New Lease on Life

Coming up for air here.... Darren has been down and out for 8 days. EIGHT DAYS. Rotavirus is a wicked, wicked thing. Just ate his first real meal tonight and even tried to drag himself to work, but about fainted in his weakened, shriveled state. We'll try again tomorrow. 'Cause sick days are long gone and vacay days are running out...

Annie on the other hand has been thrilled with her new lease on life in the same 8 days. We were all in grand anticipation, counting down the minutes of her 9+ week hindrance (although she ditched her crutches the final two weeks and walked on that cast, oh yes she did.)

 Her leg had shrunk considerably - can't imagine what it would've looked like had she not even been putting weight on it.

could she be any happier?

 Seriously, grodey. She'd been plagued with itchiness at the end and I'd been shoving coconut oil down it, but we were all unprepared for the nasty, bloody, peeling rashiness that emerged.

She's doing great though. Definitely still crippled with muscle atrophy and her foot was set weird so she walks funny, but the bones look good and she's on her way to a full recovery. And she can finally join us in the pool!!!

 We had some surprise guests right as Darren got sick, who ended up pulling us through a crazy day of appointments and meetings I couldn't skip. Our sister in law's brother and his wife stopped in for a couple days. They got some sightseeing in, laundry done (they're doing as much of Oz in 3 weeks as they can) and received some very pathetic hospitality from us ("here's a recipe for pavlova - make it, it's the best - we can eat it when I get home late tonight after you put our kids to bed!") But we did get in some Tim Tam slams, bush fires, Weet-Bix, Vegemite toast and kangaroo bike rides, so not totally a bust. Here's our only pic (congratulating his sis, Aunt Leah, on their newest arrival - hooray!)

 So basically, what followed was one of the worst weeks on Mitchell record with Darren treacherously ill, all the kids home, trying to guess which ones might also be carrying the virus (keeping said kids sanitized and out of  pools), denying playdates, attempting physical therapy, caring for the invalid, cleaning up and disinfecting perpetual episodes of sick, laundry laundry laundry, shopping for obscure possible remedies like grapefruit seed extract, and to top it off - daily ant infestations.

Like ants everywhere, multiple times a day. Leave a dinner dish out, BAM, they're back. Spray 'em dead. Wash chemicals and ant bodies off everything. Open a cupboard, BAM, shelf crawling with them. Spraying frenzy ensues. Summer spits out some sugary nuts, BAM, the ant apocalypse. Spray, wash, sanitize, repeat. Crying baby. Ailing husband. Poopy toddler. Grumpy kids. Washing hands twelve hundred times a day. It has been quite the party 'round here!

So now, I'm optimistic that it's a new lease on life for us too, as we emerge victorious. Every nook and cranny is sprayed, one final disinfectant push tomorrow and hopefully, we'll be out of the woods. Because if not, I might just crawl into a hole and die. We are both so thrashed. Poor Darren, he's been totally incapacitated. Brutal.

But thank goodness for prayer and ipods and blessings and the wii and friends and good weather and nice neighbors with pools and semi-self-sufficient kids. And bless those books. What a different summer this would've been without my strict "one hour of reading per day" rule. These guys are flying through series and absolutely jazzed about it. Books cannot be overpraised.

(Makes me remember fondly those childhood summers when I'd spend hour upon hour, nose in a book, swinging in our hammock on the deck, listening to the stream below. "Go out and play soccer or call a friend or something" my mom would gently urge, but man, nothing beat reading the day away.)

So thanks for the prayers and kindness. I literally just smashed a spider on my face. That's my cue - it's over - I'm going to bed now. I reached the end of my rope tonight and absolutely hate putting kids to bed in tears, but tomorrow's a better day. I bet we won't get ants. Darren will probably make it back to work. And I might even get to sleep in my own bed again (been keeping nursing babe far away from the sick bed.) And hey, we dodged all the bush fires! Things are looking up.

April Fools & Easter Week

Kinda funny to start off Easter Week with a simultaneous April Fool's Day/Palm Sunday. But we went for it. Australians get Good Friday and "Easter Monday" off so last year we spent Easter in Brisbane on the way to Fraser Island, but it was nice to get back to our week long celebrations.

Perhaps Palm Sunday started out a bit irreverently as the kids tried to feed dad a "special cake" for breakfast (mayonnaise/butter icing topped with salted kiwis), proceeded to church with bandages wrapped on their appendages (how was I to know April Fool's officially ends at 12 noon in Australia?), and my extremely successful trick of mustard in their toothpaste tubes. But we ended with a nice re-enactment of Christ's triumphal entry, (complete with palm leaves and fights over the donkey rides, of course) and enjoyed a few of the church's new Bible story videos. Really well done, brief video clips - check them out to give a nice boost to your Easter week HERE.

Each year we use a special book I previously posted about to build our Easter Week celebrations. And while I didn't go full force with homemade oil lamps again, it has been a delightful week so far. Here are some things we've done and are planning:

Palm Sunday: read, discuss and act out Jesus's triumphal entry and start our Love One Another poster (nice notes to each other all week), pick Secret Pals to serve, and choose an Easter hymn to learn

Monday: discuss why Jesus cleansed the temple, how we can cleanse our "temples" and build our own (obviously much cooler with sugar cubes, but my brain shut off when I went to the store)

Tuesday: read and discuss a few parables then play parable charades 

Wednesday: read, discuss & reenact the Parable of the 10 Virgins (make oil lamps)

Thursday: (always the kids' favorite) read and discuss the Last Supper, significance of the Sacrament, Judas' and Peter's betrayal/denial and how we sometimes do the same, and of course the Atonement. Then we discuss what Passover was and have our "Jerusalem dinner" with foods of Jesus's time: broiled fish (Mom's fave), goat cheese (Dad's), honeyed yogurt (Will's), honeycomb (Annie's), lentil soup (Kenna's), dates (Summer's), eggs, nuts, cheeses, olives, cucumbers, flatbread, raisins, figs, etc.

 Of course, eating on the floor and the grape juice toast are always exciting. Such a nice, special way to get us all thinking of how things were when Jesus walked the earth.

 Friday: Read and discuss Jesus's trial and crucifixion, review his last week through the 12 Days of Easter eggs (little visual and scripture in each one) and make Easter Story Cookies (meringues found in that book - each ingredient signifies something.)

Saturday: Discuss the Jewish Sabbath, and what happened in the Americas after Jesus' death then make Easter Breakfast Rolls for the morning (marshmallows in bread dough to signify the empty tomb)

Easter Sunday: Sing, testimonies, discuss Jesus' appearances, read Love One Another poster, etc.

And lest you think they miss out on all that traditional fun - not to worry. Between the U.S. Embassy party, neighborhood party, 3 class parties and the ward party, I think they got their fill of bunnies, baskets and chocolate!




(Despite Summer's "I'm not so sure about that giant bunny guy" she had no trouble getting into the egg-collecting...)

Incidentally, I'll end with an Australianism fun fact: easter "egg hunts" here consist of foil wrapped chocolate eggs (mini solid and larger hollow ones, too) tossed about the grass and gardens rather than colorful plastic ones stuffed with goodies.

Annie's Easter Hat Parade

HAPPY EASTER, FRIENDS! May you and your families enjoy meaningful celebrations this weekend as well :)

H2O

Did you know, you are probably dehydrated right now? In fact, studies show that most of us are chronically dehydrated which is manifest in our various forms of "illness." In fact, you may want to hold off going to the doctor until you've actively re-hydrated for a few days. Chances are your "symptoms" will disappear.

Water in health has intrigued me for some time. I went through a spurt in junior high when a friend and I tried to down a gallon a day. It was amusingly difficult. For a while last year I attempted downing 64 oz. before breakfast every morning. Also difficult. I just read a book called Your Body's Many Cries for Water by Dr. F. Batmanghelidj. It's written so poorly that I'll save you the trouble and just share his highlights (you can find more on this FAQ page from his website.) He basically says,

"You are not sick, you are thirsty! 

Don't treat thirst with medications!"

He goes on to support his claims with ample research and examples. He believes we could solve most of our ailments simply by drinking more water. Seriously, we're talking high blood pressure, cancer, migraines, arthritis, heartburn, depression, high cholesterol, diabetes, asthma, allergies - the whole gamut. He has "subscribed" anywhere from 32 oz. to 3 liters a day, but his basic recommendation is "drink half of your body weight in ounces" (ex: 150 lbs, drink 75 oz.) A safe bet is 8-10 eight oz. glasses at the very least per day. Water should be taken first thing in the morning, 30 minutes before and after meals, as well as before bed. It's healthy (and weight-losing) properties will be amplified by one (or two) hour long "walks" per day. He warns that increased water intake should be accompanied by an increase in salt as well (up to 1/2 tsp. per day) to keep liver and kidneys balanced and functioning properly. And we're talking WATER, by the way, straight from the tap. Not "liquid" - so your juice, tea, soda don't count here at all.

It makes sense to me. I've watched enough documentaries to be convinced. Not to mention, our bodies are made up of 75% water, and our brains are closer to 85% water. Foggy brain? Sluggish or fatigued at work? Feel like you're coming down with something? Drink a couple glasses of water. I can't help but think how much money would we save and where would our health system be today if we all at least attempted re-hydrating before turning to medications. Water could very well be your (free) "miracle cure." Be sure to share your success with your doctor too. Let's be part of the solution, people.

Want an easy test for dehydration? Check your shade of urine:

clear = hydrated
yellow = partially dehydrated
orange = extremely dehydrated

So happy hydrating, friends! Come on, give it a try, what have you got to lose?

School Break

Back to school. Two weeks of Sydney, the beach, off-roading, LDS General Conference, stitches, and a lemonade stand among other things. But I think the fave was just the freedom & quality time.

This was slept in most nights.

You know it's a good book... And some excellent choreography sessions with friends.

See, flowers even sprout from the rocky hillsides - never seen such a brilliant spring.

 Enjoying a little lunch break (ie: barf break) and some fresh air on the bumpy roads.

Oatmeal cinnamon rolls are the new tradition for Conference morning.
(Better than Cinnabon, friends. Recipe in comments below.)

 

Lots of biking. 

Even snuck off for a few trail ride "dates." 

Aren't we all cute and matchy-matchy?? We only ride in style...

Speaking of riding in style - check out this family bike we rented on Lake Burley Griffin. Between the weather, the blossoms and sheer enthusiasm of the kids, definitely made a memory.

Summer was thoroughly confused and enthralled trying to figure this contraption out.

The best was when we stopped so I could feed Summer (Darren wasn't about to escalate our spectacle by condoning a feed ON the bike) and the kids jumped on for a spin. Hardly touching the pedals, they started running people off the sidewalk, narrowly escaping a dip in the lake at every turn. Many a concerned look was cast our way. Kinda hilarious.

 The required tree climbing breaks...

Plenty o' beds full of exhausted kids. Good times.