my life as me

Updated
I managed to get one little video loaded of Jane, but Blogger is not letting me load anything else. In Grace's section, I put in a link for her ballet performance which apparently has been uploaded to Youtube.
First things first. Before we go any further I need to take care of a bit of business. My enormously talented sister Amy is entering a contest to get a chance to meet Ingrid Michaelson and perform with her on tour (? I think -- the details are a bit fuzzy to me). Anyway, she needs to get as many views as possible on Youtube for her cover of "Everybody." Click here to check it out! Every view counts and the top ten most viewed videos will get voted on March 29th. She's awesome and so is my other sister Laura who helped her put the music video together in just a couple of days.

Alright, let's do this. Here is a quick run-down of everything that's gone down over the last few weeks. First up? Sophie=a PILL. This little rat is giving me a run for my money. Over the course of the last 3 months things have been spiraling slowly but steadily out of control with regards to her sleep habits and mood. Strike 1? Moving out of the crib in her own room and into a bed in Grace's room. Strike 2? Pulling the plug on the pacifier. And Strike 3? That final nail in the coffin? Getting potty-trained. This unfortunate confluence of events has created a perfect storm of sleep resistance. Almost every single night she is the LAST child to fall asleep. Often times she is still wired awake and playing in her bedroom when Scott and I come upstairs to go to bed at like 10 or 11. Keep in mind that we put our kids to bed at 7. And forget about her sleeping in the next morning because apparently she doesn't know how to do that. She's up by 7 the next day when the other kids are getting up. I can still force her to take a nap during the day, but then she legitimately CAN'T fall asleep any earlier at night. It's a catch-22. She is just a melting-down mess of a child these days, and to top it all off she's been sick since Thursday. You can thank me for sparing you a picture of the contents of her stomach splattered all over the hall carpet, the bathroom door frame, the bathroom floor, the toilet, and her hair tonight at bedtime. What I'll give you instead is a peaceful picture from 9 o'clock this morning when I came down after putting Jane in bed for HER nap. I knew Sophie HAD to be pretty sick when she napped this morning for half an hour, and then for another 2 and 1/2 hours this afternoon and STILL went to bed without much fuss tonight at bedtime.

Oh wait a second, here's a self-portrait instead.

In other news, Ethan was thrilled to the core to participate in the maiden voyage of the Shark steam mop a few weeks ago. I let him do most of the kitchen before sending him up to bed that night. It was a particularly satisfying evening for him as he had just concluded his first stint as "Brother Friendly" for Family Home Evening as well. Simple pleasures, my friend simple pleasures.

Mopping -- I guess he can check THIS off in his Dream Book.

"Brother Friendly"

Lovely artwork at bedtime.

At the Ward Talent Show last weekend, Grace impressed us all with how seriously she took her ballet performance. And while I wouldn't say that she is currently showing a whole lot of promise as a future prima ballerina, it was really cute to see how hard she was trying to complete all the moves. All-in-all the performance was priceless. Of course, it was just our luck that after lugging the video camera all the way there we couldn't even use it because the battery was dead -- but luckily I had the still camera with us which managed to capture the moment well enough even if the image is a bit grainy. I think the batteries were going dead on that camera as well.

Before the show.

Backstage Jitters.

Posing with their teacher.

Okay, I tried to post the video of the performance but Blogger was not letting me! Apparently, though, you can check it out here. (Grace is the one in the back row on the far right at the beginning of the number).

And a little Preschool project for you.

She added the drawings that night during Book of Mormon stories time.

Our little Janie Boo has mastered the art of sitting unattended over the last month. And while she still manages the occasional face plant, she's steady enough that I no longer feel the need to put cushions all around her. With sitting under her belt she's beginning to move on to bigger and better things -- over the last few days, she has started to push her way up to crawling position and is almost able to rock on all fours. She has also entered the brave new world of solid foods with her introduction to Rice Cereal. I'm pretty sure she likes it.

She didn't quite know what to make of the camera.

Cute little Flower Girl.



(Sorry this one is sideways!)

And now for the cautionary tale of this post, I will turn the attention back to myself. Learn from my mistakes, people. Learn. At this very moment I share something in common with 15-year-olds all around the country -- I have my Learner's Permit! Mmmmmhmmm, that's right. Apparently if you fail to renew you driver's license before the expiration date, you not only have to take the WRITTEN test over again, but the DRIVING test as well. That's right. I went in a few days after my birthday to go and get my new license but was faced with those jewels of knowledge when I showed up at the BMV. I was really mad because I had gone to the trouble of actually SHOWERING for the day and getting dressed in real clothes to boot all so I would look somewhat awesome in my new driver's license photo. Alas, that photo shoot was not to be. I spent the majority of my time that day cramming for the written test and luckily passed on the first try (which was nice considering I failed the first time around when getting my license in Oregon almost 7 years ago).

Unfortunately the line was so long to get my permit that I had to leave early to collect the kids from the baby-sitter's and get Grace off to preschool on time. My efforts to take care of business bright and early the next morning back-fired after dragging the girls with me to the BMV only to find that I would have to go all the way back home because I didn't have my checkbook, proof of address, OR passport with me. I doubled back and was FINALLY able to strike a pose for my temporary I.D. The funniest part of the whole ordeal was when the sweet old lady who was helping me hesitated upon handing the card over because as she said: "Now, you know you're not supposed to drive without a licensed adult in the car." I thought she was just joking at first, but I quickly stopped myself from laughing when I realized she was serious and managed to assure her that I would take care of the driving portion right away so that I could get my real license ASAP.

Well, that was almost a month ago, so I guess I'm technically breaking the law. Although if we're going to get nit-picky, I've actually been breaking the law for the last 6 years or so seeing as to how I've kept my Oregon license all this time despite having lived in 2 different states since our brief stint in the Pacific Northwest! I do have my driving test scheduled for Tuesday, April 6th, so unless there is parallel parking involved I should be able to pass uneventfully.

Alright that's about all folks. Scott says there's nothing entertaining or exciting going on for him these days so I guess he doesn't consider his yearly enjoyment of March Madness to be all that newsworthy. Perhaps if BYU would have made it past the second round there'd be a little something more to talk about. Such as which name is odder -- "Jimmer" or "Fredette." The jury's still out on this one for me. Hahahaha.

Next week is Spring Break for the kiddies and even though Ethan made the unfortunate discovery today that grown-ups don't get spring breaks from their jobs, TOO, we will nonetheless make the most of our week and hopefully be able to enjoy some Spring-y weather. The highlight of the week for all of us will be next weekend when we head over to the cousin's house in Indiana to drop off OUR boys with theirs and go on a Girls' Trip to Chicago with my sister-in-law Kristin and her daughter Hannah. Why this particular destination you ask? Only because it is the home of an American Girl Doll Store, of course. We already have reservations set for Tea Time next Friday and I don't know who is more excited for the trip -- me or my girls. And in case you're wondering Scott laughed at me as he heard me asking the reservationist (?) on the phone if drinks other than tea would be available. He also shook his head in disbelief? Amusement? Exasperation? when I declared to him earlier this evening that I think I just might buy MYSELF a doll while I'm at the store. Only time will tell. Hahahahaha.

Look out Chicago, Here We Come!

And finally, before I sign off I want to give a shout-out to my little sis, Emily and congratulations on the birth of her very own little girlie bug, Pearce Elizabeth! Don't you just love her name? We can't wait to see this little sweetie-pie in person.

Until next time -- au revoir!