Some Pageant Pictures....

A's pageant was Saturday night. Sadly, the outcome was not what she hoped for. She did an amazing job and presented herself beautifully. She was poised and confident and was herself -- she didn't pretend to be something/someone she wasn't. She won the talent competition, People's Choice, and the Miss Congeniality award (selected by the other pageant participants). We are SO proud of her!

Before her interview (brown and cream outfit)....

Casual wear (red and white outfit -- them was "Fun in the Sun" -- they were supposed to wear something they would wear to a summer party)...

Talent competition (black and white gown)...she played "Phantom of the Opera" on the piano -- she was incredible!

Evening gown...she looked absolutely gorgeous in this gown. Just like last year, she was the only girl in the competition wearing a gown with sleeves. Most of the girls wore strapless gowns. Many of the gowns didn't fit the girls. I was glad A's gown fit her so beautifully. She looked like a princess!

A Halloween Picture

Here is B in her Halloween costume...she was a carhop waitress (minus the roller skates). I'll post a picture of A in her costume soon. This picture was taken at our church Trunk-or-Treat activity. The costume is supposed to have a hat but I made it too small...hence the headband instead! (The skirt really does fit -- she was trying to balance on one foot when I took this picture so her posture is strange.)

B got so much candy this year! We've got enough candy to last well past Christmas.

Updates on the girls....

Just a quick update on the girls...A's team won their game on Tuesday. A is not happy with some things going on with softball right now, but she's handling it pretty well. She's learned a lot about sportsmanship and I'm very proud of her.

B auditioned for school chorus and was selected. She was also chosen as a student council rep for her class. She's so excited about that! A was also on student council and was vice president one year. She did not inherit my love of all things government/political science/civics...social studies is her least favorite class, where it was always one of my favorites. Perhaps B will inherit this penchant? Time will tell.

This week is standardized testing at school and both girls are bored silly. I remember being the same way during testing time. B-O-R-I-N-G!

Spring has sprung....

and it brought seasonal allergies along with it! Such fun. Not! DH thinks he has allergies, and we know B does. She doesn't want to take her Claritin. I think we need to put her back on a prescription allergy medicine. Poor kid. Both girls are actually not feeling well today. B's stomach trouble is acting up again, and A is getting a bad head cold, complete with sore throat and sinus headache. So yes, spring is finally here...and with the blooming and growth comes allergy and cold season.

Our lesson in YW today was on the Temple. I was able to share with the girls how important the temple is to me and what peace I find when I go to the temple. I need to go more regularly. I have felt a real need...a real, almost physical yearning, to attend the temple. It's hard to explain, but I know I need to be there more often. I have been struggling to get answers to some issues that have been troubling me and I think going to the temple would really help.

Preparations are in full swing for the arrival of DH's parents this weekend for B's baptism. The house is slowly getting cleaned...slowly, but it's getting there. DH and the girls worked really hard yesterday and got a lot done while I was at work. I appreciate that DH is willing to jump in and do whatever needs to be done. Now if he could just get the bathroom remodeling project finished...

There is only one more month of school. Wow! This year has flown by. Both girls have done really well in school but I'm hopin for more next year...I'm hoping they'll be challenged more and have their learning needs met. That really hasn't happened since we moved here but I'm hoping. DH has learned a lot through the gifted education classes he has taken this year and I'm hoping we can implement some of it with the girls' teachers next year.

B had a soccer game yesterday...they didn't win but she did a good job. She played offense for the first time. The kids on her team are all about 2 years older than she is but she holds her own. A has another softball game tomorrow night. She loves softball!

We need to replant some things in our garden. We got a late freeze a couple of weeks ago and it killed the cucumbers and squash....our favorite things from the garden! I hope it isn't too late to find new starts for those. I look forward to having fresh cucumbers and squash each summer. I detest working in the garden, but I do love eating the fresh fruits and veggies that we grow!

I have a new favorite smell....spring. Every day this week as I was leaving work, there was a scent that hit me as I stepped outside of the building. The only way I can describe it is warm, woodsy, with a little pine, and a bit of floral and grass scent. It's a lovely smell. I found myself standing just outside the door on Friday after I stepped out of the building, just soaking in that smell. Love it!

New Perspective

For some time, B had been telling us she didn't like to read. What??? Since when? That surprised us, since she used to love to read. It got to the point that she literally got upset with us when we "made" her read. And then we noticed that she would rock the piano bench forward while she played, to the point that her arms were scrunched up at her sides and her face was literally 6 inches from the music. Which, I should point out, is beginning music so it's still "big note" music. Hmmmm....

A few other little clues, and we decided we should get her eyes checked. Guess what? She needed reading glasses! Her distance vision is fine, but she needed a bit of help for reading, computer work, and playing the piano.

So together, she and A picked out her reading glasses. They came in earlier this week. She loves them.

And guess what? Yesterday afternoon, she told DH on the way home from church that she couldn't wait to get home to finish reading a book she had started. She spent almost an hour on the couch yesterday, curled up with her book, wearing her new reading glasses. And she loved it.

She loves reading again. I wish we had realized what the problem was sooner...we could have saved the stress of the last several months, battling to get her to read for school. I'm thrilled that she loves reading again!

Is she not the cutest little girl in glasses you've ever seen??!!

We Survived...I Think...

Last week is over. Totally, officially, and completely over. And we survived. Mostly. I think.

Yes, A's ear pain was, indeed, an ear infection. After starting antibiotics (and continuing ibuprofen and decongestants) she hasn't complained of any ear pain since Saturday. Yea! I haven't called the ENT yet to tell them about the ear infection. I'm afraid of what they might say. So is A and she keeps asking me not to call them.

The Girls' Camp Walkathon fundraiser for church went really well Saturday morning, although it was FREEZING cold. Yes, even Georgia gets cold. It was about 40 degrees outside but the wind was blowly horribly. It was cold. But almost every girl who participated did the full 10 miles. A did her 10 miles in 3 hours 15 minutes. I am so proud of her. All of the girls were complaining of being sore at church yesterday, and A was even more sore today. But she did it. They worked hard but they all had a good time together. They also realized how much work will be involved in doing our stake pioneer trek this summer (10 miles in July -- think heat and humidity!).

B had her first soccer game on Saturday. Her team didn't win but DH said she played really well. The other team was apparently made up of 10 year old giants (B thinks they were actually 12 years old) who were, in her words "aggressive." Apparently one boy kept running her over...so after the first time she decided to be "aggressive" with him, too. I'm not sure she ever actually inflicted any bodily harm on him, but she said it was frustrating that the other girls on her team wouldn't get "aggressive." She said next time they play that team she's going to kick him in the shins! Uh-oh...we'd better work on sportsmanship!

A's two play performances on Saturday were great. She did a wonderful job with her part and she looked adorable. OK, so she was supposed to look like "trailer trash" (no offense intended for anyone who lives in a trailer!)...and this is not a look we normally try to achieve in our family. But she was cute! She had fun with the whole production and then went out after the last show with a bunch of the other cast members....didn't get home until after midnight so she was exhausted (still is!). She had a lot of fun and is already looking forward to next year's drama production. I've included several pictures from the play. On Thursday and Friday she was Violet, the Blueberry...for the two Saturday shows she had the Violet speaking part. I've posted the "before" and "after" pictures. As you can tell, it took a few people (and some contortions) to get her into the blueberry suit!

Doing hair and makeup on a cast that huge was quite an undertaking. I'm still exhausted from it. Please remind me next year that some of the students in the production will need a tutorial in "Personal Hygiene 101" -- including the use of deodorant, dandruff shampoo (heck, just shampoo in general!), and the importance of showering on a daily basis (or more often, since this year the week of the play happened to be the same week as baseball tryouts). Nasty! I also forgot to take air freshener. Closing up 62 excited, smelly, costumed middle school students in one hallway makes for some pretty stale air. Fortunately we were able to prop a door open and get some fresh air circulating. I teased, curled, pinned up, sprayed gray or blue, and braided lots of heads of hair. I'm grateful to the 2-3 high school students who did hair and makeup on the Oompa Loompas -- that took care of a huge part of the workload right there.

It's over...and while I say I don't ever want to do it again, part of me is looking forward to next year already. Just like last year, I really had a lot of fun spending this time with A and her friends, and as long and smelly and sweaty and hard as it was (and as sore as my feet, knees, and back are), I'm glad she wants me to be involved.

You would think I would have learned by now...

Not to tempt fate. Not to comment on how well things are going in a particular area...because as soon as you do that, you just know that Fate is going to swoop in and muck it all up.

I went to lunch with a friend yesterday and we somehow got on the topic of children's ear problems. I mentioned that A's ear surgery last summer seems to have been very effective...her hearing has been restored to almost 100% and she hasn't had an ear infection since before the surgery.

So guess what?

A just now called me from school, complaining of an earache. This is not good. Not good at all. You see, A doesn't just get earaches. She gets ear infections. Every single earache this child has ever had (that I can remember) since she was 8 months old has turned out to be an ear infection.

Tonight is night two of the school play and there are two more performances tomorrow -- her big speaking role that she is SO excited about. She just doesn't need an ear infection right now. Not to mention that if she starts getting ear infections again we're looking at more surgery.

*Sigh* Why can't I remember to not tempt fate?

Safe and Sound

Alyssa arrived safely in Boston. We got to the airport with time to spare and had a nice lunch (A, DH, and me)....then DH went out to the car to nap (he got home at 2:30 this morning) and I took A to the gate to wait for the plane. She was excited...but a little nervous at the same time. But when they took her to board the plane she didn't even look back -- she was ready to go! We had a few anxious moments, hoping M and her Dh would get to the airport in time (traffic problems) but M sprinted (literally) from the security checkpoint to the gate and she made it with several minutes to spare. A called from the plane when it landed and she sounded so excited. She said the flight was good and smooth, which is a relief for me.

And me? Well, I did better than I expected. I only cried a little, and I was able to hold off the tears until after she boarded the plane. Does it ever get easier to send them off on their way?

I know M and her DH will take good care of her, and she's going to have a wonderful time. Like DH said on the way home from the airport, this is a trip A will remember for the rest of her life.

But oh, I miss her already!

Here we go again....

My sweet B is sick again. My sister picked her up from school yesterday and B promptly started vomiting in the car. Yikes! She apparently caught the stomach virus that's going around her school. The poor girl just can't catch a break! My healthier child, who rarely ever gets sick (and isn't seriously ill when she does) has now had strep throat, the flu, and a stomach virus in the last 4 months. Plus her complaints of mild, near-constant upset stomach (still no leads on what is going on with that). My poor, poor girl.

I owe my sister E bigtime...E picked B up from school yesterday and took care of her until I could get home from work. Neither E nor I deal well with stomach troubles...not at all (and this is an understatement). It would not be exaggerating to tell you that right now E is my hero for being able to make it through the 5-7 minute drive from school to home with a vomiting child in the back seat of her car. It appears that the worst has passed and while B still feels absolutely miserable, it does look like she's over the worst part of this illness. Based on what I'm hearing from others who have had this virus, we can expect her to not feel well for a few days.

*Sigh*

And so we packed A off to Grandma and Papa's house last night in hopes of keeping her from coming down with this virus and ruining her trip to Massachusetts this weekend. She someone managed to keep from getting the flu last week, so hopefully she'll manage to avoid this bug as well. One of her teachers recommended a powder that you add to drinking water and it's a vitamin supplement (can't remember for the life of me what the name is), but it makes the water fizzy and flavored. We bought a box and Alyssa has been faithfully drinking two per day...so maybe it has helped boost her immune system? I don't know. I just know that she hasn't gotten sick yet and we're so grateful, and hoping that she doesn't get sick.

Speaking of the trip to Massachusetts, A is so excited she can hardly see straight. She has been doing extra chores around the house to earn spending money for her trip and one of those chores is organizing my walk-in closet. She loves to organize and rearrange things. Unfortunately, she started the project Wednesday night and hasn't finished it yet! I knew I had a lot of shoes, but I never knew how many until A matched them up and lined them up in multiple rows around my closet. I do need to get rid of some of them that I never wear...but my goodness, I have a lot of shoes!

I am thrilled that A is so excited about her trip, but part of me is terrified to put her on that airplane by herself tomorrow. I know air travel is safe (so they say), and she is on a non-stop flight so there won't be any layovers/changing planes, and I know Delta has an excellent reputation for taking care of unaccompanied minors, and I know that I will be able to walk with her to the gate and make sure she gets safely on the plane, and my sister M will be there to meet her at the gate on the other end of the flight and she'll never be left alone for one moment in any airport...but this is my baby and I'm just scared. Maybe part of it is that I realize that this trip means she really is growing up. She really is a young lady, not a little girl, and she really is maturing and becoming more independent. Thankfully she still loves me (most of the time), thinks I'm fairly "cool" as compared to some other Moms, and she still wants me to tuck her into bed every night. But this trip is making me realize that it really won't be that many years before I'm packing her off to college...childhood is much, much too short.

I was feeling relatively o.k. about the entire trip thing until a friend of mine asked how I could let A fly alone...that the thing that broke her heart most about 9/11 was the thought of the unaccompanied children flying on those planes -- not just on the planes that were hijacked and used as weapons -- but all of the children flying unaccompanied who suddenly may have been terrified and scared and worried, whose flights were rerouted when all of the planes across the country were ordered to land, who were in strange places without anyone there to hug them and hold them and comfort them and just be with them in a strange place...and what on earth would I do if something like that happened to my precious A? And then the awful weather in the northeast...what if she's on the plane and halfway to Massachusetts and the weather gets bad and the plane is rerouted and she ends up somewhere else, alone? Oh my, I'm getting anxious again. I can't let her know that. She is so excited and I want this trip to be an incredible experience for her.

So if you can spare a few prayers, please keep my sweet B in your thoughts and prayers for quick recovery from this illness, and for A for safety in her travels.

PS -- yes, I realize I didn't post on Valentine's Day. I don't have anything against Valentine's Day. It was just a very busy day for us, and Valentine's Day around our home is rather uneventful since my DH is not the sentimental, romantic type...and also because basketball season interferes with every single holiday and special occasion from November 1 through February 28.

'Tis the season....

to be sick. *Sigh*

Poor B tested positive for the flu at the doctor's office this morning. My poor baby! She's so miserable. She was so miserable last night that she scared me (and my Dad who was helping take care of her). Unfortunately, there isn't much that can be done for the flu besides rest, pushing fluids, and treating the symptoms. In B's case, those symptoms include dizziness and weakness (can't do anything for that), headache and body aches (keep taking Motrin), cough, sore throat, and itchy eyes (I think it's her allergies but the ped says it isn't allergy season), exhaustion, and upset stomach.

The worst part is that she essentially is under quarantine until Monday, when she can go back to school... provided she isn't running a fever and is feeling well enough to go to school. No church on Sunday, no ward social tonight, no playing with friends tomorrow. She is going to go stir crazy! I need to find some new, interesting, fun, entertaining activities for her to do over the next few days until she is able to join the human race again.

I'm hoping A doesn't get sick...she is leaving for her trip to Massachusetts on the 17th and if anything happens to jeopardize the trip she will be absolutely devasted. Beyond devastated. So please cross your fingers and say a prayer that she doesn't get sick. Oh, if you could add some prayers that *I* don't get sick that would be great, too. I tend to catch whatever the kids have and I just cannot miss a single day of work in the next month. Yes, I know I'm a workaholic and I always say I can't miss work. But honestly, truly, really...I cannot miss a day of work in the next month because of the critical phase of my big project. No time to be sick!

I guess we all should have gotten flu shots this year.....

I've Done a Very, Very Bad Thing....

I introduced A to the joys of retail therapy. Bad, bad, bad Mommy! Retail therapy has caused me more problems over the years than I care to think about. I am trying very hard to break this particular habit. But there is something about buying a little something new...even just a new tube of lipstick or a new makeup brush...that lifts my spirits more than anything but chocolate. Lots of chocolate.

The Science Fair judging did not go as well as A had hoped, and as well as we thought it would go. She's very used to being #1 at everything she does. She worked SO hard on her project and did it all herself (other than being reminded a few times to water the plants and get to work on the project). Her display board and notebook were organized and looked great...her data was collected and analyzed and displayed...everything was well-written and I know she did well in her interview. Her teacher was convinced she was going to get a first-place ribbon, and told A that. A and I were, of course, also convinced she would get a first place ribbon.

She got a second place ribbon. She was SO upset, as were her science teacher and I. What really frustrated A more than anything is that two kids in her school who got first-place ribbons falsified their data because they didn't do some or all of their experiments, and several kids had parents who did the project for them. (We don't do that in our family!) Another girl got first place for a project that was A's original idea (after A decided on the project she ended up doing, this other girl asked A if she could have A's first idea, and A said yes). The project didn't require much effort at all. But it got a first-place ribbon. A was upset that she didn't get a first place award and get to go to State, but she was really, really upset that kids who "broke the rules" and some who did really easy experiments got awards and recognition. And for a really competitive person, it is terribly hard to watch someone cheat and then win, or someone put in less effort and win. *Sigh*

I tried saying everything I could think of to be encouraging and supportive. So did her science teacher (who is an absolute doll and we love her to death and she told me she is hoping this experience doesn't turn Alyssa off to science and that she wants to help her do an absolutely incredible, amazing project next year with working in a local university science lab with expensive equipment and everything). Nothing helped A feel better. I offered glazed doughnuts with sprinkles, ice cream, etc. We went and watched her baby cousin, N, get his first haircut (so adorable!). This was one of those disappointments that was not going to go away easily. Not after so many, many weeks of hard work.

And then I decided to indulge her, just a tiny bit, in my favorite form of self-soothing. Retail therapy.

Bad, bad, bad Mommy. I surprised her on the way home with a quick trip to one of her favorite stores and bought her two shirts. In my defense, both were on an absolutely amazing clearance sale...but still...not a good habit to introduce a preteen girl to!

And after the retail therapy, we got milkshakes. Because a little chocolate, ice cream, and whipped cream is almost as good as retail therapy.

It is a hard lesson to learn...that disappointment will come and we can't always come in first place, no matter how hard we try and how much we want it. It's something I struggle with all the time. How I wish I could promise my girls that they will never experience disappointment. Oh, how I wish. But how you handle disappointment...how you pick yourself up and again, trying even harder the next time...how you move on to the next challenge with a smile on your face...that is what matters. Just keep moving forward, A. And know that Mama and Daddy love you and are very proud of you.

Thoughts on Beauty

We watched the Miss America pageant last night. We know Miss Georgia from church (and she went to high school with my sister). We thought she should have won. At any rate...

During the introductions, B commented that only one girl in the pageant had red hair and "she's ugly." B has red hair. It has been a sore spot with her lately. Even though she's only in 2nd grade, "fitting in" is incredibly important to her and, according to her, she is the only child in the entire 2nd grade with red hair. And green eyes. Double whammy, in her book. She thinks it's horrible and she wants to be a blue-eyed blonde. Or anything else but a green-eyed redhead. Never mind the fact that we think she's gorgeous, and we get comments all the time when we're out about how pretty she is. She thinks she is ugly and it's getting to the point where she's worrying about it a lot more than a 2nd grader should worry about her looks. She has also commented on her weight. She's SO thin...definitely doesn't need to lose weight...but she has made comments in the past few months about not being thin enough. Have I mentioned that she's only in 2nd grade??

DH and I have tried really hard to help our girls understand that inner beauty is so much more important than external looks. That beauty is SO subjective, and God created them in His image and that alone makes them beautiful. We have tried hard not to fixate on how they look. I fear, however, that I have passed along my insecurities and eating/body image issues to them. I worry so much -- too much -- about how I look. I've spent most of my life thinking I wasn't pretty enough, tall enough, thin enough, smart enough...that I wasn't anything "enough." I've gotten over some of that, but I'm still very self-conscious about how I look. The girls hear me commenting on my appearance and I think it's rubbed off on them.

What is beauty, anyway? What one person finds attractive may be a total turn-off to someone else. And vice versa. In some Polynesian cultures, large overweight women are thought to be beautiful. In some cultures, the curvier a woman is, the more beautiful she is thought to be. In our culture, we are fixated on tall and thin. What causes these differences? What causes a person to be attracted to certain features over others? And why does it matter so much to us? Why are we so hard on ourselves and our own appearances? Do we realize what we're doing to our daughters?

I realize it now...what I've done to my girls...more than I ever have before. If I want them to accept themselves and have good self-esteem, I need to do the same for myself. If I want my girls to stop having negative thoughts about their bodies and their appearance, I need to stop voicing those thoughts about myself.

It really is a vicious cycle...one I was hoping to break with my girls...apparently I haven't been successful.

Bragging on my Kiddos

It's my blog, and I can brag if I want to.

A was named Middle School Student Athlete of the Semester for our county. Yea!! She really is an excellent student. She's in the gifted program and gets very, very high grades. If a report card grade is below 95% it's cause for concern! I'm thrilled that she enjoys school and is doing well. Her Daddy obviously gets all of the credit for her athletic ability. I don't have an athletic bone in my body! She played softball for the first time this year and was her school team's pitcher. She's very competitive and eager to learn and improve. We're very proud of her.

In other news, she is also a member of her school's Academic Bowl Team, and her team won first place in their regional (?) competition on Saturday. They now move on to the state semifinals. For the first time in a match, she buzzed in first on a toss-up question. She has been to scared of having the wrong answer in the past. This time, she new the answer and buzzed in first, and she got the answer right (it was a biology question -- good thing she got it right since Daddy is a biology teacher!). It was in a critical match against her school's biggest opponent in the academic bowl...and it was the last question of the match and her team really needed to get the toss-up and bonus points to win. And they did. Yea!!

And our sweet B. This week we were talking about her upcoming baptism (she turns 8 in May) and she said she wants her uncle C (my brother) to baptize her. We were a bit surprised as we just assumed she would want Daddy to baptize her. We told her that would be fine, if C wanted to do it and would be able to. He has been inactive in church for several years. She called him on Sunday and asked him. I think he was surprised! I spoke to him and told him that it was entirely her idea and it would mean the world to him. He said he would think about it and I really do think he will. Maybe this will be the impetus he needs to find his faith? I don't know. Last night, B said that she wanted C to do it because it would be good for both of them. When I asked her what she meant, she said that it would be good for her because she would get baptized, and it would be good for C because it might help him want to start going to church again. She is so sweet. She has always had an amazing affinity for all things spiritual and a special ability to feel and understand the Spirit. We are hoping and praying that C will decide he wants to baptize her and do whatever he needs to do to make it happen.

On a worrisome note, however, B's stomach aches have not let up despite following the doctor's recommended high fiber diet and nightly dose of Zantac. The stomach aches definitely seem to be stress-related, or at least exacerbated by stress and anxiety. We're not sure if there is something going on at school that is bothering her or what else might be triggering the stress or anxiety, but there is definitely something going on. It's time to get more aggressive in getting to the bottom of this and finding a solution. She has always been our happy-go-lucky, carefree little girl and to see her struggling with this nearly every day for the last few months is so frustrating and heartbreaking. Please keep her in your prayers.