No, really

OK. So, I lied just a little bit. After closer inspection, it has been determined that there is no way that video could have been Derrell. He is a much better dancer! Oh, and he's about ten years younger, and MUCH better looking.

Yesterday, after an especially loud and raucous church experience, I decided we will practice being reverent Monday through Saturday. I'll ease them into it. Tonight we will sit quietly and listen to the lesson in Family Home Evening. Tomorrow we will sit quietly and watch a rather boring video on the Holy Land (I purchased it shortly after returning home from the study-abroad over there 14 years ago because it has to be good, right? I can't get rid of it even though it puts me to sleep, and I recognize the sites!). Wednesday we will sit quietly and listen to part of a talk from conference. You get the idea. Do you think it will work? If not, do you have any better ideas? More than half of the congregation at our church is children. My family isn't the only irreverent family. It makes it difficult.

Dancin' Fool

It is "tax-free" day at Best Buy today. Derrell was so excited that he just couldn't stay still. Look what they caught on their security camera! Don't be fooled by the mustache and receding hairline--this really is Derrell... hee. hee.

Spring Soccer

ED and AM just finished their soccer season. They had a lot of fun! ED ended up playing goalie most of the time. He was quite good, making saves in the midst of kicking feet. It made me nervous to watch. The last playoff game was in the rain at 9am--very windy and cold. ED had extra layers since he was in the goal, but poor AM was freezing. She had a smile on her face, though! So, here are some "after-game" photos. Be glad you can't touch or smell them... I'm sure you can imagine the sweat and dirt well enough. :-) I've decided to throw in a picture of ED grabbing a ball. You can barely see it through all the other players, but look closely. (You can click on the photo to enlarge it.)

Ambidextrous Baby

AE chose two spoons instead of just one, and I just had to record it. Shortly after I put the camera away, she abandoned one of the spoons and started scooping up the yogurt with her hand. Needless to say, the end result required a good scrubbing of the baby, highchair, floor, and wall!

Haircut Pictures

So, here are the pictures I promised to post. N.E.'s hair looked so long when it was combed straight!

Haircuts

While the boys were gone on a father/son outing last Saturday, the girls and I had one of our own. NE got her first haircut! Can you believe an almost-three-year-old has never even gotten a trim? What's more amazing is that this almost-three-year-old has never taken scissors to her own hair! I haven't wanted to cut off all those curls just in case they never came back, but the beautician showed me how to tell that it's coming out curly at the roots. (In my defense, the hair isn't that curly. I'm sure I could tell all by myself that she still has natural curl if the curls were like a perm instead of big and soft and flowy...)

The hair salon has a little animal seat that reminds me of those old rides outside of grocery & department stores: straddle it, put a quarter in, and it goes back and forth. This one doesn't move, of course, but my girls were thrilled. Much more fun to ride a panda than sit in a chair that is too big. LL hopped right up. NE took her turn next after she saw that it was safe for LL. AM wasn't too sure if she was too grown up for the kiddy chair, and tried to stifle a smile. I was going to post pictures here, too, but can't seem to locate the cord to hook up the camera to the computer. Might just be that the almost-three-year-old has walked away with it...

Derrell's Crazy Schedule

Prepare to be amazed. My husband is the hardest working person I know. He has had this dream of getting his PhD since he was in the seventh grade, and--by gum--he's going to get it! His schedule has been all over the place these past three years. Some semesters harder than others, of course. But I must say, his present schedule takes the cake.

This semester Derrell only has one class. On the surface that sounds marvelous, but here's the nitty gritty: the class is SEVEN hours long on Wednesdays. 9am-4pm! Now that wouldn't be the worst thing to deal with if he wasn't also preparing for the comprehensive exams, doing an internship, and working full-time--all 1-2 hours away from home! So, Wednesdays tend to look somewhat like this: 2am alarm goes off, work from 3:15-8:45am, school from 9am-4pm, study group from 4-7:30pm, crash into bed around 9pm. A 19-hour day? Who could survive that? Derrell Small, that's who. He still has to go in to his internship on Thursdays, so by the time he gets home Thursday afternoon, the bed is screaming out his name.

This present craziness will let up in a month when the internship ends, then more in July when the class ends. But then he'll just replace some of the class time with study time. Comprehensive exams are in August. Anything from the previous three years is fair game on these tests. They sufficiently terrify all the students by promising to kick you out if you don't pass. Derrell has been getting very good grades this whole time, so I'm not concerned one bit. He'll do well. He doesn't know how to fail. But, of course, he feels the need to study until his eyes bleed. (And, that's probably why he'll do so well!)

Needless to say, we are on a countdown to graduation. My cousin's husband just finished his doctorate. It would be nice to be at that point. But our brother-in-law just started. Glad we're not at that point! There is some fairness in the world...

Least Favorite Pediatrician

I took my baby in to the pediatrician for her 12 month check-up this morning. The fact that she is actually 13 months need not be mentioned... I found out that the last time she was seen was seven months ago. I was surprised--didn't realize it had been that long, but oh well. The Dr. tried to give me a guilt trip, but I wouldn't take it this time. "So, what happened?", she asks. Looking her straight in the eye, (and with a sweet smile) I reply, "Oh, I have five children." I'm quite certain this isn't the response she was looking for. I'm sure she would have been more pleased if I said, "I'm an incompetent mother." As she is going down the list of milestones my child should have reached, she seemed to be begging me to reveal a delay or problem of some sort. "So, no concerns or illnesses to speak of?" I just couldn't resist: "Nope! That's why I haven't brought her in. If I thought there was a problem, I would have made an appointment earlier." Needless to say, this is my least favorite doctor of the three in the office.

It turns out my child is healthy and normal. But I didn't need a Dr. to figure that out. I do need a Dr. to give shots, though, and since we've decided to immunize, I really should have taken my child in sooner. Now I get to take her back next week to get the rest of the shots that she has missed. So, even though I put off taking my baby to the doctor, it can be fixed, and I refuse to believe that I'm an incompetent mother. There's my "stick-out-my-tongue" moment for the century. Usually I try to be nice and positive and give people the benefit of the doubt. But not when you accuse me of neglecting my children. Now I'll descend the soap box. Have a good day! :-)