1. I PASSED my glucose test!!! This means I don't have to take the yucky 4 hour one. It also makes me think that I would have passed the first one with Cannon if I hadn't eaten a bag of gummy bears before the test.
2. I did go on a date with Abe. We wanted to rent Iron Man from Redbox, (I haven't seen it yet), but they didn't have it. We made a bad choice instead-- Fame.
Fame is LAME. I don't recommend it. But the dinner with Abe and friends was great.
3. I am not feeling so grouchy. But I am getting ready to be done with our regular school schedule for the summer. Must. Make. It. Through. May.
4. At this moment I'm watching Dancing With the Stars. I love this show. I need one of my children to learn ballroom dance so I can live through them. That's why I have so many children-- so I can have all my wildest dreams come true. Through them. I'm okay with that.
5. I went to a bridal shower for a friend in the ward tonight. I came home to find Elinor watching videos of the old Donny and Marie Show. My children love these videos. I gave them to Abe several years ago-- kind of as a joke. But the Donny and Marie Show is no joke! It is serious entertainment. This would be funny, except that with all the TRASH that is passed off as entertainment these days-- I wish I had every episode ever made on tape.
Actually I'd like them on DVD. Our tapes are getting a little worn.
6. My piano students have a recital coming up in a little over a week. It is stressful to play in a recital yourself. It is more stressful to be the parent of a child playing in a recital. I think it is the most stressful to be the teacher of other people's children playing in a recital. The kids are all doing great and they will play beautifully.
7. I mentioned to a wise friend that although my girls are enjoying playing softball, I don't feel as invested as some of the parents. We show up for the games and practice, but my girls are young, so I don't care about extra ($) clinics and league fundraisers and all-star try-outs.
Same thing with dance for Faith and Bethany. Bethany is 9, so I take it a little more seriously, but for Faith? Come on-- she's FOUR! I don't think we need back-to-back dance and tumbling and summer dance camps. I said to this friend, "I don't want them to feel I don't love them because I'm not going to obsess over their "fun" activities" She said, "Don't mistake fanaticism for love". Wise, very wise.
8. Clark mowed the back yard recently. He did a good job, except for the borders around the fence. You really need a weed whacker, which ours isn't very functional, plus I don't feel comfortable with Clark using the weed whacker anyway. So I'm trying to picture the overgrown fence grass as a beautiful border enclosing a magical play land for my children. These are the mind games that help me be a happy mommy.
9. I don't particularly enjoy grocery shopping at Walmart. That is aside from the fact that I am grateful to be acquire food so easily to feed my family. But I LOVE price matching. It almost makes grocery shopping enjoyable. Almost. It makes me feel smart.
10. I took a happy nappy on the couch today. That is why I can stay up and share ten thoughts tonight. I love happy nappies.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Is your Refrigerator Running?
Then you'd better go catch it!
Ha ha ha.
I have the cleanest fridge today of anyone I know.
Abe woke up this morning and announced his two projects for the day-- cleaning out the fridge and cleaning out the garage. The garage project was somewhat expected in that it really needed to be cleaned out and it is his job. I never have to say anything and eventually he gets around to the garage. But the fridge?
Let me explain. Like many marriages we have divisions of labor. There are some areas that are Abe's-- the yard, the garage, changing light bulbs. There are areas that are mine --the laundry, homeschooling the kids, preparing the food. Neither of the lists are exhaustive, but you get the idea. It would seem that cleaning out the fridge would fall under my domain, but we've been playing a game of chicken for quite some time. Who will break down first and clean out the fridge? Today that question was answered. Am I proud of myself that I could go so long that Abe finally realized the necessity of getting that unpleasant job done? No. Am I happy--no--ecstatic--that my fridge and freezer look brand new? YES!!!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you, Abe. You're my hero!
Ha ha ha.
I have the cleanest fridge today of anyone I know.
Abe woke up this morning and announced his two projects for the day-- cleaning out the fridge and cleaning out the garage. The garage project was somewhat expected in that it really needed to be cleaned out and it is his job. I never have to say anything and eventually he gets around to the garage. But the fridge?
Let me explain. Like many marriages we have divisions of labor. There are some areas that are Abe's-- the yard, the garage, changing light bulbs. There are areas that are mine --the laundry, homeschooling the kids, preparing the food. Neither of the lists are exhaustive, but you get the idea. It would seem that cleaning out the fridge would fall under my domain, but we've been playing a game of chicken for quite some time. Who will break down first and clean out the fridge? Today that question was answered. Am I proud of myself that I could go so long that Abe finally realized the necessity of getting that unpleasant job done? No. Am I happy--no--ecstatic--that my fridge and freezer look brand new? YES!!!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you, Abe. You're my hero!
Friday, May 14, 2010
Deep Breaths
Deep breaths.
Think happy thoughts.
Pray to feel better.
If you don't have something nice to say, BE QUIET.
It's okay to take a break in your room if you're feeling out of control.
Go for a walk.
All good advice I regularly dish out to children, that I need to follow myself this week.
Oh, I've been grouchy. Abe is wondering, "WHAT HAPPENED? One week my nice cheerful wife was here and then BAM! This other woman showed up and she's not so nice. "
Why? I couldn't say. I hope it's hormonal. I'm convinced that you still have some sort of cycle even when your pregnant. I've felt so good for this whole pregnancy, but about once a month I feel kind of crazy.
I think I want/need a good long date with Abe. Dinner, a movie or play, dessert afterwards. Doesn't that sound lovely. Here's the problem. It's been so glorious to have children old enough to leave home alone. This means we don't have to fork over 25 buckaroos for a night out. The downside is that, while I do feel very comfortable leaving the kids alone for 1 or 2 hours, I can't feel good about 4 or 5 hours. I could just hire a sitter for the evening, but once you tasted the goodness of free babysitting, it's hard to go back. Plus, Clark is bigger than most girls the babysitting ages, so that's getting a little awkward.
Waa, waa, waa. There is my compliant.
Now I just feel like rambling. Here I go.
Clark is going to a space camp for several hours tomorrow. It costs $20, so he is mowing the lawn right now to help earn it. Question. Do you prefer your grass cut short or long? Abe likes a lush, long lawn. I prefer a short, not quite golf course cut. I like how it looks and then you don't have to mow it as often. I set the blade lower on the mower today because Abe wasn't here. I wonder what he'll think when he gets home?
Anyone seen any good movies lately? I think the last movie I went to see was The Blind Side. If I were to get crazy and go see a movie, what would you recommend? Maybe the Percy Jackson movie?
I went this morning for my 1-hour glucose test. It's not much fun, but it's loads more fun than the 4 hour glucose test you have to take if you fail the 1-hour. That happened with Cannon. So you can understand why I wasn't very happy going to take this one this morning, knowing that most likely I will not pass it and have to take the big nasty one , which I will pass (like last time).
That's enough boo-hooing from me for one day. I WILL be nice to my people. I think Abe is coming home a little early today. Yippee!
Think happy thoughts.
Pray to feel better.
If you don't have something nice to say, BE QUIET.
It's okay to take a break in your room if you're feeling out of control.
Go for a walk.
All good advice I regularly dish out to children, that I need to follow myself this week.
Oh, I've been grouchy. Abe is wondering, "WHAT HAPPENED? One week my nice cheerful wife was here and then BAM! This other woman showed up and she's not so nice. "
Why? I couldn't say. I hope it's hormonal. I'm convinced that you still have some sort of cycle even when your pregnant. I've felt so good for this whole pregnancy, but about once a month I feel kind of crazy.
I think I want/need a good long date with Abe. Dinner, a movie or play, dessert afterwards. Doesn't that sound lovely. Here's the problem. It's been so glorious to have children old enough to leave home alone. This means we don't have to fork over 25 buckaroos for a night out. The downside is that, while I do feel very comfortable leaving the kids alone for 1 or 2 hours, I can't feel good about 4 or 5 hours. I could just hire a sitter for the evening, but once you tasted the goodness of free babysitting, it's hard to go back. Plus, Clark is bigger than most girls the babysitting ages, so that's getting a little awkward.
Waa, waa, waa. There is my compliant.
Now I just feel like rambling. Here I go.
Clark is going to a space camp for several hours tomorrow. It costs $20, so he is mowing the lawn right now to help earn it. Question. Do you prefer your grass cut short or long? Abe likes a lush, long lawn. I prefer a short, not quite golf course cut. I like how it looks and then you don't have to mow it as often. I set the blade lower on the mower today because Abe wasn't here. I wonder what he'll think when he gets home?
Anyone seen any good movies lately? I think the last movie I went to see was The Blind Side. If I were to get crazy and go see a movie, what would you recommend? Maybe the Percy Jackson movie?
I went this morning for my 1-hour glucose test. It's not much fun, but it's loads more fun than the 4 hour glucose test you have to take if you fail the 1-hour. That happened with Cannon. So you can understand why I wasn't very happy going to take this one this morning, knowing that most likely I will not pass it and have to take the big nasty one , which I will pass (like last time).
That's enough boo-hooing from me for one day. I WILL be nice to my people. I think Abe is coming home a little early today. Yippee!
Monday, May 10, 2010
Yo-Ho-Ho and a Bottle of Rum
We got together with some friends this past Saturday night for softball at a local park. It was great fun for the young and the not so young. 
I'm posting this picture for my posterity. I am 6+ months pregnant. My mom did not like to have her picture taken and I would LOVE to see more pictures of her when we kids were younger. So, here's for my kiddos.
And I don't mean to brag or anything, but I can still hit the ball pretty hard. I ran my own bases, but I'm certainly slowing down!
Luke... I am your father.
It's just a batting helmet put on backwards. He doesn't say much that's intelligible, but make no mistake, when we told him that we were going to play softball, he knew exactly what was coming.
Today was our final kids' book club of this school year. We read and discussed Treasure Island. The boys' sword fighting was not one of the planned activities, but we didn't get going on our plans soon enough and this was the result. The huge log (lower right) made me a little nervous, as did the tree branches. I had them turn in their weapons.
I must admit that the ladies were a calmer lot today. I guess Treasure Island affects boys differently than girls.
There is a lot of rum consumption in the story.
We reenacted it the best we could. Once again, the boys really got into it-spilling their drinks, burping and all.
Then a couple more games outside.
There was also a heated game of hide-and-seek inside the house. We don't really own anything valuable or breakable, so their wasn't much risk to the house.
My kids think that because we won't have book club for a while, that we won't have to clean up the house for a while. I guess they've forgotten the last couple of nesting episodes of previous pregnancies. They ain't seen nothing yet.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Mother's Day 2010
I have completed my annual Mother's Day project-- writing a letter to each of my children. When Clark was a baby I was so grateful to have him and to be a mother that I decided Mother's Day was going to be a day for me to celebrate being a mother. Abe has always acknowledged the holiday sufficiently with flowers and cards and breakfast. I just never wanted to feel disappointed or sad on Mother's Day. It happens more often than it should for too many people.
So I write a letter to each child describing them and the things I love about them and the special place that each has in my heart as well as in our family. The letter is then kept in their "baby box". It is very cathartic for me. It reminds me of just how unique and special each one is and how they have blessed me and what I've learned from them. And it has worked to make every Mother's Day a lovely day for me.
On to a question I have to those of you reading this.
This afternoon Abe was watching old home movies with the kids. Not movies of our family, but movies of his family growing up. The kids love it and Abe loves it. Towards the end of the tape that his sister, Marjorie, put together are a few clips of Abe and I engaged and then newly married. These clip are EXCRUCIATINGLY painful for me to watch. As in, I have to leave the room. It's not just because we are in love and acting ridiculous. I hate looking at pictures from my teenage years until about five years ago. Am I ashamed of ways I acted? I'm sure that's part of it. I'm sure I looked better then than now, but still. I don't even like reading things I wrote. Why is this? Does anyone else feel this same way or do I have some psychological disorder? It doesn't really matter I guess. I'm just curious.
So I write a letter to each child describing them and the things I love about them and the special place that each has in my heart as well as in our family. The letter is then kept in their "baby box". It is very cathartic for me. It reminds me of just how unique and special each one is and how they have blessed me and what I've learned from them. And it has worked to make every Mother's Day a lovely day for me.
On to a question I have to those of you reading this.
This afternoon Abe was watching old home movies with the kids. Not movies of our family, but movies of his family growing up. The kids love it and Abe loves it. Towards the end of the tape that his sister, Marjorie, put together are a few clips of Abe and I engaged and then newly married. These clip are EXCRUCIATINGLY painful for me to watch. As in, I have to leave the room. It's not just because we are in love and acting ridiculous. I hate looking at pictures from my teenage years until about five years ago. Am I ashamed of ways I acted? I'm sure that's part of it. I'm sure I looked better then than now, but still. I don't even like reading things I wrote. Why is this? Does anyone else feel this same way or do I have some psychological disorder? It doesn't really matter I guess. I'm just curious.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Death by Legos
Oh, pain!
I have pain. I have spent the last 2+ hours down in the dungeon with Clark.
The dungeon is his basement room. It's not finished, so another name for it is his "summer room". That's because it's too cold to sleep down there for half the year, but for the other half it's the most comfortable temperature room in the house. During the colder months he sleeps in a loft be upstairs with Cannon. You can easily see why this is not Clark's favorite arrangement, although Cannon is delighted with it. But Clark keeps all of this belongings downstairs. This way he has the illusion that he has his own room. Smart of us parents, huh?
Well, after a winter of just using the dungeon to the bare minimum, it was time to go down and put it back together again. It was messy. Dirty. Yucky. Stinky. You get the idea. It was a very creative, ten year old boy's room with very little supervision for six months. The worst offenders were dirty socks and legos. Now I know where all the socks have gone. But it's the legos I want to talk about. GADZOOKS! How did we get so many legos? I'm not complaining, because many of the legos have been gifts to Clark and he does play with Legos a TON! But a few months ago, a big box got spilled into the floor and they spread like wildfire. They were everywhere. So Clark and I got down on the floor and started gathering the lost tribes of legos.
This is why I have pain right now. I am six + months pregnant. I don't think I'm suppose to be doing things like this anymore! However, in honor of Mother's Day weekend, what can I say? I guess that just the sort of AMAZING mother that I am!
I think I'm going to have a nightmare tonight of being buried alive in Legos.
I have pain. I have spent the last 2+ hours down in the dungeon with Clark.
The dungeon is his basement room. It's not finished, so another name for it is his "summer room". That's because it's too cold to sleep down there for half the year, but for the other half it's the most comfortable temperature room in the house. During the colder months he sleeps in a loft be upstairs with Cannon. You can easily see why this is not Clark's favorite arrangement, although Cannon is delighted with it. But Clark keeps all of this belongings downstairs. This way he has the illusion that he has his own room. Smart of us parents, huh?
Well, after a winter of just using the dungeon to the bare minimum, it was time to go down and put it back together again. It was messy. Dirty. Yucky. Stinky. You get the idea. It was a very creative, ten year old boy's room with very little supervision for six months. The worst offenders were dirty socks and legos. Now I know where all the socks have gone. But it's the legos I want to talk about. GADZOOKS! How did we get so many legos? I'm not complaining, because many of the legos have been gifts to Clark and he does play with Legos a TON! But a few months ago, a big box got spilled into the floor and they spread like wildfire. They were everywhere. So Clark and I got down on the floor and started gathering the lost tribes of legos.
This is why I have pain right now. I am six + months pregnant. I don't think I'm suppose to be doing things like this anymore! However, in honor of Mother's Day weekend, what can I say? I guess that just the sort of AMAZING mother that I am!
I think I'm going to have a nightmare tonight of being buried alive in Legos.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Home and Away
We love to be home, but we also like to get out and about. One is only fun because of the other.
HOME
Here are Faith and Elinor playing a rendition of a favorite Fox girl game: Poor girl. I believe these poor girls are of the hobo variety and they are leaving the comforts of home to make their way in the world.
AWAY
Clark and Elinor at a recent piano recital. They both played very well and maybe I'll ask Abe to try to put up the video. Stay tuned!
HOME
Rollerblading on a Saturday afternoon. Bethany is wearing her tiara from her dance performance earlier in the day.
We have quite a hodgepodge of roller blades and skates, none of which fit or function quite properly. Oh well.
AWAY
The kids participated in a Shakespeare class this past semester taught by a good friend. It culminated in a performance of the Tempest. Clark was Caliban, a monster, Bethany was Ariel, a fairy helper, and Elinor was a bird and a fairy. They memorized lines and had great costumes and had a marvelous time!
HOME
It was time for Clark to get a good, conservative haircut. I couldn't be prouder. Ooh, he does look kind of mean here.
AWAY
A cold early morning softball game. This is Elinor-- the team MVP (at least by our vote)! Of nine runs home, Elinor scored 3 of them! She was quite the slugger-- three times up to bat and three times home! We were so happy for her.
HOME
Ohhh, what a pretty little girl.
Uhh-- I mean handsome little boy.
Uhh-- yikes that is really wrong.
The girls dressed up Cannon and as you can imagine Clark was VERY disturbed! Cannon will hate us for this someday, as well he should. It's better than a naked bathtub shot. Isn't it? No I guess not.
AWAY
Abe and Bethany went on a daddy-daughter date to a concert at a friend's home.
Oh, that's better. There's my nice Clark.
HOMEHere are Faith and Elinor playing a rendition of a favorite Fox girl game: Poor girl. I believe these poor girls are of the hobo variety and they are leaving the comforts of home to make their way in the world.
AWAY
Clark and Elinor at a recent piano recital. They both played very well and maybe I'll ask Abe to try to put up the video. Stay tuned!
HOME
Rollerblading on a Saturday afternoon. Bethany is wearing her tiara from her dance performance earlier in the day.
We have quite a hodgepodge of roller blades and skates, none of which fit or function quite properly. Oh well.
AWAY
The kids participated in a Shakespeare class this past semester taught by a good friend. It culminated in a performance of the Tempest. Clark was Caliban, a monster, Bethany was Ariel, a fairy helper, and Elinor was a bird and a fairy. They memorized lines and had great costumes and had a marvelous time!
HOME
It was time for Clark to get a good, conservative haircut. I couldn't be prouder. Ooh, he does look kind of mean here.
AWAY
A cold early morning softball game. This is Elinor-- the team MVP (at least by our vote)! Of nine runs home, Elinor scored 3 of them! She was quite the slugger-- three times up to bat and three times home! We were so happy for her.
HOME
Ohhh, what a pretty little girl.
Uhh-- I mean handsome little boy.
Uhh-- yikes that is really wrong.
The girls dressed up Cannon and as you can imagine Clark was VERY disturbed! Cannon will hate us for this someday, as well he should. It's better than a naked bathtub shot. Isn't it? No I guess not.
AWAY
Abe and Bethany went on a daddy-daughter date to a concert at a friend's home.
Oh, that's better. There's my nice Clark.
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