Leap Day

We didn't actually "celebrate" Leap Day this year in our house with the exception of "Hey!  Happy Leap Day."  Pinterest and Instagram weren't really things last leap day, so I didn't really think of celebrating it, so this year when I saw a couple friends doing some cute fun things, I made a mental note to think about that the next time Leap Year rolls around.

And then of course train of thought being what it is, I started to think about what life might be like in four years, and what life was like four years ago (Fortunately I have this handy dandy searchable blog to help jog my memory, even though for some odd reason all my landscape pictures have been turned sideways...)

And as luck would have it, last February I did "updates" on each of the kids' lives.  (It must have been a slow month) I'm including passages from those posts just for fun.

Four years ago Nick was a freshman in high school.  He was involved in orchestra, drama, and cross country.  (He hadn't found choir yet.  He was fairly adamant that he couldn't sing.)

He is gone a lot more than he ever was, but I am grateful that he has found so much joy in school.  I'm glad he's getting involved and approaching every aspect of it with enthusiasm, and finds school much more than just a place to survive or sit and listen to teachers and then leave without ever looking back.  

Maddie was in the 6th grade.  That was the year that she broke her arm.  It made playing the viola and the piano a little tricky for awhile there.

She's currently registering for jr. high.  I don't know if I'm ready for that. She's still just so sweet and innocent.  She actually still covers her eyes when people on TV kiss.  Maybe I will lock her in the attic for a few years. Hold on to that innocence awhile longer.

We did get in a bit of a fight over her registration.  Actually, it was more like she told me what she'd like to do, and I said "drop dead."  She wants to quit orchestra to pursue acting. She believes drama is where her passions lie, and the stage is calling her, blah, blah, blah.   

Zach was in the 4th grade.  He was having issues with friends.  It was so hard to watch him struggle like that. Kids can be so mean. 

Zach's dealing with this pretty well.  He's busy with swimming and soccer and scouts and piano lessons, and he's found other friends that are in bike riding distance from home.  Kids that he's known for awhile, it just hasn't been as convenient to seek them out before.  It's good to branch out anyway.  

Christopher was 5 1/2 and in kindergarten.  He'd barely been potty trained.  (Seriously. It was a miracle.)

He's learning to read which is exciting.  He seems to do better with memorizing sight words than sounding things out.  He knows the sounds, just can't seem to string them together. "Sssss-aaaa-tuh." (sat) "Good job, what does that say?"  "Suzzing."   He mostly just makes up his own words that start with the same sound.  At least he gets points for creativity.  Christopher's language skills are still pretty crude, he speaks in the third person much of the time and leaves out all the little details that make sentences grammatically correct.  "Christopher want pizza."  "Christopher play wii?" "I no want to."

Four years from now, Nick will be 23.  He could be married.  He could be a daddy. (I could be a grandma!) He could be back living in Montana because he decided to take up ranching as a career, or off at college somewhere studying technical theatre and music or computer science. Or none of the above. 

Madison will be 20.  She could be on a mission. She could be married.  She could be a mommy. (I could be a grandma! again!) She could be off at school somewhere studying technical theatre and music or living the dream as a stage manager on a Disney Cruise ship.

Zach will be 17 1/2.  He'll be a senior in High school.  He'll probably still be in band. Probably following in his siblings steps and involved in tech theatre.  Hopefully he'll be preparing to go on a mission.  Maybe he'll have a girlfriend?  ;)

Christopher will be in the 8th grade.  I kind of don't really know what to say about that. I am a little shocked to look back and think of how far he has actually come in the last 4 years.  He still has plenty of struggles, but holy cow, has he come a long way. Right now he says he wants to play the cello.  Don't ask me why.  Except that Maddie wants to play the cello, so I think she's doing a fair bit of "encouraging."

Four years ago, we were barely beginning high school, Christopher was barely potty trained, and only beginning to actually answer questions instead of repeating what you just said.  Maddie still had yet to figure out who she was, and Zach was very much afraid of everything and let anxiety rule his life.   Only four short years, but life and kids and parenting look completely different now.  Four years from now?  I can pretend to try and imagine, but I really can't even begin to predict. (Still waiting on a time machine to show up at my door.)   I couldn't have predicted that life would have turned out this. And four years from now?  Fuhgettaboutit.

Missing Nick

This is a copy of a letter I sent Nick (with a couple visual aids added in)  It's partly a repeat of the last blog post, but with a few more personal details.  I'm rehashing the stories because they're actually about two completely different things.  My last post was about the kids, and their extra curricular activities, and this one is actually all about Nick, and how although Nick is a couple states away, he seemed to be ever present.  His influence and example were seen and felt by me all night long.

Elder Berrett-

So the last couple of days have been busy.  On Wednesday, Madison performed in her first one act.  Hannah mckinnon came over and sang her praises to me, and said that next year Maddie is pretty much going to be running the department.  She’s a great actress and a real leader.  Apparently she whipped the last show into shape and makes a fantastic stage manager, she was unanimously picked to direct the show next year.  

Last night Christopher had his production of Mary Poppins.  It’s the friggin cutest.  I’m sure whatever was going on the stage was lovely too, but my kid stole the show standing on one of the risers.  He had to dress up (hopefully you got those pictures)  so he borrowed one of your bow ties and suspenders.  His pants were ridiculously too short.  Like 3 inches too short.  He’s so funny to watch (I’ll see if I can try and send some clips)  He takes his part so seriously, but is so awkward, and then there was some serious nose picking.  I think something was really bothering him in there, but he was trying (and failing) to be discreet.

Zach had his band concert at the high school.  It was packed.  It was two hours long.  I was going to die of hunger.  And I had to pee.  I hadn’t eaten since noon, because there wasn’t time after work to do anything but run to Christopher's school.  I tell you this because you’ll understand my frustration when I just wanted to leave.  I’m starving.  It was a two hour long junior high band concert, of which I only cared about maybe 15 minutes.  I worked all day, and really just wanted to put on my pajamas.  I did finally use the restroom, so I took care of that, but that restroom in the auditorium totally smells like weed.  Looks like your bud truck has been in the area.

Anyway, Christopher and I are waiting, waiting, we don’t know where Maddie and Zach are.  (Maddie had volunteered to tech, so she was up in the booth for the whole thing.  Of course she volunteered. This comes as no surprise at all. ) At some point, one of the parents of one of Zach’s friends pointed out that Zach was being quite the gentleman and holding the door open for everyone.  Not quite like you, there were no cheerful exclamations of “Thank you for coming!... Have a fantastic evening!...”  Just Zach, quietly serving.   And I finally texted Maddie, “Where are you?  I want to go!  I’m in the lobby!”  And she came running out- “Can I just coil one cord, please?!?! Just one, I promise!”  And then Zach disappeared, and we found him on the stage, putting away chairs and stuff.

And so finally we left.  And we were practically the last ones out of there, I sent you a couple pictures so you can tell that the once crowded auditorium was now a ghost town, so I had the kids stop for a picture because they looked especially good looking.

But one thing became abundantly clear when I looked at that picture afterwards.  You might not have actually been there, but you were very much present.  From Christopher’s bow tie and suspenders from your life before your mission, to Zach’s white shirt and tie from your life right now.  Even Maddie’s black tech shirt reminds me of you.  She might never have found tech if it weren’t for you.  We were at the high school auditorium, your former home away from home, and had spent the night enjoying a couple musical productions, and one drama one the night before.  Even the fact that we were the last ones leaving, because my kids just couldn’t stop serving, reminded me of you.

Anyway, just thought I’d share.  And to thank you  and tell you what an awesome example you are to your siblings.  Pretty much the only thing missing from the picture was a TARDIS.  It’s in the shop.  Sorry we couldn’t drag it out for the photo op, but the fact that it exists in the first place is directly related to your influence as well.

So thanks J Keep up the good work.  No pressure though.  Just keep being you. I love you! 

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ mom

The best kind of entertainment

Last week, Madison performed for her very first time ever on stage.  She's proven herself to be a force to be reckoned with backstage, and she wanted to mix it up a little bit.  She did awesome.  She did tell me that she tried to soften the edges of her character.

Maddie- "I don't like her.  She's not very nice."
Me- "That's the fun of acting!  You get to be someone else!  You get to be 'not very nice'!"

Well, at any rate, one of the Senior girls came up to me and told me how awesome she thinks Maddie is, and that next year she's going to be running the place.  She will pretty much have her pick of roles on stage or off.  They've even already unofficially voted, and they want Maddie to direct the Performance Troupe show next year.

My hopes and dreams for her include her getting a job on a Disney Cruise ship as a stage manager for their many shows, and hopefully that job will include awesome perks like free passes for her mom.

Christopher was in his 4th grade production of a revue of Mary Poppins.  It was so fantastic.  Even having all the songs in my head for the last month were totally worth it.  He's been singing them all month long, and was super excited when I busted out my old Disney music CD's from the 90's.

But seriously though, watching his enthusiasm was so worth it.  He sang all the songs, and awkwardly did all the motions, and the only time he wasn't standing still, was when he just couldn't contain his excitement.

He even had a little dance number on stage to "Step in Time".  (which is totally running through my head right now)  It was fantastic.  And in my humble opinion, my kid stole the show.

We had to scramble to find him a costume that morning (because we forgot) so his pants were a few inches too short, and his bow tie and suspenders were borrowed from his brother.  I love that he isn't overly concerned with appearances.  Ridiculously short pants could have been a serious issue with his siblings.  (Maybe not Nick though....)

We raced from Christopher's production at his school, to Zach's band concert at the high school.  (So, in two days, that's live theatre, a musical revue, and a band concert.)  I'd missed the last concert, and I didn't want to miss this one.  It's so fun to watch the kids develop.  We were pretty late, and so when we walked in I was sure that we had walked in on the 8th grade performing.  Thanking my lucky stars that I didn't miss it, and found a seat clear in the back.  (the place was packed)  I couldn't see the trumpet section from my vantage point, so I wasn't entirely sure that Zach was in fact on the stage, so it was a nice surprise when they announced that the 8th grade would be coming up next, and an added bonus when I realized that Zach's group was much better than I thought they were.  (What a difference a year makes!)  I can't wait to see how much he progresses in the years to come.

Snow!

Looking through my old pictures trying to find some of Zach for my last post, I found these -

While Maddie and I were in Jamaica, our neighborhood association delivered snow to the local park for the kids to play with.  (You can see how I forgot to mention it, it was fairly eclipsed with thoughts of Paradise.)

But you know, because this is Arizona, and snow is exotic, they were very excited to go and play.

The middle child

A long time ago, for book club, we read a book called "The birth order book".  Despite the fact that it was super interesting, I was neck deep in raising a toddler, and I only got about 1/4 of the way through the book.  I have every intention of finishing it some day, but given the fact that I had borrowed it from someone else, I don't exactly have it in my possession anymore. (Yes, that's fixable, I just forget.  It has been years.)

Anyways, A couple of the points they make is that birth order matters, there are three categories - oldest, middle, and youngest, but it's not necessarily just your first born that would be an "oldest child".  For instance, if you have a huge gap in age ranges, that can start over (oldest, middle, middle, youngest...10 years...oldest, youngest...) And, gender matters too.  Like in the case of my kids, Nick is the oldest, but he's a boy, and the second oldest is a girl, so she's an oldest too, but Zach is square in the middle, and Christopher is definitely the youngest.

My point is, that even though I didn't actually get to the part about middle children, I suspect it would echo what we always hear about middle children, and that they are the ones who get lost in the crowd. The youngest demand attention (many actors and comedians are youngest children) and the oldest are leaders, and therefore demand attention.

I tell you all of this because as I look back on my previous posts, and my instagram pictures, and my facebook posts, it becomes painfully obvious that there's someone missing.

My middle child.

Granted, he's in junior high, and in many honors classes to boot, and so he spends a ridiculous amount of time doing homework, and pictures of people staring at computer screens are really boring, and he really, really, hates attention. I'd say it's a middle child thing, but he hated attention even before Christopher came along.  So while he doesn't exactly do much "blog worthy" he's not really trying to either.  He likes to

But to ease my own feelings of guilt-  Here's my Zach!

And here he is in his natural habitat.  "What are you doing?! Why are you taking a picture? Leave me alone!"

If he's not doing homework, he's chatting with friends.  Of course, he's going to kill me for talking about it, but all his socializing hasn't been online.  He went to the junior high dance to hang out with friends. (He did not actually dance with girls, nor do I think he busted any kind of move on the dance floor. Why would you go to a dance to dance? That's crazy talk!)  And he went to "A friend's" house to swim one day.  It turns out that "friend" was a girl.  (There were plenty of boys there too. It just happened to be at a girl's house)  After I gave him a hard time about going to a girl's house, I lectured him about my needing to know where he is, who he is with, etc, and just because he knows I will tease him about going to a girl's house, does not mean he gets to keep that information from me.  This is brand new territory here.  Last week girls had cooties, and Zach had a very small handful of friends he actually wanted to hang out with.

Teenager #3 has arrived.  

Oh and did I mention he's caught up to me in height?  We have fights over who gets to put their arms on the top when he hugs me.  Cause you know how when shorter people (little kids) hug you, they wrap their arms around your waist, and your arms kind of go around their shoulders, or even awkwardly hug their head?  Well, now we are the same height, and have to fight for the dominant (top) hug position.

(And yes, I am just grateful my teenage son wants to hug me.)

Christopher's letter to Nick.

At the very least I remind the kids to write to their brother on Sundays.  They're totally free to write more, but it's definitely a Sunday activity in our house.  Sometimes Christopher just wants to send him pictures, which is totally fine too, even if he is just sending him pictures of random airplanes that he found on Google.  That's what he likes and wants to share with his brother.  But sometimes he will write an actual letter.  This was his latest.  It just kinda cracked me up, especially how he talks about himself in the third person, and I wanted to share :).  Just FYI- he's referring to the Botanical Gardens.

On February 16 2016 Christopher Went on a field trip to the Gardens With branches every and there was leaves on the trees and Christopher Was walking for 3 hours and we were taking about Gardens. Christopher put a check mark on a note. Christopher went back to the bus to go back to school and it was Christopher’s lunch time. When I was Done I went out to recess to play tag. Christopher accidently play tag on equipment with my friends and Christopher did not play tag on the field. Christopher ran away without playing tag. After recess was done Christopher went back inside to do math. My math was about fractions and my teacher teach about fraction’s. Christopher was done with math and he had no home work. Christopher went back to SPICE class and I went home and I talked to mom about my field trip. The End