Sent Home

Well, it finally happened. 6 weeks into the school year, someone was sent home for COVID symptoms. Shawn was sent home this afternoon because he had symptoms:

• fever of 100*
• congestion
• fatigue

Oddly, he didn't have any symptoms when he left school. He wasn't feverish. He wasn't congested. And well, when you have CP and walk around a large school, you are bound to be fatigued. It was also 93* outside and Shawn had just come in from sitting outside in the sun. Still, this means he has to go get a COVID test and a negative result before he can go back. That means he's out for at least tomorrow, too, while we wait for results that we know will be negative. Sigh.

I mean, we get it. We have to be safe. It's hard not to be frustrated, though, especially when there are zero symptoms at home.

Way Back Wednesday

Oct. 8, 2016...

One of my favorites! ❤️

Handprint Day!

We fell into this tradition by accident, but once I realized it could be a thing, I made it one. Every year on this date, I make the boys stamp their hand prints on paper.

We started it in 2011 - Jack's first year on Earth. He was not quite 6 months old. The big boys were nearing 4.



Jason, Shawn, and Jack (left to right)
September 28, 2011



They were all so tiny then.

They keep getting bigger, these boys.  





Shawn, Jason, and Jack (left to right)
September 28, 2012



Bigger.

Shawn, Jason, and Jack (left to right)
September 28, 2013

And bigger.

September 28, 2014
Shawn, Jason, and Jack

And stronger.

September 28, 2015
Shawn, Jason, and Jack

And even stronger. 

September 30, 2016
Jason, Shawn, and Jack

And even stronger!

September 28. 2017
Shawn, Jason, and Jack

And super strong!

And super, super strong!

These man boys are getting so big. Their hands larger than mine.

My hand on the right, Jason's hand on the left in 2020.

 

This year, the dynamic duos' hands are similar in size and Jack's are nearing my size now. It won't be long now. 

Jason's hand to mine a la 2021.
I told him he could stop growing now...he rolled his eyes at me.

Their hand prints are such a visual representation of how much they've changed, a tangible way of seeing the passage of time when sometimes it's so hard to grasp in day to day living of life.

These hand prints tell the tale. Our boys are not so little anymore.

Back At It

Jack was so excited to finally get to go back to school today after his week off last week! Pre pandemic, he would have been back at school a lot sooner than now, but we kept him home in an abundance of caution. He was finally completely back to himself. 

He had a great day, too. :)

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to the best dad ever! We love you!

Intervention Needed

I think this kid needs an intervention - definitely Jell-O Anonymous is in order here!

Friday Five

Well, Jack's sore throat blossomed to a full fledge cold that kept him out of school the entire week. Thankfully he was negative for Covid, which is a huge relief, but it just goes to show you how easy it is for kids to get sick despite wearing a mask all day. (And Jack is one to wear his mask - he'll even tell other people to wear their masks right, so yeah.)

~~~

Shawn had a rough week at school this week, which culminated in his (school issued - long story) walker breaking while he was in it. He hurt his arm and leg trying to catch himself and from the startle of it. We had to write a stern note to the school about it and everything. Sigh.

~~~

Jason's highlight was that he built a bridge in his MESA class at school. He and his team, using only cardboard, tape, and paper, created a bridge that held 60 pounds! So cool!

~~~

One cute moment for Jack was that he wrote his first email to a teacher. He had to tell her that he couldn't take the comprehension test she assigned because he didn't have the book to read the story. He ended his email with, "But it's OK. I can take it on Monday." This is a big deal for him - he accepted the problem and found a solution. 

~~~

Fun weekend ahead of us. We get to celebrate Isaac's birthday on Sunday!

Heavenly Birthday

Remembering her today on her birthday. 

Love and miss you.

Way Back Wednesday

This memory popped up on my phone this week. Love how cutie patootie he is here!

June, 2018  

Upgrade

Jason's graduated to the front passenger seat when either his father or myself are not in the car. He is LOVING it. 

This afternoon when Isaac got in the car:

Jack: Dad, Jason was sitting in the driver seat, pushing buttons.

Dad: Hey, Jack, don't rat out your brother!

Jason: (face looking straight ahead while simultaneously turning deaf) ...

Dad: Jason were you sitting in the driver's seat?

Jason: (still looking ahead while remaining deaf AND mute) ...

So when you turn on the car and the windshield wipers start moving and the hazard light and the high beams are on, you know that he may be eyeballing upgrading to the driver's seat as soon as he can.

Sick

Jack got to have test number 2 today - still negative.

No school today.

Conversation with a Teenager

Me: You need to brush your hair. Wait. Did you wash your hair while you were in the shower? 

Him: Yeah. 

Me: It doesn’t look wet… 

Him: I dried it very well with the towel. 

Me: … 

Him: … 

Me: 🤦🏼‍♀️ 

Him: (as he’s walking away) Thanks for the complement… 

Teens are so much fun!

Garden Update

It's definitely harder to keep up with the garden now that we're back in school, but it is still going pretty strong! We replanted beans and snow peas because the first attempt fizzled out. We added some nutrients to the soil with this second planting, and they are thriving now. Yay!

Cucumbers

snow peas and beans

watermelon 

A little caterpillar on my milkweed

Another caterpillar on the flowers in the center of the pic

Friday Five

Week 4 is in the books. We've officially made it to the one month mark of school. Yay!

~~~

Today Jack woke up with a sore throat. We did the whole "is he" or "isn't he" sick thing, but he assured us his throat was feeling better before it was time for school. Maybe he slept with his mouth open? 

When it was still sore when he made it back home this afternoon, we called it. We officially have the first cold of the school year. Sigh.

Thankfully, home Covid test was negative, but he did have to stay home while Shawn and his dad went to Target. He was not happy. :(

School during a pandemic is not without it's stress, that is for sure.

~~~

This week brought school picture day for the big boys! It's always a gamble as to what will come of the day, but I am always hopeful. LOL

~~~

Speaking of pictures, I set a date for our yearly family photos! Now I am stressing out about what to wear. Eek!

~~~

Jack has begged me for more Jell-o tonight. His preference is the blueberry flavor. SO glad jello is easy to make. lol

Snuggles

This boy is always up for a good snuggle. 💜

Way Back Wednesday

Today is picture day for the big boys. It was also picture day on this date way back in 2014 - the year Jason insisted he wear a tie!

He's trying it on and is quite pleased with the look!

Election Day

Jason had learned all about the recall election in school, so we watched the news together while we waited for the results. It didn't take long for the race to be called, but it was so much fun to have some very grown up conversations about the election itself with my all of a sudden very grown up kid.

It's hard to wrap my mind around the fact that my all of a sudden very grown up kid will be voting in elections, himself, in a few short years. Not sure how that happened? I keep swearing he was born yesterday!

Impressive Feat!

Jason had a bolt break on his walker today while he was at school. He called Isaac, who managed to go to the school, grab Jason and the walker, head to Home Depot, find a new bolt, fix the walker, and get Jason back to school in under an hour. 

I'm pretty impressed!

Jason is lucky he has his very own super hero to come save the day!

Lazy Day

It's funny how little we've been doing on the weekends since school started. I think we're all pretty much peopled out by the time the weekend gets here, so we are content to hang out around the house.

Jack went outside to play in the pool for a bit today, so that was something. The other two spent some time playing iPads.

Before we know it, the weekend is over and we're getting ready for school the next day. It goes so fast!

Cute Kid Saturday - Way Back Edition

The Dynamic Duo, this week in 2016 - back when they tolerated each other a lot better than they do now. LOL.

Friday Five

The third week of school is in the books. Yay! I think we are falling into a groove, too, which is nice.

~~~

The big boys had their Back to School Night this week. Unfortunately it was on the same night as mine, so we didn't get to go. They did, however, get to enjoy their first minimum day of the year though! They really liked that. lol

~~~

Jack continues to enjoy eating as much Jell-o as we will make for him. I don't know what turned him on to it (because for a long time, he didn't care for it), but he now wants to try all the flavors he can. lol

~~~

Gracie decided that she would hop on Shawn's bed this week and let him pet her there. This is HUGE. I think Shawn has worn her down. He loves to go give her a rub and some kisses, so I guess she's finally decided she needs to return the favor. 

Shawn could care less why she is doing it, though. He is just enjoying her loving on him.

~~~

We planted some more beans and peas in our garden a few weeks ago. They are doing so well! It is so exciting to see them thriving this time around. Last time, they fizzled out and died on us.

Missing Grandma

Tonight we did a lot of talking about grandma. Jack wanted to know where she is and why she died. He wanted to see her...

2016

We ended by saying that maybe she'd visit him in his dreams tonight. I sure hope she does. 💜