Neat Baptism

My friend Nikki's husband got baptized today.  They're a new couple in the ward and are newlyweds as well.  They got married in January of this year and have three kids between them.  What was so special about this day though, was that after Steve was baptized, he was confirmed and then ordained a priest, so that he could then baptize their son (Nikki's son) immediately following his ordination.  It was such a neat experience, and I can only imagine the joy that must be filling her heart this evening.  I look forward to the day when my boys and Violet choose to be baptized, but what a wonderful thing to experience a spouse coming to such an understanding and making such a life change.  I hope that all goes well in the following days, months and years for them, and that they can reach their goal of a temple sealing.  I am grateful to have been able to witness this event, and I am grateful to have been able to serve them by playing the piano.  I hope I can get to know them even better at time goes on!

Crawler

Today was Better!

Today definitely went better than yesterday.  These aren't exact words, but the gist of what was said was that they were much much better than yesterday, but if yesterday hadn't been so catastrophic then they wouldn't really have been considered good today.  And that's all I have to say about that. 

Not as Great as we'd Hoped

So yesterday didn't go as well as we'd hoped it would.  Apparently, "they were disruptive all day," according to their teacher, but she didn't tell me this when they got out of class, the PRINCIPLE called me and let me know that they had some problems during the day and recommended that we have a little talk with them.  This after I'd already got them home and given them treats for having a good day, and even let them play video games a bit.  As the story unfolds though, it becomes apparent to me that they weren't really trying to be naughty, they were just confused, and it was a really long day.  They were talking back and running around, but they really thought it was time to go home, or that they should be in their class.  So anyway, Karl and I both talked to them, and Karl talked to our neighbor who works at the school and helped their teacher deal with them.  So this morning I go to the school, and the teacher has the door locked, so I go get Janet (our neighbor) at the office, and she lets me in, but by this time the bell is ringing.  I knew she didn't have time to chat, I just wanted to set up a time when we could meet.  She doesn't smile or anything, she just stares me down and tells me, "well, they were really disruptive all day yesterday, and that is just not acceptable."  So I arranged to meet with her today after school.   I am trying really hard not to be judgmental of her, I know I wasn't there, and I know the boys can misbehave and act belligerent at times, but come on lady, this was the first time I'd ever talked to her!  She hadn't even tried to talk to me!  I approached her!  Well, I haven't heard from the school yet today, so that's hopefully a good sign,  but I wasn't happy when I found out they'd be in the same class, and I was really unhappy when I found out it was a K-1 class, so Karl and I have pretty much decided that we're going to drive them into town to a different school.  I just feel like their teacher has already labeled them as trouble, which means it's going to take a lot longer for them to adjust to her if she treats them differently, so I'd rather just put them in a better equipped school where they can have different teachers and they're not going to be lumped together as a unit.  Nobody could tell me who did what and when, it was just they, they they!  I HATE THAT!  I know it wasn't both of them ALL DAY!  I talked to them, and Joe is a very reliable source for a five year old, and he admitted to crying and trying to put his back pack on to go home, but that is NOT very naughty to me.  Ben on the other hand... but I still don't think he was purposefully being bad.  I love them both so much, and I wish it had gone better for them.  They really are good, good little boys, both of them.  They're very sweet, and kind, and they stick up for each other till the end, and that is not a bad characteristic if you ask me!  I want them to respect adults and authority, but too much respect for any authority figure, just because they're an adult is what gets good sweet submissive children into serious trouble.  I've always taught my kids that if they don't feel comfortable, to stand up and do something about it, and I'd rather them be a little disruptive in a place that they're not yet comfortable with yet, then just sit back and do nothing in  a bad situation with a bad person (not talking about school...).  Oh well, I hope they're doing better today.  I know this is kind of rambley, but I'm pretty worked up so this is more of a vent than a real post.

First Day of Kindergarten!

Today's the day, Joe and Ben are officially kindergartners!  They were so excited they could hardly eat their breakfast!  I don't think they have a clue about how long their day is going to be, they don't get out until 3:15!  Karl took the morning off to be with us, so that was nice.  I think it would have been much harder for me without him there.  When we got there, we took them to the playground, but they wanted to go to their classroom.  When their room opened, we took them over there to meet their teacher, Mrs. Tanner.  We just found out though that they're in a K-1 class, so that's a major bummer to us, but I think all the classes are combined this year because of a lack of students, but Joe and Ben don't care!  Anyway, so we took them into their classroom and had them find their desks which had name tags on them.  It's kind of funny, but Joe sits at a table with three other kids, and ones name is Violet, and Ben sits at  a table with four other kids and ones name is Sammy!  I thought that was pretty coincidental! So, Karl and I waited with them  in their classroom until the bell rang, then Ben promptly told us, okay, you need to leave now!  So we did.  Karl, Sam, Violet, and I went and got breakfast at Descanso Junction, and then Karl went to work.  Sam's got it in his head that we're going to bake cookies, so we will later for when the boys get home.  I can't believe it's started, I have school age kids!  Next year Sam will start and it'll just be me and Violet!

So Violet's a Crawler now!

I don't know exactly when it happened, but Violet can now crawl.  She started scooting forward about a week or two ago, hadn't really mastered it yet, but at least she was going forward, and now she's crawling!  She didn't even really do that whole pushing up and rocking thing.  She's just amazing!  And, this is really hard to believe, but she's pulling up on things.  She loves to stand up and every chance she gets she does!  It's so funny to see such a little person just standing there next to something, she's still so petite!

So, the boys start school tomorrow.  I'm so excited, and anxious, and nervous and happy!  I've found myself giddy with glee and then tearing up for no reason!  I can't believe they're so big and tall and smart!  I love them so much!  We get to do the night before school blessings for the first time tonight!  I just honestly can't believe it!

Spitting!

Sam has been spitting!  It's driving me crazy!  Why does he do it?  Nobody else in our family spits!  I'll look over at him and he'll just be sitting there spitting on the floor, he just sits there and watches it fall!  I've told him a million times, STOP SPITTING!  It's so gross, I'm afraid he'll do it in a public place, or that he's already been doing it in public and I just haven't caught him yet!  AGHHHHH!  Anway, that's my rant, here's a funny picture for all you who want pictures, it's not applicable at all, but it does show Sam being a goon!

"Seasoned Mom"

I wrote an article for www.mommasassy.blogspot.com and she just published it.  It's about what it's like to be a seasoned mom (which I really don't think I am yet, but that's what she asked for).  I'll post it here too for my own records later.  But you can go there and read it, I included some cute old pictures of the boys.

New Family Blog!

This is the new family blog.  This is where you will find updates on our family, new pictures etc.  the old blog, ivyandviolets.blogspot.com will now be the blog for my new online business, ivyand violets.  You can still read all my previous posts on Ivy and Violets, but any new ones will be  made here.

Booster Shots and Spaghetti Dinner!

THis was written yesterday on my other blog, but I decided to move it over here to this one!

Today the boy's had there school health exam at their doctors office.  It took a long time!  Each boy had their hearing and vision tested, their height and weight recorded, and a full physical including coordination and reflexes (which been tried to fake).  They also gave the boys books, Ben got Where the Wild Things Are, and Joe got a really cute one called, A Pocket Full of Kisses, because they're starting school.  Then the doctor informed me that they still needed their booster shots.  So, before we got to the doctors I had told the boys that if they were all good, and if I didn't have to tell them to stop or be quiet too many times I'd take them to get a donut afterwards.  So now, with this news of shots, and not just one or two, but three shots, plus an anemia test which includes a finger prick and finger squeezing, I went ahead and upped the reward.  I told them that they could get one donut for every shot they got bravely.  After I offered that  Joe exclaimed,"I want 10 shots!" to which Ben responded, "Me too!" to which I responded, "we'll see about that!"  When the nurse came in with the shots, they both back pedaled pretty quickly, but I got Ben to sit up on the exam table and he was very brave, only on the third shot did he succumb to real tears, but you can' really blame him for that.  Then it was Joe's turn, but he'd just watched Ben get all three of his shots and he wasn't having it!  He bolted for the door quick as a wink and was out in the hallway in a flash.  Too bad there wasn't anywhere to go, I was able to grab him, but he was like getting a dog into a bathtub and he latched on to the door frame on the way in.  He was howling and crying, so I had to carry him in and hold him on my lap and wrap my legs around his to keep him still enough for the shots.  Just a little dramatic!  So anyway, they did just fine and were done crying by the time we got back into the waiting room, and I followed through with my offer and got them three donuts each.  Sam lucked out, he got three donuts and no shots, but whatever, he had to endure the wait and boredom that goes with going to the doctor with your older brothers.
So I made homemade spaghetti sauce tonight with sweet italian sausage, brown mushrooms, green bell pepper, and fresh basil.  It was pretty rockin!  I decided as we were sitting down for dinner to see what Violet would do with a bowl of it, since she's been doing fine with real rice and even chunks of peeled grapes, so I served her up some, with just a drizzle of sauce for flavor, and she loved it!  I think she felt really included because she talked all through dinner and slurped up handfuls of cut up noodles.  She made the usual "baby with spaghetti" mess, but it was totally worth it!  I'm just curious how it's going to come out tomorrow, I can't remember if it digests well or not, it'll probably be fine!