December 12th aka 12-12-12

Lotsa hoopla today over 12-12-12, and even 12:12 on 12-12-12.

Yes, I took a picture at 12:12. Merek and I on the couch. Nothing too exciting.

I did not want to get out of bed this morning. Even the thoughts of just lying in bed and letting the kids fend for themselves before school crossed my mind. They would totally do it, too. If they knew I wasn't feeling well, they would take care of things. Got to love that about my kids.

But after driving Miranda to Jazz Band at 6:15am, I decided to try to get some things done . . . and ended up looking through the ads from the Sunday paper (Miranda needed it for Social Studies the other day). Bird was up by 6:50 and the other two boys were not far behind. Bird told me this morning he wants to read the Bible. Great, let's do it, I said.

The kids had muffins for breakfast again. Except Merek wanted Cheerios. Fine. They practiced their recital songs and got ready for school. Lina said she wasn't feeling very well. Her forehead was a little warm but not feverish so I said she had to go to school. I made lunches. I really need to go to the grocery store. Thankfully, our produce box delivery was today. So we are stocked on fruits and veggies for a few days. But eggs--none. Snacks--other than popcorn and graham crackers, none. Tonight I made Taco Soup. I had most of the ingredients in the cupboard but had to stop by the store and run in quickly to grab some meat, taco seasoning, Fritos (YUM!), and chili to add to the soup already simmering on the stove while I went to pick up Krish from his Cub Scout den meeting. They learned to tie different kinds of knots. His den leader told me he rocked the knots. She said he got them all on his first try! He demonstrated them to me when we got home. He really did a good job and taught me a new knot or two!

This morning after the kids got on the bus I had a chiropractor appointment. Officially upgraded to once a week visits. My neck and back are responding well to treatments. Hooray! Then Merek and I went to the Y. As we walk down to the kids' place he loves to watch the exercise classes going on in the rooms. This morning there was a cardio strength class in the MP room and a Zumba class in the gym. I've noticed the Zumba classes are running low on attendance and wonder if that is because Heather is not teaching this month. She is a great teacher and goes about Mach-12 on energy level. I walked on the treadmill and read the rest of my BYU magazine. What a great mag! Two 65-minute sessions on the treadmill is what it took me to read cover to cover, and I was skimming some parts. Full of awesome content. One of the articles I read today was about using Social Media for good in our lives. Using it effectively and efficiently and not letting it consume us.

Merek wanted mac-n-cheese for lunch again today. Ugh, that was a mistake to buy at the store. I tried to get him to eat his leftover pizza from dinner last night, but NO. He had a banana, too. Then he was off to preschool, and I went to the ACE hardware store to try to find a hot-drink dispenser for my recital. They had a 30-cup coffee brewing container, and we thought it might work. But at the cash register the cashier had doubts. So we read the instructional guide and it said not to add in liquids other than hot water. So I didn't buy it. But I did get replacements for the broken lightswitch and toilet-handle that have been needing to get replaced for, like, ever.

When I got back home I looked up dispenser on the internet but they were all about the same thing as at the ACE store. I read the reviews and most said it worked well with hot water but hot cocoa left a sediment at the bottom. And so I decided not to order one since I'll be putting wassail in it. I think I'll just have my crockpot there with a ladel. Not pretty or professional, but whatever.

I had four piano lessons to teach today. They made me even more excited for the recital. The songs sound great! It will be so much fun on Saturday.

Bird had a violin lesson tonight. It was his last one until January. His teacher goes home to South Dakota for the holiday break. He did really well on the songs he had been practicing this week. I told his teacher how much he enjoyed the Christmas songs.

Brad came home a little earlier than usual from work, not feeling well. He seems to have a fever and may stay home from work tomorrow if he still isn't feeling well.

I washed four loads of laundry today. A few years ago, I cleaned out my closet and the kids' closets. Each person got to keep 10 days worth of clothing. Everything else was donated. It was fabulous. We need to do that again. Sometimes I feel like the laundry baskets are overflowing at the same time the drawers and closets are overflowing. I'm so thankful for all that we have--we just need to figure out what we really need and wear versus what gets passed over time and again.

Miranda baked cookies this afternoon. Apparently, she has to take them into her Health class (??) next week and talk about their nutritional value. She doubled the batch so we could have some for the recital on Saturday (that is what used up all my eggs). We put them in the freezer so they will still be fresh next week. She is a good baker. Skills she learned from her mother, who learned them from her mother :)

The kids got to watch Prep and Landing (again!) tonight. They are looking forward to see if the Elf brings another note from Santa tomorrow. This morning Santa had sent a sign (one of those box signs) that reads "Have Yourself  A Merry Little Christmas". He said it was mainly for me. What a nice Santa!

Bird brought home a glass ornament today that he made at school. It is a Christmas gift for Brad and me. Inside of the ornament are some wishes that Bird wrote down. Here they are:

1. I wish we had a million dollars.
2. I wish my little brother would get better.
3. I wish we would live forever.
4. I wish that we would be safe.
5. I wish that we would have happiness always.
--At this point, I was thinking "my goodness, what a sweet list of wishes!" and then . . .

6. I wish that we wouldn't run out of ketchup.

I laughed out loud. Love that!