Weekend Wrap-Up/Start of Summer Report

Well.

These last few days haven't gone at all how I anticipated.

Tuesday the kids came home from school excited that school was done, but Kael was visibly sad about missing Mrs. Keese.  Definitely the first year I've seen Kael be emotional (in a sad way) about the end of school.

Not five minutes after walking in the door from school, Kael's ear started to swell up.  This has happened to him before and truly, I don't know what is the cause.  Our ENT has told us it's related to dehydration and that if we push the fluids, it will get better.  Other doctors have prescribed meds.  Google searches turn up suggestions of putting a hot pack of salt on it to draw out the moisture.  We tried all and none helped.

Kael did finally decide to get his hair cut though! I think he was getting too hot! Pictures below.

These two ask me for icees every other minute. 

Wednesday and Thursday I babysat, which went really well, but Kael had a couple of tough days.  I thought we were off to a good start with the transition to summer, but near the end of both of those days, Kael melted a little.  The good news was that we did get him some medicine for his ear and that started to look better, but we were also given strict instructions to not let him put his head underwater for several days (ie: no trips to the pool).  Boo.  Normally we would have been to the pool five times by this point in the season!

All the neighbor girls entertained themselves for the better part of three days with two frogs. 

Friday.  Friday, I finally felt like everything I prepared for our Summer Schedule paid off.  Kael and Kylee, dare I say, enjoyed helping me plan activities and menus and quietly/happily observed the After Lunch Quiet Time I imposed.  We met some family out at Mill Pond for a fishing event, got to see my grandma, had dinner out with my mom...and all was right with the world.

Then Saturday happened.  Kael woke me up around 5:00 with a, "Mom I'm so hot and my whole entire body hurts." Eek! I hop out of bed to assess the situation and sure enough- he's running a temp of 103.  Double eek. We spend the morning putting cold cloths on him, running to the store for some fever reducer and generally just trying to get him better.  He was supposed to have a game at noon that all of Kent's family was coming to watch, so we sadly sent them a "Better not come today" message.

Then Kent found out (at the very.last.minute) that two of his players weren't going to be there which would cause our team to forfeit.  Cue Tough Parenting Decision.  We'd given Kael some Motrin and the fever was down.  Kael said he felt up to playing, but I knew that two hours in the heat at high noon wasn't the best thing for a kid with a fever.  We dug into the rules and found out that if Kael was there to start the game, he would be allowed to leave and his team could finish the game with seven kids.

So, we decided to drive Kael up to the game literally minutes before starting time, let him play for as long as he felt up to it, then take off.  Kael lasted the whole game and spared his team a (forfeit) loss.  They ended up tying, which really was as good as a win against the team we were playing, as it doesn't affect our overall standing.  Kael was certainly the hero among the moms in the crowd and I was glad none of them judged us for our questionable decision allowing Kael to play.  I love the competitiveness of even the moms on our team.  It's all positive and everyone certainly would have understood if Kael hadn't made it, but I could tell everyone was thrilled we didn't forfeit.

It was hot so Kent took the big kids to Dairy Queen after the game while Kase napped.  Kael seemed to be doing better....until I walked up to his room and found him asleep.  In the middle of the day.  This hasn't happened for a very long time.  Kael doesn't take naps.  Ever.  So I knew he was miserable.  He woke up shaking then threw up his blizzard.  Poor guy was SICK.  He spent the rest of the day on the couch, sipping Sprite and watching TV.

Kent took Kase to the pool.  He loved it.  Kylee didn't want to go because she wasn't feeling great either. At least we got a little bit of use from our pool passes.

And in the time I've written this blog post, two of Kael's buddies have stopped by asking if he can play, and when I explained that he's sick, they so sweetly said, "Tell him I hope he feels better!" 

Sunday, Kael was still pretty miserable.  He'd slept terribly all night so he and I made our way to the family room early in the morning to watch some TV and take his mind off his aches.  This was great, but then he fell asleep there until 8:45 (an unheard of hour for kids to sleep in at this house).  Since Kase and Kylee were awake much earlier than that, Kent spent the morning taking them for donuts and taking them to several parks in order to keep the house quiet so Kael could keep resting.

Making the best of another day at home, and a fantastic idea to help cool Kael off, Kent made a PVC sprinkler! We have a bunch of PVC pipe leftover from when Kent did the plumbing in the basement and it was such a fun way to spend the day.  Kids loved it!

Later in the day, my mini-me helped me get groceries for the week, and also prep this, this and this.  Then, Kent took Kase and Kylee to the pool because I was badgering him about our wasted pool passes. 


What a start to summer it's been.  On the bright side, we've had time to plan menus and activities, grocery shop, and the kids got to eat out Friday night, Dairy Queen on Saturday and Casey's donuts on Sunday, so their weekend really wasn't so bad.

Busted.  But not soon enough.  He broke into the freezer and dug out an ice cream cone! I had to let him finish it since it was already open and melting. 

I typed all of this on Sunday and now, today, Kael has been to the doctor and they have sent us to Blank Children's Hospital. 

We are so thankful for family who has stepped in to help and friends who have sent thoughtful texts and prayers our way.

Hope to update you all soon!