Hamster Rescue

Every attempt I make to study has failed. Life just keeps happening around the house and I want to be part of it. This morning, the kids slept in and it was so peaceful. I made myself a cup of tea and sat at the computer to "begin" studying and I heard footsteps coming down the stairs. It's Brian. "Good morning, Brian" I say and he responds that he is hungry and would like pancakes or waffles. I made him a waffle and went back to the computer. I then hear Ethan talking to Brian in the living room as they watch tv. So I go in to say good morning and he responds, "I am a good boy." Uh-oh! That means he did something. I ask him why he is a good boy and he says that Kia, the hamster, is not in his cage and he is in my bedroom. Ethan said he locked my bedroom door. Great! I don't know how long Kia has been out of his cage or locked in my bedroom. I rushed upstairs to the boy's room and there is no hamster in the cage. I then go to my room and as Ethan promised...the door is locked. I unlock the door and start looking in the corners and behind furniture. No Kia. So then I yell down to Ethan to help me. He comes up and lifts a bowl that he had Kia under. When he wasn't there, Ethan says, "oh, he disappeared!" aaack!!! We searched and searched...finally, I found Kia under our bench in the bedroom. Ethan scooped him up, because I'm not touching him, and put him back into the cage. I don't think I'll ever get any studying done. I think I will recommend to the nursing department that summer is not a great time to schedule pharmacology class.

Father's Day 2010

Matt enjoyed going out and golfing this morning with my dad and brother. When he came home, the kids had their homemade cards ready to give. We all sat around the coffee table while Matt openened his father day gift...a mini fridge/heater that he can plug into the car or under his desk at work. We thought it would come in handy for him to keep his lunches cool or his AMP drink cool for his long ride home from work. Matt kept asking where we were going and to keep it a surprise, I had to tell the boys we were going ice skating. So they were blabbing away that we were going ice skating and Matt kept questioning what to wear b/c he knew we were not going ice skating by seeing the kids wearing shorts and t-shirts. None of us had ever been to this place so it was a new adventure for the Gillespie's. While Matt was golfing, I packed up the van with lunches and extra clothing. The plan was to have a picnic lunch and do some hiking. We drove to Rocky Gap State Park. The drive was beautiful! You could look out and see farms below in the valley. When we arrived at our destination, we unloaded and found a shady spot under a tree on the hill that overlooked one of the beaches. We ate lunch and decided to try canoeing. The kids did not want to go and once we were in the canoe, Brian freaked out and told everyone to sit still and not rock the boat. He didn't want it to flip over. Eventually he warmed up to it and when our hour was over, he asked is the kids could paddle next time. :D We then went for a hike. We walked up to the aviary and saw owls and falcons in the aviary and then we continued to hike to the Canyon Overlook. It was beautiful! Ethan was our trail leader. Once we returned to the picnic area, we changed into our swim suits and headed to the beach area. The boys and Matt enjoyed swimming in the lake. Brian was fascinated with the minnows swimming nearby and Ethan was riding on Matt's back....Matt was a dolphin. Dinner was at Friendly's and once home, we lit up the firepit and it seemed the entire neighborhood was in our backyard for marshmallows. It was an awesome day!!

Ethan'isms

Today was a busy day. Kids were everywhere! You can definitely tell summer has arrived at our house. The door is constantly opening and kids are coming in and playing....today especially for some reason. The boys were playing in the basement when our neighbor's daughter came over to play. She joined the boys in the basement and about an hour later, our other neighbor's daughter came to play. Katheryn then came home from a sleepover with her friend and then joined up with the neighbor's other daughter and played here at our house. A little while passed and the doorbell rings. It's Madison's mom Heidi, w/a snack for Madison. Heidi and I start to chat in the kitchen and the doorbell rings. It's Brian's friend Kyle with his mom Danielle and 7 month old baby brother Sawyer. Danielle joins Heidi and I in the kitchen and we're chit chatting until Ethan comes up the basement stairs and sees Sawyer. With much excitement he says, "what is that?! Can we keep it?!" We mom's started laughing so hard, it was so funny. Then a while later, everyone left. Brian went with Kyle to play at his house and Ethan was so upset that he was left at home stuck with me. He then went outside to entertain himself and came back into the house minutes later with exciting news. Our conversation went like this: Ethan: Mommy, I found a lightning bug! Me: You did? Ethan: Yeah, it's dead. It's a dead lightning bug! Me: Ethan, throw it away or take it back outside. Ethan: Why? Me: Because I don't want it inside the house. Throw it away. Ethan: No, I want to keep it -- it doesn't poop!

Torn mommy

It's amazing how you can plan your day at a drop, it can be changed again. A busy day was planned today starting with Katheryn's 5th grade graduation ceremony at 9:30am and then a trip to the dentist for Ethan at noon. It was a normal morning, the kids were awake and getting ready for school. I had just put Brian's waffles and milk on the table. He drank his milk and soon after he threw up. Wonderful! I thought that maybe he just had a little too much to eat for dinner last night and it was all catching up to him this morning. I sent him out the door with Kahteryn to the bus stop and about 3 minutes later, they were back. Apparently, Brian threw up at the bus stop. OK! So, he doesn't have a temperature so I put him to bed. After about an hour, he came downstairs and was playing with Ethan and running around. Hmm. OK, so he feels better. It was time to leave for Katheryn's ceremony so I told Brian I would sign him into school and he says, "mommy, I think I'm going to throw up again." I didn't believe him. I thought he was trying to keep from going to school because he really didn't look sick at all or feel warm. I told him he had to go with me and that I wouldn't sign him in. He could sit and stay with me. We all get into the van and head to the school. Upon entering the building, we see the cafteria filled with parents and grandparents. We find three seats together and sit down. Ethan complained of not being able to see the stage and the lady behind us chimed in told Ethan she was bigger than him and couldn't see either to help Ethan feel better. At that moment, we here this sound like someone had taken a glass of water and dumped it onto the floor. Well, unfortunately for me, it wasn't a glass of water, it was Brian throwing up. Great! I immediately jumped up a teacher happened to be walking past when I stopped her to let her know. She left to get a janitor while I rushed Brian to the bathroom. I saw Katheryn's teacher in the hallway outside the bathroom to let her know I wasn't able to stay and I then noticed her class was lined up in the hallway. I went to Katheryn and gave her my camera so she could take pictures and share her day with us later when she got home. I then came home with the boys and Brian is now in bed. I told him he was not allowed to get out of bed unless he needed to use the bathroom. So once I got home, I called the dentist to reschedule Ethan's appointment. So what was a busy day for me today is now a day to stay at home. I feel horrible for trying to get Brian to go to school and I feel sad that I won't be able to see Katheryn's ceremony where she gets to say goodbye to elementary school. It's hard but I know that I can't control it all and there will be many more graduations to come. I just hope Brian feels better soon.