This, That, and Quirks

We love Dr. Lisi's dental office!  They are so great with the kids and tell the kids what is going on during their treatments in terms they can understand and appreciate.  Look at the cool shades they get to wear when laying back in the chair.

This is what happens to Daddy when the kids get stickers in their Valentine's bags. He makes one awesome canvas.

Sophie and I went on a Mommy/Daughter date recently and saw The Wizard of Oz at the high school.  Her babysitter starred as Dorothy.  Those kids are totally hooked up at the performing arts center.  They had flying monkeys and a trap door that drops down so the witch really appeared to melt.  Sophie did great but let mom know "It was a little long for me."  Honestly, I think she was being very generous as an energetic, curious kid because it was long for me as an adult.  They got started late, the show was long, and the intermission was very ample. But they did a great job!

I had Sophie running in an area away from most everyone during the intermission but we still ran into lots of friends and acquaintances from church, my neighbors, and our friends, the Sedgley's, who snuck us back stage to see the massive floor plan of the performing arts center.  While there, Glenda, the good witch, was kind enough to let Sophie and I have a photo op.  How great is that!

In other adventures, I have been crazy-busy with life and promoting the Allen Eagle Run for weeks but last week I got to volunteer a good part of two days stuffing bags with race shirts and goodies, attaching safety pins to race bibs, and sorting bags alphabetically.  But I loved it!  It always feels good to be useful and Rhys was such a good kid.  He entertained himself for the most part and indulged in candy and cookies.

Oh, a couple weeks ago Neal was sick and I was trying to get the kids ready and to church on time and failing badly in the process.  I was yelling, and making stern faces, and stomping around finishing up business. Then on the way there, Sophie alerted me that she had forgotten the talk she was suppose to give in the children's Primary, at home.  That did it! All sorts of ugly behavior came out of me as I returned home, stormed in and out, and sat in the car. 

This is when the Lord's tender mercy was granted to me, a very undeserving child myself.  My son simply said the best he could, "Try again, Mommy?  Try again?"  That sweet voice made me stop and realize what I had done and that I needed to repent and ask forgiveness of both my children and my Heavenly Father.  I was humbled and loved.  I thought of Proverbs 15:1, "A soft answer turneth away wrath." I was proud that Rhys recognized that Mommy had offended the Spirit and needed a gentle reminder to change my current path and invite Him back into our family circle.  I told them I was having a tantrum, that I was so sorry, and that I loved them.  My children were quick to forgive.  It was a great moment of learning for me.

What else has happened lately?  Last year we made a big deal about the Texas Cowboy Poetry Gathering.  Well, like clock work, Sophie says less than a week before the event, I want to go do "Cowboy Day" again.  Well, we did not make a big deal over it this year but we did make our way over to the Sam Bass Day celebration.  On this day we have a bit of fun acknowledging Sam Bass, the first outlaw to successfully rob a train in TX.  It is the city of Allen's claim to fame. 

Anyway, we got to watch the reenactment of the robbery thanks to the high school performing arts students.  Here is Sophie with one of the "bandits", Ashley, one of the fine young women of our church.

This one is so cute! The kids were given balloons by us on Valentine's Day.  They were warned about the skylight in the kitchen and that it was too high for us to even reach if their balloons went up there.  After a few days, Sophie's balloon made it's way up there and she was in tears for a bit.

Her little brother came to the rescue, dragging in the trampoline and jumping with his might so he could try and reach it!  Completely adorable!  In the end Daddy, held Sophie high above him while standing on a tall step stool (not recommended) and they managed to get it down without any broken bones.

For Dr. Suess' birthday, children and staff at our kid's elementary school were invited to dress up as their favorite character or author.  With some discussion we decided Clifford would be pretty easy to do, but alas, it was Sunday, and we do not shop on the sabbath so we were not going to run out for red felt to make ears.  We ended up with something pretty cool!  We used the paper bag from the 50 pounds of rolled oats we purchased* and a tiara, a bit of hair ratting, and a few smudges of black eye liner on her face and WHA-LA! We had The Paper Bag Princess!  One of my favorite books anyway!  We got a picture with Mrs. Coroneos, her teacher, dressed as a Native American (which tied into a book she read them that day), and our principal thought Sophie was so adorable she had to get a picture of her on her phone.

*GASP! Yes, 50 pounds! We have been bulking up our food storage with beans, wheat, sugar, and oats.  I am honestly feeling a bit giddy about it all!  Security is super important to me.  Already made PB and J oatmeal and my favorite Coconut Blackberry Oatmeal Bake with it! GIDDY!

Other stuff, let's see...Ah yes, a few weeks back when I was pretty sick, I was laying on the bed when Sophie did THE NICEST THING for me!  Don't get me wrong--she picks me the occasional dandelion and empties the compost bucket when asked, but this was just so kind.  I heard noise around me but didn't realize until she had come to me that she had gone into my bathroom to get my glass, walked to the kitchen to fill it with filtered water, and then, get this, she put a bendy straw in it so I could drink it while laying down.  She is 5, energetic, and interested in everything that is happening around her that I was so impressed that she stopped to do this for me.  Love this girl!

Sophie has also stopped requesting Silent Night as her bedtime song and now asks for us to "Soft Kitty" which our family knows from TV show, The Big Bang Theory.

Soft kitty, warm kitty
Little ball of fur,
Happy kitty, sleepy kitty
Purr, purr, purr.

It's a sweet, little song, and a seriously funny show about geeks but not something I would want my kid to pick up too much more from.  So Neal and I have more aware of what we are viewing when the kids are around.

Rhys and Sophie have been fighting over who gets to use the purple cup, bowl, plate, whatever, lately so we have been doing our best to avoid pulling those out of the cupboard at meal time.  Really?! Yes! So irritating.

And speaking of color, our son has been quite adamant about wearing one of Sophie's very pink hats--to the store, to the school to pick up his sister, etc.  Well, it's not that big a deal because we don't think that it will affect who he is as a human being but apparently it was a big enough deal to both Neal and I that we went out of our way to find him a more gender appropriate hat.  We think he just oozes magnetism in his new hat!

Rhys also announces, "I help you, Mommy!" anytime he hears me puttering in the kitchen.  It doesn't matter if I'm making oatmeal, orange juice from concentrate, or popcorn.  It does, however, matter if my noise comes from the clinking of silverware.  If I am doing dishes that kitchen is a ghost town, just me and the tumbleweeds. 

Rhys loves to watch, help pour, stir, and run things to the trash and recycle bin, and today, he decided he wanted to crack the eggs. I let him albeit with a lot of parental help.  I love having him there but not always when I am trying to get dinner completed and it's a new recipe I'm not comfortable with. He is the sweetest sous chef.

Also about Rhys--we have found that boy up on his dresser, the kitchen island, the coffee table (which is on hidden wheels!), bathroom counters, and so forth. I am really hoping he will miraculously and suddenly heed our counsel and that it won't take a busted skull to make him stop.