Summer is Winding Down

Tomorrow I will unofficially start back to school, we're going to spend the day prepping our classroom for the upcoming school year. I feel like we just put everything away. I have a sick feeling in my stomach already. I don't mind prepping the room, but I'm really dragging my feet about getting back into the school year routine. I like our days filled with random fun. I like that my home days don't include lesson planning. I like having Finley home with me. Crap, my baby is starting school.

We ordered new specs for the new kindergartner.

The kids went on the ski trainer last weekend.

Hadley stood up...

...and fell asleep!

Finley went on the knee board and showed off jumping tricks on the trainer.

Hadley is constantly-constantly begging for YouTube videos on the iPad.  Anything from how to make popsicles to watching kids play with play-doh (I don't get what's fun about that?!). One night she watched Cailou in Spanish. She never said anything about not understanding, but she didn't finish the episode so something must've seemed weird.

On Sunday Finley developed a cough in the middle of the night, it continued to bug him Monday and he wasn't himself - low energy, no appetite, and so tired he slept off/on. He was flushed, but no fever, so I diagnosed the start of a summer cold. Fast forward to bedtime, when I tucked him in he was breathing rapidly and his chest was noticeably rising/falling. Once he was asleep, I went back to see if his breathing had fallen into a slow-heavy sleeping pattern. It hadn't. I called for Patrick to come and listen, we called Auntie Shawna (a NP and used to work in a cardio-pulmonary clinic), she urged caution and said to run him in to be checked out. Hadley was asleep, so Patrick took him in. Wow, waiting by the phone sucks big time. Finley's oxygen level was low enough to cause concern. They did a chest x-ray (normal), blood work (pretty close to normal) and gave him oxygen. His oxygen level would quickly rise to normal, but then fell right back down when it was removed. It pained me to see the pictures with the nasal cannula, simply because I knew that meant he needed it.

The doctor was incredibly nice and thorough, he wouldn't send Finley home until everything settled down. Given his symptoms, the on-call pediatrician said to treat him for an asthma attack (no history). They gave him a steroid and an albuterol nebulizer treatment, his oxygen level stayed put around 96, enough to send him home...at 2 a.m. Finley received a stuffed bear for being brave, he quickly named him Simon (he debated between Peter & Simon, Spencer, Easton or Nolan - original).

Tuesday morning we followed up with a NP in our pediatrician's office. There is no clear answer or reason behind his breathing struggles - was it asthma, an allergy-induced asthma attack, or just a one-time episode? It seems time will tell. Finley was on predisone for four days and continues albuterol neb treatments every 4-6 hours for two weeks. Then we will follow up with the NP and go from there. If he looks good (which he already does), I think they'll take him off the nebulizer and see what happens. If he has another episode, they'll probably refer us to an allergist/asthma expert for further testing. I hope hope hope it's not asthma.

There was a tag on Simon with the creator's name and the group responsible for providing gifts to children in the hospital. Finley & I sent a thank you to the volunteer and I posted a thank you on the group's FB page. A cousin saw my post and realized Simon was made by her former mother-in-law. What a small world (thanks FB for making the connection) and it makes Simon a little more special.

We had a significant wait to pick up his nebulizer and medicine, so we hung out in Phoenix Park. The kids had a lot of fun running around the park, although Hadley was confused that some parks don't have toys.

With one dose of steroids in, Finley already had more energy. The neighbors were a welcome distraction for a very tired mom.

The kids attended Vacation Bible School each evening. I wondered how Hadley would do (it was drop-off), she did great! She cried a little the first evening, but then told me I be happy! each night after. One night I walked up to the group singing songs on the lawn, I went unnoticed and watched my kids interact. They were dancing to the songs...

...and then she expressed her love to Finley.

A lot of love!

My quest to get a picture of the Bug Safari kids proved impossible.

VBS ended with the kids singing in church on Sunday...

...actually only Finley sang, Hadley wouldn't go up front.

The kids finally had their birthday pictures taken, I look forward to seeing what the photographer caught. Hadley started off crying, but with the promise of a zillion sprinkled donuts she pulled herself together.

And Finley has finally figured out that the faster/better you smile/listen, the faster we're done.

Patrick, Kathleen & I flew to Chicago early Thursday morning, we saw the sunrise from the sky.

We'd landed, I went for a run, and enjoyed coffee (alone, so quiet/nice) by 9:30 a.m.

Patrick's Grandpa lives three miles from O'Hare, every 2-3 minutes a large jet passes over the house. I don't know if I'd like living there, but it's fun (and noisy) to watch when we visit, it's unreal how many flights go in/out all day long. Right by the tail wing is a small airplane underneath this large one.

On Saturday morning we drove to Purdue University in Indiana for a family wedding. I enjoyed the time with Patrick's siblings and extended family.

Meanwhile, my parents kept the kids busy.

Cherry Berry!

It sounds like they played musical beds all weekend. According to Hadley, Grandpa slept on the porch and Grandma on the couch. They were probably happy to have their bed back last night. This picture proves how fun Hadley is to sleep with.

Mom & Dad - thank you for keeping the kids this weekend! We are lucky to have you so willing to help. We love you!