Week in Review: Not Scoliosis, Not Short Ships, Not School Already?

Declan had two appointments on the same day last week, one with a pediatric orthopedist at Boston Children's for potential scoliosis, and one with the orthodontist to get braces.  I was at work, so Phil brought him to the first appointment, where the doctor examined Declan and decided he did not have scoliosis, just very tight hamstrings that were making his hips uneven and one knee turn in a bit.  This diagnosis made sense since Phil and I both have very tight hamstrings, and I also have the hip issue.

  After talking about our family, the business, etc. she suggested Declan do stretches at home instead of having to take him to physical therapy and she would re-evaluate him in 6 months (we love a doctor who "gets" us).  The stretch is very simple and Phil and I are doing it with Declan (and Brendan, also genetically tight) each night while praying the rosary.  Basically we just have to sit with our legs stretched out in front of us, push our bums all the way back to the wall, sit up straight and breathe/pray through the pain for tenish minutes.  It's so sad how inflexible and tight we are.

Phil had some time to kill in between appointments, so he brought Declan to get Five Guys for lunch. 

Feeling Fine

 Declan took a few bites, said he felt sick and then threw up a few minutes later.  Phil drove to the orthodontist office and Declan threw up again (into a bag in the car).  Phil walked in and told them what was happening, and they asked if it was possibly a case of nerves?  Nope.  Declan was actually really excited to get braces.  So they rescheduled the appointment for a week later and Phil drove the 50 minutes home (we do have orthodontists that are closer but we love the one we use).

The night before the new braces appointment, Declan felt like his nose was stuffy and said he was getting a cold and was worried how they would put the braces on if he couldn't breathe through his nose.  I gave his some Airborne gummies and he told me he was going to pray a rosary in bed to help feel better.  The next morning he woke up saying it had worked and he was all better and ready for braces!  Phil and Declan drove up with some ice cream treats for the office staff, and they turned my little boy into a preteen:

A coworker of mine has been raving about a gym she goes to near my house, and they had a 28 Day Pass for $28 so I have been trying it out.  I do the Strength classes at 6:15am and I am loving them!  I won't join once the 28 days are over though, because I can't attend class at this time once I have to drive the kids to school, and also a monthly membership costs $120.  I'll keep my YMCA family membership thankyouverymuch.

I guess this old lady can wake up at 5:45!

I try NOT to do the Sweat Strength classes because while I don't mind sweating during a workout (actually love a good sweat), I do mind a hot room...but sometimes it's the only class that fits my schedule and I slip around and it's gross:

Taking a picture to show Phil how gross I am but he just laughs because he sweats ten times more than me.

There is something soooooo nice about being done with the workout by 7, walking the dog a mile, showering and heading to work feeling like I won the day already.  Will this turn me into an early morning worker-outer?  We shall see if it sticks!

Phil made Beef Bulgogi one night with coconut rice and YUMMO I could eat this very often, but the flank steak is so pricey so it's a sometimes treat:

The Canada wildfires turned our Massachusetts skies very eery for a couple days:

We had Messi Sundaes (literally just messy sundaes)  to celebrate the final World Cup game:

Maggie received another scholarship from a non-profit in town, and it was the most awkward luncheon cookout she and I had to attend.  Nobody talked to us and we sat on our own like the introverts we are.  We skedaddled as soon as they presented her with a check, grateful for the moolah and happy to be out of there.

Maggie has also been attending graduation parties and hanging out with friends as much as possible between working at The Cottage and babysitting gigs:

Too bad these Maggies, besties since Freshman year, are heading off to different colleges :(

On Sunday morning, Phil and I were walking Lucy down to the Fort as usual, and there were so many people around that we were like "what the heck is going on?" and then we saw the Portuguese Tall Ship out on the ocean coming towards the harbor.  We called the kids to come down because it was such a cool sight to watch it sail through our town's hurricane barrier:

Then we saw a deer on our way home:

And Phil saw another deer while taking the boys to the park.  

Deers - they're everyweers.

You know your kids are probably too old for playgrounds when this is how they play on the equipment:

There's been multiple-times-a-week library visits for the littles, and this one had a puppet show area, so Xander and Declan put on a show for Brendan.  Seems like a sweet sight, but knowing these brothers, I'm sure there was a lot of bodily humor and fighting involved in the story line :)

Anytime that I take off the tablecloth to wash, this happens:

Andrew and Eamon made good on their Father's Day gift by taking Phil golfing this week:

Andrew travelled to Ohio for another friend's wedding, where he was a groomsman, and got to reunite with his girlfriend for a few days:

Da Boyz

Andrew and Karolina.  This photo reminds me of the song Little Moments by Brad Paisley.

A church built by Karolina's mom on their property in Virginia!

I had to drop something off at The Cottage, and caught two of our loyal customers heading out.  The husband wheels his wife from the nursing home, feeds her ice cream and then wheels her back.  They are such a beautiful witness of true love, and even inspired Maggie to write a college essay about them:

Anyway *sniffs, wipes eyes* let's change the subject.  

Here's a photo of some workers getting a scoop that fell behind the dipping cabinet that made me laugh.  Our workers are the best and make fun videos of the Cottage Crew behind the scenes on TikTok.

Phil, Eamon and I saw The Odyssey in the theater on the cheap night, and it was good!  I had to cover my eyes for a few violent battles and also a really weird scene involving pigs, so just beware.  Lots of big actors in this one, and Christopher Nolan is one of our favorite directors, so we knew it was going to be a winner.

Today JP is driving back to Pittsburgh because his 2nd year of med school starts Monday.  Dang this summer flew by!  Gotta make some plans to check off our summer to-do list pronto!  Have a wonderful weekend everybody!