It's been too long

Where has time gone?  I can't believe that the last time I posted was the end of February.  Here it is the end of June...I'm a bad blogger.

Lots has happened in the last few months.  School is out for summer (after making up endless snow days), Jed turned four, we started renovating our basement, we went on vacation (kid-free), we had Julia's first IEP meeting, I enrolled in another graduate program, and OeyeO is this weekend!

So here are some pics to get you up to date.

Over Spring Break we went to the zoo with the cousins.  It wasn't quite warm yet, but we had a ton of fun.  So thankful for a great zoo in our hometown (and it being free doesn't hurt either!).

Easter was good.  We were able to dye eggs, the Easter Bunny arrived, and we had an egg hunt after church with the cousins.  As you can see from the pics below, the chocolate was the kids' favorite part.  We also had a really cool cake that my niece made.  She is really talented.  My mom had found these Easter eggs that were shaped like Little People Toys.  There was even a pirate one with a patch, so we put it on the cake like a topper!

Jed turned four!  How is my baby already four?  He loves fishing, pretending to hunt, building with legos, playing cowboy, and jumping off things.  He is super active, and super loving.  He always wants me to sing a song before he goes to bed.  Sometimes it is "You are my Sunshine."  Other times he requests "Twinkle, Twinkle" but "not with a star mom, sing it with a moon."  So I have to improvise.  He loves big hugs and kisses.  He had a party at a bouncy house arena (it was perfect - I didn't have to clean!).  He of course got new play guns for his birthday.  Once he put on the crown at his party, he declared, "I am the King."  He still says that!

Summer has officially arrived.  It is super hot, so we are always finding ways to cool off.  Jed and Julia are enrolled in swimming lessons, and they love the water.  Before school ended, we had Julia's first IEP meeting.  She was evaluated by the school district for her transition out of First Steps.  She qualified for Special Ed due to her vision and will be attending preschool two mornings a week.  She also will be working with a vision teacher for 30 minutes a week.  I was pleased with the meeting and how everything went.  I was worried I was going to have to pull a momma bear moment, but it went smoothly!

I also decided to enroll in a graduate program and further my education.  I already have a Master's Degree in Special Ed, but wanted to do something new.  After everything we have been through with Julia, I decided to go back to school and earn my certification in Teaching Students with Blindness and Low Vision.  I started this summer.  The courses are mainly online  through a university in my state.  It is hard juggling the kids and school work, but I know it will be worth it.  I am excited to start learning Braille in the fall and being able to better serve the students in my school with blindness and low vision.

Julia had an eye appointment and it was uneventful!  Yeah!  Finally a "normal" appointment.  No surgeries, no prescription changes, just good news!

James and I were able to go on a kid free vacation to an all inclusive resort in Cancun.  We went with my parents and sisters and their husbands.  It was wonderful.  Did I mention it was kid free?  And all inclusive?  Which means would eat and drink as much as we wanted?  Wonderful.  The only negative part was the nasty seasickness I got when we tried to go deep sea fishing.  I strongly recommend short trips without your kids to recharge and rejuvenate.  I missed them terribly, but it was wonderful to relax.

The kids have been having fun at the pool and in the sprinkler.

I'm sure there is more going on, but I'll stop the information (and picture) overload for now.  Right now we are getting ready for OeyeO with my imoms.  I am so excited to meet them in person!  I know our kids will be great friends (and probably cause all sorts of mischief).  

Random

So, I woke up at 3:30 am because I am sooooo excited about leaving for vacation today!  My kids get to ride in an airplane (and I get to try to keep them from irritating the whole plane)!  Jed is thrilled and can't wait to ride in the airplane and get on the boat (we are going on a cruise).  I really don't think he understands what "vacation" is, but he has asked multiple times a day for the last week, "are we going on vacation now?"  And then threw a tantrum when I said no.  So today is finally the day!  We are packed and ready to head out - which resulted in me being awake at 3:30 in anticipation. 

So I figured I would post some random pics from the last month to catch everyone up on our summer adventures.  Just to let you know, if you are the praying type, please pray for us.  Julia is MAJORLY fighting patching.  We have gone through 80 patches in 2 1/2 weeks.  It is so hard.  Thankfully the glasses aren't a struggle - she wears those willingly, and even uses the bifocal.  But patching, phew...this has to be one of the hardest (if not THE hardest thing I have done).

Fourth of July

They really enjoyed the parade.  Jed will still "play" parade and wave his little flag and tell me to throw candy at him.

Watching daddy shoot off fireworks in our driveway.

My beautiful girl without her glasses.  I love her little specs, I really do.  But sometimes I like to look at her face without any accessories.

We spend lots of mornings at the park (that is his favorite Duck Dynasty t-shirt).

Waiting for eyes to dilate at the eye doc.

Julia had "school" four times this summer through early intervention.  She loved it!

 

 

Fishing trip

This is what Julia did while Daddy and Jed fished.

I caught one!

More snacks.

Sigh...my boys.

Fun on the 4-wheeler.

A big shout out to "Uncle Matt" for letting us visit for the day and fish in his lake.  The kids had a blast and Jed still talks about the 4 fish he caught (and how he threw them back). 

We made cloud dough.  Messy but fun.

Cloud dough before it got crazy.

 

Zoo

Jellyfish.  So pretty.

Digging in the children's zoo.

Brushing the goats.

Feeding a stingray.

Harassing a chimp.

Riding a train.

Another shout out to my mom who went to the zoo with us.  She was a huge help!  I couldn't have managed both kids without her.

 

Just hanging inside.  This is a lot of our summer too.  Just trying to beat the heat and have fun indoors.

 

So there you have it.  The highlights of the last few weeks all jammed into one post.  It is hard to believe that when we return from vacation, I have one day off and then I go back to work.  Jed is starting two day a week preschool (big tears from mom) and Julia will start two days a week in her "school" when she turns two.  Summer always goes too fast.  I am thankful for my job that allows me to spend two months of the year with my kids, but also grateful to go back and be with my students.  Win-win situation for everyone.





 

Nerves

I feel like I've been a slacker with posting this summer, but we have been so busy!  The only "down" time I get is if I hit the jackpot and both kiddos nap at the same time.  And then I am usually trying to grab a shower or look at facebook (or fold laundry).  So to catch you up, I figure a nice photo montage would be good!

So I tried a pinterest idea for Father's day.  This is the best shot I got.

But this one cracks me up.

This is their personalities to a "t."

We grew water beads.  They started out looking like this.

And they ended up like this.  We had a blast using measuring cups and "scooping" the water beads.

We also made "summer snow."  It was frozen shaving cream.  Jed didn't like it much because he isn't a fan of cold things on his hands.  But it was worth a try.

We spent a Saturday at Mark Twain Lake.  We brought up my parents' jet skis and our boat and just parked on a grassy bank.  The kids loved swimming.  I didn't take many pics though - so this is about all I have.

We went to Lowe's Build and Grow.  Jed got to make a Monsters University wooden chest.  It was a lot of fun.  The best part was they were giving away all their old kits from previous workshops, so I have a ton of rainy day construction kits to do with the kids.

Play doh usually will buy me about 15 minutes of patch time.  I'll take it.

This was supposed to be baking soda ice cubes that you can spray with vinegar.  They didn't fizz much, so Jed wasn't really interested. 

One morning I let Jed take pictures with my camera.  So now I have lots of pictures of our tv, his toys, etc.  But he captured a few good ones.

Sneaky, sneaky.

 

We have actually done this twice, and it was a lot of fun.  Ice ball bowling.  You freeze a water balloon and then "bowl" outside. 

 

Julia also has had classes at United Services (through First Steps Early Intervention) on Fridays and we do swim lessons on Tuesday and Thursdays.  I try to go to the gym daily (thank goodness for babysitting at the gym).  I have to admit that it gives me an hour of "me" time.  I wish they had a coffee shop in the gym so I could sip a cup while the kids play in the babysitting area!

We also do lots of bike rides, four wheeler rides and wagon rides around the neighborhood.  We try to hit a playground after the gym if the weather is nice.  I find that I need many activities scheduled to keep the kids busy.

And while these pics are awesome, I must also admit there have been days of tears.  Not only from the kids, but from me.  It is overwhelming and exhausting taking care of a preschooler and a toddler.  Add a patch into the mix, and some days it is just too much.  Jed has an extraordinary amount of energy and doesn't like to listen.  Which makes it a bit difficult to go places with both of them.  But we try.  And Julia rips off her patch every two minutes.  I have to chase her down and she screams while I put another one on.  It is heartbreaking.  I love my summers with my kids, but I honestly think it is easier going to work!

We have ordered an ipad!  It will be here tomorrow.  I am hoping that will help with patch time on some days.

And my nerves have kicked in.  We are one week from Julia's EYE appointment.  I am praying for another good appointment.

We are also three weeks from embarking on an 8 day cruise.  I've been trying to prepare for that as well.

So say a prayer for Julia for her appointment, and one for me that I don't lose my sanity this summer!