#Hearties

I woke up at 5 a.m. And showered and got ready and read my scriptures before going in Abby's room at 6 to watch the last episode of When Calls the Heart. I laid on her bed and put the phone above us in the bunk bed frame. We went through a lot of tissues.

💕You know you're a #hearties fan when you wake before the sun and watch the finale before school.💕

At 10 a.m. we went to Storytime.

She picked a green scarf. It's her favorite color. 💚 Zoom zoom!  @ Maidu Public Library

I always find writing around the house. This pile was on my desk. ...

✏️ Adventures of Milly. 💭 Someone left an unfinished "book" on my desk. ❤️ the drawings and creativity. Wonder if Jane will add more or finish it. 😊

Rudolph Letter in Song

In case you can't "sing" our Christmas letter, here's Abby singing it...

She was very excited to see it posted at Grandma's house! I caught her on video singing it.

Yes, I'll build a snowman

The trip to Walmart after breakfast wasn't so bad, even when we got there and learned Emma had slippers on her feet instead of shoes (I forgot to check if all kids had shoes again after the ordeal with Jane using the potty), which just earned Emma a spot in the shopping cart to be guard over our 6 gallons of milk, cleaning wipes for tonight, produce, syrup, granola bars and frozen lunches and desserts for Ross. Kids were behaved enough that I could still talk to Grandma on the phone as we shopped and I didn't have to pull out the animal crackers until the check-out line.

After putting a load of laundry away and having lunch we did another "Frozen" activity. I sang, "Do you want to build a snowman? I've got marshmallows and toothpicks. I'll give you a plate of them and let you build whatever you want..."

This is what they came up with--

Allen: "marshmallows on the cob" and "five-story house"
Abby: "Elsa" (but I thought it was the snow monster in the beginning)
Jane: "snow spider"
Emma: she said she built a tree (but she actually left after a few minutes--even marshmallows didn't interest her today).
Jill: sampled a few and is now enjoying a rest in her bed.

And then after I went up to check on the girls during quiet time I found three on Abby's bed, at "Abby's library", enjoying books together. Meanwhile Jill was asleep in Abby's walk in closet.

Downstairs I had the World Cup game on and Allen was sampling his "snow house" after experimenting with putting it in the microwave. I've got a pile of ironing to do, a list of new indexing batches on my screen, and a bowl with soft butter to start cookies.

Tonight Allen does not have scouts (because leaders have changed), but I have Young Women. The beehives are cleaning nursery toys, putting together a babysitting booklet (with safety, songs, games and tips) and enjoy milk and cookies at the end.

Music, Books, Blue Shirt and Lab

Lots of music yesterday. One time when I changed Emma I asked her to sing me a song. She sang: "A sunbeam. A sunbeam". After that I changed Jane and asked her to sing to me. I couldn't understand the words she was using but the tune sounded like Reverently Quietly. As we drove Abby to tap class she sang me the song with all the names of the 44 presidents (to the tune of 10 Little Indians) she had learned in first grade. Then Allen sang me a song about the continents to the tune of Found a Peanut. I even saw Jill rocking her arms out to Funkytown, blaring on the car's speakers as we drove home from class. These kids are like me. They like music.

Last night I felt cool. I was invited to the "elite" book group in the ward. They met at the mall's food court. I had never been to the mall yet so I was online looking at the map, trying to decide which side to park on and what department store was closest. It ended up being really fun. There were seven ladies I joined and I might have been that younger, breath-of-fresh air because I think most of them have never lived anywhere but the Sacramento area. They were funny asking me questions about myself, making sure they pried about what political party I rooted for. I had to keep my mouth shut when they were talking about the "Mr. Darcy" main character, Philip, in a too-good-to-be true sort of way, just because I didn't want to brag that my husband was a lot like him, when others didn't compliment their spouses the best. And thanks to Ross who has let me go to evening events three nights in a row this week. Tonight is his night out. He's doing a moot court at a local college and gets to be one of the 6 mock judges and even wear a robe. I told him to take a picture.

When I left the group last night I went to Walmart. Two guys came close and I realized they were talking to me as they passed on the aisle. One told me, "From back there I thought you were a Walmart worker because of your blue shirt." I looked down at my navy shirt and khaki pants. They were right. It made me laugh.

Going to the lab soon for bloodwork which reminds me a routine doctor visit is just around the corner. Wish me luck as I take three girls with me. The waiting area is about to get exciting.

(Update written 2 hours later--The lab wait was 50 minutes and the girls were perfect. There was a talk show on with a BIG snake. Jane said she was the host with the high heels and dress. Emma said she was the snake. I laughed so hard!)

2013 Christmas Letter

The Tucker Family Has Moved Into Town

(Sing to the Tune of “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town”)

♫ “You better not whine, you better not cry

You better not pout, it’s hurting my ears.”

The Tucker family has moved into town.

They arrived in August, leaving BIG things (in Texas)

Andrea blogs daily and frequently sings.

Ross, the commuter, likes listening to podcasts.

Allen’s fond of scouts, Harry Potter, and his friend Gregory.

Abby loves to draw and write and read lots of stories.

Jane likes puzzles and wants dresses everyday.

Emma likes animals, cars, and mischief, “It’s okay.”

Jill’s a happy, toothy baby.

We like California! ♫

 Have a very Merry Christmas! We hope you enjoy the time of year meant to celebrate the birth of our Savior. We are thankful for Him and the influence He plays in our life. We are grateful Heavenly Father gave us the gift of His Son that we might know how to pattern our life, and through the power of the Atonement, return to Him someday.

Love,

Ross, Andrea, Allen, Abby, Jane, Emma, & Jill

************************************************

     Two BIG changes for our family this year:     

A new baby & moving to Sacramento, California for a new job

Ross ran two marathons in 2013 and started his two-year clerkship with Judge Callahan of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Andrea attracts attention when she leaves home with the triple stroller. She teaches piano and loves the staircase in their new rental home. Check out her daily posts on the family blog – tuckertidbits.blogspot.com.

Allen (8) is in third grade and was baptized in May. He loves comics, especially Calvin and Hobbes, and named his stuffed frog Hobbes. He was Frankenstein for Halloween.

Abby (6) likes first grade. She’s fond of her stuffed animals and her bus-stop friend and enjoys spending time decorating her room. She likes to help with Baby Jill and sing, very fitting for her Ariel Halloween costume.

Jane (3) is the washcloth queen and normally has three helpings at breakfast. She’s a talker, frequently telling people she dressed as Tinker Bell and went trick-or-treating. She also says cute things like, “Thank you for coming. You can come again,” after our weekly music group, where she sits and sings every song.

Emma (3) is a tomboy with a contagious giggle. She likes hanging out in Allen’s room and playing catch, and she was a frog for Halloween. Emma sleeps on the top bunk and likes company. Baby Jill is her favorite toy.

Jill (9 months) is our “Pot of Gold”, both being born on St. Patrick’s Day and having a happy, easy-going temperament. She is starting to crawl, has five teeth, and her babbles make us smile. 

Musical Fish

Day #16: I'm thankful for music. It's fun. Its power builds connections for our minds. And it's energizing, keeping us going when it's late and we are tired. Last night I especially liked Ross's picks on Spotify, an acapella group doing some cool things with guest artists. I'm especially loving my Pete's Dragon soundtrack out in the van. The first few lines to the song, Brazzle-dazzle Day, are ones I can relate to--

It's a brazzle dazzle day

So throw off the past and everything in it

That's the brazzle dazzle way

Enjoying your time from minute to minute

This morning we went to the Nimbus Fish Hatchery. It was hard to find a parking spot, as we've found out it's a happening place for fish-fans, bikers and runners. We circled the parking lot over and over and finally made our own spot after we saw people doing it our 5th and 6th loop. The hatchery was much bigger than we thought and halfway through we regretted not grabbing the triple stroller. We walked through the visitor center, near ponds, next to the dam and American River (and saw jumping fish!), and fed fish too. We all had a great time. At dinnertime when it was time to play "Tell Me About Your Day", Emma reported that a fish splashed her and she said it with a giggle.

The giant "fish eggs" in the visitor center. 

A cool dam and bridge.

Allen got kind of cold.
He's wearing my BYU jacket.

Looked down at the fish.

It's dark and hard to see, but FULL of fish.

Emma tripped and fell.
She was happy when Ross put her up high, above Jill.

Jane was so excited to be there.
She was bummed when we turned back last week because of the crown lined up to get into the parking lot.

I had a handful of food and would portion it out to the kids.

The kids had different fish-feeding techniques.
Jane dropped the pellets in one at a time.
Allen lined them up in front of him and flicked them in with his finger.

Halloween's Coming!

Halloween is getting closer. Still work to do on costumes (Ross has agreed to be a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle--Donatello with the rod weapon) and would like to make a pumpkin cake for Sunday dinner. Here is a picture of our decorations and books when they were first officially displayed the first week of the month.

Other Tidbits:

I had hoped getting up early with Ross and I could get ahead of things (like type up quotes and handouts for Sunday's lesson), but when did the two little girls wake up? Close to 6am. What was my lesson on again?? Oh, yeah, patience.

Yesterday I called about my license and talked to two different people. No one seems to know exactly what is going on. I made an appointment to go into the DMV but their first opening was more than a week away.

It's fun to sing all the holiday songs and do all the fingerplays this month. We know several. Sometimes I'll sing them to Jane and Emma in the dark when they are going to bed.

Abby is going on a fieldtrip (Eco Star) this morning.

Allen is excited to wear his new red zip-up jacket today (it's cold for the kids in the morning when they walk to the bus) and pick up Gregory after school to play.

Jill tried bananas for the first time last night. She was not impressed.

It's date night and I'm in charge--Whoppers, one dance, and one game.

Hanging out downstairs in the toy room with Jane and Emma, trying to keep peace between them and letting them play away from their other still-sleeping siblings.

The Spinning Song

This morning when I looked in Jill's bed she was turned 180 degrees. Then as I got ready for the day I noticed that using her legs she was able to spin another 90 degrees. It was interesting to watch. I would like to dedicate the "Spinning Song" to her today. I might have to fill in some lyrics and make it a song of her own.

This morning I am taking all three girls over to Leslie Owen's house while I go get a filling re-done at the dentist office.

Tonight Allen and Abby have their final basketball class.

Outing With Grandpa

We went to visit Ross at work today. Jill got to meet everyone for the first time. (Judge Boyle held Jill and she made a peep, which the judge said, "she just said, 'hi Judge Boyle.") And everybody got a chance to meet our triple stroller. That monster piece of equipment sure is a conversation starter. We heard lots of comments at the softball game on Saturday and even in the elevator today.

L to R: Rod, Brennan, Grandpa Tucker, Jane, Andrea holding  Jill, Emma, Ross, Judge Boyle and Amber.

We left and got some street tacos for lunch. While we ate we could see the Texas longhorn at the Fuel City Ranch. Ross and his dad stayed downtown and went to the Perot museum while I came home with the girls, who fell asleep in the car. We got to our neighborhood at about 2:10pm and instead of going home, I pulled into the shade and left the car and AC running. Since we load up to go pick the kids up at school at 3pm I didn't see the point of pulling them out to put them back in again. While they slept I chatted on the phone and worked on a sewing project. Emma woke up about 2:30pm and I started a little movie so Jane could sleep a little longer. We drove over to school about 2:40 and I was still the sixth car in the pick-up line.

With all the kids home we did piano and straightened the house and visited. We had peanuts for a snack and I taught the kids the "Found a Peanut" song. I can't remember how our family ended it though. It has several silly verses. It was one of the many songs we would sing on long car rides growing up. Allen and Abby caught on quick to the pattern and started singing the verses on their own.

When the Ross and his dad got home we had Family Home Evening. I taught the lesson about faith, referring to the 4th Article of Faith, and showed the video below (click on it to see it) about a mother's faith and hope. (After watching it I thought of myself and Ross being in charge of many little ones and moving to a new place soon and not really knowing how things will end up, but, like the movie, having faith that the Lord will take care of us and guide our path, helping us overcome the fear of the unknown.) It was cute to hear Allen say the family prayer and ask Heavenly Father to help us remember to pray and have hope when we are scared.



After a few rousing games of Hide-and-Seek we had some dinner, scriptures and dessert and then Ross took the older two to basketball class. Before they left we got some pictures with Grandpa. He leaves tomorrow.

Edenbrooke

• Last night I finished a wonderful book, Edenbrooke, and it only took me a day because I couldn't put it down. It takes place in the Regency era (think Jane Austen) and has a moving, romantic plot. I found many similarities between the courtship Ross and I shared compared to the main characters which is probably why I liked it so much. Also, another interesting thing about how I got this book... I've been reading good reviews about it through Deseret Book so I finally put an inter-library load request for the book through my library to see if I could get it without buying it myself. (Inter-library loans are not the same as putting a book on hold. Our city has one library, no branches or anything. If you want something they don't own, they will try to track it down for you, send it and then once you get it, you can't really renew it.) Inter-library loans can take a month to come, and sometimes they aren't fulfilled because the library can't find a lender to send the book you requested. But when it does work, it's awesome. I've gotten books sent to me from different parts of Texas, Michigan, Oklahoma, Colorado, Ohio... it's cool. Anyway, the last three loans I have put in, my library has not been able to find a lender, but ended up buying the book themselves. So three books I requested and they bought them for me. They must trust my taste. I feel loved. My library is awesome!
• I enjoyed watched the debate last night. I was working on wording to my cross-stitch. That project is coming along.
• Piano lessons are cancelled for today, but a trip to Walmart is in order and Abby has softball practice tonight.
• Seeing Jane sing the "hooray" verse of "If You're Happy and You Know It" is absolutely adorable. Emma is starting to catch on too.
• I just heard a big BOOM! and jumped. Sounds like they just blew up the last tower of the power plant near us.

Nine years ago today

• Nine years ago from today Ross and I went out on our first date. We saw the Utah Symphony in concert. I remember feeling totally comfortable and enjoying our conversation. When Ross walked me home I remember his reference to the awkwardness of dating and how Adam and Eve were lucky they didn't have to date.
• I created a profile on Mormon.org a long time ago. Profiles are reviewed before they go online and I don't ever remember hearing when my file went live. Yesterday I found myself at this link.
• Lots of plans this week, but it will be much smoother than the last three. Hooray!
• Ross is running a 30K race on Saturday.
• Our family went on a walk yesterday afternoon. Gotta love when weather finally cools down and you can enjoy a nice pleasant walk in 70 degree weather in November. Of course, we had a few days in the 50s last week. It just got a little warmer today.
• It was really fun playing in the toy room as a whole family. I think we should do that every Sunday.
• Allen and Abby haven't eaten much Halloween candy. It's really not off limits. It's in a bag, hanging in their closets and they can have it whenever they want. However, they never really think about it. So far my plan of "not making candy a huge deal" is working. With some kids if you limit or enforce, it makes their cravings worse and Mommy the bad guy. I love not being the bad guy.
• This morning while eating muffins I sang all the verses of She'll Be Comin' Around the Mountain, did all the actions, and added the "Hi Jane!" part after one of the verse that says: we will all go out to meet her when she comes... (Thanks to my mom for singing that to me when we were little. I know lots of songs from my mother.) Then I needed a song for Emma's name. The catchy tune of Tequila came to mind and Emma's name became the filler word. Allen and Abby thought it was funny.
• Ross had quite the time yesterday in Priesthood meeting. He said that Jane was trying to go down the stage steps head first and Emma was trying to go under the curtain, not knowing about the big drop off. Both babies were safe and spent a little time in the hall. In fact, while I was teaching a song I saw Ross's handsome, smiling face in the doorway.
• Today after school we'll work on Allen's thankful plate project.
• I get to teach Family Home Evening tonight. We are going to watch this Mormon Message video, talk about what we are thankful for and make more "Thankful Hands" to add to our wall. We started that tradition in 2006 and it's fun to see all the different colored hands with different things written on the fingers.

I've still got it!

I've still got it! Even though babies are almost 9 months and weigh between 17-20 lbs each, I can still hold them both while bottle-feeding them. Click here or here to rewind history and see how small they once were during dual feedings.

Emma's in my arms and Jane is being "hugged" by my bent leg.
Abby was good to take our picture.

• Right after dinner last night Allen said, "I've got an idea!! Let's have Family Home Evening every night." I guess he likes it.
• Abby is such a sweetheart. She'll snuggle with you, tell you she loves you, speak in her little soft voice... she's adorable. She told me that a substitute teacher at church called her "Abigail", a name that we purposefully did not name her. When I told her to respond with, "my name is just Abby or Abby Sue," she said, "But I'm shy."
• Jane had fun playing peek-a-boo with Daddy once we got home from work.
• Emma was a sleepyhead yesterday. She slept from 5pm-7:30am and had a morning nap and afternoon nap. Each time it was time to move on with our schedule (after naps), she was asleep and I had to wake her up. She's a really good sleeper!
• I made up a song to the tune of William Tell Overture with my three girls' nicknames. I threw Allen's name in there too. It goes... (and you have to hum it in your mind -- it's the horse-riding song -- if you click on the link above you'll have to fast forward until after 3 minutes to hear the part I'm referring to)... like this:
• Abby Sue, Abby Sue, Abby Sue, Abby Sue (actual name)
• Jane Lou, Jane Lou, Jane Lou, Jane Lou (Jane Louisa)
• Emma Ru, Emma Ru, Emma Ru, Ru, Ru (Emma Ruth)
• Allen, is the brother of all.
• I really liked this article from the Meridian Magazine on parenting. It's such a good reminder! Click here to view.
• Last night Ross mowed the front lawn and then went for an hour jog. He rocks! Then later he caught a small lizard in our kitchen and brought it in to show me without any warning. I about jumped out of the chair. Yuck! No reptiles, please, especially in my face. Ewww!

spontaneous swimming

Afternoon on Memorial Day
The babies have onesies and shorts on

My nephew Hyrum is getting ready to go home
He is so cute. He likes to kick his legs and talk lots.

Jane found a "purse" and had the strap over her arm.
I looked down to see her crawling around with it.

I love the color yellow. It's fun that Emma is wearing it today.
The babies like the play with the office chairs.

Jane and Emma both have two "toofers" on the bottom that just broke through the gums. Yay!
You can kind of see them in Emma's mouth

Other tidbits:

• Yesterday after picked up Allen at school, we met some friends at their pool and went swimming. I brought floaties and an inflatable ring for both Allen and Abby and, for the first time, they figured out how to "swim" around the pool without help. They are excited for swimming lessons which start next week. How did the babies respond?? Jane loved having her feet in the water and kept leaning forward to touch the water. I finally put her in the shallow end with me. She loved it! Emma got her legs in, cried, and then when we tried again she laughed a little. But that was enough for her. Not a big swimming fan that day. And even though I washed her head twice with shampoo, it still smells like sunscreen.
• Lately the kids like taking showers instead of baths. They are getting more independent at washing themselves, drying off and getting dressed after (which is nice because usually I'm bathing or taking care of the twins).
• Tonight is Allen's last baseball game (which was rescheduled three times due to many rainstorms). There will be a team party after.
• The kids have been singing selections from Sound of Music and Moosebutter. We have been listening to the cd's in the car. It's funny to hear Abby sing, "I am sixteen going on seventeen" or Allen to sing "Do-re-mi" or hear Ross sing about Captain Organic Vegetable Man at the dinner table and see the kids eyes light up.
• We have a game at the dinner table that we try to do daily. We go around the table starting with the youngest and they tell the family something about the day. Then the family listens and responds with a "hooray! or awww". It's a good way to start conversation and give the kids a chance to review their day in their minds. It's interesting what they come up with to share.
• Jane is starting to crawl. She'll tuck her little knees under herself and rock, trying to move forward. She can inch a little and used to do lots of inching backwards, pushing her legs while lying on her back.
• Today is Allen's last full day of Kindergarten (7:50am-3:05pm). Tomorrow is an early out day, plus a lunch picnic that the girls and I will attend.
• I enjoyed watching Forever Strong last night with Catherine S. while I typed up crock pot recipes.
• Since the laundry was all clean and put away yesterday, Abby is wearing her favorite shirt: one that has rainbow hearts. She always picks it out to wear the very next day once it's been washed, which is usually Thursday.
• It's another NBA Finals seasons and we can't watch it -- our rabbit ears don't pick up the station. Ross is a little disappointed, but it's not the first time we've missed games. I menioned we could get cable. He said it wasn't worth the money and that we didn't have time to watch it anyway.Yep, he's right. That's why we don't have it. Too much of other good things to do.

under the bed

• The babies are rolling all over and are trying to get their knees up under them. Emma get under the bed and enjoyed playing with the bed skirt.
• We had preschool this morning (ironic that it's overcast and rainy on a day we are talking about umbrellas) and sent home party invitations for Abby's birthday in 2 weeks.
• Abby wants her name to be Sally and she's had that request for about 2 weeks. She asks me to write "Sally" on her work.
• I just signed Allen and Abby up for swimming lessons in June. A 15-year-old boy in our ward is going to be teaching 30-minute lessons in their pool. It's going to be perfect set-up and about half the cost of city lessons.
• The kids love Tuesdays because they get to watch a movie while I teach piano lessons.
• Ross put in a new battery in our Camry and now it runs great!
• I'm eager to get back to the books I'm reading. I really like how my library has an inter-library loan system. (I have been requesting Deseret Book published stuff. It takes about 3 or 4 weeks to be sent if the request goes through. Sometimes the library doesn't always grant the requests depending on the number of copies they have. And you cannot renew things and so when I get them I just try to push through and get them read. Well, this time three inter-library loan books came so I've been preoccupied trying to work on reading those.) I'm enjoying it. I learned about Brigham Young's mom this morning in one of the books. In another book I learned that Hymn #263 Go Forth With Faith was written for a son's mission farewell. The son requested his parents not give advice or any praise about him in their talks. They decided to surprise him and write a song about missionary work that the ward choir would sing for the musical number. It became really popular and spread to other wards and other countries.
  
  

  

  Emma had fun playing just under the bed.

  
  
  

The party invitation.
Abby liked how we put balloons on them.

A song for mothers

Today's story time theme was "Happy Mother's Day!" The kids always leave the room with a sheet of poems/songs/stories and some kind of craft. I especially liked two of the songs on the sheet:

A Song For Mothers

(Sing to the tune of "My Bologna Has a First Name")

Oh, my mother has a special name.

It's M-O-M-M-Y

My mother has a special name.

It's M-O-M-M-Y!

Oh, I love to hug her every day.

And when I kiss her, I will say,

Mommy, mommy, I love you!

I L-O-V-E Y-O-U!

Mom Is A Special Lady

(Sing to the tune of "Itsy Bitsy Spider")

A Mom's a special lady,

So hug her every day

She gives you lots of food to eat

And takes you out to play.

Your mother reads you stories.

And buys you sneakers, too.

Aren't you happy that you have

A mommy who loves you?

• Allen took handmade flowers (out of tissues) to school today for Teacher Appreciation week
• Abby finished her last dance class. I'm excited to see the recital on Friday.
• Used my crock pot this morning for tonight's dinner: slow cooker western omelet. The kids can help make waffles right before we eat.
• The babies are so cute! Such different personalities. They were held, played with, fed and dressed in the library while Abby was in story time.
• Enjoying my book (or I should say books -- I'm reading about 5 at the moment -- and I have them in different rooms for convenience if you're curious to the amount) about southern Utah and read a nice chunk during Abby's dance class.
• Emma is much more calm during the Nebulizer treatment. What a snuggly girl! Ross held her for her morning treatment while I rounded up kids, got them moving along (dressed, fed, breakfast) and made Allen's lunch.
• Jane is a happy camper as long as her view isn't blocked and there are toys in sight. She'll make her way over to them. Yesterday I found a preschool visual aid (blue Scat the Cat) in her mouth. Whenever I go into wake her up (which I hate to do, but sometimes I have no choice) she's asleep on her tummy. She's my only child who sleeps on her tummy.
• Off to race the clock and see how much I can pick-up before we have to go pick up Allen.

made me think of a song

As we watched Allen walk into school from a distance and started walking back home, there was a line of cars at the stop sign. One of them had a license plate holder with the company, "Kokomo Auto World." It made me think of the Beach Boys song and the line, "Why don't we go down to Kokomo? We'll get there fast and then we'll take it slow. That's where we want to go. Way down to Kokomo." It reminded me that on Monday (Columbus Day), Allen has school off, Ross has work off and we are going to the Texas State Fair. Not really a "Kokomo" but I'll take a titch of "vacation" when I can. It will be fun to have an extra day as a family.

Then as Abby and I kept walking home I spotted a large spider climbing up a telephone pole. I couldn't help but sing "The Itsy Bitsy Spider climbed up the telephone pole". The spider wasn't actually on the pole. He had a strand of cobweb parallel to the pole and was climbing all the way to the top as you would climb up a rope. We stood and watched him for over 5 minutes as he wriggled and climbed pretty fast. Then as we left Abby said, "I had fun watching the spider." It's then that you realize how kids are entertained by aspects of nature and it's important to not rush and just let them observe and enjoy.

I have confidence

Sound of Music is one of my favorite movies. Today I was listening to the soundtrack in the car while we ran a few errands. I love the applicable messages from the songs: "Climb Every Mountain... til you find your dream," "my heart will be blessed with the sound of music and I'll sing once more," "I must have done something good...," and "I have confidence in me!" Here's an excerpt of my favorite one today:

Oh I must stop all these doubts

All these worries

If I don't i just know I'll turn back

I must dream of the things I am seeking

I am seeking the courage I lack

The courage to serve them with reliance

Face my mistakes without defiance

Show them I'm worthy

And while I show them

I'll show me! So!

Let them bring on all their problems

I'll do better than my best

I have confidence

They'll put me to the test

But I'll make them see

I have confidence in me

Somehow I will impress them

I will be firm but kind

And all those children

Heaven bless them

They will look up to me

And mind me

With each step I am more certain

Everything will turn out fine

I have confidence the world can all be mine

They'll have to agree I have confidence in me

***
My visiting teachers came by today. It seems that each year with either moving or just new yearly assignments given, I always am meeting new people through visiting teaching. I love it! We had a good visit and I love this month's message about the Proclamation to the World and a mother's role in the home. Day by day and year by year I have come to love and appreciate my role in God's plan even though sometimes it can be exhausting, thankless, tedious and overwhelming. I am amazed at how much trust He puts in me to raise his spirits sons and daughters and knowing that makes me want to parent with no regrets and 'have confidence in me!'

***
We picked up Allen at school today and stuck around at the playground for two hours so the kids could play. It's good for them to play outside and interact with others and each other. Allen and Abby are best friends! Some girls wouldn't play with Allen -- they gave me the strangest look when he asked if they wanted to play Star Wars or Chase. Then Abby came up and said, "Allen I'll play with you." Then I could hear the two of them telling each other the rules and laughing as they chased each other.

***
Dinner tonight was spaghetti. The sauce was a new crock pot recipe that I should make again. During dinner the kids were on a joke kick. Everything was based on the joke: "What time is it when an Elephant sits on your chair?" "Time to get a new chair." Abby was coming up with anything she could think of: "What time is it when (then fill in the blank with things like Elephant puts on pajamas, Elephant eats spaghetti, Elephant take out the trash)?" "Time to get (fill in the blank with "new pajamas, new spaghetti, new trash.)" The kids were a riot while we ate. After eating, we had quick scriptures, prayer, teeth and now they are in bed. Where's Ross? He came home, changed and left right away to help a family stain their fence and work on their house because they are trying to move soon.

The Line Song

Tonight at dinner Allen told us about art class and how they are talking about lines. Then he stood up and busted out singing and dancing the Line Song (which is to the tune of Frere Jacque):

Horizontal, horizontal

Side by side, side by side

Vertical goes up and down, vertical goes up and down

Diagonal leans, Diagonal leans.

lamb and lion

Today at preschool we learned about the letter "L" and practiced making the sound, we talked about the month of March and how sometimes it starts and ends "like a lamb or lion", we sang songs about the weather and farm animals, we read Barnyard Dance!, and made a lion (with yarn hair) and lamb (covered with soft cotton balls and mounted on a black traced hand) crafts-on-a-stick to take home.

Thanks to Ross's googling help last night I found a song about a lion. (I know a lot of songs, but didn't know one about a lion... so now I do.) Sing along in your head and you can learn one too. It goes to the tune of Three Blind Mice. The kids liked it.

I'm a lion, I'm a lion; Hear my roar, hear my roar; I love to sleep out in the sun; And chase other animals just for fun; And in the jungle I'm number one; I'm a lion.

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After a morning bath Abby let me do her hair and I tried putting a little gel in it. I love her curls! She has a new outfit and new hairdo for today! She's dressed for success.

Snowman Songs

• Anyone have a kid that won't eat carrots?? Allen is a super picky eater, but I finally got him to eat carrots. "How?," you ask. I remembered a poem I taught my Kindergarten class during the wintertime, and of course, you've got to do hand actions and fluctuate the sound of your voice.

A chubby little snowman had a carrot for a nose.

Along came a bunny and what do you suppose.

That hungry little bunny looking for some lunch

Ate that chubby snowman's nose

Nibble, nibble, crunch!

It's funny because I'll put a carrot on his plate and he won't touch it. Then I'll start this chant and he'll stick the carrot on his nose and eat it for the bunny at the end.

• Another song the kids love lately is "5 Little Snowman."

Five little snowman standing in a row

Each has a hat and a big red bow

Out came the sun and it shone all day

One little snowman melted away.

Four little snowman standing in a row...

**REPEAT until all snowman are melted :)

Again, actions, a dynamic voice, and props create great fun. Especially when you "melt" on the kids and tickle them before you start the next verse.

p.s. The ironic thing is that as I'm typing this post, I'm watching snow falling. Yesterday we played at the park and we got used to having weather in the 40s. I spoke too soon, I guess.