end of the series (sorry, Mom!)

First of all, I got to talk to my fantastic little sister Elise today!  Our schedules haven't lined up very well this semester, so it was a real treat to chat with her while the children ate lunch. 

1) I got to sleep in today while my fantastic husband made breakfast (baking-powder biscuits).  Mmm.  He even used whole-wheat flour (my preference) rather than white (his).  And he raided the pantry so we had the full spread of all the jams we'd concocted last summer to choose from.  Nothing quite like a steaming-hot biscuit slathered with homemade cherry jam.  Or peach.  Or blueberry.  Or strawberry.  Or apple jelly.  Or apple butter.  (Okay, I'll stop now.)

2) Isaac took a long nap today;  I had plenty of time to snuggle up with Jules and read stories, run & shower, start bread for dinner, and putter around a bit doing those little tasks that need to be done but always take a backseat to something more urgent (like cleaning the windows.  Which should probably be more urgent considering how often Isaac throws his sippy cups at the glass door in the kitchen).

3) During dinner today, Abigail asked if we could "do chores" as part of family home evening.  Um, YES!  So she scrubbed the vertical blinds in the kitchen while Juliet cleared and wiped the table.  Then they swept the floor, wiped down the chairs and table legs, the 'fridge, the cabinets, etc.  Neil got into the spirit of things and mopped the kitchen floor after he finished the dishes (I was lying on the couch folding laundry and having contractions.  They seem to get more painful earlier on with subsequent babies.)  It was pretty much the greatest FHE activity ever.  Seriously. 

4) We did have a more formal FHE lesson later on about table manners.  Neil acted out a few charades of inappropriate table behavior and the girls identified what was wrong (this was quite amusing for me), then we created three family "table rules" to target the three biggest irritants.  We wrote them all down, Abigail read them off, and then we all signed our names.  I'll keep you posted as to whether it works (if you're interested, our rules are 'Use your utensils correctly"  [i.e.don't eat with your hands, wave your utensils in the air, bang them together or on the table, or use them to comb your hair],"mouths are for talking and eating, not noises" [no singing, screeching, pretending to have hiccups, or making weird noises so that Isaac will imitate you] and "Don't complain, just eat your age" [if we're having a food that you really really dislike, you only have to eat the same # of bites as years you are old, IF you have not thrown a tantrum about eating it before we even begin]).

5) Okay, a little motherly pride here--Abigail has really taken off with her reading.  I was thinking about this while she was reading to me this afternoon.  I intentionally didn't teach her to read prior to kindergarten for two reasons; 1) I didn't want her to be bored when she started school and 2) every time I suggested that she sound out a word, she got really stressed and would start crying or wiggling or rocking back and forth.  So we just didn't stress about it.  When she started kindergarten, she could write her name and identify all the letters & their sounds, but that was pretty much it.  And she has just taken off!!  I was looking at her books that she brought home today and she has jumped 22 reading levels since September.  I am really impressed by how rapidly she's learned (have I said before that she has a great teacher?!  She's also going out for the weekly accelerated classes, and I have really been impressed with that teacher as well). 

Her math skills have grown similarly and it's fun to trade questions back and forth with her and see how fast her little mind works--the last time I was in her class her teacher asked her how she knew the answer to a question and if she'd counted it, and Abigail gave her a puzzled look and said, "No, my head just told me."

So since I was a little worried before she started school that she would struggle or be behind, I thought I would post about our experience in case anyone else is in the same boat.  :-)

one more day

1) So grateful for that neti pot.  Both Neil and I woke up this morning feeling that we were close to death by sinus asphyxiation. 

2) We played Monopoly tonight as a family after dinner.  Abigail LOVED it.

3) Juliet liked it too, but she was happy to snuggle up with me and "soft" my hair while I inhaled the sweet soapy smell of her curls.

4) I am really tired today and I am so grateful for my soft big comfy bed.  Also, I'm glad it's Sunday and I can just go to bed early. 

5) I'm glad I only have one more day of doing this.  Some days it's been really hard to post every day, and some days it's just been plain hard to think of 5 good things.  But I'm glad I've done it, because I think it's helping me to develop a more positive outlook on a more habitual basis. 

Chicagoland

 We took a temple trip this weekend (hence all the business yesterday). I have to say that yesterday was full of good things and today not so much.  But writing my post this way will help me focus on the good bits. 

1) We had the least amount of rush-hour traffic EVER.  It was wonderful.  The drive actually took the amount of time predicted by Google Maps instead of the extra 2 hours it usually takes, which is real cause for celebration!  The kids were awesome in the car--no complaining, no whining, no fighting, just happiness.  At one point I turned to Neil, smiled beautifically, and said, "The children do so well in the car...I think we finally have this figured out."  (Fast forward 24 hours to the final 20 minutes of our drive home tonight when Neil and I were both staring straight ahead, headphones in and turned up very loud trying to drown out the nonstop screaming from backseat Juliet, with Isaac yelling along for fun.)

2) Since we had so little traffic, we got to our hotel way early and went swimming together as a family before I went to the temple.  The kids had a great time, and Isaac exhibited the usual daredevil tendencies of a child who is confident that no matter how unexpectedly he lunges and jumps and splashes, someone will always be there to catch him. 

3) Neil and I were both able to go to the temple.  Lovely.  So peaceful and invigorating.  I wish I could bottle that feeling. 

4) We went to the Field Museum today--we saw dinosaurs and monkeys.  Juliet was in heaven (especially when there was an entire case of orange monkeys.  It was the most exciting thing that had happened to her all day.  That kid LOVES dinosaurs, monkeys, and the color orange; the combination of all three was almost more than her little body could take.) 

We also saw lots of gems.  (Abigail was our navigator, since she was very excited about being able to read the map.  She insisted that we call these gems, not jewels or jewelry.)  Abigail was in heaven with all these sparkly pretties.  I secretly bought her a sparkly pink rock attached to a keychain at one of the gift shops (I saw her looking at it very longingly, and she told me she wished she had brought her money, but she didn't ask for it...so I bought it when she wasn't looking and presented it to her a couple hours later and she was absolutely thrilled.  She's really into keychains right now, since she can attach them to her backpack.) 

Then we went and ate dinner--crab rangoon! And Isaac was in heaven. 

another speedy post

I do have a bunch of pictures I need to post; I just haven't had time to upload.  Here goes for today!

1) Juliet is better!  We have no idea what was wrong--our best guess is that she slept on her knee oddly.  Whatever happened, yesterday she was screaming in pain whenever anyone touched her knee and was totally unable to walk or crawl or even move on her own; today she hopped out of bed and ran around smiling, saying, "Mommy, my leg elbow is better!"  Neil gave her a blessing last night and after that we saw a real difference almost immediately--I was able to put her in her pajamas without a single whimper.

2) This morning I lost track of time while I was reading to the children.  When I finally looked at a clock, we had been reading for an hour.  I am so grateful that we have the time to do that together.

3) While I was playing the piano, Abigail and Juliet started competing to see who could name the composer first for each new song (the speed record was Juliet after about a bar and a half of Beethoven's Fur Elise).  It was really cute.  And funny.  (Thank you, Classical Kids CDs.)

4) I washed the sheets and remade all the beds this morning.  ALL.  Bunk beds included!!  I really hate doing this (if you've ever tackled bunk-bed making while pregnant you'll know exactly where I'm coming from), so I was quite pleased to have done it by myself...usually I wait until Saturday when Neil is home to help.

5) Which leads me to my last point:  we have an entire day of fun planned tomorrow for our family (hence trying to do all the Saturday things today).  I am SO excited!!!  More about it tomorrow.  :-)

count your many blessings

So today has not been what I expected, but that's life.  And I really am grateful for all these things although it may not sound like it.  :-)

1) I'm really grateful that Neil had no urgent meetings today, because he ended up working from home all day (until he left for work after dinner).  Juliet woke up unable to walk, and I had a morning full of appointments--Neil stayed home and was amazing.

2) While I was gone this morning, Abigail read stories to Juliet for a solid hour.  Then she made Jules a whole slew of paper crafts.  They entertained themselves the entire time I was gone, with the exception of the one time Neil had to carry Juliet to the bathroom.  So thankful that Abigail took such good care of Juliet and that Neil was able to work.

2a) Juliet has been amazing today--she has been in a lot of pain, but no complaining--she's spent the entire day lying on the couch or in the bathtub (the hot water seems to help the pain in her knee), and I am so impressed at how well she has handled this and how patient she has been.

2b) Juliet's dinosaur book came today after dinner, right when she was starting to get restless and uncomfortable again.  So grateful for that distraction for the last couple of hours of the day when we've exhausted our other resources.

3) Isaac threw up.  But not a lot.  I am very grateful for this (especially since he did it right after Neil left).

4) I was having so much pain in my left hip today that I was limping and walking from piece of furniture to piece of furniture.  Thankfully, some yoga and half an hour lying on my bed (where I was so tired that I completely conked out and woke up panicked when I heard Abigail's voice, and then realized that Neil had fetched her from the bus) helped a LOT.

5) My little sister was in a head-on collision last night that totaled her car.  She and her passenger are both fine--banged up and bruised and battered, but fine.  (Although the car was not.)  I am so grateful for her safety.  And she found out today that she was accepted to BYU!!

I think it might be raining outside

some bits and pieces from today:

1) Isaac has stopped letting me kiss him approximately 1000 times a day (I can't imagine why not, can you?)  But today while I was giving him his nebulizer treatment, I gave his fat little palm a kiss.  And another.  And then I thought he would pull away.  But he didn't--he let me kiss his hands (and his chubby arms) for as long as I wanted.  He even reached his arm way around behind his head so I could kiss his elbows.  I love kissing my babies so much--my favorite is when I kiss them all over their faces over and over again without stopping and they start giggling and trying to wiggle away and laughing.  I love it. 

2) Tonight I told the girls I wanted to do a "grand carnival cleanup" (we'd been talking about the grand carnival concert in Vivaldi's Ring of Mystery).  Without a SINGLE complaint, they spent an hour with me going behind couches, crawling under bookcases, and peering under beds to get all the tiny little pieces that get missed in our daily cleanup.  At one point I looked over to see Juliet balancing an easel that was about a foot taller than her, while Abigail busily pulled out puzzle pieces that had fallen between the easel and the bookcase.  It was wonderful!  So nice to have everything back in its place; I usually try to do this once a week, but I've let it go for a few more than that. 

3) Neil reads a chapter from their current chapter book to the girls every night.  It's such a special time for the girls, and they look forward to it all day.  Right now they're reading The Mouse and the Motorcycle; they just finished Charlotte's Web and I think Peter Pan may be next on the list.  He started this when Abigail was quite young--I remember nursing Juliet while he read Abigail Alice in Wonderland (which she enjoyed, but she didn't take so much to Through the Looking Glass).  I have wonderful memories of my dad reading to us from Just So Stories or Puck of Pook's Hill; I'm glad that my children have the opportunity for a similar experience (especially since I just bought the latter two in the last five minutes.  We have two or three copies of the Jungle Book--both 1 & 2--but apparently we've missed out on some other Kipling goodies.)


4) Which brings me to my number four: I have been buying books again for my annual midwinter-let's-buy-books thing.  I love this time & look forward to it so much (it's nice to have something like that in February, isn't it?)  Not that I refrain from buying books the rest of the year, but this time, I have a chunk of money set aside specifically for library-building (and yes, that is a category in my money-tracking system.  I use YNAB, btw).  So I have been having so much fun plotting and planning and shopping via Amazon and eBay. 

I have bought all kinds of goodies:  an enormous illustrated guide to dinosaurs, fairy tales upon fairy tales, the aforementioned Kiplings, childhood favorites like Charlie the Tramp, etc.  I still have about $35 left, and I'm wondering things like Should I buy more non-fiction fact books?  How long until the kids are old enough for Howard Pyle?  Can I possibly track down that other fairy-tale book I remember loving as a kid?  Or the second volume of the one Kayli recommended that the girls have loved?  (I don't know if I ever blogged about it, but thanks to my sister's diligent research, I was able to find and purchase the book of fairy tales I LOVED as a child.  I could hardly stand to wait the 6 weeks until they arrived from England, but it was worth it.)  I'm so excited to see the girls' reaction when the books start arriving, last year they began emitting shrieks of delight every time they saw the mail truck rounding our corner.

5) Grapes.  They were 99 cents this week.  I bought 7 pounds yesterday and they're almost all gone.  (Local eating, please forgive me and my Chilean grapes.)

only a few more days of this

1) Abigail's teacher is amazing.  Last Friday Abigail off-handedly mentioned to me that an older boy on the bus had been taking her things (in this case, an Abraham Lincoln hat, with at least one prior incident).  She wasn't very concerned about it, but I was, and we spent quite awhile trying to get all the facts and then explaining that kind of behavior is NOT acceptable, and that we would take steps to make sure he didn't do it again.  I asked her if she wanted to talk to him about it before I talked to the bus driver or his parents, and she said she did.  So I asked her about it after school on Monday, and she told me that she'd told her teacher about it.  Her teacher walked her to the bus, and got on the bus and talked to the bus driver.  Which I thought was great, because I wasn't quite sure what the etiquette was in all of this, so I was planning to talk to her teacher about it before I did anything.  Then I found out today that not only did her teacher talk to the driver, but the driver talked to the boy, his parents were contacted, and her teacher notified the principal.  I was really impressed at how protective her teacher was of Abigail's well-being outside of the classroom--I felt like she really went the extra mile to make sure that Abigail felt safe and happy on the bus.  (Plus she made Abigail a brand-new hat to replace the one that was torn and muddied.)

2) Juliet had a friend over today during naptime.  It was a little stressful keeping them quietly occupied so that the babies could sleep (her little sister took a nap here today too so that their mother could run some errands), but it was great for me because both of them had absolutely zero interest in doing anything with me.  So I did yoga and knocked out some more grading, which leads me to #3...

3) Finished project grading!!!  Hurray!!!!  (Now I can talk to you, Elise.) 

4) This morning before my visiting teacher came at 9:30, I showered and got ready, fed everyone breakfast, vacuumed, swept, cleaned my bathroom, and bathed the kids.  In my book, this is pretty awesome (mostly because I didn't get up until 7:45). 

5) I really missed chats with my running buddy after we quit running outside this fall when it got too cold and dark to continue our 6:15 meetups.  I got so used to talking with her for hours every week while we battled over those trails and listened to the day-to-day minutia and offered solutions to each others' problems.  And hurray!  She is my new visiting teacher.  :-) 

can't think of a title

1) I put grading in the back of my mind and didn't worry about it all day (this is a big deal for me because I usually get tense when I have a pile of papers waiting for me, even though I don't touch it while the kids are awake).  But today I just blocked it out of my mind, and the day went normally without that undercurrent of "If I wasn't playing trains with you right now, I wouldn't have to stay up late grading papers tonight!"  (I lasted until the kids were in their pajamas and Neil was brushing their teeth.  Then I gave in and sneaked off to my desk.)

2) Neil is on the treadmill right now singing really loudly along to "If I Had a Million Dollars."  I can tell he's having a good run because he is belting out things like, "Haven't you always wanted a monkey?").  Very loudly.  It's making me chuckle to myself. 

3) Abigail brought home a book that she'd made in school today that totally cracked me up.  She was writing in fill-in-the-blank responses that had to do with the number 100, like "I could never eat 100 candey, having 100 sistrs could be a real problem, I wouldn't want to eat 100 pesus, in 100 years I hope that I can fli, I can make 100 haosis," etc. [candy, sisters, pizzas, fly, houses].  All accompanied by some great rib-cracking illustrations.

4) Things got really crazy this afternoon at the "witching hour" (you know, that hour before Neil gets home).  Abigail wanted to read me her new books AND have me read her new library book to her, Isaac needed a diaper change, the laundry signaled that it was ready to go into the dryer, there was bread waiting for a final kneading and plopping into its pan, and I was in the middle of chopping vegetables.  Everything was crazy and wild and all three kids were at my feet on the kitchen floor.  Isaac was trying to get into the 'fridge to get himself some carrots and yelling because Jules was in his way, Juliet had brought in some plastic game pieces and I kept tripping over them, and Abigail was sitting on top of my right foot reading very loudly about gorillas.  And you know what?  I took it in stride.  I could not have done that five years ago--I would have sat down on the floor and cried.  I still felt a little crazed, but I also felt like I could sort things out quickly and life would move on. 

5) Isaac ate dinner tonight!!  He has been SO picky lately, but tonight he ate three bowls of zucchini/kale/cannellini bean soup and a slice of fresh whole-wheat bread.  I was so relieved--it makes such a difference in his mood to have a full and happy tummy. 

and five more

Neil and Isaac reading Isaac's favorite book (Big Red Barn) post-breakfast

1) Today I was really grateful for all the canning we did during the summer.  While Neil mixed the batter for whole-wheat crepes this morning, I paid a visit to the pantry and got out a quart jar of peaches and one of sweet cherries.  We rolled them up in the crepes with whipped cream--it tasted like June.  Like heaven.  Later that evening, we polished off a few quarts of applesauce with our dinner and talked about how lucky we are to live in a community that is bursting at the seams with local produce.  We love it here.

2) I took a nap today after church while Isaac slept, the girls played, and Neil went to a meeting.  I love my bed so much--I have never regretted choosing all white bedding.  It feels so luxurious and decadent and every time I drowsily wake up and watch the afternoon sun streaming through the curtains, I feel like I'm relaxing at some exclusive resort where I have nothing to do but lie there and marvel at the sunlight.

3) Abigail presented Neil and I with the cutest card today.  It says, "I LOVE YOU" in big yellow letters that she cut out of construction paper and glued to another piece of paper, which has cut-out arms giving us a hug.  It is the most darling thing.

4) After Isaac went to bed, the girls decided to "style" my hair while Neil and I played checkers.  I ended up looking very similar to the centaurs in Fantasia, thanks to the girls decorating my hair with every flower hairclip they could find (plus Juliet's sparkliest necklace and bracelet).  When they finished, Abigail handed my some flavored chapstick, told me to put it on, then proudly announced, "You look so beautiful and all ready for your hang-out with Daddy."

5) I really enjoy the space between dinner and bedtime on nights when nobody is rushing out to a meeting or back to work or running errands.  Today we cozied up on the couch and Abigail read us five stories while Neil rubbed Juliet's back and Isaac dumped train tracks into my lap.  Then the girls pretended to be unicorns trapped by Isaac behind one of the papasans while Neil and I cuddled up together on the floor.  After a bit, the girls came over and started talking to the baby.  Abigail rested her head on my stomach and listened to his heartbeat.  Jooj pushed at my stomach and would excitedly announce, "I felt his head!  His foot!  His arm!"  Isaac settled for trying to blow bubbles on my stomach.  I love them.

ps--my mom sent me a link to a really interesting article today.  Neil and I both read it and decided we need to rethink some of our parenting strategies.  

a well-spent Saturday

1) Started the morning off right with all 3 kids snuggling in our bed and then gleefully exploding out in a shower of blankets to go eat blueberry pancakes. 
2) A loooong walk as a family this morning, where the girls stayed busy supplying Isaac with sticks, leaves, and pinecones.  He was in heaven. 
3) More grading today--I only have six left to do!  This will make next week run so much more smoothly.
4) The Elders' Quorum set up a date night tonight--dinner and speakers on improving your marriage.  Babysitting was provided.  :-) It was nice to eat a dinner that I didn't make, and snuggle up with Neil (as much as possible in those comfy metal church chairs) while I listened and thought about what I could apply from the talks in order to strengthen our relationship. 
5) Speaking of strengthening our relationship--it's Saturday night.  And that means I have no other plans than to just be with Neil.  That is a definite good thing. 

Friday Friday Friday hurray!

1) Thanks to students turning their work in early, I'm already 1/4 of the way done grading the first big set of projects.  YAY!!!
2) Another walk outside today with the littles.  I'm sure we'll reach the point soon where this isn't so novel, but considering we had a week of snow days not so long ago, this is still very exciting.
3) Neil and I have a date tonight.  Our big plans:  go for a run & eat dinner.  Running!!  Outside!!  In February!! (see above.)
4) I woke up before any of the children today.  I'm torn between wanting to do this every single day, because everything goes so much more smoothly, and knowing that my body needs more sleep right now than it usually does.  But hopefully tomorrow I can get up early and do some more grading.
5) Last night I got together with a handful of friends and we talked until almost midnight about the tips, tricks, products, and tools that make our lives easier.  I learned so much!  I love the collective wisdom of a group of women (plus our hostess made us some awesome cinnamon rolls).  It's always so interesting to hear how everyone tackles identical problems in such different ways--I took pages and pages of notes and then told Neil all about my discoveries when I got home.

and a bonus one because it made me feel so lovely:  last night Neil told me how beautiful I was a half-dozen times.  I felt wonderful.  He always does a great job of making me feel great about myself (it probably helped a lot that I put hot rollers in my hair yesterday because I was feeling grumpy and cranky and somehow that made me feel better). 

thursday

1) Bloom post (see below).
2) Another beautiful day--we didn't even bother with coats on our walk today!  Loved the feeling of Isaac's chubby fingers in mine as he trundled along saying, "Wok!  Wok!  Wok!"
3) I spent a few minutes today sewing up rips in dress-ups and a popped seam in one of the couches (and felt a feeling of satisfied accomplishment totally out of proportion to the effort expended).
4) I took a nap today!  Glorious.  This happens very rarely during the week, so it's quite exciting.
5) The children and I went to the library last night to pick up our prizes for the winter reading thingie--while sorting through the paperbacks offered as prizes, I found a book that I loved as a kid and had completely forgotten.  I was excited to add it to our library at home!

elsewhere

Over at Bloom today talking about my favorite vegetable and what to do with it (any guesses what it is?)

28 weeks

1) We had lovely warm weather here today--in the fifties!!  I took Jules and Isaac for a walk after Abigail went to school, and we all reveled in the sunshine and the warmth.  Jules jumped in every puddle she saw and we came home feeling cheered up and spring-like.  Isaac was not sure about the sun (can you tell from the picture?) 

2) Missionaries for dinner tonight = whole-wheat waffles with whipped cream, strawberries, and peaches.  I always used to agonize over what to make for dinner when we had the missionaries over, but this is now my standard choice--who doesn't love waffles and whipped cream?  (plus it is super easy to make, and the kids eat it so happily, which is a real bonus when we're trying to have a pleasant company meal.)

3) When I first found out I was pregnant, I set a goal to keep running until I was 28 weeks (7 months) pregnant.  It helped a lot that I ran a 10K and a half-marathon during the first trimester (much easier to make myself run through nausea when I've paid for the privilege).  I decided that I didn't care how fast or how much I was running at 28 weeks; I just wanted to still be going, even if it was a single solitary 12-minute mile.

Today I hit that goal:  5 miles @ 9:24/mile, 28 weeks pregnant.  :-)  I am proud of myself, as this represents a victory of  mind over body (I'm going to remember this in labor). 

(And yes, it is not easy running at this point.  I've gained about 20 lbs and I do not feel like a sleek little gazelle.  But I am still going.  And don't worry--my doctor is fine with it.  :-) 

4) We had a playdate with Isaac's friends this morning; it's been a few weeks because of weather, and it was so nice to get back into that routine.  I love the chance to just sit down for an hour and chat with other women while Isaac sits on my lap clutching a toy and suspiciously eyes the other little boys (yes, this playdate is totally for him?!  why do you ask?).   

5) I gave Abigail a haircut a couple of nights ago and actually did a pretty decent job.  Which is a first. I've cut Neil's hair as long as we've been married, and I've given Isaac a dozen haircuts, but cutting the girls' hair is always really scary for me (and this is the first time that I have not seriously messed it up).  Hurray!

more than halfway

1) I spent the afternoon volunteering in Abigail's classroom.  It's always nice to talk with her teacher and watch how Abigail interacts with people away from home (also, why am I so exhausted after spending three hours sitting on a kid-sized chair and cutting out paper hearts?  My joints think they ran a half-marathon).

2) Neil took Abigail to the grocery store tonight while I put the younger two in bed.  I have been dreading all things to do with food/cooking lately (mostly because Isaac has sworn off food and mealtimes have become nightmarish) so this was a real act of love in my book.

3) I picked up some new yoga DVDs at the library last week and I've really been enjoying them--it's nice to have something different.

4) I'm currently wearing my very favorite shirt--an old, holey, disreputable-looking pink sweatshirt that I bought in 8th grade (anybody else remember those really baggy pastel sweatshirts from The Limited?) It is so ugly and so incredibly comfortable.  Neil loathes it with a passion and calls it "the pink beast."  (Finishing out my chic ensemble: black pinstriped dress pants and sheepskin slippers.  I like to call this look "halfway to bed.")

5) I talked with my mom today (twice) and thought how nice it is to have your mother as one of your best friends.  Love you, Mom. 

And I am now going to bed and it's not even eight PM.  Bliss.  So tired.  So very, very, very tired. 

Valentine

1) Juliet is so great at entertaining herself while I run. She always stays happily in the library looking at books, playing games, or doing a little exercise of her own.  (I think she is the most darling thing ever when she is practicing yoga.)  I am super grateful for her willingness to play quietly and let me get not only my run, but a shower!

2) We ordered pizza tonight for dinner, and have every intention of making this a Valentine's Day dinner tradition.  It had all the perks of going out, minus the crowded restaurant and paying a babysitter.  I really enjoyed making the dinner a fun thing for our whole family without the stress of cooking (and cleaning up) an elaborate meal. 

3) Abigail immediately shared out her Valentine's goodies when she got home today.  I was touched by how generous she was with her stickers and treats (although Neil did look a little askance at Isaac's stick-on earrings).

4) Isaac is newly in love with his bouncy ball and chases it all around the living room for (seemingly) hours on end.  I get no end of amusement from his giggles and cries of "BAOW!" whenever it rolls away. 

5) Isaac slept for an hour longer than usual during his afternoon nap--talk about an awesome Valentine's gift.  Jooj and I puttered around doing puzzles and just generally enjoyed the leisure and quiet (plus it's amazing how great my back feels with just one hour less of Isaac-toting!)

family day

I don't remember ever conciously deciding that I wouldn't do homework or work or other things like that on Sunday; in my family growing up that was just part of keeping the Sabbath day holy.  In college I sometimes wished that I had an extra day to study or prepare, but I always was simultaneously thankful for the respite from the daily grind of the week. 

As a mother, I have to say that Sundays are my favorites.  Yes, sometimes it can be a little challenging getting everyone ready for church and keeping them reverent throughout, but I love the time we all have together.  Which brings me to my good things today:

1) After church, Neil and I took a nap together while the girls colored and played on the computer.  We talked and laughed for most of the afternoon and finally fell asleep for about fifteen minutes right before Isaac woke up.  Perfect.

2) We made dinner as a family today.  I love it when all of us can cook together; today we made an ENORMOUS salad (the one Neil calls heaven-in-a-bowl) and grilled lemon shrimp scampi.  Neil put on some Bach in the background and we all happily chopped and sauteed and talked together.  Jooj carefully arranged shrimp on a baking sheet ready for the broiler; Abigail washed lettuce and sneaked tomatoes.  (We ate every single bite of that salad, even with 3 heads of romaine, mostly because the kids had 3 helpings each.) 

3) After dinner I washed dishes while Neil experimented with whole-wheat snickerdoodles.  Abigail read stories to Juliet and Isaac for awhile, the three of them lined up on the floor of the kitchen.  Then Jooj and Isaac played tag in the living room while Abigail helped Neil finish up the cookies.  And then the kids ate cookies to their heart's content (which meant three "gook-gees" for Isaac alone). 

4) After that we had an impromptu dance party, which is just about Isaac's favorite thing EVER. 

5) On a different note, I had two really vivid dreams last night that made me a little shaky when I woke up.

In the first, I dreamed that I was going back to college.  I was sitting in the lobby of the dormitory, reading stories to the girls, and tears were running down my face because I knew this was the last story that I would read them for months, since I had to live at the dorm and it was on the other side of the country.  I felt so torn between doing something that I knew to be good (more education) and what I really felt was what I needed and wanted to be doing: mothering my family.  It was honestly one of the worst dreams I've had.  When I woke up, I was grateful for that dream, because it underscored to me how much I value what I am doing.  And for some reason, it felt much more powerful to have that realization (yet again) in dreamland, perhaps because it put me in a situation that I wouldn't normally encounter, but worked perfectly to show me what I really wanted most.

Then I went back to sleep.  And I dreamed that I was at my parents' house, and I was trying to pack up and get ready to go home.  I was feeding the kids breakfast, finishing the packing, and loading the car, racing back and forth frantically.  Neil was downstairs in the basement listening to the BYU game on his laptop, and in the dream I was SO frustrated by his total unconcern for what our family needed right then.

What woke me up from that dream was Neil sitting down on the bed next to me, rubbing my forehead, and saying, "Sweetheart, breakfast is ready--the kids have been up for an hour and I let you sleep in while I made crepes."  My first thought was gratitude that he is my reality.

I've been thinking about those dreams on and off all day.  I know I say this ALL THE TIME on my blog, but really, I am so grateful for my husband and my children and my life.  I am so grateful for my church's teachings and the way they enrich every aspect of my daily life--I would have none of this without them. 

end 'o the week

1) Blissful boon of the weekend:  the kids were asleep by 8:45 last night, and slept in until 7:30 this morning, which was MUCH better than we'd expected (based on the last time), and made for quite a pleasant day.  There is nothing quite as lovely as a well-rested child--unless it is six of them.   

2) Neil put up some more shelves in the garage this afternoon (which used to be in our closet).  We spent some time out there during naptime today reorganizing and cleaning up, since it was finally warm enough to be outside for longer than two seconds.  So nice to have things tidier and to sweep out the grit and salt that always seem to accumulate so quickly from the winter roads!  (Plus we were able to move eight cases of Mason jars from Isaac's room out to the garage, which made me very happy.  Almost time to start canning again...the empties are beginning to surpass the fulls.)

3) After almost a decade of baking bread, I have finally gotten to the point where I am confident about producing a beautiful 100% whole-wheat loaf.  I've learned in the last few months that it makes a real difference if I let the yeast proof with sugar and oil (even instant yeast) until it is huge and foamy; that I need to knead for much longer than I'd think, and that the fineness of the flour makes all the difference.  Sadly, I found out this last because we'd run out of wheat, and so instead of grinding my own using my Ultramill, I bought some from the grocery store, which was a much finer grind (King Arthur seems to be the best).  Now I'm debating whether I should order another 300 lbs of wheat and a new stone-grinding mill.  Hmm.  I love the speed of the Ultramill, but I really need a finer grind.  Any thoughts?

4) Speaking of bread, tonight we had our favorite dinner:  fresh WW bread, vegetables (carrots tonight), fruit (apples and plums today), and cheese.  This is probably the easiest dinner I make and it is far and away everyone's favorite.  I have fond memories of slathering hot bread with honey from my own childhood, and I'm glad my children enjoy the same with such gusto--especially Isaac.  I love this dinner because it is so adaptable to whatever I have on hand or what's on in the garden. 

5) I love, love, love the "Saturday night feeling" (I always think of it this way from a phrase in Farmer Boy).  Clean sheets on all the beds, freshly bathed kiddos, a house that is tidy and vacuumed and ready for Sunday; everyone's church clothes and bags laid out and ready to go.  Love it.

six

We have six kiddos under six here for the next 24.  Exciting stuff!  Our plans for tomorrow don't extend much beyond crowd control.  :-)

1) A photo of the baby blanket I made this week--it is more vivid in real life, but I didn't have great light this afternoon.  I'm glad it's done.  I'm starting to morph into "prep for baby" mode (like figuring out where everyone is going to sleep).

2) Jules has come out with some real gems lately, like "my eggs are kicking in my tummy and they broke my water" (can you tell they've been asking The Question lately?) or "Hippo Hippo [her favorite stuffed animal] used to be a real hippo, but I ate his meat and drank his blood and stuffed him."  All delivered in the most casual little tones, completely out of the blue.

3)  It is Friday.  I feel like I've hardly seen Neil at all this week; the prospect of actually having him all to myself this evening is fantastic.  I am SO grateful that we are in this parenting thing together--we have been tag-teaming it all evening with a very cranky Abigail and I'm just really grateful that she saved the crankiness for the one night this week when we were both home and able to take turns. 

4) Speaking of which, I was filling out some surveys today for the mother-child study, and I realized how lucky I am in my marriage and my family.  Content and happy.  I didn't realize how rarely Neil and I ever fight (we disagree, but we don't fight) until I was answering all those questions.  I read some of it to him afterwards and it was interesting to see that we both felt exactly the same about our division of household and family responsibilities. 

5) I am really glad this day is almost over.  Neil is running me a hot bath right now and I am so ready to go soak away all the achiness.  I must say, I've never really been a big bath person, but it has been the best thing ever during this pregnancy--thank heavens for our ginormous tub (that pretty much single-handedly sold Neil on this house). 

another fast one

Another late night where I'm just getting home (normally my life is not this exciting), so another quick post.

1) Finished cutting the baby blanket, so totally done!  Hurray!  I will post pictures tomorrow, because the girls were super super excited (I could cut while I read stories, so that's how it actually got finished).
2) Isaac always wants me to pretend to eat his toes while I'm changing his diaper.  He thinks this is the funniest thing in the world, and it never fails to make me laugh to see him giggling and squirming away and then taking off his socks and waving his cute little foot.
3) Today while we were eating lunch, we were listening to a Bach recording, and I was absent-mindedly drumming out the fingering on the table.  The girls started laughing, and I turned around to see Isaac progressively going from drumming the fingering to both arms conducting an imaginary orchestra with great enthusiasm.
4) We went to the library tonight after dinner, since Neil was working late again.  The kids requested the "big library," so we drove downtown and all sat together to stare up at the ceiling sculptures (which move quite dramatically--Isaac was so overcome with awe that he had to use both hands to point upwards and tell us all to "wook!")
5) I went to a friend's house tonight and had some great conversation, good laughs, and yummy treats.  I'm so grateful for connectivity and friendship. 

salvage

So today was not the best of days.  Mostly because I got caught up in wanting to finish that blanket I started last night, so I spent a lot of the morning on that (which the girls loved but Isaac wasn't such a fan), and then I had the much-dreaded glucose challenge at the doctor this afternoon, which made me feel absolutely awful the rest of the day.  Yuck.  Anyway.

1) I finished the blanket.  And I learned--yet again--that while the children may not mind, I am much happier if I keep my "me pursuits" for the time when they are asleep, and focus on them when they are awake.

2) I did not throw up or pass out in the grocery store (right after drinking the glucola, which I honestly thought I was going to do).  I am fervently and thoroughly thankful for this.  And Juliet, who was with me, stayed right next to me and was a little peach.

3) My family was so sweet to me today when I came home and didn't want to do anything but lie on my bed and moan about how awful I felt.  They kept quiet while I rested for half an hour, ate dinner happily, and went to bed without a single quibble.  Nothing short of miraculous (especially since Neil went back to work and I put the kids to bed by myself).

4) The really terrible headache I've had (from the glucose test) all afternoon went away after I ran five miles tonight.  HURRAY!!!  Yet another reason why I love running. 

5) This may not sound like a "good thing," but bear with me.  When I was at the doctor's office today, a woman came in who looked absolutely miserable.  She was having difficulty walking with the baby, and it appeared that personal hygiene was probably not a key issue for her.   Another man in the waiting room asked her how far along she was, and she said 38 weeks, and he said, oh, I bet you're excited to be done, and she said she was dreading the baby's birth.  She went on to explain that she didn't want the baby; that her husband was the one who wanted children, and that this would be her first and last.  The man listening to her--who was holding a tiny little baby girl--fervently agreed and told her that he had been telling his wife the same thing.  They went on to talk about how both of them had agreed to children to placate their spouses, and how awful it was, etc. etc.  I was sitting there with Juliet, and I felt tears well up in my eyes as I looked down at her.  Pregnancy hormones?  Perhaps.  But it broke my heart to think about these babies who were in homes that had at least one parent who was not thrilled at their presence.  And then I thought about how many children are in similar situations.  Tonight at dinner I mentioned this to my family, and told the girls how thankful we are for the blessing of multiple children in our home, and how much we loved them and were so excited to find out that each new baby would be joining us.  I always want them to feel loved and wanted, and I worry that sometimes I don't communicate this as clearly as I'd like.  Abigail told me in response that sometimes when she is in time-out, she tells herself that Mommy and Daddy are just mean, and then she added, "But I always know that's not true. I just say it to myself, but really I know you love me." 

I don't know what the take-home message of this is, but I was just thinking about it a lot this evening.   I don't mean to sound judgmental of those two people in the waiting room; I just hope that their children can know that their parents love them. 

five things fast because it is really late

1) Tonight I went to a quilting activity (making flannel baby blankets) at the church and spent 3 great hours talking with other women.  Neil always has to push me out the door because I'm so tired that I just want to stay home, but I always have such a great time!  We have a wonderful ward here.

2) I had to go by the grocery store on my way home to just grab a couple of things, and as soon as I finish writing this post I am going to go eat some Quaker Oatmeal Squares and purple grapes.  Mmm.   I could live on grapes.

3) Speaking of food, Juliet and I made whole-wheat oatmeal-raisin cookies (do you like how I'm trying to make them sound healthy?--because I ate four or five) today as a surprise for Abigail when she got home from school. Double yummy.

4) Today a few of the doctoral students from the university came by and we played all afternoon while they watched and took notes.  I love their ongoing mother-child interaction study.  You want to pay me $40 to play Lincoln Logs with my kids and tell them stories?  Any time, my friends, any time.  :-) 

5) We did baths right after breakfast today, which meant the kids smelled delicious and Johnson-and-Johnsony all day.  I love that smell.

lots of Isaac

1) Tonight for Family Home Evening we tried to have a taffy pull.  (I say "tried" because after we were done, we realized that our candy thermometer has finally given up the ghost, so it was overcooked.)  But fortunately the kids didn't know the difference and we still had fun.

2) This morning we got out Marble Run--I love this game because it is so entertaining for all ages.  Abigail and Isaac played with it for about half an hour while Juliet (who has caught Isaac's cold) curled up in my lap with her blankie.  While we were all sitting there, I thought about how lucky I am to be able to just spend a morning like this with my children. 

 

3) This afternoon Jules and I made honey-toasted fruit muesli and Dakota bread together.  The house smelled so good all evening!!

4) Mealtimes lately have been (very slightly) reminiscent of those in Cheaper By the Dozen.  Neil and I both get a kick out of firing off (very simple) multiplication and division problems at Abigail, who gets a big grin on her face when she solves them.  The take-home message that I got from all of the Tiger Mom furor was that I need to compliment my children more for working hard than for simply being intelligent (which I think was a point noted in Time, perhaps?--that children who are repeatedly complimented on intelligence end up being afraid to try something new for fear of failure).  Anyway. 

5) I chased Isaac around the library today trying to wipe his nose.  Somehow my nose-wiping efforts devolved into a giggling chase, with a little boy who was delighted to be caught and tickled again and again and again until we were both laughing too hard to keep going. 

peaceful, like heaven on a Sunday

Today's first good thing:  our kids were (mostly) reverent in church.  Hurray!!  We have really been trying to make this a priority, and we finally ditched all of the entertainment things except for paper and pencils.  We had been lugging a bag of coloring books and church books and scripture stories for children, with the best of intentions, but it always ended up that the activities were more disruptive and the kids were climbing all over the pew and up and down and under, while we were hissing at them to "sit still and be quiet now!!".  The last couple of weeks have been so much better.  This is cause for real celebration.  I have felt so much more reverent myself as I'm not trying so desperately to make the girls sit quietly. 

Second: my husband.  He is awesome.  I know I say that all the time, but he really is.  I'm so grateful that my children have such a wonderful daddy...Isaac, in particular, is a Daddy Devotee of the highest order.  Plus Neil can make me laugh like nobody else.  And he makes awesome food.  And reads to our girlies with accents that I can never hope to replicate (my rendition of Charlotte's Web last night was sadly lacking in animal voices). 

 Third:  the opportunity to watch my children grow and develop.  Abigail says the cutest things these days-- (like when she told me that she was glad I married Neil because he is "strong and bold," or that she couldn't get down from a chair to pick something up because it was a "long and terrible journey," or that she and Jules were running so fast, "like wild horses in the wind.") 

Tonight Abigail and I were cutting out some little Valentines for her kindergarten class, and she made a point out of writing all the hard (longest) names first.  She also does this with her reading books--she always starts with the hard ones and ends with the easy.  I am really impressed with this, as it's something she has chosen to do herself.  It's so neat to watch her figuring things out and ordering her world and making sense of everything.  Daunting, at times, that we are responsible.  Neil and I were talking a few days ago about how we had no idea what we were getting into when we decided to have children, and all the challenges at different stages, and how sobering it is to take on the formation of someone's character.  And scary.  And amazing. 

 Fourth:  I am grateful for this new baby that's coming to join our family.  Abigail is beyond excited, and is always talking to the baby and kissing my stomach and singing to him.  She is very concerned about making sure that he will know her voice when he is born, and asked me today very seriously if I was "all prepared."  It's a pretty miraculous thing, and sometimes I'm too prone to dwelling on the aches and pains to remember this.

Twenty-seven weeks this week...every pregnancy I tell myself to take more pictures, but here's the problem:  Neil is eleven inches taller than I am, so every picture he takes is oddly foreshortened or something.  So I took this one myself.  The nice thing about taking my own pictures is it makes me stand up straighter, so I don't look as enormous as I feel when I'm turning over in bed every night!  (Abigail and I had a discussion last week on how we don't tell pregnant women "your tummy is sure getting fat.")

And number five on a more light-hearted note:  I made banana bread today before church.  In the last couple of years, I have finally found a whole-wheat, no oil banana bread recipe that I truly love...it makes me happy every time I eat it!!

**Bonus points if you can tell me who wrote that lyric I used as my post title.  Hint:  he used to be in my favorite band ever. 

five more

I almost forgot today.

• Touched up the paint on the closet and added the last rail, which means we're done with the closet redo!  I would upload pictures but I am already sitting down, so...in a couple of days.
• We went to Abigail's school carnival this morning.  I went a couple of hours early to help out; Neil gallantly took on the kids by himself and showed up later to meet me.  The girls had a great time on the inflatable thingies, got a couple of balloon animal unicorns, and a taste of cotton candy (Jooj didn't like it, and Isaac wouldn't go near it).  We even won TWO raffles (thanks to my buying every single one of Abigail's raffle tickets rather than taking her door-to-door selling them).  Isaac was pretty much glued to an adult the entire time. 
• We made it through the grocery store tonight without any major meltdowns.  Which is nice.
• More snow!  (Will it ever stop?!)  We finally got some powder--about six inches--on top of all the ice, Neil cleared off all the powder and made an ice slide down our hill (the snow made for a nice landing).
• Isaac said a couple of new words today:  "ball," "bear," and "hot."  I don't think anyone could understand him outside our family, but he is sure cute. 

quatre

Full confession:  I did not know what I was going to write about today, because it was a long and grueling day (I'm saying this at 6:11 pm with bedtime still looming.  Hardest part of the day with children, IMHO).  But I thought of some things.

1) Four days after the "big storm" started, our street finally got plowed!  Neil is outside right now shoveling three (maybe four) feet of snow off the foot of our driveway.  After watching people get stuck all week (and walking Abigail out to the next street over so she could get to kindergarten), it's great to think that we might be able to finally drive the van (no more cabin fever, hurray!!)
2) I had two packages arrive in the mail today:  my HypnoBabies home study course (which I bought via eBay for about half what it costs to buy from the regular distributor; I'd highly recommend this option!) and a book I'm planning to cozy up with tonight.  ps--I have been listening to Hypnobabies CDs lately while I fall asleep, and I am surprised at how much more quickly I fall asleep, and how much more soundly I sleep.  Quite impressive, considering I have a terrible time sleeping in pregnancy. 
3) Neil and the girls are headed to the symphony tonight (hence my Friday night book plans).  They are super duper excited to go on their date with Daddy.
4) I cooked with spaghetti squash for the first time tonight.  It was very easy and quite delicious (if you're interested, I cut the squash in half, seeded it, and baked it at 350 for half an hour; then scooped out all the flesh--which "spaghettis" by itself; it's quite cool!--and tossed it with sautéed onions, garlic, zucchini, fresh basil (my kitchen basil plant is still hanging on to life), some jarred pasta sauce (I like Classico Traditional Sweet Basil) and feta cheese.  Yum). 
5) It is almost time to put Isaac in bed.  I am so excited for this. 

Day three

Kind of in a hurry tonight, so here's the fast version of today's five good things:

• I filed our taxes today!  This is one time of year where I love being in grad school with lots of kids.
• Isaac ate an entire quesadilla for lunch today, which is amazing because he has been sick, grumpy, and zero appetite.  He was so much more cheerful after he finally consented to let food into his little body.
• Speaking of Isaac, due to aforesaid sickness-induced crankiness, we spent a lot of time playing together, just the two of us.  I watched his eyes light up as he finally figured out how to link the pieces of the train tracks together, and then he giggled as he put each new piece in place and looked up to me for approval with each new piece of track.  Priceless moment.
• Abigail and I went to the fabric store tonight, just the two of us.  She wants to make a special baby blanket for the new baby, so we went to pick out the fabric tonight and had a jolly time together.  When we got home, we went out and looked at the stars (we were talking about different stars on the way home) and she was so excited with the gorgeous sky and the snow that she turned to me and said, "Mommy, this is the best night ever."
• Neil came home an hour earlier than I'd expected--he had a meeting that was supposed to run late, but didn't!  I was so excited to see him that I ran across the kitchen and took a flying leap into his arms.  Everyone else swarmed his legs and started hugging him.  When he set me down, Juliet was a little late to the party and couldn't get in to hug Daddy, so she settled for hugging and kissing my legs instead. 

five good things on Groundhog's Day

Another snow day today!  It felt like we spent half the day doing paper crafts, which isn't something I usually do a lot of, but it was perfect for today.

1) Abigail and I spent a good while this morning working on a life-sized paper princess, complete with ball gown.  It was a lot of fun making it with her, and I was really impressed with her resilience when Isaac tore it to bits just before bedtime (she had taped it to her bedroom door).
2) I had a stomach bug in the morning that I thought might knock me out for the rest of the day--I was SO grateful when it went away and I was even able to run my usual 4 miles later in the afternoon.

3) Some days Abigail and I really get irritated at each other.  Today that magically did not happen--we even spent a cheerful forty-five minutes going through the whole house and putting ALL the toys, books, and clothing back in their proper places (I do this every Wednesday, but normally it is not a fun part of my day. Today it was and I am so happy about that!). 
4) Both of the girls ate their spinach quiche cheerfully tonight, and Neil complimented me on its tastiness afterwards.  I sautéed the onions and spinach "tenderly" as per Julia Child's instructions and apparently it made a real difference. 
5) After dinner, Abigail taught Juliet how to make pop-up cards.  We spent the next hour or so covering our kitchen in tiny little scraps of paper and decorating our windows for Valentine's Day.  Neil made a little paper chain with a figure for each member of our family, including the baby (we will be a family of six in a few months!  Crazy). 

Five for February: happiness in the midst of a "probable catastrophic storm"

See those fat white dots all over the picture?  Those are the snowflakes we saw last night while we were eating dinner--literally the size of Abigail's palm.  I've never seen such big flakes!  Even Isaac paused, walked over to the window, smashed his face against the glass, and said, "THNOW!!"  The weather has been very exciting here in the last 24 hours (supposedly we may get 12-15 inches of snow tonight).

Which brings me to my first good thing today:

1) The university was closed because of weather!!!  Which meant that Neil worked from home in the morning and we ate lunch as a family.  (Right now we have a blizzard warning and ice chunks are pelting the windows).

2) Because Neil worked at home in the morning, I drove his Jeep (way better in snow) to Isaac's doctor's appointment this morning.  So much less stress than the minivan in the icy slush. Then Isaac and I went to the grocery store, the appliance parts store, and the pharmacy.  It was SO wonderful and relaxing and amazing doing errands with only one chubby-cheeked child, who was happy to just sit there eating raisins and smiling at me from the shopping cart.  Really, I'm serious about the relaxing bit.

3) My dad flew safely from Detroit to LaGuardia before all the crazy storms hit again this afternoon--so relieved!!

4) Today the mailman brought the latest issue of Mother Earth News, packed chock-full with articles on planning and planting this year's vegetable garden.  I can't wait to curl up with it now that the children are in bed and dream about tomatoes while the storm rattles the siding.

5) This afternoon when I was doing yoga, the girls played together while Isaac napped--and I did not have to break up a single fight.  Again with the relaxing.  It was fabulous.

and just for good measure, 6) Neil is currently making brownies.