A very HOPPY day!

Welcome to the Valiant Family birthing center...that's right. Our dear pet frog previously named Mr. Frog, then renamed Missy and now, finally we've settled on Big Mama...she may have some identity issues but we're sure of one thing...her cloaca (her female parts) is overactive today and she's poppin' out eggs left and right. How cool??? Unfortunately, since we don't have a male, no fertilization will occur and no tadpoles will develop.

Here's some photos...





Please tell me you think this is ultra cool- You do right? Can you see the eggs at the top of the shell and around the bottom? In the first photo she has an egg just releasing;-)

In this photo she is in her new bed and there are eggs all around:



Also, our new froglets arrived-are you ready to meet them? Well then, I proudly introduce you to Goldie and Lock:-)

Goldie:





Lock:




Goldie and Lock in their new Orange "hopitat" (think habitat here;-).


Isn't this one shell of a bed:-)?



Aren't they so cute? Such a fun day in the Valiant household! Tim thinks I'm warped. He says I need a 3rd blog to devote to the frogs called a Frog Blog-ain't he so funny? Did I seriously just say "ain't" on my blog?

Anyway, I thought this was certainly blog worthy and am so happy that the new additions arrived so quickly and safely;-) I'll surely keep you updated on Goldie and Lock's progress...don't you love their names? I came up with them all on my own;-) The boys agreed they were Ribbeting names indeed;-)

Editor's note: Tim looked at the post and said I needed a picture of them side by side so you can see the size difference of Big Mama compared to Goldie and Lock so here ya go:

Eagle fair fun!

Today was a jammed pack day for our family...I started the day off at TJ's school to help with his Eagle Run activites. But first, I got to show off Miss Frog for "pet day"...that was fun. Oh, and while on topic of the frog...the newbies arrived. I have decided to devote a whole post for them (with pictures and such:-) but I need help with names still-and sorry Kim, but Castro's out- because I can't say Castro without thinking Fidel Castro...but totally great idea and I need more.

Ok, back to the topic of the Eagle fair...it started off with a BEAUTIFUL day and a cute preschoolers parade.






Then my sis Heather surprised us and showed up right away so it was fun to visit and line wait with her. Our first activity was the rock climbing wall. TJ and Jake gave it a shot as well as my niece and nephew, Lindsey and Jonah. They were all troopers and had a great climb.








Then we headed over to the "concessions" area which, of course, was a weight watchers nightmare...thus, I abstained from eating (yea me:-).

but Owen enjoyed ice cream thanks to sweetie cuz Lindsey;-)


There was a fun Bean bag toss where if you got 2 bags in (of 3) you got a special prize...all kids got a basic prize regardless of bags in--but my point is, my Jakey got all 3 bags in and was so proud so here he is with his special prize:




We then let the kiddos walk or ride behind "Llamas" or Alpacas. The kids really loved that!










Oh and I have barely mentioned my Owen...well, the heavens opened and the kiddo sat in his "car" for seriously 3 hours!! Straight! It was unbelievable. He was delightful. I was AMAZED!!! He didn't want to keep the hat on but eventually, I think he forgot about it and just left it alone;-) I had a mom friend come up and ask me what he was drugged with to get him to keep it on...it was truly battle of the wills. Score one for mom.







My dear Uncle Steve even came...he made a generous donation to TJ's class (and many others who couldn't come also gave generously for th tuition assistance program-A HUGE THANKS!!!):

Then we geared up for....hold on to your seats-my first ever 5K!!!
For you "journey blog readers" I'm posting lots more about it over there (soon) but for now I will just say-it was grueling, I am glad I finished, I'm sore, etc. I finished in 43 minutes which I am very pleased with (14 minute mile and no walk in the park might I add;-).
I pushed Owen and had TJ and a school friend of his with me to about the half way point when I left the little whiners in my dust. Speaking of dust, Tim left us all in his dust-that maniac finished 1st place in his category!!!
He was also was in the top 13% of finishers and ran a pace of a 7:26 mile!!! WOW! He was impressive. His first (and only previous) 5k was last year. He did better this year than last and trained less;-) I'm very proud of him. TJ did finally cross the finish line. He did the 5K in 52:58 and I was VERY proud of him. He sprinted the last handful of yards and was a trooper by then. He was 15th-to last place;-) But he finished and in less than an hour...still impressive to me as finishing in under an hour was my only goal-other than finishing at all;-)

We finished up with a small awards ceremony (where Tim received his medal) and a National Guards T-shirt (the Guard was our great sponsor;-).





We then went and ate (don't worry I had a fiber one bar (and a diet soda;-) while Tim gorged on fish n' chips. Ok, so I had pink cotton candy too...and it was SUPER yummy! No regrets.

Now I'm home and in considerable discomfort, but it's in a good way as it was an accomplishment for me. I'm pooped.

Oh and I'm excited about the new froglets;-) So cute!

Finally...

I just got off the phone with IUPUI/Riley Genetics department...would you believe that the results of Owen's skeletal survey are FINALLY in???

I'm nearly shaking and could just bawl my eyes out (and I have no idea why!).

Here is what the sweet Genetic counselor said (as much as I can recall anyway, in my disbelief that it was her calling).

She started off by apologizing as Owen's results were incorrectly filed and had apparently been in for "a while"-ugh.

So, she began by saying that this specialist who studied Owen's skeletal survey (which is a series of X-rays of his bones) did not find enough markers to definitively diagnose Owen with a skeletal dysplasia (what!!??!!)but he did find a few things that were abnormal...specifically 2. He stated that Owen has a few mild changes to his vertebral body (which is his spine) and to his iliac wings (abnormal rounding of his pelvis bones) and he came up with 2 diagnoses that would possibly fit these findings (don't get too excited, Owen doesn't fit the Dx) called N Syndrome and Lin-Gettig Syndrome. Now I only put the links in for those of you who can't help yourselves but to research this (like me:-) but I can save you the time and tell you both of these syndromes have some pretty crazy stuff at their hallmark (including profound mental retardation). So, it is safe to say Owen does not have these syndromes...if the doctor would have picked a syndrome characterized by excessive dancing, excessive tantrums, excessive cuteness, and being a picky eater, I'd be saying BINGO! So, I guess I'll have to make up the name of Owen's uniqueness and call it the O-E Syndrome (which I had to look up and make sure it wasn't some crazy ailment-it's not, so I officially declare that my Owey has OE syndrome-which is best noted by his cuteness!

All of that to say, we learned nothing-really. I bet if you took one hundred "average kids and did a skeletal survey, at least a couple would have some mild differences that could have a syndrome associated to them (all while seeming perfectly normal and healthy).

One more thing of interest, the genetic counselor did end our conversation by asking me about the placenta...ah-ha...now we're gettin' some where. I've always wondered if Owen's differences had something to do with my pregnancy (not that it's my fault) or the placenta or something (you might remember that his umbilical cord had the strangest look ever-it was very thick and SUPER coiled and even the Neonatalogist thought is was unlike anything she'd ever seen-I believe we were incredibly blessed there was no cord accident, which is when the cord get knotted off and blood flow ceases and the baby dies inutero. So, I did some fine Nancy Drew style detective work and they could be study the pathology report of my placenta this very minute! Which, I will confess-I believe will also end up in a dead end but deep down, I believe there was something not quite right there and thus, we have Owen who is quite PERFECT!

So, that's it. I feel better;-)

It could be that Owen is in bed and TJ and Jake are at school all day...wow, what a difference that makes;-)

Ribbet!

Pet day is just around the corner and Tonya reminded me today that I made a not-so nice comment about our one and only pet, so, I decided to make a whole post in honor of our beloved Mr. Frog...

First, I have figured out the Mr. Frog is really a Miss Frog...it only took me like 3 1/2 years to figure this out. I have a weird history of getting a pet, giving it a very gender specific name and then finding out later (much) that it is not the sex I thought (Miss Kitty who was really Mr. Cat, which we finally stuck with MC).



Second, I have a renewed love for Miss Frog and I really don't want her to die...really. I'm just lazy...and pathetic...really. Plus, now that I know she's a girl-she may be the only girl I ever have;-) So, I'm gonna cherish her even more now;-)



Ok, so here's a few things I found interesting about my beloved pet, uh I mean my kids pet. She's a Pipidae frog-an aquatic species (kinda like a gold fish in habits) also known as an African Clawed Frog. She does have claws too-little black claws on her first 3 toes on each foot (this is normal, really).



I originally ordered her thru a great site called grow-a-frog. This company carries a really cool lifetime guarantee (which we used once in the beginning b/c our original tadpole died early on)-oh, did I mention I've (I mean my boys) raised this frog since it was a wee tadpole?



Ok, some more fun facts about Missy...she has no tongue. She makes no noise (but male frogs can). She can jump so we have to keep a lid on her tank so she doesn't jump out and die (she doesn't "want" out, she just likes to jump-but since she's aquatic, she would die quickly out of water). She has a really cool "stitch-like" pattern on her and it literally looks like she's had surgery with staple marks. Oh, and she has no eye lids, yet the info site I found said these types of frogs do sleep.



Here's another really cool fact about frogs...have you ever wondered what happens to frogs when it gets cold? I mean, it's not like they go south for the winter??? Well, they actually do something similar to how a bear hibernates. It's kinda detailed but the essentially slow down there body functions (after they cover themselves in mud) and then reanimate in the Spring (or warmer weather). Am I boring you? Oh well, more about Missy...

She's supposedly about twice the size of a male and she has gotten quite pudgy over time so she's been on a few calorie restrictive diets. The aquarium store I get her food from says she'll eat and eat if I let her and frankly, the bigger a tank I put her in, the bigger she'll get-so, I've left her in a little 1 gallon tank since it works so well in our kitchen on the counter. We don't hold her or anything. We just watch her swim. She'd actually as tall as the tank when she stands up and we've done our fair share of laughing when she "swims in place" against the side of the tank, but of course, doesn't get anywhere;-)

She also breathes air vs. having gills. So she must surface every so often to get a fresh breathe. She uses her hands to shove food in her mouth and we have to use sand (I chose orange) vs gravel or stones because she could accidentally ingest a small rock (and choke, and die;-(

While school is very hard for me at times, I'm so glad for these silly projects and "pet days" as they make me use my brain again and I truly hope some of you out there were enlightened by my frog report and maybe even will add one to your family:-) Ribbet!

PS She can lay eggs but without a male, no babes are in her future;-)

PPS All this frog talk has cost me...I've ordered 2 more frogs, one boy and one RARE white frog-oh la la! And a new orange habitat (and a few other accessories!!!). Thanks Tonya!

PPPS I found alot of this info here

What kind of shoes do frogs wear?
Open toad!

What do frogs do with paper?
Rip-it!

How does a frog feel when he has a broken leg?
Unhoppy.

What happened to the frog's car when his parking meter expired?
It got toad!!

What does a frog say when it sees somethin' great?
Toadly awesome!

And my fav:

What did the frog order at McDonald's?
French flies and a diet Croak

Oh and I'll need names for my new pets...otherwise they'll be Whitey and Boy...please don't let that happen.

I hope you don't have Batrachophobia- Fear of amphibians, such as frogs, newts, salamanders, etc. or Ranidaphobia- Fear of frogs.

This isn't normal...

but it is very cute! Jacob has an ear infection. I had to take him to the doctor on Friday morning because his "ea-were huwts" which is Jake talk for his ear hurt. And the doctor said he DID have an ear infection and huge tonsils...so he was prescribed an antibiotic and has been pretty ok....until today. He's ok, but he said his "froat huwts" and he has a "weal bad cawf" so I asked him to get me a flash light so I could look in his throat. Exhibit A:



Ummm...yeah, this is the "flash light" he brought me. Hillarious!

And come to find out, I didn't need it because when I asked him to open up and say "Ahhhhh", here's what I see: (warning, kinda gross and graphic site)




They aren't supposed to be almost TOUCHING!!!

So, his tonsils are still huge!!! And I'm praying he improves...unfortunately, my throat is starting to hurt too-bummer!

Anyway, I really thought it was cute and funny of him to bring me a flood light from the garage to look in his throat-poor boy!

I believe I spent last mother's day in Urgent care too!

Happy Mother's Day

I pray all you beautiful Ladies have a wonderful day today from my home to yours!

Whether you've yelled at your kids (today or any other), spent nights worrying about their future, prayed for your family to be blesses with another child (and even for those who prayed for no more children;-), and for all moms in between today is a day for you and I pray it's extra special. Great BIG ((Cyber Hugs)) to one and all!

Today I am thankful for my own mother! My mom is a beautiful woman who loves her children and grandchildren so dearly. She's very generous and caring and is one of the best people on earth I can call for anything! I love you mom and I'm so thankful God chose you to be my mom!!!

I'm thankful for Tim's mom also. She loves her boys dearly and brought them up in a loving Christian home. She helped make him the man he's become and helped give him values and beliefs that he now passes onto our boys.

I'm thankful for all the moms I am friends with. Their love, support, and encouragement makes my daily life as a mom so much more bearable.

I'm prayerful for the moms of the children my children will come into contact with and especially for the mothers of my boys future wives (Lord willing). May the Lord bless them and guide them to raise their children with love, gentleness, kindness and discipline.

I'm so thankful I'm a mom...God blessed me with the ultimate job and chose 3 beautiful boys for me (who are fighting, crying, and shushing each other as I type). I love hearing their precious voices saying mom, mommy, and ma-ma (most of the time). I even thought I would splurge today and since my job as a mom is never done, I've decided to stay in my cute church clothes ALL day. Soo here I sit "indian style" in my skirt typing away basking in the aroma of Owen's poopy diaper as Tim changes it (no diaper changes for me today, right??? Actually, I already changed him first thing this morning;-) I even came home from church and vacuumed in my skirt (I felt so June Cleaverish;-). You should try it-it really does make house work more enjoyable!

Again, I pray your day is beautiful and you can celebrate being a lovely lady surrounded by those who love you!

PS Big shocker, but Owen wasn't so into my plan of the cute pink sign idea-I almost did a pictorial showing the number (vast) of shots I tried...but I figure you can tell from the crumpled paper of his opposition;-) Gotta love Owen!

The post with the most!

"stuff" that is;-)

Where to start-so many things to report on and frankly, uploading pix is a hard thing to do-getting the right photo with the right story-such work!

And while I'm talking about work, my "blogosphere pal Beth" posted a great little ditty about why comments are so important to bloggers. I couldn't agree more and really feel that people leaving comments are my only "payment" for doing this. It means a lot to me that you read my posts and enjoy them. I do post primarily for the journaling aspect-it's my "cyber" scrapbook of sorts and someday, I believe my children will cherish this blog;-) But, I also love sharing our lives and appreciate knowing others stopped in-so, please visit Beth's site and read her post on commenting and then leave your comments here saying you stopped in-even if it's as tiny as "nice post"-I truly appreciate EVERY comment made here and am humbled that people visit my blog at all;-) I will do my best to do the same when I visit your blogs as I see the importance of commenting more so now than ever;-) Ok, so now on to the post with the most...

In no specific order:

Enjoying the nice spring weather-the boys have had a great time playing outside lately and they really do enjoy basketball...this little fisher price hoop has been a great find-I got it YEARS ago at a garage sale and it has had a well-loved life;-)

Notice Owen pushing Jacob on the little ride-on toy. Jacob is such a little manipulator;-)







Have I mentioned Owen's phone obsession yet? Even if I have, there's no way I have eluded to the mass scope of the situation. I think we need an intervention to break the addiction cycle. I mean, the kid is ate up with the phone. Thankfully, my gal pal Lindsay showed me how to "lock" my phone keys and that helps when his DT's go into full effect. Oh that boy-he is a very blessed kid-very blessed that I cried rivers of tears for his lil hiney...these days I've needed MORE than my fair share of mommy time outs from him-and trust me-no one is immune to his antics. He's shown his self in front of friends, family, strangers, his DT, PT and my how the list goes on-GEESH!







Oh, and have I mentioned-no phone is immune? He will swipe or beg for ANY phone he sees-yours, mine, strange men in the play area at the mall. Worst part? He's so darn cute people will hand their phones over to the kid! Ok, on with the count down.

Peanut allergies anyone? Thank God not Owen as he has PB&J from head to toe! This little (who am I kiddin' here) mess is compliments of daddy:-) Nice dinner da-da!







FYI-that was a new shirt-WAS, I said. It did say "my da-da is #1!"...I think it now says "da-da is mud!"

Spring program ALERT! Two programs, two nights in a row. Whew! What musical fun! At least they were cute;-)

Jake's:








TJ's:







Tball-Jake is playing in a big-boy 5 & 6 year old league (he's only 4 1/2;-) and he's having a good time so far, uh, kicking dirt and picking dandelions anyway;-)





He thinks he's pretty big stuff. And yes, that is Tim and TJ in the team picture as they are "coaches". Well, truth is, TJ is snack advisor (he lets us know if the snack was good or not) but Tim is coaching with lots of encouragement (as any man would need with 12 post toddlers to guide).

It's a bit blurry but Owen loves to put "things" on his head and walk around. This cute batman mask is frequently donned by the little terror;-)




Hmmm...what next? Oh, my new find: GLAM's...Greater Lafayette Area Moms. It's a great group that has tours and meet-ups and it's not your typical moms club as it's for SAHM's and Working moms and even for dads! We've done two tours now. An aquarium tour (just a small local one) and an awesome tour of our local Meijer store today! It was fun-here are some highlights:















Got milk?

Whew! Are you tired yet? I am. Hope you enjoyed our recent outtings though;-)

Hugs! ~Renay

Happy 18 months Owen!!!

I can hardly believe 18 months have passed since you were born. Oh, what a ride it's been! You hardly seem like a baby anymore. You toddle around everywhere you go (that is, when you aren't spinning in circles and dancing). You've started walking backwards and trying to run. You have the cutest belly laugh, infectious giggle and naughtiest tantrums I've ever seen!




We love you so dearly-words simply can't describe our love for you in fact. Your big brothers think you're really great too! You love them so much you repeat EE-JA and JA-OB and my favorite is your Ma-ma that you say wit such an incredibly sweet and soft voice!



Your new favorite that has caused more than one tantrum is the cell phone (and house phone). I can't even pick up the cell phone to check the time without you putting your cute little hand to your ear and signing more and please. You love to hear daddy talk to you from work and you've even called Grama while I was working out (oops).



You're a finicky eater but you do like variety. Still not a big fan of fruit either. You have 7 teeth cut thru and one molar that has a tip cutting thru. You know the following signs: more, please, thank you, all done, bye-bye, drink, eat and you clap for "yea". You also wave and blow kisses at ni-night time. You go to bed so well. You love books and praying and singing.



You can destroy a room faster than a Kansas tornado. You love to try to type on the computer, dial numbers on the phone, and sneak things out of the pantry.



You're also master escape artist and could give David Blane a good run for his money. You love to explore your toys and play with toy food and such.







As spring is "here" it's a good thing as you are finally outgrowing your 6 month clothes. At your 18 month check-up today, you weighed 18 pounds 9 ounces and were 28 3/4 inches long.




Your head circumference is staying right on track just under the 25 percentile. You may be small but you are truly a mighty little boy. I hear comments all the time about how cute you are. People are always checking you out!


You sleep about 10-12 hours at night and take one good 2 hour nap each day. You love to go for bike rides and you spent you first time away from mommy and daddy-10 days with Grama Becca!!! You were so good for her!




Aside from your curiosity, phone fetish, and tantrums, I couldn't ask for a better 18 month old.





We love you! Hugs, kisses and cuddles, Ma-ma