First Full Day & E

Well yesterday we had the meeting with the speech therapist that tested E the week before (same one from when N had speech). She is in the mild/moderate range...which means she below the norm median. Now to be automatically put in the preschool program she has to test really low and have more then one area...like with N it was speech and social skills. Well the only way to try to get her in is to do the preschool screening which she can not do until she is 3...so on Oct 5 I have an appt set up for her to go thru the screening. They will do a hearing screening too...which is what I wanted too and was going to do thru her ear dr but now that they will do it there I will wait and see what they say. Now if she tests low in a couple of things it looks like she could get into the preschool program. It would be at the same school as N and at the same time...so they both would be gone Tues-Friday (preschool is not on Mondays). So now it is a wait and see. I did have her service lady put her on the waiting list for speech therapy but that could be a very long wait.

N started his first full (half) day at school today. I didn't realized that I would just drop him off at the playground and then when the bell range they would go line up with his teacher and go inside. So pretty much I won't even see his classroom much. B/c after school we have to wait outside for the class to come out...less distractions. It's just weird to go from where I was in the classroom and knew the teacher really well at preschool to just dropping him off and picking him up. I'm having a hard time with it but N seems fine with it. He loves school. I am thinking about having him come home on the school bus. He is most nervous about having big kids on the bus but on the way home it would only be preschoolers and kindergartens. Plus that would be one less trip to the school...but we will see what he wants to do when we get home. I can't even imagine him getting off the bus in the morning and going straight to the playground...b/c that is what he would have to do...with no real supervision. So we shall see what happens.

And here is a new "word" from E that started yesterday....Wowie Zoeie. :-)

First Day of Kindergarten!

Well today was the first day of Kindergarten for N. He was not nervous at all...he was just ready to go. Mornings are going to be good for us. N is such a morning person that it just makes it so much easier for all of us. Kindergarten is from 8:45am - 11:30am. Today was a early release day and only half the class was there. The other half comes tomorrow to meet the teacher and the classroom. Then Weds will be the first day. His teacher's name is Ms. Sarah. So easy for him to remember. His friends from preschool last year I noticed are in the afternoon class, so he won't be seeing them. But he was fine with meeting new people. He just wanted people his age to play with. :-) E and I got to stay until 9:20 this morning and talk to the teacher and see his classroom. Then we left and did some grocery shopping and then went back. E was not happy leaving N there. She kept telling me I want N. So I took her for a treat of choclate milk so she didn't feel so left out. Next week we will be busy for her too with swimming lessons on Monday/Weds and tumble time on Thursdays. Just this week will be hard for her.

New Desk

Well I have been wanting the kids to have an "art" desk but they are all to expensive. Well I lucked out. I was at the 2nd hand store yesterday and they had one of the desk I had been looking at. It was very dirty and needed some serious cleaning but for $20 (regularly like $80-90) I could clean it. So one magic eraser and some scrubbing it was like new again. The kids love it and they share while working at...which is even better. I need to keep an eye out for a 2nd chair now though. :-)

Western Idaho Fair

Well we took the kids to the fair. M does not like the fair that much and we had told ourselves that we would try to go to Lagoon (Salt Lake City) every year instead but this year we just don't have the time for it...we will be planning it for next year. Anyways, we took the kids Sunday afternoon. The weather was not the greatest...the kids and I rode the boat ride (which E loved and N didn't like so much) and then we started to walk out b/c the wind had gotten really bad. But it passed so we asked the kid what they wanted to do leave and I would bring them back a different day or we could do the rides right then. They decided to stay...which the weather held out. The kids had a blast. E is like me and likes the rides that go around. N isn't too sure of those types. They both wanted to go on the ferris wheel but with the way the clouds looked and stuff we were too nervous to take them up there. Plus we didn't see much of the animals...saw some roosters, chicks being born, guinea pigs, and rabbits. Oh and we saw a couple cows. But I have a friend that will be at the fair with some relatives 20 some cows...so thought maybe I would take the kids out to see them on Thursday. Luckily the
kids are still free to get in. :-)

Swimming Lessons

Well here are some pictures finally of swimming lessons. Nathan loves to go under the water...especially with his new goggles. Now Ellie we can't get to go under quite yet.

Time Flying

Well it is now Friday and I was hoping to get on a couple of days ago and post but of course that goes down the drain before I know it! This month has been busy with swimming lessons on Tues/Thurs w/me working out beforehand too. Then on Weds have been the free movie that we have been taking part in. So before I know it is Friday and I haven't even made a dent in the things I wanted to get done. Oh well...in a couple weeks will start and we shall see if I have a little more time.

I think I found a gymnastics class for E to take at the Y. I just have to call and ask the lady in charge since it is in Sept and E turns 3 in Sept. The age limit is 3-5 yr olds. But if she can it is on Tues/Thurs mornings for about 45 min...so would be while N was at school.

Well took N to the ENT dr on Tuesday b/c we had the appt set up for a couple of weeks and I wanted to make sure he was all cleared up...even though once in awhile he would tell me his ear was bugging him. Come to find out he is stuffed up and they think it is allergies. So took him in for an allergy test on Weds morning. Now they do a test that is so easy!!! It is a little plastic thing that sort of looks like a spider and sits in the "solution...6 different ones" and then place it on your arm and rock it back and forth. Now it has no needles...just a hard plastic. Well of course N did not like it...since he is sensitive to scratches and such (which is what it sort of feels like but she doesn't scratch...just rocks). We had to do 3 of these "spiders"...then wait 3 minutes and them wipe the solution off. Then you wait another 12 min to see reactions. Well right away one was swelling up (in the 3 min) and that was cat. After the test was done we found out on a scale of 1-5 he is 4+ on cats, 2+ on dogs, and 1+ on corn pollen (not corn), grasses, and box elder (maple trees). Our guess is that on some dogs he will be worse then others. Plus he will probably be like me and just keep the dog clean and he will be fine. Plus a dog probably will never sleep in his room/on his bed. No cats though...which M doesn't mind at all. :-) I am going to start him back up on the allergy nasal spray the ENT gave me as samples and see how well it helps him. I noticed last night he was stuffed up in his sleep...so we will just have to see how it all goes. He isn't bad at all!!! But just trying to get him to sleep better and maybe longer! This morning he was up at 5:30am and woke up E too! He got in trouble for that b/c I have told him he needs to come in and see me to ask what time it is. If it's before 6am we tell him to go back to bed. Plus he is NOT to wake up his sister!!! I think he gets up b/c he wakes up and doesn't think about if he is tired or not just that he wants to play his leapster. We have had to cut him off every day lately on that thing! He would play it almost all day if we let him.

They are both loving swimming lessons. (Will try to remember to bring my camera on Tuesday.) N is loving going under the water and he definitely tries more things with his teacher then with us. E was nervous at first but loves it now. She still isn't totally comfortable but likes to go and get in. She still doesn't like going under all the way though. :-) I think I might try to keep her going while N is at school or if they have afternoon classes take them both then. The new schedule comes out Aug 15 so have to wait until then.

Well off to try to get some things on my to do list done before the week is totally over. :-) Have a great weekend! I get to go scrapbooking Saturday night so I am excited...now to get my stuff together. :-)

I spy...

Can you spy what was flying around my butterfly bush?? Someday I want to have room to have a few of these bushes...I love what comes to visit every year around this time. Now to be able to get a better picture. :-)

Hate this Air!!!

Ok I am really getting sick of this air quality around here! You know when M and I first moved here and even when he was an intern we don't ever remember the air being this bad. Now I do have to admit that I am so glad N and I have not had any asthma problems from this (atleast major ones...just once in a great while small ones). I just would love it if it rained or had some gusty winds!!! It just looks like the area is covered with a sort of cloud cover but it's all smoke and air pollution! Here is an article from the ktvb.com site...

"Shifting winds are causing a rapid deterioration of air quality over the Treasure Valley.

The Department of Environmental Quality issued an orange air alert for Thursday – the third level on a scale of five steps. Just two days ago, the air of the valley was significantly cleaner, with the air status at a rare “green” status – the best level. A change in the weather pattern switched the wind direction to funnel smoke from central Idaho fires down in to the valley. The Air Quality Index is expected hit 130 for today – and the DEQ warns the air is unhealthy for sensitive individuals.

As the sun rose this morning – it appeared a bright orange color. The skies around the area are a murky brown, with the sun a diminished dot. The skies are mostly clear of clouds – but the haze gives the area an overcast feeling.

As you might imagine, open outdoor burning is banned in Ada and Canyon counties until the air quality improves."

Ok now to leave you with a picture of N that M took the other night when M was messing with the camera and asked N to wait a minute to fix his airplane...this is a classic look for N. :-)

Sad Day

Well today we had to have Molly dog put asleep. We got home on Monday evening and noticed she hadn't eaten any food and was very slow. The dog sitter said that she had eaten until Sunday plus she had gotten sick a couple of times on Monday morning. Well she continued to not get better. Even turned down cheese or any kind of treat. She just followed me around and then would lay down near where ever I was. Then last night (around midnight) she wanted to just lay in the yard...which is so not like her. Plus this morning she just went and laid down in the yard most of the morning. M and I knew that most likely it was the end. I think we were both hoping that she would pass away in her sleep with us, but she didn't. We took her to the vet this afternoon. The vet felt around...mainly spleen and lymph nodes and said they were very swollen. Guess this is common in dogs that have cancer. He said we could run tests and such if we wanted to know for sure but most likely there was nothing to be done. Molly had a full life and was almost 13 years old. We were glad we brought the kids with us. I sat down with them while the vet was out getting paper work and told them that they needed to give her a last hug and kiss. M had talked to them Tuesday night explaining a little bit and we had sort of prepared them. But it was still hard on N...he understood the best. E understood that Molly was not coming home but even now don't think she totally understands it. N is such a dog boy...he loves dogs. I am sure the next week or so will be hard. Right now it's taking things and putting them away or giving them away that is hardest. We know that at some point we will have another dog so want to keep some things.

So going to part with a favorite picture of mine...it's not the greatest since it's blurry but hope it shows how the kids loved the dog and she was part of the family.

Happy B-day Dad!

Just wanted to say Happy Birthday
to Dad/Papa! We love you!


(saw this on someone else's blog and thought this is a great idea...since lately my cards are always late to people.)

E's Nose

I totally forgot to tell about E's nose in the last post. On Saturday morning (before M left on his trip) we went to the park and then we were going to go to lunch downtown. Well we made it to the park and then home after that. :-) There is a part of the toy that has a ladder inside that you climb up to a "third level" that has some slides down from it and a bridge to another slide. Well E likes to climb up there but never goes down the slides. She usually hollers if she gets stuck. Well next thing we know she is climbing back down the ladder and falls. Not sure if she just let go or slipped. But she landed on her face. We thought for sure she had broken her nose, so called the nurse on call and she said if it was broken there isn't anything they could do at the ER. Just have the dr check it in a few days. So we waited until Monday morning and got in to see the Dr. She said everything looks good. It just looked very swollen but didn't look crooked inside or broken. Guess there isn't anything they can do until the swelling goes down anyways if it is broken. She said one sign of a broken nose is snoring at night or not breathing thru the nose. Which E hasn't not had either one of those. So a good sign. The swelling has gone down some and now it is just a yellowish color mainly. There is some purple too. I have taken a few pictures. The first one (top of paragraph) is Day 1 (the day it happened). The next is Day 2 (peach colored shirt) and the next is today, Day 5. I will probably do a scrapbook page about it. :-)

We are Alive

Ok we are here. Just busy. We had a fun time with my parents and sister here. The kids loved the surprise! I will post some pictures later from that time. Plus my sister got some cool pictures that I will post the link to here later too. I am going to use some of them on a layout. Yep I am actually getting some scrapping done these last few nights. :-)

M left on Sunday in the morning. I was so tired after working until a little after midnight. But we got him off. He will be back on Saturday afternoon. The kids and I are doing fine. N has summer camp this week and is loving that. (mornings only). E is loving the time with just me. You can tell she missed that. We are just trying to keep busy around here since we seem to have lots of time w/o daddy around. :-) I am actually almost done refinishing and painting the back door that goes into our bedroom. That has been on the to do list for awhile. Will be glad when that is done! I need to replace the weather stripping in there too but not going to do it now.

We are busy too getting ready to go to the cabin. We leave town right after picking up M at the airport on Saturday. So we should get to the cabin about 10pm we think. We are stopping for dinner with Barb and Dave so that will be fun too. The kids have said that they want to pack their own stuff too. :-) So Friday will be interesting to say the least. LOL

I am on jury duty this week too. My number was called for yesterday. So handed off the kids to a friend who has kids the same age and they all love to play together. She was a lifesaver!!!! Anyways, on the way downtown I got called back saying that the case was settled out of court and didn't need to come. But still call in every night to check in. ugh! I was hoping I would be done with it. I might still be done with it but who knows what will happen by Friday. So instead of picking up the kids my friend told me to go do something. So I went to the mall all by myself! It was weird to be there by myself and no kids! I looked for a new swimsuit but did not find anything! Then I went grocery shopping for the trip. That was nice to do with no kids! Thanks again to my friend!!!!!

Okay time to get this day started. Everyone dressed and out the door to get to camp. Have a great day!

Excited!

Okay N is excited about his birthday on Friday and then party on Saturday. I think E is just excited that she gets to see her friend on Saturday (big brother is coming to the party too). I am excited to see my sister and parents!!! I am wishing it was Thursday right now and I would be at work. But then I have a few things that I am finishing up...like laundry and birthday party bags tonight plus some more thank you cards. Then tomorrow I need to dead head some flowers, clean bathrooms and mop floors. Then I will be ready to leave for work. Plus I leave early for work with the van b/c I will be picking up 14 balloons before work. Then take them into work so they won't pop in the car from the heat. Then go pick up Leah at the airport at 10:15pm. Yea! I know 14 balloons sounds like alot but really only like 4 or 5 for N. There will be a balloon for each kid that is coming to the party...they will start out as decoration first and then as they leave they get one with a party bag. Then there will be 3 on the fence gate so guests know that this is the house and the gate to come thru. :-) So really we won't be keeping 14 balloons at this house for long...which I and M will be glad of. :-)

Time for Pictures

Okay I have been bad about getting pictures up from the last few weeks so here goes.

(Left) This is of N sleeping in our room a couple days after the surgery.

(Right) Graduation at the Elementary School.




Taken at our favorite park for pictures. This was towards the end of N's recovery time. He looks even better now!

Then the other picture is at the same park...first time I have gotten one of the flowers like I wanted!!!






I am sure after this weekend I will be posting a bunch more pictures of N's birthday party. He invited 6 kids. 5 of them are coming. Plus 3 little sisters to play with E. So we will have 8 kids plus our two. Then the parents. Should be alot of fun! Plus I am picking my sister up from the airport Thursday night after work to surprise the kids Friday morning when they wake up. Then Friday night we are surprising the kids with my parents flying in that evening. So it will be alot of fun!!! Have a great weekend!

Great day ...

so far! N woke up at 4:30 and asked to sleep on the floor in our room. I said okay. Then asked if he needed some medicine. He told me no and went back to sleep. He still has not wanted any meds and even has eaten some cheese. He's been talking up a storm this morning too. Plus gotten a little bossy (like normal). :-) We shall see how the rest of the day goes. I will be updating with some photos later today.

Finally an Update

Sorry it has taken me awhile to blog. Time has gotten by with us being busy. We had a fun memorial weekend in Seattle with family. The kids loved spending time with their cousins, grandparents, and aunt & uncle. It was a lot of fun. Will post pictures either later today or tomorrow.

We have been busy since Tuesday after Memorial Day with N's surgery. If we are ever told that E's tonsil/adenoids need to be taken out we will be seriously be talking to the dr about it. We thought this would be a little easier. I knew that N wouldn't take well to the surgery part and some of the pain but it has been worse then we thought. It's like the pain meds (prescription) wears off about 3-3.5 hrs after taking the dose...which we are not to give the next dose until close to 4 hrs. So that last 30 minutes are tough on him. Won't even go into how it makes him feel somewhat b/c it is Tylenol w/Codeine. Plus we were told that he had to have food in his stomach to take it. So if he wasn't' eating around the time then to give him Tylenol. Well come to find out 3 days ago that Tylenol doesn't work hardly at all and needs to take the prescription. And that he can just have a drink in his stomach to take it. Anyways...starting 3 nights ago (maybe it was 4...a little sleep deprived right now) N started waking up and crying screaming around 10pm. Two nights it took 1-1.5 hrs to calm him down and get him back to sleep. Then wake up again 4 hours later. Well 2 nights ago I purposely woke him up at 9:30 to give him meds and then he slept until 1:15a and got him to take some more and then back to sleep fairly fast. Then last night he slept from 8pm-6am except for when I came home from work at 10pm the garage door woke him but easily got him back to sleep. Then today has been a good day with some eating and only one small breakdown when meds were starting to wear off. Here is hoping that it just gets better from here!

The weather is so crazy here! Right now it is very windy and the temp is right around 60 degrees. Yesterday it was raining and a little above 60 degrees. Then before that it was hot outside. Like 100 degrees for two days!!!! Here is hoping that this weekend is nice enough to go outside to fix up the gardens in the back some more since N's birthday party will be here at the house in the backyard. :-)

Well time to get some laundry done. :-)

A Dream/Wish

An fellow Idahoscrapper sent this to me. I am going to be sending a card to him and thought maybe some of you would like to.

http://www.shaneswish.com/

Mom's Day

I got this off a friend's blog and I love it. It is so true...there are hard times but I would never change anything! Happy Mother's Day!

Before I was a Mom
I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.
Before I was a Mom - I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.
I slept all night.
Before I was a Mom
I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.
Before I was a Mom
I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to
put them down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I
couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small could affect my life so
much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom -
I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so
important and happy.

Before I was a Mom -
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every
10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache,
the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much, before I was a
Mom.

Update on N

Well N saw the ENT today. On June 29th he will be having his first surgery. He will have his tonsils and adenoids taken out. Plus he will most likely have a tube put into the left ear. The dr said that the ear was still gross looking and lots of pus. So she will drain it while he is under and then most likely put in a short term tube to keep it drained. (Can't do much else and she is worried about leaving it longer b/c of hearing lose.) Most likely it happened b/c of all the other tonsil/adenoid things going on. He had to have a camera put down his nose (which he did not like). His adenoids are swollen to 70%. Meaning they are much too large for his age. They are surprised he is not snoring more. Then his tonsils look gross too. He has pretty much had tonsillitises and we didn't even know it. The reason he has had so many colds/allergies (which we are now not sure it was truly allergies) is b/c of the tonsils and adenoids. This should help with the colds/allergies, purpleness under his eyes, sleeping in (maybe), and nose picking will be gone. Plus it might help with coughing (asthma) and never know might help some with some speech aspects (but most likely won't notice it).

So for now until then we will be only on tylenol and augementant (antiobiotic so his ear won't hurt him until then). Then afterwards we will have some pain meds and pushing liquids. He doesn't like the idea that he doesn't get to ride his scooter for a week afterwards. :-) He should be all better for his birthday...so am glad about that.

Have a great Tuesday!

Adult Humor

Okay a friend sent this link on a group I am on. I love this! It was a much needed laugh today. Ellie is whiny (think from the ears...which will hopefully be taken care of tomorrow) and Nathan I don't think got enough sleep last night (crying at the drop of a hat). Atleast their friends are over today to play for most of the day. :-)