Archives for August 2019

This summer we did a super fun and super easy craft project that the kids LOVED…like every kid…ages 12-4 adored this project and worked on them for a long time.  I saw the idea over on Kelle Hampton’s IG page and there was no tutorial because it’s really as simple as print a black and white photo of your kiddo on some cardstock and let them decorate and create with ALL THE THINGS!

We bought zero supples for this.  I simply snapped a quick photo of each child against one of our many white walls and then printed it in black and white.

(I died over Solomon’s.  Someone hire this kid stat.)

(The babies had a pointing finger theme going.)

The kids pulled out all our craft supplies and filled our table: beads, buttons, stickers, acrylic paint, watercolors, crayons, markers, colored pencils, glue, glitter, feathers, scrabble tiles, confetti, tissue paper, etc etc etc.  And then they all went to town creating.  These are indeed keepers.

It was THE MOST FUN!!!  I ended up printing additional photos for kiddos who wanted to do more.  I got in on the action too and did one of Leo because it was really really fun! I know I’ve already said it, but it deserves repeating this is crazy easy and crazy fun.  Crowd pleaser for sure.

Winter’s second attempt is what nightmares are made of. 🙂 

I immediately hung them all up in the kitchen and just this week took them down.  Leo was obsessed with his own creation…humble much :)…for a good long while.  Every time he paints now he requests a photo of himself.  And how ridiculously cute is the one Harper did of her and Audrey?!?!?  

So pull out those old supplies and get to crafting.  This could not get any easier!

1. Our “peace corner”.  We’ve been learning all there is to learn about Autism and best ways to help Leo.  Sensory issues are definitely high for Leo.  I get really angry inside when people don’t understand this…he doesn’t hit to be mean, he doesn’t bite to be mean, he doesn’t scream because he’s trying to be rude or bothersome, he doesn’t stomp his feet or jolt his body because he’s throwing a fit…he’s trying to meet his own sensory needs when he gets overwhelmed, over stimulated or excited.  And that’s okay.  We have been learning different ways to help Leo in those moments and after reading about a lot of different ways and techniques and tools we created what Hudson dubbed The Peace Corner.  It’s a comfy bean bag chair with a basket full of sensory tools to help Leo during those moments when he’s trying to meet his own sensory needs.  What was created to help mainly Leo, has actually helped us all.  Every kid and adult Kelley has been found chilling in this corner…some using tools from the basket, some wearing noise cancelling headphones, some taking a nap.  It has been beneficial for us all.

Noise Cancelling Headphones, Chew Necklace (just for Leo), Motion bubbler, Stress Balls, Fidget Cube, Stretchy Strings and Pinball Toy. (affiliate links)

2. ALL THE DOCTORS/THERAPY VISITS TOGETHER!  And I do mean, ALL OF THEM.  I will swear by us knowing the best in the business and we love all our teams.  They know who we are and they are totally okay with us just as we are.  All our regulars never made us feel like too much this summer and that was incredibly nice as we rolled into waiting room after waiting room as a party of 7.

3.  This print.  My friend Meredith sent it to me and I could not pick up a frame quick enough.  Now it’s sitting by our sink…another physical reminder of Everett…and of Meredith.  She’s literally one of my most favorite humans.

4.  Our rainbow balloon arch.  My friend Ashley taught me how to make balloon arches and then I couldn’t be stopped.  And by couldn’t be stopped, I really mean I made just one additional one. 🙂 But it was the very next day.  Since Leo would be headed to Mott middle of July and then Everett’s death anniversary and then his birthday I thought the house could use some bright colored balloon love.  And currently it’s still up because I love it so much!

5.  Sugar cones.  I mean, other than Leo’s world renowned heart surgeon and entire cardiology team 🙂 sugar cones were are real summertime MVP.

6.  Melon baller.  Harper bought this with her own money and why does balled melon taste way better than regular melon?!?!

7.  Wave Country‘s hot pretzel.  Coming in at a whopping $1 and an additional $1 if you want cheese sauce, I might recant my comment that the sugar cone was the real MVP of our summer.

8.  Leo’s ankle braces.  As if we all thought Leo could not get any cuter, we were all collectively wrong.  The boy got some dinosaur printed ankle braces to help with his strengthening in his legs and feet and he’s soooo adorable in them.

9.  Amon’s red, white and blue 1/2 cast.  He got ALL the compliments and the 1/2 cast was waterproof and changed Amon’s summer mood instantly.  Freedom in the pool is life for this kid.

10.  Crayola Sidewalk Chalk We drew and drew and drew in our driveway this summer.  My favorite addition to our drawings were the kids chalk body outlines…hilarious and disturbing all at the same time.  Long live the sidewalk chalk!

11.  New rainbow wall in our neighborhood.  Maybe my top favorite photos from the summer.  Thank you rainbow wall and sweaty, hot, adorable Kelley children.

12.  Slushies and Icees.  No other words are needed.

13.  Rainbow bunting lights.  Fun Ashley sent these to the kids and Winter immediately made them her own making her entire life forever and ever amen.  Every night she turns them on and we have burned through 537 batteries in two months time.

14.  Ellsworth Kelly stamps.  Come on now.  Has there ever been a more perfect stamp?!?!  I think not.  Now if only Ellsworth would fix his last name because everyone knows Kelley has an extra E.

15.  Harper & her bestie Audrey.  These two are ridiculously sweet together.  They had a few weeks apart when they couldn’t see each other so they wrote each other a note for each day.  And then I died from the absolute sweetness & love that is their friendship.  Gah I love tween girls!!!

16.  Cypress & Rose Ointment.  I’m back with yet another oily combo I am loving!!  I roll some cypress under my eyes and then rub it in with some rose ointment and I really really really love it!  It makes my eyes brighter and feel more awake…plus the smell is amazing.  I’m technically a Young Living distributor, but really signed up so me and my friends could get the discount and don’t push selling them, but again, if you need some help with them, hit me up.

And 17.  Sandy’s Amazing Chocolate Chunk Cookie.  I don’t want to be overly dramatic about this one, but I dare say this is the best cholocate chip cookie I’ve ever had.  My friend Aimee sent me one while we were in Michigan and I then proceeded to re-order this cooke 4 additional times.  It is AMAZING!!!  And it has little pieces of salted pretzel and cream cheese and giant chocolate chunks and just THE BEST!!  Someone local tell me if they have seen these in Nashville STAT!

Since this space serves as a virtual scrapbook for our family, I’m still trying to play catch-up from summer and Leo’s surgery kind of sucking me into a time warp.  Before Leo’s surgery date we tried to line up fun things we knew we wanted to do, but also knew couldn’t be done while Leo was recovering and healing.  Holiday World was at the top of everyone’s list.  Last year we took just the bigs to do something fun on a hard day and this year we took everyone.  We thought about seeing if someone could watch Leo, but then realized we just wanted to all be together so why not.

Holiday World is this delightful weirdo amusement park in Santa Claus, IN.  The park is divided up into Christmas, 4th of July, Halloween and Thanksgiving themes with corresponding themed rides and characters.  There are also themed places to eat and matching themed snacks for the holidays.  It is the weirdest/best!!!!  So want a full on Thanksgiving meal with the works, head over to Thanksgiving.  Who doesn’t want a turkey leg, stuffing, mashed potatoes and green bean casserole in 97 degree heat?!?!?!

They also have a water park called Splash and Safari which is safari themed…very confusing. 🙂  But seriously, it’s so fun and so delightful and you get free soft drinks all day long and free sunscreen.  There is also something for everyone…even tiny Leo with his busted up little heart at the time.

Josh Kelley and I took a super chill approach to this trip.  Zero stress.  Zero worries.  Just have fun.  And we did just that.

This year we packed lunch in a cooler and ate in their picnic area.  This saved us so much time and money.  We did let everyone pick out a fun sweet treat near the end of our time.  And Hudson got his first ever funnel cake.  Unbeknownst to Josh and myself, Hudson had never had one before.  Insert all the parental failure feelings.  How had this kid gone 10 & 3/4 years without trying a funnel cake?!?!?!

We had an absolute blast and plan on going back again next year.  We drove home exhausted and happy.  All the smiles for chill summer fun.  Until next year Holiday World.

So we are all still alive, but life is in full surge mode and shows no signs of slowing down.  Leo busted out of Mott on July 30th…to all our surprise…and then school started full time 5 DAYS LATER.  We have pretty much been in full on survival mode the last 15 days.  Josh Kelley and the kids came up on Monday the 29th for Everett’s birthday.  Our earlier attempt at getting the band back together was squashed when Amon and Winter started puking.  We were all crazy disappointed.  It was really hard being at Mott solo…sadness creeped in hard.  So once we didn’t have any vomit for a few days Josh and the kids made their second attempt to come up because we all really wanted to celebrate Everett’s birthday together.

Leo was soooooo excited he could not stand it.  I made the mistake of telling him far too ahead of time.  He gets “stuck” on ideas…things he’s excited about…and then won’t talk about anything else and also gets ticked periodically because the thing is not happening right then.  So I fielded lots and lots of conversations about seeing his people all day long.

Leo got his chest tubes pulled that morning so it was the perfect way to welcome in Shuai’s 6th birthday.  2 weeks was enough for Leo and his chest tubes and no one was sad to see them go.  Instantly he was like a different kid.  Nothing could keep him in that bed and he was on the go.  He finally wanted to play and move about where before he mostly just wanted to stay in his bed.  A new kid and I was so glad to watch him soar.

When the rest of our crew arrived Leo lost his mind.  He was so excited to see everyone and everyone was so excited to see him.  The big kids had especially been worried about him and I can’t tell you how nice it was to be able to send them good reports.  Last time was so different and trauma is very real so you can imagine how hard and good it was to be able to tell them how well Leo was doing.  Everett never came home and everyone carries that so uniquely and walking this same road with a different outcome was incredibly hard, but also we were all incredibly relieved.

We celebrated Everett together and felt loved on all day by those who remembered with us.  A kind new friend Elizabeth who lives in Michigan brought us the sweetest, biggest bag of goodies.  I cried like a giant lady baby.  I immediately hung up the rainbow banner and streamers along with our birthday banner Josh brought from home.  The kids were covered in all her goodie sweetness and we all loved the delicious Le Detroit Macarons along with our nurses.  We are good sharers. 😉

Courtney made sure Everett’s grave had birthday balloons and Ashley, Alissa and Leah made sure we had cookies and cake to celebrate with.  My bestie Ashley sent Leo birthday balloons and the biggest treat basket ever.  They each made us feel seen and loved and they remembered our son on what should have been his 6th birthday.  They remembered us on what is a very painful day.

Grief Sidenote:  People send me messages often asking how they can walk with a family member or friend through grief.  One of the most simple and impactful things you can do for a grieving family member or friend is to simply remember.  One of my greatest fears as Everett’s mom is that he will be forgotten…that he will disappear from people’s stories. When others remember him and us it breathes life into our weary hearts.  So pull out your calendar and mark all those special days that will forever be different for them (ex: birthdays & adoption days, the day the loved one died, holidays, etc)…or on any random day…and then remember with them.  Send a card or text or email.  Send flowers or dinner or treats.  Do something no matter how big or small to tell them they are seen and remembered and their loved one is not forgotten.  Scouts honor: It means the world.  End Sidenote.

Leo’s team at Mott was incredible and because Leo did so well with his chest tubes out they decided to try and expedite us out of there.  Tuesday morning they scheduled his echo, chest x-ray, EKG and bloodwork for crazy early in hopes of being able to send us all back to Tennessee together.  Everything came back great and by 2pm Leo was strapped into his carseat and the back of our car was busting with balloons.  Mott is special…Leo’s surgeon and team are special…I will say that over and over again.  Just like Everett’s were.  When Natalie, Leo’s nurse practitioner, came by she and I cried.  This was such a different outcome from last time.  We were actually going to walk out of this place with our child in our arms and that will never ever be lost on any of us Kelleys.  And Mott loved us so well through both outcomes.

As we drove away from the hospital we all cheered and Hudson took roll-call.  I was relieved and thrilled and beyond sad and devastated.  Everett had should have had this too.  We all knew who was missing and how every kiddo and family deserves to leave hospitals together.  I’ll never understand the opposite…it will never be explained by words…it will never be okay or how it was meant to be.  I carried Everett close…I carried Toby who is still fighting so hard and his sweet mama Amanda close…I carried Meredith who has walked this same route far too many times close.  We hold so tightly to one another and hold each other close in our hearts and minds choosing to never forget one another’s losses and fights.  It took all day, but we gladly drove late into the night to be back in our home together.  To bring Leo back home…healing and thriving just as it should be for every child.  And when it’s not, there are no good words.

At one point on our drive a rainbow flashed across the sky and we all lost our minds.  Josh pointed it out quickly getting the kids’ attention so they could all see it.  I cried.  It was the sweetest reminder of our FuShuai.  From Everett’s death has come opened eyes and hearts, love and compassion and a whole lot of jaded hope.  And honestly, I never want to lose it.  Two whole weeks back home.  Welcome home Leo boy!

BONUS:  Winter lost her first tooth on the drive home.  Come really close Time. (Insert throat punch.)