What a weekend!

First of all, I have a 1st grader now! :) Emma passed Kindergarten with FLYING colors! More on that once I get the pictures off my camera! :)

This weekend was CRAZY! Tony and Emma picked me up from work on Friday and we headed straight down to Adrian to visit my friend, Sara. Bradlee got to have a sleepover with Gramma and Boppa (my parents)!!! Sara is also Emma's godmother! :) We met at CMU and have been great friends ever since! Sara is on the committee for fundraising for their local community theater, The Croswell. For this year's fundraiser, they were doing events around the musical, "Hairspray"! This is one of Emma's FAVORITE musicals! :) She's seen the movie, seen the musical on stage, and listens to the soundtrack while falling asleep at night! She loves it! :)

So a few months ago, Sara called Tony to see if he would be willing to come down and DJ for the after-party at the fundraiser. Tony agreed under one condition...that Emma and I could come too and see the show!! Well, not only did we get to see the show, but we accompanied Sara to the pre-party (more fundraising!), the show, and the street/after party, which Tony DJ-ed at! :) We had a great time and Emma just LOVED staying up late and dancing with Aunt Sara!! We also stayed the night at Sara's house, which Emma also loved! :)

Everyone was commenting on how well-behaved and grown-up Emma was and couldn't believe she was only going to be in 1st grade! I was very proud to watch her, also. She stood up on the stage with Tony, waiting for the cast of the show to come out. She helped set up, helped Sara sell some raffle tickets, and told Aunt Sara (who had never seen the musical OR movie) all about the show so there were no surprises! It was so fun!!!

On Saturday morning, we were up and out early to head back to Fenton where we spent 2 hours at the Relay for Life of Fenton with my work. We walked around and did some looking around at the different tents. This was our 4th Relay we attended this year! :) Emma got her face painted and then we found the fish tent. Oh boy. It was one of those small plastic kiddie pools with water in it and a ton of little goldfish! At first, for $1, you could get one "swipe" in the pool with a net to see how many you could catch, and then you got to take home whatever you "caught". As the afternoon went on, they changed it to being able to buy 3 for $1. Emma was "hooked" (LOL) and wanted fish SO bad. Finally, on our way out, Tony and I let her get 3 fish to take home. Of course, we warned her that we didn't know if they would last very long because they had been out in the sun for a long time. She didn't care.

So on our way home, we had to stop for a fish bowl and fish food. Then Emma told me we had to make a habitat for her fish, so we also had to get rocks for the bottom of the bowl. We got home and got them all set. Tony left to DJ a wedding and Emma and Bradlee and I went to my parents' house for dinner. Oh - she named the 3 fish "Relay", "For" and "Life". :)

When we got home, one fish was floating on the top of the water...Emma told me it was "For"...so we flushed "For"....we fed the other two fish and went to bed. When we woke up this morning, the other two were floating on the top of the water...so much for having a pet!!! Emma was bummed, but she remembered that we had warned her...so she was mad at the people at the tent she got them from for not taking very good care of her new pets! :) She was really into having the fish and being able to take care of them herself...so I have a feeling a trip to the pet store is in our future....

It was quite the long weekend....and it's only going to get busier before it calms down! We have a busy week ahead of us, with the Relay for Life of Davison (which you're ALL welcome to come to...we'll be at the Davison High School track/stadium from Saturday, 10am to Sunday, 10am!!), and then getting ready to go to Disney World in 2 weeks!!!

Have a great week! I'll try to find a little time to get those "Kindergarten Magical Memories Night" pictures off my camera so you can see the graduate! :)

** sigh **

Sometimes it seems I just can't win.

Last Friday, Emma came home from school with a 101 degree temperature. We gave her Tylenol/Motrin and put her to bed. The next morning, when she woke up, it was up to 104 degrees. I took her to the clinic and they gave her an antibiotic for a sinus infection (she was also complaining of a headache on her forehead and had a stuffy nose...plus her throat was a bit red). Well...as the day went on, she got worse...temp hovered around 103, then she started throwing up EVERYTHING. Nothing was staying down, liquids, lunch, snacks, medicine...so when my mom and dad stopped by to see how she was doing and she was hallucinating (telling me it was my turn to watch our puppy...we don't have a puppy...), I decided to take her into the ER. Tony was DJ-ing a wedding and I had already sent Bradlee over to Tony's parents' (which is where we were originally going to go after he woke up from his nap! I had a feeling the evening was not going to go well, so they offered to take just Bradlee and let me take care of Emma). We went into the ER and she continued to show some of the symptoms of the high fever (hallucinating and not even knowing who I was!)...they gave her Tylenol to drink (even though I had been saying that she wasn't able to keep anything down). She threw it right back up. While the nurse went to consult the doctor, I told Emma that we wouldn't be able to go home until her fever was down and there were only two ways left of getting the medicine into her body...a needle or in her bum! :) The doctor opted for the bum, and by about 10 minutes after the suppository, she was a new girl Her fever dropped to 99 degrees and we were sent home.

Whew. What a night. We both crashed when we got home!! I was telling Emma about the silly things (that scared the crap out of me) she was saying the night before, like calling her bear (named Pinky) "Pinksy"...she got a kick out of it. :)

She stayed out of school Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday....today (Wednesday), Bradlee stayed at Tony's parents' with Emma for the day (just for fun)...well, it was a sign, 'cause around lunch time, I get a text from my mother-in-law that Bradlee had a fever...only about 101, but still a little high. They gave him Tylenol and put him down for his nap. Their AC has been out for a few days, so we chalked it up to the heat outside!

When he woke from his nap, he went in the pool and was doing great! Then, he asked to get out of the pool just before Tony and I got there after work...his temp was up to 103...GREAT. Called his doctor who said to "bring him in in the morning". Grrr....instead, we just took him to the clinic and they also gave him an antibiotic for some white patches on his throat. Nice. :)

So, I have two kids on antibiotics 4 days before the end of school/beginning of summer break!

Tonight in Flushing (where my in-laws live), Lynne and I took the kids to the "Summer Festival" parade. It sucked. :) I don't know if Bradlee was more upset that there was no marching band, or the fact I wouldn't let him have the bubblegum he got from some of the people walking in the parade! Ah well...the highlight was watching those two monsters "salute" the American flag when the VFW and American Legion color guard walked by...

I guess their cuteness makes up for their poor immune systems! As Tony, Emma and I were leaving to come back home (Bradlee stayed there so Tony and I wouldn't have to take time off of work), he yelled, "Goodbye! It's my turn to stay!!" :)

On a plus side, I got some extra hours at work for the summer! One of our colleagues had a heart attack at the end of last month and (obviously) has to take some time off, so we hired a part-time, temporary girl and I got a few more hours and some different job duties! I now get to work Monday-Friday, 8am-3:30pm! That means I get a half-hour lunch now! (I used to get only a 15 minute break)...too bad it's been so hot out that I don't want to go out and sit in the car!! :) I think I'll live! :)

Let the Summer Begin!!!

I know it may seem early, but us Coggins' take full advantage of our summers! Especially when it's so nice outside!!!

Well, as you may have heard, "The Rapture" was supposed to occur last weekend... :) Tony and I decided that if we were "left behind", it was because we had offended Jesus' mom...an animal knocked her over in our backyard, and then when Tony found her head while mowing the lawn, he put it back up on the blocks....see? It even sounds ridiculous! :) LOL We've laughed about this one for a while, now!!

The same day the world was supposed to end, Lynne and I took the kids on a road trip down to Farmington (about an hour away) to see my friend, Kristin, at the Relay for Life of Farmington! Kristin and I met at CMU and have remained in touch ever since! Emma loved having her face painted, and Bradlee liked playing the little kid games, like the sucker tree!!! I'm really proud of the fact that Tony and I have taught our kids about Relay for Life and that we participate in it and are involved in it so much!! It's so important to both of us, and I believe we can pass that passion onto Emma and Bradlee!!

As you can probably tell, Emma got her haircut SHORTER last week! She just loves it short and loves telling Chrystal how short she wants it! :) She's becoming quite the little lady, and I can't believe she will be a 1st grader in only 13 school days!! Here she is chewing gum...it's white gum and she's holding it with her front teeth....if the gum weren't there, you would see a lose tooth trying to come out , with a gap next to it! :)

For as long as I can remember, I have been organized. And almost obsessed with being organized. It's not that I'm really consciously obsessed with it, I just know how I like things!! Well, I took my sister (Kat) to the coupon class I belong to a few weeks ago, and she was amazed at my coupon box! Then a friend of mine posted a picture of her coupon stash on Facebook, and it was crazy...an accordion folder that was STUFFED! I posted a picture of mine in response... :)

What can I say? You need a coupon for fish sticks? Assuming I have one, I know exactly where to find it! Don't laugh at me...my methods work and have saved us over $2000 in the last year alone on groceries!! :) Hope you have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend! I'm going to try my hardest to take some pictures at all our BBQ's we'll be attending! :)

How Much are Those Kiddies in the Window?!

Sick of the rain, yet?? Every day the kids have come home and said, "NOW can we please play outside?!" We haven't even had a chance to mow the lawn yet, so even if we were to have an opportunity to play outside, I wouldn't for fear we would lose them! :) I am waiting for some nice weather so I can transplant some flowers the kids brought home...they're taking over my kitchen window sill!!!

Last Thursday, I took Bradlee to the ENT specialist for his post-op check-up. He passed with flying colors, and the doctor even let me look in Bradlee's ear and see the tube! He said he used a different type of tube than the first time, and this one will stay in a bit longer than the first and it's opening is slightly smaller, which means it could get blocked by wax or mucus, but drops will clear it up easily. It was neat to see it in his ear and Bradlee, of course, was an excellent patient! :)

On Friday, we went north to Birch Run to do some shopping for some summer clothes for the kids...while walking past the Oshkosh store, I saw two ADORABLE mannequins!! :)

Not only were they 50% off, as the sign says...but I also had a coupon for an additional 15% off! What a steal, I had to bring them home with me! :)

Silly kids...

Emma is incredible. I've mentioned before how I thought her eyes were getting worse again: crossing, her closing one to read something, etc. Well, we went to the eye doctor yesterday (Monday) and low and behold, I was W-R-O-N-G. Emma has perfect vision. Yes, I mean, PERFECT vision. We're talking 20/20 vision. Incredible. She flew through the letter chart, then the nurse brought out the tiny little number chart and she read two lines at the bottom. Then Emma said, "Oh, I can read that last line." So she did. The nurse had to bring out a magnifying glass to see if she was right! :) Dr. Chris said her vision is great, and with her history and the surgery she had, he would totally expect her eyes to cross every now and then...especially when she's tired. The worst part was doing her eye drops...ugh. I don't even want to talk about it! :/ Anyways, he wants us to keep an eye on it (pun intended) and if it gets worse (like, when she's not tired), come back in. Otherwise, he'll see her again in 3 months!!

Tonight, I FINALLY took Bradlee to get his haircut. It had been probably 12 weeks since the last one...and man did he need it! He LOVES Chrystal and does so well on the booster seat int he chair while she cuts his hair! :) He even tells her how he wants it "pikey"! :) (That's "spikey" for us common-folk!). There was a ton of hair on the floor when we left, and a VERY handsome little boy holding my hand! :)

Bradlee Update

Well, it's been another interesting week. Bradlee went to school on Monday, and was out the rest of the week. We got a call from his teacher who said he was pulling on his left ear and saying it hurt. He had no fever, but just wasn't his usual self. So I took him to see Dr. Banerjee and although he said there was no infection in either of his ears, his left ear's tube looked like it could have been a bit blocked, so he prescribed an ear drop to help flush it out. Tuesday, Tony stayed home with him, and by the end of the day, his nose was stuffy and he had a slight fever. I believe he caught the cold I had last week...but the stupid FDA has decided that kids under 4 years old shouldn't get decongestants, so there's basically NOTHING we can/could give him to help the little guy! So, he was home on Wednesday as well. Thursday morning we called the doctor again to see if there was ANYTHING we could give Bradlee to help his stuffy nose, which was also causing the cough, which was causing a lack of sleep, which was making a VERY irritable 2 year old! :) We ended up getting an antihistamine-cough syrup...and it's worked FABULOUSLY!! He's been sleeping through the night, coughing less, and his nose is just about cleared up! HOORAY! :) I know it seems like the kids get sick so frequently, but looking back, I really think it's mostly around the season-changes...wow, sounds just like their mom.... :)

Note to self...

Don't leave your camera in your sister's room...that is, only if you don't want awesome pictures of your kids with their aunt! :)

The Easter Bunny left a treasure hunt for the kids again this year. They just LOVED it! I had forgotten, though, that one of the clues took us outside...so here's Tony's Easter Sunday fashion statement!

My favorite part was when the kids got in their play scape, and the clue they found there said, "Go down the slide and back inside...". Emma took one look at the slide and said, "Mom, the slide is wet." Bradlee said, "I go first!" :) Sure enough, Bradlee went down first and dried the slide off!

Once they found their baskets, Bradlee was thrilled with his "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" book, and Emma loved her new outfit for Kit!!

We went to mass and then to my parents' house for dinner. Tony's dad and sister (mom was sick), my grandparents and Paul all came over, too! I was taking some pictures of Emma in her dress (and Kit's matching one!)...

...that I then got up to do something and forgot my camera in Karyn's room...a few hours later, I heard a bunch of giggling, and then Emma brought me my camera. :) Here's what I found...

I'm pretty sure there's no doubt that Emma and Bradlee have a great relationship with their aunts (and soon-to-be uncle)! :)