Elbow Room

I think it would be great fun to have a twin. It's like having a built-in best friend with you all the time. Someone who knows you almost as much as you know yourself. And someone who knows you better than your mom. That's what my twins claim, and they just might be right. Sleeping Beauty is forever changing the food she likes, and I think Snow White is the only one that can remember what her preferences are in a certain week. I'm not sure if it's telepathy, or some secret signal they've got figured out, but it sure is cute.

SB and SW go through phases where they are nearly attached at the hip. They are going through one of those phases lately. I snapped these pictures of them working on their homework together a couple of weeks ago. I don't know how they could concentrate or have enough room to work, but they manage. I figure they will outgrow it sometime, and I'll have to remind them how much they could get done with an extra appendage. They'll be mothers one day, and I'm pretty sure it will be reassuring to know that mothering a newborn is not their first time doing things with someone attached to their hip.

Dressing on the Side

I love pajama day at school. No fighting about clothes. No worrying if clothes are wrinkled. No fuss. No guilt that you let your kids go to sleep in the clothes they will wear to school the next day. (Not that I've ever done that or anything. Because that would just be lazy and irresponsible. Wouldn't it? Who cares if it cuts down on laundry and lets you sleep in a few minutes longer? It's just gross. And totally uncivilized. And one of those things that becomes insignificant when your standard of living is measured by good migraine and bad migraine days. That's what I've heard, anyway.)

*clears throat*

Breakfast in Bed

Last weekend, King and I celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary. I planned to write a long post about how wonderful King is, but, unfortunately he had planned a weekend away for us, so I ran out of time. But, with that little bit of information, now you know he is fabulous, so I won't write that post. How about one that shows you where we went?

King and I began our weekend at the temple. It was wonderful. (If you have no idea why we would do this, watch this short video here or here.) We then had a leisurely dinner where we did not discuss algebra, school lunch menus, the importance of showering for personal hygiene, or why brushing your teeth thoroughly while wearing thousands of dollars of metal gear is a very good idea. It was fabulous.

Then, King had arranged for us to stay at a charming Victorian Bed and Breakfast. (My parents would have loved it. And Aunt Della.) It was a nice, relaxing stay. A fun little place. We did a bit of shopping the next morning, and made it home in time to watch the BYU game (of course). And, thanks to our good friends Connie and Brad, we came home to a spotless house and cheerful children. Can't beat that!

Incognito

--adjective
1. having one's identity concealed, as under an assumed name, esp. to avoid formal attentions.

Sometimes I wish I were a little more incognito. Sure, there are a handful of you that have no idea what my real name is. But, most of you know me. And, sometimes, I wish you didn't.

...That came out wrong. I am very glad I know you. It is an honor to know you and to be your friend. In fact, you must be pretty special if I directed you to this place where I write my deep, dark secrets (oooooh, creepy). Unless, of course, you just found me through someone else's blog, in which case you really are not invited, so why are you here? (I'm kidding, of course. You are welcome to stay.)

But, what I really mean is that sometimes it might be nice if I had not told anyone in my family that I keep this blog. Then I could write what I really think about my family without anyone knowing or caring. Maybe things like: when I grow up I want to be able to play the piano like my brother-in-law(not you, Mike) or love to cook like my aunt Denise (yes, you , Denise). And no one would care. But, now, since I typed that and I know that Mike can read this blog, and Denise does read this blog, I worry that Mike will be offended that I don't want to play like him (mostly because he can't play the piano), and that Denise might be offended that I didn't expound on the abundance of her cooking skills and delicious dishes, or that maybe any other aunt of mine will wonder why I did not mention her delicious pasta salad or hot dog casserole recipe. And then it just seems easier to leave family out of it. Which is hard, because they are all a part of me.

Then other times, I wish that I did not tell anyone that I ever have daily or weekly contact with that I have this blog. Because then I could tell you all about the time that I went to church and felt so lousy that I did not want to talk to anyone and this is the day that everyone decided to talk to me. And, why can't people just leave me alone? (I don't think this really happened. But it could have. Maybe it did. Probably not.) But then, I now think that everyone who read that will second guess themselves when they go to talk to me at church next time, because, what if I am as grouchy as I was that week last month (if that ever happened) and I just want them to leave me alone instead of talk to me or even look at me? (I won't be. So, don't worry. Just go about your normal church business.) But, now they wonder. See?

So, I sometimes wish I was anonymous to all. Incognito. Invisible. In disguise. But then, I would have about one blog reader. (Which may not be so bad if I write posts like this, right?)

A Repeat of The Luncheon

Today I woke up without a headache. Miracle of miracles. Of course, I have one now, but just waking up without one can make the day seem so much better. So, since I was feeling not-so-bad, I actually checked the calendar to see if there was anything I should be doing. And there is: "Make dessert for teacher luncheon". So now I've been worrying about what to make for the last four hours. It should be the perfect dessert because the teachers work so hard, and we so appreciate them. Now, hours later, and feeling not-so-great, I'm wondering why I do things like this. I could have made some boring brownies four times by now. I do stuff like this to myself all of the time. As evidence, here is my post from almost exactly one year ago today-----(At least I had the sense to not be in charge this time!)-----

The Luncheon

I'm such a dork. Not that this is news to 98% of you reading this blog. To the other 2%, I'm sorry to disappoint you. You should have read my other posts, and then you'd already know.

Today was Parent/Teacher Conference day, which is a day I generally enjoy. I like being told that my girls are wonderful, obedient, delightful, caring, smart students. It sort of makes me feel like I've done something right, which I don't usually think when I am at home with their fighting and talking back. I don't think that makes me a dork, though. Everyone likes to be told they are great. If you don't think so, then you are a dork. :)

Because it was P/T Conference, and because I am an upstanding member of the PTO, I agreed (foolishly) to be in charge of the Teacher Luncheon. I was told to plan for about thirty. I called many willing and cheerful volunteers to bring food. Then, yesterday, I found out that there would only be twenty teachers there. No problem. Too much food is better than not enough food, right? That's what I told my sister on the phone this morning.

After setting up the teacher's lounge, I ran home to make a little cheerful sign to put by the centerpiece on the luncheon table. I spent way too long on it. Not because it was fancy or long, but, because I couldn't figure out if 'You are what makes our school the best!' or 'You are what make our school the best!' was the proper way to say my measly message. It depends on how one views the word you. Is it 'you' as a whole, or each one of 'you'? I really worried for so long about it--and all for teachers who say things like 'Your homework needs done before you color your pumpkin picture.' Really. (Not my kids' teachers this year--but they've had some.) And they don't know that it is horrible grammar, because they grew up here and everyone says it.

Well, I finally went with the suggestion of my computer and said 'make', but not after way too much thought over something that was probably not even noticed in their ravenous romp through the food line. I felt like a bigger dork when my sister called and said, "Well, if you had just said 'You make our school the best!' then it would have been a non-issue." Yes, true. I'd like to blame my brain freeze on my horrible headache, but the truth is, things like this happen way too often. I'm just a dork.

Apparently, though, I'm not the only one. You see, it's a good thing that I planned for thirty people, because half of the people who were very willing to bring food, either forgot, or had terrible P/T conferences and decided against contributing. And, imagine my horror when one of the desserts someone brought was a package of dollar store fake Oreos. Yes, teachers, we appreciate you enough to give you disgusting cookies and signs with questionable grammar. I do hope that they realize that my position on the PTO is a voluntary one. Regardless, they might decide that the PTO 'needs reorganized.'

(Not So) Fabulous Pictures

Has it really been almost a week since I last posted? Wow. I guess it's been a pretty rough week around here. Not really anything out of the ordinary--just had some bad headache days. Hmm...what else?

Snow White has been home sick with a fever for two days. She woke me up in the night because she was worried that if she has the Swine Flu she ought to tell me. :) I have no idea if she has it, but she is running a fever and has a cough and cold. It's pretty mild. We're just hoping no one else gets it. I'm afraid it may be just a matter of time, though.

Saturday I "fell off the wagon", so to speak. I took Excedrin, and it had been a really long time since I had any. Is it really falling off the wagon if you plan on jumping off? Maybe not. I decided ahead to take some medicine so that I could make it to a corn maze/hayride church activity with my family. We had a good time, and could have had some really fabulous pictures, had I remembered the camera. Grrrr--I hate when I do that. This time the activity was with a bunch of college-aged kids, so I didn't even have a fellow parent friend or a nice 4th grade teacher to back me up. Trust me, though--the leaves were gorgeous, and the girls were adorable.

The Excedrin was able to take the edge off so that I could have some fun, and it was nice to be out of the house doing something with the family and not wishing I were in a dark room instead. The girls loved the hayride, and getting lost in the corn maze was pretty great, too. The S'mores and hot chocolate were their favorite things. I can't think of anything better to do on a balmy (ha-it was 40 degrees!) fall evening. It was perfect, (except for it being like winter outside).

Also this week, the girls spent a considerable amount of time doing a picture-by-picture movie that included this picture:King wouldn't help them set the movie to music, as hit-and-runs are against the law. I guess I'm glad that he cared more about the law and principle than their creative processes. I'm not sure if it was bad judgment or a really bad migraine that made me think the picture video they created was pretty darn funny. Good thing King is here to keep us all in check. What would we do without that guy?

I Just Love Shopping

I went shopping with Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty for a few minutes last night. Well, it was supposed to be for a few minutes. It took forever. And we didn't even buy anything.

Somehow, I have no idea how to even guess what an acceptable hoodie looks like. Aren't they all pretty much the same? I would find one that looked exactly like what Cinderella would like, and she found something wrong with it. Something wrong with every. single. one. at the mall. What was wrong with them? Well...

• too blue
• sleeves too puffy
• too biggish
• sleeves too tight
• sleeves too long
• too gray
• not blue enough
• too short
• ugly zipper
• too girly
• weird zipper pull thing
• looks like a boy
• too soft
• looks too shiny
• hood is huge
• just really ugly

I had no idea they were really all that different. And I have no idea how we will ever find one that is acceptable. The good news is she needs shoes, too. Can't wait to see how that trip goes.

On a totally different note, don't you think it would be fun to spend a few hours with my darling girls? Call me if you'd like to take them somewhere. Maybe the mall or Payless Shoes or something? It could be really fun for you. First come, first serve. Better move quickly. :)

What Did They Say?

Snow White and Sleeping Beauty were telling me all about their field trip to the zoo. They told me about going into a building and hearing a racket in the other room.

"The parents were all in there, but we couldn't see them yet, we could just hear them being so loud," said Sleeping Beauty.

"Yeah, one of them was singing, 'La,la la, la, LAA' really loud," said Snow White.

"Why were they all in there, in that room? Where?" I asked.

"Who knows? That's just where they were, in this one building. I have no idea why they were all in just one room. We could hear them right when we stepped in," explained Sleeping Beauty.

"Hmm, weird. Were your chaperons with you, or were they in that room?" I wondered.

"One was in the loud room, and I think one was by me. Or maybe they were both in there. I don't know. We all just kind of went in there. It was so loud. You wouldn't believe all the crazy stuff they were saying, Mom!" said SW.

"Like what?" I ask. At this point I'm thinking, 'When was this? Why would all of the parents be in one room, instead of with the kids? What in the world were they doing? What was happening? Strange.'

Sleeping Beauty tried to remember, "One of them was singing really loud, 'Lalalalalala', and another one was saying, 'What you got there?' super loud, and I can't remember what all of them were saying. It was too loud to tell."

And I'm thinking, 'I guess sleeping on a cement floor could do strange things to you...but singing? What?'"Well, why were all of the parents in a different room from you? Was it before breakfast, or what?" I wondered.

"What?" exclaimed Snow White, "Not parents, Mom......Parrots. There was a room full of parrots singing and talking. Sheesh, Mom!"

Oh, well, okay. That does make a bit more sense.

Rock-A-Bye

Steph, over at Diapers and Divinity, is hosting a poetry contest of sorts this week. Well, actually last week. I meant to write this post about five days ago; it just hasn't been that kind of week. So, I suppose you probably have a few hours to enter, but you can definitely vote next week when Steph picks the finalists. I was lucky enough to win this fabulous button with a previous entry, which I explained a little here.I suppose I will let it sit on my sidebar for a while, since there are not that many chances for me to bask in glory. :)

Anyway, since the contest this time is for a lullaby, and my girls have outgrown lullabies, I decided to set to "Rock-a-bye Baby" the words I say nearly every night to my girls. (If the singing has desirable effects, I am making 'practice your piano' and 'do your homework' verses.)

Rock-a-bye, ladies,
It’s time to stop
Whispering and giggling;
This is your last shot.
If I hear you later,
The other shoe falls,
And you’ll sleep in the pantry-
Cement floor and all!

Adventures in the Rain

I picked Snow White and Sleeping Beauty up at school today. They were exhausted, hungry, wound up, and talking non-stop. And, you would have been,too, if you had, in the past two days, walked about eight miles (in the rain), visited a museum, a stadium, and an historic downtown, slept at the zoo on industrial carpeted cement floor(in the dolphin dome building, no less!), with one hundred other nine- and ten-year-olds. (Okay, so really it's the teachers who were truly exhausted. Bless their souls!)

I was sad to not go this year. When Cinderella went on the same field trip two years ago, I joined the other out-of-their-minds chaperons and slept for roughly seven minutes at the zoo. And, I had a great time. Truly. The kids were great, the trip was fun, and I loved watching Cinderella learn and have so much fun with her friends. This year, I knew that I just could not make it without intravenous Excedrin, so I opted to stay home and send the girls with competent, undrugged chaperons and our old digital camera.

They had a fabulous time. They told me all about it; who said what and where their favorite things were. Their favorite animals to visit were the sharks they could pet. They didn't have to tell me, though, I just knew. Probably because I'm their mom, and I just know that kind of stuff. Oh, and this sort of tipped me off:Roughly 18% of their pictures were of the sharks. And five more were of the signs in the shark room. They also enjoyed the "cute sleeping polar bear who was the cutest thing ever" (they went on like that for a minute, but I'll spare you) and the penguins, as well as other interesting museum exhibits. Snow White even snapped a few "just rainy day pictures."
I am so glad they had a great time. And, equally glad that no one floated away or drowned in the torrential rain.

It was strange and quiet here with just Cinderella, King, and me. We went out to eat at Texas Roadhouse, just to do something different with Cinderella. (And, different it was--have you ever tried to eat out on a gluten-free diet? We'll just say it was interesting, and different. Not bad. Just slow and unseasoned, which was fine, considering it wasn't brown rice and broccoli. I was very happy. Anyway, I'm off on a tangent. Now where were we?...) By this afternoon, I think even Cinderella was happy to have her sisters back with us. I think they were glad to be home, too. So glad, that it took almost an hour after they got home for them to find something to argue about. And if that wasn't a blessing that made the whole trip worth it, I don't know what is. Maybe we should send them somewhere else to sleep once a week...

Wordless Wednesday: Twins

Meeting our friends' twins: Snow White with Twin A and Sleeping Beauty with Twin B. Adorable. Sweet. Tiny. Yummy.

Can't Quite Recall

Book Group was at my house last night. Gratefully, I have a fabulous friend who helped me get my house visitor ready so that I could take a nap in the afternoon and actually make it to the Book Group. Which, of course, was kind of important, since it was at my house. I think, though, that my nap should have been a little bit longer...

We were discussing the book we had read, which was about a village in England that isolated themselves during the Plague of 1665. I commented that it sort of reminded me of the creepy movie that was about a village where they didn't want anyone to leave the village, so they had this way to keep people in the village. But, I couldn't remember the name of the movie, about this village.

That's when K said, "Uh, do you mean the movie, The Village?"

Um, yeah. That's what I mean. It has such a tricky name to recall, I don't know how anyone would remember. Duh. :) I'm going with the whole "traumatized by discovering I have a teenager now" excuse, since I was feeling pretty fine at the time. There has to be some logical excuse. Perhaps going off the memory drug that didn't help my headaches and made me crazy should be reconsidered...

Spy Tips #357 and #358

IF you are eating mostly brown rice and you get tired of seasoning it only with salt and maybe a little herbs and butter and IF you decide to go with some brown sugar and cinnamon on your rice for your breakfast, I am telling you now, you should probably not use some of the rice that you steamed at the same time you steamed broccoli. Broccoli and brown sugar really do not mix.

I just thought you should know.

Also, IF you use body wash to wash your hair, it does not really work the same as shampoo. Ask Snow White. I am sure she would be happy to tell you all about it. (Okay, so happy is stretching it, but the extra shower she got is testament enough, I think.)

So, now you know.

It's Official

I am officially the mom of a teenager, and thereby, know absolutely nothing--including how to pick out clothes for myself and my daughters, what to say when tears are flowing, and when it is appropriate to ask how one's day was or ignore one's very existence. The good news is, I hear this is temporary. In about seven to nine years, I will become mostly human again. That's nice.

Cinderella had a great celebration day. She was absolutely thrilled with each and every gift. (Thanks to all!) And, I'm guessing the turkey dinner she requested went over well since she decided she was so full after dinner, she needed to have her ice cream cake the next day.

{Happy Birthday Cinderella! We love you more than words and are so grateful you are a part of our family.}

Sometimes

Sometimes I wish I was the Dad. Really.

I was awakened by a voice: "Mom, I just threw up in the kitchen sink."

I opened my eyes and saw Sleeping Beauty standing over me. King mumbled, "Yuck," and rolled over. I questioned Sleeping Beauty about her tummy and her throat and her head and her eating habits. I felt her forehead, gave her a hug, got her a "puke bowl" and tucked her back in bed, cleaned the kitchen sink. Then I laid awake for the next thirty minutes, waiting to hear her getting sick again and thinking and worrying.

Poor Sleeping Beauty, tomorrow is a field trip at school. She's going to be so sad to miss it.

Why is she sick? She isn't hot. She feels fine. What did she eat? Was it once, is she done? I hope she misses the floor if she is going to puke again.

Oh, great, she's supposed to dance for the ward party Friday. I hope she's okay.

Hmmm, I guess I'm not going to the lunch and shopping date I have planned. I'll have to cancel that. And no grocery shopping either.

I hope she doesn't get the Swine Flu. She won't, I'm sure she's fine. I wonder why she's sick.

And on and on, until I finally convinced myself she was done being sick and fell back asleep. And what was King doing? Sleeping. I'm not sure he even remembers Sleeping Beauty coming into our room. I'm tired. I need to be more like the Daddy.

?(Sleeping Beauty is fine, by the way. She was only sick that once and is back to her perky, non-puky self!)