Sweet Sundays

Earlier this afternoon....
I love Sunday afternoons.

Church is out at noon and the rest of the day is ours.

It's our family practice to make this a family day. That's hard sometimes as friends are so very important-especially to my teens. But they suffer through.
Right now Kambree and Austin are enjoying the day on their roller blades on the Parkway. Rylee and Alex are playing with and building more of their Monkey House. Devree is out on the trampoline perfecting her flip and enjoying this beautiful day and I have dinner in the crock pot and a cake made and just caught up with my friends blogs.

We have a family in Ukraine right now adopting their two boys. Reading her post these past few weeks have reminded just how far we've come with Alex. Not just in his language but in his overall behavior.
However, there is one thing Alex does I hope never changes.

Today in church he was getting restless towards the end of sacrament meeting and laid his head in my lap while I tickled his back and neck. Then he rolled his head looking up at me and sighed and mumbled something. I couldn't quite hear and whispered,

"What did you say?"

He said "Never mind."

"No, I want to know, what did you say?"

He grinned at me and sighed again and said, "My mom."

I teasingly said, "Who's your mom?"

"YOUR my mom!"
"That's right I AM your mom."

Yeah, that's what I never want to change.

The sweet sigh of contentment that he has a mom. That he is still in awe of having one. That he just has to whisper it out loud to confirm it is true.

It's been a few months since the last sigh and whispered confirmation.

In time, he will probably stop sighing and saying it altogether. But while he still remembers and appreciates....I'm just going to savor it!
Continued later....
Eventually my older girls ended up asleep on the trampoline while catching some sun, Austin crashed on the couch, and I dozed off between Alex and Rylee while they watched "The Parent Trap".
See why I love Sundays?
Austin gave us a Family Home Evening lesson tonight. Yes, I made a deal with him that he can go to a sleep over LATE tonight but only if he gives a lesson. He did the whole thing, assigned songs, prayer and read a story and lead a discussion.
On another Alex note-no pun intended-he loves to sing yet he's just not quite on pitch. I love that he sings out while singing hymns, he sings around the house on his own and to the radio. I just figured he's trying to get the words and the notes will come but today we were singing a chorus that he knew well and the notes were just not there. The notes were loud but they were not on pitch.
After FHE tonight I sat down at the piano with him and we tried again. Bless his heart he tried so hard but he can't hear the note and match it with his voice. He can't hear the difference in what is being played and what his voice is doing. We just made it fun and I sang along with him to help him not feel so self conscious. I did notice a bit of improvement by the end of our half hour sing along but he will still need A LOT of improvement to even be on pitch half the time.
The other children were trying to help with suggestions of vocal warm ups, and ideas. We all sing. Even Austin-he sings in choir and sings ALL THE TIME around the house. (Last night when he got home at midnight he started singing while getting ready for bed and he does not sing quietly! I had to remind him that singing is for daylight hours when the entire family is awake!)
Alex told me I was a wonderful voice teacher and I should teach everyone voice lessons. (My girls all take once a week and Austin's even taken a couple lessons to cover for Kambree when she's been unavailable.) Which is sweet of him to say. I think he just loved sitting there by me and having my undivided attention. I tried so very hard to not make him feel dumb or inadequate as it would hurt my heart if he stopped singing all together out of embarrassment or frustration.
Anyway, Alex ran upstairs to get his PJ's (We were going to watch The Sound Of Music but apparently we don't own that movie? I love how things disappear in our house-like my primary music book.) Anyway he was upstairs and I walked into the kitchen were the other children had been a ear-witness of our little music lesson, I commented quietly that I've never had a tone deaf child before to which Austin quickly quipped.
"Well, it's YOUR fault.....you bought him!"
I was drinking water at the time and had to spit the water in the sink to avoid choking, I was laughing so hard.
He was kidding of course.
Ahh....life with Austin-it's full of funny one liners.
Well, since there's not school tomorrow I let the kids put on "Hook" at ten o'clock tonight. All five of them are glued to the show right now and I think I shall go join them.
Hope you all have a lovely three day weekend!

Monkey House

The other day Alex came home with a little plastic monkey. He had folded a little box out of paper and informed me that this was his new little brother, Jacob.

He then told me he was going to make Jacob a house.

The next day Rylee went to a friends house and came home with a shoe box that she had made into a house for an identical monkey. (Apparently one of Alex's friends are selling these little plastic monkeys? I'm not sure. My children have lives of their own that I have no control or say over.) Alex upon seeing Rylee's HOUSE got all excited and-with a little guidance from me as to where he could find a box-started on his house.

I had rented a movie but he was too inthralled building his house to come watch.

HIS house has working lights and a fan.

Then he and Rylee decided to join forces and make a double decker house.

The spent hours working on it.

Seriously.

I HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS.

Ry & X decided to sleep in the same room last night as they both wanted to be near their fabulous house.

X slept in a sleeping bag on Ry's floor.

Too funny.

This morning the girls and I went to rehearsals and the boys went babysitting for my sister. I knew they'd be done before us so I called to check in.

Austin was asleep and Alex was working on installing a light for Rylee's part of the house.

From what I've been able to figure out, the colored light on the bottom floor is from some sort of bouncy ball that had a light mechanism inside, the fan is from a small crappy helicopter toy of Brach's that broke and he gave to Alex, and the top light is just a small light bulb run by a battery.

Pretty impressive huh?

I made it through our hairy day yesterday!

Here's a few pictures in addition to the video's in the post below.

While waiting for Spartan Spec to start we were sitting on the bleachers and my Dad came and sat behind me. He teasingly told me I better behave or he'll hit me. Alex turned to him and wrapped both arms around me and defensively told him "You no hit my mom!" He did not find my Dad's joking humorous in the least. Then he whispered to me. "Grandpa hit you-I punch him!" I had to explain that Grandpa was just joking he would not ever hit me. He relaxed and let go of me.

So.....any of you out there thinking of hitting me?

You better watch out-I have my own personal body guard!

Rylee and I slipped out to get to rehearsal right after Kambree performed. At dinner we had gone over very carefully how the night would go. Austin was to bring home Dev & Alex after Spartan Spec. The minute I went to leave Alex turned to me:

"Mom, what if Austin no bring me. I stay here?"

Me: Alex, Austin knows he has to bring you home. And grandma and grandpa are here. No one is going to leave you at the school. Okay?

Okay.

My mom overheard and confirmed that she has yet to lose a child and she will make sure Austin takes him home or she will take him home.

It's little moments like this that remind me of his past.

His fear of abandonment.

What I do know is he trust me. He knows I will take care of him-now we just need to work on trusting the rest of the family. That and not threatening to punch someone that teases me. (Of course, in his defense-teasing about hitting isn't very funny when you grew up being hit and watching your parents hit each other.)

This morning I came home from the gym and I was so tired-I wrote checks for school lunch as I just didn't have it in me to make cold lunches. The big kids left and I dozed off in in the family room waiting for X & Ry to get dressed for school.

It was so peaceful.

I woke up to Alex sweetly rubbing his cheek to my cheek.

We talked about how a scab is formed and when his knee will feel better. I had him remove the bandage to give the scrape some air and he keeps telling me he's getting "wind" on it.

Wind, air...sort of the same but not.

Happy Friday everyone!

Video For James

Hey babe!

Here's is video of all of yesterday's events.

I should have shot this first one horizontal as I can't figure out how to rotate it. But this is Rylee at her "Wax Museum" as the first woman judge in Utah Reba Bosome.

This is Devree's solo during the choir concert. I think she and the girl right after here were the best-and I don't think I'm being prejudice. It's towards the beginning of the song.

This next video needs a little explanation. It sort of looks like Alex and Ry are boyfriend and girlfriend-they have no idea I was videoing. Alex was holding Rylee's hand and pushing her on her Heeleys as we went into the high school. It was so sweet I wanted to capture it. By the time I got my camera out they had to cross the road and it looks like they're just holding hands. You can see a short little Heeley brother/sister moment at the end. Alex didn't have his on as I've told him he can't Heeley until his poor knee scabs up.

This one needs NO explanation -we were just waiting for Spartan Spectacular to start and the band was warming up. It cracks me up.

And here is Kambree's dance. I had to decide if I should shoot the whole thing or just zoom in on her-I only had my little camera and I can't go back and forth. I went with just focusing on Kam as she'll get a DVD at the end of the year of all the dances. She's fabulous-isn't she?

Missed you but we're on the downhill side- you'll be home in less than a week and here for the big graduation!!

Love,

11:11

Umm....Mom??

I thought I'd get a call earlier from Alex regarding his scrapped up knee but figured I was safe after ten am.
Then at eleven the call came.
Alex: Umm....Mom?
Yes Alex.
Alex: Um. I going to school. I no see little rock. I fall down.
Me: I know, Amy told me.
(Silence)
Then
Alex: Here you talk Mrs. Lou.
I asked Mrs Lou if she had seen his knee-no it's bandaged. He won't put weight on it. He doesn't want to go to recess, which is fine she said, he can stay inside and read. I have her put Alex back on.
Me: Alex honey, what do you want me to do?
Alex: I don't know.
Me: Well, why did you call? Is there something I should do? Do you want me to come to the school?
Alex: I thought leg broken.
Me: Oh, Alex, I'm sure it's not broken.
Then I had him stand on it, bend it, straighten it.
Me: See you bone is not broken it's just a scrape and I'm sure it hurts but it's not broken.
A: It really hurt.
Me: I know. Remember when I feel down at church a few weeks ago.
A: No, Mom this hurt more!
Me: Mine hurt bad too, remember my big bruise and it hurt for weeks. You'll be okay. I promise.
(No, I didn't blog about me somehow falling down IN church-right before sacrament meeting started and hitting not only my knee but my nose and my cheek and my dress going up and everyone seeing my underwear and my girls and I just laughing because it was so embarrassing. I actually had to go home and change my nylons and put ice on my nose. Some things you just don't want to blog about!)
A: Okay.
Me: Mrs. Lou says you can stay in and read or you could go to recess and just do something quiet. Are you sure you're okay? I can come up if you want me to.
A: No.
I showered and decided I should just go check it out. Chances are it's dirty and needs some ointment and maybe it is worse than I think? I doubt it's broken but it would be just my superb parenting skills to make him stay in school and find out later I really should have been more concerned.
So I went up to school with regular shoes in hand, bandages, alcohol swabs and ibuprofen.
It was pretty bad as far as scrapes go.
It took FIVE regular bandages to cover it and he sure didn't enjoy me cleaning it. (Luckily we were sitting outside his class and he refused to cry-he has an image to protect.) I got it cleaned up, ointment-ed, ibuprofen in him and bandaged and then he stood up and my crappy bandages popped off so we walked to the office in search of a bigger, better bandage.
He held my hand for just a minute and leaned his head against my shoulder.
Yep, he needed his mom.
I convinced him to put more weight on it-that it was just stiffening up and by the time we got to the office he was almost walking normal. The had some industrial sized bandages and he insisted on removing the crappy/half hanging off bandages himself-as he told me it hurts when I do it-and then we put on the better bandages.
We left the office and he let me give him a big hug and tell him how sorry I was that he got hurt and I know that cleaning his knee hurt. I assured him it was not broken. He nodded and he hobbled back to class.
It really was a pretty big scrape but mostly superficial. You know, that first layer of skin with all the nerve endings and oozing? Yeah, I'm sure it hurts.
Sometimes it's hard to know what to do with Alex. He's so tough about so many things-he can wrestle and take a thumping, fall down a hill and jump right up, yet other things just make him cry like a baby. And I just didn't know what this one was.
(Sigh)
I think we'll retire the Heeley's for a few days.

End of school craziness....

Last night we had an awards assembly for Rylee at 2:30, then a 4:00 Achievement Day activity. 6:30 Dev and I had a parent meeting at the junior high for all of next years student body officers and their parents. (Which makes me think that not only did Devree become the 9th grade VP but somehow I am now a responsible part of the student government? If it's anything like being the mother of the dance company Publicist-that would be Kambree-oh my. When did I sign up for this? Was it at that moment of conception? Good grief.)
I rushed Dev home and went straight to the high school where Austin's choir performance had already started. I stayed through his part and then slipped out went straight to rehearsal at eight!
Luckily it was a quick music rehearsal and I was home by nine!
Whew!
Today I have a 2:00 pm "Wax Museum" performance by Rylee. She has to dress up as a famous Utahan and recite a one minute blurb about her character. I helped her select the first woman judge in Utah-only because I have a judge's robe-James old graduation robe-which has been used numerous times in spook alleys and scary costumes and last night when I dug it out of my costume closet, I discovered the zipper down one side was completely ripped out so I ran it down to my mom's for a quick repair. (Yeah, I bet my mom didn't know she signed up for being my personal seamstress for the rest of her life either!)
Anyway, then at 6:00 tonight Devree has her choir concert which we will leave directly from to go to the high school to see Kambree dance at Spartan Spectacular and then Rylee and I will jet out of there to get to tonight's rehearsal....late!
I-yi-yi!
I keep telling myself this craziness will end when school gets out but I look at my calendar and it's just as full as it is now only I have children home ALL DAY LONG!
What the heck?
Austin and Kambree are in need of summer jobs. Preferably one's that get them up in the morning and out the door. Devree is being a nanny for my sister one day a week. I know Alex and Rylee have plans for making money-which is making punch and popcorn and selling it on our front lawn. Alex was complaining he wanted to make money and I suggested he see if he can find dogs to walk or scoop poop in peoples yard. He was rather disgusted by the idea of scooping poop. "I no like poop mom!" Geez. I'm not saying he likes it. Good gravy.
I didn't walk the kids to school today as Austin was home working on his homework-that was due today and he realized it THIS MORNING! Amy called and said Alex took a spill on his Heeley's on the way to school. His knee is scrapped up.
Hum....
I think I must be a prophetess?
(See previous post for further confirmation of my amazing prophetic ability's.)
I'm kidding of course.
Despite the hurt knee this morning Alex has improved immensely on his Heeleys. He told me he had a dream how to do it and then he came home and told me I no longer needed to teach him how to use his Heeley's because of his dream he has figured it out.
Uh....I never really tried to teach him.
I have never Heeley'd in my life.
And unlike my well meaning mom that tries to teach us how to water ski-when she herself has never gotten up-or once she said she did but I didn't witness it-I really don't try to teach things I know nothing about but apparently I was teaching Alex to Heeley? Wow. And I didn't even know.
Happy Thursday! Only four more days of blessed day tranquility and three more mornings of making cold lunches!
Watch out summer-we're coming!

Happy Heeley Day

I've been working on the boys summer clothes and Alex had on new brown shorts and a shirt this morning and ugly BLACK basketball shoes. I asked him to put on his brown shoes.

"Ones with holes?"

Sure enough, his brown shoes had holes in them.

So, I went to the shoe store during my quiet evening at home alone tonight and wouldn't you know it, they had Heeley's on sale for an amazing price, just Alex's size.

I debate about saving them for his birthday but then worried his feet might grow out of them by then.

I picked them up as well as a regular pair of skater shoes (and shoes for Rylee too).

When I got home I wrote a quick note telling him how proud I was of him doing his homework so well and with a happy heart. I also told him that I know it's hard to think about doing homework each day during the summer but maybe these shoes will make his summer more fun?

I had everything up on his bed.

He came home from the carnival and he showed me all his "crappy toys" his words-not mine, told me about cheering for one of the cute girls he likes while she was doing the cake walk, told me about all the junky food he ate and that he rode home with Brach on his bike. He had a great time.

I told him I had a surprise up on his bed. I asked him what is something he really needs.

"A cell phone?" He replies.

"No you WANT a cell phone, what do you NEED?

"Shoes?"

"Right."

He was not enthused (and I was so excited for him to see them!). I offered to make him a sandwich and he ate it and some strawberries then decided it was time to go take his bath. (Eight o'clock is Alex's bath time with quiet time until nine.) He finally goes upstairs and soon I hear a sound like a trampling elephant racing down the stairs and straight into my arms.

"THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!"

We went and made sure they fit before I let him remove the tags-a habit he has yet to develop-and then I let him go try them out for about 15 minutes.

This is his red, hot, happy face after about twenty minutes. (Yes, he had about 5 minutes of just one more time!) In his new shirt and shorts with purple snow cone drips down the front. Yep, he's still pretty cute.

Here is video after the first five minutes of practice. He's getting it, slowly but surely. I'm sure he'll have it mastered by the week's end. Along with some scabby knee's and elbows.

And here he is after twenty minutes. He's improved already! But I wasn't kidding about the scabby knees and elbows!

Hospital From Hell

I was showing Alex the Hinkson's blog and pictures of the hospital in Ukraine. I was asking him if the hospital he stayed in looked that bad? Yes, he said. That's how hospitals look in Ukraine.
Keep in mind that children in orphanages go to the hospital for EVERYTHING! Coughs, fevers, runny noses etc. It's not like it is here. I think it's their way of not letting everyone in the orphanage get sick. I sort of thought that was a good idea and pictured clean sterile rooms, lots of healthy food, and rest and relaxation but the Ukraine hospitals are NOTHING like that. They are run down, filthy and poorly staffed. (You really need to click on that link for pictures and information. It is like watching a horror film movie trailer!)
If that's what socialized medicine will look like in the future, we are in for it my friends!
As I sat listening to Alex read out loud and lurking my friends blogs-looking at these horrific pictures I just can't believe that is where my boy came from. To look at him now-today especially in his new summer shorts and t-shirt-cute braces on his teeth, and reading ENGLISH almost flawlessly it just doesn't seem that he could have ever lived in those conditions. (Although the elastic color on his braces do reflect some Ukrainian pride-they're blue and yellow. He told me next time he will get red, white and blue. Not that I care in the least but it was important to him to tell me "Next time American colors!")
He wanted me to scroll up to see more pictures and I showed him the picture of the Ukraine cake. It looks scrumptious but I know it's not. I told him my friends said it was yucky. He matter of factually informed me "All Ukraine cake is yucky. I hate all Ukraine food......except Borscht!"
Then he happily went off to put away his book and get ready to go to his school carnival.
Happy.
That's my Alex.
Happy to be here.
To have a family.
To be loved and cared for.
Just buying him summer clothes is a joy. I get a big thank you's and hugs.
He wrote in his journal today "My mom is so nice, she is letting me go to carnival when my homework is done."
And guess what?
I am NOT going to the carnival.
Nope.
I'm footing the bill and sending them all together.
I do not have rehearsals-the girls do so they'll leave the carnival early and head over. Alex will stay with Austin as Austin is volunteering at the carnival to work of some of his U's in citizenship.
And I am staying home.
Maybe reading.
Maybe watching TV.
I don't know, I just know it will be quiet and peaceful.
Happy day.....or night in this case!

Reality Check

I got this in my email this morning. A good reminder that things could be worse. Imagine having this job??

Makes being an uncool mother and busy real estate agent look like a piece of cake!

Coolness or lack of it....

(Warning. This is a long ranting post.)
So, I try to be a cool mother.
Not too cool-like "Let's go get our belly buttons pierced kids" but just semi-cool.
Unfortunately, my role of mother prohibits me from being even that.
Let me tell you about my day:
I got an anonymous text mid afternoon informing me that Austin was at All-A-Dollar. I called. He admitted he was buying stuff to decorate some girls room for her birthday. "Where are you suppose to be Austin?" Seminary. Get back to school now.
Not cool. But necessary.
So, after having 21 kids here last week at ONE time and then nine or ten the next day I decided I needed to come up with a solution for every one's thirst issue. Thirst for cold water that is. You see, I just bought a set of new glass glasses-I have a pet peeve about things matching-AND I like to drink out of GLASS glasses. But when you have teenagers out jumping on the trampoline trying to out stunt each other, wrestling or just tossing balls back and forth, they get thirsty. And when you have a gaggle of said teenagers, they use ALL my glasses and leave them all over the place. This is not working for me.
My first thought was to invent a drinking fountain that I could hook up to my outside garden hose but since my favorite inventor is out town for the next 9 days and I am only an inventor in theory not in actually designing, building or constructing-I scratched that idea.
So while at Walmart-getting dish washer soap -because I've had to run my dishwasher so much lately (BTW I hate Walmart and if it weren't so much more stinkin cheap to buy my laundry soap/cleaning supplies there I think I would avoid Wally World all together.) I found large plastic cups, four for $1 so I bought.....twenty!
I came home to a ten or so of Austins friends sitting around the kitchen bar, some eating cereal, some wandering, and many drinking out of my glass glasses. I have them help bring in my bags as I'm rushing to my computer to send a last minute email before leaving for my closing. I walk back in to see the boxs of tampons I stocked up on sitting on the middle of the bar surrounded by young men and a few young women.
How cool is that?
Nice.
I quickly put away my purchases and pull out the plethora of plastic cups, announce to the herd that if any of them have been to our house more than three times or anticipate coming back repeatedly in the near future that they need to pick a cup, label it with their name and it will be theirs for their drinking enjoyment!
(See that's a semi-cool mom thing to do....don't you think?)
True. I don't know every one's names-most the boys look the same to me and the girls vary from day to day. So that a tad uncool.
I then rushed off to my closing.
I did take Austin aside and tell him I cannot possible feed this many children on a regular bases and for no one to do anything stupid while I'm gone.
Not so cool but very necessary.
I announce to the herd that I'm leaving, not to do anything that will require a trip to the ER and remind them there is no kissing at our house.
Yes, I know that is un-cool. But whatever...
Devree reminded me she was making a cake for her friends birthday earlier and it was just coming out of the oven when I left.
Things seemed under control. Not too crazy. Busy but not crazy. I was cool to leave.
When I got home at 5:30 only two Austin friends were home.(Glory be and the saints be praised!) The cake was made, I had dinner in the crock-pot and I got Alex to read me his journal while I finish putting dinner on the table.
I felt like I had a handle on the night.
That was cool.
But things went quickly down hill.
While getting dinner on the table, Rylee was watching movie trailers in the kitchen-which were distracting Alex so I had her turn them down. She clicks on one called "Human Centipede" and the big kids erupted with "Oh, I heard about this, this is cool etc." We all start watching the trailer.
Umm... it was so not cool!
It was terribly evil and awful and I had to have a big talk with everyone about NOT watching movie trailers that are rated R. It seriously was evil and creeped even me out-Rylee is so very sensitive that she was scared to death. Tears start running down her cheeks. I am almost certain she will have nightmares tonight. I told everyone no more rated R movie trailers to which Jazmine rolled her eyes and told me "but it's cool." and I not being cool told her no it wasn't, it was evil and it won't be in our house.
Yep, my coolness is slipping fast.
After dinner Devree starts the dishes and I sat down with Alex and Rylee and tried to correct his journal while quizzing Rylee on her science test. Rylee starts crying that she just can't possible remember her test information, Alex is sighing because he can't think of a thing to write about for his extra sentences. We muddle through the journal & the quiz and I leave Rylee to read over her paper and go fold my 5th batch of laundry of the day while Alex is following me around reading his book out loud. (He cannot read on his own yet. Almost but not yet.)
Rylee comes up and proceeds to tell me something or ask me something but I can't remember what it was-I do remember she knocked over one of my piles of clean laundry.
I'm cool about it. No big deal.
Then Devree's friend shows up- the dishes are not done- I had no idea we were having the party HERE! Apparently telling me this little shin-dig is being held at OUR house isn't important?
That is not cool.
I try to regain my semi-cool self, thinking: it's just one girl, Jazmine and Dev. How bad can it be? I do tell Dev she has to get her dishes done before she serve's cake. Which of course is uncool. She does but what ever little bit of coolness I have tried to maintain quickly dissipates when they decide it would be great fun to take big pieces of the cake outside and smash it into each others faces then run through the house snorting with laughter and dripping with cake and frosting.
I am no longer cool, I am angry.
I was on the phone leaving a message with my title company regarding my closing-as my phone has been on vibrate since my closing and I have THREE messages. Alex is reading near by-as Jazmine comes squealing in with not only cake dripping from her face but a bloody nose from getting hit in the face too hard while having the cake fight.
It's about at this time that I realize that due to power outage this afternoon, some well meaning child set the clock on the oven FIFTEEN minutes late and now I am late to rehearsals.
Austin wanted to go hang out with friends-for the I don't know? Tenth night in a row excluding Sunday? Kambree was playing guitar hero and yelling for my library card and reminding me she still owes money for more dance company expenses, Alex was still following me around reading and Rylee was back to being sad over her homework? I"m really not sure at this point. Add to the mix three giggly girls still traipsing through the house covered with frosting and cake and one with a bloody nose!!
I lose it.
I yell.
(I actually called from upstairs on my cell phone to the home phone so I could discretely yell at Devree over the phone-and not in front of her friends-not that they didn't know I was mad-they knew-I bet my neighbors across the street know too!)
I told Austin he couldn't go anywhere and Alex had to finish reading to him.
I told Kambree she was in charge and there had better not be any rated R movie trailers or talk of that creepy movie.
I told Devree a few choice words about not asking permission, cake all over my house and never again!
And I left for my rehearsal.
Not cool.
Nope.
Motherhood and coolness just don't go together!
At my rehearsal of course we're rehearsing the Mrs. Darling part where she sings a sweet lullaby to her darling children and I try to unclench my jaw and dig deep for some sweet mothering feelings. I'm sure I did rotten.
Luckily it's a quick rehearsal and I'm home by eight.
You can see the look of dismay in every one's faces as I enter. They were sure I would be gone for at least two or three hours.
Uncool mom gone but wait, no! She's back! Argggg....

At least every one's home.

The cake is gone and cleaned up.

The birthday girl is gone.

There are no friends home except the live-in friend.

Everyone is super nice and puts themselves to bed without being asked.

(Sigh)

Give me strength.....

Random Pictures....

Who needs a camera when there's facebook? All of these pictures I got off of facebook of my kids. I figured they're MY kids so they can be MY pictures too!

This is Kambree and Robbie's goofy Spartonian Ball picture

This on is actually off my cell phone. Kambree performed at Art Feast and I forgot my camera, I wanted to take a picture of her with my phone but she did not want her picture taken so this is her walking away from me.....which I think is cute with her flouncy tutu and all.

I had no idea that this dress took a jump on our trampoline. It does look like she's floating.

And this is Austin and art's feast....doing art of all things? It looks like he's making a donut.

Kambree's Seminary Graduation!

Getting her diploma....

Kambree and her future roommate Whitney-although they look sad, they were happy!

Kambree & TC-a friend in our ward

With her siblings!

And this is the braid Devree made while Rylee was laying her head on her lap through the graduation program. She had to take a picture of it to show Rylee-as she couldn't see it.

My Sister's Foster Son

This is Loyd. We're hoping we can help him find a forever family.

http://connect2utah.com/fulltext?nxd_id=85556

For James....

Dear James,

Yes, I got your text at six this morning telling me to turn off the sprinklers. I figured it out once I found a flashlight-however I had to get Austin to open one of the boxes. For some odd reason I couldn't get it to open and he walked out and waalaa-opened it with no problem. Go figure. Pretty much anything in the garage tends to have bad karma with me.

So, is it snowing in Wyoming? Or are you just psychic?

Miss you and love you!

PS (Anyone else watching this video-please know we are not morning people and Devree is acting like she is so afraid of me which in truth, is just the complete opposite! I think her look of fear is based on the fact that yesterday she DID tell me it was the 25th and she knows it! And that mess on my counter is not only oatmeal for breakfast but me making five lunches! Only six more days of lunches to go!)

PPS (Then it got even worse! The snow that is, not the lunches!)

Alex Update & Life At Our House

Alex's journal entry today was just too sweet not to share. (I have his permission by the way-in fact he wanted to know if I was going to put it on Facebook too!)

Here it is AFTER spelling corrections.
Hello my name is Alex. I am writing my journal here. Do you think that I write good journal? I don't think so. My family is really awesome. I have great life and everybody is so nice to me. I really, really like America. You can play with your friends. Do you know that? I am doing great on my English. I really want to say this to my parents, you don't know what I am going to say? My American parents are the best parents that I have. I am going to try to not lie to my parents. I will be the best gentleman.
Sweet huh?
For dinner tonight I made Butternut Squash Soup. (Thanks to my Bountiful Basket of produce!) My older kids said it reminded them of the soup they had at the etiquette dinner only better and Alex piped in with "That cause Mom make everything best!" Yeah....he likes me. Hard to understand why sometimes but he does. I'm always at the computer when he comes home from school and he'll come in and just smash his check against mine and wrap his arm around my shoulder and sigh. At least once but sometimes three or four times a day. He is also my executive assistant. Reminding his siblings when I've asked them to do something and they're not or I'm calling for them when they don't hear me. He'll shout at them, "Mom call you!" or "Mom say do job." Etc.
I asked how his core testing went today-it was on science-he thinks he did "awesome".
I love that he has such confidence. He knew he wrote a good journal entry-you should have seen how proud he was. He told me it was the first time his journal wasn't "baby". I had to agree. Normally he says the same thing over and over. I am doing homework. Today I play with friends. Mom make awesome dinner. That's the general theme of his entries. So today was banner!
In other news.....


I went outside and counted how many children were in our yard this afternoon after school. 21!! Yes, TWENTY ONE! I always wanted to be the Kool-Aid house on the block but twenty one?? That's a little excessive don't you think? That's more than a Kool-Aid house. Kool Aid only serves ten! Apparently we're the industrial size/Costco Kool-Aid house!
Austin merely had ten friends over, Devree and Jazmine a gaggle, Alex had two and Kambree had one. Rylee was with me inside.
When I left for rehearsal the number was down to five Austin friends. All boys and all that I recognized (which is not always the case). I made them promise to not do any stunts on the trampoline that would require an emergency trip to the ER and to make sure Austin mowed the yard.
When I got home from rehearsal at ten I had to wake Alex up to finish his job, get Rylee out of bed-to do her's and then told Devree she could not go to sleep until hers was done. Luckily the lawn was mowed or I would have made Austin do it in the dark. (Sigh) I don't like being the heavy. Maybe next time they'll get their job done during daylight hours?......... Or not.
Well, I'm off to bed myself. I should have been there an hour ago but kids were vacuuming and taking out the trash and sweeping floors. All sounds that are soothing to my soul and I love to hear....just not at ten thirty at night!!

What the kids have been doing....

Here's Kambree at Spartonian ball. She is busy preparing to dance for Spartan Spec, in her one act play, and doing all the senior year things. She's also needing to get measured for her Badgerette outfit so next Saturday we're leaving rehearsals early to get to the mother/daughter Senior Brunch then leaving the brunch early to run to Provo for measurements only to get her back in time to perform in her one act play. I really hope summer slows her down.....a little?

Alex was proud of his play last week and he is counting down the days until school is out.

Here's a picture of Dev with her awards from Galaxy of Stars! We have a parent meeting next week to see what being the VP of the ninth grade is going to entail.

Rylee served at her first wedding reception. This is her with the brides veil on!

And this picture needs a little explanation. This is what happens when your husband is called to serve on the float committee (making a parade float for the 24th of July) and a bunch of paper mach e rocks are dropped off in your driveway for painting AND said husband asks said son Austin and friends to do some painting-unsupervised. Need I say more?

Looking at summer....

So rehearsals started.
Rylee went Monday night and came home around nine so pumped. She couldn't stop singing. Even after I put her to bed I could hear her quoting lines from the play. She had so much fun. I think she is the only girl lost boy and she is loving it! I sent her in a cap with her hair tucked up in it to give her more of a boy look and feel. We're both going to be cross dressing in this play with Rylee playing a boy and me a pirate. Funny huh?
Last night we blocked part of act one (my Mrs. Darling part) and she worked on choreography. I finished before she did so sat in to watch and wait for her and Caleb-our neighbor boy who is also a Lost Boy. Rylee is having a blast and showed off her bruise this morning from hitting her knee so many times while dancing. (Dancing bruises are common at our home and Rylee was proud to show off her first!) Dev & Kam don't rehearse until Saturday and they will be dancing like crazy. I've worked with the choreographer before. In fact, I start dancing Thursday and I'm a little nervous. I don't like bruises or aches, or pain. And I know ALL of that is in store for me.
James is back to work. Sixteen days. Boo. Why is it his day's home go so fast and his days gone go so slow? He worked like a crazy man on Monday trying to get things ready for us. He had to get the sprinklers going-which involved re-doing the garden, got the central air ready to go, changed the furnace filters, filled the water softener with salt, got the lid out of the sink pipe in the basement bathroom etc. What would I do without him? I told him I would try really hard to not kill the garden or break anything while he was gone. Poor guy. He fixes things only to come back to a new list of repairs. I have figured out how to plunge toilets and get garbage disposals running with this work schedule of his. I've also learned how to bribe Austin and his friends to assembly bbq's, carry heavy stuff and open the wheat bucket. (I hate opening those!)
I am savoring every last moment of my quiet days of freedom. Ten and a half left. Then SUMMER! I look forward to not making school lunches each morning and the morning ritual of trying to motivate everyone out the door, I also look forward to Friday swimming days, and just hanging out but I am dreading the "I'm bored, there is nothing to do" whine that can be heard echoing repeatedly through the summer break. Sigh.
I've got Alex set up with a tutor twice a week, going to the summer reading program twice a week in June and then about six days of working as a peer leader for the summer program for the special education program in our school district. I'm working on gathering worksheets from the ESL teacher and the special ed teacher. I made a deal with Alex that if he will study for two hours, five days a week. (Including all these programs and his independent reading IN that total) he will get $100 at the end of summer. The catch is he has to be self motivated, look ahead at his schedule and work over the weekend if he needs to miss a day and have his studies done before eight pm. (I can just see him starting to study at ten pm to midnight!) He's excited about it. He's already made a schedule of how many minutes of what he'll work on. I'm thinking of offering him ten minutes of Rosetta Stone studying Russian in that two hour time frame in hopes that he can brush up and retain some of his language? I'll have to see what he thinks. He's so funny about Ukraine. He claims he doesn't like how it sounds. I think the sound of his language just brings back so many sad and bad memories? I don't know. I'll just have to talk to him and see what he thinks. I think I might have Rylee try to learn Russian and have Alex assist her? That might be a good plan....
I've always held "Mom School" over the summer with all my children. Some years I'm more motivated than others. I start out strong and by mid summer I fizzle to nothing. Having Alex has changed that. So both Rylee and Alex will have "Mom School". (Once they're teenagers-forgettaboutit!) For the most part the kids have fun-I mean seriously, what else to they have to do? Besides play mindless video games on end? (BTW I'm limiting video and computer time to an hour a day. I am a cruel mother aren't I?) And although we now have an antenna on TWO TV's we don't have Disney or Cartoon Network so TV watching is to a minimum. When we didn't have TV we just got out of the practice of watching it. We don't know anything about this year's American Idol, or who's even on Dancing With The Stars or tune in every week for a favorite drama or comedy. And guess what? It's wonderful and the earth has continued to turn and life proceed like normal without TV. I honestly don't know how we fit it into our schedule before. Of course, I didn't blog as much before, maybe I've only switched one vice for another?
Rylee and Alex are going to week long a day camp in June. Dev has Oakcrest and Girls Camp. Kambree has drill camp, Austin has scout camp and Alex turns twelve in July and will got for an entire week of scout camp too. Add Peter Pan rehearsals and performance at the end of June, school starts back up August 26th and we've got a pretty busy, crazy summer. But I'm sure not busy enough to avoid the prevailing whine of "I'm bored, there's nothing to do."
(Sigh)
Here's to my next ten and half days!

Kambree's Graduation Announcement

My talented & beautiful cousin, Michelle made these for us!
Thanks Shell!

Dev's Dance Recital

Believe it or not, this is the BEST picture I got of the actual performance!

Hugs from Grandma....

With both her Grandma's.....

With her Dad....

My favorite.....hug from Grandpa.....Dev looks so cute!

With friends.....

The whole gang (less Austin who did show up but skipped out after her first dance thinking she was done-ohh was he in trouble from Dev when she found out he didn't stay for the 2nd dance!)

Afterwards we went to our favorite ice cream place....Leatherbys!

My Uncle Brent and Aunt Elaine surprised my grandma by stopping in for the night. The were traveling stand by and re-routed through Salt Lake. While grandma was with us at the recital Aunt Deb picked them up for the airport and then showed up with them for ice cream. They had never met Alex before and we're so excited to introduce themselves and hug him. He had no clue who they were and was polite but Ukrainian indifferent towards them. Pretty typical. He had one relative in Ukraine-his brother. I think all the aunts, uncles, cousins, second cousins in our family over whelm him at times.

Kambree is squishing her eyes closed for a reason! She woke up with pink eye! She had a date Friday night and was so embarrassed that her eye was crying and red and puffy. The next morning we had our first rehearsal for Peter Pan so she came with an ice pack and her sad hurting eye then we went straight to Insta-Care, out to lunch, and then the pharmacy-she actually slept in the car while Dev & Ry & I went in. She came home and crashed on the couch for three hours and Dev began the process of curling each strand of hair on her head for her performance. (So much for my plans of getting to the Horlachers carnival.)

Dev danced beautifully. We are so lucky to have such talented, healthy children. We're trying to talk Alex into taking a hip-hop class but he's not hearing it. Austin took a class ONCE and refused to try again. I think he was about nine.

Rylee IS going to be a Lost Boy in Peter Pan and Dev & Kam are Indians. I am once again Mrs. Darling and a pirate. Our lives will be a bit crazy here on out with rehearsals every night until the show at the end of June, but we love it!

We watched a copy of our last production of Peter Pan this afternoon. Alex has been singing "I won't grow up" over and over this evening. He would be a PERFECT Lost Boy but like hip-hop lesson's his answer to performing is....."NO." Just like his big brother. I guess he and Austin will just have to entertain each other while we're at rehearsals for the next five weeks!

She Made It!

So, we went up to the school to check and see if Rylee made it. I actually knew she had as a friend of ours had text me to congratulation Rylee before we made it to the high school. Her daughter made it as well but I wanted Rylee to experience reading her name on the list. I had my video camera out and interviewed her on the way in and when she saw her name she was jumping up and down and screaming and than ran to hug me and I realized I had not been recording the whole time! Grr.....

Afterwards I tried to get her to reenact it but it wasn't the same. On the way to the car I confessed that I knew already and Rylee confessed too. She knew as well! That stinker! We could have stayed home but instead we're both pretending that we don't know for the sake of the other. She had found out at school when another excited dancer who had already made it in to see the list reported to her right after school.

Oh, well. Sweet that we both were trying to make it special for each other!

Here is the video confessing to already knowing and then a 2nd reenactment for my benefit!

Junior Starletts

Last night was a big night for Rylee.
She tried out for Junior Starletts.
The first step in becoming a member of "Company". She was so nervous. When she first learned she qualified to try-out she was dead set against it. Her teacher told her there were thirty spots and sixty girls trying out. She made the tryouts sound grueling and terrible. Rylee and her friends unanimously agreed that they were ALL not trying out. Their conversation was hilarious as I drove them home.
"No way, I am NOT trying out."
"Yeah, only half will make it"
"And we're just ten years old"
Etc.
The were working themselves into a frenzy!
After a few minutes of ranting and raving I asked them what did they have to lose? So what if they don't make it. They won't know if they don't try.
To which I got a exasperated. "MOM!" and the conversation stopped.
Weeks passed-because of course the teacher brings this up a couple MONTHS before the audition. I finally talk to Rylee and convince her to go just to see what it's like, so she'll be prepared next year when she REALLY tries out. That sits well with her. "Yes, I'll go and just check it out." Yep, no stress.
Rylee is a fabulous dancer and she's been dancing since she was three or four. I think she has a very good chance of making it.
All week she's had butterflies but insists she's just going to "check it out." The day before I got one "I sort of hope I make it this year." but that was it.
I drove her up to the high school, went in and got her registered and she pinned her number on. Then my baby went in with the gaggle of other dancers all hoping and dreaming that they'll make it too. We were informed to come back in two and 1/2 hours!
I ran home, grabbed Devree, ran to her awards assembly where she was honored for being an exemplary Spanish student and having a GPA higher than 3.7 (It's a 4.0 by the way but her certificate say's higher than a 3.7)
Brought Dev home, helped Alex with English, folded laundry while he read and then set off to pick up Rylee. I wasn't sure what I'd be in store for. Would there be tears? Drama?
She walked out beaming and I asked if she was hungry. YES! So we went to Mimi's for a late dinner and I just happened to bring her spelling words and a notebook to give her a spelling quiz for tomorrows test while we waited for her food.
She told me she felt wonderful! Wonderful about her audition and about spending time with just me. "This is like a mom and daughter date!" She must have thanked me five times for taking her to eat and spending time just with her. I hadn't realized how few and far between these one on one times had become.
So, today is the day! The day we find out! The list for Junior Starletts will be posted at 3 o'clock at the high school. I have Kambree checking on it and texting me so I can be prepared. I won't tell Rylee but if it's bad news I want to be ready!
Cross your fingers and wish us luck!

Testing and Language Ramble....

Testing
CORE testing is this week for my kiddo's.
I've been worried about Alex and his testing. Monday I gave him a big pep talk. Just do your best, don't get frustrated, don't cry. Just do your best.
Monday afternoon he said he did fine.
I made sure everyone got to bed on time and made a big protein rich breakfast all week only to find out that there wasn't any testing for the last two days and for Alex there hasn't been any testing at all.
I got this email from Alex's teacher yesterday.

Alex will have his very first Core Test tomorrow. He did not have to take Language Arts but will have to take math and science. I gave him some word problems today to see what he could do, he was very frustrated. He just started to guess. I hope these core tests do not make him nervous.

So, whatever he THOUGHT was a Core test on Monday was not. (I mean, how was he to know? He probably took some sort of quiz or test and assumed it was a Core test.) Today is the day. We had a talk again about doing his best. Slowing down. Reading the words and really thinking about what the answer is, not guessing and NOT getting mad and frustrated.
I was sitting at the computer talking to him and he leaned down to hug me and than just plopped right down on my lap, wrapping his arms around me and laying his head on my shoulder. He sat there hugging me for a good two minutes while I rubbed his back telling him he can do this, he is smart, he could call me if he needs a pep talk. He nodded.
Language
This morning at breakfast Alex asked looked around perplexed, "We not having lunch today Mom?" To which I quickly responded. "No, you're not eating lunch on Friday's anymore." Then Austin pipped in with a "Yeah, we're trying to cut back on food costs." Alex looked shocked and then puzzled. I quickly said "Of course you're having lunch. Why would you not have lunch today?" Apparently because I was sitting eating breakfast and not preparing cold lunches? I explained that the question he needed to ask was "Mom, are you making our lunches today?" Has he ever not had lunch? No. Did he really think he would not get a lunch today? No.
I know that sounds trite, but I'm trying to get him to think about what it is he's wanting to know. He's wanting to know if I'm MAKING lunch. He's always asking questions that he knows the answer to. I thought it was just to talk for the sake of talking but maybe not. Maybe it's that he has a valid question but can't formulate it correctly so what comes out is a question that he already knows the answer to? Something for me to think about.
It's hard sometimes. I don't want to be correcting every sentence uttered out of his mouth so I try to repeat what he's asking or telling me correctly before answering or responding but sometimes I just answer like he makes perfect sense-even though he doesn't. It's like when your babies begin to speak and only the mom understands what the baby is saying. We're at that point. I'm always translating his English to someone else. Sometimes it's Rylee who can better understand. Sometimes Austin. But usually me.
It hurts my heart to watch him try and talk to others and they look at him puzzled or ask him to repeat himself over and over. Sigh. He gets frustrated and sometimes just shrugs and walks off.
I can feel his funny personality all bubbling up and yet he cannot express it. He doesn't have the words for his quirky comeback or funny quip. Or he does but it comes out all wrong and the minute he utters it silence follows as we all try to decipher what it is he's trying to say or how that is suppose to be funny or pertinent to the conversation.
His favorite way to include himself in the conversation these days is to ask if someone remembers something. "Mom remember in Ukraine? We have stinky apartment?" or "Remember in movie, car drive fast?" And usually these memory's are not exactly in step with what everyone else is talking about. I try to acknowledge and validate his comments but sometimes none of us can remember-or more likely understand-what it is he's trying to remind us of.
HOWEVER, I'm just so happy he's willing to try and talk with us and be apart of the conversation! Last year at this time I wasn't sure we'd ever have a two sided conversation. He has come a long way. The last six months he's improved triple to the first six. I told him as much this morning. He replied that that is because he cares about his homework now. Which is true to some extent. He cares to get it done and out of the way and for that I am grateful. And he's towing the line here so very well. Last night everyone had places to go except Alex. I left him home with instructions to finish his homework and take a bath. Rylee and I got home after nine and the house was dark. Alex had put himself to bed! I was so happy. He's been so obedient and trustworthy these days that it makes me misty just typing about it. There was a time I never thought he'd get it but he is, he's getting it! I think we might be on the down hill side? (Maybe I shouldn't have typed that for the fate's to see?) But I do feel hope. I think one day it will just all click in his head. He'll start talking in full sentences. He'll understand and he'll be able to express himself. He'll want to learn, he'll want to try, he'll want to do his best. Yes, I have hope. Hope and joy for my boy!

Guitar Lessons

James gave Alex his first guitar lesson. He was pretty excited about it but since the lesson he hasn't picked up the guitar. I think-like the piano-the fact that he has to work at it is discouraging? Not sure. I can't fault him on the guitar though, I tried to learn and my fingers hurt so bad and the fact that it's not really reading music but memorizing chords was very difficult for me. I had visions of me singing and strumming around the camp fire-after a few lessons- and it didn't happen. The truth is I can't play in the dark because I have to read the chord, find where my fingers go on the strings, strum, then take a few seconds to find the next chord. Grr....frustrating. Add to it the painful fingers and my vision of being the next Joan Baez quickly evaporated!

James on the other hand is self taught. He works at it every day and has learned quite a few songs and has lovely callouses on his fingers to prove it. I guess I'll just sing and play the tambourine and he'll have to sing and play with me!

Now if I can just get James to learn some songs I like. His first song was that terrible country song about how a man chooses fishing over his wife.

I'm going to miss her but I love to fish.....

Grr....what a terrible song!