Wednesday, January 30, 2008

A PT appt

Karis had a check-up appt today with her PT. We haven't seen her since October so I didn't know how she was going to act.

She actually surprised both of us and did really well. Her feet and ankles aren't any worse. Great news! We still have to keep an eye on them though. While we're up in Rockford next week for my drs. appt, we'll get her new shoes and inserts.

If the inserts don't seem to be working we'll see if we can build them up a little bit or get her a new product called JumpStart that might help her a little more. It's wait and see though. Right now we'd rather wait and watch her then intervene when it's really not warranted.

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

100 days of school

Taryn's class is celebrating the 100th day of school on Friday. They've been asked to bring in 100 food items that can be mixed all together and eaten as their snack that day. After much discussion Taryn decided she wanted to bring twizzlers. I'll cut them in half to save $$$ and make them more manageable.

Jadyn's class is taking the 2 snow days we have into account. I don't think they'll be doing anything until next week.

Crazy Weather!

Yesterday it was close to 50 degrees. Today we have a BLIZZARD warning!

Sunday, January 27, 2008

And she advances!

Jadyn did pretty good this morning in her preliminary tourny this morning. 1 boy and 1 girl from each category goes and Jadyn won hers.

March 2nd we'll be headed to a brand new bowling alley in Johnsburg, Illinois. It's supposed to be REALLY NICE!

We've got a LOT of practicing to do between now and then.

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Wish her luck!

Jadyn's in another bowling tournament Sunday morning. It's individually based so she's got to do the best that she can do in order to advance.

Taryn's Robot Dog

Taryn's been reading Mr. Robot at school. Part of reading the book was having the 1st graders make a robot of their choice and bring it to school on a certain day so that all the kids could have a robot parade.

Taryn decided at the last minute that she wanted a robot dog.

This is April......

Friday, January 25, 2008

Where do I even start?

It's been crazy around here for the last 10 days or so.

My trip out west went really well. It was wonderful seeing my parents, sister, nephews and extended family. Of course it would have been much better had the circumstances been different. While visiting at my aunt and uncles house, I honestly expected grandma to walk through the door and give me a hug.

The worst part about being gone was that Kolin and the kids weren't with me. There just wasn't any way we could swing it on short notice, but I let everyone know that we'd all be out soon for a longer visit.

Getting home was an adventure. Both my flights were on time and I even got into the airport about 20 minutes early. I made it out to the van to discover that the battery was dead. I had to walk (quite a bit) back to the check out to ask them for a battery jump and walked back to the van to wait. Did I happen to mention that it was at least -22 degrees out!?!?!?!? The guy who came out to help me was great. Tried jumping the van, but it wasn't budging. It was dead and nothing was going to help. I was driven back to the airport entrance and called Kolin. It was almost 9pm and told him it was time to jump in the car with the kids and come and get me.

The drive to the airport is about 2 hours. Ever watch the movie Adventures In Babysitting? I totally felt like Brenda at the bus station waiting for Chris and the kids to come rescue her. Fortunately the airport was nice and warm, had great security and I didn't have to worry too much about seeing white rats that looked like kittens. =)

Close to 11pm Kolin and the kids show up! Can't tell you how happy I was to see them. We drove around for quite awhile in the suburbs looking for a super walmart or equivilent that would be open so that we could get a battery. Brennan kept telling us that he wanted pizza and we weren't nice enough to stop and get him some. At around 12:30am we headed back home and gave up on the battery search.

Sunday we woke up bright and early....only about 4 hours of sleep. We got Jadyn ready to leave for her bowling tournament. Taryn and a friend were dropped off at another friends so they could go to a birthday party. The rest of us headed to walmart to get a battery and then headed back up to the airport and installed the darn thing.

Kolin and I have to look at these instances as big adventures. If we look at it any other way it doesn't do either one of us any good.

Monday, January 14, 2008

A long weekend

Saturday afternoon I found out that my grandma was in the hospital. She had an intestinal blockage and was refusing to let anyone operate. She was tired of being sick and not being able to do the things that she wanted to do. A few hours later I found out that she was in a drug induced coma and wouldn't be coming out of it. The dr's were getting her pain meds and trying to make her as comfortable as they could. Her liver and kidneys shut down and the waiting game began.

There is nothing like being told that everyone is at the hospital, but knowing and saying that everyone is NOT there because I wasn't able to be there. Oh how I wish I had had a magic transportation system.

Early Sunday morning I sent Kolin and the older three to church. I wanted to be home incase the cell phone rang with an update. During that time I made flight arrangements for me to fly out on Wednesday. Definitely not a reason I want to go home and visit my family...especially since Kolin and the kids won't be able to go with me.

Sunday afternoon not much had really changed. My sister and I talked frequently...I didn't want small updates, they weren't going to do me any good, but any large updates I definitely wanted to know about. I called around 4pm and hours before her BP was at 72/30 or something quite similar to those numbers. Throughout the day family members kept telling her that it was alright to go, that it was time. She being the most stubborn lady EVER, of course didn't listen until she was ready.

I know grandma knows that I love her. I know without a shadow of a doubt that she loves me. I just wish she had gotten a chance to meet all my children. I know she's looking down on us all though.

While she was sick and tired of being sick and tired, I know that the last thing she really wanted to do was leave all of us.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Karis' Bearcut

Karis got her first haircut today or as our kids call them: Bearcut. =) She only fussed a little bit and then stopped when she got a sucker. Go figure!


Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Great day for Miss K at 'school'

We dropped Brennan off at school this morning and then it was Karis' turn. She did a lot better than I thought she would, but then again she's used to the building and the ladies there.
I stayed for about an hour, made sure she was comfortable and then left during story time. I had to call Kolin and tell him that it was really strange being in the car and knowing that Karis wasn't with him or a friend of ours.

When I went to pick her up she was excited: She said Mommy, you back! Then she spotted her jacket and ran away saying no no no.

Her teachers said she did great. She participated with the other kids, played, sang along with the songs and did the hand gestures. I'm just excited for her and know that this will be a great experience for her and me.

Conversation with Brennan

Me: Karis went to school today.
Brennan: No, she didn't.
Me: Yes , she did.
Brennan: Baby went to her OWN school?
Me: Yes
Brennan: Does she have a backpack?
Me: No, she's still too little and doesn't really need one yet.
Brennan: Baby needs a little backpack.
Me: You really think so?
Brennan: Yes! You have to go get her a little one.

Monday, January 7, 2008

60's in January?????

Yesterday it got up to 63 degrees and melted all the snow. YEA! Of course now everything is a wet muddy mess. Yesterday was a beautiful day though. The sun was out, the windows could be opened up for a while and we took full advantage.

Today it's in the 60's again. Instead of sunshine, it's dreary and foggy. It's perfect day for staying in your jammies and cuddling up in bed watching old movies. That's sooooooo not going to happen around here though.

BUMMER!

Friday, January 4, 2008

Karis' Playgroup

I got a call today from Karis' PT telling us that Karis could start the developmental playgroup on the 8th or the 15th. Whichever would work best for us. I decided on the 8th. We might as well get the first day over with.

I'm excited and nervous for her all at the same time. She'll go from 9am-11am every Tuesday. There will be two developmental therapists running the playgroup. There are between 8-12 kids in the playgroup and one of the DT's will help get Karis accustomed to everything.

I've got to bring emergency contact info with me, change of clothes, diapers and of course her paci......which she now refers to as her " I NEED IT. " Yep, when she wants the darn thing she'll hold out a hand and say.... I Need It! It's super cute and annoying all at the same time. =)

I can stay the entire time or leave. I'll probably hang around for a while until she's comfortable and then skip out when she's looking in a different direction.

Brennan has preschool from 9-11:30 T/Th. I'll need to drop him off a little earlier each Tuesday and then take Karis. Then I'll have 120 minutes all too myself. WOW!

Back to normal

The older three went back to school yesterday. Every one was excited and ready, but boy were they tired once they got home. This morning Brennan slept in until 8 and the older girls had to be woken up. (that usually doesn't happen around here)

Getting back into our normal routine is a great thing for everyone.