Fall Festival, Birthday, and more!

Last weekend was fun, but busy!

Friday night, we went to dinner with our new minister, his wife, and son.  We met them at Johnny's Pizza and we enjoyed our company.  We didn't get home till late, so we skipped baths and put our tired kids to bed.

Saturday morning, we woke up extra early, and I took all 3 kiddos with me up to north GA, where my parents live.  I was running in a 5K at a park near their house, and they so kindly offered to watch the kids and take them to breakfast.  Stephen was busy doing the "Mancathlon" event at our church.

The race was fun, though I was running late to get to the start, and then had to run my t-shirt and packet all the way back to my car, and then back again to the starting line.  I probably ran 1.5 miles before the race even began!  You have to love a small town race- they waited for me to get back before they started!  Luckily, I got back at 8:01, so it wasn't too much of a wait.

Anyways, the race was great- I ended up getting my PR!  (To all you people out there, I'm not a very fast runner).  The cool thing is that this included some walking time- there was about 3/4 of a mile that was uphill gravel that totally got into my head.  I probably walked a total of 2 minutes.

I went to the awards ceremony and got 2nd in my age group.  Then, mom, dad, and the kiddos met me and we went to the fall festival.  It was fun!  The kids got to play on bouncy houses, the playground, watch a puppet show, get balloon animals, etc.  We got some lunch and had a little picnic.  

 Right after lunch, we started to head back to the car, as naptime was approaching...

... and that was a good idea, as you can see.

The next day, I celebrated my birthday!  The big 3-4!  Stephen had to fly to Vegas early that morning for work, so he and the kids got me cards and a sweet present the night before.  The kids and I went to church, and then Sydney went to play with Raegan at her house.  The other two kids and I hung out, I took a nap (fitting, since I'm old now, huh?) and we went to our small group that afternoon.  It was Raegan's dad's (Tim's) birthday, too, so they were sweet and got us a cake!

Joe, enjoying a slice.

It was a great day!

Happy Birthday to Sydney!

Sydney turned SIX on Tuesday!!  Here's how her birthday went...

(Three nights before)... She got to open her presents, while Stephen was in town.

(Actual birthday)... Sleepyhead woke up to a decorated room.

I got to go into work late and take Sydney to school, along with 2 dozen doughnuts for her friends.

Stephen caught an earlier flight from Vegas and surprised her by picking her up from school!  Then, they headed to Dairy Queen for a cold treat.

Next, we met Raegan and her parents at Chick Fil A for dinner and play time.

Then, we came home and Sydney played on her new scooter!

Stephen passed out some of the (trade show) goodies he got on his trip.  They were so excited!  Finally, the kiddos settled down from their excitement (and sugar-high) to hit the hay.  

Whew, what a day!  I think my big 6-year-old had fun.  

#GoodNewsThursday

With all the stress and worries and heaviness of work lately... I've had two good things happen!

1) Taylor had tubes put in when she was 8 months old.  They were supposed to come out, on their own, within three years.  We went to the ENT in June, which was about the 3 year mark- one was about halfway out, so he was able to pull it out.  The other tube was pretty solidly in there.  The doc had said that the chances of it coming out on its own now were pretty slim.  We were talking about scheduling the surgery to take it out, when he said, "We can wait another 3 months and check, if you want."  I decided to do that, thinking it would still be in there and we could do the surgery during my fall break.  So, Stephen took Taylor back this week, and... the tube was halfway out!!! He was able to pull it right on out.  Whoop whoop!  I had been thinking about her having to have the simple surgery just to get that dang tube out- having to put her under, etc.- and was really dreading it. An answered prayer, for sure!

2) Sydney is rocking it out at school.  I have to share a proud mommy moment.  In the first week of school, she was assessed and was reading on a 1.8 GE (grade equivalent) level.  She has already mastered through the 3rd grade sight word lists.  Since her classmates are still working on sight words, her teacher is now assigning Sydney books and having her take AR Tests.  She read her first AR book, which was a 2.4 GE book, last night and took the test today.  She got a 100% on the AR test!!!  It was her first computer, multiple-choice test.  I was so proud!

What a week!

This last week was pretty crazy, and at times it went by quickly, and at other times, slowly.  Lots went on.  Here's what all went down.

After the fun Labor Day weekend, Sydney came down with a low-grade fever Monday afternoon.  You could tell she didn't feel well, especially that night.  Grandmom came to the rescue, as Stephen was leaving town Tuesday, and stayed home with Sydney all day Tuesday so I could go to work.  They went to the doctor, and Sydney tested negative for strep, so they just diagnosed her with pharyngitis (sore throat) and a possible ragweed allergy.  Her fever continued on that day, so sweet Grandmom spent the night with us to keep her home again on Wednesday.  Tuesday night was a what-can-we-pick-up-at-Kroger-for-dinner kind of night.  After baths and bedtime for the kids, I was not far behind them.  Wednesday was the same deal- me to work, T & P to daycare, Sydney at home with Grandmom.  She was a little warm that morning, but seemed to turn a corner that afternoon.  A trip to McDonalds for ice cream occurred, which I'm sure was the best medication.  I got home to relieve mom so she could get home, and Sydney and I ran a couple of errands and then got the kids.  We were supposed to go to church that night for a big Fall Kickoff celebration, but Stephen's flight was delayed, it was storming, and I was exhausted.  We had cereal for dinner, skipped baths, and went to bed.  (Don't judge me, people.  It was that kind of night.)

Thursday, (Stephen's birthday!!) we woke up really early to take the kids, including Sydney, to school.  Before we left, the kids shared their cards with Stephen.  Some were store-bought and some were home-made.

After dropping the kids off, Stephen and I headed into Atlanta to Egleston for my niece, Madeline's, surgery!  She has a heart condition that causes her heart to go into tachycardia (rapid, irregular heartbeats).  There is a procedure/surgery they can do to fix it.  They tried to do this back when she was 8, but they didn't have success in fixing it.  Now, she is 11, and they wanted to try again.  There was a whole crew in the waiting room.  We sat around, I got some grading done, coupons cut, my other niece and I went to the gift shop, etc.  Around 11 AM, we received word that they, again, were unable to correct it.  We were all very disappointed.  The good news, though, is that her heart looks very healthy.  She is able to be on medicine to (mostly) control her episodes, but fixing it would have been the ideal situation.

Silly Dee-Dad.  It was awfully cold, though.

Once we got word, my sister and brother-in-law were back with Madeline.  Kerrigan and I ended up being interviewed by people at CHOA about flu shots.  It was so funny.  I, of course, was in my glasses, hair back, t-shirt, no make-up... my mom was trying her best to make me look as presentable as possible.  ha!  Kerrigan was adorable on camera.  Supposedly it'll be showing on some small channel, as well as the internet, to help promote people getting flu shots.  Anyways, it completely cheered Kerrigan up, who was pretty bummed about her sister.

My mom, dad, Kerrigan, Stephen, and I walked across the street to Emory to eat lunch.  On the way there, it was totally sunny.  When we were leaving, it was p-o-u-r-i-n-g.  Monsooning.  Stephen, Kerrigan, and I ran the whole way back and were just laughing.  I think that was my favorite part of the day.

Madeline was discharged from the hospital shortly after lunch, and we all headed home.

That night, we made breakfast for dinner, gave Stephen lots of birthday hugs, and called it a night.

Friday, included work and what was supposed to be Stephen's birthday dinner... but I think we were all exhausted so he decided he just wanted to order pizza.  Taking the three kids out for dinner is sometimes more tiring than it's worth. ;)

This morning, we played games, exercised, the girls and I went shopping while Stephen and Parker watched some football.  I love having some downtime this weekend.  September is promising to be a very busy month, so I'm going to enjoy this while I can!

Sleepover in the closet.

Playing the Angry Birds game.  He loves making the little birds fly.

Who are the real mannequins?  Oh... maybe the two without heads.

They must be watching a GT game...

Labor Day Weekend

Thank goodness for 3 day weekends!  We had a great weekend.  It started off with me having a half-day with the kiddos, then parent/teacher conferences until Friday evening.  But, I came home to a yummy home-cooked meal and two great friends coming in town!  Sara and Daniel drove down from Washington DC to stay with us for the long weekend.

We ate dinner Friday night, and the kids had the best time running around with Sara and Daniel.  Daniel is the biggest kid at heart I think I've ever met, and he is a kid magnet.  No one wanted to go to bed!  But alas, they finally did, and the adults hung out and caught up the rest of the night.

Saturday, we woke up, ate breakfast, and then Stephen and Sydney headed to Atlanta for the GT game.  Sara, Daniel, Taylor, Parker, and I went to a park and fed the ducks, walked a bit, and played on the playground.  When we got home, we ate lunch and Parker went down for a nap.  Sara and Daniel got ready and headed to Athens for the UGA/Clemson game.  Stephen and Sydney got home later that afternoon, and we hung out the rest of the evening.

Sydney and Stephen in Atlanta

I got to hang out with this chick all afternoon.

Reunited.  And it feels sooo good.  (Right, Taylor?)

Sunday, we woke up and went to church.  Sara and Daniel went to see their nephew in Dunwoody for lunch, and when they got back, we played outside, grilled some grub for dinner, and hung out.  They had to leave early Monday morning to drive back.  Not 30 minutes after they left, Sydney asked... "When will they be coming back?"

Eerie Sunday AM jog.

Parker sharing a laugh with Daniel while watching Road Runner.

Now the girls join in.

After Sara and Daniel left, we headed to the park to play and have a picnic.  It was great weather... just HOT.  I'm so excited September is here... bring on the fall!

It was a great, long weekend!