Piano Recital

It is gray and snowy here today.  And I am soooooo tired!  I've been getting up at 5:45 to take Lucy to seminary and it is wearing on me.  And even if I am tired all day, I am rarely tired at night.  My hormones are all out of whack!  So I can't go to sleep very early and the cycle starts again the next day. 

Yesterday the girls had their piano recital and Matthew joined Lucy for a duet!  It was really fun and was the last piece of the recital.  It was a hit!  And Lucy played a lovely Debussy piece right before that and did really well.  If she just put her mind to it, she could be really really good!  But she keeps talking about quitting piano lessons.  I know that she doesn't necessarily want to become a concert pianist, but she could at least study it in college and teach piano to other people.  How nice would it be to have a natural talent like that?  Ibby did really well, too, but she gets so nervous!  She just hates recitals so much!  I could see the dread on her face the entire time!  Poor Ibby.  The boys were really good, but towards the end, Archie was whispering loudly about how long it was taking and when I said there were only two more people, Phin practically shouted, Yay!   And then promptly assured me that it was his crocodile saying yay, not him.  Andrea Ringer came because she is the YW pres. and super nice.  And Rachelle Simpson came because she is thinking of having her girls take lessons from Pam.  She is also the Primary Pres.  Matthew told them that if he hadn't been at the ward council meeting he might suspect that our family was some sort of project, haha!  It looked that way for sure.

There really isn't much going on here.  Lucy has had some friends over to watch movies a couple of times.  I guess rearranging the basement really made a difference!  So that is fun to have fun and laughter going on.  I've been drawing and crocheting.  I'm almost done with Phin's blanket.  It is funny how they're turning out to be all different sizes.  Ella's and Ibby's are more lap blankets, but Phin's and Charles' are humongous!!!  I just finished the 108th square for Phin's and need to start binding them together today.

moody mooderson

Abe is chillin' on the couch playing with Sophie the giraffe, but who knows how long that will last? 
I'm trying to think if anything interesting or exciting happened this week... Hmmm.  Fara is here visiting, but mostly visiting her mom, which is completely understandable, but when she was down here last Tuesday and Wednesday, she hung out with us for about three hours on Tuesday afternoon and then said she would text me in the morning with what she was going to do that day.  She was staying at Cherrie's house because Cherries has a guest room and we don't, but when she told me that she assured me that she would still see us, but then she never texted me.  All day Wednesday I kept thinking I should go do something, but what if they wanted to play with us?  So we just waited around, which was stupid.  And when I woke up in the morning, I had gotten dressed thinking I would see her, etc.  Around 3:00 I started getting emotional about it, which I knew I shouldn't, but I couldn't help it and by the time she did call me (around 4:30) I was too upset to meet her because I didn't want her to know I was upset and I couldn't stop crying!  Besides, Ibby and I are doing Celebrate America (the thingy at Miller Park on 4th of July) and we had practice at 5:30 -- a fact I had informed Fara of the day before, so we didn't have time anyway.  Blah!  It was so stupid!  I know Fara likes me and she wasn't purposely trying to hurt my feelings, I was slathering my neck and arms with happy, feel good essential oils, I tried to distract myself, and still I couldn't stop being upset.  Matthew was very nice about it, but I'm sure he thinks I'm crazy.  Around 10 p.m. I was sitting at the kitchen table sobbing and Charles came in from work.  He asked what was wrong with me and Matthew told him that I found out about his secret.  He stopped and his jaw dropped, his arms went up, what???  I started laughing so hard and couldn't stop -- it was hilarious!  And finally broke my silly mood.  So then I saw her on Thursday morning and she never knew.  Yay!

On Saturday night I went to a baby shower and was talking to Melissa McLauglin telling her how much I love all of her clothes.  She said she liked mine, too and we should share.  I mentioned that it was too bad that we are not the same size and Sarah Patten exclaimed that since Melissa is pregnant and her belly is growing that maybe we'll be the same size soon.  What the heck?  I looked right at her and pointed out how rude that was then mentioned to Melissa that now I'm fat on top of being loud.  We're waiting for the next insult so that I can have a trifecta of unfortunate qualities.

I took some pics of the house for a type 1 facebook thing:

 

And a cute bub

 

Unearthed

I am sitting here with Archie feeding me fake strawberries -- they are delicious!  And the sun is streaming through the windows, but it is still freezing!!!  Right now it is 16˚ feels like 9.  I guess that is about 50˚ warmer than last Monday so we are good!  Tomorrow the chance of snow is 100% so that should be fun!  It snowed all day on Saturday, too!  I actually really like snow as long as I don't have to drive in it!  It is so cozy to be sitting inside and watching it fall so prettily.  And there is nothing like the muted stillness of an unplowed street.

Sorry that I was complaining last time!  My life really isn't hard.  It was totally just my period.  I bought an essential oil blend called, "Serenity" to help me with that, but it worked so well that I sent it to Janis to help her feel serene and haven't ordered any more for myself!  I bet Matthew wouldn't mind me spending that money, right?  So the girl came over to take my picture on Thursday and it really wasn't so bad!  I don't know why I get myself so worked up.  You just never know with those artistic types, though.  They could be the artist who thinks they are super cool and are a little patronizing to the uncreative peon masses, but she wasn't like that at all!  The second she came through the door we were friends, so that was really nice.  She told me that she has a lot of ideas for projects, but then doesn't do them and later sees other people do the same idea.  So now, even though she isn't quite sure where the project is headed, she just decided to do it!  I told her that I agree that if you ignore inspiration (the holy ghost) too many times, he will stop coming around, for sure!  She had me get all ready for the day with make-up on, hair done, etc.   She took a few pics and then took pictures while I washed off the make-up, took down my hair (I had it in a bun), and I changed into some comfortable.  And yes, I have yoga pants.  Then she took some more pics.  The boys kept coming around to see what she was doing and she took some shots of them, too.  She has four kids: an 18 year old named Lydia, and triplets that are 6 years old.  So she was very nice to the boys.  It was nice doing something I wasn't comfortable doing, but that wasn't too painful either.  I hate posing for pictures so she just had me talk while she took the pictures.  I filled out a questionnaire the night before, too.  What is an overarching theme of your life?  Um, dieting (lame!) Who is your role model?  My mom, aaaah.  What are your dreams? To be a night club singer and fifty million other things.  It was pretty fun.

I finally started the children's service club I've been talking about for four years!  I just went onto facebook and invited a bunch of people to my house and it took about two minutes.  Now, that wasn't so difficult, was it?  This month we are going to crank out a ton of Valentine's for lonely people in our ward and neighborhood.  I hope that it goes well.  We are just going to meet once a month so it shouldn't be too painful.

Archie keeps us safe at all times.

and now it's april

April has already been a busy month, but it is so lovely and sunny, windy as usual, but all the better to dry all of my clothes -- yesterday I was able to dry three different loads they were being whipped into submission so quickly!  


On Friday my big girl turned 18!  I know!  It is truly unbelievable.  She is such a good girl.  Especially after the birth of my third daughter, people started coming out of the woodwork to oh, so kindly warn me what a horrible experience it is to raise girls!  With ulcers forming I've been waiting and waiting for the horrific nightmare to begin, but there has been no such misfortune around here.  She is funny and smart and pretty to boot.

She has, in fact, been so delightful that I joke about how she didn't prepare me very well for raising the other children... (hmm, what do I mean by that?)  The kids didn't have school on Friday so I whisked them all up to Chicago for some free food at Ikea -- and yes, they did foot our $60 lunch.  Charles tried to stump them by getting three meals, two sides, and a dessert, but they went ahead with their promise.  We really wished that we had bitten the bullet and put some swedish fish and candy bars on our trays -- missed opportunities!!!  And then shopping at a few of her favorite stores (what?  Ikea's not her favorite store, oh, that would be me).  Charles regretted his decision to join us after her second hour in Forever 21 -- live and learn, son.  We spent too much money which made for a grumpy daddy, so I am going to be really good and not buy anything ever again!  I even didn't press "buy" on the amazing water bottle that was on babyhalfoff.com this morning.  I am strong.  I can do this.

Sunday was Easter and my girls finally got to wear their beautiful dresses, from (wait for it, Jen)... FRANCE.  They looked so pretty!

::sisters

::Phin was watching me take pics of the girls

 ::the whole gang

 ::LOVE this one of Ibby

 ::Ella just pins, tucks, and voila!

 ::thanks for trying, buddy

 ::aaaah, big tears

march madness

So the first weekend in March, Ella was in the school play of Beauty and the Beast.  She was a townsperson and a book -- we failed to take any pictures of the book.
Isn't she cute?

She also is on the soccer team this year.  I keep thinking that if she did both of those things last year, she might have gotten into BYU, but c'est la vie.  Matthew keeps reminding me that maybe she's not supposed to go there.

Archie turned 7 months old!

I spent most of the month getting ready to have a yard sale which I held the day that we left for spring break -- busy!  We drove to Florida and the baby behaved about as well as we expected...  On the way we stopped in Nashville and Lucy did baptisms for the first time at the temple there.

We had SUCH a great time at my sister's house in Vero Beach and Archie met some relatives for the first time!!!  He has been so neglected, I tell you!

Hanging out with Grandma Gayle!

 Playing some rock band

 Swimming in their pool

 Boating

We made it out to the Atlantic, which made me nervous because I thought it was too wavy and shark-y

 And Phin turned four!

He didn't really want his picture taken, can you tell?  We still like him.

Uncle John made him the cake -- he definitely fed us well!!!

My sister and her family were so hospitable and it was wonderful to see my parents.  We all had a fantastic time!  And then we had to drive home again...

hello (hello, hello) -- is there anybody out there?

I am back and this time I am planning on staying!  What a winter that was!  Completely crazy!  After about five weeks we finally got a new computer, baby stopped giving me heart attacks with his choking and after six weeks with only one toilet way down in the basement for 8 people (okay, I'm exaggerating -- Archie obviously isn't potty trained) we have a brand spanking new wall mount toilet upstairs.  Hopefully it doesn't "mysteriously" crack anytime soon.  I had so many plans for the winter, none of which came to pass, but I am so very grateful that I was able to nurse my little one back to optimum health.  We spent a lot of time cuddling.  


So what to catch up on?  Archie started solid foods

And he's just not that into them. Well, he likes real people food, but not baby food.   What am I going to do with that case of powdered organic baby food I snatched on baby steals?  And he turned six months.  He was still sick in this picture, sad.

Lucy turned 12 and we had a fun party!

And Phin makes me happy!

He says THE funniest things all day long.  A couple of weeks ago he put on a shirt that was kind of long and he yells out, "Mom, you got me a dress!  A dress like Ibby!"  "Well,"  I replied, "You need to put some pants on."  "No I don't!  My peanut does not show!  See?  My shirt is all skirt-y on the bottom.  It is a dress!"  He was so excited that I finally got him a dress, as if he's been waiting for years for me to do just that.  Even if I were going to have him wear a dress there is a little more required than simply that your peanut does not show.  Yesterday we were driving down the street and he said, "Mom!  Is that a dog or an elephant?"  I didn't see it, but I said, "I'm pretty sure it was a dog."  "No," he asserts, "those people have an elephant."  One second later, "Can unicorns wear hats?"  It is all even cuter when you hear his voice with it.  Aaah.  I am going to do March in the next post so that when I slurp it I won't have too many photos on one page. See you in a minute!

this moment

{this moment, a soulemama tradition}

A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week.  A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

murmur, murmur

So much for my goal of blogging more often -- but I have an excuse!  We have had a run of bad luck -- not just coming in threes, but going on and on, day after day, for more than two weeks!  Nothing catastrophic, mind you, I am thankful and aware of how nice our lives are, however it was starting to feel like we were slightly cursed:

• old van breaks down
• kitchen cupboard falls off and can't be reattached because everything is stripped
• vacuum stops sucking
• other kitchen cupboard falls off because the #$? kids are always leaning on them no matter how many times I say not to -- blast them!
• have to return ipad to ISU (my precious)
• Phin climbs up on top of dresser and pulls down hanging shelf, breaking everything on it!
• my back goes out -- can't sit, walk, hold baby, stuff like that
• our new van gets rear ended
• the computer won't turn on at all -- officially disconnected from the world
• Phin gets stomach flu (Sunday)
• Lucy gets stomach flu (Monday)
• Mom and Archie get stomach flu (Tuesday) -- I was down and out without netflix or anything -- I know, it was like a nightmare!  And Archie lost some of his cheek bulk, so, so, sad.  It was, however, heavenly to just lay in bed with my baby all day napping and cooing to each other...

But now it's Thursday and I have confidence in sunshine, that spring will come again, and that we'll all feel right as rain!  Things are coming together: we traded in the van, although it's sad to see the two van era come to an end; the computer was an easy fix and is back on the desk (it looked so sad and empty); the vacuum is still under warranty and will be back in two weeks (!); no one has vomited in almost 24 hours; (update: I think Ella is down...); I completely removed the cupboard doors and put up pillow cases -- anything is better than seeing inside the cupboards; I read a book -- amazing how much time that ipad was sucking up; the new van should be able to be mended pretty easily; and I went to the chiropractor yesterday morning for the second time this week. 


Speaking of curses, Ibby informed us that she made a deal with Rumplestiltskin and since all magic comes with a price we were paying for it!  That explains everything.


::Archie month 5

this moment

{this moment, a soulemama tradition}

A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week.  A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

thanksgiving!

I do love Thanksgiving and I was happy that we were able to host a boisterous crowd at our house -- reminds me of the good ole' days.  We had eight adults and sixteen children, so not quite up to the Farnsworth family numbers, but it will do to help me not feel so homesick.  Everyone helped bring lots of yummy food, the two younger girls helped set the tables and make place cards, Ella made some appetizers, and Charles made a green bean casserole with no help from anyone.  The two youngest did their part with Phin busily undoing most of the preparations as they happened and Archie perching on my back not sleeping the entire day.  I am so glad that we have a time to reflect on our blessings, although I do try to do a bit of that every day.  I have so much and the season reminds me to make a renewed effort to be a better steward of what I have been given.  Here's to resolve!

I never manage to find time to write in my blog anymore -- it's so sad!  And I really don't think about it during the day, but at night I have composed some wonderful posts.  You should all come join me then, because by morning they have vanished -- poof!


I went to the dentist this morning and had to take the baby with me.  I just didn't know six months ago when I made the appointment that Matthew would be teaching at that time on Tuesday mornings -- silly me!  So I dropped Phin off at a friend's and wondered how it would all work, but baby did great.  He determinedly concentrated on grabbing a toy, with his eyes crossed for good measure, throughout most of the scaling portion of the visit, but every once in a while he would gurgle adorably and the technician would gaze at him affectionately.  This is all very endearing to a mother, of course, except that she was madly digging at my teeth with some very sharp instruments, not missing a single beat, while she looked away.  I would will her eyes back to the task at hand, but soon they would veer back to the baby, all the while scraping, scraping, scraping and coming perilously close to my tender gums -- I may be a proponent of natural childbirth, but I definitely prefer kinder, gentler dentistry.  He didn't quite make it all the way through, sitting upright on my tummy during the cleaning and exam, smiling and talking to everyone who happened by.  And who wouldn't smile at the reaction he was getting -- you would think they had never seen a baby before!  "Look at those chubby cheeks!"  "He has so much hair!"  He is pretty cute, in my own humble opinion.