MAGGIE HOLMES Photography and Scrapbooking Blog

Ontario, California

I went to California last weekend to teach at a Scrapbook Expo in Ontario for Making Memories with my friend Robyn Werlich. We had a blast! The expo was fun and we got to chat with a lot of fabulous people in our classes, including a friend from my neighborhood who was there (small world)! We found some great shopping and restaurants just down the street from our hotel. Neither of us really "needed" anything but we both found many "must-have" items! LOL! I couldn't resist taking a picture of all of the colorful ribbons and buttons I purchased! They are sitting on top of an awesome silver notebook from Pottery Barn.
Robyn and I talked and talked and talked. In fact we almost didn't get on our plane when we were heading out on Thursday night. We were just talking away and we didn't hear the final boarding call for our flight. Then we heard our names called over the intercom! Too funny!!! We didn't stop talking the whole time we were there! We just have so much in common! The interesting thing is that we knew each other in high school but we weren't really friends. Then we reconnected years later through scrapbooking and we have just grown so close. We love the same things and our personalities just fit! The whole trip I would say things and Robyn would say "I was just thinking that" or "I was just going to say that." It is great to have a friend that you connect with - that you can just be yourself around. I feel like we have been best friends for years. She is such a sweetheart and so much fun to be with! She recently moved to St. George - just as we were becoming close! I wish we could get together more often! I am grateful for email, blogs, phone calls and scrapbooking trips!! I just can't wait for the next one....

Horsie

Getting ready to go to California to an expo for Making Memories this weekend, but I wanted to post this layout of Matthew. I am so glad that I got this photo of him and I just had to scrapbook it! He doesn't really make this face anymore so I am glad I got it on camera!! He would always point and make this face when he would say "horsie". Brian's family has horses so we are always up at the barn riding and taking care of them. Matthew loves it up there and gets so excited to see the horses! We used to have one named Traveler and we would ask him which horse he wanted to ride. He would point to it and make this face and say "taveler" in this crazy deep voice. He is so funny - such a character! I have no idea where he got this face from but it cracks me up! He still loves to go up there and play in the dirt and ride the horses. He just doesn't do the crazy voice and crazy face thing anymore. I am grateful for cameras so I can capture things like this! What a cutie!!

Crazy Day

Today was busy and just a little crazy... yesterday when we were getting ready for Tyler's birthday party Matthew fell down. I didn't see him fall but he was holding a bat and he cut his lip a little bit. I could tell that he bit his lip and it was bleeding but I thought he would be o.k. Well, he just wouldn't stop crying. He was whining and crying off and on during Tyler's party and after. He kept wanting me or Brian to hold him. He kept saying that his mouth was hurting but we didn't think that his lip could be hurting that bad. We tried to look in his mouth but he wouldn't let us. Then Brian started to think that he had the flu because a couple of family members have had it recently. He just was not acting like himself. Anyway, we gave him some Motrin and put him in bed. He woke up in the night crying again and wouldn't stop so we put him in bed with us. He just kept whining and crying all night long. We kept thinking that he had a tummy ache or something like that. This morning he was just still crying and normally he is such a happy little guy. I called my doctor and explained what had happened and they wanted me to look into his mouth better. I forced his mouth open and looked around and I could see that the roof of his mouth toward the back was all cut up and swollen. I felt so bad because we didn't know that he was hurt so bad and he was miserable! I took him into the doctor so she could look at it and then she had me take him to the hospital for xrays. She wanted to make sure that there weren't any punctures or deeper cuts that were too deep for her to see. When he fell, he must have fallen onto the bat or onto another toy that jammed into his mouth. Thankfully the xrays looked fine and she said that he should be o.k. He started acting better and actually had an o.k. day. We were up at my mom's after the doctor and the hospital visit just hanging out and waiting to hear back from the doctor. Then we were fixing dinner and the craziness just got worse... my mom had taken some Aleve and she suddenly started having an allergic reaction. She got hives all over and started itching and then she started passing out and had a hard time breathing. She felt like she was dying! She took some Benadryl and then I rushed her to the emergency room. Luckily the Benadryl started to work and they gave her some other medicine in an i.v. to help her. She is fine now but I have never seen such a bad reaction like that! It was scary!!
So... that sums up the craziness of my day. I just got home, put the kids in bed and sat down to breathe for a minute! Now Nathan is waking up and hungry so I am off to take care of him.

Soccer

Tyler started soccer on Tuesday. I have been wanting to sign him up for get him involved in some team sports this year so I finally called the city recreation center last week. They were starting a new soccer session on Tuesday so we signed him up. Last Saturday we took him to Gart Sports and got him a soccer ball and some cleats. He was so excited and anxious to start. Tuesday finally rolled around and he was so dang cute in his soccer garb! He ran out to the field and the coach asked him what his name was. He replied "Spiderman." The coach laughed and asked him again and then he said "Tyler." They started by dribbling the ball down the field and back. I have to say that it takes some coordination and Tyler did pretty well! A few times he would miss the ball and get ahead of it and then he would have to turn around and get going again. All the little kids were so cute out there!
Then the coach started some drills where he would tell the kids to stop and put a different body part on the ball when he blew his whistle. First it was their tummy, then they were supposed to sit on the ball, then their foot, etc. Tyler really struggled with this and he would just keep running and kicking the ball instead of stopping. The coach was really good - working with him and trying to explain what he wanted him to do, but Tyler just had a hard time with it for some reason. All the kids would be stopped and Tyler would still be running. The coach kept blowing his whistle and telling him to stop. Then Tyler would realize what was going on and see the other kids and he would finally stop.
We didn't tell the coach about Tyler's autism before he started because we just wanted to see how he would do. As a parent, I struggle with this part of it - not knowing what to do. Do I "label" him and announce that he has autism or do I throw him into the mix and hope that he blends in?? On one hand, I don't want the coach to be too easy on him and not expect compliance from Tyler but I also don't want the coach to think that he is not following directions on purpose. I don't want the coach to go crazy and think that Tyler is naughty when the fact is that he just might not understand. We decided that we will talk to the coach and explain things to him. We will make it clear that we want him to push Tyler and keep him in the mix. We don't want him to just ignore Tyler and let him go off doing whatever he wants. Tyler just needs a little more explanation and a little push and encouragement. I know that he really wants to do it right and he wants to succeed. He wants to be a part of it all... he just needs some extra help. I hope that the coach is willing to work with him and that this will be a good thing.
I sat there behind my sunglasses with tears in my eyes - so proud of him and thankful for him and yet sad at the same time. I wonder what he will be able to do and what will be a struggle. I worry about him not fitting in and being teased or laughed at when he doesn't "get" something as easily as the other children. The ironic thing is that I wouldn't change him - he is my Tyler and he is perfect just the way he is. He might struggle learning certain things but he has taught me so much! Each day I am reminded that I can't take anything for granted. I have learned to appreciate the little things. Just today he climbed up on the couch next to me and put his arm around me. He looked me right in the eyes with such sweet adoration and I could feel that he loves me. It might be hard for him to express that love but I know it is there. I have learned that those fleeting little moments are what make my life worthwhile. I could just sit there with him forever with his arm around me and his head on my shoulder. I have learned to savor these moments. Nothing is more important than taking the time to express my feelings to the people I love. No "to-do list" item is more pressing than stopping for a moment to just "be" with my boys -  loving them and feeling their love in return.
Anyway... Tyler absolutely loved soccer and that is what truly matters. It doesn't matter if he does exactly the right thing at exactly the right time. I am just happy that he is happy and that he had a good time. He would come over to me during water breaks with a huge smile on his face and he would say "I'm doing a super great job, Mom." Then he would take one quick drink from his water bottle and tell me "I have to go back now, Mom." He was having such a great time and he was so proud of himself! Each time I would tell him how proud I am of him and send him back out there... I guess that is the answer - I will always and in each new situation just tell him how proud I am of him and send him out there with all my encouragement and love.....

4th of July Weekend

My parents have a cabin near Park City and we went there Sunday evening for dinner and to stay overnight. My brother and his family also went. The boys absolutely love it up there. They can play out in the dirt and the rocks all day long! Monday morning we went in to Park City for the parade and festivities. It was crowded but a lot of fun. Tyler's comment about the parade was that they didn't throw candy this year - he was bummed. We had a great lunch on Main Street and then the kids played at the park for a little while. Then we drove home and spent the evening watching 24 with Darin and Christie. We are in the middle of season 2 and we are hooked! We stay up as late as we can every night watching it with them.
I actually had time to download some photos and do some editing tonight. I still have another memory card that is full and I need to download the photos off of it tomorrow. I have some great photos of my cute boys and it makes me want to scrapbook. I have been busy fixing up my "studio" so I haven't done much lately. I am anxious to get it all done so I can dive back in again.
I can't believe that Nathan is 7 weeks old tomorrow! The time just flies by! He is finally doing better. Last week his reflux got really bad and he was a miserable little guy - throwing up so much!! So, I took him back in to the doctor and she prescribed another medicine, Reglan, to give to him in addition to the Prevacid. She also suggested switching his formula to Nutramagin - the hypoallergenic formula that is so expensive but worth it because it seems to help. He is actually sleeping now and is a much happier baby! He still spits up some and has his good and bad days, but overall, he has improved a lot! We are so grateful!!
I have more to write but it will have to wait because I have to go...