Learning to talk.

Joseph is slowly learning to talk. S-L-O-W-L-Y. He knows several words and can make their meanings vary. For example, "off" could mean he wants his shoes off. But "OFF!" means, 'get off!' "Way" means 'throw away' or 'put away.' It's a good thing to find out what he means before giving him the 'OK'.

Joseph learns words based on his experiences. He can say "baby" and uses it for almost all 4-legged animals and also for Sarah. This week he learned "eggs" when we acquired and started an incubator.

He learns words of the things that he wants or likes. His first official word was "ball" and he still uses it regularly. He says "pate" when he wants the tape. He likes books and learned that word a while back. If he can't get something open, he lets me know..."lock" or "guck" (stuck). Joseph's favorite color is "bink" but sometimes he likes "boo."

And he learns words for personal reasons. "Owie" was a word he figured out near the beginning. "No" is very easy for him to say (but much more difficult to hear) and he's recently learned "ginky" (stinky) when he needs that problem taken care of - like right now!

Besides calling Sarah "baby" and Chad and I "Mommy" and "Daddy", Joseph doesn't have names for people. He does refer to himself with "be" instead of "me." I can't figure out why it's so hard for him to say it, when he does it in 'mommy' a thousand times a day. I expect that one day it will just come out right and we'll never even notice.

My favorites are things he uses in place of what he doesn't know or can't say. Whenever he sees anything Christmas or winter related he says, "hu-hu-ho." The first two syllables are short and the third is held out. It's cute. If it's relating to the dogs, he gives his version of a bark. And his facial expressions with voice inflections fill in most of what he can't say. When that doesn't work, we all get frustrated.

In the past, I've had doctors and friends mention older siblings speaking for the younger ones, taking away the need for the younger one to learn new words. Until now, I haven't really noticed this was the case in our family. In times past we've just been trying to figure out what the baby was saying, but now we have Rebekah who is constantly putting words into Joseph's mouth. It drives me crazy.

Scenario: Joseph and Rebekah are coloring at the table. Joseph makes some customary grunts and vowel sounds. Rebekah turns to him and in a higher pitch says, "Your picture isn't nice? You want a new one?" (This is not an actual conversation...just an example.) OR..."You don't like the rain? You want Mommy to buy you an umbrella?" Sometimes her suggestions relate and sometimes they don't. Sometimes she even uses Joseph to voice her own desires.

This drives me nuts! And even worse, the other kids have started doing it! I don't need people to tell him he's hungry when all he wanted was for me to staple a paper. So we're all working to help Joseph talk more. Luckily, I'm enjoying the ride (for the most part) because it seems to be a leisurely one.

Ear plugs, please.

It's Day Four of our Summer Vacation and I've heard Daniel's name WAY too much already. I'd sent the kids out to get in the van while I got Sarah ready, and 3 different people came in complaining about something Daniel had done.

He's like a honey bee, buzzing from one flower to the next, getting everyone riled up and causing commotion. What are my chances that he'll be suddenly more mature on his 10th birthday Wednesday?

BTW: It's not like everyone else should be wearing badges of innocence. It's a regular Fun House around here! Stop!!! I want off the ride!

Guess who is 9 months old today!

Yeah, it's Sarah! She's 1/2 way to Nursery! Actually, that makes me sad. She hasn't become enough of a trouble during church to want to stick her in Nursery yet. Besides, I have a lot of people who offer to hold her for me during Relief Society, so it's all good.

Here is a shot of Sarah at bedtime tonight. That mark above her right eye is actually a small collection of bruises from hitting her head on the crib when she wants to get out. I had to take out the bumper pads because all she would do is pull them down and lie on them.


Here is Sarah at nap time today. I went in to wake her up so we could run some errands. I wish I could sleep so solidly!

I rubbed her back, but she didn't stir until I turned the air purifier off. (I learned on the plane ride to Chicago that Sarah sleeps really well with a loud noise in the room. I tried to find a reasonably priced white noise machine, but then realized that we already have something that is really noise...when it's turned up to 'turbo'.)

Sarah has really turned into a twisting, grunting, crawling creature. It has become rather difficult to change her diapers and dress her. I was trying to think of an analogy to illustrate what it's like to get pants on her, but all I could come up with was it's like trying to dress a wriggling baby! How clever is that? I did think that it would be easier to last 8 seconds on a rodeo bull, than to get her dressed!

She's started saying," mamama" and "dada" and "baba." It's very cute. Her fine motor skills are sharper every day as she finds the tiniest pieces of junk on the carpet to pick out and eat. She goes right past the safe baby toys, straight for the choking hazards. It's lots of fun.


Also napping today were Leah and Joseph. Leah was complaining that she was bored so I suggested she could take a nap with Joseph. At first she rejected my idea, but then decided to give it a try. They look cute!

In a jam.

I have the last of two batches of strawberry/rhubarb jam in the canner and it's only 9:30. Sarah was uncommonly cooperative as she took a nap just long enough for me to get it all cleaned up.

I hope strawberry/rhubarb jam is good...I've never had any and we have almost 4 quarts of it.

Up next for the day, after Sarah eats, is the lawn. I'm going to try to beat the rain and make it look like adults live here. (Anyone who drives by understands that there are children somewhere near.) I'm also hoping for a "cruise of oil" miracle because I don't think there's much gas in the mower and I'm not really in a position to run out and get some.

Day 2 of Summer Vacation - everyone is still alive.

ALERT! ALERT! It's no big deal.

I'm trying to get the kids ready to leave the house. You'd think it was Sunday with all the problems we're having.

Anyone know where Joseph's sandals are?

I sat down to feed Sarah real quick and Daniel starts shouting, "It's flooding!!" My first thought is the canal's flooding. Of course, he doesn't offer the info. I have to ask. Nope. Not the canal - the toilet. He comes all the way down the hall to sound the alarm. I tell him to get back in there and start plunging. "But it's flooding!" Yes, and that is why this is a GREAT time to be plunging! Get in there and start plunging.

Then I don't hear anything more.

He comes out from the bathroom and walks into the kitchen. I see the back hems of his pants are wet. Is there water on the floor by the toilet? "Yes." Then get back in there and clean it up!

Wait a minute, Mom. He needs a drink of water. WHAT? You're taking a break to have some refreshment? Did all that water make you thirsty? Are you really thinking there's nothing more for you to do?

When I get in there to check on the clean up progress, I see A LOT of water. He's tracked it from the toilet to the bathroom door...at least 12 feet...across carpet. (WHY in the name of sanitary conditions do people carpet the family bathroom?) And he's now soaking up water with hand towels. When he gets out of the shower, he's 90% drier than the floor is right now and he uses over-sized bath towels for those moments! It's like lighting a single match to roast your hotdog.

I stepped in and demanded bigger towels (which became immediately soaked) until we were nearly out of anything dry. Then I noticed that the little hand towel on the wall was a bit damp. "Did you stop to wash your hands while there was water on the floor?" Silence.

Seriously. Didn't he...? Seriously. *sigh*

I'm confused

I really am. Summer vacation started today...May 25th is the first official day of no school. We have 3 full months of it to go.

Take a look at this weather forecast. Does this look like weather that we should be having the last week of May? I'm feeling more "first week of April" here.

We'll start our worksheets next week, but I'm still feeling really disoriented by the cold and rainy/snowy days. I keep reminding myself that this isn't Spring Break or a teacher workday. These kids are HOME!

My brain is waiting for the smells of summer...sun-warmed/fresh-cut grasses, warm rains, weeds fresh from the garden soil, etc. Only then will I stop standing in the middle of the room, in the middle of the day, wondering: Why are there so many kids in my house (and why is the biggest one involved in at least 3 different altercations at the same instant)?

Sleepy Sweetness

I wanted to share something sweet from a couple of days ago. (Let's see if I can just share something positive and tender about my children for once, shall we?)

I have a morning routine that gets me out of my bed about 6 AM to feed Sarah and then I put her back to bed. I sit in a rocking chair that's positioned between Sarah's crib and Joseph's toddler bed. Ninety percent of the time, Joseph sleeps through this whole activity that really only lasts 10 or 15 minutes.

Early Sunday (I think) morning, I was there as usual. I had my eyes mostly closed and my head bowed, but I really wasn't very prayerful - more like half conscious. I heard Joseph moving around in his bed and opened one eye to see what he was doing. He noticed us sitting there in his own half-conscious state, slipped his feet to the floor, reached way over to Sarah, rubbed her little head briefly, then climbed back into bed.

I smiled inside.

Canning jam

Because I was too pregnant to care last summer, we have run out of homemade jam. So when I saw some yummy-looking strawberries at Walmart Saturday, I decided to get off my lazy rear and make some jam.

It took over 4 hours and I got just over 4 pints of jam. Sarah slowed me down last year and she's at it again. This girl only has eyes for the tempting treats scattered under the dining room table. I wonder if she's old enough to be taught the story of the "Little Red Hen." Probably not...the older kids don't understand it either.

No jam for Sarah!

I have more batches to make with the crushed strawberries in the fridge, so we're not limited to the 4 pints, but I don't think Sarah's going to be any more cooperative in the coming days. Oh yeah, today is the last day of school...the kids can watch her for me!

Speaking of the last day of school...it's been snowing outside. Are we sure it's time for summer break? Just keep them a little longer...it feels like March anyway!

Forced Exercise

Sarah has completed her crawling training now and is getting nearly everywhere she desires. Luckily, Joseph watches her like a hawk and often sounds the alarm. It sounds like this: Mommy...Mommy! Baby.

And this means that I am being summoned from one end of the house to the other...constantly. Sarah is on the move and so is her mother! Before, we just had to make sure all the tiny pieces of [whatever] were off the carpet in the room she was in. Now it's everywhere. Ugh. That's a big job because there are a lot of people who drop stuff around here.

And then this morning I realized that it wasn't just on the floor that I needed to be concerned about. Last night, Sarah proved that she can pull herself up to a stand at the coffee table. Shoot. That's where we used to put the stuff we took away from her!

Growing up too fast!

Sarah turns 9 months old on Thursday. She's growing up too fast! When I became a parent (10 years ago next week), I thought the "little kids" stage would last forever. And at times, it sure felt like it. Sometimes, it STILL feels like it.

But today I went into Sarah's room because she was screaming for me. I usually find her in the corner of the crib, on her stomach, her face as close to the corner as she can get it. I was surprised to find her standing. That's the first time she's pulled herself to a full stand (past kneeling). Oh, she's growing up too fast!

Tough Love

I love Daniel. He is my firstborn. He teaches me how to be a parent. He can be really helpful. And he can really get under my skin!

Tonight, Daniel made his customary disparaging remark about dinner. (He does it with a flair of 'wit' and thinks he's showing some sort of coolness.) I didn't even give him a warning this time. Up to his room he went, without a word (he does have some wisdom).

As I sat and chewed on my food, I mulled over in my mind what to do about him. I seriously considered letting him go hungry. It wouldn't kill him and I'd make my point (hopefully), but I wasn't sure that would do it.

And then I struck upon something that would satisfy my guilt over not providing him the food part of "food and shelter," but would not let him feel he'd won either. After the family was done eating, he got a piece of bread and a cup of water. Welcome to the hard life, kid! (Talk about the bread of life!)

And this is something I think we can keep up. Eventually, he's going to think before he opens his mouth and says something stupid. It may be a while, though.

Huh...

There are some things I don't get about Blogger (a lot, really, but I'm just going to mention one this time).

I had changed my archiving settings to give each post it's own website address. I was hoping this would make it easier to find one particular post instead of having to scroll through all of them on the page. But once I did that, all the comments disappeared.

So I changed it back and all the comments returned, except for the one that was left after I made the change. I just copied and pasted that one back in (so the links aren't active anymore).

Sorry if anyone noticed the difference and thought I'd deleted you. I would never do that...I live for the comments (though not so much the negative, finger-pointing ones).

Just Sayin'

Sometimes friends are better than family.

Just sayin'.

Thank you - you know who you are.

Somebody's Mother

We had Stake Conference this weekend. I think I already mentioned that. I think.

Anyway, I had gone to the meetings hoping to gain some direction for a problem I've been feeling lately. My purpose gave me extra energy and I got so much more out of this meeting than I have in a long time (too long).

I took lots of notes and plan to reread them occasionally, but the best answer I got this weekend came in the opening song of Sunday's meeting. It was in the chorus of "Let Us All Press On" (Hymns, 243).

But since I was taking notes, I was listening and gaining more from my time. The speakers, in order, were Elder C. Scott Grow, Sister Barbara Thompson, Elder Robert D. Hales and President Monson. Of course, it was just before President Monson's talk that Sarah insisted that I take her out and make her happy. So I got to listen to that one and it wasn't as enriching. But he did share a poem that impressed me. In fact, I liked it so much that I looked it up online and thought I'd share it with you. As a mother to 3 sons, I hope that they will be service minded and considerate when I'm not there to insist upon it. (I hope that for the 3 daughters as well!) Try to hear President Monson's voice, if you can, while you read this. He is so good at putting the feeling into words.


Somebody's Mother
by Mary Dow Brine

The woman was old and ragged and gray
And bent with the chill of the Winter's day.
The street was wet with a recent snow
And the woman's feet were aged and slow.
She stood at the crossing and waited long,
Alone, uncared for, amid the throng
Of human beings who passed her by
Nor heeded the glance of her anxious eye.
Down the street with laughter and shout,
Glad in the freedom of 'school let out,'
Came the boys like a flock of sheep,
Hailing the snow piled white and deep.
Past the woman so old and gray
Hastened the children on their way.
Nor offered a helping hand to her—
So meek, so timid, afraid to stir
Lest the carriage wheels or the horses' feet
Should crowd her down in the slippery street.
At last came one of the merry troop,
The gayest lad of all the group;
He paused beside her and whispered low,
"I'll help you cross, if you wish to go."
Her aged hand on his strong young arm
She placed, and so, without hurt or harm,
He guided the trembling feet along,
Proud that his own were firm and strong.
Then back again to his friends he went,
His young heart happy and well content.
"She's somebody's mother, boys, you know,
For all she's aged and poor and slow,
And I hope some fellow will lend a hand
To help my mother, you understand,
If ever she's poor and old and grey,
And her own dear boy is far away."
"Somebody's mother" bowed low her head
In her home that night, and the prayer she said
Was, "God be kind to the noble boy,
Who is somebody's son, and pride and joy!"

And this got me to thinking of the many past church presidents that have been able to share a poem from memory (though I don't know if this is the case here). We don't live in that type of society any more. That makes me sad. Maybe we'd be a little less hurried and "stressed out" if we took the time to memorize beautiful words like these.

Only my kids

Only my kids can stubbornly cry about something for so long that eventually they don't remember WHY they're crying, only that they're SUPPOSED to be crying and continue on auto pilot until they find a new thing to cry about.

It makes me want to cry.

I have a second

I just put Sarah down for her nap. Now I give her 10 minutes to make sure she really goes to sleep. While I wait, I thought I'd see how much I can type. I guess these will be random thoughts.

1. Sarah has started throwing screams into the mix when she's crying. No, no, no. It's too soon for screaming!

2. Leah's ear seems to be getting better. She asked me what she should do if it started hurting at school. I don't even remember if I answered her.

3. The bus stopped outside our house as Nathan was finishing up family prayer. They ran out the door and the departing bus stopped for them. Leah ran out down the gravel drive, through the weeds and onto the bus with her sandals in her hand. Her bare feet must have been dirty!

4. My rib cage still hurts from all the coughing I did. At least breathing doesn't hurt anymore. Sneezing is killer!

5. My house smells like the fresh batch of whole wheat bread that came out of the oven a little over an hour ago.

6. We had a deadly week a while back. On Wednesday, one of the chickens up and died (still don't know why); on Thursday, our little lamb, Steam, died (he just wasn't strong enough, I guess); on Friday morning, one of the fish was found dead in the tank. Saturday was a lucky day, and no lives were lost. Since then, two more fish have taken the final flush, the two ghost shrimp are gone (they may have died and the fish ate them) and a chicken has disappeared. (Chad found the chicken door open one evening. I think Daniel didn't get it locked the night before and the wind blew it open.) So now we're down to 10 chickens, 11 lambs, 10 fish, 9 cats, 2 dogs and 6 kids.

7. We are in the process of training our children to be left home alone. We found ourselves facing the adult session of Stake Conference and no plans for a sitter. So we took Sarah, and left the older 5 home with a movie on and a promise of ice cream cones if there were no problems. I made sure Daniel and Nathan knew my cell phone number. I kept the phone on "vibrate" and sat on it during the meeting. I'm glad no one called because I may have jumped pretty high if it went off! I felt guilty the whole time we were gone. That's a lot of little kids to leave home by themselves for 2 hours. I know kids 100 years ago had a lot more responsibility than kids these days, but that's when they only had to worry about indians!

8. I got my hair cut again.

9. School is out next week. I already have the kids' workbooks for the summer and am considering additional structured activities (i.e., reading contests, weeding the garden, etc.) but have not worked out the details. The kids are very excited for the chance to start doing their workbooks. I must be an awesome mother to have brainwashed them so effectively!

10. I had a "pity party" day on Thursday and Chad brought home a dozen orange roses to show his support. :)

Quote of the Day

Rebekah is getting a lot of blog coverage lately, but she continues to shine on in her special way.

This evening, Daniel was reading some stories to the kids (I'm still not sure why he was so focused on that task) and asked Rebekah if she'd heard both stories.

She said yes. I said she probably heard them but might not have listened. He asked her if she listened. She had a bit of a blank look on her face and said yes again.

After Daniel left the room she asked, "Is listening the same as looking?"

NO WONDER we've been having communication issues! How have I missed teaching the poor girl to recognize her five senses?

UPDATE on Leah: Her right ear is flaming red and she is now on antibiotics. She slept all day and ran a low grade fever. (I WANTED to sleep all day, but did a bit of yardwork and a lot of Sarahwork instead.)

Long Night

The kids slept out in the tent with Chad last night. Sarah and I enjoyed the warmth and comfort of a warm house. Because I am the classic "night owl" and I didn't have to feel guilty about keeping anyone else up, I was still awake at midnight when Chad stumbled into the house with Leah.

My first assumption was that she'd thrown up...again. She'd been running around earlier and did in her sleeping bag. The real problem was that she was suffering from an ear ache and was restless - wiggling and crying and keeping Chad awake.

I gave her some cough medicine (because that was an issue, too) and she said her ear didn't hurt, so I thought she'd be going back outside. Chad didn't think that was a good idea. So I let (talked her into) sleep in the bed with me on "Daddy's side." Ugh. Now I know what Chad meant!

We were up at 1:30 putting warm water in her ear and giving her Motrin. (It's been recalled, but we like to live on the edge. Not to mention they didn't offer any compensation for the $40 of medication in my cupboard. We can't serve the stuff for breakfast or pay any bills with it!) Anyway, I hoped that would end the constant crying and whimpering, tossing and turning that I was having to lie next to. She eventually fell asleep and SNORED! I blame that on the plugged nose.

Then at 2:30, Sarah started crying. When Sarah cries in the middle of the night, Chad gets her. I was cursed - no Chad. I changed her diaper and tried to rock her, but she only tried to nurse. So I put her back into bed and let her scream herself to sleep. Eventually she did.

So I got a little more sleep, wracked with strange dreams, until about 5 or so when Leah started up the tortured sleep again. At 6:30 I sent her downstairs to watch TV and then Sarah woke for the 2nd time.

I just fed her and am headed back to bed. It's 7 AM. I guess Leah will be going to the doctor later this morning. And I hope I get a nap today!

Caution: Cute OVERLOAD!

I have made several references to my cute Rebekah, and now it's time to give the stage to another favorite daughter. But I warn you. You may want to have a baby after you see these!

Sarah is crawling now. She's still mastering the speed issue, but she's on the move. Here she is a couple of weeks ago, still rocking on her knees.

Seriously, have you EVER seen a sweeter face?
Here, she had her bottom lip all but swallowed.

Oh yeah, Joseph and Mommy were there, admiring Sarah's cuteness.

And then Joseph felt a need to be included in the camera frames. Sarah was interested in his toy. He's good at sharing with her. (Uh oh, Sarah, watch out for that couch sneaking up behind you!)

But before he shares, Joseph wants to make sure I get a picture of his toy. He purposely holds it to the side of his face.

And now Sarah is pushing herself under the couch. She doesn't realize it quite yet. She's still all smiles.

But wait...what is that hitting her head?

Yep, we have a problem. Now she knows she's stuck.

Ever polite, Sarah cries with her mouth closed, humming her request to be rescued.

"Hey lady, put that camera down and get me out of here! What is wrong with you?" (Joseph is trying to get me to take a picture of one more toy.)

Rebekah is H-A-P-P-Y

Anyone who gets to spend very much time with Rebekah will learn that she is a happy little girl. She laughs the most of anyone in our family. I wish this meant that she didn't get upset, because when that happens, it isn't pretty. But I thought these pictures might help illustrate Rebekah's personality.

The kids were playing with the camera on Monday night while we waited for the ice cream maker to finish up our ice cream.

These are what we found when we downloaded the pictures. To get the full effect, scroll through them slowly, absorbing the current shot before moving on to the next one. These are in order of the shots taken.

































Chad and I laughed out loud when we saw that 2nd to last one. And it is SO Rebekah! Gotta love that hair, too. Another Rebekah trademark.

I love that girl!

Question of the Day

Rebekah had a question as we drove down the freeway. "Will it be 40 days and 40 nights before school is out?

Only if you're in a bible story! It's really 10 days and 10 nights.

Quote of the Day

Rebekah: "Is it Earth Day?"

Me: "No."

R: "Why are you cleaning?"

What? Do I only have to clean on Earth Day? Only once a year? Why hasn't anyone told me this? I could have saved myself a lot of guilt and energy.

Good Friends

I am thankful for good friends. I know a lot of great people who are willing to hear me vent and stew over problems and offer support while not preaching.

I am thankful for those who understand that I'm not perfect and listen to me try to hash out a plan to be better.

And I'm thankful that I know great people that let me use up some of their busy day to do it.

My days would be pretty empty without these adopted sisters in my life. Thank you!

Quote of the Day

Leah was playing a Find the Difference game in a magazine during lunch. She had two more difference to find.

"I wish this was a game so I could push 'hint'."

A long time

I love Rebekah. She is a beautiful girl. She's also very smart. Her reading level now is the same Leah's was about halfway through Kindergarten. Rebekah is almost always happy (unless she's not and then it's very bad).

But Rebekah does have a particular habit that I can't stand. She asks A LOT of questions. The questions build on each other. One question is like a grandmother rabbit...it creates a lot of little bunnies. And one question is extra special to me.

"When is Leah home?"

Regardless of the answer, the follow-up question is always the same. "Is that a long time?"

Rebekah knows I HATE this line of questioning. I've really made my feelings clear on this. Unfortunately, she can't seem to help herself. Even when I give her a really nasty glare that clearly says, "Do not ask me that!" she only wriggles uncomfortably but invariably keeps it up..."Is it?"

"Is it?"

"Is it?"

This is when I finally shout, "YES!" Because, to me, it feels like eternity (even if it's only 15 minutes).

Organized and confused

I reorganized my kitchen cupboards today. I have 5 individual above-counter cupboards. (OK, there are 7, but I don't really count the ones above the fridge and microwave/stove.)

We have lived here 2 1/2 years. When we moved in, I was over 8 months pregnant. I didn't put a lot of effort into planning out the kitchen...I just wanted to put stuff away.

I have been complaining about not being able to reach the cupboard with the dishes when the dishwasher is open. I've even said that when (if) we build, the dishwasher would NOT go under the cupboard where the dishes are. Huh...I never thought to move the dishes.

And then I started thinking about the rest of the cupboards. Why is the cupboard with the cereal the very farthest away? And the closest cupboard is the one I open the least.

So I rearranged everything. I threw a few things out and wiped down all the shelves. And even though the cupboards are shut, hiding all contents, I still feel better walking into the kitchen.

Now I get to be confused for the next several months while I try to remember that the plates are where the baby food used to be, the cereal is where the spice carousel used to spin and the jello is tucked into the corner that used to hold the baking cocoa. Good thing I didn't have to change the bottom cupboards and drawers!

"Underwear"

I washed my underwear this morning. When I got back to it this evening to put it into the dryer, I found an unpleasant surprise.

Joseph's "underwear" got into our laundry basket. When a diaper goes through a high-speed spin, the result is a very messy one. There was fluff and little gel beads EVERYWHERE! (I think it was an unused diaper.)

I had to vacuum out the washer and put it on a rinse cycle. I took the clothes outside and shook each one. Then I got to thinking, diaper filling would make really good fake snow! It looks like it snowed on our deck.

I ran the load through a quick wash and had a much nicer experience when I went back to put it into the dryer.

So beware the underwear!

How was your Mother's Day?

I hope everyone had a good day, especially you mothers! (Father's Day is just around the corner, fellas.) My day was pretty good.

I would have slept in longer, but the coughing got me up and at 'em. Darn it. I've had a cough for over 2 weeks now. It has MUCH improved, but not before my rib cage suffered. I can hardly draw a breath to talk, so coughing has been torture. Today I had a bit of trouble moving about. I think it will be better tomorrow. (I sure hope so.)

Church for us is at 12:30 so I didn't need to leave until 12. Chad cancelled his EQ meeting so he was able to stay home a little longer to help. That was nice. He left just before 11. I got everything and everyone into the van and was only 5 or so minutes behind schedule.

I had my first ophthalmic migraine today. That was an interesting experience. I'd already had a headache all morning. Maybe that triggered it? It struck while I was trying to get prayers for Relief Society. It distracted me a bit and as it grew over time, I began to feel concerned. I really didn't want to discover I was going blind on Mother's Day!

Fortunately, there is an optometrist in the ward and I sought him out. He explained what it all was and I felt better knowing it would go away...which it did. Just wish the headache would;I still have a headache. (If you didn't check out the link yet, an ophthalmic migraine is not the same as a headache migraine, though they can be connected. An ophthalmic migraines is often painless...it's an eye migraine. Clear as mud?)

Anyway, I got 4 sets of coupon books and a little card with Joseph's hand prints which he took back from me twice. He actually improved on the gift by cutting it up. So now I have a puzzle of Joseph's hand prints. :)

Chad (and the kids) honored me with some flowering plants and useful items. :)

I was disappointed that the day didn't yield any chocolate and then grateful. I didn't have a very good week with the scale. I probably don't need to make it any worse.

I called my mom and Chad called his. It sounds like Mother's Day was nice for everyone. Hope you enjoyed your day, too!

(I've been slow, but I just finished the Day Two post for Chicago. Go back to the April archives to look for it.)

Sick

How long do I have to be on the job before I accrue some sick days? I kind of feel like I should have gotten some by now.

Oh yeah...each and every day last week was a sick day. So was Sunday and yesterday. Today is looking to be counted.

I'd really like to be well again. And I'd like to sleep before the sun starts to top the mountain.