A better rhythm

Somewhere along this road, the kids stopped needing naps and/or rest time.  That actually may have been a couple of years ago, but for some reason it didn't all register with me until recently how this change in nap routines would/should affect our summer rhythms.  We had enough "early" stuff this summer that I was still in that mode in early August and made the mistake of scheduling dentist appointments and other meetings in the morning.

It finally hit me last week that maybe we should stay home in the mornings when the kids want to move slowly and I want to check things off my list and then do activities in the afternoons.  Duh.  Once I had that epiphany, life has been a lot nicer.  Well, that and I finally got sort of caught up with some of the garden produce.

Last Wednesday morning the kids made a very elaborate zoo set-up in the basement with little animals, blocks, people, trains, etc.  It entertained them off and on for most of the week ... until there was a "hurricane" down there and then a flood, at which point I taught them about the massive clean-up efforts needed after hurricanes :)

Back to Wednesday ... we had lunch with Matt at work, using our Pizza Hut coupons from the summer reading program (!), and then spent the afternoon at the Henry Vilas Zoo.

There's a new Wisconsin heritage exhibit with four badgers!

The lions have cubs right now :)

There's even a porcupine exhibit, too!

We even ended the day by playing in the backyard pool after dinner.  The water was sort of warm, but, oh my, was the air outside c-o-l-d when we got out.

Good productive morning for mom (I think that day was applesauce) + happy kids = good day.

Thursday morning we stayed at home before having a fun playdate with friends in the afternoon.  Again, good productive morning for mom (that day might have been spaghetti sauce) + happy kids = good day.  Thursday night I ended up canning some pears, too, since they needed to be done.

Friday we did a field trip day to Milwaukee to the Public Museum.  What a fun adventure that was!  Everyone was cheerful for the drive and the exhibits.

We spent almost all of our time on just one floor, and the kids were bummed when it was time to leave.  I have a feeling we will be back there again someday; it wasn't until the very end that we discovered the Woodland animals exhibit.

On Saturday afternoon the kids had birthday parties so we stayed home in the morning (while I canned some more pears) before the parties began.  Anna and Matt went to the party of a McFarland friend while Ethan, Kate, and I ran a couple of errands before we went to the party of a church friend.  Another fun day.

Sunday was a church day and then a salsa morning.  (Matt helps with the salsa every year since he by far consumes the most salsa in our family.)  After the salsa was done, I took the kids in to the McFarland pool for the afternoon so Matt could have a little bit of time on his own at home.  This time around, both Kate and Ethan discovered that they could jump off of the diving blocks in the deep end and swim to the side!  They had SO much fun!  We don't have a diving board at our indoor pool, but I bet those two are ready for one :)

Since I finally discovered the better rhythm of our days, I'm doing my best to make that work this week, too.  Hopefully, it helps, because there are A LOT of tomatoes sitting on our counter right now and the apples just keep falling off of the trees, and now the grapes are ripe, too!

Full days

Life has been very full in the last week and a half.  We're trying to hold it all together, do all of the necessary prep for the school year, and keep up with the produce, but it's tricky.

Last Monday we had a brief check-in with a few members of Anna's team for 5th grade.  All signs are pointing to another good year for this kid at the intermediate school in McFarland, her last one before middle school ... ahhh!

One of the coolest parts about the meeting (besides the fact that Ethan and Kate were able to play with legos in the conference room for about an hour) was that Anna led most of the conversation.  Her therapists and teachers asked her questions and she showed the independence to answer just about all of them.  I was kind of in the background - a different role for me with Anna.  However, I did end up sending the team an informative email over the weekend with the details of life that don't always occur to Anna as necessary to share.

After the school meeting, we dropped Kate and Ethan off at a friend's house before heading in to the semi-annual neuro-oncology appointment.  Everything went fine, except for Anna's recurrent double vision.  We had noticed in July that Anna's left eye began turning outwards.  After a few checks by the neurologist, the conclusion is that the issue is related to the eye muscles (again) and is not a neurological issue.  We have a follow-up appointment scheduled with the ophthalmologist at the end of August to see what, if anything, will be done.  So much for a successful surgery back in May ...

One highlight from that trip include an observation by one of the specialists we see who has known Anna since February of 2014.  She was really impressed at Anna's conversation skills and how she was able to interact with all of the doctors on a different level than she did in the past.  Thanks, therapists at CI, for providing Anna with many, many opportunities to work on this!

The other highlight was our after-visit trip up to P4.  Anna used her crutches and, because of the timing of the visit, we were able to see one of Anna's primary nurses, who we haven't seen in years.  He was pleased and excited to see Anna and hugs were shared all around.

By the end of that day, I was beat.  It was a l-o-n-g day.

Tuesday and Wednesday were also long days.  Grocery shopping, canning, freezing, laundry, cleaning, running errands on Wednesday afternoon, etc.  Wednesday also ended with an evening preschool orientation meeting for parents; I think it's starting to hit me that Ethan will be in preK this year.  Yikes!

By Thursday the kids were a mess.  There were a few more things planned at home in the morning (including the annual visit from a medicaid representative to assess Anna's continued enrollment in the Katie Beckett program - read this as the culmination of A LOT of paperwork on mom's part), but then we were hoping to do a field trip in the afternoon.  Yeah, that didn't happen.  One or more of the kids flipped out one too many times and so we stayed home.

But Friday was our fun field trip day.  We spent a few hours in the morning at Eugster's Farm near Stoughton; the kids get free passes when they complete the summer reading program at the library.  The "kitty palace" was definitely a highlight, but the kids enjoyed some of the other parts, too.

Then in the afternoon we braved the indoor McFarland pool for an hour or so.  I'm pretty sure this was the first time I've taken all three kids to a public pool by myself.  Good thing everyone was in a good mood :)  Actually, we had a great time.  It was SO fun to see Kate and Ethan spread their swimming wings after playing in our backyard pool all summer.  We may actually sign them up for swimming lessons this fall to help them keep up with their skills and learn a few things that I can't teach them :)

The weekend included stuff around the house/yard as well as a mountain biking trip for Matt and Kate on Sunday morning after worship.  Kate only came home with a scuffed knee and a bruise on her belly.

The kids have all participated with making applesauce already; our fruit has all been ripening earlier than usual this year, thus the apples in August.  The strainer has also come out for spaghetti sauce once and there are more plans for it this week.

Regardless of the reason, Ethan is always willing to help whenever there is a tool involved.  Kate usually prefers picking the produce, while Anna's favorite is sitting and doing the more tedious tasks, like snapping beans.

It's hard to believe that school will be starting so soon, only two weeks from today.  A lot of life will still be lived before that day, but I think it will be a good transition when it comes.  Kate is already bemoaning the fact that she will have to be in school every day; Anna is looking forward to most aspects of school; Ethan is just plain excited to be going to school this year.

Please pray for all families and educators as they make the transition in the coming weeks to a new school year.

Summer!

The last week has been busy.  Good, but busy.

Last week Monday was a garden day during which we finished up processing the first half of the corn, canned peaches, picked a whole host of other things, and prepped for Tuesday.  Since the kids and I had been missing our time together and we had a handful of errands in the afternoon, we included some playtime at our favorite local park.

Water, rocks, playground, and time together were all good things.

Tuesday was an early MRI day ... 6:30 a.m. report time.  We actually prefer these early ones because they are technically shorter (Anna only has to report an hour before the scan begins instead of 90+ minutes early), and we are usually home a little after lunch so we still have a good portion of the rest of the day.

The entire procedure went very smoothly for Anna again.  I have conflicted feelings about this procedure becoming so routine.  We heard back about the preliminary results before we left; everything remains stable.  Good news!

Tuesday evening we played in the pool with Grandma, who came again to help me in the morning so we could be ready to leave for Augusta on Wednesday afternoon.

Wednesday morning we processed some more green beans and more peaches, while also packing and preparing for our trip.  This momma was tired, not only from the work, but also because Kate ended up sharing the cold she dealt with over the weekend with the rest of us.  I didn't realize how draining this cold must have been on Kate until I had it, too :(

But the trip up north to Grandma and Grandpa's was good, even if all of the adults involved had plenty of things on their minds/plates.  I went blueberry picking twice, once with my dad and once with my dad and the kids.

Again, Anna loved the picking experience and was much more mobile now that she is using her crutches.

 
Ethan did an okay job, but he wanted to just explore instead of pick.

Kate picked well (and ate well) until she found the cat.  Then she hung out with the cat for the rest of the time.

Blackberry picking, walking through the woods, gator rides, playing, and eating all add to the good memories we already have of our trips up north.

When you have a couple of peach trees that are producing vigorously, you even end up bringing along some peaches on a trip like this ... to eat, give away, make into peach cobbler, or make into peach jam.  It's so hard to see good food like this go to waste!

Anna and I were able to spend the morning with Melanie and family on Friday, even though she was in the midst of a crazy week full of extra events, too.  These girls are developing a fun connection; it was hard to say good-bye.

Friday afternoon we went back to our favorite beach and were one of only two families there.  The kids had an awesome time while I was able to just sit back and relax for awhile.

Saturday morning we were able to visit some of my mom's friends who have started raising bees.  It was a fun and educational way to end our trip.

In the first 24 hours we were back, we canned more peaches, made more peach fruit leather, and picked and froze more corn, green beans, and zucchini.

When I say "we", I really mean all of us.  Matt and the kids were GREAT helpers this afternoon with the beans and the corn.

Whew!  We're almost caught up on garden things.  And then the tomatoes will be ripe ...

While the kids and I were gone, Matt took a couple of days off of work and was able to complete several home projects that had been weighing on his mind for a few months.  He also slept in, stayed up late, and went mountain biking a few times.  It's good for him to have a break from the normal routine, but we all missed him by the time we came home.

I made the mistake of telling Kate tonight that there are three weeks left until school starts.  That doesn't sound like a lot to her ... to me either to be completely honest :(

CI Summer Camp Week 4

Friday marked the end of Anna's Advance session this summer.  And what a session it was!  Anna continued to work hard throughout the week, but was definitely feeling it.  She is just now getting back to her more typical energy levels.

This week's activities included lots of pulleys, lots of stairs, "breaks" during which she played games with Melanie while standing on dynamic surfaces or tall kneeling, or half kneeling, preparing pictures and videos for her home exercise program, and making a special dessert with her occupational therapist on Thursday to be shared at Friday's party, a CI Advance tradition.

Anna's numbers for the week included doing the 10 meter walking test with crutches in about 7.5 seconds, walking about 550 feet in 6 minutes using her crutches, and taking 109 steps unassisted (think very, very small and controlled steps).  Wow.  Awesome progress.  The "plan" in our family is for Anna to use her crutches when she is with us, unless fasted walking is necessary or she is fatigued, then we will switch back to the walker.

Activities outside of therapy this week for Anna included some time in the pool on Monday afternoon and Tuesday evening plus a couple of afternoons of playing with playdoh with the siblings.

Kate (mostly) and Ethan (somewhat) worked very conscientiously on making characters from Beauty and the Beast (we've had the molds for years, since I picked them up at a garage sale one summer).  Kate made sure their clothes, skin, and accessories were accurately depicted, or at least with the colors she had available.

Thursday afternoon we took advantage of the break in the rainy weather and met CI friend Melanie and her family at Olbrich Gardens for the Blooming Butterflies exhibit.  The indoor portion was amazing, as the butterflies all decided to enjoy the few brief hours of sunshine after what had otherwise been a cloudy, rainy day.  The outdoor part was okay, but with lots of bothersome mosquitoes.

These girls enjoy their shared time at CI greatly.  What a blessing they are to one another.

Kate and Ethan came along, as well, and I think had a bit of fun, too, although not as much as they have had in the past.

Speaking of Kate, she participated in a morning camp at the UW Arboretum this past week and, I think, soaked up many good parts of the experience.  In fact, after her last day when I asked her to rank the different summer camps she has done (Camp Pawprint at the Humane Society, two camps at Aldo Leopold Nature Center last year, and now this), she put this camp at the top of her list.  The slower, observational pace of the activities seemed to be a good fit for her.  She came home each day talking about different plants or insects that she was able to watch for long periods of time.  We will have to keep this in mind when we begin planning for next summer.

Kate also had a check-up last Friday afternoon at the doctor's office.  Everything is just fine with this 8 year old.  70% for height, 70% for weight.  She has been following this approximate curve for most of her life :)

Ethan and I alternated our mornings with gardening tasks and appointments for me.  He was a good sport, but we were both tired of all the driving by the time Friday rolled around.  The rest and recuperation of the weekend was good for all of us.  Well, the others had a bit more rest that this momma.  Peaches, corn, beans, etc. were all ready for harvest.  But all of it amazingly delicious, especially those peaches.

I'm hoping that the next several weeks bring plenty of opportunities for making summer memories before the school routine begins again ...