The One With All The Things

October 17-20, 2019 (Fall Break)

Per the norm, I always forget how BUSY this time of the year is!  Birthdays, Homecomings, SCHOOL, and all the rest. Once again, we packed it all in on a busy extended Fall Break Weekend.  Crazy schedules, a big family, and living in a college town leave us never bored!

Since I was at work all day on Thursday and Friday (I don't get a fall break!) I have no idea what happed at the house those 2 days.  I had hoped someone would clean the shower... But I do know, we had Thursday Night Lights in Stillwater this week, and it did not disappoint!  Here are some images from the Pioneer's BIG win over Lawton (it was COLD!)

THAT SMILE!

Friday, Lara got up early and went to work at the donut shop in Guthrie.  Emma was home all weekend in Orlando, so I am not sure what her days consisted of!

Saturday, I know both girls worked the donut shop all day!  sad they missed out on the family traditions of the Sea of Orange OSU Homecoming parade!  They were definitely missed.  OSU lost the football game that afternoon, and when Lara got home she crashed!

Sunday was for homework!  Sunday evening we went to church, then to dinner, then walked around the OSU campus - after 70,000 of our closest friends had GONE HOME for the weekend!  Snapped this pic of Lara in front of the building she will be spending A LOT of time in over the next few years:

BUSY weekend, as usual.  Next weekend, Emma's basketball season starts, the Pioneer football season marches on, and the girls both take the ACT.  Here's to Fall!

The One Where We Got a Break

October 20-23, 2017
This weekend also started early.  Another Thursday Night Lights game for the SHS pioneers.  This time, because of Fall Break at the schools.  We traveled to Enid Thursday night to watch our boys WIN another one!  It was a fun family trip, and of course we adore being able to support Lara in what she does..  She is such a hard worker, and does it all with grace and pride.  Never complains.  Just makes it happen, and looks good while doing it.

We came away with the "W" on Thursday night, and Dad got the chance to go over to the "Home" side bleachers during halftime and meet up with some of his old High School buddies and watch their kids perform with the Band in the half time show.  And of course, by the time the buses got back to Stillwater, and the Trainer Team did all of their cleaning and organizing (to avoid being back up at the high school early Friday morning of Fall Break), it was already Friday and those small hours of the clock were showing.

While I had to work on Friday, Dad and the kids got a day too relax.  All the kids slept in, and based on the reports I received when I arrived home after work, Lara basically slept off and on all day.  As a reward for "surviving" my week (See the last 2020 Project post; it was rough) my family took me out to dinner.  Rib Crib had a fun message on the marquee out front that Finn really got a kick out of!

As for Emma and her Fall Break, she had a doctor's appointment in Guthrie on Friday to see how some meds she is on were working, and then she and her step-sister had a camp out in their yard.  Basketball practice and scrimmages are in full swing, so that is keeping her very busy as well - even on Fall Break.  Keeping busy and enjoying some down time - sounds like a good way to spend fall break.

Saturday morning, Lara had a volunteer shift scheduled at a local food pantry, Our Daily Bread.  She was there with students from her SMAC (Stillwater Makes A Difference) group, and there was a church group there as well.  This local food and resource center is the designated beneficiary for the SMAC group this year.  All of the monies raised by  the student-led group will be donated to help keep the pantry open and operating to support our community.  This was her first time to do this, and she had a great time and learned a lot.  One of the volunteer coordinators took a group picture and shared with us as well.

After her volunteer gig, her Dad picked her up and whisked her off to spend the rest of the weekend with them.  I still get a little tug on my heart when i don't get to spend these precious moments with BOTH of my baby girls.  But, they are so lucky to have so much FAMILY to love on them and support them.  I drove out to Orlando to pick Lara up after the boys went to church with us at 4:00.  Then it was home for family meeting, laundry, and getting ready for another week.

I am writing this early Tuesday morning after a Monday Night JV Pioneer football game.  They are now 9-0 on the season!  What a great time to be a part of Pioneer Football.  Friday night is Senior Night for out Varsity boys.  It is hard to believe the season is already winding down...

SQUIRREL!

My ADD kicks in and I realize I haven’t gotten done anything I had planned on doing.  Hence, the blog has not been updated in almost 2 weeks.  And a LOT had has happened!   I just can’t seem to keep it all straight some days!  I have had it on my “To Do” list more than once, but, it just slips away…

Here we are, 2 weeks since Finn’s first birthday and the weekend of epic events, and I thought my season of busy would be over.  I was wrong.  While we are not knee deep in event planning like we were, this week we are knee deep in the sickies.  But, more on that later!  First, let’s get caught up on the past two weeks!

• ·         Finn: had a cold, went to the Dr – checked out fine (we still worry about those fragile lungs!).  2 days later, went back to the Dr for his 1 year well check.  He weighed in at 16 pounds 13 ounces and 28 inches tall.  Long and Lean!  He is right on track for between 9 and 12 months developmentally.  Got 6 injections – including the first half of his flu shot.  (I got my flu shot that morning as well!)  Our pediatrician recommended taking him off formula and starting whole milk – and a sippy cup.  2 weeks later we are all systems go on the milk, and about 50/50 on the cup.  Biggest stumbling block?  He refuses to HOLD the cup.  Or the bottle!  Silly baby!

• ·         Big Kids: Emma is in the middle of fall volleyball – practices and Saturday games keep us hopping!  Lara has her regular dance classes and Nutcracker rehearsals to keep her going, too.  Jake signed up to play Upward Basketball with Eagle Heights Baptist Church,  and we are looking forward to stating that soon.  All 3 kids got their first 9 week report cards and we had conferences with all of their teachers.  They are doing GREAT!  Emma and Lara are on the straight A Train, and Jake even got one of the highest grades for a Kindergartener in MUSIC!  Britt and I are rubbing off on him!  YAY!

• ·         Fall break for our school was last Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.  The girls spent part of that time with their Other Dad, and we got to take Jake and Finn to the OSU Homecoming Harvest carnival to play games and gather up candy.  NEWSFLASH: Jake Weaver is an ACE at carnival games! LOL!  He had the time of his life out there!

And speaking of Homecoming, “America’s Greatest Homecoming Celebration” was in Stillwater this past weekend!  We started by wearing orange every day last week, as it a tradition for Britt and I!  We enjoying seeing the Library Fountain run orange, the sign competition on Library Lawn, the Residence Halls lit up in orange on Thursday night, and of course, WalkAround on Friday night!  We took the 4 kids, and along with my parents walked the entire route – even stopped for pictures with Pistol Pete!  Finn is such a relaxed baby – he did great being carted around in the Baby Bjorn carrier.  We even stopped at the Alpha Delta Pi house for refreshments.  We tried to go early to get out of there early, since the Sea of Orange Parade was to start at 8:00am on Saturday!  We got up and out the door early for that one – and really enjoyed that, too.  But for us, the best part was snuggling in at home as a family with some pizza to watch the game in our cozy living room.  What a great day for our family to watch OSU beat the Iowa State Cyclones!  SUCH a better feeling than homecoming last year when things were so unsettled for our family!  And to top off a fun day - Britt loaded us all up after the game and we went to the pumpkin patch!  SO MUCH FUN!

Which bring me back to the sickies at my house.  3 of 4 kids have had SOMETHING to deal with the last couple of weeks.  Lara ended up in the ER in the middle of the night several days ago with her first ever full blown asthma attack!  Her rescue inhaler didn’t change a thing, so I took her in to get a breathing treatment.  The whole experience was less than stellar, but I won’t go into that here.  Her follow up with our pediatrician was today, and I now have a script for the nebulizer machine and the meds to administer breathing treatments at home should the need arise, and she has been authorized by her doctor and her school to self-carry her rescue inhaler at all times.  We may have to see an allergy/asthma specialist in the future.  Emma has been diagnosed with strep throat.  AGAIN.  2^nd time since school started – 2^nd time in 8 weeks.  Not even 2 full months!  UGH!  She has always been my “susceptible” one, but never has it enough (5 times in 12 months) to get her tonsils removed by the ENT here in town.  Not that I want her to be sick, but I would really love to get to that point so we can remove them!  And poor baby Finn.  He was getting over that cold, and then it just came back and knocked him down again.  He had a rough weekend, a bad night last night, and I took him with us to see the doctor today.  He has the baby equivalent of a sinus infection.  This is his 2^nd round of antibiotics in 2 months.  I really just need to get everyone well and to STAY well!  Our nurse said something about how she hadn’t seen Jake in quite a while, and I told her to bite her tongue!  She knocked on wood so we would not have him get sick soon, too!  LOL!

Halloween is quickly approaching!  The 3 big kids are set – accessories and all.  Emma and Lara are going to be the most beautiful police women you have ever seen, and Jake is a ninja.  Finn was to be an adorable baby convict, but his costume is on back order- with no release date set.  After I panicked (and cried – this is a big deal to me!) last week, I bought a convict costume that would fit Jake, and I think my friend Gabi is going to help me make something work – in case the other one never shows up!  Emma and Lara are bummed, too!  They were looking forward to carting around their little prisoner!  We’ll find a way to make it work, I’m sure!

And remember this super fun Gender Reveal Party we went to over the summer?  Well, Baby B made his appearace this weekend!  Braxton Wayne was born on Thursday, October 18, 2012 at 7:46pm weighing in at 7 pounds 11 ounces.  3 weeks early, but doing very well!  So happy for our friends Jenny and Brian!

I am happy to say that after today, this week is a slow one.  We need it!  Of course with Halloween in the middle of next week, it will be a doozie!  Happy Spooking!