For Dad...

A recent conversation with my father went something like this:
Dad: How come you never update your blog?
Me: We see you all the time! You don't need updated pictures!! ... and I have three kids...
Dad: So you can do it with two, but no more blogs with three ey?
Me: ... uh...something like that...
Sorry.
In my defense!!!:  1)  We DO see dad lots.  2)  Three words: Weekly family email.  2.5) 90% of the people who read this blog GET the family email... 3) We're improving and the future looks bright!  Why?  We've hit a HUGE milestone around here!!!  BABY IS SIX MONTHS OLD!!  I don't know what about the first six months is so difficult for me.  Oh wait, yes I do... mom doesn't get enough sleep.  So my Dad won't panic that I don't like my children, I'll clarify.  Newborns are cute.  Extremely so.  This baby number three is the smily-est we've had yet!!!  And its a good thing too- because moms (me) are generally in a severely sleep-deprived, irrational state the first few months.  But then little miracles happen.  They learn to smile.  They follow you around the room with their eyes.  They coo.  They get so excited to see you that their whole body lurches in the cute out-of-control way that babies have.  Then they start reaching for you!  Somewhere in this process they start napping for real!!  And around five to six months we start to realize that we're sleeping more!  AND ITS A BEAUTIFUL THING!!!

So, dad, here is your update!!  We're doing good!!  Life is great!!  The oldest two are figuring out playing together. Still.  Some moments are great, some I wonder if they plan on being best friends or mortal enemies when they grow up. 

 The good news is they are full of incredibly funny things to say.  Its nice that Lady is finally a talker.  Our favorite words for her are: Spot! (Now upgraded to, "That's MY SPOT!!"  This is heard EVERY morning when the kids pile into our bed to wake us up!)  SELF! Upgraded to, "Do it my my self!"  This is also heard daily.  Multiple times I might add.  Brother is becoming a four year old comedian.  He loves to play with words, rhyme, and in general is laughing about something he's said or trying to make me smile.  He is a huge help with baby (who really needs a nickname here doesn't she...) and is always getting her a toy or playing with her.  Although she CAN roll over, I fear she might never do it on a regular basis because brother will get her anything she needs as often as she needs it.  We're raising queen number two around here!! Her big sister has already claimed the first title.

On a final note: we were sent THIS link the other day and it has become a FAVORITE of both the kids and myself.  Lady constantly asks to watch "movie" and sing.  This is what she's asking for.  I find myself singing it around the house too...

 Have a great day dad!  See you this afternoon!

Not exactly humble...

We've been a little busy.
But! Some LONG overdue projects are done!  And truthfully, I'm not sure the pictures does EITHER project justice!    The bathroom was my project.  King hates H.A.T.E.S. painting.  So when the pink was FINALLY too much, I tackled that myself. 

Before:

After:

...I haven't hung pictures yet.  I'm trying to figure out what to put there.

 

Do I paint the vanity and surrounding wood?  White? Do I stain it darker?  What do I do?! Suggestions please!!  I also want to frame out the mirrors with white molding... another rainy day project I guess...

Before:

Yes.  That is CARPET in my dining room. Blech.  Hello grape juice stains!

After

 

Now to replace that table or at least the chairs.... one day...

Good work King! With my dad and brother-in-law's help- they did a good job!

Responses.

Me: I love you, Son.
Him: I do too.

??

Me: I love you, Lady.
Her: Ok.

Four

I'm late.  Again.  Nearly a MONTH ago, this guy turned F.O.U.R.  Wow.  I can hardly believe it.

Of COURSE we had to have green everything.  Green jammies (the norm), green plate (normal), green PANCAKES made in various shapes and sizes per request, green milk (...wierd), and even a green dinosaur  cake.  Ta Da!  Not to toot my own horn, but yes, that's my own work.  

This boy is growing up so fast!  He is a GOOD helper and a very kind boy.  He LOVES to learn about everything, especially all things space, dinosaur, and number oriented.  He can count to 49 (then he says 40 again), count by 2's to 20, by 5's to 50 and by 10's to 100 (thank you leapfrog).  He is learning to write his letters and loves to do it!  

He loves to help with his baby sister!  He is constantly trying to make her laugh!  He loves to come give me hugs and kisses!  I could go on and on- but most of all, he is a good boy!  We love having him- even if he insists on getting older, and older, and older...

Lately.

Finally!  We went on a trip!
We took a mini vacation down to St. George.  We left for my Mom's Monday, then down to an aunt and uncles on Tuesday.  We went to the rec center, hiked twice, watched a movie, went to the family fun center where the boys rode a go-cart and then we all went miniature golfing.  It turns out our kids are TOO miniature for that still...Brother would hit the ball (like he was holding a bat!) and then run catch it and put it RIGHT next to the whole where he'd hit it again and again and again (one inch away mind you) until he hit it in.  Sister mostly sucked her fingers and picked up Brother's ball.  We had a great time though:great food and great company with family.  Because we stayed with relatives it was REALLY cheap.  
Now I'm wondering if I'm ready to get back to "real life".  I've been having a REALLY hard time being patient and calm lately.  Is it because I have three kids?  A crazy 2 year old?  That I have a "new" (almost 5 months old) baby?  That I need a swift kick to the pants?  Possibly all of the above.  So- like every Sunday- I'm setting some small weekly (and some other short term) goals.  In truth, if I accomplish them it will be HUGE.  I find that if I share them with you all, it makes me feel more accountable and I work a tad harder at them.  So here goes:
1)  BE PATIENT.  I can talk nice, be calm, and listen longer.  I AM NOT IN A RUSH- even though I sometimes think I am.  What is the hurry.  The only deadlines in my day are breakfast, joyschool, naptime, dinner, bedtime.  Time in between is flexible and I need to remember that. SLOW DOWN.  Enjoy.  R.E.L.A.X.  This week:  I will put MYSELF in timeout (10 pushups) when I speak unkindly to the kids.  They have a consequence.  So will I.  (I hate pushups...)
2) Now that I just said slow down, I'm adding things:  Work.  Hard.  See progress.  (I miss that some days).  Do yard work, start on the list of projects you have in your head.  Next up is yardwork and picking a color for my currently PINK bathroom.  It needs some new paint desperately!  If I wipe it down one day, prime it the next, paint it the next, and do finishing touches the next- I SHOULD theoretically be done in a week.  My goal is to have that painted before the end of April. This week: Spend at least 4 hours doing yard work.  Even if its just 45 min a day.
3) First things first.  I keep postponing scripture study to the end of the day when its quiet.  That is fine.  It works.  But once the kids are asleep- I NEED TO DO THAT FIRST!  This week:  Make scripture study the FIRST thing that happens after kids are asleep.  It can be during nap time (if all are quiet) or when they are in bed.  100% scripture study this week.
As Brother now says, "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can..."

Pictures.

Do any of you find time to take pictures of your third child?  Neither do I. 

This was the most recent from the camera- taken Jan. 5th.  She was 2 months old.  

Slightly newer-March 5.  4 months old.  Thank you computer cam.

Don't be fooled by that serious face- I think she was just focused on computer screen.  In truth, she's quite the smiler and has WILD hair.  It usually stands straight UP.  

See?

Maybe one of these days I'll get one with the camera again... maybe...

Rambling

Nothing specific.  Just a thoughtful Sunday afternoon.
I've recently modified how I'm studying my scriptures and I've started writing in my journal again.  (Does that mean I'll blog less? Who knows.  It can't get much worse.)
And I've started making more concrete goals for myself.
Study.  So you miss school?  Study.  The scriptures are waiting.  There is lots of good literature around! (My new scripture study plan is helping...)
Laugh more.  Scold less.  Your children are funny and aren't TRYING to make more work for you.
Think more before you talk.
Exercise. Ouch.
Call/Talk to the people you care about more.  
Make home a nice place to be- where they'd CHOOSE... if toddlers got to choose that.
Take more pictures of my kids.
Play inspirational and just GOOD music more often.  My mom often played good music- I can still hum along to Enya and many Motab CDs thanks to the Sunday Morning music that always made the house feel better. I want this for my kids.
Look for opportunities to serve. Random acts of kindness.
Enjoy.
Like all my goals- most of these are far easier said than done, that doesn't mean I'm not trying, or that I forget or mess up or fall on my face.  But I can always try again.  Isn't that a beautiful thing?  I think so.

Lent

Lent begins tomorrow.  Some give up sugar.  Not I. (Though I should.)  Some give up sins.  I'm trying.  But my goal for Lent this year is to give up clutter and junk.  Sounds odd- I know.  I'm wholeheartedly buying into trying to keep life SIMPLE.  We've been in our home now about 3 1/2 years and I keep wondering how we've accumulated so much!  Though much of it was discounted/free, we still have too much.  We don't need THINGS to be happy.  So using a great idea from Clover Lane I'm about to embark on the 40 bags in 40 days challenge.  Here's how it goes.  Each day of Lent (and I'm skipping weekends) you pick an area of your home.  Some areas will require more than one day- and that's fine.  Each day you organize, declutter, and improve that area.  Sort out what you keep, what gets moved to another belonging place, what you donate and what you toss.  Simple sounding- harder in practice.  The goal is to remove or donate 40 bags of "stuff" you don't need, don't use, and doesn't contribute to the environment you want in your home.  My areas are (and there are only 31 because of weekends):
Filing cabinent x3 (wow- there's a LOT there that could go- I might get 3-4 bags here!)
Office shelves
Game Drawers
Cleaning Closet
Man Bathroom
Master Bathroom
H Toys
E Toys
Basement Toys
My closet .... my hardest spot!
King's closet
Laundry/Craft room x 2
Baby Gear and totes
Utility Room x 2
Built in cupboard x2
Kitchen x 3
Garage x 3
Shed x 2
Piano books and books
Car
Guest room closet
Linen shelves

Now, I don't have to go in order- I just have to complete one area a day. I plan on having the kids help so I 1) go faster, 2) include them, and 3) hopefully teach them we want to stay organized and SIMPLE as a family!
Wish me luck... I'm fairly sure I'm going to need it...

Birthdays

We've had a few birthdays around here.
1) An actual birth... and all of a sudden she's three months old!
2) Sister turned "three."  Not really- just two- but I'd like to see you tell her that.
3) King turned an undisclosed amount- to which my younger brother declares- he's almost fourty!  Not true folks, not true. 
While my keeping-up-to-date skills are sadly lacking- you need to know a few things about these birthday people!

1) The littlest is a joy.  She may have given us a run for our money the first few months, but she's learned to smile and she's learning to sleep.  Those two things make ALL the difference.  I'm so glad she's here- even if we don't get much done around the house or eat real breakfasts anymore.  Its worth it... and we'll learn.

2) Sister is a growing, learning, copying, independent girl.  I can only imagine what she'll be like as a young woman.  I hope she keeps her self confidence in her ability to do things on her own and applies her will to doing great and wonderful things.  She's learning more words by the day- mostly by imitating big brother and I think she enjoys hearing herself sing and talk!  She loves to "help people" and can frequently be found "helping" baby by putting the binki back in her mouth- whether or not she wants it or is even awake.

3) King is a noble, kind, wonderful soul who is often overshadowed in my mentionings (mostly because he's not mischevious or terribly spontaneous).   He is so fantastically helpful coming home from LONG days of work.  He jumps right in - delighting waiting children with games of chase, wrestling, story telling etc.  He is dearly, dearly loved.  (Pictures of him to come.... crying baby.  Part two... later...)

Thinking

I get bouts of sentimentality (if that's a word).  I keep thinking of funny things I need to record here for posterity's sake.  Like the fact that Lady loves the word "self" newly developed to "by myself!"  (Also heard as "I do it!"  It's her new middle name.  She's and independent one- watch out world!  Today she refused to finish her breakfast.  The routine is no snack when this happens.  While I nursed the little one, sister disappeared.   Where did I find her?  On the counter eating a bag of cookies we baked yesterday.  She got up there by her "self!" Ahh....  I hope that's more funny one day than it was this morning.  Or like the fact that brother LOVES the new Leap Frog video sister got for her birthday.  He's watched it a dozen times (its only 25 min long folks) and she's not made it through once!  He keeps asking me about space storms and other serious questions like, "what's a hydro-pergo ergonoimic energy cell, Mom?"  Seriously.  He listens closely to things- especially things he loves.  (In case you're wondering- its a Math video- and the frogs are asking the space ship - I think- what it uses for fuel.  Its a hydro...something!)
There are also sweet things- like how the littlest smiles and coos when you turn her to face you!! She is a GREAT smiler!  Brother eats it up and is constantly kissing her.  He also loves to come over and kiss my arm- or whatever body part is closest when he's feeling especially loving or when I'm having a hard day.   Not wanting to be left out, child number 2 will usually follow- squishing baby's head while she kisses her and then coming over for an awkward, sweet- 2 year old hug for me.  Since they are few and far between from her to me- I try to soak them up.
Back to being sentimental now. Tonight I read the saddest story.  Unfortunately it was true.  A mom in Australia lost her son to a life-long illness this last October.  Then, while on a family holiday a few weeks ago, she suddenly lost her husband to a massive heart attack.
Now, I can't imagine losing a child.  But to lose a child AND my husband in a brief four month span (let alone a life-long span) would be devastating.  And I got to thinking.  My first thought was, "I'd be crushed."  My second was, "What- where's your faith?  You aren't given more than you can handle.  There must be a reason."  Trust me- that's more than I could handle.  And then I kept reading.  Their family motto seems to have been, "Don't count the days, make the days count."  They had only expected their son to live two to four years.  He got ten!  They tried to make the most of the life they had together.  And now it means DOUBLY more.  Her husband was only 39.  She talks about some wonderful moments they had together just the last week of his life.  NOT KNOWING his life was to be cut short like they expected their son's life to be.  And I got to thinking- am I making the most of my life?  Suppose King, or any of my children were gone tomorrow- would I be happy remembering the great times we'd had- within the last week or throughout our lives- or would I regret my angry words, or my frustrated sighs.  Would I laugh thinking of how BOTH my older children had bodily-fluid incidents this morning (which I DO NOT do well with) and how they both looked at me so proudly- or would I remember how I scolded BOTH of them in my dismay that I would be cleaning up TWO messes.  In brother's defense- he MEANT to aim in the toilet and didn't realize he'd missed- he was just proud for "making it in time!", and in Sister's- she was trying to change her diaper FOR me.  How helpful.  I hope I remember that she was sincere.  And I hope I remember this family's situation so next time I can laugh, thank her for her help, and more patiently help her understand that some jobs are just mommy jobs. 
So I'm trying.  I'm GOING to do better.  I'm going to talk softer- explain quieter and more sincerely when I have to correct, and I'm going to let myself laugh at antics (before correcting them) more than I scold.  Ooh- this is hard for me.  I am a perfectionist in too many things - my children are not a project- they are human- little humans at that.  They don't need perfecting as much as they need loving.  So here's to changing my mantra and making days count- not counting days, or messes, or seeming disasters to clean up.
Just breath- and enjoy- and make the day count.
I read the best poem/quote a while back which I've now taped to my dining room cupboard.  I hope it changes my life.

Today is here.

I will start with a smile, and resolve to be agreeable.

I will not criticize.  I refuse to waste my valuable time.

Today has one thing in which I know I am equal with others- Time.

All of us draw the same salary in seconds, minutes, hours-

24 Golden Hours each day.

Today I will not waste my time,

Because the minutes I wasted yesterday

Are as lost as a vanished thought.

Today I refuse to spend time worrying about what might happen.

I am going to spend my time making things happen.

Today I am determined to study to improve myself,

For tomorrow I may be wanted, and I must not be found lacking.

Today I am determined to do things I should do.

I firmly resolve to stop doing the things I should not do.

Today I begin by doing and not wasting my time.

In one week I will be miles beyond the person I am today.

Today I will not imagine what I would do if things were different.

They are not different.

I will make a success with what material I have.

Today I will stop saying, “If I had time,”

For I never will “find time” for anything-

If I want time I must take it.

Today I will act toward other people

As though this might be my last day on earth.

I will not wait for tomorrow.

Tomorrow never comes.

-John Longden