Ho-hum...

Today was just an ordinary day. No real highs or lows. Everyone went off to school or work and Lila and I watched Sesame Street and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and ate Captain Crunch. She and I have had such a rough couple of days, all I wanted to do was not be in a fight with her today. So instead of doing all the errands and chores I could have filled my time with, I just spent the morning hanging out with my girl and giving her my undivided attention. (Okay, it was a little divided because I was knitting on a sock... but I only did that when she was wrapped up in her show, if she wanted to talk about something I sat my project down.) It made for a nice change of pace.

Evie came home and I made lunch while she did her homework and colored. She kept yawning and saying how tired she was so after lunch I decided we should all have a nap. Well, I didn't mean to nap, but there is something about snuggling up with a little warm body tucked up next to you and singing softly as their eyes drift shut that is so soothing. Puts me to sleep every time. It probably should be so unexpected by this point...

Jake came home and did his homework, then made himself and his sisters a snack. They went downstairs and played legos and watched Princess and the Frog for the umpteenth time this week. I thought about what to make for dinner and the fact that I should probably do a load of dishes so I had something to cook with. And then I kept knitting on my sock and changed my dinner menu to work with the pan that was still clean. (Am I the only one who does that? Cook according to what dishes are available rather than do the dishes.)

Brian came home, we had dinner, and then went up to his parents for a little bit. They are going into the MTC on Monday and are finishing packing up their house. His mom was going through her pantry and dividing up the food between the families.

And now we are home, the children are in bed and we are ready to settle down and watch a couple of shows before bed. I will probably knit some more on my sock. There you go, a real slice of our everyday life...

That can't be comfortable...

I came in to check on Lila and found her like this.

Sound asleep with her head on the tv tray Brian uses for a night stand.

I can't  figure out how she A) didn't fall out of bed or B) knock anything off the tray.

Silly girl.

Ups and Downs

Today was Evie's real first day of kindergarten. She was a rock star! Not one whimper or tear. She hung up her backpack, found her name tag and mat, gave me a big grin and a thumbs up and we left. I was so proud of her. She had a great first day and couldn't stop her self from telling everyone she met today that she was a kindergartner!

After we picked her up from school we went to buy her some new sneakers. Well, talk about a cup runneth over. Evie is equally excited about her new shoes and if she corners you for more than ten seconds you will be shown them while having all of the amazing features they possess described to you in detail. I love that about my girl, how excited she gets over the smallest things. The world is so magical when seen through her eyes.

Poor Lila had quite a different day. I think she was having a horrible, awful, terrible, no-good day. It started the moment she woke up and realized that everyone was going off to school, except for her. And then, through a misunderstanding, she though her sister called her a grown-up. Oh the humanity! Lila absolutely fell apart, "I not a growing-up! Evie say I a growing-up and I NO-O-O-O-OT!"

She finally calmed down after running a couple of errands with me, including a trip up to the grandparents. But then her world came crashing down again when Evie got new shoes and she didn't. It's so hard to explain to a two year old that life is just plain unfair and that no amount of tantrum throwing can change that. Believe me, I've tried. 

Let's hope for a bit of a smoother ride tomorrow. I am exhausted from the emotional roller-coaster of having daughters...

A Special Sunday

Today we got to go to church with Grandma and Grandpa T. They were speaking in sacrament meeting before leaving to serve a mission in Denmark for the next 18 months.

 Jim and Terrie both gave excellent talks, but my favorite part was in Jim's talk when he addressed his grandchildren by name (the seven that live in the state and were there in the meeting) and explained how the only thing that could make their grandparents leave them for such a long time was the need to share the gospel with people who haven't learned what these children have grown up knowing. Why they are here on this earth, where they came from when they were born, and where they will go when they die.  I don't know how much of that my children absorbed, but it made me realize again how blessed I have been to be raised with this knowledge and faith and how blessed my children are to have this as part of their lives as well. It makes it a little easier to say good-bye knowing that they are going to be bringing that blessing to other children and other families. 

the Utah half of the cousins

We love you Grandma and Grandpa! 

You are going to be amazing missionaries.

The counting thing...

All you mothers know what I'm talking about. "I'm going to count to three... 1... 2... 2 1/2..."  Tonight I realized that there are three types of children, and you can tell what type they are by how they react to this parenting technique.

Type 1:  This is the child that jumps to with a quivering lip by the time you say, "I'm going to count..."  Jake was and still is this type of child, very sensitive to my disapproval and eager to obey and make amends.

Type 2: This is the child that doesn't react until number 1 or 2, but mostly because they aren't paying any attention. This would be Evie, so wrapped up in her own world that she isn't even aware she's getting in trouble half the time.

Type 3: This is the child that waits until you hit 3 because they are checking to see just how serious you are about whatever behavior you are trying to enforce. And then, once they see that you are indeed serious, they stand up and comply, but with a look that might as well say, "I am going to go take my shoes and put them in the closet... but only because I want to. Not because you told me to."

Go ahead, guess which one of my kids is this type.

Look Ma! No hands!

She was just so darn proud of this accomplishment.

Talk about a fancy hair-do...

and a good sport, thanks Aunt Caite!

Back to School Night

Tonight Brian and I got to go to back to school night for Jacob. The heat in the school was brutal! I don't know how the kids and teachers survive it for hours everyday. I am excited for all the fun and interesting work that Jake will get to do. I am even excited to volunteer to help in his classroom and get to be a part of his school year. We both left with big smiles on our faces because we know that sending him to the Spectrum program was the right decision. For all the agonizing and drama that we dealt with as we made that choice, it's so nice to see that it will be a good fit for Jake. He has a really neat teacher, he is going to do great and most of all he is going to love it!