Tooth Fairy Surprise

For a while now Sydney has been wiggling a loose tooth.

This morning she told me that she lost her tooth.

I was a little surprised, and a bit excited for her.

I turned around and she showed me how she has lost a LOT of teeth.

She wants to put these "teeth" under her pillow tonight to see if the tooth fairy takes the bait.

Needless to say, her 'real' tooth is still in her mouth.

I'm back

The cool air moved slowly through my lungs

It was a perfect day to be back

The bike is light

It is made especially for me

One day it will become a part of me

One day the bruises on my legs will be gone

Each day is a new day

And today...

I'm back

35 Ways

(I love this picture of Brett and Sydney. It says SO much about what goes on around here.)

Today is Brett's Birthday. He is one of the hardest people to buy for, so we stuck to things that are simple...junior mints, and a card. The t-shirt that he asked for was out of stock, so that will have to come at a later date.

Since Brett is 35, I thought I'd jot down 35 things that I love about him.

1. He is considerate of me
2. He likes to have fun
3. He teases
4. He is a hard worker
5. He is very smart
6. He plays with the kids
7. He is a great father
8. He takes time for ME
9. He honors his Priesthood
10. He is great with youth
11. He makes me laugh...DAILY
12. He loves his family
13. He is always looking out for someone else
14. He cares about his health
15. He looks great in spandex
16. He wants me to be healthy too
17. He has goals, and dreams
18. He is a great listener
19. He never complains about the things I do to irritate him.
20. He puts our family first
21. He is honest
22. A man of integrity
23. He respects women, and especially me
24. He serves honorably in everything he does
25. He is a great friend
26. He is MY BEST FRIEND
27. He knows how to calm me
28. He enjoys the outdoors
29. He wants the best for our family
30. He is TRUE
31. He is always finding ways to make our lives a little more comfortable
32. He is patient
33. He is a good employee
34. He is sexy
35. Best of all - HE IS MINE.

Happy Birthday Brett. I couldn't think of another man I would want to spend my life with.

I did it!

Tonight I earned the Mom of the Year award! I swore in front of my kids. I think it may be the first time they have ever heard the 'D' word come out of my mouth.

You know what they did?

They laughed.

I'm SO awesome!

It's Classified

This morning we went in to talk to the Principal at Ryan's school.

Some of the kids in his class saw us in there and they asked Ryan what it was all about.

His response:

"It's Classified."

I will neither confirm nor deny that I know who is behind the glasses.
It's classified too.
And, yes I know - my counter is a mess...I was COOKING!

Life's Little Breaks

It is pouring at BERGER HOUSE tonight.

Ryan came home from school and said he had a bad day. One boy kneed him in the crotch, another kid took his backpack and threw it in the garbage, and yet another one went through his desk and took what he pleased only to taunt Ryan with it later.

I spent a large portion of the afternoon pondering how I could handle the situation at school. Brett suggested I call one of the mothers. This isn't the first time we've struggled with one of the boys. The bullying has actually gone on for over a year now. I couldn't bring myself to call her.

Turns out I didn't have to call her. She actually called me. Apparently her son told her husband that he kneed Ryan today. So she called to see if we have been struggling with her son. I told her yes and told her what had happened. It almost seems like a daily occurrence, and we are trying to teach Ryan to turn the other cheek. Unfortunately his cheeks are getting calloused and his heart is breaking.

After bedtime, I got another call from the mother. She told me that this is a two way street and that Ryan has been throwing rocks at her son, and calling him names and trying daily to get him in trouble. All of which, Ryan denies.

I know my kids aren't perfect. However, I know Ryan's behavior fairly well, and some of the things he was accused of tonight are out of character for him.

Tomorrow he will have to face this kid, as he does every other day.

And tonight, He cried himself to sleep.

Hopefully soon he will catch one of life's little breaks.

Laughter

Making people laugh is fun.

I think it makes us younger.

My kids must want me to be younger because they make me laugh.

Take for example, Sydney. The other night we were doing the dishes and she said, "Mom, I'm not interested in doing dishes." I said, "Oh no? What are your interests then?" She said, "Oh, dancing, singing, but not dishes."

That made me laugh.

Now for Ryan. Ryan makes me laugh.

Yesterday I took him to the eye Dr.

I handed him is glasses that were broken and looked up and saw this.

I guess one lens is better than zero.

Then to add to our giggles, the Dr had him try on these:

An Answer to One of Life's Questions

Have you ever wondered
what would make a 6-year old girl
tiptoe through the house,
twirling and swirling like a ballerina?

It's simple really.

A ponytail

Lesson of the Day

Yesterday I took just over 25 minutes to finish my former blog post. Which means I was 5 minutes late to Sydney's classroom.

Dang it.

I'm not sure why I just can't say No.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy helping kids, but I enjoy helping my own kids more.

When I help in Sydney's classroom, I rarely help her. She's doing a pretty good job, so I help the kids who aren't. I guess I should just be grateful to see her during her class time.

We wink at each other, and I give the occasional side hug as I walk out the door with one of her classmates.

That, I suppose, is all worth it, and why I can't say no.

Yesterday, I got my instructions from the teacher and pulled the first child out. I wasn't there long when my cell phone rang.

I told the young man just a minute as I was going to silence my phone so as to not bother us again.

Then I looked down, and surprise! It was the elementary school calling me. In that case, I needed to answer the call.

It was Ryan.

He threw up.

I immediately gathered up my things and told the little guy that I needed to go as my son was sick.

I apologized for the teacher for my mere 5 minutes and headed to the office.

Ryan met me in the hall way. He had eaten a jelly bean and it made him gag to the point of throwing up. Since Sydney had a 24-hour bug last week I didn't want to take any chances so I brought him home. He rested for a few hours and then was perfectly fine by the time school let out. (How convenient)

Anyway, the lesson for the day:

Don't eat jelly beans. Especially if they are given to you by a classmate and they taste like onions.

Dang Harry Potter.

Magic

No matter how you look at it...

It's Magic.

Out With the Old

I love this time of year. I love looking back at the previous year and seeing all that I have learned, the many blessings that have been poured upon me, etc.

Every year Brett puts together our Christmas card.

He does an amazing job.

2009 was no different, except for the fact that he told me he ALWAYS does it. So, I began a lengthy, witty (I might add), letter that apparently had too many words because they were edited out of his final copy. Completely.

With that, and with the next 25 minutes I have to burn before I have to be teaching children how to sound out letter combinations in Sydney's classroom, I will have my own look back at the year 2009 and its accomplishments.

• We spent the first part of the year Ice Fishing. By first part of the year I mean the first day, or maybe it was the second day. Anyway, it was so wonderfully freezing that we didn't go again.

• I proved that I am the absolute coolest wife ever when I kidnapped my husband and flew him across the country for a vacation to our nation's capital. Sorry to the rest of the men in the world. I'm taken.

• We took the kids to Disneyland.

• I ran the Ragnar Relay. It was SO cool. I can't really talk about it.

• Brett went to Europe, and I went to AZ. I am just slightly jealous that he was on the Champs-Élysées the last day of the Tour de France

• I trained for a 100-mile race. I only got the training in. This is an out with the old post though so I won't elaborate. You can read about it here.

• Brett proved that he is the coolest husband ever when he actually got to ride the race that we both trained for. Sorry ladies, he is taken.

• We enjoyed Christmas, and got to spend time with family. Grandma Bowers was able to visit with my parents, but I'm not sure she knows she was here.

• I think one of the best things that happened is that I have convinced Sydney that she needs to spend her own money on paper. Maybe now I will have some in the printer when I go to print things....Maybe.

And, since this is an out with the old post, it needs a picture because in looking back on my blog, I've noticed that I ramble.

Without pictures.

So here you go.

Enjoy.

Just before the magic

Saturday Entertainment

(This picture is older...we have much more snow now, but I didn't want to post without a picture)

Today we had a family outing.

Before we left, I was curling Sydney's hair and our (one-sided) conversation went something like this:

Sydney: "Mom, Santa Claus is real because if he wasn't, then there wouldn't be anyone to put presents under the tree. So, Santa has got to be real. If Santa wasn't real, then you would be the one to buy the presents and just put them under the tree. That would be stupid."

While at the mall today, I wished I had a video camera. We were walking to go to our car and I glanced over at one of the windows of a store just as a woman didn't notice that she was NOT walking toward the door and smacked into the glass.

I laughed out loud.

You can read another funny story just like this here.

*Post Edit

I forgot to add...I took Sydney to the restroom at the mall and as we were drying our hands off, I turned around and a man in his early twenties had walked into the restroom. Poor guy couldn't get out of there fast enough. All of us around the door laughed. One lady said "Man, it's a good thing we don't use the restroom the same way the guys do...that guy would have gotten an eye full." Another lady said as she came in the door "Was that a DUDE?".

All in all, some pretty good laughs for the day.

Healing

It's pretty pathetic that in the month of November I only wrote one measly post. I'm sure that many things happened that were noteworthy. I just didn't happen to note them. While I have SO many things to be Thankful for, I am finding it harder and harder to learn from my 8-week old trial.

Every year I vow to be a better triathlete by the following year, and every year I fail. I make excuses why I'm not exercising, and training for such events. This year was my year. Both of my kids are in school full time, and I can finally take all the time in the world to take time for ME.

HA!

Surprise!!

I am now 8 weeks out from my accident. For kicks I pulled up the pictures of my legs.







and my bike



I guess really it isn't for kicks. It's yet another step in the healing process.

My life has changed for a time. It is difficult to see past the bruises that still lace both of my legs. It is difficult to know that I cannot run for many months ahead, if I will be able to run again at all.

For a long time I have based my health on whether or not I could run. I realize there are other forms of exercise, but they are just not the same. There's something about being able to say you're a runner.

The other day Sydney brought up a memory of taking our friend Tami to see the Ragnar hill. I choked back the tears. I don't know if I'll ever be able to run that hill again. It's irrational.

I feel like I have LOST a part of myself. It is hiding in the weeks and months of healing ahead.

and then...

Just when I feel like things can't possibly get worse, the peace that I felt the day of my accident creeps upon me and I remember that there surely were angels there watching over me, and I realize that I am healing.

Thanksgiving Day Traditions

Last year we started a tradition at Brett's parent's home making gingerbread houses. The kids really enjoy being able to create their bundles of candy intertwined with a little graham crackers. Most of the cousins put a TON of candy on their homes because they eat it later. I don't let my kids eat the candy. I think it is gross, but I do let them bring their creations home and I tolerate them on the bar for a few weeks until I can't stand it any longer.

I think both kids did a pretty good job.

Sugar and Spice

I find that I rarely talk about Sydney on my blog. It is not for a lack of love for her, she just doesn't say as many funny things, so I tend to write Ryan's musings as they are entertaining, and blogs are for entertainment. Right?

Syd has been on my mind all week. The love I feel for her seems to grow daily, and my heart swells just being in her presence.

Sydney is genuine.

This year at school they are doing a program called "Bucket Fillers". A 'bucket filler' is a person who does nice things for people without being nice, thus filling their 'bucket'.

Sydney is always looking for ways to fill the 'buckets' of those around her. She often tells me about the kids at school who don't have anyone to play with that she offers a friendly hand to. Many times she gets turned down and it breaks her heart, and mine.

Sydney is my best helper in the home. She loves helping me in the kitchen and I tend to let her do things that many people would probably gasp at the thought of letting their 6-year old do. She loves chopping onions, and anything else that needs to be chopped. Of course I don't let her use the knife if I am not in the room with her, but she does a great job.

Sydney is loving. She cares about how she makes me feel.

Sydney is independent. I love her independence. She reminds me of myself in this aspect, and I love that quality about her. She is responsible. I never have to tell her to get her homework and put it in her backpack. She just does it. When she is getting ready in the morning, she follows the same routine.

I feel so blessed to have Sydney in my home.

Happy Halloween

Halloween Celebrations are going on at school today. Sydney was thrilled that she got to wear make-up, and Ryan is sporting Stitch again this year. He was excited to scare the girls at school who don't like Stitch. I'm just thrilled that he was willing to re-costume this year. It saves me time and money.

Happy Halloween.

The More You Run

This morning as Ryan was getting ready for school, we had another great conversation that went like this:

Ryan: Mom, you don't just lose weight when you run right?
Me: What do you mean?
Ryan: Well, Josh says that running is just for losing weight, but I think you could gain weight because you gain muscle.
Me: Yes, I suppose you could gain muscle. Running is also good for your heart.
Ryan: So the more you run, the more you fart?

he he he

Riding my back wheel

In cycling, one hooks on (not literally), to the back wheel of the person they are riding with so as to take a break from the work load of grinding the pedals. Some call that riding in the slip stream, which I have found really works if you can keep the cadence of the person in front of you. If you can't, well then you work doubly hard.

I work doubly hard.

Anyway.

On Saturday Brett rode in the Tour of St George.

It is a 100 mile bike race that takes you through three state parks, Snow Canyon, Sand Hollow and Quail Creek. I really don't know what that means, but that's what their web site says, and it sounds cool.

The weather promised to be nice. Highs in the 80's, lows in the 50's. (Brett said it felt hotter than 80's when he was climbing. I'm sure his body temperature was much hotter than that)

I wanted to go and support him SO bad. Problem was, I still can't drive, so I would be stuck in the same spot all day. Instead, I shed a few tears, and enjoyed just over 24 hours with my in-laws. They are wonderful.

On Friday, as Brett was getting ready for his trip, he informed me that he was going to ride my back wheel in the race. Of course this wasn't the same "ride your back wheel" that it would have been had I been there...

That back tire is literally the back tire off of my now unusable bike

Then, yesterday I noticed he had his legs marked. It's not uncommon for participants to have their bodies marked. Brett's body marking was unique though. When I got up closer, I realized he had my name on both of his calves.

My legs have never looked so good!

When questioned about it, he simply stated that he rode my back wheel, and used my legs for the ride.

What a guy.

A Sign of Manhood

Ryan dropped the peanut butter container on his foot the other day. He said it hurt. Then he made me laugh by saying "That's ok, getting hurt is a sign of manhood."

I wonder if he thinks I am manly?

Everyday Miracles

Just when I think I can't possibly have another blessing in my life, I am surprised by yet another miracle.

I would feel ungrateful if I didn't recount the events of this past Friday October 9, 2009. I'll start by setting up the unusual things that happened for a typical Friday.

First of all, Brett drove in to work. While this may not sound unusual, it is for Brett. He typically rides in a carpool van, but on this day, he drove our van. You see, it was the plan for me to ride to Novell and have lunch with him. Since this was the plan, I sent a backpack full of clothing for me. I planned to leave in time to shower in time for lunch.

I did a few chores and got dressed for my ride. I left the house at 10:35 am. My legs were feeling great, and I expected a good ride.

7 1/2 minutes in to my ride, the unexpected happened. I was cruisin' at 26 miles an hour and down the road a car had come to a stop at a stop sign. I thought for sure they would look my way, see me, and wait for me to pass. Unfortunately, that is not what happened. I started yelling, hoping that the driver would hear me since I wasn't making eye contact with her, but that was to no avail. Just as I thought that my situation couldn't get any worse, the car came in to my lane. I had no place to go, so I slammed into the front fender of her car. My body flew up on to her windshield, and I landed in front of her car.

She immediately came around and knelt down beside me, apologizing for hitting me, and not seeing me.

I was awake, and alert. I started asking someone to please get my phone out of my back pocket and call 911. The driver didn't have a phone, and I knew I needed help.

I was unsure if I had injured my back, or neck. I was bleeding from somewhere, but I didn't know where. I have had enough first aid training to know that I shouldn't move. The people around me couldn't figure out how to get my phone out of my pocket, but a kind man stopped that had a cell phone. I asked him to call 911, and then to call Brett.

So many people stopped to help. A man stopped and said "I'm a doctor, I can help." I looked up, and saw that it was one of the pediatricians that I take the kids to. I was grateful to see a familiar face.

While I feel like I was concious, I'm sure there are moments that I just don't remember. Telling people my name over and over again became exhausting. I just wanted to close my eyes and go to sleep.

My knee was killing me. I couldn't straighten my leg and I just kept praying for the pain to just numb itself.

I was taken to the ER and Brett met me there (He was able to because he drove in to work).

I was taken for X-Rays, and seen by the doctor there. All of the staff treated me so kindly. I teased with them, and they must have thought I was crazy.

When it came down to results, here is the damage:

No Broken Bones
5 stitches across the bridge of my nose
Road rash on my left leg, and bruises the size of Dallas
Road rash on my right leg, multiple abrasions on my knee, and multiple bruises.
I could not bend my right knee, so I came home with a knee brace.
I could not put weight on my right leg, so I walk with crutches.
Broken Bike
and...

I'm ALIVE!!

I have had SO many miracles in my life. Here's to one more.

Day One

Day TWO


My BIKE, it makes me want to cry