Mary pics – Page 19 – Darais Days

Mopey Monday

I stayed at preschool this morning. Misty had the kids make “giraffe skin” out of yellow paper, cut sponges and brown paint. Afterward, we took the kids out to the back yard to play.

Then we came home and I gave Lydia another piano lesson before lunch. Her technique is really coming along, although I was a little impatient today and our lesson ended in tears and hugs. I had a little bit of an emotionally down day today, and I felt so bad for taking it out on Lydia.

Abe wanted to take me out to Smashburger to celebrate my cooking competition on Saturday, so we met him there before school.

While I was at school, Abe was home with two very melodramatic girls.

This was after Mary got put in her crib for not behaving, and Lydia was denied a princess puppet show because she refused to clean up. Misery loves company.

But they did have a princess hair night again.

Then Lydia attempted to knock Mary in the head with the iPad. Thankfully she missed. While she was being disciplined, Mary ran around the house naked. When Abe found her, this is what he saw:

Guess my night learning about different dry heat/wet heat methods to cook food was pretty tame in comparison. Abe’s downstairs running off the evening’s stresses on the treadmill, and I am just about to try to forget mine by picking up my book.

Oh! Mom and Grandma, I am about to post some pictures from yesterday onto yesterday’s blog. Abe forgot to email me some cute pictures he took from his phone. I’ll just tack them onto the end of yesterday’s blog.

Mary has a new word!

Today at church we talked about Abraham’s sacrifice and what that means. During the course of the discussion, the importance of personal revelation came up. One woman made a comment dismissing the importance of revelation, and I could almost see Abe’s allergic reaction to her words. He controlled himself and didn’t allow himself to respond, but afterward we spent a long time discussing how grateful we are for personal revelation.

Then Abe bore his testimony in church. Lydia was perfectly behaved and sat quietly on the bench the whole time, but I missed most of what he said because I was chasing Mary around the halls the whole time. She has a lot of energy.

This afternoon my lovely visiting teacher, Erika, came over. I always feel bad because I talk to her for such long periods of time, but she is just so fun to talk to.

After she left, Anique called and invited us on a walk to a playground. Mary had just woken up, and it was too early to break our fast, so the timing was awesome.

The girls had so much fun playing, and Anique and I spent the whole walk back talking about food. I get so hungry on fast Sunday that I was literally drooling while we talked. It was a little embarrassing. We made plans to start a monthly lunch date. I’m so excited.

Then we went home, ate dinner and Face Timed with Clark and Swathi. They amused Mary with funny faces and listened patiently to Lydia ramble on about whatever was on her mind. Then I talked their ears off about the culture at culinary school and the drama of preschool hunting. At one point, I laughed so hard I cried. That felt fantastic.

Then we played with the girls until Tom and Suzanne came over for a visit.

They all had "princess hair," including Abe and the cat. — They all had “princess hair,” including Abe and the cat.

It was so fun to see Tom and Suzanne. Suzanne taught the Sunday School lesson in her ward today, and it was interesting to hear where her ward went in the Abraham discussion.

And now Mary is crying because she doesn’t want to go to bed. She’s saying a new word! “Daddy! Dad! Daddy!” Awwww…Abe can’t resist and is going to her. I wish she would learn “Mama” one of these days…sniffle.

**I’m adding these last pictures a day later because I just now received them from Abe’s phone:

competition win and the atom bomb

I won my cooking competition this morning!!! Well, okay, okay. They announced it was a tie, but when I got home and looked at the scores, I realized that the judges forgot to circle/add up one of my scores, so I technically won by one itsy bitsy little point. But still! I got a ticket for two to our school restaurant and a Ninja chopping machine. Abe and the girls came and cheered me on, and it was so fun to see their smiling faces through the glass.

The surprise ingredients weren’t that hard, really. They told us to use orange roughy and apples on our plate, which had to contain a starch, vegetable, sauce and garnish. Here’s what I did:

I made a blue cheese polenta cake, beet/carrot/apple/poppy seed slaw with raspberry vinegar, baked orange roughy and a candied lemon garnish. The blue cheese was rancid; I thought it was tangy, but I didn't realize it was rancid until the judges absolutely tore me apart for it. — I made a blue cheese polenta cake, beet/carrot/apple/poppy seed slaw with raspberry vinegar, baked orange roughy and a candied lemon garnish. The blue cheese was rancid; I thought it was tangy, but I didn’t realize it was rancid until the judges absolutely tore me apart for it. Also, I plated my fish upside down. Oops! Thankfully, the other two competitors in my division made the same mistake. We’re all learning.

Then we came home and ate lunch. Ironically, I had to throw out my food before eating it all because we were in such a rush to clean the kitchen. Also, Abe had to leave early because he forgot to put a diaper on Mary this morning, and there weren’t any in the car. Oops! Mornings are hard for him.

I spent the girls’ hours of quiet time finishing my most recent book, Bomb: The Race to Build–and Steal–the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon, today. It was a total page turner, and now I am scared that we’re all going to get blown up by the crazy people in power around the world. I sneaked to the library just before they close to get some more books to help calm me down.

My relationship with Mary deteriorates by Saturday afternoon because I’m gone all evening Friday and all morning Saturday. She gets so mad at me that when I finally get back, she screams if I touch her and clings to Abe for dear life. The only way we get back on friendly terms is if I play peek-a-boo with her feet and let her step on my face. I’m not kidding:

Also, Lydia found grown-up socks today and wore them the rest of the evening.

Lydia and I had another piano lesson today. I remember how hard it was to sit still when I was little, and I’m so proud of her for enduring. We made it to thirty minutes today. When I told Abe I want to try for an hour on Monday, he asked me to keep it to thirty minutes because he’s a more fun, compassionate parent than I am. Maybe we’ll compromise at forty-five. Our poetry session was truncated by my need for a nap, but we did read “Tiger, tiger, burning bright” and “The Lamb” by William Blake.

Lydia relates Shakespeare to her cat and a ton of pictures

I have a TON of pictures from today, and since I have to get up early tomorrow, I’m just going to post them with captions.

Rose came by this morning and asked if I wanted to go on a walk. Of course! We had a great walk, and Rose gave the girls stickers.

Then I took the girls to the library. — Then I took the girls to the library (and read down some more fines).

Then we headed home for a play date with Misty, Sophia and Max. I love them all so much. Max is starting to army crawl, and he is just the cutest.

After they left, I put Mary down for a nap and gave Lydia another piano lesson. I set a timer for twenty-five minutes. I think she could do longer sessions than that, but I run out of steam. I’m going to try for at least half an hour next time. When her piano lesson was over, I gave her a cookie and cuddled with her on the couch while we did another poetry session. We read “Heaven-Haven: A Nun takes the Veil” by Gerard Manley Hopkins and talked a lot about Aunt Lydia (a nun) and angels (since that’s what Aunt Lydia is now). I love that poem, but I really wanted to work more on “God’s Grandeur,” which is my favorite. Next time.

Oh! And we read Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116 (“Let me not to the marriage of true minds”) and talked about it a bunch. Lydia decided (on her own) that Shakespeare was writing about the relationship between her and her cat. Um…..

Lydia brought her stuffed animals into my room while I was doing homework and she was supposed to be having quiet time. From there on out, we had "quiet time" in the same room. — Speaking of her cat, Lydia brought her stuffed animals into my room while I was doing homework and she was supposed to be having quiet time. From there on out, we had “quiet time” in the same room.

Then I went to school and worked on the following:

Beef au jus. The potatoes Anna could have been less gray, the plate needs fewer broccoli pieces, the beef slices need to be larger, and the gravy drizzle more cohesive.

While I was at school, Abe took the girls to the ward party.

Lydia was actually thrilled, but you wouldn't know unless you knew her... — Lydia was actually thrilled, but you wouldn’t know unless you knew her…

Mary rode Chester tonight (much to the dismay of her terrified older sister).

Abe doing his hair for the crazy hair competition at work. He met his goal for the month today, too! Go Abe!

Rainy day, but good

This is Abe. Lily is at yoga right now. Life has been very good in the Darais house lately, and today is no exception. Two days ago, Lily and I had a pow-wow about our worsening sleep deprivation and made a plan for gettting more sleep. Last night, I slept about seven hours and today I felt great!

Today was very much a recovery day for Lily. Yesterday was a very intense day for her so she caught her breath today as much as she could while still taking care of the children. She even had a poetry session with Lydia, teaching her multiple poems! Lily told me that Lydia likes the poem, “Grandeur of God” which pleased Lily because that is one of her all-time favorites.

Work is going really well for me. Although I was frustrated this morning about my performance, I had a really good lunch-time walk where I prayed a lot and felt like everything was in God’s hands and progressing as it should. Though my afternoon was only mildly successful, I found joy and satisfaction in my work. The last work note is that one of my collegues today told me that today was John Steinbeck’s birthday. My collegue also told me that East of Eden by Steinbeck was one of his all time favorite books. Whenever someone reports to me their favorite book, it makes me think I should read it. Maybe I’ll get it on audio book?

At home I had a breif moment with Lily before she left for yoga. I then put Mary down because she was so exhausted (she was starting to fade in her high-chair) and then I colored downstairs with Lydia before putting her to bed.

Tomorrow I have a regional lunch meeting and there will be a competition for the craziest hair. I’m determined to participate because I’m interviewing for Region positions on Monday and I want to prove that I know how to have fun…..I have no idea how I am going to do my hair…….I’ll try to have a pic to post tomorrow!

Speaking of pictures!

Today was an incredibly rainy day. So great for a desert!

Lydia climbing on a mountain/overturned chair

A good shot of Lydia's braid. — A good shot of Lydia’s braid.

preschool and Abe’s birthday party

Today I finally enrolled Lydia in preschool. After calling Challenger this morning, I felt so relieved to find a preschool that had a philosophy that fit what I’ve been looking for. Originally, I was going to go down tomorrow to sign Lydia up, but then I got scared the open slots would fill up, so I rearranged my schedule, picked up Lydia’s immunization forms and headed down to sign Lydia up.

From the moment I pulled up to the school, I had a good feeling. I would go into detail, but it’s late and I’m trying to hit my bedtime goal, so basically: we feel good about this decision, and we think Lydia will thrive at Challenger.

Then I took the girls grocery shopping, after which it was nap time and cooking-time. Abe had his birthday celebration a month late because Dan’s in town and staying with us, and so we took advantage of the situation to have Kade, Brittany, and William over too. It was a fun evening. The only way it could have been better is if Preethi, Nat and Kina could have been here too.

Mary napped from 1:30 to 6:15pm today. That made it possible for me to cook dinner, but I felt sorry for her because she woke up feverish and miserable. We think/hope she’s teething, since thus far she only has four teeth.

To bed, to bed.

Another preschool tour–and the sun!

Yay for the sun! It’s back, it’s beautiful, and it felt gooooood today. After touring another preschool this morning, we went to play group at a nearby park.

Lydia kept claiming she couldn't climb up this hill and would fall down every two steps. Mary kindly went down to help her up. — Lydia kept claiming she couldn’t climb up this hill and would fall down every two steps. Mary kindly went down to help her up (my interpretation. Lydia said Mary came over to hit her…).

Then we came home and I fed the girls lunch. Then I cooked, cleaned and gave Lydia a piano lesson.

Then Lydia took a nap. When she wakes up from naps at home, she usually is a little…touchy. So I baked chocolate chip cookies while she was asleep, and as soon as she started to wail, I told her there were cookies downstairs for her.

She's had a "winky" eye since she was born. That means, when she takes a big bite of something, her right eye flies wide open. It's pretty cute. — She’s had a “winky” eye (at least, that’s what I call it) since she was born. That means when she takes a big bite of something, her right eye flies wide open. It’s pretty cute.

After Abe came home, we had dinner and FHE. I mainly sat on the couch in a tired stupor, but Abe taught the girls about Moses, and they drew pictures of Moses parting the Red Sea.

House bound

Lydia woke up this morning the sickest I’ve ever seen her (except for when she had an ear infection). But even though Lydia was the sick one, Mary was the needy child today. I think she gets upset when I’m away at school, and the day after she gets mad when I do anything that doesn’t directly involve her.

The following evidence of that demand indulged:

And then she tripped over her feet and cried for an hour and a half. I held her for most of that time, and the only thing that stopped her crying was when I took pictures of her tantruming (is that a word?) on my legs and showed her the results.

Lydia was pretty low-maintenance all day.

Abe had another good day at work, and I wasted massive amounts of time online when I wasn’t feeding or attending to children. I really need to start practicing again, since I stopped after cutting myself a month ago in school. Maybe tomorrow…

Dona nobis pacem

The girls watched “Let it Go” from Frozen for a little bit this morning.

Then we ate breakfast and read books until it was time for Institute. Today Institute featured some artist who has studied how Joseph Smith looked in life, and so the talk was slide-centric. Unfortunately, Mary was pretty tired and sad, so we ended up leaving early.

Then we came home for naps. I could have done so much during their nap marathon! Instead I wasted massive amounts of time online and just dozing off. But after their naps, Anique and Fleur came over for an impromptu play date. I should have taken a picture since Fleur and Mary are almost the same age, and they were so cute together. Next time.

Abe came home in time for us to head over to the Jewish Community Center for their preschool open house. We love the JCC more than ever, but it seems to be the most expensive preschool around. Gulp. Good thing we saved! The other good news is that we get a student discount since I am in school, so that’s great. And Lydia loved the preschool. She didn’t want to leave and talked the whole way home about how much she wanted to go there.

Then we came home, had FHE, and watched more of the Olympics. The ladies’ short program was tonight, and I am so glad we got to see it.

On a different note, we said many prayers for Ukraine today. One of my friends posted an excerpt from the Book of Common Prayer on Facebook, and I had never read anything from that before. It was beautiful and so relevant. A phrase she posted later has been ringing through my mind ever since: “Dona nobis pacem.” That’s what I hope to fall asleep praying tonight.

Loads and loads and loads of laundry (and some other stuff)

This morning I took the girls to the park for our ward play group.

Mary noticed her shoe strap had come undone. Also, the girls LOVE to hold hands whenever we go anywhere.

Lydia helped fix Mary's shoe strap while Mary's negligent mother looked on and took a picture. — Lydia helped fix Mary’s shoe strap while Mary’s negligent mother looked on and took a picture. Also, see Lydia’s hair? That took me approximately forty minutes this morning. I saw a girl with this hair do yesterday and really wanted to try it on Lydia. Next time I will make her hair more wet before I attempt it.

The rest of the day was spent feeding kids, napping, reading my book, and folding approximately five huge loads of laundry (basically the girls’ entire wardrobe and more than half of our clothes, too).

Anique and I did our soup exchange yesterday, which was the greatest blessing because I had no time to cook tonight.

Then I went to my Relief Society meeting. I’m on the humanitarian division of the committee, and so we picked which organizations we’re going to help this year.

Then it was Smith’s for food, and now bed.

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