Donut Party

Thomas is four!  We celebrated his June 1st birthday with a party at The Donut Hutt in Collierville and it was SO much fun!  We had never been to this donut place before so we didn't know what to expect for the party, and it was way better than we could have imagined.  The kids all loved getting to make donuts and the owner that ran the party was so good with the kids and make it so fun and energetic.

To begin, the kids decorated their paper bags that they would take their donuts home in.

Once all of the guests arrived, we headed back to the kitchen to get to work.  Each child got their own piece of dough and we worked to knead them and fold them and add in yeast and roll them out and cut donuts.  

It was really cool to get to see the big machines work to roll out the dough and then cut it into perfect nut-shaped doughNUTs.  

While our host got the donuts ready to cook (read: switched out the germy kid ones for fresh ones), we went out to the lobby for pizza. 

We also got to sing to the birthday boy and enjoy a giant donut cake!  His big donut with candle was the hole from the giant donut cake.  :)

Finally, we got to watch the donuts cook.  It was fun seeing them float in the fryer and then be flipped over midway through.

The last steps in donut making are adding chocolate icing and sprinkles, lots of sprinkles!

It was the best way to celebrate our sweets-loving little boy.  I still can't believe he's FOUR!  

Here's to many more years celebrating him!

Spring Semester 2018

Like last fall, here's a roundup of pictures taken by Aubrey Grace Photography for the spring semester.  Mr. Scott, the photographer, is the school secretary's husband and he snaps pictures of the kids in his free time and then posts them to facebook.  It's so fun to get a glimpse into what they're doing each day!

The return from Christmas break was kicked off with a Grandparents Luncheon.  Our kids were lucky enough to have 3 of their 4 grandparents attend.  Katie Wynn had actually stayed home for the day thanks to a fever the day before (darn 24 hour rule) - that's why she's in "civilian" clothes. 

Still learning the proper way to wear the uniform headband...

In February, the kids had a free dress day and got to play bingo with the big kids.

The kids got to take confetti eggs to their classes on Easter Monday.  Looks like Katie Wynn's class enjoyed cracking them on their heads!

Mr. Scott always captures cute faces on Thomas, no matter what he's doing!

Katie Wynn is much more serious and stingier with her smiles.  Sometimes I wonder if she hides from him and his camera because days will pass with no pictures of her.  Wouldn't surprise me!

I enjoyed seeing Katie Wynn on her bike for the St. Jude Trikathon.

My sweet boy doing his hand motions during music class!

I have learned that on Wednesdays - ice cream day - Thomas always picks a popsicle, while Katie Wynn chooses an ice cream cone.

Fun on field day!

The kids (and teachers) treated us Mamas to a Mother's Day Tea.  It was a fun way to spend my afternoon!

The last day of school for us was a family fun day at a family farm.  The kids climbed tractors, jumped in bounce houses, rode horses (not my kids), ran in sprinklers, slid down water slides (also not my kids), and gobbled up pizza.  It was a fun end to the semester!

Halloween Events

You guys, I have a confession.  I don't like Halloween.  I've never really, REALLY loved it but the last couple of years have really convinced me that I might not even like it.  There are a billion events to attend and they all require a costume and end with a giant bag of candy.  By November 1st, we're usually all in tears from exhaustion and have at least one new cavity each.

All that being said, my kids really loved Halloween this year!  Our first event was the Halloween carnival at their school.  Thankfully we got to skip the costumes for this one.  The kids both enjoyed playing games with their friends.

The Sunday before Halloween every year, our neighborhood has a big parade!  It consists of trailers full of kids in costume...not parade floats.  Our kids always ride with their friends (and their Daddy).  I have learned that it's more fun to sit on the side of the road and watch the parade (and collect the candy thrown at me!) than to actually be in it. 

We never get to stay for the parade after party because the Sunday before Halloween is also when our church has Trunk or Treat.  We rush over to the church parking lot to get our trunk decorated and ready for trick or treaters.  I only took one picture from Trunk or Treat!  This is the game we had our trunk - the kids got to drop a penny into the big jar of water and see if they could get it to land in the smaller jar in the bottom.  

From there, we rushed to a friend's house for a Halloween party, which I sadly took no pictures at! :(

Halloween fell on a Tuesday this year so we rushed home from work to get dressed up for the night.  Matt and I were both injured so it was a good thing we found some good doctors that make house calls.

In our neighborhood, the houses are a little spaced out so kids ride on trailers or four-wheelers or golf carts to go from house to house.  We piled back onto the parade trailer and go ready to go!

We were pulling up to the first house when the sprinkles started and the temperature dropped!  Our doctors added raincoats and hats to their ensembles and kept knocking on doors. 

We called it quits early this year since we were all cold and wet, but the kids had candy so they didn't seem to mind.  I immediately threw their costumes into the washing machine so they could wear them again to school the next day for All Saints Day.  One more day of costumes and then we could say goodbye to Halloween for a year! :)

A Day at Cedar Hill Farms

For the last few years, my Mom and I have made it a tradition to take the kids to Cedar Hill Farms while Matt and my Dad are away on their annual guys' trip.  It gives us something fun to do on Saturday and usually wears the kids out!  This year we were lucky enough to be there at the same time as some of our friends too.

The first pig races were getting ready to start when we arrived so we made our way there to get a seat with our buddies.

After the pig races, the kids jumped in line to be in the front of the tractor ride.

For tradition's sake, we had to take photos by the pumpkin growth chart.  Thomas couldn't even stand on his own his first time here!

With all the pumpkins and animals that the farm has to offer, my kids always love the play area the best.  I don't blame them...huge tunnel slides, tire swings, tether ball, zip line...I enjoy it all too!  We have learned that bringing a picnic lunch is the way to go and we set up at a table right by the play area so the kids can play and eat, play and eat.

We save the pumpkin patch for the end of our visit so we don't have to lug pumpkins around all day.  The kids get to pick a pie pumpkin to take with the price of their admission.

Near the pumpkin patch is also a really cool wooden pirate ship play area that the kids like to climb on.  

The weather warmed up after lunch so I was glad when we finally hopped on the trailer for a ride back to our car.  The kids and I were all ready to head home for naps!

A Trip to the ER

The first full week of school, the kids and were unwinding from our day by playing in the backyard.  We were all barefooted in the grass but I was the one that accidentally stepped on a wasp.  Ouch!  My first thought was that I'd stepped on a stick so I moved my foot and stepped down again, digging the stinger down right in between my toes.  I ran inside and sat down on the kitchen floor to see why my foot hurt so bad and that's when I figured out what had happened.  I could not believe how much pain I was in!

Matt was quick on his feet and had my foot coated in baking soda (I think?) and covered in ice within minutes, all while I squirmed on the floor, squawking like a baby bird.  I was hurting pretty bad, but that is not why went to the ER.

After a bit, Matt got me settled on the couch in our bedroom with a pack of ice while he put the kids in the bathtub and handled the bedtime routine.  I could hear the kids playing and splashing at the got cleaned and once, when Matt rinsed them off, I heard Thomas choke and cough.  "Is he ok?!" I called out to Matt who was already patting our boy's back and pulling him out of the tub.  "He's fine, just got some water in his mouth."

The kids gave me loves and Matt tucked them into bed and we turned the lights out on a mostly ordinary day, save for the dang wasp sting.

Fast forward a few hours to the middle of the night - maybe around 4 am? - and Thomas woke up crying and climbed into bed with us.  Poor guy seemed to be stopped up and neither Matt nor I could fall back to sleep listening to his labored breathing.  Both of our minds drifted back to the choking incident in the tub and before I knew it, Matt had his phone out googling secondary drowning - the same thing on my mind.  We agreed that a trip to the ER was required just to put our minds at ease.  Matt and Thomas loaded up in the car while I stayed behind with a sleeping Katie Wynn.

The boys returned home shortly after 6 am with a good report on Thomas.  No such thing as secondary drowning according to the doctors that saw him, but they gave Matt a list of symptoms to watch for it.  By 8 am, everyone was at school and work, as if nothing had ever happened.

It wasn't until after lunch that I received a phone call from the school about Thomas.  When I arrived to pick him up, he was laying down on the cot in the nurse's room.  I explained that he had been at the ER all morning and that he was probably exhausted.  

Back at home, my chair was crowded with not just a sleeping boy, but a snoozing dog too (that's the white ball of fur behind my head).

Thomas took a great nap and rode with me to pick up Katie Wynn from school.  That was around the time his condition worsened.  We pulled back up to our house just minutes before Matt arrived home from work, and Thomas was really struggling to breath.  His chest was caving in on the inhale, one of the symptoms the hospital had told him to watch for.  So we took Katie Wynn to my parents' house and drove as fast as we could back to the ER.  It was probably the longest car ride of my life, sitting beside my little boy who could barely breathe.  He wouldn't keep his eyes open and it scared me to death.

Apparently breathing issues get you fast-tracked through the ER wait list, and with Matt having just been there hours before, getting checked in went very quickly.  Within an hour of pulling up the emergency room doors, Thomas was receiving his first breathing treatment.

When the mask first came on, it scared him to death.

He really did not want to breathe the medicine in through his mouth like instructed, so we facetimed Matt's parents for encouragement.  They did ten counts of deep breaths with Thomas to help get him going.  It actually worked!  I had sent my Mom a picture of him and Katie Wynn was asking a million questions and worried to death about what was happening.  So we facetimed her too so she could see him getting his medicine and she cheered him on like the best big sister.

Thomas was diagnosed with croup with stridor breathing - meaning his airway was constricted causing a very high pitched whistle when he inhaled.  The doctors told us it was like he was breathing through a tiny straw.  This is different from a wheeze as that happens on the exhale.  After his breathing treatment, the doctors checked his check and collarbone to see if they were still being pulled in when he breathed.  They were, so another breathing treatment was ordered.

Thomas did the second breathing treatment like a champ and was really so brave throughout the whole ordeal.  I could tell he was exhausted but he still smiled for my camera! 

Then came the waiting game.  At this hospital, two breathing treatments equals an automatic overnight stay in the hospital.  Most patients that receive two breathing treatments require a third one too, with the stridor returning in the middle of the night.  We sent Matt home to get dinner and clothes while we waited for a room to be ready for us.

We had the sweetest nurse - Madison - that brought Thomas orange popsicles.  She knew the way to his heart!

We were very glad to have our own triage room, complete with a tv, to chill in while waiting for Matt to return and our room to be ready.  

We didn't realize our wait would be so long!  Thomas was so tired, but had also had a steroid so he alternated between almost falling asleep and being bored and antsy.

It was after 9pm when we finally got the news that our room was ready.  Thank goodness!  I love this picture of Thomas and his daddy riding in the wheelchair.  

My baby boy looked so tiny in his new bed!

As soon as we told what felt like 20 different doctors and nurses the events of our last 24 hours, we were finally able to turn out the lights and get some rest.  The best part of the night was that Thomas's breathing stayed steady the whole night and we never needed a third breathing treatment.  Yay!  This meant we would be discharged the next day.

The next morning, Thomas received a visit from Mrs. Sarah Catherine, the children's director from our church!  She brought him Leo the Lion who, like Thomas, is very brave.

It wasn't until the middle of the afternoon that the doctors had finished their rounds and ordered our discharge papers.  We were ready to bust out of there!

And, because I'm sure you are wondering, my foot was still swollen, throbbing, burning, and itching worse than ever before!  I didn't get any sleep that night in the hospital because of my foot and that darn wasp sting.

When we finally got back home that afternoon, it didn't take long before I was right back where this whole adventure started - sitting in my chair with a sleeping boy in my lap.

We are very grateful for the quick attention we received from the emergency staff at the hospital, and for the excellent care our boy received from every nurse, doctor, student, and therapist that came through his room.  We also appreciate both of our parents' help with taking care of Katie Wynn so we had one less worry while with Thomas.  Most of all, we are so glad that our boy bounced back so quickly and while still very scary, just needed a couple of breathing treatments to cure his illness. 

Here's to no more trips to the ER (or wasp stings!) hopefully ever again!