Word Monster

Have you ever felt like it's been one of those hours? Or Days? Or weeks? Well, Ai felt like that reviewing for her spelling test yesterday...rather than writing words, she created this beautiful word monster instead. I have her to thank for this beautiful artwork that expresses how I feel inside. Thank you, child, for drawing on paper what I cannot voice! You are truly an inspiration!

Ode to the wii

Wednesday the 16th, our household looked like this bundle of joy below (though "joy" was not how she was feeling as she was running a fever of 103). Sickness infiltrated our lovely home and it was quiet and clean (as in everything in it's place). It gets a little old having a quiet and clean house because the kids are sick. Sometimes looking like your house is lived in is not such a bad thing! Monday the 22nd, she was able to eat...finally...after 4 days of not eating at all. And if you know my girls, they LOVE their food! Suzanne Calvert brought over the most delicious lunch for us that day, Chick-Fil-A. It hit the spot and had Leilani and I smiling from ear to ear! Thanks, Suzanne-you truly are the BEST!

Tuesday all three girls went to school. It was a memorable day and I felt FREE to have time for myself and FREE from sickness! The girls came home from school, removed their shoes, dropped their backpacks at the front door, walked through the house to the back door, slipped on a pair of flip-flops, and went straight to the backyard. We enjoyed the tramp and sport court that was replaced by the wii for a few weeks, enjoyed a dinner outside and stayed out there until Aidyn had to go to voice lessons. It was the BEST TUESDAY EVER! I am so glad to have my kids back!

Cheers to our health and the great outdoors! Good-bye wii, until we meet again in sickness.

Not So Fun Mommy-Daughter Days

So 12 days ago my sweet Miss Ai informed me that she felt dizzy. That's okay, I told her, it's most likely because you're tired. That was Friday the 4th. Saturday, she told me the same thing,"Mom, I feel dizzy", and Sunday, the same,"Mom, I feel dizzy". Monday morning comes along and the same thing,"Mom, I feel dizzy". Enough already with the broken record! I send her to school anyway. A phone calls come that afternoon from the school nurse informing me that Aidyn had a dizzy spell, fell down, and hurt her wrist...oh, and she's running a fever too. Nice. When I picked her up she told me,"atleast I didn't fall into the toilet!" And thus begins the not so fun mommy-daughter days. Running a fever of anywhere from 99-105. Going to school, then being sent home, or not even going to school at all! Who knows, she may have to repeat the first grade all over again due to all her absences in the past week. I finally decided that enough is enough and took her to the pediatrician today, which was really quite awesome. We switched from 1960 Pediatrics to Bluefish Pediatrics-no wait, service with a smile, and a doctor who talks to you for more than 30 seconds. Here is our doctor visit pics...the nurse gave Ai a lollipop before they swabbed her nose for the flu (which was negative, thank goodness). She thought that was pretty cool. Then it was off to Quest Diagnostic to get some bloodwork done. The phlebotomist drew three vials of blood and Ai did not wince at all. She just sat and watched in awe that her blood was going from her arm, through the needle through the tube into the vials. I was bit worried as there was a little boy her age that went before her and he was crying and screaming like a girl. She did amazing, no crying or screaming like a girl...no problems at all. We joked that Leilani would have passed out for sure.

A close-up of her getting stuck. CBC with diff, CRP and ESR-hoping that all things are within normal limits.

Then off to Panera to get her favorite cheese and brocolli soup in a bread bowl, which she actually ate! We had just started eating when the phone rang and the caller ID said "Swenke Elementary". Hmmmm....Aidyn is with me so who could they possibly be calling for? Yes, my lucky lady Leilani is sick...lovely.

We quickly eat what we can't take home (like the soup) then head home to pick Nani up. At first we were making great time...then the traffic just stopped. Oh man! I am determined to get to the school because I know that Leilani would not be in the nurse's office unless she felt like dying so I did something that I wouldn't normally do. I drove off the freeway, onto the grass that separated me from the frontage road then moved about 10 yards and was at a standstill...again. With the thought of my eldest daughter in the nurse's office at school I decide to go ahead and 4-wheel it once more, popping the curve, getting partially stuck and having to rock back and forth to get past the steep and grassy slope that would get me onto a field that I hoped would take me to a road that could bypass all this stalled traffic. Boo to the big truck who dumped hazardous waste all over the road I needed to exit. I finally made it to the school. Did I leave a part of my truck in the grass? Probably. Do I care? No, because I am no longer flustered that I am sitting in traffic, I have daughter number 1 at home safely recovering, and daughter number 3 at home snoozing and hopefully recovering for the 12th day in a row. The end.

Mark's HEART ATTACK

This Valentine's Day was pretty low key as the girls and I did not feel like our normal selves (that means we were sick).

It started for Leilani on Friday the 11th-she attended a rockin' Valentine's Party at a friend’s house and said it was the "coolest party ever!"

Saturday night was our 3rd annual Newlywed Game, Fiesta style. Sadly, I did not have the energy to take pictures or decorate so I did not document the evening, but the food and friends were fun. Dan and Sabs took home the "Perfect Pair" prize. I'm thinking we are going to have to start making trophies for future games.

Sunday we celebrated Di's birthday and Sunday night is why I'm really writing this post. Sunday's activities had come to a close. The kids were bathed, scriptures read, prayers said, backpacks and shoes were by the front door and the kids were fast asleep...or so we thought. Mark and I were getting ready for bed when I heard something outside. I thought it might be Aidyn as she wasn't feeling well. I mentioned it to Mark, he thought it was nothing and we started talking again. I kept hearing the noise but disregarded it as I figured if Ai needed something she would vocalize it. We keep talking and Mark tells me how he wants to share a poem with me. Sure, I said, thinking that it was odd that he suddenly become poetic...this is where the fun began...I am already laughing and I haven't even typed it up yet...

Imagine Mark and I sitting in bed talking...he then becomes poetic and wants to share a poem. Oh, so sweet…and awkward too! But alas, the poem is in the kitchen so he has to get out of bed, open the door and get it. He does just that...opens the door.

Me: Look at our door! (The door has been heart-attacked and I see a glimpse of Leilani's pj pants dash past in the dark)

Mark: (Walks out of the bedroom into the powder bath where the nightlight has been left on. He wants to turn it off, when suddenly he turns to the left, crouches down into attack stance and yells) AARGH! (He charges and grabs at my daughter's arm)

Leilani: (Screaming) Dad!

I was dying of laughter at the whole split second event, Mark and Leilani were screaming out of fear into each other's faces. The end result was a lot of adrenaline, eventual laughter, and a beautifully heart-attacked door from our three girls, and yes, he still read me the poem.

Happy LOVE Day!

Thanks for making it memorable Mark and Leilani!

Stretchy Like Your Stomach

The day has finally come! Three weeks of bathing a child who normally doesn't need help has been quite a task (yes, to those of you young mothers, it is easily forgotten once you don't have to bathe them anymore). Aidyn is getting her cast removed! Hooray! But this post isn't about her, or about how she romped around on it broken and castless for 10 days after she jumpled off of her top bunk into a sea of toys before we brought her to get it checked out...this post is about ME and the little self-image I once had! Ai and I made a little lunch date out of getting her cast removed. I scheduled her appointment during her lunch and recess in hopes that she wouldn't miss any instructional time. It was a pretty good plan, except that the appointment took much longer than I expected. Since we hadn't had lunch we decided to grab a bite to eat before I took her back to school. No problem. She went, had fun showing off her "new" castless leg and came home (yes, with a fever of 101, but that is another story). The first thing she says when she walks in the door is,"Mom, my skin (from her cast leg) is stretchy like old skin, it looks like your stomach". Well, thank you, dear! For those of you who know me, I am not the most confident in my looks, BUT I have, for the most part, thought I had a pretty nice belly. Even after delivering three babies. So you can just imagine that what I though looked so "nice" looked like old skin to my baby girl. Yes Aidyn, you crushed my world! And gave me the best laugh all day!

Name That Book School Competition

There are many things I love about Mia, but the characteristic that I admire the most is her confidence. Last week she came home from school announcing that her 3rd grade team had made it to the Swenke Elementary Name That Book Finals...Wow! I didn't even know that she was part of a team! I didn't know that she and her friends spent lunch and recesses reading, studying and reviewing 100 book titles and storylines. She never asked for an opinion or told me what she was doing, she was just doing it. I would have been scared to death to be a part of a team like that! Who am I kidding, I still am! This is a picture after the school competition in which six teams (two from each grade, 3rd-5th) participated. We are proud of you girls, and especially proud of our Mia-who seriously stares fear in the face and isn't afraid to try new things!