Busy, Projects Galore, Allergy Treatment, DARE Graduation

This past week has gone by so fast.  It was a very busy week that started out with me spending 7 hours in a doctor's office with Daniel.  We have started an allergy treatment for Daniel that hopefully will get him to a point that he can drink milk and eat dairy products without having a severe allergic reaction in 6+ months.  Throughout the 7 hour visit they gave Daniel very small watered down doses of milk and increased the dose every 30 minutes. They started out with 2 micrograms of milk and he got two doses of that 15 minutes apart then the next dose was 4 micrograms of milk in which he got two doses of that every 15 minutes, etc.  However, when they got up to 6 micrograms of milk he started to have an anaphylactic reaction.  It was quickly decided that Daniel needed an Epinephrine shot ASAP.  Good thing the allergist is prepared for such things because he had the Epinephrine ready to go and gave Daniel a big shot in his leg.  Daniel also had to get a dose of Allegra, Zantac, and prednisone as well.  However, when Daniel heard he needed to get a shot he came completely unglued and started just screaming.  I felt horrible, but I had to hold him down so they could give the shot to him, but he really needed the shot because his reaction was quickly getting pretty bad.  It was amazing because within a few minutes of getting the Epinephrine shot he was back to normal and you couldn't tell that he had had such a bad reaction.  That's crazy to me!  Anyway, since Daniel couldn't handle the 6 micrograms, we were sent home with 4 micrograms of milk that I was supposed to dose him with twice a day at least 9 hours apart.  In the allergist's research he had also come across the kids having more reactions if they took a hot shower or exercised within 2 hours before or after getting the dose of the allergen.  That means Daniel can't exercise or shower within two hours of each milk dose.  With this treatment we have to see the allergist every 4-5 days for 6+ months to increase his milk dose.  Each visit is at least 75 minutes so they can give Daniel the increased milk dose and see if he has a reaction in the office so if he does they can quickly medicate him for it.  I think by the end of this treatment Daniel and I will be so sick of visiting the allergist's office we could scream, but hopefully it will all be worth it.  We are keeping our eyes on the prize which is Daniel being able to tolerate dairy products without needing the Epi pen to go along with it.  To make sure he stays safe at home we have our arsenal of emergency medications we had to get before we even started this treatment--prednisone, Allegra, Zantac, Pro Air (which is a rescue inhaler for his asthma), Epi Pens, probiotics and Symbicort (which is another inhaler for if/when he gets a cold and it exacerbates his asthma).  Our second visit is today and he will be trying out the 6 micrograms of milk again.  I am  hoping he can tolerate it this time....It's a pretty rigid schedule, but it will be worth it if he can tolerate dairy at the end of the 6+ month treatment.  Here's Daniel getting his very first dose of the 2 micrograms of milk:

Josh attended his very last Cub Scout Pack meeting Wednesday.  He got a few awards and got to pick out a cheesy cheer for everyone to do.

 Then at the end of Pack Meeting he was introduced to the 11 year old scout leaders along with another boy who turned 11 as well.  How did he get so old so fast?!  This also reminded me I have to go and pick up his Boy Scout shirt and book as well.  No more Cub Scout shirt for Josh--but I think his was getting a little on the small side anyway so I guess it's a good thing?!

 Here they are practicing their Boy Scout Motto:

 Thursday was Josh's DARE graduation.  DARE is a program for 5th graders to teach them about the dangers of drugs and alcohol to try and keep them from getting started with drugs and alcohol in the first place.  They had an essay contest in which the winners read their essays and then they had a graduation ceremony.  Here's Josh lining up with his class to get his diploma.

 YAY Josh:

After everyone got their diplomas they sang some songs and then the DARE officer who taught the classes performed a really neat drum solo.  It was a fun program.  They also had cookies at the end for a refreshment which Josh LOVED!

 Here's Josh's class:

There were 3 other 5th grade classes as well.  All the 5th graders that graduated from the DARE program also received a free Lagoon ticket which Josh is really excited about.

Last Monday we spent another Family Home Evening at the nursery picking out all the plants for our backyard.  We have been there so much lately that every time we get in the car Sarah and Noah ask if we are going to the 'plant store' again.  Thankfully I think we are done at the 'plant store' for at least another month because we got all the big things planted in the backyard including 7 trees and bazillion other little plants, too.  Aaron was able to help me plant part of the backyard and I was glad for that because the trees are so heavy and I don't move very fast with my walking boot on.  All we have left to do is get a load of bark and cover the planted areas.  In planting Aaron even got some extra help from Bubba as well:

 Even working on the backyard all day Wednesday we didn't get everything planted.  Thursday morning I went out and finished the last part while Noah played on the Wiggle car.  Just like last year Noah is still using his toes as his brakes for the Wiggle Car.  I don't know how he can stand doing that, but he does.  After a little while though, he walked over to me and said he needed and bandaid.  I looked closer and agreed with him since his Big toe was bleeding all over.

 I don't know why he does that, but he does.  It doesn't seem to bother him much either.  I would think it would hurt using your toes to stop the Wiggle car, but it doesn't seem to hurt him--the crazy kid!

The last thing to plant was a ginormous tree that the nursery dropped off in our driveway.  The tree was so heavy that Aaron and two other men couldn't even pick it up.  The tree didn't come in a bucket either.  The nursery had to dig it out of the ground, tie up the root ball with burlap and deliver it.  The guy that delivered it couldn't lift it up so he tipped the bed of the delivery truck up and slid it out onto our driveway where it sat for about three days while we figured out how to move it to the backyard without giving everyone a hernia.  Aaron finally found a landscape dolly he could rent to help move it because when he tried to use his regular dolly it bent the bottom of it because the tree was so heavy.  Before he moved the tree he had to dig the ginormous hole for it to go into.  Daniel was happy to help out:

 Then Aaron got two other guys to help out with moving the tree from the dolly to the hole.  Aaron got the tree in the hole, but the tree fell in it crooked and there was no trying to set it straight because it was so heavy.  DOH!!  Oh well I am hoping that a few stakes and rope will help the tree to straighten itself out.  If not we will have an awesomely crooked tree in our backyard.

 Here's the tree:

 It doesn't look like much, but it was really heavy!  We planted it for shade so I am hoping it grows as fast as the guy at the nursery told us because we need some shade in the backyard!  I am glad to have our yard mostly done at this point.  YAY!!

However, while planting the tree I got a call from the ward mission leader asking Aaron about the dinners he had lined up for the missionaries.  Huh?  Since Aaron was busy planting the tree I took the message and then went and asked Aaron about it.  He had tried to ask a few families about having the missionaries for dinner in which everyone was busy.  Aaron had since forgotten about it until that call came.  So after planting the tree he called the mission leader back and said we would be happy to have the missionaries over for dinner in 30 minutes.  What?!  That was one fast meal I had to prepare to say the least!  Good thing for sweet and sour meatballs even if no one in my family likes them very much they are a fast and easy meal which I made and the missionaries ate.  Hopefully I can have a little more notice than 30 minutes next time we need to feed the missionaries!  Our poor neighbors, too, Aaron hit them up to feed the missionaries the next two days as well. Thankfully they were willing to feed them, too.

Now because you can never have too many projects, we have started finishing the last room in our basement Saturday.  It is mostly framed at this point.  Next on to the electrical/wiring part which I am so thankful I have a Dad close by that can really help with that part.  Wahoo!!  Hopefully in the next month or two we can get it finished.  It's fun to watch the progress even if it is not as fun to pay for it.....;).

Broken, Plants, Maturation, Field Trip, Easter

We've had a pretty busy week.  First off it started with spending our Family Home Evening Monday night at the local plant nursery.  We picked up most of our front yard plants.  We have lived here for a little over two years and figured we should probably start putting in the rest of our yard other than grass and empty planting beds.  After six trees and about another gazillion plants later we loaded up the Suburban and brought them home.  Tuesday planting is all I did all day long.  Aaron had to work so I did the whole front yard--with lots of help (not really) from Noah and Sarah, of course.  I got my gloves on and Noah insisted he needed 'glubs', too.  The only 'glubs' I could find were his winter ones, but he was happy with them so why not?!  Noah mostly loved playing in the dirt--have I mentioned that this kid is 100% boy who LOVES playing in the dirt?!

 However, after Sarah came home from kindergarten those two disappeared for about 10 minutes before I noticed they were gone.  They had gone inside and gotten into the markers.  Noah let Sarah go to town on his face, chest and pillow pet.  Awesome.

 Sarah got marker smears on her forehead, nose and hands.  Can you see how they were lots of help in planting the front yard--haha?!

 Let there be plants:

It looks a lot better than it did without plants.  I just hope they don't die off.  It took me all day and my body was so sore, but it was worth it--I think.....

Josh got his soccer pictures back.  What a handsome guy!

However, in the group shot he does look a little....um....surprised or possessed.  Oh well you can't win them all.

Wednesday I got the chance to go on a field trip with Daniel's class.  It was a lot of fun, except for riding on the bus--whew that got LOUD!

 Daniel's buddy was Easton and we were a pretty good trio.

 The first stop was the Children's Tree House Museum in Ogden.  We learned a lot of things and Daniel even got to be the King in a play the kids put on.

 There was a climbing ladder the kids enjoyed:

 The next stop was the Hill Air Force Base Museum.  We got to spend some time in the ACE Learning center where the kids learned about gyroscopes and electricity:

 They also had some flight simulators you could try out:

 This flight simulator was Daniel's favorite:

 Then we moved on to the airplane museum.  Daniel tried out the ejection seat:

 It was a pretty nice day so we looked at some of the aircraft outside as well.

 It was a fun field trip and I am grateful I have the chance to go with my kids on these things.  Thanks Grandma T for taking care of Noah and Sarah so I could.

Since it is spring that means flowers are blooming.  Unfortunately we have quite a few dandelions in our yard.  However, Noah thinks they are beautiful and likes to pick them and give them to me.  Dandelions aren't too bad when they are given to you from a sweet, cute, smiley boy like this:

 Thursday Josh got to have his maturation class.  Aaron, the lucky guy, got to go to it with Josh.  Now we had talked to Josh a bit about where babies come from, but not too much about what happens to your body during maturation.  Not only did the class talk about the boys' bodies, but they talked a bit about what happens to girl's bodies as well.  At the end of the class Josh was speechless--a very rare occurrence for Josh.  Aaron asked if he had any questions and Josh answered with a resolute, "NOPE!!"  Aaron feels like he got the raw end of the deal since he has to attend the other two maturation classes for Daniel and Noah where I only have to attend one maturation class with Sarah.  I don't feel too bad, though, because the male decides which gender the kid is so it really is Aaron's fault we ended up with four boys, right ;)?!

Thursday Matthew had an incentive day at school.  It's a reward day the whole class works toward.  That day the teachers rented a bunch of bouncy houses and let the kids play on them all afternoon.  By the time Matthew came home from school he was worn out.  He did have piano lessons when he got home and it was such a beautiful day Matthew, Sarah, Noah, Aaron took turns riding the scooters over to piano lessons which wore Matthew out even more.  Later that afternoon Aaron took the other kids to Josh's soccer game and left Matthew home with me so we could cook dinner.  When it was time to cook I called out for Matthew and got no answer.  I went looking for him and found him completely asleep on the stairs.  Not the most comfortable spot, but I guess when you're that tired any place will do.  Also if you know Matthew he NEVER takes a nap during the day so this episode was that much more amazing.  He must have really had fun on those bounce houses!!  He slept for a solid hour just like this:

 When he woke up he had a nice carpet print on his cheek.  It was funny.

Early Friday morning I was awakened by some pretty severe pain in my ankle.  I could hardly move it and stepping on it was out of the question.  It was swollen and bruised, too.  That was weird because it didn't hurt when I went to bed the night before.  However, thinking more closely about the day before, I did have an accident while riding Sarah's scooter.  By the time we had reached Matthew's piano teacher's house Sarah was done riding her scooter.  On the way back home she wanted me to ride the scooter while she ran beside me to race me.  That was all fine and good until I was going pretty fast and the scooter's wheels got wedged in a crack and sent me tumbling over the top of the handle bars.  I came down pretty hard on my ankles, but they didn't continue hurting the rest of the night so I didn't give it another thought--that is until the next morning when I couldn't even stand on my foot.  I had some sweet kankle action going on, too:

 I spent the majority of the morning in the Instacare getting it X-rayed and finding out it was a stress fracture.  Sa-weet!  Now I get to wear this fun clunky boot around for the next 3-6 weeks.  Don't be too jealous of me-haha:

Oh well at least the boot should be off my foot by summer break.  No more scooter riding for me--the same thing happened to me four years ago, but at least I wasn't hugely pregnant this time around.

Saturday morning we went to our city's Easter Egg Hunt.  We had to divide and conquer, though.  I went with Noah, Aaron went with Sarah and the three older boys stuck by each other since there were different fields for different age groups.  Noah is not aggressive, but was happy only getting a few eggs.

 When Aaron went to drop the three older boys off at their fields, Aaron ran into one of Matthew's young men's leaders who was kind enough to tell Aaron he'd keep an eye on Matthew during the hunt.  That was so nice!  Matthew was so excited to see him outside of church that I'm sure Matthew chatted the leader's leg off.  Anyway, we told everyone to meet back at the Suburban when it was over and they all did.

The next stop was the local grocery store because they were having an Easter party there, too.  They had different stops around the store where you could pick out candy and coloring pages.  The kids had fun there, too.

 After that we all headed down to G&G T's house for their annual Easter Egg Hunt.  We got there a little early and G&G T had not hidden the eggs yet.  Noah was more than happy to help them hide the eggs.

 There was no adult Easter Egg Hunt this year, though.  It was probably better for me since I had a gimp foot  with a clunky boot anyway.  Here's all the cousins looking for their 10 eggs a piece:

 Noah and Bree were the littlest cousins so they got their own egg hunt so they didn't have to get trampled by the other cousins.

 By the end the younger cousins got some extra help from the adults.  Sarah got some help from Grandpa:

 Here's everyone checking out their loot:

 Afterward we had a yummy lunch/dinner and got to visit for a bit while the cousins played together.  It was a nice day.

The next morning the kids got up early to find where the Easter Bunny had hidden their Easter baskets.

 Then it was time to go to church.  It was a nice day and I was glad to actually focus on the real reason for Easter--the Resurrection of Jesus.  It really is a new beginning for everyone because of that one selfless act.  It makes me thankful to know I can be with my family forever because of it.  I love the true gospel and my family and I am very thankful for both.