Hazel started piano lessons. She has been good about tacking 5-10 minutes of piano practice onto her homework and chores every afternoon. She likes playing with the digital settings and often plays to the sound of "choir" or "electric bass" instead of piano. Hey, whatever makes it interesting for her!
She's been carrying a notebook around with her and writing down her thoughts multiple times a day. Its making for a very cute collection! I love it when she gets in the mood to write and try to praise her for it and keep her excited about it.
Haz made this cute note for her BFF and planned to sneak it into her desk at school when she wasn't looking. "See me at the shade structure at snack! to Mary From... Somebody"
Jack's been obsessed with puzzles this month. Too bad our collection is mostly feminine. We do have Winnie the Pooh and Cars and Superman and Spiderman, but you'd never know. I also introduced him to Sudoku and he took off like a rocket! The kid loves it. He's a thinker.
I registered Jack for kindergarten this month. He was so excited to be signed up, but bummed that we don't get to find out who his teacher is yet. He is really, really hoping to get Hazel's kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Allen. Truth be told, we all are. She's just phenomenal. Jack asks frequently how much longer til he starts kindergarten, as if hoping the answer will change. Six months is still quite a long time to wait!
I took all three kids in to the dentist together this month. It was a little overwhelming, but so great to get it all knocked out in one day. It was Gemma's first time and she did a super job laying still and letting everyone poke around. The dentist says she's probably going to need an expander in a few years. The kid has really messed up her teeth with her right hand/left hand thumb sucking. We've been trying to get her to quit for about a year now, but it's not happening yet.
I gave a presentation about Sabbath Day observance to our Relief Society group one night and totally botched the job, I totally over-prepared for a 20 minute workshop and completely wasted my time bumbling with nervousness. What is the deal that makes it so easy for me to talk to a group of kids, but sweat like no one's business in front of my own peers? It was frustrating to see all my hard work go completely to waste, particularly when I only had myself to blame for it.
All three kids had a happy time celebrating Valentine's Day. That's always a fun one at school, and Gemma had a little get together with some sweet girls as well.
Todd and I made a date out of the BYU/Santa Clara basketball game. I snatched the tickets for the game for Todd's birthday and we'd been looking forward to it for several weeks. It was a fun day for us, reminiscing about the good ol' college days and strolling hand in hand in the daylight sans kids. No one was really patrolling the stadium seats, so we came right down near the front and had an awesome view. BYU played a mighty fine game, so it was really a treat to watch and cheer. Basketball is my favorite sport to watch.
Speaking of basketball... Hazel and Jack are both taking community basketball classes right now and having a good time with that. I bought Jack an orange and black basketball so he could practice at home without having to use Hazel's pink ball and that got him really excited about it.
We had no school on President's Day and it was gorgeous outside. Luckily, the workload was light that day, so Todd was able to wrap things up in the morning and we went to Half Moon Bay for the afternoon. If we ever move away from California, I am really going to miss the ocean. I love it there. Especially when it's almost empty, which was not the case this time around, but yeah, when you're the only ones on your little stretch of sand, it's bliss.
About a week later, we drove up to Calveras Big Trees and spent the afternoon sledding and playing in the snow. How many people can do that? Drive a couple of hours either way from home and choose between beach and snow? So funny.
The kids loved the snow. Hazel was feeling sick that day, so she wasn't as enthusiastic as I wish she was, but the other two really had a ball, especially sledding. Gemma was so cute and innocent: "Is the snow white Mama?" "Is the snow cold?" A real first-timer!
Hazel and Jack have a list of chores they have to complete each day: clean room, do homework, practice sports, piano for Hazel, fold laundry, clutter pick-up at the end of the day, then they rotate monthly between emptying the dishwasher and wiping down the bathrooms. They earn a couple dollars a week for this, which they split between tithing, mssion/college savings, and spending money. They're learning to save up for the things they want (usually Legos) and hopefully gleaning some other good habits at the same time.
 |
| Gemma likes to help out when we clean the bathroom. |
