May Madness and Memorial Day Weekend

For the last 27 days, it has been non-stop. June is typically the busy month for me, so I'm a bit worried about how much more crazy it can get. Since my last post, I have been doing things like:

• Taking care of a sick child. This has been one of the worst asthma triggering Spring's of note. I know many families that have been dealing with children in similar situations. It's been no fun. And here I started Ry's meds early this year to be prepared, and yet he has suffered greatly anyway.
• Room mom duties including Teacher Appreciation Week (which I do right, seeing that I am a teacher too and want to make sure my children's teachers are fully appreciated).
• Mother's Day activities--we went to Burke Lake Park and enjoyed a nice walk, a train ride, a carousel ride and some ice cream with my kids, my sister and her family, and my parents.
• Watching my son earn his green stripe in Tae Kwon Do.  His response when he was notified by Master Lee was, "Yes!"
• Enduring the trials and tribulations of my husband's employment with Whole Foods Market.
• Enjoying a fabulous Girls' Weekend with two special friends. We went to Chapel Hill, NC. Despite the fact that I was in the land of an ACC rival, I thoroughly enjoyed the cultural experience of a beautiful, historical and slightly haunted old town.
• Being immersed in a full basement renovation. We have never had a finished basement, and in a few more weeks, we will. It has been a busy, messy, loud experience with workers in and out of my house almost every day, at very early hours. We survived lots of banging when the frame for the walls went up, and the deafening noise of concrete being jackhammered to move the plumbing. We are now enduring the drywall process. The dust down below is like snow on a January day. Stay tuned for the before and after shots as the end draws near in a few weeks.

Now on to the traditional weekend of the beginning of summer.......

It has been low key, to say the least. We have done a little shopping, and a lot of resting and relaxing. The highlight of the weekend was the first swim of the 2010 season. Let the summer begin......(uh, except my poor older child still has 24 days left of school--doesn't seem fair, does it??!)

She's a bit excited about being in the pool.

Yeah Mommy, for capturing the action shot!

Notice the goggles...he's wearing them upside down, and doesn't have a clue!

He was so happy!

The last week has had me doing all I can to keep my head above water.  Rylan got sick.  Congestion which lead to a bad cough, which lead to wheezing and numerous doctor's appointments.  We've been to the pediatrician four times in just less than a week.  And to think, we were all geared up and ready for spring with his preventitive meds.  Oh well. 
Jen fell ill on Saturday night after a very competitive soccer game that afternoon.  It was hotter than usual, but not that hot.  However, it affected a lot of the girls and their ability to play.  It was very strange and disconcerting.  Jen got nauseous, shaky and lethargic after the game.  It was a two day recovery, but she made it to school today.
Two sick kids and a basement to clear out.  I have little over a week to prepare the basement for some construction that will bring an unfinished storage room into a Rec Room where the kids can play with their stuff.  It is an overwhelming project, but refreshing in that...this stuff would never been cleaned out if it weren't for a project of this magnitude.
The highlight of the day.....Rylan made it back to Tae Kwon Do after a couple of weeks of being sick.  He earned a green stripe.  He was SOOOO proud!!  He kept saying, "Mom, I am SO happy!"  He also asked if "I was proud?"  Of course.....I am so VERY proud!!