Here's the thing

We have had the flu/cold all week.

I have been making a lot of applesauce and grape juice.

I have been working on Halloween Costumes

and baby shower invitations

and plans for a Trunk or Treat.

So, blogging has kind of been on the back burner.

I promise to post some pictures of the little dearies soon,

but, truth be told, I haven't taken any pictures of them lately.

(gasp)

In fact, Brynn hasn't had a bow in her "hair" for over a week.

(double gasp)

But, she is standing...

and cruising (walking along the furniture as she holds it for support)...

and going up stairs...

(yikes)

and talking (babbling) incessantly.

(she sounds exactly like Chloe with her tone and inflection and "sentence structure"

and sometimes I get them confused)

Everyone else is pretty much the same...

making me laugh with the funny things they say...

and do...

especially Seth.

6 Years of Happily Ever After

Six years ago today, Seth and I were sealed together in the temple and our Tate Family was established. We loved our little (tiny) apartment downtown and loved being in walking distance to the temple. We were so in love (and pretty darn sappy) and so excited to spend every moment together.

Nine months later, we bought our first house and got a (rambunctious) puppy. We tried obedience training. We loved her like a baby. She was a good dog, but still crazy. I graduated from college. We were so in love and excited to be living our dreams.

In another 8 months, Morgan joined our family! We doted and took pictures and video taped endless footage of him laying on his back looking at stuff. Seth graduated from school and got a great job. We were so in love and so happy to be parents.

Not quite 2 years after that, we got another puppy. This one was less rambunctious, but oh.was.she.a.puppy. She yipped and peed and howled. And we loved her, and cuddled her, and counted our blessings that we had so many little lives to love. We were so in love and excited for the next big step in our lives...

10 days later, our first baby girl was born and we were smitten! Chloe was beautiful and sweet and we couldn't imagine our lives without her. We worried for her safety and well-being with a big brother who was not quite 2...but he loved her, and she loved him, and it was the start of a beautiful friendship. I quit my job to be a stay-at-home mom. We enjoyed watching Chloe learn so much, so fast. We played together as a family every spare moment we had. We were so in love and wondered how we got so lucky to be living in this fairy tale.

Another year later Seth got accepted to the DNP (doctor of nurse practice) program on his first try. So, feeling like we could take on the world, we decided to build a garage before he started. It was hard. It was long. It was stressful. It is (still) not quite finished. We were so in love - even when we were too exhausted to realize it - and impatiently anticipated getting back to our fairy tale.

A few months later, Seth started school. It was busy. There was a lot of homework. Breaks were never long enough. I spent a lot of time by myself (if you can call hanging out with 2 kids and 2 dogs by yourself) and in my pregnant state, felt inadequate to do it all. Between work, school, kids, and sleep, we only saw each other in passing. We were so in love and missing each other so much.

Another few months passed and we had to say goodbye to our sweet puppy #2. We found her a wonderful home. And we cried. and cried. and cried. And we missed her like crazy. But we knew she was happy. And we were happy too. We were so in love and so excited for a new chapter of our lives to start...

Less than a month later, Brynn joined our family. She was tiny and beautiful and amazing! Her big brother and sister were smitten! Her mommy and daddy were smitten! We took thousands of pictures and carved out more family time. We adjusted to 3 babies. We couldn't keep up with it all. We relied on each other and relished our time together. We took some time off to get away...all of us...and it was good. We were so in love and feeling so blessed.

So now, here we are, six years later. We have had ups and downs, blessings and trials, but that is what life is all about. I feel blessed to have held Seth's hand through it all. As I watched conference last weekend, I couldn't help but feel immensely blessed as I listened to the talks. Seth is the epitome of temperance. His highest priority is our family. I have never wondered for a day of my marriage whether he loves me, because he tells me every day and he shows me every day. As I see the good in my children, I know that it is due, in large part, to the father that Seth is. They know he loves them because he tells them and shows them.

Right now, we enjoy our family so much. We count our blessings that three sweet spirits were sent to our family. We have learned so much about love from them and it just gets better as they grow. We find joy in the relationships our children have with each other. We are making more time for each other, despite the busy schedules. We are working on becoming better individuals. We love spending time together: laughing, playing, working, learning, serving, and occasionally relaxing. We are grateful for the gospel. We are happy. Most of all, we are so in love and looking down the road of our life with excitement and anticipation, because it is true what they say...it just gets better with time!

Just so you know...

The next day was better...

and my father-in-law fixed the dishwasher

and I made the most amazingly wonderful chocolate chip cookies...
and ate most of them myself

and General Conference was inspiring
and uplifting
and touching

and I read a novel this week for the first time in a very.long.time


And today was absolutely lovely...
sleeping in until 7:30
the whole family piling in our bed
and then getting out and entertaining themselves
so Seth and I could stay cuddled in bed and pretend we were sleeping in until 9:00
eating a fresh garden omelet for breakfast
making peach butter
making kool aid play-doh to occupy the kids during conference
watching conference
sewing Halloween costumes
soaking up the awesomeness of conference
watching some more conference
admiring the most adorable Halloween costumes ever
dinner and a movie with family
pie with another family
all 3 kids down to sleep without a fight.
Yes, it has been a lovely day!


In a strange way, I am grateful for the
terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days
because...
they make me appreciate that most days are not that way
and recognize that so many days are so wonderful and rewarding.
they make me appreciate the sweet little moments
and the sweet BIG moments
and all the sweet moments in between.

The Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day

Today...

It rained, which would normally be fine, except Chloe left her doll stroller outside
and it is now soaking wet.

My dishwasher is not working...still...this is day number 3.

Morgan and Chloe decided that watching a movie,
even though they had been specifically told not to,
was more important than eating breakfast.

Morgan got dressed in the clothes we had picked out last night,
but when asked to get his socks on, he went down to his room (after protesting for 5 minutes) where he decided to change his whole outfit.
He returned upstairs with bare feet wearing a sweatshirt that was too small.

I yelled at Morgan.

Morgan cried.

We were 10 minutes late to school.

I felt bad for yelling.

Put Brynn down for a nap so I could work on halloween costumes before picking up Morgan.

She finally fell asleep at 10:00.

Woke Brynn up at 10:30 so we could pick Morgan up from preschool short day.

Brynn Cried.

While I loaded Brynn in her carseat, Chloe pooped her pants.

I changed Chloe's bum.

I scolded Chloe for not being a big girl.

I felt bad for scolding Chloe.

Picked Morgan up and decide to go get lunch:
partly because I felt bad for being a mean mommy all morning
partly because I didn't want to hand wash more dishes!

Ordered lunch at Wendy's in the drive-thru.

I couldn't find my wallet to pay.

I left Wendy's with no food.

I yelled at Chloe for emptying my purse before we left causing my wallet to be left at home.

Looked for wallet at home where Chloe unloaded my purse as she was pooping her pants.
Not there.
Looked for wallet in the car, thinking it may have fallen out of my purse.
Not there.
Wondered if my wallet could still be in my camera bag from yesterday.
Crap...it was there.

I felt bad for yelling at Chloe.

Apologized to the kids again for being a mean Mommy.

Decided to get lunch at Carl's Jr. (because I was too embarassed to go back to Wendy's).
Ordered extra fries for the kids as a peace offering.
Let the kids eat their food in the car while they watched a movie,
even though we are sitting in the driveway.

Decided to get the dishes done while the kids ate a banana to offset the fries.

Seth called.
I vented to him about my day
and informed him that I am buying a new dishwasher. Today.

In the meantime, Chloe unraveled thread from the sewing machine
all.over.the.living room.

I (angrily) put Chloe down for a nap.

I finished the dishes.

I took Morgan down for his nap and found lotion
all.over.the.carpet.

I vented my frustrations to all of you on this blog.

We are now going to stay in our rooms the rest of the day!

A Random Observation

I've been going through all of the endless photos I took throughout the summer getting them captioned, tagged and filed and made a random observation....

Chloe's hair has indeed grown. A LOT!

BEFORE : (April of this year):

AFTER (3 weeks ago):

Every day when I attempt to turn whispies into "piggies" I feel as if the fates have conspired against me...and that she will never have any hair, solely because I really want her to so I can make it cute! But, thankfully, there is proof in the pictures that this is not the case. Sure she is still a little more bald on the right than the left and her hair in front is a little skee-wompus due to the right/left imbalance, but at least it is growing.

And, hey, with those eyes who needs good hair?

Hope for the hopeless!

Going, Going, Gone

All of a sudden, I feel as if I am watching my life fly by me.

My kids are growing up a little more every day and I wonder why they seem so old. Things have been crazy around here. Church callings, Seth at work, pre-school, playgroups, family canning, cooking, planning, harvesting, other church callings, Seth at school, laundry, commitments, friends, play-doh making, grocery shopping, cleaning...

Please Slow down, time.

I need more time to enjoy Chloe singing songs, hosting tea parties, calling every dress she owns a "dancing dress", twirling around the house with her dollies...and me...and daddy...and Callie, playing pretend, reading book.after.book.after.book.after.book and quoting disney movies.

I need more time to enjoy Brynn doing the elephant crawl all over the house, scooting herself backward while she is sitting up, stacking rings, filling buckets with blocks and then taking them back out one at a time, grunting for food in between bites, and giggling like crazy just because big brother or sister are.

I need more time to enjoy Morgan telling me every detail of his day at preschool, demanding bedtime kisses before I leave his room at night, getting so excited about the scripture stories, asking if he can dust the house...or water the flowers...or clean the leather couches, his silly giggle, his delightful sense of humor and his rediculously bright logic that either leaves us laughing hysterically or beaming with pride.

I need more time to enjoy the sunny days, harvesting my garden veggies, delighting in the daisies blooming all over my yard...but especially the happy gerber daisies by the front door, my beautifully lush and green backyard, trips to the zoo, picnics in the park, flip-flops, and middle-of-the-week movies with my sweetie because it isn't quite time to study for midterms yet. :)

But, alas, time doesn't stop or slow down. It just keeps spinning on. The sun is setting earlier, the nights are getting chillier and before I know it, September will be gone...and soon enough, these moments will be replaced with new moments that I'll want to cherish and savor. So, I must slow down and take it all in. I must enjoy every second of this life...right now...because it is lovely and wonderful and fleeting...and I don't want it to pass me by before I take the time to enjoy it!

I always thought

...that canning food saved you money. That is, until Seth planted 16 tomato plants in this year's garden and they all started producing at the same time and I had to start buying a dozen or two bottles a week, just to keep up (not to mention the time it takes to can). Nope...canning is not an inexpensive endeavor!

I bet next year when I am reusing bottles I will feel differently, and besides, stewed tomatoes sure look pretty in mason jars! Next project: cute jar labels!

Been There, Done That

Preschool. No nostalgia...no tears...no emotions of thinking my baby is so grown up as he walks right into the classroom, hangs up his bag, puts on his name collar and finds a seat without a glance back to see if I have left the room. Nope...we've been there and done that and this is just a continuation after a little break.

But...

this year is different and special and wonderful in a whole different way. Morgan has Miss Fidge. Wanna' know who else had Miss Fidge for 4-year-old preschool? ME! 22 years ago a little curly haired girl - most likely wearing a dress - walked into Miss Fidge's classroom (in a different school building) holding her mommy's hand, placed her bag in her cubby, put on her name collar and found her seat without a glance back at that mommy.

While I can't remember a whole lot about the details of day-to-day elementary school, I remember everything about Miss Fidge's preschool class. I remember Thanksgiving dinner dressed up like an indian, I remember the Easter Egg Hunt with my basket made of a milk carton, I remember performing 5 Little Ducks Went out to Play in the graduation ceremony wearing my graduation cap, I remember bossing all the other kids when we played house (with the same wooden kitchen set Morgan gets to play with), I remember my Mom coming to help on her co-op days and getting to help her serve the snack. I remember singing Alligator Soup, Tiny Tim, Wide Mouth Frog, My Name is Stegosaurus and all the other wonderful songs we learned. Most of all, I remember feeling so loved by my wonderful teacher. I am excited for Morgan to experience all of this for himself...and I know he will, because Miss Fidge is just the same!

And of course...here are the pictures of Morgan the " Stud Muffin" on the first day!

Chloe helped to calm any nerves Morgan may have had with big hugs before he left for school.

Miss Fidge, Morgan, Miss Allyson - Morgan got a little timid when we walked in...

But with some fingerpainting, song singing and puzzles...he warmed right up! And he got to answer the question about siblings...he was excited to tell about his 2 sisters, Brynnie and Chloe.Then we played on the playground for good measure before we left to pick up the girls.

They have a Class Family Photo Album in their reading center that they can look at during their free choice time. We were asked to create a page showing our child and their favorite things. Here is Morgan's page.

(Note: This assignment was given to the parents...not the kids...I don't do his homework for him. I did make him help me pick out the pictures though, and he listed off the things he liked, wrote the signs and posed for the pictures!)

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