Water Wings

Daisy has done a complete turn around from a few months back. Before, I couldn't get her to keep anything in her hair. Now, when I say, "Let's do your hair," she sits down and patiently waits for me to finish; and she even leaves hair ties in!

We do pig tails most days because it keeps hair out of her face. However, the best consequence of pig tails is when you take them out. I give you, instant wings...



I've been meaning to take a picture and today I plunked her in the tub after removing her hair ties. So now she has water wings.



She has been getting so interactive and grown-up recently. I realize that she is really not my baby anymore, and nothing will make that clearer than the arrival of Pearl.

Guess I should go snuggle her some more, while I still can.

Things I Loved About Today

That picture may not seem like much, but it means a LOT. It is the floor in my room, and what is so stunning is that you can SEE it. I try to keep things tidy in the house, but the kids are forever dragging stuff into MY room. Then I tend to focus on keeping the downstairs clean because I can function better in the kitchen and dining room without all the mess. So, my room is often neglected for large amounts of time.

And time is not kind, as we all know. Chaos ensues and suddenly I am tripping over My Little Ponies and Polly Pockets on my nightly trek to the bathroom. So today I recaptured my room. Not every little thing is in order but some of the more important things are done, such as getting rid of this 'hotspot'. (That is FlyLady lingo. I really liked her ideas, but could not get over the amount of spam she sent, so sadly I don't subscribe right now.)



This evil chair sucks clutter and clothing into it without any effort. I swear it is a secret black hole of the universe. It most often collects piles of socks because I hate (HATE, HATE) to fold and match socks. I don't actually expect the chair to stay clean for long. In fact I figured that by the time I wrote this, something would be in the chair, but as I glance over it is empty. (Granted, I did take a hula hoop out of it right before bed—seriously, the chair sucks everything.)

Next, there was an hour of quiet and relaxation today after all my hard work because I stuck this one up on her bed for 'quiet-time,' i.e. 'Daisy's nap'.



Ivory could still use a nap, but you have to slow her down long enough for her to realize it. Since she was up on her bed (top-bunk girl now), she decided a snooze was in order, and it made for a very pleasant reprieve.

Granted, life was immediately back in order when June returned from piano, both children woke up, homework needed to be done, Daisy was practicing her new weapon of crying until she throws up (NOT loving that one), and dinner needed to be fixed. I guess the moral is for every hour of quiet there are at least three of noise (or more, if you don't count the hours when they are all sleeping).

Now I just need to go clean off my bed so I have somewhere to sleep. Oh, I guess I didn't mention that I got the floor so clean by moving much of its contents to the bed. It's a little trick I do, because I have to use the bed eventually while I am pretty content to leave things on the floor. And as long as I don't move things back into the chair I will have succeeded in my goals for today.

"It Just Came Out"

That is what June said as she brought her bloodied tooth in this evening. She said it in such a way that you would imagine that the tooth practically fell in her lap while she was busy doing homework or practicing spelling.

However, you can see as well as I that she had worked that silly tooth over until she ripped it from its home in her mouth.



The facts are that her tooth was VERY loose. But, the part that was still connected was probably not quite ready to let go. June had other plans. She must really be hard up for money.

I had no idea she was going to be one of THOSE children.

She looks so funny before her teeth come out too. Her teeth start to go all snaggled-toothed. (That is the best way to describe it). They start to stick out of her mouth at funny angles until they finally fall out. (Or are extracted with great determination). Last week she lost this beauty on the bottom row. She pulled that one herself too, but with much less blood.



Her other front tooth is loose as well. As I put her to bed after the whole bloody ordeal tonight, she started to wiggle it back and forth. I may have to duct tape her hands together at night.

He doesn't look a day over 32...well, maybe just ONE day.

I think Tyler had a great birthday, if I do say so myself. Tyler doesn't like to spend a lot of money on presents being the cheap thrifty person that he is. However, I wanted the girls to be able to do something for him to make his day special.

So Ivory was up bright and early with me, helping to make him breakfast in bed. We made waffles. (I am not one for making breakfast in the morning, so this is indeed love). By the time everything was ready, there was one more early riser, but two were still firmly asleep.



Each girl made a special card for Dad, and the bleary-eyed Tyler thoroughly enjoyed them.

Robyn insisted on color so hers is a little hard to read. It says:

Dadys Brthday

Dear Dad I love you because you are sweet and you are nice to me.

June added some original poetry to hers:

Dear Dad

I’d like to wright a poam. Whin the roses are blue I will sing to you. And the villits are red. I feel like I’m almost dead.

Your not RAW CHIKEN

And Ivory had June help with the message, but she colored all 32 hearts herself:




Then we sent Tyler off to work where we had decorated the night before. Decorating his office was trickier than I expected. I arranged a sitter for the girls and Michelle to let me in the building, but I hadn't planned on his office being locked. Fortunately, Michelle had connections and we were able to break get in and fancy up the place.

Earlier in the week I had asked Tyler what he wanted for dinner. He requested beans and rice—Brazilian style. Um...that's great, except that I have never been to Brazil and I wasn't sure how to cook them. So I called Rubia (my former Brazilian roommate and Tyler's coworker at the MTC—who consequently introduced us—Rubia, we will owe you forever) and asked if she could come give me some tips (read: please cook this meal for me). It was so great to see her again and it was a highlight of Tyler's birthday to eat much more authentic beans and rice accompanied with Guarana.

Plus, we got to sing Happy Birthday in Portuguese and English. (The Portuguese version is much more exciting with clapping and everything).



Thanks again Rubia for coming.



Oh, and p.s. I am not bigger in that picture than the last pregnant one—it just depends on the angle you catch me at.

Finally, June and Robyn gave the (free) gift of pampering to finish the evening. Robyn did Satin Feet on him, and June finished up with a massage. I think he had an excellent day.

AND...in case you were wondering about the facial hair...

Tyler decided at Christmas time to grow his beard out. It doesn't grow quite like it should, but he is making a valiant effort and I think he looks very cute manly. He decided that he will keep the beard until Pearl gets here. This is funny because he had to renew his driver's license this week. I guess his picture turned out less than savory with the added effect. (He thinks he looks like a molester). Oh well, you only have to keep a license for 5 years.

8 Candles (4 years each)

Happy Birthday Tyler. I didn't want to miss posting on the actual day, but I will probably catch the highlights tomorrow.

In the meantime, remember you are wonderful! Oh, and didn't I mention that he has a man-beard now. I guess you will have to tune in tomorrow to hear that story too.

Tub Art

We got a set of foam letters that stick to the wall of the tub. They were for Daisy, but they are a big hit with all the kids, especially the ones who can spell and read. There is a limit to what you can spell since there is only one of each letter, but the girls can be very creative when they need to be.

For instance I came in to find that Robyn had spelled Telaskop (telescope). Not too shabby considering she is just beginning to read. Plus, kids find the most realistic spelling; too bad English words can't follow the rules more often.

I told Robyn it was time to get out and she begged to spell one more word. I watched as she put up R-O-C-H-I...

"What are you trying to spell?" I asked.

"Raw Chicken." Naturally.

I told her it was two words and chicken couldn't be done because of the two 'c's, but we did the best we could.



And then we left it in the tub for Dad to find, because everyone should have the chance to think about raw chicken when they are in the shower.

31 Flavors

Today I turned 31. I'm not feeling as young and spry as I would prefer, but I am sure most of that is pregnancy related. Tyler made me some cute pants that I can actually wear (that in itself is impressive). I think the logo sums me up pretty well; where it is located is merely his humor.

To show the real me, you need more of this angle.



Yeah, that is more accurate.

Life is good right now. I can't complain about my choices or where I am. I love being a mother, I love staying at home and raising my children. Thirty-one years have brought me many wonderful things. I haven't accomplished all my dreams, but I am well on my way.

We didn't do much for my birthday, but the older I get, the less I need. This year, we'll just slap a stamp on my rump and call it good.

TP

I have lots of things to catch up on, yet my thoughts have turned to toilet paper tonight. In a house full of all girls, we go through a lot of toilet paper. But I can't point fingers because I may be the worst of them all. I figured out tonight that I am at least a four square girl; anything less is unsatisfactory. Plus, with my perpetual runny nose, I think I do my fair share of toilet paper usage around here.

Even though Daisy is not potty trained, she does her part by unrolling any spare roll she finds lying around. Tyler watches the toilet paper come and go and probably heaves a sigh now and then (especially being from a family of all boys). I don't think he quite understands, but he is very patient with his harem.

The Christmas Program

At June's school, the first grade did a Christmas program. I think that only the first grade does a program, and this is certainly the first large production we have watched June in. They started practicing before Halloween, which was a good thing because they learned quite a few songs. I was very impressed by the whole event.

The first number they divided the kids up and had them be different things, i.e. santas, elves, trees, reindeer, etc. June fell into the group of dolls. I hear this was the coveted spot for the girls, and she came home ecstatic that she would get to wear makeup. She insisted I take a close-up, but I must have caught her the moment before she blinked.



The stoned look is my fault, but please do not blame the makeup on this mother. That blush looks practically brown and is applied oddly, but she thought she looked radiant. Also, she was chosen to ring bells at some point along the way and she was happy about that too.



I love that I dressed her in green, because she was really easy to pick out among all the red.

Afterwards all the girls wanted to go up on the stage for just a moment.



I love how well they play together and love each other. Sisters sure are special.

Favorites

We fight for baby kisses around here. Basically we hold Daisy between us and both say, "Kiss, kiss, kiss!" repeatedly and then see who she kisses more; much the way two people would call a dog and see who it comes to.

Tyler usually wins this game, but only because he doesn't play fair.

During the holidays we got this photo.

I love it because it reminds me of the heater vent in my house that I would always hunker down in front of. I often had to share it with the dog, but Moxy is not as smart as my dog, so the girls only have to fight off each other.

I am resolved to having computer problems...does that count as a resolution?

For the record, the internet is still not working on my computer. I have silently cursed all things technological and am now resorting to using Tyler's computer. He still thinks there is hope for my machine but the fact that he is ordering parts online instead of buying them at a nearby store makes me less hopeful that things will be resolved quickly.

I apologize in advance for Christmas posts and the like. I would like to put it all behind me now and focus on the new year (not that I have ANY resolutions besides having a baby) but I really should document some of the festivities.

This picture makes me laugh.



We went up to Thanksgiving Point to see ice sculptures or something like that. It was a total bust. I think it was originally supposed to be a contest but I don't think they had any takers (ice-sculpting is probably more popular in places like Alaska) so instead they had some guy who was going to come do a demonstration. Unfortunately the guy's other job (what? He doesn't solely ice sculpt for a living?) had an emergency and he wasn't able to stay, so when we arrived there was a chunk of ice with some cuts in it.

None to thrilling, let me tell you. The kids did enjoy seeing the reindeer they had on display and we had hot chocolate because it was freezing and who doesn't like hot chocolatey goodness?



Then we went home. Perhaps a waste of time, but it did qualify under family bonding and that's what matters, right?

Flashbacks

Last years on New Year's the computer crashed, big time. That isn't quite the case this year, but there are plenty of computer woes to keep me busy. My computer can't seem to stay connected to the internet and even my email has shut down. This makes blogging difficult at best. I haven't been in a die-hard blogging mood and when I finally get the energy, I can't use the internet. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
So, in summary, Christmas was great, New Year's wasn't bad, currently I can't get email and June has strep. Basically life just continues as usual. Hope things settle back into a regular routine next week...including email.