Twenty-four Hours in Sedona, AZ

So Ren and I broke a 4 year streak of not being able to be alone together for more than 2 hours (or less!) at a time last weekend and went away on what one of my friends calls a "Love Trip". We were given a free stay at the Hilton Resort and Spa in Sedona, AZ for Saturday night through the Executive MBA program at ASU (because Ren teaches in the program and they do all kinds of perks for the Exec MBA's). I had no idea what we were going to do with the kids until I bought a "weekend of babysitting your kids" from a member of our church in a Youth Fundraising Auction a few months ago. I think the person selling this item had envisioned someone's cute little 4 year-old and 2 year-old running around her house because her kids are older and she misses holding little ones. Instead she got 5 stinky, loud boys, one beautiful teenage girl and one cranky baby/toddler dude who won't go to ANYONE except his mama (okay, maybe a sibling under duress). But she was game and we were desperate so it worked out well for all.

We got up fairly early Saturday morning to make the drive up into the mountains 2 hours away and we spent the afternoon wandering around the quaint Uptown section of Sedona with it's touristy shops, restaurants and art galleries. Ren and I love looking at all kinds of art (if we ever had to buy anything we wouldn't be able to because we'd never agree on something we both loved and would be willing to spend 1000's of dollars on.) But lucky for us, we were just window shopping the art world of Sedona (and saying all the time, "My mom can paint so much better than this!" which is true of my mom compared to so many artists we saw.) We accidentally found the Sedona Arts Center building which not only held paintings and such on exhibit, but also had studios where they held classes and a real "pottery barn" where they had a student ceramics exhibit amongst the pottery wheels and tables. It smelled and felt so arty, it just did my heart good! I'm dying to go back there some day with my mom, the artist, and take some classes. What a great art community!

When we got hungry we went to this little Mexican restaurant called the Oaxaca Rooftop Cantina. It looked cute and the menu said it was planned by a dietician, which sounded good for our new healthy eating kick. I guess the store bought salsa that came with the chips should have tipped us off that things wouldn't be all they claimed to be, but being temporarily intoxicated by the fat in the chips (it's been a long time since we ate chips...) we ignored the warning signs and looked at the menu. Listed in the appetizers, one of the "healthy" choices, a grilled Cactus Paddle served with a tomato and cheese sauce, sounded funky and interesting so we ordered it along with fish tacos and a salad of grilled chicken, jicama, oranges and tomato with a low-fat vinaigrette dressing. So they serve us our Cactus Paddle (this tiny pathetic looking thing swimming in a sea of sauce) and we each take a bite and go "Ewww!" It was sour and weird and nasty. But, hoping that maybe we'd get used to the taste (or maybe just having seen to many episodes of Bizarre Foods on Food Network) we keep eating it, torturing ourselves with each mouth puckering bite. Ren ate more than me, but even he had to give up and admit it was just gross. I tried to get the taste out of my mouth with the last of the store-bought salsa, but it didn't work very well. Then came the rest of the food which was overcooked, under-ripe, canned or just plain bland. None of it was good and definitely not worth the money we paid, but at least it was mostly healthy (why doesn't that make it seem better?) So much for yummy eating out.

We were pretty exhausted by this point, since we got up so early, so we postponed our planned hike until the morning and went back to check into the hotel and see what was there. We got a King Suite with living room, dinette area and fireplace and a teeny tiny little patio overlooking picturesque bushes which almost succeeded in camoflaging the parking lot on the other side. It had a nice view of the cliffs though and the weather was beautiful. We checked out the pools (one "quiet" with no children allowed and a bigger one for families). We chatted with a few of Ren's students who were starting to arrive (and drink)and then we hung out in our room and enjoyed the luxury of watching a movie in the afternoon and taking a nap. (When was the last time that happened at our house?)

That night was a dinner for all of the ASU MBA people (students, faculty, alumni) etc. where the food, I'm happy and sad to report, was MUCH tastier but much less healthy. I'm hoping that what I ate in Sedona stays in Sedona because I haven't seen a chocolate cake in a long time and it was too much for me to resist! We had a leisurely dinner with some of the students and their spouses and then headed back to our room around nine, declining their invite to a nearby bar. (They had apparently been drinking most of the day, how do you keep drinking into the night too? I just don't get it...) All I remember about the rest of the night is reading one page of an Agathe Christy novel that I brought and falling asleep with my neck in a strange position, ouch!

In the morning, we woke up at 6:00 a.m. to hike nearby Bell Rock. It was a gorgeous morning and we took our time on the way up the trail with me stopping to take pictures every few steps or so. Ren has come to expect this of me, so he happily carried my water and waited while I took 80+ pictures of the surrounding area. I made a powerpoint slideshow of my favorite pics which I'm hoping to be able to post with this, but we'll see how technologically savvy I am. A couple of hours later, we made our way back to the car with perfect timing as the trail was just starting to fill up with people. We went back to our room, cleaned up, ate breakfast and then drove back home in time for church at 1:30 p.m. (okay, not ON TIME, somehow we never manage to make it to church on time.) It was Zach's 16th birthday so before we left for church I got a roast in the oven and prepared stuff to make him fruit pizza. I'll do a little post on his birthday separate from this.

Sedona is one of those places you discover that becomes a little oasis in the desert of Life. I'm hoping to take the family back and really be able to explore all the hiking and beauty there, since we just scratched the surface in our wonderful 28 hours away.

Arizona State Quarter Day (or It was one of those days I was grateful I did my hair...)

Curtis with his quarter

Who knew this was gonna be one of those days...when I'd be grateful I actually took the time to do my hair and put on make-up? After seeing in the paper yesterday that the new Arizona State Quarter was going to be unveiled today, we all got up early (8:00 a.m. 'cuz it's summer break) and drove to the state capitol park in Phoenix. Earlier, as I was getting dressed, I'd had this funny vision of myself on the news chatting animatedly about how our family just loves the quarter (I mean, who doesn't love the quarter?) Zach has been collecting state quarters for a few years now and is always asking us to check our change for a new one. We're just huge supporters of the quarter, dontcha know. So anyway, we actually arrived on time (due to my thinking it would be held a half hour earlier, don't say anything!) and joined the rest of the nerdy throngs there to witness the launch. The ceremony was fairly short, with the head of the national mint presenting the quarter and the governor of Arizona reading an official statement declaring June 2, 2008 Arizona Quarter Day (I bet you didn't know it was a holiday yesterday!) After the ceremony, Ren went to stand in an amazingly long line to buy a special commemorative quarter in a folder for $10 (Wow! What a deal!) while we stalked the governor's staff who were giving out a new quarter to all the kids 18 and under.

As I stood taking a picture of my seven children in front of the capital building with their shiny, new quarters, a reporter from Fox 10 news came over and started asking about the day. When I told her that these were MY seven kids, she was duly impressed (as she should be!) and asked if she could interview me and one of the kids. I know it's dumb, but I was so grateful to have gotten all cute this morning. I felt that I represented stay-at-home moms of seven kids everywhere and I didn't want to look frumpy and beaten down (I do that on all the other days of the weeek!) You'd think since I already practiced my interview in my head it would have been snappy and cute, but alas, all I remember is telling her that we came because we thought it would be a nerdy thing to do and our family's all about nerdy. Great. Then she interviewed Jonah who remembers saying that being there was "an alien experience". Um, okay. She finished up with Jonah, took some more footage of the kids and then got distracted by a nerdier kid who had his state capitol quarter collection with him. Oh well, we had a few seconds of fame anyway. While Ren continued to stand in the insanely long line of grown-ups purchasing $.25 for $10, we went to the nearby Capitol Museum where they were serving chocolate "Mint" ice cream cones (get it? Mint?)



Gid and Eli were cutely, disastrously messy about eating theirs and we took more pictures for posterity of this momentous day.




It was then that we noticed Hannah and Ren were wearing "Mint" green shirts, so appropriate. Many eons later, Ren finally finished purchasing his super cool commemorative quarter and we headed home, satisfied with our nerdly family outing and a little bit more famous than we had been before (which wasn't hard to do.)

Tales from the Laundry Crypt

I have been waiting for 4 months to type this post.. and I am now thrilled to announce that I'm getting published! Okay, so it's just a local magazine being mailed out to Gilbert residents, but I'm still excited! Since most people who read my blog aren't from Gilbert, now that it's published I wanted to share my little article on my blog. The editor asked me to write another column for next month (I really hope I can be funny again!) so I'll keep you updated on that one as well! Yay! So here's my humor column:

TALES FROM THE LAUNDRY CRYPT

One recent morning, I was helping Curtis, my six year-old get ready for school. When I handed him a pair of socks to put on, he looked at them with delight and exclaimed, "Cool! Matching socks!" (Ah, such simple pleasures in life.) After I got over my chagrined amusement, I realized that the state of my laundry would definitely be scary enough to prompt such a statement. That's when it hit me -- MY LAUNDRY TELLS TALES! A light went on in my head and I had one of my famous “Aha! Duh,” moments. It finally hit me why they say, 'Airing your dirty laundry'! What better way to reach into the innermost chaos of a big, crazy family than to take a good hard look at what each kid in that family is wearing at any given moment.

Several years ago I was pregnant with Eli, my 6th child and in bed sick most of the time. In the morning the kids would come in to kiss me goodbye as they headed off for school. One time as they walked out, I noticed that Cody had on one ankle sock that had a suspiciously pink hue and one sock that went up well over his chubby, little knee and disappeared under his shorts, the heel hanging out in a strange bulge over the back of his shoe. I had to admire his creativity in the face of the large piles of dirty laundry everywhere, if not his fashion sense.

I’m sorry to say, even non-pregnant I don't seem to notice the sad state of what my children are wearing until my observant and helpful daughter Hannah points out to me that Jonah has worn the same shirt every day since...well, who knows when? (It's his official school uniform.) I guess I thought it was a different shirt because every day it had a new and interesting layer of dirt on it. Sometimes when I manage to do a load of wash that is FULL of dirty boy underwear, I wonder, with a fearful kind of shock how many months it’s been since I washed underwear, and even worse, what have the boys been wearing in the interim?! One time, Cody caught me throwing away old, holey socks from the defunct sock basket. He frantically rescued them from the garbage and cried in horror, “Mom! If you throw these away, where will I ever find socks to wear?” I hope no one turns me in after that revelation.

Curtis gets very creative with his clothing. Last month, for many days in a row, he wore the "Winter Clothes Box" ensembles, involving strange, little-used long-sleeved shirts with glow-in-the-dark skeletons and the like on them. They're usually 2 or 3 sizes too big and he finds them in boxes stored in the back of the closet. "Good for him for finding something clean!" I think, "Such persistence should be rewarded."

I figure I have one thing going for me in this whole sad situation. My kids have VERY low expectations as far as clean laundry goes. They don't hound me anymore about whether or not I got their scout shirt washed or if their favorite sweatshirt will ever get transferred from the washer to the dryer (they know that it will probably get re-washed 3 or 4 times before it makes the jump). They've learned the art of sifting through layers of "civilizations" to find their school spirit shirt or their other Sunday sock (and maybe one of them will become an archeologist when he grows up).

As for me, I'm thrilled with a compliment like "Cool! Matching socks!" It just shows me that if I were dependable, they'd never appreciate so much the happy smell of Downy on a towel or underwear that can't walk by themselves. All those other moms who get their laundry washed and folded and into their kid's drawers every day, just aren't appreciated like I am when I produce the Scooby Doo jammies clean again after being lost for 3 months. I love hearing their happy shouts of excitement at climbing into a bed with clean sheets twice a year. I only hope that their teachers can forgive me for the public airing of our dirty laundry – or at least ignore the smell.

One, two, three..IT!

I got tagged for an online quiz by my friend Erin, so here it goes...

List 3 joys in your life:

1. Studying the scriptures with my DH Ren. Not to be all self-righteous, it's just that Ren and I have been studying and discussing topics from the scriptures since he started teaching Sunday School at church and I just LOVE connecting with him, learning and feeling the joy that comes from learning about Christ.

2. Blogging. I have found so much food for my soul in writing down all the crazy experiences we have in this house. Call it therapy.

3. Hanging with the teenagers. Zach and Hannah are finally old enough that we all enjoy doing the same things, laughing, working out, putting ice down each other's backs, playing scrabble late at night, etc. It's especially nice to have them around if Ren is working late or I just need another big person to talk to and they both are amazing at helping with the "Littles".

List 3 fears you have:

1. I fear moths -- they're so fluttery and yucky and right in your face!

2. The summer heat in Arizona... I'm really worried about staying sane through it.

3. Myself when I have PMS! There are just those times when I have out-of-body experiences watching my irrational, PMS self FREAKING out for no reason and I can't stop me. Yikes!

List 3 Goals you have:

1. To lose 10 more pounds (Yay! Halfway there!)

2. To do ONE pull-up (It is incredible to me how HARD this is, but I have achieved bending of my arms and I can do a reverse pull-up from a standing position, so I'm getting there.)

3. To be a published humor columnist. I hope I don't jinx it by saying it, but I would LOVE to write a humor column that got picked up by someone BIG.

List 3 Obsessions/Collections you have:

1. I am currently obsessed with the Scramble game on Facebook. Just tell me: how on EARTH are people finding so many words?!!!

2. White shirts/blouses. I just can't resist buying them. I don't even think white is the best color/non-color on me, but I just LOVE white shirts.

3. I seem to have this odd collection of....things in my bathtub!!!! (see Gid's Many Talent Post for explanation).

List 3 Random Facts about you:

1. I am grossed out by hair on the floor touching me. (It's usually my hair, but it doesn't matter -- hair not connected to a head is just yucky.)

2. I have this recurring dream that I'm back in high school as a cheerleader, but I'm pregnant and I can't do a toe-touch anymore, so they laugh at me and won't let me come back for the Varsity squad my senior year. This nightmare HAUNTS me!

3. I love hammocks! My family got me a hammock for Mother's Day and I just love laying in it day and night (although, it tends to make me want to nap -- day or night, so I have to be careful when I indulge.) Even better would be a hammock on a tropical beach with Ren the cabana boy bringing me ice water and turning the pages of great book for me.

That's it...it was much harder than I thought. So I now tag Jenny J, Heather W. and Deborah P. Well, that was fun, but I'm off to play Wii sports with the boys!

Another Hannah Post

Today was a verklempt kind of day for me. It started when I got a graduation announcement in the mail from my nephew Kyle. This is the child I watched being born and played mom to while I was still single in college and my sister lived close by. My roommates and I played with him, stuffed his outfits full of toilet paper to see him be all chubby and made visual stimulation mobiles for him out of kitchen utensils we hung suspended on string between the walls of our apartment hallway. I sat in my car, reading my mail with tears brimming in my eyes and slipping out of the corners wondering, "When did I get old enough to have a nephew graduate?"

Tonight the emotions continued as we went to Hannah's 8th grade promotion. I went out shopping while she was at school and bought five dresses for her, hoping that one of them would fit and be cute. I hit paydirt and she loved one of them! After school she went to get her hair cut into layers and styled for tonight. She looks so great, especially as she's been eating really healthy and exercising and has lost 15 pounds in the last two months! Again, I'm just in a daze at where the time goes and how my cute little daughter (who used to look like "Gidena" from my earlier post) is now this tall, beautiful soon-to-be High School Fresh(wo)man. So, I just thought I'd share some photos of her tonight with her friends and a profile of her that shows off her new slim look! ENJOY! (and let her know how great she looks!)

Gid's Many Talents

Boy, there's a serious bloggy slump going on here in my house. I wish I could figure out what happened to my creative juices (also the cleaning and cooking juices!) So, I just thought I'd make a record of all the things that Gid has thrown into my bathtub. (How many people just stopped reading?) Gid apparently has a gene that compels him to throw things into bodies of water (or potential bodies of water). He's a nightmare around the pool because EVERYTHING goes in the pool (except him). We've taken to locking all the bathroom doors because he was filling the toilets with hot wheels cars, spare rolls of toilet paper and toilet brushes. So now, he's decided it is his mission to clean everything off my bedroom floor and throw it into my large bathtub. Then he turns on the water and leaves it running while he sets off to destroy another part of the house. I feel that these talents, if harnessed may be a potential source of energy for all of North America, but right now they are irritating beyond belief! Hence, my bathtub is currently home to: one set of scriptures in the case, two unmated flip-flops, a smattering of junk mail, someone's discarded homework, underwear, three used pull-ups (now filled with water to the about-ready-to-burst point), a sleeve of saltines, some actual tub toys, a head band, two hair scrunchies, a box of baby wipes, some sponge bob pajamas, one unmated sock and a stripey blue shirt with a dinosaur on it. I'm sure you're all wondering why I don't take these things out. I guess I've just been spending my time in some other part of the house picking up a mess he made two weeks ago and I can't keep up with the backlog! If anyone has a suggestion to cure Gid of this habit, I'm all ears! But for now, my tub will be the first place I look for lost items and we'll all wash up in the guest bathroom.

Mother's Day Thoughts 2008

I was up at 6:00 a.m. today with a baby/toddler boy who, despite going to bed at almost 10:00 last night, still feels that he should wake at the crack of dawn. I’m sure that on Mother’s Day you would think that my husband would get up with him, and he would if he weren’t in San Diego for some conference for work. (He did promise to track down the moron who planned a conference over Mother’s Day, but that is little consolation.) Of course, if he were here I’d still be getting up because he has the stomach flu. (Room service for toast, saltines and gingerale is $14!) Zach also has the flu which knocks out ½ of my selection of helpful children in one blow. I’m already on my second outfit of the morning because when I picked up Gid, his poopy diaper self-destructed on my front. “Happy Mother’s Day!” I think, “I am having the FULL mothering experience, it just can’t get any better than this!” I can’t speak for all mothers, but my experience with Mother’s Day is that it generates a nagging guilt that try as I might, I can’t shake off. It turns up when the kids ask me what I REALLY want for Mother’s Day and in my heart I know that just for one day I’d like to NOT be The Mom. “How could a real mother think such a thing?” I wonder sadly. I’ve been pondering that this morning and I’ve come up with an answer that works for me. If I were perfect I’d be able to do it all and do it happily. I’d maybe even be wearing pearls (can you say June Cleaver?) All the endless and varied tasks that are wrapped up in the package of Motherhood, would be possible to do (all day, every day for the next 25 years!) if I were perfectly patient, perfectly selfless, perfectly cheerful and had endless hours in the day and an unlimited supply of energy. Unfortunately, I’m not perfect and occasionally (like every 20 minutes) I need a break, so Mother’s Day always seems like as good an opportunity as any to ask for one. Today won’t be break day for me though, so I’m changing my attitude and trying to just appreciate what Mother’s Day is really about: honoring my own mother.

My mom has always felt very uncomfortable with Mother’s day – she feels the guilt even more strongly than I do. But as her child I see clearly why I want to honor her. I honor my mom, not because she was perfect, or even tried to be (which I think she did, much harder than I do); but because she stuck with the job to the end and beyond, discovering the joy that was to be found (if you looked hard enough) in the selfless acts of mothering. We all have to discover what that joy is from time to time, because the job is mercilessly hard and unrelenting in its demands. It is not for the wimpy, undetermined soul who lacks the vision to see it through decades of emotional investment with only small dividends through the years, until the big payoff in the distant future.

But my mom did it and did it well. I celebrate her for laughing at my funnies, consoling my sorrows, telling me my ideas are great and offering me the right amount of advice at the right times. All of this she did even when she was exhausted and cranky and it was the last thing she felt like doing. How do I know this? Because that’s what I do. I know from watching her that the true art of mothering involves selflessly forgetting oneself for a time to be there for your kids. I don’t feel like a failure when my house isn’t clean or when we eat cereal for dinner, but I do feel horrible when my kids want to tell me something they’re excited about and I don’t give them my full attention and enthusiasm. But I’m learning and one day I’ll have it down like she does.

My mom also deserves accolades for the unique things she taught me that help me fill my soul when it’s running on fumes. Lessons like:

Laugh at every opportunity…

My mom loves to laugh and she used to write funny poems about having fat knees or about gaining weight because of the poor starving children in China. One time she took us kids to picket a friend’s house because their strawberry plant was placed too close to the driveway and kept getting run over. We yelled “Equal Rights for Strawberries!” and got written up in the local paper.

If you must clean, move the furniture around…

I could only get excited about cleaning if my mom helped me rearrange my rooms in a totally new and different way or I got to redo my drawers or closets. My kids now are always asking me why the furniture is moved again, maybe someday they’ll understand that if something feels new and fun, it isn’t work at all.

You can pray about ANYTHING and God will answer…

I always knew that my mom had a red phone that God answered personally for her. When my best friend moved and I was so lonely in 8th grade, my mom went on a prayer campaign with me to pray for friends and by 9th grade I found them. I’m so blessed to have had that red phone passed on to me and I use it for my kids.

I guess what it boils down to is that to appreciate Mother’s Day, I just have to appreciate my mother. I have to follow the example she has always set, forget myself and focus on the good people around me. I can always set aside another day for myself (when my husband is in town!) but today I’m thinking of my mom. I’ve never been more grateful that she is still here with me and I love her more than ever. Mom, may your Mother’s Day be peaceful and simple, because that’s how you would want it.