Drinking Problem

My dad has a disease called diabetes insipidus, a condition where his body doesn't control the intake of water and instead sends it straight through. For years, to keep from getting dehydrated, he had to drink lots and lots of water throughout the day and night, just to keep it in his system. Because it is a very rare illness, the medication has been somewhat experimental on him. When they first started him on it, Dad made himself very sick by keeping the fluids coming in while the medicine prevented them from going out, and landed himself in the hospital a few times over Christmas vacation 1994. He joked after that about his drinking problem. Mine is the polar opposite.

Something odd about me is that I hate to drink. We've all been told to drink 8 glasses of water every day, but I usually make it to half that. And my first drink of water is frequently after 5 pm. Even if thirsty, I don't like to drink. It's not that I'm filling up on other beverages; the only other liquid consumed during the day is a small amount (1/2 cup?) of milk or grapefruit juice at breakfast. At restaurants, I almost always order water, since any drink isn't really worth the calories to me. The only exception would be hot chocolate, chocolate milk, or a shake, and those are kind of in the dessert category, where I'd usually rather have something I don't down in seconds. Ironically, the hardest thing to fast from is water.

I didn't realize my drinking habits were strange until my wonderful neighbor came over with her giant happy hour from Sonic, diet coke with vanilla or cherry or whatever it is and she said she only ever has that after she drinks 64 oz of water. Of course I was thinking, Wow, I would be completely waterlogged, because I am not getting that much liquid in my day. But I know I should be drinking water and am trying to do better.

Valentine mania

Decorating heart cookies. And no, I haven't gained weight, thanks for asking.

Katrina made this cookie for her beloved Miss Lawson

Valentine's Day construction has led my house to be messier than usual. Let's face it folks, it's not usually that sparkling to begin with, but Matthew has started a love affair with scissors, the paper cutter, and hole punch. With my older children, I was a lot more controlling with them, but Matthew hasn't done any major damage (so far) and it entertains him for hours. Besides, it helps his fine motor skills, and since the oldest has had some catch-up to do in that department, I guess the extra mess is worth making my kitchen resemble a confetti factory. Yesterday he made the "Ultimate hole": a snippet of paper punched with the 3-hole-punch, and trimmed to look like a tiny square doughnut. That's creativity.

Last night, Felicity and Katrina made their Valentine Boxes for the school parties today. Katrina was very proud of her box and kept bragging, "Wow, this is the most creative box in my class. It's soooo awesome. I did such a good job!"

Felicity's box this year is more abstract. She insisted that she didn't want any hearts or pink anywhere near it, and wanted to have a themed box instead. Since they've been studying weather in school, she initially wanted a weather box, but realized that would be copying a kid in the class and that is definitely not cool. So we made her box into a TV and she put an advertisement of "Felicity the Phatografer (her spelling) coming soon! Come to the studio!" It doesn't really inspire anyone with thoughts of Valentine's Day or love, but she was happy with it and that's what's important, I guess.

Matthew, meanwhile, was more concerned with the actual Valentines. His preschool class has their party today too, and he and Felicity are sharing Kung Fu Panda valentines, which come with tattoos! Is it just me, or is Kung Fu completely unrelated to Valentine's Day? I love you- let me show you with this kick! I'm sure all of them will be plenty sugared up this afternoon. Maybe we'll just have vegetables for dinner, although I'm sure they won't think it's very "Valentinesy".

What our table and bench beneath usually look like these days.

Finished products.

If it's a secret, why isn't she keeping it?

Last weekend, Felicity and I went clothes shopping. Alas, my little girl is growing up, and alas again, nobody is handing her down clothing anymore. She was really dragging her feet initially, but after awhile and some purchases, she thought it was fun. I think she liked it that I let her make some choices and even let her spend her own hard-earned cash to buy a silly hat that will probably never be worn.

As we left one store in search of another, Felicity looked around and asked, "What's Victoria's Secret?"
"A womens' underwear store."
"So is there a sign there that says 'No boys allowed!'?"
"Uh... no."
"But the boys know not to go in there, right? They don't ever go in that store? They don't see girls wearing underwear, right?"

It is always a tricky thing to give information to children without giving them too much. I'm trying to be honest with my children and paint a healthy picture of the world, good associations about things without making extra guilt or myths. I don't want them in a bubble, but it's called Need to Know for a reason. I don't always do the best job, but it's a work in process.

So I responded: "No.... sometimes boys like to see girls in underwear. And that's not good. EXCEPT, when?" I asked Felicity, seeing what she knows.
"-Except if they're a member of the Church of Jesus Christ?"
"No!" I hurriedly say, "definitely not that as the qualifier! It's -Except if he is married to the girl!"

First Birthday Celebration

Mark and I have been musing lately on how different our children would be if they were an only child, or the oldest child. The other night, Max had a marathon nap and so he was up for our date. We were having an at-home date, where we feed the kids early, put them in pjs, and let them watch a movie upstairs until it's time for them to go to bed. Meanwhile, we get take-out or do something easy and have the downstairs to ourselves. This week, Max woke up from the nap just as we were ready to eat. So he joined us and he was eating up all the attention from having both parents to himself. As #4, he is used to having a tag-team of parenting or even being lugged out of the crib by an older sibling standing on the rocking horse. It was really fun to have him tag along and have us all to himself.

Max is a happy baby, happy and content most of the time. (Being sick definitely put a damper on that for several weeks, however.) He has recently developed a little bit of separation anxiety and actually cries when I leave, kind of a compliment to me and annoying to the person he's left with. The other 3 have not done this, so I'm kind of embarrassed when someone asks to hold him and he's not going to have it. Max is our little puppy dog, carries things in his mouth and loves to lick you when he's feeling affectionate. He has been getting into the recycling cupboard lately and has a good time exploring the cupboards in general. I love to see him under the sink at work, like he's fixing it up or something. We sure could use a handyman in this house, although Mark and I both try our durndest.

These pictures are from his birthday party, starting with giving gifts in the morning and ending with the cake at night. Unfortunately, he was really sick on his birthday night, so he was so unhappy he hardly touched the cake.

Cups? For my birthday? This is the best you could do?


Now a ball, that's what I'm talkin about....


Yay! Bring on the french toast!

After church- on the new truck and pushing all the buttons.

What am I supposed to do with this dessert on fire? Touch it?

Older than the hills, but still loved

My eyes have been bothering me lately and I haven't been able to wear my contacts as much. I can't stand wearing glasses, because I just don't like anything on my head for very long. Not to mention I also feel very unattractive. (It's as though I've looked young my whole life and suddenly skip to looking ten years older than I am, not really a look I'm going for at the moment), So I went to an optical clinic owned by one of my piano student's dad last week to ask if they could look at my contacts to determine what could be done. The ladies at the front asked me, "How old are your contacts?'
"Ten years old"
They shook their heads in disbelief and stated, "We recommend replacing all contacts every year." (Well obviously! They are trying to make a living, after all!) They refused to continue the discussion, so I had to leave. I was a little taken aback, considering my ophthamologist told me (admittedly, 5 years ago), "Your contacts are in great shape, wear 'em until you lose 'em." Since he is a specialized MD giving the advice I like (to not spend more $), I want to listen to it. However, if my eyes hurt too badly to wear them, there's not a lot I can do about it, good advice or not.
I was lamenting to Mark about it, and he starting thinking about my contacts' age. He mused, "Ten years. Do you have anything that's ten years old that you use that often? Okay, besides your clock/radio/lamp that you got for your 12th birthday? I don't have anything. I almost have an LN [That's me. We just had our 9 year anniversary in Dec], but nothing else that helps me on a daily basis."

Just curious. What else is out there ten years old, that you use on a daily or near-daily basis? I'm sure there are things! Sure of it! My dad wears shoes he got on his mission back to Austria in the mid-60s. True, he doesn't wear them every day, and yes, we all mock him for them, but they keep his feet dry in the winter.