Sunday, July 21, 2013
Mildenhall Reunion
The beach was a perfect place to get over jetlag! We would just watch the kids in the pool next to the house, or walk across the street to the beach whenever we were ready, come back for sandwiches, rest in between, play games, or visit, and mostly just ENJOY!! The beach was beautiful, and the tide was strong enough the first day for boogie boards and big wave jumping, but calm enough the rest of the week for amateur snorkeling and taking the little ones out to have their toes nipped by all the fish :). The cousins found a puffer fish!, lots of shells, and hermit crabs! I just bought a hat :)
Mildenhall Reunion-day of travel
We did lose 4 of our children on the train system, since Lucy was suddenly petrified of getting on (and there is no time for decision-making once the doors open)--we hand-signaled "A" for the older ones to get off, and they were so savvy as to be there waiting for us when Brian and I got there w/ the younger 2--schwew! (but all of that drama was quickly forgotten once we learned about why there are "Tornado Shelter" signs all over the airport (not in one small corner)
Half an our into our 2 hour layover,the dark clouds turned darker and deeper, and soon there were announcements of a tornado warning, and that we would all need to retreat to safer places, either in bathrooms or down the stairwells. Down the stairs we went, for quite a few flights, until we were in the belly of the airport, underneath conveyer belts for luggage, etc., and sitting on greasy pavement used for vehicles:
Fortunately, tornadoes are quick in nature, so after about 45 minutes, we could resurface, and hope that our plane wasn't too late. It almost wasn't held up, but due to running out of fuel, and the storm moving, our flight WAS delayed about 4 hours, so we had 6 hours instead of 2 in the airport, where we became expert at moving sidewalks, riding trains (without losing each other), and eating the days' supply of snacks we all had packed into our carry-on's. Maddie and Emily had also helped out by stocking up on some toys and prizes at the Dollar store (and wrapping them up!), so we had that to pass the time as well. The girls made fast friends w/ nearby children traveling to Atlanta, and had a great little picnic sharing snacks and toys :)
Sunday, June 16, 2013
Filling the last of Morning Sickness Gaps (that I can remember)
Before I forget what little I have left, here are a few things we've had going, that I was a little too sick to record at the time:
Maddie's tender tears:
One night at family prayers, Brian asked Maddie to pray, and as she did, she got all choked up and cried her way through the rest! I was sure she was just sad about our barely functioning family, or that something had hurt her feelings, that I was totally not in tune with--everyone was anxious for her to finish, and see what was wrong. The culprit??? She had been reading a really sad book (Book Thief)!!! We were all pretty glad to have a reason to CRACK UP!! Sweet Maddie--I still remember being stunned when she cried at a Disney movie back when she was 5!
Spencer and my FIRST HEIMLICH MANUEVER!!:
Setting: Missionaries coming to dinner (for maybe the 2nd time in this house--kind of hard in Utah--they have a whole stake to feed them, and they eat at 5, so we have only ever dropped off food since Brian's not home in time)
Mom cooking through nausea (stuffing tissues up my nose to retain my ability to eat what I've cooked)
Kids getting afternoon jobs done before company comes
First, Brian calls, excited to chat about latest work/city council developments, and to let me know he's on his way and will make it home on time.
(meanwhile the clock is ticking...)
Spencer walks in, w/ a curious Emily following, and says, "Mom, I can't breathe."
Mom: "Hang on Brian!"
"Spencer, you can talk (he inhales deeply, and is clearly getting barely any air), can you cough it out?"
Spencer coughs, but again, is having problems inhaling, so I start the Heimlich, the whole time thinking, "Am I doing this right?--was I supposed to use a chair for something?--is there something different to do w/ a child?"as he his bouncing off the floor from my great lifting.
Emily: "Should I call 9-1-1?"
Mom: "No, not yet, I've got this"
THEN, he throws UP on the kitchen floor (that's my job!), and I can't help but think, "The missionaries are coming! It's supposed to fly out of his throat, not create a big mess!"
and as I increase my energies, OUT it comes!!--no dramatic flying, but it is unmistakable what was choking my child!!--a HUGE hard plastic rock shaped bead he had been sucking on (he later conducted a younger-sibling speech about the dangers of putting non-food items in our mouth). The angled edges, and the tiny hole probably allowed what little air he was getting.
SUCH RELIEF!! Picked up the phone, (Brian kept chatting, and soon arrived home), Emily wiped up the floor, and finished getting dinner. Spencer was duly impressed, and kept saying somberly, "Thanks for saving my life Mom" to which Emily replied, "We don't know you were going to die Spencer."
"Oh no Emily," I corrected her, "Without Oxygen, you die--the Heimlich Maneuver is actually to save lives!" and Dad, who finally caught on to the gravity of things, concurred, "Mom was the hero today Emily."
Spencer then spent the next day deciding how many people he should tell about his exciting day, without embarrassing himself about sucking on plastic rocks :).
Whew!
This is totally a framed picture (you think I could've fit a picture into that night?!), but this was the size--only more 3-dimensional than this woodchip lookalike.
Brian's City Council campaign:
It's exciting around here in the political arena! Sign designing, pamphlet writing, fundraising, door-knocking, etc., and its only JUNE!!! Don't get me started on what a flop of a great wife-supporter I am! Thank goodness for dear friends and a fabulous community full of people who are pro's at this, and totally believe in Brian. Just this last week, I was finally feeling strong enough to go out putting out signs with the crew (here is the FIRST one put in!), so I am trying to contribute something! (Brian couldn't help but talk to voters as they walked by):
Roommate Reunion:
4 of the 6 of us roommates from my last year at BYU have wound up in Utah recently, so when a 5th was coming into town, we couldn't help but get together. I was SO anxious in wanting to go, but I was only starting to feel human, my evenings were horrendous still, it was a drive all the way to Orem, and Brian had a City Council Mtg! I rested and prayed, and even w/ good dose of rush-hour traffic, we DID make it, and had SUCH an enjoyable time being together, and the park and night were beautiful, so the kids could have fun playing. It was SO refreshing to be reminded of sweet relationships :)
Midnight Mouse??
No, it's just Lucy--once I caught her getting up at 1 AM, and when I went to turn lights off, she was climbing back in her bed, saying, "I just needed to get sumsing to eat really quick!" and there was a bag of chocolate chips on the floor by her bed :). I didn't hear this one, but deduced from the evidence :)--she seems to have her poor Dad's sleeping habits!
Emily's lofty goals:
Some kids, I feel like take all my energy to raise; others, I worry more that I'm a bad influence on them!
Emily decided ON HER OWN to go w/o TV and computer games ALL SUMMER. She's just like that! I mean, she did ask if I'd give her $100, which I denied (and explained, that especially for her, it wouldn't be such a challenge, and she didn't NEED such an incentive--she already has the least screen time of the whole family!), but I did agree to take her out for some Chinese food at the end :). Anyway, she has LOTS of extra time now, and has made up school packets for Anne and Spencer to work on (under her tutelage), has regular nailpainting, or crafty, or just fun "pop a balloon full of candy and put streamers all over your bedroom" parties for the little girls, and one day, made her whole room into a fort. Now that I see how fun it all is, I think I might see if I can find Dad's old TV lock for ALL the kids! :) (Actually, I'm using our early-in-the-summer vacation to put off figuring out our summer routine. So far, we only have rest time down :) )
and of course, a piano recital to finish things off! (poor Brent was home sick!)
--and we are now packed and all but ready to head to GA on Tuesday!!! We. are. SO EXCITED for the Mildenhall Reunion @ the beach!! HOORAY!!
and Happy Father's Day for Brian, who has been both Dad and Mom lately! Love him so much!
Maddie's tender tears:
One night at family prayers, Brian asked Maddie to pray, and as she did, she got all choked up and cried her way through the rest! I was sure she was just sad about our barely functioning family, or that something had hurt her feelings, that I was totally not in tune with--everyone was anxious for her to finish, and see what was wrong. The culprit??? She had been reading a really sad book (Book Thief)!!! We were all pretty glad to have a reason to CRACK UP!! Sweet Maddie--I still remember being stunned when she cried at a Disney movie back when she was 5!
Spencer and my FIRST HEIMLICH MANUEVER!!:
Setting: Missionaries coming to dinner (for maybe the 2nd time in this house--kind of hard in Utah--they have a whole stake to feed them, and they eat at 5, so we have only ever dropped off food since Brian's not home in time)
Mom cooking through nausea (stuffing tissues up my nose to retain my ability to eat what I've cooked)
Kids getting afternoon jobs done before company comes
First, Brian calls, excited to chat about latest work/city council developments, and to let me know he's on his way and will make it home on time.
(meanwhile the clock is ticking...)
Spencer walks in, w/ a curious Emily following, and says, "Mom, I can't breathe."
Mom: "Hang on Brian!"
"Spencer, you can talk (he inhales deeply, and is clearly getting barely any air), can you cough it out?"
Spencer coughs, but again, is having problems inhaling, so I start the Heimlich, the whole time thinking, "Am I doing this right?--was I supposed to use a chair for something?--is there something different to do w/ a child?"as he his bouncing off the floor from my great lifting.
Emily: "Should I call 9-1-1?"
Mom: "No, not yet, I've got this"
THEN, he throws UP on the kitchen floor (that's my job!), and I can't help but think, "The missionaries are coming! It's supposed to fly out of his throat, not create a big mess!"
and as I increase my energies, OUT it comes!!--no dramatic flying, but it is unmistakable what was choking my child!!--a HUGE hard plastic rock shaped bead he had been sucking on (he later conducted a younger-sibling speech about the dangers of putting non-food items in our mouth). The angled edges, and the tiny hole probably allowed what little air he was getting.
SUCH RELIEF!! Picked up the phone, (Brian kept chatting, and soon arrived home), Emily wiped up the floor, and finished getting dinner. Spencer was duly impressed, and kept saying somberly, "Thanks for saving my life Mom" to which Emily replied, "We don't know you were going to die Spencer."
"Oh no Emily," I corrected her, "Without Oxygen, you die--the Heimlich Maneuver is actually to save lives!" and Dad, who finally caught on to the gravity of things, concurred, "Mom was the hero today Emily."
Spencer then spent the next day deciding how many people he should tell about his exciting day, without embarrassing himself about sucking on plastic rocks :).
Whew!
This is totally a framed picture (you think I could've fit a picture into that night?!), but this was the size--only more 3-dimensional than this woodchip lookalike.
Brian's City Council campaign:
It's exciting around here in the political arena! Sign designing, pamphlet writing, fundraising, door-knocking, etc., and its only JUNE!!! Don't get me started on what a flop of a great wife-supporter I am! Thank goodness for dear friends and a fabulous community full of people who are pro's at this, and totally believe in Brian. Just this last week, I was finally feeling strong enough to go out putting out signs with the crew (here is the FIRST one put in!), so I am trying to contribute something! (Brian couldn't help but talk to voters as they walked by):
Roommate Reunion:
4 of the 6 of us roommates from my last year at BYU have wound up in Utah recently, so when a 5th was coming into town, we couldn't help but get together. I was SO anxious in wanting to go, but I was only starting to feel human, my evenings were horrendous still, it was a drive all the way to Orem, and Brian had a City Council Mtg! I rested and prayed, and even w/ good dose of rush-hour traffic, we DID make it, and had SUCH an enjoyable time being together, and the park and night were beautiful, so the kids could have fun playing. It was SO refreshing to be reminded of sweet relationships :)
Midnight Mouse??
 |
| there is INDEED peanut butter on that chin |
No, it's just Lucy--once I caught her getting up at 1 AM, and when I went to turn lights off, she was climbing back in her bed, saying, "I just needed to get sumsing to eat really quick!" and there was a bag of chocolate chips on the floor by her bed :). I didn't hear this one, but deduced from the evidence :)--she seems to have her poor Dad's sleeping habits!
Some kids, I feel like take all my energy to raise; others, I worry more that I'm a bad influence on them!
Emily decided ON HER OWN to go w/o TV and computer games ALL SUMMER. She's just like that! I mean, she did ask if I'd give her $100, which I denied (and explained, that especially for her, it wouldn't be such a challenge, and she didn't NEED such an incentive--she already has the least screen time of the whole family!), but I did agree to take her out for some Chinese food at the end :). Anyway, she has LOTS of extra time now, and has made up school packets for Anne and Spencer to work on (under her tutelage), has regular nailpainting, or crafty, or just fun "pop a balloon full of candy and put streamers all over your bedroom" parties for the little girls, and one day, made her whole room into a fort. Now that I see how fun it all is, I think I might see if I can find Dad's old TV lock for ALL the kids! :) (Actually, I'm using our early-in-the-summer vacation to put off figuring out our summer routine. So far, we only have rest time down :) )
and of course, a piano recital to finish things off! (poor Brent was home sick!)
and Happy Father's Day for Brian, who has been both Dad and Mom lately! Love him so much!
Last Day of School!!!
After our (somewhat crazy) trips to Antelope Island to celebrate school being out, I decided to try a more traditional route this year, and head up Ogden Canyon to Pineview Reservoir to swim. We took a cousin and a friend, went back for Brian when he got home early, and though delayed a bit by Spencer and some stomach troubles, eventually got to some beautiful, if somewhat more freezing than the Great Salt Lake, swimming, where we snacked on cherries, grapes, crackers and cheese, built sand castles, walked along the beach, swam bravely in the cold, and finally drove home, with Little Caesar's for supper on the way :). Despite my absentee parenting for the last leg of school, the children all had great years--Maddie doing great with her grades and clubs, getting ready for high school, Brent earning a 4.0 for first and last terms, Emily getting 2nd place AR points for her grade, and Spencer earning Presidential Fitness! (Emily asked if he were adopted :) ).
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