Relay, and a bunch of lasts...

Last weekend I participated in my second American Cancer Society Relay for Life. I walk on my friend Jenn's team. Jenn is a 2-year breast cancer survivor and a very good friend of mine. This year I was able to attend the opening ceremonies, which was very emotional. I am thankful to have been able to watch Jenn and several other survivors walk the first lap, the Survivor Lap. What a celebratory walk that was! There were several teams participating. One of them was a team walking for a 29-year-old girl named Naomi who is battling breast cancer. Naomi was there, with a scarf covering her bald head, walking with her friends and family, until she had to leave for her chemo treatment. As I walked, I prayed, "Please don't let me have to walk in this relay for one of my own family members someday". I brought Emmalee and Micah with me, and they had fun walking (or in Micah's case, running) and playing with their friends, and participating in some of the activities that were available. I had to work Saturday night, but I went back early Sunday morning to walk some more and attend the closing ceremonies (and I won a free week of music/art camp for Micah in a raffle!). I am glad to be a part of this, and Jenn and I have already started talking about fundraisers for next year's Relay!

Last Monday was Micah's last soccer game. He ran up and down the field like crazy, but I don't think he ever made contact with the ball... The highlight of the night for him was receiving his medal!

Also last Monday was Emmalee's last Brownie meeting. The girls prepared little skits for the parents. Emmalee did a skit, showing us proper phone manners. And she got to wear a pretty pink dress... (because apparently you should be dressed in your finest when talking on the phone). She received an award at the end of the night - she was named "Sing-along Queen". Now if that isn't Emmalee...

Tonight is Em's last softball game. And yesterday was her last ballet class. Her recital is on Saturday - you can be sure I'll post pictures afterwards! Micah's last day of school is tomorrow, Emmalee's is next Thursday. Everything is coming to an end...

Milestone!

This morning, Lily told me she had to go potty. She does this often - anytime anyone else goes to the bathroom, she'll say she has to go too, and lots of times I will indulge her and take off her diaper and sit her on the potty. She'll sit there a while, and then say she's done. Well today, shortly after she woke up, Lily told me she had to go potty. And then she took off her pj pants and started pulling at her diaper. So I took it off, sat her on the potty, and she looked at me all seriously, and then started to pee! Her eyes brightened, a huge smile came over her face, and she laughed and laughed. Then she said "more" (or in Lily-language, "mo"), and did some more! I hugged her and let her pick out a special treat (fruit snacks). Congratulations, Lily! I am so proud of you!!! I am starting to glimpse the light at the end of the diaper tunnel!

Crazy May and into June!

Wow - it is already June - where does the time go? We had a busy month! Emmalee has been playing softball every weekend, and still loving it! Micah has been playing soccer on Mondays, and not really loving it. This past Monday I reminded him "Hey, you have soccer tonight!", hoping to rouse some enthusiasm. He exclaims "Oh yeah!" and then his smile goes away and he says "but I have no soccer skills. oh wait, I have one skill - running fast." And indeed he does run fast across the field - not always in the same direction as the ball - but fast nonetheless! After his game Monday Steve asked if he liked soccer and Micah said "no, there are too many teams (meaning players)". So at least he gave it a shot. His last game is this Monday. Next Spring we'll do t-ball. He really wants to do that!

Over Memorial Day Weekend we went on our annual trip to NY. We left on Thursday evening this year and made it to Mike and Andrea's in Syracuse around 11pm (we would've been about 35 minutes earlier if Steve had taken the exit I told him to take rather than going the "scenic route"). My favorite quote was when he said "YOU are questioning ME on directions?" He later apologized... We spent Thursday night and much of the day Friday at Andrea's, then said goodbye to Emmalee and Lily and took Micah with us to Rochester, where we spend each Mem. Day Weekend at our friend's Courtney and Rick's house with anywhere from 4 to 7 other couples from college. THANKYOU ANDREA for keeping Lily. She would have been a nightmare out there! Micah, however, had the time of his life. The only other kids were 4 other little boys, ranging in age from 1 to 6. He had a blast. So did we. Always a good time up there. Monday morning we drove back to Andrea's for a picnic and to get the girls, and then drove home.

This past Monday we took Micah's toddler bed out of his room and he FINALLY got his big-boy bed! He was so excited! He loves it! Also on Monday we had a fun MOPS playdate at a local park. It was a beautiful day, and Micah and Lily had a great time!

We had some excitement on Tuesday when I found a HUGE spider, bigger than any I have ever seen before, on the kids' playscape outside. It was too big to step on, so Steve bee-sprayed it, and then we watched it die a slow death. This picture was taken while it was dying, and had already started to get smaller - it was really gigantic. It's carcass is still outside, and even all shriveled up, it is about the size of a quarter. Wednesday afternoon I found it's slightly smaller little sister in our basement - and stepped on that one. Gross.

Last night was no fun. Shortly after Emmalee went to bed, she got up and was crying that her ear hurt. We gave her some Motrin and sent her back to bed. Later during the night, after Steve and I had gone to bed, she came into our room crying about her ear again. She got into bed with us, and Steve went down to sleep in her room. She tossed all night, and woke up every 20 minutes or so crying in HORRIBLE pain. Therefore, I didn't sleep either. At 3am I was finally able to give her another dose of Motrin, but it wasn't touching the pain. It was a rough night. This morning, Steve brought her to the walk-in clinic. I thought that would be better than waiting for her doctor's office to open at 9, considering that I probably wouldn't even get through by phone until 9:30 or 10, and then wait for them to see her. She was home by 9:30 with antibiotics for her "monster ear infection" in her left ear, and one brewing in her right ear as well! She was hoping to be able to go into school, being that her class had earned a special "cozy reading day" today, but she promptly fell asleep on the couch as soon as she got home and is out! Poor thing!

And now it is the weekend again! I will be working all night, Emmalee has a softball game tomorrow and then Steve's brother and wife and kids are coming over. Sunday Steve has baseball games, and I have a busy day at church, then work on Sunday night! Whew!