Aeronautics According to Nat

Nat: Mom how do airplanes and helicopters fly?

Me: I have no idea. (I mean I really don't. I've tried to understand it but I just don't.)

Nat: I think they have big engines that point down and spread out air really fast and that's how they do it.

Not quite right but I'm pretty impressed that a 5-year-old can come up with this entirely on her own, considering she has a scientifically inept mother. Wow, kids never cease to amaze me.

Shampoo Bubbles

My two youngest are peas in a pod. They love to do everything together -- for which I am very thankful.

One of the things they love is taking baths together. Usually they bring in their mermaid Barbies and have an elaborate game that goes on and on until the water's cold and I have to warm it back up so they can wash their hair.

One night I had to go back to investigate when I heard lots of laughter and could smell the scent of fruity shampoo clear out in the living room.

Well, they had invented a new way of blowing bubbles. Seems if you coat your lips with shampoo, you can blow exceptional bubbles.

And...if you coat your nostrils with shampoo you can blow exceptional nose bubbles!

Notice how soapy the water is--I'm glad they used the cheap shampoo! Crazy girls!

Yawnnnn....zzzzz.....

My poor little Nat had a terrible night last night. She's had a cough that's been keeping her awake the last couple nights, but yesterday it got really bad, then she spiked a fever, then even after cough medicine and Tylenol she barely slept at all. I've never heard anyone cough so much. I had her sleep next to me so I could make sure she was ok, so every time she woke up coughing I woke up too. We were finally able to get a few hours sleep together this morning. I'm still half catatonic though.

I made a doctor's appointment for her because last night all these horrible diseases started running through my head. What if she has pneumonia?! What if it's whooping cough and I've infected the entire school by letting her go on Thursday?! (I was reading that kids that are vaccinated are getting whooping cough anyway, so that's where that came from.) What if it's some sort of dread lung infection?!

On the way to the doctor's office, I just knew they were going to berate me for being a horrible mother by waiting too long for her to be seen, then have me rush her to the hospital where she would be put on a ventilator. I was trying to plan how I would call the daycare parents to tell them I couldn't watch their kids today, and trying to think who could watch Shelby at the last minute while I was sitting beside my poor neglected and ailing daughter's bed, all the while kicking myself for not taking her directly to the hospital at 3am like should have.

Well, of course she never even coughed at the doctor's office, her temp was only 98.9, and she was telling the doc all about her brother and sisters while putting her chewing gum on the end of her nose so the doc could look in her throat. It turns out I'm not a horrible neglectful mother after all, and she just has a virus combined with allergies that are easily treated with over the counter meds. Whew! That was a close call though!

I'm not sure why I always think the worst when my kids are sick. Maybe it's just a normal mom-thing. I just hate seeing my kids not feeling well, and always feel like I should be able to magically make them all better.

My 100th Post! aka Beware Long Rambling Post Ahead

In honor of my 100th post, and in following with the great blogging tradition, I am listing 100 random things...some about me, some about my family, and I sincerely hope it doesn't turn into the most rambling and inexplicably boring post ever. So here goes nuthin'...

1. I was a 9lb baby with chubby cheeks and a full head of black hair.
2. My mom had a best friend who was a hairdresser, so my mom's hair color changed on an almost weekly basis. Sometimes she was a platinum blonde, sometimes a bright redhead, sometimes a brunette, she always kept us guessing!

3. My mom's hairdressing friend used to try out new techniques on my mom before she used them on the paying customers. My mom remembers having her pulled through a frosting cap, and commenting, "Ouch, this will NEVER catch on!"
4.Fast forward 25 years to her and I frosting each other's hair at our dining room table. Mom never really got the hang of going into the holes at an angle with the crochet hook, and I swear she pulled half my scalp through the cap in the process. Ouch indeed!
5. My sister got stuck with the "pixie" hair cut as a child. Again, I think this had to do with mom's friend and the popularity of Mia Farrow and Twiggy.

6. My uncle committed suicide when I was 6. I still remember being in our living room when I was told about it. I don't think my dad was ever the same after that.
7. My favorite number has always been 7.
8. When I was little I thought the perfect age to be would be 17. I figured you were grown up, but not yet "old". My thoughts changed when I actually experienced being 17.
9. My parents took us on wonderful family vacations when we were growing up, such as:
10. Banff, Canada
11. Jackson Hole Wyoming, and the Grand Tetons
12. Yellowstone
13. Glacier National Park
14. Zion and Bryce Canyon
15. The Grand Canyon
16. Disneyland!

17. One of the highlights of our trips would be when mom and dad would let my sister and I go to a souvenir store to buy a memento.
18. I was horse crazy. I could take or leave the boys, but dreamed of horses all the time.
19. My parents probably spent the equivalent of a decent college education on giving me horseback rides at riding stables.
20. I say it was money well spent!
21. I wanted to be a boy when I was little, and enjoyed playing with the neighbor boys more than I did their sister.
22. We almost always played cowboys, and when the sun would go behind a cloud, we would pretend that it was nighttime.
23. I had a ratty old cowboy hat that I would tuck my long hair under.
24. When I was 6 my mom let me get my hair cut short like a boy's.
25. It was not attractive.
26. I didn't care.

27. My sister and I had to share a room until I was 13 and she was 17.
28. She was always neat and tidy, I was, shall we say, NOT.
29. It's a wonder she didn't kill me and hide my body under the disaster area that was my half of our room.
30. My dad worked the swing shift as a railroad engineer, so during the week it was just mom, my sister and I together in the evenings.
31. We would often have "catch as catch can" for dinner, as my mom would call it. Sometimes this meant baking a batch of blueberry muffins and eating the entire dozen, or fixing soup and a sandwich or even a just bagels and cream cheese. I liked these low-key nights.
32. We would often go out for soup and half a sandwich at our favorite pie place. The soup and sandwich was just a formality and the sooner we got that out of the way the sooner we could do what we were really there for -- eating pie!
33. My dad lived to embarrass the heck out of us.
34. When we would go to the mall, he would hang back, so we wouldn't have to be seen walking with our parents, but then would kick off his shoe and send it flying by us. Oh, the horror!
35. He would also stop in front of the Hammond Organ store and dance to the goofy music that the salesmen would play. Oh, the horror, part II!
36. I think it's hilarious now, and following his example, enjoy embarrassing the heck out of my own kids!
37. I am deathly afraid of water. Especially deep water and fast flowing water.
38. I really don't even like taking a bath. It's completely irrational.
39. I am not afraid of snakes however, and think they are one of the coolest creatures ever.
40.100 is a lot of things to think up.
41. I was a painfully shy child.
42. I finally broke out of my shell a bit after the birth of my first child, when it became easy to make small talk with people about my baby boy.
43. Shyness held me back and because of that I missed out on a lot of fun things and was quite lonely as well.
44. I quit playing the saxophone in 6th grade when I found out that we would have to perform a short piece on stage.
45. I never went to a school dance (with the exception of my 8th grade graduation dance where I actually shared a slow dance with my crush, and then returned to the wall where I stayed firmly planted the rest of the evening).
48. I avoided teen parties at all costs, even going so far as to choose sitting in my boyfriend's truck for 2 hours rather than go in and attend the party with him.
49. I've made great strides since then and done things I thought I never would like:
50. I became a La Leche League leader and conducted meetings.
51. Danced in public!
52. Taught dance classes.
53. Said the opening and closing prayer at church (though not without some difficulty!)
54. I had a serious boyfriend at the age of 14.
55. He lived two houses down, my sister's future husband was our direct next door neighbor. Tracy and I met them within a couple months of moving into our new house.  
56. I dated my boyfriend from age 14-20, and he was 3 years older than I was. We were both transplanted from the mountains to the city and instantly bonded over that and spent all our time camping, 4 wheeling and dirt biking.
57. I considered him my best friend, and preferred hanging out with him and his buddies working on cars and doing guy things rather than hanging out with girls and dealing with their cattiness and drama.
58. I was WAY too young to have a serious relationship, and my mom said much later, that she didn't really want to allow it, but he seemed to be the only one that could make me happy at the time. I was a troubled teen before I met him and definitely not headed in a good direction. My parents adored him and he never failed to get me home on time (despite any misadventures, truck stuck in the mud, broken down vehicle issues we had).
59. When we first got together we had to bump start his pickup, so I would happily get out and push that thing any time so we could get on with our adventures!
60. I gave up alcohol at the ripe old age of 17.
61. After trying to fit in and drink with the others in our group for a couple years, I decided that I really didn't like the taste of alcohol, and I really didn't want to be in an altered state of consciousness--ever.
62. I celebrated my 21st birthday completely sober and I have no interest in drinking alcohol whatsoever.
63. My grandma Lou had a saying, "You're meaner than cat crap under a bed!"
64. My mom's housekeeping advice to me when I moved out was, "If you keep your dishes done and your beds made, everyone will think you're a good housekeeper."
65. My dad's housekeeping advice to me when I moved out was, "Clean the pee out of the bathroom, and cook the snot out the eggs."
66. I'm better at following my dad's housekeeping advice.
67. The first and last time I went to Yosemite I was 5 years old.
68. I live 2 hours from Yosemite and am beginning to feel guilty for not visiting it, since people travel from all over the world to do so.
69. I hate scary books and movies.
70. As a teenager I read Steven King's Salem's Lot, and have not picked up one of his books since.
71. I wanted to be a forest ranger when I grew up.
72. If I could start my career path over I would pursue midwifery.
73. We had a big orange tabby named Poopsie when we were growing up. I think my mom named him.
74. We also had cats named Marshmallow, Weebs and Bussy. I'm at fault for naming the last one.
75. Twenty-five more to go...who's still with me?
76. Poopsie would actually play hide-and-seek with me. I would put him in the laundry room, then run off to hide, and then call him. He would then come find me, usually by attacking me.
77. During my afore-mentioned angst-ridden teen years I became a habitual truant.
78. When my parents found out, they told me to just stay home, because they'd rather have me home and know where I was, than to have me cutting school and doing who-knows-what.
79. I took the proficiency exam at 17 and got my diploma.

80. After I received my diploma my parents told me, "Now go get a job".
81. The first job I got was washing dogs at a dog groomer. This is when reality set in.
82. I then decided to go to Beauty College and got my cosmetology license when I was 18.
83. I never worked in a salon, but I would go to people's homes and do their hair, and I had a fairly large clientèle of customers.
84. I put myself through junior college by working as a printer and getting scholarships.
85. Even though I got married and had a baby during my 2 years at college, I still graduated with my class.
86. ...and I graduated with honors, which is still one of my proudest accomplishments.
87. I began belly dance classes at the ripe old age of 38.
88. I was so lame and uncoordinated, that the instructor kindly suggested that maybe I should take a few private classes with her before continuing with the beginner's class.
89. For some reason I didn't get discouraged, and I followed her advice.
90. Part of it was that I was intrigued by the dance and really wanted to learn, the other part was that it was an hour and a half (including driving time) all to myself.
91. Almost 6 years later, I am a confident dancer, and more importantly, a confident person.

92. I refuse to go on roller coasters and thrill rides. They're in the same classification as scary books and movies, which I deem unnecessary torture.
93. My most overused phrase is, "For the love of Pete!"
94. One of the only good things to come out of losing my mom was that my sister and I are now much closer. My mom used to be our unintentional "go-between" by relaying to me what my sister was doing and vice versa so that we rarely talked to each other.

95. A long phone call with my sister is now one of my favorite things.
96. One of my favorite quotes is from Eleanor Roosevelt, "Women are like teabags. We don't know our true strength until we are in hot water!" I liken this quote to childbirth. I didn't know how strong I was until I went through the birth of my children.
97. I definitely felt empowered and proud after childbirth. I have had all 4 without any medical interventions or drugs, and 2 without the so-called "luxury" of a hospital.
98. Another quote I love, that I just recently discovered on another blog, Cairnsliving, is from CS Lewis, "Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, 'What! You too? I thought I was the only one." Truer words were never spoken.
99. I love to ride motorcycles, but am refraining because I need to stay in one piece for my children.
100. My kids are my greatest inspiration, my greatest blessing, and have been my greatest teachers. How lucky I am to be their mom!

And now a hearty pat on the back if you made it to the end of this post!

The Rainbow

Today is the 6th anniversary of my mom's death. It's hard to believe it's been that long already and there's not a day that goes by that I don't think of her, or want to talk to her, or miss her. She was my biggest fan, my rock, my closest confident, my sounding board. I hope I can be even half the mother and grandmother that she was.

Like I said in my earlier post, the day of her death wasn't traumatic for me. The few weeks preceding it were. From her admission to the hospital, to her diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, to her being sent home after the realization that there was no hope for treatment was a mere 3 weeks. It was like a nightmare that wouldn't end, with each day bringing worse news than the day before. I am thankful in a way that it was a relatively short time, because I know that Mom would've hated to waste away for months knowing there was no hope, but on the other hand, because it happened so quickly it was too much to absorb emotionally, for all of us.

The night before she passed she was at home in her bed and was having trouble breathing. She asked to go to the hospital and my aunt called 9-1-1 to have her transported. I remember petting her head and trying to help her relax and breathe while waiting for the ambulance. I was really torn at the time as to if I should accompany her to the hospital or not. Because it was late and I was 7 months pregnant and already stressed beyond my limits, I chose to stay at the house and try to get some sleep. The next morning my uncle called and said that she was gone.

I didn't know what to feel. I did feel a sense of relief for my mom that she no longer had to endure the horrible disease that was consuming her, but I also felt guilt for not being at the hospital with her, and I felt confusion as to what we were supposed to do now without the woman who was the hub of our family.

The weather that day was mostly sunny, but there were storm clouds here and there, and later as the extended family gathered at my parents house, one of my uncles went outside to take out the trash. He came back in and urged us all to come out and see something. There in the sky above my parent's home was a full, beautiful rainbow. We all just stood looking at it for the longest time and I think it gave us all the same sense of peace. To me it was a message that mom was now ok, and was somewhere beautiful.

Some days later my sister and I were choosing a design for Mom's headstone, and none of the flowers seemed quite right. We finally realized what we were looking for was an iris. Mom always loved irises and always had some in our back yard, and we agreed this was just the right flower, and we were able to find just the right image.

My mom in a field or irises

Due to my pregnant state, I was constantly obsessing over names and was always looking through name books. It literally took my breath away when later I came across the name Iris and saw the definition: Greek for "rainbow". From then on the rainbow became a symbol of my mom.

It was funny that in that first year how we would keep coming across rainbows.

My sister told me how one day she was sitting on the couch at my parents house and the light coming through the beveled glass on the front door was casting little rainbows all over her lap. She related that she felt a connection to mom watching the colors play across her legs.

One day I was unpacking boxes (as we had just moved into our house) and had come across a box that my mom had labeled when she had helped me pack some time ago. When I opened it and realized she was the last one to touch all these things I started to lose it. As I dug further into the box, I found a children's book and started crying even more as I remembered her reading this book to the kids. It was a story of a brother and sister who were fighting. Their fight is compared to the storm that is raging outside their house. As they make up, the storm goes away leaving a rainbow, and the mama says, "A rainbow is something beautiful that happens after a storm." To me this was the perfect illustration of what happened to Mom. Something beautiful happened to her after the storm of her illness. I keep that book in the top drawer of my dresser to remind me always.

There have been many other rainbow "coincidences" that have deepened my faith that something beautiful happens to us after our time on earth, and that our loved ones are somehow still a part of us even when we can no longer be with them.

On the Hunt--for the Elusive "Real Job"

I took the Correctional Officer exam at the county today. It was a packed house. I would say at least 60 people showed up. They had to keep getting more tables and chairs out.

I was kind of on the fence about this, but now I'm feeling more confident that this job could work for me. I know it wouldn't be a cake walk, but I think I'm even-tempered and mature enough to deal with inmates on a daily basis.

What I really need is a "real job"--a career. Here I am at 43, with a 2 year degree in forestry, most of my last 20 years spent being a stay at home mom, and lacking any bookkeeping or office experience. I will be lucky to find a good job especially in this tiny county, so being a prison matron is looking pretty appealing to me, especially considering the starting pay and benefits package.

I think I did ok on the test. They said 80% of the people will pass it. From there it's onto the oral interview, and then from there it's onto background check, lie detector, medical and psych exams. They said today that they hire only one in every 60 applicants. That scared me, when I looked around the room and thought out of this whole group only 1 may be hired. They have 16 positions they will be filling over the next 18 months as the new jail facility is completed, and to think that they have to go through 636 willing applicants to find those 16 is a bit overwhelming!

I still think I may have a shot, but I am also willing to accept that if this isn't meant to work out for me, it won't. I'm putting my faith in God to lead me to where I need to be at this point, so wish me luck--one way or the other!

Ranting Ahead...Proceed at Your Own Risk!

What a week so far! Honestly, when it rains it pours, but some promising things happened too.

Yesterday one of the daycare boys slapped Nat on the tummy and left his hand print. I didn't see the altercation, so I'm sure Nat was annoying him to some extent. HOWEVER, when I hear, "Well, she was doing..." before I hear, "Gee, I'm sorry..." I get very frustrated. I see this a lot, where kids will always see themselves as the victim, and not take responsibility for their own actions. There's always some excuse for their bad behavior. I see it so often that it makes me afraid for this up and coming generation. How will they deal in the real world?

When Mike got home I was in the front yard cooling my self down, as it was just a trying day all around. I had a kid that was back-sassing me, the incident with Nat I had just dealt with, and one of my 3 year olds had a potty accident, so I was at the end of my rope. When he saw the welt on Nat's tummy, he went to talk to the young boy himself. He said in essence, "You don't hit girls, and you especially don't hit MY little girl." I was glad that Mike had a talk with him. I really think that's one thing that's lacking in a lot of kids' lives (the boys I see especially)---a strong male influence.

Our tax lady gave us bad news last night about how much we owe. This was going to be one of the first years in a long time we were going to be able to file on time, but now that we've heard how much we owe, we will have to file an extension instead. And we won't get the President's incentive either--it will just go towards paying our debt. It really doesn't pay to be self-employed. Bah!

I got a call today from a local Lodge saying they will hire me for the summer running the snack bar and waitressing, so some of my stress about supporting myself once daycare is closed has been alleviated. I've never waitressed in my life, so it will be a new experience for me. I do know enough to know that I will work my fanny off!

I will be pursuing finding a "real job" with benefits during the summer and hope that this fall I will have a more promising employment.

Mike and I had a big argument this morning. I feel bad that I can't find enthusiasm for his endeavors, but we are in a real financial bind right now, and if I don't see something actually happening, I can't get excited about it. In other words, he was telling me that he wants me to support his goal of going big with his barbecue business, and how it will solve all our problems, but I just feel we need to do something concrete now, rather than just talk about something that may happen. I'm feeling pretty low that I can't have faith in his dream. I think there's a good possibility it could happen in the long run, but I want to fix our present situation first.

This is also the week of the anniversary of my mom's death. I try not to relive those last days, and after 6 years, I thought I was getting past it, but I'm still finding myself thinking about each day leading up to the day she passed away. I always try to do something special to remember her on that solemn anniversary. I would rather remember, than to try to ignore it. I actually think the weeks leading up to her death were the worst, and the day that she died I felt a sense of relief and happiness that she was no longer being tortured to death by cancer. So I think part of my problem this week is that I'm also feeling highly emotional.

I'm still hopeful that this week will redeem itself. After all, it's only Tuesday... I guess it will either improve or be The. Longest. Week. Ever!

Name Change and Stuff...

I decided to change my blog name from "Something Clever" to "Define Normal". I just felt like I was misleading poor unsuspecting blog readers who visited my blog thinking they would read a very clever entry. Cleverness is a pretty concrete attribute, and though I have my moments, they are few and far between, I'm afraid.

However, "normal" can only be defined individually. We each have our own definition of what normal means to us. My normal life and emotions may be quite abnormal to someone else, but they cannot argue that their normal is more normal than my normal as their normal might be very abnormal from my perspective. So no more arguing. 'Nuff said.

Regarding my previous post, the dad finally came in and talked to me yesterday and we came to an agreement on payment. I also urged them to possibly look into our county's childcare subsidy program. I guess they knew they were pushing their luck with me. I will be happy if I can keep watching their boy until school is out without having to threaten to terminate our contract.

Then... I went to Walmart yesterday and found a blouse on clearance for $3, and went next door to Mervyn's where they were having a buy one, get one free sale on their clearance items. I ended up with the blouse from Walmart, 2 more tops, a skirt and a pair of slacks from Mervyn's and the total for all was just over $20. I can hardly do that well at a thrift store. I love a great bargain, Woo-hoo!

Yes indeed, yesterday was an abNORMALy good day!

Daycare Dilemma

I'm currently having a bit of a dilemma with one of my daycare kids. His parents haven't been paying me on time, they never really have from the get-go, but it's been getting progressively worse. They have explained that they are struggling financially right now-but sheesh, who isn't? I really should just give them a 2-week notice and be done with it.

But...I like this kid a lot. He's 9 and unlike most of the other kids I've had in my care, this young man is very respectful and polite. He always asks to get a drink even though I let all the kids help themselves. When one of the other boys called him on this, saying, "You don't have to ask, this is daycare." This boy said, "It doesn't matter. If I'm at someone else's house I always ask." He never misses a "please" or "thank you" or "goodbye" either.

He also gets along well with the other kids. He doesn't have issues of always having to be right, or trying to act like top dog, or setting bad examples for the others. In fact he almost always has his homework done before he gets off the bus, or does it immediately without being told. He will play just as well with the other boys as with the girls. He will even sit and play a game of Candyland with 5 year old Nat.

His parents however, will avoid coming to get him when they owe money, sending his older brother instead. They owed me 4 weeks of care and when they finally paid me, they were $20 short. They now owe me for another week and a half plus the $20. His dad told me how they're struggling, and how sorry he was he couldn't pay on time, but we're struggling as well and $30-$40 a week is kind of a big deal to me.

This boy has also been having migraine headaches and his folks have had to take him to specialists and get MRIs to find out what's going on with him so I know that's an added expense they're dealing with. This last weekend he went back to Stanford for test results, and on Monday when he came off the bus, he told me that the tests showed that he doesn't have a brain tumor. Gosh, can you imagine a 9 year-old boy having to comprehend something like that? And he was so grown up about it when he told me. I guess they still don't know what's causing the headaches though.

So here I am thinking, his parents have been flaky, non-communicative and avoiding, it's very likely that they'll string me along and throw me a bone once in a while, but chances are I won't ever get paid in full. It's the principal of the thing and I should just tell them I can't watch their child anymore.

But then, I'm quitting daycare come June, so even if I did quit watching this boy, I wouldn't fill his spot anyway. If this had been any other kid I would've canceled our contract long ago. I feel like I'm being used, but then on the other hand I like having this boy around. At this point I'm leaning towards just getting whatever I can out of his parents and writing off the rest on next year's taxes as a loss. Oh, well...

Meet The Parents

Sis arranged for us to host a barbecue to meet her boyfriend and his parents yesterday evening. Mike did (as usual) all the cooking -- tri-tip, his famous BBQ beans, salad and rabbit that he acquired from a friend. (What no squirrel? How will they know we're rednecks? Oh that's right, the stuff in our yard gives us away.)

Sis invited her dad too, and he arrived bearing his famous chocolate cream filled cupcakes.

Funny, this was our first time having her dad over, and at first I admit I was a bit nervous. Our divorce was particularly bad and for many years we couldn't even speak to one another. Thankfully in the last couple years that has improved to where we can have phone conversations and there is no longer tension when either one of us is at the other's home to pick up or drop off the kids.

As the evening wore on, he and I even had a normal conversation and the nervousness was completely gone. I'm so glad for the sake of Cam and Sis that we can come together as civilized people once again. Yay!

I was impressed that her boyfriend made a point of coming up to both Mike and I and introducing himself with a handshake. His parents, even though they live "down the hill" now, had previously lived up in our community and Mike and the dad knew a lot of the same people from way back and were not at a lack for conversation.

I could tell that the boyfriend's mom has a particular fondness for Sis. She has 2 boys, so I'm sure having a girl around is kind of fun for her.

Anyway, the Meet the Parents BBQ was a success, and we all had a great time getting to know one another. And everyone enjoyed the rabbit. Go figure.

Siblings Without Rivalry, Eventually

Funny how your sibling relationships change as you get older. My oldest two have become very close in the last few years ever since my son moved out to go to college and he and Sis haven't had each other to argue with on a daily basis. Absence makes the heart grow fonder indeed.

Sis has been planning to spend a bit of her spring break visiting her brother with much anticipation and excitement. Of course part of the allure of visiting him is that he lives in San Francisco, but they were both truly looking forward to spending time together. She's no longer a pesty little sister, but more of a peer now that their 3 1/2 year age difference is not so pronounced.

Sis and her cousin traveled to the bay area on Friday and delivered Cam's Legos and Star Wars Monopoly game that he requested me to send along with them. I was glad to see that the hundreds of dollars spent on Legos in his early years was not wasted!

Sis and her cousin came back raving about the great time they had in The City. I was a bit worried about them traveling there by themselves. They are both mountain girls who've lived rather sheltered rural lives. I warned Cam to keep close tabs on them. I told him he couldn't just turn them loose alone in the city and expect them to survive, and that he must make sure they were supervised and kept safe at all times. Maybe I'm a bit dramatic, I don't know, but I have to do my mom-job of worrying. He assured me he would take care of them and I was glad to see them both back safe and sound with big smiles on their faces.

(The girls are 6 months apart in age and they look so much alike sometimes--silly faces or no.)

Now both Sis and her cousin are talking about looking into going to college in San Francisco. I sometimes wonder if growing up in the mountains in a small community makes city life all that more appealing. I know Cam loves it down there, and he adjusted to living in the city far easier than I imagined!

(A cute shot of Cam and his sweet girlfriend Cassie.)

At any rate, it was nice to see my kids having fun together and knowing that they're sibling bond is intact and that they are now at an age where they can love and enjoy each other. It really does pay off...eventually.

Ya Might Be a Redneck...

So my hubby was saving cans--not for recycling, but for a special project he had in mind that he (wisely) wouldn't tell me about.

Now I know why. Apparently this is an okie alarm clock.

He hung it in the girls' bedroom and told them he would knock it around in the morning to wake them up. It serves it's purpose. It's both loud and annoying. He says he used to string cans together like this when he was young and hang them from his own bedroom ceiling. Ah, nostalgia. I'm sure back then that his mom was just as thrilled as I was when I laid eyes on this. In fact, I was literally speechless, but not one to knock the wind out of hubby's sails, I kind of just wandered off mumbling to myself, "Why, oh why, oh why?"

The girls think it's great. Sis nearly laughed her fanny off especially when she saw the expression on my face. I am just biding my time until everyone kind of forgets about it. Then one day it will just mysteriously disappear...

Spring Has Sprung

One of our spring traditions is to visit a local winery that has beautiful grounds and tons of spring flowers blooming everywhere.

It was gorgeous, and I even warmed up enough eventually to shed my 3rd layer! When I'm down to wearing only 2 layers of clothing you know that spring is definitely in the air!

Later the kids dyed their Easter eggs.

Nat spent a lot of time getting these two just right. They're her little friends now and are not available for consumption purposes any longer!

SAA-Solitaire Addicts Anonymous

An evil little game lurks on my computer and calls to me when I'm at my most vulnerable. I'm sure you're familiar with it. Yes, that innocent looking card game is out to suck away your precious time. Avert your eyes and click at your own peril! I know. I've been there.

I seem to go in spurts of solitaire playing. I can leave it alone for months at a time, but then I get a little bored and decide one game won't hurt, and before you know it I'm hooked again.

Sis and I were in a little competition at one point. She would get a high score and I would beat it, then I would get a high score and she would beat it. Back and forth it went until I plateaued and she kept beating not only my high score but her own. She would leave me braggy little sticky notes on the computer such as, "New high score 7986, Ha ha!" to which I would leave a little sticky note in reply saying, "Whatever", or "Cheater" and the like. When it just got to be ridiculous and I knew that in my wildest dreams I could never touch her high score I left her a note that said, "You suck" (aren't I the model of good sportsmanship and parenting combined?) Sis laughed her butt off. Her high score is now 9431. We play the timed version of the game and honestly I don't know how she does it. She's a solitaire shark. You never want to play her at Mancala either. The kid is ruthless.

Well after that I kind of gave up on solitaire. It just wasn't fun anymore when the highest score I could get was in the low 6000s. I moved onto spider solitaire and that kept me busy for quite a while until I got about the highest score possible on it. It just wasn't challenging anymore.

So back I went to regular solitaire. Instead of playing against Sis, I decided now I would play against the computer. It would give me a percentage of games won along with my own pathetic score, so my new goal was to raise the percentage. I started out at about 25% because of my own bad habit of quitting a game that wasn't going well to go on to another. Now I was determined to win at all costs. Even to the point of hitting "undo" 50 times in a row to see if I could get the cards to go my way.

I'm convinced the computer is aware of my strategy and deliberately gives me unwinnable games. Sometimes it just gives me all the same color, like it conveniently forgot to shuffle in the other color. Yeah, right, I ain't buyin' it. It knows I want to get to that next percentage and it will do anything to trip me up. It lets me win just enough to keep me hopelessly obsessed. It's playing me like a fish on a hook. Sis thinks I've lost my mind, but hey, I'm up to 41% now!

I heard Larry the Cable Guy doing his shtick on owning a computer the other day. He said he might as well just bought an $1800 deck of cards. I tell ya, I'm kind of feeling the same way!

Sometimes Life Gets in the Way of Blogging

I've been a little MIA this week, just because of busy-ness (as opposed to business, I guess).

I started back rehearsing with my old troupe on Tuesday night. We will be performing at our local American Cancer Society's Relay for Life at the end of April. After watching other troupes perform at Rakkasah I am now inspired to re-vamp our old choreographies and "kick it up a notch" plus start working on some new ones. Luckily my troupe mates are into it too.

Suey got skunked. Not enough to make her really stinky, in fact by the end of the day we couldn't even smell it on her, but it was enough to bring the smell into the house and onto the carpets. I got down on my hands and knees and sniffed every foot of our bedroom carpet (not my finest hour, I'll admit) and couldn't smell skunk in any particular spot, but our room reeked of it. I've been using a lot of odor neutralizer and I think I finally got it to go away, well either that or we're just used to it now!

The funny thing about skunk smell is that when it's fresh on the dog like that it doesn't smell like skunk at first (and yes unfortunately I do have experience with this). It smells more like burnt rubber or something. It takes a few minutes for the smell to take on the traditional skunkiness. I think that Suey ran in from getting hit, and rubbed it off on our carpet while we were still wandering around wondering where that burning smell was coming from. But the good news--skunks are a sure sign of spring!

Thursday I spent time in Natalie's class helping the kids dye eggs for today's hunt which I'll be going to help out with as well. It was funny that to some kids dying eggs seemed a little foreign. They weren't sure what to do, whereas others were old hands and even knew about dipping them in one color then in another for different effects. Some didn't really get the concept of the egg being fragile and would plop it into the dye with a thud. There were plenty of dyed finger tips, including mine (and a few cracked eggs as well!)

Then there was the kids' Open House night-a night I always look forward to...we were one of the first there and one of the last to leave. We had to go to the book fair, then visit the girls' classrooms, then we visited the first grade classes so Nat could see what she's in for next year, then we visited nearly all the other classes. Since all my kids have gone to this little school, I know almost all the teachers and they like to know what Cam and Sis are up to now, and the girls just like to be social like their dad.

It struck me that I've had all of my kids go through the same kindergarten room. Each year I've volunteered in the classroom and each year was a lot like the others. The same little projects like the sunflowers in the fall, pandas at Chinese New Year, and portraits of Martin Luther King Jr. I'm very much a veteran of tempura paint and glue sticks. I will miss it now that my last one is finishing up her year.

I'm finishing up my week with last minute preparations for Easter. It's so early this year! I really am not ready yet. I haven't even bought eggs to dye yet. Tomorrow we'll be busy with that, and I know it will be a fun weekend.

Rakkasah Part II

It was a nice break for me to get away to Rakkasah. I went by myself and left my little girls preparing for a sleep over at a friend's house. This would be Nat's first sleep over ever, so I was a bit nervous to not be able to hover over the phone in case she might need me in the middle of the night. Of course she was fine and that was probably because I was already gone when she got picked up so my anxiety wasn't passed on to her.

I was able to stay at my best friend from college's house on Friday night, and it was fantastic to have time to catch up with her and her family. She, like me, has older kids and younger kids, and when I saw her 2 little girls I immediately missed my own and started "momming" them.

I made the girls laugh when they brought their hamsters out to show me because I picked one up and put it into my shirt like I do with our little hammy, Baby.

The next day I went back to the festival. I had the opportunity to volunteer for a vendor and help at her booth. She was short-staffed so I worked about 4 1/2 hours. My job was to fold purchases, wrap them in tissue, bag them, put fliers in each bag and then offer the customer a piece of chocolate. I know, tough job, but someone had to do it! It was quite busy, so time flew by and we were close enough to see the main stage. After my shift I was paid in store credit, and she was very generous, so I was able to come home with some cool new dance gear and all it cost me was my time!

I spent the rest of the afternoon watching dancers. There were several who traveled from as far Germany and Japan! It was terrific to sit and watch for as long as I wanted without having to worry if someone was bored, or hungry, or needed to go to the bathroom. True freedom for a mom!

I drove home that night and the next day I felt refreshed and invigorated and renewed. So much so that I actually tackled my bedroom, my bathroom AND the girls' room. It's amazing what a little me time can do for my attitude!

Rakkasah Part I

I danced at Rakkasah this weekend! It's billed as the largest bellydance festival in the world and I've always wanted to go, so this year I was determined to attend (as a spectator). However, a friend I met in a class this fall happened to call on the official "call-in" day and got a troupe spot. This in itself was nothing short of a miracle as there is only one day when all the dancers who desire a spot call in to try to get booked. My friend spent 3 hours hitting redial and somehow got through. She requested a troupe spot and quickly made up a name for her troupe. After this she sent out the word that she wrangled a coveted dance spot, but now needed dancers to form a troupe. Of course, I jumped at the chance.

As the event got closer, I kept getting more and more nervous. We rehearsed the Wednesday before, and I kept completely losing my place in the dances and was making stupid mistakes. Strangely when I arrived on Friday my nervousness was gone and replaced with excitement. Just before we went on I thought to myself, "Why aren't I a nervous wreck?" and while I was actually on stage I kept thinking, "I'm dancing at Rakkasah!!!" It was really fun, and I only had one minor screw up. Yay!

I guess the biggest thing is that when I took a local bellydance class some 5 years ago, I would have never thought of myself performing AT ALL, let alone at Rakkasah. You see I had never danced IN MY LIFE. I was so painfully shy that I never went to school dances, didn't dance at my own weddings (or anyone else's for that matter), and always made a point of avoiding any occasion that involved publicly moving to music.

I was so lame that when I started classes, my teacher suggested I take a few private lessons with her before even starting the beginning class. We're talking awkward. For some reason I stuck it out and started really enjoying it. I began to get to know other women who bellydanced and was struck by how accepting they were of their own (imperfect and poochy) bodies and how accepting they were of each other. It was also a great workout for my then 8-month post-prego body.

I find troupe dancing to be rather safe, so now my next challenge is to work on a solo performance.

So I've learned that it's never too late to try something new, and that one should never underestimate their own potential, after all, I DANCED AT RAKKASAH!!!

Let Me Explain Something

I just had a discussion with a couple of my daycare kids about sharing. It wasn't your usual sharing discussion though. These two boys had found one of Shelby's little trinkets she got at a birthday party this weekend. A cool little Transformer block thing worth about 25 cents, tops.

One of the boys said, "You can't play with that. That's Shelby's." And the other boy said, "Yes I can. It's daycare, I can play with it if I want to." Then they began to argue and Shelby arrived on the scene and confiscated the toy.

The one boy says, "She has to share it with me huh, Lesley." At which time I explained to him, "No she does not have to share it. If she has a special toy that she doesn't want to share with daycare kids then that's fine. She has to share her house and all her other toys, a lot of which get broken and lost. So no, this toy she doesn't have to share if she doesn't want to."

Yes, the sharing rules sometimes have to be bent even for 25 cent toys.

He Always Did Like Bananas...

Yes, this is my son. I'm proud.

Groggy

Honestly, why do we need to change our clocks twice a year? It's such a pain. I always spend the week following the change looking at the clock and thinking, "Well it's 10:00, but really it's only 9." I really have no desire to fall back or spring forward thankyouverymuch.

This change has got to be the hardest-when we lose an hour. The girls and I could not get to sleep last night. In fact it was 11:30 (really 10:30...) when we finally all got tired and went to bed. We do get that extra hour of sunlight in the evening which is cool, I guess. Then in the fall I love when we get the hour back, but then it gets so dark so early and that's depressing.

Does this make anyone else crazy, or is it just me? And do I need to move to Arizona (aren't they the ones that don't do it)?

---and yes I realize I should apply the previous post to my attitude, and I plan on that...eventually. I need to whine right now people, and I need to catch up on my sleep first!

Extreme Attitude Makeover

So I was watching Extreme Home Makeover tonight. I love that show. I mean, what's not to love about deserving families getting a new home. It always makes me cry in a good way.

Tonight they had a family of 7 who were living in a 600 square foot house. They showed their tiny round dining table and they asked if the family ate there and the mom said every night all 7 of them sit down to dinner together. They must have shared chairs because there were only 4, plus a plastic lawn chair. This mom saw their small home as somewhat of a blessing, because she said that it was a way of keeping her big family close to each other. How cool is that? Instead of complaining, she saw the positive in it. Usually they build an unbelievably huge house, and this time I noticed that the kids had shared bedrooms and the home itself wasn't over the top, well relative to what they usually do anyway.

So I'm going to think of this mom's attitude when I'm feeling down, or that my life sucks. We're really struggling financially right now, but I'm going to start looking at what I perceive as a negative and see if I can find the positive twist to it. And if Ty Pennington wants to come knock my house down, build a new one and pay my mortgage off, well that would work too!

Thursday Thirteen #2

Thirteen things I have run out of this week.

1. TP--yes the dreaded running out of toilet paper happened. My husband "borrowed" a roll from an outhouse at a construction site across the street. It is like very thin, very white sandpaper. Nice.

2. Cascade--I perched my bottle of Cascade on the counter upside down for about 10 minutes and then shook it and squeezed it and got just enough to run the dishes. Yes, it made very rude noises at me, and no, hand washing the dishes is not an option!

3. Milk--there was just enough for me and Nat to each have a bowl of Life this morning (and just enough left in my bowl for my kitties to have their little treat too).

4. Mini chocolate chips--my old standby for a chocolate fix. I love to put a bunch of them in vanilla yogurt!

5. Grape jelly. And not just any grape jelly. I need Mary Ellen grape jelly on my PBJ's or it just isn't right!

6. Pearatin--the only hair product that stands between me and natural dreadlocks. I swear, without this I can barely get a comb through my hair when it's wet, and yes I use conditioner religiously, but this stuff is some sort of liquid miracle in an expensive little bottle.

7. Make up remover--I'm either going to adopt the "raccoon look" or figure out a different way to get the mascara out from under my eyes.

8. Girl Scout Cookies--yesterday. I still have one box of Thin Mints that I planned on sending to Cam. Any wagers if it will actually get to him or if it will be "mysteriously" lost in the mail? If I had my chocolate chips for backup this wouldn't be an issue.

9. Money. My account was negative $3 today. Gah! Luckily Mike has some money to do some grocery shopping after work today. (See items 1-5 for shopping list, above.)

And the last 4 in no particular order; these particular things run out, and are replenished on a daily or sometimes minute by minute basis:

10. Ideas

11. Energy

12. Motivation

13. Patience!!!

Can We Say "Overwhelmed"?

For the last week the kids room has been a disaster area. I haven't been able to face it. Without my help the girls can't clean it up on their own, so I have been just ignoring it.

Then the mess migrated to the living room because there was no room to play in the bedroom. A bit harder to ignore, but I tried.

Then the dishes didn't get done last night, which has been fairly common in the last week. They were calling to me. Stupid dirty dishes!

Today I finally felt I had the fortitude to start making a dent in my house of chaos and I did pretty well, I must say, but lately I have felt so incredibly overwhelmed I just don't know what to do. It is so incredibly hard to stay on top of the mess while doing in-home daycare. Even with getting the kids to help clean up, it mostly falls on me to keep things organized and put away, and with little bodies constantly on the move getting more stuff out it just gets to the point where I can't keep up and then to the point that I just say, "screw it", but then I cycle back around to the fact that it won't get done unless I do it, and the vicious little circle continues...

I decided that I'm for sure quitting daycare when school is out this year. It's a relief to know that in 3 months, give or take, I'm done. Stick a fork in me! I really couldn't even contemplate doing another summer of full time, full capacity daycare 10 hours a day, every day. My hat goes off to the women who do this for more than 3 years, but for me that's it.

I look forward to when I don't dread coming home after being out for the evening, and to when I can keep the chaos mostly under control.

So today at least, was a good day. I got things done and I don't feel like my walls are closing in on me. The beautiful weather helps too---if nothing else it keeps the kids outside!

A Date with the Superstars

Mike and I had an actual date--just the two of us--on Friday night. This is a very rare occasion indeed. I think the last time we went out alone was sometime last April when we went to see Dr Laura's One Woman Show (I pretty much dragged him with me, but he ended up enjoying it). Even our last anniversary--our 10th, we had to take the girls to dinner with us for lack of a sitter. This time we went to see the Bellydance Superstars.

I bought my tickets as soon as I found out they were coming to our area back in November. I had seen their show last March, and couldn't wait to see them again. My niece was originally going to go with me, but with her on bed rest now, I had an extra ticket.

Mike is always a little bit clueless and I think it's because he really doesn't listen all that well, so he thought I was going to be performing! Ha! I had to explain that this wasn't a festival for local amateurs, but an actual show, with world class dancers. I still don't think he knew what to expect but he was willing to go.

I got fantastic seats, 4th row back right in the center. We sat next to an older couple and as Mike always does, he struck up a conversation with them. Turns out they were locals with season tickets to the performing arts center, and they come to every show. When Mike told the woman that I bellydance, she made a couple comments about him "reaping the rewards" and that maybe I would like a pole installed. Luckily I was in a good mood, and let the comments go. Usually I don't hesitate to put someone straight on the fact that it's not a dance to seduce men with and it has nothing to do with stripping. I just hoped that she would catch on to that by the end of the show.

The show was amazing! These women are so incredibly talented. The producer makes a point of putting on a very high caliber show to help promote bellydance in a positive way as a legitimate dance form and to get rid of some of the old false stereotypes such as the lady next to us expressed.

I realized when I was watching the show, and clapping along with the music, and smiling and oooing and ahhhing at the amazing dancing, that dance really is an expression of emotion for me. My teen daughter has accused me of being robotic in my emotions, and I think that dance is an outlet for me--it's a time that I really let go, in a way. My first teacher always said that dance should be an expression of your soul, and to me it really is.

On our way home, Mike says to me, "Not that you're not a good dancer or anything, but those women tonight were really good!" I told him I was not offended and in fact was pleased that he noticed their level of talent and not just their incredible physical beauty. That really was the whole point, after all. I told him that I know I'm just a "baby dancer" compared to them, but I'm totally ok with that.

Thursday Thirteen #1

Ok, I'm going to try something new. The Thursday Thirteen.

This week's offering is 13 things I did while helping at kindergarten today:

1. Got my marching orders from the teacher: I am to be in charge of helping the kids make Green Eggs and Ham.

2. Plug in electric skillet. Notice it won't stay on. Fiddle with plug which seems to help.

3. Get three little girls started cracking their eggs into cups. Give each a small piece of ham to cut up and add to their eggs. Show them how to scramble eggs with a fork. Let them carefully add 1 drop of green food coloring to their eggs. You'd be surprised how much color 1 drop of food coloring makes!

4. Let girls add their egg and ham mixture one at a time to the skillet and show them how to use spatula.

5. Notice eggs are not cooking very efficiently, or at all really. Fiddle with plug again. Skillet is not working so the teacher goes to hopefully find a back-up in the other kindergarten room. Waiting and hoping...Yay! She's successful!

6. Start heating up the new skillet, finish cooking eggs with the girls.

7. Call a new bunch of kids over, repeat steps (excluding the getting a new skillet in the middle of cooking) about 16 more times.

8. Start cleaning up giant eggy mess on tables on counters.

9. Find out that somehow during our cooking chaos, one little girl was missed, so I get everything out one more time, and begin heating the skillet.

10. Help last little girl with her green eggs and ham, and begin cleaning up again.

11. Wash skillets and spatulas in a tiny sink that is approximately 2 feet off the ground--short even by my height-challenged standards.

12. Accompany Nat to lunch where I help kids get ketchup on their trays and refill the ketchup dispenser.

13. Tell all the cuties goodbye, and go home. Strangely, and unfortunately, the smell of burnt eggs is still haunting me. I don't think I'll be in the mood for scrambled eggs, green or otherwise, for a very long time!

Wait For My Signal...

A while back Sis and I had a mother-daughter shopping trip to the valley. When it came to have lunch, Sis wanted strawberry waffles from IHOP. Who am I to refuse her that? OK, I admit, they also happen to be one of my favorite things in the world.

When our plates finally arrived both our jaws dropped when we looked at her waffle, because sitting right in the middle was by far the biggest strawberry either of us had ever laid eyes on. The thing was the size of an apple. By strawberry standards it was a mutant freak of nature.

Well, just the sight of it set us off into a fit of laughter, and we joked about how they must've waited for just the right customer to give this special berry to.

I start eating my delicious waffle while Sis contemplates how to go about eating her mammoth berry. Her timing is always impeccable when it comes to making me laugh and this day was no exception.

So with my mouth full of waffle, she says, "I wish I worked here and got to be in charge of who to give the berry to. I would watch carefully, and the other workers would ask, 'Is it time?' And I would say, 'No, not yet.' I would tell them, 'Wait for my signal!'"

I'm starting to chuckle, and trying desperately to chew fast and get it down.

Then she continues, "When I saw just the right person to give the precious berry to, I would yell, 'RELEASE THE BERRY!'"

Oh no! I didn't eat fast enough and she got me! Now I'm going to release the berries in my mouth because I'm laughing and choking at the same time. Somehow I manage to swallow, and commence to laugh so hard that I snort. Sis is pleased. Anytime she can make me snort, especially in public, is a good day.

Mom's Lasagna

Our niece has been put on bed rest for her pregnancy and today was her 28th birthday, so I decided the best gift for a pregnant lady on bed rest was food.

Last night I began the process of making my mom's lasagna. It's one of those recipes that dirties every pan in the house and is very labor intensive. First there's the meat sauce to make, then the cheese sauce, then the noodles to boil, and finally to put it all together. I doubled the recipe, because if I'm going to go through all that trouble I wanted a lasagna for us too!

It tasted so good tonight for dinner. All that hard labor was very worthwhile. I'm not much of a cook, in that I don't enjoy it really. I can follow a recipe well enough, but I prefer easy recipes like the ones on the back of the Campbell's soup can.

I am always surprised though when I make something and it tastes just exactly how mom used to make it. I seriously almost cried tonight when I ate that lasagna and it tasted like mom had come into my house and made it for us. For a minute I could just imagine she was still here working her mom magic on all of us...making us all feel loved and special, and it brought back memories of growing up and having my mom's best friend Pattie Anne and her family over for dinner. Mom's lasagna was always a meal that everyone requested and looked forward to.

I'm just thankful that I was able to do her recipe justice, and that I have a few of her special recipes that I can make and still have a part of her with me. Ok, I'm making myself cry now...I miss you mom!

Don't Waste Your Money

We got our dog Bindi Sue (or Suey) a year ago from a pet rescue organization. She was one of the last 2 of her litter. Her mom was definitely a Pit Bull, and from the looks of Suey and her brother, who looked exactly like a Black Lab, we figured they were Pit Bull/Lab mixes.

Here's our dog Suey and a picture of her mom Junie.

Well the folks who adopted the brother recently had a doggie DNA test done on him. These tests claim to be able to tell exactly what mix your mixed breed dog is made up of. The test runs about $200.

The lady who runs the rescue thought I would like to know the results of the DNA test and it was as follows: the dominant breed is Weimaraner, and the secondary breeds are Sheltie, Wolfhound, Mastiff and Greyhound.


Let's see, no Pit Bull or Lab or actually any breeds that resemble my dog...hmmm. Well the rescue lady and I are in agreement as to the accuracy of the test!

And just a plug for getting a dog from a rescue: because Suey was fostered through rescue we knew her temperament, and we knew she was good with kids and cats and other dogs. I think adopting through a rescue group is the way to go. The people who do pet rescue really match the pet with the home and do it all out of love of animals and not money.

Another Monday Mash

We ate Hamsters on Friday night and they were delicious. (Thanks, Holly!) They are actually shredded chicken mixed with cream cheese and veggies wrapped up in cresent rolls and dipped in bread crumbs. When you put the yummy cream of chicken gravy on top they taste a lot like chicken pot pie. They were a hit, except that Shelby was a little offended by the name since she has an adorable hamster named Baby. We took a picture (that's blurry, sorry) of Baby and an edible hamster for comparison, but as you can see, Baby turned suddenly cannibalistic and we had to trash one of the scrumptious morsels.

I have a new calling at church-1st Counselor in Primary. Which means instead of teaching the under 8's Sunday School, now I teach or conduct Sharing Time (when all the kids come together after their classes.) I was a little nervous, but everyone said I did a good job yesterday. Our Primary is extremely small, just 6 kids that come regularly, 2 of which are mine, and I really wasn't so much nervous about teaching to the kids, it was that the Primary President, the Chorister and Pianist were there too, and so there's a little added pressure I guess. After teaching Sunday School for the last 2 1/2 years I was ready for a change, so I think this will be good for me.

After church the girls wanted their friend (the Primary President's daughter) to come up to play. We often let the girls have get-togethers on Sunday, since we live in different towns and it's hard to get them together any other time. Her mom said that she had a huge crock pot full of chicken and rice and she would bring it up when she picked up her daughter. I said, "Are you going to stay for dinner?" Which was a stupid question I know. I was just surprised that they would want to come to our house for dinner. I really like her and her husband, and we all had a great time. The only other couple that ever comes for dinner is our niece and her husband, so this was a treat. They even talked about doing game nights together sometime. Wow, a couple our own age to get together with! Yay!

In other news....They're Here......

I won't rest until they're all gone too. I swear I would buy them by the case if my budget allowed. Yum!

I'm reading The BFG by Roald Dahl to Shelby. She and Nat are really enjoying it, and beg me for "one more chapter" every night. I was afraid it might be too scary for Nat because of the giant snatching the little girl from her bed, and the other giants who eat "human beans", but she's been ok with it. I remember reading it with Cam and Sis too, and how we all laughed at the silly things the Big Friendly Giant would say and do. It's definitely a good read!

Happy President's Day. I have the day off. No daycare kids. I got to sleep in and now we're going to try to figure out something fun to do. The weather is gorgeous so we need to figure out a way to enjoy it.

Off to See the Princesses

Mike and I took 4 little girls to see Disney Princess Wishes On Ice yesterday. Originally my niece and I were going to take my girls, her 3 year old, and my other great niece, but just a few days before the event my poor niece was put on bed rest due to complications with her pregnancy, so Mike decided he would go with me instead.

Mike and I don't get out together very much, so I jokingly called this our "date". Never mind that we had a 3 year old, a 5 year old, a 7 year old and an 8 year old for company, and that we ate at McDonald's. A date's a date!

Despite the 2 hour drive each way, the girls were very good. Actually, the hardest part of our whole trip was after we made it into the arena and were trying to find our seats. We were bombarded by all sorts of vendors of WAY overpriced Disney goods, along with crowds of other overwhelmed parents with pint-sized princesses in tow. We ended up going the opposite way that we should have, only to get turned around and have to go through all the craziness again to get to the other side of the arena. Whew!

The girls were enthralled by the skating and the princesses and the music. Their little faces were precious. They each got to choose a $10 souvenir, and they shared a $7 (yes, $7!) bag of cotton candy. After the show we walked out to the setting sun and warm temperature and a big grassy area, so we let the girls run and play while everyone else inched their cars out of the parking lot.

We made another potty stop, a Taco Bell dinner stop, and with all the girls asleep and Mike and I both exhausted, we arrived back home at 9pm. It was a very fun trip. Of course Nat asks me today when we can see the princesses skate again, and surprisingly, I think I will definitely consider doing it again next year!

The Day O' Valentines

My day went like this:

1: Go help in Nat's class. Help kids distribute their Valentine's and give them candy hearts to sort by color and count. Have lunch with Nat. Help Nat and 20 other kids get the ketchup on their tray for their chicken nuggets.

2: Received pretty flowers from Mike delivered by a guy in a tux. Thought about what a fun job it must be to drive around making people happy.

3: Made Funfetti cupcakes for kids with sprinkles on top. Attempted to pipe a red heart on each one. Much harder than it looks! Luckily kids aren't picky when presented with a cupcake.

4: Fed Funfetti cupcakes to nine crazy kids who just came from their class Valentine's parties. They say sugar does NOT make kids hyper. You can't prove it by me! Note to self: next time spike frosting with tranquilizers!

5: Went to dance rehearsal after Mike got home. We only have a little over a week until our performance, so I couldn't skip. Met Mike and the girls afterward at the pizza place just in time for the pizza to arrive!

6: Came home and finished off the vat o' chocolate I've been saving (leftover luscious Belgian chocolate from the chocolate fountain at the church chocolate extravaganza.) Decide that a graham cracker dipped in chocolate and then topped with mini marshmallows may be the greatest taste sensation ever invented. Dipped until we were fat and happy! (If there is such a thing as a chocolate hangover, I have one this morning!)



(Yes that is the dog's feet in the background. She's getting away with being on the couch and thoroughly taking advantage!)

7: Put girls to bed at 9:00. Can hear girls still up giggling at 10:15. Again, the theory that sugar doesn't make kids hyper is busted!

Hope you had a happy Valentine's Day too!

Long Lost Friends

Well, just a couple days ago I found a long lost friend from high school. I found her on Myspace. I have a profile I put up a couple years ago when my kids got interested in Myspace. The deal was they had to have me as a friend so that I could access their profile.

I actually found 2 other former classmates on Myspace, but I have been trying to find this particular friend, Terri, for years with no luck. I searched and found her sister about a year ago, and asked her to pass along my email to Terri but she didn't for some reason, so I had kind of given up. Surprisingly, on Sunday I got a message from the sister saying Terri was now on Myspace. Yay!

We've exchanged messages and caught up with each other's lives in a nutshell, but I look forward to getting to know her again.

Terri was a year younger than me in high school, and we hit it off in PE when we realized we both felt the same way about it---awkward and out of place. We were both shy as well and not in any of the cliques.

She and I would often slip out of the far corner of the field when the PE teacher was not paying attention, then we would take our time wandering around until slipping back onto campus for our next class.

She would often accompany me and my dad on our summer fishing trips too. We would go horseback riding, and swimming and play board games and laugh by the hour.

One time in particular, Dad and I took her to the top of a mountain to see our favorite fire lookout and as we were winding our way back down the mountain on the bumpy dirt road, we came to a spot where we had a clear view of the lookout above us. My friend Terri took in the scene and then said, "Wow! If we were still up there we could see ourselves!" When she realized what she said, we all had a good laugh about it, and my dad still thinks that's one of the funniest lines ever.

I'm so thankful I live in an age when a few clicks on a keyboard can reunite us with someone special from our past. It's really incredible to think about.

Prom Update

Sis made it to the junior prom on Saturday.

I did her hair. Twice. My niece did her make-up while I did her nails. We only had to do that once, thankfully! Then Sis took off to finish getting ready at her friend's house with some other girls.

Despite going with her ex-boyfriend whom she wasn't speaking to just a week ago, she said she had a great time. (She said she apologized even though she felt she shouldn't have had to, but in the interest of fun at the prom they put their differences behind them.)

Sis has accused me of living vicariously through her with this whole prom experience, and she is probably right. I dropped out of school part way through my junior year. I got my diploma and went on to get a 2 year degree, but I never had the fun high school experiences that so many others did. I chalk it up to being painfully shy and to not fitting in to any of the campus cliques.

I know even if I had stuck it out in high school I wouldn't have attended a prom, I was always so socially retarded and afraid to dance. I still surprise myself when I think that now I belly dance!

I certainly wish that I had had a better time in high school, but I am thankful that my kids (well at least my 2 older ones for now) will have good memories of their time in high school.

And Sis is talking about throwing me a prom for my 50th birthday...so maybe it's never too late!