Monday, June 24, 2019

OSDA Conference, Poison Ivy, Yard Work, Galaxy Flower Art, and 4H Cooking



 We are getting down to the final wire about getting our 4H projects done.  We are a bit behind this year due to all the adjustments in our schedules with new work times and added responsibilities.  This is Joey's last year taking projects though.  I'm a little relieved and heart broken all at the same time.  Our week started out with us saying goodbye to Robby.  He spent the week with us and had to go home.  So we went out and did a little yard work for my sister-in-law while we were there and then got dinner out.  Culvers is now Joey's favorite restaurant.



We were at least able to enjoy eating outside before more rain came.



I didn't realize I got into poison ivy though...or at least that's what I still believe it was.





The rash just kept getting worse.  I'm 44 years old and never had poison ivy like this.  It just kept getting redder, itcher and my skin hurt.  But life doesn't stop.  All the kids had places they needed to be.  So I kept going on Monday. 

Brayden made a quick & easy homemade chicken noodle soup.  He didn't love the noodles, but said his broth turned out good. 



I took the girls to the Galaxy painting class at the local library.  They painted flower pots and painted them.



Caty is obsessed with audiobooks right now.  She was listening to one while painting.









Monday night Brayden and Lydia worked at our other library branch we visit.  Lydia helped at the Clifford party for the little kids.  And Brayden worked at the reading minutes table for the Summer Reading program.



It was a busy day...and my poison ivy just kept getting worse.  But Joey and I were leaving for a Special Needs conference on Wednesday am.  No time to go to the dr.  I was using what I could find around the house.

On Tuesday, Lydia made some homemade fruit salsa.  She had been dying to make this for her and her father.






For our state study meal - Alaska - we made salmon chowder.  Lydia and her great-aunt Jane learned how to skin a couple pieces of salmon with a Youtube video.


Caty really LOVED this and wants to make it again.



She played a little with her cake tips.



The rash was painful...and spreading.  So I gave in and called the online dr service our insurance offers.  He prescribed prednisone.  Which I couldn't get before Joey and I needed to leave.  The pharmacy had closed.  A friend of mine gave me some special steroid lotion to help get me through.

Joey and I got up super early and headed out on our 3 hour drive to his conference.  I was going as his ally or person to help him Speak Up with.







Had lunch on this beautiful deck when we arrived.  Joey was ready to go and now has a new favorite burger cheese, swiss.




This conference was meant to help learn how to become your own self-advocate to make sure that you are getting what you want and need.


We had a view of the lake off our balcony.  We also had lots of wildlife visit by our balcony.





He got to participate in several skits and group activities.





It stopped raining for a little bit and we got to take a brief hike, but it was so wet we couldn't go out far.







The sun really emerged on our last day.  It was beautiful. 



His graduation from the Speak Up program.





While Joey and I were gone, Joe held down the fort at home.  Brayden started his 3 week long employment camp.  He has a job coach taking him around to various places of employment and helping him to learn more about jobs and applying for them.  He is really enjoying it.  Lydia had a shift at the zoo.  And Brayden had an extra library shift.  He is really enjoying working at the library.  Caty and Lydia also had cheerleading practice.  They were all arrived when Joey and I got home on Friday.

I was so miserable though when we got home....I stayed in a sweater or sweatshirt the whole time we were gone.  My skin was so painful.  I tried a couple different creams on top of the steroid cream.  







By the time we got home, I was begging for my script.  No matter how loopy I felt downing that Prednisone.  I was miserable.  I haven't take steroids in years.  It seemed to help a bit for one day, but the next day we were set to return and help her clean up her yard.  The sun seemed to sort of help the rash, but it started getting worse again.  

This is a small sample of how the weeds were overrun. 



This was the front when I got done.






I mulched around her pool so that she doesn't worry about weeds there.



We planted some flowers in the backyard and tried to help her set up her patio too.  Make it a nice place to relax while the kids play outside.



I didn't get the yard all done.  Eight hours and I was exhausted!!!  I'm glad we got as much as we did done.  Unfortunately I got into more poison ivy.  So even on Prednisone I am still miserable.  I have an appointment with our family dr since my script is almost done and the rash just keeps spreading, itching, and hurting.  My sister-in-law got it bad also.  Her face even swoll up.  I officially know that I am allergic, and bad.  So I have to be careful now.  We'll go back in a couple weeks and help her spray more vinegar mixture around the property.  I bleached the areas that I know were poison ivy.  I can't have her getting into it again.  She could end up in the hospital.

It was an extremely exhausting week.  I'm looking forward to the couple days in the next couple weeks where we can hopefully relax some.  I am giddy at seeing the days blank of scheduled activities.  It'll be 4H poster days, but at least we can relax and watch movies while we do them.

Hope everyone had a great week!!  See you next week.

Linking up with other homeschool moms at Homeschool Coffee Break.


Homeschool Coffee Break



2 comments:

  1. Oh no, I'm so sorry about the poison ivy!! That looks so uncomfortable! I hope it heals up soon and that no one else gets into it. The Speak Up conference looks like it was a valuable time and lots of fun too!

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