First Day of New School

Zander started his new school this week. He is attending a University Labschool and Child Development School. So far, it is the school of my dreams. All of the teachers have birth to kindergarten degrees and have been wonderful in helping Zander make the transition. He has not slept well, and has been really crying in the mornings.


Each classroom has an observation room, so I can stay as long as I want and watch to make sure that he is OK. Each day, the crying has lasted a shorter amount of time. I am very excited about the upcoming school year and I hope that he will be too soon.

Wet N Wild Emerald Point

Sunday our family went to Emerald Point. Summers new company paid for us to go and provided lunch. It was very nice. We had a fabulous time. We swam in the wave pool, let Zander play at splash island and our favorite thing was the wild rafting rapids. It was a raft with three holes in it so we could all ride together. You went down a huge slide and built up alot of speed. There was a big splash at the bottom. Zander was scared but loved it. We also rode the lazy river. The picture is from the lazy river. That is where Zander took his nap. I think we went around 6 times before he woke up. It was a wonderful day.

Bible School

This has been a long week for Zander. Sunday was the first night of Bible School. He was nervous about going. Rosie and Riley were going to be in his class, but he didn't know anyone else there. I had "an episode" and ended up in the hospital. Vicki and Alana took him the first night, Cici took him and stayed with him the second night, I took him and stayed with him the 3rd night and Cici went the fourth night. Here are pictures from the program on the last night. http://picasaweb.google.com/bohenstiel/BibleSchool?authkey=qo1IsKzy6Q8
He did go stand up there with everyone, which I didn't think he would do, but he just stood there. He didn't sing or dance. He told me that he would do that later. I enjoyed watching him have fun this week and it was nice to see all of the kids that I went to bible school with. They are now there with their children. I must be getting old.

Beach

We had a great beach trip. The ocean continued to be really rough until Friday and Saturday. But those days were perfect. You could walk way out and just sit on the sand and watch the kids play. We saw jelly fish, crabs and a porteuguese man o' war. A man on the beach caught a small shark and Zander got to touch it and look at it really close. We also visited the aquarium which all of the kids loved. Zander's favorite thing was the Sand Tiger Shark. He also like the Morey Eel. He brought a stuffed one home with him.
http://picasaweb.google.com/bohenstiel/AquariumVisit2007?authkey=6f_YZF8ymzk



We took all of the kids to play putt-putt. They got to ride the train and played 18 holes of golf. That was enough for us all. It was really hot and sticky. Zander and I rode the go carts. He loved it. They had a two seater, so he thought he was driving.
http://picasaweb.google.com/bohenstiel/MinatureGolfGoCartRide?authkey=H7ZiNceUfXo


My favorite part was our trip over to the waterfront. Zander and I went for a boat ride. We got to see all of the wild horses on the islands. It was alot of fun. Zander liked going fast
http://picasaweb.google.com/bohenstiel/BoatRide?authkey=Dy2trDAURcg

travel day

We went to breakfast on Sunday morning and gave Daddy kisses and then headed for the beach. It was quite uneventful. Zander did great. He watched The Jungle Book and then the Lion King. We stopped for lunch and before you know it we were at the beach. Believe it or not, our room was ready. Zander did not understand that we had to unpack our things and eat dinner. He thought we were going in the ocean. After all of that it was time to go to bed.



On Monday morning, we woke up and met Jenn and the kids for breakfast. After that we came back and went to the beach. It was fun but, it was really rough. We had to stand right with the kids or they would wash away. They have pumped sand up onto the beach and it was really deep right at the edge. They had a great time, except for the babies. Eliza wanted no part of it, so they went in for a nap. After lunch and naps we went to the pool. Chalotte and Rehm have learned to swim, Zander did great with his life vest on and the babies want to swim. Mom got in the water with us for the first time in maybe 20 years or more. It was a great 1st day at the beach.

July 4th Water Park Fun

We had a great July 4th (Independence Day) holiday. Unfortunately, Daddy had to work, so it was a Zander and Mommy day. We had breakfast at home and nap time and then we went to the water park for the first time this year. What a difference a year makes. Last year, if Zander fell down on his bottom in the pool, his head was completely underwater. This year, most of the time he could get up by himself. After we had been there for about 45 minutes, he asked to put on his swim vest. That was much easier. He could float on his back and swim with out help from Mom.
Since it was a holiday, they were giving away prizes every 15 minutes. We didn't win anything. We had a great time. I think that the swimming lessons at the YMCA helped Zander to not be as scared of the water. He should do fine at the beach next week.

Croc Expedition

Crocs? What is the big deal? They really are not cute shoes and they don't look good on anyone. On Sunday, Mom, Zander and I went on a Croc Expedition for the beach. We were searching for the Cleo style that looks more like a sandal. Poor mom, she has been already and they didn't have her size. Today they did! When we got to another store and were going to put on our Crocs, we realized that hers had a tear and they had mixed 2 sizes. They were not going to fit after all. They would have to be returned. I hope that she has better luck today finding a pair. I looked at the website today http://www.crocs.com and they have alot of different styles.

Zander wanted a pair too. They did not have his size at the store we were at. We went to several other stores and finally settled for a pair of Aqua Ducks. He doesn't know the difference and thinks they are Crocs. He loves them. I haven't seen him this excited about anything in a long time.

I have mine on today and so far, they feel really good. I will see around lunch time if my knees and back hurt, so far, so good. We are all looking forward to the beach next week. Now I just have to find time around the remodeling of the house to pack!

Dentist Visit

I'm Ready!

When Zander was 18 months old, I made his first appointment with a Pediatric dentist that came very highly recommended. When I called to make the appointment, they made me feel like the worst parent in the world because he had not already been to see the dentist. He only had a few teeth at this point. I should have known then, that this was not going to be a pleasant experience.

We arrived at the dentist office. It was totally kid friendly. Several TV's were placed around the room with cartoons, there were video games for the older kids and toys for the younger kids. When the called us back we went into a room that was set up with about 6 or 8 chairs beside of each other. They literally ripped Zander from my arms to do Xrays. Was that necessary? They assured me that it was. There was a child in the chair beside of us that was being held down and having major work down. He was screaming and crying. Zander always get unnerved when another child is crying. He was already unsure about this whole process and now he is sure that he does not want to do this. To make matters worse, just 2 weeks before this, we were in the ER with rotavirus and they had to hold him down for 1 hr 1/2 to get an IV in his arm. Now they start to hold him down to clean his teeth and you can imagine how he reacted. After they are finished, the dentist looks at his teeth and decides that he needs sealant put on his teeth. Now they put this big metal thing in his mouth to hold it open, and his is crying so hard that his lips begin to bleed. Needless to say, I am done with the Pediatric dentist.

At my next dentist appointment, I told my dentist about this appointment. They couldn't believe it. They said that it was unnecessary for a child to see a dentist until they are three unless there is a problem. Sealants are not recommended until 6. They told me to bring him with me to my next appointment and let him watch me get my teeth cleaned. That is what I did. Mom with with me and he played and watched. Today, it was his first appointment. He wanted me to go first. Then it was his turn. He did great! The last picture is him holding his mouth open waiting for her to start. He was very funny. No cavities. He got a new tooth brush and his very own dental floss which he was very excited about. I don't think the next appointment will be a problem. Thank you Dr. Porter and staff!

Ugly Words

Boy, 3 year olds are a challenge. Where did my sweet child go? He has only been 3 for 2 weeks and he has already changed. He is really experimenting with the power of words. He knows which words are nice and which are not. So, the rule is, you can stay in here with us and use nice words or you can go in your room and say the ugly hurtful words.

Until this weekend, he had not taken me up on that. Saturday, he felt the need to tell me to shut up. I reminded him of the rule. He went and sat right inside his room. I started hearing, "shut up, shut up". Well, the shut ups continued to get louder and when I didn't respond, I heard, "stupid, gosh, God, Oh my gosh, stupid". He waited a few seconds and then he said, "I'm finished" and he came out. It was hard not to laugh. You could just imagine what he was thinking.

We had a nice weekend. Summers is out of work for those of you that don't know. He has a second interview today with a company that actually has benefits. We are keeping our fingers crossed.

Memorial Day Weekend

Over the Memorial Day Weekend, Zander had alot of fun. The fun started with a play date at the Richardson-Vogler compound. I took my camera with me, but was too busy and forgot to take pictures. They had planned a camp out for their children and Zachary. Zander was invited also, but I decided that since he had been sick earlier in the week that probably was not a good idea. The kids played and played until dark. After dark, Ms. Alana got out the glow sticks and the kids wrapped as many as they could around them and just ran all over the yard. It was fun to watch. Zander took his home and we hung them from the ceiling fan for him to watch while he fell asleep.

The next day, we filled up Zander's new pool and turned on the sprinkler for him to play in. Those of some of my most fond memories from my childhood. Jenn and I always had a pool and we would stay out there for hours. I am so glad that he has Rosie and Riley to play with, because it is just not as much fun with one.

On Monday, we did errands in the morning and then went back to the Richardson-Vogler compound for the evening. They had their little pool set up to play in. Then they hooked up the water hose to the slide and made a water slide. That was great fun for all. We set up the big pool and started filling it. It should be ready for the kids to swim in by next weekend. That ought to be interesting.

After that, we went to CiCi and PaPa's to eat supper. PaPa grilled hamburgers and CiCi made all kinds of good eats to go along with them. We had a great weekend. After chasing Zander for 3 days, I will be ready to go back to work on Tuesday.

Swim Lessons

Learning to kick

Zander swimming - not happy about it.

Zander started swimming lessons this month. I took pictures the first day, but of course I have not had them developed yet. I was very apprehensive about these lessons. They take 12 children out of his class and 2 teachers walk them over to the pool where they meet the swim teacher. Now, anyone that knows Zander, knows that his attention span is about 1 second long. If he sees something interesting, he is going to go do it, regardless of what he is supposed to be doing. That would include getting into the water. So I was really nervous about this. I decided that I would watch the first lesson. The water is 36" deep.

The first lesson went really well. He had a very sweet teacher, the kids listened very well and the two teachers from his school were right there (although not in the water and did not have on suits, which I did not understand) in case they were needed. I decided that I was overreacting and went on to work.

Last week, I decided that I would go back and take some pictures. He had a new teacher. He had been sick with a high fever for 5 days and this was his first day back to school. He did OK for a few minutes and then he started yawning. Once he started yawning, he then started crying. Once he gets to this point, he needs to go to sleep. I decided to let him stay in and see if the teacher could get his attention back. She proceeded to look at him, with me standing there, and said, " I don't do crying, whining little kids!" and then she jerked him in the pool by the arm. I just couldn't believe what I was seeing. Of course, this did not help the crying any at all, he is now scared of her and didn't want to do anything else that she said. I knew that was not the time to make a scene in front of the children, so I waited to see what would happen.

If you look at the last picture, you can see that she had the kids just hanging from the side. She is back about 10 feet with another child. This was even making the life guard nervous. He came over and sat beside of me and eventually took Zander and sat him on the side. Even with the blue belt on, he could hardly hold on to the side. Another child got off of the wall and started coming toward her and she pushed his head away from her and he went completely under the water. That was the last straw for me. I took Zander out of the water. The teacher went over to her after I left and said, "You do know that was his mother, don't you?" She replied, " I don't do crying kids." Needless to say the Aquatics Director and I had a rather long talk later that day. He watched the next lesson and even the teachers said that she was a different person and did a great job. I never know what to do in that situation. It has been my experience, if you say something, they take it out on your child when you are not around. Any one else have any advice on how I should have handled this?

I took Zander to his room and he went to lie down in the book center and went to sleep. All he needed was a nap.

School Pictures

I have always gone with Zander when it was time to take pictures. I also have a favorite photographer. When I was a director I always used him (Chris Rimmer, Moments In Time) because he did studio quality pictures at my site. Not only that, he took time with the kids and truely enjoyed his job. These are the 3 year old pictures that he took for me. You can really see Zander's personality.

Last week it was time for pictures at his school so I decided to let him have them made just to see what they would look like. They didn't even brush his hair. They are still cute.

Apparently, I am still learning how to use this blog. The pictures across the top are his school pictures and the ones down the center are from Moments In Time. I did purchase the proofs so I could share them with you.

3 Years Old?!

Zander, Chef Peter, CiCi

Zander's Birthday breakfast

Zander at the doctor- Doesn't he look sick?
Where does the time go? I can't believe my baby is 3 years old. The morning started with us going to Lowes Foods to pick up the birthday cupcakes for Zander's first birthday party at school. They brought out a large cake with yellow flowers on it. Pretty, but not Go Tarheels cupcakes. I should have known that it was going to be a long day! When we arrived at school, Zander sat down to eat his breakfast and the teachers and I chatted about Zander's last birthday. We spent the night in the ER of our local hospital. Zander had 106 degree temperature. He was able to go to his party the next day, but did not feel well. I gave Zander a kiss and left to go to work. The plan was that I would return at 2:30 for his party. However, I received a call at 11:30 from Zander's teacher saying that he had 102 degree temperature. I picked him up and we went to see Dr. Ball. By the time we arrived, the medicine had lowered the temp and he was feeling fine, as you can see from the above picture. Dr. Ball decided that he had a virus.
Zander's favorite thing in the world is Japanese cooking. He was a Japanese chef for Halloween. I made reservations weeks ago for his new favorite restaurant, Tokyo Japenese Steakhouse. His favorite chef is Chef Peter. We reserved the whole table. He had been looking forward to it. Since his fever was down, we decided to let him go. CiCi, Aunt Paige's family, Daddy and Uncle Travers went with us. Zander had the best time ever. He got to wear his Chef costume. Chef Peter did many tricks and entertained us all. They played the drums and sang happy birthday to Zander. At the very end, Chef Peter went in the back and came back with a piece of cloth with a Japanese symbol on it and tied it around Zander's hat so his hat would look like Chef Peters. We took many pictures. Make sure to check out the link to the other birthday pictures. http://picasaweb.google.com/bohenstiel/ZanBday31?authkey=woocseyPI6s

Unfortunately, when we got home, I realized that Zander's temperature had spiked again and now it was 104.5. The nurse told us to rotate Ibuprofen and Tylenol. We rotated the medicine every 3 hours and the next morning he seemed to feel better. We decided to go ahead with his birthday party. Vicki and Alana were so generous to let us have the birthday party at their house. We all had a great time!

Mother's Day

PaPa and Zander

Zach and Brady

Marty , Riley and Rosie

I know Mother's Day was last Sunday and I am a little behind. That seems to be par for the course these days. My Mother's Day was great. This was really the first one that Zander made me feel special. My morning started with me getting to lay in bed with no one else there for an hour and a half. Summers brought me breakfast and I just layed there and watched TV. That was something that I haven't done in a long time.



Then we went to Granny's for lunch. Mom picked up food from the Seafood Shack so no one had to cook. It was very good! Plus there were only a few dishes to wash. We went to the park for a while to let Zander play. He had a wonderful time. He still loves to be pushed in the toddler swing. He would stay in it the whole time if you would let him.



Next, we went back to Granny's. Steve, Tracy and Zachary came. PeeWee and Marty were also there. The Brady Bunch came over also. We had hamburgers and hotdogs and all of the kids got to play.



When it was time to go, Mom reminded me that I had not even told her Happy Mother's Day! How terrible! The day was so busy that I forgot the whole meaning of the day.



I am so glad that I got to be a mom. I cherish every second that I get to spend with Zander.



Happy Mother's Day to you all.
P.S. Thanks to Alana for the Pictures

Girl Friend

Zander and Madi

Zander and Madi

This is Zander and Madi. She is the first child that Zander formed a relationship with at the YMCA school. He informed me this morning that Madi is his girlfriend. She is a little doll. She has the most beautiful green eyes and talks a mile a minute just like Zander. They are the only ones in the class that speak in sentences and I think that is why they like each other.

This is Zanders last day as a two year old. We will be celebrating his birthday on Friday and Saturday. I will post pictures on Monday.

On a different subject, Zander asked me yesterday if deer have allergies. He wanted to know specifically if Bambi has allergies and what does a deer cough sound like. Well, I don't know? I have never thought about that. I guess I will have to ask someone that knows about deer.

Have a wonderful day!

Grandparents house

Look at the focus! Can you tell that CiCi has a new camera. Mom and Dad were nice enough to pick up Zander last week while Summers and I worked late. He had a ball as you can see. He is such a creature of habit though. Dad says when they go outside, he has to have his bat, all of his softballs, a basketball and a golf club. He also still thinks that he has to cook in CiCi's kitchen.

On this particular evening, they pickied him up and I think he was going to be there for about 1 1/2 hrs. He needed to do all of that plus eat dinner and have a bath. Somehow CiCi pulled it off. Summers says that he was a little upset and whiney before bedtime because he didn't get to do everything. Maybe next time!

Lions and Tigers and Bears - Oh My!

On Sunday, April 27th we all went to the zoo. That includes, CiCi and PaPa, Steve, Tracy , Zachary, Alana, Vicki, Brady, Riley, Rosie, Summers, Zander and myself. We had a great time! The weather was beautiful. We had a pinic lunch and rode the Tram. All of the kids had a great time. Click on the link to view all of the pictures from the trip. http://picasaweb.google.com/bohenstiel/Zoo This was Zander's first trip and he was a real trooper. He was very excited to see all of the animals from one of his favorite movies, Madagascar. He was most looking forward to seeing the KAA snake (Python), but he fell asleep. We all had a great day.

Picasso

How do 2 year olds get into stuff so fast? I left Zander sitting on my bed for less than a minute while I walked to the other bathroom to collect the dirty clothes. When I returned he said, "Mom, what is this?" I looked up and he had light green fingernail polish all over his lips and one cheek. I asked him if he put it in his mouth and he said no, it was too hot. Oh, well, I got off as much as I could and I guess the rest will have to wear off. I sure do wish that I had a digital camera for times like this!

Blond Moment

We were very disappointed when we moved the furniture out of Zander's room to make room for the new furniture to find that the carpet had darkened all across one side of the room. It was a huge area. It looked like water damage, but we couldn't find any sign of water damage. Summers even pulled up part of the carpet to check out the flooring underneath and everything appeared to be fine. We decided that it made sense to go ahead and put down a new floor before moving all of the furniture into his room.
Keep in mind that this is about 3:00 on Sunday afternoon. The flooring still needs to be purchased, furniture moved to Mom's, flooring put down and then furniture moved into the room. After all of that, I would still have to organize all of Zander's clothes that are now in laundry baskets.
Mom, Zander and myself go to Lowes to pick out the new flooring while Dad and Summers go to move furniture to Mom's. We are looking at all of the types of floor and have almost made a final decision when my phone rings. It is Summers and Dad. Dad said that there was not anything wrong with the carpet. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I had vacuumed, and looked at the carpet several times. It was ruined. He went on to say that there was a light bulb out that was casting a shadow from the ceiling fan onto the carpet making it look like a stain. He promised me that the stain on the carpet moved when he moved the ceiling fan.
Well, needless to say, I felt like and idiot and I had just wasted a big portion of our day for a shadow. On the up side, most of the furniture is in place. We still have to put together the bunk beds and at some point I have to paint the room. Pictures will follow soon.

Whew!

I haven't posted anything this week because there is just no time. I have worked the last two Saturday's , work is insane, and I am trying to study for a final that I am sure I am going to fail. The whole semester, I have been able to use study guides, etc. to take weekly quizzes, but now I have to take the final this week with 25 questions on each of the 18 works that we have read with no notes! Oops! There is no way that I am going to pass this thing.
This Saturday was the large Director's Conference that I have been planning for weeks. I am so glad that it is over. It was alot of hard work. I think that it was a success though.
Next Sunday, we are all going to the zoo. Did I mention that Paige is having an open house this weekend? Why do I care, you ask? Well, that means that in the midst of all of this stress, I now have to get a whole bedroom suit of furniture and a full size bed and put it some where before 2:00 today. Now those of you that have been to my house know that the living room floor is the only place to put said furniture. I stayed up very late Friday night going through Zander's closet, throwing away items and taking apart his crib. I took his bedding set to the consignment store only for her to tell me that she wouldn't take it because it wasn't in plastic bags. Oh well, I guess it will go on EBAY if I can find a large box to ship it in. Summers had worked all day building a deck and was less than thrilled that the furniture had to be moved. He didn't think it through. The crib is over by the dining room table in a million pieces. He sat the new furniture in front of it. How am I going to get it out? The existing furniture in Zander's room has to come out to make room for the new furniture. Thankfully, Mom and Dad have agreed to let me put this stuff in their basement until I can have a yardsale. I guess that will be the next big hassel. Oh yeah, did I mention that Paige still has the bedsprings for the bunkbeds for Zander's room, so I guess he will still be sleeping on a matress in the floor until she sells her house.
I am sure that this rant doesn't make any sense to any of you, I am confused, but I feel better. Have a great Sunday.