Do you want to build a snowman?

Yes, I know its summer, well spring... I know this even if mother nature would rather it stay Frozen! We were riding in the car on our way to pick up Jon's bib number on Saturday when our children broke out in song.  The second round was not a good as the first spontaneous round... but you get the idea of the crazy, awesomeness that can be our family.

My kids, like nearly every kid everywhere, are totally obsessed with this movie.  They love Ana and Elsa and the snowman.  Often times I hear them role playing and pretending to be the characters.  I am going to have to find time to watch this movie if I want to know what it is that my children are up to. 

More from the Love shoot

My World

This is how I feel today.  Getting up at 4:30 in the morning is not my thing.  Last night I slept really poorly, and then I woke up with a crick in my neck.  Maybe its because there was so much to do or so many hours of work or just a new routine... probably all these things...  

But I am just so tired today!  :(

Photos on todays post are courtesy of Alivya.  

Throwback Wednesday

Today was so long...  no post, just a pick of Liv from 2010...  look at that long hair!

Happy Nurses Appreciation Week

Taylor, Alivya, and Sue RN

Is it fitting that I began my nursing career at the beginning of nursing appreciation week?

Taylor and Alivya and Sue RN (2007)

These photos are of Sue, who Taylor and Alivya's primary nurse coordinator while they were in the NICU.  Sue guided us on our first visit as parents.  She taught us how to change their tiny diapers, bath their itty bitty bods, touch them without stressing them, assess them when the machines beeped, and so, so much more.  While I had nursing training already before we met Sue, it was during that time that it all started to click, even if I didn't know it then. Sue played a huge part in why Taylor and Liv are here with us today, and she was a huge player in making me the nurse I am today. 

Westli and Sue RN (2010)

Today I appreciate all of the Sue RNs who cared for all four of my babies.  I thank those that care for tiny miracles today.  Obviously, I appreciate all the different disciplines of nurses, but the NICU nurses really do have a special place in my heart.

Lost

I recently reread the biography called Steve Jobs, written by Walter Isaacson.  I have read this book several times, and I enjoy hearing about the evolution of Apple and the invention of so many of the products that make my daily life so different now than even a few years ago.  The book was published shortly after Steve Jobs passed away, and it ends with an epilogue that describes his last days, the memorial services, and, obviously, the legacy that he left behind.

At one point late in the book, Walter describes what "legacy" Jobs wanted to leave behind, and I got to wondering if that is a goal.  I mean, are we all here to leave something? I have known many who have died, young people, children even, adults, elderly...  what did they leave behind?

Some, have left their children, and in these children, their DNA, sometimes personality traits, ideals and the like.  Some have left pieces of art, objects they loved, and their photos.  Some, have only the memories in my mind.  Are these microscopic bits, large objects, and internal recollections what constitute a legacy?  Does one have to revolutionize business and create multibillion dollar companies, to have left a legacy?

My father battled with congestive heart failure (CHF) for most of my conscious life (I was six when he was diagnosed). In 2004 when I started my journey to become a nurse, I was taught that the life expectancy for patients diagnosed with CHF  was five years.  Since I was six in 1987, I felt pretty darn lucky to have had so much time with Dad. During most of those years, Dad was relatively healthy, and his life was productive and enjoyable. In 1998 he held his first grand baby, Evan.

In 1999 he attended my high school graduation, and in 2003 he came to my 1st college graduation.

That same year he danced with me at my wedding.  Halfway through the song he became very tired, and we left the dance floor so he could rest.  It didn't matter, he was there and we danced.  

In 2005, although wheelchair bound, he attended Jon's college graduation too.  In early 2006, as pictured above and below, he held my first two babies. He was afraid to hold them, especially early on when they had tubes strung everywhere, but I am so grateful that he knew them.  And even though they do not remember knowing him, they did.

His battle ended on this day seven years ago, April 26th, 2007.

I think about Dad all the time.  His legacy lives in me, and my children, and even Evan.  It lives in my memories and my photos, it lives in these annual memorials that remind me how much I lost and that I still grieve deep in my heart.  I miss Dad so much. I regret that he never knew my other children, and that they will never know more of him.  I often think about what he would say to me.  I can picture him tickling Wes and pinching Ava's cheeks.  He would have loved Ava's personality. I actually picture him teasing her... clicking his tongue as he tickles her chin...

Little Bunny Foo Foo

Ava and Wes take the stage after the concert to perform their version of the "ABCs"... hopefully they are safe, and this is not a copyrighted song!

Tonight we attended Taylor and Liv's annual coral concert.  Parents everywhere, since video recorders have been inexpensive enough to own, have been recording their children's concerts.  I'm sure they were played over and over at every family gathering there in for years... then dug out of the deep dark corners of the basement decades later to humiliate adults everywhere... but we live in different times.  Obviously.

With our family literally scattered from one coast to another, I love the idea that I can post a video here on my blog and share these moments, right now (while its still cute and not so much humiliating) with the people who can't be here to attend a 30 min concert in our child's hot cramped gym.  Might even be preferable if you ask me.  But, last night, we were told in print, and verbally reminded, that we are not allowed to share on "Any social media" the videos we were taking of the concert.  This rule, they argued, was due to concerns about the "safety of the children" and the fact that the music is "copyrighted".

I'll tackle the copyright first.  As an avid blogger, I post a lot of videos.  I use YouTube to host these videos, and YouTube is very rigorous about hosting copyrighted material...  If you have followed this blog for awhile, you know that I have posted dozens of videos of my children singing and dancing to popular - ehem, copyrighted- songs.  Most of which were playing on some sort of copyrighted device, Pandora, Wii, Movies... you name it.  Still, YouTube's copyright filters caught them, checked them out, and eventually (usually only minutes later) published them.  Why? Because children dancing and singing to the music, and publishing it on YouTube, only promotes the song.  Its a free statement of "look this song is so awesome even these adorable kids love to sing and dance to it!" And lets be real, what artist is going to be threatened by a bunch of 1st and 2nd graders butchering their music?  Its not at all like our kids are huge music prodigies putting on a really amazing production.  These kids are fidgeting, twisting their shirts and dresses in nervous discourse, belting out the lines, croaking and mumbling their way through the dreaded annual concert that they in no way asked to be a part of.  So, with that, I completely reject this copyright material argument for why I cannot share my completely amateur video of my child and their classmates 2nd grade coral performance on my blog, or Facebook, or whatever outlet I choose...

On to the safety excuse.  Social media is such a part of life right now.  Most of the children I know, are already in someway a part of social media.  Even the least technically savvy people that I know, have a Facebook account, and most of them have a photo or two somewhere associated with their account.  As for my children, I have posted their photos since they were tiny little babies in the NICU.  I do this not to subject them to creepy predators who might be scouring the internet, but because, as I have already said, we have family and friends all over this country (well world... shout out to my international readers! Bonjour la famile de Yollande, Bienvenue!)

Anyway, my point here is that social media, like it or not, is a part of life now.  It is as ingrained in our culture as the telephone in our parents generation.  Sure, posting these pictures and videos makes it available for people to download and use in what could be unethical means.  I don't condone that, but I accept that even with all the privacy settings I have chosen to protect my content, that this may still happen.

I don't see how it is any different than the newspaper posting a picture of kids playing at a public pool, or a sporting event, or a coral concert.  The photos/videos are not naming kids specifically, they are not sexually explicit, they are not advertising a school...  and because of the file size, they are usually just snip its of video...  Again, how is this different from the local news crew filming in front of any event?

I tried to gain some insight here, and searched for news events about elementary school concerts and social media. All the hits were about Billy Joel showing up for an elementary school concert.  Nothing about safety concerns related to parent videos and social media.

I love that our schools are beginning to teach our students proper social media etiquette.  I think more teachers need to embrace this and include it in their lesson plans.  I think the school got this one wrong, its not that we, as parents, should hide our proud home videos from the scaly throngs of social media... no... we should embrace it.  I refuse to live in fear that "something bad might happen".  Every morning I get up and get into my vehicle knowing that something bad "might" happen, but I still do it and so do you.  Therefore, I reject the notion that posting a video or photo of my child and their classmates during their school coral concert is inherently dangerous.

Going on an Egg Hunt

This Easter Egg Hunt was put on by the Easter Seals especially for kids with disabilities... more specifically, Autism.  We saw kids of all different abilities, and all of them were having a great time.  There was a boy, who appeared to have Downs, who was helping out the volunteers.  It was a great reminder to me that even people with differing abilities have the understanding of volunteerism. 

This Easter Bunny was awesome!  We decided that it was a female bunny, and she was so into it.  I don't remember the last time I saw a poor person stuck in a character suit who was so believable.  At first Ava was very weary of her, but she warmed up real soon!  

The hunt had to be held indoors as the monsoon moved in outside.  The children were each allowed to "find" 10 plastic eggs.  Then they traded in their eggs for a goodie bag full of fun.  There were also a ton of activities to keep them busy while they waited for their turn to hunt.  The kids colored easter themed pictures, guessed how many jelly beans, did a photo hunt, dug for eggs in a two different sensory buckets, and frosted (ehem, ate) egg shaped cut out cookies.  If that wasn't enough, they also had some other sweet treats including cupcakes, jello jigglers, rice crispy treats, hard boiled eggs, jelly beans and more.  

So even though the event was rained in, it was still a lot of fun.  Its always nice to have a place to take the kids where they don't get the stares from people who simply can't understand. 

Simpler Times

It didn't feel that much simpler, but it was... love these babies!!!

Longing

I don't mean to whine about the weather more, but I am really, really, really done with winter.  I want spring so bad!  I want to plant my garden and watch it grow, I am bursting at the seams to get out there in the warm sunshine and literally pound out some of my ambitious projects.  I can't wait to run outside, without worrying about slipping on ice or freezing cold puddles of water (covering ice), or just freezing...  I want to send the kids outside without worrying about them freezing or getting covered in mud, or jumping around in puddles... but outside so I can have a couple hours of kid free sanity. My point is, with spring comes a lot of things that are good for my health, that I just can't do as well in the winter time. Call me a whiner... its ok...

BFK

Our children LOVE the BFK (Building For Kids Children's Museum in Appleton). Grandma M renewed our membership for another year as a Christmas gift, so they get to go whenever we have time to take them.  For me, the permanent exhibits there are old and I'm over them, but for the kids, its like a forgotten toy.  They each have their favorites, Taylor was excited about the balls and the water, Alivya the heart, and Ava the firetruck.  Despite how unhappy she looks in my pic, its not that she was unhappy, she just was so over smiling for Mom's camera... 

Over spring break Taylor and Alivya were challenged by their PE teacher to do some physical activity everyday... its been a real challenge since the weather has been so crappy.  We did get out for a walk, and even to the park, but most days have been to cold and miserable to do outside activities.  Thus, we are stuck doing indoor activities.  Short of having them do laps around my house... not an option...  we have had to get creative.  We mall-walked, BFK, Wii Sports, jumping jacks/push ups/ hop on one foot, and tomorrow, Jon plans to "Just Dance" (Wii). I sure hope this teacher acknowledges that the kids don't know yet how to play Wii sports while sitting on the couch, although most adults know it can be done!

Henry Vilas Zoo

We started making trips to Madison for medical needs in June of 2006 when a pediatric surgeon placed Taylor's first G-tube.  Since then we make the trek at least twice a year, some years many more trips than others.  I have been hearing about the wonderful attractions the greater Madison area has to visitors ever since, but we have never had the occasion to enjoy any of it, until today. Early on when we went to Madison, we had little sick babies, and later when the first had grown some, we went on and had a couple more... little sick babies that is :) Recently when we have come, it has been just one or the other parent and as many as all four kids.  Usually its just one or two though, which means that we have to get home to rescue the other parent or allow the other to go to work.  It is sort of ironic that we have both made the trip twice this year already and it is only April... hmm...

Jon scheduled this appointment intentionally during Spring break as we try not to take the kids out of school too often.  He also deliberately chose a day when I was off, so that we could both make the trip.  Since the developmental pediatrician that Wes sees tends to schedule her visits for later in the day, it seemed perfect to make a day of it. 

The Henry Vilas Zoo in Madison is close to the campus (and therefore close to the developmental clinic), and free.  It seemed to be the place to be on Monday as the three small parking lots were all full when we got there at about 11 am.  We found off road parking nearby pretty easily though. The kids loved that they had several of these painted boards for them to put their faces in and pretend to be everything from Orangutans to Astronauts! I never did figure out where to redeem the gift that this one boasts, but the kids really didn't seem to care.  I didn't know what sort of animals to expect, given that this zoo doesn't charge admission, but I was pleasantly surprised at the variety.  The zoo was the perfect size too.  It was not so big that the kids were bored or to tired to keep going.  We saw nearly everything in the hour and a half that we had to peruse. I don't know if was the weather, which was finally more typical of this season in Wisconsin (upper 50s, low 60s), or if it was the time of day, but most of the animals were out and active!  This was the first zoo experience I have had that I remember really enjoying the animals.  The tiger was up and pacing around and around his enclosure.  It was pretty spectacular and one of my favorite parts of the day.  There was a rather impressive sting ray that was very active as well and ranks high on my favorite chart.  We saw a bunch of turtles and fish, and two camels that were resting and staring right at us (the crowd). The otters and seals were swimming around very actively as well.  The kids probably enjoyed the three story playground built to resemble a tree house the most. I think, in future visits, the zoo will probably be a common destination!

End of term feast!

On Wednesday, we finished the last chapter of the fifth book of the Harry Potter series, The Order of the Phoenix.  As has become our tradition, as a family we celebrated this ending with an end of term feast using Harry Potter inspired recipes, this time, from Alivya's Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook. 

We also spent the week creating our very own edition of the wizarding magazine The Quibbler.  Read it here. 

Alivya (with the help of the other kids), Jon and I wrote the articles.  The magazine features photos from all of our other Harry Potter adventures.  Every time we finish a book, it is another challenge to try to come up with unique and fun activities inspired by the book.  This idea was suggested by Alivya.  I couldn't be more proud.  I love that they get excited about reading the books, they are thinking about what we can do to celebrate, and they get excited about the feast.  And, at least this time, they all tried the new foods.  So overall, I really think that it is completely worth all the fuss and work we put into these "feasts".

On the Menu:

Shepherds Pie

Brussel Sprouts

Hot Rolls

Rhubarb Crumble

Honeydukes (Peep) Popcorn

Hot rolls are rising!

After the feast, we sat down with our sweet colored popcorn and, per tradition, watched the movie.  I love the anticipation that the kids get towards the parts of the books they enjoyed.  I love how they start to understand things from the book that they didn't quite get from the reading... like Grimmauld place.  I also enjoyed, very much, Westli falling asleep on me half way through.  I know that those moments are limited, so as much as I wanted to move... and as hot has he made me, I tried to love it up.

After waiting a really... really... really long time for dinner!

"But Dad, I don't know how to read!?"

Rate your pain

My sweet, kind, caring, thoughtful, angel on earth... Alivya made this at school. 

It says "I have a dream to be a nurse to make medicine that works a lot"

The tall figure is handing medicine to the seated figure "Here is some medicine." Seated "Thanks"

At the bottom it says "make you sick potion in the hidden base" which is a reference to the Harry Potter book we have been reading, can you guess which one we are on?

She came home sick from school today, fever, 102... No wonder the poor thing wants to make people better!  Kills me that I can't seem to keep them healthy.

Ghost

Taylor and Liv have a little friend who comes over on occasion.  On her first visit, Halloween, she convinced our children that our house was haunted.  This Halloween it rained and rained all day, so the sub pump was running.  I marched the kids down to the basement, opened up the little door that keeps the pump contained and explained to them all about sub pumps.  Since then she has been over a handful of times, and each time she leaves them all convinced that there are ghosts and ghouls and witches in our home.  

Taylor and Liv are on to it, and they actively refute her claims, but today, its Ava who has been up several times afraid.  Where do these kids get this stuff? I told Tay and Liv that they need to tell their friend that she cannot talk like that at our house, its scaring their little sister.  If it continues, then she will not be invited back. 

Weird Phone Pix

Blogger has this option to upload photos from my phone.  I think, if it worked, it would be really convenient. However, it only reads about 4 of my photos, and it adds this snow to all of them.

Which I admit, does sort of work for most of them... 

Even if they are indoors... I mean, its Santa and Frosty...  

This one doesn't have snow, but what an interesting gif thing its doing.  Looks painful for Wes and the butterfly.  Finally, there is the odd photo collage...  Seasons Greetings from Google...  but its weird...