milestone

I have been a mother for 16 years, but yesterday was the first day I had all of my children in school for a full day! I have waited for this day for ever so long.

Don't get me wrong, I love having my children around, they are very good company in general. It's not like I don't want to be with them. But, with rare exceptions, being home alone for hours on end is a luxury I have not had for sixteen years. And it's a luxury I very much enjoy.

Lucas, organizing his big binder on Monday night (after seventh grade day). He was so excited about all of the pockets and pouches, etc. It made me smile, remembering how I loved putting in fresh paper and pencils as well, getting all ready for a new school year.

Getting up early is quite a change for Lucas, who will sleep until 11:00 unless I go in and wake him earlier. (I usually don't let him sleep past 9:30 or 10:00, but still.) So far, he has been getting up in time to shower before school (2 for 2)—hallelujah!

I got the idea to make these identifying signs for first day pictures from Pinterest. I'm starting a tradition, even though I have an eleventh grader! Max was characteristically cooperative.

Lucas was his usual camera-shy self.

But I prevailed. (He knew he couldn't leave until I was at least semi-satisfied, and he didn't want to be late!)

Eva was over the moon about being a first grader and getting to eat lunch at school (brown bagged).

She was definitely less excited about discovering that she is the only girl at her table.

(On a sad note, when I left her room, I found a boy crying in the hall—a first grader who was all alone and couldn't remember where his classroom was. I helped him find where he belonged and left shaking my head. I can't relate to just dropping him off to find his own way. Poor little guy.)

There was a definite celebratory note in the air at the school, one I shared as I drove away to enjoy my first ever full day of school freedom!

First, I had a doctor's appointment. Then I did some errands, by myself, with no deadline! (I went to D.I., OfficeMax, and the grocery store.)

I stopped to get a Diet Coke at McDonald's.

I had to run over to Max's school to take him a book that he forgot. I didn't even mind! (But don't tell him that. I wouldn't want to be doing that all the time.)

Denise and Emily stopped by for a quick visit! Denise came to help Emily get settled into her apartment for the new school year. We are all thrilled to have Emily back in our neck of the woods. (And wish that Denise's family could move to Utah. Obviously.)

I made first day of school cookies. (Peanut butter pretzel chocolate chip.)

We had a back to school themed dinner. (It was really just the decor that was themed, we had panini and corn on the cob.) I used some of the things I got at Office Max for ridiculously cheap as a centerpiece.

Printables from eighteen25.blogspot.com (via Pinterest). Have I mentioned how much I love Pinterest?? I guess I probably should have sharpened the pencils, eh? Oops.

These just made me so happy. And they passed the Lucas test! (He is picky about straws.)

Our dinner time seemed to last longer than usual, as we sat around and talked about everyone's first day. I loved that.

In all, I would say it was a productive, satisfying day. And the best part is that I have many many more such days to look forward to! Shazam.

A lot of people have asked me what I'm going to do with my newfound time. I have some ideas, but all I know for sure is that I won't have any shortage of things I want to do. How will I fill the time? I can't wait to find out.

Sunday thoughts

Today is Lucas's 12th birthday.


He was ordained to the office of Deacon in the Aaronic Priesthood. Marc ordained him, and my dad and Max also stood in the circle.


The Deacon's quorum came over to talk to him about some of the specific duties and activities he will now be involved in.


Lucas requested oatmeal rolls, corn on the cob, watermelon, and chocolate peanut butter cake. (We supplemented the meal for those of us who are not quite so picky with pulled pork and green green salad.)

It was a happy, happy day.

I am so glad that Lucas is worthy to be a Priesthood holder, and so happy that my parents could be here to help celebrate his special day.

Easter in pictures

high excitement

There has been some high excitement around here. First of all, Lucas got new shoes. (He needed new shoes in the very worst way.) He picked out these Vans and a pair of basketball shoes. He walked around with a huge smile and told us numerous times that he can run faster and jump higher now.

Also, he went back to school today, after missing 6 days due to another sinus infection! Oh, happy day.

Max is going to the state competition for his cello solo! He has worked hard and long on that piece, and we are so proud of him.

Recently, it was finally Eva's turn to bring the "Sound Box" to school. (Somehow, the only picture I have is on my phone, and I can't figure out how to get it here...) Each child takes a turn with a different letter of the alphabet. Hers was T, so she had to fill the box with things that start with the letter T. Even though she brought the box home several days before she was to return it, filling it was of the utmost importance, and we had to drop everything to hunt for T objects. We put in a bag of miniature Twix bars for a T treat.

Yesterday morning, she badgered Marc and I into putting together quick sound boxes of our own, for her entertainment. The girl has got skills.

A rather frightening photo of one of my new leg braces.

I got my new, super-expensive, custom-made leg braces. My family teases me about my "cyborg legs" – they really do make me look part machine. But the combination of the braces, the physical therapy, and the injections must be working, because I can now walk down stairs normally most of the time! And I no longer avoid putting on the brake in my van for fear of not being able to release it. Cause for excitement indeed.

As for Marc, he has been having a rough go of it, and I'm not sure that he's all that excited about anything right now. Well, maybe his spring study abroad program that he'll be splitting with another professor...

handyman

This is what a burned-out oven element looks like. I had no idea.

I called and got the part number for a replacement and found out that there was one on the shelf in a store in Provo. Marc stopped by to pick it up yesterday and then wowed us with his handyman skills last night. He may or may not have uttered a few choice words. (Incidentally, he remarked that it is most inopportune that the people who are least likely to have the necessary tools for a job are also those who are most in need of the necessary tools for said job. I don't know if that's true or not, but it made me laugh.)

I took the kids to Noodles & Co. on Tuesday night and then prepared a crockpot dinner on Wednesday. (It turns out, I don't really like Noodles & Co. But my kids love it. Of course, Lucas and Eva order plain, buttered noodles. But they also get root beer and cute carry-out boxes.)

Hooray for a working oven and range again! All freshly-cleaned, too.

That's just what I did – I baked bread! (cute kitchen towel a gift from my mother, obviously)

I baked cookies!

And, I made dinner on the stove. Considering that I made a big trip to Costco, taught piano and went to parent-teacher conferences, I was impressed with myself. And Marc.

before & after

I finally got my hair cut and colored on Saturday (only a month overdue)! I took before & after self-portraits to document the extreme transformation. Now if only I could look like the after shot every day. I have tried and tried to just reconcile myself to my curly hair, but it's not working.
















Today I started the injection phase of my knee treatments (one per week for 5 weeks). It was cool – they use an x-ray and contrast dye to guide the injection and insure its correct placement. I was instructed to take it easy for the next couple of days and ice my knees several times. Pain relief will probably not be noticeable for another couple of weeks. Obviously, I'm hoping for an extreme transformation in this domain as well.

a really good thing

A few months ago, I found out about a state-of-the-art pain treatment center that provides non-surgical alternatives for knee pain. (It's right down the street from Jill's house!) I went in for a consultation, had new x-rays taken, and found out about their programs.

As it turns out, I am an excellent candidate. My arthritis is advanced enough to benefit, but not so extreme as to render it untreatable. Here are a few of the things I have difficulty with:

setting/releasing the brake pedal in my car
putting on pants
putting on socks
extended periods of walking
extended periods of sitting
extended periods of standing
walking quickly
walking down stairs
kneeling

Also, my relatively young age works in my favor. (At this facility, I am a bona fide spring chicken!)

The 8-week program involves extensive physical therapy, custom-made leg braces, electrical stimulation, massage, and a series of injections that gradually build up a synthetic cushioning in the joint. Instead of having knee surgery every 2-3 years until I am old enough for knee replacements, I can repeat this program every 2-3 years as needed, indefinitely, with a high probability of never needing replacements at all!

I was completely convinced, and wanted to start the program immediately, but as even our portion of the cost is kind of high, I had to wait until we got our new FSA allotment in January.

Anyway, today was the day! Today I started what I hope is a whole new life of reduced pain and increased activity and mobility. I am filled with hope.

Part of my physical therapy includes using a zero-gravity treadmill. What a strange experience! Basically, you wear a special pair of neoprene shorts, then you get zipped into this contraption that pulls up around your waist. The machine weighs you, then you can tell it what percentage of your body weight you want to exercise with! My PT punched in 50% of my weight, and I walked, completely pain-free. When my time was almost up, she punched it up to 80% and I felt the old familiar pain return immediately. Before turning it off, she put it up to 100% and I felt a serious twinge of disappointment. Man, it felt good being 50% lighter!

I did all kinds of targeted exercises, and then was treated to a knee massage and ice packs. Ahhhhhh. I could get used to this! Two more weeks of physical therapy before the injections begin. I am really feeling like this could be my big break. Hoping and praying.

p.s. All of the other patients I saw were easily 30 years old than me. It makes me feel really old. Or young, depending on how I look at it!

Christmas in photos

My darling neighbor Traci gave potted narcissus bulbs as her neighbor gift this year. Mine has already grown 4 inches! And check out that tag - she just punched it out of music paper - why didn't I think of that??

The delicious and oh-so-festive appetizer that Nicole made for our Christmas Eve dinner with the Denneys. Love it.

I had told Michelle that I wanted a nice 9x13 pan, as one of mine is rusty and the other is just plain wearing out (tiny holes). Apparently, she went on a quest, and ended up buying this super-fancy one at William Sonoma. I said I didn't know if I was worthy of the gold pan!

So. I'm nearly 40 years old, and my mom sends things for my stocking. I cannot tell you how much I love this.

Eva woke up around 8:15. We got up and got the cinnamon rolls and hot punch going. Everyone else rolled out of bed at 9:00 and we opened our stockings. (Have I mentioned that stockings are my favorite part?) We all look through our stockings and then we look through each others', as well.

For some reason, Lucas wanted a ski mask. I can only hope this will be used for activities like sledding.

After stockings, we eat breakfast and then we open our wrapped gifts.

Lucas also wanted a PlayStation2 for his room since his Game Cube died. Check!

My mom's friend Rita helped her with all of her wrapping, and for unknown reasons, she wrote "Grandmon" on all of the tags. This kept us laughing all morning long, as we imagined the Rastafarian grandmother who would go by that name.

Eva got this beautiful, fancy dress coat from my mom. As well as many, many other cute clothing items, and she was enamored with each one. The boys also got a lot of cool new clothes.

Jack got a new bone to gnaw on. Oh joy.

My mom sent me these way cute tea towels, as well as many cute new jewelry items, a scarf, some flower brooches, $$ toward my freezer fund, and several other things that I can't think of right now. Oh, and a Roul'Pat! I've totally been wanting one of those!

When I opened it, Max said he had seen them before on cooking shows. Lucas then informed me that if I have one of those professional rolling mats, then I'm definitely ready for the gold pan. I like the way he thinks.

Jessie made all of her gifts this year. I know. She is the queen of handmade gifts. I got this cute wreath with the amazing felt flowers!

And this peppermint cooling eye mask and lavender healing hot pack, made from some of my grandma's clothing. Brilliant. That has to have healing properties in and of itself!

In this blurry photo, you might be able to see the dinosaur she made for Eva, being squeezed so tightly. Eva also received quite a few new stuffed dogs, to her delight. (Where we'll put them, I have no idea...)

It's hard to make out the t-shirt she made for Max. He could not be more delighted that it has an orange octopus on it. (Lucas's has headphones, and Marc's has silhouettes of breakdancers.) All very appropriate.

Max got a guitar! He surprised us by wanting to add another instrument to his repertoire, and we were able to get a very good deal on Black Friday. He has been finding info online and has already learned several songs. I think he's been holding it for most of the time he's been awake since he opened it.

This is the basket of bows. Eva was very helpful and carried the bow over each time someone unwrapped a gift. My family knows better than to throw them away!

I actually took a leisurely nap on Christmas day! It was a fabulous gift. Then, as if that wasn't good enough, Marc made crêpes for dinner so I didn't have to cook! Truly delightful.

I spent a couple of hours on Christmas night undoing all the bows and rolling up the ribbons to save them for next year. Sore fingers, yes, but also a sense of accomplishment!