Boys and Dirt!

Our friend has harvested her enormous garden and the dirt that remained has been turned into the neighborhood "dirt box." Who needs a sandbox when you can make dirt angels...and yes, Bruiser did!

See that face!?!

Swimming and Apples!

Sunday we went to the beach...and then we went apple picking! I know...not your typical combination! But that's what we love about where we live!

Our Little Ballerina!

Sassy had her first dance class tonight! And she did great...when she wasn't tackling the three other little girls! Who knew we had such a bully on our hands!

She really had fun sliding around the floor!

Sassy and her friend, C.

Walking for Tater (and her kidneys!)

It's been almost four years. Four years since Tater puffed up like a balloon. Four years since we thought she was allergic to our first live Christmas tree. Four years since we got the scary diagnosis on New Year's Eve. Four years since Bruiser was born and we tackled the unknown world of Tater and Nephrotic Syndrome. Four years of daily medicine. Four years of unknown illnesses. Four years of stress and worry and fear and frustration.



What is Nephrotic Syndrome?

• NS occurs when there is a malfunction in the kidney's filtering system causing valuable protein in the blood to leak into the urine. The leakage causes fluid to accumulate in the body and prolonged leakage has shown to cause kidney damage.

• About 5 out of 100,000 children are diagnosed each year. About 15 out of 100,000 are living with it today.

• 90% of patients will respond to treatment but 75% will relapse.

• NS can occur at any age but is most common between the ages of 1 1/2 and 5 years.

Taken from NephCure.

We've learned a lot. She's basically stabilized. She only relapses a few times a year...and we are able to quickly reverse it. She's had a few scary illnesses...and we all survived. She takes her medicine like a champ!

Unfortunately, there is little known about NS in children. Her specific type is referred to as "minimal change" which translate to a good prognosis...and hopeful cure as she matures. Notice I said "hopeful"...there is such a need for more research so we can learn more about this!

On October 17th, all five of us will be walking to raise money to support research and to help children like Tater. It makes us feel so good to help Tater, help others just like her, and give our friends and family a meaningful cause to help (hint...check the widget on the side!).

Stay tuned for updates and photos...and of course the classic House of Sprout stories that will occur without a doubt!

It's Only Wednesday????

The first full week of school is taking a toll on all of us!


Daddy is in full production in the plant at work this week...which means phone calls at all hours of the night and longs hours at work...which means less time at home with us!


I'm busy settling into a new school year, helping new students adapt, helping my own children adapt to the new schedule, and keeping up with our already busy schedule. Sleep is craved but hard to achieve!


Tater has slipped easily into kindergarten and loves the bus ride! She has started dance class and is looking forward to becoming a Daisy Girl Scout later this month. She is very tired and moody with all the changes and is dreading her first day of homework!


We thought Bruiser had settled back into school nicely...until today! He refused to get on the bus and I had to carry a screaming child onto the bus and climb off feeling like the worst mommy ever. Hopefully tomorrow will be a bit better. He has started therapy for his sensory issues and had an awesome session yesterday...he even tolerated the swing on his back for several minutes and he usually freaks out with this!


Sassy is being her normal sassy self! She has learned to climb...everything! Honestly, she has NO FEAR!!!! She also starts dance class this week and will actually be in the recital in June...how cute is that?!?


And...because we never seem to have enough going on!...we made a major new purchase for the girls today (weekend project!), made plans for another beach day this weekend, hope to get in some apple picking, and are planning for several weekend visits from out-of-state guests and a trip to Papa and Mimi's for us. I'm so tired just typing all this!


Now I'm off to finish more school stuff so I am ready for Open House on Monday night...where I have to be a parent and a teacher...not so sure how that's gonna happen!

Hope your week is a bit less stressful and a bit more peaceful!

First Dance Class of the Year and A Bit of Sassy!

Tater had her first dance class tonight...and posed for a picture right after.

And this is where I found Sassy after dinner when I left the room for two seconds!

Apples, Anyone?

Beaching It In September!

We love living near the ocean...and we love that we can head to the beach for an evening well into September! We felt the need for a bit of family time to ground us after a busy and exciting back-to-school week...so we headed off to our new favorite beach spot.

Daddy buried a few children!

There was some tic-tac-toe playing!

And some posing for the camera!

(Don't you love her new bikini? It's really meant for next summer!)

See how beautiful?

Can you understand why I never want to leave this beach?!?

Who Wants To Hear About Our First Day of School?

Tater and Bruiser headed off on separate buses to enjoy their first day at school! Both go in the afternoon, so I was able to go teach my kindergarten this morning, come home and put them on their respective buses and then head to Bruiser's school to watch him get off the bus. Daddy got to head over to Tater's school to see her...since I'm already a kindergarten expert! There was a bit of clinging but eventually Mommy and Daddy got to head out to lunch with just Sassy...which is a very rare treat!

Posing with Mama...it was my first day too!

Everyone had a very fun day and will be heading to bed very early...there are tired little bodies in this house!