Monday, November 5, 2012

How to Get Your Kids Off Gatorade



Let me start by saying that Elias is fine...just so you won't worry.  

On September 7th, Elias went in for a colonoscopy and endoscopy.  He had been having blood in his stools for a few months, and the treatment we had been trying (a laxative) wasn't fixing the problem.  They were hoping it was just caused by constipation, but since the laxative didn't seem to be working, they wanted to be sure there weren't any polyps or other problems.  Turns out it was just constipation, and the laxative doesn't work if you give it in milk.  The doctor finally emphasized (after the procedure) that Elias needed to take it in juice (which we don't drink) or water.  After begging Elias to finish drinking his juice (what world is this?), I decided water was the way to go...and now, it seems to be doing the trick.  Too bad I hadn't gotten the message before the $10,000+ procedure occurred.  Luckily, we have insurance.  And now we know Elias' intestine is healthy.  We even got pictures.

When I signed Elias up for this, I was hoping that the process wasn't going to be quite as grueling as it is for adults.  Wrong.  The day before the procedure, Elias couldn't eat anything after breakfast except clear liquids.  Luckily, he was excited about the Jello and Popsicles.  He had to drink more than half of a 64oz bottle of Gatorade with a laxative mixed into it.  Then he had to take a stronger laxative pill around lunch which caused him to sit on the potty for about 3+ hours.  Luckily, it was all a bit new, and he and I played games and did crafts the whole day long.  

The next morning, he still couldn't eat (he was soooo thirsty, poor guy), and we headed to the hospital.  He loved his warm rainbow colored PJs (he wanted to take them home), the bear they gave him (now named Christmas Bear because of his green shirt and red ribbon) and getting to watch Happy Feet on the T.V. (which he also wanted to take home...the T.V. that is).  He had to have an enema which he was very calm and relaxed about.  Even though I think he was nervous while we were at the hospital, no one could tell but me.  When they were starting to put him under (to go to sleepy land), he laid back with his hands behind his head and stayed that way for the whole procedure which only took about 20 minutes.

He was very groggy when he woke up and just wanted to be sure he would never have to drink the Gatorade again.  I told him hopefully not until he was at least 50.  Maybe he will be able to stomach it by then.

Sunday, November 4, 2012

An Ezra Update

Ezra loves taking off his pants (and sometimes puts them on his head)

Ezra is completely different from Elias.  He is nothing but trouble.  He likes to do any and every thing that he knows he isn't supposed to do.  He starts the dishwasher, constantly tries to wash his hands (he is obsessed), knocks down the Lego buildings, throws toys, spits, turns on the humidifiers, pushes and kicks other kids, plays with the dog's food and water, puts Elias in a half nelson (I'm hardly exaggerating), opens the back door, takes off his shoes and socks EVERY time we go anywhere in the car, gets his arms out of the straps of his car seat...there seems to be no stopping him.  He loves zippers, eats almost twice as much as Elias, loves daddy (mommy, not so much), hates books, goes nuts over Elias' guitar (so much so that we had to put it away), talks quite a bit, must do everything himself, loves sitting on the potty (but has never actually gone in it), would have a closet full of shoes if he made his own money, has a really cute "Thank You," sucks his thumb...I tried doing time outs, but he doesn't really seem to care.  I'm thinking he is the universe's revenge on us for Elias.  Others would probably say he is just a typical boy.  Good thing he is so stinkin' cute.

An Elias Update

Typical Elias look

Elias is excited to be learning new things at school.  He is working on addition (double digits sometimes) and subtraction.  He uses the Montessori beads and marbles as props.  He loves to count to 100 for anyone who will listen.  He is really making progress on reading (Ms. Julie thinks he can read at least 1000 words).  We are hoping to at least get him tested before he enters Kindergarten next year to see if he could be placed at an advanced school.  I sent in the paperwork, but haven't heard.  Even if he tests well, we may just decide to send him to our local school.  That decision can be made later (January).

He loves swimming.  In September, I enrolled him in group swimming lessons at the YMCA.  We lucked out, and he got Mr. James as an instructor.  Ms. Elena was also helping out, but because Elias volunteered a lot, he usually got to work with Mr. James.  Mr. James is good at pushing the kids, but he is still very nice.  Ms. Elena is just nice.  After the 8 weeks were up, I decided Elias would be better off in private lessons.  It gives him 30 minutes with just Mr. James (who Elias loves).  Elias can float on his back (with a noodle), can get rings off the bottom of the pool (with help), takes big jumps in from the side of the pool, and can swim very short distances on his own.  I sure hope he learns the basics before the 8 weeks are up.

Elias is still as goofy as ever.  Today we passed some construction, and Elias said he wasn't sure what they were building.  I told him it would most likely be a business of some sort.  He said it could be anything, even a clown house.  I had to concur.  Maybe they are building a clown house.

His favorite thing to do when we are eating is to ask, "What do you want to talk about?"  He is a bit particular about what we discuss, but never has any ideas of his own.  We have already begun the, "I don't know.  What do you want to talk about?"

If Elias were old enough to vote, he would vote for Mitt Romney.  He says it is because he has never met him, but he knows he has never met Obama either.  It doesn't matter what we say, there is no changing this boy's mind.

We buy most of our groceries at Vitamin Cottage, and one day Elias came home with a picture of Frankenstein to color in and submit to them for a coloring contest.  Elias colored him pink and purple (of course), and we found out yesterday that he won a $10 gift card for the grocery store.  Today, he got to pick out something special at the store in celebration of his winning picture.  He told me that Daddy was going to have to guess what he picked when we got home.  When we walked in the house, Elias said in one long sentence...Guess what I picked at the store Daddy.  It starts with a p.  It's pudding...Needless to say it took Matt quite a few guesses before he figured out what Elias brought home.

I must admit I have been enjoying Elias' company more and more.  Who knew they turned into actual human beings around age 4?

Bubbles!


Saturday, November 3, 2012

Ahhh, to Be Climbing Again

Luckily, I have a good friend, Shari, who has gotten into climbing.  A group of us have been hitting the gym once a week for a few months now, motivating each other to keep at it and get stronger.  Turns out I haven't lost any of my love for the sport and am glad to be getting out and doing something for myself for a change.

Coincidentally, another friend of mine has also gotten back into the sport and graciously invited me to climb outside with him and his friends in August.  So, while Matt took both kids to Abby's birthday party (Elias' friend from school), I got to spend an entire Sunday climbing at the Monastery.


Find the climber

Beautiful

Proof I was there

The view from the hike

I was also given a once in a lifetime opportunity to go climbing with George Lowe, a man who has a part of Everest named after him.  Shari and he work together, and she miraculously got him to agree to go climbing outside in September with us beginners.  Shari, Sara, Brad, Steve and I had a blast climbing with George at Clear Creek.

Rock star Shari

THE George Lowe
 
Sara and Shari

Maybe some day we can take a group of newbies out climbing, and they can write about how awesome we are on their blog...well, a girl can dream!

A Babysitter...No Way!

We finally got a babysitter to come watch the kids in August, so we could attend an afternoon wedding of friends of ours, Arwen and Thom.  We hadn't hired a babysitter (outside of family and  friends of the family) in years and years.  I asked Marjie from the kid's school to do it.  She adores Ezra, and I think could really use the money.  It worked out great.  Elias spent all of quiet time in his room (didn't even get up once), they did stickers and made cookies.  Marjie said they were angels.  When you hear things like that you start to think your kids really might not be half bad.


Arwen and Thom had their reception at Coor's field.  They both love baseball (although opposing teams: the A's and the Dodgers), so it was the perfect setting.

Wedding photos on the field

Our table

Arwen's family (headed up by her two younger sisters) surprised Arwen with an entire montage of songs and dances by her whole extended family.  It was the best reception entertainment ever!


Ah, love

Things that should be banned (the short list)

Once you have kids, it becomes all too clear that some inventions/ideas were not particularly well thought out.  In fact, if we could place a ban on a few things, then life would just be that much simpler.

#1  Daylight savings time.  This may be the one thing Arizona has right.  Today I spent an extra hour, of an already very long day, trying to keep my kids up late, in the hopes that they will sleep in tomorrow.  Tonight we "fall back".  The problem is it will very likely backfire on me, and the kids will be up at 5:00 anyway (which will really be 4:00 because of the stupid time change).  Sigh.

#2  Pockets on kids' clothing from the ages of 1 to 16.  Every time I wash the kids' clothes, I spend at least 10 minutes emptying out their pockets.  Then, inevitably, I've missed something, and an eraser or a Kleenex ends up in the dryer.  OK, perhaps 16 may be a bit old, but still.

#3 Unwashable paint/craft supplies.  Along the same lines as #2, I spend at least 10 minutes spraying/scrubbing clothes that have paint on them that will never come out in a million years.  Sure, I suppose there are some adult artists that might be a bit upset having limited supplies, but I don't really care.  Everything should come out with water.  I'm sure they'll thank me later when it spills on their favorite shirt.

#4 Electrical outlets required every 6 feet.  When you have a "spirited" child who gets into everything, having that many electrical outlets to get into (plastic protector covers or not) is just asking for trouble.

That's the short list.  I'm sure there are tons more, but we simply can't wait to get started campaigning for change.  'Tis the season, right?

Grizzly Jack's

The Ecklund Reunion was at Grizzly Jack's in IL this past July.  It was the same place we went last time (2 years ago) which was nice because we knew what to expect.  Elias was also older and could participate in more things.  It was also the first time everyone got to meet Ezra.

Grizzly Jack's is an all inclusive resort with an awesome pool (three giant slides, wave pool, kids area, water guns provided by Roger and Judy...loads of fun) and an indoor amusement park.  They also have a good old fashioned outdoor playground, and we saw fireworks one night!


Elias enjoying a ride.
I didn't get sick!

There is wonderful hiking very close by at Starved Rock.  I was most impressed with Elias.  He hiked the whole way (both days) without complaining.  I heard most of the parents mentioning that they thought the hike was a little too long for their kids (all older than Elias), but he loved it.  Hopefully we are that much closer to hiking some Colorado fourteeners!

Stepping stones

 A cave

 
Good thing Ethan didn't have to carry Ezra far!
 
We did some wonderful crafts planned by each group...bubbles, stickers (Elias got a second sheet),  tie dye shirts, and mini wooden turkeys.  We had delicious food, a dance party, collected acorns, played hot turkey leg and had wonderful catching-up conversations.  


 Cheese

 
 Cool shirts!

My favorite part was hanging out in lawn chairs right outside our units, playing games (softball, soccer, keep away, frisbee, water balloons that wouldn't break, a parachute...) and chatting.
 
Bubbles

 Kiernan
 The parachute

          
Audrey at the balloon toss

 Eleanor

 Isabella
 Batter up
Swing

The Little(r) Ones (Left to right: Tate, Audrey, Violet, Eleanor, Kiernan, Isabella, Hazel, Elias, Ezra, Ethan and Kyra)


The Whole Gang (except for Greg, who was there, but had to leave before we did a group photo. Should have planned that one better.  Sorry Greg!)


Teacher's Pet on Steroids

I think Elias goes out of his way at school to help out the teachers.  He brings in candy and rings for them, and I believe he really wants them on his side.  When asked at school what he was thankful for this year, he said he was thankful for Ms. Julie working with him (mainly reading and math work).

Back in July, I took both boys to the dentist.  It started off with Elias wanting to bring in stickers to give to the dentists and went downhill from there.  The kids also wore the dentist office shirts they gave us last time.  Elias did a great job during his cleaning and exam and had the assistant and dentist wrapped around his finger.  It was his first visit for x-rays.  The dental assistant said she had never had a young patient listen and follow directions so well.  During Ezra's exam (he didn't do nearly as good a job), the dentist said, "Where is Elias?"  I had no idea, but knew he wouldn't have gone far.  Turns out he was looking at his x-rays on the computer with his new best friend.  Just recently Elias wanted to know when we could go back.  Unfortunately, it's not until January.  Maybe they can start a drop off babysitting business on the side.

In early October, Elias wouldn't stop bugging me about getting a flu shot.  He was itching to get it done (He's crazy!), so I finally scheduled an appointment for Ezra and him.  Elias and I talked about how he would probably be fine, but that Ezra might cry.  Turns out Ezra wants to be just like his big brother, so we left with no tears from either of them.  How come at home neither of them want to impress me?  I'll take some candy gifts, them following directions and no tears any day.

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Visitors Galore!


Alright, this time Jamie, Brian, Allison and Jacob came right after Grandpa Don left, and it was awesome!  We ate at a great brew pub downtown, walked over to the baseball stadium, went to the mountains, swam in the pool (and rode the slide, after the swimming lessons were over.  FINALLY.), played games (both electronic and not...yay for Cooties and Carcassonne), ate great food and enjoyed each others company.  All in all the kids got along well.  Since Allison and Jacob are a bit older, they also enjoyed horseback riding, visiting Rocky Mountain National Park, and hiking.  I must say, visiting Colorado does have a lot to offer.  Who's next?

Mr. Fix It

No, we didn't have visitor after visitor.  There were plenty of baby showers, baptisms, school field trips, Matt traveling out-of-town for work and dinner with friends in-between.  At the end of June, Grandpa Don arrived (and just in the nick of time).  He was here to watch the kids while we went to our dear friends, Kathy and Will's wedding.

 Their dance.

I also got to attend a wedding shower of my good friend Arwen.  We had high tea at the Brown Palace.  Delightful and delicious!

 Left to right:  Arwen's Aunt, Arwen, Me, Kat, Baby Susan, Arwen's Mom

Matt and Grandpa fixed the side fence that the neighbor's obnoxious weeds had pushed over.  While Matt and I worked (and the kids were at school), Dad touched up paint on the garage, painted the window sills, fixed Ezra's door, worked on the side porch and hopefully got a little time to relax.

Grandpa Don and Elias make hummus.

Over the weekend, we headed up to Fraser.  We went on a great hike and enjoyed being outside.  I was glad that Elias did the 1 mile hike in and back with minimal whining.  Since then, we have walked to the library and back with the same results.  Some day I want to take him on some fourteeners, so this is just the beginning (I hope).

 Elias learns to climb over the fence.  Great.

 Ezzy likes hiking.

 A stream about 1 mile in.

 Snacking.

 Gotta throw rocks.

 On the bridge.

 All that hiking wore me out.

On the way back into town, we had a birthday party to attend (they really do never end), Audra's.  It was at a gymnastics place way out-of-town.  But with a little backtracking, and stopping only once for directions, we found it.

The birthday girl
 


 Too cute
 Chillin'

What a fun-filled week!  No wonder the kids always want to know who's coming next.

Trinidad or Bust!

We finally made it down to visit Grandma Marjie and Grandpa Paul's new digs in Trinidad, Colorado at the end of May.  We played with the toys Matt played with as a child, went to some playgrounds, watered the plants (and the driveway), survived the crazy winds, Matt helped dig up an old clothesline, ate the best pizza I have ever had, the kids picked a toy from the treasure chest, and had a wonderful time.


 Yummy thumbs.

 Tired.

Cheese.
Cheese 2.

I'm not sure what it is about Grandma and Grandpa's, but Elias seems to want to get into trouble whenever we visit them.  See THE nap to be reminded of what happened last time.  This time during quiet time, Elias managed to find Marjie's makeup and apply it quite liberally.  Sigh.

 

Luckily we are family, so they have to put up with us!