nothing to do with 04.17.03

Apparently I have nothing to say since Austin's birthday has come and gone.

So not true! Its kinda been a busy week.

Spring has arrived and is in full bloom. This is the last season I have to experience in my new-to-us home. There is a plum tree in the front yard with gorgeous blossoms that I'm in love with! Another favorite and quite random thing is a tulip coming up in the loose gravel of our driveway. We've spent some time outside weeding, spraying and mowing but more time being overwhelmed with what needs to be done in our very large yard.







We finally got our calves this week also. I've been wanting to get calves again this spring b/c it seems like we've been really laxed in the kids chores since we moved here. Calves are a perfect way to fix that!;) We made a deal with our neighbor: Kurt will take care of their lawn & garden in exchange for using their pasture to keep our calves. I know Kurt is getting the raw end of the deal. He has A LOT of yard work now! And then Emma's calf (Ariel) has been very feisty and wild so the kids haven't been able to feed by themselves yet. Great. One more thing for Kurt to do. Hopefully Ariel will get with the program so the purpose of our calves will be received.

Kurt took Ruth to the DR Tuesday morning while I was teaching preschool. She cut 2 more teeth last week and that teething brought her straight back to being sick. Another ear infection and bronchitis again. Since it's been less than a month since her last ear infection they gave her a different antibiotic (stronger) and we bought a nebulizer since the bronchitis seems to be a very reoccurring thing. My allergies kicked in this week (love spring!) and as always went straight to my sinuses. I even used the nebulizer one night! I think it will be a well earned investment. The DR also wanted us to watch her closely for asthma. I'm not sure what to watch for but we're watching...and the guilt (that preschool is making her so sick all the time) continues...

Spencer has turned into an escape artist. He bolts, very quickly, before you even realize it. It is NOT a good thing and it usually makes me very mad! At soccer yesterday (at Emma Lynn continues to do so well. She would run over to give me high fives and then go back. It brings so much joy to see her taking steps to gain confidence and overcome the extreme anxiety and shyness. I'm SO proud of her!) Anyways Spencer thought it was too cold (and it was) and didn't want to participate and I didn't want to force it since Emma was doing so well, that was enough of a victory for me! I was watching Emma and the next thing I know Austin told me Spencer was gone. I look over and he is completely across the field (these are large fields) at the fence ready to leave and run along the busy road to where our car was parked. He looked back at us and then ran straight to the car. It was not a good situation. I am threatening to put him on a leash OR never take him out of the house again!

Oh yeah, we also had our camp fundraiser dinner on Wednesday night. Ruth was still not feeling well at that point so it made preparations a little more difficult but we survived. We did a carnival theme and silent auction again (we did it last year also.) It was a great family night and I felt like it went very well.

On Thursday I pinched my sciatic nerve in my lower back. When I was pregnant with Ruth this happened (b/c my hips were out of place from my pregnancy with Spencer!) I went to the physical therapist a few times and it helped. When it happened before the pain would come and go with certain movements. This pain is not going. It is radiating down my legs and going numb. It has been pretty constant. At some point I might need to do something about this.

I let Austin play hookie from school on Tuesday. He said his cough was hurting followed by 2 weak coughs. He slept until 9:45. Next time we'll have to do it on a day I don't teach preschool (only 3 weeks left and only a month of school for Austin. CRAZY!)