Keeping up with the K-Bashes

Thursday, September 11, 2014

#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!

Saturday, September 6, 2014

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!

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

23 months!

One more month until Parker is two!

Accomplishments this month include:

His biggest change this month is moving to his new class! He is now eating in the big breakfast room and working more on a curriculum.
More talking! He isn't very intelligible, but he is definitely speaking more in "sentences" now. He's putting together more words now. He says "Hi Mommy!", "Hi Daddy!", "I want Daddy!", "oh no!"
He climbs about a foot up on the wire fence at school.
He loves to sing to Wheels on the Bus (he more so hums the tune and will say "beep! beep! beep!" when it's time). He also hums the Caillou theme song and will fill in a couple of words into it.
He loves to say "one (a little hard to understand), twooooooooo, deh (three)!" and then he'll do something.
He always wants to use a fork or spoon now when he eats. He does pretty well with them!
He's gotten a lot better about drinking out of a cup, thanks to him having to drink out of one in the breakfast and lunch room at school.
He tripped while running at daycare and konked his head into a metal doorstop. Ouch. He had a massive bruise on his forehead most of this month!
He loves playing with his little monkey dolls and even baby dolls. He'll say, "Shhhh! Night night Baby" and put the doll to sleep.
I'm starting to play some "manly" shows for Parker (Handy Manny, Thomas the Train). He loves them. The funny thing is that the girls also love them. They ask to watch them now.
We started the potty-training game this month. Ohhhh, to just be able to snap my fingers and he'd be potty-trained. We have had zero luck so far, except just to get him used to sitting on the potty. He's in the class at school now that works with them on the potty, so hopefully he'll pick up on it there, too!

His new room at daycare.

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Be there for your child

One of the hardest things I'm grappling with lately is the fact that I can't be there to take Sydney to school, visit her classroom or eat lunch with her occasionally, or pick her up. I was asked to be the room mom, but had to pass- I knew I wouldn't be a good one because of work. (And that stinks.) I also dislike how rushed we are in the morning. There's rarely time for me to braid Sydney's hair like she wants me to, or hang out or play with the kids in the morning. They eat breakfast at daycare, so I don't even get to make them that. It's always a go-go-go routine that has to happen for everyone to get to where they need to be... on time.

Well, today was an opportunity for me to be there. I left school yesterday to go to the doctor- sore throat + fever = tonsillitis. I was told not to go to work today. Last night I didn't feel well, but today I felt pretty normal. I got to feed the kids breakfast; play with them; braid Sydney's hair; calmly leave and first take Sydney to school; drop Taylor and Parker off at their school; take a leisurely walk at the park; eat lunch with Sydney at her school; and do a lot of other shopping/stuff around the house. Now I'm waiting in line to pick her up.

It just felt so good that I could be there for the kids. Show them that it's not really me who's the monster in the morning- that's just my running-late-for-work personality. ;)

I guess I should realize that it's because of work and the hectic schedule we lead that I truly appreciate these things. I definitely don't and won't ever take them for granted!