We went and saw Dad last night. He looked really good. He has a halo device on that keeps his head immobile. That will allow his neck to heal. The surgery put in titanium plates to stabilize his C6 and C7 vertebrae in his spine. He was in good spirits and enjoyed all the company. He decided last night that he was feeling better and didn't need to have someone with him all night. So he sent Mom to Heather's to sleep and told Kim and Matt to go sleep as well. Today they're letting Dad eat and drink again. And he's sitting in a chair too. 

Surgery went well

I was finally able to talk to Kim this morning and this is the update so far. Dad's surgery went well. They were able to stabilize his neck without doing any further damage to the spinal cord. He woke up from anesthesia really grumpy and not knowing where he was. He wanted the tubes all removed and was just his usual grumpy self when sick. They got him calmed down and he finally slept for about 4 to 5 hours. And was much better after that. Mom said his grip was stronger this morning. And Heather said they were going to try to get him to walk today. 

My dad was in a bad car accident late last night. He rolled his truck. He's in surgery right now stabilizing his C6 and C7 vertebrae. He has partial paralysis on one side of his body. However the fact that he can move his toes and fingers is very good. Recovery rates for this type of injury are very good. 

His seat belt most likely saved his life last night. However if you've ever seen the inside of my dad's truck, it's truly a miracle that one of the tile samples, carpet knives, or other various tools and hard objects didn't kill him during the truck rolling. There was someone driving behind him, which at that time of night is unusual, who was able to call paramedics right away. (His truck had rolled into a ravine and wouldn't have been seen from the road.) He was taken to one hospital and when he started to feel tingly, he was air-vacced to another hospital. It looks like he will be in the hospital for at least 4-5 days. And I'm sure he will need therapy for quite some time after he gets out. 

I am so thankful for the advances in medicine of the last few years. There was a time when this type of injury would get little more than "I'm so sorry." from the medical professionals. Now there's is so much that they can do to prevent permanent damage and regain abilities that seem to be lost.

Please do not call me today, not up to talking on the phone. Maybe Monday.

Bully update

So Chris and I talked it over last night and decided that we needed to talk to the other parents first. Chris walked the kids to the bus stop this morning and the bully wasn't there. He had decided to ride his bike today. Chris did see which house he left from though, so he went over there after the bus left. The bully's mom was very nice and it seemed to Chris that she had had this type of conversation before. In fact, she used to be a special ed teacher and when Chris explained Calvin's different issues, she was very understanding. I also talked to the teacher today. She was aware of some of it, but not all of it. Calvin hadn't told anyone at school either. He just didn't see it as a problem. He knew they were not being nice, but didn't realize he needed to tell anyone. The teacher had already scheduled for the school counselor to come to all the 5th grade classes and talk about how words can hurt, and everyone needs to be nice to each other. It would be directed at everyone, so no one would feel singled out. I think everything is going to be ok.

Chris did talk to both Calvin and Bradley and gave them the go ahead on returning punches. If somebody punches you, you have the right to punch back. And if somebody punches Calvin, Bradley has the right to jump in and punch them for Calvin. The boys were like woohoo!! Chris explained that they might get in trouble at school and that it would be ok, they would not be in trouble with us. He did also point out that it would be best if it happened after the bus left so that they didn't jeopardize the bus privilege. And then he asked them if it was ok to throw the first punch, they both answered "No!!" I think they understood the concept of self defense.

Oh, and I think it's time for Bradley to become Brad.

Kids can be so cruel

So I was playing cards with the three oldest kids tonight after the two little ones went to bed. Calvin asked me what gay meant. I asked him why he was asking me that and he said some boys at school had asked him if he was. (sigh) I told him it was not a nice thing for them to ask him. I then start asking him questions about these boys. It turns out that there's about four or five boys picking on Calvin. One of them is definitely the ring leader. He also sits next to Calvin on the bus - assigned seats. We knew that this particular boy was not nice to Calvin but we had no idea how bad it had gotten. It turns out this boy is also threatening to hurt Calvin and saying crude things to him, you know not using any bad words, but normal words with clearly crude meanings. Calvin wasn't trying to hide this information from us. It was just a matter of us knowing to ask the right questions. Calvin didn't seem to know he needed to tell us this sort of thing was going on. So, I'm headed to the school tomorrow to talk to teacher/principle. I'll bring a list of the boys and what they've said to Calvin. This will not continue. I'll be talking to the bus driver as well. I'm really tempted to meet the kids at the bus after school and follow this bully home and talk to his mother and tell her exactly what her child said to mine. I'm sure he'd deny it but since he's saying such terrible things I have to believe that his mother already knows he's no angel from other behaviors. Nice boys do not say such things to other people. I'll let you know how it all works out. 

I found this on a friend's blog and I agree - Best Parenthood Ad Ever!

So I spent this last week getting the house ready for Chris' sister Laura and her family to come visit us. They were our first house guests. We had so much fun hanging out with them this weekend. They got here on Friday and then Saturday we went to Tombstone with them. They went to church with us on Sunday and then headed home. It was so nice to have the kids be able to play with their cousins. Even though Laura's kids are quite a bit older than my kids, they all played so well together. It's fun watching teenagers play with toddlers and actually enjoy it. I hope they had as much fun as we did. It's been a long time since we've stayed up late playing cards. That was fun!!

Actually I should say I spent Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday getting ready for the house guests. Thursday I went to the annual birthday party for all my sisters and my mother. We get together once a year to celebrate them all at once. Mine is in December, four sisters in February, one sister and my mother in March. We usually get together sometime in February or March, eat food, exchange some gifts, and have a great time. We're all pretty good in the kitchen so the food is always worth cheating on the diet. This year my mother made this coconut cake. I need to explain something about my mother's cakes. She always made us birthday cakes. They always tasted good. When she layered them, they usually would slide off of each other. One year for my brother she made a particularly lopsided cake. His birthday is in October and it was chocolate with orange frosting. The cake not only slid around but it started to crack apart. It was a mess of brown crumbs in orange frosting. We called it the goblin cake. She also makes her cakes from scratch. Scratch cakes taste so sublime when made right. Mom may not be a cake architect, but she knows how to make it taste great. And that's what's really important when it comes to food. Anyways, this coconut cake also had homemade custard filling between the layers. It was like coconut cream pie with frosting. Yes it looked a little wobbly, but it tasted so magnificent. I really cheated and ate two slices, and every bite was worth the damage done on the scales the next day. 

I just found the best website. If you are feeling discouraged with the direction the nation is heading, go to this website, you are not alone. 

http://theglennbeck912project.com/

Fabulous Weekend!!!

We seriously had an awesome weekend. We drove down Friday night. Of course we got off to a late start and weren't going to make it to the Claytons until about 10:30ish. And then an hour into our three and a half hour drive we realize we left some critical articles of clothing at home. So we called the Claytons, letting them know what time we would be getting there and asking if we could use their washer and dryer while they slept since we were coming in so late. Thank you Tammy and John for that major accommodation. 

Saturday morning before we went to Chris' sister's wedding, we realized that I forgot to pack Chris' black sock and his tie. We decided to buy socks on the way but you can't find the extra long ties for Chris just anywhere and we didn't have that kind of time, so we borrowed a tie from John - thank you again! On the way to the temple we decided that we didn't have time to stop and buy socks either so we made Calvin do the Michael Jackson thing and switched socks with Chris. (You should've seen Chris dancing around the guest house doing his Michael Jackson dance. It was hot!) We had made arrangements with his other sister to have her older children watch our children outside of the temple during the wedding. It's so nice that their cousins are so responsible and willing to help. Our children really enjoy spending time with them. We got to the temple before most of the rest of the wedding party and were waiting and waiting and waiting for the babysitters to arrive. Finally Chris went inside and I stayed outside with the kids. As I'm out there waiting, another family that's taking pictures on their special day actually offered to watch the kids for me. If there's anyplace that I would consider letting strangers watch the kids, it would be the temple. But no. A few minutes before the sealing was supposed to start, hallelujah, the babysitters arrived. As we're rushing into the temple, Chris's sister whispered to me that she had six kids on restriction (all of her kids). She felt bad that they were so late, but it really didn't matter. I was just glad to be able to go to the sealing. The sealing was beautiful. It's always so neat how they talk about it and every timeyou go you hear something different. We are so happy for Elaine and Lloyd and wish them the best! 

After the sealing we went to the church for the luncheon. We were originally told it would start at 1:00, but as we're leaving the temple, we were told it would be starting at 12:00 which barely gave us time to drive to the church. So we get to the church and there's no bride and groom. I guess whoever decided to change the time of the luncheon forgot to tell them. 

After the luncheon we went to another one of Chris' sister's house to relax before the reception. It was really nice, and gave me the time I needed to make the necklaces for Elaine and her daughters. I felt kind of bad not helping to decorate for the reception, but honestly Chris needed a nap so bad after driving in so late the night before and the kids are not quite ready to watch themselves. 

The reception was really nice. Elaine looked so happy. She seriously looked at least 10 years younger. It's amazing what a little happiness and joy will do for you. Elaine so deserves to be happy. She's been through a lot these last few years. They have stolen more than their fair share of years from her. It was like it was all erased the other night. We're so happy to welcome Lloyd into the family. Chris and I both commented on the way back to the Claytons that night about how happy we were for Elaine and Lloyd. 

So on the way back to the Claytons, we realized that we had worn our only church clothes all day and were supposed to wear them the next morning to 8:00 church. Oops. So we called the Claytons, and apologized for calling so late, and asked if we could again use the washer and dryer while they slept. I decided to risk it and washed the black socks and white shirts together rather than staying up to wash two loads. Lucky for me, it worked out great. 

So we went to our old ward. It was really nice to see all our old friends. Heather gave a great talk. I'll remember the story about the lizard for a long time. After church we had a potluck at the Claytons, which was so much fun! The weather was great and the company was fabulous! My diet was so not followed. Oh well, not too much damage was done and it was worth every yummy bite.

Yea and the books too did go forth and were fruitful and did multiply to a shockingly exceedingly high number.

Seriously why do I have college textbooks? That was like 15 years ago. 

And the canning supplies did go forth and multiply and did beget many more canning supplies. They were exceedingly fruitful, in so much that a great multitude was found amongst the boxes in the land of KITCHEN. 

I had no idea I had so many canning lid rings. 

Emma takes no responsibility...

Emma, did you pee on the floor?

No.

Why are your clothes wet?

Um, I didn't pee on the floor, my bottom did.

It doesn't matter what you ask, she didn't do it. Usually Derrick is her scapegoat, however she has learned that certain things she must blame part of her own body, but never herself.

Emma so sweet!

Conversation yesterday...

M: What happens when we don't take our nap?

E: We get "bumpy" (grumpy)

M: Is it fun to be grumpy?

E: No.

M: Let's go take a nap so we can be happy later.

E: But I want to play outside.

M: If we take a nap now, then we can play outside when the kids come home from school.

E: (Big smile) Ok.

And off she goes to take a nap. Took a very long nap too. Happy times!!

Frustrated Mom Moment...

I'm so irritated!! Bradley, my sweet, helpful Bradley is about to drive me insane. He's usually so easy going. He's always helpful with the younger children, always willing to help Calvin when there's something that's difficult for him, always wanting to do things to be helpful for me. He does well in school and almost never has behavior problems. He wants to do what's right. If there's a child we can parent on auto-pilot, it's him. Usually. Every so often something doesn't go the way he thinks it should and he completely melts down. He becomes totally fixated on "why didn't you..."fix whatever problem has happened before it happened. Can I possible see the future to determine what my normally easy going child is going to flip out about? No. It happened about a year ago. I don't remember what it was about. All I remember was that for at least an hour, he kept asking me why I didn't do something that would've fixed whatever problem he was having before the problem ever happened. It's like I'm suppose to foresee when these issues will happen and take care of them beforehand. It didn't matter what I said, what reason I gave or how I explained, he just kept asking why. This morning, there was no milk. The kids all like to have cereal for breakfast. It's hard to have cereal without milk. Bradley always waits until the last minute to eat before going to the bus. This morning the other kids all realized there was no milk and they improvised. They ate yogurt with their cereal or they had cottage cheese and fruit or they had some toast. There were other options for breakfast. It's not like I was sending them off to school without breakfast. I'm not heartless. When Bradley realized there was no milk, he started asking me, "why didn't you buy milk?" What does it matter why I didn't buy milk? The fact remains that there's no milk. It doesn't matter how many times you ask me why I didn't buy it, there's still no milk. I offered him to have option A, B, C, D... for breakfast. No, he doesn't want to eat those things. He asks if I'll make him some eggs. At this point, there's no time for me to make eggs. I explain this to him and offer him A, B, C, D... no. "Why didn't you buy milk?" He's so upset about this that he's staying home from school. (And when the school asks is he sick? and I said no, he's too upset because there's no milk - yes they giggled.) I can't very well send him to school in tears because there's no milk and he's refusing to eat anything else. It's been about 40 minutes since this all started and he's right now sitting in his room regaining his composure. We've had a "responsibility" talk that I thought was going really well. He said he understood and I thought yes, I got through. He started to cry again and I asked why he was crying. "Because there's no milk." So he got sent to his room again to regain his composure again. Of course I'm going to go buy milk today, but I'm thinking he doesn't get to have any for a week. So that he can really understand that you just don't cry about not getting to have cereal for breakfast. 

Oh where is my sweet Bradley? 

"I am thankful for a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning and gutters that need fixing because it means I have a home.... I am thankful for the piles of laundry and ironing because it means my loved ones are nearby." ~Nancie J. Carmody

Great weekend!

Chris' niece came home from her mission last week. So we came up to hear her speak in church. She gave a great talk and inspired us all to find missionary opportunities. It was lots of fun to see all the family again. 

We stayed with the Claytons in Queen Creek and had so much fun hanging out with them on Saturday. Chris and John took the older kids to see the air show in Casa Grande. They had lots of fun and got to see lots of planes. We were all surprised to hear just how much Calvin knows about planes. When asked where he learned it, he read it in a book. He is so my child. Tammy and I hung out with the little ones at the house. Derrick took a great nap and Emma played so happy and then said she was tired and laid down on the couch for a nap herself. Tammy and I had tons of fun! Then that evening we had babysitters and we went out for dinner. YUM! We went to this little Greek restaurant in Johnson Ranch. Wow, it was really good! I totally cheated on my diet and then since I'd already eaten the pita bread (yum) and the french fries (yum yum) we decided to shoot the moon and we picked up cookie dough ice cream (yum yum  yum) at walmart on the way home. We needed cash for the babysitters so we had to stop at walmart. Anyways, we had a great time staying in the Clayton's guest house - thank you so much!!! We're really looking forward to coming up again this weekend for the wedding.

Being that I just mentioned my diet, I have to shout out my joy - 25 lbs of joy!! And I feel really great - lots of energy and all that!!

All Settled - well we found the silverware at least

So we've finally moved into the rental house we were waiting for and have things a little bit settled. I was really quite pleased with myself for remembering that the day after the move was Sunday and to set aside church clothes for everyone. What I forgot about was the Advil. Poor Chris was so sore. 

I think I have found most of my kitchen stuff. And amazingly most of it seems to fit in the kitchen. The playroom is a mess of boxes still. Emma keeps asking where her toys are. I keep telling her they're in a box and we'll find them soon. 

All the kids have really enjoyed the backyard. They play out there everyday. I have truly enjoyed the older three riding the bus. It's so nice not having to wake up Emma and Derrick from their naps to pick the kids up from school. Most days I do not leave the house at all except to work out at the church. I'm a little worried at some point they're going to ask me to stop coming to work out at the church because Derrick doesn't exactly abide by all the rules. But for now, we keep coming and getting a pretty good work out. 

Chris really loves his job. It's so nice to have him come home from work in a really good mood. Not that he came home from his last job in a bad mood, but driving for an hour and a half is just not very good for anybody's mood. We are loving his super short "commute". 

Cute thing Emma said today ... "I wanna watch messy street." I was like huh? But then realized that Sesame Street was just starting to come on PBS. 

Generation gap and other funnies

So the kids were playing outside and they called to us through the window saying "hey look at us, we're doing the moonwalk." Chris and I look at each other wondering, do they even know who Michael Jackson is? Calvin was playing on the computer in our bedroom right then and so we asked him if he knew what the moonwalk was. He was like yeah, kinda like everyone knows. So we asked him to show us. Calvin starts hopping like in the video of the lunar landing and his voice says all scratchy like an old recording "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." 

I asked Bradley to move the laundry over to the dryer for me. And he was being sweet and started another load without me asking him to. I went to move that load over a little later on and noticed just how fresh it smelled. There was a little downy spilled on the top of the dryer as well and so I figured he'd filled the downy ball all the way. When I asked him about it he said he filled it to the "large load line" and so I thought he'd measured it in the lid and then put it in the downy ball. I asked him if that's what he did and he said "it's complicated." I didn't make him explain. Just thanked him for doing the laundry and what a nice fresh smell that load has.

So since this temp house is outside the school boundaries, there is no bus for the kids. I have to drive them to school and pick them up. They get out of class at 3:10 and if I'm not there to pick them up by 3:20 they're already waiting in the office. Those of you with children at Ben Franklin Power Rd campus know what a change this is for me. Pick up there would take about 45 minutes. (You get there 20 minutes early to get your place in line and then wait about 20 minutes to get out of the parking lot.) So I was late picking the kids up one day. I didn't realize they went to the office so quickly. The very next day I get to the school and I look at my watch and it's 3:05 but strangely there is no one in the parking lot and the crossing guard is gone. The office called me right then wondering when I would be coming to pick up the kids. It's actually 3:25 but my watch says it's 3:05. I'm thinking my battery was dying or something. Nope, Emma and Derrick figured out how to play with the dial on my watch that sets the time. I caught them doing it the very next morning. So I was late two days in a row picking up the kids. Not a good start at the new school. I'm so looking forward to the kids being able to ride the bus next week. Wahoo!!

Who do you bank with? And are you happy with them?

Ok, so Chris and I have accounts with a couple of different banks. We recently had a bank put a 31 day hold on a payment that was sent from one bank to another with electronic funds transfer. You know where the payment is considered immediate. Why would they put a hold on it? We don't know. We can't get a straight answer out of anyone. The people in the bank tell us one thing. The people on the phone tell us something different and then transfer us to a department that's closed. So we call back and then they tell us something completely different again and then - get this - they transfer us to collections. We have never been talked to like that before - so rude! We've never been late on a payment and we can't figure out why they would put a hold on the funds. We're about ready to go close all the accounts with them and start somewhere else. We've never had a bank treat us in such a horrible way. So again I ask, who do you bank with and are you happy with them? Either comment or send me an email. 

Hooray for Calvin

So if any of you have seen Calvin's bike, you know it's not a real bike. With his muscle condition he was never able to ride a bike. His physical therapist was able to get us in contact with an amazing charity organization that provides bikes to disabled children. Calvin has really enjoyed his modified "bike" for the last two years. He would ride it all over the back porch and then after his surgery and he had more energy he would even ride it down to the mail box and back. Well, he's been doing so well since his surgery with his muscle strength and balance that we thought it was time to learn to ride a real bike. It took him like four tries and then he got it. He rode his bike back and forth across the yard. I think it's time to get him a larger bike. Since he wasn't ever able to ride a bike, his bike is rather old and not the right size for him. Three cheers for Calvin, my little bike rider - Hip Hip Hooray!!