Skool is kool.

Somehow, somebody, somewhere convinced me that a pre-school co-op/Joy school was a good idea. It is actually just a couple of moms with kids the same age trading turns having the kids make messes at their house.

Bonked head and picking a wedgie. Typical first day pic.

Three moms. Three cameras. 

Three kids looking three different directions.

Slap a (free from the Pediatricians office) bling-ed out backpack on it and call it Skool and Scrunch is all over it.

                            

See ya Sis! I'm going to stay here and rock out with Mom.

First week projects. A is for apple.

It was my turn to "teach" this week. I could not be a pre-school teacher full time. I would have no life and be so tired. Do you know how peppy you have to be to keep two year olds on track? I am not naturally peppy. Plus, coming up with stuff sucks you in. And we could do this! and do this! and I need a Cricut so I can do this! And what if we did this? Oooh, I want to do this! Four two year olds also works wonders as a justification for delaying a cleaning of the guest bathroom and mopping of the kitchen floor.

Our theme this month is the alphabet/apples. We "picked" apple post it notes from the tree out front to make our paper plate apple pies sprinkled with cinnamon. They ate apple "trees" for a snack, blew bubbles, jumped on the trampoline, colored parts of an apple coloring page, read a story, danced to the alphabet songs CD, colored some more, jumped some more, went potty like forty-three times, and when it was over Scrunch was ready for quiet, Porkchop slept for three hours, and I vowed to grovel at the feet of my triplet mom friend's feet in admiration the next time I see her. Except I was too tired to go to knitting (a full day later) anyway.

 A is for apples and alphabet indoctrination continues.  

       They're sniffing cinnamon, not glue. Just so we're clear.    

We did it again on Wednesday, mixing it up with a little Chicka-Chicka Boom Boom. Alphabet pudding, Coconut trees, alphabet puzzles, more bubbles, more jumping, and another forty-three trips to the potty.

Say "Alex Alligator arrived at Allison's applefarm in April."

Next week, it's at someone else's house and I get five hours during the week to clean the garage without Scrunch's help. I'd say this is working out in my favor.

Nursing- the kind you get a paycheck for.

What used to be my "Kids Are Asleep or Sesame Street is On Blogging Time" has lately been "Aww crap! I've got to get these CEU's done Pronto! Time." My license expires on Thursday and it's kind of important that I practice with a license if I want to avoid law suits, jail time, and other things I have even less time for.

I became a nurse because it was a good mom job. I mean, let's be honest. If I could do anything in the whole wide world it might not be dealing with people's butt wounds and explaining for the thousandth time why it is so important to check your blood sugar. (It's your leg.) But I was good at math and science. It sounded interesting and I had an awesome opportunity so I started nursing school the semester after I graduated high school.

I've now been a nurse for six years. Weird.

At one time I seriously resented the time I spent working. We didn't have kids, but wanted to. I couldn't sit around all day eating bon bons, so I worked. I used to think that if I had known I was going to be a full-fledged nurse as long, I might have studied/done something different. Something that includes a giant discount at Pottery Barn comes to mind. Lately, though I've changed my mind back.

It's a perfect mom job. Only because I worked so long do I now have the flexibility of being able to tell them when I'm going to work. And it comes in very handy.

I don't let the chicks who make Porkchop's appointments bully me. I'm not afraid to switch up his taping or dressings. I know the difference between what is really hurting him and what just hurts to see as his mom.

And then there's the times like last night... The time I had to lance my own milk blister to get the plugged duct to drain. No thanks to my needle-chicken husband who would have nothing to do with the whole operation. Scarier than stabbing yourself in the boob with a needle is that I can't even describe how much better it felt when I did it than it did before. Who else has a spare butterfly just sitting in the back of their car? If the entire reason for me becoming a nurse has been to get through the last four months and to get through the next six, it will have been worth it. I'd still do it again. Part-time at Pottery Barn will have to wait.

I'll bet someone back East is sayin, "Now why don't (s)he write?"

If you name that movie, you move up a notch in my book. Congratulations.

I've got excuses but you've heard them before. They're starting to sound like an old record. Work, school, Dr. appts., park days, pumping, pre-operative research (did that just count as alliteration?), Joy school (that's a new one), CEUs...you know the same old stuff with a few new. I'm lagging behind, but I'll catch up. One of these days...but not today.

P.S. A few Scrunch quotes to tide you over until I catch up. No, really. I'm going to. I swear. Pinky promise and all that.

"Mom, I'm a cowgirl. You're a cowmom."
"Hi my name is Scrunch. Welcome to the park." She is the self-proclaimed ambassador of the local park, apparently.
"Mom, hamburger tastes like animals."

Busted

I felt a little silly when Husband caught me singing "If I Were a Rich Man" in the garage as I got home this afternoon. But not nearly as silly as I hope the salt and peppered middle aged man felt when we busted him talking baby talk to his Fifi-cut Standard Poodle at the park. Weirdo.

***

Scrunch is totally into singing every thing lately, especially as we walk the to the park or in the store. Some of her classics have been "I don't care. I DON'T care. I DON'T CARE!" and "There goes a turkey! Happ-ily. Eeever. After!"

My personal favorite was in Safeway one day as she belted out "WE LOVE HEAVENLY FATHER! WE LOVE HEAVENLY FATHER!" When I asked her to sing a little more quietly or to wait to sing until we were outside she responded with, "But we DO!" Oy.

Probably TMI, but what's new?

If the word 'engorgement' sends you running for the hills, you might want to pack a cooler and go camping. Right. now.

Lefty has gone beyond giving me fits to being downright (can't think of the appropriate boobie explitive but if I could or if you have one, enter it here).

I woke up early yesterday morning to pump with a searing pain and following had a walnut sized lump leftover. Only after deep, painful massage and a hot shower was I able to relieve some of the pressure. There is something just wrong, wrong, wrong about bruised boobies.

At first they were a novelty. I never had 'em before, but I. am. so. over. them. I'll happily go back to my A-.
Ta ta tatas.

Mark your calendar.

May 18, 2011
Bonfire and sweet hallelujah singing to the heavens.
Bring all your nursing bras, hooter hiders, and anything labeled Madela. I'll supply the gasoline and matches.

Pumping is a pain. For reals. I'm sitting here pumping. That's how I know. Sucky. No sucky is why I'm pumping. Ironic, isn't it?

I'm spending the weekend nursing my nursers. Lame.

That's all I have to say about that.

Earlier this week husband let me know that my pump reminds him of a movie. It used to be one of my favorites. Used to be.

Mohanna, you ugly!

Some women are four cow wives.

Others are eight cow wives.

I've been told I'm just a whole milk cow.

Who knew this would come to mean such a compliment? (Not to mention ginormous blessing!)

Four months-

17 lbs. 4 oz.

28 1/4 inches long

and yuh-mmy!

Confused on the lingo (tee-hee)? You can read about this classic short film here.

Kids These Days!!

One's chasing boys...

And the other's got a nose/lip ring!

No wonder I'm up all hours of the night!

Lesson learned

I will not make reference to her curls and you won't reference the fact that there are no pictures. Deal?

It's early. Really early Friday morning. It's been a long week and it's not over by a long shot. When I woke up I was relieved to see that I still have another five hours before I need to be awake for good. Did I already tell you it's been a long week and it's not over yet? Yuck. Nothing major- just the little bits of here and there and having to be everywhere that chip away at time leaving your sleepy and relieved that it's only 12:58am the first time you'll be awake tonight. 

I have to be in an all-day computer training today and I hate it. Lefty is giving me fits, plugged duct you know. Insurance customer non-service and I are on the outs again. Retraction. What a stupid process! The carpets were shampooed and have already been broken in.  (i.e. pee!) Scrunch is two and a half going on seventeen and a half. That half makes such a huge difference in attitude. Porkchop gets his stent, one of the last steps in the pre-surgical stint today, and I can't be there. My children seem to get exponentially more expensive and we're hunkering down for the financial blows.

I'm tired and cranky and might have been more so had something tragic not happened to people I care about this week. The kind of thing that leaves you feeling sick to your stomach and without the appropriate thing to say. All you can say is it totally sucks. It has left me thinking. And while their loss is so not about me and how it relates to my life, I re-learned a lesson. Life is not fair. Everyone has trials. Even the word 'trials' sounds trite and leaves a throw-up taste. Some have more than their share and are of the kind that don't make any sense. I don't think everyone's trials are necessarily just for them. Not fair. Sometimes they are for the rest of us to learn something from. Even more unfair. But when something happens that snaps your head into perspective so fast it gives you whiplash, then maybe that's the only good that can come from it.

That's what I got this week. A huge dose of perspective. There is nothing I can do or say that will make it better or even make it make any sense. The only thing I can do is be a better mom, better wife, and better person than I was the day before and be a whole lot less cranky, tired, or annoyed with things that in the grand scheme don't matter.

It still rocks.

Where does she get those curls?!?!

If I'm going to see this person more than once I usually respond with, "Her birthmom has curly hair."

And that is that. It sometimes leads into a conversation about adoption, but not always.

This (almost exact) conversation happened a few weeks ago at the lake. A friend said, "You know, you don't have to tell people. No one can tell by looking. She looks just like you guys."

And while I'm sure she meant well, 'looks' are not the only reason we discuss adoption. Scrunch will never have a sit down conversation of "by the way, you're adopted." She already knows.

While a family's reasons for seeking adoption or a birth family's reasons for placing may vary, ultimately what it comes down to is this....Adoption is awesome. Period.

I still cannot for the life of me understand what people don't get. No one has a problem with second, third, and fourth marriages. His, mine, and ours scenarios. But you say adoption and people get all whispery and hush hush. It is not a secret.

The subject of adoption, I will admit, has been on the back burner. Not because it's any less important, but because well honestly we're busy and it doesn't come up every day. But when it does come up or an opportunity  to increase awareness about it both in and out of our home, we take it!

We had the opportunity to work at the LDS Family Services Families Supporting Adoption (FSA) booth at the county fair. I first volunteered us to help out a friend who is the Chair. Next time I will volunteer because it is the right thing to do. The whole experience reminded me of how important it is that we do talk about it. I got to talk to people about adoption. To clarify some of their mis-perceptions. Because I don't know if you've heard, but people are ignorant idiots. I got to see and hear people's (often times negative) reactions to it. I got to practice keeping my cool when said idiots shoot their mouths off. I didn't even beat them the wet pool noodle like I wanted to. I got to witness the awesome families whose lives had been blessed by it! Other people got to see our little girl run around like every other kid. They got to see that we are just like other families. Scratch that. We're not like every other family.

Mostly it was just good to be reminded of all the stuff we already knew.

In the two weeks since it's come up with Scrunch twice. Once while watching Spirit. The mommy horse is about to give birth but you don't see the foal yet. "Where's the baby?"

Me, "It's still in her tummy, but it's going to come out soon."
"Oh, yeah. The baby is going to come out of the mommy's tummy."
Me, "Yup. Do all babies come out of their mommy's tummy?" This is where I wasn't sure where this was headed.
Without batting an eye, "No."
"That's right. Not all Mommy's babies come out of her tummy. You came out of (insert Birthmom's name here) tummy.
"Yup." And went back to watching her movie.

Then while we were waiting for Husband to check out of the hotel in Lake Tahoe I overheard the following conversation between Scrunch and her doll Shelby (Shoopie) in the back seat.

"It's okay. You no need to cry. We'll find you a mommy and daddy. Sh, sh, sh. Don't cry. I find you a mommy and daddy."
Overhearing this I step in. "Scrunch, aren't you Shoopie's mommy?"
"No! I can't! She no have a daddy!"
I wanted to cry. Happy cry.

I don't have to tell anyone about adoption. I get to.



P.S. Happy Birthday Grady! Don't tell your mom, but I posted this picture to see if I could get her to cry some more. You were such a little nugget then!

Win Some, Ya Lose Some

Win- Insurance finally got their act together and will cover the claim at 100%!
Loss- There are more claims where that one came from.

Win- Lots of fun with friends, weekends in Tahoe, beach trips, and park days.
Loss- Only phone pics to prove it.

Win- Husband is back in school and I am back to work.
Loss- Busy, busy, busy.

Win- Busy, busy, busy.
Loss- No blogging.

Win- Knit and finished something.
Loss- Gauge was off and had to frog it.

Win- Still pumping like a heifer.
Loss- Still awake.

Win- Scrunch gets more independent every day saying things like, "Mom, have you seen my purse?" and "Papa, can I drive?"
Loss- She's two and a half.

Win- Porkchop's cleft has closed 4mm.
Loss- He rips out the appliance at least four times a day.

Win- Both kids are busy, busy, busy.
Loss- Never been so tired in my life.

Win- BYU's first game of the season!
Loss- Not today suckas!