Haley's First Birthday

In July Haley had her first birthday! Haley is lucky enough to be nine days younger than one of her cousins, Olivia. Olivia's mom, Kathleen, had a great idea that we should celebrate together and stick them next to each other with their cakes and see what happened.

In short, frosting-covered, sugar-coated adorableness happened.

Yeah, it spells "HO" we know, we know. Just think CHRISTMAS.

A few days later we celebrated at home with a couple of our good friends. I made brownies and called it good. I just can't handle the multiple celebrations these days. What do you think that means? Could it possibly be related to the ever growing number of gray hairs Kathleen has to tackle every few months?

Here's The Halester's new whip. She's a master at that thing and I love to watch her rollie pollie legs fly!

 

We're so glad to have Haley in our home. She's a heart melter, that one. She's been such a lovely baby. It's been a bittersweet experience to see her grow because I feel like I can't hold on to time long enough to really savor it. Everyday feels like it's gone before I even wake up! But I wouldn't trade this year for anything. Haley has been a light in our home and I know she'll continue to be so as she grows.

We love you Haley girl!

Where I'm at

So you've probably noticed a BIG influx of posts from me lately. This is not accidental. I'm trying with all my might to get back to writing. It's a passion of mine. And though I often feel inferior in the level of my skill, I realize more each day that it doesn't matter. What matters is my need to do something that enriches and edifies me - even if it's a ridiculous blog post about my knees, or silly snippets of my children's day. These are the things I love to capture! These are the real parts of my life.

If you're like me, you've probably grown weary of a lot of the blogs out there. That may be part of why I stayed out of the game. There is, it seems, this need to "put your face on" in the blogging world. It's like putting makeup on your life - covering up the imperfections and only letting the pretty shine through. And while I can certainly respect that - who doesn't want to show themselves at their absolute best? - I think FOR ME it became detrimental over time.

Yesterday I was listening to an interview with a group (no, THE group - the founders) of the Mormon Mommy Bloggers. It was fascinating to hear their stories of how they came to blogging. A lot of them started blogs as ways to keep up with family far and wide, or to keep a family record. Those are the same reasons I started my own blog so many years ago.

But one story tugged my heartstrings because I felt it as much as I heard it. This woman, after having four children in under four years, was dealing with serious post-partum depression. Now, let me stop here to say that I don't care to discuss the rightness or wrongness of someone's decision to have children on the timelines they choose. There IS no right or wrong. It is the sole decision of the couple bringing those children into the world. I know how difficult those decisions can be and how SACRED those decisions are (more posts on that to come!).

So in the depths of her depression she had a sensitive doctor ask her what she was doing for her. What could she do in her life that would allow her to still care for those precious children, but allow her space and creativity - a venue in which SHE could flourish and develop. Then that same doctor suggested a blog.

I've never read this woman's blog. I don't intend to start. But that idea struck me as being inspired! This woman was able to go online and share her story, share her struggles and share all the real parts about her. And you know what? She helped people. Her ability and willingness to share even the gritty and harsh parts of her life is what drew people to her.

I'm not going to lie. I'll tell you that I've stopped before taking a picture and cleaned up the crap all over the floor. I'll tell you that I chose not to include certain details because they didn't paint me in a very favorable light. And that's okay, to a certain extent. I don't think you need to hear every unkind thought I've ever had, or see my children's unkempt hair EVERY DAY. I think we can save that kind of thing for, say, once a week?

I do think it's important to keep people safe. I think it's inappropriate to share stories or experiences that would subject my husband, children or friends to judgement or criticism from others.

But going forward I think I'm going to lose the facade and try to just share me. And maybe in the process of doing that I'll get to know myself even better. And what a blessing that would be.

Didja hear?

Anna joined the 21st flippin' century!

How do you like my new bloggy blog layout? Personally I'm a fan. Because LOOK ---> I even added a BLOG LIST and a little section "About Us." And there's a fancy picture up there with my cute family. I like how it's all classy-like. I personally can't think of anything better to use than a picture of my family outside of an IHOP on the morning of the 4th of July. We're all coordinating, my legs are shaved, Sophie's hair is cute, there's a flag in her face, the background features a ghetto-looking building, and I think Cameron is picking his nose. I mean, can it get any better? I'm expecting Martha Stewart or Nate Burkus to feature me sometime very soon.

(Okay, but I did try to use our professional family photo but it wouldn't adjust size-wise because I think the photographer locked it down like Sing Sing.)

I'm sure I'll get some better pictures up here soon, but until then, enjoy!

Conversations

This is an email I sent to my TX BFF.

Hey Steph,

Miles just had a conversation with Preston on his "invisible phone that sticks to his ear." I said, "oh you have an invisible blue tooth?" To which he replied, "Uh no. I don't have an invisible blue tooth. I have an invisible phone that sticks to my ear!"

Anyway, this was the conversation:

"Hi Preston. How are you doing? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Why do you always do that? Blah blah blah. Have a great day!"

Clearly this child is as awkward on the phone as I am.

The Pursuit

This summer I've spent a good deal of time thinking about my parenting style. Having a bunch of small, love-sucking, time-eating, attention-grabbing offspring will do that to you. I adore their sticky faces with all my heart and just want to make their life a happy one.

Which is why THIS article stood out to me and sent me reeling.

*Warning - the author drops the frickle bomb.*

The idea, essentially (though I think you should read the article), is that parents can actually MAKE their children unhappy as adults by making them too happy as children.

You follow?

Right. So by trying to be too tapped in, or "attuned" to our children's needs, by trying to keep them from experiencing pain or punishments we're actually warping our children's ability to handle later disappointments. (a.k.a. LIFE)

What I'm trying to get at is that this article has actually made me feel BETTER about my job as a mother up to this point. I really, really thought that I was possibly screwing my kids up by making them work out fights on their own. And I worried that the punishments I affixed to their continuous child-crime sprees were going to leave them alienated from me one day, rather than calling my name blessed.

Like today, for instance. During the sacrament portion of church my children insisted on using the pew as a WWF ring. I was beginning to think that perhaps the floor had been enhanced with some sort of trampoline-like surface and that's why my kids couldn't stop jumping like wild hyenas drunk on moonshine. So I did what I do. When we got home the two worst perpetrators (Miles and Sophia - my MIDDLE children. Talk about guilt! Perhaps they were just crying out for my attention because they are so neglected! Oh the horror!) were placed on the couch and had to sit (upright with arms folded) in complete silence for 20 minutes. And when they started talking the timer was reset and we started over. And we did that for close to 40 minutes. And that wasn't our first time at the rodeo, folks. These kids know all about the post-church couch treatment.

Afterwards we had a nice little talk about how their inattentive behavior makes it hard to me to feel the Spirit and think about Jesus. And more importantly it makes it hard for THEM to feel the Spirit and think about Jesus. And next week we're all going to try a little harder because, by golly, "I just know you can do it."

But then I got to thinking, "Maybe I'm scarring them. Maybe they're going to grow up and rebel and hate me and hate church and hate life and hate everything but hate."

OR maybe they're just feeling the consequence of their actions. Maybe, in order for them to grow into useful, productive adults (dare I say, HAPPY adults?) they have to have some really painful, difficult experiences in the loving environment of our home, dished out by the loving enforcers of our home (that's me - and I think maybe I'm going to put that title on a badge).

I don't know. Maybe they'll still grow up to hate me one day. But maybe not.

Why?

Since I get this question 146 times a day (Why?) I thought I'd ask a few of my own whys.

Why are new shoes the best toys in the world?

Why, when I asked Sophia if she was REALLY going to leave me and go off to preschool, did she get the smiliest face and say, "YES!"?

Why are toys so difficult to see when it's time for children to pick them up?

Why does five pounds make me go from in shape, to whale-esque?

Why do I feel no need to correct the way Sophia pronounces freckle (frickle)?

Why do manufacturers continue to make children's clothing in white, and why do I continue to buy them?

Why do able-bodied eight year-olds find infant walking toys so much more satisfying than, say, the closet-full of their own toys?

Why did Chase task me with acquiring protective athletic supporters for our sons?

Why did I feel so incredibly uncomfortable with this task?

Why are athletic supporters packaged with large pictures of mens groins on them?

Why was I so traumatized that I spent last night giddily thinking of sending Chase to buy Sophia's first training bra?

Why is revenge always an appealing idea?

Now that I think about it, maybe some questions are better left unanswered...

By the numbers

I really like when Miles counts things...especially when he gets to number "eleben."

Summer days

There is nothing like a couple days together with just us to make me realize how much I l.o.v.e. my family. This summer has really been a great time for us and I am so sad to see it slipping away already!

The past two days Chase has taken off work so we could do some fun family stuff - kind of a mini-staycation. Our own vacation to Colorado was canceled when we realized our house was going to need some work done. At first we were all heartbroken (me more than anyone....I was looking forward to the cool mountain air and ZERO cell access). But then I realized I could say YES to stuff I normally have to say no to. I could say, "YES! We will spend the entire day at the pool and I will leave Haley with Nana all day so daddy and I can race down the slides with you and play endless games of 'simon says'" and "yes. we CAN go out to eat two nights in a row for no good reason" and "yes, we CAN go to that indoor play place that gets so full in the summer I want to hose you in purel before letting you back in the car," and "yes, you can go ahead and have slushies with your dinner!"

We're only on day two (tomorrow is the last day, then it's back to the normal swing of things), but it's been two glorious days so far.

So glorious, in fact, that I won't even mention how I had to take Sophia home in the middle of dinner tonight because she was losing it, so mommy had to eat cold quesadillas. You won't hear a word about that from me. As with the Go-Go's, my lips are sealed.

I will tell you how Cameron and Miles are great swimmers these days. Miles, who was pretty trepidatious in the water last year, has become an all-out swimmer despite skipping out on swim lessons this year. He spent the last hour at the pool yesterday throwing himself off the diving board.

Cameron is still working on some of the more adventurous components of swimming, like diving boards and water slides. He's always done things on his own timetable and I just don't see any point in rushing him along. Once he's ready to do something he just does it and he's always GREAT at it. Swimming was that way - he hated the water for the first 3.5 years of his life! - and I know one day he'll conquer the slides that Miles and Sophie breeze down. The ONLY sad thing for me is to watch him try, get scared and back out, and then be so heartbroken because he couldn't make himself do it. Yesterday he didn't even want to be around Miles because he felt a little jealous of Miles' fish-like tendencies. It did turn into a good opportunity to talk about how everyone has their own talents. Cameron has his  - he's kind and thoughtful, great at making friends, a great student and artist and doing really well in karate - and Miles has different talents. I even got to tell him how hard it was for me to see MY little sisters be good at stuff that I wish I was better at. That really made him feel better:)

Anyway, it's been such a great two days I had to get it down here. I just love these little people who share my home, and I love their dad. It's such a joy to know them.

pictures to come!

In Medias Res

I'm going to start right here in the middle of the summer. I've been dragging my feet all week (SUMMER) because once you get behind on your blog you feel like you really have to go back and do this whole THING. This whole tell-everyone-every-single-thing-they've-missed THING. And that's daunting.

So I'm going to give you the low-down on where we're at, what we're doing and then plan to actually keep up this blog in all of it's former glory. Remember when I used to be good at keeping up my blog? I must have had a fourth kid or something.

Cameron is almost eight years-old. How this is possible is beyond me. Because I'm pretty sure he just started kindergarten five minutes ago and that was traumatizing enough. But eight?? I firmly believe there should be laws preventing children from turning into teenagers. And if my kid is eight that is a sure sign that he will be 13 one day. And I ain't havin' that. (Although Cameron will be really happy to finally see all of those PG-13 superhero movies...)

A normal day for Cameron will start around 7 am with some sneaky kitchen action. That kid loves to get into the cupboards, my purse, the pantry and snoop out the candy. I suppose one way to halt this behavior would be to only have asparagus on hand at any given moment. But why punish myself? I mean, asparagus is great and all but momma needs some chocolate.

After finding my stash and imbibing (which I only find out about after the fact when I find wrappers stealthily hidden under the couch) it's onto Legos or, more recently, Pokemon. Can I just tell you how much I H-A-T-E Pokemon right now (see how I spelled it out so the kids don't hear? Such a considerate mom, right?)? Because the kids in this age group don't PLAY Pokemon, they COLLECT Pokemon cards. It's all about having the most cards. And those suckers are expensive. So even though the kids all have their own deck (*cough* and maybe Chase has a deck, too, *cough*) it's never enough. We had some serious discussion today about being content with what you have. Ahhh, Pokemon life lessons.

In addition to his Pokemon obsession Cameron is taking a craft class and karate to keep him busy. We're trying to keep him on top of reading, writing and math, too. I need to get on that! It's easy to slip out of your schedule during the summer months.

 

Miles has left his happy little preschool and is about to enter kindergarten. We're not sure yet if his transfer application was accepted, so we are waiting around to find out if he'll be at Cameron's super radical school. We surely hope so because Miles has spent a great deal of time learning how to say the name of his hoped-for kindergarten teacher (it's a doozy). And wouldn't that be a waste if he couldn't at least wave hi to her in the hall?

This summer Miles is finishing up the last of his gymnastics classes. I use the term loosely because they're more "run around and get your energy out" classes. But he's really loved them and if he wasn't starting school he would stay in them. But shortly after school starts it will be basketball season and he's fully committed to being as much like cousin Brandon as humanly possible. So basketball it is. Karate on Friday nights will continue forever, I think.

Miles and Cameron spend most of their days attached at the hip. I love that they play so well together. Sure, most of it involves bodily harm, but what great boyhood friendship doesn't require some blood bonds? And hey, maybe the timer on my microwave is being worked into the ground with all the time outs it's tracking. I think it's great to see them never leaving each other alone for even a single solitary minute. When their screams reach the heavens I think, "Ahhh...the music of angels." And then my head explodes and everyone goes to bed early without finishing their dinner.

  (Who can sleep like this????)

 

I hesitate to type this, but I think we're reaching (not there yet, but getting close?) the other side of the terrible threes with Sophia. She's still incredibly divalicious. I have a suspicion that maybe she watches Beyonce videos on youtube while I'm in the shower to get lessons. Because I KNOW I've seen her use these moves on me.

And since she rarely wears pants it's like I'm watching the video all day long.

But really, she's getting there. I think last month she was logging an average of 40 hours/week in the time out corner. This month she's creeping down to about 39.5 hours/week. So, you know, progress.

I'm not sure if it's going to help, but I just signed her up for BALLET at the rec center. And you know I had me a good time picking out her leotards and little gauzy skirt and jazz pants. Oh yes I did. Ever since cousin Natalie showed her some sweet dance moves Sophia has been twirling and spinning her days away.

I'll admit, Soph is turning into a super girly girl. It's been fun to watch this whole nature vs. nurture thing play out right here in my own home. We have never pushed the pink stuff on her. When she picks out super hero costumes for Halloween (EVERY YEAR. I haven't gotten a single Princess costume on her for that holiday! I vow this will be the year!), we just get them. When she wears Miles' old Thomas the Train undies we could care less. When she wants to go on the boys' camp out we pack her up and go. But lately she's been gravitating to the girly stuff all on her own. And I love it. Not gonna lie.

(checking out the digs for her new ballet class)

No June day would be complete without mismatched clothes and a fur coat. Good choice, Soph.

She always reminds me of the coppertone baby when she runs around like this. Hey Soph! Get some inhibitions!

Hales is turning ONE in like two weeks and I'm having mini heart attacks every day. I never felt like this with my other kids! I was always happy to see them growing up and getting bigger, reaching milestones and all that. But this time around I just want to stop time and soak it all in.

Haley isn't afraid to keep us busy. She's crawling all over the place to check out whatever the big kids are up to. She pulls herself up on everything, too, and cruises around to get a better view. If she sees me or Chase coming she reaches her hand out and says mamamamamamamama or dadadadadadadadadadada.

She's the happiest baby I've ever seen. She's been through a lot this year but she's handled it like a champ. She's a cuddler and an easy smiler. She adores her siblings and they adore her right back. The perfect last baby. Unless you ask Chase. Then she's the perfect next-to-last baby.

Hmmmmmmm.....

Wait, I have a blog?

I'm pretty sure no one reads this thing anymore, which is understandable. I mean, I can relate. I drop in and out of readership of other people's blogs. And those are blogs where the blogger actually blogs. And still I forget to check in.

So when the blogger in charge of blogging stops blogging there's bound to be some blog-nesia on the part of the readers.

So if there's anyone out there, just know this.

I'm cooooooooooming!

Also too, this afternoon whilst watching Word Girl (on pbskids...if you're not watching it you're seriously missing out) I said, "Miles check out Captain Huggieface's dance moves!" To this Miles, in a voice that can only be described as hushed and reverent, replied, "Yeah I know. He's a incredible dancer. I don't know how he does it."

After writing this blog I now remember why I haven't blogged in awhile. It takes FOREVER. Enter at your own risk.

So many things to catch up on.

March started out with a bang with Haley developing a wheeze, then a cold, then landing in the hospital, then getting out, then not getting better, and not getting better, and not getting better, and seeing a pulmonologist, and then sort of getting better, and then getting a little bit better and then getting much better. I've administered approximately 99,999 breathing treatments during the last 2 months.

So that's kept me kind of busy.

And then there was the half marathon on April 9. It was awesome. I went, I ran, I came home, my hip hurt. The good news is that I don't have an injury. Turns out I'm just kind of stupid. I KNOW I should have been doing strength training with my running, but I just kept ignoring it. Well, a weak core makes for a sore body. Who knew? Anyway, I'm still running and that's all that matters. I will say that Haley being sick was a serious challenge to my running routine. It required mucho discipline-o to stay on top of it! I was really proud of myself for sticking it out when I would have otherwise bailed on running.

Anyway, if you're at all interested in pictures or details you can check out Jeni's blog

HERE.

And in March Miles decided to turn five. We wanted to celebrate but given all the craziness I didn't have time or energy to devote to a big party. Instead I baked 5 dozen cupcakes and we invited all of Miles' best buddies (and their families) to join us at the park. I didn't plan games or activities or anything. We sang happy birthday and then I told everyone to eat and play. And so we did! It was the best party ever. I would totally recommend.

 

We also had to share the love at preschool. Miles thought he was pretty cool handing out lollipops to his friends at Miss Jill's class.

The next week I helped my friend throw a baby shower for another friend. Cristina finally got a girl so we had to celebrate with an explosion of pink! Pink drinks, pink food, tiaras and boas. And you know what? I love party food.

 

Then there is the everyday stuff like haircuts

(he was begging for a mohawk so I let him have one for about 24 hours).

And Sophia getting into my makeup.

 

What I really need to write about, though, are the funny random things my kids say everyday. I feel like I need to follow Miles with a dictaphone so I can record his every thought.

Or I could just show you this video. The best part is how totally serious Miles is when the subject is martial arts. And as you can see Miles' martial arts are, well, mixed.

**This video is rated TV-PG because Miles DOES say something about hitting the bad guy in the penis. I promise that's not anything we've taught him, rather I think it's something he's picked up watching ANY DISNEY MOVIE EVER CREATED. I think crotch-shot humor is in all of them...

***After watching this video again I should point out that Miles was playing with the drawstring in his shorts. It was hanging down inside his shorts and bothering him. Chase had to clarify that for me...Because he looks a little preoccupied if you know what I'm saying.

Another funny Cameronism/Milesism happened the other day whilst folding laundry with the kids. Ever since Chinese New Years Cameron has been seriously obsessed with China and all things Chinese. This has led to his need to inspect every tag in his clothing to see where the garment was made. Much to his delight they are mostly made in China. After several announcements of "MOM! This was made in China!" I said, jokingly, "Haley wasn't made in China. She was made in the United States." Instead of laughing Cameron said, "Uh, she was made in heaven."

Then Miles (who was singing "Shot to the heart and you're to blame you give love a bad name") said, "Mom how was Haley made?" Trying to avoid the actual explanation, I said she was made out of love. To which he replied, "I don't have any love in my heart. Only for Gruma and Grumpa and you and daddy..."I think he probably would have listed pretty much everyone he's ever met, but he was distracted by all the Bon Jovi playing in his head.

And since you're still reading, how about a Sophie story?

Sophie needed a clean pair of underwear during Haley's nap. I didn't want to wake up Haley by going into their room and getting the required undies so I said, "You know what? Just go grab a pair out of brother's drawer." After giving me a LOOK Sophie went to retrieve them and came back wearing turquoise batman underwear. Inside out and backwards. After prancing around in them for a minute she turned her bum toward me and said, "Look mom! They have pockets!"

Later that night when we were checking on the kids we found her sleeping like this:

I'm still standing...

Better than I ever did. Looking like a true survivor. Feeling like a little kid!

That title has no real relevance to anything in this post. I just have that song in my head.

So last week on Friday Cameron stayed home from school. I totally thought he was faking it and I was NOT nice about the whole thing. We got him off to school and Chase called and said, "I'm turning around and bringing him home. He doesn't feel good." When he walked in the door a few minutes later he looked FINE! I took one look and said, 'Get your bag and get in the van. You're going to school." And then he turned on the tears and started grabbing his stomach, which is what he had been doing on and off the night before and that morning. Frustrated with the fact that I was in my gym clothes and now my plans were changing I said, "Fine. You stay home. But you'll be in your bed all day. Don't think you're going to be out here watching movies or something."

By 4:30 I was calling Chase telling him to come home and take Cam to the hospital. Our pediatrician thought there was a chance he had appendicitis because he had spent the last several hours laying in bed clutching his stomach and screaming in pain. So as I shipped Cam off to the ER with daddy I was feeling like a super stellar mother. What kind of mother is mean to their sick kid?

Thankfully, after lots of prayers on my part, Cam did not have appendicitis. He had some weird, horrible stomach virus that manifested itself in nothing but violent stomach cramps. No vomiting, no fever. Just cramps that would come on suddenly and he'd be doubled over with tears streaming down his face. This went on from Thursday night until Sunday morning.

On the plus side, Cameron was really excited to explain, in detail, what an IV is and how they "stick a straw in your vein" to his friends. I'm really hoping he doesn't explain the enema he also got...

So the biggest of my littles is back to school today and feeling grand.

Miles, however, woke up with pink eye and a cold. Yet another day at the gym thwarted.

I don't really have much else to share as far as family news. My half-marathon training is going great. Jen and I completed  our 8-miler in 80 minutes on Saturday. And the first three miles were straight into a head-wind. It sucked, to say the least. But we felt great at the end. I think we've really found a good pace.

Cameron got to check out Miles at gymnastics on Friday and decided he wanted to try it again, too. Our rec center offers a class for older boys that just happens to start this Wednesday, so it seems the stars were aligned on that one. I did tell him that he had to choose between gymnastics and martial arts. I feel like my kids are too young to be involved in multiple sports/activities at the same time. And it's too expensive! Cameron really had to think about it, though. He's got great plans for being a master ninja so putting that on hold is hard. But I think watching Miles get rolled around in the foam tube erased all doubt from his mind. Ninja training will have to wait.

Miles is doing really, really well in pre-school. It's been so fun to watch him go from this insanely wild toddler to a big kid who can sit and color for hours on end. He is an information sponge, too. He comes home from school and spouts the most awesome stuff about sharks, and where apples come from, and space... He finds every little thing fascinating!

And maybe he found some scissors and cut a sweet patch out of his hair last week.

Sophia is more than meets the eye. At first glance she's all bouncy blonde hair and blue-eyed sweetness. But take a closer look and you'll see an iron will and an attitude that rivals any teenager in a 10 mile radius. She's been a time-out corner resident a lot in the last few months. She can't wait to start pre-school in the fall when Miles heads off to school. She will probably start ballet or dance at the same time because cousin Natalie has been showing her some moves and it makes me turn to jello when I watch her copy them.

Haley is a sweet ball of baby goodness. Literally. If you drew a circle and put her in it she would fill up most of the space. A few weeks ago I decided she absolutely needed to sleep through the night. This was a hard one for me because she's been such a great baby! Since we brought her home from the hospital she has been able to fall asleep on her own in the crib. She's never needed a bottle or hours of rocking/bouncing/walking to get to sleep. I just stick her in the crib with her binkie and walk out. The problem was staying asleep after she lost her binkie - some nights she would wake up two or three times needing it! So we had to do the cry-it-out weekend, and guess what? She rocked it. Two nights and done. Sleeping through the night like a champ. Of course Miles and Sophia have more than made up for her...Sigh.

Chase is doing the usual work type stuff and church type stuff. I'm just keeping all the balls in the air and providing clean clothes and regular nourishment:) It's a great job if you can get it!  

  Sophia dressed up "like a princess." Um, I'm pretty sure most princesses own brushes, babe.

Ever wonder what happens when you leave the nutella on the counter while you're out of the room?

Can't help myself...

Cameron spent a lot of time doing this over the weekend. I like how he put squares of toilet paper under his hands:) That's my boy!

That's my paper cutter, and that's Cameron's playdough. They don't make a great match, I assure you.

[Fuzzy] Math

As it turns out weight loss is really all about math.

I need to just shut up and get on board with that.

I love when people do the work for me...

Do you love that I add ellipses to the end of so many blog titles? You should.

Over Christmas I went to Pennsylvania to visit my family. While I was there we were at my little sister's house. While there my kids discovered HER kids' stash of fabulous hats and sunglasses. I've seriously never seen a collection like that. It was great. My kids were in heaven.

So we did what every good parent does. We put them on our poor, defenseless baby.

I can't do it anymore justice than my sister did, and I really appreciate that she took the time to download pictures, then upload them to the blog because that means I didn't have to do it. So go here to check it out. You will not be sorry! Or maybe you will feel sorry for Haley that she got stuck with us for parents, but that's entirely beside the point.

Run, Don't Walk

If you haven't gotten a flu shot yet this year you need to stop reading right now, get in your car and go get a flu shot. Because I just lived through Flu Type A and it was horrid, terrible, awful, miserable and traumatic.

It started with mild cold symptoms that I didn't pay much attention to. My kids are always bringing home garbage from school and I usually pick up a couple bugs each season. Whatever. I'm over it.

So Thursday night I was really starting to feel excessively lousy and I told Chase I needed a baby free night to sleep off some of my sickness. So he camped out in the girls' room to be on Haley Duty.

Around 4:30 in the morning I realized I was getting sicker and by 6:30 when my alarm went off I realized I couldn't get out of bed. Like, literally could not move my body out of the bed under my own power. And I had a fever and really bad chills and every fiber of my body hurt.

So Chase, who has probably taken one sick day the entire time we've been married, was petitioned gently and then not-so-gently by his invalid wife to arrange to work from home.

Except guess who didn't bring home his laptop?

This was my response: "Just take the kids with you to the office and get it and come back."

(His office being 30 minutes away and our kids being, well, our kids.)

And this was his response: "Uh...okay."**

Bless his heart he made it work. He's in the middle of an audit; and filing taxes; and approaching month-end and he made it work. I love that man of mine. But really, there wasn't going to be another way because - again - I literally couldn't get out of bed. And there was the minor detail of not being allowed to be near Haley (my other kids/husband have all had their flu shots, but Hales it too little to have it and I just plain forgot mine).

So let's consider this one of my good deeds for the day. You've been warned! Go get that shot!!!

P.S. The upshot of the whole situation was that the kids really enjoyed their unexpected Day of Dad. And I really enjoyed that the house was clean when I came out of my fever-induced haze. If I wasn't so selfish I would share him. But I am. So you're going to have to go find/train your own Super Husband.

**Because I feel that my dad's head might explode with the prospect of me sending my kids to Chase's office, I want to clarify that he didn't end up taking all the kids to the office with him. It was decided that he would put snacks on the table and PBS on the TV and leave Miles and Sophie in my care. (And by "care" I mean my ability to dial 911 before slipping back into a restless sleep.) Haley did have to go to the office with him, but she is generally well received everywhere she goes.

I think I'm going to hit the couch

Man. My throat hurts a lot today and I've got a weird, barking cough. And because this is my life we're discussing here I also have no less than five major things on my schedule today not including pre-school/school/carpool and the regular feeding/care of my children.

So today's a really convenient day to feel craptastic.

But after the baby I was watching left this morning I realized I had a little bit of time before I needed to go anywhere. I have a choice to either hunker down on the couch and watch PBS with the kids or I can keep pushing myself and get the beds made and the laundry folded.

I don't know when this happened, but over the past couple of years I've slowly become a person who just can't sit still. If I know there's something out there waiting to be done (laundry, dishes, floors needing to be swept or vacuumed, children's rooms to be reassembled, etc., etc.) I just can't stop until it's done. And if I do sit down it's all I can think about!

As a result of this my house is generally pretty clean and tidy - something I've had to work at for awhile. But also as a result of this I'm pretty good at saying, "Just a second, honey. Let me finish [insert task here] first." And guess what? The tasks are never, ever ending. I have to wonder how many books, deep conversations or cuddle sessions I've missed out on in those moments. But really I don't want to think about it because it would make me sad.

So maybe my word or theme for this year is going to be BALANCE.

And these are the cats who are going to help me achieve it.

 

And look at this! I blinked and Cameron went from

THIS... (circa Jan. 2005)

TO THIS...

(and I'm not really sure how it happened)

So here's to 2011. The year of not missing out on the good stuff.