September 4, 2006

Hey Everyone,
This week I am a single mom, as Ben left town Saturday afternoon and won't get back until next Saturday evening. So far things are going fine, but I do miss our "divide and conquer" bedtime routine, with one of us taking the big boys and one taking Mosey. I can get Brigham and Joseph settled, but then tonight it took me an HOUR to get Mosey sleeping. The last two nights I just went to sleep with him, but tonight I need to get some things done.
Today was a very sad day for my boys. Steve Irwin, the "Crocodile Hunter" was killed earlier in the day, while snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef. A freak accident, apparently. A sting ray's barb punctured his chest and perforated his heart, and he died immediately. Sting Ray attacks are extremely rare, and are never fatal, except of course in a freak accident like this. If he had been stung anywhere else, he would have easily survived. It is really sad, actually. He leaves behind a wife and 2 little kids, plus millions of kids and adults worldwide who loved his show. I seriously started crying about it when I told the boys. They were pretty philosophical about it, telling me that they like Jeff Corwin better than Steve Irwin anyway. Still, they included Steve Irwin's family in their prayers.
So, I guess I'll start with a birthday report. I survived my 30th birthday, and I guess I'm not too traumatized by it. A couple of my friends took me out to lunch at the Olive Garden (Mosey came too and all he wanted was the salad. He ate about 4 plates of salad.) Then in the evening Ben had the boys bring out some gifts they had bought for me at the dollar store. Joseph got me a pair of sunglasses (which he very specifically picked out just for me), Brigham got me a painted bird figurine with wings mounted on springs so they sort of "flap" when you move it, and Mosey got me a tiny book light, the type you clip onto your book to read so as to not disturb your partner. I guess Ben probably helped him pick that out-- maybe a subtle message that he doesn't want me turning on the bedside lamp to read scriptures after he's gone to sleep? My friend Melissa gave me a jar of chocolates, which with the help of my 3 boys were almost completely gone by the end of the day. Rena and Janette got me a cute outfit which I wore to the Relief Society visiting teaching celebration that night. And Ben got dessert cups, strawberries, and two kinds of ice cream for dessert. Rosalynde had sent me a gorgeous beaded necklace a week ago, and so with everything I felt extremely special.
Friday night Ben and I were going to go out, but it was raining cats and dogs (almost literally) when he came home and he wasn't feeling too good, so we decided to postpone for another time.
Saturday was another RAINY day. It rained so hard for so long that our street flooded for a couple of hours. We saw several fish swimming around the street and lawns, fish that had apparently swum from the lake up the storm drains, and then onto the road. Weird! The boys really wanted to go out and play, so I went out with them and got a few pictures. The rain paused a little as we drove Ben to the airport to go to Utah.
On the way home, Brigham said a funny thing. We were driving down a section of Pines that is under construction, and there were several of those concrete barriers blocking off the lane under construction. A lady was standing by the barriers, I guess waiting for a break in the traffic to cross. Anyway, Brigham pointed out the "wall in the road," and then said, "Look at that human over there standing by the wall!" It struck me as really funny that he would use the term "human" instead of "person," or "lady," or some other word. I guess it shows that the only TV they really watch is Animal Planet!
On Sunday we went to church and I substituted in Brigham and Joseph's class. I was a little worried, remembering back to the last time I substituted in their class. The boys were SO bad (all of them, not just mine), they were literally throwing chairs around the classroom. I had to take them outside, and then I was sitting on that stage thing and the boys were jumping on that and it collapsed and I broke my tailbone! Anyway, I was extremely gratified to see how much those boys have grown up. They were very reverent during sharing time, raised their hands to answer questions (Joseph knew every answer, I was so proud of him), and walked so quietly with their arms folded to their classroom, and to and from the restroom. They were good in class too, the only distraction being Cruz who really wanted to draw pictures on the chalkboard. At least he was quiet about it!
After church we stayed for a baptism. The big boys were good, but Mosey was not so good. He is just so LOUD! He has not learned to whisper, and since he is still in the "must vocalize everything that goes through my head" stage, everyone in the room was thereby privy to everything going through his head! I had to take him out once towards the beginning, and then went back in just before the actual baptism. The bishop invited the children up to sit closer to see the baptism, which Mosey was happy to do. Afterwards, he marched back up to where we were sitting and said in a VERY loud voice, "That was a good one, mom!" That gave the whole room a good laugh. Then a little later during the Relief Society president's welcome to the ward, Mosey started poking Joseph and saying, "I'm bugging Joseph, mom." I tried to quietly whisper to him, "Yes, you're bugging Joseph, Moses, but please stop." I still must acknowledge everything he says, you see. But he wasn't happy with that response, I guess and kept saying in increasingly distressed tones, "I'm bugging Joseph, mom!" I stood up and carried him out again with him literally crying, "I'm bugging Joseph, mom!!!" Aarrgh. Thank goodness we belong to a church so understanding of little children!
Oh, and during Sacrament meeting (fast and testimony Sunday), Brigham asked me how come he couldn't go up and talk. I was a little surprised by that question and told him that he certainly could go up and bear his testimony of Jesus if he wanted to. So maybe next month he'll be interested in doing that.
Today was a day off from school, as I said, but we didn't do anything too exciting. Cleaning up the house in the morning and then baking muffins to take to some families in our ward, then a trip to Home Depot and Sam's Club. School again tomorrow which will be nice.
Ok, I'll leave you with some pictures from our rainy, rainy weekend. I hope all of you had a good Labor Day.