The Fab Four Are At Our House!

We now have quads! Well, maybe they should be considered twins with a mother and a father? Or maybe they are all siblings? Whatever. We got four new fish. They are darn cute, too.

Meet John, Paul, George, and Ringo. The Fab Four now reside at our house.

We headed out to the pet store Saturday afternoon with the intention of picking up a bowl and a few fish for the boys. Jason has a new obsession with all things animal, and if Shawn continues the pattern he's been on lately, his obsession with animals will follow within a few weeks. So, we thought why not. It is a relatively inexpensive addition to our budget, right? We went for it.

We were off to the pet store, wide eyed with the thrill of the hunt. We had few expectations. We'd get fish. We knew we'd also get the chance to look at some of the small animals while we were there, too. A win win.

Right off the bat, the hamsters and the snakes were big hits with our younguns. Score for me! I had a good idea! Things took a turn downhill once we left the small critters and moved to the aquatic area. The boys were impressed with the water turtles, too. But the fish were apparently not that great. We couldn't get the boys to even hardly look at them.

We picked out a tank with a lid to keep the cats out. Jason picked out pink and blue (but mostly pink) rocks for the bottom. Shawn picked out a pink flower. (I have no idea why everything is pink. Real men love pink, right?) Isaac picked out some natural colored rocks to offset all the pink, and we were off. We rescued four little feeder fish. I let the clerk choose which ones we got. I just told him to choose four that would likely still be alive in the morning. (So far, so good on that one. Everyone is still alive and swimming.)

$69.00 later, Isaac and I were sitting in the car, shell shocked and wondering what the heck?

I looked at the receipt. The fish were $0.52. Four all four. That works out to $0.13 each.

We bought $68.48 worth of stuff for $0.52 worth of fish. Um, no. Then Isaac piped in with a whole commentary about how I should have sent him to the pet store on his own and he'd have us all set up with the whole deal for under $20.

Sigh. Back into the store I went.

I returned the $44!!!! fish tank set up we purchased by accident (apparently it was in the wrong place) and got a the one that we should have gotten for the price we thought we were paying, which happily I like even better than the first one. Then I had to lie to the stupid clerks who tried to badger me into getting the bigger tank because the fish! need! a! gallon! of! water! per! fish! technically making us need a 5 gallon tank for the four freaking feeder fish. (Later, I was told that these babies can reach 22 inches long. If they live that long that is. All I am saying is that these fish have been elevated from the projects of the fish world into a pretty darn fine condo in the suburbs. They should be happy. I'll just pretend they're living in the cramped world of New York...or Los Angeles and leave it at that!) Anyway, I got my money back, changed the tanks, and hightailed it out of there before even more money tried to fall out of my pockets into their cash register.

I was happier. Isaac was happier. The boys could have cared less--they were still playing with the rocks and the flower.

At home, we set up the tank.

And now?

The boys keep asking to see and smell the pretty pink flower and could care less about the fish. I am not even sure they really even know that the fish are in the tank with the flower. Well, maybe they know, but I can assure you that they don't really care. Had I known that originally, I could have sent Isaac out to get the stupid flower, put it into a reptile tank, and left it at that.

Jeez.

We like them, though, so it is all good in the long run. :-)

Itsy Bitsy Spider...

Not his best performance, but it makes me smile every time...

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Oh, and please excuse the...um, voice singing. (If you can call it that! I use the term loosely.)

Mostly Wordless Wednesday - Vroom, Vroom!

After visiting with the Easter Bunny, Jason wanted to try these...

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Shawn? Not so much. He preferred to check out his new coloring book, snug in daddy's arms.

Who can blame him? ;-)

Happy Easter (A Tad Belated)

We had a lovely Easter!

Four things we learned this Easter:

1. No matter how many times we see him, or even how many times he gives us a high five, the Easter Bunny is still a great, big, scary...thing. And he can still make us cry...

or look off in the sunset with a dazed look on our face...

(Help me, mommy!)

You'd be happy to know that Shawn was all smiles again, the second he was rescued from the great, big, scary...thing's lap.

2. Chocolate is YUMMY!

It doesn't matter how much you eat for dinner, you can always add chocolate!

Chocolate was so yummy, Jason woke me up this morning with a "I want chocolate, please!" and Shawn practically starts sprinting toward you if he thinks you have any.

(They come by this obsession naturally for those who don't know. I rarely meet a chocolate I don't like. Ahem.)

4. Give the boys chocolate, and they get all lovey dovey!

Mmm...baby toddler kisses...the best way to end a day!

3. Trains attack.

The boys got a small train set for Easter. They weren't too sure about it when they got it, and they've continued to ignore it--until it mysteriously started moving Monday afternoon. It scared the crap out of both of them, making them both cry hysterically! Jason flew across the room and into my lap. Shawn, who was already on my lap, tried to climb over the top of me. (I know! Brave little guys, right?) I was laughing so hard I was almost crying, too! Jason asked, "Did the train scare you, mommy?" for the rest of the night. Clearly they are traumatized.

We hope your day was just as fabulous as ours! Happy (belated) Easter, Everyone!

About Jason

Some things about our little Jay...

• He loves his bath time. He splashes and "swims" the entire time. I have to empty the tub for him to even consider getting out of it!
• Is kind of shy around people he doesn’t know well.
• He enjoys his quiet / TV time. (and I swear he can tell time because he knows that his show is about to come on before it actually does)
• He likes to sing with the radio--although, I have to admit that television is his preferred media.
• He loves to play with his toy cars and zooms up and down the halls with them. If mileage was an indication, the cars would be over due for an oil change now!
• His favorite foods are pizza, french fries, avocados, oranges, bananas, peaches and goldfish.
• He isn't that big on discovering new foods--wonder where he gets that one?
• Don’t tell anyone, but he prefers his mommy. Well, he does when grandma is no where around. :-)
• He is pretty polite for a 2 year old. When he says, “No” always followed immediately by “thanks.”
• He insists on knowing where Shawn is. He doesn’t necessarily want to be near him, but likes to know anyway.
• Jason and the cats seem to have a way with each other that keeps the peace. That "way" seems to be a "you stay over there and I'll be over here," but it works for them.
• We are seeing more of Jason’s WILL every day. It's new and improved--version 2.5 comes with a little “tude.” (His father says he gets that from his mother...NOT!)
• Jason can spot a “car transporter” from a mile away. (His idea of playing "slug bug" only it's a lot harder to pronounce! He does say it clearly though.)
• He makes every food a finger food. You should see him eat rice...one at a time (Doesn’t care for cutlery as much as Shawn. He can use them, but he considers them so sloooowwww...)
• Jason loves flowers. He loves to look at them, smell them, you name it.
• He like to play with stickers and will stick them on everything. I think every single one of his cars has had a sticker on it at some point. He loves them, only when he says it, it sounds more like "stinkers."
• He knows all of his colors and shapes. His favorites are purple and the octagon.
• He can count up to seven correctly.
• He recognizes most of his letters.
• He has recently discovered the cushions on the back of the couch. Now he likes to climb on the couch and throw the pillows on the floor. This does not do anything to endear him to the cats. They get totally freaked!
• Jason gives sweet little kisses and big, big hugs. He is a little snuggler.
• Jay loves to sit in your lap and read books. :-)
• He completely understands the need for his glasses and will ask for them if I have forgotten to give them to him. He still does throw them occasionally when he's mad, but he always puts them back on once he is calm. He loves glasses so much, that he wants to wear all kinds of glasses--even Mr. Potato Head glasses. Sometimes, he even has to take his own glasses off to make Potato's fit. It cracks me up.
• Jason will talk your ear off. Literally. The boy never shuts up. Where do you suppose he gets that from?
  

About Shawn

Some things about our little Shawn Bon...

• He loves to hug. He is the best snuggler in the world!
• He also loves to give kisses, especially to Jason.
• When he says, "I'm sorry," he develops an English accent so it sounds more like, "Um sor-ray." It totally cracks me up.
• He is still a gregarious flirt when we go out and loves to say, "Hi!" to all the ladies. We hope he never loses that.
• He is very polite; he's often the first to tell you "Bless you" if you sneeze, cough, or blow your nose. Plus, he also regularly says "please," "thank you," and "excuse me."
• He loves the boys' potty--to play in, though. He hasn't yet decided that he should actually use it. He's sat on it once...so, at least we are getting closer. :-)
• He is independent when he plays.
• He loves music around (playtime, bath time, anytime) and asks for it with "usic on" when he knows the CD player is in the room.
• Has recently discovered toy cars.
• He figures puzzles are more for throwing than putting together. I think he just likes to watch me scramble to pick up the pieces. Ahem.
• He thinks that passing gas is the funniest thing in. the. world. Telling him he is stinky will send him into a hysterical fit of laughter.
• He is quite the Peekaboo (or as he calls it, "Pee-ka-doo!") Master. He'll play anywhere and with anything--around the corner, under his shirt, behind a fork--you name it and he can Peekaboo it!
• He loves to hear the echo of his own voice down the hall, in the empty bookcase, or in the bath.
• He loves the color blue.
• We are seeing more of Shawn's WILL every day. Let me just say that the boy is very "Strong Willed." (Isaac says he gets that from his mother, but I disagree on that one.)
• He has a special bond with our cat, Annie. Whenever Shawn is sitting on my lap, Annie has to come over to rub on him and purr at him. She seems to know that he has a gentle and quiet way about him. (She wants NOTHING to do with Jason.) He has even managed to pet our cat, Gracie, twice. If you know anything about Gracie, you'd know she doesn't let just anyone touch her. In fact, most people who come to our house never even get to see her.
• He loves to close the door. All of our doors have to be closed or have a door stopper. If there is a room with an open door, he makes it his mission to close it.
• He can be very "Demanding," mostly with the remote. Seriously, it is hard to keep him OFF of On Demand! I don't know how he does it. :-) Once he changes the channel, he'll hand the remote back to me for me to "fix" the tv.
• Has a new pal in Scout, a programmed stuffed animal, which was a present from his Uncle Jeff. Shawn loves that Scout calls Shawn by name. Shawn lights up every single time he hears it.
• He is quite refined, and has decided that food just tastes better when it's on a fork. (It's our use of cutlery that separates us from wild animals you know.)
• He loves the "Itsy Bitsy Spider" song. When he hears that song, his hands spring together because he. must. climb. up. the. spout! He does his own version of all the moves to the song, too.
• He is now a momma's boy.
• His favorite food is graham crackers. He could eat them all day--everyday.
• He loves all things technical--the remote, musical/mechanical toys, whatever. He has great concentration, focusing on them until he's figured out whatever it is.
• He will finally let me read him an entire book. For the longest time, he'd only let me get three or four pages in before he'd close the book on me.
• Shawn wants all the lights in the house on at all times. He loves them!

We Have a Date

Jason's surgery is scheduled for April 20. It is not exactly as soon as I wanted (I am all for getting stuff over with so I don't have to worry about it), but this was the only doable option.

We don't have to go back to the opthomologist again until we see him on surgery day, which is good. The opthomologist's office is going to handle all the paperwork for authorizations and the like. All we will need to do is take Jason to the pediatrician the week before surgery to have a well baby---or um, toddler--check up and register him at the hospital.

The procedure will take approximately 30 minutes because both eyes will be aligned. Jason should be at the hospital for no more than 3ish hours. We'll put drops in his eyes for a week and then all should be good. A follow up will be scheduled for July/August.

Jason has about a 70% chance that this will be all that he will need to correct the alignment of his eyes. The opthomologist did say that they "sometimes" experience some challenges with aligning preemies' eyes and have to go back in to "tweak" things (his words not mine), so he can't give us the usual 90% success rate that full term kids get. I say we expect to be part of the 70% on this one. It stinks to always be on the wrong side of the odds. Sounds like a plan to me!

Dr. Google had already told me much of what I wanted to know before we went to the opthomologist, but I did learn something. (That's what we pay him the big bucks for, right?) The opthomologist said not to be too worried if Jason's eyes are not instantly corrected. That doesn't necessarily mean that the surgery was a failure. He made sure to say that while most kids will see immediate improvement, some may take a few days or weeks until their eyes look aligned. (Good to know. Note to self--don't freak if eyes aren't perfect 10 seconds after he wakes up. Got it.)

I'll update again should things change. :-)