Lazy Sunday

Today has been a "Lazy Sunday." We started the day when Jacob reminded his daddy that he PROMISED they could ride their bikes to church this morning. So, they all hopped on and took off. I ended up driving with Lizzie because we didn't have time to hook up the carrier. They had a good time and since it is a short distance to church, they weren't even out of breath or sweaty.



We attempted to teach Jake how to ride without training wheels this afternoon. I have no pictures because when Brian was beginning to lose his patience (which didn't take too long), I took over. I ended up in the grass on my back. Don't ask.I am not sure how it happened, but my knee hurt for quite a while. That ended that lesson. It's ok. . .by that time Jake was crying and begging for us to put the training wheels back on!

We decided to have Zach finish all his homework tonight so we wouldn't have to do it tomorrow. Fifth grade homework - what can I say. Hmmm... let's just say that 5th grade is notorious for giving lots of homework. It really wasn't a lot, but it was pretty time consuming.

Brian and Zach did take some time out to goof off for the camera.


Can you tell by Brian's expression that he is loving 5th grade math homework?

Date Night

Brian and I hit the town for a date tonight. As you can tell, the kids were happy to stay home with one of their favorite babysitters.

We were reminiscing tonight about how 20 years ago Brian was starting college and I wasn't even a thought in his brain. Better yet, I was still in high school and enjoying my senior year. We often joke that if we would have known each other in high school, we probably never would have dated. He would have thought me a snob and I would have thought him freaky. Actually, he was still a little freaky looking when I met him. But here we are many years later - 19 since we met to be exact.

We enjoyed a great Mexican meal followed by some quality time together and ended the night on campus at Coldstone for some yummy cake batter ice cream!

Dawgapalooza 2008

The local high school athletic and band boosters sponsor a "block party" called Dawgapalooza before the first home football game of the season. They have inflatables, face painting, music, cheerleaders, food, and lots more. This year they even had Dippin' Dots!

So, we all headed out tonight to the party and had a great time. The best part? Brian was home early enough to join us for the fun!

From the time we got from school until the time we left for the game, Elizabeth was walking around with her "Bulldog" pom-poms saying "Go Cheerleaders!"


She loved jumping in the inflatables too.


If you look real close at this picture you will see Jacob and his best buddy, Reid boxing with giant boxing gloves! It was hilarious! The gloves were almost bigger than them!

Of course, Jacob can't just settle for going down like everyone else. He has to be different.


And no Dawgapalooza party would be complete without the hotdog, chips and Pepsi meal!

So, where was Zach during all this fun? Well he is at the age where hanging with friends is so much more cool than going on the inflatables with his family. But, I did sneak a quick shot of his back as he watched pre-game warm-ups and waited on friends.

Whose Kid Is This?

Since Brian is working such long hours, dinner time around here is a little loose. You know , grilled cheese, french fries, mac and cheese, tacos - All those easy meals. Tonight we ordered pizza and had a picnic in the living room. We all love pizza. Most of us love the warm, gooey cheese. Zach, on the other hand, does NOT like cheese on his pizza. Can you believe that? Brian makes fun of him and tells him it is unAmerican not to like cheese on his pizza! Where did this kid come from?

Check him out enjoying his pepperoni with mushroom and no cheese pizza.

OH NO!

Can you believe that I took Jacob and Elizabeth to a parade here in our town, took the camera, made sure we had fresh batteries, but FORGOT the memory stick?!!? I can't believe I did that. So, I have no pictures to show of our adventure. Oh well, Jacob had a great time collecting a bunch of candy. Lizzie spent a lot of time covering her ears. She does not like loud noise. Which is ironic since her vocal volume is always set on TEN!!!!

Everyone is adjusting well to school. We haven't seen much of Brian since he is working 14 hour days this week as students swarm the store looking for books. Hopefully we will have some fun updates and pictures coming up soon!

Yummy Cake

When Zach started kindergarten, we started a tradition in our house. The "back to school child/children" get to pick a special meal to eat the first full day of school. I also make a VERY simple back to school cake every year.

This year the boys chose spaghetti and garlic bread for their meal. I was surprised they could agree on something and we didn't have to have TWO special meal nights! Here they are ready to dig into their cake...

Lizzie was glad the boys were going to share with her!

First Day of School

Today was the first day of school. We all had short days and were done by 10:30. It seemed to be a good day for everyone and we're all ready to go all day tomorrow. Here are some pictures from this morning.

I love this one of Brian and the boys messing around.

Here they are all loaded down with backpacks and ready to roll. I think their backpacks weighed more than they do!!



What did Lizzie do while we were gone? She stayed home with Dodo and had all kinds of fun. They played baby dolls, colored, read, washed her blankets, and check out this fun arts and crafts project . . .

Resident Comedian

I believe that Jacob has captured the title of "Resident Comedian of the Paragi House." He is funny even when he shouldn't be!

The other night, Brian was having a serious discussion with Zach about something when Jacob chimed in. Brian looked at him and jokingly said "Put a sock in it!" Jacob looked at his bare feet and said "Well, I will but you have to go get me some first!" Then giggled and giggled because he knew he was funny.

That kid. . .he will probably get out of more trouble with his sense of humor than most kids get into in the first place!! All I can say is pray for his 1st grade teacher. May she have a good sense of humor and lots of patience.

Lizzie's 3 Year Check Up

I took Ms. Elizabeth in for her three year check up today. The doctor didn't have to be in the room long before she knew that language skills were no problem. Lizzie was in rare form and talked non-stop about EVERYTHING! She now weighs a whopping 27 pounds. Those 24 month shorts are still falling off of her at times. But that girl can pack away the food. You should see her eat pasta at Maggiano's !! She left the office with a big smile, a sticker and a lollipop!


Today was the first day for teachers. It was exciting to get prepared for the students! I love pre-school and kindergarten students. They can always make me smile. Here is a quick shot of part of my office.


Tomorrow is the first day for students. It is only a two hour day. Jacob is disappointed he can't stay and eat lunch and play on the playground. Zach, on the other hand, is glad he doesn't have to go all day. He is a little apprehensive about 5th grade!

Brian's mom (AKA Dodo to the kids) is here to help with the transition time as Brian and I are both very busy at work right now. The kids are keeping her busy with walks, swimming, coloring, watching movies. Basically, you name and they are begging her to do it!

I'll post some "first day of school" and "Dodo" photos tomorrow!

Zach's Appointment

We are home from Zach's appointment. The appointment took over 2 hours!! Both Zach and I were ready to get out of there. The good news is that they did NOT go up his nose and down his throat. They used some kind of "gun like" thing that took pictures as he said the long E sound. Anyway, here is a picture of Zach's vocal cords...



This is what we found out. They believe he has a cyst on his vocal cord - not the nodules as originally thought. It was probably caused by a hemorrhage when he was screaming at the Indiana/Illinois basketball game last January! Go Hoosiers. I digress. So, they mentioned sending him to Loyola for surgical removal of the cyst. At this point in the conversation, I am starting to panic. But they decided that clinical speech therapy to work on avoiding "abusive vocal patterns" along with Nasonex for sinus issues and Prevacid granules for reflux would be a good start. Then, we have to have allergy testing. Hopefully, if we can get this all under control then the cyst issue will be easier to deal with and might not require surgical removal! They said they like to give kids this age plenty of time for the nodes to heal on their own before becoming too aggressive.

Thanks for all the prayers!

Prayers, please

Tomorrow, Zach has an appointment with the ENT to look closely at his vocal cords. He had a preliminary test done in May that showed some signs of damage. Nothing big - probably just yelled a little too loud at ballgames and has damaged the cords resulting in a very raspy voice. But the test is not fun - up the nose and down the throat with a little camera - Yuck! So, please pray for Zach as he is not looking forward to this at all! I am hoping he will bounce back quickly and be smiling like this within a few hours!

Out of the Mouths

Oh my goodness! Today has been a fun day of church, bike rides and swimming. Even daddy got in on the swimming.


But the best part of the day was listening to some of the funny things the kids said. For example:

Zach (during Sunday School): "Mom, what's a virgin again? Oh yea. . . so I'm a virgin?"

Jacob (to Brian): "Come on let's get our lazy bones up." He was dying to go on a bike ride and Brian was playing with his i-tunes account.

Zach (during lunch): He was trying to cut his sub in half and it was slow going. Brian jokingly said "put some pressure on it and cut that thing while we are still all young." Zach looked up and said "Well, I think that boat has already sailed. You aren't young now!"

Jacob (To Brian, who still wasn't moving fast enough for Jacob's liking): "Now is the time to start moving our bodies towards the garage!"

Jacob (to his friend): During the closing chorus at church Jacob turned to his friend and said "You've got to be kidding me. We already sang this song today!" And of course, he had to say it loudly so his friend could hear him over the music :>!

Lizzie (to Zach): "I promise I didn't do ANYTHING! It is just broken, I promise!" as the TV was all fuzzy and loud static was heard throughout the house.

If you want to smile sometime, just sit and really listen to kids talk. They are full of one-liners and wisdom!

Last Weekend Before School

Well, we are enjoying our last weekend before school starts for me and the boys, and before Brian gets inundated with college students at work!

On Friday night, we let both Zach and Jake have friends spend the night. Are we crazy or what? It was the first time for Jake to have a sleep-over. Believe it or not, he and his friend did well. Zach and his friend did their best to scare them, but it didn't work. Brian played Wii bowling with them and that was good for a few laughs.

Then we whittled the number of children in our house back down to three this morning. Brian and Zach went to a meeting about the traveling team Zach will be playing on. They both came back excited and impressed with the coaching staff and philosophies. Zach was ready to practice but needed somebody to play defense for him. Look who he found. . .


Then, after MUCH begging on Jacob's part, the guys took a bike ride. After being up late last night, a bike ride, and being in the pool twice today, they should all sleep well tonight!




We are opening a pre-school at our church in early September. I am on the ministry team, so Lizzie and I went up to visit with the teacher and see how things were going. Even though they are still organizing it, I love the room! Check it out (the thing in the corner is a "reading tree" nook) . . .


A very talented lady from church came up with the design and color scheme. Did I mention that I love it? :>

Swimming with Friends

Today, Zach and I went in and worked in my classroom. We got a little done, but had to stop and run home to vacuum because the realtor called and wanted to show the house. Nope, it still hasn't sold!

Instead of going back to school. we decided to pick up Jacob's from his friend's house, and go swimming.

Check out Jacob's ears! I am sure he wasn't comfortable, but he insisted that he was fine. He is such a nut!!!


Jacob and his buddy showed up in the same swimming trunks. They are quite a pair - same shorts, same energy level, same love for swords. The even turned their graham crackers into swords!

Zach and H spent most of the time diving for fish. They had a great time.


After swimming, we picked up our favorite babysitter. She watched the kids while Brian and I went on a date. It was quite the fun and relaxing day!

8 Days and Counting

It finally hit me this morning that I am really going back to teaching full time! I have been out of that arena for almost 8 years to spend time with the kids. Yep, I worked part time the last few years, but this is the big one - FULL TIME!! I am getting a little nervous, but I am sure we will adjust just fine. So, the back to school nerves in our house are not reserved for the kids alone. I have my share too! To complicate matters, the start of the school year is Brian's crazy time at work as well. Last night, Brian kissed me good night and told me he would see me in September! That might be a slight exaggeration, but it will get crazy around here soon. So, wish me luck and shoot up a prayer, please!

Celebrate Art

This past spring, one of Zach's art projects was chosen to be in "Celebrate Art." He was very surprised that one of his pieces was chosen to be on display. As a joint Mother's and Father's Day present, we had it framed. Now I have to decide where I am going to hang it. Zach proudly posed with it this morning.

A Paragi Family Day

The traveling Paragis are finally all home! We decided to make a concerted effort to spend some time together as a family since we will all be busy with the start of school soon enough! So, today was deemed "FAMILY DAY!!"

To start off our "family day" this morning, Jacob was very upset with me. He did not like the pink shirt I chose for him to wear to church. We finally cut a deal - he would wear it to church when I said so and I would NEVER make him wear it to school. That made him happy.

Here they are ready to head to Sunday School.

After church and lunch with some friends, we headed home for a quick nap. Once everybody was nice and refreshed, the entire family hit the Par 3 course at Lake of the Woods. It was quite entertaining to say the least. Jake and Lizzie had to grab hats to wear because Zach always wears one when he golfs.

Jacob was surprisingly good. If only we could keep his attention long enough to square him up, he would be really good!

Lizzie would take a whack at the ball every now and again. Her favorite thing to do was to talk to the ducks in the lake and pick flowers (clover) for me and Brian.


Zach is by far the best, and most practiced, golfer of the bunch. But, he had an off day. He was very frustrated with himself. But he still had some nice shots. Here he tries to chip one in.

And the winner for the day was. . (drumroll please)

Yep, that's right. Brian pulled out the win with a one stroke advantage over Zach!

Then it was off to home where we spread out blankets and had a very special treat while watching Chicken Little - BANANA SPLITS!


Hopefully all that sugar won't keep them up too long tonight!

Swimming

As a follow-up event to VBS, we rented a pool in a nearby town. The kids had a great time splishin' and splashin' around!

Lizzie loves water. She floats around in her little "floatie" in the big pool and then chills out in the toddler pool for a while.


Jacob is probably the best swimmer of the bunch. We are glad he likes it so much because it is good for his arthritis. He is always smiling when he is in the pool!




Zach spent almost the entire 2 and a 1/2 hours jumping off the diving board and hamming it up for the girls who were cheering him on!







We are home, dry, warmed up and watching the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony. Brian just called and should be home within thirty minutes! Yippee!!!!

The Traveling Paragis

I feel like we are some kind of circus act. We have been traveling, traveling, traveling and juggling suitcases lately. First, I took the kids to Indiana on Saturday to spend part of the week with Mamaw and Papaw.

Then I left at 5 Monday morning for Chicago. I attended a professional conference there. I hate driving into Chicago, but once we got out of all that traffic, I enjoyed myself and learned an incredible amount of information. Can't wait for school to start so I can apply some of that new knowledge! I got home Wednesday afternoon around the time that Brian was headed to Indiana to pick up the kids. He dropped them off at home and headed out to a meeting.

And then, this morning at 6:30, Brian and his good friend Mike set out for Virginia. They are returning the rental car and picking up the van! So, the traveling Paragis have been chasing their tails for a week now.

So, what do mommy and the kids do when daddy's out of town?

We have a "camp-out" in the office. The kids love pulling out the sleeper sofa and watching a movie while cuddling on the bed! They make quite a mess. They drag out all kinds of pillows, blankets, and stuffed animals to sleep with!


Zach had a friend spend the night and they watched the Little League World Series while playing Monopoly.


Oh yea. . .and of course everyone got to partake in his or her favorite snack!


All in all, a good time. When Brian called to say he had arrived in Virginia, he was surprised to hear the kids still up. Lizzie told him "the law is out of town!"

We miss daddy and can't wait for him to be home safely tomorrow so we can actually enjoy the weekend together!!

This is what Lizzie thinks of not having her daddy home with her tonight!

VBS. . .mission accomplished!

Vacation Bible School is officially over!! It was awesome to see the children learn more about God and Jesus. As a mission project, we collected food for our local food bank. We collected over 850 pounds and when we called the director, she was ecstatic because she said their cupboards were almost bare!

Even though our VBS experience was cut short - fevers and strep throat hit the Paragi kids!! - when the kids were there, they had a great time!

Zach helps Lizzie with some sign language to one of the songs. . .

Jacob flashes his name tag my way in case I forget who he is - what a nut!!!!


Jacob loved making the racing frisbees during craft time. The only problem. . .when he and Zach were throwing them around the house later that evening. Big no-no!!


When Lizzie gets sick, she curls herself into a tiny tiny ball and likes to cuddle with you. Since she only weighs 26 pounds at age three, when she curls up, it almost feels like you are holding an infant!! She didn't feel well and wanted to be cuddled by daddy.


All in all, a good week. Praise God!!