Uh Oh

Joseph 9 Month Stats:

5th percentile for weight
12th percentile for height
17th percentile for head
95th percentile for languange development
99th percentile for happy babiness

Okay, I made the last two up, but here is video proof that I'm right (excuse the stripper at the end):

Uh Oh from Brianne Lindsay on Vimeo.

Baths, wet hair, and swimming

I don't usually put all the kids in the bath together for several reasons, but mainly because they fight. I had decided Joseph needed a bath, then Caleb wanted to get in, then of course Savanna couldn't miss out on all the fun.

After the bath, I braided Savanna's hair. It doesn't look great, but it is a vast improvement from many previous attempts.

Joseph crawls...? from Brianne Lindsay on Vimeo.

And Joseph is mobile. I think he looks like he's swimming.

Tidbits

I've had several ideas swimming around in my head of things I want to blog about. But I'm not sure I would have much to say about any of them. So here are a few of my thoughts for your reading pleasure.

1. It seems that many people are trying to be politically correct about what wishes and greetings they offer each other at this time of year. And so I have made a specific effort to say "Merry Christmas." Jesus Christ is the greatest gift we have been given. Let's celebrate Him, and not just some generic holiday. People just need to get over themselves if they are offended by Christmas.

2. I don't know when I learned how to close doors properly, but there is a proper way. A loud ka-chunk is just not okay if there is A) a meeting going on or B) the possibility of a child sleeping. It is just as easy to get in the habit of turning the doorknob before you pull the door quietly closed, then turn the doorknob back to latch. Unfortunately, all my doorknobs squeak, so I will be buying new ones soon.

3. My parents moved. I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, I'm glad. I'm glad that they are closer to us now. I'm glad to leave behind a lot of my conflicted feelings associated with adolescence and certain people and difficult memories. I'm indifferent because I keep in good contact with my friends who are still there, and many of my friends have moved from there anyway. I'm indifferent because my parents moved into a new house after I went to college, so I'm not attached to the house. I'm very sad to leave behind other certain people and wonderful memories. I haven't lived there for almost ten years, but I feel so sad that I probably won't go back now that my parents are gone. And we won't likely go back to the place Bryan went to grad school either. And I'm very sad to leave behind those friends, although many of them have left too. It's a weird kind of nostalgia.

4. My youngest child's name should be pronounced [ʣo'zəf] not [ʣo'səf].

I guess that's all for now. Thanks for reading.

D-E-P-E-N-dability

Some of you, maybe none of you, may have seen a rant post on my blog about a month ago that quickly disappeared because I was afraid of sounding really negative.

Whether you saw it or not, I feel the need to explain/vent. So forgive me for being negative, and forgive me for my soapbox. (While the general ideas are true, the names have been changed and the details obscured.)

Today, the woman with whom we carpool to school didn't show up for the Xth time. Which meant that I had to get Hpesoj up from a nap, feed him, get everybody's socks and shoes and coats on, load everyone into the van, arrive at the school Y minutes after school started, unload everyone from the van, and sign Belac in late. (It's hard to make this sound as exasperated in print as I was in real life. And I'm leaving out a lot of details of my frustration with this woman.) Later in the day Betty Jo explained that she was forgetful, her life is crazy right now, and she didn't have a way to reach me. "So, sorry." And that was it. As unemotional and insincere as it looks in print.

SO...I called off the carpool completely. Now I have control over my time, and I can plan my day without relying on other people.

While I am not perfect, I try to be dependable. I missed driving to school once because Belac was sick. And I called several hours before school started to let them know.

If a person is going to be late (or not show up), he/she ought to call in advance. And if that is not possible, a profuse apology would be appropriate.

That's okay? Nope.

Savanna tends to use too much toilet paper. So this morning, I took it off the dispenser and put it out of her reach.

She said, "Mommy! That's o-not-kay!"

Twelve Excuses

I know this is bold, but I have to be completely honest with you.
Most people post pictures of their house after they clean, paint, upgrade, or decorate.
This post is not about any of those things.
My house is a mess.
And these are my excuses.

1. When I asked Bryan's aunt (who has 8 kids) for advice on raising children, she said,
"It's okay to have a messy house."

2. Although he can sit up, roll, and scoot, Joseph still likes to be held a lot. When he's awake, it is hard to hold him and clean anything below my waist level.

3. Paying attention to my kids is more important.

4. We really do clean up our clutter on a daily basis. But we really do have 5 people contributing to the clutter.

5. I would be cleaning literally all day if I wanted a clean house.

6. Caleb takes a long time (and a lot of encouragement) to get ready for school. This means we are usually rushing out the door to get him there on time, leaving behind our lunch mess to clean later.

7. Sometimes I don't have time to clean.

8. We can't work all day, we have to play too.

9. I took a short nap this morning.

10. Potty-training makes me pause whatever I'm doing and come running to try to prevent accidents.

11. Sometimes I don't feel like cleaning.

12. One mom vs. three kids. 'Nuff said.

Sweet Tooth vs. Pocketbook

I would like to be able to say I have always been frugal. As a child, my sister Sharley would hoard money, candy, and other various treasures. On the other hand, you would find me eating the candy as fast as I could, then spending my money to buy more.

I think I finally figured out frugality when I started earning money. No, probably when my parents promised to match what I saved for college. Then I got frugal, fast.

And I have been ever since.

I would also like to be able to say that I have never had a sweet tooth. Alas, we all know now that that can't be true (see above).

Since Bryan and I got married, I started buying groceries that two people could actually live on. On a budget that only one person could live on. So we have never been in the habit of buying junk food. We can truly say that we very rarely buy chips, soft drinks, candy, or hot dogs. (Now don't get me wrong, we still eat our fair share of homemade goodies and ice cream.)

The problem is when other people give us junk food. Don't get me wrong here, either. I love sweets.

I guess my point is, though I wish I had self-control over my sweet tooth, I do not. But I have plenty of self-control over my pocketbook. And that, my friends, is how I indirectly control my sweet tooth.

The end.

Valued

I have a vague memory of Kelly from my BYU choir days. She was in Singers, so we must have passed each other every day between Singers and Concert Choir. And we must have passed each other during every concert the two groups did together.

This Christmas season, she and I have been asked to dust off our talents and perform at several events together. (It really makes me sad that we didn't have the excuse to sing together before now. Six months wasted!!!)

We have practiced a few times together already, and performed one song tonight.

Singing with her is the funnest thing I have done in years!

Our voices match so well that when we are singing the same pitch, you can only hear one voice. When we practice, we don't have to learn notes or rhythms; we get to work on phrasing and dynamics and technique and interpretation!

Because she received the same degree from the same school from the same teachers (went through the same refiner's fire, the same heartaches), I feel valued by her in a way that no one else can. And because we became friends long after the fact, there is no competitiveness. Only camaraderie.

She also teaches me about great humility. She asked me to come listen to her practice an aria from the Messiah. She wanted my "expert" opinions and constructive criticism. LIKE SHE NEEDED MY HELP?! She has a beautiful voice and would do just fine without me. But she invited me anyway, and I felt valued.

She is a kind, gentle, spiritual, generous person. I really look up to her.

I guess I am still too prideful since I still need to feel valued and validated. But I feel grateful to now have a tangible example in my friend of confidence with humility.

This makes me happy...

This is what happens when...

...you roll to get around.

...you need new socks.

...your kids have nothing better to do.

Old Year's Resolution

I just ate 3 cookies. And no, they weren't the first cookies of the day...

So I'm making an old year's resolution to only eat one dessert per day this holiday season.

Anybody wanna do it with me?!

I'm also going to try to avoid handing out treats. Maybe I'll hand out homemade bread.