Caitlin Flashback to October 2006 - 3 years old
Hi Everyone! I have been so busy it has been forever since I have had a chance to talk with some of you!! I hope life finds you well. We are all doing well ourselves and there is much to share from the last month.
News in brief this month...
Mike's foot is doing well. He will continue to have therapy through mid April and is expected to return to regular duty some time next week. The doctor said the bones in his foot have completely healed. It has been a long recovery as he injured his foot on his birthday, October 20th of last year.It is hard to believe it has been over four months already. The only gross highlight of this month... While working light duty... he found 3 dead mice he had to dispose of when they made him clean the back part of the store where the vendors store their things. I think I would have made the outside vendors clean up their mess... dead mice and all. Mike is looking forward to getting back to his regular shift and job duties so he doesn't have to do such menial work.
You can see the scar still... but everything is healed finally.
I am still working away at my college classes. I took too many this semester and have been feeling overwhelmed. I decided I need to make my priorities my family and college classes. I resigned my position as Cub Scout committee chair... but told them I am willing to help as a parent when they need additional help. The kids are all doing well too. I had all three kiddo's conferences and they are doing great at school.
Caitlin's MRI of her head and neck came back normal. The orthopedist wants to send her to a neurologist about the frequency of her nighttime headaches... but I don't think that will be necessary. We were referred by the pediatrician to the ENT as well and saw him last Wednesday about Caitlin's tonsils (they are very large and she gets repeated bouts of strep - including Scarlet fever this past season). The ENT explained he thinks she is having complications from her large tonsils - sleep apnea - which causes her frequent wakings at night and headaches, as well as bouts of strep. This also could explain her irritability and difficulty waking in the morning from not receiving adequate sleep. Oh how I wish we would have been referred to the ENT before the orthopedist and MRI. If only we would have known. They have scheduled her for surgery to remove her tonsils March 18th.
Caitlin's Concert - America The Beautiful - Caitlin's first grade had a music concert with all the classic "American songs" this month... America the Beautiful, The Star Spangled Banner, Yankee Doodle and more. She is in the striped sweater (first row) in the picture below.
She made and decorated her paper bag hat...
Blue and Gold Cub Scout Banquet
Aidan's Cub Scouts had their Annual Blue and Gold Banquet in February. This was a big one as Boy Scouts is celebrating being 100 years old. In the picture below... Aidan is way up in the front (under the basketball hoop) receiving his awards from the Cub Master.
Aidan received a couple of awards...
Map and compass pin and belt loop.
Aidan and his friend Brian decorated cupcakes for a
cake contest for the Banquet and won a certificate.
Aidan's certificate was "Most psychedelic"... I thought it was fitting!
Clowning Around on Valentines day...
Caitlin and I conspiring to get a picture of Mike...
Yes... he's photo-phobic!
This was the best Caitlin and I could do...
The Human Ewan Cushion Sandwich...
He disassembled my couch to create a fort.
The Great Hamper Incident...
Yes... I couldn't believe it either... he sat in the hamper and then realized he was a bit too big to do that and he could NOT get out! Notice him covering his face from embarrassment.
Dad had to come to the rescue because I was too busy running for the camera and subsequently snapping 100's of pictures of my oldest trapped in his hamper. I wonder if he will have emotional scars from the incident?
Mike dumping out the "Aidan" laundry.
Gardening Stuff...
My new tree...
is an apple tree.
He... (or is it technically a she? I guess if I want fruit it should be a she...) was on sale at Home Depot for $12. I came home first to do some research and even see if an apple tree could thrive in our environment. This one can... she is a high heat tolerant, very low chill variety (less than 200 chill hours needed to fruit later in the year) and is self-pollinating. (This picture is before I finished putting all the soil and mulch back on top).
It rained shortly after planting "her" and fuzzy buds sprouted right away...
Nothing is better for plants than a little natural rain!!
Sweet Peas and Pods!
After the rain... my snow pea pods plumped up huge so I decided I had better pick them before they turned bitter. I was able to pick a bunch of them... but they did not last long....
The kids, me and our neighbor down the way (Jason) couldn't stop eating these. Most of the bowl was full in the beginning... this was a little while later... and there was nothing to show about an hour after this.
Garden Bulbs...
I discovered that it is possible to plant flowers that grow from bulbs here in Arizona. My first inkling was when my Aunt Shirley gave me Bearded Iris bulbs dug up from a friends yard. I planted them and they began growing green foliage. Then I recently discovered the garden center at Walmart had Tulip, Hyacinth and Daffodil bulbs. Imagine my glee! I remember my mom planting flower bulbs when I was a child and couldn't contain my joy at the realization that I could plant these flowers in my backyard with my children.
My daffodils were the first to grow buds...
and to actually bloom...
My row of tulips...
My tulips are developing flower buds...
and the budding hyacinths...
Bowling Party
We were invited to attend our neighbor, Kevin's, 6th birthday party at the bowling alley. We had a lot of fun bowling and then returned to their home for cake and ice cream. My friend Merri is one of the most talented cake decorators I know! She is very creative... and her cakes taste as great as they look. Since Caitlin has several pink stuffed monkeys... I am hoping I can have Merri show me how to make a pink monkey cake similar to this one she made for Kevin.
Caitlin aiming for the middle. The girl is pretty darn
good for being 6. She had something like 3 or 4 spares.
Here she is getting a spare. I snapped it right
before the ball hit and took out the rest of the pins.
Wow! Check out Aidan's technique!
Aidan watching the ball intently...
Rolling... watching... rolling... watching...
It took a long time to reach the pins.
Ewan did very well too!
I think all my kiddos are naturals. Of course, they did not get it from me. Caitlin is the "C". She ended up winning the game with 98 points. The sad part is that I was playing with the adults and only scored a 62. I should delete this part!! In my defense, Caitlin did have the luxury of bumpers to keep the ball out of the gutters.
Caitlin's victory cry...
Well... I think that's all the news for now. I hope all finds you and your families well. I look forward to hearing about your families and adventures too!
