Nice Weekend

We had a nice weekend at a friend's house. The blow-up jumper and water slide in the backyard kept the kids occupied for two days (and made a muddy mess of the yard, but it will soon dry out in this heat). The snow cone machine was the bonus! The adults mostly relaxed in the air conditioning with cool drinks.

After several loads of laundry Saturday morning and getting everything else ready and packed, we headed up to our friend's in the afternoon. Their family has 13 kids. So with my 6, we had a full house. Her youngest two and my youngest two are virtually the same ages (18 months and 4 months). All the other kids have a playmate close their age; her three oldest are 17-19 and great helpers.

With other visitors stopping by, I think we topped 23 kids and four dogs at one point! Amazingly, there were no disasters, and the volume was kept at a reasonable level. Eating was by grazing with yummy offerings in several crock pots to go with chips, tortillas and buns, including bean dip and cheese for nachos, taco meat, barbecue beef, and spinach/artichoke dip, as well as veggie trays and popcorn. Everyone slept Saturday night, and we enjoyed pancakes and eggs for breakfast. What a great staycation to end the summer. My friend enjoyed celebrating her birthday as well.

We got home late Sunday night, after taking Sweets home. She had a good first week of school and is ready for the next one. This is a good sign for her, as she has historically struggled with the end of summer and going back to school. There are positives about her bio mom living with them.

Everyone else was quite ready for bed. We were exhausted, especially May after returning from her trip. She had a wonderful time and really connected with others who went.

I'm really glad we had an opportunity to relax and enjoy time with friends before this busy week and the upcoming chaos as school starts.  Ready, set, go!

Shame on Me, But Finally an Update

Life has been C.R.A.Z.Y.

Somehow I thought that when I finished law school, things would slow down. I really didn't take on anything new. Well, except a new baby, four months later. But Miracle is so easy; she really doesn't seem to be the main cause of the craziness. I think everything got so out of control, that I have spent months trying to get things back in order. Not my house, mind you. It is still a disaster, and don't even look at the carpets that needed cleaning over a year ago.

We made it through the end of last school year and May's graduation. We got Miracle settled into our home and BB into daycare. We adjusted to even more chaos dealing with Sweets' dad and now her bio mom who is still living with them (another post on that later). Summer plans were made and carried out. Now, somehow, summer is almost over!

We all enjoyed a wonderful week in Big Bear, CA at a family reunion. We had about 40 people in three cabins. The weather was beautiful. The kids loved playing together. I enjoyed relaxing. My good friend went with me and helped with the little ones. I would definitely call the week a success!

May returned this evening from a week-long church mission trip to Grand Rapids, MI. Eleven youth from our church went and met other youth at a church conference and then went out into the community on service projects each day. She had a wonderful time and has many more stories to tell. She is finishing up an online summer school class and will be getting ready to start ninth grade. Can you believe this little one is now entering high school? Neither can I.

Sweets started school last Monday. Her district has modified year-round school, so they start very early but have three lengthy breaks during the school year. She is adjusting to sixth grade and switching between teachers. She is still at the same school, so she will be fine.  

Buddy enjoyed a week with my parents while May and I were on the choir tour. He has decided he really likes it at grandma and grandpa's house. He even asked to ride with them to the reunion and enjoyed the trip (note there is no DVD player in their car like there is in the van, so that's a major thing to overcome)! He attended a three day Cub Scout day camp and had a blast. He has also been on two Cub Scout field trips and enjoys working on the achievements. On Tuesday, he flies to Ohio to spend a week with my uncle. This is the rescheduled trip from June. Buddy is quite excited. He and May start school in two more weeks.

BB has recovered from surgery and is doing extremely well. He SLEEPS! He no longer snores and you can barely hear him breathing. I'm sure he is getting deeper sleep and he only infrequently wakes up in the middle of the night. I'm so glad having his tonsils out has made such a difference for him!  BB is also doing very well at daycare. I have to admit that when I registered him, I was already making plans for which daycare he would go to next if he got kicked out. We haven't had a single incident! Although it took over two months before he stopped crying on the way into daycare, now he walks right in. He always reports that he has had a good day. BB starts developmental preschool the week after next. He will go three half days and then go to his current daycare for lunch, nap, and the afternoon. He will still have OT and speech therapy at least one of the other two mornings.

Precious looks like a little Shirley Tem.ple when her hair is fixed just right. She has only a few words, but boy can she be heard! She may be arriving at the "terrible twos" a little early, but I'm hoping her need for temper tantrums is short-lived. She is becoming very independent and has definitely learned to stand up to her brother. She has adjusted well to Miracle and loves on her instead of being jealous.  

Miracle is such a sweet and usually quiet baby. She interacts with facial expressions and has a wonderful smile. She is starting to babble and make other noises.  She likes to be held, and she is able to sit up with support. BB often comes up to her and kisses her. He wants to hold her and has helped feed her many times. I think there is a special bond between those two already. Miracle definitely looks a lot like her brother and sister. I'm so glad these three will be able to grow up together.

On the Mend

BB had his tonsils and adenoids out last Friday.  BB was a rock star as he woke up from surgery.  He amazed the nurses by asking for water.  He then downed one glass of water, two of apple juice, and two popsicles within about an hour.  We moved to a room, because the doctor insisted on monitoring his sleep overnight.

BB had a great day Friday and continued to drink.  He was also generally calm, only a couple of small fits when he couldn't get rid of the IV in his foot.  Unfortunately, he spit out about half of each dose of pain medicine given to him during the night.  By Saturday morning, he refused to swallow and tried to talk through a mouth of saliva.  We had an awesome nurse, who was able to get pain medicine in him.  About an hour later, BB was drinking again.  One more day of blocks and TV, and we came home after the evening dose of pain medicine.

He continues to mend and is drinking well and eating a little more each day.  Hopefully he will start sleeping better once he heals completely and the swelling goes away.

My parents and Miss M held the fort down at home, with lots of help from May and Sweets and Buddy.  I am so grateful for family and friends who are willing and able to help.  Thank you!