May Letters

Dear family (in my home and otherwise),

Sometimes happiness comes in a box...

...or a basket.

Thanks for the birthday gifts.

Love--Me

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Dear weather gods,

Snow boots and swimming suits in the same week is bizarre.

Yours Truly--Confused mama who is bidding winter farewell, no matter what

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Dear National Do Not Call Registry,

Despite having filed my home number with you three(-ish...seems like 20) times , I still receive telephone solicitations on a regular basis. I am tempted to block all solicitors' calls and blast back that message I've seen on some front doors. It goes something like, "We've found Jesus, we like our vacuum, and our roof is fine, thankyouverymuch." Do you know it?  I think it ends with "...unless you're selling girl scout cookies..."

I'd ditch our home phone except that my children would have no way to call me when I'm gone. Hmm....there's an idea.

Impatiently--Current Resident

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Dear Wells Fargo,

Thanks for being good to us. Garry sure has been good to you for ten years! Thanks for the extra five days of paid time off, for the steak lunch Garry's boss paid for, and for his early release last Friday.

With appreciation--The employee's wife

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Dear Colorado Springs Utilities,

Our electricity usage has inexplicably decreased by half over the last year. I have no idea what's happening, but thank you for the credit on our bill.

Thankfully--Equal-pay customer

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Dear daughters,

The fact that both of you soiled your underwear in a 20-minute period while we were away from home reinforces my belief that storing multiple pairs of back-up clothing in the van is a must. Kate would probably agree, as she's the one who ended up in a diaper. I am glad that one of you refused to eat breakfast before school, and so had a zip baggie of cereal that we could use for...um...waste. Ew. That was gross.

Resignedly--Still a diaper-changing mama

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Dear Subway,

I am sorry that one of the afore-mentioned incidents happened on your premises.

Sincerely--Your customer

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Dear Coats & Clark,

You make transparent thread. I sew scout patches to olive drab shirts. It seems that we would be a match made in heaven (or Troop 512). However, my sewing machine hates you. Patient as I was about starting over and over and over, I simply couldn't tolerate the mess you made in my bobbin compartment, not to mention the fact that you wouldn't complete an actual seam. And so I return to matching threads to patches. *sigh*

Yours (or maybe not) in sewing--A wannabe seamstress

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Dear Hobby Lobby,

Why don't you carry Guterman thread? Let's hope Lexi doesn't noticed the slight shade differential in the seams of her bed curtains, since I RAN OUT OF THREAD during the final phase of the eternal sewing project I am attempting for her birthday, and I didn't want to drive to another store when I had already driven to you. Bah.

Secretly--President, Overly-Ambitious Anonymous

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Dear May,

You are just as harrowing as December, minus the snow and ice. Wait...

Yours in scheduling--Mother of four school children and a toddler who naps

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Dear friend with a husband and father in the hospital,

Your stress is palpable. Man, I wish I could help. I sure love your family.

Love to you--Your mom's former-but-always visiting teacher

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Dear Landsharks,

I am sad that you changed your policy and no longer allow kindergartners to run in the one-mile race. Gavin was totally planning on it, telling everyone about his "big race." He was so disappointed. However, after processing the disappointment for a while, he said, "Mom, can I do Landsharks next year so I can run the mile?" I guess he's resilient.

Speedily (or not)--A mom raising a runner

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Dear LG,

Our dishwasher--or rather, your dishwasher in my kitchen--is broken. Do know how lame this is for a family that generates so many dirty dishes? Garry has ordered one of your fancy heating elements and will attempt to make the repair himself. We'll see. Until then I am remembering the days of washing dishes by hand when I was a kid, and feeling guilty for the lack of character-building parenting in my current home every time I pass out paper bowls and plates at meal time. I am trying to believe that, as a friend pointed out, we might be conserving water while killing trees.

Sadly--A lazy mom

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Dear Not Me,

Thank you (but not) for sitting in the stroller and breaking the seat, and for taking off the front wheel simply because it is removable. Seriously, I don't know how the idea of LEAVE IT ALONE never enters your head!

Crying with frustration--Fed up

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Dear Kate,

Stop being so ridiculously cute. It's really hard to discipline a cherub, except when said cherub is acting decidedly un-heavenly. Then it's easy.

Lovingly--Yo mama

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Dear AEES teachers,

We love you, which hopefully is obvious by the tedious process required I created for myself to make these posters. I don't know when I'll learn to pass on projects like this. Maybe you can teach me.

With gratitude--The Bartle boys' mom

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Dear Anthony E. Wolf,

Your book is especially resonant in my life right now, but I think you could have emphasized your points about ornery teenagers without all the swearing. Doesn't that mean you're as immature and un-creative as they are? 

Harshly--A desperate but picky reader

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Dear self,

It has taken a year, but I am glad you f.i.n.a.l.l.y figured out that relocating Kate's clothes to the lower drawers would nearly eliminate her incessant need to invert the laundry baskets and use them as ladders.

With relief and gratitude--A slow learner

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Dear Saturday evening,

You were just perfect for a walk. Ahhhh....

Appreciatively--A fresh air lover

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Dear child with a pink obsession,

Your outfits are always creative, but the nightgown-boots-jacket-helmet combo especially amused me.

Mama

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Dear Not Me,

Whatever possessed you to put a marker inside of a jar of burning wax is beyond me, but I am sure you enjoyed seeing the results of the experiment. Bursting glass and dripping wax are always funny, right?!

With suspicion and annoyance--Your exhausted mother

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Dear Lynn the attendance lady,

You always laugh at my children when we stop by the middle school to drop off a child or an item. It is true: they are crazy. That day I brought in four children between the ages of two and four (one is hiding behind the bench) was especially chaotic, but only because we had to wait 20 minutes for you to locate my son.

With a smirk--Zach's mom

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Dear band director,

We've got another percussionist in the family. He will probably practice.

Excitedly--Tyler's mom

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Dear Pinterest,

I found this wreath and LOVE it, but I think I am not up to such a project. Maybe next summer? (Because surely I'll have more free time then...hahahahahaha...)

Yours in pinning--A recovering ambitious crafter

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Dear friends and family,

Thank you for supporting Tyler in his required-for-school business. He is too young to appreciate that soliciting money from loved ones is uncomfortable for his parents. Nevertheless, he loves to cook and is excited to sell his made-from-scratch crescent rolls, which, I promise you, will be delicious. A dozen rolls are $4.50 and will be available on Saturday, just in time for Mother's Day. It's not too late to order!

Thankfully--A Tyler's Tongue-Tingling Tasties marketing strategist

The kids lately

Blogging feels like a chore lately, but I can't quite let it go.  I feel an obligation to our family history. I am sure I will be glad for the effort down the road when I am reading our memory books with fondness.  Perhaps this is how I will become the grandma who is kind to mothers struggling in grocery stores and wrestling children at church.  "I remember those days...let me give you a hand." Yep, that's how I'm going to be when I grow up.

Speaking of growing up...these children of mine get bigger every day.  I'm not quite sure how that happens, but the boys' pants are too short and the girls' hair is below their shoulders, which is an obvious mark of the passage of time.  Oh, and Garry had a birthday, and mine is coming up, and those days surely affirm a fast-spinning globe, because there is no way I'm old enough to be this old.

So. Here's a little run-down on our hooligans, from first to last.

Zach is now 5'6" tall. Yep.  Four inches taller than his mother and taller than all of his friends. OK, not all of them. But seriously: tall! He recently attended the Priesthood session of LDS General Conference with Garry, and then enjoyed their now-traditional burger and shake after the meeting.  Zach is quite fashion-conscious, and recently spent a month and a half of paper route money on the perfect pair of Nike shoes (which were on clearance).  Zach has some good guy friends (one in particular), although I sure wish the silly girls at school would leave him alone! The other night Zach was struggling with a math assignment full of quadratic equations.  I sat down to help him and he explained the concepts to me. Then he realized he knew what he was doing and finished quickly. He's a smart kid but doesn't believe in himself all the time.

Tyler is doing a science fair project that studies people's favorite color of soda pop.  After pack meeting last week, he collected data from most of the attendees when they tasted a variety of colors of soda (all lemon-lime, dyed with food coloring). He's also excited that he is finally invited to a birthday party. We'd really love for some boys to move into the neighborhood so he'd have more friends! Tyler continues to be very sensitive and affectionate. He is also excited to start making plans for middle school. He's a little smarty pants and is happy about his math and reading placements next year.  He wants to join the band.  I'm trying to convince him to take up the piano again. This week Tyler was my date to a high school musical (How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying) and we had a great time together.

Gavin is ecstatic to be running in the Landsharks running club. It's finally his turn! Having practices and meets on Monday is a real pain in the neck (Tyler has scouts and Zach has swing dance lessons on Monday afternoons, too), but it's only for a few weeks. Gavin's reading is improving, although I don't spend as much time reading with him as I should.  He is a very conscientious student and loves to please his teacher.  During General Conference we pulled out a big box of LEGO blocks that has been in storage.  He really likes building with them, so I'm glad we have held onto them. This photo says so much about Gavin: his adoration for snow boots, his desire to take stuffed animals outside, his need to snack outdoors, and his dirty face are all quintessential Gavin traits.

Miss Alexis has been very spunky lately.  Lots of attitude and drama...so she's taking naps sometimes and going to bed early sometimes...more sleep is always the answer, right?  Lexi loves playing with her friends.  Having Lucy and Kaela in the neighborhood has been so fun for her, and having Lucy sleep over while her mom had a baby was extra fun!  She continues to love school and is making progress on her reading and writing.  She loves to color, play "family" (it was called "house" when I was little), dress up her dolls, and ride her bike.  Oh, and fix her hair.  I am not allowed to do that unless it is Sunday, and even then she is very particular.  It's not a battle I fight anymore.

Kate. Oh Kate. She makes me laugh every day. Her latest adventure is wearing "unnerwears" and refusing a diaper. So far she is 100% consistent; she always pees in the potty and she always poops in her pants. So we are going through bags of M&Ms...her reward for successes and my consolation for her accidents. Also, Kate is obsessed with wearing leotards. We have four, which last about 2.5 days because she can't keep anything clean.  I only do laundry on Mondays, so when they are all dirty she asks approximately 67 times if her leotards are clean.  Last time I pulled one from the dryer, she put it on immediately, wore it the rest of the day, overnight, and all the next day until she spilled cereal on it (afternoon snack...haha). Leotard 2.0 emerged shortly thereafter. Just as a side note, leotards and unnerwears are a tricky combination, but the bike helmet she wears all the time is an awesome accessory.

There's not much to report about the grown-ups in the house.  This was Garry's super busy week at work (end of quarter). He continues to lose weight, which is why I gave him a new shirt and slacks for his birthday. And also he has spectacular bed-head.

I'm practicing accompaniment for an Easter song that a friend is singing at church. My resolve to avoid dairy is weakening since my skin hasn't improved one tiny bit in two months, except that I am losing weight, and breaking into my stash of smaller jeans is a great motivator. (Sorry, no pictures; she who holds the camera chooses the subjects.)

So there ya go: the Bartles lately.

Gone but not forgotten

Here are some updates on our life...they have passed, but I still want to remember them.

1. Tyler's cast is gone!  After six weeks, his arm is free!  He is still wearing a wrist guard at school, but not at home.  He is slowly improving mobility and flexibility.  It's nice for him to have clean hands and to shower unobstructed.

2. My dad visited! In the middle of a business trip to Denver, he ventured down to Colorado Springs to spend some time with us.  He stayed with the kids while Garry and I attended parent/teacher conferences, and then treated the whole family to a yummy dinner at Olive Garden. Then we rounded out his visit with several rousing rounds of Don't Eat Pete, a Granny & Gramps tradition with our kids.  Fun times!  Thanks for coming, Dad!

3. We got several inches of snow this week after Mother Nature teased us with spring weather. I was desperate not to lose my tulips to the cold like I did last year. I covered the three-inch sprouts with blankets several nights in a row and they look hardy and happy! 

4.  We painted our bedroom, four months after buying new bedding.  Good-bye green!  Hello, gray!  Love it.

5.  Spring Break came and went. We (all the kids, plus Garry and me--he had the whole week off) went to the zoo one fine day.  Other highlights: a movie at the dollar theater, playing at Fox Run Park (saw some friends from BYU that we haven't seen in 12 years, which makes us O-L-D), seeing Gavin's art work (the lizard) at the school district office building, Zach dying the milk Easter colors, and lots of playing with friends and relaxing.  It was mostly a good break, but I was more than ready to send everyone back to school.

6. Garry had a birthday. Yay for Daddy!

7. We carried on the tradition of eating crepes for breakfast on the Sunday morning of LDS General Conference.

8. This event is perhaps the most fitting for the post's title. Christa Johnson, a sweet friend from my high school days, passed away this week after a four-year battle with breast cancer. A few years ago, when I was sick with my last pregnancy, Christa and I reconnected through our blogs and chatted online sometimes. We joked about PICC lines and Zofran and living on the couch. I got better...but she didn't. She died at age 35, leaving behind a loving husband and four children.  I am heartsick for that little family.  The tragedy hits close to home.  A couple of years ago I met Christa and some other friends for lunch.  I'm glad for that fun memory for her, even if the picture we took is particularly unflattering of me....

So here's to memories, the good and the bad, that fill my heart today.  Cheers!