Tough Choice

Well, we got the call we never thought we would...Yinghua Academy had a spot open for Ethan. Such a tough choice. So many benefits to knowing a second language fluently and Chinese at that?? Sounds incredible. But the IB program at Earle Brown is also a benefit and hopefully one the boys will continue after Earle Brown to assist with college. In the end our worries about how Ethan would do with all of his questions in an environment where he wouldn't know how to articulate them concerned us. That coupled with the thoughts of where we would move if we are ever able to sell the townhouse...probably not to the Yinghua neighborhood, but instead to one that more likely had an IB school nearby...that won us over. Plus I can honestly say that the Earle Brown Administration, faculty, building were all head and shoulders above the other schools we have visited. I'm excited to get in there and get Kindergarten started. It's a scary thought, but it's also exciting that we'll start a new chapter of having school-age kids. While we've had some tough choices already...what daycare to choose, when to move them to a big boy bed, when to start potty training, when to take off the training wheels...this was another tough choice and there will be many many more to come.

Japan Earthquake and Tsunami 2011

The video and pictures from the Tsunami and Earthquake in Japan are so surreal. I can't even begin to imagine what that would be like to be there and be in that madness and all of the chaos that will follow in the aftermath. My heart goes out to all of the families that have lost loved ones. It makes you feel so helpless sitting in the comfort of your own home while you're watching people suffer on the other side of the world. There was nothing they did or could have done to prevent this. There was no war that caused this. There was no way to predict it. It seems so unfair and I just hope that somehow in some way they get some sort of comfort in the coming weeks, months, years. I don't know how this would happen either. I just wish there was some way to help and know that whatever we are doing (be it giving money or whatever else) know that it was actually helping. My heart and prayers go out to all of the communities in Japan, Hawaii, and on the West Coast that have been affected in this incredible disaster.

Drama

There is quite a bit of angst, bitterness, and drama going on at work these days. Most of it stems from a recent announcement that they are consolidating our office space. This means those of us on the third floor are being forced to pack up and move to the fourth floor. There have been quite a bit of negotiations between our local team and the team behind this consolidation. Some of it has resulted in good things, but not all of it. I think most of the drama though is from the change. People don't like change. People don't particularly like the unknown. Most of these co-workers of mine have been there for 10+ years on that floor and to go to a new floor, with a new seating layout, with a new office concept....it's a lot to take in for everyone. Going from having your own comfortable place with pictures of your kids, magnets from a recent trip, awards you've earned to lugging your PC with you every day and looking at a blank, stark desk...that's a lot to take in as well. Part of me is looking forward to the change, but I could do without the drama that is coming with it in the weeks prior to the move. But until then it's just live with it, enjoy having a spot of my own, and not caring until March 24th arrives...then enjoy the change and hope the drama subsides.

Reality Show Junkie

So I've figured out that I'm somewhat of a realty TV show junkie. I watch most of them that are on network TV. Thank GOODNESS we do not have cable! :)

Last night Celebrity Apprentice started. I don't know why I watch it, but I think it's great to see these celebrities compete and fight and do manual work!

I'm a huge fan of Biggest Loser. That show makes me crave snacks every time it is on. I think it is a secret desire to get on the show (although I sure hope that would NEVER be possible). I just want to try the workout sometime.

LOVE Survivor! This season bringing back Rob & Russell totally makes it worth it for me. I love watching the show, reading the tweets during the show, and Jeff Probst's blog afterwards. I know I would never make it on that show, but I do think having some sort of "theme" park type deal with all of the challenges (although a huge insurance liability) would be so fun!

AMAZING RACE....my dream show. I would love to do this show. I don't know who I'd partner with or how I'd really do, but this is another one I love to watch and this season's 2nd chances is very cool to watch.

Big Brother might be my favorite. I'm not sure why if it's just because they are trapped in the house or what. But it makes for some good TV. This one I would never do either. I think I'd be awful and I'd miss my boys and Jay too much, but it would kind of be fun to try.

American Idol is another one we watch. I love saying "THIS" and Aidan will say "is American Idol". He'd be a great Ryan Seacrest someday. I enjoy the first few episodes where they show the bad ones and Jay can't stand them. Once they get to the middle ones, it's too stressful for me to watch without fast forwarding through it. But once it gets to the top 10 or so it gets better again.

Wipeout is a family favorite. We all enjoy watching it together. It's the one Jay would pick to be on if he could. The boys say he can't because they don't want him to get hurt or dirty, but it would be fun to watch him try.

We've watched Dating in the Dark, Beauty & the Geek, I survived a Japanese Gameshow...you name it and besides the Bachelor franchise...if it was on major network TV we've probably watched it. There's just something about watching these usually "regular" people being put in these different situations. It's all good. We watch too much TV, but it's entertaining!

Sick kids

The hardest part about being a mom...having sick kids. OK, I think worrying is the hardest part, but when they are sick the worried flags just fly that much higher. Today I was planning on working from home. Just wanted a break from the hum drum of the office and the chance to get a few things done that have been sitting on my plate for awhile. I knew it would be a light day, so when Aidan came down with a fever last night, I knew he'd be joining me in my work from home day. So many things run through my mind and admittedly a lot of times it is "Please don't throw up". It is amazing to me that with all of the things going around daycare that we don't have more stay at home/sick kid days, but thankfully, we don't. Or diseases....what are the chances you have one healthy baby, let alone two? Seems like these days it's insanely low that you are illness free. So, of course, when I have one of them at home with me, my mind wanders and worries about every little thing out there...what if this and what if that. Last month I was home with Ethan for a day. He was fine, but since his scare of dehydration and kidney issues last year....we worry even more. I'd almost hate to say it, but I would take stitches over unknown illnesses. At least you go there, get it numbed, stitched, and you can go home. We are truly blessed with these two boys and I know as they grow older and start going off to "big boy" school (as we call it) that it will get better. Hopefully they aren't arm in arm wrestling or slobbering/sneezing over toys in elementary school. But I also know the worry will never go away. Ethan's 1 year kidney follow up is now scheduled for May 26th. So that's another thing to worry about. UGH! Thankfully, Aidan's perking up and the Advil kept his fever away for most of the day. His ears are fine, his throat is fine, and minute clinic thought it was something viral. We'll keep him home another day and I'll stay home with him, but the worry won't stop. I guess it never will. I hear parents at work that still worry about their kids and I hear my mom still worrying about me. But I will feel better when this sickness has gone away.

Happy Meal

Well.....Ethan is now 5 and almost 1 month old. Aidan is 3 years and 8 months old and today they were both introduced to the Happy Meal. I'd done so well up until now not cluing them into the magical and mysterious Happy Meal. What kind of prize did I get? When can I open the box and look inside? Do I have the same toy at home? This past week I'd gotten Aidan one, but taken the prize out before he got the box, but then later Ethan found the Hot Wheels Battle Force 5 vehicle in my purse. Of course it was Hot Wheels so it was AMAZING to them and they wanted more. So tonight, I prefaced it with the announcement that they had to eat the meal (their choice of hamburger, cheeseburger, or chicken nuggets) if we went to McDonald's. Plus the enticement of a shamrock shake, it was not hard to get Mama to go through the drive through. YUM. Now I've tasted the sweet goodness of a Shamrock shake for the season. Luckily (to all of us) too the Happy Meals arrived with a different car than the one we received earlier this week. Even better....they both got different ones tonight. Now I'm hoping to convince them that they no longer have Hot Wheels in the Happy Meals going forward. We'll see if we can get off with only buying 3 Happy Meals EVER! :)

Singing in the car

The boys & I love singing in the car. I've ALWAYS loved singing in the car and I've been anxious to get them singing from the beginning. I would buy children's music CDs and we would listen to them over and over until I was so tired of "I've been working on the railroad" that I couldn't stand it. I just kept reminding myself of the story my mom would tell of me singing the Grease soundtrack at 3 & 4 years old. I kept wanting them to want to sing in the car as much I like to do it. I think Ethan was around 3 or 4 when he started belting out "Life is a Highway" from the movie "Cars". We now take turns with the iPod. When it's your turn you get to make a pick. We kind of go through phases. They love Adele singing "Chasing Pavements" which just happened to download on my iPod without my knowing, but oh well...it's been well worth the "free" price tag. The like some that I downloaded because I love Hip Hop class, so "Right Round" "Mercy" "Boom Boom Pow" are also favorites. One long lasting one that's been a pick for a while is one of my favorites by Kenny Chesney "Way down here". But I have to say if they are singing a soundtrack (like i did to Grease), I'd have to say that "Never Say Never" by Justin Bieber is the new winner. I took them to the movie on a whim because I wanted to hear the background story on this up & coming kid. I was impressed with how hard he's had to work to where he's gotten and how he would like to be a normal kid (even though everyone knows he's given up normal for fame). Needless to say we've been listening to a few of Justin Bieber's songs ever since we saw the movie. And I love watching them dancing in the backseat. I'm so glad they are interested in singing (however badly they happen to sing) in the car!

Earle Brown is a YES!

We finally got the written ACCEPTANCE into Earle Brown! I'm so relieved to get that letter. Now to turn in the enrollment forms....which I will probably drop off on Friday afternoon. And I'm so excited to go to the Kindergarten Open House in April! I've been checking out the Brooklyn Center school district calendar and all the EB (Earle Brown) Fundraising Nights at Chuck E Cheese, Mom & Son nights, concerts...all sound so exciting to me. Not that I want Ethan to grow up any faster than he already is, but I'm excited to start meeting his new friends and watching him learn more and more new things. Tonight he read the "Go Big or Go Home" sign at gymnastics. I was amazed! He really knows a lot more than he lets on most days, so getting him in school will hopefully bring out all of this intelligence he keeps locked away.....Get ready for Ethan (& Aidan) Earle Brown! :)

Taxes

Have I ever mentioned that I hate the process of filing taxes. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE getting a return and being able to spend all, or some of it on something fabulous is like winning the lottery, but the process of finding all the information, adding it all in, and the tireless entry of stock sales is BORING and exhausting to me. I just want it to be done and over with. Now to think that I have an accounting degree from the University of MN, it's quite funny how I hate this stuff. Part of it is intriguing watching the Turbo Tax program calculate the amount you owe and owe and owe while you enter your income and then watching that red OWE number flip over to GREEN when you get to the deductions is like watching all the fruit line up on your slot machine. But it takes far too long to get to the payout and when you have one weird thing to enter that you're not sure you're entering correctly (like how we sold stock this year to make a down payment on the Jetta)....UGH! It is frustrating. Nevertheless it's something that has to be done and the sooner the better I guess. We've been putting this off for a few weeks now and I'm ready to just have it done. While we still have questions outstanding on the sale of the stock....it'll be nice to be done with this for the evening. So far it looks as if we will get a refund. Let's hope so, so we can buy something fabulous...like a vacation?? :)

Another response - school update

Well, we got our response back from St. Louis Park School District. We are 5th on the waiting list for Spanish Immersion School. At least we heard something back from them! So currently, we have heard the following....

ACCEPTED at Woodland (cons to this one are that you have to pay for full-day kindergarten, and the transportation to/from would be difficult / pros are that the Curtler's and the Krolnik's attend this school)

4TH on the waiting list for Yinghua Academy (cons are we'd have to do a little more research on the before/after school and bussing options / pros what an experience to be fluent in Mandarin Chinese!)

ACCEPTED at Monroe (cons are they weren't too friendly to "outsiders" at their Open house, they are not positive full-day kindergarten would be around for the 2012-2013 year when Aidan would start, and once Aidan starts it really is out of the way for us / pros Science Technology Engineering Math would be a pretty good focus)

ACCEPTED at Earle Brown (cons haven't seen this in writing / pros it is our #1 choice, Ethan RAVES about it, IB program)

5TH on the waiting list for Park Spanish Immersion (cons transportation to/from, not sure on the before/after school options, pros learning to be fluent in Spanish)

The only two we are waiting on are which one Minneapolis assigned us to.... Kenwood or Whittier. But we won't find out on those until the end of March.

Not as bad as it seems

This week was extremely long and stressful at work and while I was getting buried in all the negativity of a co-worker and the upcoming changes to our work location I didn't stop to think about how good we actually have it. When we were invited by Tony & Eileen Kamp to go to Happy Hour, I realized that we are truly blessed. While they are blessed to have little Wyatt running around like a typical (almost) three year old and have him thriving (on the outside anyway), they have gone through something I can only begin to imagine. I can't even being to fathom all of the stress, heartache, highs and lows they've gone through since Wyatt's diagnosis at 4 months old. Ethan's hospitalization for dehydration and possible kidney issues (still showing negative at this point) was enough to do me under. It was a perfect way to get out of the negative funk to get together with them and let the boys be boys and play with Eric & Wyatt. Plus as the added bonus to get to hold that cute baby Savannah! I love our boys and while I am let down from time to time that we don't have a girl, I would not trade them for anything....so having a cute little girl nearby is always a good thing. As for work, I'm just going to keep plugging along and not worry about negative co-workers and try to embrace the move to 4th floor when it happens. If anything, I will enjoy some more flexibility in dropping off/picking up the boys once school starts which is NOT a bad thing at all, right?

4th Response (verbal anyway)

Well, I bit the bullet and called Earle Brown Elementary today. Betty in the office told me that she had spoken with the district office and Ethan's application was approved. She hasn't "seen" the approved application and the district hasn't sent a letter to us yet, but apparently we are ACCEPTED and there's a bottleneck at the district office. And while I'd like it in writing, for now we have to accept our acception over the phone. We did find out about the kindergarten open house in April. I am very excited for that. And when I told Ethan that Earle Brown wanted him, he had the biggest smile on his face. I am very excited. Although now I move onto worrying about the before/after school care. I don't know if I can wait until April to figure that out, but I will start researching online. :) We were impressed with this one from the start. It was the very first school we saw, but none of the others have lived up to it. Plus we are very excited about the IB program. I hope the boys will continue with it through their entire 13 years of school. Still waiting to hear what happens with Spanish Immersion (although logistically it would be an awful challenge) and the Minneapolis schools, but YAY that we got into our #1 choice!

Survivor: Redemption Island!

YAY! This has been an incredibly LONG week and I know it's only Wednesday and I have a THROBBING headache...stupid migraines. I normally love Wednesdays anyway so I can take the boys to gymnastics and chat it up with Jen. I'm really glad Aidan and David have class together and it's been fun getting together with our two families.

This is an especially good Wednesday, though, because Survivor starts tonight with two of my favorites: Rob & Russell. And because they are going to do "redemption island" Jay is interested in watching it too. So much good TV these days. Although I did hear that my new favorite show "The Good Guys" has been cancelled. BOO! Wednesday night is especially good... American Idol, The Middle (a CLASSIC), Modern Family, Better With You (soon to be cancelled), Mr. Sunshine (Loving Matthew Perry again) and now Survivor: Redemption Island.

We also enjoy Wipeout, Big Bang Theory, Community, The Office (although that is getting dumb), Outsourced (another good one being cancelled), Parks and Recreation, Grey's Anatomy, Blue Bloods, Defenders, Amazing Race (starts again this weekend), Desperate Housewives, Chuck, How I Met Your Mother, Mike & Molly, Harry's Law, Parenthood, Biggest Loser, Raising Hope, and Glee. Wow...we do watch a lot of TV. What would happen if we actually had cable TV? Good grief!

And amazingly almost all of it after the boys go to bed. Their highlights on TV right now are Calliou, Mighty Machines, Clifford The Big Red Dog, and Wonderpets. They are scared of bad guys on any show. I wonder when/if that will change. I'm glad that they still have that innocence, but I just hope it doesn't hurt them once they start "big boy" school. But I'm also glad that they haven't seen Star Wars, IronMan, etc...they're not old enough yet, are they?

Anyway....it's Wednesday...my headache is almost gone now. I had a great time chatting with Jen. I enjoyed watching Survivor with Jay. And our boys are as cute as can be! WHOO HOO! So much to be thankful for and happy about!

5 Year Check up

Well, Ethan's been dreading the shots that accompany a 5 year check up ever since I mentioned it on his 5th birthday. Today was the day. He started crying even before the appointment started. But all-in-all he is doing fine. We will wait for one more protein test to come back in order to find out if we need yet another nephrology appointment, but hopefully that will come back clean. He's 75th percentile for height & weight and the doctor estimates he'll be about 5'11" when he stops growing. How they can tell that I don't know, but seems about right as that is how tall Jay is as well. I can't believe how fast he is growing. We still haven't heard back from Earle Brown, but I think the IB program is definitely what we're going to shoot for at this point.

On a roll....

Well, so far I've been pretty good about blogging everyday. Today Ethan had a rather cute moment. Jay was in bed and Ethan said to me: "Mom, I'm going to go give dad some love. That means a hug and a kiss." He sure is a sweetheart. But not to be undone (even though he wasn't around when Ethan said that....we were "resting" today (the boys & I) on our bed and the rule is you have to lay still for 30 minutes and then you can get up. Never fails because they always fall asleep around 20-25 minutes. :) But prior to falling asleep, Aidan went into his room and grabbed blankets for both Ethan and myself and stuffed animals for us to sleep with too (even though we were both already asleep). Pretty sweet even though he wasn't supposed to be getting up. I sure hope they keep that sweetness as they get older. We've got some pretty great little guys.

MN Zoo

Today we met up with some co-workers of mine from many years back. Chrissy, Steve, Ann, Angie & I all worked together. It's crazy to think, but we all worked together 12-13 years ago! Back then, only Chrissy was married and having the first baby (Grace). Now, we're all married (Steve to Ann even) and we all have at least two kids (Chrissy now has three). Grace is no longer the little baby she once was, but a tall, slender young lady at 10 years old. Angie's husband was driving to pick up his new Harley Davidson motorcycle, so he wasn't able to make it, but it was neat to see all the kids. Grace is 10, Aria & Lily are 8, Danica is 6, Ethan is 5, Aidan and Zach are 3 and Nathan & Rachel are just over a year old. Quite the span, but a cute little clan nonetheless. It was fun to see them all and it's been years since we've been to the MN Zoo. I'm not even sure Aidan had ever been there before. Quite a bit has changed over the years, but it's fun to know that we still keep in touch and can hang out now and then. I hope our next gathering is sooner than the five it was since the last one.

Responses 2 & 3....

Well, wishful thinking got us quite a ways last night. We woke up this morning to find out that we are 4th on the waiting list for Yinghua Academy! Not too shabby! There were 75 accepted, 3 ahead of us and 196 applicants total....craziness. Now we wait and try to decide what other school to pursue in the meantime.

Then we come home to response #3...the one that pretty much told us to go home at their open house because we were not a part of their district. And we were ACCEPTED! It is a Math Techonology Science Engineering school. Now the debate begins on what we should do....

Think Chinese

Today I'm feeling about 90% back to normal and I did not work from bed! I barely took a nap! Tomorrow it's back to the office. BOO....but oh well I gotta do some time before I don't have a dedicated desk. I was very productive today at home though and will be at home again on Monday to get some work done on my second account. Distracted as I am these days with the school choices we've made today I am thinking Chinese. The more I read about this Chinese Immersion school the more I fear we are getting our hopes up. I know there are only 75 spots and I know there are way more than that who apply. Tonight is the lottery. Now I'm regretting not going to the lottery. After seeing "Waiting for Superman" I know how tearful I'd be at the actual lottery so it's just all I can do to wait until they post the results online tomorrow. To increase our chances (ha ha like we can do that), Jay brought home Chinese food for dinner. It was tasty....now let's hope it helps. I've even tried being persuasive with Ethan tonight by mentioning that if he went to Chinese school, he'd get to ride a big boy bus! A little fact that even I didn't know before I saw it today. Oh how awesome would that be? I don't know how heartbroken I will actually be tomorrow, but I can imagine it will feel much like my birthdays do every year....extravagant and perfect in my head and nothing like that in real life. Trying to keep my feet on the ground...and trying not to care, but as a mom, is that possible? When something is so good and just out of arms length for your kids...how do you not care? UGH. Oh well...I worry too much. That's one of my biggest faults. Can't change that overnight, so can just hope for a good sleep and maybe some happy news in the morning!

First Response

Well, after spending the day feeling like a zombie in bed, I'm feeling somewhat better, but mostly just tired and out-of-it. I've never had mono before, but if I had this is what I'd imagine it feeling like however I do not think I have mono. Just a fever and swollen glands. Hoping it goes away sooner rather than later, but I guess only time will tell.

We got our first open enrollment response today and got ACCEPTED into Woodland elementary. Although this was only on our radar because we know a couple families that also have kids there, it is not one of the top 3. I'll have to do some more research before ruling it out, but YAY that we made it into at least ONE of our out-of-Minneapolis choices! So exciting to see Congratulations & Ethan on a school district stationery. Made me feel a little bit sad in a way. This is a big step for him moving into the real world. The little boy that just asked me on Monday whether they really sing/dance in the hallways of big boy school will be a part of big boy school and learn that, sadly, no, big boy school is not High School Musical.

Home Study

We were selected to be part of a home study on kids safety and/or nutrition. Tonight some young ladies came over to take measurements of Ethan as a starting point and so we move forward tracking his exercising, nutrition etc for the next week. I think he's enjoying the special attention. He even got to sign his own form for consent.

Besides that, I came home from work freezing and slept for most of the afternoon. Woke up with 102.1 degree temp before I had to pick them up. I guess I'll be working from bed tomorrow. Luckily it's a light week overall. Gotta kick this and get healthy though. We have plans to see "Gnomeo & Juliet" on Friday night and MN Zoo on Saturday.