Summer's almost here!

Remember when you were a kid and you were so excited for summer vacation? And you also thought how sad your teachers must be that school was over? I can testify from the teacher's point of view that the teachers are MORE excited than the students for summer vacation! Actually my students' last day was Friday and this week I am just doing assessment appointments and cleaning my classroom. Nate is just thrilled that I will be staying put this year and he won't have to move all my stuff! I am just excited to be spending more time with the girls. I already have big plans for the summer (in between all the workshops that I have to go to). Allie finally has a little hair and I plan to make her some more clips so people quit asking what 'his' name is. I also need to do some major 'spring' cleaning in my house, but I will save that for when we run out of other fun adventures!

The 'brown thumb' strikes again

I thought that I would give you all an update on the strawberries...nothing is happening! Like I mentioned in an earlier message, I don't have the gift to make things grow. Claire and I have taken very good care of the strawberry seeds but alas they didn't grow, as you can see from the picture. The good news is that mother's day was a week and a half ago and my plant from church is still alive! I told Nate that I don't think a person's ability to be a mother is reflected in how long her mother's day flower stays alive! If that were the case I would be in pretty bad shape because mine usually only last a month or so. I 'm going to try really hard to keep this one alive, it's the one on the table next to Claire. On Saturday I planted flowers in my big pots in the front yard and when I told Nate I was going to the store to buy plants he said, "You are buying more flowers to kill?" Ha, ha, ha. I told you I can't grow anything. I have a feeling that my struggling flowers will be the topic of many more messages to come. Stay tuned...

Just a note

It has been a while since my last post. Since I have made our page a little 'girlier' Nate seems to have turned over the blog to me. I don't really have anything exciting to report other than how lucky I am to have Nathan and the girls. I'm sure Mother's Day makes us all a little sentimental, those of us who are new moms and those of us who have been doing it for awhile. My girls are so awesome. Sometimes I just stare at them in wonder that they are mine! (Nate thinks I'm crazy). It seems like they have been doing the cutest things lately, I could just eat them up! Nathan is wonderful too - since he has been out of school he stays home and takes care of the girls. He is a great dad and husband, I'll try not to get too mushy.
Allie is finally getting her 2 middle teeth on the top so she has lost her 'vampire grin'. She has learned to say mama, dada, done, and she gives the best hugs and kisses. Claire is as independent as ever. She is a huge help with Allie and is doing a few chores now. She is so glad the weather is warming up, she has actually already been in her swimsuit in the sprinklers! So that's the Throop update, I'll try to post again soon!

Sunday is a 'special' day

Do you ever wonder if it is all worth it? Of course we know that it is, but let me tell you, today has been one of those days! I'm sure that you have all had days like this, especially with kids, but here is our story...

We usually give the girls a bath on Saturday night since we have 9:00 am church, but last night my wonderful parents watched the girls so that Nate and I could go to a movie. That meant that we got them to bed late without a bath. This morning Nate suggested that we just rub them all over with smelly lotion, but I decided that a bath was in order, so at 8:00 this morning I was in my pjs, with wet hair, and the girls were in the tub.

Nathan teaches the Gospel Doctrine lesson and was hurridly putting the finishing touches on his lesson, but he graciously took a quick break and dressed Allie while I dressed Claire. I got them both breakfast and went to blow dry my hair. I finished getting ready at about 8:40 and was feeling okay about the time.

I called Claire in and combed her hair, then sent her to look for her shoes. Meanwhile I grabbed Allie to comb her hair and found her with a poopy diaper. I hadn't factored that into the schedule, but these things have a way of happening at the least opportune time. The next 10 minutes were a whirl of diapers, shoes, bracelets, headbands, diaper bags, and jackets.

We got out the door at around 9:05. I teach primary so the girls go with me. Do you ever feel like you are carrying around the kitchen sink? Here's a quick list of what I carried to primary: Allie, Allie's jacket, Allie's blanket, Allie's diaper bag, Claire's jacket, Claire's church bag, and my church bag. I need 10 more hands!

We walked in late, which I hate, but sharing time went fine. Nate came and took Claire to class (thank you, Nate!) because when I take her she forgets what a sweet and cute girl she is and she becomes a crying, whining, beast. When we got to class my partner had the lesson, which I appreciated, but she does tend to read the chapters verbatim to our class of 8 year olds. I tried to jump in now and then with some 'clarifications'. Allie was crawling around the classroom quietly but then she bonked her head on the door and began screaming. I tried to quickly quiet her down without disturbing the class too much, but as I shooshed her I heard one of the kids (who is a youngest child in her family), chanting "Make it stop, make it stop!"

Finally it was time for sacrament meeting. I made Allie a bottle during the opening song and hoped that she would sleep through the rest of the meeting. Nate fed her but when she was done she sat right up and grinned. (Darn it if she doesn't have the cutest grin in the whole world.) She sat quietly during the sacrament, but just as the first speaker stood to talk, she coughed and out came the 'formula fountain'! She threw up all over Nate, me, her blanket, Claire's jacket, and a little on the floor. Somehow she managed not to get any on her dress, it's a talent of hers. Nate and I looked at each other and said, "Let's go!". We felt bad leaving church early, but I really don't know if we could have taken much more, plus the smell might have bothered the people sitting around us.

So there you have it, we got home and put Allie down for a nap, had some lunch, and Claire and I made cookies. It was a beautiful ending to a not so beautiful morning. I can't wait until next week!