Little Bits of Everything

The Saturday before Camden had his surgery we let him pick his "last meal." Since he was going to be on a soft food diet for a while after the surgery we figured he could have one good one before it hurt to swallow anything. Of course he chose McDonald's. 

Recovery has been... well not fun for anyone. I get it must hurt to swallow but getting Camden to listen at all the past week has been near impossible, well for anyone but Grandma Arrington. I would tell him over and over to drink and he would take these tiny sips that didn't do anything, but I had to take Beck to an appointment for his arm the Thursday after surgery, and since Camden was feeling sick my mom came and watched him. She got him to drink all of his juice AND eat breakfast in the 45 minutes I was gone. That afternoon he felt great. He had finally done what he should and it showed. But of course he is stubborn and that night wouldn't listen and felt horribly again. I have to say this has been one of the most frustrating things to deal with. Sunday I was done with the bad attitude and lack of listening and him feeling bad so we spent a long time in the morning eating a yogurt and drinking a juice, but he felt great the rest of the day and it finally clicked and he ate a good amount of dinner on his own without a fight. I weighed him on Sunday and he's lost about 2-3 lbs, which he didn't have to lose. Hopefully he gains it back fast once he can eat more. Mornings are still rough, but that's expected. He's back at school and doing much better.  He got a doodle book and pen from Grandma and Grandpa Arrington, which has been great for him to have to do while he was home from school. On the pen he wanted everyone to know it was his. It says "Cam's property." 

Jacks is such a funny, weird kid. He always makes us laugh or cringe, depending on the thing he's doing. This meal it was cringe. He had strawberries and hot dog for dinner. He said he wanted sauce, which I thought was for his hot dog so I gave him ketchup, but he though it would taste better on his strawberry. Kids must not have very good taste buds, because there is no way that tasted good.  He also says funny things. He comes up to me all the time excited saying "I have an idea!" Then he tells me what he thinks is this wonderful thing or story. Usually it's like lets eat a treat or play with the dog. Today he came in and told me that the dog was a sweetheart. Not sure where he learned that word, but it was funny to hear him say. 

 Not much grosses me out, but feet I hate. I will only cut the boys nails right after they shower and Brad knows not to put his feet near me or he will get hit. They are just nasty and I hate them. A few months ago we noticed Jacks toe nail looked weird. the Doctor said he must have been sick and for some reason it stopped the nail growth, so there was a break in the nail, but it would grow back. It has been nasty to watch it all happen and today it looked especially nasty. It is almost all fixed, which is good. Then it will not look nasty anymore. 

Camden Has Surgery... Again

Camden had is tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy yesterday. He was a little nervous, but once he heals this should make him feel so much better and he'll finally be able to breath out of his nose. When we were at the surgery center he kept shivering and saying he was cold. I'm pretty sure he was just nervous but didn't know how to process that feeling. They told me to bring an extra pair of clothes, I'm not sure why they said that but I did what they asked. When Camden saw that he was worried he'd wet himself during the surgery, so we went to the bathroom just before they took him back just to make sure. It's interesting the things that goes through their heads.  He went back to the room easy and the surgery didn't take too long. 

 But like every other surgery, he woke up made and scared, which is understandable. They said he just kept asking for his mom. They numb his throat and in the process his tongue was numb too. He hated that and was most mad about that. All he wanted to go was go home, and honestly so did I, but they have to make sure he is ok to leave. He threw up 2 times and didn't want to drink anything. Since he wouldn't drink we had to stay a little longer than I thought we would, but he finally took fluids and we were able to leave. 

 At first Beck was jealous that Camden got all the ice cream and popsicles, then he saw how miserable he was when he got home and I don't think he was jealous any more. It was hard watching him yesterday. He was so tired and slept but everytime he woke up his throat was dry and it was hard to get him to drink anything to get it feeling better. By 7 ish I made him eat a half melted popsicle (it was like that so he could use a spoon and it made it easier). I've never watched a kid be so sad to have a popsicle. Thankfully he slept well all night and is feeling a little better today. He's eaten more and is less pain. They did say day 3 and 4 are the worst, so we'll see how the rest of the week goes. It's only day 2 off of school and he is bored and ready to go back. 

The Boys Are 8!

The boys turned 8 today. Each year goes faster and faster. It's crazy that they can be baptized now and are starting scouts. My dad got them their first scout book and they have read it a ton. They can't wait to go, although they are pretty sure that they literally go and live with scouts until they are older. We may finally have them convinced that is wrong but I guess we'll see what they say when they go to their first meeting. 

We decided this year to have a friends party. They haven't had one yet, so they were excited to have friends over. The boys decided that a minecraft theme would be fun. With how popular the game is you think you could find stuff all over, but we had to make most of the things. Brad made the invites, which were awesome.  

For one of the activities we made necklaces. Brad and I used the beads that melt when you iron them and made all of these little things. It was a huge pain, but the kids loved them. 

 In Minecraft there are lots of different elements that you can find and mine. Instead of a big cakes we just have a lot of treats that went with some of the elements you find on the game. They were a big hit. Nothing like getting kids hopped up on sugar then sending them home. 

 Instead of a pinata we had boxes of prizes. You had to mine the box using your neck,hands or feet to hold the mallet and then you got the prize inside. It actually was a big hit and fun to watch. 

 Cam using his neck to hit the box. 

 Then of course singing and presents. I love how happy their friends look here. 

I like to do an update each year with the kids so here are the boys'. 

Camden has grown so much this year. Not so much in height but in the way he acts. He still likes to bug people, but I think being is a different class than Beck has made him appreciate Beck more. There was more than once occasion that Beck was sick and Camden has worried all day if he was ok, this broken arm was the most he's worried. He loves the talks we have each night and makes sure I ask him if he's happy. He loves to tell me he is, which makes me happy too. Camden is really smart but is like Brad, not driven to give it his all 100% of the time. We've had to work with him this year on a few things, but he excels in school and really likes it, and math is his favorite subject. He still loves Minecraft like last year. Cam loves to eat my banana bread. (I made some this week for the first time in forever, apparently it has really stuck with him.) He had a hard time at the beginning of the year being in separate classes from Beck. He is the smaller kid and I think got picked on a little and didn't have Beck there to back him up. I will never put them in separate classes in elementary again. 

He had a great birthday present today. He had to go for a pre-op for his surgery on Tuesday and for that they had to draw blood. Camden wasn't as easy going as Beck was. I had to hold his arms down and still, but I can't say I blame him, I'm an adult and I hate it. The guy who did it was awesome and go his vein on the first try, so it was pretty quick. Once it was over he said it wasn't that bad. 

Beckham has gotten taller, he doesn't seem to stop growing. He didn't have a problem with the separate classes, but his teacher is awesome and really pushes his to do his best and has helped him excel. He has improved in all areas in school from last year. Beck reads like crazy and has over 40 points in school. He has also earned a trophy in his minute math (50 math problems in a minute) and is still working for a bigger one. He is like me and when he does well in something he keeps going and loves to see the progress. He doesn't really need to be pushed to keep going and gives 100% all the time. His favorite subject is math too. Beck does follow friends a lot. He has this way of talking that bugs me so much. It's not a normal voice, it's like he's trying to be sarcastic and funny, like old Jim Carry talk. We are working on getting his attitude and the way he talks to us better; it may be a long summer of work to just get it back when school starts again. He is sticking up for himself with Camden a little more, which is good to see. If you ask Beck for a hug he will just lean into you and let you do the hug, he won't actually hug. Like Cam he loves Minecraft. Beck's favorite food is pizza and anything sweet. 

We love these two boys, they have been so much fun to have and watch grow. I just hope the next 8 years go by a little slower. 

All That Happened Today

It it only May 6th and I'm ready for the month to be over. It has been and is going to be a very busy month filled with birthdays, surgeries and doctors appointments. 

Beck got his cast today. The doctor had to fit the cast to his arm to make sure it would stay still, and we have to go back in a week to make sure it's healing ok. Other than the surgery part, Camden's arm wasn't as hard to deal with. We'll have to go in a lot to make sure the bone is healing right. Beck is very happy to have the splint off and the real cast on. I wouldn't let him go out for recess, so he is very happy now he can. 

 We had the first boy birthday of May. Brad turned 32 yesterday, but since I had to work we celebrated it today. The kids picked the cake out, which wasn't a bad choice. We got him a baseball game so he now has something to do on the nights I work. 

 Jacks thought he should help open presents. He is going to be fun at the end of the month on his birthday. 

 Emery also wanted to pick a treat out, so she got him some candy. She was so happy when he liked it. 

 Also today we registered Emery for kindergarten! Our baby girl is ready and old enough for school. She was so excited to go and now can't wait to start. She has already asked how many sleeps until she can go. 

So more on Camden and his sweet phase. When we left the house to take Back to the ER we just kind of left. I wish now we took a second to tell the other kids what has going on, but I didn't think about it. While everyone at the house was eating dinner someone went to my mom and said she should check on Camden. He was sitting by the front door and didn't want to move. He said he was just going to wait for Beck to get back to make sure he was ok. I'm glad Camden didn't come, Beck sedated would have scared him, but part of me feels bad I didn't have him come. On Sunday Camden kept coming out and asking different things about school and Beck. He asked if he should help Beck get a shirt on, or if he should bring a blanket in case Beck needs to rest his arm on something soft. He also wanted to know if he should tell Mrs. Martin that she could come and get him if Beck needed help in class. Beck had to sleep on the bottom bunk because he couldn't climb with his splint. That is where Camden usually sleeps. We check on the kids before we go to be and when we went into the boys room Camden was laying on the floor next to Beckham. I love this side of Camden. I love seeing the bond that they have and will probably always have. It's closer than a 'normal' sibling bond and even though the broken arm wasn't a good thing, I have loved watching it. 

Exciting Weekend

First update on the dog. Yes we still have him. He actually isn't that bad... so far. He does wake up about twice in the middle of the night but is getting better. Training is going well too. He likes his kennel and is doing ok with going outside. Looks like he may be a keeper. 

Yesterday we went to Boise. Our niece Adarah got baptized. Jacks slept a little on the way up. I don't get how kids sleep the ways they do.  

 Adarah looked so beautiful and happy on her special day. It was fun for the boys to see so they could understand what they will be doing soon. We went to my brother Bryan's sister-in-laws house for a dinner after. The kids went outside to play and it wasn't more than a minute I hear Brad say 'broken arm' and Beck comes in. He fell on the trampoline in a weird way and well... broke his arm. You can see it poking up a little here. 

 We went to the ER. He was so brave. I think I cried more than he did. I still can't handle the kids in an pain. Once his adrenaline wore off he was in a little pain, but meds and ice helped at the ER. 

 We were 'lucky' because it was only a greenstick fracture, but it did have to be set. 

 It is at almost a 30` angle which is why it needed to be set. They sedate kids when they set them. I wasn't worried about the sedation, but also not prepared for how he reacted with it. They said most kids just knock out right away. He first tired to sit up, so they gave him a little more and was fine. Then they started to fix it and he fought. He was asleep, but not all the way. He kept telling them to get off of him and kicking his legs. I'm pretty sure I heard him say Cam at one point in time, so he was just dreaming about Camden bugging him. He was only out for about 10 min and woke up with a splint on his arm. He had to take it easy for a few days before he gets his whole cast. So now maybe when he gets baptized he'll have a cast on too. 

We were so lucky to have lots of family to help with the other kids. I didn't think about it when we left the house, but Camden was worried about Beck. I love how close twins are. Even if they fight a lot, they really care about each other and worry when they are hurt or sick. On our way home Cam sent a text from my mom's phone that said "tell Beck I love him." It was so sweet to read, especially because Camden likes to be tough, so it was nice to see him be compassionate like that. The kids got some stuff with Grandma and Grandpa Arrington and made Beck cards. Emery made him a computer and Camden's says "Hope your arm is getting better. I will teach you the cast way."  

Not exactly how we expected to spend our weekend, but we are glad it wasn't any worse. 

New Family Member

 We told the boys for their birthday we would get a dog. After a lady dropping out at the last minute, then not being able to find one we liked that wasn't really expensive, we found one that was inexpensive and something we liked. Meet Hurley. He is a pug/husky mix. The kids love him, maybe a little too much. We didn't tell the boys we were picking him up, so they were excited when we went and got him. 

Isn't he so cute. It will be a few annoying weeks getting him trained and the kids used to him. Already tonight he has been crying because he is alone and in a new place. There was 4 in the litter, and you can tell he misses having them near. I may regret this, but hopefully as time goes on it will get easier. 

Easter Party

It was time for the Barnes Easter Party. The number of kids has gone down from what it used to be. Everyone is growing up. Jacks looks super happy to start, although he had no idea what was going on at first. 

 

It took a little for him to get the point of it all but once he did he had fun getting the eggs. It was even better when we went inside and he found out that there was candy in the eggs, then he was really excited. 

 The other three are old enough they just took off on their own. They love to see how much money they got. Emery has been counting down to the Easter Party for a while. She didn't get why everyone was saying it was Easter last week because she knew it was this week. We may need to work on that with her. 

They all came home with a lot of candy and a big sugar high. 

Little Bit of Lately

Nothing too big or exciting has happen around our house, which I think is a good thing. I was cleaning pictures off my phone and came to a few good ones that I wanted to post. 

Jackson will be 3 in a little over a month. By this time all of the other kids were done with naps and just doing quiet time. Jackson and Emersyn won't just sit together and watch a movie. Normally I would take the time to teach Jacks to be better at it, but on Thursday's and Fridays I have to sleep a little before work, so Jacks is 'forced' to take a nap. He has been fighting it a little lately but still does pretty well. There are days where no nap is ok and other were he really needed one. This was one of those 'he needed a nap but decided to just play with toys in his room' days. Once it came time for dinner he was really tired. He got mad because he didn't want to eat what we had for dinner but we were making him. All of a sudden it got really quiet and when we looked at him we saw him like this. Not sure how it was a good way to sleep, but for him it worked. We were mean and made him wake up because 6 pm is too late for a nap. 

 Also recently we moved the kids room around and put Jacks in the first room with his toys. Jacks has a great imagination and will play by himself for hours, which is nice... until it's 11:30 at night and we want to go to sleep but he doesn't. But when he does fall asleep he just looks so cute. He loves his stuffed animals, especially super hero ones. 

About a week ago we had nice weather. We took the kids to a park to play and the boys found a tree to climb. They thought it was pretty cool. 

                                    I'm not a nervous mom, but stuff like this freaks me out. I really don't want another Doctor bill, especially since in a few weeks Cam has to have yet another surgery to have his tonsils and adenoid taken out. 

Cam's Night

Not much has been happening at our house. It's been a lot of hanging out, doing to school/work, and well that's about it. This past weekend was Camden's special night though. He wanted to go and see Rio 2 which happened to be at the drive-in so he decided to kind of share his night. First we at lunch with Cam. He chose Chick-fil-a and this part was alone. Brad had something he had to be at home for, so we ate it at home. To sweeten the deal of sharing part of his night, we let Cam pick everyone's treat. He loves to have control like that, so it was a lot of fun for him deciding what to get everyone. He did a great job too, every loved what he got them. He had a little money he wanted to spend so we went to the $1 store and he got a toy there. 

 It was a little cold but not too bad. By the end all of the kids were in the car in blankets. 

 Another part of it being Cam's night was he got a kids pack, although he did share it with the other kids.