A Sports Analogy

Seth went back to school today. I can't decide if this year-round schedule is something I like or not. And I really can't tell if it's something he likes or not. Last night, as I reminded him that it was actually a school night, his reaction was one of fear and surprise and he had to hold back tears. Although I have little doubt that when I pick him up from school today he'll be back to flashing his "rock on" hand signs that his buddy Ethan and him constantly give to whoever is watching, I can't help but think that perhaps this starting and stopping and starting again, all within the same school year is hard on their tender souls.

Regardless of how Seth feels, I feel fantastic! I don't want to be the mom that only wants her kids to be gone, but after a month of cold-weather-living-on-top-of-each-other togetherness, I think some space every day is a good thing. On top of that, I find that the daily taking and picking up from school routine gives a schedule to plan around.

This last month, I feel like I've been playing defense. Every day is free to be different, and because it was Seth's "vacation" I felt awful if there wasn't at least one fantastic element to it. Luckily, there was a lot of built in festivity. Christmas (obviously), all the snow (which led to a couple of sledding trips and one snowmobiling adventure, but, sadly, no skiing yet), a brother's birthday and a road trip.

But there were lots of days in between where I cringed as I mentally counted the hours of Wii play time. Although the way Seth plays, it truly is the equivalent of an all day trip to an aerobics class. The kid does not stop bouncing. Me...I've found the remote works perfectly well from the couch:) I know, I know....not the point.

I think all the defensive play took my mood hostage and for the past three of four days and every chance I've had to write something, I've felt a slight negative spin work its way into my journaling. I feel like there's been plenty of that on the ol' spasm blog of late, so I refrained. Besides....I promised.

BUT, some good things have been happening:

• dinner with Dana and her husband Aaron on Friday night at Flemings Steakhouse. Very delicious, especially the Flemings potatoes and very expensive. But they do validate your parking. So that's something.
• I had my second workout with a personal trainer at the gym. I didn't document my first experience but in summation, I threw up once we were finished. It's possible I over did it. As a result, there was some slight dread going into number two, but when I arrived at the gym, I saw my trainer just beginning a session with someone else. Disappointed but ready to use the gym nonetheless, I headed upstairs to the treadmills and pushed myself to some newly acquired itunes beats. After thirty-five minutes, I headed back downstairs to do a few reps on some random equipment and the trainer caught my eye and mouthed, "I'll be with you shortly" while holding up a finger. Uh-oh. Thankfully, after sixty brutal minutes, my body pulled itself together and kept its dignity. Of course, I had to "fall" onto the toilet for the next few days, but I feel fine now.
• Jay and I took the boys to the U of U/BYU men's basketball game at the Huntsman Center Saturday afternoon. It wasn't the most exciting game in memory, but even Henry was manageable at the game this time. As much as I love football, its hard to beat less than two hours in a climate controlled environment. Oh...and beating the Utes on their home terf!
  
• dinner with Dining Divas on Saturday night at Em's restaurant. It is such a cute restaurant. It reminded me of Luna's or Twigs in Spokane. Something smaller and quaint and great for the gabbing.
• Blogger Lindsay took some family pictures for us on Saturday morning. Very unfortunately, my three children decided that being outside without a coat on for more than five minutes was akin to dunking them in ice water. Once the tears started, there was no distracting any of them and the photo session was promptly over. If we were perfectly photogenic, those fifteen minutes would have been plenty of time, but I fear we need more options. Here are some of her pictures.
  

Everyone looks o.k. but me! I've got some weird squint open mouthed thing going on.

I can't believe she got any of the boys that didn't have snot and tears in them. I think she may have been talking to Seth about the Wii right now to get this somewhat normal face.

• Sammy never smiled. But he's cute no matter what.

This is actually my favorite picture of all. Isn't Lindsay talented?

• I left our best family picture out so that you'd have to go check out her photography blog if you're interested. I like the one of us squatting and will print it out for a frame in addition to this one of Henry, so it wasn't a complete bust.
  
• Henry got really sick on Sunday. Maybe it was due to his twenty minute exposure the previous day without a coat (although my microbiology background knows this can't be. Viruses don't get picked up from cold air) but by 1:00 when it was time to go to church, we knew he shouldn't be around anyone (because my microbiology background tells me that viruses can and do get spread by sick boys touching toys and books and coughing on poor nursery leaders). While I normally wouldn't put any illness into a list of good things, a blessing from his dad and his Uncle Clark turned an almost trip to the Emergency Room (his bad cough kept getting worse and he has a history of drama) into a clear runny nose on a happy boy the next day. Oh....and that was after a silent and deep sleep through the night. A miracle for everyone.
• Yesterday, I saw 27 dresses with my sisters (cute show. I like Kathryn Heigl) and then had Jay's brother Clark and his wife Stephanie over for dinner and games. Jay discovered he can make a really yummy Chile Verde and it's become our company-over-for-dinner meal. I think we have the beginning of a beautiful tradition in the works here.
  

With school resuming and switching back to offense, I've managed to get a bunch of stuff done today:

• I finally went to the post office to mail a package to my sister in Canada. I've had it since well before Christmas and lately I've been avoiding her like my visiting teaching supervisor when I haven't done my visits for the months. As much as I hate standing in that drab line and overpaying to ship something across the border (aren't they still our friendly neighbors to the north? Where's the love and trust?), having that package out of the back of my van gives me my confidence back. I am no longer completely lame.
  
• I got all my shopping done for Sammy's birthday this Saturday.
  
• I took my ring in to be fixed. The back of my platinum band got cut about a month ago and I took it off so that it wouldn't pinch my finger. I have no idea how, but the metal was cut clear through so they have to solder it back together. I'm excited to wear my diamond again.
• We're getting closer to getting a diagnosis for Henry. I've been reading a book and feel strongly that he does indeed have a speech disorder. I've been able to reflect back on other clues that might help shed some light on why he's not talking. He's never had a good suck reflex (it used to take him hours to drink a bottle) and he has a hard time swallowing food that doesn't almost dissolve by chewing (like meat). I think he might have some actual physical issues with talking. But, I think there are some cognitive and attention things as well and today, he scored low on his audiology test. He also has an ear infection, so the results aren't wholly valid (he has a retest in a few weeks), but it might be another piece of the puzzle. As scary as it is, it feels better to be doing something about it, then doing the "wait and see."
• It's a Matt day! Sammy has a buddy, Henry is taking a necessary nap and I have time to blog.
  

Offense and defense are both parts of the game I love called life, but it's nice to have the ball back in my hands. Play ball!