Who Are You and What Did You Do With My Son?

Henry had bloodwork done today. I've dreaded it all week. Telling Henry that he has to go to the hospital and get poked with a needle is about as fun as it sounds and his reactions generally aren't good. His last visit to the lab was in December and it was ugly. So generally we steel ourselves for the reaction and the fight and the cries of "I'm Not Going!" and just know it'll be over at some point.

Today, however, he surprised us. Jay told him that he needed to get some labs done today and his response was "OK". I wasn't there but didn't believe it when Jay told me. A bit later I thanked Henry for not throwing a fit about the need for a blood test today and he said, "It's OK. It's the anticipation that is bad. It's not as bad as I think it's going to be. Besides, I get a doughnut." Kid, I'll buy you a dozen doughnuts if this is your new way of dealing with getting bloodwork done.

Jay said that he didn't cry, not even a bit. The lab techs were a bit wary of him, though, and two of them asked him if he'd done this before (yes, he said, with a world-weary shrug) and if they needed to hold him (no thanks). They chatted about the Jazz with him and boom - done. No drama. No tears. Just a chocolate doughnut and a wave goodbye as he got out of the car to head into school.

Will wonders ever cease?

Just Dance

You've heard of this Wii game, right? I had heard of it and thought it sounded stupid, to be honest. But Henry has played it at a friends house and talked William into saving his money so that they could buy it. I knew then that they were serious - it takes something pretty special for the boys to actually save their allowances for more than a few days after getting it. Anyway, they finally got enough money saved (minus a few bucks for tax, but I'm not completely heartless) so we got it on Saturday.

And it's fun! I'm shocked, but there you have it. It's fun to watch the kids play it. Even Jay got in on the action and Jay doesn't dance. Seriously, I think we have danced together once in all the time we have been together. But he decided to show off his moves for the kids and, well, lets just say there is a reason that Jay doesn't dance. :)

We had a dance-off tonight for Family Home Evening and I dominated! On my first try! I guess all those practices when I was on the high school dance team payed off. What? You're going to remind me that I graduated from high school 25 years ago? I challenge you to a dance off! I rock at Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go!

If You've Seen My Motivation, Send It Back, OK?

I have been feeling soooo unmotivated lately. Don't know why. I'm not being lazy - that just isn't the right word to describe it. I mean, I get up and get things done every day. I exercise. I feed my family. I do laundry and vacuum. But all the little things that I thought would get done this winter are still languishing on my to-do list. This blog, if you follow it to any degree, hasn't been updated nearly as much as it used to be. I don't think it's solely because we're past all the Henry-Cancer-Crazy part of life, either; I used to have plenty to blog about pre-January 2010. There's just no motivation here.

So I thought, in the interest of updating and recording our lives, that I'd do a quick, bullet-point type of entry. At least I'll remember what life was like in the Wright household in early and mid February 2011 when I eventually format and print this blog as a Family Journal. Oh yeah, that's on my to-do list as well. Sigh.

*The kids are really into playing games lately. We play Uno, which I like because it's quick and everyone can legitimately play. We play Monopoly, which William is obsessed with. We play Pretty, Pretty Princess, which is quick and easy and relatively painless. And we play Sequence - States and Capitals, which is excruciating to play because the only person who wants to play is Tessa, who is 4, can't read, and doesn't know her states and capitals at all. So she just puts down random chips and it's all I can do not to beat her in about 5 minutes but then I'll just have to start over so I try my best to make the game last a decent amount of time. She whispers things like, "I'll play New Hampshire, Louisiana" and plays her Add cards at the most random times and in the most random places on the board.

*Valentine's Day is coming up on Monday. Tessa already had her little parties for preschool and dance. William's is on Monday and I think I'm in charge of Valentine bingo - at least I was asked to bring enough conversation hearts for an army of first graders. Henry is having a two hour party at 9 am - he has to wear church clothes and learn to dance and hold chairs for girls and is generally not too excited about the whole thing. I think we'll celebrate with our usual heart-shaped pizza from Papa Murphy's.

*Tessa went to a little Valentine party at her friend Easton's house today and I don't think I've ever seen her so excited. She was ready to get dressed at 8:30 am - in a red sweater with a heart-adorned scarf, Mardi Gras beads, a costume jewelry ring, and a crown. No, I'm not kidding. Lame mother that I am, I didn't get a picture. But she was all decked out and ready to party. I did talk her out of the crown, but she promptly put it on when Jay got home so that they could dance together. That's another story for another day. With accompanying video, if I'm sneaky enough.

*Basketball is still going well. Henry hit a game-winning shot last week and was a little excited. He has two games left. William has a few more games left and is enjoying it, although I don't think he's made a basket yet. It's a little hard to score when you are triple teamed by other first graders desperate to strip the ball out of your hands. Still, he told me today how much he was loving it.

Gosh, we're just boring around here, aren't we. But now we're boring and documented.

Happy February, everyone.

William Rocks

William got to Rock the Halls today at school. He earned the required number of AR points for 1st grade and was able to run through the halls with some of his schoolmates and the principal, proudly sporting his medal. He was especially glad to see Jay:



I know, I know - it's one of those Blink And You Miss It moments. But he was proud of himself and we are proud of him! Great job William!