Making Time for Making Music

I am sure my life is some kind of scary example of time mismanagement. I have four children under the age of 8, I teach a dozen or more music lessons each week, I play in a community orchestra that meets weekly for 2.5 hour rehearsals, we take our family to church for three hours every Sunday, and we don't hire a nanny or house cleaner. Oh yeah, and I occasionally contribute to this blog. Realistically, I probably don't have time for all of that--something should probably get cut. Perhaps some would advise me to make some cuts in the music department to try to ease my schedule.  But somehow, I am still holding on and trying to "make time" for the music in my life. Most days it translates to a messy house and dishes left undone, but some part of me is afraid that once I let go of the music, I won't ever get it back--and to me, that is scarier than the clutter that resides in my home.

Earlier this month I crammed even more music into my life by participating in our orchestra's annual fundraiser. I performed some pieces with my friend Yoshiko, who accompanied on the piano. 

We got a smaller crowd at the gala than anticipated, but I still had fun getting on stage and playing works by Rachmaninoff, Elgar, and Bloch. We finished our set with some arrangements by the Piano Guys: Titanium and Thousand Years.

Forest and Ramona came to the event as a Daddy/Daughter date. It was so sweet to feel Ramona's little arms around me as I came down from the stage.

Surveying the refreshment table, the three of us made sure to eat cupcakes with little heart rings on them, so each of the three sisters could have one as a souvenir.

I guess time management is really all about personal priorities. So, as long as I assert that keeping a pristine house is not my top priority (I don't think anyone would argue with that) maybe I can justify spending so much time playing and teaching music.

Or maybe I am a complete lunatic who should stop typing right now and sweep the kitchen floor.

Either way, I discovered a product that comes very close to "making time" in my somewhat overloaded schedule--dry shampoo! It says right on the can that I can use it INSTEAD OF WASHING MY HAIR! A few sprays, and voila! my hair is clean. In much less time than it takes to wash and dry my hair with water and normal shampoo.

I do still wash my hair like a normal person. Sometimes. By now I am sure it is painfully obvious that personal appearance is not high on my list of priorities, either. But my children are fed, I'm happily married (to a husband who does a LOT of dishes without complaining), and I still remember how to play the cello.

Now I really should stop typing and sweep the kitchen floor.

Room Re-Do

Back in December, the girls each got to pick out a new bedspread as a gift from Paca. It seemed like a fitting time to re-do their sleeping arrangements, so we set to work moving things around. 

Up until then, the purple room was set up to be shared by Ramona and Mika, but the reality was that neither of them got much rest when they slept so close to each other, so during the past year usually only one of them ever slept in the purple room while the other got moved to one of the beds in the basement. 

A few days after Christmas, we decided to officially take Ramona out of the purple room and give her the previous "guest room" in the basement to be her own. She has been asking for her own room for a while now, so this was thrilling news for Miss Ramona.

The walls are still a little bare, but I made some curtains to match her new bedspread, and she does an excellent job keeping her space neat and tidy.

Now Mika has her own room, too, as well as some extra space for crafting. She chose a "Frozen" comforter, which works well in the already-purple room.

Paula has had her own room for a while now (the yellow room), but she has just been sleeping on a twin mattress set directly on the floor and using a hand-me-down comforter, so she was excited to get upgraded to a big-girl bed with a brand-new bedspread.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

She loves how her "My Little Pony" comforter sparkles. Later, I found some art to put on the wall, courtesy of Ramona:

The upstairs bathroom finally got some attention, too. We put a little bit of paint on one wall and hung some towel hooks to display the girls' hoodie towels from Teresa (and keep them off the floor).

I even swapped out the almost-10- year-old bland shower curtain for one with a little more appeal.

In the meantime, Wylie's sleeping arrangements were also altered, but in a rather different way. Instead of giving him his own bedroom, we shoved his pack 'n play into our closet so he is no longer sleeping next to our bed. We call this arrangement his "little man cave." Although there is plenty of room to store his diapers, clothes, and a few of his other belongings, it is definitely still a closet.

It's a good thing our precious little man doesn't mind!

Holidaze 2016

This past year, more than any other year, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years all seemed to just blend into one giant holiday. Perhaps it was because we were home for all of it, perhaps because time has picked up its pace somehow, perhaps because of an increased level of chaos in our family life--at any rate, the result is one giant blog post documenting multiple events.

Here is Thanksgiving. Mika was the last victim in a wave of stomach virus that hit our home in November. On Thanksgiving morning, I found her asleep at the bottom of the stairs, her little body still recovering from the illness. Thankfully, the worst of the sickness was over, just in time for Turkey day.

For breakfast/snack/dessert, I made a batch of pumpkin chocolate chip cake mix cookies. Who knew four ingredients could make such delicious morsels?

While Forest prepped the turkey, I made the essential potato rolls.

Even though she was feeling better, Mika still spent a lot of that day on the couch.

Wylie enjoyed his first Thanksgiving, despite being too little to try any turkey.

Pie was store-bought this year, but brought everyone to the table just the same.

Not long after Thanksgiving ended, it was time to start counting down to Christmas. The season for exchanging cards and treats was upon us!

Advent calendars for my three princesses

Jii and Baachan came to stay with us for a week. I was so grateful they were willing to make the drive to Colorado.

They arrived the day after Jii's birthday, so we put together a belated celebration with an ice cream cake.

For one of his gifts, we gave him a welcome mat with "welcome" written in several different languages. I think he identified every single one.

Happy birthday, Jii!

Baachan didn't teach the kids quite as much Japanese as she did last summer, but Ramona had fun with some Japanese activity pages she brought with her.

She also helped the girls arrange a little "Christmas Village" with tiny ceramic houses, mini electric tea lights, and flashlights.

There was quite an assortment of items added to the village by the end of the evening.

One night, Jii showed the girls some of my early artwork. They laughed hysterically at my potato-like illustrations of people.

We also got a visit from Paca that week before he headed to Salt Lake City. He and Wylie got lots of snuggles.

With so many adults in the house, Forest and I finally found time to hang up some stockings (with care) on our mantel.

Perhaps on of the most memorable events this Christmas was a nativity play organized by Ramona. The kids made a stable out of the coat rack and a blanket, and gathered an assortment of stuffed animals (including a My Little Pony) to be the livestock. They could only find one stuffed sheep, so to substitute, they scattered several stuffed snowmen in the "field" for the scene with the shepherds. We performed the play for Jii, Baachan, and Paca.

Cast List

Narrator: Ivy

Mary: Ramona

Joseph: Forest

Baby Jesus: Wylie

Shepherd: Mika

Shepherd: Paula

Angel: Ramona

Jii and I played a little bit of Piano Guys after the play--an arrangement of "O Come O Come Emmanuel."

Some other fun activities that week included bowling and crocheting.

Toward the end of the week there were some class parties at school.

I volunteered at the snowman craft station in Mika's classroom.

I found a moment to take some pictures of Wylie wearing his little elf shoes before his very first Christmas. 

He was born with a pointy bump on his right ear, which we affectionately call his "elf ear." We just love our handsome little elf prince.

On Christmas Eve we made sushi for dinner, then got some of the present-opening out of the way by letting the siblings exchange their gifts.

We kept up the tradition of reading letters from Daddy to each child in age order.

The kids also got to open up Jii and Baachan's omiage from Japan. The fans were a big hit.

Ramona really wanted to crochet a little chain for Baachan to give to her as a gift. She opened it that night, and she was really impressed.

After our children were all bathed and dressed in their Christmas pajamas, they happily went to bed.

Christmas Day was on a Sunday. Half of us went to church early so I could prep for all of my responsibilities that morning, which included string ensemble prelude, playing my cello for a couple of pieces, and singing in the choir. Musicians are busy at Christmas time, but it really is a joyous kind of busy. For me, music really helps make the season what it is. 

It snowed on the way home from church, giving us a little bit of white on Christmas.

Once we unloaded the cars and hung up our coats, we arranged ourselves for a group photo . . .

. . . then changed back into pajamas and gathered in the kitchen for some cinnamon rolls.

This whole time the kids had patiently waited to open their presents. Now it was finally time!

Paula finally got her own Dream Lite . . .

. . . and Ramona finally got a charm bracelet to replace her old one with missing charms. She gave me a big hug and a "thank you," which melted my heart.

 Even the grown-ups got to open some gifts.

Thanks so much to all the friends and family who sent gifts--we feel so blessed.

That afternoon we played with lots of Legos . . . 

 . . . and lots of Monster High dolls.

On Monday, Jii and Baachan left to go back to Illinois, but Forest was able to stay home from work. We decided to make use of our gift from Dan and Christie and played a round of "Pie Face." Mika and Paula initially showed some trepidation about this activity, but Ramona bravely stepped up to the plate and faced the pie.

Paca was here again on New Year's Eve. He watched the kids so Forest and I could go see a movie.

That night, we had a party to celebrate the end of 2016. We threw confetti . . .

 . . . did multiple balloon drops from the loft down to the front entryway . . .

 . . . played with balloons . . .

. . . and drank bubbly cider. 

There it is--a lengthy and joy-filled summation of our family's holiday celebrations in 2016. Now that those events are finally documented and yuletide decorations are stowed away, I may just be ready for 2017. Maybe.