Camp Out

Question of the day???

3 Big Kids- "Mom, can we sleep in the tent and have a camp out?"
Me- "Ummm, Sure, I guess!"

The funny thing is they have slept out there for the past 3 nights :) I guess that's part of the fun of summer. The first night we figured they'd be inside within an hour, however they lasted most of the night, we thought... Zach and Grace were in their beds when I woke up at 5:30, but Hope was still in the tent sound asleep all bundled up in her sleeping bag. When I asked Zach and Grace when they came inside, they said "after a little while" "because we were too cold", "but Hope was already asleep."
So, I guess they came in before they even fell asleep and Hope slept outside all by herself :) We didn't even hear a thing! hehe! Apparently she didn't mind.

The next 2 nights they all slept in their the entire night and even slept in a bit too, which was nice. This morning I snapped a few pictures while they were still asleep :)
I love a sleepy kiddo!!! They're all snuggly and lovely and they melt my heart! So glad they can have fun sleeping in the back yard, making memories that will last them a lifetime. Ahh the fun of summer!

Spring Soccer Week 2

This morning after making it to the field and sitting down in my chair, I felt like a champion!
My morning started out nicely, I got to sleep in and stay in the bed until after 7am! But soon after I had to bust a move. I made egg and cheese burritos for everyone and wrapped them in foil, packed the diaper bag and made sure everyone had all their gear. Oh wait- Gracie left her cleats at PE this week and the gym couldn't find them and of course we don't have another pair that fit her! So, I prayed the Sports Shack would be open at 9 am on Saturday. It was our turn for snack, so I had to make 18 snack bags, but forgot to get Gatorade at Costco, so I had to run to Staters and grab two cases. In my search for a medium size ice chest, I found one without a lid- that does me no good and 20 bottles of Gatorade wouldn't fit in the small ice chest :( No ice chest.
Realizing how much stuff I would have, I needed to get the wagon, but realized I had forgotten to ask James to get it from the trailer. So after getting everyone in the car, we had to get the wagon out of the trailer, then we were off to soccer. No wait, we had to go to Sports shack and get Gracie new cleats and then to Staters for drinks for both teams. After all of that, we still made it to the fields by 9am, parked in the last slot of the lot on the far side, loaded everything, including the baby boys in the wagon (which was SOOOO heavy, I think it was about 85 lbs) put my chair on my back and pulled it up the hill, around 2 fields and down another hill where I set down my chair and took a deep breath :)
I really do love soccer Saturdays :) We realized when they were putting on their jerseys they have chronological numbers, so of course I had to get a picture of that.My Papa came about halfway through Hope's game and she was happy to see him there and so was I :) This was Zach's first game of the season, so it was fun to see how he'd improved since last season. Grace and Zach both think it's fun to play together on the same team and worked well together on the field (I guess all that play time has helped)(yes, their jerseys really are that bright)

They played against Ethan and the Demon-Pickles, and he was on Gracie's team last year. They both thought that was fun.All 3 kids played really well and enjoyed themselves and the little boys did great too! Only 3 hours at the field this Saturday, home in enough time for lunch and naps...I"m a happy Momma!

Cadet campout...rockets

This weekend was the Cadet camp out for rocket firing. Zachary has been so excited about going. He and James made his rocket to look like a pencil and they've been working on it for weeks now. Zach was also excited because he and James were taking the trailer, so they "didn't have to freeze like last year" :)

I asked for a picture of the rocket and the 2 of them together and that is what I got and nothing more :( I was assured they had a good time, except for the blow-out they had on the trailer tire on the way there, but they got that fixed and made it there safely and had a good time. They all stayed up way too late and ate lots of junk, but that's what camp outs with the boys are for, right?

Zach's new behavior

My sweet boy is struggling once again. The poor kid, if it's not one thing it's another.
Zach has always struggled with his behavior, as most of you know and was diagnosed with ODD at the age of 2 1/2. Early on we contributed a lot of his behavior to his lack of hearing and his inability to communicate his thoughts and feelings. However over time we have realized it is much more than a hearing/communication issue. While his hearing loss might contribute to his learning disabilities, his behavior is another story. He struggles with severe aggression, anxiety, compulsiveness and lack of attention. Over the past few years he has been on medication which has dramatically improved his impulsivity and lack of attention, as well as his aggression. Pretty much since pre-school he has struggled at school with any type of change and/or authority, in addition to socialization in regards to boundaries, personal space and social cues. This year has been no exception. The first few weeks of school were horrid and caused us to question how we were handling him. After settling in to his new teacher and class his behavior has greatly improved and school is now manageable for both him and his teachers. However, he has recently started OCD type behaviors with excessive hand washing, not wanting to touch things and/or others, as well as a fear of "poison." So back to the Dr we go...

He is already on 3 medications and we would like to keep his medication to a minimum and his functioning at a maximum. The hard part is finding the middle ground. He is having some blood work done to check various levels and hopefully that will give us a better idea of how to treat him.

He is such a sweet loving boy, but lately the "monster" is coming out too often and my sweet boy is disappearing. He already has a limited diet with no dairy, melons, apples, grapes or bananas, red dye and his extra sensitive gag reflex makes it difficult to eat allot of "whole" foods. I need to look into the Feingold diet more and try that to see if we can see improvements in his overall behavior. In addition we are trying to limit over stimulation that ultimately results in out of control behavior (DS, computer, TV, playstation or Wii) Obviously, we don't want him on meds forever, but... We are kind of stuck at the moment, or at least feel that way.

Please keep us in prayer as we try to figure out what is best for our sweet boy!

My dearest Zachary

Zach has been REALLY struggling with the transition into a new class, new teacher, new school and making new friends. He is bucking the system in every way possible and it is becoming very wearing on his teacher and both James and I. I wrote him a letter in hopes I can better portray my inner anguish over this situation. Please pray that things will settle down and he can stay in his class and feel good about school.

My Dearest Zachary,
You are my baby boy. I know you're growing up and getting big and not a baby any more, but you will always be my baby boy :) My heart is aching for you and the difficulties you are having at school. I am so very torn in knowing what is best for you. I wish there was an easy fix for the best class for you, your behavior and your feelings, but I know there isn't. God made you special and sometimes that is very hard to understand, for us all, but I know that with Him we will get through this difficult time. You can do it, I know you can. Once you are done testing the boundaries, limits and even your new friends, things will start to click and feel good again.
Daddy and Momma are praying that things will settle down and you will feel good inside again :)
We love you so very much!

Look what I found

I was in the backyard observing how many weeds had grown in our planter by the back door. So, I decided to pull them. After pulling some of the weeds, I noticed some flowers and different looking leaves and when I looked closer this is what I found! After showing the kids, Zachary told me that he had planted his watermelon seeds there and was so proud that "his" plant had grown :) It's a little late in the season for watermelon, so I'm not sure that it will actually taste good, but we'll have to wait and see.

Zach's first day of school

I can't believe that school has already begun...It doesn't seem possible that summer is over, well almost anyway. We did the usual before school shopping and got Zach new shoes and a new backpack and we was very excited to get a 'different' backpack. Out of all the backpacks, he chose a messenger bag. :) I think he was ready to go back and have a more regular routine. Zach and Momma right before getting on the bus!

Zach and Daddy...

I had a sick feeling this morning and continued wondering if I should be homeschooling him too.:(

He rode the bus and I drove to school so I could meet his teacher and get him into his class, since it was a new school.

The good thing about SDC is that the bus service is free and it's door to door!Last week when I went to fill out some paperwork at the school, we met the principal and he recognized Zach this morning and stopped and said hello and made sure we knew where his class was. I was pleasantly surprised, given our principal experience last year :) His teacher seems really kind, but I was disappointed to learn that he is the ONLY 4th grader in his combo class of 5th and 6th graders and his class is ALL boys. I was told by the district that there would be other 4th graders, but apparently not :( In the coming days and weeks I will be praying for Zach and his schooling. At least I know I can take him out and home school him if things don't work out. As the bell rang I watched them all line up and got tears in my eyes. Zach looked so little next to all of those boys. One of the boys was as tall as me and another one had facial hair! My baby boy is only 9, I don't want him to feel any sort of 'big kid' pressures...On the other hand this could always be good for him academically, so we will just wait and see. I waited until I left the school and got to my car before I let the tears actually fall :( It seems really silly, but I feel like we're doing the wrong thing by sending him to school and keeping the girls home...I will be praying about keeping him home too. Please pray for us too, that in whatever choice we make Zachary will thrive and have a great 4th grade year and we can glorify God.

One more week and then the girls and I will start school too, then the real fun will begin :)

Regional Park

I had planned to take the kids to the regional park a few times this summer, as it is such a fun outing and way easier than the beach, but it's Aug 6 and this was our first visit. We went with some moms from church for our "family adventure." There were 6 moms, 18 kids (I brought 7) and 2 babies in the belly! Mary Nydam joined us which was a treat for both me and the kids and Gracie brought a friend from her class last year. The kids had a great time! Hope wasn't quite tall enough to go on the slides yet, but Zach, Grace, Candice (Gracie's friend) and Mary enjoyed them even though they said the water was freezing! The weather was amazing and the water was cold, but felt very refreshing.

Wesley was a champ. We got there right at 10 and usually Wesley takes his morning nap around 9:30, but played in the sand and water a good while before he ate lunch and I rocked him to sleep and laid him in the wagon, he probably slept for over an hour. :)

I had intended on bringing the point and shoot camera, but forgot it amongst the ice chest, 7 towels, the chair and wagon, imagine that...But Jess had hers and I got a few pics with hers before her battery died. You'd think I didn't take the girls with because I didn't get any pictures of them, but I assure you I had 4 girls with me, just no pictures...maybe next time.

I'm hoping to go another 2 or 3 times before it closes for the season on Labor Day, but we'll have to see how it plays out. When we go again, I'll be sure to take my camera and catch some of the fun :)

Wesley thought it was yummy to eat the sand :) I take it back, there's Hope in the background of this pic...Zach with Josiah and Sydney laying down as they ate their lunch. Wesley thinks he's so big now and tries standing up on everything! I love his hair :) I wrapped Wesley in a blanket after he'd played in the water and he went to sleep pretty quickly!
Grady and his buddy E playing in the sand

Zach's soccer camp picture

Blogger was being weird before and wouldn't let me load any pictures, but now it's fine, so here's Zach's picture at soccer camp...
This was a great camp, with encouraging coaches where Zachary was able to really improve his skills. We will be doing this again next summer! Check it out? Look here...http://www.challengersports.com/

Zach and soccer camp

Zachary chose soccer camp as his activity for the summer. I had heard great things about the soccer camp put on by the British professional league, so that's what we signed him up for. His age group played 4:30 to 7:30 Monday through Friday. I was little nervous about the heat, as it was 100 plus during the day, but at least it wasn't in the middle of the day.
James took him every day and ended up helping out, which was lots of fun for him to be back on the field. Zachary did so well and really enjoyed himself! He is looking forward to playing in the fall again. Here is James token picture from the week :) I can't complain, at least there's one!
Thanks Jamesy for taking him every day and helping out even though it was roasting. You're the best!
Okay so blogger isn't letting me post pics right now, so maybe later... :(

Zach's Birthday Party

This year it was Zach's turn for a big party. He was really excited to invite the kids from his class. He wanted it at the "Big Cheese", so Big Cheese it was. :) it just so happened the date we planned was the same weekend as some other fun things.

It made for a long, fun-filled weekend, as the cadet camp-out was the night before and my sister, her husband and 2 kids stayed the whole weekend. My sisters and I did some shopping and ran some errands in the morning until James and Zach got back. I got a cupcake cake from Wal-Mart and re-decorated it with dinosaurs for all the party go-ers and then I made a special cake for Zach with angel food cake and dairy free frosting. This was a huge treat for him because he's never had a birthday cake that he could eat before...for some reason I forgot to take a picture of the cupcake cake :(

5 kids from his class came, 5 siblings, 5 cousins, 4 grandparents and 10 aunts/uncles, plus James and I made for a pretty big party! The food was pretty good, the company was great and Zach made out like a bandit and got lots of great gifts! He had a blast playing games and the cake was hit :)

I was so frustrated b/c my good camera was having issues with a bad battery, so I got some pics with the point and shoot and my mom took a few too, so at least I got some pictures, but just not the ones I was hoping for. Anyway, after the party we had family over (17) for ice cream and to hang out. We had a great day celebrating out babies 9th birthday! *sniff

My Baby turns 9

January 27 2000-

11 days over-due with my very first baby. I awoke to some back discomfort at about midnight. By 4 am Jan 28, some 4 hours later, I was pacing the halls of our very little house in Oak Glen. At 5 am with contractions 10 minutes apart we left for Corona (where my Ob doc was before we moved to Yucaipa) on the way, we stopped and got my friend Keren to drive us.

January 29 2000-

At 7:10 pm, after 19 hours of hard labor our precious baby boy, Zachary James Oates was born weighing in at 8lbs 10 oz and 20 1/2 in long. Our lives were forever changed.

From the day we found out I was pregnant we were in love. What we didn't expect was how MUCH we could love him the minute he was placed in our arms. There is something about those first few days as new parents, everything is exciting and nerveracking all at the same time.

Where these past 9 years have gone, I'm not sure. It's so surreal to see him growing up before our eyes.

Zach, My Bubby, you are such a love! I love your tender heart and sensitive spirit. Although you are wild and crazy at times, you add such a fun dynamic to our family and always keep us on our toes and at the end of the day your loving spirit always shines through. I wish you could stay little forever, but I am looking forward to seeing you mature into a Godly young man who I know will accomplish great things!

Happy Birthday Bub!

I love you!

Momma