Pirate Porch

After last years awesome pirate-themed porch, I couldn't let the idea rest, and I certainly couldn't copy myself. So I spent the entire year thinking of ways we could pull off an even better porch, and because Teag is the sort of person who is incredibly patient (and he also secretly loves it), he helped me to pull it off. I ordered a ships wheel, and he created a mount, cutting the wood and staining it to match. He tied some rigging, and figured out how to secure. And most of all, he looked the other way when I spent more money than I should have on the whole thing. But the end result... magnificent.

It was so much fun to see it all come together, and even more so to surprise the kids with it. Every time I looked outside, I was happy to see the porch. And then... very early one morning, so stupid jerk came and stole the booty chest right off of our pirate's lap!

We'd talked about finding a way to secure it, but hadn't found a good solution. Everything in it was super cheap costume jewelry, but it was more the principle than anything. Especially because I'm sure they just chucked it in a gutter somewhere. I couldn't appreciate the irony of having my pirate porch robbed. I'll admit, it did take the shine off the whole thing a bit, but no one else messed with it, and we made sure everything else was secured really well.

Despite the thievery, I'm sure I'll come up with a new idea for next year. I'm thinking something with a gallows...

First Day of School

First day of school came, and for the first time since we began procreating, all of the kids were leaving. It's something I've been looking forward to, a chance to have a little me time, to pursue some goals of my own that have taken a back seat for the past thirteen years. Maisie was starting her first day of 8th Grade.

 Danyn was starting 5th Grade.

 Rory was beginning 3rd Grade

And little Finn was starting his first day of full day Kindergarten.

We didn't realize when we bought his backpack that it was the same size as he is.

Despite being rather tired for the first few days, he's done well adjusting to school. He loves his teacher, and his class.

The school year is now half over, and so far, it's continued with as much promise as it started out with. We're so glad our kids are having a good year, and that they're thriving where they are.

Bike Riders

Both Finn and Rory officially became bike riders this past summer. It didn't come easy, but I think it helped that both of them were trying to do it at the same time; it gave them a little extra motivation.

Teag was incredibly patient, and now we're going to have to plan some family bike rides!

Finn Graduates Pre-K

Finn absolutely loved his Pre-K teachers, and was sad when Pre-K was over. But he was also very excited to move on to full day school, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't also looking forward to that. I got to attend his Pre-K celebration, and see some performances and songs.

Then each kid got to get a certificate, as wel as a bag full of all the cool things they'd made that year.

Finn loved Ms. Tatiana, and she adored Finny as well.

Off to some bigger things for this little man!

Danyn's Talents

In May, Danyn had a few exciting events where she had an opportunity to shine. The first was during the Running Forward 5k. She and Thatcher both participated in Running Forward this year, and got to run the race together.

Danyn is probably our most athletic child, but we were still impressed when she finished in the top ten, completing the race in under 30 minutes!

She definitely pushed herself, but it was a good experience, with some free running shoes to boot!

Next up was the talent show, where Danyn choreographed her own dance routine to the song "Shake it Off", by Taylor Swift. Her routine was a hit, even getting the staff involved!

She did an excellent job, and we were very proud of her for putting herself out there, for both events. Well done Dany!

2017: Memorable For All the Wrong Reasons

Clearly, I haven't blogged in a good long while. I've had a bit of a mental block where blogging is concerned; my heart just wasn't in it. Part of that could be straight up laziness, but I think another large part was simply that 2017 felt like the year that we survived. Not necessarily in a bad way, we aren't bitter or angry about it. But it was a year that worked really hard to kick our trash, and I'm not even talking about Donald Trump getting elected President.

2017 came and went with no resolution to Teag's job situation at USANA. They say they plan to buy a plane, but that has yet to happen, so we're still very much in limbo. This doesn't do much for my overall feelings of security. I like to plan, I like to know what's coming. I know that isn't possible all the time, or even a lot of the time (2017 taught me that), but it's nice when you can.

2017 was the year that Teag spent more than two full months away from home. He attended two type-rating trainings, and between that and his regular travel, he was gone A LOT. It's not something our family is used to, and we had a few rough spots as we worked to cope. On the other hand, both type-ratings opened up some doors career-wise for him, and were great opportunities. Truly a great blessing.

2017 was the year that Teag found an unusual lump, which was subsequently revealed to be testicular cancer. The C word is scary under any circumstances, but once again we felt particularly blessed; his cancer situation was absolutely the best case scenario. The tumor was a seminoma, the best kind to have, and after a surgery to remove the effected testicle, Teag was considered cured. No chemo, no radiation.

He has to have periodic screenings every few months to check for a recurrence, but it was amazing how much of a non-event something that's typically so horrific ended up being. Another blessing to be sure.

2017 was the year that Teag got very sick. We still aren't really sure what caused it, but a few days before Christmas, we ended up in the emergency room when his whole upper half turned red, along with a fever and chills. We thought that a biopsy site on his back may have become infected, but that turned out not to be the problem. They ran test after test, took lots of blood, and asked all kinds of questions. Teag's kidneys were failing, and they drained three bags of saline into him simultaneously due to severe dehydration. He was tachycardic, his bilirubin was hight, and the fever was climbing. In other words, all his systems were going haywire, and unable to function as they should. After only a few hours in the ER, he was transferred to the ICU.

I've never seen Teag so sick, or so miserable. I had to do most of the talking to the doctors and nurses because he was in no shape to answer questions. They packed him with ice to try and bring his fever down, which only made the shivers worse. They drew more blood. They reopened the incision on his back to make certain it really wasn't an infection, as all signs pointed to sepsis.

We'd started out the day thinking he'd get some OTC antibiotics, and ended it with Teag in the ICU, the doctors having no idea what was wrong with him. Three days before Christmas. It was terrifying to say the least. They pumped him full of broad-spectrum antibiotics and fluids, then waited for something to grow from his blood cultures to know how to more specifically treat him, but nothing ever did. That ruled out sepsis. I wanted to be with him at the hospital as much as I could, and was so grateful for family who jumped in and helped with our kids, watching them, letting them sleep over, shuttling them places. My mom and sisters in law also had a wrapping party, wrapping all our Christmas presents so that I wouldn't have to worry about it. My dad and brother gave Teag a blessing shortly after he arrived in the ICU. So many people were praying for us, and we felt those prayers and the concern of friends, family and neighbors.

By the 24th, Teag was starting to look and feel better. His fever had gone, his kidney function had improved, and he was able to eat. The redness had also begun to fade from his skin, though admittedly, it was being replaced by yellow from the high bilirubin. Because of these improvements, they decided that he could go home. We'd spent three days in the hospital, but still didn't have any kind of diagnosis. Teag's energy levels were extremely low, but he was so much better than when we brought him in, and we were both relieved that he got to be home for Christmas.

After some follow up blood-work, they told us they suspect he had a virus akin to influenza. No real way to know that for sure, unfortunately, but given that he's continued to improve, we are thankful that it's not something chronic. His liver levels were high a few days after, so we'll have to get them rechecked to make sure they've dropped to where they should be, but otherwise, he's on the road to full recovery.

So as you can see, 2017 was a bit rough. And it was especially rough for Teag, who was at the center of the majority of these events. We were all effected peripherally of course, but he was the one who things were happening to. He handled so much of what came to him with strength, with minimal complaint, and with a solid testimony. I was proud to see how he dealt with the adversity that came to him this past year. He is an amazing man, and an excellent role model for our children, and even me. As much as I have no desire to repeat this past year, I'm so grateful for the lessons learned, the blessings received, and the strength gained. I also pray that 2018 might be a bit more gentle.

So... moving forward, while looking back. There are several events that I'd like to record from this past year, things that I don't want overlooked or forgotten. I'm not going to past date them, I'll just include the date(s) they took place for reference.

Here's to another year...

Random Stuff

Just a few little things that have been poking around with no particular place to assign them. First off, Finn has been thriving this year in school, and has had so much fun with his teachers. A few weeks ago, he got to bring home Corduroy for the weekend, and let him be a part of our family for a few days.

Finn took him almost everywhere, and loved him to death. He was a good visitor. Finn also got to participate in his classes talent show, by reading The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and The Big Hungry Bear.

The talent show was a little chaotic, to say the least, and Finn was one of the few kids who actually had a prepared talent, and wasn't too shy to perform it. He did a great job.

We've had a lot of rain lately, which makes for a lot of cloudy days. I snapped this pic during one of them, as it made our street look particularly majestic.

My friend Beth had her baby, and I got to go and visit with her, and see him. Little Wyatt is pretty adorable.

And lastly, I took the girls for haircuts, and even though their styles aren't drastically different, the end result looks a lot more polished.

 

I forgot to get Danyn's before shot because she went first, so the sink is all I have. Not to be outdone, Finn rocked a sweet mohawk to school the other day.

The only reason his hair can even do that is because of a rather disastrous haircut he got from a place called Cookie Cutters. They're supposed to specialize in kid haircuts, but they tried to give my four year old a hipster do. No, just no. So we had Sonia fix it as best she could, but mostly it just needs a lot of time to grow out.

And there you go, all caught up on the Baylys crazy.

Such a Pretty Tree

After our tree was cut down, it was time to decorate! We used our tiny tree lights from last year, and they were just as time consuming magical as they were before. Our kids were a lot of fun, recalling all the stories behind each ornament.

And Teag and I added a new ornament in the shape of a saddle to commemorate our trip to Arizona in April.

Not to be outdone, our brand new fireplace looked pretty spectacular, once it was all done up.

The tree is always such a magical part of Christmas. It seemed like this year in particular, Finn was very in to having all the extra lights off when the tree lights were on. It makes me feel very peaceful to enjoy the quiet lights of the tree.