for real, seriously, for freaking real!

Warning: lots of poop and bum talk in this post.

So, this week was a rough one.  Let's get real.  It was hell...o (for the kids, when they read this later, mommy added the O for you)

Well, life with 5 young kids always has it's great moments

She is so cute it hurts

full of giggles, playing, peace, hugs and precious times

and it has its rip your hair out, eyeballs bulging, what the crap, where can I run, head into wall moments.

This week, seemed to have a lot of the latter in it...a lot.

Aside from potty training, this was Molly most of the time, if she wasn't on my hip or in my arms.

Don't let these pictures deceive you.  I am not a terrible mommy that just took a picture of my crying child and walked away.

I did take the picture, but I also had been holding her and comforting her to no avail for the last 30 minutes with her thrashing and head banging me in the nose and chin, and soon after the picture, I comforted her again, which lasted all of 2 seconds.

Her potty training went amazingly well!  Two days, done.  She had peeing down.  Miracle of all miracles.  After potty training 5 kids and a dog, the heavens had mercy on my soul.

The only accidents she has, is if she is out of the norm and I forget to remind her, or if she can't get to the toilet fast enough.

SCORE!

Pooping however, is another matter.  She refuses to poop in the toilet!  She hides in corners, and poops her pants every day.

It has completely baffled me.  I have read articles, talked to other mothers, and tried several bribery tactics, but to no avail.

The two times I found her hiding, I carried her to the toilet, where she screamed in complete agony, and then pooped followed by lots of blood.

Alarm bells!

So, Molly was pooping her pants, throwing fits, screaming at everyone, crying all day, and not letting me get more than 6 inches away...ever.  Including shower, eating, getting ready for the day, and so on.  I was worried about her, but also at my wits end!  The doctor was not answering.

Add William and Luke deciding they were "sick" on Friday (which is normally my hard/favorite workout day, caffeine day..happy happy joy joy, get Molly to sleep and watch my favorite Hulu show day, and my get ready for the weekend day).  I usually love Fridays.

This Friday was an epic disaster in every way.

The whole week was insanely busy every single day, the weather was grey and gloomy, the kids have been acting like they want to kill eachother, and Molly has been a hot mess.

Yeah, there's my rant, and there's my week.

It sucked.
Friday sucked the worst.  By far.

But, it did finally convince me to get Molly in to a doctor.  If my doctor wasn't available, we would go to the after hours clinic, and wait forever, and then some more.
I had had enough, and I suspected that she had strep in her bum, again.

I took her to the after hours clinic, and sure enough, she tested positive for anal strep for the 4th time in the four months since she got her tonsils out.  You want the real irony???  The first diagnosis was just 2 days, TWO DAYS after she got her tonsils out.  (slam palm into forehead)

I learned more about how this form of strep feels, and I admit, I wanted to dig a hole for all mean mommy's in the world, full of all things awful, and jump in.

Basically, the horrid, want to stab yourself, grimacing pain you feel when you swallow something like chips or captain crunch cereal when you have strep throat (yes, I have LOTS of experience), is exactly what it feels like for Molly, in her bum, when she poops.

Holy crap! Literally.

And, the overall pain you feel in your throat when you have strep, she feels in her bum, all day long. Not to mention, fever, body aches, chills, the works.  She did have that last week, but she also had a bad cold, so I didn't know what was causing it.

It was so bad, that she was bleeding when she was pooping, and her insides in that area are a disaster. It hurts her so badly to poop, that she holds it, and therefore gets totally backed up.

It is not at all normal to get strep in your bum at Molly's age, and it is even more abnormal to have it back to back like this.

We are back to square freaking one.  ARGH!

The doctors are worried that her bum has the same drug-resistant bacteria in it that her tonsils had.  Unfortunately, there is nothing to "remove" in that area, like the tonsils,  to cure it.

Who knows where the strep would decide to breed next anyway.

The problem is, that if this keeps happening, Molly could have damage to her rectum, her intestines (from not pooping because it hurts), and from secondary skin infections from the horrible rash that is always raw, open, and present.

Joy.

So, we are back to getting some tests done.

The doctor referred us to a pediatric infectious disease specialist, that will be calling us on Monday to set an appointment. 

We are hoping and praying that he can figure out what in her body is not fighting off the strep, and find a way to strengthen it.  Most likely an auto immune disease, but she has already been tested for tons of them already. Everything came back negative...and the whole process freaked me out.  The list of diseases went on for miles and gave me nightmares.

We really have no clue, but we are so hopeful that this doctor can help.  People fly in to see him from around the country, so I am hoping that says something. We are very lucky that he is here in Utah.

Poor little Molly girl.
Get better sweetheart.

good eats

I have been doing my low carb lifestyle now for about 4 1/2 months.  I have loved how it has changed my body, my energy, my overall feeling of health, and my confidence.

I don't completely cut out carbs, or any other food/nutrient group, but I just eat really low carb.
My body responds really well to it, and I can feel it.

The past few weeks though, I been getting crazy bored with the same ol' foods.

I eat loads and loads of

Every morning for breakfast, it is always 3 eggs, lots of cheese, and once a week I will add bacon or sausage.

Breakfast, I really don't mind. Pretty dang good, filling, lots of protein, and zero carbs.

Lunch is always chocolate Shakeology, with lots of Adams Natural Peanut Butter, one banana, and ice and water. This will never, ever get old.  I crave it every single day.

I don't usually need snacks anymore. If I go into ketosis, where I really restrict carbs, I feel full a lot of the time.

When I do snack though... it is peanut butter bites, string cheese, almonds, olives, cucumbers and ranch, or a pepperoni stick.  Nothing too snazzy, but it does the trick.

Dinner is where things are getting frustrating for me.  I am getting so sick of meat and cheese.  I don't crave breads or pastas anymore, but I am just bored.  I make my family the dinners I have always made, and I pick out what I can eat, but I am just so ready for a full meal that I can stuff in my face.

So....I ordered a few books, and BAM...the past few days for my taste buds have rocked!!!

yes, the one on the left is Atkins...no, I don't follow the Atkins diet...but I eat very similar foods to those who do.

First up was this..

I have seen a ton of recipes with zucchini noodles instead of regular pasta, but it sounds so disgusting to me.  I have never liked zuchinni plain, or squash.  Zuchinni bread on the other hand....
My boredom got the best of me, and I decided to try it.

Lucky for me, our local grocery store sells these.


LOVE the name!  Fresh cut squash and zucchini noodles.

I was all set to buy a vegetable noodle maker, but lo and behold, I walk in the store, and this greets me.  SCORE!  It was meant to be I guess. :)

I made it last night, took one bite, ( I admit, I grimaced) and literally just started beaming!  It was so flippin' good!  Seriously!  It tasted exactly like Fettuccini Alfredo.  I used these noodles, a little heavy cream (zero carbs), a tiny spoonful of cream cheese (no carbs), loads of garlic, and lots of other seasonings, and that was it.

It was insanely good!  And to test it to make sure it wasn't just good to me, and my palate that is not used to sweet things anymore and kind of weird now according to my family, I gave a bite to Molly.
Hey, she was asking.

It turned into a war over who could eat more.  She gobbled it up so fast! 
YES!!!!!

This recipe gave me so much excitement, that I spent the next day looking through the cookbooks whenever I got a chance.  I came home from the grocery store today with all sorts of stuff that I would never have dreamed would be in my pantry.

Over half of it, I didn't even know what it was, and had to google pictures of it just to find it in the store!

Almond flour meal...what the?

 OK, see that xanthan gum crap there to the left of the Almost Flour Meal.  Exactly...what the what is Zanthan gum.  I went to THREE stores looking for it, without knowing where to look or what to look for.  Seriously, this stuff was impossible to find.  And what the freak is it anyway.  The name sounds pretty freaky to me.  But hey, I am supposed to cook with it, and it is supposed to keep all this healthy stuff sticking together, so whatev.

milk that tastes like dirt... and my life saver,  Heavy Cream.

yes, I know what this is.  Just don't ever use it.  Looks like I will be now.



I know what this is too...and I use it in everything! It got it's picture here because I like it, a lot.

I cannot wait to mix all of these crazy random ingredients together, along with this stuff, and actually bring pancakes back into my life again....for only 3 carbs per pancake!!!
I am just praying it doesn't taste like cement and cardboard with sugar free jam on top.

lots of this will be happening, in the cooking, not on Mary's eczema she gets on her lips. Who would've thunk.

I also bought Vanilla Almond White Protein Whey powder.  ummm, yeah, the name probably doesn't go in that order, but it was another one that was so freaking hard to find! I had zero idea what it was or what it looked like.

When I did find it, I slammed my palm to my forehead in a "doh" moment.
It is a protein powder Becky, you know, by the protein powder.
Good one...Good one.

Aside from my cookbook, zoodle alfredo find...I had the BEST FIND EVER today.

Friday and Saturday are my caffeine days. The are my hardest workout days, and it is the weekend, where my to do list around the house is always longer than the hours in the day, and lets face it, all of the kids are home, and they have lots and lots of energy and needs.

I normally drink zipfizz, because it is extremely healthy, and the caffeine comes from natural sources, so I don't get headaches or crash from it.

On some Saturday's though, when zipfizz isn't quite getting me through, I will go to my favorite place ever.

BEST dirty soda's and cookies in the world...I swear.

I usually get a "Paradise"...Diet Coke with sugar free vanilla and sugar free coconut. (two pumps of each please)

Today though, I branched out and got a "Dr. Cream Berry."  A Dr. Pepper with Raspberry Syrup and Cream.

It sounded so stinking good to me I was salivating at the window...but it had too many carbs and sugar for me to be able to enjoy it after the hard workout I had just done...so I tweaked my order. Go me.  I thought out of the box.  Not my style unfortunately for me, but I did it. And it worked!

I got a Diet Dr. Pepper, and 2 pumps of sugar free raspberry syrup.

I brought it home, and added my own heavy cream to it (zero carbs and 1g. of sugar).

I took one sip, and it was so dang amazing, that I literally started laughing and cheering. Yup, right there in the middle of the kitchen.  Shoes still on, grocery bags hanging from my arms, sweaty gym clothes, and all.
Mary and Sam stared at me like I had gone completely mad. Even though it had caffeine, I made all of the kids try it. 

They hated it.

What the?!?!

Better for me..no one sneaking sips.  Mine..all mine.


It was sooooooooo good!  Holy Crap!  I actually grabbed my keys to get in the car and buy another one, but Molly pooped her pants right there in the middle of the kitchen (all of my excitement must have gotten the best of her), and diverted me. 

By FAR the best find I have found so far.  I absolutely cannot wait until next Saturday, just for this.  It feels like I am waiting for Christmas..for real.

Next up, the second best find of the day.

Yup, two great finds in one day.  Believe me...after the week it has been, this was a God send.

Again, it is Atkins.  Not because I follow their diet (I give myself cheat meals once in while, and my lunch has PLENTY of carbs to not work on this diet anyway), but holy crap, this little nugget of goodness blew my mind.

Some of the other Atkins treats I have found taste like chemicals and plastic to me.
This treat however....YUMMY!
I am a caramel lover..the good kind of caramel.  As in Rocky Mountain Chocolate Company Sea Salt Caramel Chocolates kind of caramel lover.

This sweet, blessed, heavenly little bar brought caramel back into my life!  (disclaimer:  it also brings a massive load of bloating and gas as well), but it is WELL worth it.  At least to me.  Ben and the kids would beg to differ.

Needless to say, it was a good low carb food week for me.  I found some new recipes and some awesome treasures!!

Oh, and this is also arriving in the mail in a few days.

Bring on the homemade salsa, shredded chicken taquitos where the chicken is actually ground up, pie crusts that I can finally eat (made out of nuts), and a whole new world of cooking bliss!

Oh, and as another side note.
I try to drink lots of water, I really do, but I just need flavor, ya know.
These do the trick every time!  I may or may not have a fridge full of these at all times.

And that's a wrap folks.

Hopefully I will be posting again in a few weeks with a bunch more new and yummy eats I have discovered in my fake sugar, weird ingredient, somewhat gassy, yet amazing low carb healthy Becky world!

keep on keeping on

Mary had her first tumbling meet of the season a couple weeks ago.

She is a level 8 this year...officially upper level!

Because of the situation with the new gym they are practicing, and with hurting her wrist this summer, Mary was more nervous than I have ever seen her.

The morning of the meet, I couldn't find Mary.  Sam told me she was outside.

"Huh?"  We had just had a huge storm the night before, and it was FREEZING cold outside as well.

Sure enough I looked outside, and there was Mary.

She was in her competition leotard and winter coat.  She was on the trampoline that had about 18 inches of snow on it, and she was shoveling the snow off with our shovel.

I opened the back door and asked her what on earth she was doing.

Her response:
"I am shoveling off the snow so I can get one more practice in before my meet!"

I wish more than anything I had taken a picture of her at that moment.

My little girl out there, in a competition leotard, shoveling snow off the trampoline in order to squeeze in just one more practice.

THAT is some serious dedication.

She just didn't feel ready for the meet, and that was a very new feeling to her.  She has always gone into her competition season feeling confident and ready.

It broke my heart to see her struggling so much with her confidence in not only her tumbling, but in her coaches, in her wrist, and in herself.

I wish I could say that the meet put all of those fears aside, and that she just blew it out of the water.
It was not the case, in fact, it was just the opposite.

Mary was a pile of nerves for double mini.  She actually pulled off her passes beautifully, but her landing on of them was off, and she not only took a step, but took a step out of bounds.  Mary is great at sticking her landings, this was a confidence thing for sure!  She came away with 5th place, which was great, but not was she is capable of, and she knew it, so she was frustrated.

Next up was floor.
The floor was extremely hard, and several upper level tumblers were falling, hurting their wrists, and not able to get much height.
That was a bad recipe for Mary, with a wrist that was just recovered from an injury.

To make things worst, the judges wouldn't let her wear her normal wrist brace, because it is black, and they have to be nude color for the meet. (don't get me going...don't even get me going)

So, Mary did her warm up pass, with cold muscles, because she waited two hours in between events, on a hard, floor, with a crappy brace and a tender wrist.

After her warm up pass, she immediately grabbed her wrist and looked panicked.  She glanced up at me and started crying.

Now, Mary does not cry much, at least with tumbling.  I have never seen her cry at a meet, or at a practice.  Neither has her coach.  So, the fact that she was crying was a big deal.

Her coach was nowhere to be seen, which only added to my fury, and her nerves and confusion with what to do.

I told Mary to just scratch the event, but she just kept saying she could do it.

So, she did it.

And she actually did dang well.

The only problem is that she could not do her full twist at the end of her second pass, because she did not have enough power because of her hurt arm.

After her second pass, she completely fell apart.  She was shaking, pale, and in tons of pain.

I was madder than a hornet.  Coach wasn't anywhere to be seen, judges made her take off her brace, and the meet was so behind that she had to tumble on cold muscles.

I am a momma, hear me ROAR!!!

Mary ended up with 4th place, which is amazing for not even doing one of her skills.  She was still discouraged though.

We got home that night, and talked and talked and talked.  She thought about quitting, she thought about trying All Star Cheer, she talked about switching to a different gym, she thought about sticking with it, and so on.

She was really upset. 

She is finally an upper level tumbler, which was a big goal of hers.  She is finally doing the tricks and skills she has wanted to do for so long, and she is almost at the peak of her tumbling.

It can be really frustrating to move to a smaller gym without the equipment to accommodate upper levels, have three weeks off tumbling right before a meet, due to the move, have a coach is seems to be getting disinterested, and to have an injury to top it off. 

Ben gave Mary a blessing, and I told her to just keep on keeping on and see how things unfold. 

I told Mary that it is up to her to decide where to go from here, and to look deep and see what she really wants, really loves, and really wants to do.

She took it seriously.

She came to me a few days later saying that she wants to "keep on keeping on," and try to overcome the obstacles and see what comes of it.  She wasn't ready to give up, not yet.

That's my girl!

So...she is in physical therapy 2-3 times a week getting her wrist worked on, she is busting her bum at practice, doing everything she can on the double mini and trampoline to perfect her skills that don't require her wrist, to get her form down, and to just keep moving forward.

the "wax dip" at physical therapy is her favorite.  It is a deep tissue heating strategy.

Her physical therapist is awesome.  He has experience with tumblers and athletes, so he understands Mary's desire and need to get back on the floor and get ready for her next meet. 
He has seen this injury before, and he knows what to do for it, how to help it heal faster, how to wrap it, and how to help Mary learn to push to a certain point of pain, but then back off when it is "bad" pain.
She is quickly learning healing pain versus injury pain.

She is quickly learning all about tissue massage, stem machine, ultrasound, wax dipping, range of motion exercises, and so on.  She is being a champ through the whole thing.

Mary is definitely right in the middle of a big learning moment in her life.

One of the reasons I love sports so much, and really hope my children will all get involved with one sport or another, is because of all of the learning, discipline, self esteem, confidence, and sometimes keep on keeping on when the going gets tough.

That is the most important lesson.  When the going gets tough, the tough get going.

Those are life lessons that are so valuable.

I am proud of Mary for fighting through this rough patch, and I pray every day that she can pull through, be stronger for it, and fight her way back to the confident, powerful, and beautiful tumbler that she is.

dear toothfairy

To the tooth fairy,

I pulled out my tooth

but I lost it at school because it fell out at school.

 

FROM

SAM

 

The letter worked.  The tooth fairy came, he got $3.00.  Yeah, yeah, I know.  Inflation is a killer, especially with molars.

Happy day for Sammy boy...and the most adorable letter ever!

winter of all winters...so far

We have had quite the January so far!  After years of below average snow fall, and drought, we have kind of gotten used to more mild winters, without a ton of snow.

This January is making up for it!!!

We have been blasted with one big storm after the next after the next after the next.

The ski resorts around here are at 200%  with snow coverage right now.  Ben and the kids, aside from Molly, are totally utilizing that this year!

If it isn't snowing, it is gorgeous and sunny, but usually in the negatives and snot freezing, angry thoughts, cold.

The neighborhood looks like a wonderland.  There are igloos, snow forts, snow tunnels, and snow man everywhere.  The piles of snow go up to the swings, the trampoline, over most of the bushes, and some are even high enough to sled down.  It is a kid paradise....if they like the snow...which my children do, I mean seriously, Ben is their dad.

It is hard to see, but this is a path where the sidewalk is.  The walls of snow on both sides are taller than Luke.

The snow in our yard....not the drifts, but the actual snow in the yard, is up to the bottom of our swings.

The snow is beautiful, when it is fresh and when the sun is out.  There is also something to be said of the silence and peace in the air as big huge flakes flutter down from the sky.

There is unfortunately something to be said about freezing my butt off, getting stuck in the dang driveway 3 times so far, my little kids being trapped inside because the snow it literally too deep, and just the feeling of never ending gray and cloudy skies.

On those "winter blues" days, I keep telling myself over and over and over, it is beautiful, it is peaceful, it is helping with the drought, and it is making for some awesome waterskiing in the summer!

Oh sweet, dear, blessed, warm, green, sunny summer.  How I miss you.

In the mean time, Ben can enjoy is snow skiing dream winter, my kids can have a winter like none other, and I can start wearing warmer clothes to the gym.  :)

common ground

All 5 of my children are similar yet very different.  I have always had a goal as their mother, to find common ground with each child.  Something that me and my child both enjoy doing, or that we both feel or understand.  Something in common that can bond us, give us something to do together, or talk about, or just feel a mutual understanding about.

With some of my children it has been easy, with others, it is a little more hidden and difficult to find.

I feel like it is so important though, because I really want to have a solid connection, love and communication with my children, no matter what it is about. 

Luke and I discovered some common ground this week, and it makes me laugh to think about how "Luke" it is.

Luke is extremely mechanical minded.  He is obsessed with tools, building, fixing, creating, gadgets, machinery, tractors, police cars, police uniforms with all of the "police stuff" on the belt, and so on.  He is not only interested in this kind of thing, but he is incredibly talented when it comes to creating, engineering, figuring out, and reading and following picture directions, and so on.

He has been playing with his bucket of Legos lately, that we have had around the house for about 2 years. 
He spent about an hour building something, and then came running up to me to show me.
I seriously couldn't believe it!
He had no map, or directions, or instructions, and he had built an amazingly detailed and perfectly constructed boat.   It was pretty unbelievable! 

You can't see, but the boat had an engine inside, a control panel, a gas tank, and numerous other small details inside. 

He kept telling me that he wished he had a "map" of how he built his boat, so if it broke, he could remember how to fix it.

It was at that moment that I decided he just might be ready for a real Lego set, with an instruction book, and actual things to make.

I told Luke we could get his money he has earned, and go buy a Lego set if he wanted to.  His excitement was hilarious!  He was bursting out the door, full speed ahead and jumping up and down.

We got to the Lego isle, and of all of the Lego sets, he immediately grabbed a set that made a very intricate police car, a bad guy race car, and a huge police helicopter.

It was for ages 8 and up, and I was worried it would frustrate Luke, and discourage him.  He was determined though, and he was so excited, so we got it.

He did not even put the box in the cart.  He lugged that thing around the entire store, through the parking lot, in the car, and into the house.

Right when we got home, before he even took off his jacket or boots, he opened the box and got to it.

I decided to get him started and to show him how to follow the instructions.

Again, I was shocked with how natural he was with it, and how he just went to work.

He did get stuck with a few tricky parts, so I helped him.  I ended up "helping" him all day, because it was so fun! I discovered that I was having a great time with Legos too!  I really enjoyed building legos! ha!

Luke and I spent most of the day, on and off, building the police car, the "bad guy car" and the helicopter.  Once the helicopter was complete, the set was done, and Luke was over the moon!

this says it all

Once we were done, Luke started playing with them, and hasn't stopped for the past 4 days!

Every time they break, he pulls out his "map" and is usually able to fix it.  If it is a big break, I fix it, and it is pretty fun.

I think we are on to something here!

Even better...the bigger boys are seeing how much fun Luke is having, and they have joined in as well.

Sam helping Luke fix the "bad guy car."  After the fact, Sam asked for his own Lego set.  Yes!

William started making his own "boat,' and it was awesome! 

All three boys playing with Legos.  The TV is off, they are getting along, and they are using their brains.  Mom's dream come true!

 

To be honest, I am tempted to get Luke a big huge set...like the real deal.  It would be so much fun for us to do together.  Definitely common ground with us.

Legos rock!!! (now if they just weren't so blasted expensive!)

a night out

Last night the boys had a boys night out, and the girls had a girls night out.

The boys did some good ol' white trash monster truck rallying.
Ben said he was the only guy there his age without a camo. jacket and a beard.
It was loud, big and crazy.
The little boys were pretty blown away with the sheer size of the trucks, and with how incredibly loud they were.

 

 

 

 

While the boys were out, the girls and I went to the Park City outlets and surrounded ourselves with earrings, stuffed animals, make up, sparkles, purses, glitter, fuzzy pillows, and girl everything!

cupcake mug for mary, purse and necklaces for molly, earrings for mommy

 

 

Girl power!

Fun times with the family.  Love making memories.

 

 

 

the minions go to the dentist

This week was a busy one for sure.  LOTS of random appointments happening.  One of which was our bi-annual dental cleaning and check ups.  All the kids were scheduled for the same afternoon, minus Molly of course.

I picked them all up early from school, and we made our way to the dentist office.

I always wonder what it is like in the office, getting ready for the arrival of the Maynard minions.  I wonder what goes through their heads when all 6 of us come plowing through the door, a giant whirlwind of blond hair, blue eyes, backpacks, cell phones, coats, boots, noise, energy, and apprehension.

If they feel sheer terror, they sure have a great way of hiding it!  The are always so nice and fun with the kids, and the dentist himself is always talkative and remembers things the kids have told him from the last visit.  We totally scored in the dentist department!

It is definitely pretty nerve wracking for me, hoping the kids will behave in the waiting room, hoping Luke will not be scared, hoping no one has cavities, hoping they are not behind, hoping Molly doesn't have an accident, since she is in the middle of potty training, and so on....

Luckily, it was a pretty smooth appointment!

Luke was actually thrilled to get his teeth cleaned, and he was completely mezmorized by the mechanical chair, the tools, the lights, and the suction tool.  He loved every second of it, right down to the prize closet.

This picture cracks me up.  Luke looks terrified, and the dental assistant in the background looks like she just slit someone's throat!  In reality, Luke was extremely excited, and the assistant was awesome with him, and very happy and sweet.

Molly peed three times...in the bathroom, and had no accidents.  Hooray!!

They took the kids two at a time, so it was pretty quick, considering what it could be like.

Mary, Sam and William had no cavities!  I was extremely happy, and so were they.

Unfortunately, Luke makes up for it all, and then some.  He has four cavities in his molars, and they are deep.  We have to take him to a pediatric dentist that can sedate him to get the cavities filled.  Ugh!  $$$

All in all, the appointment was a success.  We didn't break anything, no one cried, we didn't make anyone cry, no one pooped their pants, and my kids walked out happy and with squeaky clean teeth.

I am up next...on Valentines Day of all days.  To be real, I am kinda sorta freaked out.  I am NOT a fan of the dentist...prize closet or not.  Boo. 

dear january

Dear January,
   I LOVE that I always start you out with a professional house cleaning, and the year starts fresh and clean.

I hate that I am sweeping and mopping all day long due to the snow and mud being drug in and out constantly.

I love that I get a new, clean planner for the year, and the excitement of filling it up with plans of trips, sports, vacations, piano lessons, church activities and everything to start out the year feeling organized and planned.

I hate that there is not much going on for the kids as far as sports, and they are bored out of their minds.

I love that we are getting pounded with snow, and pulling out of our drought.

I hate that I haven't seen the sun in way too long, and it is so freaking dark.

I love that all of the organizing and cleaning helps to organize and de-clutter my mind.

I hate that the darkness, fighting kids and cabin fever makes me feel completely out of my mind psycho crazy.

I love that my kids can go skiing, build snow forts, have snowball fights, and enjoy nature.

I hate that after 10 minutes they are too cold, and can no longer get all of their energy out outside.

I love that we are not insanely busy with our fall/spring schedule.

I hate that the kids fighting, whining and bickering hits and all time high due to boredom and cabin fever.

I love that I can wear cozy clothes, fuzzy socks, use my down blanket, and snuggle in blankets all day.

I hate that everyone has to be in a million layers before we can go anywhere.

I love making resolutions, setting goals and that feeling of hope in the future.

I hate how dang packed the gym is for the next two months, and how it is impossible to get a treadmill without waiting in line forever.

I love that snow shoveling burns calories and is an awesome workout.

I hate snow shoveling.

I love that all of the adorable work out clothes are on sale and fully stocked.

I hate that I can't run outside in said adorable jackets, shorts and tanks.

I love you, and I hate you.

Sincerely,
   bi polar winter mom

a backpack story

Last year, when Luke started preschool, I found the perfect backpack for him!  It was just his size, and fit his cute little personality.  Who wouldn't love a puppy backpack???  Luke loved his backpack!

first day of preschool last year

Luke loved it so much, that he wanted to use the same backpack this year.

It has all been great and good until last month when Luke got off the bus and said, "I hate my backpack.  It is the worst one.  All of friends say so."

He was completely factual, no anger or frustration.  He just looked at me with his little round puppy dog eyes, and cute little face, and stated the facts.

It broke my heart.

I told him that it didn't matter what is friends said, and that if he liked his backpack, then that's all that mattered. 

Luke dropped the subject, but the very next week, he got off the bus and stated,  "now my backpack is really really REALLY the worst.  All of my friends say so, and even I think so now."

I felt so bad, and pretty upset with his little buddies for saying this to Luke, but I told Luke that he could get a new backpack if it was really that important to him.  After all, I admit, he was outgrowing the puppy backpack.

That evening, I got on amazon.com and looked up little boy backpacks.  I pulled up spider man, batman, superman, paw patrol, and every little boy backpack I was sure Luke was love.  I then gave him my phone with the backpack pictures on it, and told him to pick one.

He spent FOREVER looking at each and every single backpack.  There were probably 25 of them.  He spent about 45 minutes looking and examining, when he finally said, I don't like those ones mom, I like this one.

He then showed me the backpack he wanted, and I was shocked.  It wasn't paw patrol, or super hero.  It was blue plaid and had about a million pockets.

Luke proudly declared that he had found a police backpack!  He was beaming!

Of course.

I was once again reminded that even after 12 years of mothering, and thinking I know my kids styles, I have absolutely no clue whatsoever.  Awesome.

We ordered the backpack, and it arrived a week earlier than planned. 

When it came, Luke spent the day examining each and every pocket, zipper and button, and named the function for each one.

He proudly wore it to school the next day, and when marched up on the bus, he held it up for everyone to see and said, "I have the bestest backpack now!!"   He proudly marched to his seat and sat down, placing his new backpack happily on his lap.

And that was that.

 

the mary special

Mary was babysitting her younger siblings the other day, and I came home to all of them drinking this...

 

 

 

 

It is called the "Mary Special."

 

Mary invented it.  It is chocolate milk, whip cream, creamer, sprinkles, and a fun straw.

 

The kids loved it!

 

I love how creative and fun Mary is.

 

To top it off, she made the mug in the pictures. 

 

She is so awesome!

home away from home

Mary's gym, Heber Handspringers, moved locations during the Christmas break.

Mary offered to help move the gym, and she worked HARD to help take everything down and to empty out the pit.

She told me it was like moving her home.  I totally understand what she meant.

She had been there for so long.  Her coaches are not only her coaches, but her friends and examples.  She has a solid trust built with them, and they know her so well. Her teammates are some of her very best friends in and out of the gym.  The gym is absolutely a second home to her, and has been for 3 1/2 years.

Unfortunately, the building her gym moved in to does not have enough room for the equipment.  The tumble track that Mary does her passes on, is only half the regulation size, so she can only do half of her pass, and then do the other half on her next turn. Definitely not ok.

The double mini runway is not long enough to take more than a few steps, and there is a giant pole in the middle of it, so the kids can not get enough speed to get enough height to do their skills on the double mini.

There is no pit to safely practice new skills in to, and the ceiling is low, so the trampolinists are hitting their heads.

We are very, very sad, but it looks like Mary will most likely have to switch gyms, and go somewhere else if she wants to continue to progress in the sport.  Especially now that she is officially an upper level tumbler.   Heber Handspringers can no longer accommodate upper level tumblers, and the skills they need to do. The closest gyms are down the canyon, and the best gym she could go to is about 45 minutes away. ugh

It is very, very hard for Mary to think about leaving Bev and Jessica, her coaches, and all of her friends, but it may be necessary. She has shed quite a few tears already.

We will see how the next little while goes, ( her first meet is this Saturday), but I don't think it will work to do her full passes for the first time at competitions. We will give it a shot though.

Definitely a hard and sad situation for Mary and for her second home.

Ugh.