Happy 5th Birthday Logan

It's hard to believe that 5 years ago I was faced with the fear that no mother should ever have to endure.  I was sent in for a sonogram at my routine check up because I demanded something was not right.  Something had not been right for 2 months but the other doctor just passed it off.  Nothing like being left in the room while the sonogram person went to go consult with the other doctor, then being told I had to go to my obgyn.  Driving through tears only to be told when I got there my baby was not doing well in-utero and he needed to be delivered today. Today just shy of 35 weeks.  You see he had not grown, there was no fetal movement but his heart was still strong.  While they pumped me with fluids and consulted with the hospitals in Baltimore.  I finally settled into the ambulance.  Half way there his heart rate dropped and he was in serious distress.  We were detoured to another hospital and once arriving we were told they could not accept us due to no room.  What!  We were then diverted to Hopkins. 

In the mist of all this I must admit I had completely detached my self from the situation.  I was planning my sons funeral and how to get rid of all the stuff I had for him, I didn't want the reminder.  47 minutes after arriving I delivered a 3lb 4oz 15 inches long baby boy naturally. With the stress I went into labor on my own.  His name would be Logan. 

Logan you have taken me to realms I could never have imagined.  Some of them good some of them bad.  It's been frustrating and challenging to say the least.  But through all that you've brought us laughter, a new perspective, joy and love.

I never thought I had the strength to get to where we are but you made me prove to myself otherwise. 

For now I just want to enjoy the snuggles, the hugs and kisses, the I love yous and your excitement and adventure for anything new.   Just know I that I will love you forever and always.

The last two

I never posted the last two Friday Fun Day pictures.  I must say it was fun finding something do to each and every Friday and making sure it was a surprise for the kids.  We ended up at the Land of Little Horses in Gettysburg one Friday.  Both kids loved it!

They were so excited to see where we were.

There were lots of ponies to see.

And goats

They even got to groom the ponies.

These were pretty cool.

We got to go on a pony ride.

Logan doesn't look thrilled but he kept asking to ride a pony for the next week.

They had a blast on the peddle tractors and bikes.

This place was definitely a hit.

The next Friday Logan had to go to the dentist first.

He doesn't look too thrilled to be at the dentist.

For a treat we got to go to McDonald's afterwards before we headed home to pack a bag grab our swimsuits and hop on the road to Rocky Gap State Park.

I had never been but it was quite nice and very picturesque.

The water was a little chily at first but then the sun came out and it warmed up.

We made friends.  And that chair in the water is where I parked myself.

Logan had fun swimming.

They both would walk up the beach and then run with all their might and splash into the water.

I will miss summer but boy am I ready for cooler days.  This summer was just brutal.

Getting into the swing of it

We are finally getting into the swing of being back to school.  Chasing the kids out of bed at 6 AM M-F is a chore in itself.  Both kids are wore out by the time they get to Grandma's at the end of the day.  So then I am on a marathon to pick them up, make lunches, go through all their papers, cook dinner, have them take showers and read a story.  They are going to bed between 6:30 - 7.  If I keep them up any later than that on a school night the next day will not be pleasant at all.  That is one of the downfalls of living in the boonies.  But we manage even if for two weeks I just want to bury my head under the pillow.  Today I wished I had done that.  You see I happen to be driving to work when I saw a spark come from my rear tire.  I pull into the elementary parking lot and look at my rear tire that has some pretty flames going on.  So I grab my water bottle and luckily had enough water in it to put it out.  I went and got more because it was still throwing off some serious heat.  That's how my day started.  Nothing like commuting to work in an old worn out tow truck.  Oh well.

So now with Autumn back in school and Logan having started his all day preschool, I have Fridays all to myself.  What am I going to do?  I must admit it is very strange and quiet.  But boy can I get some stuff done.  The past two Fridays I've gone to a couple of yard sales with not much success, but I've been able to clean, organize, throw things out, make a pile for goodwill and price things for next years yard sale.  I've also started on my china cabinet as well as start on priming my hallway trim and eight doors.  I need to fill in place with caulk and putty before I put another coat of primer on.  I also have the outside at a work in progress stage but I'm totally stuck and don't know what to do.  It just doesn't feel right just like it didn't feel right before I started on it. I'm definitely gonna need some help and ideas.

School has begun

Our wonderful summer has come to an end.  Autumn started back to school yesterday.  She was so excited to get on that bus and be on her way. 

There she goes.  No hug and no kiss for mom. 

Now the big test was this morning.  Logan began preschool down at the local Christian school.  They contract with the school district for bus transportation. I can't drop him off since I start work at 7:30.  He is suppose to ride the regular bus that goes by Grandmom's house and get off at the elementary school with Autumn.  He then needs to transfer a different bus that goes to the Christian school.  A little confusing.  Then throw in the mix that he is hearing impaired and doesn't have the comprehension yet how do you explain this?  You really can't.  So I woke up numerous times last night just dreading today.  I was so nervous this morning my stomach was doing flips.  I made sure I didn't eat anything because I'm sure it wouldn't have stayed down. 

He was so excited to go to his "new school" as he calls it.  He had been going to an early intervention classroom and getting speech therapy.  The therapists will still see him at the new schhol.  He finally gets to ride a yellow schoolbus and not a minivan.

Watching the bus come up the hill. 

When the bus stopped I completly forgot to take a picture.  I was bent on talking to the bus driver to make sure he didn't get lost.  She assured me that he should be fine and that they were actually asking for him yesterday but his school didn't start until today. 

I can't wait to go home and see how the day went and to make sure my son arrived back at Grandmom's safe and sound and didn't get lost.

By far this was one of the hardest days for me.

The Houses of Cape May

When we took our horse drawn carriage ride we got to see a lot of the charming houses of Cape May.  They take you back to a time and place and you can just sit there and imagine the town then.  I could have gladly moved into one of these houses but with price tags starting at $1,000,000 and up, I think I'll have to pass.  The whole town is registered with the Historical Society.  The houses have to be painted every 3-5 years and the colors must be approved.  No two house is alike.

This wasn't a good shot.  But they have these lovely shade trees down most streets.

I love the architecture on this house.

Excuse my grandfather's head.  Look at the details!

This house was in the process of being renovated. Just look at the upper level porch.

This is an old restaurants that the wealthy frequented that you can still eat in today.  They are know for their fried chicken.  The kids dine separately from the adults.  Wish we had gone.

A lot of the houses had names.

This house I thought was just bright, cheery and playful.

Autumn liked this pink house.

This place was awesome!  It was massive.  You can stay in one of their rooms and dine up top for a hefty price.

It went on forever.

Another pink house.

I loved this house down to the fence.

Not a house color you see everyday.

I just loved the view from the water.

I can just imagine myself on one of the decks drinking my morning coffee as the sun comes up.  A girl can dream because I sure as heck couldn't afford to rent one of these babies.  They wanted serious buckaroos.

Vacation Part 2

We kept busy on vacation.  On Wednesday night we all got on a horse drawn carriage for a historical tour of Cape May.

This was our horse "Night".

We didn't have much planned on Thursday plus it was the only day that was really hot and humid.  So we went a couple miles down the road to Cold Spring Village.  It was nice old working village.  We bought some items at the bakery and watched a blacksmith, woodworker and a basket weaver.

Then Thursday night we went over to Granddad's campsite for a camp fire.

They ate almost a whole bag of marshmallows.

Friday we went on a dolphin watching boat.  We could see them from the beach, but I thought what the heck they've never been a boat before.

Looking for dolphins.

He was still a little uneasy getting his legs used to the surf.

We were able to see many dolphins.  We even saw a baby.

Cape May Lighthouse

Afterwards we met Granddad at the air museum.

Future Astronauts.

Friday night we headed to Wildwood for a nice dinner on the water and a walk along the boardwalk.  Since I was not paying $35 each for my kids to ride a couple of rides, we ended up at the arcade.

All in all a wonderful time.  Can I just ask why the always have numerous fudge shoppes at the beach?  That's just evil.