Some things never change

Apparently legos are just as popular now as they were when I was little because

this is all the kids have wanted to do for the past 24 hours.

Thank you, Grandma -

They love them.

No News.

In the interest of not jinxing anything, I am most definitely not going to tell you that someone may or may not have gained another pound and that person may or may not be in the 10th percentile now. Nope, no news here. And I am not doing cartwheels in the street. Nope, not me.

A whole Bunch Of Random Nothingness

Haven't taken any pictures lately, so I don't have any new photos to share.

Owen proved the theory that once you blog about something, it does in fact jinx it. He has had a terrible day. Awful. Don't know if I've ever felt sorrier for him and I'm not exactly sure what sparked it, but our happy healthy streak came to a screeching halt this morning.

Isaac wants a Star Wars V-Smile, a Star Wars computer, a Star Wars leapster, a pillow pet, and a hologram for Christmas. Apparently, it is not too early to start asking Santa for things. Including holograms?!

Emma Grace is learning the hard way that she should definitely go to the bathroom before she gets on the school bus. Every day we have to do an all-out sprint from the bus stop and she barely makes it in time. While I do feel sorry for her, it is also a little bit humorous to watch her backpack and pigtails bouncing as she sprints for the house.

I just found this picture from last summer of my nephew. It is one of my all time favorites; I mean, I could gobble him up in this picture. And just watching him munch on watermelon reminds me that summer is coming to an end....and I'm glad. I'm ready for crisp fall weather. I'm ready for piles of leaves and cups of hot chocolate out on the deck.

I miss my sister, but ya know, I always miss my sister. So nothing new there.

Todd's getting ready to kick off the new school year which means lots of fun events. The kids and I joined the teens for game night the other night and I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. I really don't understand why people are afraid of the teenage years. I find teenagers absolutely hilarious. I hope I feel the same way when they're mine. If they're anything like I was, I'm sure I won't.

Fall TV starts soon. I'm thinking about adding Modern Family to my list of things to watch. I hear it is hilarious.

Oh and I just started the last book in the Hunger Games series. So far it is about like the first two: disturbing but "can't put it down" good.

And that's it for my random update.

A Little Taste of Heaven

Okay - I haven't wanted to post this for two reasons:
1.) I don't ever want to seem "woe is me" on this blog because while Owen does have some issues, he is a fantastic kid and we are blessed because we know and pray for many families who are going through a LOT worse.
And 2.) because I haven't wanted to jinx it.

But I'll risk it and say.......we are now going on day eight of a seriously happy Owen. Day 8!! What does that mean? That means that besides a measly two hours of screaming on Thursday afternoon, Owen has been happy this week - really happy. We are assuming it's the combination of increasing medications and changing some things in his diet and Todd and I literally can't stop talking about it. Seriously - we're pathetic; we're like a kid at Christmas with a new toy. We're constantly saying things like, "did you see that smile?" or "Can you believe he just woke up and started playing?" or "Oh my gosh, did you just hear him laughing like that?!" or "Hurry, come look at him; he's having so much fun." etc, etc.

I'm soaking him up and thanking God for a good, no great, no.....fantastic week!

And in case posting this does jinx it, I will never praise my kids on this blog again. It will be all doom and gloom from here on out.

The Conversation that Never Was....

Hello, thank you for calling ______ Insurance Company. How can I help you today?

Me: Oh hi, I'm calling about my son Owen today.

Oh....this must be Mrs. Fischer. How is sweet Owen? We sure have been thinking about him a lot.

Me: He's doing pretty well this week. Thanks for asking. We're just wondering why his prescription formula isn't even at least partially covered?

GASP! Oh dear -That is a problem; that is atrocious! I am so glad you called today. We just changed our policy. From now on, we will cover it fully, send it directly to your house, and send a nurse over to help you mix it up and change any diapers it may affect negatively.

Me: Really, Wow! Thank you so much.

No problem. We are so sorry you had to even call and ask about it. And to save you your next phone call; don't you worry one bit about paying for his next procedure after the deductible rolls over. The fourth endoscopy is always free. You have a lovely day now.

A girl can dream, right?

Hairnets For A Cause

Today we went to downtown Durham and put on hairnets

to help package meals

with a lot of other people who packaged over 50,000 meals

to send to Ethiopia.

Random Thoughts

Happy Friday the 13th. Mwa ha ha ha.

Here's our week in review, boring as it may be:

We're all adjusting to the new school routine. Even with a bad I've never wanted to hurt two young girls more in my life bus incident, Emma Grace is loving kindergarten and excited to go every day. I love hearing her stories every afternoon. Like the one where she told me the boy who sits next to her tries to get her to talk to him during quiet time by saying things like "pssst....hey....do you like caterpillars?" Gotta love 5 year olds.

The boys and I are getting used to our days without the diva. Isaac is reveling in the fact that he gets ALL the talk time in the car now and doesn't have to take turns. This means I get to answer a gazillion questions about road signs, and hear the plot of every movie he's ever seen, and get explicit details about one of his toenails that has grown back, etc. Today he was playing with Owen at an indoor play area and another mom said "wow, they act like real brothers." Seriously, lady?! Maybe that's because they are REAL brothers.... But anyway....

This is not a great picture, but I like it because it shows Isaac being, well, Isaac. :)

My big chunkster photographed below had a good appointment at UNC this week. We needed it. He has gained a few ounces and climbed out of the failure to thrive category. We are excited and hopeful that this new mixture of special formula and increased dosages of medications will keep the scales climbing in the right direction. The doctor even laughed and said, "look, he has a little belly." And sure enough - he does. :) We are almost to the 22 pound mark and let me tell you, there will be celebration galore when we get there. That has been our goal for MONTHS. I mean, we will be passing out party hats and doing cartwheels in the street when we hit that number. And when we hit 23, (where the doctors really want him to be) I'll probably hire one of those planes that drags a banner around saying "Owen Zachary now weighs 23!!" Be looking for it. Although I don't know how I'll pay for it since his new formula costs almost as much...

And that's our week in review. I'm looking forward to the pool with my big kids this weekend if the weather cooperates. Happy Friday!

Family Beach Trip

We just got back from a week at the beach with the whole Roberts clan. It was a fun week. And since I still can't figure out how to post more than 4 pictures at a time, I am just doing 3 separate posts with pictures, so make sure to keep scrolling down if you want to see all the pics. Well, actually not all the pictures. Keep scrolling if you want to see 16 of the 476 pictures that I took. I know. It is really ridiculous. I need help....maybe a Photographers Anonymous group or something. There were just too many cute kids running around - I couldn't help it.

Also, if you know how to get blogger to allow me to post more pictures, please tell me. I'm sure it's something easy, but I'm blonde and need all the help I can get.

Okay - without further adieu....here's pics of our family on the beach, courtesy of Aunt Sarah Ellen. We may look like we're having the time of our lives, but looks can be deceiving. It was quite hot and Owen really wanted nothing to do with the family photo session. Not sure Todd did either, but he was a good sport about it even though I forget to tell him to bring a white or navy shirt. Oops.

Keep Scrolling

Fun in the sun, sand, and waves.

Little Owen tackling the trip down to the waves.

Isaac on a body board. He was constantly riding the waves and having a blast. He spent more time out on the beach than the rest of us, combined. If anybody was headed out there - they were taking Isaac and the body board. And yes, this is the same Isaac who used to be petrified of water on his face. And yes, we are loving his new found confidence!

If I was allowed to hang personal pictures up in my house right now, I would so blow this one up and hang it in their room. I LOVE this picture of him. The smile says it all.

And finally, the diva contemplating her next activity. She was a busy girl: always building, swimming, or running with her cousins.

And Last but not Least

Some cousin fun!
There are six cousins, age 6 and under. To say it was chaotic would be the understatement of the year, but it was also fun.

Here's Lukie-Lamb digging for gold.

Lauren Kate with her mischievous grin and gorgeous curls.

Cameron...aka my brother, reincarnated. (She looks just like him.)

And Lauren Kate and Emma Grace doing some running. They did a lot of that!

And that was our beach trip.
The End.

Went a little psycho.....

Kindergarten.
The first day has come and gone. She is officially a "big girl" now. She is officially spending more time with other people during the day than with me, as evidenced by her new phrases tonight of "oh yeah, baby" and "no way!" Hey, at least she didn't drop the F bomb or something....yet.

Here we are getting ready for the first day:

Getting a picture with our brothers before we leave:

I mean seriously? Could she be any cuter?

Here she is right before we left, coloring with "big Michael". Apparently, there are two Michaels. She likes them both. I think (on this staggered entry day) leaving her was harder for Isaac than me or Todd. When we were walking out, he kept saying, "I think I hear her. She needs me - we should go check on her one more time." So cute.

I think that today (first official start day) was harder on me than I expected. I mean, as I watched her walking towards her class amidst a bunch of fifth graders, she just looked so tiny. Something in me broke a little bit as I realized this is just the beginning of "letting go" that all parents go through. When that shift happened, I may or may not have become a little bit certifiable...... The other day upon leaving, I simply welled up; today there were big, fat crocodile tears. I considered going back to the school, picking her up, grabbing homeschooling supplies and making a run for it. I considered emailing her teacher to see if she actually made it to her classroom or ate her lunch or just to remind her one more time which bus to get on. I was a nervous wreck about her riding the bus home in the afternoons so I begged Todd to go follow the bus home. He (wisely) refused and tried to talk me off the ledge. And my shining moment was when I left for the bus stop at 3:50 (5 minutes after the school that is at least 12 minutes away officially lets out) and when I saw a bus driving down the street, I literally chased it thinking it was her and they didn't let her off. I was hauling ass with the dog and Isaac and yelling until one of the girls that got off of it informed me that that bus was from a different school. You know, South East HIGH School.

So, to sum up, we both survived. She had a blast and learned some new fun sayings, a lot of rules, and that "little Michael" is allergic to peanuts - and I......was a miserable wreck. And now we get to do it all again tomorrow.

I've heard it gets easier. I really, really hope that's true.
Because tomorrow when I'm chasing down buses full of much older students or city buses that happen to be passing by around the time she should be getting home, I'm pretty sure someone may call the cops.