Summer Plans

My children need routine

Too much down time for them spells disaster

We took this week off but I've come up with a plan that I hope will work

It will take a little preplanning on my part but I think it's manageable

 

I'm hoping my plan will also make it

 so the boys aren't down at their friends houses all day every day

 

 

Here's the plan:

 

Monday

Make something Monday

Movie Monday

 

 

Tuesday

Time to read Tuesday

Take a trip Tuesday

To the park Tuesday

 

 

Wednesday

What's cooking Wednesday

Wet and Wild Wednesday

 

 

Thursday

Thoughtful Thursday

Thinking Thursday

Time for a treat Thursday

 

 

Friday

Fun Friday

Field trip Friday

Friendship Friday

Figure it out Friday

Fresh and fun Friday

 

 

 

We also have a summer bucket list that we'll be working on

 

Sidewalk Chalk . Parks . Play dough . Build a fort . Make a craft . Legos . Hike .

Bike ride . Walk . Bonfire . Board Game . Zoo . Museum . Swim . Parade . 5K .

Feed the ducks . Library . Picnic . Lowes workshop . Play date . Bake . Fishing .

Movie night . Ice Cream . Scavenger hunt . Drive in . Aquatic center . Read .

Slip and slide . Fireworks . Bubbles . Write a story and illustrate it . Skate park .

Play in the rain . Farmers market . Day Trip . Write a letter . Wild Cat Den . Baseball .

Mississippi mist . family reunion . Shaved ice . Random act of kindness . Smores .

Go to a camp . Catch bugs . Learn something new . Field Trip . Blow Bubbles . Vacation


I'm sure there are things I forgot or things we'll do that I didn't mention but that's the short of it



 



Yard work

This past weekend was full of yard work

 

I'm dying for a weekend of pure relaxation

  

We've made some changes that have created a ton of work

 

We took out 2 big burning bushes in the front of the house

We thought the roots were causing a problem with the foundation

After digging one of the bushes out last fall, we found a hole in the foundation

Ahh haa... hence the water issue every time it rained

We waited too long in the fall to get the other bush out so this weekend we got to work

We took the bush out, checked the foundation, tilled the dirt, fixed the AC unit the was falling in due to the dirt moving every time it rained,  planted some perennials and hauled in some mulch

 I can't wait until they are big and beautiful

 

When I agreed to let the hubby extend the deck, I agreed with stipulations

The nasty fence would come down too

No fence =No pool

We had a huge hole that we had dug to get the ground level for the pool

Sunday we got two truck loads of dirt but we still need more

 

We also had a outdoor fire pit that sat in one of the fence corners

It was rusty and got thrown out on big city trash day

We put it in 10 years ago and never thought we would have to tear the rock up around it

Over the weekend, we picked up a million rocks and vowed to never put rock in the yard again

 

There's always more projects

 

We live on a terrace and can't grow grass on it

For one thing, you would think we didn't have steps

The kids love to climb up the hill

Grrr.....

The hubby tilled one side and planted some grass seed

We'll see if we can keep the kids off of it long enough to grow some grass
In the mean time, it's an eye sore

With all the work comes a pay off

BEAUTY

Our one lonely poppy that only lasts a day before the rain usually beats it to death

 

 

These peonies were transplanted from my Mom's house

 

 

 

 
 




We have been having trouble with squirrels digging in our flower pots

These plastic snakes seem to do the trick

These petunias were a beautiful coral color when I planted them

I wonder if the PH of the dirt can make them change color

 

 

 

 

We made it

 

 

We made it!

 

This year was by far the craziest school year ever

 

2 kids at 2 different schools

Mama working 3 part time jobs

and

a van that got plenty of miles put on it

 

We survived!

 

The first day of school 2013-2014

 

The last day of school 2013-2014

They might not look much different but if you look up close, a lot has changed

Braces, contacts and maybe even a bit taller

 

Look at these teeth

6 months later
 

The day he got wired
 

They are looking beautiful!

Don't mind the food stuck in there, brushing braces is tough work

and oh my goodness look at all that peach fuzz

 

Spencer also got contacts last week and is LOVING them

Mama is not loving the $80 a month price tag but I LOVE seeing those baby blues

 

I think Spencer definitely changed more than Parker this year

 

 

Parker's school got to go to the Aquatic Center for the last day of school

I was uneasy about the idea so I went along to watch over the kiddos

 

Look who I found hanging out

I tried to get them to sing and dance for me but they wouldn't do it

We are going to miss Parker's teacher
Thank goodness we get to see her at the ball field
Big hugs Mrs. Yahn - You will be missed

 

 

We had a great school year but we're looking forward to summer break

We have a lot of activities planned but also hope to relax

 

 



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