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?

The Children I Chose to Have

One of the blogs I read daily posted a link to this http://www.guardian.co.uk/family/story/0,,2030155,00.html article. I enjoyed reading it and it gave me a fresh perspective on the challenge, rollercoaster, journey, and joy that is Motherhood. While the author says she is happy with the decision she and her husband have made, the last paragraph of the article betrays her heart.

One of my other favorite bloggers has been posting over the last couple of weeks about her and her husband's journey through infertility, adoption, and subsequent pregnancy. If you haven't taken time to read Kristie's blog http://www.notquitewhatihadplanned.blogspot.com/, you must! She will make you laugh, cry, laugh some more, and think. While we haven't been through the extensive journey she and her husband went through to have children, we have had our own share of bumps in the road. So has my sister M.

I've thought about the decision to have, or not have, children quite a bit lately. Quite a bit. Some might say I've thought about it too much. Others might say I haven't thought about it enough. But it's been weighing heavily on my mind.

Our decision to have children was not taken lightly. Neither was Kristie's. Neither is my sister's, or my other two sisters. It was something we prayed about and wanted so badly. I cannot imagine life without my children. It is, as the author of the first article wrote, a "firework-exciting, chaotic rollercoaster ride with the most joy-giving little creature(s) imaginable." What a ride, indeed.

My heart goes out to those who experience the heartache of infertility. But my heart also aches for those who consciously choose not to have children. Those who choose to cut themselves off from a precious life full of joy, laughter, love, snuggles, sticky hugs, fingerprints on the furniture, crayon on the walls, craziness, frantic schedules, lack of sleep, and even pain and tears. Anyone who says parenthood does not involve pain and tears is lying. But the pain and tears are, at least in my experience, compensated by joy, laughter, and love. I understand why some people choose not to have children. Just the same, I know they are missing out on something wonderful. Something hard, but wonderful. I know we learn a lot about Heavenly Father and his infinite capacity for unconditional love, forgiveness, and mercy by being parents.

So today I am grateful for the children my husband and I chose to have. We wish we had more children. Sometimes things don't work out the way we planned, hoped, or dreamed. But I am grateful every day of my life for the children we chose to have and the countless ways they have blessed my life. I love you, A and B.

Can I take a nap now?

Whew...I'm tired.

We went on a family shopping trip Friday night and found Easter dresses for the girls. The girls and I enjoyed ourselves. DH did not, LOL! Saturday was our ward's youth temple trip and I ended up going. We had a nice trip and several of the kids were able to do temple work for their own families, which is always a neat experience. Got home from that and took A and two of her friends shopping. It was fun and I enjoyed spending time with them. One of A's friends loves marshmallow Peeps (gross!) and she bought one package in every single color they had at the store (7 packages). I think her Mom might want to strangle me!

Sunday was an insane day. I went to Ward Council, then church, then choir, then rehearsal for something else...left the house at 7:15 and got home at 2:15. Then had to be back at church at 6:30 for a recognition event for one of the girls in youth group. It was a really event and I'm glad I was able to participate. But it made for a very long day.

I had a frustrating day at church, though. I normally don't speak up in meetings (especially Sunday School) unless I feel very strongly about something. Well, I spoke up in two separate meetings on Sunday and both times, a particular person vehemently disagreed with what I said and contributed...without allowing me to clarify myself. It was not pleasant and I was, to say the least, quite upset about it. I have noticed that there are some people in this world who don't appreciate women with strong opinions. There are more than a few at church. It left a very bad taste in my mouth.

Monday was dress rehearsal for the school play. We learned that it will definitely take more than the time allotted for us to get hair and makeup done on the entire cast....the cast is much bigger than I thought it was! Today is another dress rehearsal so we'll see how it goes.

B is still thoroughly enjoying soccer and had fun in their scrimmage game yesterday. She is also anxiously awaiting the arrival of her reading glasses (yes, she needs reading glasses) and she said that having her glasses might help her enjoy reading again. I hope so!

M is enjoying coaching season being over but now he's spending a lot of time in the car, chauffering the kids around to their activities. Welcome to my world, dear! He really doesn't enjoy being on the go so much. I do. Just another way that we're opposites.

I have some shopping to do for the school play and both girls need new shoes. They are growing SO fast right now...it's unbelievable. New clothes they received for Christmas, not even a full 3 months ago, are already too short/too small.

A dear friend of mine has been badly mistreated at work and I feel so very sad for this person and the things they have had to/are having to endure. Let me tell you this much -- the title "Department of Justice" is definitely not an appropriate name for that federal agency. I have never seen such injustice, mistreatment, and mismanagement in my life.

Yes, I'm still here....

It's been a very busy week and, honestly, there hasn't been much blog fodder this week. Basketball season is over and DH is satisfied with the result. Soccer season started last week (B loves it!) and A's softball season begins later this month. So we're still on the go...nonstop running hither and yon which I love and DH really does not love.

B's school had an art show fundraiser recently and we were able to buy one of her lovely creations, beautifully matted and framed. It's kind of a collage-y type piece in fall colors (the title is Fall Leaves, I believe) with some metallic gold in it. Quite textural and really very pretty. I'm not just saying that because I'm her mother, really. The only problem now is where to actually hang the artwork!

A's school drama production is rapidly approaching and I will be helping with hair and makeup again this year. Fortunately this year's production has mostly human characters in it (unlike last year's cast which was full of animals) so makeup should be simple and straightforward. The person doing costumes for the play made a sleeveless dress (sundress?) for A's character and A asked her this week, on her own initiative, if it would be possible to either put sleeves in the dress or for us to buy a white shrug or cardigan she can wear over it because, as she told her teacher, she is not comfortable in clothing like that. I'm really proud of her for speaking up for herself and sticking to her values.

Tomorrow I'm going on the youth temple trip. A can't go because of a prior commitment. I was actually hoping to spend the day doing things that have fallen through the cracks because we've been so busy lately, but duty calls. Not that I don't enjoy going to the temple...I just really, really need to get things done at home, run some errands, etc.

We're Still Here....

As most of you know, a storm system moved through the southeast last night. It was not fun. Tornadoes, high winds, rain, hail, etc. My heart aches for the city of Enterprise, Alabama. We were fortunate here...although we were under a tornado warning for some time in our county, no tornadoes touched down. DH was at a basketball game last night so it was just me and the girls. We went to my parents' house for a few hours and kept a careful eye on the weather. We went home and I tried to put the girls to bed but the storm was loud and they were nervous...as was I...so there wasn't much sleeping going on. I kept calling my Dad to make sure everything was o.k. because the local news channel kept saying to take shelter because of the tornado warnings. I wasn't sure if I should herd the girls (and the dog) into the bathroom in the middle of the house, or if we were far enough away from the danger spots that I didn't need to do that and make them (and myself) even more nervous. A was quite nervous and was very relieved when DH got home. So was I. And the dog....that darn dog kept running through the house whining, whimpering, and howling. Ugh.

Some surrounding counties were hit hard. I am so thankful that we were not.

Last night made me very, very thankful that we live so close to family. Spending time with them last night watching American Idol (and keeping an eye on the weather) helped keep the girls and me calm and somewhat distracted. It was very comforting to know that my Dad was just a phone call away, a couple of minutes away by car if we needed him, or that I could grab the girls and get to my parents' house quickly.

Last night my sister was doing some kind of quiz that is supposed to predict life span. Apparently I will live to be about 83 years old because I am intense and aggressive...this will reduce my expected life span. Who, me? Intense? Aggressive? Surely not! My daughters kept laughing at me last night because I tend to think I'm more easy-going so I was arguing the point. They disagree -- and think that my arguing the point actually made their point for them. Maybe I am intense about some things...but the nice thing is that I don't let things build up -- I have a momentary explosion and then it's gone and I'm back to calm and easy going. I think. Maybe others would disagree....

Anyway, for today I'm just glad that the storm has passed and it's FRIDAY. Yea!!!