The First Week

Last Monday was the last day of school. It was also the middle of my HC's first week at his new job. He really likes it, but the 45 minute commute is pretty rough. So he's gone for 12 hours, sometimes more, depending on required overtime, like a call at the last minute. But he did see a moose. I didn't believe him at first, but then he whipped out the camera phone. It was blurry, sort of like those pictures of Sasquatch. You can sort of tell what it is if someone tells you first, but the "moose" looked like a cross between a deer and a horse. He promises that it really was and said it was a female and he suspected a newborn in the bushes, but being someone who enjoyed life, he decided to observe from a distance. What a smart guy.
Erin had another virus that kept us from doing her entire allergy testing. My HC also had to go back to the doc for another physical, since a letter was required. Then it was back to the allergist on Wednesday for Erin's followup and Ian's blood tests. Ian was a trooper and did great. All the nurses said how well he did. I guess they get a lot of screaming and hysterics. He cried a little, but the stickers and sucker and post-visit Hot Wheel from Walmart worked its magic. We find out the results at our next visit. Erin is on her no milk/wheat/egg diet for 6 months. At the end of that, she might go on a rotation type diet where she can have one item every 4 days. Taken in small doses, she may build a resistance to it. He also cautioned us to be aware of the development of more allergies, like rice and potatoes. I refuse to think about that. If we have to do without much more, we'll be stick figures.
As it is, we got a cookbook called "Sophie-Safe Cooking" by Emily Hendrix. She grinds up oats in a chopper and makes her own oat flour. Then you can make muffins and pancakes and cornbread. Every recipe in this cookbook has been great so far, though we are still adjusting to the texture of oat flour. The porcupine meatballs are a raving favorite so far. And the apple muffins. The cookbook is "A Collection of Family Friendly Recipes that are Free of Milk, Eggs, Wheat, Soy, Peanuts, Tree Nuts, Fish and Shellfish." Perfect for us and such a gift from God! Try going for 2weeks with no carbs and you'll get it.
On Wednesday, we came home from the allergist in Tahlequah and went on The Great Road Trip of 2009. My HC had been summoned to Little Rock, AR to do the PT portion of the hiring process for the Arkansas State Police. They're like Troopers in other states, but they get to do more than just traffic. He had to report at 8am and do a jump, sit ups, pushups, a sprint and a 1.5 mile run. He passed with flying colors, though he does admit to having difficulty with the 24 situps. And he was pretty sore the next day. :)
Immediately following the run, they had to go inside to do a written test. We find out in about 4 weeks if he passed. If he does, it moves on to the next phase: Background Check. Then they contact everyone you've ever known (according to my HC) and ask them questions. He is nervous about this part.
ASP is hoping to be able to form an August academy. If not, the academy won't be until January (Aaah!). :(
It was a long drive home. It took about 4 hours, though who knows for sure since we stopped so often. There are gorgeous rest stops in Arkansas, though, for the record.
One even had a creek that we played in. And did I mention the Cracker Barrel at almost EVERY exit?! Oh yeah.
Living in Arkansas won't be so bad at ALL.
Friday we recovered. No one wanted to go anywhere.
Saturday was a workday and Ian had a party to go to; the fire chief's son turned 6 and had his party at the fire station. You should always have a healthy respect for invitations that say "Prepare to Get Wet". Water balloons and I'm not sure, but there may have been a fire hose involved.
I'm not sure because we dropped Ian off and stayed home to clean it because we had a showing!!!
And later that day, we had an offer. It was 10K below the asking price and with a lot of extra demands that we were supposed to pay for.
Today we counter-offered. We'll see how it goes. If it is successful, they want a June 30 closing date. Wa-hoo.
It's been a busy week.
Next week is the library program.
I regret that I don't have the blurry picture of the moose to share. Maybe I can convince my HC to email it to me. hehehe.