13 Months Overdue

I can hardly believe it's been over a year since I last posted... sounds like a typical journal entry. I shouldn't be so surprised.  If only my blogging skills were as strong as my Facebook skills.

the whole crew Veteran's Day 2013

It's been a big year in the Olsen household.  So let me recount everything that's happened...
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HA!  In the words of  Inigo Montoya,
"No, there is too much. Let me sum up"

Fred stayed in Texas until he finished up training in July.

out to eat at Cici's Pizza the day he got home

In February I turned 30.  I got lovely flowers from my hubby, but the accompanying box of chocolates was inedibley chalky.  And that was it.  Most uneventful birthday ever. 

Also in February Gregory's Pinewood Derby car got to race at the next level after winning for his division in our ward.  Granted, he was the only Bear...  We were immensely proud!

Another great surprise in February was Fred sneaking a trip home.  We didn't tell the kids.  In fact, Fred arrived at the annual Renaissance Festival after our eldest got there with an earlier group- the reunion was wonderful.  And we had tons of geeky fun that day...

My brother so rocks his lederhosen he got on his mission in Germany.

The kids and I lived with my family until March when we were able to move into a rental 1 1/2 miles down the road.  I absolutely LOVE this house!  Even though it backs up to a busy road.  But that road pared with our very nice, almost deaf elderly neighbors, means the kids can be as rambunctious as they want to in the back yard!

 Kai posing in the family room the day we got the key

In May Fred and I celebrated 11 years together and 5 years active duty Air Force.  Our youngest also turned 4.  We celebrated with an epic Superman themed birthday party.  The big man himself came and the kids helped him stop the villain from stealing all the birthday presents!  

We somehow survived the summer, spending lots of time at the neighborhood pool.  And Minecraft.  Lots of Minecraft.  We managed to squeeze in a fun camping trip on the mountain by my dad's childhood town, Globe, AZ.

At the neighborhood pool.

Minecraft Legos!

on the mountain top with my dad and several million lady bugs

Probably the biggest perk of the summer (after Fred coming home) was seeing my extended family- this only happens maybe once a year.  For some people only every 4 years.  Cousins came from Utah, Ohio and even China!  We had SUCH a wonderful time- I really have the best family!

my goofy sister taking pictures of our Ohio family

Man, I LOVE these guys!!

I SO wish everyone in this picture had been there, but alas, only the back row.  3 of them live in China and the rest are Utah people.

Leora turned 6 in August.  We had a big family birthday tea party. 

birthday girl center

Also in August, the new school year started up!  The kids started at a new school, which we LOVE!

First Day of school

September is our busy month.

Gregory turned 10.  He had a Minecraft themed birthday party.  Shocker.

Charla was born on Fred's birthday 8 years ago, so it was cause for celebration!  She had a big pirate-themed birthday party, as per Jensen tradition which started with my 8th birthday.

The birthdayers

Kai walking the plank while trying to eat a donut on a string

My dad the pirate.  This is (NO LIE) the costume his mom sewed for him when he played George Washington in high school.  It has served as 8th birthday Pirate costume 7 times now!

My grandparents (the grandma who sewed the costume) getting in the party spirit

Charla was baptized in October with the other kids from our ward who turned 8 in September.  It was a beautiful occasion and we were so happy to have so much family come.  

My sister Anja took absolutely stunning pictures of my girl.

Feeling the love!

Also in October our family got 2 people bigger when the Nicolds sisters, Haile and Kayla, moved in.  They are now official aunts to my kids and we love having them here.

One of many fun mornings.  This time we watched movies late into the night, sleeping in the living room.

Later in the Fall Gregory earned his Bear.

Fred participated in the Tucson Veteran's Day parade by marching with other Airman also stationed here.

In November I had the amazing privilege of being there for the birth of my first nephew, little Caleb.

Also in November I opened up my own Etsy shop I named Fun Duds for Little Dudes, by Debbie Does That.  I sell handmade fun stuff, mostly for little boys.  Since then I've sort of branched out a bit.  I love it!

much is inspired by my little hooligan. 

We enjoyed a great Thanksgiving out in Ajo, AZ with Fred's siblings, their families and his parents.  It was a great day- all the cousins have such a blast whenever they get to see each other.  We wish the ones in Ajo were closer.

Like for most people, December was a bit of a blur.
We decorated the outside with life-size cutouts from the Disney show "Phineas and Ferb".  We plan on adding more characters each year.

There were school performances.

It was so great having family come to support the kiddos!

My brother graduated from the UofA with a bachelors in both History and German!  SO very much proud of him!

Kai was so done by the end of the ceremony!

We celebrated the All-together Olsen family Christmas the Sunday before.  We were all cozy at Fred's parents.  Everyone had a wonderful time.  

note that I have possession of my nephew.  Never mind the deranged expression on my face.  Who knows...

The Olsen brothers proudly sporting the T-shirts our beloved Aunt Sally sent them.

Christmas Eve was wonderful.  We did our traditional German dinner, all dressed up in our Christmas best. 

My mom made all the food and even brought the beautiful dishes we used

As per German tradition, the kids have to either recite a poem or sing a song before they can open their presents.

Blowing out the candles on the Advent wreath that had been lit by the Kristkindl while we drove around looking at Christmas lights and singing fun Christmas songs.

Christmas Day the kids woke up to a 14' trampoline Santa had delivered.  Yeah, they were psyched.  Almost as psyched as I was about getting a swing that is not only beautiful but even lays down into a bed!  YAY!

New Years was nice, too.  The girls were invited to a party just for the 8-11 year old girls from church (but they let Leora come, too).  I stayed for a while and did all the girls' hair up.

Having way too much fun with sparklers.

I love me my man!

Now that we're 1/2 way through January I can stop this post.  I wasn't quite at good as "summing up" as I had intended.  I guess I just realized what a wonderful, eventful year it actually was.  

This year looks to be a big one, too.  Thank goodness we get to share it with those we love most!

Broken Arm, but not Broken Spirit

Let me preempt this by assuring that everything turned out as well as it could have.  I know for absolute certain that the prayers from many loving family and friends helped make it so.

Also, I would have kept people better informed, except that that morning I left my phone at the store by accident, so I was limited to my mom's ancient phone.  But at least it had a camera in it, too.

20 years ago, you constantly heard about children breaking their bones when playing on the monkey bars.  These days it’s another venue: the trampoline.  This past Friday my 5-year old became another statistic. 

Leora, my timid, cautious little Kindergartner  was happily jumping on the big trampoline and came down on her left arm wrong- she didn't even fall OFF.  I wasn't there, but fortunately got home less than 10 minutes later. 

My brother, who had been watching the kids, right away iced Leora’s arm.  We braced her arm by cradling it in an old wrist brace and wrapping it with an Ace bandage.  Her sling was my sparkly pink scarf.  She was screaming and crying while I got everything arranged to take her to the hospital. 

My mom, who’s had almost 30 years of practice at motherhood- 9 years as a grandma- thoughtfully grabbed a few provisions (Leora’s favorite blanket, pillows, a sweater…), and we hauled ourselves to UMC (University Medical Center).  By the time we got there, Leora had not only stopped crying, but was bubbly and happy.  She charmed the triage staff with her giggles and characteristic sweetness.

She was in good spirits for the next hour, until she was called back with another little boy whose arm was in a sling.  But I didn't hear any screaming come from his x-ray room next to us. 

*cue my breaking heart*

Shortly later they took us to a room in the ER.  We met with the attending ER doctor, who upon initial examination seemed fairly confident that Leora had probably just jammed her arm.  It wasn't long before he came back with the x-ray results and news: her arm was broken.

The following 6 hours brought MANY doctors, nurses, and even (thankfully) family to our little room in the children’s ER.  The main concern seemed to be about whether she would have nerve damage.  Various people asked her to show them a “thumb’s up”, an “A-OK sign”, and to cross her middle and pointer finger.  Since those requests usually puzzled her, I had her sign her name for them instead.  They were always delighted.  And she was always able to do it.

Fortunately Leora hadn’t eaten anything since before noon, so when it was determined that surgery was necessary, we didn’t have to put it off.  Another trauma patient needed the pediatric orthopedic specialist, so the doctor was already in the building.  They hoped to get Leora in first, while they prepped the other patient, but in the end the other patient’s needs were greater.

At one point before surgery, we managed to get Fred’s parents and my dad into Leora’s room with me and my mom.   My dad teased that the staff might make Leora leave so there wouldn't be too many people in the room.  The doctor was nice enough to pull up the x-ray scans, and we got to see the break for ourselves.  Leora had looked forward to seeing her arm bones, but by then she was blissfully morphined to sleep, after several hours of whimpering and squirming.

It was so great having family there.  My mom and I were overjoyed that my dad snuck dinner in for the 2 of us.  But more than that, Leora got to see them before she zonked out, getting hugs from all, and even a fluffy bunny from Gramma O’sen.  Before everyone left, the grandpas gave her a blessing, which was also reassuring for me.

They wheeled my little princess into the OR at 11:00 that night, 8 hours after the accident.  I had felt my Heavenly Father’s Love keeping me together through the whole ordeal, but as I had to walk away from the doors to the OR, I was finally overcome with emotion.  I’m so grateful that my mom was there with me.  And that I felt so strongly that my Leora would be OK.

The surgery took about ½ an hour, as they had predicted.  They let us back in to see her at about midnight.  She was resting peacefully, her arm neatly wrapped up, concealing the 2 pins securing her humerus bone (upper arm) so that it will heal correctly over the next 4-6 weeks.  Next week they’ll cast it, once the swelling has gone down.

(we had a great view from our room!  It was beautiful at night, too)

At 1:00am we were finally led to her room.  I was afraid the machines would keep her up, but she was able to drift off and stay asleep until 7:30am.  My mom stayed by her side while I slept a bit on the fold out couch bed thingy.  In the morning they cleared Leora to eat regular food after she kept down liquids just fine.  She enjoyed French toast sticks and a little bowl of grapes.  The grapes were kind of tart, so when we asked if she was going to eat them, she assured us that she’d already eaten one.

Again, the staff was great.  She was her happy little self, if not a bit sleepy.  At first it looked like we might have had to stay the entire day there, but in the end they were able to release us at about noon. 

Her biggest complaint through the whole ordeal wasn’t even her broken arm.  She hated the IV in her right arm and she was very hungry, repeatedly reminding us to take her to Chick-fil-A when it was all over.  Of course, moving her arm was terribly painful, especially before the surgery, but all in all I think it went as well as it could have.

Now for some “highlights” of the experience… or at least moments that made me (and others) smile:

She was a little scared when she met the first doctor.  He was very relaxed and cheerful, so she warmed up to him quickly.  Out of the blue she asked, “Do you have any elevators?”
He chuckled and assured her that they do.  When she asked if she could go on one, he made a deal with her that she could, whenever she finished the picture she was coloring (this was before we knew her arm was broken and that we’d be there for a long time).  The next time she saw him, she immediately asked, “How many elevators are there??”  The next morning she was excited when we assured her that she would get an elevator ride, since we were on the 5^th floor.  It was just so sweet to how such a little thing could be such a happy distraction for her.

While waiting for our turn in the OR, Leora started crying more, feeling the pain and fatigue.  In mid sob her eyes fluttered wide open and she brightly asked, “Will I get a pink Christmas tree for Christmas??”  My mom and I seized the distraction, asking her what kind of ornaments we should get, whether we’ll top it with a star or an angel, where we’ll put it… They’re relatively cheap, so we assured her that we’ll have one.

When the night staff got us settled in our room after surgery, they asked if there was anything they could get to help soothe her.  We mentioned her cat obsession, which sent the ladies on a hunt to find anything cat themed.  When she woke up in the morning, she had a little hand sewn kitty in one arm, and her bandaged arm was resting on a pillow that had a pillowcase with a Christmas kitten pattern, that she got to bring home as well.

Throughout the entire ordeal, we made a point of telling people about how much she loves kitties, so she was delighted that everyone wanted to know about her pets, her favorite toys, why she loves cats… it was perfect.

Anyone who knows Leora well, knows she has an intense, irrational fear of dogs.  We’ve tried to help her get over it for years, but it persists.  Well, the staff had already completed the discharge papers, removed her IV and we were preparing to leave, when there was a soft knock and someone opened the door.  In padded a big yellow lab with one of the hospital patient support people.  Of course Leora’s initial reaction was fear, but we convinced her that Morgan was a sweet, gentle dog.  They even got him to lie flat on the floor, except for his tail happily wagging.  Leora bravely pet him a few times.  I was so proud of her, and grateful that their kind gesture didn’t end in a traumatized 5-year old.

(building with the magnetized nuts in a sort of library/activity room in the children's wing) 

The children’s wing of the hospital is incredible.  It’s only about 2 years old, so we hadn’t even known it existed until yesterday.  As when we arrived at the ER the previous day, Leora was in bouncy high spirits when we left the hospital.  She loved every little thing we passed, especially a corridor that was rigged with cameras, so that the projected screen interacted with her whenever she passed close to the wall (i.e. the wall appeared covered in butterflies that would scatter when she came close to the wall).  There were also numerous buttons all throughout.  Some produced sounds, others lights… Her favorite was the button that signaled a model train to emerge from its tunnel and chug around a platform above our heads.  We told her how much her model train enthusiast Uncle Ralph would have loved to see it with her.

As promised, we took her to Chick-fil-A on our way home.  She started expiring as we pulled in to the restaurant, but she still managed to enjoy her waffle fries and a chocolate milk.  She drifted blissfully off to sleep when we got home.  When she woke a few hours later, it was as if she didn’t even have a cast.  I was constantly getting after the kids to calm down so she wouldn’t get accidentally bumped.  She has been bright and happy ever since.

We are so deeply grateful for the love and support from so many dear family and friends- I only wish my loving husband could have been here.  I find it so ironic that Leora ended up being the first child to break a bone, especially compared to her rambunctious siblings.  But it’s also clear that she’ll get through this with the most grace of the bunch.  

“Leora” means “Light or light hearted” in Hebrew.  I don’t think any other name could fit her more perfectly.

Farewell Treats

Today was the kids' last day of school.  Next week they'll start attending Thornydale Elementary, where I went to for 5th and 6th grade, in Tucson, AZ!

We've only been here 3 months, but in that brief time we've met so many wonderful people.  Crickett Elementary was  no exception.  The kids loved their teachers and classmates.  

I stretched a box of cake mix to bake over 60 mini cupcakes.  I found the "OWL miss you" idea on Pinterest.  

I was going to do the same for Gregory, but then the Minecraft Creeper idea struck, I found this great creeper drawing here, and I dug out the sugar crystals from last Christmas.  

I love how they turned out, but what was even better was seeing Gregory's face when I delivered them to class.  The long "ssss" is to imitate the hissing sound Creepers make right before they explode. 

Glowing Funny Skeletons

OK, here's a super duper quick and easy Halloween decoration, also brought to you by the Dollar Tree.  The light strand I got at Walmart, for about $4.

They sell Halloween straws that have little white figures on them, that you can easily slide off.  

The legs are separate from the torso.  Other people have used twisty ties to hold them together, but I am too lazy, so mine are dismembered.

Adds to the gruesomeness, huh?

That's it.