change it up

Wild weeks have come to pass... Quinn got her tonsils and adenoids removed on Monday, Feb 23. The following days were rough as she was in a lot of pain and cried and whimpered through the night for several nights. I felt like I had a newborn; it was non-stop care. I was also neck deep in planning our Relief Society birthday party dinner. Thursday, my brother Matt asked me to take Wyatt for the weekend so he could meet his online girlfriend. Quinn was a wreck, I had days before my big activity, Saturday was my birthday, and Wyatt was sick. Awesome timing, bro. I must be the nicest sister in the world, or the biggest chump. I had a crazy birthday with my 4 + 1 kids. By afternoon, I was so overstimulated so we left the kids for Preslie to watch while Dax and I went out. I did have a good birthday and I love my family, it was just a stressful week.

The morning of my birthday, I was relaxing in bed and I heard Dax and the kids coming down the hall. Dax says, "Ok everyone. Start singing!" Mack busts out, "Here comes the bride!.." I look over and they were standing in the doorway holding a giant plastic owl. I laughed so hard! I love those guys.

My awesome gal friends gave me a birthday lunch! 

We booked our California/Disney trip! We are so excited. The last time I went to Disneyland was in college with the Dixie Ambassadors. This will be my kids' first time.

I have been feeling like I am just getting by and keeping up with my responsibilities as a Mom and Wife. I've thought about quitting piano teaching. I prayed about it this weekend and I received my answer through reading the Book of Mormon, a sacrament meeting talk, and our home teacher's message. I've loved teaching piano for the past 3.5 years; it's a great gig for me and a convenient set-up for the neighbor kids and their Moms. I need to focus more on my own kids now. They are my top priority.

This past weekend Hunter performed in "Seussical the Musical". My friend runs a ballet and musical theater company and she really needed boys for the play. I made Hunter do it; he wasn't into the idea. But this weekend, he told me he had a blast and he was glad he did it.

Hunter is just left of the big tree

Monkey shot. The "Wickersham Brothers" from "Horton Hears a Who"

 Quinn is healed up now. It takes 12-14 days of recovery for a tonsillectomy. Her voice is slightly different. The doc said her tonsils were hu-UGE, as were her adenoids. Great to have that over. She is growing up so fast. I am in total denial that she will enter Kindergarten this fall.

Mack has been up to his old tricks (times one thousand) lately. He is a huge part of why I am quitting piano. I know he needs more structured activities to keep his mind and body busy. He is so brilliant; he literally cannot get enough stimulation. He multiplies large numbers in his mind as Dax and I are casually throwing around numbers in everyday conversations. Like last night at dinner we were talking about Broadway plays. Mack asked what Broadway was and Dax told him it was where really amazing, fancy plays were performed but they cost like $200 for tickets. Mack said, "That's 1200 dollars for our whole family to go." He has done this several other times this week. What 1st grader can multiply? I mean, they just went over double digit subtraction in school. He just needs more. Of everything.

Hunter is a diamond in the rough. He is so darling and smart and kind and wonderful but I forget that a lot because he politely lets others be the center of attention. He is the best 11-year-old on the planet. He loves to read lots of books and also learn about all kinds of little facts about science and history.

Preslie is by far the most responsible female in our home. She loves her dance class and has been begging to do other extra-curriculars. I hope she and Hunter will join the cross-country team this fall. She has recent motivations of getting in shape. She recently saved up for a new iPod. She is a great babysitter and is unstoppable when she sets her mind to something.

Dax has been on work overload but not the awesome kind. Office, administrative, and problem solving. He is going out to work in the mountains this week to clear his head. He is going through a mini-midlife and has been looking up apartments for sale in the Canary Islands. He also bought a new gun.

My mini-midlife consists of another room re-do for a friend, quitting teaching piano, and eating my weight in girl scout cookies. It feels like I'm recently torn between personal interests and the best interest of my family. Balance is the trickiest word to live by.

Be sure to share any Disneyland tips with me!

Earth Day

I love when it rains all night. I got out of bed a bit late, and having watched Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution last night, felt guilty for giving the kids a Pop Tart for breakfast. I made orange juice to ease my guilt a bit. They were too late to catch the bus so I drove them to school and stopped at the grocery store on my way home. Back home, I was unloading my healthy groceries and got a phone call from Preslie's teacher saying that she needed to be picked up because she had a tick on the back of her neck.


As I threw Mack in the car, I remembered the past few days of Little Babe complaining about the back of her head itching and one night she asked me to check her for lice. I checked and didn't see any. But you'd think I would have noticed this fat boy...



All the regular suggested removal tips (smother it with Vaseline, touch it with a hot needle or match) did not work. And in the middle of this I had to go get Hunter from school and clean up a box of baking soda that got dumped out when my attention was diverted.

I called our pediatrician and he said the best way to remove it is to grab it with some good tweezers down by where it's hooked on and pull gently, slowly, and consistently until it is out. It was hooked on pretty good. Then I drove Preslie back to school. Four trips in one day to the elementary is my new record.

I was sort of wiped out from all the excitement but knew I'd better suck it up because I had cub scouts in a few hours. Then Dax called and said they cancelled his horse rides because of the rain so he was coming home early. I was more thankful than ever for the rain because he was able to come teach my scouts about Wildlife Conservation (which is what we've been studying all month). It took such a load off to have him come!

All this nature stuff and the fact that I remembered to use my own bags at the grocery store made for one fulfilling Earth Day.

P.S. I bet Dax brought that tick home from work.

He's BAAAACK!

Pinch me. It is Saturday and my husband was here. The WHOLE day. Don't know what happened to his supposed 4-day work weeks; I haven't seen my husband during a weekend for a month. It has been all work all the time.

Staying in my pajamas today until 4:30pm was just nice.

And so was the Mexican dinner Dax cooked. Pork burritos with fresh tomatillo salsa {Insert Homer Simpson drooling sound here}. And sorry no pic. Too hungry.

So guess what's awesome? I went to the cannery this week for the first time and gots me some food storage! Yeah, I am excited. Only not about the dog I hit on the way home. Did not love the sound of doggy hitting bumper. As it ran away, I tried to follow it home to tell the owners I am sorry, but it disappeared into the night.

Also, Preslie went to the district poetry out loud competition and did really well.

She did not place, and was sad about that, but we saw this truck on the way home and snapped a few bad pictures...

Ok, next time we'll wait (and wait and wait) until it's warm here and take the pic when we don't have Strep. Yes, strep. Which brings me to the fact that my Salt Lake trip got cancelled again. The forces that be are trying to keep me here in this frozen wasteland. No one understands how cold it is and has been for 3 months straight. I told myself not complain on my blog about it, but I can't take it anymore. Negative temps at night and in the 20s as a high during the day? WHY do people live here (including me)? Oh, and I thought the sun still came up in the winter... no. If it has, it is covered by gray blah. I long for a 40 degree day with the sun shining! Oh!

Going to snuggle and watch a movie with my real, live husband! TTFN.

in the thick of it

No one would ever believe the serenade my husband gave me last night. ALL night. Snoring, I mean. I almost didn't believe it myself. It was so loud and so impressive that I found myself saying "Wow" out loud several times throughout the night. Of course, I wasn't bugged. He is sick; we all are. And if I hadn't been battling a severe fever and chills, I'd have gotten up and found a tape recorder. It's too bad because I know he would have thanked me.

Here is a pic of my kids after school, collapsed on the couch with 102 degree fevers. A huge sorry to their classmates.

We have been sick way too much the past month, but this one wins the award for meanest virus. Pretty sure it is some kind of 'flu. But that is a lame thing to blog about so here are some happys from the past couple weeks...

I am giddy that our storage room is completed!

And here she is with all the kids' clothes we own adorning the shelves..

I called my Mom to tell her the great news. She said, "I get excited about storage rooms!" I knew she would be happy for me!

That same weekend, we painted the inside of our garage and all of our exterior doors.

And Dax turned into our hero when he came home from his trip and took care of the 4 of us. Hunter pretty much summed up how things were going when he said, "Hey, Dad. Can you get Mack some breakfast 'cause I'm tired of getting breakfast for him."

Dax also brought home a 38 lb pumpkin from the grocery store to lift our spirits.

This little boy was at the height of his glory: on the table, making messes, and nobody stopping him!

oh, yum.

WHERE to begin. How about sometime around 3am when I heard Preslie's guts wrenching and puke hitting toilet water (so thankful that it got in the toilet!). Then again around 5 or 6am, same thing. 7am, repeat. The poor girl was down all day. And when I say she threw up everything, I do mean everything. Two sips of water for the poor parched princess- chucked. Two licks of a popsickle- chucked. Ok, lets try ONE sip of water...nope - chucked.
She got worse and more pale as the day went on and then slowly, as these things take their course, the puke episodes spread out and she was finally able to keep down some juice from bottled peaches. Then around 6pm she said, "Mom, I want a hot dog."


"SAY WHAT?"


Did my ears deceive me? Hot dogs make me want to throw up when I am at full health. BUT, if she thinks it sounds good, I can't deny the child some nourishment, however wrong it may be. After all the kid hasn't had anything for 24 hours.


While the children were chowing on what I think is the poorest excuse for food, Dax and I were busy making something real. Something only adults could appreciate.


The pizza of all pizzas.

(cue angelic choir)

Can I just tell you, my love for my husband grew noticeably when I bit into this for the first time.





Think saute'd mushrooms, shallots, and garlic, crispy bacon, yellow pepper, spanish olives, fresh tomato, and seasoned chicken chunks on a bed of alfredo sauce and smothered in mozzerella and romano cheese.


AND. It was completely fat free*.

















*not true

summer, yikes!

Preslie's been begging to swim in her pool and finally it was warm enough so I filled it up in the morning so the sun could warm it all day for her to swim after school. My plan was foiled by a construction dog from the lot next door... a pool filled with dog hair and dirt: not cool.

Oh, well. The boys had a great time refilling it. This is a little boy's dream come true: sunshine, water, dirt, tractors, and a dog!

Preslie did end up having a great time playing with Hunter in the pool. Here they are laying out-

...Preslie getting a tan and Hunter under a quilt so he won't get sunburned. This illustrates their personalities so well. My crazy girl and my cautious boy.

School gets more and more fun as the last days approach. Preslie got up Thursday and put her swimsuit on under her clothes because her class was doing a slip-n-slide at school. As I fixed her hair, I noticed something strange and upon closer examination, I knew it was head lice. Several kids in her class have had it and I've been checking her for a couple weeks now. DANG.

We started treatment immediately and got all of it out, but Preslie's school year ended prematurely. Happy Summer, Little Babe! If there is one thing you don't want to take from your first grade year, lice is IT.

Now to call her friends' Moms and let them know. Nice.

Most people know that anyone can get lice. It doesn't mean you are dirty, neglected, and have bad hygiene...but there is still something gross about bugs laying eggs in your hair.

Maybe I'll just put a sign out in front of our house... "HELLO. We are new to the neighborhood and have probably given your child head lice."

Perfect.

And to end off this post, here is my orphan baby that smacked his head super hard on a closet door and my orphan husband that got cold while working in the basement so decided to put on some wool socks.


I wish I could say I am the only normal person in this house. But that just would not be true.

unwanted guests

guest #1: baby in my bed. I have never been able or even wanted to sleep with my kids. When Preslie was a baby, another mother told me just to pull her in bed to nurse in the middle of the night. I could never pull it off. I didn't like the feeling of half-sleeping in an uncomfortable position and wake up with parts hanging out, cold, wet, and a kinked neck/back/arm, etc. I much prefer to get up and take care of the child's needs then return to bed. Alone. This held true for Mack last week when he would scream every night for up to an hour at a time and would wake up the second I put him back in his crib. So I got desperate. Half-sleep at that point was better than no sleep. But there is just no room in the bed for another person. Especially when the baby sleeps like this:

guest #2: WIND

No one would believe the WIND we've been having in town. Happens every Spring. SO annoying. I called and invited a girl in my neighborhood to come eat lunch at the park with us one day. It was breezy for the first 5 minutes and then all of a sudden I looked to the South and saw a HUGE wall of wind/dust/debris coming in our direction and shouted, "Cover your eyes!" Luckily I was holding Mack so I could protect him from blowing away. My bike and bike trailer didn't fare so well and got blown across the grass. My friend's kids got blasted and ended up crying. We finally made it home, she in her car and I on my bike SLOWLY pedaling INTO the wind...and uphill I might add. Anyway, the tumbleweeds are back.

*Mack has been to the doctor and received an antibiotic for his ear infection. Life is suddenly so much better. I don't mind the tumbleweeds so much because my husband and I can sleep in our own bed!

eww, sick.

This is how all of us felt last week when we were stricken with a nasty bug that's been going around. Special awards are as follows:

Hardest Hit: Hunter

Most times puked: Hunter

Top puke cleaner-upper: Tristie

Top diarrhea cleaner-upper: Dax

Largest area covered with their throw-up: Preslie

Best car puker: Mack

If there was ever a time to break out my carpet and upholstery cleaner, it was now. I shampooed beds and then went out and did the seats and floors in my car. I could not include a picture of the black mud I dumped out of the tank when I was done...this post is already gross enough.