Potty Training

Raiden is 3 1/2 this week, so I decided it's really time to stop being reluctant and potty train him. He's pretty good at knowing how to go, but sometimes if he needs to go, well, he just goes. We've gone through a lot of underpants this way.

Anyway, I was trying to encourage him to wear underpants today, and he didn't want to. So I asked him if he wanted to be like a baby and wear a diaper or be like a big boy and wear underpants. After thinking about it for a minute, he said, "Be like a big boy wearing a diaper." Ha! I was able to convince him to wear the underpants. I think it was his pleasure at his wittiness that put him in a good mood!

Raiden's Third

I'm a little late, but Raiden turned 3 just a few weeks ago. Here's what he's up to these days.

His talking is great. He told me he loved candy because it is dewishous. Sometimes he likes to yell, "I love my butt and I won't shut up!"

Unfortunately, Raiden still has an oral fixation. I don't mind that he sucks on his fingers because that's dang cute, but I HATE that he is a biter. Almost worse? At church he leaned over and LICKED my face from chin to eyebrow. Gross, gross, gross.

Raiden is a snuggler. One of his most common questions is, "Mom, can I hold you?" Aw. Then he collects his big blanky and duck blanky and sits on my lap, sucking his fingers. So precious.

He's also really into the toddler tendency of collecting things. I find his caches of "stuff" all over. He had about six toys in his car seat and threw a fit at the thought of putting some of them on the floor. When he dropped one of them it didn't matter that he still had two cars and a million other toys, he needed the car that fell. Fortunately, Sasha said, "Mom, when the car stops should I find it?" Thank you, oldest son.

Although Raiden can be wanpaku (Japanese for a wild one), he is the sweetest little boy. He is tender with our pets, gentle and affectionate with his two baby cousins, and loves to play with Sasha and Sabrina. I love you baby boy!

First Broken Bone: It wasn't Raiden

Yesterday, the first day of summer vacation, Sabrina and Sasha were happily playing on Sasha's bunk bed. They opened the window. Sasha leaned against the screen. Sasha fell out the window, into the window well. It was actually pretty hilarious, except that he broke his arm.

Now, he didn't have any nasty stuff like a bone sticking through his skin or anything. No, it was just a little buckle fracture, probably caused by trying to catch himself, which means he doesn't have a cast. The doctor at the clinic just put a splint on the arm, told us not to take it off for four weeks except for bathing, and seeya for an x-ray in two weeks.

Sasha actually thinks the splint is pretty cool, and is excited to show it off. He can't really open a door or get dressed, but hey, he's only 4. He can still eat and play on my phone just fine, so he's good. He's not in much pain either. So, it looks like if one of my kids HAS to have a broken arm, this is a very nice one.

The only surprising thing that both my mom and Zane mentioned was that our first broken bone wasn't Raiden's. I see their point.

Cancer Birthday

This week is my cancer birthday. I'm two years out from diagnosis. I was talking to Mom about it last night, and she was saying this was a hard anniversary because you're done with treatment and FEEL far out, but you're still a long way from the "safety" of five years. I was having a really hard time a week or so ago. I think part of it was this anniversary, combined with that talk I gave at USU. Both of these things caused me to have to think about the whole cancer thing.

My "scary thoughts" usually come every month or so and last a few hours at most. However, I was on about day three of scary thoughts and couldn't take much more. I was using all my tricks -- ignore, repress, face, pray -- and nothing was working. Fortunately, this was all happening right before fast Sunday. I know you CAN fast without it being the first Sunday of the month, but it just doesn't really occur to me. But since fast Sunday coincided with these scary thoughts, I fasted for peace.

Wow. Fasting really works! I cannot believe the serenity I've been feeling this week. It's been Spring Break, as was my Week From Hell 2013. Last Spring Break I had just had my second mastectomy. This Spring Break could have been very stressful, but it wasn't. Thank you, Father. I'll remember that next time I'm stressed or unhappy, and maybe even fast without the expectation of Fast Sunday.

Update

I know it's been a long time since I've updated my blog, but I do keep THINKING about my blog. About what I should say, cute things the kids do. Then I forget what they do and what I should write about. What a loss!

Anyway, there aren't any really big things to talk about. This morning, Raiden was OOOOO-ooooing. Then he said, "Mom, I sing 'Radioactive.'" Ha! Then Sasha got in on it, then Sabrina. (Btw, "Radioactive" is a song. If you listen to it, you'll understand the OOOOOO-ooooo part. Also, Raiden's favorite word is "no." 'Cause he's 2.

Sasha can read. It's crazy. His preschool teacher told me he was brilliant. Oh thanks, I said. No really. He can read. Oh sure. Well, he sure can! He can sound out words, and not just "cat." He sounded out "grassland" the other day. I think we'll put him in a kindergarten prep class, and then he'll go to kindergarten the next year. He definitely needs the extra year to grow up a little, but he'll also be the smart kid.

Sasha is also playing indoor soccer. He's a little ADD, so sometimes he spends time making sure the walls go all the way around the indoor field. They do. Today he must have been worried that the walls would fall down since he spent the last 10 minutes holding them up. Still, he's the youngest person on the field and today he dribbled and even did a little trick. So. There's that. Also, he's adorable.

Sabrina is doing great in school and was so excited to start reading chapter books. She's not very fast yet, but she's getting very confident in her reading. I can't believe she's seven weeks away from being done with first grade! Little T-bone. It's hilarious to hear her explain things like capitalization or have her ask, "What do you call a fish with no eyes? Fsh!" I've hear that about ten times in the last week.

Mom and I gave a talk at USU last Monday. It was largely populated with frat boys and their sorority girlfriends, so they were extremely polite but also not super into giving up their Monday night to a cancer talk. Oh well. It was fun anyway, and I got candy from the Bluebird and a USU mug. Score!

I'll try to keep you updated!

In Which We Save a Cat

We've been noticing some very small kittens near an empty house in our neighborhood. Being the kind souls we are, Spencer went to try to get the cats to see if they were okay. Yesterday, he came home with one of them. He handed it to me, it gave a weak mew, and then basically went unconscious. I thought it had died. However, after a few hours in front of the fire and a few droppersful of water, Lucky revived. It is now lying in front of the fire (again), having used the litter box a few times and eaten our cat food. Our other cat, Achilles, is not impressed.

We (mostly Spencer) have been over to try to get the other cat (which we have preemptively named Hobbes), but it's faster and less almost-dead. Also, it doesn't want to be caught. Have you ever tried to catch a cat that does not wish to be caught? Not easy. So we've left food and water, and maybe Hobbes will survive. Lucky seems to be doing great, though.

I'm not sure about Lucky's future, but she's making herself at home for now!

Six-Word Biographies

Over Christmas, Mom wrote six-word biographies for each person in the family. Here they are, preserved for posterity.

Raiden: Run, jump, roar, careen, spill. Repeat.
Zane says the only problem with this characterization is that there are spaces between the words.

Sasha: Don't want to snuggle! Make me.
Sashimi is a sweet, loving boy who also throws some pretty good 4-year-old tantrums. But when those tantrums are winding down, he needs very little urging to snuggle for a long time.

Sabrina: I love everybody. Everybody loves me.
True.

Spencer: Oldest of 4. Twice. Great expectations.
Can you believe Spencer, an only child until he was 7, now has five brothers and a sister? Maybe instead of "Great expectations" it should be "Great responsibilities."

Molly: Except in soccer, comports herself well.
This statement comes from when I had to get a c-section with Sasha. The anesthesiologist told me I "comported myself well" in the process. I would argue, however, that "comporting oneself well" in soccer involves a certain amount of...aggression.

Zane: Oldest of eight. Lawyer. Debate, anyone?
Really, what more is there to say?