My 207th birthday...I mean 27th.

My birthday was a couple of weeks ago. I turned 207 years old!! At least you would think so from the gifts that my wonderful, adorable husband picked out for me. Paul grew up in a family where you tell each other what to get you for your birthday or Christmas. In contrast, I don't think I had ever even been asked what I wanted for my birthday until I got married. He likes his way...I like my way. I keep telling him, 'It doesn't matter what you get me, I just want to know that you put thought into it. That is what makes it special.' Well, Paul thought and thought and thought this year and came up with some great gifts that he thought I really needed. For my 27th birthday, my husband gave me a NIFTY NABBER. (See the following picture)

A NIFTY NABBER is something that older people have so that they don't have to bend down to pick things up. It even has a little magnet on one side of the claw in case you drop your keys and can't bend down. Now I have to admit, this pregnancy has been a little difficult for me and I do actually have a hard time picking things up off the ground (and walking and moving), but I never really imagined receiving a nifty nabber until I was at least 80 or 90 years old. Unfortunately for my self esteem, I have used it a few times since I got it, and it is pretty nifty!! Seriously though, this is why I love surprise gifts. I will ALWAYS remember and appreciate and love the thought that went into this gift for me. (I found out later that he even had to go around to several stores to find it).

Positives about the Nifty Nabber

1 - it really does work

2 - I feel loved every time I see it

3 - the kids LOVE to play with it

Negatives

1 - I feel old every time I see it

2 - Peyt is not quite the helper he used to be. If I ask him to pick something up for, he now looks at me and says, "Go get your grabber tool Mom. That's what it's for."

3 - The Little Boxer does not liked to nabbed by the Nifty Nabber which is one of Peyt's favorite things to do.

Pumpkins

Up until age twenty, I had no idea that Pumpkin Carving Kits existed. In my family, we used steak knives, and since there were nine of us and probably only five steak knives, the rest of used whatever knives we could get our hands on whether they be chopping knives, huge serrated knives, or even a paring knife. I now know, that for a mere $4, you can take all the excitement, skill (have you ever tried carving with a steak knife), and danger out of pumpkin carving. What were my parents thinking?



As for trick or treating, it was freezing and sometimes awkward as our kids would receive their candy, say 'thank you' and then just stand there staring at the person or trying to see into their house. The people were never rude enough to shut the door right in their face, so after Paul or I tried to coax them away with words of encouragement, we would eventually have to walk up onto the porch, retrieve our children and wish each and every family a very Happy Halloween. Our children never really learned to turn and come back, but then again, I guess we didn't either. We just kept hoping that maybe this would be house and no retrieval would be necessary.


I can't imagine life without these two. Children are amazing!!

Improvements

The Little Boxer sometimes takes it upon herself to set the table at random times. Just a month ago, this is what it might have it looked like.

She is improving. One more month and I think she'll be ready for a job...the only frustrating part is she thinks that when she sets the table, it means it is time for Daddy to come home. If only it really worked that way....

Princesses, Pink, and Nervous

It's official (or as official as little white blobs on a black screen can be)...we are having a GIRL!

Growing up with all brothers, I never imagined having a bunch of girls, but ready or not...girly house, here we come!!!

30

I just wanted to announce that I am officially married to a 30 year old....weird!!! Happy birthday. I still love you....more than I ever thought possible.

Here are a couple pics of the inside of our new house. We are liking it a lot, especially the ward and the community. It is a "bike-friendly community" meaning that there are wonderful walking/jogging/biking paths throughout the city. Now all we need are a bunch of bikes.
There is a nook above the fireplace that is meant for a big screen TV, but we don't want to put it there. I am still trying to decide what to do. We are thinking of sheet rocking it off and just hanging a picture or taking down all the rock on the top and having it be a wall to hang a picture. Who knows - for now, we are just leaving it how it is.

There are hardwood floors throughout the house. They are beautiful, but definitely not my favorite. I miss my tile and carpet in my last house. It was so much easier to take care of and not stressful when the kids are banging things or dragging them across the floor.

View from front
View from back with our unfinished backyard (almost finished now...pictures coming later).

Miracles

I went back and read the last post and it sounded way negative. Yes, I am terrified of moving into the '3-child' life...yes, I have had almost everyone that has had 3 or more children tell me how hard and terrible and life altering it is and it can be a little overwhelming when you are pregnant with your third with no way of going back...and yes, a little extra help along with a fresh new body and a baby that sleeps through the night would be nice, but more importantly, I want to emphasize how absolutely excited we are to have another baby. I feel so blessed to be a mother and I have experienced more joy than I ever thought possible or ever could have imagined through this amazing adventure. I have learned so much from these little children. Every single stretch mark, sleepless night, dateless week, and dirty diaper (along with every other joy that comes) has been 100% worth it and it seems to get better with every child as I get to experience their excitement for the new baby along with mine and Paul's. Children are darling, fun, a lot of work, tiring, overwhelming, amazing. They are miracles.

Peyt: How did the baby get in your tummy?

Me (excited to talk about this because I knew just what to say..."Be open. Only answer enough to satisfy their curiosity. Don't make things up."): When Mommys and Daddys love each other very much, then a baby can come to their family. (I had been told this answer worked perfectly for small children, quelling their curiosity along with being honest)

Peyt: Yeah, but how did it get there?

Me (not feeling quite as excited): It starts out tiny and then it grows into a baby in my tummy.

Peyt: Yeah, but how did it get into your tummy? Did Heavenly Father send it there?

Me (feeling relieved that it might be the end): Yes

Peyt: Did you pray and tell Heavenly Father you wanted another baby?

Me: Yes

Peyt: How did it get in your tummy?

Me (not confident and starting to wish I had made up a story about a stork): When Mommys and Daddys love each other...

Peyt: I know, but how did it get in your tummy?

Me: We can pray and Heavenly Father hears our prayers.

Peyt: Is that how the baby got in your tummy? Did you pray, and Heavenly Father put it there?

Me (completely failing at being open and not having any answers, resort to just repeating past answers. I've never been good at talking about delicate subjects and even at 27 years old, I still have a hard time saying "the real names" of body parts): We can pray......When Mommys and Daddys love...(over and over as Peyton gets more and more frustrated)

Me: Paul, do you have anything to say?

Paul (doesn't even try being open or even answering his question): Do you see any birds outside?

I am not good at this!!

I really am going to need another shoulder...

...and as long as I am requesting that, I'll take a couple other new things as well - in fact, I won't even be too demanding. I'll just take my 21 year old body before I had any children. I'll need it after February 23. Actually, don't send me a new body, just a baby that sleeps through the night after one week.

(And seriously, I don't need to hear from anyone else how #3 just about did them in and it was the hardest thing they ever did and their life was never the same and on and on and on....I'm already terrified!!)

.....Adventures.....

I am a worrier! Anyone who knows me, knows I worry...about everything. Being a mom has only added more things to worry about - kids getting hurt - kids being nice to other kids- other kids being nice to my kids - is my child speaking good enough - are they smart enough - are they tall enough - are they too skinny - are they eating enough - can they watch another tv show - are they getting enough sleep - are they getting too much sleep - what preschool...and the list goes on and on and on. One thing I didn't worry about was Peyton's "cool tricks." Anyone who has seen a four year old's "cool tricks" knows that they are nothing to worry about. A "cool trick" at our house is running fast across the family room at four year old speed...crawling like a crab...jumping one foot off the ground...jumping jacks (these are funny)...etc. Nothing scary - nothing dangerous.

A week ago, we were enjoying a Friday night at home. Paul and I watched as the kids did "cool tricks" for us. They started out with a exhilirating round of jumping jacks and Peyton then moved on to jumping in the air and spinning half a circle. It was exciting!! Suddenly, in the middle of one turn, Peyton's feet hit the couch sending him a little bit sideways. He SCREAMED...and I, being the loving, understanding Mother that I am, almost told him to "be brave and jump up"........until I saw his arm. It was no longer shaped like a little boy's arm should be. We rushed him to the hospital, had a very long night and ended up with this.

Seriously....I did not need this!!! He is now in a hard blue cast and sling for 6 weeks. I am just waiting patiently for the day when he takes one of our heads off with his huge casted arm. He has already been trying to saw our table in half and I almost don't doubt he could do it...

Home...

I feel displaced. We left our home, family, and friends two short (but seemingly very long) weeks ago to start life anew. Saying good-bye to my first home was hard...saying good-bye to my ridiculous yard filled with hours and hours and work and precious little friends (my flowers) was even harder...saying good-bye to family and friends is still almost more than I can bear. But I guess that is the crazy thing about life - it goes on and you can bear it.We are so thankful for the relationships that we formed during our last stage of life - stronger family bonds and great friendships that will last forever. We have learned a lot and grown a lot through the experiences that we had and the people that we knew.

Here's to new adventures...............

It's a miracle!!

Taking pictures of children (at least mine) is NOT fun!! We wanted them to sit on the grass - they wanted to stand. We wanted them to stand - they wanted to lay down. We wanted one to sit in a chair - they both wanted to sit in chairs. We wanted them both to sit in chairs - they wanted to stand on their chairs. By the time the night was over, I had vowed to never take any pictures again if we could just be done. In spite of it all, and somehow miraculously, we got some wonderful photos.
I may be persuaded to try again in a few years...

A Review for Toys

1/2 STAR

Toys (this referring to toys made by toy companies) are pointless. Read all the other reviews that you want about how great they are and how much time your child will spend playing with them, but I am here to tell you that if your children are anything like mine - don't waste your money buying toys.

We got Peyt some really great things for Christmas, but the toys sit on the shelves and he's only wanted to do one thing this whole winter......shovel. "Please Mommy, can I shovel the driveway? Daddy, please don't shovel without me. That is pretty much the only thing that will keep him occupied for more than a couple minutes. (It could be that shoveling in our backyard was our only activity for the first two years of his life!!) I've never seen him get as excited about anything as he did when our neighbor gave him a new snow shovel!!

And remember how we spent hours and days and weeks fixing up our backyard so it would be fun for the kids. They don't play in the playhouse. They don't dig in the sandbox. They only like to play in the dirt and rock pile in the corner of our yard. At least I always know right where they are....

And yet, I don't think I'll ever give up hope. There's got to be a good toy out there somewhere!!!

How do you clean your sheets?

At our house, Peyton has graduated from nap time to “quiet time.” Ideally, Peyton would happily go into his room and play quietly…reading books, driving little cars around, or even staring out the window….just being quiet so that I can gain back a little sanity and be a wonderful mommy for the rest of the day until Daddy gets home.

In reality, Peyton goes into his room. I go to wherever I am going to regain my sanity. Peyton emerges to use the bathroom. I take him back to his room for “quiet time.” Peyton starts jumping on his bed. I remind him nicely that it is “quiet time.” Peyton again tries to use the bathroom card. Again, I remind him that it is “quiet time” and he just used the bathroom. Peyton finds every toy in his room that makes noise and pushes the buttons. I remind (with a little threat of losing his TV time) that it is still “quiet time.” Peyton plays quietly for 10 minutes than proceeds to tip toe down the stairs every 3 minutes to ask me “is it morning time yet?” Honestly, I don’t know why I even try to have “quiet time”. I guess I’m just trying to teach myself patience. Anyway, today’s quiet time was a first….

P: Can I color during quiet time today?

Me: Sure. I’ll let you take the crayons up, but only if you promise to only color on the paper….nothing else.

P: Okay Mom, I promise…”

Now you are probably thinking, “how dumb to put the idea of coloring on other things into his head. Doesn’t she know he is only FOUR!!” Well, I was thinking the same thing as I said it, but sometimes mouths say things you don’t want them to.

BEDTIME

Me: Why is there coloring all over your sheets?

P: I don’t know.

Me: Well, did you color on your sheets with the crayons during quiet time?

P: Ummmmmm……….well.......I did color……...but just one little time. But that’s okay. We can just wash them in the morning and they’ll be all clean.

Me: I don’t know if it will come out and be all clean.”

P: It will Mom. Don’t worry. I’ll show you. …..

He then bent down, stuck out his little pink tongue, and licked his sheets to “show me” how I didn’t need to worry about him coloring on his sheets.

Are you serious? Who licks their sheets to get them clean? And why is he always counseling me to “not worry”?

At least he stayed in his room during quiet time today – and he was quiet!! Really, is it that big of a deal if they color on their sheets?

Learning

Happy birthday to my not-so-little baby boy! (Do they ever hit an age where you stop thinking of them as your baby?) Being only four years old, he has taught me much.

1 – Love and Forgiveness. Get mad…throw a tantrum…but then forgive and love as if nothing happened…..it will be as if nothing ever happened.

2 – Sharing – One birthday candy bar divided four unequal ways. One bite for Peyton. Two bites for Ellie. One bite for mommy. Save the other half of the candy bar in a Ziploc baggy for daddy. Keep it in your pocket and keep taking it out to remind mommy of how happy it is going to make daddy. (Give more than you get)

3 – Joy and excitement – These can be found everywhere and in everything – playing hide and seek over and over even if there are only six places to hide in the entire house – watching the garbage truck empty the garbage cans – shoveling the driveway – rain and on and on.

What a privilege it is to be a mother! I understand more and more all the time why we have been counseled to “become as little children”. Thanks to my little (or should I say big) four year old for all he has taught me. Happy birthday!!

We're Still Modest

I just wanted to say that mothering and teaching your children really works wonders. They listen. Remember that whole talk we had about being modest….well, we have that talk a lot these days – only difference is, Peyton is now the lecturer….

He very loudly and conveniently (usually as the person in question is closing in) points out those that are NOT modest and are NOT making Jesus happy.

He frequently informs me of all the times it is okay to be naked.

“Mom, it’s okay if we are naked when we are taking a bath….Ellie is still modest when you are changing her diaper Mom. It doesn’t make Jesus sad…It’s okay if we don’t have a shirt on when we are swimming.”

And then there’s my favorite. He has barged in on me several times when I am in the bathroom just to inform me that “Jesus doesn’t mind if your pants are down when you are going to the bathroom Mom. It’s okay. You are being modest.”

So for those of you worried, like I was, about not being modest while going to the bathroom – worry no more. My four year old says Jesus doesn’t mind.