Rethink

I'm rethinking the decision to not join our neighborhood pool for the summer.  The kids have been gone for nearly two hours for the "free opening weekend for the pool" and it is pure bliss.  Quiet.  Peaceful.  And do you know how well they'll fall asleep tonight?  Maybe that $300 for just four weeks of summer that we'll actually be home would have been a good investment after all...

Cleaning Up

In just about one month, it is dance recital time.  The girls are excited.  So am I, really.  I love to watch them get excited about getting up there to show off all of their hard work, and the performances are always great.  The parts I don't get so excited about anymore are dress rehearsal, actually having to PAY to see my child dance, and the "you now owe the dance studio the bargain amount of $93.27 for a costume that your daughter will dance in for ten minutes" letter we get this time of year.

So, anyway, the girls are looking forward to it.  This week, Snow White informed us that they had finished learning their entire dance in ballet.  She said, "It's awesome.  It's totally finished, now all we have to do is some cleaning up with it."

"Some what?  Cleaning up?" asked King.

"Yep," she said.

"Hmmmm," King said.

Snow White rolled her eyes, and then patiently and slowly explained, so that her lame-o father would not miss one thing, "Well, it's like my bedroom.  It's a bedroom.  It's completely finished.  It just needs some cleaning up.  You know, to make it more presentable.  Nicer.  That's like our dance.  It's now a whole entire dance, it just needs some cleaning up to make it nicer.  Better.  Got it?"  With another eye roll, for good measure.

Oh, I love that girl.

 Recital 2005

 Recital 2008

Recital 2009

Wordless Wednesday--Before and After

Phew.

Twins

Yesterday, I dragged myself out of bed to sign the girls up for summer stuff.  Volunteering at the local library, to be exact.  The girls will help the little ones track their progress on the summer reading program, and hand out cool prizes.  For each of the "working times" at the library, there are two slots open.  "But," said the kind volunteer coordinator, "since [Sleeping Beauty] and [Snow White] are twins, lets just sign them up for the same time slot.  That will make it so you can bring all three of your girls at once."

Well, that's nice.  And then I explain that on one or two of the days we will be volunteering, Cinderella will be at Girl's Camp and volunteering at the local cultural center, so that day, only SB and SW will be there.

"Well, that's okay," she said, "Then we will have an open slot for someone else."

"But, I can just put each of them in their own time slot, and then you will be covered for that working time," I said.

"Since they are twins, lets just keep them together.  They can share a slot."

And now I am wondering--will they share a t-shirt as well?  And a volunteer badge?  I do hope they have more than one chair for the two of them.

Portfolio

I'm alive.  That's good.  I don't feel great, but that's normal! :) The good news is I may be able to tolerate this new medicine.  Time will tell...

So, anyway.  The twinners went on their super fun field trip yesterday and had a great time.  Today was supposed to be Field Day.  They were disappointed, because it is rainy and cool, and they had to postpone it until next Friday.  I just looked at the forecast for next week.  Hot, summery weather all week.  Except Friday.  It's supposed to rain on Friday.  We'll have to pray for rain on Thursday instead.  I'm just glad that they canceled it for today--it gives me a chance to feel a little more adjusted to this medicine before I go help with Field Day.  Because, of course, I signed up to help.  I am a glutton for punishment, I tell you.  What is wrong with me?  (I love my kids too much, that is what's wrong with me.)

Speaking of those funny kids, I downloaded pictures from the camera, and it looks like some girls decided to do a picture portfolio of their day.  I love it.

Just Stuff

I think I lack the energy and health to formulate a full post.  You know: beginning, middle, end.  So, here are at least some beginning thoughts.  You can fill in the middle and end.

• Last night was Cinderella's choir concert.  They did a great job.  All Disney songs.  Very cute.  There is nothing that bothers me more (okay, there probably are lots of things, but still...) than little girls that sing songs that are too old for them.  A 7-year-old pining for the love of her life?  Come on.  This concert was great.  But, I have no little video icon on my blog publisher--and haven't for months--so I can't even post a snippet for the Grandmas.
• I really like Food Network.  But, it makes me hungry at night.  King thinks he might be gaining calories by osmosis when he watches after 9 p.m..  If we do, it's worth it.  
• I got a new phone with a new plan that includes text.  Already I've "spoken" with my brothers more in the past couple of weeks than I had for the months before.  So, definitely worth it.
• I've decided I really love Stake Conference.  We had ours last weekend, and it was great.  For one, now that King is in the bishopric, it was the last time we will sit together as a family for who knows how long.  That was nice.  The girls so love cuddling with Daddy.  Also, the adult session was super.  Lots of good stuff to think about and goals to make.  We can always do way better than we are doing.  And, turns out those ear plugs are fantastic at church when you feel particularly miserable.
• Speaking of miserable, I go to see my headache doctor today.  He will start me on one of the medications that docs at the Mayo Clinic suggested.  Since I really thought I might die last time I took a medication in the same "family", you can imagine how I look forward to the next few days.  Pray that I will live.  For real.
• SB and SW are going on an all-school end-of-year field trip tomorrow, and their excitement is palpable.  I don't blame them--pizza buffet, bowling, arcade games, go-karts, friends, fun.  I'm excited for them, and even more excited that I don't have to go. :) 

And with those random, inconsequential thoughts, I head to the shower and get on with my day.  One more thing--I read this thought in my study recently, and I love it, don't you? 

"We can't predict all the struggles and storms in life, not even the ones just around the next corner, but as persons of faith and hope, we know beyond the shadow of any doubt that the gospel of Jesus Christ is true and the best is yet to come."

L. Tom Perry, "Let Him Do It with Simplicity," Ensign, Nov. 2008, 7

Nice

This posting once a week is becoming a habit.  Whoops-a-daisy.  Well, maybe I'll do better next week.  In the meantime, how about a Mother's Day story?

I went to the temple with a friend the day before Mother's Day.  While I was gone, the girls planted flowers for me in the pots by our front door.  I love them.  On Mother's Day, the family made me breakfast, we went to church, I napped and napped, and then they made me dinner.  I was spoiled.

On the way home from the temple, I stopped at an outlet mall.  I finally bought a Spring dress.  I had birthday money set aside (from last year) for a dress, and had never found one.  I finally did.  It's cute.  White with brown sort of different sized polk-a-dots, and a light blue over-sweater thing and piping accents .  (I'm sure you have a great picture in your head from that lovely description.)  And, it fits, which doesn't usually happen with a dress and me.

So, I got dressed in my new dress Mother's Day morning, for church.  The girls all liked it, and said they thought it looked nice, which could have been a Mother's Day present, but I don't think so.  They're not that smart. :) And then Snow White comes into my room as I am putting on my shoes, and she says, "Mom, it's too bad those spots are not black instead of brown."

"Oh," I say, "I kind of like the brown and blue together.  You'd like black instead, huh?"

"Well, then you would look exactly like Cruella de Vil..."

And when I looked at her like she might be out of her mind, she added,

..."but nicer?"

With A Vengeance

This week has been a busy one.  So, I have either spent a lot of time in bed conserving energy, spent time running around doing various activities, or spent a lot of time in bed because I've done too much running around.  Blogging is not in this equation.  However, I did formulate a lot of fabulous posts as I was lying in bed.  But, I can't remember a single one of them.  (That's a lie.  I do remember one.  But, since it was one of those ranting, fuming, complaining posts, I will choose to leave it in my head.)

So, good news.  I heard on the radio the other morning that scientists have figured out that it is no longer the "terrible twos" that give parents the most trouble.  Nope.  Studies show that it is the fourteen-year-old girl that parents have the most difficult time with.  Because, they say, those "terrible two" symptoms of stubbornness, independence, and moodiness come back with a "hormonal vengeance".  They really said that--"hormonal vengeance".  Nice.  This is all super great for me, because within six months, I'll have one fourteen-year-old, and then two more shortly after that.  Isn't that fun?  I need some more gray hair, so this should work out swimmingly.

There is just one thing I am questioning about their study:  Are they sure it was fourteen and not thirteen?  Oh, how I hope they mean thirteen.  I think I have had about as much hormonal vengeance as I can handle.