I'm a believer.

Sure is nice to know even the tooth fairy doesn't get it right every time.

Daddy's love girl.

Here's Lily wearing her current favorite outfit (courtesy of G and G Egbert). She insists that instead of reading "Daddy's Girl" it says "Daddy's Love Girl". Why else would that heart be there? Ew.

On the market.

I found the key to eliminating clutter. Once a year, I pretend I'm putting my house on the market. Motivated by the idea that my home will be seen regularly, I take one room at a time and purge. Clothes that I haven't worn in a year? Out. Toys that the kids won't even miss? Out. The half-broken kite that we've most certainly gotten our ten bucks worth out of? Out. The rock collection in Anna's closet? Okay, it stays. As long as it's out of sight! Yes, I'm a sucker for worthless childhood collections. As long as they're out of sight. Last year, Anna was rather attached to her beebee collection, which sat on my kitchen counter for months (oh humanity!). I wracked my brain for a way to get her to part with it and, finally, when the 100th day of school celebration arrived, I convinced her to count out 100 of them to fulfill an assignment she was given. I threw the rest away. She still hates me for it. And... she's begun collection #2.
Anyway, I digress.
This week I dropped off 7 boxes of stuff at the D.I. I've thrown away loads of trash over the past 2 months. I'm selling a couple of things on ebay. And this, from a person who generally despises clutter as it is! (And who, also, had her house on the market - for real - less than two years ago.) I've come a long way since the days when my entire life could fit into my Geo Metro. Can I go back? Oh, and for the sake of visuals, how do you like my pantry (which hasn't yet undergone the 2010 overhaul)?
(circa 2010)

(circa 2008)

Thank heaven two years hasn't made it a complete disaster. With four kids, entropy is inevitable, but I'm here to say it can be mitigated. And no, that is not the same jar of Skippy peanut butter. I do rotate my food storage. Occasionally.

The coat closet.

She's been left in there before, you know. For, oh, about ten seconds. The ritual is the same every week. Daddy gathers up the coats as we enter the church building and hangs them up in the walk-in coat closet in the foyer. After church, I pick the kids up from their classes, meader through the halls to the coat closet, enter with all the kids in tow and, while they put their own coats on, I help Eve slip into hers. Rachel's inevitably the last one to finish - her tiny (but independent!)hands fumble with zippers until she discovers she is alone in the coat closet. The cold, devoid-of-windows coat closet. To make matters worse, it's the only door in the world against which even the most persistent of three-year-olds fails. I'm pretty sure some of her worst nightmares revolve around this frightening abyss. I remember her, eventually. But usually only after her frantic screams awaken me from my routine. I guess those screams come in handy, after all. Poor third child. No wonder she comes into my room night after night. After agonizing night.

Two for the price of one.

As many of you may know, Valentine's Day coincided with another equally important holiday this year, Chinese New Year. Feeling rather ambitious, I planned three, that's right, three parties to celebrate. Lily and Rachel invited a few friends over on Wednesday for a Valentine's bash. It was a blast - particularly since most of the people they invited were boys with boundless energy. After the last of the party games was played, I opened it up to free play time and, upon the suggestion of one of the boys ("Let's fight", I think were his exact words), immediately saw my girls rough and tumble with the best of them.

In contrast, Anna's party was an all-girl screaming fest. I was on my best behavior to ensure that every girl got a turn during the treasure hunt and that they all got candy no matter who won during valentine bingo... and musical hearts... and pretty much every game we played. Consequently, we finished the party virtually tear-free.

In all the fun, I didn't manage to snap any good pictures.

Friday night we invited a few friends over for dim sum (barbecued pork steamed buns, potstickers, egg rolls, tempura-fried green beans and fried rice). All homemade, of course. Not to mention, incredibly healthy. We stayed up till midnight just talking and rather forgot about the game of Mah Jang I had planned on playing. Oh well. At least this time I got one picture of the table (minus the food).



We spent Saturday morning purging the playroom and working on unfinished projects (which remain unfinished) before heading out for a Valentine's Day Dinner - just the two of us.

Today we ate our traditional breakfast-for-dinner Sabbath day fare. The cinnamon rolls appeared a bit heart-shaped this time around, though. And the frosting a little pinker than usual.



Happy Valentine's Day! And hooray for the year of the Tiger!

How could I forget?

Almost two weeks ago, Lily celebrated her fifth birthday. This little doll mistakenly thought that she would be starting kindergarten, immediately. I had to tell her that she would have to wait another 6 months but she seemed appeased by the fact that she is now the oldest in her Joy School class. My parents drove up to visit for the occasion. I'm sure my parents wonder how I ever get along without them, I rely on them SO much when they're here! Mom and Dad graciously broke up fights, read to kids wandering aimlessly about in preparation for nap/quiet time, played games while I prepared meals and handed them snacks in the car so that I could drive without distraction. The answer is, the kids pretty much suffer in silence when you're NOT here, guys.



Anyway, back to Lily. She is such a joy! Lily is a unique little critter, I tell you. She has a sparkling personality and SO much confidence - as evidenced by her unbridled behavior in public. A social butterfly by nature, she invited several friends to her birthday party - for next year, that is (though she didn't bother to tell them so), leaving a couple of confused moms calling me up because they had kids frantic with worry that they were missing Lily's birthday party and hadn't yet gotten her a present. Her many admirers still managed to bring by presents later that day.

She specifically requested a "wintery" cake, complete with a snowflake. I did the best I could.



When I asked her what she wanted for her birthday, she plainly answered, "Candy." I obliged and added a few presents to spice things up a bit.


Here she is sharing her candy with Rachel.



She loved all of her presents, but her favorite was most definitely the outfit Grandma and Grandpa Egbert provided. She wore it six out of the next seven days. I had to pry it from her hands to get it into the washing machine at least once.



What I love most about Lily, which seemed especially pronounced on this particular occasion, is that she is a positive, content individual. On bad days, this manifests itself as laziness or complacency. But on her birthday I was so grateful that she savored every minute, that she wasn't ripping presents open left and right just to get to the next one, and that she was genuinely pleased when all was said and done. I think that all the fanfare was just bonus - she seems to be satisfied with whatever comes her way. As I said before, she is a joy.

Recently, we can't get her to flash a genuine smile at the camera - it turns into some twisted face with a pirate-sort of grin. I tried to mimic that in this particular picture. Turns out, I was the only one looking stupid.



Happy Birthday Lily!

Bits and pieces.

Eve's first tooth is finally coming in. Unbelievable - almost 13 months old and no teeth!

Lily got her five-year shots today. I don't know which she was more traumatized by - the shots or the fact that the doctor wanted to take a peek at her nether regions. I guess the modesty lesson hasn't fallen on deaf ears around here. While we were waiting for the doctor, I taught her how to count by twos to 100. Who knew our little right-brained smartie could pick up math so quickly!

Anna's allowance is contingent upon a few extra chores (in addition to basic family chores) including the folding and putting away of all her clean clothes. Yesterday she asked in complete bewilderment why she was out of underwear and why I hadn't washed her red dress. After peeking in her closet (empty), I asked her how long it had been since she actually hung up her clothes. They were stuffed in the storage space under her window seat. Every last article for the past two weeks, I'm guessing. Then we had a little talk about honesty. Again.

Is it normal for a three year old to be up in arms about virtually everything? Is it so hard to ask for help getting your coat on or does it make more sense to scream and flail aimlessly until somehow it miraculously puts itself on? Buckling seat belt, putting on shoes, wiping her bum, spilling milk - same scenario. I really, really hope that age three is not a foreshadowing of things to come at age 13.

We're buying our beef straight from the farm this year. One guy I called humanized the steer a bit too much when he told me what a "great guy" he was and how much fun his kids had had raising him. Man, I'm gonna have the guy butchered, can you spare me the details on his personality? Anyway, beef for a year or two going in the deep freeze.

Family Home Evening was delightful tonight. Teaching my kids the gospel and watching them grasp it line upon line... simply exhilarating.

Just enough.

Perfection is a ambiguous term. In my life, I prefer "just enough" to the flawlessness that perfection implies. To me, a day is perfect when:

1. The kids got along just enough.
2. I got just enough done.
3. I spent just enough time with my husband and daughters.

Yesterday was one of those days. Did I check everything off my to-do list? Never. Was it devoid of temper tantrums? Not at all. Did I spread a gourmet meal across a fancily decorated table and enjoy it's deliciousness in the company of delightful children(and husband, though he's typically delightful)? What a joke.

Yet, at the end of the day I chatted with my mother briefly, who asked me how my day was. And I couldn't help but respond that it was great. In reflection, it might even have been perfect, for I was sublimely happy having accomplished "just enough".

The Capitol.

Okay, maybe not the Capitol. But our Capitol. It was fun, educational, and perhaps, best of all, free! What a great Saturday outing.







And, with her characteristic flair for the dramatic, Anna lost a tooth just before leaving. Which led us to a grand tour of the 3rd floor public restroom.

Winter weather?

I caught a few daffodils trying to poke their heads through the soil yesterday. I'm a sucker for spring, but in early February? Anyway, we took advantage of the warm weather (and a day off of school for Anna) to take a trip to the zoo a couple of weeks ago. We've had an annual pass for years but I think this was the first January visit where snow was nary to be seen and the opportunity to duck into every indoor exhibit possible was lost on us. Ah, the sun was delicious! Just ask Rachel.





Even the geese were walking on water!