Always The Nicest Mom, Sometimes

I just let E use my "fancy" Bath & Body Works handsoap. She said, "Ooh, la, la! You are always the nicest mommy, sometimes." I asked, "How can someone be always the nicest, sometimes?" She said, "Remember at Kent, Washington at the Target? You didn't let me get a drink one time."

I said, "If that's the meanest I ever am to you, little girl, you are in pretty good shape."

And then I laughed and told P, and now I have to preserve it for posterity here, too!

I think that's the best, most accurate title I've ever been given!

M's Parable

The other night, M couldn't go to sleep despite her medication and she said, "I have this story in my head and I have to get it out or I'll never go to sleep." She then told the following story, which we took a minute to write down this morning...

One day, Jesus met two women on his way to church. He gave each one an apple seed. One of them kept it in her drawer and treasured it, for Jesus had given it to her. Of course, she often said, "Thank you " to Jesus when she saw him.

Instead of keeping it in a drawer, the other woman planted her seed in her garden. For many years, it grew. It dropped seeds and gave her good fruit. Then those seeds grew, and then they dropped seeds that grew, and so on and so on.

After many years, Jesus came to both of the women again. The first woman had done nothing with her seed but gaze at it. But the second woman was eating lovely fruit from it and had given seeds and fruit to others. Jesus said that she had done better with her seed.

The moral of this story is it's not enough to just be thankful that you have something, you should share it, no matter what it is...especially if it's your membership in the church. It will give you great treasure, like the lovely taste of apples.

Mellow

I have to preface this by telling a story about myself...when I was four and went to the doctor's for my "school shots," I smacked the syringe as it was entering my behind (leg?) and forced all the vaccination into myself at once, giving myself an enormous goose-egg. In fact, one of my earliest childhood memories is of hobbling out to the car following that tantrum.

I should also preface this by remembering (without any fondness) that one of my nicknames growing up was "mellow," but not because I was such a calm, easy-going girl. No, it was short for MELO-DRAMATIC! In my defense, though, I did have 3 younger brothers, so I had plenty of opportunities to react!

OK, so today, the girls and I went for our flu shots. E was whimpering the whole way and clinging to my leg as we walked back to the lab. M bravely took hers first, though she did let out a yelp, which didn't help E at all. So, when it was her turn, she curled up in the corner and I had to wrestle to get her arm out of her shirt and couldn't even do that...just got some shoulder exposed (I really should've put her in a t-shirt!) and then I had to pick her up (no small feat at 48 lbs!), kicking and screaming, to sit on the exam table. I had to wrap my arms around her to pin her still for the shot...she yelled and screamed and cried...you get the picture.

The best part, was as we left to go get their sucker, she was LIMPING!!!

Yes, the vaccine was given in her shoulder.

Ah, never a dull moment. At least she gave the nurse and me a laugh (behind her back, of course)!

p.s. For the record, I also had my shot today and I didn't even flinch. Somewhere along the line, I did become "mellow," so maybe there's hope for my little girl, too?!

Define "Kin"

The girls continued to sing "We wish you a Merry Christmas" well into this evening. Even behind a mostly closed door, I could hear the following conversation:

"E, it's KIN, not KIDS!"

More singing.

"NO! It's KIN, as in WebKIN!"

Man, I am just going to be laughing all of December when that song is played. These girls are so crazy about their Webkinz. At least it's something they can do together despite their age differences, and I think that it's a pretty cool concept and website. I just wish I'd thought of it!

Merry Christmas from 2 Curly Girls

My dad filmed the girls this morning before he left to head back to OR. He gave them choreography suggestions, but they pretty much elaborated on their own. For example, M's "thumb's up" and E's hip action at the end was all her! Now just try to sing it yourself w/o doing the moves...

Thankful

We are so thankful that my parents could join us for Thanksgiving. This was the first time they'd been to our new place, and by moving a little bit south, we shaved off about 30 minutes, so now it's "only" about 4.5 hours between us.

We are thankful for simple things, but without them, life is so much harder...the ability and freedom to travel, health, a warm place to live, and plenty of food to eat.

I'm also thankful that my mom cooked the turkey, stuffing, and rolls ahead of time...all we had to do was heat them up! She also came loaded with all my favorite Christmas cookies, so now we've had our yearly treats and I don't have to make any (except maybe I'll make some more fudge. And maybe some chocolate covered cashews. Please don't tell my family I hid a bag of her chocolate cherry cookies in the freezer...they were disappearing way too fast and they are my FAVORITE. And, that carmel corn was awesome...maybe we might need some more of that...)

I'm grateful that the girls want to share a bedroom, leaving the third room open for our computer, their toys, and an air mattress when guests come. After years of having to have guests sleep in the living room (and get woken up at 4:30 when Paul leaves for work), I was grateful to have a little space just for them. They appreciated it, too, I think!

We're grateful for our new home and new town. The trees are so beautiful and we have daily, breathtaking views of Mt. Rainier (we'll have a great view when it blows...) It's not too busy or crowded but we have all the resources and shopping we need.

I'm ever so grateful for my curly girls. I often remember hearing my dr say, "You may never have children," and it still brings tears to my eyes to think of the miracles and blessings that these little girls are. Of course there are moments I think, "I wanted this?!?" but really, the answer is always a resounding "yes."

And then there's my husband, P. He can make me smile when no one else can. He treats me as an equal partner and maybe even trusts me a little too much (evil snicker here...heh, heh, heh). I know he'd so much rather work swing shift than get up so dreadfully early (it's 3:50 am now), but he sacrifices so that he can be around in the evening to do family stuff with me and the girls. He's the man!

I'm thankful for Jesus and God and the scriptures and the prophet and all that trying to live the Gospel does for me and my family.

And, I'm thankful for all the family and friends we have (that's YOU). Each of you bless our lives...some more than you'll ever know. We love you all!

Inspired by Macy's Parade

While Gramma & I prepared our Thanksgiving dinner, the girls watched (danced, and marched along with) the Macy's Parade on TV. It got kind of quiet, and as I came around the corner, E was dilligently arranging several pillows, dolls, and newspapers on the living room floor.

"What are you doing?!"

"I'm making a float!"

Here they are, waving to the crowd, full of adoring fans, I'm sure.

"Elbow, elbow, wrist, wrist, wrist, stroke the pearls, and blow a kiss!"

Our Neighbor, Lake Tapps

One of our favorite things about our new home is it's proximity to Lake Tapps and the playground there. Our girls love to swing, and our adrenilin junkie, E, is particularly fond of the super-high swings. We were blessed with sunshine for all of our Thanksgiving weekend. It was a little chilly, but hey, we'll take it! P said the weather this particular day reminded him of his New England Thanksgivings as a kid.

My Husband is Famous

Yesterday, Wednesday Nov 21, in the Seattle Times on page 2 of the "Local News" section, P received his fifteen minutes of fame. He, obviously, had no idea anyone was up on the mezzanine taking pictures (should that have been a security alert?), or maybe he would've turned the corners of his mouth the opposite direction. What a picture! It cracks me up, and there's got to be a great caption to go with it...we've had fun thinking up a few!

(Double click on the picture to see a larger view)

An "Ah-ha" moment

So, two Fridays ago, P & I went to a 3-hr "Time Out for Couples" seminar, sponsored by the church bookstore, Deseret Book. I was unsure how cheesy it would be and we were both pleasantly surprised how funny and enjoyable it was.

Amidst the jokes (it felt strangely cathartic to laugh together about things that drive all of us a little batty) there was teaching and learning and some deep stuff going on. I just thought I'd share one of the "take home lessons:"

According to LDS doctrine, we know that one of the reasons that Satan hates mankind is because we all get to come to earth and have a body; something that he will never have. That's always been the end of the discussion for me, but one of the presenters pointed out this:

Satan will never have a partner. He will never have a wife. He will never have children. He will always be alone.

What an "ah-ha" moment for me! No wonder he works so very hard to destroy marriages and families! He is such a jealous creature and wants nothing except us to be as miserable as he is.

Maybe this isn't as profound for you as it was for me, but it's really stayed with me. It makes me want to invest more effort, love, patience, laughter, joy, and appreciation in my marriage. I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to be P's wife now...and in the eternities.

So take that, Satan!

Rewind to Halloween

Can we rewind a little bit here? I'd like to share some of our Halloween photos, since this blog didn't exist last month.

Also, please note all the moving boxes...we moved into our new home on Oct 28th, so we should get lots of "good parent credit" for even bothering to visit a pumpkin patch, let alone carve one, right?! Have to admit, though, "The Mountain" (Mt. Rainier, for you non-locals) was in fine form that day!

This year, M wanted to look "just like" her Webkinz beagle, and E was a ballerina-princess-with-a-magical-unicorn (also a Webkinz).

The best line of the night came from E, who, on the way home from trick or treating, said, "Mom, when are you going to put up the Halloween decorations?"

She was not impressed when I answered, "Next year!"

Style

E decided to go "fancy" to church today (what a surprise). She had very specific ideas how her hair should be. As I was telling her I didn't think I could do it, and "how about we just wear it down with these pretty clips?" she said, "But Mommy, then I will have no STYLE!" Luckily, I found this clip and got it twisted up for her. She was very, very pleased with the result. How did I get such a girly girl?! Every time I looked at her at church, I thought of the phrase, "So cute, it's ridiculous." Thanks for the laughs, little girl!

My Very First Post to My Very First Blog

I've been planning on putting this off until the holidays are over, but decided not to procrastinate that long, so as my first offical act as a 34 year-old, I am entering the blog-o-sphere! Bear with me as I learn how this all works...I am quite old, you know!

Yep, today was my birthday and I spent almost three hours of it in M's 3rd grade classroom hot gluing (paper) turkeys together and I now have four impressive burns to show for it. The evening was better, as the girls & P went out to fetch dessert & came back w/ it plus flowers, chocolate, and a cd. Then, we had dinner at Applebee's and ice cream pie at home. E was determined that this was to be a fancy occasion and wore a flower (small) from my bouquet tucked behind her ear and even a bit of lip gloss. But at the restaurant, she was almost in tears because it wasn't "fancy enough. I want to take you to someplace fancy-ish, Mommy!" I said, "What's not fancy about this place?" "The music. It's just not good." I diverted the tears by quickly suggesting that when we had dessert at home, we could light all the candles and play "fancy" music. She lit up *pun, pun* at that idea and totally took me up on it. Thanks, Jim Brickman, for making my b'day dessert so very fancy. The girls even hopped up from the table for some improvisational dancing. Reminded me of the "shows" we used to put on as kids whenever it was somebody's b'day. Tonight wasn't quite the same, though, since there were no boys in dance costumes...

Oh, my other big excitement was the package from my bro & SIL in NY. They just attended a chocolate convention & sent me chocolate covered potato chips (which were suprisingly good!) and an amazing dark chocolate bar w/cherries & almonds. Mmmmmmmm.

So, here's to my new blog and new year of life. When I was a kid, I used to like to double my age and think, "Wow! In twice my age, I'll be sixteen!" Today I realized that if I halved my age, I'd be 17. And, if I did double it, I'd be old enough to retire...technically, though I don't think I ever get to retire from my "job," do I? At least I'll more than qualify for the Senior Discount at Ross... Gotta have something to look forward to!