Family Update

My poor blog must be feeling pretty neglected these days.  A lot of things have been going on and life goes and on and then the blog gets left behind. I have been keeping my Instagram updated so I can keep a record of all those little things I like to remember. But I do want to give my blog some love again.

Sometimes when I have writers block, the only way to get out of it is to just write my way out of it. I really have no idea what to write at the moment, but I am writing.

My life right now is revolving mostly around Zach.  A few months ago, we decided to have him do a program called Brain Balance. It is a lot of work and time and money and has really thrown our family into a different kind of rhythm.  He goes to the South Jordan center three days a week and has to do home exercises three times a day, six days per week.  We have also put school on hold. No school for the past two months for him.

Ever since I put him in public school last year, it became apparent very quickly that something needed to be done. School exposed all of his weaknesses and I just couldn't ignore it anymore. The more I thought about it, the more it dawned on me that Zach probably has Asperger's. He has never been diagnosed or anything, but when I looked up all of the characteristics of someone with Asperger's, he fit it perfectly. I could think of a specific example for every characteristic. So what was I supposed to do for him? He was really struggling. He knew he was and didn't like it either. But he just couldn't help some of the stuff he was doing that was driving all of us crazy and really causing him to clash socially with people at church and in the neighborhood.

I then heard a commercial for a place called Brain Balance. When I looked into with Rinar, it just all made perfect sense. It was applicable to him in every way. I knew I was at the right place. He does exercises to strengthen his right brain and isolate his left brain as much as possible. Zach's left brain is very strong and his right brain is holding him back. We have been working on developing his right brain. He is on a special diet (no gluten, sugar, dairy, soy, peanuts) and is doing things to get him physically stronger. We now go to the Treehouse Athletic Club as much as possible, he plays basketball, racquetball, lifts weights, and the like. I also have him working on a needlepoint project to  help him develop better fine motor skills. He plays the piano a lot, as well and has restricted screen time. I also try to have him go outside as much as possible.

So, you can see I have been sucked into a Zach vortex a bit. But it does seem to be helping and I am seeing changes in him. It is a lot of little things, but I know that those add up to big things.

Raef continues to go to the middle school and really seems to enjoy it. He seems to have figured out the system and his grades have improved a bit. Raef is fascinated with figuring out what makes a person popular. I get almost daily reports on his observations. I think he may have a future in sociology. One night I was diligently working on a puzzle that Harry had left undone on the dining room table. Raef plopped down next to me and just started talking and talking and talking about every thing that was happening at his school. I think he talked for about an hour without barely taking a breath. When he got it all out of his system, he thanked me for listening and then went to bed. It was so cute.

Eli is such a smart boy. He amazes me daily with the things he learns and retains. He is now working on Perpetual Motion, which is song 9 in the first Suzuki book. It is mostly done. His teacher Trina C. switched his thumb to the grown up hold, and he does not like it at all. He has really been fighting me on it. I have now resorted to threatening an allowance deduction if he doesn't hold his bow correctly. That seems to help keep him moving forward. He is reading well and his speed is increasing nicely. We are reading the Magic Tree House series. We are almost finished with book 7, "Sunset of the Sabertooth". Eli's math skills are phenomenal. We are now going to start learning multiplication. I already did a lesson and it is clear that he has a good grasp of it already. I have a feeling we will be out of multiplication by the end of April. I know I learned multiplication in 3rd grade. That kid. Holy smokes.

Harry is chomping at the bit to do school. I usually run out of time before we can do anything, but I know he is learning stuff all the time. He is halfway through the "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons" and seems to remember everything, even when I go a long time between each lesson. I am not worried about it, since he technically does not start Kindergarten until the fall. He is also a voracious puzzle solver and can get on some serious puzzle kicks. And he is really good at them.

Julia just loves having friends and going to play anywhere. She also loves to watch this show called "Monster High". I am sure it is trashy and she probably shouldn't watch it and I am gonna have to stop it, but I admit that I am being a lazy parent. But I do make her play outside as much as possible, which does cut down on TV time. Yesterday Julia and Harry went over to Amanda B.'s house to play with her kids. Her kids weren't home and they played there anyway. I didn't know this until they came home. It made me laugh so hard just thinking about it. Amanda is a saint. Sheesh.

Noelle is my heaven sent little girl. She is growing so fast and is hitting the cutest age of all. She walks and climbs and explores and is pretty mischievous, in the cutest way possible. When I pick her up she will give me the most meltiest, cuddliest hug ever and tap my back. She gives kisses and so full of love it makes my heart burst. She absolutely loves to take baths and showers, ride her wiggle board in the kitchen, and go bye-bye. If she could live outside, she would.

Life just keeps marching on around here. We have been really busy and I am hopeful about the things that we are working on and the way my kids are growing up.  Things are good.

A Little Kid Update

Life keeps marching on in our household. Holidays are done and vacation is done.  I guess now we are just living. I have been consistently doing homeschool with Eli. He is such a bright boy. He astounds me. He reads, computes, and comprehends so well. I am grateful that he is a willing learning who remembers what is taught. Of course, lately he does give me a bit a push back. Eli will get interested in something else in the morning, like Lego creations or a puzzle and doesn't want to stop. It can get a bit dicey, but once I throw down the hammer and he cracks the books open, he does really well. Someday it is going to sink in that school will be done everyday, no matter what. But that realization has not happened to him yet.

Harry is such a neat kid. And he is a puzzle savant. I recently went to the thrift store and picked up a slew of puzzles in the 100-200 piece range. I think I bought 6 or 7. In one morning, he did every single one.  Then I went back to the thrift store and got some more. This time I was looking solely for 300 piece puzzles. I bought 5 of them. Sure enough, he has solved all of them. You can comfortably say that he really, really likes puzzles.

Puzzles have never really been Julia's thing. However, if the puzzle has an interesting subject matter like Barbie or Power Puff Girls, Julia is more than willing to give it a try. Her mind definitely does not work in the same way as Harry's. It is much more of a challenge to complete a puzzle and a year ago she couldn't do it. But I am happy to say that she has made a ton of progress in this area. 

A nice homeschool mom in Draper has graciously started a Lego club at the Draper library. For the longest time, we couldn't make it. But I have been trying to get them there on a more regular basis. The first week, I got a lot of resistance from Harry. But once he put his foot in the door the first time, he was hooked!

Eli loves it, too!

 As for Noelle, she is an unmitigated stinker at this point in her life. She climbs into, onto, over, and under everything. In this instance, she pulled out this drawer in the kitchen and climbed right in. I also found her dancing in the toilet! I put a picture of that on Instagram.  After the toilet incident, I went to Walmart and bought a bunch safety gates to keep her out of stuff.  But really, I wouldn't have it any other way.

My Blessings

The Primary Program was today and it was wonderful. The theme for the year was “Families Are Forever” and I was touched by the spirit as I listened to those precious children sing and speak their little lines to the congregation. There is power in the voices of the innocent.

I am fortunate that three of my children participated. They did a wonderful job. Eli had to say what his favorite Article of Faith was. He has a musical mind and since he learned them through music he decided to sing his part. It was precious. When he finished singing A Capella the first Article of Faith, you could hear the congregation murmur their admiration.

Julia was able to speak her part very clearly. She also sang well, except for the times she would make faces at Sophie Daynes, her little buddy. It was pretty cute though, considering they were right in front for everyone to see.

Harry was also in the very front and I watched him sing his heart out and just be a littlecutie. He got to say why he was glad he could watch General Conference, because he could see the prophet on TV.

It is the little things that make my life so incredibly wonderful. As the sacrament prayer was being said, I looked at three blonde heads lined up next to each other with their eyes closed and I thought to myself, wow, Heavenly Father has richly blessed my life.

Party Time - 5 Year-old Style

It is just birthdays, birthdays, birthdays around here.  Julia and Harry turned the big 5 this past week. Since this is a milestone in life, at least I think so, I decided they each needed their own birthday party. Yes, I knew it was going to be painful for me to pull it off, but it just had to be done. You only turn 5 once in your life and I still remember my 5 year-old birthday party. It seems this is the age when you really start to remember stuff.

Julia's party was first. I held it on Tuesday at lunch and it was a princess tea party. Julia decided that she wanted it to be a Belle party. I think this can be attributed to the fact that she has a Belle dress. We invited over all of her friends from the ward, her soccer team, and a few homeschool friends we have met this past little while. I hung lights and chinese lanterns (from Catye's wedding), got out all of my fine china (from the thrift store, of course), and had everyone wear their fanciest party dress. It was perfection.  Eighteen little girls descended on my house and it was a lot of fun. 

I had a few surprises for them. They colored crowns, ate a fancy lunch, twirled, and painted fingernails by the wonderful Heather E. They also ate cupcakes and ice cream and Julia opened presents. Then, with 30 minutes to spare, the girls saw the princess make her grand entrance! Belle came to the party...the REAL Belle, according to Julia. 18 little girls were mesmerized. They sat down as she talked to them. Belle had a coronation ceremony for Julia and crowned her the official princess of Draper, Utah. She read them a story and sang them a bunch of songs. And then we took pictures. All of the girls were asking her if she could come to their party. It was most definitely a special day for my special girl.

That party was a ton of work. And then it was time for Harry's party on Thursday. Boy, what a difference boys make. Soooooo easy! I invited all of the boys from his Primary class. They are all adorable and they play well together.

I also did this party at lunch time. It was a LEGO party. I fed them pizza, sang a few songs to them, put LEGOS together, of course, and did an obstacle course in the backyard. They just loved the obstacle course. There was a balance beam, soccer kick, up the ramp to the trampoline, swerving through the stools, and then a crawl through the 'tunnel of death'. This occupied them for about 30 minutes or so.

Then they just played together and continued to make LEGO creations. I gave them all a little LEGO set, a few lollipops, and sent them on their way. It was fun and laid back.

And hallelujah, party season is over...until next year.

Give Me a New Name

I took Julia with me tonight to get my hair cut. As we were driving in the car, she was talking to me. Then she said, "Mom, I don't like my name."

I replied, "You don't like you name?"

"Yes, I don't like my name."

"What name do you want instead of Julia?"

"I want to be called Elisabeth," she said.

Well, alrighty then. I guess I really screwed that up.

The Highlights

 Here is a highlight of some of my kids amazing accomplishments this past week or so...

Stylist super-hero.

Fine diner.

Culinary explorer.

Future farmer of America.

Reader.

Fashionista.

Lunch Dates Galore

Exciting things are on the horizon for the next few weeks. We are taking Raef and Zach on an American history trip. We will be flying into Baltimore and then flying out of Boston. My mom is coming to take care of the kids while we are gone. I feel very blessed that she could do this for us.

Unfortunately, this means I am not going to see my four little kids for two whole weeks. That is a long time.  Eli suggested that I take him on a date, so I committed to taking all three of them individually on a lunch date this week. It was interesting to see what they picked.

Eli got to go first and he chose Panda Express. I was sure surprised by that.  He thinks it is the best restaurant in the world and that it is a fancy place. It just makes me smile. I made sure to get him some chopsticks and he did surprisingly well with them. Only a couple of pieces ended up on the floor. And boy, he sure had a lot on his mind. He would bombard me with the most random questions...how do light switches work? How do cars work? Did I ever have a coin collection when I was a kid? etc. etc. etc.  I can't even remember the questions because there were so many and they were in rapid fire succession. He is really at the gathering stage of his life, soaking up as much knowledge as he can.

Harry was the next day, Thursday. His choice? Well, where do you think a 4 year-old boy would choose? Yep, McDonald's. We didn't do much talking. He would go and play on the playground. Then he would come back and talk a little bit and then be off again. Harry was excited to get the french fries, chicken nuggets and toy. It was a Spiderman electro guy. He kept forgetting what it was called and would ask me repeatedly. He also really wanted chocolate milk, so after a quick stop at the thrift store, I splurged and bought him a bottle. The boy was really happy about that.

In the evening I took everyone to Hogle zoo. Raef and Zach were there to do a merit badge class on insects. So we spent a little bit of time at the zoo seeing the animals.

It was a cool moment when the gorilla decided to get a closer look at the kids.

Rinar flew in from Denver and was able to meet us for dinner after I left Raef and Zach at their class. It was a happy reunion. We are always very happy when daddy comes home!

Today, Julia finally got her turn for a date. She didn't really care where we went, just as long as she got to eat some pancakes. I decided to take her to The Egg and I, the newest restaurant in Draper, that happens to be super close to our house. She was an adorable little date, and had lots to talk about also. It was funny when they brought her a drink. I showed her that the straw was bendy and her face just lit up in amazement. She was wowed! It is good to be reminded of the cool little things in life. Bendy straws are pretty fantastic when you think about it. Julia also really loved the flowers on the table. She adores flowers, a whole lot. If you want to unlock her heart, give her flowers.

Julia's Outfit

Wowzers! Now this is an outfit, don't you think?

Julia's Style

Here are some funny moments with my darling little daughter. She has quite an eye for style. This was one of her outfits the other day. Color is the trend this year, people: color and stripes actually. 

And before they went to bed last week, she came downstairs with this little get-up.  I think she is taking her cues from Eli, the underwear ma'am.  Oh, brother!

Tonight she was dancing with Eli. He was singing "Call Me Maybe" and they were twirling around. She told him that they were married and then they kissed. I always wanted a big brother. She is so lucky that she has four big brothers and they all love her so much.

A Chance to Smooth Out My Rough Spots

I have been blessed with a beautiful daughter, Julia. I love her so much. But I am realizing each day how different we are. Children come to this earth with a personality. The essence of who they are, who we are, never changes. I know this to be true. I was who I am before I was born, and so was Julia. And she has a strong personality. She is a darling girl, but she can be very stubborn and manipulative; the ultimate master of passive aggressive manipulation.

I had debated all week whether it would be worth it to send her to a dance camp at the local high school. She had expressed interest in going to "ballerina school". And I really wanted to support her in her interests. I have never been in the dance world, not even a little bit. But I figured it was only one day, it was for a fundraiser, and she would probably just love it. Hence, at the last minute I decided to take her to the camp.

It was great when we got there. She found her friend Sophie and they were having a great time flipping upside down on the dance bar.  This lasted for about ten minutes and then in an instant, all of a sudden Julia couldn't do it. She was begging and whining for me to help her. She did not have the ability to put her foot on the wall in order to flip upside down. She said her foot was too slippery. Then they started dividing up the little dancers into groups based on age.  I took her over to her group and she wouldn't let go of my leg or leave my side. She wouldn't even try to do anything they were doing. There were about 100 other little girls trying their best to do the warm-ups; everyone, except for my darling little daughter.

I started to get upset with her. I tried my best not to lose my cool, but I couldn't keep it in check. Then she mentioned that she was hungry. Okay, I thought. Maybe she just needed some food in her stomach and then she would be willing to do this whole dancing thing. We left the high school and I took her to 7-11. I let her pick out a donut and some chocolate milk. After consuming this delicious snack, we went back to find her group. The frown persisted. She wouldn't try. She said she didn't know how. She didn't know how to do a sassy walk or a jumping split. The nice teachers tried their best to engage her and get her to have fun and do it.

Nope.

Julia just continued to frown and absolutely refused to do anything.

I took her home.

But my stomach started broiling. I literally had an ulcer attack. I had to lay on the couch for about an hour, eat an entire bag of Combos, and chase it down with a handful of tums.  I was so stumped. It just really bothered me that my daughter would not even try.  I may stink at a lot of things (dancing would be at the very top of the list), but I would never NOT try.

She does this a lot. One minute she has climbed to the top of the pantry to reach a treat on the very back of the uppermost shelf and the next second she can't possibly hang up her coat on the bottom hook of her box in the laundry room. One minute she is jumping down 8 steps of the staircase to the landing below and the next second she can't walk up the stairs to put her doll away. It is just too hard.

I get so infuriated over it, and I really don't know why. She is just so different from me. I don't want our relationship to be a future cinematic feature. You know how it is. All of those relationship movies are usually about a mother and daughter, never about a father and son.  I don't want that kind of relationship with her. I have to figure out a way to relate to her, to understand her, and to parent her in a way that will help her grow. Getting mad or upset with her is only my form of manipulation, just like the frown and helpless act is hers.

At times she just baffles me.

I didn't mention the whole dancing thing to her to make her feel bad today. And in comparison to how I would have handled this ten years ago, I did pretty good. I have grown in outward appearances. But honestly, on the inside I am pretty much the same. The rotten thing about that is that she can probably sense that from me. That is never good.

Something really turned her entire attitude when we were at the camp.  Was it hunger? Was it the massive amounts of little girls? Maybe she is not good with crowds and chaos? Maybe she needs to be in a smaller group setting? Maybe dancing just isn't going to really be her thing?

I know I am not going to figure this out in one day. But I recognize that it is something I need to figure out.  I desire to have a rich and meaningful long-term relationship with her. I think that in order for me to accomplish that, a lot of the change is going to have to come from me. There is some rough part of me that needs to be polished. The good news is that she is only four.

I have time.

Thoughts

Near the end of September, Rinar and Zach ran a road race sponsored by Corner Canyon High School.  It was on a Friday afternoon and Rinar took the afternoon off from work to do this with Zach. It was fantastic. Zach looked comfortable out there and ended up getting 18th place overall.  I think he might have a future in running if he desires to do the necessary work. He may very well. I hope so.

This is what I looked like the day before giving birth. I guess I really did not get that big, even though I felt like a house. 

And this is all of the cousins together for the first time: Danny, Paul, and Noelle. And clearly, the cutest kid is on the right! 

My life is starting to get back to normal.  I am sitting down with the kids again to work on their school assignments, driving them to lessons, taking the little ones to the park. Life does not slow down.

I never realized how big Eli, Harry, and Julia have grown.  In my head, they are always little. But now that I am the mother of a tiny infant, the contrast is stark.  They are really big kids now. I am just grateful, when it is all said and done, that I did have a good break between Noelle and my older ones.  They have really grown up and are at a really wonderful stage in life. They are still little, innocent children, but old enough to really do and absorb.  Ages 4 and 5 are my favorite.  I can still cuddle with them, but they go to the bathroom by themselves, get their own drinks, play alone well, and are saying lots of funny stuff.  

I just hope with all the business in my life, I don't miss the little things Noelle will do as she grows up.  The little things are the best things. And speaking of that, she is now screaming at me and telling me in her adorable 3 week old voice that she is hungry.

Snapshots

These are some precious shots from the last two weeks.

Can you believe this little girl and all that hair? Amazing.

Harry and Julia turned 4 the day after I was discharged from the hospital. I really was not in any condition to celebrate properly.  But Rinar and Leah took over.  Rinar took the oldest three to the Lego store to pick out a Lego set for the birthday boy. They had a lot of fun finding the perfect one for this little guy.  I had already found Julia's present months ago, a set of four Disney princess Barbies.  Needless to say, the two were very happy.

Then Leah volunteered to make them a birthday cake and Raef and Zach made the two of them some sweet party hats.

Birthday number 4 was a success.

And they are just too precious with their new sister...

I love this little picture. Here is Noelle with her baby bling.  She has been doing really well.  For the past two nights she has slept all the way through the night, about 7 hours each time. I hope she keeps it up, but regardless, a few nights of uninterrupted sleep are absolute heaven.

Things to Do

Here are some things my three little monkeys like to do when they are bored.

Rearrange the living room pillows for some good wrestling fun...

String Froot Loops onto yarn... and then eat it all immediately, of course!

Go to the library for some reading time.  This last one had a circus theme.  Julia dressed up like a clown.

Swinging Girl

A few weeks ago, Julia figured out how to swing on her own. She needs a good push to get going, but she surely has figured out how to keep the momentum up. I wouldn't say that she is as determined at swinging as Eli, but she gets the job done. Well done, Miss Julia.

A Little Bit of Mayhem

Today was a bit crazy. I am just very grateful that it didn't end badly, because it could have turned out a whole lot different. I was in the basement with Raef and Eli when I heard a bang and a scream.  These are pretty typical sounds in our house, but for some reason I knew this was different. I sent Raef up to investigate and then I heard frantic pleas for help. It is absolutely terrifying as a mother when you are arriving at the scene.  I just kept telling myself to stay calm, no matter what I was going to see.

It was Julia standing in my carpeted living room screaming and bleeding profusely.  I could see all limbs were attached and quickly determined that it was her hand.  I took her to the sink to wash off the blood and found a small gash below the knuckle of her pinky.  She had fallen into the mirror that was sitting on the ground. It was the mirror that was stuck in decorating limbo. I didn't know where to hang it, so I just left it on the ground.  That was a mistake.  I am just so grateful that she didn't cut herself more severely. My prayers of safety and protection were once again answered.  God is good.

Zach was almost as upset as Julia was about the incident. He was playing with her and caused her to fall into the mirror. Poor kid.  Raef stayed calm like me and the two of them did a great job cleaning up all of the dangerous glass.

Then after lunch Eli had an epic meltdown. It had something to do with wanting to hold the hose when they were playing with the Slip 'n' Slide, but not wanting to get wet. His endless crying really stressed me out. I sent him to his room but could still hear the insanity. My stomach started to hurt and my frustration level was at the peak. Of course, this was right about when Rinar decided to call me.  I was hungry, stressed, and generally frazzled.  Mommy needed a time out.

Thankfully, after at least an hour of crying, Eli stopped. Julia was acting just fine. I got to sit in my recliner and bring the blood pressure down a few notches. The frozen lasagna was a blessing in disguise. The kids ate their dinner, Raef put them to bed, and Zach cleaned the kitchen. 

Thankfully, the day is over.

I've Got the Dress

This dress is kind of special. My mom made it for me and I wore it in my first grade school picture. I had bleach blonde hair and a dazzling smile. Now my dazzling little daughter wears it. And she is even more adorable. My mom gave me this dress over Christmas last year and it was such a wonderful surprise. Julia thinks so, too.

She is quite an amazing girl and she says the cutest stuff.  She always wants to go with me to 'scub scouts'. She loves to watch the movie 'Stoy Story'. And of course, there was this unforgettable exchange with her matter-of-fact older brother, Zach.

Julia doesn't think she is a princess, she knows she is. This came to a head a few weeks ago when Zachary was trying to prove to her that she is in fact, not really a princess. "Julia, you can't be a princess. Your dad isn't a king."

Nope, she wouldn't have any of it. "I am a princess. I have a dress!"

Boo yeah, girlie. You got that right.  She sure does have a princess dress, in fact, she has 2. 

The Denti$t

Almost the first thing I did when we got here was to get my little girl into the dentist.  Her teeth were horrific and we waited to get them fixed with the move to Utah. It is a lot more affordable here and that was important because she was not on the insurance. And this could not wait, they were so bad.

The final verdict was 14 cavities. Holy crap! 14! This is what happens when you steal mom's candy, hide it in your room and eat it every night before you go to bed for about a month.  Candy is expensive.

It is a darn good thing I didn't wait to get her in to the dentist.  About 4 days after her initial appointment with Dr. Moffat, this girl goes and gets an abscessed tooth.  Do you see that swollen jaw? The bad teeth were probably aggravated by everyone getting sick. The abscess was pretty wretched. Usually I just let things play themselves out before I rush a kid to the doctor. But after asking my friend Paisley about it, she was really worried and told me to get her in ASAP.  

The dentist put her on antibiotics and pain meds and we waited for the big appointment, when all teeth would be fixed at one time at the hospital. Yes, the girl had to go to the hospital for her appointment because she had to get general anesthesia. 

Here she is right before they took back. The appointment took several hours and after 5 hours total, I was able to take her home.

But look at this horrific tooth, the abscessed one. They couldn't save it, so the doctor pulled it out. Now there is a big hole in her mouth.

I am just glad we are done and you can bet that there will be no candy anywhere near a bedroom!

Favorites This Month

Here are some of my favorite snapshots of my little kids over the past month or so...

I was going on an errand and I saw this little beauty outside riding her bike. I was just loving the outfit, an ensemble she put together herself. And so I took the picture from the seat of my car. And then the girl gave a killer pose. Iconic.

Here is another killer pose. This seems to be a favorite lately. Harry is so scary!

Just darling.

The last vestiges of Eli's birthday party. He just loved the balloons so much.

At the Chevron up the street, hanging out with Mark Twain, Reno's most famous resident.

Another outfit of her own creation. This girl has style.