Why My Kids Might Not Make It Till Their Next Birthdays...

Remeber how I made a goal this year to be more positive? Well, I'm trying. I'm trying really hard. And in some ways I can see the humor in the situation... sort of.

My day started out great. We bought a new car over the weekend and I got to sleep-in this morning because Carlin could take himself to work and still leave me with a car. Woohoo.


Then I found cantaloupe growing in my yard this morning while weeding and I thought yay!




I started putting together a food storage plan, took the kids to the splash pad, and got both of them down for naps at the same time. (First time this week!)

I could probably find more humor in it if I haven't been trying to get the house clean for the past week. It just seems I can never get the toys picked up, the stickiness off the floors, the food off the walls, and myself showered all at the same time. I spend all day trying to get the house to a low-level roar (I've abandoned all hope of having a spic-and-span clean house, I'm just hoping for a non-embarassing clean house) only to have the forces of nature (aka my kids) work against me.

I'll stop complaining and let the pictures do the talking. Remember this was done AFTER I had sorted, picked-up, and cleaned most of the house.


The cake incident was done during a short absence on my part in which Samuel got a hold of a cake I had bought for Relief Society (thank goodness that meeting was last night and this was the leftovers, although I feel inclined to mention that while leaving the store yesterday Samuel took the opportunity to throw the cake out of the cart and onto the floor. I still served it) - okay back to the story, Samuel put the cake on the table and when I walked back into the dining room both kids were up to their elbows in cake.

My Children

As my children throw toys across the house I've decided to ignore them and post embarrassing pictures instead.

First, we had a dance party the other day and of course had to dress in princess dresses:



Lillian gets very excited over Nutella...


I dropped Lillian off at my friend Laura's place, when I picked her up she had pigtails and toenail polish. If only I could hire Laura to come do my daughter's hair everyday.


I guess not all of these pictures were terribly embarrassing, but in my effort to ignore my kids they stopped throwing toys and started throwing blankets and pillows and have now resorted to chasing each other around the couch. I suppose that means my ignoring worked as they are now entertaining each other.

Dear Dad,

Dad, when I was a kid you were always perfect to me. You worked hard, played with us kids, had a beautiful singing voice, were strong and patient, always knew how to make Mom laugh, always had a hug ready, and always knew the right things to say. I used to lay in bed on Saturday mornings and listen to you literally whistle while you worked. I loved the way you treated Mom and always told myself I would marry someone who treated me the same way.

You've always been supportive of me and my decisions. I still remember the day I came home from school in the middle of my 9th grade year and announced I wanted to join the swim team. The next day you took me to the pool and met with the high school swim coach. I will never forget my first 500 yard race. I swam my little heart out and when I completed the race I was too weak and exhausted to lift myself out of the pool. Suddenly your hand was there lifting me up into a huge hug, even though I was sopping wet. I had come in dead last, but you hadn't cared.

To be honest, you still are a bit perfect to me. I still love to hear you sing or whistle. You are the one I call when I have a difficult decision and I need someone to discuss it with. I have never wanted anything more than to make you proud. I hope I have in some ways. Because of you I am a mother and wife. If it hadn't been for your gentle prodding to always follow the Lord, your example of prayer and diligence, I don't know if I would have been open to the idea of marriage when Carlin came along. Now I have two kids and you are a grandpa. You are a great Grandpa and I hope my kids will get to know the strong, quiet man whom their mother loves.

I love you Dad.
Aubrey

Entirely Too Excited...

Look at my son!

You: "Yep, looks like a normal picture to me Aubrey..."

Me: "Well it's not, it's Samuel wearing shoes!"

You: "And...?"

Me: "...And... he put them on all by himself! Woohooo and Happy Dance!"

Yep, I might be entirely too excited, but isn't that what motherhood is all about?

Excuses...

For not blogging...

1. Samuel's diarrhea diaper - I will leave it at that.
2. A new calling in church which is probably the most time demanding calling I've had in a while, if not ever.
3. My sister visiting for a week, we were having too much fun to take time out to blog.
4. The gym - I've been working-out like a crazy person (or at least trying to, just need to get myself up in the mornings).
5. Keeping my kids busy with summer activities.
6. Cleaning.
7. Organizing, I am bound and determined to get my house to a manageable level by the end of the year.
8. And exhaustion. Blog or take a nap? Naps have been winning hands down.

Counting My Blessings

May 24 Blessings
1. This little beauty came within 10 miles of our house before turning north and dissipating:

Considering it had already traveled 20 miles in an easterly course before turning and was an EF4 (that's pretty destructive, the highest being an EF5), we were feeling pretty blessed.
2. Another tornado also threatened south of us, heading toward all of my campus friends, once again it dissipated before reaching Norman.
3. A tornado came within a mile of my parent's home, they're safe.
4. Another tornado hit a couple of friends-of-the-family's houses, all survived, and amazingly enough my best friend's house made it out with barely a scratch (can't say the same for my other friend, whose roof was completely lifted and then thrown back into the house).
5. The most destructive tornado came within a few miles of my in-laws house. Their property came out of it without a scratch. Their friend's property was completely destroyed, but they amazingly survived.

It was an extremely emotionally-exhaustive day for me, but I rejoiced at finding everyone safe and sound and listening to all of the survivor stories on the news. Enough can not be said about the weathermen in this state who literally saved the lives of hundreds.

May 25, 2011
6. My beautiful baby boy turned 3.

(I keep telling him to quit growing up, but he doesn't listen). We had a train cake:

7. At the "train" park (the park is built next to the railroad tracks) and the train actually came through while we were there for his party!
8. Miss Lily-pad helped with the cake and her smile just lights up my whole world:


May 27, 2011
9. Carlin and I celebrated 5 years of marriage. He bought me a gorgeous necklace and I planned a surprise getaway to Dallas, where we spent three days doing nothing, sleeping-in, and eating. (We also went to a Dallas Symphony Orchestra concert which was AMAZING!).

10. My last blessing (at least for this post): My family. Living close enough that I was able to drop the kids off at the grandparent's to make my weekend happen and having them be a part of my kids lives and birthday parties. And my wonderful husband and gorgeous kids who sing at the top of their lungs and make me laugh every day.

Holiness in Motherhood

I went to Time Out for Women (a conference specifically geared toward LDS women) this past weekend. It was wonderful. I enjoyed the presentations, felt uplifted, and enjoyed a much needed time away from the kids.

Three of the most influential women in my life. SIL-Samantha, Mom, and MIL-Val

One presentation specifically was about finding holiness in motherhood. It seemed an oxymoron, but I enjoyed the presentation. However, when recapping the conference to Carlin I sort of skipped an explanation on that particular topic, it just didn't stick out to me at the time.

Mondays are always my hard days. I have loads of laundry, the kitchen is always a disaster zone, and today has been particularly bad with me fighting off yet another pink-eye infection. You can imagine why I was close to tears when I came out of the laundry room to find this scene:



After a talk about how it made mommy sad and what could we do to make mommy happy, the kids and I started cleaning. Suddenly the thought "holiness in motherhood" entered my mind. How was I supposed to find holiness in a situation such as this?


Reflecting back on the conference I again looked at my children and saw that they were happily cleaning with their wash cloths. Suddenly a quiet peace fell upon me and in that small moment I found holiness. I can't really describe it much better than that, so just take my word on it.