mommy brain

Okay, so up until now I've talked of "mommy brain" with humor, sometimes a bit of frustration, but mostly humor and no other reason to explain memory malfunctions and other issues brought on by being a mommy (being pulled 3 directions from 3 kids, trying to hold it together). Well tonight I am cursing my blasted mommy brain! I am so beyond mad at myself I don't know what to do besides blog about it! Last week I got a call from the owner of a dance studio here in Meridian asking me to come help judge their hip-hop team auditions. Besides hating the idea of a hip-hop team, I was thrilled to help and flattered that she asked especially since she barely knows me,( I'm just on as a substitue at the studio). These days I have to write everything on my calendar and even then sometimes I forget things. For some idiotic reason I didn't write this on my calendar and...yep, you guessed it...I completely forgot! We made plans with Justin's sister in Boise and I arrived home to an irritated sounding message, "Rachel, this is Ann, it's 7:00 and we're wondering why you aren't here." It's not even like she called and I was home and could rush over and be a few minutes late. No, I didn't even get home until close to 9. I'm embarassed, frustrated, irritated and mad, mad, mad! This could have been my chance to get my foot in the door at this studio and I had to ruin it because of the blasted mommy brain!!! I really really hate being such a flake. This just wrecked my night. Sometimes I barely hold it together and then when things like this happen I feel like such a failure. I couldn't even get up the nerve to call her back, I sent an e-mail instead. I almost hope she never calls me again. I'll just sleep it off I guess and then I'll delete this blog a bit later after I get all of your sympathetic comments. :)

Domestic Diva

The month of September has found me motivated to try new things and develop new skills. It all started with the desire for new hair clips for my girls, so I had a few friends over to make some. To many of you, hair clips are easy and no big deal to whip out, but for those who know me well, you know that I am not crafty and I get easily frustrated, so these were a big accomplishment for me. Too bad Taylee won't leave them in! Next, my husband found an orchard letting people pick and buy peaches and pears for 18 cents a pound...150 pounds later, I had some canning to do. Justin helped me with the peaches (he did a lot of the work) which ended up being a huge pain; they were hard to peel, we kept over-boiling and on and on, but we finished them. A couple weeks later when the pears were ripe and I was getting nasty fruit flies, I had no choice but to dive into those too....I did them by myself, thank you very much. I also made peach jam. Did my self-sufficient, domestic kick stop there...no way! I've tried several times to make my own bread and for some reason it never turns out quite right. Well, my friend Karen gave me a great recipe that was really easy and voila...fresh, homemade, yummy bread. I'll admit it's not the most delicious ever, but I'll keep working at it. We had missionaries over for dinner the night I made it and they ate a whole loaf, so it must have been good ( or they're just not that picky). So, now that we're nearing the end of September, I find myself still imperfect, but still trying and determined and motivated!

My Five

I was tagged by Nat a long time ago and kept forgetting and other things kept coming up that I wanted to post, but I do really like to do them, so here goes:

THE FIVE

Five things I was doing 10 years ago:
1. starting my senior year of high school
2. dancing all the time
3. getting up at 4:30 every morning
4. working at Write Impressions and Edison Elementary
5. spending any spare time with some boy (what was his name again)?

5 things on today's to-do list:
1. go to church meetings
2. keep kids quiet
3. keep kids fed
4. try to nap (always try on sunday)
5. read to the kids for 20 mins. so Trey can get his Pizza Hut "Book It" reward at school (oh and cause I love him and want the best for him).

5 snacks I enjoy:
1. ice cream
2. brownies
3. yogurt and granola
4. banana, zucchini, or pumpkin bread
5. chocolate milk

5 things I'd do if I were a millionaire:
1. Pay off student loans and other debt
2. open a dance studio
3. decorate the kid's rooms how I've always wanted them
4. Get Justin a new car (his is really getting old and stinky)
5. Put away some for the kid's education

5 places I've lived:
1. Hazel Park, Michigan
2. Rexburg, Idaho
3. Moscow, Idaho
4. Saratoga Springs, Utah
5. Meridian, Idaho

5 Jobs I've had: (these barely dent my list)
1. Hazel Park parks and rec
2. Write Impressions
3. American Eagle
4. Testing Center at Ricks
5. Dance Teacher

Taylee

I finally had Taylee's one year pictures taken. I was tired of Sears, so my friend Shannon said she would take some pictures of her. We found a nice spot and snapped away. These are a few of the favorites. I'm having a hard time deciding which one to frame and if I should do color, black and white or sepia. I really loved how the close-up picture where she isn't smiling captured all of her features, but some of the others showed her personality a little more and some were just dang cute! Thanks Shannon!

Brooklyn

Lots of firsts for Brooklyn the past couple of weeks. first, she started dance. She has been asking for a long time to take Ballet and I finally convinced her daddy that she should do it. She's been twice and comes out beaming every time and then asks every day if she gets to go to dance. It just doesn't get much cuter than three year olds in leotards and ballet skirts.

Then, she started preschool. I'm doing a co-op preschool this year with four other moms in our ward. It was at our house first and it was a lot of fun with a few minutes of crazy. They are all so excited and we have really fun lesson plans for them. I'm really excited for the next four weeks since I don't have to teach and for 2 hours twice a week I'll only have ONE at home!

Brooklyn is a sweet little girl with a streak of drama! She is always thinking of ways to give to her siblings and friends, usually some type of art project. When she is mad, though....watch out! The whole neighborhood can surely hear her shrieks. She is so smart and so creative, which I'm learning can sometimes be an interesting combination at the age of three (to say the least).

Here comes trouble!

Oh boy! This little girl was deceiving as a newborn...she NEVER stops moving (except to sleep of course). As you can see, she's into cupboards, the one there she cleared of all the pans and then climbed on in. In the pic on the blue box she was trying to get to the books on the side table. At one point, she was standing on the very edge (a flimsy box mind you). Did I mention that this was AFTER I removed her at least 4 times? Toys don't interest her much, she goes straight for everything you don't want your one year old to have. When she doesn't get her way, everyone hears about it..she is very vocal. Don't get me started on stairs. I have never had a baby like this!! Call it cute, call it curiosity, call it whatever you'd like, but I call it trouble!