normal stuffs

This last week was a busy one. I had something going on every day. I know this because I remember saying that to my parents last week. But I honestly can't remember what I was supposed to do on Monday.

Tuesday I had a presidency meeting, Wednesday Emilia got out at noon and I had visiting teaching appointments. Thursday Steve was supposed to have game night, but he ended up just having a friend over to play LOTR when D&D got canceled. Friday, Megan had a Pampered Chef party at her house around lunch time. And Saturday, we finished cleaning out the room in the basement so Alison could move in today. We hadn't planned on it, but we got to see Nick and Wilda Saturday night when they took us out to Cracker Barrel where I ate too many corn muffins and biscuits. Okay, who am I kidding? Can you really eat too many of those things? :D

Wednesday was pretty fun. I packed a picnic lunch before we left to get Emilia and we immediately went to the park after picking her up. We ate with our coats on, but it was a fun picnic. Then the girls played for an hour on the slides and swings and building "cakes" with the wood chips.

Emilia picked out this outfit yesterday. I love her sense of style.

She just looked so cute brushing her teeth, I had to take a picture.

I found some glow-in-the-dark assembly-needed dinosaur skeletons at the $1 Store around Christmas. It was fun putting them together yesterday.

Mira found a metal hanger and was playing with it the other day.

Emilia's spelling test. She got 100%. She has gotten 100% every week except one. She is amazing.

Mira did a goober smile the other day at lunch and insisted I take a picture. Cecily is naked in the background because she doesn't get to wear clothes when she eats a Nutella and peanut butter sandwich. (affectionately called a "chocolate sandwich")

Hairs and Cecily selfies

This week had its ups and downs. I got to go to writing group, so that was a highlight. My kids were pretty good, and we're all healthy, which I'm thankful for. My moods were a little extreme this week, so maybe the ups and downs were all in my head. But that's where they always are, isn't it?

Steve got to play LOTR card game this week and I had a Relief Society activity where we got a bread-making demonstration and then got to eat it with flavored butters. Mmm...

Yesterday Haylee threw a surprise 30th birthday party for Ben that we got to go to. It was fun playing Ben Jeopardy. My team won. :D

Do you remember a while back when I was freaking out because my hair was falling out? Well, it stopped a few months ago. Finally. And now it's growing back, which I am totally grateful for. Some days I can't win in the hair department with all these tiny hairs, though.

This was the sunset from my front window on Valentines Day. Pretty, huh?

Mira colored these Equestria Girls pictures this week. She was very proud.

Cecily had been feeling clingy recently. Some days I just can't do anything except sit down with her and play on my phone. These pictures are ones she took of herself on two of these occasions. Love that face!

Normal stuff

I felt like we were getting better this week. Mira is taking antibiotics for an ear infection, but she doesn't seem affected by it anymore. Cecily is still cranky, which I can't figure out, but at least it's not all three of them.

What did we do this week? Hmm...Yesterday Steve gave me the evening and I went shopping. I bought some new jewelry at Charming Charlie and some new slacks.

Lazy Sunday couch picture. But it's new jewelry. Cute huh?

Our attempts to do projects on Saturdays is always such a stunning failure. Part of the problem is we wait until after the girls are awake Saturday morning to discuss it. And we always give baths Saturday morning so we don't have to do it before church on Sunday. So with the baths and the demanding of breakfast and attention, we don't make a decision until 10:30 or 11, and by then it's time to feed them again. We did officially decide to make a headboard for now. And to put a little money toward fixing up the master bathroom.

Here is a before picture. It's rather atrocious. We'll see if $100 worth of supplies will make any difference. I hope so.

Steve has always played video games with the girls. But with Emilia's recent foray into Harvest Moon, Steve had to download an N64 simulator. And with it, he downloaded Mario 64. Cecily LOVES watching him play the "Guy."

We also made some valentines this week, the kids played outside a ton, Emilia and Mira both played with friends, and Steve visited some friends, too.

Still sick....and Facebook Funnies

I feel like I have been sick forever. Ugh. I only exercised once this week because I keep thinking, "If I get enough sleep tonight, then I'll feel better faster." False assumption.

We had a couple of play dates this week. I'm still working on my story for the conference. I feel like I'll be working on that forever, too. Yesterday, we went to IKEA and one other furniture store as a family. It was an hour long drive up to Salt Lake and the only convincing Emilia needed was that we could have dinner at Wendy's. Mira adamantly did not want to go, but we convinced her to anyway. We payed for it with her being cranky for most of the trip. She was fine after we got to IKEA, so that was nice.

Last Sunday we had a Frohlich family dinner to celebrate January birthdays. This is Febe after Megan took her ponytail out. Naturally curly hair is amazing. :)

Mira wanted me to help her put this dress on this week. It's like a size 10, so the waist hits around her knees and it's about three feet too long for her. But it's so fancy she just has to wear it. (Thanks, Heather!) After we put it on, she was talking to herself and I asked what she was doing. "I'm having a wedding," she says. "Who are you marrying?" I asked, thinking she would say Daddy or a boy she knows. Instead she said, "Robot!" This kid cracks me up all the time.

Emilia's school had media week. They taught them about dangers of media and what media is. For some reason, on Friday, they all got mustaches. Emilia was pretty super excited.

1/31/15
We went to IKEA tonight as a family. As we were heading toward the kids section IKEA had a sign over a tunnel that read "Home is a playground." Emilia read it as she went through the tunnel. "Home is a playground. That's the spirit! Home is a playground!"

1/29/15
Mira: She can't marry him because he's not handsome enough.
Emilia: Yes he is.
Mira: No. He wears glasses.
Emilia: She likes glasses guys.
Mira: He's not a glasses guy. He's a shoe guy.
Emilia: Ugh!
I sympathize with Emilia. I am often frustrated by arguing against a complete lack of logic. Also, it's nice to know that only 20/20 will be good enough for a discriminating daughter.

1/26/15
On Sunday, Mira walked up to Steve with a toy blow dryer that actually blows air--while he was eating his dinner.
Mira: (Pointing the air at Steve's head) Look, Daddy!
Steve: Not right now, Mira. I'm trying to eat my dinner.
Mira: Okay. (like she's selling something:) I can blow refreshing air on you any time!

1/24/15
I've taken to saying "Okay Google" to my phone when starting a Google search. Emilia came up to me just now talking about how cool it is.
Emilia: I can't believe you can just say, "Okay, Google."
Me: It's pretty cool, huh?
Emilia: Yeah. "Okay, Google. Walmart." "Okay, Google. Zion's Bank." "Okay, Google. Inflatable cat horns."
Me: <> Inflatable cat horns?
Emilia: Yeah! They exist. They really have them!

1/22/15
Cecily falls down so much that she's taken to asking "okay?" before I can.

1/18/15
Deciding what to do after dinner last night, I said we could play regular Legos or Lego Marvel Superheros (among other options).
Emilia: Regleear Legos!
Me: It's reg-u-lar. Can you say it that way?
Emilia: Reglar. Reg-a-ler. Reg-ler. I can't say it. Especially with this carrot in my mouth.
Mira: I can! Leg-lee-lar. ((Beaming proudly))

1/11/15
Mira: Daddy, you are the bad guy who always takes over the world. I am the bad girl who never takes over the world.
Steve: You don't take over the world?
Mira: No, I stay home. And take care of the dragon.

1/9/15
Me: Mira, get your shoes on.
Mira: ((ignores me, pretending to paint the walls))
Me: Mira, we're going to the library. You need shoes.
Mira: But I'm painting!
Me: But you need shoes! Go put them on.
Mira goes back in the bedroom and puts on her ballet slippers which she knows she can't wear outside.
Me: You can't wear those shoes.
Mira: But they're my painting shoes!

12/28/14
I just realized how appropriate the never-ending song is when applied to housework. "It's the laundry that never ends, it just goes on and on my friends. Somebody started cleaning it, not knowing what it was and they'll continue cleaning it forever just because..."

9/27/14
Mira at breakfast: Daddy, I have a joke. It's not poop.
Steve: A joke that's not about poop? Okay.
Mira: Why did the grapes cross the road alone?
Steve: I don't know.
Mira: Because they didn't have any friends!

9/23/14
Dinner table conversation--
Mira: I have a crush on somebody.
Steve: No you don't.
Emilia: *I* have a crush on somebody.
Mira: What does crush mean?
Emilia: It means you love them.
Mira: Oh! I have a crush on.... Nana!

We can't seem to stay healthy this winter...

Steve had Monday off this week because of Martin Luther King Day. We were going to work on a project and decided on getting the kitchen organized. It's my place to make piles and it was getting out of hand. I bought some shelves at IKEA a few weeks ago and we were going to use those to store my piles instead of using counter space. Emilia ended up with a stomach bug, so she took it easy that day (and the next). We ended up getting rid of a bunch of books the kids no longer read, putting away the Christmas stuff (finally), moving the shelves around until we decided to put them in the living room, and moving Steve's computer to the kitchen desk. We intend on getting rid of some furniture and moving our treadmill so the bedroom AQ downstairs can become a playroom. It will be nice to have the mess of stuff being drug out down there instead of in their tiny bedroom.

Tuesday, Emilia was still really sick, and Cecily came down with a cold, so the girls watched a lot of TV and Cecily took like a 4 hour nap. It was glorious. I used the time to finish up a chapter that I am entering into a contest. I have to get the entry in by February 2, but I won't find out how I did until May 15. I'm excited to see how I do (because I'm really proud of this story), but I'm trying not to get my hopes up so I don't get crushed if I don't place. I do think it will be a good learning experience either way.

I also had a RS activity that night and I got to make some cards. Wednesday through Saturday, me and the girls were all trying to fight/suffering from being sick.

Thursday Steve got to go play LOTR Card Game at Ben's house and by Friday, I was drawn out. The kids were rather exhausting this week. Although Cecily was really cute in this video. We were reading a book and I showed her a baby chick on one of the pages. I said, "Aww! Look how cute it is! It's a little chick." After that, every time she saw one, she would say "Aww!" and then she started hugging the book, too. Adorable.

Friday night, we got to have some neighbors over to play games. It was a fun night getting to know them better and playing Dominion, Guillotine, and Oodles.

Saturday we were going to make a family trip to IKEA, but then Mira got the stomach bug, Cecily refused to nap, and the whole day got thrown off. Steve was an amazing husband and watched the girls so I could write, did dishes, cleaned a bathroom, and was just generally supportive. He's kind of great.

This last picture is part of a book that Emilia got from school. She highlighted sight words and labeled them, colored all the pictures, and signed it "By The Kid Emilia."  She asked me if we could donate it to the library so other kids could learn about Australia and see all her hard work. I told her we could ask them the next time we went.

One misadventure and no pictures.

Another boring picture week this week. Not a single one. And I realized that last week I forgot to mention I had writing group. I'm not sure how. It was the highlight of my week. Besides spending time with my family, that is my second-favorite thing to do on the planet. Of course, walking through the Louvre or writing poetry while sipping herbal tea and looking through my rose-colored glasses at the Eiffel Tower might bump writing group down a notch, but since that's not in my cards right now, writing group pretty much rocks my normal, everyday life.

Let's see...Monday night, Emilia taught us about the "places" we have to go on the road back to our Heavenly Father. Places like prayer, making good choices, and reading the scriptures. She had a little roadmap and a car that drove from "Earthly Home" back to our "Heavenly Home." It was cute.

Tuesday I had a presidency meeting and then that night, my friend Camber came over and we did crafts. She made some bows for her girls and I made some birthday cards. It's always good to have some crafty girl time.

Thursday, I had parent-teacher conferences for Emilia. Her teacher says she loves having her in class, that she always has a great attitude, and she loves learning new things--she just soaks them up. She is doing great in all her subjects, too. Out of all the testing that was done, she only missed two questions, I think. We are so proud of her. Steve also had game night that night and I played, too, for once.

This makes it sound like it was a fairly normal evening, but really it was more of a family misadventure. If you don't want to read the story, just skip the next paragraph. :)

I decided earlier in the day that I was going to make soup and crusty bread for dinner, partly because it sounded good, but mostly because I wanted to take a meal to a friend and that would be easy to transport (and totally tasty). Mira had a friend come over right after lunch and shortly after that, I put Cecily down for her nap. I was going to do some organizing in the kitchen and then do some writing while they played. Then I remembered the bread needed to rise for 3 hours, so I needed to get it started or it wouldn't be ready in time for dinner. I start making up the dough, when the girls decide they need a snack. Pause. Get them snack. Finish mixing and set the bowl aside. Sit down and try to write, realize it's time to go get Emilia from school soon. But the girls are not done playing, so I call the friend's mom and she agrees to watch them for a few minutes while I go get Emilia. When I get off the phone, Mira is like, "She's just coming with, Mom." Oh, yeah. I don't know why I didn't think of that. Arrive at the school. Emilia is with a friend, begging to let her play soon. We won't have time until next week, so we decide to have her come today. The more the merrier, right? So after getting permission, we all drive back to our house. After the friends go home, I need to start dinner, but then Cecily wakes up and wants me to hold her. But she's HEAVY. so I put on a baby signing time downstairs for her. This causes Mira to cry uncontrollably because she doesn't want to watch Baby Signing Time. I finally put Wild Kratts on my phone. By then it's like 6pm and Steve, who got to work before 8am that morning (miraculously), still isn't home. Emilia's parent/teacher conference is at 6:20, so I call Steve to see where he is. He hasn't left work yet. He had a project he had to finish. Gah! So I pack up all the girls, having to stop their shows in the middle, which causes wailing of unparalleled proportions from Mira, get shoes and coats on and into the car. We are late, but she's running late, so it's mostly okay. While I try to talk to the teacher, Mira is still wailing somewhere in the classroom, Cecily is trying to walk off with the entire container of suckers or trying to unwrap all of them, and Emilia is dancing around singing, "This is my classroom. I'm in my classroom at night!" Mira has finally calmed down by the time we are walking back out to the car, but then she tries to follow Emilia over a snowbank, slips, falls, and whacks herself on the jagged snow. More wailing. Cecily, mad that I won't let her walk across the street without holding my hand also starts wailing. This continues through buckling them and the entire ride home. Steve is home when we get back, which is when I realize he has friends coming over for game night in 20 minutes. I tell him he gets the kids until his friend gets here. He is gracious about it. After closing myself in my room for 5 minutes, I realize I have soup on the stove that isn't even close to done, and bread that is still rising on the counter. I won't have dinner ready for like another 30 minutes minimum. So I grab my coat and tell Steve I'm getting Little Caesars.  When I get back, Steve tels me Cecily dumped an entire cup of water on her head while I was gone, but on the upside, the girls are all in their pjs now. I get the girls their food, which Cecily refuses to eat, then prep the oven for baking the bread which has been rising for like 5 hours now. Just then, the last of the friends shows up with a Papa Murphy's pizza he would like to bake in our oven. Can I just quit now? But no. I bake the bread, then the pizza. Meanwhile girls are read to, and put to bed. By 8:30 pm, I finally get to eat some of my soup and some bread. And I don't want to do anything else for the night that requires effort. So I play Savage Worlds with Steve and his friends. Phew!

Friday, the girls and I went to visit my mom, where Alison introduced Emilia to the game Harvest Moon. She played it for like 2 hours while we were there. I haven't let her play it at home yet. I don't want more reasons to have screen time. Uck.

Yesterday, Steve was a dear and watched the girls so I could go write for about 4 hours at the library. He took them to the treehouse at the mall. When they got back he said, "Cecily really loves that slide. You told me that before. But I didn't think she loved it that much." Yup. That girl LOVES going down a slide.

Routine

Well, I got my wish. This week was pretty routine. Emilia and Mira have been better about playing this week. Some days, they didn't even watch TV. That's an epic win around here. It helps that they have new toys to play with. And since the weather has warmed up again, they went and jumped on the trampoline a couple of times. We have it in the garage, but with the temperatures being in the single digits after Christmas, nobody wanted to be out there.

The only pictures I have this week are of Cecily. I took her and Mira to the mall play area on Tuesday. Cecily played well for about fifteen minutes, but then she was bored and kept running for the escalators because those looked exciting.

We only did this about 9 times (up and down).

I expect this week will be much like last week. If nothing else, lets hope it goes even better. :)