Non-creative, quick update...

Wow...I don't know what to say. I'm already exhausted and Christmas is nowhere near. We've got the lights up, the tree trimmed, the advent house stocked and restocked (Georgi still doesn't understand "no touch!"), the wreaths are set, the house is decorated, presents bought and cards written and ready to mail.

Tanner has taken two finals and has three to go. We are entering what Aggies fondly call, "dead" week. The longer we live here the more aware I become of all the crazy college traditions and how they really do hold sway over this town. We plan Christmas Parties and vacations around whatever the college is doing. It's just a little weird when you're use to being autonomous. I'll suggest a date and someone will invariably say, "You can't do it then, that's Dead Week" or "Fish Camp" or "Ring Dance" as if those terms actually hold meaning.

On a side note, Tanner just got confirmation that he is now officially being officially transfered into upper division Chemical Engineering. Which makes him a SOPHOMORE! Whoop! After 3 years of school, we've finally made it! This means that companies will now consider him for internships during the summer.

This weekend we had our Christmas Show at the rink, and we participated in the Christmas Parade. My back and neck are sore from waving. My mouth is sore from smiling. My feet are sore from standing and running. At least my big weekend is over, and now we've just got to get through finals. Then it's a two week break before Tanner starts the mini-mester.

We're praying about a job for me. We're hoping that I'll be able to support the family so that Tanner can quit his job and just focus on school. I've got two job offers with pro's and con's for each. We just want to know which one would be the best for our family.

Georgi Ice Skates!

Oh, the weather outside is DELIGHTFUL!

I do not need boots, long winter coats, gloves, hats, thick socks or snow pants. I do not hurry from my car, dodging rain or snow. I do not need the heaters turned on or a fire burning in the hearth. I do not have the wintery urge to curl up with a book and a cup of hot tea. I do not feel the need to stock up on butter, bread, crackers or soup. I do not curl my toes in dread before I open my front door.

I live in Texas. It's 73 degrees, and I am sitting with all the windows open after the sun has gone down basking in a light cool breeze. I am not shivering even though I am wearing shorts and a tank top. The kitchen window is open because I used the oven for dinner tonight, and we need to cool the house down. The girls wanted to go swimming this afternoon, but all the pools are closed for the season. Kate complained about wearing a uniform to school because they are sooooo hot! It is a polo with khaki pants. Short sleeved.

The air feels slightly damp, like the type of damp you get in Hawaii during the month of May. Nice and sloppy, it makes you feel like you must be on vacation. I've discovered that I actually enjoy grocery shopping on days like today because it doesn't feel like normal grocery shopping. I feel like I should be buying bottled juice, poptarts and T.V. dinners. Instead I walk out with a gallon of milk, apples, oranges, a bevy of vegetables and stuffing. Wait...oh, yes, it's November. I have to get ready for Thanksgiving, for Black Friday. But Black Friday is easy in Texas. Sixty-five at 4:00am just isn't that cold. I'll still bring some hot chocolate..salted.

Oh, rats!

Seriously. We're talking 4 rats or maybe 5 if you count the one that got away! One dark gray one was slaughtered by our heroic lamb names Annie. 2 white ones were whipped into heaven by traps. 1 fell from the attic to the floor somewhere in a wall and has made occupation of the back half of the house impossible. And the one that got away screamed for 5 minutes at around 3:30am, then dragged the trap to the hole they had made in our wall before freeing itself and scurrying away.

At least we found the hole. And plugged it.

If it isn't rats, it's mice. That's what we dealt with last month. 3 mice.

If it isn't mice it's cockroaches or crickets or fire ants. It's amazing how cool and calm I've become concerning pests. Pests that would have freaked me out 2 years ago are now just minor inconveniences.

Mmmmm...Autumn!

Do you know about those glorious days in Portland? The ones where there is a light breeze, the sun is gentle, white clouds scud across the skies and you feel like taking a walk on the Waterfront or going for a jaunt down Hawthorne -- those days that are so fleeting that you have to grab them when they come, quit work, rearrange schedules and take advantage of every golden moment...

We get those here in Texas. Except that we get about 3 months worth of them in the fall, and another 3 months in the spring. I've got to brag because everyone knows that everything is BIGGER in Texas. So, our golden days are bigger, longer, whatever you might want to call them, and because of them, we forgive the six weeks of unbearable heat that we suffer every summer.

Like today. A long yawn, and we were up at 8:00am, stretched our way to church and then back home via Target, Toys-R-Us and Starbucks. The girls curled up on the couch and read books until a sunbeam made them squint, and then it was shoes and a clamorous rush for the back door. Squeals of laughter followed their jaunt across the yard to play with the lamb and the slide and the swing. It made me wish that I didn't have lessons to teach and dinner to make.

Then one of those ideas came to mind that made the impossible, well, possible. We managed to stretch time so that a walk, a park, and a picnic dinner all fit into a very short hour and a half. All of that accompanied by soft breezes, laughter, running, skipping and talking. It prepped me for lessons, lessons, lessons. A few long goodbyes and it was time for wet, snuggly kisses of freshly laundered children and bedtime.

Yes, we have days like that. Days when a carnival is a tempting treat not a cold, miserable idea. Days that start out with a fresh, crisp breeze and finish like warm chocolate cake. Days where Popsicles melt in the mouth not in the hand. Yes, we have them, lots of them, and we enjoy every single one.

A FUN weekend, but, alas, no pictures!

This was a great weekend for our family. Tanner took Saturday off, and I had two off-site events to go to for AWIC. So, since I was planning to do them solo, we loaded the kids in the car and took 'em with us!

The first event was just down the street at Wolf Pen Creek, and it was called "Wienerfest". No, it wasn't a festival celebrating hot dogs and bratwurst. It celebrated those little wiener shaped dogs. The little tiny, short ones. They had a costume contest, races, best of the breed, etc... The girls were in dog heaven. They probably petted and stroked over a 100 dogs. They watched me hand out countless coupons while Tanner paraded around as Frostbite. Right next to us was a bounce house, so we were able to let them bounce to their hearts content while we schmoozed. I sent the girls home with Tanner around 1:00pm and I stayed a couple more hours handing out coupons and monitoring kids playing in the "snow".

Today, after church, I had another off-site event called Buddy Walk at the same park. It's a fundraiser for Down Syndrome Research/Awareness. This one was only a couple of hours long, so the girls managed to have lots of fun playing in the snow, going into yet another bounce house, playing with bubbles and stuff like that while Tanner and I did our thing.

I worried that it would be difficult to monitor the kids, but they all managed to stay where I told them to stay. Kate was Georgi's "buddy" so they stayed together most of the time. We had beautiful weather. It was cool in the morning, but quickly heated up to the low 80's, so it was easy to keep the kids hydrated and cool. Kate said that her favorite thing about this weekend was getting to be at work with Mommy. Reagan was just excited to get to go bouncing 2 days in a row. Georgi doesn't say much, but she slept soundly last night.

Routine, routine, routine

Stress seems to be oozing around the corners of our life. Nothing is routine anymore. We try to keep a routine, but when Tanner stays up till 5:30am to study for a test and finish homework, Kate has to make it to school by 8:00, oh, and so does Tanner, Georgi decides that 3:30am is the new 7:00am...well, routine just doesn't exist.

We all managed to squeak by in the morning with Mommy (that's me) collapsing on the couch while the little kids watched Barney (here a silent prayer of Thanksgiving for that oft maligned show). The collapse didn't last very long since I still needed to do the laundry, wash dishes and try to slow down the inevitable journey to absolutely messiness, and then pick up Tanner at 11:30 to drive swiftly to a routine doctor appointment and then to Walmart and then home for a nap.

I foolishly thought that at least the doctor appointment would be routine. Just a simple thyroid panel. How many of these tests have I taken? I can't count the ways. Every six months for 7 years plus once every two months when expecting. Routine. Just say hi to the doctor, hi to the phlebotomist and I should be on my way. 15 minutes, that's what it takes.

I got there on time, but the doctor didn't. 30 minutes later, he says, "Hi. Breathe in. Good. Please, swallow. Good. I'll send in the nurse." Exit doctor. Really, that is how fast it is. Enter nurse. I should have known to ask for another nurse when she swabbed my arm with a pad without gloves on. I've done this way too many times. They set up the needle, the tube, the band aid, the cotton ball, gloves on, swab, stick. Always.

They NEVER complain about my veins. I've got a great one in my left arm. It NEVER collapses. The only time they weren't able to get that vein was when I was pregnant with Reagan and started puffing up, but they found one near my wrist. After she collapsed my lovely veins, I told her about the wrist one. I told her they can't EVER get blood out of my right arm. Did she listen? Nope. She re-used the alcohol swab that was sitting on the counter, and messed around with my right arm. I told her that even "Lazereyes" at the hospital couldn't get blood from that arm. She stuck it in any way, and I almost took her head off because she hit a tendon, so one jerked around tendon later, a couple more OW's! (that's right, she kept trying even after she hit the tendon), and she looked at me and said, "I think I'll send you to the lab to have your blood drawn."

Of course, by this time my "routine" exam is no longer "routine", and I can't get my blood drawn which was the whole part of the exam, my arms are actually sore, and Tanner has to get back to school, Kate needs to be picked up, and I am not dragging 3 kids to a lab. So, I have to try on Monday.

On the bright side, Georgi slept for 2 hours this afternoon, and without much fuss went to bed at around 8:30pm.

Okay, it's cold...

I woke up in the middle of the night to find a two year old snuggled up against my back, shivering! All of my attempts to pull the sheet over her were to no avail. She kept kicking them off until I put her baby blanket on top of her.

I stumbled around in the dark looking for our long discarded comforter. Then I searched for some REAL pajamas and some socks. I couldn't believe how cold I was. Sometime between sundown and 2:00am Autumn decided to roll into town. I went through all the rooms to make sure the fans were turned off, covered a couple more little, shivering bodies and then went back to sleep.

The morning didn't make things any better. Kate huddled in the corner of the house and quickly slurped down her hot oatmeal. Georgi stumbled around looking bewildered because of her numb toes. It's going to take us a bit to get use to this weather, I think. Off she went to school, and off I went to get ready for work. I took a hot shower for the first time in MONTHS. I shivered my way into long pants, searched for a sweater and contemplated what to do about this miserable weather, so naturally I logged onto weather.com to find out what the temperature was. I guess I've acclimated very well to Texas. It was 72F.

We had such a lovely time at the fair, and while Reagan tuckered out 1/2 way through the day, Kate was going full steam ahead, and managed to snag a part with a scottish gent in a kilt! She felt so grownup and proud to be included in the "adults" only dance.

For some reason, she BEGGED me to take a picture of her and the pumpkins. I'm not sure what her affinity is towards pumpkins, but she loves them. She loves pumpkin pie, pumpkin seeds, pumpkin soup, pumpkin scones and I guess pumpkin pictures.

This guy was labled "Texan Pride" so I'm assuming it's a long horn. A really big longhorn. And unfortunately for us, Georgie really loved his cage.

The afternoon did warm up, so that the very last stop was the fountain. Georgie and Kate ran around and around and around, and Uncle Howell laughed at them as they screeched and screamed.

The Fair!

We decided that it was about time for us to become full fledged Texans and go to our first state fair. We got up early, just as the sun was coming up and hurried the girls into the car. I groaned because it was COLD. There were gray clouds covering the sun and cool, steady wind. I headed back into the house and grabbed some extra shirts just in case it didn't burn off. We were heading north and that probably meant things would be even colder.

It took us 3 1/2 hours to finally reach Dallas with only one stop for coffee and allergy medicine. The kids played games, talked, sang, painted and colored all the way there.

As you can see in the first picture, we were met with even more gray clouds, a stiff wind and even a sprinkling of rain. Temperature: 76F. Kate insisted on wearing her sunglasses and my new shirt. She thought she was pretty awesome, and I have to admit, she can pull it off!

Uncle Howell met us at the fair, and Reagan told him all of her favorite things as we munched on cheese pizza, chicken tenders and curly fries. I skipped the deep fried butter that the stands were offering and also the deep fried beer, deep fried Dr. Pepper and deep fried Coke. The clouds burned soon after noon, but it still wasn't warm enough for the jackets to come off. The girls alternated between curling up in the stroller with the blankets that I had brought and running in order to keep warm.

We decided to take a break, and the girls found these chairs to most useful! Georgie didn't know what to think about the ostrich, but I think the ostrich knew EXACTLY what to think about her.

Georgi's cupcake party

Here are the girls frosting away, away, away! As you can see, Georgi is just crumbling her cupcake. She hadn't discovered the wonders of frosting at that point!

Here she is after she opened her presents from Tutut, Utut and Auntie Emi. She had such a hard time choosing between her new shoes!

She decided to be a ham for the camera. She sat down on the couch, looked at me and said, "cheese".
This one shows her eyes. They are changing to hazel. I think that's the right name for the color. I wouldn't be surprised if the turned brown by the end of the year.

Georgi is two years old today, and boy can you tell that she has rounded the corner into toddler-hood. She is into everything. She discovered the wall sockets yesterday. She discovered the toilet flusher the day before. She discovered the toothpaste tube last night. We are constantly running around saying, "No, Georgi, no, no!" Even Reagan has remarked on it, saying, "Georgi can't touch anything. She is a No! No!"

Georgi is two years old today, and she threw her first temper tantrum. I was in Target (of course) to buy a new memory card. I told her to come, and she glared at me, folded her arms, stomped her foot and said, "No!" Ahem...my dear little child...don't you know what happens when little girls do something like that? Apparently not because she then proceeded to throw herself on the ground and cry. This is where I just love being in Texas because I fearlessly picked her up, gave her a swat on the rear end and very firmly told her, "Georgi, no fit." She blinked, nodded her head and quite crying. THE END!

For her birthday, I threw a cupcake party on Wednesday. We had a bunch of little kids over, and they frosted and decorated cupcakes. Georgi just grabbed her cupcake and ate it, licked the frosting out of her bowl and devoured any stray sprinkles or pieces of candy. I mean, who needs the cupcake to look pretty, right? It's the sugar and candy that count!

Georgi is two years old today, and when it comes to vocabulary she does not lack in skill. She opened her presents and said, "Oh, mommy, socks and shoes, they're beautiful." Just like that. Really. The next present was opened and she said, "Oh, a shirt." Then she spied a third present and said, "Another present. Yes, I want to open it. Here, Reagan, you hold this!" Of course there are times when she still babbles, especially when she is excited. She gets frustrated when she is trying to explain something to us and we can't understand what she is saying. She'll frown, squint her eyes and huff. Then she'll shake her head and say, "Never mind."

My baby is two and not a baby anymore. And I am looking forward to spending this next year watching her grow into a little girl. She's adventurous. She's fearless (unless she looks down). She's curious and strong. She won't take "no" for an answer (even if it means climbing a bookshelf to get what she wants). She's funny. She's generous. She's trusting and excitable. She's loving, cuddly, clingy at times. She's huggable, kissable and holdable. She's Georgi, and she's two today.

Everything in Full Swing

Our life has definitely picked up speed, and the trick is to keep our hands on the wheel without making any abrupt changes or else the whole thing will crack apart and various odds and ends will go flying, indiscriminantly through the air to land who knows where. Amazingly, we've made it through the first two weeks of the next 4 months of craziness, and I find myself in wonder because of the tenderness of God.

So many things have been gradually eased into place to make this phase of our life palatable, doable, workable and funable. Like my crazy, cooking-once-a-month plan. Started 2 1/2 years ago in PDX when I finally figured out what to do with all of those leftovers I kept having. It would be impossible for us to cook meals every day with Tanner going to school from 7am til 5pm Monday and Wednesday, and me working from 9am till 9pm Tuesday and Thursday. Or, my craze for plastic containers. Started 3 years ago in an effort to store blankets. Results seem to be that there's always a container for a toy. And, just our lifestyle in general. We'd rather go on a walk than go out to dinner. Started in Vancouver when we caught the biking/walking craze. Makes everything so much less expensive. It also makes it very easy for us to function as a one car family.

And every adjustment was made for the fun of it, not because we HAD to or we NEEDED to be economical. Or maybe we did, and we just didn't know it. Regardless, the transitions have been so smooth and easy. I often have people asking me, how can you handle it? or how can you be so chipper?

I really can't answer the question because I really don't know. How do I handle the fact that in the last six weeks we haven't seen temperatures under 100 degrees? How come I don't get homesick? How do I stay so positive?

I guess the answer is that I really don't have anything to complain about. Yes, finances are so tight that last week Georgie was the only one who got milk because we couldn't afford more, but starving is so much worse. Yes, having a front door that won't open anymore because the house shifted AGAIN and it probably won't get fixed until next summer, maybe, is tough, but sleeping under the stars is so much worse. Yes, it's so hot that the tar is melting on the road, but having a dirt road would be so much worse. I guess it's all in the way you look at it. I look at our life and can't believe how easy God has made it.

This week, things have cooled down quite a bit. I'm pretty sure it is the fault of the hurricane that's hitting the east coast. Our nights drop into the 70's and in the morning the air is cool and refreshing rather than stale and muggy. But, I don't want you to think that it stays that way. On the contrary, by the time 10:00am hits, we're back up into the 90's and ready for the splash pad.

Our typical Monday schedule is: up at 6:30am. Make lunches, get Kate ready, get Daddy ready, eat breakfast, pull two sleepy kids out of bed, drop off Daddy, drop off Kate. Relax until lunch. Pick up Daddy. Feed Daddy. Take kids outside so Daddy can sleep or do homework. Take Daddy to school again. Pick up Kate. Do homework. Daddy comes home. Do more homework. Eat dinner. Bath time. Sleep. Repeat for the rest of the week with the added caveat that Mommy goes to work for 12 hours at a whack. Yikes! Full swing and loving it!

First Day of School

Yes, it is that time already: the first day of school. I guess in Texas they start school early and end school early. Kate will be done with school by May 29th, so I don't mind that she starts at the end of August. It's kind of nice because we'll get into the swing of things before Tanner's school starts next week.

So, what is it like in our house on the first day of school?

The morning was ultra organized. All of Kate's lunches are made for the entire week, breakfast is made for the next two weeks, and since she wears a uniform, the clothes are picked out for the entire year! Kate popped out bed at 7:00am and unlike last year, knew exactly what to do. She brushed her hair and teeth. She sat down and ate breakfast. When she finished, I had laid out her uniform, so she changed her clothes, found her shoes and was ready to go by 7:20. I pulled out her lunch, her backpack and her school supplies. Tanner put everything into the car, and they headed out the door.

A strange quiet settled across the house. Georgie sat down and played with her dolls. Reagan snored in her bed. No fights broke out. No fussing. No whining. I put Georgie on my bed with her dolls and went back to sleep!

The rest of the day passed by just as uneventfully. The girls ate breakfast, they shared toys, they ate lunch, they dressed up as princesses and kissed each other, we went to the splash park, they giggled and laughed as they ran around the sprinklers, we picked up Kate, they pinched and kicked each other. The pinching, kicking and teasing continued until I put Kate into the bath. Then it stopped. It started up again when she got out, so I put Reagan in the bath. It stopped. She got out, and it started again, so we put them all to bed.

Maybe not so crazy

Well, I decided to not take any classes this term either. It's hard to be patient, but I really can't see how we will maintain any sense of family peace if both of us are working and going to school. I work more than just full time, since I also schedule violin lessons for after work. I tend to put in about 50 hours a week, and then if I add even part time school to that...well, you get the drift. How would I manage to ever see my kids? Well, I might manage it, but I think I would tend to consider them and annoyance rather than a blessing. If I need extra curricular activity, I think I will take ice skating lessons.

We had a hiccup in Tanner's school schedule as well. He was registered for classes on Monday and Wednesday when Blinn decided to cancel all of his classes. It was a scramble and a fight down to the last with quite a lot of prayer and learning to LEAVE it in God's hands, but we were able to get him back in to all of his classes except for physics. It is frustrating because now, he has to take the class on Tuesday and Thursday which means we have to find a babysitter for the girls, but we have learned to LEAVE it all in God's hands. On the plus side, all of that struggling opened up a possible scholarship for him, so we are in the process of applying and of course, praying and waiting.

On a kidlet note:

Georgie has learned how to jump. She is very proud and shouts, "Look at me! Look at me!" She still can't figure out that I am Mommy. She calls me Lovee and Daddi and Mommy-Daddy because when she means daddy, she says, "Tanner" or "Honey".

Reagan wants to go to school. I'm thinking that ice skating lessons in the afternoon might be in order or maybe piano.

Kate can't wait to start school except that she is concerned about her 1st grade teacher. "What if I don't like her?"

On a house note:

We finished the girls room. Well...almost finished. Still no baseboards or trim, but it is patched and painted and they have a lovely pink ceiling fan.

1/3 of our house has siding on it. I hope that it will get to 1/2 by the time school starts. Hope is a broad term though, so I think I will try to be happy with just my 1/3.

I find myself thinking about odd things on my way home from work. You might think, do you even have time to think since it's literally down the street and to the left just a little, but I do have time to think. Especially when I walk.

Walking to work, my mind is on normal. I'm usually drinking a cup of coffee with my purse slung over my shoulder. I'm concentrating on the deep smells of morning and making sure I say "good morning" to all my neighbors so that I don't appear to be rude.

This morning, I pulled on sweats and a t-shirt. Standard weekend wear for my job. I slipped on my tennis shoes and prepared to enjoy the great outdoors. There were clouds in the sky, but I could tell that they would burn off by the afternoon, and I hoped that it wouldn't be too hot. That's the tricky part about working in an ice rink. It's cold at work, but warm on the way to and from it. It's only about a mile to my job, so it takes about 9 minutes of walking to get there. I think it's a perfect way to start my day.

I opened the building, checked the tills, sold some skate passes and basically scrambled around all morning long until the afternoon shift showed up. Then I retired to my office and researched newspapers and community calendars, wrote up a couple of proposals and waited for the computer to catch up with me. Our network is notoriously slow. Around 4:00, I donned my costume, put on my skates and did my turn on the ice. I hand out coupons and prizes to kids during the afternoon session. Got off the ice, all hot and sweaty. A couple of deep drinks of water and then I cleaned up my desk and headed home.

Now this is where the funny thoughts start. I'm taking the same route home, but I notice a pile of junk on the side of the road. The city actually has "extra" garbage days, held every week so that people can dump their oversized items or if they had a party over the weekend they set out extra trash bags, stuff like that. Anyway, I take a look at the stuff and wonder if the virulent purple, rickety bookcase would be something we could use. I'm thinking of a doll house. I keep walking and then I start thinking about the clothing I'm wearing: sweats. How apt because I am sweating. Not too badly because it's only 96 degrees out, and I only have a mile to walk. Then I realize what a silly thought that is. I try to think reasonably: IT'S 96 DEGREES! YOU SHOULD BE HOT! WHAT IDIOT DECIDED THAT 96 DEGREES WAS SWEATS AND WALKING WEATHER? Then I calm down and realize, I don't really feel that uncomfortable. The sweat is just slight. I shrug and actually consider running until I remember that I've got a coffee mug tucked in my purse and that would be uncomfortable having ceramic whacking me in the back.

So, these thoughts take up the rest of my time until I let myself into the house. No, I didn't stay in sweats all day long. After all 96 degrees no matter how you put it is still hot. I put on a tank top and a pair of beach combers. Yes, I turned on the air conditioner, and that was the extent of my day, my thoughts and my general appearance.

Gearing up for school...

It's that time of year again. Time to go shopping for uniforms, school supplies and lunch bags. Time to register for classes, figure out schedules, consider what sports to do. Yes, we are gearing up for school already.

Tanner will be taking Calculus 3, Physics I, Engineering I and Computer Programming. I'll be taking Psychology I and Biology I. I've decided to hold off on the math because they don't offer it as an internet course, and right now, with full time work, kids and Tanner's course load, I just can't fit an on campus class into our schedule. Kate will be entering 1st grade this year, and we're considering soccer for her sport. I know that Reagan is going to miss her big sister fiercely, but if all goes well, then Reagan will be able to do soccer in January with her big sister.

We're trying to wind up all of our summer projects. Tanner installed a front door screen yesterday, and he added a third swing to the girls' swing set. He is almost done with siding the east side of the house, and in the next few weeks we should have the girls' room textured and painted. I'm 1/2 way there on that project, so the girls should be sleeping in their room by Wednesday.

We're down to one laptop and the one that is working seems to be overheating, so it's time to start saving up for a new one. Thank goodness laptops just seem to keep getting cheaper and cheaper, so we'll only be out a few hundred dollars when this one finally gives up the ghost. Laptops are a must when going to school, almost like a textbook, but we don't need anything fancy, and I think something that can run Word and Explorer is all that we need.

The scratch spin saga...

Now, I know that most of you must be bored to tears hearing about my ice skating saga, but seriously, I just can't help it. I love ice skating. Just to describe this obsession, I worked at the ice skating rink all morning long, then I put on some skates and made sure little kids made it to their lessons on time. Then I came home, and Tanner and I got the kids ready for swimming. Jonny went with us. We splashed and played and ate dinner and then came home. Put Tanner to bed. Got the girls cleaned up. Let them play for a little bit and then put them to bed. So, I sat here staring at the computer when I realized that, hey, it was only 8:25. I could still make it to the evening skate session.

So...yes, I grabbed my keys and went BACK to work. Skated for 2 hours. Came home.

But those two hours...you have no idea how wonderful it is to lean into your blade and cut a thin layer of finely ground ice as you take your first lap. The swishing sound as you pull one blade in front of the other and the immense speeds you attain as you round the corners. And then there is that heart stopping moment as you roll onto that lovely spot on your blade and with a quick flip you're suddenly going backwards and your hair gets blown into your face.

None of that compares to what I finally accomplished tonight. My scratch spin. It has been haunting me for almost 3 months. It's relatively simple to learn how to spin. It's just a matter of staying centered, pulling in your blade and standing on the balls of your toes. Voila, you have a spin. But there are all sorts of different spins, and the first real, marketable spin one must learn is the scratch spin. You've all seen it during the Olympics. The skater is going backwards. Their body twists. Then the arms swing around, the leg goes up and as the leg pulls into a triangle so do the arms then everything tightens up and the leg straightens while the spin just keeps getting faster and faster. That's the scratch spin, and I finally managed to pull off THREE successful spins.

My legs are tired. My feet are sore. My arms ache. My back thinks I'm crazy. But, my scratch spin thinks I'm all good.

Work, work, work, and a little play

We are up to our ears in work. We're either working on the house, working on the yard or working at our jobs. Tanner has started to side the house while I am texturing and painting the girls' room. We both have been sharing yard duty. That duty includes mowing the lawn, weed whacking, edging, bug spraying, weeding, tree trimming, fire-ant hunting and trash throwing. We're lucky that the city takes any "extra" trash every Tuesday. No extra charge. They take mattresses, dressers, yard debris, washers, computers, old T.V.'s.

I try to take the girls outside in the evenings when it has cooled down, and either we draw on the front porch with chalk, or we have a bubble party on the front lawn. Why the front of the house? Because the front is in shade at 8:00pm, and, yes, at 8:00pm you still need to seek shade or you will get a sun burn. Once in a while, Tanner will fill the kiddie-pool in the backyard. This week, he lined the slide up so that the girls could slide into the pool. You can imagine the big hit. Georgie could talk of nothing else for several days.

We are trying to enjoy this lull in our schedule because we know what is coming in the fall. Tanner will start school full time, and begin his first engineering classes at A&M. We are beginning to feel the pinch of tuition, and just hope that we can make enough so that we don't have to quit school for a term. Part of the reason why I attend school as well is because I qualify for extra grants that Tanner can't get. Yay, for being a woman! I'm not looking forward to balancing school with work, but I know that I must.

So, life is progressing, and soon we will be finishing up year two in Texas. I can hardly believe that we have made it 1 1/2 years. Not much, but time has gone by so quickly, and we have had so much fun, made so many new friends, and been showered with countless acquaintances. I am now beginning to look for a voice coach for Reagan. So far, finding a classically minded teacher is proving fruitless, but I will endeavor and contrive. I'm looking for a bigger violin for Kate and Reagan now plays the small violin. I think we will put Kate into soccer this year since ballet is so expensive, and I just can't imagine being able to afford all the recital fees.

The lazy days of summer are hardly that, but we are still finding ample time to rest and relax.

The sweet smell of...

lamb? Me? I guess I must really love my husband a lot. I got a phone call on Friday morning from a friend that raises sheep. There was a bummer that they just couldn't take care of. Would we be interested in raising a lamb?

It took me two seconds to say yes. I've been wanting some sort of animal for the girls to interact with. I've thought about cats...can't do -allergies. I've thought about dogs...can't do - they smell. I've thought about gerbils...can't do - too much like mice. And, I've even considered a guinea pig...can't do - again, smelly and mice. So, I considered the lamb and said yes.

Kate and Reagan love feeding it. Playing with it. Naming it (for the curious, Diamond Annabelle). Petting it. And generally everything a little kid loves. I'm not sure who enjoys the lamb more: the girls or Tanner. He loves to go outside and feed it. Then he walks around calling her name so that she will follow him. He even erected a little shelter for her so that she can always find shade. He always comes inside with some story about her much like a new mother always has a story about her new baby.

I'm thrilled because the lamb is an OUTSIDE pet. It doesn't jump up on me when I go out to hang the laundry. It's not really smelly. At least not yet. And, did I mention that it stayed outside? Plus, if it ever gets out of hand or we don't feel like we can take care of it, I know of a great butcher, oh, excuse me, they are now called meat processors.

I'll post pictures soon.

http://www.kbtx.com/local/headlines/97247789.html

This was just a lot fun...

http://www.kbtx.com/local/headlines/97247789.html

The sultry days of summer were sliding along when we were suddenly slammed with a cold front. The morning promised a heat shattering afternoon, so Tanner got up early and mowed the lawn. Even with the self-propelled mower, it is still very hot work.

The grass grows in spurts in Texas. You can cut it down to 2 inches, and it will gleefully hibernate at that height until the next rain storm. The minute it rains, you can see the grass wake up and decide that now would be a great time to have a growth spurt. In a few short days the grass will double in length, and then it will double again. Pretty soon, you've got the redneck yard with grass waving above the heads of your kids. It buries the bicycles, canvasses the swing set and mists the front door.

Well, our lawn hadn't been mowed for over a week. It took an hour and a half, and those of you that have seen our yard know that it isn't huge. I mean, it's a nice sized yard, but not something that requires anywhere near an hour and a half of mowing. We geared up for a hot day. I got out the bathing suits, sunscreen and beach towels for Tanner so that he could take the girls to the splash park. I packed a light lunch, bottled water and iced coffee.

By the time lunch rolled around, the temperature had dropped, rain was misting the windows and I was longing for a HOT cup of coffee. I consoled myself with the fact that I had worn trousers to work so at least I wasn't miserably cold. Oh, perhaps a definition for my cold-weather friends: miserably cold is anything under 70 degrees. I think Tanner and I have known each other way to long. Just as I was about to take a quick 15 minute break to dash to Starbucks, he waltzed in with a cappuccino.

So, I made it through my first shift and shivered my way out into the open air. I expected to find it warm and worthy of defrosting my frozen limbs. Instead it was wet. Warmer than the wet in Portland, but it was still wet. I drove home and frowned in disgust that I had to turn on the windshield wipers. Of course coming home did wonders for my mood. I got the pleasure of watching my girls, in sun dresses, splash and play in the rain with their umbrellas. I watched Georgie toddle around outside in a diaper in rain boots. Reagan came running inside. She caught her breath when she saw me and then shouted, "Mommy! You're home! We're hungry!"

A couple of peanut butter sandwiches later, I sat out on the porch letting the cool breezes shimmer around my shoulders when Kate found a pink hair clip and asked me to put it into her hair. It's one of those puffy things. When she wears it she looks so grown up and she knows it. All day today she has been acting very mature.

Reagan and Georgie are playing tag. They should be in bed, but after an afternoon of puddle hopping, they both fell into a stupor and slept for almost 3 hours. Tanner finally shook them awake at 5:30 so that they could eat dinner. I've tried to calm them down. I've read them stories, sung Christmas carols and listened to classic hymns. They are awake and promise to be for a little while longer. I think I'll try warm milk next...

The odd things...

It's strange how a little rain, a little wind, a little thunder can make thankful for the tiny things in life. You know, the things we don't even think about thinking about. Like not being soaked through to the skin. Like not worrying about all the bugs seeking shelter in your shadow. Like not gagging at underarm odor or having diapers or trash service.

I leave out the clean water idea because we seem to have been overwhelmed with clean water movements lately. But really, can you imagine life without trash service. The little storm that swept through here would have been a very icky storm if the trash guys hadn't done their job.

Of course, I appreciate electricity already. We've all gone through snippets of time when our power has flashed off, and suddenly we are faced with the stark reality that we have perishables in the fridge, and then we move to wondering what we will have to do if the perishable melt. Most of us don't go on to wondering what stench will start to hang over the neighborhoods as all the food in the grocery stores and conenience stores start to rot. Yucky thought.

And air conditioning. Tomorrow, I will be sitting outside at a festival all day long, entertaining kids with snow and frostbite and games. I'm wondering how to endure the heat. I wonder how so many people before us managed to endure this kind of heat without air conditioning or mosquito repellent or sunscreen. At leat, I console myself that if I get too hot, I can always go sit in the car with the AC running for a while.

And pools. The kids splashed and played in the pool tonight. I take learning how to swim for granted, but what if you've never seen a body of water any bigger than a bucket?

And then I wonder what I ever find to complain or worry about. I list them and laugh: I'll be late for church (as I'm DRIVING in my AIR CONDITIONED CAR!), it's TOO cold at work, the kids made a mess with ALL their toys, I have TOO much laundry to do!

Luckily for me, I've found my favorite thinking spot, and I've been thinking and thinking and thinking. I feel like Christopher Robin is patting me on the head saying, "Silly old Bear."

Play Dough

It is really too hot for the kids to play outside. If I had time to take them swimming, then that's where we would go, but I don't. I have to go back to work, and their friends from across the street have come over to play, and Georgie is asleep.

What to do? I like it best when they do projects. I like their play to productive, instructive and fun. Not something that I always achieve, but today, I really wanted to achieve it. So we all gathered around the stove, and I taught them how to make play dough.

You should have seen their incredulous stares when I started with 1/2 cu. salt. Then I added 1/4 cu water and a glutenous mass of salty, ickyness emerged. They stirred and stirred as they waited for the mixture to heat up. Then we added 1/2 cu of cornstarch, and they all said, "ew!" We stirred some more. Added some food coloring and presto! I felt like a magician. They thought I was the most amazing person in the whole wide world! We kneaded and pressed and cajoled the color to work its way through the dough, and then they marched out to the living room to play chef, artist, sculptor.

The Tooth Fairy

Last Friday, Katie woke me up early in the morning with an excited giggle. "Mommy," she whispered. "Guess what? Guess what? My tooth is LOOSE."

She had a tough year at school because she was the ONLY kid in her class that didn't loose a tooth! All of her "best" friends had lost teeth, but hers had stubbornly refused to even hint at wiggling. She was devastated.

I rolled over to face her, and said, "That's so exciting. Maybe the tooth fairy will visit you!"
She rolled her eyes and said, "Mommy, you are the tooth fairy. I already know that." Then she proceeded to tell me that her friends at school think that Santa Clause and the Tooth Fairy are real, and when she explained to them that it was just their mommy and daddy, they looked at her and said, "you don't believe in anything!"

Well, I let the whole thing slide. I didn't mention the conversation again, and just waited for her tooth to fall out. It wiggled and jiggled and bled a little, and then...on Monday afternoon as we drove home from our second blueberry picking trip, she shouted, "it came out!"

She was so excited. She declared that she hoped the "Hawaiian" Tooth Fairy would visit her. I frowned. Huh? Yes, the Hawaiian Tooth Fairy might come because she had some Hawaiian in her, and Hawaiian tooth fairies leave money AND candy!

I told her that the Hawaiian Tooth Fairy might not know to come because she had just a little bit of Hawaiian in her, and in fact the Norwegian Tooth Fairy would probably come. She asked me what the Norwegian Tooth Fairy was like, and I said, "well, the Norwegian Tooth Fairy just takes your tooth and doesn't leave anything." Talk about a downer! Now, before you all start shaking your heads and thinking that I was being a mean mommy, you have to remember that I'd been thinking about this whole tooth fairy thing for an ENTIRE week. I did let her ponder the idea of a Norwegian tooth fairy for a few seconds, and then I said, "perhaps the America Boy or America Girl Tooth Fairy will visit you."

Of course, she asked me about them, and I explained that the American Boy and American Girl Tooth Fairies were the best tooth fairies out there because the left candy or gum AND they left dollar bills. I told her it was great if one of them came, but if a child had been especially helpful and good then sometimes they would BOTH come and then they would leave DOUBLE candy and DOUBLE money.

Now, here I thought she would get so excited and happy, but instead she burst into tears. A little perplexed, I asked her why she was crying, and she wailed, "I haven't been very good!" Interesting, I thought, so I asked her to explain. She said, "I've been lying!" About what? "About hitting Georgie!" I almost burst into laughter. Managed to control the urge, and explained to her that I already knew about that, and that I'm pretty sure the tooth fairies knew about it, but that we also understand how very annoying a little sister can be.

So, when Kate was 2, Joanelle gave me a little tooth fairy box, that I saved and nurtured and made sure it traveled safely all the way down to Texas. So, we filled out the little certificate with a tooth fair summoning pen that sparkled and wrote in golden ink. Then we put the tooth on its satin pillow and tucked it underneath Kate's pillow. The kids climbed into bed and I left the room. I heard Kate say, "Dear Jesus, please, don't let the Norwegian Tooth Fairy come. Please, send the Hawaiian tooth fairy or the American tooth fairies. Amen."

When she woke up the next morning I heard her shout, "Mommy! The tooth fairy came!" and then there was a little silence before she shouted, "I think a LOT of them came!" Lo, and behold the Hawaiian tooth fairy had left a snicker bar and some money. The American Boy Tooth Fairy had left Bubblegum, Junior Mints and some money. And the American Girl Tooth Fairy had left a MONSTER chocolate bar, money and lip gloss. All of them left little notes, written in golden ink to tell her what a nice, helpful little girl she was. Kate giggled and said, "I don't think the Norwegian Tooth Fairy came!" Then she opened her tooth box and out fell a note that said, "I took your tooth. Thanks. Norwegian Tooth Fairy. P.S. You have a lot more teeth to loose, so I'm saving your money for later."

Awards Day at School

Well, Kate had an awards day for Kindergarten. Imagine a room filled with 100 kids under the age of 9 all squirming and squiggling and craning their necks to see if mom and dad had arrived yet. We are lucky that Kate goes to a school where there is heavy parental involvement. Even then, there were kids who received their awards all alone.

It's funny, but having a job has made me just a little more compassionate towards these families. There have been so many things that I've had to miss since starting to work. I'm used to being able to say, sure, I'll do that or yes, I'll be there.

Kate got the Super Reader Award. Now, I know she's been doing very well at reading, but I didn't realize how well, until my mom came to visit. Everyone kept telling me that Emma was learning how to read or Jared was learning how to read, so I assumed they meant just like Kate. I mean, she reads books. Real books. Not things like, "pat. hat. pat sat on hat." That's way below her. She's reading nursery rhymes, the Narnia books things like that. Anyway, when my mom came, she promptly informed me that Kate was reading really well for her age. So, I'm kind of glad to hear that because Tanner and I spend a lot of time reading with her, and it is good to know that perhaps our efforts helped her just a little.

I think my Grandma Durrant would have been very pleased to know that all of the books she sent us for Christmas and birthdays are scattered over the house because Kate reads them to Reagan or Georgianna. Okay, maybe she wouldn't be happy about the scatter part, but the whole reading thing, that would've tickled her pink.

Fans whirring, windows open, soft breeze, slight humidity, feeling like the Blue Bayou except for the constant traffic and the 45 minute wait at Starbucks.

I kid you not. 45 minutes! It's graduation weekend at A&M and every parking lot is packed, the hotels are overflowing and the coffee shops, well they're filled to the brim. This is the weekend that year rounders in College Station just hunker down and do absolutely nothing. No one is mowing their lawn or weeding their garden. No one dares to go shopping for food or non-essentials. Taking a walk is akin to asking for a one way ticket to heaven. The only natives stirring are police officers, ambulance drivers and fire fighters. And they are kept busy by the multitudinous accidents. People from out of state don't realize that U-turns are legal, expected AND have right of way. Natives still can't drive in a rainstorm, and college kids, well, they're kids with their own cars, short attention spans and lots of stress.

So, I'm at home. We braved the Starbucks line and Taco Bell, but then we came home. Cartoons blare in the background since walking is too dangerous. We are sipping our drinks, yes, they are HOT even though it is about 80. It's 80 and cloudy and slightly humid, so of course the drinks have to be hot. We don't start doing iced drinks until it hits 85. It's too humid to hang out the laundry. It probably won't dry. It's too cold to fill the pool. It might start thundering.

On the plus side, the pomegranate bush is blooming. Did you know they have orange flowers? Georgie won't eat her vegetables, but she will pick the Bird of Paradise leaves and eat those. Reagan seems to like to suck on rocks. Kate is much more sensible and only chews her hair and nails.

What's the weather like?

Okay, so I was on the phone yesterday with Talia, and she said that PDX was having great weather. Nice and warm. Nice and 70. 70! 70???? That's warm? It's a sad day when people consider 70 degrees warm. I mean, my air conditioner is set to go on at 80. Yes, 80. I'm serious. If I set it to go on at 70, it would be on all day AND all night.

We had rain today. Cooled the entire place down to 72.

Let me explain. Yesterday it was 93. I wore yoga pants and two t-shirts. For school, Kate wore long pants and polo shirt. When she got home she put on a cute little dress with leggings and a scarf. Tanner wore long pants and long sleeve shirt. Reagan and Georgie don't count because they get their clothes so dirty that I can't ever remember what they've been wearing.

Today started out at 89, so I put on long pants and a t-shirt. Then it rained and cooled everything down, so I grabbed my jacket. Yes, my jacket. It was cold out. It was 72 when I climbed into the car, so I put the HEATER on. Now, I'm not too crazy. I didn't turn on the heater in the house. It was the car that I heated. I have the windows open in the house because I want to cool it down, but I am considering finding a blanket.

I am sorry to say that 70 isn't warm. I won't go so far as to say that it is cold, but it is definitely in the "cool" spectrum of weather. It doesn't start to get warm until the thermometer hits 80. Hot is 98. I know most of you in the northwest are shuddering at the idea of 70 being cool, but then consider how much time you spend indoors rather than biking, hiking, walking, playing, splashing, cartwheeling, strolling or any of the other activ-ing things that we do down south, and then maybe you'll understand why I say that 70 is merely cool. After all if 70 was warm then you would be setting up a pool when it was 65 outside. You would be going to the park for a picnic at 62. Boating on a lake at 68. Ideal barbecue weather would be 63 and crawfish boils would happen at 73. So, when y'all come down to visit, just remember that you'll probably be wearing shorts and tank tops, sweating and downing vacuous amounts of Gatorade and water while we'll be comfortable in jeans and t-shirts sipping our Dr. Peppers. It'll be okay. We'll be nice and friendly, like most Texans are, and we'll find you a pair of sunglasses.

last leg of the first part of the journey...

Our first year of school in Texas is slowly coming to a close. Next week's forecast is: Exhaustion. On Monday, we have pictures. On Tuesday, we have rehearsal and a Cal II final. On Wednesday...whew! On Thursday, we have dress rehearsal, Chem Lab test. On Friday, we have performance. On Saturday we have 2 performances and a Chem Final. On Sunday, we collapse and hope the kids survived.

The weather is nice and sticky. Just the way I like it. Just like my rice. Just like perfectly done pasta noodles. Mmmm... You know, the type of sticky that goes away with a breeze, a fan or a little AC. The type of sticky that invites ice cream and Popsicles and barbecue. We had all three of those today. Now, I'm thinking of a decaf, iced coffee or a tall glass of lemonade with little droplets of water racing down the sides of the glass. I can tell that I'm not fully Texan because my mind doesn't automatically go to iced tea. I did indulge in a Dr. Pepper today. Don't tell my dentist.

Did you know that my dentist is one of my very good friends? I'm always glancing over my shoulder when I drink a Coke or Dr. Pepper. Her daughter just tells me to brush my teeth.

Back to the tea. I'm outnumbered down here. Most people either indulge in hot, brown-colored water, or they make vacuous amounts of deep-auburned iced tea. My boss is the exception. He drinks green tea which shows some class. He drinks DIET green tea which shows health. He shakes his head at my profound worship of the Espresso Bar. He thinks we should be invested in Starbucks. When I told him that we were he said, "I mean the stock!" I guess most people down here don't buy stocks and bonds. Or, at least they don't think that I do.

I've been reading lots of business books lately. I guess that's what happens when I start on a project. It just grows way out of proportion. My boss is amazed at how fast I read through books and then write them up all analyzed, dissected and applied. My current favorites are FISH!, Whale Done and Our Iceberg is Melting! I also liked Who Moved My Cheese? but I thought it a little less earth shaking, and a little less applicable. I also REALLY liked the book, Say What You Mean, Get What You Want. By the way, my boss was impressed because I read all of those books in one day. Gee...those who know me will look at the size of the books and say, "duh!"

So, if you end up with a sleepless night next week, it might be God trying to remind you that there are some crazy people living in Texas that might be having a dizzifying time finding the exit sign. Or, if you find yourself in a little eddy of nothingness, just point your prayer compass our way, please?

but baby it's cold INSIDE!

Today, I got a preview of the rest of my summer. I woke up this morning to rain, so I dressed accordingly: pants, shirt, sweater. I was so glad that I did because all day at work I was freezing. I sat at my computer, wrapped up in a blanket or I would take brief jogs up and down the stairs just to keep the blood circulating.

Six shivering hours later I emerged from my igloo expecting to be hit by a wave of frosty air. Instead, I broke into a sweat before I had a chance to peel off my sweater. I guess rain in the morning and 82 in the afternoon make muggy weather.

By the time I pulled into the driveway I had rivulets of sweat trickling down my neck. I got into the house and immediately changed into appropriate summer attire, ate a late lunch with Tanner, and then we all piled into the car to get Kate from school. Georgie saw the school building first and started to screech, "Tatie! Tatie! Come here!"

After we had successfully secured our eldest daughter. we headed for our favorite park and played a game of tag. Even Georgie got into it though she thought the idea was to get tagged. It was at the park that I noticed Kate's shoes. They just looked funny. They didn't match her height, so after the kids were all sweaty and exhausted we clambered back into the car and went to our favorite store.

I measured Kate's foot. She is now officially a size 1. Just. To give her room to grow, we had to buy size 1.5. The shoe she had been wearing? 13. I picked out the tennis shoes. She picked out the dress shoes. The dress shoes are strappy, pink and sparkly. The tennis shoes are tan. I sometimes feel way too practical. Since we were getting Kate shoes, we also got shoes for Reagan and shoes for Georgie. They had both grown a size as well. Reagan begged for a pair of pink slippers with pink "diamonds" on the band. Thank goodness Georgie doesn't know any better and all she wants is "Thooos!"

Easter Sunday

What an odd experience. This was the first time that Tanner and I have attended an Easter Sunday Service at a mainstream church. As we pulled into the parking lot, there were parking attendants and areas sectioned off for guests. Tanner looked at me and said, "They're not seriously expecting THAT many extra people to show up, are they?"

Our church has three services. Most of them have about 300 people attend and the parking lot is big enough to handle all of that. Today, we drove round and round the church looking for a parking space. We concluded that maybe it was because we were early. We were wrong. We ended up parking near the freeway and walking to the church.

When we walked into the narthex, I wondered if perhaps the first service had just let out. It hadn't. We were standing in line for the second service. They had added 10 extra rows of chairs to the auditorium, and still there was only standing room available. We managed to squeeze into a pew. I guess all the sermons about not being a holiday Christians are actually pertinent.

The girls wore their Easter dresses today. The twirled and whirled their way into and out of church. Little spots of glowing color amid all the pastels and pinks.

We came home, and I donned an apron. The night before I had made cupcakes so that Kate could celebrate. The girls frosted and decorated to their hearts content while I got the ham in the oven, the potatos peeled, veggies cooked and finished filling the Easter eggs. Then Tanner and I went outside and hid the eggs all over the yard.

I love watching the girls dart from bush to tree to grassy knoll. I love the excited squeals from Reagan and the triumphant shouts from Kate. I love watching Georgie gaze in rapt wonder at the single egg she managed to find. I love her voice when she holds it up and says, "tany! tany!"

We had a frustrating Easter lunch though. Apparently, ham, mashed potatos, stuffing, corn, bread and green beans are "gross!" I caught myself saying, "there are starving children in Africa..." We finally managed to get some nutrition down them by telling them no chocolate bunnies until they ate their green beans.

Other than that, we had a great day. A nice little holiday in our busy lives.

The day before Easter

This morning Tanner and I had ice dancing lessons at 8:30, so we tumbled out of bed, fed the girls breakfast, grabbed coffee and tea, pulled on sweats, sweaters, jackets and stepped outside only to be hit with a blast of warm air. I did a double take. The weather up until now has been temperate with only one day hitting over 80. Last night it had rained.

We both shrugged, and decided to walk to the rink instead of drive. There is nothing better than a spring stroll in the morning in Texas. The grackles were cackling, the mocking birds were mimicking car alarms, the red cardinals were darting into the bushes as we passed and the bright sun warmed our backs as we headed down the gently sloping road.

I'm not sure how succesful our practice was. I'm breaking in new skates with a huge toepick, and I keep tripping over them and doing lovely faceplants across the ice. I did suggest that part of our act be sliding snow angles, but for some reason our coach just wasn't into that idea.

After a short day of work, I came home, made lunch, watched the girls gyrate across the room to canned music and tried to convince them to go outside to play. That should have warned me...the fact that they didn't want to go outside. I shrugged and let them stay inside. At least I've developed a studied reaction to their, "I don't want to go outside!" complaint. I don't ever make them go.

After they watched a movie, I put them all down for a nap. Did I mention that Tanner was sleeping during this time? The house got very quiet and a snuggled up with a good book. It dawned on me that maybe it was hot when I had to turn the ceiling fans on in the living room. At 5:00, I rummaged through my stash of "deals" and found the clearance pool I had bought the previous summer. Tanner was up by then, so he got out the compressor, filled the pool and we let the girls splash and play until dinner time.

Okay, it's the time of year where all Northwesterners will envy me for living in Texas. Tanner finally fenced in our backyard and installed a clothes line, so we are really taking advantage of the soft breezes, comforting sun and bright blue sky this year.

Sky so blue that you squint when you look up at it. No haze. No thin layer of milky gray to mar the sight. So clear that the sun makes your skin look golden even before it begins to tan. The type of weather that begs you for a walk and then after you've done that, you feel like going for a stroll to get ice cream or you feel like packing cold chicken and biscuits and corn and finding a bubbling brook to sit at while you have a picnic spread across a red and white checked table cloth. Kids belong in white on days like this with little straw hats. Little girls make wreaths of daisy chains and little boys have muddy knees. Bunches of wildflower bouquets fill mason jars that are stacked across the kitchen window. The jars are meant for jelly, but the girls have commandeered them.

That's the kind of weather we are having.

Palm Sunday

Today was Palm Sunday, and we almost didn't make it to church. We were up at 7:30am, but I really didn't feel like rushing the kids to get to the early service. By the time I had them dressed, since Tanner was sleeping it was a little more difficult, the middle service was already under way, so I gave up! Then Jonathan begged me to take him to church, so I finally managed to get dressed, but didn't bother with the whole hair thing, Tanner woke up and decided to go with us, and we all got to church by 11:00am.

It was our first real Palm Sunday ever. Our kids lined up at the back of the church and walked down to a grand old hymn carrying palm branches. They promptly got lost in the shuffle, and I spent a good 5 minutes trying to find them to no avail. Kate, holding Reagan firmly by the hand, marched up one of the side aisles scanning the crowd for a sign of Mommy and Daddy. She was the one that found us. She also told me that the whole thing had been "embarrassing!"

The church was holding an Easter egg roll right after the service, and imagine my disappointment when Reagan had an accident in the bathroom. I had to get Tanner and Jonathan and Kate and Georgianna with a squirming Reagan. We managed to get to the car, and we were buckling the kids into their seats when I found the dresses that Sheri bought the girls on our trip to Washington on the Brazos. Imagine my utter astonishment when I also discovered a clean pair of underwear!

At that point, I was glad that I had handled the situation so well. We got Reagan changed just as the service released. We sat down to a nice little lunch and then out to the lawn we went. Reagan and Georgie got to go first. Reagan felt very important and VERY experienced as she explained to Georgie what she was suppose to do. I don't think Georgie ever really got the idea. She was much more interested in her cookie.

Fluffy, dull, gray clouds hovered about today. A few hours of rain, followed by a warm blanket of clouds equalled a soft, muggy evening, and I pulled into the driveway expecting puddles of water, but they were missing. I guess the air was warm enough to evaporate the worst of the rain.

Tanner made an excellent peanut chicken dinner, and I added some coconut milk and lemon so that we could have a sauce to toss with penne pasta and broccoli. He is making valiant attempts at learning how to cook, and I have to admit, he is getting pretty good at it. Last night, I came home to these awesome turkey sandwiches and a multi-faceted salad with a light ceasar dressing. Wow. I almost don't know what to do with myself. I just come home and eat. It's like magic.

Kate was being a big girl the other day. Tanner and I went to an early morning practice at the ice rink and when we got home, Kate dragged us into the laundry area. She proudly showed me that she had figured out how to switch the laundry to the dryer. Then she had started a load all by herself. She had remembered soap. She had remembered to separate the darks from the lights. Everything. Except that when she was trying to figure out how to turn the water on, she set the load to medium. And the load was EXTRA large. But, I was impressed and very proud of her.

She got to wear her white skates to the ice rink for her skating lesson. At least now it will only cost twelve dollars to let them practice rather than $12 for EACH.

sunday, sunday

well, we should be at church,but this nasty bronchitis thing still has its grip on me. i go to the dr. tomorrow. Today, the kids get to watch winnie the pooh while dad sleeps and mom rests. i still have to go to work, but costume n mask will protect me.

So, I'm impressed...

Isn't it amazing how far technology has taken us. It worked! Wow, I can't believe it.

So, I know it has been a while since I've posted any updates, but just so you know, it doesn't mean my life has come to an utter, boring, stand-still. On the contrary, it seems as if life has picked up full speed, and I'm not sure what to do with all of it.

The weather is finally mellowing into that springtime that makes Texas worth the heat of summer. All of the leaves are stretching and yawning as tree limbs shake themselves awake. Birds are beginning to chirp. Bugs are beginning to crawl, and we are in that lull between grackle seasons. The days are warm and balmy. The nights are cool enough for a sweater and sometimes a jacket. I'm looking forward to three lovely, long, luscious months of perfect walking weather.

I can tell that Reagan is use to the unusually cold weather we've had because today, I insisted that she go outside to play. She took one look at clouds scudding across the sky and said, "No, thank you, Mommy. It is cold outside." I had to pick her up and take her into the sunshine. She was crying the whole time until the sunbeams hit her. Then she blinked. She stared at me in wonder and then said, "Why Mommy, it's quite warm out." And yes, she actually said those exact words because her favorite cartoon is a British cartoon called Kipper, and she has adopted British euphemisms and accent. Unfortunately, Texan is not that far removed from British, so we're also beginning to hear a lot of "yall, thayer and heylp."

Georgianna thinks she can talk. She says things like, "ma-ma, i du wan da puh-puh-buh-buh." Which in English is translated, "Mommy, I want some peanut butter."

Kate is getting so tall. I bought extra long 5x pants for the school year in September. She now wears 6x. I'm trying to stretch the size five for as long as possible, but I don't think we will make it to the end of the school year. I've had to buy 2 new sets of shoes since September since she rocketed past 12 and 12 1/2 and 13. She looks like one of those big girls that I use to have to protect my babies from whenever I went to a play place. On the plus side, she's tall enough to go on every ride in Disneyland except for one.

We took the girls on a picnic last weekend. I found this amazing drive-thru Italian restaurant, so we swung by after work and picked up some pasta and salad and pizza and took the girls to the park. We had scooters and bouncy balls in the back of the car and they zoomed around the perimeter with Georgie in tow. Then they threw balls and Georgie giggled and laughed and ran around trying to catch them. She kept kicking the balls with her legs as she ran to pick them up, and she would squeal in delight that they had somehow managed to get away from her.

Kate is going on a field trip to Houston on Tuesday, and I can't go with her because I work. I can't go with her because Tanner is in school all day, and I don't think I could manage Georgie and Reagan on a two hour trip, a four hour museum tour and then a tour drive back home. So, please pray that they have a safe trip and a great time.

so, can i blog from my phone?

wow. this is pretty amazing. i'm lying on the couch with my cell phone, seeing if in a moment of utter boredom, can i indeed blog.

Georgie and "Fuff"

The girls got a lot of Christmas money during the holidays, and since they had quite a lot to open on Christmas Day, I waited until January to do Christmas shopping with them. I write that I waited, but in reality, I was putting in 12 hour shifts at work almost every day of the week, and I just didn't have the time or the energy to take them shopping. This gave me plenty of time to think of where to take them for their Christmas Shopping Extravaganza. My first impulse was Taret or Walmart, but then as the Christmas Season faded, I realized that maybe Toys-r-Us just might be the best place for them to go.

Off we toddled to the toy store. I directed the girls to look at the sale bins to see if they could find a couple of toys for the price of one. Kate and Reagan did a wonderful job and found several dolls and accessories to get. Georgie...not so good. She walked toward the only not-on-sale shelf, found one of those plush puppy dogs made by FAO Schwartz and said, "fuff!" I tried to introduce her to glitz, glimmer, glam and gloss. She looked but kept a tight hold of "fuff!" The light up piano, the laughing baby, the Little-People Plane, the princess doll, the Baby's First Computer...nothing would loosen her hold on "fuff". I groaned and wondered how much it would cost. Probably not more than $20, right? Let's just say that Kate got 3 toys, Reagan found 4 and Georgie's 1 "fuff" cost more than all those put together. It was so tempting to make her put it back, but she nuzzled her nose against his furry back and closed her eyes at just the right time...we bought "fuff".

That was over 2 months ago. "Fuff" goes with her everywhere. She grabs him before we take her out of her crib. She puts him on the table when she sits to eat. She throws him onto the couch before she clambers up to sit with him. She sleeps with him. She cries her owies to him. She holds him while we buckle her into her carseat. I guess I can't say that about all the toys Kate and Reagan found.

I guess FAO Schwartz knows what they are doing...making toys that kids LOVE...not toys that kids play with.

Tis Snow

Well, they've been saying it was going to snow, but every storm so far has hit Dallas or Northern Texas, but this time around they were forecasting an inch of snow in Houston. They had me worried. That is...until I woke up this morning. Yes, there were clouds, but it wasn't cold. I mean, a light jacket was in order, but that was about it. I decided to get my grocery shopping done before I had to work.

Reagan loves grocery shopping. She loves shopping. If you ask her, "do you want to go to Target?" She says, "yes." The mall? Yes. Walmart? Yes. Krogers? Um...won't they eat us, Mommy? Not Cougars, Reagan, Krrrrrogers. Oh, okay,yes.

So, I took Reagan shopping with me. It started to lightly drizzle (that is a Portland euphemism, by the way, no one understands what drizzle means down here) as we hurried into the store. I figured it wouldn't get much worse. There was no wind, and usually a storm is always preceded by a great deal of wind. An hour later, as I wheeled the grocery cart to the car, I realized that the temperature had dropped about 20 degrees. It suddenly felt cold enough to snow. I hurried Reagan into her car seat. Threw the groceries sans the eggs into the back of the van and drove home. Tanner was waiting for us at home. The minute I pulled up, he was outside, hurrying to haul the groceries into the house before the storm hit. We pulled the last of the groceries out of the van and into the house as the first huge flakes began to fall.

We were so excited by our snowfall that Tanner went to pick Kate up from school early. Not that we were afraid of driving in the snow, but because we were afraid of Texans driving in the snow. Once Tanner got back, we couldn't resist going out and snapping some pictures of our town covered in a light blanket of snow. So, of course the first shot is of Texas A&M. And, no, we didn't take the kids with us.

The second shot is of our river walk and the only picture of me during this day's cold festivities.

And then we have the family picture, sans Mommy. Which always seems to happen on snow days. I think it's a family tradition.

And here is Tanner finding out that Scuba Class was canceled.

The First Sunday of Lent

Moses and Aaron went to the king of Egypt and told him, "The LORD God says, 'Let my people go into the desert, so they can honor me with a celebration there.'"

"Who is this LORD and why should I obey him?" the king replied. "I refuse to let you and your people go!"

They answered, "The LORD God of the Hebrews, has appeared to us. Please let us walk three days into the desert where we can offer sacrifices to him. If you don't, he may strike us down with terrible troubles or with war."

The king said, "Moses and Aaron, why are you keeping these people from working? Look how many you are keeping from doing their work. Now everyone get back to work!"  That same day the king gave orders to his slave bosses and to the men directly in charge of the Israelite slaves. He told them:  Don't give the slaves any more straw to put in their bricks. Force them to find their own straw wherever they can, but they must make the same number of bricks as before. They are lazy, or else they would not beg me to let them go and sacrifice to their God.  Make them work so hard that they won't have time to listen to these lies.

The slave bosses and the men in charge of the slaves went out and told them, "The king says he will not give you any more straw.  Go and find your own straw wherever you can, but you must still make as many bricks as before."

The slaves went all over Egypt, looking for straw. But the slave bosses were hard on them and kept saying, "Each day you have to make as many bricks as you did when you were given straw." The bosses beat the men in charge of the slaves and said, "Why didn't you force the slaves to make as many bricks yesterday and today as they did before?"  Finally, the men in charge of the slaves went to the king and said, "Why are you treating us like this?  No one brings us any straw, but we are still ordered to make the same number of bricks. We are beaten with whips, and your own people are to blame."

The king replied, "You are lazy--nothing but lazy! That's why you keep asking me to let you go and sacrifice to your LORD. Get back to work! You won't be given straw, but you must still make the same number of bricks."

The men knew they were in deep trouble when they were ordered to make the same number of bricks each day. After they left the king, they went to see Moses and Aaron, who had been waiting for them.
Then the men said, "We hope the LORD will punish both of you for making the king and his officials hate us. Now they even have an excuse to kill us."

Moses left them and prayed, "Our LORD, why have you brought so much trouble on your people? Is that why you sent me here?  Ever since you told me to speak to the king, he has caused nothing but trouble for these people. And you haven't done a thing to help."

Coffee...

Last night, I dreamt of coffee. Not just any ordinary coffee, but that rich, silky smell that you remember wafting through your bedroom door on a school morning when you were a kid. That was the signal that Mom was up, and in just a few minutes, if you didn't get moving, she'd yell from the kitchen, "Kids! Get up! We've gotta get going." That's when you'd heave a sigh, slowly peel back the comforter, stretch your toes and crinkle your eyes. If you were lucky, Joanelle would still be half asleep, so the light wouldn't get flipped on. If you were unlucky...well, Emily knows the rest of that story.

Anyway, that's the kind of dream I had. It was so amazingly real, I woke up, half expecting my cold to be complete gone, and Tanner to be hovering near the bed with a cup of coffee for me. He does that type of thing, you know. Imagine my disappointment when I opened my eyes, took a breath through my mouth since my nose isn't working, squinted into the darkness and realized that it was 3:00am. The only good thing about last night was that I was able to roll over and fall back asleep without too much of a problem.

It's Friday!

Today is a squishy morning. Stepping outside and walking to the mailbox, the stepping stones make a sqooshy, squishy, squelchy sound. There are big puddles of water dotting our yard though we don't have Lake Howell out in the back anymore. Reagan wants to go mud puddle hopping, but I can't let her because of her cold.

Yesterday, Jonathan heroically put Tyvek over some of the exposed parts of the house. There is still quite a bit more to do, but at least part of it is done. I didn't ask him how fun it was to tromp around in ankle deep mud, armed with a stapler, scissors and a roll of white, clingy plastic stuff. I suppose for a boy it must have been great fun. I know of several little boys that would have been thrilled to be doing that.

Today, I slept through the alarm clock. I slept through Kate getting ready for school. I slept through Tanner leaving and coming back. I woke up when I started to cough and choke because I was sleeping on my back. I woke up confused and ready to start running around throwing things together because we had to get Kate to school. Tanner started to laugh. Through my choking gasps, I glared at him after he explained that Kate was already at school. I must have been tired. I'm not coughing now and my head actually feels cleared up and less foggy. I'm just hoping that this is really the end to this cold.

Cloudy days are kind of unusual in Texas. If you were sitting inside you would think that it was going to snow. Once you step outside, you'd change your mind because the wind would hit you with a blast of heated air, and your skin would uncrinkle and relax as it absorbed the soft, damp humidity of 72 degree bayou air. I realize it's not bayou, but it almost is. I'm sure some staunch Louisiannaian is going to say that I'm way off my mark, and this weather is much more mild and more enjoyable, etc..., but I'm an Oregonian, and any type of humidity is just really WAY over the top.

On a political note, after the State of the Union speech, the secessionist movement got a huge boost here in Texas. Of course, Tanner had to quip, "don't seceed, just kick the other 49 out!"