Utah Celebration

Sean with his amazing teacher, Mrs. Mazeika


I thought I would document some ordinary happenings while we were at the school...

David and Briggy waiting patiently while Mom helps with Baggie Books

Playing in the snow on the way to the car

Wearing shorts and playing with snow :)

Kickin' it

It's the simple things.  I love my life.

Brotherly Love

I was browsing through some photos and found this gem.  It must have been taken by one of the other kids.  It instantly made me smile. 

Warren loves his little brother so much.  Whenever he hears Brig wake up in the morning he runs in to get him, takes him downstairs and cuddles up with him while they watch cartoons.  The after school reunion is always joyous. 

I know all my kids love each other.  They don't always show it in ways that are ideal, but I know they love each other.  On Sunday Olivia was asked to come in to Jr. Primary to share with the little kids her thoughts about being a big sister.  She started out very animated and happy, but it didn't take long for the tears to come.  She said, "I get to help take care of my little brothers and play with them and show them how to do things.  (insert tears) Sometimes we fight, but I love them very much." It was so sweet and I needed to hear it because there are certainly moments (and days) when I really wonder. (She hates that she cries when she expresses emotion.  I apologize all the time for passing that on to her.)

I know that when my kids are grown they will be the best of friends.  I also love the little glimpses I get into that friendship right now. 

The Longest 2 Minutes of My LIfe

Last week I was running some errands with Mary Ellen (my mother-in-law).  David was at preschool, so Briggy got some great alone time with us--I'm sure he appreciated it.  First he was strapped in the car seat while we ran around town, then strapped in the cart while we went shopping.  By the time I was loading Mary Ellen's groceries onto the conveyor belt, he had had ENOUGH.  I had compassion on him and let him down and showed him some of the toys in the checkout area so he could entertain himself long enough for me to load the groceries.  As I was loading groceries I heard him giggle.  I looked over and he wasn't there.  I ran to the next aisle over--sure he was just running away for the thrill of the chase.  Not there.  Then I went in the other direction.  Not there either.  My heart dropped.  My first instinct was to go to the door.  We weren't far away from the store entrance and he easily could have made it outside (either on his own or with the help of a stranger).  The employee there said she didn't notice any little kids but that she had just been occupied with another customer so I should check in my car.  Good idea, but he's 19 months old!!!  If he was in the parking lot, it would be with a stranger or in the midst of cars.  My heart was racing at this point.  I ran to the customer service desk where there was a line of 6 or 7 people.  I ran to the front, interrupted the woman that was speaking, told them he was missing, gave them a description then ran away to keep looking.  Then I heard the "Code Adam" alert and that's when the tears started.  Any mother who has experienced this knows what I am talking about.  Hearing the description of your own child over the intercom tends to invoke a less than warm fuzzy feeling.  I kept thinking, "You have to stay calm" and I really tried.  I took a deep breath, then said a quick prayer that was something like, "I cannot lose my baby.  Please help him be found and safe."  Just a couple of moments later, an employee waved her arm and signaled for me to come over.  A kind woman had him in her arms, trying to comfort him.  I sprinted toward him, grabbed him out of her arms and sobbed as I kissed him over and over again and stroked his head and held him close.  I didn't even say "thank you".  I can only hope that she is a mother and understood how incredibly grateful I was.  He was found a considerable distance from where we were checking out.  I honestly couldn't have had my back to him for more than 10 seconds (and Mary Ellen was with me too).  We were both talking to him as he played and as we were loading groceries, so he disappeared in a hurry, then must have gone farther away as the search went on.  Lesson learned.  When it comes to the safety of our children, we can never be too careful (well, maybe we can...having teenagers on a harness might be going a little extreme, but we must be vigilant).  So grateful to have this little guy in my life.

100 Day Heart Challenge

A few weeks ago I applied to be part of Utah Valley Regional Medical Center's 100 Day Heart Health Challenge.  I didn't expect to hear back, but I did!  I was so excited!  They accepted 10 women who were over 30 and they were able to choose their partner (male or female).  I chose Darin as my partner and am happy with my choice (both for eternity and for this challenge). 

Here's what the challenge entails:

1) A weigh-in (that happened last Friday) including, BMI, cholesterol, blood pressure, etc.
2) Nutrition classes once a week
3) Working out with a trainer twice a week
4) Keeping track of what we eat, how much we exercise, and our (hopefully diminishing) weight (we have to e-mail an accounting of all of this every week--yay for accountability!).
5) At the final weigh in, they will take into account all the progress we made and they will crown the winners!!! (Hopefully us)

It is a comprehensive health challenge rather than just a weight loss challenge.  I am so grateful to have this opportunity to find the healthy me again.  They have encouraged us to blog about our journey, so if you want to see how I'm doing or read about what I discover about myself through this process, visit my 100 day heart challenge blog:  http://deanne100days.blogspot.com/  (I also put a link on my sidebar.) 

Wish us luck!
 

The Magic Cure

When I came downstairs this morning to fix breakfast and get lunches ready, Sean was still in his pajamas.  I told him it was time to get ready for school.  He said he wasn't feeling well and he wondered if he should stay home.  He has been coughing for a while, but those coughs can last forever.  I told him that he should probably go to school and that he could certainly call me from school if he felt like it got worse.  He wasn't too happy about that, and continued to mope around the house. I asked him what hurt.  In a very sick voice and convincing manner, he said, "My stomach, my throat, my head".  For fear of being the mom that sends her contagiously ill child to school to spread the joy to countless other students, I gave him permission to stay in his pajamas and home from school.  His sick waddle wasn't so much of a waddle after my permission had been granted and he asked what was for breakfast.  Hmmmmm.  (sick stomach and ready for breakfast?)  Then as the timer beeped to let Liv and Warren know it was time to make their way to the bus stop, Sean was very much in a hurry to send them out the door.  He said, "Warren, it's time for you to go!"  His sick demeanor had suddenly perked up a little more (I'm sure in anticipation of his day of freedom).  I decided to do a little mom experiment.  I said to Sean, "Hey bud, you do realize that if you stay home from school, that means no playing after school, right?  That's the rule in our house." 

I could see the wheels turning in his head.  He paused, his eyes showed that he was thinking through this in a hurry (after all, the timer had already beeped).  He said, (sick demeanor completely out the window now and with an air of urgency) "Mom, can I still go to school?"  I said, "Sure".  He ditched his cereal mid bite, was dressed to the shoes and out the door in less than 30 seconds.  He yelled, "Bye Mom, Love you!" and ran to the bus stop.