Bree-school and other updates on our peanut

Right after Labor Day we started a co-op type of preschool with several other families in the ward. Bree is the youngest of the group of 6 kids, but she has jumped right on in and loves to learn.  The other kids in our group are all the youngest kids of several large families and so the moms are all pretty laid back about what actually happens at "school".  This works out well as the expectations are low, so when I host at my house every 5 weeks most of the kids and parents are pretty thrilled that we accomplish a few things.  We have six kids in our group, but we rotate to 5 houses as there is a set of twins that are with us.  And each week we are taking a different letter and talking about it.  So far we have hosted at our house two times and have had the letters "C" and "H".  It's been fun to find books, crafts, activities, and snacks that help us talk about our letters.  I also like to sing rhymes and songs with the kids and work on counting a bit.  I've been told by two different kids now that our house is their favorite.  (Shhhh....don't tell the other moms!)  I think most of the other moms also do a fantastic job and Bree is getting a good experience outside of the house and learning to play and get along with others.  Outside of her co-op school, we work on the letters at home together and she has gotten through a good 2/3 of the alphabet.  She can recognize both upper and lower case letters of those letters and she's starting to learn how to identify beginning sounds in a word.  She can write her name and Finn's name and she begs every day to do more and more school.

One day her cousin Maci was talking about going to her preschool and she called it Bree-school.  Her mom shared that with me and I thought it was a perfect description of what we are doing here.  Bree loves school and she insists on having it every day of the week that she possibly can! 

Outside Ms. Charity's house for the first day of her co-op preschool

Working on alphabet flashcards with me one afternoon

Decorating our cookies for "c" week (I let the kids make a few different shapes, but required them to all do at least one letter of the ones they had already learned.  So, that's why you see the "b")

We had quite a mess of car troubles in September and so we spent a fair amount of time at the Honda dealer.  The first time we were there, there were these mounts for iPads but no iPads.  Just a few days later the iPads were there, thank goodness!

Bree insisted on taking this picture of me in the kitchen

For Bree-school we collected several preschool workbooks from friends (you know, the ones we buy at the start of summer with good intentions but then never get beyond the first 10 pages of so).  Some of the books had stickers and one in particular had lots of alphabet stickers.  Her cousin Maci had an alphabet shirt she had shown Bree, so Bree made her own alphabet shirt using the stickers for the letters that we had worked on at home up to that point.

This sweet girl has completely dropped naps, but in September she was still taking the occasional one.  One day she kept telling me she was tired and I was busy doing other things and then I noticed it was quite.  I found her in her bed asleep.  She is just so good!  I thought that if I had tried to lay her down it wouldn't work, but apparently she really meant it that day.

At the beginning of October my sweet pea got quite sick.  Finn had a version of this where he was running a fever and tired, but then he sprang back (after having a fever just in the evening a couple of nights).  After three days of fevers not really dropping below 100 even with tylenol and ibuprofen, I took Bree into the Urgent Care at our YMCA.  I was reminded why I told myself I would never take my kids to an Urgent Care (the pediatrician is what I should have done).  The doctor insisted on getting a urine sample to make sure she wasn't dehydrated (which she was) and then she gave me a prescription and a dose of medicine for her.  Of course she didn't tell us until afterward that the medicine was not the same as what she had wrote the prescription for, but was rather a dose of tylenol because Bree was fevery, but I had already given her a dose of tylenol just an hour and a half before (like I said, the fever wasn't coming down with the tylenol).  So, the doctor overdosed her on tylenol, ran a urine test that my insurance refused to pay for, and then diagnosed her with strep without actually running a strep test and gave her a prescription for azithromyacin.  Ugghhh....I debated on making another appointment for the next day at the pediatrician, but Bree was so sick that I decided trying the antibiotic couldn't hurt.  Within 12 hours of her first dose, she turned the corner, the fever dropped , and she was less lethargic and willing to actually drink something.  So, who knows?  Did she have strep?  We will never know.  But I'm glad she got better.  She got me really worried as she refused any liquid for days and just slept and slept.  I was glad to get my peanut back to normal.

We've had some time to play, just mom and Bree.  Her favorite place is the park.  And when it's nice out, I agree with her!

On Wednesday October 12 th the boys had a delay start and it was a dreary foggy cold day.  So, after dropping the boys off at school, Bree and I headed to the mall for some fun time together.  We visited the doggies at the pet store, had Chick-fil-a for lunch and Baskin Robbins for dessert.  We also stopped to look at some clothes for the boys and just enjoyed walking around and being together.

Finn's Update

Finn's schedule is full of all kinds of fun.  He is continuing his music class that he began last year and is doing a great job learning the piano and music theory.  He also has begun (finally!) weekly tennis lessons and is improving rapidly there.  He really enjoys tennis and looks forward to his Wednesday lesson every week.  He says he wants to be "really, really good" at tennis, so we will see what that means.  And on Saturdays he is still working on his swim lessons.  Mid-July he had a major setback with swimming and the last several months have been working on regaining his trust and confidence.  I was just about to toss in the towel last week and then he had a great lesson and was doing well.  It's honestly one week at a time with it, but I'm hoping he will get there.

In school, Finn is doing well.  His reading is progressing and he has recently found a love of Magic Treehouse Books.  They are still fairly difficult for him, so we work on reading them together slowly.  I'm just glad he has found something that he wants to read!  And in math his teacher says he is one of her top students.  He does a great job but I have to admit that when I try to help him at home I often do not understand his logic and reasoning.  Somehow he will get the correct answer (most of the time) but I have no idea how he got there doing what he was doing.  It's funny to me, as Kai and I tend to think and process the same way, but Finn's logic does not seem at all logical to me! 

He has finally lost his two front teeth.  He waited until the just fell out of his mouth.  The last day he could not eat at all and he could easily twist and manipulate this tooth.  The first of the two front teeth was actually lost on the Sunday of the Primary Program.  He sat through the program with a tissue as it was bleeding a bit and another family sitting towards the front of the chapel admitted to watching his tooth throughout the program--it was loose enough that they could tell!  We all thought it would come out during the program but it made it until opening exercises of primary the next hour.  Sheew!  I don't know what we would have done had he interrupted the program with his tooth issues!  

Our trip to the dentist occurred before he lost the front teeth and the hygienist was not impressed at all with his "brushing" of the front teeth.  The dentist had to tell her that it was probably hard to brush the front teeth with them being as wiggly as they were, which was exactly right.  And I should know since I'm the one that still brushes his teeth.

Finn has been swimming with Ms. Sophie and keeping a consistent teacher for the last two months has been very helpful.  She is very patient with him and he enjoys his time with her (for the most part).

The 1st grade sampler is a night for the kids to show their parents what they are learning in their "specials" classes.  We do mini-rotations and go to technology, library, art, music, PE, and counseling,  Finn was very excited for this night and the chance to take me to school and show me what he was doing.  He really is loving school, which is a welcome relief.

Another month, another shipment of medical supplies.  He has had a slew of health issues (mostly minor) these past two months.  But that is for another post.  

Of course, October was also Finn's birthday and so that deserves a post all on it's own.  As far as school and extra circular activities go, Finn is doing great, having fun, and contributing to running me around town like crazy.

Kai's Update

Since school has started it has been very busy our house.  I thought it would be easier to do the updates on the kids individually, instead of a chronological update on everyone, so that I could remember everything going on in each of their lives.

First up, KAI!  With school back in session Kai has a lot going on.  He attends Gifted Reading and Math classes at school.  Each class is one hour each day, so that means he is out of his classroom two full hours each day.  The gifted kids also have more of a homework load.  He is doing a great vocabulary building program in reading called Wordly Wise and is learning words (and having spelling tests on!) such as segregate, conspicuous, eloquent, arrogant, and squalor.  It's been fun to see him learn these words and learn how to use them in their various forms.  (For example, one word was abundant, but he had to learn how to use it as abundance and abundant.)

After school, Kai has scouts weekly with our local ward, piano weekly with his amazingly sweet piano teacher, and weekly swim lessons.  While we try to keep swim lessons to Saturday morning, in September that did not always work and so he had many weeks with after school activities 3 days a week.  Adding in the extra homework was overwhelming to him and he was struggling to get it done.  Early in September he had an opthamalogist visit (as a follow up to his optometrist visit earlier in the year) and we thankfully got a new prescription for glasses.  I had not decided what to do about his prescription, until he got so upset at school that he snapped his glasses in half.  The poor kid was under a lot of stress.  And the start of the year is very hard for him, as he struggles with changes to his schedule and so the first two months of school are normally just overwhelming for him to begin with.  Add in the fact that he is such a perfectionist, and well, we had the perfect storm.  I got several calls and emails from his teachers (he has two--his classroom teacher and his gifted teacher) expressing their concern over his anxiety levels and asking for help.  Early in October I attended a meeting with both teachers and the school counselor to talk strategies.  His classroom teacher is AMAZING.  He could not have been assigned a better teacher this year in terms of understanding who he is and being willing to think creatively to help him.  Our conversation was very productive and by the time we got to Parent-Teacher Conference night in mid-October I heard reports that he was a very different kid and was doing so well.  Both teachers are thrilled that the "old" happy Kai is back.  And he is.  He is happy, more settled, and we have managed to get his weekly schedule under control. (Oh, and he is back to completing his classwork and homework in manageable time frames without fights or tantrums.  Seriously, it's so much better!)

Mid-September all 3 kids had a joint dentist appointment and all were cavity free.  To celebrate we stopped to pick up some popcorn from a gourmet popcorn store and brought it home for movie night.

Scenes like these make my heart happy.  Our street is full of older families and no one for my kids to play with.  Over the last two years we have gotten to know the one other family on our street with kids our age and they love to play together.  It's a "yours, mine, and ours" family so sometimes not everyone is there, but when they are there is a 9 year-old girl (who is very sweet with my little ones), two 7 year-old (almost 8!) boys, a 3 year old girl, and a 2 year-old girl.  When the weather is nice and they are all out, they love to ride their bikes in our cul-de-sac and around the grass in the middle of our street.  Kai is finally a proficient enough bike rider to actually enjoy these games.

Bree was taking pictures and Kai did this for her.  Just proof that our happy Kai is back and more settled into his year and routine!

One day after school in mid-October it was nice outside and so instead of going home we stopped at the park to play.  These three were chasing me, "the tickle monster", and I made them stop for a picture because I did not want to forget how much fun we were having, just us.

The Rest of August

The second day of school I had a lot on the calendar.  I had a friend that had recently moved here from Virginia that I had randomly run into at the outlets two weeks prior and we had scheduled a play date at a park in Castle Rock.  It was going to be quick as I wanted to get back to school in time for lunch to make sure the routine went well, as we really didn't get to do what was planned on the first day due to the medical emergency.  Well, not far into my drive to Castle Rock I noticed the light on the dashboard indicating an issue with tire pressure lit up.  I thought it was funny because that happens rather frequently in the winter when it's much colder outside and here it was hot and August.  When we got to the exit in Castle Rock that we needed we were stopped at a signal and then once I tried to start going to make it the last mile to the park, I found the car was not wanting to move or move quickly.  And then I hear the thudding.  I'm grateful we made it all the way to the exit and that we only had a little more to go.  I got to the park and pulled into the first parking spot I could find and got out to find this.  I have never had a flat tire on the road before.  It was a completely new experience.  I was glad I knew where the spare was and I worked on getting it out and then I googled how to change a tire.  Yep--I've never changed a tire!  Thank goodness for google.  But I was struggling to get the lugnuts off.  They were tight!  A couple of ladies walked by on the last of a morning walk and I started talking to them to see if I could grab any help or advice.  Neither of them knew what to do either, though, so we decided I'd be best going inside the athletic center and asking for help.  I wanted to wait for my friend, though, so I kept working on it, knowing that eventually I would head inside.  Well, the ladies were nice enough to flag down the next man they walked past.  He happened to be a park employee who also knew how to change tires.  So, he hopped over and showed me what to do and had our tire changed to the spare in a matter of 10 minutes or so.  He was a super nice guy and it turned out he is also the trail "designer" for many of the local parks.  I was glad he was there that morning to help me out.  By that point I knew I wasn't going to make it back to school for lunch so I dragged my feet and spent a lot longer with my friend at the park, as I did not want to deal with the tire situation.  The tires were relatively new tires and I had also purchased a protection plan of sorts at Discount Tire.  There happened to be a franchise just a few miles from where I was at, so after our park time I headed over to the store.  They told me it would take two hours for me to get my tire repaired.  So, we left the busted tire at the store and drove on our donut over to Walmart where Bree and I had lunch and then did some light grocery shopping.  After that we returned to the tire center to check.  It had been nearly two hours and they said it would be another hour before they got to our tire.  I think I just about cried at that point because I needed to get home to get the boys from school (they aren't riding the bus this).  My near-tears was enough to kick their butts in gear and just around the 2 1/2 hour mark our tire was patched up and back on the van ready to go.  Thank goodness.  Bree and I got home with enough time to run the groceries in and then head back out to get the boys.  It had been an exhausting day!

While Bree and I had so much time together those weeks we spent lots of time playing, reading, and having "picnics'" (we pick one of her favorite TV shows and eat lunch on a blanket on the floor).  I also used the time to get some running in on the treadmill.

That Sunday (the first one after school started) this girl was super tired.  But I was surprised to see this.  This was a first for her.  She has pretty much dropped naps, but every once in a while it just catches up to her.

I was shocked the first time it happened and I was even more shocked when it happened again a day later.  And without her blanket?!  She must have been beyond exhausted.

After the boys had been in school for a week or so, Bree started asking about doing school with me.  So we started working on school concepts at home.  I've been combining some worksheets from Starfall (this one above is from that site) with some preschool workbooks and she loves it.  She insists on doing school everyday now and she seriously won't stop until we've done at least an hour's worth.  It's really been good for her, but it does take up quite a bit of our time.

Kai read all of the Percy Jackson series this summer and was very excited to start this book on Greek Gods.  It's the thickest and biggest book he has ever read, but he did it.  It took him a LONG time.

On Friday August 26th our boys had "assessment day".  Our school district uses this day to administer some beginning of the year assessments.  They do it in rotations by last name and the kids come to school for just a couple of hours to take the assessment.  Since we had the 10-12 shift, we had the rest of the afternoon to go visit the new Ft. Collins temple and take the Open House tour.  Finn had been looking forward to this for quite a while.  It was special to be able to walk through the temple with our kids and to point out pictures and explain various parts of the temple to them.  The inside of the Ft. Collins temple is amazing and definitely one of our favorites.  I wish it were closer!  

We took our time walking around and enjoying all there was to see at the Open house (we had driven 2 hours to get there after all).  

I love watching these two together.  They have a very special bond.  As I watch my children interact, I've been touched to see just how special Finn is in our family.  He is the glue that ties my other two children together.  Yes, he is the middle child but it's more than that.  He loves and adores his big brother and wants to be just like him, and yet at the same time he takes the role of big brother to Bree quite seriously.  He wants her to be happy and engaged in whatever he is doing, even if Kai doesn't want her tagging along.  Kai is at the age where friends are starting to become more important than his family and siblings and he's learning that those siblings are "annoying", but Finn is good at holding it all together.  I'm grateful for the effort he puts into making sure that Bree is a part of what he does.
Oh, and there are lots more pictures from the open house, but they aren't good at all!  Some passer-by offered to take our family picture and well, it was a disaster.  I don't even know how she managed to take such bad pictures, but she did.  Oh well, at least we have these few.

After visiting the open house we headed to Texas Roadhouse in Ft. Collins for dinner.  We decided it would be better to eat and let traffic die down before heading home at what would have been rush-house.  Our hostess saw our clothes and immediately asked if we had been at the temple.  I don't know if she was a member or not (but I got the feeling she wasn't) and she said they had had many people come through dressed up after visiting the temple and that she wanted to go, but had not had the time to visit yet.  I encouraged her to go and told her how easy it had been.

By the end of the month my jogging had been going quite well.  This was my first 5 mile day and I was quite proud of it.  Unfortunately early into September I hurt my foot and have been unable to run for nearly three weeks.  It's nearly healed and I'm anxious to get back to the treadmill and keep burning those calories!

And really--how is Walmart already getting decked out for Christmas?  And nearly $400 for my girl to ride in a battery operated princess carriage?  Umm....no.  But that doesn't keep her from dreaming about.  She loved this and would love to have it.  But really, my girl doesn't need a carriage to be a princess in my book!

First day of school 2016

Kai-4th, Finn-1st, and Bree-mommy prescchool

The boys went back to school on August 17th.  It is Finn's first time going to school all day, and Kai's 6th year of school (!).  The first day of school was a good warm day, and strangely enough it went by really fast.  Going back to school is always a transition, not just for the kids but for me, too.  Bree misses these boys so much when they are at school.

Kai--first day of 4th grade

Finn lining up with his teacher--I wanted a picture with her but she was very overwhelmed that first day as she was hired just one week before school started.  She is a veteran teacher who had been out of the classroom for a while and was then thrown in at the last minute.  Poor thing has had a steep learning curve.  As for Finn, he didn't know very many of the kids in his class (just three or so from his years of Pre-K and K) so he was nervous in this group of kids. 

After I dropped Finn off with his teacher, we made our way over to the other side of the building for the 4th grade lines.  Kai's teacher is also a veteran teacher and has always taught 2nd grade.  Due to many of the changes going on in education these days, she made the jump to 4th grade this year.  As sad as she was about that, Kai was thrilled.  It's the first time he has gotten a teacher whose name he recognized and who he knew before the first day.  His 2nd grade classroom was right next to hers.  And we had heard many good things from friends in the last year about her, so we were excited.  And over the last month we have learned that all of the good things we have heard were spot on.  We love his teacher!

After seeing that Kai was happy and settled, I headed back to check on Finn.  I found him in this group of boys and did not get my camera out fast enough, as they were all standing in this circle comparing muscles.  It was quite amusing.  Finn's teacher tells us that he has become quite social and has many friends.  He enjoys playing soccer at recess and has a firm team that he plays with.  He has told me several times over the last month that 1st grade is so much better than Kindergarten and that he really likes school.  That makes this mommy heart happy.

The PTO had a message of encouragement for the kids as they entered the building.

Poor Bree!  I mentioned that first day went by quickly, and it did.  After dropping the boys off and visiting with friends for a bit, Bree and I headed back to the house.  But it was quickly time for lunch and I wanted to be there for Finn's first school lunch to ensure that our plan for his enzyme dosing went well.  So, we pulled up to school not long before his lunch time and were greeted by the health aide coming out of the building.  When I told her that we were coming to see her and to check on lunch, she asked if I could handle Finn's enzymes and lunch that day as they had a bit of excitement on the way.  It was then that I realized that the sirens in the distance were getting louder and heading to the building.  I assured her that I would handle his enzymes and then I went to the office window to grab all of his stuff for lunch.  The office was closed (blinds closed and doors shut) as the paramedics came in a tended to a student.  From what I gathered after the fact, a 3rd grade girl with a seizure disorder had suffered a seizure just mere hours into the first day of school.  Poor thing.  But I was glad that I was there to help Finn and relieve the office staff so they could attend to her at the time.

After lunch, Bree and I headed into town to grab some cupcakes for the boys as an after school treat. (It was after the trip for the cupcakes that Bree fell asleep in the car.)  They were excited to see these yummy treats waiting for them at the end of the first day.  Kai had an ice cream sundae cupcake.

I think Finn's was a "birthday cake" cupcake, but I can't remember.

It was a good first day of school.  The kids got started out on the right foot and I was surprised at how quickly the time went by those first few days.  I had been concerned that 7 hours of just me and Bree would be long and well, slow, but those first few days were certainly not slow.

The End of Summer--Weeks 10, 11, and 12

The last few weeks of summer have been more of the same--lessons, playing with friends, pretending to keep the house clean, and really just slow days, enjoying our time together and hoping the kids get bored enough to want to go back to school!

This is Bree on the homemade wood swing that is at Kai's piano teacher's house.  Yes, it scares me!

And this is Finn on the swing next to it!  Bree can't handle this swing, but Finn likes the regular swing, too, so we have to take turns.

We pulled out the slip 'n slide one day and I had three kids staring out and not sure how to make it work.  They never really got the hang of it.

Monument is growing!  We are getting all kinds of new stores including Horseshoe donuts.  I found a coupon for half-off and the week they opened so we went to try it out.  This donuts are delicious and heavy.  Most of them are cake donuts which are my favorite, but not Reid's.

We've also been doing the last minute doctor appointments.   Here Finn is at the eye doctor.  He was making the funniest faces and cracking me up.  He even cheated if he couldn't see what he needed to.  His eyes are doing just fine.

On August 2nd, our friends Sawyer and Jude came to play for a good part of the day.  Their dad was having surgery and so we get them entertained.  Their mom brought some water balloons with them so we blew them all up.  The kids had a blast, except Finn, who doesn't like it when you throw one at him.  We also got out the slip n' slide again that day but unfortunately with so many kids it met it's demise that day.  

Bree had an ice skating lesson that day, so this is what my car looked like.  Poor Kai, we couldn't fit a booster back there for him so he had to ride like that.  I know...it's not safe.  We don't do it often but there was no way around it this day.

After ice skating, the boys had swim lessons.  So, I had 4 kids on the sidelines while one kid was in the water.  Yes, it was madness.

At least Jude and Bree played well together and weren't totally loud and crazy!

Finn had his quarterly CF clinic on August 1st (LONG day!) and he was put on a round of antibiotics for a sinus infection.  His culture came back with Staph (again) so this should do the trick.  Actually, it only took one dose and he has been clear ever since!  You gotta love it when the medication actually works.  Now the hard part is continuing it for three weeks when he is doing so great!

Can you guess whose head this is?  Did you guess Finn?  If so, you are right!  On Thursday the 4th he was doing cartwheels at Walmart while I was checking out.  I had told him to stop and to come stand by the cart but I was also at the self-checkout and needed to keep the checking going so I couldn't enforce it.  Well, he cartwheeled his head right into the shopping cart.  It bleed a bit but didn't seem bad.  I took him home to clean it up and was torn as to what to do.

After cleaning it up, it looked like this.  (The finger is to give an idea on size.)  I had the kids sit still and watch ET while I called the pediatrician for recommendations.  It wasn't deep at all and I didn't think he needed stitches, but I also didn't know how I was going to keep it clean on his head, or keep it from getting re-injured.  After ET and lunch we headed to Urgent Care at the advice of the nurse.  Urgent care glued it up which is what I was hoping for.  Now he has a glue stuck in his hair and I have no idea what to do.  Good thing his hair will comb over the spot and no one will know when he goes back to school.  But i have no idea how long it's going to take for this glue to come out.  And I'm not ready to cut it out....yet.

Bree's final ice skating lesson was on Tuesday the 9th with Ms. Stephanie.  She was the only kid in her class so she had a private lesson!  It was so cute to watch her with her teacher and to see how much better she was doing.  It kills me that she won't skate or do any of the skills she learns in her classes outside of class.  She wants more classes but we are going to take a break for now. She's still way too young to invest any money in lessons of any type (in my opinion).  But during this last lesson she was able to practice skills from three different levels, which was great.  In this picture she is working on walking on the toe picks.

While Bree did her lesson, Finn and I skated in the open skate.  We held hands and just went around and around.  Kai sat in the stands and read a book.  

Catching bubbles at the end of her class

The view from the Air Force Academy (where Bree takes lessons) is beautiful.  This shot was taken as I was driving away from the field house and it really doesn't do it justice.  I love where we live!  

To celebrate national S'mores day on the 10th, we made s'mores!  The kids were very excited to roast the marshmallows, but none of them wanted to actually eat it.  The only kid who enjoyed eating his s'more was Kai.  And then Reid and I got to eat a lot of leftovers.

Doesn't it look like she likes it?!  It's an act!

On Thursday the 11th, we went to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science with Sawyer and Jude.  It was Sawyer's birthday and so it was fun to spend a few hours with them there.  We bought ourselves an annual pass there this year (instead of the zoo) so we are excited to spend more time there and explore it again.  We haven't been there in more than a year.

Finn was soaking, dripping wet after playing here.  So much so that we had to cut our day short and head home.  Which was good because Bree needed a nap.

On Friday the 12th, we had Kai's friend Nathan spend a good part of the day with us.  His mom had taken his two older siblings to the temple so he got to hang out with us.  After playing at the house for nearly two hours, we headed to Fountain Creek Nature Center.  The last time I had been there was years ago with my friend, Laurel, who I thought about and missed while we were there.  We explored the visitor center (where we met up with Sawyer and Jude again) and then had lunch before walking the loop around the lake.  We were a crazy sight with 5 boys and little Bree.

Sawyer (and his mom actually) are much braver than me and my boys, as they had fun in this field of grasshoppers and even caught one.

And of course the boys had to take a turn climbing this cottonwood tree.  That is, all of the boys climbed it except for Kai.

While eating our picnic lunch, Kai came up to me and told me he had a loose tooth.  I told him that was fine and just to keep eating.  Two minutes later he came back and said the tooth was coming out.  Umm....buddy, next time you have a loose give mom more than 2 minutes notice.  He was chewing a bite of food and spit his tooth out in his hand.  Yuck!  It's hard to see which of the missing teeth in this picture is the one that just came out, but it was an upper left lateral incisor (yes, I did just have to look it up).

Finally, on Saturday the 13th we had friends come to dinner.  I was desperately to make my house clean and presentable and so I headed to Michael's to commit to buying something for this nook.  After nearly 9 years in this house it was time to bite the bullet and put something here.  This is what I found.  I told the cashier it was just too early for fall in my opinion but she didn't agree.  They didn't have any other arrangements that I liked that would fit this space, so I guess our house is now starting to get ready for fall.  Which, with school starting tomorrow, would make sense I guess.  I'm just not sure I'm ready for this new season.  It's the last day of summer vacation today, so now I'm getting off of this computer and I'm going to be with my kids.  Heaven knows I will miss them tomorrow!