On turning 33... (tomorrow)

I am sitting on my bed; it's made and my room is clean, no clutter on the desk across from me.  The curtains are wide open, revealing rain falling onto the yellow blooms of Scotch Broom. I don't care that most people around here hate Scotch Broom (allergies, it's really a noxious weed that threatens to overtake the whole peninsula :) ), I love it.  We moved here, to western Washington, when I was 6 months pregnant with Max.  A few days before he was born, I noticed these little yellow blossoms popping up.  My labor with him lasted almost two full days and when we finally left the hospital a day after he was born, there were yellow blossoms everywhere.  I was at the height of happiness with my new baby boy, becoming a mother, completely in love with my husband...and I felt like the earth was celebrating with me.  Yellow is my favorite color, the color of happiness.  Scotch Broom reminds me of that time and it always makes me happy and nostalgic. But you'd better believe I clip the little branches that try to creep through my fence and overtake my yard. I'll just keep enjoying it in the greenbelt behind our home and on the side of the highway, thankyouverymuch.

Kelly, Everett, Tucker, and a friend, Jocelyn Bellon, are downstairs playing a yelling/running game.  I love when Tucker gets involved in games with the big kids.  It might be one of the cutest things ever.

Lest you think, though, that I have time to sit and write on my blog, I was just interrupted by a steady succession of cute little people who discovered Mom was sitting down trying to do something.  I ended up with Tucker in his bedroom.  We sat on the ground and played the little musical piano thing and bounced our upper bodies to the beat while we smiled at each other.  Then I remembered that I had put the musical vacuum we've had since Kelly was a toddler (which was yesterday, I'm quite certain) under the crib and that Tucker would probably love it now that he is Mr. Mobile on those cute chubby feet.  I was right.  He thinks it's awesome.  I think he's awesome.

Speaking of putting things out of the way but keeping them handy...I am proud of how I can fit our family into this little house.  I really take pride in it.  Our three oldest kids are in a room together and  I have managed to fit all of their clothes into one closet, comfortably.  I love our home.  When we bought it, we thought that we would be here for 3-5 years...MAYBE 6.  It was our "starter house". We didn't know that we were buying at the height of the bubble, which was about to pop.  Luckily our area wasn't hit as hard as other areas of the country, but we aren't in the best situation, and so here we are, almost 7 years later, with three extra humans than we had when we signed on the dotted line, and we might need to squeeze a few more years out of this place.  We can do it.  The kids are little and I like that I don't have room to hold onto many unnecessary things.  I have a consistent pile of things to donate.  Oh, AND we park both cars in the garage.  Booyah!  In our next home, I just want another room or two, I don't want something much bigger, we just really want more outside space for the kids; our yard is pretty small.

So what does this have to do with turning 33?  Nothing, really.  I've just been reflective about my life lately.  I am busy, I am happy, I am tired, I am a mother to four wonderful little humans, and we are hoping to add another to the mix.  I am content.  I am capable of doing hard things and I like to challenge myself.  I am still working on my Bachelor's degree and will be for several more years because I'm taking it slow so that I don't miss the chances to sit on the floor with my baby and bounce to music together.  I'm too obsessive about doing well in my classes to do more than one class at a time and be a mama; I have teacher's pet issues.  I have a deeper, more comfortable, abiding, instense love for my husband than ever before.  I am gratefeul for the lessons I have learned throughout my life.  I have a testimony of Jesus Christ as my Savior.  I know that there is a God in heaven who is aware of me and cares about what I do on this earth and gives me help to live well.

The older I get, the more comfortable I am.  I feel like I am getting closer to my "prime" age.  For most people, that age is their early or mid-20's.  I think I'll hit it in my 40's.  For my 18th birthday my mom wanted to throw me a surprise birthday party...but when she was coming up with who to invite, she realized that I would want just a handful of friends my age and the rest were parents and grandparents (not mine, but friends' parents, people from church...) whom I loved.  It was a great birthday and I am grateful for my friends of every age.  Each time and place in my life - childhood, high school, college, mission, marriage, New York, Washington - have added friends who I hold very close to my heart and whom, thanks to Facebook and Instagram :), I am able to keep in contact with.  Real, deep friendships are very important to me.  I am thankful for those who have helped to shape me.

I am ready for 33 and all of the years that follow.  Sometimes life is crazy and I feel overwhelmed, but the emotions that win out most often are happiness, contentment, and joy.  I am a lucky lady.

Total # of times I was interrupted while writing this post: 13.  Not too bad!

Seven...I actually CAN believe my boy is seven

I never really plan to be awake at the exact time of my firstborn's birth {12:09 a.m.}, but I think it has happened 4 of the last 7 years.  It happened again this year.  And I just can't help myself...I have to sneak into his room if I'm awake at that time.  Yesterday just standing next to his bed wasn't enough, so I climbed the ladder to his top bunk and felt around in the dark...his foot, his back...I snuggled up beside him and draped my arm over him.  I felt his labored breathing and thought about his very first breath.  I can recall it like it was yesterday.  Don't ask me what I made for dinner last week, but I remember every single detail of the moments surrounding Maxwell Tyler's entrance into the world.  He didn't cry.  They laid him on my chest, I said hello to this tiny person who so suddenly changed my life for the better, and he used his unusually strong newborn neck muscles to turn his head and look into my face.  It was one of the most powerful moments of my life.  We just looked at each other for a minute.  And I knew that a blessing I had received during my pregnancy with him was true, that we would "...continue the relationship [we] began before this earth."

I had no idea how funny, cute, weird, smart, skinny, strong-willed, faith-filled, kind, thoughtful, detail-oriented, observant, creative, fast, determined, football-loving, sport obsessed, loving, good, and happy he would be....BUT I loved him fiercely.  Still do.

Maxwell T, you are everything I could have asked for in my firstborn.  I adore you.  Every inch of your 4th percentile body and every aspect of your personality.  I am so blessed.

Birthday celebrations: 

• Homemade waffles for breakfast {"Mom, I will never NOT love homemade waffles."  They are his favorite food by far.}

• New sport outfit to wear {I decided it was time to embrace his new love - sports clothes.  So I got him a little outfit that actually matches and fits well.  Seahawks colors...total bonus.}

• Walked to school {he loves when we walk}

• Took Oreo pops into his classroom, along with two books that he painstakingly {and I do mean painstakingly} picked out to give as a gift to his class {thanks for the idea, Carrie!}

• Made a football cake

• Packed up party gifts, our kids, good friends {Nathan, Connor, Reyes, Adam & Ian}, food, water balloons, and headed to Island Lake Park for a very low-key part-ay.  We ate pizza, played a ton of football, played on the playground, played a little soccer, pelted each other with water balloons, opened gifts and that was it!  Max's dream come true; he was in football heaven with friends he loves.

• Football practice {no, he wasn't sick of it...he never gets tired of football}

• Presents from the fam {receiver gloves and a new football, LEGO Chima set were the favorites.

• Cake and ice cream at home with the Lintons because I forgot to take forks and candles to the park. :)

The next day was our birthday date with the birthday boy.  We went to Red Robin where we cashed in on our free birthday meal/burger.  Since this was his 7th birthday, we talked about the big 8 and baptism and what he wants to do so that the decision is his to be baptized or not next year.  He wants to read the entire Book of Mormon and we are going to dedicate one week out of the month for Family Home Evening lessons that will help him to prepare to make the decision.  We talked about testimonies and shared a bit of ours. We also talked about football {of course}, school, and other things.  It was one of my favorite dinner conversations ever.  I loved his sincerity and his responses.  He is a very thoughtful kid.  Then we hit up Kohl's to get the boy new kicks {he had almost worn completely through the rubber on the bottom} and totally scored because the ones he liked were on a crazy sale {$8, regularly $40} and among the three pair left they had his size.  I love when that happens.  On the way into the store I told Max what we were buying and he didn't want new shoes because he loves the ones he has so much.  I told him to look at the bottom of his shoes.  He said, "Maybe that's why I can feel the lines on the road when I walk."  Ha!  I felt bad because I hadn't noticed how worn they were...Ty had checked it out a few days before.  But any sorrow over losing his old shoes was replaced when he laid his eyes on the ones we ended up buying.  Next we went to Toys R Us because he wanted to spend some birthday money...but it was a bust and we convinced him to hold onto it until he could save up for something he really wanted.

Max proclaimed it "the BEST birthday ever!" several times during the day, but then followed it up that night with, "but I don't remember last year." :)  All that matters is that this year it rocked.  He rocks.  I love him.

New Eyeballs

We put a hefty chunk of moolah into our flexible health care spending account for this year.  And then we didn't need it.  And then my hubs said to me on our anniversary, "I want you to get LASIK."  What?!  Ummm...okay!

I started wearing glasses when I was 10 and began wearing contacts when I was 12.  I don't have the worst vision in the world, but I can't function without glasses/contacts, so I was THRILLED!  And then I felt guilty.  That's a lot of money to spend on me.  And then my hubs told me to stop feeling guilty.  So I did/tried.

We checked out a few places nearby and found that they were crazy expensive {$2200/eye}.  At first I didn't want to go with the cheapest place because...well...these are MY EYEBALLS!  But as we researched we found that there was a dedicated LASIK center on the other side of the water and they can do LASIK cheaper because that is ALL that they do.  The places around here are mostly dedicated to other forms of eye surgery so they have to charge more to pay for that expensive piece of LASIK machinery they have hanging out in their office.  That is what we gathered, anyway.  And we checked out the surgeons at the cheaper place and the reviews from patients.  We went with the LASIK center {$1998/both eyes}.  It was a great office with great people and the surgeon I had is a BYU alumni, which scores a few points 'round here.

I had to wear glasses for one week prior to the surgery and felt a little nostalgic about never needing to wear that pair of glasses again.  

I bought these glasses right before my mission (12 years ago!) I met a few members in my first area and then met one of my favorites - Desiree - who told me that a man in the ward said to her, "Have you met the new sister missionary? She's from Las Vegas and she's kind of...jazzy." I tried to figure out what made me "jazzy" and settled on my spectacles.  But then I had to wear them exclusively for that week and quickly realized it wouldn't be hard to say goodbye...running in glasses, my baby grabbing my glasses, having to clean smudges off the lenses...I wasn't going to miss any of that.

I was nervous about the actual surgery...I mean, you're awake when they cut a flap on your eyeball!  Kinda trippy.  I took the "relaxer" they gave me at the office before the surgery.  You lie on a little table, they put in a bunch of numbing drops, and then put a machine above your head and your job is to look at the blinking light.  The blurriness/focus changed as they cut the flap, lifted it, put it back down...and then it was done.  15 minutes from walking into the procedure room to both eyes being done!  Incredible.

They gave me a sedative and told me to go home, take it, and try to sleep the rest of the day/night. We got home and ate a delicious dinner made by my sweet visiting teacher and dear friend. Ty took the kids to the ward party and I decided to wait to take the sedative.  Turns out sleep-deprived moms don't need sedatives!  I went into my bedroom, laid down, listened to a few talks from general conference and then I was out.  It was a good, good night.  

Recovery is pretty incredible too!  I was already seeing so well the next morning.  We went to my post-op appointment and I was at 20/20, but by the afternoon I was seeing even better than I had been that morning.  We went to IKEA {I wore my sunglasses the whole time...got several weird looks}.  I also wore my sunglasses in sacrament meeting the next day {fluorescent lights are kind of hard to take during recovery time}.  My eyes get a little tired,  which has been a great excuse to lay down a time or two a day.  Seriously, moms should get the surgery just for the rest aspect. :)  You have a strict regimen of anti-inflammatory and antibiotic drops, along with good ol' moistening drops, for 5 days.  I'll be using the latter for a while, from what I understand. Today is 6 days post-op and my eyes are doing great!  I can start wearing makeup again tomorrow, I have less moments of my eyes feeling tired/scratchy, and tonight will be my last night with these hot protective glasses.  I'll be sad to see them go.

For some reason I haven't thrown out my contacts and contact solution...I just keep thinking I should hold onto them...just in case.  Maybe I'll do that deed tonight.  LASIK is rad.  Do it if you have a chance.  That is all.