Saturday, April 28, 2007

Number 101

To add to my list below, I can put:

101. My voice student took FIRST PLACE in the State Vocal competition in the Bass category. Woo hoo!! He is only a sophomore and last year he won regional but only came in 12th out of 16 at the State level. I must be doing something right. ;)

Friday, April 27, 2007

100 Things

My sister in law Terica challenged me to write 100 things about myself. I seem to remember doing this years ago, but it's been so long that I don't remember what I put, so I am starting all over again. Here goes.

1. Every one in my house but Jaren and I are sick right now. FUN.
2. I am so wanting to lose weight right now that if I get sick I will be looking forward to not eating for a few days and dropping some pounds. Sad, huh?
3. My baby turns 6 years old in two weeks.
4. I am going with Jaren to buy plants later so we can escape the sickies.
5. This toyroom is such a mess that I don't even know where to start.
6. I have three children but I have been pregnant six times.
7. I am one of five children.
8. I married a man who is one of 12 children.
9. I think we will stop with three children.
10. I strongly dislike my natural hair color.
11. I spend way too much time on the computer.
12. I don't have enough will power to just turn the computer off and have a productive day.
13. I have hot pink toenails right now.
14. I often give myself very good advice, but I very seldom follow it.
15. I am way too into Grey's Anatomy.
16. I am 5' 2" tall
17. I married someone a full foot taller than me.
18. I was engaged to someone ELSE before I was engaged to Brian.
19. Brian and I never discussed ever getting married. He planned everything with the help of my sister and totally surprised me.
20. I have an ebay rating of 106.
21. Ideally, I need about ten hours of sleep a night.
22. I manage to get about eight hours a night.
23. I just found out that a friend's daughter (who just finished her freshman year at BYU) is dating one of my former junior high students. ACK!!!
24. I went to seven different schools from kindergarten to 12th grade.
25. I have been to Europe.
26. I have never been to Mexico.
27. I had to take French Diction twice in college because I got a D or D+ in it the first time. I think I managed a C or C- the second time. Whew.
28. I got a 43 on my report card for the last marking period of math my senior year of high school.
29. I graduated from BYU ten years ago this week.
30. I subscribe to Fitness, Shape, US Weekly, the Ensign, Family Fun, Parents, and Parenting Magazines.
31. The only one I read cover to cover religiously is US Weekly.
32. I am a sucker for the Scholastic Book order forms.
33. My kids have tons of books.
34. I drive a green minivan.
35. I have never broken a bone.
36. I have a chickenpox scar on my right jawline and one on my right thigh.
37. I don't tan.
38. I am going to see Harry Connick Jr. in a few months.
39. Of all the friends I had in high school I still communicate regularly with ONE.
40. True love in highschool is something totally different from true love in real life.
41. I am craving icecream and brownies right now.
42. I consider myself a jack of all trades, master of none.
43. I worked at McDonalds for two summers.
44. I worked at Sbarros at the mall for one summer.
45. I have survived being a substitute teacher for junior high classes.
46. I wear glasses because contacts dry out my eyes too much.
47. Legally, I don't need my glasses to drive.
48. You should be glad I choose to wear my glasses to drive.
49. I love Reeses Puffs cereal.
50. I love cold cereal more than just about any food.
51. When I was in college my roommates went out and "murdered" snow men with cardboard swords. I was too chicken to go with them, but I helped them make the "weapons." Their gory carnage was in the school paper the next day.
52. Don't do anything illegal with me. You will be caught.
53. I was caught Saran Wrapping someones car in the church parking lot.
54. I was caught with friends hanging out in a field looking at stars. Evidently it was a private field that was frequented by drug users.
55. I was Student Body secretary in high school.
56. I have sung the National Anthem at a professional hockey game.
57. When I was in junior high I got to shadow a US Congressman for a day as part of Career Day.
58. On that career day I got the autograph of "Gopher" from The Love Boat. He was a congressman from Iowa. Who knew?
59. When I was in 7th grade I flew from Springfield VA to San Antonio TX (with a plane change in Chicago) all by myself to visit Laura Burink. She had been my BFF in elementary school when I lived in Okinawa and I was SO excited to see her again.
60. I still have Laura's phone number from junior high memorized. I didn't really have the concept of "long distance phone charges" down.
61. I wore a bright pink satin dress to prom when I was in 10th grade.
62. I will never run for public office. I would be too terrified that someone who knew me in high school or junior high (heck, or COLLEGE) would come out of the woodwork and share embarrassing stories about me.
63. I sometimes wonder if people who knew me in past years sit around and talk about "that weird Paige girl" and all the dumb things I did.
64. My friend Linda and I broke into the local community theater one Saturday in high school. We were on a walk and it started POURING and we had no umbrella. I had overheard someone at a rehearsal give the code to the lock and it worked. So we waited out the storm. Miraculously, we were not caught.
65. I dry heaved on my wedding morning.
66. Matthew McCoughnehey is on my "list."
67. So is Mc Dreamy.
68. Reese Witherspoon is not.
69. I am blessed with some of the best friends on the planet. I am constantly amazed at the compassion and service given by people around me. If everyone on this earth acted like my friends do, this world would be an amazing place for everyone.
70. Three of my grandparents are still alive.
71. I hate horror movies. I think the last one I watched was Poltrogist in junior high. I have much too vivid of an imagination and I can't get images out of my head. I have to cover the screen during the scary parts of CSI. Who needs to see rotting flesh???
72. I love to cook.
73. I don't cook very often because my family seems to prefer to eat stuff that comes out of a box.
74. I am considering changing to a diet that is 80% vegetarian (no red meat, chicken and fish on occasion) and as organic as I can get it. The only thing keeping me back are a husband and two kids who hate vegetables and a daughter who gets the runs when she has too much fruit.
75. I wanted to be a Speech and Language Pathologist when I was younger.
76. I tried out for my first musical on a dare in 9th grade. I made it and was hooked.
77. I care way too much about what other people think, though I try really hard not to.
78. I am horrible with financial management and planning.
79. I am married to a CPA and yet I do all the family budgeting AND our taxes.
80. I hate crowds. I will avoid things that I would really like to do if I think there will be a disorganized crowd of people there. I don't mind ORGANIZED crowds, but the zoo on a sunny school holiday or a downtown parade would pretty much kill me.
81. I had Scarlet Fever.
82. I cry every time I read or watch Little Women.
83. I have a MySpace page.
84. I always leave the lid off of the toothpaste. It drives Brian crazy.
85. I HAVE to answer the phone whenever it rings. It takes incredible will power to let the machine get it. I do it very rarely.
86. I used to be able to play "Up on the Housetop" on the trombone.
87. I wear a size 7 1/2 shoe. I was a size 6 before I had any kids.
88. I love board games. We have about 30 to choose from. Wanna come over?
89. I once won a He-Man action figure from a pack of Bubble Yum.
90. One of my favorite recipes was featured in Quick Cooking. It even says my name.
91. I sleep on the left side of the bed. At least in this house. I am always on the side closest to the door so I can run out if a kid starts to cry.
92. I own a sewing machine. I haven't used it in two years.
93. In highschool I made a boy hate me so much that the poem for his senior English Literature oral presentation was all about how much he hated blondes.
94. I used to be the statistician for the varsity baseball team. This is amazing considering my less-than-stellar math scores.
95. On Sadie Hawkins day once in college me and my roommates dressed in matching red long red jammies with a flap on the back and went around to our male friends and sang and delivered flowers.
96. On one of my birthdays in college those same friends tied me to a bike rail and put a big sign in front of me saying "It's my birthday, please sing to me."
97. Amazingly, I am still friends with those gals.
98. I am very sensitive to noise. I have trouble blocking it out and if there is a dog barking in the neighborhood or a noisy car or motorcycle it literally makes me go a little crazy.
99. I have a hard time making up my mind. Ask my sister. She HATES shopping with me.
100. I had to scrape the bottom of the barrel to come up with this list. I know that as soon as I lay down to go to bed I will think of something that would have been INTERESTING to read and wish I would have put it on here. Sorry.

Okay. Your turn. Can YOU come up with 100 things about yourself?

Sunday, April 15, 2007

Nine Months


Jaren is nine months old today. Whew! It's been a ride. Bumpy at times. And noisy. But this guy is SO much fun and is just a funny kid that I can't imagine not having him around.



I think I can officially say that the worst is long gone. He doesn't cry at all much anymore, and when he DOES it can be fixed. And he goes to bed at 7:00 pm and wakes up at 7:00 am and there are no more middle of the night visiting hours. He sleeps for two good naps, doesn't mind going on car trips, and loves to sit and entertain himself while I am teaching lessons or doing something else.



Here are some things about him:
  • He LOVES to hear the sound of his voice. He usually competes for highest volume during my voice students. This results in him being banished to the other room. He experimented with his squeal during church last week and he found it was a very effective way to get to sit in the foyer instead of in sacrament meeting.

  • He loves to suck on his blanket, socks, stuffed animals, anything he can get his hands on.

  • Has two teeth -- still

  • Got his hair cut yesterday. By me. Just the long stuff over his ears. It does not look good. Brian finally admitted that he would rather pay $10 than have me touch his hair with scissors.

  • Loves being outside or in the stroller.

  • Is very wary of showing his charms to strangers. He will sit and stare at people until he deems them worthy of his affections.

  • Is a mamma's boy.

  • Loves to babble and sing.
  • Still not crawling and shows no desire to even try. I guess this is a mixed blessing.

  • Has gained about 2 1/2 lbs since starting formula a month ago. It was definitely the right decision.

We took the family to get family pictures done yesterday. My friend Tanya took them in her gorgeous wooded backyard. It is never easy getting a group of five focused and smiling but she did a great job -- aided by her daughters Emilee and Natalee who served as resident goofballs to get my kids to smile. We got some really good shots that totally capture the personality of the kids. I am thrilled that one of them was even "wall worthy" and we are getting it blown up to put above our fireplace. Yay!! I can't wait to go back in a few months when I am worthy of a family photo where I don't have to hide behind a child. :)




Sunday, April 8, 2007

Easter 2007

Happy Easter, everyone! We hope that amidst all the egg hunts, Bunny Intruders, and food you all had a chance to stop and reflect upon why we celebrate this day. I am so grateful that Christ was willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for me. And that he triumphed over death to give me the opportunity to do the same.

We had a good day. Since church is at 1:00 we had a leisurely morning, complete with cinnamon rolls, sausages, and eggs for breakfast. The girls got some Littlest Petshop things in their baskets and that kept them busy and quiet for most of the day. Before church we attempted to get some pictures of the kids in their Easter outfits. Now you know why we don't do family pictures very often.

The kids did look cute, even if we don't have the pictures to prove it. ;)

And in other news, Brian has decided that he DOES want to do the chorus for Beauty and the Beast. It will be good for him to have something to do outside of work that doesn't involve watching sports. I think it will be fun for him. Bring on the cheese grater costume!

Saturday, April 7, 2007

Tra la la la, life goes on

Well, my summer schedule is now WIDE open. I am not Mrs. Potts. I did get a personal call from the director saying that my rendition of the song made her cry, but that I am not matronly enough. Ha! I guess that is a compliment? So evidently, Beauty and the Beast is not a good show for a 32 year old. Too old to be Belle, not old enough to be Mrs. Potts. Not floozy enough to be Babette. I could be the chest of drawers... She asked if I was interested in the chorus, but I feel that with my kids as young as they are it isn't worth the sacrifice it would be to THEM to have me commit to all those rehearsals to be a cheese grater in the dinner scene. So I will be the choral task master and whip those singers into shape. The time commitment won't be as bad and if I can't make a rehearsal or two it won't be too bad because the Music Director will be running the show anyway. And as the rehearsal schedule heats up my involvement will taper off because I will have taught them the songs and forced them to have impeccable diction anyway. And BTW, the gal who DID get Mrs. Potts just oozes the character. She walks into the room and she IS Mrs. Potts. So there are no hard feelings. Those are the breaks. This is why I changed my major from performance to education. It's hard to make a living off of hoping the "Mrs. Potts Incarnate" is not auditioning opposite you.

Brian did not get a lead role either. She really wants him for the chorus because he is a strong singer, but he initially signed up so he could do this with me, so he doesn't want to commit to a summer of rehearsals where he is hanging out with OTHER people. Maybe next year. Lets see, what should I campaign for? Annie Get Your Gun? Sound of Music? Those have not-too-young, not-too-old characters. I would probably be called back for the head nun. Climb Every Mountain, anyone??

I am off to frost my 3-D Egg cake for dinner tomorrow. Then I think I will hit Fred Meyer after th girls go to bed to see if I can find an Eastery dress for myself. The worst day of the week to get dressed for me is Sunday. I hate spending money on dresses because they get so little use (so impractical for everyday when you have three kids) but then I have only two or three choices when Sunday rolls around. So I think I need to go see if I can remedy that. Nothing like retail therapy to lift my spirits.

Friday, April 6, 2007

Another year older and wiser, too...

I have fantastic friends. Thank you for the birthday wishes, the calls, the visits. I appreciated and loved every single one of them. And and extra special thanks to those who helped me through my identity crisis of the previous post. How lucky am I to have such a strong support system around me?!?!

I got over myself and went to the audition. Like someone said, you can have a hot Mrs. Potts!! I feel I did well, but the other two women did really well, too. So I am fine with whom ever gets the role. Brian was called back for the Beast and Cogsworth. The list will be posted by the 12th, but I sure hope it doesn't take that long! But for me, the hard part is over. If I don't get the role I will help to whip the chorus into shape. I may not be the best actress or singer, but very few people can get the results from a choir that I can, and I know that is one of my greatest talents. And I have fun putting it to use. And it won't be such a time commitment, either.

It is SO GORGEOUS here today!! Holy moly. Yesterday got up to 70 outside and we had all the windows open and it was actually HOT upstairs. The girls played at the park for a few hours, then they came home and played outside with friends. They were out COLD last night. Todays high is 75. I love the Spring. Ironically, the spring makes me want to clean and organize, which is hard to do outside, enjoying the weather. Ha!

Editing to add the following photos for Terica. She is in chilly Chicago, so she wanted to see pictures of nice weather. Here you go:



So I am off to take Joelle to preschool then go on a walk. It is still cool enough that I should be able to get about three miles in without killing myself. My weight is still going in the right direction, despite not doing my "official" workouts, so I am not going to stress too much about it right now. Happy Friday, everyone!

Wednesday, April 4, 2007

Coming Around

I had another post up there for about two hours but I have decided to take it off. I still kinda feel that way, but I hate being melodramatic. I am normally very level headed and non-emotional. No need for that stuff to play itself out on a public site.

I was called back for Mrs. Potts. I am dealing with various emotions. The greatest being that I think I am mourning the loss of my young self. I am facing the fact that while I LOVE my life and my kids, this is the life I chose instead of the life of being onstage, continuing to develop my talents. And now that I have more time to go back and dabble a bit in the theater I am "past my prime," so to speak. And I just need to internalize that and deal with it.

I still don't know if I will go to the callbacks or not. It's not that I wouldn't have a great time, or that I don't think I could do the part. I am just wondering if maybe this still isn't the time for me. I would be forcing my children to make big sacrifices so I can go indulge my inner thespian. I told Lisa I would be thrilled to help coach the chorus and I still would be. I think that maybe I just need to learn to be content with where I am right now, and the AGE I am right now and just suck it up.