Friday Nights

After dinner. After baths. Everyone takes there position.

The playlist is set.

Everyone is in motion, Landon rocks out. Jacks beats the drum.

She's the visual entertainment

Kung Fu Panda

(hi-yaw)

My baby bump

Landon's pillow

Jacksons space- get off

Kid stuff

Emma had her dance recital last weekend. She is taught by an LDS mom in our ward and they practice in the dining room of another family in the ward (Mountain Home does not have a lot to offer!). They performed at the church, or course. She had 3 numbers. Grandma and Isacc came to see her-

Emma is on the far right- the upload on this is bad. It cropped our footage.

Tanner started his "bonus" second grade year below reading level- still a first grade reader. (We had him repeat this year and I worried about his self esteem and if we were doing the right thing and if he was too tall and if he would be the oldest and on and on). When they tested him again last week he was reading at 3rd grade 6 month level. We cannot believe the improvement! He has improved 18 months worth on 6 months time! He just needed a little more time- and oh how we agonized over his reading. He now reads chapter books in a couple days (he loves Captain Underpants, Goosebumps, and Magic Treehouse books) reads til late nightly, and even read the Book of Mormon Stories for Children Book in less than a week (I will add, by our enticement- he had to read it all, share his favorite 3 stories for FHE and then he got a lego set). His teacher called me this week and asked if she could put him in a 6 week gifted and talented course. She said she wished all her students tried as hard as Tanner. I can assert to the fact that when he wants to he can be endless- try and try and try and not quit. I hope we foster that in him and direct him to the right things to excel in.

ps. Onto Spring break this week. And once school resumes we start, soccer for 2, swim lessons for 2, swim team for Tanner resumes, and Tanner has to get his Wolf by next month for scouts. We'll be going 5 afternoons a week plus Saturday games.

The mom I am

- My house always has a few piles of clutter. Ryan never complains. I try to keep our room clean and clutter free, so when I wake up in the morning I can pretend that my whole house is clutter free. Then I step over a pile just outside my door. Ryan said it took him 2 hours last night to clean up after dinner while I was in Boise. "I know" I told him. It's the same cycle over and over twice a day. That's why I always point out the chores I accomplished when he walks in the door! (And on actual scale of tidiness, I would give myself 7. Ryan says 8.)

- I fold the laundry always right out of the dryer. Lately it has sat folded, in nice piles, on my kitchen tables for up to 2 days later. Maybe 3. My family is really impressed when the table is clear, "Wow mom, the kitchen is clean!".

- My sink is usually empty by the end of the day. I don't like waking up to dirty dishes. I make breakfast, pack lunch and empty the dishwasher then.

- I told Ryan my hobby is the park. I wish my hobby was the gym. If I went to the gym as much as I go to the park I would look awesome. I just know it. I mean sometimes we go twice a day to the park- isn't that how much time professional body builders spend at the gym?

- Lately, tending other kids has been too much. I have no problem when I offer. I don't know why. But it's when I get the phone calls that someone needs help because they are going into Boise that just makes me panic. Drive time alone is 2 hours. Then add on errands. So, I wrote one of my favorite blogger moms, CloverLane, and she told me to say, "I can't do it today. My kids need me alone." Ryan ran mock phone calls with me. I owe him a happy wife when he gets home-

- I worry about meals. I told my family I wanted to have 10 recipes or so that they crave. I might have 3. Ryan tells me almost every night that he was "craving this!" He's teasing. I go to bed often thinking about what I have to do to get dinner ready the next day. I love my weekly menu board, and plan for the week on Sunday. Lately, with schedules or something, I've offered the kids cereal or mac n cheese or breakfast for dinner and you should have heard the cheers. Ryan laughed at me. The kids could care less about my meals!

- I'm not patient enough. I was thinking about this and how if Jackson is reprimanded too strongly or feels really upset, he throws up. I'd say on average it happens twice a week. Some people might say that he has some serious control already. Maybe. But I think it has forced me to be softer and gentler. I guess throw up can teach you that.

- I think about holidays and things to celebrate. I plan for them. I know it probably is so silly. But it takes the monotony out of the routine. And I like to feel like there is something special to do just around the corner. And even though I'm not the funnest mom, I hope my kids remember that there is always something to celebrate.

- I don't care to travel. I hate hotels. They creep me out. We have been known to book a hotel, arrive at the hotel, and then go to the store to get me my own linens. I am totally exposing myself here. But Ryan puts up with me.

-Almost always, no matter what, we have family prayer (minus Ryan) in the morning and scriptures and family prayer every night. Even when I am by myself I do this with the kids. If it is missed, I feel like something is missed. So even though I might be yelling, "Kneel down! Be reverent!" and there is no presence of sacredness. It is done. But, tooth brushing is not done every night for the little kids. I know. It should be.

- Tanner is turning into the most pleasant boy. I would have never thought. I really am enjoying him now. We laugh at the little kids together and he is trying to be more and more helpful around the house. Someday, when he will understand, I will apologize to him that I ever thought he was a rotten child. Daily I tell him how he is such a good boy, and I hope that tape runs in his head, and not the impatient mom I was with him as a baby. He was upset this week and I tried to put him on my lap and, he sat for a minute to please me, and then moved. He's too big for that now. And it is going by so fast.

- I hope my kids see how much I deeply love their dad. I hope they see me adoring him. I need to do that more.

-Just today, Emma asked me as I was loading every one into the car and rushing along, why I was sad. I think I was more flustered. As we were driving to base for swim team I told Emma, and they all listened, that I felt like sometimes I have too much work and can't get all my jobs done. Landon said, "Hey! You don't have a job!" Maybe not like dad, but someday I hope they see that even though I am not the best mom and do make mistakes, that I try hard and will never quit on them. Or give up on them. Or give in when they want that TV in their room. But that they have been the sweetest job I will ever have in my life.

Lucky Day

This note was left this morning:

The Leprechaun's left us these treasures- and caused a bit more mischief around the house.
Like making our milk green. And everything in our lunch green- even the peanut butter!
Although I tried to tell Landon the Leprechaun left the playdough and art stuff- he kept asking me, "Did you get this at Walmart?" (and Jacks is the one arm bandit around here due to the collar bone, his right had is the good one and doesn't impair his thumb sucking as shown.)
Our St. Patty's Dinner, I strayed from the real deal a bit:

Rosemary Pork Loin and Red Potatoes from the crock pot

Green broccoli

Irish soda bread (rhoades yeast rolls of course!)

Yellow Gold! (jello jigglers)

And lime soda

The best part! IF you were lucky enough, you found a gold chocolate coin in your cake. And, it just so happened, all the kids were lucky. We all cheered when someone discovered theirs. I wonder how long my kids will enjoy this silly stuff for?

25 weeks 5 days

You know, I think I have 3 pregnant pictures of myself. They are not my favorite. Neither is this. But, just so I remember.


Her today. My doctor pointed out that the placenta is on my back and that typically women usually feel stronger earlier movement out front. I find that she already wakes me up at night!

My heartburn is kicking up something fierce, but the rest of the aches and pains are oh so minor. I know it goes fast. And someday, I also know, I will miss those little bumps from the inside. And yes, she is still a girl!

line 'em up

I had taken Landon in for his regular check-up, with concerns about his weight. He seems so skinny to us and Ryan had me put him back on whole milk. Come to find out, he's fine. His growth curve is consistent. No worries. We realized at the appointment that our kids had not had the H1N1 shots, just the seasonal flu. I could have sworn they had, but blame the oversight on me. I get a little nervous about vaccine reactions. Ryan and I don't always see the same on this, but I always default to him and trust his understanding more than mine.

So Landon got 2 shots- one of which was the H1N1.

Ryan came home from work with loaded shots for the last 3 kids.

I gave the FHE lesson, we played the game "don't make me smile", wrapped up the night and herded them all upstairs for baths. I helped undress the kids and am running baths and showers and then Ryan comes up with the shots and before I know it- sheer naked pandemonium breaks out. Ryan's yelling, "Hold the kid!" and the others are wailing and I'm telling them "it's going to be okay" and Emma's screaming and Tanner's like what's going on and Jackson looks like he's going to throw up. They all got the shots successfully. And I am not so sure that we should have paired FHE up with "Get-Current-with-Your-Shot's-Night."

I wonder if they will protest the next FHE?

He only fell from the swing…

It wasn’t even a real swing, it was one of those “low to the ground” tire swings. It was a beautiful Saturday here in Mountain Home and just warm enough to go to the park on Base. Tanner, Landon, and Jackson were all on the tire together and dad was pushing his boys, OK, I was spinning them around. I guess the centripetal force was too strong for Jackson’s fat little hands and he slid right off. He only fell about 2 feet to the ground and as every good doctor knows- if the height one falls is less then how tall they are, the mechanism of injury isn’t enough to cause much damage. So why was Jackson crying so much? Maybe it was the fact that Tanner’s foot nicked him in the head after he went down, that broke his little heart. “Don’t be a baby,” I thought, “suck it up and stop crying cuz Soldiers don’t cry.” (real sympathetic dad) Lacey asked, “Should we take him in to the UCC (urgent care)?” “He’ll be fine,” I told her. I checked all extremities, palpated every bone and joint, and he had full range of motion. In retrospect, he did cry a little every time his Left arm was lifted over 90 degrees but nothing was broken…right?

Lacey mentioned 2 or 3 (OK maybe 4 or 5) more times, “Maybe we should take him in….” Now why would we want to waist our entire Saturday sitting in the UCC waiting room, after all I’m a Doctor? That evening after continued fussing from our Jacks, I decided to appease my wife and take him to my office for a good looking over. I wanted to check his ears as he recently had tubes placed. They were fine and he was doing better. The next day at Church was a different story. He was beyond fussy. Even our good Bishop that wears hearing aids mentioned even he could hear him in the foyer. Lacey took charge and took him to the UCC.

The Doc on shift listened to the history, looked him over, palpated every bone and joint, and he still had full range of motion and no obvious injuries. After observing Lacey in the waiting room and after the persistence of an insightful mother, the Doc ordered some X-rays. Yes that’s the Left Clavicle (collarbone) and yes it’s fractured (broken). I’ll never hear the end of this one and I probably shouldn’t. Lacey mentioned a few other times I made a similar mistake, but I didn’t recall any of them;) Mothers have an amazing ability to “know their children.” Our sweet Jackson will be OK but I have learned a few valuable lessons. 1) I should at least be as sympathetic and empathetic with my own children as I am with my patients. 2) I should never discount or doubt a mother’s instinct toward the health of her child even when he is my child as well. 3) I am NOT my kids’ Doctor (for obvious reasons). 4) Sometimes it’s OK for Soldiers to cry and dad should find out why and how I can make it better.

Thank you Lay for being a wonderful mother, wife, and woman, and always taking care of all your kids (me included).

Love,

Ryan

Broken Clavical, Spewage, Rashes & UTI's

Friday (9 days ago): Jackson got tubes, as I mentioned before. And a stomach virus. After his surgery we ran into a donut shop and he threw up all over the floor. I mopped the donut shop.

Saturday Day- Illness hit Emma. She was so sick.

Saturday Night (1am)- Ryan woke up sick and vomited. He was miserable.

Saturday Night (3 am)- Jackson and Landon simultaneously were vomiting in their beds.

Saturday Night (4 am)- I vomit.

Sunday- We are all sick and sick and sick. Except Tanner- who has a rash on his neck.

Monday- Ryan calls in sick- in the last 4 years, he has never, not once, called in sick. I tell him I need to be admitted. He won't let me leave the house or him alone with all the sick kids.

Tuesday- Energy is coming back for everyone. I think Emma has a bladder infection. Tanner's rash looks green. I keep him home and cover it up and make and appointment with the pediatrician. Tanner has impetigo. Emma has to pee in a cup. It takes me 12 hours to get a "sample"

Wed-Fri : Still lingering "GI" issues.

*Saturday: We go to the park on base. Jackson falls off the tire swing. He cries and cries.

Today, Sunday: I take Jackson to the urgent care on base. He has a broken collar bone.

Guess what I think? This week is going to be great- it just has to be. Anything is an improvement from the past 10 days.

*more to come on Jackson