Spring Has Sprung (some really kickin' allergies)

Spring has arrived! The weather is beautiful, Lucy LOVES being outside, and she and her father are just plain miserable. Lucy and Bryan are both such outdoor lovers. If you know me at all, you know I am NOT 1% a lover of outdoors unless it involves me on a lounge chair with my feet in the sand. Since it got warm, all the two of them want to do is be outside. The only trouble with that is that after about 5 minutes outside, both of my nature lovers are coughing and sneezing. We did choose to live in this wonderful, allergen infested area I know. It beats tornadoes every week.

All that being said, in 6 weeks, Lu has been on 3 antibiotics for sinus infections. According to the pediatrician, sinus infections in children this young are rare (but you know us, we must be in the .04% that struggles). So, we got the ears fixed, and now we're probably on our way to having the adnoids taken out. I called the ENT as soon as they opened this morning and guess what?! He's booked until AUGUST. What the heck?! Do you think their practice might have accepted a few too many patients? I realize the group is FABULOUS but really? We have a meeting with the P.A. in a few weeks to consult about all this mess. The thought of my child going under "the knife" again makes me a bit neurotic (I know you are all shocked), but it will be worth it if we can get her to stop living on antibiotics.

We have had some fun outdoors though. We got zoo passes. Yes, we are dirt poor right now, but we figured a one time investment=free entertainment all summer and fall. Of course, it is OUTDOOR entertainment and will flare up both Lu and Bryan. Did I mention Bryan had sinus surgery last summer and is STILL struggling? Anyway, we went to the zoo recently and it was really fun.

We went early in the morning, and all the animals were out. Lucy was totally fascinated by everything. She kept saying "I need to hold them" and "I need one" when she saw the animals.

She requested "MONKEYS" the most, so we sat and watched the monkeys for a good long while.

She also is obsessed with snakes. If I didn't give birth to her, I'd swear she wasn't mine! She wanted us to take her picture with Buttercup, the 23 foot python. YIKES!

I suppose we'll be going back a lot this summer. Free entertainment is GREAT!

We've had random fun inside too. Lucy LOVES her rocking, singing, tacky horse, Lacey. Look at this madness!

She is having lots of fun at school too. They just did some art and charity work with the kids for a charity for elephants. Lucy made a very cute mask.

They had a fun egg hunt last week too. I picked up my child to find her arms covered in temporary tattoos. SOOOOO TACKY PEOPLE!

Do NOT cover my two year-old in fake tattoos. I scrubbed her poor arm in the bath that night! Bryan said I was a party pooper, but I am sorry, I refuse to pierce the ears and paint the nails of a two year-old child, let alone have her be covered in TATTOOS, fake or not!

We also had an egg hunt on Easter. There were NO tattoos involved in this one. We didn't make it to church, as we were up from 12 to 3:30 with Lucy who had a 103 degree fever we couldn't get down. That was fun. She woke feeling ok, but we didn't want to grace the other children in the nursery with her presence. We did make it to my parents house for a nice lunch and an egg hunt.

Lucy did pretty well, but crashed by 6:45 instead of her usual 8:00. It was a good think I went to bed when she did, as we were up again from 12 to 2 getting her fever down. Like I said a few posts ago, these are the things teens don't think about doing when they're having sex. If only they could see what all parenthood entaills...

The terrible twos seem to be at bay for the moment. You never know when they're going to rear their ugly head though. It is hysterical to me when I stop to think about the fact that I can keep 21 8 year-olds in TOTAL control all day and a two year-old can make me come apart at the seams in about 7 minutes. What is that all about? I know it is hard to believe that this little doll can make you want to pull all your hair out (on your way to the airport to hop on a plane to California and not come back for a good 10 days or so). But really, I had parents on my recent field trip say, "How do you do this all day?" and "I can't believe how good your kids are. They aren't this way at home." I know, I have magical powers. I wish the press that reports all the crap about teachers and how we're failing America and its youth could come to a classroom for just 2 hours and try to keep it all together. I can keep it together there sometimes much easier than I can at home. It is a gift to be able to teach and not lose your marbles.

Speaking of teaching, Bryan has one more class to take this summer, but has kept a perfect 4.0 in all of his classes this past year. He passed BOTH of his Praxis exams, and will be student teaching at Farragut High in the fall. It is hard to believe we've almost survived all the crazieness the past year has put us through. Thanks to the generosity of many, we have been able to afford food :) Perhaps our child will become rich and famous (and super well-balanced) and she can support her two parents that chose to be poor educators. Can you say medical school Lucy?