play date – Page 3 – Darais Days

Surprise visitors!

This morning Mary and I ran errands while Lydia was in preschool.

First we went to Barnes and Noble to read books until all the other stores opened.

After Barnes and Noble, we explored the Sprague branch of the Salt Lake Library. It was adorable. We went in just to explore, but we left with an armful of books. Inside we bumped into Sarah and Hannah Schulz, which was fun.

After preschool, we came home and discovered our neighbor dog in our yard. I didn’t let her inside the house, but the girls loved petting her and then looking at her from inside the door (you can’t see the dog in the photo, but she was there.)

Then I fed them lunch. After lunch, our doorbell rang. It was my friend, Kristin! She and her three kids had to wait for a flight tomorrow morning. They stayed with us the rest of the day, and now they’re sleeping here…until they have to wake up at 2:30 am to catch their super early flight tomorrow. Kristin is an amazing mom.

I had a lot of fun visiting with Kristin, and my girls had a lot of fun with her sweet girls. After my Primary meeting, I came home to discover Kristin had cleaned my kitchen to a degree that it has never been cleaned. It was sparkling clean! I was so delighted and grateful. The girls were all hungry for apples, so we went out and picked a bunch of apples and then ate them together in our clean kitchen.

Abe and I could technically sneak out on a date since Kristin offered to be the Adult On Duty, but Abe is so exhausted. He had an amazing day at work today, and we feel really blessed, but the fall-out of all that effort is just plain and simple exhaustion. I think tonight we will be boring and stay in. I bet we’ll be happy about that decision in the morning, though!

Piano, errands, cooking, and FHE

Today started out slowly, and that gave me a chance to work in some good hours at the piano. Mary demanded a nap as soon as she finished breakfast; when I pushed back on the idea, she threw herself on the floor, kicked the oven and screamed, “Nap! Binkies! Amiwals! (‘Animals!’).” I caved. 9:30 nap it was, and as the rest of the day progressed, she got grumpier and grumpier. Next time she tries to take a nap four hours early, I will put up more resistance.

After her nap, we took Lalitha on an errand and then ran an errand ourselves. We came back home and I folded laundry for an hour while the girls played “tea party” in the bathroom. It was flooded afterward.

Then I cooked like crazy until the Andersons joined us for dinner.

I stuffed peppers with some of that market corn, market tomatoes, scallions, cheddar, and homemade bread crumbs. They look messy, but they were really yummy.

I bought a GIANT candy stripe beet at the market and cooked it in the pressure cooker tonight. It had a milder flavor than regular beets. Maybe I cooked it too long, or maybe it was old. After I bought it, I noticed the leaves were old. I learned my lesson: Next time, I will check the leaves before purchasing beets!

We had a song night for FHE. This is the girls dancing to "Once There Was A Snowman." — We had a song night for FHE. This is the girls dancing to “Once There Was A Snowman.”

Stake conference, apple picking, and the Sonntags

This morning we had stake conference…in the Conference Center! I love living in Salt Lake. To be honest, though, we were busy trying to keep the kids quiet and chasing them around, so we missed most of conference. They looked cute, though!

Then we came home and picked some apples for an apple crumble (so long, diet!)

Then I spent the next five hours cooking. I used an osso bucco recipe/preparation on some lamb shanks I picked up on sale yesterday, made a corn souffle, a tomato salad, and an apple crumble. I tried to make an apple galette, but I messed up the galette dough and had no time to fix it; dessert quickly became a crumble.

While I was cooking, Lydia spent hours playing Imagination by herself. At one point, she played with the 24 ears of corn she and Abe shucked. She pretended they were characters from Frozen, and then she pretended that a lot of the corn were people who got killed. I was, once again, struck with guilt by how often I mention death in front of her.

When Candace and I visited Martha Stewart, she served us lamb shanks. I daydream about them, and I tried to recreate them here, but I didn't capture the flavor she served us. The texture, though, I am happy to report, was the same! (Thank-you, pressure cooker!) — When Candace and I visited Martha Stewart, she served us lamb shanks. I daydream about them, and I tried to recreate them here, but I didn’t capture the flavor she served us. The texture, though, I am happy to report, was the same! (Thank-you, pressure cooker!)

We had Bob and Katheryn Sonntag over for dinner. Abe knows Bob from elementary school, and they just moved into our ward recently. We had fun connecting with them.

Then Paige and Michael called us and invited us to the park with them. We headed over, and Tom and Suzanne joined us. It was a gorgeous night with a beautiful, bright full moon. I kept thinking we were standing under a street light because the moon was so bright. The kids played until it was dark, and then we all headed home. I think this week might be a little less crazy than last week, but I am kind of sad the weekend went by so quickly. Here’s to a slower week!

Saturday: done.

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.

juice burn-out

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. — 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. — 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. — 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…

“We’re not at the circus, not at the pool…we’re at SCHOOL!”

Ever since Lydia started preschool, she has started to sing this song: “We’re not at the circus, not at the pool…we’re at SCHOOL!” I really like the song, and it plays through my mind at random times during the day. This morning I was changing Mary’s diaper and singing the song, and then it occurred to me: “…we’re at school…today is Thursday…OH MY GOSH, LYDIA HAS SCHOOL IN FIFTEEN MINUTES!!!”

Twenty five minutes later, I escorted my late preschooler to her class. Oops. Hopefully I’ll get this new schedule straight sooner or later.

While Lydia was at school, Mary and I went to the library to read down our fines.

Then we picked up Lydia and headed home. After I fed the girls, I proceeded to do nothing for the next three hours.

I took Mary to the bakery for a quiche "muffin" since we didn't have time for breakfast. I am on a three day juice cleanse, so it was kind of painful watching her eat. The only cheating today I did was taking one bite of her quiche and one bite of her chewed-up-and-spit-out bread crust (I didn't want it to mess up our newly cleaned van). — I took Mary to the bakery for a quiche “muffin” since we didn’t have time for breakfast. I am on a three day juice cleanse, so it was kind of painful watching her eat. The only cheating today I did was taking one bite of her quiche and one bite of her chewed-up-and-spit-out bread crust (I didn’t want it to mess up our newly cleaned van).

Then I called Paige. I needed help motivating myself to make dinner and clean the house, and we had parents night for Lydia and Ada’s preschool. Paige came over, did my laundry, and made me feel all around better.

Ada was building a pretend fire, which fascinated the other girls.

We had dinner after the hubbies got done with work and headed over to parents night. Since Paige and Michael so kindly shared their babysitter, it felt like a double date. Abe and I had so much fun, even if we thought some of the tips the school gave us on parenting were unrealistic.

I am really not looking forward to another two days without food. Ugh. But this experiment will at least tell me some things I want to know, such as whether I have a hormonal imbalance or food allergies. I am excited for that info, so I suppose I can endure another two days without food…yikes! That feels so bleak.

Friends and Frozen under the stars

This morning I had a visit from my lovely former visiting teacher, Cierra Block. She moved to London a year ago, and she’s in town for a wedding. It was just like old times! We talked and talked…basically, I could talk to Cierra forever. I just love her. I woke up full of anxiety and struggled with that all day, so Cierra’s visit was a wonderful uplift out of that.

Then I just kind of puttered until it was time for our play date with Jen Pe’a and Natalie.

Again, talking with Jen was basically balm to my soul. When I’m struggling with anxiety, nothing helps more than talking to a friend who I feel safe to be myself with.

Mary found and tried to eat lemons when we got home…

Then Abe, the kids, and I all headed out to see Frozen under the stars on the lawn outside of the Capitol. It was a gorgeous night, and the girls were enthralled. Mary is a little confused about stars, though. This is the second night that she’s looked up, pointed to the stars and cried, “Fishies! Blub blub!” I explained that there are no fish in the sky and the stars go “twinkle twinkle.” Maybe after our camping trip it will sink in better.

Afterward, they had fun on the walk back to the car.

It was 10:15 by the time the movie was over. Mary lay down on the sidewalk and asked us to put a blanket on top of her.

Lydia and Mary both decided they wanted to sleep there. Good thing we're going camping tomorrow! — Lydia and Mary both decided they wanted to sleep there. Good thing we’re going camping tomorrow!

Abe had to carry her protesting little body away from the stairs.

A praying mantis was on our car when we got back. Mary wanted to hold it.

Grandma, we’re going camping tomorrow and won’t be back until Monday. I don’t think I’ll have internet, but I will take a lot of pictures and post when we get back. I love you and think about you every day!!

sad day

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.

preschool eve

So a quick recap of yesterday’s pictures:

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. — 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.

park and lots of time with Lydia

It’s almost midnight, and I just got back from school. Abe has his eye mask on and ear plugs in, so I can blog and he won’t even wake up!

This morning I had a play date with Jen and her three kids at the park. They’ve been in Canada most of the summer, so it was nice to see them again.

…and those were all the pictures I took today. Mostly we just hung around the house, cooked, read books, and spent time together. I felt good because during quiet time, which is usually my time to myself, I actually missed Lydia and voluntarily interrupted her movie so we could spend time together. That doesn’t happen as often as it should, and I was glad it happened today.

Then Isabella came and babysat the girls while I went to school. OH! I have one more picture I took! It’s of the food we made tonight:

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