Braxton's handy dandy ... notebook!

After our trip back to Utah for Christmas, Jeff and I decided that we should try and get Braxton off of "The Wiggles". So, now Braxton likes an assortment of shows: "Max and Ruby, Lazytown, Dora, Little Bill, The Backyardigans, Little Einsteins ... and Blues Clue's" But, he really wants his very own handy dandy notebook to write in. Well, handy dandy notebooks (like the one shown to the upper left) that are bought in the stores or on the internet are atleast $10 - then there is usually a shipping payment on top of that. So, I took it upon myself to make him one. I figured I could use an old Leappad notebook for the red binding, and proceeded to get out some crayons, markers and some yellow construction paper. After I was finished, all I needed was to get everything laminated so I headed out to FedEx Kinko's. Their laminator is really awesome. It is a thick lamination, not flimsy. Well, this is what I ended up with. Not quite the same, but good enough for Braxton AND cheaper.

So, on Monday we met at the zoo for playgroup. I think I mentioned earlier, that I am not really a zoo person. An hour is usually the limit for me. Well, we were there from 10:30 - 2:15! That is a long time. Braxton had a lot of fun. They even have a butterfly exhibit open until September. That was really cool, actually. They had many different species of butterflies. Pretty neat.

A few Braxton stories ....

Well, later that day (06-25-07), Jeff and I were headed somewhere and we stopped to get some gas. I stayed in the car with Braxton and I heard him talking to himself, so I turned my ear to listen more closely and this is what he was saying, "R. A. I. N. spells rain. N. I. A. R. spells rain backwards." He repeated it several times and at first, I thought he was spelling it backwards wrong ... but then concentrated harder and realized, I shouldn't second guess my little genius.

Then the next day (06-26-07), he was drawing on his dry-erase board. He came in and said he needed help drawing an "n." So, I went in there to help him. He had a "B" and what looked like an "I" and was trying to write an "N". I again, assumed that he was trying to spell his name. (we worked on that a few days ago.) I thought the "I" was supposed to be an "R" and that he had just forgotten the loop and the other leg. So, I said, "Brax, it isn't an 'N' next, it is an 'A'." He looked at me all confused. I reiterated, "It is spelled, B.R.A.X.T.O.N." He took a step back and looked at the board and said, "no, next it is a 'G'." I was like, ... "no, sweetheart, it would be a 'X." He questioned me, "In Bingo?"

I felt like such a dummy. You know, we are always telling our children to not assume things if they don't know, that they should always ask. Well, shoot. I need some new parenting skills. Because, I guess since I'm the parent I think I know everything and I don't! My sweet, intelligent three year old got stuck with me for a Mom. Poor thing.

Braxton's Primary talk

Braxton gave a talk in Primary today for the first time. We practiced at home twice and he did really good - but when it came time for him to get up and do it in church, he got really nervous. But, what can you expect from a three year old? The Primary president came up and said that her five year old couldn't/wouldn't even do that well.


So, after dinner we went for a drive and went over to the university. I decided that I would take a few pictures. We went over by the railroad tracks and Brax was pretty nervous that a train was going to come, so we didn't stay there long. (just so you know, trains don't use that track -- I don't want you to think I'm letting my son play on train tracks that are still in use.) Then we just went on a little walk. We eventually made it over to a bridge that is above a highway. He thought it was so much fun watching cars come and go under the bridge. I think that is the funnest time he has had in a while.

I hope you all had a nice relaxing Sunday. Until next time ....

(Braxton loves wearing my hat. It fits him pretty good, too. On the top far right picture, he was trying to see something under the brim of the hat. He looked cross-eyed, and I couldn't help but think that it was adorable. But, it was probably a "had-to-have-been-there" moment.)

Oh yeah, if any of you would like to hear Brax's talk ... just email me and I will send it to you via email. Because, I don't know how to post audio on this thing yet. I really don't even know if that is possible ... ;)

I got it!

So, after having my blogspot account for almost a year, I have just figured out how to use the picasa program. I know, I know ... I catch on real quick. You'd be amazed at how I can surprise you, sometimes. Anyway ... I am so excited, because this will be way easier to show many pictures, than what I have been doing in the past. I of course, thought I'd use pics of Brax because it is funner to look at him than me or Jeff. I know you've seen some of these pics before, but some you have not. Alright. I'm so excited. Hope you are as thrilled as I am. Ta*Da!

(i thought i could, i thought i could ... I thought I could!)

A new hair-do

So, as you can see from my new picture, I got a perm. I needed a change. I was so close to chopping it off again. But when it is that short, you actually have to do your hair everyday. Granted, I don't go many places but still, I like to feel like I tried to get ready for the day. Anyway, Jeff likes my hair both short and long, but he really likes it curly. So, I opted for long and curly. If you read the post under Meet the Craguns you will see that when it is short and curly, I could be referred to as "Mushroom Head." Anyway ... my hair was just long and straggly and I felt like one of those dogs that have long straight hair covering their eyeballs. So, we will see how long I can keep this hair do. It is nice to only spend 5 minutes on it and feel like you look half-way decent. It is kind of 80's-ish, though, but I think I can get a way with it since I was born in the 80's, don't you? My goal is to get it the length it was when Jeff and I get married. I didn't realize how long it took. I swear it seems like it hasn't grown in 2 years. I'm sorry I keep goin' on and on, but guys just wouldn't understand because they just don't deal with issues like these. These very,VERY important issues!


So, I uh went V.T.ing today. I received a new companion and list this month so I was trying to get to know the ladies I visit. Anyway, she has two kids in nursery and she is pregnant. The two in nursery aren't twins. One is almost three and one is 18 months. Well, when I get there, I realize, she has an older son in primary. He is like ... 4, I would guess. So, I asked her, how long have you been married, and she said, "we just celebrated our 6th anniversary." I about died! I will soon be celebrating my 6th anniversary, too. Four kids in six years? I'm either WAY behind or she is WAY, WAY ahead. Maybe, it is a little of both, but sheesh. She took the whole, "multiply and replenish the Earth commandment very seriously." Her husband just finshed his first year of medical school and I just don't understand how people can do that with so many kids. It's awesome, and more power to them ... but I just don't think I would have been able to do that. Wow.



She had her younger sister there visiting for the summer, too. I asked where she was visiting from and she said, "Utah. Vernal, Utah." I about died. I was like, "My mom was raised out there." So, I asked her if she knew my cousins, Greg and Shana, and she said she did. So, Joce, if you read this, her dad is Mr. Mueller (sp?). They said he taught Spanish and sometimes History out at the high school. It is such a small world, ain't it?


Here is a pic of Jeff and I tonight. He was walking out the door for school when I realized we matched. So, I wanted a picture. Please pardon Jeff's half-cropped off head. This is the best that you can do when you have to hold the camera yourself all the time! Alrighty, well, 26 more days and we get to go visit Utah! Hip, hip ... HoOrAy! Brax keeps asking, "did we miss our pwane?" I feel so bad, he is so excited he can barely see straight!


My TIP of the day: DON'T LICK METAL ICE CREAM SCOOPS, KID-O'S!



You know how your parents told you not to stick your tongue to a cold pole becaue your tongue WILL get stuck? (I have to mention, because it is funny, that my mom did DO this) Well, don't lick your metal ice scream scoop, either. Last night I scooped up some ice cream and when I was done, I licked the scoop. (I know I'm not the only person to do this. I'm not, right?) So I wasn't expecting a problem and so I did it fairly quickly and my upper lip got stuck to the scoop! I ripped off skin off of the top of my lip. It hurts.

update...

Alright. Well, Saturday night we made another trip to the E.R. After our visit on Saturday morning, he still had severe pain even with the vicodin he was taking. The swelling in his face seemed to get worse, also. Also his face was starting to feel numb. We called his brother-in-law who is a physician in Utah and told him about it all. After reading the warning labels on the medications, it did say that swelling and numbness could be an allergic reaction. So, on his release forms from the hospital, it said to call if we had any questions. Of course, we called. Their response, "we are not allowed to give any medical advice over the phone. You should either contact your PCP, or come back to the E.R." Well, we all know that you can easily reach your PCP at 10:30 at night, so of course, we headed back. The third doctors opinion -- he had both a middle and an outer ear infection. He thought Jeff should still be on antibiotics (unlike the second doctor), so he prescribed Jeff three new medications. Drops for his ear, percocet for the pain and omnicef as the antibiotic. This doctor didn't think he was having an allergic reaction - he explained that there is a gland right in front of your ear on your face, and the jaw muscle was probably having swelling because of everything that was going on. As for the numbness, he said that with all of the swelling it was probably pushin on some nerves in Jeff's face and that is what was causing the swelling. However, Jeff was actually able to sleep that night for the first time since Thursday. He didn't get up once. (Yay, percocet!) So, Sunday afternoon the pain meds are starting to wear off and his face is still swelling (off and on). The next day he actually had a follow-up appointment with his ENT (ears, nose and throat) doctor for his surgery on his nose he had last July. We decided that was great, because he could take a look at Jeff's ear as well. This morning we get up and go to the ENT. He looked in Jeff's ear and said, "oh yeah. you have severe otitis in that ear." I'm sure Jeff was thinking, "no duh!" So, he got out this long tube thing and put a sharp metal object on the end of it. This was also used after Jeff's surgery to suck out all of the dried blood and gunk - so I figured he was going to suck crap out of his ear. You could hears stuff going through this tube (kinda like when your are vacuuming) anyway, then I see him jab at Jeff's ear a few times. Jeff's face went all crazy and I could tell it hurt. Come to find out, he punched two or three holes into Jeff's ear to relieve some of the pressure. I asked Jeff later if it hurt and he said it did but not any worse than the pain he has been dealing with the last four days. I guess it takes about a week and the eardrum should repair itself. Anyway, this doctor explained that the swelling was actually because the infection had spread. But, with Jeff taking the antibiotics he said he should be ok. We hope so! So, a lot has gone on these last few days. Poor Jeff, though. He missed school tonight because he still can't hear anything out of that ear. Once in a while it will "pop" and he can hear for a few seconds, but mostly it just sounds like static. He's afraid he'll get called on in class and not even know it. He said, he'll probably miss school tomorrow, too and head back on Wednesday. I feel so bad for him. Okay, well, that was our weekend in a nutshell. (Happy Father's Day, Jeff!) Well, I am off to bed. G'nite.

This is all of the medication Jeff has been on from Thursday to Saturday. Seriously, if anyone walked into our apartment right now and saw all of these on the counter, they would think "there are some serious addicts in this household!" Especially, since three of the seven of these drugs are for pain. Oh yeah, and on top of these (he is currently only taking 3) he has to take his allegra-D and ibuprofen to keep the swelling down.

Haha! I have to tell you this funny story, now. Braxton has been watching Aladdin (one of his new favorite shows. That and The fox and the hound) while I've been typing this and he gets so excited everytime he sees the palace. So, just now he said, "Mommy, come look. I see the palace." After about 10 times of him saying that I get up and go see the palace otherwise he will just continue on and on. So, I get there, I tell him, "wow, there is the palace." and he says, "I love you, Mommy." So, I said, "I love you, too, Brax. Can I give you a hug because you are such a good boy?" He puts his arms out and I sit by him and hug him. Then he adds, "I missed you." So I say, "I missed you, too." Without skipping one beat he says, "Okay, you can move now." So, I laugh and get up and then he adds "thanks for moving, Mom." So, I guess if he is going to be a little rude - atleast he is rude in a polite way.

Hooray, for second opinions!

We had to make a trip to the emergency room today. Don't worry, though - none of us were dying, Jeff just thought he was going to permanently lose his hearing is all.

So, where should we start? About a month and half ago, Jeff started complaining of feeling like his left ear was under a lot of pressure. After a few days of this he decided he'd better go to the student medical center to get it checked out. The doctor he saw said "you have eustachian tube dysfunction." Basically, the tube that connects the middle ear to the throat is pressurized and whenever that pressure is different than the outer ear's pressure, it causes popping and the feeling of the pressure. He told Jeff to go home and take Tylenol and a Sudafed and he should be just fine. A month goes by and Jeff still complains now and then of his ear feeling weird and by this time it is starting to squeek and make "static" noises more and more often. He said it doesn't really hurt, but it is just annoying and bothersome.

Two days ago (Thursdsay), he woke up and said, "my ear really hurts. I've had ear infections before, but they have never felt like this." So, again, he makes an appointment for the student medical center and of course, sees the same doctor. The doctor takes another looksy and again, says his ears look great. However, his ear drum does look a little red so he is probably starting to get a middle ear infection. He writes Jeff a prescription for Amoxicillin and some drops to put in his ear that will numb it to deal with the pain.


Well, last night I think I heard Jeff get up at least a dozen times. The pain was so severe he couldn't lay down for long because it was putting way to much pressure on his ear. At about 5:00 am he said, I've got to get in to see a doctor today. At 7:00 we got up and headed to the urgent care clinic (the one our insurance will pay for), which is the Emergency room at The Toledo Hospital/The Toledo Children's Hospital.

Jeff went in to see the doctor and explained everything to him. The doctor then examined Jeff and noticed that the side of his face was swelling. He asked Jeff, "what were you told was the problem?" Jeff proceeded to tell him what the other doctor had said and this doctor said, "It isn't a middle ear infection! It's an outer ear infection. You treat those two totally different ways." He explained that an outer ear infection is what they call swimmer's ear ... and that the amoxicillin Jeff had been given wouldn't touch it. He also let us know that the type of drops Jeff had been given before wasn't helping but actually making it worse because it wasn't treating the problem but actually adding to it. So, with that being said and done, he proceeded to write a different prescription for the types of drops needed and a prescription for Vicodin to help deal with the pain.

Anyway, all is well. I mean, all will be well. Jeff is still in quite a lot of pain, but hopefully be the end of the day he will be feeling much, much better!

I guess we have learned our lesson that not all doctors know everything. If your body is telling you something isn't right, listen to it and get a second opinion if you can.

What really amazes me is I would think it would be easier to not see a middle ear infection than an outer ear infection. I just don't understand why the other doctor totally missed that one. Oh well. I guess doctors can't be perfect, unlike us. (hee. hee.)















So, this is a picture of Jeff ear. He was lying down on my leg so you are looking from the top of his head down. I don't know how well you'll be able to see, but to the right of his ear, you can see two big bumps. It was red and warm to the touch. Anyway, the infection had spread there and it also was swelling down into his jaw, too. Jeff said it hurt pretty badly to chew. I guess he'll be getting some good 'ol patient treatment for the next few days!

Well, that is just another day in our crazy Cragun life! 'Til next time --

SO TRUE!

Ok, I came across this on someone else's blog and so I am copying it to mine because it is SO TRUE! Not until you have kids do you realize this. Believe me, I am not complaining! I am sure the more you have, the more of this disorder you would get. Here we go -

CHILD ACTIVATED ATTENTION DEFICIT DISORDER

Recently, I was diagnosed with C. A. A. D. D. ? Child Activated Attention Deficit Disorder.

This is how it manifests: I decide to do the laundry. As I start toward the basement, I notice that there are cheerios all over the floor and my car keys are in the cereal bowl. I decide to pick up the cheerios before I do the laundry. I lay my car keys down on the counter, put the cheerios in the trash can under the counter, and notice that the trash can is full. So, I decide to take out the trash. But then I think, since I'm going to be near the mailbox when I take out the trash I may as well pay the bills first. I take my checkbook off the table, and see that there is only one check left, my extra checks are in my desk in the office/playroom, so I go to my desk where I find a sippy cup full of juice. I'm going to look for my checks, but first I decide I should put the sippy cup in the refrigerator to keep it cold. As I head toward the kitchen with the sippy cup a vase of flowers on the counter catches my eye -- they need to be watered. I set the sippy cup on the counter, and I discover baby wipes that I've been searching for all morning. I decide I better put them back in the bathroom, but first I'm going to water the flowers. I set the wipes back down, fill a container with water and suddenly I spot the TV remote, one of the kids left it on the kitchen table. I realize that after school when they go to watch TV, I will be looking for the remote as they fight over who lost it, but I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table, so I decide to put it back in the den where it belongs, but first I'll water the flowers. I splash some water on the flowers, but most of it spills on the floor. So, I set the remote back down, get some paper towels and wipe up the spill. Then I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do. At the end of the day: the laundry isn't washed, the bills aren't paid and there is a warm cup of juice sitting on the counter, the flowers aren't watered, there is still only one check in my checkbook, I can't find the remote, I can't find the wipes, and I don't remember what I did with the car keys. Then when I try to figure out why nothing got done today, I'm really baffled because I know I was busy all day long, and I'm really tired. I realize this is a serious problem, and I'll try to get some help for it, but first I'll check my e-mail. Do me a favor, will you? Forward this message, because I don't remember to whom it has been sent.

Rain

Hello. Today was a beautiful day until about 1 o'clockish. We were in the car and it got very, very cloudy real quick. We saw a couple bolts of lightning accompanied by loud "claps" of thunder. I rolled down my window so Braxton could hear better and a couple of big 'ol raindrops fell into the car. Then we saw about three big raindrops on the windshield. Then .... nothing. (About 7 seconds, no rain.) Suddenly out of nowhere, it started pouring. I mean heavy,heavy rain. The wind was blowing and as we were driving we could see in a matter of 10-15 seconds, there were a ton of branches on the road. We had our windshield wipers going about as fast as they could, but it still wasn't fast enough to see well. We had to run from the car to the door of our apartment building and got soaked. Braxton thought it was so funny.

So, that brings me to the reason I wrote tonight. We were getting Braxton ready for bed. His routine is this, brush his teeth, he goes potty, we read books, say family prayers, get him a small glass of water, then I sing three songs to him.

I told Jeff that if he brushed his teeth I would read to him. We have several books from the library for him. We read like the first four or five to him and since then that is all he has wanted to read because he liked those so much. No new ones. Well, as I was picking the house up yesterday, I noticed that we had a chldrens book called, "Rain." I thought, that would be a great book for tonight since it did rain so hard today.

Braxton and I sat in our "thinking chair" (it is a big overstuffed chair, and if you've seen blue's clues, you'll understand why we call it that.) I opened up the book and hooray! The first word was "Blue." Braxton can read his colors, so I knew that he would be able to help read the book. So we went through the book and anytime it came to a color, he read it for me. We got to the end of the book, shut it, and he said, "let's read it again, Mommy." So, I opened it up and Braxton proceeded, "Blue sky." My mouth dropped, he hadn't known sky before. I turned the page and he continued, "Yellow sun." To make the CUTEST story - short, HE READ ME THE ENTIRE BOOK, WORD FOR WORD TO ME WITHOUT ANY HELP AT ALL! (now you understand why I think my son has a photographic memory)

He is so SMART. I love him so much. Everyday he surprises me in the most amazing way. I am so blessed to have him and cherish every moment that I have with him. He is a walking angel sent from Heaven. I am so blessed!

Anyway, here is the book:

Our Story

I was reading my friend Kami's blog. She had been tagged by her friend to write a blog about how her and her husband met. Then, Kami challenged that whoever read her blog do the same. So here I am. I also challenge anyone who reads this blog to write their story, also. So, basically, "TAG - YOU'RE IT!!"

Our Story ...

The year was 2000. I had just ended a year-long, long-distance relationship with a boyfriend. I had actually moved down to Arizona for a while to be closer to my boyfriend and after a short two months, realized it wasn't what I wanted. I was very discouraged. Within the last two and a half years, I had had two semi-serious relationships, all which were very sweet guys, but I just had some apprehensions about it all. I was however writing to a missionary and he would be coming home in two months ... hmmm, maybe that would work out?

Meanwhile, Jeff was in a relationship. He, too, felt that it wasn't headed in the right direction and wasn't quite sure if it was a good relationship or not. He had been engaged to the girlfriend before and didn't want to waste some more time with a girl that he knew he wasn't going to marry.

It was October 27, 2000. I remember that I kept tossing and turning. Finally after about two hours of fighting with myself I got up to get on the computer. A friend had mentioned a website, LDSchat, so I decided to log on.

You guessed it! Jeff and I met online. Cyber-love, I guess. We talked for quite a while and he just kept making me laugh. The kind where it is completely quiet in a room and then all the sudden their is a burst of laughter from nowhere. I would feel so dumb, even though no one was around, I couldn't help but looking around the room just to make sure no one was watching.

We talked on the phone the next day. And made plans to meet at a location for the next day.

So we officially met each other on October 29, 2000. I couldn't help but think that he was really cute and sweet. He was quite unsure about me, because I had described myself as 5'10" and 150 lbs. He wasn't sure if that was fat or not. He tells me he was pleasantly surprised. We talked, and talked and talked. Finally, he said he needed to get home to finish a school project but we made plans for a real date for the coming weekend.

He and I went to Applebee's. We ended up running into his best friend and his girlfriend there. (Little did I know that Jeff was trying to end a relationship at this time -- so now I understand their confusion on their faces.)

On the way home we talked some more. I TOTALLY liked this guy. A LOT! I don't know what came into me -- but I said, "I like you and if we continue this, I know that I could fall in love and marry you!" (*gasp*) I thought to myself after I said that .... "what did you just do!!!! you are never going to here from this guy again."

He dropped me off at my house and he gave me a really big bear hug. We looked up at the stars and it was just SO perfect. I didn't want that night to end, so .... I invited him in for hot cocoa. He said, "sure." (yessssss)

I waited by my computer for a day or two and kept checking my email. Nothing. I knew it ... I had scared him silly. He finally wrote me saying he had been busy with school and work but that he wanted to see me again. (I, however, like to think he was breaking up with his girlfriend!)

We spent all of our free time together for the next month and a half. I swear I lived at his house and his work. I'm sure everyone was so sick of seeing me. Too bad for them.

Then on December 19, 2000. Jeff said he wanted to take me shopping for my upcoming birthday. So, we headed to Layton. We went to the mall and then he pulled into an ARI Diamonds store. My heart fluttered. He said he wanted to start looking for rings. I actually ended up finding my ring there and he just smiled and said, "ok. Now I know what you want." So, we walked back to the car and drove off. I couldn't believe it. Jeff didn't know this at the time, but I was supposed to go to the airport later that day to see my so called "missionary" come home. I had made my mind up on the way out of the store - I wouldn't be headed to the airport.

We started making plans to get married, before we were even engaged. Jeff had called the Temple and got the date reserved and we were on our way. Now all I needed was some "bling" on my finger. That came April 21, 2001. The Salt Lake Temple was reserved for the 21st of July. We had three months.... time to start working.

So atleast the temple was reserved ...

We needed to:


get some engagement pictures taken ....

send out some invitations ...

get our announcement in the newspaper ...

... and of course, be to the Salt Lake Temple on July 21, at 5:45 AM, so we could be married at 7:00 AM!

Lucky for us, we both showed up! And we will live Happily Ever After.

THE END.

What a busy day!

Mr. B had a very busy day today! Poor little guy. Most days he just stays home and gets to go outside when we go to the store or head to the library. It is a great day when there is actually something planned for him to do - like playgroup or something. Well, today wasn't our average day because we had two things scheduled for Braxton. I knew he was going to be tuckered out!

So, first things first. I am happy to tell you that Braxton attended his very first Primary Activity! It does make me a little sad to see him getting so BIG. They made their very own journal. Pretty exciting, I tell ya.

A couple hours later Braxton had another (girl) birthday party to attend! It was a gymnastics party and he was so terribly excited. For the past week that is all I heard about. I had dropped Elayna (the birthday girl's older sister) off at gymnastics once and Braxton had the hardest time leaving because he wanted to go in there! He had so much fun. It was very hot in there but that didn't stop him from acting like our typical monkey!

Primary Activity Pictures:

Braxton (center) working on his journal

June 2, 2007, first Primary Activity

Nataly's b-day party pictures:

Monkey Braxton acting like a good monkey should

dunno what these are called - but he enjoyed them

he was doing the kangaroo bounce across this tramp

Slam dunking at age three. Pretty good, eh?

he preferred the smaller tramp because there wasn't a line

on the balance beam. balancing, balancing and ...

sticking the landing!

eatin' a cupcake

remember I said it was HOT in there? Well, here is your proof, Braxton is actually drinking water!

just a spoonful of ice-cream, helps the water go down... in the most delightful way!