Make Up Your Mind

I have a hard time with big decisions. From my mom, I picked up a convenient habit, when it comes to shopping. If you find it, and think you might want it or need it, just buy it, because you can always return it later. This is a perfect plan for someone like me, who otherwise, would spend way too much time agonizing over the purchase of the silliest things.

You should see the shopping bags full of window coverings that are right now covering my closet floor. I'll be returning more of them than I'll be using. But it's nice to be able to just purchase things like that when I see them, and know that I can try them out, and then take most of them back.

I wish I could shop like that for my new kitchen.

I just don't have the vision in my mind to make these kinds of decisions.

What type of new countertops will I decide on? Should I paint the cupboards white, give them a new stain, or just add new hardware? Is stainless steel the only way to go when it comes to new appliances? Can I (or can Doug) make a Do-It-Yourself backsplash look good? And of course, there's the awful process of choosing and applying paint to the walls.

All of these things are exciting to consider, but difficult for me to settle on.

Less than two weeks to go until we can really get to work. Even though we'll have two months to get it all done, I'm sure we'll be busy and the time will fly by until we're moving again.

Proud Mama

I'm so proud of Katelyn.

From the time she was a toddler, she and I have loved to sit down on the piano bench and play and sing together. Some of our early favorites were "When Somebody Loved Me" (Jessie's song from the Toy Story 2 Soundtrack), "If the Savior Stood Beside Me" (Sally DeFord), and "Somewhere Over the Rainbow".

When Katelyn was in first grade, her elementary school had a talent show. She decided to sing the Jessie song. We borrowed a cute Jessie costume from a friend, and Katelyn looked and sounded purely sweet and adorable. She auditioned with no fear. I was impressed.

On the day of the talent show, I sat towards the front of the school auditorium, ready to film Katelyn's song. I could tell she was pretty nervous in front of that crowd. After she had been introduced, she held the microphone and waited for her music to start....and waited....staring at the silent audience, which was staring right back at her, also waiting...

So she decided to just start singing, without her music. The show must go on! But after she got about two words out, the poor little elementary student techies finally got the music started.

Poor little Katelyn was getting a little flustered!

She waited through the intro, and then started to sing her song again. But as she sang, I could see her big nervous eyes looking at me, as if to say, "Help! Get me out of here!" I could see the tears welling. I smiled big, and nodded my head, encouraging her to keep going. Which she did. Until, in the middle of the song, those poor kids who were running the sound thought the song had ended, when really it was just a bridge to the final verse. So, without completing the song, the music ended, and Katelyn received applause, and left the stage.

She came and sat on my lap, and just shook. I was so proud of her, and so heart-broken! I felt awful that it hadn't been a good experience for her. I worried that we had ruined her for life, and that she would never want to sing for anyone again.

Until recently.

Katelyn got her confidence back, and I'm so happy and proud.

Yesterday was her junior high school orientation. She needed to choose electives. There were several good options to pick from, but Katelyn decided (to my happy surprise) to audition for the select choir. About an hour before the audition, I ran through her audition piece with her at home: "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." I told her not to be nervous.

I think I was more nervous than she was--unnecessarily, because she did great! And she made the cut! The choir is made up of 90 girls, mostly 8th and 9th graders, with a few 7th graders. I am so excited that Katelyn will have this opportunity, and so proud of her, for this, as well as many other things. She's an incredible girl.

I Love...

Warm (or in this case, not too cold) weather,

Our backyard playground with access to the park right behind us,

Moments of playing happily together,

These gorgeous daughters,

and my new camera. Thank you, Doug.

Morning Person?

Doug is definitely a morning person. He has been since I met him, and probably has always been. He wakes up early, and gets moving quickly. (And he is certainly not a night owl, although sometimes I wish he would be.)

I've never claimed to be a morning person. I love to sleep as long as possible, and when I do get out of bed, I tend to stay in my pajamas for quite a while before getting ready for the day.

Last night as I was laying in bed, wishing I could go to sleep, and watching the clock approach 1 a.m., I was thinking about this.

No wonder I'm not a morning person. I hardly ever fall asleep early, so naturally, I can't wake up early.

Morning came, and I realized I had slept hard...eventually. And now, even though it was almost 8 a.m., I still had a hard time convincing my eyes to open and my body to move.

But within 30 minutes, I was scurrying around the house, getting girls ready for the day, and out the door to school, and...this is key...singing as I went. Hmm. Last night while I was laying in bed trying unsuccessfully to get to sleep, or giving that up and staring at the computer screen...I was not singing. I was tired and frustrated and my mind was unsettled. So, even though I can stay up late, I wouldn't necessarily say that's my favorite time of the day. Which leads me to a new opinion of myself.

You know, it's not that I'm not a "morning person". It's just that I'm not good at waking up.
But once I get through that process, whether it's 5:30 a.m. or 8:00 a.m. (or later), I'm usually pretty chipper. And if I take it slow in the morning, it's not necessarily because I'm tired or dragging. It's just that I'm relaxed and enjoying the morning routine.

Doug will probably disagree, but I'm thinking...
Maybe I am a morning person.

When a Day at Home is a Good Thing

School is out today. The sun is hiding behind the clouds, which are predicted to start dropping snow soon.

So we're hanging out at home.

Playing Mario Kart. Emily is (like her mother) loud and competetive. And Lauren is just proud when she is ahead of any of her sisters. And Katelyn is quietly concentrating. And Hannah is kind of clueless. But she's happy as long as she's Daisy.

And as I make Gerb's cake for breakfast, this is what I overhear:

(The older girls have already crossed the finish line, and are waiting for Daisy to complete the race.)

K: Here Hannah, let me help you...

E: Look, Hannah, you won! You're the best racer ever! Look, you're number one-one. That's even better than one! That's eleven times first place!

H: I'm the winner?

E: Yes!

H: (Playing it cool) Well, I've done lots of racing...

My Daily Dose

This little girl makes me laugh daily. Multiple times a day, usually.

Hannah was supposed to make a poster of household objects that are circles, for her music class. So this morning, I let her use my old camera to take pictures of circles. She photographed her Cheerios, doorknobs, buttons, and a clock--plus, some other stuff.

When I reviewed her photos, I found pictures of me, talking on the phone and loading the dishwasher. Maybe the plates in the dishwasher are circles, but why, then, was the camera focused on me? I don't really want to answer that.

Anyway, this picture made me laugh. I showed it back to Hannah, and said, "There's no circle in this picture."

To which she replied, "Yes, there are," and pointed to her nostrils.

My mistake.

Lulu's Lunch

Today after school, Lauren says to me, "You know how I forgot my lunch, but you brought it to the school for me?"

I gave her a very confused look. I wasn't aware that she forgot her lunch, and therefore, I did not bring it to school for her today.

Suddenly she got embarassed.

It would seem that some poor kid went without a lunch today, while Lauren enjoyed a little something extra. Because actually, she didn't forget her lunch today. So she ate the lunch they called her to the office to retrieve (...?), plus the one she packed for herself this morning, which included (she informed me) white chocolate chips, and Cheetos (and, hopefully, something nutritious).

Am I giving her too much freedom, allowing her to pack her own lunch?

Still sleeping

All of my children are still sleeping, at 8:42 a.m. Let me think about the last time this happened....

Still thinking....

Well, it's been a long time. Maybe as long as it has been since the last time I attended a big extended-family party. Which is exactly what kept us out late last night, and prompted this sleeping-in.

What a cool deal: Have a great meal and fun times reconnecting with family, and then sleep in on Sunday morning.

Plus, one important lesson learned: Never feed your babies Gerber Turkey. (Don't ask.)