Two Weeks

This afternoon at 3:50pm marks 2 weeks since "the accident"... ONLY 2 weeks.

It feels like it has been longer, much much longer!

I haven't publicly written much at all about Abby's accident. At first there simply was no time. All of our focus and energy was on taking care of our children. It felt like it took all we could muster up to make that happen. Thanks to some incredible friends, we were able to make that happen! And now while things are just starting to settle down (except for the numerous doctor appointments!), we are still constantly going trying to keep up and keep things as normal as possible for our kids.

I have started a private journal to get it all out and dump my experience, thoughts & feelings onto paper. That is proving to be hard, but I think it will be really beneficial in the end. I’m hoping that Carie will be able to do the same.

We didn't personally take any pictures at the hospital. We discussed it and decided we just couldn't do it. We didn't want those visual memories. We also didn't keep "the dress". Again, didn't want to ever see it again. That may not have been the best decision, but it is what we needed to do at the time. The physical memories we want to keep are all the cards, letters, balloons, gifts, etc... you name it, she got it. The outpouring of love and support has been phenomenal... absolutely phenomenal. It has kept us going!

School is officially out as of last Friday. Abby & Ellie are way excited to be 2nd graders! We've just received their test results and their report card and are beyond pleased and proud with both. Spencer is excited to go to his 4yo preschool! But first, we get to enjoy a couple months of summer!

Abby & Ellie's 7th birthday is tomorrow. We celebrated with family and friends all last weekend. This weekend is all about us. Unfortunately our b-day plans (a whole day at CoCo Key!) have been derailed due to the accident. But we've promised to celebrate their b-day again in a few weeks when she is (hopefully) cleared by the Orthopedic.

In the mean time, we are coming up with alternate FUN b-day plans for their actual day. The celebration starts tonight with a fire in the fire pit and s’mores! If it rains earlier than planned, we'll start a fire indoors in the fireplace... nothing like running the AC while enjoying the fireplace! We haven’t settled on anything specific for tomorrow, we first need to see how this afternoon’s doctor’s appointment goes!

We'll do pretty much whatever they choose, as long as we can physically pull it off. Heck, given what they've been through recently I would seriously consider buying them a pony if they asked for it. But don't give them any ideas! LOL



OH... and things come in three's, right???? As long as we are all covered by our neighbors’ experiences, I think our entire block is safe for the rest of the summer!

Abby's accident happened right in front of our house... from our driveway to 5 houses down the street.

A neighbor 2 houses up... his car fell on him while he was changing his brakes. Of course he was home alone! Thankfully it happened to land "just right" and he was able to get out and our neighbor took him to the ER. If it would have fallen any other way, it would have been really really bad.

At this point, the neighbor in between us chose to lay low on his projects, worried that he would be the 3rd victim.

Then... The family across the street, their son (middle school age) and his buddy were hanging out and riding bikes. Of course the friend was riding his bike carelessly... but remember, pre-teen/teen aged boy. Basically he fell and shattered his jaw.

Valentine's Day Party... First Grade Style

Being the 1st grade parent chairperson thingamawhatever... I (and by association Carie) got to be highly involved in their Valentine's Day party today. We were fortunate enough to arrange a playdate with Spencer and his neighbor friend. It was really good for him and fantastic for us.

We had a party planning meeting a few weeks ago and had a great parent turnout, lots of ideas, lots of help, and lots of donations. I was blown away by the donations! We have money to spend on the 2 parties we get to have. We didn't spend a dime of that allotted money! We are going to have a crazy awesome curriculum party come April!

But today's party for Valentine's Day rocked. The kids had so much fun. They didn't want to rotate to the next station... there were four stations total. They didn't want the party to end. One friend said "this is the best memory ever!" Awww! That was so sweet!

The parents, oh my gosh the parent help was incredible. The smiles on their faces and all the laughing was so so wonderful. The teachers seemed to have a great time... and the smiles on their faces when we took the leftovers to the teachers’ lounge were priceless! Gotta take care of those teachers!

On our way out we dropped off a container of cookies to the K teachers. Carie was hoping to make frosting but it just wasn't in the cards this week. They said that they heard our party was the best ever. LOL... the party hadn't ended but just 30 minutes ago! I'm like seriously... the party just got over! How is it already dubbed "the best ever" and how do you know about it already? Word travels fast!

As Carie and I were walking out to the van I said I think we just hosed ourselves. Where do you go from "best ever"?

Now onto Habitats! I have to say, I'm not all jazzed up about a Habitat party. I was hoping for Space! But the moon, the stars and the teaching schedule just didn't align. :)

First Grade Field Trip

I forgot to mention that Abby & Ellie had a school field trip... oh; it would have been about a week and a half ago by now. Their field trip was on Friday and Grandpa & Yia Yia arrived on Saturday. Seriously, the week-ish leading up to their visit feels like a blur and their week and a half visit feels like a blur.

This was the first time that both Carie and I were able to go on a school field trip... together. It was so awesome! In the past one of us has always gone. But this was the first time that all the little kids were old enough and we were free enough (of kid responsibilities) to make it happen.

The girls have always ended up together in the same small group for things like this, so they've both always been able to be with the parent who was able to go. But it was really cool for us to be able to go together and for the girls to have both of us there.

It was also cool for Spencer who got to have a special play date with some very good friends of ours. These friends are so great! They are always willing to step up and help us out with anything. The kids get along incredibly well, which makes it extra nice that they got a chance to be together. It was so cool to be able to have this all come together like it did.

So, where did we go for the field trip? We went to Gifford Farm! I know I have pictures. I'm certain that they are still on the camera, which is unusual for me. What I really ought to do is take a picture of the books they made after their field trip. Abby's book had us laughing so hard! Since we were there we knew exactly what part of the field trip she was referring to. So so funny!

Another great thing that happened was that we opted to take the van with us. We seriously though about taking the car because it seemed more responsible. We had previously mentioned to another parent that we'd be happy to carpool since it was a fair distance to the farm. Even so, the three of us could have fit comfortably in the car. But I'm glad we took the van! After arriving at school we discovered that help was needed to transport some items to the farm. The bus was packed with students, teachers, and some parents. There is one student who had a wheelchair for the field trip and they hadn't planned out how they were going to get the wheel chair to the farm. Typically the student uses a walker, but with the specifics of the field trip a wheel chair was optimal. And the wheel chair didn't fold down! I'm so glad we had our van with us and I'm so glad we had already cleaned it out in preparation for our airport trip (with 7 people and luggage) the next day! We were able to easily fit the wheelchair and all 3 huge lunch tubs in the van... along with Carie, myself, the other parent, and 3 car seats. I'm so glad we were able to help and the teachers seemed quite appreciative, which is always nice!

At any rate, their first field trip of 1st Grade is in the books and it was a great experience for all. I don't know when or where the next field trip will be. But I do know about the classroom parties since I get to be the chairperson for the 1st grade class. It will be fun working with the teachers and parents to plan these events.

More Exciting Tooth News

Abby has lost her 1st tooth!

It finally fell out on Monday morning (day 4 of 1st grade) during breakfast. Thank goodness because we were fairly sure she wasn't going to make it all day without it falling out.

More on the exciting story... soon.

Second Day of 1st Grade

Photo op on the 2nd day that includes Spencer...

From the left... Alexis (6), Abby (6), Beth (5), Eliana (6), Ben (5), Jenna (4) & Spencer (3).












And yes... that is Ellie wearing a coat. A coat with warm soft fuzzy lining designed to be worn on a very cool day. Today is not a cool day! It was one of those battles that we chose not to pick. She was 1000% convinced it was cold outside. We tried reasoning with her. We inappropriately assumed that she would change her mind after spending time outside evaluating the weather. We tried to get her to at least choose a lighter jacket. After Ellie had all sorts of reasons why she couldn't wear her light pink jacket, Carie suggested that she try her khaki jacket. Apparently in Ellie's world khaki is supposed to be pink. In everyone else's world khaki is, well, khaki. You may have felt the balance of the earth shift at 8:05 am Central Time.

Thinking that maybe she was coming down with whatever Abby, Carie & I had earlier this week I asked her if she was cold when she was inside. Nope, just cold outside Mom! I'm still not ruling out a call from the nurse's office.

She wore the heavier jacket up to the bus stop. I had other options with me in the hopes that she would at least choose a lighter jacket. No go. Once home we shot off an e-mail to the teacher to give her a heads up that 1) she is wearing a jacket and 2) we hope she hangs it up and forgets about it the rest of the day. Basically... yes, she is wearing a jacket and no, it wasn't our idea! Hopefully the teacher doesn't encourage her to wear it to recess!

Update... Ellie's teacher replied to the e-mail. She was appreciative of us giving her a heads up. All is good so far and school is out in just a couple of hours. Yay! She even commented on the brief conversation we had at Open House regarding a concern we had. I think we are really going to like her - a lot - this year! Our school has some incredible teachers!

We also suspect that someone's dreams of losing a tooth on the 2nd day of 1st grade will come true. Abby has 2 teeth that are pretty loose too, but Ellie's been working hard at wiggling her lone loose tooth. If the tooth doesn't fall out on its own today I may see if I can take a good long look at it and pull it without Ellie knowing. She's convinced that she doesn't want us to pull it.

First Day Of 1st Grade

We made it and it feels so good!

The first day of school is here, we all made it (if only barely), and we are all excited for what this year has in store for us. I made it through my big event yesterday. I thought I was just drained from being so busy and the heat. Once I got home and was able to veg out I soon realized that I had what Carie and Abby had on Monday. Thankfully Carie is better and was able to take care of everything that needed attention!

Here is Ellie & Abby doing their usual first day of school pose by the front door. It seems that (for me) the door handle has marked their growth from year to year!

That big wet spot on Ellie's shirt happened (of course) mere seconds before they were ready to walk out the door. They came down from brushing their teeth and she had a big spot on her shirt. Carie thought it resembled a sticker from a sheet of sticker's we've had around recently. But no, it was a large amount of blue toothpaste. But hey, the wet spot dried before actually getting to school!


















They even made it to the bus stop in plenty of time! One thing we learned last year was that our bus driver is a bit unpredictable. Spencer and I did make it, but only just in time to see them get on the bus. He was still sleeping when they were ready to go!

From left to right we have Ellie, Ben, Alexis, Abby, Jenna & Beth. The 5 older kids will come to our house after school. Jenna is off to her preschool once they say goodbye to the bus.












Abby & Ellie are waiting their turn to get off the bus. At the beginning of the year they mark their hands with the color of bus they are on. It helps ensure that they all get back on the correct bus at the end of the day. Thankfully they not only have the same color but also the same bus number as last year. Abby & Ellie have that memorized! They also have the same bus driver. They’ll at least start out riding the bus so they get familiarized with how things work and get their assigned seats. Last year Carie ended up taking them quite frequently and then they just rode the bus home. We’ll see how it works out this year.


















They are getting ready to go into school. Abby & Ellie are showing Beth & Ben the way. Spencer is also determined to go to school. He love's Mr's P's room (Abby's K teacher and now Beth's teacher) and makes himself at home all the time. She said he could stay and I almost took her up on it! It also seems that Mr’s P and Mr’s C (Ellie’s K teacher) are already fighting over who gets him for K. They forgot they have to wait 2 more years!













Abby & Ellie are lined up with their 1st grade class.