Children, Obey Your Parents

Silver Blades - Opening Night

Here are some videos I took tonight at opening night. I made them smaller so I could record more. In some it is tricky enough to keep up with Callie so it is also tricky to find her on a couple of the videos. Enjoy!

Some video of Ice Show Rehearsal

I did not have a lot of memory on my digital camera but did get a little video from the rehearsal today.

Ice Show Preparation

Callie had ice show rehearsal today. We also had to pick up her costume. Her costume has me wondering where my refund is for the missing material. We were warned this weekend that she would need a strapless bra for her costume. That was our first clue. Shhh, don't say "Bra!" That must be one of the most embarrassing words for an early teen to say or hear out loud.

We also knew we needed to buy tights which means no pants. Her costumes have never had pants. Few of them do so this was no surprise. This year she will not even have boot covers.
Ice skating tights are heavy duty. $16.00 worth of heavy tights. In the days when I wore hose to work, if I would have worn $16.00 pair of tights instead, I might have only needed one pair for my entire career.

Her costume is a "dress" and a scrunchie for her hair. That's it. I was carrying it across my arm and kept checking to make sure it was still there. It is so light that it would have been easy for it to slip away unbeknownst to me. The good news is that it does have a neck strap to keep it on. That will be helpful. This just happens to be the skimpiest costume she's worn. She's usually had at least some wings or some gloves or a hat or some additional accessory, not to mention sleeves. Okay, maybe it's not as bad as it seemed on the hanger. I'll try to have a more positive outlook. I'll post pics when I have some.

Good News and Bad News

This was an eventful day. It started at roughly 5:39 am with the house and the beds shaking most of us awake during the 5.2 earthquake we felt this morning. I remember the last time we had an earthquake... it was in 1987 and I missed it because I was in the car driving to or from class. The anchors on the news kept reminding us that it is normal for us to have earthquakes because we are close to the Madrid fault. Once in 21 years is a little less than what I would call normal. But that's just me.

Sean and Jeff went on a field trip with preschool to a wildlife refuge. They hiked and had a great time looking at nature through the binoculars.

Immediately following the field trip, I took Sean to the allergy/asthma specialist for his first appointment. He did pretty well with it all except for the skin test but the nurse was wonderful and was quick with it so it was over in a couple of minutes. Except for the itching. I wanted to scratch his back for him, poor little guy.

The good news was that Shadow and Sam can stay in the family. Sean is not allergic to cats or dogs, or at least not yet.

The bad news is that what he is allergic to isn't as easy to get rid of. Trees, grass and most of all - DUST MITES! "Even the cleanest homes have dust mites." said the nurse. Oh well, so then a not-the-cleanest home (such as ours) could have a few armies of them, perhaps? So I'm thinking. Well, after some hot water wash cycles and the new mattress vacuuming tool, we should have at least a few less dust mites to contend with. But, I'm not sure just how quickly they reproduce. More cleaning to resume tomorrow. Time to fling the stuffed animals.

Quick Status

The story on what was wrong with Sierra from yesterday's post is that she got a little haircut over the weekend. Evidently, since they couldn't play outside over the weekend, Sean and Sierra decided to play barber and Sean took a little chunk from her hair. Neither said anything to me about it and we didn't know what had happened until Jeff discovered a lock of hair in the trash can. The thing most comforting in this experience is that he only made one cut and did not touch her long wavy hair in the back. It will grow back.. in a few months.

Sean went back to the doctor today. Dr. M added Singulair to his daily regimen and keeping him back on 3 or 4 breathing treatments a day. We also went for a couple of X-Rays... chest and sinus. The sinus xray was clear and the chest x-ray showed he has some kind of a virus going on which would explain why he's been coughing a lot today and rubbing his nose.

After the doctor appt. I took him to preschool. He walked in and proudly announced he was going to get an x-ray after school. Later at the imaging place, when the technician called us back, Sean was brave. He asked the tech if he could see the pictures when she was done. She told him they are on computer now. He paused a second... (I'm sure he was thinking, "so?") then asked her if he could see them on the computer. She started to explain to him that she has to protect others' privacy and then she said to herself "he's not going to understand that." and stopped talking. For the sinus x-ray, she put him with his face up against the screen or panel and had him balance with his hands. Then she told him to not move. While standing completely still, he asked her "What if I need to breathe?". She laughed and told him it was okay if he breathed.... she kept shaking her head and laughing as she went into the booth.

Notice anything wrong?

Notice anything wrong with Sierra?

Sean reading "Quick Quack Quick" to Ma.

More reading.

Cousin.

Silly Putty

A five-year old and silly putty do not mix very well. The first time Sean played with some silly putty, he tried to make a necklace out of it and got it in his hair. It was stretched thin enough to give it the same consistency of cobwebs.

Today he was playing with it so I reminded him... keep it out of your hair, don't get it on the carpet, you know, the things I could think of he might do with it.

So, tonight, just before bed, he brings me the pants he was wearing today and says, "There's something I need to tell you about the silly putty." He then apologized as I pulled his pocket inside out to reveal the silly putty woven in the cotton of the pocket. I didn't tell him not to put it in his pocket.

The good news is that thanks to the internet and Google, we have many answers to us that were unavailable just a few years ago. I searched and found that rubbing alcohol works well to take out silly putty stains. It does. I also found an interesting link about accidental inventions. Take a look just for fun. Accidental Inventions.

A New Use for Legos

Yesterday my three-year old walks into the room with a rattle in her step. She says, "I got Legos in my butt!" She had put Legos down her pajama pants. I'm glad she entertains herself so well.

How to Learn About Product Recalls

Do you feel frustrated about all the recalls of products that you hear about on the news? Well, the ones that make it to the news aren't the only products that are recalled. But, the good news is that the Consumer Product Safety Commission has a website where you can search for recalls on products. It also has email lists that you can sign up for so that you receive emails about recalled items. If you want to find out more or sign up for free emails, go to this link https://www.cpsc.gov/cpsclist.aspx.

We have learned of several recalls of items we have owned from these emails. These included recalls on a car seat, playyard, high chair, toys, etc. Some recalls are only for a part or for a warning about an item's use. These are the kind of recalls that are important but might not make it to the news on television.

It works for us! For more tips, go to Works For Me Wednesday at Rocks in My Dryer.

Busted!

Beautiful day today!

Last night Sierra woke up crying with a leg ache. The kids had played outside yesterday and did a lot of running.
Sometime today I was telling Jeff that I used to get leg aches at night (when I was a kid), especially on days when I rode my bike a lot. Sierra overheard me and she just laughed liked it was one of the most hilarious things she's heard and said, "Mommy, you don't even have a bike!" I guess she hasn't seen the one in the storage barn that I haven't ridden since I was pregnant with her. But maybe that doesn't really count.

Please pray for Ethan's family. Here is the latest update from his site. I would encourage you to go to www.ethanpowell.com and send an email and help encourage them. It bothers me that they may feel that it was their lack of faith that caused this. Their faith was tremendous.
April 5th- Day 424 DAY +96

4th Update 12:11 pm [Ben] - This is the update that I hoped never to type. At 11:37am, Ethan left this earth peacefully in our arms. I apologize for my lack of faith and letting you down. I ask that you stand strong in your faith and please continue to pray for "Ethan's friends". I thought alot about this over the last hour orso, and I have decided to keep updating for a short time. I am so angry at cancer and I plan to dedicate my life to fighting it. We need your help to do it. Please continue to check the site to find out the next step. I am speaking for myself when I say this... no child should have to die because of a lack of cure. And I plan to find that cure with your help! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE help me in this fight. I truly feel so lonely without him here, and I really need this to move forward. Please help me to beat this terrible illness.Although the devils wants to convince me and you otherwise, I still BeLIeVe... PRAYER WORKS!!! And I hope that you do to.

He Changed His Mind

Sean went back to the doctor this morning because he is still coughing. On the way there, he tells me that he doesn't want to be a firefighter anymore. This surprised me because it is the only career he has ever wanted to pursue. He used to worry about where he would get his firetruck or his helmet. I assured him more than once that those items would be provided at the fire station.
But I suppose it is okay for him to change his mind since he is only 5 years old.
So, I asked him why he didn't want to be a firefighter any more. He said, "Uh, Fires?!" (like Duh, Hello??) "Someone could get burned!"

Later, while waiting for the doctor in the exam room, I asked him what he thinks he wants to be when he grows up since it is not a firefighter. He didn't seem sure so I suggested he could become a doctor like cousin Chris or Dr. M. It doesn't hurt to plant a few seeds once in a while. He liked that idea so he proceeded to pretend to be both Dr. M and himself. He ran back and forth between the doctor's seat and the exam table. Our doctor carries a small laptop that he uses to view Sean's chart and input his results. From watching Sean pretend to use his own computer while "playing" doctor, I noticed that he thinks the doctor is searching the internet for how to treat his patients.

Trying not to laugh, I explained to Sean that Dr. M does not need to look on the internet for the answers, that he knows what to do. He just uses the computer to keep Sean's information.
I am thankful that Sean is so verbal. It has been a joy to learn how his young mind works.

About his cough, the doctor said Sean is drastically better than he was last week. (Last week we did not need a stethoscope to hear his wheezing). But, Dr. M still hears wheezing and tightness in his chest so we are stepping back to square one with breathing treatments and taking a slightly different path this time. Hopefully, we can get his asthma under control soon.

It has been a while since I have mentioned little Ethan Powell. While continuing to fight his leukemia, he has contracted some kind of a virus at a time when he has no immune system and is now in very critical condition on life support. It does not look good but God is powerful. Pray for healing and for peace for his parents. Click on the link to Ethan's website on the side of this page for regular updates.

Color Wonder by Crayola

If you have not seen the Crayola Color Wonder products, here is a description from the Crayola website:

Explore the wonder of color using Crayola® Color Wonder™. Color Wonder is a unique ink, developed by Crayola scientists, that appears only on special paper. The ink is clear on most surfaces, but each marker "magically" shows up a different color on Color Wonder paper.

We have a few of the Color Wonder coloring books with the markers. These markers and books have been one of the best things for keeping the kids happy at times when they have to sit and wait. However, I am beginning to think that maybe these wonder markers are not so great.

Sierra has been coloring with real markers this week. Evidently, it's been a while since she used the real markers because she seems to be fascinated with them. Yesterday, she colored half a beard on her face. Real attractive. She also colored yellow marker on bed sheets. Today, she gave her belly button a pink tattoo... inside and out.

At dinner this evening, I discovered a large spot on the wall that was colored with orange crayon. I immediately accused Sierra, but quickly realized that the marks were a bit tall for Sierra. Sean tried to help me rationalize that Sierra could reach up that high. I wasn't falling for that, since he had also colored crosses all over our white vinyl tablecloth earlier this week. You know, for Easter.

I can blame the tablecloth incident on our doctor's office. They give him crayons so he can color on the paper that they use to cover the exam table. He thinks our tablecloth looks like that paper.

Well, about the wall, he finally confessed that "Sierra told me to do it." Needless to say, we had a chat about not doing what someone else tells you to do, especially if you know better.

The good news is that I did not panic. "Why is that?", you may ask. Because of this wonderful invention... It works great on walls. But it does tend to take some paint off as well, so it is only a good solution so many times. Eventually, you will need to repaint.

With All Your Heart, Soul, Mind and Strength

Mark 12:30 (New International Version)

30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.

This is the greatest commandment.

Enjoy this video.

Imaginary Friend

Sierra has a new friend. Her name is Madeline. Suspecting that she had a little help with her imagination, I asked Sean whose idea this was. He said it was both of theirs. I have a feeling that this new friend looks kind of like this picture, that is if we could see her.

Sierra explained to me that Madeline is staying with us because her house had a fire. She also said that Madeline doesn't really have a mom and dad. I didn't ask her where Miss Clavel is these days.

Busy Weekend

We kept busy this past weekend. When you paint your walls Bungalow Gold (see here), the small light in the foyer just didn't cut it anymore. It only worked when the walls were white (see here). So, today, Jeff put up a new light in our foyer. Wow, does it give light. All eight bulbs. It also looks so nice that I now have my eye on replacing the light in the kitchen and the upstairs hallway. (After all, I've watched enough episodes of Designed to Sell on HGTV to know that a realtor would criticize those outdated light fixtures.)

Now that I have a new toy vacuum cleaner that actually vacuums really well, I decided to go for it and get out the steam cleaner and clean carpets. Our house doesn't seem very big when I am trying to find someplace to put something, but when it is time to clean, I think our house is way too big. So, needless to say, I only cleaned a fraction of all the carpet in our house. But it looks so much better where I did, that I might just keep going on that as time allows.

Sean has been coughing more since we dropped one of his breathing treatments so we might have to add one back in for a few days.

I Am So Smart!

Sierra and I were watching Cash Cab tonight. For those that do not know, it is my favorite game show because there are a lot of questions that I am actually able to answer (even if some are by guessing) and the show does not drag out forever like other game shows. I have absolutely no patience for shows like Deal or No Deal.

Anyway, there was a question about what was another name for stitch with such and such an origin. I answered suture as did the lady in the cab and when Ben said that was right, Sierra gave me a hug and told me she was so proud of me! I felt so smart.

I just heard that laughing can add years to your life. So, if you haven't laughed in a while, watch the following video. I'm sure you'll find it contagious.

Mean Green Vacuuming Machine

Our new vacuum arrived today. I spent much of the afternoon vacuuming and doing some spring cleaning. At the rate that I work, it will be mid-summer before I get my spring cleaning done. Better late than never.

Sean is doing well. This is really pretty much the same as when he has had other attacks such as when he had pneumonia. The breathing treatments are working great. I haven't even heard him cough today.

The kids played outside in the warm weather. That should help them sleep good tonight. Speaking of sleep, all of that vacuuming has wore me out.

Acute Asthma

I took Sean to the doctor today for his wheezing and because I thought he might have a sinus infection. The Dr. M does not think he has a sinus infection, but is treating him for acute asthma. He happened to be having a spell while we were there so he could hear the wheezing and see him breathe. He put us on 4 nebulizer treatments a day with albuterol and 2 of those will also have Pulmicort. Every 3 days we will take one treatment away until he is eventually down to just one of Pulmicort only for prevention and he wants us to do the maintenance for 3 months to see if we can prevent these attacks. If we cannot block them, then he wants us to consult with an allergy specialist to try to determine what his asthma triggers are.

We were at the doctor's office for an hour and a half. They were running behind. A lot of sick kids. As we were walking toward the door, Sean commented "Phew, I am glad to get that over with!" One of the doctors heard him and laughed. She said that was the comment of the day. She did not hear the comment I had heard earlier when we were in the restroom. During our wait, Sean said he had to go poop, so we left the exam room and went to the restroom. But Sean said he didn't have to go poop now. He said, "My bottom stopped thinking about having to go poop. It does that a lot." For me, that was the quote of the day. Too bad the doctor missed that one, eh? :)