This morning Alivia woke up at 6 am. I know she did this because she knew that it was my one day of the week that I didn't have to wake up at 6, and she thinks this is funny. At least she was very happy about the whole thing and had a lot to say in her baby gibberish.
Even though I was up at 6, I didn't actually get out of bed until Jack started crying. We laid in our bed like lazy people for a while, then Shawn wandered in to get Jack. That's when he learned that Jack had thrown up at some point in the night. I got the bath ready, Shawn handled the puke mess like a man, he always does, and I love that feature in him. As Jack sat in the tub, my sister-in-law called. I spoke with her for a few minutes, but then Jack started throwing up in the tub. Poor little bug. I knew he wasn't feeling well when I watched him sit in the tub and make no effort to play with any toys or splash in any way.
After showering Jack since the bath was a failure, I got him out and dressed him. As I dressed him he got panicky and I could tell he was going to puke again. His natural reaction to this feeling was to run with no particular destination in mind. My natural instinct was to catch him and get him to the nearest utility with a drain, toilet, sink, tub, shower, I so didn't care, just not my bed or carpet. Jack ran for my room of course, and I caught him just in time to get him over the tile floor and almost to the toilet before the moment of impact. I spent the next several hours trying my best to teach him how to puke in a bowl or toilet.
Jack kind of started perking up, so I decided to at least try to get Lucy to the Easter Egg Hunt in the park today. After driving all the way there I noticed all the people leaving and decided that I missed it. As I drove home (and was practically there mind you), the radio station informed me that Lucy's age group's hunt was starting at noon. So, I turned around and went back to the park, and got Lucy there just in time. There were SO many kids and so not enough eggs. Lucy took off when they said go and ran to an egg just to watch another kid snatch it. Then she ran to the next one that a parent snatched. This happened several times and I watched helplessly from the side since I couldn't leave Alivia by herself. After watching three PARENTS snatch eggs as Lucy reached for them, I lost her in the crowd.
When Lucy wandered her way back to me she was in tears with only one egg in her basket and two halves of eggs that no one else wanted because there was nothing in them. My heart was broken for her. One nice little girl gave Lucy a candy that she got in one of her two eggs. I hated that hunt and will never go back to it again. It was pathetic. There were probably 150 kids and about 200 eggs. The age group for this hunt was 4-7, so Lucy was on the younger end, but what I want to know is why in the heck did parents feel like they needed to help their 4-7 year old kid? The parent that bugged me the most was the one that I watched snatch Lucy's third egg and hand it to his kid that I'm pretty sure was too old for this age group. Not okay. I think I'll organize my own neighborhood egg hunt next year.
When we got home Jack was still sleeping. He and Alivia took amazing naps today. Shawn and I used our down time to do a lot of laundry and get ready for Shawn's Easter Cantata that was tonight. Shawn's parents came down and we went to dinner with them, then headed to the Cantata. It was amazing, I'm so glad Shawn can find one time a year to do something like that, even if it demands a lot of time, it is good for him.
Quote of the day:
Lucy: "Oh my gosh! I have to pee!!"
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Friday, April 22, 2011
Day 81: Going to the Mall
Today was a pretty good day. Alivia didn't sleep last night all that well. This is something she is doing more and more and I'm thinking, that's gotta stop. But I did go to bed at mid-night, and I did wake up at 6, well 5, thanks to Alivia. I've been waking up most mornings at 6 am to work so that I can focus and get stuff done before the kids wake up. Once they are up I work what I call quarter time between making breakfast, chocolate milk, dressing and bathing kids, showering, scripture study (on days that I'm really on top of things), lunch, nursing, rocking, breaking up fights, and herding kids towards a never ending effort to clean up after themselves.
Today was a good day. I try to write between 4 and 5 articles a day, and I had 4 finished by 2:00 today, and that was with an hour and a half trip to Shawn's office for our health screens. Since Shawn works for a Hospital, they offer employee incentives for good health. Just getting our health screenings today earned us $200 that I think we can use toward medical bills, happy day.
Anyway, 2:00 rolled around and I decided to call it a day instead of trying to knock out another set of three articles. That's when I decided I would take the kids to the Mall to go burn some energy on the play place there. Why do I do that to myself? It started off ok, the kids were even little angels while we had some rock chips in my windshield repaired. Then they played for about 20 minutes when Jack lost it. Jack's really been struggling with his naps lately, and bed time too. As a result, he's one over tired little boy all the time. He's a mean tantrum throwing nightmare. Why oh why did they make me take the pacifier away? I miss it so much, that thing was golden! Seriously, I really regret doing that.
After 20 minutes on the play place, Jack threw an all out tantrum as I tried to put his shoes back on. Nothing like a good public temper tantrum when you know all eyes are you. I was suddenly reminded of my last trip to the mall back in February when Jack shop lifted his hat. I don't think we'll be going back to the mall for a while.
After that colossal melt down Jack was fine. So I decided to take the kids to the puppy store, then we hit a couple other stores just for the heck of it. Lucy was ADORABLE at Clairs. She tried on about 10 pairs of sunglasses, picked out a necklace that she wants to save her money for, picked out a bracelet to match, and her eyes about popped out of her head when we got to the princess section. My little girls and I had a lot of fun getting dressed today. I took my sister-in-law Rebecca's courage not only to my own wardrobe, but also to Lucy's. Lucy looked ADORABLE today! She wore what use to be one of my big old 90's style bows as a belt. It was pink with white polka dots and fit her perfectly. We are having a lot of fun with this creative, trendy dressing.
When we got home I went for a run, we had dinner, and then the kids went to bed. And there you have my day. There was something else that happened that I wanted to write about, but I cannot for the life of me think of what it was. It was pretty funny too. Oh well, it will come to me tonight while I'm sleeping.
Today was a good day. I try to write between 4 and 5 articles a day, and I had 4 finished by 2:00 today, and that was with an hour and a half trip to Shawn's office for our health screens. Since Shawn works for a Hospital, they offer employee incentives for good health. Just getting our health screenings today earned us $200 that I think we can use toward medical bills, happy day.
Anyway, 2:00 rolled around and I decided to call it a day instead of trying to knock out another set of three articles. That's when I decided I would take the kids to the Mall to go burn some energy on the play place there. Why do I do that to myself? It started off ok, the kids were even little angels while we had some rock chips in my windshield repaired. Then they played for about 20 minutes when Jack lost it. Jack's really been struggling with his naps lately, and bed time too. As a result, he's one over tired little boy all the time. He's a mean tantrum throwing nightmare. Why oh why did they make me take the pacifier away? I miss it so much, that thing was golden! Seriously, I really regret doing that.
After 20 minutes on the play place, Jack threw an all out tantrum as I tried to put his shoes back on. Nothing like a good public temper tantrum when you know all eyes are you. I was suddenly reminded of my last trip to the mall back in February when Jack shop lifted his hat. I don't think we'll be going back to the mall for a while.
After that colossal melt down Jack was fine. So I decided to take the kids to the puppy store, then we hit a couple other stores just for the heck of it. Lucy was ADORABLE at Clairs. She tried on about 10 pairs of sunglasses, picked out a necklace that she wants to save her money for, picked out a bracelet to match, and her eyes about popped out of her head when we got to the princess section. My little girls and I had a lot of fun getting dressed today. I took my sister-in-law Rebecca's courage not only to my own wardrobe, but also to Lucy's. Lucy looked ADORABLE today! She wore what use to be one of my big old 90's style bows as a belt. It was pink with white polka dots and fit her perfectly. We are having a lot of fun with this creative, trendy dressing.
When we got home I went for a run, we had dinner, and then the kids went to bed. And there you have my day. There was something else that happened that I wanted to write about, but I cannot for the life of me think of what it was. It was pretty funny too. Oh well, it will come to me tonight while I'm sleeping.
Days 73-80: Catching Up is Only Getting Me More Behind
Ok, so I've fallen way behind obviously. The problem with falling behind is that I feel pressure from myself to catch up. Catching up takes too long, so I can never sit down and do it in on night, so I get further behind. So, instead of catching, I'll summarize days 73-80. Shawn just told me this is cheating, but as it turns out, being a mom 365 days a year causes moments like this, that are out of your control.
So, the main reason I have fallen behind is because I've started a new job! It's an AMAZING opportunity, and I've been looking for something like this since I had kids. No, it won't make us rich, that is for darn sure, but it brings in enough money to cover our medical I-just-had-a-baby expenses. After that it will just be good to help us finally tie down our debts. The best part of all is that I can work at home absolutely whenever I have time to do it. If my kids need me, no problem, I can drop everything and spend as much time with them as I wand or they need. I LOVE IT! I'm very excited about this, can you tell? So what do I do? I write SEO and linking articles for a web technologies company based out of Utah. SEO articles are Search Engine Optimization articles. Basically I'm given some of the most random topics you can think of and told that I have to write a 400 word article using certain key words a certain number of times. It's so great.
Other than that, I have a couple of funny things that have happened the last few days that I've wanted to document. These things were said, thought, did, or happened whether I wanted them to or not.
So, the main reason I have fallen behind is because I've started a new job! It's an AMAZING opportunity, and I've been looking for something like this since I had kids. No, it won't make us rich, that is for darn sure, but it brings in enough money to cover our medical I-just-had-a-baby expenses. After that it will just be good to help us finally tie down our debts. The best part of all is that I can work at home absolutely whenever I have time to do it. If my kids need me, no problem, I can drop everything and spend as much time with them as I wand or they need. I LOVE IT! I'm very excited about this, can you tell? So what do I do? I write SEO and linking articles for a web technologies company based out of Utah. SEO articles are Search Engine Optimization articles. Basically I'm given some of the most random topics you can think of and told that I have to write a 400 word article using certain key words a certain number of times. It's so great.
Other than that, I have a couple of funny things that have happened the last few days that I've wanted to document. These things were said, thought, did, or happened whether I wanted them to or not.
- Jack peed on a dining room chair and the floor while I was nursing Alivia. I caught him trying to clean it up himself with my dish towel.
- Jack colored all over my living room couch with a pen.
- Jack stopped taking naps
- Jack had a break through in potty training
- Jack had a set back in potty training
- I threw in the towel on potty training
- Lucy told me all flowers remind her of me
- Jack and Lucy have developed a love of doing the dishes, if only that would last
- Jack pulled his dresser down on himself (actually, the dress itself did not fall, but all the drawers fell on him and his lamp. Lamp Shade didn't make it)
- I sat in the rocking chair nursing the baby and watched Jack give Lucy a ride on the back of his big wheel
- We dyed Easter Eggs
- I hit Jack, my desperate attempt to help him understand why we don't hit
- I got 19 free travel size packages of Purex Complete laundry detergant
- I got 6 free bottles of ready to use Similac baby formula
- I got 2 free air fresheners
- Couponing is going strong
- Jack has turned from my unbelievably adorable get-away-with-anything little boy to a living, breathing, walking monster that doesn't sleep.
- We planted corn and peppers inside to start our garden outside with in a few weeks
- I've started following my amazing sister-in-law's example and started using creativity with my wardrobe. I hate all my clothes, but I'm finding if I combine two pieces that I wouldn't usually think to combine, I can bring new life to my old second hand clothes.
- Alivia rolled over!!! This happened yesterday on Thursday April 21
- Alivia has also started pulling really funny faces when she is borderline mad and happy
- Jack's new word is the F word, I'm a little concerned about this, but I don't know what he is actually trying to say, all I know is that he isn't saying the F word intentionally. I wish that were easier to explain in nursery because once he says it once, he says it at least 15 times in a row without taking a breath.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Day 72: Sending off Haley
Today was sad. I hated sending Haley away. We spent most of the morning preparing to take her up to the airport. We also worked on one final project for her menu board. By noon both Haley and I were ready for a nap. We put the boys down, I started a movie for Lucy, and I laid down with Alivia.
After our naps we packed everything up, loaded the car and headed up to Denver. I got Haley to the airport in one piece and dreaded the moment when I actually had to say by to her. We had a major problem tracking down her ticket because the airline never sent her a confirmation email. We know because we spent at least 45 minutes searching all of our email accounts for it. When we finally figured out it was a Continental flight, and we knew what time it was at. We also knew she had a ticket because of a bank confirmation and a call to the airline.
When we pulled up to the Continental drop off zone our plan was to check in at the curb. Unfortunately no one was there to check us in. So, I sat in the car when you are not allowed to wait and put on shoes and fiddled with car seats so I looked like I was actively unloading something from my car. At one point Haley called and told me she was actually on an United flight, so I backed the car up a few zones (which I'm sure was illegal). Then I put Bennett's shoes back on since he had taken them off again.
Then Haley returned and it was really time for goodbye. It was so hard to say bye because I don't know when I'll see her again. But honestly, this was such a good trip for me. It made me realize that it is so important to make an effort to see old friends as much as possible. Haley's visit was so rejuvenating for me, it was just what I needed right now. I needed those nights that I stayed up past midnight laughing and talking with girls. It was worth every moment, and now I know I have to make these things happen more often. They are so important.
So, when I got back in the car, my really stress began. The car was 7 miles until empty on gas. I was at the Denver Airport. There are ZERO gas stations around that airport, ZERO!!! Now, this same thing happened two days before, so I knew I had a little give and I could actually make it more than 7 miles. So I headed home. I was about 15 miles from the airport when I finally found an exit that I thought might lead to a gas station eventually. After exiting I drove another 5 miles or so, and I was really starting to panic that I wasn't going to find a gas station. Lucy sensed my worry and asked what was wrong. She was getting pretty scared so I told her to say a prayer that we would find a gas station and not run out of gas. It was raining and I getting dark and I really didn't want to run out of gas because at this point I didn't even know where I was. There was nothing cuter that hearing Lucy's little prayer in the back seat, and I said a silent prayer that her prayer would be answered for her faith.
A few minutes later we found a gas station and filled up. It was such a relief! Then I realized I literally had no idea where I was because I had to wander so much to find a gas station. That's when I opened Bob and Pam's storage console in the car and found their Tom Tom. I've never been so happy to find that thing! I typed in their address and it took me home. The rain did complicate my ability to read signs, but eventually I knew where I was.
When we got with in a mile of Bob and Pam's exit I noticed a car wandering into my lane way ahead of me. Then I realized that car wasn't moving more than 10 miles an hour. I slammed on the breaks and the horn at the same time because this car was slowly crossing all the lanes of traffic in the rain and had no hazard lights on. I almost smashed into the back of the and I had to pull onto the shoulder to miss them. Talk about a stressful return trip.
We stayed at Bob and Pam's for about a half hour. Jason, Rebecca, and Jeff were there so it was fun to say hi to them. Then we traded cars and headed back home. I miss Haley. I was sad walking into Lucy's room where she stayed and seeing her stuff was gone. But I did love spending a night with my husband tonight too. Seriously, Haley's visit was just good all around. I would do it again tomorrow if I could. Now it's back to life as I know it. I have a good life.
After our naps we packed everything up, loaded the car and headed up to Denver. I got Haley to the airport in one piece and dreaded the moment when I actually had to say by to her. We had a major problem tracking down her ticket because the airline never sent her a confirmation email. We know because we spent at least 45 minutes searching all of our email accounts for it. When we finally figured out it was a Continental flight, and we knew what time it was at. We also knew she had a ticket because of a bank confirmation and a call to the airline.
When we pulled up to the Continental drop off zone our plan was to check in at the curb. Unfortunately no one was there to check us in. So, I sat in the car when you are not allowed to wait and put on shoes and fiddled with car seats so I looked like I was actively unloading something from my car. At one point Haley called and told me she was actually on an United flight, so I backed the car up a few zones (which I'm sure was illegal). Then I put Bennett's shoes back on since he had taken them off again.
Then Haley returned and it was really time for goodbye. It was so hard to say bye because I don't know when I'll see her again. But honestly, this was such a good trip for me. It made me realize that it is so important to make an effort to see old friends as much as possible. Haley's visit was so rejuvenating for me, it was just what I needed right now. I needed those nights that I stayed up past midnight laughing and talking with girls. It was worth every moment, and now I know I have to make these things happen more often. They are so important.
So, when I got back in the car, my really stress began. The car was 7 miles until empty on gas. I was at the Denver Airport. There are ZERO gas stations around that airport, ZERO!!! Now, this same thing happened two days before, so I knew I had a little give and I could actually make it more than 7 miles. So I headed home. I was about 15 miles from the airport when I finally found an exit that I thought might lead to a gas station eventually. After exiting I drove another 5 miles or so, and I was really starting to panic that I wasn't going to find a gas station. Lucy sensed my worry and asked what was wrong. She was getting pretty scared so I told her to say a prayer that we would find a gas station and not run out of gas. It was raining and I getting dark and I really didn't want to run out of gas because at this point I didn't even know where I was. There was nothing cuter that hearing Lucy's little prayer in the back seat, and I said a silent prayer that her prayer would be answered for her faith.
A few minutes later we found a gas station and filled up. It was such a relief! Then I realized I literally had no idea where I was because I had to wander so much to find a gas station. That's when I opened Bob and Pam's storage console in the car and found their Tom Tom. I've never been so happy to find that thing! I typed in their address and it took me home. The rain did complicate my ability to read signs, but eventually I knew where I was.
When we got with in a mile of Bob and Pam's exit I noticed a car wandering into my lane way ahead of me. Then I realized that car wasn't moving more than 10 miles an hour. I slammed on the breaks and the horn at the same time because this car was slowly crossing all the lanes of traffic in the rain and had no hazard lights on. I almost smashed into the back of the and I had to pull onto the shoulder to miss them. Talk about a stressful return trip.
We stayed at Bob and Pam's for about a half hour. Jason, Rebecca, and Jeff were there so it was fun to say hi to them. Then we traded cars and headed back home. I miss Haley. I was sad walking into Lucy's room where she stayed and seeing her stuff was gone. But I did love spending a night with my husband tonight too. Seriously, Haley's visit was just good all around. I would do it again tomorrow if I could. Now it's back to life as I know it. I have a good life.
Day 71: Garden of the Gods
So today I decided I had to take Haley to Garden of the God's here in Colorado Springs. If you are visiting the Springs, you have to hit at least one of the tourist attractions right? It was such a good idea in my mind, but in my mind I didn't account for 4 kids. Still, it was so much fun, just not as smoothly fun as it was in my mind.
We packed a lunch and headed to the Garden which is all of 5 minutes from my house. As we were driving there I could tell that the kids were a little more tired that I thought they would be this early. Bennett was especially exhausted and I was kind of feeling bad that I had suggested it because I was all worried that Haley felt pressure to go when we would have been just fine to put him down for a nap. But we went. The first 10 minutes at our favorite spot didn't go to smoothly. Poor Bennett was getting so frustrated because he kept slipping on the loss gravely sand and falling. Finally Haley took off his shoes and he had a lot more fun climbing on rocks. Jack was a little off his game too, but thank goodness the blue birds came and started eating our scrap food because they saved the day! Well, the kids did start throwing their food as much as possible at this point, in hopes to get more blue birds to come, but hey, they were having fun.
The weather was beautiful! As we left the wind was starting to pick up and it was cooling off a little, so we picked the perfect time to go. On our way home we swung by the Home Depot for some paint and framing supplies. The kids fell asleep in the car so when we got home we got right to work on the menu board. At this point Haley was asking me why I didn't tell her that my menu board took me two weeks to make. But I loved making one for her mostly because I know how much it has changed my life. We spent the entire after noon making meal tags and I created a frame for her board that I'm in love with. I plan to make three just like it to go over my bed in my room. I'll post pictures once I get them made.
By the time the boys woke up Haley and I tried our hardest to just let them play so we could keep working on tags. That's about when we learned just how obsessed Bennett is with Alivia. He couldn't leave her alone, and being a 2 year old little boy he was having a hard time understanding what we were talking about when we were saying "Gentle." I never could figure out what he was doing that was making her so mad, but we must have finally made him understand that he couldn't do that, because finally he just started poring water water on her face from his sippy cup. That made her really mad. He just loved that little girl so much, and I think he was fascinated that he could make her react like that. But he had plenty of sweet moments with her too, like holding her hand in the car and constantly wanting to know where "Baby Ali" was.
So guess what we did after dinner? Oh, yeah, we kept working on the menu board tags. And guess how late Haley and I were up again? 2:30!!! We are insane. We were so tired but we had to finish it. And it looks so good. Again it was another night of talking and laughing until we almost wet our pants. It was a little sad to know that Haley is leaving me tomorrow. But seriously, I'm so happy we could do this. I look forward to many more similar trips in the future.
We packed a lunch and headed to the Garden which is all of 5 minutes from my house. As we were driving there I could tell that the kids were a little more tired that I thought they would be this early. Bennett was especially exhausted and I was kind of feeling bad that I had suggested it because I was all worried that Haley felt pressure to go when we would have been just fine to put him down for a nap. But we went. The first 10 minutes at our favorite spot didn't go to smoothly. Poor Bennett was getting so frustrated because he kept slipping on the loss gravely sand and falling. Finally Haley took off his shoes and he had a lot more fun climbing on rocks. Jack was a little off his game too, but thank goodness the blue birds came and started eating our scrap food because they saved the day! Well, the kids did start throwing their food as much as possible at this point, in hopes to get more blue birds to come, but hey, they were having fun.
The weather was beautiful! As we left the wind was starting to pick up and it was cooling off a little, so we picked the perfect time to go. On our way home we swung by the Home Depot for some paint and framing supplies. The kids fell asleep in the car so when we got home we got right to work on the menu board. At this point Haley was asking me why I didn't tell her that my menu board took me two weeks to make. But I loved making one for her mostly because I know how much it has changed my life. We spent the entire after noon making meal tags and I created a frame for her board that I'm in love with. I plan to make three just like it to go over my bed in my room. I'll post pictures once I get them made.
By the time the boys woke up Haley and I tried our hardest to just let them play so we could keep working on tags. That's about when we learned just how obsessed Bennett is with Alivia. He couldn't leave her alone, and being a 2 year old little boy he was having a hard time understanding what we were talking about when we were saying "Gentle." I never could figure out what he was doing that was making her so mad, but we must have finally made him understand that he couldn't do that, because finally he just started poring water water on her face from his sippy cup. That made her really mad. He just loved that little girl so much, and I think he was fascinated that he could make her react like that. But he had plenty of sweet moments with her too, like holding her hand in the car and constantly wanting to know where "Baby Ali" was.
So guess what we did after dinner? Oh, yeah, we kept working on the menu board tags. And guess how late Haley and I were up again? 2:30!!! We are insane. We were so tired but we had to finish it. And it looks so good. Again it was another night of talking and laughing until we almost wet our pants. It was a little sad to know that Haley is leaving me tomorrow. But seriously, I'm so happy we could do this. I look forward to many more similar trips in the future.
Day 70: Monday with Haley
In case you didn't get enough ranting about Haley's visit yesterday, don't worry, there is plenty more to come! This morning I woke up and headed downstairs to find Haley taking care of my kids since I'm such a good mom and make them fend for themselves for the first 20-30 minutes every morning. This happens for 2 reasons.
1- I'm too tired. I've never been a morning person, and I find it to be my laziest time of the day. I love my bed, I don't like to leave it.
2- My kids remind me of swarming ants in the morning. Have you ever tried to tell swarming ants that they cant have the piece of juicy watermelon laying on the ground? Well, if you have tried telling the ants no, they react the same way my kids react when I tell them to wait 2 minutes so I can get dressed before I get them their sacred chocolate milk.
So, like a good friend, Haley took care of my kids while I finished nursing the baby. Then we got to work planning our day. Haley wanted to make a menu board for herself like mine, so our day revolved mostly around gathering the needed supplies for that project. Except I did have an appointment in there where Haley saved my life by watching my kids. She took them to McDonalds, and then we headed to Hobby Lobby.
At Hobby Lobby we got out fabric, magnets, and stamps that we needed for our craft. Then we headed to the check out line. I have a theory about kids heading to the check out line. They can sense that their time in the store is drawing to a close, so they frantically begin thinking of ways to stall. I swear, the last 5 minutes of every trip I take to the store are the moments when all Hell breaks loose. I can't decide if this happens because I'm almost done shopping, or if I'm almost done shopping because this is beginning to happen. Someday I can go to the store while my kids are in school, and some crazy people try telling me that I will miss these days. I think those people have lost their sanity from too many final moments of shopping trips with children in their own lives.
When we actually got the the check out stand, seriously 3 of our 4 children went full out ballistic on us. Lucy was good, but she kind of fulled Jack's fire by trying to contain him which unleashed the screams. Alivia started crying, and I decided I would take all the kids out the car and start loading them in (a 15 minute process) while Haley checked out in peace. As I wheeled the kids away, Bennett noticed that I was stealing him from his mom, so he started crying, Jack is still throwing a back arching tantrum, Lucy is puckering up because I snapped at her to let go of Jack's arm, and Alivia is crying because she just feels the need to be heard on an hourly basis.
When Haley came out the car I could see on her face that she will truly appreciate every store that I write about my kids in public places because she has witnessed it first hand. She said watching me walk out of that store was like watching a train wreak on repeat. It's spectacularly terrible and attracts a lot of witnesses. The sad truth is that her little boy wasn't even the problem it was all my kids. Bennett wouldn't have even cried at all if he'd sat there with his mom, he was just busy busy busy, so I decided to take him out. Why is it that my kids have mastered humiliating me in public?
When we got home we had dinner and put the kids to bed, a blessed time in everyday for me.Then Haley and I started making her Menu board. She is so excited about it, and it's going to be adorable. I LOVE the fabric she choose, it's so cute! We stayed up until 1am. We're so irresponsible. Seriously, how are we going to get those precious sleeping hours back with kids? But it was so fun to spend that time together talking again. I've missed her so much and I didn't even know just how much so much is.
1- I'm too tired. I've never been a morning person, and I find it to be my laziest time of the day. I love my bed, I don't like to leave it.
2- My kids remind me of swarming ants in the morning. Have you ever tried to tell swarming ants that they cant have the piece of juicy watermelon laying on the ground? Well, if you have tried telling the ants no, they react the same way my kids react when I tell them to wait 2 minutes so I can get dressed before I get them their sacred chocolate milk.
So, like a good friend, Haley took care of my kids while I finished nursing the baby. Then we got to work planning our day. Haley wanted to make a menu board for herself like mine, so our day revolved mostly around gathering the needed supplies for that project. Except I did have an appointment in there where Haley saved my life by watching my kids. She took them to McDonalds, and then we headed to Hobby Lobby.
At Hobby Lobby we got out fabric, magnets, and stamps that we needed for our craft. Then we headed to the check out line. I have a theory about kids heading to the check out line. They can sense that their time in the store is drawing to a close, so they frantically begin thinking of ways to stall. I swear, the last 5 minutes of every trip I take to the store are the moments when all Hell breaks loose. I can't decide if this happens because I'm almost done shopping, or if I'm almost done shopping because this is beginning to happen. Someday I can go to the store while my kids are in school, and some crazy people try telling me that I will miss these days. I think those people have lost their sanity from too many final moments of shopping trips with children in their own lives.
When we actually got the the check out stand, seriously 3 of our 4 children went full out ballistic on us. Lucy was good, but she kind of fulled Jack's fire by trying to contain him which unleashed the screams. Alivia started crying, and I decided I would take all the kids out the car and start loading them in (a 15 minute process) while Haley checked out in peace. As I wheeled the kids away, Bennett noticed that I was stealing him from his mom, so he started crying, Jack is still throwing a back arching tantrum, Lucy is puckering up because I snapped at her to let go of Jack's arm, and Alivia is crying because she just feels the need to be heard on an hourly basis.
When Haley came out the car I could see on her face that she will truly appreciate every store that I write about my kids in public places because she has witnessed it first hand. She said watching me walk out of that store was like watching a train wreak on repeat. It's spectacularly terrible and attracts a lot of witnesses. The sad truth is that her little boy wasn't even the problem it was all my kids. Bennett wouldn't have even cried at all if he'd sat there with his mom, he was just busy busy busy, so I decided to take him out. Why is it that my kids have mastered humiliating me in public?
When we got home we had dinner and put the kids to bed, a blessed time in everyday for me.Then Haley and I started making her Menu board. She is so excited about it, and it's going to be adorable. I LOVE the fabric she choose, it's so cute! We stayed up until 1am. We're so irresponsible. Seriously, how are we going to get those precious sleeping hours back with kids? But it was so fun to spend that time together talking again. I've missed her so much and I didn't even know just how much so much is.
Day 69: HALEY!!!
I've been looking forward to this day for weeks now. Actually, check that, I've been looking forward to it for YEARS! Today was the day one of my best friends from high school was able to come and visit me! Her circumstances that brought her to me were not the best (she had spent a month at home helping her mom recover from a surgery in which her cancerous tumor was successfully removed), but in the end it brought her to me, so I'm one happy girl!
I woke up this morning at Bob and Pam's so that I could pick Haley up at the hotel she was staying in with her family. By 9 am I had Haley by my side where I intended to keep her for several days. It was so fun to finally get to see her after more than 2 years. I'd never seen her as a mom, but I've read her blog so much that it wasn't weird at all. Her little boy Bennett is to die for, I've always felt this way as I've seen pictures and videos of him, but in person it's even better (and no Haley, I'm not just saying that because I know you are reading this ;) ). So, I picked her up, said hi to all her family, and then whisked her away to all the places of my life.
First stop, my in law's house where Jack and Bennett met and quickly built what I like to call a rocky friendship (as most friendships are amongst two year olds). We had to spend the day in Denver because my little Lucy was finally coming home, and I missed her so much.
We decided to be good little mommies and take our families to church, so we headed to Dave and Adriana's ward. We only stayed for sacrament meeting simply because my track record the last couple of months for meetings actually attended isn't too hot, so I knew it would be pointless to try to make it through 3 full hours. This turned out to be a good decision. Poor Bennett had come down with a cold which kept him up all night, so he was more than ready for his nap. I don't know if I can legitimately blame that on the cold. I think it was more due to the fact that church started at noon. Who ever decided that it made sense to start church at noon is so fired. Especially for this ward. I kept feeling like my kids were so out of control, but then I realized even when we had them all quietly distracted, it was still unbelievably loud in that meeting. Dave and Adriana's ward is about 75% children under the age of 10.
Haley and I were like pop corn in that meeting. Up and down, in and out the entire time. It was one of those moments that you just can't get stressed about because it's like "Is this really happening?" So, after that, we headed back to Bob and Pam's. There Haley and I spent the entire afternoon talking, catching up, reminiscing, and laughing until we cried. It was SO fun, I wish I could come up with a better word to describe how much I loved having her visit. What made it better is that both our boys took incredible naps so we were able to spend this time without the popcorn affect.
When Lucy got home we spent about an hour more up there with the family and had so much fun. Then we loaded up Bob and Pam's car and headed down to the good old Springs. We had to trade them cars so we could all fit. Bennett has a small obsession with Alivia, it's adorable. He'll make an excellent big brother some day.
When we got home, Haley helped herself to a tour of my fairly mess house while we got the kids all situated and in bed. Then Haley and I sat up and talked until after mid night. Talking with her helped me remember what it is that has made us such good friends. We are so alike in the way that we think about life, yet we are still totally different people, you know what I mean? If we were too similar in every way, we'd bug each other, but we aren't. We're totally different, but we agree about everything. We both have the same views on manners, behavior, standards, parenting, and it was just so fun to talk out our social issues and have 100% support from each other. We just loved every second of it and now I want her and Matt to move up here so we can be closer.
All that said, I have to give my husband some major props. He is the best man in the world. When I told him Haley was coming he was so excited for me. He caught up with Haley himself and then let me spend as much time with her as I wanted without ever complaining. I love that boy. He always wants what's best for me whether it be exercising, eating right, or kicking me out of the house when he knows I need a break. I'm telling you, I hit the jack pot with him!
I woke up this morning at Bob and Pam's so that I could pick Haley up at the hotel she was staying in with her family. By 9 am I had Haley by my side where I intended to keep her for several days. It was so fun to finally get to see her after more than 2 years. I'd never seen her as a mom, but I've read her blog so much that it wasn't weird at all. Her little boy Bennett is to die for, I've always felt this way as I've seen pictures and videos of him, but in person it's even better (and no Haley, I'm not just saying that because I know you are reading this ;) ). So, I picked her up, said hi to all her family, and then whisked her away to all the places of my life.
First stop, my in law's house where Jack and Bennett met and quickly built what I like to call a rocky friendship (as most friendships are amongst two year olds). We had to spend the day in Denver because my little Lucy was finally coming home, and I missed her so much.
We decided to be good little mommies and take our families to church, so we headed to Dave and Adriana's ward. We only stayed for sacrament meeting simply because my track record the last couple of months for meetings actually attended isn't too hot, so I knew it would be pointless to try to make it through 3 full hours. This turned out to be a good decision. Poor Bennett had come down with a cold which kept him up all night, so he was more than ready for his nap. I don't know if I can legitimately blame that on the cold. I think it was more due to the fact that church started at noon. Who ever decided that it made sense to start church at noon is so fired. Especially for this ward. I kept feeling like my kids were so out of control, but then I realized even when we had them all quietly distracted, it was still unbelievably loud in that meeting. Dave and Adriana's ward is about 75% children under the age of 10.
Haley and I were like pop corn in that meeting. Up and down, in and out the entire time. It was one of those moments that you just can't get stressed about because it's like "Is this really happening?" So, after that, we headed back to Bob and Pam's. There Haley and I spent the entire afternoon talking, catching up, reminiscing, and laughing until we cried. It was SO fun, I wish I could come up with a better word to describe how much I loved having her visit. What made it better is that both our boys took incredible naps so we were able to spend this time without the popcorn affect.
When Lucy got home we spent about an hour more up there with the family and had so much fun. Then we loaded up Bob and Pam's car and headed down to the good old Springs. We had to trade them cars so we could all fit. Bennett has a small obsession with Alivia, it's adorable. He'll make an excellent big brother some day.
When we got home, Haley helped herself to a tour of my fairly mess house while we got the kids all situated and in bed. Then Haley and I sat up and talked until after mid night. Talking with her helped me remember what it is that has made us such good friends. We are so alike in the way that we think about life, yet we are still totally different people, you know what I mean? If we were too similar in every way, we'd bug each other, but we aren't. We're totally different, but we agree about everything. We both have the same views on manners, behavior, standards, parenting, and it was just so fun to talk out our social issues and have 100% support from each other. We just loved every second of it and now I want her and Matt to move up here so we can be closer.
All that said, I have to give my husband some major props. He is the best man in the world. When I told him Haley was coming he was so excited for me. He caught up with Haley himself and then let me spend as much time with her as I wanted without ever complaining. I love that boy. He always wants what's best for me whether it be exercising, eating right, or kicking me out of the house when he knows I need a break. I'm telling you, I hit the jack pot with him!
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