Well, I have t-minus who knows how many minutes until the babies wake up from nap time, so I thought I would type a blog about all the random things going on in my life that have kept me from blogging.
First, I started teaching my Let's Play Music classes for this school year and I love it. Most of you already know what it is, but for those of you who don't, it is a music program that teaches children to appreciate music, learn music theory, and learn to play the piano very well over a course of three years. The class is done in a group setting once a week, which beats teaching individual piano or instrument lessons in that I don't have to set aside half an hour for each child, but I get paid the same amount! Plus, the lesson plans are all laid out for me, I can teach it from my home, and it is FUN! We sing and play games and learn music fundamentals all at the same time. Piper loves the songs, so if I ever need to brush up on my memorization, I can do it with her around, begging for more!
Next up in my crazy life is Graci's insane bedtime routine. It all started two and a half weeks ago when Peter was on a camp out. I gave her the usual bottle before bed and about half an hour later she woke up screaming. Weird. I thought she might still be hungry, so I nursed her and put her back to bed. Half and hour later she was awake and screaming again. Okay, another bottle. She passed out from exhaustion and I took it as a fluke and went to bed at about midnight. This continued for the next few days so I just decided to add more to her bottle. That resulted in massive amounts of screaming, even more than before, so I decided to go back to just nursing. Same result. After a few days my milk caught up to the extra feedings and we decided to do a bottle of just breast milk. This worked only one day, but I attribute it to her exhaustion from receiving shots that day, especially since the next two days she went back to the exact same pattern. We have given up being disappointed when she wakes up. I'm going to adjust my dinner diet (if you haven't heard, I do not eat any dairy or whole grains...I'm starting to think it is more the grains...maybe gluten, that is bothering her). She does best when I have had salad. Who knows. Maybe it is just a phase. Our latest method is to lay her down, let her get out her gas and wear herself out, and then put her back to bed. At any rate, Peter and I are zombies after a week straight and crave our Sunday family nap time.
And next? Piper is two. Everything in the house is labeled with "mine" before its name and "no" has actually started to take on its true meaning whereas before it was just a new word like any other. She is not interested in the potty, even though she has two perfectly good potty chairs. However, she will let me know when she is about to poop. She has to be completely secluded to do it and if you interrupt her she screams at you until you leave. Pee can be done whenever, except in the pool where she gets out, stands on the side, squats down and announces to you (and the other pool guests) that she is going pee pee. I have not even bothered trying to potty train her yet. Mostly because I am not ready, Graci is still little and demands a lot of attention (food), and Piper usually decides to go poop when I am nursing. Oh well!
And then there is my church calling. I am the First Counselor in the Primary Presidency which means it is my job to take care of the Primary Program, which is coming up in October. Yeah, need to get on the ball about that.
On top of all of this Peter and I went to see our loan officer about selling our house/what we can afford for a new house. He reminded us of the first time home buyer tax credit that is out there and we thought, "Might as well try and jump on that bandwagon! Lets put our house on the market in six weeks!" So, we sat down, made a plan to complete uncompleted projects, and I have spent most of my "free" time de-cluttering our house. Thank goodness for a giant recycling bin, an SUV, and Goodwill...oh, and I almost forgot, Craigslist!
Poor Missy and Xena have taken a backseat to all of this action. Hopefully when it's all said and done they will have a beautiful yard to destroy and new woodland creatures to tree.
