Family Birthday Time

It was really nice that Kyson's birthday fell on a Saturday this year so we were able to do his friend party on Saturday and the family on Sunday. 

Yesterday at his friend party, Kyson was given this mechanical bug.  The kids took it outside and had it crawling around.  While I knew it was a battery-operated toy, it still looked a little freaky as it scurried across the ground so quickly.

During the party I try to take a lot of pictures, but I failed this year.  The party was fun though.  We had a pretty good turn-out and the kids were really excited about the bubbles that Grandma and Grandpa Bodily sent.  The kids played with those in the backyard and had a blast.  Eventually all the kids took off though and went to a park near the house.

It gave the adults time to chat and catch up, since that's very challenging with screaming little ones all the time.  Everyone was very generous, as always.  I think Kyson was spoiled rotten this year between his two parties.  I hope he appreciates all that he has - he's a lucky little boy.

Happy Birthday Kyson!

Kyson LOVES birthday parties, so when it came time for his own, he was so excited it's all he talked about for weeks.  Last year, I was heart-broken when we invited 25+ kids to his party and I think only 10-12 showed up.  No one RSVPed so we didn't know how many to plan for.  This year, we didn't get very many RSVPs either and only invited 20.  Of the 20 invited, 18 attended.  Even his teacher came to support the kids. Kyson was soo excited about that.

We reserved a birthday party at a place called Black Diamond Gym.  It's a gym for gymnastics, martial arts, and dance.  We found out they did birthday parties because he was invited to one at this place.  He loved it.  The thing that I liked about it was there were people who were with the kids to make sure everything they did was safe, unlike Airborne or those other trampoline parks.  They started by jumping on trampolines into a pit.  Then they moved over to a flat mat where they set up all sorts of "obstacles" and made a little obstacle course for the kids.  The third place they went to was getting a running start and jumping into the pit with tricks, and lastly they sat on the floor and played a few games.  All of the kids seemed to love it,

Opening presents wasn't as crazy as last year either.  He opened the presents as the kids gave them to him instead of being smothered to death by each of the kids, and from the parent view only being able to see the heads of the kids.  We ate bug cupcakes that had a gummy worm and "dirt" on each one, and overall, it went so smoothly.  Who would have guessed a birthday party with 20 kids would be easy.

It's hard to believe my little man is six years old.  He has the height of an 8-year-old, but the maturity of a 5-year-old.
His favorite things are: bugs, Charlie Brown, and Halloween
His favorite foods are: pizza, icecream, and yogurt raisins
His favorite things to do: ride his bike, look for bugs in the dirt, and go to Bear Lake

Straight-Haired Diva

Because our lives are getting crazy, and Kyson's birthday was here, I wanted to get a haircut for Kyson.  Jen, as always, did a wonderful job, but she was nice enough to also trim Kodi's bangs and trim her ends.  Jen thought it would be dun to straighten Kodi's hair, and I have to admit, I thought it was very cute.  Jen and I were taking pictures of Kodi and she was loving the attention.  She gave us the Hollywood Pucker and pracnced around like a diva.  She really thought she was hot stuff.

Because Kodi was getting so much attention with her new look, Kyson asked for his picture to be taken.  We appeased, but he wasn't as photogenic as Kodi.

 

 

Making Arrangements

I took the first week off that Kris started his new job with the Church.  This is the first time since my children have been born, that I was able to take care of them and be "the mom" without Kris there.  I loved every minute of it.  I got to take them to school, pick them up, put Kodi on the bus, make them lunches, and just enjoy the time we had together.

In one week, I was able to find arrangements for my children for the next 7 weeks.  Kris's parents graciously volunteered to take Kyson.  That meant that they were to take him and pick him up from school every day.  They would also take him to speech therapy on Thursdays.  Fortunately, his therapy is off track and won't resume for a few weeks.  That gives them some time to get situated. 

A woman in our neighborhood runs a daycare and had an opening.  That would take care of Kodi, but she doesn't take kids to school.  My sister was willing to step-up and help me out by taking Kodi to and from school for the next 7 weeks on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  Kodi's other school has a pick up so I didn't need to worry about transportation.  I believe my situation right now is a prime example of "it takes a village to raise a child."  I could not do this without all the support of friends and family.

During this week, I spoke with three schools, three different teachers to inform them that Kris would no longer be taking them or picking them up from school.  I changed her pick-up address with her bus drivers, and informed her tumbling teacher that she would no longer be coming.  In between taking care of all the arrangements, I tried to spend quality time with them.

I did have one scare this week, however.  Kyson said he was going to play with his friend across the street and I watched him go there.  Well, a short time later, I heard screaming from outside and it sounded like it was Kyson and it was from my neighbor's house, not Kyson's friends house across the street.  Kyson's friend couldn't play, so he decided to go next door and look for bugs.  He wanted to walk across the "drawbridge" which was a board placed over a window well, and it broke when he walked across.  He fell in the window well when both me and the neighbor heard him.  He escaped without even a scratch.

On the bright side, one day we went to the park.  It was a beautiful day and the kids wanted to drive their jeep over to the playground.  It was so much fun!  This week has meant so much to me.  In the little time I have at home, I'm so caught up in getting the shopping done, paying the bills, and cleaning the house, that I don't have a lot of quality time with my children.  This week has shown me how grateful I am for the upcoming changes.  Not just because I'll be able to work less hours, but because I'll be able to have more time with my husband and children.   That is something for which I'll be forever grateful.  My children are young and I only have so much time.  I plan to use the time I have been given, wisely.

First Tooth

Kyson has had a loose tooth for a while now, but he hasn't pulled it out.  When I picked him up from his class at the end of church, Kyson started yelling down the hall, "I lost my tooth!"  I walked up to him, and there he was, holding his tooth in a little sacrament cup.  It was so adorable.  I wasn't sure what the going rate was for teeth anymore.  I found it funny that a friend of ours that heard Kyson had lost a tooth, said that he could help give the tooth fairy some change if she needed some - it was Sunday
after all.  Fortunately, the tooth fairy was one step ahead.  Kyson got $5 for his first tooth.

The next morning, Kyson came running into my room holding a tooth.  He pulled out another tooth that was loose.  I think he wanted more money and realized that losing a tooth isn't as painful as he thought.  He believed he had more loose teeth after he lost the two, but I couldn't find a single tooth that wiggled.  He only got $1 for his second tooth. 

Big Changes

I've been married for nearly twelve years and during that time, I've either worked while going to school full-time, or worked two jobs.  I've adjusted to working 12 hours a day, but I've longed for the day when I could live a semi-normal life and be home with my children in the evening.  I've known for years that that dream would not happen until Kodi is in first grade, in order to free Kris up during the day.  I've accepted that fact, and that is one reason, among many, why I will not have any more children.  Life is about to change for us.

In November, I found out I was going to be laid off.  I found a work-around and found a good job with the same company until the end of the school year, but knew that I'd need to find something different for the fall.  I've been applying to many schools, but Providence Hall has been my first choice.  I applied to 10 schools in Alpine School District, and as a back-up, I applied to Challenger.  I received rejection notices for every single Alpine District school without even a phone call for an interview.  I did get an interview for Providence Hall, but got discouraged when they said they wouldn't make a decision for another month.  That meant I had to continue with the grueling interview process with Challenger because I couldn't afford to close any doors.

After taking a survey, a 50 question test in 10 minutes, a 30 page test, an interrogation, and a sample lesson, I was offered a job with Challenger.  While this wasn't the school I wanted, they told me about the benefits for teachers and I was sold.  For teachers, the first child is free and the second is half price.  They provide all day Kindergarten and preschool, and also give before and after care for the teachers for free.  That meant, Kris would be able to look for a job during the day and possibly provide the supplemental income that my second job provides.

The day I accepted, I looked on the Church's website to see if there were any warehouse openings available and there was one - from 10-3:30, which would be around the same time I'd finish with Challenger, and be late enough that Kris could keep UPS.  If he could get this job, it would be the last piece to the puzzle.

He was called for an interview a few days after he applied, and he prepared for it.  At the time of his interview, he arrived at his destination 15 minutes early, informed the desk that he was there for an interview, and he waited patiently.  45 minutes later, they told him that he was in the wrong place.  They didn't give him an exact location, and he was so frazzled he wasn't thinking straight to ask.  He called me frantic, unable to process the information.  I left work to find him, called the contact for the interviewer and informed them of the situation.  I also asked for an exact address.  He arrived at the interview, but was nearly 2 hours late by the time he got there.  I figured that was end of that job.

The next day, Kris called to ask the names of the interviewers so he could send them thank-you cards.  When he called, they said a thank-you card wouldn't e necessary because he got the job.  They want him to start the following week.  I've decided to take the week off to get things situated and now I'm on a frantic search to get my kids to three different schools, speech therapy, and watch them during the other time for the next 7 weeks.  The Lord obviously put this entire plan together for us.  I'll just have to rely on him to do a couple more miracles to get us through the next seven weeks.

In January when Kris was trying to get a job that would allow me to stay home, I wanted this so badly, but feared the income wouldn't be enough and I would need to keep my evening job.  I recruited prayers from family and friends, and a friend of mine said, "We're all entitled to a little miracle every once in a while."  I was resentful when Kris didn't get that job and I didn't understand why the Lord didn't want me to be a mother while I had the chance.  Looking back, I see that this situation is better than January.  My children will be in a great school, I will be home in the evening with my family, and the time we have together will be quality instead of getting from one thing to the next.  I got my miracle in a way that was much better than what I had planned out.  This has really shown me that the Lord is mindful of us, and knows what is best for us, even when we think we know what is best. And the crazy part is, all of this came about because I got laid off from my job - which I felt was the worst thing in the world.

Diving Accident

Right now there are many things in the works with my job and a potential job I'm interviewing for.  In order to help me with my interview process, I decided to go up to Plain City to meet my Cousin, Alicia.  That left Kris with the kids alone for the entire afternoon.  While this is nothing different, considering he watches them all day on weekdays, the kids are not quiet, mellow children.

While talking with Alicia, I received a phone call from Kris.  He said, "I think I need to take Kodi to the hospital."  I have no idea what has happened or if it is serious.  He couldn't even tell me what happened because he was folding laundry when the accident happened.  He said she had a cut near her eye.  That to me didn't sound very serious.  So, I asked him to either email me a picture or send it in a text.  He did.

It looked pretty nasty, so I told him to take her to the InstaCare to be safe.  I want as few scars on my little girl, especially on the face.  He called me later saying he took her to the hospital.  He never knew that the InstaCare and the Emergency room were two different places.  I was annoyed by that at first, but let it go.  She received care and that's all that mattered.  In the ER, they did the skin glue because it was the least invasive, especially for a three-year-old.  They put a Band-Aid on her, told her to take it easy, and sent her home.  I came home a few hours later and started asking Kyson for information.

Apparently, Kyson thought it would be a good idea to gather up all the couch cushions, blankets, and pillows downstairs and put them in a giant pile.  They then decided to dive off the couch into this pile of fluffy stuff.  Well, Kodi missed the fluffy stuff and landed on the metal windowsill, which caused the skin near her eye to split open.  We're so lucky she didn't have a much bigger injury.

Well, all that night, every time I turned around, she had taken off her Band-Aid.  She wouldn't leave it on!  Even when I put her to bed, I had to replace the Band-Aid three times.  Then she woke me up Sunday morning and I noticed the Band-Aid was gone again.  So, again, I put a Band-Aid on.  A little later that morning, I noticed that blood was seeping through the Band-Aid.  She had dug out the glue in the wound and it was wide open once again.  I called the hospital and they said to bring her back.

I brought her back and they looked at it.  This time it was stitches.  She was so pleasant until they started sticking the needle in her head to try and numb it.  Then she went crazy.  They put her arms in a pillowcase behind her back, wrapped her up like a burrito in another blanket, had two nurses and me holding her down, and she was still moving like crazy.  One thing is for sure, she's a fighter.  She bled like mad as well, but at least she was all fixed up and she couldn't dig it out.

Later that week, she got a black eye and it looked like she had blue eye shadow on.  I just hope there isn't a huge scar.  I need to make sure I put sunblock on it for the next six months.  All in all, accidents happen.  I'm just grateful that it was so minor compared to what it could have been.

Fun Run

For a little while now, Kris and I have been taking the kids to the rec center to run the track with us o Friday or Saturday nights.  We let them go their own pace and Kodi is slow and steady, while Kyson likes to sprint and then can't go very far.  He'll have to sit down to recuperate.  Because Kyson still remembered my race from the year before, I thought it would be fun to register the entire family for an official race, and then the kids would be able to participate.

I noticed a flier at the rec center for a fundraiser for some local softball teams and children's diabetes.  They had a 1 mile run with a 5k.  I decided to sign us all up, but by the time I did it, they were out of shirts.  That wasn't cool, but we were doing it for the experience, not a T-shirt.  I asked my parents if they'd be willing to come support us, and they said they would.

The morning of the race, we were all so excited.  We got dressed, packed some snacks and water, and headed over to the park where the race was to begin.  At the park, they had bagels, fruit, and water, and we definitely  munched on the free food.  They called for the 5k runners and had them line up at the starting line - and off they went.  It was a decent sized crows.  A few minutes after that, they called for the 1 milers, and a very small crowd of us lined up.  I felt kind of stupid that there were so few of us doing the 1 mile, but once again, it's for the experience.  And off we went.

Kris stayed with Kyson who did pretty well for a short time.  Then he started complaining and whining.  The experience was losing its fun.  I stayed with Kodi who also started out well.  She also got tired and would walk so slowly that we were in last place.  On the way back, I ended up carrying her while I ran to try and make a little headway.  Some people on the other side of the street saw me and I yelled, "I know, I'm cheating."  They supportively said, "It looks like you're doing more work than cheating."  We made it back to the finish line and Kodi got nervous about crossing it so I had to guide her in.  Kyson, from what I hear, flat out refused to cross the finish line.  Kris finally crossed without him and waited for him to follow.

So, the experience of the run, was just that - an experience.  The kids got tired and complained, they didn't get the rush of the cheering crowd, even though the crowd was there, and they didn't understand the work it takes to do a race, even if it's only a mile.  In the end, I was grateful for my parents' support, and the opportunity to do a family fun run.