our lately

This child of mine is going to send me to an early grave.  My heart and anxiety level just cannot take motherhood and the pains that come along with it.  For real.

Let's start with last Wednesday. It was a really awful day.

I took Reese took the doctor because he's started having very frequent accidents over the past few weeks.  I was pretty sure it was something minor, but wanted to confer with our pediatrician just to make sure.

After confirming that my little boy had grown a not so little two and a half inches in the last two months we did a simple urine test.  Can I tell you how exciting Reese found it to tinkle in a cup? Unfortunately that excitement was quickly ruined by the dreaded finger stick.  Even worse?  The really high reading of Reese's blood sugar level. Especially considering he hadn't had anything to eat or drink in over two hours.

Not good news, people. Also not good?  When your favorite doctor looks really concerned and perplexed.  I felt like someone had punched me in the stomach.

I actually held it together really well on the drive home.  I called Lofton, my mom, and my favorite friend and shared the news that we would have to fast all night and then return to the doctor in the morning to repeat the test. Then we got home and Reese asked in a really pitiful voice if he could please have some skittles for being so brave.  And then I fell apart like a cheap suit.  {And duh, totally let the dentist hating kid have a heap of skittles. Fasting didn't start until ten.}

Lofton agreed to a family slumber party without hesitation so I know he was worried, too.

Luckily, everything is fine.  Reese's second blood sugar reading was on the high end of average, but within a normal range, so we'll just keep an eye on it.

The fix for his bathroom issue is a simple one and we are happy to move on.

To today.  As I was putting him the car at daycare I noticed his right arm {specifically his hand up through his wrist and lower arm} was giant.  Like so swollen that his skin was hot and hard.

Awesome.

Back into school we went.  After multiple attempts to figure out what happened, we were stumped.  Reese wasn't much help and there wasn't a visible insect bite.

Hi ho, hi ho, it's back to the doctor we go!

Our favorite doctor wasn't working today so we saw a newbie.  He was actually really great, which is saying a lot considering my history with doctors.  He poked and prodded, moved around and wriggled fingers.  He got Reese to squeeze his hand and rotate his wrist; both things Reese did pretty well considering the swelling.  We decided that meant nothing was broken.  

Reese was given a giant dose of oral steroids {and a prescription to continue them for four days}.  The doctor said maybe once the swelling goes down we'll be able to locate an actual bite.  Either way, my mama nerves are shot.

Sweet boy has also had a prescription dose of Benadryl, so he's currently sound asleep snuggled up on his Daddy-O.  I'm thinking we'll both agree to just leave him there for tonight.

celebrating

Eleven years ago tonight I met the handsome boy who stole my heart.

summer 2004

He had on a blue shirt.  I had on something entirely inappropriate that attracted his attention.  

Our once upon a time story is a lengthy one, but at the end of the day he alone is my Sunday morning full of grace.  

L-- All my heart, forever. 

weary

I am tired.

I have hugged familiar faces, greeted my new nuggets {side note: my intern calls the kids nuggets and it cracks me up}, and planned for hours straight.  My face hurts from smiling, my brain is overworked, my back is aching.

But I'm eager to begin.  I know once these first few weeks are past us, we'll settle into a routine, and these new faces will be the familiar ones.

Right now it's all so new. I don't do new well.  And this year I'm faced with some unique challenges that I've never experienced before.

I told my intern today that lesson one is the most important: Teaching isn't the hard part, learning to get along with everyone involved in the teaching process is.  My principal and I later talked about the exact thing.  This job of educating little people is challenging, and after six years I still feel like a novice every August.

Monday's a big day.

just stopping in

Hi.

Life is crazy right now.  Lofton and I are both swamped with work, and our sweet boy is just tagging along for the ride.

His first week in his new class is going great.  That makes my mama heart feel much better about the work/school situation.  I don't worry one bit that he's being loved all day, even if I'm not doing the loving.

Tomorrow I meet my TWENTY ONE new lovelies.  Yes, that's twenty one.  I've shifted furniture, moved in new desks, and prayed.  Maybe you should pray, too?  What a blessing that my intern is a doll.  She's going to get a crash course in classroom management come Monday morning.

My room is ready, but I'm not sure if I am...

I'll be back!

not so awful

We have emerged from our first two days back in the real world of school and work unscathed.  My sweet boy did great!
 

It was a little tough to rouse him at six Thursday morning, but Friday morning he was up at 5:15.

Oh, you thought he might forget Friday equals Chick Fil A on the way to school?  Umm no.

I did okay, too.  It's an adjustment, an adjustments take time.  Adjustments are also an excuse for cheer up Starbucks.

Friday, Buck and Emo surprised Reese at school around lunch and then came to visit me.  We celebrated Buck's birthday in grand fashion: dinner out Friday night, an all day fire pit barbecue Saturday, and a from scratch birthday cake.
 

The cake was superb.  I offered him three options {chocolate, caramel, or strawberry} and he picked caramel.  It was a great choice.  My cakes aren't going to win any awards for beauty, but they make up for it in taste.

Also on Saturday was an entertaining side adventure courtesy of my mother.  After a little downtown shopping, we headed home to check on the boys.  In route we came across a chihuahua in the road.  Being the animal rescuers we are {NOT!}, we stopped.  Mama went door to door looking for the owners, but had no luck.

Home came the dog:

After about an hour of trying to figure out what in the world we should do, we headed back out to take her to the humane society for a microchip scan.  The humane society had already told me they were at full capacity, so I knew we couldn't leave her there.  Just for kicks, I rode through the area where we had originally found the dog.  Low and behold there was a man looking!  Tiki was reunited with her owner.  Thank you, Lord.

And finally, three of my favorite people stopped by on their way home to Augusta this afternoon.

The Beasley family is pretty smitten with this little lady.  Reese was also beyond excited that Uncle Hugh brought him a Batman toy.  That Hugh, he's big on bribing people to like him best.  And it totally works.

And now it's Monday eve, my least favorite time.  Raise your hand if you think Lofton should buy me a present to make re-adjusting to work easier?

the time has come to say goodbye

Two more days left to summer vacation and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't sad.  I have loved my summer at home.  This is the first summer I've felt Reese was really able to be a part of the summer, not just a side kick.

We've enjoyed our beach trips, the aquarium/zoo visit, and art camp.  But we've also really enjoyed the quiet days of going to the library, having lunch with Daddy, baking in the kitchen, and just hanging out together. Our days and our hearts have been full of time together.

Yep, I'm ugly cry sad.

I know if I did this all the time I wouldn't enjoy it near as much.  And clearly Reese is at the age where he'd be headed to school anyway.  I adore my third graders a majority of the time, and I delight in investing in them and watching them grow.

I just don't delight in this transition time.  Going back to being a working mama who still has to do all the stay at home mama things is a hard adjustment.  Every year.

So as we adjust to a new routine {otherwise known as our old one, I guess}, say a prayer for our little family.  Even the pups will have some adjusting to do.

my favorite friend

Today is a day for celebrating Cassie.  She is my most favorite friend.  Loyal, funny, smart, and sassy.  All of my favorite qualities in one special person.

And she loves birthdays.  I know this because we've celebrated seventeen of them as friends.

Today rings in year twenty nine for my dear friend, and I am really thankful that this birthday she has a precious baby girl to cuddle in her arms.

the most precious little girl on earth

Penelope is, no doubt, the best gift ever.

Happy birthday, sweet friend
XOXO

it was sorta like gilligan's island

Today we went to the lake with Lofton's kickball team.  Amanda {my dear sweet friend who I attached myself to at our very first teacher meeting six years ago} and Tucker {who is without a doubt one of the nicest people i've ever met in my whole life} hosted everyone at their lake house.

Coincidentally, their lake house isn't too far from ours so we stopped by and grabbed Reese's life jacket on our way this morning.

After a quick lunch we piled onto two boats and headed toward Chimney Rock.  In all our lake adventures, I'd never been to Chimney Rock.  Apparently it's the place to be on Lake Martin because there were approximately one million boats anchored.

We, too, anchored the boats and partook in some swimming/floating.  The hours quickly passed and it was time to head back home.  We needed some snacks and our skin was prune-like. Unfortunately, Tucker's boat wouldn't start.  As in, it was d-e-a-d.  Awesome. We had two engineers and Lofton, who is like almost MacGuyver, but no luck in fixing it.

Plan B was to have Tucker's cousin Jay tow us back to the house, four hundred and eighty two miles away.  Okay, it wasn't quite that far, but it was a really long way. Amanda and I were a bit skeptical of the towing plan because we envisioned melting under the heat of the sun as the boat slowly floated.  Luckily, it wasn't exactly like that and we had a good, albeit slow pace.  Tucker estimated it would take two or so hours to get back to the house.

Did I mention we were hungry?  Or that Reese hadn't napped and his mood was quickly turning three year old psycho?

Awesome.

While slowly chugging along, Amanda heard a rumble of thunder.  Literally, by the minute, the sky was getting darker and darker.  Before we knew it there was not only thunder, but lightening.  Fabulous.  Amanda and I gave the boys our "you two better get us off this boat pronto look." Taking one for the team, Tucker and Lofton decided to stay with the dead boat and let the women and children get on Jay's boat to be taken home.  I was a wee bit apprehensive to leave my husband stranded in the middle of Lake Martin, but also really nervous about getting stuck in the middle of a storm with no shelter and Reese.

We loaded onto Jay's boat, released the rope that was holding us together, and took off.  Jay flew across the water and got us home just in time.  Then he turned around, in the pouring rain, and went back to save the boys.  Jay rocks.

Long story short, the boys got eventually back and we're now home.  Snug as a bug, in dry clothes, and thankful to be alive.