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.

The naughty list

Am I the only one experiencing this? Every year it seems like my kids get naughtier and naughtier the days leading up to Christmas. And I have never been one to pull the Santa card. ("Santa is watching you, you better be good!") So I don't think they are trying to rebel against that or anything. It's like they become possessed and can't control themselves!! This year it is these two that are very close to sending me over the edge.


They do things that my other kids never did! What is up with that?
Is it because there are two minds working together?
Is it because I am older and more tired and busier?
I think they have this weird "mob mentality" thing going. They are much more brave because there are two of them.
And they blame each other all the time!

Here are just a few of the things that they have done in the last couple of days...
*Draw with pink and brown marker on the bathroom walls, countertop, and toilet.
*Draw with red marker on my bedspread.
*Hide the contents of one of my bedroom drawers (that they know is off limits) under Gabe's bed.
*Dump water from the bathroom sink all over the carpet outside the bathroom.
They have been in time out more the last couple of days than they have all month!
Send reinforcements.
They are winning.
I will be in the corner.
You will recognize me as the one rocking back and forth
and occasionally hitting my head against the wall.
Thing one and thing two will probably be in the corner too.
But they are the ones wringing their hands together and laughing and plotting their next attack.

Help.

My new favorite holiday treat.

My beautiful sister in law Jenn introduced me to these a couple of years ago and they have definitely become my new favorite!! (My favorite used to be candy cane lifesavers but I have not been able to find them for years!) I don't really like regular tootsie pops but there is something about these that I just LOVE!