The List

Lindsey is growing up.  A good majority of the time I wonder if I am teaching her anything of value or I guess more accurately if she is internalizing what I am teaching her. I found this list in her room and it made me smile on many levels.  Maybe she will learn to be responsible after all. :)

"'How to get your chores done quickly' (by Lindsey Ballard)

1.  Hurry up 

2. Hardest things first

3. Don't go d'stairs till all you're u'stairs jobs are doen.

4. Obey your mom

5. If you do a job bad, redew it

6. Sing, hum, or whistle while you work

7. If you're asked more than 2 times, punish yourself

8. Be patient

9. No Backtalk

10.  Have fun, enjoy your time to work."

With a few modifications, I think this list could apply to all.

A whole new world!

Jacob now wears glasses. Unfortunately he inherited my genes for vision as he is far sighted with astigmatisms. He still has to patch his eye to fix the amblyopia, but the doctor thinks it will correct itself much faster now that he should be able to see better. He got the glasses this evening and was reading words on all the containers at the dinner table.

I think he could go around singing the lyrics to "A Whole New World" from Aladdin.  "A whole new world. A dazzling place I never knew. But from way up here, its crystal clear that I'm in a whole new world. A whole new world, a new fantastic point of view.." 

Hair Tragedy

Pictures are next week for the kids. So of course Lindsey would pick today to cut Emily's hair. Lindsey knew that cutting her own hair was off limits. (I threatened to give her a buzz if she ever cut her hair again after she cut her bangs for the umpteenth time a few months ago.) However, she just couldn't resist a pair of scissors and Emily's willingness to comply. Aaahh!!! Needless to say I was not pleased. Here is Emily's new look after some creative cutting on my part. (I wish I would have thought to take a picture of what Emily looked like after Lindsey cut her hair.) With this short of hair Emily looks like a totally different girl. I already informed her she is going to have to wear a barrette for the next foreseeable future.  

A good excuse

A woman at church yesterday commented how "funny it is to see someone so slight as you with such a big baby. Not that that is a bad thing just that you are so little and he is so big."

I was not insulted because he is my 6 month old that wears 12 month clothes. Besides what woman doesn't like being called small especially after they've had kids?

The point of this dialogue is now I have a good excuse to post a picture of Ethan. Isn't he cute!

Hair Hair Everywhere

I was under the mistaken impression that only little girls took scissors to their lovely locks. That is not the case - at least in my house. Jacob (while he was supposed to be cleaning) found some scissors and cut the top of his hair really short. (This only a few days after he spent 10 minutes in the bathroom trying to comb his hair perfect. We were late to church because of it.) Apparently he was trying to obtain the same look as our bishop who has the same look as a friar. You know the look I am referring to - the big round circle of baldness at the top of the head. To correct the haircut Rick gave Jacob a buzz. I gratefully checked on the progress of the haircut or Jacob would have had the look he was going for. Rick didn't see any problem with it since hair grows back in a few weeks. Men....

Emily not to be out shone by her siblings has decided that she too can fix her own hair. Luckily this so far has been completely repairable with a good shampooing. Granted we are practically asphyxiated by the hair spray fumes after she leaves the bathroom, but I think she is showing great promise.

And a Happy Mothers Day to You

I'm herewith advocating for the cessation of Mother's Day. Why? Because whether we mean to or not we have expectations for that date that just leave others (or ourselves) doomed for failure. Case in point: my mother's day. Granted the week leading up to the "big day" didn't help the cause any. In order to illustrate my point, I will tell you the "highlights."

Sunday, May 4th: Jacob had the onset of a stomach virus last night and is still sick. Looks like I have the same virus as Jacob. Yuck! I hate being sick. (It wouldn't be such a bad thing except for its the direct result of service. Aren't we supposed to be blessed for that?) I'm in charge of teacher appreciation week for Lindsey's school next week and am supposed to take breakfast to the teachers in the morning. Great. 

Monday, May 5th: Felt functional, Jacob was still home sick. Had kids make mother's day cards for Grandma. (I am so proud of myself for not procrastinating until the last minute.) Breakfast for the teacher's worked thanks to Rick's culinary skills.

Wednesday, May 7th: Feeling a little sick, but made it to the Alan Jackson concert. (Which was great, we had second row, smack in the middle, seats.) Woke up sick. Sicker than I had felt for a long time. It was the middle of the night, who could I call to stay here and take care of Ethan when he wakes up? I debated whether or not I should call Rick. He was in Spokane flying out for a business trip in a few hours. Definitely not feeling better, called Rick. He came home and canceled his trip.

Thursday, May 8th: Feeling functional, yet guilty that I had Rick miss his trip as I could have muddled through OK.

Saturday May 10th: Did yard work. Rick "threw out" his back. He literally could not stand or move. 

Sunday, May 10th, Mother's Day: Rick got up and made me breakfast even though he was in pain. Kids made me cute cards. Lindsey made a card for me from Rick. Rick couldn't sit so didn't go to church. I Found a YW to sit with the kids while I played organ. Lindsey sat up with me on the stand. She talked and tapped her feet. Went down to sit with kids after sacrament song.  Lindsey and Jacob started fighting over the crayons actually trying to yank them out of each others hands. Lindsey called me the rudest mom ever (and not quietly) because I take the crayons away since they are fighting over them. Emily is talking. As a matter of fact, I don't remember my kids ever being this bad in church. The talks are on being a good mom and teaching your children correctly. All I can think is I am a terrible mom - my kids can't even sit through church and I am so embarrassed. Come home after church at 2:30. Clean up breakfast, have lunch, clean up lunch, make dinner, clean up dinner and finally sit down at 6:00. Did I mention I broke the microwave? Where's my day off? My flowers? Complained to Rick that I've had a crappy day. I now feel bad because he feels bad when it isn't his fault considering he did the best he could do. Talked to my mom who thanked me for the flowers but she wanted letters. Viki's kids gave her a card.  (Oh crap, the cards we made, I didn't mail them.  Not only am I a bad mom, but I'm a bad daughter.) Oh, and happy mother's day. 

On any other Sunday would I have had such intense feelings about these blips in life? Probably not.  I submit that it was the expectations for the day that made things seem worse then they really were. Rick may not have given me a day off on Mother's day, but he more than outshone himself the week prior. Yet, I still felt bad on Mother's Day. Selfish, I think so. Now I not only am feeling bad that I didn't have an ideal Mother's Day, but now I am feeling bad that I felt bad when I should have been more grateful and appreciative. 

My conclusion: No mother's day. No guilt. Case closed.

Deep thoughts by Jacob

We were riding in the car today and Jacob saw an American flag. Apparently that spurred some thinking on his part which I would like to share with you.

Part One: The Revolutionary War

"Our flag has stripes that go to the side and the British flag has stripes that go down. Well the people moved here for their freedom and they had to fight to get it. They fought a long time. Our flag was up and the British wanted their flag there. They fought all night. They shot holes through the paper in our flag. When day came the fighting was over and our flag was still there and we won."

Part Two: Matrimony and Indians

"Lindsey told her friend that I wanted to marry Emily but I don't because its against the laws of the land. If we lived in India it would be OK because there are lots of Indians in India. They speak lots of different languages. When they fight they go I-I-I-I-I. We can't understand them because we don't speak their language."