a little update

Just a quick update on whats been going on in our lives. Sorry there are not a ton of pictures and what pictures I do have they are from my phone so the quality isn't great.  

1.  For the last month I have had the worst allergies of my life.  It was out of control, I was taking allergy medication around the clock plus sudafed and allergy eye drops and then at night I was taking benadryl plus a second dose at 2 am because I would wake up so miserable. It was awful , when I had been suffering for about 3 weeks Paul said he would call in a prescription steroid and nasal spray for me the next morning.  Well I woke up the next morning feeling a little better so I told him not to worry about it. Another week went by and it just got worse by Friday my eyes were so red and swollen I could barely function. So Saturday morning he called some prescriptions in for me and by Sunday I was a whole new person, I could breath and I wasn't itching.  I regret not letting him treat me sooner.

2.  One of our favorite things to do on Saturday mornings is to go to the farmers market.  The kids love it and we love getting fresh fruits and veggies.  One of mine and Paul's favorite things to get is a mango on a stick covered in lime juice and red chili powder, so good.  We also love the apple cider donuts that come around in the fall.  

3.  On Labor day afternoon we went over to Saylorville Lake to play on the play ground, have a picnic and play on the beach.  Paul was post call that day so he was able to hang out with us all afternoon and evening.

4.  Labor day morning was salsa making day.  I ended up burning my hands from cutting up all the roasted chilies and peppers, I know I'm suppose to use gloves but I didn't have any so I just tried to be careful but I still burned the heck out of them.   I was super happy with how this batch turned out and I was much quicker at cutting up all the veggies compared to last year.  

 5.  We spend lots of days cooking and making things and the kids love to help.

6.  Asher got hand foot and mouth and luckily didn't pass it on to his siblings.  He also only got one or two sores in his mouth and really only had one day where is was miserable and only wanting me to hold him.  

7.  We have some friends who invited us to go pick apples at their friends apple orchard.  I ended up with probably 100+ lbs of honey crisp apples and probably another 15lbs of pears all for free.  Now I need to figure out what to do with all these apples.  We have given a bunch away but I still have soooo many apples.  

8.  I have started running again, usually it's just me and Asher in the stroller while the other two are at school but on Saturday I had all three.  They took turns running with me and riding the scooter, but at one point I had all three on the stroller, it was quite the work out.  I love running so much and have missed it terribly, I'm hoping we can work out our budget so we can get our gym membership so that I can keep running when the cold Iowa winter sets it.  

9.  This little boy is getting so big, he's not my little baby anymore. :(  The stuff that comes out of his mouth blows my mind.  He is talking in 10 + word sentences, can count to 20 and can sing the ABC's.  A constant phrase coming out of his mouth is "what's this mommy?".  He has questions about everything.  He follows directions really well unless I'm telling him to get off the counter or table .   He even made himself lunch the other day when I was slow at getting it prepared.  He got the chocolate chips down (he always seems to find where I'm hiding them) and got out crackers and made himself a sandwich.  He's quite opinionated and knows what clothes he wants to wear and what he wants to eat.  He is super independent and wants to do everything himself.  Another constant phrase is "I do it".  

10.  Paul is super busy and working all the time.  Right now he is on trauma but pretty much every rotation he is on is busy, there really are not any easy rotations this year.  He is out the door by 4:30 every morning and then home anywhere from 6 pm to 9 pm at night and then on call two to three weekends every month plus many hours of studying every week.  My neighbor  commented to me the other day  saying, " I haven't seen your husband for ever".  My response was, "neither have I."  Yes its hard having him gone so much but i try not to dwell on that and just enjoy the time that we do have with him.  

11.  Leila and Greydon are doing well in school and both of them love going.  Leila has struggled with writing, she is a good little writer but she just doesn't like it very much and thinks she's not good.  At her school they give out awards every Friday and they are announced over the intercom.  The first time they gave out awards Leila came home so excited because she got the award.  And the best part was she earned it for being an amazing writer.  It has really boosted her confidence and she is much more excited to write.  I am so thankful for Leila's teacher, she really is so great.  

12.  I am a home room mom for Leila's classroom  this year.  It makes me nervous and makes me feel old . :)  When did I get old enough to have a child in elementary school?  I'm nervous to plan all the parties in the classroom and keep the kids entertained and having fun.  Leila is so excited to have me there, at least she still wants me around.  

13.  We are loving the cooler weather and so excited for fall but dreading winter.  I went through all the winter clothes to see what still fits and what we need to get.  Fortunately all the kids are pretty good on clothing they just need a few more things.  Unfortunately they all need new coats and snowpants.

Thats about all I can think of that is going on with us!

A new school year

Oh man it's the beginning of another school year.  I can hardly believe I have a 1st grader!  Leila was super excited to start, she has lots of friends in her class and a wonderful teacher.  Greydon is starting preschool this year.  It's going to be weird only having Asher home with me several hours each week.  Greydon goes on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 8:15-10:45.  On Tuesday August 13th we went to meet the teacher night.

Greydon is checking out the chair in the reading corner and Leila found her locker

School started on August 15th for Leila

She wanted me to drive her to school the morning but since then she rides the bus to and from school. 

Leila struggled a little bit with 1st grade the first two weeks.  Leila does well with routine and when she know what to expect.  I think she thought 1st grade would be more like kindergarten.  There were lots of new things those first two weeks that kind of threw her off.  Her bus route changed and so many of her bus friends from last year are no longer on her bus, she still has friends on the bus but it was still pretty upsetting to her.  She was also upset with the fact that she no longer gets 3 recesses but only 2.  Now that she knows her routine she is doing much better.  She also decided that she wants to take her shower at night instead of in the morning which gives her about 25 minutes more sleep in the morning,, that change has really helped.  She loves school again and is doing so well!

Greydon started school and Monday August 26th.  He is in a class of 14 students and he has Ms. Kim, Ms. Heidi, and Ms. Deb for his teachers.  He loves going and is only bummed he doesn't get to ride the bus and eat lunch at school like Leila does.  

Iowa State Fair

On Wednesday August 14th we went to the Iowa State Fair.  We had decided at the beginning of the week that we would play it by ear on which day to go.  We wanted to go after Paul got off work but since we never know what time he's going to get home its hard to plan things  We just decided that if he gets off at a decent time then we would go that day.  The weather was absolutely wonderful, in the low 70's and it wasn't very crowded plus it was half price admission.  We tried fried cheese curds, the kids shared a foot long corn dog, I got a sweet corn corn dog and Paul got a jalapeno corn dog and at the end of the night a funnel cake, it was a yummy meal of fried food!

After getting dinner we went to the building with all the new baby farm animals.  And then on to Little Hands on the Farm, it is a little activity area that the kids can to farm chores and activities and then earn money to buy a treat from the country store.  

Next we checked out the butter cow and butter Abraham Lincoln and then we wandered through a few buildings.  We were able to do pretty much everything we wanted to do before we needed to head home since Leila was starting school the next day