Weekend Math

fun filled days

+

lots of grilling and hot dogs

+

even more watermelon

+

late nights of fireworks

+

3 kids age 4 and under

=

very tired kids

=

longer (and harder) "working hours" for mom and dad

=

very tired mommy and daddy

=

a family in serious need of some sleep

Thank you to the picnic table who so kindly took our only "family of 5 photo" thus far...and we are in hiking clothes!

We are all looking-ish so I guess it will just have to work!

(Fun times and good memories should factor into this equation, but I am no mathmatician!)

And, of course, some pictures for your delight!

First encounter with a slip-n-slide at Grandma's 4th of July breakfast...Chloe's "slide"

Morgan's slideThe best thing to watch...Chloe cheerleading for MorganBackyard BBQ/hot dog roast...have I mentioned how much I love having a backyard again?

The kids might have had more fun watching the street fireworks than the big fireworks...who knew that tank fights could be SOOO cool? (thanks for letting us join you Kelli and Nate!) And of course the big event...fireworks! (these are 3rd of July fireworks pictures...the kids did not survive the 4th long enough to watch fireworks!)

Hope you all had a fabulous 4th of July!

Before You Give Up On Me, Let Me Explain...

I realize that I have been a total slacker when it comes to my blog...and as anyone who reads this blog regularly can attest, no posts for 2 1/2 weeks has to be some sort of record for me! So this is what I have been doing...

I found this site and joined the group and started the baby steps...which led to reading this book...and keeping my sink looking like this...all the time...
which led to taking a lot of this (this is one of more than 5 loads...and I am not even finished with the upstairs) to the D.I. and garbage cansand after/amidst that, feeling inspired to do some touch-up painting/redecorating and making my room look lovely...seriously the flylady is amazing!

Watching a lot of this...which was very entertaining...

with her...

and him...And watching a lot of this...which was quite exciting after he reacclimated to the concept of swimming...

There has also been a lot of watching this...

laughing about stuff like this...hanging out on the sidelines with her...
and enjoying moments like this...
I have cleaned up a lot of this...and this...because it is worth it when I see this...
I have been enjoying the sound of Seth and Morgan doing this quite frequently...and feeling happy about seeing a lot of these fresh cut from my garden...I smile thinking about how he picked this outfit out all by himself...because it "matched his orange flip-flops"... and knowing that she is doing this now...Honestly, I can't get enough of this girl...she is just so darn sweet!

So, that is a quick snippit of what has been keeping me from writing these past couple of weeks...of course there is plenty more I could say and so much I didn't capture in pictures (mostly of the wonderful times I have been able to enjoy with my sweet husband), but I think I'll leave it at that!

Another Friend that is Pretty Awesome

Have you seen this site? I have added it to my sidebar links because it is so very awesome! I am excited to print some coloring pages and activities, watch the Matt and Mandy videos with the kids and download MP3 files of the articles from the Friend and load them onto Morgan's MP3 Player - he will LOVE it!

The Return of an Old Friend

Sure this friend doesn't walk or breathe, but I am sure that any mother will agree that it is the best friend a girl could have...NAPTIME! We were so off our schedules from vacation, new baby and the sunshine filling our house with light at 6 AM that we have really been struggling with sleep lately. But I am not going to say any more about that right now...for now, I am just going to bask in the quiet solitude of 3 kids sleeping soundly!

i heart naptime :)

Why I LOVE being married to a nurse...

this morning Morgan decided to perch his booster car seat on top of our piano stool and sit up there. The tower wasn't very stable, so of course, it went toppling and toppled the back of Morgan's head right into the coffee table...or the edge of the piano...we aren't quite sure. I hurried in to comfort him when I heard the screaming, but then I saw blood. So I grabbed a rag and turned the whole situation over to Seth. Seth checked Morgan to assess the situation, cleaned the wound, examined the severity and gave Morgan stitches on the spot! He even took pictures of the gash...but I am not sharing them because I don't want to look at them...I stayed in the other room for a reason! Seth, thanks for saving us a $50 co-pay and a trip to the ER - where you probably would have ended up being the one who took care of it all anyway! :)

"HOORAY for Underpants!"

-Elmo, in Elmo's Poty Time

Yes...we are officially to the point where I can tell you with confidence that Chloe is pee-trained! YIPEE! My favorite thing these days is the sound of the potty flushing from the other room and the sight of a naked (or crinkled and bunched underwear-laden) Chloe bum wandering the house! She has been doing really well for the past couple of weeks, but suddenly this week it clicked. She goes on her own...with no help, promptings or reminders from anyone...pretty amazing for a little girl who is barely 2, if you ask me. Even when she was playing in the McDonalds playland, she took a break to come tell me she had to go potty! So great! I am sure there will still be accidents and we still have the pooping on the potty to conquer - the barbies are on the table just waiting for a successful poop to be played with - but until her next bowel movement, I am just going to bask in the joy of potty TRAINED! :)

In Your Eyes

About a week ago, Chloe was cuddling with me when she woke up from her nap. We were giggling about something together and she looked me right in the eyes, paused for a moment, and said, "I see Chloe in your eyes!" It was such a sweet moment as she saw her own reflection in her mommy's eyes that I squeezed her a little tighter and as she continued to gaze into my eyes, I marveled in appreciation of the blessing of being a mother to such a wonderful girl (not to mention my other two).


She has since found "Chloe" in other eyes, but I hope that as she grows a little taller and gets a little older she will see herself, not only in my eyes, but through my eyes. When I look into her eyes, I see a beautiful little girl with such a deep capacity to love and be an influence for good. I see a brilliant mind - sometimes so brilliant that I worry I won't be able to keep up. I see a soft and sensitive spirit - one that wants to know and understand the gospel. I see a girl who wants to please others, but definitely has a mind of her own. I see a girl with drive and ambition and strength. I think I will love watching this sweet little girl turn into a strong beautiful woman and one day, I think I will love looking on as she gazes into the eyes of her own sweet baby girl and realize that, with all its challenges, the sweetest gift a woman can ask for is that of being a mother.

Inadequate

note: I wrote this post on Sunday and couldn't get it to post, so I have been contemplating whether or not to post it since. I wondered whether my inability to post it was a sign that complaining about your calling is bad and then I decided to post it anyway. This is me, this is how I feel, and this is my life. I know it will get better and I am grateful for experiences that help me to grow, but next time I get a new calling and wonder how I will ever survive it, I want to be able to look back and know that it always starts rough and turns into a great experience of learning and growth!

Sundays are not my favorite day of the week…in fact, at present, they are not even in the running. I love sacrament meeting, I love spending time with family and I love that I never have to cook on Sundays, but even so, Sundays are a struggle. Instead of lifting me up and refueling me spiritually for the week ahead, Sundays make me feel inadequate as a primary teacher and ill-equipped for my upcoming responsibilities as a mother.

Primary is really not my thing…which, I realize, is the reason why it is currently my calling. I team-teach the 9 and 10 year-olds and they are great kids individually, but when you group the four of them together, it gets a little crazy! If I make it through even one of the lesson points or stories, I count myself lucky. We were in charge of Sharing time today (well last week actually, but I thought it was today, so we weren’t ready for last week). Since the extent of my primary knowledge comes from my primary years, which are merely a faint memory at this point, I researched Sharing time on LDS.org and got some more great ideas from Sugardoodle.com. I typed out parts for each of my class members and had them volunteer for what they wanted to do. I made sure that we had an activity planned that would allow all of the kids in senior primary to participate and it seemed like something they would enjoy. I made sure that I brought cookies for them to eat in advance as we prepared during our class-time before the lesson and even bribed them with lollipops at the very end of sharing time if they were reverent.

Suffice it to say 2 of the 4 earned their lollipops and even that was a stretch! Why is it that my 4 year-old is more reverent than any of the 9 and 10 year-olds, and frankly the entire senior primary – even without the lollipop as motivation? I am sure he will be obnoxious when he gets that age too! :) What it all comes down to is this…I am not a very good primary teacher. I don’t know how to keep my class reverent, I don’t know how to get them engaged in the lesson, and I am pretty sure they don’t even like me (which, if the other points were in place wouldn't really matter). Sadly, this also brings to light the fact that I am very ill-prepared to handle my own children’s movement toward greater independence. I certainly have some growing and learning to do!

And then, tonight, the youth met at our house to plan out their skit for Youth conference. I miss them so much! I miss their fun and bubbly spirits, I miss their inquisitive minds, I miss their lively off-topic conversations, I miss the quiet lessons that invited the spirit, and I miss that feeling that I was making a difference.

I am trying to have faith that Heavenly Father will help me to become a better teacher for these kids and that at some point in the future I will be able to make a difference for them. I am guessing that I have forgotten about similar feelings of inadequacy I felt when I was first called to teach the Young Women. I am sure this feeling will follow me through many aspects of my life and that it will only make me grow and improve…after all that is why we are here.