Trunk or Treat!

We've been working on our Halloween costumes for months, ever since Potteritis first infected our house. A friend taught me to crochet 2 months ago,  and my first projects were the boys' Gryffindor scarves. The second was Luke's owl hat. He loves that hat! He calls it his "Hooo Hat," because owls say "Hooo!"  Jared made his own glasses out of pipe cleaners. I helped Zach with his. I enjoy making things out of practically nothing, so it was fun to make Luke's costume from scratch. Without a pattern, even. That got a bit iffy, but it ended up okay in the end. And we carved our magic wands from wooden spoons.

Jared wasn't real happy about photos today, but Zach had some fun, casting spells on me.

 

 Everyone at the church Trunk Or Treat instantly recognized Jared and Zach as two Harry Potters, of course, and most recognized the little white owl toddling behind them. My costume is a bit harder to recognize, but I got several hits. One lady thought I was Lady Gaga, which would be another fun costume.

But no, I was going for Tonks, the combat-boot and funky trench-coat wearing, pink-haired auror (they hunt down dark wizards) who married a werewolf. If you haven't read the Harry Potter books, you just can't understand how awesome Tonks really is. It was fun to dress as her, and I plan on being her for a few years more, with some improvements.

Gastric Thoughts

Last night in the car, somehow stomach acid came up as a topic of conversation between Jared and Zach. It probably started with barf, I'm sure. Anyway, I suddenly tuned into the talk when Jared asked me a question.

"I'm guessing that there are special cells in the lining of your stomach that let them withstand the acid, right? Because usually, acid burns."

While the whole thought process was fascinating to me, I was especially impressed by his use of the word, "withstand." Hello!

Still Haunting Us (But Only A Bit)

I got a call from the school nurse today, asking for a photo of Zachary. I never expect anyone to remember me or my kids personally. I mean, they work with so many people, right? But I suppose that with all the drama surrounding Zach's seizure over a year ago, with me running into the school with an unconscious 3 year old and laying him on the nurse's bed, would carve a pretty significant memory for anyone involved. So she remembers us quite well! 

And apparently, she wants everyone prepared in case Zach seizes again during school. I guess he's got a 53% chance of having another, but it's been so long since his last one (just over a year), that it's happily receded from the forefront of my mind. The nurse is making a flyer of sorts, I guess to hand out to his teachers, letting them know what to do if he were to have another seizure.  And she wanted a picture of him for it. So I sent her this one:

Zachary is ready for his first day of kindergarten!

She called me back later to ask which hospital they want me to send him to (if he has a seizure that lasts longer than 5 minutes, or if he's having trouble breathing after the seizure ends. Thankfully, he doesn't have to go to a hospital if he just sleeps afterward, and I'd just pick him up from school). And I have made it my personal goal to be as thoughtful and nice as some people I see around me, including this school nurse. Because she made my day when she said, "I love that picture of him. I want to make it my screen saver, he's so dang cute!"

Of course, I think it's a cute picture, too, but I think I love these more:

First Day of School Photos

So, school is back in session! Jared is in 3rd grade, and Zachary had his first day of kindergarten on Tuesday. On Monday, we got to "Meet the Teacher" at a special open-house type thing. It's also when we found out who their teachers are! We were so excited to see Zachary's name on Mrs. G's class roster. We had a great experience with her as Jared's kindergarten teacher, and when we walked through her door, she said, "Hi, Zach!" because she has known him for two years. He's so comfortable at the school and with Mrs. G that on the second day, he insisted that I did not need to walk him to the door, thank you. He's quite big enough to do it on his own. I walked Jared to the door for 2 weeks, I think! 

Jared with all his supplies, about to meet his new 3rd grade teacher.

Yay! Zach gets Mrs. G for kindergarten, just like Jared!

Zachary with Mrs. G.

I didn't notice that all of Jared's first-day-of-school pictures were squinty. Oops!

 Jared said his favorite thing about his first day was that he kinda got to use division in his classwork. Apparently, he's itching to learn more math! They didn't get as far as division in 2nd grade.

Zach shows off his BYU backpack. Luke copies everything "Ya-ya" does, even if it seems pointless.

 Zach and Jared both have BYU backpacks, because we happened to stop at a Wal-Mart in Utah on our way home from our family reunion this summer. I mean, these are way cooler than any plain old backpack we could buy in Idaho. Jared even opted for a chest-crossing variation.

I could tell there was some apprehension tempering Zachary's excitement for his first day of going to school, but I doubt anyone but his own mother could tell.

Lining up with his class before going in for his first day. Luke, of course, had to line up, too.

Cool, calm, and collected.

Heading inside.

After school, however we had a bit of a meltdown. School was great, but it sapped all of poor Zachary's patience for a mom who likes to take pictures of everything.

Mad at mom.

Jared wasn't excited about pictures, but obediently hopped up on the Galileo Rock for a few snapshots.

Zach, on the other hand, was not about to cooperate.

It's a good thing I love him so much, 'cause he can really stick to his guns!

Half a Cankle

I thought the aftermath of the wasp stings was over just half an hour later. But yesterday, a whole day after the stings, my ankle started really bothering me. I didn't sleep well last night, 'cause it was so itchy, swollen, and painful. And every time I bend my ankle it hurts. Fun fun! 

I had to pull a Mary Poppins to see both ankles at once, and the boys had fun taking pictures of them. And of lots of other things they weren't supposed to be photographing, all while I stood there like a ballerina (which isn't easy, by the way), thinking they were staying on task. They're so funny!

Of course, this is no fun for me, but I am SO glad I'm the only one who got a reaction! I can't imagine what this would look like on Luke's little hand!

Western Idaho Fair 2011

Last year, we got a bug to enter things in the "State" fair (it's not a state fair, nor a county fair; it's regional). It just seems like a good thing to do when you live in a rural state like Idaho.

I entered some photos and a scrapbook page last year. I never really counted on winning; it was participating that mattered. But when my scrapbook page got a score of 2 out of 10, I just had to find out what was going on.

Last year's entry

So I found out who to email, and was quite surprised to get a reply! Turns out the judges had never seen a digital page, and thought it was weird. Okay, I can see that. They were used to cute stickers and paper cutouts and hand-written cutesy captions. Fine, I just wanted to know. I thought that maybe next time, I'd submit a page that was more like what they were used to.

But a few months later, I got another email saying that they had found someone to judge a new digital scrapbooking division! I couldn't believe that I'd had a hand in starting something new! So I tried to spread the word, so we'd have enough entries to keep the division alive.

One of my friends came through for me and entered a layout. And today, she sent me a link to the results of the contest. Oh, I wish I could go see all the entries! We know there were at least four entered, because four places were awarded. And for the first time in my life, I won something at the fair! My layout about Zach's seizure came in first!

Especially after such dismal reviews last year, I really didn't know what kind of layout would go over well. I picked this one because I thought it showed a lot of the great things about digital scrapbooking, like the giant photo that fades into a background, with other photos and the journaling on top of it. And I figured that telling a story would probably help, too, since last year's was all about the photo and it didn't have any text at all.

I was very pleased to see that my friend took 3rd place! I hope she, and others, will enter again next year, and we can keep this new division going!

Our only regret is that we can only enter one layout. Most of the other hobby divisions have subdivisions, so you can enter more than one example of your work. It's super hard to just pick one!

Jared and I also entered some photography, but as far as we can tell, we didn't win anything there. Bummer. I guess Jared will remain the only award-winning photographer in the family (from his win last year)!

Never Saw It Comin'

Zach was bookin' it on his scooter, and I was tailing him on my bike with Luke in the trailer, when a tricky, tricky mailbox jumped right in front of him!  He says he didn't even see it, poor thing, even though it's our own mailbox.

There's only a little blood on the sidewalk, but man, it was sure was running down his face! I'm sure he got quite the shock when he saw himself in the mirror as I had him lean over the bathroom sink. It had split into several streams, one down the side of his nose, and one coursed right over his closed eyelid, then split around his battered cheek.

Thank goodness Jared is such a good helper; he got Luke out of the bike trailer for me while I staunched the blood pouring out of Zach's split-open eyebrow. I actually wondered if he would need a stitch or two, because it looked deep. But it's small, so I flipped through our awesome first aid kit and found some small butterfly closure bandages. I was worried about him keeping it on, though, since I unavoidably had to put half of it on his eyelid! That can't be comfortable. He hit his cheek, too, which puffed up nicely, and ought to be purple for a while.

The day after---his personality is back!

A nice black eye is developing.

On a side-note, while rifling through the first aid kit, I also found insect sting wipes. That would have been nice to know about yesterday.

(Small and irritating update: the boys have absolutely no sign of having been stung yesterday. I also thought I was done with it until I noticed tonight that my ankle was itchy and aching a little. So I looked down, and...why do I only have half a cankle? And why is it pink and lumpy? Yay for me.)

Sting Operation

The boys and I went outside to enjoy the summer weather. Well, they were going to enjoy summer. I was going to mow the lawn. The boys were excited that the side gate was open, since it isn't usually. I went back inside to grab my sunglasses, when Zach ran in saying that a wasp had stung him!

I couldn't see anything on his leg, but got him an "owwie pack" (my sister's ingenious invention of keeping ketchup packets in the fridge to use as tiny ice packs for boo-boos) to put on it while I googled first aid tips. Then just a minute later, Luke came in, crying, and wanted me to kiss his hand. He doesn't say much yet, but he pointed to his hand and said, "bee." Well, I didn't know he knew what a bee is, so I didn't know he was telling me he'd been stung, too! A minute or two later, his hand was all swollen, so I knew the truth. Poor thing!

I told the boys to stay inside while I looked for some wasp spray. I couldn't find it (I'm not even sure we have any left) so I pushed the lawn mower through the side yard so I could mow the back lawn. Apparently, the side yard is where all the wasps have been hanging out! The mower and I made it through unscathed, and I started mowing. But the boys didn't stay in the house. All three of them showed up in the side yard! I told them to go back inside. Good ol' Jared obeyed me at once. Luke just stood there, uncertain. Zach looked at me and walked right through the side yard toward me, the stinker! And then, of course, Luke followed Zach, slowly.

I ran and snatched Luke from the danger, but as I turned to run away, my ankle exploded with pain. Now I know why my boys were crying! Man, it hurts! I got two stings, but at least Luke didn't get any more!

Stupid wasps! And now I don't have time to finish mowing the lawn!

Tonka in the Milk

I found this dump truck face-first in someone's cereal bowl one morning. It's just a silly little snapshot, but it means so much more! And I absolutely love this picture.

I'm sure the writing on the page is hard to read, so here it is:
Three boys in the house means:
throwing, sirens, potty talk, construction equipment, boogers, guns, grossness, trucks, computers, wrestling,
destruction, running, hitting, hugs and kisses, fighting, messes, broken toys, racing up the stairs, the love of tools, little cars, paper airplanes, burps, taking everything apart and coming up with outrageous ideas.
Yes, being the mom of three boys means a whole lot of things, and this picture just about sums it up!