Another Day

Good morning! I was not going to write anything this morning. I woke up at 4:00 and couldn’t go back to sleep so I read a bit after using the bathroom and making an unsuccessful attempt at more sleep. Then I got up just before 5:00 and decided to fold clothes. I was on a roll and then it was time to get ready to milk.

As I was on my way out to the barn, I was thinking how awesome is my mother. My supply of socks went from very small (about five pair) to very large (over twenty) just because she doesn’t mind darning socks. It’s wonderful. Then I was thinking that I didn’t always think she was awesome. I mean, I was a teenager at one point and I had my moments of thinking that my mother had not a clue about what it meant to be fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, etc. I think it stopped around seventeen when I found myself in the position of becoming a mother.

Emma having a nap on my lap. I think she's going to be a lap goat. She's so little and cute.

Right now, Amena is having an episodic moment. She spent the evening crying yesterday because I won’t let her go to New York with Nick and his parents this weekend. This is precisely why fifteen-year-old should NOT have boyfriends (unless they are boys, in which case they should not have girlfriends). She doesn’t see it that way; she just sees a heartless mother who is interfering with her happiness. At some point yesterday she informed me that she didn’t think she would go to school today. I happen to know that she has a science test today and I informed her that I don’t think much of missing school and that she might want to think about what the possible consequences are. I gave her two possibilities—being homeschooled next year, and not being able to spend time with Nick outside of school.

Kitty being very regal, something she is very good at.

I like that I have a really good relationship with Laura and that Joanna and I have an evolving relationship that is getting better, it seems, all the time. I have hope that one day I will be able to resume a relationship with Alisha and I expect that as Amena and the younger boys (as in Cedric, Seth and Joseph) get older, we will have good relationships.

Speaking of Seth, we had the sisters over for lunch yesterday and they liked the food, our new one, Sister Riggs, really liked the rhubarb dump cake. For dinner we had the Petzolds over and they really liked what we had including the rhubarb pie. Elder Petzold said that everyone has given them good food here and Seth said, “That’s because Mom is hiding and cooks all their food.” I’m pretty sure that’s an eleven-year-old compliment.

Gabriel getting comfortable. He really likes to nap on the outside of the garden wall amongst the rhubarb. Hopefully he never decides to eat the stuff.

Yesterday afternoon I had a few minutes, well, you know, I didn’t really, but I took a few anyway, and used the sample Jamberry nail wraps (if that’s supposed to be capitalized, sorry) that Meg Koslowski sent me. I’ve looked online at what they have available and to be honest, some of them I like. It has been a long time since I did anything with my nails other than keep them short but that is not necessarily because I don’t like doing anything with my nails. I specifically remember in 8^th grade doing interesting things like writing messages on them and painting every other nail a different color. I remember being creative when I worked at the courthouse. Then I married Dan and he didn’t like the fumes and he wasn't in favor of makeup or anything unnatural and then I had all these lovely children after Alisha and there wouldn’t have been much time even if I’d had the desire. Well, these wraps kind of solve everything. They don’t have smelly fumes that I don’t like (I have to admit that at one point, I actually did like the smell) and they don’t take too long. Not to mention, if I happen to get interrupted, I could always go back to them. So, I might be hooked. I’m waiting until noon to see how my somewhat less than perfect application is holding up and if satisfied, I might have to order some.

The debudder. Doesn't it look awful?

Sorry, that was a bit long.

But I’m almost done.

In fact, have an absolutely splendiferous day!