sick and tired

Hunter started puking around 2am this morning.  Once his stomach was empty, he dry heaved almost every 15-20 minutes all night.  I was upstairs with Ell doing something at 10am and he must have tried to come up with us, but didn't have the strength to make it so he laid down on the steps and fell asleep. 

The puking/ dry heaving lasted until around 11am, but the explosive diarrhea began at 10am (shortly after this pic was taken)  and for that hour he had it coming from both ends.  Poor guy. 

I've done 7 loads of laundry today, he's taken 5 showers, 4 changes of clothes,  and a partridge in a pear tree.

He's finally started to keep down the pedialyte popsicles Lynn brought over.  I think we're over the worst of it, let's hope no one else gets it.

grease monkey

Everyday, sometimes twice a day, I lube Ell up with Aquaphor lotion.  She managed to get a handful and rubbed it directly into her hair.  Remember the joke, "She's so greasy she glides when she walks.", in this case its true. 

Character Counts

 At the assembly, Savannah didn't know she was getting an award until Ellorie walked up beside her.
 

 These are all the second graders that were awarded for Responsibility.  Its rare for Savannah to be in  the front row because she's so tall, so I think this pic is really awesome.

We're super proud of you girl!  Keep up the good work!~ 

more wise words

STUDENT'S FATHER 12 YEARS LATER !!
Guess our national leaders didn't expect this On Thursday, Darrell Scott, the father of Rachel Scott, a victim of the Columbine High School shootings in Littleton , Colorado , was invited to address the House Judiciary Committee's subcommittee. What he said to our national leaders during this special session of Congress was painfully truthful.
They were not prepared for what he was to say, nor was it received well. It needs to be heard by every parent, every teacher, every politician, every sociologist, every psychologist, and every so-called expert! These courageous words spoken by Darrell Scott are powerful, penetrating, and deeply personal. There is no doubt that God sent this man as a voice crying in the wilderness.. The following is a portion of the transcript:
Since the dawn of creation there has been both good & evil in the hearts of

men and women. We all contain the seeds of kindness or the seeds of

violence. The death of my wonderful daughter, Rachel Joy Scott, and the

deaths of that heroic teacher, and the other eleven children who died must

not be in vain. Their blood cries out for answers.

"The first recorded act of violence was when Cain slew his brother Abel out

in the field. The villain was not the club he used.. Neither was it the NCA,

the National Club Association. The true killer was Cain, and the reason for

the murder could only be found in Cain's heart.

"In the days that followed the Columbine tragedy, I was amazed at how

quickly fingers began to be pointed at groups such as the NRA. I am not a

member of the NRA. I am not a hunter. I do not even own a gun. I am not here

to represent or defend the NRA - because I don't believe that they are

responsible for my daughter's death. Therefore I do not believe that they

need to be defended. If I believed they had anything to do with Rachel's

murder I would be their strongest opponent

I am here today to declare that Columbine was not just a tragedy -- it was a

spiritual event that should be forcing us to look at where the real blame

lies! Much of the blame lies here in this room. Much of the blame lies

behind the pointing fingers of the accusers themselves. I wrote a poem just

four nights ago that expresses my feelings best.

Your laws ignore our deepest needs,

Your words are empty air.

You've stripped away our heritage,

You've outlawed simple prayer.

Now gunshots fill our classrooms,

And precious children die.

You seek for answers everywhere,

And ask the question "Why?"

You regulate restrictive laws,

Through legislative creed.

And yet you fail to understand,

That God is what we need!

"Men and women are three-part beings. We all consist of body, mind, and

spirit. When we refuse to acknowledge a third part of our make-up, we create

a void that allows evil, prejudice, and hatred to rush in and wreak havoc.

Spiritual presences were present within our educational systems for most of

our nation's history. Many of our major colleges began as theological

seminaries. This is a historical fact. What has happened to us as a nation?

We have refused to honor God, and in so doing, we open the doors to hatred

and violence. And when something as terrible as Columbine's tragedy occurs

-- politicians immediately look for a scapegoat such as the NRA. They

immediately seek to pass more restrictive laws that contribute to erode away

our personal and private liberties. We do not need more restrictive laws.

Eric and Dylan would not have been stopped by metal detectors. No amount of

gun laws can stop someone who spends months planning this type of massacre.

The real villain lies within our own hearts.

"As my son Craig lay under that table in the school library and saw his two

friends murdered before his very eyes, he did not hesitate to pray in

school. I defy any law or politician to deny him that right! I challenge

every young person in America , and around the world, to realize that on

April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School prayer was brought back to our

schools. Do not let the many prayers offered by those students be in vain.

Dare to move into the new millennium with a sacred disregard for legislation

that violates your God-given right to communicate with Him. To those of you

who would point your finger at the NRA -- I give to you a sincere

challenge.. Dare to examine your own heart before casting the first stone!

My daughter's death will not be in vain! The young people of this country

will not allow that to happen!"

- Darrell Scott
Do what the media did not - - let the nation hear this man's speech. Please

send this out to everyone.

God Bless

candids

 

I told him to show me his mad face.

 This is him being cool.

 This picture just makes me smile.

 Who me?  Never

Nutcracker 2012

We had our traditional girls night to the ballet again this year.  This is a tradition I have come to cherish and look forward to all year long.  This year we went with our good friends Kim and Kayla Habegger.  We went to Olive Garden for dinner.  We got the girls corsages which they thought were pretty awesome.  At dinner our server said it was like looking at us at two different stages in our lives, when we were little (cause our girls look so much like us) and as adults. 

 

This production was INCREDIBLE!!  Best I have seen.  They changed it up and had lots more dancers, changed the setting to Paris in the 1920's and had amazing costumes and backrounds.  But the caliber of the dancing was off the charts.  It was...wow.  A good night was had by all.

 

 

Wise words

Dr. Chris Okiishi a pyschiatrist in Iowa City, Ia. posted the following
and think it is terrific advise:
"In light of recent horrific events, a piece of information taught to me when working with people after 9/11: Our brains perceive information as it comes in as separate events, even if it's additional information about a previous event or a new angle on a previous image or the same ...

image at a different time. Watching more and more about the same trauma makes our brains believe the trauma is repeated and repeated and repeated. Once you have the info you need, turning off the TV and internet is a good, safe, protective choice. And, sending letters to people in power is a good use of time and passion. If you have young children, in particular, TURN OFF YOUR TV. If they wonder what they can do, have them draw pictures, make cards to send to people who were hurt and the people that helped them. When faced with anxiety, we do better if we can act. And please, remind them and yourselves that they are safe and everything around them is the same as it was just few minutes ago."

its BBAACCCKKK

Yep, his feet funk is back...and its angry.  I gotta figure out how to get rid of it.  Its awful.  AWFUL.

People SUCK

I know its partially my fault for not double checking, but seriously.  Okay- here's what I believe happened.

If my van is parked at even the slightest decline (the front of my car is pointing down the smallest microscopic slope) the automatic sliding doors don't want to close and they will bounce back open.  When you're walking away from the van and you push the lock button on your key less remote it honks and makes you think that your car is locked up safely, when in fact your sliding door is wide open. 

This has happened to me twice in the past month and two other times I happened to look over my shoulder and noticed that the door was still open.  Well, we have been looking for my big black cd case with ALL our DVD's in it and it is gone.  All I can think is that one of those times I didn't notice the door didn't close, and some punk stole it. 

Every DVD we own.  Almost 100- gone.  It makes me sick.  People suck.


******************update****************************

People no longer suck.  Hunter pulled the movie case out from under my bed.  I have no idea how it got there, or why but he has restored my faith in humanity. 

science experiment

Austin's feet have the funk.  I mean he can stink up my entire 3000 sq foot house within minutes of taking his shoes off.  Its awful, not unlike his Nana's feet. Sorry mom.

So a friend of mine said the only way to kill the bacteria that causes the funk is to freeze the shoes over night and soak his feet in black tea for 30 minutes.  The black tea kills the bacteria on his feet and the freezing temps kill the bacteria in his shoes. 

We will see.  I made him soak last night and his shoes were frozen solid this morning.  I will update after school.

***UPDATE****

When he took his shoes off they were not hideodorous like they normally are.  They still smelled like sneakers that had been worn all day, but they didn't make me dry heave and run out the door for fresh air.  So I would say the experiment was success.  Guess what mom's getting for Christmas, black tea!!!

But why mom?

Savannah's spelling words this week had the "ou" and "ow" sounds and I don't know the rules to help her understand why you use one and not the other.  I hope she did okay on her test.  Maybe after all this, she can teach me the rules.  I'm sure next week will be the same and I'm sure I won't know those rules either.

flash mob with a touching ending.

https://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?v=457420397658168&set=vb.100001706350846&type=2&theater

I didn't expect to be brought to tears.

Hunter's house

He made this at preschool.  He was so proud of himself. 

Look what I found.

diabetes and dry skin

The Sunday before Thanksgiving Ellorie came down with a low grade fever.  It never got above 100.6 but it reeked havic on her diabetes.  Here's why-

when she has a fever, her blood sugars go high.  When her blood sugars are high her body pulls moisture from her body to try and flush the excess glucose from her body, which results in dry skin. 

We started to notice a red rash on Saturday when we got back from Dallas.  I tried on Monday to put some of the Mary Kay Extra Emolient night cream on and she started screaming like I had set her on fire. 

I immediately took her to the kitchen sink and gently washed the lotion off her legs, but the damage was done.  I lubed her up with vaseline and the next day they looked almost normal. 

Once again Ellorie, I am sorry that you have to suffer in order for me and dad to learn some of this stuff. 

my new haircut

I had Lyndsie cut my hair while I was in Utah. I didn't go as short as I initially wanted, but as I continue to lose weight, I will get more confident and will keep going shorter.  Sorry Ben.

Pig tails

This little lady HATES to have anything in her hair.  She immediately pulls out any barrett, pony tail, bow, anything.  Hates it.  So I realized her hair might be long enough to put in piggies and I had to try.  She kept them in for all of 2 minutes...or just long enough for me to get the camara and take some pics.  But dang, isn't she cute??!!

christmas card rejects

Hunterisms

Hunter is in that really funny age where they are trying to master the English language, but some of the rules seem to be tripping him up.  Here are a couple examples

-"No me can't brush mine's own teeth."
-"No me want go to bed in her's bed."
-"I can't know how to sit on mine's own lap."
-"Mine's feet is so cold they's melting."

I love it.  He makes me smile, everyday.

When is a nativity set NOT a nativity set?

I was getting all my Christmas stuff out in anticipation for the holidays and low and behold, neither of my nativity sets have a baby Jesus.  All I can guess is he was resurrected and took his body back to Heaven?  A more likely answer is Hunter was playing with them and they got lost.  Either way, is it still a nativity set if it doesn't have a baby Jesus?

little helper

She's a smart cookie.  Can you see she's on her tippy toes to reach?

trip to Utah

I was lucky enough to go out to Utah for a weekend to see my friend Lyndsie.   She is the friend that had a baby on Aug 2, then found out her baby had SMA and died 10 days later.  I couldn't go out for the funeral, so we figured out a way for me to go out this fall.  It was wonderful to see her again.  Its been 4 years since we lived in the same state, and 3 years since we had seen each other.  I got to meet her new husband and he's great. 

 

 

 It was snowing when I flew into SLC.  It continued to snow all day Saturday.  We ate lots of food, talked alot, and just enjoyed each others company. 

 While shopping I found a perfect coat for Savannah at H&M.  I love that store. 

I thought I would worry more about the kids, but they were in good hands and I found myself not worrying at all.  Thank you Ben. 

high fever

Normally I am not the mom who cares about germs.  My kids get fevers or whatever and its usually less than 48 hrs and they are back to normal.  Savannah spiked a fever on Sunday night and still has it.  Its about 102 when the Tylenol/Ibuprofen wears off.  She's been on antibiotics for 24 hrs and still has it.  That means its not bacteria (strep throat).  It must be viral and it will just have to run its course. 

But I'm so afraid Ellorie will catch it.  A high fever like that for days in a row could easily send Ellorie to the hospital for dehydration.  I fly to Utah on Friday and I am praying no one else gets it.  I would hate for Ben to be home with all 4 kids and have Ellorie sick.  Her blood sugars are impossible to control when she has fever. 

Please pray she doesn't get it.  Or at least she doesn't get it til I get home on Mon. 

dear grama

I found this note in Savannah's backpack.  I wanted to make sure it didn't get lost.  I will mail it to Jodi's house so she can hopefully make sure grandma gets it.  We love you Grama and are so happy you are feeling better.  We can't wait to see you. 

Translation-
 dear grama
You are a great grandma.  Are you feeling good?  I hope you are as pretty as you were.  The Conkey family love you, even me!  I have a present for you at home.  Cooper s probably missing you while you are gone.  We are sad right now.  You are a good grandma, you are the best. 

Love Savannah Conkey

my next haircut

I wear my hair in a ponytail roughly 99.99% of the time.  I blowdry my hair once a week, if even that and I NEVER do anything with it.  So when I go to Salt Lake next weekend, I'm totally chopping it all off and this is the style I'm going after.  I will post pics when I get back. 

Happy Halloween

This is the last year that Austin will go trick or treating.  We've decided that once they are out of elementary school, they get to stay home and pass out the goods to the little kids. 

He had a really hard time deciding on a costume because he thought they were all dumb.  He decided on this (a Clone Trooper), we ordered it and then if given the option (which I didn't) he didn't want to wear it, but he did because Hunter wore his plan B, football player. 

Savannah was a witch because everything else in her size looked trashy.  Ellorie wore the skeleton jammies Hunter wore 2 Halloween's ago and Hunter was a football player.  We had nice weather and the kids raked in the goods. 

Abscess

The front tooth that Hunter jammed back up into his gums about 9 months ago started to change color in Sept.  I didn't think much of it at the time, but when we went to the dentist's office last week the dentist lifted the lip a little further and at the top found a big abscess and said the tooth had to come out. 

It may have been one of the most traumatic experiences I've had as a mother.  Holding him down, I was crying.  I couldn't look.  I'm sure it must have scared him even more to see me looking over my shoulder with my eyes closed crying. 

Anyway, he's toothless until the permanent tooth comes in, which will happen around 6. 

Baptism day

 Its not the best pic I've ever taken, but it will have to do. 

Savannah and Ben getting their wiggles out before the big moment. 

It was such a nice day.  Great weather, great spirit, great friends. Great day.

cause and effect

A very wonderful, sweet and honest friend called me because she read my last blog post and was concerned that I didn't understand cause and effect.

She said in this life, all we own are the choices we make.  We have no power or control over how our choices affect those around us.  Each choice we make in this life is like a pebble being dropped in a still pond.  No matter if the choice is good or bad, it makes ripples.  We can't worry about how those ripples affect others.  All we can focus on are our pebbles.  Own each choice and make sure it is one we are proud of and that doesn't hurt others.

I can't choose how my blog affects others. I can't force them do BE more than they can be.  I can't control others actions. 

So in the spirit of humility and understanding, I won't be going private after all.  I feel like the pebbles I put in this pond by blogging are good pebbles and let the ripples fall where they may. 

side effects-my last blog post

I started this blog because we were living in Las Vegas and I left like it was my responsibility to make sure that our friends and family could still be a part of our kids lives even though we had moved so far away. 

The side effect of that decision is that those same people feel like they are apart of our lives with no effort on their part.  They get to watch the kids grow up and hear all the funny stories while making no effort to actually BE a part of their lives. 

They feel totally connected because I give them that window into our lives.  All the effort in the relationship is mine.  They feel so connected that they see no real reason to BE a part of our lives. 

I did it so our family and friends could keep up with us.  But the side effect is that they aren't connecting with my kids.  My kids don't care that someone looks at their pics.  My kids don't care that the blog gets checked everyday.  They care that you put forth some effort and BE a part of their lives. 

This blog has become our families journal and I will continue that journal, privately.  This is the last post on this blog.  I am going to set it to private next week and continue on my own. 

Scary faces

For Savannah's birthday party this year we took 4 of her friends to see Hotel Transylvania.  In honor of the movie, we then came home and made Halloween masks. 

all bundled up

All bundled up for the first cold football game.