Ridiculous Duck Pictures

Monday Music Madness

I just had to snap a picture to remind myself of what Mondays looked like in 2017.  After chores, breakfast, and some school if we're lucky, the girls and I drop Addison off at Konos for science and foreign language classes, and then we head to music.  While at music lessons, the girls take turns working on their school work.  We usually finish part of it there, and then part of it either in the van or sitting at Chick-fil-A while we wait for Addison to be finished.  We come home, prepare for class the next day, and actually make dinner.  Mondays are a rare night where I have time to possibly fix something!  Bonus!  My days will not always be so busy, and I won't always be a pack-mule... so I'll try to remember to take a deep breath and enjoy the madness!

Too Precious To Waste

I took this picture because it is kinda a big deal.  A year ago, Jeff wouldn't have been home at 5:30, or even 7:00 for that matter.  If he was home, he was so stressed out that he couldn't begin to focus on family.  Now, at 5:45 on a Wednesday, he is sitting on the couch, surrounded by silly kids, telling them some crazy story.  I cannot express how big this has been.  It's life changing.  The short time that we have with kids in the house is too precious to waste... and things definitely have worked out for the best!

Duckies!

It's time once again!  After a few months without the whirring sound of incubators or constant chirps of chicks, we're back into the swing of things!  We added Indian Runner Ducks to the crew this year, and the kids (and I) are in love!

Ivey's favorite place to be...

Ivey's favorite place to be.

Fiddler on the Roof

Yet again, these Konos Academy kids did an amazing job!  This year's play was Fiddler on the Roof.  To be honest, this was the best version of Fiddler that I have ever seen... and the only one I could finish!  They rocked it!  Although there wasn't a good speaking role for Addison to play this year, he did a great job... at least until the final day of shows.  The poor kid woke up with a high fever, and was way too sick to go on.  After those long two weeks of practices, it's no wonder!  I look forward to see what next year has in store!

Just a few pictures...

Work Weekend

Moving the Electric Fence Line

Greatest Show On Earth

For Olive's birthday this year, we loaded up the van with giggling friends and headed to see the final show of Ringling Brothers Circus.  It's hard to believe that these kids will be the last kids to see this show... and we wanted to be there to see it one last time!

Sweetest Valentines

 

Let Kidding Season BEGIN!

Big Day

Today is a big day for Asa...

It's his first day of school at Liberty Tech Charter.

He wanted to try a typical, 5-day a week school for high school, but it seemed best to give it a try before it "counted".... so here we are!

I'm incredibly proud of him for his courage and willingness to jump right in to something new... and I wish him the best day EVER!

The Ballerina

Olive's class presented their mini-routine today... and they did a great job!

Let's compare...

Addison's attempt at hanging up a shirt.

Olive's hyper-organized sleeping arrangements.

Dear Asa, Please Be Happy.

Door In Progress!

Jeff has been working on our new front door!  I'm so excited to have wood from both Inman (thank you, Andy McLucas!) and Bethlehem in this piece!

Abdominal Migraines

We're finally starting to get somewhere.

Ivey has been throwing up at least twice a month for her entire life. It began at about 20 months.  We blew it off, attributed it to a car ride or a virus or something she ate.  Her pediatrician listened, but we were told to keep an allergy journal, or do the elimination diet.  With her, there was never a pattern.  Yes, it always happened around holidays.  She threw up every single Easter, Halloween, or Christmas.  We knew it would happen every single time.  We tried to reduce her candy intake.  We only bought organic.  We watched for a pattern with additives or with certain candy ingredients.  Nothing made a difference.  

Because we homeschool, it was easy to adjust our school schedule around her vomiting episodes.  If she was up all night sick, then we just began late.  That's really great, but it isn't fixing the problem.

We finally headed to a GI doctor that listened, quietly, as I explained all of the weirdness.  He asked questions, and I answered them.  I felt like a complete weirdo... and he just sat and took notes.

In the end, he looked up and said, "You could have written the pamphlet for Abdominal Migraines, or Chronic Vomiting Syndrome."  What?  This is a THING?  It seems that the triggers are random... and they change... which makes a diagnosis difficult.  It throws people off track.  They chase allergens.  They try to figure out which ingredient is causing things to happen.  We're not alone!

Ivey is on the bottom tier of meds, and we'll see how things go.  Right now, she's just happy that there is a possible fix for this!