Sabbath scripture

Everyone but Tyler

I am working on an all-about-Tyler post for his eighth birthday next week, so this one will contain tidbits on the rest of the kids.

Zach has become an enterprising young fellow.  After learning how to make duct tape wallets in Webelos last week, he decided he would make some to sell to his friends.  He created his own sales flyer, took orders, bought tape, and set to work!  I'm impressed!  Zach might start a trend at his elementary school.

Last week I took calls from two of his teachers (TAG and Spanish), and both of them said the same thing: Zach isn't quite reaching his potential at school.  Zach and I talked at length, and he agreed to shoot for the "exceeds standards" grade instead of the "meets standards" grade.  Zach openly admits that he wants to do as little as possible to get by, but when he has teachers who demand work commensurate with his abilities, he is willing to try harder.  Garry spent some time working with Zach on a Spanish assignment, and when he turned it in, Senora Brewer was so thrilled with the final product that she kept his assignment as an example for her other classes.  Zach was pretty happy about that.

Gavin is adjusting well to his no-nap schedule.  How is that, you ask?  Basically because I give him free reign of the TV and the pantry--as long as he is quiet and doesn't bother anyone else.  This tactic inevitably involves messes to clean up later (notice the pile of orange peels on the couch), but I'm finding that my chance to relax/sleep/work during his quiet time outweighs the hassle of the mess.  It's all about survival, folks.

We learned yesterday that Gavin has qualified for additional testing for early kindergarten enrollment.  That will take place next week.  We are very pleased to move forward in this process.  If you are so inclined, please pray for Gavin and his evaluation on Valentine's Day!

Lexi is...two.  I'm not sure what else to add here.  She is fond of tantrums, defiantly yelling "no!", kicking doors, doing the exact opposite of what she is told, and demanding that I do not, in fact, love her.  This is a season of tried patience, embarrassing public spectacles, and many time-outs (for mother and daughter alike).  This too shall pass...right?

Kate continues to be her darling self, offering infectious grins, belly laughs, and frequent rolling demonstrations.  She likes to hold her own bottle and her own spoon.  She seems to love her twice-daily oatmeal feedings.  She does not sleep enough at night, but is a great napper.  I am ever grateful for her content personality, and for her willingness to be entertained in/by our many baby-holding contraptions.  She seems to really enjoy the times when I play the piano.  She sometimes falls asleep in her swing as she listens to me play.  I like that arrangement just fine.

Garry continues his Super Dad ways.  He is never upset when he comes home and I don't have a dinner plan.  He does all the grocery shopping and puts the kids to bed every night.  He rubs my sore neck and lets me go to bed ridiculously early.  I sure love that guy.

I am taking a half-dose of my new medication and dealing fairly well with the tempered side-effects.  The most annoying one is the dizziness.  In the temple today I struggled to focus since the room seemed to be spinning.  My pillow is my favorite thing in the house (besides ice cream).  The morning hours are the best part of my day, and I continue to love my daily sessions on the treadmill.  Tomorrow night I'm in charge of the Family Feud game at the "high school reunion" adult ward activity.  Hopefully that will be a fun event for all who attend.

So there's a current run-down on each member of our family, save Tyler, who will be properly spotlighted on Monday--the day he turns EIGHT!  We are all looking forward to his happy celebration.

Snippets

Kate learned to roll over on Saturday.  I was thrilled to watch her do it for the very first time.  Sweet little missy....  Once she figured out rolling she did it again and again and again and again.  I always find it amusing when my babies hit the milestone of rolling onto their bellies.  They suddenly have amnesia and can't remember how to roll back.  And they get frustrated.  And I laugh.  Kate is already pulling her knees up under her tummy like she wants to crawl.  I hope that's a couple months away.  Still, I'm thinking I'll have to start cleaning the floor again once she's mobile.  And re-install baby gates.

One thing Kate has NOT learned to do is sleep through the night.  In fact, she is seriously regressing.  She typically wakes up three times a night now--and that's a good night.  Gone are the 8-hour stretches of blissful slumber.  It's so very tragic.  And Lexi is waking up just about as often.  Nights are a circus around here.

...

Yesterday I went to Denver to photograph the 90th birthday party of my dear friend's mother.  Thanks to Denver's blizzard on Friday, I didn't get to spend time with Melanie that night, but it was still lovely to see her for a little while at the party.

...

This morning, after a fitful night of rest, I got up with Kate at 5:00 a.m.  While she played on the floor I took my morning meds, which include a new prescription.  Down the hatch it went with all the rest, and I settled into a chair to read.  Garry came out to relieve me of parenting duties (since I'd been up with Kate half the night), and I went back to bed for a couple of hours before school.  When I woke up, I was seriously nauseated.  I quickly read over the new medication's side-effects.  Nausea was listed (of course!).  Within an hour, nausea was the least of my concerns.  I was dizzy--so dizzy that I felt detached from my body.  My muscles were weak and I felt like I couldn't move.  I was cognitively impaired, too.  I couldn't speak very clearly or even connect my thoughts.  It was ridiculous.  Garry picked Gavin up from preschool since I wasn't safe to drive, but he had to go back to work.  Around 12:30 I sent a distress text to my friend Becky, and she picked up the three Littles for the afternoon.  She had to help me get off the floor (where I'd been attempting to watch Kate) and walk to my bed.  I spent the next five hours drifting in and out of sleep, during which time I gradually came out of the fog and back to reality.

Should I take some more of the new prescription tomorrow? This is currently under debate...

Random bits

At 7:00 Monday morning, I was blissfully asleep in my bed.  Tyler came into my room, and before I could coherently respond to his urgent, "Mom, Mom, Mom...." he started smacking my forehead to get my attention.  Once I opened my eyes, he told me that the glass cover on Gavin's bedroom light fixture had somehow come loose, dropped onto a wooden step stool below, and shattered all over the room.  What a lovely wake-up call!

*

A few weeks ago, I discovered three of my children running on the treadmill at the same time.  I confiscated the key and hid it from their view.  The trouble was that an hour later, I could not remember where I had put it.  Since that time, we have searched high and low for the key with no luck.  We have been using a heavy-duty magnet to make the treadmill work, but I have been so frustrated about the missing key.  Yesterday, while on the phone with my mom, I sat in the office chair and spun towards the door.  From that vantage point, I happened to look into the linen closet, the door to which was open across the  hall.  There, on the top shelf, was the treadmill key!

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Kate and Lexi currently wear the same size of diapers (3).  One of them needs to be potty-trained.  Any volunteers?

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At dinner last night, Gavin reported that he played "shoot some ladders" with the babysitter.  He winned three times in a row.

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An excerpt from Gavin's recent dinner prayer: "Please strengthen Dad to appreciate his work."

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On our way home from Nevada in November, we stopped at a Walmart somewhere in Southern Utah.  I ran in to buy something and happened upon some BYU slap bracelets.  I thought they would make fun stocking stuffers, so I bought five.  Today, while searching for something in the van, I found the bag of bracelets, which I had stuffed into the glove box.  Oops!  I guess we'll put them in the kids' Easter baskets instead.

*

Garry asked the kids what they want to be when they grow up.

Tyler: A volcanologist.

Zach: A video gamer.

Lexi: A Dad with a lawnmower.

Gavin: A Dad who mows lawns.  And I'll do the laundry if you are too busy.

Later, Zach asked, "If we have another baby sister, can we name her Charlie?"  That's just funny on so many levels....

Art by Gavin

In my quest to keep Gavin quietly occupied during nap time today, I set him loose (actually, I closely supervised his movements) with a green Sharpie.  Gavin wouldn't have anything to do with crayons or pencils or pens or regular markers, but he wanted to draw.  I was exasperated and finally gave in.  Gavin subsequently drew these three masterpieces, which I love, proving that sometimes the reward is worth the risk.

First, Gavin drew himself:

 Then Kate:

And then Daddy:

Maybe tomorrow he will create portraits of the rest of the family.  I'd love to have a complete collection!

The Happiness Project: February

I'm a little slow getting my February goals in gear, but better late than never, right?  This month's resolutions are well-timed.  As I am struggling to keep my chin above water, my family relationships are suffering.  It's a good time for Mommy boot camp.

This month's theme is "Connect with kids."  I chose a Louise Hay quote as a sub-theme: "I allow the playful child within me to emerge and have fun."  Yes, I'm a weirdo; having fun does not come naturally to me.  I'm also not the Mom who loves working puzzles and doing crafts and playing Chutes and Ladders.  This month I will work on that, especially with my preschoolers.

My kid-focused goals include: read out loud daily; play on the floor; cultivate a soothing, happy voice; pray for each child individually; praise success; make time for one-on-one.  Hopefully as these new habits become ingrained, we will all be happier!

Public pajama day

Remember when Gavin was two, and I shared every one of his nefarious deeds in rich detail?  Now we have another two-year-old in the house, and while her escapades don't always rival those of her brother, she is plenty mischievous.  What she lacks in life-threatening action she makes up for in sass and drama.  Lexi is SUCH a two-year-old right now.  Most days I'm just too tired to re-live her antics in print.  Now, during a 4:30 bout of insomnia, I feel compelled to record one episode.

Miss Lexi was mad at me (nearly a perpetual state these days) for not giving her enough attention during Kate's morning nap.  It was true.  I was racing the clock to finish my blog book before the January 31 coupon deadline.  The usual activities that engage her interest weren't working.  We tried play dough, water color painting, dolls, snacks, and a TV show.  She sat in my lap.  She played with my hair.  She took off my shoes.  Finally, after more than an hour of poking my face and the computer keys, she agreed to watch one TV show so I could finish up.  

Within a few minutes, I was done and she was bored with TV.  She wanted me to fix her hair, and I readily agreed.  I asked her to fetch the rubber bands and spray bottle from my bathroom.  That's when I discovered that she had locked my bedroom door.  Lexi just shrugged her shoulders and walked away.  I tried to find a key.

The bedroom door knobs have locking buttons that turn, rather than those that pop in and out.  Unlocking them requires a small tool about three inches long with a flat end.  When we moved in 3 1/2 years ago, only one existed in the house.  Of course that disappeared long ago.  We have resorted to using tiny flat-head screwdrivers to unlock doors.  On this day, every screwdriver of that nature was missing.  I tried half a dozen different implements to unlock the door.  No luck.

Being denied access to my bedroom posed one significant problem for me: clothing.  I had run on the treadmill that morning and taken a shower.  I had fixed my hair and applied make-up, but I had only gotten half-way dressed.  I put on a regular shirt (dark orange), but instead of putting on jeans for going out, I wore turquoise-and-purple plaid pajama pants.  Yes, I know the colors clash.  But it was laundry day, and my more subdued pajamas were in the wash.  And I wasn't going anywhere.  Jeans are for going out ONLY.  So I laid them on my bed, where I could easily put them on before preschool pick-up.

Well, the morning passed and I still couldn't find a key.  I was also managing lots of other things--phone calls, a friend in distress, a fussy baby, Lexi's perpetual tantrums and clothing changes, housework, etc.--and, my memory being what it is, I forgot about the door for a while.  Quite suddenly it was 11:10, and I was still locked out of my bedroom and wearing a ridiculous outfit.  I didn't have a choice, so I went to pick up Gavin.

I wore a coat, so the general public probably thought I just didn't bother getting out of my pajamas this morning.  I'm not on a first-name basis with anyone at the school, so I just walked in and out of there like nothing was wrong.  Of course, Lexi was screaming the entire time about some injustice in her life, so hopefully fellow parents and their children were distracted enough by the spectacle to ignore my attire.

During the girls' afternoon nap, I had to leave again.  I hired a babysitter (to whom I explained my outfit) so I could take a friend to the doctor.  Happily, this time I didn't have to leave the van; my obligation was to provide a ride only.  My friend chuckled at my predicament.  I decided to email the Relief Society with my story to see if anyone had a key that would work in my door.  As the day dragged on, I began to worry I wouldn't be able to sleep in my bed that night without breaking a window.  Someone offered a key, which I picked up after school.  It worked, and I put on my jeans...just in case.

It wasn't until about 7:30 p.m. that I discovered the reason Lexi locked my bedroom door. When I began preparing for bed (yes, at that hour; it had been SUCH a day), I found a thick layer of granola bar crumbs all over my sheets and pillow.  Apparently Lexi had raided the pantry for a snack before settling down for a TV show.  Knowing she would get in trouble for eating in my bed, she locked up the evidence of her crimes.

It's a good thing she was asleep when I discovered the mess. Maybe to get revenge I'll lock myself in my bedroom tomorrow.

Eight loads

This is a hazy picture of my clean laundry pile, but I think it's an accurate representation of my perspective. Brain fog, anyone?

Garry has some 2011 PTO that he has to use before March 15, so he is spending a few random days at home.  Monday was one of those days, and I took advantage by spending the day in the office, editing my blog books for publication.  Monday was also the fifth day since my last round of laundry, so I kept the washer and dryer busy all day, too.  I had a big deadline for the blog books (a 20% off coupon that expired Tuesday), so I didn't take the time to fold the laundry.  Instead, I piled it on the couch, hoping magic fairies would attend to it while I worked.  They didn't.

So yesterday, which was particularly high-strung and frenetic, I tackled the massive, towering heap during the girls' nap time.  Aside from the socks, I managed to get through the whole pile in 45 minutes.  After dinner the family pitched in (under duress) and put away every bit of it.

And so ends another post about laundry.

January goals revisited

January is almost over.  Even though it's been a very long month at my house, I still shake my head in disbelief when I look at the calendar.  Time marches on!

I am very glad I set health-related goals for January.  Making better choices about diet and exercise has been a good way to kick-start the year.  Doing a separate fitness challenge was probably a mistake, because I feel lots more pressure than I would if I was relying on my internal motivation alone.  It's too much; I might bow out of that.  Live and learn!

Through this process, I have learned and/or remembered a few things about myself.

First, I am an "abstainer" rather than a "moderator."  It is SO much easier for me to cut dessert out completely than to eat it occasionally, or to have no ice cream at all than just a small serving.  On the flip side, exercising every single day (except Sunday, which I always take off) is lots easier than three days a week.  I'm an all-or-nothing girl.

Second, fruits and vegetables taste yummy and are very satisfying.  I love apples.

Third, I am rarely hungry.  If I only eat when I'm actually hungry, I don't eat nearly as often as I habitually wander into the kitchen.  And I'm not always hungry at traditional mealtimes, which is complicated, since I live with and am responsible to feed six other people.

Fourth, I am a very emotional eater.  The last two weeks have been really rough, and I'm sorry to say I abandoned my goals for a while in favor of old habits.  My empty resolution chart has haunted me, which hasn't helped my mood!  I keep telling myself that tomorrow is a new day...

Fifth, exercise makes me happy.  Endorphins coupled with the uplifting material I'm reading in the Ensign magazine (during my walking periods) can boost my mood significantly.  When I'm walking/jogging, good things click into place mentally and I feel empowered to do better in many areas of my life.  

So now, at the end of January, as I take account of my efforts to change, I think that overall it has been a successful month.  I'm glad I will continue with my health-related goals throughout the year.  It will take a long time to extinguish bad habits and solidify the good.  Because of my persistent ill health and imbalanced hormones, I haven't lost a single pound, my clothes feel exactly the same, and I haven't been able to change how I feel, but I don't think my January goals were a waste.  Onward and upward!

To sleep or to learn?

Gavin is giving up on naps.  *sigh*

I know I have been totally spoiled with a child who has napped for four solid years, but I still grieve the loss.  Since I take a nap nearly every day, Gavin's new life plan will require a significant adjustment for me.  That said, Gavin and I have had some sweet one-on-one time while his sisters have napped this week.

One day we read books in my bed.  We took turns; I read a page, and then he read a page. Gavin was delighted with the quick progress we made through his BOB books.  Then he wanted to write letters on the whiteboard.  We started with words from his books.

Gavin has also decided he wants piano lessons.  I think he's pretty young for all of that, but while he is interested, we will pursue it!  Right now he is learning about the groupings of black keys and the numbers assigned to each of his fingers.

Earlier this month Gavin formally applied to our school district's Early Access program for kindergarten.  We had to create a portfolio of Gavin's abilities in several categories, plus write a letter and have his preschool teacher write a letter endorsing the decision.  We are hopeful that Gavin will be able to start kindergarten in the fall, which would be a year ahead of schedule, and that he will be able to attend the same school as Zach and Tyler. We won't likely have the district's decision for a month or two.  If it doesn't work out, that must mean that God has something better in store for our amazing little boy....and his mama, who is really missing her naps.