Let’s see, what’s new?… I’ve got pictures of stuff that I’ll put in individual posts so it’s not just one long one, but surely I can think of something that doesn’t have a picture to go along with it… Pollyanna!

Over the weekend I found several “Roosevelt” movies that I remember watching while I was growing up.  Pollyanna was going to be on the TV, so I set it to record and was so excited to watch.  It’s one of those that I remember watching often at Grandma’s with my siblings and cousins, but couldn’t tell you exactly the storyline.  Trevor laughed and made it clear he had no interest in sitting through it.

Since Eliot had a break from school on Monday, we made plans for Sunday to have a mother/daughter date and stay up late to watch Pollyanna.  She was so excited, but more about the privilege of staying up late, I’m sure, since she had no idea about this movie.  She had asked what it was rated and I assured her it was G or PG.  She was quick to remind me that PG-13 wouldn’t be appropriate for her to watch.  Nice.  Thanks for the reminder .

Trevor finally surrendered control of the TV, close to 8:30 p.m., stating the early bedtime would be good for him.  We started the movie and -as you recall- the opening scene is of a naked boy riding a rope swing into water.  At the sight of the bare butt there was need for some reassurance that it was “Eliot appropriate”.

It was so enjoyable to me.  I giggled most of the time.  I had so much fun sitting and reminiscing wonderful memories from my youth.  I was sad Leah and Jenny weren’t with me .  The movie seemed to keep Eliot’s attention, and Trevor admitted he enjoyed it enough to move his bedtime to after 11:00 p.m. with Eliot and me. 

During the movie I suggested she could be Pollyanna for Halloween (it’s coming close too fast) and she acted excited, but hasn’t made any firm commitments yet.  While Pollyanna was trying to climb from the tree to her window after the bazaar, Eliot was so tense she finally yelled out, “Just get inside and then get your doll!”

As the final scene ended, I turned to Eliot and asked what she thought.  Seeing her saddened face covered with tears was not what I expected.  I felt so bad to be almost laughing with pleasure while she explained to me what made her sad.  “I was afraid Pollyanna was going to die.”  We talked about the overall story and how we could follow the example of Pollyanna and play the “Glad Game.”  Eliot started to smirk a little like I was being silly, but soon made me feel comfortable sending her to bed.

Since then, Eliot has made several references to Pollyanna and wants to watch it again with me.  I can’t say that I think Old Yeller is a good idea, but it was on too and since I don’t remember seeing it I recorded it also.  I think I’ll watch it without her for now.

It wasn’t until we were on the webcam with Montana one day and she showed us her new haircut that Eliot decided it would be a good idea to cut it short.  “I want to be twins with Montana!” was the repeated comment.  So, we tried to act fast before she changed her mind and made an appointment with my friend Alyson.  Her hair was so long we were even able to donate it to Locks of Love.  Eliot filled out the donation form herself and is anxious to get her “receipt” letter from them.  Here are some before, during and after shots:

I LOVE the way it looks on her, and am continually amazed at what beautiful hair she has.  She has received so many compliments, and she really enjoys them.  Even a lady we didn’t know in the check-out line behind us at the grocery store just a few days after the change said, “I love your hair cut.”  Eliot smiled and politely said ‘thank you’ but quickly turned to me and asked, “How did she know I got my hair cut?”  I tried to explain that the lady didn’t know it was such a recent -and drastic- change, but rather liked the style.  We have since made several bows that allow Eliot to easily clip her bangs back, but she’s already complaining of snarls again.  What to do…?

I think Sid decided the pacifier trade-off was worth it.

Trevor rushed off to the Stake’s Tailgating Party previous to the Priesthood Session of General Conference and Eliot went to Brinley’s house to have dinner and play for a bit.  I tried to offer Sid some dinner but he still wasn’t eating well.  Brinley’s mom called and said the girls wanted to ride bikes but since Eliot didn’t have her bike they were going to take turns on Brinley’s bike and scooter, but wanted to see if I was okay with it since they don’t have a helmet for Eliot.  I said I needed to run an errand anyway so I would bring Eliot’s bike and helmet and let them ride for the 20-30 minutes my errand would take and then be back to take Eliot home.

I had barely arrived at my errand destination when Alyson called, and since I knew she knew I was coming right back I thought something was wrong.  apparently Eliot collided with a neighbor friend while riding bikes and Alyson thought Eli might need stitches.  I returned to Alyson’s quickly and found Eliot with drops of blood all over her clothes and bike.  She removed the paper towel wad from her nose/mouth area and I immediately thought of this:

Day 1

Day 2

 

Day 3

None of the adults supervising the bike-riding can give a great understanding on the actual impact.  Faith was riding her bike down the driveway with her feet up and off her pedals.  Eliot was heading up the driveway pedaling “really hard and fast.”  I was told Faith got a pretty good cut on the underside of her chin, but they say Eliot got the force of the impact, and the way the swelling and bruising keep increasing I would have to say I agree with them.  In the “day 3″ picture you can see the scab is the darkest spot under her nostril, and the rest is bruising.  Her lip has been so swollen that close to the bottom of her top lip you can see bruising as well that is really visible when you lift up her lip, like in “day 2″.

 

She’s doing better now, but the first day or two just kept telling me that she “should have put on my brakes.  Faith couldn’t since her feet were up, but I should have.”  It’s been kind of funny to hear her think through the events of it.  And, from this experience she has decided she never wants to have another bloody nose (on top of the cut Alyson said her nose was just gushing blood).  Sadly, I’ve admitted that I’m glad I wasn’t there during the initial stages because I think I would have panicked a bit .

I thought that was enough excitement for one weekend, but I was wrong…

 

Sunday night Eliot came into our room in the middle of the night in tears because she threw up and didn’t make it to the bathroom.  Wow.  Just pile it on.  The only thing I thought might be worse was if there was a newborn in the mix that needed my attention while I tried to help Eliot bathe (the vomit got all over in her hair) and change her sheets.  Crazy thing, parenthood .  I love it!

Rather than brave the busy crowd at the elementary school carnival, we decided to brave Sidney’s behavior at the dollar movie to see Tangled.  He just doesn’t like to sit still for two minutes -or on someone’s lap at all- but just ten minutes after the movie actually started he seemed to be getting comfortable enough to fall asleep in my arms.  I thought it was working perfect because he hadn’t had an afternoon nap and it was his bedtime.  Those thoughts were suddenly interrupted when I realized we were both covered in vomit .

I hobbled to the restroom, but paused along the way to ask the usher for help.  The help I received was very appreciated as I tried to clean myself off while Sidney took a bath in the sink of the women’s restroom – I’ve never been so regretful that I didn’t have a phone or camera in my pocket .  We made it back to the auditorium and I thought we could sit through the movie, until I noticed Eliot breathing strange.  I realized she was trying not to smell the stink radiating from me and I concluded that those in the surrounding rows probably smelled the odor as well, so we left.

The drive home was interesting too; since Trevor is a “sympathy” vomit-er (and Eliot seems to be) we tried to blow the stink out by having all the windows down.  However, each time we slowed or stopped, the stench of course got worse; and, Sidney throwing up twice more before we made it home didn’t help either.

A little ironic or sad, really, but on the way to the movie that night I mentioned to Trevor that I forgot to refill the diaper bag so I hoped we wouldn’t need to change Sid’s diaper.  It made his “bath” that night a little more interesting as I tried to salvage the diaper he had been wearing.  And, it was earlier that day as I put him in the car seat that I told myself, “I REALLY need to clean this.  Tomorrow I’ll finally take it out of the car and disassemble it to wash the cover and everything.”  There’s nothing like a good throw-up to really convince you it’s time to clean a car seat .

Saturday afternoon Eliot, Brinley and I headed back to the theater to use the rainchecks and actually see the entire movie Tangled.  We were able to watch it in 3D, which was funny in itself.  Every time there was a chase scene or it started to get a little tense Eliot would quickly reach up and tear off her 3D glasses.  She told me she likes to see movies in 3D, but it makes them more scary.  Brinley, on the other hand wouldn’t wear her glasses at all and said she didn’t mind the movie being blurry.  Funny…

Eliot’s was listed as “cut paper” and she pointed out each piece of fruit.  However, the green one on the top left with white “seeds” she couldn’t remember .  She explained, “There’s a banana, blueberries, an orange, grapes and… a strawberry? or an apple?”  So, I guess it’s true to artwork: it’s up for your own interpretation.

I’m very proud of her, and it was enjoyable to see her own excitement and pride.

Yesterday our neighbor was using a pressure washer and Sidney and I could hear it as we were finishing our lunch.  Before I let him down from his chair he would point to the pantry door (that leads to the garage) and say, “Mama?” each time he heard the loud sound from outside.  As soon as we were done and I let him down he quickly moved (he is almost running) to the closed pantry door and seemed to listen closely.  As soon as he heard the pressure washer again he knocked and called “Mama” several times.  It confirmed two things to me:  1. that what we’ve been thinking the past week or so is true; he calls Trevor “Mama”, and 2. he knows that loud sounds come from Dad and the garage.  It was kind of funny to me.

Sidney loves his dad very much and loves spending time with him.  The other day we switched cars and the yellow truck was left in the driveway.  As we returned home from getting Eliot from school, we were still a few houses away when the truck came into view.   Sid immediately sat up from his stroller, reached out and pointed while yelling “Mama!  Mama!”  He continued until we got home and almost went running from the stroller as soon as he was unbuckled.  It was so sad to see him race around the house and once again stand at the pantry door trying to yell into the garage to get Trevor’s attention, since Trevor was still at work.

I’m glad our children love Trevor -and show it- as much as they do.  Trevor is a great father and really looks forward to sharing more garage time with them.  He continues to take Eliot to The Home Depot for the Kids’ Workshop every month, and it’s definitely time she looks forward to.

As we returned from church a couple weeks ago there was a car in their driveway.  I got so excited to think I could actually ask them if I could buy it, but wasn’t sure how to go about it.  I had a small amount of cash I could offer and didn’t want to be offensive, but decided it was worth them telling me no if they chose to.  I knocked and told them I didn’t know of their current situation but noticed the piano and wanted to know if they would consider selling it.  I got an immediate response of “Absolutely!”  I was so exited! but nervous about the negotiating.  He let me sit down and try it out and look it over for a time and then said, “I’ll let you have it for free if I don’t have to help you move it.”  Wow!  I was even more excited to think that I could save my small cash stash even longer.

I went home to ask Trevor to bring it over and told him I had a new piano.  I think he was kind of surprised, especially when I told him I got it without paying, and then said “Ah man, you’re making me work on Sunday!”  I asked a neighbor across the street to help and he and Trevor basically had to carry it as there’s no wheels on it.  After we got it home and Trevor looked more closely, I think he said something along the lines of “Your piano’s going to have to take a number and wait in line to get repaired.”  It could definitely use some body work, but sounds in tune enough to me.  Trevor’s already re-glued some of the ivory, but there’s plenty more wood work to do.  The night he was gluing he said he felt like he was sticking to the seat, so he’s already scrubbed that too.  He does some good work; I love his willingness, even if it’s not something he would choose to have.

Right now it’s just in our entry hallway because I don’t really know where to put it.  Trevor says it belongs in our front office room (that has kind of converted to my crafting room) but there’s not room for now so it sits in the hall.

Just a short time after getting it in our house, the kids were pretty quick to “plunk” the keys and Trevor was just as quick to ask “Really?  Is that really what you want to hear all the time now?”  Honestly, I’ll probably get irritated soon, but it was really a happy sound to me and a sound I’ve wanted in my home for a long time.  I don’t have a lot of sheet music (and what I think I have is in a box somewhere) but I already love having it.  I don’t really get to play very well with the kids because they, of course, want to be involved but it’s still such a pleasure to me.  Sid will sit on my lap and add his own playing to what I’m playing, and Eliot wants to play songs with me by me telling her which keys to press.  I think I’ll look into some beginner books I can teach her from when school’s out.  She was even more interested when I told her Montana and Tracer were both taking lessons.

Several times I have thought back and been extremely grateful that I was willing to ask for something I wanted, and I wish there was more I could do to express my appreciation to my neighbor.  Soon after we took it from his house he left, and I’ve not seen him back.

The time came, however, when the “fun” was over and I was ready to spend less time standing in front of the sink.  Ironically, that time coincided with the warming weather.  I concluded that I enjoyed sticking my hands in warm water when I was cold, but when I was less than cold it didn’t seem to be worth it.  So, I suggested we go L-O-O-K at Sears during the President’s Day sales but we came home with a receipt and a date to pick up a new appliance three days later.  I’m just glad it was a dishwasher we bought rather than caving to other temptations.

Here’s a couple pictures of the before and after, as well as Sid enjoying the tool time (don’t mind the tummy exposure – Trevor doesn’t).

The excitement of the dishwasher is waning, but the box is still the best toy we’ve got for now.  I asked Trevor to make cut a door, and the kids have had a blast!  It reminds me of cutting boxes with kitchen knives with Tyson and Justin.  I remember doing it often, and making windows and everything.

I think it was the first night we had it that Eliot layed inside that box with a blanket and watched TV by looking out the whole Trevor cut for a doorknob.  She tried to be very convincing about spending the night in her “new house”.  It’s now showing signs of wear and tear (several tears) and I can agree with Trevor in that I’m just fine to get rid of it, but it’s hard when the kids have so much fun playing.  Sidney with walk in and peek out to wave and say good-bye with a huge smile.  It’s quite enjoyable to watch.

Top Ten Activities at The Schmitt’s this past month

10.  Wrestling with Dad every night after family prayer (this includes jumping off the couch and yelling “bombs away!” before landing on Dad.)  According to Keaton, “Mom can only wrestle sometimes with us, because girls always get hurt.”

11.  Keaton loves to play Peek-a-boo with Holter.  Tracer and Keaton are very good to Holter.

9.  Shooting the bow and arrows that Christmas brought!  Tracer can’t stop talking about the rabbits he is going to “peg” and Keaton tells us everytime he hits the target that he “pummeled that bullseye”.

8.  Reading stories!  Tracer and Keaton love to listen to books.

7.  Meeting the Grinch at the Ward Christmas Party instead of Santa

6.  Watching Holter grow.  As of this week, he sits up by himself.  He will play with his toys on the floor for a long time as long as Tracer or Keaton are close by.  We gave him his first serving of rice cereal last night….

5.  Practicing the latest Karate moves Sensei taught the day before.  Tracer will test for his orange belt next week, he is very anxious!

4.  Chasing the deer away from the horses winter feed.

3.  Coyote hunting

2.  Making bird houses in the garage with Dad, and then coloring them with marker.

1.   Being pulled by the 4- wheeler on a sled at Grandpa Johnson’s farm.

Sharmele Acres

We pass Sharmele Acres on our way to Grandpa’s.  Tracer has been after us for awhile to take him sledding there.  So off we go!  Justin and I forgot we are not 16 anymore and spent most of the time moaning in the truck.  :0)  Tracer was a die hard and Keaton– well after seeing Justin and I’s wrecks, decided he would watch.  :0)  Holter slept the entire time in the warm truck.  Justin’s second run down the hill resulted in flying through the air, front flip and finished with dragging is forehead to lip down the frozen mountain side.  Me… well my second run knocked the wind out of me and I am still trying to recover from a bruised tailbone.  Keaton was quick to come to my rescue, trying to reassure me  I was going to be fine because there was no blood.  I hurt so bad I wanted to cry, but neither of us could stop laughing.

Justin’s new favorite quote:

“Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass…it’s learning to dance in the rain.”