Second Grade Music Showcase

Misha had her Musical Showcase last week. I really like that the school holds these showcases on a grade by grade basis. It cuts down on having to sit through an hour of listening to kids you don't even know. Still, there were three 2nd grade classes and the gym was packed. The school staff seemed to have learned with Amy's grade and had the kids up on the stage. We weren't close to the front, but at least we could see Misha. She did a great job singing, following instruction and smiling throughout. She is fun to watch...and we got to hear great masterpieces such as Bubblegum and Skidamarink. Gotta love hearing that one over and over.

P.S. Misha is fifth from the left on the top row.

On Another Misha Note

I was attempting to tidy the stack on my desk and came across Misha's Christmas letter to Santa. I thought it was pretty sweet.

dear Santa, I was thincking mayeb you could help some other poor people to make ther Christmast. Thank you Santa.

From, Misha

Misha....always my tenderhearted soul.

When She's Not Singing...

Misha is creating wonderful little contraptions like this one around our house:

Cut It Out

On the way to the library this morning, I was minding my own business driving the van and listening to the radio. All of sudden Kristen commands from the back seat, "Cut it out!"

"What? Cut what out?"

"It."

"It what?" I asked.

"Cut it out." Kristen repeated.

"Cut WHAT out?" I'm getting totally confused.

"It."

"What are you talking about? What is IT?" Now she's starting to drive me crazy. I chalked it up to learning a new saying. Maybe someday she'll figure out what it means.

Valentine's Day Worries

Misha lamented to me this morning, "Valentine's Day is not going to work out for Amy and me this year. There's not supposed to be any fighting."

No No

Kristen is not a big fan of petite diced tomatoes in casseroles. Even if the casseroles are tasty (which they always are), she can't get past eating those little red things. Last night was no different. She either had to finish her dinner or go to bed at 6:30. She complained, whined and finally decided to go to bed. She came in to the office to tell me, "My tummy is saying, 'No, no.'"

Weight Watchers

So, I finally decided to join Weight Watchers Online. Right now they have a 7-day trial period, so you can check it out. I just need the extra motivation to lose ten pounds to be successful in the competition that Chris and I are having. Anyone interested in joining me?

By the way, I have set a goal this year to not eat a single french fry.

I was/am Short

So this is the dress I wore when I was baptized at age 8. There was no hope in saving it for my daughters to wear for their baptisms. Kristen will be 4 in April and the dress is only mildly too big for her. It is great for dressing up in now.

I'm a Doof

Kristen and some of her crazy looks:

Without Arms?

We were reading scriptures this morning--Mosiah 20. It was Amy's turn to read--verse 24.

And it came to pass that the king was pacified towards his people; and he said unto them: Let us go forth to meet my people, without arms...WHAT??????

Chris and I had to laugh and quickly explained that arms also meant weapons. Amy and Misha laughed over their dad's imitation of Limhi's people walking to meet the Lamanites without any arms (as in limbs).

But, I Love Daddy

Lots of posts on my 3-year old lately, but she's got a lot of good material going. Lately, if she's in trouble, she'll say to me, "But I LOVE Daddy." Somehow she instinctively knows not to say, "I don't love you." Her kinder, gentler way of giving a verbal jab is to 'dis' one parent for the other.

Another frustrating habit she has developed is during an urgent potty moment. Instead of running to the bathroom, she'll dance around me. "Go to the bathroom." I strongly command. "I don't have to go potty." As she high steps from one foot to the other doing the classic 'potty dance'. "GO!!!!!"

"All RIGHT!!!!!" As she races for the potty.

3-year old PMS

Is that possible? Her behavior yesterday certainly was indicative of PMS. We were trying to make it to story time at the library at 9:30. Kristen was dressed, but needed a hair-do. That's where she came unglued. I didn't have time to braid it and just put it back in a ponytail. Everything went downhill from there.

"I can't walk down the stairs by myself. You have to carry me." Lots of wailing.
"I can't put my shoes on by myself."

In as patient a manner as I can muster, "Kristen, you need to do three things. Stop crying, get your shoes on, and get your jacket on. We need to go or we are going to be late."

"I can't do it." Wail. Wail. Wail.

This continues for a couple minutes. We have the same conversation three or four times. She's inconsolable. Finally, I say, "We're late. We aren't going." The crying begins again in earnest. Chris has joined me upstairs now to see what all the noise is about.

"I want to go to the 'ibary'."

"Sorry, it has already started. If you will stop crying and put on your shoes, we'll try to make it for the next session."

"I can't put on my shoes. I wanted braids."

Does that just sound like PMS or what?

Not So Much a Baby Anymore

Kristen will be four in a couple of months. She is a lively, creative, endearing little girl. Yet, it is sad to see that there isn't any spark of "baby" left in her. There are many moments of deja vu when I remember Amy doing such similar things. Kristen loves to color, cut paper, glue paper and create masterpieces. She is fun to have around during the day and is quite content to play with her Barbies and other toys for an hour or more. I still listen to her in the monitor and have learned not to respond when I hear "Mommy".

Today I surprised her with "It's time for your nap," just to see what she would say. Her response: "Mommy, I told you last night. I don't have naps. Naps are for babies." I love that she can climb into the van, buckle her seat belt and close the door without any assistance, but there are days when I miss my baby.

Misha's Opinion

"Mom, you don't look like you are 41. You look more like you are in your 20s."

Thanks so much Misha. Your opinion is the best!!!!

Candles in my Oatmeal

Amy, the birthday planner/orchestrator extraordinaire, steps up to make sure my birthday is special. What's better than lighted birthday candles in your oatmeal with three little girls serenading and Chris joining in via the speaker phone? Not much.

Okay, maybe if there were no speaker phone involved....

Kindred Spirits

Misha and her friend, Jonah, are kindred spirits. They love to spend time together and usually come up with some pretty interesting activities to entertain themselves. Misha's not into your "typical" girl stuff. She loves science, rocks, creating. Last Sunday, Misha and Jonah raided my garbage bags and created their own new "bag wear". It all started with wanting to create a parachute for their stuffed animals. Then they began to think "bigger is better". It evolved from there, but at least they weren't trying to launch themselves from the bridge above the living room.

One Day Later

I am always hesitant when I answer calls from my childrens' school. You just never know what kind of news is coming. Today it was just a bit of sad news as I answered the phone to Amy's urgent request, "Mom, can you bring me my toothbrush. I forgot it. And some medicine. My teeth really hurt." Not sure if she is still quite as excited about those two little teeth brackets.

The Big Day is Finally Here!

Before



Amy has been so excited about the prospect of getting braces. I figured for sure she would be talking it up all the time at school, but she wanted it to be a surprise for her classmates and only told TWO friends that today was the big day!

Kristen and I picked Amy up from school at 10:15 and headed over to Dr. Lang's office. The office is close by and the staff are wonderful and friendly. Our technician today was Jocelyn. She started Amy off by having Amy brush her teeth at the "tooth brushing station."



Then it was time for a panoramic x-ray and some funky looking pictures. Yes, I had to get pictures of all of them, though Amy begged, "Please don't put these on your blog." Hmmm, would I do that? I'll pick the most flattering ones, how's that?





Amy didn't spend too long pondering her color choices--pink and green bands for this visit. While the film was being processed, Jocelyn started by polishing Amy's two front teeth and prepping them for the application of the brace. The blue goo is part of the process of cleaning and then making sure that the teeth are super dry before applying the actual glue.





Then Dr. Lang came in, applied the two brackets, cleaned off the excess glue, bid us a fond farewell, and was out of there.



Jocelyn shaped the wire and applied the bands. She finished up by giving instructions on brushing (she recommend three minutes each time), flossing, and general braces care. Voila! Amy's all done and back to school by 11:35.

Life

I read this comment on a friend's blog. I thought it was profound.


Life is fair, because it is unfair to everyone.

Marie Spence

It reminds me of a quote I once made note of:


Once we truly know that life is difficult--once we truly understand and accept it--then life is no longer difficult. Because once it is accepted, the fact that life is difficult no longer matters.

M. Scott Peck "The Road Less Traveled"

Oatmeal To Go

Some of you might be thinking, "Brilliant. Give me some of that," and imagining some kind of cereal bar made with oatmeal. Nope. Chris and I were watching live tv last night (not the dvr'ed kind without commercials) and had to sit through all sorts of inane commercials. Chris got downright vocal about the Quaker Instant Oatmeal packets commercial with the mom sending the kids to the van with varying flavors of cooked oatmeal in bowls. IN BOWLS!!!!!!

"Who in their right mind sends their kids to the van with a bowl of hot oatmeal? What are they thinking?"

Granted, I was thinking the same thing. Chris more often than not holds the position of maintainer-of-cleanliness in our vehicles, so hot oatmeal in the van struck a nerve.

Grandparents

My children have had the pleasure of spending time with all of their grandparents recently. Grandma and Grandpa Ball came at Thanksgiving. Grandma and Grandpa Kline came for Amy's birthday in early December, and Grandma and Grandpa Rice flew in for a visit last week. They have had grandparent overload, and they have loved it!

My parents got a smokin' deal on SWA. They were visiting the rest of my siblings in Utah and flew to visit us last week. I think they'd take the one-hour flight over an often snowy, icy, eight-plus-hour drive any day.





Amy and Misha were back in school, so Kristen hung out with Grandma and Grandpa all day long and LOVED it. She ventured down to the basement first thing in the morning to say, "Grandma, it's time to get up and get dressed." Fortunately, my parents are early risers and were already awake. It was a nice relaxing week for all of us.



We dropped them off at the airport Saturday morning, got them checked in and handed them over to the capable hands of a "wheelchair" guy. My dad is having knee-replacement surgery next month and never would have made it walking through two huge airports. It was pretty slick; and we were grateful to know they were being taken care of.



P.S. Happy 46th Anniversary Mom and Dad. You're a great example.

How Many Men Does it Take...

To tighten a faucet?







My dad noticed that our faucet was quite loose. Being the handy man that he is, he decided to tighten it up for us. Chris happened upon the fix-it moment, and quickly got in on the act.

It's a Heart

Kristen was sitting at the counter one morning when I spied some heart-shaped curls in her hair. Can you see it?

A Little More Practice

Two of my daughters fall into the category of "girly girl". Misha, on the other hand, has never once come home from a friend's house looking like this:



Good thing Christopher wasn't home; he's not a big fan of his daughters using makeup. (In fact, if you give my girls makeup, they don't get to wear it. Just an FYI.) Kristen and Sophie could use a little instruction in the fine art of makeup application; Kristen is looking ready to try out for a vampire role.

Mommy Wisdom

Remember the little girl who only wanted to be Misha's friend because of Misha's Wii games? Well, she still is on/off friendly with Misha, which is hard for her to understand. Misha says, "I try to be nice to her and smile at her but she just frowns at me." I respond with a heart that's breaking a bit, "That's all you can do sweetie. Life is not always fair, but that doesn't mean it is bad."