(Belated) First Day of School

First Day of School 2009!  We had to find a new location, as we are now lacking the redbud tree we'd been using since Hannah's first day of kindergarten.  But not to worry!  We have a baby tree again, and it looks much better than I remembered it did.

My dream tree has always been a sugar maple.  They're gorgeous trees, and they're supposed to have spectacular fall foliage.  Just not in Oklahoma.  I never planted one at our old house, because all the local nursery owners told me I was right--a fabulous tree, just not in Oklahoma, so most of the time, they don't even carry them.

Fast forward 10 years, to when we move into our new home.  There's a sugar maple planted out front, the only tree on the property.  Our builder is quite proud of it: "It's a good tree!"

But it's looked pretty pathetic.  Kind of drought-stricken.  I think Bob may want to rip it out.  I can't bear the thought of ripping out a fairly well-established sapling.  Which is pathetic looking.  But I will tell you: its foliage is much more brilliant than anything I ever saw the sweet gum tree do.

Stay tuned to find out where next year's school pics are....

Crank

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Today's Writing Prompt: Scream

What makes you want to scream?


After the last week of illness at our house, what doesn't???

That's actually a good lead-in to what really makes me want to scream: being cranky.  I hate being cranky.  Being cranky usually makes me crankier than I already was to begin with, and that doesn't make it any easier to "just cheer up."  What's my problem anyway?

Motivation

I'm pretty sure I've had the motivation and goal-realization thing all wrong for a long while now.  Here Rex is in August (I'm still catching up on all sorts of things).  This was not his maiden solo voyage, since it took us completely by surprise.  He explained quite simply, "I just decided I wanted to ride my bike without training wheels, and I did."

Blessed

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Today's Writing Prompt: Peace Prize

Give away your own Peace Prize--to one person, living or dead. What would you say when presenting it?


Haha, funny! I guess this will directly relate to the fact that yesterday the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Barack Obama. Okay, so I don't really like the guy, but I've made it something of a habit not to bash him too much either. However, I really think this is over the top. What exactly (and that's the key word in this sentence) has he done to deserve it? I would rather give one to Bill Clinton (and I do NOT like Bill Clinton) or Ronald Reagan, than Barack Obama. Argh.

Oddly, my thoughts today focus on mothers. I've spent the week at home with all five of my sick children, and I was sick, too. Truly, it felt like I was frequently negotiating world peace. Not that I did that great a job of it, but isn't that what mothers all over the world do every day? They say "the hand that rocks the cradle rocks the world," and trite it may be, but I would also argue that it's true. Peace begins at home, where parents teach tolerance, love and respect, and then pray that someday the message sinks in, and that nobody else gets to your kids and shreds all your lessons.

There can be no finer words than the Savior's own words for the peacemakers of the world: "Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God."

#14: My Favorite Football Player

If you know me, you know I've never really been that into football. I still remember watching as a child and wondering what the big deal was and why the heck boys would play something that dumb. I attended all our high school football games, but only because marching band was fun, and so was hanging out with all my friends in those dreadful uniforms up in the stands. I never really got into the tight-pants thing, or the cool jock phase ... although I did temporarily have a huge crush on John Elway (why????), which was the only reason I watched all those Bronco games with my mom. And I've never been impressed with the Dallas Cowboys. I will admit, though, that Sooner Mania is very infectious, and I will get into a Sooner football game, as long as they're not doing something stupid.

But times, they are a-changin', especially now that there's a #14 in my world. No, I'm not talking about Sam Bradford, even if he is pretty impressive and cute, too. Football has suddenly become much more interesting (obsessive even) to me now that my baby boy is playing. He looks good, doesn't he? And he's waaaaaay more impressive and cute to me than Sam (sorry, but I have to be honest here).
I think some of my newly discovered love for football stems from the fact that Caleb is good at what he does. That's not just the mom in me talking. He's seriously good at football. That's not to say the first few weeks weren't hard--he hated learning to wear the pads and the helmet, but oddly, these are things the mom just wouldn't budge on. But once we overcame that hurdle and the 3 times weekly practices, Caleb really started loving it. He can do just about anything they ask him to do out there. He typically plays safety, but he can run the ball, catch passes, and sack the quarterback. He also played QB a couple of weeks ago, when both of our QBs got hurt.

He's a team captain, if that's what they call it at this age.

And he's a pretty darn good kicker. The first game he kicked, he actually beaned another player in the head. Coach Ryan says the refs were stumped because they weren't sure where to place the ball after that. However, we took him home, and set him in front of Mom's "new" Suburban, and told him to practice kicking WITHOUT HITTING MY TRUCK. It was pretty effective--he never hit my car once. And now just look at my kicker in motion:
But, as with all things we love, there are sacrifices that must be made from time to time. Who knew they did homecoming in the 3rd grade? And that you have to escort a cheerleader? Ugh! (If only he would still feel this way about it when he's 16.)

Back from the Almost Dead

It's been an exceptionally long week. On Monday, Caleb stayed home from school with a fever and a cough. Over the course of the day, Sariah developed the same symptoms, and I started coughing. On Tuesday, a trip to the Urgent Care Center (because there were no more appts at the dr's office) revealed that Caleb had the H1N1 flu, more commonly known as the swine flu, despite the medical community's best efforts. And by Wednesday, they were all running fevers and home from school. We ALL felt like ... well, miserable. Bob flew home early to take care of us, and we've spent the rest of the week in various stages of recovery.

We are not out of the woods yet. Hannah and Rex are still actively running fevers, and all of the other children are still coughing. Needless to say, we will not be spreading our leftover germs at church tomorrow, but Mom is feeling significantly improved, so there is light at the end of the tunnel.

On next week's agenda: getting all the kids back to school, and nursing Bob through his run with the flu (he doesn't have any symptoms yet; I'm just assuming).

Meanwhile, I'm feeling up to updating my blog. I have lots of pics to put in and talk about; I just haven't had the down time. But I have it now.... Cyber-hugs to all, as I'm sure nobody really wants the real thing. :)

We Love Our Grammy and Papa

This is from when my parents visited in August. Those beautiful girls are our cousins, Kenadie and Katelyn. Fun times, but they don't happen often enough anymore!

Accomplishment

My accomplishments this week have been many (rotfl), but my best accomplishment--and I use this term loosely--has been the potty-training of this cute little thing. We had no accidents yesterday. Woohoo!!! We're not out of the woods yet, but my diaper bills are going down. And incidentally, in the picture above, sweet Sariah is eating pickles dipped in key lime yogurt. And NO, this is not an example she has seen set by her mother, fyi.

Today's Writing Prompt: Parents

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Today's Writing Prompt: Parents

Have you ever done something that makes you think you're turning into one of your parents (or another childhood authority figure)?


I read a book once that said something along the lines of, "You open your mouth and your mother comes out...." I have to admit that this happens to me quite frequently, for better or for worse, most often as a parent. And that's all I have to say about that. :)

Thinking Out Loud Here....

As many of you will know, I rarely talk politics here, or anywhere else. My personal politics are a mix of bizarre and Gen X: I'm a registered Republican, but only because you can't vote in the primaries in Oklahoma if you are registered independent. I was brought up in a home with one parent who leaned Democratic and one who leaned Republican, but I wasn't really aware of that until I'd left home. In political terms, I never know whether I'm coming or going. And then there's that Gen X component, the apathetic one that allowed me to not care about voting in the first presidential election for which I was eligible (it was Clinton's reelection, I believe). Since then, I have learned to vote consistently from the major elections to the minor town ones. As a matter of principle, I never take the "vote straight party" option. I believe one of the greatest strengths (and one of the greatest pitfalls) of our country is the two (or more) party system. I just can't figure out which party I belong to. Maybe I'm a Venn diagram. Sounds about right.

I will tell you up front, because I live in a country where I am supposed to be free to do so, that I did not vote for President Obama. But I didn't make up my mind about my vote until the week before the election. I just didn't think there was a good choice.

Having said all that, I am now going to offer my opinion on President Obama's scheduled address to school-aged children next Tuesday. No one's really asked for it, but I'm feeling like I'm in a small minority (funny, I feel that way a lot lately) and that my voice is valid and needs to be heard. I love having the privilege of doing so.

I spent much of my morning surfing the internet, trying to figure out what the heck the story is, since everybody's so up-at-arms over the whole affair. Basically, what I learned is that the extreme right is saying EVERYTHING, and the support base that is supposed to be the President's is staying mum. You want facts? The closest to that I could come was what was on the White House's website, and this seemed fairly tame. Do I understand that this is not The Speech? Yeah. Do I believe that everything out of his mouth will be propaganda? Of course, but everything out of anyone's mouth is propaganda as represented by their opinions, thoughts, decisions, and actions. Would I like for it to be prerecorded so that I could preview it? It would be nice. But how many times have I watched the candidates out stumping or watched the State of the Union address while my kids were sitting in the room? Let's not bother counting. Am I afraid of Big Brother? Well, yeah, I've read 1984, and I do find some disturbing parallels between my world and Orwell's.

However, if my children's school were showing the address (and according to Elisabeth, they are not), I would let them watch it. I am considering showing it to them afterwards anyhow. There are 2 vital parts to this decision on my part.

First, we're talking about the American Way here, people. We believe in freedom of speech, not just for ourselves, but for the people around us, too. We believe in freedom of speech, which means that we believe we can try to influence people with our words AND that our audience can choose or choose not to be swayed by our arguments. This is what the entire political process is about in this country. And it's been this way since before the Declaration of Independence. For goodness sake, the United States Constitution took 3 years to be ratified because the founding fathers were debating every nuance of it. Difference, debate, and division are the catalysts of the political process. There are responsibilities that go with those things, and especially with our freedom of speech. We are each individually responsible for our own choices, and without listening to both sides, there is no way we can make any truly educated choice. Neither can we move forward if we absolutely refuse to acknowledge other perspectives and points-of-view. I said "acknowledge," not necessarily "accept."

Before my children are old enough to vote, they need to understand how this process works and how to maneuver it. My children need to understand how to listen to their elected leaders (or soon-to-be-elected leaders, or out-of-office leaders, or basically anyone who opens his or her mouth) and glean what is truth and what is not from those people's words. They need to understand when and how someone is trying to influence them. They need to understand that the same words can communicate many messages. They need to have the confidence to navigate these muddy waters when we as parents can no longer do it for them, because that day is coming, no matter what. Heck, with my oldest 3 at ages 8, 10, and 12, they already do a bunch of this.

Fortunately, and this brings me to my second point, my kids often try out their questions or concerns on me, and though sometimes their timing isn't ideal, I am so grateful that we can talk with them and to them, and help them choose to make wise decisions. It is not President Obama's responsibility to teach my children this, it is not the governor's responsibility, nor our friends', neighbors', school administrators', bishop's, or anyone else's responsibility. That is my responsibility, and if I don't teach my children to discern and dissect and follow truth's light, then I have truly failed them, for they won't be able to vote wisely, or fight for their freedoms, or even choose decent friends in life (and at this point, I'm far more worried about the friends they choose to listen to than what government official they hear).

If you want your kids to think for themselves, then let them try it under your loving guidance. The White House website says the president is going to speak to students about "the importance of taking responsibility for their education, challenging them to set goals and do everything they can to succeed." If that's all he says, what's wrong with that? I don't believe that will be all he says, but there's only one way to find out, and that's to listen, decide, and choose for myself. The best place to discuss politics and issues as well as influence your children's choices and beliefs (read also: indoctrinate and/or brainwash your children, because that's what every single parent in this country does with their children)? At the kitchen table every morning and every night.

Found

FOUND:

1 USB cord for the camera
1 iphone charger

Found in a safe place.
A place that, incidentally, had been searched multiple times.

Ted's

I love Ted's.

So Ted's proved to be an absolute inspiration yesterday. I ate the yummy complimentary chips and salsa and handmade tortillas, and I ate my yummy cheese enchiladas. I really love their chimichangas, but my stomach can't handle that right now.

When the server came to take my plate, she asked if she could box up my beans and rice for me, and I said, "Nah, they didn't taste right to me today. I'm not worried about it."

Not much later, and after I had eaten my yummy sopapilla with honey, the server came back with our ticket, and my meal was free! Wow, then it was that much MORE yummy.

Hindsight being 20/20, I guess I should have told her it was probably a pregnancy thing.

But then again, I'm practicing not looking gift horses in the mouth too much. :D And I'm sure they've earned themselves a few of my return trips.

Heartbeat

I had my first ultrasound this morning.

The tech asked me, "And why are we doing this ultrasound today?"

And I promptly replied, "Because I'm a great big wuss."

"So, for reassurance then?"

Well, yes. I have enough anxieties (yes, I'm still worrying about swim team and my husband flying) without worrying about having a miscarriage since I've told all sorts of people via my blog, my big mouth, and my kids. And to top that off, I haven't been terribly sick. Now, I don't want to look a gift horse in the mouth here, but it is really unusual for me to be this unsick. And in the past when I haven't been sick and had a positive pregnancy test, the pregnancy turned out to be not actually viable. Now that I've said all this, I'll be deathly ill with morning sickness for the next 32 weeks.

The verdict is: a so far healthy looking baby, with a great heartbeat. I would post the picture here, but really it just looks like a jelly bean. It doesn't look so vague when you're actually looking at the machine, but the printed picture is really fuzzy.

In any case, once a heartbeat can be detected, your chances of miscarriage go from 1 in 6, to 2 in a 100 (why don't they just say 1 in 50? it still sounds so much better).

So, now my husband can quit worrying about me worrying. He wasn't worried about the baby at all. But my ridiculous (my word, not his) anxieties were getting a little old.

I think I'll go celebrate with a little Ted's. :)

Survivor

I still haven't found the USB cord for my camera. I think I put it in a "safe" place. It's probably with Bob's phone charger. It's in a "safe place," too. It's really too bad because I look in my camera, and I have lots of fun pictures. Cheerful pictures. (This is a cheerful picture from my archives.)

Right now, I'm really struggling with cheerful. I want to be cheerful, and I usually start out the day cheerful. It's keeping the momentum going that's the problem.

It often doesn't seem like it, but Rex has a really difficult time adjusting to change. The beginning of the school year is a really big change for him, and understandably so. He needs the routine and the structure of the school day, but it is still a change in his daily life. He cries a lot. He whines a lot. He gets stubborn (which, believe it or not, is not actually one of his defining characteristics). He seems to become completely incapable of processing the words coming out of my mouth. He works really hard at doing whatever he wants.

Sometimes this means he runs around naked picking on his brother at night after his bath when he is supposed to be putting his pajamas on. Sometimes this means he takes 25 freakin' minutes to make his lunch in the morning, when he only has 30 minutes to get ready. Sometimes this means he repeatedly takes his seat belt off in the car all day long every single time we get in the car. Sometimes this means he goes and does the exact thing I told him not to do not 10 seconds beforehand. Sometimes this means he does his utmost to convince his teacher that he's supposed to ride the bus home, even though he knows he's not allowed to ride the bus because he is completely out of control when riding said vehicle. Sometimes this means he tortures the dogs, bugs Sariah until she screams, carries sharp scissors around while he's running, or shreds his shoe laces or the soles of his shoes or both.

When it happens all in one set of 24-48 hours, it's a little much for me to handle.

I try to remember that he has sensory integration issues and that some of his behaviors are almost compulsive. I try to remember that someday his abilities to ... multitask ... will be a blessing to him (and his wife, bless her heart). I try to remember that his love for fun and games will serve his children well. I try to remind myself that his persistence and stubbornness are the same thing as tenacity, which is sometimes what pulls us through adversities in life. I try to remember that his imagination and the "reality" that he lives in are the hallmarks of creativity and genius. I do my best to remember that when Rex smiles and is happy, the light in his eye can be downright infectious. I try my best to see the wonderful and amazing creation that is Rex, who would not be who he is if not for the extraordinary circumstances which have not only caused some of his issues, but which have built and molded his personality into that of an incredible survivor.

He's a pretty amazing kid.

I think I can be cheerful now.

Counting Blessings

After that last whiny post, I probably need to do some blessing-counting, especially since I can't find the USB cord for my camera to get all my pictures and post them here.

• I had a great visit this weekend with my parents, my nieces, and my brother.
• Caleb had a super time at his football scrimages yesterday. He made a bunch of great tackles, caught a pass the first time they tried to run the play, and says he had fun.
• I had yummy dinner and pie out with great friends last night.
• The kids had a good first "week" of school (and Sariah and I got some good naps with no one to wake us up).
• Bob currently has an assignment for work. Assignments are good. Assignments = continued employment.
• I have an interesting book to read right now. Two, actually.
• I got all the boys hair cut this week. Now if I could only figure out how to make it stop growing. LOL!
• I think my kids will be able to start riding the bus again. YES!!!
• I'm getting lots accomplished for my PTA work.
• All my blood work came back good and where it needed to be.
• My family is all here and all together.

It's a good week.

Sigh.

I have lots of pictures to post. I have lots of stories to write. But instead I'm just going to whine about why they won't sing for me.

• My dog had a seizure. So on the vet's recommendation, we went to the pet ER, where, for all intents and purposes, they might as well have told me she had a virus. But they're a lot richer now.
• My 2-year-old daughter bounced off a chair last night to the tile floor, afterward proclaiming that she needed to go night-night, then that her eyes hurt, then that her ears hurt, and then she was up and running around like a whirling dervish.
• Have I mentioned that I'm having (hopefully) pregnancy-hormone induced anxieties? Lots of them.
• I'm afraid my girls are going to drown at swim team. I have to go check on them regularly to cope with this fear. The swim team lane is RIGHT UNDER the lifeguard's perch.
• But I'm NOT afraid that my 8-year-old son will get any football related injuries, because I'm too busy hoping that practice will knock the rebelliousness out of him, because he throws such fits beforehand, because he doesn't want to go, even though we signed him up because he wanted to go.
• PTA, PTA, PTA. (This to be said to the cadence of "Marcia, Marcia, Marcia.") I know that I volunteered (sort of) and that we are accomplishing good things, but I forgot how time-consuming it can be made.
• I've banned all Disney youth-aged TV shows at my house. Little Einsteins, Micky Mouse Clubhouse=ok. Hannah Montana, Zach & Cody, Wizards of Waverly Place=NOT ok. And while my kids are less mouthy and kinder to each other, they are now "bored" and expect to be entertained, which means they are mouthy and unkind to each other. Why am I doing this again?
• I have been preoccupied with a CNN segment (maybe it was Fox) on "How to Survive a Plane Crash." This is a reasonable preoccupation, I think, given how often Bob flies. But really, aren't you either going to survive or not?

Okay, I'm done ranting now. I solemnly vow not to rant again for at least another 24 hours. :)

Good News!

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Today's Writing Prompt: Good news

Write about some good news you heard recently.


This is a very timely prompt for me. A week and a half ago, I discovered that I'm pregnant. We'd been hoping for nearly 4 months, and I had just come to the conclusion that we might need to stop for a little bit, so that I could get my weight and my rosacea/acne under better control. But right before I started my new rosacea meds, I thought, "I should really make sure I'm not pregnant," since you're not supposed to take any of those meds while you're pregnant. And lo and behold, the test was positive!

I hadn't been expecting it at all! With only one working ovary and fallopian tube, and 4 months gone by (which is way longer than it's taken in the past), I just figured the time wasn't right yet. In fact, I've done 3 pregnancy tests in all, just waiting for one to come back negative.

I do have a bunch of worries to go with this joyous news, but for now I want to focus on the positive. I am so excited to hopefully have a newborn again. I love babies, and my kids get older, I find I am enjoying them in new and exciting ways every day.

I am so grateful to be a mother, and to have the opportunity to love these beautiful children.

Composed

And I had a song composed for me this year:

Happy Birthday to you,

You live in a zoo!

You live with 5 monkeys,

And there's one in you, too!

My kids thought it was highly entertaining.

Happy Brithday to Me!

My birthday was wonderful this year, and I'm so grateful for that. I got 2 cakes--1 from my kids, and 1 completely chocolate cake from April. I got to have my parents here from Kansas for the day. We ate at Ted's--yum!!! I got to watch my son play football and my daughters swim like champions. I even got to take a nap.

The one drawback was that my honey's flight got delayed and he couldn't get into town until Friday afternoon. But that's okay; he made it, and I'm glad he's home.

Thanks to everyone for all their birthday wishes. I appreciate them!

Vacations

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Today's Writing Prompt: Home

How do you feel when you walk into your home after an out of town trip?


That depends on how the house was before I left. I love coming home after being away for a substantial amount of time, but only if the house was clean before I left it. Otherwise, it's just one big reminder that it's time to go back to the drudgery, and I'm probably more behind than when I left. It's depressing.