Our Crazy Life

I've gotten several comments about my lack of blogging posts recently. We are attempting to adjust to our new schedules. Between everyone's different activities, things tend to be a bit crazy. We have busy days, busier days, and then below is a picture of our busiest days when we do homework and have dinner in the car!



We have managed a couple of trips to OC the last two weekends in between soccer on Saturday and Sunday. I'm pretty certain we are done with OC until next year.

My days haven't been boring at all....I have been spending my days keeping the house in order (something that hasn't really happened for 8 years) and you know I discovered that my desk actually has a glass top! I've also discovered that I haven't eaten lunch alone in 8 years! All my paperwork is officially submitted for substitute teaching and we are just waiting approval from the state - something that may take a bit of time. So I'm using this time to get caught up on things around the house. We are working toward a yard sale later in October so we've got our work cut out for us!

A New School Year!

Today I have 2 children in school full time! I have definitely entered a new phase in my motherhood journey! For 8 years, I've always had someone home with me at least part of the day! Now Jacob is in 3rd grade and Allison is in 1st grade! I'm not so sure where the time has gone but I'm afraid if I blink again, we will be at someone's graduation!


Both kids were very excited about a new school year! They both were ready to get back to their friends too! I think that Allison was a bit nervous to venture into 1st grade. She never verbalized her nervousness but did give me some glimpses of being a bit apprehensive!

3rd Annual Back To School Breakfast at the Bus Stop Bash!

Today is the first day of school here and so that means we kick off school with our Back to School Breakfast at the Bus Stop Bash! I got the idea a few years ago in a magazine and so the tradition continues this year. I send out invitations to all the houses at our stop and everyone brings a breakfast item to share. I provided juice boxes and everyone else filled the wagon with lots of food! Here are some pictures from our morning!

Summer's Finale

We just returned from being in Ocean City for the last 2 weeks. We had great weather and made some great memories! We did all of our favorites activities and tried some new ones too! It's hard to believe summer is coming to an end! We stayed until the very last second - school starts tomorrow morning and we got home tonight! :o) Although it's sad that rest and relaxation is coming to and end, we are all needing some sort of a routine other than sitting by the pool during the week and sitting on the beach on weekends! Did I mention that I LOVE summer!

Tennis has become one of the kids new favorite activities. They are both enjoying learning the basics and since we have courts less than 1 block from our house - we played tennis often.

Two friends of mine came to visit one bay - here are ALL the kids! What a fun day!

Jacob tried to dig to china one day! This was by far the deepest hole he's done 100% on his own!

Allison discovered that the beach is a great place to catch some zzz's!

What vacation in OC would be complete without some rides! Abby got to join in on the fun, too!

We also had the opportunity to perfect our mini-golf game on the boardwalk one day!

The kids learned how to play Bocce Ball. This became an daily favorite activity!

We tried Crabbing for the first time. We first went to this very secluded spot on the island. We waited, and waited and waited some more, but not even a bite!

So... we changed our location and went to my dad's dock... and presto... a crab! We caught 3 "keeper" Blue Claw crabs and cooked them for dinner! I'm happy to say that both kids tried them and "think" they like crabs!

It became very clear to me this weekend that I now have 3 kids to watch in the water! They all had a blast boogie boarding this week - the waves were HUGE! Allison did her best to keep up with the "boys" and took quite a beating out there but never gave up!

One last shot of the life gaurd boat! Till next year........!

Summer Fun!

I know that it's been some time since I've last posted but we've been truly enjoying the dog days of summer!

Our days have been spent poolside at our swim club just about every day! The kids have really enjoyed this year at the pool. They have met some really great friends and it's been like having a play date everyday! Towards the end of summer, the kids would sit around a table with an umbrella (can't get too hot you know!) and play card games. Sometimes it would be UNO, and sometimes random games that they taught each other with a regular deck of cards. It was mostly Jacob and his friends and they all looked liked a bunch of old men sitting there betting their lunches away!

When they weren't playing cards or cooling off in the pool, there were always rousing games of kick ball, dodge ball, or run the bases! Again, mostly boys, but that certainly did not keep Allison from joining in on the fun! There would be times when she would be playing with all the boys and Jacob wouldn't even be there! I'm wondering if I should be worried about how comfortable she is with hanging out with the boys!?

We had a great summer and are sad to see it end! We are wrapping up our summer in OC and will post about that soon! Lots of new pictures and stories!

A New Beginning.....

For the last 5 months or so we, as a family, have felt disconnected and not sure where God was directing us or what the future looked like. I guess all along we kind of knew but we weren't 100% on board with God's plan. So... we tried to come up with every excuse, commitment, and reason to go a different direction than what God wanted for us. One by one, God removed all our "other" things so that it was clear just where we were supposed to be. But today the direction is clear. God is directing us down a road that although clear still has many unanswered questions. We are excited to see how God will be using us in this new chapter of our lives and excited to see what He has in store for us.

So starting this fall, Eric and I along with our friends, the Davis' will be starting our own mini-church. We were hoping that many of our friends from our old mini-church would come along for the ride, however that does not seem to be the case (but if any of our "old" group still isn't connected, we'd LOVE to have you ! :o) ). So, although the picture isn't totally clear, we look forward to new friendships and new relationships that God will be planting in our lives. We've been in contact with a few families that we know, and so perhaps there will be some familiar faces with us as we move on.

Although much still has to been planned and ironed out, the details seem to be coming together. Please pray for the 4 of us as we seek God's direction and obey His call.

Summer Swimming Lessons

The kids just completed our 4th year of summer swimming lessons at our swim club. The way the lessons work is that each session is 2 weeks (9 days with 1 rain date built in) for 40 minutes each weekday morning. It gets to be a bit cumbersome but at least the last couple of years the kids have been at the same time!

Both kids are excellent swimmers at this point! Allison has learned tons since last year and is working toward learning all the various strokes while Jacob is fine tuning his strokes.

This year both kids have passed the swim clubs official deep water swim test and are now able to go off the diving board and swim in the deep water regularly. They are very proud of their ankle bands!

A Gray Hair Kind Of Day

Yesterday started out just like all the others over the past couple of weeks, breakfast, swimming lesson, then back to the pool for the afternoon. The day took a quick turn in an unsuspecting direction about 30 minutes after being at the pool.

The kids were all in fun Connect 4 tournament at the pool with some friends. They were set up in the shade because it was extremely warm and humid. Allison came over to me saying she didn't feel well. She looked a bit pale and was sort of gagging like she was going to throw up. I quickly picked her up and ran with her to the bathroom - didn't take time to grab her shoes. We didn't make it to the bathroom. I spotted a trash can on the way and stopped there. After a moment or two of screaming (something that is common when she is throwing up) she said that she was dizzy. With that her eyes rolled back into her head and when I looked down at her, her face was blue. That is when a woman came over to ask if I needed help. She mentioned to me that as I was running by her with Allison, she noticed that she was blue at that point. Allison never lost conscienceness and never threw up. Someone had pulled a chair over to me and I had Allison laying on my lap. Out of nowhere, a young girl came over and said that she was a medical assistant and started to help to treat Allison, who by the way was still blue. Allison at this point was so lethargic and drowsy, we had a very difficult time getting her to stay awake but knew she couldn't go to sleep. At some point, a 911 call was placed and we knew that the paramedics and police and ambulance were on the way. We had ice chips behind her neck and a wet towel over her head to keep her cool. All the while though, she kept wanting to drift off to sleep. It took about 15 minutes for anyone to arrive and by then Allison had pretty much come out of whatever she was going through. Her color came back, she wasn't as sleepy and definitely more responsive. The paramedics put a heart monitor on, took her pulse and blood pressure, all of which were in the normal range. I don't think the paramedics thought she needed any further treatment but at the encouragement of all the others around me (friends, pool staff and the medical assistant), I opted for her to be transported by ambulance to the ER. I really didn't know what to do but relied on what my friends were just about insistent on. At some point in all this, Eric was called and was on his way. A friend said that she would keep Jacob at the pool - I had no idea what to do with him. So... off we went.

Because we came via ambulance, they took her right away and she got evaluated faster than they could check her in. The hospital has a little room w/ 3 beds just for pediatrics. We were lucky that she was the only one there! Because she was pretty much back to herself, I was feeling a bit silly for causing so much drama. After the Dr. examined her, there was no conclusive diagnosis or explanation for what happened. The symptoms that she displayed were not matching up with a diagnosis. Some symptoms pointed to one thing while others ruled that one thing out. The one thing that Dr. kept asking was "Are you sure she didn't choke on a game piece?". I'm thinking..."No... she's 6 yrs. old and doesn't put things in her mouth. Besides, I'm pretty sure she wouldn't have been able to talk if she had been choking on a Connect 4 game piece (those pieces are big). Just to be safe, they did and EKG on her which came back "perfect".

So... if the Dr. was forced to make a diagnosis, it would have been a "doubtful temporal lobe seizure". What the heck does that mean, doubtful? Anyway.... 50% of kids that have this type of seizure will never have another. The first seizure is never treated anyway, so there wasn't anything they would have done for her. I on the other hand have my own thoughts on the diagnosis. I think it was heat related. Although she was not dehydrated, and her symptoms do not point to heat stroke, I still feel that it was the heat in combination with low blood sugar. She hadn't had lunch just yet when all this started and she had higher than normal sugary foods for breakfast (waffles w/ syrup and OJ). Allison has always been my one to be most affected by the heat anyway and she had not yet even gotten into the pool.

Within an hour of arriving at the ER, we were walking out the door. I guess there are definite advantages to arriving via ambulance! Allison wanted to head back to the pool but we quickly put the kabosh on that idea. She had a quiet afternoon with Eric here at home while I went back to the pool to be with Jacob and bring him home.

So...nothing like a little drama! Oh, by the way... although I had my camera, I felt a little funny taking pictures of my "sick" daughter! So for all my fellow bloggers, you will just have to paint a mental picture in your head! Hopefully that will be a (as Jacob puts it...) "once in a lifetime field trip"!

Caught Up!

I'm officially caught up on our family activities. Read on and you can find out what we have been up to for the past month and a half!

Ohio Bound!

We just returned yesterday for a trip out to Massillon, Ohio. Eric's grandfather is from Massillon. He recently though, moved to be with Eric's parents in Kentucky. Despite today's housing market, his house in Massillon sold in less than 1 week and had people lined up waiting for the buyer to back out. A quick sale was a huge answer to prayer!

So this weekend was clean out and move out weekend. Although Eric's mom has spent time over the past month preparing for this, there was still an incredible amount of things to go through and move. Since Ohio is about 1/2 the travel time as Kentucky, we decided to drive out and help and see Grandpa.

Our first stop was to visit with my sister and Abby overnight to break up the trip. I picked Eric up at work a little early on Thursday afternoon and we were out to my sisters in time for dinner. We had a picnic pizza dinner at the park behind her house and played outside before heading in for bed. The kids always enjoy spending time with Aunt Suzanne and Abby!


On Friday morning we left Suzanne's and drove the rest of the way out to Massillon. We arrived mid afternoon and jumped right into the moving. Eric's Aunt and some friends were also there to help with the move. After loading one truck and sending it on it's way, we all went out to dinner to one of Grandpa's favorite places to eat - a local lodge type of a place called Amvets.


After dinner we drove across town to visit with Grandpa's brother and his wife, Uncle Dick & Aunt Mary. They have an amazing yard! It was such a nice evening and fun to be outside. Uncle Dick and Aunt Mary did all the landscaping themselves. I'm told that each year they take on another project! I only hope that Eric and I have the energy and stamina that they do when we are their age!


On our way back to the hotel we stopped to have icecream! These little icecream stands are all over Massillon. They sort of stick out and catch your attention. They also have 28 flavors of soft serve icecream! Really yummy!

After a good nights rest, it was back to the house on Saturday for more cleaning out and moving. After lunch and after all the heavy big stuff was loaded, Eric and I took the kids to the local recreation center. Our hotel had free guest passes for us to use and the kids needed a bit of a diversion. At first glance it appeared as though the kids would have a blast. It didn't quite turn out that way though! There was a small lap pool, a lazy river, a splash pool w/ 2 slides and also a kiddie water playground. They were so excited and headed straight to the slides only to be met with the devastating news that Allison wasn't tall enough for the slides. After a few tears we told her she could do everything else though. So off to the lazy river - opps - again she wasn't tall enough! This time way more tears!!!! I was a bit irritated since most of the kids 2xs her size that were able to do those things couldn't swim at all and here is little Allison who now is a great swimmer! We made the most of the situation and she got lots of one on one time with Daddy!



We closed the weekend trip off with a quick visit with Grandpa on Sunday and then hit the road for our long car ride home! It was good to spend some time with Grandpa and the rest of the family!

11 Years & Counting!

Today we celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary. It's hard to believe that 11 years have come and gone! I am so blessed to have Eric in my life. I am still amazed at just how God brought the two of us together. I can't even imagine my life without him!

Thank you Eric for 11 wonderful years - Happy Anniversary!

Makeover

While the kids and I were in Virginia, Eric started to paint our bedroom. It was quite the task to pick the paint color. Normally, I have something in my head and have no problem - not so this time. Literally, I have been years trying to pick a color - that is why our room never got painted! So, Eric gave me no other choice and so I picked not one color but two! We choose to do a two tone seperated with a high chair rail. The high chair rail works well in this room since most of a normal height chair rail would have been covered by furniture. So here are the before and after pictures. We still have some accessorizing to do but we are both really happy with how it turned out!

Before:



After:

Flying!

This is from this weekend's pool party. I thought this was a cool picture! Watch out for flying Jacob's!

Virginia!

The kids and I took a short road trip to Virginia to visit my friend Angie and her family. Angie and I only went to school together for one year, but became best of friends! It's been a few years since I have seen her and more than a few since the kids have been together! The ages were perfect... 5, 6, 7 & 8! They instantly became best friends as if they had all been friends forever! We played games, went to a park, had ice cream, did water activities and let's not forget the Wii! My kids have already begun their Christmas list and you want to know what is at the top????? I think the thing that was most impressive for my kids was the fun that they had with Angie's husband, Jay! He didn't have to work too hard to get them all excited and crazy just when it was time for bed. In fact, I recall Jay being put in a time out in his room with the door shut! :o) Jacob had so much fun with Jay that he wants to make sure that Jay is not working the next time we visit! Thanks Foreman Family for a great trip!

Family Golf Night!

It's become a tradition to go mini golfing at least one time while we are on vacation. So tonight our tradition was fulfilled! It's fun to watch how the kids learn to play and improve each year! Abby was just a spectator this year but next year - watch out!

Independence Day 2008!

We spent the 4th of July in OC again this year! Although we miss some of our long lived family traditions at home, we are making some new traditions!

This year we found out about a bike parade on the island. It started a few blocks from the house so we thought it sounded like fun! On short notice, I was a bit pressed for ideas on decorating our bikes as well as trying to find stuff, but we pulled it off! Really in my mind I thought that this was a little bike parade for the kids in the parking lot of a nearby church. Boy, was I mistaken! This thing was HUGE!!!!! We arrived at the starting point and met with hundreds and hundreds of people with bikes and wagons of all sorts! I wasn't so impressed with our decorations once I saw some of the very well thought out and planned themes and decorations! Then, I discovered that this parade was indeed a "parade" not just a couple little rounds through the parking lot! It went about 15 blocks! Again, so not prepared in my flip flops! Allison started out biking but after a few blocks dropped out! Jacob choose me and my flip flops to walk with him for the rest of the parade. The whole time I'm thinking how in the world am I going to walk home after this?! There were judges and prizes and such at the end. Jacob was sure that we would win something but I was sure we would not! There is always next year - which I might add we are already working our theme!

After a great day on the beach, we headed off to the fireworks on the beach with Uncle Ray! He lives about 10 blocks closer to where they set them off so we staked our claim to part of his beach!




Just as the fireworks ended, it started to drizzle. Perfect timing!

OC Vacation - Week 2

Our 2nd week of vacation in OC was a little less busy, but certainly no less exciting! We had daily visits from friends from home! While Eric was working for at least part of the week, we were busy catching up with friends we haven't seen for a while.

Monday, my friend Missy and sister-in-law visited for the day with their kids. It was a beautiful beach day and all 9 children played together nicely while the grown ups were able to sit and talk and catch up.

Tuesday some friends from our swim club came to visit. We opened the beaches before the life guards were even on duty! By early afternoon, the hot sun had made all of us tired! But again, another beautiful day!

Wednesday some of our friends from church came for the day. This was a big crowd - between kids and adults, we just about took over the beach! Big sand castles and great waves were the highlights of the day!

Eric took Thursday off so that he could enjoy a long weekend and we had a family day on the beach and lots of cousin time with Abby!




There will be another post about 4th of July!