Mother's Day 2012

There is a mother and daughter in our ward that remind me of my mom and me.  They are best friends and always do fun things together.  The daughter spoke in church on Sunday and mentioned how when she went out to Utah to go to school she still talked to her mom on the phone everyday.  Adam leaned over to me and whispered, "Now that sounds familiar."  I smiled at him and then I had to hold back the tears.  Yes, I do talk to my mom on the phone everyday, but even so I still miss her terribly.  This Mother's Day was especially hard due to some unexpected events that have occurred in our family recently.  They have made me realize how truly irreplaceable my mom is and how important mothers are.  Here are a few reasons why I love my mom:
1.  She has always listened to me no matter how much I have to say or how late it is.
2.  She is so optimistic.  She is great about finding the good in every situation and making sure everyone else knows about that good as well.
3.  She is very selfless.  She serves others in a way that I pray I can one day.  Her eyes just see what people need and she quietly gets to work helping them.
4.  She tapes her face up in silly different ways to make the kids laugh.
5.  She always stands up for what is right and isn't going to apologize for it.
6.  She loves to discuss books with me.
7.  She is a peacemaker.  Whenever she was feeling upset or like she was going to lose her temper, she would quietly slip into another room until she felt she could talk about it without offending the Spirit. 
8.  She is patient.
9.  I cannot count how many times I saw her studying the scriptures or praying.
10.  She made us breakfast every morning and felt guilty when she gave us cereal once a month.  She even made breakfast before early morning seminary...getting up around 4:30 or 5am to make it.
11.  She likes to play games.
12.  She sings all sorts of silly songs.
13.  She makes the best biscuits and gravy.
14.  She still talks to me on the phone everyday and is always interested in what I'm doing.

Those are just a few of the many things that make her the best mom. Despite missing my mom, I did have a wonderful Mother's Day.  I was spoiled and didn't have to cook or clean a thing.  I got to spend time with my lovely children that are my sunshine.  And amazingly enough, they both cooperated for pictures!

I love my Charlotte.  She is oh so obedient and happy to please us.  She makes my job pretty easy.  I love how girly she is, and she definitely wants to be the "second mother" to Jonas.  I really hope that as a teenager we can be best friends because I know we would have so much fun together.  She has a lot to say and has taught me that it is important to listen.  I want to listen to what she has to say now, so that she'll know I will listen to her when she's older...when her problems are bigger than a brother who wrecked the tower she built.

My Jonas makes my heart smile.  He is so busy and curious.  I love watching him as he debates between what is more important: obeying mom or figuring out how how things work.  He has taught me a lot about being a mom...that I don't have all the answers, and that what is best for C isn't necessarily best for J.  It's helped me better understand how Heavenly Father can love all his children and how he has a different plan for each of us.  I love how quickly Jonas will apologize and forgive.  He has a big heart. 

Love these kids!  Love my life!  Love my mom! 

Happy Mother's Day (I know, I'm a few days late!)

Day Tripper

Saturday morning we woke up with no plans.  There was nothing we needed to do, no where we needed to be, no pager of Adam's to say: "You can't do anything more than 30 minutes away from the hospital." We were in bed trying to think up how to use our precious day. So I suggested a day trip to Pittsburgh (which really meant IKEA). I could pick up some "Mother's Day" gifts there. I have been wanting to go for a couple years now.  Adam replied, "Boring."  Well maybe not that bluntly, but more or less he declined my idea.  I got out of bed and started muddling through the daily tasks.  I usually don't muddle through them, but I was a little bummed.  About 30 minutes later Adam comes into the room where I'm getting J dressed.  He has a grin from ear to ear and he says, "Guess who's playing in Pittsburgh?  The Astros!  Let's go."  So we got ready (meaning Adam made Astros shirts for the kids to wear and I took care of all the logistics).

We stopped at IKEA first.  Happy Mother's Day to me...I got a few items to organize my pantry and the kid's room.

We then joined up with some friends we went to podiatry school with who moved to Pittsburgh at Primanti Brothers.  They serve some "almost famous" sandwiches that always include Italian bread, tomatoes, coleslaw and fries (all of those items come ON the sandwich...not as a side).  Our little girls were born a month apart and while they didn't remember each other they became fast friends and started begging us to take their picture.  I think they changed their minds as soon as we pulled the cameras out because we could not get them to look or smile at the same time.

After dinner we changed the kids clothes and headed over to the game.  The city is so pretty and has these big yellow bridges.  They close one of them off to walk to PNC Park.  Randee snapped a quick pic for us.

The game was fun.  We bought some seat from some guy selling tickets on the street.  We only bought four tickets and hoped that the seats next to them wouldn't be full so that the girls wouldn't have to sit on our laps the entire time.  We lucked out!

The kids were really good for the game.  I was a little surprised since we had been out all day, and I didn't bring any snacks with us.  The little boys had fun crunching peanut shells on the floor though.

We weren't really sure who we were cheering for.  While we all have to be Astros fans for Daddy, it was really hard not to get excited with the crowd whenver the Pirates scored (which was more frequently than the Astros...)

So fun to chat and catch up with friends during the game!

 Thanks to my hubby for such a fun pre-mother's day celebration/gift.  How will I ever forget the Mother's Day Adam took me to a baseball game?  I think for Father's Day I'm going to take Adam to see the most girly musical that I can find. :)  Seriously though, it was a wonderful day that I will always remember spent with family and friends!

Room with a View

My family likes to go for walks.  About two months ago we were walking around our complex past some apartments that are different than the town homes where we were living.  Adam mentioned that we should move into them because they are situated in a quieter area.  I immediately dismissed his proposal since a 500 foot move seemed like way more work than it could possibly be worth.  Plus, I had just repainted our main floor (after having primed it back for our last move that fell through a week before), and if we moved again we would have to prime it again.  No thank you.
A few days later some workers came and cut down the only tree I could see from our town home.  It exposed another "lovely" row of town homes for me to look at instead.  It bugged me.  A lot.  We get really bad snow drifts in the winter, and I could just imagine them getting so much worse without the tree to block the wind.  Plus, we live on the "dark side" of the building.  It's a bummer in the summer, but just downright depressing come winter.  On another walk past the apartments I started having second thoughts about my hasty dismissal of them.  I told Adam that I would at least be willing to look at them.  So look we did.  We liked what we saw: an actual eat in kitchen without carpat under the dining area, no tile in the bathtub/shower area, two full baths...one off the master bedroom, more counter space, more than just one outlet in the kitchen, 100 more square feet, all one level, trees outside our windows.  The biggest drawbacks were bumping down to 2 bedrooms instead of 3, not having our own private entry, and no first floor apartments were available.
We took a few days to make a decision.  Okay, I took a few days to make a decision.  Adam wanted to move to the apartment, but didn't really care either way...whatever that means. We prayed, I prayed, I stressed, I worried, I thought about it, I decided to do it, I changed my mind...I was so scared that I would decide to move to the apartments and miss the town home and regret the decision I had made.  The two places were just different.  One wasn't really better than the other. I prayed some more and was extra focused on receiving an answer.  The only answer that came was that, "It doesn't matter either way."  So, in the end I decided I cared more about trees and no carpet under my table than private entries and having a guest bedroom (that does not mean we do not want guests!).
So we moved last week, and I can say that I am 100% glad we did.  Our new place just "fits" us better than the other one did. I am so glad that I don't see this anymore when I look out my windows:

But instead I see this:

And this:

And this:

When I first moved to Florida from the desert, all the trees made me feel claustrophobic.  We then moved to a home in Georgia surrounded by trees, and I fell in love.  I love the green, the peace, and the quiet they bring.  And I have to say I am actually looking forward to seeing them glisten with snow on their branches that will be left undisturbed by human feet and cars this winter.  We now wake up to birds singing in the morning instead of our neighbor's dramatic phone conversations, and when I opened the blinds the other morning there was a deer standing outside my window just waiting to greet me.  Is this a Disney movie or what?  Pretty sure tomorrow I'm going to meet some singing chipmunks...

Day Eight - Passions

Life has been a little busy lately. Sorry for dropping the ball on this "daily post" run. We're getting ready to move at the end of this month to a new place, and along with all of my other responsibilities, I feel guilty every time I sit down at my computer.  I've gotten to a point though where I just need a little down time.  So here's a little post about 5 of my passions.

1.  The gospel of Jesus Christ.  It's difficult for me to express in words how I feel about the Savior.  All I can really say is that the decisions in my life are all based upon striving to be like Him and returning to his presence.  The more in line I am with keeping my life in line with His teachings, the more joy I feel.  I am so grateful for all that the Savior has taught and sacrificed for my sake.

2. Families.  Not just my family, but all families.  I agree with Elder M. Russell Ballard's recent remarks at General Conference:

"And, of course, societies at large are strengthened as families grow stronger. Commitments to family and values are the basic cause. Nearly everything else is effect. When couples marry and make commitments to each other, they greatly increase their chances of economic well-being. When children are born in wedlock and have both a mom and a dad, their opportunities and their likelihood of occupational success skyrocket. And when families work and play together, neighborhoods and communities flourish, economies improve, and less government and fewer costly safety nets are required.

So the bad news is that family breakdown is causing a host of societal and economic ills. But the good news is that, like any cause and effect, those ills can be reversed if what is causing them is changed. Inequities are resolved by living correct principles and values. Brothers and sisters, the most important cause of our lifetime is our families. If we will devote ourselves to this cause, we will improve every other aspect of our lives and will become, as a people and as a church, an example and a beacon for all peoples of the earth."

(You can read the full article here.)

I am passionate about strengthening families.

3.  Order.  So we're in the middle of a move.  Boxes are everywhere.  Many of my things don't have a "home" right now.  I am trying to decide what can be packed and what we're still using.  It is driving me NUTS!  I tell the love of my life every night before we go to bed, "I could never live like this all the time."  And every morning, I make all the beds because that is the one thing in my home that can still be organized! :)

4.  Learning.  I loved school.  I want to go back at some point, but I want to go back forever.   I don't really even care if I ever get a degree.  I would really like to just take all sorts of different classes (excluding math).  I'm one of those people that sometimes reads textbooks just for fun (not as frequently now that two people call me "mom").  I know I don't have to be in school to learn, and I do enjoy learning new things everyday.  I really enjoy a classroom setting though (maybe it has to do with my passion for order).

5.  Rules.  I guess this probably just translates to my need for order in non-materialistic means.  I ALWAYS read the directions.  I don't ever enter the "EXIT" door.  I like to know what is expected of me and of everyone else.  I have learned to not freak out when others break rules though.  I had a tough time with that when I was kid (sorry to my brothers).  And now I just feel like I sound crazy...I promise I am not a power-hungry-rule-enforcing type of person.  I like rules mostly for me.  They make me feel safe.

Easter

I am super glad Daddy didn't get called into work on Saturday while we were coloring Easter eggs.  J was so fun to watch color the eggs, but I'm pretty sure it would have been a disastrous event had there not been two adults to watch/help/control him.  Even with the both of us helping he managed to crack two of our eggs.  Oh well...that's why we hard boil them, right?

So why two of almost the exact same picture?  Because they make me laugh.  Little Miss is still going through that awkward smile stage.  At least we hope it's a stage.  If not, we're not even bothering with hiring a photographer for her wedding!  I kid.  I told her a week ago to pull her cheeks up when she smiles to avoid the wide mouth grimace she's been making.  Well, doing that made her eyes disappear so I suggested she tries to make her eyes wide too.  And we get the crazed look. Haha!  I keep waiting for her to snarl.

I didn't get too many good pictures of Easter morning.  Those kids were quick with finding eggs.

C thought it was hilarious that the bunny hid an egg in my plant.  Do you like how she is wearing pajama pants over her jammies?  It's not that cold.  She's really into layering her clothing these days.  She has to have at least one thing layered in each of her outfits.  She thinks it's really cool.

J got his first set of Hot wheels.  They were long overdue.  I wish I had gotten them months ago.  Now whenever he gets into something he shouldn't I just say, "Where are your cars?" and he abandons all mischief.  I'm really hoping they don't lose their magical powers!

 Here's a picture of C all ready for church.  I didn't get one of brother.  We get him dressed 2 seconds before we leave so that his clothes are clean for church.  Daddy was also at work that morning so between me scrambling to gather props for Primary singing time, printing off papers, cleaning up lunch and getting the kids out the door, taking pictures wasn't very high on my list.  We can't do everything, right?

C sang "Jesus Has Risen" in Sacrament meeting for Easter (along with the other Primary children), and she was beaming about it all day.  Oh how I hope I can keep that enthusiasm and confidence a part of her as she grows up. 

Hope you had a happy Easter as well!

Day Seven - Pet Peeves

I honestly don't know if I even have 10 pet peeves to share.  Here goes...

1.  When people are rude to someone who is trying to serve them.  For example, if someone gets annoyed with their waiter or mad at a customer service rep.  I just feel like most of the time the person they are getting upset with really has no say in the situation or truly feels bad if they did make a mistake.  I also always worry that perhaps the waiter or whoever is trying to help is having a really bad day.  What if something terrible happened at home and they are doing their best that day to just make it through work?
2.  When I ask someone what they are thinking about and they say "nothing."  That's not true.  If you don't want to share what's on your mind with me that if fine, but just tell me that.
3.  Road rage.  I don't understand it at all.  I think people that get upset on the road just look ridiculous.  Plus, it solves NOTHING.  Getting angry doesn't make you feel better, and it doesn't make the other person magically want to be helpful towards you.

4.  Constant negativity (like this post maybe?).  Sometimes things in life are a bummer, and we all need to vent, mourn, whatever.  It bugs me though when people find something to complain about  in the good things that happen to them as well.

5.  Belching.  It's ALWAYS gross and rude.  It never happens in our house.  The family knows all wrath will come upon them if they do.
6.  Getting splashed in the face.  I hated swimming with my brothers for this very reason.  I warned Adam about it when we were dating.  I don't know why, but if I get splashed in the face anger boils up inside of me.  Anger is not an emotion I frequently feel so it kind of frustrates me that I have difficulty controlling it over some water in my face.  If we ever swim together please, please, please don't splash any water in my direction!

alright, this is probably my lamest post yet.  I have thought all night (the kiddos woke me up a few times and somehow this is what I thought of as I drifted back to sleep) and these are the only pet peeves I can come up with.  All the readers should be happy though knowing that most likely you haven't annoyed me!  It takes a lot to get me bugged...

Day Six - Your Dream Job

Ta-Dah!  I'm doing it!

I think she was the smiliest baby ever!

Please get that flash out of my face!

Where has the last year gone?

My little cheeseballs!

For as long as I can remember, all I wanted to do was be a stay at home mom. In 10th grade my English teacher had everyone in the room take turns sharing what their dream job was. When she came to me, I replied, "I want to be a stay at home mom." She responded, "I don't think you understand. There are no limitations. If there was going to be nothing standing in your way and you could do whatever you wanted to do, what would it be?" Unfortunately for her, I don't think she understood. I told her that my answer was still the same, and she moved on to a girl who wanted to be a novelist.

Now that I'm here, I still don't think my answer would change. There are days when I get lonely for adult interaction, days I wonder what it would be like to use a vocabulary beyond "potty, boo-boo, and tummy," days I feel like I can't pretend to be Steve from Blue's Clues for one more second, days I lose my patience, days I sound like a broken record "Put your shoes on, put your shoes on, put your shoes on..."

But there are also days where C tells me, "Oooh, you look beautiful Mommy," days when J kisses me on the cheek just because, days when I hear them giggling in the other room, days when they remind me how blessed we are to live in this world Heavenly Father created for us, days when I can eat peanut butter and jelly for lunch, days when I feel the spirit tell me that I'm doing okay, days like today...when I look at their old pictures and realize it's going way too fast, and it hurts to breathe just thinking about the time when they won't be at home.

Nope, I don't think my old English teacher understood at all.

Here are some other jobs I think would be fun:

Professional Organizer

English and literature teacher (ironic, huh?)
Editor
Librarian
Gardener
Dietician
Pilates Instructor
Party Planner
Chorus Teacher

Letterboxing

I'm interrupting my topical "Post of the Day" series with a post about yesterday's family outing.  Daddy took some vacation days this week.  We were so excited to play with him outside.  March has been SO nice this year.  Temperatures have been up in the 80s some days, but of course the week Daddy is home with us they drop down to the 40s.  Really? Boo!!!!!  Wednesday was supposed to be in the 70s, but rainy.  So we planned on hanging out at home most of the week with a possible trip to the library for story time.  Wednesday came and the sky was blue as can be.  So, that afternoon we decided to go Letterboxing.  Has anyone heard of this?  My friend Krista told me about it, and it is awesome!  Here is a link with more information about it. Letterboxing All you need is a stamp, ink, notebook and pen.  We thought it would be fun to make a "family" stamp to use for this so Daddy and his special girl went to the store to buy an eraser and brainstormed ideas for a stamp.  C decided that a lion would be best.  After Daddy made the stamp we set out with our clues to find a letterbox.

We followed the trail up to the Nature Center and took a little break to look at a turtle and some other stuffed animals that are native to our area.

We then got back to the trail to find our "treasure."  C is a big Blue's Clues fan.  So she was so excited to carry around her own "notebook" and follow clues.

There were a lot of stairs on the trail.  Little man needed to hold Daddy's hand going down them since he still crawls/slides down the stairs at home.

One of the clues was to follow a certain path that was noted by a symbol.  We told C to keep an eye out for it.  She was so excited when we found our first one.

We finally made it to the hiding place!

The trail name of the people who left the Letterbox hidden here is The Pirates.  C was SO confused.  She still thinks that it was real pirates who left "the treasure" there in the woods.  They actually left a little bracelet in there for the first people who found the letterbox.

Here's a picture of the sweet stamp Daddy made.  I'm impressed even if you're not because I have not artistic ability for that kind of stuff.

And then we let C stamp our notebook with the stamp left in the letterbox.

We sat down and shared a little trail mix snack before we headed back to our car.  J man was pretty worn out from the hike in so he got to ride Dad's shoulders on the way back.  I think it's the happiest he was for the entire outing.

Have you been letterboxing?  If not, go do it!  It's so fun and we will definitely be doing it again.