Long Ears

We've never had a pet. Bryan is allergic to dogs and Peter is allergic to cats, so those popular options are out of the question. Most of our leases have forbidden owning pets, though one allowed a fish. I have enough living creatures to care for, I don't think I'm up to the challenge of adding one with fur, feathers, or scales.

In spite of those sound reasons, our children occasionally request a pet. We always say no, but they are rarely deterred by that pesky word. Lucky us, our yard has supplied the much requested animal companion. Granted, it's a friend that we can't touch and don't feed, but we sure enjoy watching our wild rabbit nibble on our plentiful dandelion crop.

Brain Pain

I'm (hopefully) finishing my first migraine in five months. I'm glad that's it's been so long, but sad that the hiatus couldn't have lasted longer. Thankfully, Bryan was home to take over when it came on.

Note to self: mowing the front lawn does not provide enough exercise to ward off a migraine.

Want Screen Time?

We spent our first day of summer vacation in a lazy, TV-filled stupor. I knew the boys were looking forward to rest and relaxation after the busy school year, so I figured I would let them have yesterday. Then, today, I introduced them to this.

At first there was some general grumbling. Then, after a trip to the library for a fresh batch of books, Peter caught the vision of the job list. He made his bed, scrubbed a bathroom, started and finished two novels (reading level requirements go into effect tomorrow), read several picture books, happily practiced his piano pieces, and made scrambled eggs and apple juice for the family dinner. During bedtime I asked what he thought of the new screen time system. His answer: "It's awesome!"

Phoebe got sort of excited about it. She read several books as well, made her bed, cleared the table (which doesn't appear on the list but still earned her a few minutes), and scrubbed another bathroom.

Cooper read lots of books and made his bed, but definitely is not as into the list as Peter and Phoebe. I hope their enthusiasm rubs off on him.

One Big Mouse

Remember our trouble with unwanted, furry house guests? We hadn't seen signs of their presence for months. Then, a few weeks ago, I began seeing small brown things on the kitchen counters. I inspected each one carefully and cleaned the area thoroughly, but the items in question didn't look quite right. Still, I took extra precautions to not leave food out and to clean the kitchen each night.

I made cookies today, sort of a "Hooray, school is over!" treat. After I emptied the remnants of a Costco-sized bag of chocolate chips into the dough, I noticed something on the counter. Everywhere I had worked with the chips, there were small brown crumbs, the exact things I had been finding on the counters.

And it was then, with a great sense of relief, that I realized what had happened. We don't have mice running through our kitchen. Nope, we just have a tall ten-year-old who likes to sneak handfuls of chocolate chips when he thinks no one is looking.

I'll take him over a mouse any day.

The End, Again

Today brought the close of the longest and shortest school year we've ever had. This year has been incredibly hard in terms of getting kids to school, getting kids to stay in the school, participating in the seemingly endless battle of homework. This year was full of tears about not having friends and not understanding the social landscape of school. It had more projects than ever before, a new need to listen to an emerging trumpet player on a semi-regular basis, and several Google searches in order to complete Common Core math assignments. And lunches. Why are school lunches so monotonous? All of these made the year feel long.

But it also feels like the year just started. I clearly remember that first day, how is it possible that it was nine months ago? It's a blur of activity. We've all learned a lot, some of it academic, most of it not.

We now have a fifth grader, a third grader, and a kindergartner. And we are all ready for summer.

When the Weather is Hot

 

Utah, in Pictures

Peter turned in his first major poster/diorama school project today. Since parental participation was encouraged, he and Bryan worked on it all weekend. Each fourth grader picked a state to highlight. It was no shock when Peter chose Utah. I think it turned out well. The diorama of the Golden Spike and the completion of the transcontinental railroad is especially cool.

Hubris

"We know more than you now. They teach us more now than they did way back when you were a kid. I'm sorry to say this, but HA! I'm probably smarter than some adults."

-Cooper, sharing his high opinion of our modern-day educational system, or disparaging the antiquated form that apparently failed my generation.

Two Weeks Later

This picture was taken before Sophie's laser treatment.

These pictures were taken today.

Magical Memories

On yesterday's date three years ago we had our final day at Disneyland. We spent time yesterday reminiscing about how much fun we had and everyone agreed that we need to go back at some point so Sophie can experience all that magic too.

Also, kids sure do grow in three years.

So-Phie

Clockwatchers

On Saturday morning I was awakened by Cooper. He must have called my name because I opened my eyes to see his pajama-clad form hovering in the entryway to my room.

"It's 7:01," he said, hopping lightly from one foot to the other, a signature Cooper move. "That's what the clock says. That means I can get up now."

In my bleary-brained state I mumbled something to him about reading books and not waking the other kids. Then I rolled over and slept for another hour.

Cooper and Peter were keenly aware of the time all day long. They enjoyed having so many clocks to check. It wasn't until later in the day, after several son-delivered updates, that I thought about Cooper's opening words to me from the morning.

"Cooper, when you came into my room this morning you said that because it was 7:01 you could get up now. Had you been awake for very long before that?"

He nodded in confirmation.

"What time did you wake up?"

He looked at the ceiling thoughtfully, remembering back so many hours ago. "The hour hand was between the five and the six and the minute hand was on the five."

I gasped as I realized what he had said. "You woke up at 5:25?!"

"Yeah."

"What did you do all that time between 5:25 and 7:01?"

"I just laid in bed, watching the clock."

In related news, Cooper took a parent-mandated nap on Saturday. His cheery disposition disappears when he's low on sleep. I understand that, I'm also much nicer to be around when I'm well rested. We all appreciated his nap.

Out of Sight, Out of Mind

We are always late. It doesn't matter if it's for something fun or boring, it is nearly impossible to get everyone in the car at the appropriate time. I detest being late. Today, I came up with a plan.

Cooper woke up at 5:30 this morning, woefully early in my opinion. We need to leave for school at 8:00. Despite the fact that he'd been up for more than two hours, at 7:50 he still was not dressed. When he discovered he didn't have time to sit down at the table for breakfast, he was not pleased.

Trust me, neither was I.

After we dropped the boys off, I brainstormed. What could we do to help this problem? That's when I realized we have very few clocks in our house. There's one on the stove, one in the girls' room, and our phones, which the children generally don't have access to. If I want them to be ready at a certain time, I'd better make sure they can see a clock.

So we went to Ikea.

The woman that helped us at the checkout register was amused to hear why we were buying nine clocks in one go. I chose the $1.99 version. Three have already found new homes on the walls downstairs. I gave each big kid their own clock to decorate with stickers and permanent markers. They thought this was awesome and quickly let their creative brains take over. That means the boys will have two clocks in their room.

At least they can no longer use the excuse that they didn't know what time it was.

I Love Books

The kids and I went to the library this evening. It's been an unusually long time since we replenished our book supply. Maybe that's why the visit went so well. The kids wandered aisles, played with toys, and gathered books. The only one that ran around was the two-year-old, and that garnered looks of "oh isn't she cute?" rather than the "what is wrong with that child's mother?" glares we get when the big kids run in quiet places. They were all so calm that I had some time to look for my own books. The last time I was able to do that, without severe threats of punishment or children scaling the walls, Peter was in a stroller.

And then? Once we were home, the kids maintained their calm while they poured through their new treasures. With the exception of Peter getting out of bed several times to read, bedtime was easier than it's been in a while.

I love books.

Girls' Day Out

I needed to run a few errands that I've been putting off because they required me to take kids to the mall. I don't dislike malls when I'm by myself or with Bryan on a date or strolling and chatting with a friend. It's great to be able to get so much done at one location. But the mall with kids? Just the thought causes my motivation to drain out into a sad little puddle of procrastination.

I finally gave in today and put a positive spin on it when I told the girls we would have a girly day adventure. They were very excited until they realized that I had to actually accomplish things while we were out. So I interspersed my must-do activities with fun things for them.

We bought nail polish at Claire's, a clearance dress at JCPenny's, and rhinestone encrusted sunglasses at Children's Place. I really stepped outside my financial comfort zone and and splurged for ice cream (that we shared) and doughnut holes.

The most exciting part of our day? A ride on the mall carousel.

Phoebe was vocal about how much she loved the day, despite her equally vocal dislike of any stop that didn't have fun stuff for her.

I was paying at one store when the sales-person tried to get me to buy me a few more items so I could qualify for a free bottle of perfume. I didn't need the clothes and certainly didn't need the perfume. She was really pushing it when I said, "Oh, no thank you, I'm not really a perfume person."

Phoebe piped up with confirmation. "She's not fancy."

I may not be fancy, but today was proof that I can cater to the fancy people most important to me.

Biggest Brother Duties

With a Cherry on Top

I had a lovely, relaxing Mother's Day yesterday. The kids gave me lots of hugs and kisses and "you're the best Mom in the whole world"s. I spent time snuggling with the kids and reading to Sophie while Bryan made an amazing dinner. After we finished reading scriptures and saying prayers for the night, Cooper handed me a cute card he had made at school.

In case you can't see it, the top of the cupcake says "fun beautiful generous caring thoughtful."

The inside says

Mommy

I love you.

Ask me why.

Because you bake the worlds best delicious home made bread ever

Because you get the best MOMMY treats for me, Peter, Phoebe, and Sophie.

Because you sing and read stories to me, you hug me and kiss me all at night

Because you teach me the best things ever with my homework, even though you don't really do it for me.

Because you sometimes let us watch a movie right when we ask for it.

Because, Because, Because

That's why I love you!

Love, Cooper

This is my kind of Mother's Day gift.

Post-Op, Part Two

The anesthesia didn't wear off as fast as we thought. The night of the surgery Sophie woke up long after everyone else was asleep (except for me, of course). She was thrilled to come find me and hang out for a bit. 

Later that morning, after the sun had come up, the grumpiness that the doctors had warned us about set in. At one point during the day I told her we were going to go to Costco and her bottom lip started to quiver as she replied, "No Costco" in a weepy voice. That unhappiness lasted until bedtime.

She's now back to her happy self. We even ventured out to the park today. She did a good job keeping her required hat and glasses on.

Live Your Life Like a Musical

Keep Your Eye on the Ball

Post-Op

The surgery went well. We got the other kids where they needed to go, arrived at the surgery center close to on-time, and our girl was in good spirits. She never asked why we hadn't fed her breakfast or offered her anything to drink. And she really loved her fancy green gown and orange socks.

 

 The surgery took place at a children's hospital satellite location, so everything was geared toward kids. The staff was wonderful and explained the procedure and our options. I was able to wear my own special white jumpsuit and blue hairnet in order to follow her into the operating room. I held her hands as they put the laughing gas mask on her and felt her muscles relax as the medication took hold.

The surgery itself was quick and without incident. The pilomatrixoma came out perfectly and the lasered skin looks dark and bruised, which is what the doctor expected. Everyone marveled at how sweet and calm Sophie was throughout the morning. They told us that she would probably be grumpy when she came off the anesthesia, but she wasn't. She happily drank the juice and ate the snacks they brought her while she snuggled on my lap. Her only real irritation was the arm splint that blocked her ability to remove the IV that was in her left hand. Oh, and the staff was very aware of the self-soothing power of her right hand. They made sure her fingers were available in case she needed them.

Sophie did experience some medically-induced loopiness. She blew raspberries and sang show tunes as loud as she could on the drive home. Mostly it was Gimme Gimme from Thoroughly Modern Millie, but she surprised us with her knowledge of Tomorrow from Annie. We arrived home just long enough to drop off Bryan and were on our way to pick up Phoebe when Sophie started asking questions.

Sophie: My has?
Me: What?
Sophie: Sophie has?
Me: Sophie's house?
Sophie: Sophie's house?
Me: What are you saying?
Sophie: What my have?
Me: What do you have? I don't know, what do you have?

That's when I turned around to look at Sophie in her carseat. She was staring at something in her hand and the bandage which had been covering her incision site was no longer on her face. Her dexterous fingers also removed the Dermabond that had sealed the cut. After a new band-aid, a short nap, and the retrieval of the boys from school, we went back to the surgery center for the doctor to glue her up again. The doctor and her nurse marveled at how calmly Sophie sat while they patched her back up.

Her birthmark will look bruised and dark for at least 10 days. Oh, and it can't have any sun exposure at all, otherwise it might turn brown.

Huzzah for sunscreen and big floppy hats!

Back On

This morning Sophie was given the green light for her surgery tomorrow morning. This afternoon she celebrated by helping herself to the sugar. Again.

Come back tomorrow for a report on the surgery.