Aric's Star Wars Room

Since late last year we have planned to move the kids back into their own rooms.  We felt they would both need their own space again, especially after Aric started school next fall.  After Kellyn's acrobatic stunt, our plans sped up and the kids were moved. 

I spent the past month working on pulling together all that I had planned for Aric's room.  I'm pleased with the way it all turned out and so is Aric.

Before:

We kept Aric in Kellyn's old room and moved Kellyn into Aric's old room.  It was more to do with paint colors than any other reason.

After:

I ordered quite a bit from Etsy to decorate Aric's room.  A friend of mine made Aric's name banner in a Star Wars font.  I ordered the Star Wars art, and matted and framed them with Hobby Lobby stock items.

The Star Wars Encyclopedia and signed character were my brother's.  They had been buried in my closet.  I had Ryan install a shelf high on the wall to prevent Aric from getting to them before he's old enough to appreciate them.

I made the Star Wars character cross stitch for Aric.  He was a little slave driver throughout the whole process, demanding to know when I was going to finish "my work".

The bookshelf and star light were already in the room.  I added the print above the bookshelf.  It was another Etsy item and a stock frame from Hobby Lobby.

Everything tied in with his quilt:

 I am really happy with his room and how well it turned out.  It had better will grow with him for a long time, because I won't be redecorating it for a long time.

Next up is conquering this mess:

Snow Day

Last Thursday we got 9 inches of snow.  It was the first big snow we've had in two years.  The kids loved every minute of it.

The first day they only played in it when Ryan was out shoveling.

The next day I took them sledding in the backyard...

...and jumping in the snow filled trampoline.

Don't worry.  We had more snow adventures I'll soon share.  AND there should be more to come since it is snowing right now.

On Letting Go

Lately I've realized just how quickly time has gone by.  I look at Aric and I know our baby/toddler/preschool days are rapidly coming to an end.  On Tuesday I was online researching information about which elementary he will attend this fall.  I also printed out the application for him to attend Kindergarten Round-Up this April.  It was a tearful day for me.  On one hand I want to hold onto him forever.  On the other I know that I need to teach him to be self-sufficient and let him be his own person.  He needs to learn how to function on his own and not be dependent on us.  Right now I'm praying for wisdom on whether sending him to half-day kindergarten is the best or if a full day is what he really needs.

The truth is he is growing up.  He can read, he can write, he can do math problems and so much more.  Yesterday he learned how to tie his shoes.

...and was rewarded for his efforts:

I want the best for him as he grows up and begins to expand his world.  As a mother all I can do is support him, teach him, pray for him and not hold on too tight when it's time to let him go.  Now if you'll excuse me I need to go cry some more. 

Hair

Last Friday I put Kellyn's hair up in her first pigtails.  I was excited, because it's finally long enough.

She was not so excited.

The pig tails lasted long enough for me to take photos and then they came out.  She was pretty upset with them.  I'll try again this summer when it's hot and she doesn't mind having her hair up off of her neck.

The same day I took the kids to the grocery store.  While there a store employee approached us and asked, "How are you ladies doing today?"  I didn't correct him and he eventually wandered off.  Aric, however, was quite perturbed with being called a lady.  That's when I realized that as a parent, it is not acceptable for me to avoid confrontation because I don't want to make me or anyone else uncomfortable.  As a parent it is my job to defend and protect my children.  I dropped the ball by not correcting the employee that Aric is a boy.  I won't make the same mistake next time.

Afterwards I took Aric to have his hair cut.  We've been needing to do it for awhile, and Aric has asked to have his hair a bit shorter.

Now it is out of his eyes and he is much happier.

Treasuring Every Moment

I've been unintentionally absent this past week.  It's not that I didn't have anything to say,  I had much to say.  It's that last Sunday night we had a huge wake up call and ever since I've been cherishing the moments with Aric and Kellyn.  Every time I look at them my heart overflows with love.  I just want to hold them and enjoy every precious moment that God gives me with them.

Last Sunday, as usual, we tucked the kids into bed and went downstairs.  I went back to sewing and Ryan was in the kitchen. About 5-10 minutes after we tucked them in I heard a huge thud upstairs.  It wasn't a normal I dropped my water/toy/book, etc, kind of thud it sounded like a body fell.  I ran upstairs to find Kellyn coming out of the bedroom crying.  She was inconsolable.  I held her on the couch, while Aric explained to Ryan what happened.  Apparently after we tucked them in, Kellyn climbed into Aric's bed, the top bunk, and was sitting there talking and playing with him.  She leaned backwards and fell head first over the railing.  She landed on top of her head.

We knew by the way she was acting that it was a terrible fall.  She was clingy, when I set her down to walk over to Ryan, she went limp and wouldn't walk.  We knew this wasn't normal behavior and decided to take her to the ER.  We went to the ER as a family, because we knew there was no way I would have been able to check her in at the front desk over the volume of her crying and screaming.

I sat down with her in the waiting room while Ryan checked her in.  Ryan answered the usual questions, and we were told to take a seat.  Before Ryan could sit down with us, Kellyn began to projectile vomit into my lap and purse.  It's amazing how quickly everyone moves when that begins to happen.  Ryan took Aric back home to get us a change of clothes, while Kellyn and I were rushed back.  The nurses quickly checked her in, gave us hospital gowns to change into and put Kellyn in a bed.

Kellyn answered questions, cried, remembered what happened, what she had for dinner, cried some more and kept telling us she wanted to go home to take a shower and sleep in daddy and mommy's bed.  As a precautionary measure she had a Ct scan done or in simpler terms they looked at her head in a big doughnut.  Unfortunately for Kellyn, they had to strap her down on a papoose board.  She struggled against being strapped down, but did remarkably well and even wanted her picture taken so she could see how silly she looked.

Long story short, she was diagnosed with a concussion and was released from the hospital after midnight.  We all went home, showered, put on clean clothes and fell asleep in daddy and mommy's bed.  Ryan stayed home from work the next day and dismantled the bunk beds.  The kids are now sleeping in twin beds in their own bedrooms.

Ever since I've been treasuring the little moments and thanking God for the precious lives he entrusted us with.