Why Relax When You Can Go On Another Road Trip?

For Spring Break we drove to see Grandma & Grandpa. (Yes, we are crazy. No, we don't have any more trips planned. Oh wait. After 2 weeks we won't have any more trips.) Poor Grandma worked till 7pm every night, so we "helped". Ella picked some lovely little bouquets and labeled the place settings to avoid confusion:



The girls helped Grandpa in the yard when he got home every night, then sat with him while he watched the basketball games and asked about 1,000 questions (I don't think either of them had seen a basketball game before. The only sport that's on in our house is football. The real football. You know, the soccer kind.)



I met up with my book-by-mail book club pals Britt and Jeanette, though I didn't think about getting out the camera till AFTER Jeanette had left. Thanks for meeting us Britt & J!



We went to the Hogle Zoo, where the highlight of our whole trip was watching the gorilla pick his nose and then eat it. (You could hear the delighted screams of disgusted children for miles.)



And, for the first time in 14 years, I stepped foot back on BYU campus. (Apparently I graduated and never looked back. Though I did have fun while there and met people who I'll love forever.) I took the girls to the bookstore where Ella picked up a new chapter book. (She carries it everywhere with her now & tells people it's a "College Book" since she bought it at the University Bookstore.) Gretchen picked out a lovely picture for her room. Then we visited the library, where Gretchen almost punctured a hole in the gigantic globe in the cartography department, then we visited the Fine Arts Building where Gretchen almost knocked over some BFA Student's pottery exhibit, then we visited the museum where she hopped from one bench to another singing "Jin-Gle (hop) BELLS (hop) Jin-GLE (hop) BELLS!!!! (hop) JINGLE ALL THE (hop) WAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!" while the other patrons attempted to view Carl Bloch's paintings of Christ. Then we went to the Sculpture Garden and yelled at ducks.



In an attempt to cut down on whining and keep Gretchen in her seat (since she can now unbuckle herself) I handed her the camera. This is what she looked at for the 8 hour drive home. No wonder they both go crazy in the car:








Instead of doing laundry when we got home, we celebrated with friends at the mall....



...and had a Preschool Easter Egg Hunt & BBQ.



The best part of Easter (besides, you know, going to church & thinking about Jesus) is black jelly beans. I've got a WHOLE BAG all to myself because no one else likes them. (Gretchen told me they look like poop and taste like poop. And look like poop. The whole preschool is going through a potty-talk phase together. It's lovely.)

Gretchen ran around so much this week that she told me her face was leaking. (It was sweat). Nothing says fun like a sweaty, flushed cheeked three year old.

Now I think I'll take a nap. What are YOU up to?
xo

How to Recover from Late Spring Snowstorms

I now have no reason to complain (not that it will stop me). At this very moment, I have NO DEADLINES!!! Come tomorrow morning, I expect that will change, but this weekend I've been reveling in free time. Yesterday while I was at the gym (do you like how I drop that in to make it seem like I'm super healthy? I know) anyway, while I was on the elliptical (level 10 for 40 minutes, no biggie), I planned out a picture book I've been wanting to put together for a while. Last night I sat down & typed out the manuscript (which sounds impressive, but is maybe, MAYBE, 200 words), then worked out thumbnail sketches. I even started the first page's sketch. See what happens when I get a calm in the storm? Magic.

Part of the stress I had a few weeks ago was that I had to finish all my projects so we could meet Lismarie & her family in PALM SPRINGS!!! Well, technically it was Indio, but if I say, "Indio!" You will say, "Where is that?" (Unless you are Grandpa Conrad or love Grandpa Conrad, in which case you will already know where Indio is...) So I will just refer to our vacation destination as Palm Springs. But I did it. I even cleaned the house before we left so that we wouldn't come home to a disaster. Well, it was a little disaster-ish once we got home, what with the four semi-unpakced suitcases & a carload of crap-that-you-unloaded-but-didn't-put-away-yet sitting in the hallway... Our apartment is tolerable when it's clean. When it's messy, it makes me want to go to bed and sleep for a week. So clean is good!

Right Gretchen?



Right?



Right.

And how was our vacation? TOTALLY WORTH IT. Totally worth the 2 days of driving (driving with a three year old, I might add). Totally worth the weeks of work on top of mothering on top of more work on top of cleaning and chores. Totally worth it.

What did we do?

Um. Well. We ate.


We wore our bathing suits all-day-every-day.




We swam and napped and ate and then swam some more. We floated in the lazy river. We steamed in the hot tub. Gretchen & Ella blew bubbles in the water. Ella kept saying, "Watch this!" and then dunking her head totally in the water (which I must say {without exaggeration} IS A MIRACLE!!!) Paradise. Lismarie, THANK YOU SO MUCH. It was wonderful. We met Grandpa Conrad for lunch and he suggested a number of activities we might enjoy. I had to stop him. Our only plan was to swim and lounge. Anything that involved getting into the car and planning potty breaks wasn't going to work. Sigh. Vacation bliss.

Now back to our strange, real life.

xo

Wonderful Regular Old Boring

I didn't take any pictures this week. That is so unlike me! I'm sure we'll make up for it next weekend when we go on an adventure with Lismarie and family! Woooot!!! (Lismarie and I tried to coordinate a spring-break vacation, but our kids spring breaks were in totally different months. And no where near Easter. So instead we're ditching our lives for a few days and driving to someplace warm. It will be fabulous.)

There's a dangerous new store in the mall. And since the mall is a quick walk across the street, we go there a lot. They sell...

PUPPIES!!!!

I know, I know, it's horrible every way. Who knows what kind of breeder they came from, they're stuck in little cages all day, and there are so many dogs in shelters that need homes (plus they're all "purebred". I like muts. Purebreds are always so high strung and inbred. But wiener dogs are awesome. And puggles. And boxers. And Siberian Huskies. And I want to take them all home, even though the store smells like dog pee. A lot. Shoot, puppies have some sort of strange magical cuteness to make me overlook that smell.) The girls and I want a dog. But we're not going to get one till we have a house. Cause bringing a dog into this tiny apartment would just be mean.

An amazing thing happened this week, I finished the last work project on my list of projects. I sat down at my desk to ponder the rest of the week. It's been so long since I've had a free day to work on whatever whim wandered into my mind. Oh the possibilities! I could work on the fairy tale I started a year ago. I could work on the music theory board book Aunt Ne & I are putting together. I could map out a craft book idea that's been bouncing around in my head for the past 3 years. I decided to quickly check my email. My free time lasted LESS THAN FIVE MINUTES. I'd finally heard back on the set of sketches I was waiting for & now before we leave town I'll be finishing the 59-spot illustration job! But after Friday, I really SHOULD be done with my projects again. Till the next one. (Not that I'm complaining, I'm grateful for the work. Especially jobs like this with a big fat paycheck at the end. Oh how I love getting paid!)

So what have you been up to? Do share!!!

Video Proof

Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeey.

How was your week? Ours was stylish:



(She actually picked her ensemble herself. Don't the white cowgirl boots bring it together?)

And to prove that we don't neglect our other child, here's a picture of Ella at dance class.



But then here's another one of Gretchen. (I like this picture because it looks like someone took out all those Dancing Cowgirls. But they're just sleeping, dreaming Cowgirl Dreams.)


I really tried to whittle down my videos of the class, but I couldn't. I really won't blame you if you don't want to watch them. But SO CUTE, right? I KNOW!









In defiance of all this girliness, Gretchen decided yesterday to be a boy. She wore some elastic-bottomed navy sweat pants, vans, and a Bob Marley t-shirt (which is also known as the "Scary Man" shirt at our house, since they're both slightly terrified of Bob Marley's picture. They feel so brave when they wear that shirt). She was known as "Buddy", and she corrected me many times when I slipped and called her Gretchen.

Last Christmas I dragged my Hammered Dulcimer out from it's hiding place under my bed. I usually only pull it out once a year at Christmas to play for the Relief Society. But this year I got asked to play again in January. And it's been out since then. In years past I've had to keep it either hidden away or hung high up on the wall, but it seems we've reached a milestone. I CAN KEEP MY DULCIMER OUT NOW. The girls totally respect it. It probably helps that I let them play it whenever they ask nicely. I taught Ella a few basics & then how to play "Twinkle Little Star". She was so proud of herself, she had me write a note to her music teacher to see if she could do a demonstration at school. And kindly enough, her teacher obliged. (It just happened to be Celtic Music week!) Ella did GREAT!



That's about it for us. And I promise I won't post any dance pictures next week. Really.
xo

No Name Post

Sorry we've been MIA for a few weeks. The 32 page book is completed. PHEW. It was a lot of late nights, Colby on dinner duty (which was delicious & much appreciated), and me having to just not care about anything else for a little while except for the girls & work. And also, one little breakdown on Tuesday. But I'm mostly all better now (I'm not ready to quit everything at the moment. I'm trying not to think about how much time church takes. Quitting church needs to get out of my mind. I would be sad about it later. You know, after the 20 naps I would have time for once I freed up all that mental space my calling occupies...)

I'm still waiting to hear back on the 59 spot job. And when I do, I'm going to be sucked under again. So lets enjoy this little bit of sanity while we can.



Here's Gretchen at a cookie decorating party before V-day.



At another super fun Valentines day party...



..and with her face painted like a tiger on "T" day at preschool this week.

I brought my old camera to the Amazing Dance Class this week, but it was out of batteries. So alas, I don't have any awesome video of Gretchen & Ella in cowgirl outfits dancing with lassos. But it's cowgirl month ALL MARCH. So Grandparents, since I'm sure you're the only ones who really care, STAY TUNED.

Random Cuteness:
Gretchen and Ella are sitting in the car. Gretchen is staring intently at Ella.
Ella: Why are you looking at me?
Gretchen: (Yelling with Gretchen-like intensity) BECAUSE I LOVE YOU.

Gretchen gets in trouble.
Gretchen says to us: I AM NOT HAPPY TO YOU RIGHT NOW.

Ella & I are singing, "Oh my darlin', oh my darlin', oh my darlin' Clementine...."
Ella: When was this song written?
Me: A long, long time ago?
Ella: Like in 1983?
(Wikipedia says more like 1883... "The words are those of a bereaved lover singing about his darling, the daughter of a miner in the 1849 California Gold Rush. He loses her in a drowning accident, though he consoles himself towards the end of the song with Clementine's "little sister".

The verse about the little sister was often left out of folk song books intended for children, presumably because it seemed morally questionable." Hee hee! Good call.)

And lastly, my Random Parenting Discovery: Ella wants to play with me constantly. CONSTANTLY. And though I love my children, whenever I sit down to play with them, all I can think about is the millions of things I need to do. This is silly. No task is more important that spending some quality time with the girls. So to trick myself into being "present" for the barbie drama/playdough birthday party/medical doll crisis, I set the timer for 20 - 25 minutes. It totally works. When I know that the baby-doll drama will end eventually, it's so much easier to immerse myself in it. (Also, I can't lay down or I will fall asleep. So I can only play while sitting up.)

Do you have any Random Parenting Discoveries to share?

Found And Random Things

Colby asked why I've been using my crappy little camera instead of the Nikon. I said I didn't want to use my Grandpa's awesome old film camera (I didn't realize which Nikon he was talking about). Then he informed me that our lovely old digital camera was back from the repair shop (where it'd been fixed FOR FREE! Woot! Hooray for known factory defects!) (The camera has been broken since June of 2007. It's like Christmas to get it back!) So look what I did!!! Took pictures of Gretchen swinging that aren't blurry!!!




I'm not going to whine about the overwhelming list of things I had to do this week, or the amount of work I had (I think I whine about those two things every post.) Most days I feel like I'm either taking care of the girls or working, no down-time to myself (wait, I'm whining, but it's going somewhere, really!) Yesterday I decided to take a night off. It was wonderful. I finished a craft and then went to bed. Oh heaven! Then today I took advantage of my Sunday work-free time to document the crafts we've done in our MOPS group this year. Take a look if you're feeling crafty!

We've been working on Ella's science fair project. I was really proud of us when we came up with our experiment idea. They'd had a demonstration at school of what happens when you drop Mint Mentos into Diet Coke. She was pretty impressed with the explosion that resulted. We decided to see if we could find any other candy that would make soda explode. Fun, right? Then a few weeks ago we were at Girl Scouts and I was talking to another mom. I asked what they were doing for their experiment. THEY HAD THE EXACT SAME PLAN. Luckily the girls are in different classes. Though the other mom said, "You know, if we're doing it, chances are another 10 people will too..." So we're going to have to totally sell our experiment with a fantastic display board. Yesterday we picked up the last of our candy and went to an empty field. It's a good thing we didn't try it in the kitchen. I'll share the pictures next week. And you should go invest $2 in some Mint Mentos and Diet Coke. Or look at the million youtube videos dedicated to that awesomeness.

This week I listened to "The Road" as an audio book. Wow. That is one powerful book. It's really dark, but I loved it. If you haven't read it, skip this next part:

The whole time I was thinking, "The mom was totally right. They should have just all killed themselves before they were raped and cannibalized!" Especially when they went to that old house with all the people in the basement! But by the end I had completely switched my opinion. The fact that Cormac McCarthy was able to fill a book with such horrific and vivid details and still convince me that their painful struggle for life was worth it proves his mastery as a writer. The book is powerful and beautifully written.

Another thing that struck me was while listening to the brutality of their degenerate "society", I kept thinking, "No, this couldn't REALLY happen, right? God wouldn't let that happen." But it could. And it did. We have a scriptural record of this happening (Moroni 9: 7-10). So of course it could happen again. And though "The Road" is fiction, like all good stories, it makes you wonder about what choices you'd make with your life. If you knew that was in store for your little children, what would you do? Also, I need to go order about 5000 lighters and 50 extra pairs of shoes now.

Ella just came out of her room and jogged a circle around our apartment. I think she's still asleep. She's sleep-jogging! I'd better go take care of that and stop worrying about offing-myself before I get cannibalized by apocalyptic survivors.

(She just came back out and sat down at the kitchen table. Colby led her gently back to bed. I think the sleep-traveling is mostly over for the night...)

Do you kids ever do weird stuff like that in their sleep?

xoxo

Seriously? Cutest Thing Ever.

Hello Loves! How was your week? Ours was great, interesting, fun, and sad at the end.

It was great to host preschool. Gretchen had missed two weeks of learnin' cause she was hacking and coughing and oozing at the eyes and nose and being generally infectious. She woke up Tuesday morning with red eyes and after trying really hard not to say bad words, I called the other parents & said, "It could be pink eye. Maybe it's just her cold. We're having preschool. Risk it if you dare." They all risked it. I guess a two hour break from your toddler is worth that little roulette game. And it wasn't pink eye after all! It must have just been from her cold. CRISIS AVERTED!

After preschool, I was talking to my dear friend Becky, and she was going on and on about the most fabulous dance class our friend Katherine teaches. I've been wanting to put the girls in a dance class since I found out I was pregnant with a girl-child, and this class is pretty much ridiculously cute. But I just can't justify the minimal expense while Colby isn't working. (Just in case you're wondering, the girls now have a running tally of things they'll do when Colby gets a job. Go to Disneyland. Go out to eat. Go to ballet class. Buy Tinkerbell wings at the Disney Store. And I will join the gym so I won't have to use the scary one in our apartment complex. Oh yeah, and buy a house.) Becky was so sad that I said we wouldn't be signing up that she told Katherine about it. And then Katherine asked if I'd do a trade. OH YES I WILL!!! So now my dreams have come true. This dream here.

This dream is a FAIRY TALE DANCE CLASS. Gretchen was shy at first. That lasted about 30 seconds. Then she realized that THIS. IS. AWESOME.


Within 5 minutes she was volunteering to show the other girls how it's done.


And they all dressed up as Belle, her favorite princess this week, and acted out the story. OMG. SERIOUSLY? Yes. It was cute.


So basically, thrilled.


Ella had testing at her school a few weeks ago & we got the results back. She is doing so well in school. I'm so proud of her. I'm so grateful for her teachers. I'm so grateful for her school. I'm SO GRATEFUL I don't home school her. I know that's the best choice for some people, but not us. If I were teaching my child....it would be bad. But since all I have to do is help with her homework, it's PERFECT. I still feel like I'm involved with her education, but I don't really have to do anything. Ta da! Genius child that still has a relationship with her mom.

While volunteering in her class this week, I came across a number of Safety Tips the kids had written themselves:
-Always swim with a buddy.
-Never stand on a swivel chair.
-Don't say bad words to a police man (one of my favorites.)

When we got home, I overheard Ella say in a dramatic voice, "Safety Tip #7: Never say, 'You are bad!!!' to your sister." Wise choice, my darling.

The sad end of our week was that a friend from church had a fire at her condo. Julie (mother to the infamous biting victim John John) arranged for us to go over and help a bit yesterday. It was awful. There was a huge hole in her roof. There was insulation and ceiling bits and broken glass and ash EVERYWHERE. We wore masks and helped pull all her daughters clothes and bedding and stuffed animals out to distribute to volunteers to wash. I've never seen anything like it. I've been lucky enough not to be in any fires. It was crazy. As soon as I walked in the door, I started crying (I know, I'm a wimp, but it was HORRIBLE.) If anyone has a broken heating lamp in their bathroom, do me a favor and get it fixed. Also, make sure you have renters insurance. Say prayers for my friend too.

So that's us. What about you?