Quick Update

The Good:

The sun is shining!!! I cuddled up on the floor in the rays of the sun and soaked up all the natural, through the window, warmth that I could. Unfortunately, the blinding, squinty glow of the sun is very deceiving when it comes to the temperature but that's ok for now. I'm just grateful to see the sun.

Levi has applied for college, had a call back and request for an entrance essay and we are working on getting all the financial paper work taken care of. That requires me to get the taxes done NOW.

Erika got a job at Wendy's.

Nathan has been going to pre-school like a professional student. He's one step closer to overcoming his social fears. Fearless may be quite a ways away but so far we are happy with tearless.

Justin finished Cub Scouts and earned his Arrow of Light.

Derek is the best darn babysitter around and the little boys adore him. I couldn't accomplish near what I do without his help. And . . . he was named the Science Student of the Month at the Jr. High. He has no idea what that means except that his picture is hanging in the hallway. We're not sure either since he has a B. But, okay, fun. Maybe his science teacher just likes his witty humor.


The Bad:

Justin missed 3 days of school and ended up with a shot in the leg because of a bad strep infection.

Hyrum is on 3 medications and breathing treatments for bronchitis and an ???? airway infection (can't remember the full medical term). It came on so fast that I'm afraid he has probably already passed it on. Luckily, there were only 6 of the 17 nursery kids there on Sunday (though not very lucky for the other 5).

LeRoy is overdoing it as usual and has been found on more than one occasion to sleep in his recliner all night long . . . on purpose. He is so determined to work hard and keep up his pre-surgery pace. His body is so determined to slow him down enough to heal.


The REALLY REALLY BAD:

I have to go back to glasses.

Last August I had LASIK done and it was AWESOME . . . for 6 weeks. And it has been getting worse ever since. I've had an extremely annoying headache for almost 2 weeks now and I think it's because of my eyes, actually the optometrist confirmed that it was from my eyes. Through the monthly appointments they have charted my regression and it is still changing even 6 months later. It's bad enough that I squint and turn my head a little to the left to read the computer screen, I can't read books without straining my eyes and I probably shouldn't be driving. My only option for this month is to go back to glasses. They are giving me this free-trial cheapy ugly pair for a month to see if anything changes by next month but already they are telling me that it might not even be an option to have a touch up done (which would be included in the initial cost). They had to cut so much of the cornea away the first time that they're afraid there's not enough left to mess with. Can I have a refund? Seriously!! I did not save for YEARS to face my worst fear (going blind) to have 6 weeks of perfect vision only to go back to glasses!!!

Scout Advancements

During the first week of February Justin crammed his way through his last few requirements so that he could receive his Arrow of Light. The day of pack night I crammed my way through a last minute craft project to make an Arrow of Light to be given to him for his advancement.

Unfortunately, Justin was very sick that day. He had the chills and was very pale but still wanted to go because this was to be his last event in Cub Scouts. He stayed in the back of the room and didn't talk to anyone because we were suspecting that he had strep since it was running through our family and Kellie's family. He managed a weak smile for pictures and then went home and slept.



Having Brendan here for a couple of months was helpful to Justin in his scouting because Brendan was so excited about it and Justin wanted it to be over. They both worked really hard to pass off all the stuff they needed to in order to get their advancements before their February birthdays.

Nathan Videos

Nathan's latest hero is Alvin. I wish I had an inset video of the clip with Alvin dancing because Nathan is doing it perfectly. I'm thinkin' that it may be time to retire the Ralph suit (that is now at least 2 inches to short) and for his birthday make him an Alvin costume.




Life would not be complete without a three year old's version of American Idol. To see the clip that he learned this from go here: Pants on the Ground Simon was right, it's a hit . . . at least to Nathan.




I've been trying to help Nathan and Hyrum understand the concept of obedience and what better way to do that than with the Standing Tall Series? The "Land of Obey" was one of my favorites growing up and has quickly become one of their favorites also. It's really hard not to laugh when Nathan looks at me with big serious eyes, questioning my choices, and asks "are you living in the land of obey?" This is a perfect video to show how Hyrum is copying everything that Nathan does. The two of them are adorable together!

Sunshine School

In an attempt to get our 5 shy sunbeams to interact instead of cry in a class setting, five of us mothers have started a rotating preschool. One of the mothers named it (Sunshine School) and wrote up a schedule and mini-curriculum for the next four months. Each mother will take a week (Monday mornings) to pick up all the kids, teach, play, hand out a snack and return them home. I was all for it but had my concerns about the first few times simply because we never did get Nathan to go to nursery easily until Hyrum joined him for a couple of months. Then it was time for him to go to Sunbeams and he was ok with that until he found out that Hyrum couldn't go with him. The fit that he threw that first week was unreal! Much worse at a near 4 years old than it had been when he was 2.

The night before preschool I brought the whole family into the prepping of preschool. Levi took the reverse psychology role and kept telling him that he was to young for school, that he would cry and he even bet him that he wouldn't go the next morning. That turned out to be the trick to getting him there.

When he woke up Monday morning he was groggy and whiney and as soon as I mentioned preschool he dramatically collapsed to the floor and started crying. I sat on the floor next to him, rubbed his back and said, "I guess Levi was right, you're to little to go to preschool". He paused for a minute then sat up and stated matter of factly, "No I'm Not!"

He willingly got dressed and packed his backpack with the bare necessities (blankie, Lambie and kleenex) and was ready 15 minutes early. I didn't want him to back out during the wait so I suggested we take videos to show Levi that he really was going to school. About 9 videos later it was time to go.

As soon as the teacher knocked on the door he opened it and marched out without me. He didn't even give me a goodbye hug or look back. He appeared so independent that I wondered what had happened to my separation anxiety driven child. That reverse psychology babble can be powerful, on the few occasions that it works.

Hyrum was sad to be left behind so we put on his jacket and backpack and went to get groceries in our free time. He was so determined to figure out his zipper that he refused to look at me for a picture.

Derby Time

I groan every time one of my boys walks in with that rectangle box containing a block of pine that is supposed to be transformed into a vehicle worthy of racing. We have the tools for the project but it's the battle of technique and design that always get in the way of this being a fun experience. LeRoy seems to think that telling a ten year old to pick up a tool and cut a piece of wood is like telling them to slice through butter so when they get tired of shaving away a sliver at a time the project turns from one of possible fun to just plain frustration.

This year we did it different.

The box sat on the kitchen island for a full 2 weeks. The night before the race Justin mentioned that he needed to get his car done. He drew the shape that he wanted and then sat in near tears at the time it would take to shave his block of wood into his dream car. The next morning, to avoid a meltdown, we made a phone call to our home teacher who teaches shop at the high school and poof, a car was born in the 20 second cut of a band saw. The cut was so smooth that Justin didn't even have to sand it down. At 4:15 he sprayed a light coat of black paint onto his wood and then dug through all my old scrapbook stuff to find some stickers. At 5:00 he carefully placed his stickers, shoved the little nails through each tire, attached the tires to the frame and by 6:00 he had it all detailed so that it would not lean to the left or right and was ready for the races . . . a full hour early! It was the smoothest pinewood derby prep ever.

After each boy registered and received their Pinewood Pro Derby License they began a very long night of cheers, jeers, a few tears and finally awards. Justin took 4th place out of 14 cars. Way to go Justin!

Oh, and he also received his Webelos rank, which I will admit had not one thing to do with his parents help. His leaders walked him all the way through this one. I felt a little guilty as he pinned the mothers pin on my jacket wondering if I should hand it over as a leaders pin instead. And, I didn't realize how tall he is getting until I saw the pictures of him standing next to me.

Legal Driver

For the last 2 months she has been an illegal driver in the emergencies of pick ups and drop offs. But now Erika can drive day and night and without a 21 year old licensed driver in the passenger seat. This will come in handy for our long drive to Texas in the summer.

When she first started driving I was a bit concerned about her gusto confidence that seemed a bit inattentive at times. Then we (Erika and I) were in a small fender bender that was the result of only a brief moment of distraction on the other drivers part. She seemed to learn from that experience that it doesn't take much to lose focus and even a small, slow speed accident can cause major damage. Since then she has calmed down and been a bit more cautious. So, even with all the teasing she is currently getting about people moving now that she has her license, I am comfortable sending her around town. Not quite to Idaho Falls by herself yet but that will come with more time, experience and probably necessity.

Afterschool Snack

Levi's Birthday List

He must think 18 is special or something because this list is longer and more detailed than any Christmas list he's ever given me! My favorite is the "pyramid of fresh chalupas (stacked at least 10 high)". That I can do. The money lists at the bottom . . . hmmm . . . how many Monopoly games could I find at DI?



As I sat at my computer this morning I was a little confused at the website staring me in the face. And then I realized it was for Affliction clothing. Levi is so great at leaving subtle hints.

I've had more than enough whining!

Nathan is the big offender this week. His form of communication tends to run along the lines of a foot stomp, angry eyes, raised eyebrows and a long, drawn out whine followed up with his head thrown back on the verge of a crying meltdown. My sweet pre-Christmas cherub has turned into a ticking I-want-things-my-way whine bomb. I realize that his routine is far from normal living on a holiday schedule with everyone home for two weeks and that he has probably consumed enough sugar to put him into a diabetic coma so I'm trying to be patient. Or it's just trying my patience.

In an attempt to help him replace the whine with reasonable communication, we sat on his bed for a talk. I offered the advice to "Stop. Take a breath. Talk without whining." when things were not going his way. Then we did some role playing.

Me: "You want Justin to put the movie on for you but he tells you that mom said no. What do you do?"

Nathan: (hesitantly) "Stop. Take a breath. But mom, I want to watch a movie!"

Let's try again . . .

Me: "It's time to take naps but you don't want to go to bed. What do you do?"

Nathan: "I don't like to take naps."

Me: (after a little blurb on sometimes we need to do things that we don't want to because they are right, like taking a nap so that our bodies can grow and be healthy) "You want a drink of milk and mom asks you to wait a minute while she finishes changing Hyrum's diaper. What do you do?"

Nathan: "Stop. Take a breath. Talk without whining."

Whew! He finally got it. It has become our saying around the house. Everyone is using it on everyone else at the least provocation.

Justin, Derek, Nathan and I were playing Mario on the Wii, sitting on the two large beanbags. Hyrum kept jumping from bag to bag, landing on my body every other jump. After several attempts at trying to get him to stop, while still focusing on the game, I started to lose it. And then out of my wise Nathan came the advice, in a very strong tone of voice, "STOP! Take a breath. Talk without yelling."

Isn't there some parental scape-clause along the lines of "do as I say, not as I do"? Perhaps "a little child shall lead them" would be a better mantra. Either way, Nathan got it and is, on a good percentage, living it. I, on the other hand, have some work to do.

What's for dinner?

In a very lazy, vacation attitude I announced that we were finishing leftovers for dinner. There wasn't quite enough for everyone, which left the Raman lovers happy.

Then Nathan spoke up, "I don't want Raman. Can I have a salad with carrots and ranch dressing please?"

If Hyrum gets his way he'll be eating "hah dods" or "stills" or "ohh ahss". Hmmm, hotdogs, skittles, and fruit snacks just don't sound that nutritious.

Meals have been very flexible around here for the past week. I'm craving healthy stuff, the older kids are doped up on holiday sugars and the little boys eat somewhere in between. At some point we will get back to our regularly scheduled meal planning but I don't think it will be this week.