Today's not-so-favorite moments included . . .
. . . suddenly realizing that Daniel was fiddling with the fire alarm at our chapel. Immediately initiated hyperdrive.
. . . hearing Daniel start crying really hard in another room, and later noticing that he had a Joy-sized bite mark on his cheek.
Today's favorite moments included . . .
. . . playing random sofa cushion games with my kids.
. . . making actual solar cookies (not muffins), using my usual chocolate chip cookie recipe. They turned out more moist than usual, and it was still a little odd to eat a muffin-cup-shaped cookie, but otherwise they were good. I can see myself doing this a lot in summertime so we can have cookies without heating up the kitchen. I'll probably use a regular-sized muffin pan, though, since the wider, flatter result seems more like a cookie instead of a really dense mini muffin.
And another thing . . .
. . . Joy has some random nicknames for Daniel. They include "Bap" and "Dudie" (presumably an affectionate variant of dude).
. . . the kids and I took a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure walk today. At every intersection or crosswalk, they took turns choosing which direction we would go. It was an interesting exercise in chaos theory.
. . . I still had some terrible Giver flashbacks today, but by evening they had become less frequent and I pray they will soon be gone altogether. I found it was somewhat helpful to use a method I learned from Tuesdays with Morrie. Instead of mentally cowering in fear of the memory, I would face it and acknowledge that it was terrible, then set it aside. I had to do that repeatedly last night and today, but it often gave me a reprieve from the horror and made me feel more in command of my thoughts and emotions.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Best of Times and Worst of Times
Today's not-so-favorite moments included . . .
. . . Daniel throwing his cup of blackberry smoothie in such a way that it splattered everywhere. Not for the first or last time, I reflected that the owners probably put brown carpet in before we moved in because they knew we had little kids.
. . . I was having a rough, stressful evening and Phillip was away at his second choir concert, so after the kids went to bed I decided to read some more of The Giver to lift my spirits. Reading about Jonas's new memories and wisdom has made me appreciate the richness of my own life more. Unfortunately, a few pages after I started reading tonight, I got to the part where one of the baby twins was released. I had guessed the substance of what would happen long before, but reading about it in detail was horrible, and it haunted me for the rest of the evening. It was not what I needed tonight at all.
Today's favorite moments included . . .
. . . going to the temple with other women in my ward. The temple is always uplifting, and on the drive it was nice to talk about everything from missions to solar cooking to the challenges of raising kids in a world full of electronic games and gizmos.
. . . Joy giving me a kiss on the cheek while we were playing, then Daniel reaching for me so he could kiss me, too.
. . . Daniel throwing his cup of blackberry smoothie in such a way that it splattered everywhere. Not for the first or last time, I reflected that the owners probably put brown carpet in before we moved in because they knew we had little kids.
. . . I was having a rough, stressful evening and Phillip was away at his second choir concert, so after the kids went to bed I decided to read some more of The Giver to lift my spirits. Reading about Jonas's new memories and wisdom has made me appreciate the richness of my own life more. Unfortunately, a few pages after I started reading tonight, I got to the part where one of the baby twins was released. I had guessed the substance of what would happen long before, but reading about it in detail was horrible, and it haunted me for the rest of the evening. It was not what I needed tonight at all.
Today's favorite moments included . . .
. . . going to the temple with other women in my ward. The temple is always uplifting, and on the drive it was nice to talk about everything from missions to solar cooking to the challenges of raising kids in a world full of electronic games and gizmos.
. . . Joy giving me a kiss on the cheek while we were playing, then Daniel reaching for me so he could kiss me, too.
Friday, May 13, 2011
Classical Music, with Tacos on the Side
Today's favorite moments included . . .
. . . attending Phillip's choir concert tonight, in which they performed Carl Orff's Carmina Burana. I had heard it performed years ago, but since I didn't know what the Latin and German lyrics meant it just seemed like a random, loud montage of songs (though the opening/closing number O Fortuna was pretty awesome--heck, any song is a bit more epic when accompanied by a massive drum and a gong). This time I actually read the translations while the choir was singing, and it infused the music with much more power and emotion for me. The performance was a thrill, and it was a delight to see my husband enjoy singing so much.
. . . it was also fun to eat tacos with him at a hole-in-the-wall Mexican place before the concert.
. . . attending Phillip's choir concert tonight, in which they performed Carl Orff's Carmina Burana. I had heard it performed years ago, but since I didn't know what the Latin and German lyrics meant it just seemed like a random, loud montage of songs (though the opening/closing number O Fortuna was pretty awesome--heck, any song is a bit more epic when accompanied by a massive drum and a gong). This time I actually read the translations while the choir was singing, and it infused the music with much more power and emotion for me. The performance was a thrill, and it was a delight to see my husband enjoy singing so much.
. . . it was also fun to eat tacos with him at a hole-in-the-wall Mexican place before the concert.
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Giving Blood and Reading The Giver
Today's not-so-favorite moments included . . .
. . . a standard blood test for gestational diabetes. Medical needles don’t utterly unnerve me the way they once did, but they still inspire a certain anxiety and I hate the feeling of something sharp being jabbed into my arm.
Today's favorite moments included . . .
. . . reading The Giver, which countless people have told me they found very thought-provoking when they were young. I somehow never read it as a teenager, but I find it captivating now. I’m already halfway through it, and I’m intrigued to see how the story will unfold.
. . . experimenting with a chocolate cookie recipe. I tried about seven different chip combinations to see which I like best. The mint chips and the semisweet-white combination are the two winners in my book. Not sure I'll hang on to the actual cookie recipe, though--it spread like crazy and wasn't as soft as I'd hoped.
. . . watching my kids play.
. . . hugging my husband when he got home.
And another thing . . .
. . . anyone looking to buy an electric and/or hand-crank grain grinder? I'm selling one of each.
. . . a standard blood test for gestational diabetes. Medical needles don’t utterly unnerve me the way they once did, but they still inspire a certain anxiety and I hate the feeling of something sharp being jabbed into my arm.
Today's favorite moments included . . .
. . . reading The Giver, which countless people have told me they found very thought-provoking when they were young. I somehow never read it as a teenager, but I find it captivating now. I’m already halfway through it, and I’m intrigued to see how the story will unfold.
. . . experimenting with a chocolate cookie recipe. I tried about seven different chip combinations to see which I like best. The mint chips and the semisweet-white combination are the two winners in my book. Not sure I'll hang on to the actual cookie recipe, though--it spread like crazy and wasn't as soft as I'd hoped.
. . . watching my kids play.
. . . hugging my husband when he got home.
And another thing . . .
. . . anyone looking to buy an electric and/or hand-crank grain grinder? I'm selling one of each.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Quasi Cookies and Vented Molehills
Today's favorite moments included . . .
. . . my kids competing to see who could laugh louder.
. . . successfully baking some mini muffins in my solar oven. The recipe said they were supposed to be cookies, but I baked them in mini muffin tins (my cookie sheets won't fit in the solar oven), and the texture was more muffin-like. What's more, as I've compared the recipe to others, it actually bears a very close resemblance to several oatmeal muffin recipes I've come across. I guess if I want honest-to-goodness cookies, I should just use my own recipe.
And another thing . . .
. . . this morning, Phillip mentioned a choir-related schedule change that essentially torpedoed my dinner plans for the rest of the week. I was bummed and inconvenienced, but I knew if I told him that he would feel bad, offer to change his schedule, and end up even more bummed and inconvenienced than I was. I tried to just move on and accept that plans don't always work out, but the disappointment kept eating at me.
Later in the morning a friend asked how I was doing, and when I said I was trying to keep a molehill from becoming a mountain she insisted I tell her the whole story. Talking about my troubles didn't get rid of them, but somehow it made it easier to put them behind me. I don't think it's healthy to complain all the time, but every now and then it really does help to get your disappointment off your chest, and thus off your mind.
. . . my kids competing to see who could laugh louder.
. . . successfully baking some mini muffins in my solar oven. The recipe said they were supposed to be cookies, but I baked them in mini muffin tins (my cookie sheets won't fit in the solar oven), and the texture was more muffin-like. What's more, as I've compared the recipe to others, it actually bears a very close resemblance to several oatmeal muffin recipes I've come across. I guess if I want honest-to-goodness cookies, I should just use my own recipe.
And another thing . . .
. . . this morning, Phillip mentioned a choir-related schedule change that essentially torpedoed my dinner plans for the rest of the week. I was bummed and inconvenienced, but I knew if I told him that he would feel bad, offer to change his schedule, and end up even more bummed and inconvenienced than I was. I tried to just move on and accept that plans don't always work out, but the disappointment kept eating at me.
Later in the morning a friend asked how I was doing, and when I said I was trying to keep a molehill from becoming a mountain she insisted I tell her the whole story. Talking about my troubles didn't get rid of them, but somehow it made it easier to put them behind me. I don't think it's healthy to complain all the time, but every now and then it really does help to get your disappointment off your chest, and thus off your mind.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Soccer and the Hardward Store
Today's favorite moments included . . .
. . . kicking a soccer ball around with my kids. At first Daniel just threw it, but he soon caught on that Joy and I were tapping it with our feet, so he started doing that, too. By the end, both kids had developed pretty good aim.
And another thing . . .
. . . you might be in a hardware store if the tempting items by the cash register aren't candy bars or fashion magazines but calipers and stud sensors.
. . . you also might be in a hardware store if the entire "kitchen section" would fit in your shopping cart, and it consists of a meat grinder, cast iron cookware, two kinds of french fry cutters, and three kinds of hamburger patty presses. I don't think we're in Williams-Sonoma anymore, Toto.
. . . kicking a soccer ball around with my kids. At first Daniel just threw it, but he soon caught on that Joy and I were tapping it with our feet, so he started doing that, too. By the end, both kids had developed pretty good aim.
And another thing . . .
. . . you might be in a hardware store if the tempting items by the cash register aren't candy bars or fashion magazines but calipers and stud sensors.
. . . you also might be in a hardware store if the entire "kitchen section" would fit in your shopping cart, and it consists of a meat grinder, cast iron cookware, two kinds of french fry cutters, and three kinds of hamburger patty presses. I don't think we're in Williams-Sonoma anymore, Toto.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Old Friends and Lots of Sweets
Today's not-so-favorite moments included . . .
. . . eating a week's worth of sweets at my sister's reception. Bleh.
Today's favorite moments included . . .
. . . giving an elderly sister a ride to and from a church activity today. I worried we'd have trouble thinking of things to talk about, but she had a great time telling me all about her family and friends, and I had a great time listening.
. . . catching up with old family friends at the reception. There is something special about seeing people who make your face light up even though you haven't seen each other for years.
And another thing . . .
. . . both my kids were quiet and well-behaved during the ring ceremony--Joy because she was content on Papa's lap, and Daniel because we were feeding him pillow mints. I grossly underestimated his rate of consumption, though, and halfway through the ceremony I had to squeeze past Uncle Nile and sprint to the nearest table for another fistful of mints to keep Daniel from getting fussy.
. . . eating a week's worth of sweets at my sister's reception. Bleh.
Today's favorite moments included . . .
. . . giving an elderly sister a ride to and from a church activity today. I worried we'd have trouble thinking of things to talk about, but she had a great time telling me all about her family and friends, and I had a great time listening.
. . . catching up with old family friends at the reception. There is something special about seeing people who make your face light up even though you haven't seen each other for years.
And another thing . . .
. . . both my kids were quiet and well-behaved during the ring ceremony--Joy because she was content on Papa's lap, and Daniel because we were feeding him pillow mints. I grossly underestimated his rate of consumption, though, and halfway through the ceremony I had to squeeze past Uncle Nile and sprint to the nearest table for another fistful of mints to keep Daniel from getting fussy.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)