Stinkfume

I cannot stand perfume (stinkfume)...or cologne...or any scented thing for that matter. I do not like dryer sheets, or scented candles, or air freshener. 

When I was an early teen I liked perfume but I noticed even back then that strong scents made me feel sick. I would get a headache and even feel woozy. 

I wore perfume until I was in my early twenties. I became more sensitive to fragrance and eventually couldn't wear it any more without feeling sick. 

That was 20 years ago and It's only gotten worse. Much worse! I get physically ill from lots of scents or fragrances....artificial scents that is.

My 13 year old wants to wear cologne but I can't let him. He's not happy and suggests that he can just wear it at school. Ummm...no. 

He was at a friends house this summer and his friend sprayed him with Fabreze just to joke around. When he got home I could instantly smell him and asked what the smell was. Within about 10 minutes I began feeling sick...headache, nausea, generally woozy. I had to change his clothes and put the stinky ones in the wash. Nope, not good enough. He had to shower the smell off of him. It took about 3-4 hours for me to feel well again. 

I have had several instances like this. I've been hugged by people wearing perfume/cologne and I have to change my clothes and shower. I cannot go to the mall. Wow, it reeks like perfume in the whole place! That candle store is the worst! Stinks so bad. Makes me gag. I've even had kids in classrooms wearing perfume to school that made me feel so awful. Seriously, why would you spray perfume on your child?! I wish that my kids' school was a strict fragrance free zone. Some of the local schools have taken this step. 

And you know how I love magazines. But, the perfume ads are TERRIBLE! I rip them out and throw them into the trash (the outside can) but then my hands stink even after washing several times. This week I was trying to red O Magazine but the perfume ad smell lingered so strongly that my eyes were red and itchy and I felt sick. By chance I looked it up and you can order a fragrance free magazine. Yeah! I am so thrilled! I'm switching all of my subscriptions. 

I clean with natural cleaners that smell like lemon or grapefruit, burn unscented candles, use fragrance free laundry soap, bathe and shampoo with natural products or scent free, and I love Fabreze UNSCENTED. It's genius...it removes odor and leaves NO smell behind. 

Things I love the smell of...

Newborn babies

Freshly ground coffee

Bread baking

Toast 

My kids' hair after playing outside

The ocean

Fresh clean sheets...with unscented soap....just the clean smell

Cast Off

And the cast is off! Yippee! Mr. P is very glad to be done with it. His arm is really skinny and doesn't extend all the way. He is going to PT twice a week to regain range of motion and get ready for basketball. 

It was really fun to watch the saw cutting the cast off. It's a mini skill saw that only goes so deep. It was kinda freaky!

Arm free! I think Mr. P grew at least an inch during the month he was in the cast. He is looking long and LEAN! Time to head back to running, and sports and beef up with lots of delicious food.

And look at this amazing plant! I'm in love with it. 

Kid Update

The school year is nicely underway and the kids are settled into the routine. 

George is in 2nd grade this year. He continues to LOVE reading. He often tunes out everything around him while immersed in a book. He brings a book everywhere we go too. That's a good thing! George is playing soccer. His team has not won any games but it doesn't seem to bother the kids...which is maybe why they don't win any games. Ha! Oh well, at least they are getting out there and running around having fun. 

Sis is off to a great start this year for 3rd grade. I'd say this year has been the smoothest so far. She tends to worry and doesn't like new routines or settings which makes a new school year hard. But, she is impressing me with how quickly she settled in. This is the first year she has a best friend in class that is a girl! Of course she still has loads of boys for friends too. She's still loving her soccer team girls too. The team is undefeated so far! 

Moses is loving 5th grade. He is serving as a patrol at school. Of course he does a great job. Seriously this kid always has his homework done and is always ready for whatever comes next. He is rocking it on the soccer field. He scored five goals in one game recently. 

Mr. P has had a few bumps in the road with his broken elbow. He's had weekly appointments to X-ray the arm which has caused him to miss school and try to make up missed work. He also can't participate in PE or band so part of his day at school is kinda boring. Soon it will be over though. Hoping the cast comes off this week. He attended the basketball tryouts last week. He really isn't suppose to be playing ball but before I knew it he ran out on the court and went full court press. Yikes! I didn't want to be that mom by yanking him of the court. He gave his all on night one of tryouts but the second night the head coach asked him to sit and watch. In the end he didn't hurt himself....good....AND he made the team! So yeah! 

Tuba is loving being back at school. He is working at a local thrift store to try out skills of organizing racks and cleaning. Every day of the week he wakes up and asks if it's a school day. 

And....he LOVES going to all the kids' soccer practices and games...rain or shine! 

The photos were a day at the park near the end of summer. I'm struck by how fleeting these days are when everyone wants to come along and hang out together and play in a park. Cherishing them.

Crazy Hair Day

Crazy hair day at school with some crazy kids. Moses's hair made me laugh and laugh. He is always willing to try something zany. 

I love these nutty kids. 

5 more things I love....

painted nails

ice cold beer in a frosted glass

my bed

a fire in the fireplace

silence while driving

While I'm at it....5 things I do NOT love...

passive aggressive "humor"

TV

tomatoes

snakes

dirty floors

Oh I can't end on negative...so more things I love...

the honesty of kids

teaching art

sleeping doggies

lip gloss

the ocean

First Broken Bone

First...and hopefully last broken bone for our family.

Mr. P fell at school in P.E. while playing touch football and broke his elbow. Ouch! He said that as soon as he fell he instantly knew it was broken. *Gag*

I was at work and didn't know anything until I sat down for lunch and checked my phone. By that time he was already at home in a sling. Luckily Cam was off work and took good care of him.

The next day I took him to the Children's hospital and they put a cast on it. He will have the cast for a month.

Which means that his cross country season was cut short. He ran one meet and did very well. Oh well, next year.

AND...basketball is coming. I'm trying hard to not be one of those sports parents that is all about sports and over the top pushing their kid. BUT....I REALLY love basketball season. So, I'm deep breathing and hoping he will be able to play.

Try-outs for his select team are this week. He's going to turn out (in his cast) and show them his stuff...by that I mean his spirit. Umpf! He can run but can't shoot or guard and get roughed up. So basically he can run and show his enthusiasm. Hoping they evaluate his skills from last season.

Besides not being able to do sports he can't practice his saxophone, or put his socks and shoes on....or bend over and pick up his stuff off the floor. Okay, that last one I'm not really buying.

Sad Day

Today was a hard day for George

Well, it started out hard on me too. You see, there was a giant dead rat on the front lawn. Yuck! He laid there all day because Cam was gone and I couldn't muster the bravery to dispose of it. 

After school the kids all saw the rat. George and Sis thought it was really cute. Ummmm...okay. They felt bad for the rat. George got all sad for the rat.

We had to leave for hair cuts right after we got home so the rat had to wait. I was hoping someone or something else would move him.

Then after haircuts we had soccer so again the rat had to stay put. Ugh.

After soccer George was insistent that we bury the rat and have a prayer for him. All the way home he talked about what the rat was doing in heaven. Oh gads...he was ruining my vision of heaven.

Then when we got home we discovered something terrible. Something sad. George's pet fish Tim was dead. He had made his final swim and was now lifeless on the bottom of the bowl.

Tears for George.

And a double funeral ensued. Yes, a funeral for two. With prayers.

Now both Tim and the rat are buried in my front yard. Separately. And the rat isn't buried very deep as it was getting dark outside and I was wearing new shoes. You know...nice shoes and dirt don't mix.

I hope I don't live to regret the shallow grave.

I definitely won't regret taking George's picture while he was crying. I couldn't resist. 

Different kind of Busy

I met a mom the other day that has four little ones all age five and under. That's a mouth full...and that's a busy life. I know from experience.

It got me reminiscing and thinking about how the "business" just changes. I'm still busy but it's different.

Here's how I used to be busy. Oh, I loved going back and reading that post. I remember those days of driving back and forth from the preschool and elementary school. Actually years of that!

Now, I could still us the Mobile Mom Unit. Well, I do now have a 12 passenger van which is as close as I'm going to get. And it's regularly stocked with supplies....first aid kit, water, drinks, snacks, chairs, blankets, umbrella, books.

My busy life now is due to kids in sports. Each season it's a different sport. Right now it's the three youngest in soccer, and Mr. P in Cross Country.

A regular Tuesday looks like this.

6:00 Get up Mr. P and Tuba. Breakfast and lunch making.

6:50 Mr. P to bus. Get Tuba showered, dressed and ready.

7:45 Tuba off on bus. Get youngest three up fed and lunches made.

9:00 Last kids off to school.

9:00-2:00 Exercise, clean house, chores, errands, shopping, cooking prep, school volunteer time and if Cam's home lunch date time.

2:10 Tuba home

3:30 Pick up at elementary, heavy snacks (since no dinner time), get ready for soccer, homework and chore time

4:25 Pick up Mr. P from school.

4:35 Drop off Mr. P and round up kids for soccer.

4:45 Leave for soccer for George. Stay and watch until 5:15 then leave with Sis. Stay and watch until 5:45 and then leave to pick up George and then return to Sis's practice until 7:00.

7:15 arrive home. Snack time again. On these crazy sports nights we eat bagels or toast with PB, cereal, yogurt, fruit.

7:30 Get ready for bed, showers, teeth, homework, prayers.

8:00 bedtime.

Other days have  different routine but they are all crazy. Each kid practices at a different field on different nights. The days Cam is home are WAY easier. We can have a regular dinner but maybe just eat it in different shifts.

Oh and game day can be crazy too. Last week it was three games that overlapped. So Grandma and Grandpa took one child and Cam and I each split up with the other two.

It's crazy busy but I love it!

Pleasantly Suprised

Lately I've come to realize that some of the situations in life that I fret over are things that actually turn out. And sometimes turn out better than I could have imagined. 

Mr. P told me the other day that he tends to look at things from a "worst case scenario". Oh, ouch. I told him that I do that too and I'm sorry I passed that on to him. 

When faced with a change or an unknown I play out all the worst case scenarios in my head...and maybe out loud. For some reason it helps me to feel ready or prepared. I guess in some situations it's good...like disaster preparedness. In other situations it's really not necessary.

One way I'm helping my brain and body to not automatically go into "worst case" is by taking time to recognize how great something turns out that I was initially worried about. 

For instance: Sis's soccer team last year was comprised of all girls she knew and attended school with. We knew every family and they were great people and friends. Then the league made changes to the age cutoff at the end of the season. This meant that none of the girls would be on the same team as Sis. The other girls were born after the cutoff. 

Oh I fretted. Sis is a nervous and shy girl and I worried that she wouldn't do well with a new team. It takes her a long time to warm up. I asked around town to see if she could join a team with anyone we knew. I couldn't find anyone in her age bracket. So, I signed her up and waited....and fretted about all the worst case things that could go through my head. Like, she'd be afraid...wouldn't want to go, wouldn't play well due to feeling shy, wouldn't know anyone, would have a mean/weird/crazy coach. On and on. 

Soccer started back in August and Sis was shy at first. She did not know anyone on the team. But, amazing things have happened! The coach is fantastic. The girls are very nice. Sis has come out of her shy shell. And to top it off the team is really good with a 4-0 record so far. 

At one of the practices last week I got teary watching Sis run around the field while giggling with her team. She and the other girls had their arms wrapped around each other's shoulders smiling and having fun. 

I'm going to keep reminding myself to play out the best case scenarios in my mind too. Because they can and do come true.