Happenings, Cuteness, and Emily VS. The Orange Cleaner

Right now I'm really not in the mood to start a new week, especially since tomorrow morning I need to decorate the lunch room door for teacher appreciation week. I was trying to think of ideas the other day, and so far I came up with these ideas:
great plate

hooray tray

Thanks a latte (saw this online and really wonder what would happen if I did it)

So, yes, I should stay up and that will make it so I don't ever have to actually do the door.

Bluuurrrr . . . that's this week. Last Sunday seems like a long time ago, because Gary is a totally different person now. I mean, in the health realm. He was a sick cookie on Monday when I took him for his packing removal appointment. I'd bring up topics and he couldn't even talk about them. He gradually felt better, and on Thursday returned to work. On Friday at his follow-up appointment the doctor found that some of the scar tissue was healing together, so he's not done yet. Poor guy. However, he has a great attitude as ever, and today told his brother in law that it's an "easy recovery." Compared to worse things, I guess.

After we got out of the doctor's office on Monday we passed by Pirate O's - a specialty store we discovered right after the session. Gary has a bunch of sodas he's been wanting to try, and since Gary was a sad surgery boy, mommy said yes. I'd like to see what Sarah would buy in that store, tons of German imports. I knew I was pushing things, but I had to get some stuff at Sam's Club . . .by the time we left, I was the only one awake in the car, and I was struggling myself. I was driving, though, so boo. Who knew the surgery would wipe us all out? We were blessed with a surprise dinner, so ya-hoo, we got through.

I just told Andrew he was cute, and he said, "I am not cute, because I am not a baby. Shut your eyes off." Yeah, somebody's sensitive about the baby thing. The other day Andrew told me I was never a baby, so he called my mom to ask. She said I was, so maybe he's wrong?

Two things I said this week I never imagined I would need to:

"Everybody put away the smacker-bdackers right now!"

"Where is that bag of poop? I put it down right there, and now it's missing!"

I was worn-out enough this week to do something I never do -read a book! Mom left Vienna Prelude behind (one of her two copies), and since it's been so long it was almost like a new book. A really good one, too. When it was over I had to read the next one, so I broke down and got a Tooele City Library card (I had to pay), and took my kids to story time. How sad is that, my kids finally get to story time because mom has a book she wants . . . well, the story time there used to not be any good, but this time it was, so we'll go more often. You should have seen the delighted look on Andrew's face the entire time. 

Went on a field trip to the pet store on Thursday, and darn-it, I forgot my camera! It was a super cool trip, because the guy in charge took all of the animals out of their cages and let the kids touch them. Noah and Andrew were right in the front the whole time, their eyes locked on the animals, following their every move. Their favorite was the tortoise, it was big and let them stroke its head. Lissy was into it, too, and squealed a lot, but preferred her own tour that included rearranging bottles of stuff.

Noah got his cavities filled and Josh got sealants on Thursday. Noah was amazing, and only a little goofy from the laughing gas. It amused me and I wish I could have prompted more funny things to come from him, but there was stuff in his mouth . . . the saddest/oddest thing was when Josh and Noah were done, Andrew got up to take his turn. Which he didn't need to do. When I told him so, he started bawling. They say that doesn't happen every day at the dentist. He got a great-brother prize anyway.

On Friday morning I woke up to some clanking down stairs. Josh was the only one awake, and after I hugged him, we started going downstairs. He said, "I already got something ready for breakfast." He had his kids' cook book out, open to a blueberry pancake recipe, and all of the ingredients were lined up on the counter next to it. Except the blueberries, he didn't want those to melt.

Josh had a baseball game this week that was actually warm, so that was fun, and Noah really got into the groove at soccer - 4 or 5 goals. Andrew was relieved when I let him put on regular clothes and play at the playground instead. That kid plays and plays at the playground like no kid I've ever seen. He goes for hours with no break. Lissy wanted to play on the soccer field again, but was finally contented with holding up the camera in the air and saying, "Cheese, cheese!"

There are a ton of things going on with Gary's family now. Jessica got her associates degree on Friday (yes, she's also graduating from high school this year), and we all went to Dallin and Martha's to celebrate with yummy desserts. So good to see everybody. Deanne brought her family history Charlene did, and it's awesome! Brent is serving his mini-mission in Grantsville right now, so we were elected to bring him rice pudding from his mother. Martha was so adorable. Completely giddy to hear any and all news from her missionary. 

Today was Penelope's (Allison's baby) blessing, so we went to their church for that. The blessing was lovely, the food was great, the rice was divine, the company was fun, and then we cleaned up. We had the luncheon in the church, so when I wanted to mop, I headed to the custodial closet. I filled up the mop bucket with warm water, and then decided to put a squirt of orange cleaner in for good measure. There was a gallon of concentrated orange cleaner in some type of dispenser, so I went up to it and pushed the button in the middle to dispense . . . and the entire gallon ejected, splashing orange cleaner all over me and the room. I was covered - arms, neck, clothes, legs, hair . . . absolutely soaked. I felt like the world's biggest idiot, but commenced trying to mop anyway. I couldn't see well, though, because my glasses were covered in orange concentrate, so I thought I'd wash them off. That's when I saw my skin - everywhere the cleaner was, my skin had turned white, and you could see a perfect splash pattern. Also, it was pretty itchy. So, I had to be the fool that ran off to the bathroom while others cleaned up behind me. I'd thought to bring Andrew extra clothes, which he didn't need, but none for me. I thought of wearing a garbage bag out (the stuff was stinging my skin, so I had to take off my sweater and skirt), and also of trying to locate a baptism jumpsuit, since I was washing up next to the font. That was the most awesome option, but I ended up wearing a long skirt of Sara's pulled up to my armpits, and a checked blanket of hers around my shoulders like a shawl. Gary called the look "Ellis Island." Besides feeling like a goon for the spill, and pretty well-dressed when a senior missionary man walked by me, it was good for plenty of laughs. Then we got home and ate soup and Noah invented something he calls "chimole," and now it's time for bed.

Gary brought home his computer, so here are some pictures from this last week, hoo-rah!

Lissy likes to get the boys' underwear out of the (clean) laundry and put one on each leg. It makes her a big girl.

Noah invented this lovely method for swinging, so Josh took a picture.

Andrew gave it a shot, too.

This is one of Josh's arcade games I mentioned last week. It's a soccer game - you shoot that foil ball  into the box in back, trying to avoid the guards. On the bottom the slots are labeled "coins" and "tickets."

It's some soccer action from Noah!

Lissy wanted to do this the entire game, and finally got her shot when it was over. ("This" as in walk on the field with a ball.)

Lissy likes to put on hats - here she is in Josh's baseball hat.

My apparel after the post-blessing incident (see Gary's commentary on the outfit in last paragraph above).  As I went to go get the mop, I saw Gary holding Penelope and Lissy looking on. It was adorable, and I wanted a picure, but I thought I'd grab the mop first. Yeah, never got the picture, and instead got this one. Poor trade. My air is also soaked in the orange stuff, so fashionable.

On Sunday night the kids were playing fire fighter outside, and Andrew was the worker who fixed things. The best was when Josh said, "Andrew, come fix this house, it has all of the toys for my children!" Andrew wanted to pose in this way for the photo.

It cracks me up that Andrew wanted to pose this way every time. He is tooo cute.

The moral is, Lissy looks cute in hats.

The kids also put on a puppet show Sunday night. What a great day! Josh was the narrator and the other kids did the noises. It actually had a plot this time, so it was not only adorable but watchable.

3 Levels of Money Concern and Other Stuff

My most significant day this week, the surgery day, is already posted.  There was good, bad, and ugly to be sure. On Friday I felt DRAINED, and it goes without saying that Gary was out for the count, so it was a huge blessing when my friend called and offered to bring us dinner. Bless her, bless her! I got a quote from some hilarious old guys at a body shop in Tooele to get the van fixed, and I don't know if we'll go for the whole fix. Want it fixed, but also want to save $400 by only getting the tail-light replaced and not the dent fixed. Will decide soon, I suppose. However, the guys at the shop had plenty of conservative political cartoons to keep me entertained while waiting, and gave me a free pad of sticky notes with their logo "we met by accident." So, not a total bad experience.

Seems like a long time ago, before the surgery, Josh had two baseball games. Both FREEZING cold. So excited for the warm ones coming up! Andrew just plays on the playground the entire time, totally unaware of anything else going on in the world, but we have to give Lissy Skittles and marshmallows to keep her there. Josh got to play catcher on Monday, and he looked ridiculously adorable in the gear. He was serious about his job, too. When the game was over, the other team started trotting back to their dugout, but as they tried to pass home plate, Josh kept tagging them with the ball. Apparently he didn't get the "it's over" memo. Everyone was laughing in the crowd, but I don't think it affected him because he was in the zone. Noah really got in there at his soccer game, and despite the fact it seems all the other kids' legs are twice the thickness of his, he was able to score. Andrew said, "I already played enough soccer" and didn't go.

The kids got paid $2 a piece for dog-sitting last week, and they were thrilled. Josh didn't spend his because he's saving up for an iPad (he's got $6, so he's practically there), and Noah wanted to spend some of his right away. Andrew had no idea what was going on, but folded up his dollars into tiny squares and put them in his pocket. Noah wanted to buy a push pop, and when I told him he'd have to spend half his money he got concerned, but did it anyway. Andrew saw Noah buy something, and picked up a pack of Skittles and said, "Can I buy skibbles?" When I said, "Yes, but it will cost over half of your money," he didn't even blink. He said, "Yea! Skibbles!!" I am amused by the levels of concern about money between the 3.

Okay, have a great week, all. Josh and Noah are making a cardboard arcade right now (yes, inspired by Caine's Arcade), and they're asking me to try it out. Will do.

And from another part of my update to my family, lest my future-self think I don't care about anything:

Crazy about Boston. I actually couldn't even click on the link when I first heard about it, but eventually I did read and there are some inspiring stories. I feel sick about the 4 people who died and those who lost limbs, but given the nature of the explosions, it's a HUGE miracle more weren't killed. Really, it's obvious God was helping out. 

The Surgery Date

This day is not about me. Poor Gary is the one with the surgerized head. I'm drained, though . . . wooo . . .

All began this morning at 5 when I woke up and couldn't sleep because I knew I couldn't sleep much longer. Dumb? Why, yes. Or maybe it started last night when Gary and I realized that if he was going to be recovery-boy, we had to cut a path through our post-vacation/in-the-middle-of-closet-cleaning room. At any rate, this morning we got the kids off to our awesome friends who agreed to take care of them, and drove off to Salt Lake. Gary said, "This is like our surgery date." Yeah, it was kinda nice.

Gary was amusing and nice to be with as always during pre-op - at one point the nurse asked (on her list of questions), "Do you do drugs?" Phrasing it that way amused us. Anyway, Gary told me I should try his favorite donuts while he was in surgery. He said I had to, so I did. I went to a yummy bakery, got a few donuts (bought Gary's favorite for later), and read a book while I ate. Then I went to Trader Joe's alone. It was like Girl's Day Out. Okay hour out. Nice day so far.

The surgery went really well, and the doctor said his septum was really bad. Between that and the turbinates that needed removing/reducing, it was obvious to see why he couldn't really breathe before. I was excited to see him, but it was sad I couldn't pick him up and snuggle him like I do my surgery kids. So, I just talked at him and tried to convince him he could relax and not worry about thanking me and the nurse for our services.  The nurse said Gary was "really cute" because he the second he came to he started saying, "Thank you, thank you guys so much." He gave us thumbs up, he said the nurse was doing a great job . . . what a sweetie. Of course he was under the influence of drugs, but it's so cute to see that even sub-consciously he is super kind and caring.

I got Gary home, made him a bed, and set off to pick up the kids (Lissy needed a nap by then), and get Gary his pain meds. Poor guy was needing them pretty bad. I got in the van, looked to make sure no cars were coming, and backed out of my driveway watching to make sure I didn't hit my Corolla which was in the driveway. All of the sudden I crashed into something - what?! Yeah, my neighbor's son's girlfriend was parked in with the tail end of her truck in my driveway. As in, there was no way to get the van out of my garage without hitting it. Damage to both cars, of course. YARG! Yes, I should have taken note, but when I saw the car, I just assumed it wasn't in my driveway. Also, I was tired and thinking about kids and pain meds and not hitting my other car . . . Ugh. My neighbor was nice about it, but when his girlfriend called, she wanted to talk to my insurance. Personally, if I parked with my tail in someone else's driveway, and especially if I knew they were just coming home from a surgery and had 4 small children and pain meds to pick up, I would feel like and idiot and really terrible and do something like suggest we just both pay for our own damage. But no, she stuck them both to me, because she can. I'm over it at this point in the night, but will throw out one last shout-out to people with no class who do things to make other people's lives a whole lot harder.

So, car junk, Lissy had a sad afternoon, getting to soccer practice . . . Andrew didn't get ready, but I had to drop off the soccer balls, so I took Noah and came back for Andrew. When I got back he was naked and screaming in the driveway because I left him. As I helped him get dressed, poor kid was telling that other kids call him a baby. He wants to put them in jail. I left Lissy's shoes at home, so she couldn't play on the woodchips on the playground at soccer practice. Go me.

But . . . the other moms at soccer practice are fun to talk to. The kids were so cute as they got ready for bed. We had our most reverent family prayer ever. All of the kids went to sleep - which never, ever happens. Best of all, I get to pretend to take care of Gary and I like Gary, so it's great to be with him. A lot of crazy things have happened in the world the last few days, and we are blessed to be safe. Interested to see that the day went a little nuts, and I had a happy evening and good day over all. But, like I said, I'm not the one with the surgerized head . . .

P.S. For the record, Gary had lost his sense of taste little by little for the last few years. He also felt more congested and sleepy over all, and recently he had started snoring. I didn't mind, but it just shows how he wasn't breathing well. He's been in a lot of pain today, but right now the drugs have got him feeling ok, and he should be ready to attempt life again in about a week. The doctor said he probably shouldn't leave the house until Monday when I take him to get his packing out. Also, I really like him.

Dogs, Worms, and a Sales Pitch

Josh and Noah decided to start a toy store this week. They want to earn money for awesome things, so they got all of their McDonald's toys (the only ones I've authorized to leave the house), and set them up on a dresser on the sidewalk. They were advertised to cost 1 dollar 50 cents. I thought is was a price range, but no, the toys are $1.50. They were very pumped about this, and walked up and down the street with a sign - and then proceeded to let every kid in the neighborhood also run the store with them. So, off pricing structure, no customer base, but they did make one, kinda two sales. Maybe it's because Josh put on the sign that there is no tax and "you git change back." Noah told me the store is open every day but Sundays, rainy days, snowy days, and leafy days. Of course.

The toy business may not be booming, but the boys did land a real job this week, taking care of the dogs across the street while the people were away. I thought I'd have a hard time remembering, but the boys wanted to be there constantly. They fell in love with the dogs, and wanted to pet them and play fetch all day. They were even willing to help pick up poo when one of them had an accident. While I was cleaning up one such accident, one of the dogs was hiding under the bed. The boys wanted to get her to come out, and had this idea to make a trail of treats to lure her out. Good idea, I said as I cleaned. They were frustrated that it wasn't working, and when I went up there I found out why. I had imagined a trail of treats every 5 to 8 feet, but turns out their trail was more of a road. The treats were end to end. Yeah, she could only come out so far before getting ill . . . 

We have been talking for a while about what nutrients in different foods do for you, but I was still surprised when Noah came to a conclusion the other day. "Mom," he said out of the blue. "I know why horses eat carrots. It's so that when the cowboys are riding on a dusty trail they can see really well through the dust."

The first part of the week felt like a fog because we got way too little sleep in St. George last week. It was vacation! It was so warm down there, and snowed the day after we got back. RUDE. Noah learned how to ride his bike right before we left for St. George, so was excited to resume riding no matter the weather. It was raining, and he wanted to show everyone how great he is at riding in the rain. As he was doing so, he said, "I'm being careful not to run over all of the worms, because they're good for the earth."

Let's see . . . we got new neighbors, well, 4 houses down, but we were notified ahead of time so we could meet the moving truck, so that's always excitement. I finally took Lissy in to the Dr. to see why she is constantly ornery these days, (cat memes didn't help, dad), and the dr. agreed she is extremely congested. We're trying singulair just in case there may be some issues there, but also talked about reactive airway. I can't move my body because I had two awesome workouts and a back tweak at the case lot sale. Oh, and most exciting for the boys is this was opening weekend for spring sports. Noah had about 6 shots on goal during his game, so it was a thrill when one finally popped in. Hooray. Andrew had a great practice, but didn't want to play much in the actual game. No matter. Josh was ridiculously cute in his new Braves uniform. I think he put it on in the car on the way home from getting it. During the game he was so excited he was doing jumping jacks in the outfield. Happy ones.

Lissy looooves pat-a-cake. She gets super into it and throws her hands up with happiness at the end. One time I started playing it with her doll, and she got crazy happy - it's too cute. Andrew loves to snuggle his mommy, and when it's time to read he says, "I got your favorite books, mom." No matter what the books are. He actually likes pat-a-cake, too. Noah's preschool got cancelled on Tuesday, so we got out the stamps and went nuts. Andrew was stamping all day long, grinning away as he did it. Lissy just ate markers. Oh, yes, and Andrew and Noah really got into playing dinosaur hunters this week.

Oh, yes, and can't leave you without relating this one. My kids' TV diet has consisted almost entirely of PBS kids and recently some Netflix streaming, so no commercials, really. In St. George cousins were there, and they watched all kinds of stuff. While we were eating our FHE treat on Monday all of the sudden Noah said, "Did you know OxiClean is something that can really help you clean your clothes? You just spray it on there, and all of your laundry stains will wash away." Ok. Then Josh chimes in, "Yeah, and there's also Kaboom to clean the kitchen and bathroom. Mom, where you spray, it stays." Noah agreed. Then Josh says, "Oh, mom, are you tired of your plain color of hair?" Josh and Noah then proceeded to tell me the names of the colors available with Hair Chalk. "It comes out during your next shampoo," they assured me. Haha - they knew their stuff. I had a hard time not laughing, but not as hard as when Andrew came downstairs wearing Lissy's pants yesterday. Now that was awesome.