Home Away From Home

 This is our home away from home this summer!  Its huge!  Much more than we need for camping around here but it will work nicely for a home for two months on the road.  Paul flew to Wisconsin to buy the Excursion and then drove a couple hours to Iowa to pick up the trailer.  For some reason trailers are very cheap in Iowa so we are hoping to not lose too much when we sell it at the end of this summer.  And we will sell the Excursion too.  This whole scenario goes against everything I was brought up to believe in, but we are sure it will work!  We have sold many vehicles on Craig's List in the past, this shouldn't be any different I hope.  While Paul was on the road, we were out of contact for 14 hours.  I was sure he was dead, even though I knew he wasn't, but my mind was sure coming up with some bad scenarios.  I woke up at 4:30am determined to call the Nebraska State Police (where I last heard from him) but fortuitously enough, I received a text message from Paul right at that moment.  He had driven through the night hoping the next town in Wyoming would have cell service, until he got there and realized he should try for the next town.  He crossed the Utah border and had service for long enough to get me a message.  I think Wyoming needs to bring back pay phones.  All is well now though, and we can't wait to get out of here and go exploring!  I just made reservations for camping outside of Zion National Park and the Grand Canyon in the first week of our trip.  After that, we will see as we go.  We hope to follow pretty close to the Mexico border and then the Gulf Coast.  I want to see alligators in the Everglades but that is at the very tip of Florida so I'm not too sure about that one.  We will travel north along the eastern states, seeing more National Parks and hopefully fun stuff for kids along the way.  We plan to visit D.C. again, and Philadelphia which we missed the last time we did our crazy cross-country trip.  We will be in Philadelphia on my birthday where I hope to spend my 40th watching the Braves stomp the Phillies!  We plan on catching the Hill Cummorah Pageant, Niagara Falls, the St Louis Arch, family farm in Michigan, Mt Rushmore, and all points in between.  Paul has 8 weeks of paid sabbatical time and we hope to use every single day of it on the road.  I know people think we are crazy taking such little kids, but if we wait 7 years till his next sabbatical we would have a bunch of teenagers, and I for one think little kids will be much easier to manage than a bunch of surly teens who don't want anything to do with us.  Hopefully I will be able to update this blog as we go, but it won't be a daily thing I'm sure.  I am sooooo excited for this opportunity!  What an amazing country we have been blessed with and this is an amazing opportunity for my family!

Not Our Normal Easter . . . Hopefully

The Monday before Easter Paul's mom had a stroke and ended up in the hospital.  While there, they found a few other things wrong which led them to believe she would need an extended hospital stay.  Paul and his sister Carmen were able to be with is mom that night and the next day and then they figured out a way to share visiting duties.  Paul was able to come home for a day but then went back to Corvallis to be with his mom for a few days, with one of those days being his birthday.  This was all during Spring Break so I planned to take the kids down a day early to visit with my parents before our annual Easter family gathering. Friday morning, the day we were heading down, I called Paul (who had spent the night at my parents' house) to say happy birthday and he informed me that my dad was taking MY mom to the ER for shortness of breath and dizziness.  I am so thankful that Paul was there as they decided to admit her for testing so he could get out all the information we kids needed because dad was a little overwhelmed by it all.  So my poor Paul spent his birthday running between his two moms who were on the same floor of the same hospital!  Paul's mom got a spanking new pace maker on his birthday.  My mom just had a ton of tests and they were never able to come up with any diagnosis for her.  She was able to come home Easter Sunday and they are still in the process of running tests on her weeks later.  My sister Samantha made Paul a birthday cake and just to make sure it was his worst birthday ever, we ate his cake without him while he was giving my mom a blessing that evening!  We hopped in the car that morning so we would visit my mom, see Paul on his birthday, and take over the party preparations that my mom insisted still be celebrated.  Good thing we dyed our Easter eggs on Thursday night.

 The annual family party was now in my hands, though my mom had it all pretty much ready to go, I just had to get it all out before everyone else came over.  With the help of my brother's girlfriend (YEAH!).  We had the normal sandwich fixings, egg hunt, egg toss, and egg drop off the roof of the garage.  It turned out to be a beautiful day and a good party.  I was able to visit my mom twice in the hospital and Paul's mom was released on Saturday so we visited with her too.  Silly grandmas, making us all worry like that!

 Bree and Darcy LOVED the Dollar Store hats Grandma had as party favors.  Bree still wears hers around.

 Don't they look angelic?  Yah right.

Mason was working hard at the gunnysack race.

We came home Saturday night and made it to bed before the Easter Bunny came that night.  Sunday morning the kids woke up and got their treats out of their baskets and had the egg hunt.  Hopefully the excitement of this Easter was an anomaly and we can have a boring old time next year.

Lots and Lots of Basketball

When it came time to sign kids up for basketball in November, I thought I would sign up to be Drew's coach, but only if they really needed me.  Well, they needed me.  I had tons of fun coaching Drew's 3/4 grade girls team!  It was fun to get to know the girls, help them become better basketball players, and hopefully better teammates.  We were not without our internal issues, which I guess every team has, but I think and hope I handled them OK and we were able to move on.  We had practices every Tuesday from 5-6:30, which meant I had to have all 4 kids with me until Paul could pick up the 3 younger ones when he got home at 6.  That was fun.  I'm sure there were many times the parents of my girls wondered just what the heck I thought I was doing.  I found that bribing Mason with babysitting money, and a bag full of fruit snacks and roll-ups helped, but it sure was nice when we saw daddy walk through the gym door so I could concentrate fully on my team.  The Yellow Jackets ended up with a record of 3-4.  Our last game we came back from down 5-12 in the 4th quarter to win it 15-13!  That was one exciting game.  We got blown out, we blew out a team, and one game was so awful I raged about it all day afterwards.  I tried to remind myself I was dealing with 9 year old girls but that didn't help much.  My competitive juices were flowing just a little to much that day.  Overall I had a great time and I hope to coach Drew's team again next season.  I mentioned to Paul that I will be able to coach my girls 8 years in a row now, won't that be fun?  I don't think I got a verbal answer, just a withering look.

 Drew had an awesome season.  She was the youngest and shortest on our team but she didn't let that stop her.  She started the season kind of slow, but ended it with a bang!  I would say she was one of our top 3 players in the end, and that's coming from a coach, not a mom.  She was much quicker than most girls out there and she would get the rebound and take off down the court in a fast break.  She missed more lay-ins than she made of course, but she ended the season with 14 points, 6 of those being vital to our comeback in the last game.  She played her heart out every time and it was so cool to watch her out there with that determined look on her face, not letting her size get her down.  I think she had fun and liked having me as a coach.  She said she did anyway.  I hope she sticks with basketball because she is pretty good.  Yeah!  Happy mom!

 

 This year was Mason's first time playing basketball.  He hit the court with all the gusto he possesses!  His practices were Thursdays from 5:30-7 so once again dad would come to the rescue after work and take the girls home.  I ended up with an hour to myself!  What luxury!  I think Mason had a great time playing.  He always had a smile on his face when he was on the court.  There were 2 games of his I had to miss because Drew's game was scheduled at the same time, but I was able to see quite a bit of his playing time.  Luckily I was at the game when he made his one and only basket of the season.  You would have thought he just won a gold medal!  He was jumping around and high-fiving teammates and they were hugging him.  It was awesome.  I was so thrilled for him.  Though I told him next time act like you've been there before ;)  He was great on defense and getting open for the pass, but not so good at catching the pass.  His mantra for the season was "Gecko hands" because geckos have sticky fingers and I was trying to get him to catch the ball with his sticky fingers too.  Not sure it worked, but that's something we can work on before next season.  He enjoyed basketball so much he is trying to convince us to put up a hoop in our driveway.  Once again, I'm a happy mom.  I love that my kids love something I love too.  I had so much fun this season, even though there were so many Saturdays taken up and so many fend-for-yourself dinner nights.  It was just two months and it was a great time.  We celebrated the end of the season as a family at Mr Fultano's pizza.  I gave the girls on my team a certificate and a basketball key chain they can attach to their backpacks.  I wasn't in to the whole after season party.  Mason has a party this Saturday where he will receive his first trophy.  I am so proud of both Drew and Mason and their willingness to work hard and have fun, and also grateful for Paul, Darcy, and Bree and their willingness to be so flexible and in the case of the girls, turned into gym rats for 2 months.  Next up for Mason is Farm (coach pitch) baseball.  He should technically still be in T-Ball for one more year but he is so much older and bigger than T-Ball players that I convinced them to let him play Farm.  I'm secretly hoping he doesn't like that ball heading straight toward him and he is done after this season.  We'll see. 

 

 

Bree is 3!

 Bree turned 3 on January 31st.  Its hard to believe my baby is such a big girl now.  There is nothing baby about her anymore.  She is potty trained during the day and mostly at night, and she is now trying to give up naps, much to my chagrin.  She has wonderful manners and a true concern for everyone's well-being in our family.  She has a smile that lights up the room and also attitude that she throws around at will.  She is my Sweet Cheeks and I love her dearly, though I know her independent streak is going to test that love in the future :)  That's what makes her so fun I guess!  This year she wanted a Nemo birthday, and started talking about it probably the day after Christmas when I was dumb enough to mention her birthday was next.  We searched the stores for Nemo but I guess his time is passed.  There was nothing to be found.  So I unwillingly convinced her to have a Rapunzel party.  I don't get into all the princess stuff, nor do I want my girls believing they are princesses, but Bree seems to like the stuff and its everywhere so we went with a Rapunzel/Nemo party.  I think we were all happy when it was over so we didn't have to hear about it anymore.  I have never seen anyone so excited for a birthday before!

 Things got pretty silly quickly as you can tell by this picture of Paul.

 This picture of Mason with a princess hat on can be used as blackmail material later on I think.

 Like I said, things got pretty silly.

 And even sillier.

 Mason decided to go his dad 2 further by blowing one out his mouth and 2 out of his nose.  Pretty impressive trick!

 All the kids attacked me at once.  We had a pretty good party I think.

Bree got a Little Mermaid toy, Nemo book, different paints, and unicorn Stompeez which she doesn't weigh enough to activate unless she really stomps but she loves them and that's what matters!  We are so thankful for our Breezy and the sweet spirit she brings to our family.  What a great kid!

Holidays 2012

Thanksgiving 2012 was spent with Paul's side of the family this year.  We had a delicious dinner and great visiting at Aunt Carmen's house.  This nice little set-up was right by the big people table so I was actually able to sit with the adults this year instead of in the kitchen catering to my childrens' needs.  Thanks Aunt Carmen!

A week after Thanksgiving we set out to get a big Christmas tree.  We were thinking maybe 13 feet but we ended up with an 18 footer!  The lady at the tree farm said we took the prize, its the biggest tree ever taken from their farm.  We had a heck of a time carrying it up the hill to the car.  We had plenty of people on the road point to our car and laugh at the huge tree on the top.  I guess we do look a bit like the Griswolds!  It was a chore getting the tree in the house.  We had to take a section of the front porch railing down so we could shove it straight through the front door and into the living room.  Once there, Paul got under the tree and I used a 2x4 to help push it up to standing.  It was big!  Bigger than we needed and we will never go that big again, but it was fun to try once.  Here it is on Christmas morning all decorated with gifts underneath:

And here is how Paul took it down on the 27th:

 

Christmas eve we had our family program which was a bit different this year since Drew was able to play a few songs on the piano for us.  I loved it!  I love having the piano in the house and Drew is competent at it so it was a fun addition this year.  The kids acted out the nativity scene while Paul read from the scriptures and we sang songs.  Poor Breezy had a double ear infection she went to the doctor for that morning and her meds hadn't kicked in very well yet so she was pretty miserable all day.  Thankfully she was functioning Christmas morning.

 

 

Drew, Mason, and Darcy all got Lego projects from Santa this year.  Drew was ecstatic when she saw hers, Mason was OK with his though he really wanted the Black Beard pirate ship (but the Black Pearl was on clearance and Santa went with it instead), Darcy opened hers and said with a stricken look on her face, "but I asked Santa for a Dream Light."  Good thing mom bought Dream Lights for all 4 kids so Darcy was eventually happy.  Bree got a Little People princess castle and a necklace and bracelets she wears constantly.  As hard as I try to dissuade her, I think she is going to be a girly-girl.  Everyone had a great Christmas and got lots of new fun stuff to play with.  At least I hope that's how they felt.  Later that day we drove to my parents' house and had dinner with my side of the family.  We had a slumber party at Aunt Sammy's, where Mason promptly lost his brand new watch, and we had lunch with Paul's family on the 26th.  We came home, I tried my hardest not to take down Christmas that evening, and by about noon on the 27th I was about to go insane so I took everything down.  I think my family would like it if I left Christmas decorations up just a bit longer but the mess and chaos of it all just drives me crazy and I have to get rid of it.  Sorry guys.

New Year's Eve day we were treated to snow!  I don't remember it being in the forecast but we weren't complaining!  Darcy liked hanging out on the trampoline.  Drew and Mason built a wall to hide behind while they threw snowballs at me, and Bree was having fun just walking around.  That evening we all stayed up till 9pm to watch the ball drop in Times Square on CNN and then 5 of us went to bed.  I woke up to fireworks at midnight but was so tired I fell right back to sleep.  Happy New Year!  New Year's Day I, of course, watched a lot of football and ate lots of Chex Mix and drank lots of Dr. Pepper.  I was in my happy place.  So goodbye 2012, you were a decent year for our family, and here's to 2013 and the hopes that we will be blessed with health and happiness!

Labels

I have debated writing this post for a month now, but I would have never come to the realizations I have, or arrived at this point if an astute friend had kept silent, so I will write away and deal with repercussions later, though I have faith in my fellow man (woman) and I believe nothing much will change. 

January 1st 2011 we started potty training Darcy.  She picked up on the peeing part very well.  The poop was a nightmare.  She refused to poop on the toilet and instead held it in so she was totally constipated and runny "stuff" that could get around the big log (excuse my language here but there is a point) ended up in her pants CONSTANTLY.  I was wiping her butt at least 5 times a day.  This went on for 645 days to be exact.  That means I was up to my elbows in poop about 3200 times in the past 2 years, and that doesn't include Bree and her messes.  There were times when I was pounding walls and screaming for Darcy to poop, I had visions of running away, we gave rewards, took things away, yelled, coddled, enemas, laxatives, pull-up, underpants, diapers, you name it.  Paul even promised me a convertible if she wasn't trained by the end of this year.  The guys at work told him he was crazy but he told them I would much rather have her potty trained then have a convertible.  He was right.  I had hit my limit so many times its a wonder I (and Darcy) survived to tell the tale.  So the point of the story is that we knew a long time ago that Darcy had some issues.  I thought it was mostly potty training.  Oh, and then of course how she would absolutely freak out every time I left the room or an adult looked at her or something wasn't just right and it set her off.  I was full of anxiety over her anxiety and it was a difficult stretch we went through.

In July, during swimming lessons, I was talking to a friend about Darcy's obvious anxiety and she gave me a book, "The Highly Sensitive Child," and my world changed from that day on.  It was the biggest eye-opener!  Not only did Darcy exhibit almost every single trait of a highly sensitive person, but so did I!  After the first few pages I was crying in relief that I was not the quirky, abnormal social outcast I had always thought I was.  Well, I still am, its just that there are many others out there just like me.  If you happen to read on my 100 things about me list, take a look at numbers 29, 30, 33, 34, 46, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56 etc. and everything in between!  Not only did I realize I am highly sensitive, I am also a raging introvert.  Lucky me!  In a nutshell, that means I like to be alone.  I like to live inside my head.  I have one or two good friends that I like to have meaningful conversations with, I can't stand meaningless chit-chat.  I would much rather be home curled up in my bed reading a book than at a dinner party.  I work better alone than in groups.  I have always known this, I just didn't realize that there are so many others out there like this too, and that its OK to be me!  I don't have to apologize for cringing when I hear the words Fabulous Friday or Girls' Night Out. Its just not my thing.  And I bet there are MANY out there who feel the same way but go through the motions anyway.  I find "going through the motions" exhausting.  I get anxious before hand about preparing myself for an event and then I am so stressed trying to be polite and sociable that by the end I am just done.  Now this is not to say that every single time you see me out I am in the throes of agony, it just means that my cozy bed is shining like a beacon in front of me, as my end reward for getting through whatever it is I am attempting.  Now, I know this can sound like an excuse, or even a crutch to use as a reason to avoid social situations, and I can see that but I also say, "so what?"  So what if I don't want to sit in a room full of people making crafts?  Does that make me less of a person?  So what if I choose to attend sporting events where even though I am with a million people, I am essentially anonymous and don't have to carry on a conversation with anyone?  So what if I prefer to live in my books and find insight and companionship in their conversations and not my own?  I am a fully functioning human being, though I function a bit different than others.  I took the Meyers-Briggs personality test and came away ISTJ, which is only 10% of the population.  So yah, I am not in a large company of people but hey, that's how I like it!  George Washington was also in introvert just like me.  My joke when I went to Utah a month ago was that when I went to lunch by myself it was the best company I had had in a long time!  I have no problem seeing movies or eating in restaurants alone.  I actually prefer it.  So its a wonder I got married to tell you the truth.  Paul has been the best.  Somehow, even before my big labeling epiphany this last month or so, he knew these things about me and actually chose to spend eternity dealing with me!  How's that for self punishment ;)  There are plenty of times when he hasn't totally understood just how awful it would be if I was forced to join a certain event, but there are even more times when he has worked with me and we have found acceptable compromises which work for our family.  I have no doubt most people, family included, don't always understand, but we have learned at this point to do what is best for us.  That doesn't mean I never stretch myself and participate in uncomfortable situations, I do . . . all the time.  It just means that we don't do them as often as some would like I guess.  So anyway, that's me.  A highly sensitive introvert and proud of it.  Its up to me to take this information and try to adjust myself in order to function in society, but I am also not at all looking to "cure" myself of the personality I have been blessed with.  If I am judged in ignorance because of it, then so be it.

So labels.  I hate to label my kids but since I have had my eyes opened to who I am, I have also been keenly observing my children.  We had Darcy seeing a child psychologist over the summer.  My initial reason was to get help with the potty training but once I read the book, I included her anxiety and sensitivity issues too.  We were led to the most wonderful psychologist through a chain of events and I know we were sent there by Heavenly Father.  She had red hair just like Darcy!  She specializes in highly sensitive kids because she, too, is highly sensitive.  She was awesome.  Any one who knows my Darcy knows she has issues.  But if you have seen her lately you would hardly recognize her as the same kid.  Somehow her doctor was able to help her through her anxiety and get a hold on it.  I'm not saying its no longer there, just that she has tools now to deal with it and bring herself back from the edge and not end up in a puddle on the floor anymore.  She is functioning very well at preschool, when in March when I signed her up I was sure there was no way she would be able to cope.  Our family is supportive of her sensitivity issues, unlike mine growing up where they would tell me I must have asbergers syndrome and chase me around the room with a wooden spoon.  I am determined that Darcy have a fully supportive and loving home base because I know what it was like not to, and I know what it is like out in the real world where extroverts rule and expect everyone to be one to be a success.  I know I can't protect her from everything challening in her life, nor do I want to, but I do want to give her the skills and self confidence to deal with it in a healthy way.  It took me 39 years to figure it out.  If she can figure it out at 4 then she is worlds ahead of me.  When I got home from my recent trip to Utah Darcy was "cured."  Since that trip, and I have no idea what the magic switch was, Darcy has kept her pants clean and now poops on the toilet.  Its still a struggle but I can't express how proud and in awe I am of this little girl.  She has made amazing strides and has completely turned her life around and gained so much control.  She is such an example to me and a HUGE blessing in my life.  Oh, and if I must label her she is a highly sensitive introvert just like me.  Sorry Darce, but I know you will move mountains in your life!

Drew is also an introvert.  Her teacher asked me if she has friends because at recess she prefers to play hop-scotch alone or walks around the perimeter of play without joining in.  She has friends, she just prefers to be alone.  She likes to read, she is creative, she is an amazing friend to those she is close with, and she is a lot like me.  She came home from school last year distraught because she was nice to a girl and played with her at recess one day and the next day the girl wanted to play with her again.  Drew didn't know how to tell her she didn't want to play everyday with her.  Its something she will face her entire life, and get judged for, but hopefully I can help her through it and help her to have enough self-confidence to not let that stuff bother her.  Lucky for her she has a mom who has been there.  Now its up to me to remember and help her the best way I can.

Mason I believe is kind of both highly sensitive and also more of an extrovert.  He seems comfortable in groups of people and I think he functions just fine.  Almost too well coming from an introverted mom who likes quiet.  (Darcy's psychologist was astounded that I had 4 kids.  Uh yah, me too)  He is also sensitive.   Not quite to the degree Darcy is but now that I know what to look for, he exhibits many of the same traits.  He is a very cautious guy when it comes to new situations and he takes his time to evaluate before he acts.  But when he decides to act, watch out.  I can help him with the sensitive part but I don't know what the heck to do with the extroverted part :)

Bree is only 2 so its a bit difficult to tell at this point, but I'm betting that she is not highly sensitive.  As for the intro/extrovert part, I'm not sure there either.  I am inclined to lean on the extrovert side but we shall see.

Now my point isn't to find labels and use them as excuses for my children.  I guess my point is to "figure out" just who my kids are so I can be the best parent I can to my kids.  If I can give them some self realizations while they are young, I can hopefully help them to be well adjusted and functioning adults.  Isn't that what we all want for our kids?

Halloween 2012

 Halloween!  My favorite holiday!  One, because it happens during fall, my favorite time of year, and two, because its just my family involved.  No family drama, except for the drama I inadvertently create.  I think the kids really love this holiday too.  Until Christmas rolls around and then that is their favorite holiday.  I am sticking with Halloween though.  This year Paul brought out the big guns and sawed his way through the tops of the pumpkins instead of using the little hand-held carvers.  Genius!  We were pulling out guts in no time!

 Mason had a difficult time cleaning and carving his pumpkin this year because if his cast.  I think I ended up doing it all but he still claimed it as his.  Darcy had fun scooping the guts but Bree seems to be a bit of a scaredy cat and didn't want anything to do with it.  She watched us all work on ours instead.

 The finished product!  I don't know why Mason insisted on the silly face in this picture.  Maybe he didn't want us to mistake him for a pumpkin since he has two holes in his face from missing teeth too.

 Bree brought Nemo back to life this year.  I think all 3 of the girls wore this costume.  I will be sad next year when I realize it will never be worn again.  Its just too cute.

 Mason as Captain America.  Remember he chose a red cast to match his costume but we were able to cover it completely with the sleeve and glove, which was fortunate since it was a bit wet at times that night.

 Drew was the spider queen again this year.  We'll have to come up with something new next year.

 We bought Darcy a Minnie Mouse costume and then she found this spider costume in a bag of old costumes.  She wouldn't take it off.  She even wore it to her preschool party.  She's about the cutest spider I've ever seen!

 The crew ready to beg for candy.

 Here they are knocking on doors.  Boy were they surprised when Santa Claus opened the door and handed out candy canes!  Isn't he supposed to be in the North Pole right now making toys?

Here is Mason with his candy haul.  We got quite a bit at trunk-or-treat and then knocking on doors.  My policy is they can eat whatever they want whenever they want, as long as they still eat their 3 meals a day.  I don't know that I've ever heard of anyone dying from a candy overdose and my kids regulate it very well so I don't worry about it.  We end up sending about half of it to work with Paul anyway to share with co-workers.  They get the gross stuff like lemon heads and twizzlers.  So now its on to the wonderful holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas, and all the lovely family drama they are sure to drum up.  Its the most wonderful time of the year!