With a Twist and a Tumble

Today's it's official...Evelyn has registered for gymnastics. We've been counting down the days until registration was open. She would be DEVESTATED if the class was full so we decided that it would be best to drive over before school so she could hand over her (somewhat) hard-earned cash. We had a deal, if she could save for half the course we would pay the other half. Turns out she saved enough for two halves so if she chooses she can sign up again once this session runs through.

She was dressed with bed made, hair done and ready to go at about 6:30am this morning with her money clutched tightly in her hand and a smile that never left her face. She walked seriously up to the lady behind the registration desk and said, "I'd like to take gymnastics". She carefully counted out her money then practically floated out of the gym.

The bad news...it doesn't start until March 28th. I thought she was going to cry when she realized how far away that was. It was hard enough to wait until the registration date itself and now there's another month until it officially begins. The poor girl. We dutifully marked the calendar with a big star and now (not-so) patiently wait until the big day comes.

After dropping them off at school and returning home I went to grab her envelop with her extra money in it (about $100) and couldn't find it in the car. I know she carried it out of the rec centre and thought that perhaps she had left it in her coat pocket. I debated about just leaving it but I know how upset she would be if something happened to it so I loaded the girls back in the van and drove back to the school. She was called out of her classroom...I love the look on her face when she has no idea if she should be smiling or worried!! She was sure it was in the van and promised it wasn't in her coat or bag (I thought there was a chance she wanted to show off her riches to her friends) so back into the car I went. Turns out it had fallen under the back seat. I have got to open up bank accounts for the girls so we don't have all this cash around the house just waiting to be played with and lost.

32 days and counting. This is going to be a long month.

You Win Some, You Lose Some

Today was Family Day. We were all very excited. I had looked at all the free activities that Orangeville had to offer and we decided on the following itinerary:
Pancake breakfast at the chapel
Cross-country skiing
A swim or a skate
Dinner with friends
Soccer or floor hockey at the chapel

It was going to be a fun day!!!!!

First up...pancake breakfast! I don't think I've ranted about wheat yet on this blog. The short of it...we're not eating wheat right now, or processed sugar. It's a blog post all on its own. The girls are adjusting okay, relatively speaking (if you count desperately clutching a box of cereal and begging to have just one bowl as adjusting). Rene is being forced to come around because I'm not buying bread or cereal and we're pretty much out (he's still eating crackers though so we'll see how things pan out when those suckers are all gone). Anyway, I told them not to worry, I would be making our own potato pancakes that we would cook up and serve with sour cream instead of syrup. The girls' faces dropped (it is bad I thought their crestfallen faces were humorous?) and Rene said, "Are we turning into "that" kind of family?" Gosh, what kind of Mom do they think I am? They were so excited to gorge out on processed wheat based circles of deliciousness topped with a sugaring, syrupy touch of heaven. I made sure to stuff them with fruit and yogurt before we left so at least they wouldn't be filling up on a completely empty stomach.

Next stop, cross-country skiing. This was the most exciting part of the day. The local ski club was offering free trail access and free ski rentals. And when things just couldn't get any better for this already fantastic adventure we unexpectedly arrived at the same time as the family of Amelia's best friend from school. The sun was shining, there was no wind and it was the perfect temperature. We all got boots and skis and poles without having to wait and we were off. It only took them about 2 minutes to realize that it's not as easy as walking and Amelia was in tears in about 5. With Lucienne strapped to his back, Rene patiently tried to teach Amelia how to get up while I dealt with Audree. Evelyn, being the somewhat natural athlete that she is, managed to pick it up fairly quickly and was down the path in a jiffy.

After about 15 minutes, and 20 metres, Audree gave up. She wouldn't budge and there was nothing I could say to change her mind. She was done and in no mood to negotiate. Grudgingly (not one of my most notable parenting moments) I took her skis off, then mine, and trudged back to the chalet, only longingly glancing back once at the rest of my family as they disappeared around the bend of the trail. I guess Rene eventually realized I wasn't with the group and came back to hand off Lucienne. If I was going back what was the sense of him holding onto her? And away he went. I now had a load of a toddler, two sets of skis and poles, a hiking backpack carrier and a crying 4 year old.

We got back to the chalet (not a lovely picturesque chalet in the mountains of Switzerland...more like an overcrowded multipurpose room with a view of a ski rack). We situated ourselves by a window and I then sat for 2.5 hours while Audree napped on the floor and Lucienne napped on me. To say I wish I had a book would be an understatement. At one point I saw one person I knew and she chatted long enough to tell me that she had seen Rene and the girls eating some hotdogs at the outdoor fire pit they had along the trail and that she was sure they wouldn't be too much longer.

With nothing else to do other than feel sorry for myself, by the time they got back I was ready to explode with self pity and had little patience for their tales of frolicking in the snow with hot chocolate and roasted marshmallows and hotdogs. I was hungry, and tired, and had a numb butt and a numb arm and just wanted to get out of there.

I kind of ruined the rest of the afternoon. I wasn't in a mood for swimming or skating, instead I went grocery shipping while Rene watched a movie with the girls. I came home to make dinner for friends who showed up at four.

I got over myself and had a lovely dinner. We then went to the chapel to play a game. Her 4 and 9 year olds were super excited to play floor hockey, her 14 and 15 year olds had very important business to attend to on their phones, my girls were less than enthused to play but hit the ball every now and then. The game dissolved and I found myself out in the hallway nursing Lucienne with the teens and my girls lazing around on the couch. I told Amelia and Evelyn to go and slap Rene on the butt and tell him he was it. The most fun and energetic hour and a half game of tag ensued. We even managed to get the 14-year-old off the couch and that's saying a lot.

I realized something integral about Amelia today. She really doesn't like team sports. She has no desire to chase something that already has 5 people chasing it. When push comes to shove, she will walk away. She's all about individual sports though. She LOVED the skiing...once she got the hang of not falling, she loves playing tag, she loves swimming (when her class isn't filled with just boys), she loves tobogganing. She would probably love track and field if her school offered it. She loves biking and yoga and skating. These are the classes I need to be on the look out to sign her up for.

I love when I finally figure out a little piece of the puzzle of what makes up my children!

Knit One, Purl One

In true second-child form, Evelyn wanted to learn how to knit...because Amelia learned. I wasn't sure that a 6-year-old had the necessary coordination of fingers so I kept putting it off. However, in Christmas shopping we found a Learn How to Knit kit that had Evelyn written all over it. I then proceeded to forgot to give it to her for Christmas, then I forgot to give it to her for her birthday. I came across it a couple days ago and decided to just give it to her. In a way I think it was a good thing. She was sooooo excited to be getting a random gift for a non-celebratory occasion that she declared it was the BEST present ever (a learn-to-knit book...really?) She painstakingly went through the whole book and picked out her first project (the book contains instructions for various animals and their accessories). I squashed her grand plans by suggesting we work on knitting a square first so she could get that hang of it.

So, we started out with casting on. Once she got the hand of that she declared that she would like to make something by just casting on because it was so much fun. Again I squashed her grand plans by saying there's nothing you can make with only cast-on stitches becasue once you take them off the needle it will just unravel. Next step, learn how to knit. We settled on making a wrist sweat band for when she's dancing (with the matching pair and headband to follow). She picked it up surprisingly quickly, but not without some ups and downs. This is something of her roller coaster emotions with each stitch:

"I love knitting, I think I'll make a sweater next!"

"I can't do this, it's too hard." followed by
 throwing the project across the table.

"Look at how fast I'm going, I'll have this
finished by the end of the night!"

""AHHHHHHHHHHHH...I'll never learn
how to knit, I can't see what I'm doing."

"Do you think I'm as good as Grandmama yet?"

And next row...

It's a slow process but she's coming along.

Friend or Foe?

It's a miracle...the dog and cat are getting along. There are no words that can adequately express how relieved I am.

Ginger finally just called Paris' bluff this weekend. It helps that she's in heat (for the third time I think...I've lost track now) and she's much more bold and open to her rear being sniffed. Up to this point she was an upstairs-under-the-bed kind of cat. She only came downstairs if we brought her down and closed the door, then she would spend most of the time behind or on top of the couch, well out of reach of the dog. Every time Paris caught a whiff of her she'd be on  the prowl, finished off with a pounce or full out chase until Ginger could find shelter.

However, something shifted. The cat finally stood her ground and called the dog out. Turns out Paris is all talk...or bark (but she doesn't bark)...now I've lost track of the saying I'm trying to play with. Anyway, if you're in the mood for a swift nose in the bum, Paris is your dog. It will be interesting to see how the relationship plays out when Ginger isn't in "the mood" anymore.

There are times I'll look over at them playing and the cat's head will be in Paris' mouth. Or the cat will walk in the room drenched in doggie drool (very gross). I know I still need to keep an eye on them. Paris is still a puppy and has trouble with boundaries  She has trouble with boundaries with people, other dogs, squirrels and now cats. She really just wants to play but doesn't seem to have the dog sense of when the other animal is not amused. Poor Georgia is pushed relentlessly to play until she seeks refuge on Erica's lap. She doesn't have a sense of her size and can bring down her paw pretty hard. We all have been at the receiving end of her pawing and I could see Ginger being seriously hurt.

However, Ginger's not the innocent bystander in all this. There are times Paris is minding her own business only to have a swat in the butt or nose or a bite to the tail. Sometimes it's just Ginger walking by but sometimes Ginger seems to want to engage Paris in play. I have a hard time seeing the difference between play and fighting. I know Ginger's claws are out for some of the swats and Paris has backed down quickly when one of them lands on her face. There are times Ginger will yowl but then not run away. If I knew Paris would be gentle I wouldn't worry as much but when she's excited about something she can throw her weight around...just ask Lucienne who has been knocked down more time I can count by a dog bounding by.

The best of all this is that I can finally get the kitty litter out of the toyroom and into the basement. It was up there out of necessity but always kind of grossed me out. Now that Ginger is roaming the whole house I can finally start the process of moving it down.

Pins and needles

Last weekend's blizzard did a number on my back...I'd had a few twinges of pain from a previous snow shovelling experience a couple of weeks prior, but thought I was "just fine" and the snow this time was light enough to not require any heavy lifting.  By 8:00 am Friday morning we had a good 6 inches of snow so after taking Murphy for his morning stroll, I set to clearing the front walks next door and my walkways and driveway, realizing I'd still need to do it again once the storm had dropped its total dump.  Fifteen minutes after getting comfy on the couch (snow day for me too!), the pins and needles started to twinge in my lower back.  By lunchtime I could barely move ~ and the snow kept falling ~ and I was down to 2 back pain pills.  By 6:00 pm I was totally snowed in and no more pills, and virtually immobile.  I knew there was no way I could lift my legs off the floor to get into bed so I pulled back the covers, crawled carefully on to the bed and flopped on my side.  It took me a good 10 minutes more to get the courage to reach for the covers!  Poor Murphy couldn't figure out what was going on ~ why didn't I want to pet him and why didn't I want to go for another walk?  I'm sure I could see compassion in his eyes knowing something was wrong....

By 8:00 the next morning, I said a prayer that I wouldn't get stuck in the snow and off I went toWalmart to buy some more medication.  After work Erica came with dinner, finished shoveling the walk and driveway, and offered to take Murphy home with her so I wouldn't feel guilty about not walking him.  Not that she would either, but with her fenced-in back yard, he could frolic and pee as much as he desired. Days turned into nights and days, and ever so slowly my back seemed to be getting better, but I knew this was going to take more than popping pills.  So I decided to try acupuncture ~ real pins & needles.  I won't go into more detail than to say I am a new woman.  I've come to realize I've had residue aches and pains for quite awhile now and also that I don't need to live with them anymore!  I think I slept so soundly last night that I ached from not moving for 8 hours!  I was somewhat stiff and achy when I woke up, but with a little warmth from the heat pad and a couple of good stretches, Murphy and I were off for our morning walk, and I'm sure if the roads and sidewalks hadn't been covered in black ice, we may have done some dance moves along the way! 

I think this will be The Year of Wellness for me.  I've got my soon-to-be registerd Massage Therapist Daughter-in-law, and my friendly neighbourhood yoga instructor, and my new-found acupuncturist buddy...I think I'm good-to-go with whatever life throws at me....except, I've definitely retired from shoveling snow. 

Get Moving, Part III (French Canadian Style)

I had to get the car oil changed today so we ended up wandering around Canadian Tire for a while. In the sports section we came across hockey sticks and I had an idea. Today, as soon as the girls got of the bus we were going to the chapel and playing floor hockey. I felt a little guilty that I would be taking them for their first time without Rene but hopefully there will be plenty of opportunities for him to teach them how to play. I just wanted them to run around the gym for a bit with a purpose. Amelia had a friend over so I picked up an extra stick. I mentioned the idea to a friend and she eagerly volunteered her boys to come too...which was good because without them I don't know that we would have got the game off the ground. Amelia's friend's Mom and little brother ended up joining us as well to bolster our numbers.

After a quick team pick (boys against girls) the game was on.

Evelyn stood in goal most of the time with two sticks spread out blocking the net (much to the chagrin of the boys..."that's not how you play hockey!"). Amelia stood in various spots and would hit the ball if it happened to come to her but didn't seem to have any desire to actively chase the ball. Audree played around with a stick and a ball for a while and was thankfully happily entertained to run the halls. And Lucienne was on my hip half the time and the other half wandering around the gym narrowly missing flying balls and sticks.

I don't think we have the makings for a hockey team.

The boys and Moms played a great game though! It was the first time I've ever picked up a stick and even managed to score a couple of goals (past my friend who was amazingly limber considering she had her 7-month-old strapped to her back). I had to laugh when the boys ran laps around the gym while we cleaned up, as if an hour of floor hockey wasn't enough to tire them out. I know there are always exceptions to the "rule" but girls really do play differently than boys. (and I know Becca is going to hate me saying that!!)

Get Moving, Part II

I don't really like playing outside in the snow but today I dug out my snowpants (still had the tags on from when I got them...I think while pregnant with Audree) and took the kids tobogganing. Usually I stay home with the baby while Rene goes with the older ones but his schedule has been so busy lately that there hasn't been any time. Luckily Lucienne LOVES outside. If she sees anyone putting on anything that remotely looks like they might be going out she runs to the front to get her stuff. She can put hats, mitts and boots on all by herself (many days those are the only pieces of clothing she's wearing at all) and can even kind of get her coat on in an interesting fashion statement kind of way.

So, the girls got off the bus, I told them to not get out of their stuff but that we were all going sledding. Evelyn pulled Lucienne most of the way on our walk to the hill (about 10 minutes from home) and Amelia pulled the other sleds. I'm sure we looked like a modern day Norman Rockwell painting.

I forgot how fun it is. It helped that today wasn't freezing cold and there wasn't an icky wind or snow/sleet/rain falling.

Lucienne's first run had her laughing at the bottom  She refused to get out of the sled at all so she got to ride down AND up the hill. Thankfully we didn't have any wipe-outs with her or snow in the face so overall, good first experience. Amelia had a couple good tumbles, she always managed to get going backwards and Audree only had a couple of meltdowns. Overall, good time had by all. Next time I might even get more ambitious and bring our chubby dog...she also desperately needs to have some good winter exercise and she LOVES the snow.

Amelia's the only one who opted to continue with swimming lessons. Audree wanted a break and Evelyn is going to do gymnastics. When Amelia said she'd like to continue I jumped on that right away - not very often this girl likes participating in organized sporting activities. Turns out she's in a class full of boys, including the instructor. When I saw that I braced myself for the car ride home...and it came. She was not impressed with the dynamics of her class, not impressed at all. This level also seems to be much more hands off in terms of technique and focusing more on increasing endurance. She swam lengths for most of the 1/2 hour class. Again, not impressed.

It probably didn't help that she was pooped from sledding, or that she had hurt her leg walking Paris yesterday but I'm hoping that next week she'll still be looking forward to going. It's going to be a long 8 weeks if I have to coerce her to go every night.

I'd really like to come up with ideas of family exercising as opposed to paying and enrolling in "organized" sporting teams. It will get Rene and I moving and not always spectating, it will get the girls working together, and lets be honest, it will be way cheaper. We have a great gym space at the church that is virtually unused. A good friend of mine came up with the idea of organizing a co-op sort of rotation of sporting at the church. We would pick a sport, find someone (aka Rene) who could teach the rules and general skills and have them play it for 8 weeks or so. 30 minutes of skill then an hour or so of playing. Floor hockey, soccer, basketball, baseball, volleyball (maybe when the kids get older). We would just need to get a few families to commit and I think it would be a fabulous (and cheap...did I already mention that?) way of getting the kids exposed to different sports.

Some kids are naturally active and for others I think it's a learned skill to want to get up and kick around a ball. The key will be to keep it fun and hopefully we'll get all the girls on board.

Get Moving, Part I

I've been trying to think of ways to get this family a little more active. Summer is easy, the girls love playing outside, riding bikes, swimming in our little pool (once I get around to setting it up), going to the park, etc. But with this cold, cold winter we're in a bit of a slump. Swimming and skating lessons have ended, except for Amelia (although I don't really consider swimming "good" exercise as a 1/4 of the class is spent watching the other kids swim) and Evelyn's birthday gymnastics won't be starting until March.

Idea #1, have them walk the dog.

Today was a snow day (again...the girls had one on Friday too). After a morning of laying around in pajamas, playing video games, watching tv and doing not much of anything I asked the girls if they would like to take Paris for a walk. Part of me wanted them to walk more than 4 steps in a row but part of me also just wanted a quiet house for 10 minutes while Lucienne slept. I've let them walk her down the street and back but this time Amelia asked if they could go a bit further...maybe around the block? I gave Amelia the cell phone "just in case" and sent them off with a skip in their step. I think they were all feeling very grown-up and Audree was over the moon to be included in such a big girl activity.

They were gone 2 minutes before the first phone call. "How do I get Paris to stop pulling?"

1 minute later, "She's still pulling."

1 minute later, "Which way are we suppose to turn?" The were suppose to go down our street, first street they came to turn left, first street after that turn left, first street after that turn left, come home. They hadn't come to the street yet but Amelia was calling just to confirm.

1 minute later, this time Amelia is in tears, "She ran after a squirrel and I fell. Can you come get us?" They still haven't made the first turn so I told her to just turn around and come back home. By the time I wake Luci up (NEVER!), get ready and get in the car they would be home.

1 minute later, after passing the leash off to Evelyn, "How does Evelyn get her to stop pulling?"

1 minute later, "Evelyn's hand hurts and my knee hurts, can you come get us?" Ummmmm, no.

1 minute later, "Audree's crying now, she thinks we're lost." So I talk to Audree, "I don't know where we are and my umbrella keeps blowing around."

At this point I'm outside in front of the house waiting for them. As I'm talking to Audree I can see them come over the hill down the street...a street we've walked on a million times.

They're all in varying degrees of distress...but Paris is happy. At least she had a good walk. She got to chase a squirrel and everything.

A quick side note on Audree. She has discovered time, age and location. Almost every time we're in the car she asks if I'm lost because she's pretty sure we're not in Orangeville anymore and that she doesn't know where we are (this is usually within 2 minutes of leaving our driveway). She's also trying to comprehend units of time by statements like "Can I watch tv in five minutes which is one hour from now?" or "I've been waiting for 500 hours". And conversations about age go something like this, "I'm going to be a mother when I'm 12 and you'll be 100."

Seven. I Can't Believe She's Seven!

 

Evelyn is 7. FINALLY!! It's been a hard couple of weeks waiting through her sisters' birthdays. But it's finally here. February 6th - the day we welcomed our Evelyn into our family. She barely waited for the midwife to come and Grandma missed it by minutes...and she's been on the go ever since.

My top seven favourite things about my seven-year-old:

1. Her smile. She smiles all the time (except when she's grumpy of course but even then, if I work hard enough, I can get her to crack). She even has the cutest I'm-trying-not-to-smile smile which she can only hold for a bit before her "real" smile breaks through. She smiles when she's playing soccer and running her heart out, she smiles as she's playing piano in a recital, she smiles when she catches me watching her dance. Smile, smile, smile...I love it! Especially now that it's a toothless smile, even cuter!

2. Anyone who's in the same room with Evelyn for more than five minutes can tell she has energy to spare. She bounces and runs and tumbles. She loves cartwheeling and will spontaneously do one while walking through the livingroom. When practicing the piano she's all over the chair but her fingers keep finding the right notes even though her bum can't stay still. She'll dance even when there's no music and when there is music, watch out.

3. Evelyn loves being with people. The greatest punishment she could be given is to be sent to her room to be on her own. She's such a social butterfly. She plays with everyone at school and is liked by all. I think she'll grow into one of those people that can find something in common with anyone and make you feel like you've known her forever.

4. In the dictionary under the word snuggle is a picture of Evelyn. I love that at 7 (just) she will still crawl onto a lap if given half a chance. Finding her snuggling in our bed is becoming rarer and rarer these days but every now and then I wake up to find myself unable to move to the right because of Audree and the left because of Evelyn. She's guaranteed to be snuggled up close to either me or Rene for Friday night movie nights...or anytime we're watching anything as a family. Considering she lived the first 6 months of her life in a sling (many people didn't even know what she looked like as a baby) it's not hard to believe she still loves to get in close.

5. Evelyn has always had a sense of style...all on her own. She's been picking out her own clothing since before she could walk. She loves doing hair and make-up and matching shoes with accessories. She loves her dresses and skirts and loves to model her outfits...often with a twirl and a pose.

6. She wears her heart on her sleeve. There's never any second guessing on what she's feeling. When she's happy, she's beaming. When she's sad, the world has ended. When she's proud she could conquer the world. She's very sensitive to other's feelings as well and is usually the first to come to Lucienne's rescue or comfort a sister (as long as she wasn't the cause of the tears). Watching a sad movie will evoke sobs (especially when sad things happen to animals) and she's always the first one up to dance and jump around to the closing credits.

7. I love that Evelyn is up for anything. She'll always try something new. She loves to go out...no matter where "out" is. If it looks fun, Evelyn is for sure there right in the middle. She's the life of the party.

We sure do love our Evelyn. She's one of kind, and she's one of ours.

Glamming it up for her Zumba birthday party.

Blowing out her candles...big breath!

Best buds...though not sure what's up with Audree's smile here.

Final two...

Showing off the new boots.

Know You Are Loved

Our "I Love You" wall.

Evelyn planned Family Home Evening for tonight. Her topic was "Know You Are Loved". I thought it was a very profound and deep topic for an almost-7-year-old to come up with...until I realized she read it off our "Family Rules" poster over our mantle. It was a perfect topic for February though.

She spent a good hour cutting out paper hearts for the activity portion, which was going to be writing down things we loved about each other and taping them to our rock wall. She also really wanted to incorporate our dry erase board into her lesson because it's just so much fun to write on so she had everyone name off people that loved them and she wrote them down. We had to raise our hands and wait for her to pick us...which included her spinning in a circle for 30 seconds to make sure we had random turns. Lets just say it took a good 1/2 hour to get a dozen names written down. This included Audree crying because she NEVER got picked and then when she did, repeating the last 4 people that had just been said. It also included Evelyn randomly stopping at the lamp, or t.v., or door frame and having to spin again. Lucienne was fussy and didn't want to do anything other than nurse and Paris kept trying to jump up on Evelyn spinning.

Lucienne got tired in the middle of it (she signs this by blowing kisses to everyone which is what we do every time she goes to bed...only this time was the first time she asked to go to bed by blowing them without prompting). About 20 minutes after I go up with Luci Evelyn comes running up the stairs in tears. And in tears I mean sobbing. I quickly put Lucienne down in her crib (she's not quite asleep but I hope it's enough) to go find out what went wrong. Turns out they went into the activity portion and Amelia was writing on the wrong side of the hearts and Audree was just scribbling on them.

Sound like an idealistic FHE on family love? We managed to get the hearts done and find out we really do love each other! The chaos is only temporary and love prevails.

Rene makes crepes with strawberries and ice cream and we call it a night.

One by One

Amelia has been eight for a whole year. At church there is a "Faith in God" program where 8 to 11 year old girls set and accomplish goals for themselves. It works out that to complete the program they need to do about 6 a year. As her 9th birthday approached I thought it was about time to crack open that sucker and see what she's accomplished. I don't think that's really the way it's suppose to work but sometimes we just have to do what we can. She had done a couple through Activity Day Girls and her book club counted as organizing an activity for children and their parents (thank goodness we invited the mothers along!). That put her up to 3 goals...3 to catch up on for last year and then we could get working on this one.

I thought I should probably be a bit more pro-active and attempt to be an "intentional" mother (been reading up a bit on that lately). So, last Sunday I sat down for an interview with her. I brought out some M&Ms to make it more appealing and asked her to bring down her journal and a pen. It's hard to get private time in this house though. Evelyn and Audree hovered for the most part wondering what was going on then asking when it was going to be their turn. I hadn't intended on doing everyone but I quickly saw that was not going to be an option. Amelia and I set out some goals she could accomplish for February...do a Family Home Evening on genealogy, research an art museum she'd like to visit and make a plan to get there, work on memorizing an Article of Faith. We also talked about how things were going at school with friends, how she was enjoying swimming and skating, what other interests she would like to pursue (karate...thanks to her cousin Addison! (and I know she's not in karate per-say but close enough)) and any other goings-on that she felt needed some attention. 

As we wrapped up I saw Evelyn waiting eagerly at the door, pen and notebook in hand. I dismissed Amelia and Evelyn seriously approached the table. She sat down and said, "Mom, don't forget my M&Ms". We talked about similar things. She committed to do a Family Home Evening as well, wanted to work on memorization of an Article of Faith, spoke about saving money for gymnastics and planned some playdates. I wrote everything down for her to copy into her notebook. As we finished up there was Audree, waiting patiently at the door, pen and notebook in hand. 

With four children it's hard to find one on one time with each of them. Lucienne is in the "my mommy" stage where the girls lay a finger on me and she runs over to stake claim. But they crave that time...and need it...and deserve it. Daddy-Daughter dates are coveted and a trip to Home Depot is precious (although I'm often sending them along with strict instructions to not let him purchase anything that looks like a tool). I find that multitasking is a necessity and I'm often helping Evelyn on piano while overseeing Amelia do homework as I'm cooking dinner with Lucienne running around naked and Audree up on a chair "helping" me. But I usually manage to devote a few minutes a day with each of them. Sitting down at the piano with Evelyn in the morning while others are getting ready for school. Reading a chapter out of a book with Amelia after the younger ones are tucked into bed. Playing a game with Audree while Lucienne sleeps. And Lucienne, well she still breastfeeds 100 times a day but for some of them I put the book or iPod down and just enjoy her.  However, I need to remind myself to carve out this time because it's so easily missed. 

I sure do love these girls. 

If I take time to figure out how to get the red-eye out I'll never post this!