I really do like to capture the random, everyday moments. I think those will be the most fun to remember years from now, because it's the seemingly mundane moments that really make up the fabric of our lives. (Are you thinking of that 100% cotton commercial right now?)
Friday night games: Rumis and Bananagrams, played by me and the three younger children. Sort of. As much as you can do games like that with a 9, 6, and 3-year-old.
The brainiacs in the room (Kate and Brandon) watched two different National Geographic programs--one on the Vatican and one on how the human race originated in Africa. Did you know that the Pope's personal guards have to be from Sweden and at least 5'8"? (Speaking of the Pope, I'll tell you the worst Mormon/Catholic joke you'll never hear. This is for all my dear, dear Catholic friends - you know who you are. A cardinal says to the Pope, "Holy Father, I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is . . . God is on the phone. The bad news is . . . he's calling from Salt Lake City." Don't say I didn't warn you!)
Back to our boring weekend.
After the brainiac movies ended, the nincompoop parent made everyone watch Jack Black on Yo Gabba Gabba. Seriously, it makes me cry I laugh so hard! (Yes, I have deliberately watched it more than once, for that sole purpose.) And it turns out the co-creator/director is Christian Jacobs, who just happened to be a missionary in Sendai, Japan with Brandon and I back in '93-'94. Not only that, but my sister-in-law Laura used to nanny for the cat, so you can see why I might feel such a special connection to that show. The episode is pure genius - truly, Jack Black at his finest.
Saturday morning Brandon went to the temple while I took the kids to piano, minus Will who was starting to get sick. We pretty much stayed home for the rest of the day while I babied Will and worked on that darn book chapter--heaven help me if I ever get that thing finished! Brandon--bless his heart--took the girls to the grocery store. (He likes to do that so he can come home with contraband items like Mother's Circus Animal cookies.)
After getting the kids settled, Brandon and I went to (surprise!) a new (to us) Japanese restaurant called Shoga and a really, really good frozen treat place called Farr's Fresh. In between the two, Brandon got to play therapist for the one hundred millionth time as I laid out all my emotional struggles of finding balance in motherhood, and other equally engrossing stuff. (I jest. About it being engrossing. At least to him. He feigns interest pretty well, though. He really is a good husband for that kind of thing.)
Sunday morning Will woke up with really, really bad croup. All of our kids are very susceptible to croup, but none of them have asthma--it's kind of weird. I stayed home from church with Will and did more babying. At his request, I read The Lightening Thief out loud to him while we snuggled up in the chair together under a blanket. (I think it's so cute how my older kids want me to read their favorite books so we can enjoy them together.) By the time Brandon got home with the girls, I was getting a "little" nervous because he was having a really hard time breathing.
I like to think that in the next life we're going to find out all the why's behind the human connections we made in this one, and when we do, I'm sure I'll find out that one of the reasons I married someone who eventually became a doctor was because I would have otherwise died early from an anxiety attack or nervous break down (if that's even physically possible) when my children showed any sign of uncontrollable physical distress. (Uncontrollable meaning I can't stop the physical distress with Advil/Motrin/Benadryl/Snoopy Band-Aids.)
In the end, after someone's insistence, Brandon called an ER doc at the hospital who advised him to get some oral steroids before nighttime when the croup would surely get worse. And that, my friends, is when having a doctor husband is even better than a girls night out at a chocolate cafe: accessing the omnipotent power of self-prescribed drugs on a weekend!
Thank goodness for modern medicine, my husband, and Walgreens, because my boy went to sleep breathing easy!
So there's our exciting (or did I say boring?) weekend . . .
And these are some cute leftover pics from November/December:
First grade singing time, with special guest Rachael Reynolds.
Another grocery adventure.
The little girls are really into "horsey rides" up to bed. (Nice shot of Brandon, don't you think?)
Drawing lines.
The next three pics were taken by Elizabeth and Will.
This is just an iphone pic, but I still love it. Kate looking pretty, and way too grown up!
I love the everyday memories the very most. Most of my blog posts and personal journal entries are about the day to day stuff far more than holidays, events and special occasions. You've captured some great photos/random stuff. I love it!
ReplyDeleteP.S. We LOVE Bananagrams at our house too. (Well most of us do...not necessarily the 'i hate spelling tests child'.)
The Vatican guards are, in fact, Swiss and not Swedes. True story, though: the pope did consider hiring Swedish guards, but ultimately decided against it because they have too many vowels in their names. Still, I am told that the Holy Father does remain fond of the Swedish Chef character on "The Muppet Show."
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