Tuesday, May 6

WHEW!
I'm tired!
It was a good day and much was accomplished.  I started off by trying to get Alaina to rehearse her ballet dance.  Yeah--she REALLY didn't want to.  So--Talia and I danced to it.  I know the song better than Alaina--sad, but true.  I really want her to do well and have a good recital, but at the same time, if she feels bad, perhaps it is the kick in the butt she needs.  I don't know what to do.  I will continue to pull out the song and practice and talk with her everyday.  No matter what, I will enjoy watching her dance! She is my girl and I love watching her!  I just would like to protect her from awkward situations.

Olesya came briefly after that and we worked on painting the upstairs bathroom.  I am so thankful for Olesya.  We had it done in no time!  And her girls and my girls played REALLY well the whole time!  I love it! 

I have to say that I am glad it is painted, but I don't think it is the right color (slap me upside the head!)  Because the bathtub has grey surround and grey grout is on the floor tile with the blue counter--the tan seems a little out of place.  Hmmm...I am thinking white is what I would need to do, but I will not be doing that for a while....we will live with the brown for now.  Maybe when I hang the curtains it will help correlate the brown and blue....We will have to wait and see...

After Olesya left we were off to school.  I was a bit agitated with Alaina and her lack of motivation to practice her dance.  Lord, help me to not be mean.  Help me to just love her like you do.  And guide me to be a good supportive parent. 

Talia and I had a nice walk back from school.  It was then that I noticed her pants were too big and were falling down revealing her underwear.  I am thankful she is young enough that it is cute.  And yes we changed her pants when she got home.

During naptime, I touched up paint in the bathroom and started working in the garden.  I woke Talia to help me.  I enjoyed having her sit next to me and gab about the bugs she saw on the ground.  It was one of those "ideal" moments that I always dream of having with my kids (but of course rarely ever happens.) 

We had a really nice dinner.  Talia wanted tortilla chips, but could not have any until she cleared her plate.  So she would take a bite and ask for chips and I would tell her that she had to eat everything on her plate and she would then cry.  This happened several times--each time was funnier because you knew what was coming.  Oh kids.....gotta love them. 

After dinner the kids worked on cards for grandmas and treats for Ky's AWANA's tomorrow as well as Teacher Appreciation week.  Hopefully it will be a good bribe for letting me drop Alaina off at school 10 minutes early on Thursday.  I have to take Talia to a doc appointment and have been unable to work out having someone take her to school.  Oh, well, 10 minutes shouldn't be that big of a deal.

I almost forgot about Monday---

We had early visitors before and after school which the kids really enjoyed.  The neighbor kids came over while their parents went to doc appointments.  Once the big kids were dropped off at school the kids and I went to the gym and then the pet store (at Alaina's request.)  I love the petstore that opened so close to us.  GREAT entertainment for the kids FOR FREE!  They love it.  And we can easily spend an hour there looking and playing with the different pets.  After that we went home to do a puzzle (at Talia's request.)  I need to do better at asking my kids what they would like to do.  I had been doing it for a while and then I guess I just forgot.  This week I plan on bringing it back and listening to my kids a little more.  Monday was warmer, but windy.  The girls tried to eat lunch outside, but the wind just made it too cold.  However, once the big kids came home from school they seemed fine to be outside (I think moving around helps to stay warm!) 

After the playdate we were off to Ky and Alaina's double header game.  It was fun to watch them both (and convenient).  I just had to make sure that I saw each bat and then I picked and chose according to who was playing in the field.  It actually worked out really well because often when Ky's team was batting, Alaina's was on the field. 

We enjoyed a late "Cinco De Mayo" dinner of tacos afterwards.  Ky wasn't feeling well with a headache so he ended up going straight to bed.  Poor kid.  Despite that we had a really nice dinner talking.  Alaina told us that she made a card for Mom and picked flowers for Dad to show us God's love.  She is always showing others how she cares by coloring pictures or writing notes.  I love that about her. 

Matthew 6:26
Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?