Isn't it June YET?!

No? Great. I think we are already bored! Part of that reason is that the other kids and friends in the neighborhood are in school until Friday. Our charter school got out early due to starting earlier and taking fewer days off during the year. I do like to be out by Memorial Day though.

This past weekend was...in a word...cold. So the nice plans Daddy had to take the kids up the canyon to play got post-poned. We did BBQ, but only because our grill is right outside the back door, and it stopped raining long enough to fire it up! :)

Nicole gave us a little scare on Sunday. We were in the hall, gathering the chicks, err, children, and she starting hysterically crying. I look at her, and her hand and mouth are covered in blood....great...ten days out from tonsil surgery, and there's a bunch of blood. So I cleaned her up, scooted her home, and got a look at her throat. It appeared that the "scab" (ewww!) on her left tonsil had come off, and perhaps a bit early. But the bleeding had slowed, so I decided since we were 10 days out, I'd see if her body could fix itself. Within an hour, bleeding had stopped, so we just gave her soft food the rest of the day and she was good to go. I did call my brother the Emergency Room PA, and got his opinion...so I felt good about it. It sure is nice to have ER personnel to solicit help from! Thanks bro!

Tuesday was Jared's "last preschool hurrah", a trip to Thanksgiving Point children's garden. The kids had fun running amuck, and since the sun was out and warming up, they all had fun in the Noah's Ark fountain, even Ellie got in, which surprised me. I did take pictures, and I'll try to add them later. :)

Today was lots of fun at home. It's nice when the kids play separately with friends, because when they do get back together at home, they are typically nicer to each other...for a while...

Lots of birthday party fun. Jared's two friends(twins) today, and Nicole's school friend tomorrow. Then Jared and Daddy have the Father-Son campout Friday. We'll see if they stay this year. They haven't yet, in the last 3 years they've gone! (Well, to be fair, they never planned on staying the 1st year, when Jared was one!) When it gets close to bedtime, Jared always decides he "misses mom" and needs to come home. I have to admit, I think it's cute, and I think Daddy appreciates being able to come home to a comfy bed as well! :)

Fun with Photoshop

SOOC....straight out of camera....nice, but I think I'll tweak it with a little action and tutorial I found...courtesy of PW...

VIOLA! WOW! I believe this deserves a printing and frame! :)

Oh, and to be fair to Riley, she also finished school today. Had fun getting her yearbook signed by her buddies, and her dad and I are in shock that next year is her freshman year....The kid ended with 7 A's and 1 B....she's gonna have an amazing GPA for this year. Now if she can keep it up for the next 4 years, she could actually have a chance at getting into BYU! (If that's what she still wants to do in 4 years!)

3...2...1....SUMMER!

Nicole's last day was yesterday. Her teacher came to see the kids off, and brought her sweet and adorable new baby for them to meet. Nicole was excited to be done, and is looking forward to 1st grade.

Nicole and Miss Ross, class TA

Nicole and Mrs. Bird, beloved Kindergarten teacher!

Jared's last day was today. He had a cute little graduation ceremony. That I missed in person. Ellie...ummm...barfed all over me this morning. Thankfully Ron was home for the morning to attend Jared's graduation, so we knew when Ellie lost it that one of us had to stay home with her. So we gave Jared the choice of who was going with him. No surprise that he chose his dad! So Ron went and took lot's of pictures and video for me. The teacher also made a darling slide show and gave all the kids a copy to bring home. Thanks to the video I still got to enjoy Jared sharing that when he wants to grow up he's going to be a fireman, policeman, and mailman, his portrayal of Papa Bear in a puppet show, and him doing the chicken dance. If I figure out how to upload video, I'll share it! :) Jared is SO excited to go to kindergarten now! I sure hope I can get him up to speed on writing his letters and numbers this summer....the poor kid doesn't even turn 5 until July 17th....he is going to be such a young 5.....

Jared and his class

Jared's 1st graduation tassel...maybe we'll hang it from the handlebars of his bike!

And last but certainly not least....a classic Ellie look...:)

Little bits of life.

Various things going on....so here you go!

Nicole- Back to school! The kid has definitely been catching up on sleep.....Monday, she slept in until 10! Tuesday, til 9, and I had to drag her out of bed this morning at 7:20. She really wanted to go back yesterday because her teacher, who has been gone since having a baby a month ago, was coming in for the day and bringing her new baby. So I took Nicole for the last 45 minutes. When we got there though, her teacher wasn't there because she couldn't find a sitter for her older child. But Nicole wanted to stay and her teacher is coming on Thursday, which is also her last day! Holy cow...I cannot believe she is almost done with Kindergarten. That FLEW!

Nicole is now to the "stinketh" phase of her recovery....uck! I brush her teeth well, and her tongue, and have her gently gargle to help the tonsil part, but I can't do anything about the adenoid part....so I remind her not to breathe too close to anyone's face for a few more days. :) Yesterday in the mail she got a cute "get well card" signed by the nurses that took care of her and some stickers. I am SO beyond impressed with the same-day surgery department of this hospital. Awesome care, and great follow-up.

Riley- There was an awards assembly at school yesterday and Riley got 4 outstanding student awards from her English, History, Graphic Arts, and some other teacher that she couldn't remember. They hadn't told parents about the assembly, so we weren't there. She'll get her certificates today so we'll see what the mysterious 4th was! Her Science teacher told her she was on his list as well, but they made him shorten his, so she was taken off since she was getting the others.

The really weird part about this kid is that this last term she's been checking her grades, on her own, and is bugged that she doesn't have all A's....huh?! Seriously, talk about a FANTASTIC change! At the beginning of this year, she could care less what her grades were, and if you told her that she was missing assignments and her grade was down to a D, she'd ask "what's so wrong with that"? So this change in attitude is so welcome! It's great as a parent to watch a child start taking responsibility for themselves and meeting their incredible potential! YAY for Riley!

Here's the kicker....guess where I took her yesterday....???? A JOB interview! Yep, if she gets it, she'll be working in the snack shack at one of the local pools this summer. Such different plans for her this summer. Last summer, I thought her butt was going to grow into the couch. This summer....Youth Conference, EFY, Girls Camp, Tennis Lessons, Voice Lessons, and a part-time job. Crap. If this keeps up, we will be getting her a car in a couple years so I don't have to schlep her around! :)

Jared- Has preschool graduation Friday, and his end of year Water Party on Tuesday. Starts T-Ball in June.

Me....I should be doing a lot of other things, but I'm escaping it by blogging....hehehe...well, until now. I have no more to tell. Dang. Non-interesting but highly irritating tidbit....it was in the 90's yesterday. I had to turn on the A/C last night for a while to get it to a comfortable sleeping temp....Now that the storm has arrived, it's 40 degrees right now. With wind chill, lower than that!

Hey any of you Mesa AZ residents....

**Edited to announce that Scott won by 56%!! Congrats Mr. Mayor!**

and I know I have a few of you reading here!

Just a shameless plug to remember to go vote today for your mayoral candidate...if I were able to, I'd be voting for Scott Smith....cause he's a good guy, and my cousin! hehehe....

Go Scott!

Day 3 post tonsils...

and OH BOY, has the grumpiness begun!

I'm sure it's a combination of pain, boredom, and hunger for real food, but this afternoon Nicole was having a hard time.....clingy, crying unless mom or dad were with her on the couch, and the most bizarre "angry" behavior if she wasn't getting what she wanted....throwing stuff and hitting with her pillow...I made it clear pretty quick that it didn't matter what was going on, that wasn't acceptable. She has never acted like that. Maybe she's having an odd side-effect from the anesthesia....3 days later?!

I went to Wal-Mart tonight....it was kind-of nice to just wander and get some down-time. But then I remembered I was at Wal-Mart...how sad to go there for "enjoyment"!

Hopefully tomorrow will be better, but they did warn that days 3-7 can be the worst.

Cross your fingers for me ! :)

Baby Pirate

Aaargh matey's! Ahoy, it's Ellie the Pirate...

One of Ellie's favorite cereals is Honey Nut Cheerios.
She likes cereal without milk.
Inevitably, she eats some of it, and then plays with the rest.
Dumps it out and makes a mess that would make any two year old proud. (I guess I should be glad that she doesn't want it with milk!)
Today, I asked her what she was "do-ning", and she told me she was making a snowman...out of Honey Nut Cheerios.
I wished her luck!

T&A Day!

Hooray! It's done, over, finito, accomplished! And it went so well! :) We arrived at the hospital at 7:20 AM. Nicole was nervous, but was so brave. She cooperated with all of the medical personnel, and they were so fantastic with her. There is nothing less fun than watching your kid be wheeled off to surgery, but I knew she was in good hands.

In less than an hour, they brought her to us in her recovery room. She wasn't a happy camper at that point. She was crying, scared, and her throat hurt...of course! She just wanted to go home. Things were a bit better after we got the Disney channel turned on, got a slushy for her, and a dose of tylenol with codeine. We waited our requisite hour in recovery, and then they took out her IV, gave us our discharge instructions, and we were home by 10:30 AM.

Nicole spent some time in our room watching some movies, but by this afternoon she was out with her siblings, playing Wii, and PBS Kids. She even asked if she could go ride her bike! Umm, nope, but I'm sure glad she feels good enough to want to. :) I was surprised that she didn't take a nap, or sleep at all during the day. I have been told that the worse days are 3-7, so I'm not counting myself in the clear yet. One of her sweet friends brought her a poster to color, and she's been having fun with that.

We're giving her the pain medication regularly, and giving her lots of drinks to keep her hydrated. She is happy with the popsicles, slushy's, ice cream, and pudding, but she is hungry for real food. Nothing that was a little more substantial that I was okay with her trying was approved by her though. Maybe tomorrow we'll get some real stuff in her.

The absolute best part of this is tonight, after she fell asleep. I went back to check on her, and she is sleeping so peacefully. No snoring, no constant moving to find a position her airway stays open in, no obstructing. She was so quiet I had to put my hand on her chest to make sure she was breathing! That hasn't been the case since she was about 1 1/2 years old. What a beautiful thing. My girl is going to get the sleep that she's been missing out on for years. That makes it all worth it, and makes me so happy! :)

A look at our day:

Just what you wanted to see....the before shot! No after shot yet, she's a little too sore to open wide enough for a picture. ;)

Waiting for her turn.

After....she just wanted to go home.... :*(

Grape slushy made life better...check out her "surgery buddy"doll that Child Life gave her. She got to color a face on it, and she even painted it's nails. She took it back with her to the OR, and when she came back, the doll had a pink hand bandage like Nicole, and a bandaid on it's neck! Nicole was pretty thrilled about the pink Coban, WITH HEARTS no less, covering her IV hand!

The fun wheelchair ride out the door. It's off to home we go! :)

So happy to be home playing some Mario Party 8!

Tomorrow!

Well, tomorrow is the day...Nicole's tonsillectomy.

We have our instructions and time to be at the hospital. Grandmommy is all set up to babysit, and Riley's ride to school is set as well.

Today I was out getting stocked up with popsicles, sprite, ramen noodles, and jello. We went to the little pediatric surgery orientation at the hospital today, and Nicole got to see all the rooms where she'll go, and some of the equipment that they'll use on her. She's a bit nervous, but I think seeing it today will help tomorrow's comfort level. Our home teacher came over tonight to help daddy give her a blessing. So, I think we are ready!

I know I'm ready to get those nasty things out, and especially to have her be able to sleep comfortably now....it seems like lately her obstructing and snoring is getting worse. Ellie will really enjoy having a quiet room-mate!

Once we get back tomorrow I'll post the outcome. Wish us luck, and send a little prayer her way if you are so inclined! :)

Feeling the love....

Yesterday was a good day. I was allowed to remain in bed to "sleep" in....but really, who can sleep with screaming, etc. going on?! I was then treated to breakfast in bed. Toast (2 pieces! One with cinnamon/sugar and the other with butter and jam) and frosted mini wheats. Jared and Ellie helped me out getting it eaten.

The best was my hubby whose meetings were canceled so I had lots of help getting ready for church. Bliss! :)

Church left a bit...a lot...to be desired. I'm sure the talks and songs were great, but my kids were in rare form again. Hitting, screaming, head-butting....the usual. What is the deal? My once complacent 2 year old has become a demon in church. So we went out once, then twice, and I would've just bagged it and gone home but I think that would have induced too much guilt in my hubby stuck up on the stand. Besides, if I held out just a bit longer, I was getting a 2 hour reprieve while they went to their classes!

Don't you love getting the sympathetic "knowing" smiles from other parents, but you know behind that smile they are wondering why I can't control my children? My answer...if I had an answer we wouldn't have a problem now would we?!?!

After church, and after daddy got home, the kids opened my gifts for me. I was reminded as I watched their excited faces that this was truly the best part of the day. Watching MY kids, joyful, exuberant, and loud as they are. But they are mine. I love them, and they love me.

I got a fun summer outfit with sandals, chocolate truffles, a flat-iron, some make-up, and the DVD versions of Persuasion and Sense & Sensibility that were shown on Masterpiece earlier this year. Woo-HOO! Then my sweet husband made me dinner. Grilled tri-tip....yum! We tried to have my mom over for dinner as well, but she'd already made plans with her sisters....huh?

All in all , a great day, and some joy from my sweet kiddos.

Recording it in writing almost made the incident today of my 2 year old punching me in the nose because I asked her not to chew on her hair okay....almost. ;)