Another scene from the tale of two silly twins

Cagney runs into the kitchen: "Mom mom! Coles mouth is BLEEDING!!!"
Mom and daughter proceed out to the garage while mom asks: "Why? What happened?"
Cagney gleefully explains: "I PULLED HIS TOOTH OUT!"
Cole (crying): "I just told her to feel how wiggly it was, not to pull it out!"
Mom asks: "Well where is the tooth now?"
Cagney: "I got scared and dropped it and ran away."

END SCENE

Family Photos

My parents wanted updated family photos- our last one was when I was pregnant with Cole and Cagney. Some very important people had joined the family since then. We all piled into their beautifully landscaped backyard (hi dad!) for photos. Here are a few of my favorites. Cagney decided to be a huge stinker (there is always one) but we managed to get some cute ones.


My favorite thing about this one is the way Cole is looking at the rest of us like "how did I get stuck here with these crazies?"

Back in business...

Our computer broke. Died. Gone. We were without a computer for awhile. Times like these make me aware of how much I like technology!! But we have a shiny new computer now. My kids love that they can take pictures of themselves making crazy faces. Isn't technology great? When I was a kid we had to make funny faces in the mirror. Now they can take pictures of themselves making funny faces and save them forever! (unless their computer dies and they have not backed up their files- or whatever the correct computer lingo is.)



Anyways, just wanted to let you know I am alive. I will update once we figure out what pictures we actually still have. If I have not died because my brain exploded. I'm taking biology this semester. I didn't realize I was taking a foreign language at the same time. Up until now I'm right on the edge of knowing what my professor is talking about and being completely lost. Today my professor said she had been really easy on us and next week she was going to start lecturing like an auctioneer. I'm in trouble.

What we have been up to.

We spent a few days in March in St. George for a clogging competition for Miquelle. It was fun to relax, enjoy the sun, eat out and swim swim swim.

Her team did great and made it to Nationals. That was held last weekend at Lagoon. We watched her dance (they did awesome!) and then spent the (very cold) day at Lagoon. We expected the end of May to be warmer!

Gabe turned 8! He had a home birthday party with a soccer theme. And he got baptized.


Cagney and Miquelle had their dance recital. They are such stinkin' cute girls- And it's sometimes crazy to have an almost 5 year old and an almost 14 year old!

The littles graduated from pre-school and start kindergarten in July.

Cole is having weekly occupational therapy appointments for his arm. He also has to wear splints when he sleeps. One for flexion and one for extension. (This break and surgery made him lose a lot of range of motion.) When his surgeon said she wanted him in a splint I pictured popsicle sticks and an ace bandage. Nothing like this.

The boys have been off track. It's been fun having them home. I find myself saying things like, "Just because he is laughing now doesn't mean he won't be crying in a few minutes" and "You have been singing that song all day and my head is going to explode" and "How will I ever feed you when you are teenagers?"

Gabe had his first Pinewood Derby.

I finished my math class, now I am half way done with my pre-reqs. I'm taking a break for summer semester and have lots of around the house projects planned. I re-painted this little table that I found at the DI. I just love the little spindles. Try to imagine it without the ugly green carpet.

We had girls day a couple of weeks ago. We made freezer dinners- meatballs, lettuce wraps, spicy chicken tacos, cranberry chicken, and bbq pork ribs. It took us less than three hours (including shopping) and it was only $36 for all five meals! It was really fun...I love love love having easy meals in the freezer ready to use!

Salt Lake Half Marathon

Things I learned running my first half marathon

*The trax train can hold a lot more people than it probably should but it's a great way to "meet" other runners. And by meet I mean stand much closer too and throw all of your silly notions about personal space out the window.

*60 honey buckets may seem like a lot but the line to the potty is still insane.

*You should always remember when wearing headphones that the things you say sound much louder to others than they do to you. So if you get really excited to see a friend, and yell out to that friend, then discretely turn to the runner next to you and say, "I peed a little bit when I yelled", chances are really good that everyone around you heard it. (This was not me but who am I kidding it very well could have been.)

*Even though it may shave four or five minutes off of your time it's okay to stop and use the honey bucket. Even if someone runs by and yells, "There's no shame in going in your pants people!" I think I would rather run the second half of my race with dry pants thank you very much.

*Just because they say there will be water at along the way doesn't make it true.

*Turns out energy gel is as nasty as everyone says.

*This is the most fun I have ever had torturing myself and I can't wait to do it again!

I was that mom...

Yesterday Cole and Cagney had their kindergarten "well" check. Turns out half of the pair was not so well. On the way there Cagney told me her tummy hurt and then just as I parked she puked.

I called inside to talk to the receptionist and told her what happened and asked if she thought I should still bring them in or just reschedule. She said to come in. So there we were looking at Nemo and Dory in the fishtank and Cagney starts puking again.

And then I became that mom....you know, the one who says, "She was fine when we left the house!" And everyone smiles and says, "oh, it's okay." But I know inside they are thinking, "Sure lady, whatever."

So I'm trying to deal with one kid puking and the other kid saying they need to pee. Finally they got us back to a room and the nurse asks me if I have filled out the ten pages of paperwork that she handed me when we first walked in.

Um, no.

16 hours....

until we run our first half marathon.

I'm nervous.

Why did I think this was a good idea?

Caution: May cause irritation

I am feeling irritable today, but I also feel like blogging. Lucky you! Here is what is irritating me today.

1. Spring Pictures.
School pictures stink. And now not only do they take them at the beginning of the year, they also take them in the spring. I have requested every year that they not take my kids pictures in the spring. I'm not going to buy them so don't waste your time and the photo paper. But every year they take them anyway. So then they send the photos (that I did not want in the first place) home with my kids and I'm expected to buy the photos (that I did not want in the first place) or return the photos (that I did not want in the first place) to the school. Got that? I don't want you to take a picture of my kid but you do it anyway, then it is my responsibility to return the photos to you. I'm thinking about keeping them this year and telling them that if they want them back they can come and get them.

2. The Census.
I understand the reason that they take the census and I totally don't have a problem with that. I'm happy to do my duty as an American citizen and fill out the census and return it. What irritates me is the letter that I got about a week before the actual census came. "Hey this is just to let you know that in about a week you will be receiving your census papers. This isn't them, they will be coming in about a week." How much did that cost- to send that to every household in America? Crazy.

3. $15,000 hospital bill.
That is what Cole's broken arm is costing. Luckily we have insurance so we don't have to pay that amount. It's insane to me that we paid $350 for an ER doc at Riverton to walk in the room and say "Here is his x-ray, we need to send you up to Primary Childrens to see a Pediatric Orthopedic specialist." 15 seconds tops. Ridiculous.

4. People who don't say thank you.
I'm a pretty independent gal, I don't ask for much. But I do like to be thanked when I do something for someone. Seriously. I'm not saying I need a plate of cookies or a thank you card. A simple, "Thank you." Yes, I like to feel validated. I have had a couple of experiences recently where after doing something for someone I got...nothing. Is it that hard?

5. Advertising on the bottom of the screen when I watch TV.
I hate commercials. Nowdays I never watch them. I just watch shows that I have recorded so I can zip through the commercials. But it seems like every channel now puts advertisements on the bottom of the screen during the show. Something in the corner or something taking up the whole bottom third of the screen. I can't be the only person irritated by this right?? Oh Oh I just thought of another TV related one!!! When they come on before the commercial and give you a little preview of what will happen after the commercial. Honestly I think I can wait 2 minutes to see what happens.

6. People who focus so much on one little detail that they completely miss the point.
Ok this one will have to be in secret code so I don't offend anyone. Let's just say that someone comes to your door and says, "Hey I'm collecting t-shirts for kids in Haiti who need clothes."
So you say, "great, hold on I have a bunch of shirts that I could give you."
and they say, "wait- are they T-SHIRTS? Because we call it 't-shirts for kids in Haiti' We don't want other kinds of shirts."
and you say, "really? I have a bunch of perfectly good shirts that aren't necessarily t-shirts. You don't want them?"
and they say, "No, I guess not. Since that doesn't match the name of what we say we are collecting I guess we can't take them. Thanks anyway."
Yeah, something like that.

I guess that's all. Carry on.

Lost tooth X 2

Cagney lost her first two teeth last week! Never had a kid lose a tooth when they were four.
Except Jared who knocked his first tooth out at age 2.
He was trying to be Buzz Lightyear.

Thankful Thursday

1. My boys are off track and it has been so much fun having them home. I'm especially grateful that I can sleep in a little bit, very nice right now because I am taking a 6:30 AM math class on tuesday and thursday this semester. It is killing me...I do not function very well when I don't get enough sleep. Just ask the people I live with.

2. My extended family. My nephew got home from his mission recently and we went to his homecoming on sunday. He is adorable and did so great on his talk. I love being around my extended family and would love to be with them every weekend! I really think I should have been greek or something, I want to be in a family where everyone talks to each other all the time and are totally in each other business all the time! HA! I say that now but if I really had it maybe I wouldn't like it so much!

3. Running. One year later Trevor and I are still running three or four times a week! That is our most regular "date". We are registered to run our first half marathon in April. I wasn't going to tell anyone I was doing that because then if we didn't finish no one would know about it!! But now it is out there and I will have to tell you all if I fail miserably.

4. Birthday get-away. Tomorrow is my birthday and Trevor's parents are taking the kids overnight so we can have a little get-away. I'm beyond excited about it. I can't remember the last time we went away with just the two of us. I have to work tomorrow too and I don't even mind it that much because I work with some great friends.

5. Cole's surgeon. She is fantastic, we love her. She took his cast off last week and pulled the pins out and he is doing great. He still uses his arm with it in the same position it was in the cast, but she said that was normal. We go back again in a couple of weeks to check his range of motion and see if he will need some physical therapy. When we were getting ready to send Cole into surgery I was very nervous about handing him over to her. I was dreading the thought of hearing him screaming as they took him from us. He was sedated while I held him and then his surgeon just reached down and took him from me and carried him into the OR like he was her own. It was so sweet and something I will always remember.



6. The olympics. I LOVE the winter olympics, we are having so much fun watching! It's been especially fun to have the kids old enough to be interested in watching with us. Jared and Gabe have decided they want to try snowboarding...and downhill skiing...and the luge...

HUH????

Miquelle called me this afternoon to tell me that she was spending the day in ISS (in school suspension) because she had five tardies. So she sits in a room all day and works on homework or reads. Am I the only one confused by this??? Let's pull them OUT of class all day to punish them for not being IN class on time. I totally agree there needs to be a consequence but this one seriously does not make sense to me.

Never say never....

Trevor and I have five kids (the oldest being 13) and have never had a kid with a broken arm.

Until now.

A week ago if I had to guess which kid would break an arm first Cole would have been the last on my list. He is quiet and careful, and not a dare-devil. AT ALL.

Sunday morning this was Cole's arm.

Right above the elbow. He fell off the top bunk of the bunk bed. He does not sleep there (someone at the hospital asked me that) he was just playing up there.

We rushed out the door with him to go to the ER at the new Riverton hospital that is right down the street. We told Miquelle to call the primary president and let her know that we might not be there for church. (I'm in the primary presidency and Trevor is the music leader.) I really thought that his elbow was just out of socket and they would just need to *pop* it back in. Turns out the reason that his elbow was a couple of inches from where it should be was because his humerus was fractured right above his elbow. They said we needed to go up to Primary Children's and have it looked at by an orthopedic surgeon.

I called Miquelle and told her to please call the primary president again and tell her we weren't going to make it. I found out today that she did not get either message until after church.

A word (or a few) about the people that work at Primary Children's. I have heard sensational stories about the people that work there. I *knew* that they were amazing but I didn't really KNOW.

Until now.

Every person that we interacted with at Primary Children's was amazing. He surgeon and other doctors, the nurses and techs. They all made us feel comfortable (as much as possible) and were so SO good with Cole. He did not want to be touched at all! They were so sweet and careful and gentle with him. I cannot praise them enough.

Handing my sleeping (drugged) child over to a surgeon and watching her carry him into the OR ranks way up there on the list of hard things I have had to do as a parent. They were anxious to get him into surgery quickly because they had not been able to find a pulse on that hand. Two and a half hours and three pins and numerous stitches later he was out of surgery.

This was Cole's arm sunday night.



Enjoying his post surgery popsicle.

They wanted to keep him overnight so they could doppler his pulse every hour and have him wiggle his fingers every hour. Every. hour. all. night. long.

The first couple of days home were rough. He was in a lot of pain but hated the taste of the oxycodone that they gave him. I had to bribe him with cookies to even take it. C'mon kid, don't you know people knock off pharmacies everyday to get this stuff?? Yesterday and today have been so much better. He has only needed Motrin and has been moving around and playing so much more. He is such a trooper.

He will be in a splint and sling until next tuesday and then in a cast for three weeks after that.

Before I go....

A word (or a few) about parent's who spend countless hours at Primary Children's or take care of sick children on a daily basis.

They are the strongest people in the world.