Laming my way to 100

I feel obligated to post since it's the last day of November, and my lame goal of reaching 100 posts is still in the forefront my brain. I've been sitting here trying to think of something to write about and Nils said to me, "You don't have to make it to 100, you know." Yes I do, I said, because I proclaimed it. And because last year I was sad that I didn't make it to 100. Because I have a weird thing with numbers, I guess. Like when I'm running on the treadmill and my miles can't exceed the numbers times 10. Two miles has to be done in 20 minutes or less, 3 in 30, etc. I mean, if I can't run 3 miles in less than 30 minutes, what's the point of even running at all?

Nils told me not to make the blog lame for the sake of making it to 100 posts. MAKE the blog lame? Oh, ho, ho. As if it's not already.

And now, a haiku:

Little blog of mine
One hundred posts you shall have
Silly little blog

Cool Pics, Cool Pics

Nils loves to take pictures. His camera is like our 4th child. He recently upgraded from his Nikon D70 to a Canon 450D, and here are some of my favorites of the last fall photos he took.


This old truck was in his work parking lot. It looks like a real-life Tow-Mater! Nils also has a blog, where you can look at some of his other photography. He has also written articles and tutorials about random things- from dandruff shampoo to camera upgrades. Check it out!

Must Read

I was required to read this book in the 9th grade. I didn't remember anything about it except someone named Boo Radley and a girl named Scout. I just read it again, and I LOVED it. I think this might be one of my all time favorites. I can see why so many high school teachers have this as required reading, but I remember equating "required" with boring at that age. I loved it so much more as an adult. So, I think everyone in the world should read this fabulous book. I laughed out loud several times, found it touching and I'm sad that it ended.

Conflict Resolution

I was tagged over a month ago by Teresa and a few days ago by my sis-in-law Andrea. Here's the thing about tags: I don't really mind doing them, but I feel a little narcissistic when I do. And I just can't imagine that anyone possibly cares to know 40,000 random things about me. So, if you tag me and I don't respond immediately, it's not because I don't love you. I do. I swear. It's just that I'm so darn conflicted about tagging that rather than agonize about it I sometimes choose to ignore it. I'm sorry. So, in order to appease my guilty conscience, I will combine these two tags and just list some of my weirdness in no particular order, and in no specific categories.

*I like to take baths. In my lifetime, my bath to shower ratio is probably 80 to 20.

*I'm compulsive about keeping my fingernails short. I can't stand them long. They get all grimy and just bug me.

*I have a naturally grumpy expression on my face. People think I'm mad when I'm concentrating or not showing some specific emotion. I'm actually quite delightful, so if I look mad when you see me, don't believe it. Unless I'm really mad, in which case you better watch it.

*I always wanted to do hair as a kid, and I said after I graduated college I'd go to hair school. I graduated college and hair school just never fit in the plan. I still secretly wish I'd done it.

*I think most movies are lame. I don't think all movies are, but it's not often that I love one or like one enough to watch it again. I've thought a lot about this and here's my conclusion (see, do you seriously care to know this about me?): I used to like movies quite a lot. Then I had children, and my patience with them diminished. I think it's because I have so little leisure time, that whatever time I do have I want to spend doing something I sincerely enjoy. So I'd rather read a good book or watch a good TV show than watch a crappy movie.

*I have double-jointed elbows. Come on over sometime and I'll show you.

*I've been a chap stick addict since the 7th grade. If my lips are dry and I don't have any lip moistener I get all panicky inside. I've embraced this and do my best to have a large supply at all times.

Fun Game!

It's so sad.
I sprained my stupid ankle. We were at a PAR-TAY last night where we played this injury inducing game: place a paper grocery sack on the floor, stand on one foot and grab the sack with your teeth. After each turn, the sack is cut lower and lower.

Then you sprain your ankle. I was the only one cool enough to do this part of the game. The retarded thing is that I didn't even fall, twist, or roll my ankle. I was just bending down, down, down, down.....and POP! I tore the ligament on the outside of my ankle bone. It hurts. And I'm supposed to wear this ridiculous air cast thing for two weeks. We're having good luck at our house.

It's okay, though. Know why? 'Cause I got ma baby to take care a me. Here he is enjoying one of the thin mints we won at the par-tay.

Fo' Rills

Here's a real post. No pictures, because I'm too lazy; just rambling. We went to Primary Children's today, thinking today was EEG day. No. Today was see-a-pediatric-neurologist-so-he-could-tell-us -he-wanted-to-order-an-EEG-and-MRI-day. That's swell. The two tests are going to be done on the same day. Anders has to be sleep deprived because they want him to be naturally asleep during the EEG. I hope they have some magical method for getting kids to sleep there, because I just don't see it happening- sleep deprived kid or not. Then they'll sedate him for the MRI. This happens in a couple of weeks. We're accepting donations for bills incurred.
P.S. That hospital is depressing.

Anders dropped the f-bomb while we were waiting to see the doctor. He was innocently spouting out rhyming words and out it came. It brought back memories of when he was two, and made the sound "f" for the letters "tr". Truck was was very bad word there for awhile. One time in Target he wanted a big truck and was yelling it really loud.

Inspiring thoughts late at night. Stay tuned for more in the coming weeks- we've got 23 posts left before Dec. 31!

76

This is our 76th post for 2008. Only 24 more by December 31. My name is Arnie. Say Arnie. Say it!

75

This is our 75th post for 2008. Only 25 more by December 31.

Silly Little Girls

Kids are funny. Here are some shots I took of Addie singing on Grandma's back patio. What a cute little nut. Katrina and I can't seem to figure out where she learned these gestures. I guess she's bound for American Idol. Er Sumpin. I love the closed eye sincerity.


After baths tonight, we got the kids in their jammies then Aani ran off to another room. I was reading to Addie and I could hear Aani playing so I figured she was fine. This is where we found her. This girl is wild.

Counting Our Blessings

Last night Anders had a seizure. It was the scariest experience of our lives. I put him to bed and about 30 minutes later heard him throwing up. I went into his room and he was laying in his vomit unresponsive. His eyes were wide open but he wouldn't look at me or talk. He was like that for a few minutes, and I called Nils to come home from his EQ meeting. Anders threw up a few more times and was still unresponsive. As Nils left his meeting the EQ Pres. called our neighbor to come over and make sure everything was okay. I was on the phone with the nurse and after a few minutes Anders' lips and fingernails were blue. Our neighbor called 911, and as the paramedics were coming his face turned gray and was contorting. When the paramedics arrived, they took one look at him and strapped him onto the gurney and we were off to the hospital. I rode with him and Nils drove behind us. All I could do was sit there and watch as they worked on him, and I kept just praying that he wouldn't die. On the way to the hospital his whole body was seizing, and it didn't stop until we had been at the hospital for about 30 minutes.
In the ER he was given three doses of medicine to stop the seizing and his body finally relaxed. They did blood work and a CT scan, both of which came back normal. The doctor wanted him to stay the night because the seizure lasted so long- apparently they tend to last 10 minutes or so, and his lasted an hour.

Anders woke up at 3 a.m., finally conscious and talking and crying like he normally would. We were able to tell him he got sick and was in the hospital, and he was pretty excited that he got to eat a popsicle, drink Sprite and get all kinds of toys and goodies from the nurses in the middle of the night. We're home now, and he's acting as if nothing ever happened. He still can't believe there was a firetruck at our house. We'll go to Primary Children's next week for an EEG so they can tell if it will happen again.

We feel so blessed for many reasons. First of all, our boy is alive and well. I'm sure many of you know that helpless feeling of turning your child over to someone else. The first paramedic to our house was a friend from down the street. All the paramedics were great, but it was really nice to have a familiar face amid the chaos. Our neighbors were there in the blink of an eye to help with a blessing and stay with the girls so Nils and I could both go to the hospital. I keep thinking how lucky it was that I was upstairs. If I had been in the basement I wouldn't have heard him at all, and who knows how long it would have been until we found him. Both of us are especially grateful for our wonderful neighbors, who were all there not to just stand by and watch, but to truly offer help and support. I want to hug and kiss all of them. How great is it that in the middle of an emergency, worthy priesthood holders gave Anders a blessing and we felt the spirit comfort and calm us. We are truly blessed.

On a side note, a couple miles from the hospital they turned on the lights and sirens and floored it. It was awesome. In the words of Nils, "The one time I get to speed through stop signs and red lights, and I don't even get to enjoy it." Comic relief!

What I've Been Thinking About

Here's a little bit of what's been on my mind.

Thought 1: Since Anders started kindergarten it's been kinda hard to find a time to go to the gym. He goes at 11:30. Aani naps around noon. I tried going at night, but I'm so tired at night that I was very inconsistent. When school started, Anders was excited that he didn't have to go to the gym anymore. Therefore, I didn't want to go before school and ruin that little happy point in his life. (And just in case you're wondering, the kids go to the playroom while I work out. I don't make them bench press or run on the treadmill or anything.) A few weeks ago I started going at 9:00 and taking all three kids with me. I love it, and Anders even enjoys it again. Going to the gym is an essential part of my inner chi, so I'm really glad it's working out. Oy. No pun intended.

Thought 2: I've never been a banana lover. I ate a banana this morning against my better judgement. I was thinking of the good qualities of bananas. Then I got a horrible stomach ache and ralphed. My stomach feels much better. I don't like bananas.

Thought 3: I'm very disappointed in this season of Heroes. Why did they turn Mohinder into a scabby spiderweb slinging yucko? Why is Sylar suddenly good? Why does the storyline make no sense?

Thought 4: It's dark at 5:45 these days and I don't like it one bit. What do you do to keep your kids entertained during the fall/winter months? Also, what do you do when your kids tattle? That's the latest thing at our house.

Thought 5: This weekend I was reminded of the days when Anders was 2 and Addie was a baby and the days seemed endless. There weren't many places to go or things to do and I went stir crazy. I enjoy the baby phase, but I'm liking life with them being a little older. I like watching them as they learn and become who they're meant to be. I love that Aani has them to look up to and grow up with. I like that they can get their own waffles in the morning.

Thought 6: I have a mental goal to make it to 100 posts for this year. Considering that I'm at about 70, that's a stretch. Also considering the content of this post, I don't know what in the world I'd write about. Beware the coming weeks.

It Ain't Crappy No Mo!

My wonderful mother-in-law spent the last few nights at our house while here in town. Sunday night she announced to me that she wanted to take me shopping for new silverware because our current silverware was, and I quote, "crappy".

Sometimes when my tongue touched the end of the fork prongs I tasted metal. Sometimes when the fork grazed a filling, it felt like I was chewing on foil. You may shudder now. Lots of spoons and forks have been lost over the years. There was once or twice that I wondered at what point we would replace our eating utensils, but you know... not a priority.

The old

and the new

Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday to me! It's so lovely. In fact, it's so lovely that it looks a little out of place with our plastic Tupperware and IKEA plates, bowls, cups, etc. I look forward to the day that we can break out the nice dishes and eat like civilized people. That should be in the year 2015-ish. But we'll probably need new silverware by then.

I Voted!

My fellow Americans, let it be known from sea to shining sea that I voted today. Nils and I are registered to vote at our old address in a different city, and I didn't know how I could work around that little technicality. I had a couple of people today ask me if I was voting, and I explained my pathetic excuse to them. Then I remembered that it's a privilege to vote. Then I started feeling like a bad, ungrateful American. Then I called the County Clerk's office and they told me I could vote in my precinct, just on a provisional ballot instead of an electronic one. It's pretty rockin' that there's a way to vote even when you haven't gotten your voter registration act together and updated your information. I tend to get all teary-eyed at random, inappropriate moments, like during commercials for scented candles or whatnot. So it really shouldn't have surprised me that I got a tad choked up seeing the line of people doing their civic duty and voting for the future of our country and community. Then I pulled it together and managed to fill in the circles completely with dark colored ink. I hope I filled in the right circles.

Shmallosmween

Costume Drama:

UPS usually comes around 5:30, so at 6:00 on Thursday when the costumes still hadn't arrived, I took Anders to buy one. Yesterday, 30 minutes before school started, the mail came, and with it the costumes. Grrr. I thought they were coming UPS because another item in the same order as the costumes came UPS a few days ago. So whatever. Our kids hauled in the costumes this year. I am a little perplexed by this holiday. I mean, it's fun and all, but I was having major stress. If Anders hadn't had a costume for school....forget about it. He would have been a puddle on the floor. At any rate, we valiantly trudged through the rain to trick-or-treat, and it was fun. We live in a great neighborhood and it makes me happy.

I took the queue from my friend Emmy, who last year posted on her blog that she let her kids eat all their candy in one day. Thus, our kids fell asleep with Skittle juice dripping down their faces last night, and I'm pretty sure they had candy for breakfast this morning. Why drag it out?

Thursday was the most beautiful day of the year. We ate dinner on the porch while Nils and Anders carved their pumpkins. The ladies in the family observed. I'm not a fan of pumpkin guts.

Nils' work had a pumpkin carving contest, and this is his entry. He was very disappointed that he didn't even place. What the heck? This thing is awesome!

This is the costume that came Halloween morning. The one we bought Thursday night was a black Spiderman. The Power Ranger won out because it has muscles.

So, she was devastated because a few minutes before I had tried to do her hair. I thought maybe since she was dressed as a princess, she'd like princess-like hair instead of bed-head. The bed-head won. She chippered up once people started putting candy in her bag. Goodbye, Halloween. And kids, please don't grow this year. I don't want to buy anymore costumes- ever.