The Sunday Evening Post

Rachel's Valentine's Day Party

 I had to race to the grocery store right before Rachel's party to get her cards.  I asked Rachel if she would like the butterfly ones.  She said, "No. I want the skullun ones."  She pointed to  hologram cards that had skeletons that changed into guitars with words printed on the cards saying, "You rock!"  I was dismayed, but I was also in a hurry.  Instead on using my skills of persuasion and redirection, I bought the rocker cards.  While Rachel passed out her cards I sheepishly explained the cards to the other moms saying that I didn't have time to persuade and I didn't want to fight. 

 I was puzzled and a little troubled with her choice until she was talking about it to Isaiah later on that day.  She told him, "I bought the skulluns playing violins!"  So, she thought the electric guitars were her lovely violins!  That made me feel much better.  When I got to thinking about it, skeletons aren't so weird for her either.  When your daddy is a doctor and is constantly studying at home, skeletons aren't representative of the dregs of humanity.  Rather, they are a fascinating part of each of us worth intense study. 

 After yet another  Sunday of Rachel refusing to stay in Nursery without her mother (at three years old), I decided it is time for me to try to teach her the skill of not being with her mom.  One way I did that was to take her to My Gym to try out at class.  She was terrified at first.

 

 But, eventually she loved it!

By the end she threw a fit when we had to leave. 

I would sign her up, but I found a less expensive way to accomplish the same goal.  I found a friend at church that is willing to teach gymnastics one day a week and I will teach preschool to the girls one day a week.  Maybe in Philly we will do a little class for her.

Isaiah's Class

 I took this picture of Isaiah with his class to give to the teacher for Teacher Appreciation Week.   We also had Isaiah's Valentine's Day party in his class. We did a rotation of games, crafts, and food.  I ran the food table.  I had each child take a turn to being in the hot seat, but we called it the heart seat.  They had a crown of hearts that we put on their head and we went around the table so that each child could say something that was wonderful about the child in the heart seat.  It has been fun this year to be the room mom.

Our high point this week was going to the Children's Museum.

 

 

Our other high point was that this week was Mark and my anniversary.  We have been married for 11 years!  Our low point was all of the messes that the kids made while I was trying to cook our special meal.  Here is one that William made.  He was so quiet behind me that I forgot about him.  He had gotten into the fridge, pulled down the container of beans, opened it, and began to happily eat them.  He loves beans. 

Rachel Turns 3

Rachie trying to warm up by sipping hot cocoa at the zoo.

 This week when I tried to clean Rachie's ears with a q-tip and she screamed, "Don't floss my ears!"  I liked that use of the word floss.  Floss-when Mom takes away your personal space to do something intrusive and uncomfortable.






Rachel turned three!  On the day of her birthday we celebrated at home. 

 Breakfast was pancakes in the shape of threes and a miniature cake.  We sang Happy Birthday and unwrapped presents.   She was absolutely enthralled with a little toy house with furnishings and people.  We literally played with that all day long with that toy.

On Friday we celebrated with a tea party with her cousins.  It was so fun.  It was Aunt Kristen that made it truly wonderful with all of  her entertaining flair.  I love that woman.  I love her generosity, her sincerity, and all of her cute dishes. 


I had been saving this dress for months for this party.  Of course this week she fell on the sidewalk and skinned her nose. 

After the party we played games at the park.  We were driving home from the park after a fun and full day, but Isaiah was devastated that he didn't have a chance to play Skylanders.  We turned back to Kristen to play for another 3 hours.

I love Rachel so much.  I thought of that today when I had to take her out of Sacrament Meeting for her naughty behavior.  She was mad at me for something. She was crying and saying in a loud voice that I was being mean.  I kept trying to hush her to no avail.  Finally, in her fury she cocked her arm, threatening to throw her My Little Pony.  Unfortunately it wasn't just an idle threat and the pink pony went sailing.  Up to that point I put off taking her outside because I was alone with the kids on the pew and didn't want to do it.  ( Mark was just released from the Bishopric so he would have been sitting with me, but because he was speaking he was on the stand.) The flying pony motivated me. I left Isaiah, put William on my hip, and with the free hand took her by the hand to sit on her own chair in the foyer.   Trying to show her that I meant business, I sat her on her own chair in the foyer while I sat on the couch.  She was fuming at first, but eventually she wanted to sit on my lap.  I sat looking at her in the foyer and thought to myself, "You are exactly what I wanted."  I felt two emotions simultaneously:  firmness and determination to teach her and amusement and love.  I didn't want a girl that didn't need a mother. I wanted a normal girl that would be amazingly sweet as well as demanding the best of me. I wanted a real child that needed a real mother.   A real mother to me is someone that yes bakes delicious things, reads inspiring books, plays fun games, but who also loves enough to teach the hard lessons.

I wish that I would have felt that love and amusement on Saturday when I was making her clean up her board books.  She threw a book not thinking where it would go and it hit me in the eye.  I was livid.  I was outraged.  It hurt so bad I cried.  She didn't mean to do it and didn't understand. What could I do but explain to her what happened?  It didn't seem fair.  I was sure I would get a black eye.  I wanted a black eye so that I could tell Mark and my friends that love me, "Look what happened to me!"


Rachie fell asleep for her Sunday nap while she was watching her Sunday movie

Isaiah guarding his opponent in Junior Jazz.

Isaiah thought that fast Sunday last week should actually be called slow Sunday.  By the end, he was moaning on the couch and eventually fell asleep.  I told him that he could break his fast with me (I broke my fast at 3:30 because I am nursing), but he didn't want anything to  do with that idea.  He wanted to go the full 24 hours.

William hasn't had any food reactions for a while.  I have even started to try to eat some of the foods that he is allergic to and I haven't noticed any reaction.  I wouldn't dare feed anything to him that he is allergic to, but it is nice to have some more freedom on my side.  Peanut butter and jelly never tasted so good.

A Week in Review

Master I

Isaiah is doing really well at basketball.  It is so fun to watch to him play.  I remember watching my older brothers play and praying for them that they would win.  I literally remember pleading with God to help them to win the game while I had knots in my stomach.  I even remember fantasizing that Coach Barker would turn to me,   put me in the game, and that I would win the game for my brother's team.    Now, just years later, I feel the same excitement, fear, and hope as I watch my own boy play.  Only I don't fantasize about the coach putting me in the game.

Rachel's stories from the week

I took Rachel to see the violin store.  She loves the violin.  I remember when she was really young she looked at one and said quietly, but with longing, "That is my favorite."  Ever since then I have wanted to put her in lessons to see if it really would be a love of hers on not just something she said one day.  So far, she has consistently loved the violin.

I told Rachel the other day, "You are my angel."  She furrowed her eyebrows together and said, "I am not an angel!  Look at my back, "she said while showing me her back.  "I don't got any wings.  I am not an angel.   We need to go to the store to get me some wings."

After going out to do an activity together we came home for naps. I thought that Rachel followed me up the stairs but she didn't.  I waited for her to come up, but she was totally silent and didn't come up for a while. Finally, I called downstairs for her to come up.  She said, "Okay, but I was starving for this."  Then it all clicked...the prolonged silence downstairs, her not coming to me.  She found a treat.  She appeared in my room holding 2 large slices of banana bread  and repeated herself emphatically, "I was starving for this!"

Yesterday Rachie wanted to wear my coat and walk around the house.  She had a lot of fun, but I got worried that she was going to get it dirty so I asked if I could take it off of her.  She said, "No!  I was starving for this!"

William

Here is racing up the stairs and looking back at me with a big smile because he knows he is doing something naughty.  He loves that I chase after him.  He goes for those stairs at top speed and then smiles at me.

Unfortunately, he got a lot quicker this week.  I took him  downstairs to the kitchen with me and started talking to Rach about something.   In not time at all he raced out of my room and up the stairs.  When I realized he wasn't with me and went searching for him.  Luckily, I got to him before he fell all the way down.  He fell down maybe 3 stairs. The sickening thud of him banging against the step and seeing his somersault down the stairs was enough to scare me into being extra careful.


"Mister Twister" is the perfect baby.  Well, for me anyway.  He is so happy as long as I am holding him.  He loves my affection and attention.  However, he is also happy to play on his own and is an active, curious boy.  He started walking and standing at 10 months.  He is active, yet cuddly--the perfect combination.

Family Update

Isaiah opened up his own restaurant on Saturday morning underneath the desk. The chess table was the cashier's register.


 His sign was inspired by all of the awards at Cafe Rio.

I love these creative, spontaneous days of childhood.

A conversation I overheard between Isaiah and Rachel:

Isaiah: "So, my most beloved sister, how much money are you making these days?"

Rachel: Pauses because she is puzzled, then answers honestly, "I don't know."

Isaiah: Rolls his eyes and turns to me to ask, "What should I tell her to say?"

Mandy: "I don't know if we should teach her what to say because it is actually considered really rude to ask someone how much money they make. But, did you know that in Japan there is a city that it isn't rude? That is actually how they greet each other. Instead of saying, 'Hi, how are you doing?' They say, 'How much money do you make?'"

Isaiah: "Ahhhh! Can we go to Japan?"

That boy loves money.

Mark's Birthday

Isaiah wanted to give something really good to his dad.  What he settled on was giving his dad all of his money so that they could go out to dinner together. It is so important to me to celebrate our birthdays in our family. Every year Mark tries to get out of it, but I tell him it isn't for him, it is for our family.  It is for our kids.  Give them a chance to express their love  and you have given them a gift. I want to creat a family culture where we celebrate and show love for each other.

Rachie Rach was crying to me that she needed to call her Grandma. She said, "My Grandma needs me! Her misses me!"

When we were leaving Granny Wilcox's house last week. Rachel turned to Isaiah and said, "Her is really nice. Granny is really nice."

For Rachel's bedtime story I told her about her upcoming birthday. She is going to have a tea party with her cousins. I told her about what we were going to do and who was going to come. But she soon started to ask if her imaginary friends sere going to go like Squirrel Nutkin and all her letters (from the Letter Factory). Then she asked if her grandparents were going to be able to come by saying excitedly, "And Grandma?! And Grandpa?! They are my best friends!" I don't know what it was that we did to have Isaiah and Rachel feel that there was no better friends than their grandparents and their cousins. Maybe we didn't do anything at all. Maybe it was just natural. However it happened, I am so grateful for it.

William is walking!!! He is 10 months old and has just learned to stand. Right after learning to stand he tried to take steps and hasn't stopped since. No coaxing from me, no two parents on the ground to try to walk between. He just did it on his own. He has fallen many times, but he is totally undeterred.

Family Update

Master I has started playing basketball through a league for kids his age called Junior Jazz. Mark has been playing basketball with Isaiah about once a week teaching him drills, skills, and just playing with him. Mark has marveled at how different Master I's temperment is in this setting. Heis grateful for any teaching and any correction and he tries as hard as he can. He doesn't see Mark as his enemy, but rather as his great helper. He is constantly telling me how awesome his dad is at basketball. He will say to me, "Wouldn't it be awesome if I could be my age and have Dad's skills and knowledge about basketball?" I had an experience with Master I that shows his total humility, desire to be taught, and willingness to do whatever he is told on the basketball court. Mark has taught him how to play defense by gaurding his opponent. He sticks to his opponent like honey. He is really good. But, we noticed that he didn't know where the ball was because he had is eye on the guy that he was gaurding. Mark tried to correct him by telling him that while it was really good that he was keeping an eye on the guy he was gaurding, that he needed to be looking at the ball out of the corner of his eye so that he always knew where the ball was. So Master I tried the drill again. I was the one holding the ball and Master I was trying to guard Mark. Trying to implement Mark's counsel he turned his face to me instead because I had the ball. But the next part was the part that killed me. When Mark said "out of the corner of your eye" of course he was meaning in the periphery of your vision. But, Master I didn't know what that meant. So he tried to look at me, the ball holder, out of the corner of his eye. His eyes were pointed up and in the right hand corner. He had to have his face turned sideways so that he could still see me out of the corner of his eye. I started laughing so hard. If I want to make Mark laugh all I have to do is imitate that same look. Miss R's new thing is ballet. She loves to watch videos on Youtube and to try to imitate their moves. Here she is practicing her moves

Here Master I is making fun and trying to be a part of the pictures.

One of my New Year's goals was to take time to play with her everyday and read to her. I try to do this, but I get busy and somedays pass by without me doing this. I don't want to miss out on the joy that I can give her and the relationship that I know that I can build with her. Today for our play we got her babies dressed in new outfits, fed them bottles, wrapped them in blankets, and sang "Baby Mine" to them. Then we went to her play kitchen to make them food. We used play dough to roll out and cut shapes with little cookie cutters and then pretended to bake it in the oven. My little help in giving her ideas of what she could do was absolutely wonderful to her. She loved it. I loved her and loved my time with her today.

Master W's new found love is avacado and applesauce. He will eat sweet potatoes, pears, strawberries, blueberries, peas, green bean, rice, potatoes, and puffs. But, it isn't consistent that he will always eat those things. But, avacado and applesuace is a major winner. Following the advice of a friend, I buy the Costco bag and then when they are ripe I slice and freeze them. I am grateful that he loves avacado. His pediatric allergist recommended it to me because it is so high in fat and he needs other sources of fat since he can't have any dairy products.

Master W still loves to be held. When I am cooking in the kitchen he comes up behind me, grabs on to the back of my pants, and stands up. It totally traps me. I know that if I move he will fall. My only option is to hold him. I asked Mark to hold him once last week while I was cooking dinner. Mark suggested that I just put him on the ground. I thought to myself, "Yah, why do I feel like I have to hold him all the time?" But, then as the week went on I realized Master W's dirty trick of how he traps me. My wheat grinder broke this week when I went to grind wheat to make bread. I had mixed emotions. Actually, to be totally honest my first feeling was relief that I didn't have to make any more wheat bread. I told Mark the news. He wasn't nearly excited as I was. He loves homemade bread. It is a major staple in our home. I make it at least 4 loaves a week. I guess I should say used to...

Happy Birthday

Eventhough we already celebrated Master I's birtday earlier in the month, we couldn't let the day go by without celebrating so we had presents, fun activities, and a breakfast cake with candles for breakfast. Mark said this was the last year that we were going to celebrate any other day except for the actual day of birth because we always just celebrate twice when we do it that way.

We also got to be with Mark's mom for her birthday. I lover her. I consider her to be one of my best friends.

This is my last post of the Christmas break activities. My journaling about these activites made me feel so relieved. I felt like, "I did it!" We did Master I's classroom party, we pulled off our Christmas Eve family party, we gave some of our old toys to friends, we got the presents for everyone to make for a magical Christmas Day, we celebrated birthdays, we cleaned the house, we welcome family to visit us, we did the Christmas Day Sacrament Meeting program, we did Master I's baptism, we celebrated New Year's. It was challenging to do these things in addition to the regular cooking, cleaning, and nurturing of everyday life. But, I believe in all of this work. This is my job; these are my projects. The words that have come into my mind were from the General Relief Society President Julie Beck, "Families mean work, but they are our great work--and we are not afraid of work."

Of course right after I was finished typing this Master I came in and asked me a question to test me.

Master I: "You know that canteloupe that you cut up and put in that bowl. Did you need it for anything, because I just had a little of it."

Me: "Yah. It's for dinner so don't eat any more ok?"

Master I: "I ate it all."

Me: "You ate the whole canteloupe?"

Master I: "Just what was in that bowl."

Me: "That was the whole canteloupe."

Nevermind that I already gave him popcorn and a cut up mango for his snack. That homework can really cause hunger I guess.