Phlebotomy For Youngsters

This morning Matthew had to have some blood drawn for his next round of allergy testing. Having seen how he reacts to shots, I was fully prepared for deafening shrieks and an all out battle to keep him still. But he completely surprised me. He didn't fight. He didn't scream. He didn't even cry. He complained a bit and said, "Ow!" once. And they had to poke him twice to get enough blood. He handled it like a complete pro, managing to charm the lab techs in the process. By the time we were done, they were both ready to take him home.

Now if only he could teach Nathan this skill . . .

Different Day, Same Laundry

In this day and age, much of our labor is made light by technological advances. The dirty dishes are washed and dried to a sparkling finish with just the touch of a button. We can program the vacuum, telling it where and when to clean. The garden is watered while we slumber and we ride in comfort while mowing the lawn. But in spite of all this, doing the laundry is still an all day chore. Don't get me wrong. I'm exceedingly grateful that I don't have to haul my laundry down to the Jordan River and beat it on a rock to get it clean. But laundry is still one of those jobs that is never truly finished. Think about it. Even when you have washed, dried, folded and put away the last load, the clothes you (and all of your dirt covered children) are wearing are still dirty. It almost makes me want to have an annual Stay-At-Home-Nudist-Day so that at least once a year I can honestly say that all the laundry is done.

With the end goal of getting the laundry (at least most of it) done in the shortest amount of time as possible, I'm always looking for time saving techniques. I have my family sort their clothes as they put them in the laundry so that on laundry day I can do a quick scan for red socks in the whites and then just stick the entire pile in the washer. I have numerous laundry bags for washing small items so that they don't get lost in the wash. I have a special bag where the partnerless socks live so that when I find a spare I don't have to sort through twenty seven drawers to find the match. I iron by spritzing things with a water bottle and throwing them in the dryer. And this week I employed a new folding technique that makes folding the dozens of t-shirts this household owns a breeze (Thanks, Tiff!). Not only was it fast and easy, but everything looks so nice in the drawers! At least everything looks nice in my drawers. My children's idea of putting their clothes away is to chuck them in the general direction of their dressers and hope some of it lands in the drawers.

So in spite of the fact that laundry is still a never ending adventure, I've picked up one more tool in my quest to make laundry day as fast and painless as possible.

Stress For Beginners

Nathan has had a lot on his plate lately. Not only did he start kindergarten three weeks ago, but he has been in glasses for only six weeks and his eye patch for less than two. His glasses got broken during a bully incident the day before we started patching him and to top it all off, he is having bus trauma.

Apparently there are kids riding the bus who shouldn't be, resulting in an overcrowded bus. So the school has started issuing bus passes to those students who are actually supposed to ride. All others are not allowed on the bus. Two weeks ago the bus driver started telling the students they needed a bus pass. Daniel got all frustrated by that because he had no idea what a bus pass was. So I called the school and they told me all about it and informed me that they were in the process of issuing all the bus passes. Several days later, the bus driver told the boys that they wouldn't be able to ride the bus anymore without a pass. So I called the school again and was told that attaching the passes to every students' backpack was taking longer than they thought it would and not to worry. So the next morning I sent the boys to the bus with a note telling the bus driver what the school had told me. That afternoon Daniel came home with a blank bus application (I had already filled out one for each boy), so I filled it out, leaving only the name and grade blank and included a note for the office to use the form for whichever boy still needed one. Daniel came home with his bus pass two days later.

Fast forward two weeks: Yesterday morning Nathan was awake when I went to get the boys up for school. Apparently he had been awake for a good long time. He complained that his tummy hurt, was listless and not eating, so I sent him back to bed. Twenty minutes later, just as Daniel was getting ready to walk out the door to the bus, Nathan came out acting completely normal. I got Daniel out the door, fed Nathan breakfast and since he was feeling just fine, I drove him to school. He came home telling me that he had a great day. (Note: A different bus driver brings him home at noon.) I didn't think much about this strange occurrence until we sat down to dinner last night and Nathan said something about me driving him to school again this morning. Then the light went on in my head and I asked him if there was something about riding the bus that was worrying him. At that point he finally told me that the bus driver has been telling him every single day that he needed a bus pass.

Poor kid was so stressed out about not having his bus pass and having the driver tell him he needed one every day that he wasn't sleeping and was getting stomach pains! So this morning I drove him to school and we walked into the office together to get the problem resolved. The bus passes for his entire class were sitting on the secretary's desk. She admitted she hadn't been on the ball and gave Nathan his bus pass on the spot. Nathan gave me his eyebrows raised, super grinning happy face and then ran off to class.

Sigh. He's way too young to be having that kind of stress. I didn't start getting stress-induced stomachaches until college.

Red: The Color Of Happiness

After spending the summer discovering the emotional perks that accompany the ownership of a very cute pair of red, strappy sandals, I decided I needed a pair of red shoes that are a bit more cold weather friendly. I have spent the past several months looking with no success. This lack of success was not because cute red shoes are hard to come by, but because my feet are so wide I have trouble finding dress shoes that fit. But today I finally found a pair of winter-pick-me-ups. They are not quite as bright red as I would have liked, but it's okay because 1) they are cute, 2) they are still red, and 3) they fit my fat little toes. So when the snow flies, I will still have access to that red shoe mood lift!

Mini Miracle

Today was laundry day and at the end of the day, every single sock had a match. It was truly a wonder to behold.

Choo Times Two

After our failed attempt last month, our second attempt at riding the two little trains in Farmington was a success. Although the rest of us have been before, his was Matthew's first time on the trains. He was a bit apprehensive.

But once we got going, he was just fine. Filled with glee, in fact.


All three boys enjoyed climbing on the train-shaped playground. Please be sure to note Nathan's gardening gloves, necklace, and whistle, all of which were prizes from the carnival the night before. And Daniel and Nathan are both wearing their brand new school t-shirts, also acquired at the carnival.



Daniel and Nathan also loved riding the handcarts, an attraction that is new since our last visit.



Matthew was very put out that he didn't get to ride the handcarts. Maybe next time.

October 4 is the last day they will be open this season and we will be there. The owner doesn't know if he will open again next year, so we intend to enjoy it while we can!

Hot Dogs, and Snow Cones, and Candy. Oh, My!

Let's talk a bit about my favorite school fund raiser ever. It wasn't candles, or baking mixes, or even wrapping paper (shudder!). Friday was the school carnival and it is the best fund raiser of the entire year. There were an assortment of carnival games (with prizes, of course), several big air-filled bouncers, a climbing wall, a silent auction, and an assortment of carnival type foods. The boys were excited all week and the carnival definitely lived up to their expectations. Nathan was very excited to try the climbing wall, but had trouble because he could only see out of one eye. He couldn't see any of the hand holds on his right side. We're going to take him again, minus the patch.


We all had a good time and I didn't even mind giving the PTA my money. Of course, we're abdicating the rest of this years' fund raisers so they better make good use of what I've given them because I'm not going to be buying any really overpriced muffin mixes that we can't use anyway.

Ahoy, Me Mateys!

Well, it's official. Nathan is a patch wearer. But the patches they use nowadays are a lot cooler than the pirate patch kids had to wear when I was a kid. The new ones are more like a big, very cool Bandaid. But there is one with pirate pictures on it.

Nathan has been really great about the whole glasses and patch business. In fact, before we knew for sure that he would need to be patched, he frequently asked us when he would get his patch. He was actually excited about the whole thing and I think Kev hit the nail on the head when he said that Nathan is super excited because he finally has a "thing." Daniel has the asthma and the dog allergy. Matthew has the asthma, the dog allergy, and the food allergies. Nathan has been our stand-alone healthy child and he has felt left out on more than one occasion. Yes, we all know that being healthy is better, but to a five year old all he sees is that both of his brothers get special attention. So he finally has something that neither of the others have and I think it makes him feel special.

Ode To My Blogging Community

There once was a blogger named Shauna,
Whose three young boys all called her "Mama."
Her life was chaotic,
Which made her psychotic
And filled every day full of drama.

One day she was sure she'd need therapy.
A bully was causing some hara-kiri!
She turned to the net
And what did she get?
A big group of friends and some family!

So thank you to those who support me,
Who cry and/or chuckle appropriately.
The comments you share
Keep me from despair
And help me stay sane . . . to some degree!

"It Was THIS BIG!!"

When Nathan told me about this morning's incident on the playground, he was pushed over by a second grader. By the time he related the story to Rachael this afternoon, it was a fourth grader. Immediately after that, he told the kid next door that the perpetrator was a seventh grader.

He's so young and yet so adept at the fine art of exaggeration.

The Wrath of Mother

It took five whole days of kindergarten to break Nathan's glasses. When he came home today with the mangled frames and only one lens, I was irritated. When he told me that they broke because one of the big kids grabbed him and made him fall before school this morning, the irritation became anger. Anger at the unnamed older child who bullied my kid. Nathan said one of the playground attendants (He called them "one of the school stack with an orange vest." I'm thinking he meant "staff.") saw the whole thing and came right over. So I'm hoping that some responsible adult at the school will ensure this doesn't happen again. Incidents like this can make a child hate school and I don't want my bright, inquisitive five year old to hate school.

So now we search for the lens because although there is a breakage warranty on the frames, a lost lens means buying a new one. Nathan thinks it is on the bus, but he is in no way a reliable eyewitness so the school secretary is checking with his teacher as well as the bus driver. At least we were smart enough to buy two pairs of glasses so Nathan will still have a pair to wear while we get the broken ones replaced.

And I'll sit here and attempt to think Christ-like thoughts. ("I don't want to beat up the bully. I don't want to beat up the bully. I don't want to beat up the bully . . .")

I Just Couldn't Resist

Yes, I realize that I am messing with the minds of my children. But the glee in Nathan's voice when he exclaimed, "I think one hopped out!" makes it totally worth it. Besides, it will give them something to discuss with their therapists when they get older.

"You Can't Catch Me . . ."

One of the things Nathan told me about his first day of school was that they made a gingerbread man out of real gingerbread. I assumed they also ate the gingerbread man. But it was wrong of me to make such a logical assumption. Apparently they made the gingerbread man and put him in the oven, following the strict instructions the recipe provided about not peeking. Today they returned to the oven to get him out and discovered that he was gone! He had run away, leaving clues (and crumbs) all over the school. Thus the chase began. They followed him all over (getting an excellent tour of the school at the same time), not quite fast enough to catch him in the office, the computer lab, or the library. They finally caught him in their classroom and carried him off to the gym where they stuck a knife in his stomach and then ate him. And yes. I do have a boy child that revels in the gory details. (I love Miss Burningham even a little bit more than I did yesterday. Not only is she giving me five mornings a week with only one of my offspring, but she is keeping my five-year-old happy and engaged while he is learning.)

Nathan was totally hyper when he came home. He told me the story about the gingerbread man and then told me he wanted to make some more gingerbread men to see if they would run away. With such a scientific question at hand, I couldn't resist. Now I know what some of you are thinking. Last time I attempted to make gingerbread, I nearly incinerated the kitchen. But that was working with an unknown recipe and today's recipe is tried and true. So don't fret. I didn't even scorch anything.

After Daniel got home, we made gingerbread men (and women, because although our numbers don't reflect it, we are an equal opportunity household). The big boys loved painting them with edible cookie paint (the cornstarch variety rather than the egg yolk one so that I wouldn't end up making a mad dash for the Benadryl five seconds after Matthew grabbed a cookie). During the entire process, the main topic of conversation was whether or not the gingerbread men would run away. There were even several choruses of the "I Hope They Don't Run Away Anthem," composed and performed on the spot by Nathan the Magnificent.

We made a gigantic, enormous mess and had a glorious, wonderful time. After all, isn't it about . . . time?

The Artist At Work

Concentrating

What Matthew Was Doing While I Was Rolling Out Cookie Dough


The Finished Product
(If you look very closely, you will see that the cookie in Daniel's left
hand is running. I love when my accidental mangling of cookies as I
attempt to get them on the cookie sheet actually turns out to be fun!)

The Three R's

Today was Nathan's first day of kindergarten. He was extremely excited, but I think I was possibly even more excited. Five days a week, it will be just Matthew and me. And he is still young enough to strap into the shopping cart, thereby eliminating any running away, wandering off, and sticking of stuff into the cart (as long as I park him in the middle of the aisle). But I digress. Nathan went to school. He rode the school bus for the first time. He waved with glee when the bus pulled up to the house when school was over. And he told me that he loves Miss Burningham more than he loves me. But that's okay. Those five mornings a week make me love Miss Burningham just a little bit to.

Backpacked and Ready To Go


I assumed this was a gingerbread man, but Nathan quickly informed
me that I couldn't be more wrong. It is a gingerbread "baby."

"Nice." (To Be Spoken With Sarcasm)

I have cold feet. Not in the metaphorical way, but in the very literal "my feet are like ice cubes" kind of way. Even in the summer, I occasionally get icy toes in the night and need to put on socks in order to get any sleep. And I have a particular pair of socks that I prefer for this job. They are thick and warm and they even have those little rubber grippers on the bottom so that I don't slip and fall on my bum when I have to visit the bathroom in the middle of the night. See the nice socks?


I also have a nice nightstand. It belongs to the set of very nice new furniture I got earlier this year. See the nice nightstand?


Does the shape of all the horrendous little marks on the nice nightstand look familiar? If not, refer to the photo of the nice socks.

It appears that the nice little grippers gripped themselves right onto the nightstand. And when I ungripped them (by picking up the nice socks), they pulled the stain right off of the nice nightstand.

Nice . . . not.

Thamnophis Sirtalis: Better Known As . . .

On the most ordinary of days, occasionally we’ll have an unordinary experience. Such was yesterday. At ten to five, as I was trying to pull dinner together, Daniel came running into the house with a look of surprise on his face. The story he told was that he was playing in the backyard when something fell out of the tree into the sandbox. It was long and wiggly, so he thought it was a worm. But when he went over to look at it, he discovered that it was a snake. So he ran right in to tell me. I grabbed the camera and we trekked back out to find the snake. By then it had slithered over by the fence. So I snapped a couple of pictures and then (since I’m not a great snake connoisseur) we googled “garter snake” to make sure that’s what it was. Daniel’s comments during the whole thing were expressions of utter engrossment: “Whoa!” “Cool!” And my personal favorite, largely due to the fact that it was uttered with the whispered awe that can only be inspired by a seven-year-old boy’s first encounter with a snake in the wild, “Wooow!!!”

Dinner was late.