Christmas concerts

It appears that at the ripe old age of five, our daughter is ready to become a snowbird.  Jorja has decided that she has had enough of winter.  The other day after piano lessons we were walking back to the car, and it was a bit windy and quite cold.  She said that this cold weather made it hard to walk and hard to breathe.  We made it all the way back to the car (less than a block) and she flopped down into her seat and exclaimed, "I'm exhausted!"  Life is rough.  She has now decided that she has had enough and we should move to Mexico.  Just wait until January.

We took the girls to the new sitter today for a test run.  Things went pretty good, considering it was the first time and they stayed there all day.  Jorja walked to school with the sitter's son who is in grade six (it's a good thing it wasn't too cold today) and that went well.  CeCe had a few issues, but nothing too serious.  Ginny seemed to do the best of all, surprisingly.  Except for the fact that we were barely home, and she asked if she could poop.  Apparently she didn't feel comfortable enough to let go at the sitter's house yet.  A bit of holiday lockdown.  I'm sure that will go away.  As it is now, Julie will have to deal with a day of 'cleansing' tomorrow.  Too bad I have to work.

It's the season of the Christmas concerts and recitals.  Sunday was a marathon session for us.  The girls both performed during church as part of their Sunday School program.  They sang some songs, jingled some bells and Jorja had some lines to say this year.  For as much of a performer Ginny is at home, she was pretty reserved in front of the church.  Jorja was at first too, but she made it through her lines.  She looked a bit like a deer in the headlights when she first spoke into the mic, but she did it.  We were barely home and had a bite to eat and we were back on the road for piano recitals.  The girls are far enough apart  in age that we had to attend two - Ginny's started at 1:00 and Jorja's at 2:30.  Ginny sang a couple of songs and Jorja played the piano.

'Love may come and tap you on the shoulder, some starless night...'

'Ring those bells and turn around...'

It was a long day, but one that made me feel pretty proud, not only because of their performances, but because of how well behaved they were all afternoon.  There was a lot to sit through, and they did awesome, listening to everyone and clapping enthusiastically right to the end.

On another note, we are officially back into the 'gate stage' at our house.  CeCe is going to be walking soon enough, I'm sure.  She pulls herself up on everything and is starting to scooch along holding on.  She has also decided that she can climb stairs.  I turned my back for a minute and she was up two step already.  That's not good for the blood pressure.

Tomorrow night we are off to the final concert - the school one.  Now it's time for bed.  Later.

Piano recital

Jorja had her piano recital today. I'm pretty proud of her. At the start of the year, they were just learning where middle C is. Now she's playing with both hands.

Later.

Tutus

Today was a cold and miserable day. Rain, rain, and more rain. Well, most of the rain was last night, but it was still cold and miserable today. To get a little bit of fresh air, I took the girls out for a little walk with umbrellas. They thought that was pretty cool. Ginny held hers kind of in front of her face, and couldn't see where she was going. It was just kind of misting at the time, so the umbrellas were more of a novelty than a necessity, but it was fun all the same.

Julie made the girls some tutus, which they enjoyed prancing around in. They're cute, but they're no ballerinas. Not yet anyway. They seem to lack a little coordination and balance. And grace.

Yesterday was Jorja's second last piano lesson. Next weekend is one more lesson and then the recital. Everything is ending for the summer. Preschool is done Wednesday, two more weeks of Sunday school. It's hard to believe she's going to be 5 this summer.

This is kind of boring, but it's been a lazy couple of days here. Later.

Mother's Day Weekend

I call this post Mother's Day weekend, because we've kind of been celebrating all weekend (Julie deserves it). It all started when I called around last weekend and realized that I was too late to make a reservation somewhere nice for mother's day. Who knew? I guess people are organized. So we thought in lieu of mother's day brunch, we'd go out for supper on Friday night. We went to Tony Roma's and it was nice. The girls were reasonably well behaved. They get an 'appetizer' with the kids' meal there - Kraft crackers and cheez whiz. I think that was the highlight for Ginny. She used that little red stick and got every last bit of cheese product out of that container. It's weird, because they never eat cheez whiz at home.

Friday morning, Jorja decided to make Julie a Mother's day card. She also decided to give Julie one of her pens. She had finished the card, and came down to the family room, where Julie and I were sitting. "Mom, close your eyes." She then proceeds to 'whisper' how she made Mom a card, Ginny made one, and she had made one for CeCe to give to Julie. And she had found the perfect gift - a pen with a heart and feathers on the top that lights up when you press on it. This pen was Jorja's but she had decided to give it to Julie, 'because Dad, I have like four pens, and I don't need that many, so Mom can have this one.' It's hard to argue with logic like that. It's good to see I'm raising a Mennonite. She then tells me that she is going to go hide all the loot in her closet, and runs off to do so. She then returns to tell Julie not to look in her closet, because that's where the surprise was. She's got a lot to learn yet.

Saturday I took Jorja to piano lessons. She goes every Saturday at noon. It's a crappy time for the lesson, but she seems to be enjoying herself for the most part, and does pretty good. She can play with both hands now. It's amazing how much they learn in a year. Her only problem is that she doesn't like not being good. So any time they learn something new, it's a struggle to get her to do it. She gets all goofy and doesn't want to play. "Do you want to go to piano lessons?" I ask. "Then you better try this. It doesn't have to be perfect the first time. That's why we practice." Eventually, she will try it with me there, and then over the next couple of days, she goes to the piano and tries it herself, and soon she has it. It's just that getting started part. And sometimes she plays my bluff. "Do you want to go to piano lessons?" "No" "Well too bad, we're going anyway." Ah, the mind games. Anyway, back to this weekend in particular. After piano lessons, Jorja and I went to get some stuff for Mother's Day. Our first stop was to get a gift certificate for a pedicure. What's the perfect gift for a mother of three small children? A nice evening relaxing away from the children I figure. Then it was off to M&M to pick up some steak to BBQ and then to the flower shop. Jorja carried in the flowers all proud as punch, and gave them to Julie. She was most proud of the little swirly card holder that she had picked out.

That brings us to today. Jorja awoke this morning pretty much beside herself ready to bestow her treasures upon Julie. She presented her with all three cards, and the precious pen, that 'if Daddy wants to use it, he has to ask you Mom.' I am dying to use a pen with a flashing heart and feathery wisps on the top of it, so it's good to know I just have to ask.

After church, we thought we'd take a chance on Jerry's. Apparently it wasn't the hot spot for Mother's day. I thought everyone loved Jerry's. We were done eating and the girls were playing in the play area. CeCe slept through the entire meal - it was great. Julie and I were just enjoying some quiet time after lunch when Ginny came up to the table and uttered those two words you just don't want to hear when you're enjoying a cup of coffee after lunch. "I'm stinky." Great. Since CeCe had eaten in church, we had left the diaper bag in the car, so I told Ginny I would change her outside when we were done. Our SUV has a fold down tailgate, which has come in handy as a change table before. So there I was, in the Jerry's parking lot, changing Ginny's diaper. Julie was standing beside me jiggling the car seat, because CeCe had woke up by this time. Then this car drives by, the window rolls down, and this woman yells out, "It's nice to see the Dad doing that." Happy Mother's day!

This evening I BBQed steak and potatoes. I just get everything in off the barbecue, and Ginny comes up and asks what's for supper. After I tell her, she says, "I want tomato soup." Grrr. Then Jorja says to me, "I don't like steak." Grrr "Yes you do." "No I don't, I tried it when I was two, and I don't like it." Ginny had decided that she needed help eating hers, so Julie was helping her and I asked Jorja if she needed help too. She said yes, so I stabbed a piece of steak, smothered it in ketchup (because that's our dip for all our meat) and fed it to her. She makes this awful face and chokes it down. A few nights ago, each one of them scarfed down three barbecued wieners each (they don't eat them in buns), and now it was the end of the world to eat some steak. I think Jorja did like it, because after the initial bite, there was no hesitation, or carrying on . She just wouldn't admit that she liked it. If it wasn't mother's day, I might say 'typical woman'. Bazinga.

And that pretty much brings us to now. I hope you all had a good mother's day. Later.

The Four year old mother

I was tucking the girls into bed this evening, and laying the law down for Ginny (because that works so well) about not getting out of bed. Jorja told me, "Don't worry Dad, I'm actually going to have a little chat with her when you go downstairs." All right then.

I fired up the lawn mower this afternoon to pick up all the leaves etc. on the lawn. I was walking outside with my toolbox, when Julie gave me this funny look. What, I said, it may need some work the first time of the year. "And you know how?" she says. "Honey", I say, "How long have you known me, and don't these things always work out?" She had to admit that they usually did, and that she felt proud of me when they did. Pride after the fact is great, I said, but a little faith beforehand might be good. Oh well, for as often as I use tools, she's probably got reason to doubt. I can do a lot of things when I have to, I just don't really enjoy tinkering with things like a lot of guys do.

The girls were playing outside after I was done mowing, and Julie and I went in to get ready for supper. We had the window open and Jorja was yelling, "Bang, bang, rattle-bing-bang gonna make my noise all day." Ginny tells her that that is really noisy. "Good, then I'll get their attention."

I took Jorja to piano lessons this morning, and we were coming home on Broadway and the pubs must have their patios set up. "Look Dad, there's an umbrella of your work." Do a lot of four year olds know beer logos?