Ahem.
At the end I was able to snap just a couple of pictures while Sheri gave each of the students a rose.
Spencer did a great job, and we are so very proud of him!
Friday, November 30, 2012
Spencer's First Piano Recital
Tonight was Spencer's first piano recital. Here is a compilation of the pieces he played. There's probably a lot of noise and shaking in the background, but that's because Lance and I were wrestling with Tess and Cole, trying to keep them quiet. (Hard to do when the recital was during Tess's usual bedtime and Josh kept coming up to me every 2 minutes to see if it was time for cookies yet. No, Josh. No. It is not time for cookies during THE MIDDLE OF YOUR BROTHER'S SONG.)
Ahem.
At the end I was able to snap just a couple of pictures while Sheri gave each of the students a rose.
Spencer did a great job, and we are so very proud of him!
Ahem.
At the end I was able to snap just a couple of pictures while Sheri gave each of the students a rose.
Spencer did a great job, and we are so very proud of him!
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Thursday Randomness
Today I decided to try out a Christmas decoration idea I had seen on Pinterest.
I think it turned out pretty well! I really wish I had a bigger porch because I think it would look more dramatic, but that's okay. It took a good hour just to get those 6 strands up, mainly because it's hard to tie fishing line with cold hands all while a toddler is running around and getting into trouble like the crazy lunatic that he is. Now Lance just needs to get the Christmas lights up and we'll be all set outside. (Hint hint, Lance.)
True story: I don't really like shatter proof ornaments because I don't like the seams on them and they're just not as pretty. But I decided to used that kind for this project because I thought they'd withstand the weather better. I had put the box of ornaments on the railing while working on this project. Cole, of course, pushed the box over at some point and all of the ornaments fell down into the rock bed below. Not a single ornament broke. Amazing.
***********
Cole has decided he doesn't want to wear a coat anymore. Ever. It's generally around 35 degrees in the morning when we go run errands, so while it's not nearly as cold as it's gonna get, it's still pretty chilly. I've pretty much decided not to fight him on this because it's just not worth it. I figure he'll put the dang coat on when it gets cold enough.
However, I got some looks from random people today and decided that maybe I should try to get him to wear his coat. First I used Santa. (As in, Santa doesn't bring toys to naughty little boys!) That didn't work. Then I used logic. (You're shivering and your teeth are chattering. Put your coat on and get warm!) Of course that didn't work. So then I lied. I told him that if a policeman saw him without his coat on then I would get in trouble. This gave him pause. He seriously contemplated this predicament. And then he refused his coat.
We'll see who's refusing a coat come the first cold snap.
***********
The kids all looked like shaggy dogs, so it was time for haircuts tonight. You can't really see it in this picture, but Spencer has hair all over him. Josh took one look at him and said "You look like Daddy!", to which I replied, "No, Daddy is a lot hairier." Josh found this delightfully amusing. I don't think Lance did.
***********
As I was packing lunches this evening I asked Josh if he wanted Chex Mix in his lunch. He asked "Is it homemade or from the store?"
"From the store."
"Then yes."
In his defense, I made homemade Chex Mix a few weeks ago, but accidentally used soy sauce instead of Worcestershire sauce. Oops. I mean, it wasn't terrible, but there was definitely something off about it. I only had a handful or two and was done. But the boys ate all of it, so what's that say about them and their taste? Exactly.
***********
In order to bribe the boys into being good for hair cuts I offered them some eggnog. But then I had a wonderful idea. A terribly, wonderfully, awfully great idea: eggnog ice cream. I mean, eggnog from the carton is basically just ice cream base: cream, sugar, eggs, nogginess. So I poured it directly into the ice cream maker and 30 minutes later we had a little taste of heaven. Seriously, so good.
True story: growing up, we always poured Black Cherry Shasta into our eggnog. It sounds weird but it is SOOO good! It was a sad sad day when we moved to Indiana and realized they didn't sell Shasta, or any other black cherry soda. So we've had to use Cherry 7-Up instead, which is good but just not quite as good.
I think it turned out pretty well! I really wish I had a bigger porch because I think it would look more dramatic, but that's okay. It took a good hour just to get those 6 strands up, mainly because it's hard to tie fishing line with cold hands all while a toddler is running around and getting into trouble like the crazy lunatic that he is. Now Lance just needs to get the Christmas lights up and we'll be all set outside. (Hint hint, Lance.)
True story: I don't really like shatter proof ornaments because I don't like the seams on them and they're just not as pretty. But I decided to used that kind for this project because I thought they'd withstand the weather better. I had put the box of ornaments on the railing while working on this project. Cole, of course, pushed the box over at some point and all of the ornaments fell down into the rock bed below. Not a single ornament broke. Amazing.
***********
Cole has decided he doesn't want to wear a coat anymore. Ever. It's generally around 35 degrees in the morning when we go run errands, so while it's not nearly as cold as it's gonna get, it's still pretty chilly. I've pretty much decided not to fight him on this because it's just not worth it. I figure he'll put the dang coat on when it gets cold enough.
However, I got some looks from random people today and decided that maybe I should try to get him to wear his coat. First I used Santa. (As in, Santa doesn't bring toys to naughty little boys!) That didn't work. Then I used logic. (You're shivering and your teeth are chattering. Put your coat on and get warm!) Of course that didn't work. So then I lied. I told him that if a policeman saw him without his coat on then I would get in trouble. This gave him pause. He seriously contemplated this predicament. And then he refused his coat.
We'll see who's refusing a coat come the first cold snap.
***********
The kids all looked like shaggy dogs, so it was time for haircuts tonight. You can't really see it in this picture, but Spencer has hair all over him. Josh took one look at him and said "You look like Daddy!", to which I replied, "No, Daddy is a lot hairier." Josh found this delightfully amusing. I don't think Lance did.
***********
As I was packing lunches this evening I asked Josh if he wanted Chex Mix in his lunch. He asked "Is it homemade or from the store?"
"From the store."
"Then yes."
In his defense, I made homemade Chex Mix a few weeks ago, but accidentally used soy sauce instead of Worcestershire sauce. Oops. I mean, it wasn't terrible, but there was definitely something off about it. I only had a handful or two and was done. But the boys ate all of it, so what's that say about them and their taste? Exactly.
***********
In order to bribe the boys into being good for hair cuts I offered them some eggnog. But then I had a wonderful idea. A terribly, wonderfully, awfully great idea: eggnog ice cream. I mean, eggnog from the carton is basically just ice cream base: cream, sugar, eggs, nogginess. So I poured it directly into the ice cream maker and 30 minutes later we had a little taste of heaven. Seriously, so good.
The Boy Who Earned Wolf
Spencer earned his Wolf badge at last night's Cub Scout Pack Meeting. Usually Lance goes to Pack Meeting because he's the Cub Committee Chairperson in our ward, but since he was out of town I got to go. With all four kids. It was about as fun as that sounds.
When we first sat down Tess started freaking out. I couldn't figure out what was wrong with her. Did she want her milk? A toy? A snack?
No. She wanted to sit on the chairs all by herself.
Then she kept kicking one of her shoes off, which really bugged Kinley (a little girl in our ward).
Here's Spencer getting his Wolf. I think moms are supposed to go up there with the boys, but I don't think the leaders knew that and I was too busy wrestling Cole.
Spencer was pretty proud of himself. And he should be!
Now I get to sew another patch onto his shirt. And we all know how much I love that.
When we first sat down Tess started freaking out. I couldn't figure out what was wrong with her. Did she want her milk? A toy? A snack?
No. She wanted to sit on the chairs all by herself.
Then she kept kicking one of her shoes off, which really bugged Kinley (a little girl in our ward).
Here's Spencer getting his Wolf. I think moms are supposed to go up there with the boys, but I don't think the leaders knew that and I was too busy wrestling Cole.
Spencer was pretty proud of himself. And he should be!
Now I get to sew another patch onto his shirt. And we all know how much I love that.
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Getting In The Spirit
I was feeling a little grinchy until Weird Al's "Christmas At Ground Zero" came on my playlist. A few favorite lyrics?
"Everywhere the atom bombs are dropping
It's the end of all humanity
No more time for last-minute shopping
It's time to face your final destiny"
-and-
"You might hear some reindeer on your rooftop
Or Jack Frost on your windowsill
But if someone's climbing down your chimney
You better load your gun and shoot to kill"
Oh Mr. Yankovic, you are truly the greatest wordsmith of our time.
I'm beginning to think that growing up with just two younger brothers kinda messed me up.
"Everywhere the atom bombs are dropping
It's the end of all humanity
No more time for last-minute shopping
It's time to face your final destiny"
-and-
"You might hear some reindeer on your rooftop
Or Jack Frost on your windowsill
But if someone's climbing down your chimney
You better load your gun and shoot to kill"
Oh Mr. Yankovic, you are truly the greatest wordsmith of our time.
I'm beginning to think that growing up with just two younger brothers kinda messed me up.
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Early Christmas Present
There are some Christmas presents that simply have to be opened and used before Christmas. (Such as the new, super-awesome kitchen appliance from Dad and Susie that is sitting in my closet as we speak. I haven't opened... yet. But it is so very tempting...)
Anywho, I found this darling coat on sale at Target the other day and immediately knew that Tess had to have it. Yes, had to. I mean, it's bright red, covered in ruffles, and has a flower! Had. To.
I had every intention of saving it for Christmas, but on Sunday I couldn't bear putting her in her old and comparatively ugly parka while she was wearing her cute church dress. So I pulled it out and she squealed in delight and hugged it immediately and I knew I had made a wise choice.
I tried to get a good picture of her in her coat today, but she didn't want to have anything to do with holding still. Or keeping her barrette in her hair, in case you're wondering what she's doing.
Oh, and excuse her lovely red face. As she's learning to walk she keeps bonking her face into things. And, just like my other kids, she gets weird rashes and such when the weather turns cold and dry. Poor kiddo.
Lance is out of town right now, which means I have very little incentive to make dinner since he's the only one who doesn't protest my cooking or throw food at me. So I took the brood down to McCallister's for dinner tonight. (Even though the kids all voted for McDonald's we went where I wanted to go because 1) my vote is worth 5 votes, 2) I was the one driving, and 3) I'm the one with the money.) I ordered my very favorite sandwich, the Orange Cranberry Club (heaven!) with a side of macaroni and cheese with the idea that Tess would eat that. No dice. As soon as my attention was diverted to helping the boys with their dinners she grabbed part of my sandwich - including a good portion of the turkey and half the bread - and gobbled it up, cranberry sauce and all. Apparently Tess has very mature tastes, as she fussed and whined about me not giving her the rest of my meal.
She then charmed the staff by chair dancing to the Christmas music blasting in the restaurant and stealing her brothers' sodas and taking large gulps. This earned us a free giant chocolate chip cookie, which won her the respect and admiration of her brothers.
Anywho, I found this darling coat on sale at Target the other day and immediately knew that Tess had to have it. Yes, had to. I mean, it's bright red, covered in ruffles, and has a flower! Had. To.
I had every intention of saving it for Christmas, but on Sunday I couldn't bear putting her in her old and comparatively ugly parka while she was wearing her cute church dress. So I pulled it out and she squealed in delight and hugged it immediately and I knew I had made a wise choice.
I tried to get a good picture of her in her coat today, but she didn't want to have anything to do with holding still. Or keeping her barrette in her hair, in case you're wondering what she's doing.
Oh, and excuse her lovely red face. As she's learning to walk she keeps bonking her face into things. And, just like my other kids, she gets weird rashes and such when the weather turns cold and dry. Poor kiddo.
Lance is out of town right now, which means I have very little incentive to make dinner since he's the only one who doesn't protest my cooking or throw food at me. So I took the brood down to McCallister's for dinner tonight. (Even though the kids all voted for McDonald's we went where I wanted to go because 1) my vote is worth 5 votes, 2) I was the one driving, and 3) I'm the one with the money.) I ordered my very favorite sandwich, the Orange Cranberry Club (heaven!) with a side of macaroni and cheese with the idea that Tess would eat that. No dice. As soon as my attention was diverted to helping the boys with their dinners she grabbed part of my sandwich - including a good portion of the turkey and half the bread - and gobbled it up, cranberry sauce and all. Apparently Tess has very mature tastes, as she fussed and whined about me not giving her the rest of my meal.
She then charmed the staff by chair dancing to the Christmas music blasting in the restaurant and stealing her brothers' sodas and taking large gulps. This earned us a free giant chocolate chip cookie, which won her the respect and admiration of her brothers.
Monday, November 26, 2012
Thanksgiving
Once again another Thanksgiving has come and gone, and once again I have failed at documenting any of it photographically.
Okay, not entirely true. I got a few shots here and there. Mostly of the decor, though, because when our guests were here I was far too busy gabbing and stuffing my face.
That's what Thanksgiving is all about, people. (Don't judge me.)
Thanksgiving day was BEAUTIFUL! Seriously, it was in the mid-60's. I was very tempted to have us eat outside, but there were some pretty strong gusts of wind. Instead, I kicked the kids out of the house and forced them to play outside for a few hours that morning. Because I'm wicked mean like that. (At least according to them...)
And that's pretty much the only picture I got of my kids that day. I didn't even get one of Tess. Because I'm cool like that.
I can't even blame it on all the cooking I was doing because I wasn't really even doing all that much cooking. We decided to break with tradition this year and have a ham instead of a turkey, mainly because everyone likes ham better than turkey, and I already had a 9 pound ham in my freezer that I had picked up on clearance at Aldi's a few months ago for only $5. FIVE DOLLARS. (Originally somewhere in the area of $15-20.) I warmed the ham in the crock pot, which made it taste very good, but frankly, any ham that you can get for FIVE DOLLARS is going to taste pretty great.
Anyways. This year I tried to decorate a little for the big feast. Three dollars worth of burlap and random leaves and apples I found around the house, and viola! Feasty festive.
I also went a little crazy with banners, mainly because I kept making them and couldn't decide which I liked best, so I hung them all up because Thanksgiving is about abundance.
I didn't design the "Give Thanks" banner - I found it on Pinterest. But it gave me the inspiration I needed for the others!
You probably can't really see this one, which is too bad because I think I liked it best. It says "Family Friends Food".
The Happy Thanksgiving banner graced our art gallery. I told you there would be one!
This one's hard to see as well. It says Count Your Blessings and has fancy swirls at the tops and bottoms. Trust me, it's cute.
This year my cousin Brad and his wife Shanna and son Landon came out from Peoria again. We are so glad they came! Not glad enough to take any pictures of them, but still. Our Hoosier family, the Souths, also joined us. Paul just finished defending his thesis, so this could very well be our last Thanksgiving with them. Ridiculous. I refuse to acknowledge or think about this possibility.
True story: Landon is a crazy little dude. I love him to death because he's so darn entertaining. He did very toddlery things like push other kids down and steal toys and such. No biggie there. But he also liked to take on bigger kids, which shows some spunk, gumption, and a real lack of understanding the laws of physics. (As in, the bigger the kid is the harder they can push/hit back.) Poor Brad and Shanna have a Cole on their hands, as in no sort of punishment seems to do anything. (I KNOW how you feel, guys! Hang in there!)
On the plus side, he's dang cute. And he's not mean spirited - just a regular little boy. Also, he did actually listen to Spencer when Spencer got after him for something. So apparently Brad and Shanna need to find an eight year old kid in their area who would be willing to hang out at their house and reprimand Landon into behaving himself. I'm gonna look into getting one, too, since we all know Cole doesn't pay any sort of attention to Spencer. (Or anyone else, for that matter!)
Okay, not entirely true. I got a few shots here and there. Mostly of the decor, though, because when our guests were here I was far too busy gabbing and stuffing my face.
That's what Thanksgiving is all about, people. (Don't judge me.)
Thanksgiving day was BEAUTIFUL! Seriously, it was in the mid-60's. I was very tempted to have us eat outside, but there were some pretty strong gusts of wind. Instead, I kicked the kids out of the house and forced them to play outside for a few hours that morning. Because I'm wicked mean like that. (At least according to them...)
And that's pretty much the only picture I got of my kids that day. I didn't even get one of Tess. Because I'm cool like that.
I can't even blame it on all the cooking I was doing because I wasn't really even doing all that much cooking. We decided to break with tradition this year and have a ham instead of a turkey, mainly because everyone likes ham better than turkey, and I already had a 9 pound ham in my freezer that I had picked up on clearance at Aldi's a few months ago for only $5. FIVE DOLLARS. (Originally somewhere in the area of $15-20.) I warmed the ham in the crock pot, which made it taste very good, but frankly, any ham that you can get for FIVE DOLLARS is going to taste pretty great.
Anyways. This year I tried to decorate a little for the big feast. Three dollars worth of burlap and random leaves and apples I found around the house, and viola! Feasty festive.
I also went a little crazy with banners, mainly because I kept making them and couldn't decide which I liked best, so I hung them all up because Thanksgiving is about abundance.
I didn't design the "Give Thanks" banner - I found it on Pinterest. But it gave me the inspiration I needed for the others!
You probably can't really see this one, which is too bad because I think I liked it best. It says "Family Friends Food".
The Happy Thanksgiving banner graced our art gallery. I told you there would be one!
This one's hard to see as well. It says Count Your Blessings and has fancy swirls at the tops and bottoms. Trust me, it's cute.
This year my cousin Brad and his wife Shanna and son Landon came out from Peoria again. We are so glad they came! Not glad enough to take any pictures of them, but still. Our Hoosier family, the Souths, also joined us. Paul just finished defending his thesis, so this could very well be our last Thanksgiving with them. Ridiculous. I refuse to acknowledge or think about this possibility.
True story: Landon is a crazy little dude. I love him to death because he's so darn entertaining. He did very toddlery things like push other kids down and steal toys and such. No biggie there. But he also liked to take on bigger kids, which shows some spunk, gumption, and a real lack of understanding the laws of physics. (As in, the bigger the kid is the harder they can push/hit back.) Poor Brad and Shanna have a Cole on their hands, as in no sort of punishment seems to do anything. (I KNOW how you feel, guys! Hang in there!)
On the plus side, he's dang cute. And he's not mean spirited - just a regular little boy. Also, he did actually listen to Spencer when Spencer got after him for something. So apparently Brad and Shanna need to find an eight year old kid in their area who would be willing to hang out at their house and reprimand Landon into behaving himself. I'm gonna look into getting one, too, since we all know Cole doesn't pay any sort of attention to Spencer. (Or anyone else, for that matter!)
It was wild with all of the kids, but the food was tasty and plentiful. (Except the ham. Oh, it was tasty, but it was pretty much picked clean!) A big thanks to our family - both extended and Hoosiered - for being willing to spend Thanksgiving with us!
Saturday, November 24, 2012
It's a Small World After All
As any of you other Mormons know, the church makes the world an awfully small place. I was reminded of this today when I ran into my dear old friend, Ginger, at the Louisville Temple. Even though Ginger and her family only live about 90 minutes away from us, we haven't seen each other in years. (Although through the magic of blogging and email it really didn't feel like any time had passed!) So it was great to be able to chat, catch up, and have someone to sit next to during a session. Oh, and to find out that her oldest child remembered me because of my donuts. I'm totally okay with being remembered as the donut lady. :)
So during the three hour drive back home I thought a lot about all of the random people I have run into through church. One of the most memorable also happened at the temple. It was the week after my mom's funeral, and I was at the Salt Lake Temple with my ward's Relief Society. I had been in a bit of funk - for obvious reasons - and didn't really want to go that night. But I decided it was probably time to end my little pity party and get back to living life. I still remember the walk down to the temple. (Yes, we lived that close. It was so nice.) During the session I realized that one of my long-lost friends, Rachel, was there. Rachel and I had become especially good friends during our semester abroad at the BYU Jerusalem Center. However, we had lost touch while she served a mission. (This was pre-Facebook, people. I know, the stone ages.)
It was SO HARD to stay reverent when we finally met up in the Celestial room! I just remember hugging and crying and talking a mile a minute and just being so very, very grateful to our Heavenly Father for bringing us together again at just the perfect time! Over the next week we were able to meet up a few times and catch up; it was just what I needed.
The church also makes the world a really small place when you play the "do you know...?" game. You know, when you find out where someone is from and you know someone from there and so you ask if they know each other. Seriously, more often than not you can find someone you know it common. This happened a few weeks ago and the tri-ward mutual activity I was at. I was talking to the Young Women's president from the first ward. We had gotten to know each other a little before, and found out that she grew up in and her parents still lived in the same Stake that my Grandma Roper lives in. But that night we talked about where I grew up. As soon as I mentioned Fairfield, her eyes lit up and she asked me if I knew Emily so-and-so. Omigosh. TOTALLY! Emily and I were good buddies back in high school and she is still one of the coolest people I know! Turns out that she and Emily had become really good friends in college. I know it's not that weird, but still, what are the chances of one of Emily's good college friends moving to Indiana of all places and running into one of Emily's good high school friends?
A few months ago I found out that another person I had just met in our stake was the cousin of some friends of mine in Fairfield. I've also had cousins by marriage (my Uncle Jared's niece) and step-cousins by marriage (Susie's first husband's nephew) actually live in Lafayette for a while. I could go on and one, and I'm pretty sure that everyone reading this probably has similar stories. And if you're not Mormon, I bet you've played the "do you know..." game with your Mormon friends and have found someone in common. (And if you haven't, try it. It's fun!)
All of this just reinforces my current vision of what heaven must be like. Of course, assuming you and everyone else behaves themselves, you'll be in heaven with your family. That's one of our core doctrines, and I firmly believe it. But I think that you'll also have the chance to be with all of your oldest, dearest, and best friends. Your bestest friend forever from the 3rd grade? You'll totally have a chance to catch up with her. Those roommates from college who felt like sisters? They'll be there. That sister you got to know so well and love while working together on a big church calling? Of course she'll be there!
I guess my real point is this: it won't really be heaven unless your friends are there, too. Running into old friends is just a nice reminder of this, and the fact that I really need to work hard on living a good life so I won't be missed among all the joyful reunions that are sure to happen.
So during the three hour drive back home I thought a lot about all of the random people I have run into through church. One of the most memorable also happened at the temple. It was the week after my mom's funeral, and I was at the Salt Lake Temple with my ward's Relief Society. I had been in a bit of funk - for obvious reasons - and didn't really want to go that night. But I decided it was probably time to end my little pity party and get back to living life. I still remember the walk down to the temple. (Yes, we lived that close. It was so nice.) During the session I realized that one of my long-lost friends, Rachel, was there. Rachel and I had become especially good friends during our semester abroad at the BYU Jerusalem Center. However, we had lost touch while she served a mission. (This was pre-Facebook, people. I know, the stone ages.)
It was SO HARD to stay reverent when we finally met up in the Celestial room! I just remember hugging and crying and talking a mile a minute and just being so very, very grateful to our Heavenly Father for bringing us together again at just the perfect time! Over the next week we were able to meet up a few times and catch up; it was just what I needed.
The church also makes the world a really small place when you play the "do you know...?" game. You know, when you find out where someone is from and you know someone from there and so you ask if they know each other. Seriously, more often than not you can find someone you know it common. This happened a few weeks ago and the tri-ward mutual activity I was at. I was talking to the Young Women's president from the first ward. We had gotten to know each other a little before, and found out that she grew up in and her parents still lived in the same Stake that my Grandma Roper lives in. But that night we talked about where I grew up. As soon as I mentioned Fairfield, her eyes lit up and she asked me if I knew Emily so-and-so. Omigosh. TOTALLY! Emily and I were good buddies back in high school and she is still one of the coolest people I know! Turns out that she and Emily had become really good friends in college. I know it's not that weird, but still, what are the chances of one of Emily's good college friends moving to Indiana of all places and running into one of Emily's good high school friends?
A few months ago I found out that another person I had just met in our stake was the cousin of some friends of mine in Fairfield. I've also had cousins by marriage (my Uncle Jared's niece) and step-cousins by marriage (Susie's first husband's nephew) actually live in Lafayette for a while. I could go on and one, and I'm pretty sure that everyone reading this probably has similar stories. And if you're not Mormon, I bet you've played the "do you know..." game with your Mormon friends and have found someone in common. (And if you haven't, try it. It's fun!)
All of this just reinforces my current vision of what heaven must be like. Of course, assuming you and everyone else behaves themselves, you'll be in heaven with your family. That's one of our core doctrines, and I firmly believe it. But I think that you'll also have the chance to be with all of your oldest, dearest, and best friends. Your bestest friend forever from the 3rd grade? You'll totally have a chance to catch up with her. Those roommates from college who felt like sisters? They'll be there. That sister you got to know so well and love while working together on a big church calling? Of course she'll be there!
I guess my real point is this: it won't really be heaven unless your friends are there, too. Running into old friends is just a nice reminder of this, and the fact that I really need to work hard on living a good life so I won't be missed among all the joyful reunions that are sure to happen.
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Eiteljorg Field Trip
Today I went on a field trip with Spencer's class to the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians. But before we get to the museum, I just have to mention a few things about what went on in the classroom before we got on the bus.
First, kids who are going on a field trip are always SUPER excited. Seriously. Second, kids who say they don't need to go to the bathroom always need to - right when you're leaving. Third, kids are funny and love being able to talk to their friends' moms.
Fourth, my kids have mentioned that they listen to announcements every morning. What I didn't realize is that they are also watching the announcements. This is done, I'm assuming, through some sort of webcast software that the teacher connects to with her laptop and projector. This in itself was pretty impressive to me, because I still vividly remember the first time I went into a computer lab - in the SECOND GRADE. Apparently I went to school in the stone ages.
Anywho, the announcements started with Karen Carpenter's song "Sing" playing on, what sounded like to me, a record player. This tickled me for some reason; I mean, Karen Carpenter? Random.
*Side note: because I'm wicked, I totally wished they had been playing Karen Carpenter's "Superstar" instead. Yes, a rather inappropriate choice for grade schoolers, but then I totally would have sung along with it, much like in one of the best movies of all time. You know you were thinking it, too.
The principal (Dr. Schirack) and his vice principal (Mr. Ridenour?) are seated at a desk and they give the announcements and show pictures of the kids who have birthdays that day, which is pretty cool. The "acting" and the video quality were pretty, well, elementary, but it was all quite charming. This also tickled me, mainly because it reminded me of nothing so much as the morning announcements you could watch on tv on our cruise, and anything that reminds me of our cruise is good by me.
Anyways, we loaded up the bus and were on our way. I sat by Spencer and some kid who had some version of a Pokemon encyclopedia, which means the entire 90 minute bus ride consisted of Pokemon. We won't go much into detail on that because I'd rather forget it all.
The first thing we did at the museum was learn about Native Americans from a real Native American artist. He was a professional stone sculptor, so of course we... painted cornucopias. Yeah, I didn't get it either. I mean, we didn't even get to see any of his work. But whatever. Here's Spencer's cornucopia:
And here's mine:
Both will be on display in the Madsen Museum of Thanksgiving Art Done at School exhibit in our basement for the next week or so.
Then we went on a guided tour of some of the museum. Our tour guide was awesome for two reasons: 1) he really knew his stuff, and 2) he was from New Jersey and had the accent to prove it. Talk about a disconnect with the surroundings. However, I really liked him. For one thing, you could tell he was really passionate about the museum and teaching the kids. For another, you could tell he had picked up a bunch of kid "lingo" and he liked to use it. (Like "OMG" and "Cool" and whatnot.) He also told jokes that the kids didn't get but the adults did, which is always a winner in my book.
I'm not sure why, but Spencer insisted that I take a bunch of pictures. And since I know how interesting pictures of a museum you've probably never been to before are, I'll make this brief.
Here's a 34 foot tall, 2600 pound totem pole. It was pretty impressive.
Here's Spencer holding the vertebrae of a whale. It was big. Oh, and there's our guide.
Here are the kids beating a caribou drum. Sorry the pictures are funny - no flash photography.
Learning about the arctic Native Americans. There's Mrs. Wright in the background. She was Spencer's Kindergarten teacher, but today she was just another mom.
Here's a wigwam. It's semi-permanent and made of birch, so don't mistake it for a teepee, which is very portable and made of hides.
Spencer working on building a miniature teepee.
There's a teepee. I kinda doubt they were made of canvas, but it looks nice. A bit drafty, but nice. (Makes me thankful for my bed and house and all I have!)
The museum had a "Jingle Rails" display. Artists had made small replicas of different Native American sites around the country and then put electric trains with them. It was all very well done and pretty interesting. Here's Yellowstone lodge.
After a bite to eat and the obligatory trip to the gift shop, it was time to head home. I earned mother of the year points by letting Spencer play Angry Birds Star Wars on my phone while I dozed.
First, kids who are going on a field trip are always SUPER excited. Seriously. Second, kids who say they don't need to go to the bathroom always need to - right when you're leaving. Third, kids are funny and love being able to talk to their friends' moms.
Fourth, my kids have mentioned that they listen to announcements every morning. What I didn't realize is that they are also watching the announcements. This is done, I'm assuming, through some sort of webcast software that the teacher connects to with her laptop and projector. This in itself was pretty impressive to me, because I still vividly remember the first time I went into a computer lab - in the SECOND GRADE. Apparently I went to school in the stone ages.
Anywho, the announcements started with Karen Carpenter's song "Sing" playing on, what sounded like to me, a record player. This tickled me for some reason; I mean, Karen Carpenter? Random.
*Side note: because I'm wicked, I totally wished they had been playing Karen Carpenter's "Superstar" instead. Yes, a rather inappropriate choice for grade schoolers, but then I totally would have sung along with it, much like in one of the best movies of all time. You know you were thinking it, too.
The principal (Dr. Schirack) and his vice principal (Mr. Ridenour?) are seated at a desk and they give the announcements and show pictures of the kids who have birthdays that day, which is pretty cool. The "acting" and the video quality were pretty, well, elementary, but it was all quite charming. This also tickled me, mainly because it reminded me of nothing so much as the morning announcements you could watch on tv on our cruise, and anything that reminds me of our cruise is good by me.
Anyways, we loaded up the bus and were on our way. I sat by Spencer and some kid who had some version of a Pokemon encyclopedia, which means the entire 90 minute bus ride consisted of Pokemon. We won't go much into detail on that because I'd rather forget it all.
The first thing we did at the museum was learn about Native Americans from a real Native American artist. He was a professional stone sculptor, so of course we... painted cornucopias. Yeah, I didn't get it either. I mean, we didn't even get to see any of his work. But whatever. Here's Spencer's cornucopia:
And here's mine:
Both will be on display in the Madsen Museum of Thanksgiving Art Done at School exhibit in our basement for the next week or so.
Then we went on a guided tour of some of the museum. Our tour guide was awesome for two reasons: 1) he really knew his stuff, and 2) he was from New Jersey and had the accent to prove it. Talk about a disconnect with the surroundings. However, I really liked him. For one thing, you could tell he was really passionate about the museum and teaching the kids. For another, you could tell he had picked up a bunch of kid "lingo" and he liked to use it. (Like "OMG" and "Cool" and whatnot.) He also told jokes that the kids didn't get but the adults did, which is always a winner in my book.
I'm not sure why, but Spencer insisted that I take a bunch of pictures. And since I know how interesting pictures of a museum you've probably never been to before are, I'll make this brief.
Here's a 34 foot tall, 2600 pound totem pole. It was pretty impressive.
Here's Spencer holding the vertebrae of a whale. It was big. Oh, and there's our guide.
Here are the kids beating a caribou drum. Sorry the pictures are funny - no flash photography.
Learning about the arctic Native Americans. There's Mrs. Wright in the background. She was Spencer's Kindergarten teacher, but today she was just another mom.
Here's a wigwam. It's semi-permanent and made of birch, so don't mistake it for a teepee, which is very portable and made of hides.
Spencer working on building a miniature teepee.
There's a teepee. I kinda doubt they were made of canvas, but it looks nice. A bit drafty, but nice. (Makes me thankful for my bed and house and all I have!)
The museum had a "Jingle Rails" display. Artists had made small replicas of different Native American sites around the country and then put electric trains with them. It was all very well done and pretty interesting. Here's Yellowstone lodge.
And here's Spencer in front of a teeny-tiny Old Faithful.
After a bite to eat and the obligatory trip to the gift shop, it was time to head home. I earned mother of the year points by letting Spencer play Angry Birds Star Wars on my phone while I dozed.
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice
This morning I decided to let Tess have some fun and pull out shirts from her drawer. She could happily do this for hours. (And has.)
So I opened the drawer for her and she started to pull out one shirt at a time. After four or five she pulled out her pink monkey shirt. She held it up and gave a little squeal of delight as she hugged it to her chest. Then she brought it over to me and sat on my lap, letting me know that it was time to get dressed.
This girl clearly knew what she was looking for.
It took me half a second, but then I realized: Oh. My. Gosh. I have a girl!
*squeal of delight!*
Friday, November 16, 2012
Begging for Bedtime
Around 30 minutes before bedtime Cole asked me if he could go to sleep.
"You want to go to bed? Now?"
"Yes. I sleepy."
"Well, okay! Let's put you to bed!"
"No! Joshie bed!"
No matter what I tried, Cole could not be persuaded to go to bed without Josh.
"Well, why don't you go ask Joshie if he wants to go to bed?"
"Otay."
Cole then proceeded to beg and plead with his brothers to go to bed early.
"Pwease! It's time for bed! You go to bed now! I sleepy and it's time for bed! Pwease, Joshie, turn off the compooter and go to sleep. PWEASE! NOW!"
It was the most amusing, pathetically cute thing I had ever seen. Unfortunately, the cuteness fell on deaf ears; his elder brothers refused to go to bed early.
Thirty minutes later and it was time for bed. Cole got his second wind, racing around the house, shrieking at the top of his lungs. Josh happily followed suit, egging Cole on and yelling to wake the dead. This woke Tess up.
I did not find amusing. Or cute.
Now Tess is half fussing, half singing in her crib, banging a toy against the bars of her crib as if she were in jail. Which, I guess, she sort of is.
This is also fairly amusing and cute.
But not enough to get out of bed time.
"You want to go to bed? Now?"
"Yes. I sleepy."
"Well, okay! Let's put you to bed!"
"No! Joshie bed!"
No matter what I tried, Cole could not be persuaded to go to bed without Josh.
"Well, why don't you go ask Joshie if he wants to go to bed?"
"Otay."
Cole then proceeded to beg and plead with his brothers to go to bed early.
"Pwease! It's time for bed! You go to bed now! I sleepy and it's time for bed! Pwease, Joshie, turn off the compooter and go to sleep. PWEASE! NOW!"
It was the most amusing, pathetically cute thing I had ever seen. Unfortunately, the cuteness fell on deaf ears; his elder brothers refused to go to bed early.
Thirty minutes later and it was time for bed. Cole got his second wind, racing around the house, shrieking at the top of his lungs. Josh happily followed suit, egging Cole on and yelling to wake the dead. This woke Tess up.
I did not find amusing. Or cute.
Now Tess is half fussing, half singing in her crib, banging a toy against the bars of her crib as if she were in jail. Which, I guess, she sort of is.
This is also fairly amusing and cute.
But not enough to get out of bed time.
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Germ Warfare
So, as you may have noticed, we've been having fun with the flu around here. This post is not so much about my battle with the germs (although that is included for your reading pleasure), but more about the war between my children and I while I was all germy.
My bout with the flu started on Monday night. I was feeling kinda gross, but thought I was just coming down with a cold. I went to bed early - and woke up a zombie.
Well, not quite a zombie. I mean, I could function. But I didn't wanna.
My head pounded. My body ached all over. I had a high fever. And I was exhausted because I didn't really sleep so much as toss and turn in between fever dreams.
Still, I thought I could probably tough it out, so I sent Lance off to work. (I knew he'd been especially busy at work and I didn't want him to stay home unless I was really dying or something.)
Somehow I got Spencer and Josh off to school and then coaxed Cole and Tess downstairs, where I turned on the TV to PBS, plopped on the couch, and passed out.
Well, not quite passed out. I mean, I was still mostly awake. But I didn't wanna be.
Tess took this rare opportunity to climb all over me. Up and down, back and forth, on my face, down my legs. What a grand time she had!
During this time Cole decided he wanted to play with toys. ALL of the toys. And so he got ALL of them out. Remember my clean closet? Yeah, not so much anymore.
At one point these children had the audacity to demand a snack, so I got out a box of dinosaur fruit snacks (a rare treat), and opened one for each toddler. This proved to be a mistake, as Tess decided to hold them in her little hands, melt them all, and then smear them up and down my arms and legs as she climbed on me. Thing is, I know what time I gave her the fruit snacks, and I didn't notice the stickiness until about an hour later. That's how out of it I was on the couch. Awesome.
Then Tess decided she needed to be the GROUCHIEST TODDLER ON EARTH. I knew it was because she's teething, but she refused to take her medicine. Normally I just put it into some milk in her sippy cup and let her take it that way, but I didn't have that kind of time or patience. So I did what any mother would do in this situation: I forced it down her. And she was upset for about 30 seconds. And then she scowled and yelled at me for a while. And about 10 minutes later she was more cheerful and happy than any little girl has any right to be.
Punk baby.
Eventually I got my act together long enough to make them lunch and then put Tess down for a nap. I had a decided plan for my survival: allow Cole some treasured computer time while I snuck a decent non-toddler-stomping-on-me nap on the couch. At Cole's age Spencer and Josh would play on the computer for hours if I let them. (And I know, because that's how I snuck naps when I was pregnant.)
However, I forgot one very important thing: Cole is a very different boy from his brothers.
I put him on the computer and then promptly fell asleep on the couch. I would guess he played for about 10 minutes and then got bored and started to wander around the house.
Here are a few of the surprises I discovered once I woke up an hour later:
Unfortunately, my wrestling teammate was stuck at work, and while he did come home a bit early, it felt like a million years to me. But he got home. And I went to bed. And then he had to take Spencer to piano lessons. And the hour that took seemed like another million years because I felt SOOOOO very sick and Josh and Cole were fighting like cats and dogs and Tess wanted my undivided attention and, NO, I was NOT allowed to close my eyes AT ALL and it was around this time that I seriously considered moving to Utah just so at moments like this I could call grandpa and grandma and say
But then Lance came home and I went to bed and all was well.
Well, not really. It was another long night. But my fever finally broke and I woke up in a pool of sweat (TMI?), and I didn't want to die too much in the morning.
And then Spencer came trudging up the stairs, complaining of all the same symptoms that I had had, and I knew that instead of taking it easy and recovering that day I would be taking care of another sicko.
And so that's what I did.
And I tried to sneak in another nap, but that never happened. That's probably just as well because at one point I came downstairs to the basement and discovered this:
All I could get out of either Spencer and Cole was that the chair fell down. Apparently all on its own. We obviously have suicidal chairs on our hands. (Or maybe it was just Cole pushing chairs around some more. Nah, that's crazy.)
And of course I took a picture of it and sent it to Lance, because that's sometimes the only way I can cope: sending pictures of mass destruction to my tag-team wrestling partner.
So anyway, the rest is just a blur. By this morning I was feeling about 85% normal, but Spencer still had a fever, which means he'll be home tomorrow, too. (You have to be fever free for 24 hours before you can go back to school. I totally agree with and understand this policy, but still, three days of Spencer home is a long time.) Cole wasn't quite as destructive and Tess wasn't quite as grouchy, which is good. But Josh is sure in a foul mood because I let Spencer play on computer and not him, his rationale being I should let him stay home and play computer even though he's not sick. I am the meanest mother in the world.
But the house is still a disaster and I still have no energy and/or desire to clean it up, although in exactly a week from today I will be hosting a Thanksgiving dinner for 14 people.
So that's my story. The germs didn't beat me, but my kids sure did.
My bout with the flu started on Monday night. I was feeling kinda gross, but thought I was just coming down with a cold. I went to bed early - and woke up a zombie.
Well, not quite a zombie. I mean, I could function. But I didn't wanna.
My head pounded. My body ached all over. I had a high fever. And I was exhausted because I didn't really sleep so much as toss and turn in between fever dreams.
Still, I thought I could probably tough it out, so I sent Lance off to work. (I knew he'd been especially busy at work and I didn't want him to stay home unless I was really dying or something.)
Somehow I got Spencer and Josh off to school and then coaxed Cole and Tess downstairs, where I turned on the TV to PBS, plopped on the couch, and passed out.
Well, not quite passed out. I mean, I was still mostly awake. But I didn't wanna be.
Tess took this rare opportunity to climb all over me. Up and down, back and forth, on my face, down my legs. What a grand time she had!
During this time Cole decided he wanted to play with toys. ALL of the toys. And so he got ALL of them out. Remember my clean closet? Yeah, not so much anymore.
At one point these children had the audacity to demand a snack, so I got out a box of dinosaur fruit snacks (a rare treat), and opened one for each toddler. This proved to be a mistake, as Tess decided to hold them in her little hands, melt them all, and then smear them up and down my arms and legs as she climbed on me. Thing is, I know what time I gave her the fruit snacks, and I didn't notice the stickiness until about an hour later. That's how out of it I was on the couch. Awesome.
Then Tess decided she needed to be the GROUCHIEST TODDLER ON EARTH. I knew it was because she's teething, but she refused to take her medicine. Normally I just put it into some milk in her sippy cup and let her take it that way, but I didn't have that kind of time or patience. So I did what any mother would do in this situation: I forced it down her. And she was upset for about 30 seconds. And then she scowled and yelled at me for a while. And about 10 minutes later she was more cheerful and happy than any little girl has any right to be.
Punk baby.
Eventually I got my act together long enough to make them lunch and then put Tess down for a nap. I had a decided plan for my survival: allow Cole some treasured computer time while I snuck a decent non-toddler-stomping-on-me nap on the couch. At Cole's age Spencer and Josh would play on the computer for hours if I let them. (And I know, because that's how I snuck naps when I was pregnant.)
However, I forgot one very important thing: Cole is a very different boy from his brothers.
I put him on the computer and then promptly fell asleep on the couch. I would guess he played for about 10 minutes and then got bored and started to wander around the house.
Here are a few of the surprises I discovered once I woke up an hour later:
- A chair by the counter and my keys missing (they weren't that hard to find, but still)
- 5 more dinosaur fruit snack wrappers scattered throughout the house
- My bathroom mirror had been thoroughly sprayed with water
- Even more toys out on the floor, if that's even possible
- My bed un-made
- A pair of scissors mysteriously laying on the counter (still haven't found anything that he'd cut, thank goodness!)
- A few other things which, for the life of me, I can't recall right now. But I know there was more.
Unfortunately, my wrestling teammate was stuck at work, and while he did come home a bit early, it felt like a million years to me. But he got home. And I went to bed. And then he had to take Spencer to piano lessons. And the hour that took seemed like another million years because I felt SOOOOO very sick and Josh and Cole were fighting like cats and dogs and Tess wanted my undivided attention and, NO, I was NOT allowed to close my eyes AT ALL and it was around this time that I seriously considered moving to Utah just so at moments like this I could call grandpa and grandma and say
"SAVE ME FROM MY CHILDREN!!!!!!"
But then Lance came home and I went to bed and all was well.
Well, not really. It was another long night. But my fever finally broke and I woke up in a pool of sweat (TMI?), and I didn't want to die too much in the morning.
And then Spencer came trudging up the stairs, complaining of all the same symptoms that I had had, and I knew that instead of taking it easy and recovering that day I would be taking care of another sicko.
And so that's what I did.
And I tried to sneak in another nap, but that never happened. That's probably just as well because at one point I came downstairs to the basement and discovered this:
All I could get out of either Spencer and Cole was that the chair fell down. Apparently all on its own. We obviously have suicidal chairs on our hands. (Or maybe it was just Cole pushing chairs around some more. Nah, that's crazy.)
And of course I took a picture of it and sent it to Lance, because that's sometimes the only way I can cope: sending pictures of mass destruction to my tag-team wrestling partner.
So anyway, the rest is just a blur. By this morning I was feeling about 85% normal, but Spencer still had a fever, which means he'll be home tomorrow, too. (You have to be fever free for 24 hours before you can go back to school. I totally agree with and understand this policy, but still, three days of Spencer home is a long time.) Cole wasn't quite as destructive and Tess wasn't quite as grouchy, which is good. But Josh is sure in a foul mood because I let Spencer play on computer and not him, his rationale being I should let him stay home and play computer even though he's not sick. I am the meanest mother in the world.
But the house is still a disaster and I still have no energy and/or desire to clean it up, although in exactly a week from today I will be hosting a Thanksgiving dinner for 14 people.
So that's my story. The germs didn't beat me, but my kids sure did.
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Sick
First I was nearly drowned.
Then I was hit by a semi truck.
Finally, I haven't been allowed to sleep for the past 39 hours.
At least that's what it feels like.
Blergh.
Then I was hit by a semi truck.
Finally, I haven't been allowed to sleep for the past 39 hours.
At least that's what it feels like.
Blergh.
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Toy Clean Out
For a while I have been thinking about cleaning, sorting, and organizing all the toys in the house in order to get ready for Christmas. I had been putting it off, because let's be honest, that is NOT a fun project. But early last week I discovered that Cole had left a sippy cup of milk in the toy closet. And it leaked. And fermented. And it smelled as great as you think.
So I got to work. I scoured the house for rogue toys. I sorted: keep, Goodwill, trash. I cleaned. I changed batteries. I tried to keep Cole and Tess from "helping" too much. (I also ignored the Halloween decorations that were still up downstairs. You should, too.) Four kids times birthdays times Christmas times grandparents = lots of toys.
Around 14 hours later, success! Lots of extra room in the closet, much more organized. Tess approved, mainly because now she could actually get into the closet.
I used this as a Personal Progress value project, which was an added bonus.
Of course, the basement and the closet stayed clean for around 33 seconds. Still, it felt good to get it done!
So I got to work. I scoured the house for rogue toys. I sorted: keep, Goodwill, trash. I cleaned. I changed batteries. I tried to keep Cole and Tess from "helping" too much. (I also ignored the Halloween decorations that were still up downstairs. You should, too.) Four kids times birthdays times Christmas times grandparents = lots of toys.
Around 14 hours later, success! Lots of extra room in the closet, much more organized. Tess approved, mainly because now she could actually get into the closet.
I used this as a Personal Progress value project, which was an added bonus.
Of course, the basement and the closet stayed clean for around 33 seconds. Still, it felt good to get it done!
Sunday Randomness
On the way to church this morning I overheard this conversation in the back of the minivan:
(A little background: yesterday afternoon Lance was playing soccer with the boys and half the neighborhood kids. He would kick the ball really hard up the hill and all the kids would try to catch it and kick it. During this a good sized flock of very large cranes flew overhead. Josh swears there were pelicans in the flock, too. I highly doubt that, but hey, you never know.)
Spencer: Hey, what if Daddy had kicked the ball so hard that it knocked one of the pelicans out of the sky?
Josh (not missing a beat): Pelican for dinner!
****************
Today was Tess's third week in nursery. She still cries when I drop her off, but she stops once I'm gone. Then she sobs and cries and yells when I come to pick her up, as if to say "HOW DARE YOU LEAVE ME HERE!!!"
All of my other kids did the same thing.
During class I peaked in the window to see how she was doing. She was sitting on her little carpet square, cute as can be in her little red and white knit dress that grandpa and grandma gave. Scowling. At everyone and everything. As if to say "I want no part of this."
She was will dang cute.
****************
On the way home from church I accidentally hit a squirrel. It just ran right in front of the car and there was nothing I could do. Right before I hit it I let out a little "Oh, dang!"
*thump*thump*
Spencer and Josh stopped their chattering in the back.
Josh: What was that?! Why Oh Dang?
Spencer (inexplicably freaking out a little for some reason): What's happening? Where are we going? WHERE ARE WE?!
Me: What the?! Spencer, calm down!! I just hit a squirrel. I couldn't help it - it just ran in front of the car.
I looked at them in the rear view mirror. I was a little worried they would be upset by this.
Spencer looked contemplative. Josh started to smile.
Josh: Stupid squirrel! They're so dumb!
Spencer: Yeah! Stupid!
Cole: Hey! Where's Perry?
I didn't know whether I should be relieved they weren't traumatized or worried about their reaction. Oh - and Cole wins the Non-Sequiter award of the day. As per usual.
(A little background: yesterday afternoon Lance was playing soccer with the boys and half the neighborhood kids. He would kick the ball really hard up the hill and all the kids would try to catch it and kick it. During this a good sized flock of very large cranes flew overhead. Josh swears there were pelicans in the flock, too. I highly doubt that, but hey, you never know.)
Spencer: Hey, what if Daddy had kicked the ball so hard that it knocked one of the pelicans out of the sky?
Josh (not missing a beat): Pelican for dinner!
****************
Today was Tess's third week in nursery. She still cries when I drop her off, but she stops once I'm gone. Then she sobs and cries and yells when I come to pick her up, as if to say "HOW DARE YOU LEAVE ME HERE!!!"
All of my other kids did the same thing.
During class I peaked in the window to see how she was doing. She was sitting on her little carpet square, cute as can be in her little red and white knit dress that grandpa and grandma gave. Scowling. At everyone and everything. As if to say "I want no part of this."
She was will dang cute.
****************
On the way home from church I accidentally hit a squirrel. It just ran right in front of the car and there was nothing I could do. Right before I hit it I let out a little "Oh, dang!"
*thump*thump*
Spencer and Josh stopped their chattering in the back.
Josh: What was that?! Why Oh Dang?
Spencer (inexplicably freaking out a little for some reason): What's happening? Where are we going? WHERE ARE WE?!
Me: What the?! Spencer, calm down!! I just hit a squirrel. I couldn't help it - it just ran in front of the car.
I looked at them in the rear view mirror. I was a little worried they would be upset by this.
Spencer looked contemplative. Josh started to smile.
Josh: Stupid squirrel! They're so dumb!
Spencer: Yeah! Stupid!
Cole: Hey! Where's Perry?
I didn't know whether I should be relieved they weren't traumatized or worried about their reaction. Oh - and Cole wins the Non-Sequiter award of the day. As per usual.
Friday, November 9, 2012
Hypo Hormones
I'll get straight to the point.
Wait, no I won't. Let's build up the suspense, shall we? (Unless we're Facebook friends. Then you already know. So forget it, move on. Nothing to see here, people!)
Anyways.
After Tess was born I never felt quite "right". Well, do new moms ever feel quite right? No. No they do not. Because hormones are going crazy and babies want to stay up all night and not eat and all the other kids won't leave you alone. But after Tess I felt different from after the other babies. I chalked it up to her being my fourth and me being old (because I'm ancient, you know) and just dealt with it.
**Side note: I will be 35 in less than a month. Birthdays that end in a 0 or a 5 always seem more exciting, right?! But not this one. Because 35 just doesn't seem like that big of a deal. Should it be? How would I know, I've never been 35 before.**
Time went on, and other things started happening. Things that we won't go into on here because, sheesh, a girl's gotta have a few secrets, right? And it became enough of a problem that I decided to talk to my doctor about it at my annual exam. He checked me out, listened to my complaints, asked some good questions, and then decided to put me on some hormones for a few months to see what would happen.
Things got better. But still not all the way normal. I just didn't feel myself. But again, since things got better I assumed the other things were just lifestyle and age related.
And then, about 8 weeks ago, my hair started falling out. A lot. You know how some people (like me) lose a ton of hair after they have a baby? It was that much hair. And I hadn't had any babies recently. And it was brittle and even more frizzy than normal, no matter what I did. Luckily, I've always had quite a bit of hair, so I don't think anyone else really noticed. But I sure did - especially the nice bald spot that was forming around my part. Oh, and my skin decided it wanted to relive its teenage years, so that was fun, too. I've been feeling really lovely lately.
So I had some blood work done and a week later the nurse called to let me know that I had hypothyroidism. Basically, my thyroid had decided to take a vacation after Tess was born. It just took a while for my symptoms to make themselves set apart from normal after-baby stuff.
Dang those babies. I love 'em, but they've done a real number on my body. Dang those blasted babies!
Sometimes this condition clears up after a while on some medication. Sometimes it becomes a lifelong thing. It's too early to tell. Obviously I'm hoping for the first situation, but I guess it wouldn't be the end of the world if I end up in the second.
Of course after I spoke to the nurse I did a little research online. Looking at a list of symptoms made me laugh because I pretty much had every single one. The thing is, these are all symptoms that are easily explained away by other things. (Body aches and pains? I'd been doing the Insanity workouts - who wouldn't hurt? Fatigue? I'm a mother of four young kids!) It's interesting, because the symptoms lists are different depending on what site you look at. I think it can safely be said that having your hormones go missing kinda messes you up all around.
Dang those hormones.
I am now on a low-dose synthetic hormone that will hopefully help get things back to normal. It's supposed to take a good week or two to really start feeling its effects. However, I've only taken it for two days and I'm already feeling some side effects: dizziness, and little disorientation (as in my thoughts are a bit muddled sometimes) ((more than normal)) (((shut up))), and nausea. The nausea is no surprise: that's my body's way of reacting to pretty much any new medication I take. The nausea never lasts more than a few days.
So if you see me wandering around with a disoriented and slightly greenish look on my face, don't worry about it. I'm just working on getting back to normal, even if on my way back I have to take a little detour in Loony Town, which is apparently the seat of Nausea County.
Just smile, lead me back to where I should be going, and tell me my hair looks good.
Wait, no I won't. Let's build up the suspense, shall we? (Unless we're Facebook friends. Then you already know. So forget it, move on. Nothing to see here, people!)
Anyways.
After Tess was born I never felt quite "right". Well, do new moms ever feel quite right? No. No they do not. Because hormones are going crazy and babies want to stay up all night and not eat and all the other kids won't leave you alone. But after Tess I felt different from after the other babies. I chalked it up to her being my fourth and me being old (because I'm ancient, you know) and just dealt with it.
**Side note: I will be 35 in less than a month. Birthdays that end in a 0 or a 5 always seem more exciting, right?! But not this one. Because 35 just doesn't seem like that big of a deal. Should it be? How would I know, I've never been 35 before.**
Time went on, and other things started happening. Things that we won't go into on here because, sheesh, a girl's gotta have a few secrets, right? And it became enough of a problem that I decided to talk to my doctor about it at my annual exam. He checked me out, listened to my complaints, asked some good questions, and then decided to put me on some hormones for a few months to see what would happen.
Things got better. But still not all the way normal. I just didn't feel myself. But again, since things got better I assumed the other things were just lifestyle and age related.
And then, about 8 weeks ago, my hair started falling out. A lot. You know how some people (like me) lose a ton of hair after they have a baby? It was that much hair. And I hadn't had any babies recently. And it was brittle and even more frizzy than normal, no matter what I did. Luckily, I've always had quite a bit of hair, so I don't think anyone else really noticed. But I sure did - especially the nice bald spot that was forming around my part. Oh, and my skin decided it wanted to relive its teenage years, so that was fun, too. I've been feeling really lovely lately.
So I had some blood work done and a week later the nurse called to let me know that I had hypothyroidism. Basically, my thyroid had decided to take a vacation after Tess was born. It just took a while for my symptoms to make themselves set apart from normal after-baby stuff.
Dang those babies. I love 'em, but they've done a real number on my body. Dang those blasted babies!
Sometimes this condition clears up after a while on some medication. Sometimes it becomes a lifelong thing. It's too early to tell. Obviously I'm hoping for the first situation, but I guess it wouldn't be the end of the world if I end up in the second.
Of course after I spoke to the nurse I did a little research online. Looking at a list of symptoms made me laugh because I pretty much had every single one. The thing is, these are all symptoms that are easily explained away by other things. (Body aches and pains? I'd been doing the Insanity workouts - who wouldn't hurt? Fatigue? I'm a mother of four young kids!) It's interesting, because the symptoms lists are different depending on what site you look at. I think it can safely be said that having your hormones go missing kinda messes you up all around.
Dang those hormones.
I am now on a low-dose synthetic hormone that will hopefully help get things back to normal. It's supposed to take a good week or two to really start feeling its effects. However, I've only taken it for two days and I'm already feeling some side effects: dizziness, and little disorientation (as in my thoughts are a bit muddled sometimes) ((more than normal)) (((shut up))), and nausea. The nausea is no surprise: that's my body's way of reacting to pretty much any new medication I take. The nausea never lasts more than a few days.
So if you see me wandering around with a disoriented and slightly greenish look on my face, don't worry about it. I'm just working on getting back to normal, even if on my way back I have to take a little detour in Loony Town, which is apparently the seat of Nausea County.
Just smile, lead me back to where I should be going, and tell me my hair looks good.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Rock Star Turkey
Josh had an assignment to decorate his paper turkey so that it was in disguise and wouldn't be eaten for Thanksgiving Dinner. I'm not sure how or why, but Josh decided he wanted a rock star turkey, complete with (and he specified this) a blue electric guitar with white lightening bolts and blue star sunglasses. (Thank you, Google Images, for helping this Kindergartener's turkey dreams come true!)
I think the turkey looks AWESOME. And Josh did a great job. The only thing I did was cut out the guitar and sunglasses and put the holes in the paper for the necklace and bandana.
It's fun to finally have a child who is interested in art!
I think the turkey looks AWESOME. And Josh did a great job. The only thing I did was cut out the guitar and sunglasses and put the holes in the paper for the necklace and bandana.
It's fun to finally have a child who is interested in art!
Cub Scout Fireball
For Spencer's Wolf badge... rank... er, whatever, for Cub Scouts, one of his requirements is to learn how to cook outside. Unfortunately, all we have is a propane grill, and Lance and I are awful parents and not willing to take the whole family camping just so Spencer can learn how to cook over an open flame. So we figured that grilling would be good enough. (And Lance is the Cub Committee Chair person in our ward and he thought it was fine, so I'm good with that.)
Anyways.
I was teaching Spencer how to use the grill yesterday. I showed him how to turn open the tank valve and turn on the burners. All safety precautions were made, everything was normal and just how I normally do it. All systems were go.
I told Spencer to hit the ignition button.
SKADOOOOOSH!
A big ol' fireball exploded right in front of Spencer. He wasn't close enough to get hurt, but he was close enough to get just the tiniest bit singed.
He was pretty terrified. (In fact, I couldn't get him to open the grill the rest of the night.) But on the bright side, I don't think I'll ever have to worry about him playing with the grill when he shouldn't.
Anyways.
I was teaching Spencer how to use the grill yesterday. I showed him how to turn open the tank valve and turn on the burners. All safety precautions were made, everything was normal and just how I normally do it. All systems were go.
I told Spencer to hit the ignition button.
SKADOOOOOSH!
A big ol' fireball exploded right in front of Spencer. He wasn't close enough to get hurt, but he was close enough to get just the tiniest bit singed.
He was pretty terrified. (In fact, I couldn't get him to open the grill the rest of the night.) But on the bright side, I don't think I'll ever have to worry about him playing with the grill when he shouldn't.
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
BLLLEEEEAAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHH!!!
No, this is not election night anxiety. To be honest, I don't know that I really care who wins at this point. I really don't think that my life will be seriously affected one way or another. That's the political agnostic in me coming out; I just can't help it. Please don't leave comments about wrong I am and how this country will go to hell in a hand basket if Obama/Romney is elected. It doesn't matter at this point.
No really. At this point it Does. Not. Matter. We've all voted and what's done is done.
There.
No, what I'm upset about is Mr. Spencer. My words. They fail me.
That. Child.
Okay, this is not the end of the world. I realize this. But it is a big deal in our family.
Spencer got sent to the principal's office today because he wouldn't stop talking in class, wouldn't stay in his seat, and had so much unfinished/late work.
BAAAAAHHHH! @#$@#^*@(!!!!!!
Seriously, words fail.
So instead, let's look at some cute pictures of Tess. Because little girls in dresses are always cute. And just for fun, I'll throw in a movie of her using her walker. (Yay!) Because little girls using walkers are cute, too.
No really. At this point it Does. Not. Matter. We've all voted and what's done is done.
There.
No, what I'm upset about is Mr. Spencer. My words. They fail me.
That. Child.
Okay, this is not the end of the world. I realize this. But it is a big deal in our family.
Spencer got sent to the principal's office today because he wouldn't stop talking in class, wouldn't stay in his seat, and had so much unfinished/late work.
BAAAAAHHHH! @#$@#^*@(!!!!!!
Seriously, words fail.
So instead, let's look at some cute pictures of Tess. Because little girls in dresses are always cute. And just for fun, I'll throw in a movie of her using her walker. (Yay!) Because little girls using walkers are cute, too.
Monday, November 5, 2012
PTO
If you ever want to feel really inadequate (and who doesn't), I suggest making your very first ever PTO experience a PTO board member meeting.
Oh yeah, didn't I tell you? I'm on the PTO board now.
Yes, I was kinda tricked into doing this. How'd you know? At the end of the last school year Spencer's teacher called to talk about Spencer. After a lengthy conversation about how he was doing, she snuck the PTO in at the end. She was really tricky, too. Instead of saying "Would you like to be a PTO board member?" she said "Here are the different PTO events going on next year; which one would you like to be in charge of?"
I mean, how to do you get out of that? She was asking for help a year in advance. I could no longer claim to be Primary President (a handy excuse in the past), Tess was no longer a tiny infant (also a good excuse), I wasn't in Young Women's yet (which already takes a TON of time), and I would now have TWO children attending the school. So I caved in and told her I'd be in charge of the refreshments at the history fair at the end of the year. (Which I am sure you will hear all about in May.)
So apparently part of my duties as History Fair Refreshment lady is to attend a monthly PTO board meeting. I had no clue about this going in, but figured it out pretty quickly once I started getting emails from this year's PTO president (who happens to live two houses down from me.) I couldn't attend last month's meeting, so tonight was my first one. Ever.
Talk about feeling like the odd man out. I walked in and there were about 15 people sitting around a large table. The PTO president, who is the only person I know on the PTO board, was, of course, not there yet. There was one seat left, so I asked if I could take it. Everyone smiled at me, but they were all talking to each other. So I sat. Fiddling with my pen. Feeling very much awkward and middle schoolish.
Ah, middle school. Is there ever a more awkward time in a kid's life? I was awkward-aplenty in middle school, and I was the 8th grade class president, so it's not like I was the most unpopular student there. (Nor do I hold any delusions that I was the most popular. Somewhere in the middle for me!) Oh, and my middle school's name was Grange Middle School. Isn't that just an awful name? I never liked it. It just sounds... grungy or something. I dunno.
Anyways.
The middle school awkwardness continued. No one introduced themselves to me and I didn't feel like I could interrupt their conversations and join in. I figured they had all been on the PTO board before, and this suspicion was confirmed during the course of the meeting.
I felt brave enough to pipe up and give my opinion about a few things, but mostly I just kept to myself. Oh, there were two lovely times when they asked for volunteers for something, and each date there was just no way I could help. (One was on a Wednesday with a big activity for mutual that I really shouldn't miss and the other was during the week Lance will be in Hawaii in January. Ugh.) They didn't pointedly ask me to volunteer, but you could tell they kinda expected it.
I was hoping to redeem myself by volunteering to help put together the goodie bags they give to the teachers each Christmas, but then they started talking about doing it at someone's house so they could have drinks at the same time.
Drinks don't really work so much with me. I know, I could go and just not drink, but I don't really like being around people I don't know that well who are drinking. I already have to do that once a year at Lance's work Christmas party.
Anywho, is there a moral to this story? Not really. Other than I'm bugged that I felt this way at this meeting. I shouldn't have, but I did. Hopefully next month will go a little better.
Oh yeah, didn't I tell you? I'm on the PTO board now.
Yes, I was kinda tricked into doing this. How'd you know? At the end of the last school year Spencer's teacher called to talk about Spencer. After a lengthy conversation about how he was doing, she snuck the PTO in at the end. She was really tricky, too. Instead of saying "Would you like to be a PTO board member?" she said "Here are the different PTO events going on next year; which one would you like to be in charge of?"
I mean, how to do you get out of that? She was asking for help a year in advance. I could no longer claim to be Primary President (a handy excuse in the past), Tess was no longer a tiny infant (also a good excuse), I wasn't in Young Women's yet (which already takes a TON of time), and I would now have TWO children attending the school. So I caved in and told her I'd be in charge of the refreshments at the history fair at the end of the year. (Which I am sure you will hear all about in May.)
So apparently part of my duties as History Fair Refreshment lady is to attend a monthly PTO board meeting. I had no clue about this going in, but figured it out pretty quickly once I started getting emails from this year's PTO president (who happens to live two houses down from me.) I couldn't attend last month's meeting, so tonight was my first one. Ever.
Talk about feeling like the odd man out. I walked in and there were about 15 people sitting around a large table. The PTO president, who is the only person I know on the PTO board, was, of course, not there yet. There was one seat left, so I asked if I could take it. Everyone smiled at me, but they were all talking to each other. So I sat. Fiddling with my pen. Feeling very much awkward and middle schoolish.
Ah, middle school. Is there ever a more awkward time in a kid's life? I was awkward-aplenty in middle school, and I was the 8th grade class president, so it's not like I was the most unpopular student there. (Nor do I hold any delusions that I was the most popular. Somewhere in the middle for me!) Oh, and my middle school's name was Grange Middle School. Isn't that just an awful name? I never liked it. It just sounds... grungy or something. I dunno.
Anyways.
The middle school awkwardness continued. No one introduced themselves to me and I didn't feel like I could interrupt their conversations and join in. I figured they had all been on the PTO board before, and this suspicion was confirmed during the course of the meeting.
I felt brave enough to pipe up and give my opinion about a few things, but mostly I just kept to myself. Oh, there were two lovely times when they asked for volunteers for something, and each date there was just no way I could help. (One was on a Wednesday with a big activity for mutual that I really shouldn't miss and the other was during the week Lance will be in Hawaii in January. Ugh.) They didn't pointedly ask me to volunteer, but you could tell they kinda expected it.
I was hoping to redeem myself by volunteering to help put together the goodie bags they give to the teachers each Christmas, but then they started talking about doing it at someone's house so they could have drinks at the same time.
Drinks don't really work so much with me. I know, I could go and just not drink, but I don't really like being around people I don't know that well who are drinking. I already have to do that once a year at Lance's work Christmas party.
Anywho, is there a moral to this story? Not really. Other than I'm bugged that I felt this way at this meeting. I shouldn't have, but I did. Hopefully next month will go a little better.
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Random Conversations From Today
Cole: I want juice!
Me: How do you ask nicely?
Cole: Juice.
Me: What? Ask nicely.
Cole: JUICE.
Me: What's the magic word?
Cole: Trick-or-treat!
Me: .... Good enough.
*************************************
Josh (running breathless into the kitchen): MOMMY! Cole is taking the mail out of all the mail boxes!
Actually, this was not a conversation so much as the beginning of a busy 10 minutes where I had to stop my three-year-old from committing a federal crime in taking other people's mail.
Never a dull moment around the Madsen home.
*************************************
Josh: Mommy, do us have any marbles?
Me: Do us?
Josh: Yeah, do us?
Me: Us?
Josh (getting annoyed): Yes. Do us have any marbles? Or small balls?
Me: US?
Josh: Mooommmmyyy! Marbles?!
Me: No. US don't have any marbles.
Josh: What? Uuuss? We!
Me: *facepalm*
Me: How do you ask nicely?
Cole: Juice.
Me: What? Ask nicely.
Cole: JUICE.
Me: What's the magic word?
Cole: Trick-or-treat!
Me: .... Good enough.
*************************************
Josh (running breathless into the kitchen): MOMMY! Cole is taking the mail out of all the mail boxes!
Actually, this was not a conversation so much as the beginning of a busy 10 minutes where I had to stop my three-year-old from committing a federal crime in taking other people's mail.
Never a dull moment around the Madsen home.
*************************************
Josh: Mommy, do us have any marbles?
Me: Do us?
Josh: Yeah, do us?
Me: Us?
Josh (getting annoyed): Yes. Do us have any marbles? Or small balls?
Me: US?
Josh: Mooommmmyyy! Marbles?!
Me: No. US don't have any marbles.
Josh: What? Uuuss? We!
Me: *facepalm*
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