Avery's Update

Avery went in for her annual VCUG exam on Wednesday, and don't ask me what that stands for, because I don't even know! I probably should. A year ago, it was determined that she has kidney reflux, and on a scale of 1-4 (4 being the worst), she was a 4 on one side and a 2-3 on the other. Which means she needs to be on an antibiotic every single day in order to prevent her from getting any more urinary tract infections, which could in turn do some long term damage to her kidneys and cause kidney failure.

This procedure is no fun at all, and it involves a catheter and filling up her bladder with dye, then watching it drain through the x-ray machine to see how much of the urine is going into her kidneys. It nearly kills me to make her go through this, and I can't stand knowing there is something not functioning properly in her little body. She is so brave through it all, and doesn't throw a fit about having to get poked and prodded and have her blood drawn. She is so trusting and willing to do what she needs to do. I am constantly admiring her great attitude.

The night before this procedure I was lying in bed with her, telling her again what to expect. I started to fall asleep, and she began stroking my face and kissing my forehead and singing me one of her made up songs. It went like this:

"You a great mommy,

You a nice mommy,

Cause I love you so much,

Cause I need you so much,"

It was the most beautiful song I've ever heard.

Do you ever feel like your heart is so full of love, it actually might burst?

Like it really could just break out of your chest?

That's how I felt right then, thinking about having to take my sweet little girl to the hospital in the morning.

Instead of worrying about herself, she was singing me a song to comfort ME.

Sometimes I wonder who is the caregiver here, because she is always asking ME if I'm OK, and saying "How you doin, Mom?" When it was my turn to go to the doctor, she said "Do you want me to hold your hand?" If I get hurt, she says "Let me kiss it better.

And fortunately for us, she takes her yucky antibiotic every single day without complaining. The doctor told us it now looks like her reflux has changed from a 4 to a 3 on one side, and from a 3 to a 2 on the other. Not a huge improvement, but enough to give us hope that she is going to outgrow it and not need surgery. We are relieved, and now have a whole year before we have to do it again.

Rain, Rain, GO AWAY!

We spent Father's Day weekend doing what Dave loves most, camping in the trailer! We went to Cherry Hill and had a great time, despite the hours and hours of rain. The following pictures were taken during the brief moments of sun we were able to enjoy. We've had many many camping trips with this gang though, and endured worse weather than this! The company is so good, we don't even mind. We've known each other for more than 15 years, and look how many kids we've produced between us. They think they are cousins, even though they aren't.

Here we are miniature golfing. Not sure what you would call Avery's game. Maybe shuffleboard? She used her hands more than the golf club.

And here is the one and only picture I took of us at the waterpark on Saturday. About 10 minutes after we'd bought our tickets, the black clouds came in and dumped on us. And didn't quit dumping for the next 8 hours. And no, they don't refund your tickets for "inclement weather", but I tried not to think about all that money we just spent.......

During this time, I was admiring my kids' ability to be totally unaffected by the freezing rain. They didn't complain one bit about it, they still enjoyed the waterslides and lazy river, and had a blast. They said it was even better, because there were no lines to wait in! I, however, just huddled under a blanket and shivered.

After the downpour, and after they decided to shut down the water park, we did everything else this place had to offer, like rock climbing!!

I think the workers there felt sorry for us, because they let our kids climb over and over again, even though we only paid for one climb. That, and the fact that nobody else was there due to the monsoon weather. (BONUS!)

The little ones enjoyed the "Hamster Haven" ball pit. If you've never been to Cherry Hill, you should go. I'm convinced it would be a really fun place if it were warm and sunny!

And of course, the sun DID come out on Sunday, but everything was closed except this pool. So we let the kids swim so that we could feel like we got a little bit of our money's worth.

Then we had lunch at Famous Dave's in honor of Dave for Father's Day. Yummy. I always say, he's such a good cook, they named a restaurant after him.

There really needs to be more days that are dedicated to honoring great dads. One day just isn't enough to spoil Dave properly. Words just can't even say how much he does for us. He gives everything he has to me and the kids. His time, his love, his paycheck, even his Father's Day Fudge......

I love that Dave has never missed an event in the kids' lives, whether its a school performance or an important doctor's appointment. I love that he calls them from work in the morning to wish them a Happy Birthday, and that he counsels Bailey and gives such good advice when she's having friend trouble. The kids know that Daddy can fix anything from broken toys to broken hearts. He supplies me with my daily dose of laughter. He is the rock and without him, nothing would be possible in our family. He is the most considerate person I know. And funny. And handsome. And all that.

The kids' gift to Dave? A big hug. We love you so much.

Catching Up

Ok, so I haven't exactly been stellar in keeping up with my Thrifty Thursday posts, but I'm finding myself not having anytime to be thrifty OR creative with all my kids home. How I long to go shopping.....

But I did want to show you my latest addition to my blue plate collection, thanks to my awesome neighbor Hayley. Of course it had some yummy cookies on it when her girls brought it over! Thanks Hayley, I absolutely love it!!




Last weekend we had a BBQ with some long time friends to celebrate Vickie being done with her chemotherapy treatments. The sun actually came out long enough for us to sit outside- I think it was heaven sent. She's the one with the biggest smile and the stylish haircut ;) This group formulated back when we were all first married because these guys have one thing in common, they've all built cabinets at some time. We always have a fun time when we get together, whether we're celebrating the good times or the not so good times. What I love about Vickie is the fact that she can somehow laugh and find the humor in her sucky cancer experience. She's an inspiration to me.


And here's some pictures I took of Avery several weeks ago with the help of my friend Eileen, who is a super photographer. I'm hoping some of her talent will rub off on me.

*DISCLAIMER*
I am not a photographer. I am a wanna-be. There's so much to learn! I really really want Photoshop so I could play with these. (Ahem, Dave, I do have a birthday coming up:)

She was all over this chair during this photo shoot. Never holding still! I had to be quick with the camera.

In my totally unbiased opinion, I think she is the cutest thing ever! I'm sure you can see why I'm so in love with her.

Help Me

Help me to be a good mother, help me not to ruin my kids. This is my prayer, my mantra every day, and it seems I'm repeating it more than usual this past week. If I may complain just a moment, I need a little blog therapy.

This happens every June. And even though I know it's coming, it still knocks me over every year. My life goes from coasting along smoothly, to completely out of control overnight it seems. You see, at the exact same time that I have the most weddings of the entire year, the kids get out of school. Which seems like a cruel joke, really. And for all you who are saying "I thought she wasn't doing weddings anymore", well, I am. Times are tough.

The kids always go through a week of being in limbo when school gets out, and they have to learn how to live with each other again. And when you have three kids, you never really have just three, you actually have six, because they each have a friend over most of the time.

I was doing really well until today, because it's going on day seven of rain and kids being inside the whole time. I feel as if I have been trapped in my house since school got out except for a grocery trip to Walmart at 10pm one night (woohoo!) and I spent last weekend in bed with the flu. Today was exceptionally long because I woke up at 4:30 and couldn't go back to sleep. And I knew Dave wouldn't be coming home tonight to relieve me at dinnertime. Cade was in a particularly bored mood, and I tried one thing after another to spark his imagination, but nothing sounded fun.

We went to the library to get a new book, but he had issues with the feel of the paper in the book and wouldn't read it. Honestly, can anybody feel my pain with having a highly sensitive kid to anything he touches? Do you know ANY other kid who has to test out the feel of the paper in a book before he can read it???????????? Hellllllpp Meeeeeeeeee.

Then he begged me to build him a fort, which I did, but then he was upset because Bailey didn't want to play in it with him. So it's still in my basement, untouched. Then he wanted to eat lunch in the sandbox, which reminds me, my dishes are still out there.

Meanwhile, I'm trying to make these pomandiers for a wedding this weekend. Which only takes about 14 hours when you've got kids. I kept saying Can I Just! Have! Five! Minutes!

And iron my mountain of linens while listening to the sweet sound of sibling rivalry. These are the days I question my decision to get rid of cable. They at least could watch Drake and Josh together without fighting.

And while I'm doing this, Avery has trouble with her pants and pees all over the floor.

Later she decides to look at her scrapbook, and takes all the pictures out of the plastic sleeves. Then she makes some creation out of a ball of yarn, some elastics, and some scissors. What a great mom I am.

But this day isn't over yet. (I wish it was!) Just before bed, I notice another of Avery's creations. She'd painted her horse with a blue marker "Just like Spirit, Mom!" This is why I can't work and take care of kids at the same time.

By this time I'm just beyond being snippy, I need this day to end, before the dragon comes out.

Too Late.

The kids decide to sleep in the fort, and I'm happy they are finally playing together, even if it is 10pm. Just when I think I made it through the day, the kids are all snuggled in, I hear "Mooooooom, Avery stuck her gum on the couch!

The sun will come out, tomorrow! I hope.

What the ...... Hail?

Here's some pics from our crazy hail storm tonight. This came out of nowhere, and abruptly ended the game Dave was playing outside with the scouts. What month is it? June? The water was rushing around our corner and filled the entire street! Bailey was crying because she's worried this is going to affect her Carnival Day tomorrow at school, but I think it should be all rainbows tomorrow, right? We are so grateful our basement didn't get flooded (that's a miracle for us). But several of our neighbors' did, and Dave is out helping them now.