Because you're all cats and I'm trying to keep the curiosity at non-lethal levels:

Exciting things happening at Casa Lee (aka News)

B lost his job nearly two months ago now. (If you want to add us into your prayer list!) Though he has been training at The Green PolkaDot Box for two weeks now, and that has the possibility of turning into full-time job. You'll just have to check back later and see!

Emma has purchased her plane tickets for London, and has found a small group of people she barely knows to stay afterward several days with and see more sights around the UK. I am out of my mind excited for her. She is amazing to do all this on her own!

Christian is awesome, but I literally can't think of anything new to tell you. He's precious. Is that news?

Libby stayed up so late all weekend, actively avoided doing homework, and started out her Monday exhausted and stressed with everything she has piling up this week. She does that sometimes, but I do adore her.

Jackson is like the Pied Piper for the younguns in the neighborhood. We actually had this adorable 7YO girl whose family just moved in a few months ago come to the door and ask if he could play yesterday. When she saw him she threw her arms around him and hugged him. That's Jackson. He's a jewel. WHAT WILL I DO WITHOUT HIM NEXT YEAR.

Ethan turned 12 in February and so moved from the kids organization to the Young Mens at church. He is adorable, how much he thinks he's a grown up now. And it's true, all of a sudden he is growth spurting for sure. He has grown out of 85% of the clothes in his drawers. For most of their lives Jackson and Ethan were nearly the same height, despite the 2-year difference in age. But two or so years ago Jackson turned up the gas and all of a sudden, almost overnight, he was a whole head taller. And he just kept growing. Well now Ethan's turned up the gas. He's doing his best to catch up to Jackson.

And Kyrie! I bought her some totally cute clothes for her bday in December, and they fit her great. Now, four months later, they look at least two sizes too small. I wish I could go get her some more. Fingers crossed B's training turns into salaried position soon.

Macklin got to participate in his first derby as a cub scout. Pinewood (car) derbies are always fun, but this was a space derby. He did not win. But he had a great time anyway, and that's what's important.

Whoops did I even comb his hair before going to the derby? Yikes. Good thing he's still adorable.

My big news (I guess?) is that I bought some dry ice and self-froze my warts. I Instagrammed one photo of a resulting blister:

I'm excited for the whole healing process to occur at whatever speed it does, so that when I finally peel away the dried up/withered top skin I can see if baby warts dwell beneath, or if I GOT THEM ALL.

Boring you to tears with inane details of my real life. That's my motto.

A lesson I learned years ago that continues to apply today

I should always represent myself in the best light.

Once upon a time we were refinancing our home. We've done it quite a few times since then too. But the appraiser who came through said a few things that stuck in my craw, about renovations we'd done not being up to snuff. It's a case of pride for me, and pride goeth before the fall. I emailed the loan officer about the appraisal, and (I'm sad to say) I kind of turned up the snark about a few of the appraiser's comments. I thought, this loan officer and I are getting along well, she knows me, she knows my attitude and will think this is funny. But of course, what I had with the loan officer wasn't a friendship; it was a business relationship. She forwarded my email straight on to the appraiser just as it was. He responded back with easily 10x the snark, justifying his position and making it exceedingly clear I had no idea about the arcane terms and valuations appraisers use. Which is so true. He made me look like a fool, using my own words.

And I realized, if I had kindly, as my best self, asked how he had arrived at that valuation, he'd probably have responded as kindly. Because as it turned out, he thought our renovations were very good. Just, you know, the house is really old and doesn't score very high due to age, and when I make period-appropriate renovations they're not going to look like I did them yesterday.

I am often reminded of that moment, of the time my own snark was turned against me to make me look foolish. Only three people even saw the email, but I still felt about an inch tall, and I had done it to myself. It's a good reminder for me to always be as kind (smart/thoughtful/wise) as I can possibly be, at my best—because it is nice when that kindness (thoughtfulness/wisdom) is reflected back.

Blaine teaching a civic lesson to the kids:

Their little minds are blown that we can't just print out money, or stick it in a copier and make copies that are legal.

Blaine: What would happen if everyone could just print money?
Jackson: Everyone would be rich!
Blaine: And what would happen if everyone was rich?
*pause*
Macklin: We'd all be happy!

Hahaha. The conversation continues in the kitchen as I speak, but I had to laugh at that.

Let's News.

Fact: my life is really pretty steady/unchanging/boring. Not a whole lot happens that is outside the daily routine, and I long ago got over blogging the daily routine.

But: I realized that there are a few people who actually read my blog, you know, for news. For the little tidbits I don't release in paragraphs on Facebook. Maybe even for kid updates. And I thought, I should really talk about those things now and then, because those are things that are outside the daily routine.

Emma has decided she's going to London to study abroad. She is going at this full tilt without any need for us to help or even contribute funds. She's working and saving, she's already applied, and I'm super proud of her for chasing her dream. At her university they call study abroad "Maymester", it is just one month long and it is an intense study of _________ (I think in her case it is theater and literature?) for which they get 3 hours credit. Last year she didn't move home for the summer, but she plans to move home this summer; and at the end of the summer, her plan right now is to serve a mission.

Christian spent his own hard-earned money on a plane ticket to Colorado, and he visited his girlfriend and her family for a few days over Christmas break. I was really glad for him to have the experience of traveling alone (first plane ride ever!) and I hear that he was a pleasant guest. He's the president of his school's National Honor Society chapter, which is an elected position, and also makes him a member of the student council/student body officers. And he just got a role in the school musical Once On This Island. He graduates at the end of May, he'll work all summer, and his current plan is that he'll go on a mission after the summer. I posted that he got accepted to a university—he also got a scholarship there, so YAY.

Libby is hanging in there through the busiest and fullest schedule a kid ever experiences in school, amiright? That 11th grade year they just pound them. She has two AP classes, one of which is almost lethal in its homework load. She stays up all night two nights per week, I'm not even kidding. She is mad about dance, still, but this semester in addition to dance company and the insane academic schedule, she's also in Once On This Island and the school play, which I think is Cinderella? Bless her.

Jackson and I really need to get his application for the Academy done. Sigh. I've been putting that off since November. GUILT! Otherwise, he played his first organized sport last fall, flag football, and we learned that he is incredibly speedy. He also picks up quickly on the rules—since he was the only kid on the team that hadn't been playing flag football since first grade or whatever. His team lost I think every single game, but he had a great time doing it.

I was Ethan's scout leader (against my inclinations and interests, but I still rocked it) for about five months when he was 10, and then most of the time he has been 11. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a relationship with the Boy Scouts of America, which means that every boy who attends church regularly is involved in BSA activities. So my involvement has been good for both me and for him—for me, because I have lots of boys and before this I knew nothing about scouting. Now I know, and I can be a better support and guide to my sons. For him, because he's precious and wonderful and so full of innocent goodness, and he's the least socially aware of my kids. It was good for me to see him in action so I can better guide him as he navigates the social world so that hopefully he doesn't become an outcast.

But eight days ago I moved from scouting to something called Activity Days, which is with girls ages 10-12. So now I get to hang out with Kyrie, which is going to be great fun for me. She's in an interesting stage, for sure. She is at home all day every day with just three brothers, who don't want to play dolls or have tea parties. They want to play Legos. And she plays along with them, but she really is a little girl. She has a lot of good friends nearby who, thankfully, like doing little girl things with her. For her birthday in December I bought her a lot of really cute clothes, and she's in love with them. (She and I totally dig watching What Not To Wear together, and looking at What The Stars Wore the day after. We have very similar taste.) So she's just your average adorable 10 year old girl, really.

Macklin: well he doesn't really have anything interesting going on in his life, but he does have the most adorable freckled 8-year-old face you ever saw. He's a brand new cub scout but we haven't done much with it. He has plenty of friends, and he tags along with his older brothers like a pro.


Comet the wonderpup is now 11 months old. His most recent shenanigan is that he cut his foot (the pad and between two "toes") open. It was pretty nasty, I hear (I'm a wimp and cannot look at wounds directly). The vet wanted to sedate him and sew it closed, and I was all NOPE. I'm just not going to pay hundreds of dollahs for surgery on my pet. So instead the vet sent me home with pain pills and antibiotics so it wouldn't get infected as it healed on its own. It took the better part of a week to even start closing up, but my evil plan was working. It was scabbed and scar tissue was forming. Until yesterday, when many of the men in my life decided, after more than a solid week of keeping him calm so his foot would heal, the time was right for him to start running and jumping and being a pup again. Yup, opened the wound right back up, and now I only have 3 more days of pain pills and maybe a few past that of antibiotics. Sigh. And he is going totally stir crazy being calm, with the kids outside biking around in 50º weather. Toes crossed he heals up again, quick. Before the pills run out.

And that's what I don't share on Facebook!

But it's a secret for now, so SHHHH.

First of all, if you're my Facebook friend you've got to keep your gushing here and not let it leak over there. Pinky swear, or you'll have to stop reading right now.

Christian just got his first university acceptance for Fall 2014. It starts!

 (Same place Emma goes, Southern Utah University, as luck would have it. Depending on where else he's accepted and what scholarships he's offered I don't think it's his first choice, but it's still a milestone for him. And for me!)