It May Be 106, But Summer's Over!

Yes, today marked the first day of first grade. A very exciting day for me and Ryanna. Although as of yesterday she couldn't decide if she was excited about it or not. She'd been telling everyone all summer that first grade was serious business because, "If you don't put your name on your paper, it goes straight to the trash!" So grown up, not like kindergarten at all.

I tried to get a gorgeous shot of her out with the green beauty that is my yard (who placed that nearly dead plant in my yard?), but the sun was a bit in her eyes and so I got some shots, but nothing that's going to change the world.

You know what will change the world though? Nine months of mobility and some carpet. That's right, we left our home a week and a half ago headed for cooler temperatures and family gatherings and came home with a completely mobile child. He's climbing everywhere and onto anything he can. Luckily, my kids come assembled with short legs, so he's not going up the stairs yet. He just crawls up to the first one and stands up next to it and slaps it with his hands as if to say, "Just wait, just wait!"

It Was a Wicked Good Weekend!

My husband set up a fancy-schmansy theater date for us. Perhaps you can guess from the title of my post? You definitely can't tell from the one picture I took from our fun night out. (See below) Don't we look Pop-u-lar?

For our next adventure, we headed up to Flagstaff for the 4th of July. While we were there, the kids & I enjoyed some of this yummy dessert. (See below) What I didn't realize about said dessert until too late was that it had cappuccino! So much for a great night's sleep.

Then Derek dominated in his firm's three on three tournament.

And, since we were stuck in the van for a little while while it rained I taught Eli to be a gangsta'. Peace out!

Families Are Forever

This morning was rough. You know, a day when all of the kids are up before the alarm can ring at 6 am. A morning where my internet won't work--STILL!!! A morning where I discovered that the load of dishes I started last night at 9 pm were still in process of being dried at 7 am (Will that food ever come off now?). Then, the baby started to get really cranky because--guess what?--he's not supposed to be up until 8:30 or so. Just a day where I was ready to call it quits around 11 am and head back to bed.

Instead, at 12 I headed to Owen's swim lessons. There was a new child there today. His mom sat right by me. We chatted a bit and laughed about how her little boy was so big compared to my small children. Then, she asked me how many kids I had. I pointed out all three. I asked her how many she had. She told me she had five but two were dead. I was shocked. What happened I asked? She told me that her oldest son had accidentally been electrocuted last year. He was 27. Then, later that year, she had a baby girl who was born with one of her lungs underdeveloped. She was pink and healthy and beautiful. The survival rate for that type of thing these days is 98%. Unfortunately, one of her doctors was too rough with the little girl and blew a hole in her lung. Then, he had the audacity to say, "It was for the best."

I sat next to this woman and heard her story and I just couldn't imagine someone saying that to me. Someone trying to play God with someone else's life. I realize doctors often are put in that situation, but to be so cavalier about your errant actions? To take a human life is unimaginable to me, but to do it without a modicum of remorse is sickening.

My heart went out to this mom who further explained that the huge age gap between her children was due to the fact that she's had to have all of them through invitro fertilization.

Then she said, "It's okay. I've had a lot of spiritual experiences related to the loss. I know that I'll have her again. She's mine."

Yes, you will have her again because Families are Forever. Isn't that the most wonderful promise of all? The people we love here on Earth can be with us in heaven as well.

I left the swim lesson feeling a little chastised for my self pity...reminded that my problems are small and easily overcome. I can go to sleep tonight and have a fresh start on all of them tomorrow. I love the promise of a new day. I love the knowledge we have of the eternal nature of families. I feel truly blessed.

16 and Pregnant

I have to state in the beginning that I only happened upon this show because I couldn't find an episode of Law & Order to watch and Derek was gone. I don't usually watch MTV. I actually was especially interested in watching this show specifically because it was an MTV production. I was curious to see what kind of a spin they'd put on a situation like this.
The episode I saw has a cheerleader from South Dakota (maybe North Dakota? Who can tell them apart anyway?) who announces to us that she's already like 16 weeks pregnant by the time she could contact MTV and they could get their cameras rolling. She's a very pretty, ditzy, size 2 teenager whose closest friend is a very homosexual male cheerleader. Her mom drives around in a Mercedes sports car and her dad apparently works out of town all the time.
What surprises did the show bring me? Well, actually the biggest surprise wasn't the girl who was pregnant, it was her mom. The girl was extremely immature about the situation and bemoans her loss of her size 2 figure. She hopes she'll quickly be able to return to her usual size after the baby makes her appearance. Her mom makes a halfhearted attempt to tell her daughter that this baby would be better cared for by adopted parents (this girl's boyfriend is no longer in the picture and he finds out from local gossip about the pregnancy). The girl, whose name is Farrah, decides she wants to keep the baby and her mom supports her decision to keep the baby; however, she doesn't exactly help out with her great mothering after that point.
When they go to the hospital for a tour and to find out about labor, her mom tells her that it's all disgusting and she doesn't want to hear it. Um great, but your daughter is the pregnant one whose trying to learn about the situation.
Farrah tries to get a car, so that she can get a job and sometime go to school. Obviously, she has no income, so she looks to get something she views as affordable like a Ford Focus. Her mom tells her that she hates Ford Focuses and that's a stupid idea and they will not be going to look for that car. Great advice coming from someone who drives around a Mercedes Benz huh? During the course of this fight, the mom even hits Farrah and tells her she's had enough of Farrah's unChristlike ways. I think there's something about a mote and a beam that goes along with this, but I can't remember right now...
After the baby comes, the mom makes sure that Farrah bears the bulk of the responsibility for this baby which I do think is a good decision on her part--perhaps one of the few good decisions I saw the mom make. Farrah finds it hard to have the energy to do much of anything after being up all night with a newborn and her friends don't really relate to her since they don't have babies. Shocking I know.
I guess I was hoping that the show would emphasize more just how hard it is to be an unwed, teenage mom. Really, in this episode this girl had to deal with her crazy mom, but her mom still allowed her to live at home & she strongly encouraged her to continue with school. It could've been a lot worse. I almost felt as though the show could have the opposite effect it maybe is shooting for. At least I hope that it's aiming to show that teenage pregnancy is a bad idea.
I think a more convincing sell for the show would be to show opposing sides of this situation. I know several people who have/are struggling to get pregnant--people who are good, solid people with careers and education and love--people who could offer great homes to children. To show these great, stable couples searching so hard to find a baby to adopt vs. this teenager who doesn't even want to be pregnant, who isn't ready to be pregnant, who isn't equipped to be a parent. Although maybe my idea is a poor one--maybe it would cause teenagers who watch MTV to want to get pregnant in order to help out these couples? I don't know.
I just think that the hardest, most demanding job that I've ever done is parenting. It can certainly be easy if you want to do a poor job. It's sad that people who don't even want babies can get pregnant while people who want children more than anything can't make it happen. I also felt sad for Farrah because it was apparent to me that she probably will never accomplish any of her educational goals and where will that leave her? What kind of a guy is she going to marry to father her children? What will she tell her daughter about her dad?
The whole situation is sad. Really sad.

Why is that?

Some girlfriends and I were at the pool with our kids the other day, so of course the conversation turned to shaving and other topics. When I came home to talk to Derek and get his take on the information he just shook his head and wanted to know how in the world we were able to talk openly about all of this stuff. Why is it that women can talk about such topics more openly than men?
Driving around lately I've noticed several vehicles with memorials listed on the back windshields. Things such as: In Memory of Christina and her birth and death dates. Now, I'm not trying to be inconsiderate, but what is the memorialization of? Are you driving safely to honor this individual? Did you buy this particular vehicle in honor of the individual? I guess I just don't get it. I understand tombstones--there's a body under there. But what's the car memorial about?
I was grocery shopping at Walmart last week. I went to the bakery to get the kids some free cookies. While I was waiting, I started watching this old lady look at the cinnamon breads. She opened a package and tore off the corner of a piece of the bread and ate it. She then closed the bread back up and put it back on the shelf and turned to other items. Hello? I told the bakery worker what I'd just seen and she went over and retrieved the bread while the lady was standing right there. Then, I see the bakery manager come out and ask the woman if she'd sampled the bread. The woman just got a big smile on her face and acted pleased that the bakery manager had been so courteous to locate this loaf for her. The lady put it in her cart and continued to shop. You would think that's bad enough, but no, I happened to run into this lady when I was finishing up my shopping in another part of the store. A look into her cart revealed no bread. I hope none of you bought it. Gross and gross. Now I'm going to have something else to be worried about when I shop: Wackos who eat bread and put it back thus exposing me to their crazy genes.

All Before 6 am

5:19 am: Wake-up to get the baby who is wanting to nurse.

5:21 am: Think that I hear some noise downstairs, but assume it's probably my overactive imagination.

5:23 am: Hear another noise downstairs which sounds like silverware and wonder why anyone would choose to steal our silverware over our 2002 computer or our garage sale couches...

5:25 am: Derek rolls over; I make eye contact with his alarmingly large, scared eyes and whisper loudly, "There's someone in our house downstairs." (He always wakes up like I've told him there's a killer in the house, so his expression is no change from the normal.)

5:25:35seconds am: Derek jumps out of bed and tiptoes--as quietly as a man just startled from a deep sleep would--to our door where he cranes his neck to listen for the next noise.

5:25:36seconds am: The next noise.

5:25:39seconds am: Derek walks out our bedroom door without a backward glance at his wife and baby and goes to save his family.

5:25:43seconds am: Derek finds Ryanna in the kitchen making breakfast to surprise all of us.

5:26 am: Derek tells me that Ryanna had planned to surprise us this morning. Mission accomplished.

5:26:15seconds am: I request spouse to tell me what the plan of surprise is. He answers that she's making us breakfast.

5:27 am: I hear another noise and deposit sleeping child in his room and venture downstairs with total fear--a six year old loose in a kitchen--any mom knows what I'm talking about here.

5:27:15 seconds am: Ryanna yells, "Surprise!" And I am. And what do I find? An English muffin with peanut butter and honey on it for me to eat. She's made Derek a peanut butter and honey sandwich already in its ziploc bag and sitting on the corner of the counter ready for him to go to work and she's in process of making something for Owen to eat. I tell her she's very sweet and I'm going to go back to bed for a little bit, so she can finish up.



5:30 am: Ryanna, "Mom, where are the eggs?" Which phrase causes me to get out of bed again and tell her that she absolutely is not allowed to use eggs by herself and definitely don't turn on the stove or oven. She's a smart girl, but let's not be crazy here.

5:40 am: I descend the stairs to find a present wrapped for me and one for Derek--which causes Owen to whine about his lack of a present--and the same note for each of us which reads, "Thank you for taking care of me." (No misspelled words either--a child after my own heart.) So, what were the presents? Well, Derek received the book The Ordways by William Humphrey and for me? Slander: Liberal Lies About the American Right by Ann Coulter. Both books we already owned, but have not yet read.




Isn't she a sweet girl? How thoughtful of her to not just make breakfast for each of us, but to give us gifts and write us notes? What a lucky mom I am.

Interview with a two year old

This is just funny. He is so clever and has such a great sense of humor. It must be genetic huh?