So Long, Darewell

My house is alive with The Sound of Music: we let the girls see the movie a couple of months ago, and they LOVED it. I checked out the soundtrack CD from the library, and we listened to it in the van every time we drove somewhere for four straight weeks. We let them watch the movie again this week while Evie was sick, and they sang along with all the songs. Their own versions of the songs, of course. For example: "So long, darewell, and you and you and you. [Voice goes up one full octave] Goodbyeeeeeeeeee!" "How do you solve a problem like Maria? How do you catch a cow and pin it down?" "IIIIIIIII'm ev'ry mountain!" And neither Evie nor Eloise seems to be able to go straight up the stairs these days...no, instead they must sit on the stairs and slowly go up while sitting, all the while singing like little Gretel, "The suuuuun has gooooooone to bed and so must I-I." (If you are not familiar with the music or the movie, none of this will make much sense or be very funny. Sorry!) Because they have been so intrigued with the vonTrapp family, I also checked out from the library a neat pictorial biography of the actual Trapp Family Singers, as well as Maria Augusta Trapp's book The Story of the Trapp Family Singers, which served as the inspiration for The Sound of Music. We have enjoyed studying the pictures together, and I'm very much enjoying reading Maria's biography and sharing many tidbits from the story with the girls. Maria shared her story with such enthusiasm, and you cannot help but catch some of her spirit while reading it. The other day I read part of a chapter that really resonated with me and the particular stage of life in which I seem to find myself right now:

It will be very interesting one day to follow the pattern of our life as it is spread out like a beautiful tapestry. As long as we live here we see only the reverse side of the weaving, and very often the pattern, with its threads running wildly, doesn't seem to make sense. Some day, however, we shall understand.

In looking back over the years we can discover how a red thread goes through the pattern of our life: the Will of God.

I really do look forward to the day when I shall understand so many things. Until that time, I cling to Ecclesiastes 3:11--"He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end."

Sick, Susan Salidor, and Six Months...

Mr. B's grandmother passed away last week, so Saturday was a long day of funeral, interment, luncheon, and extended time with extended family. The girls really rose to the occasion and were especially well-behaved, and it seemed like they were a genuine blessing and joy among the sorrow.

Unfortunately, Evie was coming down with something, and by the end of the day, it was obvious she was definitely sick: fever, glassy eyes, and the beginning of a cough. Sunday morning she said, "My throat feels funny, but it's not very funny to me."

Sadly, she had to miss the Susan Salidor concert we'd been looking forward to attending as a family on Sunday. I took Eloise to the concert at the library, and she had a blast! (If you're not familiar with Susan Salidor, check her out--she is great fun!) Before we left for the concert, Eloise told me, "Susan Salidor will be so happy to see me. She will say, 'Oh, Eloise, you look so pretty!'" I was thinking how sad it is that our middle child has absolutely no self esteem, but guess what? Susan actually approached Eloise after the concert, praised her for singing and dancing along the whole time, and told her she was "just the cutest thing ever." Oh, boy. (At least Eloise said "thank you"?)

Evie's fever continued to hover around 103 or so, even with ibuprofin, so I decided to take her to the doctor first thing Monday morning. As she dressed for the appointment, she came in while I was changing Audrey's diaper and said, "Mom, look at my legs: they're in really bad shape." I examined her bare legs, not sure what she meant...they looked okay to me. She bent her knees slightly, straightened them, and said, "See?". I didn't see, but I just said we'd have the doctor check it out.

Unfortunately, the doctor did not have any answers for us regarding the legs, throat, cough, or fever. She said it was probably a virus, and we were sent home to drink lots of fluids, rest, and watch movies. The poor, pathetic little thing broke my heart, laying there so listlessly.

I was so thankful when she woke up this morning and was almost fever-free. Of course, she is also very used to me waiting on her hand and foot, a fact that I quickly realized when she told me, "I think I will have an early lunch today, Mom. I'd like it now." She and Eloise have been making eachother (and their Mommy) pretty crazy all day. Oh, the whining. You can only imagine.

On a happier note, Audrey turned six months old two days ago! She is sitting up fairly well on her own now, and I think tooth #2 is on its way. Can you see it?

Not Me! Monday

1. I did not wear my workout clothes to bed in hopes that I would feel more motivated to go to the gym early in the morning if I was already dressed to do so. If I had worn them overnight, though, I never would have gone back to bed when my alarm went off before sunrise, instead of heading straight to the gym. Additionally, even if I had worn them overnight and skipped going to the gym in the morning, I totally didn't just wear them all day since I wasn't really going anywhere. Gross.
2. I was not secretly disappointed that Mr. B's grandmother's funeral was not going to be out of state as we originally had expected. I am not so desperate for a get-away that a funeral seemed like a good (albeit very sad) opportunity, and Mr. B did not express the same exact sentiment.
3. I did not eat an entire box of Reduced Fat Wheat Thins in two days. By myself.
4. I did not take a Tylenol PM at 4:00 am after trying, unsuccessfully, to fall asleep for three hours.
5. I also did not drink a can of Diet Coke for breakfast in hopes of countering the eventual effects of the Tylenol PM.
6. Remember this post, when I didn't let Evie play computer games so I could take a nap? I totally didn't do that this week, either.
7. I always keep our diaper bag well-stocked and ready for any situation, so I definitely did not leave Audrey with dried-out baby wipes and no change of clothes, and she surely didn't have a blow-out diaper while I was away. I have not been disqualified (yet another time!) for the "Mom of the Year" award...

Want to play, too? Join MckMama's Not Me! Monday blog carnival! It's great fun and kind of therapeutic to admit some of the silly things you may--or may not *wink, wink*--have done this week.

my week in numbers

1: Times I've posted on my blog. 2: Funerals I attended. 103: Evie's temperature right now (she's miserable!). 7: Nights I stayed up past midnight. 11: Loads of laundry I washed. 25: Years my sister Molly's been around, as of Wednesday. 47: Children's books I read. 17: Squares I completed in the baby afghan I'm making. 32: Squares (out of 88) left to complete in the baby afghan I'm making. 5: Weeks since the baby, for whom I am making the afghan, was born. Seems that, aside from the recognition of Molly's recent birthday and my girls' obvious love of good books, the numbers of my week are somewhat really discouraging! I vow right now to have a better week this week...hope yours is great, too!

an Eloise-ism

"Mom, my stomach is in my cheek because that's his bedroom."

Well, okay!

Not Me! Monday

I can't believe it's Monday again! Time really flies when you're scrambling to keep up with three girls and two grandparents and one husband having fun! And speaking of fun, it's time for Not Me! Monday.

1. This week, I did not check out four books from the library and begin reading all four. It would be crazy for me to start four new books in the same week, because a) I am already reading two other books, and b) I DON'T HAVE TIME TO READ, so I certainly did not intentionally add a bunch more things to the ever-growing "Things I Cannot Possibly Finish" list.
2. I did not purchase a new quilt for my bed, mainly because it was 75% off. I am not an impulse buyer, so I would never buy something just because it was a good deal. I am fully aware of the other quilt I bought for my bed (also on a great clearance, by the way) months ago that is sitting in my closet until I make time to paint my bedroom a color that will not clash with said great-deal quilt; I would not buy another quilt this week that will likely sit in the closet with the first one, until I come up with shams, bed skirt, etc. to match...
3. Knowing that I am not an impulse buyer, I am sure you will believe me when I say that I did not give in to my little girls' pleas for pink leopard-print-lined imitation crocs this week. The facts that they were $3.50, and that the girls had been extremely well-behaved all morning, did not persuade me to give in and purchase the hideous footwear. I definitely did not buy Eloise's pair three sizes too big because 7 was the smallest size available, and she really, really wanted them.
4. Mr. B and I did not go on our first date in months this week. Naturally, we make regular time for our relationship and would never go months between dates. If we had gone months between dates, though, we definitely would have done something very exciting and special, and not just hit Target and a couple of furniture stores after dinner and called it a night.

And what about you? What didn't you do this week? Hop on over to MckMama's blog and join the Not Me! Monday blog carnival!

huh?

My sister ran a post the other day called "What They're REALLY Saying..." which inspired me to write this post (which may very well be the first in a series of posts about misunderstood song lyrics):

Have you seen this movie? We haven't. Which is probably why, when we got this toy at McDonald's a couple of months ago (in one of my weak moments where "Happy Meal" translated "Happy Mom"), Evie was not familiar with the song it sang.

Real words: I like to move it, move it! I like to move it, move it!

Evie's words: Mr. Guy an' homen, homen! Mr. Guy an' homen, homen!

We tried to tell her what the guy (I think he's a raccoon? Or a lemur?) really sings, and she told us we were wrong. Hmm... Of course, she can offer no explanation of what "Mr Guy an' homen" actually means, but she's sure that's what he says.

*************

In other news, Audrey rolled from back to tummy twice this evening, both times when I was out of the room. I decided to sit by her, determined to watch it happen. I sat and sat and sat and sat and she just laughed at me. She's probably done it a bunch of times before, too, and just rolled back to her back before I've noticed...that stinker!

Audrey also started eating rice cereal yesterday! She loved it, and acted as if she'd been eating "solids" for months.

We had a very low-key Valentines day. Mr. B had to work, so the big girls and I made some cookies for him while he was gone. They loved the baking, and he loved the cookies, so it was a love-filled day!