State Fair

We went to the State Fair today - lots of fun. C and M both had lots of fun seeing all the animals - horses, cows, chickens, roosters, pigs, goats, sheep. They got to ride ponies and go through a really neat kids exhibit learning about what happens on a farm - feeding and milking a (fake) cow, planting seeds and harvesting veggies, feeding a sheep and getting wool, and getting eggs from chickens. M. had a great time with that one - C. is a bit young yet but had fun following M and doing everything she did. They had a display with pictures of different crops and you were supposed to guess what plant each was and then lift up to see if you were right - M got about 7 out of 10 right - I was pretty impressed by that.
The last highlight was going down the giant slide with Dad - M. was big enough to ride by herself, so W. took C. on his lap. I took the following pictures on my iPhone with no zoom, so you can't see much, but they had a blast. C. kept saying after, "Dada, SLIDE!" over and over with a big grin.Walking up all the steps - W. is wearing a grey shirt and carrying C. and the blankets for them to sit on.
Coming down - M. is near the bottom, W and C a bit higher up.
At the bottom - you can't really see the smiles, but they were grinning from ear to ear....

"Pretty"

So, I had an interesting time at church this morning. I should start by saying I am only at W's church about 1/2 of the time now - through December probably I am preaching at other churches 2 Sundays a month. And lots of people that I saw this morning hadn't seen me in awhile - they were at church the Sundays I was preaching elsewhere this summer, and on vacation when I was there. But about 10 or 12 people came up to me and commented on how pretty I looked today. It kind of took me by surprise. I mean, I don't honestly remember anyone commenting specifically on my looks at this church before - except for when it became obvious I was pregnant with C. and I got some comments about my cute baby belly. That was different. This was, hmmm..... hard to describe.
I should say that these comments all came from presumably straight women - it wasn't a sexual thing. It was just interesting. And brought up how many issues I still have about my looks. I have learned to just smile and say thank you when someone compliments me (this took a lot of learning on my part - ) but I still wonder to myself - do I really look that nice?
I remember back to junior high and high school when I would literally (unconsciously) hide under big sweaters and such. I remember in college, literally bawling when W. told me that he thought I was beautiful - I had never seen that in myself before he said it. (I also never dated anyone other than W. - so it's not like I had lots of negative input from previous significant others - I was just always the brain with no romantic social life). As an adult, I have worked hard to become comfortable in my own body - to love my self and to present my self in a way that is both comfortable and attractive. So why does it throw me when others notice?
I have been thinking about all this from another angle as I have been working on getting fall and winter clothes ready for M. and C. If I haven't mentioned it before, M and C are both tall - really tall. M. is in size 7/8 tops this winter - which means I now have to shop for her in the girls 7-14 department - which has been a real challenge so far. I don't consider myself a prude or anything - but most of the clothes in the girls 7-14 department look like they belong on middle schoolers - not a preschooler. I mean, she's not even in kindergarten yet. I am not going to allow her to dress like a pre-teenager. So, finding clothes for M. is proving a challenge. I keep saying this is why I sew - I am making her several tops that are (hopefully) cute and age-appropriate and not going to be midriff showing in January. And I want her to feel comfortable in her clothes - in her skin. I want her to grow up knowing how beautiful she is.
In other general life news, fall is here even though I am not ready. M's dance class starts tomorrow. Her preschool started last week. I think we have made a good choice for her this year - she came home from preschool on Thursday talking a million miles a minute about everything they did, with great enthusiam. Always a good sign. C. is now out of diapers during the day and doing quite well - never let it be said that she is not determined. C. is also really talking now. W. made the comment the other day that if there were a conversation balloon over C's head, everything in it would be in all caps with multiple exclamation points. And he's right - no shortage of enthusiam in C. either.
And now, it's time for bed for the munchkins. 'Til later.....

????

Not sure what to title this - more random reflections, I guess.
It was so interesting to watch the Olympic opening ceremony with M. This is the first time she's been old enough to understand any of the Olympics. And with a dad who's a big sports fan in general, and who was a competitive athlete in several sports in high school, she's enjoyed the whole thing. And we've had some interesting discussions about the world, different countries, why China isn't like the US, etc. I am finding it harder and harder to always answer her questions about things like that - the presidential campaign this fall will be interesting from that standpoint.
On another M. front, have to share this story, which also involves something she's picked up from dad - the use of 4-letter words. Monday night, she was pretty tired after dinner and mad at C. over something I couldn't figure out (I'm thinking at the moment it was something like C. was still breathing, but still). C. had to go potty. So, we were in the bathroom and M. comes in and takes off her sandal and throws it across the room into our bedroom (the bedroom and bathroom connect). I then calmly asked her if she was going to go on our walk tonight or not (we usually take a short family walk with the dog every night). She looked at me and screamed/growled "YES!" so I told her she needed to go get her sandal and put it back on. Then the real battle of wills began. She was convinced that I would either get her sandal or put it on for her. I told her no, if she was going to go on the walk, she needed to do what I asked her to and put it on. I think I also reminded her that it would still be on her foot if she hadn't been so into throwing a fit (which didn't do anything to help her calm down - but I managed to keep calm myself). Finally, C. was finished, I went to get their pajamas, fully ready to just put them to bed (C. has also been fighting off a cold and pretty tired) and M. stood up and got her sandal and brought it to me. I told her that the deal was she got it and she put it on and then we would go on the walk. So, after a minute of going back and forth over this detail, she sits down to put on the sandal, and while doing so looks up at me and says, "Sh!t! F@ck! Hell! Damn!" and probably a few others. All I could do was laugh. Which really confused M. - I think she was convinced this would throw gasoline on the fire so to speak. But it was so funny. She still has no idea what she really said -
W. of course, who is the source of this vocabulary for M., didn't hear any of it. When I told him about it, his response was, "So I either need to watch my mouth or teach her how to properly string them together, right?" Sigh from mom.
On to C. She has decided, as of Monday afternoon, that she does not wear diapers during the day anymore. For those who think an 18 month old is incapable of such sheer willpower and determination, may you never have a stubborn child. And she's done remarkably well so far with no diapers. If this takes, I will be a very happy mom.
I am amazed at the change in weather that August brings here. It is still hot - 90 plus today - but seems so much cooler than the 100 plus days we had in July. We are starting to have some cooler evenings again, which is nice. Soon it will be snowing, I know - so I'm trying to enjoy this.
Things at the church are marginally better. Not much - that will take much more time - but the key leadership is starting to see that W. is not the problem, he is the lighting rod for the anxiety that has been bred of year of mis-communication and indecisiveness and "trying to be nice to everyone" disease (where we want to be nice so we let certain people run roughshod over the rest of the congregation instead of just saying no to their latest outrageous scheme.) No, W. is not perfect - but he is far from their greatest problem. And just dumping on him isn't going to solve anything. Now, we just need this newfound enlightenment to trickle down to the rest of the congregation.
Well, it's late. Time for sleep. Tomorrow is another day....

Rough Times

So, time for my once-a-month update. The girls are fine. Growing like weeds - and now C is old enough to really annoy her sister when she wants to - so sibling issues are cropping up more, but they also really love each other. And it's neat to see them play together more and more. C is also talking more and more. She started saying "anks Mama" on her own - (for "Thanks, Mama") when ever I give her anything. It's really cute. And she will say "anks" when she gives you something as well. In fact, she was "helping" me and M clean the bathroom this week by handing the things on the counter to M who then handed them to me to put out of the way (Did you know it can take 10 minutes or more to clean off a bathroom counter? Don't you want help like mine? :) ) and with every item she said "anks!"
M. is now reading. It has suddenly clicked over the last 2 weeks and she can read simple words and stories. She is still far too slow to really enjoy it - so she doesn't want to much - but I am encouraging her to try some every day so she gets better. She loves doing school now - in fact, I had to put down my foot and say we could only do school 2 days a week, because she would do school 7 days a week and kill me if I let her. I am trying to be more intentional about setting limits in my life in general, so this is good practice. Her preschool begins in a month, and I think that will help keep her busy and not bored. I hope. She is really fun to teach, very enthusiastic, cooperative - but the non-stop go, go, go of her little mind wears me out!

The title of this post refers to W and the church - it was a rough winter, things got better in the spring, but the last couple of weeks have been hellish again. So much anxiety flying around, and leadership that doesn't know or want to follow the rules they wrote, and a church that doesn't know how to communicate effectively at all - add some drama queens in and you've got the nightmare W is in right now. He is really down about it and I'm worried about him. So, prayers appreciated. He still feels called to be here - but it's hard stuff.

A big step

Well, life is still busy. I often think "I could blog about that" but blogging involves turning on the laptop and sitting down to type without C. coming over and pushing the power button (one of her latest tricks) so I don't actually do it much. However, I had to post tonight - C. used the potty for the first time before bed tonight!
I am so amazed - this was truly all her idea. She was in the bathroom - I was trying to get M. ready for bed as well. I had just changed C's diaper and she started tugging at it and then pointing at the toilet and trying to lift up the lid. (Which we keep closed unless in use to prevent "accidental drownings" of important objects. We haven't lost anything we wanted down a toilet yet and I'd like to keep it that way...) She is still not very verbal - but I looked at her and said "do you need to go potty?" And she nodded her head yes. I told her to wait a minute, went into her room and pulled M's old potty chair out of the closet, took it into the bathroom and helped C. take off the still-dry diaper and sit down. She sat there for a minute and then pointed to the roll of toilet paper. I asked if she was all done, she nodded yes, so I gave her some paper - and when she stood up to wipe, she had actually gone in the potty!
I have to say that I was thinking she was almost ready last week, because she knows when she needs to go, will ask for a clean diaper, and has learned from watching me and her big sister the basics of what needs to happen - but I had decided to wait to actually introduce the potty until after our June trip - I guess I have been overruled. We will have to see how interested she is tomorrow - M. started potty training at about this age and in a similar fashion and was completely out of diapers during the day by the time she was 2 years one month old - and while I will not push C. (pushing a kid to train when he/she isn't ready and interested is the number one way to cause major, major problems) I must say that I would be so happy to be done changing diapers during the day 9 months from now!

On a totally, totally separate topic - I think I am going to apply for the Stated Clerk's position for my presbytery. It is part-time, averaging 10 hours a week, and for a 10 month term right now because the presbytery is in the middle of a redesign process and is reevaluating how we do staffing. I started filling out a PIF today - I haven't made a final decision to turn it in, but I am leaning towards it. There is lots more backstory about this - but it will have to wait for later, as I am tired and going to bed.

Right after I post a picture - I know that's the most exciting part of this blog, anyway....eating vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce for bedtime snack. This is an important life skill to learn, right?
I did M.'s hair in french braids for the first time this day - they were falling out pretty badly by bedtime, but it was cute I thought - C's hair isn't long enough for much yet....soon, though.

Boundaries, boundaries, boundaries....

COM met again today. I (obviously) can't say much about what went on - but I will say this:
1. Boundaries, people. If you are in ministry, and don't understand the concept, get help. Please. For your own sake and for the sake of Christ's church.
2. COM is exhausting and energizing at the same time. I am tired, yet satisfied that the decisions we made today, while hard in many cases, will bring healing and hope to troubled pastors and congregations. Or at least have the potential to assist in bringing healing and hope. Actually bringing it is Jesus' job, I guess - so I won't claim any committee is doing it.
3. The church needs polity geeks like me. This is a part of my calling - and the energizing part of my day comes from knowing my gifts are being well used in this work.
4. My sympathies to any who have served or will serve on COM in larger presbyteries. We only have 23 churches in my presbytery - something like 27 actively serving ministers of Word and Sacrament and maybe 6-8 minister members-at-large (like me). There are presbyteries with over 100 churches - I don't know how those COM's can function.

Other notes:
1. C. learned a new trick yesterday - which I think took about 3 years off my life the first time she did it. She has figured out how to climb up the climber/slide we have in our backyard. The platform is about 3 feet off the ground - and she scales the mini-rock-climbing side to get up. And then goes down the slide half on her back and half on her butt. It is quite cute, actually - and she is so, so, so proud of herself - now that I am reasonably sure she can do it without falling off and killing herself.
2. We are settling back into our normal routine. Having my mom and aunt here last week really threw us off. Not that I didn't want them to come - but my girls are so sensitive to any change in their environment - positive or negative - that having visitors in Holy Week was really hard and resulted in many nights of frequent wakings. M. especially is affected by this - and we learned that she is now too big to come to bed with us, as she kicked (by accident - she was tossing and turning) W. in a very sensitive spot at 2 a.m. one night. Oops. Potential downside of co-sleeping. No lasting damage to W. or M. - and we are now back to sleeping normally. Thank God. (I need my sleep).
3. I am excited about the potential for new friends here - in the spouses of 2 newer members of the presbytery who are also in my general area and have young kids. I am hoping we can start a playgroup or something soon for time to get to know each other. It would be so nice to have friends here who I don't have to do the "pastor's wife who is also a pastor" dance with.
4. Having my mom closer has brought up so much emotional junk - we are in the process of re-negiotiating our relationship, and that is tiring. It is going well - she has made the decision to intentionally seek out a church home that is not W's church so she has some separation from us - and we are all (well, the adults anyway) aware of the need to set healthy patterns, etc. now - but still, exhausting. And yet, I am reminding myself through this process of the many ways I choose to be me - not my mother - and that is good. And I have the opportunity to have an adult relationship with her - she did not get this with her mother (my grandmother died when I was 3 1/2 years old). And it is a gift.
5. We are continuing to discern where we will put M. in school. I am waiting for a call back from the woman who did IQ and achievement testing for her to set up an appointment to go over the test results. I could write a short book on our decision to go ahead and do testing now - but I am not sure if anyone is interested. If you are, leave a comment and I will write more about it. So we are waiting to get those results - but I am still pondering. The public schools are transitioning to a different gifted program - aimed to really target the top 3-5 % of kids - instead of the broader, high achievement program they currently have (which aims to target the top 15-20% of kids). There are all sorts of issues in this, which I won't delineate now so as not to bore you to tears, but the end result is that I am not sure I can trust the public schools to meet M.'s needs. And she will be starting school right in the middle of this big change in program - not sure if I have the energy to put into being her advocate through that with an un-tested program. (And I hope that doesn't sound too snotty - I don't mean to be - I'm just trying to honestly feel out where I can put my energy) Charter schools are another option here - and there are some really good ones that I would be happy to have her in - ones that use proven methods of differentiated instruction (which means that the teachers teach kids in small group at their level - so the slower learners aren't left in the dust and the faster learners aren' t bored to tears - it takes very dedicated teachers to do this, but when done well the results are very much worth it). However, the charter that would be our first choice based on distance (we would have to provide transportation, so distance is an issue to consider) had 150 applicants for 10 kindergarten spots last year. The other options have similar numbers. So, I am hesitant to plan on that - too much uncertainty. (that's my inner J asserting itself, I think). Private schools are simply too expensive, unless I suddenly found a great paying job - which is not too likely (there will be some ministry jobs open up in the next few years here that would be doable from a location standpoint, but none would meet the "great paying" requirement). So, it is looking more and more like homeschooling may be the best option.
6. This (homeschooling) fills me with terror and joy, in alternating and equal measure. We have already decided that I will start to do "kindergarten" with M. 2 days a week in the fall. She will be in pre-school 2 days a week, at a new school. The new school teaches phonics in her class and basic math - some academics mixed with lots of hands-on and free-play time. I really and truly believe M. is ready for that and will thrive there. She will go on Tuesdays and Thursdays for 2 1/2 hours each day. Mondays and Wednesdays I will do "school" with her at home - for kindergarten, this means about 10 - 15 minutes of reading (her to me), similar time for math, a few minutes of handwriting (which she actually already does on a regular basis of her own initiative - she will happily sit for 20-25 minutes at a stretch and ask me to spell words out for her to write down.) and as much reading aloud of various books (novels, science books, etc.) as we can manage. I would love to also do art and something for music and science experiments and a study of world cultures - but those will wait until I make sure we aren't going to kill each other with the basics. I am thinking that the basics will be an hour or so a day - we will see how much time we want to fill with other pursuits.

And now, it is quite late, so I will post and then sleep. More to come.....

Happy Easter!

to one and all. I have much to write, but not much time, so I will try to get on again soon with a fuller update. My mom and her sister have been here since Tuesday night. Mom's moving truck was supposed to be here by Monday at the latest - it will not be here before next Thursday. Moving nightmares.....So, it is crazy here (nothing really new in that) but we are surviving. I wanted to post a picture of M. with her Easter eggs she dyed this afternoon, and a cute one of C. - here they are....
They are having lots of fun this Easter - and it is neat for me to see M. start to really understand the story of Easter. We've talked this week about Maundy Thursday and Good Friday and what happened on those days and why - She is really excited about the whole deal - makes a pastor mom proud....
I have much more to blog, but must go finish hemming my new skirt to wear tomorrow and then get to bed. Hopefully soon I can do a major update. Someday, I plan to blog more frequently - much goes through my head that I think, "that would make a great post" - but getting it typed into the computer doesn't always happen. I also have been thinking about responses to 2 memes that More Cows tagged me for - my answers are coming!

What a week

It has been, indeed. Last week, I led the PW Bible study on Tuesday, had a COM meeting on Wednesday (that went surprisingly well - but left me exhausted. I really am an introvert - 5 hours straight of talking to adults, while a welcome break from full-time mommyhood, leaves me exhausted.), had my annual appointment with my pulminalogist on Thursday, and then a consult on having M. evaluated for giftedness on Friday. COM, the doctor, and the evaluation were all a good 45 minute one-way drive, which now seems like forever. I know I shouldn't complain - 2 years ago I was living in a small town and had to drive at least 45 minutes to everything - but I have gotten spoiled living in the suburbs these last 18+ months. Anyway, as if that wasn't enough in one week, I had a PW Council meeting on Saturday and preached on Sunday. So, I have come to the realization that - for this time of my life - 6 days straight of commitments is too much. I used to do this and more week in and week out - but the demands of my life are so different now.
So, today began the at-home catch up. Laundry is done for the week, just needs to be put away in the morning (I finished folding after the girls were in bed, and I won't go into their rooms for fear of waking them up unless the house is on fire. Literally.) I have picked up and vacuumed the living room, and cleaned the kitchen. Tomorrow I need to change sheets on the beds, mop the dining room (this is where C. eats all her meals - it needs to be mopped. Badly.), and vacuum the play/sew area in the basement. It is nice to have non-mentally challenging work to do after a week of much head-time. And it is relaxing to me to see the house come into some semblance of order again after a week of chaos. By tomorrow night I need to shift back into getting ready to preach on March 9.
In other news, my mom signed the papers to buy her condo here today. She will be here by Easter. I almost wish she wasn't coming until after Easter, as the time right before is so busy for us, and her sister is driving out with her and will be here for a couple of days to help her get settled - but, what will be will be. It will be nice to have her closer - M. is so excited about this she can hardly stand it. She can't talk about Grandma C. moving here to "Salt City" without jumping up and down. Quite cute, especially when she does this without knocking her sister over.... :)
C. is just so cute herself these days. She is so proud of herself for everything still, and is really starting to communicate so much more. C. still doesn't talk much - not at all really - but in the last few days she has started to make sounds repeatedly like she is trying to say certain words. "Cat" is the most frequent attempt. She loves our cats. Someday, they will love her back....
Oh, and I finished my new purse. Not sure I love it for me - I like it, but it is quite bright. I am thinking I might like it better in different colors. So, I am using it for now and thinking about if I will keep it. 2 things didn't turn out quite right - I added pockets on the lining to hold pens, lip gloss, my phone, and my inhaler - so I don't have to dig for them. They are up kind of high, though, so if I make another one I will move them down lower. It makes it hard to close the purse clasp where they are. Also, I sewed the handles on backwards. This is the kind of thing no one else would notice, but I did. Of course, I noticed after I had gotten to the point that changing them would mean taking out 3 seams of very tiny stitching - so they will stay backwards. I will try to post a picture or two soon. One thing I do love is that I lined it in bright yellow fabric, so it is very easy to see inside.
One final celebration - I am wearing a pair of jeans today that has not fit since before I got pregnant with C. It has taken a year to get back into them, but I did it. I still need to lose about 15 pounds - but I am quite happy about this milestone.
Once again, probably more details than you may want to know. I am now off to bed.

Sick day

For M., not me. She woke up and threw up this morning, and then did so 4 more times before she went down for an afternoon nap about an hour ago. I am hoping it's just a short viral bug. And that no one else gets it. She is still pretty chipper in between bouts, so that gives me hope that it will be over soon.
Poor C. can't figure out what's going on. First, M. got a bath this morning and she didn't (they usually take baths one after the other or together - and C. loves, loves, loves the water) and then Mommy would cuddle with M. and not let C. up - because M. was vomiting again. Normally I try to let C. join whatever M. and I are doing - C. usually looses interest in about 2 minutes and gets down to play again - but today I had to keep her away from the action.
So, now I am off to scrub and sanitize the bath tub. You really don't want to know details.....

Saturday Night

So, I have to say that the sound of my 2 girls snoring in rhythm is one of the sweetest sounds in the universe. C. stirred just as M. was ready to go to sleep, and I had already promised M. to sit in her room until she went to sleep tonight, so I rocked C. sitting on the end of M.'s bed - and they were both out in about 3 minutes. So sweet.
I went fabric shopping today. Many of the local stores were having President's Day sales - so the girls and I hit 3 stores looking for fabrics for spring/summer clothes. I got a bit stir-crazy this last week and decided that since it won't stop snowing here - I need to do something to bring on spring. So, I have fabric for:

-a new fabric purse for me.
-a skirt for me (blue tiny floral print.)
-matching pink capri pants and white/pink print tops for the girls
-purple print for sundresses for the girls
-one pair blue and one pair purple pajama pants for M., maybe for C. (not sure if there will be enough so I may need different fabric for C.)
-a purple belt for M. (need to make this first - she is so skinny that her pants are always falling down. Hopefully a belt will help - at least with the pants that have belt loops..... :) )
-knit fabric to make pajama tops for summer (have to brag that this was an insanely good deal - $.99 a yard and it takes just over a yard for one top for each girl - )

I think that is everything. I have figured out how to set up my new cutting table that I got for Christmas - it's a fold down table that is about waist high and about 4 ft. by 6 ft. when set up. I can spread out fabric and patterns to cut it out without crawling on the floor, getting "help" from the girls, and worrying about pins getting stuck in little feet. Now I just have to keep the pins in the pin cushion on the table. I also have a new gigantic cutting mat to go on top of it - so I can use my rotary cutter - and again, keep it out of little hands. (If you don't sew and haven't a clue what a rotary cutter is, think a small pizza cutter with an incredibly sharp blade used to cut fabric. Much faster than scissors for cutting things out fabric.)

So, we may have snow until July at this point - but I don't care. I will be hiding in my basement sewing/play room and dreaming of warmer days until they come (in between all the other stuff I have to do....)
(And we won't have snow until July - it just feels like it right now)

Life - an update

I've been MIA here for awhile - almost a month. Life has been busy. I'll try to give a brief update on all facets.
C. is now 1 year old - her birthday was the 19th of January. We had quiet day at home - my mom was in town visiting (more on that in a minute) so we stayed home, and spent the day opening presents and eating cake. It was a fun day - she was thrilled with the wrapping paper. It was so cute to watch her walk up to one present, tear off a piece of wrapping paper, then turn around to another present, do the same thing, etc. Wrapped empty boxes would have been enough for her, I think. The toys inside were a bonus.
I think I had forgotten just how much fun it is to have a one-year-old around. I could just sit and watch C. all day - she toddles around (we jokingly call it the drunken sailor walk, but she is now faster on her feet than crawling - look out, world!) and finds something she thinks is just fascinating. It could be a toy, a scrap of paper on the floor, a pen, who knows. She will pick this amazing object up, and look to another person in the room and just grin the biggest grin you have ever seen and walk up to that person to show off her treasure. She offers it to you for a brief (very, very brief) second and then goes off to find either another admirer or another treasure. The world is all new in her eyes.
C. also adores beyond belief her big sister M. M. is alternately appreciative and annoyed by this adoration - but C. loves to follow M. around and generally get right in the middle of whatever M. is doing and cause havoc. Balancing including C. with allowing M. time alone is a big job these days, but it's fun.
One year olds are also so much easier than infants to care for. C. still needs lots of attention, but she will play quietly for a few minutes while I change laundry or clean something or do dishes - I have hope the house will look reasonable again at some point in the relatively near future. I have said before that there is a good reason the first year of parenting goes by so fast - and I love babies, but they are exhausting.
M. is now sleeping much better overall. Her sleep is still disturbed by changes in routine, like visiting grandparents, but more often than not she sleeps well and calmly, which is a huge milestone and huge relief for us. She is so independent now, and loves to help. And she actually can help - she cleans up when she spills her drink and I don't have to sneak in a clean-up of her attempt anymore. She loves to move clothes from the washer to the dryer and the dryer to the basket to fold and is quite good at sorting and matching socks and folding her own underwear. She really can dress herself and do the tasks of getting ready for bed - we still have to keep on top of her with reminders of what comes next, but she can do 90 percent of it herself, which is huge (especially on nights when W. has meetings and I'm doing bedtime solo).
We have made the decision of what to do for M. for school in the fall in the last month. Some background on this is needed for it all to make sense, I think. M. has been going to a good preschool located in a Methodist church in our neighborhood. She adored it last year when she was in the 2 1/2 to 3 year old class. This year she is in the 3 to 4 year old class and it hasn't been as great a year. She still has a good teacher - the same one as last year actually - but there have been some issues with negative behavior from other kids effecting her and she is not being challenged there. This school follows the "let kids play and don't force academics on them too early" school of thought, which I generally agree with - but M. is ready for more. We are realizing more and more how smart she is - and she wants to learn. I don't see why we should hold her back from learning if she is eager and excited to do it. So, we are moving her to another preschool for next year. The new school does phonics instruction with the class she will be in, as well as basic math and the typical preschool play time and snack, etc. They are more of a "challenge the kids in a supportive environment" sort of school. It will be more like kindergarten but in a 2 day a week preschool schedule. We think it will be a good balance for her energy levels (she is an introvert like her parents and too much time in groups really wears her out) and need for stimulation. The 2 day a week schedule also means we will have Fridays as family days again - that is W's day off and we've missed having that time together this year.
In addition to the preschool in the fall, we have also officially decided to have me start homeschooling M. on the days she's not in preschool. We're going to start kindergarten work and see what happens. This is for several reasons - including that we are seriously considering homeschooling for M. for elementary school and feel like we need to try it out before we have to do anything official. Worst case scenario - M. learns nothing from me next year - she won't be behind a bit because age-wise she won't be eligible for kindergarten until a year from this fall (Fall 2009) Also, if we find homeschooling makes me even more crazy than I already am and we can't swing it as a family - we have time to make other plans for the future. Equally important, we believe M. is really ready for more - and that she will really enjoy doing school with Mom.
On to other topics. We had a nice visit with my MIL right after Christmas. While she was here, she taught M. how to play Rummikub, which is an important family game in W's family. It really amazed her and us how quickly M. picked it up - and how quickly C. can destroy a game set up. (if you don't know it, this is a numbers game - there are tiles with numbers 1-13 in 4 colors and each player draws 14 to start. You must have runs of at least 3 to play - either of one color in numerical order or the same number and different colors. M. caught on right away and is surprisingly good considering her age). I really do love my MIL - she is a real example to me of what I hope to be like at her age - she started her PhD in Russian Lit. in her late 50's and is currently teaching (Serbo-Croatian this year) and starting her dissertation. She also teaches adult Sunday School, has lots of friends, sews, and does lots of other things.
Then, a week after MIL left, my mom came to visit - and to house-hunt. She has decided that Indiana - Utah is too much space between her and her precious granddaughters, so she is in the process of moving out here to be close to us. She found a condo she loves, made an offer, and it was accepted in less than 24 hours - this week. So, she is now starting to seriously hunt for a job - she has several possibilities - and plan her move.
On the church front, I have decided that for now I will not blog about it. The church world in this state is just too small for me to have any illusion of real illusion of anonymity. (There are 23 Presbyterian churches in Utah - and if you know them much at all you can tell which one is being referred to). W's church - and mine, as I am now a parish associate there - is starting to face some real issues that are bringing about conflict. It is hard - very hard, and frustrating at times - but W and I believe that the church will be the better for getting through all this muck. Eventually. I won't say more here, but prayers for the church would be appreciated. On a good church note - visitors are increasing. Another pastor in the valley commented to us that he has never served somewhere and seen so many visitors. Each week, he said, new people just keep coming through the door - people who want to hear the gospel. Most have a very small connection to his church - but they come anyway. And many keep coming. It's happening at our church, too - and it is really cool to see. I don't want to get into an anti-mormon rant here, but the message of the mormon church is, to me at least, profoundly un-Christian. There is a huge segment of society here that doesn't get grace at all - and many are hungry for that message. It is awe-inspiring to watch - and to know that lives are really being changed by the gospel.
I have some more thoughts about this blog and what I want it to be, but it is now past midnight my time and anyone who has read all of this deserves a medal. I'll save the rest for later - and I hope it's soon.

C. discovers chocolate

It was a hershey's kiss that fell on the floor and she found.

Not sure how she got the wrapper off....

Based on how much was on her face, hands, shirt, jeans, and the floor, I think she actually got about half of it into her stomach.

And just for comparison, here is M. eating chocolate for the first time. It was a small chocolate bunny at Easter.
M. was about 5-6 months older than C. is now - and neater. Didn't she have a darling Easter dress? Toddlers are so cute -

Oh, and if you look closely at the picture of C., you will see the evidence of her latest big fall on her forehead - she tipped a rocking chair over backwards today and hit her head on the coffee table going down. So now we have a nice bruise just in time for Grandma H., (my mil) to arrive tomorrow......

Hope all have had a good Christmas. I've been chasing little ones and had little time to blog...but it's been a pretty good week.

Conversations at our house this morning

Just because it's funny looking back.....

Me: M., do you want pancakes for breakfast?

M: No, Mommy. Pancakes are messy. I want something else.

Me: Okay, what do you want?

M: Cream of Wheat. It's not messy. (not entirely true, as she is apt to spill down her shirt as she eats, but I'm willing to indulge this wish...)

Me: Okay. Let's go get it out.

M: Mommy, I want to get the box out of the cupboard. I can do it.

Me: Okay. (I am not about to stop someone being independent and helpful)

M: Here Mommy. Oops.

(At this point I look down at the floor where about 3/4 cup of dry cream of wheat has spilled out to the box - it looks like a little indoor snowstorm or something)

Me: M, we have to remember not to tip the box because it will spill. Let's get the vacuum out. (I am calm because I actually got a good night's sleep last night - makes all the difference in the world in my level of patience with stuff like this.)

M: Oh. Okay.

(I get out the vacuum, we clean up the mess. I start cooking the cream of wheat and put the box back. I stir the cream of wheat on the stove and then turn to look down at C., who has decided that she wants to get things out of the cabinet too. She is trying to chew through a wrapper around some crackers, and has spilled guess what - more cream of wheat on the floor.)

Me: time for the vacuum again.

(W. walks into the kitchen and looks around)

W: Girls are messy. Everyone talks about boys being messy, but girls are messy.

Me: The two are not mutually exclusive, you know.

W: (chuckles and leaves to walk the dog)

We are going to try to get the tree up and decorated today. If we're all still in a good mood after that, we're going to go downtown on the train and see the lights. M and C love, love, love to ride the train, so that in itself is a treat. Hope you all are having fun. Oh, and the cream of wheat was pretty yummy.....

Catching Up

Much has been going on - not all bloggable. As of last Thursday, the session at W's church officially voted to ask me to serve as a parish associate there - so I am looking forward to getting into that more in January. I'll be working with children's and adult's c.e. first - helping to bring some order and planning to those programs that currently have none. Should be good.
On the parish associate note, W. has been teaching an adult Sunday School class this fall using the book Journey Through the Word. Those who have been in the class said last Sunday they want to keep going in January and study the socio-political context of the first century - the background of the New Testament. Anyone know of any not too academic resources for this study? We're looking for a book they can read and discuss together with limited help from W. or me as we both have other responsibilities on Sunday morning. All suggestions are welcome.
Presbytery council has hired the person I thought/hoped they would for the temporary executive. I think this will be good - she will do a good job. I'm still considering whether I'd be interested in the permanent position in another 2 years or so - we shall see.
Finally, some recent pictures........This is M. making playdough...our living room rug may never recover, but that's okay....

M. working on her website - we love starfall.com - a great site that teaches a phonics-based reading program and is intuitive enough for kids to do on their own.

Our turkey cookies - M. saw the Pi!lsbury ad with a picture for these in it and wanted to make them - she was quite proud of how they turned out.


And last but not least, my family cooking dinner. W. made grilled ham and cheese sandwiches tonight. M. buttered the bread (and licked the butter knife). C. tried to climb the stool again and get underfoot. The sandwiches were quite good. I think the picture is even better.

Yogurt for dinner

So, one of C.'s favorite foods is yogurt - plain, whole milk yogurt (babies need fat in their diet the first two years for optimal brain development, so no low-fat stuff - and I try really hard to avoid artificial flavors before about 18 months, so plain it is....) She loves this stuff - and also loves trying to feed herself with the spoon. So, we usually use at least 2 spoons - one for her and one for me. Until she grabs both.....




She spent a good 10 minutes or so waving those spoons around, laughing and talking to us, and smearing yogurt all over. Yogurt is fun to fingerpaint with, did you know that? And fingerpainting is good for all sorts of things like developing fine motor skills and creativity and such - so this is really educational.....and fun for mom to clean up......

Pictures

It's late, so I'm just going to try to post some pictures from the day. Enjoy!

Opening presents - I love the expression on M's face.
With her cake....purple is her favorite color, can you tell???

She didn't really pull C. out of the newspapers - C. was standing next to the basket holding on to the handle and proclaiming something loudly and the next thing I knew she was sitting in the basket, holding the handle and still proclaiming something loudly. So I had M. sit next to her so I could get a picture, and just as I took it, C. made a break for freedom. M. was trying to stop her, but it takes a bit to stop C......

I love, love, love this smile - I'm so glad I finally caught it on camera....

One of M's presents was a new purple backpack that came with a toy phone, lipstick, nail polish, etc. So she spent all afternoon and evening talking on her new phone and carrying her backpack around, getting things out and playing with them and putting them back in. At one point, I saw her sitting on the couch, pretending to paint her nails, while carrying on a long conversation on her phone, and was hit with 2 simultaneous realizations - 1. my baby is really growing up, 1. God help us when she's old enough to want a real cell phone for herself.

Party's over....

So, M.'s friends have left and the clean-up is about done. The girls had lots of fun.....at one point, as they were all giggling and talking all at the same time, W. looked at me and said, "there is way too much estrogen in this house right now." Poor guy, he's outnumbered normally....and with 4 extra girls, well, it was crazy. But fun....pictures to follow...a nap comes first.

Time to party

So, M. turns 4 on Tuesday. Time flies, doesn't it - but that's another post. So, she is having her birthday party tomorrow morning. She has invited 5 friends to come - 1 is out of town this weekend, so there will be 5 little girls here for 2 hours in the morning. We are having a tea party - M. is quite excited. Today I cleaned house and we iced her cake (baked yesterday - and I remembered to grease the pan this time, so no sticking.....) and made little sandwiches for lunch. It should be a fun time....I will try to post pictures of it soon.
And now, to bed for me - must be rested for the princesses.... :)

The sound of silence.....

The rest of the family, including all the animals, is asleep for a Saturday afternoon nap, so I might be able to catch up on stuff I've wanted to blog about. I've been sick this week - bronchitis - which, since it causes my asthma to kick in, is really no fun. Mommy gets very grouchy when she can't breathe well. And tired. So, I'm on day 4 of antibiotics and feeling much better. Other thoughts/updates:

• The LDS Church had their semi-annual General Conference last weekend. Two times a year the bigwigs all give a series of lectures over a weekend. Lots of folks here go downtown to hear them live - and they are simu-cast to LDS churches around the globe. Anyway, there was an article in the Salt Lake Tribune last Saturday about the first presidency of the Relief Society. For those who live outside Mormon-land, the Relief Society is the women's association of the LDS. The first presidency is the top 3 leaders of said association. I have lots of thoughts about the Relief Society, but the article last weekend made me want to scream. These 3 women were asked to give up their jobs and lives basically for 5 years (one left a husband who is serving overseas in LDS mission to come back to Salt Lake to serve, another left a fairly high-power corporate job) And they are not paid. Let me repeat that - they are asked to serve the church full-time for 5 years and are not paid. Not a dime. Now, you may know that the LDS pride themselves on not having paid clergy (don't get me started on that). But, all of the leadership hierarchy who work in Salt Lake at headquarters get a "modest support stipend." The actual amounts are not published (none of the LDS church's financial information is published for review, another soapbox I will avoid for the moment), but the "prophet" of the church happens to live in a $1.2 million condo in downtown Salt Lake City. That is public knowledge because the city council voted to allow the church to not pay taxes on, as it is church-owned property. If that's where he lives, I kind of doubt that he's paid a stipend that I would consider modest. And the women aren't paid......yet another reason I would be a lousy mormon woman.
  
• There are so many things about M. and C. that I want to remember. C. loves, loves, loves to crawl into the kitchen and over to the dog's food and water bowls to play. Such play is not sanctioned by the Mommy-of-the-house, so I will say to her in a firm voice, "No, C. - not yours" and she responds by laughing at me. Real concerned about obeying authority, that one is......And when she starts to get hungry and I sit down with her to feed her, she will grin and clap her hands and get so excited.....And the way she loves to pet the animals - she also laughs exuberantly when they brush their tails in her face - and they are pretty patient with her. M. is so free from inhibitions at this age. I just love that - watching her run with wild abandon down the sidewalk on our evening walks, singing at the top of her lungs. She also loses herself in imaginative play, making up whole elaborate scenes and stories. (Heaven forbid that we don't make sure her baby gets into the car or something - she gets very upset if one is left behind, and many of them are imaginary - not dolls - which makes it hard for Mommy to see them.) Look out world, here comes M. - and I'm not sure the world is quite ready yet....
• We all survived W. being gone for 2 nights at a conference this week. He had to go to a conference in Jackson Hole, WY - poor thing. (ha, ha, ha) I was a little worried, because the day he left (Wednesday) was the day I found out I had bronchitis and my blood oxygen saturation was down to 94% (normal is 99-100%) at the doctor's office. I was tired and worried how I would deal by myself with 2 kiddos for 3 days. But, a good night's sleep and antibiotics and breathing treatments got me back to able to cope pretty well, and we had a good couple of "girls days." It is good to have W. back, though. He got home after the girls were asleep last night, and when C. woke up this morning and saw him she started giggling and crawled over to him - it was really cute.
  
• One of my grandfather's many favorite sayings was, "off and moving like a herd of turtles in a cloud of dust." I've started saying that when headed out the door with the girls - it aptly describes the pace at which we move most days. M. has started saying it too, but she says, "off and moving like a herd of dust and a cloud of turtles!" with great exuberance, usually while jumping up and down the length of the porch.
  

Well, in the middle of this post, everyone woke up, we had dinner, walked the dog, gave the girls baths and washed their hair, and put them to bed. Now it's time for me to do the same....

Water, water, everywhere (almost)

Both of the girls decided that yesterday was a good time to experiment with water, and the whole series of events is one that makes you either laugh or cry as a mom - so, in the hope of laughing myself and perhaps sharing one with you, the story.....
So, I was doing some work on my computer yesterday when M. came up to me and asked if she could drink the water that was in the water bottle she was holding. Not knowing when the water bottle in question had been opened, I told her she should rinse it out and then put fresh water in and she could drink that. S0, she sets off to the bathroom to do this. A few minutes later, she comes running out saying, with a good bit of urgency in her voice, "Mommy, mommy, I needs help!" So, I grab C. and start towards the bathroom and I realize that I hear the sound of water spraying against something. Sort of like the sound of the shower running. I start to wonder why in the world M. would have tried to rinse out a water bottle in the shower as I look in the bathroom to see that (thankfully, I think) the shower is off. I turn to look at the sink. The water bottle in question is sitting in the sink, where it just barely fits under the faucet. The bottle is full. The water is on....and now spraying out all over the bathroom. The counter-top, floor, walls, all are wet. I turn off the water and ask M., as calmly as possible, "what happened, M?" Her answer, "I got scared, Mommy, because the water got loud, so I came to get you." I have to say, I find her unwavering belief in my ability to fix anything that is wrong charming. I know it won't last, so I try to enjoy it while it does. However, the practical side of me really enjoys the fact that she is growing up and learning to fix a few things by herself.
Fortunately, we have towels. Lots of towels. Many of which were used to clean up the water that is now all over the bathroom.
Part two.... I am getting M. ready for bed. C. has decided she is not sleepy and so is playing on the floor of our bedroom, where I can see her as I help M. get her pj's on and such in the bathroom. All of a sudden, I hear what sounds unmistakably like water splashing....on the floor of my bedroom. I look, and C. has found the bottle from earlier, that M. for some reason put in there, and found that the lid was not on tight. So she could shake it around and spray water all over the floor. What fun! She was very proud of herself. I sighed. And went to get more towels. And reminded myself that I am really lucky to be the mom of 2 beautiful girls and I shouldn't scream (not too loud anyway). And I want them to explore and learn about the world. Really, I do.....and we all have to learn to clean up messes at some point.