Yesterday was the absolute worst day at cooking school I have ever had. I got yelled at by a teammate, and the chef almost completely lost it at me multiple times. I came home feeling so sick and upset that Abe ended up giving me a blessing at 1:30 am, and then I only slept three hours after that. It was terrible. I would love to quit, but I know sticking with it will build character…so I’m gritting my teeth and going forward, even though this feels like a masochistic exercise.
But I feel better today. Honestly, I spent most of the morning imagining what I should have said to my teammate, and that actually helped me feel better and move on. I actually don’t hold anything against her, but it felt therapeutic to think out an appropriate verbal response to her random, loud verbal attack last night.
Also, I was grateful to be on the receiving end of both just and unjust yelling. It made me resolve with more determination than ever that I will not yell at my children. I sat Lydia down this morning and explained everything that happened last night and why I am sorry I have yelled at her in the past. I then told her I was going to try very, very hard not to yell ever again, but if I did slip, I instructed her to say, “Mommy, your yelling makes me feel sad and scared. Please stop.” I hope this plan works. After the pain of last night, I just can’t bear the thought of my children feeling that degraded and inhuman.
So today was a success! I was more patient than I have ever been in the history of my own parenting, and the kids, for the most part, responded with excellent behavior. I pray, pray, pray God helps me keep this resolve.
We woke up and played princess for forty-five minutes before breakfast. The girls were so excited about their Disney gifts from Tom and Suzanne!I played with my kids a TON today. I was trying to make up for every parental mistake I’ve ever made…this is “Row, Row Your Boat” in a laundry basket boat.
After taking the girls to the library and grocery store, we came home. I played play-doh with Lydia for half an hour. Ever since Abe’s FHE, she likes to play “Amalikiah and Moroni’s walls.” In her version, a snake kills Amalikiah–and then a frog kills a snake.
We also had some Primary teachers over for dinner. Actually, Abe used to home teach Lisa and Dustin, so he was extremely excited when he found out which teachers were coming.
Me, Mary, Cathy, and Lisa. I have resolved to photograph at least the people who come over to dinner, because when I review my past blogs quickly, it helps me get a better sense of each day’s events.
At 5:54 am I awoke to the sound of the front door slamming. Abe leaves for work at 5:30 these days, and so I was terrified that someone was in the house. I crept to the stairs and heard light switches going on and off in the house. Convinced there was someone inside, I called 911.
Twenty minutes later, a team of six policemen swarmed the house, only to discover…nothing. I felt so dumb. But I honestly did hear the door slam, and I heard another door slam right before the police arrived. Since Abe and I are missing two full sets of keys, we had all the locks changed today just to be safe. Abe has promised to deadbolt the door behind him when he leaves for work.
To be honest, I still haven’t quite recovered from the adrenaline rush that accompanied lying in bed whispering on the phone with 911 for twenty minutes. It was terrible. I haven’t felt safe since. Also, I’m stressed out that I call 911 so much. This was my fourth call in two and a half years. If I operated 911, I would stop responding to my number’s calls. “Oh, it’s just the hystrionic lady in the Avenues who always thinks she’s under attack. Let’s respond to someone who actually NEEDS help…”
The only times I’ve forgotten the scare today were 1) visiting teaching Marilyn this morning and 2) having dinner with my mission friend, Jen! She’s from France, but her husband is American and they’ve been living in D.C. for the past five years. Jen was a director at Miriam’s kitchen during that time, and the experiences she shared uplifted us so much. We were so inspired by Jen and Chris’s passion for community and homeless-outreach.
Now that they’ve moved to Salt Lake, I’m looking forward to spending more time with Jen. She was also mission companions in Las Vegas with one of Abe’s high school friends, and so for our next get together we’re going to invite the Maudsleys over for dinner and let Katie and Jen reconnect. It’s been almost ten years since our missions!
Here’s a photo Abe took at the end of dinner. Chris was also taking pictures, and Jen and I are each looking at our hubby’s phone.
We had a rough start to the day because we were up almost all night last night. Mary woke up because of all the commotion in her unairconditioned room (Harley was scared of the air conditioner) and proceeded to spend the rest of the night wide awake in bed with me. She can’t sleep when she’s hot.
This morning I didn’t realize Lydia’s ballet class started at 9:30 and she missed it. That was also sad.
Dancing before we realized my timing error.
We ended up just taking the kids to the park since my house was getting completely destroyed with four kids here. I wish I weren’t so up tight! But it’s honestly so hard for me to watch everything I JUST cleaned get dirty, not to mention furniture get outright abused. I also thought the incessant whining going on would drive me out of my mind, and my only shot at sanity was getting some air. Maybe I was a little edgy because of the sleepless night, too.
Yes, I wore that yesterday and slept in it. I would still be wearing it and might wake up dressed for church tomorrow if I hadn’t gotten chocolate all over it at dinner. Darn. Usually my same-outfit-three/four-days-in-a-row streaks happen in the winter, but I guess they’re starting to occur in other seasons now.
I fervently wish I were a better person. I’ve spent the whole day feeling sure that I’m exactly like Laman and Lemuel. When Abe tried to protest, I pointed out that Laman and Lemuel actually made the journey to the Promised Land, but they murmured and complained the whole way there. I might be executing deeds that seem good, but sometimes my heart and my mouth are sooooo not there. At this point, I wish I were a murmurer–that would be so much better than a LOUD complainer. See? I’m still complaining, and the ordeal ended ten hours ago.
After we dropped the kids off at noon, I came home and called my mom. Mom, you’re the best listener. Thank-you for listening to me vent.
We then proceeded to take a looooooooooong nap. Mary slept four hours, Abe slept three, and I slept almost two.
Lydia did not sleep. She spent the whole time playing pretend by herself. Here she is in her Elsa cape. Ever since I gave her that cape and she realized Elsa’s clothing items are on the market, she has been asking God in her prayers for everything else Elsa wears. For good measure, she’s also repeatedly requested I write Santa a letter with the same request.
I then did a project that’s due today for my online nutrition class. When that was in, we piled into the car to go swimming.
After swimming. Lydia is wearing a skirt of Mary’s because her 3T shorts actually fell off at the playground. Abe turned around and there was Lydia, standing bewildered in her neon green undies. Maybe she’ll fill out and be able to wear them by next summer…but if she can still fit in Mary’s clothes (and Mary is teensy weensy), I’m not holding out much hope.
After swimming, we used a Groupon I had to go get Thai food.
On the way to Thai.
Then we came back home to our destroyed house. After putting the girls down, Abe and I just lay in the rubble for a while contemplating all the work we need to do to clean up. I’m blogging instead of cleaning. Maybe my time has come…
Just one more picture, though. Mary has a cat named Twinkie, but she calls it “Pinky Winky.” Here she is with Twinkie-Pinky-Winky.
Mom and Grandma, I’m sorry that this is so short and doesn’t include the pictures we talked about on the phone today. We are babysitting some children who haven’t seen their mom since Wednesday, and it has been a little crazy. The poor little girl basically moaned “I want my mommy” over and over again until she finally fell asleep at midnight. Abe and I tried to comfort her, but to no avail. Lydia is currently awake because they’re all sleeping in the same room. I’m contemplating how I can sneak their window open since the air conditioner scared Harley (the little girl), so I had to turn it off.
Okay, so I got behind in New York. Thankfully, I haven’t taken any pictures for the past two days, so I only have to post from Monday and Tuesday!
Monday
Abe got in late on Sunday night (or early Monday morning…he walked in the apartment around 3 am). We slept in a little in the morning and then took the train down to Central Park to watch a puppet show at the Swedish Cottage. They do old fashioned marionette puppet shows at the cottage, and the show we saw was called Bessie’s Big Shot. It was a cute little plot about a cow named Bessie who wants to join the circus. The plot was mostly an excuse for the show to use a lot of fascinating circus puppets, but we didn’t mind!
Then we ate lunch at a Druze restaurant called Gazala’s. We loved our food.
Mary was tired from the puppet show.
Afterward, we went to the Natural History Museum. Our favorite room was the Hall of Large Mammals. That room is amazing. I could not believe the detail in those dioramas, the girls were fascinated. The room also made me grateful to live in the West because most of those gorgeous scenes took place in the west. All the road trips we need to make flitted through my mind as we walked through that hall.
Lydia’s favorite part of the museum was the skeleton in the evolution room. She demanded to sit in front of the skeleton for a full five minutes and then protested when we said it was time to move on. She has a skeleton app on her iPad, and it has made her very interested in skeletons.
By the time we were done at the museum, we were pooped. We took the train home and I got a pedicure and a lot of long-overdue waxing done while Abe and my Mom watched the girls at home. When my pedicure was done, it was almost time for my high school friend, Lauren Merkley, to come over for dinner. She and her boyfriend joined us for sushi at Clark and Swathi’s apartment, and it was wonderful catching up. My only regret is that we didn’t have more time. I love Lauren.
Tuesday
I got up early on Tuesday to go to Times Square and try to get rush tickets to the musical, Beautiful: The Carol King Musical. My friend from high school, Jessie Mueller, is the star of the show and recently won a Tony award for her work on the show. While in line, I bumped into another high school/elementary school friend. It’s amazing how Jessie’s success brings people together–I’ve felt more connected to my high school class than I ever did in high school because it’s been so fun to watch everyone cheer Jessie on in Facebook. Jessie is such a marvelous person; she was the type of person who was nice to everybody and made everyone feel special. She also was so obviously talented even then.
Abe and I ended up waiting in line for cancellation tickets because I couldn’t get two tickets together in the morning. After a two hour wait, my feet were swollen, but we got tickets!
Seeing Jessie perform was extraordinary. It probably ranks as a life highlight–certainly, it’s my favorite performance of any kind of show I’ve ever attended. I still feel elated in my heart from the experience. Afterward, I got to see Jessie outside. That was a kind of “my cup runneth over” experience.
And it ran over more, because after the show Abe and I got the best gyros I have ever had in my life (and I have had gyros in Greece on multiple occasions) in Times Square. That was a happy night.
Skipping back to Tuesday afternoon, the most memorable thing we did was eat in Dominique Ansel bakery, home of the cronut. They were sold out of cronuts, but our lunch and dessert were amazing.
We did some shopping in Soho and got rained on, so all of the rest of our plans got replaced with a subway home. I had already walked several miles from midtown to the West Village, not to mention all around Soho, so I was fine with going home by that point. The evening ended with the show, so no complaints.
We stepped into the Scholastica store right before the downpour.On the way home.Mary fell asleep on the way home.
Lydia also fell asleep on the way home. Abe set her up like this and she slept for three straight hours. No joke.
Wednesday
The girls watched Frozen for the umpteenth time in the morning.
We ordered one last meal from Seamless, the NYC online take-out service. My yellow curry carried me through our flight until we got home. Tom and Suzanne picked us up, and we ended up getting Subway for dinner and eating outside. The weather was gorgeous, and we were happy to be home. It was a perfect trip and a perfect homecoming.
Thank-you, Clark and Swathi, for a fabulous trip. We love you so much. Thank-you, Mom, for being wonderful. The girls love you and already miss you so much. Thank-you, Grandma, for lending us Mom for the trip. We love you and only wish you could have been there, too!
Thursday
The only thing of note today was that I gave Lydia an Elsa cape I had been saving until Christmas. I’ve decided to use it as a tool to help her share better. She can only wear it when she’s in the mood to share. I even have a motto: “You can wear it if you share it!” We’ll see if this helps. The whole day has been a series of tantrums and screaming fits. I think the girls are tired from the trip. I did go swimming this morning and then took the girls to story time at the library, but it’s been tantrums ever since.
Puerto Rico
Here are Abe’s photos from Puerto Rico!
The church where Liem and Phuong got married is the oldest in Puerto Rico.
Now Abe and I are folding laundry…only I’m blogging instead. Back to the laundry!
This morning was pretty low-key: cleaning, reading, lounging, playing with kids, feeding kids, etc.
Isabella came over at 2 pm so I could go to yoga. By the time I came home, it was time to make dinner. I tried my new pressure cooker today and it worked! I read the manual yesterday and couldn’t find it today, so I kept hoping I wouldn’t accidentally blow the house up. When I turned the knob to “release pressure,” the sound was so startling that Mary screamed and we all ran out of the kitchen. That might take some getting used to.
Then we met up with our friends, the Skardas, and headed up to a campground in Big Cottonwood Canyon to make s’mores.
I literally ate so many that I still have a stomachache. Carrie had the great idea of sandwiching the marshmallows between chocolate coated cookies. It was delicious.
Once again, the girls were too tired for a proper bed routine. I will tell Lydia to brush her teeth for five straight minutes tomorrow morning…
We love three day weekends. I am so happy to have Abe around, although you wouldn’t know it because I sneaked off for a three hour break to use a Groupon I got–myself–for my birthday. It was for a an hour massage, an hour facial, and a twenty-five minute back scrub. They cut the facial short and the back scrub lasted maybe seven minutes, but the massage was an hour and a half, and it was the best massage I have ever gotten in my life. After all the yoga this week, it felt amazing.
While I was at the massage, Abe and the girls were home eating, building forts, and putting flowers in Mary’s hair:
Then I came home and ate with the kids before we went swimming. After swimming we did some errands. During the course of our errands, Mary dumped two full cups of ice water on herself and Lydia dumped an entire water bottle on herself–all accidents. Lydia was trying to drown a fly that was pestering her, and Mary was just trying to drink water. When we got home, Mary made a beeline for some water on Lydia’s table and dumped that on herself too.
We had changed the girls into their pj’s after swimming so that we wouldn’t have to change them again before bedtime, but guess what? With all the water dumping, the girls got fresh pj’s once again when we got back.
This morning was my first Sunday in my new calling. I enjoyed the Primary, although I am a little overwhelmed at the prospect of learning everyone’s names. I also am not quite sure how to make myself most useful, but I’m sure that that will become clear in time.
We left church soon after Sacrament meeting (our last meeting) because Mary was inconsolable. We came home, ate, took naps, and then had a family council. Abe loves to plan for the week, and he really wanted to plan as a family. This is what it looked like:
A little hectic.
We Skyped right afterward with Clark and Swathi. The sound on my iPad broke last week, so Skyping is a lot more complicated now. Nevertheless, it was great to chat with Clark and Swathi. We love them so much.
Then we headed to the Miners’ for birthday celebrations.
Playing badminton outside.
Katie played while holding Mary. Impressive.Abe discussing how much he loves his job and why.
Frankie.Waiting for the birthday festivities to begin.We moved Lydia under the counter so she could see the action.We celebrated Clint’s birthday. He and Heather live in Phoenix but were in town. It was great getting to know them better!Charlie and Henry trying to blow out the trick candles once and for all.It was Steve’s birthday, too. Henry helped blow out the candles.Mary clapped.Steve with nieces and nephews.Siblings.Steve with his parents. The cutest picture of the day, I think.Examining seed pods afterward.And throwing them.This is a picture Abe took yesterday after the market (that I forgot to post).
Today was another 5:15 am day. I have an unlimited Bikram yoga pass for a month AND today is the last Saturday that my studio offers a 6 am class. There was no way I could miss it! After that, I came home, showered, scarfed down one of Abe’s fabulous pancakes, and took the girls to the market. (I had to wake Abe at 5:30 to help me find his car keys, and so he needed a nap.)
Lydia pushing Mary to the market. Mom, can you see the stickers you sent them on their dresses?Lydia and Mary each got to pick a rock for a quarter.The sweet, kind men at the rock stand let the girls have some rocks for free, too.Watching the trapeze.Lydia swinging at the playground.We ran into Nathan and Hannah (and Gregory) at the market! Not pictured: We also ran into Karin and Jay.
After the market, we came home and rested for a minute. I had to play the piano for a baptism at 12:30, so it was a quick rest. Abe was really sweet and gave me a shin massage because yesterday’s 10,000 steps gave me shin splints. Pathetic, I know. With the greatest reluctance, I cut the massage off and headed over to the baptism.
The baptism was absolutely wonderful. I sat down with Jessica Felix (who got baptized) afterward, and she told me her amazing conversion story. She kept referring to how wonderful “that Mormon book” is and even quoted passages to me–spontaneously, with great enthusiasm. She was incredibly inspiring. I’m so glad she’s part of our ward family now.
After I got home from the baptism, I discovered the girls eating a big lunch.Abe set this out for me. Sweet man.
Then it was errands and a wedding. Abe’s cousin got married today, and since we couldn’t make it to the sealing this morning, we headed up to their reception in Midway tonight. Midway is so beautiful. For a minute, I thought maybe we should move there…and then I thought about how cold it is (it’s up in the mountains) and how Abe would have to commute through a canyon everyday. No thanks. But as the setting for a reception (it was at Susie’s aunt’s house), it was perfect.
Lydia painted Isabella some pictures a couple days ago and put them in an envelope. She was so happy to give Isabella the pictures today when we carpooled en route to the wedding.Watching Isabella open her pictures.On the way to Midway.So Pretty.Walking to the reception.
Isabella and Lydia on the bench while the rest of us went through the line.
Susie made these darling flower garlands.
In the line.Dessert table.I’d never had dippin’ dots before. They’re cold! And tasty.The house had a beautiful, Martha Stewart-worthy garden.This was the biggest, most healthy looking rhubarb plant I have ever seen.
Pretty cake.Eating their dippin’ dots.
Under the mistletoe.
The gorgeous couple.
Sadie is one week apart from Mary, and you can kind of see a resemblance, I think. Her mother and Abe are cousins.
Since the reception only had desserts, Abe and I took the girls straight to Whole Foods afterward and filled up. Lydia kept running around saying, “I’m so healthy! Who’s a healthy girl??? Me!!! I am!!! I’m so healthy!!”
At whole Foods.
We also discovered that Mary looooooves pepperoni pizza. Since we were so late, Whole Foods sold us a leftover pizza for a discounted price. We didn’t break it open until the car ride home, and Mary went totally nuts. She can’t even say three syllable words yet, but in the middle of the ride she said, “pah-pah-roh-nee” and pointed vigorously at the pizza box. She ended up eating an entire slice by herself.
I comforted myself about the late hour on the way home by thinking, “Oh, well. If we’re fifteen minutes late to church tomorrow, no big deal.” And then I remembered that I have a calling now that requires me to get to church on time. Sorry to say it, but darn. Guess I’ll get to bed ASAP so the morning isn’t quite so painful.
Happy Father’s Day to the greatest dad I know! I think the kind of dad Abe is was epitomized today at Red Butte Gardens. We had gone there after church for a picnic, and Lydia really wanted Abe to go through the vine tunnels with her. Abe enthusiastically followed her, and he tried to convince me to join by saying, “Look, Honey! These are perfect for grown-ups, too! All you have to do is squat really low, grab these bars, and hop your way through.”
I am so glad the girls have Abe, because I’m just not that good a sport.
I give thanks every day of my life for Abe. He is such a genuine, kind, fun, funny, enthusiastic, optimistic, loving person. I could trot out a hundred more adjectives to describe him, but I have a feeling that wouldn’t quite do him justice. Anyway, Mom and Grandma, you both already know what a fun and wonderfully creative dad Abe is. He’s the best.
Here are the pictures from today:
We had a picnic at Red Butte Gardens right after church.Mary eating her lunch at the garden.Abe took this picture in the tunnel after he had hopped through quite a bit of it. As you can see, it was a short tunnel.
We celebrated my birthday tonight at the Miner’s.
Lydia refused to join the pictures because she was standing watch near the cakes and goodies.We celebrated Grandpa Miner’s birthday today, too!Balu and Mary cuddling.
Lydia was excited to sit on a chair that was “just her size.”Lydia bat the ball twice!The boys wrestling while Lydia hammered a roc.Bapa and Mary playing.
