OBX and a month of Fun

Can I tell you how much fun we have had this last month! Some of you may not know what OBX is- I sure didn't. OUTER BANKS! We were lucky enough to have Connor's ENTIRE family come out for "spring break." They all came at different times and some overlapped depending on their spring break.

Pictures say much more than words-so there are tons of collages to get them all in! This will be long but bear with me:

Joel and Kadi and their two boys came from Washington state. We loved having them all to ourselves. We spent a lot of time outside in the great weather at the park and at Shelly lake and on the trail behind our house. Thanks for coming you guys!!

Then Connor's Sister, Laurel, came with her hubby and four kids from SLC. Dylan had a blast being able to have his older cousins all to himself. Ashlyn loved having a new "Friend." We went to the Science museum in Durham (we could have stayed for a week), and Shelly Lake. It also rained for a whole day- plenty of time to have my brother-in-law, Erik, to fix everything in my house that has EVER needed fixing! Thanks Erik! We then headed out to the Outer Banks. Connor's parents rented out two huge houses. We had a blast playing tennis and going to the beach. We met Connor's parents there (from SLC), his Sister and her family of 5 from Cleveland, and another sister and her two kids from CA there.

There are pictures of one of the houses we had. It was ADORABLE and HUGE. It was called "The Lime to Chill." We stayed in the cute town of Duck. We enjoyed the clubhouse as well (tennis, indoor swimming pool and gym.) I mean, we had it all. Well, we could have used some nicer weather.

We went to Jockey Ridge (the largest sand dunes in the East.) I still have sand in my car! But we loved it! We also got to go to the Wright Brother's Museum. Interesting that they went from OH to NC like us. We have been collecting our licence plates which say "birth place of flight" (OH) and now "first in fight" (NC.) We also went to the Aquarium.

We also got to go the Whale house Club (first woman's hunting club) and the Currituck lighthouse. We also caught an Easter egg hunt and some fun pictures of the kids in a really huge beach chair at some shops and a family Easter picture.

We enjoyed Connor's brother and family of 6 from SLC and another Sister and family of 7 from SLC. Can you imagine what kind of withdrawals Dylan is now going through not having ANY cousins around. Here are some Easter Sunday pictures of the kids. I had to put so many of the girls photos in there because Ashlyn was super funny (photogenic.)

Thank you everyone for making the trek to come visit! We really loved sharing our beautiful NC with y'all!

All You Wanted To Know...

This was really fun, thank you to all who participated!!!

1. Hi Michal - ok, here's a question: What are three things that make you feel like a really GOOD mom?? Kendy :)
I had to dig deep on this one- 1.I love to be outside doing fun things, I really think my kids enjoy that we are always on the go and not stuck at home 2. When Dylan's preschool teacher comes up and tells me what wonderful prayers Dylan has said that day 3. When people comment on how calm and creative I am with my kids (but sometimes it is easier in front of others?!?!)

2.How many guys were after you while you were dating Connor? Be honest, some of us already know the answer! Melissa:)
You had to ask that didn't you. When it rains is pours! 4- is that right?

3. Where would you eventually like to end up living? Anna
Colorado- close enough to the temple and my parents and a easy ride to visit Connor's family in SLC

4. What would be your dream vacation? Kristen
I thought I would like a vacation without my kids, but I don't think I really would. I think the best vacation would definitely be with family, in a warm place where there are so many wonderful things to do, yet plenty of time to do nothing at all (essential). Not having to pay for it would be nice too! Having my kids entertained by others would be great. Hey- as I am writing this I realize I have had a few of these actually- thanks Nini and Poger, Mom and Dad!

5. what do you like most about yourself? what chore do you wish would just go away? how many kids do you plan to have? Ashley
I like to try new things and especially the things that seem somewhat impossible. I get a rush from that. I have also really become outgoing- almost too much! Dishes and bathrooms could disappear and I wouldn't miss them. 5 sounds good right now, but we are taking it one at a time.

6.How do you stay so positive? What is the craziest thing you've ever done? Where is your favorite place you have ever lived? Julie
I am glad you think I am positive!! I do cry too when no one but Connor is looking. I guess I have seen much worse (especially at work), so I am grateful that I can handle what I have been given. Other's trials seem too hard. Wrestling in High school was probably pretty stupid now that I think about it. I also had my friend pierce my ears in HS when we ditched school together. We have lived a lot of places, I don't know that I can say which is my favorite, they are all unique in their own way. When Connor asked me this question a year ago I realized that I love the places we have lived because of the people we have met there. They are the ones that make the places great- so thank you everyone for making ALL my moves worth it so I could meet you! So take away the people and I would have to say Raleigh (and maybe cause I am living it now) because the great weather, the beauty and the sweet southerners! Not as much to do here as Boston and not as many free things to do as Cleveland and no family either, but we are enjoying it here!

Sorry all, not as interesting as I hoped it would be!

March is not over!

I spoke too soon. Just after I finished my post last night Corbin woke up with a burning fever. After a lot of indecisiveness, I finally decided to take him in. Low and behold it wasn't what I thought (strep or teething) it was a lost tube and another ear infection! Good thing Corbin has his four week check up for his tubes on Thursday. Poor kid!

Strep loves me

We were feeling left out when Corbin has had so many health problems so...

It is hard to believe, but earlier this week I got STREP again. This is the 7th time in a year and a half! My doctor said I may have to have a tonsillectomy so that I won't keep getting it. I also could be a carrier of Strep- to be determined! What makes it hard is when I get strep I am practically useless for 48 hours. It didn't help that 8 hours after I was diagnosed with strep Dylan started throwing up. My first thought was that he got strep from me. However, he has also been battling bad allergies (NC is known for it's hard springs) and therefore Dylan got his first ever ear infection and is on his own dose of antibiotics. Luckily it was just a bug. Then the fevers for Corbin start climbing the next morning- we hope it is just those molars peeking through.

So long story short- we are hope that with the end of March also ends some of our minor health problems!!

Question Tag

My friend Rochelle did this tag and I loved it, but hopefully I can have answers as interesting as hers!

You get to ask me anything... and I will answer all of your questions... no matter what. Ask away! (I will post my answers in a week.)

Is it snack time yet?

We have a huge cupboard designated only for snacks. However, I have realized it looks a little too much like this:

Which is a lot different than I want it to be. This makes snack time a dreaded time and it also makes me feel like I am unsuccessful as a parent by feeding my kids junk just because it is easy. Please help me out by letting me know what some of your favorite snack ideas are?

Birthday Bash- part 2

Dylan and Corbin's Birthdays are past and Ashlyn's is in a few weeks. Instead of throwing two different parties separated by a month- of which all the same people would be invited- I went ahead and just did ONE BIG BIRTHDAY PARTY! So here is the invite:
Batman Saves Barbie Party

(I am sad to say there is a huge lack of appropriate pictures due to the very sad Mr. Corbin.)
As the girls walked in they sat at a vanity to pick out a dancing tutu (it seems that is a lot of what Barbie does lately and every girl loves that!) They also picked out a flower barrette.

The boys went into the "Bat cave" and put on their batman masks.

Connor did a great job of managing all the games (isn't he great!) We played "stomp the villains." The villains were trying to kidnap Barbie and to save her we had to stomp them (aka pop the balloons that had villain faces on them) and get the candy which was inside. We then had some dancing time so those tutus could get their full use (they will get much more since they took them home.) We then played "Mr. Freeze." When the music stops, so do you, and if you don't you get sent to the "Bat cave" (aka- the tent covered in a dark sheet.) We then opened some awesome gifts and then had cake!! Here is how they turned out (I am by no means a profession, nor wannabe profession cake decorator!!)

So here are the pictures I DID get: (Thank you Shama!)
The wishes


The aftermath of playing and ballooning

And a very happy little girl with all the jewelry (and what you can't see is that she has glitter make up all over her face!)

Dylan is too busy running around with his Batman swords to get any pictures!
So Happy Birthday to all my kids at once!! Wish you all could have come!

Deja vu

So this weekend was one of those moments you say to yourself "haven't I done this one before, and it wasn't fun the first time!" So then you know your in for a treat. Luckily, somehow I picked a career out of this kind of thing! I truly have a testimony that Heavenly Father really does know me better than I do, and my future for that matter.

We were plagued on Thursday with the dreaded "throw-up bug" with Corbin. Like most of you we tried to get over it at home and a visit to the Doctor (who even gave us zophran) yet this guy wasn't getting any better. For two days he was completely lethargic- he couldn't even hold up his own head. When he was awake he was moaning in pain, and if he happened to fall asleep it was short lived. So you can imagine how our sleep was! We even made a little bed in his room and took turns camping out with him! Sounds fun huh! So by Saturday I knew we had to help this kid out and our home remedies were just not going to cut it. So I took him into work with me! I know, not what you thought! Not really, I was supposed to work in the CED (Children's Emergency Department) on Saturday but instead we decided to be "secret shoppers." "No big deal" I tell myself, "a little IV and we are outta hear." But then the dreaded words which I have heard before "He is not responding to his IV fluids and there is something else going on." For those of you who don't know we spent a week in the Hospital with Dylan when he turned two because of a stomach bug that turned into what they think was a kidney infection (in his ONLY kidney) which technically put him into "kidney failure" and we were lucky to finally get a nephrostomy tube surgically inserted through his back into his Kidney to allow it to work again! Whew! So after a bundle of "normal" ER visits in the past I thought those days were over! Here I am completely mystified. The ER Doctor abruptly declares she needs to look at his stool (luckily there was a time size one in there) and she automatically new what was up (FYI- if your kid has gelatenous stools go to the ER EMMEDIATELY!). She sent us immediately over to ultrasound and Xray to confirm her suspensions. And yes, Corbin also had Intussiception. As I understand it, the lymph nodes in his bowels were inflamed due to his virus and bowls then inverted themselves. The chief radiologist explained to me that he had to try to uninvert them immediately and if he was not successful, surgery was critical. I phoned Connor and he was blinded that our innocent IV trip had turned to surgery! He got the phone tree rolling and prayers were in the works. And I know that those prayers were answered! The radiologist then proceeded to insert a cath into Corbin's rectum, tape the cheeks tightly together to decrease the chance of Corbins body pushing it out. He then used the radiology equipment to inflate the cath tube in the right place and try to pull the lining back into place. This was unsuccessful. The radiologist then proceeded to try the same procedure only using a liquid. Corbin being such a trooper did not like any of this but he was so exhausted that he would sporadically fall asleep during all of this! The radiologist was able to move it only slightly and therefore he mournfully told me that surgery was the only thing that could fix it from here. This was the first moment I really melted. The poor kid already had surgery this week! We had to wait an hour or more for the pediatric surgeon to make it from his hold up at UNC to us. Meanwhile, Corbin slept surprisingly soundly for an hour. When he woke he was able to sit slightly. As we were prepping for surgery the ER Doc looked at him and told me that there is a small percentage of kids bodies that self univert themselves and because he seemed to be doing slightly better she wanted to just double check. I was all for it. We went in for another ultrasound and it was true! Corbin's body had used that little move done by the Radiologist combined with a really relaxed nap and it did it! So we got to go "relax" upstairs on the peds unit where I was able to chat with more of my CLS peers. I can't tell you how much more I learn every time about my career by being on this side. Corbin was also excited (understatement of the year) to finally be able to have a drink. During the day Corbin had spied my cup and the faucet (that are in just about every room in the hospital) and couldn't think about anything else. He was parched. He downed that pedialite, which I hear is disgusting, but he won't even touch it now! He sure did have a death grip on that bottle though. And boy was I SO happy to finally have him nurse again, after few days I was having my own swelling going on!
We are glad to say we are at home, Corbin is doing great and almost back to normal. We have many great friends who have taken care of us and we are so grateful to all of those who helped us with blessings and prayers! We know this was an answer to them!

Now tell me how I can't get scared in future episodes of the innocent "stomach bug?"

Might I say he makes this gown look super cute and I ALMOST wanted to take it home with me! I also found it very funny to watch him try to feed himself with his arm that had the IV in it (his elbow was tapped to a board so it couldn't be bent.) And he couldn't get enough of that fish tank!

Visitors Welcome

Our 10 day forecast looks amazing, take a look:
Thursday- Sunny 60
Friday- 70
Saturday- 75
Sunday- 72
Monday- 67
Tuesday- 68
Wednesday- 66
Thursday- 64
Friday- 61
Come enjoy it with us!!!

Your Thoughts and Prayers

WERE HEARD!
Thank you to all of those who kept Corbin in their prayers. It went great!!! We were hit with a "big" winter storm last night and I was worried that the surgery could be cancelled. Luckily, it wasn't (but the rest of the world here shut down for a few inches.) It all went very well, except the waking up part- but to be expected. Corbin's wonderful ENT said she drained a lot of puss from both ears. I can't imagine what that must feel like for Corbin! He already is so happy! Thanks for thinking of us!

Sweet Monday

On Monday Corbin will be the owner of a pair of these:

I know most of you don't have the foggiest idea (yes, double meaning, Corbin's last few months have been foggy in hearing) what this is. Corbin will be getting tubes in his ears. A very common procedure and I am very excited! According to the ENT specialist, the poor kid has had a constant ear infection for the last 5 months! He has been on 4 different antibiotics, which mask the problem and then it flares back up again. I have great hopes for what life will be like after Monday. I am hoping for longer naps, no waking up at night, better eating and less irritablility! I will let you know how it goes. I might have to be reminded that he is a Thompson boy, and sleeping does not run in his veins anyway. But a girl can always dream, right!

P.S. Thank you to all of those who commented on my last post, it was incredibly fun to have so many great memories brought back to my view. If you haven't done this one on your blog, you should!

Memory Lane

Just thought this might be fun!

1. Add a comment on our blog, leave one memory that you and I (or with Connor, Dylan, Ashlyn and corbin) had together. It doesn't matter if you know us a little or a lot, anything you remember!


2. If you want to play, re-post these instructions on your blog and take a stroll down memory lane too.

Bandaids

The problem is two fold:
1. Ashlyn Loves band aids. She finds every excuse she can to wear one. She will find an old "owie" and demand that it hurts and she needs one. Or she will just want one for no reason.
2. Corbin is FASCINATED by band aids. If he sees one, he has to grab it.

So, you can imagine this might be a very hysterical sight! For example- Ashlyn is watching her favorite show and Corbin gets a view of her band aid (that she as long forgot is there.) He crawls over and starts trying to rip it off her leg, she gets irritated for a moment, pushes him away but gets back to her show. Corbin, of course, hasn't forgotten and tries again, only causing the same reaction with a tad more irritation. By the tenth time she is really losing it! Corbin literally can not think about anything else. The fascination, however, ends when the band aid comes off- which is not very likely with Ashlyn! So as you can see band aids cause a lot of ruckus around our house.

Birthday Bash

I am way behind on my posting. This week both our boys had Birthdays!! My big boy turned 5 and my baby turned 1. Oh boy, I just can't believe it! I love these two so much. I also think it is very funny that everyone on the planet thinks they are twins divided by a few years! I remember asking Dylan if he wanted his baby brother to have the same birthday as him, he told me straight up- no way! At least he was honest. The only bad part is Ashlyn is feeling a little left out. There was one point where she really thought it was her birthday too.

So here is my tribute to my beautiful boys:

Daring
Yack- I can't get him to be quiet sometimes!
Loves to laugh
Athletic miracle
Never ending energy

5 things I love about Dylan:
1. I love when he gets excited, his eyes sparkle and his smile makes me melt right into excitement with him.
2. He is very good at persuasion- I have a hard time telling him "no."
3. He really is so kind and caring.
4. He is very bright. I have not had to work very hard with him on his amazing math and reading skills. He hasn't even gotten to kindergarten and can do both!
5. He is so easy to get along with. There is rarely a kid between the age of 0 and 15 that he can't have a good time with!!

Cute as can be (you can see for yourself can't you)
Observant- loves to watch people
Really bad napper
Boyish- loves anything that moves
Into everything
Nonstop ear infections

1 Thing I love about Corbin:
1. He is my miracle baby. He is such a great kid and puts up with so much. I wouldn't have survived without his easygoing personality.

Happy Birthday to Camille and Colleen as well (on the 6th)!!!!

Funny Faces

I never knew a rubber band could provide us with so much entertainment! We were rolling with laughter for at least a half hour.

I was surprised at how much Corbin "liked it." I think he thought it was funny too- or maybe just the idea that we were all laughing at him.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Enjoy!!!