Swimming lessons

I was so excited to get all three older kids in swim lessons in the same pool AT THE SAME TIME this summer. They went every weekday morning for two weeks and loved it. Grant was very upset (massive fit) the first morning when he found out he wasn't going to get to do swim lessons with the other kids (have to be 3 years old). He insisted on wearing his swim trunks and goggles and bringing his towel to the pool anyway. I consoled him with snacks and brought toys to occupy him while they swam. It all worked out very well, despite our rocky start, and all three kids made great progress in their swimming.

Furniture in our front room

 I realized when I was posting some other pictures that I hadn't taken any of our newly furnished front room. I've taken pictures of other parts of the house that we "finished," but not this one. This space, the room you see when you first walk in our front door, has been empty ever since we moved in almost two years. I didn't mind it being empty because #1-- we didn't have the money to do anything with it yet and #2--I didn't know what I wanted yet. I had envisioned a little "ladies sitting area," and that is exactly what I have now! I'm not much of an interior decorator, but it was a fun project for me, and I like how it turned out, which is all that really matters! The kids weren't thrilled that I filled their big, open play space, but it's ok. It's my house, and they do have a playroom. I don't feel sorry for them.

I started working on the room when some friends gave us the ivory colored piano back in November. The ivory piano looked silly against our white walls, so we painted the one wall a bluish/greenish color (it took several samples to get the right color) and the rest of the walls the same neutral color we have in the family room. My friend gave me the big mirror to hang above the piano (don't we have great friends?), and that's how the room stayed through Christmas and up until May.  I started shopping and looking around this spring, and my vision came to fruition! Curtains, two chairs, a big Ikea plant, a sofa, pillows, and a coffee table, complete with a set of wood coasters. I still would like to get a lamp for the corner with the mulberry chair and maybe something else for the wall next to the piano behind the brown chair, but it's pretty much done. I love my sitting room. I like to sit there by myself in the early mornings while I read my Bible and enjoy a quiet start to my day. With early little risers, it's not always very quiet, but if I get up early enough, and they stay in their rooms until they're supposed to, I get that time.  Oh, and Greg will sometimes even sit there with me. But he's glad he has his leather couches with the big TV in the other room, too. :)

I love the colorful buttons on the sofa.

 

Start of Summer

June 12th marked the end of school and the beginning of summer for us. We were all ready to be done with school for a while. It seems we always have a few days of adjustment with the kids and I all getting used to being together all day long, and this year we really only had one day that wasn't very much fun. It's been a pretty good start summer, even though the weather hasn't been very summer-like. Joel and Greg went "man-camping" with a bunch of other dads and sons the weekend after school got out. They had such a great time. I'm glad they get to do that each year and thankful for good friends to do it with. Grant was VERY put-out about not being able to go with them. He packed his backpack full of nighttime pull-ups and clothes and announced he was ready to go to "man camp." He was one sad and mad boy when we broke the news that he wasn't old enough to go yet.  Maybe next year, buddy, maybe. We'll see if you and Daddy are both ready for you to go. 

Last day of school! Happy kids.

Greg brought home some reject electronic equipment from work, stuff they don't need anymore that is free for the taking, and let the kids go at it with screwdrivers, pliers, and wire cutters. The kids LOVED it. The first night they worked on them for TWO hours!




Progress on day two. They worked on it for a couple hours that next morning and more later that evening and the next day, too. Joel was especially into it. He was determined to get all the pieces off, and he did it. Best rainy, summer day kid entertainment ever!




I found it interesting that these "strain indicators" were worth $1,275 at one point in time. Our kids destroyed, what used to be, some valuable equipment. It was a good reminder that today's "treasure" becomes tomorrow's trash.

 

Western Day, Crazy Hair Day, and Sick Day

Last week was "spirit week" at the kids' school, and they bought into it. They dressed up every day, but I only got photos of the last two days--Western day and Crazy Hair day. We've had this western outfit with the chaps for years. I found it after Halloween for $5, and it's been used by multiple kids on multiple occasions. I loved that Joel wore it to school, with his jean shorts. :) He and Kari looked so cute!

I laugh every time I see Joel in this wig. It's just so funny! Kari had fun with all her ponytails and ribbons, too.

We went strawberry picking on Friday morning with Grandma M and picked 37 lbs! And then we had to wash/prep 37 lbs of strawberries. I had help, as you can see. Grant helped me wash berries for a long time. He was a champ. Oregon strawberries really are the best--so sweet and delicious! Yum.

Notice all the medications on the windowsill, though. This last week was a very strange one and kind of scary at times. I got sick Tuesday night with a sore throat and woke up, after a fitful night, feeling achy and miserable. I couldn't figure out what was wrong with me. I tried to do the elliptical like I usually do in the mornings and could hardly move my body. It took me longer than it should have to realize I had a fever over 101. I managed to make Kari and Joel's lunches, drove them to school, and then came back home and crashed on the couch. Grant and Aubrey were pretty much on their own for the morning. They got their own snacks and played nicely together.

By noon, I was absolutely miserable, could hardly swallow, and knew I probably needed to go to the doctor. The ibuprofen I'd taken hadn't touched the fever.  My doctor's office couldn't get me in, so I drove myself to Urgent Care with Grant and Aubrey in tow (not the best idea--I know that I should have called Greg at that point, but I didn't. I was feverish and wasn't thinking clearly.). Turns out I had a "peritonsillar abscess," an fairly serious infection that requires immediate attention and antibiotics. They gave me an antibiotic shot (which really hurt!) and sent me home with three prescriptions, telling me that I got any worse before morning I would need to go to the ER. I was a mess. I ended up calling my mom from the parking lot of Walgreens pharmacy because I was feeling like I was about to pass out and was worried because I had the two kids with me. (Again, I know I should have called Greg earlier, and then I wouldn't have been in that predicament.) Mom went and picked up Kari and Joel from school and got me home just before Greg got home from work. I had a fever of 102 by then. I'd forgotten what it feels like to have a fever that high. It was awful! By the next morning, though, my fever was gone, and the throat pain was bearable. I went back in to the doctor for a follow-up that morning, and they gave me another shot! I was thankful to be feeling better, though, so it was ok.

The prednisone they had me on made me a little crazy (cleaned three bathrooms and my whole kitchen one evening) and kept me awake at night, and the shots affected my sciatic nerve and had me limping, but I guess the medications all did their jobs. I'm better now. It's taken longer than I expected to feel back to normal and to have energy again, but I'm better. Thank you, Lord!