Grateful Friday

Here's what I'm grateful for today:

The quiet hush when the world is covered in new snow.

Joan (see above).

Book club.  We met last night.

Going to BYU Women's Basketball games.  I forgot how much fun they are.

Seeing Stephanie (see above).

When I was buying tickets for the game for Braeden and Mark, the lady at the ticket counter asked if they were general admission then she looked up at Braeden and asked, "Oh, unless you're a BYU athlete?"

Braeden said, "Not even close."

He's not only honest but also quick-witted.

Olivia helps me understand some of the students I work with.  She explains Spanish sounds and grammar and it clears up what is tripping them up.  Also when I call her, I might get to talk to one of her cute kids. (Ammon for example and did you know he's learning multiplication because when did he get old enough for that?)

It's Friday!  Which among other things, means I can wear jeans to work.

It's the little things.

Puritan proverbs

I'm sure your daughter is awesome.  But is she writes-Puritan-proverbs-awesome?  Because mine is.  I can think of no good reason why Emma would decide to write Puritan proverbs except she has a whole cache of witty lists on her phone and why not add another?

So here you go, straight from my girl Emma:

An inch of skin is an inch of sin. 

An angel cries when a woman lies. 

Burn the witch or get the switch. 

The woman who meddles is loved by the devil. 

You'll be beaten by the staff if you even think to laugh. 

A show of affection is cause for correction. 

Mead by morning, dead by evening. 

If church you miss the devil you'll kiss.

She was reading us her Puritan proverbs on Sunday and Freja said, "Emma, I'm so glad I'm friends with you."

I'm glad Emma and Freja are friends too.  And I'm glad to have Emma in my life.  Since I taught her English and sort of taught her to read and write (she mostly just picked it up), I'd like to take a little credit for her way with words, but I don't think I deserve much credit.

She's just Emma. Very thoroughly Emma.

Winter weather

I wear some combination of t-shirt, leggings, socks, and sweatshirt and take an extra blanket to bed when it's cold.

I carefully decide when it is time to add or subtract a quilt based on the season.

The night before work, I check the weather report and think about what I should wear the next day.

Before work, I look at the hourly weather report to decide what shoes to wear and if I need base layers.  Will it be raining or snowing at 9:00 AM?  What about 10:00?  What about 12:00?

I wear layers so I can remove a jacket or cardigan in a classroom that is warm and put one on in classrooms that are cold.

I have mittens and one of those ear warmer headbands in my coat pocket.

I have an umbrella in my bag.

**

*

Adam keeps a coat in his car in case of emergency, but he doesn't wear it.  He goes outside in whatever he's wearing (short sleeve or long sleeve).

We confront winter weather...differently.

Keeping me humble

Last night I drove to Provo to take Emma a late arriving book she needed for one of her classes.  She asked me if I wanted to get some dinner but I declined because I had Mark and Adam dinner plans.

I was telling Mark about it and he said something about me starving Emma as a child.  (It's true.  When Emma was an infant,  I had mono and she was not getting enough to eat.  When the doctor told me I immediately switched her to formula.)  Mark wasn't even born yet but he still knows how to make me feel guilty.

Mark also periodically brings up the time we forgot him at our hotel in Lake Chelan.

I am basically mother of the year.

I asked him, "So I starved Emma and forgot you, what terrible thing have I ever done to Braeden?"

He said, "You let him believe for too long that he was the handsome brother."

Weekend

Mark drove himself to school Friday and to hang out with friends both Friday and Saturday nights.  I hate it and love it at the same time.

Friday, Braeden the birthday boy and 12 other lovely BYU students arrived to watch a movie.  I bought a bunch of snacks that mostly didn't get eaten because they'd gone to Pizza Pie Cafe on the way here.

Heather (one of my former laurels) was among the kids and it made me happy to hug her and catch up.  Braeden said she mostly came to see me.  I'm glad I could tip the scales.

They watched Paul Blart Mall Cop and I watched a little too because I love that movie.  While I watched, I worked on my multiplication kaboom game.  (You know, like you do on a Friday night.)

It's for the third graders I work with.  Basically I do activities with them that I hope are worthwhile and give them candy.  It's pretty much like being a YW president.

Adam came home from refereeing so then I was with him and didn't have to crash the college party (although Adam and I went downstairs eventually and watched the end of the movie...it was Paul Blart Mall Cop after all).

Saturday was the typical errand and housework day.  Then Mark went out and Adam settled into his office to work.  I said, "Do you mind if I work in here too?  I've got to print a bunch of stuff."

He said sure, so I sat down and worked on a math Jeopardy game for school.  Every 30 seconds I asked Adam for help with either formatting or paper was jammed in the printer or it was printing on both sides.

I said, "I bet you wish I weren't in here."

"It is busy," he agreed.

Then, Adam and I went to Costco to pick up his car (he was having a flat tire repaired) and decided to "walk around" while we waited for the time to go to the theater.  I was sitting in front a spot with my blinker on, waiting for someone to back out.  A little car came fast from the other direction and zipped into my spot.  I said, "I'll bet that guy doesn't know how big my husband is."  We found a nearby spot and sure enough, the guy stayed in the car until we had walked away.  Adam is a gentle giant though, so he didn't need to be worried.  (Although I saw him later in the store and he was wearing a stocking cap and shorts and socks and sandals so maybe he should be a little worried because someone stole his pants and it's January.)

A hundred dollars later (Have you ever walked around Costco without buying a cartload?  I don't know if it's possible), we emerged and made it to the theater with little time to spare.  Emma greeted us on the sidewalk with our tickets on her way to the box office to call us and see if we had forgotten.

We saw The Odd Couple and I laughed so hard I almost choked on my Peanut M&M.  I love the theater and I love sitting next to Adam in the theater.

Sunday we had our kids over (and by our kids I mean more than the ones I gave birth to).  We also further celebrated Braeden's birthday.

Here's an aside and a cautionary tale.  When you have a two year old (and mind you this was pre Pinterest times) you may get the idea to make a frog cake.  Just a regular cake with cupcakes for eyes and frosted green.  If you pursue that idea and your child is sentimental, you may just be making that frog cake every year.

I texted Braeden and asked him what kind of cake he wanted.  I assumed chocolate with mint frosting.  He texted back yes to that, but he wanted a frog.

So I did it and it's the ugliest frog cake yet and it seems I'd be getting better at them but apparently I'm not.

At least the kids are cute.

Except why can everyone except my children be normal in a picture?

Braeden, Mark, Emma, Leif, Freja, Anna, Desi, Liberty and Zack (or Zaberty as our kids call them)

Braeden opened his gifts.  He had requested a silky robe because a fellow EFY counselor had one.  I thought they seemed sort of creepy so this one is more of a satiny cotton.  He tried it on (of course) and sat down and said he needed a hound (of course) so Mark ran over to be his hound (of course).

I love our big Sundays.  Adam was the real champion.  After seven hours of church, he made ten pizzas.  Desi said about Adam churning out deliciousness from the kitchen, "Adam's like Edgar."

Which Adam and I both thought was the ultimate compliment.

We had our gospel study time together and I love hearing the discussion of those good kids.  BYU gave me good friends and a husband and an education and that place is still blessing my life.

Grateful Friday

The other day I told Mark, "I've been feeling kind of meh about my job lately."

He said, "That's because it's a meh job.  You're not there for the job.  You're there so you can be a teacher."

And he's right.  Being a teacher's aide is not my end game.  Being patient is not my strong point.

Here's what I'm grateful about.

It seems like every time I start feeling meh about my job, something happens that reminds me how much I like to teach.

Yesterday it was factors and multiples.

I was tasked with reteaching three 4th grade girls about factors and multiples and then venturing on into prime and composite numbers.

They went from saying, "I don't get it," to "Oh, I see!" and "Hey, what if I did this to find all the multiples?"

It is thrilling.

So even when my job feels meh, I'll keep going.

**

*

Another thing I'm grateful for is my Braeden.  Today is his birthday.  He is sunshine personified and the only person I know who would text me a link to Taylor Swift's song 22 at 6:30 AM.

After school with Mark

On my way home, I picked up Mark from school.

We went home and he had a snack because he won't do much until he's had his snack.

We got in the van this time and I drove and he delivered fliers about our Relief Society meeting to houses in our neighborhood.

After the last house, we switched and he drove.  He drove to the high school and we considered good parking spots and routes to take to try to avoid some of the crazy.  (He's going to drive himself to school today since the ice is mostly gone.)

We drove to the gas station so I could fill up the tank one last time before handing that pleasure over to him.  (Well, he filled up the tank but I paid.)

I got him a soda, promised payment for delivering fliers.

I gave him my presentation for Relief Society as he drove us home.  At one point I said I was going to read a quote from a book.  He said, "Give me the gist."  So I did.

When we got home, he said, "Can I just give you one suggestion?  For your presentation?"

"Sure," I said.

"Be more confident," he said.  "You sound all polite and like you're giving them a suggestion.  Tell them how it is!"

The night before, Mark had been telling me about William the Conquerer and The Battle of Hastings. I think Mark would be much better suited for rallying troops for battle than presenting at Relief Society.

We all have our thing.

I'm glad he's mine.