Surgery Girls

Ivory was the original Surgery Girl when she got her tonsils out. We haven't had much need for the title since then, but somehow we managed to schedule THREE surgery girls for this last December. It was almost four, but we figured Pearl would feel left out, so Robyn went to Front Site instead of having surgery. Seems like a good trade to me.


Everyone took their turn and had their own unique experience. Let's look back and see how each Surgery Girl did... (fade out music)


Daisy was up first. She had the easiest surgery of the three, but because her procedure was done at the hospital, it was the most structured. You know what I mean, right? There is a certain way to do things at the hospital with the monitors and the number and waiting for your person to come back out. It makes it feel more intense than it might actually be.


Daisy was there to get tubes in her ears. There has been a long history of Daisy and her hearing problems. When she was younger, she stopped being able to hear. You could stand behind her and say her name and she wouldn't respond. We took her in for a hearing test and she failed. She seemed to have an ear infection and they thought that was the problem, so after antibiotics and some healing time we took her back in for another hearing test and she failed. Oddly, we could tell that she could hear again, so even though she failed the test we decided not to worry about it and we moved on with life (yes, we are stellar parents).


Fast forward five or six years and suddenly Daisy couldn't hear again. She had an ear infection, we got her some antibiotics, and the infection improved but the hearing didn't. After two months I decided to take her in to see an ENT. They gave her some hearing tests and sure enough, she failed. She had lost almost 30 decibels of hearing. That means normal speech sounded like a whisper to her. The doctor recommended tubes to get rid of the fluid in her ears. I'd like to think that fluid has not been sitting there for five years.


The procedure to put in tubes is very fast and pretty easy but they still like to put children out because it can be scary for them. We arrived early on a Monday morning and were escorted back to a room. We only had to wait a little while and Daisy spent time talking with us.

Once again, this was at the hospital, so she had to do the whole gown and rigmarole. But she looked very cute in her hospital jams and her finger monitor.

She brought her own blanket but they also gave her another one at the hospital. (Not pictured here.) They wheeled her out after everyone had come to talk to her about the surgery. Daisy didn't seem too worried and luckily she doesn't weigh much so they decided to just give her a gas mask instead of putting a tube down her throat. (Yay!) It didn't take long and she was wheeled back to us curled up and groggy. Everyone reacts to anesthesia differently. The nurse we had said kids come out screaming most of the time. (That sounds so disturbing.) I don't think Daisy did that, but they probably wouldn't tell us if she did. She was rather grumpy as it wore off. She got a slushy which you'd think would make her happy, but she didn't want us taking pictures. Too bad.

Shortly, she was back to herself. Except now she could hear. We stopped to get some real breakfast but she didn't eat much. Not so hungry after the whole ordeal. Daisy's recovery was quick and barely changed anything in her routine. The other girls were not so lucky.

Next up was Ivory. Lucky for the original Surgery girl to go at it again. This time, she was in for some not so fun oral surgery. Ivory has stubborn teeth and to help them move, the doctor planned to drill a ton of holes in the bone under her teeth in hopes that while healing, the teeth would be more willing to adjust. This surgery was easily the most expensive since insurance wouldn't cover it, and there was only an 80% chance that it would work. (Yes, you are reading that correctly. There was a 20% chance that we were not only wasting our money, but also inflicting Ivory to a lot of unnecessary pain. Let's all cross our fingers.) We went to a consult in October to be told all this good news by the doctor. Here we are reading before he came in.

A little over two months later, we were back for the actual surgery, despite the possibility that it was all for naught.

The bone drilling was not the worst part. It was getting to the bone. They had to slice and pull back her gums and they sliced them from mid mouth all the way back to the wisdom tooth. And since they were  back there, they decided to take out her wisdom tooth as well. (Now she is 1/4 less wise.) The coolest part is that they put cadaver bone over the mutilated bone, so it could heal after the surgery. That means Ivory is part Zombie now. How cool is that?


Ivory was such a trooper. Not only did she have this awful surgery, but then she went right over to the orthodontist to get bands put on. They wanted to pull on those teeth right away to get them moving. Unfortunately, she still had bloody gauze in her mouth, so they just gave the bands to me and told me to put them on as soon as I could. (Seriously?? I have to reach into the bleeding maw?)


We had to do a good job keeping on top of her pain. And she had many Jamba juices. I also got the bands on a couple of her brackets, but I couldn't even reach the back one because of swelling. Luckily, she didn't have too many problems with band pain because it was incorporated with regular healing pain. Because she got that wisdom tooth out and the general healing from her operation, she ended up with a really fat cheek. It was a legitimate chipmunk cheek but only on one side. But she was still loved by all through the whole ordeal.

She even ended up with a pretty awesome bruise under her cheek. Can you see it in this picture? 

Finally Ivory was able to get all her bands on where they were supposed to be. And the best news of all, her teeth shifted. The surgery did what it was supposed to do and helped close the gap. I was so happy mostly because it was a hard experience and I' m glad Ivory didn't do it for nothing. And now when she finally gets her wisdom teeth out, she will only have to remove three, which will probably lead to one chipmunk cheek again.

Last up was June with a regular removal of all four of her wisdom teeth. Here she is before her surgery. And then after.

For sure, June was the funniest one while her anesthesia was wearing off. She kept touching her lip and asking if it was her tongue. Then she would do it all over again. (We may have giggled a lot.) June went through a ton of smoothies from Green Me. She liked the Peanut Butter one the most. She must have eaten at least ten. And she watched a LOT of movies. But that didn't bother me. Everyone needs a break when they have surgery.

The head wrap didn't stay cold for very long, so we took the small ice packs that Ivory was given and I put soft fabric on them and made them into more comfortable little packs. June used them a lot. Sometimes she would enlist help from her younger sisters. Contrary to Daisy's face, they were all very happy to help.

The surgical center where she got her wisdom teeth out, sent her flowers. I thought that was a very nice gesture, but I was also a little annoyed because Ivory didn't get anything and her surgery was arguably much worse. Such is life.

June's cheeks never got that big. There was one day they seemed a little more plump but it faded so quickly, it seemed like it was nothing at all. Everyone is happy to have surgery month out of the way.

Robyn is a little sad she didn't get it over with, along with June, but Front Sight was worth it and now, when it is her turn, she won't have to share the couch.

Concerted Effort

December is a huge month for concerts. And I like going to them in general because I love Christmas music. But it does become overwhelming sometimes and then downright annoying when they happen to be scheduled on top of one another. Listen up school district. People have more than one child...especially here in beloved Utah. So maybe check in with one another and be considerate and don't schedule concerts for the same evening as another school. Come on! (Okay, I'm done ranting for the moment.)

Ivory and Robyn had concerts on the same evening, but I was lucky to catch Ivory practicing all her songs in the office one afternoon. I was able to be up close and I really enjoyed their songs. Here is her choir singing Bell Carol. Ivory had a bell chime and I thought for a long time that it was for show, because she never rang hers. But it did get around to her eventually. :)

It was a lovely mini concert just for me. (And whoever else happened to be standing around.) That lessened my guilt when I couldn't go to her real concert. But Dad snapped a picture on concert night. Can you pick her out on the right?

Instead of being there, I was over at Robyn's last concert with the band. She hasn't loved her experience at the high school and she decided not to take it for the next semester. She still did a great job. Here she is getting ready to play with the percussion ensemble. (Who were all shocked when she dropped band.)

I usually put one recording on here. I was torn this time which one to do. I have the percussion one, but someone called me towards the end and the recording stopped. I didn't know that happened, so I didn't know to restart it. The other piece, Robyn was on synthesizer. She turned it up thinking it was too quiet. Then Mr. Bowman stopped the band for a moment after the first part and he mumbled something about turning something off. Robyn was sure it was the synthesizer that she had turned up. So she turned it down and I think was very nervous the rest of the song. (Turns out it had nothing to do with her. ) So between the two, I chose the unfinished percussion number. It is not too bad. Preston is featured on xylophone. He is second from the left.

And a picture of Robyn on synth. I have a hard time hearing it with the band, so I'm sad she turned it down.

One final concert for the month of December. Daisy often has a ballroom competition, but they didn't this time around, so they went all out for the concert. They had a dress rehearsal for the parents before. I like that because then I can pick and choose which videos look the best. Daisy is one of the oldest dancers and the only girl to have been dancing since 4th grade, so she was in a fun number with just two couples. They ran out of skirts for the girls to use and she didn't bring hers, so she is wearing sweats, but she still looked adorable.

Here she is dancing the Cha-Cha. She has a different partner than usual (not Henry) and she tends to lead a little because she knows the steps. I liked this video more than the actual day because I was closer.

Ballroom has a big group this year, but most of them are level 1. Level 2 was so sparse they pulled some kids up that perhaps were not quite ready. But at least they have a team. I'm sure ballroom is more fun with so many kids to dance with.

On the actual concert day, I took a couple more photos. Here they are at the end of their Cha-Cha number.

I recorded Daisy's swing number again because she looked so pretty in the purple dress. And they finished the choreography so the number was complete. You can tell she is having fun up there.

The finale was really cute and they had the audience stand up and participate. That is always fun, except for the parents in the back who are recording. That is why I didn't bother this time around. But I did get a cute photo. It was a very enjoyable concert. Daisy has a great time dancing with Henry. This may be the last year she is taller than him. I bet he will shoot up soon.

Yay for Christmas memories and concerts.

Book Review 2019

This is one of my favorite posts of the year and it goes up right at the beginning. In case you are looking for some good books to read this upcoming year, I'll let you know my favorites from my readings last year.

Let's start with some statistics. I'm not going to copy and paste from goodreads because the pictures don't transfer well, but you still get the stats:

I read 11,888 pages across 38 books

Shortest book: (80 pages) Helen Keller: Her Life in Pictures

Longest book: (836 pages) Wizard's First Rule

Most Popular: (1,414,488 people also read) Eragon

Least Popular: (131 people also read) Helen Keller: Her Life in Pictures

Highest Rating on Goodreads: (4.63) Just Mercy: Story of Justice and Redemption

Most read month: (7 books) February

Least read month: (1 book) January and August

Not too bad. I still am part of 3 book clubs. I don't always read the book for the neighborhood group, but I almost always read the book for my group and the family group. It also means I have books to chose out of 3 different groups. Here's a new statistic:

Most of the my favorite books came from: NONE of the groups. Half of them were books I picked up on my own. Surprising. But there were still favorites from each of the groups.

Let's look at my top picks (In no particular order). As usual, I'm just going to use my goodreads review. It saves me time writing another. Lazy, but effective. Also, I'll put which group I read it for. (NC=Neighborhood Club, FG=Family Group, MB=My Book Group, Other=not associated with a group or required reading.)

THE FORGETTING by Sharon Cameron (Other): I really enjoyed this book. June recommended it to me and although it took me too long to read, I'm so glad that I put aside other books for it. The story was so original and interesting. I liked the characters and plot. Everyone has their own issues, but you can see the sincerity of each person. Nadia and Gray are awesome, but I especially like Rose and Anson as well. I can't imagine how life would be to forget so much. I deal with a bad memory that is frustrating enough, but to not remember who I am and to have to read my story that I wrote down for myself. Crazy. There are characters you love to hate as well in this book, but I don't want to give too much away. I believe there is a sequel, but I liked where it ended and I almost don't want to spoil the story with another book. I can already tell this will be one of my favorite books of the year.

TREASON by Orson Scott Card (Other):  This is a reread for me. I read this back when I was in High School and really enjoyed it. I knew there were twists to the plot but I couldn't remember it very well, so it was time to visit Treason again. The book was just as interesting as I remembered. On a planet where people have been stranded for 3,000 years, clans have developed their special abilities to new levels. I think Lanik Mueller is a great character and his adventures keep you on your toes as he travels and experiences many of the families' abilities.

I remembered some of the end, but there was still some things that caught me off guard. There were some very profound lines, but unlike Stephanie, I never remember to highlight or write them down. (I need to get better at that.) There was a level of sexuality in the book that makes me not recommend this to my teenagers, but the plot is fascinating. My only other problem is that the cover is stupid. Every cover for this book makes it look like a sci-fi space book. Sci-fi it may be but it has almost nothing to do with space. I know that is a minor concern, but if you judge this book by the cover, you might miss the imaginative world inside.

THE RENT COLLECTOR by Camron Wright (MB): 4.5 This book was really great. there was so much good stuff that it might be easier to tell you what I didn't like about it. Somewhere towards the end of my reading, I noticed the pictures at the end of the book. I jumped to the conclusion that this must be a true story. It's not. The people are real and there is a documentary about them, but the story in the book is only an idea of what would happen if literacy came to these people. I was kind of crushed. I believe the true Sang Ly is probably a strong determined woman...after all, she did take her son to the healer, but she is not the character with the sharp wit and love for literature we came to know.

Sopeap Sin was an amazing character and possibly my favorite. She also had a dry humor that kept me smiling through a sometimes horrifying story. The other day I was thinking of a book plot where a group of people were discriminated against and finally exterminated for a trait that we would find normal and acceptable. (Sorry, can't give too much away you know.) I thought it was kind of original and then I read THIS story where people were wiped out and murdered for being educated. A simple thing to be able to read or teach and it was a death sentence. What I thought of as a unique plot was real life for hundreds of thousands of people. Truly a tragedy.

But this book is about hope and how the human spirit can soar in the lowest places on earth. It was a beautiful story. I highly recommend it.

CHRYSALIS by Brendan Reichs (Other): Out of the three books, I liked this one the most. The senseless killing was put on hold finally and a crazy surprise plot was introduced. I wonder if this is what Reichs planned all along or if his story surprised himself? I'm glad I finished the series. I think I needed closure. Noah and Min seem to have finally found a balance, so to speak.

WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING by Delia Owens (MB): Oh! This book ended how I wanted and still surprised me. What a tale.

I cannot imagine being left by everyone and still being able to fend for myself at a young age. It just wouldn't happen. I would have to find a kindly neighbor or go to an orphanage. Kya's young soul was made of steel...or saw grass. Both hard stuff.

When I read books like this, I wish I liked the outdoors more. It all sounds so enchanting through the eyes of someone who loves it so. But honestly, my nose gets itchy and I burn so easily in the sun. Mother nature and I have a quiet truce to steer clear of one another in most cases. And even if I loved the outdoors, my ability to capture it in art would be miserable. So basically, I would be the worst Marsh Girl ever.

But this story was still great. I loved the jumps back and forth between the past and present. I was so intrigued with where the story would go. I loved Jumpin' and Mabel. And who wouldn't adore Tate even with his mistakes? What a great story of love, loneliness, and loss.

Sadly, I don't think I can recommend this book to my teenagers because of a few scenes. I know sex is natural in the animal kingdom, but I'm not ready for my cignets to be reading this stuff yet.

THE SELECTION by Kiera Cass (Other): I've been meaning to read this series forever since my kids recommended it. It is definitely as cheesy as I was hoping. It is like reading the Bachelor. It is a bit predictable, but as a light-hearted romance, this book is great. I didn't realize it was going to end on a cliff hangar, in the midst of the story, but that is fine. Guess I need to get reading number 2.

THE HERO'S GUIDE TO SAVING YOUR KINGDOM by Christopher Healy (FG): This book was a very fun read. I imagine it would appeal to younger readers, but as a 'mostly' grown up, I laughed out loud several times. The characters are mighty quirky and certainly not the ones you are used to from the fairy tales, but I liked shaking it up and looking at the story from a different angle. There are more books in the series. I would like to read them someday, but my stack of books to read at the moment is taller than me. All those Princes Charming will just have to hang in there, but they seem like patient individuals, especially Gustav. :)

Oh, I also got to read half of this book out loud to my sister while I visited. I did different voices and that gave the princes even more character. This would make a great read aloud book.

EDUCATED by Tara Westover (MB): This was a hard book to read because in the end you have to remember the story is real. This girl went through all these things. She is a brilliant writer and thinker and I can see how she fought and succeeded in getting her PhD. There are few that could come from such a background and escape to a different life, although that meant leaving much of her family behind. I really wonder if her parents ever read her book?

So much of this book was about control. The person I felt most sorry for was Audrey. She almost had a chance to be herself and admit what had happened and was currently happening, but she was too scared. She chose the wool and happily pulled it back over her own eyes. And I can't know if I would be different in the same situation. Abuse is terrifying and cyclical. That was also hard to read. In some ways, I'm so impressed that Tara could come out and write about her experience. It is too easy to push it deep and try to deny it ever occurred.

This was a soul searching story. How much of our past has shaped us and how much do we discount and use as a crutch. Most of us don't have the intense background of abuse, but I'm sure there is plenty to influence and warp our understanding. I love the idea of finding yourself through education. I'm glad Tara was able to find herself.

DADDY LONG LEGS by Jean Webster (Other): I saw the play a year ago and loved it so much that I wanted to share the story with my girls. We choose it as our summer read aloud book. Judy has so much voice and character, you can't help loving her and admiring her pluck and feminine sensibilities. She is such a good role model of a girl coming from a hard background but striving for excellence in education and self mastery. And yet, she is real. She laments the hard days but picks herself back up each time. My girls did not expect the ending and it was a sweet story to them. I'm glad we finally finished it. Oh...Judy can not draw. We all laughed at her illustrations.

THE LAKE HOUSE by Kate Morton (NC): This was a great book with a couple mysteries running together. I love Kate Morton's style of bringing you along the journey and revealing clues in a specific order. And the writing is so deliciously vague sometimes. You know it means something, but you aren't sure what yet. In fact, at one point I read a section and missed what happened completely, thinking the character was more altruistic than they really were. I was surprised by what actually happened and had to go back and reread it. I think that is pretty good writing. The theme of parents and children that ran through the book pulled at my heartstrings. And I really liked many of the characters. I read this book while I was on a cruise, so you know it has to be good because I finished it before I got home.

ARTEMIS FOWL by Eoin Colfer (FG): I thought this book was an interesting twist on the fairy world. I quite enjoyed it and thought the author was very clever with twists and surprises. I just couldn't decide if Artemis was a good guy or a bad guy. I wasn't really on his side, but I imagine he'll come around because the whole series is based on him. Foaly was my favorite character by far, but I've always had a soft spot for centaurs. I am really jazzed for the movie coming out next year. Good choice Disney.

STRANGE PLANET by Nathan Pyle (Other): This is such a funny, one-sitting read. Ivory found this and checked out a copy for our home. We have all taken turns sitting down and laughing. We laugh at the strange language the aliens use but mostly about how funny we humans must seem to outsiders. I particularly like the section describing eye exams, eating your vegetables, and watching scary movies. And the pets are funny too.

A: OBJECTS THAT ARE FAR AWAY APPEAR AS TINY BLURS TO ME
B: OK WE WILL HAVE YOU READ A DISTANT SIGN
A: THIS WILL BE DIFFICULT GIVEN WHAT I JUST SAID
B: STAY THERE AND IDENTIFY THESE TINY LETTERS
A: SEE THIS IS PRECISELY WHAT I CANNOT DO
B: OBSCURE ONE EYE
A: GUARANTEE THAT WILL NOT HELP

Definitely take the chance to read this if you run across it. It would make a great white elephant gift or book exchange too. Just good, light humor.


Wow, that is a lot of blathering for one post. Let's finish this off with some pictures. Hope you've found a good book to read lately, and if not...take one of my recommendations.

Surprise Recital

This recital was not a surprise to the girls, but it was a surprise to their teacher. The recital was planned for right after Christmas break. And naturally there were no lessons during Christmas break and for a couple weeks before it. The girls had picked their recital pieces before lessons took a siesta, but both managed to change their pieces before the actual recital.

Richard is an awesome piano instructor and I admit I do not push the girls as much as he would like. This is probably because I want them to be self motivated. If they are playing for me, I feel like I am not wasting my money, but if they are playing for themselves, they are developing a talent and love for the piano that is priceless.

Daisy has been making up her own songs and she wanted to play one for the recital. But she only had perhaps 30 seconds of music. Richard liked her song, but he wanted her recital piece to be longer of course. Daisy said she would add some Christmas music to her piece and when lessons took a break, that was where we were at. For all Richard knew, Daisy was playing 30 seconds of music for her recital piece.

I think she knocked it out of the park. She spent a lot of time seeing which Christmas songs would go together and then made a medley that was well thought out. I helped her with one tweak, but other than that, it was all her own. I think Richard was pleasantly surprised because when she finished, he commented that he hadn't help her make that arrangement...she did it all on her own.

Here are my cute girls ready to play.

Daisy looked so pretty and confidant. She memorized her whole piece so she didn't have any music. She sometimes gets a little shy, so I was so proud of her excellent performance.

Robyn was slated to play an Enya song. Enya is always wonderful and soothing, but I think Robyn was using Enya as a fall back because she didn't have anything else she really wanted to play. Christmas brought Robyn a lot more music. We found a site online and downloaded some music and then Robyn found even more and picked out stuff she wanted to play. One of my favorites and the one she chose for her recital was Mad World. I texted Richard and told him she was switching pieces, but he had never heard her play it before.

At least the program was accurate. It would have been more awkward to play a song that wasn't listed.

Robyn did amazing. Her song sounded basic and beautiful, but it got more tricky as it went. There is a whole section that is played in octaves, meaning her hand is stretched an entire octave as she plays the notes. She was awesome. I think she made only one mistake and that was at the end.

Richard even played at the end. I loved seeing his wife, Jean, with him. They have been married less than a year. Richard made a whole Christmas album this season. It is excellent. He is supremely talented on the piano. You can listen on youtube. I'm so happy to have him teaching the girls.

You can't tell from the pictures, but everyone was there listening that night. Our last recital was sad, with only me in attendance because it was such a busy day, but this time the whole family was able to come. It was a wonderful night and all the performances were great. And we even got a picture with Santa on the way out.