Fashion Show

Sierra took these. The dress was made out of a scarf, and it was tied with a hair clip. She's quite the designer! Nicole, naturally, posed while Sierra took about 20 pictures. Note the different designs of the "dress!"

Mystery solved

I've noticed this past week that my cans of soda seem to disappear rather quickly. I thought I needed to pay more attention and not drink them so fast. This morning, the mystery was solved.

I opened a new (and the last) can, took a sip, and set it on the countertop. Nicole immediately picked up the can, guzzled the ENTIRE can, belched loudly, and set it back onto the countertop. She looked at me very calmly and said, "That was really good, Mom." AND WALKED AWAY!

It's hard to get mad when you're laughing.

Real life

Sometimes I look around and think, "This is about as real as life gets." Good or bad, happy or sad, it's my life.

I taught school for 4 hours this morning, and I am SORE! We talked about opposites. I had three classes standing, sitting, jumping in/out, etc. My poor legs are jello-y.

So after preschool, I stood carefully in the kitchen to do the dishes and try to bend as little as possible. Nicole (not surprisingly) managed to take off all her clothes. She ran in circles, held an apple, and yelled indiscriminate sentences. Dallin, meanwhile, sat at the table drawing yet another picture of the Hulk while he sang a 4-year old version of Jingle Bells. You know the one, "Jingle bells, Batman smells, Robin laid an egg..." He sang quite exuberantly until I finally asked him to stop.

Sierra began practicing her latest piano piece as I was about halfway through the dishes. It sounded great, but added to the general noise. She eventually stopped, came into the kitchen, and asked if 1) she could make some pancakes, 2) if I could take her to the store to buy a Webkinz and 3) if I could show her how to play a new Solitaire game.

Matthew eventually joined in by bouncing a ball down the hallway (strictly forbidden) to find out when I could take him to his friend's house for a sleepover. He also needed help untying a knot in his basketball shoes. I reminded him he needed to take a shower and CHANGE HIS PANTS. He has a favorite pair he would wear every day if I didn't keep on top of him.
Matthew reappeared 15 minutes later, clean, but still wearing those darn pants. I sent him upstairs to re-dress.

Scotty kind of meandered in and out of the kitchen. He wanted a snack, then a cough drop, and then told me about Paul Milsap's latest statistics (a Jazz player, in case you don't know). He also asked if he could have a turn on the computer and happily disappeared to check the latest sports statistics (his favorite website).

With the dishes almost finished, Sierra announced that the pancakes were ready. She made about two dozen, so the kids all sat and ate an early dinner. Yippee ! I didn't have to cook! They happily pulled heaps of pancakes onto their plates and smothered them with pancakes. More dishes. Sigh.

Matt called during the chaos and said traffic was stopped and he was going to be late making it home. The good news? He wants to take me out to dinner and to see a movie.

And so the night has continued. I'm writing this holding a now sleeping Nicole who is wearing adorable pink penguin pajamas. Sierra and Matt went to the store for her new Webkinz, and Matthew keeps checking the clock to see how late it is because he wants to leave. Scotty and Dallin are playing/arguing over a computer game.

The kitchen now has a sinkful of sticky pancakes dishes, which are realistically going to sit there until tomorrow morning.

These days are busy, tiresome, and will end all too soon.

Have I ever mentioned that I love having children? That I love watching tv while I do the dishes, or that Sierra makes the best pancakes I've ever eaten? And the best part - I get to spend the entire evening, alone, with Matt.

Yes, life is good.

Preschool Program

As many of you know, I am now teaching preschool. These are some pictures of the program (thanks, Michelle!) we held last month. The program was held in the cultural hall of a nearby church. I thought putting up 150 chairs was overkill, but over 200 people showed up! I had a moment of panic as I realized I had to talk to these people, and if something went horribly wrong, it was being recorded by several dozen people! The fear was quickly replaced with an overwhelming feeling of awe. One year ago I told Matt I wanted to start a preschool and get back into teaching. Preschool was launched with the goal of having two classes, and it has now mushroomed to four! As I looked through the packed room, and at my sweet little kids, I realized this is truly a dream come true. Here are three from myoldest class, waiting for the program to start. They were so excited!

The podium made for some interesting moments as we stood to say our parts. We were fortunate enough to not have anyone fall off!

Two of the classes had speaking parts. They recited "The Night Before Christmas." This is Jessica, who decided to give me a hug as she said her part. What a sweetie!

We sang "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer". These two (Aeryn and Krystal) posed with their reindeer antlers on.

Here we are singing the 5 days of Christmas. That's a silly song I made up about what their teacher gave to them. We stopped at five because, well, I couldn't think of ways to make up words for the rest of the song. They wouldn't remember it, anyway!

Here's Nicole saying her part: "The stockings were hung by the chimney with care in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there."

So now you all know why we had so much trouble getting the Christmas cards out this year!

Our sweet little girl

Nicole sat upstairs crying for a while this afternoon. She often does that when she's completely worn out, so I didn't pay much attention at first. Finally, I realized the wailing was only intensifying, so I walked upstairs to investigate.

Nicole was sitting on the floor with wet pants. She was sobbing at that point, so I asked her what was wrong.

Between wails, she said, "I made my pants wet and now my Mommy be so sad!"

What can you do but pick up those sweet little children, wet pants and all, and give them hugs and kisses after such a sad comment as that?

Tooth Fairies and Tooth Elves

I don't know how a lost tooth is handled in other homes, but in our house it is a rite of passage and a BIG deal. Scotty lost his first tooth this afternoon. He put his beautiful, white tooth under his pillow. Sometime between now and tomorrow his tooth fairy (or tooth elf) will show up and give him money. They always leave a note behind to introduce themselves. Sierra's was a tooth fairy named Lucinda. Matthew's was a tooth elf named Gelf. Who will visit Scotty? We'll let you know tomorrow! I'll post a picture as soon as I find the cord to the camera. grrrr.

Thoughts on Facebook and High School

I signed up for Facebook yesterday, at the request of a friend. In 24 hours I have reconnected with nearly 50 people! It's amazing how much technology helps us along.

But here's the thing: The more I read about how people from high school are doing, the more I remember how HARD it was growing up out in California. I always felt like I had friends, but I didn't fit in. Now I realize that was EXACTLY right. My best friends were the ones I knew as a young girl, not the people I met in Jr. High and Highschool.

My values and lifestyle are so different from most of my old classmates. It makes me feel so grateful to be where I am, and to have the friends I do now. So, if you're reading this, give yourself a hug from me and big THANK YOU. It means you've made my life happier, just by being a friend.

Oh, and one more thing: Isn't it nice that we only have to be Freshmen once?

Nothing like Facebook to bring life into perspective.