March was a mix of cold, snow, wind, rain, warm, and sunshine. Typical. We spent the month . . .
Celebrating . . . fifteen years of Maxwell! His birthday landed on a Saturday, which meant he got to sleep in, have donuts for breakfast, didn't have to do any Saturday jobs, go out for burgers and root beer floats for lunch, and have a Mistborn-inspired cake before playing a new Mistborn board game with his brothers and cousin. (There was a wedding reception thrown into the mix as well, which was not his top choice, but he endured it valiantly.)
Attending . . . library story time. We don't manage it every week, but Silas and I try to go to story time when we can, either at our own library or with my mom at hers. Silas has a couple of friends that go somewhat regularly as well. I've been to many story times over the years, some better than others, but the current librarians in charge of it have been awesome: lots of songs, usually age-appropriate, engaging books, and a fun craft at the end.
Listening . . . to some terrific music at Aaron and Max's choir concert and Bradley's band concert. My parents rarely miss a concert and were able to attend both of these events.
Losing . . . my hearing. Last month, it was my voice, but as the aforementioned illness progressed, it went into my ears, producing pain and eventually so much congestion that it felt like I was underwater anytime I spoke. I eventually caved and went to the doctor (and this was after I'd already been to the doctor for the same illness in February). They could see a lot of wax buildup, so they irrigated both ears, which definitely helped, but my ears didn't fully clear until they popped on the plane going to Hawaii at the beginning of April.
Selecting . . . his own set of scriptures. Ian will be eight in April, and he has been dying to get his own scriptures. Mike and I took him on a little date to find the ones he wanted. We had his name embossed on them, and he was so proud to show them off to his brothers and primary teachers. He spent a lot of time reading them that night and the next morning, and I thought maybe he was turning over a new leaf, but then the excitement and newness wore off.
Mentoring . . . a robotics team. Mike was asked by a teenager in our ward if he would mentor his high school robotics team. Their original mentor had dropped out, so it was a last minute switch with only a couple of weeks left before the competition. Even so, the team had done very little building up to that point, so Mike was there to see and help the robot come to life. The team was up against the clock the entire time, and they still didn't have a working robot on the day of the competition. Mike said the competition atmosphere was very friendly and encouraging, so with the help of a few other people, their robot was eventually able to compete. It didn't win any matches, but they were just thrilled they got it moving and working!
Suffering . . . at the orthodontist. I had the worst orthodontic experience of my life. I am already so done with having these braces (it has been two years), but the pain, discomfort, neglect, and poor etiquette at this last appointment made me question if we want to continue using this orthodontist for our other kids. Ugh.
Attending . . . multiple plays. We went to Little Women at Hale Center Theater with my parents (I love this play so much, and the casting for this one was phenomenal--I cried multiple times), The Drowsy Chaperone at our junior high (we knew multiple kids in the cast, including a couple of the leads), and Prince of Egypt at Hale Center Theater (we took all of our kids except Silas--it was a Christmas present from my parents).
Ending . . . my time as primary president. After serving for three years, I was released as the primary president in my ward. It was such a privilege to serve, especially with the rest of the presidency and the music leader. I loved being with the teachers and children and getting to know everyone so well. I am already missing our frequent meetings (but also loving the extra time I have during the week and on Sundays).
Interviewing . . . for a position at the University of Utah. Mike applied for a professor position teaching senior design. He was given a phone interview and then was one of three candidates invited to a full-day in-person interview where he taught a class, gave a presentation, and met with various groups and faculty. Ultimately, he was not offered the job, but he was still grateful for the experience.
Failing . . . to host our annual pie day party. It didn't happen in March due to snow or bad weather or other commitments. Every Monday, we would look at the weather for the coming weekend and see cold temps and snow/rain. My brother was in town for one of those weekends and texted to ask if we were having pie day. At that moment, there was eight inches of snow on the ground, so the answer was no. Because of the size of this event, we absolutely have to be able to host it outside. We haven't cancelled it completely, but it's looking like it won't happen until May now.
Building . . . a fort with some of that aforementioned snow. At least the kids took advantage of the late snow. I, on the other hand, looked at my poor daffodils and wanted to cry.
Having . . . fun at WAMA. Out of all the high school dances, this is the most casual one, and I love it for that. Aaron was asked by a girl in our ward, and her group broke the normal trend of keeping all the friends together and instead branched out into the most eclectic group of teens, which was awesome. Aaron's cousin, Addie, was also in the group, and he had a really great time. They started the day by decorating cupcakes, then took pictures at Holladay Park, had dinner at his date's house, went to the dance (which got shut down almost an hour early), and then went to another girl's house for a Mario cart tournament.
Finishing . . . a vest and a pair of socks. Both projects had been on my needles for awhile but been put aside while I finished other things, so it felt nice to finally complete them. I also sewed a skirt, which is perfect for spring and summer, and I have worn it a lot already.
Wearing . . . a glucose monitor. For my whole life, I have known I have a hard time processing glucose efficiently. Last year I read Glucose Revolution by Jessie Inchauspé, and I have tried to follow her glucose hacks. I decided to wear a glucose monitor for a couple of weeks so I could have a better idea of what my body does with carbs and if the hacks from the book are effective or not. It was fascinating (but also, I was kind of glad when the two weeks were up with the monitor because it was making me feel a little obsessive). I conducted several experiments with a chocolate chip cookie (because, priorities), and in my limited research, I found my glucose stayed the steadiest when I a) ate vegetables first b) ate protein-rich food next, and c) went on a walk about twenty minutes after eating the cookie.
Playing . . at the Museum of Natural Curiosity. Silas and I went to the museum with our friends who have a pass there. It was such a fun morning with lots of playing and exploring and climbing and running around.
Eliminating . . . the afternoon nap. Silas had no desire to give up his afternoon nap, but the staying-awake-until-10:30pm was starting to get to me. It was a rough transition at first with varying amounts of success (as captured in the photos below), but I think we're finally there, and it's so nice to put him to bed at 7:15pm and have him fall asleep instantly.
Filling . . . out a bracket. It wouldn't be March without Mike and the boys filling out a bunch of March Madness brackets and watching lots of basketball. Our family draws for a totally random bracket (pictured below), and the winner gets to choose something from the BYU Store. Mike has now won two years in a row, much to the disappointment of our kids.
Slowing . . . down on the reading front. These are the books I read in February and March, so not too impressive in quantity, but pretty good in quality:
To the Bright Edge of the World by Eowyn Ivey (a very slow start, but I ended up liking it--not as good as The Snow Child though)
Shark Heart by Emily Habeck (I didn't expect to love it, but I did)
Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery (Highly enjoyable, as always)
Into the Magic Shop: A Neurosurgeon's Quest to Discover the Mysteries of the Brain and the Secrets of the Heart by James R. Doty (the author's tone was very hard to get past, but our book club discussion was one of the liveliest I've ever been to)
The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Vol. 8 by Beth Brower (A little darker than earlier books in the series, but one of my favorites)
Applauding . . . at Concerto Night. My piano student (and niece), Addie, performed the first movement of Leroy Anderson's Concerto in C with the high school's philharmonic orchestra. She started working on this concerto two years ago. It is a long piece with many technically difficult sections. She worked so hard, and it was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life to spend so much time with her on this concerto and then watch her absolutely nail it the night of the performance. All of her efforts and talents culminated in this one spectacular performance, and I cried. We had built up to it for so long, and then suddenly, it was happening, and then it was over, and I was so proud of her.
Focusing . . . on Ian as the Star of the Week. Every kid in his class gets a turn to be the Star of the Week, and Ian had been looking forward to his week for months. He gave a little power point presentation all about himself, brought some show and tell, shared his favorite picture book, and filled the estimation jar with candy.
Receiving . . . his patriarchal blessing. Aaron had the rich spiritual experience of receiving his patriarchal blessing from the patriarch in our stake (who also happens to be our neighbor). It was a privilege to be a witness to this blessing and hear beautiful promises and counsel for Aaron's life.
Checking . . . off a job list. I give each of the boys a job list on Saturday morning. This is the way we've handled weekly cleaning tasks for at least the last ten years. Silas is very aware of this routine, and he was thrilled to get his own job list for the first time this month. I gave Clark the same jobs so he could help Silas with them, and you would have thought Silas was doing something much more fun than cleaning with how happy he was.
That's all I've got for this month. Life continues to be full and busy, and I'm just trying to savor it all.
