December 4-11

In case you haven't been checking religiously because my posting has been spotty of late, there was a post last week.  And also a bonus post on my birthday.  That's right, this is the third post in December.  You may have some catching up to do.  :)

Kaitlyn words: ouchie, owl, this, wait, I know you, leg, jammies, dress, fast, car, dog, want, need, water, coming, come, uh-oh, oops, dance

When Kaitlyn is getting into something and doesn't want to be disturbed, she says, "No!  Go play!"  When she gets caught doing something she's not supposed to be doing, she says, "Stop!  Wait!" and then yells a string of words that I don't understand.  When she feels she's committed an indiscretion (which could be as simple as running the wrong way to put her pajamas in the dirty clothes), she says "Sorry!"  (sah-see)  The only acceptable response to this is "You're forgiven," even if she did nothing wrong.  If she doesn't hear those words, she will continue saying "Sah-see!" at increasingly louder volumes.

'Tis the concert season, and I've been concerting.  Last week I played the Messiah with Bluffton University.  This week was the Lima Symphony Christmas concert.  Next week I have a gig in Adrian, MI.  Ironically, I believe it's with a semi-professional orchestra of a similar level to Lima, so if I'd turned 30 one week later I could have crossed number 10 off my list without even messing with an explanation of how I was counting it even though I didn't technically accomplish the stated goal.

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Bonus Post: The End of 30 Before 30

Well, I'm 30, so what's done is done and what's not is not.  The idea of this list was to balance my life somewhat, and in that respect I think it did well, even though I didn't finish everything on it.

1. Genuinely surprise Bryan at least once. February 15, 2014
2. Record the psalms.  --Siblings, when are we going to do this?  --Jacob and I have started this project.  We've recorded about 25 psalms with just the two of us.  I'm hoping to rope Jacque into some recording while she's around more these next few months.  --This remains unfinished.  I'd still like to do it, though, someday...
3. Run a sub-2:00 half marathon. April 6, 2014.  1:54:30
4. Sell at least one thing I've made (at the Farmer's Market or on Etsy).  --May 17, 2014.  Steph and I set up an Etsy account and my first order was for the matching squares that I made William for Christmas.
5. Learn Spanish. --I listen to Spanish CDs while I run on the treadmill, so I'm making progress here.  --Progress has slowed since my race in April ended my daily treadmill runs.  I need to get motivated to keep learning.  --Progress has picked up again, thanks to smartphones and the duolingo app.  --Progress has slowed again.  I need to just start using Spanish for a set amount of time each day.  :/  --I tried to convince Jacque to come live with me so that she could speak Spanish to us all the time.  Does that count for anything?  --This also did not happen.  I have labels in my house in English (for the girls) and Spanish (for me), I have a few chapter books in Spanish to read, I have some Spanish language CDs that I never listen to, and I still have a desire to be fluent enough in Spanish to speak to my kids and have them pick it up effortlessly.
6. Record all 6 cello suites.  --This goal seems unlikely to be achieved, but I do have plans to record at least one suite, which is a start.  --Well, I recorded the first suite (for a camp gift), but that's as far as I got.  I've never even learned the fifth or sixth suites, although I did start working on number 6 in my one viola lesson that I had recently.
7. Sew Christmas and/or Easter dresses for the girls. --I have patterns! I'm waiting until the girls are bigger to make them.  --This will happen for the upcoming Easter.  --April 30, 2016
8. Minimize (eliminate?) the need for disposable products in our house.  --Jacque says I've made it.  The only disposable product we use consistently is toilet paper, and I'm okay with that.  Every now and again Bryan feels the need to buy paper products for when we host a party, and I'm okay with that, too.
9. Have a compost pile.  --We have a bucket that we've begun collecting scraps in and the pile is growing.
10. Play with at least 2 professional orchestras.  --I play with Lima, and I'm looking for auditions with other orchestras.  --I was contacted by the Hamilton-Fairfield Symphony Orchestra to play with them.  Unfortunately, I'm already busy the days they need me.  I'm hoping that this means they'll contact me again, though.  :)  --I've gotten a few paying gigs with college orchestras that need extra musicians.  Does that count?  --I consciously decided not to pursue this one any more.  I have been paid to play with more than one group, and I play regularly with the Lima Symphony.  Springfield, Dayton (a small stretch), and Indianapolis (a big stretch) all had auditions this past fall that I considered going to, but I realized that if I got the positions it would be more inconvenient than anything due to the amount of travel required.  All things considered, I decided to postpone this dream until the kids are grown up and I'm bored in my house.  :)  I AM crossing it off still, due to the college orchestras and the thought process.
11. Go 7 days in a row without letting my temper get the better of me. February 14-21, 2014 I'd gotten 6 days in a row a couple of times and then finally made it 7 (nine, actually). I'm finding it easier to take deep breaths and move on, and I have a chart to keep track of my progress. Next goal: three weeks. That's how long it takes to form a habit, right?
12. Make an honest attempt at clean eating/real food. I've done some research and tried some substitutes and reached a comfortable point. Do I care enough to use butter instead of margarine? Yes. Do I care enough to buy coconut oil regularly? No. Whole grain noodles and brown rice most of the time? Yes. Completely eliminate sugar? No. Homemade bread? Yes. Whole wheat bread? Sometimes. But often I appreciate the airiness that I can only achieve with a little bit of white flour.
13. *Skipped because knowledge by some of my readers could skew the results.* April 5, 2014  --This goal was to make a dish that my in-laws liked enough to request again.  Bryan's mom now has (and uses) my recipes for mac and cheese and lasagna, and they've requested a couple of other things.  :)
14. Go on an overnight vacation with just our family.  --We're thinking this summer.  --July 11-12, 2016
15. Grow a garden.  My garden is progressing nicely, although technically we haven't seen any actual vegetables yet since they still have a month or so before they reach maturity.  The leaves look beautiful and healthy, though!  --Summer 2014
16. Write a book. --Dad has suggested several times that I draw from my blog to complete this goal.  I have not written a book based on my blog, but I did find a website that will print a bound version of my blog and I decided to order a volume for each year of writing.  I now have four hard copies of various sections of my blog and intend to continue to get one for each coming year.
17. Sew a skirt that becomes my favorite. --July 4, 2016
18. Volunteer to host campout. --We tried to do this for 2016 campout (and even thought we'd succeeded), but apparently we didn't tell all the right people, so someone else is doing 2016.  We will be trying again for 2017.  :)  --Success, at least as far as I know.  I'm pretending that we succeeded and have started vaguely considering where to host 2017 campout.
19. Go through RCIA. Edit: Arrange to talk to a Catholic priest several times.  RCIA won't answer the questions I have.  --What if I just become pen pals with the Pope?  --This was a 100% fail, although I have read a lot of books.
20. Attend Seekers' Group (similar to RCIA, offered by the Orthodox church in Lima).  --Bryan and I are attending this every Tuesday and I have no reason to believe we'll quit before it's finished.  --We've started twice and haven't finished only because the group keeps disbanding before we make it all the way through the material.  I've been going for over a year now and intend to continue going until we've finished the book, so I'm crossing this off.
21. Complete at least 3 things on my (ever growing) Projects List.  --I think I finished one, but now I can't remember what it is!  --I have an Advent Calendar that is halfway done.  I'm also planning a music program for the kids in our parish.  Now perhaps when I finish those I will remember to count them.  :)  --I finished one: The church has a lending library as of July 17, 2016  --The one I couldn't remember was the growth chart that I have hanging near the girls' room.  Silhouettes were also on my list, and I finished those as well.  That's three!
22. Start a soup kitchen.  --There is a flourishing soup kitchen in Lima already, but I'm working on getting together a Supper and Psalms with a goal of ultimately hosting it once a month.  --I keep having new plans for a way to somewhat implement this idea.  I'm hoping one will work out soon.  --Okay, what is actually within my reach right now is to set up a Blessings Box.  I haven't done it yet, despite my intentions to do so.  I'm not crossing it off, but I do hope to get it done before turning 31.  Bryan has said he'll help me.  :)
23. Make pectin-free jam. Make up the recipe.  --August 18, 2014.  I made peach jam with almond and nutmeg.
24. Go on an overnight vacation with Bryan -- no kids. --September 25-28, 2014
25. Use up all the coupons Bryan gave me (I still have some from when we were dating). --Slowly but surely coming along.  --Only three left!  --Now only one!  --Finally used the last one (from four months of dating) on December 5, 2016.  Talk about cutting it close.  :)
26. Learn one of the 3 big concertos. --I have music for two of these. Now I just have to practice.  --Practice is not happening as much as it should. at all. :(  --I got bowings for the Walton from Steph and we talked about learning it together, but that is the extent of our progress.  --My aforementioned viola lesson also got me working on the Hindemith.  If I have the time and drive to practice, I will eventually complete this goal.
27. Arrange a regularly recurring get-together with the Lima folk.  --Second Thursday of each month is "go to Lima" day.  We've successfully done this two months in a row, so I'm crossing it off.
28. Have a religious conversation with Bryan that doesn't end in tears.  --July 27, 2014.  Nothing was solved, but I didn't cry.
29. Make a new friend.  --Why did I put this on my list?!  --I have new friends! ...Kind of.  There are three couples we've gotten together with more than once in recent months.  Add to that the fact that I've become better friends with people I didn't know as well when  I made this list, and I'm counting it.  --Summer 2016
30. Improve a stranger's day.  --I sent a book to one of dad's new parishioners and then realized that now I get to cross something off this list!
31. (Because I thought of one more and it kind of fits in with several of the above goals) Join a co-op.  --It turns out that I AM a co-op.  I organize the buying of bulk foods and distribute them to others.  I'm counting it.

November 13-December 4

Kaitlyn went to the doctor forever ago.  Actually, we all went, prompting the doctor to comment on the number of wiggly little girls in the room (5, because we had Sophia and Evalynn with us).  Only Kaitlyn had an appointment, though.  She was at the time 25 pounds and 33.5 inches tall.  She is undoubtedly bigger now.

We made "About Me" books in school and one of the pieces of information was weight.  Unfortunately for the books, we don't own a scale.  BUT, we did have (at the time) four five-pound bags of flour and some planks of wood!  I had the brilliant idea of making a balance scale and weighing Kaitlyn using sacks of flour, weighing Gretchen using Kaitlyn and flour, and weighing Olivia using Gretchen and flour.  Sadly, our planks of wood were not of the sturdy variety, and they bent rather than balancing, so our experiment was a bust.  :(  The next time we visited Grandma and Grandpa, we hopped on their actual scale.  Incidentally, Olivia is 40 pounds and Gretchen is 33.

New Kaitlyn words: See you in the morning, Grandma, Evalynn (Evah or Ella), dessert, candy, fork, I don't know, sorry, forgiven, see, yummy (nummy), pretty

Olivia has done some real, live math!  I had the girls count raisins into numbered circles and Olivia whizzed through with no trouble.  As I helped Gretchen and Sophia count recognize numbers and count raisins, I put Olivia to work using her raisins to add a page of problems that I'd written down.  She did great, and I was very excited.  :)  She's also beginning to read, when we remember to work on it.  The biggest problem is that she is very good at memorizing and/or guessing the words in the early readers, so she doesn't actually have to read to get the words right.  She sounds things out well, but still has trouble stringing the sounds together into a word that she recognizes.  And when I say she has trouble, I really mean that she can't do it at all yet.  She'll get better.

Gretchen likes to do "tricks" for us.  She holds onto the edge of the table and then stands on one foot.  She puts two hands and one foot on the ground and sticks the other foot in the air.  She braces herself between the couch and the end table, gets up on one tip-toe, and swings the other foot back and forth.  So much talent.  Her balance is getting better, especially since she started ballet.  And speaking of ballet, she also shows anyone who will watch her ballet moves that she's learned.

We hosted the midwest family thanksgiving at our house this year.  Tom, Donna, Kara, Jacob, Zach, Ted, Ruth, Carolyn, and Jacob all came.  Jacque and Will were thinking about coming, but ended up visiting Will's family instead.  I suppose that is acceptable.  I borrowed a roaster from church for the 21 pound turkey and we put both leaves in the dining room table.  The little girls had to sit at their kid-sized card table, which they did not mind at all.  We ate delicious food, played euchre and 7 Wonders, and enjoyed everyone's company.  Zach and Jacob stayed for a few more days, which was nice.

Bryan turned 30 recently.  He feels no different, although he did suffer an unfortunate losing streak in all games (quite unusual for him) for about a week.  Many jokes were made about his senility.  This does mean that my 30th birthday is quickly approaching.  My final 30 Before 30 post will go up on my birthday.

The church cookie walk happened yesterday.  We had two all-day baking days in November and several late nights this past week getting everything ready, but it's (mostly) over now.  A few more pounds of cookies are being baked to finish filling preorders, but then we're done for another year.

I volunteered to host campout in 2017, thinking when I volunteered two years ago that July 2017 was probably pretty safe, baby-wise.  Justine did some math, too, and decided she could help me.  As the time drew nearer and pregnancies failed to appear sufficiently early, we made jokes about being at camp, come babies or broken water.  It turns out that we will, indeed, be at camp come babies AND broken water.  Justine is due July 2 and I'm due July 12 (incidentally, my sister-in-law, Keshia, is due July 17).  Camp is July 25.  The good news is that camp this year is only half an hour from my house.  Also, now mom, dad, and James don't have to choose between coming to camp or to a baptism.  They can just come at the same time for both!  I'm trying to convince Justine that she wants to have her baby's baptism at the same time, and we'll kill 3 birds with one stone.  :)

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