School, sports, and games...oh my!

The last two weeks have flown by. We ended the kickball season last weekend with a pool party. All of the kids had a really great time. I can't say that I am sad to see it go though. I think next summer we will take a breather, and forgo the scheduled sporting events.

Speaking of sports...it is that time again. Our first soccer game is tomorrow. For the next ten weeks, I will be on the soccer field every Saturday morning. Softball begins in the next couple of weeks too. I will spend mornings on the soccer field and evenings on the softball fields.

School is in full force too. It has been very crazy and difficult. It is a very slow start for Gracie. They haven't been doing much in the line of work at her school. We are hoping it is just a slow start and not something more severe. I guess we will find out soon enough.

Demi Lovato concert

Gracie really enjoyed the concert. I was surrounded by screaming girls of all ages. I was also seated by someone who needed more than one chair...which made me very uncomfortable. Anyway, Gracie loved it, and she said it was great. That is really all that matters. We are going to see Miley Cyrus in November. I think I have lost my mind!

Turning 8

Gracie is officially 8 now! We spent the last few days celebrating this wonderful occasion, and I exhausted! Thursday, we had a family dinner. Gracie made homemade pizza with a little help from us. The pizza did not look the best, but it was wonderful. Gracie selected pepperoni, black olives, pineapple, and cheese for our toppings. We also added mushrooms. We had a soccer cake from Publix after dinner. The cake was better than good. Gracie then opened gifts from us. She had some books, but was most excited about the Demi Lovato cd and concert tickets. We are still hearing about it. It was the best thing ever!! (apparently :)

Saturday, we met 9 kids about Gracie's age at the mall to see G-Force. This was an event to behold! I had 10 kids, a few parents (including my own), and myself. We checked in for the movie, got our popcorn and drinks, and had a seat. The kids and adults all seemed to like the movie. The girls were chattering so much that I am not sure they saw the whole movie.

After the movie, we returned all the kids to their parents. Gracie had her friend Kendall stay with us for dinner. We had dinner at Rainforest Cafe' with more family members. The girls talked the ENTIRE time we were there. I think it was definitely a successful day!

American Girl and more

Wow, what a busy weekend we had! We began on Friday with a trip to Atlanta to the American Girl Store. It was Gracie's first time going, and she loved it! She bought a doll with several outfits and accessories. We also met a couple of friends there with their daughters, Emily and Elaine. Gracie and Emily have birthdays three days apart. We celebrated these a little early with lunch in the American Girl Bistro. The girls had cake and presents too.

After American Girl, we traveled a little farther south to my brother's house right below Atlanta. They were having a birthday party on Saturday for his kids, Brayden and Brylee. They rented a blow up slippy slide. It was a huge hit with all the kids and most of the adults. The party was a lot of fun. It lasted all day it seems. Everyone was very tired after it.

On Sunday, we packed up and came back home. We made a quick stop in Atlanta to visit the Ikea store. It is a very interesting store to say the least. We love to go by there when we have a chance. After that, it was straight back to good ole Tennessee! This is going to be a busy week for us too. We have work until Wednesday, and then Wednesday night John and I are off to St. Louis. Gracie has decided to go home with my parents for the week. She hasn't been able to spend much time with them this summer due to all the crazy schedules. We have more birthday parties in a couple of weeks and then it is back to school for everyone.

Time flies by

It always seems to amaze me how much can happen in a short amount of time. Since my last post (only a week ago), we have been very busy. Gracie started her kickball season on Saturday. They had a quick practice on Friday night, and then their first game Saturday night. Our team lost but only by one point. We are pretty excited about the season. Our team consists of 6 players ages 5-9. They work really well together, and most importantly, they have a lot of fun! The coach (John) also loves it.

Gracie started VBS yesterday too. She seems to like it. I think she likes just about anything where she gets the opportunity to play with other kids. The downfall to being an only child is you rarely have a chance to play with others. We try to keep Gracie involved in activities where she can meet new people and make new friends. She never meets a stranger, so this is not a very difficult task.

On the medical front, I had my 6 week check-up on Friday. Everything is going well. I still have a small place that is not completely healed from the surgery but nothing major. I have been released to do almost anything I want to now. The doctor said by Friday of this week, I should be good to do anything at all. Gracie also has continued to see the various doctors for everything that is going on. She seems to be doing well with the headache meds, and if nothing else, she is sleeping MUCH better than she was before. We have follow up appointments with the neurologist and nutrionist later this month. I guess we will see how she is doing then.

We have a lot going on in the next few weeks. We have two family trips we are taking (one for fun and one for business). We will be going to GA to celebrate my neice and nephews birthdays, as well as, meeting a friend to celebrate (a little early) Gracie and her friends birthdays. We are taking the girls to the American Girl Store. I am sure they will love it! We are also going to try to squeeze in a visit to the Georgia Aquarium. We have been trying to go since it opened but something always seems to get in the way. We are also taking another trip back to St. Louis. John and Gracie will spend their time visiting places, while I work. I am sure it will be an adventure.

To end this month and begin the next, we have a couple of birthday parties to deal with. Gracie is turning 8 at the beginning of next month. After that, it is all down hill. School starts back immediately following her birthday. Such a bummer that the summer seems to be ending so quickly. I really wish that it was a little longer sometimes...but then again, I also like to stay busy.

WOW...

So a lot can happen in the blink of an eye. First of all, we missed all the fireworks on Saturday because the weather would not cooperate. Gracie is DEATHLY affraid of bad weather, so when it started getting very dark in the skies above Nashville...we had to go home. It turned out for the best, since the bottom fell out shortly after we left. Then it rained through Sunday as well. No swimming and lazing by the pool for us!

Yesterday (aka Monday), I received rather unpleasant news about my job. I spent the majority of the late morning and early afternoon hours dealing with this. In the meantime, my phone battery completely died (this will be important later in the story). In an effort to rid myself of the funk I was in due to the job mess, John, Gracie, and I went to the gym for a little exercise. On the way, I dropped my phone in the car to charge. John left his phone at home while we went to the gym. We thought it would be good to get out for at least an hour without people bombarding us with calls. When we returned (in MUCH better moods), all the phones were going off. My parents and brother were trying to track us down.

One of my brothers had been burned at work. He was being taken to the hospital in Atlanta. Needless to say, my 30 minutes of tranquility from the exercise were immediately out the window. We packed quickly and rushed to Atlanta. By sheer luck, my brother is ok. He has several burns on his arms and face, but he will be ok.

We are now back home, and I must say...I could use a vacation! I think everyone needs some time away every once in awhile...time to recover themselves, find their peaceful place. I am in desperate need of this right now! But alas....life is calling!!

Nutrition and more

Gracie and I visited the nutrionist on Monday. We learned all sorts of things about eating and what-not. We decided to follow a specific plan for Gracie. We started yesterday, and so far, it is working ok. We will be taking nutrion classes geared towards Gracie. The first class is at the end of the month. Until then, we are working on a plan the nutrionist gave us on Monday. It is very basic stuff that most people already do or at least know to do. She eats 3 main meals a day with one or two snacks. The snacks are chosen from a specific chart, and Gracie loves almost all of them.

The rash is much better now too. I guess it was just a viral thing. We didn't see any other symptoms with it, so we are very happy about that.

There isn't much else going on around here right now. John is working all the time, and Gracie and I are just trying to find things to keep us occupied. We are all going downtown for the Fourth of July celebration on Saturday. My parents are supposed to come too. It should be an adventure if nothing else. Hopefully, it won't be too terribly hot this year! Other than that, we are just passing time until our next big week of activity comes along. It isn't that far off actually!!