Bits & Pieces of August, according to Instagram

Not to forgot the little daily things that happen around here....

Big trouble. #saturdayatcostco #darnsamplesgetyoueverytime 

#newbedforbrooklyn #recordhighspent

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh nooooooooo!  I've got one of "those." 

#19monthsold #shediditallbyherself #fifthchild #givingmearunformymoney

Attempting to keep my "best mom ever" status.  Or I'm just insane for dong this solo on a Friday night... #cashinginsummerreadingprogramprizes

Just a fun Saturday morning trip with the family #icouldspendhourshere #andlotsofdollars #mostlystucktothelist #cantwaittoputitalltogether

Off to see my favorite eye guy because my bottom eyelid is puffy and sore #dontmindmyunrulyeyebrow

Icee + popcorn keep the littles happy while mommy shops! #thisisprestonshappyface

Worth the sweat and hard work when it all comes together! 

#saturdayprojects #nowwecandecorate #sweetdreamsbrooklyn

We accidentally went to the mall on kids club day.  But just as kids club was getting out.  

We still took advantage of the free carousel ride! 

#prestoncalledthegorilla #haydenscreameduntilitstarted #herbowmatchedheranimal

Gettin' groceries!  Can you see Preston?  He's "invincible." 

#mamasgettingfit #beachbody #eatclean

The big daddy of beaters!! #bestpartofmakingcookies

SWEye Dr Retreat

This year for the annual doctor's retreat, we stayed local here in Phoenix at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge.  I get SO flustered for this event- EVERY YEAR!!!  I always worry about what I'm wearing, how I look, etc.  I'm a pretty low-maintenance girl so needing to get a little more dressed up makes me nervous!  I want to make sure I'm that trophy wife on Matt's arm! ;)

We arrived Friday evening and had a mix & mingle with all the doctors and their spouses.  It's always good to see the people that Matt interacts with regularly, those we don't get to see as frequently as well as meeting new doctors who have recently joined the company.  After we were done "mingling," some of the younger couples suggested going to the pool, and while I had packed a swim suit, I failed to mention that little tidbit to Matt, who did NOT bring swimming attire.  We quickly ran across the street to Tilly's, barged in 5 minutes before they closed, Matt found something that fit, then zipped back over to the resort.  After we closed the pool and hot tub down, we went with the Seller's to get some dessert.  We stayed up way too late chatting, but isn't that what you do when you're kidless?

Too bad we couldn't sleep in the next morning!!  All the doctors had a meeting, bright and early, at 8am.  Melissa and I decided to hit up Target and burn an hour of time before any nail salon opened.  We got pedicures before heading back to meet up with our husbands.

You can always find something to buy at Target!!

Pretty toes, I always get pink!

As the main event, we had lunch and guided tours of the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM), which was just a couple miles from where we were staying.  They have thousands of instruments from all over the world!  We had the most boring old guy as our guide.  Blah.  It would've been more interesting had we not had to stand and listen to him go on and on at each stop, which meant we didn't have time to see half of what was there.  It was all very interesting, just the same, being that Matt and I both have musical backgrounds.

Our guide~

Trying out our musical talents~

We gathered together for a talent show and a very entertaining game of Musical Jeopardy!  After the game concluded, we headed back to the hotel to change, then were treated to a very nice dinner.

As always, we appreciate the opportunity to spend time with Matt's colleagues, and especially grateful to the Bluths for treating us as part of the family.  Matt truly enjoys working for Southwestern Eye Center!

First Broken Bone!!

Because things are exciting enough around here!!!

Last week, I sent Blake off to Scouts (which is now conveniently just down the street) and when he came home, his new leader was with him and explained that he tripped and fell on his wrist while they were doing relay races.  He kinda kept his arm bent in close to his body for the rest of the afternoon so I wanted to go get it checked out.

A twin sister comes in handy to write your homework when you hurt your wrist!

After Matt got home from work, I took Blake to the Urgent Care on the corner.  They took x-rays and the PA said he thought he had a greenstick fracture of the radius.  They wrapped his arm and sent us home with instructions to follow up with an orthopedic doc.

Tired Blake at Urgent Care

We didn't have an appointment until Monday.  The doctor took a look at the x-rays and determined he indeed had a hairline fracture.  Lucky boy gets to wear a cast for three weeks!  He chose a BLUE cast, of course.  It's his favorite color!

He didn't waste any time having friends at school sign his cast!

❤MOM

We've been lucky to make it 10 years before having a broken bone.  I guess it's inevitable, living in a house full of boys!

What's up with Hayden?

April 24th was the first time I can pinpoint that Hayden had a scary high fever.  She was lethargic and limp, worse than anything I'd ever seen with one of my kids.  This started a series of high fevers, almost happening like clockwork, every two weeks or so.  Fevers of 103, lasting for days with no other real symptoms; no cough, no nasty nose, no throwing up.  I took her in to the pediatrician in April to get looked over and they couldn't find any reason for the fever.

After this happened a couple more times, I headed back in, although our regular pediatrician was out for the whole month of July so we had to see someone new that we have no history with.  It's not like I'm a crazy, first time mom, running to the doctor because my kid sneezed.  Hayden also had hives so the dr. sent us for blood work to rule out food allergies and any infections.  The blood work came back normal and she instructed us to come back next time she gets a fever.  Two weeks later, another fever so back to the pediatrician we went!  This time, they did a catheter to collect a urine sample.  The culture showed blood and protein so the dr. wanted to treat it as a UTI and sent us on our way with antibiotics.  A couple days later, we get a call that it's NOT a UTI but there is no more info.

Now what??!  I'm frustrated.  I understand that Hayden is a toddler and toddlers pick up germs easily.  She goes to nursery at church now, she sucks her finger and drags her blankie around everywhere.  But this seems a little excessive.

Eating a dumdum sucker after her blood draw

I knew we had Hayden's 18 month well check (late) scheduled at the beginning of August so I was antsy to talk to our regular pediatrician about the whole thing.

Her appointment was today.  Our pediatrician listened to my concerns, definitely felt like this was something to keep on top of and gave me a game plan for the next time the fever happens.  In the mean time, they wanted to re-check her urine by "bagging" her.  They adhere a bag to her girly parts, cut a slit in a diaper and let the bag hang through so you can easily see when she pees.  Hayden was NOT happy about that!!!  She kept grabbing her diaper, saying, "Poop!"  I didn't bring a sippy cup so I had to try to get her to drink from a bottle of water.  Of course she wanted to do it herself, which resulted in her spilling all over her clothes.  After the nurses came in a few times to see if she had peed yet, I decided we had to do something drastic, so I let her play in the sink!  She proceeded to sufficiently soak everything in the near vicinity and when I got her down, Preston said, "Look mom, she's peeing!" haha!  Urine came back normal and we were free to leave.

Oh, and while the ped was listening to Hayden's chest, she heard a noticeable murmur.  I'm pretty sure she's had a slight murmur since she was an infant, but now we get to go see a cardiologist to determine whether or not this murmur is something to be concerned about.

Back to School 2K13

And just like that, summer is over.

I have two fifth graders and a second grader!!

Our morning routine needed a bit of tweaking in order to make things run a little more smoothly.  The kids don't get the sense of urgency to be ready by the time carpool arrives (aunt Kristin!) and get distracted on their way to brush teeth.   Matt & I decided that we need to get up at 6am {yawn} and wake the kids.  Since Matt leaves just before 7am, we wanted to have plenty of time to start back up with family scripture study, fill their bellies with a decent breakfast and I can pack lunches without rushing as much.

Not sure what's more distracting in this picture;
the blue pen?  or Matt's hairy arms.  haha

Brooklyn and Blake begged to be put in the same class (they haven't been since kindergarten) but I stuck to my guns and kept them separate.  They do better with as much space as they can.

Gavin got a new backpack and lunchbox this year.  He went through two cheapo backpacks last year so he upgraded to a Land's End set, just like Brooklyn and Blake's that they got last year.

Matt blocked off part of his morning so he could be there to see the kids off to school.  We dropped them off and I snapped a couple of pictures in front of the school.

 Blake was like, "Really, mom??!"

With Mr. Patriot, their mascot

We kept our annual tradition of getting ice cream for surviving the first day of school!