They Say It's My Birthday

Dear Chitlins~

Today's the day. The day your mama is officially in her 30s. It's a good day.

A brief history of life. Here I am when I was officially the baby of the family. What a good looking crew! See anyone familiar looking in there? After two mini-Chads, I had desperately hoped for a girl who looked like me. I think we got her. Wonder who the next one will look like.

This is 18 years later, celebrating Nana's graduation with her Masters in Counseling. What a proud moment! This has Uncle Dan, not yet born in the first picture. Another good looking crew.

Kids, this girl-woman that you see there...that's how I think of myself. Now, please I know that's not reality any more. I know after 3 kids and one more on the way, things have definitely....shifted. For some reason my hair lost more curl with each pregnancy. My eyes have rejected contacts entirely. And don't get me started on stretch marks.

But honestly, when I go for hours, okay days, without looking in the mirror, the person in my head is that person in this picture. And honestly, it's a shock every time when I don't see her anymore. And most of the time it's okay. I'm very proud of the Mama I've turned into. I am very proud of the children I'm raising, of the husband I love, of the life I choose to lead. And no one can be 21 forever. I wouldn't give this life up for anything.

And yet. That's a gorgeous girl. I hope I knew that at the time. I hope you know it, Kariah. When you are 21 and stunning and smart and have the world at your fingertips. I hope you know it and love it and are able to choose that which really matters.

I love you guys. You really matter. To me.

Our Model

Dear Kids,

Nana came by today, to give me a birthday gift. A lovely pair of handmade earrings. Kariah wanted them on, immediately. She modeled them on and off for over an hour. It was quite funny. And quite cute.

ps. they are clip ons. Kariah, you have to be at least 12, with straight A's, and a super clean bedroom before I will consider letting you pierce your ears.

Mom, I Broke My Arm

Dear Jo-Bear,

These are just the words that a mother wants to hear. Here's the story:

You had about a week of Christmas break left. It was a gorgeous sunny day and we headed outside to enjoy the park that is 15 steps from our front door that you have been playing on since you were 2.

Kariah and I had walked down the sidewalk to get the mail and were about 30 feet away when I heard you yelling "ow! ow!" in a way I had never heard. I started running but when I got there 5 seconds later, you were walking towards me. Marcus was dancing around, worried but I couldn't tell which was greater: his worry for you or his worry that he was somehow in trouble.

You were holding your arm, said that you had slipped, and "Mom, it's broken."

Now I hadn't seen it and I'm really not an over-reactive mother, so I asked you to sit down and take a rest. I had Marcus point out where you were and if you had simply fallen, there was almost no way you could have broken your arm. I've watched you jump from that platform about a million times.

I sat down next to you and you explained that you had been sitting on the platform, with your arm in the railing. You slipped off the platform and hung by your arm. You hauled yourself back onto the platform and climbed down the steps. Then you insisted again "Mom, my arm is broken."

At this point you still weren't crying, at all, but you were starting to turn pasty white. I figured it was worth an Urgent Care visit just to make sure. I called a family in the ward with two teenage girls and one was there literally within 5 minutes, even before I could get all three of you back in the house.

I piled you in the van and drove the whole 1/4 mile to the nearest urgent care. There was practically no waiting (I swear those things are like 7-11's now, they're everywhere).

We were all pretty sure it wasn't broken, because again you hadn't shed a tear. You were even paler now and hadn't said a word since we got there. I had to leave you alone in the x-ray room since pregnant mommies aren't allowed.

The doctor walked in moments later, "It's broken." He gave us instructions to see an orthopedist to set it and instructed the nurse to put it in a splint. Pain? tylenol and ibuprofen. Now I'm in shock and you were triumphantly right.

Splint gets put on and even I can see that it's not really what you need. We come home and put Kariah down for a nap and ship Marcus off to a friend's, and try to get you some rest. Then I notice your fingers are turning blue.

As in all medical crisis, I called Aunt Michelle. She taught me how to press your fingernails to check for good circulation. She also insisted that I call our pediatrician and get a quick follow-up appointment.

So by 2 pm, we are off to doc #2. The first thing they said was that the splint needed to come off, then they said we could have it set the next day by a doctor in the practice. Then she said that we could get a much better splint if we hurried to doc #3. Then she gave us a prescription for a good painkiller.

Doc #3 made a custom splint that was soooo much better. We finally got home at 6:30 that night. My good friend Ann took care of Marcus and Kariah and I owe her big. Your fingers returned to normal. You picked green for your cast the next day and for a cast, it's awesome.

The break is in your forearm, about 2 inches lower than your elbow. The location necessitated a cast that covered your elbow and immobilizes your arm in a bent position. But the doctor who set it, said that it was a good, clean break that historically heals quickly and easily.

You've had a couple rough days. It started with the fact that everyone, from family to friends to strangers, wanted to know all about it and shower you with attention. Turns out you really, really hate that and you were grateful it's winter. You wear long sleeve shirts every day, mostly to cover the cast.

You've also had some pain here and there but after the first few days, it was nothing ibuprofen couldn't handle.

Everyone, Grampa, Dad, me, everyone would have put money on Marcus having the first broken bone in our family. But you shocked everyone. I hope you heal quickly and easily. The cast is supposed to come off this upcoming Friday but even last week, you had a day of pain. Fingers are crossed. Well, not yours but mine are, for you.

I love you Jo. But don't ever do that again.

Tricky Mommy

Dear Offspring,

A long time ago your Aunt Jaime made her own laundry detergent. I was very impressed. Then Aunt Liz did the same thing. I was doubly impressed. Alas, I had just bought a six month supply and I had to wait to be cool like them.

Finally, we ran out. I followed the recipe, followed the hints, and voila, I made at least two months of laundry detergent for about $10. I still have tons of supplies so the next 3 batches should only cost me about $3. Sweet!

The reason I tell you this is that someday you will move out. Yes, you will. And you will be in charge of your own laundry. And hopefully you will only remember homemade detergent and the thought of buying some sounds ludicrous.

And if I make anything abundantly clear to you it is that: 1. Your mother is the best cook in the known galaxy and 2. Why pay for something you can make?

Also, there's this. Daddy makes a good living. We are very, very blessed. And I want you to know now when you are little and later, when you are parents, that your Mommy chose to make laundry detergent, not because she had to but because it was the right choice, because why spend extra money when you don't have to? Why pay for huge plastic containers that end up in landfills, when you reuse the ones you have?

Your ancestors said it best. Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without. No matter how well off you are or how much you struggle. The best choice is the right choice.

So here's the recipe. (my notes in red)

Ingredients: (I found all of this at our local Fry's, although Wal-Mart only had the Borax and it was about $2 cheaper) (Wal-Mart is evil.) (just fyi)

• 1 Bar Fels Naptha Soap


• 1 cup Borax


• 1 cup Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda


• Water

Tools:

• 5 gallon container


• Cheese Grater


• Pot


• Long stirring stick/spoon (for 5 gallon container)

Pour 6 cups of water in the pot and heat it just shy of boiling. You want it warm enough to melt the soap, but not enough to boil over. While the water is warming up, grate the bar of soap into small pieces. Add the shredded soap to the pot of heated water. Stir the mixture until the soap is completely melted.

Once the soap is melted, add 1 cup Borax and 1 cup Washing Soda to the melted soap mixture. Stir until dissolved. (It's really easy to let the soap boil over. I used an extra large pot to prevent the extra mess.) Pour 3 gallons of hot water into the 5-gallon container, then add in the melted soap mixture.

Optional Fragrance: I really liked the Fels soap smell, so I didn't feel the need to add anything. If you prefer to have a pleasant scent to your homemade laundry detergent, you may add a few drops of essential oils. The amount of fragrance added is strictly of personal preference.

Now that everything is mix and dissolved, you'll have a 5 gallon container of soapy water. Cover it and place it somewhere it won't be disturbed. Let it cool overnight. It will begin to gel as it cools. It does not gel uniformly so the next day it will look like Egg Drop soup (remarkably accurate!). You will want to store your homemade laundry detergent in smaller containers. Start out using 1/2 detergent per load, add a bit more if you feel the need. On your clothes, I use 2/3 cup.

I did a ton of research to make sure it was combatible with our brand new High Efficiency washer. It is low sudsing so it worked fine. In my research, I also found suggestions to use white vinegar in hard water areas. I've been putting about 1/4 cup white vinegar in the fabric softener slot. Apparently that helps the soap wash out as well as preventing calcium build up in the washer lines.

Happy Laundering!

A Thanksgiving Song

Dear Kariah,

Grampa will call sometimes and ask "And how is the Princess?". I never have a good response. There is just no way to put into words the Essence of Kariah. The closest I can come is with pictures. They are better at showing your silliness, your cuteness, your crankiness, your attitude, your sassiness, your Kariah-ness.

These pictures were taken during Thanksgiving at BYU, while waiting for a bowling lane. You and Briggie Jo treated us all to a song.

You leave me speechless.

Thanksgiving 2009

Dear Kids,

For Thanksgiving the entire Thurston clan headed up to Provo for the big feast and to attend the blessing of our new cousin, Hyrum. We decided to take the whole week off and spend a few days at Grandma Thurston's cabin.

It was so much fun. So cold. But so fun, swinging on the tire swing, climbing rocks, playing games, watching football. To say Thanks to Grandma, we raked the whole yard, trying to get as many leaves as we could in a huge pile.

Marcus had never in his whole life jumped in a leaf pile so he had a wonderful time doing that, working hard alongside Mom and Dad to make sure the pile was as big as possible. I personally thought it was disgusting given the amount of deer poop that had made it in there, but Marcus was on cloud 9. Jonah watched from inside, not interested. Kariah wasn't too impressed either, she didn't understand this whole "cold snotty nose" business.

After the cabin we headed up to Provo. And my memory kind of stops there. That was when I started to get really, really sick. I remember our beautiful hotel room. I remember searching all of Provo and Orem for the only food my tummy wanted (Italian) fruitlessly on Thanksgiving day. I remember Jonah had a bad rash but many different people came to our rescue. I remember a really amazing Japanese lunch that only Utah County could deliver. The rest is hazy.

Cabin memories, family memories, Thanksgiving memories. You guys sure are loved.

And Then She Was Sick.

Dear Kids,

Almost two months. That's how long your Mommy has been out of commission. That's how long since I've posted on our blog. That's how long since I've packed a school lunch, started and finished a load of laundry, taken a walk outside. That's how long since I've even put you to bed. By 8 o'clock, I could only move off the couch to puke in the bathroom.

And it's been okay. Okay because Daddy has been here. And when he couldn't be, he hired someone to play with you and cook and clean for me. It's been okay because dozens of friends have brought us meals. It's been okay because Michelle has come to clean our house.

But mostly it's been okay because it has to be. That's just how life is, when a new baby is on the way.

I love you kids. Thank you for being patient while Mommy grows a new baby.