Just a tad bit frustrated

I have been using the Blogpress app to write and post, and I have written about 3 post, hit publish and then POOF they are gone :(

So here is the recap

-I started couponing, and am addicted.

-We are home and are trying to get back into the swing of things. My family decided to give us an extra special parting gift of the stomach virus...thankfully we are all recovered and no one landed a trip to the hospital (it was a bad strand and two of my friends kiddos ended up in the hospital because of it).

-We hit the ground running with 2 therapy sessions on Monday, Neurology (and car maintenance) appointments today, a new Mom meal tomorrow and then a quick trip to a friends cabin for the weekend (after Thursdays therapy of course).

-nolen started scooting at my Moms. It's not much, it's not pretty, but it's forward movement and I'll take it!

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Can you say burnout?

I was really feeling the pressure with all the new therapies, doctors appointments, and other concerns...so I packed the kids up and ran away to...my mamas!

My stash for the ride...:-)


I get to enjoy sunsets with my Anna on my parents new balcony (in their GORGEOUS home that can hold the entire family, first time we have ever fit in a house)...

My four siblings have come in town and I got to spend the day having fun with the kids...something I don't get to do very often...because we are always going, always doing therapy, or schoolwork, or work, or a thousand other things.


We went for a walk-- and yes there are extra toes...those are my darling nieces (5, and one is missing)!


We explored some empty bird nests, old cows bones, look for a mermaid in the pond, and played a very long and somewhat hysterical game of Sorry.



Tomorrow my one missing niece will be here...I can't wait!

I love our "family"

A fellow military wife was lamenting the woes of "Grandparents" day at her children's schools and how it really just salts the wound of not having your "real" family close enough for these type of things.

And then tonight I hosted a good, ole fashioned slumber party and realized that these little girls (and their moms)...

Are part of our New Jersey/Military Family.

And I love these little ladies (and their Moms!).

Kaelyn and her friends are enjoying a night of fun. Heart shaped pizzas, movies, popcorn, cookies...laughs and memories! While my dear sweet Anna spends the night with her Best Friend Hunter...


(Ryan is not a fan of his mothers sense of humor...she added a candle to make the dinner for 2 much more romantic)


I don't think I say it enough, but I love my kids and I love our makeshift family!

I love that I can ask these ladies for anything, that they can come pick my kids up at 4 am from the ER, they think to send my husband a copy of our daughters first soccer game when he is deployed, that I have sat and cheered on their daughters at soccer games and dance recitals and felt the same swell of pride I feel for my children. That they will help me find the humor in anything and when its not there, pass a glass of wine and drink a toast to shared worries and the woes of Grandparents day.

These ladies not only get "it", they get me.

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The "Stack"

Here is just a fraction of Nolens medical records that I have to provide for our Disability application! I had to input a comprehensive summary of his records for each doctor, therapist, specialist etc for most visits! Talk about making you want to give up before you even start.

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Must be a 4 year old thing

Kaelyn has gotten really good about delivering some funny punchlines unintentionally. Recently, Ryan forgot his cover/hat and we drove on base to drop it off. Kaelyn inquired as to how I knew which car was his because "a lot of cars look similar to Dads". So I explained about how I know the color, the make, and the license plate number along with my old parking sticker from College.
Kaelyn quickly states, "For yours we would just find a car that looks similar and then look inside to see if it was messy. If it's messy than we would know it's yours!"


Just so you all know, my car is pretty clean right now...so I don't know what she is talking about!

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Long time no post

Once again, I must apologize to you all for neglecting the blog. Life has really gotten hectic!! Ryan is currently in training so we have been soaking up the Daddy time while we can, knowing that as soon as training is done life will get even more hectic!!!

Nolen has passed the 6 months since illness mark, and we have accepted that a full recovery is not to be expected buy we still hope for it. I will post more on him later, but his health and GI issues have improved. His blood levels aren't normal, but don't indicate Leukemia/Liver/Kidney failure as of yet. And he is making some great strides in therapy. Which brings me to why life has been so crazy.

--We have our application in for Disability, our Social Worker Stan thinks we have too much money in savings and unless we can get them to look at Nolen separate from us we probably won't qualify. The application process is absurd! It took about a week of nothing but working to post his medical history! I'll send you guys the picture of "The Stack" so you can fully appreciate the amount of work that goes into just the beginnings of the application process!!

--Nolen has been evaluated for Occupational therapy (adding it once a week), Developmental teaching (to help with his cognitive, social, emotional and language delays). He qualified for both and we will be adding these two therapies to our existing two for a total of 4 therapy sessions/week (maybe five because our CHOPS therapist wants to add OT as well).
We are waiting on referrals for a hearing test and developmental pediatrician as well.

--Nolen has these precious braces to wear

-My Darling husband and my best friend from Oklahoma arranged for a quick getaway to NY. It was amazing and much needed...as I was and am probably quickly approaching therapy burnout. Tips anyone??

Here are some snapshots from our trip
--Prom-- the Awesome 80s Prom, an interactive improv show where Em and I partied like it was 1989.



Breakfast club anyone??



Then we went on to Ellis island and liberty Island...where we did not act our age an ended up with some awesome pictures.



I co-hosted a Kraft First Tasters party! Lots of great food and free stuff!!


And...I was contacted by word of mouth for my first sewing job! A passion made a modest profit.

Custom Colts Baby Bedding
-Bumpers-



Pillow


Crib Skirt


And Blanket



I also painted this for my girls...







We have been making some serious progress on the homeschooling front, which has also cut into my blogging time.

Along with my job...my sister in law is due in July and keeps handing over some items to me to handle while she peeps for baby and I get my feet wet as her replacement come the arrival of her little girl in July!

Thanks for hanging in there and for checking up on me! I miss you guys too!


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Kaelyn's Dreams

My girls (and possibly Nolen, but I won't know until he is much older) have always seemed to have dreams. Both good and bad. So part of our morning routine is to talk about what we dreamt about the night prior. Yesterday morning, Kaelyn shared this gem of a dream  with me...

 "I had the craziest dream last night mom"
"Really, what did you dream about darling" expecting to hear about the latest princess dream in a LONG line of princess dreams
"I dreamed that Dad, Me and Anna went swimming. And *insert gigle* Dad was wearing a little *hold her hands really close together* girls swim suit. Isn't that silly!"
"That is really silly!"

So, I made her repeat the dream and video taped it so that Ryan could see it when he got home. He didn't find as much humor in the situation as I did! I spent the whole day imagining my husband in something like this...

And it made my heart happy. Do your kids dream?