Today I want to live in an Apple Orchard.
We visited one this afternoon... I do have pictures and will post them... and I just wanted to sit down between the rows and rows of apple trees and not get up.
The air was just right, the breeze was lightly blowing, my children were running around and eating dirt and bruised pieces of fruit. It was lovely.
We rode a tractor to the trees, and every time we went over a bump, M giggled.
GQ spent his time rolling a large apple around and throwing it toward me like a ball. His nose was running, but since I didn't have a tissue, I ignored it.
E was looking for perfect apples, and filling her basket so full that she could hardly drag it behind her.
I am not sure how a person moves to an Apple Orchard when they know nothing about apples, or trees, or such. Or when they don't own apples, or trees, or such.
But I don't think this is a huge problem.
*****
On Tuesday I have my dentist appointment.
We have dental insurance again for the first time in 3 years.
I made the appointment while on some grand high of checking items off a list. Now, I am tempted at every moment possible to cancel it.
When I turned 18, I rebelliously told my mother I would not go to the dentist anymore, and that she had to cancel my appointment.
Actually, since I wasn't very rebellious, I think I asked my mother if I could be rebellious and tell her to cancel my appointment.
Either way, she did it.
Since then, I've gone about every 2 years because I have an extremely large guilt complex, and I must apparently cross my t's, dot my i's, and follow all the rules.
Oh, bother.
I do not want to go on Tuesday. I am wishing I was not going on Tuesday. I want to cancel Tuesday. I need an excuse not to go on Tuesday. I think I am getting sick on Tuesday.
Really, I think I am.
*****
Do you think if you live in an Apple Orchard, you have to go to the Dentist?
Can an apple a day keep the dentist away?
Please, tell me it is so.
I will start packing my bags tonight.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Friday, September 10, 2010
Exremely Useless Trivia, because I cannot remember what I planned on saying... but it was really good... I promise
This week M has:
1. Drawn all over the chair and couch with a ball-point pen.
2. Kicked her brother repeatedly while I was two floors away.
3. Stolen her sister's doll and run circles around the house while she was chased.
4. Played so hard with GQ that he threw up from the exertion. (Yes, threw up. This is apparently something he does when he's upset. I can't wait to find out more about this particular talent of his.)
5. Been kicked out of her second ballet class because she refused to dance.
6. Gone successfully without an "accident" for one day. (I say "accident" because deciding you don't want to go on the potty is not really an "accident." Says Mom: M, why did you go potty in your underwear. Says M: Because I didn't go on the potty. Of course. Now I see.)
7. Lost books in bed privileges - yet again - for tearing pages out of the books - yet again.
Of course, she's done all this with her distinctinly Meggish flavor. The flavor that makes you go: "Sigh, she's still cute."
The little stinker.
*****
Dance is going well. I am back to teaching, which makes our week a little more interesting, and means that E gets to watch "Angelina Ballerina" while I'm busy. She is sooooo glad. She told the mother watching her all about each episode they watched and implored "please stop watching your baby, this is a really important part."
I am also taking a ballet class at the University. The first week I realized how much I missed teaching older girls. I wanted to walk around and turn their knees out, and pull their heels forward, and tell them to lift their chins. This week I realized that when you tell your body to jump repeatedly with pointed toes and tight knees, and to beat those jumps, when you haven't danced for six years... you almost die.
And when you're asked to do sit ups, when you always stunk at those anyway, and you've had three kids, and you now have the "elephant skin" on your stomach that you once made fun of the Modern teacher for having, it doesn't go so hot.
And when you need to remember an exercise after giving up half your brain in pregnancies, you very easily make a fool of yourself.
But it's all worth it for the high at the end, and for the fact that the afore-mentioned 3 children are snug in their beds when you get home...
...without you having to put them there.
*****
Time is different here. Justin stays longer at school, which means I must productively get to 7:00 without having made my children accuse me of being a meanie-head.
I've decided that if I just go slower, and take deep breaths, and realize that the morning is just a beginning, I do just fine.
Until 6:30, when I do not do just fine.
And I quote:
"Get out of the kitchen. Play anywhere but the kitchen. Please leave the kitchen."
"Scream. Scream. Scream."
That last quote can be attributed to either the children or myself. Take your pick.
*****
I have to speak on Sunday.
Unfortunately my in-laws are also in town.
I am fine making a fool of myself in front of a bunch of people whose names I can't remember, and who don't come to Primary anyway (my regular hang-out for the past six years).
People I do know?
Not so much.
*****
I am babbling in an attempt to make up for my silence lately. That might be overrated.
*****
The other night I had a dream that ocean animals came to live in a pond in my backyard. There were large whales splashing about energetically. They flew out of the sky to get to my pond.
I think this is evidence of insanity.
*****
Outside the sky is no color. It is Fall. I usually love Fall, but there are no mountains to breath Fall at me. So, it does not quite seem like Fall.
*****
This year we are remembering M's birthday. She has had a hard week with E's birthday, because she does not ever remember having a birthday of her own.
*****
I am now going to sleep for the remaining 15 minutes of nap-time.
Goodbye.
1. Drawn all over the chair and couch with a ball-point pen.
2. Kicked her brother repeatedly while I was two floors away.
3. Stolen her sister's doll and run circles around the house while she was chased.
4. Played so hard with GQ that he threw up from the exertion. (Yes, threw up. This is apparently something he does when he's upset. I can't wait to find out more about this particular talent of his.)
5. Been kicked out of her second ballet class because she refused to dance.
6. Gone successfully without an "accident" for one day. (I say "accident" because deciding you don't want to go on the potty is not really an "accident." Says Mom: M, why did you go potty in your underwear. Says M: Because I didn't go on the potty. Of course. Now I see.)
7. Lost books in bed privileges - yet again - for tearing pages out of the books - yet again.
Of course, she's done all this with her distinctinly Meggish flavor. The flavor that makes you go: "Sigh, she's still cute."
The little stinker.
*****
Dance is going well. I am back to teaching, which makes our week a little more interesting, and means that E gets to watch "Angelina Ballerina" while I'm busy. She is sooooo glad. She told the mother watching her all about each episode they watched and implored "please stop watching your baby, this is a really important part."
I am also taking a ballet class at the University. The first week I realized how much I missed teaching older girls. I wanted to walk around and turn their knees out, and pull their heels forward, and tell them to lift their chins. This week I realized that when you tell your body to jump repeatedly with pointed toes and tight knees, and to beat those jumps, when you haven't danced for six years... you almost die.
And when you're asked to do sit ups, when you always stunk at those anyway, and you've had three kids, and you now have the "elephant skin" on your stomach that you once made fun of the Modern teacher for having, it doesn't go so hot.
And when you need to remember an exercise after giving up half your brain in pregnancies, you very easily make a fool of yourself.
But it's all worth it for the high at the end, and for the fact that the afore-mentioned 3 children are snug in their beds when you get home...
...without you having to put them there.
*****
Time is different here. Justin stays longer at school, which means I must productively get to 7:00 without having made my children accuse me of being a meanie-head.
I've decided that if I just go slower, and take deep breaths, and realize that the morning is just a beginning, I do just fine.
Until 6:30, when I do not do just fine.
And I quote:
"Get out of the kitchen. Play anywhere but the kitchen. Please leave the kitchen."
"Scream. Scream. Scream."
That last quote can be attributed to either the children or myself. Take your pick.
*****
I have to speak on Sunday.
Unfortunately my in-laws are also in town.
I am fine making a fool of myself in front of a bunch of people whose names I can't remember, and who don't come to Primary anyway (my regular hang-out for the past six years).
People I do know?
Not so much.
*****
I am babbling in an attempt to make up for my silence lately. That might be overrated.
*****
The other night I had a dream that ocean animals came to live in a pond in my backyard. There were large whales splashing about energetically. They flew out of the sky to get to my pond.
I think this is evidence of insanity.
*****
Outside the sky is no color. It is Fall. I usually love Fall, but there are no mountains to breath Fall at me. So, it does not quite seem like Fall.
*****
This year we are remembering M's birthday. She has had a hard week with E's birthday, because she does not ever remember having a birthday of her own.
*****
I am now going to sleep for the remaining 15 minutes of nap-time.
Goodbye.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Useless Trivia
The manager of our local Hy-Vee just happens to be my neighbor.
This means that when I wake-up early and go to the grocery store so that I can take Justin to school at the same time (as a bus rider I know the joy of a ride every once in a while - thanks Libbi), I look like an idiot in front of someone I DO know.
Um, I think that sentence is illegally long, and makes very little sense.
Suffice it to say that all those funny lengths of hair that come after you have a baby were sticking straight up when I went to the store today, and I went anyway.
I've gotta get me a hat, I tell you what!
In other news, GQ is sick yet again. Last night he threw up on Justin. (Is it bad I was glad he threw up on Justin instead of in his bed?) He also has a runny nose again. Joy. I think we'll get better just in time for the Winter Flu to hit us.
This means that when I wake-up early and go to the grocery store so that I can take Justin to school at the same time (as a bus rider I know the joy of a ride every once in a while - thanks Libbi), I look like an idiot in front of someone I DO know.
Um, I think that sentence is illegally long, and makes very little sense.
Suffice it to say that all those funny lengths of hair that come after you have a baby were sticking straight up when I went to the store today, and I went anyway.
I've gotta get me a hat, I tell you what!
In other news, GQ is sick yet again. Last night he threw up on Justin. (Is it bad I was glad he threw up on Justin instead of in his bed?) He also has a runny nose again. Joy. I think we'll get better just in time for the Winter Flu to hit us.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Reasoning
Reasons for not posting:
I am now waking up at 5:30 am (when Justin gets up to catch his bus) to read my scriptures and work on my "One Page a Day." This means that: a) I use up my creative juice by 7:00 am, and b) I am tired by 9:00 pm (when I used to do such things as blog).
Since I don't see either of those things going away..... I don't know what to tell you. (Yes, all 3 of you who are disappointed that I haven't posted lately will have to cry, cry, cry.)
In other news:
E had her birthday on Monday. I did not make a cake (slacker mom) but convinced E that it was cooler to have pink cinnamon rolls instead. She said she had "the best day ever," so I guess it worked out.
I also started our in-house ballet classes today. M was excited until I told her that: a) I was going to be her ballet teacher, and b) we were having ballet at our house.
She said she did not want to live in "Inowa" if it was sooooo far from Miss. Stacey's ballet class.
She is potty-trained, except for whenever she decides that she isn't.
And then she isn't.
Justin says GQ is getting a tooth. I have yet to see it. But, he's certainly grumpy enough to be getting a tooth. In fact, right now he is trying to manhandle me away from the computer. Weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth. Since he is 1...
...he is succeeding.
I am now waking up at 5:30 am (when Justin gets up to catch his bus) to read my scriptures and work on my "One Page a Day." This means that: a) I use up my creative juice by 7:00 am, and b) I am tired by 9:00 pm (when I used to do such things as blog).
Since I don't see either of those things going away..... I don't know what to tell you. (Yes, all 3 of you who are disappointed that I haven't posted lately will have to cry, cry, cry.)
In other news:
E had her birthday on Monday. I did not make a cake (slacker mom) but convinced E that it was cooler to have pink cinnamon rolls instead. She said she had "the best day ever," so I guess it worked out.
I also started our in-house ballet classes today. M was excited until I told her that: a) I was going to be her ballet teacher, and b) we were having ballet at our house.
She said she did not want to live in "Inowa" if it was sooooo far from Miss. Stacey's ballet class.
She is potty-trained, except for whenever she decides that she isn't.
And then she isn't.
Justin says GQ is getting a tooth. I have yet to see it. But, he's certainly grumpy enough to be getting a tooth. In fact, right now he is trying to manhandle me away from the computer. Weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth. Since he is 1...
...he is succeeding.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
GQ Walking
GQ walks now. He has his own little gait, and he is so proud of himself, he still falls over at the end. He also tends to walk through things, rather than around, and to crash into the finish line.
GQ as a Sunbeam
The best video just happened to be the one where M held up her dress through-out. Still, I think it's pretty cute how GQ tries his best to jump at the right time.
As Ordered, By Laura
When I was little, I always did exactly as Laura told me. I wouldn't want to stop now, would I? It is hard to take pictures of rooms. Somehow, you just can't get the whole picture? You know what I mean?
This is the kids room. They are all together, so GQ has to deal with the fact that the décor is really not gender oriented, at least not towards his gender. Someday, maybe. My mom also did these curtains. I made sure not to put M's bed next to GQ's crib this time. She was always trying to climb in and bug him.
This is the office. It has one open wall that looks over the living room. Our landlord was nice enough to put a lock on the room so we don't have to worry about airborne children. I like that both Justin and I have desks in the same space.
Um, back to me not focusing the camera. This is our main living room. The view out the back is so amazing. No houses, just lots of green trees. And it is still crazy to me that they water nothing here. It just grows from the rains. One of my favorite things is how about once weekly, and usually during nap-time, the skies get dark, dark, dark and then a pouring rain comes pounding in. In the Winter, the leaves will be gone and we will see houses. Then, I may have to shut my blinds once in awhile, but until then, I keep them open.
The garage pictures are for my mother. She wanted to see how I finally got everything arranged. I almost killed myself putting the hutch on top of the drawers, but luckily there were no casualties. The kids helped me move all the cans, and it was really cute because GQ started rolling cans across the garage to bring to me too. He wants so much to do the same things his sisters do.
E is always telling me that she is not a real artist because her pictures are not in frames, so we decided to decorate the kitchen with her artwork (and some of M's and GQ's). I could have been more diligent about using my level and my ruler when I hung them up, but unfortunately I am not that OCD. Often I wish I were, when I look at them, but I never quite fix it either. Okay, so now we've got cleaning showers, reading instruction manuals, ironing curtains, and measuring before hanging pictures. This is actually a rather long list, it turns out.
On a side note, my mother and I recovered the kitchen chairs. (They were a very dirty white.) I almost flipped a lid while getting the screws back in, but it's definitely been worth it when clean-up time comes after dinner.
The patio. Once again, oooohhhh that greenness. When we moved to Las Vegas, I wouldn't let Justin pull out the lone weed in our first backyard because it was the only green thing there. So different here.
Another picture of our living room. I should move it up to the other one, but I thought it would be more fun to put an extra thing on that list of things I don't feel like doing right now.
The stairs going upstairs, and a look into the kitchen.
The downstairs living room. This room opens onto the backyard area, although we don't hang out there much. The front yard is better for bikes. I do enjoy sending the kids downstairs though: a little less easy to hear them hitting each other in the head from down there.
The other side of the family room. The stack of books is what I've acquired to help me do more fun activities with the girls during the day. (I didn't end up sending E to school, although there was a brief moment there where my mom thought I'd come to my senses.) I think Claire would be proud of me, although everyone else thinks I'm slightly nutso.
The toy closet…. oh what a lovely invention.
This is my favorite room in the house. Why? Well, there are lots of books for one thing…. although I must say it always bugs me a little that books are not more uniform in size. I want to sort according to genre, but then nothing ever fits very well. Sigh. I also like the old quilt on the bed. It needs some patching, but it's got that rubbed in softness that old quilts have. So, if you want to check this room out, just come visit!!! You know you've always been DYING to come here. It's such a cosmopolitan place. It's such a large dot on the map. It's such a piece of vacation splendour. And it's cold in the Winter too, I hear.
The downstairs bathroom, complete with a slightly claustrophobic shower for your personal use!
And there you have it! Aren't you amazed? I have tried to do this post a different way than usual, so hopefully it works, because I don't think I have the energy to do it again. (It didn't work, you must all love me for doing it again. Unless it's boring, and then you must pretend you don't know me.)
This is our bedroom. It turned out larger than it looked in the pictures we saw before, which was great. The bed came with the house, so we got rid of the California King. I like that there is more room in the room. My mother fixed the curtains for me while she was here, which was good since I never did get to ironing the curtains in our last house. Ironing has never been my thing. I'll add that to my list of cleaning showers and reading instruction manuals. Just not going to happen.
This is the upstairs bath. It opens to both the hallway and our room. None of my bathrooms quite matched the towells and shower curtains I already had, but oh well.
This is the kids room. They are all together, so GQ has to deal with the fact that the décor is really not gender oriented, at least not towards his gender. Someday, maybe. My mom also did these curtains. I made sure not to put M's bed next to GQ's crib this time. She was always trying to climb in and bug him.
This is the office. It has one open wall that looks over the living room. Our landlord was nice enough to put a lock on the room so we don't have to worry about airborne children. I like that both Justin and I have desks in the same space.
Um, back to me not focusing the camera. This is our main living room. The view out the back is so amazing. No houses, just lots of green trees. And it is still crazy to me that they water nothing here. It just grows from the rains. One of my favorite things is how about once weekly, and usually during nap-time, the skies get dark, dark, dark and then a pouring rain comes pounding in. In the Winter, the leaves will be gone and we will see houses. Then, I may have to shut my blinds once in awhile, but until then, I keep them open.
The garage pictures are for my mother. She wanted to see how I finally got everything arranged. I almost killed myself putting the hutch on top of the drawers, but luckily there were no casualties. The kids helped me move all the cans, and it was really cute because GQ started rolling cans across the garage to bring to me too. He wants so much to do the same things his sisters do.
E is always telling me that she is not a real artist because her pictures are not in frames, so we decided to decorate the kitchen with her artwork (and some of M's and GQ's). I could have been more diligent about using my level and my ruler when I hung them up, but unfortunately I am not that OCD. Often I wish I were, when I look at them, but I never quite fix it either. Okay, so now we've got cleaning showers, reading instruction manuals, ironing curtains, and measuring before hanging pictures. This is actually a rather long list, it turns out.
On a side note, my mother and I recovered the kitchen chairs. (They were a very dirty white.) I almost flipped a lid while getting the screws back in, but it's definitely been worth it when clean-up time comes after dinner.
The patio. Once again, oooohhhh that greenness. When we moved to Las Vegas, I wouldn't let Justin pull out the lone weed in our first backyard because it was the only green thing there. So different here.
Another picture of our living room. I should move it up to the other one, but I thought it would be more fun to put an extra thing on that list of things I don't feel like doing right now.
The stairs going upstairs, and a look into the kitchen.
The downstairs living room. This room opens onto the backyard area, although we don't hang out there much. The front yard is better for bikes. I do enjoy sending the kids downstairs though: a little less easy to hear them hitting each other in the head from down there.
The other side of the family room. The stack of books is what I've acquired to help me do more fun activities with the girls during the day. (I didn't end up sending E to school, although there was a brief moment there where my mom thought I'd come to my senses.) I think Claire would be proud of me, although everyone else thinks I'm slightly nutso.
The toy closet…. oh what a lovely invention.
This is my favorite room in the house. Why? Well, there are lots of books for one thing…. although I must say it always bugs me a little that books are not more uniform in size. I want to sort according to genre, but then nothing ever fits very well. Sigh. I also like the old quilt on the bed. It needs some patching, but it's got that rubbed in softness that old quilts have. So, if you want to check this room out, just come visit!!! You know you've always been DYING to come here. It's such a cosmopolitan place. It's such a large dot on the map. It's such a piece of vacation splendour. And it's cold in the Winter too, I hear.
The downstairs bathroom, complete with a slightly claustrophobic shower for your personal use!
And there you have it! Aren't you amazed? I have tried to do this post a different way than usual, so hopefully it works, because I don't think I have the energy to do it again. (It didn't work, you must all love me for doing it again. Unless it's boring, and then you must pretend you don't know me.)
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Getting to Know You, Getting to Know ALL about You
Yesterday, we decided to take our efforts at getting to know Iowa to the next level.
You know, we'd found a few radio stations to put on speed dial. (Actually, only three - there is really weird music here! AND there is no good station for NPR - they need a mountain or two to broadcast from, apparently. I am very sad.) We'd visited a few parks. We'd gone swimming. We'd gotten lost a time or two. (Yes, once I got sooooooooo lost, and there was this guy behind me that I figured was really irritated with me, so I went down a side road, and pulled into a house to turn around. The house just happened to be his, and I just happened to almost run into his car when I was backing out of it. Nice.) Anyway, we'd started to get settled.
So, to put the icing on the cake, I decided I'd take a little ride in the ambulance with GQ while leaving E and M with the local QuickCare receptionist who I'd met all of three minutes ago. What fun!
Don't worry, we are all home now. He hyperventilated, we hyperventilated, everybody hyperventilated, and now.... we are home. Thanks to our new Bishop - a pediatric braniac - they decided to let us leave the PICU (don't even ask me how we got there), and then trundled us out of the regular floor too because - and this is good - he really only had the croup. Which, for the record, I did know, I was just concerned - after Sarah's scare earlier this year - that it was turning into something more. I forgot the important skill of not going to clinics where you don't know the pediatrician and you don't know whether they're given to hyperventilation.
So, now I've joined the ranks of ambulance riders... though I don't much remember the ride (I think it was only 1/2 a block). I also pulled Justin out of a seminar with the man who will hopefully get us a job. I am so cool.
As such, I am sitting home in my pajamas today, glad we are all home and safe, and more than happy to stop learning about Iowa for the moment.
GQ is back to hitting his sisters, stealing their toys, and yelling at me for not picking him up. And we are thankful for everyone who helped us get there, hyperventilation and all.
You know, we'd found a few radio stations to put on speed dial. (Actually, only three - there is really weird music here! AND there is no good station for NPR - they need a mountain or two to broadcast from, apparently. I am very sad.) We'd visited a few parks. We'd gone swimming. We'd gotten lost a time or two. (Yes, once I got sooooooooo lost, and there was this guy behind me that I figured was really irritated with me, so I went down a side road, and pulled into a house to turn around. The house just happened to be his, and I just happened to almost run into his car when I was backing out of it. Nice.) Anyway, we'd started to get settled.
So, to put the icing on the cake, I decided I'd take a little ride in the ambulance with GQ while leaving E and M with the local QuickCare receptionist who I'd met all of three minutes ago. What fun!
Don't worry, we are all home now. He hyperventilated, we hyperventilated, everybody hyperventilated, and now.... we are home. Thanks to our new Bishop - a pediatric braniac - they decided to let us leave the PICU (don't even ask me how we got there), and then trundled us out of the regular floor too because - and this is good - he really only had the croup. Which, for the record, I did know, I was just concerned - after Sarah's scare earlier this year - that it was turning into something more. I forgot the important skill of not going to clinics where you don't know the pediatrician and you don't know whether they're given to hyperventilation.
So, now I've joined the ranks of ambulance riders... though I don't much remember the ride (I think it was only 1/2 a block). I also pulled Justin out of a seminar with the man who will hopefully get us a job. I am so cool.
As such, I am sitting home in my pajamas today, glad we are all home and safe, and more than happy to stop learning about Iowa for the moment.
GQ is back to hitting his sisters, stealing their toys, and yelling at me for not picking him up. And we are thankful for everyone who helped us get there, hyperventilation and all.
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