Party part 2 and Fishing

It's been a busy few days around here!  The kids got out of school at 11:30 Friday so we had a semi-relaxed afternoon before we headed to the football game to watch the band play the pre-game show.  I didn't take my camera, or I'd share some pics.  They did really great!  It's hard to think that next year we'll be going to every home game to watch Kate play...  Soooo not ready for that!

Saturday morning we headed downtown to the Grand Flee-ay as Kate has always called it!  We ran into mom, Granny, Seth and the boys and spent the morning walking around with them.  The kids all got to do bounce houses and had a blast!  Boo to me for not taking Preston's rescue inhaler which we rarely need, but the bounce houses did him in and we had to stop and sit for a while until he was able to catch his breath.

That night we had Preston's party for my family.  We scaled way back from last week and it was PERFECT!  It was so stress-free and enjoyable!  He got lots more Legos which made for a very happy boy!

 Glen caught him two butterflies and brought them for him!

We had a much smaller crowd this time, too, and missed all of those who couldn't make it.  My littlest sis was home with mono and my stepmom was out with a migraine.  I'm praying they're both feeling better today- especially Ashley.  That's what you get for kissing boys! ;)

Today for lunch we went out to celebrate Keith's birthday at Los Amigos.  We had a fun time and a good lunch.  I LOVE not having to cook lunch!  After that we headed up to Ramsey for a little fishing.  Preston caught 3 fish!

Fish #1

 Fish #2

 Fish #3

 Fishing with Grampy and Pa

This is the Titanic.  Yes, my children wanted to paint it to look like the Titanic, but I said no.  We like to pretend that all the tree stumps are icebergs.  I'm afraid to say that this Titanic has hit its fair share of icebergs, but thankfully hasn't floundered!

 Kate found a tin can with it's lid off and decided to add some water, mushrooms and acorns and boil it.  She had quite the time with it!  Granny helped her get it off the fire.

 Kate and Grampy took the Titanic for a little ride.

 They also decided it would be fun to take it under the dock!  At one point they were going so fast I was sure Grampy would lose his head...  Back before summer and the drought, the water in the pond was up to the top step of the ladder.  Even after all the rain we've had in the past month, it's still over 2 feet low.

I'm so thankful that we had this little retreat that we can go to with my family and spend time together.  Since it was so hot this summer, we weren't able to get out and enjoy it.  Hopefully next summer will be MUCH cooler and we'll be able to get up there a lot more!

The 26th

With Preston's birthday coming in 2 days, I always do a lot of reminiscing, and a flood of emotions came back to me that I'd completely forgotten about.  The day of his birth was one of the most exciting days, but terrifying as well.

I was on day 3 in the hospital after landing myself there at my 36 week appointment.  My entire pregnancy was a roller coaster.  I'd been diagnosed with placenta previa at 15 weeks that put me at high risk for abruption and I spent the remainder on restrictions to prevent it.  By 28 weeks, a repeat ultrasound to monitor the previa showed that it had moved off of my cervix enough to not need a c-section, but I was still at high risk.   I'd had a few bouts of pre-term labor early on, but starting around 32 weeks, it was pretty regular.  By 30 weeks, I was already dilated.  I knew there was no way I'd make it to October 17th- really, I knew I'd never even make it to October, period. So when at 36 weeks, I'd dilated to 5 cm. my doctor sent me upstairs and said I wasn't leaving until I had my baby.  I know he thought I'd deliver that night and so did the OB on call.  I wasn't in labor, and I had a strict birth plan that involved no medical intervention, so I basically was admitted to wait it out- and walk the halls.

When I woke up on the 26th, I knew that it was the day.  I had finally made it to 37 weeks- the date we'd all been aiming for.  I'd been 7 cm. since the night before and still wasn't in labor.  I'd been walking pretty much all day long for 2 straight days at that point and had made the lap around the L&D unit so many times that as I'd pass the nurses station, they'd say, "There she goes again!"  I was exhausted, frustrated, and scared.  I'd done this before, but this time was almost scarier.  I think I was more scared of another repeat of a vacuum delivery, scared of not being able to make it without drugs, TERRIFIED of a c-section if the placenta would detach and having to have general anesthesia since I refused an epidural.  Then it hit me that I'd be nursing a baby again, and I was scared he'd be like his sister and not latch on.  I'd had an allergic reaction to the gel they used for the fetal monitor and my entire belly was on huge hive for 3 days, and I was very uncomfortable.  It was all keeping me from enjoying the experience like I should have.

We also didn't have a name.  I'd been insistent on Elijah, Christopher on James.  Then there was Kate who insisted we name him Shoelace.  So I spent the morning walking laps with my mother-in-law behind me reading baby names starting from A all along the way.  I was in no mood, so every name she thought was extra special got shot down.  The last name she stopped on as they brought me my lunch was Preston.  She said it meant priest's estate.  She never got any farther.

After lunch, my OB came back in to discuss options.  She'd seen my frustration that morning during rounds and told me to think about things before she came back.  Although I'd wanted no intervention, I did agree to letting her put a small hole in the amniotic sac to hopefully spur labor.  I was instantly taken from not being in labor to nearing transition in less than 3 minutes- there was no easing into it.  The rest of my labor and delivery went exactly as planned- peaceful, quiet and without any intervention.  I had the most perfect little boy after all I'd been through!  He didn't have a name, but he was perfect.  Of course, we all know that we did end up naming him Preston.  Had Dee not been reading us that name book, who knows what we would have named him- most likely James.

Party Part 1

We had Preston's first family party yesterday and it was a fun time.   I had stressed over this party so much and I really shouldn't had.  It was a little more low-key than usual, and that worked out perfectly.  The most important part was that Preston enjoyed his party!

These were the invitations and I LOVE how they turned out!  The kids and I spent an afternoon using the Cricut to cut out everything and I pieced it all together.  If you were one of the lucky ones to get one of these, you know that the party info was on the back.

On Monday, I set out to make these little fondant birds and pigs for the cake.  Preston saw this one cake on Pinterest back in Feb. and insisted that it be his cake.  I'm no professional, so it didn't turn out quite like the one he saw, but he loved the one I made.

 First off, the cake started off level, but as the day went on Friday, it got more and more crooked.  Christopher came home and said it looked a little catywompus, but I told him that people pay good money for uneven cakes, and just pretended that I intentionally made it that way. ;)  Then when we went to put the birds on yesterday, they were just too heavy to fly- notice the one red bird sitting on top of the pig.  It was good, though, and since it was made with 3 mixes, there was a TON left over.  Thankfully, Preston has agreed that a simple one-tier layer cake or sheet cake will work for this weekend's party.  I saved all of the birds and pigs to use again.

 These were our treat bags- another Pinterest idea.  I seriously don't know how I threw parties before Pinterest!

Blowing out all 9 candles...  It doesn't seem like he should be 9 already.  I love how Grandma Lou is ALWAYS in the same spot in the background of all of our birthday cake pictures.  Usually, she has the best excited facial expressions.

Preston ended up with Legos galore and he's down to two sets already.  He was up at 6:15 this morning wanting to start building them again!  I don't think that child will ever sleep!  I did tell him that I wasn't going to get up and help him find any pieces that he couldn't find that early, so instead, he brought me his crane to tie a knot in the string at 6:30.  Maybe that's why I'm so tired!

Thanks to everyone who came!!!!

Stretched

Right now, I'm at a point in my life where I'm being stretched very thin from all directions.  My mind is going all sorts of bonkers trying to keep everything together.

I've got two birthday parties to host, this weekend and next.  Christopher thinks that splitting our families up and having a party for each of them is the best game plan.  Yes, it's nice to  have a smaller party where you can actually visit with everyone and the birthday child can spend more quality time with the guests.  But at the same time, that means two parties to plan, two meals to fix, two cakes to bake, two parties to set up and clean up after, and two weekends.  It's easy for him to say let's have two parties when the extent of his help comes from taking the gate off the front fence and taking out the trash...  I was thinking of just doing a cake/ice cream party for Kate in April, but my wannabe Brit already has a spread of British food lined up for her party.  Toad in a hole, anyone???

The kids have something going on every evening.  Kate started a new girl scout troop this year after her leaders abandoned their troop after 8 years with no notice (Don't even get me started on this one...).  Last year, her troop did NOTHING.  They sat and watched YouTube videos and drew on the white board.  They didn't work on badges, didn't do activities, nothing.  So I'm glad that this new troop is exciting and will get them involved and be fun this year (they're even planning a trip in 3-4 years to some place like Disney, etc.), but it's every Thursday from 5- 6:30.  Right smack during dinner.  Waiting until after 6:30 to eat just isn't possible, neither is eating at 4:00, so I fix Kate something quick before she goes and we eat while she's gone.  Tonight is open house at Preston's school. so we have even less time to eat between dropping her off and having to be back at his school.

I know that it's normal for kids to act out a bit around their birthdays as they find their new identity (I forget what book that came from, but it always happens...), but the past 2 weeks, Preston has just been a mess.  You just can't get along with him, and it really frustrates me to no end.  This week he has refused to get up and get ready.  That's been an issue all along, but I finally had enough and told him that from now on, he had to be completely ready for school before he came down for breakfast.  Today, he didn't even get to eat.  I woke him up at 6:45.  He wasn't ready until 7:50.  Luckily, his teacher gives them a mid-morning snack, so he doesn't have to wait until noon.  I tried making it a race so that it was more fun, and nothing.  I won...

Then his ears are still giving him issues.  He's finished with the antibiotics, but I don't think they completely cleared them up.  I know there's still fluid in them as everything echos and doesn't sound normal, but with him, it takes MONTHS for fluid to drain because his Eustachian tubes don't open like they should.  That's how he gets so many infections.  He's complained of them bothering him since finishing the meds, so I'm afraid it's only a matter of time before we're back at it again.  And it will probably be Saturday because that's just how my kids roll.  I can't even remember how many mornings we've had to rush to Effingham the morning of their parties for ear infections and to rule out strep.  And there's the time Preston woke up with strep the morning on his party but didn't run a temp until the next day.  He just refused to eat anything because it hurt so badly and since he didn't have a temp, we had the party.  Monday morning it only took 2 minutes to show positive for strep.  Kate was once diagnosed with pneumonia the day before her party, amd one was cancelled when she had rotovirus and spent the evening before in the E.R.

I won't even get into Christopher and his OCD that he denies, and the degree to which this house has to be kept in shape.  All of our family knows about this one...  Between that, homework, cooking, errands and stuff I do on a normal day, I couldn't imagine working outside the home and coming home to do all of this myself, let alone throwing in all the party stuff.  I've been praying like a mad woman just trying to get through each day with my sanity intact.  If you don't hear from me, just come knock on my door.  The last time I tried to multitask and talk on the phone at the same time, the pot of pie filling exploded.  You'll have better luck with the door.

Freezer apple pie filling

via

I've been busy the past few days knee deep in apples.  That poor, scrawny apple tree that partially blew down 2 weeks ago yielded us a good crop of apples- our biggest yet!  I'm just thankful that the one half that did produce wasn't the half that blew down!  The kids and I picked them all Friday afternoon since they got out of school at 11:30.  They had fun until they found a very large branch that had fallen from the sycamore and that was their new adventure.

Friday night, Preston begged to help me "do the apples" as he referred to it.  I peeled and cored the apples and he sliced, or rather mauled them into slices with his kid-safe knife.  We only got through half of them Friday because we had so many.  My poor wrist hurt so badly from peeling that I just quit for the night.  Now that we have had a decent crop, I'll buy a corer/peeler for next year!

Annette sent me this recipe for apple pie filling for the freezer and it sounded simple enough.  One batch makes enough for 3 pies, so measure your apples accordingly and then divvy up the filling between the three.  But BEWARE!!!  Do not, and I can't stress enough, DO NOT leave the pot for a second when it's close to boiling.  Friday night we had a MESS!  I ran across the kitchen to answer the phone and in 5 seconds that pot boiled over and just wouldn't stop even when I took it off the burner.  It was like a mini volcano that just wouldn't stop.  It got all over the stove, behind the stove... everywhere, and it was not easy to clean up!!!!  It's worth the time spent watching the pot to boil!  You'll thank me later!

Apple Pie Filling for Freezer

 4 1/2 c. sugar

1 c. corn starch

4 t. cinnamon

1 t. salt

10 c. water

Combine ingredients in a large pan and stir well.  Cook until mixture is thick and bubbly.  Let cool and pour over sliced apples in a gallon bag.  Freeze.

I've got my freezer stocked, now!  Tomorrow I need to make up a bunch of crusts to freeze so I can just whip a pie together in nothing flat.  But making pie crusts is pretty much not my favorite thing (although I refuse to use store-bought), so let's see if that actually happens!

Darlings

 This past Sunday I was finally able to get out and have a photo shoot with my sweet nieces who are turning three.  Every time we made plans in the past two weeks it ended up storming something terrible and we had to reschedule three times.  It was COLD and windy, but we pressed on and got a lot of good shots.  First stop- the old state house downtown.

Sweet Issie looking back at the statehouse.  This was one of my favorite pictures of the day.

 Sweet Abbie is a little less forthcoming with the smiles, so when we get one, we go with it!

 Oh, Issie.  I don't think you could be any more like my son if you tried!

 I made the girls the dresses we used for the frame pictures.  I didn't even tell Jess which dress was for which girl- I figured she would know which dress fit which personality.  Abbie is sweet and demure.  Issie is fun and energetic.

 I had seen a photo shoot on Pinterest a while back and told Jess about it and she loved it.  So she found a darling vintage suitcase and borrowed Great-great grandma Neva's costume jewelry and we went with it.  Issie had had all she could take at this point and was cold, but Abbie had fun exploring all of the treasures inside.

Thanks, Jess for trusting me to capture these sweet memories over the past 3 years!

Preston's 108.7 degree temp.

Oh yeah, it was another one of those days...

I'd taken the summer off from volunteering down at Habitat and today was supposed to be my first day back.  I was SO excited!  Not just for being able to get back to something I absolutely love, but also because I was going to be working with my Granny and her friend Retha who is pretty much family to us.  Granny had an ECG scheduled so she gave me the keys last night so I could open up in case she wasn't done by 10.  I got there at 9:30, turned on all the lights and was getting ready to go to the bank to pick up the money when I get this call:

School: This is Paula from the elementary school.  Preston has a 108 degree temperature.  I sent him to get his things, you need to come get him.
Me: What???
School: Yes, you need to come get him.

108 degrees?  I knew this wasn't possible or he would likely be half dead, not strolling off to his locker to get his things.  He was also fine this morning when I dropped him off, although I had forgotten to give him motrin, so I thought a fever might be a possibility, but certainly not 108.  Of course, I was there by myself, so I ran to the bank to get the money and my name wasn't on the signature sheet, so they wouldn't give it to me.  Great.  I asked if Retha's name was on there since I knew Granny wouldn't be there before we needed to open, and it wasn't.  I had to go get Retha and sure enough, she was standing out front locked out waiting for me, so we went back to the bank and the thankfully gave us the bag- gotta love small town life!  I explained my situation and went to help her get the register set up and neither of us had opened by ourselves before, so we had no clue what to do.  I later learned that we screwed up the cash register and they couldn't get it to work!  I got her settled and left to get P.

Well, Preston did NOT have the 108.7 degree temp. that they said he had.  I took it when we got home with 2 different thermometers and the highest I got was 99.5.  Apparently, they let PRESTON take his own temperature!  They also didn't think enough to realize that 108 was NOT an accurate reading and to try it again.  So he and I spent the day together! 

But of course, despite round-the-clock motrin, he's still run the 99.5 temp all day, which he never had until this morning.  His cough has also gotten very wet and soupy as the day has progressed.  It's a very nasty sounding cough.  His ears are still quite painful, which normally has subsided within 24-48 hours of antibiotics- we're past 72.  So we're thinking that either the Biaxin is not clearing his ears (which is BAD since that only leaves one other antibiotic that works and is safe), or he's developed pneumonia somehow despite the antibiotics.  Neither one is good.  I tried to listen to his lungs tonight and while there's no wheezing, I'm not certain how good of exchange he has on his left side.  If there's no improvement tomorrow or if his ears are still hurting, we'll be back to the dr.  I swear, the kid can't catch a break.

Weekend Rewind

It's been one of those weekends!  One of those weeks, really!  I'd swear it was spring around here with the weather we've been having!  We had a freak storm pop up so suddenly Wednesday morning that it took even me by surprise (and I'm a little bit addicted to the weather forecast...).  The kids had to duck and cover in the hallways at school because of the tornado warnings.  Luckily we didn't get anything really bad, just some major wind that took our half of our apple tree.

Now, I'll tell you how sorry of a tree this is.  It's hollow and filled with mortar.  It has only three main branches on it, and only one flowered and made fruit this year.  It's just a sad little tree that's way past it's prime, but Christopher justifies its mere survival as means to not chop it down.

Then Friday night I was glued to the radar and the local news with continuous coverage of more tornadoes.  We kept commenting on how dead still it was outside.  Not one single leaf was moving.  Then all of a sudden it hit, and it hit HARD!  Luckily, no tornadoes but my dad, who lives in the county just west of us called and said they'd reported rotation in his county and he was outside watching.  That was a little scary, but all was well.  But the straight line winds struck our poor apple tree again...

That part that had snapped completely broke in half and half of the tree was on our patio (and my tomato plant that Christopher was so concerned about breaking because I let it grow outside of the cage- I think the tree did more damage).  I was hoping he'd just pick the apples off the good side and cut the whole thing down, but no.  Instead, he and Kate chopped up the broken part and filled it with more mortar.  I digress.

So what were Preston and I doing while Christopher and his very girly, not a big fan of manual labor daughter were out cutting up a tree (while hobbling around in his "special boot" for his broken toe)?  We were at the doctor getting antibiotics for a double ear infection.  Sigh.  It is official- both tubes are out, and we're back to the old tricks again.  I swear, those ears can NOT catch a break.  His ENT insists he WILL grow out of this, but with our family's history, I'm not so certain.  I will say that it has been almost an entire year since he required oral antibiotics, but then again, he's had tubes since last October.  His last bad infection- September 26th, 2011- his birthday...  Lucky guy...  I'll tell you that he was miserable Saturday.  He barely ate a bite, and that's not like him.  If he doesn't eat, you know he doesn't feel well.  He's doing better today, although he can't hear and his equilibrium is off, which caused him to fall down the stairs today.  He's asked me repeatedly if he'll need another set of tubes, which we don't know.  There was talk of it at his last ENT visit in June, and this is the exact same thing that happened last fall and he just decided to do another set because of his history and to save him from a miserable winter.  we don't go back until Dec. but if we have any more issues, we'll be there before that.

This morning I finally got out and was able to do a shoot with my two favorite nieces.  I can't wait to share the photos- they are some of my favorites to date, but I need to get them edited first!  It was COLD, though, which makes it hard for two three year olds, but they did great!  We spent the afternoon at mom's and had dinner at Denny's, so it was a good day.  Tomorrow I start back volunteering at Habitat and can't wait!  I'm working with Granny and Retha tomorrow which should be fun!  I do have to go and open up by myself since Granny has another ECG scheduled for 9:00, and I've never done that before!  Let's see how badly I screw that one up!

Meet Sneaky

Meet our newest "pet."  We've named him Sneaky.  Sneaky first showed up last Saturday and he's been hanging around ever since.  Sneaky's not really afraid of us- just look how close I got to him this morning.  That poses a problem because if we're outside playing and the kids don't see him, they could easily get bitten.  We've already had enough experience with wild animal bites this summer after Preston got bit by a chipmunk.

What Sneaky doesn't know is that we're about to go all live action on him.  We're big fans of the Turtle Man around here!  No, we're not calling the Turtle Man to get ol' Sneaky, although we're close enough to Kentucky that maybe he'd help us.  We've got a trap, and cat food, and hopefully Sneaky will fall for it so we can take him far away and drop him off.  We've got enough wild animals around here, and the last thing we need is a possum!