Piano Recital

Each of the girls start taking piano lessons when they are six. (Ivory is looking forward to beginning this month.) Robyn and June have been taking piano for a while now and I am very proud of their progress. It is nice that most days I don't even have to help them; they just get out their books and play their music. It is nice to have piano lilting through the house. (Granted, I am kind of strict about when they can play because of Pearl's naps, but truthfully, I don't think the piano bothers her.)

This week they had a recital. (I think this is Robyn's first.) Becca, their teacher, rented out a music room at Summerhays and it was very nice. There was plenty of seating and it was fun to see all those in attendance. (Becca has quite a few students now and although I know all the parents, it was great to see Grandparents out there as well.)

The girls did a good job. It took Robyn a minute to get used to the new piano, but then she seemed right at home.

(Don't worry, I took these pictures afterward. I recorded the actual performances and then got closeups later. Can you imagine me just inches away while she is playing?)

June played next to last. (I think there is only one student who has been taking longer than she.) There was a slight mishap where she hit her head on the piano as she tried to scoot the bench in, but her outward demeanor never changed and she went on to play her second song. (That takes some courage.)

I am very happy they are doing well. I don't think either of them love piano, but we don't have many arguments and they seem to tolerate it. And their teacher is stellar. Becca is super patient (especially with Robyn who used to HATE going) and she brings out the best in them.

I think it will be fun when Ivory joins the gang soon. Oh, and isn't Becca cute? She is expecting baby number four in April.

Sassafras

I feel like this post needs a soundtrack in the background. Here, click on this and then come back to continue reading.

K, got that going? Or, if you aren't in the mood for music, I'm okay with that too.

I have a wild one on my hands.

And yes, I know that compared to many children, she is an angel. (And no, I am not thinking of any children in particular.) But she seems to test the boundaries daily. And I find myself falling into the fifth child syndrome, where you just hand everything over to that last child to keep them from screaming. (Obviously I am not giving her everything, since I frequently consider telling her older sister to push her down, but I do find myself telling the kids to just give her the toy she wants so my ears can stop being accosted by that decibel delivering pterodactyl.)

Pearl is actually getting smarter by the day it seems. She knows the way things work around the house. She puts things away, gets our her diaper, finds her coat and shoes, and sits patiently in her crib in the morning calling out for assistance. She really is a good kid.

She also climbs up on Daisy's bed and throws everything off. (Except the fitted sheet which she doesn't understand yet.) She turns off the TV when Daisy is watching, and she slaps people in the face if they get too close. She still doesn't eat dinner and the minute she is finished with any meal, she starts hollering and squirming in her high chair as if she has been trapped in there for hours. (I keep telling her that she need only say, "I'm done Mom, could you come get me out now?" and that would get faster results than all the drama. She doesn't listen.) She has earned herself the nickname of Sassafras because she sure gets saucy.

But I really love her to pieces. She fits into the perfect Pearl shaped hole in our family. Every one of these kids are great. They are real. They have good days and bad days. They tell funny jokes and really bad ones. They fight and make up. They love me and hate me. (Mostly when I make them fold laundry.) They are my life.

I actually attended a Bridal Shower today of an amazing lady who is my age. Many of the women attending her shower were single. (Which makes me frown at all the stupid men who are passing up awesome girls, but that is another tangent.) I got talking to a group of them and they asked me what I do for work. I said, "I am a mom." (And I tried to say it with some pride as I should, according to Jane Clayson Johnson, but not to sound prideful because probably some of these women would love that job as well.) But I wondered if anyone can understand what it means to be a mom until they have experienced it. I know that I didn't have a clue until June threw us in the deep end to sink or swim. I do not feel better than these women without children, but I wonder if I could ever explain how being a mother has changed me; how my priorities were instantly rearranged. Being married gives you experience at sacrifice and unconditional love but it doesn't quite prepare you for the terrifying/exhilarating feeling of being responsible for another human being. And the love that comes with it knocks you over. For me it includes the need to discipline. If I really love these little beings, I need to teach them, and show them how things work. Granted my stupid emotions get in the way sometimes, and probably not all punishments have been dolled out in a loving spirit, but I try.

I love what I do. I love the good days more, but I accept the bad days will make the good days brighter. I'm not sure when this turned from being a post about Pearl, into being some sappy gushy tribute to motherhood, but I think I'll stop there.



Has the music ended? If not...you are welcome to stand up and boogie at your computer.

Pele

Speaking of naked...

I should warn you now to continue at your own risk. The subject matter contained in this post is:

1. Humorous—definitely

2. Scandalous—possibly

3. Bizarre—conclusively

There are many things that I hope my kids remember about me and Tyler when they are grown. But all those good things will probably be pushed aside to make rooms for weird memories like this:

Meet Pele. (Pele means 'skin' in Portuguese)

He is very talented. It is said that he can stand on his head, whistle, blow bubbles, wiggle his eyebrows and juggle. I have not personally seen him do all these things, but he looks like someone you can trust.

The kids were amused. Robyn was giggling so hard. She has a sense of humor closest to Tyler's. (She enjoys the potty humor as well. She told me yesterday that tutor sounded like a bad word. I told her that it was someone who teaches others, often a specific subject. She then walked around singing, "Mommy is a tooter." See...real mature, like her father.) Daisy was not sure what to make of Pele, but she sang along with him to all the songs she knew. 

Sadly Pele had to leave. I'm sure he'll be back again some day. And then I can take a picture of his 'surprised' face because that is worth seeing.

Swiss Cheese (a.k.a. My Brain)

I know I need my brain for obvious reasons, but I get very disappointed in it. (Maybe I should clarify 'brain' as 'memory'—that seems to be the broken part.)

Regardless, when I talk about things at home, I naturally assume that I must have written about them on here. Then I search the blog and can't find any reference to said item. Does that mean that I never blogged about it, or that I merely can't find it? Who knows?

So, if you end up reading something you have heard before, I apologize. But it will happen...that is certain.

Today's anecdote is something that pops up in our house so often that it is second nature to us. I was sure that I wrote about it on here, but it was probably on my good intentions list. It concerns that funny little bug called Daisy.

She is so funny. Somehow one day we were bantering back and forth. I often ask the girls who is cute. They say "Me!" and then I say, "ME!" and we go back and forth. Daisy was new to the game and somewhere along the way she said, "I'm CUTE, you're NAKED."

It was such a funny comeback that we started mentioning it all the time. I would always bring it up when Daisy was in the tub. She'd be splashing around and I'd say, "Who's cute?" She'd say, "ME!" and I'd say, "No...you're naked."

She says it a lot too and of course the kids have picked up on it. That is why June's comment was so funny the other day. Her teeth actually were naked since the braces were gone, so the pun was fabulous. Her sense of humor is really starting to develop.

Of course this could lead to awkward moments when neighbors wonder why we are calling each other naked, but we are who we are. We laugh at silly things, and are just kinda weird.

There is one other phrase that Daisy says that I don't want to forget. When she wants to pet an animal (or small child) she says she wants to 'soft' them. When we were driving the other day, she saw a cat and said, "Mom, I want to soft the kitty." And when a little girl was defending her baby brother at church, Daisy stated, "I just want to soft him."

Must be because she is pretty soft-hearted herself.

Notice a Difference?

The braces are GONE!! See ya. At least for a few years, until her other teeth grow in and mess everything up again. (Don't try to tell me differently...teeth are just stubborn.)

I don't regret going through it all, because the main goal was to expand her upper jaw and we accomplished that mission just fine. In fact, expander is gone as well.

Of course, it left behind gaping wounds. I was watching the Orthodontist take everything off today and I could tell June looked very uncomfortable, not to mention tears rolling down her cheeks. It was only for a few moments and then the appliance was off, but it wasn't until I took the pictures that I noticed the matching cuts on the roof of her mouth. (Okay, the word gaping before may have been a bit exaggerated, but they sure look sore.) I'm guessing that in trying to take off the appliance, it was pressed down a little too hard into the soft mouth tissue. Luckily, mouth injuries heal quickly. She will be fine, and for the moment, she is so stunned by the extra room in there that she is less likely to notice the cuts. Plus, they gave her a bag or caramels as she left... that is sure to ease the pain.

She is only nine and she has already gone through one set of braces. That seems strange to me. What I am most grateful for, and I even got a little misty-eyed thinking about it as I drove home today, is that I have an amazing husband who works hard so that we can take care of these beautiful girls we have. Orthodontia and other surgeries are expensive. Ivory's tonsils were not cheap to extract, but listening to her sleep peacefully is worth it. I know there are parents who want the same things for their kids and can't always afford it. That breaks my heart (And almost makes me wish for some socialist type of health care for everyone. Almost.) but I am so glad that we have the means to do what we can for our children. Thank you Tyler for taking care of our family.

And June, your teeth are cute.

p.s. When I told her this, she said, "They're not cute. They're naked."

(That is so much wittier than you realize, but I have been a slacker and haven't posted our family inside joke. I'll get on that right away.)

The Last Domino Fell

I really thought we were free and clear. But alas, Daisy succumbed this afternoon. Poor thing. And now that every child has had a turn, I am much more appreciative of the ones who threw-up in plastic covered beds versus on the computer and carpet. Trust me, I don't make any child feel bad for where they throw up; I just like it more when they hit an easily washable surface.

The saddest part was that Daisy also threw up on her new Dora book. She takes it everywhere and when I'm not reading it to her, she reads it to herself. I rinsed it off, thinking that water damage was better than vomit, but we will see how it dries.

Pearl's new favorite word is Dora. She sings and babbles it all over the house. "Dohwa, Dohwa!" It is pretty cute and tonight she even said, "Furby" (Wait, have I mentioned Furby before? Well, if not, too bad. I'm not in the mood for that tangent. We'll discuss Furby at another time.)

Other funny things said recently:

Me: Ivory, your blankets are in the dryer. You will probably be asleep by the time they are dry, but I will bring them up to you.

Ivory: Just put them right on my head.

(She does like to sleep with her blankets on her head.)
______

(I really like Fig Newtons and we usually have them on hand. I was snacking on them by the computer and Daisy saw me.)

Me: Would you like a Fig Newton?

Daisy: No, that is not their name...they are BIG Newtons.

(I should really try to enunciate around here.)
______

(Tonight we were eating a pomegranate. Dad likes to take big bites, sucking out all the juice and spitting out the seeds. June likes to squeeze all the seeds out onto her plate and then eat them. I pick individual seeds out and then spit them out. June was watching me quizzically.)

June: I'm not sure about the way you are eating them. It is kind of like Dad's way and kind of like mine.

Me: It just seems easier to me.

June: Dad's way is gross.

Me: Your way is messy.

June: Then your way is gross AND messy.

(Ha, you got me there.)
______

Lastly, I got my Valentine's stuff out after Tyler's birthday. I'm not a huge fan of Valentine's in general, (Tyler is pretty good about showing love year round.) but there is something about hearts, pink, red, and white that makes me smile. Here are some of my favorite things around the house.

This one I forgot that I bought on sale last year after the holiday. I pulled them out and it was like a mini-present to myself. And I love how simple they are next to the curtains, but how cute.

Happy Valentine's Day. (Or should I say...Happy pink hearts and stuff.)

The Icky Sickies

One of the joys of a large family is having sickness run its course through multiple people. I'm always interested to see who gets it and how badly it hits them. Let's take this last bout for instance: (*This is your cue...if you don't like reading about vomit...please don't continue.)

Ivory fell first. Threw up twice Friday evening and then seemed to come out of it the next day. (Even not feeling her best the next day, she dressed up fancy.)

Robyn was next throwing up on Saturday evening. Only twice again, and lucky for us, she came in very early complaining that her stomach hurt, so she was sleeping in the bathroom by the time the action started. I now think this is genius. All kids feeling slightly ill will be allowed to sleep in the bathroom until they feel better. It totally saves on cleanup. (Robyn took it a little harder and was more lethargic. Here she is curled up with Moxy in the sun.)

A couple of days passed and we thought we were in the clear. But Tuesday night got June and it got her bad. She threw up around 14 times, and sadly there were no indications for her, so her first aim almost hit Robyn. (Robyn was NOT happy about this, but when I pointed out that she almost threw up on June just a while ago, she was consoled. It might be time to get a second bed...)

Pearl was the same night. Although she was spared most of the gore. She threw up once, was all smiles and went back to bed without a sound. She was pretty chill.

As if that wasn't enough for one night, Ivory had two bloody noses. (Well, I guess I should say that her nose bled twice...since she really only has one nose.) If the blood on her sheets was any inkling the next morning, those bleeds were quite something. Bless Tyler who took care of almost everything that night. I helped clean up June and woke up to snuggle Pearl, but Tyler shouldered the brunt of the kid cleaning and comforting. Granted, I got all the laundry the next day, but that is nothing compared to a night of no sleep.

June was pretty good the next day. She drank the coveted Gatorade (that you only get when you are sick) and she read and watched movies. I could handle a day like that.

The count stands at four. Daisy and the adults are the only ones to escape so far. Let's hope this particular strain has lost stamina and petered out. We can handle the occasional yuck, but I prefer our normal routine.