Last Wednesday night when Ryan and the kids walked in the door from church, Ryan exclaimed that we should go to Texas to see the Red Sox play! Now we are on the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace program and a trip was not in the budget for this month. Before I could give my reminder of that, he said tickets were cheap. I asked how cheap and he said $0.25 for the upper section. Now before I could say no to those tickets he said he could get better ones still for cheap. Sure enough he could/did and we went!
We sat where the dad who went to the game with his young son fell over the railing. It gave me chills and sitting in the second row up from the railing, I watched the kids like a hawk. We've never gone to a weekday game before, I told Ryan that I want to go to only weekdays games from now on and he agreed. We all had a blast and it wasn't wall-to-wall people. AND for the first time that we've gone to Texas to see the Red Sox play, they won!
Brandon had the best time of all. He cheered for every Boston player and the sore Texas fans around us really got irritated. THEN B1 got to see his all-time favorite player, pitcher Jonathan Papelbon warming up in the bullpen, which was right by where we sat.
It was a whirlwind trip but a fun one!
This pic of our sweet, cute, disheveled G pretty much sums up our life right now. This was Friday as she was eating breakfast, in the car, on our way to pick up B2 from school, after not getting home til 2:30AM from a last minute, spur-of-the-moment trip to Texas to watch the Red Sox play.
Yes, we are all running around like mad and I'm about to have to put the emergency brakes on before I am completely gray or bald.
The morning started very early for all of us but with French Toast, made by the breakfast-maker in the house, Ryan made the early hours much more tolerable. Brandon went back to school today, starting the 4th grade. And I was THAT mom, one of the few that walked their kid inside. I didn't care and I asked Brandon and he said he was fine with it "because it's what you always do mom." and then he smiled. Poor boy, he was cursed with a paparazzi mom.
his classroom is in the basement which makes for a nice cool climate with our raging heatwave.
Blaine started his school "career" today in Pre-K. I have been pep-talking myself for a few weeks now but nothing could really prepare me. Just looking at his little backpack, half the size of Brandon's, sitting next to Brandon's last night and his little polo shirt and khakis made me cry.
Blaine was the total opposite of me though. He was ecstatic. He met me in the dining room entrance and said "MOM! It's zero days til school today." (thanks to the countdown he knew!)
We took Brandon to school first and then took Blaine. Blaine walked in, thankfully he didn't ask to walk in by himself. He probably will tomorrow.
He was greeted by Mrs. Boyd, the teacher's assistant, as he walked in the classroom and was given his nametag.
His BFF Nate saw him and ran to greet him.
and after hanging his backpack up and smiling for another picture, he promptly said "see ya Mom." I left and began bawling, as did B3.
but B3 didn't stay sad for long when Ryan suggested a race, Dad and Gracelyn against Britton. And we all know Britton cannot refuse a race, even in cowboy boots.
When I went to pick Blaine up after school I found him like this...
And here is his teacher Mrs. Hunt. She was calming/comforting an upset boy when I dropped Blaine off.
Lots of happy stories from both boys today! I pray it continues throughout the year.
fair fun! B2 in front, in red, B3 far left, in yellow
B2 relaxing while driving.
Gracelyn LOVED the airplane, even leaning her head back and letting her hair blow as they went around.
ferris wheel fun!
This was B2 as we sat at the top, he loved it once the wheel got going.
full pigtails!!
the little boys had a blast at Ryan's company cookout Saturday night.
yes, that's my B1, in a tree. The guy's "hoist" resembles lifts back in my cheerleading days.
per Gracelyn's speech therapist's suggestion, in order to build her mouth muscles, she enjoyed a milkshake with her lunch. G isn't articulating as she should be so we are working with straws, blowing bubbles, practicing/repeating single words, giving her chewy foods. She has the words, she is just unable to say them. The pediatrician had said to stop responding to her signs. The therapist was not happy about that because that is the only way to understand what she wants and it gives a teaching moment when she signs to repeat the word that it means. Gracelyn will most definitely get there!!
1. Blaine had his family fun night for Pre-K last night! He got to see his classroom and see his teacher (he already knows her) and I finished enrolling him. I was curious and a little nervous if he would know anyone that was in his class. It turns out that his BFF Nate is in his class! Blaine was so excited that he hugged him, which somehow turned into a headlock... but it was a headlock with love.
2 happy boys! Nate, unlike B2 has not been excited about school. His mom said that should change now.
while I filled out paperwork for the teacher Blaine worked on crafts. G really wanted in the action.
Another note, did you see Blaine's boots? I laughed last night as I watched him put them on. 5 years ago when Brandon was in Pre-K, I had to be somewhere and couldn't take him to school. Ryan was responsible for dressing him and getting him to school. When I picked him up that day I was mortified as he walked out in shorts and cowboys boots.mortified. I have certainly mellowed out or having 4 kids has broken me down. Either way, I've come a long way.
2. Brandon's enrollment is Thursday and I am as excited as he is to find out who his teacher is. He will be in a different building this year, just for 4th and 5th graders, then it's middle school. He is growing up entirely too quickly.
3. Britton's had some hilarious expressions lately, my favorite and his apparently because he says it all.the.time. and mostly to Blaine, "G-O Bwaine, that spells RUN." He's been saying it for a few weeks now and it's been pretty much how I have felt this whole summer, run run run. We need things to slow down and unfortunately that won't be happening anytime soon.
4. I have an addiction and that addiction is Diet Coke. I say I could have a vice that is much worse but I also am trying to cut back to 1 (Sonic) large a day. That is big cutback for me. I hope to have it less than that eventually but for now I'll take it over the several I had in 1 day.
Anyway, it's sad when your 21 month old can't say many things clearly, it's mostly "bababababa" and "gagagaga" but can tell me what I'm drinking...
5. Speaking of G, she goes for a speech eval Thursday. She jabbers alot but it's a lot of baby jabbering and not alot of enunciating. Blaine and Britton were mutes until after 2 so her talking but not clearly is the concern about her needing some speech therapy. So we'll see.
6. Ryan and I have gone through so much stuff in prep for a garage sale this weekend. Our living room looks like we just moved in with all the boxes and such. I began working on pricing clothes last night, took a break for bed and started again this morning and with the occasional stops today finally just sat down. And that is just clothes! Gracelyn's and Britton's clothes. These kids are so blessed. I still have more to price. Garage sales are so much work but with so much stuff we are hoping that we'll fare with good results!
7. Sunday as we were getting ready for church, Ryan's sister called him in hysterics. She and their mom were on their way to OKC and pullled off in Yukon for gas. Their mom passed out behind the wheel, swerving the car across oncoming traffic. Ashley noticed and took over steering the car and was able to safely stop before hitting anyone, anything or getting him themselves. His mom came to a few minutes later, had no idea what had happened. Ashley was a hero that day and God definitely had His hand on them. Kathy was admitted to the hospital and they are still running tests to determine what was the cause.
8. The kids have enjoyed listening to a Mickey sing-a-long cd. The cd is ONLY played as a reward because, I'm sorry, I can only take so much. Anyway, she's developed a favorite song and since I don't turn around while driving, I wasn't aware until Britton just kept saying "Mom, Gwacie's happy!" I thought how glad I was that she was happy and didn't know what he meant til Brandon said that she was really getting into "If You're Happy and You Know It." It's been a few days since and now she really gets into it, yelling and all. Ryan said he thinks she may be a cheerleader after her mom and he sounded less than thrilled.
(this is really only something a mother loves but I put it on for Mimi as well.)
9. I cannot WAIT for Fall, really just cooler temps. I have started to get some cooler weather clothes for Gracelyn and even ordered her some holiday tops from my awesome lady who designed her 1st and 2nd birthday outfits and Christmas tops last year. I am so excited!
10. I think next Monday that I won't be the only one shedding a tear as Blaine walks into school. Britton was very excited about the playground last night when we went to see Blaine's school. He insisted that he wanted to start school too. We assured him he would start next year but in 3 year old terms, that just isn't good enough.
1. Blaine is super excited for school to start. Me, on the other hand, not so much. He will have a fabulous teacher, he already knows her and she knows him, but it's so sad to me that I have yet another kiddo going off to school. Gah, I want to slow some things down.
We made a quick countdown yesterday. I am big on countdowns with the kids so he asked to make one while we were away on our Last Blast and I promised him that we would on Monday.
2. Brandon is ready for school with new clothes, all of his school supplies, new Nikes and a new backpack that is on it's way to him. (A second one was ordered after I completely failed and apparently ordered a purple one with a coin purse. I was horrified by the purple and Ryan just kept saying "it has a coin purse" That was menial compared to the purple. Brandon took it all very well since I quickly assured him that he didn't have to take it to school, that I would return it and get him one that he liked. I'm maintaining the mix-up is mostly due to the confusing nature of the website from which I ordered it.)
3. I have Gracelyn's birthday, yes in October, pretty much planned. Now just praying for good weather.
4. Gracelyn may not talk clearly but her personality has been glowing lately. The girl is hilarious. Today she decided to be more of a tomboy..
what you don't see here is she hijacked the tractor from Britton and handed him her babydoll. He was not impressed.
her "gamer thug" look. she did this while I was tucking her bros into bed.
5. At the end of October I am going on a girl's getaway with my mom, my aunts and my cousins. I am so so excited! It will be the first time I have left my kids for more than a night so I'm glad I have time to prepare myself. It's going to be great for me and great for Ryan to have good time with the kids.
6. These boys may fight and argue but they really are BFFs.
when I went back in to check on them an hour later I found them bunking together.
7. This is all I can come up with right now and since I hear thunder and see lightning outside I better close before our power gets knocked out once again, seeing it has every time it's rained the last couple of weeks. We are quite thankful for the rain and the boys especially are because we go for ice cream to beat the heat.
Have an awesome week! Blessings!
Last Blast is my summer wrap-up celebration with my kiddos! Since we live in a small town (which I do love) I take them to OKC for several days in August and do all sorts of fun things, just for them. We go to the city often but it's usually for "mom and dad" type stuff, not centered around the kiddos like Last Blast and other occasional times. I'm going to admit that I went into to the planning of this year's Blast feeling a twinge of guilt because unlike last year's Last Blast, this year's would not include an out of state adventure like the Red Sox game. And also this year was extra special because Brandon isn't my only child starting school, Blaine is as well. Talk about bittersweet for this mama. It certainly was.
This year went to OKC for 3 days and I pretty much had a timeline for each day typed up for all of the activities. We left early Wednesday to make it to JumpZone when they opened. The boys had a blast. Gracelyn isn't really a fan of inflatables (which I knew before going) but they have playsets which she does like so she was entertained. She ventured on one inflatable, but only with Brandon by her side. He is the absolute best big bro. We left JumpZone in time to surprise Mimi at lunch in Norman and then spent the afternoon at the splashpad in Norman, which was very nice to try to beat the intense heat. That night was the kids favorite "Last Blast" dining experience at Cici's Pizza and bike-riding at Mimi and Pappy's til bedtime.
Thursday morning we awoke early to be at Chuck E. Cheese when they opened to play games before a day of swimming. All the boys did well in the pool. I forgot arm floaties at home, which is all the little boys needed so we borrowed a pair and the boys traded off throughout the day between those and our belt. The boys were absolutely beat when we got back to my mom's after 4:00. I did earn "cool points' when Blaine asked about naps and I told him it was a "no-nap day." The little boys were pumped about that (and have asked if every day since is a "no nap day") After supper we went to Mimi's local library. They have a program where every 2 weeks, kids have an opportunity to read to therapy dogs. She signed Brandon up and he was so excited about it. He read to a 4 year old Golden Retriever named Sadie and asked me afterward if we could come back in 2 weeks. Too bad it's on Thursday nights with school obviously the next day. The little ones played on the computer and worked puzzles and activities while Brandon read and none of them wanted to leave.
Friday morning we went to the zoo for Zoo Rise. With the hot Oklahoma temps, they open early so you can see the animals before they go into hiding to try to stay cool. We were there almost 3 hours and saw everything we wanted to see while still staying relatively cool, with many bottles of water, frequent shade stops and the boys enjoyed the misters stationed around the zoo. Following lunch I took Brandon to a movie and after supper with Mimi we headed home.
It was a super fun 3 days and we all had a great time. Thank you to my mom for letting us stay with you. I told Ryan I needed a week to sleep in order to recover!
While at Chuck E. Cheese, the music played while videos played and the stage curtain opened to Chuck E. Blaine made a beeline over and began dancing and having all sorts of fun.
With almost a year and a half since Gracelyn was hospitalized with C-Botulism, I look at her and am amazed at how she can run, roll around, lift her arms and legs, touch her face, pick up objects, eat and drink on her own, ALL things that due to the paralysis of nerves, she couldn't do a year ago. Now she can and she does them well.
We saw her physical therapist, Mr. Derrick, a month ago, for the first time since she was discharged from PT a year ago, and he was shocked at how well she was doing. He was using technical physical terms as he watched her step, step up, walk backwards, duck under a railing, balance on a wobbly apparatus, but then looked at me and said "she's physically normal, where a toddler her age should be!" YAY!! I knew it because I could see it and with 3 older kids, I knew she was where they were physically at her age but it was great to hear it from a pro. I mentioned to him that she wasn't talking and he said to me that it'll come.
Well last Thursday after looking at a Mickey Mouse book with a family member and Gracelyn not being able to tell who the characters were, the person became frustrated and asked if I thought there was a problem with G. My kids not knowing cartoon characters doesn't set off alarm bells and whistles to me. This person has been and was comparing Gracelyn to her cousin who is 7 months older and is the first child while G is the fourth. I asked if she remembered that Gracelyn was paralyzed and almost died? No response. While she was alluding to a mental issue. I know it's NOT mental and we left.
Now I am not going to act as if I am not concerned about Gracelyn. I worry about all of my kids but none like I have been about G. I worry daily about the effects of the toxin that invaded her little body. People at church specifically, I suppose because they prayed for her for so long, ask me often if I have seen any other affects in her in the last year. The toxin broke down the "connectors" between nerves and muscles making it impossible for G to do anything. I believe Gracelyn needed more speech therapy than what she received while in the hospital. She drank from a bottle after 3 weeks of nothing by mouth and 3 days later she was home. She was much too weak to suck so she was fed by syringe for several weeks following, much too long and her docs agree.
I spoke to our pediatrician Friday when Blaine went in for his 5 year well check. She agreed with me. She said it's like the saying, "if you don't use it, you lose it." Gracelyn can communicate and she understands when we tell her to do or not do something so the doctor reinforced that it's NOT mental. She needs therapy to build the muscles in order to talk. Gracelyn jabbers alot but it's not clear and she cannot enunciate most first syllables of words. She needs therapy and that is exactly what she will get. We go in for an evaluation around the middle of this month to begin the process.
Friday I also called the Botulism Prevention and Treatment Program in CA. I just love them, specifically Jessica. She is my go-to gal and she can always calm my fears and give me specifics as to my worries about Gracelyn. She also agreed and said that Gracelyn would benefit from speech therapy and also reminded me that she is child #4 so that very well may be a large part of it too.
Regardless, Gracelyn, with the stubbornness and mercy and grace God blessed her with, has tackled the challenges set before her and is just perfect. We thank God for her and know that she can overcome any challenge she may face.
