Wednesday Round Up

Thanksgiving break has flown by. We didn't really do anything too exciting. The big boys entertained Thatcher to his great delight. He followed them around like a puppy doing whatever they did, playing with them outside and trying to help with Christmas decorating.

Reading time

 Workouts with mamma in the morning

 I am usually a hard, no Christmas decorations until after Thanksgiving, type of person. However, this year I worked Thanksgiving, the Sunday after Thanksgiving, and the first weekend of December which meant I would really have no time to decorate until the second week of December. That just wouldn't cut it so the boys and I started a little bit early last week then waited to actually put up our tree and our outdoor stuff until Friday. The first picture below is a fraction of all the stuff I got from Grant's mom in July. This of course prompted me to have to decorate the top of the cabinets on the other side of the kitchen, snow balling into obviously not having enough decorations. In reality it is all very silly since I never host holiday parties or get togethers at my house, nor do I want to. It does make me very happy and my children love it so up it goes.

Zane got to help put the angel on the tree this year. I think this will be the last year for this Christmas tree. We have had it for ten or eleven years nows. After being moved four times, and shoved in the attic for years it is on it's last leg.



I only cried once watching the pure wonder of a toddler Christmas. Thatcher was amazed by every last thing we put on the tree, by the lights, by the bells, all of it. You only get one full on toddler Christmas per child and I am so sad this will be our last.

The front yard is officially artic animal themed and I love it. The narwhal with the candy cane horn was this years addition and I think it just makes the yard.

I also got this sleigh and the reindeer from Sue and the new light up gifts I got this year I think look amazing. The trees are courtesy of my father in law and look perfect as well. I love a good porch scape.

The reindeer has broken antlers that we are trying to figure out how to fix, but I love him just like this too.

 We ventured out on Black Friday to support our favorite local business. We bought all kinds of spices and have our Christmas list started for teacher's gifts we will need to buy soon.  

 Then we took the boys over to meet baby Worth. He is getting cuter by the day and the boys just adored him. They left requesting a new baby. I feel the same way guys, but no can do.

 Saturday was Blakley Thanksgiving at Abbey's. It was delicious as always and the weather was beautiful so the kids could play outside all afternoon. Alice joined in on the fun while her parents stayed home with the baby.

 Look at these goober heads.

 Monday the boys headed back to school and I was home with one sad little boy who was really missing his brothers. He carried this wooden bus puzzle piece around all morning, thinking maybe his brothers were inside of it. He was ecstatic when they finally got home.

This is the point in the year where I hold on for dear life because I know it will go by so quickly. Gary is back and having new adventures everyday and I'm trying to incorporate opportunities for kindness /giving back into his routine. Zane is in holiday choir for the first time this year, which means he has practice before school Monday, Tuesday, and Friday mornings. His music teacher is so sweet and loves my boys, so she has graciously allowed Rowan to come early with Zane in order to alleviate bus/transportation issues in the morning on these days. Rowan feels really special and I am grateful for a small school, little community feeling of it all. I cannot wait to watch Zane sing. He has been excited about this since he found out it was a thing in kindergarten. He is going to be my little performing boy for sure. Christmas shopping is underway and I am once again at a loss for what to buy people. I love you all but might not be giving the most inspired gifts this year. My apologies in advance. I am consciously trying to soak in all everything and trying very hard not to be sad at how soon another Christmas with my kiddos is going to over. 



Giving Tuesday

This past year we have been blessed by the generosity of  many people in our community. From friends and family to people we had never met, we received so many things to help us through our difficult year. People donated money to us, brought us food, gave us snacks, and Zane was showered with gifts to keep him entertained during his summer of recovery. The children at his school wrote him cards and his teachers came to visit him both at the hospital and at home. This all was a lesson in humility and a reminder of lessons I learned the first time Zane went through surgery and through losing dad. That lesson was, accept peoples help. Just that simple. Whatever someone offers to do for us is as much for them to feel like they are in someway helping as it is useful to us as a family. It's not always easy to be on the receiving end of charity, but it is a profound blessing. One that now makes giving back to organizations and people who helped our family that much more important.

Today has been dubbed Giving Tuesday. A time to invest money, time, or resources into organizations that are important to us. It's a time to spend money on the truly important things before we go spend money on loads of Christmas presents we really don't need. This all seems much more important to me this year, so I thought I would share with you the list of places where I donate frequently. I encourage everyone to think about what is important to them. Think about what breaks your heart and what you wish you could change in the world, then find people and organizations that are working to make those things better, and give your money to them.


Of course I support a number of different congenital heart/heart mom organizations., but let's start with the local organization first. Mended Little Hearts OKC. I first learned about Mended Little Hearts as a national organization, but in the past few years have become a part of our local chapter here in OKC. This organization helps connect heart families throughout the state. They do this with a private Facebook group where parents can talk to each other about various things they are going through that other heart parents may have also experienced. They have events for heart families and most importantly are a wonderful resource for families who are in the hospital with their children who have had heart surgery. The money you donate goes to a lot of various different things, but one of the big things they do is to give out bravery bags to each family whose child has had heart surgery. I had donated to them for years to help provide bravery bags and this past year I received my very own. It had all the things you need in the hospital including a blanket, slippers, snacks, toiletries, and more. This year they are also selling Heart Warrior calendars and Zane will be Mr. March!



On a national level there are two or three different places that I donate to throughout the year. The first one is Pediatric Congenital Heart Association. This is the organization where I purchased Zane's CHD owl, Echo. Echo was with us every step of the way this year. From our ER visit to our final echo in the hospital after surgery. PCHA mission is really three fold. They raise awareness and try to normalize CHD kiddos with fun things like the adventures of Echo the owl on social media. They raise money for research through the sale of Echo the owls and all sorts of CHD awareness shirts, I own them all. This money funds research that will hopefully one day mean heart warriors can have fewer surgeries and better outcomes. Lastly, they are a big group that works to advocate for the CHD community at a policy level. They work with law makers to move forward policies that are beneficial to people affected by CHD. Think advocating to keep pre-existing conditions from determining if you can be insured or not.



The last heart organization that I work with is the American Heart Association. You can't go wrong there. They are huge and benefit not just children affected by CHD, but also adults living with it and various other heart conditions as well. This year Zane became an ambassador for the brand new Kids Heart Challenge put on by the AHA. This will be replacing the previous Jump Rope for Heart or Hoops for Heart that has been done in schools for years. Zane will be the face of the Kids Heart Challenge this year in all the Deer Creek Public schools and  his picture/video will be shared around the country in hopes of raising money to further CHD research.

The other charity I donate to is Together Rising. I give a monthly donation to them as a way of trying to feel like I might be helping make the world a better place and help those less fortunate than myself. The world feels heartbreaking every day and this is an organization that tries to help those most in need. They accept donations all the time, but also do time limited Love Flash Mobs online where thousands of people give whatever they can and the money goes directly to help a crisis in the world. They are currently helping to pay for lawyers for children who were separated from their parents at the border, who were then expected to represent themselves in court. They do things to help with teen mothers, homelessness, hunger, maternal health, gun violence, mental health, opioid recovery, and all sorts of other things for those who are under represented and marginalized in the world. The try to be warriors on the side of people who need the most help.

 All the money they raise goes directly to the cause in need, no donations are used for administrative costs, so you know your money is going to do a lot of good. Their motto is "transforming collective heartbreak into effective action." This is where I got the "find what breaks your heart and put your money behind" idea from above. The founder Glennon Doyle also is my inspiration behind "we can do hard things" and "warrior on." Her work and her words have been a true inspiration over this past year so I am honored to give back to causes she is championing.

This year Gary arrived with a message on kindness for my children as well. I'm trying to turn Gary fun into ways to help others. We are going to collect things for the local food pantry, for homeless people, donating some toys, buy things for their classrooms, and maybe even find a way to work at a soup kitchen. So this giving Tuesday, and during this holiday season, find a way to put your heart break into action. 







Zach's Adoption Story: Part Two

Once Zach thought he had solved the mystery of who J. Brandon was he was faced with the difficult task of trying to figure out the best, least intrusive, way to ask someone if they could possibly their biological cousin. Zach was keenly aware that this may come as a shock to the members of his biological family. He also knew that his biological mother might not want people to know about a baby she had had thirty five years ago, and given up for adoption. His biggest concern was to make sure he in no way caused any pain or undue stress to anyone that was going to be affected by this news, most importantly his biological mother and sisters. Eventually he decided to send J. Brandon a Facebook message which quickly spiraled into her talking to her mother who turns out is Zach's biological mother's sister, who then contacted Mary, and quickly everyone involved was made aware of Zach's existence. I think this message was sent on a Friday and by Sunday afternoon Zach was on the phone with his biological mother.






I cannot speak for what that experience was like for Zach, all I can say is it isn't everyday that you get to watch someone you love be able to thank the women who gave him life, for that life. To not just thank her for his life, but to reassure her, thirty five years later, that the toughest decision she ever had to make was in fact the best decision she could have made for him. I was moved to tears as I quietly listened to Zach assure Mary that he had grown up with an amazing family, with two loving parents, an adoring sister, and a huge extended family as well. He was able to reassure her that there had never been a moment where he was mad at her for giving him up, and was able to reassure her that he was never anything but grateful for her sacrifice. I got to hear the joy and relief in Mary's voice as she found out that she now had three new grandsons, with just a hint of disappointment that we didn't have any daughters. Join the Grandmother club!






Turns out Zach grew up a mere thirty minutes from his biological family. Mary had thought the family that adopted him was from St. Louis so she was very surprised to find out he had attended Bloomfield High School, a near by town to where her daughters, nieces, nephews, and grandchildren went to school. Zach was also able to speak to both of his older sisters. He found out they do not have the same father and they are a quite a bit older than him. Neither one of them knew he existed, so they probably had the biggest shock of anyone in this situation. Mary is one of twelve children and her family knew she had given a baby boy up for adoption but it seems like it hadn't been talked about much since he was born. All this came out in the wash in mid June which happened to be perfect timing for us to get to meet everyone during our July visit to Missouri.






When we were in Missouri we were able to meet Mary and Zach's two biological sisters. Zach's mom, dad, and sister Trina all went with us to meet them as well. It was an emotional day for everyone. Zach's mother was able to thank Mary for her son, what a powerful moment that I'm sure neither one of them ever imagined happening. Zach was able to talk to Mary, his sisters, their spouses and their children. There were a lot of people there, a lot to talk about, but unfortunately not a lot of time to catch up with everyone. We had our boys there, so I spent most of the afternoon chasing them, keeping them out of trouble, and keeping them from breaking anything. So I wasn't able to spend very much time talking to everyone. Hopefully I will be able to get to know everyone more in the future.

Here is Zach with his biological mother and sisters, from left to right, Daphne, Mary Rita, and Laura



It's been a few months since all this came to light. Zach speaks to Mary and his sisters pretty frequently. They are getting to know each other, learning about each other's lives, and Zach is learning more about his genetic history. Through every thing I think what has touched me the most is my boys reaction to everything. The innocence of children is so magnificent. While I was nervous about how everything would play out, would Amy be ok with Zach meeting his biological mother, how would his dad feel about it, are the boys going to be confused, is it going to be awkward, my sweet boys just jumped in head first with love.






Like I've told several people about this, my kids are just better people than I am. They have always known that daddy didn't grow in Grammie's belly like they had grown in mine. They knew that Grammie and Pappa were his mom and dad and had adopted him when he was baby. So they very simply understood who Mary was, as the woman whose belly daddy grew in. They also, very simply, understood that this meant she was their Grandmother as well. They were friendly and loving to all the strangers they met July, giving hugs to their new aunts, uncles, cousins, and Grandmother. They quickly went and played basketball with their new cousins without giving it a second thought.

 All of Grandma Mary's grandchild, minus Thatcher who was done taking pictures by this point in the day.



A few weeks after we got home I heard Zach and Mary on the phone discussing what the kids would call her. They had agreed that everyone would just call her Mary. Little did they know that Zane and Rowan already were calling her Grandma Mary, boasting about how lucky they were to now have four Grandmothers, Great Grandma Baker, Grammie, Grandma Blakley, and now Grandma Mary.


The boys have spoken to Mary on the phone, they've sent her pictures, and thank you cards for the various gifts Mary has sent them. They mention her in their evening prayers and have welcomed everyone into our family with such ease it has been truly inspiring to me. The experience is one I could have never imagined and one that at times feels unreal, but I am so happy Zach has been able to get some answers to the questions he has been asking for so many years. Personally I am beyond grateful to Mary for choosing life. Without her making that decision I don't have my life. I don't have my sweet boys, I don't have my amazingly beautiful family, everything is different. So I am forever grateful to all his parents, all the people who chose life and love in his journey.

Zach's Adoption Story: Part One

Since November is National Adoption Awareness month I thought it would be a good time to share Zach's adoption journey on the blog. It's a long story so I've broken it into two parts.

One of the first things Zach told me about himself was that he was adopted. At that time he didn't really have feelings about it one way or the other. He had always known he was adopted and at the time we met, end of our senior year of high school into our first year of college, he didn't think much about it. His story went something like this: his parents had adopted his older sister, Trina, in 1980 after his mom had been unable to carry a pregnancy. Skip forward to September 1983 his mother had suffered another miscarriage and was going into surgery to have a dnc. At some point in this process his parents were notified that there was  a baby boy being put up for adoption whose biological mother had requested he be placed with a catholic family. Zach's parents are catholic and Amy's doctor knew they had adopted previously and would be open to adopting again.

The story ends with his biological mother and his adopted mother being in the surgery recovery area together. The nurse who was taking care of them both was a friend of Amy's and would eventually end up being Zach's Godmother. The two never saw each other. Amy went to post partum recovery with baby Zach and his biological mom went to the surgery recovery floor. Zach grew up in an amazing family. They never hid the fact that he was adopted. He always knew that his biological mother had two older daughters. She was having a rough time and couldn't afford another baby. She then made the amazingly loving decision to give him a better life by putting him up for adoption. Zach knew she wanted him to go to a catholic family. He knew she wanted what was best for him. He was always supremely aware of how lucky he was to be alive and to have been blessed with such an amazing family.

That was the story for a long time. As we continued dating and Zach came to know my family I remember him being amazed at how much I resemble people in my family. Not just how much I resembled my parents and my siblings, but my cousins and extended family as well. Zach sticks out like a sore thumb in the Korenak family pictures. The Korenaks have dark hair and brown eyes. All the cousins look like that, except Zach and his sister who both have light hair and blue eyes. So you can imagine how much my white headed children stick out. My siblings and I also have very similar senses of humor and personalities,  which Zach also found intriguing. As a person who is adopted and knew he had older siblings I think a part of him wondered if he ever found them if they would have similar personalities. This is something you so often hear about when people find their biological family.

Once we got married and I got pregnant with Zane, I think, again I can't really speak for Zach, but my feelings were that his thoughts about his biological mother began to change. He had always been very grateful for his life and the choice she had made for him, but I think as he watched me go through pregnancy, (which I HATE if I haven't mentioned that before) he began to appreciate the sacrifice his biological mother had made that much more. Maybe that was just my feelings on the situation as I was going through the torture of pregnancy, but I think Zach would agree. I remember in the delivery room, right after Zane was born, Zach saying "my biological mom went through all of that and then didn't get a baby after it." He didn't say this in an angry way, he said this in a, "wow what an amazing sacrifice, to go through all that, and make the choice for me to have a better life," type of way.

Then our story took a turn with Zane being diagnosed with Tetralogy of Fallot. I have vivid memories of multiple cardiologists pressing Zach on his genetic background, "you don't know anything about your biological family?" Nothing makes a specialist more annoyed than a lack of genetic background to work with. During this time I remembered my college genetics teacher saying, "marrying someone who is adopted is just like a crap shoot genetically, you have no idea what you're going to get." After this I think Zach's desire to find his biological family went from curiosity and gratitude to more necessity. He want to try to figure out if what was happening to our son was genetic and somehow his fault. Spoiler alert: it wasn't genetic and it was no one's fault, just a fluky, terrible card Zane was dealt.

In the next few years Zach registered with the online adoption database in Missouri. This would tell him if anyone was looking for him and notified him if anyone started to try to find him in the future. After that his hands were tied for a few years. He accepted he probably would never find his biological family. He was fine with that. He knew there was the potential he wouldn't like what he found out. There was also the potential that his biological mother had passed away, or didn't want any contact with him. Then sometime last year his mom told him that a new law in Missouri had been passed where, starting in January of 2018, people who had been adopted could request their original birth certificate. This would, at the very least, give him his biological mother's name. Zach sent off for his birth certificate in January of this year.

At some point, while we were waiting for his birth certificate, I came home from work with stories of various coworkers who had found out all sorts of crazy things after doing the twenty three and me DNA test. I knew people who had found out their fathers weren't their fathers, they found new siblings, they had random cousins pop up that no one had ever heard of, all sorts of fun genetic drama. The take away from this for me was, "Zach you could blow up a family tree if you did this." I said this half joking, half very serious. I knew he had wanted to find his biological family for a long time and this could be a concrete way to possibly get some answers. So that's what he did. He spit in a cup and waited to see what popped up in his genetic profile. There was a chance that he spent a hundred dollars and nothing of use came from all of this, but it seemed worth a try.

A few weeks later the results were in. He hadn't found his biological parents, but he did have one  first cousin show up on  his genetic profile. Everyone knows all their firsts cousins, surely this person would be able to help solve the mystery. Then came a fun two or three days where Zach went full creeper mode, Facebook stalking random people based on the name of his first cousin, J. Brandon. His first cousin had not listed her first name which made his search that much more difficult. I would be at work and get random text messages with pictures of women he thought were his sisters or women he thought might be his biological mother. Then one morning I got to get ready for work, Zach wakes up and says "Mary Rita Scheffer." "Zach it's 5:30am, what are you talking about. "I think Mary Rita Scheffer is my biological mother." He had successfully tracked down the whole story and had done all this before he reached out to who he thought the J. Brandon was from twenty three and me.


To be continued....

Welcome to the World Baby Worth

On Tuesday we welcomed my sixth nephew into the family. Little Francis Worth Blakley came into the world Tuesday morning, weighing eight pounds one ounce and was of course twenty one inches long because I don't think babies come in any other length. I spent most of Tuesday an emotional wreck, a mix of pure joy for Able and Kari as they welcome their first son, and bitter sweet sadness at the thought of never having anymore babies.



I remember vividly all my nieces and nephews birthdays. I remember there were big tornados on the day Clay was born. Zach and I were dating, so technically he wasn't my nephew, but I remember exactly where I was when Zach called. We had just moved into first apartment in St. Louis when Adeline was born and I was unpacking when we got the call saying she had arrived, our first niece. I remember waiting for what felt like days for Brendan to be born, it might have actually been days, then waking up in the middle of the night, at my in laws house, to Able's excited phone call announcing the news. I was in the Bahamas when Maggie arrived and pacing my living room in St. Louis waiting for Brent to call after Everett was born. The phone call taking longer to arrive than I had expected while Brent and Abbey settled on a name. Rowan and I went to eat pizza with Grandma while we waited Alice's arrival. Each day nothing special in our lives until a sweet little life arrived that day marking it a special from that day forward.



Sweet baby Worth is the first niece/nephew to be born after I was done having children. I hadn't really thought about that until I was overcome with emotion Tuesday at the thought of this sweet new boy joining our family. When all my other nieces and nephews were born I was either excited to one day be a mother, or for the last three babies I was either about to get pregnant or about to have a baby of my own. This meant the craziness of my own pregnancies or newborn took my attention away from these other sweet babies. I had my own baby to hold and worry about or I was excited to soon be going through all these wonderful milestones and moments myself with our own baby.




I feel a distinct difference this time around. This time I went through the baby clothes, keeping only what I couldn't bear to part with, then gave the clothes to Able with the instructions to do with them what he wanted when they were done with them, we didn't need them back. I could not wait for Worth to arrive because unlike with previous babies I had no babies of my own to cuddle and there won't be anymore in my future. I know this time I will be able to be more present with this little boy, because my boys are bigger now. I also find that I am just over joyed that Able and Kari get to experience parenting a boy. It's wonderful and different and I can't wait to help them in anyway I can.




Yesterday I finally got to hold my newest love. I hear people say that after they have had their last baby, when they go hold someone else's baby they feel like "I don't need to do this again," and are happy to hand the baby back to their parents. I can't say I felt that after I cuddled baby Worth. I am fully aware that I probably wouldn't survive another pregnancy, we cannot afford another child, and I can't take my RA meds while pregnant so we really have to be done, but man I would go back to the baby phase in a heartbeat, it's my absolute favorite. Those tiny baby noises, those sweet little hands, and feet, that delicious smell, they are just the best.




So sweet baby Worth, please know your Aunt Audra absolutely adores you. Don't be surprised if I cry every time I see you. Your tiny cloths are filled with memories of my own sweet baby boys. Each tiny shirt and pajama holds a memory and I cannot wait for your parents to make their own memories of those clothes. I apologize in advance for staring at your tiny hands and feet and constantly stealing kisses.  As you get older and your sister complains that you're too loud and too rough (which she will) come over to Aunt Audra and Uncle Zach's house, I have lots of boys who will be happy to be too loud and too rough with you. My apologizes in advance to your parents for trying to steal you every chance I get. Welcome to this world little man, it's a better place since you came along. You are so dearly loved, by so many people, and you have so many cousins just dying to cuddle you, play with you, and teach you all that they know. If you need anything little guy, you just let me know! -Aunt Audra

Weekend Update

November has started off just as crazy as October. We got all our trees planted before last nights hard freeze, after lots of hard work digging big holes. We ended up with new big trees in the back and one new Cleveland pear in the front. Zach ran electrical wire out to the tree in the front so we can have a light out there and an extra plug in farther out from the house for our ever growing holiday displays. Also, electrifying things makes him happy, so everyone wins.

This week was election day! I have never been more informed and prepared to vote than this election cycle. I researched all my state question, all the candidates on my ballet, and thanks to some help from my lawyer sister I also did detailed research on every judge on the ballet. The sad news about this is I live in Oklahoma, where state wide my vote doesn't do a lot of good. However, Oklahoma did flip the fifth congressional district, where I live, and elected the first democrat to hold that seat since 1975. Another shout out to my lawyer sister for volunteering on the congress woman elect's campaign.

Thatcher came along as my voting buddy and was having a great time until we ran out of snacks, then things took a turn. As I was diligently trying make good decisions in the voting booth Thatcher was screaming "oh no" over and over and trying to escape his stroller. All this to say if I can stand in line for twenty minutes and vote with a screaming toddler, who is having a panic attack about snacks ANYONE CAN VOTE! Make good decisions, vote with compassion, do your research, try to bring some humanity back to this country one election at a time.

His sticker did not help anything.

After we got home he required, juice, milk, and Mickey Mouse before he finally was able to pull his life together. He is more two years old everyday with very clear opinions that he thinks he is communicating very well, but really there is just a lot of toddler babbling going on.

 In other Thatcher news he loves to climb on everything all the time. I frequently find him dancing on the table or even up on the counters. He thinks he is really cute, I think he's bound to fall and kill himself any day now.

 Oh and he also finds himself really funny. He gets in really silly moods where he makes funny faces and does silly things then laughs at himself. Definitely a happy boy to say the least.

 The many faces of T at the bus stop, just too much cuteness. He also demands his picture be taken quite a bit, "CHEEEEESSSSEEEE"

 We are all anxiously awaiting my newest nephew little Francis Worth Blakley, named after his mother's Grandfather, Francis, and his Dad's middle name, Worth. They are going to call him Worth and I just can't wait to cuddle him. Here's the craft project I made for his room, the maps are of Oklahoma, Montana (where Kari and Able go usually at least once a year for her work), and the W is covered with pieces of maps from all the various cities in the US where Able and Kari have been together. Hope they like it! I love this boy so much already, can't wait to see his sweet face.

 

 

 I vowed to stay off social media on election day, because it stressed me out and was in no way productive, so instead I stress hung stuff up in my house. Yes, we've lived there for a year and a half, but I never got around to decorating our room. He's the collage wall that I did in our room, but I also hung multiple other pictures, mirrors, ect around the house Tuesday as stress relief.

 Yesterday was jammed pack day. I started the day by attending the Veteran's Day program at the boy's school. I knew that the Cub Scouts had helped present the colors at this event the past two years, but I was always working, so never got to attend. After yesterday's amazing program I won't be missing this event again. The music was wonderful, the fourth grade sang beautiful songs, including all songs of all the branches of the military while the veterans in the audience stood for their branch's song. How can you not cry during that? I mean the old man in his Marines dress uniform, come on. Then at the end the students line the halls and clap out the veterans (and the whole audience) as they leave. Just lovely and a great way to pay respect to our veterans.

 This event also marked Rowan's first official duty as a Cub Scout. He was the last one in line coming in, looking a little lost, but lead the troop out with confidence after they had presented the colors.

 

Then Rowan and I had a full day of doctor's appointments to get to. First up, the dentist to look at a chip he has in his far back molar. I felt for sure his teeth were rotting out after months of less than supervised teeth brushing. Turns out it isn't a cavity (yet) just a chip that they will keep an eye.

Then to the much anticipated orthopedic appointment to get his cast off. We got to have lunch together and had lots of time for cuddles in multiple waiting rooms yesterday as well. Rowan is an emotional basket case by Friday most weeks. I think being tired is his biggest issue, but he can't figure out how to put that into words, and usually just comes across as a cuddly basket case, who can't make decisions. 

 The xrays looked good, the arm is all healed, though he does have a weird little bump on his elbow now from the extra bone growth. You wouldn't notice it if you weren't looking for it and he has full range of motion in his elbow and his tiny tiny wrist. I was prepared to keep him home the rest of the day, but he requested to go back to school at two after we were finished.



Let's see what else happened this week? I got cancelled at work again, so hoping that stops soon, but am working this weekend. Zane is a chapter away from finishing the first Harry Potter book, all on his own. This is a big feat given Zane's tendency to get bored with a book and quit midway through to start a different one. Rowan is making huge strides in his reading. He is very motivated to work on his words and tries to read little books everyday. There are record low temps here today and potentially some snow on Monday, once again we skipped fall here on the plains. That's the update from us, hope everyone is well!