Catching Up

Well, it has been a very long time since I did any blogging. We had a fabulous Christmas holiday. On Christmas morning we of course had chaos with my kids opening their presents almost faster than I could give them to them. Christmas afternoon we had about 25 family and friends come to my mother's house. We had a really good time playing Spoons and just talking. Before everyone left we acted out the 12 Days of Christmas. (Well, I did not act it out, I video taped it.) It was a riot! As soon as I figure out how to get the video off my camera, I will post it. It is quite funny. On the 26th, all of my brothers and sisters and their families came to my mother's. (My cousin, Mary, also came.) It was the first time in two years that we had all been together. It was wonderful! My daughter was SO excited that she got to see Alexis and Felicity. We had a really good time.

Poor Cassidy has been sick since about the 19th of December. She has bronchitis again. I am really hoping that the doctors are going to not let it turn into pneumonia again. The boys are fine. I am so greatful that Christopher's asthma is under control. I have not been sleeping through the night because Cassidy is up every night with her coughing. She uses the nebulizer. It really helps, but she does not like to get up in the middle of the night to use it. Oh well, hopefully she will be better soon.

We are in the middle of the first major snow storm of the season. They are predicting about 18 inches by the time the snow is over tomorrow. My kids are so excited. They already went sledding outside my mother's house today. The kids got out of school 1 1/2 hours early today. I would be surprised if they have school tomorrow. The kids are really happy about the snow.

Have a wonderful winter. Talk to you soon!

Everything Update :)

I know, I know I just posted that note, but this one is about the kids. :) I got the kids report cards at the beginning of the month. Everyone is doing really well! Cassidy got an A in math and that is where she really struggled last year!! Hooray! Christopher's behavior has gotten sooooooooo much better. I have noticed it at home too. Barry is, well, Barry. I got a note from his substitute on Thursday (thru facebook) saying that he rocked in math class. It made me smile and when I asked him to tell me what happened, he shyly said that he almost went around the world. (The kids challenge each other in math facts or whatever they are working on at the time. The kid that gets it right goes on to the next kid and the challenge continues. If one kid goes through the whole class he or she has gone around the world. ) Barry said that he only had two kids left when he got beat. :)

On to health issues. Cassidy was doing great when we had her follow up appointment last Tuesday (Novemeber 10). The doctor ordered an x-ray and we found that her pneumonia was still hanging on, although it had moved from one side to the other. She was put back on an antibiotic and did fine until Friday morning when she was back to having breathing problems again. We went back to the doctor and her O2 levels were back to 88-92. I was really worried they would put her back in the hospital, but the dctor just gave her an oral steroid again and she is doing better. I say that cautiously because from experience that may not be entirely true. We go back to the doctor on the 25th and we will see what happens next.

For Thanksgiving this year, we are having about forty people at my mother's house. Chaos, but it will be fun chaos. Have a wonderfull Thanksgiving everyone!!

New School Prayer

A friend of mine posted this on her facebook page and I could not help but put this in my blog. It really makes you think!

Since the Pledge of Allegiance

& The Lords Prayer

Are not allowed in Schools anymore

Because the word 'God' is mentioned....

A Kid in Ohio wrote the attached...



NEW School prayer:

Now I sit me down in school

Where praying is against the rule

For this great nation under God

Finds mention of Him very odd.



If Scripture now the class recites,

It violates the Bill of Rights.

And anytime my head I bow

Becomes a Federal matter now.



Our hair can be purple, orange or green,

That's no offense; it's a freedom thing...

The law is specific, the law is precise...

Prayers spoken aloud are a serious vice.



For praying in a public hall

Might offend someone with no faith at all

In silence alone we must meditate,

God's name is prohibited by the state.



We're allowed to cuss and dress like freaks,

And pierce our noses, tongues and cheeks......

We can carry smut, but not the Bible.

To quote the Good Book makes me liable.



We can elect a pregnant Senior Queen,

And the 'unwed daddy,' our Senior King

It's 'inappropriate' to teach right from wrong,

We're taught that such 'judgments' do not belong.



We can get our condoms and birth controls,

Study witchcraft, vampires and totem poles.

But the Ten Commandments are not allowed,

No word of God must reach this crowd.



Its scary here I must confess,

When chaos reigns the school's a mess.

So, Lord, this silent plea I make:

Should I be shot; my soul please take!

Amen

Police, Hospitals, and Chaos!

Well, since I last wrote we have had a visit from the police, a visit to the police station, a five day hospital stay and of course the normal chaos.
The visit from the police was actually quite amusing! My boys were selling Cub Scout popcorn and I was delivering it to my next door neighbor. Christopher came over to get his inhaler and said that there was a raccoon in the yard. I said he could wait a couple of minutes for it to leave. Then he told me that the raccoon was falling down. That concerned all of us, so of course we went outside and found not a raccoon, but a opossum. It was sick, it took about 2 steps and then fell over. He hid under my house. So we decided to catch it in a pet carrier and call animal control. My neighbors have air guns (kind of like BB guns, but not) and they were trying to scare the opossum out from under my house and my other next door neighbor called the police because they were "shooting" guns. The police came, 3 of them. No one got it trouble, but they did stay for about 30-45 minutes to help us catch the animal. Animal control picked it up the next day.
Our police station visit was with Barry's Cub Scouts. The Chesterton police station and fire station are in the same building, so we got a tour of the police station (got to climb in a police car and hear the sirens up close) and the fire station (they still have a fireman pole). Cassidy and Barry went to that. Christopher was with his Cub Scout den at the library. Anyway that was a fun experience.
The five day stay in the hospital was not so much fun. Cassidy had been coughing for about a month with numerous visits to the doctor. Finally last Monday (10/19) the doctor put her on an antibiotic and gave her an inhaler. (She has never used an inhaler before and has no idea how to use it.) On Wednesday she was having a little trouble breathing about 10:30 pm. I took the boys to my mother's and took her to the hospital. They took us straight back and gave her a breathing treatment. They did a chest x-ray and found that she had bronchitis and pre-pneumonia. Because I have a nebulizer machine at home they sent us home and said that she should continue the antibiotic and do breathing treatments every 4 hours when she was awake. No problem. We had a follow up appointment with her doctor on Friday and everything was going well. On Saturday, she began to really have a hard time breathing. She was doing breathing treatments every 1 to 2 hours. (Not a good thing!) I took her back to the hospital and here is where it got interesting. We got to the ER and checked in with the triage receptionist. Cassidy was doing fine at the time, so I was not too worried when she said there were about 5 people ahead of us. About 10-15 minutes later Cassidy started to have a REALLY hard time. I got back up and told the receptionist that she needed to be seen NOW. The receptionist said she would tell the nurse (never happened.) Another man came in and said he was having trouble breathing and they took him straight into triage. Still no help for Cassidy. By this time she was crying and saying she could not breathe. A whole bunch of people came in and so another nurse came to help the triage nurse. She actually came into the waiting area and just looked at everyone to see if anyone needed immediate help and saw Cassidy. She listened to her lungs and took us straight back, no triage. Before Cassidy saw the doctor the nurse had her on O2 and had called for a respiratory therapist to give her a breathing treatment. They did another x-ray and she had full blown pneumonia. Her breathing was so bad that they gave her a breathing treatment that lasted an hour and they did a blood gas (not a good experience). Had the results of that been any worse they were going to transfer her to Riley Children's hospital in Indianapolis (about 2 hours from here.) Luckily they were good enough for us to stay in northwest IN. Cassidy's O2 saturation dropped to 88 (should be 95 or higher) every time they took the O2 off until Tuesday evening. That is why she stayed in the hospital so long. She was able to come home Wednesday. She is back at school now (half day today and full day starting Monday.) She is MUCH better.
Normal chaos is, well, normal. Girl Scouts, Cub Scouts, AWANA, school, etc. are all going fine. The kids are ready for Halloween. I hope everyone has a safe and happy Halloween. Enjoy!!

October Start

Well, we are now into October. When I wrote in September, things were normal. Well then it got a little crazy. Boy Scouts started for both boys and Girl Scouts started for Cassidy. We are in the swing of things now with AWANA and I take 3 extra kids to church with me. It completely fill my van. There are 8 more kids in my neighborhood that we have invited, but so far they have not been able to come. Cassidy got bit by a dog on the 18th. She is fine, but it was a scary experience for all of us. All three kids are doing really well in school this year! I am so excited about that. Cassidy and Barry come home with lots of information about their multiage classes. Christopher has his first field trip on the 27th. We are going to Fair Oaks Farm. My kids went there a couple of years ago with Girl Scouts, but I have never been. I am a little excited about it. I will have to take lots of pictures. Swimming lessons start again on Tuesday and my kids are really excited about them! My brother and his wife have a new baby boy, so of course all Cassidy can talk about is when she will get to see him. :) Anyway my life has increased in speed. I am going a million miles an hour and I still have lots to do at the end of the day.

Sept. Update

I guess I am doing well to update this blog once a month. The kids are all back in school, for which I am very relieved. I forget how much energy they expend while they are gone learning. Christopher is in 3rd grade. He has Mr. Bol, who he thinks is the best. He told me he did not want to go to school on the day that he knew he would have a sub because the sub was not as nice as Mr. Bol, in fact she was going to be MEAN! (Of course he did go to school and as it turned out the sub was nice.) Cassidy is in 2nd grade. She is still in multi~age (1st and 2nd combined.) Usually she would have had the same teacher as last year, but with her teacher leaving (he moved to Indy), she had a long term sub. Mrs. Schaudt is a retired teacher who is willing to sub every once in a while. She ended up staying for the year because she was actually one of the teachers who started the multi~age program at Yost, so they did not have to teach her the ropes. Now Cassidy's teacher is Miss Rolfe (as of Sept. 19 Mrs Nicks) and she loves her! Barry is also in the multi~age program, but he has Mrs. Imhof (Christopher's old teacher.) He is in 1st grade and seems to enjoy the "big" kid role with the kindergarteners under him. He is a pro at school (according to him.) Cassidy and Barry have already gone on their first field trip ~ to the BEACH! They had a sandcastle building contest and then they played some teamwork games. (I was there to help out.) They had a really good time. All three of them are doing very well. We have started this year out right. The kids come home and race to see who will get their homework done correctly first. This has made my life much easier!!
We all went to the South Bend Zoo for my neice's birthday. It was a really nice zoo and my kids have already decided that we have to go back next year. We got to see the butterfly house (a first for all of us) and the kids would have been very happy to stay in there all day. We got to see butterflies not normally found around here and watch them emerge from their chrysallis. It was really neat to watch their faces as the butterflies flew around them.
Anyway, the kids are doing really well!
As for me, well, I think I need a vacation! :)

End of a fun summer!

WOW!!! Summer has flown by! The kids start school in a week and a half. They are really excited to go back. (I know, I know, but they really are excited!) We went to Six Flags Great America last Friday and got rained on. We went with some friends and had a blast even in the rain. My kids had never been to an amusement park before and they loved it. We are planning on going again next summer, if we can. :) Cassidy is still riding the horse and still really enjoys it. She got to go with her Aunt Connie and pick out some new boots. (They are brown and green ~ very cool.) Christopher is VERY full of energy. Wouldn't it be nice if we could harness the energy of our kids and use it ourselves? Barry is still the gentle little boy, but I see some of that boundless energy in him too!! :) We went to OK for a family reunion and had a really nice time with family. We are also planning on going to the Indianapolis Children's Museum before school starts. Hopefully we will manage to do that. Swimming lessons start again in Sept. The pool was closed for repairs most of July and all of this month. I am checking into a swim team for Cassidy and Christopher. Barry is not quite ready for it. So starting soon we will have Girl Scouts, swimming, AWANA, and horseback riding for Cassidy, Boy Scouts, swimming, and AWANA for the boys. When will I sleep??? I also want to see about getting Christopher into 4-H, but that may have to wait. Talk to you all soon!!