Four years ago we were visiting my family in Utah over Independence Day and Gavin’s birthday. On the 4th, Parker decided to cough and wheeze and basically look like his lungs may explode trying to suck in any air. He spent that night in a hotel room with his dad while the rest of us stayed at my mom’s house. The next morning, Gavin’s birthday, Parker spent half the day getting steroid breathing treatments.

The doctor diagnosed him as having allergy induced asthma. Since then I have treated his hay fever symptoms in the spring but he’s never really needed his inhaler.

Fast forward four years. Parker tried to be sick while Grandma and Grandpa were visiting. He’d complain of a headache and stomachache occasionally but being the mean mom I am I thought little of it. It never seemed to be bad enough to interfere with his life!

Tuesday afternoon we took Grandma and Grandpa to the airport. First we stopped off at the Ghirardelli Chocolate Factory. The last time we took this little detour Gavin puked his guts up in the van. The smell of chocolate mixed with heavy overtones of vomit is not pleasant. All the adults remembered that day and we all breathed a sigh of relief when we made it to the factory without anyone getting sick.

That night Parker didn’t look so good. He complained of a stomachache from coughing too much. Later he was struggling to breathe. We gave him a couple puffs on his four year old inhaler and hoped for the best. It was a restless night for him. He slept in the next morning, Gwen’s birthday. After dropping off Gavin at the neighbor’s for a ride to school, I realized maybe Parker’s problem was seasonal allergies. He normally gets hay fever like I used to as a kid. Itchy, watery eyes. Sneezing like crazy. This whole sudden asthma thing threw me for a loop.

Since Parker looked so awful yesterday I kept him home from school. He wasn’t sick so as soon as he perked up enough after watching a movie, I let him play. Gwen appreciated having a playmate. Parker worked on that day’s homework during the day. Poor little guy was seriously winded from reading out loud for 10 minutes! That can’t be good. He was wheezing at McDonald’s last night while he ran around. Yes, Gwen chose McDonald’s for her birthday dinner.

I sent him to school today but I asked his teacher to keep him in at recess. She kept him in for the first recess. For lunch she let him go outside but he took a book with him so he wasn’t active. That was a perfect solution to a recess she really has no control over. Then I checked him out for the day to see a doctor.

The doctor prescribed two different types of inhalers. One for immediate symptoms and one for more maintenance capabilities to be taken through the end of May. I also bought some Zyrtec for him. He’s had two doses of some generic store brand allergy syrup but I was happy to buy some more Zyrtec for him. I think it works better than Claritin on him.

Can I just say I hate all these respiratory issues my kids have developed years after being born C-section! It makes me wonder what the statistics are for that. I knew respiratory issues were likely at birth from the lungs not being squeezed through the birth canal. I didn’t know croup and allergy induced asthma were in our future. I still think allergy induced asthma sounds like it’s made up! But it’s true. I’ve seen Parker struggle to breathe from an allergic reaction. Weird. At least the doctor said he’d basically back to normal in a few days to a couple weeks.

Gavin didn’t start pedaling on a bike until the middle of kindergarten. Parker was a little faster but probably still five years old before he figured it out. When we bought Gwen’s helmet I had her ride around on the boys’ shark bike. She could pedal. Hallelujah!

Also when we bought Gwen’s helmet we found the perfect bike to buy later when she wasn’t around. Only when Heath and I went to get it the selection was pretty picked over. Is President’s Day a popular bike buying day? Out of the girls choices of bikes I didn’t think Gwen would really like any of them. We had seen a Tinkerbelle bike before and I didn’t think we should do it. The thing was so blinged out with fairy this and flower that in every accessory a bike can hold. She’s spoiled and all but come on. She can have a regular bike like everyone else.

With little choice of bikes in her size that she might like Heath talked me into the Tinkerbelle bike. I’m glad we got it. It is so Gwen!

I love the cute little outfit Grandma made. The best part is that Gwen was so offended that people (read random strangers) didn’t comment on her new outfit! That girl is hysterical!

Monday was the big family celebration.

Gwen wanted a chocolate mousse pie for her birthday. Nobody planted the idea in her mind. She just announced that’s what kind of cake she wanted for her birthday. With Heath and Grandpa being so busy outside, Grandma made the chocolate mousse.

Heath couldn’t find any Oreo crumbs so he bought lots of peanut butter Oreos for the crust. The kids took out all the peanut butter filling so the cookies could be crushed in the food processor (thanks to my mom for that Christmas gift!). The filling was put in a little bowl and we all would casually walk by sneaking circles of filling. The crust had a unique flavor since you could kind of taste the peanut butter a little. It was very yummy.

Chocolate mousse takes every cooking/baking dish in the house to make. There is always lots of leftover whipped cream to sample. Chocolate mousse is very rich. Heath believes it caused his gout flare up so he wanted it out of the house as soon as possible. There was too much for seven people anyway so we invited our neighbors over to celebrate with us.

For dinner Grandpa had made enchiladas. I was supposed to make it but somehow Grandpa took over my job. I was too busy loving my new screened in porch. My mom made the best enchiladas I had ever tasted. They were so good I told everyone who asked that enchiladas were my favorite food. Well. I found the recipe! Grandpa and Grandma’s enchiladas took me back to the happiest moments of my childhood – eating enchiladas. So good! We have eaten out so much this last week that I don’t know if we want Gwen to pick a birthday dinner wherever she wants. I liked her observed birthday dinner!

Opening gifts is so much fun for everyone. I love how I wrapped her fluffy tights from Halo Heaven in a test strip box! The tights are so nice. She’s wearing them today. I am so impressed with the things I ordered from Halo Heaven. That’s another post though.

I made Grandpa help Gwen open this gift. I was so afraid she would break the jewelry box if she opened it herself since it fit so tightly in the box it was shipped in.

Grandma made Gwen a doll with a blanket and several outfits, including a matching outfit for Gwen. Gwen quickly named the doll Aurora (Sleeping Beauty). Aurora and Emma are best friends and enjoy playing together and sharing clothes.

I thought I was done being sad that Gwen turned four years old this morning at 8:03.

I’m not. It’s not fair! How dare my baby keep growing! This whole four years old thing is killing me.

Gavin turned four two days after we moved into our house. I found out I was expecting Gwen that morning.

How can she be four already?

Gwen is already bigger than the boys were at the same age. How can she be four already?

Maybe I should keep doing her hair in pigtails and two French braids. They keep her looking younger. The side ponytail I did today is growing her up overnight!

Happy Birthday my Little Miss even though you didn’t like it today when I called you that because you’re not little anymore!

It still looks like this. I haven’t even finished pinning all the pieces. Of the five pieces shown in this picture only four are completely pinned. It’s a slow process for me.

My gorgeous sanctuary/gazebo now sits on top of a platform. It’s not really a deck even though that’s what I have been calling it. There were a couple reasons why we did this.

#1. It covers the back step that took up too much floor space in the gazebo.

#2. It raises the gazebo making it much easier to enter from the house. Before even I had to duck to get through the sliding glass door into the gazebo. Imagine how Heath felt being as tall as he is!

#3 The porch light is out of the way. Of course that’s a whole other story.

Turning on ambient lighting. Little battery powered tea lights don’t give off much light but they are sure romantic! Heath started putting up rope lights around the perimeter of the ceiling. I love it!

It kind of feels like I have my own screened in porch. My life is officially blissfully awesome. Millions of thanks and hugs to Heath and Barry for making this dream a reality so quickly and wonderfully.

Final score BYU 82 Santa Clara 67

As far as I can remember this is the first live basketball game I’ve been to. It is possible I went to one in college but I don’t remember. I have very vague memories of being in the basketball gym. It was bigger than Santa Clara’s which surprised Heath because I went to Southern Utah University. Go T-Birds!

Admittedly I know virtually nothing about basketball. My mom loves basketball and loved going to all the WAC games with her boyfriend to cheer for Utah. She hates football. Meanwhile I love football. Football I get. It’s a complicated game but I understand it. Basketball means nothing to me. I don’t get it. When I was forced to play in Young Women’s (church youth group) I figured my job was to run back and forth with everyone else and avoid the ball at all costs.

If I watch basketball on TV I can see a little bit why Heath screams so much. Not really but kind of. Watching the game live was a completely different story. My perspective changed dramatically to look down on the players. Everyone seemed like normal boys playing a game I don’t get rather than these larger than life college stars. It made me really want to watch Jimmer Fredette play live. The game seemed to slow down too. If only I understood the rules! I maybe could have gotten why the crowd was screaming at the refs for bad calls. Oh well. I was along for the ride and I had fun.

Gwen was stoked before the game started. She kind of lost her steam when she didn’t see any BYU cheerleaders. The Santa Clara dance squad was more visible than their cheerleaders were and Gwen wanted to be a cheerleader. She did enjoy watching the dance squad dance during halftime. And I decided Gwen cannot get into dance unless she stays a very classic ballerina! How daughters can completely change your mind about the world.

Gavin wasn’t happy until he shuffled seats and sat next to Grandpa. Grandma and Grandpa were so extremely patient to deal with the kids. Barry’s shirt said “I can’t talk now there is a game on”. That’s how he watches games. You don’t even try to talk to him. He’s in the zone and you better leave him alone. For him to have a clingy Gavin mauling him with hugs and never-ending questions was nothing short of heroic.

Parker was so funny to watch. Sometimes he was clearly bored out of his mind but this is Parker we’re talking about. That boy is awesome in public. He just sits quietly and entertains himself somehow in his own mind. There were other moments where Parker would get involved in the mob mentality and cheer with all the other Cougar fans. He would really get into his clapping too. So cute.

I hate that I don’t really have any pictures of Heath and me together. The ones I do have aren’t even that great. It was fun sitting next to Heath but he abandoned me at halftime. I figured he wanted to talk with his dad and cousin and he’d be back. Apparently he told me he would be sitting with “the hardcore family fans” for the last half. I didn’t hear that at all. He claims I don’t listen. Well I don’t but that one I didn’t even hear!

It was sure fun sitting next to him while I could. It totally felt like a date since the kids weren’t even sitting by us then. Heath asked if I wanted to go to another game with him, just the two of us. Heck yeah! I’m all over it. I may not know anything about basketball but I love going to games with Heath.

Gwen danced and bounced all the way back to the van. That girl is too cute for her own good. What a fun evening. Winning was definitely the icing on the cake.

Heath’s parents are visiting right now. As we planned out the visit Heath kept saying that we didn’t have to do anything. All they really want is to hang out with all of us. The only plans we had were to go to a basketball game on Saturday. Look for us on TV. You may be able to see us in the BYU v. Santa Clara game.

No plans very quickly turned into many many projects. Dawn, Gwen, and I went shopping at JoAnn’s yesterday for a dress pattern for me but with good sales starting today we waited to buy anything. Good thing since I spent a lot despite the sales! Barry and Heath were going to build a deck and then we changed our mind thinking now was not the time to spend the money. Then Dawn came up with a cheaper solution so we went for it. They ordered everything yesterday and started construction today when the lumber was delivered.

This is how today has gone. I finally got all primped for the day to come downstairs to everyone milling around outside. Then Heath pulled out the brooms and my OCD kicked in. I can’t help but get excited about cleaning. I don’t know why. So I was sweeping in my fancy casual duds. I couldn’t play for long since the girls were supposed to go to JoAnn’s. I got all my stuff.

The boys were outside building.

Gwen was bouncing all over the place.

Dawn was doing yard work, which only made me feel a little embarrassed. We’ll get used to not having gardeners anymore soon enough. She worked her blood sugar low while I was supposed to be cutting out my pattern. I would have rather been working my blood sugar low.

When I picked up the boys from school they hung out outside with everyone else while I was supposed to boil eggs for dinner and cut out my pattern. I felt like I was being punished!

Who wants to stay in while all that fun is going on outside?

Dawn came inside to check on me since she had filled the green waste. Heath told her when it was full she was done. She was surprised I hadn’t even cut anything out of the fabric yet. In my defense it’s a complicated pattern. Three different versions of one dress. The pattern is some newfangled deal where it asks for all these measurements to fit it perfectly to me. I think in the end it will be nice but in the meantime I’m finding lots of excuses to not work on it.

I did measure my bust and unless I did it wrong I’m a full cup size smaller than I thought. Weird. And I measured my hips and saw a number I wish I didn’t. Feeling armed with my measurements I was ready to cut. I opened up miles of tissue paper with printed patterns on it. Oh yeah. My friend had taught me I had to cut the pattern out before pinning it to the fabric. She also taught me to cut the pattern as perfectly as possible so the fabric would be cut out right.

The myriad of strange shapes was overwhelming but I was going to power through it. May as well get the project started while Dawn is here to help me! So I started cutting. After the first shape was painstakingly cut out to perfection I realized it was for a piece I didn’t need. Awesome. I rough cut some unnecessary pieces to get them out of the way. Then started working on a piece I needed for the dress version I had chosen. When I was finished I realized it was for the smallest bust size. Awesome again. My bust size surprised me but I haven’t been an A since I was 9 or 10. Wish I was making that one up! Basically I had wasted my time again on a piece I didn’t need.

So I gave up. It had happened two or three times and my creative juices were drained. I’ll work on the dress later. Dawn tried to tell me that I could rough cut all the pieces and pin them that way. Then cut the fabric as I cut on the line. I told her to stop solving my excuses! We laughed and as much as I know she wants me to sew the dress I hope she understands that it hasn’t marinated enough. I am the slowest crafter known to man because I have to stare at each step until I get going on a roll. No dress for me this Sunday. Oh well.  I should have a new deck for my gazebo – my sanctuary – by tomorrow. Now that’s awesome!

About 12 years ago I called for the payout on my student loan. With the money I had received from a car accident I was in, a week before high school graduation, I was $100 short of paying off my loans completely. So close yet so far. I decided to get married instead of paying off my college debts. At least I can say I am debt free and still married. To the same guy even!

Have you heard about UC’s latest whine fest over tuition hikes? So the brainiacs at UC Berkeley came up with this “brilliant” plan to cut down on tuition. They think students should pay next to nothing for tuition and promise to pay 5% of their salary for 20 years after graduation.

Yeah, it was the English majors that came up with that plan. The students that are majoring in the most unemployable degrees offered in higher education. The students that are so romantic in their hopes, dreams, and visions for the future that owing anyone anything for 20 years sounds like a good idea. Now.

The English and History majors are also the students you see on the news protesting everything. The Math and Science majors are too busy getting themselves edumucated so they can contribute to society. Just saying.

But I digress. I’m so excited to roll in the money I will be saving. I think I will use it to pay off Velma. Oh, and buy a dress pattern and fabric for moi. I would have bought it today but JoAnn’s is having a sale that starts tomorrow. Instead I decided to grace the good people at JoAnn’s with my smiling face two days in a row!

The marks came off really easily. I have learned that Goo Gone works pretty well on most crayon and random marks. Yellow crayon doesn’t come off with an all powerful genie and a prayer. Ah but pencil, pencil comes off with a light swipe of an antibacterial wipe.

I couldn’t help but smile a little as I saw the marks. It reminded me of a moment in my childhood. I have no idea how old I was. My guess is about four, like Gwen. On the wall above my bed was this weird black shape that my parents put there as a decoration. I could never figure out the purpose of such an Avant-garde piece of art on my wall.

One day I looked at that strange black circle shaped like a flower or sun and decided it looked like a head. So I grabbed a black crayon and drew the rest of the body. My parents were so mad at me! I don’t remember much of my punishment but I remember thinking I never meant to be destructive. I was expressing my creativity artistically.

Okay, so really I don’t know any secrets to what kids are really thinking when they do some of the things they do. Honestly I wonder if they even know half the time! Chances are they mean no harm. Something in their minds makes sense and with the poor impulse control of a small child they act on their thoughts. Adults often forget that. Me most especially. Today I remembered.

I blame Family Fun Magazine and Disney. Thank you Family Fun Magazine sponsored by Disney for coming up with extremely cute, not at all family fun, homemade valentine ideas. I will keep subscribing though.

For Gavin’s class I thought it would be fun to do the Mad Lib valentines. The third graders have been learning a lot about parts of speech this year so Mad Libs are perfect! I made up my own Mad Lib valentine story because that’s me. Heath kept laughing and calling me Domestic Goddess or something like that last night. Yeah, no jealousy necessary moms. Trust me!

Then I painstakingly cut out hearts out of scrapbook paper for the tags. I found black paper with boy phrases for the boys and girl phrases for the girls. Already this is getting too complicated but I didn’t have enough red paper. I didn’t figure Gavin, my son, would want girly pink hearts. I know. I overthink too much!

Gavin wrote to from messages on each heart. The hearts were 1.5 inches so he could have enough space to write. He crammed the message in the top corner. Eye roll. I thought it was cute that he wrote “best friends forever” on his friend’s heart. Nothing on the heart of the cute girl he likes!

Many thanks to my dear husband for mercifully helping me create these valentine scrolls. I rolled up the paper and then tried to tie the yarn and tag onto the paper roll. With my gimpy hand it was certainly a trick and the rolls were all coming undone. My frustration level was rising.

Gwen: Whatcha doing Mommy?
Me: I’m making these stupid valentines for a stupid holiday where people are supposed to tell their loved ones they love them. No other day can they think to say they love each other! Just this one day! Heath, Gwen got me started!

And then he stepped in and rolled while I tied and somehow we managed to fill a sack with enough valentines for all the kids in Gavin’s class including his teacher.

As Heath and I were working I thought of how lame this valentine really is and I could hear the kids in his class. “Ooh! What’s this? Homework? Great, Gavin gave us homework! What a lame valentine. Thanks Gavin.”

We moved onto Parker’s valentines.

I took this picture

and Heath turned it into this valentine. It is pretty cute.

Parker drew a heart to dot the “I” in a girl’s name. Apparently he likes her! Woo Woo!

It was definitely a team effort to get these all assembled last night.

I sent the boys off to the neighbor’s house on a foggy morning with their valentines. As cute and wonderful as the valentines look I will never ever do that again. So not worth it! And to all the moms who are going to curse me under their breath when they see what I’ve done this time, I invite them to read the story behind the cute. Who’s jealous now? Nobody because you all pity me and my crazy ideas. Although I did see a super cute diamond ring involving Hershey’s kisses and pipecleaner that I thought would be fun for Gwen’s tea party . . .