April 2016 Recap

April seemed like three long months rolled into one, though I'm not sure why.  Maybe we just had so many different things going on that it feel like they should've been more spread out.  We started it off with Spring Break at Great Wolf Lodge.  It was a great vacation and just what we needed before the insanity that is May arrives.

To try and save time, I'm doing bullet-point highlights.  For your reading pleasure, I have grouped some like items together and included headings.  You are so welcome:

Kids' School:

• Audrey and one of Luke's teachers both have summer birthdays.  With all my years of experience (all three of them) as room mom, I knew I didn't want to celebrate in May.  It's too crazy and it robs them of getting separate end of year and birthday gifts.  Being a December baby, I'm admittedly a little sensitive to this.  However, what a few more years' experience would've taught me is that all it does is push May's craziness into April.  What I should have done is figure out when their half-birthdays were and celebrated then (though I think that may have equated to December for at least one, which is worse.  And in January people are broke, February is Valentine's Day, and March is Teacher Appreciation, so who knows.  Hopefully next year they'll fall in September or October!)  ANYWAY, we celebrated two teachers' birthdays this month.  We didn't go too crazy, but it does take a whole lot of nagging reminders and some coordination.  

• We "celebrated" Audrey's birthday this month at school as well.  This consisted of bringing in popsicles for her classmates.  Done and done.  

• Both kids' schools put on a brunch/lunch for their volunteers, which was really nice.  Though I had to fast at one because of an insurance health screening appointment I had afterwards, I still had a good time getting to visit and meet some new people.  I also got some neat school swag.  (I know...DORK.  I think I'm still too new of a school mom to be over that stuff yet.)  

• I subbed in Luke's class for a couple of hours while his lead teacher held parent-teacher conferences.  It served as a great reminder that I am totally not cut out for that.  By the end of my morning, we were so behind on the centers that I was basically just doing some of the kids' crafts for them.  I kept waiting on an email from a parent that said "Tommy said Mrs. Heather did his craft for him today" to which I would be forced to reply "Well maybe Tommy should know how to count to three by his age."  Thankfully no one asked and my secret was safe...until now.  

Small Group/Church:

• We continued meeting this month and then wrapped up our semester with a cookout/hangout on the 24th.  It was a good semester and we enjoyed trying a new video curriculum format.  As is usually the case, however, we were ready for a respite by the end.  We will miss everyone but hope to have a few get-togethers over the summer. 

• Our church put on a 5k that we were supposed to do with the kids, but we backed out at the last minute.  The 2pm start time was a pain and we just had too much on our plate.  I was a little sad when I saw all the pictures the next morning and heard how fun it was, but I got over it when we were crawling into bed after a slammed Sunday and I still felt good about what we'd accomplished that weekend.  

Kids:

• Luke had his four year check-up and is very healthy.  He did not cry at any of his FOUR shots.  He cried before them in anticipation, but not a tear during!

• Audrey knocked our socks off with her desire to participate in her music class's "Share Day."  She wanted to play "Happy Birthday" for her teacher while a friend sang since we were celebrating it early.  She was going to play it on her music teacher's piano, but we realized the night before the big day that she was used to practicing with the letter notes on her keyboard.  David taped over them and, after practicing another ten times, she confessed that she had memorized the shape of the pieces of tape that covered the notes.  Off came the tape and the stickers and out came the tears.  She practiced a ton more, but just kept stumbling.  Long story longer, I walked her in the next morning and was ecstatic to see a flier on the music teacher's door that said bringing in your own instrument was permitted.  (We gathered it was okay based on what Audrey remembered from the instructions, but sometimes six year olds don't always do the best job relaying info correctly.)  I had loaded the keyboard into the van just in case so we went out to retrieve it.  She'd prayed the night before that God would help her "do her best and not be upset if it wasn't perfect."  (Girl.  My mantra.)  David and I were nervous wrecks that morning knowing that, one way or another, this experience was going to mark her.  Thankfully, she did great and even played it twice.  No doubt her talented and outgoing little friend helped ease her fears.  She was pretty pleased with herself and I could not have been prouder.  Not because of how it went, of course, but because she had this idea and went for it!  This is not the same AJ as a year ago and I'm tickled to death about how much she's blossomed.  

Other noteworthy happenings this month:

• I got to go up to see Kara twice this month.  At the second visit, she was in a rehab facility and was discharged a few days later.  Unfortunately and terrifyingly, she had a relapse of sorts and ended up back in the hospital for five more plasma exchange treatments (equaling a ten day stay.)  She is doing phenomenally now though and is actually feeling stronger than she was at the end of her rehab stay.  The plan is for her to go home tomorrow and then see a specialist next week to figure out what the treatment plan should be from here.  Please keep praying.  

• I fulfilled a lifelong bucket list item and worked on a Habitat for Humanity build with our small group.  We installed dry wall for nearly seven hours (thereby exceeding my previous experience with a drill by approximately one million) and it was fairly painless.  The couple that will be moving in was there too and it was really cool to get to see firsthand who would be blessed by the job.  

• This blog turned SEVEN!  Yes, I wish I wrote more often, but I'm still really proud that it's lasted this long.  That's like 144 years old in blog years.  

• David and I celebrated 17 years since we met and 16 years together this month.  I met him when I was 16, so I've officially known him longer than I haven't now.  That's a whole lot of time, y'all.  And I still say he's my best friend. 

• My nephew Carson turned eight years old, which is crazy.  We celebrated at Dave and Buster's and the kids had a ton of fun.  

• We took the kids to the Georgia Tech Spring Game.  It was a gorgeous day and they lasted pretty well until halftime.  I think David was feeling his age as he walked around campus and saw all the new buildings.  Nonetheless, it was really neat to get to show the kids around ("Daddy had classes in that building!" "Mommy drove through the football stadium here!"  Yup.  True story.  And I was 100% sober thankyouverymuch.)

• I am doing a very short triathlon in a few weeks.  This month I broke down and took three private swim lessons, which turned out to be a very good call.  My coach tweaked my form a lot and pushed me to a new level.  I got over the plateau I'd been unable to get off of and finally felt confident enough to register for the race.  I'm still super nervous, but now I feel like I can at least finish the thing.  I may be last place (no, seriously.  It's a small crowd and I'm slow) but I'm going to give it my best.  

• We went to Alabama for the day on a Saturday.  It was so good to see everyone, most of which we hadn't seen since Christmas!  Good food, long chats, and gun shootin' ensued.  The best.

• I rolled out the Timber Trek info and contacted last year's sponsors.  Go to www.timbertrek5k.com to check out the details!  

Update on Resolutions:

I'm doing pretty well with most of them.  We did the Habitat Build for our service project, David and I had three dates, and I went out with a girlfriend for dinner.  I got to spend some time with family both at a birthday party and outside of one.  I have begun working on my drawer-by-drawer organizing/cleaning out in the kitchen, but that's as far as I've gotten.  Hopefully the bathrooms, office, craft room, and garage will get done in the next couple of months as well.  I also need to get on it and attend a neighborhood/community event, but I feel like that'll be a lot easier to do in the summer months.  And blogging more?  Well, you know.  Something to strive for.  

SO that's it.  That was April 2016.  We're in the homestretch of the school year now, y'all.  Hang in there (and five bucks says I'll be writing that same thing at the end of July!)

Trip to Great Wolf Lodge

We just returned from spending a couple of days in Charlotte, North Carolina at the Great Wolf Lodge.  We had such a nice trip and here are a few details I wanted to remember:

We decided since it was a relatively short drive (3.5 hours) that we weren't going to panic trying to rush out the door to get there.  I was starting to come down with a cold, so I wasn't feeling all that peppy anyway.  We let the kids sleep in a little then ate breakfast and loaded up the van.  We packed a picnic lunch and stopped on the way up at a park just on the other side of Greenville, South Carolina.  Though chilly, it was a gorgeous day and the park had lots of pretty landscaping and fresh blooms.  I'd forgotten a jacket for Audrey, so she elected to wear her swimsuit coverup instead of my jacket.  The kids played on a really cool playground that had a lot of rock climbing walls and then we ate our lunch in the sunshine.  We let them run around a little more before we required potty stops and then hit the road again.  

 At the gorgeous park where we stopped and picnicked 

When we arrived at the Lodge, the front desk was slammed with people checking in.  I took Audrey and Luke on a quick tour of the main lobby and then to the gift shop where we bought a jacket for Audrey.  I almost wasn't able to pay for the thing because I was using a credit card and they required ID.  I realized I'd left my driver's license at home, I didn't have any cash, and they wouldn't take a debit card without identification either.   After a minute of both the saleslady and I trying to figure out what to do, another employee walked up and simply verified my identity by asking Audrey what my name was.  Smart...unless you teach your kid to lie for you!

We met David back at check-in and got our wristbands and room number.  I requested a quiet room off the main drag, and they weren't kidding around in granting my request.  We went up a floor and then walked and walked...and walked until we got to our suite.  The kids oohed and aahed over the standard two-queen plus pull-out couch accommodations.  Doesn't take much to impress them!  They immediately wanted to sit out on the balcony that overlooked the parking lot.  David ferried the luggage up while I put away a few things (bonus points for personal growth:  I did not unpack any clothes at all!  Four people for two days = much easier to live out of our suitcases!)  

Since the forecast was calling for rain the next day, we decided to go ahead and get in an outdoor putt-putt game.  The course didn't have the goofy-golf type obstacles, but it was still pretty fun.  There were only 12 holes, which was just about right as the frustration seemed to be mounting between Audrey and Luke the longer we played.  She actually did great and beat David on the first three holes, but as her beginner's luck faded and it took a lot more strokes to make it in, she lost some of her positive attitude.  

We checked the clock and decided we still had awhile before dinner, so we opted to change into our bathing suits and do the waterpark for a bit.  The kids started small and did the little kiddie playground section, but quickly worked their way up to the huge play area and even did the two long waterslides off of it right away!  Since lap riding wasn't permitted, I honestly thought it was going to take more cajoling, but they must've felt experienced enough having done our neighborhood pool slide.  We splashed around a little longer before getting into the giant wave pool.  We decided to save the bigger slides for the next day.  I think the Disney World rollercoaster experience where we scarred the children for life was still fresh in our minds.  We weren't going to push them into anything too soon!

Large play area at the indoor waterpark

After about an hour and a half, we went upstairs and changed back into dry clothes for dinner.  We started at one restaurant inside the resort, but realizing there was only salad and veggies on the buffet for Audrey, we went next door to another where we could order off of a menu.  Audrey got  a hamburger with a gluten free bun, fries, and fruit.  Luke had the same, David had some sort of rib platter, and I ate a chicken sandwich.  Before and after we ate, the kids were mesmerized by the windows that overlooked the waterpark and we just enjoyed people-watching for awhile.  Other than Luke being a little tired and whiney from skipping nap, it was a really nice dinner just chatting and playing the "would you rather" questions off the kids' menu.  (For the record, we would all rather have a giant bucket on our hand than on our foot, we would all rather wear our pants backward than wear our shoes on the wrong feet, Luke was the only one that wanted to befriend a real vs. a cartoon wolf, and we were pretty split on whether we'd rather ride a dinosaur or a spaceship to school.)  We paid the bill and went downstairs to the arcade.

After multiple potty interruptions, we finally got into a groove at the arcade and let the kids spend about thirty minutes doing any games that didn't cost too many tokens.  They cashed in their tickets.  Audrey had earned 50 and Luke had earned 52...amazingly close enough to not cause a fallout.  Unfortunately 102 tickets doesn't buy you much these days, but Audrey got a plastic too-big ring, Luke got two tiny plastic army men, and we got one sour patch kid and a tootsie roll.  We let the kids get ice cream and we all sat in the lobby while they ate it and watched the crowds passing by.  

Fun at the arcade

Though it was only 7:30pm, we knew the kids were exhausted and elected to get them ready for bed at a near-normal bedtime.  As the kids were brushing teeth, Luke said to Audrey: "Hey Audrey.  Know how we were nice to each other today and didn't really fight much? Let's be like that again tomorrow."  She agreed and David and I grinned.  It was a noble goal on their part.  We read stories and tucked everyone in, but it still took quite awhile after the lights were out before I could hear Luke quit fidgeting and his breathing rate slow down.  David and I laid in bed in the dark reading on our phones.  I decided just after 9pm that I was ready for sleep, too.  Audrey called for us from the pullout couch around 10pm, but David soothed her back to sleep and the rest of the night was uneventful.  

I woke up around 6:30am, which is sleeping in for me.  Luke and then Audrey woke up around 7:15am and we ate breakfast in our room.  I took a hot shower hoping to loosen up my sinuses and clear my throat.  I didn't feel too bad, but I was froggy and it did help some.  I went down to grab some coffee from the Dunkin' Donuts in the lobby and the kids watched cartoons while we waited for the waterpark to open at 9am.  

We got there just a few minutes after the doors opened and decided to let Audrey try the lily pad ropes over the regular pool while it wasn't so crowded.  After she conquered those a few times, we headed straight for the big slides while there wasn't a wait.  We tried a four-person one first and the kids had a blast!  The slide was all inside a tube and we sat in a big circular raft.  We all laughed and screamed the whole way down.  They were ready for another turn as soon as we hit the bottom.  The second time around, I offered to let David sit in the back so that he could face forward and I would be the one facing backward with the kids on each side.  This turned out to be a huge mistake.  Sometimes I forget what my childhood full of motion sickness was like, but let me tell you that I remembered it well that day.  I didn't know whether I wanted to throw up or pass out first, but it took me over thirty minutes to get my legs to stop wobbling, my head to stop spinning, and to even feel close to normal again.  Note to self: Do not face backwards going down a twisty, topsy-turvey water slide!  What a wuss, huh?!  

Audrey hadn't had the best experience on the slide the second go-round either, so she was very reluctant to try any more.  We cycled through the wave pool, the regular pool, the kiddie area, and the big play area with long slides for the next hour and a half.  David and Luke did a couple of turns on a two-person raft slide, but Audrey was still not having any of it.  Finally we forced her to choose either the four person raft we'd already done or the two person raft one.  To my horror, she chose the four person raft.  I managed fine facing forward, but wasn't too disappointed when they wanted to head back to the wave pool afterward.  Audrey and I invented a game where we start almost at the front of the pool and then let each wave shoot us backwards again and again until we're nearly out of the water completely.  It was so much fun just giggling and having silly fun with her.  We got out and dried off so we could break for lunch.  

The gluten-free pizza we'd heard about was harder to come by than we thought.  I finally figured out where in the resort to order it but discovered it was going to take thirty minutes, so we let the kids do some more playing.  Luke desperately wanted me to try the two-person raft slide with him and, since this is vacation and we were really trying to limit our "nos", off I trodded trying not to be nervous.  I handled it well and then took him back to David and went to fetch the pizza for lunch.  We ate in the waterpark next to the big play area.  Every time the giant bucket at the top would start to tip, we would have to hold onto our plates and napkins so the after-splash breeze wouldn't blow them away.  At one point I caught David's eye to nod towards Luke, who was nearly falling asleep while eating.  We talked through the afternoon and evening plans and agreed another forty-five minutes to an hour at the waterpark was all anyone could handle without risking major meltdown or injury from exhaustion.  

After lunch, we did the long slides off the play area and then headed to the wave pool again.  After a while there, David and I made the executive decision to make Audrey do the two-person raft slide.  I squatted down next to her and explained that you don't come to a fun place like this for vacation and then leave without trying it all at least once.  Luke's sibling pressure helped too as he calmly repeated to her how fun it was.  We were telling her to just give it one try and felt very strongly that she'd have a blast.  She begrudgingly took my hand and nervously climbed what felt like a million steps (in reality it was probably only a half million) up to the top.  She wanted to ride with me, so we loaded up in the figure-8 raft and I locked my legs around her.  We went down one tunnel slide while the boys went beside us in an identical tunnel.  We hadn't even gotten out of the raft at the bottom before she was exclaiming how awesome it was and begging to go again!  We all gave her high fives and told her how proud we were of her, especially for being willing to admit that she'd been wrong about her reluctance.  She could've simply lied and said it wasn't fun and she didn't want to do it again in order to protect her pride, but she came clean and I pointed out how many adults couldn't even do that!  

We went on that one at least five more times before David and I cried "uncle."  The massive staircase coupled with my stomach turning uneasy again meant we needed a break.  We let the kids do another round on the long slides on the play area and then let them splash and play while we gathered up our things.  We hit the room for nap time and some rest.  Luke was out within five minutes of hitting the pillow.  Audrey played on the Kindle and David snoozed through watching the Masters on his phone while I blogged and read. 

Around 3:30pm, we woke up Luke and all showered and got ready for dinner.  We had a little time to kill and decided it would be a good opportunity to do some souvenir shopping.  Luke immediately gravitated towards the giant swords, but we were able to redirect him to a pair of binoculars.  Audrey chose a fancy pen and then they each picked out a leather bracelet and had it engraved with their names.  At the last minute, I remembered to buy our traditional Christmas ornament keepsake.  It would've been a bummer to make David turn around and go back, but I totally would've done it.  

After our all-important selections were made, we decided to branch out and left the Lodge to drive about .2 miles to a Carrabba's, which offered some gluten-free pasta choices.  We placed our order and then played the games on the kids' menus and a little tic-tac-toe while discussing the day's events.  The food arrived and we scarfed it down.  Doing all the stairs to get up to the water slides works up quite an appetite!  We finished up and apologized to the kids that we were going to make them have dessert two nights in a row.  :)  They squealed and we left for the frozen yogurt shop.  

We carefully sampled several choices before everyone was sure of their decisions.  They got their toppings and we sat down inside away from the strong winds outside.  We had the best time cutting up with each other and laughing.  Audrey was trying to remember the word for "gazebo" and the closest she could get was "goatigo."  We joked that that was where you went to get a goatie and more silliness ensued from there.  When we finished our dessert, we went outside and let them dance around on the "goatigo" and took a few pictures with the pretty sunset in the background.  It was such a simple evening, but it was one of my favorite times during the trip.  Just us, being goofy and real, truly enjoying one another.  The best.

Lights of my life

We made it back just in time for the kids to put on their pajamas and head down to the grand lobby for story time.  We got a front row seat and waited patiently for the animatronic show to begin.  It lasted about fifteen minutes and had talking and singing animals, trees, and people.  Truthfully the story and sound quality left a little to be desired (and was honestly a bit freaky...I'm not a fan of animatronic stuff) but the kids seemed to enjoy it.  At the end, a Great Wolf Lodge employee came out and introduced Wiley the Wolf in costume and read Mo Willems "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus"...a favorite in our house.    They did the "Wolf Howl" and then everyone lined up to meet Wiley and take pictures with him.  Luke was a little reluctant, but we all stayed right with him and he bravely went up and gave him a few high-fives.  After story time, we headed up to the room for bed.  We got everyone settled and it wasn't long before I heard them quiet down and fall asleep.  

Audrey and Luke with Wiley the Wolf after story time 

The next morning we fed the kids breakfast and let them watch cartoons while we packed up the room.  We loaded the van with our luggage and just took two totes full of dry clothes down to the waterpark.  We got there right as they opened and made the rounds between all of our favorites.  The kids picked their favorites and we did them two, three, (four?) times over.  When it was time to change into dry clothes, everyone was more than a little disappointed.  Reminding them to focus on the positive parts and leave on a good note was  a pretty futile task, but we tried anyway.  I forced everyone to smile for a couple of pictures in front of the gigantic wolf statues out front before we piled into the van.  Audrey cried silent tears about leaving, which I told her was a sign of a very, very good vacation.

Time to head home

David wanted to see the Charlotte Motor Speedway before we left town, so we drove a couple of miles up the road to sneak a peak.  There wasn't too much you could see from the road, but it seemed to appease his curiosity.  We drove through the Chick-fil-A drive-thru for lunch and hit the road.  

The ride home was fairly calm.  I had a supreme parenting moment when I embarrassed the heck out of Audrey by doing the Mack-truck honking motion until one acknowledged me and let out a long horn blow.  She was mortified in the backseat despite us pointing out that the truck driver was thrilled about getting to do it and no one else saw but us.  Luke egged me on to do more, but after a few more attempts, no other drivers noticed and I let it go.  It's going to be way too easy (and way too much fun) to embarrass that girl as she gets older.  I will take my job to do so, and thereby keep her humble, very seriously. 

We arrived home late that afternoon and, unlike when driving seven or eight hours after a beach trip, we actually had a little energy left to unpack.  David hit the grocery store while I got everything put away and started laundry.  We made nachos for dinner and watched Tangled.  Everyone went to bed early and undoubtedly dreamt about water slides and Wiley the Wolf.  

It was a fantastic trip with so many fun memories made.  I'm so thankful we were able to go and spend the uninterrupted time together.  I've said it before, but these ages are so great for going and doing stuff together like this.  We're entering the "golden years" where everyone is potty trained and missed naps don't mean a ruined evening but the hormonal teen attitudes haven't started yet.   I miss those chubby babies, but seeing their bravery at trying new things and laughing belly laughs with them as their senses of humor evolve is just the best.  When they are grown and gone, I know I will treasure trips like this one with all of my heart.  

Here's hoping for many more to come before that day!

A wonderful vacation!

March 2016 Recap

I'm going to try to keep this on the short side because I'm also attempting finish my post about our trip to Great Wolf Lodge.  

The month did not start off very promisingly as Audrey came down with a fever the very first weekend.  We'd gone to Home Depot kids' workshop, which was a lot of fun, but she was very crabby and complained the whole way home about her head hurting.  We discovered she had a fever and she and I pretty much spent the rest of the weekend lying around and reading books.  She never had any other symptoms except ones related to her fever, like loss of appetite and energy.  It hadn't broken by Sunday afternoon, so I made the call that she would stay home on Monday.  Of course she woke up Monday morning with it gone, but I kept her home anyway so she'd be 24 hours fever free before being around other kids.  I'm almost sure it was the very first sick day she's ever had, including through all of preschool (other than missing for her endoscopy or another check-up) which is impressive.  I hated that she felt bad, but I did like having an extra chill day with her!

This month held a lot of volunteer hours at and for Audrey's school.  The second week I went up one day to work on a project for Teacher Appreciation Week, volunteered at my regular shift the next day, and then went up to help chaperone the mini-Relay for Life that the school put on that Thursday.  Thankfully they had a day off that Friday, which I was ready for.  My mom came over and I went out for about an hour and caught my breath.  That evening the kids and I met Kara and her kids at a local park as they were passing through town on the way to her parents'.  We caught up in between swing pushes and head counts and then ate a pizza picnic dinner together before heading out.

That Saturday David and I dusted off the bikes and went for a ride.  We weren't too far in before we discovered the gears were shot on his and were stuck in the highest position, which made hills impossible.  We did a couple of miles before packing it in and heading to lunch.  It was a beautiful day and made us thrilled about the onset of Spring.  

The next week was Teacher Appreciation Week for both Audrey's and Luke's schools.  It's honestly a bit of a blur, but I remember dropping off things on a lot of mornings and sending a whole bunch of email reminders to parents.  There was a short substituting job in there somewhere, which mainly involved lots of counting heads and making sure no one broke a leg at recess.  St. Patrick's Day was that week as well and I did my motherly duty of putting the kids in green and then moving on with life because expectations need to be kept in check.  (This is a great line to use anytime you don't feel like summoning the energy to make a grand gesture.  You're welcome to borrow it anytime.)

The end of that week brought really terrible and scary news from our precious friends the Taylors.  I want to respect her and her right to her own story, so I will only cover the highlights here.  Kara had called me on the 16th to let me know that she was really sick with some very strange symptoms.  After many in-depth tests, they diagnosed her with Guillian-Barre Syndrome, a very rare disease where the immune system attacks the nervous system.  It is very serious and can result in paralysis or worse as the lungs are effected and breathing becomes impaired.  She was checked into the hospital in Columbia, South Carolina and her sister Meghan, who is also a physician's assistant, kept me in the loop about what was going on.  Around 8pm that night, Meghan texted me "She just keeps getting worse.  This is so scary."  David and I got on our faces and I sobbed as we pleaded with God for her healing.  We debated about driving up that night or whether to go the next day.  We ultimately decided to wait for news in the morning and spent a restless night alternating between fitful sleep and urgent prayer.  The next morning we got word that treatment had begun and that she was improving.  Relief and joy fell in our house and I forced myself to go work out in her honor that morning.  She pushes me to be better when she's well and she even pushes me when she's not...amazing.  

I went up to see her a few days later.  It was so good to lay eyes on her and see improvement. Again, I won't go into great detail, but she was exhausted and weak.  She could barely feed herself and was in a lot of pain.  Still, she called every nurse and tech by name, she admonished me for not having eaten anything all day, and she struggled to laugh at my lame jokes.  She did her very best at OT and PT, which at that point meant standing with a lot of help and a walker for just a few seconds.  Her mom came in that afternoon and the two of us visited while Kara snoozed before I left to drive back home that evening to get back in time for Luke's egg hunt the next morning.  For the next day or so, she seemed to improve a little bit.  Unfortunately, the worst was not over.  She began to regress and by Monday the 28th, she was moved to ICU and had a feeding tube put in.  They began another form of treatment and, praise God, she finally turned a corner.  I went up the next week to see her and, even though she was in ICU, I could tell the new treatments were working.  She was able to do a few sit and stands on a walker at that point and even sat up in a chair for a few hours.  I probably kept her awake by running my mouth too long, but it was just so good to see her finally getting better.  I drove home that evening feeling confident she was on the upswing, but still had a few intense conversations with the Lord about the entire situation.  It's just crazy how much we take our health and our loved ones for granted until either or both are at stake and it's offered a huge dose of perspective for me.

While she was in the hospital, her kids came down to stay with their Aunt Meghan, who lives about two miles from me.  We got to meet up with them for a couple of play dates, including one at the park where I'd been with Kara just two weeks earlier.  It was a sad, surreal realization.  Between Meg's, Kara's, and mine, we had eight kids ages seven and under, so I don't how much was "play" and how much was simply keeping everyone alive and mostly fed.  Still, it did my heart so much good to be around people that were an extension of her.  I loved on those kids like they were my own and cherished every minute with them.  Spoiler alert for next month's recap:  The kids went back home to South Carolina on April 8th, which was also the day Kara moved from the hospital into a rehab facility.  They finally got to see their mama, who is doing amazingly well and will hopefully get to go home in a couple more weeks.  

Easter rolled around at the end of the month.  The day before, we got the kids up and met David's parents to do a 5k near us.  I was so incredibly impressed with the kids, who walked the entire thing.  We had taken their jogging strollers just in case, but they didn't use them even once.  Audrey was a little moody because it was such a small race and we came in last, but she got over it when we drove the entire course afterward and she realized what an amazing feat they had accomplished!  That afternoon we went to a birthday party for my niece, who came up from Savannah.  We painted pottery, bopped balloons, and visited with everyone for a couple of hours before heading home.  We dyed a few Easter eggs and then had a pajama pizza picnic while watching Horton Hears a Who.  

The next morning we woke up and celebrated Easter with a great church service followed by the kids finding their filled baskets and us doing an indoor egg hunt (due to rain outside.)  There may have also been a nap in there somewhere.  For dinner,  I fixed a big meal with ham, macaroni and cheese, green beans, pinto beans, deviled eggs, and mashed potatoes. (I realize this is the way our grandmothers cooked nightly from scratch, but it's a rare treat in our house.)  It was a great weekend full of family and fun.  

Other highlights of the month:

 - I took a tour of the day center of Family Promise, which is the benefactor for this year's Timber Trek.  More details on them to follow, but it was very impressive and I'm so excited we'll be able to bless them a little this year!

 - We had to repair both my computer (new hard drive and battery...way, way cheaper than buying a new one and hopefully it'll make it last another 12-18 months) and my brakes (faulty pads that they replaced for free) because we couldn't find anything better to do with our money or our time.  (Adulthood can be a blast sometimes.)

 - On the slightly more fun side of spending money, we had three new trees put in (that sounds more impressive than it is...they're only about 5 feet tall) and a 12 foot deck with a pergola built onto our existing deck.  Pictures to follow once the wood is dried out and staining is complete. 

As for my resolutions, I'm doing pretty well.  I did finally clean out the master closet, though...cough, cough...that may have been done in April which was a little past my first quarter goal.  I had dinner with two different girlfriends and I had two dates with David this month.  I got to see my mom outside of a family birthday party, which was great.  For our service project, we did the 5k (had to swap March and April's projects) and had a good time.  I definitely need to work on blogging more and on community and family social time.  It's important to have things to strive for, right?!

To close, some kid stories and quotes:

 - I started working with Luke on how to call 911.  When discussing actual emergency reasons to call, he spouted off three in a row immediately: "If your hair was on fire! If Audrey fell in hot lava! If Daddy got thrown onto the roof!"  Sounds an awful lot like premeditation there, buddy.

 - Luke: "Hey! This is the song you and Daddy always sing to me and Audrey!" Was it some sweet, loving lullaby or praise song? Nope. Try Rolling Stones' "You Can't Always Get What You Want."

 - Audrey was beyond ecstatic when she got home from school one day because she got to play the part of lunchroom monitor for her class and take down names of disruptive students. Two thoughts: a) She is most definitely my daughter and b) do snitches get stitches in first grade?

That's it for this month!  Please lift up Kara and her family in prayer and I'll keep you posted on her progress!

Thankful Thursday

1.  Being back in the running saddle.  I have taken a long time off from running outdoors.  A looooong time.  Ever since I was a teenager I would jog off and on, usually just enjoying it in the spring and fall or getting into a routine before the occasional race.  Since the spring of 2013, however, I have been incredibly faithful to the sport, rarely taking more than a week or two off regardless of weather.  Back in November, though, I decided to add swimming to my workout routine and have been focusing on that and biking or doing the elliptical, which fulfilled my cardio requirements.  I've been doing a couple miles on the treadmill once a week when I do brick workouts, but other than that, my feet haven't pounded pavement since early December.  Now that the temperatures are warming up, I decided it was time.  I was admittedly nervous when I headed out, but because I've been doing other cardio, I did way better than I thought I would.  And man, did it feel good to know a) I still had it and b) it's still the amazing release that it always has been.  

2.  Teachers!  It's Teacher Appreciation Week at both kids' schools this week, which has been no easy feat.  I planned themes, constantly communicated with parents of both classes,  bought gifts, put together a Shutterfly book for AJ's teacher, and even subbed for her class for a little while the teacher attended a PTA luncheon.  Like I say, Teacher Appreciation Week is when I get exhausted working hard to show gratitude for people that work ten times as hard for 35 times longer.  God bless 'em.

3.  Margin.  Last Spring was when I first started contemplating quitting my job.  I had zero "blank space" in my life and it was starting to choke me.  We were just getting our feet wet with the Celiac diagnosis, we were potty training Luke, I was balancing Teacher Appreciation Week and Kindergarten Market Day, I was hitting frustrating walls with the Timber Trek, and David was working a ton of long hours.  We had a million other little things going on and life was just doing a number on me.  Don't get me wrong, things are still busy around here, but there seems to be a bit more breathing room these days.  I know that's partially because the kids are getting older and Luke is in preschool two mornings a week, but the biggest reason is because I'm not working anymore.  Those few hours a week I got back are just what I needed to better stay on top of stuff.  (Yes, I realize just by writing this that I am dooming myself to forget a kid somewhere or drop the ball in some other huge way.)  But overall, I'm at least beginning to be able to do things at the pace and timing I prefer (which we all know is way before they actually need doing, but whatever, man) and it feels so much nicer.  

4.  Coffee.  It used to be that I would only drink a cup of caffeinated coffee a couple of times a week and do decaf or nothing the other mornings.  I'm not exactly sure when that changed, but I now have one cup of caffeinated every single day.  And truthfully, I kinda live for that mug-sipping moment of joy each morning.  Anticipating it has gotten me through more than one tough workout.  If I had known what a better mood it would put me in, I would've switched to having regular every day a long time ago. 

5.  Time with the Taylors!  Kara and the kids came through town on Friday evening on the way to her parents' house and we got to have a playdate and pizza picnic with them (and the bonus of two of her sister's sweet kiddos, too!)  We love picking up right where we left off whenever we hang out with them.  

The girls enjoying the tire swing.

Audrey and Charleigh (at 9 months) have been 

swing buddies for quite some time.

That's it for this week!  Enjoy spring and the beautiful blooms everywhere!

A Year with Celiac

This time a year ago was when we got the call that we'd suspected was coming...Audrey's endoscopy results confirmed that she has Celiac Disease.  (To read the long version of the diagnosis, click here.)  A year into this, I wanted to write out some thoughts about how the past 365 days have been for us.

Before I dive in, let me preface this post by stating that I know there are so many worse things out there that people are enduring with their children.  Every day my Facebook newsfeed is filled with heartbreaking pictures and pleas for prayers and donations on behalf of kids battling cancer, cystic fibrosis, and other horrific diseases.  Even some close friends of ours have to deal with worse food allergies and the fear of anaphylactic shock, which I can only imagine must be constantly terrifying.  It is a huge dose of perspective and believe me when I acknowledge that I know how good we have it.  That disclaimer aside, though, Celiac Disease is not nothing and I do get to have some feelings about it.

My overwhelming emotion is gratitude.  When I reread my post from last year, tears came to my eyes as I realized how far we have come.  I remember feeling so depressed and overwhelmed at the enormity of what we were facing.  And yet, God has been so faithful to help us through all of the adjustments and heal the damage that had been done to her little body.  He even blessed her with a precious friend in her class that is also gluten-free, which has been such a gift in helping her feel she isn't alone.  

Truly, the Lord has helped us adjust to everything in a way I doubted was even possible a year ago.  Just as other parents in similar situations promised, her being gluten free really has become normal to us. I am so proud of what an AMAZING job Audrey does handling her restrictions.  She never whines or complains and is very matter-of-fact about her diet, which is a big help.  She's even developed a taste for many gluten-free items that she hated in the beginning, which is honestly both happy and sad to me ("You're right, honey, that cardboard cookie DOES taste delicious!")

Shopping for, cooking, and ordering gluten-free food has become second nature to me.  I can read a list of ingredients in record speed and determine whether it's safe for her or not.  For those things I'm still unsure about, I have a handy app that scans the barcode and can usually clarify.  I've become well-versed in the menus of area restaurants and know how to spot true allergy-friendly places vs. clueless fad followers.  

Still, I have to be honest about the slight undercurrent of frustration and worry that has also become second (third?) nature to me.  It has gotten so much better, but I don't know that it will ever truly dissipate as long as I'm the primary cook for Audrey...and probably long after, really.

My frustration stems from several things.  Dealing with people for whom this is a fad diet and, admittedly undeservingly, sometimes those people that are so ignorant, is definitely at the top of the list of annoyances.  I was in their shoes a year ago, so I do try to be empathetic, but sometimes being the educator wears on me.  Questions like "So she can't have ANY gluten?" (Nope) or "But isn't that just in bread or pasta?" (No, it's in a ton of stuff including things you would never imagine, like some medicines and sports drinks) do get old.  We have to use a different toaster, different condiment jars, and different wooden spoons to avoid cross-contamination.  It's checking every party treat bag, holiday goodie, and teacher reward that's offered.  Trips take on a new level of preplanning and research.  It consumes every thought about every meal and every snack of every day.  It permeates our lives.  And some people think "gluten-free" just means buying a different kind of bread.  And OH my word, the expense!  Slapping a gluten-free label on it automatically means you get to cut the amount in half while doubling the price.  

The biggest day-to-day struggle, though, is the lack of convenience that comes with a restrictive diet.  I confess that sometimes I still get irritated with the extra work.  I've had to tell myself that that's okay...that you can still be very accepting and used to something but be frustrated by it (see also: laundry, carpool, taxes, etc...) With the new gluten-free hype, there are many more options available to us than there used to be for people with Celiac.  I cannot imagine doing this five or ten years ago!  But of course we do not have all of the options that someone without Celiac has.  For example, I have to pack Audrey's lunch for school every day.  She rarely bought it before, but now it's not a choice at all.  Though her school does offer a gluten-free lunch option of the salad bar, like most six year olds, she will not eat that.  It doesn't matter if our week is slammed or I'm sick or I just run out of time...I have to pack her lunch or she doesn't eat.  And then I double, triple check every day when she gets out of the van at carpool that she grabbed her lunchbox.  I've coached her that if she does leave it and I don't notice, she can always eat a piece of fruit or her emergency snack until I can bring something to her.  And while we have about six to eight tried and true restaurants to choose from, that's a far cry from the dozens and dozens of options that everyone else gets.  Not that we did fast food often, but now I can't ask David to drive-thru anywhere but Chick-fil-A on the way home.  Even though I love me some "Christian chicken", I wouldn't mind Wendy's now and then.  And of course every meal she eats out runs the risk of her getting "glutened."  

The other emotion that has become an old friend in this diagnosis is worry.  It's not necessarily constant and it's rarely overwhelming anymore, but it's often nagging in the back of my mind.  Will she sense my frustration?  Am I somehow silently conveying this burden to her?  What if I forget to check a label and make her sick?  Is that tummy-ache normal or did she somehow eat some gluten?  Does she feel different or left out?  (Like that time she came home and the whole class had a treat but the lunch lady couldn't find her special ice cream bars so she didn't get anything.  She was completely fine with it, but I was furious.) Will her check-up prove that we've been doing everything the way we should?  Can I trust that this parent or teacher truly understands?  Will she be sad about the Valentine's/Halloween/birthday goodie bag candy that she can't have?  And, the biggest and worst questions:  what permanent damage was done and what awful things could this bring about down the road? 

So that's an honest look at where we are a year in.  We're a thousand times better than we were (and, again, infinitely better than others facing way worse diagnoses) but we're never going to be completely rid of the frustration and worry that came knocking at our door a year ago.   It ebbs and flows, but we will never be totally free of it.  I pray we'll have some viable options for a cure in the future but that even if we don't, that this will be something God uses to make Audrey more special and amazing than ever.  

Thank you for walking this past year with us.  For every prayer you said, every recipe you shared, every product you recommended, and every time you made sure she had safe choices at a party or meal, we are truly grateful.  

"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those that love God, to those that are called according to His purpose."  Romans 8:28

Update:  I realized after I posted that I probably came off as a total jerk for admitting my frustration with ignorance.  I am always happy to educate and answer questions from anyone willing to ask and learn! It's just become such a fad diet that there are a lot of uneducated "experts".  It works in our favor with the amount of new choices in stores, but against us when people assume it's a preference and don't disclose ingredients or handle food properly.

February 2016 Recap

The month of February can almost always be summed up in just a few words: consignment sale and Luke's birthday party...but where would the fun be in reading that?!  Here's a few more words in a different and funky format to sum up the month:

Dentist - all of us had dentist appointments at some point this month.  The good news is that no one had any cavities.  The crappy news is that we found out Audrey does not have her two lower permanent teeth.  (It's hereditary...David still has some of his baby teeth, but they are in the back and not noticeable.)  Because of where hers are, however, she will likely need costly and invasive implants once all of her permanent teeth come in.  In all honesty, though, when stuff like this crops up that would cause most parents a lot of stress, I immediately think "No problem.  We are handling Celiac Disease LIKE A BOSS.  This is nothing."  I do hate it for her, but we will simply deal with it when and how we have to.

Valentine's Day - the kids made valentines for their classmates and I was in charge of class snacks for both of their classes.  They each brought home an adorable bag of cards and goodies and enjoyed little gifts from David and I as well.  Together with their other small group buddies, they also made valentines that I delivered to a nearby nursing home.  

Dates - David and I had a date at Top Golf and a fancy night out on the town for Valentine's Day that included the kids sleeping over at the grandparents'.  AJ and David had a Daddy-Daughter Date Night at Chick-fil-A and Luke and David had a Doughnuts with Dad Date at his preschool.  It was a month of love, for sure.  :)

Home Improvement Quotes - We are having our deck extended out to the end of the house and some landscape work done to fill in the areas where we had large trees removed last month.  Between these two projects and the possibility of pouring a new concrete pad underneath, I have dealt with eleven different people coming out in the last 3-4 weeks to give me quotes.  It's been a lot to juggle, but at least I'm confident we're making the right choice with what we're doing and who we pick to do it!

Goldilocks - We took the kids to see Goldilocks the Musical at a local children's theater and they loved it!  We had such a good time watching them enjoy it up close.  The cast did a great job of making the story fun and engaging for the kids.  It's so fun to do stuff like that with them these days.  

Other than all that and Luke's Birthday/party that I wrote about in this post, that's pretty much been the month.  

Small group has been going well as has volunteering at AJ's school.  My resolutions are also still going pretty well.  I didn't do much more cleaning out this month, but the only thing that was really left on my list for this quarter is the master bedroom.  I'm holding off until I do a wardrobe swap and then everyone's closets and drawers will get another once-over.  We did our service project of making valentines, which the kids really enjoyed.  As for the social stuff, my dinner with a girlfriend fell through at the last minute, but we did all go to a dinner for our church's campus leaders which was a great chance to meet and connect with new people.  We've also been doing great with scheduling dates for ourselves.  I need to up my game on getting together with my family outside of kids' birthday parties and blogging.  It's always good to have something to strive for, right?!

Hope your March is off to a good start!  Until next time...

Thankful Thursday

1.  Obviously Luke and his fourth birthday!  I wrote a post about the party here in case you missed it.  We had the best day together on his actual birthday of Monday as well.  I played whatever he wanted to play (for the record, it was his new card game "War" and the matching game about half a dozen times each...) and only ran one quick errand to the post office.  When we got finished there, we explored around the small downtown area and stumbled on a little library box.  Just like it sounds, it's a small box on a post where people can take or leave books for others in the community to enjoy.  We sat on a nearby bench and read a few kids books and then moseyed around some more.  That night we took him out to Five Guys for dinner and then home for a cupcake and to open his new Imaginext Batcave and tie-blanket that Audrey and I made for him.  It was a great, nostalgic day enjoying my not-so-baby baby boy.  

Warning:  Bragging Mommy alert.  Sorry...

2.  A great parent-teacher conference for AJ.  David, Audrey, and I met with Audrey's teacher yesterday (students join in for the second conference of the year) and were super proud to hear how well our girl is doing.  She is reading on a 4.8 (4th grade, 8th month) STAR reading level and ranks in the 99th percentile.  She is doing fantastic in math and writing as well.  One of her own personal goals she wrote out was "to improve my handwriting".  Well you and me both, sister.  We took her out to celebrate at Yogi Mogli just the three of us and gushed over her a little.  Not only is she doing so well in school, but David and I were both amazed at how mature she has been this past week while Luke got all the attention and gifts for his birthday.  She never pouted or complained and went out of her way to make him feel special about his big day.  To me, having that kind of attitude is a skill of equal or greater importance than her reading level, honestly.  Nobody cares how smart you are if you're a real jerk (okay, so it worked for Steve Jobs, but it doesn't for everyone...)

3.  A hard worker who does hard things.  David has had an incredibly tough week at work as his company laid off some people in their Atlanta office.  He personally had to let two people go and was understandably torn up about it.  I'm thankful he has a caring heart, even when it makes stuff like that so hard.  I've never given much thought to that side of management, but it is sometimes a necessary evil.  This week, we're saying prayers of gratitude that he has a job and praying for those that lost theirs.

4.  Blooming cherry trees.  The bulk of winter is behind us and Spring is coming, y'all! 

5.  Having some time to catch up.  Valentine's Day is over.  The consignment sale is over.  Luke's party is over.  I have about 3.5 seconds to catch my breath before we are knee-deep in some home improvement projects, teacher appreciation weeks begin, and Timber Trek stuff starts up, but doggone it, that's still 3.5 seconds.  I am going to use it to knock some things off that never-ending to do list that is always lingering in the background and I'm going to enjoy making a check mark or two on it!