Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Books, bare butts, bruises and bran

I just finished getting the girls all tucked into bed, and now I can just sit for a minute.  It seems like it's go go go everyday from the time I get home till they're in bed.  Supper, bath, story, bed.  There's not much time for catching one's breath.  CeCe didn't nap today, so she was the first out.  (She's last on days she naps)  Ginny followed and Jorja is still reading. 

She's reading the 'Cupcake Diaries' series right now.  We got her a set of four for Christmas and she's on the last one.  She reads so much and fast that sometimes I wonder how much she absorbs.  I shouldn't wonder.  I made the mistake of asking what her books were about.  She went into an eleven minute synopsis of the first three books.  'Katie was sad that no one would sit with her on the bus so she sat with a new girl, Mia and they became friends and started the cupcake club and then there was a dance and they made cupcakes for that and they won a prize and then everyone wanted some and then there is Emma, who is quite the fashion girl so when Alexis suggested that they all wear their 'Park Street Middle School' ('cause that's where they go to school) sweatshirts for a uniform, Emma was like I don't think so but then her Mom said remember when you were 5 and you made something unfashionable fashionable so she made her sweatshirt into a bag and then one of them (I forget the name now) didn't have much money but wanted a $220 dress so she got a job walking dogs and then the other girls helped her so she could have the perfect dress to be a junior bridesmaid and someones Mom was going to get remarried because she was like, you know, divorced to Eddie, who was nice, but strict.'  *breath* Why did I ask again?

Last night Julie took Jorja to piano lessons, so I was putting Ginny to bed when they were gone.  CeCe had napped, so she was staying up for a bit yet.  She came along to tuck Ginny in though and say our night time prayers.  We always make them say something that they are thankful for.  CeCe said, "I'm thankful to God that I got to go to Cindy's house."  That's good, I said, anything else?  With no hesitation at all, she said, "Tigers."  All right then.

On Sunday afternoon, the girls wanted to keep their dresses on from church, but took their tights off, so they were running around with bare legs.  CeCe wanted to get in on this too, so she took her tights off as well.  She was running around for I don't know how long when she wiped out and hurt her leg.  She was crying, so I went to pick her up.  Imagine my surprise to find out that when I did, I discovered that she had no diaper on.  Nothing.  She had been running around free and clear under her dress for quite some time.  We never did find a puddle anywhere, so I think we're okay.

Last Wednesday was -42 with the wind and the last thing I felt like doing was taking the girls to skating.  I even tried to bribe them to miss, but they wanted to go, so we did.  I'm glad we did, because they are really making improvements.  Jorja is finally starting to look like she's not just walking on the ice (she says her striding it awesome - I say it's slightly visible).  And Ginny went the entire lesson with no walker.  There were times when I wished they would have just given her one.  But they kept encouraging her and helping her and occasionally holding her hand.  Still, there were times I could barely watch.  She looked so helpless and sometimes defeated.  And my knees winced every time she fell.  She cried once for a bit, but kept at it and was smiling again by the end.  She has some pretty good bruises, but she didn't give up and she wants to go back.  The coaches they have really are amazing for this age level.  The one boy coach who is only a teenager came off the ice and chased Ginny down after the lesson to tell her how awesome she did and that she didn't need a walker and to bend her knees and keep having fun.  I thought that was pretty cool.

Last weekend, CeCe was pretty backed up (by that I mean constipated) so I decided to break out the secret weapon - my Mom's bran muffins.  I'm not sure what it is about these muffins, because I don't like bran and I don't like raisins, but I love these muffins.  It's a recipe where you make up the batter and then leave the pail in the fridge.  Most times when we go to my parents' (and always at Christmas), Mom has some muffin mix in the fridge and everyone loves it.  So I got the recipe from Mom and headed off to Superstore to get the ingredients.  I needed All-bran, natural bran and bran flakes.  I didn't know there were so many options when it came to bran.  My instructions from Mom said that all bran was like little worms and natural bran was like powder.  Bran flakes were wide open - could be plain, have dried berries or raisins in them.  Sure enough, all bran did look like little worm and natural bran was powdery.  But then there was oat bran and wheat bran.  So many choices.  Who knew?  I didn't know what to do, so I settled on oat bran and the All bran cereal that looked like worms.  I went with plain PC bran flakes and I was done.  It was kind of stressful though.  I had a lot riding on these muffins and I didn't want to screw them up.  As it is, they look a lot lighter in color than my Mom's but they taste good and they did the trick, if you know what I mean.  That was definitely the longest time I've spent in the bran aisle though.

Did I mention we got another kitten?  We thought Maggie should have a friend, so we adopted Layla as well.  It was a rough first few days, but they are getting along now and the girls adore them both.  The kittens are both very patient with the girls mauling, so that's good too. 
Jora had her mid-year piano recital a few weeks ago.  Her teacher decided to have it in January this year instead of December, so that was nice.  Jorja had her songs memorized, but we took her book along anyway.  When it was her turn, she wanted to take her book.  Julie held onto it and wouldn't let her.  There was a bit of a tug-o-war, but Julie won and Jorja went up empty handed.  She did great though - no need for the book.  At her lesson the next day, her teacher said she witnessed the book 'discussion' from the front of the church and had a good chuckle over it.  Back to the recital though.  CeCe was being herself and not exactly sitting still.  One piano being played by itself in a big church leaves a bit of room to hear other things.  Like CeCe farting.  After she let one go and started giggling, Julie asked her what she should say now.  There was no whispering involved when she blurted out, "I fawted!"  I'm pretty sure 'excuse me' was the answer Julie was looking for.  Oh well, no one turned around anyway.

Later.

2 comments:

  1. Loved your bran bit. Wait till you're a senior… You mean your Mom didn't tell you about bran buds? Maybe there's a reason - they're like - ahem - mouse turds. We don't buy them much either LOL

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Uncle Lorne. The mouse turds do sound intriguing. LOL

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