Better Than a Jungle Gym

Off Course

Look, I'm a hurricane! No wait, this is a different Margot. But if you look at the highlighted portion below you'll see that we do have something in common.

Into the Teens

We have a new teenager at our house!

We spread her birthday celebration over a few days. She enjoyed crepes for her birthday dinner and a spice cake with vanilla buttercream frosting and lots of sprinkles for dessert. We haven't done her birthday adventure yet, so there's more celebrating in her future.

Lesson Learned

After waking up sick on Friday I made myself rest as much as possible on both Friday and Saturday. Bryan made it possible by taking on my jobs as well as his. By Saturday afternoon I wasn't feeling totally well, but I was feeling guilty for staying in bed and not helping around the house. Usually I would have gotten up and done chores.

But not this time.

I continued to make myself stay in bed. I was supposed to teach Relief Society and lead choir practice the next day and I really wanted to be well enough to do that. So even though I had started to feel a little better, I intentionally kept recuperating.

You know what? I woke up on Sunday morning and I felt well!

I feel like it shouldn't have taken me 43 years to learn that rest really does help with recovery. But it did take that long. I hope the lesson sticks.

Love In Action

My body has been trying to be sick for a few days. I was feeling a few symptoms, but holding it at bay so I could get through some big commitments. Those commitments are done and my body has responded by plunging into a wicked cold. Instead of pushing through like I've done in the past, I'm deliberately taking a sick day today. Bryan took care of getting the kids out the door and I am making myself stay in bed as much as possible.

Because of my thyroid issues I can't take regular cold medicine. I ran out of my supply so Bryan made a quick store trip between meetings. He asked if there was any comfort food he should pick up for me. In a moment of self pity I told him I couldn't eat any of the comfort food anyway, so no. He suggested BBQ potato chips and I agreed, those sounded good.

I slept while he shopped.

When he retuned home he had a grocery bag of goodies. In addition to the chips and cold medicine he had picked up sushi and cherries. He knew what I wanted even when I couldn't think of it.

As I looked at the treats he had picked up for me a thought popped into my head, "This is what love looks like." And it's true, at least for me. I was too tired and sick to think of anything I wanted to eat, so he took the time and mental energy to think about what might make me happy. These aren't his sick day foods (McDonald's french fries, if you're curious), they're mine. And they have helped. It's a seemingly small thing, but it makes a big difference.

I really love him.

Running On Empty

I'm usually very good about not letting the gas in the van get below a quarter of a tank. Apparently I've had my mind on others things lately because this is how much gas I put into my 20 gallon tank this week.

Oops.

Time Flies

Several friends who had already reached the milestone of having all their kids in school warned me that the school day goes by much quicker than you think it will. They said not to plan to get too much done each day because before I know it I'll need to pick up the kids.

So far, they've been right.

Similar, But Not the Same

 Google finally learned that Peter and Topher are two different people!

Shoeless Joe from Hannibal Mo*

On Saturday evening I went on a walk with Sophie and Phoebe. Sophie started the walk wearing her inexpensive flip flops. I suggested they might not be the best walking shoes and she went back in the house. She came out a minute later wearing a relatively new pair of my tennis shoes. I haven't broken them in yet. I asked her if they were comfortable, she said yes, we started walking.

About fifteen minutes into our walk the shoes had started rubbing raw spots on her foot. Sophie slipped off my shoes and switched to walking barefoot on the street. After a very short distance I took the shoes out of her hand, stepped out of my own comfortable flip flops and put on the stiff shoes. Sophie finished the walk in my sandals.

Today I dropped Peter, Cooper, and Phoebe off at a pool party for the youth at church. We pulled up to the house and I wished them all a fun time. That's when Phoebe announced that she didn't have any shoes. I repeated what she said and asked if I had heard her correctly. Yes, she had gotten into the van without any footwear. Once again, I pulled off my sandals and handed them to one of my daughters. I drove home barefoot.

Apparently my role as a mom is now to give up my shoes to my kids. Also, it works out well that we currently all have the same shoe size.

* I will be incredibly impressed if anyone gets this musical theatre reference without Googling it. Hint: I never say the full title of this show.

The Rest of the Week

Tuesday:

It's a lot easier to walk to the bus stop in the morning than it is to walk home after school. During one walk we have lots of energy, during the other walk we're so tired that we beg to be carried. By we, I mean Topher.

Phoebe has been quite the fashionista this week. I didn't get great pictures of any of the ensembles, but they were darling.

Wednesday:

The BYU application went live and Peter got to work on it right away.

Thursday:

This was the first morning of the school year chilly enough to require sweatshirts. When they got off the bus in the afternoon the sweatshirts were no longer needed.