Life happens...And I write a novel.

Well, once again, life has happened and gotten in the way of my ability to post consistently here.  I knew April would probably be like that.  At least I always have the opportunity to play catch up!  But there is so very much to catch up, it's easy to forget a thing or two....We'll see how this goes.  Hope you're ready to read a novel! ;)

The main thing going on this past month has been the play, Cheaper by the Dozen, at our church, in which I play mother to a dozen children (3 of whom are not actual performers, but just the 'babies who are upstairs').  A certain sweet friend of mine knows what it's like to have about *half* that many, but I still can't even imagine it for myself.  That said, the kids we have in this production are amazing.  They range in age from I think 7 to 14 or 15.  The oldest plays the part of the oldest daughter, and she just about makes me cry in one particular scene, every single time (which is good since I'm supposed to be upset too).  I can't wait to see where God takes that talent of hers. :)  The other kids have really stepped up to the plate as well, with even the youngest taking responsibility for getting props on time, knowing lines and cues, and also remembering to stay focused on what's happening on the stage, even when they don't have a line to say (definitely not the easiest lesson during the practices!!).  They're a blast, they make me laugh, and I've really loved playing with such a diverse cast--usually it's all just 'boring' grown-ups! ;)

The week of the 15th was insane.  Just absolutely insane.  I don't even know how my friend who's working as the stage manager for the show survived, because her week was crazier than mine!  I think I had a different sitter for Munch every single night...Monday we had our financial class meeting, Tuesday and Wednesday were Tech rehearsals (and I had to leave home before 5 to be there in time for hair stuff), Thursday was dress rehearsal, and Friday and Saturday were our first evening performances, with a matinee on Sunday.  And while my costumes for this thing may have been a God-send (a couple of donated period-style dresses saved the women doing the costuming a LOT of sewing time), my hair and make-up were decidedly less simple.  We've been blessed with a few talented students (one of whom attends our church) at a hair salon, and they were able to take care of the other girls' hair just fine...but my hair.  Oh, my hair.  The longest part of it hangs at about mid-thigh, it's light and slightly wavy, but so fine it just ends up looking like fuzzies instead...and they wanted to do fingerwaves on me.  A great idea as it's very period, but gobs and gobs of gel, and a full hour of blow-drying left me with virtually nothing to show for all their effort.  They tried mightily both tech nights but couldn't get it, and weren't going to be available for Thursday...So Thursday afternoon while Munch slept, I tackled my own hair.  And after 2 and a half hours of wrestling with bobby pins, hair spray, comb, and curling iron (as well as a couple youtube videos), I had something to show for it.  Something that I was actually pretty happy with.  A couple more videos to refresh my mind on stage aging makeup, and I was ready to go...although I resembled my mother more than I care to admit... ;)  Which is good, I suppose, since I'm supposed to be about her age in the play...but...........well, at least they're *smile* wrinkles, right??  My altered appearance didn't faze the Munch (who had slept extra long due to a very busy morning—how’s that for perfect timing!), and there was probably enough hairspray to hold my hair up until eternity.  It was a success!  And despite the dismal feelings from the two earlier tech rehearsals, the dress rehearsal was also a resounding success.  We had a show!!  And Friday night rarely feels better than when it’s opening night.  I've since figured out how to shorten the hairstyling down to about 45 minutes, including drying time (had to for Sunday, since service got out at 11:30, and the show started at 1!), so practice really does make perfect.  We have had some truly excellent audiences so far, and I'm looking forward to more of them this weekend.

In addition to all this show-stuff, I've been trying to get in extra 'special' time with Munch to make up for the loss of bedtime activities.  We’ve spent a *lot* more time reading books, doing puzzles (she’s getting really good at those, and at the ‘find-the-picture’ books), and playing outside.  The 19th was April's 'free day' for the Museum of Science and Industry, so Munch and her two friends A and K, along with us mamas, all borrowed a friend's van to carpool down there and spend a couple hours.  While we were there, we met up with a couple other moms from our church, bringing our total numbers to 5 adults and 7 kids.  Quite the fun little crowd!  Regrettably, I forgot my camera...I took a few pictures with my new phone (yet another story), but haven't been able to transfer those to the computer yet.  At least I *can* with this phone…But I digress...MSI is not as geared for young ones as the others we've been to, and that posed some minor challenges.  Our girls still definitely enjoyed themselves, but I don't think they were as excited to engage in things as they will be when they're a little older.  Munch loved the farm section, because she's seen so many of those animals in her books—and she learned how to squeal like a piglet from some push-buttons on a wall—but other than those buttons, there was very little for her to really do.  Any toys or boxes were stashed away behind a glass coverings.  At one point the poor child ran right into a covering, she was so eager to get at the box that she saw on the shelf...she wasn't hurt, but she was certainly annoyed.  We had to wait in line to get into an area that was a little more toddler-friendly...And Munch loudly made it evident that waiting was *not* in her agenda.  Once we were inside, she was fine, as the area involved lots of water and floating balls to grab and carry around.  But then a larger child (definitely old enough to know better) disobeyed a rule and threw one of those balls, and it smacked Munch right on the head....I admit, my 'teacher voice' made its presence known to that unfortunate misbehaver... ;)  When our time was up in that space, we moved down to the train area, at the insistent request of one of the older children.  There’s a HUGE model train set in the center of an equally huge room, with various real trains or parts of real trains all around the edges.  Unlike A or the other older kids, Munch had no interest whatsoever in the models.  She did, however, very much enjoy climbing in and out of a real train engine room.  She and little K spent quite a bit of time in there, and it took more than a little coaxing to get them to willingly move on so that other children could have a chance.  Then, while the other moms stayed in the train room, I took a quick little detour to a part of the ‘genetics’ exhibit next door that I had been looking forward to introducing Munch to:  real baby chicks!  It was very, very crowded, but so worth it.  She saw the pictures of the chicks on the wall before we even got to the incubators, and her entire face just absolutely lit up.  She pointed and shouted ‘da!  Taaaw, taaaw, taaaw!’  (her version of ‘Look at that!  Tweet, tweet, tweet!’  Then when we actually saw the little birds, she was just mesmerized.  That’s my baby…total animal-lover. :)

In the middle of all this crazy excitement, a very scary thing happened, which we learned about as we were praying right before the Saturday performance.  We have a friend from church who is working and serving with her family on an island off the coast of Africa.  Sometime on Saturday, the husband and their two young girls were swimming in a pool when an AC unit nearby apparently shorted out, causing a massive electric shock.  If it hadn’t been for a man who saw it happening and managed to cut the electric current with a piece of wood, none of them would have survived.  As it was, they were badly burned in places, and the prognosis was very poor, especially for the older daughter, who I think is 5.  They were medivac’ed to a mainland town, and it was a tense, prayer-full couple of days, but at this point, all 3 are expected to make a full recovery.  FULL.  That’s God, right there.  

We’ve started attending a 13-week financial class that’s being offered at our church.  A couple of weeks back, the speaker was talking about how women are good at bargain-hunting, and men are good at negotiating bargains, and let me tell you, it’s true!  At least in our family.  :)  As alluded to before:  Daddy and I have new phones, as well as a new phone plan that will now be saving us roughly $30 a month.  Daddy put those negotiating skills to work the same week that we heard that particular session about shopping styles, and he ended up talking his way into a free signal booster for his office (usually around $100, and needed because his desk seems to be right in the middle of a dead zone), 2 very nice new phones that were also considerably discounted, and the new, cheaper plan.  He’s been meaning to do the same thing for our cable bill, but, well…life continues to happen.  He claims that this occurring now was merely coincidence, as both our cell contracts were up for renewal anyway…but I’m convinced that in this life, there ARE no coincidences.

Related to this financial stuff, Daddy has been wanting me to get a job again, both to boost our current lessened income as well as to ‘put my degree to use.’  I’ve been dragging my heels--I’m generally happy at home as a mom and homemaker, and any job I might take then requires me to look into costly childcare options that would probably negate any earnings I make, but I also (and more importantly) wasn’t getting that Nudge from Someone that it was time for that yet.  I haven’t really felt a Nudge in that direction since graduation 3 years ago, and it’s been a little frustrating not really knowing if or where I need to go, and just having to wait...  Well, last week, a couple of emails went around in my church’s moms group about daycare and nannying needs that they knew about.  And that Nudge came, very suddenly and very concretely.  So I responded to the nanny email, which I learned was for the part time care (about 20 hours a week) of 3 children, the youngest of which is about 2 weeks older than Munch.  Today I went over to meet the mom and the two younger children, and it truly felt like a match made in heaven.  They live in my old neighborhood, literally only about 3 blocks from my old apartment, where there are lots of places to walk to that I’m already somewhat familiar with.  The mom knows a number of people from my church, and has been asking them about me since I offered my services—she probably didn’t even need the other references I provided.  Everything we discussed today seemed to just fall right into place, even a vacation time I was hoping to take this summer…they’ll be on vacation at the same time!  And best of all, Munch gets to stay with me as I take care of the other 3.  I have a couple other meetings to arrange—one with the current nanny (who’s from Seattle too, of all places), and another with the whole family—and the various agreements to get in writing…but I left the house today with the understanding and crazy realization that after 4 years of not being officially employed, I suddenly have a job that will begin the middle of June (just after some regular babysitting that I'm doing in May ends)...And not only a job, but one that has the potential to last until the youngest is in Kindergarten.  Waiting on God’s timing is everything.  Now I'm just praying for a smooth transition.

I have a ton of other stories and excerpts about Munch from the past two weeks as well…so many that it’s hard to keep track of.  She now roars mightily whenever she sees a picture of a bear or lion, and tries to mimic the sound of a frog, ‘ra-hra’.  She brings me books to read one after the other after the other, and would probably be happy with just those all day long.  Her vocabulary, both expressed and understood, is exploding—she’s already saying and recognizing some colors, like ‘pur-pa’ and ‘buu’—and can follow a number of simple directions.  She can crawl up and down stairs on her own.  She’s learned how to drag toys with strings along the floor behind her, and is starting to RUN with them behind her.  She throws herself on the couch, throws a pillow at me, and expects me to throw it back, then laughs uproariously when I do.  She says ‘uh’ and ‘daaaw’ for ‘up’ and ‘down’, ‘aaah duuh’ and ‘moe maw’ for ‘all done’ and ‘no more’, ‘dae-du’ for ‘thank-you’, ‘fwa-wa’ for ‘flower’, ‘suh-shuh’ for ‘sunshine’.  She knows eye, nose, mouth, ear, head, hand, foot, belly button, though of the bunch she can only say ‘mouw’, which sounds an awful lot like the same sound she says for mouse.  She’s starting to realize (finally!!) when she’s going in her diaper, and is taking a renewed interest in the potty chair that I’ve had in the bathroom for months.  I can see her mind working as I’m telling her names of things—her darling blue eyes just light up with understanding.  Yep, Mama’s in love. :) THIS is the age I’ve been waiting for.  Keep going, life. :)