Holy Busy Week, Batman

Seems like we just survived one of the busiest weeks and weekends we’ve had in awhile.  It’s good to have fun but it’s exhausting!  The kids weren’t all that busy during the week but Drew was busy with meetings so I had the kids by myself three nights last week.  Just makes it seem very busy. 

Monday started with Will and I taking the car for an oil change.  Will and I passed our time playing with a putting green which Will thought was great fun.  We learned our car was way out of alignment and that our front tires needed to be replaced.  We went a couple more places checking tires and I went back during naptime to get them.  Nice unexpected expense.  Gotta love those unexpected expenses! 

Wednesday the kids had their regular music class.  Instead of going home to take a nap we headed home for a bit but then headed back out to pick up Miss Lindy’s brand new glasses.  We first stopped by the audiology department so we could say goodbye to our audiologist.  sniff, sniff.  She has worked with Lindy since she first came home from the NICU.  Besides the time she was on maternity leave she has been Lindy’s only audiologist.  She is also a pastor’s wife so we had that in common too.  Her husband is going full time in the Navy so they are moving to San Diego in April.  Although that sounds pretty neat, we are sad she is going.  After saying goodbye, we headed up to the eye shop and picked up her new glasses.  The first couple minutes she took them on and off a few times but since then she has done AMAZING!  They significantly changed the prescription in one lens so I was worried between the new glasses and prescription change she might revert back to taking them off all the time.  She proved us wrong and has been loving her new glasses.  She shows people her ‘new glasses’ and asks for them back when we take them off.  Her teacher at school thinks she can tell a difference too.  She said Lindy hasn’t been holding things quite as close as she did.  We did order new lenses for her old glasses just to have a back-up pair.  They had to send those glasses off so it’s a good thing Lindy likes her new glasses because at this moment we don’t have the backup pair. 

Thursday we celebrated St. Patrick’s Day by wearing green.  A leprechaun got into our house and made the kids’ milk and oatmeal green.  That leprechaun also somehow turned the toilet water green!  Will’s class had a party and I made the treats.  Will was confused by St. Patrick’s Day.  He kept saying it was Patrick’s birthday party we were taking treats to.  He kept asking “Who is Patrick?  Where does Patrick live?”  He told me Patrick was turning 7 years old and we even argued about whether Patrick was a girl or a boy.  I didn’t realize it would be so hard to explain St. Patrick’s Day to a 3.5 year old but it was!

Thursday night we had a March of Dimes fundraiser at Steak-n-Shake.  Just by eating there they would donate some of the proceeds to our fundraising team.  We appreciated everyone who came and ate.  The kids had fun seeing so many people they knew.  At one point Will said, “All our friends are eating at Steak-n-Shake too!”  They probably thought it was crazy that so many friends were there!  We were so happy to have the support of our new church but we were also thrilled that a bunch of special friends from our old church came to support us as well!  

Friday was the start of our crazy, busy weekend.  We all went to get Lindy from school but I went in and did a parent session with her.  She rocked everything she was asked to do!  She is showing her teachers how smart she is!  We left straight from school and drove to Charlotte to Drew’s dad’s house.  We dropped off our things and then we headed to some friends’ house to hang out.  Matt and Martha have a 3.5 year old and a 6 year old.  The kids played and ate dinner and then we took the kids back to Drew’s dad’s house and dropped them off.  We went back and ate a delicious dinner cooked by Matt and Martha and just hung out talking until way past our normal bedtime!  It was great fun to catch up with friends! 

Saturday morning we got up and had some yummy French toast cooked by Grandbob!  We got ready and we went and met a good friend of mine from high school, Margaret, and her one year old daughter, Kaylee.  The kids had a blast playing in the warm spring weather at a really nice park.  It was great to catch up with Margaret.  She was my neighbor in high school in the big city of Asheboro!  We left the park and had a grandparents lunch with Mimo, GrandBob and Suzette.  It was nice to see so many people in one short trip to Charlotte.  We got home from Charlotte and did a bunch of nothing until another good friend of mine from college stopped by for a quick visit.  Heather and her husband Ben were in town so they came by to say hi.  Sat. night we went to bed early! 

Yesterday was another busy day as we had church and then the children of the church went bowling.  It was a first for Lindy and Will.  They had fun and I guess that is really all that matters but man I find things like that stressful!  The afternoon started off on a bad note.  Lindy took off down the lane and I took off after her.  Lindy, my camera, and I all fell and hit the ground.  I thought my camera lens broke but I actually fixed it today!  We tried letting the kids push the ball down the lane but Lindy actually had a ball that just stopped on the lane. We ended up using the ramp thing the kids could put their balls on and that worked out good for them.  I also broke a fingernail really far down that hurt.  The kids had fun but we skipped naptime and towards the end they were getting out of control!  They were out like a light when we got in the car to head home.  I’m glad they get the chance to do these kind of things but I look forward to the day when things are calmer and we can all enjoy them. 

The kids’ allergies have started back up and Will’s nose is running like crazy.  His eyes were watering yesterday and he looked so miserable.  Lindy started getting congested Thursday night but as you all probably know, her nose doesn’t run.  Instead she gets drainage in her throat that makes her cough and eventually throw up.  She threw up Friday night when Grandbob and Suzette were watching them and then Saturday in the car on the way home.  I just wish her nose would run.   To top off the weekend, I’ve got some mysterious rash on my face, ears, and upper back.  Just lovely.  Drew tells me you can’t see it unless I point it out but I’m not enjoying it!

Pictures from our crazy, busy week!

I tried the old sideways picture.  Tried to get them to pose…we need to work on it some more!The pretty bradford pear in our yard and down the whole street.Cathy, Lindy’s audiologist that is leaving.This girl is seriously a crazy girl!Lindy’s new spectacles!  “I LOVE MY NEW GLASSES!”Our ‘Good Luck Charmer’ on St. Patrick’s Day.Green milk and oatmeal!Getting really excited while playing games!Our family at Steak-n-Shake.The 3/4 of our family that wore green on St. Patrick’s Day.  The other 1/4 refused to participate.  boo.Will loved Liam’s drum set!And he loved Clara’s swing.They both loved the popsicles they had for treats!Liam, Clara, Will, and LindyLindy and Kaylee at the park.Weeeee, on the really fast slide!Hey Kaylee!Girl talk!New friends hanging at the park!Margaret, Kaylee, me, and LindyBowling!Trying to push the ball.Watching to see what happens!Pushing the ball!All the kids from church who went bowling.Bowling wears you out!

Crazy Kids

Lindy and Will have been crazy today.  It’s as if they gained an hour of sleep and they are really well rested instead of losing an hour of sleep.  They also chose last night as the night where they would each wake up 2-3 different times.  I think they planned it.  They wanted to make the night we were losing an hour of sleep to be even worse for us.  They are crafty little characters.  I think their sense of humor is a little off.

On Monday we had Lindy’s IEP meeting and I’m happy to report it went very well and was relatively short for how much paperwork there was to go over.  The main thing we were concerned about was her being able to stay put for the rest of the year, and she is.  The major thing we did was change her categories.  She no longer qualifies for developmentally delayed (yay!!)  so we needed a new primary category.  The two choices were visually impaired or hearing impaired.  We ended up choosing visually impaired as her primary category and hearing impaired as her secondary category.   None of her services changed, just her categories.

Her most recent testing has all come back SO GOOD!  The Bracken Basic Concept Scale was given when she was 3 years 5 months and her score came in at 3 years 1 month.  Her preschool checklist score was a 52 – which they said already qualifies her for a readiness or regular education kindergarten classroom (which would be with resources).   The preschool language scale test was given and her average between the auditory comprehension and expressive communication came out to be 4 years old!!!  They basically can’t say she has a language delay anymore.  We changed it to say she has some gaps in her language which she still needs help with (things like conversation).  We are so thrilled with how well she is doing.  Because she is doing so well she does not qualify for the hearing impaired classroom next year.  We’ll be having more meetings to figure out where she will go next year.  We’re so glad she is doing well but I love her classroom and teachers!!

Tuesday we enjoyed a pancake supper at our church to celebrate Shrove Tuesday.  The kids cleaned up their plates which is always nice.  Wednesday Drew had an Ash Wednesday service at church and Thursday I hung out with Lindy at her school all morning for career day.  I guess it’s never too young to introduce new careers to them.  But I think the biostatistician was a little over our preschoolers’ heads!  The coolest by far were the chemists (once upon a time I worked as a chemist) who had things smoking and turning colors.  The preschool kids did about as well as they could but faded a bit at the end.  It was still fun to hang with Lindy and her class.  Thursday evening I had a March of Dimes meeting – where I found out we are one of the top five fundraising teams in North Carolina right now.   Go Million Dollar Babies!!!!  Friday night was my mother of multiples consignment sale.  I took 6 bins of clothes and toys and a bunch of other big toy items and came home with only 1.5 bins of clothes on Saturday afternoon!  I can’t wait to get my check in the mail this week!  I didn’t buy very much at all because I didn’t need much.  The kids can wear most of their clothes from last year and my sister now provides us with boxes of clothes from her girls.  I did get a couple good deals that I couldn’t pass up.

We had a special visitor come see us this week.  Miss Chris, Lindy’s old hearing teacher stopped by for a visit Wednesday afternoon.  We hadn’t seen her since last August when she stopped serving Lindy (because she turned 3 and aged out).  Last time we saw her Lindy was just starting to talk a good bit but she was very impressed with our girl now!  The kids did a switcheroo on us though and Lindy acted shy at first and Will was talking up a storm.  It’s normally the other way around.  Once Lindy was fully awake from her nap she started talking and showing Chris her mad talking skills!  It was so nice to see Chris because we definitely miss her.  We credit Chris for so much of Lindy’s amazing progress. 

Our weather has been beautiful this weekend.  After naptime yesterday we met Uncle Ed and Aunt Jamie at a park and played – with everyone else who had the same idea.  This afternoon we stuck close to home and rode tricycles and rode in the wagon around the neighborhood.  I wish this weather was here to stay but the next couple days say cooler and rainy.  Yuck!

And now a few pictures to satisfy the picture lovers out there.

The kids were practicing good church etiquette.  Tickle time!  You’ll tickle her and stop and she’ll say, “Do it again!”Being silly…again!Miss Chris!She wrote an ‘L’!It’s really hard to see but she was matching her m'&m’s up to the colors on her placemat!  Yucky blue m&m tongue!It looked like Will was giving Lindy a personal concert.Before church today.  He had a choke hold on her at first!Check out where his hand it.  Boys will be boys!

Let’s See….

we did a bunch of nothing again this week.  We are becoming boring!

The kids had their normal music class on Wednesday afternoon.  We came home and the kids took a short nap and then we headed to our local branch library.  Drew was going to pick up some books so we tagged along.  I thought it would be fun for them to see all the books and for us to sit and read them.  Except all they wanted to do was play games on the little kid computer and were not interested in the books.  I did find a couple potty training books so we can read them to Lindy.  We are going to go full force over spring break (the end of March) so maybe these books will help. 

Friday afternoon the kids and I had a little adventure in downtown Winston.  A group of us met downtown and walked the proposed route for the March for Babies walk.  This is the first time the walk has been downtown so we had to see what the walk was like and figure out where to put spirit stations and signs.  We did walk fairly slow and we did stop and talk quite a few times but almost two hours after we started we finally finished!  Hopefully the actual walk will go much faster!  Thankfully Aunt Jamie was there with me and helped push the kids because man I’m out of shape and some of those hills got me!  Lindy finally fell asleep but Will was awake and enjoying the walk the entire time.  The fresh air was great for us all!  After walking we met Drew at Baptist Hospital and we ordered Lindy a new pair of glasses.  A little more ‘normal’ looking glasses than the plastic ones she has now.  It’ll be hard to get used to her in anything else but we are going to try it out.  We got new lenses for her old glasses as well, just in case she can’t adjust to the new ones and just to have a back-up pair.  She is finally at the point where I don’t think she’ll break them 17 times a day.  For the most part she leaves them on all day.  It’ll take about a week to get new ones in.

The weekend was much more eventful than our week – for me at least.  We started off Friday night meeting Mike and Janice (and our friend Duncan) at the ‘ice cream shop’ for dinner – and ice cream.  We ran back to our house and left the kids with Mike and Janice and Drew, Duncan, and I went to see the Kings Speech.  It was a GREAT movie!   Saturday I left around lunchtime and drove to Raleigh for a bridal shower for my old friend from high school (and college roommate), Cathy.  It was fun seeing friends – one who I haven’t seen in so long!  After the shower I met up with another group of college friends and we went out to eat in downtown Raleigh.  I spent the night in Raleigh (with my other college roommate!) and got home today around lunchtime.  The ride home in the pouring rain was not too much fun but the time spent in Raleigh was! 

We have a little more interesting week coming up – most important Lindy’s IEP meeting tomorrow.  Hopefully we get that thing finalized tomorrow.  We’ve had a few meetings since school started trying to get everything all correct.  Fingers crossed tomorrow goes smoothly!

A few pictures from another boring week!

This girl is the queen of funny faces!After I get the kids ready upstairs they go downstairs and go running to greet daddy.  Having a little tea party with Boo Boo Bear and Buddy.On our walk Friday afternoon.Lindy passed out and kept falling out of the stroller.Right after this picture I ended up switching L&W so she was in the back and could lay down!The glasses we ordered Lindy!  Still pink but a little more regular looking!Trying on glasses.  I think he looks like Erkeland Lindy looks like Sally Jesse Raphael!  The girls at the shower.  Nicole, me, Heather, Cathy (the bride), Anita, and Amber.More college friends!  Nicole, Julie, me, Joanna, and Heather. I got home and found the kids had formed a train with their little chairs.

March of Dimes 2011

It’s that time of year!!  We are walking in the 2011 March for Babies and we need your help again this year!

On Facebook a couple weeks ago, I put this as my status:
"This is the week we remember all babies born sleeping, or whom we have carried but never met, or those we have held but could not take home, or the ones who came home but could not stay. Make this your profile status, if you, or someone you know has suffered the loss of a baby. The majority won't do it, because unlike cancer, baby loss is still a taboo subject. Break the silence. In memory of all lost angels.♥”

I hardly ever do these types of status post, but how could I not do this one?  I had to remember my baby who I held but could not take home.

This is the main reason we raise money for the March of Dimes.  No one should ever have to deliver their kids at 25 weeks and watch them fight for their lives.  Trust me when I say that seeing your 12 hour old baby take his last breath is the worst thing you can experience. 

The March for Babies is the walk that saves babies.  The March for Babies supports research and programs to help prevent or treat premature birth, infant mortality, and birth defects. 

The details of the 2011 March for Babies:
April 16, 2011
Corpening Plaza – Downtown Winston-Salem
231 W. First St.
Registration from 8:30-9:30am
Walk begins at 10am

How can you help?

1.  Join our Million Dollar Babies Team.  Click HERE.  Below the kids’ picture is a ‘Join This Team’ Button.  Join our team.  Raise money for the March for Babies.  Come walk with us!

2.  Donate to our personal page.  Click HERE.  Every dollar helps!  Whatever you can donate we will take.  I have been the top money raiser in Winston-Salem the last two years and I want to keep the streak going!

Can you turn these two down?