Next Year I Need A Plan

My three school girls got Thursday and Friday off for Spring Break. I thought it would be nice to hang around the house, watch some movies, maybe do some crafts, and just play together. I obviously need to plan something more concrete next year. Here's a sampling of what my kids came up with to entertain themselves.

That's right. #3 and #4 are inflating balloons with their nostrils. Lovely.

Here #4 and #5 are enjoying a balmy day...in the snow.
#1 and #2 spent both days playing SCHOOL! I guess they missed the point of the break.

Childhood Trust

Yesterday I chaperoned five third-grade girls on a field trip to the Clark Planetarium in Salt Lake City. When we came out of the parking garage to head home, we were surprised to find it was snowing. The gray sky and thick sleet on the freeway made me rather nervous to be driving. It was nice that, for once, the Utah drivers around me slowed down to the speed limit to accommodate for the conditions. The girls weren't phased at all. They laughed and talked and sang songs without a care for anything else. It reminded me of a similar trip when my mom was the one driving me and my friends home. I was fourteen or so, and my mom was driving a group of us home from a youth activity skiing or snow tubing. It was dark, we were driving through a thick snowstorm, coming home through a canyon, and we kids were being loud. I remember my mom asking us to settle down and recognizing that she was on edge to be driving that night. But I also remember not being worried because things always turned out fine. It's part of that invincibility that teenagers experience where they don't think anything truly bad will happen to them.

It got me thinking about a basic belief of my childhood. I remember often thinking that adults obviously knew what was the right course of action and would take care of us kids. That's a good sense of security as far as having a safe home and family. But I think I took it too far and stayed naive for too long in my understanding about the way the world works. Specifically, I applied this notion to government. I always assumed that there is a best way to run things and the people in office can obviously see that best way and run things accordingly. I never imagined there was so much room for opinion and debate, even on issues that seem so black and white to me. On the one hand, it's a little scary to be part of a system that just kind of feels its way along. I frequently get frustrated that our society and government seem to be making the same decisions that didn't work well in our history. (I'm not going to get specific, because that would just open up debate on certain issues, which isn't my purpose here.) On the other hand, I really enjoy getting an understanding of others' opinions. It's intriguing to me to hear callers on radio shows, poll results, or friends and family that oppose my own opinions. I like to try to understand where they are coming from and weigh their thoughts against my own in making decisions. (Radio show hosts don't do that as much for me because I can usually predict what they will say about a given issue.)

What all these memories and thoughts have prompted in me is the need to provide--as much as is within my power--not only a secure home for my children, but also opportunities for them to think for themselves. I need to take the time to listen to their thought processes and ask questions to make them think deeper. I believe giving them the skill to think through situations and problems before committing to a course of action will be a great tool in their lives.

What are your thoughts?

Wacky Weather

On Monday I got a sunburn while working in what will be my garden.

Wednesday brought this. We woke to this marshmallow world today. Tomorrow (Friday) is supposed to bring more. I'm grateful to have no worries about a drought this year, but this is April! I'm sure Lagoon will be disappointed, but the ski resorts must be loving it!

Newly Nine

Daughter #2 celebrated her birthday today. She got lots of birthday wishes including the grand song sung by everyone in the lunchroom at school today. (I figure that beats a waiter singing at your table. Possibly less embarrassing too.) In our family, the kids get a big party with friends every three years. Maybe after the late-night girls night out (in at our house) tomorrow I'll post some pictures...if I'm not passed out with exhaustion!

Birthdays are a good time to celebrate a person, so I just have to note here what a great person she is. She is my first proof that babies who scream through their first year turn into the most affectionate and caring people. #2 is #5's first choice for a hug when he gets hurt. If someone is upset, she looks for ways to make it better and restore peace. She is a good worker at home and at school and a good friend to all who know her. I feel honored to be her mother...and sad that the years of raising her are already half over! (Though after that first year, the other eight have really flown by!)

My Relaxing Evening

Today my dad came down and we spent the afternoon building garden boxes. We got a lot of work done, but there is even more still left to do. After working all day, I was happy to change out of my saw-dusty clothes into yoga pants and a comfy T-shirt. I was ready to just rest and relax a bit. Too bad I forgot that I'm a mom!

I went downstairs and started making dinner: tacos, guacamole, Spanish rice. The kids were constantly coming in needing tools or more layers of clothing to be able to work at planting some bulbs they had found while cool weather was moving in. I would slice an avocado, put on #5's shoe, slice another avocado, and then run to close the sliding door that had been left wide open again. The hungry cats, whom I am trying to re-train to be strictly outdoor cats (no more pampering in the garage), kept wandering in too. At one point after I had fried the taco shells and turned off the burner for the oil (I thought) I was literally chasing a cat around the couch, hissing at it to scare it back outside. I lunged for it and only felt the tip of its tail brush through my fingers. I finally caught the cat and took it out, then jogged back to the kitchen to cut cilantro. Seconds later I smelled smoke and turned around to discover that I had not quite turned the stove dial to "off". It was on "high" and the oil was smoking pretty badly. I was sure I would see flames in a few seconds, so I very carefully and quickly carried the pan outside, with the smoke alarm blaring in the background, leaving a cloud of smoke through the kitchen, dining room, and front room. Outside the oil began popping, so I placed the pan in my wet flowerbed and went back to dismantle the smoke alarm and open all the windows and, reluctantly, the sliding door. When I got to the door, I poked my head outside to discover #5 playing in the water spigot with the water turned on full blast. I ran into the puddle in my grass to turn off the water, and ran back inside to chase the cats out again!

Fortunately, the evening calmed down after dinner and I did get to lay around with the kids watching a movie. Sadly, though, I missed talking to Kent. He is on a work project and called to check in on us. I was so busy giving cooking directions to #1, sending #3's friend off with her dad, and telling #5 where to find dry underpants that all I could do was explain that I was in the middle of dinner prep and he would have to talk to #4 instead. Maybe I'll get a minute with him tomorrow.

Now I'm left wondering why I feel the need to wake up early for exercise. I seem to get plenty of it just doing my job as mommy!

This Makes A Lot of Sense

Kent found this headline from "The Onion". I loved it!

98% Of Babies Manic-Depressive

March 23, 2009 | Issue 45•13

NEW YORK—A new study published in The Journal Of Pediatric Medicine found that a shocking 98 percent of all infants suffer from bipolar disorder. "The majority of our subjects, regardless of size, sex, or race, exhibited extreme mood swings, often crying one minute and then giggling playfully the next," the study's author Dr. Steven Gregory told reporters. "Additionally we found that most babies had trouble concentrating during the day, often struggled to sleep at night, and could not be counted on to take care of themselves—all classic symptoms of manic depression." Gregory added that nearly 100 percent of infants appear to suffer from the poor motor skills and impaired speech associated with Parkinson's disease.

Stats

Surprisingly--or maybe not--I haven't had much on my mind lately...other than gardening. We've had a few days of spring weather surrounded by days of more winter. But when it does reach 50-degrees outside, you can find me working the ground to get ready for my vegetable garden boxes. I'm sorry if you don't share my enthusiasm on this topic, but I find it quite exciting!

So I haven't blogged much. My camera is broken, has dead batteries besides, and I can't find the recharging cord, so I haven't taken pictures in a while. Fortunately, a friend of mine is going to fix that problem in exchange for some babysitting. So in a few more weeks, I'll have more pictures to blog about.

But here's something I don't need pictures for: my kids' stats. I recorded their weights and heights today as we are applying for a new insurance policy. (Those of you with HSAs could really benefit from this specialized health insurance. It's going to save us several hundred dollars per year. Email me if you want to know more. No, I don't get a commission; just trying to be helpful.) Anyway...I noticed that for all my kids, their number for their weight is within seven numbers of their height number. For example, #2 weighs 54 lbs. and is 52 1/2 inches tall; a difference of 1 1/2. #5 is the outlier with a spread of 7 (31 lbs and 38"). It got me thinking, if that rule applied to me, I would be over 12 feet tall! It's funny how adult bodies are proportionate and children bodies look proportionate, but they are actually quite different. Have you noticed that the size (length) of a child's head is a larger proportion of his height than an adult's head is to his height.

Not a very deep thought, but it's my deepest thought of the week. I hope General Conference generates some deeper thoughts this weekend. :-)