Generation Gap

Corinne: My grandmas are a lot more fun than you!

Me: Maybe I’ll be fun when I’m a grandma.

Corinne: Probably for my kids, but not to me.

A Story Problem

Grant:  Mom, can you give me a story problem to solve?

Mom:  Let me think for a minute…

Corinne interrupts:  I know the story problem, Grant.  I want Mom to read me lots of stories but she always says she can only read one.

Mom:  Go ahead, Grant.  Let’s see you solve that one.

March Madness

Around our house, anyway.  Three of our children are currently rehearsing for three different plays.  For those of you who are local and would like to attend (this is for Grandma and Grandpa Church, but all of you are welcome) I’m including the dates of the shows.

Alyssa is a daughter of the modern Major General in her school production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance.  This play is one of my personal favorites because I played a Keystone Cop when my high school performed it.  After reading over the score with Alyssa I have discovered that all of those songs have been buried in my brain for over 20 years and I still remember all of the words!  But now they won’t leave—they are running through my head over and over, just so I can annoy impress my children with my musical talents. 

April 23rd and 24th at Midvale Middle School

Grant landed a part in the 5th/6th grade production of Dear Edwina Jr.  He plays Lars Vanderploonk (sp?) and loves his part because he breaks his ankle in the first scene and gets to use crutches for the remainder of the play.  He was very relieved to discover that his character does not have to kiss any girls, but he is a little disgusted with one particular hugging scene. 

March 19th, 20th, and 21st at Jordan Ridge Elementary

Jillian told me months ago that one of her life goals was to star in a play.  At seven years old she is well on her way to that dream because she landed a leading role in a community theater production of Disney’s Aristocats.  She is “Marie”, the cute little white kitten.  When people find out about this they ask, “Jillian?”  Most think of her as quiet and soft-spoken but she comes alive on stage.  She memorized all of her lines in the first week and she’s been singing and dancing her songs from the show every chance she gets.  We can’t wait for her debut in two weeks.

March 13, 14, 16, 20, 21, 23 at South Jordan Community Center.  Tickets are $6 and go on sale Monday March 2nd--they are expected to sell quickly.

And now you can imagine that the madness of January and February is spilling over into March.  Some days it seems like everyone needs to be picked up at the same time but they’re all in different places.   Evan adds to this mix with his own “plays.”  You probably won’t find him on a stage—he’s more comfortable on the court.  His basketball team registered for two super leagues and he’s now in the final tournaments.  We love to watch him play, and he puts up with us attending if we promise not to embarrass him too much.  Brian almost crossed that line yesterday morning.  When he walked out the door to drive Evan to his game,  Evan took one look at his dad wearing a suit and tie (on a Saturday morning) and said, “Dad, don’t wear that!  And don’t sit there reading your scriptures!”  Objection overruled—Brian was speaking in a baptism immediately after the game. 

Would you like to join us for March Madness?  We can get you some great seats.  It’s all about who you know.

My Kitchen Help

I get to add the sugar—you add the flour.

Okay, you stirred 10 times, now it’s my turn!

Let me smell the vanilla.

Can I crack the eggs?

I want to lick the spatula. 

No, I want to! 

You always get to—it’s my turn! 

I know, let’s share it.  You lick this side and I’ll lick the other.

How could I bake any other way?  I love these helpers.

Do we get to keep her if we guess correctly?

Sorry, Michelle. No one guessed the exact weight so it looks like Hayley will be sticking around here. The winner of the best guess award goes to Miss “I can’t remember how much babies are supposed to weigh at that age” Marliese, with a guess of 10 lbs 8 oz.

Hayley weighed 10 lbs. 9 oz.! And that puts her in the “less than 5th” percentile. Not bad considering that at her two-week checkup she wasn’t even on the percentile chart! Oh, and she is in the 10th percentile for height. Yep, that’s how we grow them around here. The good news is that she still fits into size 1 diapers, she hasn’t outgrown many of her clothes, and she is still easy to carry around all day, which is just the way she likes it. She takes after her sister Alyssa who was also a very slow gainer. When I asked the doctor back then if I should change my diet and eat more fat or calories to help her grow, he helpfully pointed out, "Your body has plenty of fat on it already, it just doesn't know how to use it." Hmmm. Not much has changed.

You'll never guess what the pediatrician suggested: Feed her chocolate to fatten her up. (Works for me!)

See how much she loves it? Takes after her mother. (Real story: Corinne, I told you not to kiss Hayley because you have a cold! I didn't, Mom, she says innocently with chocolate chip cookie remnants all over her mouth. Right.)

Guess how much she weighs?

Hayley is 4 months old and just had her official dr. checkup, shots and all.  Because she was so small at 2 months (7 lbs. 15 oz) the doctor suggested supplementing her with a little formula.  I’ve been doing that for the past few weeks, along with nursing her every 3-4 hours, so take a guess how big she is now!  Leave comments and I’ll let you know who’s guess is the closest.

Hip, Hip, Hooray!

Way to go, Grant!  He worked hard and earned his Webelos Badge and his Arrow of Light and was presented with both at a special ceremony during last night’s Blue and Gold Banquet.

You can tell it was a big night for him.  Grant is such a hard worker and is very focused on achieving goals.  He has had some terrific leaders and three great years of fun.  Unfortunately, due to our move and the decision not to have Pinewood Derby races every year, Grant has never participated in a race as a Cub Scout.  He groaned in frustration last night when it was announced that the Derby will be in March because he turns 11 at the end of the month.  What injustice.

One last note:  as proud as I am of Grant, the title of this post was for me, not him.  I apologize in advance for rubbing this in to all of you with little boys, but WE ARE DONE WITH PACK MEETINGS!!!  WAHOO!