Singin' in the Shower

2011-02-03T14:58:00.002-07:00

A few nights ago, we sat down as a family to play Skipbo--a fairly simple card game that even Ellie can play well. It was the end of the day and the ADHD was running rampant.

When we were done, Emily put her arm around my shoulders and our conversation went something like this:

"Mom, you and I have to stick together since we're the only ones without ADHD."

I replied, "Yeah, I guess you and I can commiserate together."

Her eyes brightened. "Yeah. Let's go shopping!"

Emily's solution to every situation.

The evil ADHD

2010-10-22T16:31:00.004-06:00

She's so cute isn't she!

I love her to pieces and am never truly angry with her. She is very mild-mannered, always wants to please, and is the peacemaker in our home.

So if I'm going to vent a frustration, here it is--the evil, skulking, ever-lurking-in-our-lives ADHD!

Now I'm not saying Ellie has ADHD. Perhaps I'm in denial. I'm not ready to have her tested, medicated or labeled with it yet. Let's just say the tendency is there--and I would like to banish ADHD from ever rearing it's ugly head in the vicinity of our home again!

This afternoon, I picked Ellie up from school and she informed me that when she opened up her backpack, her homework was not in it--but that the teacher would give her (some) credit, if she turned it in Monday. This is homework that she worked and slaved all week on with me by her side. I of course asked the oh so useless question, "well, why isn't it in your backpack?!"

She replied, "I thought it was in my backpack."

This is not the first time this has happened--or even the second or third. This is a constant struggle! When we got home and started looking for it, we found it on the floor of her room--all stapled together, ready to turn in, signed, sealed, but not delivered.

I can picture the scene. Paul helps her staple the papers together, hands it to her and watches her walk toward her room to put it into her backpack before leaving this morning. She gets to her room, is distracted by some toy, the bracelet she's wearing, or something outside the bedroom window; she sets the papers down and continues on her path of distraction until Paul calls her saying it's time to go. She grabs her backpack--without having put the papers in it--and they head to school.

I know, I know, you're sitting there saying, "she's eight, it's normal, it could happen to anyone." But all the time??????? I ask her put her jacket away. I watch her pick it up and head toward the coat rack. I turn to finish what I am doing. When I look back a moment later, the jacket is on the floor again maybe six feet closer to the coat rack and Ellie is browsing the books on the bookshelf. This may be repeated as many as 4 or 5 times before she can complete the task without being sidetracked. These occurances are happening several times a day!

Getting the homework from the desk to the backpack and then to school is a daily battle that I fear I am losing more often than not. Ellie is not a defiant child, nor does she argue with me about doing homework or other tasks--she is simply highly distractable, like most of her siblings and father before her who have been diagnosed with the unmentionable.

Still I'm holding out some hope that this is a stage she will outgrow...please, please, please!!!

Our trip to the zoo

2010-10-03T18:28:00.006-06:00

Ellie's letter

2010-03-15T09:56:00.003-06:00

Ellie has a very tender heart. For many years we've had beloved pet rats that the kids play with, talk to and generally adore. A couple of weeks ago one of them (Bare) passed away and Ellie has been teary over the loss. Yesterday she wrote a letter to him:

Dear Bare,

I wish you had lived longer. I hope you are enjoying hevn (heaven). I just know Jesus is taking care of u (text talk for you). Are u having a great time?

From Ellie

Emily's new look

2010-03-15T09:53:00.001-06:00

Emily and I went shopping Saturday with her birthday money. She got clothes and accessories, including this dress, earrings and hair clip

Oh--and she also cut her hair!

Flashback #4--October 2009, Ellie

2009-12-28T13:38:00.007-07:00

The weekend before we went down for Rachel's wedding, all of us had some sort of stomach bug. Ellie got it first; she said a little girl in her class at school had been sick the day before Ellie got sick. By the end of the weekend, we'd all been sick and gotten better...or so we thought.

Everyone went back to school Monday except Maddie who I think just needed another day to recoup mentally. We were supposed to leave Tuesday right after school to go to Salt Lake for the wedding. When I picked the girls up from school Tuesday, her teacher said Ellie had been complaining of a tummy ache and running to the bathroom frequently. I took a mental note of this, looked back at Ellie who grinned at me and then we headed home to do the last minute prep before heading out of town

As soon as we got home, Ellie ran for the bathroom. When she came out, she said there was "pink stuff" in the toilet. Being the nurse that I am, I had to go look, of course. My first thought was that it was blood, but it really didn't look like that, so we went ahead with our plans to go to Salt Lake, figuring that if needed we could visit an Instacare there to get an antibiotic or whatever she might need.

As the week went on, Ellie didn't seem to get any better. There were moments when she seemed a little more energetic and I'd think, "okay, she's on the mend." And then 30 minutes later she was laying on the couch again with a tummyache and looking very pale.

Friday morning when she went to the bathroom there was obvious blood in her stool. In hindsight, I wish we'd packed up early and come home to see our family doctor. However, at the time my thought was to just keep monitoring her and again-if needed-we could go to a doc-in-the-box in Salt Lake.

Sunday morning, we woke up to get ready to return to Boise. When I gave Ellie a bath, I thought she not only looked pale, but was starting to look jaundiced. She was still having blood in her stool and now she was nauseous and throwing up periodically. We got home as quickly as we could and put her to bed hoping she would be better by morning.

Monday morning she was still just as sick so I got her in to our family doctor who examined her and ran some labs on her. They called us later that day to bring her to the hospital to be admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit with a condition called hemolytic uremic syndrome. Her kidney function was compromised, platelets were low (17 when they should be above 130), and her hematocrit was 20 (should be above 36). We were told later that many kids who get this end up on dialysis--some with permanent kidney damage.

We were very fortunate. The pediatric nephrologist said he expected that she would have no permanent kidney damage and would completely recover. They gave her a unit of blood that first night and then just monitored her for the next four days, releasing her on Friday about 11pm.

It took about a month to get her hematocrit back up to where it should be, but now she's back to her old self and we are so grateful to have her healthy again!

Flashback #3--October 2009

2009-12-28T11:10:00.005-07:00

October was a very exciting time. My youngest sister, Rachel was getting married in the Salt Lake Temple and we were traveling down to Utah for the occasion.

Siblings: Jared, Kelly, Rachel w/ new husband, Nate, Wendy, Daniel

My mom commented on how much different it was preparing for this wedding because Rachel was a little older than Wendy and I had been and had more clear cut ideas about what she wanted.

Nate & Rachel

The wedding was absolutely beautiful! Everything turned out wonderfully. The younger nieces all had matching outfits and were adorable.

All of the nieces

Cousins: Ava, Lucy, Ellie, Olivia

Nate and Rachel make a very lovely couple and I'm so excited to have another great brother-in-law!

Flashback #2--November 2009, Daniel's mission call

2009-12-27T21:01:00.007-07:00

After what seemed like an eternity of waiting, dozens of interviews (okay, I'm exaggerating) and a mountain of paperwork, Daniel finally got his mission call!

We invited several friends over including our bishop and previous bishop to witness the opening of the call and got grandparents on the phone to hear the moment and...drum roll...

He will be going to the Albuquerque, New Mexico Mission! He enters the MTC on January 27th. His farewell address will be on January 24th.

Flashback #1--July 2009

2009-12-27T18:03:00.005-07:00

Many of you know some of the challenges Holly (and we, her parents) have faced over the last several years. In a nutshell, she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at age 8.

Over the years, we've seen three different psychiatrists and four or more therapists to help Holly cope with changing moods, frustrations and emotions. We've tried many different types of medication with marginal results. Counseling was very effective, but she was only able to make progress with it on "good days." And last year we were starting have more bad days than good.

Several years ago, my mother started sending us articles on Asperger's Syndrome. This was something I had considered but only in passing. However, with my mother's encouragement, I brought it up to the psychiatrist. He was dismissive about it and others concerns we had. He steered us back in the direction of treating her for bipolar disorder.

We kept Asperger's in the back of our mind, but continued with the treatment the psychiatrist suggested. A few months later, he quit private practice and we had to find a new psychiatrist.

We found one that we liked okay, but as time went on, we became frustrated because we didn't feel like he was listening to us much like the last psychiatrist. He spent all of 15 minutes with her once every three months and we weren't seeing any improvement. We decided to look again for another psychiatrist.

While we were looking for a new psychiatrist, we decided to go to an Asperger's support group to find out more information. The people we talked to there suggested we see a developmental pediatrician and recommended one in the area. We made an appointment and waited...

When we finally got in to see him at the end of July, he spent 2 1/2 hours evaluating her, talking and listening to her and then discussed his findings and made suggestions. His diagnoses were as follows: Asperger's disorder; ADHD (we already had this diagnosis); a nonspecific mood disorder--possibly bipolar or something else; anxiety--(finally! someone besides us and her teachers who recognized this); and possibly oppositional defiance disorder. His recommendation as far as medication was to continue the Adderall for ADHD, start Prozac for the anxiety and discontinue the Lamictal (a mood stabilizer for bipolar disorder).

Within days of the change, we saw a marked difference in her moods, level of frustration and general level of happiness. At first, we were holding our breath waiting for the next wave of bad days to come--they didn't.

A month later, she started school. The teachers, principal and counselors at school noticed the difference in her right away. I stopped in to the school in mid-September to drop off something and the principal commented that she was like "a new kid." She started her internship at the school and they were overwhelming pleased with her--so much so that they started paying her in mid-November.

In the next couple of months she will start a new internship at the middle school in our area. She is looking at colleges for next year and making plans to become a special education teacher. Her progress over the last few months has been phenomenal and we are looking forward to a great future for her!

Flashbacks

2009-12-27T17:58:00.003-07:00

Well, it's been nearly eight months since my last post. I read somewhere that you shouldn't apologize for not posting so I won't...and I'm not necessarily going to try and catch up either. That would be too daunting. So I'm just going to do a few "flashbacks" to fill in some gaps since May and move forward. Note new pictures of kids and family (Thank you, Jill!) to start our update!

Maddie's gymnastics 2008-2009 season

2009-05-01T08:21:00.009-06:00

I realized I hadn't posted any pictures of Maddie's 2009 competition season, so here they are...

Her ending pose for her floor routine

Mid-cartwheel on the beam

Maddie calls this the "potty pose"

Level 5 team

Levels 5 & 6 salute the judges before beginning the rotation

Making progress...

2009-04-29T20:29:00.003-06:00

See our progress!

Paul worked hard while I was at a meeting tonight.

Tomorrow night, we fill and plant!

Note bridal wreath spirea in the background--in bloom!

This will be our strawberry box!

Box #2--full sun

Box #3--right by the back door
Full sun for a lot of the day--partly shady for a little of the day

Question of the day: Why does my yard look better than the inside of my house?

Making plans...

2009-04-27T11:49:00.003-06:00

GUESS WHAT WE'RE DOING!

Last year, I watched in awe as my sister and sister-in-law built (with the help of wonderful husbands) square-foot gardens. They looked great and the harvest looked even greater.

I took note of the website and this year I showed it to my landscape-loving husband. In the past, he's not been completely enthusiastic about a garden spot. Oh, he loves gardening--but a square vegetable garden set in rows is not as asthetically pleasing to the eye as he wants it to be.

He tried integrating vegetable plants into the landscape. This worked okay, but the soil was less than desirable for growing the vegetables and only putting a few here and there between bushes did not yield a very prolific crop.

When I showed him the square-foot gardens, however, his eyes lit up in an"Aha!" moment. They got wider when he saw the ones made out of vinyl. He immediately saw the potential in this project and is enthusiastically preparing to plant with me!

Stay tuned for more...

2009-04-07T07:45:00.004-06:00

One child.

That's all I had after 7:30 this morning to spend time with, talk to and get ready for school. Oh, Ellie was thrilled! Thrilled that she had Mommy all to herself for over an hour before leaving for school. But it causes me quite a bit of reflection about life and how fast time passes.

April 2000

Daniel--Class of 2009

Graduating this year

Holly--Class of 2010

Taking Driver's Ed and preparing for an internship for next year.

Emily--Class of 2014

My child most recently turned teenager!

Madelyn--Class of 2017

Recently reached a double-digit birthday!

And Ellie!

Ellie--Class of 2020

1st grader extraordinaire!

In a few minutes I'll take her to school and watch her scamper off to play happily with her friends. And, as my mind takes a picture, perhaps for a moment, time will stand still...

Family Home Evening in the ADHD Zone

2009-01-26T10:34:00.004-07:00

Family Home Evening at our house can be an interesting experience with half the family having ADHD moments since the meds have worn off by the end of the day.

Last night Maddie and Ellie prepared the lesson on Avoiding Gossip. They really did a pretty good job using scripture and quotes from general authorities as well as a game of hangman and an activity to help teach the lesson. However, the presentation of the lesson was a little unconventional. It went something like this...

Game of Hangman to introduce the subject.

Maddie starts, "Who can guess a letter?....(hands raised)...um Daniel."

"P," says Daniel after thinking for a moment.

"Yes!" calls Maddie, by now in the other room, and she front walk-over's her way back to the living room to fill in the "P" on the hangman.

Now Ellie chooses someone. "Emily." (Maddie is walking on her hands in the entryway)

Daddy says, "Maddie, come back in the living room--the teacher needs to stay in here."

"Okay." And she returns to sit on the piano bench. "How about another letter?"

"Wait it's still my turn!" say Emily indignantly.

Holly whispers to me, "Mom can you tickle my back?"

"Do we have milk for breakfast in the morning?" blurts out Daniel.

I reply, "We'll check after we're done with FHE. Let's finish Maddie's game."

"What game?"

"Hangman!" says an exasperated Daddy. (Maddie is doing back walk-overs in the entry)
Somehow we got through the hangman game and went on to the main part of the lesson.

Maddie and Ellie sat on the piano bench, read a scripture and a quote and then asked a question. (Raised hands) "Um...Holly."

"Let me think for a minute." Then she launches into a lengthy answer ending with 'don't you think, Dad?'

"Next question!" announces the nine-year-old instructor.

After a few more questions, it was time for the closing song, "Trying to be like Jesus." As the last note sounded, Maddie ran from the room calling, "I have to go to the bathroom!"
If you took all the pieces of the (exhausting) lesson and put them together without interruption--there was a good message there--I just hope a few bits of it went into the hearts and minds of each member of our family.

(Sigh) We'll go forth and try again next week!

New chapter in my life

2009-01-22T11:08:00.003-07:00

Well...I graduated! I will take the NCLEX on February 12th and of course I plan on passing it the first go!.

Now I feel like I'm trying to run 100 mph to catch up on the things I've neglected during my tenure at school. In doing so, however, I've quite neglected my blog. And I don't think I'm going to try to catch up--we'll just go on from here!

I am orienting on the Telemetry Unit in Boise (cardiac patients). I'm working night shift which works really well with houseful of school-age kids. I go to work at 7pm and Daddy gets everyone tucked into bed. I get home around 8am--Daddy has already gotten the older kids off to school and I am home in time to get the younger two to school before crashing to sleep. I get up just in time to pick Maddie and Ellie up at school and supervise the afternoon homework.

I was expecting to have a little more time to spend doing some organizing of my home (although my sweet husband did a lot over the Christmas break) but somehow...I'm still busy! After all, I still have five children who pull stunts like getting strept throat (Emily), not asking for help with homework and bombing the math assignment(s) (Maddie), prompting a parent-teacher conference, and another daughter who had some labwork come back abnormal (Holly) prompting more tests and Dr. visits. But how glorious that I am done with school and have the time to be the MOM!!!!!!!!!!! I can take care of Emily while she's sick, work with Maddie on her math and be with Holly at each Dr. visit.

WE'RE FINALLY THERE!

Tic-Tac-Toe

2008-12-16T10:13:00.003-07:00

Couldn't resist this one! Maddie and Ellie sat down to play Tic-Tac-Toe and for the first several rounds, Ellie beat the pants off Maddie! Finally Maddie regained her confidence and pulled ahead to show Ellie who the big sister was!

Holidays

2008-12-16T09:37:00.005-07:00

Ah-h-h-h, my computer is back! Well, the internet is still not working on it, but I have all my pictures which can be saved on the flash drive and plugged in elsewhere to post them. Either way, I'm excited to have it back!

So...since I missed Halloween and Thanksgiving--as far as illustrating them here--I thought I would put up the pictures to play catch-up!

HALLOWEEN

I think the picture speaks for itself--poor Harli!

The younger girls--Maddie as a fairy princess, Emily as a prom queen (remember she's only 12!), and Ellie as Giselle (from "Enchanted").

THANKSGIVING

We spent Thanksgiving with a couple of other families here in town and asked our good friend, Karen Christensen to photograph our family since we hadn't had a family portrait in a while. I think it turned out pretty well!

The Krommenhoek Family--Thanksgiving 2008

Karen also thought that while we were at it, we might as well take the following picture too.

Mr. and Mrs. Krommenhoek--Thanksgiving 2008

Coming up in the near future--Christmas with the Krommenhoeks!

Runaway veins

2008-12-11T16:28:00.003-07:00

Holly had to have blood drawn for tests this morning. They were fasting tests--except for water of course which she was guzzling in hopes of nice, fat, easy to access veins. I promised her it would require only one needle poke for the list of tests that were ordered.

Alas, I am her mother, the queen of runaway veins. Therefore it was not to be. She ended up getting poked four times by two phlebotomists (2 pokes each). Afterward she lay down with coban on both antecubital spaces and her hand until the color returned to her face.

After a few minutes, her cheeks were pink and she was ready to get her breakfast and go to school. Thanks, Holly for being such a good sport! I'll be careful before making any more promises regarding phlebotomy on my offspring.

Technical Difficulties and teeth

2008-12-05T09:57:00.004-07:00

I've been waiting patiently for the technical difficulties to be resolved with our main computer. You know, the one I download all my pictures onto and generally use for all my cyber duties. Alas, it still remains in the shop to figure out why it doesn't like the internet right now. We ruled out connection problems since the other computers in the house run the internet wirelessly off the same modem. They all work! Therefore I am confined to blogging from my pictureless laptop. Never fear! Google images will help illustrate my blog!

Regardless of the state of my computer, however, life continues on and so I must continue on with it.

Our family has issues with lateral incisors. Daniel is missing both of his. His retainer has fake ones that fill in the space and leave room for future implants ($3000 apiece--if it's important to him). Paul and Holly are each missing one lateral incisor and the other is what they call a "peg lateral"

Note the triangular shape to the tooth.

Somehow, Emily escaped the lateral incisor curse, but Maddie supposedly has two "peg laterals" (according to the panoramic x-ray--I haven't gotten a good look at them since they started coming in). The jury is still out on the state of Ellie's lateral incisors.

So, Wednesday we went to the dentist with Ellie and Maddie. They were due for a cleaning, but my ulterior motive for getting them there was that both of Maddie's permanent lateral incisors were in--way back behind the baby lateral incisors that were not even close to being loose enough to come out. Ellie has the same issue with a lower incisor that is sitting (not even loose) in front of the the permanent lower incisors that are completely in.

The night before, at Maddie's request, Paul managed to pull out the one lateral incisor (painfully) that was slightly loose--and it had most of the root on it!

Look how little of the tooth actually sticks up above the gums! The way it's supposed to work is that the root dissolves before coming out--but apparently this is not to be with my two youngest children. The dentist extracted Maddie's other lateral incisor which had the entire root INTACT! I did not make her go back to school after the tooth trauma. Thank goodness for novocaine and nitrous oxide! Ellie's tooth will have to be extracted at a later time--not looking foward to it!

Fashion Day

2008-11-03T11:06:00.002-07:00

We live in a home in which there is a lot of activity centered on "doing hair," "accessorizing," and "lip gloss." Most days the girls wear jeans and sweatshirts with tennis shoes because they have P.E. all but one day a week--that doesn't stop the hair-do's, accessorizing or lip gloss but puts a damper on my skirt-loving daughters' choice of attire.

This morning as the girls were getting ready, Ellie called out excitedly, "Mom, tomorrow is 'fashion' day!"

"What is fashion day?" I asked, picturing hours of curling or straightening hair, elaborate accessorizing and toning down the layers of lip gloss and nail polish.

"Oh, well tomorrow, I don't have P.E.!" she exclaimed.

So now school days are distinguished by "P.E. day" and "fashion day."

What were you doing...

2008-10-24T09:54:00.002-06:00

Thank you Lorie for giving me this idea!

What were you doing 20 years ago?

I was finishing up my mission in my last area of Petersburg, West Virginia, a tiny little town nestled 1 1/2 hours from the interstate highway where people live in the "hollers."
I was excited to come home, but nervous about jumping back into "real" life with all of the stresses and pressures that came with it.
I was scheduled to come home December 29th and would be returning to my family, but in a new house and new ward. I also was coming home to a new brother-in-law who had married my sister a few months before.

What were you doing 10 years ago?

We were living in Salt Lake where I was doing full-time day care and teaching a few piano students.
Paul worked for American Stores, but there were rumors of a buy-out that could affect us.
We were expecting our fourth baby.
I was the choir director at church as well as being the nursery leader; Paul was the elder's quorum president.

What were you doing on 9/11/2001?

We were living in Meridian, Idaho; Paul was job-hunting at the time and I was just a few weeks pregnant with our fifth baby.
I had dropped the older children off at school and come back home to a pile of laundry. After I got situated ready to fold the laundry, I turned on the tv for entertainment during this most mundane task.
As the picture came up, I saw a tall building crumble to the ground over a few seconds time. I thought: what movie is this? and why is this on instead of the usual morning news show.
It took less than a minute of viewing and listening to realize that this wasn't a movie, IT WAS REAL, and the change it effected on our lives and our country was permanent and lasting.

What were you doing 5 years ago?

I was working the night shift full-time on the Mother-Baby Care Unit at St Luke's hospital as a CNA.
Paul was managing a Taco Bell franchise and things were a little crazy at home with the busy schedules.
I was home-schooling Holly half-day and taking her to school the other half of the day.

What were you doing 1 year ago?

I was in my third semester of nursing school, and getting excited about the new skills I was able to use in my clinicals
Paul was beginning his second year as a teacher's aide in the special education classroom at Frontier Elementary, and took Ellie with him every day to attend all-day kindergarten at the same school.
I was still working on the Mother-Baby Unit but looking for the opportunity to switch to the float pool.

What did you do yesterday?

I had a clinical rotation at a mental health hospital 7am-3pm; class from 4:30-6pm; and worked (in the float pool!) from 7pm-11:30pm.
I planned the fun, ordinary things I want to do with the kids after I graduate--like reading with Ellie (Paul gets to do that all the time--I'm jealous!), play games with Maddie and Emily, "go places" with Holly, and have long conversations with Daniel.
I read my family's website and blogs to catch up on their news and enjoy the pictures of their beautiful children.

What am I doing today?

I accepted a job offer from St. Luke's for a new graduate nurse position with the float pool on nights!
I'm getting paperwork ready for graduation and applying for the NCLEX boards.
I'm working tonight from 3pm-11:30pm.
Kiss my children's sleeping faces before I go to bed.

What will I do tomorrow?

Hug my children and tell them how grateful I am for them and that I love them!
Remind my family that there are only seven weeks of my school left before graduation!
Hug them all again!
Work from 11am-11:30pm.
Tell Paul how much I appreciate all he does to support me while I'm finishing school.

Practice, Practice, Practice....

2008-09-30T21:42:00.005-06:00

Maddie's working hard to compete at level 5 this year! Here she is doing handstands and cartwheels on the beam...

Sunday morning musings

2008-09-21T19:49:00.002-06:00

This morning Holly came to me a little out of sorts because she was bored (no computer before church). I suggested she work on her "Personal Progress."

She took out her book and began thumbing through it looking for something to work on and came across one that asked her to read a scripture passage and then make a list of things she could do personally to "bear one another's burdens." This was one that she initially thought she could do.

She started making her list and then became upset and frustrated saying that she couldn't possibly do any of it and it wouldn't help anyone anyway and would cost too much money that we didn't have and on and on and on.

So I sat down with her and tried to tell her about the little things that we can do to lift each other's burdens. I think she had kind of tuned me out, because she wasn't buying it.

So I took her here and here showed her this. I talked to her about the fundraisers and auctions held for monetary help for this family, but I also showed her the many comments, the balloon launch, the posts thanking others for their prayers, cards and letters and this video:

Balloons for Nie from Jared Foster on Vimeo.

Holly became quiet as she read and watched the story of this young family and all that has been and is being done for them--the big things and the little things. She was a little teary (as was I) when the last video ended. She started thinking of the things she might do, and she went forward with her planning.

The whole discussions of course got me thinking of the little things that lift me when my burdens seem heavy--a compliment, a hug, a note, another's gratitude for something I've done. I then started asking myself--do I do these things often enough for others in an effort to lift them up?

At this time in my life I don't have money to donate nor do I have large chunks of time to devote to large projects that lift the burdens of others, but I do have the ability to lift others with words, a hug, gratitude and a smile. I'm making a goal to consciously strive to do these things.

Driver's License (at last!)

2008-09-21T19:36:00.007-06:00

The day finally came! After a few hours driving time with an instructor (and several hours with Mom and Dad), the instructor said he was ready to take the driving test and get his license. Mom and Dad were not quite as sure, but nevertheless, he went and took his driving test and passed the first time (which is more than I can say)!

Behind him is the vehicle he will drive--a 1988 Cavalier that we bought when he was six days old! Holly scratched an "H" into it when she was two. It was at that point we decided that it was marked for future teenage use. It obviously is kind of a "beater" car, but you know--he has a car to drive! We are still trying to get used to the idea that we can send him to the store or let him drive himself to work, but we're getting used to not chauffeuring him around really fast!

101 Dalmatians!

2008-09-21T19:27:00.002-06:00

Emily with her script and the stereo she keeps swiping to practice with!

Emily is participating in a Winter Children's Theatre where they are putting on a musical production of "101 Dalmatians." There are about 15 kids in the production so most of them have more than one part. Emily is playing the parts of Nanny and Sgt. Tibbs in addition to being part of the dogs that do the twilight bark. They practice Tuesdays and Thursdays for an hour and a half and will perform in mid- November.

Maddie got her kip!

2008-09-21T14:14:00.004-06:00

Maddie in a front support

Maddie finally got her kip! It is one of the key skills for level five this year and she's been working hard on it!

What is a kip (also known as a glide kip)? Well, I wanted to film Maddie doing it, but unfortunately, I haven't actually seen her do it yet--but the coaches and all of the parent spectators have told me they saw her do it. So for your viewing pleasure, here is Nastia Liuken. The kip is her mount onto the bar. She does the kip several times throughout the clip.

Note: The handstand Nastia does upon mounting is NOT part of the kip. The kip ends in a front support. As soon as I catch Maddie on film doing her kip, I will post it!

My First Slide Show

2008-09-07T22:50:00.001-06:00

Thank you, Emily and Daniel

2008-09-06T18:48:00.005-06:00

A couple of weeks ago when we were trying to prepare for school to start, we were faced with a number of challenges: how could we get dinner on and eaten before bedtime; how to get Ellie home from school since most days Paul and I don't get home before 4:30; how to get Maddie and Ellie to school on my clinical days. Our schedules were just so full that I was afraid the "fend for yourself" dinner was going to be the norm.

Enter Emily. As we were in the middle of discussing the situation, she spoke up.

Right away, she said, "Well, I can meet Ellie (and Maddie on Tues/Thurs) at the bus and walk them home." I had been afraid to ask, because it seemed like a lot to ask her to do it every day.

"Are you sure? Even if it's raining...or snowing...or the wind is blowing...or you are tired?"

"Yeah, I can do that," she said without a hesitation. Oh, thank you Emily! One major problem, SOLVED!

In addition to the above, she also agreed readily to do some dinner preparation during the hour that she is home before going to get Maddie and Ellie.

Daniel also agreed very readily to help out by taking the dog out, unloading the dishes and making sure things were in order to be able to eat dinner on time while Emily does the prep work.

A phone call to another mom solved the morning transportation problem--shared car pool!

Thank you Emily and Daniel for stepping up to the plate during this very busy semester! I'm so proud of you and I love you!

Maddie and the Tinky-Winkies

2008-09-05T07:55:00.006-06:00

On Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons, Maddie goes straight from school to gymnastics practice. She has to have a ponytail when she works out, so in the morning, I always put her hair up before she goes to school.

I started brushing her hair back this morning to gather it into the ponytail and she protested.

"Mom! Don't brush my hair like that; the tinky-winkies will come out!"

"The what?" I asked .

"The tinky-winkies!"

"What are the tinky-winkies?"

"This!" And she held some wispy pieces of hair out from her head that never seem to behave when the rest of her hair is tamed into the pony.

In this picture, you can see the tinky-winkies really well!

However, a little gel, and a little hairspray and...

Ta-da! The tinky-winkies are all hiding!

Holly is still smiling!

2008-08-26T19:33:00.002-06:00

I took this picture yesterday after the first day of school. A little late, but nonetheless it was still the first day of school!

First day of school

2008-08-25T09:17:00.003-06:00

Well...Paul, Daniel and Holly all started school this morning! I was going to take pictures, but in the hustle and bustle of it all, the camera was forgotten. I've really got to work on keeping the camera in hand and on my brain to document these sort of things!

Daniel was excited and couldn't sleep last night, so he made belgian waffle batter around midnight last night and put it in the fridge for breakfast. All family members were exuding gratitude this morning!

We all (except Ellie) got up at 6am for scriptures. Emily and Maddie promptly went back to bed as they don't start school until a week from tomorrow. Holly doesn't have seminary this week for some reason, but will start next week with the 6:30 am early morning seminary. Therefore she had a little extra time this morning. She put on new clothes and shoes, had me help her with a ponytail, we trimmed her bangs, put on earrings and even a little make-up! I hope we have a lot more mornings like this one! I even got an email from one of the staff at her school commenting on how nice she looked and how happy she was! :)

As soon as the younger girls get ready, we are going out to get the remainder of the school supplies that they need. Today, I don't work or have school so this is our last chance before their school starts!

I start school tomorrow! Am I excited? Well, to be honest, no. However, I'm VERY excited to get my RN at the end of the semester and starting school means I'm on my way to getting it...less than four months away! There IS a light at the end of the tunnel!!!!!!!

More updates to come...hopefully illustrated with pictures!

Haircut!

2008-08-07T22:39:00.004-06:00

Monday, Daniel's friend, Nick, came over. It just so happened that we were in the middle of discussing (actually we were pleading with him) cutting his hair. Hearing us in the other room, Nick called, "yeah, cut your hair, Daniel.

Now I might add here that six months ago Nick's hair was longer than Daniel's. He has since enlisted in the military and now has a very handsome buzz cut.

Amazing what peer pressure will do. Nick went with him to get the haircut and he came home with a moderately short cut--more than acceptable, better than what I had hoped!

Daniel, however, was not very happy with us; in fact, he wasn't happy with Nick either. He spent the rest of the day moping and letting us know how miserable we were making him.

The next morning it was like someone had flipped a switch. He decided he like the shorter style and was very pleasant all day as though there was no drama the day before.

The day after that, he decided he wanted his hair shorter...

Ta-da!

Incidently, Daniel got his learner's permit Tuesday morning.

Why doesn't Daniel want to drive?

2008-08-02T11:39:00.003-06:00

I've been a little puzzled over the last few years over why Daniel doesn't seem more excited or motivated to get his drivers' license.

Let me explain first that here in Idaho, driver's is not part of the high school curriculum. It is offered by the school district after school for $250-$300 dollars with a strict policy of not missing any of the classes. We told Daniel he would have to pay for it--that could be one deterrent, although he's had the money in savings several times and would have been able to do it.

We had also said (when he was about 11 years old) that he would have to have his Eagle Scout award in order to get his license. Another deterrent, but nevertheless, we said he could take driver's ed, get his learner's permit and practice until that requirement was met (incidentally, I have many regrets about tying driving to the Eagle Award among which is the fact that since he couldn't drive, we've had to chauffeur him everywhere--keep reading, though, I've found a solution).

When he turned 17, driver's ed was no longer a requirement for getting a license, so we got the driver's handbook, figured he could get his learner's permit and practice driving. He has studied the book and is probably ready to take the written test for his learner's permit. Several times, Paul has said, "Hey, let's do it this afternoon!" Wouldn't you think most teenagers would jump at the chance and be chomping at the bit to go? Not Daniel. He had to do this or that and taking the test could wait til' tomorrow so he could get this done today.

I think I've figured out the problem. Take a good look at this picture...

Do you see any problems? Yes, this picture is a year or two old, but it illustrates my point completely.

In order to drive, Daniel would be required to cut his hair sufficiently to be able to SEE! However, I think his love affair with his longer hair outweighs the desire to drive. The mere mention of cutting his hair brings dark clouds into his eyes and resounding, "No! I'm not cutting my hair."

Nevertheless, for his safety and the safety of everyone else on the road, the hair must be cut. Therefore his solution is that he will delay driving.

MY solution is that if he does not get his permit within the next two weeks we will no longer chauffeur him to work, to friends' houses etc--he will have to find his own way. After all, he is an adult now at eighteen and ought to take more responsibility for these things!

He still may choose to walk or ride his bike, but then that is his adult choice!

Are we being too hard-nosed about this?

A Nursing story

2008-07-27T18:19:00.003-06:00

The last couple of weeks I've worked a lot...52 hours each week to be exact. I have so many interesting cases and experiences, but every once in a while one really stands out, so I wanted to share...

One of the patients I took care of the other night was a man about 55 years old. He had long beard and thinning hair that was fairly long--making him look older than his 55 years. The most striking thing though was that he was terribly jaundiced. A long history of alcoholism had damaged his liver and he was in the final stages of liver disease. His feet and ankles were very edematous and he had difficulty even shifting positions in bed.

His mother sat with him for most of the evening and then left when visiting hours were over. He rarely called for anything and didn't say much to anyone.

On one of my rounds to him, I asked if he'd like to try getting up to the bathroom. He nodded, so I called the nurse to help as he was a rather large man.

With great effort on his part, he managed to inch his legs to the side of the bed and come to a sitting position. We brought out the bedside commode and placed it a few inches away from the bed. Then we brought his walker around and placed it in front him. He put his hand on the handles, we hooked our elbows under his arms and supported him while he shakily stood. He shuffled his swollen feet the few inches needed to get to the commode and sat down.

We finished taking care of him and got him back to bed in the same painstaking way we'd gotten him up. As we tucked him into bed he said softly, " You ladies are angels."

It made my heart smile:)

What do I do now that he's eighteen (almost)

2008-07-27T11:02:00.011-06:00

Remember this little boy?

Well, he grew into this handsome young man! And now, he's turning eighteen this week! Of course we still have his senior year of high school to look forward to.

The main thing we are struggling with is how much freedom and decision-making to let him have. After all, he's eighteen, now (almost).

The other night, he wanted to go for a walk just to get out of the house by himself for a bit (1400 square feet, 4 sisters--I completely understand!). He's done this before with no apparent problems or lapses in judgment. However, this time he didn't arrive back home until 10:30 pm (no phone call to let us know where he was or to ask if he could stay out that late)--a little late by our standards. We talked with him and asked that from now on, he be home by 9pm.

Oh, the protests, the "why are all of the rules changing", the "why don't you trust me" and of course the "I'm eighteen now, why can't I do what I want."

My reply was simply that good judgment dictated that he should keep in contact with us, ask permission to stay out a little later and let us know where he was and what he was doing. A lot of the time he uses good judgment.

However, staying out on a walk until 10:30 (past dark), without calling, without us knowing exactly where he was or when he would be home, was not using good judgment.

When he chooses not to use good judgment, we as parents must step in and make the decisions for him until such time that we feel he is again capable of using good judgment in this area.

What do you think? Should I have come down harder? or should it have just been a talk to let him know what he should do and leave it at that.

This parenting stuff is hard!

Welcome to the ADHD zone!

2008-07-13T10:42:00.003-06:00

We often joke about our house being "the ADHD zone." It keeps life interesting because you never know...anything can happen at any time.

Several months ago, Maddie had gone into the bathroom and a few minutes later called for some toilet paper (paper toilet in her words). Paul obliged, opened the door and started to hand her the toilet paper. As he did so, he noticed clothes and various other items littering the bathroom floor. He opened the door wider to check the rest of the bathroom. Then, forgetting what he'd actually come there for and what Maddie was doing at the time, he started calling for the owners of the items to come and get them out of the bathroom. All of a sudden, he heard this little voice--

"Hey! Hello---I'm going to the bathroom! Paul sheepishly (but stifling the laughter) apologized and exited the bathroom.
**************************************************
Holly ran into my room this morning and said, laughing--

"Don't knock on the gates of hell,
Ring the doorbell and run away--
--the devil hates that!"

then she ran off as quickly as she came in!
**************************************************
--From the Reader's Digest

(we related to this one)

I have CDO. It's like OCD except the letters are arranged alphabetically like they're supposed to be!
**************************************************
ADHD version of "Silent Night" (we also related strongly to this one)

"Silent Night, Holy Night,
All is calm...." oh, look at the froggy. Have you been to France? I lo-o-ove chocolate!
**************************************************
Can you relate to any of this?

The Energizer Bunny

2008-07-11T23:26:00.003-06:00

The Energizer Bunny lives at our house. Her name is Madelyn (remember the Energizer Bunny is pink after all!) We gave her this nickname because well...she keeps going and going and going! If we call her from another part of the house, when she comes it is often a combination of skipping, somersaulting, cartwheels and front walkovers.

Gymnastics practice is Mon, Wed, Fri 9-12. 9am can come kind of early during the summer since it stays light in the evening until around 10:30. This morning, I awoke at 8:25 (Cut me some slack, I worked until 11:30 the night before!) with a start thinking of what it would take to get Maddie dressed, breakfast down and out the door within 20 minutes to get there on time. I leaped out of bed and ran to her bedroom.

The bed was empty.

I ran to the kitchen. There she was calmly eating a bowl of cereal, dressed in her leotard and warm-ups, ready to go.

"Hi, Mom," she called cheerily.

Watch out! The Energizer Bunny has been recharged!

Daniel's Eagle Project

2008-07-10T13:26:00.010-06:00

Well, we're almost there! Daniel is in the last stages of getting his Eagle Scout award. He's rushing around getting signatures and references---all to be done before the 18th birthday in three weeks.

The project itself was completed almost three weeks ago on June 21st. We had nearly fifty people--men, women, children--show up to help complete it. We were awed by the number of people who came to support Daniel in these efforts. The project consisted of cleaning and organizing the preschool shed...

BEFORE...

DURING...

AFTER!

Repainting things on the blacktop...

BEFORE...

DURING...

AFTER!

MORE PAINTING...BEFORE...

DURING...

AFTER!

Krispy Kreme and Dominoes donated food for everyone, Lowe's and Gorgeous Garages donated time and materials, and we got the whole thing done in about four hours!

Hopefully in a few weeks we'll have pictures of his Eagle award Court of Honor!

Bear Lake Trip!

2008-07-09T13:30:00.012-06:00

Last week, our family had a fabulous time at Bear Lake spending time with Grandma and Grandpa Colton, aunts and uncles, and cousins!

As most families do, everyone had different interests. Here are some of the things we did:

Daniel tried to get a tan--however, I only brought 50 spf sunscreen--sorry, Daniel!

Paul, Kelly, Daniel and Maddie went on a hike--we learned that this tree is "tortured."

We even found snow on our hike--in July!

Ellie relaxed on the lake...

And the beach

A rare picture of Emily out of the water watching Daddy architecturally design a sand city.

Holly played in the sand and water while Paul continued to build his city.

We took Cameron and Aaron with us (Paul, Kelly, Daniel, Emily & Maddie) to Minnetonka Cave. Thank you Grandma and Grandpa for sending us there!

It was quite a week! We came home exhausted, but happy after a fun vacation. Everyone was very happy to get back to their own bed!