Firsts

Tuesday was Sam's first day of preschool. Wednesday was Addie's first day of kindergarten. Today was the first day of both of them being gone at the same time. Sam had a great first day. He loves Miss Jeanna. He loves Miss Heather, and even told her today that he wanted to make letters with the play-doh they were working with to say "I love Miss Heather." He loves getting a treat at the end of class, because if there is one thing that motivates that kid it's sugar, much to my chagrin. I think he's going to have a great year. Addie had a great first day, too. I cried leaving her assessment last week, so I was worried about falling apart at the drop-off, but I held it together with only a few choked up moments. Her enthusiasm was contagious, it was hard not to be excited for her. She couldn't stop talking after school about who she met and her classroom and her cubby and all of the wonderful things about school. She's most excited about the weekly visit to the school library. Her request for yesterday was to have some girl time, and Pat was not feeling well and working from home, so the boys went down for naps and we went shoe shopping and picked up some supplies for her classroom. She's seeming so much more grown up lately, so ready for this new stage of life. I think she's going to have a great year. Addie and Sam have been so cute together lately, especially building up to these first days of school. Addie has been the one in the know, filling Sam in on all the secrets of preschool. I've caught they having a few variations of the following conversation.
S: "Addie, I will miss you while you are at school."
A: "It's ok, Sam, because I will only be gone a few hours, and on some days you'll be at preschool, and then I'll come home and we'll play together."
S: "But I will still miss you."
A: " I will miss you, too, but we will play again soon."
They've become best friends lately, and although they have plenty of fights, they really have come to rely on each other and enjoy being their best playmates. Some of the things I've complained about like their shared room or the lack of neighbor kids really have had some positive outcomes in cementing these two together. I love the pictures of them together on their first days of school, supporting each other.

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Several months ago when my dad seemed to still be improving and we were hoping for some sort of finish line to cross in taking care of him, I started to think that it would be perfect if we could just get things in order for him to be on his own again by the time school started. I really wanted to be able to make this transition with my kids and to focus on them more than I've had the luxury to with everything else going on in my life. Then I started praying that things would work out with my dad so that I could focus on my kids when school started. I had given up hope of that prayer being answered with the latest events- realizations that his cognitive abilities don't seem safe enough for independence, a few falls, and progress coming to a screeching halt. Then last Friday Pat and I were getting ready to go out and celebrate his birthday when my dad took a fall into a picture frame, and our Friday night date turned into a night spent at the ER with my dad and his head full of glass. He ended up being admitted, and then they discovered his blood pressure was dropping 30 to 60 points every time he went from laying down to standing up. He remained in the hospital for several days while they pinpointed the problem. On Tuesday he was released from the hospital to a skilled nursing facility where he's expected to stay for about a week. Then the hope is that he'll come home and have home health. This experience has been a blessing- the first time we'll finally have access to a social worker, home health, and some of the resources we've been needing since he came to live with us over 7 months ago. It's the first time I've really had a break, as awful as that may sound. I feel at home in my own home again, and it feels nice. And although it was unexpectedly, my prayers to focus on my kids at the start of school were most definitely answered. But answered prayers are most definitely, and gratefully, not a first.

Thoughts on a Thursday

I've had way too many things that have been in my head but haven't been recorded. Since last posting I've really worked on this whole soaking up the last bits of summer thing. We've had friends over for lunch a couple of times. We've thrown a back to school bash (hopefully more details to come). We've splashed in splash pads several times. We've had our plans changed by serious summer storms. Addie and I have had some one on one time with talks about getting married and kissing and all sorts of things I don't feel quite ready for and can't believe I'm discussing with this remarkable girl. Sam has been seriously motivated by the prospects of preschool turning him into a fully potty-trained individual overnight. Charlie has started sleeping through the night (knock on wood that he continues). And he got tubes. And he's crawling everywhere and pulling up on everything and swallowed a pea-sized Polly Pocket camera this afternoon. Pat turned 32 today. The boy is stressed, which is not his usual way of being, so I'm hoping a little birthday fun will take his mind off the pressures he's facing right now. And by fun, I mean that Chick-fil-a is opening here today and that's what the kids want to do, accompanied by a trip to Sam's preschool open house. But a few gifts might take his mind off things, I suppose. I'm still really weepy about the start of school. Really weepy. But, a good weekend full of fun will hopefully leave me with few regrets about how we spent our last summer with no kids in school. Maybe a trip to the movie theatre or the bowling alley or miniature golfing or up the canyon that evening. So many possibilities that we never got to this summer. I'm taking time in the middle of the day to attend a cooking class on knife skills (a long overdue birthday present to my mother-in-law and sister-in-law=a day of girly fun). I'm hoping that maybe before then we can swing in to Shabby Apple's garden party, but getting there at the end of the party probably will mean slim pickings. Do I dare make the trek to SLC multiple times in one day? The garden party would most definitely be worth it. Decisions, decisions. Hope the end of summer is treating you well. Hope to be starting a new exciting project that's been spinning around in my head for a while. Hope to be back to a regular schedule of recording my thoughts around here soon.

What I've been up to...

Obviously blogging isn't on that list, but I don't want to forget what has been filling my time. I've been busy...

-going to way too many doctor visits, which will hopefully be tapering off now that Charlie's scheduled for ear tubes a week from tomorrow. I'm ready for no more ear infections for a long time!
-celebrating Pat's dad's 70th birthday last weekend with a big surprise party and a whole lot of family togetherness. Chrissy and I put together a slide show full of grand kid pics and sentimental feelings. I'm so grateful for such a great man in our family and it was fun to have so many family and friends around for the occasion.
-loving my new and improved Carolina pulled pork methods. We shortened the smoking time by an hour and the cook time by several hours and still had excellent results, making this a more do-able recipe because we don't have to plan ahead quite as much. We tried it out last weekend for one of the family gatherings and now I can't wait to make it again!
-shopping for back to school. We went to the outlets on Monday and found a few cute things for Addie. I'm still really struggling with the fact that she's going to school but trying to do fun things to get ready to help distract me.
-cleaning up mess after mess after mess after mess created by Sam. I'm just spinning my wheels all day never really accomplishing much because I'm always a step behind this boy. Much time is also spent carding my doors open because he's on a kick to lock them and then pull them closed, making it really inconvenient to do a whole lot.
-trying to create order in my bedroom since we moved Charlie into our closet. It's a big enough walk in that his crib fits ok, and considering I haven't had a full night's sleep for 8+months, I'm ready to do whatever it takes to make that happen. Sometime in the next few nights will hopefully bring uninterrupted sleep.
-digging in my heels in disbelief that August is half over and that summer is drawing to a close. I had high hopes for what this summer might hold. There have been nothing but glimpses of what I was hoping would be regularly occurring. The next 2 weeks we're going to be pretty busy doing nothing, because the long, lazy summer days spent with swimsuits on and high rates of popsicle consumption and forgetting about everything but playing haven't really happened, and we'd better fit in a few of those before school starts.

Pretend it's Tuesday...or a post a few days late

(images via from our wedding day)

When Pat and I were dating I could often be heard telling my room mates, "Pat is great!" "Isn't Pat so great?!?" "He's just so great." I honestly didn't know how right I was. Our 8th anniversary was Tuesday. And if my friends wouldn't find it totally obnoxious I'd still go around on a regular basis telling them how great he is. The last 8 years have been wonderful, but even the last 8 months have taken us to a new place. Adversity can bring a couple closer together or tear them apart, and I am grateful everyday that we've experienced the former. I can't think of many husbands who would taken on what he's taken on. I was having a conversation this week when it was brought up that not only has he taken this on, but he's done it without complaint. He's worked hard and followed through and been my biggest supporter, my voice of reason, my most trusted confidante through it all. Tuesday night I said one of the most thankful prayers I can remember, rejoicing in the blessings I've gained because of my marriage. Truly, every good thing that has happened over the last 8 years is a direct result of my decision to marry Patrick. I have a feeling 8 is going to be great. Just like Pat.

Fives

(image)

Five reasons I haven't blogged lately:
1. a 5 day bout with the stomach flu
2. a quick trip (more on that later)
3. Charlie's ear infections that won't go away and are accompanied by more late night waking than usual leading to a whole lot of tired
4. the laundry monster is currently winning at my house (about 6 loads worth that either need folded and/or put away, but at least it's all clean)
5. hot summer days

Five things I've done today:
1. took all 3 kids to the doctor to confirm that yes, Charlie's ears are still infected
2. listened to one too many arguments prompting me to put Addie and Sam down for naps around 1 and everyone to fall asleep sometime around 2:30 and everyone to wake up around 5:30
3. I was included in that 2:30 to 5:30 sleep and it was probably the most blessed event of the day
4. ate Kneader's for dinner because I slept until 5:30
5. unpacked the suitcase from our weekend excursion and caught up the laundry

Five things happening this week:
1. a trip to Thanksgiving Point- we haven't gone for a couple of weeks and I'm excited to go with the kids
2. an anniversary celebration tomorrow (more on that later)
3. cooking group Wednesday with an assignment to bring my favorite cool summer treat/ice cream- can't wait to pull out the ice cream maker
4. help with a funeral Friday
5. soaking up the last week of July and digging my heels in because that means it's almost August and almost school and I'm just not ready for that

Five things I'm hoping to blog about soon:
1. Six months of my dad living with us
2. Eight years of marriage
3. Finishing our basement
4. Our trip to Idaho for my 10 year high school reunion
5. The latest recipes I've been loving

Hoping to be back soon.

Ten on Tuesday

1. Summer has taken over and I'm not minding a bit. Bedtimes are stretched a little later a few nights a week, play dates are happening more frequently, popsicles are eaten one after another, and I'm soaking it all up. In all reality, I'd be just fine if this summer never ended, because I'm really not ready for Addie to start kindergarten at the end of the summer.

2. Things have reached a plateau with my dad's recovery. We're trying to explore some new options with things for him to do, which means more phone calls and appointments and leg work over the next while to get things going. More to come on this I'm sure.

3. Charlie weighs 22 pounds. He also has 2 ear infections. He is also too cute. But lately he's been too crabby. Hoping antibiotics take him back to my joyful baby soon.

4. Sam wanted someone to come watch him eat a couple days ago because he dawdled during breakfast and everyone else was done. I told him I was sorry that he'd missed the chance and he'd have to eat by himself. That answer wasn't satisfactory and he kept pressing for someone to come sit with him. I told him the angels would have to sit with him because no one else was going to. Now he keeps talking about his angels all the time. Not sure what I created here...

5. Addie woke up yesterday with the stomach flu. Not my favorite way to wake up at 4 am. She was a trooper and stopped throwing up yesterday morning. Today she's still been fevered, but has seemed much better. I'm crossing my fingers that no one else shares in the stomach flu fun.

6. Next week is my 10 year high school reunion. I go back and forth between being super excited and practically breaking out in hives. I realized that I haven't even thought about what to wear yet. It sounds like things are casual dress. I thought I'd buy a new dress, but hearing about a casual dress code makes me not want to be overdressed. Maybe dressier jeans with heels and a great top? Do weigh in, if you have thoughts on the matter.

7. Last week I had the chance to go to girls camp for an evening. We tie-dyed. I'm not sure I remember the last time I tie-dyed. I left my shirt at camp to dry, and I realized today I haven't gotten it back yet. I can't wait to see how it turned out! The excitement I have about seeing my tie-dyed shirt tells me that I may have hit a new low.

8. Pat's brother built a new house. One of the things he wanted to hang on the walls was "art" created by all the families. Over the weekend we pulled out the canvases and paint and finally finished up this project. I was a little disappointed that my original vision didn't turn out as planned. I was thrilled that it made me remember how much I enjoy painting. It was my favorite thing in middle school. Art class was required every year instead of something we opted into, and I loved it. I may go pick up a few canvases for myself. Even if they're hideous, there's something very relaxing to me about this process of creating.

9. Our new dishwasher was installed last Friday, and I am in heaven. So much room! So quiet! Gets things so clean! Should I do an infomercial?

10. Contemplating a yard sale. My house is full of things I don't use or don't need. I was hoping to have it this weekend, but don't think I'll be ready in time. Any good tips? Any local friends want to turn this into a multi-family event? Let me know.

Three in a row

Last Wednesday Sam woke up and came and cuddled with me in bed for a few minutes. He kissed on Charlie and was his happy normal self. Then it came time for his morning bladder-emptying and he was screaming in pain, crying and rocking back and forth and just pitiful. The boy who recovered from his tonsillectomy with little to no pain meds was a mess every time he had to pee, and it was happening often. I made an appointment for him, called Pat's dad to sit with Addie and Sam, and took him to the doctor around 11. I managed to catch some pee earlier and hoped that the sample would suffice because I knew it may be a difficult process. It had been too long since that sample, so we spent about half an hour in the bathroom at the doctor's office with no luck. I took him back to the exam room where he promptly fell asleep on my lap. When we got there his temp was 99, when we left it was 101. He was examined, but they couldn't really do much without a urine sample so they sent us home with a cup and instructions to race back within half an hour with said sample. The whole way home he was trying to fall asleep and I was trying to keep him awake while listening to him ask for his bed over and over. He fell asleep as soon as we got inside and woke up around 2:30 screaming because he'd started to wet his pull-up. I knew this was my chance for a sample, but I also wanted to get some motrin in him. I ran for the motrin and came back to an accident. He then started vomiting and I knew any chance for a sample was gone at this point. He fell back to sleep and I started to worry. The doctor's office wanted to do a catheter for the sample if we didn't manage to get one. He continued to sleep and vomit and started to hallucinate at one point, telling me about a squirrel taking his carrot and wouldn't I please go get it. I called Pat to come home and we took Sam back to the doctor for the catheter. He was so dehydrated at this point that the catheter didn't produce a sample either, so we returned home with a bag fastened to Sam to collect a sample and instructions to push fluids. They let us know that popsicles might be a good way to get some fluids in him, so he agreed to drink water and had 3 otter pops. Had I known what would happen next I may have strayed from the otter pops. We got a sample and raced back to the office, and since we were after-hours at this point the on-call doctor got on the phone. He was a little alarmed by some of the numbers from the urinalysis and wanted us to go the hospital for some lab work. His glucose levels were one concerning number and they wanted to test for diabetes. I disclosed his otter pop consumption, but the doctor didn't think it would lead to numbers that high. The lab was closed, so his blood was drawn in the ER. This involved him vomiting (lovely popsicle colors prompting the tech to ask if he'd eaten smurfs), an unsuccessful attempt in one arm leaving lovely bruises, and finally success in the other arm. He tried falling asleep at the hospital while we were waiting and was so happy to get in the car and go home to his bed. As soon as we got home the doctor called again asking us to come right back because his white blood cell count was 28,000 instead of in the normal range of 6,000-14,000. He fell asleep on the way there and opened his eyes when we parked asking if we were home and wanting to go to bed. Sadly, he was there to receive a shot the equivalent dosage of a bag of IV antibiotics. He started vomiting again and had a rough time. Finally about 10 that night he made it to bed, and luckily slept until about 7 the next morning. He was still having pain upon urination, but not as bad, and we were headed to the doctor later that morning. He got another shot, and so did his stuffed monkey, although when the doctor tried to use a pen to give the monkey a shot, Sam looked him right in the eye and said "why are you giving my monkey a shot with a pen?" So sick, but still sharp as a tack, that Sam. He has continued to improve with antibiotics, but all cultures came back negative along with his diabetes test. I'm hopeful that this is really over and not being masked by the antibiotics, whatever it was. This poor boy had his tonsils out in April. In May he broke his leg. He managed to squeeze in this mystery illness the last day of June. I'm hoping since it lingered into July he's filled his quote for this month as well. I'm ready for some healthy months ahead!