My WINNER!

Last Saturday, Tony's mom, my mom, Emma and I participated in the Healing Hands 5k Walk to benefit the Genesee County Free Medical Clinic. Not only did Emma complete all 3.1 miles, she won 3rd place in her age division and received a medal! I am SO proud of her!!!

Family Time

What a great weekend we had - lots of family time, which was much needed!!

I took Friday off due to the kids not having school. They stayed at Tony's parents' house Thursday night so I could give my house some much-needed love and attention. Tony was supposed to have an in service, but due the great amounts of rain and storms that came through Thursday night, he was unable to get to the school, so he was home with me, too! We cleaned the house, ran errands and went and got the kids and brought them home.

Saturday morning, I took the kids to get their haircuts. Our stylist's name is Chrystal and we just LOVE her! She's the only one that has cut Bradlee's hair and he just lets her go - there's something to be said for someone who can cut a wiggly boy's hair and make it look so good!! Emma wanted hers chopped off a bit, too, so here they are, with their favorite stylist!!

We went to mass Saturday afternoon, then out for dinner with my parents and Karyn for Cinco de Mayo...dinner took a bit longer than anticipated (they were PACKED), but we had a great time! After dinner, Tony and I took the kids down to Hartland (just south of Fenton) for their Relay for Life. A friend of mine from grade school who I've reconnected with in the past few years was on a team there and we thought we might as well go visit! We made a few laps around the track to see the entertainment and different teams and then headed home.....but we made another stop! Some of Tony's students have created a Relay for Life team for the Davison Relay (the one we participate in)...it was Prom night, and as a fundraiser, the team decided to host an "anti-prom" at one of their homes! When we got there, they were SO excited to see not only "Mr. Coggins"....but "Mrs. Coggins, TOO!?!?!" LOL They raised about $150 just last night alone, and it was great to see kids miss their own prom and turn it into something so great! They totally embraced Emma and Bradlee and helped them make s'mores by the bonfire and enjoy music and singing, decorations and fun! Tony has some great students...and we have some great children! :) They finally got to bed about 11:30 last night...but the last thing BOTH of them said was how much fun they had that day!!

Today (Sunday), I finished up some stuff around the house while the kids played...here's a shot of them playing "vet and sick puppy"...Bradlee is the "sick puppy" (note the blue hospital cap) and Emma being the vet - I think she's getting a shot ready... :)

I had a concert with the Flint Symphonic Wind Ensemble this afternoon...it was our last of the season, aside from a performance at the Relay for Life of Davison we will have. It's such a nice feeling to know that my Tuesday evenings can be spent at home with my family! Although in two weeks, my mom and I start the training program for the Crim 5K/8K walk!

Little Dude

For Valentine's Day, Aunt Lynne gave Bradlee a Chipmunks baseball hat. Bradlee LOVES it! Last week, he decided that the proper way to wear it was backwards...so he walked around the house with it on backwards. The problem was that when he would bump it on anything, it would turn just a bit, so then it was cockeyed! Tony and I decided we have lived in Flint long enough! :)

We were making dinner on the grill, and Tony asked Bradlee to come test the veggies to see if they were done. He went out and tried EVERY SINGLE KIND!! Red peppers, yellow peppers, green peppers, orange peppers, summer squash, zucchini! Amazing! He's such a picky eater, we really have a hard time getting him to try new things... I watched him and Tony through the kitchen window and had to take the picture then! :)

We Made It!

Well, it's been an incredibly long week!! Last Saturday, our friends, Matt & Desiree (Bradlee's Godparents) hosting their annual Egg Hunt and Pancake Dinner. The kids had a great time searching for the eggs in the backyard and see what treasures were inside! Of course, the pancakes were a hit, too!!

Sunday night, Emma had a sleepover with Aunt Karyn. Monday morning, Tony and I were up bright and early and took Bradlee into the hospital to have his tonsils and adenoids removed.

It went so smoothly, and the doctor finished about 30 minutes ahead of schedule. He cried quite a bit when he woke, but was soon eating bits of a Popsicle and drinking cold water. We were released to go home and he and I cuddled in bed, watching TV and he enjoyed another Popsicle (the WHOLE one, this time!).

I went into work on Tuesday as usual (Tony and the kids were on Spring Break). When I got home, Bradlee had a fever and was having a hard time swallowing anything. We cuddled him and basically just doted on him to get him to eat anything, and especially drink. Emma left with Aunt Lynne to go on a special trip. We knew Bradlee would be getting a lot of attention, so Lynne volunteered to take Emma over to the Air Zoo in Portage and to the Magic Museum on the way home!

Well, unfortunately for Bradlee, things did not improve and Tony ended up taking him into the ER early Wednesday morning. They were there about 7 hours, getting home around 8am, which I had already called into work. I took over taking care of Bradlee so Tony could sleep a bit. He was treated for dehydration...he was doing much better, and although he still had a bit of a fever, he was also doing a bit better eating (drinking). He and I concocted a "secret" way to take his medicine by mixing it with a tiny bit of apple juice to cut down on the stinging on his throat. It has worked perfectly. He's getting better and better each day and today he finally seemed to have a appetite...and the throat to swallow it with! :)

While Bradlee stayed at Tony's parents house, I had my gall bladder removed (a "laparoscopic cholecystectomy"!) on Thursday morning. It went very smoothly and Tony and I were home around 3pm. I had some pretty bad reactions to the anesthetic, as I couldn't keep anything down for the next 24-36 hours or so...plus I had a pretty good headache/migraine. Once I was able to get rid of the headache, I was able to eat and keep everything down. I even ate a little bit of Easter dinner! I am feeling much better today and have been experimenting with different foods, as I am to be on a low-to-no-fat diet for several weeks while my body adjusts to my gall bladder not being there. So far, so good! My mom even brought home some of my stones that were causing all the problems! Apparently, there were a lot more than the surgeon expected...

I'm glad this week is over, yet I am also glad we chose this week to do it. While Tony didn't have much of a Spring Break, he's, uh, comforted to know that summer break is here in less than 60 calendar days! :)

Thank you for all your prayers. Please keep them coming for a speedy full recovery for both Bradlee and myself!!

Fun!

What a great weekend we had last week! We had our annual "Girls plus Bradlee" trip to Frankenmuth with Tony's mom and sister! The kids had a great time at Zehnder's Splash Village!

On Sunday, Emma's Daisy troop was given a private tour and archery range time at Bass Pro Shop in Auburn Hills. She wouldn't feed the fish (live bait!), but boy, did she love the archery! We may have a new hobby!!

This coming week is Spring Break, and just to prove you can have fun without going anywhere, Bradlee's having his tonsils and adenoids out on Monday, and in a surprising turn of events in the last month, I will be having my gall bladder out on Thursday! We like to keep our hospital in business! :) Prayers for speedy recoveries for both of us would be greatly appreciated!! ;)

Not-so-little-boy anymore...

We are loving this weather! The kids found the dress-up clothes at Nana and Beepee's house!

On Saturday, we went down to IKEA in Canton to pick out a twin-sized bed for Bradlee! He's grown quite a bit taller over the past few months and has not only outgrown the rocking chair we use to rock him in before bed, but also his toddler bed! The problem we've had is that his room is the smallest bedroom in our house, and has a built-in desk that cannot be removed. So we have ducts, windows, a curved ceiling and this built-in desk to work around this small room. My plan was to get him a beautiful wood captain's bed so we could eliminate the need for a dresser and use the under bed storage for his clothes. Well, after measuring it all out, the captain's bed would be the ONLY thing in that room. I was quite bummed. Then I remembered IKEA...they are famous for fitting a lot of furniture in a small space, right?! Well TA-DAAAAAA!!! I found one! We went on Saturday to pick it out and bring it home. Complete with a new headboard, mattress, 2 mattress covers (waterproof, of course!), comforter and cover, along with the bed frame with 2 drawers - all for a great deal!! We got it all in the van, which was even more impressive!!!

I spent most of Sunday putting everything together. It was easier than I thought it would be and fit in his room much better than I expected! We are able to leave his dresser in there along with everything else, except the rocking chair. I had a really hard time taking that rocking chair out of his room...and so did he! He cried when I put him to bed, saying he wanted to rock! So, I had to fight the tears and tell him that even though we can't rock anymore, the cool thing about being a big boy is that we can cuddle now, because Mommy and Daddy can fit in his bed!! :) It worked and we cuddled a little longer than normal to celebrate...

This afternoon when he came home from school, he ran upstairs and was overjoyed to see his new big boy bed was still there!! Here he is all ready for sweet dreams!

Uh oh...

Bradlee came down with a fever last Friday and was really complaining about his ear hurting. Off to the doctor he went and was diagnosed with a double ear infection. The doctor said he could not see either tube, so that explains it! He got ibuprofen on Friday for the fever and hasn't needed it since! What a strange case...

Anyway, Friday night I was doing the dishes. When I was finished, I turned around to dry my hands and saw Bradlee sprawled out on the floor, eyes closed, motionless (see picture below!)...my heart skipped a beat as I said, "Bradlee! Are you okay!?" He didn't move a muscle as he replied (in his best pirate voice), "I got poked by Captain Hook!!" :)

**Insert sigh of relief here!** :)