Did I make you look?!  No, the story isn't that our kids have finally maimed one another to the point of drawing blood ...okay, wait that has happened before .... It's about Quinn.  She had eye surgery today to unblock her tear ducts.  Those with weak stomachs should not continue reading.

To clear a tear duct, the doctor runs a probe into the tear duct in the eye, then out the duct into the nose. (thankfully, small children are sedated for this procedure)  The side effects are bloody noses and, yes, bleeding from the eyes. (this isn't just a horror movie effect!)

She came through the procedure like a champ!  In fact, she amazed the anesthesiologist and the doctor by willingly laying down on the operating table and by going along with the face mask with gas. (that's my girl!)  It turns out that both her tear ducts were blocked.  And she's already had both a bloody nose and bleeding eyes, and is blowing through a diaper every 30 minutes with all the IV fluid and juice she's had.  Kudos to Swedish Hospital Seattle and Dr. Epley for a surgery and recovery well done.  :o)

It had to happen.  One day we knew it would.  Our pre-teen would become the real deal, a full fledged teenage.  Alex has just turned 13.  No more keeping him out of PG-13 movies.  No more silly "under 13" rules preventing him from registering for www.mycokerewards.com (darn it!  He always used to give his points to me!).

Instead of a big party this year, Alex opted to take a couple friends with him to GameWorks in downtown Seattle.  This is a 2-story mecca of many different types of video games, old to new.  Due to some initial babysitter issues (through a service, not our regular sitters!), Lief took the kids Friday morning.  The sitter service eventually got their act together (had to send the manager, though!), and I was able to join.  They ate lunch there (I missed that), and they were well into gaming by the time I arrived.  The kids were flitting from game to game, but Lief was holding steady with the Dance Dance games (and doing pretty well, it looked like).  I circled around the place and came back to check in.  A few times I did this.  Everyone was absorbed in their games, so I said "Well, heck, I'm leaving!"  So I walked around downtown enjoying the shopping (couldn't find anything I wanted to buy - Macy's purses are a little out of my price range, even the mark-downs).  I came back in an hour, wondering why the missing person squad wasn't stationed outside the GameWorks doors dutifully checking for clues to my disappearance.  It turns out, no one even noticed I was gone!  That's a little depressing, so I talked to Lief and decided to leave for real.  It was nice to have some time for myself.  I was on a hairspray quest (my favorite type was discontinued, so I stopped here & there checking for any last bottles - no luck).  Stopped at the mall Macy's for a purse check (again with the prices!).  The only place I had any luck was at the liquor store!  (maybe I shouldn't write that in the blog.......)

Eventually the rest of the gang made it home for some german chocolate cake, chips, & Dr. Pepper.  Alex's friends sure know him!  They gave him movies & candy for gifts!  :o)  Here are a few photos of the teenagers in action.....

IT'S HARD TO WAIT FOR ALEX TO GET HOME.....

GETTING GOOFY                                        BLOWING OUT THE CANDLES BY FLAPPING HIS HANDS (IT WORKED!!)

JOJO,  ALEX & JILL

Well, it's the end of the school year, and I'm happy/sad to say that our favorite teacher, Miss Sarah, will be moving on from our school district. She just got married and will be moving to Utah. As I mention below in an email to her, I feel like we've lost a special ray of sunshine, but also feel so fortunate that she has graced Tucker's life...

Hi Sarah,

I heard from one of your fellow teachers that you were in for one more day to clean up the room before closing year and starting a new life in Utah. I tried calling the classroom, but I think I called too late and missed you. Sarah, Lisa and I have been truly blessed to have had you leading the transition class – we’ve seen so much progress in Tucker under your watch. I feel like a little bit of sunshine will be missed at Dickinson now, and I just wanted to say from both of us – thank you. Thank you from the heart, you will be missed, and although I hate to see your enthusiasm and magic go, I would be sad to keep it from others who could benefit from it.

I hope you drop in on our blog from time to time and wish you the best wherever your travels take you. Cheers!

... speaking of sunshine, today is the first day of summer so cue the summer season theme on the blog!!

Look at this bug which was flying around our house tonight! The insect itself is mammoth, but take a gander at that protrusion from the posterior. YES, that is ATTACHED to the BUG! What in the world kind of bug is this?!? (note that it is quite a hardy specimen: we vacuumed it up, and it not only survived the vacuum, it was able to shake off the dust and debris and fly away [kind-hearted Alex set it free - WHAT WAS HE THINKING?!  Cuz I'm thinking "queen looking to start a colony"!]).

Which brings me to another thought:  the legion of crows hanging around our home.  They strut around like they own the place.  They laugh as we clumsily pitch pine cones (we've since stepped it up to rocks) at them.  They dive bomb our cat.  I'm afraid they may carry off a small child (has anyone seen Quinn??).  And now that I've seen this odd insect in our home, I'm wondering..... is one of our children the anti-christ? 

Remember that movie "Damien Omen II" (second installment of the 'classic' Omen series).  The boy was the young anti-christ (hope I didn't blow the ending for anyone there, but it was released in '78 - get out and see the movie already).  His faithful follower is a satanic black crow.  At one point, a God-fearing woman figures out who he is, and the crow tracks her down and pecks her eyes out!  Okay, okay.  I'm resigning myself that we may be raising the harbinger of doom.  But for goodness' sake, if something of mine has to be pecked out, PLEASE let it be my ears!  (the blissful silence of no children crying, screaming, or screeching) 

Or wait.... remember all those 70's B movies about killer bees?!  Maybe this insect is a scout, trying to find a place where 6 nice juicy people reside for an easy snack?! 

I gotta stop watching movies......

So Lisa and I had one of those moments last Wednesday after the junior high talent show. Tucker, Quinn and Cleo had a great time watching the talent in an auditorium replete with dimming lights, colored spot & mood lights, dancing, gumming worm stuffing, guitar playing and singing. A little side note on the singing, I didn't know it was common practice now to mutter an oath under your breath at the end of the song with the microphone still on. Yikes!

Anyway, our fun talent night experience came to a grinding halt when Lisa asked me to unlock the family mini-van... you can already guess what my response was... 'Don't you have them? I left your keys on the center console.' Yep, we locked ourselves out with three kids on our hands past their bed-time. Thankfully, a PTA member we know had AAA and called them up for us. It took a little time for the service truck to arrive, but this really is making me consider joining.

Ode to the memory of being skinny and hot!  (not to mention fit!)  My friend (and former co-worker) and I had just completed a strict fitness program (um, excuse me, lifestyle change!).  Enjoy the photos from 5 years ago (FIVE?!  No way!).