Twinkle Trophy...

Alice has been working since September on four different versions of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. She had to know how to play each of her twinkles with both her left and right hands. It is part of the Suzuki method of learning how to play the piano, and though I am a big believer in all things Suzuki, we were VERY over the Twinkles, and it was something that had to get crossed off the list before the baby comes! Alice was so sick of playing them that she had come up with all kinds of weird finger games to play them with, and other distractions that made it hard to just get the job done. Her ear was moving on, and she was starting to play the melodies from Ruby's Jr. Festival songs and it was hard to keep her on the task at hand so we could officially move on. She was pretty nervous and shy about it, so she didn't play as well as she knows how, but she did well enough to pass off her "twinkles" and get her prized trophy from Mrs. Steck.

Alice with her cheerleaders, me, Ru, Chris and Oma. Great job, little girl!

Playing with Pet Frogs...

We have been really enjoying our pet frogs, they laid eggs, tadpoles hatched...then the frogs we assume ate the tadpoles :(, then we started feeding them live bugs...the best part. They are very quick at seizing their prey, so it just takes a couple of seconds before we are done cheering the frogs on in their pursuit. Today the girls really wanted to hold them, so Chris got them out and they had all kinds of fun holding them and watching them leap around.

Dancing Queens...

Ruby and Alice love to dance. Ruby only likes to solo, so they take a song each and dance their hearts out. I love the lack of graceful movements and how they combine virtually every dance genre into one. You can see break-dancing, ballet and some occasional 80's club dancing and aerobics.
P.S. Do you love my new wood floors? It is amazing how they updated the joint...until you look at the cabinetry in the kitchen, that is. Still, a great improvement, I'm loving them.

Junior Festival...

Alice, Mrs. Steck (dressed up as Mrs. Treble) and Ruby before Ruby played. Mrs. Steck is the envy of all of her students, and when Alice says she wants to be her when she grows up, I have to think I should like to be her as well.

The National Federation of Music Clubs has a Junior Festival annually where young piano players come and play two pieces from a specific list of approved options and get judged by a panel and given a rating or score. The scores compile over years, and they have varying levels of rewards or trophies for those who stick with it over several years and earn enough points to deserve them.Sometimes I need proof that I existed even though I'm not a fan of pictures of myself. Here I am with my girls for once.

Ruby had prepared all year for her first junior festival, and it was one of the most heartbreaking disappointments of her broken arm was that she may not be ready in time to play. We worked on her pieces by ear while she was in her long arm cast, which did prevent her from playing the piano because it held her right arm at a 90 degree angle. Then we arranged to have her cast off the Wednesday before the festival so that she'd have one piano lesson with Mrs. Steck and a few days before the festival. The shorter cast did free her fingers up some and her elbow movement was back, so she was determined to play.Ruby's fancy cast, embellished by Chris' artistry.

We learned the last 1/2 of "Sail-Away Sonatina: Fish in Schools" in a day or two and she practiced and felt ready to go participate. She'd known "Little Playmates" since August or so, so it was just a matter of remembering it after taking five weeks off.

She did a great job! She learned a lot about how nerves can make you brainless, as she did know her pieces perfectly, but did mess one of them up royally. She was allowed to restart and in the end, she got a superior rating from the judges, who complimented her use of dynamics and consistent rhythm. They were impressed that she was there cast and all, and she felt proud of her performance, though later she admitted to me that she was embarrassed that she didn't play "Fish in Schools" perfectly.

They wouldn't allow me to take video or pictures of the actual performance, so I'll video her playing at home soon.

Finished Project Before and After...

We've been in major project mode at our house awaiting our little girl and trying to get her nursery ready. This is a project that I started eons ago...and finally completed. I wanted a cozy chair for the nursery, but didn't want a hefty price tag. I was so happy to find this chair, close to home for $40 on craigslist. It was only a few years old, and the foam was all super clean and so I just had to strip it down and reupholster it. Now we have a cozy chair in which to rock and nurse our baby Betsey...

Chair BEFORE:Chair AFTER (I didn't like the curve on the top of the back of the chair, so I minimized it) :
I made the mistake of asking my midwife to "check" me. I found out on Monday that I was 3-4 cm dilated and 75% effaced. This made me believe even though I know better, that I was going to pop any minute. So...now it's Friday, I'm 39 weeks and 3 3/4 days along and sooooooo not wanting to be pregnant anymore.

I thought of a few good reasons to be pregnant today, and I planned on listing them on here like Polyanna, but I forgot them all. Everything itches, I can't sleep, I can't move, I can't be nice, I feel guilty not being up to snuff for my kiddos who are after me all day to entertain and I just want to go into a cave with my baby for a few weeks and not deal with all my usual responsibilities...and that's not going to happen!

Gosh, there really were a few good things about still being pregnant...ummmmmm...I guess having extra time to get things done, I will post pics of the nursery really soon, it's way more done than I imagined it would be before she came, as every day brings more time to do more projects...there must have been more...there was for sure, I just can't remember. I might post those reasons later. Oh, I guess having time to catch up on my blog is a good thing...

A debate at our house...

I was playing around with a new diffuser I bought for my speedlight flash that I haven't used that much, and Alice was happy to make faces at the camera for me. I prefer natural lighting, but feel like the flash with the diffuser will make it easier for whomever takes pictures of the birth and right after the birth...jury is still out on the subject of our event photographer, since I'd practically have an open door at the birth and Chris doesn't want anyone there but the girls (if they choose) and my mom...and the caregivers. Anyway, since the baby could come at 5AM, it's not really that likely that we'll be able to rely on optimal natural light!
I don't want to be robbed of great pictures of the non-nitty gritty of the birth and afterward. I got this into my head when I read this post (warning you might become addicted to her beautiful story) and saw the lovely pictures taken of her experience. The pictures she had her skilled friends take gave her the opportunity to see aspects of her experience that she otherwise didn't remember. I feel like if I can't have someone taking pictures (not my mom or Chris, they are there to have their own experience and to be there for my girls), I will miss out on so many things because my delivery job isn't over right away, and I'm literally in a purely robotic state after going through natural childbirth, so it isn't an emotional experience for me, and I'd love to look back on it and see the emotion and the miracle of it all...in the pictures.

At this point, Chris and I have come to the following conclusions. My girl Mimi will come with bells on to take pics. She will be a "fly on the wall" and will of course do so for free. Chris loves Mimi, but just doesn't want anyone there. So then I thought I could easily find someone to pay, who he wouldn't know at all, and he can't claim that strangers aren't welcome, because he doesn't know even my caregivers, so one stranger taking pics couldn't hurt...but he doesn't want to pay anyone. So...then we are back to Mimi, as he says he'd rather have her than a stranger that is costing him money.

I feel I've been overly sensitive to Chris and his experience with all of our births, it was only upon his initiation that my mom wound up there for Ruby's birth, and I drove from Puyallup to Kirkland for all my prenatals and the birth of Alice because he didn't trust any of the more local options, and it was a sacrifice, but I could understand his point of view and his need to have me deliver where he trusted my caregivers. This isn't out first birth anymore, it's not even our second birth, I feel like we know what to expect and though we could be thrown a curve and wind up with a different experience than we planned, there's no obvious reason why someone can't be there quietly taking pictures. I'm not even talking about the birth moment...just immediately following...

Anyone care to weigh in on the subject? You aren't allowed to weigh in until you have viewed the post that I referred to above. We aren't talking about pics that just any old camera or person can take. Mimi's not claiming to have mad skills, but she knows her way around a DSLR and I think that she would have a good eye for taking nice pictures of our happy time.

So...if you read that post that I posted, don't you think I should have some pictures like that? I should be able to look through pictures and think, "oh, I didn't get to see Alice helping the midwife weigh Betsey, that's sweet!" or, "I don't remember her looking that color when she came out..."

Massage Therapy...

I've been spoiled recently by some professional massage twice a week (trying to ease the sciatica until the baby gets out). Anyway, Chris has been spoiled by some very willing little girls walking on his back...it seems to do the trick for him!

Ribbit...croak...croak...croak!

A couple weeks ago, Chris took the girls frogging. This is a very usual thing for them during the spring and summer months, but this is probably the earliest they've ever gone due to our really springy winter (cherry blossoms, crocuses, daffodils and my camellia's are all in full bloom).

So it was a rough go, he wasn't finding much and eventually found a frog and caught it...only to discover that he got a twofer...as there was a froggy couple "hugging" and he caught them in the act.

They came home, we made them a nice little home and they croaked (soooo loud) and hugged for a few days. Then came the eggs. Frogs actually lay their eggs and the males fertilize them (hence the hug) on their way out, so it really is just hugging. :)

We did some research and found that between 6-12 days, we would have little tiny tadpoles in our tank...on day 7-8, we had tadpoles!!! They were teeny tiny...like 10 could fit on a grain of rice.

The frogs were so prompt to eat a live fly that Chris caught the other day, that Ruby became determined to catch some more flies. It was comical to watch her in the backyard with a large drinking glass and a bowl, clapping the two together in the air in hopes of catching a fly. She did actually catch one once using this method! We'll see if the frogs and their tadpoles continue to survive in their stagnant aquarium...the tadpoles have been there for five days and so far, so good!

A girl's best friend...

Ruby loves all things in need of loving. She loves the lowliest, loneliest and least...unconditionally. She loves our dog Stone, and he loves her. Whenever she goes outside, he's ready for a full body cuddle from Ruby. This is their place (notice the ball in his mouth):Ruby will throw the ball for him, and he'll leave her to retrieve it...check out this next shot (taken by Chris):
And they reunite in their cuddly happiness. What will become of my children when this 12-13 year old dog is no longer?

Here's some more pics of them together, in case this may look like a limited photo op (these were taken by Alice, who takes more pictures with my new camera than I do (this was from one of Alice's "photoshoots", there are probably a dozen of just Ruby and Stone, or part of Ruby and part of Stone)...

Aliceisms...

My little four and a half year old is saying the funniest things...
Alice: What color do the bad guys wear?
Chris: I think they can wear every color.
Alice: Even purple?!!
Chris: Yes.
Alice: But bad guys can't be girls!

Another day getting into the tub with her goggles on: I like my goggles, and I'm glad that Jesus sent me to live on earth.

Last night: Dad, are you glad that Jesus sent me to live on earth?

She is thrilled that Ruby got a shirt for Christmas that was a little snug, so she gets to wear it...none other than a Hannah Montana shirt for my FOUR YEAR OLD! Ahhhhhhhh. I don't fight that battle, so we go with it, and leave it in the laundry shoot a little longer than the other clothes.

Alice has two "blankie stars", the blanket she bonded with when she was a baby. One is okay to sleep with, and the other has to be laying flat somewhere, undisturbed. For a few weeks, it was hanging over her headboard, but she told me she was waking up at night worried that it was wrinkled or had fallen into the bed, so now, it has a nice place on her floor...and you better not mess it up, she smooths it out and there it stays. I'm not sure where this obsession comes from, but I don't see too many other OCD behaviors, so I'm just amused at this point.

Alice is the little sis. She literally has her life dictated to her by Ruby, the person she wants to be when she grows up. She is often told to play the role of a little boy, a maid, a prince, a waitress, a servant, and a student or baby, while Ruby gets to be the mom, the queen, the waited on, the teacher and any other desirable role. Alice rarely revolts, but I sometimes have to intervene because the manipulation tactics employed by Ruby to get her way can really make my head roll.

We started responsibility charts at the beginning of the year. Nothing fancy, I print them off on the computer on white paper with black ink and they get smiley faces if they complete each responsibility. Alice's include "helping mommy, using a big girl voice, brushing teeth, saying prayers, practicing the piano and cleaning up." If she's not motivated to do one of these items, I just have to remind her that she will get a smiley face, and she's totally on board. Amazing. I can't believe it still works a couple months in!