FDOS 10 Year Anniversary

Today marks the 10 year anniversary of my first day of teaching. (Yes, I'm old. And yes, I'm in denial about it.) In light of all the FDOS (First Day of School) pictures that are popping up all over social media, I thought I would honor the day by sharing with you my 2 best (meaning worst) teaching moments ever.

Let me introduce you to Ari. A 12-year-old with thick, wavy, shoulder length hair who stood just shy of 6 feet tall and probably weighed close to 200 pounds (this time I promise I'm not exaggerating). Ari wore old baggy t-shirts and pants, and pretty much never spoke. Oh, and Ari was a boy - but I had to find that out the hard way. He was sitting at a table with 2 other girls working on an assignment. Being the teacher of the year that I was, I walked throughout the room to offer assistance and check for understanding (ok - let's be honest, the walking through the room was mostly to make sure the students weren't killing each other.) Anyway - I'm walking around said classroom when I walk up to Ari's table and ask, "How's it going girls?" The 2 girls at the table immediately started giggling the way only a 7th grade girl can do. High pitched and loud. I asked them what was so funny and eventually one of them gained enough composure to say, "We're not all girls!" To which I responded, "Of course you are, what are you talking about?" This only made the giggling go up a notch in both intensity and pitch. Oh dear. Finally one of them pointed at Ari and said, "Miss Spjute, Ari's a boy!" I'm pretty sure I would have loved to see my face at that moment. There is no recovery from something like that. I said, "Oh. Right." and walked away. Poor Ari. And poor me!

Moment #2 was another gender mishap. I thought I had learned my lesson: never assume a student's gender. But Michael. Oh Michael. I know what you're thinking - how could you mess up on a Michael? But let's pause for a moment and reflect on the fact that labeling something with pink or blue or calling them Michael or Jennifer does not mean a thing about gender these days. So yes, Michael was in fact a boy, but he had super long girlie looking hair, a cute feminine-looking face, and again - wore baggy non-gender revealing clothes. I didn't doubt for a second that he was a she. He was actually one of my best students, and when he showed up at Parent Teacher Conference with BOTH parents, I was more than thrilled to tell them what an amazing DAUGHTER they had. "She is great! She behaves in class and she participates and her homework is always turned in on time . . . . " You get the idea. It was Michael who finally stopped me and said, "Miss Spjute, I'm a boy." Ouch. I probably should have quit my job right there.

Yay for teaching! Speaking of teaching - I'm getting back into it by teaching an online computer class for BYU-Idaho. I'm stoked to be back in the (virtual) classroom again. This is much more up my alley than marketing discount groceries. (Shoutout to all my SAL buddies!)

And here is some 7-month cuteness for you. (I know I'm way behind on posting pics - I'll do a giant summer update soon. Promise!)

A weekend of firsts

Last weekend was a big one for the Owenator. Husband was in the mountains growing a beard and fishing with his dad and brothers, so Owen and I decided to have our own adventure. We joined Grandpa on a very quick trip to Boise (I think we were there a total of 17 hours). It put a lot of "firsts" on Owen's list.

First time out of state! (fyi - I did not take this picture and don't even recall seeing the Welcome sign. Thanks to whoever posted it online!)

First car accident!!! (Gasp!) The construction detour that turned into me stopping for a bathroom break (I know, I know. Spjute's NEVER stop for bathroom breaks! But since we were already off the freeway due to the construction detour I figured it was ok to take advantage. Worst decision ever.) During the TWO minutes I was inside going about my business, the punk driving the silver car backed into my dad while he was parked there (with Owen snoozing in the car seat). Luckily there was no damage to car or people, or this would have been one angry momma!!

First time meeting grandma-great!!!

First time swimming. He loved it!

Hello cuteness!!!

This kid slept THE ENTIRE 4-hour drive home. Not kidding. Remind me when he's older to give him an extra scoop of ice cream for this one.

And this is what husband was doing while we were gone. Hot husband!!

FREEEEEEEDOMMMMM!!!

We. Did. It. Four and half months of not taking Owen out in public. No church. No grocery store. No errands. One of us was always home with Owen. Dan even had to go out of town THREE different times, which meant I was stuck inside (I used ice cream therapy to get me through those trips). And staying quarantined paid off - none of us have been sick since before Owen was born.

Yep - Road Trips ARE Awesome

Even though we were supposed to stay in until June, by Memorial Day weekend we figured enough is enough and we brought Owen out into the world. We didn't start small either - Owen's "coming out party" took place over the weekend at a family reunion down in Zion's National Park. (We're talking 60+ people here.) Talk about stimulation overload to the max - he didn't know what to do with so many new things and faces to look at. My favorite comment from family members as they met him for the first time was, "Oh he is so much cuter in person!" Correct. (Although in my humbly biased opinion, I think he's pretty cute in pictures too!)

The 4.5 hour drive was nothing for this guy. He rocked it!

With Owen's great-grandma. She is an angel.

Hanging out in the "party bus" to avoid the pouring rain.

Chillin with uncle Jon. Bet you couldn't tell that Jon & Dan are brothers. :)

Our first Sunday going to church as a family. I first cried out of relief that we made it!
Then I cried because I so wished Lydia could have been there with us to make our family complete.
Sigh. I'm sure she was there in spirit. :)

Church wore this guy out! Holding a sleeping baby is balm for any soul. Amen.

Perspective is an amazing thing, because normally staying cooped up that long would have drove me crazy (and some days it almost did). But after coming so close to losing Owen, we are just SO GRATEFUL he is alive and healthy, that staying inside for a few months seemed like a small price to pay. BUT - I'm still so grateful we are done that I think I might just jump up and down and do 10 cartwheels. 

Here are some of our favorite pics from the last several weeks, in no particular order (I figured the blog was overdue for some updated Owen pics. Warning - picture overload!)

Raise your hand if you're ready for a nap!

He stretches and smiles like this every morning. How can you NOT be happy with this guy hanging around all day?

If he was strong enough to stand all day, he would. He LOVES this jumper!

Be still my heart. (I seriously have the best job ever.)

Hello!!

With aunt April and cuzins Megan & Sofia.
Can you tell that Sofia is 3 MONTHS younger than Owen?
Me neither. Oh the life of a preemie.

He laughs ALL the time now.

He'll be sending this picture in with his Harvard application.

Flowers

Photo by Lindsey Spjute

In May of the year 2008 I was teaching and renting a house in Salt Lake with a few roommates. I remember on May 9th of that year as I said my prayers before going to bed, I included the welfare and safety of my missionary brother and sister. Several hours later I was startled awake to the sound of my phone ringing. It was my parents. Lindsey had passed out while she was running with her missionary companion in England. They couldn't revive her. She was gone.

The night was still thick with darkness as I raced through the 30 minute drive to be with my family. We sat in the family room in shock. Slowly the rays of the Saturday morning sun crested over the mountain and in through the windows. The long, dark night was over. The sun came out. My mom used to always remind us, no matter how dark the night, to hold on - the sun will ALWAYS rise the next day. She was right.

I don't remember much about that day. I do remember aunt Barb bringing over boxes and boxes of kleenex - not the cheap dollar store kind like Mom always bought, but the soft "this is a pillow for your nose" kind. Bless her. I remember Mom and Dad going crazy inside the house. What do you do when your daughter who was living half way across the world was gone? They felt helpless. Finally Mom stood up and said she couldn't take it anymore. She had planned on planting all her flowers out in the front of the house that day, and she didn't see a reason why she shouldn't get out in the yard.
I joined her outside, and together, on that fateful day before Mother's Day while my dad mowed the lawn, we planted flowers. She taught me some of the tricks about plants Linz had learned through her jobs, and together we dug, planted, and watered for most of the day. There were plenty of interruptions from family, friends, and neighbors - all coming to pay their respects when they heard the news. But by the end of the day the planting was done, and the yard was beautiful and full of vibrant spring colors. An unknown passerby would have no idea of the heartache going on inside a house with such happy and colorful plants decorating its exterior.

The following year, again on the day before Mother's Day, I found myself planting flowers with Mom. Only this time the cancer was eating through her stomach and liver faster than the chemo flowing through her veins could cure it.

The next year I planted those flowers alone.

And so it is that any time I get my fingers in some dirt to weed or to plant, my mind goes back to Mom's flowers. She always made our house and our yard a beautiful place that we were all proud to call home. While each Mother's Day brings an ache for my mom, my sister who left us on mother's day weekend, and my daughter who made me a mother, this year I rejoice in the fact that I am the lucky one. I got to have the most wonderful Mom any girl could ask for, a sister who I used to dance with in our shared bedroom wearing nothing but our little-girl undies, and a beautiful angel daughter who was too pure for this world. Yes, I am the lucky one indeed!

An UNprofessional Photo Shoot

Most teachers roll their eyes at the saying, "those who can't do, teach." But I'm here to tell you that I taught plenty of things I didn't know how to do. For example, the two years I taught at the jr high were spent running the stage crew. At the time, my stage experience was limited to a couple musicals in high school. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing when I was given the assignment. My goal was to stay one day ahead of my students, but often I found myself scrambling for a lesson 5 minutes before the kids showed up (ironically some of those last-minute lessons were some of my best. Go figure.) Somehow I sort of figured out the lighting board, the sound mixer, the curtains, and even some set design. And if I do say so myself, the 2 musicals we pulled off while I was there were a smashing success. (I'll never forget Galinda the good witch and her bubble wand. And figuring out how to make Peter and Wendy fly. Good times.)

My new job at the high school included being the yearbook adviser. Again - I had no clue what I was doing, and faking it in front of high school students isn't quite as easy. What are all yearbooks full of? Pictures. How much photography experience did I have? Absolutely none. Again, I sort of made it work (mostly thanks to my amazing students) and my last yearbook actually won an award (I'm shamelessly proud).

All of this is just to say that I am NOT a photographer. We couldn't take the typical newborn photos while Owen was in the NICU, and since I still can't take him out in public, we were limited to the photography equipment we had at home. Which is none. So I took these with my iPhone - they're not perfect, but since Owen is the subject they are perfect in my eyes. And just fyi - these were taken shortly after we left the NICU - I promise he's much bigger now!

Be still my heart!!

3 Months

It's so wild to think that 1/4 of Owen's first year is behind us. Crazy!! Not only did we hit the 3 month mark but he also finally outgrew his Newborn-sized diapers this weekend. :)  He usually only spits up on me about once a day (I'll take it) and for the most part has kindly stopped going wee wee during diaper changes (that a boy!)

My sista gave me the great idea on how to take some cute monthly photos, and I finally got around to touching up his 1 and 2 month pics.  (He was pretty fidgety for those, and I think my camera was on a weird setting, but we're slowly figuring it out.).

*Quilt made by my amazing aunt Barbara. I'm in love with it (especially the colors!)

*Quilt made by an old family friend. It's so soft and luscious.

*Thanks to Jaime for this adorable print :)

Owen's Baby Blessing

We just came out of an incredible weekend. Saturday and Sunday were spent listening to inspirational talks from our prophet and other church leaders. Sunday was Easter. We didn't do anything traditional for the holiday - I didn't even make deviled eggs this year (gasp!) But Easter is one of my favorite holidays because we get to devote an entire day to celebrating the blessing and gift of eternal life. Because of Him we will be with Lydia again. So amazing. And in the midst of all that, we managed to have Owen's baby blessing. It was a day full of immense gratitude for the miracle that he is and the joy that he has brought into our lives. He is such a good baby and during his "debut" his behavior did not disappoint. :) He was awake and alert and just LOVED being around all his aunts, uncles and cousins (we kept the invite list limited to immediate family to limit his germ exposure - even then I was still a nervous wreck).

Thankfully you can't see the side of Dan's head where I had a "whoops" moment when I cut his hair. :)

The proud Daddy-O. Let it be noted that I had some really cute baby booties for Owen to wear. Totally forgot to put them on. Mom fail.

The Spjute fam. Minus the Ball clan. And we can't wait for Owen's little bestie cousin to be born in (hopefully) a few more days. :)

The Ditto fam. Minus the Sara on her mission in Canada.

The Spjute cousins who were SO excited to see "baby Owen" for the first time. This whole sequester thing is kind of (really) the worst.

And a couple more family photos (minus Lydia of course). The good weather was perfect so we could be outside for the festivities.

This boy knows his Mom (and I kind of love it)!