Ten for Tuesday 9.10.08 ---Just a little bit late!

This seemed like a busy week. Then again, every week seems busy lately. I'm looking forward to some lazy afternoons. They're coming. . . I hope!

1. Soccer season has officially begun! Michael had his first game on Saturday. He was a bit rusty, but I'm sure it won't take too long for him to remember his skills. He definitely has a defensive mind. Several times he totally ran away from the ball and the action so that he could go defend the goal. We may have a future goalie on our hands.

I love the determination in his face!

2. Later on Saturday afternoon I took Ty to the doctor's office where I was told that Ty's arm was broken and that he needed to have a cast on for 4-6 weeks. On Thursday afternoon after Michael's soccer practice, the kids were playing on the playground, and Ty fell off the monkey bars and landed on his arm. Ty is pretty good on the monkey bars, but these were higher than the ones he usually plays on. I should have known that he would get hurt if he fell, but it really didn't cross my mind because he falls off monkey bars all the time, and it never even fazes him. Anyway, I could tell that his arm really was hurt, but I didn't know if it was broken or if I was being paranoid, so I had a neighbor who is also a nurse take a look at it. She said she didn't think it was broken, and just to keep an eye on it. By Saturday, he still wasn't using his arm, so I took him in, and sure enough. . . it was broken. Just call me Mother of the Year. I felt so bad! Poor Ty was walking around for two days with a broken arm. He was much happier once it was casted. He picked the color black, and has been very excited to show off his new cast. What a trooper!

3. On Saturday Reed got to go golfing with his brother and Dad at Wasatch Mountain. They have a tradition to go up there and golf 18 holes once a year. I was a little bit less than excited to have Reed gone all day, but they had a great time. . . as usual.

4. After the doctor's visit on Saturday I stopped by to pick up some dinner at Cafe Rio, and I'm so glad I did, because I would need something to console myself with after the rotten evening that was ahead of me. I was tired and grumpy, and I tried to put the boys to bed as early as possible so I could have some quiet time to myself. But, as soon as it was time to put Blake down, I could not find his binki anywhere. I had just bought two new binkis earlier in the week, and a friend had returned one from her house, so there should be four binkis to chose from come bed time, but I could not find a single one. This was particularly maddening, because at the time my house was relatively clean, so I didn't think it was just under a heap of toys or something. Aaargh! I searched my house for a solid hour, getting more and more worked up by the minute. I started to convince myself that Reed had hidden them---or worse---they were stuck in his pocket on a golf course in the middle of nowhere. I was nearing full on freak-out mode when I finally found one. In my pocket. Yes people, this entire drama was entirely self-inflicted. The binki was actually in the pocket of the pants that I had just taken off when we were all getting ready for bed. Oh, the frustration! Reed walked in the door one minute later, and I handed Blake to him and curled up on the couch with my Cafe Rio and new season of 24 which I still haven't had a chance to watch since I bought it last December.

Notice how Blake has a binki in his mouth, and one in each hand? This child is seriously addicted!

5. The house search that occurred on Saturday night was completely my fault. But, Blake gets full credit for the one that occurred on Monday. He got a hold of the phone, turned it on, and then ditched it somewhere, and a few hours later I noticed that the phone was off the hook and nowhere to be found. I tore the house apart looking for that darn phone (deja vu!). Seriously, who knows where a baby might hide something like that. I looked in every drawer, toy bin, garbage can, cabinet, purse I could find. I stripped all of the beds and washed the sheets, and then worried that I had tossed it in the wash (has happened before). I washed and folded and put away all of the dirty laundry. I looked under every bed, and couch, and cushion. When you think about it, the hiding places are just endless. I searched for hours while Blake had his nap. I finally decided to just give up. Eventually the phone's battery would go out and the phone would hang up. Then, I found it. In Blake's room. The only place I had not gone over with a fine toothed comb. It had been on for over 5 hours. I have a feeling that my days of frantic searches may just be beginning.

6. On Tuesday Ty had his first day of Preschool. He has been waiting for this day for 2 years! He used to just hate it when we took Michael to preschool and he couldn't stay and play. Now it's finally his turn! He got to pick out his own backpack. He really wanted a Pete's Dragon Backpack, but alas, his only choices at Target were camo or Spiderman. So, he chose Spiderman, and Michael told me he was really "jealous" of Ty's cool backpack. I got to go with Ty for his first day. He wasn't very happy about that. He wanted to go all by himself, but I came anyway. He did a great job following directions and answering his teacher's questions. I know he will do great and have a really fun time this year.

7. When I got home from preschool I had my mom (who was babysitting Blake for me) teach me how to knit. Actually, all she taught me was how to "cast on" and how to do the basic knit stitch. I'm sure I've already forgotten how to cast on and I'll have to call her every time I start a new project! I'm just starting with a real basic scarf that hopefully won't take too long to complete, so I can have a sense of accomplishment for my first project. In my limited experience I would have to say that knitting is much like nursing a baby in that you feel like you need about seven hands. Hopefully it gets a little bit easier. Wish me luck!

8. Last night we went to the BTJD Annual Family Party. When I told Michael where we were going yesterday he said "Yes! That is the best party EVER!" We had a great time. There were blow up bouncer toys, clown rides, face painting, cheap dollar store prizes and a fun luau dinner. This is the first year that my kids have ever agreed to have their faces painted. I think they've always been too afraid, but they were really excited last night to have it done. We were really lucky this year. They always have a fun drawing where they give away sports tickets and prizes, and last night we won a new TV! I was pretty excited because I was just sure that once the TV signals all went digital Reed was going to say "Sorry hun, no TV for you!" Now we won't have any problems once everything switches over. We're considering returning it to Costco and putting the money toward a larger TV for the family room. . . We'll have to see about that.


Michael the skeleton.

Spiderman Ty.

Bet you can't guess which one of these guys is Reed's boss! The Polynesian dancers were really entertaining. At the end of the show they had a boy who came out with a flaming baton that he flipped all over the place and even put in his mouth. Michael and I were both pretty amazed by that!

9. On Sunday night we had our trek reunion fireside. It was fun to see all of my kids all dressed up in real clothes and make-up! We got to watch a video of trek that they put together for us. Everyone got a copy, and I'm so excited because I think it will be a great way to remember the experience. Talk about a lot of work. They also gave the ma and pa's DVDs with 6,000 + photos of trek. Eventually I'll need to look through it and burn some copies for my kids, but that's a project for another day.

10. Last, but not least, my friend Stacey and her little boy Austin were in town and came to visit on Friday. It was so fun to see them. It's crazy for me to even think about, but we've been friends for over 17 years now! I'm so lucky to have great friends.