Ahhhhhhh....Summer

Already the first week of summer, and we're off to the sandy beaches of...

Not!  (But we can dream, right?)

In reality, Nate and Jeran are off doing their scout thing at Silver Moccasin, and Megan is in Colorado at a basketball camp.  Tim and I are here at home with Joie and Gabby, thinking how only two kiddos can make life really, really quiet.

But we've enjoyed the late nights, friends, a little swimming, and the laid back life of no homework and fewer deadlines.

I always say I'll post later about all the goings on, and I'm sure I will (wink, wink) but not today.  Happy summer, everyone!

Random Whiny Blog Post: Take Two

So apparently this isn't mono.

It's pneumonia.  

I started on antibiotics this afternoon.  

I'll be better by Thursday.  

At least that's what the doctor said.  If not, prepare for Random Whiny Blog Post (three).

Mary's Sick Log: Week 215

Ok.  I know it hasn't been 215 weeks since I was healthy, but it sure feels like it.

There was mono last fall...

Then the flu on New Year's Day (which lasted a full week).

Now mono again, which I know wasn't really completely gone before I got the flu, but now because of the flu, the symptoms are back.

I hate being sick.  You know that saying that you don't fully appreciate health until you're sick?  Well, that fits me.  I take health for granted until I'm sick, and I hate being sick.  I'm so impatient.

And I'm pretty sure my family isn't happy about it either...

And there are still a few Christmas items to return/exchange...

And would you believe a few packages to mail still?

And ideas of projects, and things that need to be done...  But all that gets done is work and the basic family things.

And random whiny blogs.  (Check)

Donny and Marie--The Rest of the Story

The truth:  Tim is a fan.  I know who they are.  I appreciate their talent and professionalism, and I think they have an incredible story.  I think Marie is an amazing, strong, accomplished, talented and resilient woman--love that she is real and what she stands for.

However, back when Donny and Marie were huge pop culture icons, I was growing up in rural Idaho, in a home without a TV because antenna signals weren't strong enough back then to reach us.  My first intro to Donny and Marie (after we got a TV) was my mom being excited for us to watch their Christmas special on TV.  My mom had also been excited for us to watch Lawrence Welk.  For all I knew, Donny and Marie were in the same category as Lawrence Welk.  If my mom liked it, I was sure it was my duty as a budding teen to not like them.

When I realized who they were, I thought their story was cool, but I missed out on the mania that creates lifelong fans...

Which is what Tim is.

When our children were younger, he bought a Donny and Marie CD and put it in the car CD player.  One day my kids were singing Donny and Marie songs.  It was then I heard that when I wasn't in the car, they would drive around with Tim with the windows down singing along to the Donny and Marie CD at the top of their longs.  (So glad I wasn't with them.)  I can appreciate the talent of the Osmonds without singing their songs at the top of my lungs, right?

But when their show was coming to Salt Lake City so close to Christmas, I couldn't resist getting tickets for Tim...

And what an amazing show.  They really are talented performers...  50 years in the business and still going strong in a business that chews people up and spits them out...selling out shows 5 times a week in Las Vegas, winning awards in Vegas, where shows are known for pushing limits... That's impressive.

So, yup.  There you have it.  The rest of the story.

Day In Review...If You Give A Mouse A Cookie

You know those days when the day leads you?  When best laid plans get ignored? (a.k.a give-a-mouse-a-cookie kind of days.)

But before the day in review, I need to say Tim and I had huge plans to attend Donny and Marie concert in Salt Lake City later in the evening...Tim's Christmas present from me, and I did surprise him, unlike most other years.  Yes, I bought the tickets in November and Tim still didn't find out.

Day in review:

• Plan to do some winter cleaning...
• Drove Megan to basketball practice
• Start winter cleaning, which included a nice sized donation pile.
• Tim was doing his some winter organizing of his own in his office...new set of shelves he built.
• Couldn't get down the hall while he was moving the shelves in so I got put on guinea pig babysitting duty while Gabby cleaned her guinea pig cage (guinea pigs are a gift from Santa).
• Jeran found Kohl's cash while helping Tim move shelves that had to be used by the 1st.  (Note:  Change of plans...add trip to Kohl's into my day, when I go to drop off huge donation pile, and pick up the tickets from my office where I hid them.)
• Somehow the dog and the guinea pigs got into the same room...no harm.  Dog was curious, but not interested in making Gabby's new pets into a meal.
• Relieved of pet sitting duty.
• Leave to pick up Megan from basketball practice.
• Megan is dizzy and feels like passing out.  She eats and feels a little better, but as we're talking about symptoms, she named some symptoms of diabetes (which runs in her genes...over 50% of the population of Marshall Islanders over 30 has diabetes...something I've always worried about).
• Call a friend who is a nurse and takes care of daily testing for students with diabetes in our school district.  Wait for her to call me back.
• Megan feels better but is still pretty wiped out.
• I go to Kohl's.  Friend calls back while I'm there...thinks Megan should get checked out.  Tim has a friend who also works with diabetics.  He said the same thing.
• Cry on the phone to Tim because the emotions of the day and worry about Megan hit me all at once.
• Tim takes Nate to driving portion of his driver's license test.  Nate passed.  (Huge, loud cheering.)
• Finish at Kohl's and go home to take Megan to Urgent Care without dropping off donations (which are still, at this late hour, in the back of the Durango).
• 2.5 hours at Urgent Care.  It's their busiest week of the year (the nurse said so).  All the while I'm wondering who Tim will take to the concert if Megan is sick or in the hospital and I can't go...
• Turns out Megan's blood sugar is ok...She was dehydrated.  
• Stop at the store to buy some healthy food as Megan tries to talk me into every sugary treat imaginable because apparently, 2.5 hours of imagining her life with sugar restrictions had left her with some cravings (but I said no...such a good mom...who is more determined than ever to help this girl never get diabetes).
• Get home in time to see the huge mess I left trying to get some cleaning done...which would have to remain a huge mess because no matter what, we were going to the concert.
• But first I had to drop Jeran off at a birthday party and pick up the tickets from my office.
• Enjoyed an amazing evening of entertainment with Tim and about 2,700 of Donny and Marie's friends.

Image credit shared by my friend on facebook when she knew we were going to the concert

...And the mouse hangs the picture on the refrigerator and stands back to admire his work and seeing the refrigerator, wants milk, then asks for a cookie to go with it...  And the whole thing starts over again tomorrow.

Please Stand By...

...We are experiencing exhaustion, burnout, and fatigue.  Please stand by.  Tim will be finished traveling soon, and the logistical nightmare of being a mom to four teens and one teen wannabe will soon end.  Really.  It will end.

Meanwhile...  My current quote to live by.  (I love that it's from Winnie the Pooh.)  You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.  --A. A. Milne

If You Want A Happy Ending...

I heard this quote the other day:

If you want a happy ending, that depends, of course, on where you stop your story.  --Orson Welles

The End.

(Don't you wish you could do that in real life?)

Catching some Z's

Exhausted but relaxed would be how I felt last night.  It's been so long since I've slept like that...

Last thing I remember: Watching Olympic BMX with the kids after a date with Tim.

Next thing I remember: Waking up on the couch with a blanket over me, dog laying on top of me, with Gabby asleep on the other couch.  (Apparently we were having a mommy-daughter-doggie sleepover, or so I was told.)

How I know I must have been tired:  1) I fell asleep before anyone else in the house.  2) There was a dog sleeping on me.  3) I don't remember anything that happened between BMX and waking up with a dog and a blanket on me.

Ahhhhhhhh...  Zzzzzzzzzzzz...

Months and Months of Photos

This post is for posterity.

And for grandma and grandpa.

First, taking care of business...

Lost item photos I meant to email to my family but didn't.  These items are still at our house.  Does anyone claim them?

Cute earrings.  If no one claims them...

And the flour babies...  

This was a school assignment last spring for Megan and Jeran to carry around duct-taped wrapped 10 pound sacks of flour decorated as babies.  

Megan named hers Claire (after cute cousin Claire, whose face she borrowed for this project)

And Jeran named his Captain Sawyer America...or something like that.  Maybe it was Sawyer Steve Rogers...  Or Baby Captain America.  Either way, he thanks his cousin Sawyer for the borrowed baby face.

They had to carry them everywhere, phone in four times at night (over a two week period) and hire a babysitter if they were busy...

Gabby the babysitter

Moving right along...

I think this is a picture Tim took of Gabby when he took her lunch at school.  Her new favorite (2nd only to pizza with toppings peeled off) is a veggie sandwich from Subway.  (Please don't sound the protein deficiency alarm.  She can eat quinoa, legumes, eggs, whole grains, and her share of dairy products like no child you've ever seen.)

And a little cousin love...Adrienne is 20 years old, and such an awesome role model of an older cousin for all her younger cousins.  They love her!  (Which is a good thing, since Adrienne is the only girl in her family.)

And a cute pose with the Jarman cousins, who are equally awesome...

Love Megan's look here.  It seems to say:
I don't know them...

And while we're on the subject of cousins, there are the Vernal cousins...those would be cousins from Joie's dad's side of the family.  We visited them in June, and Joie stayed an extra three days.  I love that she is excited to continue to grow the family connections to her dad's side of the family as well.  

Left to right:
Joie, Lexie, Gabby, Hailey, and Gracie

And don't try to explain to Gabby that Joie's cousins on her dad's side of the family aren't Gabby's "real" (hate that word) cousins too.  Don't you just love adoption?  Take a bunch of non-biologically related people, add a judge and an adoption decree, and anything is possible, right?

But when it came time to go, Gabby was not happy that Joie was staying and she was going home with Tim and I...

So not happy, in fact, that she pouted and yelled for the first 15 minutes...

Until I climbed in the back seat with her, a bag of chips, and a DVD...

Yes, those are chips on her tongue.  We just had to share.

And as she settled down, she started talking about how leaving Joie felt like leaving her sister.  So sad.  And she talked about missing her brother.  It doesn't take a lot to remind us of how much she's really lost.  Thank goodness for cuddling.  Thank goodness for chips and a DVD.

Gabby also got a cute haircut...

And Gabby continues to crack me up almost daily with her candor and honesty.  In this picture she walked into the room and told me, "These goggles fit perfect!"

Then this was her reaction when her friend told her they were upside down...

And Gabby on River (one of Ruth and Nick's old horses that has been kept in Juniper and cared for by Dani, one of Joie's cousins).  

River does a little skip to try to throw people off when she isn't happy about being ridden.  This day was hot, hot, hot.  Poor River.  (But to help a little with cooperation, we lead her instead of letting the kids just ride.)

And then there was July 4th...

A fun day that ended in watching Sandy City fireworks (since it was too dry to set off our own).  Joie wasn't happy that she didn't get a spot by dad, but eventually she warmed up was willing to accept second best (sitting by mom).

Megan & Jeran (who were by dad) waiting for fireworks to start...

And Megan got more pictures of fireworks that you could ever scroll through in a single day, which she can post if she feels the need.  (Nothing like watching fireworks twice!)

And then there's my awesomely cool 16 year old.  I think he didn't know I snapped this one.

And there was a (sort of) bathroom remodel that involved a toilet sitting on our front porch for a number of days.  It was called everything from redneck yard art to just plain annoying.  Thankfully no one knocked on our door asking to use the toilet!

And Megan has the job of cleaning my office.  One day she left this note for me.  I was so, so curious...  But I didn't open it until I actually had a bad day.  (Then I kept it in my drawer just in case I have another bad day.)  Sweet Megan.  I love her love.

And a few more Las Vegas photos...

The oldest three

All five of them...

And a little celebrity moment at Planet Hollywood...

And that's a wrap.  (And a lot less mommy guilt about not preserving memories...because scrapbooking isn't even an option.  Not if mommy is to remain sane.)

What Not To Do Before the Olympics

Anyone out there not love the Olympics?

I enjoy sports, but admittedly I don't watch them a lot.  I enjoy watching most when I care about the team.

Maybe that's why it's so fun to cheer for the USA.

Enter London 2012...

I was looking forward to the Olympics.  I was even a little excited.  For sure I'd be watching whenever I could.  (At least that was the plan.)

Enter Roku.  For those who don't know what Roku is, you probably don't want the explanation from a non-techie, but in a nutshell, it's a one-time purchase that streams content to your TV or PC through wi-fi...access to Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, music, TV, gaming/game station, sports, facebook, etc.  Supposedly you can even use your smart phone as a Roku command center (although I haven't figured that one out yet).  I hear you can also travel with Roku, although I haven't figured that out either, but I'm sure that it could only make electronically induced comas during road trips that much easier.

But after months of loving Roku and having commercial free programming on demand, we realized we weren't watching TV.  Ever.  We cut back our package.  We still weren't watching TV.  Ever.  So one week before the Olympics we stopped our satellite subscription.  They even sent us a box in which we could return our satellite devices.  Done.  No more satellite.  (Not without another lengthy contract we didn't want.)

But missing the Olympics was breaking my heart...

Really, really breaking my heart.

I'd hear and read about the amazing U.S. gymnastics team...

Michael Phelps...

Missy Franklin...

Stories about non-professional athletes who have pushed themselves and trained to compete against other amazing world athletes...

I was missing it all.

So yesterday Tim became my hero when he went to by an HDTV antennae.  Then he worked for hours to figure out how to get a signal (and even returned to the store and bought a new one).  

Twoo wuv...

Last night he even watched Olympics with me (and he is not a sports fan).  

Four hours of uninterrupted, commercially loaded TV.

Ahhhhhhhhh....

So Stinkin' Excited, I Can't Stand It!

I'm not kidding.  I'm approaching Christmas kind of excitement...new baby kind of excitement...

In exactly one month I move into my new office.  I'll be leasing new office space with up to six other therapists, a few prescribers, and a psychologist who specializes in evaluations.

Cool.

Tonight we painted...or at least I tried to paint while Tim went around behind me to make sure I didn't mess things up too badly.

And all five children went with us (since it was Monday and this was all in the name of Family Home Evening) and they now know every hiding place on the grounds thanks to a great game of hide-n-seek.  A few of them even figured out how to climb trees to look into our second story windows so they could "spy" on clients while I'm at work.  (Dream on, kids, but it was kind of Sound-of-Music-ish, right?)  They also walked to a nearby gas station and got slushies, and tested the elevator (many, many times).

But just being there with all my new colleagues, and officially making plans was so very, very exciting.  Unlimited possibilities ahead!

It's A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

This morning Tim was serenading the shower head...at 5:30 a.m.  Guess what he was singing? (Huge hint in the title above...)  There's nothing like a little Fred Rogers to start the day off right (and when he forgot the lyrics about 2 lines into the song he started making up lyrics...hilarious!)

It's always a good day when Tim serenades the shower head.  It's been months since that happened.  And somehow the girls slept through it all...

But in 15 minutes I'll wake Megan up for early morning soccer practice.  She'll be thrilled.

What a journey of healing the past few months have been.  There's no way to describe it...but you know me...I have to try.

...But not right this moment.  All I really wanted to say is:  He's baaack!  And serenading the shower head has never sounded so good.

Back Hand Springs

One of my little clients and her younger sisters experienced some family trauma this last year, and have been in therapy.  They're all three in gymnastics, and several months ago, their mother told me the the oldest girl had "lost her back hand spring."  

Trauma is so interesting in how it can eat away at the inner strength of it's victims.  It takes away what could be strong and makes it fearful and uncertain.

But this little girl didn't give up, and after some amazing family work on the issues around the trauma, this little girl was happy to tell me this week that she got her back hand spring back!  After the session we went out to the lawn behind my building and she and her sisters demonstrated their amazing gymnastic abilities.  Sure enough...back hand spring.

Next, while her courage was high, she decided to try another really complicated move that requires landing blind (if I was more into gymnastics, I'd tell you the name, but I don't remember).  She had only ever landed it once before.  She landed it perfectly.

As aware as we all are of the mind-body connection, it is always amazing to see it in action, both what it takes away and what it gives back.  

I don't do gymnastics, but I've been thinking a lot lately about my own back hand spring equivalents...things I find difficult and lose courage to attempt.

My new goal is to not let life beat those things out of me...

Fear is crazy that way.  It doesn't just make us uncertain.  It literally takes away choices...choices to do, to be, and to live.  Sometimes we face the future with uncertainty and are ok with how things are.  Giving up the comfort of the familiar for the the unknown can be unsettling, especially when many times the familiar seems good enough.  But what if that idea was rephrased just a little and we thought instead about giving up the comfort of the familiar for the privilege of a life of freedom and possibilities?  

Back hand springs anyone?

Adieu

Adieu...but not for long.  We're sort of on vacation for a week.  Tomorrow I drive the kids to Juniper to spend the week with my parents...

Then I drive home and Tim and I leave for (drum roll please)...

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma...

(I can imagine the stunned silence.)

And did you know it's still technically tornado season?  But I checked the weather forecast and there's only a few days of thunder storms while we're there...thunder storms, not tornados.

As you all know, Tim has been traveling a lot this year.  His last trip (at least until fall) is to Oklahoma...

Turns out it's spring break...

Voila!  Vacation...  Again, sort of.  Tim and I in the same place at the same time...  That qualifies, right?

Favorite Things

A good book.

My Nook loaded with a lot of good books.

My children.

A long talk with my husband.

A house full of giggling, noisy neighborhood girls making cookies.

Dinner with friends.

Sleeping children when I got home from a dinner with friends.

A plate of cupcakes and a kind note from neighbors when I got home from dinner with friends.

All those things happened today.

I guess that makes today a good day!

How Not To Spend Your Saturday

Have you ever seen these signs in workplaces?

I'm starting to think I need such a sign for lost keys.  If there were such a sign for number of days I've gone without losing keys it would read:  

This scatterbrained mom has functioned for 10 days without losing her keys.  The previous record was 5 days.  

I also want to clarify that before that, my previous record was close to two years, and the last time I lost my keys (see here) was when they were dumped from a capsized boat while rafting.  And the time before that Megan and Jeran were in preschool.

Like I explained a few weeks ago (see here), I am not a naturally scatterbrained person, so losing my mind is very, very frustrating.  And today I broke my 10 day streak for not losing keys...also very frustrating!  

But the story is worth telling...not boring, for sure.

With Tim being out of town (again), I am fitting in some after-hours appointments on Saturdays instead of after school when I'm busy being taxi mom.  After an appointment today, I cleaned the office, emptied trashes and was leaving to go home.  I grabbed everything from my office--computer bag, phone, water bottle, trash bag...everything but my purse...and locked the door.  As soon as the door shut I went to grab my keys out of my purse to lock the outside of the building.

No purse!

I checked the door, just in case in all my scatter-brainedness I also didn't lock the door.  No such luck.  

Spare key...  I needed a spare key...  I have a spare key!  

...It was in my purse.

My office and the offices of two other therapists are in the lower level of a small-ish office building where the upstairs space is all one business.  We lease office space from them.  Why didn't I know before now where my spare key was in case I needed it?  I hadn't ever thought to ask.  I went upstairs to where I remembered seeing keys hang.  I tried the one I saw hanging there that I knew wasn't the mailbox key.  No go.  I looked around for more keys.  No luck.

Where could I get spare keys?  Tim...no, he's in Atlanta.  Keys...keys at home hanging on a hook that would drive my car.  Maybe I couldn't get in my office, but I could drive my car.  I called Jeran.  My office is a 2 minute car drive from home.  Jeran could ride his bike to my office with the keys.  I wouldn't be asking much.  It's all downhill...

As he was getting ready to bring me keys, I went around back to try to break in my office window.  I knew the alarm was off.  What could it hurt?  (Just my knee...that's all.)  It didn't take long to realize I couldn't break in the window without damaging the screen.  It also didn't take long to start picturing what my weekend would be like without a purse... I thought of the grocery shopping, and all the driving around I'd have to do without a license, not to mention the fact that I couldn't even lock the building without the outside key.  Out of desperation, I called another one of the therapists who leases the office space next to mine to see if she had the building owner's number so they could tell me where to find keys.  Again, no luck.

I needed a locksmith.  I googled locksmiths on my phone and the first one on the list promised 15 minute or less service time.  I dialed the number.  They took my information, gave me a quote (yikes!) and promised prompt service.  I quickly called Jeran to tell him never mind...

And I got comfortable, pulled out my computer (computer bag wasn't locked in the office) and started to work on entering insurance payments and notes.  

Thirty minutes later...  They'd be here any minute.  I'd just wait.

Forty-five minutes after the initial call...  I called to find out how long they'd be.  "I'll call the technician to see where he's at," a lady told me.

I called back and forth to the kids about jobs and homework.  It's called tele-parenting.

An hour had passed since I first made the call.  Should I call again?  They said they'd call back...

I waited a few minutes then called again.  "He got called on an emergency.  A child was locked in a car," the lady told me.  I smelled a lie, but I didn't say so.  If it was an emergency with a child locked in a car, why didn't they call the police or fire department?  They're free (technically).  But I was nice and just wanted to know how much longer...  "He'll call you shortly," she promised.

I was bored with paperwork so I cleaned the bathroom.

Then I swept the outside stairs and got a crazy idea that I could use a piece of cardboard from a box in the storage room to unlock my office...kind of like the credit card trick without the credit card.  No luck.

Finally (almost 2 hours now from the time of the initial call for a locksmith), I received a call from a technician.  He'd be another 30 or 40 minutes.  I reminded him of his 15 minute guarantee.  "Saturdays are busy," he said.  Apparently we all lose our brains on Saturday.  Still, I wanted to go home, and while I'd been waiting for his call I'd been googling other locksmiths, and told him I'd try my luck with someone else.

Call number three was a score!  They'd be there in 20 minutes, and quoted me less than the first guy.  Whew!  Finally!

But of course 20 minutes turned into 30...but they were cheaper.  Then 30 minutes turned into 40...

Then 2 hours and 57 minutes after my very first phone call to a locksmith, a locksmith finally arrived.  I was so relieved...

"One hundred twenty-nine dollars," he said in an accent I thought for sure I'd misunderstood.  I explained to him that I had been quoted $49.95 on the phone.  He invited me to call his boss (who had given me the quote.  I did.  He told me they don't guarantee prices until they see the type of lock and apparently breaking into my really tricky lock would cost $129.00.  

I didn't have a choice.  Wanting to be free of the entire experience, I told him to go ahead.  I watched while he started picking, then I heard a sound from upstairs...

People who might have keys!  

"Stop!"  I told the locksmith.  "Don't open it!"  At this point I'd gladly pay his service call fee if I didn't have to pay for him to unlock the door.

I flew up the stairs.  Keys!  I was about to get keys!  I'm not sure I even spoke in coherent sentences at that point but the office manager seemed to understand, and on the other side (inside) of the cubicle where I had seen the keys hanging was more keys...lots of keys...and from the pile of keys on the hook she pulled one very shiny gold key with my name carefully marked on the outside.  

I ran back downstairs and sure enough, it opened my office.  I paid the technician his service call fee (good riddance to locksmiths!) and thanked the office manager profusely for saving me over $100.00 and we got a good laugh over the fact that I'd sat in an empty office for 3 hours waiting for a locksmith when the key was right there on a hook.

So I'm predicting that tomorrow will be day one of my new key-accident free days.  And tomorrow will be followed by years and years of key-accident free days...  Stay tuned.

We Found Fall!

We're no longer asking, "Where's Fall?"   It was hiding a few thousand feet up the mountain and was hanging out with both fall colors and cooler temperatures. 

And a few action shots just for fun...

Where's Fall? (And Meeting New Friends)

Missing: Fall

Last seen wearing red and golden leaves and cooler weather. Also answers to the name Autumn and is a fan of football and pumpkin pie. If seen, please return to Utah.  We miss you. (Borrowed from my friend' Shawna's facebook post...except she was missing fall in El Paso.)

I think I've said before I don't have a favorite season.  I love them all...but only when they're new.  I love the seasons changing.  I would get tired of the same season all the time.  This year the seasons in Utah are confused.  We had the longest spring ever.  Summer didn't arrive until mid-July.

Now I'm seeing pumpkins everywhere, and neighbors are beginning to decorate their yards for Halloween.  We had parent teacher conferences for jr. high and high school this week.  Stores are selling Christmas items, yet it was 89 degrees outside today.

Tomorrow it will be October, and I'm looking forward to sweatshirt and sweater season.

I need fall.

Soon.

*************

And now (drumroll please) for some new friends...  A few of you will be new to this blog today, visiting from Diapers and Divinity.

If you're new here, there are a few things you should know:

• My children amuse me, so yes, I blog about them.
• I also blog about any random thing that I might find fascinating, like abnormally warm fall weather.
• I started this blog about four years ago, when tragedy struck our family (see here).
• That means I also blog (sometimes through tears) about grief and loss.  But you should know I also blog about healing, and I hope we communicate through our stories that the joy of healing is just as real as the pain of loss.
• I also blog about adoption, and since our two most recent adoptions are older children, I blog also about the bonding process involved, which can be both difficult and amazing.
• I also find myself blogging more and more about teenagers, since my adorable children are morphing daily into this phase of life.

So welcome, and for those who haven't met Stephanie at Diapers and Divinity, go visit!  She has some amazing insights and ideas on the upcoming general conference for our church.  I think I read last week that it is one of her favorite holidays.  (See here and here for ideas and see here for the Find A Friend post featuring our family.)

And Happy Fall to everyone!  With October just a few days away, colored leaves are sure to be right around the corner.

Sunday Sharing

Forgive me for stretching the limits of Sunday Sharing this week to discuss something that might seem a little non-spiritual, but fun still the same.

For those outside of Utah, did you know we have our own Holy War here every year?  It comes in the form of a football match-up between two rival schools:  BYU and University of Utah.

It's called a Holy War because BYU is a private school owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormon church).  Obviously, there is a world-wide fan base.  The University of Utah is a state school, but what a lot of people don't know is "the U" has actually been around a lot longer than "the Y."  In it's pre state school days it was Deseret Academy, and was started also by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

In Utah, this is the rivalry of all rivalries.  Everyone in Utah chooses sides.  If you move here and don't declare a loyalty, you'd feel like a foreigner.  

We're Utah fans.  Tim's dad taught at the LDS church institute at the University of Utah for years.  I am a graduate of BYU, and while I appreciate my education there, I never really felt a strong sense of loyalty to the school.  

My Master's degree is from the University of Utah.  I loved it there, and during my first year there, the Utes had a dream season, and went undefeated, and became the first non Bowl Championship Series team to be invited to a bowl game.  Tim claims Ute loyalty, but he doesn't watch football with me.  During that 2004 "bowl-busting" season for the Utes, Nate became my football buddy, and together we watched the Utes win game after game.  Nate became a loyal fan.

Megan also declared her Utah loyalty, but Jeran, just to be different, became a BYU fan.

Joie joined our family as the daughter of the world's greatest Boise State fan, and in an attempt to fit in, declared herself a "BYUte Bronco."  Gradually, we've won her over.  She and I both still cheer for Boise (another BCS-busting team), but if Boise plays Utah, we bleed red.  (Sadly, Utah lost to Boise last fall.)

Gabby, who has only been here less than a year is experiencing her first football season in Utah.  She has friends in our neighborhood who are BYU fans.  In a letter Gabby wrote to her sister this past summer, she declared her loyalty to BYU.  I asked her if she knew what BYU was.  She didn't, but she knew her friends cheered for their team, so she became a fan.  

Fast forward to the 2011 BYU-Utah rivalry game.  If you live in Utah, you know it was a painful night for BYU fans, who lost on their own field, 54-10.  It was fun during the game to explain football to Gabby and Joie...good times.  But when things started to look bad for BYU, Gabby said, "BYU, if you lose, I'm going to be a Utah fan."  

Utah answered with a score (then another and another and another...it really was painful for BYU).  Before the end of the 3rd quarter Gabby said, "I can't look," and closed her eyes and went to sleep.

This morning I asked her if she was a Utah fan now.  She said, "No, I'm still BYU.  My coach says it's not if you win or lose but if you have fun."  (I didn't tell her that it didn't really look like BYU was having fun.)  Jeran was also equally disappointed, and hurt that I called him a defector.  Sorry, Jeran.  I love you and love your loyalty.

But for this year, the Runnin' Utes reign supreme.  54-10.  Joie's throat is sore from screaming.  Nate couldn't type numbers fast enough on his facebook status to keep up with the score.  It was a good night to be a Utah fan.  

Go Utes!

Mama Bear and Her Baby Bears

A few weeks ago I had a mean Mama Bear day.  Tonight I used my best fake mean mama bear voice to get Baby Bear in bed but Baby Bear only laughed.  Apparently the mean Mama Bear voice only works when you really, really mean it.  And apparently when you sleep during the day, it's difficult to fall asleep at night.  So while Baby Bear is busy playing in her room because she "isn't tired," I'll share a little Mama Bear/Baby Bear story:

Once upon a time there was a mama bear who had 5 cubs.  One day one of her little cubs said, "I have a sore throat."  


Mama Bear felt her forehead.  It was hot.  "Here.  Take some ibuprofen  and airborne," said Mama Bear, but by the next day her bear cub was even more sick, and her throat hurt so much she wouldn't eat her porridge.  All she wanted to drink was honey water and hot chocolate.

That same day another cub woke up saying, "Mom, I have a sore throat and a headache."


By that afternoon, Mama Bear decided to take her cubs for a strep test.

Positive.

More honey water and hot chocolate...and antibiotics.

(And a lot of TV and movies.)

Then warm chicken noodle soup.

That afternoon the hot chocolate splashed all over the kitchen, and the honey water spilled on blankets.  The chicken had to be picked out of the soup because one of the cubs doesn't eat meat, and Mama Bear also needed to drop some things off at the post office...

All this running around was making Mama Bear feel exhausted.  And a little achy.  And was that a tickle she felt in her throat?  No...  Couldn't be.  It was just her imagination.

A few hours later Mama Bear was pretty sure she wasn't imagining anything, and went in for a strep culture.

Positive.

More antibiotics.  But no hot chocolate.

The End.  Except for Baby Bear who slept too much today and isn't tired and Mama Bear waiting for her to fall asleep...

This was the exchange between Mama Bear and Baby Bear not even 10 minutes ago:

Mama:  "It is bedtime.  And if you're not tired, you at least need to go sit on your bed and read or play your DS until you fall asleep."


Baby Bear didn't move.  And she was hungry.  Again.  Baby Bear was new to the family and felt like she needed to educate Mama Bear a little.  "I'm really hungry when I'm sick.  You should know that about me," Baby said is her best imitation baby voice.  "Can you cook me Indian food?"


Mama:  "It's 10:00 at night.  There's something you should know about me.  I don't cook Indian food at 10:00 at night.  And I don't cook when I'm sick."  


Baby (thoughtfully sipping on her hot chocolate)  "Hmmmm....  But I'm not sleepy."


Mama:  "You don't have to sleep, but it is bedtime so you have to do something quiet in your room."


(And so on, and so forth...  Apparently something else Mama Bear was learning about Baby Bear was how truly skilled Baby Bear was at thinking up reasons not to go to bed when she is sick.)

"Feel my head.  I think I have a fever."


"Am I supposed to take more medicine yet?"


"Can I play with friends tomorrow if my fever is gone?"


About this time the fake mean Mama Bear voice kicked in, trying to imitate the real mean Mama Bear voice, but the smile of amusement on Baby Bear's face made it difficult.  Then Mama Bear said, "If you choose to not listen, you choose to lose friends tomorrow."  Works every time.  At least the Baby Bear is in her den room.

(Ten minute time lapse...)

Ok.  Mama Bear is going to bed.  Baby Bear is asleep.  Here's how it all went down:

Baby Bear said she was tired.  Mama Bear went in her room to say good-night.  Baby Bear was saying her prayers when she paused...

It was a really, really, long pause...

Mama Bear opened the corner of her eye.  Baby Bear's eyes were still shut.  And she was still.  Mama Bear shook Baby Bear.  Baby Bear didn't move.

"Amen," said Mama Bear, and she kissed Baby Bear on the head and turned out the light.

(Six more sleeps until Baby Bear's adoption is finalized!)