Mommy's Chinese Torture

Now that my baby is 2, most of my lack of sleep is my own fault due to staying up too late. Since I'm always trying to be a more patient, slow-to-anger type of mom, and praying for such blessings to occur, I've been trying to go to bed earlier to do my part. Night before last I almost got 8 hours and felt great all day.

Today I'm going to have to try extra hard because last night was one of those nights. The kind that make you want to laugh and cry at the same time- but mostly cry.

11:30 pm.
(just about to get to bed) Sadie started fussing. Something about her cry caught my attention. It was like a sleepy fussing- like something that she didn't want to be doing either. I went in, held her, and then she started sputtering. I darted for the sink but got most of it all over my arm. I wiped off Sadie and Dana wiped off my arm. Now what? Put her in bed and hope for the best? I didn't get to come to decision before she was at it again.

I layed with her on the couch with repeat episodes continuing every half hour or so. That's where the Chinese torture comes in. Right when you start into that REM, you have to wake up again. She was good though. She'd sit up when it was time and I'd hold the barf bowl half sleeping. I'd say "Good Sadie, spit it out." After she was done each time, she'd say "bleh..bleh..bleh" about 10 times. That part was cute.

3 something
I realized she'd been okay for awhile, picked her up and put her in crib. Then climbed into my super comfy bed that felt like heaven.

5:36 am
Emma came in to inform me that the Tooth Fairy forgot to come. She had worked on her wiggly tooth for about a hour before bed and had finally got it out. It was all coming back to me. I told her about Sadie.
I said "Maybe the Tooth Fairy can come tonight instead?"
Silence.
"Unless you want her to come right now."
"Okay mom! I'll pretend to be asleep." (She found out about the Tooth Fairy, Santa, and Co. last summer)
I grabbed a dollar and walked to her room. Why is it already getting light? Is it really that time of year already??
I reached under her pillow with her smiling, eyes-shut-tight face on it, and did the tooth fairy thing.

Another celestial return to bed. Then realized in my pathetic Tooth Fairy attempt, I forgot to take the tooth. Duh Tooth Fairy- don't you want it for your castle? I hoped she'd overlook it.
Starting to drift off again I felt something/one next to me. Eli.
I cuddled up to Dana to give him room.
A few minutes pass.
Sadie begins to cry.
Sweet husband notices my extreme stillness and stretches to get ready to get up. A chunk of my hair catches under his stretch.
"My hair"
"Oh sorry honey"
I get comfy again on his pillow and lots of new room.
He puts Sadie (who is happily happy) on his pillow too.
She is content to lie there for a little while and I dooze off.

6:30
"Roman Cavalry choirs are singing..."
Snooze (10 mins pass)
"You cannot contract it by eating pork.."
Snooze
Time to get up and start a new day. It actually wasn't too bad. I've definetly had worse- like more than one throwing up kid. Yikes.
Sadie held down breakfast and seems fine.

Someday I'll be sleeping peacefully every night. I will probably enjoy that. But I might, just a little bit, miss nights feeling so loved and needed that I couldn't. So for now, I'm enjoying kid season. And squeezing in naps when possible.

3 Little Readers

I love that my kids love reading! Here are their current books:

Emma just finished this yesterday and LOVED it. It's a kid version of the book. She was sad that he died at the end but then they get a new puppy in this version so it wasn't so sad.
These are great for transitioning to chapter books. Eli can't get enough of these illustrations. He reads with me next to him and every time he turns a page he looks at the picture for about a minute before he starts reading. Then he'll ask me a question about the picture and I say "Let's find out!". It's really cute. I love the way he becomes so entralled by stories.

Holly's preschool teacher, who is also a wonderful friend, sent this home with her. Holly was so excited to show it to me. It's a little hard to read but it basically says that Holly read it by herself with minimal help. I LOVE watching her learn so much.

Now I need to find a book! Any great recommendations?

Ready?

We'll probably get a few more Spring days, but it seems like "Summer 1" is trying to get it's groove on a little early this year. Last year I was so proud that I made it through May (barely) without the AC, and now this year we've already turned it on a few times.

Holly's asking me constantly when we can get our annual big blow-up pool at Target. Which, according to a friend, is the biggest you can buy without getting the filter and all that.

Looks like it may be time. Another friend and I were discussing our "somedays" and how the list gets longer and longer. I can tell you this though- a real pool is at the very tippy-top of my "somedays" list.

At the same time, we do love our yard. A few years back, when we lived in our condo, a nice grassy yard for the kids to run on was on my list.

Eli loves squirting these girls. They love running past and screaming. A great win-win.


I made a little breakthrough in Elements- which I've had for a few months now. Hence, my lovely, summery new header.

There are LOTS of these babies on our orange tree! An awesome sight. Looks like grapefruit AND oranges next "Fall/Winter".

34 and Blessed

I'm not sure how this works but my birthdays seem to get better and better. Thanks, in large part, to my husband who takes the time and effort each year to make it special. Today could not have been more perfect. Dana surprised me last night and told me he took today off, and had some fun stuff planned. He even asked a good friend if she'd take Sadie and Holly (thanks again!)
First we went here for breakfast-

We've been wanting to try this little place in Oldtown Gilbert for a little while. It did not disappoint. It's a smaller place and is almost always full. Today (Thursday) at 9:30 we waited about 10 mins. But it was Soooo yummy. Big party in my tummy.

We asked the people next to us if they'd take this picture. They were so nice and after talking for a couple minutes found out that it was her birthday too! They had a baby with them and asked if we had any kids. They almost fell out of their chairs when we said "four". So funny. Here we are! My new facebook friend and I.I love eating out for breakfast! Dana knows me well.They give you a free cinnimon roll with cream cheese frosting on your birthday. It was very naughtylicious. I can't wait to go back to this place sometime.

Then off were off to the next surprise...

Horseback riding!
This was so fun and something I've never really done before. It was like an hour and a half trail. It was right by Sauro Lake and so beautiful!
Here's our trail guide who was so funny. She really loves her job and told us everything there was to know on that trail. At the end she said she was 73! She looked about 55.

I was a little nervous at first but got used to it and even trotted at one point.

The amazing...the thoughtful...the greatest ever!

Up on our high horses (Lavene and Bru-ha)

Thank you Dana! That was just such a fun surprise. A little sore on the bum after that long but definetly worth it.

Sauro Lake on a perfect day.

Did I mention I share my birthday with my big sister? I love it! It makes the day extra fun and always has. We went with our families to "Joe's B-BQue" tonight since they give you a free meal on your birthday. Her kids made her this cute crown. I love you Amy!

She made me my favorite cake- angel food. So good!

And even more fun to come tomorrow with some friends. I actually got a bit teary a couple times today just really feeling like the luckiest girl in the world and stopping to thank Heavenly Father. My cup runneth over.

10 Minute Header

I'm enjoying my new header. I was getting really tired of the old one. I think I look at my blog more than I should and, as a result, tire of things at warp speed. It was taken outside the ward building on Sunday, as I threatened anything and everything at the kids to sit still and smile for "one second", as Dana ran inside and searched in vain to find an availability in the "soft seat" section. (Ten mins early on Easter wasn't enough to cut it.) They also have their new Easter digs on. I like that.

So what if they're all looking different directions? Or that the electric yellow flowers may or may not have the potential to burn your retinas if you stare too long? (I wouldn't risk it)
I'm trying to get some nice pictures taken...hopefully soon.

I also asked a friend after church to take a picture of our whole family. I felt kinda goobery doing it there, but I knew Sadie would fall asleep on the way home and that the kids would be out of those pretty clothes as soon as they stepped foot in the house. (thanks Amy G:)

Have I Mentioned...

How much I love this boy?

He has some struggles- mainly when it comes to school. A little bit from what he's learning and a lot from the sitting and the doing this or that on someone else's schedule. He's got a lot going on in his own mind and sometimes doesn't like to leave too much. I'm pretty sure it's a lot more interesting than doing worksheets.

Sometimes I wish we lived on a farm and he had his chores and then did a couple hours of school and had a lot more time to build forts and use that imagination of his. I know Emma would dig that too.

Sunday a group of kids his age in Primary sang "He Sent His Son" for the Easter program. He really wanted to participate, practiced hard, and did a great job. I was so proud of him. Love you bug.

Desert Botanical Garden

Friday there was no school. My friend suggested going to the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix. It was so much fun! We did have some hairy moments as any 2 moms would with 7 little kids, but I'm so glad we went.

Sadie walking throught the desert barefoot.
Under a big shady tree.
There's an amazing glass exhibit there right now called "Chihuly". This artist incorporated his art into the landscape. I would love to see it again at night lit up.

They also have a butterfly exhibit that, for me, was the funnest part. This is inside the Butterfly Pavillion.

Sadie LOVED this little pond. I didn't get a good picture of it, but it had fish in it and was just really pretty. Everytime I took her to a different section, she'd work her way back here.

Pretty striped butterfly on a flower. These were not quite as people friendly as the orange ones.

Eli had this butterfly for probably 10 minutes or so. The picture he has is all the types of butterflies in the garden.

I love this one! Emma begged me to return to the Butterfly Pavillion (which had a 45 min line) as soon as we left, until we were into the parking lot. Definetly her favorite part too.

Eli unwittingly making a great very "Grumpy Caterpillar".

They had a whole section of Native American replicas with different types of houses they made, and how they made food, etc. This was Eli's favorite. He was fascinted by everything and asked tons of questions. Luckily our friends had a lot of answers for him since they've been on a tour through it before.

Alot of people were laughing at the kids trying to start a fire with their sticks. They all really got into it all. They've seen Bear Grylls do it so why not them?

Holly and Sadie fell asleep shortly after we started home. All that walking around in the sun!

A very fun adventure :)

Tools of the Trade

I have become something in life that I never would have expected: A cricket catching expert. And all you that live here in the Valley of the Sun know- there ain't no shortage of crickets 'round here. So, I get plenty of practice. But I will never catch them with my hands like Dana does, so I use these tools:
The flashlight- obviously to see them in the dark.
The big (keyword) cup to catch them with.
The paper towel- so they don't jump onto my hand once they're trapped. (After a year and a half or so- I still scream and my heart races when they touch me or jump into me. Emma thinks this is hilarious.)

Here's the culprit of course-our geckos Dana brought home with the kids one day (as I stared at him with a puzzled expression). They would be dead if it weren't for me. The one who will not touch them and wanted to return them to the pet store. But one thing I hate more than geckos is dead geckos, so I feed them religiously.
They have kinda grown on me since they moved in. Mainly because the kids love them.
If you wondering if I've ever heard of a pet store here are my reasons for catching them myself:

1. I don't want to support the procreation of extra crickets in the world
2. It just seems WRONG to pay for bugs
3. A small money saver
4. I keep thinking (hoping) I might be cutting down on our own backyard population.
5. I like knowing we have a "year supply" for our pets too:)

I wanted to post this because the little tasks we do in life really add up to become our life. Dana always says people should take at least a couple pictures of themselves at work- not just on vacation- since you spend the majority of your time there. He took this picture of me outside "Central Bank" in Provo where I worked when we were newleyweds. I felt a little silly at the time but now I'm glad I have it- brings back the memories!

*on a side note- I watched "Goldie" shedding the other day. It was amazing! I was glued to the tank for like half an hour.

Happy Girl

The inevitable has happened and Holly got her hair chopped. I stalled her as long as I could. But I must say, the part of me that felt like I couldn't handle another morning of crying and whining after I said the words "Time to fix hair", is really loving it.

I'm going to miss her long hair but she LOVES it and that's what counts.

Dana kept saying "She's gonna look older.." and he was right don't you think?

*just wanted to add a little note of something funny she says: When she's eating she'll frequently say- "Mom! I ate a single bite!" Which, of course, is a result of me saying to her- "Holly, you haven't even eaten a single bite!" funny girl :)

Midnight Potty Time

Every night before I go to bed, (which somehow always seems to be midnight or so) I take Holly to the bathroom. This enables her to make it until morning- thereby I save on pricey Pull-Ups, don't have to change the sheets, etc. You'd think I would not like this part of my ever extending bedtime routine, but there is a part of me that is fascinated by this little creature as I take her unconscious self to the bathroom every night. I pick her up and she is very floppy. And luckily, still very light. I look at her sweet face sleeping while I'm holding her-50% sweeter due to the sleep factor. I can kiss it with no adverse reaction. (He He). Her long brown curls hang down. Almost every night she is grinding her teeth. Something that I should probably mention to the dentist next time. I prop her up on the potty, usually a big gush follows, and we're done. Amazingly, she usually shows no signs of being awake.

If her subconscious is pleased with the event she falls right back to sleep. If not, (sometimes due to something on her body getting bonked on a doorway or bedframe) it starts with a moan and then turns into a flow of irratated sounds- Kind of like "Molly" on the movie "Annie" when she's having a bad dream. I used to ask her what was wrong, but after many-a-time of that not helping the situation, I've learned that she's still asleep. So I stroke her hair or tickle her back and she stops and returns to peacefulness. It's pretty silly but it will be something I will miss one day. Thought I'd capture it.