What's On My Mind Right Now

1.  I totally believe in taking a kidless trip with your spouse every now and then. ;-)  I haven't had a kidless trip since March of 2011, which makes total sense since I've always had a small baby....  But I am going to be totally ready for a vacation with Michael as soon as I'm able, which I'm thinking will be somewhere between April to October of 2014.  Yes, it's far away, but I'm daydreaming anyway.  On the bright side, we have plenty of time to save up and plan. I'm thinking we're gonna go to NYC and do as much awesome tourist-y stuff as possible.  New York, can't wait to see you!

2.  INSANITY.  The workout program.  We're doing it.  We've just completed Month 1 actually and are in the "recovery week" before starting Month 2.  And whoa!  It's no joke.  It's definitely called Insanity for a reason... Shaun T is crazy!  ;-)  It has been hard finding the time to do it with such a small baby, but we finally found that waking up early (ugh) has been the easiest... and the time that we're least likely to be needed by one of the kids.  Have I mentioned that it's hard?  Haha.  Even the warm-up was hard for us to finish during week 1!  Thank heavens we're getting more in shape.  Wish us luck for Month 2!  It's gonna be killer!

3.  They just opened a Chick-Fil-A down the street from us!  Woohoo!!!!  (Before this one opened, the closest one just wasn't very close and it was pretty inconvenient to go).  Can't wait to go.  Is it weird that I am not a huge fan of their waffle fries?  I think they're just okay.  However, their spicy chicken sandwich and their peach shake?  Oh yum.  Can't be beat.  And speaking of Chick-Fil-A.....

4.  I am beyond bugged with the fact that it is now okay to bully conservatives, especially in regard to the gay marriage debate.  I hear many pro-gay marriage people talk incessantly about how terrible we are and how we are SO closed-minded, bigoted, and hateful.  SERIOUSLY!?  So because I have a different opinion from you I am now basically a terrible person?  It's infuriating.  I am very much against ALL forms of bullying and hate, but I believe in God and I believe in traditional marriage.  This doesn't make me hateful.  It means my values are different from yours.  They are not wrong.  They're different.  If you are against bullying, stop bullying conservatives for having a different opinion from your own.  It's not okay.  Can we respect each other's opinions please?  Thanks!  (And I am aware that there ARE hateful conservatives out there.... just like there are hateful liberals out there.  This is sad....  let's work together to end all this hate!)

5.  I have a huge desire to purge our apartment of anything we don't need.  Heaven knows we could use more space, but since we don't have it, perhaps it's time to throw stuff out.  Sounds fun actually.  Yay spring cleaning!

6.  Kate is starting to finally chill out in the evenings.  Yes!  No more screaming for hours before bed!!!!  She is also becoming a worse napper during the day.  :-/  You win some, you lose some.

Traditions and Compromises

So before you get married you hear a thousand times about how much you'll have to compromise on things and how blending two separate traditions and lifestyles can be really difficult.  Well, sure, there's definitely compromise involved in our marriage, but I have never really found that blending our traditions was difficult - at all!  I'm sure it helps that Michael is pretty cool with just going with the flow and letting me plan our holidays.  (And I'm willing to bet a lot of husbands are like that).

HOWEVER!  Easter was always the "biggest deal" holiday for Michael growing up.  He always got his best presents on Easter.... (For example, he got his first bike and Nintendo on Easter).  This is our first Easter with a kid that is old enough to kind of know what's going on, so as we were planning how our day would go, I was doing my usual bossy, "and then we'll do this, and then we'll do that...." and Michael actually had opinions!  Ha, don't get me wrong, this is a GREAT thing, it just caught me off guard.  We had a convo that went something like this:

C:  So we can hide a few eggs right outside and after showing Matthew that there are goodies inside I'm sure he'll love it....
M:  When are we going to dye the eggs?
C:  Oh, I didn't know you wanted to dye eggs this year.  (He has never shown much interest in years past).
M:  Well how are we supposed to have an egg hunt for Matthew if we don't dye eggs?
C:  What?  What do dyed eggs have to do with egg hunts?!?
M:  (confused)  Because you have to hide the hard-boiled, dyed eggs!  And put a present next to each one!
C:  (laughing)  What are you talking about?  Why in the world would you hide all your dyed eggs?  That's what plastic eggs are for!
M:  Because... that's what you do....?  And then you put a present next to each egg.  It doesn't have to be a big present - it can just be a piece of candy.
C:  Doesn't it make a million times more sense to put the candy in a plastic egg?  Hiding real eggs would be a waste, and make them go bad.
M:  But that's why you hard boil them.  You can just eat them right after.
C:  Who the heck is gonna eat all those hard boiled eggs?  (Michael doesn't like them, and I wouldn't want more than one).
M:  I don't know.  But it's fun because the Easter Bunny takes your eggs that you colored and gives you a present for each egg!

Haha.  You get the gist.  Luckily it was fairly easy for us to compromise and come up with a plan for our own family tradition - we hid plastic eggs filled with candy (well actually, filled with fruit snacks and cookies because I know my little boy well) ;-) but also put his small Easter presents next to a couple of the eggs.  (A bubble machine and a toy dinosaur).  I think we have come up with a system that works for us and I'm excited to come up with more and more holiday traditions as time goes on.

Our Easter involved an egg hunt outside with a little boy that kept getting distracted by the fact that he was outside, :) playing with a bubble machine that's basically the best thing to happen to Matthew since I don't know when, (seriously- he loves it) church, a yummy Easter dinner involving ham, green bean casserole, potatoes, and rolls, and remembering the real meaning of Easter.  So thankful for my eternal family and the Atonement that makes it possible.

Spring

So I love living in Phoenix in the winter, and now - poof- just like that, it's gone!  Ahh!  All the nice weather that comes with January and February went by SO fast (I guess that's what happens when you're in the brand-new-baby-craziness-phase) and I feel like I barely got to enjoy it.  Dang.  Now Spring is here and while the weather is still pretty good, it is creeping into the 90's already so I am trying to be brave and get the kids out twice every day.  (In a month or so, we really won't be able to hang out outside anymore).  It's never for long, but at least it's happening.  Is it sad that I still feel awesome every time I get the kids out by myself?  Probably.  :-)  In my defense, Matthew is a good kid, but he can definitely be difficult.  We've nicknamed him The Tornado since he basically is one, both indoors and outdoors.  When he gets to go outside he immediately starts running in any direction he feels like, without waiting for me and the growing-heavier-by-the-minute car seat with his sister inside.  Sure, I try and try to tell him to "Stay with me!" and all that good stuff, but he seriously steps outside, lets out a squeal of joy about being out of the apartment, and just takes off.  Sigh.  We need to work on obedience.  I've had to resort to carrying him from our apartment to the car, which he hates because HE.JUST.WANTS.TO.BE.FREE.OUTSIDE but I don't have much of a choice at the moment.  And when we go on walks?  Kate's in the umbrella stroller and I usually spend most of the walk with an elevated heart rate as I work oh so hard to keep Matthew away from the street and other death traps without abandoning poor Kate.  It helps to ask Matthew to help me push the stroller, which makes him feel pretty important.  And yes, we have a double stroller, but Matthew needs his time outside on his FEET.  Lots of energy he's gotta run out.  It's certainly nice on weekends when Michael is around so that there's a parent for each kid!

But anyway!  Enough ranting, because even though it's kind of hilariously difficult at times, I actually love our time out of the house.  Kate is so sweet and usually quite accommodating and well-behaved.  She is actually a relatively easy baby.... (other than her fussy time in the evening, but that's okay.... she makes up for it by being awesome through the night) and I sure appreciate it.  She loves to watch her brother The Tornado run around outside and in the house, and even puts up with all his poking like a champ.  And Matthew loves Kate as well.  I can't wait until they can play together a little better.  He's a lot of fun and I'm sure Kate will love having such an energetic, funny, and sweet playmate.

Spring-time, I will miss you, as you are very, very short here in the desert.  We will be outside as much as possible for the next few weeks, and then I'll have to start living at the splash pad and indoors for a while..... a long while.  :-/  We will definitely be making a couple trips to the beach this summer!

Some Random Mom Thoughts

1.  During Matthew's first year of life, I always made jokes about how I was such a first-time mom when it came to things I worried about.... but in my head I always thought, "But really I'm going to worry about all these things with every kid."  Hah.  Nope.  I really do worry so much less this time around.  Of course there is still some worry - and I think there always will be, but I stress so much less about the random red mark on her skin or if there is a teensy tiny chance that she could be getting sick.

This girl will be tough as nails, I tell you.

2.  You know how when you're a brand new mom, you go through about 100 wipes to change one diaper?  And then by a month into the whole mom thing you've basically figured out how to clean a blowout with one wipe, and you make fun of your husband who still tends to go through 100 wipes per messy diaper?  I am very embarrassed to admit that I am not one of those moms - I still use WAY too many wipes for one messy diaper.  Considering I have two kids in diapers, this is very sad.  I'm not sure why I haven't mastered this skill.  It's not like I'm not getting practice.

3.  Both baby girls and baby boys are incredibly awesome.  However, it's soooo true that girls are way more fun to dress up (duh, right?) - and I'm living it up with the whole dress-up thing.  I seriously take pictures of her every day in whatever she's wearing.  There are a lot of things about raising a daughter that have already started weighing heavily on my mind, (in particular, teaching her about her worth in a world that will constantly tell her that she's not good/smart/pretty enough....I could devote a whole post to this) so before things start getting complicated, I'm going to live up the non-complication of cute clothes and accessories as much as I can.  

She likes dressing up more than it looks like she does.  ;-)

4.  Matthew is bored.  :-/  I pride myself on getting both kids out almost every day, but let's face it - it's never for very long, and Matthew spends most of the day cooped up in our small apartment.  I'm trying to be creative and come up with new activities, but ahhhhh, it's getting harder and harder.  SOS.  If anyone has any awesome toddler activities to help keep him busy, please share.

5.  Kate will be 2 months old this week.  WHAT!?  So basically, we've moved from the newborn phase to the very small baby phase.  So sad, and also such a relief.  Ha!  I will forever miss my little squishy newborn, but oh how I love the laugh/play/alert phase!!  So much fun.  Now if somebody could please just tell her that the screaming for over an hour every night before bed really isn't necessary....

Breaks my heart!

6.  Sometimes I have awesome days.  And sometimes, my days are not quite so awesome.  And then every now and then I have a really bad day.  One day last week I was feeling especially discouraged with myself and read something that stuck with me - "I do my best every day, and I have learned that my best is not the same every day. It took me a long time to realize that that was okay.  Learn from my journey.  Give yourself permission to just survive today.  Because you are amazing."  I love that.  I am extremely lucky and blessed to have a lot of good days... but those bad days have and will continue to happen sometimes.... and if I don't have perfect patience with the kids while taking them on amazingly fun outings and keeping them both entertained all day while also keeping the house clean and doing laundry and making a super delicious and nutritionally balanced dinner while also finding time to do all the other random stuff that needs done, that is okay.  More than okay.  I am learning to prioritize and to accept that sometimes I just won't get much done.  And at the end of the day, if I'm not as patient as I wish I had been, it's comforting to know that I can always try again tomorrow, and these little munchkins of mine are more than forgiving.  They teach me so much.

Flagstaff

Me and Michael have been wanting to take Matthew to the snow in Flagstaff (a little over two hours away) since December.  However, December was super busy, and then January?  We (correctly) guessed that my labor could be really quick and never wanted to take the chance of me going into labor while nowhere near my doctor or hospital.  (Probably smart).  Well, once the baby came it seemed like going just might not happen.  Snow isn't very plentiful in Arizona, even in Flagstaff, so we really didn't want to make the trek up there with two littles unless it was going to at least be good snow.  And then, it snowed in Phoenix last week.  Well, northern Phoenix.  We actually got none of it near our apartment, but still.  Snow in Phoenix???  Craziness.  And we knew the snow in Flagstaff would be pretty awesome.  So we decided to brave the trip and head north over the weekend for a day trip.

Me and Michael have plenty of snow clothes from our college days, but our poor desert babies own maybe one or two sweatshirts each.  Haha.  We brought lots and lots of layers for Matthew, plenty of snacks, and all kinds of other random bags of stuff (amazing how much more you have to pack with babies/toddlers!) and jumped in the car on Saturday morning.  The drive was smooth sailing. Kate slept and Matthew was an angel as long as we occasionally sang Old MacDonald and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and kept the Goldfish coming.  And it was really nice to be able to just sit and talk to Michael.

We got to Flagstaff and didn't even have to go up the mountain - since Matthew is so young and we wouldn't be sledding or anything, we just found a park in the city and went there to play.  Nice, because it was definitely warmer and easier than going up the mountain.  I fed Kate in the car and watched while Michael took Matthew out to the snow.  I actually suspected that Matthew might not be the biggest fan, but as it turns out, he thought it was awesome.  Seeing his reaction made the whole trip worth it right there.

And then I got out (with Kate snuggled in her car seat) and joined them.  I don't care at all that Matthew has probably already pretty much forgotten his experience in the snow - I'm just happy that he had such a great time and that we made more family memories.

Yeah, Matthew's wearing my gloves.  At first he didn't want to, but a quick fall in the snow made him change his mind.  :)  Life was much better after he put them on.

And then, a quick stop to Chick-Fil-A for lunch and diaper changes before heading home.

There was definitely some whining/crying on the way home, but it was mostly smooth as well.  So glad we went.

On another note, yesterday was Matthew's first official day of nursery!  He did well, as I assumed he would. After dropping him off he went straight for the toys and didn't look back.  Really - he wouldn't even look at me when I tried to tell him good-bye.  And when Michael tried to give him a kiss good-bye, he shoved Michael away.  Ha!  That's our Matthew.  ;-)  He was, however, happy to see us when we came to pick him up.... so maybe he kinda loves us after all.  

Kate is doing well, though she screams literally every night at bedtime for a solid two hours.  (Or more).  It's awful.  Nothing can be done to stop it - and trust me, we've tried everything.  Luckily she makes up for it by being pretty good during the day and having the cutest little smile in the world.  Gosh I love my babies!