Friends

Sometimes reality has a way of slapping you in the face when you look at something as simple as a photo of your kids. :) I was going back through photos of the last couple of months, and when I saw Ben and Zach with Jonas it just hit me how special those photos are.

I remember when Brandi and I reconnected after losing touch for a number of years. It was 2007 and Bea was pregnant with Jonas, and I was soon to be pregnant a few months later. I was living in Florida and she was here in Utah. We kept in touch over email over the next few years, and we were lucky to be able to meet up a few times before we moved here last year. Our friendship just seemed to go dormant during the time we lost touch. Once we resumed it was easy, and although a lot of time had passed, it didn't feel like it had.

It feels really special that we live close to each other again after all these years, and that we happen to have boys the same age. I know in time we may find ourselves living far away from each other again, but for now I'm thoroughly enjoying each time we're able to get together.

I think so very highly of my sweet friend, and I'll spare most of the mushy sentiments only because she already knows how I feel about her. She is not only a very thoughtful and kind friend but a truly beautiful human being. I consider myself lucky to have her friendship.

October This & That

The first couple weeks of October kept us all busy. We had several weeks left in our apartment, but decided to move into the house right away and get settled. It was an easy move, and we quickly unpacked and got ourselves organized. We had beautiful weather and took advantage of the warm days to pull up the remnants of the garden left by the last tenants, and get it ready to be planted in the Spring. 

The middle of the month is a blur. I'm certain there was plenty going on to keep us busy. Towards the end of the month I enjoyed a lovely birthday with lots of my favorite people. Darius and the boys took me out to breakfast at the Park Cafe. It was our first visit there, and we all loved it. Afterwards we hit a few thrift/antique stores, and I found an awesome coat tree and a few other knick knacks. My dear friend Brandi came over for a visit with her son Jonas, and then my sister Carrie organized an aerial yoga party for me. Joining us were Kylee, Joy, Connie, Clair and Michel. I wasn't too sure about what we would be doing, but it turned out to be so much fun! I'm all about doing it again. It was a great day...just wish I had taken photos!

Halloween wrapped up the month, and I was happy to get that holiday out of the way. The boys got a little crazy leading up to it, and I was happy to be done with all their pre Halloween sass. Carrie brought the most adorable little dino over for a quick visit, and then we Trick-or-Treated in Joy's neighborhood which turned out to be great, nice and laid back. 

Kindergarten

Earlier this year when D and I attended Kindergarten Orientation at the school the boys were going to attend, I realized that the boys were not where I felt they should be in order to start. I went back and forth trying to make a decision whether to put them in, or start them a year later. During this period of indecisiveness, I came across an option that I thought was a good fit for the boys' needs and we went with it.

Here we are over three months into it, and I can't say it's been a blissful experience, but overall I'm so happy with the boys' progress. Ben and Zach are enrolled in Utah Virtual Academy (UTVA), and I get to play the roll of their Learning Coach everyday...not always easy but very rewarding.

I have a lovely sister-in-law that is a home school mom extraordinaire, and I'm amazed by how intelligent her kids are...no doubt she has contributed a lot to their awesomeness. At the first thought of homeschooling the boys, my thoughts went immediately to her and I quickly dismissed the option all together. After a little digging and a better understanding of UTVA and the curriculum, I realized that my meager mom skills were sufficient enough to navigate the boys through the program.

Ben and Zach have just rolled right along with it all. They were confused by a lot of it at first. I'm kind of like their teacher but I'm not. Their real teacher they only see online. They have classmates but have no idea who any of them are. They're in school but don't actually go to a school. Whether it makes sense to them or not, they usually do what is asked of them without too much grief.

Before we got underway I was terrified, but after keeping my head down and plugging away the first few weeks, I realized that although every day may not be great, there would be a point where I would look back and be glad I made the call to home school the boys. My goal at the beginning was to get the boys ready for 1st Grade, and I think we're well on our way towards reaching that goal. 

A House!!

I still haven't wrapped my head around the fact that it's December! What happened to the last couple of months? I realized after going through pictures that I hardly took any in October and not so many in November either, and the photos I do have...well they're not the best but oh well! Pics or no pics, there's still a lot to catch up on.

We spent the tail end of September hunting for a house to rent.  I quickly realized how competitive our search was going to be, and it was hard not to get discouraged. We didn't have unreasonable expectations, mostly we just wanted to be a in a good neighborhood and have a yard for the boys to play in. After the first few weeks of looking, I was doing my best to stay optimistic but at the same time preparing myself for more apartment living. How we lucked up and got the house we did is beyond me, but there hasn't been a day that has gone by the last couple of months that I have not been grateful to be in this house. We love it here!

We lucked up and got so much more than we ever thought we would get. There's a nice-sized yard which is fully fenced in, and the last tenants left a great playhouse/swing set in the backyard that the boys have enjoyed. There's a garden! I'm so excited for Spring! The boys have a play room in addition to their bedroom, I have my own sewing room, there's plenty of storage, and most importantly it felt like home right away. When it came time to sign the lease, Darius signed without even seeing the house in person...I'm glad he loves it too, or I may not have heard the end of it!

Ben the Brave

Ben has snored for at least a couple of years now, and I never knew it was likely caused by (as the doctor called them) "monster tonsils." A few months back Ben was getting a checkup when the doctor noticed them and referred us to an ENT doctor. The ENT doc agreed that his tonsils were indeed very large and that Ben would benefit from having them removed.

Fast forward to this morning, and a set of very large tonsils and adenoids were removed from Benny. No worries...I don't have photos of them! :)

After we made the final call to move forward with the procedure and got it scheduled, it all happened very quick, and we didn't exactly  have a game plan in place to prepare Ben. We had mentioned several times after his initial visit that he'd be having his tonsils removed, but anytime we brought it up he freaked out. Thank goodness for the couple of books we found for him. He had no interest in them at first, but after reading them through once, he steadily asked for them to be read again and again the last few days, and I'd find him pouring over the books on his own.

Ben was an incredibly brave little patient today. He was quiet and nervous, but I never sensed that he was fearful of the operation. Tears would have been perfectly acceptable, even expected, but he remained dry-eyed and amazingly calm. There were several times I heard him refer to the stories we read, and I'm so relieved he could recall bits and pieces and relate them to his own experience.

No parent wants their child to experience pain, especially when it's our call that results in it. What a huge relief Darius and I both felt after seeing Ben pull through so well. Even throughout the rest of the day, he continued to amaze us. He's such a great patient. We know he's got some uncomfortable days ahead of him, but we are confident that he'll maneuver his way through them just as well as he got through today.

Tonight before bed Ben came up to me and hugged me and thanked me for taking him to the hospital to get his tonsils taken out. He's either high from his pain meds, or he's the sweetest kid ever!