Just When You Thing You Have Things Under Control...

 Well, rather foolishly, I've been thinking lately that things are going pretty smoothly around here. Life doesn't feel like constant chaos anymore. We have time to just BE. Like watching Arthur Christmas with all the kids on the weekend!

Then- Jacob gets a fever at daycare the Monday before Thanksgiving, and throws a wrench in everything. I have to leave work early, because Adam is in crunch time at school (end of the quarter, finals are next week!).

So-

I was frazzled and stressed, and Papa John's came to the rescue for dinner that night (the on n Issaquah has hot & ready pepperoni pizza's for only $5!).

The Washington State Health Department doesn't allow a child to go to school/daycare until they have 24 hours WITHOUT a fever. So, I took Tuesday off of work also, thinking surely his fever would be gone that day and he could go back to daycare Wednesday. Nope. Still had a fever Tuesday.

So Jacob and I paid a visit to Urgent Care (He is trying desperately to escape the doctor's office in t his pic). I hoped it was an ear infection, because he could start antibiotics and go back to daycare Wednesday still. Nope- couldn't figure out what was wrong. Uuugh. I called in and took Wednesday off of work as well. Goodbye sick days.

On the bright side, Jacob was a really sweet boy while I was home with him. And- Taylor lost her top tooth! She woke up, and it had fallen out in her sleep and was on her tongue.

In other good (okay, pretty stinking AWESEOME) news, Taylor won the Reflections contest at her school! If you have school age kids, you knwo what this is. For those who don't: It is a voluntary art contest, held every year. Each school has one, and those winners move on to the school district, then the state, etc. They have a theme, and you can submit visual art, photography, dance, music, etc.

The theme this year was The Magic of a Moment. Taylor spent a lot of time thinking and planning her artwork. She painted a watercolor blue sky, then used oil pastels to draw the branches of an apple tree. Then she cut out scraps of fabric for the leaves, and for the apples. She wrote a paragraph about how magical it was to spend time with her family this summer, playing in the apple tree, napping under it, and even eating the apples. (Sorry, I don't have a pic, it's on Adam's phone!)

Anyway, she was very proud of it (so was I!) so I matted it (Thank you Mr. Egan for teaching me how important the presentation of your artwork is!), and she dropped it off at school. We anxiously waited weeks to find out, and last Wednesday found out she won for Best Interpretation in the Visual Arts category for her school. Woo Hoo! We go to an Open House at the high school in early January, and then we will find out if she wins for the district (fingers crossed!).

(On a side note- I can't wait to get the painting back, because I robbed the mat from my large family portrait and it looks very odd without it!)

All is Well!

Well, we got up bright and early today, and took the WHOLE family to Seattle Childrens for Asher's cardiologist appointment today. I did not have my thinking cap on when I made his appointment, and didn't realize November 12th was Veterans Day and school AND daycare would be closed. Oops. It's a good thing they have an awesome sibling daycare/playroom at the hospital (although Jacob is too young for it, so we still had wrestle with him during the appointment)!

Here is my big boy getting an EKG done. He was less than thrilled with this, and this was the calmest he was for it. Oh well... hopefully in 6 months at his next appointment, he will understand a little better and won't be so scared of the wires.

Asher had an echocardiogram done today, also. They wanted to check his heart, valves, arteries, etc. and see how they are doing. At Primary Childrens, Asher was always sedated for these (because he is crazy active and wouldn't sit still to save his life). Here at Seattle Childrens, they only sedate if it is absolutely necessary. So, Asher was NOT sedated, and actually did quite well! He was upset at first, he didn't like the gel on his chest, and the wand scared him. But "Cars" and a bubble machine helped. He finally settled down, and I explained to him that she was looking at pictures of the inside of his body on her computer. He thought that was cool, and started looking at the computer screen instead of the movie. I asked him where his heart was, and he showed me (smart boy!), and I told him that the pictures were his heart. I think he understood me; at any rate, it kept him pre-occupied!

So- the appointment went very well. There is a very slight leak in his pulmonary valve, but otherwise no issues. Yay! he will continue to be monitored every 6 months, but no major imaging will be done until he shows symptoms, or the echo shows a problem. Dr. Likes thinks it will likely be years before we need to do any intervention with his heart. YEARS! That sounds so fantastic.



I'm Alive!

I know, I know, it's been a LONG time!

Life is moving along here. We enjoyed a beautiful, mild, long summer in Washington. Adam did stellar for his first quarter of college- he earned a 4.0! Woo-hoo! He's almost done with his second quarter, and is doing quite well again.

I got a job! I started the end of June. I am an administrative assistant for Healthcare Realty (a publicly traded REIT that owns and manages medical properties in 28 states). I assist the asset manager of 5 different medical office buildings in Washington and Oregon. I love it! I work out of our office in Bellevue, in a beautiful, brand-spanking-new medical tower that we manage. It's a great job- I started interviewing for it when we still lived in Utah. I thought it was a long shot, but I kept moving on to the next interview process. I was elated when I got the job- it was my top choice of all the companies I interviewed with.  

Life has been busy, busy. The kids got to school/daycare/pre-school while I work, and Adam goes to school. Our day starts bright and early at 6am, and most days we aren't home until 6pm. But it's worth it, and we are so glad we are here and have this opportunity for Adam to go to school.

Most recently, we enjoyed Halloween:

Jacob was an adorable dragon- all of my kids have worn this costume now!

Asher was a milk-chugging vampire

John was Batman- the costume doubled as his birthday present (in September)

For some reason Taylor's picture won't load- She was a bride. Imagine her in her baptism dress, only with a veil and flowers.

I took the day off of work and went to the daycare Halloween Party, and Taylor's class Halloween Party. Then, I had a meeting with Early Intervention and the Issaquah School District to discuss Asher's transition into the District's therapy program when he turns 3 in April. It's crazy to even think about! He will be in their pre-school, 2 1/2 hours a day, 4 days a week. Speech, feeding, and Occupational therapists will come in on a regular basis to work with him there.

In other news- Asher has his next cardiology appointment Monday! Can't believe it came so fast. Keep your fingers crossed for good results. He seems to be doing well, but you never really know.

That's all for now- I'll post Monday about his appointment.