Last Lesson

Today was the last ice skating lesson for the girls. Honestly, I didn't watch any of it this time. Instead, I was brave and went out on the ice myself. That wasn't really the brave part. I asked for the smallest skates they had, and took Emily out on the ice. She was so excited! She also had a horrible time standing up right. I alternated by holding her hands or under her arms. She alternated by supporting her own weight or making me hold her up. My back and legs got tired really fast. She finally figured out how to march in the skates and started pulling me around. She'd take a few steps and then slip, but I supported her, so we got around for a while that way. After about an hour, she let go of me and tried marching off all on her own. She actually did pretty good. She'd take about ten steps or so before falling. Unfortunately, she started to get tired by that time and became a little cranky. I took her off the ice, which only made her more upset. She twisted out of my arms and marched back to the ice! Eventually, I did have to take her off and make her stay off. She was just too tired and cranky.

Personalities and Color Groups

What color is your personality? Ok, I don't know a whole lot about this. I was talking to a friend the other day, and she asked me. She supposed I was a white. Try to keep peace. Stubborn. Things like that. So, I googled it, and what do you know? Apparently I am a white. Though I still don't know a lot about it. My friend and I got to talking a few days later. She said that whites adapt to other personalities. It was a revelation to me. That is so totally me. I knew I did it, but to hear somebody else say that, makes it seem more like it is an ok thing. I used to get so frustrated that I didn't have my own strong personality, but I enjoy doing what others around me like doing. What the revelation did for me was to put my quirks in better perspective. When I meet somebody new, it is usually very hard for me to talk to them, especially to be the first to talk. Instead I tend to watch people until I feel comfortable. I think this has the unintended effect of making other people uneasy. But I think what I am doing is feeling out their personality so that I know how to act around them. I love to socialize in very small groups. It is very difficult for me, it wears me out very quickly to be in large groups, and especially to mingle. I think this is because there are too many personalities at once to be able to know how to act. Now, maybe I'm reading too much into this, but for me, right now, it really does explain these weird eccentricities and give some validation to them. I don't know how to change them, or even if I should. I do try to talk to new people first, and I think I'm getting better at it, but I still have to fight the urge to just sit, listen, and watch.

Reading With Idaho's First Lady

IDVA gave the children the opportunity to gather at the library to hear Lori Otter, Governor Butch Otter's wife, read a book to them. The book was That's Good, That's Bad. It was an interesting session. She was very good at engaging the children's attention. I think it is a good opportunity for the children to have more of an awareness of government. Although Mrs. Otter herself is not a politician, she is representative of the governorship by virtue of her husband. So, it raises an awareness of the importance of his position to our state. Plus, I believe, it was pretty fun for the kids. The reading was recorded and shown live via the internet to the IDVA children who could not make it to the live reading. It also snowed pretty good that day, making the live turnout a little less than it would have otherwise been.

Sorry, the pictures aren't that great. In case you can't tell, Tiffany is the one in green. Katie didn't want to sit on the floor, and Emily was a very clingy momma's girl that day.

Library Grand Opening

I took the children to the ribbon cutting ceremony at the new library. They were able to get right up in front to see everything (there weren't many kids there). So, they got to see the mayor cut the ribbon and listen to the speeches. They thought it was pretty cool. Then they had donuts and orange juice. Baskin Robbins gave away coupons for free kids cones. They got metal bookmarks with the Library Grand Opening written on them and "I Love to Read" bracelets. We spent two hours there with the girls looking at books and playing with puzzles.

The cutting of the ribbon (the girls each got a piece of this ribbon for their scrapbooks):

The girls beside the 3 foot scissors:

Katie is enjoying a donut:

Clogging and Potties

The girls enjoyed watching a clogging competition that their cousin was in on Saturday. You wouldn't think so, as much as they wouldn't sit still, but they are still talking about it. It wasn't really what I expected, having never seen one. Mostly, the children in the competition danced for about 20 seconds each. It wasn't really enough for me to get a feel for it, but I guess it was enough for the judges, and that was what they were there for. I mostly enjoyed watching the team competitions, where they danced together for an entire song. I also liked to watch the a Capella routines because it was interesting to hear their shoes make the music.

In other news, Emily likes to use the potty. If somebody else says they need to go, she starts pulling down her pants, saying "bah, bah." however, it is not always evident that's what she wants to do as she does the same thing for "bath," and if she wants to change "pants." So, after a bit of interpreting, I figure out she wants to sit on the toilet. I usually try to discourage this, because she's never done anything on it, and she wants to sit for a really long time with me right beside her. I'm not really very patient. Of course, I want her to potty train, but really, I don't want it to be any work for me. And she's not even two yet. She has plenty of time. So, she did it again today. Several times. I usually try to pull her off after a few minutes of no results. Of course she protests my efforts. I just want to say that this evening she actually peed in the toilet. She was so proud of herself. But she wanted to poop, too. So, I still had to pull her off, though she didn't protest quite as much. I let her wipe and flush, so she was more satisfied. Later this evening, she did it again. I think she is finally figuring out how to make herself pee. Yeah! At least I won't be quite so impatient with her toilet sitting efforts in the future. And, who knows? Maybe she will potty train herself very soon.

More Skating

The illness has pretty much left the house. We are still experiencing a cough in its wake. So, we're all feeling much better, and things are getting back to normal.

The girls had another skating lesson today. Katie is finally skating without a glider during the lesson. She traded it in for a helmet. I guess she feels she needs some sort of security. She's getting better, finally starting to pick up a little speed without the glider. Tiffany went longer on one foot than she had previously. Basically, they both just need a lot more practice with what they learned in class.

We've been sick and...

For the past several days, most of us have been pretty sick. Corwin's doing all right, though. I'm really glad he hasn't gotten sick yet. He's been great at taking care of me through it. The worst was Sunday, and he let me sleep most of the day while he took care of the kids. It's Wednesday, and I'm still not feeling quite myself.

So, on to today. I was getting tired of the house going to pot. I got a little energy back, and decided to clean up a bit. I did some laundry. I did the dishes. Katie and Emily then come in to show me some white pasty substance in their hair. I smelled it. Toothpaste. They put toothpaste in their hair. Normally, I'd wonder where this idea came from, but last week Emily put toothpaste in her hair. It seems as Corwin gets ready for work in the morning, he often gives Emily a little hair gel which she rubs in her hair like Daddy. She obviously thought toothpaste looked similar. Now, as to why Katie would do it- and I had no doubt that it was she who instigated this incident- she loves baths and thought I would give her a bath to wash it out. Well, instead of a bath, I had them stand in the tub, where I sprayed their hair with the hand held shower. They didn't like it much, but it got the job done much faster than a bath would have. As we were getting further on in the day, it became obvious that the kids were making messes faster than I could clean. I ordered them to their rooms, so I could clean up in peace. it wasn't long after this that I saw Katie again, insisting that her hair "just fell out." It was obvious that she had given herself a haircut. Later, as I was explaining how I'd have to cut her hair to make it look presentable, Tiffany sat back and snickered. I lost my cool. I don't think I would have so much if I was feeling completely myself, but I was so tired of Tiffany screaming every time I combed her hair. Anyway- to the end of the story. Both girls got haircuts. Tiffany's is now shoulder length. Katie's is "boy short." There was a lot of weeping and wailing going on at our house this evening. Oh, Emily wasn't happy either- she wanted her hair cut.

Playing Catch Up

Sometimes I think I concentrate too much on what I think has to get done, that I forget about more important things. On Friday, I took some time to do those things that I feel are very important, but I have been neglecting. I took the time to shovel my elderly neighbors' sidewalks. Then the girls and I went and visited them. I haven't taken the time to do this in a while, because I was too busy making sure Tiffany had school from 9 til 3, then I had to clean house and get dinner ready. They are all things I need to do, but in some ways it is more important to teach children to be aware of people who need our help and take the time to help them.

Another neighbor came out and assisted the girls in making a snowman. We found some little oranges in our refrigerator to use for eyes, Rick (the neighbor) retrieved a carrot from his pantry for a nose. We used pea gravel for the mouth. Rick got an old hat, and we donated a scarf. As you can see, it was a collaborative effort.


Here's Emily eating snow:



In other news, Corwin and I decided to send Tiffany back into the public school system this fall. She'll be in third grade, and Katie will be in kindergarten. That means I'll be home for a few hours of the day with just Emily. I've really enjoyed having all the girls at home. It's been challenging at times, but I think, well worth it.