Chaos and Cupcakes

Somehow my entry “Where do they come up with these?” has been deleted! And since I write here more than in my journal lately, I need that entry for posterity! So I guess I will try to recreate it.

Last week, we were trying to leave the Chinese Buffet parking lot but State Street was filled with traffic and we were stuck. Andrew finally got fed up and yelled at Jared, “Hit the road, Jack!” A few minutes later, Jared and I were having a discussion in the front seat about what type of entertainment center we wanted to buy for the family room. Apparently we were bothering Taylor because he said to us, “Zip it! Talk to the foot! I’m trying to straight talk to Olivia!”

A couple of days ago, Taylor was looking for his scissors and couldn’t find them. In exasparation, he said, “Where are those scissors? Scissors don’t just get up and walk away from my desk!”

Now Taylor is on this kick that Jared is an old man. He was walking down the stairs behind Jared the other day and said to him, “Move out of the way, Grandpa!” Then last night at dinner he said, “Hey, Jared, you’re spilling on your shirt.” Jared said, “You can’t call me Jared.” Taylor responded, “Ok, Grandpa, you’re spilling on your shirt!” Jared asked him how old he thought he was. Taylor said “61!”

My name is Adrienne. I’m an over-achiever. I’ve been clean for… for… well, actually, never.

I had two interesting opportunities yesterday to reflect on my personality. One was in Relief Society. The lesson was on keeping balance in our life and doing the best we can without going overboard. I raised my hand when the teacher asked for any experiences. I told the class how I am an over-achiever. I talked about how this aspect of my personality includes how I perceive motherhood. I earned a full scholarship to college; I graduated early and with honors; I immediately got married in the temple. I’m not patting my back, just showing the progression to what, for me, was the next logical step- motherhood. As an over-acheiver, to me motherhood meant having a gaggle of perfect, beautiful kids and being the coolest mom on the block. Well, I’ve got my gaggle of beautiful kids who aren’t always perfect but are wonderful, nonetheless. They are too young right now to decide who is the coolest mom on the block.
But this gaggle has come at a price. I’ve become so caught up in motherhood that I have forgotten that I am important, too. That’s one reason why I feel a pressing need to go back to school right now. I need some time to grow and expand in a different vein than as only mother and wife.

This brings me to the second conversation yesterday. In a discussion about nursing school, I was told how hard it was to get in and if I did get in how hard the classes were and that it was impossible to make A’s. Up to this point, I had not been worried about getting in or making straight A’s. I met with an advisor Friday who showed me all the statistics on the average acceptee’s grades and test scores, all of which are substantially lower than mine. However, it seems like all it takes are a few negative words to plant a seed of doubt. However, I have some cheerleaders on my side rooting for me- Jared, my mom, and Aidan. They are so encouraging. So now all I have to do is take Jared’s words to heart. He told me last night, “I know you. You don’t take second place. That’s not who you are. So go prove them wrong.”

Our pal Flu came to visit this past week. He really enjoys coming to visit our home. We wish he would come a little less often but he just loves playing with the kids too much to stay away. Sometimes when he comes, he leaves for a couple of days but gets lonely for us so he comes right back. He came Monday night to play with Cameron and they were stuck together like glue until Tuesday night when Flu decided to be playmates with Andrew. He and Andrew had a raucous time together till Flu tired of him and Taylor got his turn playing on Wednesday night. On Thursday morning, Flu, Taylor, and Olivia camped all day in my room together. Lucky Olivia had another visitor on Thursday, too- Tooth #2. He is a really sharp guy. Flu left town over the weekend (I guess he already had plans) but he came back today. He realized that he and I hadn’t spent any time together. I told him a couple hours ago that he is over-staying his welcome. Maybe he’ll take a hint! Or he might decide to get in some bonding time with Jared. Are you ready for a rendezvous with Flu, Jared?

Olivia has a tooth and another about to pop through at any moment. She likes to bite people now. I guess it’s her way of protecting herself from her big brothers. Now that she is very mobile, she has become their annoying little sister. One of her favorite things to do is to knock over their Lego sculptures. Her favorite thing to do to annoy me is to stand up at my bamboo plant and pull clumps of fake dirt out and throw them all over the floor. That sassy girl!

Speaking of Legos, Taylor is now not the only one with an extreme fascination for building spectacular Lego creations. Now all the boys spend hours building towers, temples, train stations, Star Wars ships, and, of course, Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. Maybe they will all study architecture and open a firm together.

I am officially registered for classes. Because of my limited availability for classes, I couldn’t get into any night classes for Human Anatomy so I’ll have to wait till next semester to take it. This semester I have Chemistry for the Health Profession on Mondays and Wednesdays and an online Biology course as a refresher for the Anatomy and Physiology classes.