2015
Lyra came running in at night yelling 'Esther has her head stuck under the bed!  we knew that they hadn't actually gone to bed yet and were in there messing around.  Chris jumped out of the bed and ran to save Esther.  He came back promptly to report that the 'head' stuck under the bed was actually the head of Esther's toy.  So, it was hers, but.... not actually her literal head.


Isaac loves paw patroll.  the way he says it sounds a lot like 'bottle' but he loves it.   He will give anyone a hug.  I asked for a kiss and he made a kissing noise and leaned in till I presented a cheek, then he pulled away with a wicked grin and laughed with the sweetest glee.  He was teasing me, and he knew it.  When he sees anyone he loves walk in the door he yells with excitement and throws his hands in the air.  It is beautiful.

Ethan has been very literal minded.  I guess he has been that way for a while.  A few months ago he was telling me that, in spite of what I was saying, the car could not 'say' anything because it didn't have a mouth.  It really upsets him when we pretend to mistake his identity with anyone else.  It can really upset Parker, too.

Today Parker's teacher called to tell me he is doing great in school.  When we moved here he was decidedly behind and struggling.  But he is right where he should be now.  I am really proud that he has pulled up.  In some ways he is ahead, too.  So is Lyra.  Apparently in the computer math class she had one of the top seven scores.

Esther is always saying quirky things.  It is always startling, and I never remember what it is that she said.  'I want to do that, because it is fun'  It is fun because a lot of the kids her age would never think to add anything beyond the informative 'I want' so when she takes time to add the because, it is startling and fun.  When she is excited about something, I mean really hoping and excited, she clenches her fists and flexes every muscle in her body till she trembles.  It is adorable.  perhaps not when I write it, so much of who she is must be enjoyed in person.

1/20/2016

I realized that I hadn't really written anything about the kids last year.  Ops.  I think I had written a few sulky posts and wanted to wait until I had that under control before I started imposing on whomever read again.  I ran across this random piece of paper with a few sweet stories that happened the first few months that we were in St George last year.  I thought I would throw them up so that I could finally toss this abused scrap of paper to a place of rest.

- Ethan- is very particular about how his socks are.  They must line up perfectly along his toes or he fusses and fusses and cries and screams.  The sweet thing is that when he saw me putting Isaac's socks on, and the seam didn't line up perfectly across Isaac's toes, he fussed and fussed and began to pull off Isaac's shoes until I realized what was upsetting him.  I lined the sock perfectly along Isaac's toes and Ethan calmed down immediately.

- Esther - is unusually expressive.  She can hardly talk still, but that doesn't stop her from saying 'awesome' when she saw a bowling ally for the first time.  She also exclaimed 'amazing' when I turned on the kitchen aid to make cookies with her for the first time since we moved.

-Lyra and Parker- We tried putting them in the same room for a while.  I think is was because it was so cold, or they were having a hard time transitioning in the move?  I can't remember now.  Parker was generally very patient with Lyra, but he had been complaining that he couldn't sleep because she kept talking and making noise.  To this, Lyra replied 'I just feel like if Parker's eyes are open, he wants to hear me.'

A conversation that Lyra and Parker had in the back of the car:

Lyra "Parker, listen to me! Mommy, Parker won't listen to me!'
Parker "I would listen if you told the truth"
Lyra "I always tell the truth"
Parker "no, you don't, Lyra"

I may have already written these down somewhere, but there they are, fun enough to be worth remembering.

I don't know that I ever wrote about when Parker saw some dried, smeared strawberries on the floor of the store.  He demanded some wipes, and then started wiping them off the floor of the store.  I know I had been telling him about being helpful or something, but had never intended it be taken that way.  He even got at least Lyra to start helping and they both sat there, insisting that we scrub that smeared fruit off.  Afterwards I really wanted someone besides me to give them a pat on the back for their super civic-mindedness.  I grabbed the first employee that I saw and told them, queuing them in that they should be impressed.  It was an older woman who enthusiastically told them how well they did, that she was the store manager and asked if they wanted a treat.  She then marched over to the candy isle, tore open a bag of dumdums (my kids favorite) and passed them out.  I was so grateful to her I started to tear up.  I guess our transition up to that point had been hard if it meant that much to me.  I still wonder if it was ok to let her open a new bag for us.  Still so grateful.

So there you have it, apparently all I have saved by way of memories from St George.  I feel awful because our kids were so beautiful.  They still are.  They are so very beautiful and happy and kind.  Unfortunately all I can really remember about that time is the occasional beautiful hike, horseback riding lessons, sitting in the ER with Parker suffocating and with blue lips in my lap as everyone in the wating room was seen except us.  People after us were seen and we were still waiting, even though I had checked at the counter that our place in the cue had not been lost.  They still didn't see us until I offered to pay them up front.  We didn't have any insurance at the time because Steton had some BS excuse for why they couldn't but had given every indication that they would.  I also remember sitting in the ER with Ethan.  He had been throwing up constantly, we all had.  But he was particularly bad.  We finally had insurance, but  when I had spoken with the nurse, she said that I was not to bring him in until he had gone so long without keeping fluids down.  I did wait that long and by then when I walked into the regular dr's office the looked at me for the negligent mother that I was and sent me to the ER without seeing him.  We then sat in the ER waiting for them to give Ethan an IV because he was dehydrated.  We waited at least 3 hours after the dr. had seen him.  No one would give him even a sip of water no matter how the dehydrated toddler begged for one.  even the skin around his nose and mouth was uniquely white and dried, it was like he was developing white veins around those places.  And then again in the hospital with Isaac finally getting ear tubes after months of consecutive ear infections. It was awful. Sometimes we had insurance, sometimes we didn't.  Then they changed it. We had three different providers that year.  and spent a few months with no provider at all.  It was a nightmare.  This year we have had two so far.  I am not bitter, I just absolutely loath this company.

On the upside, the people who love me found me a gym where I went every day.  It helped my knees a lot.  And horse back riding lessons.  Who knew, but they were a life saver.  They were a chance to get out, do something that didn't involve a crying kid, poop or vomit.  Playing with horses humanized me I guess.

Since moving to the Salt Lake valley, I have been at home more.  I think I am doing better now.  Granted, the other day I was fed up with the sewage leaking from the upstairs and into the down stairs.  My solution to that was to start tearing up the flooring in the upstairs bathroom.  I found the problem.  And the accompanying mold.  I cleaned up what I could and then  ordered $300 in tools.  They arrive Wednesday.  I wonder if they will be enough.  It is a relief to do something, though.