October 23, 2013
4am – Meg came into my room and wanted to tell me about her
scary dream so she crawled in bed next to me and started to talk. I think I
fell asleep while she was telling me about it because I don’t remember a thing
she said. I love to cuddle at night with that little girl…until she starts
moving around, making it impossible to sleep. I told her she’d have to go back
to her bed or move to the couch in our room and that settled her down.
7:30am – Finally pulled myself out of bed even though I’d
been awake since 7am. I talked Jared into going downstairs to wake Brita. She’s
been sleeping through her alarm a lot lately. I got Meg a “breakfrast” of
grapes and an apple again and I played Candy Crush for a minute on my phone so
I could get my day started right. It worked out great because on my first try I
passed a level I’ve been stuck on for longer than I care to admit.
8am – I helped Meg get ready for school. Her Wednesday outfit
is a little too tricky for her to do alone because it’s “dress day” at school…the day they wear their white button down shirts and jumpers. Her tights
are a challenge for me lately because of the disgusting wart I had taken off a
couple weeks ago. The dermatologist took a good chunk out of my finger and it’s
still really tender and sore. I’m just glad I’m finally starting to notice some
healing taking place. It's a horrible picture, but it's the only one I have.
8:10am – A very successful piano practicing session with
Meg. Sometimes I still can’t believe that my five year old can actually read
music and play songs with her hands together. I way underestimate what my kids
are capable of sometimes. Then again, sometimes I way overestimate what they can do – stuff like picking up their shoes
and socks seems to be way beyond their abilities.
8:30am – Drove Leah and Meg to school in my pajamas.
Re-thought the soundness of doing that when I almost got hit in the round-about
by a lady who wasn’t following the rules. I imagined myself jumping out of the
car in my see-through, flood-length pajamas, my hair sticking up in twenty
directions, and my mascara smeared from the night because I didn’t remove my
make up before going to bed. That would have been horrific. However, I’ll
probably continue to roll outta the rack and take the kids to school looking
like Ursula from “The Little Mermaid” anyway, even after today’s close call.
9am – Helped mom set up my printer so she could make some
copies. Visited with her for a bit and you guessed it, unloaded the dishwasher
yet again. It’s not an exciting job, but it has to be done every day and I love
getting it emptied out in the morning so dishes don’t pile up in the sink
throughout the day. Then I rewarded myself for a job well done by reading a
couple blogs and news articles for a while.
9:45am – Showered and of course Carrie called just as I was
getting out. Carrie is usually at work by 4:30am every day. I can only imagine
what she thinks of someone who doesn’t even get ready for the day until 10 or
11. I felt like I had to explain that I had straightened up the kitchen and
already done a few jobs around the house. She seemed unimpressed.
11am – Rachel Edwards called and we talked for a while. She
is looking for school options for her daughter, Grace, and she had some questions
about the school Leah is going to. She is going to make an appointment with the
principal and try talking to the Junior High teacher about her reasons for
exploring options other than the public Junior High School. I hope it’s a good
fit for her, and if it’s not, I so hope that she finds the place that’s best
for Grace. She wants the same things for Grace that everyone wants for their
kids--a place where Grace can grow, gain confidence, and feel successful. I
know exactly how she feels because I’ve been on that search myself for both
Brita and Leah over the past four years since we moved to Utah. Even though
Grace is in seventh grade and Leah is in sixth, I would love for the two of
them to be together at the school. Of course we would carpool (I hope), but I
think Leah could be instrumental in helping the kids accept and get to know
Grace. Leah is a rare person who doesn’t see differences in others as a barrier
to being friends with them.
12:15pm – Nothing sounds good for lunch ever. If I weren’t
starving I’d go ahead and skip it. Decided on some leftovers and a small bowl
of cereal.
1:30pm – had a couple errands to run before school ended. I
picked up a bunch of toothpicks and gumdrops for Leah so she can make a
toothpick bridge for Science. I’m so glad she gave me some good notice on this.
The project is due on Tuesday and I think she’s going to need as much time as
possible to get this thing done. The bridge counts for 75 percent of her grade
and I love that she is so conscientious about her schoolwork.
Just as I was getting ready to check out at Macey’s, mom
called to let me know she was afraid that dad had gotten lost. He had an
address to get to a Provo City dumpster where they wanted to dump some of their
boxes and trash, and he had been gone for a long time and he doesn’t carry a
cell phone. I paid for the stuff that was in my cart and started driving around
to look for him. I hadn’t been out long when mom called and said dad had found
his way home and they would go out later together to find the dumpster. It was
a huge relief to know he was home safe. It kind of sucks to worry about my kids
and my parents in the same breath. But I’m just grateful for family and for the
fact that we can look out for each other no matter our stage or circumstances in
life.
I drove home and picked up our video camera. One of our
videotapes got stuck inside it and I am hoping that particular tape has a
Christmas nativity program I wrote when we were in Texas. I would like to
re-use the same program for our Ward Christmas Party this year, but I can’t
find it anywhere else so that tape is my last hope. I took the camera and a
couple additional tapes to Allen’s Camera so they can convert the tapes to DVD.
They may have to break our camera to get the tape out, but I told her I think
that’s okay because we just use our iPhones to video everything now anyway.
Because I was in the area, I ran next door to Park’s
Sportsman to rummage through their going-out-of-business inventory. Turns out,
the deals don’t seem to be that great yet, so I’ll hold out for a while more.
3pm – By the time I was done with my simple errands, it was
already time to pick up the girls from school. Meg’s teacher, Mrs. Harken,
talked to me in the parking lot for a good ten or fifteen minutes to tell me
about her son’s wedding and her disapproving mother-in-law. She also let me
know how impressed she is with Meg’s reading and told me that Meg is a really
good friend.
When we got home, I made the ever so popular announcement
that we were all going to the doctor for flu shots. Meg immediately burst into
shouts and tears and the anxiety level in the older two was seriously palpable.
Leah broke out into shivers and Brita tried to be the courageous twelve year
old because she’s actually concerned about embarrassing herself sometimes now.
In the car on the way to the doctor's office, Meg asked Brita if they could hold hands. I think they both got some comfort out of that.
At the doctor's office, the girls tried to focus on the distractions in the waiting room - a movie, the fish tank, finding letters posted on all of the walls. Even with all that stuff to do, they were still nervous.
4pm - When we got to the doctor’s office, all three girls
decided to opt for the flu mist and Brita was discouraged because she was due
for the third round of her HPV vaccine, which meant she was going to need a
shot. The nurse went ahead and gave me a flu shot – I opted for the shot
because for some weird reason that sounds better than a mist being forced up my
schnoz.
I thought we would just run right in and out of the doctor’s
office but the joke was on me. Over an hour later we were home. I’ve been wondering
since Monday when I’m going to vacuum. Typically, I try to vacuum once a day
because we have a shedding dog and all. The floors in this house are nothing
short of gross. Sometimes I amaze myself by what I tolerate in the way of
messes around here.
5pm – Jared came home and ate some of Leah’s spice gumdrops.
Leah was shocked that he liked them and almost appalled when he said he likes
the black ones the best. I agree with Leah. The black gumdrops are disgusting.
They taste like medicine. I love that Jared is helping Leah strategize as she
builds her bridge.
Jared hollered downstairs to Brita while she was watching TV
and asked her if she wants to go out and throw the football. Since his foot has
been injured, he’s been way more available and visible. I cracked up when he
said, “Now that I can’t exercise I can actually interact with the family.” Not
that I’m happy he has a foot injury, but I sure like having him around.
5:30pm – Mom, Dad and Brita started carrying dinner up. Mom
was awesome and made dinner for us tonight. Chicken, baked potatoes, green
salad and fruit. That woman can put on a spread and it was delish. I always
appreciate a meal someone else makes so much. Preparing dinner every single
darn day can get pretty monotonous.
6pm – Everyone actually did a pretty good job of helping out
in the kitchen until all the dishes were cleaned up. I had to go retrieve Meg
from her room who seems to think clean-up time is the perfect time to practice
her leaps. Brita opted to wash the dishes tonight since everyone has to take a
turn at least one night a week, so she and I bonded as the final two left in
the kitchen.
7pm – Brita and I went to the church for Young Women’s.
Brita’s Beehive class went to Sister Tanner’s house where Stori Baldwin and her
mom told the class a little about Stori. Stori is deaf and the girls would like
to be able to connect with her more, so they all took their whiteboards to the
activity so they could communicate with her. Stori’s mom told them that special
signs can be created for people’s names, but that only the deaf person can
assign a sign language name to a person. Now all the girls want Stori to give
them a name.
My Mia Maid class went to Lisa Thomas’s house for apple
tasting. Lisa bought every kind of apple from Macey’s and had the girls vote on
the prettiest ones. While Lisa and I sliced the apples, the girls went up to
Lisa’s attic to play hide and seek. They came down and tasted all of them and
again voted for their favorites. My favorite was the Tango Crisp. (It's the coolest thing ever that Lisa can write on her countertop with chalk).
When the voting
was over, Lisa pulled out a couple different caramel sauces she had made and we
dipped away.
It was yummy and fun. The girls loved it and I love being with the
girls. I also love being paired up with Lisa. She is so full of energy and
creative ideas and I love being part of all the great experiences she thinks up
and creates.
8:30pm – The second I walked in the door, Meg ran up the
stairs and asked me if I would please
play “Restaurant” with her. There was no way I could resist her sweet
invitation. She is the cutest restaurant person I’ve ever had the pleasure of
meeting. She kept calling me “ma’am” and she told me that I could watch the TV
that had Mario playing on it because that’s what she and the other employees do
when they have time. I was thoroughly entertained by both Meg’s restaurant
manner and by Leah’s Mario Kart playing. Leah kept talking trash to her
“opponents” in the game and running closer to the screen every time other
drivers got close to her. In the meantime, Meg handed me the cutest hand-made
menu with all of her fun spellings and handwriting. I ordered a potato, some
grapes and a banana and they were the best I’ve ever had. Then she told me she
would bring me the dessert menu in a minute and I was to ring the pretend bell
if she took too long. So of course, it was expected that I would ring that
bell. I ordered a doughnut that is made right there in her restaurant. Then
granny and grandpa brought all of us real ice cream sandwiches. It was awesome
to get a dessert I could actually eat.
8:50pm – As I was finishing up my ice cream sandwich, the
doorbell rang and it was Brita and her Beehive Adviser, Stephanie Echols.
Stephanie brought us all the pumpkin chocolate chip cookies that were left over
from their activity and we visited for a while.
9:15pm – Finally got everyone gathered together for the
family scripture study Jared had tried to start at 8:30. Meg was pretending to
be asleep so I would carry her up the stairs when scriptures and prayer were
over. I’m not going to be able to do that much longer because she’s getting so
big. When I put her in bed she reminded me to get her special music box and I
cuddled up next to her for a few seconds while it played. I love the way she
says “I love you” as she’s settling into bed and getting so close to falling
asleep. The mother-daughter closeness of those tender little moments is what
keeps me going.
9:20pm – I figured I’d better get some laundry going if I’m
going to run in the morning. I usually stay on top of my laundry better than I
have this week, but with mom and dad moving in, a few of my routine things have
been thrown off.
9:30pm – Leah thought this would be the perfect time to act
out words that she was speaking in Spanish and I was supposed to guess the word.
She kept running her fingers up and down her arm and nodding, then she did the
same to my arm while shaking her head no. Come to find out, she was using
herself as the example of the word “thin” and I was the example of someone who
was NOT thin. I tell ya, that extra thirty isn’t doing me any favors these
days.
10pm – I tucked Brita and Leah in. I love telling them good
night and giving them hugs and kisses from their mom before they drift off to
sleep. Regardless of any family conflict or issues we’ve had during the day, I
always want the girls to know that they have a mom who is a steady force in
their lives and I feel like our quick nighttime ritual helps solidify that in
their minds and in their hearts. It also does a world of good for me, especially when it’s been a rough day.
It’s how I re-focus and get the right perspective going.
10:55pm – I’m sitting down at the computer to type Leah’s
essay she wrote regarding uniforms. It’s titled, “NO MORE UNIFORMS!” I guess
she’s not a fan of tucking in her shirt and wearing a belt every day. She asked
me if I would type her essay for her if she wrote it. Then Jared wondered when
these kids learn how to type. I don’t know if they ever teach formal
keyboarding classes in school, so I shared my brilliant idea to have them work
on typing tutorials on the computer over Thanksgiving and Christmas break. I’m
sure they will spend every free moment working on that. Even if they don’t,
it’s still a brilliant idea.
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