MY MOM

Last Thursday started out like any other Thursday. I was at work, helping my kiddos with math when I got a phone call in my classroom. I took the call & it was my sister in law Kim. She told me that my mom was on her way to the hospital for surgery. Say what?

Back up to Wednesday. My mom had a routine colonoscopy. She had a polyp removed. She went home. By the middle of the night, she was in extreme pain & had chills. She went to the doc, who did blood work & an x-ray. She had a perforated colon.

When I got the news, I flipped out. I was 2 hours away from my mother who was about to have emergency surgery. I left work. I left the kids with my neighbor. I went to the hospital. She went into surgery to have part of her colon removed due to a dime sized hole. The surgery took about 3 hours plus another hour of recovery and she was finally back in her room. It was a long evening for my dad, me & my siblings (Kim & Tesha too).

I spent Friday at the hospital with mom too. I made a flying trip back home to get the kids and went back on Saturday afternoon. I was able to get mom home on Sunday. Thankfully, she is fine. She has my siblings & their families to take care of her. Plus her sister and friend are coming to care for her too. I'm sure it will be a long recovery. We're all just glad she is ok!

Other than that....Jake had a football game. They won 24-0. Jake threw a TD pass. He also had a soccer game. The other team forfeited at half time because we were so far ahead. Jake had a goal that game. Jake got 100% on his math test & 100% on his spelling test. Jake went to the Homecoming game with a friend on Friday. He seems so old!

Allie had another great week in spelling...only missing one word (I was gone on Thursday & didn't get to help her study). She also is practicing her new song for her ballet class. She learn her tap routine soon. Allie had a play date the other afternoon with her friend Hailey.

This week brings: soccer practice (2 times), soccer pictures, soccer game, football practice (2 times), football game in the Dome, tap/ballet class, school pictures, a play for my class, fire prevention week kick off, Brownie meeting, put together silent auction baskets, religion class and more!

JUST BUSY

Many have wondered where I've been since my last post. Just here, living my crazy life! What have we been up to?

• Jake has had 2 football games. Last weekend he played the Bucs. They lost. He looked good on defense and scored a touchdown. In today's game, against the Eagles, he had a sack & thew a TD pass.
• Allie is enjoying her tap & ballet class. She wants to start a jazz class, but there isn't room right now so she's on a waiting list.
• Jake had his first soccer game today. They lost 7-8, which was a bummer. Our team looked really good & fought 'til the end.
• The kids are both doing well in school. Both brought home 100% scores on their spelling tests all year! Allie got 100% on her first math test and Jake has tested out of all of his timed facts tests in math (the goal was to test out of addition, subtraction, multiplication & division by the end of November...he did it in 3 weeks).
• The kids started religious ed this week. Allie makes her 1st Communion this year, so it is a big year for her.
• The kids have had a better social life than us this weekend. Both kids were at friend's houses for movies last night. Tonight Jake was at a party for a friend.
• We had our first PTA meeting last week. What a great turn out & it appears that we are off to a good start to the year.
• I am enjoying my job. I love my class. We went on a field trip. It was to kick off our new "Go Green" campaign at school. We learned all about recycling.
• Plans for the school carnival are coming along nicely. I feel busier than ever with that and Teddy Bear Tea planning.
• We finally pulled the trigger and bought new counter tops for our kitchen. They should be installed next month & I can't wait!
• I went to my grandmother's house last weekend. It was pretty sad. Most of the things are gone out of the house. It felt so empty. So many memories. Seems like just yesterday it was full of family & so noisy. It was too quiet. It will never be the same. I'm sad.
• On a happier note, I got to spend time with my nephew Drew (& his parents) last weekend. Drew makes me laugh so hard. What a great kid with a great personality.
  
  

My class at the Go Green field trip. Like our matching shirts?
Jake fighting for the ball in soccer (maroon team).

Jake at QB throwing the ball.

Allie & her friends at recess. Jada, Katie, Abbie, Allie & Caely. This is one of the bonuses of my job...seeing my kiddos with their friends!

THE "C WORD"

Our lives are once again turned around because of the "c word" or cancer. Last year, one of Allie's friends (Hunter) was diagnosed with cancer. We were so sad. He was 6 or 7 when diagnosed. He fought a long, hard battle and WON! YAY Hunter!

Last weekend, we found out that one of Jake's good friends (Will) was diagnosed with leukemia. I felt like someone punched me in the gut. Why would another child have to deal with cancer. It stinks.

Over the summer, we spent countless hours with Will and his family. Will & his twin brother were on Jake's baseball team. We spent time at doubleheaders together, after games we had dinner, we had picnics on Sundays and spent lots of time on the practice fields with them. This just plain stinks!

Jake is old enough that he knows what cancer is. He knows you can die. He's scared for his friend. Lots of questions were asked and answered. The worst was when he asked if Will would die. I had to answer I hope not. Obviously, I can't say for sure and I don't want to lie to him. I did bring up Hunter and Jake's former teacher, Mrs. Marshall. Both are survivors. Hopefully we can add Will to our list.


Please pray!

FALL SCHEDULES

Fall schedules are in full swing. Trying to make it all fit together usually is tricky. This year it wasn't!! I'm pretty excited that we have no conflicts and no nights that I dread because of over scheduling! YAY! Here's a rundown of our activities & what we've been up to since I last posted.

Soccer: Jake has soccer practices on Monday & Wednesday nights. He practices at a field near our house, which is better than last year when we had to truck across town. He'll have games through the end of October. Last Sunday, his team was invited to be the "ball boys" for the UNI soccer game. Jake really enjoyed himself.

Football: We finally got our team assignment (which was a battle). Jake plays for the Cowboys this year. He practices on Tuesday and Thursday nights. He'll play games through mid-October.

Dance: Allie started a tap/ballet class this fall. She'll go every Wednesday after school for an hour. She's thinking about adding in a jazz class too. I'm still debating whether or not that is a good idea for her!

Scouts: Allie will have Scouts once a month. Jake has opted out of Scouts. YAY!!

School: the kids are still enjoying their teachers and classmates. Both scored 100% on their first spelling tests this week. Again, YAY! Allie takes CAT tests next week, so I hope that goes well for her!

PTA: I've got all of my PTA assignments for the year. I'm secretly hoping someone, anyone wants to take over something for me. Maybe a new, eager mom will jump at one of my job during the first meeting. Right now I'm the PTA Secretary, co-chair of the carnival, Talent Show & Giving Tree/Teacher Appreciation. I'm also still helping out with various fundraisers for the playground, which should be installed soon. I'm also working at the book fair and couldn't say "no" to being room parent in both kiddos rooms.

Teddy Bear Tea: Yep, doing that fundraiser for the hospital again this year. This will be my last year though. I'm having a hard time getting excited for it this year. Plans are underway & it will be a great event as always.

Work: Things are going really well at school. We are in a routine & it's going great. I'm enjoying the 3rd graders and am starting to think that I really like the older kids more than I realized. I always thought my heart was in Kindergarten, but now I'm wondering!

Painting: Scott painted the living room last weekend. It looks so fresh. We went with basically the same color so it really isn't a change to most people. He's painting the entryway, stairway & hallway this weekend. He thinks he can get the spare room done too. I'm thinking that can wait 'til another weekend!