News, notes & happenings

The mind reels that it could be possible, but another month has come and gone, and we are now officially into November. October was every bit as packed with activity as September, both good and bad.

I am now 24 weeks pregnant. I rang in week 21 with a several-hour stay in the hospital with incredible pains, the source of which was never discovered. I was pumped with fluids, experienced morphine for the first time in my life, was poked, prodded, given shake-inducing drugs to stop any contractions... and eventually sent home with instructions to call if it got worse. Whatever it was, it lasted 3 days, and then went away. Good times. That same weekend, our neighbors re-did their lawn, and Spencer and Paxton got to help drive the tractor - Spencer's idea of heaven; and my parents brought all three of them to Anabelle's birthday party. Life goes on.

The next few weeks went by in a blur. We spent an entire day unassembling and moving a swingset, and another setting it up. A kind person on one of my homeschool lists was giving it away for free, and since we didn't have one and always had it on our "someday" list, we jumped on it. It's been a lot of fun for the kids, especially now that it's cooled off; and the upper level makes a great hideway for a picnic lunch.

Mike took a day off so we could all go to AZ State Fair. It was a good fair, a HUGE fair, and the boys did everything from milking a pretend cow and "selling" vegetables, to riding rides, shooting balloons with darts to win stuffed animals, to completing a scavenger hunt and quiz to get a rattlesnake poster.

Because we apparently felt the need to squeeze as much into 2 days as physically possible, the day after the fair we set up a Zen garden:



and visited a pumpkin patch, farmer's market, and corn maze:







This past weekend was a trip to the zoo, where we saw it more packed than we've ever experienced, got to pet stingrays and sharks, and spent a long time watching the baby orangutan. I didn't touch the camera all day, but Paxton did snap this great shot of the bald eagle:

This week was of course Halloween, which meant carving pumpkins, dressing up, and trick-or-treating. They went trick-or-treating not once, but TWICE this year, as they went as a Cub Scout group to an assisted living home, as well as around our neighborhood. We were supposed to go a Harvest Party this week too, but ending up backing out at the last minute, because we were just plain TIRED. Everett had been sick earlier in the week, Spencer had his post-op eye appt, I had an OB appt... We'd finally hit a wall. Halloween was a blast though, and the kids have enough candy to last through the rest of the year.

As always, visit my Photobucket, under October 07, if you want to see even more pictures! http://s16.photobucket.com/albums/b48/thriceblessed/ Password is "fulton."

And finally... After an extremely stressful several weeks dealing with Everett's UTI issues, he underwent his tests last week at the hospital. They were as miserable as expected (as were the next few days) but the results were unequivocally POSITIVE. There was no reflux, no lesions, and absolutely no anomolies that required further study or action on our part. So for now, we chalk it up to another one of those flukey things, and pray that we're done with this particular issue.

And off we go into November!

Spencer's Eyes: Before & After

Spencer has always had beautiful green eyes. Thanks to the skills of his doctor at Arizona Pediatric Eye Specialists, his eyes are now even MORE beautiful. His vision is nearly perfect, his alignment is just as it should be, and he doesn't have to go back for so much as a checkup for another year.

BEFORE, the day of his surgery on Sept 11:



AFTER, about a month and a half post-op:

How Paxton lost his tooth

He's lost three now... his bottom two, and now his top front. It was loose for awhile, but wasn't quite ready to come out on its own. He inadvertently helped it along. We'd just gotten back from getting their Halloween costumes, and in his excitement to try his on he accidentally kneed himself in the face and knocked it right out. From the look on his face, I could tell he wasn't sure if he should laugh or cry. He chose the former. :)

Pictures, pictures, pictures!

September's highlights:

Offroading, Apple Picking, and Cub Scout Camp

And time keeps on marching by...

Another crazy couple of weeks we've had. I have pictures for all of it, but because they're trapped in a virtual disease land with my broken laptop, they'll have to wait till next time.

Our new truck got to go on another off-roading adventure, this time with the whole family. It was about a 5 hour run (which was a couple of hours too long for the nauseous, pregnant mom) but it was a fun trip in yet another beautiful part of this great state. We decided to rest our weary bones - and wash the grit out of our teeth - at a local frozen custard place. It had frozen coffee drinks that put even Starbucks to shame.

The boys and I went to a Not Back to School party with the homeschool group we used to belong to in Tempe. It had been over a year since we've seen most of the members, and a great number of them are new. We all had a great time anyway, and the boys voted unanimously to go to more of their events in the future.

Last weekend we headed north to check out an apple orchard in the middle of the desert. Spencer got into apple picking right away, and Paxton and Evertt enthusiastically joined in once they realized that the bees on the ground were indeed infinitely more interested in the dropped fruit than any passerby. We came home with three times more apples than we could actually eat, and we've been busy making pies, pancakes, muffins, and German coffee cake.

This past weekend we headed north once again, this time to Cub Scout camp. It was our first camping experience in Arizona, and Everett's second experience ever. The area was beautiful, surrounded with pine trees and mountain views. It reminded me of camping in the White Mountains, which now seems a lifetime ago. The trip was fun, and the nights were cold. We slept bundled from head to toe, which also reminded me of camping in New Hampshire. It was authentic *camping* (none of this wimpy cabin stuff), complete with a pungent outhouse nearby. We all used it at least once (except for Everett, who completely lost the urge to go once he stepped inside) but we timed most of our bathroom breaks for when we were further down the campground and had access to actual - albeit dark and scary - toilets. Saturday was packed with enough activities to last a week. The boys did obstacle courses, knot tying, fire starting, relay races, frisbee football, service projects. Spencer's group learned knife safety. Paxton's group went on a treasure hunt. Everett happily followed along, and tried many of the events himself. That night was the closing bonfire, where the boys received their badges, did skits, and participated in a flag retirement ceremony. It was a fun, if exhausting, day, and we all went home tired and happy on Sunday.

One of us came home burnt to a crisp with a sunburn, but no names will be disclosed... to protect the identity of the genius who spent an entire day in high altitude sun, in Arizona, without so much as a hat.

Friday Five

I've been tagged.

Five things that I want my children to know before they grow up:

1. I will always love them, value them, and respect them.... Not for the people that they are going to be, not for the people that others think they *should* be... but for WHO THEY ARE, right then, at that very moment in time

2. You don't need to be in a church to find God. God is everywhere.

3. There will always be negative people in life, people who want to tell you you're not good enough, not smart enough, not strong enough. YOU ARE. Forgive them and forget them. Focus on your true friends and family who lift you up instead of trying to bring you down.

4 Kindness and respect are important - both for others, and for yourself

5. Sometimes the unexpected detours end up being the best part of the trip

Now I tag you Erika! : )

"Daddy, there's two doors!!"

One of the side effects of Spencer's eyes healing is double vision. The doctor told him, and us, that it was common and totally normal during the recovery period, but I still worried that it would freak him out when he experienced it. Not my kid. He's amused and entertained by it. His vision is normal most of the time, but every now and then he will randomly, and happily, shout out, "There's two TVs! There's two doors! There's two vacuums!" This prompts Paxton and Everett to run over to wherever he's looking and ask if there is two of them. Sometimes there is, which amuses them all to no end, and sometimes it has already passed.

I love these kids.

Rolling with the punches

What an interesting several weeks it's been. Good-interesting, or bad-interesting, you ask? Well if you asked the sleeping boy on the couch who's resting off the effects of his surgery (and his third time being anesthestized in as many months) I'd go with the latter. Ditto if you look at the morning(AKA ALL-DAY & NIGHT) sickness, the mounting stack of dental and doctor bills, and the fact that we were essentially kicked out of our initial Cub Scout troop.

Still...

Paxton turned 7, and rocked his party at the bowling ally:



We did find another Cub Scout group, and the boys are already busy working on their badges. Spencer earned his Journeyman badge, and they both had a successful day selling tickets to the upcoming Scout-O-Rama.



Mike finally got to take the new truck on an off-roading run, and since the big boys weren't interested that day (and I was sick with a lousy summer cold), Everett got to experience a Daddy and Everett day to remember:





Spencer is thankfully done with the ridiculous amount of dental work he needed done this summer, and Paxton and Everett are both going to get theirs completed in two weeks. Today was his strabismus surgery, which has more or less been in the works since he was 18 months old and was diagnosed. We always knew it was a possibility, and a month ago we were told it was a necessity. As with most unpleasant things in life, the anticipation was almost worse than the reality. It went off without a hitch, and he has been home - sleeping - all afternoon. He is uncomfortable and sore, but in typical Spencer good spirits. The recovery period is supposed to be brief, and as far as Spencer is concerned, the worst part now is that he has to have drops put in three times a day. My poor boy; he is such a trooper.

We're praying for a calmer month of October. The boys have some fun Cub Scout stuff coming up, we're going to the state fair, and we may - or may not - get involved with a homeschool group soon. We're not making too many plans, because if we've learned anything this year, it's that plans change. Right now we're just buckling up and preparing for the ride.

(Not) Back To School

Ah I hate this time of year. I actually in turns hate it AND love it, with seemingly equal intensity.

The positive side first: Fall, and the start of another official "school year," means that once again we are making a huge, conscious decision.... send our kids to an institution, or let them continue learning in freedom. And once again, we choose - with unwavering and resounding certainty - FREEDOM!! So, for another year, we're celebrating. Celebrating that we're free from the confines of school; celebrating in the living, the breathing, the learning, the JOY that comes from unschooling.

On the other side of coin is the celebrating that's going on by the rest of the society, for completely opposite reasons. Everywhere I turn, another mom is gleefully counting down the days till her children start school and get out of the house. It's a popular theme right now on the message board that I moderate. One recent poster said that she thought that moms who aren't looking forward to their kids going to school (and presumably, moms who don't send their kids at all) are "insane." Well, I like having my kids around. I like spending time with them. I like watching them learn, and seeing the world through their eyes. I like that they're free to learn WHAT they want, HOW they want, WHEN they want, instead of being taught whatever some administrator deems appropriate.

If those things make me insane, then by all means, call me crazy.

5 Minute University

And another..

animal joins our clan! This is Woody (so named by the boys because he is the color of wood) Mike caught it with his own two hands, on his first-ever tarantula hunting expedition in the desert. He went with Mitch and our friendly neighborhood reptile expert, and they observed and captured both tarantulas and scorpions. We were both aware of the very real possibility of rattle snakes, so long pants and boots were a must. Mike pulled his trusty LL Bean work boots out of the closet for the first time since we've moved. .. and was greeted by this surprise just minutes into their hike:



Apparently, his soles did not agree with being stored, unused, for so long in Arizona's dry heat, as they literally disintegrated with each step. Thanks to LL Bean's 100% lifetime guarantee, he has a new pair of hiking shoes on the way.

Tagged again

I've been Tagged!

By my friend Mikki:

My roommate and I once: got in a big fight over a bowl of cereal and a plastic spoon

Never in my life have I: liked olives

High school was : a rollercoaster

When I'm nervous : I feel sick to my stomach

My hair : lives in a ponytail

When I was 5 : I had my first crush on a boy named Paul

When I turn my head left : I see a corkboard, a calendar, and pics of my niece Ayla

I should be : doing something more productive

By this time next year : it will be in the 100's again

I have a hard time understanding : why people are so judgemental

You know I like you if : I can open up to you

My ideal breakfast is : cereal, or pancakes with blueberries or strawberries, or waffles, or pastries.... and COFFEE!!!

If you visit my home town : you would be pretty bored

If you spend the night at my house : Paxton will make you meet his rats

My favorite blonde is : Paxton

My favorite brunette is : Mike, Spencer, & Everett

The animal I would like to see flying besides birds : Ack!!! The world has enough flying animals.

I shouldn't have been : so open with certain people in the past

Last night I: watched fireworks at my parents' and came home and fell asleep watching Hidden Palms

A better name for me would be : Clutz

I've been told I look like : a lot of people; I have a generic face I guess

If I could have any car, it would be: a BMW

Ok, now I'm tagging Erika (My Blog Buddy)!

Scout boys

After our morning at the Scout store...

Fun in the Sun

The boys aren't swimmers yet, but I have no doubt that they will learn to swim, like anything else, in their own time and in their own way. In the meantime, they still know how to enjoy a pool! :-)

In other news, last night was our first official Cub Scout pack meeting. It was mostly a planning meeting for the parents, and the boys all gathered outside to play and get acquainted. They all had a blast, and are super excited about the year to come. The meeting went well, and we made a lot of headway in getting things going. Spencer is a Webelo this year, and Paxton is a Tiger. Mike is going to be Spencer's den leader, and I am going to the Membership Chair (although I don't really know what the Membership Chair does yet.. shhhhhh) We're all really looking forward to scouting, and to doing it together.

Cookies

How I know my kids are learning (not being "taught") about compassion, sharing... oh yeah, and fractions:

There were two cookies left in the package on the counter. Mike had gotten them out, but seeing there were only two, didn't take one. Paxton came into the kitchen and immediately said "Ooooooh, can I have a cookie?!" I told him sure, but that there were only two, so there wasn't enough for everyone to have one. He thought about that for a minute, then ran out of the room. He came back half a second later, with Spencer in tow. The both carried pencils and paper, and were seriously discussing how they should divide the two cookies. They worked it all out on paper, while I quietly watched. They eventually came to me with a knife and the two cookies. They asked me to cut one in half and one into quarters. Mike and I could have the halves, they told me, which left a quarter for them and Everett, with one quarter left over. Everett saw my half and wanted that instead of just a quarter, so they traded his quarter and the extra quarter for my half. And we all ate our cookie pieces, and they were good :-)

May days

It's been another quick month, a crazy month, and ultimately (and somewhat surprisely) a GOOD month! Mother's Day weekend was wonderful. We spent that Saturday at the Phoenix Science Center, where we walked through Bodyworlds, and spent a long time playing with the other hands-on exhibits. The following day, the boys gave me the seventh season of Friends for my Mother's Day gift, Mike surprised me with a white oleander for the front yard, they took me out for breakfast at Five and Diner, and we capped off the day with a trip to Sports Authority, where we got the eliptical machine I've been wanting for months.

After weeks of trying not to stress about it, I had my wisdom teeth extracted on the 17th. It went as well as could be expected, and Mike and the boys took exquisitely good care of me... especially those first few days when I was in bed, on painkillers. The following week, while I was still recovering from both the pain in my teeth and being sick to my stomach from the medications, Spencer had his tooth extracted as well. He did AMAZING with it, and had bounced back to his normal Spencer self within a few hours of returning home. Later that week, Mom and Dad officially arrived from New Hampshire, ready to call Arizona home. The boys were estatic to see them, and wasted no time in catching up.

This past weekend was Everett's third birthday party. It was a fun and low-key day, spent mostly hanging out, visiting, and watching the kids amuse themselves by shooting their water guns and running underneath the misters.

Yesterday we spent the last day of the long weekend up at Mom and Dad's new house, enjoying the nice afternoon, playing board games, sitting on the back patio, watching the boys digging in the dirt, and laughing. There was lots of laughing. Life is good.

Highlights of Everett's party:

Oh Yes Oh Yes it's Springtime!!

These pictures are from the Phoenix Nascar race, the last fun thing we did before the crummy second half of April started. We went with our neighbors, hung out with Kevin Harvick's family and friends, and otherwise just enjoyed the atmosphere and watching the cars go around and around.

The sun is starting to shine a little brighter now, and we're starting to make plans and look forward to summer. We just got a family membership to the Arizona Science Center, and I'm really excited to take the boys there soon. We got tickets to see the Body Worlds exhibit, something I've wanted to see since I first heard about it several years ago.

The boys and I signed up for a kids' summer movie program at the local Harkins theatre, where we'll be going once a week for 10 weeks, to watch a different movie. Cool! Spencer and Paxton have signed up for Cub Scouts again too, and will be starting activities over the summer. They are both looking forward to it, but particularly Paxton, who wasn't quite old enough to be an official member when we lived in NH. Finally, the kids decided that they really want to get the new Nintendo Wii. We told them that if they earned the money for half of it, we'd pay for the other half. So they're happily doing odd jobs around the house, and counting down the days until they can buy it.

Adventures in Disneyland

... and California Adventure, and the beach, and Hollywood Boulevard...

Our first really big family vacation since Everett was born, went off not only without a hitch, but was better even than we'd hoped! It was an ambitious undertaking to be sure, with 12 hours of total driving, 2 long days walking around theme parks, and another day of site-seeing around Hollywood. The boys had the time of their lives though, and were troopers throughout... Even Spencer, who had to make the trip with a sore tooth (details to follow in another blog)

We planned to leave bright and early on Thursday morning, but being us, we left late. It was nearly 10:30 by the time we'd dropped the dog off at the kennel and hit the road. We passed the California border after about 2 1/2 hours, and were promptly met with an awesome dust storm. Lunch at IHOP was cold and windy, as was the stop at Walmart for new wiper blades, more sunblock, and candy for the ride. We checked into our hotel in time for dinner, but were too tired from the trip to actually find someplace to eat. Chinese delivery to the rescue.

Friday morning we DID leave bright and early, and caught the shuttle bus to Disneyland. Our package from AAA came with many little perks, with being able to ride the bus to the parks for free just one of them. Our first stop was the character breakfast, where Everett was thrilled to see many of his favorites. After breakfast we headed to the Honey I Shrunk the Audience 3D show, which was the only bust of the entire trip. Ironically Everett found it hysterical, but Spencer and Paxton were freaked out, so we left early. We ended up having to hang around outside the theatre anyway, as Paxton realized he'd left his hat inside. 10 minutes later, hat in hand, and nerves calmed, we were ready to explore the rest of the park. The big boys' favorites were Autopia (a drive-your-own-car ride) and Astroblasters (where you get to shoot at bad guys for points) We all loved the canoe ride, Everett was in awe of It's a Small World, and Toontown was fun for everyone. Everett was beside himself with excitement at meeting Mickey Mouse, and he was not disappointed. He rode his first rollercoaster in Toontown too, which was met with mixed reviews. Shouts of "That was cool!!!" were later changed to "That was fun, but, I don't want to go on a rollercoaster again" Spencer and Paxton loved the rollercoaster, and it only whetted their appetite for more. Dinner that first night was at the Rainforest Cafe, and we went back to the park afterwards because we'd promised the boys souvenirs. Spencer and Paxton chose light sabers, and Everett got a little Mickey Mouse cell phone and an astro blaster, a very noisy, light-up, gun of sorts. He then proceeded to "shoot" everyone we passed, and thankfully all but one passerbys were good sports about it.

Saturday we hit the other theme park, California Adventure. Paxton had wanted to get his face painted the day before, so that was our first stop. We had preferred seating at Turtle Talk with Crush, a great interactive show which amused the kids and had me wondering how it all worked behind the scenes. Most of our morning was spent in the Bug's Life area, which was full of rides for kids as small as Everett, and with almost no wait! We went on everything they had to offer, then headed over to some of the taller-people rides where we took turns with the big boys. Ev was bummed that he had to sit out some of the attractions, but felt better after an icecream break :) I went on Soarin Over California by myself, and Mike was dying to go on the huge, highspeed coaster with loops... but it was shut down by technical difficulties by the time we got around to it. We finished off our day back at Disney, where we all rode Autopia and Astro Blasters one last time, explored Innoventions, enjoyed funnel cakes and cotton candy and lollipops, and watched the parade on the way out. Everett waved to Mickey, high on a float, and was certain that Mickey's return wave was just for him. We ended another busy day by RUNNING to catch the shuttle bus that had just arrived (we didn't want to wait the 20 minutes for the next one) and headed back to the hotel. We then proceeded to drive around for an hour looking for internet - for some reason we couldn't get it to work in the hotel- and finally found a connection outside a gas station. We got directions to where we needed to go in the morning, picked up a couple of pizzas to eat in the hotel, and called it a day.

On Sunday, the last day of our trip, we went hobnobbing with the stars. Hollywood was someplace that I'd always wanted to see, but assumed that it was the kind of place that you only needed to see ONCE. I was right. It was a neat thing to do, and a fun place to walk around, but CRAZY with tourists, especially as it got later in the day. We had breakfast at Starbucks, then browsed all the stars on the sidewalk, looking for our favorite names. We walked through the Hollywood Wax Museum, and spent a long time in the museum of the Guiness Book of World Records. We ended our Hollywood tour outside the famous Mann's Chinese Theatre. It was cool to see all the hand and footprints, and take a few pictures, but the crowds were insane by then so we didn't stay too long. Off we went to explore some more on our own. We drove up Mullholland Ave, a twisting, hairpin road which had amazing views of the Hollywood hills, and then turned around and came back down. We lost our way temporarily, and finally ended up at a Ralph's Supermarket, where we bought a map and made our way to Sunset. Driving down Sunset was really cool for someone like me, and the boys were unbelievably patient with their crazy mom who was getting all excited about passing things like The Viper Room (where River Phoenix died), the Laugh Factory where Dane Cook was performing, the Beverly Hills sign, and countless cars that cost more than our house. Our final stop? The beach, where we got our very first up-close-and-personal encounter with the Pacific Ocean. Very cool to realize that we'd finally officially been coast to coast. We watched the boys play (and of course took more pictures) and reluctantly headed home.

Dinner was early, and the ride home was uneventful (yet long) The kids slept most of the way home, and we pulled into our driveway at 10:30 at night. It was an incredible trip.

Baby makes three

Three rats that is! This is Zoey, the newest addition to our family. She was a spur-of-the-moment decision, brought on by the fact that we just fell in love with her! We weren't planning on getting another rat - and the timing isn't ideal - but she is seamlessly blending right in.