Overdue

Tonight Porter came into my room when he should have been in bed. He’s one of the snuggliest kids at night. He had been reading some of my Instagram posts that I had made into a book. One of them listed 10 things I loved about him in celebration of his 10th birthday. He just wanted me to know how nice they all were and thanked me for writing them.
Which lead me to writing this. Sometimes I need a swift kick in the gut to realize my kids are not going to stay little long. I’ve missed writing about the things they say or do. I’m most sad that they won’t get to read about them because there’s no way I’m going to remember them. So, here’s to a possible new leaf at being a better journal keeper of this crew. I’m going to have to really rack my brain to try backtrack and get things caught up a little better than they are now.

Varsity Football

Payton has started high school and with that comes football season. This boy is built for this game. He’s had the great opportunity to play right and left guard for the offensive line. There are two boys on the team, both sophomores like Payton, that are bigger than him. Payton was looking forward to actually getting to have a little Varsity playing time subbing in for those to big guys. Well, one of them got injured and his doctors said he would be out for three weeks. The other one got a concussion so he was unable to play in the first game. The Panthers has their first game a week ago against Ridgeline High School. Todd and I left our girls with Tiffani in Hurricane and made the long 5 hour trek with Porter to watch. My mom heart was pretty dang proud of that kid. He not only played but started and didn’t sub out the whole game. He actually surprised the heck out of me because he did such a good job! (He wasn’t perfect but pretty dang good!) Pine View ended up losing by 2 points but it was so fun to yell and scream for our team.

This last Friday night game was against Highland. I had to work so we didn’t get to travel and watch him play but fortunately we could watch his game being streamed online. It was a little Frustrating because we just didn’t look as good as that opening game the week before. If could be that Highland is a better team, right now, but Payton missed a few blocks that cost us some yardage. I have to remember he’s young. He’s learning to much and he’s come a long way since last year. 

It’s going to be an exciting season and I can’t wait to see how much more he’ll improve. Just praying he stays healthy and injury free. Go Panthers!!

Jess: Eight is Great

Jess turned the ripe old age of EIGHT this year. She’s been waiting for this bday for a long time! It’s a big one around here because a few things get to happen. First, if you’re a girl, you can get your ears pierced. Second, you get to be baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
The week before Jess turned eight we had a wedding for one of my nieces (Jess’ cousin, Ashton). After the wedding and luncheon, Jess got to go to the mall with 7 of her girl cousins, her sister, two of her aunts and her mom to get those ears pierced. Emmie was getting her ears pierced too. Jess was SUPER nervous. She “let” Emmie go first. While Emmie was getting her ears done Jess kept gripping my hands and her sweaty hands couldn’t stop nervously grasping mine. When it was her turn I could tell she was super excited but still really nervous. She gripped the stuffed animal and they did two guns at a time. She had earrings before she knew what hit her. I’m still not sure how but some miracle happened and there was enough peer pressure that after 40 years of having virgin pierced ears I found myself in the chair getting mine pierced as well. That’s a story for another post, though.

A week after that we found ourselves surrounded by family to support Jess with her decision to be baptized. Payton had been trying to convince Jess that he should be the one to baptize her. She wouldn’t even consider it. Only her dad would do. She had picked out a pink dress because she “wanted to be different than everyone else” —referring to the usual white dresses that most girls choose for their baptism day. She was so excited for everyone to be there for her! Her aunt Cheri played the piano, Julia and Gma Julie gave prayers, aunt Tiffani and Kandice gave talks, and her dad baptized and confirmed her.
I loved looking at her from the top of the stairs into the baptism don’t. She looked up at her dad and I couldn’t help but smile with pride. As she walked into the dressing room to change from her wet clothes into her dress she said, “That was so awesome!” And “I loved that!” One cute thing that happened was after she had been surrounded by the priesthood family and friends who were participating with her ordination of receiving the Holy Ghost. She stood up and started to leave the circle. Uncle Randy said, “WHERE ARE YOU GOING?” She laughed but didn’t really know what she was supposed to do after that. She shook everyone’s hand in the circle (or gave them a hug) and then came and sat by me. She talked about that moment after her baptism and we get a good laugh about it now.
Following the baptism we came back to the house and had lunch. It was a great day to celebrate Jess and I hope it’s a day she’ll always remember and love to look back on!

Parent's and Pastries

I had to get this written before I forget about it...

When our PTA did our "Parent's and Pastries" activity at the school I had volunteered to help with things. This was a before school event so that meant we were all up and ready much, much earlier than normal. Because I was volunteering, it also meant that my kids were just roaming around instead of reading a book with me while they ate their muffins and milk. 

After a while I told Jess to go outside and play on the playground because she never gets to do that before school. Yes, we're ALWAYS late. After the first bell rang we started cleaning things up. Jess came running into the cafeteria in a frenzy and all out of breath! I said, "Get to class! That's the bell!" She said, "That's why I came here because I didn't know what that meant!" Oi! My child is never on time to even know what the first bell sounds like, or what she should do when she hears it! Chalk it up to another fantastic parent moment for me. 

Lice-a-Roni: It hasn't been a treat!

About three weeks ago I got a call from the school letting me know that they had done some checking for lice throughout the classes and Julia was one of the lucky girls who they found nits in her hair. There were three girls in her class (who all play together, of course) who had it and although she didn't have very many they wanted to make sure I knew so I could get a handle on it early. Well, that made me wonder....Does Jess have it too? Jess was home from Kindergarten already so I did a little checking...and sure enough, she had it too.

Now it makes you wonder what kind of mother doesn't realize their girls have lice? I do their hair every morning. Sure it's not in a very well lit room in the morning. Sure I usually just pull their hair in a pony or I'm curling it. Well...didn't know it was there so I wasn't watching for it :(

I have this 5 year old girl that comes in bed with me EVERY NIGHT. So, if she has it, guess who else probably has it.

Now let's go back to a couple weeks BEFORE I got the call. We were picking pine nuts in Milford with Kandice and her kids. I had told Kandice about my itchy head and wondered about psoriasis, because it's something my mom has. I told her my head was itchy but it didn't flake when I scratched it. She said it could be something with the season and suggested I change my shampoo to see if that helps. Julia said, "My head itches a lot too!" and Kandice said, "Well, maybe you have lice!" We all laughed and thought it was funny! Not so funny when it's true!

Ok. Now back to the Friday I got the "lice call". That Friday was our Primary Program Practice so I knew I wouldn't have time to treat any of our hair and make it to the practice on time. I threw all our hair in buns and told them not to let anyone touch their hair and they shouldn't touch anyone else's hair. Jess knew she had lice and nits in her hair and she wasn't afraid to let anyone know :/ I told her it's not something we should tell everyone. Luckily she forgot to call them lice and started saying she has sap in her hair. That was easier for me to let go.

After the practice we all washed our hair with the lovely lice-killing shampoo and then had so much fun (YES! THAT WAS EXAGGERATED!!) combing through all our hair to remove all the nits those blasted lice had left! Jess had the hardest time holding still. Of course what five-year-old likes to have her hair pulled and combed through every inch while she has to sit still for almost an hour while it happens. Julia was a lot better sport about sitting still which was a really good thing because she had more hair and it took longer.

Then it was my turn. Luckily, Kandice was in town that weekend so she spent her evening coming to my aid and helping me get rid of MY lice before she headed down to Vegas to enjoy a girls weekend with her friends. Another bonus was that she didn't find very many nits in my hair so that made me feel better. 

Fast forward to today. I feel like we've got a better handle on the situation. Jess and I both ended up needing a second treatment and Todd was nice enough to check my head since I couldn't do it myself, but I think we are all in the clear. The worst part of it all is anytime my head itches, I can't help but think there is one of those devilish bugs going to work in there. 

The topper of it all was today when I was helping in Jess' classroom. They are learning words in the "it" family; kit, hit, sit, bit, knit, pit etc. The kids would choose a word, say the word, stamp the word, and then write the word. Jess picked the word "knit". She's learned the k is silent. She said, "Knit. Like nit in our hair". That's how you know lice is a common topic at your house and you know too much about it...when the Kindergarten baby sees the work knit and refers to lice eggs.

Farewell Football 2016

Football season has come and gone. The boys have both played for Dixie teams this year because we can't seem to convert enough Pine View players to play for the Red Rock League instead of the SUNYFL league.

Payton has learned so much this year and has gotten so much better! His last game definitely was his best. I think he has learned that when he works hard he can do great things! Dixie got a bad luck of the draw this year because they had to play the two best teams in the league twice. They definitely did better against the other two teams in the league but they only got to play them once. The season was cut a little shorter than normal because they didn't make it to the play offs this year. They walked away from the season with only one win but there was so much improvement that as a parent, I was happy with the season. Coach Blackner and Coach Madrigal did a great job helping the boys play with discipline and working hard in practices. I loved watching them play. I am not going to miss the fragrant smell of football pads after picking Payton up from practice. 

 Porter has had a very different season than last year, in more ways than one. Last year his team went undefeated all season, but Porter rarely saw the field, and when he was on the field he didn't do much. After most of his games we would have to avoid talking to him because he was upset that he got little to no playing time.

This year his team didn't win a single game. Not one. But, HE PLAYED! The Dixie White 5/6 grade team had what I figured to be the "left overs" and half their team had never played tackle football before. Their coaches made practices fun and helped them learn the game, their positions, and how to run plays. They obviously didn't have the best team in the league but the coach made sure everyone got to play every game and I felt like that was more important than having a winning season. 

Porter played Wide Receiver on offense and towards the end of the season he got to run the ball a little bit. On defense I would cringe when they had him playing as the safety because I knew he was the "last chance" to stop the ball before the other team got a touch down. Porter wasn't as tall or fast as some of those boys to stop them--too much pressure for me.

So, farewell football until we meet again next season. I'm a little on the fence as to whether Payton will play for Red Rock one last year or join some of his Pine View boys in the SUNYFL league. Crazy to think he only has one more year until he'll be playing for the High School--well, hopefully! Because I love watching a good football game!

Is that light I see?

 pa·tience

noun

1. 1.

   the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset.

   "you can find bargains if you have the patience to sift through the dross"

   synonyms:

   forbearance, tolerance, restraint, self-restraint, stoicism;

   
   
2. This is one attribute I wish I had, but apparently need to work on some more...because it's missing from my life. School has been in session for FOUR WEEKS now (how has it already been that long??) and the past three days have been the BEST for Jess and the going to school issues.

Since my last blog post we have gone many rounds with her using bribery, punishments, more bribery, "You're such a big girl" language, tolerance, intolerance, and anything else we could think of to get her to happily attend school. 

Don't believe me? Here's the list: 

Idea #1:Made a chart. For every full week that she can put a happy face on the chart we get a root beer float at the end of the week. (Didn't work...yet)

Idea #2:If she doesn't cry that day she gets to choose a prize out of Miss Trammell's box. (Didn't work until about the 4th day but then we were back to crying the next day)

Idea #3: Walk to school with siblings. (worked the first couple days but then she stopped walking with them and just ran back to the house)

Idea #4: We get to eat lunch at school!! (Again, worked the first two times and then nothing)

Idea #5:If you cry at school you don't get to watch Netflix that day. (that was a long day for her)

Idea #6: Bought a pack of Hubba Bubba bubble gum and everyday she doesn't cry she gets some. The gum had to stay at school with Miss Trammell. (I'm not even sure if she got any of it--might not even be opened yet!)

Idea #7: Stay home and in your room for 3 hours and no TV/Movies/Electronics that day. Surprisingly she didn't complain about this one like I thought she would. She came out of her room three times. Twice to go to the bathroom and once to get a drink. Other than that, no crying or pounding on the door like I thought/expected. However, when I throw this option to her she doesn't want to do this one again.

Idea #8: Walk to Mrs. Sparks (Julia's amazing 1st grade teacher!) class before school (This worked one day as well because her dad took her to school. The time I did it with her she freaked out when it was time for me to leave. I ended up staying in Kindergarten that day for 2 hours looking like a slob in my "stretchy pants" and messy bun)

Idea #9:If you cry you can't ride the 4-wheelers at the Family Reunion. (This worked GREAT!! Too bad we could only use it once!)

I've been working closely with her teacher, Miss Trammell (who is so amazing!!) and the past three days have worked the best. Here's what's happening:

Idea #10: Let Jess go to the office when the bell rings so she can be calmed down by the time she gets to class. 

I have a "meeting" I have to be to in the morning so I'm unable to take Jess to school. I drop them off, in a hurry to get to my "meeting", and Julia walks Jess to the office. At the office she will find different helpers on different days. The first day it was Ms. Young who gave Jess "Five Skittles!!" The next day it was Mrs. Callahan who came and checked on her twice during the day. She even called me and asked if it was ok to take her out of her class and play a game with her next week. She's the school counselor and Jess LOVES her! I'm not too sure who's waiting for her today but I'm sure they will find someone to make Jess feel like she is a queen around the school. When the bell rings, Julia takes Jess to her kindergarten classroom and then Julia heads off to her class--probably late every day :/

Jess is looking forward to today because it will be the THIRD TIME she hasn't cried at school and that means she gets to go pick a prize out of Mrs. Sparks treasure box. Jess is being catered to left and right but honestly I'm at the point that whatever gets her to school without freaking out makes it worth it!

She will ask me the night before if I have a meeting the next morning. I asked her if it would make a difference if I didn't have a meeting and she said, "Yes! I like when you have a meeting because then I don't cry!" Hmmm....interesting child.

Every child is definitely different. Jess is making baby steps at not being my baby anymore. She's made big strides in the last four weeks at home; laying in her bed without mom sitting beside her to hold her hand, and she's getting really good at staying in her own bed all night long.

It's kind of nice to think I see a light at the end of the tunnel.