Eureka!

Quick, think of a stereotypical pregnant woman food craving.

Did you think of pickles? I did. (Pickles and ice cream, to be exact. Though I've never craved them together, I have craved them individually.)

Now, onto a seemingly irrelevant subject: "Can Pickle Juice Stop Muscle Cramps?" A study done at my very own BYU has found evidence that, yes, plain old pickle juice may relieve muscle cramps. (Why? They don't yet know.)

How this is relevant: In case I was too busy to remember, my body is reminding me that I am in the last trimester of pregnancy. (8 weeks to go, give or take.) (Take, definitely take.) I'll spare you most of the unpleasant details, but one symptom has been disturbing my already uncomfortable nights: leg cramps and restless leg syndrome. The last three nights have been particularly bad.

And I have been craving pickles lately.

Coincidence? Pshaw! It must be because my body knows it needs the pickle juice to help my legs settle down at night! A craving vindicated!

Isn't science grand?

Now, if I could only find a study about pregnancy-related heartburn being countered by P.F.Chang's spicy honey shrimp, or even breadtwists and alfredo sauce from Pizza Factory...

Technophobia

So, for the last two days I've shed my stay-at-home-mom persona and become a Working Momma. It has been extremely fun, but I really like my regular job a whole lot.

For the last four or five years, Bradley has taught a BYU summer continuing education class for K-12 teachers called "Technophobia to Technoaerobia". The two day class covers basics in MS Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, and is specifically marketed for those who are less comfortable with their computer skills. (I sound like a commercial.)

For the last three years I've gotten to be his assistant. This usually requires some fancy footwork, to make sure we have childcare for the two days, but it is worth it--we have a lovely time working together, I get to interact with adults, and we earn a bit of extra money (even counting the childcare expenses). My darling sister Telima watched all four kids (along with her three) for most of the time, and my good friend Lindsay took up the extra two hours we needed that Telima couldn't give.

So, instead of my usual lazy morning routine, for the past two days it has been:

Wake up 90 minutes before I have to leave. Get showered, dressed (in something a little fancier than the T-shirt and maternity capris that I usually live in), actually do something reasonable with my hair, put on jewelry (a true rarity in my life), eat breakfast.

Get all four children up, changed, dressed, lotioned, shod (that sounds like they are horses, when in reality, they are more often being puppies), fed, and settled with Aunt Telima. Pack a bag with snacks, find my purse, find my keys (Hebs loves my keys, much to my dismay), and run out the door, accompanied by the wails of my distraught 19-month-old.

Fight traffic up to Provo (seriously, UDOT, which genius thought it was a good idea to have major construction on the I-15 corridor AND the only other north-south road (US-89)? I mean, REALLY?), find parking, and hurry to the classroom.

I had a marvelous time. It was pure bliss to spend two full days working with my husband, and I adore teaching. But I will fully admit that I missed my munchkins. We have such fun together here. My poor Zee has an upset stomach, and he needs his momma.

(Not to mention my feet are killing me. I am not used to standing so much!)

We'll be teaching another class (this time on New Media in the Classroom: Podcasts, Wikis, and Blogs) next week. I can't wait!

MTFBWY

LaDale's eighth birthday
Samuel, LaDale, Keryn, and Daddy's arms

When my sister LaDale was a senior in high school, I was a freshman at the same school. We would pass each other in the hallways, we had the same government teacher (she for government, me for world history), and we had the same lunch period. (There were three different lunch periods; our sister Jenafer (10th grade) had a different one.)

Many older sisters--especially cool seniors--would not choose to hang out with their freshman little sisters, but LaDale was different. We would pass notes to each other in the hallways, or though mutual friends. (These were always thought-provoking notes like "Hi!" or "Have a great day!" or the mysterious "MTFBWY".) She once left a note for me on the government teacher's chalkboard. We usually ate lunch together over at the seminary building across the street from the school.

All of my siblings were (and are still) pretty close, but I grew to be especially good friends with LaDale that last year she was home. I missed her fiercely when she went to college. She left on her mission the summer after I graduated, and it wasn't until my junior year in college that she and I were once again at the same school. We even roomed together our last year at BYU, and had an absolutely hilarious and marvelous time.

She lives in faraway Colorado now (okay, it's not that faraway), but we still manage to talk for hours and hours on the phone, and she is going to be spending some time with us this summer (yay family reunions!). I can hardly wait.

Happy birthday, LaDale! MTFBWY.

Free Fishing Day

Today was Free Fishing Day in Utah, and so we met one of Bradley's friends at Salem Pond for our inaugural fishing expedition. Last week we bought a $12 fishing pole at Wal-Mart, and some lead jigs (?), the hooks of which Bradley then clipped off. (One six-year-old, one five-year-old, one three-year-old = absolutely NO HOOKS.)

Zee was in (pseudo) fishing heaven. He had SO much fun casting the weight into the water and reeling it back in. Em took a few turns, but had much more fun shadowing Bradley's friend Bob. Gee hung out at the water's edge for a while, and then hung out with me on the blanket. And Hebs was determined to fall into the pond, but between Daddy and Momma, we managed to thwart his nefarious plans.

Each of the three biggest kids "caught" a fish, little bluegills, with Bob's "help". (He hooked the fish, the kids reeled them in.) Once a picture was taken, the little fishes were thrown back into the pond. (What? I wasn't going to clean them. Although Bob told me bluegills are pretty good eating.)

Although the morning sun was pretty bright, there was a breeze and plenty of shade. It was fun and beautiful little expedition to start our Saturday. Zee already has made plans to go fishing several more times this summer (during the Ross Family reunion there will be a few chances), and this time with a REAL hook. Or so he thinks.

We'll see.

Overheard this week

Two days ago, I told Gee "no". (The reason? He wanted more M&Ms.) After asking me repeatedly, I said, "Gee, don't ask me again. The answer is NO."

He screwed up his three-year-old face into the meanest expression he could summon and said, threateningly, "Do you need a SWAT, Momma?"

It wasn't the reaction he was hoping for, but I laughed until I cried. Oh, the power differential between momma and preschooler.

(Yes, my (little) kids get swats on their bums sometimes. Mostly for doing things that are very dangerous--touching the stove, going into the street, trying to balance on something precarious and refusing to get down...Zee has grown out of swatting age, and Em is practically there as well.)
_______________________

Zee was telling me that the apples I'd bought (Braeburns instead of Red Delicious) were not quite to his liking.

"These apples are SO SOUR, Momma, that they have enough sour in them to make the WHOLE WORLD sour. I'm telling you, BOTH your eyes close when they are this sour, not just one."
_______________________

Em is so proud of herself. She read the entire "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom" ABC book to herself this morning.

"Were you SO surprised when I could read it all by myself, Momma?"
"I sure was, Em. You are growing up so fast, and getting so smart!"
"Were you SHOCKED that I could do it?"
"Yup."
"Were you so shocked you FELL OVER?"
"Ummm...not quite."
_____________________

Yesterday, while sitting at the dinner table, Em and Zee were singing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" while waiting for Daddy to prepared their baked potatoes for them. For whatever reason, they lost interest at the start of the third line.

Zee and Em: "...how I wonder what you are..."

Silence for half a beat. Then a little tiny voice piped up.

"Uuuuup ubub de erd oo hiiii"

It was Hebs. He had the sounds, the tune, and the rhythm almost exactly spot-on. Bradley and I almost popped with joy.

We laughed and cheered. He was so proud of himself. Later, we sang "Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam", and he sang the "BEAM" part as well, so excited to be part of the group.

Simple Pleasures of Summertime

We decided to take advantage of the gorgeous weather (high 70s today, wow!) and go to the park. Instead of going to "our" park (far, far too crowded), we went to Gee's school and played at the kindergarten/preschool park. It is enclosed with a fence, has a lovely bench for the teachers/mommas to sit on, and is usually pretty empty!

Gee was so excited: "My school park! My school park!" Zee and Em were thrilled to be outside and playing. Hebs had a ball just wandering around--and then he discovered the little slides. Even more fun! And Momma was thrilled because the clouds came and covered up the sun, along with a beautiful breeze.

After playing for more than an hour, we came home and guzzled gallons of water. (Note for next time: bring drinks!)

This video is of Gee and Hebs playing together. They are such good friends!

Gee's last day of school

I just realized I wrote all about Zee's last day of school, but I didn't even mention Gee's last day. Of course, Zee had kindergarten graduation and a program and a party. (Not to mention that I have always felt more engaged in Zee's school. Actually knowing what is going on does wonders for engagement, I've found.)

To be fair, Gee did have a last-day-of-school party (which apparently needed no announcement or help from parents). They had pizza and watched a movie. (This is according to Gee's bus driver.) Amazingly enough, when I asked Gee the traditional "What did you do at school today?" instead of saying "Good!", he actually answered.

"I eat pizza, in my tummy!"

Delighted, I pressed on. "What movie did you watch?"

He put a thoughtful look on his face. "I watch...Snow. Snow White is good!"

Wow. The last day of school, and I finally know what is going on! He has grown a lot.

It has been hard to be completely fair about Gee's preschool experience. I was ambivalent about it from the start, if only because he's MAH BAHBEE and just three and you want him to ride a bus? The lack of current information, no teacher conferences, the mothers-not-unwelcome-but-we-really-don't-need-you feeling...it wasn't the best experience for Gee's parents, at least. And I'm not 100% sold on the idea that he needs weekly physical therapy, especially since I don't even know what they worked on most of the time.

But I have absolutely no ambivalence in regards to his bus experience. If I could give a medal and an all-expenses-paid trip to the Bahamas each to his bus driver (Randy) and his bus tech (Elaine), I totally would. (Since I haven't robbed any banks lately, a heartfelt card and little gift certificate had to do.) They were the absolute best. Gee loved the bus more than anything, and I never worried when he was with them.

Gee still has two full years before he goes to kindergarten. I don't know what we'll do about preschool next year. Maybe Randy and Elaine will just pick him and take him on a bus ride twice a week, instead of going to school...