Yes, tomorrow is my birthday. Here's the birthday quiz. Which of the following activities will I be enjoying on my special day?
The big news of the week is the antics of the grandson. If you haven't seen Diana's blog, I recommend it. Luke is a delight and stress-reliever.
I was thrilled to hold Luke during Peter's basketball game Friday night. He really followed the movement and sound of the game. He doesn't mind if other pretty ladies and cute kids sitting around us pay attention to him, too. Marv coached his team to a victory over another good team. Peter made us proud in so many ways. He was amazing on rebounds and strong with assists. Also exciting for Peter this week was the chance to miss a day of school to go skiing with the Oldenburg family at Boreal. His lift ticket was free due to a coupon I cleverly found! Yay me! This photo was borrowed from Lyle and Ciara's ski outing with him. On the downside, Peter got a case of poison oak this week in the neighborhood nature area from playing outside in the spring-like weather. The doctor prescribed prednisone to cope with it.
In addition to Luke's milestone, we had another first with Emmy's solo dance for the school choir concert. Emmy worked so hard practicing and staging her ballet to accompany a song based on St. Francis of Asissi's Let Me Be An Instrument of Peace. I'm thankful for a choir director who balances meaningful pieces like this with the fun ones. They also performed "One Day in the Emerald City" and "Popular" from Wicked. Emmy had only a brief session with dance teacher Ms. Leneice from Tricks and a little coaching from Diana and me to help her prepare. There were some anxious days and nights worrying about what her peers would think. She asked me to get her out of it a few times, but I encouraged her, saying if she wanted to perform professionally, she would have to "put herself out there." So, Wednesday night she took the plunge, made herself vulnerable and completed the performance. Could her technique have been better? Sure, she's not a serious dance student. How about the choreography? Could've been better--it was a tough number to dance to. However, for sheer stage presence and energy, she was a huge success. I don't think she could have been better. She accomplished leaps and bounds in a teeny space of time and in a teeny space on stage between microphones, cords and decorative plants. Her smiling face as she held her final pose said it all. She did it! There was a glitch after her performance when the boys choir came on stage to sing a finale with the girls. One of the boys nudged her as he passed by and said, "Your dance was horrible." This kind of criticism had been her greatest fear. Emily dissolved into tears right there on stage which only subsided through many hugs from the girls around her. The audience didn't really know what was going on. Some didn't notice and some, like me, wondered when the boys came up if her foot had been stepped on. Fortunately, she had the choir director's closing announcements to recover during and pulled herself together in time for "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious." It was lucky that the boy chose to apologize the next before receiving the wrath of Emmy's friends. Emmy was honored to have the support of her dad, Diana, Mac and I, many compliments after the show and in the days that followed. We congratulate Emmy on her casting as the Young Kangaroo in Suessical--she gets to have her own libretto! If you want to mark your calendars to come see a performance, let me know. The cast includes older teenagers and looks like it will be great. Shows are March 27, 28 and 30th.
In addition to Emmy's thrilling and drama-filled concert, I got to ride a hormone roller coaster all week! This includes both the onset on Peter's adolescence and the onset of my menopause! For me, it may just be peri-menopause, because in addition to migraines, hot flashes and night sweats, I still get to use feminine products (and you understand I'm not talking about lipstick and mascara.) The best of both worlds! I am surviving and, so far, no one else has been seriously injured. My best advice is to call before visiting. That goes for Marv, Peter and Emily as well.
On a lighter note, only 10 more days til my birthday and the excitement is mounting! I hope the rest of you are enjoying the magic of the season as much as I am!
I would have entitled this my "wish list", but as many of you are painfully aware, and as I believe I just mentioned, I am experiencing mood swings. Many people say silly things like, oh, as you get older birthdays just aren't as much fun as they used to be. I trust I won't find that to be the case. I have a solution for preventing any possible "over the hill" distress.
Here, new and improved since the last gift-giving opportunity, are a list of my demands.
Of course, a lovely card will do as well.
Mom’s Demands
Hugs/affection
Quality time (see Family Fun or Martha Stewart for ideas):
• Make crafts
• Cook together
• Jigsaw puzzles
• Outings
• Shopping (I really need new athletic shoes and jeans—someone could go out with me)
Gifts of service (see list posted on oven):
• Cleaning
• Organizing
• Repairs around the house
• Help with family history
• Computer upgrading
• Learning to do Facebook
• Help with family blog
Hugs/affection
Other
• New label maker or repair/refill current label maker
• Socks—white low cut athletic socks and ankle/knee in various colors to wear with pants/jeans
• Magnifying mirror for tweezing—see Bed, Bath and Beyond
• Food processor
And, don’t forget, the one thing I really need is a hug!
Last Sunday I came home after church and crashed for a big two hour nap. I rarely do this, but those puppies hadn't been letting me get much sleep. That meant I didn't take time to add to my blog, which I am committed to do, so today, NO NAP FOR ME! BLOG ON!
It's been a good New Year's. I'm grateful to get back to routines and to motivate myself and the kids to accomplish goals.
Emmy and I have been trying to set up a trip to LA as she has a agent and casting director who have given her a "call back" and would like her to stay in the area for a few months. This is a challenge for Peter's care with Marv away as much as he is, but we will likely go soon if the Screen Actor's Guild doesn't strike and if we feel we can afford the expense. Meantime, she did a fabulous audition yesterday for Suessical. We hope she gets a principle role. She is also working on a solo dance for Let Me Be an Instrument of Peace which she will perform with her school choir next Wed. night.
Peter and Marv began basketball practices so our home is humming with boys coming and going on Tuesdays and Thursdays for practice. Their team had a decisive victory yesterday. Peter is a great defensive player and hopes to improve his shooting. He would also like to fit in a ski trip this week. He went snowboarding for the first time with Lyle and Ciara before they left.
Primary presidency duties keep me busy--we gave a fun "meet your teacher" breakfast last Saturday morning while Peter went out with the scouts to pick up Christmas trees. We played a tag game with a little snowman that passed from person to person--many thanks to our Jackie for helpful ideas with that. I presented the Sharing Time lesson today and will give a teacher training in two weeks.
I went back to teaching my regular classes at Tricks. Even after the short holiday break I could see either physical growth or other types of maturity in many of my toddlers. It's such an amazing developmental age--I love it.
I've been able to look in on my dear friend Erin Clarkson who was hospitalized when her appendix burst on New Year's Eve. She had some complications, but yesterday finally turned a corner and should be home tomorrow.
Last Wednesday, Emily attended the birthday party of her friend Sophie at John's Incredible Pizza, which I saw as an opportunity to relax. I took Peter and Blake Clarkson along and let them play (using coupons and frequent diner points!) I put my feet up and read my Team of Rivals book. Taking time to do something like this for myself at least once a week is one of my goals, and I still try to get my regular workouts about three times a week.
One last tidbit of news. We decided to find another home for Susan, the bigger of the two puppies. I hated to do it, but Marv had only authorized one Christmas puppy and he was never very keen on the commitment of time and money when I doubled it with two dogs! I stipulated that I only wanted her to go to a family we knew. We were so lucky--our friends the Lamberts who live nearby had been wanting a puppy just like her. Their son John is Peter's friend. I'm looking forward to puppy playdates and maybe even puppy sleepovers if the Lamberts go out of town.
