Reunions

We are just now recovering from our 2-week stay in Idaho, involving 2 family reunions. Tritan got home from scout camp on Saturday (where he had a great time, by the way--he came back talking a million miles an hour--so unlike him--and continued to play practical jokes for the next couple of weeks) and we packed up and left early on Sunday.
The first week was Brian's family reunion in Mountain Home where the kids rode motorbikes, went boating, played games, made crafts, raced pinewood cars.
The second week was my family reunion in McCall where we went hiking, boating, made crafts, had treasure hunts.
Of course, the real fun was in seeing cousins and sisters and brothers and parents.
Two weeks seems like forever, but we still wish we could have spent more time with all of them, and seen some friends, too! But we are glad to be home.

My birthday--this year I get a cake!

We found a hollow tree, still standing that Apollo could stand up in.

There are still more pics on Brian's computer so I'll post those later.

Tritan Comes Home Today!

When Brian travels, I feel like everything is harder--like I've lost an arm, and am still trying to do all the things I normally do, plus what he does--it's manageable but challenging.
This week with Tritan gone to Scout Camp, I feel like I've lost my sense of taste. We had the Fourth of July. We had a great time with a friend and her kids (tried BBQ'ing ribs!) and watched fireworks at the local high school. Did you notice the layer of white fireworks down low, then the red in the middle and blue on top? my husband noted. I hadn't. I felt like it was too hard to concentrate.
Brian's birthday was this week, but it was pathetic. How can we celebrate anything without the whole family?
I put the kabash on everything fun except for shopping at IKEA, some barbeque, and a trip to the ice cream store because how can we go to the amusement park or the zoo without T-man?
We missed him babysitting, and mowing the lawn (Brian had to do it for the first time in years!), and playing with Apollo, and playing Roblox with Paris, and his computer acumen, and his appetite (too many leftovers this week!). Apollo has been counting down the days til he gets back and Paris announced last night that the first thing he was going to do when Tritan got home was give him a big hug.
I'm sure he had a great time. And hopefully next time it'll be easier. But with only hours left til he gets home, I get wait til life is full of Tritan's flavor again!

Summertime

So school's been out for a week. My husband calls and asks "What're you up to today?"

"I don't know," I answer. And isn't that the whole point? Still, planned, unplanned, every day has its own adventure.

Paris had birthday money to spend so he went shopping with me one day. And I mean shopping shopping. We go to Mt. Laurel to go shopping at Wegmens, Target and Costco, and I even brought a cooler. Everything went fine til we went to Costco. I told Paris to grab the milk on the other side of the aisle while I got some stir-fried veggies. I rounded the corner and he was gone. I calmly looked down all the frozen/refrigerated aisles before frantically walking up and down all the aisles, with visions of someone grabbing him and dragging him out the back door. (Was there a back door?) Maybe they used the doors of the between the frozen section, where they keep the catering trays and stock the milk. I could picture them watching me pace the aisles, duct tape over Paris' mouth, as he struggled to be heard, but I pass on oblivious. I couldn't believe I'd gotten him safely to the age of 10, just to lose him now. I was just about to confront a Costco worker and have them shut down the store, when he came flying by me with the cart. "Oh, I thought you meant the other side of the store, not aisle" he said when I demanded in a gruff, yet relieved voice where he'd been.

On another day I took Tritan to the Scout store to buy regulation pants and socks and all that for Scout camp. Then we went to lunch and talked about Scout camp. I am excited for him to go, but he's my first one after all, and I think I am going to be more nervous about him going, sleeping away from home for a WHOLE week, without any communication from him at all. I suppose it's good training for when they go on missions. For me.

Anyway, I peppered him with all sorts of do's and dont's. Like if they initiate you, don't get mad, just say "ha, ha, you got me." But if they try to play more than 3 tricks on you, tell a leader--cause that's just excessive. And be sure and pray every night. Promise me you'll pray. Every night. And try to make new friends. What a great opportunity to make new friends. Like sit down and comment about the weather, or the food, or ask them where they're from. And listen to your leaders. And you'll have so much fun. And what do you think they'll serve in the cafeteria. I'm sure he was trying not to roll his eyes at his Mom. Believe me, if I could wrap him in some sort of bubble wrap, like a hamster ball or something, to let all the good things in and keep all the bad things out, I would. I know it's just a week....oh, I'm going to be a mess when he goes on his mission or away to school.

Another day we went to a park which has a mile running trail that circles it. There is a playground in the middle, so the kids played while I ran. Paris ran one mile with me--he ran the whole way!

We got the kid's hair cut. Tritan stuck to the tried and true. Paris is growing his out, Athena got bangs and layered hers, and Apollo insisted on a mohawk--or faux-hawk like the soccer players wear.

I wonder what we'll do today.

Paris' birthing story

I'm doing the birth stories of the kids this year for their birthdays, so here is Paris'.

Paris' birth started out innocuous enough. We had moved to Torrence, CA just outside of LA exactly 9 months earlier. Back then, in September, we were excited and scared. We had just moved into a tiny courtyard apartment, white and blue, all the units surrounding a lovely blue pool that almost none of the tenants ever used. We were sure one tenant was a 'lady for hire' and it was sad, since her 5 year old daughter played on the steps while she entertained her guests. Another tenet had a big van that was full of odds and ends that they would repeatedly and surreptitiously pack and unpack Friday before the flea market on Saturday.

**********

I found out I was pregnant while Brian was overseas for close to a month. He left for Malaysia after we had been in Torrence for a whole 3 weeks. Being directionally challenged, I was terrified of leaving the apartment, mainly because I wasn't sure I could find my way back home. We were almost out of food before I realized our apartment was within walking distance of a mall, a grocery store, and a park.

Although we talked frequently, I decided to break the news to Brian after he came home. When he came home he brought me beautiful Malaysian dresses and skirts. I think he was surprised when I was less than enthusiastic--I knew I wouldn't be able to fit into them for long. We took a walk that night--I loved Torrence because we walked everywhere--and he told me he had some good news. So do I, I said. I got a promotion! he said. So did I! I said. He looked at me, wondering if I was mocking him. I just got promoted from a mother of 2 to a mother of 3!

***********

Finding an OB was a pain. I'd already had such a great dr. in AZ I knew I wouldn't be able to find one here that I liked as well, so I picked the first name on my insurance list that was close by. He turned out to be from the Middle East and most of the women in the waiting room wore hijabs. It didn't bother me much--I tend not to care about much when I'm pregnant aside from when my next nap or meal will be.

The dr. was a short, tan man, with a graying beard and dark glasses. Brian waited outside with Athena and Tritan. It was a small room, with older furnishings and a free-standing metal sink of milky liquid that had utensils in it. I'm not sure what it was, or what was in there, but as soon as I saw that I knew I should have just left. But I stayed, got undressed, and endured his (too through) examination. When he checked my breasts for lumps and then laid his head on my chest to check my heart, I knew this was NOT the dr. for me. I dressed and left as quickly as I could.

My next dr. was a soft-spoken Latino. He was better. He was fine. This was my 3rd baby in 3 years and I was trying hard to eat ice instead of sand, so a modern office with a stethoscope was good enough for me. But he wouldn't induce me. Let's see how things go naturally, he always said when I asked. Which would have been fine when it was my first and I WANTED to go naturally. But now that I had 2 babies induced I could see the wisdom of it all. I could schedule someone to take care of the other 2 kids. I would know what was going to happen. I could get pain meds. All good things.

*******

I started labor on the 16th. For half of Snow Falling on Cedars, I had regular contractions. But after the movie ended, I took a shower and the contractions stopped. The next night I woke up with contractions. They didn't hurt hardly at all. In fact, I almost welcomed them. At last, we would get our baby. I took my time taking a shower and then waking up Brian--I didn't want to go to the hospital unless this was really the real thing--especially since it was the middle of the night and we had to call my friend Diane to watch our kids.

By the time we dropped off the kids and drove to the hospital, the contractions were pretty much a minute or so apart. But aside from finding potholes extremely annoying and accusing Brian of trying to find every one of them, they still didn't hurt that bad. I was surprised when the nurse checked me and declared it too late for drugs--in fact, it was too late for paperwork, too. She whisked us from the check-in room to the labor and delivery room pretty fast.

A half hour later, the dr. made it to break my water, and still my contractions were just annoying. I thought this natural birth was going to be a piece of cake. Only I hadn't counted on how to get the baby OUT. Once it was time to push, I hadn't accounted for how big a baby actually is--and how much it burns. Oh it burns. And it hurts, big time. I yelled and probably swore. The nurse told me to calm down. Which made me want to go all WWF on her, maybe hit her with the iv pole or something. And poor Brian, who sat through 2 relatively pleasant epidural births, didn't know what to do. He tried to soothe me too, blowing on my face to remind me to breathe or something. Do you know how annoying someone breathing on you is? Especially in excruciating pain? So I hit him. I did. A full on slap as hard as I could. (When he suggested a day later maybe I should take some anger management classes, I told him to get out of my room.) And when he finally came out--"It's a boy!" (we hadn't found out the sex before)--I thought of course he is, I knew it all along (only boys could make me crave dirt and sand, right?). I was exhausted, and my body went into shock. I was shaking so much I couldn't even hold him very long.

My recovery room was a shared room, and though they offered to keep baby boy Wortham in the nursery I insisted he be by my side. Between sharing the room, the construction going on in the hospital, and all those cheery nurses that kept waking me up to feel my stomach I was so anxious to go home. But we had to name him before we left, it was part of the paperwork. Brian wanted Olin (a Greek poet's name), and though I was pretty out of it I knew that was NOT his name. Can you imagine Paris being an Ollie or Lenny? I was adamant that his name was Paris--he could go by Perry if he hated Paris, right? Maybe Brian was afraid I'd hit him again, but he gave in and I can't imagine him with any other name.

Paris turns 10

Admist all the end-of -the year activities and despite his poison ivy, Paris turned 10 on June 18. It was also conviently the release date for Toy Story 3, so that's what we did. We all loved it. I can't believe they keep making them better! I think we all cried at the end, too. Then we went to Chili's for lunch and they couldn't manage to pull together anybody to sing to him or bring him any dessert, so that's the last time I'll go there for a birthday! I was feeling guilty already that his birthday was so anticlimatic. I had orginally mentioned that we'd skip school on Friday to go to the movie, but after he missed so much school for poison ivy and the steroids were finally kicking in, I was worried he'd missed too many days already.

So then we went home and opened presents--a toy story lego set and a bean bag chair. A bean bag chair may not seem like a very good birthday present, but that's what Paris really wanted. He's already picked out a mattress for Christmas.

He's still shirtless because it is the day after he stopped taking steroids and just before we went in to eat, he lifted his shirt to tell me he was still itchy, and I could see red welts starting to rise again from the poison ivy. I was beginning to wonder if it would ever go away, but by Tuesday he had stopped asking for Benedryl and now the you can hardly see the rash at all. Of course, if you come to our house any day of the week, Paris will probably be shirtless. If he could go around in underwear all day, he would.

School's out!

I'm not sure who is more happy--me or the kids. Thurs. we slept in and did nothing for one whole glorious day. There is a virtual avalanche of events at the end of the year--field trips and recitals and end of the year ceremonies and parties. Unfortunately, between actually going to these events and Paris' poison ivy (itch free for 4 days and counting--woo hoo) I haven't documented them very well:

This is Athena's 5th grade field trip. Instead of doing a graduation ceremony, they go to a day camp facility and get to play tennis, fish, canoe, and go through rope obstacle courses. They provide pizza and ice cream and although it was a hot day, the kids really had fun. Athena caught the most fish of everyone--7!! She used a combination of worms and bread, in case you want to try it...

Field Day was another hot day, but that didn't stop the kids from playing hard. This is a picture of Paris (silver shorts) overcoming his opponent in a foot race.

Apollo in a potato sack race. BTW--they used Idaho potato sacks...

Bucket relays

Athena had 2 different dance recitals in the same weekend. Saturday was her ballet recital--her costume was ephemeral, so gorgeous. And her jazz was Sunday. It made for a hectic weekend. I think we will just go with one studio next year. She did wonderful in both her dances--

This is a picture of her and her friends just before their talent show at school. They choreographed it themselves and worked on it since Jan. At the end, I think they were more concerned about buying the perfect outfit and even coordinating fingernail polish than about the dance itself. But I have to say, for a couple of 5th graders, they did really well.

Kindergarten graduation: The shirts were so cute. Each hand print is by one of the kids in the class, so they can remember each other. Which is especially poignant since this is a MDK (multiple disabilities kindergarten) and some kids are staying in kindergarten, some are going onto 1st grade at that school, and others are going to MD-1st grade at another school (which is what Apollo is doing). Most of the kids were in the MD-preschool so we have sort of become a little family--all the kids and parents getting together for birthday parties, school events, etc. and comparing stories and asking each other questions. Ah, well, I guess we all have to move on. I brought water balloons and a limbo stick, which turned into mass chaos, but hey, that's what graduation parties are, right?

Anyhow, they are done for awhile, though Apollo is going to go to summer school. (I've told him, but I don't think it's sunk in yet.) It will start the week after the 4th. I am looking forward to swimming, and barbecues and family reunions and going on a few "spontaneous" trips.

Poison Ivy

This is what Paris has been up to: itching.

2 weeks ago, we went on a ward fishing trip. Paris climbed a tree to detangle a fishing line and ended up getting poison ivy. And it attacked with a vengeance. It's been over his stomach, legs, and arms and itched so much that he literally did not sleep for 3 nights. He told me at one point that he thought he "forgot how to sleep." Thank goodness there has been absolutely nothing going on in school, since he had to miss most of those days.

We tried baking soda, hydrocortisone, gold bond, essential oils, oatmeal, benedryl, and even vinegar. Nothing seemed to work for very long. Finally I insisted the dr. see him (they normally don't see poison ivy unless it's a small child or it's on their face) and he got a prescription for a steroid. That seemed to work--for a while. At least, it worked so he had an itch-free day for his birthday on Friday, but by Saturday it was back. We'll go back to the dr. tomorrow--but in the meantime we distract him during the day, rub on hydrocortisone and feed him benedryl, and give him an oatmeal bath before night. We also let him run around without any clothes--because we're liberal like that.

I am just grateful that it is poison ivy, that it will eventually go away (right?), and that he is really a brave, patient child (who knew). In the throes of it all, he patiently bore the pain and itching, and said things like, "Thanks Mom for all you're doing for me" and "I think I know why God gave this to me, so that I can understand the plan of Happiness. That he gave me a family that takes care of me." Which is what I needed to hear after some sleepless nights myself. I could tell he was feeling better when he wondered why I wasn't making him lunch yet....

And I am also grateful for our ward family that brought us essential oils and gave him blessings and called to see how he was doing. Brian was out of town for most of this and it was nice to know our home teacher and friends could step in for him.

This was seriously one of the worst maladies we've had--more disruptive and perplexing than all of the broken bones, surgeries, and illnesses we've had to date. So here is some advice...Leaves of three--LEAVE THEM BE...