This was by far the busiest weekend we've had in a long time! All of Christopher's family on his mom's side was in town and Grandma Lou had been wanting a family picture, so we all got together and had lunch. We also celebrated Zoe's birthday and broke in the pool for the first time this year. The kids had a blast! It was HOT, so it was perfect for them! I can tell you though, that getting all of those people in one house was CRAZY! It's been a long time since every one of us was able to gather at once, and since then, 4 babies have been born. Christmas is going to be NUTS this year!
Sunday was spent at Granny and Pa's. Diana had asked me to photograph the boys, so we spent a fun afternoon shooting my 2 favorite nephews! We picked cherries (enough for 5 pies), played in the sprinkler, and just ran around having fun! It was a great day!
Glen is getting to be such a big boy! I had so much fun taking his pictures!
And Mr. Cooper is just as sweet! 
Uncle Jeff had bought Glen a sprinkler and the kids had so much fun with it! We plugged up Preston's ears and let them loose! They were all sopping wet before we knew it, and they were enjoying themselves so much!
This morning we went up to Ramsey with Granny and Pa. We were supposed to go yesterday, but it was just too hot. We had to go early because it was supposed to rain around lunch time, and it wasn't long until we heard thunder. We started home and once we drove over the hill by the prison, the rain came down so hard that we could see nothing- no cars, or the line on the road. Everyone was pulled over and the roads were covered with standing water. I have never seen it rain like that! Christopher had stayed home to clean gutters and mow, and he called to see how we were, and said that we got 2 3/4 inches of rain in about 15 minutes! It was absolutely crazy! Luckily, no water got into our basement, but it did come in the garage. We spent the rest of the day just lounging around the house and playing.
Hopefully the rest of the week will be a little more relaxed. Preston has his follow-up on his ear and pneumonia tomorrow, so we'll be in Effingham the majority of the day running errands. I pray that the kids behave! Preston has another game tomorrow night if the field isn't underwater. It may be after the rain we got today!
(Somebody didn't have her exposure correct...)
This may be the most backward post that ever was. I tried to fix it by putting the first first, and the last last, but really, the first is last, and the last is first. Confused?
Today was not only the first day of summer break, but it was also Preston's first day of riding his bike without training wheels! I was on the front porch potting plants and the kids were in the driveway riding bikes. Preston had went into the garage and came to get me. I go in and he'd gotten a wrench and was trying to take the training wheels off. Now, we tried this last year with bad results, so I was skeptical, and not exactly wanting to run around the yard after him. Well, I kid you not, I held on to him for less than 2 minutes, let go, and he was off. It was like he was born to ride! I was SO proud of him! I ran in and got the camera and camcorder, and documented this milestone! He did crash into this one particular bush 3 times, but other than that, he did great! And don't ya just love his gardening gloves? He never took them off after helping me!
And now for the last. Yesterday was the last day of kindergarten. All of the kindergarten classes walked to the park (a 4 mile roundtrip), and we could not have asked for a nicer day! After missing the trip last week, I prayed hard that there would be no rain. A picnic inside the school just wouldn't cut it. We had so much fun! And while I sat with other moms and they complained about being there and being hot, I savored every second. This was our special trip. Most of the others went last week, and realizing this was my last opportunity to have a day like this with my kindergartner, I wasn't about to take any of it for granted.
Wheee! Preston loves going down the slide.
These pump swings were always my favorite, and Preston has always loved them, too! There was a line for those things!
And then there's the tire swing. At one point, there were that many kids sitting, and more standing on it, and Preston's yelling, "Mom! Come push us!" Not with standing children!
Walking back to school. This was by far the hardest part of the day. Tired kids+ 85 degree heat= lots of whining. I had the honor of being in the back on the way back and two little girls were SLOW! Jadie was just too tired to go (although she asked why we didn't just jog back???), and Rhianna took her job of caboose quite literally, and would not step one foot in front of Jadie. The rest of the class was far ahead of us, and I'm back there trying to get these two girls to scoot! Walking back up Jefferson hill was not fun at all, and the kids acted as if they were dying, but we made it up, and were thankful to be back!
One last class picture as they ate their last snack together, taken by my budding photographer, Preston (a child after my own heart). Man, is he going to be mad when they don't get snacks next year! It was a sad day, leaving the comfort of Mrs. T. We could not have asked for a better teacher to handle his food allergies. She was so good to call me when she had questions, kept a stash of safe snacks for him for rewards, and just really cared. After being so afraid at the beginning of the year, I almost feel silly, now. The whole school in general was so good with him, and it makes me feel better knowing that for next year. I just wish Mrs. T. would have applied for the two open 1st grade spots!
Tomorrow is the last day of school! I don't know whether or not to be excited, or scared! The summer should be fun. Hopefully it's a lot warmer than last summer so that we can swim more. I think I only took them 2 times, and only got in once. I have a summer picnic thing I'd like to do. Each week we'll pick a different place to have a picnic lunch and I'll take a picture of each week so that we have a whole collection at the end. Most excitedly, we get to sleep in. Oh, how I hate that alarm clock waking me up at 6:15!
Tomorrow is Preston's end of the year picnic, and barring any rain, we'll be hiking 2 miles to the park tomorrow morning (and 2 back) for a day of fun. I can't wait, especially since he missed the field trip last week. Can you just see ALL 100+ kindergartners walking to the park together, plus teachers and parents? People on the walking trail... watch out! Parents have the option of just meeting them at the park, but really, what fun would that be?
I had to call Dr. S. today and talk to him about Preston's poor ears. When he woke up, both ears were plastered with drainage (sorry for the visual) and it was coming out of his eye. That Zithromax just isn't working for his ears. He wasn't too concerned, but said that if it's still draining through the weekend, that we need to bring him in to culture the drainage to make sure it's not staph of some other nasty bug. We will continue the drops for 7-10 days and will see him 6/30. Hopefully we see the end of this tunnel VERY soon! He did say that this is a clear indication that he is nowhere near ready to be without tubes. I could've told you that! We still have 6 more months until he'll want this set out- either on their own of he takes them out, and I fear greatly that a third set will be in his future. He is after all, my child. Darn those Henry ears!
Today was my last "Gracie day." I've been watching her since September and really, it doesn't seem like that long at all. I had hoped to take her to the park and have a picnic lunch, but after it stormed so much last night, it was just too wet. We did take a walk, though, and she thought that was really neat! There will be no more carseat sitting in our garage, no more reminding someone to potty, no more making her lie down for a nap. There have been ups and downs watching her, but I really enjoyed babysitting and getting to know her better.
Today, Preston's other ear became infected. Remember me saying that Zithromax won't touch his ears? Proof positive since his other ear became infected while on antibiotics. Ugh. I so long for the day when I don't have to discuss Preston being sick.
Today I called Dr. S to get Preston seen. The soonest they could get him in was 6/30- and that's in Mattoon. If I wanted to be seen in Effingham, which is half the drive, we'd have to wait until the end of July. So tomorrow I have to call the dr. and see what specifically it was that prompted her to say that he absolutely has to see his ENT. I think I'll call back to Dr. S. and pose this as a question so that I can talk to him personally. I've done that before and he says to call back and say that we need to be seen next week.
I came across this last night and already know what my next project will be! I haven't even started to sew the curtain that I have all pinned up, but this is just too gorgeous to pass up! I'm even thinking of enlarging it for a quilt for Kate's bed. Anyway, if you go over to fabric.com before the end of the month, use the coupon code diydish15 to save 15% on your order!
Ear infections are just a part of life around here. Preston is showing us more and more that he most likely does have the Eustachian tube disorder that I have. Today he came down with the third ear infection since January- and that's with tubes. Usually, when one pops up, we just do the antibiotic drops and hope that clears it up, especially if he doesn't have a fever. If there's a temp, it usually means it's beyond what drops can heal. So when he woke up this morning complaining that his ear hurt, and I saw a ton of fluid coming out, I didn't think too much of it. I gave him some drops and motrin and sent him to school.
Not much before lunch, I just felt like maybe he needed to be seen. I called and made him an appointment for after school, and man, am I glad that I did. Not only does he have a horrible ear infection, but the soupy cough that was not pneumonia last week, is now pneumonia. She was just going to look at his ear, but I insisted that she listen to his lungs. They were very tight and wheezy (I never would have known), and although they did not send us for another x-ray, she feels confident that it is in fact pneumonia. And as for his ear, it's bad enough that she says he NEEDS to see Dr. S. (the ENT), so I'll be calling him tomorrow. She didn't want him to be on Biaxin (Dr. S.'s top pick for his ears) because she felt that Zithromax would work better to clear up his lungs, which at that point, is the biggest priority. So he's on a course of Zithromax and 4 breathing treatments a day. I hope that it clears his ears up! We go back next week to follow up on the pneumonia, and hopefully it doesn't stick around for a month like Kate had it.
On a brighter note, Preston mastered the art of tying shoes today at school and earned the pack of skittles that Mrs. T. had promised him. He was so proud of himself, and I was, too! WTG, Preston!
Your son waking up with lemonade-colored fluid draining from his ear. Yeah... After everything he had last week, now this.
Really, does it ever get better?
Yesterday afternoon, my little sister, Ali graduated from high school with honors. If you were wondering, there's a 13 year age difference between us! I am SO proud of her!
Ali outside the school after the ceremony. Hi Uncle Bruce in the back!
Ali with dad and Annette, otherwise known as my "other mother!" They are so great!
Here she is getting her diploma. During the ceremony, each of the graduates got bouquets of flowers to give to their mother and grandmothers. After she had given her mom hers, she gave me a hug and I LOST IT! I started bawling like crazy! I wanted to tell her how much I loved her and I couldn't say a word! Man, those things get me! We all went back to their house for her party afterward. I really wish I'd taken a picture of the spread Annette had because the amount of food was insane! And of course, she is one of the best cooks I've ever met, so it was absolutely wonderful! The kids had an absolute blast and played hard all afternoon. We were there for 5 hours, and really we could've stayed a lot longer! 
The kids had a blast with the hammock. It was a big hit, and we came home vowing that we had to buy one!
Of course, there's always kittens at Grandma and Grandpa's house! Here's Frenchie with her litter of 3 super fuzzy, long-haired kittens. Oh, how I wanted to bring home the white one! Their other cat, Cali also had a litter of darling tiger-striped kittens. Those poor kittens rode in the hammock and on the swings, and I'm sure the mom's hid them today!
It's still hard to believe that Ali is done with school and is off to college starting next month! I remember sitting and putting her hair into pigtails and dressing her up in several different outfits during the day. She was my little baby doll and I had so much fun with her! Now she's all grown up! We joked with dad that he's got 3 down, one to go. In 5 years, it will be Ashley's turn to graduate, and then all of his babies will be grown up!
Today at Kelly's Korner, it's Show Us Your Life, and today's theme is show us your hometown. I'll admit, this is not very exciting (where I live, that is). We live in a little hole in the wall town that is currently the oldest capitol of Illinois. It's not the current capitol, but is the longest standing capitol (I think it was the state's second). President Lincoln signed many a legislation in the above building, although he HATED it here! The state house is open for touring and it's really neat. The kids love to go through it. It's a very historical town with only about 7,000 people. I love the history and all of the historical architecture. Sadly, there's not much to do here. There are maybe 3 sit-down restaurants and more bars than grocery stores (even after one bar burned down). If we want any fun, or to shop, we drive an hour to St. Louis.
Probably the biggest attraction is the lake. Camping, boating, you name it. My grandparents have had a lot there since way before I was born, so we always have a place to go. The kids love it when my dad takes the boat out and we go for boat rides. That's about the extend of which we use it since Preston can't get near lake water with his tubes.
We also have Lincoln Park, which is directly across from the state house. I was going to use the image from the town's website, but it made it look a little scary, so I'll leave you with the photos I took of the kids two weeks ago when we paid a little visit to Lincoln Park.
Preston was back at school today and feeling much better. I went in with him this morning to tell Mrs. T. to have him rest if he had any coughing fits, and learned that 6 kids have been out all week with the same thing. My friend, Kim, has a daughter in Preston's class, and we talked about how bad this virus was. Macie ended up with another ear infection from it, and thankfully, they were able to find a new ENT in St. Louis and she'll be getting tubes on Tuesday! I know we've discussed her ear problems for quite a while (back when they were in preschool together), so I'm glad to hear that they found someone to do them.
I was so glad to hear that Preston wasn't the only one that didn't get to go on the trip. I hate to hear that so many kids have had this, though. Especially right at the end of the year. I'm just praying that Kate doesn't get it. We have Ali's graduation Saturday, and I'd really hate for her to not make it. It's going to be a lot of fun!
Last night was the breaking point- for Preston's fever, that is. I mentioned last night that it registered 97 around 8:00. Bright and early at 6 this morning, it was still 97. Unfortunately, that did not get us on the field trip. Christopher was very adamant about him not going less than 24 hours after the fever broke. I understand the reasons- it's school policy and he could possibly get others sick, or his fever could come back- but he had nothing vested in this trip, so he put all emotions aside. He didn't understand why Preston and I were so upset about it all.
So, we didn't do much today. Preston and I cuddled on the couch one more day before he goes back to school. We watched some tv, played some Wii, went outside for a short bit, and just tried to make the best of a rotten situation. I can't tell you how many times he mentioned the trip today. I just wanted to cry every time. This is where they were going- the Children's Museum of Illinois and the Scovill Zoo. I was looking at Preston's scrapbooks today while he was playing a video game, and came across pictures from our last trip there. Not what I wanted to see.
Although Preston's temp did come back up to 99 for a very short while this afternoon, he'll be going back to school tomorrow. As much as I hate when he's sick, I enjoy the one on one time with him- he's so snuggly when he doesn't feel well. Wait a minute, he's always snuggly! After the last 5 days, I'm glad to have this behind us!
**Please proceed at your own risk. This is a pretty whiny post, which is typically not me, but you know what? Right now, I don't care.
Well, there won't be a field trip for us tomorrow. I thought we were going to be able to pull it off. His temp was down to 99 this morning. I took it often, just to make sure it was still down. Technically, 99 isn't considered a temperature, so I was excited, thinking we'd somehow managed to make it through this illness. Then early afternoon rolled around. I checked, and it said 100. I didn't say anything to Pres. I checked a while later and it was 101 in one ear, 102 in the other. GREAT... This is when the frustration hit me. I was mad. I called Dee and told her what was going on. I called Dr. B. since she said to "give it a day or two," and since 24 hours had passed, it had officially been one day.
I was thinking that she'd give in, call in a script, and we'd be able to get one day's dose in, and as long as his temp was down in the morning, still be able to make it. Her verdict- "I think it's just a progression of this virus." The only thing they could do was to schedule an appointment for tomorrow. NOT WHAT I WANTED TO HEAR! I am just so flippin mad. For one, I'm NOT driving to Effingham again to spend another half a day there and I'm NOT going to pay another co-pay when he's not going to be any different than he was on Monday. She has all of his symptoms, she can call in a script! Two, if it weren't for this penicillin allergy, there wouldn't be any issue. Had it been Kate, she'd be on antibiotics already. Had I taken him to my dr., he would be on antibiotics already. But NO.... I find it funny, that 2 years ago, during the mammoth battle with his ears, she didn't see anything wrong with dolling out the antibiotics every two weeks for 4 months until she finally referred us to Dr. S. In that short amount of time, in which he would finish one round, only to have a raging infection within a week of finishing it, his ear infections became resistant to not only Zithromax, and Biaxin, but also to the big daddy of them all, Clindamycin, which is the strongest antibiotic that is safe for him to take. Note that it was only his ear infections that were resistant- they still work for other infections. And Dr. S. didn't see anything wrong last year when he prescribed a 3 week dose of antibiotics in hopes of warding off a second set of tubes (that didn't work...). So why couldn't she just give him a script so that maybe, just maybe, he could make the field trip that he's been so excited about? I made sure to tell her this, too!
I am just so devastated. I feel so horrible that Preston has to miss this trip. He's cried. I've cried. I'm crying right now. I took a shower a while ago and just let it all out. I want nothing more than to wake up tomorrow, to tell Preston that we're going, and to enjoy the day we've been planning for months. The day I've been anticipating since the first day of school because I remember how much fun I had on Kate's trip. I just wanted to spend the day with Preston having fun. Since he started kindergarten, we don't have those fun-filled days to ourselves. But all of my crying is futile. It won't get us on that trip tomorrow. Only a miracle would. Even as I put him to bed tonight, and took his temp one last time, there was a glimmer of hope when it read 97. When he woke up half an hour ago and I felt his cool skin as I tucked him back in, I felt hope. But that's just hope, and that won't get us on that trip. Instead of fully enjoying my day, I'll be here, finding out why my hunk of junk in the garage is now leaking oil. How's that for an exciting day?
Seriously. I'm beginning to get a little sick of this sickness. Preston is still not better. Not one little bit. When I woke him up at 5:30 for more motrin, his temp was 100. I called and got him in this morning, hoping to get him some antibiotics. After waiting forever, (and we were even early), we finally got to see Dr. B. She listened to his lungs quite a bit, and I figured that was the problem. But that would be too easy, wouldn't it? Long story short, she thinks it's viral, but it could be bacterial. BUT... since Preston is allergic to penicillin and has very few options for antibiotics, she won't give him any unless she is 100% positive that it's bacterial. I tried to persuade her into giving him some because the big kindergarten field trip is Wednesday, and if he has a fever tomorrow, that means he won't be able to go. He will be DEVASTATED. So will I. That plan didn't work. Instead, she sent us back to the hospital for a chest x-ray to rule out pneumonia. If it was, she'd call in a script.
So, we went straight to the hospital and they got us in pretty quickly (within 15 minutes). Preston did a good job with the x-ray, although every time they told him to hold his breath, he'd start coughing. Around 3:00, they called with the results- negative. SHOOT! Not that I wanted him to have pneumonia, because I really didn't (Kate was on antibiotics for a month with it- no fun), but at least we'd get him some medicine. Right now, it's just a waiting game. She said that if he's still running a temp in a day or two, to call back. That really doesn't help us much. I told Preston to pray, and ask that his fever will go away. I so want him to be able to make this trip. He's been so excited about it, and it's a once in a lifetime opportunity. Yeah, I can take him up there this summer, but it won't be with his friends, and it won't be a bus trip. It just won't be the same. When I talked to Dee tonight, she feels that his fever will break tonight based on how long he's had it (if it is viral). But we're watching to see. She said that if he's fever free at least 12 hours prior (which will be tomorrow night), then he should be OK to go. So let's pray, cross our fingers, knock on wood- whatever you feel is best, that this little boy will be feeling MUCH better tomorrow!
Thursday night was Kate's spring band concert. Can you see her? She's in the second row with her flute in front of her face (click to see larger pic). Yeah, I know, it's not the best photo. I spent the entire time videoing, so the camera didn't get much action.
The band did SUCH a great job! They have improved so much since the winter concert. I mentioned this to Kate and she asked if she was supposed to take that as a compliment or criticism (obviously something she heard at school). I told her that it was very good, because they were doing exactly what they were supposed to be doing- learning how to play their instruments.
Severe storms struck right after we got there and it thundered like crazy. I joked to Granny that they didn't even need the bass drums because the thunder was doing a pretty good job! While the 6th grade band was playing, the lights nearly went out but luckily they didn't go out all the way! I can only imagine the chaos that would have caused! All of the bands did a spectacular job! Mrs. Berg really does a great job leading them! I know that when Kate started, she really hated her flute (even though she picked it), but now she loves it and sometimes plays it in the car on the way home from school!
Of course, if it's going to happen, then you know that it's going to happen on a weekend... That would be Preston getting sick. I noticed he felt warm around 11:00 friday night when I got him up to potty, but didn't think much of it- he'd been under all of his covers. He woke me up at 2:30, hot as a little firecracker, with a 102 temp. Nice... Gave him motrin and he went right back to sleep.
When he woke up in the morning, he still had a temp and said his throat hurt. All I could think was that strep was back. After Kate's battle with strep, I'm not playing games with that bug! His throat didn't look bad, but I called the dr. and they called in a quick strep to the hospital in town, which saved a trip to Effingham. Preston was not pleased to be going to the hospital, even for a strep test. He remembered all too well all of the blood draws there when they thought he had Kawasaki. Other than the waiting, it was quick and easy, and five minutes after we walked in the door, the dr. called with his results- negative. That's good and bad. Good that at least it's not strep, and for the time being, is not following in his sister's footsteps. Bad because they said it's most likely viral and we have to wait it out. Preston spent the rest of the day on the couch- he wouldn't even get up, so I know he really felt rotten. Christopher noticed that the cough he'd had for a week or so was now a wet and soupy cough that just got progressively worse.
So today he was still running a temp when he got up. I looked in his throat and his poor tonsils are much bigger today. Ugh! Around lunchtime he fell asleep on the couch and slept through his next motrin dose. That sent things in a downward spiral. When he woke up, the thermometer said that his temp was 101 in one ear, and 105 in the other. I didn't panic, because this happened before and they said it was most likely error with the ear thermometer and that if it's not perfectly placed, can produce an abnormally high or low reading. I got him his motrin, a cool cloth, and carried (more like lugged) him upstairs to take a cool bath. We got the temp down to 100 and he felt much better. He hasn't eaten much today, which is not like him at all. I will definitely be taking him in tomorrow unless by some miracle his fever breaks and they say he's alright over the phone. I'm just worried now that this soupy cough is pneumonia. It's not a normal Preston cough- with an asthmatic child, you can tell which coughs are nothing, and which ones to worry about. I feel so bad for my little guy!
So no, our weekend was not very fun. It poured rain the whole time, and never got above 63 degrees. I'm looking forward to warmer weather by mid-week, and our big kindergarten field trip on Wednesday! Gotta get this kid better by then!
Today was just one of those days where you wonder what else will go wrong. Seriously. I even shook my head several times in disbelief.
It all started while I was cutting watermelon. My cutting board was wet from the juice and a big slab fell over, splashing red juice all over my brand-new white shirt. Nice... I quickly take it off and put it in a bucket of water in the laundry room sink.
A bit later I am prepping for dinner, which I usually do around lunchtime so that when the kids are home, all I have to do is stick it on to cook. I needed breadcrumbs, so I took 2 slices of bread and put them in the toaster oven. I don't even have a clue as to where my brain was at that time because right after I put it in, I decided I needed to take photographs of some stuff for Ebay. I gather everything, take it downstairs, photograph everything, and start uploading pics to the PC. I smelled something that smelled like it was burning and wondered what it was. Obviously I didn't put much thought into it. A few minutes later, the smell is stronger. MY TOAST! I flew upstairs to not only find burnt toast, but also to black smoke and FIRE! Yes, I caught the toast on fire. I didn't know what to do. I turned the toaster oven off, that did no good. I opened the door, and that only made the flames come out and nearly catch my cabinet on fire. Finally, I grabbed a metal bowl and some long tongs, and grabbed the toast, put it in the bowl, and put it out the kitchen door.
The kitchen was filled with smoke and stunk so badly. I'm lucky the smoke alarm didn't go off! I opened the doors, turned the fans on high and lit some candles. That did little to help. I knew Christopher would smell the burnt smell and ask what happened, so I told the kids it was OK to tell him that I'd burnt the toast, but to leave out the fire part. Well, at dinner, Preston spilled the beans. "Yeah, mom burnt some toast today. She went downstairs, smelled it, yelled, MY TOAST, and it was... on... FIRE!" Thanks, Preston.
Backing things up a bit. Shortly after the fire, I was back downstairs and the dehumidifier had gotten full and turned off. I figured it would help with the smell, so I went to empty the bucket. My shirt was still soaking in the bucket of water in the laundry room sink, so I sat the dehumidifier bucket on the washer while I moved the soaking bucket. BAM! The dehumidifier had fallen off of the washer, flooding the laundry room. The force of the water was so strong, that it completely washed the cats' food bowl off of the mat and spilled all of the food. So now I had a big mess to clean up again. Nonni "helped" me by eating some of the food that had been washed behind the water softener, but I had to mop up all of the water. I guess now I don't have to clean the laundry room floor!
After all of that, I was kind of glad that I didn't go sew my curtains at mom's because with the way things had gone all morning, I probably would have sewn my finger or something. The rest of the day was pretty smooth sailing, but man, this morning was ROUGH!
I have faithfully followed Angie's blog, Bring the Rain since the day of Audrey's birth, when another blog was asking for prayers for her family. Immediately, I was drawn to their story, to their faithfulness, and for their love of life. I knew right away that once her book came out, that I would have to read it.
This book blew me away. This is such a deep, heavy, topic, but it was written in such a way that I did not feel burdened in the least. Instead, I felt uplifted by their positive attitude and strong faith in God. It evoked a wide range of emotions- I laughed, I cried, I felt compassion, empathy, joy and sorrow. I highly recommend this book!
It's Show Us Your Life time again at Kelly's Korner! This week's theme is favorite children's books! I love childrens books, and anyone who has seen the amount of books in our house knows that we could open a small library. The kids, in fact, occasionally make their own libraries, complete with library cards, and they loan each other their books. Somehow, one of them always has one that is overdue and the other comes hunting their fine (which I quickly put a stop to!). Anyway...
The Nancy Drew series is Kate's absolute favorite! We started reading these a while back after we had finished all of the American Girl series, and we're destined to collect all of these, too. Nancy serves as quality time for Kate and I. We lie in her bed and read a chapter every night together. We both love it and can't wait for the next night to see what adventures Nancy gets herself into. We laugh at how Nancy always seems to get bound and gagged, but Nancy always comes through in the end. Just tonight, we started book #18, The Mystery of the Moss-Covered Mansion.
Goodnight Moon holds a lot of special memories for me. Every day at nap time and bed time, I had to read this one to Kate (along with The Little Engine that Could) or she would not go to sleep. We both had this one memorized backward and forward by the time she was 18 months old, and she would sit there and recite every word. We read it to Preston while I was pregnant, and afterward. He knew it just as well! In the great green room there was a telephone...
One day we found a Minerva Louise book at the library and Preston wanted to check it out. Minerva Louise and the Red Truck was probably the funniest book we'd ever read and he LOVED it! I can't begin to remember how many times we read that one while we had it, and how many more times we've borrowed it. We've been through them all and we still have to look for them every time we go.
The Little Engine that Could, or as it is fondly referred to in our house, The Little Blue Engine. Kate came up with that title at around 18 months, when we were also reading Goodnight Moon several times a day. Again, she knew this book front to back. I'm still amazed at what she could do back then! My favorite part was at the end, where it had a drawing of tracks and a roundhouse. She would sit on my lap, trace the tracks with her finger and explain to me where the train went, and how it went to the roundhouse to turn around and go back the other way. Puff, puff, puff, chug, chug, chug, a little train came rumbling over the tracks. She was a happy little train because she had such a jolly load to carry...
These books will be something that I cherish forever. I kept many of my childhood books because of the memories they held, and there's no way I will ever get rid of any of these books. Someday, Kate and Preston can read these same books to their kids, and hopefully they enjoy them just as much as they have!
Some pretty nasty storms rolled through last night, one of which pretty much took me by surprise (that's saying a lot since I have to know the weather at all times). No damage to report, and really, no downed branches, so we have that to be thankful for. Unfortunately, the storm took out our phone line (thank goodness for cable internet) so we're without our landline until sometime tomorrow- or so they say.
Anyway... Preston is not fond of storms. He hates thunder (is he really my child?). I didn't even hear the storm that rolled through around 4:30 until he came and woke me. It was nasty. The sky was almost continually illuminated and the thunder was constant, and LOUD! I went and laid down with Preston, hoping to get him back to sleep. I laid there listening to the howling wind, the crashes of thunder and of lightening hitting something (probably our phone line). I was just waiting for hail, but we didn't get any. We just got 2 1/4 inches of rain in about half an hour. With that much rain, some of it made its way under the basement door. We're lucky the power was only out for a few seconds or we would've been downstairs bailing water like during the Great Flood of 09. A little after 5:00, it was really nasty out, so I got up to ask Christopher to turn on the radio to listen for warnings, and when I got up, Preston was asleep with both fingers shoved into his ears so he couldn't hear the thunder!
Like I said, we were lucky that there was no damage. After the 1 1/4 inch hail one morning and the tornado that passed over our house last year, we seem to get more than our fair share of bad weather.
Tonight was Preston's first baseball game! Just look at that slugger! And when I say slugger, I mean just that. The boy can whop that ball clear to the outfield! He did really well, and hit the ball both times he was up. He paid attention in the field, and overall, just did his best. That's all we can ask him to do!
Here he is running home. He made it home both at-bats. They don't keep score yet, but they do get outs, and they all get to bat each inning. It was a really fun game and I can't wait until next Tuesday's game. Hopefully it will be a little warmer!
I love to garden. There's such peace in working with plants that really puts me at ease. No, I'm not a great gardener. In fact, Christopher calls me the plant killer, although I wouldn't go that far... But I do love to work with plants, especially those that can be eaten!
After making it to the greenhouse 3 weeks ago to pick up our plants, we finally got them in the ground yesterday! This morning, Pa stopped by and asked if I needed the garden plot that he'd tilled up for me to be bigger. I still needed to plant more cucumbers and hadn't even bought my sweet potatoes yet, so I said, yes. I ran out to Ron's to get my sweet potatoes so that I could get everything in before it started raining. While there I saw some fantastic chives and some basil that smelled heavenly, so I had to buy them. I can't wait to use them!
Anyway, back to the garden... I stopped up at Granny and Pa's after lunch and set off to get the plants in. Granny came out while I was working and I commented that this was probably the worst laid out garden there ever was. I have one row of beans, two rows of corn, another row of beans, another of corn, and one last row of beans. Now, most gardens keep them together, but not me. Indecision accounts for my creative planting! This way, I figure my beans will be ripe way before my corn, so this way I won't be trying to dig through several rows of beans to get them all. But man, will we have a lot of beans!
Mother's day again. This must be the year of the flowers. Thursday afternoon, the UPS man arrived with a box from ProFlowers. I opened it to find a lovely bunch of sunflowers and a card from Christopher and the kids. After four days, they're still just as fabulous as when they came! This morning, the kids got their gifts, which Christopher had helped them hide in his bathroom, and set them in the bay window while I got dressed. Kate had brought home a pot that she had painted with a flower inside. She also wrote a book of poems at school that made me laugh, but they are SO Kate, and that's what made them so great! Preston had a flower for me, too, in a decorated styrofoam cup. He suddenly remembered something and had me get his backpack, and inside was a sweet card and a container of bath salts that he has been SO proud of! I even let him use some in his bath. After we left Aunt Karen's, Preston saw some "flowers" growing alongside the field and ran to pick some for me. Disappointed that they didn't smell, we had to tell him that they were actually weeds, and weeds don't smell, but that I thought they were the prettiest weeds ever, and now they reside on the counter in a glass of water right alongside the rest of my flowers.
Seth and Diana had invited us down to their house for dinner for mother's day, and I really wished that we would have been able to go. I knew that after we had to go to Christopher's family's deal, and how long they always take, that we would not have time to drive the hour there without eating and having to leave right after. That, and guess who has a fever again... Preston and his throat. It's not red, and his tonsils are nowhere near as big as they were 3 weeks ago when he had strep, but they are enlarged. I guess we'll see how he is in the morning. So instead of spending mother's day with my side of the family, we went up to Granny and Pa's anyway, to plant our garden that he had tilled up for us. And aside from Kate not listening, we had a good time. I still need to go get our sweet potato plants and get them in the ground. We also went to Rural King and got some potting soil so that I can plant my lettuce in the sunroom, my task for tomorrow.
It's been a busy day, and a fun day. I hope that all of my mothers had a great day!
It's Show Us Your Life time at Kelly's Korner again! This week's theme is children's names. It's a story I never get tired of telling!
Here's Miss Kaitlyn Morgan. Admittedly, there wasn't a whole lot of planning when it came to her name. We each had a name that we liked, and we went with it. I chose Kaitlyn, and Christopher chose Morgan- a name that took time to warm up to. Her name means "purity by the sea's edge" and a more perfect name could not be found. This child has loved water from the day she was born. If there is any water, we can't keep her out of it. She swims like a fish and must be drug from the water. We even have to make her get out of the tub at night! April, the month in which she was born, stands for purity, as does her birthstone, the diamond. The meaning of both names are just perfect, yet we didn't know their meanings until after we had decided on them.
Then there's Mr. Preston Bryan... Naming him was a challenge. Nothing seemed to fit. We had a long list- Cheney, Nicholas, Emerson, Jonathan and many more. We each had names that we liked, the problem was, neither of us liked the other's names. When we did agree on a name (Charles), no one else liked it, "I'm not having a grandson named Charlie!" Let that be a tip... don't share your baby names before you name them! We asked Kate, then 4, what she wanted to name him. Her top picks... Aladin and Shoelace, which was also the name of her beloved fish (we had Shoelace I and Shoelace II, so you can see how attached she was to this name...). I believe she told half the town he was going to be named Shoelace. I know the checker at Kroger was told this every week!
When my 7cm cervix landed me in the hospital for the remainder of my pregnancy at 36 weeks, we still didn't have a name. We spent many hours walking the halls discussing names. Nothing. On our third day there, my mother-in-law decided to read us baby names. She borrowed a book from the nurses station (see we're not the only unprepared parents), started at A, and read every boy name. Right as they brought me my lunch, she was reading the P names and said, "Preston. It means priest's estate." That was the last name that she read. Labor started shortly after that, and two hours later, I had the sweetest little unnamed boy you could ever imagine. Flash forward almost 24 hours later when we're preparing to leave with a still unnamed baby. The birth certificate lady had been in twice already and this time told us that she's be back in an hour, and if we didn't have a name, he'd leave the hospital without one because she was leaving for the weekend. I looked at my sweet little boy with his thick mess of black hair and thought that he looked like a Preston- destined for an Ivy League university with such a prestigious name. Christopher agreed. One name down! Christopher asked, "What about Bryan for a middle name?" We'd NEVER considered it once, but Bryan is also Christopher's and his dad's middle name. Bryan it was.
Now, hopefully, if we are blessed enough to have a third, naming them won't be hard. I have Charlotte and Georgia for a girl with Adelaide for a middle name, and Lennon for a boy, with a whole mess of middle names.
Busy doesn't even begin to describe the past weekend and the rest of this month. I'm going nuts just thinking about the next few weeks. Our calendar is filled. I like to keep busy, but when you've got something going each day, and sometimes more than one thing, it's just too much.
Friday was a busy day of haircuts. I spent the afternoon at Keri's getting a cut and color witch was desperately needed. I always feel SO much better after I leave! I picked up the kids and was back there less than an hour later to have Preston trimmed up. I SO need to do his photo shoot, so a cut was in order. Hopefully Wednesday I can take him out so we can get prints made before mother's day.
Saturday we went shopping in Fairview with Grandma Lou. The kids rode with Dee and Lou in her car while I rode with Jess and the girls. It was a BUSY day shopping with 2 six month olds and 2 older children. WE had a fun time, though! It's never an ordinary shopping trip with Grandma Lou. While in Justice, she had been holding a pair of pants for Kate. She told me she was taking the girls out into the mall. A minute later Dee asks where the pants are. BEEP BEEP BEEP! Oh, no! Grandma Lou had the pants on the stroller!
Uncle Jeff flew in Sunday morning, so we all went to Ramsey for an afternoon of fishing and fun. The kids had a blast! They went for a canoe ride with Uncle Seth, another with Grampy. They jumped on the trampoline (cringe), went for walks, fished, and had such a great time! They were super muddy and had to strip before they got into the car, but they had fun! It was also Seth's 29th birthday Saturday, so we had cake for him as well.
I've got a HUGE garage sale coming up Friday and Saturday and I've been trying to get it ready. I have Gracie all day tomorrow and Thursday afternoon, so that leaves Wednesday to get it all set up. Most everything is priced, but it's the setting up that takes forever. Not to mention that we have to go out to Keith and Dee's to bring in a load for the sale. I bought our curtain fabric Saturday, so I have this huge roll of fabric in our laundry room that keeps taunting me, but I will have NO time at all to sit down with it until after this weekend. Then, with mother's day this weekend, I'm about to go nuts!
I thought we were getting our floor put in over the weekend, but alas, I still see a pile of wood in the dining room. It rained, Keith offered to start, but Christopher was afraid it would take more than 2 days to lay, so they decided to wait until the beans are in. Ugh. Last year he was still getting them in in July. It's supposed to rain again this weekend (always when I have a sale...), maybe it will just be too wet to get in for a while. Wait, it's mother's day weekend... too much going on.
This was by far the busiest weekend we've had in a long time! All of Christopher's family on his mom's side was in town and Grandma Lou had been wanting a family picture, so we all got together and had lunch. We also celebrated Zoe's birthday and broke in the pool for the first time this year. The kids had a blast! It was HOT, so it was perfect for them! I can tell you though, that getting all of those people in one house was CRAZY! It's been a long time since every one of us was able to gather at once, and since then, 4 babies have been born. Christmas is going to be NUTS this year!
Glen is getting to be such a big boy! I had so much fun taking his pictures!
And Mr. Cooper is just as sweet! 
Uncle Jeff had bought Glen a sprinkler and the kids had so much fun with it! We plugged up Preston's ears and let them loose! They were all sopping wet before we knew it, and they were enjoying themselves so much!
