August 30 - What Did You Do Today?

The coolest thing I did today:

I am SO BLESSED to have time to play. Any 25 brand new Play-Doh containers should make anyone happy!

August 25 - A Day in the Life

I'm recording this for the absurd posterity of it all, and out of pure gratefulness for my blessed life!

6am - get up & make Dale's lunch & morning coffee, lots of kisses

6:45am - go back to my snuggly bed!

7:15am - cuddle Naomi in my bed & read our favorite Shel Silverstein poems

7:45am - make chocolate chip pancakes with Naomi's chip placement assistance

7:55am - make gluten-free cottage cheese pancakes for me

8:30am - crush turtle pellet food and sprinkle liberally for Skyler's silver dollar-sized pets

8:45am - clean the kitchen, throw in a load of laundry, write a blogpost, sip chai

9:05am - yell at Seth to clean up his bloody nose & stop dripping everywhere

9:08am - physically separate the children to take care of Skyler's bloody lip

9:20am - banish 3 children to different corners, which lasts about a minute

9:24am - call technical support to update my work password & account to match my not-so-new-anymore name
9:30am - clean out the last 2 1/2 years of email in my work inbox (don't think I'll be much help now in locating the missing equipment from 12 south from 2008!)

9:55am - jog 4 miles while Skler rides his bike alongside

10:45am -practice push-ups and crunches with Naomi

10:50am - waste 15 minutes trying to remove the toenail polish from my fabulous pedicure a month ago in Ocean Beach, then decide I'll just have to outgrow it

11:05am - shower.... ahhh!

11:35am - pay medical bills by phone

12:00pm - teach Skyler to whittle sticks into sharp pointy spears (he BEGGED all morning) with my super-cool Swiss Army knife engraved with my name in Switzerland

12:15pm - review knife safety tips with all the kids after I unearth Seth from the basement
12:30pm - make chicken salad sandwiches for lunch, except for Naomi who currently will only eat jelly and butter sandwiches

12:55pm - park kids in front of a movie with their lunch so I can run out & see a patient in town

1:15pm - play cheerleader for a decrepit old lady with behavioral issues "Let's go outside & try to stand up today!"

2:00pm - drive to Niles for a bank deposit

2:05pm - swing by Walmart to pick up water softener salt

2:15pm - run into the library to return books & pick up On the Corner of Bitter & Sweet for book club next month

2:30pm - pull into the driveway, which is now covered with sticks & berries & bikes

2:32pm - hug all 3 kids

2:35pm - hang the wet laundry out on the patio furniture

2:50pm - load the dishwasher, make sure all the bathrooms have toilet paper

3:00pm - eat ice cream on the couch

3:02pm - read stories with all 3 kids on the couch

3:28pm - check out Skyler's growing collection of spears while listening to Vampirates audio book

3:35pm - make Jello

4:00pm - throbbing headache, try to lie down, kids are playing some sort of yelling, barking, running game

4:10pm - make graham crackers & frosting & milk snack

4:15pm - try to start my book club book

4:20pm - take more migraine medicine

4:25pm - set up a tent in the yard, with Naomi & Skyler "helping"

4:55pm - surrender to a dark room with quiet music in a horizontal position

5:00pm - try not to throw up

5:05pm - help Seth find his back pack, & in turn he gets me a cold wash cloth for my head (with coaching)

5:15pm - sleep???

5:40pm - respond to texts from several friends, get the mail
6:00pm - check on the kids playing in the tent

6:03pm - start supper: mac & cheese & broccoli

6:30pm - supper together at the table (Dale is out with Paige tonight), chattering about best friends and favorite books and vacation spots

And so it goes...

Skyler: "Today was a pretty great day!" :-)

August 24 - So Far So Good

After some scheduling snafus related to my loss of phone/calendar/contacts a few months back, I finally got in to see Dr. Method for the ovarian cancer update. (yuck)

Anticipation is the worst part. I've pretty much contemplated all possible ways to get sick and die with this stuff. Anyway, last week I had the joy of a transvaginal ultrasound. "Don't worry, it doesn't go in ALL the way," the friendly technician assured me. Great. My left ovary was being elusive, playing peek-a-boo behind some colon or something. At least that means there's no grapefruit-sized tumor hidden in there, even if it feels like it sometimes.

Yesterday was the blood test for the CA-125 marker. I got to check out the new Michiana Hematology & Oncology complex, which is pretty in hip olive colors and etched glass. However, I don't think they thought through the fact that nearly everyone going there is likely to be ill. There are yards and yards of pavement to cross to get to the staggered maze-like entryway. None of the signage is posted yet, so you kinda have to guess which bathroom is for women or which direction to go to find the doctor. Fortunately, they've staffed the building with friendly white-haired ladies to point and smile apologetically.

Back today for THE RESULTS.

Aaaaand, it's all good! Exam & test results all normal. They have a new expensive screening test option, but for now the doc thinks we're good with 6 month monitoring for another year or two. Yippee! Now I can get back to worrying about normal stuff, like managing sibling rivalry and homework.

August 17 - BCYF!

YAY! It's that time of year again. The Berrien County Youth Fair is a grand family tradition. I think I've spent at least a day there most summers for the past 30 years. (Weird since I'm only 29 - wink wink - right?) From entering my own crafts and baked goods, to scoping out cute boys, to pushing strollers and wiping cotton candy fingers, to now whooping and squealing with my kids and new husband on the Fire Ball and ferris wheel.

We sweated through the Continental Circus, which was pleasantly clown-free and featured 10 tigers and a lion. Check out the 4th generation 11 y/o Wallenda girl, on top of the high wire grandstand - NO NET! That may be the most nervous I've ever been for a performer!

We love it all! We watched a baby goat birth. We voted for our favorite Lego display and rabbit breed. We wolfed down korn dogs and pizza and elephant ears. We maximized our ride wristbands. For a solid 12 hours. And can't wait for next year!

August 18 - Endless Chores

I absolutely heart weekends home with the family, but cooking 8 full meals in a row is exhausting! Whew. We've been running the dishwasher twice a day. Seth, who has assumed the emptying chore, asked me Monday, "when does it ever stop?!" Exactly, kid. Exactly. Maybe going back to school in a few weeks won't be so bad. Sometimes going to work feels like a break!

August 11 - Environmentalists

OK, maybe we don't appropriately recycle every possible item or weave our own clothing from native fibers, but we're definitely tree huggers in this family!

July 25 - The Importance of Information

We went to the San Diego Wild Animal Park with the family today. It's a gorgeous park full of giraffes and antelope, rhinos and lions, like a Cliff-notes safari tucked into the southern California mountains.

First on the agenda, we made a bee line to the Lorikeet enclosure, where you can feed colorful parrot-like birds breakfast from little cups in your hand. My sister loves this adventure so much we used to call them Lara-keets. Excitement was high!

Unfortunately, I failed to clue the kids, who had never been there, into what exactly to expect. So when the zookeeper handed Naomi a tiny cup of nectar, she automatically sipped it, which made the crowd around her giggle, instantly embarrassing her. No one had told her it was for the birds. No one had mentioned that we were going into big cage full of bright squaky things that would land on you all at once with their soft claws and curious beaks. Understandably, she panicked, and Skyler promptly refused to participate. It took some confusion and coaxing to bring them through the enclosure.

In hindsight, there were about 10 ways I could have made that a more rewarding memory. I could have made sure the kids were well fed before we arrived instead of just packing snacks. I should have assigned an adult to each kid. I should have mentioned some of the animals they would see and promoted the interactive experience. I might have informed them specifically that Lorikeets are friendly parrot-like birds that will perch on your hands and shoulders and head looking for food. Oh well.

The good news is that everyone survived, and Naomi can tell the story now and giggle about it. Plus she was the only one who got to taste the special formula bird food, just like the zoo keeper. She says it's kinda sweet, like soy milk.