Hey.
Today I had a root canal. Apparently, my tooth had really long roots, so I had to get numbed up to high heaven.
It was cracking me up when I got home. Try as I might, I could not wrinkle the left side of my nose. For the life of me, I don’t know how people do botox. I really love being able to move my face. Having facial numbness after the dentist is soooo weird. I one part love it, because it’s so funny feeling, but I equal parts want to scream with the crazies because it bugs big time.
Dear Internet,
Can we keep things real for a minute? This is going to be a super awkward post. I’m going to be frank….I have been afraid to blog. However, at the same time, I have been dying to write. I have been afraid, because my personal world has been so complex, and I really don’t want to be misinterpreted. These last months have held my deepest sorrows, but also some of my greatest joys. I feel like an old weathered soul with a wealth of scars, but simultaneously like a freshy baby with shaky but eager legs. My emotional state is a lot like spring really. Winter hangs on the edge, but growth and sunshine press forward. It seems that spring has a lot to teach me each year. I decided the other day that mid-winter is really not the time to be setting lofty resolutions. Forget New Years! The end of winter is a much more natural time to stretch and grow as a person. I think even people need sunshine to find strength to blossom. I’ve also decided that spring is my favorite season.
Anywho, there it is. This has been a time of hard learning for my soul, but I am grateful for it. I can feel great things happening. I have not known where to start blogging, so my numb face is as good a place as any. Let’s awkwardly slog on while I try to find my voice again, shall we? How about a bunch of celly pics from instagram? Mm-kay? Mm-kay. PS: Do you instagram? I hear all the cool kids do. My username is spearmintmango. Look me up.
My Mother’s Day weekend was lovely. Eve helped me pick out a new necklace. The beads are really red, and the big one is an awesome mustard-y yellow. Love it.
As I paid for it, Eve looked up at me with her big brown eyes, and said, “Mommy, can we please share your new neckess?” :)
On Friday night, Greg took me to pick out a frame for a print he got me at Christmas. SO SO excited to finally have it up on my wall. On Saturday, we took the family to Tucanos for lunch. I love Brazilian food, and will never turn down a feast of grilled pineapple. The fam let me nap off the HUGE meal afterwards. Naps are the best.
My friend, Holly, gave Greg the hookup to give me lilacs. My very favorite flower.
The weather on Saturday evening was awesome. Greg and I were able to get out of the house alone to a go see a PBR bull-riding event. Driving on country roads with the windows down does good things for my heart.
Rodeos are just plain good fun. We laughed a lot, and had a really good time.
Sunday was super chill. Brenden announced from the pulpit, “I love my mom, because of the look of her face.” Hahahahahaha! Not sure what that meant exactly, but I loved it. I quite like being a mom. It’s an up and down world just like everything else, but the payoffs are so worth it. My family is rad.
This morning was a beautiful spring morning here in Boise. I went running with a lot on my mind. On the way home I decided to risk the dirt path that runs along the river by my house. The river is crazy high. Knee high over the trail, but did it stop me? Only long enough to get a picture. :) It smelt like the mountains. It made me smile, and helped me clear my head. I made a commitment to myself to really get outside everyday in some way. I need water, trees, dirt, and adventure. :)
Back to my mouth: I’m so excited about my root canal. Weird to say probably, but true. Tonight I ate ice cream without wincing in pain the whole time, because of an angry tooth. Tillamook chocolate peanut butter has never tasted to good. The actual procedure sucked, but the payoff will be worth it. I’m living by that motto a lot.
“I have seen enough ups and downs throughout my life to know that winter will surely give way to the warmth and hope of a new spring. … I am optimistic about the future. For our part, we must remain steadfast in hope, work with all our strength, and trust in God.” -President Dieter F. Uchtdorf
Hope y’all like that quote as much as I do.
Hope
These past January days have been grey, rainy and dreary. In spite of it, the view over Boise on my walk today still looked beautiful through my blurry dampness.
There were bunnies playing tag in the bushes, and birds singing a sweet song in the trees. All of the magnolia trees all have fuzzy buds on the tips of their branches. They lay in wait to announce a new season’s arrival.
Is it too early to be feeling a shift in the cold earth? Is it my imagination grasping at hopes of brighter, sunny days?
I find comfort in the fact that seasons change. Spring will come with promises of new life and green summer days to follow. It will not fail me.
While I restlessly wait, high places call my name.
Images from my birthday backpacking trip this past summer:
Jughandle’s false summit over Louie Lake.
Climbing straight up. McCall far down below.
She calls me Melba.
Mountains and good company = me a happy girl.
*Caution: Puke Pic In Post Below. Ye Faint Of Heart Be Warned! ARRRRRGGH!
I am about to share a lot of gross details. Just a heads up for you.
I do not throw up. I hate it. So I don’t do it. I don’t out of shear Quigley stubbornness. In 29 and a half years, the number of times I’ve thrown up due to illness has been less than I can count on two hands. My three pregnancies didn’t add much to that number. Some people vomit well…like Greg for example. He can just relax, get it out, and feel better. For me, it’s violent. Without fail, it explodes out my nose, and brings no relief.
A stomach bug hit our house this past weekend. It’s taken me to a zen, slow-moving turtle place. I stop, breathe and concentrate through the urges to loose it, and then continue on being a mom. …and it all started with this:
This is how we found Eve at 12:30 am Sunday morning. (Who sleeps through that?!) We cleaned her up, and I spent the remainder of the night sleeping on the floor next to her holding a bucket. Dear, sweet girl.
Bright and early the next morning, I got up to shower and go to Stake Conference. We’d decided maybe I should go by myself, and honestly, I was quite looking forward to that. When I was ready to go, I peeked in on the kids only to discover Miles sleeping in a pile of his own vomit. (What the what?! Again, who does that?!!) Poor boy was fine all night, and I felt so bad that I was in the shower when he needed me. My children definitely do not have my iron stomach.
Greg says the best training to be a parent he got, was all his years of working at Six Flags. Cleaning up bodily fluids is just another day at the park. I’m so grateful that he just takes all that stuff in stride. He’s a wonderful man. I knew the children were in great hands as I walked out the door.
I started feeling funny during conference, but I was fairly sure it was due to a hard night. When it took me forever to make dinner that evening, and I could barely eat any of it, I knew I was sick too.
Monday was full of nuggling, (snuggling) watching movies by the Christmas tree, blog reading/writing, friends doing nice things for us, and Greg handling everything when he got home. Basically, we were lazy bums. By evening, the kids were on the mend. I’m not far behind them. Today, I got ready for the day. The wash has been started, meals are being planned, and music lessons will be attended. It’s another day in motherhood. As always, we have music helping us push through it. We took a break from the Christmas tunes this morning so the likes of Eddie Vedder could serenade me. I love his slower stuff…sometimes the harder stuff too. :) I’m sure that comes from years spent in the same house with my brother, Lee.
Hope you are all able to avoid the barfs this season! So sorry to any of you I may have unknowingly infected at Stake Conference. I’m sure you’ll have some extra immunity points because you went. You should be good. *wink* :)
When Things Get A Little Too Hairy…
Confession: I take a lot of cell phone pictures of myself, because well, let’s keep it real here, I’m a little vain. However, my narcissism comes in handy at times. It’s a rare occasion for me to actually be in front of our family camera…unless I make Greg take pictures of me. It’s not that I don’t want to be in pictures, (I am a firm believer that moms and dads should routinely be photographed no matter how you think you look, because those images will be treasures to your kids and grandchildren.) it’s just that I’m always the one taking pictures.
Today I was looking for a pic of my long hair, and it was taking too long to search and search our files for one, so of course I just resorted to my celly. (SEE? HANDY!) There was a problem though…my hair was so freakishly long that it’s hard to find an image displaying its full lengthy glory. Yes, you read correctly…”was” so freakishly long.
I’ve been wearing my hair long for quite some time now. In fact, I have never been so satisfied with the same style for so long. I loved my lengthy tresses, and went without feeling my usual hankerings for a change for a really long time. It grows pretty fast, and had reached the bottom of my bra line. Longer than I have ever had it before, but honestly, it had gotten too long, too heavy, too blah. I can’t even describe it, but one day I just felt like it was time. Time for something new.
Here’s my dirty locks, capped, ponied, and ready to go to the salon on Thursday. That’s a nice thing about having a friend cut it. She sees my hair all the time, and knows how I style it and what problems I have with it. So there was no pressure to really do my hair before going to see her.
She asked a million questions to make sure I was really ready…
…then BAM! There was twelve and a half inches of my mane on the table.
An inch or two more off to shape it, and I’d say we have ourselves a change! :)
It was the weirdest. feeling. EVAH. to run my hands through it, and have nothing there! I’m very happy with it though, and the weirdness it already wearing off. My friend did an amazing job. Now I’m just getting used to styling it.
My new bed hair is pretty fantastic. I’d forgotten just how crazy it used to get. (No worries, just bleachin’ my ‘stach…it’s not a sleepy/kooky faced milk advertisement.) I was really pleased with how well my crazy coif tamed though. I threw it into a braid, whipped out some curls with the flat iron. The curls got a little too “I’m twelve” looking, but still, nice to know I can still get away with two day hair!
I feel like my hair and I finally hit our stride on Sunday. I’m loving it.
These are a couple pictures I showed my stylist friend. (The left is Caitlin from hue and hum. I’m a huge fan of her hair, her art, her blog, her cute dog and her husband’s music.) (PS: This is one of my very favorite pieces by Lady Hue. It means something different to me than her inspiration, and I don’t have my long hair anymore, but it speaks to a deep part of me. I love it.) Anywho, the end product of my chop far exceeded my expectations.
It’s just (me) in a new way. :)
Friends, Love and Inappropriate Touching
In life, there are people you quite like, and then there are people you really enjoy. Relationships with the latter become something special when they can pass the test of time. When no matter how long it’s been, you can still pick right back up where you left off.
(And when you can do that “picking back up” along the shores of a high mountain lake, well…that’s just freakin’ awesome! That’s what that is.)
I was blessed to have truly, lovely friends in jr. high and high school, and to this day, I still genuinely enjoy getting together with them.
When my sweet friend, Emily, announced her wedding would be held this past October at Redfish Lake, I thought, “I will be there. Come hell or high water!” So I went, and three of my other friends did too.
Our visit was SHORT, but ever so sweet. I LOVE these women! They are so easy to be around. Laughs are always plentiful. :)
Emily’s wedding was BEAUTIFUL! I have been enamored with the Sawtooth Mountains and Red Fish Lake since I was a little girl. Emily has long dreamed of a wedding there on the beach, and it was a privilege to witness her dream come true. What a view!!
Emily- You. looked. radiant. Congratulations to you and Jason again!!! You are such a genuine and giving person…Jason is lucky to have you. You are lucky to have each other! I love ya, Girl!! One of the crappy things about me not being on facebook is not having regular contact with you. I miss that! I hope that all is going well!
After the ceremony, we all got a little camera happy. Here’s smoochy face Dana giving her newborn boy a bottle. Dana- Your silly side is the best! There’s no one better to just let loose with. You’ve always cracked me up. Consequently, you are a part of many, many, MANY of my favorite memories. :)
Tasha – How do you look that cute pregnant?! You’re a beachy, blond, prego bomeshell! I’ll be in town for Christmas. Can I come hug on your newborn? :) I’ll call you!
I love this picture. I can hear the laugh, and love the classic raised brows saying, “You are seriously so weird, Melinda! Do you really need to be that close to me?!” :) Lauren- What can I say? You’ve been my longest, besty friend. You are beautiful, kind and have the most sincere heart of anyone I know. I will always feel a sister like bond for you and Dana. I’m so glad that you two were such good friends with Tasha and Emily so they could become part of my life too.
Thank you so much, Girls, for being there way back when, and still today! I can’t wait till next time! Hopefully next time more of us can come. :)
My little sister, Reese, came with me to the wedding. As we pulled away to leave, she simply said, “I love your friends.” I thought that was so cool. It was a great reminder to take a moment and just appreciate how incredibly lucky I am to have such wonderful people in my life.
Speaking of wonderful people…Reese is the bomb. She and Jordan camped with us that weekend. We stayed one lake over at Alturas Lake. One of the best moments of the weekend was being able to steal away with her for a moment between the ceremony and reception. We just sat on the beach, listened to the water lap on the shore, and discussed life as we looked over the mountains. She is such an amazing soul, and I love how we can speak heart to heart. Plus, she makes a pretty hot wedding date. She even let me get to second base! Hahaha!
I don’t know exactly what was happening in these pictures, but they had me laughing SO HARD when I looked back through them. I’m very much glad we have this nerdyness documented. Ow OW!! Hahahaha!!!!
This morning I woke up with lioness hair and major bags under my eyes. So I took pictures. Why not? Then I put on the first thing I could find, (my trusty old, worn-out yoga pants and a running shirt) pulled my hair-nest back into a pony tail, called yesterday’s make-up good, and took the kids to school. Autopilot.
I haven’t been sleeping well lately. I’ve always dreamed in technicolor, but my midnight mind movies have gotten super funky and/or freaky these past few months. They wake me up a lot, and then I’m just left staring out the window alone with my thoughts. I make mental to-do lists. I think back on the previous day. I think about my church calling. I think about mountain tops, my friends, Greg, and the kids. All with no particular order, rhyme or reason. Think think think. Blah. My brain betrays my sleepy self.
Last night I thought a lot about Brenden. He’s growing up into such an amazing boy. His imagination is truly something to envy. Saturday morning I woke up to the rustling of legos coming from the other room. Then Brenden bounded in to say good morning with his newest creation.
The vampire hippo: complete with blood-ed teeth and intimidating black cape.
Awesome right?! I heard him telling Miles about a book with a vampire rabbit named Bunnicula before he came in, so I can only assume his derived his inspiration from that. Yay for cell phone cameras, and pictures of his ravenous hippopotamus! When he left my room he declared, “I’M AN AMAZING LEGO ARTIST!!” haha! It made my morning.
Yesterday, Greg told me a friend came up to him, and said something to the effect of, “I’m so impressed with your son, Brenden. The other night at the scouting function, I asked Brenden if he would like to drink soda or milk. Brenden chose milk. He said his little brother couldn’t have soda, so he wouldn’t either.” Of course, I just about started bawling. When I gave Miles insulin for his cake and milk that night, I had no idea his brother smiling next to him had made that little sacrifice. We would have never known if this friend hadn’t told Greg. I noticed Brenden was listening to Greg tell me the story, so I asked him about it. He beamed as he confirmed everything. I said, “Brenden, do you know what you showed Miles that night?” His eyes got big. “You showed him that you love him.” “I know!” he chirped with a smile. Miles was sitting nearby at the table listening to every word. It was a big deal, and you could tell it meant the world to him. :) …and I thought my heart was bursting with pride at B’s lego building skills.
Brenden likes himself, and he is creative and kind. What more could I ask for?
Last night I was also thinking about how I should put some Halloween pictures up on the blog before it’s Christmas. Look at me… actually acting on one of my mental to-do lists. I’m so proud of me. :)
This year, Brenden was Harry Potter. I love that we’ve reached the Harry Potter stage. Eve went as a Pumpkin Witch, but ditched her hat any chance she could. Miles wore a different costume for every party we went to. He was a lion at our Diabetes Association party, he was Luigi at our ward trunk-or-treat, and he dressed up as Captain Hook on Halloween to walk around the neighborhood.
We forgot Brenden’s lightning scar for the trunk-or-treat. His red hair made him look a bit like Ron in Harry’s glasses, but his personality can sell any costume. I wish I would have gotten video. This cell phone pic does him a little more justice though.
Here’s Eve with her hat at her little music class.
The kids got loaded down with lots of candy. Miles was pumped about it.
Some crazy lady kept hanging around us when we were trunk-or-treating.
Boy was she sexy though!
Three cheers for me actually blogging!! Hip hip hooray!
Of Rocks And Faith
The day Miles was diagnosed with diabetes (about three years ago), was the day that I started worrying about sending him to school. How in the world was I ever going to trust public school to care for him? So many things could go wrong with substitutes, music time, P.E., recess, and library. All very worrisome. I felt an overwhelming sense of compassion and admiration for some friends of ours. Their daughter not only had special needs, but was blind as well. I sought their council, asking how they were able to send their sweet girl into the hands of others, knowing she could not advocate for herself. How did they know that she would be ok? What if something terrible happened, and they lost her? The husband almost laughed at me, and said, “So what if it did?! Listen, do you believe in the Plan or do you not? If so, then it really doesn’t matter.” I was dumbfounded, hurt, and horrified for about five minutes. It felt like a LONG five minutes. However, it was ultimately the very best thing anyone could have ever said to me. He reminded me that I after I had prepared in every way, I needed to trust in my Heavenly Father’s protection. Then if my worst case scenario happened, I could find peace and comfort in the Plan of Salvation: We lived together before we came to Earth, we have a purpose here, and we can live again as families when we leave this mortal life. I realized if I really believed that (and I did. Still do.), then I had to prepare, and know that it would all be okay. I knew it was going to take a lot for me to be able to surrender what I couldn’t control to the Lord, but I found a lot of comfort in our conversation that day.
Over the years, periods of worry have come and gone. I have been able to push them to the back of my mind, thinking I’ll cross that bridge when we get there. Sunday night I sat on my bed thinking about all that needed to be prepared for Miles’ first day of kindergarten on Wednesday. Suddenly, I was halfway across the bridge and the weight of all the worry and fear hit me full force. I may or may not have sobbed myself to sleep.
On Monday night I had a conversation, with a woman I respect a great deal, about an experience we had at girls camp. It was completely unrelated to diabetes. This was the experience: A friend of ours arranged for the young women to go on a special hike early one morning. One at a time, each girl was given an empty, bright yellow bag, and was told it represented her life. Then she was sent up the trail alone. Every so often, there was someone who would stop her, and load her bag with trials (aka: rocks). They were personal, and they were heavy. While trudging up the trail, with her ever-growing load, she would encounter a friend, parents, a YW leader, and a bishop who would encourage or help her. None could take her burden on completely, and their help was very temporary.
I watched as one girl’s shoulders visibly shook with emotion and fatigue as she climbed to the highest point on her journey. It was very hard to watch. At that moment, the trail turned down into a narrow valley. The smallness of it made it very intimate, and it was stunningly green and beautiful. A voice singing I Stand All Amazed rose over the sound of a nearby brook.
A short walk, and a parting in the trees on the other side of the brook, revealed an image of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane with two messages from the scriptures.
Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee. ~Palms 55:22
Come unto me, all ye that are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ~Matthew 11:28-29
Here each girl could physically lay down her burdens at the feet of the Lord. It was a powerful visual and physical lesson of just how the atonement works. It was an incredible experience for the girls, and all the adults involved as well.
As my friend and I talked about how awesome it was, she mentioned what a great reference tool it’s already been for her. Her daughter just went through a hard, hard breakup before coming home from college for the summer, and was still having a difficult time with it. They’ve been able to talk about how truly casting burdens upon the Lord does not mean you keep going back to the bag to rummage through the rocks. That’s when it hit me…I’m a rummager. Just when I think I’ve turned things over to the Lord, I go pick half my rocks back up. I do it with my fears, I do it with financial issues, I do it in my marriage, I do it in my parenting, ect. ect. ect. I’ve never thought about how I behave in those terms. It’s funny, I often find that lessons learned in young womens are generally more for the leaders themselves than for the girls. This was a perfect example of that.
Today I met with the school nurse, and got our plan all in order. Tomorrow I will take pictures, kiss Miles goodbye, and leave him at his classroom door. It’ll all be okay.
I am going to practice casting, and leaving my bags.
Let’s Play Music
My dear friends with children ages 4-7,
Have you heard of Let’s Play Music? We found out about it last year by attending a sample class, and knew immediately that it was something special. We were able to enroll Miles and Brenden, and had such an awesome experience that we want to share it with you! :) Our teacher (and friend), Danicia Christensen, is currently holding sample classes for first year students ages 4-7, and we are happy to host one of them in our home. These last days of summer are so busy, but I hope you will take a moment to come and see why we love, love, LOVE this program.
Let’s Play Music Sample Class
Hough Home (Please comment, and I will send you the address)Thursday, August 11th @ 1:00 pm
Let’s Play Music is a music course that emphasizes total musicianship through piano playing, singing, classical music, theory, note reading, and ear training……and it’s accomplished through PLAY!!
After one year, I feel like my children already have an incredible musical foundation. I still remember Greg’s jaw dropping when he realized they were playing songs on their tone bells by sight-reading notes. It’s so exciting to think that by year three, they will be playing piano at an intermediate level, transposing music, composing their own music, sight-reading music, and prepared to excel in any further piano instruction. ….and it’s all accomplished through PLAY. The classes are just plain fun. Hope to see you soon!
With love,
Melinda, Brenden and Miles
PS: You are welcome to bring all of your children. :)
important things
We were sitting side-by-side on the couch when Miles leaned in closer to say, “Mom, I love you more than ice cream.”
There’s just something about the way little boys love their mothers. It melts my heart like ice cream in the hot July sun. I could just eat Miles up, I love him so.
I got the children dressed and ready for the day before finding clothes for myself. Eve came around the corner, and took one look at my attire, and declared, “Mom!! We sames!” I love how she says “sames” when she sees a match. It may have just been me, but on this occasion there seemed to be a hint of embarrassment in her voice when she said it. We were indeed exact sames. Black lounge pants with blue Boise State t-shirts. A complete accident even though I had just dressed her not 10 minutes prior. I was too lazy to change, so we laughed about it instead. I’m glad she’s so willing to laugh.
Brenden lost his sixth tooth on the last night he was a six year old. It happened so long ago, and I’m afraid I’ll forget about it if wait to write it down any longer. January marked seven years passing me by in such a rush I could hardly believe it. Now first grade has ended, and he has an independence and fearlessness that I can hardly recognize. I just happened to glance at the class memory book he brought home yesterday. Each child has their own page with a paragraph of important things about them with a black and white picture of themselves underneath. I turned to his page, and found he had already colored his hair vivid orange with a marker. The text read, “The important thing about Brenden is that he has a mom that he likes. It is true that he likes playing video games. He is good at “Portal 2″ and Star Wars. And he is good at listening to his mom. But the most important thing about Brenden is that he has a mom that he likes.” That was the best gift he could have ever given me today.
There are so many things about Brenden at this age that are important to me…like the way he’ll still hold my hand when I offer it. I know the time for that is quickly coming to an end. Did you know that when something really tickles Brenden’s funny-bone, he covers his mouth, and giggles with his whole body? His eyes shine when that happens. I love that. Brenden still draws or colors at every possible opportunity. He reads, reads, READS anything with type on it. He always has a tune on his lips, and a groove to go with it. Nobody moves like Brenden. He has this quirky, jerky style that is so rad. (It’s kind of like if Mr. Robot-o could pop and lock, and had Pee-Wee Herman-esk mannerisms. Awesome.) Brenden will do anything to casually get out of cleaning his room. It drives me crazy, but I have to admire his creativity about it. He’s pretty crafty. B loves to play. I’ll often overhear him challenge his siblings to “Coffee me!” Then I’ll loudly clear my throat, and he’ll say, “Oops! I mean copy me.” I think its so funny that he still mispronounces that word all the time. Brenden’s brother and sister love him fiercely. Eve-E looked at him the other day, and said, “Brenden, you’re so cute!” He blushed, and grinned in a silly sort of way. You could tell he loved her saying that. He leaned over, sniffed her hair, and declared, “Eve, your red hair smells like strawberries.” She’s obsessed with Strawberry Korrcake (Shortcake) so that was just about the best compliment he could give her in return. They are such a funny pair. (I’m glad I overheard that exchange so I had some idea why Eve was asking me to smell her hair today.) Brenden loves his Book of Mormon, and does such a good job reading when it’s his turn. He loves to ask Greg and I how to say random words in different languages. I don’t know why he thinks we speak French! (Pardon my lack of French, Bud. Let’s stick to Spanish or Portuguese.) (…or Canadian, cuz you know they have a “unique” way to say EVERYTHING, eh.)
I want so bad to freeze this gap-toothed little boy in my memory so I’ll always have this time with him.
I am so blessed to be a mom.
just (me)linda 