Midwest Keech

I feel like a total slacker lately. I just posted a bunch of stuff just a little bit ago, but it was all from August & summer in general. The good news is that we are settling into a new school year routine. And even though we have cub scouts, young women activities, soccer practice (games starting this Saturday), visiting teaching, playgroup and soon preschool, it really IS easier for me...Well, in a few ways. At the end of March, I was diagnosed as diabetic (mildly diabetic). They did some blood tests & sent me to the dietitian & the diabetic counselors to teach me how to control/test blood sugar and help with more healthy eating. I did REALLY well for a while, so when I went in to my Dr. in June (after 3 months), I had lost about 20 lbs. & my blood work was looking better than earlier. Well, after that...I pretty much fell "Off the Wagon". I went to AZ in June & did pretty...well...some good, some bad eating choices. But, it was vacation, so what-the-h...

Last week, I had to take Adelaide to the dentist. She did AWESOME at the dentist's office, especially for a 4 year old. Well, you know how it is when you're numbed up. - You cannot feel a thing. I told Adelaide multiple times to be careful...don't bite your lip...don't bit your tongue...Well, she did anyway. We went to Steak & Shake to get a milkshake, and I noticed her chewing. I asked if she had something in her mouth. NO! She was gnawing on her tongue. I told her to stop, but noticed that she continued. She would only stop after I blotted her tongue with a napkin to show her the blood. Poor thing. She had a HORRIBLE, ugly looking sore. These pictures were 2 days later & it looks NASTY. I was worried about infection, so I took Adelaide with me when I took Amelia to her dentist appt. The dentist said it was ugly, but unless she was running a fever, she'd most likely be fine. Well, she's pretty well healed now. I'm glad she can go back to eating what...

This year, Mia started Kindergarten. She loves school (even after a couple weeks). She still has a hard time not feeling left-out if she knows that we (Adelaide, Allison & I) are doing something while she's at school, even if it's going to the doctor or visiting teaching. I love taking Back-to-School pictures. It's so fun to see how they grow & change from year to year. Sometimes, it happens without me realizing it. A RARE moment between these 2... Amelia only had school for 1 hour on the 1st day, AND they had to have a parent come with them. Mornings start with morning assembly in the gym, where the principal can motivate them & get them going in the morning. Isn't she cute?? She's such a big girl. We put away all her supplies & found Mia's seat. She couldn't wait to come back & start learning. Amelia's teacher seems very nice & excited to begin a new year. Hey, she teaches Kindergarten...She has to be perky & peppy, don...

A few weeks ago, we had a ward carnival. It was tons of fun, especially for the kids. There was a moon-bounce, face painting, food & games. We had corndogs & sno-cones. They were VERY smart to do only 1 flavor. - That way, you just make them & pass them out - no choices to make. Allison actually did very well, considering this was her very first sno-cone. Of course, there were also nachos. I love nachos! Adam had a boat-load of candy that he won playing games. He had a great time running around playing with his friends too. The face painting was fun! One of the young women painted Amelia's butterfly and Adelaide's heart. I ended up helping with the face-painting, because it was SO much FUN! I painted lots of stars, flowers & smileys, a couple of firetrucks, some rocket ships & even a snake or 2. Let's just say, Bryan painted his OWN face. He cracks me up.

I know it ended a LONG time ago, but we had a fun time this year at the Nauvoo Pageant. Bryan volunteered to help with security when our ward helped, so we made a day of it & took the whole family. It was pretty fun, even though the kids were convinced they would be bored & that they would have a horrible time. The gardens by the visitors' center were so beautiful that I HAD to take pictures of the kids. I love how they came out. Adelaide Allison Amelia Adam was a little more difficult...he didn't want his picture in front of the flowers. I think this is an acceptable compromise. All My Little Monsters Adam - Outside the Brick Yard. These kids will climb on anything. We brought a picnic dinner to have - Good ' ol PB & J. The girls had a great time with the Bugles - Dinner AND a Show. Monkey SEE, Monkey DO. We staked out some seats for the show, but we had a little while before the pre -show activities started. I had some of those fruit roll up Stickers. The ki...

For my birthday, I got to go out on a date with my hubby. We drove 45 minutes to Peoria, so we could go to Joe's Crab Shack for dinner. It was very yummy. We then drove back into town. We went to Best Buy & got a new microwave, then went to Chili's for dessert. I had one if those chocolate lava cakes...SO good. I had a great time, just hanging out with my guy. It was a nice birthday.

Well, our microwave died last week. We finally bought a new one. It's nice & we got a pretty good price. We were driving home tonight & it was rattling & making LOTS of noise. Adelaide says, "It's our microwave making that noise. - It's giggling & tinkling." Classic...yet another Adelaide-ism to add to my collection. She's so funny.