How talented are we?

 
At breakfast the other day AnnaLisa asked me (again)if she could start taking lessons again. Just to give a bit of history, she took lessons about a year or so ago, but had difficulty with daily practice and thought she was doing better than her skill was (she wanted to pass of songs very quickly, without mastering them). So we decided she was a little too young and waited. We had already discussed this a few times this spring/summer and felt like we would try it again this fall. So I jumped on the teaching moment, "Well, I don't know, you did not practice daily last time. Are you willing to do that this time?"

"Yes mom."

Ok, I tell her I will let her. Now Andrew jumps in, "Can I take lessons too?". I repeat the conversation about daily practice, etc. He agrees to that as well. I tell him I will check with the piano teacher to see. He tells me who it is that is "the" piano teacher (I actually have a few friends who teach piano, but since he picks the one AnnaLisa tried last time, and I was planning on using, then I agree with him.

Then AnnaLisa informs me that after she learns the piano, she wants to learn the violin. (OK, I think I am sort of cultured, and Jeff more so than I, but where is this kid getting these ideas? Then Andrew agrees (he has always loved the violin when played by someone who has great skill, but I hesitate to think how he would handle the screechy beginnings of learning violin). Then without missing a beat, he tells me and when I learn how to do that I will learn how to play organ so I can replace Brother Blake (the man at church who plays the organ). Right now I am calculating the cost of maintenancing piano, buying two violins, and then an organ. Then Andrew says, "Grandma and Grandpa Williams have an organ right?".

That is when I come up with the new stategy - send off Andrew to live with my parents and then I can afford lessons, instruments, etc for my other child.

Where did these kids come from?

 

While I like to frolic in the water as much as the next person, there is one part of water play that does not appeal to me at all. It is diving. I don't like getting water in my face, don't like slaming into water, and I don't like stepping, jumping or falling off into nothing, and then waiting to hit the water. Right now part of our life feels like this.

As we wait for the final few months of this pregnancy, there are a few more unknowns than normally we would have. Believe it or not, cars is one of these unknowns. After we found out that we really were having twins (our kids tried to warn us), the thought that first uttered from our lips was "our car will not be big enough. How will we get them home from the hospital?"

Now the reality is that we have a 7 passenger mini-van and a 5 passenger PT Cruiser. So over all we have enough space, it just requires two drivers/cars. While we have discussed about every size and type of car that would be big enough for 8 people, we have settled in on getting a 12 passenger van. I know that may sound excessive, but we realized that if we don't, we would be back to the issue of taking two cars whenever we wanted a friend/relative to come along. So this weekend, for some crazy reason, Jeff was on-line (no that is not the crazy part) but he found two 12 passenger vans that would work real well for us. With a little bit of luck, we could almost "trade-across" in value the Cruiser for the van, which would mean almost no out of pocket expense for us. So here is the part that feels like "jumping off a diving board" I think we have decided to put the cruiser up for sale on Monday. We know that neither of these two vans could end up being for sale by the time we sell Jeff's cruiser, but we feel like this is the next step for us. This may mean car pooling or me not having a car during the day (imagine that, in America having a one-car family. YIKES!!!) But it would allow us to not have to take on any more debt, make sure the cruiser sells (like we would need three cars!), and would help us be better prepared.

Now I know what you are all thinking, a van?! That is not a sexy car. True, but I think the highest priority for us is for our family to be together. We enjoy going to the store on Saturday's to go shopping together (yes the whole family, and yes, it is not always a peaceful thing), we like finding parks to play at, or going on an annual family vacation that could be as far as a 22 hour drive (one-way). I guess this just goes back to what we value as a family. We want to make being together easy and comfortable. When we travel we don't want to hold our luggage on our laps or have it under our feet. We are aware that travel often requires gear whether it is tents and sleeping bags or play-n-packs and bulk boxes of diapers! So we gave up the idea of a sexy car a long time ago and decided that we would go for the fun for the family, I-am-thankful-no-one-is-sitting-on-my-lap car.

AnnaLisa's Father's Day talk

 

AnnaLisa did a great job on her talk. We started the day before (unless you count her going to the Primary Presidency the week before to ask if she could give a talk - see previous blog) by answering the question, What do daddies do? AnnaLisa answered it and I wrote down her answers. She did a great job with comments like: (Daddies) take care of us, play with us, help with the cooking, like to be with us. I thought these were great responses, but I wanted to share with her that The Family: A Proclomation to the World also teaches us what fathers do. So we read in there (I had a well studied copy that I had underlined the different responsibilities of family members (dads, moms, and children) in different colors to make it easier to understand. Then next to each I made a bullet point list for easy reference. For Fathers I had noted: 1)Preside over the family, 2)Provide for the family and 3)they protect the family. As we read through these AnnaLisa put all of her ideas in one of the first two categories. At the end we did not have anything for the third category, so she chose to add in, "Daddy's protect us from bad guys".

We then talked a little bit about how our Heavenly Father, Father, and Grandfather (Grandpa Williams happen to be visiting that weekend) help us. She told personal comments about both Daddy and Grandpa. Then she closed with saying that while not everyone had a daddy here or right now, we all have a Heavenly Father watching over us.

I think it was a really good talk. Basic(she was sharing it with kids 3-12 years old), honest, and simple.

With the reflection of Father's Day, I am really thankful for my Father and Father-in-law. They have both been great influences in my life. I am most of all thankful to my husband Jeff who is a great father and encourages me so much to be a great mother. I sometimes feel that it does not come naturally to me, but I don't think there is a better thing for me to develop than being a good mom for my kids.

Arizona Summer, no AC, a blessing?

 
Monday afternoon I was having a tough time with the heat only to find out that it was not me, it really was in the high 80's in my house. We checked the breakers and decided to call our AC guy. He said he would be out the next morning (it was around 7:00 pm). We decided with the kids in bed that we would just open the windows and pull out a couple of oscillating fans (that we keep handy for out-of-town guests). We survived the night, but Tuesday, my birthday, morning greeted us being less than restful. I called a friend, Becky, whom I had plans with her kids that morning and explained our situation. She welcomed us over for the morning and all day if needs be. The kids were thrilled, I was relieved (my patience dwindles in heat). So we had an in-town vacation at their house. I came back around 9:30 and slept until the AC guy got here. He checked it out and a valve had broken. He said he would replace it (it was still under warranty) and be back later that day. I asked him about something else that our AC was doing (tripping the fuse a lot) that did not seem connected, but was still concerning. He agreed that was a problem and said he would check the electrical after he fixed the valve.

He came back that evening after getting the part and checked the electrical. He said that it was the fuse that needed to be replaced. He said he could charge the $275 to change it, or he could show us what to do and we could do it. It was rather basic and took about 5 minutes to do once we bought the part (which was $8.50). So know we know how to change those fuses and saved $260, plus he said that it was damaging the AC unit and was 'just a matter of time' before it broke the AC.

So while I would not volunteer to have no AC for two days, it helped us to find a problem that was really easy to solve with a little direction from someone who knew more, and saved us major repairs (think a long the line of x $1000) in the long run. I can't help but apply this to trials, God, and how he teaches us. I look back at trials and the ones that I opened myself up to learning I have been able to not only fix that problem, but have had valuable other lessons learned which saved me major grief in the long run. So often we hear people complain about trials, we rarely hear about those lessons learned from them and the blessings that always accompany those trials!

If she doesn't kill me, then I will die from laughing so hard

 

MaggieMae loves to cut. She is the first child I have had that picked up a pair of scissors on her own. My other three were so developmentally delayed, they were 3 years old and in preschool before they ever laid their hands on a pair of scissors. I just assumed that kids did not learn how to cut with scissors until three. Well, MaggieMae started about 2 months ago, so that would make her 20 months old. She would get scissors and I would give her 3 x 5 cards and she would cut them up - not trying to make anything, just enjoying the opportunity to cut. She would have a pile of confetti afterwards, but she enjoyed it.

Now with two months under her belt, she insists on being involved with cutting whenever possible. She loves Ramen noodles for lunch and will grab the scissors and insist on cutting it open (which is fine with me). We keep the office supplies in a kitchen drawer that is above her head, but which if she grabs a stool she can easily get into.

Tonight was when the problem began. I was making pizza and I had bought a "pizza package" from Boboli - not as good as homemade pizza, but these days I am going for least effort with reasonable nutrition (we will probably be in that mode for at least the next year). I grabbed my kitchen scissors to open the packages, and MaggieMae guessed that I needed an assistant. She moved the stool, opened the drawer, and found the scissors. She then scooted her stool over to where I was making the pizza (usually I let the kids help, but I was a little low energy today, so I decided to let them veg watching PBS and I would make dinner). Well she hops up with scissors in hand to cut away. She is distracted by pepperoni and Canadian bacon. She asks for bites. Then comes out the pineapple, she wants more, so I get her a dish and scoop up a bit for her to munch on at the table and put the scissors away. I finish the first pizza, put it in. Start on the second pizza. MaggieMae has finished the pineapple and eventually wonders off (I might get dinner done before Jeff gets home). Suddenly AnnaLisa shouts no! and runs over to me. She shows me the scissors (that I took away and put back in the drawer 5 minutes ago) and tells me that MaggieMae was trying to cut the blanket. I roll my eyes. What am I going to do with this girl?

I put the scissors up on top of the fridge - all 5 pairs. About two minutes later MaggieMae has scooted the stool back under the scissor drawer and has the drawer open. She is looking, her head moving back and forth, and repeating "Hmmm, hmmm, hmmm...". She can't find the scissors and give up.

I am just laughing and realize this girl is going to kill me one way or the other. I don't know if I can keep up with her, so I guess I will just have to let go and laugh at her.

Anybody want a cute redhead?...real cheap - comes with her own scissors!

How big can I get????

Well a couple of weeks ago I started growing out of some of my old maternity clothes. I was also getting the stretching feeling that I have had the last month of pregnancy. So curious (I know it killed the cat) I measured myself - 42 inches. Hmmm, before MaggieMae was born I topped out at 45 inches, I'll have to keep an eye on that.

The next week, measured again - 43 inches.
The following week, measured 44 inches.

Did not have the guts to measure the next week. I have put it off for 10 days. Finally tonight I was having really bad stretching pain (it feels like my inside is larger than my outside and is trying to get out). So Jeff ran and got the measuring tape and yep, 46 1/2 inches. So I guess I am increasing in rate. Don't these kids know anything about physics? You add an inch to the circumference and it dramatically increases the area. For example, bedroom measuring 10 x 10 (100 sq feet) is 21 square feet smaller than a bedroom that is 11 x 11(121 sq feet). And if you increase it to 12 x 12 (144 sq ft)? That is 44 square feet larger than a 10 x 10 room and almost 50% bigger.

Now I graduated in Fine Art (my husband was the math minor) but I am not sure that I can physically become 50% larger over the next three months. And that is the other scary thing, I still have three more months to go! That is one third of the pregnancy...Wow, this is depressing, I think I am going to go eat some chocolate.