Worst Week Ever

Is having your children sleep in the bathroom considered child abuse?

The last week of August is not one I remember fondly. 

Sunday afternoon Matt and Bennett left after sacrament for Grace, they had dentist appointments in Logan, Utah the following day.  After church I gathered Jemma and Jacks and headed home.  Once they both realized that Matt and Bennett were gone, the meltdown began.  They howled and cried the entire way home...Jemma sobbing the the backseat "Worst Day EVER!"

I finally got them inside and Jacks began complaining that his stomach hurt and then promptly fell asleep on the armrest of the sofa.  I carried him to bed praying he would sleep the rest of the night...it was 5pm.

At 7pm Jacks flew out of his room (past the bucket I had placed by his bed...just in case...and past the bathroom) to throw up all over the living room carpet.  And thus began the next few hours of Jacks throwing up about every 15 to 20 minutes.

At about 10pm I moved Jacks into my room on the floor between my bed and the bathroom.  Jemma decided she wanted to sleep next to me, and that was okay until about midnight, when I awoke just in time to catch Jemma throwing up into her blankets.

I decided the best course of action would be to move Jemma to the bathroom floor.  Jacks finally fell asleep at 2am and Jemma finally gave up at 4am.  I decided at 6 am it might be alright to fall asleep for a little while.  Jacks was wiped out Monday, while Jemma perked up a bit. 

Tuesday I forced Jacks to school even though he was crying...it was school picture day.
 (Am I mean?)

After school on Tuesday Bennett developed a cough and said his chest hurt.  That night he started having a hard time breathing.  By Wednesday morning he was in a full fledged asthma attack. I made an appointment at the Dr. office and then took Jacks to school.  I came home to pick Bennett up right as Jemma throws up.

When we get into the Dr. office Bennett's oxygen level was at 79% on his finger (which is usually a bit lower than when taken on an ear)  but they raced the oxygen tank in and immediately started the oxygen and then the nebulizer.  We were int he office for a couple of hours while they tried to get his oxygen level up to where they wouldn't have to hospitalize him.  It's common to hospitalize someone with oxygen level below 90%.  They never did get his level above 85% but instead gave me a huge list of instructions to try and get his oxygen level up at home and then I was to meet at the office again that night at 5pm to check his level.  In the mean time we did have to go to the hospital to get a chest x-ray.  The dr. thought he head pneumonia or a collapsed lung.

At 5pm we headed back to the office and Bennett's oxygen level was at 85% not great, but a lot better.  And he did have a lung collapse.  He had a lot of mucus in his lung that was making it stick together.  They prescribed and antibiotic to go along with his nebulizer, steroid, and inhaler.  We continued this through Thursday and he rebounded pretty well.  By Friday he was ready to go to school. We had to take in albuterol for a nebulizer the school nurse had so he could get treatment at school also.

Friday morning dawned...with me throwing up.  I felt so bad for Jemma and Jacks.  I felt terrible, so I can only imagine what they felt like.  I felt a little bad for making Jacks go to school to get his pictures taken...oh well...he survived.  My stomach bug wiped me out good.  By Sunday I was still not feeling quite well yet.  It was a good thing I still had Labor Day to recoup before Jemma and I started preschool on Tuesday.

Worst Week Ever!

Boating

We went boating at Blacktail Reservoir. It was pretty fun to have everyone together (minus Heather and Grandma Julie).

Bennett's first time up.  We had to do a little bribing to get him to try.  I am now $10 poorer, but it was defiantly worth it to see Bennett up...and somewhat enjoying the experience.

Jason purchased an air chair.  That thing was pretty fun to watch the guys ride.  They could get up so high out of the water and watching them flip (whether they meant to or not) was pretty exciting.

Bennett's Birthday

This guy turned 7 this year. I can't believe how big he is getting!

For his birthday he requested a party with his cousins. So the Hammonds, Nulphs and Washburns met at headquarters in Idaho Falls at Grandma Julie's house. We surprised Bennett by going boating earlier in the day and then having a small surprise party for him. He is a boy of little reaction. I couldn't tell if he was surprised or not! But I had fun thinking that he was a tiny bit surprised.

Thanks to Heather and Grandma Julie, Bennett enjoyed a rainbow cake for his birthday.  I think it turned out pretty spectacular. 

Construction: Retaining Wall

The last weekend in August Tom and Tyler came over to Lander to help us put in our retaining wall. We decided on the boulders instead of the dry block. I'm pretty happy with the out come. I think they did a pretty good job.

Can you think of a more awkward spot for the port-a-potty?
 

Snake

 

This thing plagued me for a good part of my summer.

It took residence in the bush in the front yard.  I would walk down the sidewalk and would catch it slithering back to its hiding place.  Yuck!  I hate snakes!!!  It gave me the hee-bee-gee-bees (?)  every time I saw it.  I might have also had a nightmare or two in regards to being infested by snakes.

Matt and the kids tried catching it a time or two, but the sneaky little thing was uncatchable.

Finally, one day I saw it and called to Bennett and Jacks, who came racing with their cage.  Bennett grabbed its tail and began pulling it from behind the bush.  The thing held on pretty tight and Bennett had to give a good tug or two.

I, of course, stood in the middle of the yard screaming and encouraging Bennett (in my shrill screaming voice)  to capture it but to not get bitten by it.  I have to say, I think I put on a pretty good show for the neighbors. 

Once the snake came out and was being hung by it's tail, it was pretty upset and kept striking at Bennett.  Now that I look back with a more rational mind, I probably shouldn't have let Bennett play snake hunter.  On the bright side the snake was captured, and then released far, far, away from my house.

Ewww!

First Day of School

School started August 22nd. Bennett is now in the first grade and Jacks has started kindergarten. I can't believe how big these boys are getting! They were both pretty excited for school to start. I heard many conversations in the backseat of the car with Bennett giving Jacks the insider information he would need to survive.  School is 8:05 - 3:05 for both of them.  It's amazing how much I feel I can accomplish during the day while they are at school, however, a small part misses having them with me... Except for when I need to run to the store.  It's enjoyable having only one child to contend with during the shopping experience.

A sweet moment: We were in Riverton buying some school shoes two days before school started. After we made our purchases we headed to the car. Jacks got into his seat and buckled up and I noticed he was a little teary eyed. I asked him what was wrong and he said he was nervous for school because he was shy and didn't know the other kids. Bennett who was sitting in the seat next to him, before I could say anything, he had his arms around Jacks trying to comfort him.

I do have to admit, I cried a teeny tiny bit when I dropped Jacks off at his classroom.  As we walked into the school, Bennett yell "See ya later" and ran off to his class before I could even blink.  Jacks tried to ditch me also at the kindergarten hall, but I held on tight...for his sake, of course.

Jemma will start school on September 4th at my preschool, but I thought for once in my life I would be on top of the game and get the 1st day of school photo out of the way 2 weeks early. Pretty clever if you ask me. She has been so excited to wear her school clothes and fix a lunch everyday this week as we've gone over to the preschool to get the class ready.  She loves being around the other kids and can't wait for them to come back to school.

Construction

 

July 23rd:  Digging a trench across the road to connect the sewer line to our lot

 

 

July 26th: The beginning of excavating the house

 

 

August 6th: The forms are put in and ready for cement

 

 

August 7th: The next day the cement truck comes and begins to pour cement

 

 

August 10th: The cement walls are in for the basement

 

 

View from the back yard

 

 

Soon they will be bringing in the dirt to fill the front yard all in...about 6 feet of fill dirt

 

The Hike

The Hammond family and Grandma Julie followed us to Lander for a visit after the 4th of July.  While they were here we went on a hike up Sinks Canyon to the waterfall.  It's a pretty hike that many people take around here.  While we were there some high schoolers came up and slid down the "rock slide" into the pool of mountain ice cold water.  Bennett decided that's what he wanted do.  Matt told the boys that if they could jump into the water, swim to the waterfall, and back they could go down the slide.  None of them lasted 10 seconds in the frigid water.  But they all sure did entertain us thoroughly as they stripped down to their underwear and lost all bravado as they took a dip in the water. 

July 4th

The 4th of July was suppose to be spent in Lander Wyoming, but plans changed when the state of Wyoming issued a fire ban.  The weather has been so warm and dry with no moisture since Memorial Day weekend.   Fires have been ragging all over Utah, Wyoming, and Colorado. 

The kids and I had been in Highland Utah visiting Michelle and her family for the past week.  Matt came to spend the holiday with us and take us back to Wyoming.  We all decided that the 4th of July just wouldn't be the same without fireworks so we changed course and headed to Logan Utah for the firework show.  The kids loved it.  They all thanked us for letting them watch the fireworks, which of course made it all worth it.

After the show we headed to the car to make the trip to Grace to spend the night at Matt's parents' house.  As we slowly trudged through traffic we discovered a huge piece of metal in our tire.  We made it to the Walmart parking lot and after unloading our packed car we put the spare on, repacked the car and once again were on our way to Grace.

After a long night we woke and headed to the Soda Springs parade and mini carnival.  The kids had a blast.  Especially when someone drove by in the parade and threw out handfuls of nickels.  Something I have never witnessed before.  At the carnival,  a booth was giving away stuffed animals to every kid that went through, which was also a hit with my kids.

Later that evening we finally made it back to Lander safe and sound.

Fire

We decided to take the kids up to Worthlin Meadows Lake for a cookout. They all love to be out in the woods acting like little wild animals...and are apparently pyros also.