Tidying up

I have found some treasures in the process of tidying up my house. The author Marie Kondo suggests that the "life-changing magic of tidying up" can help you find your true self and set you on the path of doing what you are really meant to do. 

I have two short pieces that I found. I do love words, and they say the internet keeps things forever.

7 July 98 (I just realized that is today! Shivers.)

Metamorphosis

They come and go

come like fireflies

light blinking in their eyes and in their smiles,

bouncing off their hair and hands

and shining through their silk cocoons.

They stay awhile, sharing light, growing and changing

struggling with who they are

and who they want to be.

They come and go

go, carrying away a piece of me with them,

and as I watch them fly away, leaving a

trail of light and heavenly dust,

I feel my own flame burn a little brighter,

my own silk shell one layer thinner.

On my way to the Emerald City

"I'm melting!" cries the wicked witch inside of me,

doused not by water, but baptized by fire.

I also found this little gem I had been saving, not sure what for, but it was a timely reminder.

Sometimes I look back and I feel like I have made no progress whatsoever! I am laughing as I type this because I also feel like I have come so far. It's a paradox.

I'm thankful for all the pieces of me that I am finding while I tidy up!

This boy, too

Due to some unfortunate icy weather back in February, we just barely got to the doctor today for Jack's eight year old check up. He's still a little taller than average and way skinnier than average, and healthy.

A few months back when we were coming up on his actual birthday and anticipating big life events that come with turning eight, my husband asked Jack what he was most looking forward to about turning eight. His immediate answer was, "making a car for the pinewood derby!"

Not the Big Talk that mom and dad have with our eight year olds, not getting baptized a couple of days after his baptism on the same day as his favorite cousin, not even joining the cub scout pack. It was making the car. Well, we've spent about a month on that block of wood.

Jack spent some of his own hard-earned money on a saw and a clamp so he could saw the shape he wanted. The neighbor having the estate sale congratulated me on teaching my kid about free commerce and the market system. I congratulated myself on inexpensive tools and a long project where Jack did most of the labor.

Daddy and Pa stepped in and helped him out with the sealing, painting, and finishing details while I was out of town for a sisters weekend. Last night I helped him wax the car and put the wheels on, and tonight he raced it. We did a cub scout only race and then a family race, where anyone with a car could race it on the track. Jack won 4th place in the cub scouts' race and was super happy with his car's performance. He also got an award for "Most Interesting Car." Lego driver. Lego spoiler. Lego windshield.

The adults were pretty much raced out after the first thirty minutes, but the kids would have gone on and on and on for hours longer. Girls, boys, older siblings, younger kids...it didn't matter how many times those cars went down the track. They got just as excited every single time.

Jack won one of the impromptu fun races, and the look on his face said it all. He might as well have won the whole contest with the jumping and whooping and fist pumping. So great.

I had a funny conversation with his school music teacher today. After getting his report card with the comment "Making limited progress," I called to find out what exactly that meant, and if Jack was having any behavior issues in class. She said Jack is very quiet and very well behaved, but he just doesn't participate much. She had no idea he has been taking piano lessons for over two years, that he randomly sings songs that he has only heard once, and that he is, in fact, one of the most musical members of our family. He's just flying under the radar with some hidden talents. Looks like he takes after both his mom and dad.

This boy is so great at helping out, doing chores, learning new things, and figuring stuff out. The whole time I was talking to the pediatrician today, he was up on the table playing with the examination tools, shining the light on the walls, and exploring what they can do. Mysteries of the universe, watch out. This boy is coming.

Life words

Eighth graders are really neat people.

Spring!!

The crazy cold winter followed by a super rainy February and March has made this one of the best bluebonnet seasons in a long time. We decided (this is the "royal we" here) for family home evening to scrounge up some semi-matching clothes and head for the great outdoors to take bluebonnet pictures.

I could just look at this face, and look, and look. I need to make a life-sized version and hold it up in front of me when he is telling me "It's going to take forever! It's taking forever! Why are you taking forever? You took forever!" or when he is getting his ninja on, or several hundred other moments during the day to remind me that this little boy is in there. . . somewhere.



Ditto on these smiling, happy, friendly looking kids


Ahhh, brotherly love. Look! You can barely see a scar, and you probably wouldn't have even noticed, but I just pointed it out.






She's touching my hair! She's pulling on me! She's making me hot!
We finally went for the "together but apart" look.




The kids know how to take a picture without cutting off heads.


If you zoom in here, you can actually see his awesome tongue condition. It's real, and it's called "geographic tongue."


"Family Picture"


The family that selfies together stays together!


Happy Spring!

This boy

The first time we went grocery shopping after school started and he was the only child not in school, we scored this cart. Every dream in his precious little heart was realized.

Little man discovered he actually loves tomatoes when he previously vocally and vehemently declared his everlasting hatred for the fruit. Why the change of heart? He helped pick out plants, plant them, water them, squish snails, and harvest these lovely pear tomatoes. Also, yellow is his favorite color. He is still unfortunately prejudiced against the red variety most of the time, but progress is progress.

The great thing about older siblings is that they teach the younger ones lots of neat stuff, like how to write their names all by themselves! (They teach them other not-so-great stuff also.) Since last fall, Elijah has learned to spell, write, and read the names of all of our family members. I love the kind of learning that goes on at this age.

I mentioned I got a job. It was a very hard transition for this little guy, who was looking forward to staying at home with Mommy and playing games and doing puzzles all day, every day while the kids are in school. Fortunately, the sweet lady who watches him for several hours each weekday is happy to play, do puzzles, take him to story time and play at the park, and introduce him to other like-minded friends, both adults and children. 

We still walk the kids to and from school most days. Just a month or so after last summer's surgery, this boy walked all the way to the school and back. When I say walk, I mean he ran. He has so. much. more. energy.

He has figured out pedaling! The little daredevil likes to go down the driveway, across the street, and into the neighbor's driveway. This scares me to death. Time to get a helmet and a bicycle with brakes.

Snow in Waco, Texas? What is that about? We got some quality play time in, had a day of school cancelled because we don't mess around with school buses driving on ice here, and then the sun came out and it was over. I would like to state for the record that we have spent two of the coldest winters of my life potty training. We have become friends with socks, along with our shirt and underwear.

Whaaaaaat? When did he get tall enough to pull that bubble around himself? Post-surgery growth spurt is for real.

He rode all the way around the block with just a little help up the hill.

This boy. This boy I prayed for, and have prayed so much for, and continue to pray for. He is going to do great things!

I just wanted to share...

Where has this information been all my life? Obviously out there, but I really could have used this very clear, concise version a long time ago. I am so glad to have it now!!

In other news, I started a part time job about three weeks after my last post, and it has taken me the last six months to adjust to the new normal. I can't promise much here on this little blog of mine, but I have not forgotten that one of the main reasons I keep at it is to preserve memories and pictures of my kids that I wouldn't have otherwise. I've been filling my need to write in lots of other ways and spaces. Life is still going full steam ahead, and it still cannot get better than this.

Ahhhh, autumn

Happy Autumn! I have been loving the cooler weather in the morning on our walks to school. The snails are back, and my summer garden is gone and a new fall garden experiment is in place.

I have three in school this year, and one at home. The best quotes of the school year so far come from Rose.

"Mom, I thought I would HATE school, but I LOVE it!"

"Mom, I thought I would know NOTHING when I started school, but I know LOTS of things."

"Ellen thought I was going to get lots of color changes, but I haven't gotten a SINGLE ONE!"

R: "That's the boy I'm going to marry." M: "How do you know? Did you talk to him? Did he talk to you?" R: "No, but he looked at me the whole time we were having nap time. I'm going to marry him."

Elijah's visit to the cardiologist last week was exciting. His O2 was 98%!!!!!!!! The echo showed no leaking whatsoever, and the cardiologist said that Elijah is an example of a perfect Fontan. We are so grateful for our amazingly skilled pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon, Dr. Eric Mendeloff.

On the home front, Elijah has been reluctant to go to our co-op preschool without me, to his primary class on Sunday, and to even go on errands with me. His idea of a perfect day is staying home playing games with Mommy all day long. To his supreme disappointment and in spite of his vocal protests, this does not happen often.

Before the official start of fall and after the beginning of school, we have taken in a concert and fireworks at the new McLane stadium at Baylor and gotten caught in a downpour on our way to a football game in the same stadium. We fill our days with school, work, church, biking, piano, swimming, reading, playing, lying in a hammock in the back yard, tidying up, spending time with friends, and looking forward to more fun and time together as the season progresses.

I read this today and I LOVE IT!

http://powerofmoms.com/2013/01/you-dont-have-to-like-it/

You don't have to like it. I can totally get my head around that idea. Somehow it's affirming and liberating at the same time.

This is my favorite quote:

"I may wish for children who are perfectly obedient, respectful, kind, and generous, but if they were, then how would I grow? Motherhood is every bit as much about my personal growth and development as it is about my children’s."

Also, today I am happy that I can be a good friend to someone who was having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. I love her and her family so much, and I understand a little bit of what they are going through. Though I hated it at the time, now I'm kind of glad I've been there and done that.

Matching tongue and shirt. That's talent.

First post-op checkup

Elijah's morning meds used to look like this, with everything but the aspirin again at night.

Last Thursday we took a day trip to Dallas to see his cardiologist.

A trip to Dallas includes lunch and ice cream at Braum's.

While Elijah and I checked in at the doctor's office, Jack and the kids walked around the hospital and found all of Elijah's favorite places.

Elijah and I did paperwork, height and weight (12.8 kg), blood pressure, O2 (90%!) and an EKG, which Elijah hated. They put stickers all over his chest and clipped the stickers to the computer to monitor his heart function. He cried about the stickers coming off, too. His chest is very tender still.

Then he had a sonogram, crying, lying on me, until M&Ms and Mater on the tv cheered him up.

When Dr. Verma came in to talk to us, Elijah remembered to tell him he doesn't want to take the yucky aldactazide anymore. It turns out that they checked his lungs a little when they were doing the heart sonogram and didn't see any fluid, so we are starting to wean off the diuretic, starting with the yucky one. We are down to three morning meds and one again at night. Yea!

After the checkup, we headed over to the Perot Museum to spend the afternoon.

Dinosaurs in 3D!

We wore ourselves out having fun, and then had dinner and finished off the day with a trip to the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey circus at the American Airlines Center. We got free tickets while Elijah was in the hospital and thought it would be a good thing to do the same day as his checkup since we would already be in Dallas. The day was long, but it was so fun. I had some low expectations based on a childhood experience with a circus, and I was pleasantly surprised and amazed. It was a very, very, very good show. Elijah's favorite animal is the tiger, and he was over the moon to see ten tigers in real life doing their tricks.

Once Ellen realized that things were going on in the dark areas, she was almost more interested in trying to figure out what they were setting up for next than in what was going on front and center. Funny. She was also a perfect responding audience member. Every time the ringmaster said something like, "If you want to be amazed, someone say YES!" Ellen was jumping out of her seat and yelling.

By the time we got home Thursday night it was nearly midnight. Good news at the doctor's office, good fun at the museum and the circus, and good night, sleeping children all the way home. 

Home

Things are back to pretty normal around here. We got home Monday afternoon and played with Nana, visiting cousin Kason, and Ellen, Jack, and Rose.

Tuesday we all went to the summer dollar movie to see "Walking with Dinosaurs." Wednesday we went to the Hewitt Library end of summer splash party and Hewitt Park. Mostly we played at the park. Elijah was too short for most of the inflatables and wouldn't have been able to climb them anyway. (No pushing or pulling for 4-6 weeks to allow his sternum to heal.)

Elijah had an appointment with his pediatrician to check in after surgery. Dr. Clark's medical student got to play twenty questions with us and try to "diagnose" Elijah. Fail. Elijah's heart defect is one of the most rare of all congenital heart defects. We had a nice visit and got the all clear for Elijah to go ahead and have his teeth cleaned as scheduled with the other kids next week.

Pa came in time for dinner Wednesday evening, and Thursday he took Kason and Nana back home. We will miss them, especially the kids, who have been super spoiled by all the Nana and Pa attention.

Thursday afternoon we went to turn in our library reading logs and eat lunch with some kids meal coupons the kids scored for reading. Then we spent some time at the Mayborn Museum and finished up the day with dinner and a movie at home for Daddy and the kids, and a fun baby shower with dinner and friends for Mommy.

Today we did yard work and errands, cleaned the house and went to see another movie. We are really living it up here, taking advantage of Daddy's last few days off. 

And loving the nice weather.