WECOME, WELOME

This morning Zoë sat down to make a "welcome" sign for her friends (who are coming to sleep over tomorrow—because sleeping in an empty house sounds so exciting for any of the neighbourhood kids to pass up).

This morning Andrew also had the follow-up appointment for his toe and the doctor thinks it's coming along nicely. I think so, too. Andrew has other feelings about it, but also is noticeably in less pain so overall I think he's improving. He just doesn't like to look at it.

He picked up doughnuts on his way home and while we were enjoying them together we...fell into what we call "lecture mode."

Let's just say that Zoë and Benjamin are transitioning to being the oldest and most responsible young humans in the home and it's been a rough transition. They've been used to having four older humans waiting on them hand and foot so perhaps haven't realized that they've become capable older humans, themselves. That comes with great expectations. 

For example, Zoë was like, "I want half of that doughnut and have of that doughnut."

And Andrew was like, "Great, go for it."

And Zoë was like, "Like...what do you mean?"

And Andrew was like, "Cut the doughnuts you want in half and take them."

"By myself?"

"You're eleven!"

Yes, we cut a doughnut in half for Phoebe, who is four. But you're eleven. You can cut your own doughnut!

It's just been a bunch of things like that that they haven't ever considered doing because their bossy older sisters would step in to cut doughnuts (or whatever) if we as parents didn't do it, ya know? So we had to clue them in that they were getting older and wiser and needed to just step in and do...stuff.

In their defense, we took the chore chart down (and with it went any sense of responsibility, apparently).

"Like, if you see something that needs to be done, you can't just say, 'Someone else can do that!'" Phoebe added.

Exactly. 

At least she's been listening to our "please do stuff" lectures. 

Of course, the dishwasher is still full of clean dishes, so she's quite happy to ignore her own assigned chore...but...growing up is a process.

Anyway, we were deep in lecture mode and then—still in lecture voice—Andrew said, "And you're going to want to remake that sign, Zoë."

"What? Why?!" she asked.

"Go ahead and read your sign out loud."

"Welcome. Come and find me."

"Try again."

"Wel...oh."

County! County! County!

 

Swimming is an interesting sport because we spent approximately 15 hours at the pool over the past two days (5 on Saturday and 10 on Sunday) to watch our three children swim a collective grand total of approximately 5 minutes.

It was certainly a marathon...for the spectators!

Fortunately, they do allow swimmers to leave after their last event and they always schedule relays first (at regular meets they are last) which meant we got to leave "early" after Zoë's relays. Still, it was a lot of hours at the pool!

I took this top picture because it shows our coach (Amy) as a child swimming for Gwinnett county and now as an adult coaching for Gwinnett county. There are 5 coaches featured on this slide for the same reason (and there seemed to be multiple slides of this nature). Such a thing is unfathomable for me (I currently live 2221.66 miles, as the crow oryx flies, from where I first joined a swim team) but is apparently the reality for many people. The Census Bureau claims that in the United States "nearly six in 10 young adults live within 10 miles of where they grew up, and eight in 10 live within 100 miles," while this Pew study claims approximately 40% of people remain in the community within which they grew up.

Anyway, Andrew and I were both surprised by how many coaches in the Gwinnett county swim league were also young swimmers in the league.

Stripey kids

 I came across this memory of a very stripey outfit that Rachel put together for Zoë on July 3, 2017:

I noted on Facebook: "Rachel dressed Zoë this morning. She wanted everything to, uh, match. So, rainbow-striped shirt (18 months), rainbow-striped pants (9 months), rainbow-striped hair bow, and striped socks."

Sounding things out

Apparently Phoebe's doll Anastasia turns one in just five days (we're on a countdown until the party—it's going to be huge, I'm told...there's fireworks and everything). 

A tribute to me because it's almost my birthday!

I rather enjoy when things come full circle.

My niece Rosie was born on a chilly January morning when I was 11 years old. That summer, soon after I turned 12, our family took a trip down to Utah (from Alberta, where we were currently living) and left me with my sister Kelli to be a mother's helper for a week or two.

Zoë's birthday party (family edition)

Quick! Let's finish talking about Zoë's birthday before Benjamin comes home from YM camp and we finally celebrate his birthday! 

Phoebe helped me wrap Zoë's birthday presents. We talked the whole time about how we wrap them so they can be a surprise. Why? Because it's fun to have a little surprise every now and again. But the present wrapper's job is very serious because the present wrapper knows what the surprises are and yet must keep that information to themselves. 

Tricky, tricky business, but Phoebe swore she was up to the task.

We brought the presents out. Zoë opened the present from Phoebe first.

"It feels like a rock," Zoë guessed. 

"It is a rock!" Phoebe said.

Stings and things

Another swim meet is in the books!

Here's Alexander, doing very well on his breast stroke (he ended up in third place overall, which is pretty cool—I think he got third last week, too):

Zoë had a bit of a harder time this meet—her goggles kept coming off on her entries (which was tricky and difficult) and she had some hard events (a 100-IM and a 50-fly, for example), plus she moved up an age group and is on the smaller side of things this year. But I'm sure she'll find a good stride soon enough! It's good to be challenged.

Life moves pretty fast: Swim meet countdown

The summer swim season has officially begun!

We had our mock meet last night, which means we only have five weeks of swimming left the season (minus the county competition). Swim meets have always marked the passing of summer, but this year their passing (which hasn't even truly begun because we, uh, haven't had an official swim meet yet) feels a bit more ominous because it's also more or less counting down the time we have left here in Georgia. 

We. Have. So. Much. To. Do. 

But last night we just sat for a few hours and watched the kids swim.

Our competition pool (which isn't our pool but is a pool within our cooperative swim team...we take turns practicing at our pool ad at this pool) got a new deck addition this summer, which is nice because the past couple of years they haven't allowed us to put children on that side of the pool so we had to clump all the kids on the other side of the deck and put the other team out on the parking lot...and neither place was particularly suited for this purpose.

We're glad we don't have to do that anymore. The new deck is much nicer. And "I'm kind of liking the jail situation we have going on," Miss Julie, our team manager, joked. 

We call the area the kids hang out the "bull pen" anyway, and it honestly is rather helpful having it be an actual pen rather than having the kids sprawl out all over whatever nook or cranny of the deck they can find!

Spring Recital

Zoë and Miriam had their last spring recital with Ms. Deb's studio on Saturday. It's been so wonderful to be part of the studio for so long, not only to see our own kids improving, but to see the progress the other students have been making. The tiny girls that Miriam used to help teach have all grown into beautiful little pianists (and Zoë's good friends with them since she also used to be in the group lesson with them). 

It's been fun! Miriam at least will continue zoom lessons with Ms. Deb...until we find an organ teacher for her in Doha (which I'm doubtful we'll be able to do) or until she leaves for college). I'm sure we'll be able to find a local piano teacher for Zoë. 

Zoë played Allegro by Alexander Reinagle and Hurry Scurry by Robert Vandall:

Dentists and Diners

Andrew took two of the kids to the dentist on Monday and I took three of the kids to the dentist today. Between the seven of us we had zero cavities! I'm always glad when that happens because I don't really enjoy going to the dentist. 

But sometimes we have to do things we don't enjoy, right?

(Hopefully Rachel is brushing her teeth, too.)

Phoebe went first and she asked if I could stay with her, so I sat nearby while she had her cleaning and examination. She did so well—she's come a long way from when she needed me to hold her on my lap while all the dental assistants blew bubbles and sang songs to try to get her to stop screaming.

The kids' trip to DC! (March 8-13)

Before Grandpa and Darla got married, Grandpa had talked about taking Benjamin and Zoë up to Washington, DC, as he had done with Rachel and Miriam. Last year was the year he decided he was going to do it, but just before it was time to head out...Grandpa had a medical emergency. So the trip was postponed for six more months, but just before it was time to head out...the government shut down.

So the trip was postponed again until March of this year, a kind of final hurrah before Grandpa and Darla leave for their mission (which has been a whole nother circus of events requiring patience and adaptability because they were first assigned to Jordan and then to the UAE somewhere and now to...nowhere in particular...but definitely in Salt Lake for a while). Anyway, they did finally make it on their DC trip. 

Grandpa sent me this itinerary:

Gymnastics

Zoë's second week on the homeschool team was eventful! 

I missed the whole thing because I didn't watch her and instead went off to a quiet corner in the hallway to work. The parents of the younger class tend to sit on the sidelines and watch but the parents of the team...tend to not to. So I figured I'd follow suit.

Besides, I know from my own days of gymnastics and coaching that sometimes it's distracting for the parents to be present during sessions. The kids want the parents to look at them or the parents want the kids to look at them. We had a rule that parents were not to remain in the gym during lessons, though there was an exhibition evening when our parents could attend. 

Sometimes...sometimes...I miss living in a small town! 

My siblings and I did gymnastics through the Alberta Schools Gymnastics Association (ASGA), a non-profit organization founded by our dear coach and friend, Darlene. She wanted to bring gymnastics to more...rural...areas. So she contracted with various schools to use their facilities, all of which were equipped with a Canadian Fold-Away Climber, a set of ladders that could be pushed flat against the wall or pulled out to make an indoor jungle gym of sorts. 

This picture is from Canada.gov's instagram:

Wow. Such enthuse. Very yay.

Zoë is in Washington, DC, at the moment, so she missed her gymnastics class on Wednesday—the first day of a new session. 

This afternoon we got a text message from the mom of Zoë's friend M:

"I think you guys are in DC, in which case, hope you are enjoying your time. Today at gymnastics coach Emma said she wants to invite M. and Zoe to the homeschool team class [at a time] on [a day]. Would this be something Zoe would be interested in? M. is a yes but she still wants to do gymnastics with Zoe."

Now, we're not in DC. Only Benjamin and Zoë are (with Grandpa and Darla), see?

Panda snacks, Saturday jobs, and Austenland

"Look what someone left in the snack box for me!" Phoebe ran into my room overflowing with excitement.

Stitches for Zoë

We left for Tennessee to visit Rosie on Sunday immediately after church. We spent an enjoyable Sunday evening with her family and this morning I told Rosie we'd watch Oaklyn while she took Ireland to speech therapy and went to a chiropractor appointment. No problem—Oaklyn's a cakewalk. 

Unfortunately, I...planned poorly. 

It has been so warm outside and while I knew there was a cold front coming in—it is, after all, winter—I didn't quite register when it would be coming in. I looked at the weather. It said the high would be 55°F (12°C), so I decided that sweaters would do for us. We could still go to the park in sweaters and enjoy ourselves at those temperatures. 

I did not realize that today's high would be at 12:01 am, but that was indeed the warmest part of today. The storm blew in with a fury in the night and brought the cold front with it. The temperature plunged. It was below freezing when we woke up this morning.

We southerners do not do well with below freezing temperatures! (Especially without coats!)

I woke up early with the little girls and let everyone else sleep. After Zoë and Alexander woke up we went outside for a walk, anyway, at the children's and the dog's insistence. Ireland had an extra coat hanging on the coatrack, so I borrowed that for Phoebe, bundled Oaklyn up, and went headed outside for a very brief, very chilly stroll. 

We came back in and decided we'd wake up everyone else around 10:00. 

Benjamin was finally coaxed out of his sleeping bag around 9:45.

He was in a rambunctious mood. 

By 10:15 the little girls were ready for "second breakfast" (or simply "a snack") so I took them downstairs to share a banana and warned my bigger kids that they were getting carried away and that they needed to simmer down. 

I was still in the middle of slicing that banana when we heard (1) a crash, (2) some stifled sobbing, (3) and frantic whispers of...

"You tell Mom!" 

"No, you tell Mom!" 

"No, you tell Mom!"

"No, you tell Mom!"

"Mom is coming!" I warned. "Just let me finish giving Oaklyn her snack..."

Andrew was in the middle of a bowl of cereal. He left it to go check on things because (1) those whispers were concerning, and (2) we couldn't tell precisely who was whispering and who was crying. 

He bolted up the stairs and moaned, "That's gonna need stitches!"

(Pictures of the injury at the end of this post...so be warned).

I shoved Oaklyn her plate of bananas, grabbed the paper towels, and bolted up the stairs after him.

Miraculously, we didn't get any blood on the carpet! 

The kids had been "playing" (read: roughhousing) with the pillow-fort cushions and Zoë ended up falling and landed too close to the wall. She hit the wall with her knee and then...landed on the baseboard, which is a square-edge baseboard...and her knee just...split open. 

Her hands were covered in blood from holding her wound. I took over direct pressure for her with some paper towels and just managed to put my hand out and catch the blood dripping from her hand in my own hand before it got on the carpet—champion choreography! 

I held her wound tightly while Andrew researched care centers nearby that would take our insurance—luckily there was a place not too far from Rosie. 

Here's Benjamin (repentantly) putting some direct pressure on her leg while Andrew and I got ready to go. We left right as Rosie was arriving (Rachel and Miriam were also there, so it's not like the kids were unattended ever). 

There is no escaping!

Zoë had a well-child check this morning. She's growing just fine, had her tetanus shot today. No real concerns.

While we were waiting for the nurse to come in for vaccinations (see: tetanus, also flu, with COVID to come in the next little while) we were trying to figure out all the animals and actions on the poster. The manatee playing the mandolin was a tricky one for Zoë—and what obscure things to choose. Urchin for U was interesting, but the poor urchin was doing little other than being under water. 

N was just offensive though...it was of a newt clearly taking a nap. 

And we all know how I feel about napping newts.

Primary Program (and Phoebe's first talk)

We had a long full day of church-related stuff. Thankfully I got to have a nap in the middle of it all. Some notes:

• yesterday was "Donut Day," also known as the anniversary of Karen's death; Grandpa brought some donuts over for us
• this morning was our primary program; Grandpa and Darla came to watch; Elder Fish of the (tenth quorum of the) seventy was there
• then I taught primary as normal; the entire stake primary presidency was there, along with the stake president
• Andrew stuck around long enough to have a temple recommend interview and then took Phoebe home because she's not entirely healthy still
• I had a temple recommend interview after primary
• I took a nap
• We went to choir practice
• Miriam drove me to the stake center for a stake leadership meeting

All in all it was about 12 hours of church-y stuff, so a very church-y Sunday, indeed. 

I made a slideshow that told all the kids when their part was coming up, and had all the songs in order and everything. And then I had a complete brain meltdown before one of the songs and couldn't remember the time signature or even feel the beat of the song somehow and realized that I've probably never actually conducted that song in my life, in spite of having spent the past 11 months teaching it to the kids, because I've only ever done the actions and...it was a bit awkward. But we got through it just fine...more or less.

Next time, I'm going to make a note of the time signatures for myself just to give my brain a break. 

I just...completely forgot how to conduct for a minute there. And I didn't have any music up there with me because I don't use music in primary. I just...sing along with the kids...sans music. So I fumbled through a few bits, but that's okay.

It went well. We had about a dozen kids there and they sang nicely and said their lines just fine. 

Zoë was in charge of helping the Sunbeams, specifically because we knew Phoebe wasn't going to let anyone else help her. She said, "Jesus loves us all the time, no matter where we are. How can you show love to someone else, just like Jesus does?"

Then she prompted Phoebe to say, "I can show love to others by drawing them a picture."

The other Sunbeams said things like "share my monster trucks," and "give a high five," so she was very much on theme.

Swimming and Organ Awards

Saturday, as mentioned earlier (I think), was a busy day, but the kids have come off conquerers!

Here's Benjamin with his ribbons from his swim meet:

Both his relay teams won first place (he swam a 50m leg of breaststroke in the medley relay and a 50m leg of freestyle in the freestyle relay, as one does). He got second place in the 200m IM (individual medly—so 50m each of butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle). He got third in 100m backstroke, and fourth in 50m freestyle. So not a bad day for him!

A busy week

Zoë had her first day of gymnastics this week. She was worried she was a little too old for starting, but I told her that I was her same age when I started gymnastics and that helped her feel a little bit better. She had a blast!

Phoebe kind of listens...and Zoë gets some teeth pulled

Yesterday Zoë got four teeth pulled (more of that below with—fair warning—perhaps some icky pictures). I spent a quiet evening at home with Zoë, Alexander, and Phoebe, while Andrew took Miriam and Benjamin to an extra youth activity (our ward tends to be...understaffed and under-enthusiastic while this other ward in our building is...less that way...and we appreciate them inviting our handful of youth to join in fun activities with their dozens of youth). 

When they came home, we were all upstairs in my bedroom for some reason. 

I think, actually, that I had been trying to read an article. Phoebe was playing with the marble run. And Alexander and Zoë had been playing outside with a friend (walking kick the can, since Zoë wasn't really supposed to be running around) but they came inside because it was dark and...time for bed. 

So we all ended up being in my bedroom when Daddy and the other kids came home, so then they all came home and we had scriptures and prayer sprawled out all over the bedroom.

Phoebe was having trouble transitioning away from the marble run. 

Plink.

Plink.

Plink.

"Phoebe, time to stop." 

Plink.

Plink.

Plink.

"Phoebe—for real. You've got to stop playing for a minute."