Busy Busy

So, life here has been busy. Jeff and I are getting ready to go on a week long vacation and we're back in the house hunt. But we've still managed to have a little fun. We got a new camera (ours broke last Christmas and we've been using Jeff's camera from school since then. I needed something more portable, so I decided to try out craigslist and KSL classifieds to try to sell the old one. I've had a lot of leads, but no takers yet. Cross your fingers!), and I convinced the kids to let me take a few pics of them.

Valentine's day was a lot of fun. We made pink sugar cookies in honor of my mom, who always used to do that for us. Since she's in a sling(shot) this year, I knew she wouldn't be making them, so we made our own. It ended up being much better than I imagined, and Allie and KyKy had a great time decorating them.

I gave the kids a little box of conversation hearts for V-day and Kyla thought she had to eat the whole box at once. Damon announced that he was missing a couple rubber bullets for his gun, and on a hunch, asked Kyla to empty her mouth into my hand. This is what she had crammed inside:

All the hearts and three rubber bullets. Phew! At least we found them before they came out the other end!

Damon entertained us one night by attempting to raise one eyebrow. What a tough guy!


I left Allie and Kyla alone in the kitchen the other day. Bad idea.

All I Really Need to Know

So, the other night my high school basketball coach, who coached 19 years before retiring at the end of last season, was honored at our high school. Because of the storm that blew in Monday night and continued until...well, it's actually still snowing, so I don't know if this is technically the same storm or not...I wasn't able to attend. My sisters, who also played for him, both were there and said it was a fun night.

It got me thinking a lot about the time I spent playing ball for Pine View, and I wanted to write a little something for my coach, to let him know how much I appreciated those four years. For posterity, here is what I wrote:

All I Really Need to Know I Learned Playing Basketball for Coach Higgins

Some of my best memories come from the four years I spent playing basketball
for Coach Higgins. But little did I know that amidst all the running, shooting,
running, passing, and yes, the running, I was learning things that would affect
the rest of my life. Now, as I look back on the things that I learned, I can
honestly say that everything I really need to know I learned playing basketball
for Coach Higgins.

I learned about relationships by being part of a team:
--TEAM=Together Everyone Achieves More
--If you suffer a heart-breaking loss (and chances are, you will), it helps to
have someone to cry with
--When you need a break, someone will always be there to back you up
--Bonds forged by blood, sweat and tears can never be broken

I learned about toughness from coach:
--Pre-wrap and athletic tape can fix anything
--When you feel like you can't take another step, get "on the
line" once more
--Skin grows back
--Tough guys aren't afraid to show how much they care

I learned parenting from playing defense:
--Never turn your back on your man
--Stay out of foul trouble
--Deny the ball, and always get a hand in their face
--If you get beat, your teammates will pick up the slack
--Sometimes the only thing that will work is a full-court press


I learned about life from every single thing we did:
--Always be aggressive
--As long as there's lead in the air, just keep shooting
--You can rest when the game is over
--After a long, hard climb, there's nothing like the view from the top
--You'll never regret leaving everything out on the court
--The memories we make will last a lifetime
--And above all, learn from the geese and FLY TOGETHER!

Coach Higgins, it's only fitting that you are being honored tonight, and I
wish I could be there to celebrate your amazing career. You changed my life, and
the lives of all those who played for you. Thank you for teaching us, for
fighting for us, for crying with us, and for loving us. I am honored to have
been able to call you my coach.

No way I would be doing this...

Two more stories from the "I would never be doing this if I weren't a mom" file.

#1 On Saturday we headed to Eden, UT (east of Ogden, right by Wolf Mountain ski resort) so Jeff could pick up his new (used) car (a 2001 Toyota 4Runner). Damon and Allie wanted to stop at the Air Force museum on the way home, but Kyla was ready for a nap and would not have had much fun there (there probably would have been slapping and cheek squeezing involved, had she been forced to attend). Jeff decided to take D &A to the museum and I brought Kyla home with me. It was a nice, pleasant drive and she slept the whole way. I got off in Orem because I needed to pick something up from my aunt's house. Knowing that I had a couple of hours before Jeff got home, and only having one, well-rested child to worry about, I decided to stop at a couple of stores (logical, right?)

We went to Old Navy first, just to see what kinds of deals they were having. I buckled Kyla into a cart and started browsing. A few minutes later, Kyla announced, "poo-poo" and made a face I am well familiar with. Most of you are probably aware that Kyla poops more than either of my other two kids ever did. She usually has at least two poopie diapers a day, but it is not uncommon for her to have three or four. It gets rather annoying, but at least I just have one in diapers, not three like my sister, TARA. Anyway, I wasn't too concerned about Kyla, and I knew I had a diaper in my purse, so I continued browsing for a while before making my way back to the dressing rooms. But when I pulled her out of the cart, I knew we had a problem. Her pants were a little wet, and I could see a huge green stain covering half of her shirt (she had a coat on, though, so it wasn't totally obvious). After trying on my items, I scurried to the bathroom and locked the door behind me.

I knew it was bad, but I was not yet aware of the extent of what I was dealing with. Lying her on the changing table, I removed her clothes, and instantly wanted to run away rather than deal with what was waiting. She was wearing a size 3 diaper, as I have been reluctant to move her up, even though she is right at the edge of the weight recommendation, and she had been wearing the same one all day, which meant it was also very wet. She had eaten Fruit Loops for breakfast, which explained the lovely green color, and it was leaking out of every crevice possible. I removed all her clothes and discovered that the green poop covered most of her body.

So, like any mom would do (and NO ONE else), I dipped her onesie in the toilet to rinse the residual poop away and plopped Kyla into the sink for the first bath she has ever taken at Old Navy. Not to worry, I was in a clothing store after all. I put a clean diaper on her, but had no clean clothes for her to wear. I put her slightly soiled pants and coat back on for the time being then bought her two shirts for $3 each. Thank goodness for Tiny Prices for Tiny People. I also bought her a pair of jeans and after a hasty change in the car, she was good to go.

It was not exactly the way I planned to spend my afternoon, but with kids, nothing ever seems to go as planned.

#2 Last night my niece was getting Kyla in her pajamas, and she was, of course, poopie. I was upstairs cleaning up dinner when the kids came screaming that there was poop all over. Jeff and I came down to find that one of the children (Damon, as it turns out) had accidentally stepped on the poopie diaper as it lay on the floor and run through the house, unaware that with every step he was spreading poop all over. There must have been a dozen spots leading from the family room to his bedroom. And so, because I'm the mom, I spent the next half hour scrubbing poop from the carpet.

I never thought I would be one to force potty-training on my kids, but after the last couple of days, I am seriously considering it with Kyla (no, that's not true. I'm not considering anything, but WISHING that I could). How many more "mom experiences" will I get to have with this child? At the present rate, it seems it will be far too many.

I know this is becoming a very long post, but I wanted to include a couple pictures of Kyla (no, not of the pooping incident, of which I have no proof). She falls and hits her head nearly every day, causing various bumps and bruises on her noggin. Sunday night she had a good one, and when I say good I mean horrible.

She fell from her booster seat on to the tile floor (one of the reason she falls so much is because she doesn't like sitting while eating and unless she is belted in, will be standing). You can see the goose egg on her head. She was not a happy girl.

Jeff couldn't even stand looking at her, it was so disturbing. All I could think was that a few more knocks on the head, and she could end up looking like this:

Either I need to be more consistent about buckling her in, or I need to teach her to say, "HEY YOU GUYS!"

Temple trip

Last Friday we went up to the Draper Temple open house because we thought it would be fun for the kids to see the inside of the temple. I got our reservations a month ago, and thought we should try for the latest available time on a Friday night. Bad idea. Everyone else seemed to have the same idea, too, and the cultural hall was packed when we got there. We met up with the Tolman's (friends from Florida) at 5:00 and sat down. We sat and sat and sat and sat (just like that potty training book, Once Upon a Potty) for a LONG 45 minutes before we moved anywhere. By this time, the kids were all starting to get bored and hungry and a bit restless. Finally, we made it into the chapel, where we watched the short film introducing temples (during which Allie kept muttering, "It's never going to be over!") before filing out to get on a bus that would take us to the temple.

Once inside, we baby-stepped our way down the plastic covered hallways, peeking into the rooms open for display. A few times we got bottlenecked, nearly coming to a standstill, but we plastered smiles on our faces and did our best to explain what each room was used for to the children. Kyla decided right away that she didn't want to be carried, and my aching arms convinced me to put her down. Instantly, she disappeared into the crowd in front of us, determined to give herself the tour. So, of course, we had to scoop her up and carry her, trading off when one of us had had enough. Jeff tried to entertain her with pictures on his phone, which worked for a while, but she soon tired of that. Screaming "WALK!" with all the force her tiny body could muster, she slapped Jeff across the face. He handed her to me.

Flopping, wriggling and going boneless in my arms (like Trixie from Knuffle Bunny), I tried to reason with her, telling her that I had to carry her because there were so many people around and I didn't want her to get lost. I might as well have been speaking in Japanese for how much she seemed to understand. In a sudden display of anger, she grabbed me by the cheeks and squeezed, grunting like a Williams' sister for emphasis, and getting red in the face. I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing, it was just so absurd.

Meanwhile, around me, the other two kids were surviving the tour. As it was now approaching 7:00, I knew they were hungry, and they did remarkably well, despite it all. At the end of the tour, we followed the crowd into the church next door and helped ourselves to the cookies and bottled water waiting there. Kyla really seemed to enjoy this part of the tour, and went back with Allie for seconds while we were waiting for another bus to come and pick us up.

On the way home, Jeff and I disucssed whether or not it was worth it. Then I remembered Damon's face when he saw the celestial room. When I told him we were about to go inside, he told me he wanted to close his eyes. Upon entering, he opened his eyes expectantly, instantly drawn to the enormous chandelier hanging from the impossibly high ceiling. "It's beautiful!" he said happily, confessing it was better than he even expected.

I guess, for that, it was worth it.

Quick funny

Today at lunch Allie said the prayer. She has been praying for my mom, who recently had surgery on her rotater cuff and is in a sling, but this was a new one. She said, "please bless grandma in her slingshot." Wow, I'd love to see that!