Funny, funny Mother.

Kirk may have experienced some relief when he spent the week of December 14th in Quebec. 

Previous to his departure, Kirk was troubled in the daytimes by the frantic sound of his wife's voice on the phone; in the evenings, he worried at the glazed, distant look in her eyes. "What's going on?" he asked. But the wife only babbled nonsensically about the incomplete status of the Christmas letter, the gifts, the laundry, the packing, the visiting, the baking, the cleaning, and the frequent school activities. And then she volunteered to work the bake sale. 

Finally, one evening, Lauren approached Kirk with a weak smile. "I found a way to tell you what I'm feeling right now," she confessed. 

FUNNY, FUNNY MOTHER

See Mother.

See Mother laugh.

Mother is happy. 
Mother is happy about Christmas. 
Mother has many plans.

Mother has many plans for Christmas. 
Mother is organized.

Mother smiles all the time. 
Funny, funny Mother. 
See Mother.

See Mother smile.

Mother is happy. 
The shopping is all done.

See the children watch TV. 
Watch, children watch!
See the children change their minds. 
See them ask for different toys. 
Look, look.

Mother is not smiling. 
Funny, funny Mother. 

See Mother.

See Mother sew. 
Mother will make dresses. 
Mother will make robes. 
Mother will make shirts. 
See Mother put the zipper in wrong. 
See Mother sew the dress on the wrong side. 
See Mother cut the skirt too short. 
See Mother put the material away until January. 
Look, look.

See Mother take a tranquilizer. 
Funny, funny Mother. 

See Mother. See Mother buy raisins and nuts. 
See Mother buy candied pineapple and powdered sugar. 
See Mother buy flour, and dates, and pecans, and brown sugar, and bananas, and spices, and vanilla. 
Look, Look.

Mother is mixing everything together. 
See the children press out cookies. 
See the flour on their elbows. 
See the cookies burn. See the cake fall. 
See the children pull taffy.

See mother pull her hair. 
See mother clean the kitchen with the garden hose. 
Funny, funny Mother. 

See Mother.

See Mother wrap presents.

See Mother look for the end on the scotch tape roll.

See Mother bite her fingernails.

See Mother go. 
See Mother go to the store 12 times in one hour. 
Go, Mother, go!

See Mother go faster.

Run, Mother, run! 
See Mother trim the tree. 
See Mother have a party. 
See Mother make popcorn. 
See Mother wash the walls. 
See Mother scrub the rug. 
See Mother tear up the organized plan. 
See Mother forget gift for Uncle Harold. 
See Mother get hives. 
Go, Mother, go!

See the far away look in Mother's eyes. 
Mother has become disorganized.

Mother has become disoriented. 
Funny, funny Mother. 

It is finally Christmas morning.

See the happy family. 
See Father smile.

Father is happy. 
Smile Father smile. 
Father loves fruit cake. 
Father loves Christmas pudding. 
Father loves all the new neckties. 
Look, look.

See the happy children.

See the children's toys. 
Santa was very good to the children. 
The children will remember this Christmas. 

See Mother.

Mother is slumped in a chair. 
Mother is crying uncontrollably. 
Mother does not look well. 
Mother has ugly dark circles under her blood shot eyes. 
Everyone helps mother to her bed. 
See Mother sleep quietly under heavy sedation. 
See Mother smile. 
Funny, funny Mother. 

22 November 2009

Dear famlings,

Here's my rather disjointed FHE email, dictated by Sudafed-D. I hope that it finds you well.

Thursday 12 November

• I went to an urgent care clinic to get my cold looked at; it had changed into a very goopy annoyance over night. The doctor was a total idiot who patronized me, told me that I just had allergies, and added the positive reinforcement that my allergies would only increase with time. This doctor was so lazy and uninterested in me that he barely checked me out. And that was after a 2 1/2 hour wait! Grrr. Poor Carlos was a really good boy and used the clinic potty 3 times.

Friday 13 November

• Arianna only attended 1 1/2 hours of school, since we flew to Indiana with Kristina in the early afternoon. The flight was fine, but my "allergies" kept my nose running like a fountain despite heavy doses of Mucinex-D, Sudafed, Claritin, and Flonase. Thanks to Kirsten for having a hearty stew ready when we arrived! (Can I just say that I felt better about not being the only sick person there?)
• It was scary to return to Renegade Court knowing that Susan wouldn't be there. But, the house still smelled and felt like her, and she didn't actually seem so very far away. I was proud of all of us for pulling together.

Saturday 14 November

• Super Mario Kart on the Wii! Kirk and I showed the boys that old people can whup some booty, too.
• Table for 20? Could it be that the Rytting-Monson clan has surpassed Olive Garden's capacity for large parties? Marv was right to point out that some of the smaller kids couldn't actually be counted as a whole person, and we were finally seated despite the fire code.
• Shoes! Jonathan got his first pair of "walkers!" One of Susan's favorite things was to buy Stride Rite walking shoes for each grandbaby. I really felt close to her as we continued her tradition.
• A golden legacy. Susan's six daughters were privileged to each choose some jewelry to remember her by.

Sunday 15 November

• The Indiana memorial service made Susan's death seem even more real and final. But, it was a very nice service; I especially loved the tributes that Susan's friends made to her. Kirk and I have decided that Carlos was waving at Nana. 

Monday 16 November

• Homeward bound. Here's a funny story: An old lady sitting in front of us had been muttering something for a good half hour before she turned to Kirk and asked, "Why are we stopped?" She became increasingly agitated as she explained to other people, including a flight attendant, that the airplane was no longer moving. She even raised her window shade enough to prove that the inky blackness of the outside night was the same as it had been 10, 20, 30 minutes ago! Since everyone's first thought was to reassure and calm the lady, the audacity of her claim didn't fully sink in until later: an airplane frozen in midflight in the sky! I guess there really is such a thing as a flight with too little turbulence.

Tuesday 17 November

• Arie seemed pleased to return to school.
• Carlos helped me open several packages that arrived over the weekend. We've now got and wrapped almost every Christmas present--as well as birthday presents for people born in the holiday season!
• Around 8 a.m. MST, Kristen (and sort of Andrew) started the labor-induction process to get that baby out! I cheered on baby Asher with text messages such as, "You can't drink from the cow until you leave the barn," and "Do the hokey pokey..." I'm sure that these messages had a profound impact on Asher's eventual willingness to join the rest of us on this side of the birth canal. 

Wednesday 18 November

• What do you mean Kristen's still in labor?! Not until 9:22 a.m. did Asher's squished head finally make its debut. Congratulations, you guys!
• My cousin James took his family to Disneyland, and Carlos and I tagged along. Carlos really liked 6-year-old Liam. The Big Thunder Ranch changed to "Santa's Roundup" and featured 8 reindeer as well as Mr. and Mrs. Claus themselves. I was photographing a particular reindeer alongside another woman when the reindeer (it must have been Blitzen, because this was a real blitz) turned his butt right at us and let out a large and foul quantity of pee and turds! The lady remarked, "The fantasy just died."  :)
• Arianna joined the other 4 LILA campuses at Griffith Park for inter-campus Olympics.
• Arianna and Kirk joined us in the evening, and we all loved the holiday firework show as well as the fake snow.

Thursday 19 November

• It must be allergies! I am fully prepared to confess that some of my cold transferred to the kids, but this was no normal cold: Arianna was spurting thick streams of mucus! (Kirk has a similar reaction to nature the day after.) 
• I got a burst of energy, despite the cold, and transferred the kids' bookcase from Arie's room to Carlos's room. In conjunction with the new boy-blue comforter and twin bed, Carlos's room is really shaping up to reflect its owner! (Now we just need to find a way to get him to sleep in there!)

Friday 20 November

• I kept Arie home from school to make sure that her snotty explosions were really allergies. And they were. She had no symptoms by Friday. Carlos had had a fever the night before, but seemed normal the next day. My cold was feeling goopier again, but I couldn't keep my kids from cousins and Disneyland on my account! Unfortunately, my plan to play at the theme park only in the late afternoon/evening meant that we spent 3 hours driving to Anaheim.  :(

Saturday 21 November

• Sinus infection. The whole left side of my head. I was supposed to accompany my VT companion to the LA temple, where one of our VTees was getting endowed and then sealed to her family. Instead, I had to bail on such a momentous occasion and instead found myself, once again, at the urgent care clinic. Luckily, I was one of the first people there, so I didn't have to wait 2 1/2 hours again. Unluckily, the same doctor was working! I told the nurse about my experience with this guy the previous week, and she wondered if I actually wanted to see him again. "Only to cough in his face," I replied. So she sent me to the very personable and thorough pediatrician. Now, I am on Bactrin. 
• Kirk and the kids played at the park AND did some Christmas shopping...suspicious.
• Michael's finished framing our beautiful print of Jesus with multicultural children (by a Peruvian artist). The baby on Jesus's lap looks just like our 4-month-old Carlos did, bad hair and everything!

Sunday 22 November

• Sinus infection continues. The pain/pressure is not all the way gone, and I keep getting feverish, but by tomorrow I should be noticeably better. My symptoms have already decreased significantly. Now, if only we can all miraculously be in perfect health for Thanksgiving week!
• Arie and Carlos stayed home from church with me and watched "Rigoletto." I'm also trying to get them to color a packet of Thanksgiving pictures, but this is apparently *not* their thing today.

Looking ahead, I really hope that this turns into a great week. In our 8 years of marriage, we have never celebrated Thanksgiving in the West. This is an important "first!" Pray for us that we're healthy. I can't wait to gobble up newborn Asher!

Loves, Lauren

7 December 2009

Dear famlings,

Below is my wordy yet incomplete update on the past 1 1/2 weeks. I've shaken up the format to underscore the important themes in our current events...


Mad Science

• You're never quite sure what your kid will bring home from an extracurricular activity named "Mad Science." Arie loves it every week, but, in my now parental eyes, it has it high and low points. One of those low points didn't make it into a previous FHE email; perhaps I was still suppressing it from my mind: Arie bounded out of school with homemade SLIME. Now, I felt great affection for slime, sticky hands, and related items when I was her age. My brother David and I even managed to get one sticky hand permanently stuck to the ceiling in the house where we lived out our early elementary years. But, the natural chaos that results from substances like slime and play-dough has transformed my fondness for squishy, mushy things into...suspicion, cynicism, and paranoia.
• On the other hand, this past Wednesday's science activity resulted in the addition of a very cool 18-inch ROCKET to our household. Arie is most enamored with the parachute that hides inside the nose, but Carlos and I have an evil scheme to use the rest of the "science project" for our own explosive purposes. It's just a matter of time...

The Miracle that Was Bedtime

• Once upon a time, Carlos was our perfect child. As a baby, he actually preferred to be put to bed without rocking or snuggling; in fact, I've wondered if it was a preview of his teen years: give the kid a place to flop, and he'll gladly snooze the day away. So, we'd plop the babe in his crib, say "Goodnight, Carlos. Have good baby dreams!" close the door, and be done with the whole procedure.
• You might not understand the significance of this if you don't already know that Arie was a miserable baby to put to bed, and that, in her toddler years, she could SCREAM relentlessly for 4 hours straight when put to bed (this was the rule, not the exception). At 15 months, she escaped from her crib. Four days later, she mastered "childproof" doorknobs. From then on, we exhausted ourselves getting her to bed only to be reawakened later in the night as Arie forcibly shoved me out of bed so she could sleep with her daddy. The silver lining on the cloud of our nighttimes was that we had a guest bed (i.e. my bed) during most of that time. 
• Well, Carlos's magic ended when he learned to escape from his crib. What was, in Arie's mind, a step towards independence developed into a quasi-psychotic neediness in Carlos. It started with a loud THUMP (let's just say that Carlos does not share Arie's gymnastic physicality), progressed to bedtimes lasting 2 painful hours each night, and ended with a Carlos "nest" in the master bedroom. In all fairness to the boy, Kirk *was* absent frequently enough that, as Carlos pointed out, there was no sense in my sleeping alone.
• Luckily for us, Carlos's relationship with the crib lasted a full year beyond Arie's. So, we've really only spent one year as a threesome, so to speak. We were making plans to extract the deep breather from our room once this holiday season was past, but Providence preempted us! It's not often that we yearn for sinus infections, but my nasal problems served as the impetus for Carlos's momentus, self-induced transition to his own bedroom (and bed!). Since the sinus infection started the weekend before Thanksgiving, and since Kirk was hot on enjoying a turkey dinner, both of my boys moved out of the master bedroom in self defense. I'm sure that, secure in Carlos's room, among replicas of dinosaurs and vehicles, they snored, farted, and bonded in general (as only males can). I don't really know, because I stayed clear of the father-son camp out. But, something wonderful happened during that time, because, upon our return from Thanksgiving in Utah, Carlos took up sleeping in his room as a permanent arrangement. Oh, blessed sinus infection!

Thankfully Thanksgiving

• The days leading up to Thanksgiving were tense. It was to be our FIRST Thanksgiving holiday with my relatives, and the sinus infection was making it look like an impossibility. Add to that complications from antibiotics and a newly discovered allergy to sulpha drugs, and our travel plans looked bleak even the day before our anticipated departure. So, you might imagine my gratitude for an optimistic priesthood blessing (I told Kirk's assistant to "come in an attitude of healing") and an astute Minute Clinic doctor who switched me to a Z-Pack. It took a couple of days until the toxic sulpha had passed out of my system, but with each day I progressed: whereas before I felt as though I had a bad case of the flu, my muscles and organs regained their normal functions and my true recovery began (again).
• My cousins haven't exhibited the throw-caution-to-the-wind bunny farm mentality of some people, but they have reproduced adequately to provide my children with very fun holiday companions. I short, the feast was excellent and the ensuing chaos was unprecedented. The moms hid behind Black Friday catalogs while the little cousins expended hours of radioactive energy. (The happy result was that I stumbled upon an incredible discount for a scrapbooking tool that I had given up ever possessing: JoAnn's, 7 a.m., Friday, cha-ching! Thus I shared in the excitement of the best shopping day of the year without committing more than 45 minutes to the cause, including driving time.)

Trafalga, a.k.a. Chicago

• It is impossible to describe just how much Carlos's face lit up when he first glimpsed the older sibling of Chuck-E Cheese. There it was: a kid's paradise, complete with arcade games, miniature golf, and a 4-D motion ride! No matter the fact that Carlos *still* can't pronounce "Trafalga" and has instead substituted "Chicago" to represent all that is blissful and bright in a 3-year-old's mind. David and Heidi sweetened the deal by repeatedly winning the Cyclone's grand prize of 556 tickets; Carlos thanks them for his dearly purchased jet plane. It is safe to expect future visits to "Chicago," even without the Cubs as an attraction.

THE Movie

• Last year, we suckered another couple into joining us for opening night of "Twilight." Clearly, they were very good friends who, not only continued to love us afterwards, but also embraced the opportunity as a cultural experience. And that it was. When else can you find a theater packed with teenage girls who are dressed as wolves (complete with tails) and vampires? The text that my girlfriend sent describes the occasion: "OMG, we are the only ones over 30 in here!"
• Well, joblessness landed those same dear friends on their parents' doorstep in Springfield, Utah, AND presented us with the not-to-be-missed opportunity to relive the Twilight Experience through "New Moon." With great but worthy sacrifice, we passed up opening night to instead sigh, giggle, and exclaim, "Bite me!" together at a viewing during Thanksgiving week. Maren joined us and my dad chaperoned the event, to his endless enthusiasm. Who cared what the movie was like? We enjoyed all 2 1/2 stars, plus throwing popcorn in Maren's hair! It just goes to show that it's not what you're doing or where you are, but who you're with...  :)

I just noticed that I risk turning into a pumpkin if I continue my blah-blahing tonight. Stay tuned for our report on trampolines, cougars, dinosaurs, and Baby Asher (but not all together, although that would make a good B movie).


Loves, Lauren

3 November 2009

Dear Famlings,

With Susan's death still weighing so heavily upon our hearts and minds, there seems little else to report. On the other hand, it is exactly these situations that make us acutely aware of our love and need for each other. In that light, whatever little there is to say is worth the effort if it keeps us joined across and despite great distances.

Oct 24-25 

• The welcome visit of Kirk's Wharton and Lauder colleague Christian sped up our lagging plans to improve the sleeping arrangements at our home. Although Carlos sleeps in our room on his toddler mattress, we hope that one day he'll return to his own room for nighttime snoozes. So, we moved Arianna's rock-hard twin bed into his room. Now it is available, whether or not Carlos is willing to use it. We moved our queen-size bed into Arie's room, and she now reports better sleep and fewer body aches. For our room, Kirk found a great deal and a great queen-size bed. Not only is the mattress soft, but the bed also boasts an additional layer of memory foam on top. I have been so pleased with Kirk's find! I am a light sleeper and have struggled to get good rest throughout our marriage because any movement on Kirk's part had the potential to break my sleep cycle. In the past, we even considered sleeping on twin beds pushed together as a way of managing my reaction to movement. Anyway, the troubles around this issue have been long lasting and over belabored. I am happy to report that the memory foam does the trick! It is deep enough to cushion us from being aware of one another's movements. It feels just like I'm sleeping in a fluffy nest! AND, the bed in Arie's room makes us so very ready for guests [wink, wink]! So, maybe that's too long of a story for an "update," but it's made a big difference to us and has perhaps been one of the most positive aspects of the past week. 

  

Oct 26

• We have annual Disneyland passes and try to visit the park once a month. Technically, we had already made our monthly trek to Orange County, but we had ignored the Halloween-specific rides. This time, we were back just for the purpose of experiencing those rides. The kids wore their VERY Disney costumes and received SO MANY compliments. In view of the costumes, we couldn't pass up riding Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters, of course, even though it was not gussied up for Halloween. Next, we went to the Haunted Mansion, which was themed as "The Nightmare Before Christmas." I don't particularly approve of Tim Burton's movies, so we were maybe at a deficit in not being familiar or bemused with the theme. Still, it managed to be interesting in conjunction with disturbing. And, it was much less scary than the traditional Haunted Mansion, which we have never let our kids see. Carlos walked out of the "Nightmare" with a strong need for its antidote, which we conveniently found close by at the Winnnie-the-Pooh ride. After spending some time in the 100-acre Woods, we all felt better. The other Halloween-themed ride was Space Mountain, which advertised a flaming skull with the roller coaster track heading into the mouth. Kirk and I really would have liked to go on the ride, but it was billed as inappropriate for children and had a wait of 75 minutes. This being an after school and after work excursion (and therefore late-ish), we ultimately decided to be content with the psychological damage that the "Nightmare" ride caused in our children, and we went home.

Oct 27-28

• Kirk spent these days in San Antonio, Texas, working and enjoying an over-the-top resort plaza. 
• Arie had her usual and greatly loved "Mad Science" class after school on Wednesday. 
• Happy 8th birthday, McKay!

Oct 29

• In the morning, Carlos and I drove to Torrance to visit a high school friend who recently had a baby. It was such a nice visit, and the baby had lots of silky brown hair! So cute! Carlos enjoyed playing with unfamiliar toys but did not enjoy the baby. In fact, he totally steered clear of the baby and refused to touch or acknowledge him! 
• My inability to find a babysitter meant that Carlos spent three hours at the hair salon with me. The portable DVD player helped things to go well for maybe half of the time. The rest of the time, Carlos sat or climbed on my lap, snuggled, asked questions, and lured me into a game with HotWheels.

Oct 30

• Knowing that it was inevitable didn't really make Susan's passing easier. We all spent the afternoon at home. 
• The kids knew that Halloween was close, and it would have been cruel *to ourselves* to try to keep our squirrely beasties home during the ward Trunk-or-Treat. Ward members were really kind to us--especially and appropriately Kirk--and the kids had a fun time. 
• Happy 11th birthday, Brayden!

Oct 31

• We took the kids to Michael's, where they learned to make pencil toppers (monsters and spiders, of course). They also got a free trick-or-treat bucket and a balloon. Arie said that she'd rather have a dog than a balloon. Get in line, kid.  :P
• We also took a stroll through the neighboring Toys R Us, and the kids enumerated their many Christmas wishes. 
• We carved our pumpkin in the afternoon, and, once again, Arianna's smile inspired the Jack-o-lantern's. Someday she'll hate me for it, but it's so funny now! (Good news side note: long-awaited incisors are already growing into the holes created by the extraction of two canines!) 
• I am grateful that our kids are young, because trick-or-treating in our neighborhood was awful. I expected most every house to be celebrating the holiday (especially with it being a favorite among Latinos) and anticipated droves of costumed children. In reality, probably only 1 in 6 houses was passing out candy and only a few, total, were truly decorated. Likewise, there were very few kids out, and we made our whole trek solo. Now, we have tons of candy left over; I hope that Santa takes some before filling stocking this year! Finally, we got to enjoy Kristina's company after trick-or-treating! 

Nov 1

• Again, we benefited from the kindness and comfort of ward members. Many people were aware of Susan's passing, but the bishop increased the ward outreach by announcing her death from the pulpit during sacrament meeting. After church, the EQ presidency visited, and the RS president called in the evening. It was a blessing to receive so much support, and I really believe that the prayers of our ward members have helped us.

Nov 2

• Kirk made it through about an hour of work and then returned home.  :(
• November means Christmas shopping. I was hard at work! Thank goodness for the Internet! Next, the Christmas letter.
• After school, we went to Zuma Beach and watched the sun set. 

Nov 3

• Kirk managed to work through the length of Arie's school day. 
• Carlos and I shopped for sheets and a comforter for his new (but unused) bed. Someday...
• We watched "Where the Wild Things Are," which was a worse use of my time than "Napoleon Dynamite." Not only is the movie pointless, but it is very disturbing. Arie cried and Carlos was bored.
• I cleaned out my car, but will not report how many sippy cups I found in it. Eeew.

Carlos continues to be "my big potty and stinky boy," and we are in nothing short of 'shock and awe' at the way potty training is supposed to happen. Arie is doing better every year, but it's been 5 long and frustrating years...

We look forward to honoring Susan this weekend and to seeing many of you. Marv, you're in our constant prayers and thoughts.

Loves, Lauren and family

P.S. The "universal wishlist" is long, but that doesn't mean that everything on it must appear under the Christmas tree. This is just a handy way of logging some of our 'favorite things' for future gifting. Kirk has not put anything on it yet, so you might have to get creative on his behalf.   ;)

26 October 2009

quick FHE "letter"


Kirk

• worked in CA office Mon-Tues
• beautiful job cleaning the carpets in kids' absence
• visited Susan & Marvin Wed-Fri
• read 2/3 of Final Gifts
• bought queen-size bed for guests (in Carlos's room)
• had visit from Wharton friend

Lauren

• took lots of pictures of Maren as high school band drum major
• took lots of pictures of Maren in Powder Puff game
• sewed 6-layer tulle skirt for Arie for "fun"
• pruned bushes & tree
• helped kids through dental appointments
• won bowling game with a score of 104
• read Post Secret
• finished Little House on the Prarie in family reading time
• played Kirby in Super Smash Brothers
• used cookie cutters to make fried egg shapes

Arianna

• filled her supposed recovery-from-oral-surgery week with lots of play
• colored her little pumpkin with a witch falling in love with a prince
• jumped and jumped rope on the trampoline
• was disappointed not to win at bowling
• survived viewing football game, band competition, and Powder Puff game
• attended Grandma's story and song hour at the library
• read some of Double Fudge
• read some of Rosalie, My Rosalie
• finished Little House on the Prarie in family reading time
• played Super Smash Brothers
• made chocolate chip cookies with Grandma
• started liking tomatoes
• delivered thank-you-for-extraction edible arrangement to endodontist
• shipment of pjs that fit arrived, also Jessie costume for Halloween

Carlos

• potty and poop trained in the daytime!!!   :)   enlarged collection of "poop cars"
• rode in "Big Jim," the beloved Suburban
• had teeth cleaned and 1 cavity filled
• colored hislittle pumpkin with scary faces, including a skeleton
• jumped on the trampoline
• swaggered through evening of bowling
• survived viewing football game, band competition, and Powder Puff game
• attended Grandma's story and song hour at the library with a look of "you've got to be kidding me"
• frequent readings of Dazzle the Dinosaur from the "Grandma Library"
• finished Little House on the Prairie in family reading time
• played Pikachu in Super Smash Brothers
• became Grandpa's snuggle bear
• asked Grandpa for advice on enhancing pot belly

Guinea Pigs

• warded off the romantic advances of cousin Meishi
• became fatter

18 October 2009

Dear Famlings,
The tradition has sort of disappeared from recent memory, but Kirk's siblings used to send out a weekly "FHE" email that highlighted recent events. We are all so busy and going in so many different directions that it's become a real challenge to keep on top of everyone's activities. So, I recommend that we resurrect the FHE email to better stay in touch.

The FHE email doesn't have to be long but can just contain a summary of what's going on in each family's or individual's life. Obviously, the goal with FHE and with the FHE email is weekly participation, but that is not
necessarily a hard-and-fast rule.

I threw together some ideas below as an example of how you might pursue the FHE email. This particular one is longer than I expect future ones to be, because it involved a little bit of catch up.

Loves, Lauren


Kirk

• international marketing for Medtronic’s diabetes products
• currently, assessing Medtronic’s international diabetes offices for failures and successes in customer service, which includes follow-up patient/customer care
• responsible for gathering this data and creating a strategy to standardize all of the offices’ customer service
• recently, travelled to Switzerland, England, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, and the Czech Republic on business
• working closely with China office; trip to China likely in the next 6 months
• at church, called as home teaching supervisor
• car troubles with new-to-us ’07 Honda Civic
• when in town, drives Arianna to French school in the mornings

Lauren

• working with Carlos on colors – colorblindness scare seems to be over
• working with Carlos on numbers, 2-dimensional mazes, and the letter “C”
• potty training el Carlitos
• wishes she could change Carlos’s name to Carolus Magnus to better reflect his potential
• picks up Arianna from French school in the afternoons; when Kirk is gone, drop off and pick up routines eat up 3-4 hours a day
• allergic to something in the house – possibly chemicals left over from professional response to September’s bee invasion
• looking for a scrapbooking buddy
• time to start Christmas shopping, picture, and letter
• reading book on *Courts, Elites, and Gendered Power in the Middle Ages – *join me on www.goodreads.com!
• undertook supposedly simple creation of 6-layer tulle skirt for Arianna – it turned into an affirmation of why we love prefabricated merchandise at stores so much
• contemplating huge party next July 4th for 30th birthday plus
• Arianna’s baptism – maybe a day at Magic Mountain?
• planning viewing of “New Moon” in conjunction with Thanksgiving
• considering Guatemala trip for summer 2010

Arianna

• chose science class for extra-curricular activity – learned about sound waves and making soda pop so far – teacher has blue hair
• school class = 6 boys + 13 girls = lots of talking
• potential boyfriend – Julian, “one of those tough guys” – relationship at his instigation
• had 5 teeth extracted – three loose/rotten ones and two healthy but “infringing” ones – totally recovered in 24 hours (to Mom’s disappointment) – down to 16 teeth
• high hopes for bowling expedition this week
• hair keeps growing and getting cuter
• some toileting troubles continue
• recently read the goofy retelling of La Petite Poule
• voracious reader – favorite series “Magic Treehouse”
• has ridden all of the “mountains” at Disneyland except Matterhorn
• fall break this coming week – with no recovery, what will we do
• to keep her entertained?!
• learning the Articles of Faith in preparation for baptism next July - #7 is next
• primary program upcoming, November 15th
• inspired by Carlos’s choice, opted to be “Jessie” for Halloween (“Toy Story 2”)

Carlos

• in love with “Astro Blasters” Buzz Lightyear ride at Disneyland
• Halloween as Buzz Lightyear, assigned Dad to Woody or Zurg and Mom to Bullseye the Horse; Papa is Stinky Pete
• sudden success with potty training – a diaper-free era is in view!
• makes circular Cs and recognizes some colors
• colors in details on pictures (eyes a favorite) but not whole picture
• sings “My Name is Stegasaurus” and other Dinosaur Friends favorites; requests songs from “Winnie the Pooh,” “Mary Poppins,” and “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”
• afraid of Mickey Mouse pumpkin hat and some other Halloween decorations
• vehicular obsession continues thanks to 1 new Matchbox car per poop in toilet
• itching for bowling
• seeking to establish permanent sleeping residence on parents’ bedroom floor
• new fear of bath time (unfortunate for a tidy boy)
• conquered swine flu
• visited LA Zoo (site of swine flu contact?)

Guinea Pigs

• Xela’s cyst on hip-spine intersection continues to grow 
• Quetzal seeking Guinness Book Record for greatest weight in a single cavy
• both visiting Meishi, male cousin (Quetzal would love him if she could kiss and eat simultaneously, but eating wins)
• elevated to “people” status when Carlos abandoned his bedroom – undecided about preference for new digs
• at least one pig must dress up as a captain for Halloween, per Carlos – google guinea pig costumes for a good laugh