An Open Saturday

This is the first Saturday that we haven't had Soccer or Swimming. Carl and I slept in which isn't always a good thing. More than six hours of sleep and I wake up feeling like I've been ran over by a truck.

Taking Crew to the games isn't his favorite thing in the world. He doesn't want to sit in one place and so we walk him up and down the sidelines throughout the game. A couple weeks ago I was walking him and someone nailed me in the back with a baseball. Hmff... I thought we were playing soccer.

H did quite well this season and had a lot of fun.

I just love how he takes it upon himself to pose for pictures while his teammates are out there playing. Funny kid.



S finished his swim class. I was impressed with his progress. Now I'm trying to decide when to squeeze in more lessons over the summer.

The Heel will Heal

We just found out today that S has Achilles Tendinitis also known as Sever's Disease. This is a boy that lives for sports and is in the middle of Baseball season. Treatment involves resting from anything active, ice, ibuprofen and stretching exercises. He is devastated!

However, if we take it easy and treat him well the recovery could be as short as two weeks. He's been looking forward to the 5th grade vs. faculty softball game next Tuesday. I really want to let him play as it seems to flare up mostly after his runs (5K and Triathlon). What to do?

So now it's time to change the Memorial Day Weekend plans. Our family was gearing up for a hike. Any suggestions?

When it Rains... it Pours!

Today it is raining.... both literally and figuratively.

Crew started getting congested over the weekend and by Sunday night he was miserable. Monday was a scheduled Audiology visit and we weren't able to get new earmolds made because his ears are infected. Tuesday, I made another trip to Logan to see the ENT. Yeah for antibiotics! Little Crew has been pretty lethargic and eating is a battle but today he's a tiny bit better than yesterday.

Today, we had our routine visit at the Childrens Hospital with Dr. Rehab. They took us back to our little room where we waited for an hour and a half. Crew was totally ticked at that point. He was screaming and biting his self. I went back up front and asked if they had forgotten us. The staff was waiting for the Dr. and offered everything (new toy, blanket, DVD player) to help us pass the time. Finally, the PA came in to get started and explained that Dr. Rehab was downstairs with the "inpatients". I thought it odd that she would spend so much time down there when she had patients upstairs waiting. Well.... we did finally see the Dr. and she apologized. Apparently, there was a child with a brain tumor that she was attending to. My heart goes out today to those who received such an awful diagnosis.... to the child and their family.

We scheduled Botox for July and another hip x-ray.

A couple months ago I signed my aunt on as a Respite worker for Crew. She has been great and the boys love her. Also, it has been fun getting to know her better. My Uncle Del, her husband, had Heart Surgery yesterday... a SIX BYPASS. I've never even heard of SIX before. I really hope he recovers well.

Oh, and Friday we have Ophthalmology.... Please let us be done with the eye drops already!

This Melts My Heart

This is the cover to a memory book that came home from Preschool with Crew. The book was all wrapped and decorated by Crew himself. I sat it on the shelf and waited for Mothers Day to open it. How surprised I was to find this work of art.... it's definitely a keeper.

Oh, the Places You Will Go...

by Dr. Seuss
Congratulations
Today is your day.
You're off to Great Places!
You're off and away!

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes
You can steer yourself any direction you choose.
You're on your own....

We visited Grandma and Grandpa at their farm yesterday. Crew is going to love summer this year. I followed him around the farm pretty much walking and wandering and meandering. He was loving every minute of it and I thought of the Dr. Seuss book, "Oh, the Places You Will Go". We don't own it... maybe we should.
Today, we started our second week of baseball. I love baseball! Unfortunately, I was all tied up in knots over it last week when I came to the realization that the teams were clearly stacked. Things are getting evened out a bit and I think S is having fun! Really, I hope they win a few 'cause I'm not sure I can stand another season of solid losses.

We live in a gorgeous part of the country- don't we!

MOTHERHOOD

Honestly, Mothers Day has never been a favorite of mine. I've noticed this year, from reading various blogs, that I am not alone. Typically, we mothers go to church where we hear well scripted talks on the "IDEAL mother" and are left feeling inadequate in one way or another. Last night when talking to my husband, I declared that maybe I would make it a tradition NOT to attend church on mothers day. We laughed about it because we both know that it would never happen.

Much to my surprise, our Sacrament Meeting talks were not focused on THE MOTHER and at the end of the meeting the Bishop got up and explained that he had been instructed to be careful in choosing speakers. In a round about way, I got the impression that he decided NO talks on mothers is better than leaving someone hurt in some way.

One of my favorite blogs, How Can I Keep From Singing, shares her thoughts on losing a child and how "this" day can sometimes only bring pain. Since moving here I've become good friends with three individuals. One who lost her 6-year old daughter, one who lost her mother, and one who's mother is in a mental hospital. I mourn for them... I really do. Yet, with all their pain I know that they do find great joy in their individual journeys as Mothers... as do I.

Being a mom has always been top on my dream list and my most satisfying and rewarding role in life. Motherhood is hard but equally fulfilling- for me. I loved BlackEyedSue's perspective on having children in the home so I stole her idea for today.

Children live here....

FOR WHICH I AM GRATEFUL!

Little Sis is a Graduate!

D is the youngest of my six siblings and she graduated with her Bachelors degree this last Saturday. Yippee... all seven of us have completed college!

There was no way I was going to drag my 3 boys to the actual graduation but we did manage to attend the family picnic:) LOL.

Dallin- my cute nephew who doesn't know his Aunt Mel very well... but hey, he's warming up!

D and our Daddio.

S and my hawt sister-in-law, K!

Oh, and I just had to take a picture of my 6'6" little brother pushing Crew in his wheelchair so I can have a break. I love my brother!

And last but not least... good lookin' H with some cake on his face.

RUNNING 4 THE KIDS

Saturday was a busy day... we started off bright and early with the Primary Childrens Medical Center benefit run.

All three of us got a PR. H ran the mile (7:30) and S and I ran the 5K (25:58 and 26:40).

S and I ran together for about the first half of the race and then he pulled away from me. I followed about a block behind for the rest of the way.

It was fun... really really fun. We will be running more races this summer. For whatever reason, Carl is going to start training for the 4th of July 5K. Maybe he's getting the running bug too:)

P.S. the picture is horrible... one can never find any shade at these events:)

Eleven

S is my May baby. We celebrated his Eleventh Birthday last week!

The family enjoyed dinner at Wingers and we surprised S with his very own Shuffle... which I will probably steal a time or two. LOL.














S took his friends to the driving range. Some of the boys hadn't ever been before but I was impressed with how quickly they caught on. After that they played basketball and ate cupcakes. Ten and Eleven year old boys are easy to please:)

2nd Bloggiversary

It's been two years and 300 posts since I started this blog. Thanks for sticking with me through all of this. I've enjoyed getting to know so many great bloggers worldwide. You have uplifted and inspired me in ways you will never know.

I'm going through a really hard time right now and it feels like I have the weight of the world on my shoulders. Leave me a comment... if you will:)