Mother's Day Weekend

 Pool time with my girls!  (Holly, Katie, Shelly, Michelle).  How cute and skinny and stylish are my friends?  Yep, I still out like a sore thumb!

It wouldn't have been Mother's Day without me having to pull a snake out of the pool.  And it may be small but this snake was FIESTY!

I woke up Sunday to see this taped to the window by the door. :)

One of the two edible arrangements that Tyson sent.  I think he felt bad for me and sent me this one because the kids destroyed the edible arrangement the day before.

 Walker's questionnaire about me. :)

Heading to church with the boys.

This Mother's Day weekend was a little out of the ordinary for me.  For the past 3 years, Tyson has had to travel on Mother's Day for recruiting, so I'm used to not having him here, but this year just felt different for some reason.

Tyson's mom was supposed to come in town for the weekend, but she was sick so it was just me and the boys.  Tyson, who usually doesn't make a big deal out of holidays and birthdays, felt really bad for me and started sending me goodies on Thursday.  I got something almost everyday until Sunday- edible arrangements x 2, balloons, and a manicure/pedicure gift card.  It was so sweet!

My friends told their hubbies that they wanted a pool day with just the girls for Mother's Day, so I got a babysitter on Saturday and went with the girls.  We went to the Ritz and ate, drank, and got sunburned; it was the perfect day!  Ha!  I hated leaving my boys with a sitter all day like that, but sometimes, this Mama needs a break!

As for actual Mother's Day, my big boys were amazing and spoiled me rotten.  Jake gave me a coupon book for Mother's Day, and he was bound and determined for me to use every coupon that day.  Haha!  They made my bed, cleaned the house, folded the laundry, gave me a few hours of "peace and quiet" coupon so I could nap, got each other ready for church, and only got into one little spat!  Jake offered to make me breakfast in bed, but that was after I was already up making pancakes and dealing with Anderson.  Hahaha!  The boys were so, so sweet.  We spent the rest of the day out by the pool just the four of us.  It was an awesome day!

Walker's Hit and Run

I've been wanting to document this for a while, but our lawyer didn't want me putting too much out there.  I think we're getting close to wrapping this thing up, so hopefully this is okay.  I might just keep it vague just in case.

It was Sunday afternoon on March 15th.  Anderson and I were inside taking a nap and Tyson, Jake, and Walker were outside playing baseball in the big grassy field across the street from our house. From the evidence, it appears that Walker had already crossed the road to get a ball that had rolled between two parked cars.  It seems that he was leaning over and the car hit him on the left side of his head; the impact knocked him out of his left shoe and threw him on his right side.  Tyson heard the loud hit and went running; Walker was laying in the road screaming and crying.  Tyson looked up and saw a gold SUV, but he was too panicked to get a license plate.  Tyson said that he could tell that the driver was looking back in his rear view mirror but sped off when he (or she) saw Tyson look up.  Tyson scooped Walker up as Jake ran inside to get me.

I was in a fog.  I immediately ran outside to check on Walker and then I grabbed my stuff and threw Walker in the car and left for the hospital.  I obviously wasn't thinking very clearly and had panicked.  I didn't get far down the road when I realized that I wasn't in a position to drive, so I pulled over at our neighborhood fire station.  They said that they had just gotten the call about a hit and run and were actually about to leave for our house.  They loaded Walker up in the ambulance and we took off; about 5 minutes into the drive, Walker started getting drowsy and slurring his words.  Oh my gosh, talk about panic.  The next thing I knew, the EMT threw on the siren and moved me out of the way while they worked on him.  So, so, so scary.

We got to the hospital pretty quickly after that, and they had the trauma team waiting on us.  Y'all, it was like nothing you've ever seen.  No amount of nursing experience or ER shows can prepare you for that moment.  You walk in and are immediately swarmed by 20 people while another 10 look on.  One doctor is assessing his upper body while another checks his lower body; one nurse is starting an IV while another holds his neck stable; a nurse is putting leads on him from the monitor while another puts a blood pressure cuff on him.  And then here comes child life, the chaplain, the police.  Oh my gosh, it was CRAZY!!  There were so many other people- I just couldn't even process the rest.  I was surprisingly calm but I had to be because Walker was going NUTS!  They ended up having to sedate him so they could assess him.

Long story short, Walker was surprisingly able to walk away from this- he was pretty banged up, though.  His head CT came back clear but he had a concussion.  They did an ultrasound of his belly and that came back clear too.  The biggest concern was his neck- the CT showed some swelling between the 2nd and 3rd vertebrae.  Neurosurgery checked him out and felt okay sending him home with strict instructions to watch for any changes.

I'll write more once I'm able to.  Just please pray for Walker; this was all so traumatizing to him.  :(

Playing Catch Up

 Tyson has gotten to come home the past two weekends thanks to him recruiting Georgia and Florida for the month.  Woo hoo!  He'll get to come home the last 3 weekends in May, too, but not Mother's Day weekend, of course. ;)  Hahahaha! He was able to come to Anderson's last swim lesson to learn how to work with him in the pool, so we tested his skills this past weekend.  He passed.

 The boys have LOVED having their Daddy home!  Daddy has loved nap time!

 Who is this toddler?  No longer my baby...sniff, sniff.

 Walker wrestling his best girl friend, Emilia.

 Walker pinned her.  He was so proud.

 Anderson was just excited that he was allowed in the Lego/Wii/play room while I photographed the wrestling match.

 This has been going on in my house CONSTANTLY and I'm afraid it's only going to get worse as they get older...and as Anderson gets old enough to wrestle, too.

 Here's a sweet story here about my big boy.  I had some minor surgery last week and I can't get into the pool for another week or so; well, Anderson has to get in the pool every 3 days to keep his skills up.  Tyson is gone, so I had no idea how in the world I was going to manage.  Do y'all know that my Jake volunteered to help?  He carried Anderson to the deep end while I stood on the step, and Anderson was able to swim to me and work on his swim sequence!  He is the best big brother! 

 Anderson and Jake have a sweet relationship- Anderson definitely sees Jake as a fatherly figure and goes to him for comfort and help.

 Walker and Anderson also have a cute relationship.  Anderson definitely sees Walker as more of a big brother and wrestles and plays with him.  Walker is the first person Anderson always wants to give a hug to and tell him "night night."  Walker always says that Anderson is a "Walker's boy."

The end.

I apologize ahead of time, but my blogging is going to be pretty spotty for the next month or so. Holding down the fort all by myself with three active, crazy, busy boys is enough in and of itself, but add on buying a house, trying to prepare for a cross-country move, getting my emotions in check for this move, handling this dang mess with Walker's hit and run, and dealing with all of our sports, activities, end of the year festivities, etc. has got my head spinning!  Ha!  Hang in there, folks.  I'll get back into a routine soon enough. ;)

Anderson's Swim Test and Lost Legoland Pic

So, Tyson and I caved and bought the cheesy Legoland pic above.  I mean, how often are we ever in pictures together?  Ha!

The video is from Anderson's swim test.  He usually has lessons in a swim diaper and a bathing suit, but for the test, he had to wear real clothes and a normal diaper.  Oh my goodness, that diaper must've weighed 2 lbs by the end of the lesson/test.  Haha.  He had a hard time flipping over because of it, however, he proved he knows his skills, so he passed!  10 minutes a day for 4 days a week for 7 weeks and we're DONE!!  Woo hoo!!  I'm so proud of Anderson!

Legoland for Walker's Birthday!

 Lego Darth Vader

 R2D2

 "Buddy"

 Daddy and the boys

Mama and the boys

 Tyson said this was his favorite trip to a theme park so far. :)

When we asked Walker what he wanted to do for his birthday, he said, "go to Colorado."  We tried to make it work, but Jake couldn't miss any more school (we're saving his days up for when we move), I didn't want to travel alone with all 3, and honestly, no one was exactly jumping up to volunteer to keep both Jake and Anderson so we could go.  Hahaha.  So after scratching that idea, Walker said he wanted to go to Legoland for his birthday.  Done.

We waited to go until this past weekend when Tyson was able to come home and go with us.  Tyson doesn't exactly love to go to theme parks, but he says Legoland is much more his speed.  Ha!  We also tried out the waterpark on this visit and it was awesome!!  The boys had so much fun and it definitely made our visit so much more enjoyable.  I wish I would've gotten some pics from the waterpark, but my phone was in the locker and I didn't bring my good camera.  Trust me- it's so worth it if you go to Legoland when it's hot!

Anderson's Art Fest

Anderson is in the red shirt

We had to miss Anderson's Art Fest this year because little man was sick.  I can't remember if it was the night he had the stomach virus or a double ear infection and bronchitis.  Poor kid can't catch a break!  Anyways, I saw his class picture on the website and I had to download it.  Even with Anderson sucking his thumb, I think that has to be one of the cutest pictures ever!

Anderson is the youngest kid in his class; most of his friends turned two right around the time he turned 1.  Some of the kids even refer to Anderson as "the baby"- I'm not sure if it's because he is just that much younger than them or if it's because his name is so hard to say.  Hahaha! Either way, his little friends are so sweet to Anderson and always tell "Anson" bye when he leaves.  I'm really really really going to miss this preschool.  :(

Baby Birds and Baby Mamas

Holly, Michelle, me, and Shelly

  Baby birds last week

 Baby birds today

 Mama (or daddy?) bird

The other parent bird

How sweet are these baby birds we found in our tree?  The boys have really enjoyed watching the babies grow...when the mama and daddy bird let us near them.  I'll tell y'all what, I had no idea that birds would be so protective; they always stay right next to the nest and fly around in a crazy panic whenever we come outside. Those birds have literally almost knocked us off the ladder a few times as we've tried to peak in on the babies.  Ha!  I don't blame them, though, with my crazy crew!

As far as the baby mamas, my sweet friends decided I needed a night out and forced me to go to a winery with them.  Ha!  We had a great time!  I'm really going to miss these girls when we move to Colorado.  

Walker's 5 Year Check-Up

Walker had his 5 year check-up this past week, and he weighed 41 lbs (66%) and was 44 inches tall (75%).  I've never been so happy to have a tall and skinny boy, especially since the doctor said his size will help his asthma.  Yep, asthma; Walker was officially diagnosed at the beginning of this past week.  He has used an inhaler off and on since he was 9 months old, but I've never had anyone, between two allergists and multiple pediatricians between our Orlando and Birmingham practices, sit down and try to figure out a regimen that worked for Walker.  He's still pretty sick right now, so we have to get past the acute phase to figure out how he's going to respond to his new meds.  I'm sad for Walker to have another thing going on, but then again, I'm relieved to finally have some answers.

Walker's Birthday Party

 These crazy kids thought it was hilarious to shoot me with water guns as I tried to take their picture.

 Some of my besties (and they happen to be Walker's besties' mamas)- Holly, Katie, Tara, Shelly, and Tonya.

 Bottom row L to R- Jordan, Gavin, Stella, Walker, Ethan, and Emilia

Top row L to R- Brooke, Dalton, Jake, Parker, Grant, and Elizabeth.

 

 

What drama Walker's birthday party ended up being!  His party was planned for this past Sunday at 4 pm at Chuck E. Cheese.  Now, let me say this- I'm not a fan of the Cheese, but Walker asked for a trip to Legoland for his bday and Chuck E. Cheese with his 5 best friends.  I'm all about a destination birthday and a small party, so Chuck E. Cheese it was.  Well, at 3 pm on Sunday, the Cheese called and said that there was a power outage and they weren't sure when the power would be back on- we would either have to move locations, reschedule, or cancel the party.  What?????  After a quick pow wow with Walker, we decided to move the party to our house.  The only problem was, the party started in an hour, my house was a mess, and I had nothing prepared for a party.  Luckily, my awesome friends, parents, and even my own children helped me pull it off.  My parents ran to Target to get the cake and party supplies while the boys and I cleaned/straightened up the house, and my friends all chipped and brought adult beverages, appetizers, and everything else I forgot.  Haha.  Walker was a little disappointed at first that we couldn't have it at Chuck E. Cheese, but as soon as his friends showed up, he was fine.  The kids ended up having an absolute blast.  My dad kept saying, "looks like these kids aren't having any fun!"  The moms kept saying, "this was WAY better than a party at Chuck E. Cheese!"  Hahaha.  Happy birthday party, Walker!!!