views are always amazing!
Logan's class celebrated his summer birthday early and he insisted I take a picture of his birthday crown.
Jeremy, the boys, Grandpa Mark and the Gomez boys went to a Rockies game in April. Fun!
Connor starred as Noodler, the pirate whose hands are fixed on backwards, in Peter Pan. He was an awesome pirate and did a fantastic job! Here he is with his friend Noah and then showing his "backwards" hands :)
Snow in late April...
Connor's teacher, Mrs. Rabenhorst, opening the container Connor and his partner Zach put together for the egg drop. Their egg didn't break!
Connor reading his report on Tarantulas
Kindergarten Field Trip to Sunflower Farms (that's corn falling out of his shoes)
Mother's Day at Lake McIntosh here in Longmont
Before the Blue Mountain Talent Show
Easter Eggs!
During Spring Break Jeremy took Connor to a Nuggets game. He LOVED it!
Also during Spring Break we went to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Here are the boys eating lunch :)
At this very moment I can't remember where this picture was taken...haha
We went to an Earth Day event at NCAR in Boulder. Even though it was super cloudy the views are always amazing!
Logan's class celebrated his summer birthday early and he insisted I take a picture of his birthday crown.
Jeremy, the boys, Grandpa Mark and the Gomez boys went to a Rockies game in April. Fun!
Connor starred as Noodler, the pirate whose hands are fixed on backwards, in Peter Pan. He was an awesome pirate and did a fantastic job! Here he is with his friend Noah and then showing his "backwards" hands :)
Snow in late April...
Connor's teacher, Mrs. Rabenhorst, opening the container Connor and his partner Zach put together for the egg drop. Their egg didn't break!
Connor reading his report on Tarantulas
Kindergarten Field Trip to Sunflower Farms (that's corn falling out of his shoes)
Mother's Day at Lake McIntosh here in Longmont
Saturday, January 16, 2010
YouTube
We have a YouTube channel :) You should check it out because we've uploaded a few videos lately - one from New Year's, a couple of Logan singing and one of the boys at Rope World! Click on the link to view them!
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Pre-Christmas Activities
Think I can finish posting about 2009 while it is still 2009? Doubtful, you're right :)
Way back on the 12th we went to Santa's Workshop which is conveniently located right here in Longmont one night each December :) On our walk to the building the boys made snow angels!
Logan was very comfortable talking to Santa. He could have stayed there all night! He asked for a baby doll :)
Connor politely asked if he could see if Santa's beard was real. Santa agreed and Connor gently pulled. The crowd laughed!
Santa's workshop included lots of stations for the kids to make small crafts like a beaded candy cane or reindeer ears to wear on their heads or a small bag of oats and glitter to sprinkle in our yard for the reindeer on Christmas Eve. One of the stations allowed the kids to write their wish lists on postcards for Santa. Here is Connor's!
The next night was Longmont's Holiday Parade and fireworks show. Here are the boys waiting for the floats to arrive on Main Street.
Jeremy and I decided to take a picture of ourselves. After taking the one on the left we looked at the preview on the camera and thought our eyes looked squinty (yeah, I'm making it a word!) so we decided to take another with our eyes wide open :) It makes me laugh just thinking about it!
Logan had a nice little Christmas program with his 3 year old preschool class. The Christmas story lasted all of 30 seconds but Logan was the star! No, not baby Jesus, the real star - the North Star :) He had a construction paper star hat and everything. haha! They also sang happy birthday to Jesus and Feliz Navidad. Here he is with his great teacher, Mrs. Henry!
Connor's school had pajama day on the last day before Christmas break. Here he is in Spiderman gear from head to toe :) Yes, the pants are too short but at least they're not falling down! Do you know how hard it is to find pjs with real drawstrings in boys sizes? Yes, I know I could shorten the elastic myself but I don't for some reason. I bought him a larger size for Christmas and he has to hold them up when he walks! :)
Fiddle the Elf was a huge hit in our home this year. He spends eleven months of the year at the North Pole so we were all sad to see him gone on Christmas morning. Here are a couple of places he chose to hang out after his nightly trips to report back to Santa...
As soon as we decorated for Christmas he found the nearest Santa to hug
He also liked the Advent Calendar
Way back on the 12th we went to Santa's Workshop which is conveniently located right here in Longmont one night each December :) On our walk to the building the boys made snow angels!
Logan was very comfortable talking to Santa. He could have stayed there all night! He asked for a baby doll :)
Connor politely asked if he could see if Santa's beard was real. Santa agreed and Connor gently pulled. The crowd laughed!
Santa's workshop included lots of stations for the kids to make small crafts like a beaded candy cane or reindeer ears to wear on their heads or a small bag of oats and glitter to sprinkle in our yard for the reindeer on Christmas Eve. One of the stations allowed the kids to write their wish lists on postcards for Santa. Here is Connor's!
The next night was Longmont's Holiday Parade and fireworks show. Here are the boys waiting for the floats to arrive on Main Street.
Jeremy and I decided to take a picture of ourselves. After taking the one on the left we looked at the preview on the camera and thought our eyes looked squinty (yeah, I'm making it a word!) so we decided to take another with our eyes wide open :) It makes me laugh just thinking about it!
Logan had a nice little Christmas program with his 3 year old preschool class. The Christmas story lasted all of 30 seconds but Logan was the star! No, not baby Jesus, the real star - the North Star :) He had a construction paper star hat and everything. haha! They also sang happy birthday to Jesus and Feliz Navidad. Here he is with his great teacher, Mrs. Henry!
Connor's school had pajama day on the last day before Christmas break. Here he is in Spiderman gear from head to toe :) Yes, the pants are too short but at least they're not falling down! Do you know how hard it is to find pjs with real drawstrings in boys sizes? Yes, I know I could shorten the elastic myself but I don't for some reason. I bought him a larger size for Christmas and he has to hold them up when he walks! :)
Fiddle the Elf was a huge hit in our home this year. He spends eleven months of the year at the North Pole so we were all sad to see him gone on Christmas morning. Here are a couple of places he chose to hang out after his nightly trips to report back to Santa...
As soon as we decorated for Christmas he found the nearest Santa to hug
He also liked the Advent Calendar
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