The Nutcracker

Last week Ryenne, Kate, Grandma C, Aunt Kelsey, Aunt Jodi and I had a girls night out at The Nutcracker. We had a great time. Ryenne and Kate were excited to bring along their dolls, Clara and Emily. Ryenne, of course, was once again mesmerised by the whole thing. This was Kate's first time however, and she didn't quite know what to think. Like her Dad, she prefers a bit more action. The first little bit she did pretty well. However, she soon became impatient. Her philosophy is that "they would get a lot more of the story told if they wouldn't dance so much. " The last half definitely pushed her past her limit. While she loved the Russian and Chinese dancers, every time the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier came back out, she would say (loudly) "not them again". Finally, she announced in exasperation, "Mom, look at Clara and that boy, (who were watching from their chairs at the back of the stage) even they are tired of sitting there!" I felt a little bit like I was watching the ballet with Courtney.

While we were at the ballet, Emmy went with her Dad on a "hot date". This consisted of going out for chicken strips and watching football at Grandma J's house. Courtney had asked Emmy if she wanted to watch football or go to do something else. He was, of course estatic when she chose football. The next day, when Kate asked her what they did on their date, Emmy told her about the football game. Kate didn't think it sounded like a good date. Emmy quickly replied, "Kate, if you want to go on a hot date, you have to watch football!"

Fun on the Ice

As we have been bemoaning the lack of snow at our house, the girls have been making do with the little bit of winter we've been given! It seems everywhere but our little town has recieved snow! Last week, instead of snowing, it rained for almost two days straight. The one perk was that when all of that water froze, it made for a pretty fun ice rink! Kate and Emmy had a great time sliding around on the ice.

One more funny note about the rain and ice. . .Ryenne was playing outside after the rainstorm with her kitten. Some of the water had not yet frozen and the kittens paws had gotten wet walking through the puddles. Ryenne lifted the kitten up onto one of Courtney's work trailers. She ran into the house to grab something, only to find upon her return that the kitten's paws were frozen to the trailer. Remember in "The Christmas Story" movie, when the boys toungue gets frozen to the flagpole? Yip, just like that! Ryenne used a water bottle to try to melt the ice, but when all was said and done, the cat was missing a good amount of fur from it's paws. I know, I know, we shouldn't be laughing.

. . . Kate did tell my mom the other day that Santa would be coming to our house because everyone had been nice, except for mom and dad. When my mom asked why, she said, "They are naughty, because they don't like the cats."

Grandma C's Cookie Party

Grandma's annual cookie party made for another fun night with the cousins! Aunt Jodi and I spent the day making candy and dipping chocolates. LOTS of chocolate! Yum! That afternoon, all the cousins arrived to decorate cookies and gingerbread houses. As always, we had a lot of fun. The highlight of the evening was the arrival of a special jolly fellow. The girls (and mom and dad) were able to sit on Santa's knee to relay their wish list, and to find out if they had been naughty or nice. The left knee was reserved for those on the "naughty" list. Luckily, the W clan were a strictly right knee bunch.

Aunt Kelsey and Emmy constructing their beautiful gingerbread house.

We'll laugh about this later. .

Last night was our ward party, to which I had been assigned to bring 3 dozen rolls. I have been busy this week trying to do some much needed deep cleaning in our house, and thought that instead of spending part of a day making rolls, I would just order some from the bread store. You know, just trying to think ahead and simplify my life! I fact, I even called my friend who was also supposed to bring rolls and asked if she wanted me to order her some. Then I could pick them all up at once and save one of us a trip. Quite efficient, I thought!

So, as planned, I picked up the rolls Tuesday night and was pleased as punch with how easy this would be. I would just need to drop them by the church Wednesday morning on my way home from taking the girls to school, and ta-da! Mission accomplished!

It turns out that I must have needed yet another experience to remind me that I am not in control. (I just finished reading the book, I am a Mother, by Jane Clayson Johnson. She pinpoints several myths about motherhood, one of which is "You will be in control. . . .You are a mother, after all." My life is becoming proof that this is indeed a myth!)

I had left the rolls in a box in the van so they would be ready to drop off in the morning. Later that evening I went to hop in the van to run to town, when I noticed the girls had left the van door open. For about one second, I wasn't too concerned. However, the very next second, it occured to me that we are the owners of three cats. This was not a good realization. ALL six dozen of the rolls. Mashed, bags ripped open, eated, destroyed. Not a good moment in my mothering career. I wish I could say I handled it graciously and patiently. But nooooooo. I did not. In fact, it went something like this. 1) March throught the door, 2) slam the door shut. 3) Yell in my very loudest voice, "Who left the van door open? 4) Announce (loudly), "I am going to get rid of those cats." Big mistake. This was followed with crying, wailing, etc. and interpreted as "I am going to kill the cats." And so thereafter, for the rest of the night, every few minutes a wail would break out, "Don't kill the cats!" Finally, at the end of my rope, I stated (also very loudly) that I was not going to kill the cats. That I had never, in fact, even threatened to kill the cats. (Courtney later reminded me that I did. I didn't. Getting rid of the cats does not have to equate to killing the cats.)

It took me an hour or two and some very energetic folding and ironing of our laundry to calm down and realize that this wasn't really that big of a deal. It was just trivial, and we would laugh about it later. I wish I could say I remembered this all in the heat of the moment, but by the time I sorted through it all the girls were already asleep. I had to wait until the next morning to let the girls know that I was sorry I got so upset and that they are much more important to me than six dozen rolls!

In her book, while debunking the myth of motherly control, Jane Clayson Johnson goes on to write, "One of the hardest lessons in mothering is learning to recognize that you are no longer in control. How many times have you started out the day hoping to move one direction, or to arrive at a particular destination, or accomplish just one task, only to make it to the end of the day and discover that you're in the wrong place altogether, miles from where you hoped to be?")

And so it is that I spent yesterday making rolls. Not only did I make 3 dozen rolls, I made 6 dozen rolls. All in an effort to be efficient.

"Oh, Christmas tree. . ."

Last weekend we went with Uncle Ronnie, Aunt Nan, and the boys to the "real forest" to find the perfect Christmas tree. It was so much fun! The girls were so excited to see a bit of real snow. When we got there, they exclaimed, "Look at all that snow!" It made Courtney and I realize how little snow we've gotten at our house the past few years, because there wasn't much at all. But it was enough to impress the girls! The C bunch found their tree in a jiffy, but we took quite a bit longer! It took quite a few jaunts up the hillsides to find one that was not "too skinny". Finally we found what we thought was just right. We learned a lesson however, once we got it home. It seems the heighth of trees in the "real forest" can be a bit deceiving! In our sheer joy at finally finding a beautiful, not too skinny tree, we failed to size it up! What we thought was our perfect 8 ft. tree was a little closer to 12! We had to cut about 1/2 the tree off to fit it inside the house. Turns out that the half we cut off just happened to be the better half of the tree. But, alas, that is the beauty of a fresh cut Christmas tree- lots of character!

Aunt Nan and Emmy

Kate's happy to be along for the ride!

Uncle Ronnie and Dad - Christmas tree wranglers!

The finished product! The girls couldn't wait to decorate the tree! We finished the night with the traditional Christmas tree slumber party around the tree. There's nothing quite like the magic of Christmas time!