Fixing My Stiffneckedness, Pushups, Puffs, and Pudding

Been hanging onto this draft for a few days - too blasted tired to finish, but at least I'm not Gary, who has slept probably 8  hours in 3 days. Lucky me, I got to sleep in today because Noah woke up with Lissy, changed her poopy diaper, and put on a show for her. I was busy dreaming about teaching a very powerful first discussion. I woke up moved. Moved enough to get everyone ready to be out the door in 15 minutes - yikes! Anyway . . .

I already told you that on Sunday (a week and a half ago) I could barely move my neck - and that was very literally true. On Monday I woke up and it was way worse, all in my shoulders and head. Despite my try at yoga (helped for a minute), my entire upper-half seized up, and I was in all sorts of pain. Gary was asking me how I was doing around 2:15, and I started crying, just cuz it hurt and I didn't know how to function. He called me back hardly any minutes later saying he'd found a place to give me a massage at 3, and he'd called a baby-sitter. Gary to the rescue! I felt dumb having a baby-sitter with the house being a wreck, but I couldn't zip kids' coats or load the dishwasher, so what was I to do? The massage therapist was shocked at the state of my muscles, and said she felt like she was beating me up trying to get those knots out. There was one she couldn't get because I was starting to get bruises. However, in the end I could turn my head, hooray! It was about 3 days later that I started to feel normal . . . so, happy civil rights day or whatever. Gary brought me back to civility.

The boys had a wrestling match (what's new?), which of course, was made better by taking their shirts off, and of course, Lissy had to also take her shirt off to participate (sigh). They decided Josh would be the judge, so he sat on the chair and watched the others wrestle. "I've never seen moves like these in all my days," he drawled, "in all my days."

Lissy had her ophthalmology appointment at Primarys on Tuesday. On the way there she was sleeping, and was so beautiful I started bawling because I can't believe we're so fortunate as to still have her. She was getting checked because when a kid has a brain injury, they make sure to check everything out. This was definitely a "check the box" visit for me. We started out by being told this was normal and so was that, which is really "quite remarkable" for someone who has had an accident like that. Then, they dilated her eyes (she started twirling like a drunk at one point), and looked inside. "She's going to need some glasses," the doctor said. What? "Are you serious?" I asked. I mean, what if all kids need glasses, if only they go to the specialist . . . The doctor was a super nice older man, and told me all about how bad Lissy's astigmatism is and how it will harm her eye muscles and possibly impede brain injury recovery if untreated. We would have known in a few years anyway, but the accident has hastened us knowing, which, apparently will help a lot. I feel bad for her, but we'll get it . . .

Speaking of Miss Elizabeth, she is quite the little dancer. On Wednesday during Zumba at the church, she did her best to follow along, and it was adorable. She's wanted to for weeks, but she's just barely getting her confidence on. Also, today when I wanted to put her down for a nap (perfect timing), she wanted to jump on Andrew's bed. After about 10 or 15 jumps, she'd stop and do some push-ups and knee circles. The knee circles were the best. Repeated this routine several times.

Josh was excited on Sunday when he saw the sacrament trays. "Yea, white bread today!" he exclaimed. After eating his piece he said, "It's not white, it's actually buttermilk."

My kids have been begging me for Reese's Puffs ever since they saw many commercials in St. George promising them it would make their morning time epic. Someone heard about this, and when we walked in the door Saturday morning after the gym, we had a package from Amazon. We opened it, and oh, goodness, you would have thought it contained a toy they'd been saving up for months for. Screams of joy for some Reese's Puffs! They cleaned like crazy to get some, except for Lissy, who pulled a chair up to the counter to try to hack it open with a butter knife. How did she know it was even something good? When Josh got his first handful, he declared, "It makes my day epic, even without milk!" Andrew said, "We need to write a thank you to grandma. Write this, mom: Dear great grandma, Thank you for the Reese's Puffs, and I am very welcome to eat them." Epic!

A very clearly exhausted Andrew told me the other night he, "Just couldn't sleep without medicine." So I gave him some tums. He was pleased, and slept right away. Oh, yes, and on Sunday during church he drew a few rectangles on a paper,then said, "Mom, look, it's pumpkin teeth!" Of course. He then drew a pumpkin around them. With running shoes, except he can't run. That child . . .

Josh has decided he is dessert-master by making pudding a few nights in a row. He makes banana cream or vanilla, then garnishes it with bananas carefully placed in circles. Artistry at its finest, and actually quite good.

From Bingle Bells to Burrito Dispenser

Woke up this morning hardly able to move my neck, it's bad news. However, I haven't updated in quite a while. Sundays have been packed and I usually fall in an exhausted heap at the end . . . which has actually been the case most days this week. Gary has been getting home at around 9:30 each day, and most days I haven't even been able to talk to him I've been so exhausted. He said, "You know it's bad when you can't talk."

This space here formerly held news of nutty things I dealt with related to my calling. Not for the world wide web, but what a week!

Good news - went to the OB, and all is well. Also, Andrew has been in tumbling for two weeks, and he loves it! The first time Lissy was heart broken to leave him there, and kept asking to go back and get him, but I couldn't believe my fortune to just have the two of us together. Andrew was in a fabulous mood after his class, slept great that night, and was in a fabulous mood the whole next day. Thinking about going into debt to send him more often . . . (Oh, yeah, did I tell you his tantrums have been insanity lately? Well, they have.) Lissy got to go to her first music class on Thursday. She liked it, but made me hold her for all of the get up and move stuff. Noah got to come because his school is in the afternoon, and he couldn't quit talking about how awesome it was, so bonus. Lissy got to bring home a kit that includes "bingle bells," and she is very proud of them.

We will be celebrating Dad's birthday by doing something medical-y. That's the date for Noah's ear surgery. Turns out he only thought he could hear better, he really can't. Must be used to it. One guy looked in and said, "There's more hole than eardrum here." So, it won't heal on its own, and Noah is way pumped to get his turn at surgery. This whole experience is just great - the other day at lunch he said, "Going to the doctor is awesome because Mom takes me to Cafe Rio and Chick-Fil-A!" So great to be special. Best part of dr visit - we had a bunch of kid magazines we took with us into the room, that came with us when we went to the audiology waiting area, which formerly had no magazines. We left them when we went with Noah into the test, and when we came back out to the waiting area, the chairs were all occupied by old people, each intently reading one of the kid magazines we left. SO funny!

Awesome things:

-Josh and Noah told me about their attempts to create their own money. They color-copied a dollar bill on both sides, cut it out, then glued it together. They said they threw it away because they thought I would get mad, but really couldn't understand why their quest to do a better job next time probably wasn't a good idea. I told them about Jason, so maybe it will stop them from a life of crime. 

- Our fridge has a burrito dispenser! I shoved a few into the ice-dispensing area, since our fridge can't make ice, it's a storage area. Josh wanted a burrito, so I told him, "They're in the freezer, in the place where the ice comes out." So, he walked over and pressed the button on the outside of the fridge, and got a burrito. He had an odd look on his face, but just went along with it . . .I was dying laughing - I had no idea you could get them out that way, I meant for him to open the freezer. The burrito dispenser is a popular feature in the home now.

-The "compound words" Josh wrote on his school work: NBA Jam, minecraft, NFL Rush Zone, and San Francisco 49ers. Hmmm.

Lissy has been climbing out of her crib ever since the new year. Latest of any of my kids, so you knew the day had to come, but goodness. She likes to get in our bed at 4 a.m. now, but she has to bring her "stuff." All 10 stuffed animals she owns and a pile of blankets transferred. Then it has to go back when she goes to sleep the next time. She hardly naps now, but she's not fine, she's a total disaster in the evenings. Sad, screaming mess. But, she is hilarious, and so cute most of the day. Her voice is adorable, and she walks around in her princess heels carrying her babies everywhere. She likes to change her clothes, and must pick out her own jammies. Tonight she put a tight pair on over a loose pair, and looked like a sumo wrestler, but "zebras so cute!" so it's worth it.

It's bed-time, but Gary had a birthday, and we had fun. He worked that Saturday (usual), but was able to get off in time for us to go on our first date since August! We ate and bought him some running shoes at the Gateway, and it was sooo great to be together. The restaurant was called La Jolla Groves, and there were lemon trees growing inside, all over the place. Gary said that's what it's like in California, so he felt so at home. Then, I invited Eric, Holly, and Allison (and family) for dinner on Sunday, and of course that was fun.

Oh, yes, and Kristen came and saved me from Wednesday a few weeks ago, by bringing entertainment for me and my children, so that was pretty awesome. Maybe I need her here every day. Pretty sure I do, actually.