Brady's prayer

Brady's prayers typically include very little gratitude and a lot of pleas for help. They are always so sincere and heartfelt. 

2.27.17

Please help us to have a good day. Please help me to play basketball when I get older. And to eat a cookie. And please help me to stay in my bed tonight so I can get a treat in the morning. And please help me to love Elizabeth and mom and dad and Abigail. And please help me to be the greatest. 

And then when he closed his prayer, Abigail was all "umm, you forgot about Jack!" 

Our kids have decided to name their baby brother Jack. Not sure where they got it from but I will say it is an improvement from last pregnancy when Abigail told everyone that we were naming her baby sister, Vaseline. 

Jekyll and Hyde

Brady has hit the point of wanting to oppose things. He was such an agreeable kid for the longest time but has learned from the best (this morning he yelled "Cooey! Every bad thing to mom!" which is something Abigail made up. Should I be worried that my daughter has made up special profanities that specifically pertain to me? "Cooey" means "every bad thing to mom" and when she's really super mad then she yells "ooey cooey pooey!" which I'm not sure of the direct translation to) and has just gotten older and to that age and now throws huge tantrums and frequently answers "I don't want to!" when I ask him to do something. 

He still has so many redeeming moments though. Today my favorite was when I was folding laundry and he saw his baseball shirt. "Mom! Thank you for washing my favorite baseball shirt!" as he swung his arms around me for an enthusiastic hug. And then repeat two minutes later the exact same thing except it was his favorite sports pj's. He kept giving me hugs and kisses and smiles and thank yous as he saw all of his favorite clean clothes that I'd washed for him. 

And sitting with him while he was falling asleep, he wouldn't stop talking to me. 

"Brady, close your eyes and close your mouth." 

"But mom, I can't because I'm so excited for tomorrow because tomorrow is Saturday."  

"Tomorrow is Tuesday." 

"Oh. Will dad have to go to work?" 

"Yeah."

"But I'm just so excited to play with dad and do sports with dad and watch paw patrol with dad and..." (it went on and on and on and even included going to Abigail's birthday with dad.)

Also, he's still just so dang snuggly. If he sees me sit down, he comes over to snuggle. Including during meals which normally drives me insane. So so cuddly. 

The reading bug

It has hit! Elizabeth is obsessed with books! She has officially transitioned within the last few days of being obsessed with only one book (the farm book) to now loving multiple books and having strong opinions about which she wants. Last night, between chris and abigail and me, we read there's a wocket in my pocket to Elizabeth at least ten times. And then she insisted on it for her book before bed too! Even said no to the farm book in favor of it! 

Now I just need to get abigail and Elizabeth hooked up so the one likes to read to the other and the other likes to be read to by the one...

Lyric interpretation

I really like listening to religious pop music on pandora. Today I had it going on my phone while I was folding laundry. Towards the end of the song, Brady was all "what?! I heard him say "stand in your presents! That's bad because you'll break your toys if you stand on them!" 

How do you explain "stand in your presence" to a four year old? Because I thought I did a decent job until I heard his reply of something about being with someone you like is like a present. 

Packing with Shaylee

This morning, Abigail came and got me up so I could turn on the water for her shower. We got her all dressed and her hair done (class pictures at school) and off to school early so she could go to PE club. She was so cooperative and focused because she knew I was helping her get ready for PE club. Such a successful morning. So unlike most every other morning. 😔

Christopher had a plumber come over to check out our water heater. I told them I couldn't stick around any longer because I was going to Shaylee's to hang out and help her pack because she's moving tomorrow. I was at Shaylee's from probably 10:45-3:45. So convenient that Elizabeth can nap in a crib over there and I don't have to come home by 1. 

Shaylee and I had a great time packing and spending time together and Johnny got us all chick fil a for lunch and life was just great. Chris said he'd wanted to stop by but didn't because I'd never responded to his text asking if Johnny was there. I'm so sad that I never saw it. Because that would have been so fun. 

Anyway, we got this picture before I left. It makes us both super happy because we have a tradition of taking our picture together like this. 

I also love that we both have our hair back, no makeup, and didn't bother to shower or put on real clothes. That's apparently our packing style. It was a great day. 

I picked Abigail up from school at 4, worked on all her homework with her, Chris came home, I made the kids Mac and cheese, they ate it while they watched paw patrol, and Chris took them to the sock hop at Abigail's school. I put Elizabeth down for bed and then wasted way too much time on my phone. Ugh. 

Chris and the kids had a great time. Abigail was exhausted and everyone else got to sleep too. 

I'm so sad that Shaylee is moving but I am excited to see her again in a few weeks when they come back to close on their house. I'm just sort of still living in denial. 

My dreams in the flesh

Having a child between 18 months and 2 years. It is maybe my favorite age. Elizabeth is hilarious. Her facial expressions and mannerisms are getting pretty hilarious.  I'm still loving that she walks everywhere, and now she's starting to talk! It's normally "uhfuh" which translates to "I want food."  Unless she wants socks or shoes instead. Also, "MOM!" It's just so fun. She is a bottomless pit, she has an impeccable sense of humor, and has developed a fierce love of books. She's still everyone's favorite person in the family. And if this new baby is anything like baby Brady, chances are good that Elizabeth will reign champion for at least another year to come. ; ) 

Abigail is an amazing reader. She's not quite to the point of 100 page chapter books, but she's excellent with long and difficult words and is completely comfortable reading most any picture book to Elizabeth or Brady. This is literally a dream come true for me. For many years, I have dreamed of my older kids reading to my younger kids. 

Also adorable watching Abigail help lift Elizabeth into this chair. They're inching their way to independence. 

Remember when I was newly pregnant with Elizabeth and I spent hours each day laying on the floor new to Brady's crib, holding his hand while he fell asleep? Well, we held hands tonight as he fell asleep. And then I continued to hold his hand for at least another hour or so. 

23 weeks

How far along:  23 weeks  (2.22.17)

Total weight gain/loss: +13 lbs 

Maternity clothes:  just some maternity shirts still.  thanks to emmy for sending me maternity clothes!  i was only expecting the few things i lent her but she sent tons of extra shirts too!  thank goodness because i really don't have much on my own. also, while mom was here, i took out all the clothes in my closet that i'm not planning to wear while i'm pregnant so i won't have to look at them.  my closet has breathing room now! it's amazing! the rest of my clothes will be waiting for me in bins in the basement.  

Sleep:  i;m gonna say "exactly the same as before" and copy from the previous post.  i will say extra though that my dreams are so bizarre and i have several each night.  this week has been a doozy.  also, i almost always have a love interest in my dreams.  it's seriously the weirdest feeling when i wake up. I feel like it's been the same as last week so i'm just going to keep it mostly same.  my dreams are weird and sometimes exhausting.  i've been going to sleep at a decent hour, often by 9:30.  and brady has even stayed in his bed several nights this week which probably helps more than anything.  i've found that i need an absence of brady and at least ten hours of sleep to feel rested in the morning.  it's crazy that i can get 8 or 9 hours of sleep and just still feel tired. or i can get ten hours of sleep but if brady was in my bed then i'll still feel tired.  he sneaks in on the outside so i end up sleeping in the middle of chris and brady and only have about 18 inches of the bed to myself.  i told chris that it feels like i'm trying to sleep in a coffin.  no matter which way i turn (and turning is very frequent during the night), i always have someone's head in my face and someone's knees in my belly. sometimes during the night, i'll just shove brady over to chris and then at least i can be on the edge and only have someone on one side of me.  it's a work in progress.

Best moment this week:  thursday at noon until tuesday at midnight! having my parents in town was amazing beyond words... and i'm so thankful i could go straight to shaylee's girls night after dropping my parents off. it helped lessen the blow. 

Movement:  still more kicks and turns.  occasionally i just stop and wait for a contraction to end because it's uncomfortable.  also, i've been getting round ligament pain and i feel like i'm going to pull a muscle or something!

Food cravings:  it's going well.  when i eat a food that i like, it tastes really, really good.  i've been loving eggs on toast again but only make it once or twice a week.  turkey sandwiches were really hitting the spot while my parents were here.  it's so much more love to love food than to hate it so i appreciate when i'm pregnant and i like food.

Symptoms: nausea and headaches some evenings, some mild depression (crying and anger and apathy, almost totally under control with zoloft), increased fatigue, acne, still sometimes feeling like i'm going to faint/pass out when i stand up, super super weird dreams, sometimes waking during the night for no reason at all, growing stomach...

Gender:  i'm still in slight denial and have to remind myself that it's a boy.  about half the time, i keep thinking ahead to summer and that i'll have a baby girl. 

What I miss:  sometimes i'm just sad that i don't want to hang out with my kids more or that i don't feel as much love and affection for them as i should. also, it's kind of a time suck that i need so much sleep. i feel like i don't get much alone time because i need so much sleep and there's not time for both.

Milestones:  i stopped paying attention and time is flying by!
Theme: the week of so much happiness with my parents visiting!
What's different this time around:  most closely following elizabeth's pregnancy...still.  ; )

Extra:  it's so great to be on zoloft right now and not be depressed.  i'm almost my normal self.  i love that i don't lose it with my kids on a daily basis and that i can get out of bed and get dressed and i'm not reduced to tears multiple times a day.  i laugh and i joke and i look at my kids with love (well... sometimes some of them.  ; ) just kidding... kind of) and honestly I just forget that I'm gliding along in this pregnancy. Like I know I skipped a week or two of picture taking and a week or two of blogging about it, but I had no idea it's been a month! At shaylee's girls night, I saw people I haven't seen in a long time. I'm friends with all of those people from always going to shaylee's girls nights, but I don't see any of the girls outside of that. So four of us were pregnant and no one knew that I was. Someone asked how far along I was and I seriously had no clue. I was all "I think maybe 22ish weeks? Sometime in the early 20's." One girl, Lizi, said she was 24 weeks and I was all "wow! You're just a few weeks ahead of me! When is your due date?!" She's due three days before me, on the 18th. I was so confused like there is no way I'm that far along. But, I guess I am. I still looked it up online though to confirm. Makes sense though because my 24 week appt is next week. I still feel like the end of February is a month away but I guess it's here already. Ha. Seriously, it's just flying by without me realizing. Makes me feel better though because I was all "how did I gain 16lbs already and I'm only 21 weeks?! Indeed to cut back on the bagels!" But, turns out, I'm farther along than I thought I was and my math is also worse than I remember. Or maybe it's my memory because my mind was using the wrong pre-pregnancy weight. Whoops. Anyway, I spent so long counting down the days til mom and dad's visit and then the visit itself just flew by and now it's the end of February and things are moving right along! Yikes! 

Now to start thinking about boy names...

Presidents' Day

Having my parents here is a dream. I'm so sad that we have less than 24 hours. I'm going to cry myself to sleep when they leave. But let's just celebrate today. 

We had a somewhat slow morning because I struggle to pull myself out of bed each morning. Mom and dad and Chris fed the kids and dad was taking Abigail and Brady on a walk by the time I even walked out of my room. 

We went to castle wood canyon state park. The weather was perfection. We stopped at this little lookout point and then, instead of turning back to the car, we just kept walking. Walking on a paved trail and then a two mile dirt trail loop. Chris was wonderful to run ahead and grab the car for us at the end because the kids were tired and hungry. I'd left our backpack of snacks in the car because I thought we were just going to stop at the lookout point. Whoops. 

So at the end of our final trail, there happened to be a playground and picnic tables! And Chris brought us our food and water! It was beyond perfect. We left around 1:30 to head home. We'd hiked for several hours. 

Getting home, I gathered library stuff to return and put Elizabeth down for nap. The kids went potty and then Chris and dad took the kids to return library materials and do the ice skating ribbon. But, the sun was so strong and the weather so warm that half of it was closed due to slushy ice. Ha. So they went to rocket fizz and o'brien park instead. Meanwhile at home, mom and I went through bins of clothes in the basement... That I should have gotten rid of years ago. 

We woke Elizabeth up at 4:40 or so and all hopped in the car with everyone who'd come home to pick us up. We sat at our usual booth at Texas Roadhouse. I think we always end up sitting there when mom and dad come to visit. Our food was great as usual and the kids all god ice cream because it was kids night. And Abigail got a balloon princess crown and Brady got the most spectacular red and orange balloon dragon. It was seriously impressive. 

After, we went back to the skate ribbon. Mom and I stayed in the car with Elizabeth and just watched, which was a lot of fun. Chris looks so comfortable and natural and the kids were adorable skating around, especially Brady. Mom and I were just laughing every time he came around. His tiny little legs. Soooo cute. The best was when he climbed in the car afterward and was all "did you see how great I looked?!! It was sooo much fun!!!" Sometimes, I could just eat him up. 

We got home around 7:45 and were all so tired. Brady got a bath, Abigail got a shower, and Elizabeth got pj's. They were all exhausted and went right to sleep. Mom and dad and Chris and I all inspected my caulk filled kitchen table and then refilled the two end lines before calling it a night and heading to bed. 

It was a busy day and holy cow, I just love having my mom and dad here. A week ago, I was struggling hardcore with my kids and my happiness and this has been a much needed and appreciated weekend! I'm still trying to figure out a plan where they can come and live with me. In the meantime, I just count down the days until their next visit. 

Mom and dad are here!!!

Oh hallelujah, mom and dad are here!!!

This morning began like many others... I had a headache because brady slept in bed with me (what makes me get a headache from that?! I couldn't even kick him out during the night because he throws a fit about it and it wakes chris up and chris had to be up at 4am anyway to catch his 6:00 flight) and within two minutes of him joining Abigail to play, she had blown up at him and beat him up which sent him crying back to me. I had to send abigail to her room and emotionally prepare myself for the hour ahead of getting her off to school. More awfulness ensued and she was five minutes late for school again. I think it was right around 9 that all three kids and I were able to shed some tears within minutes of each other and I wondered again why I had thought motherhood would be a good idea. 

Getting home, I was emotionally worn out but eventually got to cleaning (although not soon enough because so much was left undone) and was planning to leave at 11:40 to pick mom and dad up from the airport with their 12:00 landing. Mom texted at 11:30 that they'd landed (apparently five minutes before). I was so worried the whole way there that they'd have been waiting for eternity but their bags took a while and they actually walked out just a minute before I pulled up. Whew! And of course the minute I saw them, my life was a million times better, especially since I spent the whole morning trying to avoid crawling in bed and crying myself to sleep. 

We went to sprouts and culver's on the way home and the food was amazing and the weather was so perfect that we are outside and dad kept taking the kids across to the little field to run and play. 

When we got home, we just kept playing outside until it was time to get Abigail from school. Dad came with me. Mom read books to the kids after school... I made eggs for dinner. We all ate and then went to Abigail's school at 5:45 for her first grade performance. They sang four songs. It was cute and entertaining. The kids are a bit more when we got home while they hung out with mom and dad and I vacuumed. And then dad read them books and helped brush their teeth while I finished vacuuming. And then they all went to bed. Elizabeth did shockingly well considering she didn't nap at all the entire day. You'd never know... She was so good. I was very surprised. 

And then mom and dad and I hung out for a bit eating cranberry walnut oatmeal cookies from sprouts and talking about how to fill in the cracks on my kitchen table. And I did dishes and got into bed. 

Man! Talk about a 180 on my day. Words can't even begin to express how glad I am to have mom and dad here with me this weekend.  

The never ending sickness

A week ago, I volunteered at Abigail's school and, upon showing up, found out that Abigail's teacher was out with the stomach bug and actually a third of the entire first grade was absent as well. 

That same day at four o clock, I was waiting in the pickup line and I felt a little sick. But not my normal morning sickness that I get each evening, it was like clenching stomach pains. Instant fear set in. So when I got home, I got straight in bed and texted Chris that I was feeling sick and that hopefully I wasn't coming down with something. Well, he got home, I was still in bed. I started throwing up around 7 or 8 and continued throwing up until 2:30 in the morning. The next time I got out of bed was 11 hours later to go to the bathroom and then 12 hours after that at 1:30am Sunday morning to go to the bathroom. I literally laid in bed for 24 hours and got out for 2 minutes. 

Meanwhile, Chris was doing 100% of our childcare and had taken Abigail and Brady to Applebee's for lunch on Saturday while Elizabeth napped. On the way home, Abigail threw up all over herself and Chris's car. She said she ate too much but then didn't feel sick anymore. 

Sunday morning, I was already planning to stay home from church because I was still recovering and Abigail was less than 24 hours out from throwing up. But then during the night, Elizabeth woke up and had thrown up in her crib. So Sunday, our whole family stayed home. Even though Chris and Brady were well, we didn't know if they were just pre-symptomatic. 

Sunday night, Brady started coughing incessantly.

Monday, Brady coughed constantly all day and night. 

Tuesday morning, Elizabeth woke up and had thrown up in her crib. Brady continued to cough. 

Wednesday, Brady continued the incessant cough and started to act feverish with feeling so cold even in a 69* house with fleece footie pjs and a fleece blanket. He also fell asleep at the drop of a hat for nap and for bedtime. With the lights still on. Two hours later, he woke up crying about his right ear hurting. Another hours or two later and he was crying because both ears hurt. Lots of crying and being awake all night. He was in so much pain. 

Thursday, still lots more crying and fever and eat pain. I got an appt with the doctor at 2. Ear infection in the right ear and starting in the left. He slept pretty much from 2:30pm through the night, only being awake for an hour before falling asleep again on the sofa and then being awake for another hour before falling asleep again for the night. 

Friday, still coughing a ton but feeling a little bed and still drained of energy. He fell asleep at 1:30 on the sofa (even though Sloane and Bodie were over playing with us) and stayed asleep until 5:30 maybe? He still fell asleep fine when it was time for bed. Overnight, Elizabeth developed the cough, though not as incessant as Brady's once was. 

Saturday, Brady and Elizabeth both coughing a lot, but otherwise pretty normal (except neither having eaten all week (Elizabeth due to teething). 

Sunday (today), I was debating if I could take coughing kids to church. Decided to because we've missed so much church lately and it's just a cough. At 10, I called Abigail into my bathroom so I could curl her hair. She was throwing up on the stairs. So here I am home from church with all three of my kids again. Chris is mortified that we're one of those families now that misses a month of church because of kids being sick. We were supposed to host the bishop youth fireside tonight at our house but not anymore. 

This feels never ending.

I'm December I was out of town for two Sunday's. Then I went to our ward on New Year's Day. Then I missed two Sunday's from my pregnancy depression. Then I was there for one Sunday. Then I've missed  this Sunday and last Sunday. I think I've been to our ward three of the last nine Sunday's. I'm that person now. 

Frog tennis

We love this game. 

Touch ups

I'm a huge fan of using sharpie markers to touch up everything. I mean, I've used them to touch up furniture, kitchen cabinets, my previous leather blend sofa, clothing, and shoes.  So many shoes and boots. Today I was touching up a number of little Elizabeth shoes but didn't have a silver metallic marker for this one pair. Luckily I found a different silver metallic marker that was probably an even better match. It's so gratifying to fix shoe scuffs. 

This is probably how happy Abigail feels when she colors with markers too. 

EASY hawaiian bbq chicken

scrolling through facebook the other day, i saw someone posted an easy, four ingredient recipe that actually sounded good.  a few days later, i still remembered it so i decided to try it.  of course i made my own changes, because i never make anything exact, but seriously... this was so so easy and really good!

i used a regular pyrex glass square baking dish.  i had a thawed bag of the costco chicken tenderloins, so i just cut it with a knife and dumped it right in the [sprayed] pan.  i squirted some bbq sauce on top... not measured, just eyeballed.  i had a ripe 99cent pineapple from sprouts that i needed to use, so i diced it up and then just spread a layer of the diced pineapple on top. and last, i put a layer of provolone cheese on top and tore it in places where the circles didn't meet (because i'm a tad ocd about some stuff).  loosely place a square of foil on top and toss it in the oven.  i think i baked it at 20 minutes and then added another layer of provolone (because i looooove provolone) and let it cook again without the foil.  i forgot to time it but it was probably 15ish minutes and i watched the cheese so it would melt and get a little browned, just how i like it.  i wanted to serve it with rice because chris likes stuff more when it's served with rice, but it was a really busy afternoon and i couldn't get to it.  i think i'd prefer it just as is.  everyone loved it and it was also great as leftovers.

so, simple, easy, on hand ingredients (only FOUR!)... and it was really quick to get into the oven.  if you used canned pineapple, i'm sure you could have it ready in three minutes flat.  and it doesn't dirty any dishes because it all goes straight into the pan to bake and nothing needs to be measured at all.  also, really easy to let the kids help out.  i really am so excited to have discovered this recipe and just had to share.  i feel like shouting it from the rooftops!  woohoo!  i made dinner!

and sorry, no pictures because i didn't take any at the time and i just finished eating the leftovers for lunch about 15 minutes ago.  maybe next time.

i think this is the link to the video i saw in my facebook newsfeed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atwjFYuxfAw

and here's a link to one of the postings of this recipe online...
http://www.thepinningmama.com/hawaiian-chicken-bake-recipe-easy-dinner-idea/

honestly, if you're serving this to guests, presentation-wise, it probably looks nicer with whole chicken breasts and whole pineapple slices and whole slices of provolone melted on top.  but since i knew i would be serving this to three little people and didn't want to cut up everything individually on their plate, i did it my way.  and if i didn't hate touching raw meat, i would have cut the chicken into bitesize pieces before putting it in the pan too.  but, i hate touching raw meat or having it touch anything in my entire kitchen, so i just poured the bag straight into the pan and put the trash in the trashcan.  ; )