Waterparks, rainbows, fireworks and catching frogs. That what our summer is made of!

I haven't been blogging as much as I would like. We've been pretty busy here at our household! Jake and Grayson had their weekend getaway with their Yah-Yah and Papaw and had a ton of fun swimming with their cousins and hanging out doing crafts with Yah-Yah. We had a good time too, though I missed the boys terribly. Jason and I got to go have a nice dinner and go to the riverboat. We watched the fireworks and grilled out steaks and watched movies. We slept in and enjoyed our morning coffee together on the porch.

We have been busy visiting waterparks in Missouri. There are so many small parks that are perfect for the boys. We've been having play dates with friends and the boys have been fishing with Daddy and going to the racetrack (not gambling....watching the sprint cars! We've also enjoyed a few rainbows after some nice big rains. We spend our days at the pool while Daddy is working and the evening is spent looking for frogs and catching bugs out back. I do beleive this has been one fantastic summer and the best we've ever had.

We are awaiting a visit from Mamaw and Papaw. They are coming next weekend and will be taking Jake back to Indiana with them for a little bit of "spoiling" time for just Jake who has been anxiously awaiting this trip.

Grayson got his first big-boy haircut. He's had haircuts but this time we had it shaved and "styled". He was so excited.

Jake will be starting 2nd grade in August and Grayson will be going to pre-school this year. Both boys are looking forward to the start of school (and so am I)! Well, that is it for now. Enjoy the pics I am posting.

Not just brothers...best friends

Even though there is a 4 year age difference between Jake and Grayson they are the best of friends (99% of the time). They begin each day with a hug and kiss and that's how their day ends. The boys are getting their first weekend trip away from Jason and I. Yah-Yah and Papaw are meeting us halfway on Friday and the boys are spending two fun-filled days away from us (I'm not quite sure who will have more fun-Jason and I or the boys). I've had to talk to Grayson a little bit each day to prepare him, he's not used to being away from me. I have promised to pack a little suprise in their suitcases and Grayson has requested a camera so he can take pictures to "show me what he do".

Jason and I are excited to have some "alone" time but at the same time I feel my heart already aching. It's not that I've never been away from them, but never for two nights. We are planning to do some sightseening and have a "romantic" dinner. I imagine the conversation will turn into how much we miss the boys and then Jason convincing me that we are NOT driving 4 1/2 hours just to kiss them goodnight.

This trip also got me thinking about Jake's trip to stay with Grandma and Grandpa later in July. He's going for a whole week of alone time with them and is counting down the weeks. I'm glad he gets to have some special time and think he'll do fine but have a little bit of homesick but I think the rest of us back in Missouri will be lonesome. I'm not sure how Grayson will react because he's never been apart from Jake, except for some little over nighters here and there. I'm going to try to plan some fun just "Grayson and mommy" activities and some "daddy and Grayson" so he can feel like he is doing something special too while Jake is away. I think it will be a long week and alot of tears from Grayson because he will be missing his best friends.

What a month...root canal, a new dog and Jake has a "girlfriend" oh and throw in some friends visiting as well!

Sorry it's been so long since my last "blog". We've had quite a month. I had a root canal and don't remember them being so painful but that knocked me down for over a week and as luck would have it Jason was out of town!

On another note we got a dog. His name is Lucky Lou and he is a five-year old cocker spaniel. He is absolutley adorable and has blended right in with our crew. I will try to download some pictures soon.

Jake has a girlfriend, much to our dismay. He explained to us that at age 7 he is quite old enough to have one. We chatted briefly with him last night but Jason and I need to discuss this situation and figure out the appropriate way to talk to Jake about this. I am not ready to discuss the birds and the bees, as some friends of our had to, but I'm not keen on him calling someone his girlfriend. I know it sounds sweet but I don't want him trying to grow up any quicker and I want him to have fun and be a kid with no worries and no "heartbreak".

We had friends come to visit over the last weekend. It was a great time by all...4 adults and 4 kids staying up late and chatting and sightseeing by day. It was nice to have company. We miss them already. Well, it's almost 1:00 and I promised Grayson we would go to the pool so I must get ready. I'll try to blog soon and post some pics of Lucky Lou and the boys. Love you all.

HAPPY 3RD BIRTHDAY GRAYSON!

So I'll begin with the day you were born! Well, let's back up to before you were born. I can't imagine my life without you now. You bring laughter, joy and you completed our family. I'll admit, we were not planning on having any more babies. You were a complete suprise and I think I was in shock for a couple of weeks when we found out we were expecting you. Mommy found out on September 7th. I was sure you were going to be a girl. I had the name Gracie all picked out. You were a fun pregnancy (though I don't know anyone else would agree because I whined alot) but you were always moving and jumping around in mommy's tummy. We found out you were a boy when we had our ultrasound at "Before the Stork". I was so excited to know that Jake was going to have a brother and that day we decided your name would be Grayson Alexander Dominique Ketcham. We didn't realize just how well your name would suit you until you were born. You made your debut three years ago today. I woke up on Sunday morning, May 16th not feeling so great. I was having alot of contractions but not close enough together to go to the hospital. Daddy was working. Jake and I spent the afternoon at a park while he was riding his bike. We came home and I was still feeing yucky. Uncle Damon and Aunt Amy offered Jake and I to come stay over there if we wanted so we'd be closer to the hospital. I figured it was just a false alarm anyway and we stayed home. We still had one week until your "due date". Daddy came home and that night contractions were a little closer together. We called mamaw and papaw and yah-yah and papaw to put them on "alert". We went to bed and daddy and Jake fell fast asleep. It was about 10:30 p.m. I had just fallen asleep and I heard a "pop" and all of a sudden my water broke! I was so excited and scared. We knew it was time. We called the dr., called everyone. We loaded Jake up and took off for Bloomington Hospital. The contractions were rough and it hurt but I was so excited I could barely wait. We arrived at the hopsital and yah-yah and papaw met us. Papaw took Jake out to Aunt Kellan's to spend the night. Mamaw and Papaw got to the hospital about 11:00. The Dr. came in and thought it was going to be a while. Mamaw ended up getting sick so they had to leave at about 2:30. The nurse came in and me, daddy and Yah-Yah were all sleeping just a bit. I was feeling strange and when the nurse checked mommy, sure enough you were ready to head out of mommy's belly! It happened so quickly. You were born at 3:14 a.m. on Monday, May 17th, 2004. I can't explain to you what I felt when I saw your face. You looked EXACTLY like your brother Jake. You weighed 6 1bs and 7 oz and were 19 1/2 inches long. You were beautiful. The nurse placed you on my chest and you looked right at me. How amazing you were and still are. I don't think I slept at all that day just holding you. Your brother came to visit you at about 11:00 that day. You have the BEST big brother ever. He fell instantly in love with you and has been your buddy since the day you were born. He helped take care of you, giving you a pacifier when you cried. Stroking your face. He loved to hold you (with mommy's help). Even today Jake is so loving and gently with you and it melts my heart when I watch you two together. How did I get so lucky. Happy Birthday to my unexpected suprise that I thank God for every day. I am the luckiest mother.

Because that's How God made me...

The following is a conversation Jason and I had with Jake on the way home from the Ozarks on Sunday.

Me to Jason: I hope those weren't poisnous frogs you and Jake caught on the hike.

Jason: I doubt it.

Jake: No, mommy, there are two kinds of poisonous frogs. One is red/black and the other is green/red (I may have gotten these colors confused and Jake is not here at the moment to set me straight).

Me: Jake, how do you know so much about bugs, frogs and all those animals/reptiles?

Jake: That's just how God made me. Kevin knows alot about dinosaurs so that's how God made him.

Me and Jason look at one another and grin. God sure did creat two beautiful little boys for this world.

Happy Mother's Day

I had a really good mother's day this year, even though it was the first year I've never spent mother's day with my own mom, it was very enjoyable. We decided to drive to the Ozark's and go hiking. We stopped at a few parks, we hiked, we caught a minnow and two frogs. We stopped in a little town on the way home to eat dinner and as we continued driving we saw a little creek with a little bridge, something that looked fun to get out and maybe wade in a bit with the kids. The boys had a blast for about 15-20 minutes and then as Grayson and I were standing with Jason on a rock and Jake was off to the side splashing around Grayson says "wook, mama, a snake". Well, that did it. Jason cornered it in the water so I could get the boys out and we dried off and headed home! It was a fun and tiring day and a Mother's Day well spent with my hubby and kids!

Frogger...our pet frog

Well, we had a pet frog. Jake is known for "catching" frogs no matter where he is. He can spot them a mile away. Normally they escape after a day. This one lasted three whole days (but in Jake's defense, Grayson let it go). Jake likes to scare the bejibbers out of me with the frogs. I don't want them near me. It doesn't bother me that the boys hold them (as long as they are washing their hands after) but I don't want it jumping on me. Jake was almost grounded indefinatly once when a frog was "set free" in our minivan while I was driving. I got some great pictures of the boys and "frogger" before he was set loose.

The most pitiful little boy

Is that not a pitiful picture? Poor Grayson. He now has pink eye on top of his other sickness. We are awaiting the results of the second blood work to see if his counts have gone down. Hopefully they have and my worrying can cease a little. I'm going to go cuddle my little man.

Another Day...another sickness

Still sickness in the house. Poor Jake, he may not be sick but he is suffering for Grayson's illness. Today was parents/grandparents breakfast. Of course, I can't go with Grayson being ill and Jason, unfortunatly, had something going on at the plant. I think this weeekend I'll take him to breakfast just he and I. Not that it makes up for it and he is VERY understanding and concerned for his brother that his reply was "that's o.k. mommy Grayson is sick and we need to just make him better, there will be other breakfasts". I know that I am raising such sweet, caring and loving boys. They may be rambuctious and they may not be perfect as others expect them to be but they are mine and I love them just the way they are. There are times I have doubted myself as a parent and I know that there are those around me who have doubted me, but what I've learned these last 7 months being here in Missouri is that I am a good mom. I may jump the gun and I may get overly protective and freak out but that's me. I go with the philisopy I'd rather be safe than sorry. I know that am raising good, polite, caring, smart, energetic, creative, going to conquer the world, boys. They are a little spoiled, but so are other children whether parents admit it or not. When I see both of my boys (even as young as Grayson) kneeling down to ask another child what is wrong because they are crying, I know that I am doing something right. When both my boys don't let a day go by without hugging one another or myself or Jason I know they know they are loved and want to show that love back. When Jake is proud of himself for getting an A but not crying over getting a B I know that he knows all I expect his for him to do his best and when he knows he has done his best he is satisfied with that.
For those who may question me as a mom, I question you. I don't take time to worry about what another parent is doing or how they are raising their kids, if I did, I wouldn't be focused on my own and my kids deserve 100% of my focus. Not you.

Bad Mommy Days

Grayson is still fighting whatever sickness it is that he contracted last week. We are on day 4 of the 104 temperature, vomiting and constant diaper changing. I am going on little to no sleep and finding it hard to function each day more so just because I am filled with worry about my little man. I think that is one of the hardest parts of parenting...the worry. Two trips to an ER and the pediatrician and no "definate" answer and no explanation for the increase in the white count. We are due back at the pediatricians tomorrow if Grayson's fever continues through the night. Hopefully it subsides. I thought we were getting lucky today because it stayed at 100 most of the day but spiked back to over 103 by about 3:00 and now his right eye is pretty red and swollen. Anyway, for those keeping up with my blogs, please pray that this is just a bug and Grayson makes a speedy recovery. Lots of Love.

I sick Mommy

Poor Grayson woke up friday evening at about 1:00 a.m. and climbed in my bed. He was running a fever and just felt horrible. He started holding his stomach and screaming that it hurt "weally bad". I took him to the ER afraid he might have appendicitis. After 6 hours in the ER and a few tests (his white count was pretty high and they suspected appendicitis as well) his x-ray came back that he "might" have an infection on the appendix so we headed off to have a CT scan. The scan was clear and their conclusion was it's a viral flu. He has been so sick all weekend and is still running a high fever. We are getting ready to go back to the Dr. this morning because they were concerned about the white count as well. Pray for Grayson that he heals quickly.

Shhh...don't wake my sleeping prince

Grayson has pretty much outgrown naptime. I guess it lasted longer for us than most people and I sort of just gave up trying to force it. Since we got the new swing set and he runs all day outside he's been passing out in the afternoon all on his own. On Wedensday I was spring cleaning and he was downstairs playing. I didn't hear a peep out of him for about 15 minutes and I yelled for him and got no answer so I went downstairs to see what mischief he was into. I found him passed out in an akward position on the couch. He didn't even move when the camera flashed in his face. He looks so sweet, peaceful and adorable all tuckered out...I guess even monsters tucker out sometimes!

"Look at me I'm Mommy"

Last night I was getting ready to take Jake and Grayson to the book fair. Jake came walking down the hall saying in a silly voice "look at me I'm mommy" and when he walked in the room he was wearing one of my bras. Grayson started laughing and grabbed another bra and put it on his head. Jason decided to snap a picture (I'm not sure why because when we were first married and were snowed in our house for four days with no t.v. and we were really bored by the third day we played dress up and he let me put make-up on him, fix his hair, paint his tonails and he put my biki on and then made me swear I wouldn't tell anyone--sorry sweetie) so I figured he would never want anyone to know that the boys were playing "dress-up" with my bras! Well, the picture says it all!!!

The big back yard

Jason and I bought the boys a new jungle gym wooden gym set. We spent (um, I mean Jason) putting it together. His hard work paid off because the boys absolutly love it. Grayson awoke this morning at 6:30 and rushed to put his clothes on while shouting "I gotta swing, I gotta swing". It's hard to get them off the swing set and inside to eat!

A Star is born...

Jake had his very first "performance" for a school function. They sang about six songs (and if I wasn't so tired right now I would get up and go get the paper so I could tell you what each one was!). Anyway, he was such a ham and was livin it up on the stage with his dance moves. His smile lit up the whole stage. Grayson sat in my lap and clapped after every song and said "yah, Jake" and at the end shouted an "I wuv you my Jake". My friend Jen and her husband and kids picked us up at 4:00 today and we ate dinner at local pizza place before heading over to the school for the big performance. Gracie (Jen's daughter and Jake's "soulmate") looked so cute wearing her hula skirt. The picture attached is Jake and Gracie before the concert and during the concert! Great performance Jake and Gracie!

This is why I clean my bathrooms twice a week

So last night the boys are off to dreamland. We had a storm come through earlier but all looked well as the night progressed. I was ready to go to bed after talking to Jason when the phone rang again. Jason was calling to let me know that Chris (his employee) had phoned him and said their were funnel clouds in Festus (which is basically us). So I got the boys and headed downstairs and put them on our couch. Everything looked fine here but I called my friend Jen to let her know. She too thought it was odd because it was fine where we were. About five minutes later Jason calls again and this time he said the sirens were going off in Pevely (where he works about 6 minutes away). So I gather up our floor pillows and a few others and lots of blankets and head into the bathroom with the boys. His employee Chris calls, worried about me and the boys because things look bad out but still nothing here. He makes sure to tell me to call him if we need anything and he'll come right over (what a great guy). So I decide it's best just to sleep in the bathroom for the night. Of course it's not a huge bathroom and so we are all squished together my head practically on a toilet (thank god for my cleanliness because I had just cleaned the bathroom that day) and about 30 minutes later I had to go the bathroom. You would think out of convenience "well, I'm already there" but the thought of using that toilet that I am practically lying on was making me nauseaus so upstairs I went. I swear I hear a tornado (I tend to hear lots of things while Jason is gone including burglars, tornado's, bears etc.) We don't have to wonder where the boys get their imagination from. So, I check outside and all still looks fine. The bathroom was uncomfortable but I'll tell you the boys slept sound and did not stir once all night.

The funeral of a "Hero"

Grayson and I had some errands to run today. On our way to the bank I noticed that the whole downtown of Festus was blocked off. I asked at the bank if they knew what was going on. Through tearful eyes the woman told me it was a funeral procession honoring a soldier named Brandon Wallace who was killed two weeks ago in Iraq. This young man, who had dreams of becoming a police officer and was engaged to be married, was killed for what I beleive is fighting for all of us. Whether you agree or I agree on the war at hand, I do beleive that everything the men and women in the military are fighting for is for me, my kids, my grandkids etc. I will support them, pray for them and continue to honor them. I tried explaining to Grayson how we were going to go downtown so that we too could honor Brandon. I told him that this young man died fighting for our country, died to keep us safe. I explained this was somebody's son, brother, uncle and how his family would miss him terribly but that we should show them how much we appreciate what he has done. So we headed downtown and sat along the sidewalk that was filled with so many people with flags and signs. Normally my impatient two-year old who would be running all over and trying to go in the road stood very still as he watched the helicopter in the air until the procession began and as the hearse carrying the hero approached I placed Grayson's hand over his heart and told him this is what we can do for Brandon. He left his hand over his heart until the entire procession had ended. He didn't scream, yell or get all excited at the site of the motorcylist who were there to drown out the sounds of protesting. He stood still with his hand over his heart as the police cars and fire trucks rode by and we simply stood and paid our respects to Brandon, his family and friends and we too said goodbye to this "hometown hero".

Zoom....off to the moon

Here is a picture of Grayson and I inside our rocket ship.
Grayson and I took two trips today to the moon. The first trip we lifted off from The "Space Grayson Airport". Our trip to the moon was an eventful one...we actually left the shuttle did the moonwalk. Our second trip was at the Crystal City Pediatrics Airport were Grayson was being checked out for his rash to make sure we could complete the mission. Thankfully since it was just a viral infection causing the rash we had the o.k. from the Dr. to continue our mission. It was a bumpy ride and Grayson got stalled on Number 2 of the countdown but off we went. This was a quick trip as we were due back to earth to pick up Jake from tutoring. Not sure where tomorrow will take us!

As the days go by...

Well, Jason has left for Texas (again) and so my week of lonliness begins. I have the Southwest Airlines screen pulled up on the computer and just refreshed it and his flight is boarding. He should arrive in Houston around 6:40 p.m. I'll refresh the page every 30 minutes until he arrives and I see the words "arrived" on the screen. We'll have our usual routine here at the house...the boys sleeping in bed with me, room barricaded. One night they pick a place to go eat out. Sadly, Jake has his first "performance" at school and Jason will be missing it. I really did not want him to leave today...sometimes the loneliness gets to be too much. It's hard during the week because everyone is having dinner with their families...taking walks, playing games and while I am still here to do that with the boys but I have no adult interaction whatsoever come 3:00 p.m. when everyone's spouses are arriving home. My dinner conversation normally consists of the following topics:

Dinner is yucky (Jake)
I pooped (Grayson)
What's for a snack tonite (Jake and Grayson)
So and so farted or got in trouble at school today (Jake)
Grayson --just giggling for no reason

It's nice to have some time alone with the boys and they tend to be more cuddly while Jason is gone, but still, I'm lonely without him here.

Woo Hoo for Jake...Straight A's!

Jake received his report card and I am SOOOOOO proud of him. He received straight A's. He has pulled his reading grade up since the beginning of the year which was a C all the way to an A-! His report card is as follows:

Reading A-
Math A
Spelling A
Written A
Social Studies A
Science A-
Art S (for satisfactory)
Music S
Physical Ed S
Computers P (for pass)

For his work and social habits he go E for Excellent except for one satisfactory which was in handwriting. Way to go Jake!