Weekend... and a scare

Friday:
I took the afternoon off cuz the kids' school was having their annual fun run - Miles for Maple Grove!  And it was a huge success by the way - raising over $52,000!  Unbelievable!  But the weather lately has been really droopy... rainy.  So they had to hold the run indoors, and when they do that - they can't have all the spectators or volunteers.  I was bummed... I really wanted to watch, especially to see how Cora would have done!  ha.  Anyway, I did lunch with Nikki - which was nice... then did some errands, alone.  I got the kids (well, concentrated on Cora mostly) some new fall clothes.  She needed jammies, pants, tops, dresses (for church)... and I got a few things knocked off the list. It was good... it'll hold her off til Christmas probably!  ha.  She's just growing like a weed.

Friday night we just stayed in... cold crappy night, so a good night in.  

Saturday:
We had our annual family pictures taken... in the cold!  My good friend, Katie took them... and she was great - a quick 30 minutes and we were done.  The kids did awesome.  I personally felt like I looked awful, so we'll see how those come out!  ha.  But really - the kids did good.  Following that, we went home and got warm!  Ryan went to work for several hours...  the kids and I just hung out.  We played pretty well, and also just took it easy.  It was a nice morning.  

At about 1:30 we headed out to take Cora to a little birthday party for a new friend in her class, Maddie.  They were going skating!  (One of my favorites as a little girl... not sure it would be very pretty now, but I grew up skating!)  We got her settled with skates, and Kayson and I took off.  Meanwhile, K and I went shopping for him.  It was his turn.  Pants and more pants!  and we were successful.  We got several pairs, and a few tops...  again, will probably last him til Christmas, but it was good.  We had a nice time together. 

I dropped him off at home... and headed back out to get Cora.  This is where our day/night took a turn. I got to the skating rink and reached Cora... and she looked awful.  Was white as a ghost, and said she didn't feel well.  I got her shoes on, and she said she needed to throw up...  we found a garbage (right in front of everyone), and she threw up, just a little... she was pale, lethargic and sweaty.  Maddie's Mom got us some wipes, we got Sprite from the workers, and a garbage bag in case she needed it in the car.  We just stood there for a little bit... slowly everyone leaving and we were the only ones there.  Finally I got her carried out to the car... she was just pale and could barely walk (it seemed).  Once we got to the car (and some fresh air), she opened her eyes, and then closed again right away - falling asleep.  We got home as quick as I could... and on that 15 minute drive, she slept, but eventually had color back to her face/lips.  

We got home, carried her to her bed... and got her some water and a couple crackers.  She said her tummy DID NOT hurt, but she was tired.  She ate the crackers and drank a little water... and slept.  Slept hard for about an hour and a half.  

... meanwhile, Ryan and I are at a loss as to why this happened.  What's triggering this? She had a similar episode back in March. What's causing her to get so pale so quickly, etc. Is it low blood sugar?  We just didn't know/didn't understand. But then really snapping out of it shortly after.  I talked to Tricia a couple times...  she asked 1,000 questions, trying to figure things out, thinking out loud, etc. 

At about 6:00, I woke her.  It took her a little while to really wake up, but she was not sweaty (no fever), said her tummy was fine, she had full color back (maybe some bags under her eyes), and seemed fine.  I was just floored.  
She ate a little supper, drank some... and soon started to get silly.  Again, floored.

At about 7:00, I got a text from Maddie's Mom - saying that they were all at the hospital because there was a carbon monoxide leak at the skating rink!!!!!  OH MY GOD.  I called her and we talked...  my heart just sank.  But also it gave us answers.  Thankfully their family was/is ok - needed some oxygen, and were sent home.  Unfortunately she did find out that a couple other kiddos had symptoms similar to Cora's and their family... as well as some others at the skating rink.  

Now all Saturday night... and today I have been doing the - "what if's".  What if I wouldn't have picked her up til 5:00? What if it would have been much worse, and she got sick while I wasn't there?  I'm just so bothered by the whole thing... and scared to death.  I'm already a helicopter mom... and then something like this happens.  I know I had no control over it (besides not letting her go!!!), but I couldn't do that...  It just rocks your world a little.  And is scary. 

The remainder of Saturday night she was honestly fine... played, read books like crazy and was silly.  She actually had a hard time falling asleep cuz she had that hard rest so late.  I'm just sooooo thankful she's ok, and I was there with her.  

and Kayson had a birthday party to attend that night too...  (exhausted from running the kids Saturday!!!) But he had a good time, and was home about 9:30.

Sunday:
Church.
Groceries.
Flag football - in the rain.  Cora and I opted out to watch...  not necessary.  Ryan and K were dripping wet when they got home!  Poor guys.  

A nice afternoon and evening at home. 
Cora talked my ear off all day practically.  She wanted to be my helper and she was!  ha.  

A few pictures... 

Cora's class before the fun run!

Miles for Maple Grove!

BEFORE our scare.

My shopping buddy.

See?  She's good.  ha.

Weekend/Alzhiemer's Walk 2018

Friday:
The kids and I headed to Clarion after school/work.  We had supper with Trish, Greg, Hope and Logan... just at their house.  We just hung out...  kids were 'bored' of course.  It was a quiet night.

Saturday:
We all got up and ready for the day...  kids were up early unfortunately.  I think they slept well, they were just early risers.  All of us - Jill's, Tricia's, Dad and me & kids headed to Fort Dodge for the 2018 Alzheimer's Walk.  We couldn't do the one in Des Moines that was bout 3 weeks ago... so we opted for the FD one.  And it was great actually.  There weren't as many people there/smaller crowd, and a super easy 2 mile walk.  It just was really nice.

Once we were done there... we did a little 'shopping' around town, trying to keep my kids happy.  Thank God for Lindsay... she's soooo good with Cora, especially.  So she hung with us.  Then we all met up for lunch... and then headed back to Clarion.  A lot of driving, but it worked out ok. 

We hung out at Tricia's again for a little while...  then I kind of hit a wall.  My allergies were bugging me and I was wiped out.  Guess it was the fresh air, and little sleep!  The kids and I got on the road around 4:00... headed home. 

We had a quiet night at home...  Ryan was in Iowa City at the game.  Kids were in bed at a fairly decent time... and I snoozed on the couch, then hit the sack about 10.  TIRED!!!

Sunday:
Church.
Errands. Cleaning.
Flag Football. And Kayson (and Hudsen) had a great game!!  They both played so well... passed well, caught well and K got a couple touchdowns, which was fun! 

Then we just hung out at home... again, kind of a quiet night. 

Kayson seeing Dennis' corvette in person!  Soon he'll get a ride!

 

 

 
 

 

The grands.  Grandma loved them so much.

All of us.  LOVE.

 

 

 

 

Kayson and Trish running.

Cora - Tumbling and Dance (Tap & Ballet)

We are a couple weeks into tumbling and dance - back at Charlee's studio.  So far, it's going well.  I always worry about how Cora will act, but really - she's done well.

The tumbling class is taught by Brittlyn, which is the best.thing.ever.  However, Cora is the oldest/tallest girl in that specific class.  I hesitated at first... and wondered if it was the right fit.  We were told she needed to do this class 'again', so we did.  Fine.  I did talk with Brittlyn...  she said/suggested we just keep her in the class - as she's a great role model, and she'll be a good helper for Britt, then maybe by winter time, she could shift to a different tumbling class.  Great.  And to be honest, that seems like the easier option right now, as Cora doesn't really like change... so... we'll stick with it.

The dance class is taught by Miss Roni. They do tap and ballet in this class... and man, it's the cutest thing.  To see Cora in her little leotard that has a skirt on it... and her tights.  Oh she's beautiful.  I may be bias.  :)  But anyway, the class is going well so far.  Cora listens great... stands nicely when she needs to...  I'm very impressed.  (especially when all of the others in the class are touching something or moving around CONSTANTLY while Cora stands there nicely).  I love it.

There will be much more to come... but I just wanted to get this wrote down!

 

 

 

 

Weekend

Well... I made it through the week with Ryan gone.  And then again on Saturday... he's just a work-a-holic right now.  Busy season for him.

Kids and I hung out Saturday morning. 
We met Ryan for a quick lunch Saturday...  then did a few errands.
Saturday afternoon the kids played, and that night we watched the Iowa game from home.  It was a night game, and with Ryan being gone, he decided to not go. 

Sunday we did church.
Cora had a birthday party to go to, which she had a blast. 
Kayson had flag football.
We then got Cora's room emptied.  (more to come on that - but she's getting a whole new room!!!)

The weather the past week has been hot.  Like hot for mid-September.  I'm over it...  ready to go back to the cooler 70s!!

Our Week - when Ryan is gone for 5 full nights

So...  this is the week that I dread.  Ryan is in South Dakota - nearly 8 hours away.  He leaves on a Sunday (early afternoon), and doesn't return til Friday night.
It's awful.  I dread it.  I worry.  I stress.  It's probably dumb that I do all those things - as I should be 'used' to this.  But I'm not.  The kids change every year... activities change every year... and I still get exhausted and stressed out.

Our week.
I spoke of Flag Football on Sunday...  fairly good, something to do that afternoon. 
Monday was an ok day...  busy at work, and activities at night.  Kayson has started a running program through school, called STRIDE.  And he loves it.  (warms my heart). Cora started tumbling Monday night.  It was just busy...  gets us out of schedule, and the kids are tired.  Me too.

Tuesday was an emotional day.  I wasn't feeling right...  tired, over stressed, tired (again)... We got some bad news about the BTB supervisor leaving (whom we LOVED), and trying to explain that 'lightly' to our kids.  Kayson was emotional from a decision we had to make regarding basketball.  It just was an off day.  And to be honest, doing that on my own is a lot.  In addition, we had Logan come over and mow our yard.  With Ryan being gone... and I just don't do it, we asked for help.  I fed Logan, and the kids were pretty good...  got a little owly with me later that night.

Wednesday I ended up working from home.  I needed some quiet time for just me.  I got my hair done in the afternoon, which was great... much needed time with Lacey too.

And tonight K has STRIDE again, and Cora starts dance.  I'll be running them and picking them up (what seems like all over the place), and putting more and more miles on my new car!  ha.  I pray that Cora does well for dance...  she's always so hesitant with new stuff.  (another stressor).

I'm tired.  We don't have huge plans for this weekend... which is great, but I know Ryan will have to do more work.  #solomomlife

Weekend/Kayson - Flag Football

Once again, I feel like it was just Friday.  I had a terrible week at work.  No real reasons...  besides, just things didn't go smoothly.  People just kind of pissed me off!  ha.  Short weeks take forever!!

Friday:
Friday night we stayed in.  I know I didn't feel like doing anything... I just wasn't feeling it.  We just hung out.  I got our Fall decor out... which isn't much, but it was a nice little change.  I like it. 

Saturday:
We got ready for our day...  a boys day, and a girls day.
Ryan and Kayson headed over to the Iowa/Iowa State game.  Kayson took his friend Hudsen, which was great.  They had a great time, and Ryan said they were great.  Plus it was a big win for the Hawks!

Cora and I headed to Clarion.  I guess I didn't really want to stick around the house all day... thinking if we went and did something, Cora would be good.  I was wrong. 

We (or I) am struggling with Cora.  Man, she can be the sweetest thing, and caring... but most of the time, she's not.  She acts like a baby a lot of the time.  Talking like a baby.  Pouts a lot.  And one other thing that irritates the hell out of me - is the way to she acts shy and doesn't speak to people.  It gets under my skin like no other.  She literally wouldn't talk to anyone when we got to my sisters.  Eventually she did... but it's just dumb in my opinion.  I don't get it.  She doesn't really answer peoples questions either.  She ignores them, or again, acts like a baby and acts like she can't talk.  I just get so embarrassed and quite frankly - pissed off.  It's really no fun to be honest. 

With her acting like this... it dominos into me worrying (again) about her being Hope's flower girl.  She is still telling us she's not doing it.  We haven't talked about it for several weeks actually - and it got brought up in Clarion. She did her normal response - and I got in her face and said to her "yeah, you are doing it for Hope and Logan" and I walked away.  Who knows if it made a difference, but I'm tired of it. 

BUT - in between all that crap from her...  Jill, Trish, Lindsay and I (and Cora) went up to a new boutique that opened in Clarion...  had fun there (again, in between Cora being a brat).  We shopped a little.  We took Cora to the park.  We visited Mom.  I cried to her, while Cora sat in the car.  :(

In a nutshell, we didn't have the 'best' girls day.  But I'm glad I got to see my sisters and Dad.

We got home around 8:30.
Ryan and K got home about 10:15.

Sunday:
Church.
then unfortunately, Ryan had to leave for South Dakota around 1:00.  This is the trip/week that I dread.  I literally am un-easy the entire week.  Him being 7.5 hours away is not easy. So he left, I cried... and the kids were naughty.  It was a long day already.

Anyway... this afternoon Kayson started flag-football.  We are back to doing I-9 Sports, due to staying with flag.  Since he's in 4th grade now, the league we did last year bumps them to tackle  NOPE!  Not for my skinny kid!  ha.  So we went the flag-football route.  It'll be good... fine... fun.  Ryan's coaching with Jarren (Hudsen's Dad).  It'll be fine!

Back at home.  Kids were ok.  Cora struggled a little with listening, but overall - it was ok.  I just pray we make it through the week.  

I do have some great pictures tho!

Cora - Lost 2nd Tooth

and the teeth are just flying out of Cora's mouth!  ha.
Tooth #2 is out - at school, again!  The nurse officially knows Cora!

2018 Labor Day weekend

Our 3 day weekend went fast... even worse than a normal weekend!
Friday:
We hung out at home... a quiet night.  The kids played outside, our friends walked over with their dog...  that was about our evening.  Which was good... I think we just needed to 'hang'. 

Saturday:
Ryan needed to work.  It's his busy season, and is trying to play catch-up.  He skipped out on the first Iowa football game... you know he's busy when he does that. So...  kids and I attempted to stay busy all morning.  We did pretty well.  Lots of cleaning, lots of playing thrown in, some electronics (to give me a break!), and just hanging out. 

I got some groceries - which was only for our fellowship time for Sunday.  I baked for about 3 hours Saturday afternoon.  And I was wiped out...  honestly, I hate standing in the kitchen for that long.  My feet hurt!  I know, wuss.  But I made the most of it, cuz Cora wanted to help, which was nice. 

We watched the Iowa game as well.  First win, so that's good...  Then we got cleaned up to meet my family in Kamrar for supper (for Dad's birthday), or at least that's what I thought we were doing.  There was some severe miscommunication happening on Saturday... lots of texting back and forth - planning for supper, trying to decide if we'd make the trip, etc.  We decided since we'd be gone Sunday, we better drive up there.  An hour and 15 minutes later...  we arrive, and no one was there.  Supper was for Sunday night, not Saturday night. Ryan was irritated, I was sad, kids were annoyed.  It was not good.  But we stayed at the little restaurant and ate (since it was already 6:30).  Ugh.  I felt awful and sad, and mad, and just about everything...  

Anyway, we ate, got back on the road, and hit some terrible rain on the way home.  But we got home... and to bed.  I was wiped out, and missed my Mom right then.  She would have just been so sweet and apologized (for nothing!), and would have tried to make me smile. 

Sunday:
Church...  and then we got packed up and headed to Creston. There's always the Labor Day celebration in Diagonal (hit or miss if we attend due to weather), and this year, we were hit with rain... so we didn't go to any activities.  BUT we got to spend some time at Grandma Janis' farm, which is always good.  We just hung out with a few family members on Sunday afternoon, into the evening.  

Sunday night Creston was hit with lots of rain... and unfortunately, Ryan's parents basement got water.  A lot.  So the guys were up super early (Monday morning) shop vac-ing it out... buckets after buckets of water.  So sad.  Ryan and Mike worked for hours - like all day practically.  They were exhausted.  

... and into Monday: The rain finally stopped about 1pm.  We just kind of hung out Monday morning, passing the time...  then JeanAnn, me and the kids went down to the farm, leaving the guys at the house. Mike missed all the family time, which is frustrating. We had a yummy lunch with a good chunk of the family.  Typically we celebrate Great Grandma Ann on this day (as she turns 102 tomorrow!!!), but she had fallen a couple weeks ago, and just was a little sore still... so she opted to just stay at the nursing home.  Completely understand.  Plus it was a rainy crappy day anyway...  But we made the most of it - enjoyed the family time, and yummy food.  

We got home around 5:30 tonight. 
Laundry is all done.  Kids were a little owly.  And the 4 hours before bed just went super fast. 

with Cousin Katie

Standing in the rain!

with Cousin Brittlyn

Grandma Janis wanted a pic!