Her Favorite Perch

Ten Years Ago

Peter just moved into size 14 clothes. He sure has grown in the last ten years.

Crepes, Anyone?

I made crepes for dinner on Sunday. I've made crepes many, many times in the past and know that it takes more than one batch to feed our crew. I cracked ten eggs into the bowl and glanced at the recipe. It called for one cup of flour.

Well, I thought, I put in ten eggs, so that means ten cups of flour.

Partway through I made a mental note that it seemed like a lot of flour for this recipe, but that didn't stop me. After all ten cups were in I looked at the recipe again.

And then I started giggling. I giggled all the way upstairs. I giggled as I informed Bryan that I had just ruined dinner. And then I giggled all the way back down to the kitchen to look at the recipe again. It called for two eggs and one cup of flour, not one egg and one cup of flour.

I could have made pancakes instead, but I really wanted crepes. So in went another ten eggs.

Good news: we only have one more freezer-sized bag of crepes to get through before they're all eaten!

Migraines

I reached one of my New Year's Resolutions! No, not the sleep one, although I have been to sleep before 11 at least three times during 2016. I'm talking about the exercise goal. I wanted to workout four times per week in an effort to control my migraines.

Way back in September we bought a rowing machine in an effort to help facilitate this. I've slowly been building up my endurance and for the last month I've rowed 5000 meters four times each week. This takes about forty minutes each day, depending on how fast I row and how long I take to recover. It's a big time commitment (the blog may suffer the most from this new practice), but it's worth it. Why?

I haven't had a migraine since the end of December.

Considering how often I was having them, that's amazing. On the days that I'm tired and don't want to row I simply ask myself if I'd rather have a migraine. It's quite motivational.

Phoebe has been praying for months that I wouldn't have anymore migraines. A few weeks ago she came into my room during quiet time just before I planned to workout. She wanted me to do something else with her instead. I reminded her that exercising helped me to not have migraines. She said that because she was praying for that very thing that meant I didn't have to put in the work.

In a moment of divine clarity I looked into her eyes and said, "Phoebe, I believe that I have stopped having migraines because of your prayers. Sometimes answers to prayers come in ways we don't expect. You've been praying that my migraines would stop, but the answer wasn't just that Heavenly Father took away my headaches. Instead, He gave me a way to work hard to stop the migraines by exercising. That's an answer to your prayer."

Her eyes glistened and her face beamed. She changed her mind about not wanting me to use the rowing machine. It was a sweet spiritual experience for both of us. And just the thought of it helps me continue to keep my goal.

Girl With Cape

"Mom, today I'm the Superhero of Friendship. That means I help people learn how to be friends."

Everybody Jump! Jump!

Friday night family dance parties provide plenty of opportunities to jump around.

Girl Time

Sunshiny Day

It finally got warm this weekend. We had a surprisingly mild winter, but it was still very cold, and that cold lasted for a loooooong time. But this weekend? It was glorious. 

The kids spent Saturday outside playing in our big backyard and Bryan used the sunshine to thoroughly wash, wax, and take pictures of his new car. My fair skin and deep dislike of the sensation of sunscreen kept me inside more than I would have liked, but I threw open all the windows and breathed in that beautiful fresh air. We even had a celebratory Saturday night dinner of hamburgers, watermelon, and the best potato salad I've ever had/made.

Hooray for beautiful days!

Shiny and New

Bryan's car, which had slowly been wearing out, finally started going "chugga-chugga-chugga" instead of a nice smooth "vroom." After a visit to a mechanic, and lots of research, we decided to put the old car out to pasture.

Behold, Bryan's new car that he spent two and a half hours washing and waxing on Saturday. It is very shiny. It also gets an average of forty miles to the gallon. The kids all jump at the opportunity to run errands with Bryan because that means a ride in "The New Car." He even moved Sophie's car seat over so she could go for a spin.

Fake It Till You Make It

Remember the glass etching project I did for a RS activity? We've continued these shindigs each month since then. In February we learned simple embroidery, in March we learned card making, and this month we're making Menu and To Do boards. My friend who chose this particular craft ended up having a totally swamped April and had to hand it off. You know what that means? I stayed up much too late on Saturday night and learned how to cut vinyl with my fancy and beautiful Silhouette Cameo that my wonderful mother-in-law sent me.

After looking through aaaaalll the fonts and ruining a few pieces of vinyl, I finally figured it out. These are the finished products I took to church on Sunday to advertise our upcoming activity.

A friend sent me a text after church to tell me how impressed she was with my crafting skills.

That's when the world turned upside Lewis Carroll-style and Twilight Zone music started playing.

Nevertheless, I like the way they turned out.

Cars

We all stayed up late tonight at the biggest Pinewood Derby we've ever been to. We had three packs, twenty-eight boys, and at least one-hundred-and-twenty races. It was a long night, but fun for the kids.

Peter's car did pretty well, he got second place in most of the races. Cooper placed first in seven out of his ten races. Unfortunately, he had one bad run that landed him in fourth place. That meant when all was said and done he got fifth place overall and just barely missed out on the final race with the top four cars. He didn't mind and got a kick out of all those won races.

Cooper's car, Color Code, is on the left. Peter's patriotic car, Speedemon, is on the right.

After all the races, Bryan, who was pulling the go lever to start all the runs, raced the boys cars against each other.

Sugar Bandit

What Are You Doing With Your Theatre Degree?

This is the question that was posed to me last night. I was at a friend's house for a Girls' Night, the first Girls' Night I've been to in ages. It was delightful being around intelligent people that didn't yell or throw things at my head*. It was so fun, in fact, that I stayed out much later than was wise and spent most of yesterday stupid tired.

Before we started our movie (Joy, in case you were wondering), I chatted with the other guest. We're all in the same ward, but she works in Primary and I spend most of my time in Relief Society, so we hadn't had much opportunity to get to know each other. When she found out what my college course of study was, she asked, "What are you doing with your theatre degree?"

I took in a deep breath and mentally shuffled through several reasonable answers (I read amazing bedtime stories! My daughters can request imitations of most Disney princesses and I can deliver! I teach super animated Relief Society lessons!), but before I could say anything at all, my friend (and our host) spoke up.

"She writes a blog! Everyday!"

I paused, trying to decide if that fell under my major of Theatre Education or my minor of English Teaching, and whether either mattered much since I graduated from college nearly twelve years ago. I confirmed that yes, I do post something every weekday, but I was quick to supply that I haven't been doing much in the way of writing despite those five-per-week posts lest they find my blog and discover I'm some wannabe poser. Also, that I use words such as "wannabe" and "poser."

And yes, sometimes I can eek out enough brain power to say something mildly entertaining, but I have certainly fallen into the pattern of looking for cute pictures of the kids and giving a brief explanation so I can move on to cleaning the kitchen and not going to sleep on-time. I know that the majority of my faithful readers prefer those posts because, let's be honest, you're pretty much just here for amusing anecdotes and darling photos.

However.

I must occasionally remind myself why this blog exists. I'm trying to keep my brain from turning into a big pile of mush. These reminders pop up from time to time. If I typed the words "brain" and "mush" into my search bar I would likely find a handful of written ruminations on this exact subject. And it's okay, because I need that motivation to continue so this blog doesn't become a begrudged duty.

I return to the question, how am I using my theatre degree? I'm not sure that I am, at least not in obvious ways. But I am using my brain. I'm using the skills I learned from college and from theatre, to think deeply, analyze situations and materials, stay active, engage and entertain those around me, use my resources wisely, and write in an intelligible manner. That time devoted to study was well spent, despite the fact that I haven't directed a play in nine years.

How are you using your degree?

*For the record, Bryan doesn't yell at me or throw things at my head. I cannot make similar statements about the other people that live at my house...

Phoebe Lost Another Tooth!

The Curry

Remember my goal of learning to make Thai food this year? I made Yellow Curry! Wait, let me try that again. I MADE YELLOW CURRY!!!

Bryan and I don't get to have many dates, but the few that we have usually involve Thai food. More specifically, they involve Yellow Curry. I love Thai food, but of all the Thai food I've tried, Yellow Curry is my favorite. It's a delectable combination of savory and sweet with just a hint of heat. It is one of my favorite foods.

The day before Cooper's baptism I attempted the much dreamed of food. Since he was in town and also loves to cook, my brother Jordan helped me make the Yellow Curry Paste (with only two Thai peppers instead of the suggested five to twenty), then I followed the recipe for Yellow Curry.

Mostly.

It smelled perfect and I was eager to taste it. And when I finally did, I was kind of disappointed.

Our company was sweet and said it was good, but it was lacking...something. As I was wallowing in the self-pity of an unfulfilled recipe dream, I realized something. I had left out an ingredient! It called for a few tablespoons of brown sugar, but it was optional, so I left it out. I jumped out of my seat and added that special sugar into the pot.

And guess what? The mediocre meal became magnificent.

I have more paste waiting in the freezer and am eagerly anticipating making it again.

Princess Sophie

"I a princess, Mama!"

I understand that Sophie looks up to Phoebe, therefore a princess is a very important thing to aspire to be. What really surprises me about this picture is that Phoebe deigned to be the Lady-in-Waiting. The roles are usually reversed.

The Highlights

General Conference was wonderful. It was certainly not the calm, reverent experience we had last October, but it was still uplifting and enriching. Sophie was particularly busy. She colored in her Conference Notebook, and in Cooper's, and in Phoebe's, and in Peter's. She also spent part of Conference as a pirate. After one session, we watched the Apostles exit with their wives. Sophie drew from her own church experience and asked, "Go Nursery?"

Part of my daily gospel study for the next six months will be to review the talks that we heard this weekend. I always get more out of them as I continue to listen, read, and ponder the messages.

The talks that resonated with me included Elder Duncan's talk about forgiveness, Elder Ballard's talk on family councils, Sister Oscarson's talk about belief, President Uchtdorf's talk on the Savior, Elder Kearon's talk about giving aid to refugees, and Elder Holland's talk teaching of God's love and our need to endure to the end.

My favorite quote from Elder Holland's talk?

So keep loving. Keep trying. Keep trusting. Keep believing. Keep growing. Heaven is cheering you on today, tomorrow, and forever.

The Fun Uncle

Jump!

Postponed...Again

Tomorrow is April 5, the day that Sophie was scheduled to have the pilomatrixoma removed from her cheek. In case you don't remember, she originally was supposed to have this surgery at the beginning of February, but she got croup four days before and the anesthesiologist said no to general anesthesia for our girl.

On Saturday night, after the kids were tucked into bed and Bryan and I were working on our own projects, we heard a cough. Then we heard another one. We looked at each other and asked one question, "Was that Sophie?"

It was.

She got steadily worse on Sunday and then Sunday night was rough. This morning we went to the doctor for her physical and the thumbs up for the surgery. After listening to Sophie's cough and lungs she gave the thumbs down. But we didn't go away empty handed. Sophie got her very first breathing treatment and a prescription for an albuterol inhaler.

Her surgery is now scheduled for May 3.

A Weekend of Church

This Saturday and Sunday is General Conference! It's one of my favorite weekends of the year. I'm up late preparing the kids' Conference Notebooks, which means lots of time perusing Pinterest and choosing my favorite coloring/activity pages to include. Cooper has been asking if the Notebooks are done. I'm happy that he looks forward to Conference like I do.

As I worked tonight I listened to a few talks from last October. President Nelson's talk about women and Elder Holland's talk on mothers still speak to me on a deeply personal level. I look forward to hearing additional counsel tomorrow. And I love the sweet Spirit that watching General Conference brings into our home.

Enjoy your weekend, I know I'll enjoy mine.