Just Want to Cry!

Oh my...what.a.day.

So after being there for 6 or so hours, my jury duty was over. Although I had to report, my number did not get pulled to be on the panel, so after the jurors were selected, I got to go.

When I got home, Eli had a fever. After a dose of Tylenol, he seemed a little better. Uncharacteristically, he didn't eat much dinner. Matt left for basketball at around 7:15, and by 7:30, Eli's fever was raging again. I picked him up and brought him into the bathroom to give him some more Tylenol. That's when he started throwing up. Now, if you ever have had a toddler throwing up with another child looking on, you know how annoying this is. Try 2 toddlers looking on, demanding that mommy, "Clean it up!" all the while the poor sick child is sobbing, and your 9 month old is screaming in her crib because of the chaos. Frazzled doesn't even begin to explain how I felt.

I put Cara and Brady in their cribs and tended to Eli. After getting everyone settled for bed, I decided it best to let E try and sleep it off. I settled Allie back down, had my own break down, and started the clean up process. I had the bright idea to grab one of Brady's old Broviac kits because they have plastic gloves and masks. As soon as that mask hit my face, the tears just welled up. It's weird how smells, sights, and sounds can just bring you right back. I instantly felt that sick feeling that I had every time Brady needed dressing change, the pain I felt as I knew I was inflicting pain, ughhh.... After my little minute of sorrow, I cleaned the bathroom and Lysol-ed the house. I think this is all in vain though, as the boys and I had a "smooch mommy" contest after dinner. It never fails that when one gets it, we all get it.

The timing of course is not great. With the Lemonade Stand this weekend, I have a ton to do and need to be at my best for the weekend. I'm praying that God will mercifully take this bug from our house quickly.

The adventure never ends...

Splash Lagoon Part 2

The end of another weekend. Can you believe that the lemonade stand is less than a week away? Yikes, I've got work to do! The weather looks a little questionable...we'll see! There's no rule that says you can't drink lemonade in the rain right?

As promised here are more pictures from our Splash Lagoon adventure!

On our way to the Lagoon in our wagon! Thank goodness the wagon has drainage holes:) Oops..I just realized this is the picture that shows Eli and Cara in tears---we had to pass by a big parrot to get into Splash Lagoon. Every time we did, the parrot squawked at them really loud. They went into hysterics every time, Brady on the other hand, liked the bird!


Cara testing the waters!


Brady taking a break on the edge of the pool. He needed to have a little frown time!


Brady playing on the splash pad!


Cara kept trying to sit on the water!




Eli showing off his breakfast


Cara Kathleen




On the way home...zzzzzzz....





Until our next adventure...

Splash Lagoon

We're back! Our trip was only 24 hours, but we packed a lot of fun into 1 day:)
Matt and I both agree that the hotel was as much fun for the kids as the water park. When we arrived we were told that we got upgraded to a larger suite because they didn't want to squeeze our 3 requested pack and plays into the room we bought. Okay...we'll take an upgrade! Our room was seriously half the size of the downstairs of our house! Of course I didn't get pictures before we trashed the place, but here are a few shots inlcuding the kids, wagon, and ALL of our stuff:

Yes...that is a flat screen and fireplace...oooo-la-la!




The kids' sleeping area


Totaly not child-proofed



Cara calling roomservice!


We had a first floor room just steps from the Splash Lagoon. We used the choo choo wagon to take the kids back and forth and it worked out great. For dinner Friday and Lunch Saturday, we came back to the hotel and used their dining area. It was less crowded, less noisy, and had 3 highchairs! We bought dinner Friday and I had packed a lunch for Saturday. So with a free hotel breakfast, we only spent $20 on food (lunch Friday!). I was also able to sell the 4 extra passes we had since the kids got in free because they were 2. This gave us $60 back off of the cost of our trip...woo-hoo!

I really liked Splash Lagoon. The place is hot and loud, but crowds were light and the place was clean. For our kids there was really only one area we could be in. It was a large wading pool with several spray areas for the kids to explore. There were also 3 little water slides, one of which our kids could handle. Matt and I were outnumbered by 1, so we couldn't go in the larger pools, hot tubs, or bigger slides. That was okay though, the kids had a great time playing in the spray pool area and on this pad that squirted water from several floor holes!





Brady was definitely the most reluctant in the water. I still think his insecurity about his balance causes him to be clingy and not have as much fun. He did let go a few times and enjoy himself. Surprisingly, the liked the slide the most---and they really flew down that thing!



Stay tuned until tomorrow...I'll post more pictures:) A great time with our great kids...

Road Trip!

Tomorrow we are off for our adventure! We won't be gone long, but we are planning on having a lot of fun:)

I won't be blogging tomorrow, but I promise to check in Saturday with a ton of great pictures! And guess what? I bet I'll have a few tears in my eyes watching a certain little boy splashing just like the other kids!!!

Wednesday Fun

Due to the weather, we opted out of our usual playgroup today and decided to take a little trip to Brockport. I heard about this place called the Jungle Gym that is an indoor play place for kids ages 1-8. We all had an awesome time playing with different toys, bouncing in the bounce house, and playing in a very cool plastic bead "sand" box. You are allowed to bring your own food, so I packed a lunch and we ate in their party room! I thought that the place was perfect for 2 year olds, and even Allie had a ball. You can check it out at http://www.brockportjunglegym.com/ By the way, we paid $12 total ($4 per child, Allie was free) and we could have stayed all day!

I got several lemonade deliveries this week! Woo-hoo! I think my kitchen looks like it belongs in a Country Time commercial!

I'm asking for a lot of prayer this week! I have a truly special little girl that needs your prayers!! Matt's cousin Sumana is a precious little girl adopted from India who has spina bifida. Tomorrow she is having MAJOR surgery to place a corrective device along her spine to help straighten her severe scoliosis. Please pray for Sumama and her family as they face this frightening time. You can read her mom's blog at http://sumanafaith.blogspot.com

And yes, I love the suggestions of telling the lawyers when I arrive for jury duty that I am a very serious and dedicated blogger. I just can't help but put every detail of my life on the blog! Honestly folks, I keep telling Matt that I think jury duty would be a refreshing mental break from life with 4 kids! How sad is that:)

So Much on My Mind Today!

On my mind today...

1. The workmen that descended upon my house at 8am. Our master bath shower has leaked (like left water-stain-on-the-downstairs-ceiling-leaked) so we had to rip it out. There's nothing better than having 4-5 guys going up and down your stairs all day meaning you can't put the gate up to keep your 4 monkeys off the stairs. But! A new shower on the horizon...yipee!

2. MOPS meeting tonight. I belong to the Northgate MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) at Night group. Anyone interested in joining? If you are an expecting mom, new mom, or mom with preschool age children, you can join us on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday nights of the month. We have guest speakers, food, discussions, food, crafts, and food! Email me if you are interested!

3. Several NB families that we have connected with are seriously on my mind and my heart. One family has gotten terrible news that their precious girl's disease has progressed despite countless surgeries and harsh rounds of chemo. She is now facing another surgery, just to get the number of tumors to a reasonable amount in order to start radiation. They also just had a new baby. Please pray for Dakota. You might also remember Trey's family from Rochester that we met at Strong. They just found out that chemo did not change sweet Trey's tumor and are faced with similar choices that we had. Please pray that we can be good friends to them and that they will make choices with clarity and peace of mind. Pray for Trey.

4. Oh yes, and that lemonade stand thing! Boy, I've got work to do.

5. Uh...Jury duty possibly next week? Certainly I wouldn't make a good juror, I'll just tell them all that is on my mind and they will dismiss me, right?

6. AND! We are taking a little trip this weekend! 5 of the 6 of us are headed to Splash Lagoon in Erie for an overnight trip, while Allie stays with Grandma and Grandpa. We have never taken them overnight before (other than our stays at Strong/Sloan) so, you are all in for some good stories I'm sure!! I'm very thankful that we have decided to do this...I love adventure!

Thanks for checking in!

A Few Monday Pictures

Monday in pictures...

Three amigos coloring a picture for our dear friend Gramma Lynn


Cara showing her sassy side


My four sweet peas getting ready for a walk


I asked them to give me shmoopie lips (check out Brady and Eli!)

Not too much from this neck of the woods today. I did want to share an article I wrote that was published on a Make a Difference to One blog. I'm on the writing team there now, so I'm hoping to be writing more often. To check it out, click here and scroll down.

Go Grandma!

Leave it to my mom to venture where I never have before! This morning she took the triplets to Lowe's for one of their kid-project days. They made little school buses (one of the kids' favorite things) out of wood. I'm sure there weren't too many other two year olds, especially in groups of three. Then she decided to take them into McDonald's, alone, at lunchtime, on a Saturday! Go Grandma! I guess it went okay...they came home with smiles, schoolbuses, and tales of perhaps, some icecream? Allie and I had a quiet morning which ended with a first for her...a grilled cheese sandwhich! She LOVED it! Then before the triplets invaded, I let her do something that all 9 month olds should do! Play in the tupperware drawer! I used to do this when Eli, Cara, and Brady were around her age and it was garaunteed entertainment for at least 20 minutes, followed by garaunteed pick-up for 10. She was thrilled to have such a wonderful place to explore without any 2 year olds grabbing things from her hands and pushing her aside. Look at the joy on her face!


By the way...2 weeks from tonight we will be all set up for our Alex's Lemonade Stand! Can't wait!

Nothing Much Friday

You know that summer is almost over when you buy milk and it doesn't expire until September! The Williams family has a pretty quiet weekend and that should give us a chance to catch up on things around here.

We didn't even get outside today and it turned out to be a pretty nice day. The kids and I had a long, but fun day together while Matt was in a golf tournament. I took a few pictures, as promised!

Eli, Cara, and Brady wanted to help me go and get Allison after her morning nap. I went to turn on her light, turned around, and here is what I saw...

They climbed right up and started talking to her! Don't worry, Brady did climb up and hold himself up there right after I took this picture. Allie LOVED all of this attention and was squealing. Can you imagine this type of wake up call?

Later in the day I couldn't find Cara, so I went looking for her in some of her favorite "hide outs." Eventually I found her in the living room, remote in hand (a no no in our house), and with a diaper on her head. Earlier in the day we had made a hat out of a clean diaper and took turns wearing it. I guess she wanted to play that game again and also look for some trouble while doing so. I couldn't possibly scold her while she looked like this. Coincidentally, this is also a great head-tilt picture for the eye doctor (she is looking about 8 feet away at the tv)


The kids had me laughing all day because they kept talking about Mugsy the clown (the wonderful lady who came to the Brady Bash). After a while I started calling each of them Mugsy instead of their name. They just giggled and giggled as I said, "Come on Mugsy, time for lunch." Later in the day, I told Cara, "Stop throwing toys Cara" and she quickly replied, "No mommy, Mugsy stop throwing toys!" Ha!

Happy weekend!

Calling All Bakers!

With our need for lemonade met (woo hoo!), today I'm going to move on to our need for baked goods. In addition to selling lemonade, we are going to sell lemon-themed baked goods. I have 12 people who have agreed to bake something so far. I'm going to list those who have volunteered just as a reminder and to make sure they are still able to do so. If for some reason you cannot bake your item, please just let me know (mwilliams91@rochester.rr.com).

Here is my list so far:
1. Lynn Wilson (lemon bars)
2. Kay Emmanuel (lemon cookies)
3. Rosalie Mangino (lemon cupcakes)
4. Danielle Riggs (lemon bars)
5. Nancy Hamm (lemon bars)
6. Michelle Sczudlo (lemon poppyseed bread)
7. Amy Bolton (lemon pound cake)
8. Laura Luft (gluten-free lemon cupcakes)
9. Ann Marie Suttell (lemon cookies)
10. Amanda Morrison (lemon cookies)

If you would be willing to add your name to this list of wonderful people, please email me or leave me a comment with your email address. It is okay to have more than one of the same item.

Here are a few directions for packaging the baked goods:
1. Please put your items either on a plate or piece of cardboard and wrap them in plastic or a ziplock bag. They need to be visible please.
2. You can package them in whatever quantities you want. For example, 6 cookies on a plate, or 1 loaf of bread, 6 slices of bread, 3 cupcakes...whatever you decide to do is fine.
3. I will price them based on quantity. I have special "Alex's Lemonade Foundation" stickers that I'm going to use.
4. You can drop your baked goods off at my house anytime on Saturday September 5th. If you can't make it out to my house, please email me and I can arrange a time to pick up the items from you.

If you have any questions at all, please email me.

I had a few questions about how to make a donation to our stand. You can make a cash donation in one of two ways. Either stop by the stand on September 6th and 7th at Labor Daze and put a donation in the jar, or you can donate directly to our online Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation account by clicking here and then clicking on DONATE. I'm pretty sure they accept all major credit cards and paypal. Remember, 100% of the money raised at the stand and the online donations will go directly to the foundation which funds research grants aimed at improving treatment options for children with pediatric cancer (kids just like Brady!)

Okay, that is all for today about the stand!

The kids are having a good week. We are relieved to have a quieter week than last week, but we are missing my sister and family very much. It's amazing how well my 10 and 6 year old nephews could entertain my kids! Brady is on "vacation" from PT for the next few weeks. The kids are still talking about the party and I think the memories will be with them for a long time. Brady especially remembers the "clown with the big-red-nose and the big-red-shooooooes!" Cara and Eli of course remember jumping in the bounce house. Brady also mentions how he "put the cupcake in the mouth!" ha!

I promise to get my camera out again soon!

Countdown to Alex's Lemonade Stand

With the big party behind us, my focus now shifts towards our Alex's Lemondade Stand at Oakfield Labor Daze. So many of you have stepped forward to volunteer at the stand, make baked goods, and donate supplies. In the next week or so I will be trying to contact everyone just to confirm that they are still able to help out.

Today my focus is on lemonade sponsors. Our need is to have 10 containers of Country Time Lemonade that come in 5lb 2.5oz canisters at BJs for $5.99. If anyone is still interested in helping in this area, please email me at mwilliams91@rochester.rr.com or leave me a comment with your email address. Lemonade can be bought anytime between now and Saturday September 5th and dropped off at our house. Edited to add: Wow! I posted this in the afternoon and by 9pm we have all 10 cans of lemonade donated! Thank you all so much:)

Today I also want to confirm my stand volunteers. If you are unable to work your shift, please just email me and let me know (no big deal!). If I don't hear from you, I will assume you are still planning on helping out.

Sunday September 6th
10-12 Sue Moore and family
12-2 Indian Falls UMC
2-4 Danna, Lynn, Wes
4-6 Greg, Claudia, Stef, Aunt Nancy
6-8 Peggy, Anne, Kamilla
8-10 Bates Family

Monday September 7th
10-12 Sczudlo Family
12-2 Penepent Family
2-4 Tracy and family
4-6 Maier Family
6-8 Baxter Family
8-10 Ron and Sandy

Tomorrow I will try and organize my list of bakers! We are so excited for this event. Not a day goes by without me thinking of the many children suffering with Neuroblastoma. Remember that 100% of money donated will go to the Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation that is dedicated to funding research for pediatric cancers. THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP!

A Boy and His Cupcakes

Brady.loves.cupcakes.




And to make you smile...here is Brady as we were leaving for PT. He brought a flower to give to his PT Linda...

Looking Back

As we wrap up this busy week, say goodbye to my sister and family, and look ahead at the last few weeks of summer, I wanted to share 2 pictures of Brady comparing how he looked 4 months ago compared to now.


Perhaps the only difference you see is his hair. But to me, I see so much more strength in the 2nd picture. First of all he is standing in picture #2, his posture is so much straighter, and he just looks like a big boy to me. I think it is so amazing to look back and think of how far he has come. Doing so just causes me to stop, be amazed by what God can do, and instantly I am filled with hope to overcome trials that may come my way.

Brady and I will go to PT in the morning, then he will have a PT vacation until after Labor Day. He will miss Linda and all the fun he has at PT, but not driving to Rochester twice a week will be a nice break.

Wishing everyone a happy Tuesday!

Pictures of Brady Bash

Here you go folks:

Mommy steals a kiss from the guest of honor


Party tent


Candy Buffet



Photo Display and Picture of Brady that the guests signed



The HUGE pile of donated items for the Ronald McDonald House!



Bounce House!


Collin jumping and sweating!


Cara Beara jumping around!


Mugsy! The amazing clown and artist! Check out her work:)





Thank you!


Grandma Sandy, Eli, and Brady. This is the only shot of Eli that we got! He never stops!


Cara Kathleen


She got a little hot!


Then she climbed in the bounce house!


Allie Elizabeth was there too!



All of this to celebrate one very special little boy!