Speedy the Goldfish

How could I forget to mention Speedy?? I mean, seriously - he(or she??) has been such a fixture on my kitchen counter for the past 3 months (literally)!

It is with a heavy heart that I announce...um, no - there's no heavy heart here! The dang fish finally kicked the bucket this morning!!

And now I get my counter space back and don't have to look at the disgusting murky fish water anymore! And I don't have to clean up after two curious kids who seem to like the taste of fish food! {I just have to clean up after one child who really likes to eat cat food...ugh!} And I don't have to remind a certain child, who shall remain nameless, to take care of the fish!

I knew this would turn out to be a good day!

It's Been a While...

Um, yeah, it has been a while since I blogged. Bad me!! I've been too overwhelmed with everything going on (aka - normal life) to feel like blogging! But, in case you're interested, here are a few things to look for in the coming days:

Rachel turned 3!! (I can't believe I didn't get a b-day post up for her, so I'm going to do one and post-date it so it LOOKS like I didn't neglect her! So scroll down to see it, but in a day or two.)

I had knee surgery

We had another wedding in the family

We've been living through winter, spring and everything in between! Winter sure hung on for a long time this year!

We celebrated Easter

Emily (and mom) did a science fair project (you'll never want to eat chips again!)

I know you're all (all 3 of you!) on pins and needles to read about our oh-so-ordinary lives. So I promise to get back into the swing of things. Soon. Hopefully.

Happy Birthday Rachel!

I can't believe it has already been THREE years since our sweet little Rachel rushed into the world! Time really does pass more quickly each year! And my how things change! Here's a little walk down memory lane, starring Rachel.

A few days old

One year old (and loving brand-new Caleb)

Two years old

The Birthday Girl!

Here are a few tidbits about Rachel:

• She loves to sing, especially I am a Child of God and I Love to See the Temple. She hums and sings all the time!
• She loves candy (not much of a surprise), fruit, granola bars and pepper jack cheese.
• She is full of personality and spit fire. Don't mess with her because she knows how to defend herself!
• She still has red, naturally curly hair, though not as curly as when it was short. It is amazing how long her hair really is (and she's never had a haircut)!
• She knows lots of letters and loves to let us know when she sees any that she knows.
• She loves everybody (and she tells me all the time that she does)!
• She loves to be a helper.
• She is a really good sleeper.
• She loves to go on walks and bike rides and play at the park.

Rachel is such a special girl. We love her to pieces and are so thankful to have her in our family. There is something about her that is different - hard to explain - but I think she has a very strong spirit and will do amazing things in life.

We love you Rachel! You add such an amazing amount of warmth and love and energy to our lives.

Spring Happenings

RESOURCEFUL

(toys double as step stools)

CREATIVE

(new uses for hard-boiled eggs)

ARTISTIC

(Easter egg hands)

BUSY, BUSY BOY

(wearing Emily's shoes)

THOROUGHLY CAREFUL

(more color on the egg than on hands)

TOOTHLESS

(no top teeth)

INNOCENTLY IMPISH

(no explanation needed)

MUSICAL

(orchestra concert - a terrific violin player)

(sorry for the horrible picture)

Get This Off Me!!

I had just slipped into sleep last night when I woke up to Rachel crying. Assuming it was potty time, I dragged my sleepy self out of bed and walked to her room to help her. When I got there, she said, between sobs, "Get this off me!!" I assumed she was just not entirely awake, so I helped her out of bed and into the bathroom. As she sat down, she again sobbed, "Get this off me!" Then I noticed her finger. She had wrapped one of her hair elastics around it, and her finger was in the process of turning a very ugly shade of dark purple! I pulled the elastic off and immediately her finger started looking a little more normal, although a little red. I am so thankful it woke her up because the last thing we need is a little more medical excitement at this house!!

Note to self: take Rachel's elastics out before she goes to bed from now on!

Cellulitis

Just for the record (so I can remember), Emily developed cellulitis as a result of the cuts she got from the cat attack last week. Here is what she looked like throughout the day on March 6th.

Before we headed to the hospital,

In the Emergency Room

And in the evening

These pictures really don't do it justice! The swelling around her right eye was a lot worse than it appears, and by the evening was pretty red.

She had 3 doses of IV antibiotics, and this is what she looked like on Sunday

An amazing difference! The redness and swelling were almost completely gone!

Two things played into the development of the cellulitis:

#1 - a bacteria that all cats carry in their mouths that is introduced to humans from bites and/or scratches.

#2 - the fact that Emily is allergic to Augmentin and Rocefin, which are the first two antibiotics doctors would normally prescribe for cat bites/scratches

We are counting our blessings that we caught this when we did and that Emily responded so well to the antibiotics in the hospital!

Unexpected Happenings

Emily was attacked as she tried to pick up a stray cat this week. She had already pet the cat and thought it was friendly, but the cat wanted nothing to do with being picked up. In Emily's words, "I tried to pick it up and it jumped on my face!"

I've never heard such horrifying screams come out of someone so small! I will spare you all the gory details, except to say that we spent the evening at InstaCare, where she received 5 stitches in 2 different cuts on her forehead. She is recovering nicely, but still very sore. Here she is the morning after the ordeal.

The worst cut is thankfully hard to see - right along her hairline. It was completely through the full thickness of her skin! She also has several other scratches and puncture wounds on her left arm and shoulder and back/neck area. Since cat wounds are so dirty, she has to take a course of antibiotics to protect against infections. Let's hope it works!

I am so thankful things weren't worse. I think her glasses probably spared her eyes from being clawed. Thank goodness she was wearing them! I still can't believe something like this could happen. Every time I think about it I just want to cry! I am never fully prepared for how much it hurts to see your child in pain. That is an emotion that sneaks up on me every time!

Fish Food For Thought

Josh brought two goldfish home from a birthday party last week. Not the crackers. The real deal! {Mental note: never send pets home as a parting gift! Oh yeah, I'd never do that in the first place!}

They have become quite the fascination, at least for Rachel and Caleb.

They always love to look at them, so I lower the bucket down several times a day for them to get their looksies.

It just so happens that on one of their looksies, I discovered one of the little guys was laying on his side, not moving.

I sent him to the big fishbowl in the sky {location: sewer ponds west of town via the toilet} and Emily and Josh got upset that I didn't feed him to the cats!

Afterward I changed the water, thinking that the bigger fish would appreciate not having to swim in dead fishy water. Wouldn't you?!?

In the process he flipped out of the grabber thingy onto the counter and laid there stiff as a board. I thought I was going to have to explain to Josh how both fish had died in one day.

But alas, the little guy perked right up once he got scooted back into the water! PHEW!

Later that same day, during the 30 seconds that I ran to the mailbox, Rachel managed to climb onto the counter, retrieve the fish food, run to the hall, open the lid, and scatter the smelly flakes from one end to the other. When she realized I had discovered her actions, she and Caleb began furiously shoving handfuls of the food into their mouths. ICK! ICK! SOOOO ICKY!!

I did manage to get things cleaned up.

ICK!! ICK!! ICK!!!

How Do I Love Thee...

Valentine's Day started a couple days early for our family this year. The kids get to have Valentine's Tea at school - a time to learn about manners and etiquette - on Friday (the 12th). The boys seat the girls and then bring them a cookie and drink. They dress up in their Sunday best for this, so it's the real deal! I couldn't believe how excited Josh was to dress up! He came up Friday morning in his red dress shirt, black slacks, and a red tie! He was looking so dapper! Here he is after school on Friday. Doesn't he look so grown up?!?! (For the record, I posed him this way - his natural pose is, shall we say, a little too manly!)

Emily took her dress to school to change into/out of so she wouldn't have to worry about what to do at recess in a dress. So, I don't have any pictures of her. But this was a big deal for her too - she asked me to put some curls in her hair!! It's an amazing day when she actually WANTS to get her hair done!

I had a lot of fun putting some things together for Jared. I had the kids take them to him at work throughout the day on Saturday. We did rice krispie treats shaped like Hershey's kisses first,

then they took him some fortune cookies I had made the day before.
They were so yummy, but a TON of work. Probably not something I'll be doing very often!
After that I had them take him a bag of tortilla chips and a jar of his favorite salsa from a restaurant here in town. The kids had so much fun being my messengers, and Jared said he really enjoyed it. On the way to our first drop-off, Josh wondered how Jared would know all these things were from me, because I told them to tell him this was a special delivery from a secret admirer. I just had to laugh at that one! I assured Josh that Jared would surely know they were from me!

Jared brought these beauties home for me on Saturday afternoon - aren't they gorgeous?!?! They smell soooo good too! Just what I needed!
We had a fun time as a family Saturday evening. We had orange chicken and rice, which we ate with our chopsticks, and then I surprised the kids with fortune cookies. They were so excited that they got to have some too. They had wondered earlier in the day why all the good stuff was all for Dad!! They were so excited to read all the fortunes I put in them. Then we sat down and watched part of Disney's "Around the World in 80 Days."

Cupid made a visit to the kids on Valentine's morning. They each got a new shirt, a personalized rice krispie treat (shaped like Hershey's kisses), and a bag of treats.
I would call this Valentine's Day a complete success! It was fun to see the kids going out of their way to be extra nice and to surprise their loved ones with Valentines. I just wish we could keep the lovey-dovey feelings going all year long!

Little Mermaid Addict

Rachel has completely given up naps (sniffle), so while Caleb is taking his nap, I have Rachel watch a movie. It gives her a chance for some down time, and me some time to take care of things I need to do.

Her favorite movie is Little Mermaid. She chooses it around 95% of the time. I'm getting a little tired of it, but it keeps her happy, so we watch it over and over and over...

This is what happens every time she watches it:

We get to the part where Ursula is inviting Ariel into her lair. She says, "Come in child! Don't lurk in doorways - it's rude! One might question your upbringing." Rachel ALWAYS responds with "Ariel's upbringing??" as if she knows exactly what Ursula is talking about and completely disagrees!

Then, there's the part where Scuttle (the seagull) is trying to figure out what's new with Ariel (she's just received her legs from Ursula). Rachel ALWAYS says, rather emphatically, "Scuttle's not in my book!!" She has a Disney Princess seek-and-find book, and it is quite upsetting to her that Scuttle isn't in the section with Ariel, Sebastian, and the other characters from Little Mermaid. How dare they not include him! The nerve of some people!