Week 14 Around Here: Spring Break! {2019}

{makeshift window shade}

{brother Dallas; puppy Basil; me, girlfriend Bri; & Carly}

{Carly & Basil love each other!}

{You know how they say, "Don't blink?" ... }

{Don't blink! This is somehow ten years later...}

{But it feels like only moments have passed since this time in my life.}

Spending... part of Spring Break with my parents & grandparents.  We drove the four+ hours to Vancouver to stay with my parents for a few days, and from there we drove to the coast to spend Sunday with my dad's parents.  It is always so good to see them, and watch them interact with my kids.  Makes my heart so full.

Lucking out... with amazing weather on the Oregon coast.  The day we were there was sunny and clear, just gorgeous!  We spent hours on the beach playing in the sand after we had lunch with Grandma & Grandpa.  Then we had giant scoops of Tillamook ice cream (tradition) and played at the park near the beach while the twins climbed around on the log pile.

Hating... (as always) packing for our trip, knowing that whatever I leave behind will be my fault.  Ha! #momlife  I can remember 1,001 things, but the only thing they'll remember is the one thing I forget.  It's gotten better now that I am used to going on this trip, but I still stress about remembering everything. Especially medicine and Wyatt's nebulizer, meds & equipment.  Eek!

Driving... Josh's Suburban on our road trip and loving it!  It has so much more luggage space than the van and is fun to ride on the road since we're so high off the ground.  Plus, it's just plain cool.  (I also feel like driving the Suburban is full circle since when we were first dating in high school he drove his mom's Suburban when we did our internship for Sign Language class at the Deaf School together. Aww!)

Giving... Carly & Jack Dramamine for Kids (about an hour before travel) to keep them from getting carsick during all the driving.  Carly actually vomits if she gets carsick, so the Dramamine (and eliminating screens from her car time) has been a Godsend.  Jack just gets headachy and motion sick.  The Dramamine helps with both, though, and I am so glad we gave it a go.  We found it for super cheap at our local Walmart, and I just carry it in my purse at all times.  It's also available on Amazon, and hasn't been found to make my kids drowsy.  (We just do one pill each.)

Enjoying... pizza at my mom's, along with visiting with my brother Dallas & his girlfriend Bri, and playing with their pup Basil, as well as with my mom's 3 pups, Sadie, Dodger & Ruby.  I think the dogs are Carly & Wyatt's favorite part of visiting my mom, other than seeing my parents.  They are little dog whisperers and it's just the cutest.  Although when you ask Carly if she wants a dog, she says no. She wants a "baby kitten".  When my mom heard that she said, "Let's go get her one." Haha!  Grandma's, amiright?

Loving... Carly climbing into my dad's lap with a photo album she brought downstairs with her to look at all the pictures.  It's from 1994, the year I graduated 6th grade and happened to get a "baby kitten" for graduation, and Carly kept flipping back to the picture of me and my kitten Tabby.  She wanted my dad to tell her who everyone was and loved pouring over every photo, just like her mama.

Jumping... at Skyzone with my parents and the kids.  We all had a great time.  The twins played dodgeball; Wyatt did lots of wall jumping; and Carly never stopped moving the whole time.  Awesome way to wear the kids out!

Eating... out at Red Lobster with Josh on a date, just us, while the kids stayed with my mom and dad.  It was so nice to have a quiet, luxurious meal, without cutting anyone's food, without getting up to grab ketchup; eating while the food was actually warm.  It was really, really nice and unexpected.  Thanks for thinking of us, mom, and sending us on our way.  It was lovely.

Thankful... for the two new taggies my mom made for Carly while we were visiting to replace the one she lost last week.  She didn't have any more of the feather fabric we used for the original, so we let Carly pick what she wanted.  She chose minky (which is the really soft, "cozy" fabric that's Carly's favorite) for both sides, one in pink and one in red.  And for the ribbons, I chose for the pink one and she chose rainbows and yellow for the red one- it looks so cute!  Thank you, Nanny!

Ending... our road trip, feeling like it was our best ever.  On the last day, my parents took us out to lunch and to the go kart track.  The boys were elated, and even Carly got to ride around once with Josh.  They had a great time and we laughed so hard watching Wyatt drive his own for the first time.  He was very serious & SO slow.  It was absolutely hysterical.
The drive home was amazing- fast and hiccup-free- with Carly sleeping nearly three hours, which is unheard of.  And I came home feeling closer than ever to my parents, and so grateful for them as grandparents.  My kids and I are a pretty lucky bunch.

Walking... the last three days of spring break and feeling so good getting my work out on!  I am just so happy that spring is here and winter is gone!

Taking... Wyatt to see his primary care doctor over spring break for the headaches he has been having the last 6 weeks.  Ever since a few weeks post op for his tonsil & adenoid removal, Wyatt has been continuing to struggle with sleep and has started having headaches that wake him at night and haunt him throughout the day.
The headaches could be from his low, soft palate (roof of his mouth), so we have an appointment set up with the orthodontist for next week to see if a spacer would help with that.  They could also be from the two types of sleep apnea* he was found to have had back in October- obstructive & central.  Hopefully the surgery fixed his obstructive sleep apnea, but we will only know once we complete a second, follow up, sleep study, which I've got in the works.  And if it turns out he does still have central sleep apnea, we are going to dig deeper this time, looking into why he has it, since it is so rare for children to have.
(*Types of Sleep Apnea: Obstructive Sleep Apnea is where you stop breathing in your sleep because of a blockage in your throat like large tonsils.  Central Sleep Apnea is where your brain forgets to tell you to breathe while you are sleeping.)
Wyatt's doctor ended up ordering an MRI for us (hallelujah!) because with an MRI we can narrow down the possibilities.  It will tell us if his central sleep apnea is from an Arnold Chiari Malformation (which Logan has); if his headaches are from a severe sinus infection (he already had one round of antibiotics and didn't show any improvement); or if they are from steroid use (he takes 4 puffs of Flovent everyday to keep his lungs healthy during the school year).  Once we have some of these answers, we will know how to proceed to get this kid sleeping & headache free.

Planting... the perennials I bought last week and feeling so excited about having some pops of color in our yard.  I bought some daffodils, tulips, hyacinth and grape hyacinth.  I am excited about having them there this year, but I am even more excited to see what they do next year when they pop up.  Many of them will generate even more flowers the second year they bloom.  I can't wait!

Sending... the boys off with Josh to his parent's land to ride their four wheelers for the day on Friday.  It was a great way to wrap up the week and they had the most fun they ever had, they said.  They rode some small dirt jumps and caught serious air- the pictures and videos Josh got are amazing!  Our boys are so adventurous and fun!  (And lucky to have a dad who makes sure they get time out at Grandma & Papa's to be adventurous and fun!)

Reading... Snow Child on Ashley's recommendation, and it was so, so good!  If you liked Anne of Green Gables or Little House on the Prairie (or more recently Caroline, which I also highly recommend!) then you would love Snow Child.

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