I figured that this would be a good way for me to share pictures and stories with my friends and family, without bombarding their inboxes with mass emails. This way if people are interested they can come and see what all is going on with my life and my sweet little family. I hope to make it enertaining, but I can at least promise loads of kid pictures to be added regularly! Which is I am sure the only reason half of you are reading this :)
Do you ever feel like the good you and the bad you are fighting each other?
The good you is like, "C'mon you! You are just being grumpy. You need to be more forgiving, humble, & less selfish. Try doing something for someone else. Think about the cheerful & active person you want to be! You can do it! The only thing holding you back is yourself!"
And then the bad you tells the good you, "To shut the h*ll up" and proceeds to try and force the good you to keep her mouth closed by shoving every single fatty thing into it in sight (or even some not in sight, convincing the good you to drive to the store to get it).
Yeah me neither.
But seriously today is one of those days.
I know I am in a funk today, and I know that I should want to get out of said funk, however I feel somewhat justified (due to the prideful chip on my shoulder) in my selfish irritability, so I have allowed my bad self to dominate my good self (and not in a good/fun kinda way, in the kinda way where everyone around me, including myself loses).
BTW, I love to use parenthesis. (A LOT)
Anyway, I am resolving to do better. To at least want to want the good me to win.
Tomarrah is anotha day! (cause I am gonna let the bad me hold on for just a couple more hours...I still have half a bag of chocolate...don't judge me!)
Please excuse my annoying baby talk (in my sick, raspy, alto chain-smoker voice)
Please also excuse Lily's CONSTANT high pitched baby talk.
But the end result is a giggling Kate. We hear this little laugh from this happy baby a lot at our house, and I am absolutely in love with it. I am even more smitten with her than the day she was born. She is such a fun little person to be around!
Last week Matt was in Globe teaching, and this week he goes back to Payson. Between him being gone and working, Dr's appointments/church stuff/prior commitments & obligations, and all 3 girls being sick it was a pretty stressful week. To top it all off at the end of the week I finally caught the bug the girls had.
Last week, before I got hit by the train that is this awful cold, we decided to paint the rocks that the girls collected while we were camping.
The girls had been couped up inside due to being sick for a week and so I wanted to try and do something fun for them, so I made a batch of cookies and got out some of my painting stuff for them.
Since they weren't feeling well, they apparently also weren't feeling very photogenic...
They loved painting and had a blast...
...but of course, as is the scenario 75% of the time that I try and do something really fun, the end result was still fit throwing.
I guess that when your kids are sick and miserable a mom just can't seem to catch a break. When Matt came down after sleeping (he usually gets up just in time for dinner), he asked, "Why do you even bother?!" Because the girls were both crying, and to be completely honest, this time around I had to agree with the sentiment! Moral of the story, when the kids are sick and whiny, let them be sick and whiny in front of the TV or with their coloring books. Though they had a great time for most of it, I probably should have saved it for a happier day. Bottom line: I am not super mom. I need to accept that and not feel guilty for letting my kids watch movies all day when they are sick. I don't like to let them do it, and I do try and get them to play and we read some books, but a lot of the day is spent in front of the TV, to be honest I don't like to waste a fun activity when they are just going to be miserable no matter what.
Yeah, I know, I am not winning any parenting awards based on this post. When you have 3 kids who all need you every second, and for whom you have to keep medicine schedules and feed, whilst each of them INSISTS upon touching you in some way from the second their eyes open to the second they close, it can get a little tricky. I wish that I could say that when they are sick, I spend the whole day reading books to them and feeding them homemade soup, made with vegetables from my garden, while sitting in a tent made of sheets that we pretend is their fairy princess castle, snuggling them all day, and not feeling grossed out by their sweaty, snotty heads leaving a damp puddle on my lap, and not feeling irritated by the migraine that is developing from listening to the constant whines and moans, but that's just not true.
Wait a sec...this is MY blog I can say whatever I want right? OK, forget what I said before...We painted rocks, the kids were angels, I not only made cookies, but a scrumptious organic dinner (definitely NOT cold cereal), then we snuggled all together (and I LOVED every second of being smothered by 3 sweaty/snotty/feverish bodies) , we sung hymns and read scriptures in the 3 story princess castle I built out of a gum wrapper and a paper clip.
See how well our "quiet time" is going? This is pretty common, during naptime Izzie will come out 4 or 5 times, always in different dress up outfits, always interestingly combined & entertaining. Yesterday it was no pants, a princess top, a soldier helmet, high heels and a sword, I should have gotten a picture of that one! It's always entertaining to say the least, though I do wish she was actually napping...
Isabel is such an interesting little girl. She loves to tease and see just how far she can push the boundaries. She loves to be silly and make people laugh and she is quite the entertainer. She has an ornery streak and loves to let you see her break the rules, just to gage your reaction. She is stubborn and strong willed, and tries to use her cuteness to get out of trouble. That being said she is also the most snugly and affectionate little girl around (when its on her terms and she's in the mood for it). She can be so sweet and she loves to make her sisters laugh. She is a great big sister to Kate and is always looking out for her. She in general is a high energy, fun person to be around. She makes me laugh every single day and is always surprising me. She adds such a fun (and at times frustrating) dynamic to our family and I love being her mom. Though of the 3 kids we have so far, the thought of her as a teenager terrifies me the most! Anyway, she has been so sick this week that I am feeling pretty soft-hearted toward her at the moment, so when she came out in this outfit, instead of scolding her to get back to bed, I had to laugh and give her a snuggle and take a pic! I wanted to document this phase, because I love the dress up and make believe phase of growing up!
This week has been one of those weeks where not any one specific thing makes it a stressful week, but where lots of little things come together to form a constant barrage stress/irritation. Its all fine and I am in relatively good spirits, but I feel that deep down sense of tiredness and lack of patience.
Matt started his first week of actual teaching for EAC's nursing program as a clinical instructor, and he LOVED it. This makes me happy! As a clinical instructor he gets to work in the sim. lab with students teaching them practical skills/application and he also goes with them and is responsible for them/oversees them when they go on their clinical rotations at the hospital. This semester he is going to be working a lot in Payson and Globe, which means that when he has all day lab/clinical days he also drives 4 hours round trip. Which means he is gone extra time = a sad wife. I am actually really happy that he is enjoying it, I am sure that it is affirming his desire to teach after he stops practicing one day. It is always nice to have a husband who really enjoys what he is doing. It makes it a lot easier to have him gone. I am really grateful for the opportunity and it is good stuff, but the selfish side of me wishes that he were home. I thought about pretending to be the do-it-all wife and mom who doesn't need his help around the house and is super busy and independent and doesn't mind when he is gone as long as he is happy...but you all probably know better than that anyway! I always miss him when he is gone.
Last Saturday Lily woke up sick. Really sick. And she still is sick! It is hanging on forever and the cough that accompanies it is horrible. Wednesday Isabel started getting it. (Boopah also got it later in the day on Sat). Both my big girls sound like pubescent boys. I feel so bad for them every time they get a coughing fit, you can tell that it just hurts. It always breaks my heart when they are sick and you can't do anything about it. Sometimes with kids they get sick, you know, runny nose/fever/general cold stuff, but they don't seem TOO miserable and after a couple days they are better and the whole experience isn't too bad. This is not one of those times. I think that Lily is finally starting to feel a bit better, she is wanting to play some and not just lay around, but she is still hacking and coughing. It has been a week, and Isabel has only been sick for a couple of days, which means I probably still have another week of sickies ahead of me. (which is depressing!)
Kate thankfully hasn't gotten it (yet at least...knock on wood). She did however cut her first tooth yesterday! Hooray! I wasn't expecting it since she got it about 3 months sooner than my other kids! This does mean however that she has also had a fever (though her's is low) and been whiny and miserable. So in general 3 whiny kids + an absent husband = a tired mommy, who by the end of the week is running out of patience! I had a couple of days in a row where I had maybe a half hour between 5am and 8 pm where I didn't have at least one kid touching me. Sweaty, feverish, whiny kids. I love them with all my heart, but it is very difficult to get ANYTHING done in that kind of situation (IE go potty, cook meals, make bottles, etc). They are also so sick that they wake up miserable as soon as their meds wear off so I am up a couple times a night with miserable kids.
This is all typical mom stuff, and I wouldn't trade it for the world! It can be exhausting after several days though.
We also have been very busy getting the finishing touches on some school applications this week! Hooray! We have mailed everything we can for 5 schools this week (hopefully his references have also mailed their letters in time...)! It is SO exciting! I am really hoping that when I call the schools next week they tell me that everything is received/complete! We are also REALLY close to having the app's finished for 3 more schools. It is just hard because with Matt's new schedule he maybe has one random day a week, here and there (some weeks 2 and some weeks none, depending on EA's clinicals). And on those days he obviously has a lot to do, and mostly just wants to be able to relax and spend time with the girls. These 3 app's aren't due until Oct 1st, 31st, & Nov 1st, but I am anxious to just get them done so that I don't have so many files/resumes/application information/essays/references to keep organized. It will be nice to have them all completely done, and not have to stress about making sure they are all done correctly/in time.
Of course, once they are all done, we will then just have to stress out while we wait to hear back (or not...) from the schools. Its trading one kind of stress for another, but at least on Matt's days off he won't actually have to do anything for school. Although, it is incredibly likely that we will not get into any of the 8 schools this first round and around Christmas we will have to start this process again. Most of these schools accept 5-15% of their applicants, Which mean that there is a 85-95% chance of rejection. I am hopeful though. Matt has a good resume and good grades/test scores. Who knows though...Like I said, its a whole other can of stress.
Anyway, I could ramble on about more of the mundane parts of my life, but you have probably already fallen asleep twice while reading this, or let's be honest, skipped this post entirely due to lack of pictures...
My girls have taken to crawling into each other's bed pretty much every night. They play until they fall asleep. I must say that I love it. Sure sometimes when they are still awake at 9pm & causing a ruckus...or fighting (in each other's beds pinching each other, stealing blankets, pulling hair...and tattling about it all), I don't love it as much. But for the most part they play together so well and love being together. I know that there will be lots of times in the future where that might not be the case, so for now I am enjoying it. They are so sweet and I wish that I could freeze time and make them stop growing up so fast!
Matt's Grandma snuggling Kate (from whom she gets half her middle name Lou"Anne")
Kate's finally big enough that we can throw all 3 girls into the bath together, which they love, and which expedites the process!
We went camping with Matt's parents, & Barry's, & Heather's families in mid-Aug. It was lots of fun. Matt found out after we already had our reservations that he had an all day clinical instructor's meeting in Thatcher the first day our our scheduled trip (He is a clinical instructor for EAC's Nursing program starting this fall - exciting stuff!). So he joined us in Sedona late that night, which made a long day of driving for him, he left for Thatcher at quarter to 5 in the morning, drove the 3 hours, was in a meeting all day, then that late afternoon left thatcher and made the 5.5 hour drive to Sedona. He did however get to miss out on packing/loading/driving with the girls/setting up camp/lunch/dinner/etc, so don't feel TOO sorry for him :) It rained quite a lot that first day, so I got to set up/unload in the rain. Thank goodness Nana & Boopah came and watched the girls (they had a condo nearby) so I could set up without worrying about them. Everyone got wet and dirty, but it all worked out! And I also learned that our tent leaked...A LOT! :)
The girls sure brought back a great rock collection!
We were right on Oak Creek, it was a great spot.
Tom was a great sport and often watched lots of extra kids on hikes/walks. Here he took Isabel down to see the water (my kids weren't allowed anywhere near it without and adult)
We were able to jump in and cool off during the warmest part of the day, which was perfect!
jumping off a rock in the middle of the creek
J. loved to make Kate laugh
Telling ghost stories
Iz getting Aunt Heather snuggles
I CAN'T believe how big Miss J. is getting. It literally blows my mind. I can't imagine what it will be like when we come home after grad school and she is driving around and is certainly going to be taller than me. She was very sweet and snuggled miss Kate/hauled her around with her while we loaded up.
Nana & the kids
And of course a camping trip wouldn't be complete without a little drama...
Lily started preschool the day after we got back from camping. Believe it or not the following pictures are the best (we took LOTS trying to get a good shot) pictures of Lily on her (last!) first day of preschool. Next year she'll be in kindergarten!
Some days even the cutest kids (excuse my bias) REFUSE to be photogenic!
The pic below is of Lily starting preschool last year, see how big they've gotten!
Congrats, if you made it this far! And congrats to me! August is blogged and its only th first week of Sept, which means I am fully caught up! Woohoo! Now I can blog guilt free!
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