Busy Friday

I am looking forward to a busy day tomorrow. First is Richard's "signing." He will be signing a letter of intent to run for his college. Isn't that exciting? I'm supposed to bring cookies to share and you know I'll be there with a camera, too.

In the afternoon I have Ralph's first ever IEP meeting! I hope that it is very straightforward. I know which services he qualifies for. I know what I will fight for now and what can wait for later. Anyway, I will let you know how it turns out.

After the IEP meeting I'm going to start cooking up some enchiladas! I'm making these as an adoption fundraiser. $20 per dozen. I'm still taking orders if you live in the area.

What a busy way to end a great week!


Here is Ralph at school the last day of his testing. He wasn't really interested in me or looking at the camera. He's all about school, a real serious student.

Hanging up his sweater.
Gotta make sure the door is all the way shut!

Picking out a book for circle time!

What a great weekend!

We had a busy and fun weekend. Here are Jordan and Ruby waiting to leave for church. We were actually on time today! Woo-hoo!

Here is the start of the Turkey Trot 2 mile race. Ruby and I took Richard down to the park Saturday morning so that he could run. 

He didn't run quite as fast as he had planned. He is still battling some pesky injuries. Nothing a week of rest can't fix! 

Thomas had his birthday party Saturday night. I even let him invite some friends this year. It was pretty fun. We had cake and ice cream then watched the movie "Up." Of course there was stove-top popped popcorn to go with the movie. Am I the only one who pops corn like this anymore?

Oh yeah. Thomas is a serious, sober boy, but he CAN smile! We all had a great laugh about the flowery wrapping paper!!

Hope you had a great weekend, too.

Speaking of flying...

These photos are for the cross-country team banquet on Friday. The girls are making a slide show for the seniors. I thought I might as well post them here, while I'm at it.

Richard. Born on the 4th of July.

He's almost all grown up now. Ready to fly away.

I gave him about 5 minutes notice that we were going to get some photos taken! ha! There were several shots that were really good, but we had to only pick one today. 'Cuz I'm out of money. But I needed them today.

Apparently, someone in Dublin (that's in Ireland) decided that I should buy them a plane ticket. No. Joke. I guess they didn't think I'd miss that $400. 

My dispute has been filed and should be resolved...in about 10 days. That sounds like a long time to me.

Ramblin' catching-up

Life is so stinkin' busy around here right now! I feel like I'm just hanging on tight so I don't fall off the ride. Ruby is snoozing for the moment so I'll have to make this fast!

Thomas did well on his state assessments last week. It was three days, two tests per day. Thankfully dad was in town last week and was able to help me get him there and picked up several times. He was signed up for morning testing, but he had to leave early and come back in the afternoon one day so that we could attend a memorial service. Phew.

Yes, a memorial service. James aunt passed away on April 1. She was young, too young. Cancer sucks and then it sucks some more.

Wesley passed his first CLEP test last week. Thomas, Leroy, Ralph, Ruby and I dropped him off on Thursday afternoon and then went to Eastborough Park to kill a couple of hours. Leroy likes to harass the ducks there!

Chipper had his first track meet last week and it got rained out. :( He had another one today and then an orchestra concert tonight! Richy is also running track this Spring.

Oh joy! Summer rec baseball practice starts this week. I've gotten a few emails from coaches about practice times. It's always funny because the emails usually say "I'm your child's coach this year" and so I have to do a little research to figure out which of the children they are coaching! Five children, five different teams. Next year I'm going to offer them $20 ($50 even!) NOT to play baseball. I think my sanity is worth a couple hundred dollars, don't you?

Wesley's graduation is coming up! WOW! He is so incredible...really a treasure to me. We ordered some announcements today because tomorrow it the deadline to turn in announcements for the graduation ceremony scrapbook. That's me...last minute scrambling. Oh, also turned in a graduate info sheet to church today...2 days late. I know people understand my being lame, because I've been preoccupied with Ruby, but it still feels bad to be so lame!

Ralph had his appointment with the cardiologist today. I brought along a Signing Time video for him to watch during the echo. I thought he would be so mesmerized by it (like he is at home) that he would be still and good. Well...no. Of course today he wanted to show off all his signs! I had another bright idea to slip his socks on his hands during the EKG! He still managed to pull some wires off with his toes!

Ralph's test results were pretty good. He has been off of oxygen for a little more than a month. And, he is staying off of oxygen!!! His pulmonary pressures were only slightly higher than last time when he was still on oxygen. He is running at 35-40 mmHg. Not terrible. Now we are working on taking him off of some of his medications. After some blood tests this week, I'll know more.

One thing the doc said that bothered me...he mentioned Bosentan in passing. I'm pretty comfortable with the medications that Ralph is taking right now. I've been under the impression that his PH would be improving over time, but maybe I'm wrong. Bosentan scares me. It would be something to consider is Ralph gets worse...a lot worse. He is such a yummy little piece of sunshine! So, I can't think about that right now. If I do, I'll go crazy.

I'll leave you with a little sample of my sunshine:

Ralph gets his first computer...well sort of.

Ralph has earned a very bad reputation around this house lately. He has demonstrated a talent for the destruction of computer keyboards.

First he ripped a few keys off of my computer. No big deal. I was able to put them back on with a bit of patience.

This kid is fast. I mean you cannot turn your back on him because he crawls like greased lightening! Dad found this out when Ralph took some keys off of his computer one day.

Next he got Thomas's school computer. He grabs at the keys repeatedly until they pop off! One of the keys went flying and is still missing!

Then the very worst possible thing happened...Ralph got to Wesley's computer. Wesley just bought his computer after saving up for it and college all Fall. Ralph snuck in to Wesley's room. He had lots of time to do his work before he was found out. Not only did Ralph rip off many keys, he destroyed the seatings.

Did Wesley purchase an optional accidental damage warranty? Nope. He replace the keys that he could replace and has been limping along without the others for about three weeks. Last Friday he left his computer unattended in Ralph's reach AGAIN! This time was just as bad.

Wesley and Ralph are close...I mean tight! They adore one another, but I thought Wesley was going to wring Ralph's little baby neck! I told Wesley what I told him weeks ago...call the manufacturer...see what they can do. This time he actually called! They are sending a brand new keyboard and it will be here tomorrow!!! See...you should always listen to your mom.

Today Richard found this old desktop keyboard for Ralph. I wasn't sure if he would like it, 'cause it's not a laptop keyboard like he enjoys so much. He was quite tickled, though. He had a great time pounding on it and laughing out loud. We'll see if this helps reform destructo-baby.

Couch potatoes

I left to run an errand the other night and came home to this sweet scene. Richard doesn't get to spend much time with Ralph so this warmed my heart. I consider my children to be gifts to one another. What a fortunate bunch!
On another note, Richard is participating in a "Doc for a Day" program this weekend at our local medical school. He will learn about tying surgical knots, intubation, cardiac skills, obstetrics and how to prepare for medical school! He is a sharp, confident young man and I hope he finds something to get excited about. He will be successful at whatever he chooses to do, but I feel he would make an excellent surgeon.

OK, so I missed Sunday and Monday and I've messed up the 31 for 21 challenge. I'm just going to start fresh today and press on just like I do in real life!

Some odds and ends today...

Ralph is doing well on 1/4 liter of oxygen. He visits the cardiologist Friday, so I hope to know for sure then.

Richard does not need a cast for his stress fractures. In fact, he is beginning to put a tiny bit of weight on his bad leg while still on crutches. YAY!

Sometimes Leroy is so bright and funny. Today we went shopping at Lowe's. When we parked, he asked me if this place was the "hard work Walmart." I love the way he makes sense of the world!

Don't forget about Oleg! His fundraiser ends next week and I'm giving away such a nice prize. Oleg really needs a family to find him quickly and his grant fund will be a great incentive.