{pretty, happy, funny, real} joining late edition

It’s been busy around here this week, so I didn’t get to the computer much yesterday…hence I’m joining the party at Like Mother, Like Daughter pretty late!

{pretty}

She’s pretty, the piano’s pretty, and the music she’s producing is pretty.

For a while, she was preparing for a piano competition.  Hannah loves competition; it puts a spring in her step.  Naomi would rather have her hair pulled out piece by piece than do a competition.  The only reason she was going to do it was that, when I offered her the choice, she said she wanted to.  I signed her up.  She changed her mind.  Michael and I decided that she needed to go through with this one.  We also told her she didn’t have to do another one, but this one she’d already decided to do and signed up for.  (This part is the {real} behind the {pretty}.)

  The thing is, she is a very talented player and plays beautifully.   She would have done really, really well at the competition, but she was running a fever that day, so she didn’t go.  And now she’s so much happier practicing, it’s almost comical.  “Mama, I love playing now that I don’t have to prepare for the festival!”  So maybe this could have been the whole {pretty, happy, funny, real} post on its own.

{happy}

Sim now can spell Psalm, can write numbers, and can write his name, so he’s very happy that he can prepare his own paper for our daily Psalm illustration.

I made Blubarb (blueberry rhubarb) jam today.  Yum.  And they all sealed.  Look at the color!

I also salted some Meyer lemons to make preserved lemons.  We’ll see.  (Those guys were fresh.  The blueberries and rhubarb for the jam were frozen.)  I’ve never made them before, so I’m not sure if I did it right.  But I was pretty happy about getting it done.

Okay, I’ve said before that it’s worth letting kids “help” in the kitchen, because after a while, you get kids who can actually do things in the kitchen.   Don’t misunderstand me:  I don’t mean that it’s easy to let kids “help” in the kitchen, and there are quotes around that for a real reason – their help is often not helpful.  But, I’ve put in my time with Hannah, and she’s now doing things like making granola bars for a family who is struggling with a tough second pregnancy and making corn muffins (above) all by herself! I can suggest that she make something, and she can make it with only occasional questions and very little assistance.  This is absolutely magical, and well worth the previous effort to deal with the “help” she gave me when she was much younger.  WELL WORTH IT.  For her, too – she loves making things that people like to eat.

More {happy}: 

*The kids decided suddenly that it’s really important to them to get all their schoolwork done before lunch.  That is very, very {happy}.

*Listening to the morning prayer podcast at the breakfast table (from www.divineoffice.org) has helped with Tess’s most cranky time of the day…and mine.  (Big thanks to Amongst Lovely Things for pointing us to that winner!)

{funny}

Who knew that a pencil sharpener could make her day like this?  Pencil sharpeners aren’t the best toys for toddlers, I know, but we were all there for this usage, and it makes enough noise that, even were she to try to sneak it away to use, we’d hear her. 

{real}

Real this week: 

*Mattress with lots of mildew.  Irreparable. 

*Toddler waking up 1.5-2 hours before she should for several days in a row – and then being cranky (go figure!). 

(Here she is, refusing to smile for the camera because of the crankies.)

(Almost unheard-of!)

({happy}:  Sister who can make her smile, even when she’s cranky.) 

*Another cold for me.

*Evening meetings.

*Gluten intolerance for me.  Okay, that happened a couple weeks ago, but it’s still quite real, and learning to deal with it is going to be a long-term project.

Despite some challenges this week, I’m actually feeling fairly good about how it all went.  Glad it’s the weekend now, though!