First "Hike" of the Season

 

So this is Holden today up at the Silver Lake trail. Okay, it's a walk around nature (since we were even strolling the very not dirt trail friendly snap 'n go (even the 5 year old "ghetto" one Katie and I keep giving away to each other). So we were walking along, and the boys got into the snow, and I stopped to adjust the camera, when whammo, a very cold snowball landed me squarely on and in my upper chest area. I look up and Owen is standing 20 feet away from me. I was quite proud of the aim really, but did not appreciate the gesture. P wasn't too cooperative so we made it about a quarter of the way around (which is not very far at all). There were young boys, maybe our boys' ages running around being timed by their dad or uncle, which we thought if they are camping, they are very clever, because it would certainly wear them out to get to sleep early! It was a beautiful Sunday apres midi. Hey, still check out Andy's blog (he hasn't updated yet, but he will, I made it his home page, and he set up Picasa to easily put pics on).

My Darling Husband's Blog!

I couldn't believe it when Andy said he'd started a blog! Here it is, Shining Armor, very clever, keep it up sweetie.

Positive Thoughts

I just thought I should post something...i like spring...my front yard looks good...i have shined my sink once this week...i threw away at least 11 broken toys today (FLY Lady challenge)...i love watching holden play soccer...i love watching penelope smile...i love how much andy has fallen in love with having a daughter...i love owen's pre-school teachers and will miss them...i love how excited owen is for water day tomorrow at his last day at pre-school...i love my morning walks...i love vegetables...i love watching holden scooter in the driveway and become more confident in doing so...i love my sisters...i love that kate and I have 3 kids who are the same age and best friends (and that she is my best friend and big sis who always lets invites me to tag along)...i love my singing husband, and that he bathes the kids every night...i love my cute house and awesome eclectic neighborhood...i love that grammy gets down and dirty playing with the boys...i love how much the kids love all of their grandparents and what a special bond they have...i love hearing P talk...

I just thought I would express some positive thoughts to make me feel better.

Baby P at 8 Weeks

We are so happy! P has been so happy, smiley, and fun to interact with, only in the last 3 days. As a matter of fact, 1 day after her 8 week mark, so the beginning of the 3rd month. She even slept awesome 2 nights in a row only getting up at 2:30-3ish and then sleeping through until 6ish. Grammy Knight is a huge factor, being a helper and playmate to all of us. We will surely miss her. We had a great walk and play through Red Butte today. There was an environmental fair going on with booths all over the gardens. We had the most fun playing with worms, learning their parts, about their 5 hearts, and exploring them with a magnifying glass. It's getting hot, but it's been a nice morning.

Dogwood Clothes for Boys

Thanks to Kate, who knows the owner of Dogwood I finally hit their warehouse where everything goes down. I love cute boy clothes, and this guy is smart, because this is my theory...cute boy clothes are pretty tough to find, but when I find some cute cargos or t-shirts or shoes I buy them (a) because I have 2 boys and so in all probablility they will both wear it and (b) you never know when something cute will come around again. Pretty much everything in the spring collection is to die for, especially the track jumpsuit, swim trunks, and extra long and baggy cargo shorts. I went on Friday morning and am going again on Monday to really dig through (and now that I have perused the catalog). Oh and my nephew Harrison is on the catalog cover, he's the nugget on the far right.

Cuatro de Mayo

We had a 4th of May play-date and pinata for today's holiday. This is Amanda, P, & Sophia "interacting". They are all born within 3 1/2 weeks (A, then, S, then P). The big kids ate candy, chips & salsa, lemonade, thin mints, & strawberries all right before dinner! It was great, and rainy, and we were all inside! Can you tell how heavenly an extra 1300 square feet does to my sanity?

Swimming with Sharks

I thought this was a cool picture from a Patagonia ad. Wouldn't that be awesome! Except for my one of my 3 big fears being the bends (the horrible sounding air bubble thing that occurs in scuba divers that come up too fast). The other two being licking a knife (for fear of an earthquake and politeness) and ticks.

Doing a million times better. The basement is done enough to be totally liveable. Just a few electrician things, the doors need paint and to be put on, and the rest of the furniture and toys moved down. It's like the whole family can sense the pure joy and relief of the extra space, normal TV viewing conditions, etc. The boys were awesome yesterday (except for Owen flooding Megan's basement!) they actually did what they were told like the first time, I kept being pleasantly shocked. I just realized, you guys were praying for me huh? Thank you, thank you!

I Have Lost It!

I need to preface this blog by saying both Andy and I had maybe 3 hours of sleep last night - between finishing the painting of the basement (yeah!) and feeding and playing with sleepless Penelope. And this is not for the light of heart (like Grandma's, I would die!).

I am tired of whining 5 year olds who repeatedly gets beat up by his yournger brother and thus is scared of Owen (I tried to get Holden to throw a toy back at Owen, that Owen had just thrown at H and made him cry, and sweet, sweet Holden just looked at me with these sad eyes that said "I can't do it", he didn't!). I often forget, that we do call Owen "Mad Dog" for a reason.

I am tired of washing sheets almost daily because pull-ups aren't working for both boys! (So I instituted a new rule this morning, that if the pull-up was wet, they had to immediately take it off and throw it away - Owen made it on the side-door steps, buck-naked with pull-up in hand, when I retracted the rule.)

I am tired of hidden, used underwear, and clothes that aren't dirty or weren't even worn being laundered. We are having #2 on the toilet issues with You Know Who which resulted in 4 secret changes yesterday.

I am tired of not being able to make a decision, stick with it, and follow through because I am tired, lazy, crazy, and sleep deprived. (Yes, I am STILL grappling with my pre-school choices, Junior League commitment, PTA!).

I am tired of having no good babysitters!!! We had one yesterday while I went on errands and Andy was painting, and she proceeded to watch the boys jump on their beds. When Andy came up to tell them to stop, while she watched from seated position in the middle of the floor, a few minutes later when he heard the bed-jumping resume, he came up again...unbelievable! I mean they probably wouldn't have listened to her, but distraction, distraction, and discipline...I miss Erica!

I am tired of being tired. Today is the 6th week of Penelope's birth. It's the magic time of day-sleep regulation, smiles, and pure baby joy right?

I am tired of saying "damn" in front and to my kids! As most of you know I certainly inherited the Northern Utah swear genes (from you know who and Grandma E.!) but I haven't really ever said them in front and especially to the kids. Now it's "shut the damn door" and "pick up your damn clothes" and I can't seem to stop! I know this is a clear sign of a total loss of self-control. When I confided this problem to a sweet friend yesterday, she said, "well, I guess you just lose it a little more with each child." At first I was caught off guard, but I think she's right. I really can't believe the boys haven't said it yet...

I am tired of laundry!!! Laundry has never been my strong point or even near it, but since the new babe, a resolve to do laundry daily (FlyLady tactic), and complaint #2 about peed in sheets and useless laundry, it has piled up to in-humane porportions. Granted it is clean, but two huge, overflowing baskets of clean clothes are just sitting in my front room.

I put the cute pictures of my kids (of whom I have the most frustration right now) up there so I can remember to best of times!

That felt good! Today really is a turning point, the carpet is supposedly being installed today, which means the 6 month, self-contracted, basement remodel will be 95% complete and totally usable! I will choose to enjoy our renewed space and not even think about the next projects (maybe I will start showing at Kate's or something so I don't think about it daily!). Oops, no more negativity, my husband is wonderful and handling my breakdown and his three hours of sleep very well. Holden is still crying...because he is a sensitive, sweet, smart, and heavenly little boy. Owen can totally sense my loss of control and has really turned into sweet, obedient Owen in the last hour. And Penelope is so mushy and adorable I want to kiss her little pink face all day and feel her cute chubby Andy cheeks! I am terribly healthy and my needs are met, and thank goodness for sisters that live close that I can go to, let my kids loose, and relax when I need to (I abuse this ability daily with Katie and weekly with further away Megan!).