Random updates on a Monday from 4 years ago and today

I used to post entries that I named "Random Updates on a Monday". I found this one that was from 2019 that I never finished and never posted. So I am going to complete it now leaving the old and adding some new.

From 2019:

I have to get better at updating this but life is crazy right now! These are a few things I do not want to forget!! They are mostly centered around William but that’s because he is changing daily.

1. Every animal is a “puppy” right now. We will be driving down the road by a pasture and we hear “PUPPY” from the back. He sees cows and will then sometimes moo but he calls them puppy. This also applies to the panda on the Panda Express sign, the fish in the bass pro building, his toy moose, rabbits and most other animals...including actual puppies.

2. He went to MDO for the 1st time this fall last week. This was my 1st day (aside from traveling) to be kid free in 19 months. I got so much done around the house and the house was so peaceful and quiet. But I missed them all!

3. William is ball obsessed, specifically baseball. We watch the Astros play most evenings this time of year and all day he begs me to turn “baseball” on the tv. He calls all ball sports baseball though. When driving through neighborhoods if he sees a basketball goal he yells “BASEBALL” and some neighborhoods have a basketball goal every other house. He also says this if he sees a soccer goal. He is the absolute cutest boy ever!

4. Reese and Ella just started 4th and 2nd grade. It’s too early to know for sure but I think they may have gotten their best teachers yet. I’m pretty excited about this year.

Today:

5. That year above with those teachers was the year that Covid shut the world down. So they only had those teachers through March before school closed for the remainder of the year. They were great teachers though. The girls went on to do school from home. Neal began working his afternoons from home so that I could mow, mowing kept me sane that year. I could drive aimlessly around the field and didn't have to help with school, deal with arguments or take care of anyone...I couldn't even hear anyone even if they tried to get my attention. I could also see the fruits of my labor almost instantly and I loved it.

6. William is going on about 2 years of poop issues. He refuses to poop and has gone up to 36 days between bowel movements. At this point I think it is a mental block. He has trained his brain to not poop. We did stool softeners for a while but he would still try to control it and would end up with small accidents all day long. He will get to a point that he can no longer control it and his body is basically having tremors and he gives in and pushes it in the toilet and then the toilet is completely clogged. He has had control of so little with multiple moves, a daddy he was used to being able to play with and snuggle with that could no longer do those things, the cancer battle and having Neal and I away so often and losing his dad. He found something he has control of. We have been working with an OT for a few months now and really hope to be over this hurdle soon, we have been seeing progress.

7. We've gotten a decent amount of snow and ice this winter and several school cancellations, the whole week a few weeks ago. The kids have taken advantage of playing in it and I love that we have this here and there, I never had this growing up.