Weed Pulling for Distraction

My hands are aching from pulling chucks of matted grass out of my Mom's flower bed. She's been trying to clean out the grass for years. It's quite ferocious and consuming of flower space. In my attempt to find ways to exercise, I volunteered to dig up the grass. Now I have a project that I feel compelled by guilt to finish. So instead of working on grading papers or my last lecture, I will probably be pulling more grass in a desperate search to find new growth of the perennials.

The reason I got sucked into pulling grass was to manage my girls after school. My hubby was off in a canyon with clients and my girls can get bored real quick if they don't have enough stimulation to occupy there busy brains. They're banned from the Wii and the main computer keeps messing up. I do encourage playing outside but the two oldest would have to keep an eye on their baby sister which in turn means I watch all three of them and get nothing done. My Mom has five acres and no busy neighborhood street to worry over. I figure five acres should give each kid their own space from antagonizing each other. What do they do? They find the one spot with mud to crowd around and make mud pies. They're cute when covered in mud playing, but then one person has more mud than the other person, one person shakes mud onto the other's hair, and then we have genuine mud slinging. I tell them mud is done. Now I have to be in the same general area as them to keep the peace - so much for doing much in the garden. This is where the grass pulling came into play, a neutral location among warring sisters. However Mom appreciated the effort and I feel less guilty as well as productive. Feeling productive is good. Although by the end of tomorrow I will probably wish to have been more productive on other projects.

It's Been Awhile

It's been awhile since me and Jared have written anything. The past couple of months have been full of activities with school, work, and girls. Jared has been running behind in school because his light duty work has been more stressful than his regular duty job patrolling the town. The biggest stressor - computers. He complains how his schedule doesn't allow him extra time or the energy to do work at home. In other words, a 9 to 5 job is more stressful than arresting drunks.

I've done alright with the stress level with my class. I've made sure I keep up with grading papers, answering paniky emails, and reviewing my lecture. The stress that does come usually happens when I am lecturing and my brain does a blitz and I'm standing in front of twenty people with confused expressions of why I stopped talking. I hate it when that happens.

We were lucky to have made a family trip to Disneyland for Spring Break. The girls didn't even know where we were going until we hit the California border. We had them believing we were making a scenic run to see Grandma and Grandpa, which was true, but they were thinking Utah. We rendezvous with the grandparents at a castle style hotel two blocks from the Disneyland entrance. Aunt Britney and Uncle Ross with little Ryder made it there too. Six adults and four kids sharing one hotel room - crowded to say the least - but we made it work.

My feet and legs were screaming agony for four days from walking from one end of the park to the next and from standing in hour long lines, and then walk back to the hotel usually with a kid hanging on me. They become so heavy after a block on your back. However, seeing their eyes sparkle when meeting a princess or a Disney character or were thrilled on a fun ride made the agony worth the trouble. And we survived without any time outs and Mom blowing her top!

Now Spring is here and I'm starting to feel the planting bug. Jared is feeling the pressure of increased activity in social misbehaving and in canyon trips. The girls are counting down to Summer vacation (yikes). Which means, another schedule book to plot out the whole day to keep busy girls busy and retain some kind of sanity with them home all day.

Spring Break Hits Hard

Spring Break has come and gone and for us it was a real treat this year. We have spent the past several years during Spring Break doing yard work or remodeling the house we owned in an effort to try to sell. This past November we finally sold the house. No more yard work, No more remodels for Spring Break, well until we buy another house I guess. The kids have suffered for the past 3 years with nothing really exciting to do for Spring Break. They have been real troopers and haven't complained about not getting to do anything exciting. This year we decided to treat them for it now that the house had sold and we don't have two house payments, let do something fun. Let's Go To DisneyLand!!!

Well, we planned it in November, but didn't tell the kids at all. We planned it to meet my sister and husband their little one and my parents were going as well. We did tell the kids a couple days before that we were going to go on a trip to see Grandma and Grandpa, but nothing more. We drove out on Tuesday and by the time we hit the California state line the kids were really confused. We started giving them hints that the Grandparents weren't at home, that we were going to go see them on vacation. Celeste starting putting things together and a few miles into the borders of California, she screamed out "We're going to Disneyland!!" The rest is as you can imagine, pure fun. We had a blast throughout the week. We spent 1 1/2 days in California Adventure, and 2 1/2 days in Disneyland. The girls got to see and get pictures taken with a lot of the their favorite Disney Characters. We spent lots of time on rides, watched parades and shows and had a blast. The kids did really well, no fighting or complaining of long lines. No one wet their pants (other than on the log ride and raft ride :) ). The trip home was a bit of a pain. We ran into snow in Arizona and the highway was shut down to further travel. We tried back tracking through another route, but again more snow so we ended up spending an extra 1/2 night in a hotel before continuing. We got home a day later and the kids missed an extra day of school, but no complaints. Would I do it again, "Heck ya!!!"

A New Addiction

A new addiction… It’s like a treasure hunt… Like a scavenger hunt… Searching for the end of the rainbow… It’s crack…Pinterest.com…What has happened to me? My husband checks up on me because Facebook tattle tells when I “pin” something. He’s becoming concern. I find myself planning during the day when I can log into the website and be able to focus on scrolling. 

There are so many chocolate treats and desserts that I am almost nauseated by the overload of sweet images. I sound off their names just to hear my husband say “ooooooooo”. Knitted projects are very popular as well. Unfortunately their patterns don’t come with a video for me to follow the pattern. So now I feel even more inadequate with my crocheting. I like finding money-saving alternate ways to make homemade cleaners and laundry soap. I’m not too impressed with the Art section because there is mostly advertisement of tattoos, but I love the DIY, Home Décor, and Gardening section. The gardening ideas have been great. I’m already itching to plant seeds to watch them sprout. I did plant some cucumber and dill seeds to celebrate my Dad’s birthday, March 2^nd. I miss him so much. We would have been planning a garden together if he was still here. He has been gone for 12 years today because of cancer, and it is still hard to deal with. However, I know he would love having garden seeds planted for him. Now I just need to make sure my kitty does not eat the seedlings.

Saturday....

Husband laying on the couch, a Sierra finishing a bath, Celeste and Savannah playing Angry Birds-Season edition on my phone, and me typing up a blog entry. Sounds like an exciting Saturday evening, huh?
 

I spent most of the day traveling an hour to Walmart in Cortez, stocking up on vitamins and food, finding the non-existent birthday present for Celeste, and picking out a new bike for Savannah because she won big at school for reading every day for a month. She wanted a tiger bike, bright orange with black stripes, but became smitten by the "Mongoose" pink and black trick bike. Learning that a mongoose is a furry critter who attacks cobras made the bike extra special. The smile was huge.

Then I spent another hour coming home, the luxury of living in rural Utah. Now I am listening on and off to the news in the background and becoming concern that I have not kept track of the Republican candidates who love slashing out at each other. I wish some candidate would just stand out as being fabulous and wonderful, no mud slinging methods to attract our attention. I also wish I knew more of what is going on in our country besides the inflation ordeal. Being stuck on preschool cartoons all day and one older child pleading to watch her tween shows in the evening gives me no chance to watch any type of news unless it’s at 10pm when I’m too tired to want to listen. Of course I could read up on the latest news on my phone but I haven’t quite got into the habit to do so, and if I do remember to look then someone interrupts. No one likes to see me pay any slight attention to something involving a computer and internet. 

And then again, politics and economics don’t interest me which is probably the biggest reason I don’t know what is happening.

Let Bygones be Bygones

Really? Really? Do we really need to bring up the 10 year anniversary of the Olympic games in Utah. It was 10 years ago. It was great. I enjoyed it then. I was denied any opportunity to work it by my then boss, but I don't hold that against the Olympics. It was a great time. It would be fun if Utah could have it again, I don't think it will happen for a long time (I hope I'm wrong). However do we really need to spend the entire news broadcasts discussing the whole aspects of the Olympic games 10 years ago? Let it go! Let us remember the good times in our own way. I find it really obnoxious and annoying to see the whole news cast wearing Roots beret's again like they are children remembering their favorite trip to Disneyland. Let me have some news reports of what is going on in the state, not what happened 10 years ago.

I don't know, maybe I am just not as sentimental as most when it comes to reminiscing over things that have come and gone. Life happens and life moves on, get over it. I enjoy a good birthday party, a Christmas celebration, Thanksgiving, good vacations with the family, and of course I can't forget to celebrate our wedding anniversary. Other than these there may be a short list of sentimental moments to remember like 9/11. Is there really a need to celebrate huge events on a reoccurring basis? Maybe my estrogen side from living with 4 females hasn't established itself as much as expected, but I just don't get it.

The Itsy Bitsy Spider Walked Up The Harry Book...

I have been told that if you scream over the presence of an insect, your children will model your fear and scream and be afraid for the rest of their life. Well, I believe I have done well keeping any startling feelings from being seen by my girls. I'm not bothered by insects. I talk out the information about the bug so my kids will understand its function and characteristics, not to be afraid of the unknown creature crawling across the floor. So when my oldest daughter came into the living room last night crying from a spider, I’m at a loss over her reaction. 

I can tell she was scared and upset. She explained that she was sneaking a couple more pages of reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince when in the dark a daddy-long leg spider decided it needed to be in the spotlight of the flashlight. It walked right across the written page, startling Celeste, and sending her to throw the book down and come rushing to me (she knows her daddy won’t go near spiders either). She began to become hysterical as she was recalling the traumatic incident. I had to do the yoga on her and had her deep breathe to calm down enough to lead me in the direction of the crime scene. 

The hall light was not revealing enough to find a skinny insect. I had to softly step to Sierra’s bed to find my flashlight hiding under her pillow, trying all so carefully not to wake her – didn’t need that in Celeste’s time of need. We entered Celeste’s room again to see that the battery was dead in the flashlight. Meanwhile, there is no telling where this spider has gone. Having to have lost valuable capturing time, the flashlight was working and the search began expecting it to be fruitless. Celeste is still traumatized, crying louder as I look around. Poor Savannah, good thing she is a good sleeper especially through all the whispering, whimpering, and shifting of plush animals. 

Her bed is deep in animals so finding an itsy bitsy spider is almost a joke. I look under her bookshelf, in the corner, under her pillows, through the toys, and in the wrinkles of her blankets. I’m not finding any signs and I’m losing patience and sympathy. She said she saw it last on the book before tossing it. I retrieved the book from between the large teddy bears to find three twitching long legs flattened in the pages. Well I found the stupid bug, great news for Celeste, but now I had spider guts smeared in my Harry book. 

In the bathroom I pulled out the crumpled bug, wadded it in a tissue, and threw it in the trash all the while Celeste is apologizing through sobs for messing up my book. I had to reassure her several times that the smear was not her fault, not to feel bad, it was the bug’s fault for thinking it could read. Now the hard part - getting Celeste back into bed. From my experience, even when I was a kid, I would have found the spider irritating for interrupting my restful time in bed. For Celeste, the gates of Hell were opening around her bed. She wanted to sleep in my bed and I told her no way, no room. She asked to sleep in the living room. I told her no because I knew if I gave in to her fear, I will never get her in her own bed ever again. 

She was really working the waterworks after I told her she needed to get in her own bed. She used how crummy the house was, how evil the room was to her, and how safe she would feel in my bed. I was not going to surrender to the tears. The tears were actually starting to annoy me because it was just a small spider and its short life was ended. Am I terrible Mom for feeling this way? A compromise was met with placing her pillows at the foot of her bed and making room by her giant panda for protection. I hoped having her at some distance away from the corner of doom will settle her down long enough for her to pass out and not be in my bed. She did stay put and did survive the darkness of the night. 

After settling myself on the sofa to finish Last Man Standing, my hubby informs me that he just about yelled “the spider is on your back!” to Celeste when she first rushed in, thinking that would be sooooo funny to watch his daughter freak out. I informed him that he would be sleeping outside if he was to ever do that to one of his girls. He posted his idea on Facebook and to my surprise many friends and family agreed with him. I had to make my own comment to publicly make know not to encourage him. Thankfully I did have one brother-in-law on my side.  Celeste was her cheerful morning self and I get to vacuum all corners of the house for any creepies.

Jealous of the Computer?

Does anyone else have the problem with jealously over the computer? I’m not a wife who complains her husband spends more time communicating with the computer rather than with me. I’ll turn off the computer in the middle of his typing if that was to happen. I’m not a mom who spends hours responding to every little comment on Facebook. I just don’t have that kind of time. I’m not someone who uses much computer time unless I’m designing or working. I admit I can have complete tunnel vision on Ancestry.com when searching out my Southern ancestors but overall, I really don’t have a relationship with the computer in comparison to our society.

My kids are probably the top reason why I’m not compelled to stay on the computer for a time.  Jared can open his laptop while sitting on the sofa and never be bothered. Jared can sit in the computer room and be forgotten. However, if I barely lift my laptop ajar, a child will instantly appear. If I entered through the doorway of the computer room, an alarm goes off and I’m instantly surrounded by a gang of needy girls. The majority of my computer time is spent after bedtime but only when Jared is working. If I begin to show attention to the computer after the girls have gone to bed finally, then Jared feels neglected because of the time taken away from him. Some nights I have to wait to about 11pm when Jared finally passes out before I can take time to network or search out topics or even to grade papers. 

I adore my family but I do not understand the jealously with the computer. Like I said before, I’m not a person totally engulfed by the need to stare at a screen 24 hour a day. I cannot find what warrants the need to smother me, sometimes literally, when I touch the laptop or sit my buns in the computer chair. Sierra would be the worse out the three. She will even sit on my shoulders and wrap around my head to prevent me from being attentive to the computer. If you have ever had a 40lb kid on your head, let me tell you, it’s painful. The opening of the laptop also brings a multitude of questions. “Mom! I need to make an invention. What should I do?” “Mom! Can I have a bagel with cream cheese?” “Mom! Can I play on the computer?” “Mom! Can you tell Savannah to leave me alone?” “Hon! Can you come edit my blog?”……..and so on. 

And at this moment Sierra is pushing the laptop closed so I will stop typing and pay her the attention. Times up for me as this jealously battles on.

Brain Quits

The time for your brain to quit working is not midway during a class lecture you are delivering. Maybe I didn’t sleep well enough. Maybe my focus on my encaustic painting was too strong. Maybe I was stressed trying to chauffeur girls to cheer camp, finishing making dinner, and be to work on time. Maybe I have been on energetic run for too long and my brain decided it was enough, time for a break. Whatever the reason, turning off while in front of 20 students listening to every word is not the time.
 

I’m doing well and peppy then suddenly I pause and stare at the powerpoint with nothing entering my mind. Dread rushes over me. I notice the students are starting to look at me rather than the projector image. This is not good. The only thing I could think of doing – ramble nonsense. I’m an artist, it’s expected, I might be able to get away with the confusion. 

I was able to step back into place after a couple minutes of rambling and managed to flow through the rest of the lecture. I hope my spastic nature overcast the fumbling moments and the students are non the wise to my brain’s sudden sabbatical.

Headaches of a 10 Year Old

How do you explain a headache to a 10 year old? 

First you ask her if she feels hot or cold, then you check for a fever. Her head feels warm but that may be because your hands are like ice and your daughter is cringing from the iciness. The cringing doesn’t help the head agony. After rubbing your hands together and re-checking the skin of her forehead, you notice she’s not sizzling. So a fever is checked off the list. Second, you ask where exactly on the head does hurt. She points all across her forehead which covers a broad area of intertwining possibilities…that will make it easy to narrow down the headache connection (sarcasm). Third, you ask her if she aches more by the eyebrows, in the middle, or by the hairline. If the pain is near the eyebrows, then her sinus cavities are becoming irritable. They might be dried from the dry weather and dry house. The dry furnace seems to be conquering the humidifier of soothing moisture for us to breathe comfortable. If the streak of agony is across the middle, then it’s a possible precursor to a cold unless the pain stretches toward the temples, then it would be a tension. Then those set of questions are asked after all the physical deductions have been made. If the pain is along the hairline, then she might consider no more pony tails for awhile or get a hair cut. With either scenario, the headache seems to disappear when she plays Lego Harry Potter on the Wii unless her sister is not playing the game her way. And the headache seems to intensify at bedtime which denotes self-infliction for not being allowed to stay up like her friends.

So then we try to deduct situations that may cause the headache. First, you ask how much water she has drunk during the day. Sips at the water fountain really don’t count as “a lot of water”. So you have her drink a big glass of water. If the headache is still lingering after the water gurgles through the stomach, then you ask if the headache happened after recess. Maybe the lack of water and running non-stop could possibly contribute to the pain. After the declaration that nothing happened during recess and she drank “a lot” of water, you move onto recent school assignments. You ask if she has a test coming that she is unsure she will do well. If that is not the issue, then you ask if her powerpoint project is becoming stressful. If that is not a problem, then you ask if she is stuck with someone in groups that she does not cooperate with well. If that is not the problem, then you ask if she is having friend conflicts such as her best friend pressuring for her to ruthlessly “crush” a boy’s heart. (5^th graders crushing hearts, what is up with this!)

 If none of the above are issues in her social and academic circle, then you return to the first set of deductions and give her a heating pad or cold pack for her head, some kid pain medicine, and a glass of water until she wants to play Harry Potter or stay up to watch iCarly.

Overly Productive

Being productive is an awesome feeling. I have actually had energy lately to create numerous projects – must be the vanilla coke. There are two clay sculptures sitting on my art table, a papier mache horse standing on the deep freeze, a watercolor in the critique stage, a drawing in the beginning sketch development, a canvas sitting out to ready for another painting, 36 cubes of homemade soap, and yellow yarn ready to make a pillow for my Mom’s new bedroom set. I'm designing and talking on blogs. On top of that, I am arranging a full-time schedule for the upcoming Fall/Spring semester because the full-time teacher is taking a sabbatical. I have also kept up with grading papers and quizzes and organizing my powerpoints for lectures. 

Maybe the warm sunny weather has given me the extra boost. The springtime 40-50s have been very welcoming. I have already had the urge to want to plant the garden. If the temperatures remain so, I just might drag out the tiller while the ground is soft from the earlier melted snow. 

Although, as much as I love this warm weather productive feeling, I know we need more snow. Maybe just one big blizzard, enough to blanket the mountain deep and fill the reservoir to its brink. Then it could be Spring with its warm 70s!