Hey, y'all! Happy Friday! From getting ready for Kindergarten to a hospital stay, it's been another busy week in our household. All of the highlights from this week along with what we ate, are included in today's roundup of Around our Kitchen Table!
I've had lots of people send messages asking how our foster kiddos are doing and for Foster Friday updates. So....I launched an updated version of my Foster Friday series called Around Our Kitchen Table. Here I'll share a little bit about what we've been up to and tie it all into what we've been munching on this week. This series will give you a behind the scenes look about how I balance life as a busy, working foster mom to twin toddlers and a free-spirited 5-year-old.
Saturday
Saturday got started super early. All 3 kids were up and at 'em by 7:00. We ate yummy cheese eggs and some muffins while Ashley slept in. The layout of our house isn't the best for sleeping in...our master bedroom is right off the kitchen/dining room/living room. To help keep them quiet and entertained, 5 watched her favorite sight word video while the boys explored their books and played in their room. With Kindergarten being right around the corner, we're trying to expose 5 to as much as we can!
I had a graduation party to attend so once the kiddos went down for their naps, I headed over to my friend's house for a pool party. It was so nice to get away!
When I got home I whipped up a batch of homemade sloppy joe cupcakes.
After dinner we inflated a blowup mattress, and turned on "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."This is one of our favorite things to do. Our blowup mattress has a built in pump so it inflates in just minutes. We all pile on to the bed in the living room and watch movies. The boys do much better with live action movies so we've nixed the animated stuff and went for the good stuff!
Sunday
Sunday was absolutely dreadful! We were supposed to have our former foster children J & C come over to spend the day with us but at about 4:15 AM I woke up with excruciating stomach pains. Unfortunately, Ashley started having the same aches and pains about 2 hours later. We were down for the count. All. Day. Long. It was absolutely dreadful.
Twin G also fell victim to the grossness. Sadly, we had to cancel our day with J & C and we spent all day resting. We finished watching "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and even started on "Mary Poppins Returns"
Fortunately for all of us, Ashley felt much better by mid-day. She was able to function enough to make the kids lunch and dinner. The kiddos had breakfast for dinner; waffles.
Monday
Today I officially returned to work after having the summer off. I spent the day working in my classroom and sitting through meetings. Just 1 more week until 5 begins Kindergarten! Today her "First Day of..." sign and her t-shirt for the first day of school arrived. She was so stinking excited!
Tonight we had Sausage, Biscuits and Gravy for dinner. Afterwards we watched 5's sight word video and played an alphabet game.
Tuesday
Tuesday the shit hit the fan. Twin G woke up with a fever. By the end of the night he was in the hospital struggling to breathe and rocking a fever of 104. He was admitted to the hospital and stayed there throughout the week. He was the only baby in PICU so he got loads of attention for the nurses and PCAs.
It was an extremely long week for us. Ashley would spend the day with him at the hospital while I worked. I'd leave work and head immediately to the hospital to relieve her. She would stop by the daycare to get 5 and Twin L, feed them, get them to bed and we'd repeat the day all over again. The entire week was a blur. An extremely long, exhausting blur.
Saturday
Finally! A normal day! With Twin G being released from the hospital, we planned a low key weekend. On Saturday afternoon, after nap time, we went over to our friends S & C's house for a birthday party for 4 out of their 5 kids. 5 was having a blast on the water slide, Twin G enjoyed his new-found-freedom and... Twin L spiked a fever. Yep. Here we go again! Twin L was experiencing all of the same symptoms as his brother. Fortunately for all of us, he didn't have to be admitted to the hospital like his brother. He was given steroids, antibiotics, and a preventative inhaler and sent on his merry way.
Sunday
With Twin G in recovery, and Twin L sick, we had a very low-key day. The twins pretty much slept all day while 5 danced around the house super excited about Kindergarten. 5, Twin G and I headed over to my parents house to catch one last summer movie in their home theater.
Monday
Monday was a big day for 5 and I. I began my 6 1/2 year of teaching and she officially started Kindergarten. Unfortunately, Ashley had to stay home with our sick little guy, so she didn't get to do all of the 1st Day of School stuff, which really bummed her out.
After a long day at work, I brought 5 and my niece Monster home with me for a little playdate. I thought it might be good for both of the girls to be able to unwind after their first day of Kindergarten.
5 took a nice, relaxing bath with a donut bath bomb, did her homework and headed to bed to prepare for day 2.
Tuesday
Twin L is finally on the mend. He's back at daycare and feeling, much, much better. On Tuesday, for the first time in a week, all of the kids were in school. All 3, at the same time. It was a big day! Notice that I haven't talked about food during this window of time? Yeah...that's because we've eaten like crap since Twin G went into the hospital. I seriously haven't cooked in forever. Tonight was no different- we went for tacos. Maybe I'll get my life together soon...
Wednesday
5 is loving Kindergarten! She's adjusting well and hasn't had any issues with her behavior, yet (knock on wood!) . The kids had a visit with their mom this afternoon. Unfortunately, it was a late visit (at least by our schedule) and went from 5 - 6:30. The kids didn't get home until around 7:15- which is after bedtime. We found out that the mom didn't feed them dinner so we quickly fed them and put them down for the night. This whole her not feeding them thing isn't going to cut it.
Thursday
Happy birthday to me! Today I turned 36. Yikes. After work, we rushed home to clean up a bit before our licensing counselor came over with her supervisor. They inspected our house and asked us a few questions to see if we would qualify for a 5 Star Foster Home.
Once they left, 5 and Ashley went to our favorite cupcake shop, Small Cakes, to get some birthday cupcakes.
Oh...and I actually made dinner tonight! Big day, right? Tonight we had Ashley's favorite dinner: fork tender cube steaks.
Friday
TGIF. Man, it has been a dreadfully long, tiring 2 weeks. To celebrate 5 having a great first week of school, we gave her a Skipper doll she has been obsessing over. After school we popped on a movie, Shrek, and had a nice quiet evening at home.
For 2 nights in a row, I managed to make dinner. Tonight I made Beef Stroganoff.
Check back next Friday to see what we've been up to in the next installment of Around Our Kitchen Table!
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