Coffee with Kel

Building relationships, encouraging hope

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Our Recent Happenings…

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Before I post about what is going on in our family lately, I am once again going to point readers over to MckMama’s blog called My Charming Kids. Sweet baby Stellan (aka MckMuffin) is still in need of prayer. So is his family. Please lift up this precious baby boy and those that love him.

In news from my home front…

  • As I mentioned previously, my friend Dana and I went to see Kate Gosselin speak on Friday. I had so much fun hanging out with Dana and getting to just talk, share, laugh, etc. That was great! I thought Kate was good. She spoke for about an hour and most of it was about her struggles to get pregnant, their decision not to selectively abort any of their multiple babies in utero and how they handle things at home. So, that was very informative and uplifting, of course. I was just a little disappointed because I had hoped she would speak some about Proverbs 31 Ministries because she sometimes does speaking engagements through them from what I understand. Nonetheless, it was an enjoyable evening out with a friend and I’m so glad that Dana and I got to go.
  • On Saturday afternoon I got to photograph a wedding reception. I had so much fun! It was “work”, sure, but it was quite a great time. I am almost done with the final edits of the photos. Mickey and I are also working on a photo montage video for them. I am so hopeful that they like the photos I got for them.
  • We went to church on Sunday. We have been trying to go at 9:30, but this Sunday it just worked out better to go to the 11:00 service. I’m so glad we were at that service because not only did we get to see our friends Jessie & Carly (who we LOVE), but the message was incredible! Jody preached on the Acts church and how that is what we should strive to be. Church isn’t about meeting in a building once a week. Church should be about what we do every day. How we live. How we reflect Christ in our lives so that others see and want to know what He means to us. It’s a lot to take in, but wouldn’t that be an awesome way to really live?!
  • Yesterday Mickey and I went to Macey’s school for lunch. We thought it was a special lunch for her “Character Education” award. But, no. I had the date wrong. That lunch is NEXT Monday. So, we just got to have a nice meal with Macey for no particular reason other than just because. And, hey, just because is always good enough. 🙂 I hope I will get to go to the lunch next Monday, but I have jury duty beginning that day, so it’s anyone’s guess as to what time I’ll be done.
  • This morning I am taking Mariana to the ENT for her pre-op visit. On Friday she is having her ear tubes replaced and her adenoids removed. We hope this will help solve the continuing issues that plague her so often. Prayers, of course, are much appreciated.

Guess that’s it for now. Hope everyone has a beautiful day. Please keep praying for Stellan!!

In Christ,
Kelly

Bring On Spring

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I have an extra pep in my step this morning. Maybe it’s because I worked out last night and then actually got to bed on time. But, maybe it’s because we’re getting ready to get some springlike weather in the next few days. Today, it’s supposed to get up to 65 here. By Sunday it’s supposed to get up to 75. Glorious! I love spring. I love the warmer days, the blooming trees, the flowers – all of it. It’s such a great time of year. (We won’t mention the one down side – pollen.) I am already looking forward to getting outside this weekend. We can work in our yards, get some fresh air and just enjoy it. I cannot wait!!

As I mentioned yesterday, our cat Dasher got “fixed.” I am happy to report that he is doing great. He was pretty groggy when he came home, but he is rebounding nicely. He’s still not his usual dashing self, but he is moving about and he’s also holding down food and water. Yay!! I bet by tomorrow he’ll be at full tilt again. We’ll see. Here’s another picture of the handsome little fella:

dasher2

Mariana and I are working a bit on potty-training today. Nothing too strenous, but just working with her interest level. Right now I have a timer set to go off every 15 minutes so that I can ask her if she needs to go and/or take her to the potty for her to try. At this rate, I may have her training to go whenever an alarm goes off. Pavlov anyone?! 😉 

Guess what I did yesterday?! I dressed up like Clifford the Big Red Dog at preschool. Yes, I really did. I donned a big heavy costume and waved to the children coming in from the car pool line. I also visited some of the classes. I did this to promote the book fair.  It was actually quite fun. I will say, however, that I have  a new found respect for mascots. Not only are those outfits heavy and hot, but it’s also quite difficult to see when wearing one. Still, I enjoyed it because of the happiness that most of the kids got from seeing Clifford. It was really cool to visit Mariana’s class and watch her reaction without her knowing it was me.

Mickey and I have a date night planned for tomorrow night. I am so excited! We’re thinking a classic date of dinner and a movie would be nice. Any movie suggestions?

Well, the timer is about to go off again. That’s my cue to close it up for now. Besides, I really REALLY need to whip this house into shape. I should get back on the Motivated Moms system again…STAT!

Happy Thursday,
Kelly 

Early Release Day

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It’s early release day for our public schools. That means Miss Macey will be coming home early today. Yay!! Actually, I plan to pick her up even before the regular release time so that we can have lunch together as a family. On early release days, they still feed the students lunch, only they move up the lunch times so that every grade gets to eat before leaving. Macey’s class normally eats at 12:53, but today they will go to lunch at 11:32. After a half hour for lunch, they go back to their classroom and have about 20 minutes before packing up to leave for the day. So, Macey won’t miss much (if anything) at school by leaving  a bit early AND she’ll get to have lunch with her family. What a treat!

Speaking of treats – Macey had two pretty amazing treats yesterday courtesy of her daddy. First he was “mystery reader” in her classroom yesterday morning. I wish I could have been a fly on the wall because Mickey told me all about how excited she was that he was there!! He read a Veggie Tales alphabet book first. Then, because it was Dr. Seuss’ birthday, he read The Foot Book which Macey and her teacher picked out for him to read. He and Macey have been reading that book together for a long time, so that was really cool.  As if having Daddy be mystery reader wasn’t enough, Macey got another surprise when Mickey went to have lunch with her at school yesterday. He said he tried to stay hidden so she wouldn’t see him when she came into the cafeteria, but she spotted him right away and practically hopped all the way over to him. She was THRILLED that he was there. Yesterday was not only her favorite school lunch (cheese stuffed bread sticks – yum), but she also got to have a lunch date with her Daddy. What  a day!! In true Macey form, she said the only thing that was not good about it was that some kids might be sad that their daddies didn’t get to come to school two times. What a sweet, compassionate child she is!! The girl has such a big heart. 

I took Mariana back to the pediatrician’s office yesterday. I had scheduled an appointment to see one of the pediatricians at our practice that is most familiar with her, but he was running way behind and we opted to see a nurse practitioner instead of waiting. The short version of the story is that it took some doing, but I got the NP to listen to my “mama’s intuition” about changing Mariana’s medication. She was on an antibiotic that is penicillin based and it didn’t seem to be helping her. I requested a change. I know the seriousness of antibiotics and I know not to “fool around” with them, certainly. When one is not working and the symptoms are worsening, it’s time to reevaluate. So, we did. We changed her meds and she is doing much better today, on the whole. Praise God!! Mariana is seeing her ENT next week and hopefully we can come to a good plan to help her get well and stay well. Fortunately, I have to say that this winter has been far and away better than last, so that is a HUGE praise. Maybe we can get her on the right track and keep it that way.

After taking a day off to rest on Sunday, I got back on my work-out schedule last night. This is my last week on the first level of Biggest Loser Boot Camp. Need I say again that this is a GREAT work out?! Whew! It works up quite a sweat and has me out of breath in points, but I love it.

I have a ton of fresh strawberries and need something to do with some of them. The girls are eating them like crazy, which is great, but I don’t want any to go bad. I was thinking of looking for a good bread recipe. Any other ideas? Please share if you have any recipes using fresh strawberries. Preferably something that keeps nicely. 

Happy Tuesday,
Kelly

No Snow Day For Us…

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Well, yesterday’s snow turned out to be a dusting. We still have some on the ground, but the accumulation was not much at all. We didn’t even go out to play in it. Still, it was really neat to see it snowing most all day. Just goes to show how varied weather can be because it was in the mid 60s-low70s late last week and then snow on Sunday. Go figure. It’s COLD today, but no snow day. Oh well.

Mariana is still struggling with congestion & drainage which leads to constant coughing. Poor sweet girl. Looks like we’ll be going back to the ped this morning to see what can be done to help her. She also has an ENT appointment next week. Hopefully we can find a solution to help her get through this mess, especially with allergy season being right on top of us.

Mickey is going to be the “Mystery Reader” in Macey’s class this morning. I wish I could be a fly on the wall to see her face when her daddy walks in to read. She’s going to be THRILLED! He’s also going to try to come back and have lunch with her today since it’s her favorite school lunch – cheese stuffed breadsticks. (YUM)

I’ll be back on my exercising routine today. I did Weight Loss Yoga on Saturday and took Sunday off. This evening I’ll do Biggest Loser Boot Camp again. This is my last week on the first level and next week I’ll take it up to the next level. Whew!! I really like working out six days per week – keeps it nice and even which I like. I’m still amazed at what a work-out yoga is too!

Speaking of exercise, Mickey ran just over 6 miles on Saturday. That’s his longest running distance post-surgery. WAY TO GO, HONEY!! Even though I think he’s a little warped for running when it’s cold, wet, etc. I am really proud of him for doing so great with his running. 😀

My Lenten sacrifice of giving up Facebook (most social networking online, actually) is going well. I miss it, but giving it up has been good for me. Twitter is something that I have kept up a little bit, but mostly because my posts here automatically generate “tweets” and I also tweeted some about our church’s upcoming youth conference last week.

Have a beautiful day…
Kelly

Keep Nurses in Georgia Schools!

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From the Georgia Association of School Nurses:

In 2000 the Governor at that time (Barnes) appropriated $30 million of the Tobacco Settlement funds toward School Nurse Salaries. In 2004 that money was moved to the Department of Community Health to be used to draw down federal match funds to support the Indigent Care Trust funding for hospitals and then it was returned to the Department of Education to continue funding some School Nursing positions. In 2006 Governor Perdue moved that funding to the Department of Education budget as a line item where it reportedly would be more “safe” from reallocation for other agencies.

In the Governors 2010 Budget proposal, this line item is completely eliminated. This $30 million is only a small portion of what is required to staff nurses in all schools. The counties who do staff nurses in all schools are doing so for the most part with local funds (received from the Ad Valorem taxes). Some systems also participate in the Medicaid reimbursement for some approved R.N. provided services, grants and various other limited sources.

As a parent with one child in Georgia public school and another one coming up to public school in a few years, I find this to be an outrage.  Removing nurses from schools is of detriment to our schools.  Nurses do so much and are of so much value to schools. Removing them is not only causing a loss of jobs, but is also potentially putting students in jeopardy. Any cuts to funding for schools is cause for alarm. So, please, if you live in Georgia, sign this petition to let our Legislators know that we do not support this decision. Please also email Governor Perdue and your local representatives. If we take action, maybe we can put a stop to this before it causes any harm to Georgia’s schools and children.