Friday, March 29, 2019

Cousins in town

We had a family weekend back at the beginning of March and has loads of fun with cousins and aunts. Unfortunately, uncles weren't able to join us due to conflicts, and they were definitely missed!

On Friday night, we gathered for dinner at MaSha's house and got to catch up with Ashley, Taylor and Anna. Tara, Leece and Madison got caught in a lot of traffic and weren't able to make it to Greenville in time for dinner. The meal was great and we loved getting together. We came back to our house where Ashley, Taylor and Anna spent the night with us. I cannot put enough emphasis on how amazing Taylor and Anna are with the boys. They play with them, look out for them, and just love them. The boys adore their big cousins. 

We were supposed to have a tee ball game on Saturday morning, but due to rain (again) it got cancelled so we had a much  more low key day. Everyone gathered at our house for some play time and then we went out and had Mexican food for lunch all together. After lunch, Tara took her girls back to MaSha's for a nap and Ashley went over there to help sort through some hand-me-downs so the boys had some quiet time...which was perfect in order to prepare for more cousin fun!

Everyone came back over to our house for dinner...and some karaoke! It was all great fun. And no, I can't post any of the videos. LOL!

Kids table for Saturday dinner
Ryan was very excited to have his cousins around!

Big kids!
We had some birthday dessert in honor
of Anna's 10th birthday that was coming up!

Ryan, MaSha, Thomas, Ashley and Tara

On Sunday morning, everyone joined us for church and the kids all looked adorable! We couldn't help but make them stop and take a few pictures. Then we had a country cooking lunch before Tara, Ashley and all the girls got back on the road to head to their homes.

Peery cousins

Peery cousins

Peery cousins

Lunch at Bubba Annie's

It was just a nice, easy weekend and a great way to spend time together. I'm sure we'll spend another weekend together this summer and we're already looking forward to it!

Thursday, March 21, 2019

Tee Ball 2019 - Opening Night

It's spring season and the boys are once again playing tee ball! We've switched leagues, based on zoning due to our move, and although we'll miss our friends on the other league (and the proximity of the fields to where we live), we think it will be better in the long run, if they decide to stick with baseball, so play in a league where their school friends and neighborhood friends play.

Due to the crazy amounts of rain we've gotten over the last several weeks, every single practice and game has been cancelled except for 1. This has been a huge bummer. The good news is that we have our very first game tonight and it's ON. This should be fun!

Taking it back to early this month, we got to participate in the league's opening night festivities. This consists of a parade of all the teams (in their cute little uniforms that they were wearing for the first time!) through Fluor Field downtown. The announcers announced each time and they got to walk the perimeter of the field. As they walked by the dugouts, they got to high-five college baseball players and coaches, which is pretty cool. Parents in the stands were glued to their kid's team(s) and would grab a few photos when the team went by. It was all great fun! After the parade, there was a Clemson/Furman baseball game being played and so we had tickets to stay and watch.

Let me just summarize this evening in one short word: COLD. That's all anyone could talk about. In these pictures, you can see the sun shining and it definitely looks warm, but it wasn't. Everyone in the stands was completely bundled up. That said, we stayed for about 2 innings of the college game before we had 5 year-olds melting down over their concession options and frozen digits and limbs. We had to get out of there! All in all, it was a lot of fun and built up the excitement and anticipation for this season. Last thought: rain, rain, go away, come again NEVER...or until we are in a drought and desperately need you. K, thanks!

Shout out on the big screen!
Ready to start the parade!
Silly boys

Diamond Backs lined up

Cute kiddos!

This looks like a team of winners to me!

Go Diamond Backs!


High Fiving the Clemson team in the dugout! Go Tigers!!!!

oh, hey!!!



Thursday, March 14, 2019

Exciting Allergy Update for Stokes

At Stokes's last check-in with the allergist back in October, he still tested positive for his egg and peanut allergy, but we were given a glimmer of hope. His allergist mentioned that he could once again get a blood test to see how his egg levels were doing. The next time Stokes and I were near the lab, which was probably some time in January (which was literally months after his actual appointment!) I stopped by there with him to go ahead and do the blood test. I'd worked it up with Stokes prior to going and told him what was going to happen. He was "aware" that he was going to have blood drawn, and where it would be on his arm, and what it might feel like. I told him that I needed him to be brave and to try to be big and strong about it! I also told him that it really wouldn't hurt much at all! Just maybe a little pinch right at the beginning (and barely pinched his inner arm to give him an idea). He understood and promised that he would be a big, brave boy. We did the same thing, with the blood draw, about a year ago and it was TRAUMATIC. We saw a full-on meltdown in the lab and I had to hold him tightly and he was screaming and crying and sweating and I was sweating and almost in tears. It was awful. I wanted this time to be the exact opposite of that. My wish was granted. I could NOT believe how awesome he did. No tears, no whimpering, nothing. He just sat there and talked to us the whole time. I think having him prepared ahead of time cut down on the terror and surprise of what was about to happen. The lab technician that did the draw was absolutely fantastic. She talked him through each and every step and put some good numbing stuff on his arm before she did her business. He looked away and stayed cool, calm and collected. When it was over, and totally not a big deal AT ALL, I was so incredibly proud of him! I was in a state of shock, to be honest, over how well it went. I took him straight to Target to pick something out before taking him back to work. He also insisted on calling Fifi to tell her all about it and about how brave he was! She was so proud, too.

After the blood test results came back, I got a call from the allergists office that Stokes' egg numbers were down and the doctor was ready to try a baked egg challenge in the office. Last time we'd done the blood draw, his numbers did not suffice for the challenge. Since we'd not gotten to this part before, I was pretty pumped, but wanted to hold back my excitement, in case we were let down again. I guess the phrase would be is cautiously optimistic. What the baked egg challenge means is that I had to make a specific muffin recipe that they provided to me, and bring Stokes and the muffins in to the office for an appointment so that he could eat muffins, little by little, to see how his body reacted to food with baked eggs. The recipe they provided had the exact ratio of eggs vs other ingredients that is necessary to make sure the test is accurate. I made the muffins, following the recipe to a T, and told Stokes about the appointment. He was PUMPED.

Stokes skipped breakfast that morning, as our appointment was scheduled first thing, and I told him I wanted him to have an empty tummy so that he wouldn't be too full to eat the muffins. I wasn't sure how much they would have him eat.

He was so excited in the waiting room!

So pumped to try muffins with EGGS!!!

Playing on the tablet in the room

The way the appointment worked is that the nurse brought just a little bit of a muffin in at a time and allowed Stokes to eat it. She left and would wait 15 minutes before coming back in to try a little more.

Trying the first bite

Yummy!

Working his way up to a bigger piece

After the 15 minutes, if he didn't have a reaction, he could have another, slightly larger piece. In between eating muffins, we got kind of bored. Thank goodness there was a tablet in the room so that we could watch video all about allergies, exercising, eating right, etc.

Washing muffins down with juice

Each time the nurse came back in, he was doing great and wasn't experiencing any reactions from the muffins! The last time he got to eat 1/2 of a muffin and the nurse said that was the last bit he had to eat. I'm sure you've figured it out by now, but HE PASSED the baked egg challenge!!!! WOOOO HOOOOO!

Being silly #1

Being silly #2

What a relief! Stokes was so happy! When I took him to school, he was going around telling everyone that he can eat eggs now! I kid you not, if I had any sort of baked good at the house, he would ask me if it had eggs in it and if I said yes, he told me he wanted some. It was like he was just ready to try anything and everything with eggs after having been kept away for so long. A brand-new, baked-egg-friendly world was just opened up to him! Freedom!!!

This has made a lot of things much easier on us. That being said, this news does not mean that he can eat anything now. He still has a peanut allergy and even when it comes to eggs, there are still rules. For example, he can eat homemade baked goods with eggs, but eggs cannot be the main ingredient - i.e. no quiche, but he can have a brownie. For store-bought items, eggs must be listed as the number three ingredient or lower on the list in order for him to have it. Side note: did you know that ingredients are listed by % of what the items consists of? I never did, but do now! There are still plenty of things he can't eat: anything with mayo, egg noodles, ice cream containing eggs, caesar salad dressing, and so on. That said, it is awesome that he can have regular cookies, cakes, brownies and all sorts of yummy treats! I will no longer have to BYOC (bring your own cupcake) to birthday parties! He can eat the same stuff as all the other kids at the party. Yes!!! 

This is a game changer. Baked egg challenge: we love you. 

Thursday, March 7, 2019

Valentine's Day 2019

Ahhh...Valentine's Day. It comes around every year and always leaves a lot of candy in its wake. I do NOT go overboard for Valentine's Day. I don't really do much for the kids and am not a Pinterest-mom with the Valentine's I send in for school for the boys. I just don't buy into it all that much. Love though? Yes, I love love. I buy into LOVE. Extra hugs and kisses on Valentine's Day? Yes! More "I love you"s? Yes! Some small token of affection? Well...OK.

This is what I got the boys. LOL
Hand-drawn card with Gatorade for S & W and red juice
for R. Real fancy.
They got cards from their Nana and a package from their Aunt!

We try to dress the part for Valentine's Day with red or pink or something. We had red shirts this year! <3

Stokes, Ryan and William before school

Smooches!
I laughed so hard at Ryan's expression!

The boys had fun at school and enjoyed their parties in their classes.

It's a bit clique, but Thomas and I actually had a real, actual date on Valentine's Day. We usually don't go out on Valentine's Day; we just avoid all the hoopla and go out on a date sometime around then. This Valentine's Day, however, we had a reason to go out. Luke Combs was in town and had a concert at The Well. Thomas and I loooooooove Luke Combs and we ordered tickets and got dinner reservations. MaSha babysat the boys for us to go out on our date! Side note: we did not exchange any gifts. The date was our gift to each other. Haha!

Pre-date picture
Ready to hit the town

We had a delicious dinner at Sushi Go
We'd never been to Sushi Go but have some friends that go there on a weekly basis and rave about how awesome it is. We decided to try it out and we loved it, too!

We had some great recommendations from our friends about what to try and they even gave the owner a heads up that we were coming so we got a few little perks! Nice.

Appetizer

Rolls

My love

Green tea ice cream - YUM!

After dinner we walked to The Well for the concert. LANCO and someone else opened up. They were pretty good. I loved hearing Luke Combs though. He has such an amazing voice!

Showtime!

Loving our date night!

The stage

Zoomed in on Luke
We had a lot of fun - sushi and a great concert! What a night!

I'm very blessed to have so much love in my life. My family is what makes my world go round and I'm thankful for them on Valentine's Day each year and on every day in between, too!

Wednesday, March 6, 2019

MONSTER JAM!

Our friends, the Jones's, asked if we wanted to go to Monster Jam with this year. Brooke had access to a suite from her work and was able to get tickets for us to go with them. It was so awesome! The boys had never been to Monster Jam before, although we have gone to see the trucks when they were in town in the past, and they seriously loved it. At the actual show this year, I was blown away by the tricks that these drivers can do.

We got the boys some noise reducing head phones prior to the show and that was a very good call. People told me it was loud, but let me tell you, it was LOUD. Thomas and I also had the little foam ear plugs and we really did need them.

We were in and out of the suite periodically throughout the show. Inside the suite, the noise wasn't quite so loud. We had Ryan inside the suite for the majority of the show and I don't think I would take him in the future without a suite ticket.

Stokes and William were completely enthralled with the trucks and the tricks. William took to the Zombie truck and talked about it non-stop. He still will bring it up every now and then and this was weeks ago. I am not totally sure that Ryan liked the show. He seemed to like it sometimes, but other times, not so much. It may have been a bit too much noise for him, even with the headphones.

Regardless, we had a great time with some awesome friends. After the show, we ended up sneaking over to a brewery to let the kids play a little longer and allow the adults to continue some conversations. Adult conversation is always a welcome addition to my life!


Ryan and Dada


Getting comfy in their seats and with their headphones

VROOOOOMMMM

Piper, Charlie, William and Stokes

Ryan watching

Totally loving it

Go Zombie!

Family pic!

The boys

+ Piper

Proof that Ryan laughed at least once!

Silly Stokes

They couldn't get enough.