A Penny for My Thoughts

Mistress of Pemberley

2012-02-12T14:37:00.000-07:00

Alright, ladies. Let's talk details of how I came to so thoroughly embody Elizabeth Bennett last night.

At about 3:30 it was time to start getting ready for the ball, and I had to call Bethany home from her friend's house to help me do my hair.

As you can see, this was no easy feat. There was a lot of manpower, electricity, and hardware involved.

Once the hair was curled, I put it in a pony tail and started pinning up the curls.

Like so.
Then I tied my ribbon in my hair.

Next I put in my small curlers for the "soft curls to frame my face".
The long braids in front were wrapped under and then over my big bunch of pinned curls in the back.

Overall I was happy with the hairstyle, except in hindsight, I wouldn't have done the braids. They made me look weird in all my pictures because they pulled on my temples and gave me abnormal wrinkles on both sides. Perhaps no one else can tell, and you probably wouldn't tell me if you could, but I think I look strange. No matter-- the evening was still outrageously fun.

As for my dress, it is the same dress I wore last year, but with a different color ribbon-- pink rather than periwinkle.
But it is time for me to come clean. It's not actually a dress.
It is a nightgown my grandmother gave to me at a shower before Abe and I got married.
I wore my nightgown to the Regency Romance Ball.
It was very comfortable and I do think it looked better this year since I was smaller than last year.
I like to think I was resourceful.

I like to think a lot of things that make me feel better.

The first three ladies in the picture-- Adrianne, Jennilyn, and Andrea-- were also resourceful. But they were resourceful AND talented as they each made their own dresses. I love having talented friends. I'm happy to bask in their reflective glow.

I understand there may be a Titanic themed ball coming up in April-- minus the prospect of the entire group being sunk at the end-- it sounds delightful. First I get to dress up and act like I'm the Mistress of Pemberley and now you are telling me I get to pretend to live at Downton Abbey?
Are you kidding me? Here's to fleeing reality!

The Regency Romance Ball

2012-02-12T13:51:00.000-07:00

Last night was one of, if not THE most enjoyable evenings of my entire life.

An overstatement? I don't think so.

It was the return of the Regency Romance Ball!

It is like Prom for parents!

Last year was so novel and enjoyable, but this year was FANTASTIC because we were there with many of our very good friends.

This is the group having dinner at about the midway point of the evening. We did have a picture done of the whole group, but I can't put it up quite yet because it isn't scanned.

The dancing!!! Oh, the dancing was SO MUCH FUN!! We learned 12 different dances-- some of which you do in a square of four couples, some in two lines-- gentlemen on one side, ladies on the other, and some in a giant circle.

This style of dancing MUST make a comeback in the wider population! It is so clean and fun and elegant and graceful and lovely. There was one dance in particular that is so fast and it is all you can do to keep up and your swinging and flinging your partner and everyone is laughing. My hairpins were quite literally flying out of my head. It is making me grin with delight just remembering it!

Before beginning that energetic dance, this was the scene before my eyes-- HOW GORGEOUS IS THAT???

And this was the scene before them. Lucky, lucky men.

I will do another post after this one discussing the costuming and hairstyles, but I must make mention that Andrea made her gorgeous dress and bonnet. How fabulous. She came in runner-up in the ladies' costume contest.

Here we are promenading in the ladies' contest.

The gentlemen preparing to promenade. Ooh-la-la!

Here is Abe giving his best Mr. Darcy impersonation. And it was really, really good because he was chosen to be one of the finalists. The ball attendees voted with cheers and although he was up against stiff competition from a Scotchman in a kilt and a man dancing a jig in breeches, Abe ran away with the competition!! I was so proud!!! He looked the part, but he also really hammed it up, keeping his chin elevated and playing it very cool and arrogant.
He won some movies and play tickets.

I like it.

A lot.

This is the new picture, to replace last year's picture, that I will put in the heart shaped frame on my kitchen window sill. When I do the dishes I will look at it and it will keep me from feeling resentful that I am the one doing the dishes. After all, the man did take me to the Regency Romance Ball-- 2 years in a row!

Miles to Go

2012-02-10T21:53:00.000-07:00

On the advice of a friend who is an experienced runner, I went to Salt Lake Running-- a store that specializes in all things running. This friend said that if I want to run a half marathon at the end of March (which I do) I MUST have proper shoes. And not only were my $30 shoes from Khol's not adequate, but they were thoroughly worn out.

So I walked through the doors to Salt Lake Running and told them I needed new shoes.

They had me run on a treadmill and they video-ed my feet to see what kind of of shoes would be best. Then I tried on several pairs until I found the shoes that spoke to me.

These are they.
Clark told me they were weird looking. And they kind of are, but they feel great. Here's hoping for 7 pain free miles tomorrow morning.

Status update on Operation: Get in Shape Girl--- 36 pounds down. Quite a few more to go. These weird looking shoes are going to take me there!

The Moral of the Story

2012-02-05T19:24:00.000-07:00

We have 1:00 church, which I know most people do not like, but I quite do. We had a leisurely morning getting ready, but at about 12:20 I looked around at every single room of the house and felt my blood start to boil. Every room was in complete disarray. The children had played all day and night on Saturday and Sunday is a day ~~to be lazy~~ to rest.

I lost it. I threw a mommy temper tantrum. I am assume you know what that is, but just in case-- A mommy temper tantrum is when you get really mad at your children for not doing something that you have never properly taught them to do. This morning my temper tantrum went something like this:

"I am getting so sick of you people leaving your junk everywhere! No one except Dad and I make any effort keep this house clean! You see a mess and you just leave it because you assume that surely Dad or I will pick it up for you! Did you ever wonder how things get picked up if you don't do it? WELL NOT ANYMORE!!! This is a NO FRIENDS week and ALL we are going to do this week is learn to take care of our house! We're just going to clean for 6 days straight! So help me, you WILL learn to pick up after yourselves!!!"

You get the idea.

Don't you wish you had me for a mom?

I know, I horrify myself.

But anyway, here's the real kicker. Five minutes after my tantrum I get a call from a good friend in my ward. She has nine children-- 3 of them are married and on their own and 6 are still at home. This friend called to ask about my cleaning and jobs system with my children. Because her children were telling her that the Fox children don't have to do Saturday chores, because they do their chores during the week. I'm so flattered that she would ask my advice--
HA HA HA! If she only knew! She should know.

So I told her. "Listen, dear friend. I am not the one to talk to. I just went off on my poor innocent offspring on a Sabbath morning 40 minutes before church-- and a Fast Sunday no less. Actually, they are not entirely innocent, but it really was neither the time nor the place. We do have a very simple system of daily cleaning jobs that only rotates quarterly, but I am under-utilizing my children and I still do far to much of the household work. And there are parts of my house that I'm sure would qualify as "squalor". I should be calling you for advice on how to implement effective Saturday chores!"

The moral of this story is never look at your neighbor and think, "Man, she's got it all figured out."

She doesn't.

And NEVER believe your children when they tell how wonderful so-and-so's mother is because she does this or that.

She doesn't.

Quirky

2012-02-03T17:43:00.000-07:00

Over the past 36 hours I have come down with a very unpleasant head cold. The good news is that I don't have any plans for this evening, so I can rest and prepare a plan of attack for recapturing the house tomorrow after the natives destroy it this evening while I rest.
But I am having trouble thinking clearly. I've taken several pictures of my people and their activities and such lately, and I had planned to organize them into some clever post. But with my current inability to focus--thanks in part to my sinuses and in part to the amounts of drugs I have coursing through my veins-- clever is out the window. Let's go for quirky.
This seems a good place to start.

Poor Elinor met with a great misfortune before starting her school work yesterday. Tragic.

And look! The wound is still fresh. I don't know how she doesn't look to be in more pain? She must be in shock.
And, no, Elinor, getting your arm chopped off will not get you out of doing your practicing!

We have had a very dry winter, but earlier this week we had our first snow. It's February and we've just now had our first snow. As you can see from the picture, it didn't stick around long--just long enough to build a snowman. Which snowman had a very fulfilling, albeit brief existence.

This is my girls' death-trap of a bunk bed. They have developed an intricate system of canopies and hammocks to create separate sleeping spaces. I'm convinced that some morning I will go in to find one of them strangled in their creation, but Abe assures me they are safe. Perhaps their snug and secure arrangements remind them of their peaceful time inutero, but I suspect it has more to do with nobody putting their legs in anybody else's sleeping space.

And AH-HA! Exhibit A!
Faith's foot is lopped over the top of her hammock, encroaching on Elinor's space!

Occasionally my people will present some sort of problem to me for me to exert brain power to solve. Sometimes they really do need my help, but more often than not, they are perfectly capable of figuring out a way to solve their problem. I have been known to respond, "Make it work."
I congratulate my little ladies on making their sleeping arrangements work for them.

George is a heavy drinker.
I am limiting his liquids in hopes of encouraging him to eat his food. But George is not so easily swayed. I prop open his mouth (against his wishes) and put some food in his mouth. In this case it was a bite of grilled cheese sandwich. He doesn't try to resist or spit out his food, rather he just lets it sit there in his mouth for about 5 minutes, looking at me like I've just poisoned him. Eventually the saliva breaks it down and he'll swallow it.
George, there is an easier, more time efficient method to eating.

Abe kindly offered to prepare some food for the family this evening and I gratefully accepted as I don't feel up to meal prep. What were his plans? Fortunately, we'll never know because Elinor reminded me in the nick of time that I'd already made dinner and it was in the fridge ready to go in the oven. Whoo! That was a close one-- Abe's not really known for his culinary skills.

And I'm obviously not known for my clear thinking when on decongestant medicine.

Seven Things

2012-02-01T22:09:00.000-07:00

1. Yesterday the new MP3 player arrived in the mail. This was to replace the one from Barbara that I murdered when I accidentally sent it through the washer. The timing was good because for the last few days the man-child couldn't find his other MP3 player (the one from Grandpa). As I folded laundry this evening, I found the missing one. It is now non-functional as well. He left it in his pajama pants and it took a swim through the washer and dryer. BUT THIS TIME IT WAS NOT MY FAULT!

2. I ran 5 1/2 miles this morning. It took me one hour and ten minutes, which I realize is not a time I should brag about, but I ran 5 1/2 miles this morning!!!! I'll just leave it at that.

3. I used to visit teach a marvelous older sister named Lucy Perry. Her husband just passed away at the age of 90 and she called to ask if Bethany would play violin to accompany the family singing Teach Me to Walk in the Light. Today was the funeral and Bethany played very well, although she was much more nervous than usual.

4. Her husband's health was ailing the whole time I visited her, so I didn't get to know him very well. It was wonderful to listen to his children talk about their father and the good, kind, faithful man he was. I especially liked their description of how their father did not complain. Even at the end of his life, when he was in a great deal of discomfort, if someone asked him how he was he would reply, "I can't complain." I was reminded that there is nothing that can't be made worse by complaining about it.

5. I have a sock basket full of freshly folded socks. There are 31 pairs of socks. It is a little disheartening to realize that is only about a 3 days supply. That's not complaining is it? The girls--tired of laundry diving into the pack n' play of clean laundry--were celebrating a fully stocked sock basket. It's all about low expectations.

6. I am so excited for the Olympics in London this summer. The Olympics and English accents. Can life get any better?

7. It is February. Normally, I would say, "Boo! Hiss! I hate February!". But I am going to try to make peace with February. After all, I do have a Regency Romance Ball to prepare for!

A Little Perk

2012-01-31T22:48:00.000-07:00

It is a glorious moment each day when everyone is finally dressed, groomed, and fed. The cleaning jobs are done and the house is as clean as it's probably going to get all day. We sit down together in the family room and it is our 'reading time'. Today we were reading about the Treaty of Versailles at the end of WWI. It was all very interesting, but this is the scene that captured my attention.

Cannon and George LOVE Clark.

Cannon loves to lay by or lay on Clark while Clark does his reading.

And when Clark started rubbing George's back, George had found his new best friend.

It was all too much for him and he conked out laying on Clark. Just a little perk of homeschooling:)

The Return of Pi POD

2012-01-28T23:14:00.000-07:00

Today was Utah's Lego League State Championship. Team Pi Pod came back as the returning champs, but I don't think they had very high expectations for the day, as far as winning went. They wanted to do another year because they enjoy each other so much and it is great fun.

The day began early with the parade of teams.

Their first of three robot runs was their highest and it let them hold onto the 2nd place robot score out of the 52 teams competing.
Here is a long-ish video of 2 robot runs if you're interested. It's not very obvious what to look for but there are several different missions the boys programmed their robots to complete on a table of lego obstacles.

The boys were pleased with their judging session on Project presentations. There are also team work and robot design and programming judging sessions. But the teams don't know anything about their scoring or standings, except for robot performance, until the awards ceremony at the end of the day.

There are awards in several categories and then 2 overall champion awards. Pi Pod won the 2nd place champion award and they were thrilled! A Utah team is not eligible this year to go to the World Festival in St. Louis; instead, one of the champion teams will get to go to Legoland California to compete and one will get to go to Legoland Florida. Tough choice! The 1st place team gets to choose first, so we don't know yet which it will be for Pi Pod. But very fun either way!

We had a very enjoyable day hanging at the U. The hats that Abe and Cannon are wearing were a handout from another team named Lego Bistro. They won an award for best project and two of the boys are in our ward, so we were very happy for them.

Here's a picture of Cannon, just because I love him and I think he's really cute.

I love him, too, and he is YUMMY!

Abe and I had a fantastic birthday date last night.

Here's a little video of them winning their award.

January is Not So Bad

2012-01-27T10:39:00.000-07:00

We are almost to the end of January (I hear you cheering). I've got nothing against January-- I save my blah feelings for February. Nevertheless, I understand that there are many who do not love January. I've put together a little list of what I am grateful for to counteract any January blues.

1. Abe's birthday is TODAY!!!! He is 37 and we have a hot date planned-- a play at Hale Center Theater and then dinner at P.F. Changs. To quote a little Black-Eyed Peas, (because you know how up to date I am on the music scene) "Tonight's gonna be a good night!" Abe is still my favorite person on the planet, and I do believe I am his favorite. Then the children, but then Mitt Romney. And I'm okay with that order.

2. I live in a relatively safe and honest community. Case in point, I can leave my keys in the ignition and leave all my doors unlock while I take my little boys into Walmart and my car is left undisturbed until I return. As happy as I am that my car was still there, in hindsight, it really wasn't a good decision. I will try really hard to not do that again. Oops.
I don't think I think very clearly when I am go to Walmart because the last time as I was heading back out to my car I parked my cart next to my car and tried over and over to unlock it. I was so confused when the van suddenly started on it's own. I thought, "What is going on? I don't have one of those fancy 'start you car with the press of a button on your key chain' cars!" I looked at the driver's seat and lo and behold-- someone is sitting there. Yeah, it was not my van.

3. I am grateful for reasonable, realistic expectations. For several years now it has seemed to be too much for me to make sure all members of this family are dressed anew and groomed neatly every day. I don't want to say I've given up the quest, but let's face it-- I hit the mark on Sundays and I think that is acceptable. There are days I forget to comb my hair. If you see me with a rather unkempt ponytail, there is a good chance my lovely locks have not made contact with a brush that day. (How have I come to this?) It is not uncommon for Cannon to wear his clothing--regular daytime clothing or pajamas for 48 hours. I am happy to encourage him to wear a super-hero outfit overtop his pajamas because then I am not reminded of what he's got on underneath. Meanwhile, Faith still changes her clothes 4 times a day. I figure between the two of them we average a proper amount of clean clothing.

4. Friends. I am always grateful for friends. Book club friends, piano friends, home school friends, church friends, exercise friends, sister friends, long-distance friends family friends, couple friends. Bethany recently asked me if my friends were as important to me as her's are to her. I explained that with adults, it is different. I don't need to get together with my friends a lot to play. For me, they are a support, they think the best of me, they are on my side, they want to best for me and vice versa.

"It is a good thing to be rich and a good thing to be strong, but it is a better thing to be loved by many friends." --Euripides

5. Tomorrow is the end of an era. Clark's final PiPod Lego League state competition is tomorrow at the University of Utah. It is bittersweet. For the last 3 years the experience as nothing but positive and a HUGE blessing to Clark and our whole family. Very, very grateful.

6. Grateful to be able to home school my children. I enjoy them. I enjoy the rhythm of the day. Which rhythm as been interrupted by my blogging at 10:00 in the morning. Time for me to go crack the whip!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ABE!! I LOVE YOU!!