So Much Catching Up To Do...

We have been so busy around here. I keep saying to myself, "I need to post this, " and "I need to blog about that." But I just can't seem to find the time. I'll start from where I left off. Get comfy...we could be here awhile.

After the Fourth of July, the girls were diagnosed with two double ear infections. True to form, Gracie's cleared up very quickly, while Faith finished ten days of antibiotics and got a fever on the 11th day. Another round of antibiotics. Ten days of medications. Fever on the 11th. Another round of antibiotics. An allergic reaction. Stopped antibiotics for 48 hours. Restarted antibiotics two days ago. Waiting for fever to return. Tubes are next.

The Monday after my last post, July 9, Devin started Vacation Bible School at one of the neighborhood churches. Our church's VBS is only for four-years-old and up, so he missed that one. But this one accepted kids at two years of age, so we signed up. Day One went great. We were set for Day Two.

Day Two arrived. Devin complained that he didn't want to go. I put him in the car anyway. We drove to the church and he refused to get out of the car. I dragged him out and took him to his classroom.

That's when all hell broke loose.

There was screaming, crying and an attempt to "climb" me in order to get me to carry him. I quickly said my goodbyes, handed him to his teacher and made my way down the hall.

Moments later, I heard a screetch, an "OUCH!" and here came Devin, out of the room, bolting toward me, his teacher limping behind him. Apparently, he kicked her, wriggled from her arms and ran after me.

I begged, I pleaded and then I just got downright mad. He wouldn't relent. He didn't want to go. VBS was starting and we were beginning to make a scene. So I gave up and took him home.

I know I sent the wrong message, but I didn't know what else to do.

We came home and D's punishment was to stay in his room until Daddy got home that night. I also told him that if he didn't got to VBS for the rest of the week, I would cancel his birthday party. And I meant it -- I was prepared to do so.

Needless to say, Days Three, Four and Five went much better. He wasn't thrilled to go, but he knew I was serious about his party and he wasn't about to let that happen.

Favorite Devin's Doozie from Day Two of Vacation Bible School: "I don't want to learn about Jesus!!!"

Wednesday, July 11, was Devin's fourth birthday and we celebrated at home with cupcakes for breakfast (a family tradition), a big, "It's my birthday!" button worn all day and a special dinner of pizza and Sprite, followed by presents from the family.

Saturday the 14th was the big party and, since VBS had gone smoothly for the rest of the week, Devin was permitted to go and have a great time.

We arrived at Inflatable Wonderland a little before the 1:00 p.m. start of the party. Todd arranged the cake and presents while I re-stuffed the goodie bags that I had dropped all over the parking lot on the way in. Classic Erin.

Soon, kids and family started arriving and most of the kids bolted for the giagantic, inflatable slides, castles and obstacle courses while their parents came to sit down and chat to avoid the mayhem.

There was the hokey pokey, the limbo and some fun dancing. Next was cake (Lightning McQueen from Cars of course) and ice cream and then presents. Lots and lots of presents. My Lord, the presents. It was gluttonous.

And then, two hours after the start, it was over. We paid up, loaded up and left the mess behind. It was totally worth every cent to walk away from the melted ice cream, cake-smeared table cloth and mound of wrapping paper.

If you're wondering, the girls were in attendance at the party and they enjoyed the attention they got from Grandma, Grandpa and Pa-Pa, as well as friends like the Schaefers and the Daniels.

Sunday was a night on the town with my sister, brother-in-law and three of their four kids (their oldest when on a summer trip with Pa-Pa, my dad). We went to the San Marcos River Pub and Grill, about an hour north of here. We dined on burgers, chips and queso (for those of you non-Texans, french fries are very often cut out of the picture in lieu of tortilla chips and cheesy dip -- a very yummy Texas delicacy) and beer on the lawn and waited for the show to begin.

Around 7:30, Bruce Robison, brother to Charlie Robison, who is married to one of the Dixie Chicks (SMU girls! Go Ponies!), hopped up on stage and sang a number of fantastic Texas-country style songs. Some were originals I had never heard like, "I went out to find myself and I found myself in bar." and others were classics like, "What Would Willie Do?" There were even a few George Strait and Dixie Chicks songs. Our kind of show, for sure.

ZZ's three kids (Presley, four, and Brendan and Kaelin, two) and Devin had the best time running around, catching lightning bugs and making friends with the families around us. The kids were almost as big of a hit as the performer was.

We packed up the families around 9:30 and headed back to San Antonio. As we were approaching our neighborhood, I got a call from our babysitter -- apparently the girls had been screaming since we left (despite the fact that I had bathed, fed and jammied them so that all Sarah had to do was put them to sleep at 6:30) and she was wondering if she could give them some milk. The poor thing -- my heart was sick for this poor young lady. She'd even called her mom over to help her out. I doubt she'll ever want to babysit for us again, and I can't blame her.

We got home and got the girls settled down (apparently, only mommy and daddy will do) and I drove Sarah home, apologizing all the way. I wish I could have crawled into a hole and died.

We didn't get into bed until pretty late and the next day was the first day of summer camp for Devin. It's held at the same church where VBS was held and when we pulled into the parking lot, Devin said, "Whoa, whoa, whoa! What are ya doin'?" I said, "Summer camp!"

"No way! This is VBS!" It was as though this was the first my son was hearing of summer camp, even though I'd been talking it up for weeks.

It took some time for me to convince Devin that this would be a totally different experience than Vacation Bible School and he finally obliged, dragging his feet into the building. He perked up when he saw that he was going to be in a different classroom with different teachers. It finally dawned on him that this really might be different.

Then he saw Colin. Colin is a buddy of his who is exactly the same age as Devin. Colin's mommy, Erin, is a good friend of mine as well and I said a special, "Thank you God!" prayer right then and there as Devin suddenly became interested in being a part of summer camp.

So Tuesday and Thursday went great (only two days a week - bummer for me). Devin just loves this summer camp program and so far he's made homemade play-dough (Casey -- my dream came true! Devin got to make play-dough and I didn't have to clean it up!) and brought home tons of crafts. Much better than VBS, apparently.

All this week, too, we've been doing swimming lessons. A former neighbor of my sister is a certified swimming instructor who does private lessons in her own pool. For eight days straight, I take D to her house and she spends 30 minutes teaching him to kick his legs, use his arms and blow bubbles. He's gotten all three down -- now we're just trying to coordinate them all. She says she sees a lot of progress already. We'll finish out these eight lessons, practice what we've learned and then take some more next summer. Hopefully soon, I'll have a little fish on my hands, as I loved the water when I was Devin's age (okay, I still do) and I want him to feel the same way.

So along with ear infections, parties, VBS, summer camp and swimming lessons, we've also been doing gymnastics. Devin just loves it and opted to continue gymnastics rather than do soccer this fall. A former gymnast and diver myself, I couldn't be more proud.

So there you have it -- the hectic life of the Pruetz family. I vaguely remember my husband and I assume I could pick him out of a lineup. I haven't seen him much lately, as he's been at church a lot, working on a retreat that he's teaming next weekend and I've been all over the place with the kids.

Such is the life of a mommy, huh? And it's only going to get more and more hectic as the three of them get older. For the most part, I enjoy it, but when I fall asleep at 9:15 and don't wake up again until 7:15 the next morning (as I did last night, thanks to Todd who took over household responsibilities for the night), I know I must be exhausted and think to myself, "Slow down... you're going to burn out." We'll see.

Peace.

Erin

PS - Of course, there are lots of photos, but I'll post them later. Hopefully today, but the twins are crying and I need to go get them from their cribs before they learn how to jump out. ;)