This morning was Lydia’s first day of dance at her new studio. We dropped her off and headed straight to Toys ‘R Us to pick up a birthday present for Espen. While we were there, Mary took a ride on the Tigger boat.
Mary wanted to buy: wrapping paper and an Elmo book.
Then we picked up Lydia, raced to the farmer’s market, bought produce, and headed to Espen’s party at the Kangaroo Zoo. The girls had a blast bouncing on everything. Honestly, I get anxiety in places and parties like that, but that notwithstanding, we had a great all around time.
Then we came home for some naps and quiet time. After that, we headed over to Fleur’s house. Anique is a flight attendant and away this weekend, and her dad is watching Fleur. She called and asked if we could go play with Fleur a little bit since she was having a hard day. I don’t think our presence helped Fleur much, but the girls sure had fun!
Fleur and her grandpa, Tom. He was such a nice man. I can see where Anique gets it from!
Then we raced to the library to pick out some books and raced to church for stake conference. After church, we hurried to pick up Lalitha and Eden to take them grocery shopping…and then Abe, the girls and I came home and all collapsed. I am ready to be done with this day.
I was pretty energetic from my juice cleanse this morning. I got up at 5:30, spent an hour studying my scriptures, steam cleaned and vacuumed the entire downstairs, dusted, organized, fed the children multiple times, and had a fun (picture-less, sorry Grandma!) play date with Misty and her adorable kids.
Lydia and Mary played chase while I cleaned the house. During the process, Mary’s pants fell down. Even though she’s about to turn two, these 18 month sized pants are just way too big on her.
Then I crashed. I proceeded to lie in bed lethargically until I decided I needed to eat something. It had been a day and a half by then, and I was starting to obsess over food in my head. It didn’t feel healthy.
I wasn’t the only one to crash. I came downstairs to discover Lydia passed out on the floor.She proceeded to nap for the next two and a half hours. The child really NEEDS to nap, even though she’s refused to do this for a year.
After Abe came home, we ate dinner and drove to Red Butte Gardens…only to discover they were closed. No matter. We headed over to Sugar House Park so the girls could still see ducks and then play on the play ground. I had a lot of fun chasing Mary around (in spite of my ankle, which didn’t enjoy the chasing as much as Mary or I).
Abe and I are having a homework party. He has hours and hours of extra work to do for his job, and I have a ton of homework to do. It works! Except for the fact that I am exhausted and slightly nauseous from the juice experiment. Hopefully we can finish soon and get some sleep at the start of this weekend. We had a pow-wow to plan tomorrow hour by hour because it is so packed. I really hate Saturdays that don’t feel free, but it looks like tomorrow will be one of those days…
It was Lydia’s first day of preschool today. She loved it.
I spent most of the morning and afternoon in the hospital. In the morning, Mary was perfect and spent the whole time quietly eating and watching Dora the Explorer while I sat with Andrea through her contractions.
In the afternoon, Andrea finally gave birth. I have never been to a birth other than my own. The little baby girl was perfectly formed, except her eyes hadn’t quite finished forming. Everything else was exactly like a healthy, live baby…only the cord was wrapped four times around her neck and actually braided (like you would braid hair) down the side. She was one active little child in utero. I felt such grief when I saw her. But I was so inspired by Andrea’s resilience. She has so much faith, and she really knows her baby is okay and in a better place. I admire her so much.
I should also mention what a help Ina was. When I returned from preschool with the girls in tow, Andrea was in transition. Ina has been by Andrea’s side almost the whole time, and when she saw me with my girls, she immediately gave me her place by Andrea and took the girls until the birth was over.
After the birth, I took the girls grocery shopping and then made dinner. We had the Escalantes over for dinner. They are such a nice family, although they must have been so annoyed by how we followed them to their car and kept talking as they were trying to leave. Sometimes, Abe and I like to pretend we have tons of time to kill. It’s a nice illusion, but in retrospect, I feel bad that they had to pay the price.
And now I am exhausted. Andrea’s in-laws and their six kids are staying the weekend in our place since Andrea’s place is so small. When I wake up tomorrow, I guess I will hunt down our blow up beds. In the meantime, I am exhausted. My thoughts and prayers are with Andrea and her family.
Yesterday Ina babysat so I could go get my blood tests done. Everything came back normal, which confirms that I am, indeed, a hypochondriac.
After I came home, I found out about my friend’s baby. The rest of the day revolved around that. We did, however, go to the ward picnic. Abe stayed with the girls while I went to the hospital. He only took one picture:
Abe took a picture of Mary with cotton candy remnants on her face.
Apparently, there was a magician there who did tricks. It turns out that one of the desires of Lydia’s three year old heart was to get chosen for the tricks…but she never raised her hand. I bet she’ll learn that skill in preschool.
Today I leaped out of bed to send off a bunch of emails coordinating help and visits for my friend and do homework. By the time the girls were done with breakfast, it was past 10 am. We’ll have to adjust our schedules tomorrow; Lydia has to be AT school by 8:45!
After breakfast, I went for a quick run, took a shower, and worked on some laundry. I fed the girls lunch, practiced piano, played pretend with Lydia, and then Misty came over for a play date! Misty and her kids never fail to make me happy.
I skipped school today, but Isabella came over at the same time so I could go to the hospital. My friend has had trouble delivering her baby, and it probably won’t come until the wee hours of the morning. Please pray for her and her family.
Then I came home, caught the tail end of dinner, and took the girls and Isabella out for ice cream to lift our spirits.
Our view from the ice cream shop. The picture doesn’t do it justice. It felt like we were right under the mountains.
Then it was home. While we were at ice cream, Abe was out doing Elder’s Quorum visits. He got home before us and cleaned the house in time for our arrival. He was very excited to try our new steam cleaner on the kitchen floor. We feel enthused about that purchase.
I better get to bed because I am expecting to run to the hospital in the wee hours of the morning. Better get some sleep.
Sorry, Grandma, but I don’t have pictures and I’m racing to bed. My friend whom I visit teach is in labor, and I’ve been with her until now. They’re going to call me when it gets close, so I need to get to bed to get some sleep in first. It’s an extremely sad situation because her baby has no heartbeat, so my friend is having to deal with that knowledge while trying to give birth. She’s amazing. If you could send a prayer her way, that would be great.
Love you! I will post the pictures I took today in tomorrow’s blog.
I only have a couple pictures today. This one I took this morning while I was doing homework. The girls were angelic today and let me do hours of homework while they entertained themselves:
During Mary’s nap, Ron and Shirl replaced a window in the house. Lydia was curious and at one point left the house to watch. I was upstairs reading when I heard the front door bang, and I knew Lydia had just let herself out to watch them. So I hurried downstairs and ended up reading to Lydia on the lawn. She was really excited because Puss got to come, although she was a little worried he’d blow away in the wind…
Then I went to cooking school and made a bunch of stuff for my Latin class.
Mexican garlic soupA super spicy cactus dish on ricea turkey with two special salsas, fresh cheese (I made it for the first time and couldn’t believe how easy it was!), pickled onions, and a bunch of other stuffChurros and Mexican hot chocolate
Abe had another great day at work. The girls were wonderfully behaved today, and now it’s time for bed. Good night!
This morning was beautiful outside, so I packed breakfast snacks and let the girls eat in the jogger while I took a two hour walk. We walked up to the part of City Creek Canyon where bright green clovers grow in the creek; ever since we’ve moved here, that’s what I look for every year to tell me it’s Spring. And wow, is it Spring! The clovers were lush, bright green, and much more abundant than I’ve ever seen them. Too bad I didn’t take my phone–I wish I could have taken a picture. The birds were chirping, the creek was gurgling, and that bright green clover made me really happy.
The sad part is that I have had shin splints for over a week, and the two hour walk (with a couple short jogs in the middle) exacerbated them to the point where I spent the rest of the day in a mild state of pain. Happily, on my walk home, I ran into Aria and Anique, both avid runners with lots of shin splint experience, and they gave me some tips. There’s hope!
Then I came home, cleaned the house, fed the girls, and gave Lydia a piano lesson. We make such little progress in these lessons that sometimes I wonder if it’s worth it. But then I always conclude that it is worth it, just because Lydia and I get so much one-on-one time, and, if nothing else, Lydia is learning to sit and focus at the piano. At first I’d give her a treat when the lesson was done, but then I started to worry she’d confuse sugar with happiness, so now at the end of our lesson we take water breaks and read together. It’s my favorite part.
Then I finished my book, fed the girls, practiced the piano, and cleaned the house. Abe and I had planned on going to the temple tonight, but as soon as Abe brought the baby-sitter over, he checked his wallet and could not find his recommend. He searched for fifteen minutes and finally gave up. Truthfully, I was so disappointed. I had been looking forward to going to the temple all day, and I almost suggested that I go by myself–but then I didn’t know what we’d say to the babysitter, who was already at our house. We ended up going to the Cheesecake Factory, since Abe’s mom gave him a gift card there a while back. When it came time to pay, Abe found his recommend behind his credit card. I guess it wasn’t meant to be a temple night, and even though I was initially disappointed, I always love talking to my husband, so it turned out okay.
The flash on the camera phone is blinding. This is Abe enduring it. Abe took a picture of me, but my lopsided squint in the face of the flash made me look inebriated, which I was NOT.
This morning I sneaked in a trip to the library and grocery store before our fun play date with Paige, Ada, and Liv.
Here are some pictures from the play date:
We did a lot of art: painting, coloring, stamping, and playing with chalk.Paige brought over some polymer sand that was incredible. It looked and felt like sand, but it cleans up like cotton candy–a no mess kind of sand that just makes you marvel at technology.Adorable.
Then the girls were so worn out from the fun that they took a three hour nap. Hallelujah. I read a chapter in my book and then proceeded to do the same.
By the time we woke up, I just had time to make some soup, feed the girls dinner, and eat the last piece of last week’s cake before Abe came home.
We finished up with a Family Home Evening lesson on what it means to be children of God. Of course, we ended by playing parachute…
This morning I fed the girls, practiced, and took them to Institute and the library. At Institute, both girls went to nursery. They did fine until Lydia had a little run-in with a friend, and Lydia burst into tears. At the sight of Lydia in tears, Mary became inconsolable, and I could hear her soundtrack an entire floor down. But I got to attend most of Institute before that, and it was awesome. The curator of the BYU museum of art talked to us about the Carl Bloch exhibit, and I am now dying to go.
Our institute is packed, and so parking is hard. I thought I’d found a great spot today, but when I came out, I discovered a ticket! Did you know you can’t park within 20 inches of a crosswalk? I sure didn’t. I wasn’t blocking the crosswalk, but I guess that wasn’t good enough. I guess I know now.
By the time we came home, the girls had gotten a second wind, so I played with them for another hour before putting them down. Then I did my usual climb-into-bed deal for a nap and some reading. I started Good Lord Bird, and even though it is rather humorous, I already know I’m not going to finish it. Besides, it’s due tomorrow.
When the girls woke up, we ate, cooked, colored, played, read, and I sneaked in more practice (while they ate). Then Abe came home and we had a lightning fast FHE.
Since yesterday was the State of the Union, I decided to do a lesson on our president. I remember when I was a little girl, one of my greatest friends and teachers was my next door neighbor, Ruth. She was in her 90’s, and she was a wonderful listener. She also had a way of gently correcting that never felt like a reprimand but still had great sticking power. On one occasion, I remember going over and saying some negative things about Clinton to her. Ruth responded by telling me that she was from a part of Indiana where the people are called “yellow dog Democrats,” meaning if a yellow dog was on the Democratic ticket, they would vote for it. She said that once she remembered saying something bad about the Republican president, and her mother immediately replied that the presidential office is worthy of our respect and support, no matter who holds it.
I haven’t always acted on the principle Ruth taught me that day, but it’s always in the back of my mind during political conversations. Abe and I read the twelfth Article of Faith to the girls (“We believe in being asubject to bkings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in cobeying, honoring, and sustaining the dlaw“) in the hopes that they learn to respect our leaders and honoring all efforts to uphold our democratic system. In order to drive the message home, we played parachute. By now, Abe and I joke that we can relate parachute to any gospel principle; this time it was, “We should uphold our leaders just like we will uphold these objects…in the air over the blanket!”
Then I ran off to Bikram with Anique. Thank goodness she drove, because I felt so sick afterward, I don’t know how I would have made it home. The room was packed, and so maybe the extra bodies drove the temperature up. Whatever it was, I did not feel good afterward and am only now starting to feel somewhat normal.
Here are the pictures from the day:
Ever since Santa brought Lydia her cat back, Puss has played and ever more central role in Lydia’s life. She has full-blown conversations with him all day long, and he is her favorite thing to discuss with other people. Mary has picked up on this, and when Lydia is feeling sad, Mary has started bringing her her cat. This was after a sad event with a tower Lydia was building, and Mary was cheering her up.Everyone is cheered.I snapped this picture and then joined in. That left corner of the blanket needed some help!
Today was my thirtieth birthday and it feels like kindof a big deal. I feel like I just lost the last part of me that felt sort-of young. I mean, when I was in my twenties, I was lumped in with college undergrads etc., but now I’m lumped in with the thirties, which I’m sure is even a cooler group, but it does feel like a change!
Lily and I each had great days today. I had an awsome training session at work that gave me a lot of insight on how to succeed, and at home Lily was, well, accomplishing crazy amounts of stuff.
Her day started off with a two and a half hour playdate with Paige Anderson and her daughters Ada and ‘Liv. After that Lily somehow managed to practice piano, feed the children, clean the entire house, write me an incredibly touching birthday letter, make me a happy birthday door poster, paint me another happy birthday poster and finally set Lydia up with paints so she (Lydia) could paint me a happy birthday poster. The crazy thing is that when I arrived home, she said she was not tired because she had rested during the day…..um…….when?
But I have to say, all her efforts to make the day feel festive really changed the complexion of the day for me. At work, most people didn’t know it was my birthday, and so not much of a deal was made (I’m still very new), but at home I felt truly celebrated and I thank my sweet wife for that.
As soon as I got home, we had dinner with my mom and Jay at the Spaghetti factory (per my request). I love the Spaghetti factory at Trolly Square because spaghetti speaks to my inner child and yet the atmosphere is classic vintage. It’s hard to explain. I just love how it feels there and the food is great. Dinner conversation was very delightful with topics ranging from Obama raising the minimum wage to 3-D printing to why Payton Manning deserves to win the Super Bowl on moral grounds (because he’s such a dog gone awsome guy). At the very end of dinner, it was time to go, but Lydia wanted to eat more of her Spumoni ice cream. Lily told Lydia that she could take five more bites and then it would be time to go. Lydia quickly took four bites and then, before she could take the fifth, she froze and started gazing into space. We all assumed she had just acquired a massive brain freeze and then after her period of gazing she finally piped up, “I feel cold, does anyone else feel cold?” It is truly hard to recreate how funny it was when she said that, but we all got a great belly laugh.
Now it’s time for bed. I’m eager to get to work tomorrow and start applying what I learned in training. Pictures!!
