Spritz Cookies

Every year Jenelle and I make spritz cookies at Christmas time. We use a hand press to get the cookies out in cute shapes. It takes a lot of hand strength and it's a pain. I remember as a kid growing up that we had an electric press. It did all the work for you. My sister and I made a lot of spritz cookies without any help. So with that memory in mind, I asked for one for Christmas.

Curt bought me a Cuisinart electric cookie press. What a piece of junk! First, it takes an engineering degree to put the thing together. Second, the press warps halfway down and stops making cookies. So I had to keep opening it, adding more dough and then put the thing back together (see point #1). It was extremely frustrating. Curt tried using it and he didn't have any better luck. We're returning it.

I made the cookies with my hand press and Jenelle had a GREAT time decorating the cookies. She used a lot of different colored sprinkles. Hopefully there will still be some left by Christmas.

Stress and Stuff

I went to chapel at Jenelle's school on Wednesday. I've never been to chapel before. It was excellent. The kids sang praise songs and they had a speaker. The speaker talked about how Christmas has become all about stuff and stress. Basically everything under the tree is just stuff. He asked the kids if they could remember what they got for Christmas last year. Eventually the newness of the toys wears off, etc. Then he talked about the stress. This was geared toward the adults in the room. It's so true! Christmas becomes a time of spending too much money and running all around shopping and being so busy.

So anyway, I decided to start a new tradition this year. I want to make a conscious effort to give gifts to Jesus this Christmas. It is his birthday after all. I shared this concept with Jenelle and Curt. Maybe a gift would be going out of your way for somebody. Or biting your tongue and stopping yourself from complaining or whining or saying something not so nice. Or being patient in those long holiday shopping lines. Or doing something that makes you a little uncomfortable like inviting a neighbor to church or talking to someone about the real meaning of Christmas. Or doing something you don't normally do. Something that takes a little effort and sacrifice I guess.

Thanksgiving

Papa drove out from Illinois for Thanksgiving this year. It was great to have him visit. Jenelle challenged Papa to many Wii games. Jenelle loves to win and she sized Papa up and thought he'd play a lot like Grandma-ma (which is not very good). She didn't know that Papa flies model airplanes which is a lot like playing video games. Anyway, Jenelle would win the first few games and then Papa would beat her. It was fun watching them play.

Papa came with us to Front Range Christian School's Thanksgiving celebration. We ate breakfast and sang a lot of sangs thanking God for all he's done for us. Papa got to meet Jenelle's teacher and get a little taste of what her school is like.

One afternoon we went out to the flying field and watched Papa fly his airplane. Jenelle and I liked the tricks where the plane would do a lot of loops.

We had a fun Thanksgiving. We had so much food! We all over ate for days. I was so glad when the pie was gone. We hope Papa comes to visit again next year.

Happy Halloween.

Jenelle was a witch for Halloween this year. It was a beautiful night. Usually I'm freezing my a** off, but this year was quite pleasant. So nice that we trick-or-treated an extra long time. Jenelle got lots of candy this year. The switch witch did visit our house again. She switched a lot of the candy for a zhu zhu baby stroller. Jenelle is very into zhu zhus right now.

Here are some pictures from our fun night and from pumpkin carving (all pumpkins were grown in our back yard.)

40th Birthday - Oct 5th

I'm 40 now. This is a huge milestone so I decided to celebrate it. I organized a cruise for my 40 something friends. We took a 3 day cruise to the Bahamas. We had a fabulous time. We spent a day on Coco Bay. The snorkeling was great. The next day we went to the Atlantis. Curt and I have always wanted to go there. It was so cool. They had a great lazy river, water slides and of course the leap of faith. The leap of faith is a water slide with a sheer drop that was incredibly fast! I couldn't keep my eyes open. All I could do was scream. I had to dig my swimsuit out of my butt when I got to the bottom. It was scary, but exciting.

Another highlight of the trip was just hanging out with my college roommate, Debbie and my high school friend, Celine. I miss those girls so much. We drank too much and stayed up way too late. We soaked up the sun and had lots of fun!

One of the highlights of my day

Jenelle puts on a fashion show for me every day! I'm not kidding. It started this summer. Jenelle likes to dress in the colors of the rainbow. Each day she dresses in all one color. She parades her outfit in front of me every morning. The slide show is a sample of some of her colorful outfits. Jenelle is very into fashion and often accessorizes with necklaces and silly bands. I haven't picked out her clothes in years. She often puts together outfits that look funny or don't quite match, but I think it's cute.

Eight is Great

Jenelle had a pajama birthday party this year. We almost had a sleepover party, but I just couldn't go through with it. So the pj party was our compromise. It was the easiest party yet. The girls came over and watched the new "Barbie in a Fashion Fairy Tale" while they ate pizza. We played the limbo game and then the girls spent the next 40 minutes playing dress up and walking down the runway. I saw dress up clothes I haven't seen in years. The girls had a great time putting on new outfits and accessories. I would add commentary while they walked down the runway twirling and posing. It was so fun and so easy. I didn't have to clean up after a messy craft. Curt and I didn't have to haul everything over to the park. Lots of fun memories were made. I don't know if you can tell from the picture, but Jenelle's cake matches her pajamas. The only downside to the party that I could find was that she got 8 Zhu Zhu pets. 4 pets and 4 babies. Those Zhu Zhu's are a pain. The wheels are constantly get clogged up so I'm constantly performing "surgery" to get them working again. Oh well, she loves them.

Seven is Super

Jenelle is 8 now, but let's take a moment to reflect on this past year. Seven was super. Jenelle really came a long way this year. Last summer she was deathly afraid of bugs including the sweet ladybug. If a ladybug landed on her she would scream, cry and go a little ballistic. Just last week she was dismembering a grass hopper and pretending to eat it.

She jumped off the diving board and learned to ride her bike without training wheels this summer. She showers by herself and can swim really well. I just can't believe how grown up she's getting. Where did my little girl go?

First Day of Second Grade

Today was Jenelle's first day of school. Don't be fooled by the top picture. She was SUPER excited for school. The last few weeks she was moaning about school (probably because I was moaning about school.) Her teacher is Mrs. Hart. She was Jenelle's kindergarten teacher. She is the best.

On the first day of school they have an "Opening Day Ceremony". We've never been able to make the ceremony because we were always too late. Well not this year! We were on time; early even. So we're off to a good start.

This morning Jenelle asked me, "What am I having for lunch?" I told her that it was only a half day so she'd be home for lunch. About 2 minutes later she said, "I hope it stops raining for the second recess." Again I told her it was only a half day. About 2 minutes later she asked about something else. It's only a half day!!! At least she was excited.

I was surprised when I picked Jenelle up from school. She had homework!! Who gets homework on the first day? I was telling her that she probably wouldn't have homework the first week. I guess they really buckle down in 2nd grade.

Cousin Love

We went to Chicago last week. We had the best time. Jenelle spent lots of time with her cousins and there are many highlights to share.

Jenelle went down her first water slide. We went to Rainbow Falls and with a little encouraging she went down the slide. Jenelle and I shared a double inner tube. I could tell she was really nervous. She had tears in her eyes as we were walking up the stairs. Well she had the best time. We did that slide a bunch more times.

It was hot and humid while we were there so we also spent a lot of time at the neighborhood pool. They have a low dive there. I kept asking Jenelle if she wanted to jump off the diving board. Each time it was a definite NO. David was putting together a video montage of our trip and he convinced her to jump off. David did an awesome job with the video. He picked very dramatic music and now we have this great memory of her first jump all on DVD.

Carly and Jenelle had lots of fun dressing the same and they put make-up on almost every day. David built a huge two room fort to play in. David did some magic tricks for Jenelle. The cousins really had a good time.

We tried to go sailing on Papa's boat, but we didn't get the right weather. We'll have to do that next time.

We miss everybody!

Christmas 2006

I know it's not Christmas, but 4 years ago I loaded this video onto You Tube and I don't think I ever shared it. Jenelle is 4 here. This video cracks me up. She looks so small.

8-8-1998

It's our anniversary today. Twelve whole years! Where did the time go? Curt and I were joking around about being happily married 90% of the time. The other 10% well... Not too bad it you ask me.

We got a babysitter for tonight. We are going out for a nice meal and then maybe a movie or something. Curt said he would "woo" me. Should be fun.



I never got around to getting my dress dry cleaned so I put it on this morning. It still fits, but don't those tan lines look nice? Jenelle was entranced with the dress. She ran and got the veil. I swear that tomorrow I'm taking the dress to the cleaners to get it preserved. Maybe Jenelle will want it someday.

Piano Power

We finally got around to getting the piano tuned. It has been a "toy" for Jenelle all these years. Jenelle started taking piano lessons in February. She has been using a keyboard to practice, but would often play on the piano. That piano was SO out of tune. I don't have much musical ability, but even my untrained ears could tell the piano needed tuning.

I called some piano place and they sent out their best tuner. The guy was great, but charged a butt load. It was worth every penny. I can't tell you how much I enjoy hearing Jenelle play that piano. It's a beautiful sound. Even when she plays horrible it sounds so pretty.

Bumper crop

The garden is doing great this summer. We're already getting zucchini. Jenelle and I go on a zucchini treasure hunt every day. I don't know how this huge zucchini got missed. I made zucchini bread with it. I need to come up with some new recipes for all this squash.

Curt brought in a ton of rhubarb. I've been making a lot of crisps, but we are getting tired of those. I decided to make a raspberry rhubarb pie. It was fantastic. It was almost too yummy. It was hard to resist. I plan on making some kind of jam with the rhubarb later. Later this summer Jenelle will probably have a lemonade and zucchini stand. I'll have lots of zucchini to give away if anybody wants some.

Hike at Reynold's Park

We did a beautiful hike this weekend. Here are some photos for you.

Wipeout

Jenelle doesn't watch much tv. She does a lot of playing and a fair amount of reading. But at the end of a long summer day she likes to watch a show before bed. I'm getting more and more particular about the shows she watches. She is getting too mature for a lot of the cartoons that she used to like. I don't like her watching Hannah Montana and Icarly. So what is a mom to do?

We caught an episode of Funniest Home Videos. Jenelle really liked it. It's family friendly. I've started taping the old episodes.

One Saturday afternoon, Curt and Jenelle watched an episode of "Man vs. Wild". It's a show where they drop Bear Grylls into the middle of nowhere and he has to survive with just a pocket knife. It's a great show about survival. Jenelle was fascinated!! She even plays Man vs. Wild with her stuffed animal friends. One day I found her roasting a bear over a fire. She told me how she shot the bear and she even had the bear suspended over the fire (with badmintons). We wouldn't want the bear to burn to a crisp now. I wish I had a picture.

Another show I have found to be acceptable is "Wipeout". People have to go through these crazy hard obstacles and they often wipeout. It's a funny show.

Have you noticed a common them with these shows? As a family we laugh at other people's perils, goof ups and misfortunes. Hmmm...maybe I need to reconsider these shows. :)

Happy Birthday Dad!

We are celebrating Curt's birthday this week. Everyone gets a birthday week. Tonight we are having friends over for a BBQ. Curt and I worked around the house most of the day getting yard work done and the house cleaned up. Not much fun, but we'll have fun tonight and tomorrow. Curt wanted only two measly candles on his cake. Jenelle wanted to put them all on. I must say that Jenelle and I made a really yummy moist cake. Happy birthday Curt.

Summer of Fun - Week 3

Jenelle just got back from camp Id Ra Ha Je (stands for - I'd rather have Jesus). This year I signed her up for the horseback ride. Jenelle was very nervous because she is afraid of heights and a horse is rather tall. The day before camp she was asking me a million questions about horses. What does it feel like? How high up will I be? Will I fall off? I spent the day reassuring her and she seemed very excited about it.

We dropped her off on Wednesday. She did the three day camp. She could have done the six day camp, but she didn't want to. The first day they did a hay ride. The next day they had game time, chapel time and swimming. The third day was the horse ride. She had a great time! She was nervous at first, but the counselor just walked her around the ring. She ended up steering the horse herself! She even played "red light, green light" with her horse. When I picked her up from camp the first thing she said was, "I want to ride a horse!" I'm excited for her, but now do I need to the horse thing on a regular basis?

Jenelle had a great time at camp. She even took two showers there. She chastised me for not packing shampoo. The day before leaving I asked her if she was going to shower at camp. She said, "No. I don't need to." So I didn't pack any shampoo. Jenelle washed her hair twice, but didn't comb it a single time. It was a snarly mess by the time she got home.

Curt and I enjoyed our time together. We went out to dinner a couple of times and went tubing down the Platte River. It was quiet, but nice. Next year Jenelle will go to the longer camp and Curt and I will get out of town. It's our only opportunity to have a few nights away without Jenelle.

Summer of Fun - Week 2

This was a much better week. Jenelle had VBS at our home church. They always do a great VBS. The theme was Saddle Ridge Ranch. We have been listening to VBS music for a long time now. The songs are cute, but they are the kind that get stuck in your head. I find myself singing them in the middle of the night.

We went to the pool and had several play dates. I've been doing a good job of having an activity almost every day. Jenelle loves her friends. She played with Eme this week. They rode their bikes. She went over to Gwen's house and played in their sprinkler. We went to the pool with Ben and Isaac. On Thursday night we went to the concert in the park. The kids ran around (non-stop) playing tag while the adults talked and listened to the music.

Jenelle has also been taking tennis lessons. This year we are taking lessons somewhere new. The Ken Caryl Rec center lessons have been great so far. They play a lot of fun games that Jenelle usually ends up winning.

Summer of Fun - Week 1

The summer of fun has begun! The first week was a little rough on mom. Jenelle had a VBS in the morning and a VBS in the evening; with an activity in between. The evening VBS was free and I thought Curt and I could take advantage of the free babysitting.

We were WAY too busy. We were rushing from activity to activity. There wasn't much down time or relaxing going on. Remember my earlier posts about having to rush in the morning to get Jenelle to school on time? We were rushing to three activities a day. I was ready to pull my hair out by the end of the week. Summer is supposed to be relaxing, fun and low stress. Not this first week. We'll do better next week.

Happy Father's Day

We had a great Father's Day weekend. It started on Saturday with Dumpster Day. Each summer our home association sponsors a dumpster day. You can take unlimited crap in your yard/house to the garbage truck they have set up in the neighborhood. We took a big load over with yard stuff. We even took a load of Chris' yard stuff.

Then we went for a hike. (We couldn't have daddy working the whole weekend.) We went to Lair O' the Bear for a nice hike. Afterward, Curt grilled up steak. His favorite grilling food.

Today we went for a bike ride in Waterton Canyon. Luck was on our side and the wind pushed us up the canyon. We had to fight the wind going back down, but at least it was downhill.

We got dad some presents, too. He wanted some stuff for the computer. I'm not really sure what he ordered. We got him some new socks and a tie, too. He lost his one good tie and the other one is a throwback to the 70's. So now Dad is all set up to look nice, but has no where to go.

UNBELIEVABLE!!!

I need to interrupt my blogging about our vacation with this special announcement. Jenelle has learned to ride a bike! We are throwing the training wheels away. Chris was taking Zack out to practice today and she invited us to come along. I thought it would help Jenelle to see Zack trying at the same time.

We went to the park where they have a nice little grassy hill. Zack hopped on his bike and took off. No problem. Each time he went faster and farther.

Jenelle's confidence was really low. She was really scared. Before we left the house she was lying on the couch with big tears in her eyes telling me she didn't want to go. We prayed about it.

She tried Zack's bike out first because it was the smallest. Curt ran with her on the pavement around the park so she could get a feel for it. Jenelle was very tentative and frustrated with that so we switched to riding on the grassy hill without the pedals. She just coasted down the hill trying to find her balance. She did great. After trying that out we put the pedals on. She cruised down the hill pedaling her feet. Each time she went a little farther.

She even tried riding on the pavement and made it halfway around the park by herself. She needs work on getting going by herself and dismounting, but we'll practice that next time. We even got out the bigger pink bike and she was able to ride that. We took Zack out on the pavement, but he was too nervous and couldn't keep his balance.

I'm so excited for Jenelle. Last year when we were practicing, Jenelle really struggled. She was always in tears. We decided to give it a rest. We bought her a 2 wheeled scooter and I think that helped. She was able to scooter around and find her balance on a less threatening 2 wheeled vehicle.

We went to Dairy Queen afterward to celebrate.

Food on vacation.

One of the things I love best about vacation is the food. I think everything tastes better if you don't have to cook it or clean it.

Everything was so fresh. We ate gobs of fruit everyday. I overdosed on guacamole and jicama. Each night the buffet was a different theme. We ate in Joel's section a lot. He was our favorite busboy. He made Jenelle a mouse out of a napkin one night. In the picture he made her a béret on French night. He made her a snail out of a swivel stick on another night. I think Jenelle had a little crush on him. She kept smiling at him. One night we left the camera on the table. Joel tracked us down in the lobby to return it. Great guy. I miss him cleaning for me already.

Jenelle had ice cream every day on vacation. They had so many yummy flavors. It was our vacation special treat. I took her to the doctor last Thursday for a physical for camp. The girl weighed 51lbs. Now that's a lot of ice cream!

Hola!

We're back from Mexico. We had the best trip. It was our typical vacation. A lot of beach time. A lot of fun in the water.

It was a long travel day. We arrived to pouring rain. It rained all night long, but we woke up to a beautiful morning. After breakfast we went straight to the beach. Curt and Jenelle made lots of sand castles this year. They tried something new this year. They made a mermaid one day. She was lots of fun and had many admirers throughout the day. Someone put sunglasses on her and a drink in her hand. The next day they made a crocodile eating a mermaid.

Jenelle seemed to prefer the pool to the ocean again this year. We took her out to the snorkeling spot and she was so nervous. We were way out there and she thought we were going to be pulled out to sea. She did get to see some fish. Again the snorkeling was just amazing. I have my own equipment so it makes it so easy. I don't have to fiddle and try to adjust a new mask every time. I took pictures with an underwater camera. I hope they turn out.

Ready for summer!

There are only 7 more days of school. We are counting them down. Even though I'm not the student, mom is ready to be done. I don't want to fill out any more reading logs! I don't want to be rushing out the door every morning so we're not late! I'm ready to sleep in a little and eat breakfast in my pajamas.

We have been struggling to get to school on time again. I have to monitor Jenelle's every move in the morning. I'll tell her to get dressed. She'll go in her room and play. I'll say come down for breakfast. She'll come down and start jumping rope. I'll say get your shoes on. She'll walk over to her shoes, but then get distracted by something. It's driving me crazy! I would let her be late and get in trouble at school, but most of the time this happens on mornings when I need to be at work at 8am.

I'm sure you'll be reading a post in June about how I can't wait for school to start again. :)

Moaning and Groaning

I mentioned in a previous post how Jenelle is doing a lot of complaining lately. Yesterday we had a play date with Eme. My very wise neighbor, Jen, gave me lots of good advice on how to handle an ungrateful heart.

I had my first opportunity this morning. We were having pancakes for breakfast. Jenelle made a big face and complained about it then walked away to play. I told Curt not to make her a pancake. Jenelle could fend for herself. Curt and I were eating breakfast when Jenelle walked back in and said, "Where is my pancake?"

Mom: I didn't make you one.
Jenelle: But I wanted a pancake!
Mom: You complained about having pancakes. You can make your own breakfast.
Jenelle: (while sobbing and crying) I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I want pancakes.
Mom: You can have cereal or something.

Jenelle huffed and puffed about it, but she got everything to make her own breakfast. She even climbed on the counter to get the bowl (which she was uncomfortable with). She cut up her own banana. She was so unhappy about having to make her own breakfast. I had to turn away so she wouldn't see me smiling/laughing. I'm not trying to be a mean mom. I'm just trying to build character traits of contentment and thankfulness. These are things I'm working on as well. I've been grumbling a little too much myself lately.

I think we're going to have pancakes tomorrow. I have a feeling that she'll be happy about it.

Egg Hunt

We took Jenelle on her first egg hunt today. We haven't done them in the past because the weather was either too bad or we didn't want gobs of candy in the house. We went to the egg hunt at Ken Caryl church. They provided breakfast. They had a petting zoo, face painting, a bouncy house and of course the egg hunt.

I thought Jenelle got quite a few eggs, but I think she was disappointed that her entire bag wasn't full. Jenelle has been on a complaining streak lately and it's really frustrating me. Anyone have ideas on how to make kids appreciative for what they have instead of complaining about what they don't have?

Most of her eggs were full of stickers, tattoos and other small toys. She got a little candy, too. We had a great time and we'll be heading back there next year.

Spring Break

I think we had the faster spring break on record. Tomorrow is Easter! Where did the week go.

Jenelle's spring break was full of play dates. On Monday she played with Zack. They collected more beedees at the park. They jumped on the trampoline and had a great time.

Tuesday Jenelle went with me to work. I took the kids to the park. Jenelle and Andrew climbed trees the whole time. Jenelle usually stays close to the ground when climbing trees because she is "afraid of heights". She must have been feeling brave because she went up a few branches. I spent my time at the park making sure Elyna didn't hurt herself.

Wednesday we spent another fun day at the park with friends. It was a little chilly that day.

Thursday we were back at Andrew's. The kids did an egg hunt. They played this game for about an hour. The hiding spots became very tricky and we ended up not finding all the eggs. I'm sure they will surface soon.

Thursday night Jenelle has a sleepover at Eme's. Curt and I had a date night. We saw the Valentine's day movie and went out to dinner.

Friday we saw The Tooth Fairy. Jenelle loved that movie. She put wings on one of her Webkinz and has been playing "tooth fairy" at home. Jenelle is counting down the weeks until summer vacation.

Spring is almost here. Or is it still winter?

Saturday was a beautiful day until the phone rang at 7:30am. The weekends are my time to catch up on my beauty sleep. I usually don't roll out of bed until 8:30 or 9:00am. Some of my friend's children will sleep in, but Jenelle is an early riser even on weekends. Luckily, I have an awesome husband who lets me sleep in. Anyway, back to the phone call. Chris got into an accident while heading up to go ski. Curt drove to Idaho Springs to pick them up. We had Zack over for a playdate so Chris could get her rental car and take care of other stuff.

The kids went outside to play on the trampoline, but quickly came back in complaining of bees. Are the bees out already? I don't know, but it was 60 degrees. I wanted those kids to play outside. So I took them across the street to the park. For years now Jenelle has loved that park. One of her favorite activities is to look for BB's there. Older kids in the neighborhood come to the park to shoot their BB guns. The BB's are these colorful little balls. Jenelle and Zack spent a good 45 minutes just walking around the park picking up the BB's. They shouted out every color they collected. "RED", "GREEN", "ORANGE". Occasionally someone would shout out "PINK" and then I'd hear a "NO FAIR". They had to have equal colors. They must have collected close to 100 BB's each. Jenelle keeps all her BB's in a jar in her room.

I was able to get them to play on the equipment eventually. It was just a gorgeous day. On Sunday it was cold and snowy. Today is cloudy and dreary. Ugh! I'm so ready for spring!

Jenelle's many friends

Growing up I had a zillion stuffed animals. I think I slept with 40 animals in my bed at night. (It's probably why I'm so allergic to dust today.) I treated my animals like they were real. I gave them baths. I made them talk. I cried when I lost one of them. Well, Jenelle seems to have that same attachment to her animal friends.

She has lots of WebKinz, a few Build-a-Bears and many other friends. She sleeps with them all in her bed. She rotates who she cuddles with each night. On occasion she has come into our room at night upset that she can't find one of her friends. So Curt or I will have to get up and locate the stuffed animal. They are usually found buried way underneath the covers.

She often arranges her friends. They have been arranged by two's, three's, seasons and talents. Sometimes I find them in odd ways. One was on a bucket. Apparently, the bucket is a bunk bed.

She bought a unicorn at the school garage sale yesterday. She introduced the unicorn to all the other stuffed animals. Some of the animals get quite mangy. They do get baths every so often in the washing machine.

Once we took the frog to Starbucks for story time. She forgot him there. Well she remembered him right at bedtime. Oh the tears! Luckily for her, my friend Angie was in the Starbucks area and picked him up for her. Maxie smelled like coffee. It's all very cute and I'm going to be a little sad when she outgrows this stage.

Happy New Year

It's been a long time since I've posted to the blog. I started working and my free time has been cut short. When I have free time, I'm running errands, cleaning or relaxing. It has been a big adjustment for me. I haven't worked in years and years. I thought I was organized before. I'm not. I feel like we're always on the run now. In the morning I'm rushing Jenelle out the door so I won't be late for work. When I get home, I'm rushing to get dinner going and then school stuff ready for the next day. I hope this is going to get easier with time. I've been neglecting the blog. Sorry.

I'm glad January is over. It's my least favorite month of the year. Jenelle got a keyboard for Christmas and she enjoys playing around with it. We started piano lessons in January. We are taking lessons from another 1st grade mom. We are taking lessons every other week so there isn't a lot of pressure to practice every day. I don't know anything about music. I never had lessons with any kind of instrument. I sit and watch during Jenelle's lessons. I'm learning all about notes: quarter notes, half notes, etc. It's a lot of fun. I hope Jenelle sticks with it.

We also started swim lessons. Jenelle will not be wearing floaties in the pool this summer. She is making a lot of progress. We decided to do private lessons because group lessons seemed to be a waste of time. I will say swim lessons in the middle of winter is a huge pain. We have to shower and blow dry after each time. Her skin is getting dry, too. She came up to me one day and said, "My butt hurts." I slathered her up with lotion which only made it more uncomfortable. Poor thing.