This is it folks

This is it folks, we are down to the last week of school

3.5 days to go

 

I've spent a small fortune on graduates this year

{some of them I've never even met- is that crazy?}

I can't help but think our years are dwindling

 until I'm that mama sobbing while they reach for their diplomas

 

I feel like school just started and it's already almost over

We had a great school year and I couldn't be more proud of our boys

 

Spencer took middle school by the horns

I was worried sick that he would become a slacker

Boy was I wrong

He did all of his homework and assignments without being asked

He was respectful and his teachers love him for this

and

his grades were top notch
{3.6 gpa - Social Studies was his only B+ darn it anyway}

 

Parker has done fabulous as well

He is a math whiz just like his brother

He has come leaps and bounds with his reading

The kid I thought would never read, passed out at a 4th grade level mid year

{Don't get me wrong, he still hates reading- he got that from his mama}

 

We treat the kids at the end of the school year to dinner out on the town

This is a HUGE treat since we don't go out often

They picked Buffalo Wild Wings

I love their pick

None of us have been to a BWW so it will be fun for all of us

 

We have a few fun things going on this week

Awards ceremonies

Spencer's going to Y for "get fit day"

and

Parker's school is going to the Aquatic Center on Friday

 

 

 

 We're almost there kids!

 

Grandma's goods

 

 

For as long as I can remember, my mom has had a garden
 

A beautiful, fruitful garden that I'm totally jealous of

  

When I was little, the garden was just a big rectangle of tilled dirt with many bountiful plants

 

Now the garden has 4 long rectangular beds with cement brick outlining each rectangle

This method allows my mom to stay in the grass while she plants, weed and pick

The garden has gotten smaller over the years

but it's still as beautiful and giving as ever

 

My mom is so sweet and shares her goods with us

 

Recently she has been stocking my refrigerator with fresh rhubarb

I'm still waiting for her to teach me how to make jam

I'm sure I can make jam, it's the canning process that scares me

so until then, I'm doing the Betty Crocker thing

 

 

With the first batch, I made strawberry rhubarb crisp

 

 

the second batch I made raspberry rhubarb crisp

I love the look of the sugar on the raspberries

 

This was heavenly

 

and on Sunday morning, I brought out the third batch

I tried a new recipe and it was added to the "tried and true" recipes

I'm a sucker for muffin liners
I bought these at Joann's on Saturday and couldn't wait to use them

 

We ate these straight out of the oven and they were AMAZING

We have 2 more bags of rhubarb

It looks like I'll be sticking it in the freezer while I hunt for more new recipes

 

 

 

 

 



Lung function and shots scheduled

 

 

Parker and I took a trip to IC yesterday

 

I've been on the phone several times with Parker's allergy/asthma doc

 since our appointment the end of March

Last week when I called, they told us they needed to see him and reevaluate him

This Spring has sucked!

{I hate the word suck but in this case, there is no other word for it}

He has been miserable, tired, crabby and I can't blame him

We're all checked out!

Done!

 

 

The first thing they did yesterday was check height and weight

74 lbs

The boy is built like a tank

His weight allows him to take all of his medicine in pill form

This is huge- no more fights over nasty liquid medicine

Have you ever tasted liquid prednisone or z-pac?

We had to see what all the fuss was about

Now we know

 

 

Parker had a lung function test 3 years ago and failed it

I don't think he was old enough to figure out how to blow into the mouth piece

 With his asthma acting up,

his doctor thought it would be a good idea to have him do it again

This time he passed with flying colors and the doctor was thrilled

 

Not much changed with "our plan"

This is what the doctor refers to as our every day routine with Parker

in the world of allergy/asthma care

 

Singulair (daily)

 Zyrtec (daily)

Alaway eye drops (daily)

 Pro Air (when needed)

Sudafed (when needed)

 Albuterol (when needed)

 Prednisone (when needed)

Auvi-Q (when needed)

 

The only thing that changed was that she wants him to use his inhaler before PE

Hopefully this will help with some of the asthma problems we've been having lately

and will also give mom some peace of mind while he's at school

 

The doctor also suggested getting Parker a medical alert bracelet

After the trouble we had at school in April she says it can't hurt

 

The biggest news is that we have a date scheduled for allergy shots to start

October 6th

It was a tough decision up until this year

This year is a no brainer

We have tried everything and it just isn't working

We have a long road ahead of us but we're willing to do what it takes

 

 

We're going to get this boy some relief!

 

 

 

 

 

 



Counting down the days

 

 

We are counting down the days until school's out

I have 3.5 days left at the preschool and the boys have 8.5 days

 

Last week made me crave summer break

It was a rough week to say the least

 

On Monday Spence ran into a wall during PE class

I sent an email and picture to nurse Grandma and she said it needed x-rayed

I had a physical Tuesday morning that I had already rescheduled twice so I had to go

I made Spencer an appointment for 11:20 but in Dr's time means more like when ever they get to him

She took one look at his hand and said- you need to go downstairs and have an x-ray

No kidding! We could have been there and done that

We went and waited for x-rays

Then went back upstairs and waited again

Thankfully there wasn't anything broken
5 days later it's bruised but feeling better and he'll get to return to the ball field this week

It looks like the middle finger took the brunt of it

 

 

 

On Wednesday Parker was a mess

I love the ice cream mustache
He was indulging in some strawberry rhubarb crisp and ice cream
Ice cream makes everything better!



I called his allergy/asthma doc and got no where

They want him to have a lung function test but I can't get him healthy enough

So this week, he will be seeing his allergy/asthma doc on Monday

and his ENT on Wednesday

 

We are co-pay poor!

 

On top of these issues Spencer informed us that he couldn't see again

He had an appointment with the ophthalmologist on Saturday

 We decided to let him try contacts before we realized how much they were going to cost
$80.00 a month
Yikes! I thought glasses were expensive
 

 

Bring on Summer Break
Last week just about did me in

 

 



Talent show 2014

 

 



A couple of months ago I received a facebook message from Parker's friends mom

asking if I thought Parker would do something with her daughter {Jaime} in the talent show

 

Parker is pretty shy so I said I would ask him and asked what they had in mind

 

She answered back right away: What about having them dance to a 50's song?

 

I asked Parker if he would dance with Jaime and he said he would

I must have told him a hundred times that if he told her he would do it, he couldn't back out

 

I would have never seen this coming

 

We picked a song {Barbara Ann by the Beach Boys},

found a wii Just Dance video so they could learn the moves

and my mom my made Jaime a beautiful pink poodle skirt

 

We had the kids together several times to practice

The night before the talent show Parker was struggling,

he just didn't have it in him that night and Jaime's mom told him he was a mess

I was upset to say the least

Here was a boy I never thought would agree to doing this

He had worked his tail off and basically got shot down

 

After they left, I messaged the mom and told her that I thought Jaime should dance by herself

I didn't want Parker to be the reason they didn't make the show

She told me that she meant nothing by it and said Jaime wouldn't do it if he didn't

 

Well..... the big day came for talent show tryouts

They kids did AMAZING and made it

 

The talent show was last Friday and I was so proud of these kiddos

They were so brave and you would have never known if they were nervous

They performed like they had performed a million times

 

Here it is

 

 

Here are a few snapshots of the kids

 

 

Jaime's mom works at Maid Rite which worked out perfect

 

 

 

Their big day

Poor Jaime is crying in this picture

Their teacher from last year is retiring and they had the second grade classes sing

This sweet girls emotions got the best of her but I think the pink roses helped a little

 

 

Jaime and Parker, we are so proud of you! Love ya both!

 

 

 

 

 

Teacher Appreciation 2014

 

 

Last week we had fun treating our teachers for Teacher Appreciation Week

 

The boys and I took in 46 gifts every morning for 5 days and hand delivered them

It was a lot of work but it's the least we can do for wonderful staff at Colorado Elem.

 

 

Monday

The students look UP2U
Thanks for being a great role model

 

Tuesday

popping by to say thanks for all you do

 

 Wednesday

TAKE NOTE... We think you're AWESOME

 

Thursday

Thank you for holding everything together

 

Friday

Thank you for helping the students BLOOM

 A huge thank you to all of the teachers and staff

 

Beauty and the Beast

Sometimes we need a reminder that there's beauty all around

                                                         At our house, beauty brings out the beast

 

I love that everything is green right now

The grass, the leaves on the trees, our day lilies....

but with this beauty comes the beast

 

Here is the beast himself

This poor kiddo has been absolutely miserable

Spring is awful but this is the first year he has had problems with his eyes

They itch... we put drops in them and they burn

He told me he hated me Thursday night because it hurt so bad

It breaks my heart and I've made up my mind

We're starting shots as soon as we get the go ahead from his doctor

Parker has been a champ

 

I hope someday he'll be able to enjoy the beauty that's all around