Choir Carson

Carson tried out for and made his Elementary Ensemble Choir. He had to sing two songs (solo) for his try out. He sang Fight Song and My Country Tis of Thee. He is a decent singer, but the choir is for 4th and 5th graders with preference given to 5th graders. I just assumed he wouldn't make it. I kept preparing him for failure by reminding him that even if he didn't make it, it was great practice for next year's try out. Well, he made it and then I felt like a schmuck.

That was a few months ago. Right now they have several Christmas performances. They took 2nd place in a Radio K-8 Choir competition and won $2000 for the school's music program. Today they sang at a retirement center. I was able to watch and felt so blessed to be there. The kids loved it and the elderly residents really enjoyed it as well. I loved watching it.

Their first performance was a few weeks ago at the town tree lighting. Carson was pretty nervous when he say the huge crowd. Afterwards he told me "I think I did the best." I started to tell him that everyone did a good job and it wasn't a competition but then he further explained. He meant he did HIS best. The best he could ever do. Totally different meaning and yes, totally wonderful for a child to feel that way after a performance. We had sparkling cider afterwards to celebrate his first performance.

This choir has really helped Carson to build some confidence and he seems to really enjoy it.

Clever Chloe

Chloe is very clever. She figures things out and thinks them through. Two examples from yesterday.

We were listening to "He's making a list, checking it twice. Gonna find out who's naughty or nice." Chloe piped up "Santa must use a pencil." I asked her why she thought that. She explained that if he is always having to move kids from the naughty to nice list, and vice versa, he probably would want a pencil so he can erase. I would have to agree.

I was talking to her about her Strep germs. I was being funny and told her that the bacteria had moved into her tonsils and made themselves comfortable. They liked how warm it was in there, etc. She started shaking her head which I assumed meant she didn't like my story. So I stopped talking but she kept going. I asked her what she was doing. She told me she was trying to shake the germs out of her tonsils. They couldn't get comfortable if she kept shaking their home. Lol! Her logic is amazing.

Strep

Poor Chloe is on her second round of Strep throat in a row. Two weeks ago she had a positive Strep test, did antibiotics, got her healthy. 4 days after the antibiotics ended she felt sick again. I took her in today (exactly 2 weeks from the last appointment) and she's got it again! Poor thing is miserable. Her tonsils get so huge they're basically touching. She gags ask the time because she's having a hard time swallowing.

The doctor recommended we see an ENT specialist if she gets this a third time. Her tonsils get abnormally large. I hope she doesn't have to.

This means she's missed a lot of school. It's a bummer all around. Hoping she gets better and stays better.

Day to Day

Sometimes I check on my kids while their sleeping. I love when they're so peaceful and quiet 😊. Then I think about how close they were to breaking me that day.😁

That's my main goal. Just to never let them know how close they were to winning the war called parenthood. Never to let them know how close I was to completely throwing in the towel and just letting them eat whatever they want, watch as much TV as they want, and stay up as late as they want. Lol...but also not 😂😭.

Patience

Usually by the end of the night I am very ready for my kids to go to bed so I can have a little quiet, alone time. Or sometimes I like to pick up the house and appreciate that it stays clean for a whole 10 hours while they sleep. Because I'm anxious for this time and exhausted from the day, I am much more likely to lose my patience at night.

Tonight I had put the girls to bed and then let them back out to go potty 2 times. Carson and I were playing a game and I could hear the girls yelling for me from their room. I ignored them for quite awhile. Once Carson was in bed, I decided to humor the girls and tuck them in one more time.

Chloe asked me to snuggle with her so I laid down next to her. Camille came and joined us on the bed. The three of us lay cuddling. The girls kept giggling and talking about how it was like a "girls' night." They took turns saying how much they love each person in our family.  They told me nonsense knock knock jokes.

I just felt so grateful that I dug deep for some more patience and went in to their room tonight. The love they have for each other and me was so uplifting. Some nights a little snuggle time is just what I need.  I hope they remember nights like tonight.

Adam

We watched a movie last night that showed a scene with quick season changes (summer to autumn to winter). Chloe has been learning all about the Fall in Kindergarten. She got real excited when the movie showed leaves changing colors and falling. She said "It's Fall...or I could say Adam."

She is so clever and cute. I love when they mispronounce or get things mixed up.

Tomorrow

Tonight we were driving home late. It was dark.

Camille was tired and started to cry. When I asked what was wrong, she said "I miss the sun." Lol, funny child.

I couldn't stop myself. I started dramatically singing her The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow (aka Tomorrow from Annie.) It didn't really help the situation.

I'm going to try to post more short thoughts. Rather than long life summarizing posts. Something is better than nothing, right?