Typo

I recently had to renew my driver's license. Technically I had until January but I needed to update my address on it and I had already done it once before (about 7.5 years ago) so there wasn't room to do it on the back and since I needed a new one and they said you can do it up to six months in advance, I thought I'd take them up on that and kill two birds with one stone because they fewer trips I have to make with M and H, the better. So the three of us went down to the DMV, filled out a form, stood in line then waited in some chairs and about 15 minutes later my number was called. I gave the man my old license so that he could do what he needed to do--he looked at my license, then looked at me and then looked at my form. He started to laugh and said that for the past 10 years I'd been bald. Bald? He said that a typo had occurred and that the last person who'd entered the info had put in BLD (bald) instead of BLN (blonde). So now I'm officially a blonde again. Not that I have anything against bald people because technically the DMV had me down as bald for the past 10 years. And it only cost me $25 to get my blonde hair (and a new license).

10 and counting

We still don't know a lot of girls to ask to babysit and since we had promised the girls to take them "camping" in the tent in the backyard on Friday and then we realized that it was our anniversary. We figured it was more important to keep our promise then it was to celebrate so we went camping and had fun with the kids. We cooked hamburgers on the grill and then roasted marshmallows on the coals afterwards. We watched the movie, Race to Witch Mountain and then had lemon-blueberry bundt cake for dessert. We were having a great time and were heading out to the tent when T tells us, "Thanks for the great anniversary!" You're welcome T and it was a pretty great anniversary. I even got flowers and despite H not wanting to sleep and then having an accident so Steve took him in around 4 and then the tent falling down on the girls and I at 6 at which point we took everything in and I decided that I had better take the tent completely down before it really started to rain and having the wind blow the tent away, it was a pretty fun time.

Reaction times

Moving into a new house necessitated new fire procedures so that all would know what to do; however the more we practiced different scenarios the more the girls cried and by the end of the night, E and T were hysterical and thought they'd die in the basement and be trapped if they couldn't make it upstairs and had to retreat back to the room and go out the window. M was crying and sobbing that she didn't want E and T to die. We have since added a ladder to help them climb out of the window well to help alleviate the fear that Steve wouldn't be there in time and when we added window well covers E and T once again thought they'd be trapped until I told them that they could push them off. It has been a struggle to get them to understand that we will not leave them down there and that it is Dad's responsibility to get them out while I get the two smaller ones upstairs. Each night their prayers include the desire that no fire should come to our home or to anybody else's home in the world and that tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes or burglars will not come either. T quite literally jumps if she hears the smoke alarm. Now I'm not the best cook and sometimes the smoke alarms go off when I'm baking and without fail, E and T will run up to the front door if they hear it and ask me what's wrong. They are prepared to leave the house if necessary with M and H right behind them. A few days after we practiced our initial fire drill the girls were taking showers. One of the smoke detectors downstairs is very sensitive to the steam emitted from the bathroom downstairs (we're working on that problem) and I hear one of them go off. I'm about to head downstairs to check everything out when E comes running up the stairs and right behind her is T fresh from the shower with soap still in her hair, dripping wet, and no towel. She had heard the alarm and knew she had to get out of the house. She was ready to run outside to our meeting spot before I stopped her and grabbed her a towel and told her and E to wait with M and H while I checked things out and then if need be we'd exit the house. Steve told me later that we need to talk to them again and I said we would but that wasn't it great to see such great reaction times from everyone.

It was almost like the time shortly after we moved in and I hear "Fire in the bathroom!" from E. I'm thinking, "Fire in the bathroom? Is it an electrical fire?" Then I hear again, "Fire!" I know that E is going to the bathroom and now there is a fire with her. I run downstairs as my first thought is get the girls and get out and I yell back questioning what I've heard, "Fire?" Again I hear, "Fire!" I'm now rounding the hallway and can see the bathroom but there is no smoke or smell of smoke. I keep running and when I get there, E shouts out, "It's in the tub! The SPIDER's in the tub!" Oh spider, not fire. Then I see Steve running with the fire extinguisher. He heard all the "fire" yelling and wanted to put out the fire. See his first thought was save the children and put out the fire where as mine was just save the children.

Just remember that you really shouldn't yell "spider" in the house because it can sound an awfully lot like "fire" when you're in the kitchen and to have an extra towel ready just in case someone needs it during the fire alarm.

Man tools

H is fascinated by tools--all tools and especially ones that anyone is using and most importantly if Steve is using them. The other day we were trying to fix the vacuum and got a screwdriver. A minute later, H leaves the vacuum and then comes out of the laundry room with his own screwdriver he'd found so that he can help. I didn't know H knew where I kept my set of tools but apparently he has been watching.

When we were setting up the girls' beds and H's crib, H was right there with Steve putting in all the hex screws with the hex wrenches. He figured that each hole needed something in it and set about putting a screw in each hole. Steve would do one side and H and I would do the other. H and I finished first on the last bed so H decided to crawl under the bed with Steve to help him. He just wanted to put the screws in :). He knew what needed to be done.

Bloody tooth

If we were English, that title would be exactly how T felt about her tooth on Monday. Not only was it the bane of her existence but it was in fact bloody as all teeth are when they are going to come out.

I was doing something upstairs when E and T come running from the basement with M in hot pursuit. E is yelling that T's tooth is bloody. My first thought is what were the three of you doing because T is crying uncontrollably. I look in T's mouth and blood is coming from one of her bottom teeth and E is saying that her tooth is loose. T has never told me that her tooth is loose so I'm wondering how it can be so loose right now and bloody. The answer came as I inspected her mouth more closely and saw that the permanent tooth was already pushed up through the skin behind the baby tooth. This also explains why T keeps complaining that there is something caught in her teeth--she's felt the other tooth and I now feel like a lame-o because my solution was for her to floss more. I should have looked. T is crying because she sees blood as she's wiggling her tooth (she is my daughter after all and I don't handle blood well either). I'm trying to calm her down and tell her that this amount of blood is normal for when you loose a tooth and that if she can wriggle it in all directions we can loosen the roots of the tooth and out her tooth with come. She asks me to help wiggle it. I push it to one side and you can hear a "pop" sound as the root loosens it's grasp. Meanwhile E is giving T pointers about the best way to wiggle her tooth so that it can come out quickly. This is coming from a girl who has lost two teeth when she has been brushing her teeth. M is sitting in awe at what is happening. I think the tooth is ready to come out. I know I'm ready for it as T is still somewhat crying. I try to pull but I can't get a good grip. I have her wiggle it some more and then decide to use a napkin to help pull the tooth out. I figured I couldn't have her scared when I pulled because I learned from E that if one is scared and I reach in with my fingers that soon the teeth come clamping down hard on aforementioned fingers. So with my lesson learned from E, I told T that I wanted my fingers and got her to laugh. I grabbed a hold of that tooth and I yanked (none of this counting to 3--makes them scared and my fingers get hurt). Out came her tooth and one big eyed T stared at this tiny tooth I was holding in the napkin.

She was so excited that she wrote a note to the tooth fairy saying that this was her very first tooth that she had lost on June 6, 2009. When I went to tuck T in, I asked where she put her tooth; she lifted up her pillow and there on the bed was her tiny, little tooth. I suggested we move her tooth up to the dresser where the tooth fairy wouldn't have to move T during the night searching for this itty, bitty tooth. T was concerned that the Tooth Fairy wouldn't find it but I convinced her that we needed to give the Tooth Fairy a fighting chance at finding it. T woke up on Tuesday morning a little richer and when she asked why the Tooth Fairy didn't take her tooth, I told her that the Tooth Fairy lets them keep their first tooth to show others. She liked that idea so don't be surprised if she shows you her very first loose tooth.

After T's tooth came out, M came and looked in my mouth and told me that my baby tooth looked good still and that she thought it looked rather big compared to T's tooth. Oh well. I figure that my baby tooth better stay in for as long as possible because I don't want to pay for a replacement.

Dead fish

Yesterday I took all the kids to a park. I thought it would be just another ordinary park day. The temperatures were bearable, kids from our old ward were going to be there so that the girls could see some of their friends and the park has water features for the kids to play in. What more could one ask for? I would simply say, "No dead fish." You see about 10 minutes after we got to the park E, T, and M all headed over to the "river" where the water comes from a stocked pond and emerges about 100 yards away in a cement stream bed. Kids love playing in algae infested water. Did I mention that there is perfectly clean water spouting up about 100 feet away from this fake river?

Well E comes running over to me (as H was the only smart one and wanted to play in the clean water) and shows me her dead fish. Yeah, it was dead. Not flopping, not moving, nadda. Well after a while I decide to take H over to where the girls are playing and see what they are doing. When I get over there, M is wet up to her waist and she is holding a dead fish in her hand, holding it exactly like she holds a treasure. I asked M what she had and T quite excitedly exclaims, "She found a dead fish! Wanna see mine?" No I don't want to see yours and I would appreciate it very much if you would throw them away in that garbage can. Yet this is what came out, "Do we really have to find the dead fish and hold them? Let's leave them alone." M tells me, "Dook (look) mom. It dyed." Yes, all the fishes that the children were finding were dead. One of the mothers I was with asked if we should worry if all the fish were dead and that if one of the children got sick we could probably count on all of them getting sick seeming as all the children were hunting for these two inch dead fish.

Now to make it even more memorable here is what I see:
Girl running and screaming hysterically followed closely by E and her friend H. In E's hand is a dead fish. Girl keeps running and screaming and E is laughing saying, "It's just a dead fish!"
I know that this girl has taunted E and H for the past year and is always saying that she's the princess and they are the slaves and blah blah blah. It is funny in that E and H are finally getting the upper hand but at the same time I know that I should step in especially when I see E getting ready to throw the fish at the Girl. I told E that it wasn't nice to throw dead fishes at others and that they really need to stop chasing the Girl and that perhaps they should really go wash their hands. E agrees to throw the fish away and to go wash her hands of the fish smell, but not before looking one more time at the fish and the Girl.

So all in all it was another great but not so ordinary day at the park.

The end of the beginning

This afternoon I will make my last trip to the old elementary school to pick up E. We've been in that neighborhood for 7 and a half years. My girls have literally grown up there. We said our goodbyes to the crossing guards this morning as they have helped us cross safely for the past 3 years. Today, they have one more time to help my daughter cross the streets safely. They amaze me with their dedication to crossing the children safely in all kinds of weather. I have seen them day in and day out brave the cold snow, blizzard winds, the pelting rain, or the hot sun. Today we once again gave them a small token of thanks for all that they do because how can you ever truly express your gratitude to someone who has helped to keep your child safe.

I've said goodbye to teachers who have taught my daughters the joy of learning and wish that the younger ones could have been taught by them and hope that new teachers will pick up where these outstanding teachers have left off.

The trips past the old house will become fewer and fewer. Already when I drive by I see my flowers blooming and hope that the new owners enjoy them as much as I did.

Yet as much I will miss all the familiar places and people there is much to look forward to in our new area. The next stage is just beginning and I for one am excited to see what it will hold.