The Beginning of June

June was a limbo month. Our house was still on the market (as was expected) and I couldn't leave for California yet (as was originially planned) because Marie had a dance recital at the end of June. June 21st to be exact. That was my target date. My, I-can-survive-anything-for-a-few-weeks date. We spend a lot of time outside of our house to accomodate the steady flow of showings. (Yay for showings!) April and I were sure to meet up at parks and splash pads as much as possible before we were separated for the rest of summer by a few states.

 Anne and Katelyn

 Marie and Cordon

There is something extra special about your "first friend ever", or at least, my kids find it to be pretty cool, and I agree. William and Logan were off running around and had no interest in the picture taking that was going on.

 On the mornings we could just be together, we did just that. And a morning together is that much better with crayons and paper and paints. Sam played mostly with the water, which is what allowed this moment to happen. Everyone was content. It was so lovely.

 We drew secret messages to each other with white crayons that the kids had to "decode" by painting over it. I'll take these paintings in my home any day.

 After some painting and drawing, Anne moved on to dress-ups. Who can blame her?

 Another day that we had a showing we all went to lunch at a local pizza place that has a lunchtime buffet. Hello! William was in heaven. Endless pizza? Yes, please! They are especially well known for their breadsticks and we can see why. The cinnamon sugar breadsticks were so delicious. William may have consumed more than his body weight in cinnamon and sugar breadsticks. He was pretty please with himself about that. 

It was such a relief to have school and all that came with it out of our schedule. That "just" trying to sell our house and enjoy time with the kids seemed so do-able. I like feeling like life is do-able. It's kind of a good thing.

Last Week of School

The last week of school couldn't come fast enough for all of us, even though it ended up being a terrific year (for the kids). William and Marie both made some great friends, their academic learning was above par, and their teachers were supportive and eager to see them succeed. It was a world of difference from William's first grade year and just what we all needed.

Field Day was held the second to last day of school and I promised the kids I'd come by and take some pictures. Above is William with his best buddy Luke and a couple of other classmates behind him. Gabriel is doing the photo bombing bunny ears.

Above, Marie to rock the gunny sack race. Below are her two friends, Sadie K. and Sadie H. It was so darling to hear her talk about "Sadie K. and Sadie H." all of the time.

Last day of school! Hurrah!

Miss Freeman (writing specialist)

Miss Coffman (math specialist and homeroom teacher)

Mrs. Winfrey (reading specialist)

Miss Larkin

A Painful and Playful Goodbye

William has had the BEST violin teacher over the past three years. She is music, loving, patient, playful, and has been just perfect for William. I have not pushed him hard. While he is required to practice every weekday, his progress was not as important to me as his learning to love music. He worked through Suzuki Book 1 over the course of the last three years. He was learning the very last song when I received the dreaded e-mail that Miss Hailey would be moving.

We knew that Miss Hailey's husband was applying to medical schools over the past two years. We knew this day would come and I am SO grateful (although it must have been frustrating and difficult for them) that it took two years for him to get accepted into one.

William blossomed under her direction and I learned so much about being on the parent side of a music student/teacher/parent relationship. I also learned so much about teaching with her.

There were tears shed by all three of us as we said goodbye at the last lesson in May. And some silly faces pulled.

We sure are going to miss our awesome violin teacher.

We love you, Miss Hailey!

Memorial Day Hike

Anne and Her Ears

In the spring, every once in a while, Anne would wake up in the morning feeling nauseous and weak. She'd sit cuddle on the couch, fall back sleep, and be altogether not at all her spunky self. Usually by noon she'd perk up and would be better for the rest of the day and a few days to follow until the cycle repeated itself. This happened 3 or 4 times through April and May. At the end of May I took her to a new ENT, as I was unhappy with her regular one and his non-chalance about what was going on. He just kept telling us her ears looked good and he'd see us again in a few months. One of her tubes had come out on it's own, and the other one was about halfway out. The new ENT was surprised it was still in nearly 3 years later. He removed it the rest of the way and sent us on our way. The resulting "wound" in her eardrum continued to throw her off a bit until it had fully healed. These pictures were from a morning not long after the tube had been pulled out. It is amazing what our ears do for us, besides just allowing us to hear.

 Since then she has been SO much better. No nausea. No sensory processing disorder type behaviour. More cooperative. I mean, she is still Anne. She is still spunky. She is still defiant at times. She is still stubborn. But she doesn't seem like she's fighting just to control herself, if that makes sense. It probably doesn't make sense to anybody else, but it does to me. When the tubes were in correctly, they were wonderful. She had such bad ear infections as a baby that she developed "glue ear". Her ears just wouldn't clear up on their own for more than a day or two at at time. However, once they started to come out they started to cause her troubles with her equilibrium and began to affect her behavior. I wanted to record this so I will remember these symptoms and the results of getting those tubes out.  I want to remember because I want to share with other moms who may be experiencing the same helplessness I felt. I am such a fan of the medical community and the power of modern medicine, but when a doctor sees a patient for a few minutes every few months they just can't understand what a mother is seeing every single day. I knew something was going on beyond just Anne having a difficult personality. I am so grateful that the "cure" ended up being a relatively simple one.

Mother's Day and Birthday Time!

I adore May in a very self-centered kind of way because it is all about me! I might have secretly hoped, while we were growing our family, that we would never have a child born in May. I didn't want to share the month. Hehe. (Although, if one did have to share, that would be the best kind of sharing!) So, May roller around and, therefore, so did Mother's Day and my birthday. I did have the share the month with plenty of house showings, since we were on the market, but that wasn't as bad as I had anticipated.

 Getting all the kids in a group picture wasn't happening this year so I took individual selfies with each of them. I am so humbled to be the mother of these children. I often feel so inadequate and like they deserve so much more.

 But their smiles and their love and their forgiveness keep me going and give me a reason to become better and to do better. A popular podcast that I listen to begins each show with a phrase, "Out of all the women in the world God chose you to be the mother of your children." While I know that is true, that I have specific qualities that they need, the fact is I need them.

 I could not become my best self without these beautiful spirits keeping me going and helping me to see and work through my faults. What a ride motherhood is and how grateful I am to be on it. I love my children so much.

 Mother's Day did sneak up on us. I requested low key meals because I was at the tail end of a health challenge I was doing. Brandon obliged, naturally, and made Mel's BBQ Chicken Salad. We attempted a "healthy" dessert that was a bit of a flop (angel food cake mixed with a can of crushed pineapple and baked) and ended up being thrown in the trash a few days later, but that was fine.

 My gift was this gorgeous print of the Salt Lake Temple from Deseret Book that I had had my eye on for a few months now. The funny story about this picture is that when I put my arms up to pose, originally, I knocked the picture down. When I pushed my hands up against the picture to keep it from falling all the way to the ground, it scratched up the wall pretty bad. We had a showing scheduled for the next morning. Ugh. So, at 10:30 at night, we had to patch and paint the huge scratches in the wall before we could go to bed. You can see them a bit in this picture. Brandon is pretty much the best man in the universe because he didn't get upset with me.

The following Sunday was my birthday. The night before we went out to dinner with Dave and Jill. It has become a bit of a tradition and I love it! I look forward to it every year. We tried a new place this time and went to Lee's Mongolian BBQ. It was pretty tasty and fun to try out different variations of sauces, meats and vegetables. The hit of the night was the pocket bread that came as an appetizer. Jill gave me a Barnes and Noble gift card. Bless that woman, she knows me so well.

 My birthday dinner was pulled pork sandwiches, fruit salad, and a yummy drink. I treated myself to some fun birthday table decor. I don't mind and Brandon was glad of it. This was from Target and I couldn't pass it up when I saw it.

 Every since she did this at the family photo shoot in November 2012, Anne thinks this is the pose of all poses. I think she's a goof and I love her for it.

 I was most excited about my birthday cake, as my health challenge was over and I could have a little splurge. I made a caramel cake I had spotted on Pinterest and had been dreaming about for weeks. It is from the blog Java Cupcake. Salted Caramel Layer Cake. It absolutely did not disappoint. And the best part was that while I did all the mixing and pouring and baking, Brandon cleaned up after me. Love that man. 

My birthday gift was cash so that I could save up to purchase a Kindle Paperwhite. My husband spoils me, it's true. I'm a very lucky woman.

Anne' First Birthday Party Invite

At the beginning of May, our Anne-girl was invited to the birthday party of one of her preschool play group friends. She was so excited about every part of it. The anticipation of the event, counting how many more sleeps until she could go, choosing a birthday present for her friend, wrapping it, getting dressed, it is so fun to live these moments with her. What joy and excitement the world holds to a 3 year old!

 After arriving at the party the girls were able to put dress ups on. Anne chose her favorite color, yellow. I knew there was going to be a special guest so we stuck around to see the arrival. It did not disappoint. Anne went running out to greet Elsa. "You're my sister! And I'm Anna!," she said. It was darling.

 I'm grateful for friends who throw extravagant parties so my kids can experience them. We tend to me mild to low key around here (even though it doesn't feel like it when we are trying to pull them off). I love that each mom I know chooses what makes them happy and thrives in it.

Anne had a wonderful time at the party and came home with wonderful tales of sugar and fun and plenty of little trinkets and treats to go around.

Life is good.