Kiddie Crafts

My kids make me laugh.

They refuse to play with any of their "expensive," store-bought toys.

Instead, they raid my pantry.  These little scavengers of mine play with anything they can get their hands on: straws, plastic cutlery, and in this case- paper bowls.  As you can see, they've personalized their own turn-of-the-century bowler hats. 

Lessons Learned

Ava is my second child.  She catches onto things very quickly and easily.  For instance, last summer at age 3 she had Jess remove her training wheels from her bike.  Ever since then, she has been riding a two wheeler with ease.  The same is true with swimming lessons.  She has inched her way up to Simon's skill level.  This little girl knows no fear. 

Ava practicing her backfloat.

Simon, on the other hand, is much more timid and fearful when it comes to trying new things.  This could be my fault.  Because he is my first, everything that he tries is new for me too.  I am a very cautious person, and that has probably rubbed off on him.  I'm new to the world of 6 year olds.  I need to let Simon move at his own pace.  I feel like I am the one who is holding him back.  Whereas with Ava, there are no limits. 

Simon and Ava in the water.

With all that being said, Simon and Ava are doing wonderfully - both in the swimming world and outside of it. 

Quietly Coloring

Every Mom can appreciate a quiet evening of coloring.

Race to Robie Creek

Can you spot Jess?  Hint: He is near the front.

This past Saturday Jess, along with 2,400 runners, competed in the Robie Creek Half Marathon.  Jess was the 280th runner to cross the finish line at 1 hour 57 minutes making it into the top 12%.  Race to Robie Creek is different than most half marathons in that there is a 2,100 ft.climb in 8.4 miles to the top of a mountain.  This race has been dubbed "the toughest half marathon in the Northwest." 

Having run in a handful of races, Jess always reports back to me on food and goods that are given to the runners at these competitions.  At the 8 mile marker of this particular race, there was a "Temptation Station" set up with cookies, brownies, cheesecakes, cigars, and alcohol for the beleaguered runners.  More food tents awaited the runners at the finish line with pasta, breadsticks, and stuffed potatoes.

Our favorite race (as a family) has been the Pocatello marathon.  Not only did Jess receive running equipment, but there was cotton candy, Great Harvest bread, Texas Roadhouse meals, ice cream novelties, and gatorade galore served at the finish line.  Music blared over loud speakers, and the kids enjoyed playing in the bounce houses.  It was like being at a carnival but for free!  Well, almost for free.  There is the actual fee to run in the race. :)

Strains of the Stomach Flu

This past week has been horrid with a capital “H.” Let me begin my “adventures in hell” by backtracking a week ago when I (very heavy with child) had the crazy idea of taking my children to the YMCA indoor aquatics center. The kids loved it, and I would have loved it more if Brahm wasn’t so darned confident in the pool. He observes my oldest two in swimming lessons and thinks that he can jump into 3 ft. deep water and perform back floats. It’s hilarious, but while I was trying to keep an eye on Ava and Simon, Brahm was sneaking his way into deeper water. He’s such a stinker! At one point during our playtime in the water, the lifeguards shouted and motioned for everyone to evacuate the pool and shower off immediately. I wasn’t sure what happened, but I later was told that a child had vomited in the water. The pool was “shocked” and left alone for 30 minutes. We spent the rest of the afternoon wading in the shallow water of the kiddie zone and eventually made our way back to the shocked pool.

The following day, I woke up to the sound of Simon throwing up in the bathroom. I didn’t associate it at all with the prior day’s vomitous pool fiasco. Simon seemed just fine with the exception of diarrhea. When Jess caught the stomach flu, I began to put two and two together. Brahm was the next victim. I don’t know what was worse- Brahm vomiting every 30 minutes throughout the night, or changing his explosive diarrhea diapers. I was next. I felt as if I had morning sickness all over again but 30 pounds heavier.

Ava has been our last to catch this weird strain of stomach flu. She threw up more often than Brahm during the night. This morning she has refused to eat or drink anything, but she has been pleading for milk. We have Gatorade, Sprite, and Pedialite to soothe her stomach and to combat dehydration, but all she wants is her precious milk. I am a stickler when it comes to the BRAT diet when my children have the stomach flu, and dairy products (with the exception of yogurt) are off limits.

As you can imagine, I have a laundry room full of dirty linens, rugs, blankets, jammies, and other clothing. I cannot say that my house is ever spotless or even close to clean, but it is bad news as I write this.

Surrounded by all of this chaos and sickness, I began thinking about how I would love to escape it all. A trip to a warm climate sounds enticing. A vacation, where a maid changes your linens and makes your bed and cleans your bathroom. I then started to think about all of the trips that I have gone on with my little family. We’ve been to quite a few places together. And, we have very fond memories of traveling with one another. And you know what? A lot of these trips included vomiting in the car, or vomiting on the plane, or vomiting on a boat. I guess you can never escape vomiting even when you are on vacation.

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico 2006.  Jess threw up on this scenic ocean boatride.  The crew offered him Mexican dramamine (Tequila) to which he kindly declined.

Hawaii 2008.  Ava threw up on the red-eye flight to Hawaii.  I didn't pack any extra clothes for her in our carry-on bags.  So, she ended up wearing an oversized shirt that belonged to her uncle.

Ava vomited not once, but twice on seperate car trips to Las Vegas (2008, 2010)

Howard, the newest member of our family

Our newest bundle of joy, Howard, joined the Warren family last night at 7:30 pm.  Because of his size, he was carried into our home by 4 able-bodied men.  The kids adore our sweet Howard.  In fact, they won't stop playing with him.  Oh, the noise Howard makes when the kids pound on him.  But, when Mommy tickles his sweet ivory keys, he is in much better spirits. 

Brahm takes a beating

My son Brahm is following in his cousin Henry's footsteps.  In his short 2 years on this earth, he has been to the ER three times and to the quick care center once.  At 11 months old, we rushed Brahm to the hospital for a spinal tap to test for Meningitis.  No spinal tap was performed, and Meningitis was ruled out.  But, we did get to sit around for 4 1/2 hours!  At 18 months old, Jess took Brahm in for a possible arm fracture after a bad fall off a chair.  X-rays were taken and we followed up with an Orthopedic surgeon.  No bones were broken.  But, we spent more than $600 for the ER and specialist fees.  Last summer, Brahm somehow fell backwards into the corner of our end table and put a good sized gash in the back of his head.  It was 4th of July weekend and we were headed out the door to go camping.  Jess drove to Nampa to the only quick care center that happened to be open.  An hour later, a chipper Brahm returned with two staples in his head. 

Finally, Brahm was with a group of kids outside playing last week.  One of the older boys randomly threw the base of a T-ball stand and it happened to hit Brahm in the head.  Brahm literally looked like something out of a horror movie.  Blood was gushing out of a half-inch gash under his hairline.  Back to the ER we reluctantly went.  He was treated by a physician who was wearing Utah Jazz scrubs and who sang to Brahm to settle him down while he sutured his wound.  I'd like to think that this man was a member of the Church. 

Brahm was given 2 types of anesthetics to numb the area that was being treated.  I knew that he couldn't feel a thing.  But the nurses had to wrap a sheet around his body to confine him and then hold him down while the doctor closed his wound.  The whole time Brahm just looked at me and cried big alligator tears.  I immediately thought of the Prophet, Joseph Smith, who endured a very invasive surgery without anesthetics all the while clinging to his Dad's hand.  I wasn't fearful of Brahm feeling pain, but it saddened me to see him cry for me.  I can only imagine how Joseph's father felt. 

To treat his newly sutured wound, I was given strict orders to daily scrub off any sort of scab that formed.  I can handle a lot of things--  blood, vomit, feces.  But, to scrub off a scab gave me the willies.  It was definitely not an easy task. 

One week later, we returned to the ER but on happier terms.  Brahm's stitches were removed and we went merrily on our way.

A little upset after the stitches were removed.....

But, with the gift of stickers he immediately perked up and was good to go.