Remembering MLK . . . . . and living in Harry Potter land

Joseph has really been impressed by stories about Martin Luther King, Jr.  He thinks Martin was a really cool guy who did good stuff (his words). In 1st grade they did a unit last month all about Martin Luther King and the civil rights movement. I loved his sweet observations on how MLK, Jr. helped all people be free, the way that Jesus wants us to be.

These are some things he made in school:

"

"I have a dream that I can make new friends and play with them because I am very nice."

 I have a dream . . .

• To be a good friend
• To be like him
• That every day is a sunny day
• To go to college

In other Joseph news, he is obsessed with Harry Potter.  He wants to talk about the intricacies of the world of Hogwarts, muggles, and wizards every day. And into the night, until we tell him to shush. We are reading him the books, and he is mesmerized. Right now we are about a quarter of the way through the second book. When he finishes a book he is allowed to watch the movie.  He already realizes that he has an impending problem . . . pretty soon the movies becomes PG-13 (and the books should probably have a similar warning starting at about book 4), so he won't be able to watch/read them for a few more years. We'll deal with that crisis when we get to it.  This is his latest improvised Harry Potter costume:

And, finally, The-Boy-Who-Wants-To-Eat-Almost-Nothing has a favorite type of muffins - Betty Crocker Cinnamon Streusel .  He would eat them every day if I let him. He is not allowed to have them every day, but we do make them at least once a week. In fact, he has learned to make them himself!  I came downstairs one day and he and a friend had mixed up the muffins and just needed me to bake them. I try to not to think too much about how not-very-healthy these muffins are. They certainly are delicious.

I love the photo bomb in the background, Bailey!

Green Eggs and Ham

Let's see . . . what would be the ultimate nightmare for a child with sensory food issues?  A kid who is hypersensitive to the look, smell, taste, texture of food.  How about a breakfast of green eggs and ham to commemorate Dr. Seuss' birthday?

Last Monday Dan and I both attended a special breakfast at Joseph's school for all 1st graders. The kids read Dr. Seuss books in the classroom (Joseph loved this),

then proceeded to the cafeteria and received a "Cat in the Hat" hat (loved this also),

and then received a plate of breakfast food, including very green eggs resting on a slice of ham (definitely not okay with this).

Prior to the breakfast Joseph and I had talked about it. He likes ham, so he felt like he would be fine with eating the ham. Until he saw that the green scrambled eggs were pretty much covering the slice of ham. We quickly extricated the ham piece and shook off the offending green pieces, but the damage was done. His face was about as green as the eggs. 

The rest of the breakfast he looked pained, tormented, terrified, and close to tears.  He didn't even want to eat the fruit roll-up or orange juice included with the meal.  All in all, it was a very touching parent/child experience.  Okay, so I lied. It was pretty much torture for all of us. But we played our parts well enough and helped him get through it.

Luckily, after awhile it was time to head back to the classroom for more Dr. Seuss-themed fun.

This is the paper he filled out in class about the experience. 

 

Notice his emphatic circling of the "no" on "did you like it."  

And his answer to "What did you learn from the book Green Eggs and Ham" - "try things before you say you don't like it.  That sounds an awful lot like what we learn over and over in occupational therapy.  Easier said than done, for sure.

The Lord's plan of compensation

As I shared in the last post, life is busy right now. So busy that some days I find myself breathing shallowly and feeling anxious as I try to fit in everything that I need to do in a day.

I have discovered a secret that is really working for me.

I love to read scriptures - but scripture reading was falling low on my list of "to-dos."  I usually got around to my own reading just before bed. And we all know how productive and inspiring that is . . . reading just enough to not feel guilty, hoping that something will inspire me while I'm sleeping.

Lately I've been carving out some scripture time in the morning, just after I finish all my get-the-kids-to-school duties but before I begin my so-many-things-to-do-today duties.  I turn on some of my favorite classical music and read about a chapter.  More or less.  Enough to feel a moment of inspiration. I've been trying to write my thoughts down in a scripture journal, but sometimes I forget.

This is by far my favorite classical piece - the second movement of Symphony No. 5 by Tchaikovsky.  I remember listening to Tchaikovsky with my Dad when I was a kid, so I always had a soft spot in my heart for the composer. My college roommate introduced me to this piece, and it really spoke to me.  I think that the opening part of this movement sounds like a heartfelt prayer.  And, later in the music I think the Lord's answer comes and both "voices" (the one praying and the Lord) continue to have a conversation.   Click this link to hear the music.   The guy directing the orchestra looks a little intense, so if he is distracting close your eyes and listen to the music. Maybe you will hear a different interpretation of the piece?

I really believe that the Lord has a plan of compensation. When I give time to Him before everything else intrudes, He helps me complete everything I need to do more efficiently, and my mood is much improved. The day just goes better, despite all odds. Like King Benjamin taught in Mosiah 2, when I have faith and do what the Lord asks me to do, "he doth immediately bless (me)."  I am always amazed at how immediate and how rich the Lord's blessings are. 

Life as we know it right now

Someday down the road our house will be (sadly) very quiet. The kids will be grown, and Dan and I will find other things to keep us busy.  At that time, if I have any brain cells remaining after raising four children, I might reflect back on the busy days of child rearing. But maybe I will forget what made it so busy at the different stages.

When our kids were young I thought life couldn't be any busier. And it was physically exhausting, what with the lack of sleep, constant diaper changing, nursing, toddler food prep, potty training, etc., etc.  Very busy.  I wasn't good about keeping a journal during this phase of my life, and I wish I had. It would fascinating now to read about what a "normal" day was like then. As it is, I just vaguely remember being busy and tired, but still really enjoying my kids as little tikes.

Now I find myself in a new phase of life and it is busy in a different way. The kids take care of most of their own physical needs and I get much more sleep at night, even with early awakening to get Bailey off to Seminary.  But, now the chauffeuring duties are paramount, the schedules are complicated, and the emotional needs are increased.  Because our kids are so spread out - 13 years from oldest to youngest, we have kids in all different developmental stages.  So I have to be "on my game" to handle 1st grade through teenage challenges at any time.

So, for the purposes of my own family history, I am going to make a record of a current weekly schedule.  I'm going to use this week as an example, and I'm not going to include everything that gets done during the day when the kids are at school. Let's just say that when everyone leaves in the morning I feel like I'm at the starting line of a race . . . ready, set, go!  There are certain things, like getting the house under control, planning dinner, errands, preparation for church callings, managing bills and personal finance, emails, service to friends and ward members, etc., which have to be completed by the time everyone comes home. That is my self-imposed deadline, because once kids are home we are running around and busy until bedtime. 

Warning - this will not be interesting to anyone other than my future self, so feel free to stop reading at the point.

Monday 

5:45 - Wake up to help Bailey get breakfast and visit with her before she leaves to Seminary
7:00 - Wake up Aubrey and Joseph - breakfast and lunch prep, etc.
8:15 - Dan takes Joseph to school
8:50 - Take Aubrey to the bus stop
9:00 - Green Eggs and Ham breakfast with Joseph at the elementary school.
11:00 - Back to the school to help the teacher
From the to do list during the day - list 50 items on ebay, emails about the upcoming end of soccer season party, emails about my book club,emails about the Wicked tickets we are coordinating
2:30 - Bailey comes home
2:45 - Drop Bailey off at piano
2:50 - Pick up Joseph, run back home to get the piano books Bailey forgot, feed Joseph a snack in the car, and help him do homework until his piano lesson
3:15 - Joseph starts piano, run Bailey home and try to finish making dinner (rolls and black bean soup)
3:45 - Pick up Joseph from piano, drive to Aubrey's middle school across town to pick her up.
4:15 - Pick up Wendy's for Aubrey for dinner, because she needed to go to theater practice until 8:30 p.m.
4:30 - Take Aubrey to theater - wait 45 minutes for the director to show up (they were supposed to be putting a brunette rinse in her hair and doing makeup in preparation for publicity shots for Beauty and the Beast.)
5:15 - Run back home and (with Bailey's help) get the house cleaned up for company.  Finish dinner, eat, and prepare a FHE lesson.
6:30 - A new family in the ward with two small children comes over for FHE and to visit.  Eat leftover bday cake for dessert
8:30 - Pick up Aubrey from theater, fill the car up with gas, run to the grocery store to get supplies for luncheon the next day.
9:00 - read Harry Potter to Joseph, scriptures, prayers.
10:30 - Fall asleep after watching lots of political primary  info on TV

Tuesday

5:45 - up with Bailey - breakfast, prayer, off to Seminary
7:00 - kids up and ready for school.  Food challenge with Joseph (in preparation for the afternoon's OT). Today's challenge was touching, smelling, licking, and then trying a bite of cinnamon bread.  Marginally successful.
8:15/8:30 - Joseph and Aubrey to school
9:00 - my Zumba exercise class
11:00 - prepare salad, put rolls on plate
11:30 - to the school to help a friend's daughter with something
12:00 - birthday luncheon for a friend, bring rolls and salad
2:30 - Bailey comes home
2:50 - Pick up Joseph, drive across town to Occupational Therapy appointment.  Pick up frozen yogurt on the way for Bailey, Joseph, and myself.
3:30 - While Joseph is in OT, run errands with Bailey (fabric store to get ribbons she can wear in her hair)
4:30 - OT done, feed Joseph snacks in the car on the way to baseball practice 
5:00 - Leave Joseph at baseball, drop by a friend's to pick up the book club book, take it to another friend's house, drop Bailey off at home, return to watch the baseball practice in the cold.
6:00 - home from baseball, dinner, check on Aubrey's homework
6:40 - take Aubrey to dress fitting appointment for her Beauty and the Beast ball gown.
9:00 - home - kids finish homework (oops - no piano practice happened today and I never checked on kid's chore completion), read Harry Potter to Joseph, scriptures, prayers.
10:00 - most of the kids are asleep
10:10 - We are asleep

Wednesday
5:45 - Up with Bailey - breakfast/prayer/off to Seminary
7:00 - Kids up and ready
8:15/8:45 - Joseph and Aubrey to school
Home to pay bills, clean up, communicate with the woman who is picking up the table we just sold on craigslist.
2:30 - Bailey home
2:50 - Pick up Joseph
3:15 - Joseph swim lesson
4:45 - Aubrey home from school
5:00 - Take Aubrey to piano lesson, pick up Joseph's friend so we can drive him to soccer
5:30 - Pick up Aubrey from piano
5:40 - Dan drives Joseph and two friends to soccer practice across town
6:40 - Drop Bailey and Aubrey off at Young Womens.
7-9 pm. Stake YW Meeting.
9:30 - Read Harry Potter to Joseph, help Aubrey finish homework, scriptures, prayers, bed.

Thursday

5:45 - Up with Bailey - breakfast/prayer/off to Seminary
7:00 - Kids up and ready
8:15/8:45 - Joseph and Aubrey to school
10:00 - Zumba exercise class
12:00 - Dad calls for weekly phone appointment
2:30 - Bailey home from school
2:50 - Pick up Joseph from school
4:45 - Aubrey home from school.  Leave to take Joseph to baseball practice.
5:00 - Return home to help Aubrey get dinner and prepare for theater.
5:30 - Drop off Aubrey at theater.
6:00 - Pick up Joseph from baseball. Meet up with my friend Kathy in a parking lot to transfer her two boys to my car.  Drive all three boys to their last indoor soccer game.
6:30 - 7:30 - Soccer Game
7:30 - 9:00 - Dan help paint some of the sets for Aubrey's play/Parent Meeting for the play at 8 p.m.
8:30 - Pick up Aubrey from theater
9:00 - Harry Potter, homework, scriptures, piano?, prayers, bed

Friday

5:45 - Up with Bailey/off to Seminary
7:00 - Kids up and ready
8:30 - Take Joseph to school, help in Joseph's classroom (Aubrey comes along until her bus arrives at 9 a.m.)  Help until 10:00 a.m.
10:30 - Run home to meet up with the family who is picking up our kitchen table.
11:00 - Drive across town to get allergy shot.  Do a few errands while there - Costco, groceries, Target.
2:30 - Bailey gets home
2:50 - Pick up Joseph and a friend (for a playdate)
4:45 - Aubrey gets home
5:00 - Drive into Portland to pick up our new kitchen table
6:00 - Dinner out with the family to celebrate last week's birthdays


It is a crazy schedule. We are constantly evaluating and re-evaluating what is important to leave in the schedule and what can be removed. For instance, as of this week we are cutting out Joseph's swim lesson (he has had a once a week private lesson since last summer, at the suggestion of his OT.  It has been so helpful, but it can go on hold right now). And soccer ends this week - hooray!  But baseball games start next week!  And Aubrey's play is in full-gear mode, right up until the end of March.

It is a busy stage. But it is a happy stage of life. Our kids are awesome and involved in good activities.  Hopefully we will remain sane as we manage their schedules and all the other important to-dos that fill up a day. Hopefully we won't forget the really important things as we rush from one place to another all day.  That is my goal and my prayer every single day.  I love this quote from Elder Uchtdorf.  I just printed it out to post on my wall, to help me maintain focus.

"Strength comes not from frantic activity but from being settled on a firm foundation of truth and light. It comes from placing our attention and efforts on the basics of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. It comes from paying attention to the divine things that matter most."

Simplifying

Yep - I'm an ebayer.  I'm selling some of our things on ebay, starting with some DVDs.  It's not hard at all, and so addicting.  We're clearing out things we don't need/want anymore and opening up space in our home.  It feels amazing! 

So far I've made about $100.  More importantly, I've opened up a few shelves which were previously jammed full. And, I have a stack of items ready to list. It's so much fun!

What Aubrey's been up to

Most days, Aubrey sings and dances through the house and through life.  It's just who she is.  Here's a rundown on her life right now.

School - Aubrey LOVES her new school - Vancouver School of Arts and Academics.  It's a great fit for her. Her classes this year are 8th grade math, Theater, Visual Arts, Vocal, Physical Science, and Language Arts/World Studies. For her Language Arts class she worked on the poster below. It's hard to tell from the picture, but the Oreos between the letters of the title (the Oreos are significant in the story) look real, but were cleverly made from foam board and paper and then mounted so as to create a 3-D effect.

 This is a watercolor she completed for her Visual Arts class:

 Theater - Aubrey was recently cast as Belle in Beauty and the Beast.  She attends practices three times a week, for about three hours each time. When we worry that this might be overwhelming, she laughs at us and says that it is just fun stuff.

I don't have a picture yet of her in her costume, but the costume designer for the show posted a photo of one of her Belle dresses - it is an exact replica of the dress in the Broadway production!

Hairdresser  Aubrey has developed a real knack for doing hair, and she practices on me and Bailey. In this photo she curled Bailey's hair for a Stake Dance.

  
A Loyal Friend - When Aubrey makes a friend, she is loyal to that friend forever!  Here she is with her friend Breanne (who lives in Utah).  They have been friends since Aub was 2 years old.  This last summer she spent a week with  Breanne's family on the Oregon Coast. Aubrey generally likes to hang out with one or two friends at a time.

Birthday time - Next up . . . turning 12 this week (with all the associated fun and festivities) and entering the Young Women's program at church.  Hooray!  She will be with me and Bailey every Sunday and on Wednesday nights.  Oh, and she will be going to Girl's Camp with us this summer, too. This coming Sunday she be ushered out of Primary with the Felida Ward tradition . . . she will walk down a red carpet toward the waiting group of Beehives while the kids in Primary sing "Onward, ever onward . . ."  Then she will be welcomed into Young Womens and begin a new phase of her life.

This morning she made invitations to her birthday party this Friday.  We will take her and two good friends to her favorite restaurant in the world . . . Olive Garden! More to come on this later.

We love our smart, dedicated, talented, beautiful 12 year old daughter!

Pain the neck

Ants, ants, ants, ants.  I hate ants.  Not as much as I hate mice, but ants are also on my list of things I really dislike.

Every spring we have lived in this house we are hit with an invasion of ants inside the house.  Some years are worse than others, and this year is the worst by far.  The tiny black ants infested our pantry, and we eventually had to throw out any food that was opened., which was a lot.  Still, the ants had free reign of the shelves, no matter what we did. For about a week I kept the vacuum right by the pantry door, and every time I walked by I would vacuum up any visible ants.  But there were always more and more and more . . .

So on Friday we had the exterminators come out again to spray.  Previously I didn't have them spray the pantry because of the proximity to the food. This time I gritted my teeth and spent hours removing almost everything from the pantry.  Even after throwing out about half of the food in the pantry (anything ants could have accessed), there was a LOT of stuff to pull out. It was piled all over the kitchen, which made actually using the kitchen a challenge.

 When everything was out we could see a trail of ants steadily marching in from a crack in the wall.

 

This time the exterminators had a new theory about why we are perpetually plagued by the tiny black pests. A year after we moved into the house we discovered a slow water leak from the main water line (it was leaking from the shutoff point - located in the pantry).  By the time we found the leak it had damaged the wood floor in the kitchen and hall and the floor and wall in the pantry.  All the visible damage was repaired, but the bug guys think that there is still some rotted wood somewhere in the wall. Apparently ants LOVE rotted wood, so they have set up residence there and sometimes venture through the wall into our home.   Lovely.

So, thus it is. So annoying.  I just had to vent today.

What Bailey's been up to

Bailey is enjoying a fun freshman year at Skyview High School. She is all about friends, fun, and  . . . . did we mention friends?

School - She got good grades last semester and is in the Science, Math, and Technology (SMT) program at school (although she says she might not stick with that program because she technically doesn't really like science, math, or technology).  This year she is taking Pre-AP Biology, Geometry (yuck - she would say), Calligraphy, Dance, Tech Tools, French, and SMT English. She does a lot of her homework sprawled out on the ground of her bedroom. I'm not exactly sure why we bought her a desk?? 
Here are some pics of her recent school Dance recital. They demonstrated some Zumba, country line dancing, etc,

 

Party time - Last weekend she invited 10 guys and girls from her "friend group" from school to our house for an end-of-semester party. We are really grateful that she has a fantastic group of friends.  We're happy to host activities to get them together. So, Dan, Bailey, and I spent all day Saturday cleaning the house and prepping the house for a party. (This was an especially big job because we recently sold our big entertainment center in the bonus room and replaced it with a small console and flat screen TV. That means that all the tons of stuff which was housed within the huge entertainment center was piled around the room. We worked frantically to sort it into piles and dispose of/store it so the bonus room was ready for company.)

Dan and I ran out to Costco and the grocery store to stock up on all the essential teenage food groups - sugar, salt, and grease. It was awesome . . . and very tempting to the rest of us, who ate way too much pizza, M&Ms, chips, brownies, fudge, etc.  The party-goers got along great. They played some party board games, played Just Dance on the Wii (my favorite moment is when all the boys did a rousing rendition of the "Barbie Girl" dance), ate lots of food, ran up and down the stairs about a bajillion times (sitting in our room at about 10 p.m. and listening as a herd of boys thundered up and down the stairs, I wondered if the house was going to literally fall down.  But it didn't - all is well.)  At about 10 p.m. they all played a pickup game of basketball outside in the cold. As parents came to pick up their kids, several of them assumed that we had kicked the kids out of the house because they were driving us nuts!  No, we were tired, but we hadn't locked them out of the house . . . yet.

I didn't take any pictures of the party, but one of the girls snapped some photos (not surprisingly, the photos she took were of the guys . . .)  Here they were goofing off after playing Just Dance. Joseph was right in the middle of the fun!

Basketball - In January Bailey participated in our ward's YW Basketball team. This meant she pushed herself way beyond her comfort zone. Bailey is frequently asked if she plays basketball because she is so tall, but she didn't have a lot of confidence with the sport.  At the beginning of the season she agreed to attend the practices and games just to cheer on her friends, but soon found herself practicing with the team. And she realized that she has a good shot and was having some fun. So she somehow ended up playing in the games. The first time she entered the court she said, "NOBODY throw me the ball!"  And she would do everything possible to NOT touch the ball.  Her teammates, the refs, our coaches, and even the girls on the opposing teams were supportive and helpful.  For instance, when she was in "the key" too long, someone from the other team pointed it out to her and then explained what "the key" is. And when she made a basket in a game EVERYONE - the spectators and everyone from both teams - stood up and cheered! With her permission, her are some excerpts of Bailey's letters to Brandon which better describe the experience:

"I'm playing on the church basketball team. Against my better judgment that is. I literally knew not one rule in basketball before I started. And now I know about one more rule than I did before. Case in point, on Saturday I shot into the other teams basket. Twice. And almost made it both times. No one informed me before hand that there were 2 different baskets that were assigned to certain teams at different parts of the game. Now I know. Kind of. Even after they told me, I did it again. That one's gonna go down in history. I also did not know the meaning of "open". I was also informed of that. Did you know it meant able to catch the ball? Because I definitely didn't. All in all, this whole experience has definitely taught me a lot. Like duck when a ball is flying towards you. And don't stand in the "key" for longer than 3 seconds. Whatever that means. Also, basketball is a lot more fun when you know what you're doing. I'm pretty sure I'm now the laughing stock of the stake but at least I had fun doing it! Well... kind of."

"Saturday was our supposedly "last" basketball game. We played Salmon Creek, which is a VERY tough team. The absolute highlight though was I MADE A BASKET FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER IN AN ACTUAL GAME!!!!! It was kind of far away too! I made it and it seemed unreal for a minute then I jumped up and down. I was surprised to realize that I had to actually still play, even after my basket. haha. When I turned around after I made it though, my whole team, plus the majority of the crowd had given me a standing ovation! It was crazy! Afterwards Mom took me to Muchas Gracias and Yo2Go from a burrito and frozen yogurt. Yum!"

 

 

Look closely at the look on Bailey's face below as she waits for the rebound:

 Joseph, his friend Gabe (coming straight from their soccer game) and Aubrey watching Bailey's game.

 
Moneybags -  Bailey is a sought-after babysitter, and she makes an exorbitant $10 an hour, which is the going rate here for babysitters. I'm just glad we have built-in babysitters now, because I'm not sure I could handle paying that much for a a night out!  She puts a hefty amount of her money into the bank (where, under the agreements of the "Porter Bank," any money she deposits for long-term savings is matched 100%). The rest of the money she spends on clothes, especially clothes from Forever 21.

Dances - Every month there is a multi-stake dance, and Bailey and her friends never miss them. Every fourth dance (when it's hosted by our stake), Dan is the deejay. That means he stays on top of the current music, so whenever Bailey's friends are around he "tests" songs on them to decide what he should play at the dances.

The end of January - on Dan's birthday - he deejayed our stake's fancy "Yule Ball" dance.  It is for 16 and older and dates are arranged between Laurels and Priests in the stake.  Everyone in the stake donates extra prom dresses for "Fairy Goodmother," where all the girls are able to choose a beautiful prom dress to wear to the dance.  It is quite an event - amazing decorations, a very nice dinner, free pictures, dance instruction, etc. Dan did a GREAT job running the show that night, and had found some fun, new, appropriate music. Bailey was the only lucky 14-year-old in attendance, as she was able to come as Dan's "music helper."

Mostly her role was to sit by him and gave advice about which song to play next. But she was mesmerized by the spectacle, especially the girls all dressed up in their fancy dresses. As she watched all the couples, she was already picking out what type of dress she wants to wear . . . in two years. We had a really fun time together that night.

We love our intelligent, beautiful, witty, fun 14-year-old daughter!

6 boxes. Seriously?

Yesterday Dan brought home a bag from work with 6 boxes of Girl's Scout cookies.  Someone's daughter at work was selling them, so he thought he would help out the Scout and surprise me with them. Except that I wasn't super happy.

"Whaaaat?  6 boxes?  Are you serious?"

Because, as we have previously established, my ability to resist certain sugary items is very, very weak. And I'm trying to resist them and eat foods that are better for me, because I feel really healthy when I do. But, it is has been very, VERY difficult. First I used all of my available willpower over the past few weeks to keep myself to only two big bags of Valentine's candy hearts (minus the green ones), and that was difficult. I thought I was out of the woods, but then we came to Valentine's Day, which is full of temptation. Especially since I bought a groupon for fudge from a store in downtown Vancouver, and it turns out that the fudge is very good. And the groupon entitled me to 5 huge squares of fudge.  Let's see . . . 3 squares for 3 kids and 2 for . . .  me.  All which I consumed yesterday.

And I deserved every last bite. The day began with our discovery of an ant infestation.  When Bailey woke up for early morning Seminary we discovered ants crawling all over the kid's backpacks in the mud room (attracted by the remains of their lunches, I'm sure). So, at 5 a.m. I vacuumed backpacks and shook out schoolbooks through bleary eyes before getting Bailey out the door.

Then the other kids got up and we dealt with a myriad of I-forgot-to-do-my-homework and my-tummy-kind-of-hurts issues before driving them both to school and getting them there barely on time.  I got back home to discover that the ants have also found the treasure trove that is our pantry (yum - lots of crumbs left on the floor and shelves by foraging children).  So I spent an hour cleaning out and vacuuming the pantry. Before tackling the rest of the depressingly messy house. And spending a few hours doing some preparations for a big Young Women's activity the Mia Maids were in charge of that evening.

I had just showered and settled down for a nice phone visit with my sister when . . . . what do you know? The elementary school was calling.  And Joseph (who was the one with the my-tummy-kind-of hurts issue) had thrown up at school.  Right in front of his friends.  All over the wallball court during recess.  I dashed to the school to retrieve my sickie and then spent the rest of the day cleaning up throw-up messes  - one of the things that makes motherhood just super duper fun.

And then I got dressed in some non-throw-up clothes and ran to a meeting for Joseph's new baseball team (sans Joseph), and then directly to Young Women's, where I helped pull off a chaotic but fun activity.  And then I returned home and dealt with more parenting crises until . . . midnight. Yes, midnight. And then it was back up again at 5:30 this morning.  For a day which involved more parenting challenges, another sick kid, an even more depressingly messy house, two orthodontist appointments, two pick-up/drop-offs of kids at activities, more ant infestations, an evening soccer game, and a Stake church meeting after that. 

Which brings me back to those darn Girl's Scout cookies. Because when days are like this - and they are certainly like this often - I do not reach for carrot sticks. I reach for sugar. And the only thing that keeps me from reaching for sugar is not having it in the house.  So I am going to have to give away the boxes of Girl's Scout cookies.  Any takers?

The end of an era

I knew the day would come eventually. My little boy is growing up and is ready to part with his many superhero costumes.  We made a pile of costumes to pass on to cousins in AZ or friends in the neighborhood.

As this stage of life ends, here's a walk through the past . . .

From the time our little guy could run around, he improvised costumes and pretended to be a superhero. We bought him a pair of Superman pjs when he was two, and he never wanted to take them off!
 
So for Halloween we bought his first real costume - Spiderman. It had super cool muscles built right in.

For years he wore the Spidey costume almost every day, to do every possible activity, including going to the store and to playdates.  We did draw the line on wearing it to church.

After three years of continual wear, the costume was a little short (can you say wedgie?), was almost worn through in the rear,  and had a few rips.  Within a few months of this picture the Spidey costume found its way to the garbage can.

When we realized that superhero costumes were Joseph's passions, we started buying costumes on clearance after Halloween.  We amassed a fun collection.

Joseph didn't limit himself to only superhero costumes. He combined pieces to make all sorts of creative inventions.  Below, Ninja warrior.
 
 And his Pirates of the Caribbean costume.

 And some sort of Indiana Jones/Chinese guy/pirate.

And I have no idea what this is.

All his buddies loved to come over and dress up. They would run around the house for hours playing elaborate superhero games.
 

When he couldn't wear a costume he wore the next best thing . . . his Superman shirt. Dan bought it at Goodwill and Joseph wore it for at least two years. It had a cape which attached at the shoulders with velcro.  For the entire 3 year old year of preschool he wore a superman cape to school almost every single day. And on vacation. In this picture we were in Williamsburg, Virginia and he was pretending to be "Super Colonial Boy".

Dressing up with cousins is the best!  Here he is with Lauryn (Kara and Dave's daughter)

and with Carson (Rich and Lindsey's son).

These pictures are from Halloween when he was 4 and 5 years old, but he didn't limit his costume wearing to the month of October. It was a year round activity . . .

. . . until it wasn't. The other day we were thinning things out of his room and I realized that the pile of costumes hadn't been touched in many months. I asked him if he still wanted to keep them and he shrugged.

"I don't know," he said. "I'm really more into Legos and dart guns now.  And football and soccer and basketball and wall ball and sky ball."

I knew it couldn't last forever. Eventually kids grow up and find new interests. But I thoroughly enjoyed this superhero costume dress-up stage with my Joseph. And I'll miss it.