wasted time online – Darais Days

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.

Sick day

I felt exceptionally unwell today, so for the most part I lay in bed and gave thanks that Mary loves her pack-n-play so much. Abe and I were supposed to go to Toscana to celebrate our anniversary, but I was so sick I didn’t think I could muster up the energy to go. We rescheduled for next Friday. In the meantime, here’s what happened when I wasn’t in bed.

I took the girls outside for lunch today. It is so nice to be able to do that now that the weather is beautiful! No post-lunch clean-up!!!

She was happy, I promise. That's just her way of grinning at the moment. — She was happy, I promise. That’s just her way of grinning at the moment.

I love, love, love these roses. That they bloom until the fall helps me enjoy them without feeling anxious that they will die soon. (That’s always on my mind with tulips. I love seeing them, but in the back of my mind, I start feeling stressed that their bloom season is so darn short.)

The anniversary bouquet is blooming! My two favorite flowers--peonies and tiger lilies. The smell is happy. — The anniversary bouquet is blooming! My two favorite flowers are peonies and tiger lilies. The smell is happy.

After dinner I collapsed in this chair and let the girls climb over me. Abe grabbed the camera to capture their antics.

One of Mary's favorite books is "Red hat Blue hat" by Sandra Boynton. She knows it's funny, but she doesn't know to time her laugh after the "Oops!" parts, so she just laughs every time I turn the page. — One of Mary’s favorite books is “Red Hat Green Hat” by Sandra Boynton. She knows it’s funny, but she doesn’t know to time her laugh after the “Oops!” parts, so she just laughs every time I turn the page–and keeps laughing until the next page. Basically, this is a laugh-intensive book.

Hermit day

Today Lydia woke up convinced that today was my birthday and that we needed to bake a green birthday cake. It was a sweet sentiment, but we compromised and just baked these muffins for the second time this week. Lydia got to cover three of the muffins in sprinkles. I should have taken a picture, but they disappeared so fast, there was really hardly a chance.

We were hermits today, so the rest of the day felt kind of blurry. I know we scrubbed the upstairs tub and read some books. I practiced some piano. I ran on the treadmill and watched more of my Mitt Romney documentary while Lydia talked nonstop about making Anna and Elsa cards. Lydia and I made pizza and kale for dinner.

I joined Amazon Prime at the student rate and finally ordered myself some socks. I am always out of them and have been looking forward to getting some more ever since our tax return arrived. (Ha. That makes me sound so restrained. Actually, ever since the tax return arrived, I’ve been so busy ordering stuff that I just now got around to solving my socks problem…)

Speaking of ordering stuff, I finally called some Springfield shops to send my mom and grandma a Mother’s Day gift, but because I was so late, they refused to deliver anything until Monday. Sorry, Mom and Grandma! My love will manifest itself a day late this year.

I found out on Thursday our cooking team is taking tomorrow off, so I am going to have another Saturday at home with my family. I am so excited. I guess I’ll post some pictures and daydream about what to do with my Saturday!

Lydia wore her princess dress on and off all day. It was a little tricky because her nose kept bleeding on and off all day too. The dress stayed clean until the second to last nosebleed...I am afraid that Lydia and I gave higher priority to her dress than to her poor nose. — Lydia wore her princess dress on and off all day. It was a little tricky because her nose kept bleeding on and off all day too. The dress stayed clean until the second to last nosebleed…I am afraid that Lydia and I gave higher priority to her dress than to her poor nose.

For FHE Abe taught a lesson on mothers. His activity was to have the girls take care of me. Lydia used her doctor kit to make me feel better, and Mary made me delicious food. Eventually, being sick looked so fun that Abe fell deathly ill and needed assistance too.

Sunday Dinner pics

Not much happened today. Mary made it through twenty minutes of nursery unattended, but for the rest of the time Abe and I traded off being there. In Sunday School we talked about the Exodus and the Passover, although the discussion turned into the whys and hows of suffering.

When I was trying to teach Lydia the 23rd Psalm, I looked up a discourse on youtube given by a Jewish rabbi explaining his interpretation of the psalm. He pointed out that the rod and the staff have different meanings; the rod is a correcter and the staff is a comforter, and yet both are said to “comfort me” in the psalm. I had always glossed over that line thinking that the rod and staff were just synonyms and the repetition was poetic. Anyway, ever since I watched that video, I have adopted the verse, “Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me” as a mantra whenever I’m feeling upset by a given situation. It helps a lot, and that line came to mine when we were discussing the hows of suffering.

Abe taught a wonderful lesson on the Sacrament today, although I wasn’t there to witness it. He loves the new teaching style and says the trick is this: the less the teacher talks, the greater everyone seems to think the lesson went. When I passed by his room on my way to Relief Society, Abe was standing at the front silently while the class broke up into pairs to discuss a question he asked them. It sounded like a lot of active discussions were taking place, and that always spurs learning. The only thing I don’t like about Abe being an Elder’s Quorum teacher is that I never get to hear his lessons. I wish I could.

Our new home teachers came over to visit us after church, and it was great getting to know them better. One of them is a professional down tester. He says most of the down he tests is good quality, but he’s found sticks, cigarette butts, beaks, and bird feet in the down before. Yikes! Makes me want to buy synthetic pillows…

Then I made rolls and we went to Tom and Suzanne’s for dinner. I took a lot of pictures while we were there:

And then these two that Abe took a couple days ago that I didn’t see until just now:

General Conference time again

Today Mary woke up at 5:19 am because she is teething (finally!!!). Since I was already up, I went to 6 am Bikram and then came home and practiced before General Conference started.

We’ve had Grandma Darais on our minds all day. Abe said he doesn’t feel ready for his grandma to die, and he wishes he had spent more time with her while she was alive. He’s going to write his thoughts tomorrow.

I started practicing Claire de Lune tonight in preparation for the funeral or family reception. I don’t know if or when I’m supposed to play it, but apparently I’m going to be asked to play it at some point, and since I’ve never played it before, 10 pm tonight found me picking my way through it. Our neighbors had a late night poker party going on, so they were indulgent and let me practice above them. We looooooooove them. Anyway, this was Grandma Darais’ favorite piece–and I seem to recall my grandma loves it too. Grandma, I thought I could kill two birds with one stone: I’ll prepare this piece for Grandma Darais’ events, and then when we come to visit in May, I’ll play it for you if we can find a piano.

Also, Mary said her name today! It was so cute. I was bathing her and Mary’s toy turtle with little plastic man (Grandma, these are your old bath toys! Remember them?) floated away. She got quite concerned and pointed to her out-of-reach toy and blurted out, “Mareee!” She wanted me to give the toys back to “Mareee.” I tried to have her say her name again, but so far she’s best at saying words when she’s in a desperate situation. When she tries to think about it, the process seems a lot harder.

Here are today’s pictures:

Abe and the girls had a dance party while I practiced. Lydia made sure everyone had a picture she'd colored taped to their tummies...and, of course, the girls had their balloons. — Abe and the girls had a dance party while I practiced. Lydia made sure everyone had a picture she’d colored taped to their tummies…and, of course, the girls had their balloons.

...Or maybe she was just preparing to play in the chair. — …Or maybe she was just preparing to play in the chair.

A peaceful day

First things first: We had another scare with Grandma Darais today, and we went down to Provo this afternoon to say goodbye. It turned out that we didn’t have to say goodbye just yet, for which we are thankful. There’s still hope she can pull through, and we are praying for her and her children to have strength for whatever comes.

I found out about Grandma Darais while I was walking to the Capitol to meet Misty. The trees are all in bloom, and it was just a lovely walk. We stood in the sunshine and chatted at the end while Lydia and Sophia read a book together. Mary was sick today, so she just sat in the jogger and looked sadly out the window.

Then we went to Provo to see Grandma Darais. We came home with Suzanne and stopped by In-n-Out for dinner. The girls got stickers.

Lydia did not want to eat dinner after her fries, but she did drink some bubble bath…

Mary was feeling sick all evening, so she was extra cuddly. I have the cutest picture of her cuddling with Abe, but it won’t send from my iPad.I did get some of them cuddling in the girls’ room, though. And when I announced that I was going to take a picture, Lydia dashed for her camera so she could take a picture. As a result, I have a picture of Lydia taking a picture. =)

She need to work on aim... — She need to work on aim…

Some big tantrums and FHE at Temple Square

This morning was such a whirlwind that I did not get a single picture in. Sorry, Grandma! As soon as the girls woke up, it was a race to get them dressed and fed so that we could make it to our visiting teaching appointment with Marilyn. Thankfully, Jen was in the same boat so we arrived at about the same time (an hour late). Marilyn, as usual, was a joy to visit, although we are praying for her health. Mom, feel free to include her in your prayers.

Then we went to Jump Around Utah to meet up with our play group. I’m glad I know what it is, but I do not think I will ever go again. It was so packed with screaming kids who just mowed down all the littler kids in their paths. It was incredibly stressful for everyone, and by the end I was sweating and panicky and Lydia had the worst public tantrum she has ever had in her life. For the rest of the day she kept telling me that she was sad because her experience at Jump Around Utah was so frustrating. I was just glad we all left without injury; at one point, Mary got flipped on the big bouncing thing in the middle and landed in a really painful looking position.

I came home, fed the girls, put Mary down, and tried to cheer Lydia up with hot cocoa and a ton of snuggling and reading.

After Abe came home, we headed out to Temple Square with Balu for FHE. We took a tour of the Conference Center. I have a whole new appreciation for the Arnold Friberg Book of Mormon gallery after seeing the Arnold Friber exhibit a couple months ago. The choir was rehearsing while we were there, so we got to sneak in a little observation too. The tour was great preparation for General Conference, and we’re hoping the tour will contextualize conference for the girls. Then we went to the Lion House for dinner. Brother Richardson left us a gift card the last time he was here, and it came in handy tonight! We had a lot of fun, and we left the square with Lydia sitting on Abe’s shoulders making up songs about flowers and Spring. In spite of all the other tantrums and meltdowns today (and they seemed to follow each other in rapid succession without much interruption), FHE was a success.

Then I did some grocery shopping and by the time we came home, the girls were exhausted. One more giant tantrum issued forth from our eldest daughter, and then she fell asleep. It’s been peaceful ever since. Here’s to a more peaceful tomorrow!

Post-midnight post

First things first: Grandma Darais’ surgery went extremely well today, and she is doing much better. We are very thankful. Abe has resolved to spend at least one lunch break a week with her in the event that she returns home, and I am trying to figure out how we can make it down to Provo more often to see her. We are very happy she is doing so well.

I think Abe had a great day at work, but we saw each other for a grand total of less than five minutes today. I did get one phone call in after my final, but I think we talked a lot about our various physical ailments (Abe’s now sure he has a virus, and I think I might have a virus/sinus infection combo).

On the school front, I aced my final exams in my lab class and that made me feel really happy. I sometimes wonder if it’s okay that I’m spending so much time away from my children, and getting some validation that I’m making progress in acquiring a much-desired skill felt great. I think after this is all done, I will appreciate being home with my children SO much more, and I will love not having so many competing interests. But for now, I love being at school when I’m there.

Before school, we had a fun morning with the Pe’a’s. Jen offered to teach me how to craft cute decorative blocks, and it was so fun crafting with her! I wish I had a picture of my blocks, but the day just slipped away and now they feel sooooo far away (even though they’re just downstairs…but it’s past midnight, and that feels like a trek). Anyway, I wasn’t the only one having fun. Lydia was in heaven playing with Natalie because Natalie not only has a ton of princess attire, but she is an excellent sharer.

In the meantime, here’s a picture of Mary at home reading a book about Babies:

It’s sunny again

This morning over breakfast, Lydia turned to me and said, “Mama, what is it when I want something that Mary has?” I answered by telling her the word jealousy and explaining the concept a little bit. Lydia paused and then told me that Mary is a good sharer (which, for all of her hair-pulling antics, she really is). I agreed and then suggested Lydia could try to share more with Mary.

We ended the day full circle with Lydia screaming and crying on the ground because she wanted the pencils Mary had during our FHE craft. After a long post-tantrum cuddle, I asked Lydia what she was feeling, and she told me she was jealous. At least she knows, right?

The only eventful thing we did today that I don’t have pictures for is institute. We attended institute for approximately twenty minutes, at which point Lydia announced she was hungry and wanted to go home. I didn’t protest because the presenter was basically just summarizing Mark chapter by chapter. I was hoping for a little more commentary and a little less straight summary.

So I came home, fed the girls, and got a two hour nap in. Afterward, Lydia wanted to have a play date with Ada. I thought it was a long shot since it was already 3 pm, but it turned out that Paige was free! So we had a fun play date:

Then we had dinner and FHE, wherein we talked about gratitude and wrote a thank-you note for the Valentine chocolates our neighbor gave us all the way back in February…

And then it was peek-a-boo before bed:

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