Alaska Time (and Sun Valley and Florida, too)

It's that time of year again, when I feel like I'm a single mom with all of Scott's traveling.

Right now he's on his way home from Sun Valley.  He's been there since Wednesday.  We get him home for about 12 hours before he boards a plane in the morning for Florida.  He gets to go to a "once in a lifetime golfing event" (his words).  He'll be in Florida Saturday-Monday.  Then we get him home for one full day--Tuesday, which is Savannah's birthday.  Then he leaves Wednesday morning for 9 days in Alaska.  Then we get him home for 3 days (during which is Sara's baptism), then he spends 5 more days in Alaska.

My wonderful visiting teacher brought me dinner last night.  She knew Scott was gone, and knew I had a super busy day, so she brought pizza, french bread, a salad (for me), and ice cream sandwiches for dessert.  I babysat Lincoln from noon to 3:15, then hopped in the car to go pick up Savannah at school.  I got her at 3:45, and drove to her 4:15 gymnastics class.  I pulled into the neighborhood as the other kids were getting off the bus at 4:30.  I helped Aaron with his homework for half an hour, then took Sara and Aaron to their 5:15 gymnastics class (and picked up Savannah).  Then it was back home for half an hour, then back to pick up Sara and Aaron at 6:15.  When we got home at 6:30, dinner was waiting for us.  We ate quickly, then I headed out the door with Josh and Owen just before 7 to go to Pack Meeting.  (Savannah volunteered to babysit everyone except Owen).  What a wonderful thing to not have to worry about cooking in all of that craziness.  I truly appreciated that kind act of service.

504

This morning I got to do something that I never imagined I would have to do.  I went to the school and had a meeting with the principal, the school nurse, the school OT, the school counselor, and Aaron's teacher.  We met to set up a 504 plan for Aaron.  A 504 is a step below an IEP.  It is a plan that allows for certain accommodations to be made in the classroom to help Aaron succeed. 

This is truly something I never thought I would have to deal with.  I never imagined I would have a special needs child.  Back in January when Aaron was diagnosed, it totally turned my world upside down.  I knew Aaron was different than my other kids, and I've made accommodations for him in our home long before I knew specifically what we were dealing with.  When we had an actual diagnosis, it was like receiving a breath of fresh air, because finally all my concerns were validated.  But at the same time, it really hit me hard because it meant that Aaron had a real problem that was going to make his life difficult for a long time. 

I have been taking Aaron to Occupational Therapy every week since January.  I have seen so much improvement with him.  But, he still has a long way to go.

The meeting this morning was great.  It was so comforting to have these 5 people sitting around me, all trying to figure out how to best help my son.  They all wanted Aaron to succeed and were willing to come up with accommodations to help Aaron be happy and do well in school.  Aaron's teacher is fantastic and has already implemented a lot of the things for Aaron.  She said he's a great student.  He doesn't ever complain, and is always willing to do whatever work is assigned to the class (but his finished product is never quite what it should be).  She said, though, that as long as he is giving it his best, and she can see improvement, she doesn't care what his work looks like for now.  Aaron is a lucky kid to have so many people care about him!

Scott's 36th Birthday

Hmmm, I don't seem to be doing a very good job at keeping up with things here.  Life just gets busier and busier.

The 15th was Scott's birthday.  The night before (knowing that his actual birthday was going to be a bit busy), we went to Aspen Leaf for birthday ice cream.  The next morning, Scott started out his birthday by taking Josh to his first football game.  The game was early, so I stayed home and let the other kids sleep in.  They lost, but Josh had fun.

After Scott got home from the game, I surprised him with taking him to buy new golf clubs (a set of irons).  He's still playing with his high school clubs, and with as much golf as he plays, I figured it was time he got some new ones.  He spent a couple of hours testing out different brands, before deciding on a custom made set of Callaways.  They actually just called today to say that the clubs are in.  I think this birthday present was a hit.

After golf club shopping, we hurried home and got everyone dressed up, then drove out to Nampa for family pictures with Scott's whole family.  I was more than a little nervous about how it would go--when you get that many people (i.e. kids) together in one picture, you never know what you are going to get.  But, the kids did really well, and I'm excited to see how the pictures turn out.

After pictures, we found the closest Red Robin for a proper birthday dinner.  The kids and I made sure our waitress knew it was Scott's birthday, and she completely embarrassed him with all of the wait staff singing him happy birthday.  By the time we got home, it was too late to do cake, so we had to just count Scott's birthday sundae at the restaurant as his birthday cake.

But, then over the weekend I started to feel really guilty, because I didn't have any pictures of Scott and the kids around a birthday cake.  So on Monday, I went a bought an ice cream cake, and that night we celebrated properly.

Sara's 8th Birthday

After celebrating with her friends on Saturday, it was a family celebration on her actual birthday (Monday).

Eight is the baptism birthday, so Sara got baptism themed presents. She got a bracelet and hair bow to wear on the day of her baptism, and she got her own (with her name on the front) set of scriptures and bag. And her older brother and sister raided their tooth fairy money and gave her a total of $8.

Cake time is always a favorite, and all the kids huddled around to "help" Sara.

I am so glad Sara is part of our family. She is such a special spirit and adds so much to our home. I especially love how Sara has a gift with babies. She and Owen have such a special bond--she just has a way with him, and he adores her. I can't believe Sara is 8 already, she is growing up too fast for my liking. But, I love seeing the special girl that she is growing up to be. Happy Birthday Sara Hope!

Sara's Birthday Party

Sara's birthday was this past Monday. The Friday before her birthday, she got to go shopping with Grandma Jo. She got lots of cute clothes, including the cute zebra striped dress that she chose to wear for her birthday party.

We had her birthday party last Saturday.  We had Pizza Hut pizza (Sara's favorite).

Then we cleared away the pizza and let half the girls decorate cupcakes, while the other half got their fingernails painted (and then switched as each group finished). Savannah had a few of her friends come help paint nails, so we had a little mini salon going on our back patio.

We had birthday cupcakes (which Owen thoroughly enjoyed).

Then it was present time. She got so many arts and crafts projects. I'm still trying to clear my kitchen table of them and find a place to keep them.

It was a really fun party with such a cute group of girls. Sara thanked me for days afterward for giving her such a great party.

Football Season

It's football season for Josh.  He started practice the middle of August.  He practices just once a week (on Mondays) and it's late enough in the evening, that Scott is home from work, so he takes him and stays to watch.

This last Saturday was Josh's big tailgate party to get everyone excited for their first game this Saturday. The BSU cheerleaders, dancers, mascot, and marching band were all there to help them celebrate.

I can't wait to watch Josh play this Saturday!

A Mean Game of Tag

Last Friday I spent the morning outside with my two little boys. I pushed them on the swings, then watched them ride bikes in the driveway. When I went back in the house, I had a message on the answering machine. It was the school nurse. She said Josh had tripped in PE and hit his chin on the floor and she wanted to talk to me about the cut on his chin. I flipped through the caller ID to see when she had called, and noticed 4 calls from Scott right in a row. I figured they had already reached him on his cell phone, so I called him. He was with Josh at Primary Health getting his chin glued. Josh had tripped on another kids' foot during tag and had hit the floor so hard, his chin just split open. Josh was so brave, though, and as soon as his chin was glued, he had Scott take him back to school to finish out the day.

Cousin Camp

Over Labor Day weekend, my mom held "Cousin Camp".  It didn't start till Sunday evening, and ended Monday afternoon, so it was going to be a long drive for a short stay.  I convinced Scott to spare Owen the drive (since he isn't invited to cousin camp-no diapers).  And I volunteered to stay home with Owen and clean and organize the house (plus, I needed to be at our church to play the piano in Primary).  My husband is such a good man, that he agreed to my little plan.  The trip didn't start out so great. The little boys were sad that I wasn't coming with them, and Josh was being a grouch about having to sit where he was told. But, Scott told me that once they got on the road, they all behaved really well the whole drive.

Unfortunately, my plans to accomplish great things got derailed by Owen getting sick. He started running a really high fever and throwing up Sunday night. Monday I was able to control his fever with Tylenol, but by that night even Tylenol wasn't bringing it down (it was 105 with Tylenol). Scott got home as I was cleaning Owen up from his third round of throwing up. We put the other kids to bed (they had a great time and were totally worn out), and Scott went to the store for some Ibuprofen. We gave Owen that and stripped him down to his diaper to try and get him cooled off. We were able to get the fever down to 103, and let him sleep with us that night. And by morning he was fine. I'm just really glad I stayed home with Owen, it would not have been fun to deal with him being sick while traveling.