The joy of less

That's the book I've been reading and I'm loving it. I read some conference talk or maybe it was at a church meeting or something... I can't remember... But the phrase was "knowledge with out action is just education."  I'm better at reading about something than actually doing it. Like crafts or recipes or cleaning. I've been trying to make that phrase my temporary mantra (until it becomes more of a habit) and it's going well. I've been reading the joy of less (far better than the life hanging magic of tidying up) and am loving it. It is motivating and inspiring and it just makes sense, even to my hoarding heart. I am really good at organizing, but too frequently, I've been reaching points of exhaustion because there is just so much stuff. Or it's stuff I don't like that I'm always having to look at and feel guilty that I don't use. Or it's stuff that just can't be organized (because it serves no purpose and has no reason to be in my home) and even I can't come up with an organized solution for it. This book is really helping. It's helped me realize that I'm more of a minimalist than I would have previously thought (I like my home to be pretty minimal, even if I end up stashing all of the junk and extras in the basement) and that I just need to build on that. I'm barely scratching the surface but I really like where it's going. 

Also, I'm still not sure where it came from, but I still have a lot of motivation and energy to my days... Even when I wake up tired or with a headache. I am so amazingly thankful for this. My time is spent being euphoric about it and also being scared that it is only temporary. Part of me wonders if it is connected to my lack of facebook though. I still haven't been on facebook. I think it's been over six weeks. I'm still scared of relapsing but I can't deny how much happier I am to be done of it. My thoughts are focused and positive. I feel better about myself and those around me. I feel soooo much more in control of my life. I've been reading so much more (even if a lot of it is just articles online) and I love it. When I sit down, I don't scroll though people's posts and political crap, I think of anything... ANYTHING!... And then I can google it. Random facts, a better way to do something I've been struggling with, and a lot of inspirational stories and tips on minimalism. Not like I'm ever really going to be a minimalist, but I'm all for applying those principles to my own life to achieve more focus and simplicity. I've had more patience with my kids (goodness knows I still need a ton more though) and more motivation to be a better wife and mother. It's been about ten days since I started providing "enough food" (that's how I phrase it for me) for my family and it has reduced a tremendous amount of guilt from my everyday life. I have so much enthusiasm for becoming the person I want to be. I don't know how long this will last (I wish forever... HA) and I'm worried it'll derail while I'm getting ready for my trip to Georgia next month and while I'm gone and when I'm getting home and recovering and then again ten days later when I take a little trip with my honey. And then it'll be summer and then lots more traveling. So, I'm just going as best I can right now. 

I have no social media connections right now (I have accounts with facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest but don't use them) so this blog is the closest I have to that... Which is likely why it just hasn't really been on my mind lately. But I just wanted to pop in and say that life has been really really really really good. I have been super happy. Abigail and Brady are doing great. Elizabeth is getting teeth and I'm working to wean her from the swaddle (tonight she feel asleep for the first time with one arm out... And no binky or crying involved!). Honey has been spending more time at home and it has been so nice to have him around more. 

My heart is full of gratitude. I am just so thankful. 

Inspiring reading

I've been spending too much time lately reading about minimalism. I'm definitely a wannabe minimalist. My main problem is that I'm kind of a hoarder. I hate throwing stuff away, but insecurities (and the hassle of it all) prevent me from giving stuff away or finding a new home for it. But lately, I've really been focusing a lot of time on trying to figure out a way that I can more in a more simple direction.  It's my hyper focus at the moment. And I'm not sure if it's that or just coincidence, but I've had a lot more days of motivation  than I usually do. Those days always feel so good. 

I woke up and showered before the kids got ready. Bonus points that I dressed all of us in green (Abigail even had a gold bow) and gave Abigail a green snack (snap pea crisps). Last night I even put gold glitter in her leprechaun trap and this morning she was a little bit disappointed not to catch one, but pretty excited that he left a trail of gold dust. I'm not a super fun Pinterest mom, but I am trying to make little things a bit more fun (like how Abigail would have already had that green snack anyway). I also made it a point later that they were eating a green pear and using green spoons for their spaghetti. They also got green Easter egg cups, and when they weren't looking, I put a bit of green soap (I was cleaning out the reminder of the dish soap bottle and put it in the foaming dispenser) in the downstairs bathroom and Abigail thought it was so sneaky that the leprechaun turned our soap green but he wasn't that tricky because we know that it's him who did it. I've been really enjoying that girl lately and it feels really good. 

Today I did all the kid laundry start to finish. That used to be the norm for me, but these days, something always gets in the way of folding and putting it away. Not today though! 

After school, the kids and I ate eggs on toast for the first time in several days. It was delicious. Then Abigail colored forever in her sticker book and Brady and Elizabeth and I played in the playroom and threw the basketballs in the hoop at the same time. Abigail used her gold glitter to decorate her coloring pages and then counted out 20 of them and put them in her backpack to take them to each of her classmates tomorrow. I didn't want to squash her plan (and how well she is executing it), but I do wonder how annoyed her teacher will be and how this'll play out tomorrow. ; ) 

As a result of my minimalism reading, I'm going around my house and questioning all the spaces that aren't really working for me and it feels really good. Those cabinets that are annoyingly full of stuff so I can't fit anything else, but I only use one or two small things from there. It's amazing how full things are when they actually only contain a handful of things I regularly use or need. So the other day I did the drawer that holds my brush, straightener, curling wand, and blow dryer and finally removed that old brush that Abigail bit and broke, a diffuser I never ever use, and two old curling irons that don't work well on my hair. Today, I went through the drawer under the ovens, and both huge sections under our kitchen island. I also semi tackled our hotel soaps and a few other odds and ends (like condensing Vaseline... why does it come in tubs that just don't make sense?!). Presley came over again to play for a few hours which was great because the kids play better when she's here. They're all happy, they don't care about watching a movie, and they're better behaved to each other because I've told them how Presley gets so easily upset by contention. The day just went really well and tonight wasn't rushed at all getting ready for bed. Honey went to the march madness games today and got home around midnight and since I was organizing in the kitchen, I was actually awake when he got here! 

Anyway, it was a good day. But aside from any of the things I've listed, really it was just that I felt happy. I didn't have an overwhelming headache or backache or fatigue or laziness or impatience at my children. I had motivation and excitement for doing my everyday things and was able to maintain a standard that made me happy. Crossing my fingers for another day like this tomorrow. ; ) 

And as a random note... Elizabeth is still sick. It's like a super mild version of the croup that Brady had in panama. Hopefully she feels better soon. In the meantime, she's super restless while she sleeps and moves all over her crib. Which makes me nervous because she's fully swaddled still and already congested. So now I'm one of those parents that's paranoid about my kid suffocating in a crib bumper while she sleeps. On a happy note though, she's still "sleeping through the night" even though she's waking up all the time and squirming around in her crib. Maybe I could get some sleep if I wasn't spending all my time watching her on the monitor. ; )

The yucky part

I bought these little chobani Greek yogurt cups last time I was at costco because they were on sale. 

Abigail likes to stir hers up (the fruit is on the bottom and the plain yogurt is on the top) and eat it. Props to her for doing something the standard way for once. ; )

Brady likes to use a tiny baby spoon and take itty bitty bites, stopping conpletely when he sees "the yucky part."  I've explained to him that that's actually the yummy fruit part (let's be honest, plain Greek yogurt tastes gross and chalky and is the real "yucky part"), but he will not be persuaded.

That kid. 

Our Saturday soccer walk

Honey had to go into work this morning to interview someone, so he didn't get home til 11:30. The kids had left out all their toys the night before (that's what happens when I'm not the one to put them to bed) and I have a general rule that I don't clean up toys, so it was all still out this morning. Brady had been poking me in the face and talking to me earlier but he went away when I told him I was still sleeping. I can't remember if that was before or after my dream about being on the bachelor and being in love with Ben Higgins. I've been having so many weird dreams lately. So I finally woke up at 8:45 to the kids asking me if they could watch a show. "Yes! You may!" Just clean up all the toys in the house and pick out what you want to watch!  I'll lay here until you're done..."  ; )  They did a great job. And they chose magic school bus. I love that they love that show. It was one of my favorites as a kid and it's super educational about really great stuff like how plants grow and where eggs come from and what's in the ocean and other basic things that just don't occur to me to explain to my children in depth. 

So when honey came home at 11:30 after a morning at the office, all four of us were sitting in a row at the table (well Elizabeth was in her high chair at the end of the table) eating cereal (Elizabeth had cherrios) in our pajamas. It was wonderful. We all got dressed and walked to the nearby soccer park to watch some kid games and hang out and play on the playground. I put Elizabeth down for a nap by two and showered. Chris played outside with the kids and then fed and bathed them. It was so sad for me to have to wake Elizabeth up at 4:45 again. I didn't have her nap this morning because I forgot... Oops... and she's just been putting up with a whole lotta sleep deprivation lately. Sorry sweet girl. 

We all got in the car and picked up pizza and went to the hanlins to watch the avs game. They had pigs in a blanket and salad and I ate til I was stuffed. I love hanging out with Becky. I also love looking at all her furniture. She's so crafty   Everything is unique and has been painted or reupholstered or somehow been made pretty and special by her. I need her to teach me how to do something simple. Like paint a picture frame. ; ) 

The avs blew it... As they are prone to do. We went to the avs game last Saturday with the kids... And the Saturday before was the outdoor game at coors field I think. And this one we watched with the Hanlins. All three games, the avs play great the first half and are a goal or two ahead. And then they just start slacking and the other team comes from behind. We'll see if they can manage to get to the playoffs. Brady and Abigail had such a fun time playing with Mia and Becky made brownies with cookie dough on top, so despite the loss, we all had a great time. 

It's hard for me to wrap my head around the happy phases and rough slumps I go through with my moods, but I'm grateful right now to be in one of those happy and motivated stages. And I'm thankful tomorrow is Sunday. It's gonna be great. 

Spring is around the corner

Friday was good. I woke up feeling like I had a hangover. I'd only gotten like two or three hours of sleep... Interrupted because Elizabeth woke up sometime in there... Because my phone was on the verge of crashing from having zero memory so I spent hours backing stuff up and clearing memory. I'm sure it's a quicker job than that but I'm not super tech savvy so it took me a while. Anyway, moving my head was horrific. But I got Abigail to school, was productive while she was gone, and even had Brady and myself dressed when it came time to pick her up. 

I popped some alieve finally and we all went to a park around one. The weather was almost perfect. A tad on the hot side, but really, it was great. We stayed for 2.5 hours. Even then, we only left because I had to drop three things back by the library and wanted to have time to make dinner for Christopher who was having a difficult day at work. It was just great and I was enjoying the spring weather until I saw a spider keep crossing the sidewalk. I like a lot of things about winter like hot chocolate and watching the pretty snow fall, but my all time very favorite part of winter is that I never ever see spiders. So, for that reason, I kinda dread spring and summer... but I'm trying to be a little better about it this year. Pray for me and maybe I can skip being jumpy and breaking out into a full body sweat every time I see a dark piece of lint on the floor. While we were at the playground, Jodi called me back and we talked for over half an hour. I seriously never ever see or talk to her anymore and that simple phone call made me feel so much better. Also, by the time I got off the phone with her, my headache was nearly gone. 

I ran those things by the library and Brady and Elizabeth both fell asleep on the way home. Abigail and I walked to the mailbox together. My new watch came!  Woohoo!  We just cancelled our Amazon prime and this is the first thing I've ordered since then. All I kept thinking was "this sure isn't two day shipping anymore" just like how Dorothy says her comment about "this sure isn't Kansas."  It took an entire week but it's okay. It's so pretty. Now I just need to take it in to get sized and my wrist can have a real watch again instead of the Fitbit I've been using! I made spaghetti pie (well, from the freezer) and zucchini and garlic bread .  I know most people probably make dinner every night, but I don't. So this dinner made me feel very accomplished. It was also delicious so I sat down and ate with the family even though I should have taken Elizabeth up to bed. During dinner, when honey had only been home maybe 15 minutes, Elizabeth was yelling and fussing and he was all "what is her deal tonight?!?!" Well, it was because she'd been awake for 9 hours with the exception of a ten minute nap in her car seat (Brady woke her up because he wanted to play with her, ugh) and she was so insanely tired. But it was so perfect. That's the best way to describe how always happy she is. When she fusses and our reaction is "holy cow, what is her deal?!?!" because it's so uncharacteristic of her. 

So, the day started horribly and thankfully got better. I'm gonna remember this for the next time I wake up with a throbbing head. It'll give me hope. ; ) 

Let's celebrate!

I think I'm a lazier person than most. What I accomplish on a daily basis is almost always disappointing to me. But today, I felt pretty satisfied with everything. So let's take a moment to celebrate this success!  Also, let's pretend I do this stuff allll the time. 

This morning I woke up on my own around 7:30. Because I'd gone to bed at 9:30 and only woken up once (with Elizabeth at 10:30 since I'd put her to bed at 6pm) in there. Brady and Abigail got ready 99% on their own and ate breakfast great. Elizabeth was awake in her crib when I woke up and was her usual adorable self all morning. She hung out in her high chair during breakfast... All three kids at that end of the table. It was precious. I curled Abigail's hair before school (this is now my favorite thing to do because it is the quickest and easiest way to 100% disguise the crazy bed heads she wakes up with each morning. I used to have to wet it completely and try to brush it straight. Now I can just break it in sections to wrap about my wand for a few seconds and were good to go. Also, she looks amazing with her hair curled. At least I think so. It's seriously the cutest thing ever even though it's just a few relaxed curls. And she's a good sport about it. She looked precious today although I think she's such a cute kid in general. She wore her ripped old navy jeans, that navy blue flower shirt I got her at kohls (I always love when she actually likes any item of clothing that I've picked out), her pink fleece, and brown riding boots. Maybe that's why I loved her outfit... I actually purchased everything she wore... Right down to her socks and undies. That makes me smile. 

When we got home, Elizabeth fed herself a bottle (I'd had to pump when she woke up because she only ate one side) in her car seat while I hurried to make some banana muffins. I'm cleaning out my freezer and this was the last of my frozen bananas. Woohoo! Brady was kinda whiny (maybe it's because he's still feeling a bit sick but yikes, the boy whines like it's his job) but I didn't let it really bother me. I swept and cleaned up and put away groceries (from seriously two days ago because I suck) and got dressed and even curled my hair and put on mascara. Elizabeth woke up and we got Abigail from school. 

I gave Elizabeth some applesauce and the kids ate the rest of their oatmeal and cuties and apple and some banana muffins and gathered some books and movies and we hit up the library for a bit. The library is my happy place. When we go, we return a big stack of books and then I send the kids to play on the game computers while I filled Elizabeth's stroller with tons of new books. Then I grab a couple of DVDs they might like (today was a magic school bus) and plop myself on the little bench to do whatever I want on my phone for however long I want. Because all three kids are quiet and content. Today we also read some board books before checking everything out and heading home. And I even finally paid for the little baseball board book that we lost a few months ago (and I've just been renewing). I've never lost a library book before, but luckily this one was only $8 and they said they would refund my money if I ever found it and brought it back. Sweet. 

When we got home, the kids did their things and picked a Dora show to watch. Right now, I love having the kids watch something around 4 o clock. I can get them to do anything I want before they get to watch a show (clean up all their toys and stuff) and it gives me time to make dinner (which I rarely do) or recharge my patience (which is typically necessary)... Today I used Mexican chicken (from the freezer cleanout) to make a few pans of chicken enchiladas. One went in the oven for dinner. Two went to the freezer. I think cooking is such a pain because I'm so easily distracted and it's stressful for me, but these enchiladas are really super easy so it makes me feel all domestic when it's such a breeze to throw together. 

We got a bunch of produce at sprouts yesterday (I think it was only my second time shopping there, ever.  But I'm redoing the way that I shop now that Walmart is changing their policies and is basically a huge pain) so the kids had an apple and cuties before dinner and then ate enchiladas and mango and avocado and Abigail had some tomato as well. 

Honey got home (with a headache) and we had a fun conversation about how eating healthy foods is annoying because fruits and vegetables typically don't keep you full long at all. Honey ate lunch at 12:30 and said he was starved by 1. I told him he needed to eat some protein for lunch to keep him full a little longer. ; ) 

I put Abigail and Brady to bed except that honey read them scriptures while I got Elizabeth up and nursed her. The kids did well and I did really well being their mom. We read books and really just took our time. It was quiet and enjoyable. I didn't focus on the clock and getting them to bed on time... Just on doing our things. I didn't tell them goodnight til 8:30, but it's okay. I feel good about it. I fed Elizabeth the leftover avocado and tomato and she loved it. And she hung out with me while I ate and cleaned up and it was just great. I didn't get her to bed til maybe 10, but once again, I ignored the clock and just did my thing. Everyone else was asleep and it was so great to get that one on one time with her. I even gave her a little haircut. Even if it was just one snip of about a quarter inch from five hairs. ; ) 

So, my house is all picked up, my dishwasher is humming away, everyone is fast asleep, and I fed my family and kept my patience all day long. I even looked decent while doing it!  Can we pretend that I do this every day? Because that would be amazing. 

Elizabeth at 9.5 months

Elizabeth really is the best. She's as easy as Abigail was, but about fifty times happier. Abigail was really content. Elizabeth is just giddy about life. She smiles and laughs and just flails her arms with excitement.  She is a delight through and through. 

I didn't put her down for her second nap today until after four because we were at the library. So Elizabeth woke up while I was putting the kids to bed. It was just as I'd hoped. So I got her out of her crib and she sat and hung out with us while we read and just took some time to unwind. We are all just sweeter to each other when she is present. Also, she's so adorable to look at. Especially when she is so patiently accepting all of Brady's hugs and kisses. The kids love her so much. We all do. It's impossible not to. 

So after we said goodnight to the kids, I took Elizabeth to the kitchen to give her solids. I still suck at doing this but today was better. Tonight I fed her Brady's leftover avocado from dinner, Abigail's leftover tomato, and a little bit of mango, leftover on the cutting board. ; ) She loved it. Who would have known she would love tomato so much! She really is a little Abigail. Abigail's very favorite food at 12 months was tomato and it seems to be one of Elizabeth's favorites too judging how she took to it tonight. She also seemed to really like the avocado. She started out as a pretty finicky eater but she's really seeming to be branching out these days. She also had some puffs and cherrios. I don't think she was hungry still after all the avocado and half a tomato, but I was enjoying her company while I finished dishes and tidied up the kitchen. 

Seriously, her presence is just a gift. I kept thinking about that tonight. Everyone else was asleep. I'd put the kids to bed and honey was already asleep because he'd had a headache and put himself to bed. So it was just the two of us hanging out in the kitchen. I fed her, I had some oatmeal, and I just talked to her while I did a ton of dishes. If that had been me and baby Brady, I would have felt butter and resentful of Christopher that he was passed out in bed while I was up til 10pm caring for our child (who would have been fine if I'd just nursed her and put her back to bed instead of getting her up to read books with the kids and me) and cleaning up dishes and dinner and the kitchen. But I wasn't. I was happy and cooing (along with Elizabeth) and just completely happy with that special alone time with her. Because that's how it is with her.  Better. Everything is better with Elizabeth. 

And because I suck at writing monthly posts, here's the random specifics...  Elizabeth is wearing size two diapers, 6-12 month clothing, taking two naps (roughly 10-12 and 2-4:30... Give or take), waking up once a night, mostly nursing and eating baby food once or twice a day if I remember, great at feeding herself a bottle, sitting up and rolling over still, but not at all mobile and not even showing signs of rocking on all fours, army crawling, or pulling up on anything. HALLELUJAH! 

She is my perfect little pet rock. That happens to smile and laugh all the time. I couldn't love her more. My mouth literally hurts from smiling when I'm around her and my heart is bursting. I feel so privledged to be able to experience her. 

Elizabeth, you are perfection. 

Random thoughts from halfway through the week

Today was good. 

I got Abigail to school late, but I did fix the button on her favorite pink coat and help her write in mr. Bear's journal... And we were calm and on good terms. 

Brady took a nap, so I put Elizabeth to sleep as soon as I could and they overlapped for an hour or so. I read in the red chair in the sun. I think I'm maybe on page 9 of Jesus the Christ. I'm getting nowhere fast. 

The kids had their first taste today of the magic school bus and they liked it and learned a bit. I loved magic school bus books as a kid. I thought they were sooo cool. 

Elizabeth is crazy. She can't stand vegetables (although I think I'm making progress on the non-green ones like carrots and sweet potato) but was loving grapefruit tonight. Honey was eating one and we thought it would be fun to give her a taste to see how she would handle the sour and we could laugh at her sour pucker face. Not the case. It was like we were feeding her applesauce or something. So she actually ate several wedges (that I cut small for her and fed her with a spoon) and I was able to use the juice to mix with carrots to get her to eat that. Ha. Also, for reference for my future children... I'm having luck easing into veggies by adding applesauce to peas (or whatever she doesn't like) and feeding her that. Then with a few bites left, I mix in more peas to the current mixture. And then again when there's only a few bites left. So by the end, she's pretty much eating straight peas. Tonight I did it with carrots and it was pretty flawless. Green veggies are harder because she dislikes them more, but it still works. My other kids had more issue with texture (only liked jarred purées, not mashed or cut up stuff) than taste so this is pretty new to me. 

Abigail and I had a good day today. We talked, read books, she played with Brady... It was nice. She brought home a cat in the hat, hat that she made that had rhyming words on it. So I had her write out the alphabet and ad "at" to all the letters and then put a sit next to the ones that made real words. I'm kinda sucky at explaining why "eat" and "oat" don't rhyme with the other real words like sat, may, fat, pat, etc. Is there a better explaination than "sometimes words are tricky..."  

Brady loves giving Elizabeth kisses (and me and chris actually too) and is always "I need to smooch Elizabeth" or "ummm, I need to give Elizabeth five kisses" and then counts them out. It's adorable. He's been kinda passive aggressive though lately and acting more crazy and babyish. Not sure if it's a phase or what, but the pro of it is that I can point it out to Abigail and she sees it from the outside perspective and it helps her to be more mature. So they're not seeming like twins anymore lately and that's alright. Even if Brady might drive me crazy sometimes I feel like I have Abigail on my side. 

I sure love my honey. Tonight, our whole family was just great together. This afternoon, Abigail asked if it was almost nighttime. "Not really... Would you like it to be nighttime already?" "Yes! Because I want to see daddy!!!" The kids built a fort to hide in (with zero prompting from me) and it reminded me of the can't-be-more-obvious hiding places I would think of for my dad to find me when he got home from work. It was serious déjà vu. 

Elizabeth is the easiest, most smiley, constantly laughing baby ever. She cries when she's hurt and that's basically it. A typical day involves less than 20 seconds of crying (if that). Today was me accidentally bonking her face when I was reaching for something I think. I can't remember, but Brady immediately turned to me (kinda angrily... because like I said, he's got an attitude now) and, stern faced and completely serious was all "*you* did that."  Sadly, yes. 

Also, I collected visiting teaching reports. I got rid of traditional districts reporting to supervisors and had everyone report straight to me. And I collect the rest. It's so much easier. I seriously love my calling. 

I put a tall mug of milk on my nightstand each night before I go to bed. When I wake up during the night (normally for Elizabeth), then I chug the glass of milk and go nurse her. It is the most delicious ten seconds of my day. I can't even describe it, but every time is amazing beyond words. It gives me the best motivation of hop out of bed no matter how tired I am. 

Speaking of which... I guess I'm so good at staying half asleep when I get up with Elizabeth that sometimes my Fitbit just thinks that I'm restless. Yes, Fitbit, I went 80 steps and up a flight of stairs but I'm not fully awake... Just call me "restless." Most of the time it's really accurate. But a time or two (like last night) it hasn't been and I thought it was pretty funny. 

I'm going to Georgia next month for my grandmother's birthday. I think about it every day. Granny is also super excited. I talked to her on the phone the other day and she was so excited that she turned to my mom all "Kay! Carrie said she's going to call me on my birthday!!!" Even while I'm yelling into the phone "NO GRANNY. I'M GOING TO BE THERE WITH YOU ON YOUR BIRTHDAY. WE ALREADY HAVE PLANE TICKETS."  But she's still stuck on that phone call. I'm telling myself it's because she's just thrilled. Hopefully she's not disappointed. 

We're having so much spring weather that I keep forgetting its winter. Abigail is also confused about it. Brady knows it's winter and is oblivious to the fact that it feels like spring. When I'm parking in the garage he's always saying "mom, when I get unbuckled, can I shovel the driveway?"  No Brady. There's no snow.  "Whhhhyyyy mom?!  Why is there no snow on the driveway????"  Also, I still loooove when he says stuff like "last day" instead of yesterday or whatever. It makes sense I guess when we say "last month" and "last week" that we should say "last day" but it never occurred to me before Brady made it a regular phrase. Also. I need to make muffins. For no other reason than that I love to hear him ask for "nuffins."  

I've enjoyed this season of the bachelor and I couldn't figure out why because it's more boring than most. Then I realized it's because I think the guy and his two finalist girls are actually normal and likeable. And because I like boring stuff. Don't get me too emotionally invested. I don't enjoy that. 

Is anyone else still going crazy that Bernie sanders won multiple states last night?!?!  Including Colorado. Of course. Because Colorado just votes like that. First weed, then Bernie sanders. With other stuff in the middle. I swear, I meet people when I'm traveling and it's only drama the stuff they hear about Colorado in the news. We can't appear to be normal state or anything close to it. 

And I think that's a wrap. I'm definitely not going to be meeting my sleep goal tonight...

Elizabeth loves green beans!

Just kidding. She doesn't. She still hates all vegetables. 

We'll keep working on it though. 

Stadium series avs game

Today was amazing and tonight was amazing.

The weather was awesome. I stayed in bed this morning until I went to pick up my Walmart grocery order at 8:30 and then I walked around the block and talked to Emmy and then chris brought all the kids outside and we had Brady try out a bike with training wheels and ride it up to the playground (Abigail pushed Elizabeth's stroller) and honey told me about the avs alumni game from last night. By 11:30, I was getting a headache from not having eaten since the night before (eating is such a nuisance) and I needed to prep everything for a babysitter, so I walked Elizabeth home and put her down for a nap. I got something to eat and hung out on the driveway with chris and he kids a bit while doing laundry. I contemplated giving up on life and rested in bed for an hour (headaches apparently give me severe mood swings) until I felt like I could handle hard things like standing up and putting away laundry. I helped the kids and cleaned up and laid out pjs and gave Christopher cleaning tasks and all the stuff that makes me think "this is sooo not worth it" a million times. Also during this, Elizabeth had woken up around 2:30 maybe and of course she refused to eat (surprise surprise) so I pumped a bottle and, instead of giving it to her, kept it on the counter for the babysitter to give her later (Elizabeth doesn't care if she's fed or not... Maybe she gets that from me?) and she hung out on my bed for the next hour and a half I think while we were all doing our things. The girl is an angel. I have no idea how I got so lucky with a second angel baby, but she really is divine. She'll be 9 months tomorrow... Maybe I can get my act together and write a post. 

I picked the babysitter up, gave her the rundown in the car, showed her how to swaddle Elizabeth, left, did my makeup in the car, and then texted her all the instructions too (because I waaaay over prepare when it comes to leaving our kids with babysitters. To be clear, it's more out of concern/convenience for our babysitter than for our kids) and still had plenty of time to join the fun conversation in the car with Bri and Kelsey who we picked up on the way. 

We found $5 parking (hallelujah since the regular lots were $50 for the night) and walked to coor's field. This was all great for my Fitbit I've been trying out the last couple of days since my watch broke (RIP... It was a good 15 years). We walked around some and then went to our seats which were actually in a suite. The food was good, the seats were great (the way the ice arena was set up, our level of seats had the very best view), and the game was absolutely awesome. Andy grammer had a little concert before the game started. And in case you're like me and think you have no clue who he is, I'll just tell you that I'm positive you could have sang along to all the songs he sang because I had never heard of him and was completely surprised to find that I actually knew all the words to all the songs. Whoops. The game was high scoring and the goals were awesome. Like really really really great goals. It was so insanely fun. The fray played during second intermission and there were fireworks and lights (everyone in the outfield had bracelets with lights coordinating to the music) and I loved it. I think some people probably wished it was louder or more concert like but I thought it was perfect. Also, Claude Lemieux (a really good retired hockey player) came to our suite and did a Q&A and signed autographs and took pictures so that was super cool. I really liked him. He just seemed like such a quiet and sincere guy. Especially when he was talking one on one with this guy I was standing next to (since I was the creeper that snuck into that conversation). During second intermission, we went up to where Mark and Nate were sitting so chris could visit with some clients and I hung out with Mark. We went back to the suite for the third period. It was exciting with more goals and penalties and power plays and all the good stuff but the red wings scored with just a few minutes left and hen scored an empty next with a few seconds left (since we'd pulled he goalie). It would have been fun if we'd pulled off the win, but honestly, it was an amazing game... I don't even care. I had so much fun. 

We met up with bri and Kelsey and mark and Nate and walked back to the car together. I love how something as ordinary as walking a few city blocks (actually it was about a mile) to the car can be so fun when you're with fun people. Mark and Nate got player cards of themselves before the game and it was just fun talking about trading cards and making jokes about mark (since he lacerated his kidney playing hockey) being the fantasy player that gets injured and is out the whole season. That and the drive home was just all fun and conversation. I forget how much I enjoy interacting with people over five feet tall. 

But of course the first thing I did after I got home from dropping off the babysitter was head upstairs to wake Elizabeth up and smooch her cheeks for five minutes before changing her diaper and feeding her. She has this laugh lately that I can only describe as the baby version of a Suzy butler laugh. Family, I'll try to get it on video and you can tell me if you agree at all. Anyway, it's just this constant laugh that she does when she's happy and I just love it. She actually nursed really well (because she was swaddled and it was during the night... For her) and I loved it. I just sat and watched her and held her tight. My only thoughts and focus were how much I love her. She is perfection... I really can't say it any other way. I kissed her cheeks for another five minutes before putting her back in her crib and listening to her Suzy butler laugh herself to sleep. 

It was seriously such a wonderful day. So many of my days seem monotonous and just kinda blah when I'm wearing sweats and fighting with little people about what color sippy cup is best, but today was just one of those days that I felt more myself and more alive than half asleep. ; ) 

And for that I am so very grateful. 

It was just really an especially great day. 

Ps- the cotton!!! I LOVED the cotton at the game!!!
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/high-winds-cause-fake-snow--blizzard--at-nhl-stadium-series--video-034822640.html

just a little picture

to brighten your thursday.

Elizabeth has teeth!!!

Elizabeth May end up outdoing Brady as the slowest teether ever. Check it out. My phone autocorrected may to be capital. Coincidence? 

Anyway, you can't see them, because her tongue is always out, but today I could feel that at least one of her teeth has broken through! Woohoo! Now hopefully tomorrow I can take a few pictures of her gummy smile before these things get legit. 

I hate that I've been so terrible at blogging lately but I do feel good about how I'm detaching myself from my phone. I'm sure it'll just continue to take more time as I keep working to find the right balance. 

As a short catchup,

Elizabeth loves tummy time and laughs all day long. 

Brady is cute and hilarious as always but has now developed a fear of jungle animals in our house that manifests itself in the middle of the night (the past two nights)

Abigail is doing so well with school. Her reading, writing, and math skills blow me away. I love watching her learn. 

Honey is continually becoming a better version of himself. He is so good at helping with the trash, dishes, kids, and cleaning. I really appreciate how muh he is helping out at home when he's around.

And I've successfully given up facebook for an entire week. I'll write a real post on this soon (I started one the other day but didn't get more than a paragraph) but in the meantime, I'm feeling super super great about this. 

Happy Monday! 

Brady got a haircut

Saturday 2.13.16

Today was super fun. Chris and I took turns trying to sleep in this morning and then finally started the day a little before 9:30. We all hung out and ate breakfast and then went to Bri and Kelsey's around 10:30 for valentines festivities. They had some craft stuff and sugar cookies with icing and sprinkles and drones (for the boys). So we went over and Brent and Klaudette and Nate came too. It was a lot of fun. 

I think we left around 1:30 and came home for a bit. Chris fed the kids and took them outside to play (it's sunny and 65 and practically summer over here) while I fed Elizabeth (who was exhausted from being awake all morning) and held her after she fell asleep. She is precious beyond words. Also, such Rosie cheeks. I seriously can't get over them. 

After an hour, Elizabeth woke up, and honey and the kids found us and it was a crazy party of five in our bed for an hour until we left for the Hilliers. Brent and Klaudette were sorting through stuff in their garage (they're purging most everything) when we got there. Klaudette gave Abigail a trim and then gave Brady a full new do and chris his usual haircut. Then, as usual, chris was ready to peace out and I was the one making myself cozy and talking to Klaudette forever. Tonight I spent my time trying to convince her to keep their house and renovate it instead of selling it and having to find a new house. They'll probably still sell, but I just had to give my two cents. 

We'd planned to go to Chili's for lunch. And then bumped it to dinner, and then just scrapped it because it was so late. So the kids got dinner at home while we all hung out in the kitchen and then honey cleaned the kitchen and I got all the kids to bed. 

It was a really great day. 

Abigail's crafting style is "thorough."

It's like I put blush on her every morning. 

The boy loves shoveling snow. Also, again and again... This is seriously the best weather for playing in the snow. 

Before

During 

And of course I forgot an after. I used this blog post to "shop" for a new style for Brady. http://thesqueezeblog.com/2014/08/22-really-stinkin-cute-haircuts-for-toddler-boys/

My goal was to take Brady from 15 to 17, but we kinda went a little too short on top for that. My intention for summer is for him to have a 1 or 7, but I don't know if I'm brave enough to go that short. I just know I can't keep it as long as last year summer though... He was always so hot and sweaty. Anyway, we'll see. He's my only kid with real hair so I live out my dreams through him. While praying that someday I get a girl with that kind of hair. ; ) 

Also, Elizabeth won't need a haircut for a long time, but hold me to it, this is what I'm gonna do for her as her hair gets longer. None of the scraggly business I put up with with Abigail (who is still, and will be forever, trying to grow her hair out as long as rapunzel) who was always trying knots and making things really tricky. Elizabeth is gonna have to sport a little bob for me. 

So, sorry for the teaser... I'll have to get a picture of Brady's short little crew cut tomorrow. He's always precious no matter what. 

The days are long

I can't remember when it first started (maybe when Brady gave up naps or when Abigail started school?), but my days continue to feel like two days. Every night, I think back on the first half of my day and it weirds me out how it feels like yesterday. And how are my days so busy all the time?!  Like I don't have a job or extra curricular stuff that I do. I'm just a stay at home mom and that's it. But yet my goal today was to do a load of whites and I had zero time for that and now I'm really going to be scraping the bottom of the barrel. I mean, my initial plan was to do it yesterday or the day before yesterday or whenever it was that I did the two loads of colors. But that didn't happen and neither did today. Every day so busy. Oh, that must have just been yesterday because the day before yesterday I think was my migraine day. I was out of commission the whole day. See? Yesterday feels like the day before. Because every day is two days. 

Today I woke up at 7 with my alarm and can't remember why it took me so long to get out of bed. Maybe I kept pressing snooze because I was exhausted  and then Brady came in and wanted breakfast of course. I woke Abigail up at 7:45 or so and then got in the shower. So she got ready and the kids ate their oatmeal. Elizabeth woke up sometime in there and I got her out at 8:45 and brought her with us to drop Abigail off at 8:53. That's what time we said goodbye. It's a new record for us. Sweeet. And she was pretty in pink all decked out for her valentines party. And she had hand written her name on all of her sticker box valentines yesterday so she was pumped. She waved by to Brady as she walked into school. I loved that part of my day. 

I finished getting ready and got the kids dressed and we dropped a box by goodwill, swung by chick fil a for a chicken biscuit (because it was 10:27 and I couldn't restrain myself), and went to costco (returned a puffy coat, moldy cheese, and got another $87 back for what they overcharged me for prescription glasses last time instead of long sleeve shirts). Then we shopped and I only spent 40 something dollars. This is the first time ever that I have actually left costco with more money than when I arrived. Woohoo! On the way back, I dropped off a few things at the library and even had time to put away the new costco cheese at home before getting Abigail from school. 

The kids and I were so excited about the great weather that they skipped snack/lunch and went straight outside to play. I put away costco stuff (and partially carved up the rotisserie chicken) and tried to feed Elizabeth (she was not interested in nursing today) and then went outside to join the kids. I got Elizabeth in her stroller and we were about to head around the block for a little bike ride except that Presley came home right then so we went to say hi. The kids played while Stephanie and I caught up a bit and then Abigail said she actually did want to walk around the block with Brady and Elizabeth and me still so she left Presley crying with a "I'll be right back!" And when I turned around, she was no where to be found (her bike was still on the sidewalk) and Brady was already turning the corner on his bike. I yelled at him to come back (he paused in his place) and then ran back to the house thinking maybe Abigail had gone in to get a coat. She wasn't there so then I was frantically running back outside and around the block to find Brady (who had decided to keep going and not return home like I'd yelled/asked him to do. Awesome. I can't find two of my three children. A minute later, I see Abigail running down the street and I yelled at her (I tried not to except that I was livid) what on earth did she think she was doing ("well I wanted to be first ahead of Brady so I ran the whole way" ...why is she so competitive??? She didn't get that from me) and I yelled for her to go straight inside and then I continued up the street and around the corner to find Brady just peddling his little bike. I was still so angry. I told him to go to his room and then I went to mine to calm down. How many times can I tell my kids that they can not go around the block without a grownup and if they can't see me, then they're too far?!?!  I'm dying here. Anyway, I calmed down and had a chat with them on the sofa, short and sweet, about creeps that can kidnap little children. Abigail had tears in her eyes. I hate to scare her, but it is what it is. By then it was 2 and natalie came over because my friend/visiting teachee had a meeting and needed someone to watch her kid. Abigail went back to play with Presley and Brady and natalie just played in the snow in the yard while Elizabeth and I hung out on the driveway. The weather was so beautiful. I was almost sweating at times. It's my favorite weather for kids to play in the snow. Brady had on a long sleeve t shirt, jeans, and snow boots and he was just perfect. Also, my other favorite part of the snow is that when Brady plays baseball, the baseball stops where it lands... Baseballs don't roll in the snow. ; ) 

Natalie got picked up a little before 4 and Elizabeth was exhausted (shed caught a 20 minute nap in the car earlier on the way back from costco, but then is gotten too busy to put her down for a nap) so I took her up to feed her and out her down. Brady came in a few times wanting to kiss her (allllways! It's cute but annoying when she's so easily distracted while nursing) but I kept motioning for him to just leave. Eventually he stopped coming in and I noticed the house was silent. After I put her down I went to investigate. Sure enough, he was asleep in my bed. That's the third time this week he's done that. It's awesome when it happens at 9:30 or 10. Not so much at 4:30, so I snuggled him gently to wake him up but make it seem like an accident. I read him a few things out of the ensign that was on my nightstand and eventually lured him out of bed telling him that if he and Abigail cleaned up, they could watch an episode of Mickey Mouse. But Abigail was so hungry she was almost crying (hadn't eaten anything since she got home from school) and Brady kept trying to sneak back in my bed to go to sleep, so I made them tacos (which took less than five minutes because the precooked meat from the freezer only takes two minutes in the microwave. The kids downed their tacos and some pineapple and then we're fine to watch Mickey Mouse. Honey got home while they were watching and made his own taco which officially started our nighttime routine. Elizabeth woke up while the kids were getting ready for bed and reading books and the avs played a great game (Abigail is super into it now that she inserts bad show to read the scores at the top of the screen... Seriously, she is so competitive!) and Brady (despite a number of attempts to fall asleep in my bed) managed to stay awake until his usual thing of going to bed when Abigail does. 

I fed Elizabeth solids and got her swaddled, nursed, and in her crib and then eventually got myself to bed. Ye kitchen is a mess and the dishwasher if still full of clean dishes from when he ran it last night. Honey has promised to take care of both of those tomorrow morning. 

So that's how I managed to not do a load of whites today. I'm optimistic about tomorrow. No shopping, no watching someone else's kid, and no half day kindergarten. Just a blank slate day at home with my three kids and some nice weather. Maybe I'll even be able to sneak a nap in there. Every day is just an adventure. 

I'm lazy

Saturday I stayed in bed for most of the day. Because I'm lazy. And I just wasn't really in the mood to be out of bed. It made me feel like crap to be so lazy but also, it's so hard to function when you're so tired. Why do I never feel well rested?!

Sunday was the super bowl. We were invited to several super bowl parties, but after attending one two years ago (I think... Whenever the Broncos played last), I decided that I didn't want to do that again. Nothing huge, it just didn't feel like Sunday that day and I didn't like it. So this year, we politely declined and stayed home. Honey watched the game periodically (he pauses and then watches fast and then pauses again) and I checked the score on my phone ever hour or so. I will say though that I was really pulling for the Broncos and am super glad they won. Also, you should have seen all the blue and orange going on at church that morning. Also, I took a much needed nap from 4-6 or something. Hallelujah. 

Monday- I remember that it wasn't memorable. How's that? Just kidding. I'm recalling parts of it now. Brady fell asleep while I was putting Elizabeth down for her morning nap and he actually slept from 10:30-1:30 I think. Honey was worried that he might have trouble falling asleep at bedtime but I told him I had zero worries about that because having him nap was soooo worth it. I am blown away at how different my life would be if Brady still napped. When Abigail got home from school, it was like she was my only child. So she got a little snack and we used dry erase markers for her to practice writing her name a ton (to get ready for signing her valentines) and we read together and it was great. The moment that the other kids woke up though, things were back to hectic and me being frazzled. In case anyone was wondering, I don't do extremely well with three kids sitting on me... Which is what happens when Elizabeth needs to sit in my lap (because we were on the sofa) and Abigail likes to snuggle in close and Brady thinks he's a lap dog. Anyway, I'm trying to learn. ; ) the rest of the day was me trying to be nice and patient despite having a headache and dealing with a slew of visiting teaching crap. 

Tuesday- my headache was worse... And stayed bad. I attempted as much time in bed as I could. The kids were pretty good. They made messes while I was in my bed with Elizabeth (gave me flashbacks of when I was bedridden with morning sickness with Elizabeth) but cleaned then up alright without much trouble. I ran to Walmart as soon as honey got home at 5:30 and stopped home for a minute (that turned into 15 minutes because Elizabeth woke up from her 4 hour nap and I wanted to feed her) before heading to our RS activity. It was about heavenly father's love for us and a chocolate fountain with lots of sipping options. I loved hanging out with friends. My headache continued to be atrocious, but it was a nice escape not to think about it for a bit. Coming home, I walked in the door to find my two kids asleep in their beds and my baby happily watching my honey finish the dishes. I won't lie, he gets better and better with time. He's so much better at anticipating my needs (and the needs of our household) and fulfilling them than what he used to be. I just really appreciate all of his help. Especially because I haaaate doing dishes. And then I got Elizabeth to bed and honey and I watched the bachelor. They swam with pigs in the Bahamas. Which was awesome because I was literally googling that island earlier today looking at possible travel destinations in the Bahamas. Seriously, what're the odds?!

Anyway, my headache is still killing me and I feel super nauseous from it so I'm gonna hope I can fall asleep and then hope even harder that I wake up feeling just fantastic. 

; ) 

Also, Elizabeth is about as slow of a teether as Brady was and I've been watching her two bottom teeth hang out under the surface of her gums for the last week. They haven't poked through yet, but apparently it's less painful than it was because she is happier when she's awake and is sleeping better for naps and at night (just waking up once around 4:30 or 5:30) so that is wonderful. January was a bit of a struggle in that way, but February has luckily brought some relief.  I'm happy for her... When I'm not too busy mourning the loss of her happy, gummy smile. She's the funnest baby ever. Also, she tolerates a lot. 

Hearing test, car hit, new dress

Today was fun. 

Abigail brought home mr. Bear yesterday but we've been so busy that we couldn't even do anything fun with him. But it didn't even matter because this morning I told Abigail that she write in his journal himself (instead of me writing it all) and she was actually for it! She did a great job. I forgot to take a picture but it was something like "mr bear and I played with Brady by his morning we read books."

After I got Abigail from school, we went straight to meet honey at costa vida for lunch. It was delicious as always. 

Then we went to Abigail's hearing evaluation. She was adorable during the "games" that the audiologist was doing with her. She would smile and giggle and bounce forward on her seat. 

The lady kept saying how sweet Abigail was. And it was true, she was being super sweet. That lady was luckily not around when we were in the waiting room and Abigail was having an outburst so bad ("BRADY! YOU'RE THE MEANEST!!!") that I was worried people were going to think she had autism or something else like that. Anyway, she did great and Brady played food toys. 

She did hand motions as she repeated words back to the lady. 

And this is apparently the room where they do the newborn hearing screening. Abigail had a newborn hearing test done in this giant throne of a chair. She liked it. 

We stopped by home just long enough to pick up a book that was due, and 15 others that we were done with and then returned them to the library and hung out there for a while. I got all the kids in the car and then was putting the stroller in the trunk when a lady (on her third attempt to get in the space next to me), hit my car. That made me sad because my car is less than a year old and only has a few thousand miles on it, but really, it was a blessing that it was all as good as it was because the lady was super polite and fine and even though all three of my kids were in the car (Abigail and Brady in the process of getting buckled), there was no worry of safety for any of them and really it's just a scratch in the paint. Honey is naturally much more annoyed than I am. But that's understandable because he's the one that's gonna be dealing with this all. He's already been on the phone with insurance people and whatever. He takes good care of me. 

We watched a little hockey tonight. Check it out. Just 24 hours ago, we were standing in that very spot having our picture taken together. Hey Gabe! It's like we're bff. 

The hockey watching party. Elizabeth even had her hockey stick while Brady looked at hockey pictures on Chris's phone from last night to compare them with the players he was seeing on tv. 

Klaudette and Nate stopped by to drop off a kids john Deere gator (since she's purging hardcore these days) and of course brought other stuff too. In there was grandpa RB's Book of Mormon from his mission. I was so touched. The R is for Robert... Brady's middle name. Also, Klaudette brought me a dress. Before I even saw it (it was in a garment bag), she was all "you're the only one skinny enough to fit this... I used to wear it back in the day... It belonged to my grandmother" and I was immediately curious. Well, it was love at first sight. I accepted it and then tried it on first chance I got and then again after everyone was in bed. I rolled up one sleeve to make it a little more my style since I normally wear cap sleeve stuff. Aside from that, I made zero changes and the dress fits me like a glove. The pictures don't capture it well, but it is so beautiful and, as I said, fits me to the very millimeter. Now I just can't gain any weight. Also, hopefully it still fits my chest okay after I quit nursing. 

I'm so excited to wear it when the weather warms up. 

So today (despite my car getting hit) was a success. And I am beat.