My Blue-Eyed Screamer

"Townsperson" in church Christmas program, watch for
photobombing brother in background

My little blue-eyed girl has caused me pause to smile a number of times recently so I just must write about her today.











She is my Christmas girl. She had her calendar on December all of 2014. I noticed, she already had December 2015 up this year :-). She begins counting the days very early.

She loves kittens too

About a month ago, we proposed an idea to the kids that if Christmas could be smaller (in numbers of presents), we could drive to Idaho for our "main" gift. Our son immediately wanted, "all in, 100% yes". Our older daughter needed some time to think it over, but after two days she said, "I'm 75% yes" soon after becoming a 100% yes.

Our blue-eyed wonder, though? Well, she was pretty emphatic from the start saying, "No. I want presents. Christmas needs to be here in Redmond."

Later, we decided it would be fun to surprise the kids with "tickets" to Idaho on Christmas Day, thus fulfilling everyone's wish.

Darren went all-out on designing really fun "Moss Train Express" tickets using a laser printer from work. He printed it on plastic, which is beyond my technological scope. Anyway, one of the tickets (to our daughter) said, "You and a sister of your choice are invited to board the Moss Idaho Express tomorrow morning at 5 am, meet on platform 9 3/4 (reference to Harry Potter, which has been all the rage since reading it as a family in July). Our son's ticket said that he and the father of his choice were invited to board the train. I then asked, (the wording on the tickets was a surprise to me as well), "Am I invited?". To this I learned, not only was I invited but I was the conductor!!

Opening these tickets was great fun. Daughter Numero Uno was jumping around the room and our son just kept saying, "Really?" or "Are we really going to Idaho?" I guess our youngest was OK with it all because she tagged right along.

I'll save the Idaho Fun for another post, but in the meantime, watch out for a striped-out-smiler in your neighborhood. She's a keeper!



She is very insistent that this totally matches

Purple Socks - Not Negotiable

We are having major outfit issues around here. My oldest daughter has always been an outfit-changer. This past year, her big thing has been to wear two long French braids. Every. Single. Day. I sometimes wake to see a big brush in my face and my sweet daughter asking if I can braid her hair yet.

Her other issue, since the weather changed from sunny 70s and 80s to cooler 30s, 40s, 50s, and 60s (she checks the temperature every day - not that is matters much, she still wears the same thing), is to wear leggings every day with long designed socks (up to her knees).

None of this so far, has much to do with my impatience. At least, not on violin concert night. My main issue that night was that she had a dress code to follow: white on top, dark on bottom and that she has told me she was playing "first position" violin. I don't really know what that means but I wondered if that meant she would be playing in a position that was more visible.

Last Monday night, my daughter had just finished gymnastics. She had about twenty five minute in which to eat dinner and get ready for violin concert (orchestra - 5th grade group). The dress code wasn't the problem, however, the white shirt she chose was about four sizes too small. I mean, skin tight, tourniquet sleeve-affect in her armpits, and I haven't even gotten to her wild hair.

I didn't have time to fight her but I resolutely told her (she was so excited to have found a white shirt, she had spent ten minutes looking for just the right one), "No, you can't wear that one."

Immediate tears.
Nonstop crying.
She began issuing threats of "I'm not going then".

And, I still haven't even mentioned the hair - which was like a halo of fuzz.

I grabbed the shirt and everyone got in the car (sometimes, I am amazed that the kids actually get in the car, even amidst a war going on between mother/daughter. It just seems like they would be frightened to go anywhere with their beast of a mother. Either that, or why don't they just refuse to go when I obviously have no idea how to parent?).

We were over halfway to the school, when the right shirt was put on (one that I found within a minute of looking in her closet). Oh, and did I mention that I also grabbed a brush and told her we would be re-doing her hair? Well, I did, and she let me know she was not going to be having her hair done again.

Another point to mention, when I did tell her she needed her hair re-done and that the first shirt she'd chosen was way too small, I'd also asked her where she would be sitting in the orchestra. Her answer, "the back".

Well, we got to the concert in time for warm-ups and quickly learned her seat was exactly front and center. She happily skipped up there and it wasn't five minutes before she was back down with me saying, "Mom, will you redo my braids?" We quickly headed over to a more secluded area and I whipped those two braids back into presentable shape. I asked her what made her change her mind, this was her reply:

 "Sadie looked at me and said, "Whoa! What happened to your hair?"

I am grateful for honest friends :-).

Purple socks: non-negotiable

Skelly

Happy Halloween!!

We have had a lot of fun around here with "Skelly". Some people do a tradition around Christmas where they hide an elf each night. In the morning, the family gets to see what kind of trouble the elf got into.

I wasn't trying to copy that tradition, but it kind of became something like that. Skelly has scared me on more than one occasion and I would be lying if I said I wouldn't mind keeping her around year-round :-).

Here are some of the things Skelly has been up to (I think my son christened the skeleton with such an endearing name).

Skelly needs some meat on those bones -- brrr

Found a Friend

I'm surprised she didn't have nightmares

Why not?

Just catching up on the latest Harry Potter

Skelly just seemed like one of the family with that sweatshirt

Taking a Ride

This one scared me the most

One more for you - this one was the first trick Skelly pulled.

Darren's latest sleeping station

To round out our Halloween fun and funny. Let's do some more :-). Last weekend was our ward's trunk or treat, which happened to be right after the girls' violin recital. My oldest daughter changed her mind about three times regarding costumes. Needless to say, what she wore out of the house was not what she wore at the violin recital :-( and that changed again for the trunk or treat.

My neighbor did an amazing job on my little butterfly's eyes. My son thriftily pulled together an outfit from home as he did not want to spend any money.

too legit to quit

Miracle of kids growing up - being able to clean out their own pumpkin guts, yes!!

Can you find the butterfly? What about the braided one in back :-)

Monkey /See/ Monkey Do

The other day I got so into my "Mommy gets things done" mode that I didn't really think about the consequences of my actions. I remembered to write an email to a teacher at my son's middle school (whom I've never met, fortunately). The fact that my computer keyboard had a /c/ malfunction posed no problem to me, I just didn't think it would be a big deal.

It was later in the day that I realized the full scope of my choices. Read on and please still be my friend and say hi ....

Copy of email sent to teacher (I must have looked like a bumbling idiot to her):

Ms. Folkman,

 

Please exuse my typing (first off), my /see/ is not working.  My hild is in the 6th grade at Rose Hill. I would love to see him participate in the math lub. His name is arson Moss (imagine a /see/ in front of this name).

 

I am having difficulty arranging pikup for him at 4. I am wondering if you are allowed to give out a list of other kids in the lub so I an possibly arrange a arpool.

 

Sorry again for my keyboard,

 

olette Moss (again, imagine a /see/ in front)

 

 

When my sisters got wind of this email, we all laughed heartily the rest of the evening. Marci had been cleaning out her freezer that had about 5 inches of ice buildup (when she read the email, she claimed to have laughed so hysterically she fell back into the frozen meat). Melissa read the email in Target while shopping for sunglasses (I think) after having cut and organized 2727 box tops for her school. Janie said she was snort-laughing. My mom messaged me very late in the day saying, "Are you for real?" As though maybe she was considering trading me in for a different daughter . . .

 

All in all, laughing is good medicine right? Maybe next time it can be someone else's keyboard malfunction.

The Good Times

Summer is over, not according to the weather, but according to the school calendar. Like most years, I feel like I haven't eaten enough watermelon. It just went by so fast and now the schedule is back and the kids are gone - all gone. I am struck by the trust I have in "school". I've been taking care of these kids night and day, three meals a day, plus entertainment all summer long and now "school" thinks I will just pass the baton?

Clueless about "what lies ahead"

This summer I think we almost went through a container of sunscreen and that really is a first. I lost my sunglasses paddle boarding in Lake Sammamish (when my youngest was riding with me and pulled on me from behind too hard, we toppled over, my sunglasses sunk to the depths of the weedy water). My swimsuit officially wore itself out (swim skirt literally won't stay up - no elasticity, isn't that a pretty sight?). We row boated right up to a group of nudists on Lake Washington. (!!!! yikes !!!) I jumped into Lake Washington, from a dock - with glee :-) (the twelve year old girls nearby wanted to join me for my second jump, see - I really am fun).

My child went on his first overnight camp. He was a changed man when he came back, so grateful for my help in packing and ever grateful for my food. I asked him how the sailing adventure was and his response was as follows: "It was fun, but sleeping was a disaster."

My new nephew was born - that is big news. I had fun helping the kids guess his name. See, we did do some learning (just a little bit).

Aunt Tawna had a baby :-)

One Saturday, a lemonade stand was in order. The girls planned it out and prepared the product. Thanks to Daddy Darren coming along with a handful of kids and some loose change, the lemonade stand was a success.

We had a few birthdays - three in fact.

The layering effect was not intended by the store clerks . .this one cracks me up

a photo of a picture :-) of Professor McGonagol

One of the most fun parts of the summer was the month we read Harry Potter: The Sorcerer's Stone . We did it over about a month and we were all excited each day for reading time. We actually read about Harry Potter's birthday on the actual day - July 31st, isn't that great?



That red skirt goes WAYYYY back

There was lots of acting. Lots. I think this picture was a play called, "The Great Depression" (thanks to American Doll stories, my oldest daughter has taken great interest in history). The kids did an acting camp down at Marymoor Park. Wouldn't you know it, my son was the only boy in the class and he got to be the prince in "Snow White". My daughter was a dwarf called, "Winky". She winked the entire play. It might have been nice for me to remember her character's name instead of wondering what she was doing with her eye during the performance . . .

Love that rope swing

 Seeing the kids just be kids is my favorite part about summer. Watching a child jump gleefully into a pool, going barefoot, sleeping on the trampoline, getting a library card (to quote my child, "This is like Christmas"), and swinging on a rope swing is what summer is all about.


My nephews' feet - this just shouts "joy"

The baton has been handed off, and truly, I feel such gratitude for living in a place where my kids can go and learn and have fun and make friends and be safe. I love teachers - thank you teachers. It seems patriotic to me. God bless America. :-)