Pigtails and pedicures

Any time I don't have to be standing on my feet, the better for my body. That includes time in front of the mirror so I've resorted to pigtails instead of straightening my hair. I usually try and time my pigtails for those days that I won't be out and about in public, but I did end up at the library in them. Those who have seen me in them have refrained from comment, including James and close friends. That must mean they look as silly as I think they do.

The Beauty College was doing free pedicures, so Sariah and I both had our feet pampered. Her first pedicure at age 5 and my first pedicure at my age. It really did feel wonderful and we wore our green flip flops home in FREEZING weather.

Ta da!

Just since last time...


Cousin Hayden spent the weekend with us while his Mom and Dad went to Arizona. James and I got a taste of what twin boys will be like. If they sleep as well as these two toddlers, we might survive.

James took the three oldest kids for eye check-ups. Talmage hasn't been seen since before kindergarten and Bryant and Sariah have never had their eyes checked. Bryant came into the house gloating, "Mom, I have three words for you, Talmage needs glasses." He apparently has one very farsighted eye. I guess it is a good thing we took the dive for vision insurance this year.

Talmage had his first violin recital, and the music was much better than the photo.

Bryant finished his 2nd Harry Potter book.

Sariah and I are getting ready for her Fancy Nancy party. Last night she did my hair, and today we glued jewels on place mats we cut out in the shape of butterflies.

And last, but definitely not least....ta da!

My youngest potty-trained child ever! I wish I could take some credit but I have to admit, all I have to do is steady him so his tiny little body doesn't "fall in" as he puts it. We won't have three in diapers after all!

Yesterday, with everyone gone for eye appointments I told Hyrum he could nap by me on my bed. He was pretty excited about that. As we lay there, no exaggeration, he was singing "Once there was a Snowman," and not 60 seconds later he was out cold. It was amazing.

To smile about

Talmage has been so pleasant and helpful the last few days as my belly get bigger. He offers to push the stroller on the way home from school and he's so good to help the little ones. Yesterday when James wasn't home for dinner and Hyrum spilled his water, Talmage jumped up and cleaned every last drop up willingly as could be. I was so grateful.

Yesterday morning, Hyrum came to me and said, "pee, pee." I helped him up to the toilet and wha-la. So, he picked out some Thomas the train big boy pants and except for during the night, he's been in undies or pull-ups. He's had a lot of successes and a few puddles, but I think it may actually work.

Valentine's Day 2011

Thanks to a good friend who took Sariah and Hyrum for most of the day, I was able to continue the tradition of team-teaching seminary with James on Valentine's Day. It is always a pleasure to spend the day with him in his world. I read this book to the students:
This story teaches that "true love always protects" and we linked this truth to the principles found in this book:

Hopefully it meant something to some of them.

Other Valentine's Day Goings On:

This is the Valentine's Mailbox that Talmage took to school today for his classmates to deposit their valentines. At 10 pm last night, James had visions of dragons and spray paint, and I said a recycled halloween costume would do just fine and allow for a whole lot more shut eye.

This was our family Valentine's dinner last Saturday night, complete with candles, flowers, music, and sparkling cider.

A lovely table set by Sariah including name plates.

Entree, no complaints. (All you can eat of course.)

Dessert, (thanks Danyelle).

We had a great time toasting and watching Hyrum drink from stemware.

These are the sugarless valentines the kids exchanged this year. This happens to be one I gave to one of my former young women. The kids' valentines of course had valentine pencils to exchange.

Last week, a package arrived from my sister in Lincoln, Nebraska. Among the contents:

This is the first I've seen in our own house of "two by two." For some reason seeing these cute little "twins" made me feel a little more excited and a little less overwhelmed by the adventure we're approaching.

Sariah received more new school clothes than I have ever known one person to have. Auntie found some great deals during Lincoln's lemon days.

More dress-up last week. This time, Hyrum is trying to figure out earrings.

And since we miss James on Tuesdays and Wednesdays for dinner while he heads off to class, I find myself resorting to these kinds of lazy meals. Again, no one complains about homemade bread.

Kase

I have a brother named Kase. There is no way to describe him except to know him, and all those who do, love him. Just for starters, he asked me to send him by overnight mail the wishbone of the turkey he and his girlfriend butchered last Thanksgiving. Along with it, he requested the penny they found in its gizzard. Both of these items had been saved by my mother over the last few months. With Valentine's Day around the corner I'm just hoping his sweetheart of a girlfriend isn't taken aback by wishbones and gizzard pennies as opposed to flowers and chocolate. Having dated for over a year, I can't imagine that too much surprises her.

Bryant and Sariah broke a different wishbone tonight (simultaneously dried with Kase's wishbone for over two months by Grandma). As soon as it snapped and Sariah had the bigger half, she exclaimed, "Now I can put it under my pillow!" What?! Where did she get that idea? We all burst out laughing.

Hyrum has figured out how to turn the doorknob and escape at bedtime. When he wandered out the first time, I put him straight back to bed. Within a few minutes, he had opened up the door again and come out on all fours barking. So much for puppy dog eyes, he's going for the full effect. Now he does it all the time. We just scoop him up and tell him that puppies have to go to sleep too. (It wasn't so cute in line at the post office this morning.)

I've been reading this book about pregnancy with multiples. One of the main points of it is the drastically different dietary requirements when a woman is expecting multiples as opposed to a singleton. I'm supposed to be eating 6 meals a day, plus a bedtime snack. This daily requirement includes 2 cups of ice cream and whole milk. By next week I should have gained a minimum of 18 pounds. (Three weeks ago I had gained 7 lbs.) Early weight gain is important with multiples because they often come early and the ability to eat much is restricted much earlier simply because of how much space the uterus takes up in the abdomen. I always thought eating and sleeping the days away sounded luxurious. Now that I'm doing it, it seems more like a chore.