Foreman and Crew

The value of work.  The importance of a project done together.  The reality that many hands make light work (sometimes).  A foreman without pants who slobbered everywhere and actually peed on the jobsite and then left to have a drink and a nap.  It's a wonder the job ever reached completion!

(Not photographed above.  The man of the hour... yes hour... it did seem he was only home for a brief hour and this is how he spent it.  He rarely stood still long enough for a photo and was often outside manning the saw in the drizzle while the crew worked fast and furious in the house to keep ahead of him.)

Much appreciated new flooring in the living room came at the cost of a few days with living room furniture in the kitchen and dining room.  Oh and the noise of a construction crew throughout the day.

Tongue and Cheek

 A local history museum with friends.  Playtime. A peek into a simpler life yet one fraught with challenges and  intense work.  It makes the idea of a simpler time almost tongue and cheek.

Lunch at a playplace... almost unheard of.

An afternoon of games and chatter.  A girls jaunt to a jewelry making activity... just for fun... because...

An evening of more games, a birthday cake and a round of Apples to Apples to complete the evening.

A look back on the day doesn't do it justice.  It sounds like a great day of pure fun and relaxation and while we enjoyed the day immensely and it was fun and in some way relaxing it's much like the idea of a simpler time being tongue and cheek.  We had a day like this because we didn't concern ourselves with the regular mundane items that bog down the time constraints.  We didn't touch a math book, a spelling list or worry about music practice.  We didn't fuss over the entire chores list, just the urgent ones that involved animals or basic necessities.  We didn't even make our beds.  Also not mentioned in the above list are the other things we did do today.  The things that happen behind the scenes so that things can happen, the ones that are almost auto pilot, knee jerk reaction tasks.

-Up early for band practice
-Walk on the treadmill since we'd miss the neighbourhood walk later in the day
-Shower (a much needed event, but so often overlooked in the day to day grind)
-Run a load of laundry so there would be diapers later in the day for the baby
-Lament that regardless of the efforts at naked time and creams and powders, sweet Emerson still has a rash
-Start the soup for dinner in the crockpot since I'd be gone throughout the day
-Visit teach one of the neighbours
-Struggle to get both little boys to sleep at the same time after a fun morning so that the girls could sneak away
-Proof read a report for Miles scouts and go over the final requirements for a merit badge so he can meet with the counselor.
-Head to the store at the last minute before the photo desk closes to pick up the needed photographs for a school project due tomorrow
-Carry a book around all day in the diaper bag with the ridiculous notion that I might have a chance somewhere to read a few pages.
-Change countless diapers (actually I could count them if I felt like picking through the pail... but I don't particularly.  I'd wager approximately 8, with 6 of them poopy.)
-Remember thankfully to fill the tank before the final fumes ran out
-Book an appointment for Miles to have his required tetanus booster shot for school (which he is eagerly awaiting... both the shot and the beginning of the school year!)
-Dream of completing the organization of the office that was completely emptied and torn apart less than a week ago so we could switch from carpet to wood floors and then decide to paint while the room was empty and maybe put in the new windows before painting and then sort through all the ... STUFF... that had to be lugged out of the room and decide if it really was needed at all anymore and if perhaps, just maybe we could revamp the entire desk area for a new and improved office with incredible organization and efficiency which apparently will come at the cost of the dining room housing everything while the project grows into a dream plan.  .. Yes dream, because I really can't focus on what needs to be done in the office when I'm off having fun and relaxing .... (of course I'm not completely focused on having fun and relaxing because in reality, I'm dreaming of spending the day back in the office organizing and completing the project.)  Yes, it's a tongue and cheek world.
-Whip up a blog before bed so that a certain young nephew doesn't complain that I'm falling behind in my posts.
-Start another load of laundry to get a jump start on the next day
-Fall into bed wondering how could I have made life simpler and run more smoothly... (I can count on that one at the end of almost each day)

Birds of a Feather

Today was a breath of fresh air.  It's been a roller coaster spring, with freak snow storms and plunging temps.  Today we had places to go and people to see and the weather cooperated in good form.  We had a delightful day with Auntie Kathleen who is here for the week from South Africa.  We toured the bird aviary at Liberty Park and enjoyed a scrumptious picnic lunch.  Tracy Aviary we will be returning soon.  (I must!  I promised Cooper I would take him and I must return to have another discussion with the lovely flamingos and check up on the nesting swan.  The peacock kept following us around. I think he likes me!)

We have more fun things planned with Auntie Kathleen, but first we must rest from today.  Who knew walking around outside looking at exotic, rare and endangered birds would wipe us all out.  

Training

Whittaker was marveling that the chick was sitting on his shoulder "like a parrot!". 

"Hey!  I be a pirate!". 

Apparently they are both in training for careers which are unattainable.  One, because a chick will never become a parrot, and the other...  Well if he thinks I will let him grow up and bring pirating back into fashion!..... 

I'd make him walk the plank first! 

Desperation

Desperate times call for desperate measures.   It was snowing outside.  He had been fussing all morning.   We were at our wits end.  Not to mention he is a heavy, wriggling boy. 

Shh...

Being only just one me has created a few hectic moments lately.  I simply can not be everywhere I want to be.  Fortunately in the moments that I am off playing taxi driver and sitting in meetings or attending events with older children I have confidence in those who are holding down the fort at home.   The oldest tag team the babysitting with the majority this year falling to Sarah.  Fortunately she isn't as worn out as I am and they have enjoyable evenings with her in charge.

I came home the other night, particularly wiped from running here and there and everywhere,  so late that I wasn't home to tuck anyone in and I found a campsite set up in the living room. 

Complete with a campfire and all!!  They had even had hot cocoa and roasted (pretend) marshmallows.

Close and yet so Far

Make new friends, but keep the old, 

One is silver and the other Gold.

It's always amazing to me that I lived in Red Oak, TX for such a short period of my life really, yet I made some of the greatest life long friends in that time.  Friends that when we can get together even for just a quick visit anywhere at all, we're still just as excited to see each other and pick up our friendships where we left off.  Heaven will be a great series of reminiscing friendship visits with friends such as these! 

(Not all the Shumways and not all the Nobles but so great to get together!  Oh and Brandy hasn't aged a day in looks and Stan, well not a day in behavior and he still has that great twinkle in his eye that proves he's still just a kid inside! He showed us a bruise on his leg from having fallen off the trampoline just a few days earlier.  Apparently he had bounced harder than he realized!)

Mesioangular impaction of the third molars

That's correct.  He's lost his wisdom!  Teeth that is.

I never experienced this myself having all my wits still about me.  (Never had any!  Teeth either!)

His reaction to the anesthesia was a treat of its' own.  He was so concerned and thoughtful.  Very inquisitive and childlike.  I turned the video camera on for the ride home in the car but obviously I was driving and he wasn't exactly the best videographer so it mostly caught the ceiling of the van but we enjoyed listening to his slurred speech and strange comments.

He was so grateful to the nurse for wheeling him to the car in the wheel chair.  He mentioned how thoughtful that was about 8 times on the ride home.  He also kept telling me how fast it all was.  How they said it would pinch his arm and then they put the bib thing around his neck and then it was over and he was getting in the car.  He also reminded me numerous times that he knows how to drive.  I repeated my responses each time.  'Yes, it was thoughtful.  They are professionals you know.'  and 'It just seemed fast because you were asleep' and finally, 'No you may not drive.  The medicine you are taking forbids it and so do I!'  He argued that at first he was seeing two of each car but now his eyes were focused and he could see fine so why can't he drive?  (gee... I wonder?)

He got a little upset at one point because as he said, "I think you are making fun of me.  If you are that isn't very kind, but since I'm not sure if you really are I guess I'll believe you that you aren't."  (I was squelching my laughs.)

Amongst all the running comments he suddenly reached out and slugged me hard in the shoulder, calling out.  "Yellow bug, slug bug, bingo.  I win!"  Before I could respond, I got another slugging.  I let him know, I didn't realize we were playing and that he was slugging a little too hard.  He apologized and said, "Well now you know we're playing, but you are losing." 
LOSING??  I didn't even know the rules!  yellow cars, yell Bingo, beetles, yell slug bug, jeeps, yell the color and the phrase, 'Jeep, Jeep.'  All were accompanied by a flailing slugging to my shoulder. 

The very best moment of his loopiness was when he mentioned that he had tricked them.  (On the drive to the appointment, he had been on the phone with Paige, (I was driving then also).   She told him that when Adriana had her teeth out she had said that she couldn't feel her hands.  Paige without missing a beat had said, 'Oh, they got in the way so they had to cut them off.')  I guess since this was one of the last things on his mind when he succumbed to the anesthesia it was in his subconscious.  So he repeated to me, "Adriana got her hands cut off, but I tricked them.  I hid my hands and LOOK.. see they're still on me!  It worked." (As he showed me his hands, which were very much attached to his arms.)

He asked my permission to rest for a bit.  Absolutely!

After a few minutes of peace and quiet and my shoulder recovering from it's recent abuse, I noticed that his head was wobbling off the head rest in an awkward manner.  I tapped him and said, 'Your head is off the headrest.'  He looked bewildered at being awakened and fixed his position.  Only moments later it happened again.  I tapped him and said, 'You're head fell off again."  (oops... poor choice of words!)  He was suddenly frantic.  "MY HEAD!  OFF!  You mean it has happened before?  How did it get back on?  Am I okay?  You're making fun of me aren't you?"  

I couldn't stop laughing.  I tried to reassure him and then finally suggested he try to sleep a bit.  This quiet lull lasted less than 2 minutes.  He needed to throw up.  I was on the freeway.  I could reach a plastic bag and was madly dumping out it's contents.  He essentially had a bit of blood to spit out.  While I was helping him I missed my exit.  I took a quick detour.  He, ever the alert one, noticed.

"RENO?  Why are you taking me to Reno?  I thought we were going to go home.  I have to change the gauze.  How often do I have to change it?"

~"Every 10 minutes for the first 2 hours." 

"How long have we been driving?",

~"About 10 minutes.  It will be okay to change it when we get home." 

"But that's more than 10 minutes.  I can change it myself here in the car.  And you're taking me all the way to Reno and that's more than 10 minutes!"

I couldn't convince him that we weren't going to Reno until we pulled into our neighbourhood.  I did convince him that we could wait a few more minutes before changing his gauze. 

 Home care was a cinch after the drive home!  I had nursing volunteers.  We took excellent care of our patient.  He was content with his liquid diet for about 3 hours and then we've heard nothing but how wonderful food smells and how he wishes he could eat it since then.  We're currently on day 6 of the soft foods and liquids diet and he's looking so forward to chewing some food.  We've pureed some odd concoctions for him.  (I've had to remember whose food I'm pureeing... Caleb's or Emerson's.  Truth be told... a few times, they were the same!)

 Along with excellent nursing care he received entertainment and visitors to help him rest and recuperate.  Whittaker watched lots of Curious George with him.  Miles taught him a few Rubik's cube tricks. Sarah watched The A Team and My Fair Wedding with him and I brought him some books.  Emerson stood next to the couch and squealed at him.

 Duncan was listening in intently on the Rubik's cube instruction and has been trying to solve them ever since. 

Most of the time the first few days, he slept. 

Standardized Testing

Whittaker... after doing only so so, on standardized testing and being recommended for some more speech therapy and suggested preschool classes was riding home in the backseat of the van.  He was silent as we drove along until we passed an incredible waterslide amusement park.

"Mummy!  Stop here!  Park!  I like it!  It make me HAPPY!!"

I told him we had to have special tickets to go to that place, but not to worry, we had tickets for another one like it later this summer.  I assumed he didn't understand all of what I said, but it appeased him.  (I was just thinking... 'Why couldn't you say a string of words like that for the assessment!?'

Next day as I'm making lunch, he ran into the kitchen excitedly waving some dollar bills in his hand that he had found on my desk.

"I have tickets!  I find tickets!  Need my suit!  I so happy!  Let's go!"

How do I score that for comprehension, speech and reasoning!??

And.... how do I work on teaching an understanding of .... the water park isn't open for another 5 weeks!......

Easter is for blowing on Horns of Triumph!

 

 Easter morning we blew the horns of triumph... poorly I might add.  (Definite practice is needed!)

Knowing of the new found love of music and Miles desire to try out almost every instrument ever created, Grandma arranged for a beginner Trombone to be available.  It was an instant favourite amongst everyone.  Caleb and Miles are often vying for some mouthpiece time.  It is by far the 'loudest' of the instruments in our collection.  Daddy impressed everyone with his ability to be able to play Reveille and Taps on both the trumpet and the trombone.  Who knew he had such a hidden talent?!?  

The day wasn't complete without attending a live orchestra playing beautiful strains of Halleluiah at the First Presbyterian's Easter Concert.  On the drive home, Miles said, 'It was amazing!' about a hundred times.  The concert even kept him up past his 8pm bedtime and he said he didn't mind because.... 'It was amazing!'.  As we arrived home, we walked in the house and before Miles could say a word, we all said to Patrick, 'Don't ask Miles how the concert was!!'  (Daddy had stayed home with Emerson)  Patrick caught on quickly and asked, 'So... was it 'amazing?'  Miles definitely appreciates musical talent.  He spent much of the first song pointing out all the instruments in the orchestra and telling me as much trivia about them that he knew. 

Whittaker was most struck with the beautiful windows.  I wish I had taken a photo earlier during the intermission while the suns rays were pouring through.  They were glorious.  It was unfortunate to see that most of the pews in this lovely cathedral sat empty for such a lovely concert.   We sat in the loft seats at the children's request and enjoyed a perfect view.

 I think it may become a regular part of our Easter celebration.  We had spent a portion of each day during the week leading up to Easter studying the final week of Christ's life.  Easter Sunday was all the more meaningful because of it.