Little Mermaid

Emry has another Play under her belt with the production of 'A Little Mermaid'.  She was cast as a Sailor, a Mer-person, a chef and a princess.  She was basically a part of the ensemble (no speaking part) and had a blast with it.

My whole family went to see the production on a Friday night and we all had a great time watching our girl give it her all up on the stage.

After a week of Girls camp it was a week of the Play and now we're in full on summer-party mode.  I have company and couldn't be happier keeping busy with them.  Hope you all are enjoying your summer and getting plenty of Sun!

Rolling in the Dough

I always knew that someday I would teach my kids how to make bread.  All children deserve the right to have the aroma that only bread baking in the oven can bring burned into their psyche.  After church on Sunday I wanted to make rolls for our Mothers Day dinner, and then immediately thought, "Marie, get Emry in here, she can do this".

I gave her the recipe and just stepped back while I walked her through each step.  We talked about water temperature, proofing, what dough should feel like,  how to love it (not really, didn't want to scare her, her first time out) rising time and finally how to shape those babies.

They turned out perfect.

Kind of like the girl herself.

Feeding Five

Emry you've equaled me in heighth and are now on the road to surpassing me.  What's more interesting is that I feel your mind is on that same road.  It is the strangest thing to see a child, your own child, know and understand things that perplex you.  I can't figure out if you're just naturally a genius, or if you get up when we're sleeping and study all night. You are so sure of yourself, you know who you are and where you're going.  You're a 'take charge' kind of girl.  You've thrown yourself into the thespian life with so much joy and vigor, it's so fun to just watch you burst into song and dance at any moment .  You're still a slob.  You give me a hard time about walking Brutus. You don't let me pick out your clothes anymore.  But it's a small price to pay to stare at you and feel my heart speed up as I anticipate your future.  You've always jumped in with both feet, there's no middle ground for you.  You don't have a scared or embarrassed bone in your body.  You're open and honest and tell it like it is.  I adore you.  I want to be you.  Wherever you go in life........ take me with you.

Lila.  There is one word that encapsulates who you are.  Sweet.  When anyone describes you that is the word they use.  You are rainbows and fairies and ponies all wrapped into one.  You love little things and even have a 'little things' club at school.  Little Pet Shops, little 'Squeenkies', it doesn't even matter what, as long as it's little and cute.  Which is funny because those words are YOU!  You are also our resident rubber band as you cartwheel and back flip through the house.  Rest assured I am well aware of your mischievous streak as well.  Ever since you were 3 and I saw you rub your hands together saying "bonk the Ethan" and then you did!  Oh yes, Lila, I am watching you.  I love, love, love every night when I come to tuck you in and you grab my neck, pull me close and say "I never want to stop hugging you loving you!!!!"  I never want to stop either.

Ethan right now I am your world.   The first thing you do when you wake up is come to my bed and say "I love you".  They are also the last words you say at night when I tuck you in.  You love Tom Sawyer and Moby Dick as well as The Wimpy Kid.  A day doesn't go by that you don't read.  I think I've kind of spoiled you and hope somewhere out there in the world is another 7 year old whose parents love her so much she will be able to pass on that love to you and adore you as much as I do.  You don't like to be alone, if Emry and Lila are busy you are beside yourself.  But when you get together with your cousin Nathan, oh my gosh watch out, you two don't stop.  You will play Army in the bushes for hours and proudly show off your 'war' wounds upon arriving home.  I give thanks that you have a boy cousin who teaches you how to be tough.

I love feeding you kids.  I love feeding your souls and heart as well as your belly.

ShortCut

Emry chopped off her locks last week.  I didn't want her to, but she insisted she wanted it off her shoulders and out of her way.

I've told myself for years that all I truly want for my kids is for them to live their lives based on what they want, not others, but I didn't expect the 'other' would be me!  I love braiding, curling and twisting the girls hair into all sorts of crazy fancy funky do's, but I guess that's kind of over for the time being.

The reaction to Emry's hair was interesting.  They were all along the lines of "Cute.  But why'd you cut it?".

The psychology behind long hair versus short is fascinating as I got to thinking about it.  I know that whenever I see a girl with super short hair there is some envy that rises to the surface on my part.  These girls always seem confident and sporty, fun and carefree, like they have more important things to do than deal with their hair.

Every few years I cut my hair off to a chin length bob, then cut bangs, then layer it, then grow it out, then repeat the whole process.  Right now I am in the growing out stages, but I am actually dying to cut bangs, so who knows what's in store.  I have to admit I look forward to the day I am old and can for the first time get a really short Demi Moore in Ghost style cut. (Obviously I can do that now, but with my full cheeks I highly doubt it's the right look for me)

Looking around at all my friends and family members daughters I realize one thing - they all have long hair.  Emry has the shortest hair by far of all her friends at church and school.  But you know what?  It doesn't even faze her.  I don't think it even occurs to her to follow the crowd or do things like others.

I got my way after all.

Naughty by Nature

Today was one of those days we were holding our friends baby in church and I found myself thinking how adorable it would be to have another baby, my daydream even went so far as to smugly think twins would be super fun. 

That was before we arrived home.

Our church goes from 9am-12pm, so from noon on we have ALL day to spend as a family, which is usually great.  Usually.  Arriving home the kids thought it the perfect time to be their silliest, loudest, most obnoxious, mischievous, messiest selves.  They even went so far as to annoyingly act like children!!!  It took me a few minutes to remember they still are, so luckily I didn't lose my cool and in an even tone directed Ethan in cleaning up a full glass of spilled chocolate milk, untangled his hair from the hand blender he genius-ly turned on in his 'long haired hippie' hair (as Glenn calls it) and explained why playing with a long stick while jumping from couch to couch, table to chair wasn't the smartest plan.

I tried to read in my bed, oh how silly of me, what was I thinking?  They all joined me and Lila insisted she had to read my magazines as they are all extremely fond of Oprah's favorite things issues.  (Good thing Emry plans on becoming a doctor as Oprah's doesn't like anything under $500)  They then decided to have a party in my bed and went on to take apart the entire bed.

I could go on and on about these punky kids, the state of my home right now, and the aftermath that only human tornadoes can create.

But you know what?  It was okay.  It was all okay.  It was even fun to see my kids who spend so much time doing homework and chores, reading books and scriptures, paying attention at school and being reverent at church to just be silly and wacky, to let loose and act like 2 year olds.

It brought back so many great memories and reminded me to have patience because as immature as they were today, I know every day that passes is a small punch to my gut, a reminder that I can't stop or slow down their march away from me.

Cleaning and organizing, mopping and rearranging can be done tomorrow.  I know the chocolate milk wasn't thoroughly cleaned up.  I know church clothes are still on floors and dressers.  I know the mess isn't cute in the least, it's gross, it makes me uneasy, I have to talk myself out of taking them to task. 

Yes, they are big enough to clean up after themselves, but sometimes I can do it.  I can toast them a bagel in the morning, pack their lunch, kiss them goodbye, watch them walk down the street their backpacks heavy on their shoulders and then I can turn around, crank up the soft rock and go to town cleaning.

The mess will still be there, it isn't going away.  As for my thoughts about adding more kids to this mix?

What thoughts?

Interview

1. Name & meaning?
- Emry Glenn Wallwork.  Emry means brave leader, I looked it up online.  Glenn's my dad's name.

2. What's the best thing about being you?
- I am always happy!

3.What's great about being part of your family?
- We're different. We have our own thing.  After we do chores we end up doing a lot of fun stuff.

4. What's your favorite book?
- I think 'Divergent', it's really good. I really like 'The Mysterious Benedict Society' & 'Harry Potter' & 'Struck by Lightening'.  I don't know, I like a lot of books.

5. You in 3 words.
- Funny.  Spontaneous.  Outgoing.

6. Favorite Memory.
- I really like all my memories of theme parks, I love my memories of roller coasters.  Usually I am with you or Dad.

7. Favorite Quote.
- "Always live up to your dreams.  Unless your dream is stupid."

8. Proudest Achievement.
- When I swam the (Oceanside) Pier, it was really hard and fun. Making honor roll every year.  Getting into video announcements.

9. What's your favorite thing your mom makes?
- You make so much good stuff!  Caramel Corn.  You chop fruit very good, I always love fruit.

10. What do you want to be when you grow up?
- A Plastic Surgeon or an Anesthesiologist.

11. What do you know for sure?
- That I've made good friends.  That they love and respect me.

12. What do you look forward to?
-Driving, Disneyland, ASB, High School, Swimming, P.E., getting a big dog, having a boyfriend, joining a gym and going to Zumba, working at the Apple store.

13.  What's the best thing about.......
Lila - She's a loyal little sister, really sweet and funny.
Ethan- hmmm.....He's good at sports.
Mom in one word- Love
Dad in one word- Fun

14.  What do you believe in?
- Being honest & true.

15. Favorite saying.
- I love you.

Raise the Roof

Emry wrapped up our local Community Theater's production of 'Fiddler on the Roof' this past weekend.  They've all been working so hard since September so it was great to see the whole thing come together and see the kids having so much fun in the process.

I would totally have pegged Emry for a total sports nut.  She's strong and fast, daring and unafraid, and just like her dad excels at every sport she tries. Although she's tried many sports and is very active biking and surfing and just being a kid, where she wants to devote her time is to the theater.  At least right now at this time of her life, who knows what the future holds.

Clockwise from top Left - goofing around with cast mates backstage, Emry in costume with her "wife",  in some of her costume doing homework during rehearsals, letting her braids out for the after show bows

I have so much fun watching her enjoy this whole process so thoroughly.  It's so great when your kids find something they just love.  Even though it was bumpy at the beginning with Emry not getting the part she wanted, and then getting cast as a man, and to top it all off  had just 1line!  It stung for sure.  I saw the tears and they were real.  But she shaped up right away and was just so glad to be a part of the whole thing.

I love all these theater kids.  They are so funny and go around singing and dancing and being silly.  They support each other and push themselves to go outside their comfort zone, to ad-lib, work together, play to the audience, and not take themselves too seriously.

                                           Lila, Ethan & I getting snacks during intermission

Emry now has a 2 week break and then starts production on "The Little Mermaid".  Here's hoping she gets to be more than just some seaweed.

Worth the Work

Good grades are important to me, more the effort it takes to actually get the grades whether good or average is what I am proud of, & what I'd like to reward.  But then I have this conflict in my head that I am taking away my child's inherent ability to be proud on their own terms instead of mine. 

Therefore I am not a parent who gives money or rewards based on grades.  I think that can definitely work for some kids, but I don't feel right about doing it myself.  I want my kids to feel that they are making us proud and meeting our expectations, but at a base level I want them to take complete ownership of their grades and strive to do better to create a better future for themselves and society.  I want them to experience the joy that comes with a job well done, with Glenn & I out of the equation.

That said last night getting Drumsticks (the ice cream, not the chicken) at Walmart, Emry picked up a pack of gum and said it was her favorite flavor and so hard to find and could she pay me back at home.  I said sure and then a minute later picked up a second pack, a little 'good job on your grades' I would surprise her with at home.  Then a second later inspiration overrode the cheapskate in me and I grabbed another pack. 

So there you have it.  In the Wallwork home straight A's gets you 3 packs of gum. 

And if you think that's no big deal you seriously underestimate Emry's love for gum.

Annnnd....she's 12!!!

Holy Moly was it loud in my home Friday night.  During the planning of Lila's party I started feeling bad about not doing a party for Emry so I turned to her one evening and said "Emry, would you like to have some friends over for a birthday party?"

Not five minutes later she came back with a list of games they would play and invitations she had made on the computer. Apparently she had given it some thought and was just waiting for me to say the word.

They were the cutest, nerdiest invitations ever.  There was some crazy math equation on it and Emry wrote that whoever could solve it could keep all her birthday gifts.

The food was so low key it was embarrassing, but it was all stuff Emry wanted and after the previous party I was more than happy to get pizzas at Costco, open a few bags of chips, put out the rest of the Halloween candy and call it good.

Here is Emry and 3 of her friends that are in "Fiddler On The Roof" with her doing a dance number from the play for everyone.  Theater geeks unite.

Seriously though Emry is a dream come true for me.  I was the shyest most insecure kid ever so to see her just be herself, work it, live it & not care what anyone thinks, I couldn't be happier for her.

The kids did a scavenger hunt in our neighborhood, a guess the celebrity when they were young game, put on crazy clothes when the music stops game and a find the swedish fish in a tin of whip cream game.  Good times.

To my first born, my darling daughter who will be taller than me any day now.  The one I go to when I need a reminder on how to retrieve a text message, help with the printer, or anything having to do with my nemesis technology.  The one who dances with me, cleans my bathrooms and will snuggle in my bed by my side to read.  The kid I have to remind to maybe eat a meal before dishing up a humongous bowl of ice cream.  The one I pin all my hopes and dreams on.  Too much?  Ok, but you're so smart, charismatic and fun I wish it were Freaky Friday and I could trade places with you.  You took the best of me, the best of your dad, added in spunk, laughter and a killer curiosity and came to be the funnest, cutest 12 year old I ever met.   Love you more than pony heaven (& that's the highest heaven).

Emry turns 11