Me! When I'm 100

This is one of Lindsey's school art masterpieces that she brought home.  I laughed so hard when I first saw it.  I guess as you age your neck gets longer.  I'm feeling pretty long-necked these days.

Happy Leap Day (Night)

I had to get a quick blog post in today because it will be another four years before I'll get my next chance for a February 29th post.   The kids are already asleep and I'm about to be...zzzzzzzzzzz

Lazy Friday

Today  at different times both Carley and Sammy fell asleep on our bed.  I guess playing is hard work.

TGIF

It's Friday evening before a 3 day weekend and all is well in our little world.  We've not only survived the 1st two weeks of school, but Sammy and Lindsey have done better than I thought they would.  They both have jumped right into the new routine and seem to be really enjoying school and like their teachers. 

The only problem has been that Sammy has hurt himself twice now on the school playground.  The first time was during Kindergarten orientation when he ran into a bar and the second time was yesterday when he tripped and face planted on asphalt.  He cried for so long that they called up Blain to pick him up because they said he was okay but inconsolable.  Even after Blain got him, he kept crying for his mommy so they called me at work when I was in a meeting so I could talk with him.  Fortunately it was a small meeting and I have a very understanding boss.  I was able to talk to him and calm him down. 

On a more positive note, Carley seems to have had another growth spurt and for the first time is able to reach the light switch.  She's growing up so fast!  I love my feisty and fun little girl, but she's a handful.  She definitely has a mind of her own and isn't shy about expressing herself.

1st Playground Injury

And it only gets worse - 2nd playground injury

It doesn't look like she can reach the switch...

But she can!

First Day of School and Best Kid Quote of the Week

Today was the first day of school.  Lindsey is now a first grader!  She rode the school bus by herself for the first time (which we followed in our car for the first day just to make sure it well and to take pictures, of course). 

Last year we were driving her to a charter school across town.  This year we decided to enroll her and Sammy in our district school.  Turns out our district school did better in test scores and parent satisfaction than the charter school.  Plus the kids can catch the school bus just down the block.  Wunderbar!

Lindsey had a great first day.  She loved eating lunch at school.  Now that she's in first grade, she's in school for the full day.  Sammy starts Kindergarten next week but we did have a 1 hour Kindergarten orientation this morning.  They took the kids out to the playground so the teacher could talk to the parents about what they will be doing this year.  After a few minutes, in comes a little boy with an ice pack on his head.  It was Sammy, of course.  Poor kid ran into a pole on the playground.  That's our Sam.

On a side note, the best kid quote of the week and maybe even the month.  Yesterday, probably because of the excitement and nerves of school starting, the kids were crazy wild and misbehaving.  At one point I put Lindsey in a "time out".  Her response was, "FINE, then I will NOT say excuse me when I fart!!"  Well, I guess she told me off.  I had to turn away quickly so she couldn't see the expression on my face.  Shades of a quote from an old Monty Python movie, "I fart in your general direction".

School Bus

Lindsey with her Teacher

Swimming Pool and Umbrellas

A couple of days ago we went out and got a small pool for our backyard for the kids.  The sun was shining brightly when we filled it full of water and the kids were besides themselves with excitement to try out the new pool.  Then the storm clouds started gathering over our house and just as they got changed into their swimming suits we had a cloud burst of rain.  That wasn't going to stop Lindsey, Sammy and Carley from playing in their new pool so out came the umbrellas.  After the rain, it was cooler but they kept playing until I dragged them in for dinner.

 

Summer Solstice Fishing

Tuesday evening we took advantage of the beautiful weather and the longest day of the year by going fishing at a local trout farm with our friend Dave.  You just fed the fish and they swarmed up for the food and you could easily hook one.  Easy enough for young kids and inexperienced fishers to be guaranteed a catch.  Then they filleted the fish for you and we got to take home fresh trout for dinner.

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Gardening Weather

We've had a long, wet late winter and early spring.  But finally we had a beautiful weekend so we could put in our front garden bed.  I was even inspired to change out the front door wreath from a winter themed one with winter berries to a spring/summer themed one.  Sammy and Lindsey planted a lot of the flowers themselves.  We're quite proud of the results!

Hop

I took Lindsey and Sammy to see the new kid's movie "Hop" today.  We met up with Cindy and Brian and we all gave the movie a big thumbs up!  It's a feel good movie with a happy ending and plenty of laughs for kids of all ages.  And what better time of year to see a movie about the Easter Bunny. Then we went out to lunch and did a little shopping together at the mall where I bought some new earrings for all the girls of the family (myself included).  Another fun Saturday, especially considering Sammy's soccer game was canceled because of snow.  This has been one long winter!

Doctor Appointments

With 3 young children and 2 parents over fifty with various health ailments, it's a rare week that we don't have at least one doctor or dentist appointment.  And every once in a while, we'll have two in one day.  Today was Sammy's postop doctor visit in the morning and Lindsey's six year old annual checkup in the afternoon. 

Sammy's recovered well from his surgery.  No problems, no fluid in his right ear anymore and they even retested his hearing in the right ear which was not normal before the surgery because of the fluid.  His hearing in that ear is still not completely normal yet, but it is much better and hopefully will continue to improve.  They said to come back in six months to be retested.

Lindsey is doing great.  She is now 43 inches tall and 41 pounds which puts her right between the 10 - 15 percentile for both height and weight.  No health problems at all and she didn't even have to get a shot.

On Wednesday I have my first colonoscopy which I'm not looking forward to at all, but it needs to be done and I'm overdue to get one.  Aahh!  Wish me luck!

Another Fun Saturday

Sammy's Saturday soccer  league started up this morning for the spring season.  We had some play time before his game started at the playground next to the soccer field.  Then this afternoon we helped a friend celebrate their fifth birthday.  Sometimes if feels like the fun never ends!

Guess What Color the Cake Icing Was
It Matched the Wall Perfectly

Sunday Family Walk

Drama at the Dentist Part 3 (or Drama at the Dentist AGAIN?!?)

Today it was time for the kids 6 month cleaning and checkup at the dentist.  Everything went smoothly up until the very end.  Lindsey had been fearful during the cleaning but I got her to cooperate by talking her through it and holding her hands.  Then the dentist did his exam, no problems with any of the kids teeth. 

He recommended sealant put on Lindsey's 6 year molars.  The hygienist said this would take about 15 minutes and she would have to keep her "tongue still", as she put it, so the sealant could dry.  I had a bad feeling about this but reluctantly agreed.  I guess I should have listened to my gut feeling.  They weren't two minutes into painting the sealant on Lindsey's back molars when she started gagging.  The hygienist kept saying, "Just breathe through your nose, Sweetie."  But a few seconds later Lindsey threw up pretty much all of her peanut butter sandwich lunch.  Did you know those suction things they use to vacuum up excess saliva also works on vomit? 

Unfortunately when it flowed out of her mouth, most of it got in her hair.  Trying to get thrown-up peanut butter out of your daughter's long hair in the bathroom at the dentist, well, let's just say it's not fun, but not as bad as cleaning diarrhea out of your son's shoes in a public restroom.  I guess that puts me in the ranks of experienced parents.  My kids' bodily fluids no longer bother me that much.

Blain said that when I was in the bathroom with Lindsey, the hygienist apologized and felt really bad.  She said she had been doing this for 3 years and had never had a kid vomit before on any kind of procedure.  And Lindsey is not a kid to throw up easily which made it even more surprising.  This will make going to the dentist next time even more exciting!  We just never know what to expect.

Last Chance for Sledding

Spring is right around the corner and the snow is almost melted down in the valley.  So we took the kids to a good sledding hill at our local park for a last chance to sled this winter.  There wasn't a lot of snow left to sled on but it was icey so they were still able to get some good speed going to make for a thrilling ride.

Another Beautiful Day on the Slopes

I took Lindsey and Sammy skiing again today.  This was Lindsey's fourth time and Sammy's second.  Even though it was a group lesson we lucked out and they had one instructor for the two of them.  She said they had a great day and both loved to ski.  She even suggested for next year to get them a season pass.  Next winter I'll be able to ski again (can't this year because of my surgery), so I think we'll do it.  It did look like they were having a blast.

Brian and Cindy joined us again

Riding up the "magic carpet"

Sammy and Lindsey with Paulette, their teacher

127 Hours and Superbowl Sunday

Because of my newly rediscovered love of movies and because it happened here in Utah so it was a REALLY big deal in the news here at the time and because it's now nominated for an Oscar best picture, I got away for a couple of hours yesterday to see "127 Hours".  It's well done and I can see why it was nominated for best picture, though I doubt it will win.  It happened in 2003, but I would have sworn it was only about 4 years ago instead of 8 (wow, as you get older time really does start to speed up).  Great story of survival and the meaning of life.  I don't think I would have survived 27 hours myself.

Then it was TV watching for the rest of the day, first the Puppybowl on the Animal Planet Network with the kids, then the Superbowl.  Glad Greenbay won and glad that a guy from Utah won a million dollars for coming up with the best Doritos ad during the Superbowl.

Winter Celebration

What better way to celebrate the last day of January then a "Winter Celebration" program at Lindsey's school.  The kids did a couple of songs and a couple of poems about winter then showed off some art pictures they had been working on.  After the program, I took Lindsey out to lunch for a mother-daughter date.  We don't often get the chance to have one on one time with our kids so it was a special lunch for the both of us.

Lindsey's creation

Lindsey's "Goulash"

Lindsey cooked dinner tonight for the first time.  I supervised, of course, but she did all the actual cooking herself except for the rice (gotta give Blain credit for that part).  I thought it turned out great especially for a five year old's first time.  I'm so, so proud of my big girl.

It's About Time!

For whatever reason, we have never taken our kids to the movie theater.  Plenty of DVDs and TV and other type of outings but never actually gone out to see a movie.  Lindsey and Sam went to the movies with their daycare last summer so I feel bad I missed being with them for their first time.  Anyway, we finally all went as a family and saw the new Disney movie "Tangled".  And the reviews are in.  Sammy declared it "too girlie" (I think Blain backed him up on that) and Carley got bored after about an hour which I thought was a decent enough attention span for a 2 year old.  Lindsey and I really liked it.  We all enjoyed, though, getting out of the house together on a rainy and cold January day. 

They had previews for "Cars 2" coming out this summer so the plans are that will be our next family movie and one that won't be too girlie.  And in case you didn't know, Sammy is a HUGE Cars fan.  I've lost count of how many Lightening McQueens we have floating around this place.

Another Visit From the Tooth Fairy

This time it was one of the upper front teeth.  It's been loose for weeks.  We were hoping she would lose it before Christmas so we could teach her the song "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth" was the slight variation of being "one front tooth" instead of two.  Oh well, still so cute to see Lindsey talking and smiling with the big gap in her teeth.