Sunday, July 26, 2009

The Count Down is On!!

Nine days until school starts for kids. I have professional devleopment Monday and Tuesday this week, open house next Sunday afternoon and opening day the following Monday.

Connor is starting to get ready to head back. He already has his school supplies packed in his new back pack. Keaton says, "No, no, no" when you ask him if he is ready to go back to school. His behavior sure seems like he is way past ready to head back. We're hoping getting him back into the routine will calm him down a bit.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

busy, Busy, BUSY!!!

We have been so busy lately that I haven't had time to upload new photos. I'll give you a quick run down of what has been happening in our lives since my last post on the 13th of July.

On the 14th, Angie and Jonathan came to Bowling Green to pick up Ceceley and drop of Codie. Just before we headed out to Connor's swim meet (the only one they were going to get to see) my dad called. He was going to the hospital for a 2nd EKG for the day. He had experienced quite a bit of chest pain the night before and his doctor wanted more information. So, Angie, Jonathan and Ceceley headed back home to check on our dad. Connor, Codie and I went on to the swim meet. So, they transferred my dad to St. Thomas in Nashville and the doctor there determined that he in fact had had a heart attack.

On Wednesday, we all headed down to the hospital to visit with my dad. By the time we arrived he had already had his procedure done and had received a stint to alleviate the blockage. Thankfully there wasn't any permanent damage. He went home from the hospital on Friday afternoon.

On Friday night we hosted the end of the season celebration for Connor's baseball team at Southland. We swam, ate pizza and cupcakes and swam some more. The boys were all really excited about the trophies they received for placing 3rd in our district. It is the biggest trophy Connor has ever received. He is so proud of it.

Saturday was the swim conference hosted at our pool. I helped set up some of the chairs the night before after the baseball celebration and then got up and headed over to the swim meet around 7:30 am. I volunteered to work while the older kids (11 and up) competed. Although we did our best to keep things on track and running smoothly, they didn't finish up until nearly 2:00. Connor's age group competed after that. I only volunteered for the morning session but continued to help during the afternoon as well. Connor competed in six different events. His medley relay team placed 1st!! In the 8 and under individual medley (100 meters/25 of each stroke) he finished 3rd over all. (There were around 20 participants.) He swam 25 in every stroke except the butterfly and swam in a freestyle relay as well.

Rob had another golf tournament on Saturday. He finished 1st!!!

As soon as Connor completed his last event (sometime near 6:00pm) we headed home. (There were only two events left but we left anyway.) We got home. Connor changed and we headed out to a friend's house for dinner. We had a very nice dinner and came home early. Connor and I had had a very long day.

We made it back to church as a family on Sunday. (We often go separately in the summer because of Rob's golf tournaments.) Afterward the boys and I joined some friends for lunch. Rob had to watch the golf tournament on tv. We then met Cheri and Jennifer at Wal-Mart to order our post cards we plan on mailing out to our students. Had to take Rob his car keys and then headed to Target. Connor had some money that was burning a hole in his pocket. (He didn't end up buying anything. What he wanted was $5 more than what he had and I refused to pay the difference.) Thankfully I was able to slip away to the movies with a friend later that afternoon.

Bright and early Monday morning Rob and I headed over to Greenview for his throat scope. They stretched his esophagus some but he needs to return in a few weeks to repeat the procedure. Keaton had speech at 11:00. When I got home, I spent the afternoon weed eating and mowing the yard. Connor and I then headed over to a friend's for dinner. We had a nice time visiting with friends. They had some really good burgers!!

Today I thought I would spend some time working at home. The house is a mess and I have plenty of school work to do. I started the day by finishing a book I had started, printed mailing labels and cleaned out part of my closet. Then Keaton came through the house with a container of baby powder turned upside down and going every where. That's when I decided we were headed to the pool. We needed to get out of the house. Man oh man was the water chilly.

After a few hours at the pool the boys and I headed home. We changed clothes and went to Fazoli's for 99 cent kids meals. I spent the next few hours at school putting up bulletin boards and posters in my classroom.

Tomorrow Keaton has a dentist appointment. He also needs to make a visit to the barber if we can get to it. No speech tomorrow. Thursday we have a birthday party. Monday and Tuesday I have inservice. Monday night we have a swim team celebration dinner and school starts the following Tuesday. Can't figure out what happened to our summer. It seems to have flown by (not really sure which by/bye I should use here) right before my very eyes.

Monday, July 13, 2009

Not Me Monday



Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

This week I did not stay at a swim meet instead of going with my husband to the emergency room when he needed to go. I did not stand by and watch him drive himself. I would never do such a thing. Nope, not me. No way. (He was ok to drive himself or I would have taken him. I'm not really not bad.)


I did not make Keaton clean up the yogurt he got on the floor and then not mop the floor for two more days. Nope, not me. I would never leave the floor to be mopped. I would mop it immediately because I am a super neat freak. Hah!!


This Saturday morning I did not sleep until nearly 10:00 AM. There is no way in the world I would have wasted that much of my day. (Really I used to never be able to sleep that late. These days I am staying up late and if the boys aren't up and at it bright and early, why should I be?)

Happy Not Me Monday!!

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Good Food, Good Pictures and Good Fun!

Yesterday on the spur of the moment, my sister and her family (minus Codie who was with a friend) decided to come down and go out to eat. Believe it or not, we were able to join them. We met up at O'Charlies, one of our favorite places to go if we want to be waited on. I do believe that we had the best service and the best food last night that we have had in some time. It was a very good eating out experience. I thought I'd share a few of the pictures I took between the appetizers and the main course. (Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know. This first picture would have been better had Keaton actually looked at the camera. Oh well. There is always next time. What do you think of those bug bites on his face? The poor kid can't go outside for a minute without being attacked.)







Aren't these some really great pictures!?!?

I hate that we are missing Codie and Connor in them but I wanted to share the ones I had. Codie was gone somewhere with a friend. (He has a very busy social calendar.) Connor was sitting at the end of the table and didn't get in any of the pictures. He was winding down from a busy day at the pool with friends.

Another Swim Meet

Last Tuesday the Southland Sharks competed against Scottsville and Morgantown. It was a great night for Connor. He came home with a 3rd place ribbon for 10 and under freestyle relay, a 3rd place ribbon for 25 meters in the butterfly, a 2nd place ribbon for 8 and under freestyle relay, and four 1st place ribbons (25 meters breast stroke, 25 meters freestyle, 8 and under medley relay, and one for 10 and under medley relay.)

Here he is with a blue stick. This means he or his relay team came in 1st. They trade the sticks in for their ribbons.

This week the Sharks will compete against Old Stone and then finish their season with a big conference meet on Saturday.

Monday, July 6, 2009



Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

Over the past couple of weeks I have NOT become hooked on facebook and blogging. Nope, not me. I do not stay up late at night playing facebook games, writing blog posts or reading other peoples blog posts. I have way too many more important things to do than that.

During this summer vacation I have NOT spent too much time working on school work instead of reading a good book. Nope, not me.

I did not get a bit upset when dropping Keaton off at speech today to find that he not only had a new clinician but also a new supervisor. Nope, not me. I did not get frustrated with his behavior and call the doctor to see if there were any open appointment times sooner than the one we had scheduled. Nope, not me. Nor did I grab him out of his speech session early and race like a mad women to the doctor's office. Nope, not me. I'm way to easy going and laid back to be bothered by a little hyperactivity to do any such thing.

Happy Not Me Monday!!

Now it's your turn. Make your own Not Me Monday and follow MckMama's directions to play.

A Regular Guy

I just finished reading an awesome book(memoir) about a child with autism who just wanted to be a "regular guy". Great book. I highly recommend it to family with autism or to anyone who just wants to learn more. Check it out at the link below. You can hear a portion of it read by the author.
http://www.laurashumaker.com/
A quick read with much insight.

Sunday, July 5, 2009

The Fourth of July

This year we celebrated the Fourth of July with a small trip to Cincinnati with some of Rob's family. (The trip was Rob's brothers idea but we added our own touch to it.) We visited the Newport Aquarium on Friday night, had dinner at Jax Grill and then briefly visited the Game Works Arcade. We had a great time at the aquarium. Rob and Keaton both loved the sharks.

On Saturday, July 4th, we got up and headed over to the Great American Ballpark for the Cincinnati Reds vs. St. Louis Cardinals game. (The first MLB game for Connor and Keaton.) The weather was a bit rainy to say the least. Thankfully it wasn't stormy and our seats were covered. We were able to watch the game without getting drenched like many of the other fans.

It was Bruce Bobblehead day at the Great American Ballpark. We each got to bring home our very on Jay Bruce bobblehead. Bruce displayed excellent defense from his right field position during the game. Here is a picture of Connor showing off his new Reds cap and his bobblehead.

Although I didn't sleep too well (Connor and Keaton were too excited to calm down quickly at the hotel and Keaton got up way before daylight) we still had a good time.



Saturday, July 4, 2009

What a Swimmer!!

UPDATED-July 5, 2009

Thursday night Connor participated in his second swim team meet at Franklin Country Club. That night he brought home three 1st place ribbons and two third place ribbons. He is doing so well. Each time he swims the length of the pool I can see how much better he has gotten this summer. He continues to improve with each stroke. During this meet he competed in his first IM (individual medley-100 meters, 25 breast stroke, 25 butterfly, 25 backstroke, and 25 free style---not sure about the order. I'd ask Connor but he is asleep.) He received third place for the IM. Not to bad for his first time if you ask me. He recieved one of his 1st place ribbons in the 25 backstroke which is his least favorite.

We are so very proud of Connor!!