A few random thoughts

Richard passed swimming lesson level 1! Yea! I'm trying to decide if I should try to get him in level 2 for this year. He seems to love swimming. However, the idea of going to the pool by myself with four children seems a bit daunting...

Scott fixed my dryer! The part FINALLY came today and it now works! Hurray for not having to dry everything in the air.

I need new clothes. The sandals I'm wearing were purchased a couple of months after I got married. Yes, they are over six years old. Almost all of my shirts were purchased at least 4 years ago. I only have two pairs of capris that don't have holes. Sigh. I'm just barely getting the grocery and other shopping done. Oh, well. I guess I'll just be fashion-less for the next while! At least my kids are clothed.

Richard is in swimming lessons again! He finishes tomorrow. He's been a lot more confident in the water than last year. We'll see if he passes. Go Richard!

Separated

Marie and Peter have officially been moved to separate cribs. Peter got so he would kick his legs and bounce the mattress when he was awake, which woke Marie. Marie is more mobile than Peter and was starting to roll into him. So, we had to separate them. They seemed to do just fine apart. Marie definitely is back to taking better naps. Peter, on the other hand, still usually naps for 45 minutes. Thanks to my sister for being the first to offer her crib (and thanks to everyone else who offered after her)! We are glad we didn't have to go buy another crib.

Laments

I guess I'm getting tired, because I've been in one of those "Count-the-many-ways-I'm-not-perfect" moods.
I got upset with Richard for saying, "I want to watch banana" multiple times when I asked if they wanted to watch a movie. I should have played along with him and let him be silly. Instead, I got annoyed.
I keep thinking about friendships I used to have but have gone the way of all the earth. In fact, I was deleted from a list of blogs on someone's blog. I had no idea I offended her! I seem to do that a lot more often than I think I should. I'm not quite sure what I do...
I think about how too often a day ends and I really didn't "play" with Marie and Peter. I put them on the floor to play on their mats and then fed them when they needed to be fed. I really need to actually play with them.
I think about how Richard will start to get whiny and say, "Why won't someone play with me?!" and I realize that I've basically left him to entertain himself all day. I really need to actually spend fun time with him. Just sitting with him at the end of the day to practice reading is not enough interaction.
I think about how most of my interaction with Audrey is spent being annoyed. In the moment, all I can think about is how I wish she didn't have to do everything with me like feeding the babies, bathing the babies, cleaning the bathrooms, just walking to the basement, etc. Then, I feel bad and realize I atually need to spend time interacting with her and being with her.
I think about how I read my scriptures but don't spend a lot of time studying them. I sometimes feel lucky to read them. Then I remember, "Wait, I took the time to read blogs. Shouldn't the scriptures be more important than blogs?"
I think about how I don't spend a lot of time interacting with Scott. I get the kids in bed and feel like I can finally do something for me. I really need to actually spend time with him.
Sigh. So far to go....

Clothes lines

My dryer is not working. Well, it will run if you constantly hold the start button. Who has that kind of time?! I tried duct tape, but it also wasn't blowing hot air, so it didn't make a huge difference. Scott says he's pretty sure he knows how to fix it, because he understands the diagrams of the circuits and such. He found the part on-line. We figured it would be cheaper to just order the part than to even get a repair guy on our doorstep. So, I had him order the part.
However, being the frugal and cheap person I am, I told him to just do standard shipping. Well, it's been two weeks now since it broke, and we still don't have it fixed! I was able to do laundry at my mom's when I went down for the six-month check-ups. However, since then, I've been hanging clothes all over the basement and on our shower curtain rods.
I have concluded from this experience that I don't like air-dried clothes much. They're too crunchy and stiff. Have I learned to two-day ship something? No. Why pay more than you have to?

English

Richard is learning to read. He's doing a great job and doing his best to figure out how sound combinations work. However, due to the confusing nature of English, I'm often saying, "Well, it does seem like it should be that way, but..."

For example, we were discussing that "sh" says shhhh. We listed shoe and share as words that start that way. Then Richard says, "sugar has sh in it." Well, yea, it sounds that way, but it just has an "s." Did you know that most people pronounce truck in such a way that he thinks it starts with a "ch" combination?

We've also encountered silent vowels like in "eat." We've come across silent consonants like in "knee." Why do we do that?

Why does the "th" combination make a different sound depending on the word?

How do you explain that cat starts with a c but kitten starts with a k?

Poor Richard. It's amazing any of us figure out this language.

6-month stats

For all of you out there who care, here is the latest on Peter and Marie. As I suspected, Peter has gained more weight than Marie. He is now 16 pounds 2 ounces, which means he gained 4 pounds in the last two months. However, he's still only in the 21%tile. His length is in the 39%tile and his head is in the 67%tile. Marie is still our "tiny one," as Scott likes to call her. She is 12 pounds 7 ounces, which is a weight gain of 2.5 pounds. She's in the 1.5 %tile. Her length is in the 14%tile and her head is in the 31%tile. They are both healthy and doing very well!

Almost a Master!

Scott had his follow-up thesis defense today. He passed! All he has to do is make the small revisions that the professors in his committee wrote in their copies of his thesis. Then, he gives the final copy to his advisor and then brings it to the library. Then, he's FINALLY done! YEA! I cannot emphasize enough how EXCITED we are! It's been a long, hard road full of all kinds of set backs. So, it means a lot more now that he's overcome all those! Congratulations, Scott!

Easter

We had a great Easter. We colored Easter eggs and had an Easter egg hunt. The kids enjoyed their candy. They each received two books in their baskets. I love that we have a day especially dedicated to celebrating the resurrection of our Savior. He is the redeemer of mankind. He is the reason we have any chance of happiness. Happy Easter to you all!

6 months

Marie and Peter are now six months! Wow how time flies! I took a few pictures to celebrate the day. We'll go to my parent's house this next week for their check-ups. I'm sure Peter has gained more weight than Marie! He LOVES solid food! He's a lot heftier than any of my other kids. He actually might wear pants that don't need to be safety pinned!

LDS General Conference

This is the one of the only general conferences that I've actually watched all the sessions at my house. We usually join my family at either my parent's house or at their cabin. Alas, they are on vacation at this time so we stayed here.

Conference was very uplifting and wonderful. I really liked President Uchtdorf's talk. I also loved how direct Elder Oaks was. I enjoy the wonderful spirit we feel and the council we receive by listening to conference. I just wish my kids agreed! I am so glad we get all the talks in written form so we can study them. I currently have the goal of reading one a day. I have been doing decently well with that goal (I started it with the last conference).

Pictures of kids

Scott took these pictures today. Marie holds her head up better than Peter. In fact, she's much stronger when it comes to physical movement on the floor. However, Peter is stronger if you stand them up or try to have them sit. Marie immediately starts folding in half. Peter can sit upright for longer. They both can only balance for a couple of seconds. Peter actually stood next to the couch on his own for about 30 seconds yesterday.


Audrey has finally agreed to let me put a barrette in her hair. I snuck it in last Monday and she didn't realize it was there until the afternoon. I think by that time she realized how wonderful it is to not have her hair in her eyes. I think she worried it would pull on her scalp as much as elastics do. I don' know what her hold up what. However, she looks so much better without her hair in her eyes most of the day.

How is Audrey doing?

People often ask me this question in relation to how Audrey is adjusting to having the twins in the house. Let's just say she's such a girl! She loves to help me with the babies. She tries to nurse her toys and will even cover up with a blanket. She changes her doll's diaper. She'll even put her toys down for naps. Today, we actually took a picture of her work.
She is so cute! Oh, she's also much better at going to the potty. So, the only evidence of her struggling with the birth of twins in our house is finally almost back to 100%.