What a week!

A lot of little dramas have combined to make this week incredibly long!

Monday morning began with Libby and I having a heated discussion about what she was going to wear. She insisted that she wear something fancy. She is all about skirts and dresses. I can't get her to just wear a pair of levis. It drives me nuts. I guess I should be glad she wants to look nice, but sometimes we run out of "fancy" options that are suitable for school. Anyway, after the clothes issue was resolved, we began another "discussion" about riding the bus to school. Libby did not want to ride the bus because she can never find a seat. Well, being the wise mother that I am, I instructed Libby to politely ask some girls that she knew from her class if she could sit with them. I assured her that they would say yes. I offered a silent prayer that this method would work. After she got home from school I asked her how things went and she was happy to say that the girls had said yes and she sat with them. I was so pleased... until the next morning. Libby was crying again, insisting that she would not ride the bus. So, I pressed her further about what the issue actually was. She explained that everyone had assigned seats except for her. It finally dawned on me that when she was asking to sit with these little girls she happened to be taking the assigned seat of another little girl at our bus stop. This had caused great conflict between all parties! So much for the wise mom. Ultimately, I ended up talking to the bus driver and he said he would give her an assigned seat. This didn't change the fact that when Libby got on the bus she was crying and that about broke my heart. As soon as Noelle and I got home from the bus stop we hopped in the car and drove to North Park. I couldn't go on with my day until I knew Libby was okay. As I recount those two little dramas, they don't seem quite as terrible as they did when they were actually happening. I will blame that on my inadequate writing skills (a good writer could explain it all better) and my abundance of hormones that were flowing while this was all occuring (making the incidents seem more extreme than they actually were).

The next evening Noelle got in on the action. I had put her to bed with the accompanying lecture on how she better stay in her bed or she will get it, etc. I then went downstairs to do some cleaning. When I finally came back upstairs I could hear Noelle screaming, "Help me, help me!" I ran into her room and saw that she had twirled her hair around her finger to the point that it had cut the circulation off. It was not pretty. The tip of her finger was purple and large. I couldn't get the hair unwound so I had to cut it. That was fun! An adrenaline surge for sure. She now has a little bob cut that is pretty, darn cute.

Lastly, this morning Libby woke up with an incredible rash all over her body. We went to InstaCare, where they told us it was an allergic reaction. Who knows what she was reacting to. She is better now and we made it to church. However, my lesson didn't go well. I was definitely not in the right frame of mind. Oh well, I'll do better next time.

Now it's Sunday night and I can't believe we have to start all over again tomorrow! I'm not quite ready.

You Can Teach an Old Dog New Tricks!

Yesterday, Daren, me, Dave, Libby, Savannah, and Tanner took advantage of a day off and headed up to Beaver Mountain.

I've been skiing only a couple of times before and both of those times it was just night skiing on Little Beaver. This time I actually started getting the hang of things. The kids took lessons and that was wonderful. We took them on one run before the lesson, which may have been a mistake. Savannah and I spent most of the time on our rear ends. Tanner and I rode the lift up together and when I got off, he just kept sitting. He was about to ride the lift back down, when the goofy guy who was suppose to be watching finally stopped the lift. Dave had to lift Tanner down (Dave saved the day on multiple occassions, we were so glad to have a fun expert with us).

When we went for a run after the lessons it went much better. Everyone made it off the lift and Savannah and I made it all the way down Little Beaver without falling. Dave skiied down with Tanner and Daren had Libby, so I can't really report on number of falls or anything like that, but they all made it down safe and with smiles on their faces.

We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day. It was so warm we were skiing without coats or gloves. A day like that could turn anyone into a skiier!

I have to thank Jess who stayed home and took care of mom (still recovering from major surgery), Isaak, and Noelle. She made it possible for us all to go. Also, thanks to Dave for helping out and Daren for being my personal and patient ski instructor!

The pictures aren't the best, but they are better than nothing...

Daddy is coming home!

Daren has been in Washington D.C. for the past 5 days and we have missed him. He should be home tonight and I can't wait! Being alone and in charge is the pits. Plus, I just miss him. I guess this shouldn't come as a shock, since we have been married for 11 years, and he is my best friend. No one can replace him.

PS His students at Sky View want him back too! The last day I was there substituting they were getting restless and starting to ask when Mr. Jackson would be back. He is much more fun than I am and most of them really like him.

My Go-Go Dancer

Last Sunday, I woke up from a nap (thanks D for making that possible!) and found Noelle in this lovely outfit. I think Libby helped her pick it out. She had pulled out her piggy tails, but she still looked so cute I had to take some photos. I should have been video taping instead . I mentioned in a previous post that she doesn't pose for photos. Well, she doesn't pose, but she sure can dance!

Christmas Report

Christmas eve was spent at my Mom and Dad's. Mom made the little girls aprons. They look darling! Thanks Mom. Brig and Lisa joined us via the internet and video, it wasn't quite the same as having them here, but it was better than nothing. Thanks Brig and Ty for working that out.







Christmas morning at our house. The girls with their webkinz. Santa definitely came! Grandma and Grandpa Jack came over that morning, along with Michelle and Reggie. That was fun to have them come to our house.

That night we went to the Jacksons for dinner.

The storm hit about an hour before we left Lewiston. Consequently, we had quite the drive home. It took us about 45 minutes to make it from Lewiston to North Logan. I had to take a photo of the Pilot to show how bad the storm was!

This was my favorite part of Christmas. Libby's little gift to Noelle. Isn't that what it is all about?

I'm raising Divas

After brushing her teeth tonight, Libby looks in the mirror and says, "I'm going to soon be a part-time pop star". I could only say, "Really?" and try my best not to laugh. What else is there to say to that? We don't even have cable, but she can still throw out a Hannah Montana line like nobody's business.

Better yet, was Libby's comment on Sunday. I was taking photos of the girls in their Christmas dresses and Libby was going all out. She was posing like a little model. Noelle, on the other hand, was not. I love my girls equally, but they are not equally photogenic. So, I was laughing and commenting on how I couldn't get a decent picture of Noelle, but had plenty of Libby. Libby says, "It's called stage presence Noelle." Well, well what kind of monster have I created?

Of course Noelle is cute enough that I managed to get some good photos of her, but I had to delete quite a few!

The Kindergarten Program

What a little dolly! Libby just LOVES to perform, so she really enjoyed her kindergarten Christmas program today. Notice the bows- I made them for the girls last night. Not my best work ever, but hey at least I got them done.Even Daddy was able to make it! Noelle was there too- causing trouble. The minute we enter North Park, Noelle starts saying she needs to go potty (even if she just went at home). She loves that the sinks in the bathroom are her height. We did make one token potty trip, after the performance.

Libby's grand entrance.

For the past couple of weeks, Libby has come home from school singing the songs they have been practicing for the program. She really likes singing Feliz Navidad (one of the worst Christmas songs ever, in my humble opinion). I helped her with the correct Spanish accent (since I was the V.P. of the Spanish Club in High School) and as you can see by this video she takes this song very seriously. Good Job Libby!

PS The person sitting in front of me and in front of Libby were a delight to work with as I attempted to document this event!

Grandpa Wally's Christmas Tree

For the second year in a row we were able to go and help Grandpa Wally decorate his Christmas tree. Libby even missed school for this special day. Since Grandma passed away I have realized the importance of taking advantage of the time we have to spend with our grandparents, so I don't feel bad about taking her out of school. Grandpa was happy we were there and we had fun decorating the tree with 50 year old candy canes and setting up the train (all while listening to Anne Murray's Christmas CD- Grandpa's favorite, not mine).

Did I mention how I'm just learning to be a mom?

I have no fun pictures to post, just a need to write. Just some random things I did today to make it through...

1. Dyed Noelles banana creme pie yogurt green (with food coloring). She wanted Key Lime Pie flavor and I didn't have any. I improvised and she ate it.
2. Let Noelle crack two of the four eggs required for the cookies I was making. Only about 1 1/2 eggs actually made it into the bowl.
3. Let Libby use MY scrapbook paper to do a "craft". This was a sacrifice.
4. Provided Libby with her own ribbon, so she could make bows too.
5. Put Noelle in zip up jammies and pinned them on her - prior to laying her down for her nap. This prevented her pooping in her crib and then spreading it around for my cleaning pleasure. (The child is potty trained!-I only put a diaper on her at bedtime and naptime).
6. Made Daren cookies for his clients.
7. Cleaned the bathrooms. Noelle kept telling me I needed to clean the toilets. Yes, my 2 1/2 year old complains when the toilets are not clean enough.
8. Showered (although it wasn't until about 1 pm). Noelle told me this morning that I was stinky and I need to shower. That was a real boost to my self esteem.
9. Took the girls to the ward Christmas party, without Daren. Daren is officiating b-ball tonight. I hate going to ward things without Daren, but Libby wanted to see Santa (to ask for a new bike) and her friends. Ellie wanted to see friends too, but NOT Santa. She told me she did not want to sit with Santa and she kept her distance from him tonight. Without me even asking her to, Libby went and told Santa what Noelle wants (a baby doll). After we got home tonight Ellie was asking where her baby doll was. I explained that Santa would come to our house Christmas Eve and leave it for her. You should have seen the look of pure terror on her face. She has no interest in Santa coming to our home. I had to tell her he wasn't coming at all to get her to calm down.
10. I know there are about 20 more things I did, but my mind is fried. I am thankful for my girls. I realized today that I probably wouldn't get out of bed if it wasn't for them. Don't get me wrong, I would love to sleep in every now and then, but it would get old after a while. Daren and the girls keep me motivated and that is a blessing. I guess I can do it again tomorrow....