I've spent today babying a very sore back, and watching kids.  I did manage to make dinner--with the girls help.  We had baked potato bar.  MMM   The girls put the potatoes in, and I fried bacon.  We had butter, cheeze (pre-grated from Costco)  and Salsa to put on top.  A super cinchy meal, and one we all thoroughly appreciated, well except Kaylin, who doesn't much like dinner...unless its hot dogs.

I've had all kinds of random thoughts going through my head as I lay awake at night, and when I get up in the morning all my blogging topics have fled.  LOL

Baton continues to go well.  Zeria and Samuel's duet is looking marvelous.  Jamari is now developing a solo routine with the help of his coach, and she continues to sing his praises.   Kaylin really wants private lessons, but so far its not happening, time will tell. 

Tomorrow we are celebrating my mom's birthday.  The girls and I are taking her to see Disney Princess' on Ice.  My mom loves ice skating, and so we thought we'd do a major special treat.  I've never done anything like this before, so I'll have to see how it goes.  I don't believe camera's are allowed, but I hope to make great memories.  My mom's sister Thelma is visiting, so she will go with us, as well as two of my mom's three girls.  Its all the way to Seattle, so it will be a 'venture.

Jeremiah has begged for the last four days to "do" my finger nails and toe-nails.  So I finally let him.  He got done and points at one finger and says "That's sgusting (disgusting)"  I had to agree.  The price of mommy love ya know.  And tomorrow morning I have to go buy finger polish remover cause I am so NOT going to Seattle looking this way."  *giggles*

Jeremiah got his glasses today.  He did so well with wearing them.  He didn't touch them once to take them off, only to push them up on his nose when they were slipping.  And then he touched the glass and got them dirty, and immediately told me I needed to clean them.  After five or six times of this mommy got the little head band thingy I bought for him and put it on so it wouldn't slip, and then he just wore them. 

About three o'clock he came to me and said "Mommy, my glasses hu't my nose."  And after the appropriate sympathy he then informed me they were hurting his ears.   I was again sympathetic and picked him up to snuggle, and he fell asleep in my arms...glasses on the whole time.  He apparently was just tired.  LOL

Anyhow points up.  He's quite proud of those glasses and doing extremely well with them.  I didn't see his eyes cross once today--which I'm hoping means their really working.  The fact that he was willing to wear them, also probably means he really needed them.

Rainbug pulled some new pants out of the bottom of her drawer, that she'd nover warn.  Snagged Zeria's headband, put on some boots she inherited from a friend, and pulled off this outfit.  It was too cute, so I decided to take a picture on our way home from baton.  This was actually taken in the side of the parking lot.  She's giving her model pose.  It just makes me giggle all over when I look at it!

Flies through in the mad rush that has become my life. 

Jeremiah's glasses are in, and I can only pick them up all day, except between the hours of 12:30-1:30.  Of course its an forty-minutes from the glasses place to baton, and baton is as 2:15, so unfortunately that means I have to leave in the next half hour to get there before 12:30, and then have tons of time to kill.

Tis the way life works.

So we will invite ourselves to my mom's house, she only lives 3 blocks from the Dr's after all.  Actually I called to make sure it was okay, and she told me to drop the kids off before I go so I just have Jer with me.  I love that offer.  *giggles*

I did clean my closet out yesterday in the dark and scrapbooked, so at least my house is a bit cleaner even though we lived in the dark.  

Peers around.

So that's what the world looks like with electricity.  We had a terrible wind storm last night, and have been without power since some time in the middle of the night.

It came on about 30 minutes ago.

I'm soooo greatful to see it.

I had candles/lamps.  Although I admit after burning candles all day its time to restock at the Dollar Tree tomorrow.   But of course when your burning candles, kids can't be nearly as rambunctious as they think they should be allowed to.

So I finally drove down to the convenience store--which was being run by generators and purchased 8 C batterys.  This enabled us to run Zeria's cd player, and we wound down the evening by listening to Adventures in Odessey CD's that I had hidden away.  Made a good way to wind down, and I must remember that the next time the power decides to go visit someone else.

Other then that just a very quiet lazy day.

Yesterday I spent sicccccck!  Visited the toilet about every fifteen minutes.  Such a joy.  Rob came in after church and I slept for an hour and a half after he got home not even moving to acknowledge him.  Finally he came in and sat on the bed and asked me if we needed to go the ER.  I rolled over and asked him why--I was just using the toilet.  *snicker*

I slowly revivied from then on, and was ever so greatful when I was officially cleaned out, and ready to actually eat food again.

Pixie Dixie Rainee is next to the girl in the hot pink, and the boys are in the back

Start the commotion;  Zeria is on the far left

Lollipop;  Kaylin is in the front with the bright pink skirt

Jingle Bell Rock;  The four in the middle are mine.  LOL  Kaylin, Jamari, Sam, and Rainee

And Sleigh Ride.  Kaylin is on the left hand side. 

The performance went very well. Sleigh Ride was an extremely new routine, and Kaylin had slippery fingers.  The entrance of pixie dixie which is NOT shown bombed, which is why the coach was talking them through how to fix it. But in the end what they did was quite cute.

We performed at an Assisted Living Home to bring in some early Christmas cheer.  . 

Sometimes when your angry with someone it helps to sit down and think about the problem.

Got that in the email today.  Can't stop giggling!!!!

Anyhow whatever the wee things are, there's their first picture of them.  LOL  Black, White, Tan.  They come in three colors apparently.  And I liked having them by the mouse so you can see how truely small they are.

Okay, so Jamari and Samuel haven't gotten on terribly well for a long time.  I always just assumed chalk & cheeze.   And Samuel's a bully.

But there was something subtle going on that I was semi-aware of, but now and wholly aware of.  Jamari eggs it on.  He pokes Samuel, He calls him names under his breathe so I can't hear it.  He deliberately breaks, interupts, etc whatever Samuel is doing, and then cries wolf when Samuel decks him.  Now Samuel is not right in decking him--but I rather understand why he does. 

So, I've been observing that, and now we have a third piece to the puzzle.

Jeremiah.

Jeremiah is getting old enough that he's not the "baby" and he has to find his way through the family dynamics.  And he and Jamari don't get along either.  He and Samuel do--98% of the time.  Nobody's gonna get along all the time.  LOL

But he and Jamari oh my word.

So now I really believe, the problem is NOT Samuel, its Jamari.  LOL

And now that I know what the problem is, I can begin training Jamari and teaching him better ways of dealing.  Oh yeah, and more consequences.  As a result he owes me 45 minutes of work today.  15 minutes for each misbehavior in town yesterday. 

He eventually figured it out, and got along LOL.  

And no I don't do slave labor, I require him to do things like pick up the living room, errands for me, etc.   But I have recently discovered, that they HATE the job option, and it stops them in their tracks.

So I LIKE it.  ROFL

Other then that yesterday went well.  And I'm so looking forward to not having to be anywhere today!

Ahh, arms free temporarily.

I've been buzzing around the house doing my Wednesday ritual. 

Everybody Awnana books, vests, car now.

"Z do you have yours?

S do you have yours?

And the list goes down through to all.  LOL

Everybody batons in the baton bag. 

"Mom, I can't  find mine."

"Do we have SIX batons in the bag?" 

"Are you sure?"

"Go put it in the van."

"Did you put it in the van?"

"Samuel you can't wear that you slept in it."

"Jamari you can't wear that you slept in it."

"Rainee that's on backwards, turn it around please."

"Samuel that's on inside out, and backwards please fix it."

"Is the lunch packed?"

"Did you make sure the door is closed so the cats don't get it?"

"Is my scrapbook tote in the van?"

"Did you close the door?"

"Is my crotchet bag in the van?"

"Did you close the door."

"Please go find something that doesn't look a cat drug in to wear."

"Jamari stop batonning, and go get dressed."

Samuel please put my accordion in the van.

Samuel did you close the door?

"Is my accordion in the van?"

Pant, Pant, Pant.

I love Wednesdays.    And if I don't double check trust me when we get to town it won't be there.  Every week no matter how much I double check someone does have something for somewhere. ROFL

Okies I'm back, and exhausted.  I don't know what I would have done without my mom today.  Well yeah I do, I would have cancelled baton, which wouldn't have gone over well with Miss Donnis as the kids have a performance on Saturday. 

Of course she would have understood due the emergency of it, but then I would have been stuck with 6 kids in waiting rooms all day.  It was bad enough just the two of us.  LOL

So you may have figured out if I'm talking about waiting rooms the news isn't too terribly bad.

The specialist said that he Jeremiah is far-sighted.  And quite often young kids compensate with that by weird focusing.  He also said its probably been going on for a bit, and I just didn't notice.  I'll humor him on that, its rather hard NOT to notice.  But its not worth it arguing.

He dialted his eyes, and did all the tests to assure it wasn't something truely scarey.  And then ordered a prescription of glasses for Jeremiah.  Oh now isn't that gonna be fun getting him to wear?

Jeremiah "helped" me pick out a pair, and was quite sad when he discovered he couldn't bring them home with him.    We picked out the smallest pair there, and they are still quite big on his face.  *ARGH*  But cute nonetheless.  So our compromise and he considered melting down about not getting to keep the pictures, was to take pictures so we could show daddy.

And after multiple attempts at "catching" what he's doing, this is the best picture I have--and its not nearly as "creepy" as when he really gets going.  The doctor did see several very "creepy" versions of it, and assured me, that I wasn't imaging it, and that some times when I considered his eyes normal they were still a bit crossed. 

The sooner its treated the better, because you quickly get into habits you can't avoid.  And by going to the pediatrician first I got pushed to the head of the que.  LOL   So though it was scarey I'm so greatful for quick answers.

And now I get to figure out how to teach a almost three year old how to keep glasses on his face.

hahahahahaha