Trouble in River City

Roll out the seventy-six trombones. Golda has been cast as a River City Kid in The Music Man. She is so excited at the prospect of being in a play. I'm sure it will call for lots of driving, scheduling conflicts, ringlets and late nights, but Golda was built for that kind of lifestyle. Scott took her to both the audition and the callback. I had sold the job to him as "running Golda to an audition really fast right after flute." As he waited for hours with the other parents, he texted me, "I am not a stage dad."

We'll see. People grow into their roles. He's whistling "Wells Fargo Wagon" again.

Housekeeping

You can either have kids or a perfect house. You can't have both. Even if it's a gingerbread house. Try making a gingerbread house with 5 kids and see if it turns out neat and tidy, with all the beautiful candies lined up in rows with perfect icicles hanging from the eaves. If it turns out like the picture on the box, you're not letting the kids help. Or your kids are idiot savants whose specialty is icing. Like Rain Man, but with gingerbread. My kids aren't prodigies with the frosting, but it's fun to see their personalities come out. They each did a side. Golda laid hers out first and made it colorful and symmetrical. Ruby did the roof with a neat red and green pattern of rows. Ari did a wall with solid red chocolate chips to replicate bricks. Freestone used ALL the candy and stacked it several layers deep. He worked at it long after everyone else had finished.

I think the gingerbread house did turn out perfect. Just like the piles of boots and backpacks by the front door are perfect, and the never-ending crumb fest under the kitchen counter, and the blankety doll beds I find everywhere, and the stacks and stacks of artwork and letters and ideas for plays and tiny notes. It's all perfect. At some point during every day, I clear it all away, but it comes back. I have a note from Freestone in front of me that says, "Circe from Freestone." He wrote it all by himself. That's the kind of perfection that looks like a mess unless you really take a good look. Just like the gingerbread house!

You Are Invited

My kids are having a recital tomorrow. It's mostly Araceli, who has been working hard on several pieces to perform, with a few things from the other kids. We planned the recital, booked the venue and practiced with the pianist. So, all systems "go," except I'm not sure we'll have an audience, due to my procrastination. Ari gave invitations to all the kids in her school class and ballet class, but most of them don't have a drivers' license, so I'm not sure anyone will venture out. I meant to invite all of you, just to torture you with kids wielding musical instruments, but...uh...I forgot.

So, if anyone can come to a recital Thursday from 5:00 - 5:30 at Academy Music, you're welcome to bring your noisy kids and wiggly babies. Mine will be there! Thanks.

Angels Among Us

My favorite phone messages are the ones that say, "I'll be bringing you dinner tonight and I'll be around all day to watch your kids if you need me." Most phone messages aren't that amazing, but Jennie called today and that's just what she said. Scott had Ruby at the hospital most of the day getting a CAT scan to see what, exactly, is wrong with her neck. With the stress of trying to get Ruby well, it was a great feeling to know, all day, that dinner was taken care of. Jennie showed up right on time, looking fabulous and laden with warm, delicious soup and all the goodies to go with it. Thanks, Jen! You're a life saver.

A little bit later, Aunt Michelle came and asked Ruby how she was feeling. She brought a bag of gifts; a manicure set for Ruby and surprises for all the other kids as well. Aunt Michelle knew exactly what the kids would love: chap stick for this dry Utah winter and work books to practice their school skills. Thanks for thinking of Ruby, Michelle, and for including the other kids!

I had friends calling and offering help, and asking how Ruby was feeling, all day. It's nice to know that if something really did go wrong, we would not be alone. We found out Ruby doesn't need surgery on her neck. She just has a nasty infection of her lymph nodes, tonsils and saliva glands. No wonder she's been in such constant and intense pain for the past week! Thank heavens we have such a great doctor and friend, Dr. Scheuller. He even recommended Sour Patch Candy to flush out her saliva glands. That's a treatment plan Ruby can live with!

Thanks to two of the best aunts ever. When I was looking for a picture of you two, I found countless pictures of your amazing children, but no pictures of the women in the background who make it all happen. So when Uncle Jeff showed up with a case of oranges to boost Ruby's immune system, I got smart and took a picture of him. Thanks, Jeff and Richelle! It was fun to see all those little boys in the car! I think Ruby is feeling better already, with her nails painted, soup in her tummy and a week's supply of oranges to keep her going. There's no better example of the Christmas spirit than has been shown to us today.

Best Friends

Who has friends who make Baked Alaska for fun, who learn new skills and hone old ones to make Christmas gifts, who bring hostess gifts to parties and call the day before or an hour prior to a party to see what you've forgotten? Me! I have friends who do all that and more. These are girls whose wardrobe choices I remember from second grade (Allison's Perfect Person shirt!) They are girls I stood behind at the barre for years on end, whose birthday parties I ice skated at, who carpooled with me to violin lessons, whose sketchy college boyfriends I remember, the girls who threw wedding showers and baby showers for me and continue to support me in everything I do.

Last night was another baby shower/birthday party/Christmas dinner. Sarah's birthday is Christmas Eve, so we have to stretch out the celebrating. Happy early b-day! As we await Tiffany's new baby girl, we laugh about how far we've come since high school, when the thought of keeping another human being alive was beyond our grasp. Now we have 27 kids between us, and they're all alive and thriving. And that's not even counting the kids of the girls who couldn't make it last night. Who would have thought? :)

Scott took all the kids to dinner and a movie so my girlfriends and I could celebrate late into the night. (Thanks, Scott!) We all came away with a big pile of gifts, each one of which is perfect. Thanks, Davis Girls! Love ya!

Night of All Nights

Night of All Nights was the theme of the girls' voice recital tonight. For Ruby, it was a night she would just as soon forget. All week, the poor girl has been in excruciating pain on the right side of her face. We were lucky enough to get her in to see Dr. Scheuller, who diagnosed a swollen lymph node, which was affecting a nerve in her ear, and put her on antibiotics, not a moment too soon. She's still miserable, but she managed to rally just enough for a two-hour dress rehearsal/dinner at her teacher's house, then the recital. Golda and Ruby both amazed Scott and me with their beautiful solos. They were sweet in their matching Christmas outfits, singing a duet of Gentle Jesus. I knew Ruby was in pain, but she hid it well, even when Xanthe sneaked up to the front row to put her head on Ruby's lap. Ruby patiently held Xanthe and her teddy bear and stroked Xanthe's head while waiting for her turn to sing. That was the part, more than the music, that gave me a glimpse into Ruby's future, perhaps as a patient and wise mother, and a strong and brave woman.

Immediately after the recital, Ruby broke down in sobs and said she was ready to go home and she needed some medicine. She was so disappointed to be feeling like this for her first voice recital. It's a good lesson to learn, that you prepare to do your best, and then you overcome whatever trials you didn't plan for or prepare for. It's what you do with the obstacles that defines you. Watching Ruby sing, you would never know she was in great pain. I'm proud of little Ruby, and proud of Golda for taking care of her tonight. These girls have a long way to go and "many rivers to cross," but they are already an example to their mom. Well done, girls.

Wrapping it Up

OK, the neighbor gifts have been delivered. I was going to say "successfully delivered," but I have my doubts. I had a rowdy bunch of 5-year-old boys and two boxes of undelivered gifts yesterday, so I combined the two and had boys jumping in and out of my moving car, hurling wrapping paper at all our neighbors' houses. While I didn't have to actually do any work, the quality of the delivery might be sketchy. If you're my neighbor and you didn't get a roll of wrapping paper with our Christmas card attached, it's because 1. You didn't look in your bushes or 2. I ran out with 4 houses left to go. I strategically skipped 4houses that don't blog, so maybe they'll never find out. :)

My Favorite

There. This should keep my mind off cheese tots. This should keep my mind off pretty much everything except keeping the kids away from the chocolate chip cookies so I can have all of them.

This Is Going to be a Problem

This looks disgusting, doesn't it? The sight of all these fresh, crisp veggies makes me want to gag.

This, on the other hand, I HAVE to have. All that greasy goodness is irresistible. The lady at Taco Maker gave me cheese tater tots by mistake the other day, and she had a hard time prying them out of my hands when I told her about the mistake. I had to go back for some the next day, and now I'm addicted to cheese tots. I might gain more that my usual 40 pounds this time. What are the rest of you craving?

My B. M. F.*

*Big Mormon Family
These are the people I chose when I married Scott. Man, did I get lucky when I married into the Dopp family. I love each one of my in-laws. I love them individually and collectively; they're great one on one and as a package deal. Tonight was our first annual adult Christmas party. It was eerily quiet as we ate our Chinese food with no kids clamoring for special orders! The opportunity to talk to all the grown-ups in relative calm was really fun. The gift exchange turned out perfect; people liked my gift of a cabin-themed Christmas tree, and I scored a battery-powered screwdriver and air pump. I'm sure the kids will need the pump as soon as tomorrow. Now I don't have to give away bikes when they get flat tires.:) Thanks, Ryan


And here are some people that I didn't choose: My side of the family. Even though I didn't choose them, I'm so glad we ended up together. My cousin Sarah and her husband, Roland, blessed their baby on Saturday. As the Godfather, Scott had the honor of performing the blessing. Roland's family flew in from all over the country, so it was a very special day. The boys, Alex and Lincoln, have a special place in our hearts and we love them.

So, as if Thanksgiving wasn't enough to make me reflect on what I'm truly thankful for, we got to celebrate the baby blessing and start Christmas a little early, all in one long weekend. I have lived away from family alone and with Scott, and while it was formative and exciting and good for me and I loved it, I was often lonely. Whenever I'm surrounded by family, in a warm room bright with conversation, I never take for granted the privilege of being home.