No more naps *sigh*

A few weeks ago, Taylor figured out how to climb out of his crib. And then Logan figured it out, too. So Billy and I transfered them to their toddler beds. I knew naps would become nonexistant. But I didn't know quiet time would become so stressful. During the one-hour that they spend in their room, they pull out all the clothes from their dresser, they take their clothes off, and they poop on the carpet. Needless to say, it is not a re-energizing time for me. So I started just chilling in the couch with them. And this is what happened. 

Unfortunately, it doesn't work every time, but occasionally I can sneak from the couch and get a few things done. Maybe. If Kendall is not awake by the time Logan and Taylor give in to sleep.

It helps with the evening crankiness. Maybe. Sometimes they wake up even more cranky than they would have been if they hadn't napped at all. It's a process, I guess. We're still trying to figure out what works best for them, and for me.

Girls' Night Out

Wife: Hey honey, Breaking Dawn, the 4th Twilight movie, is coming out this weekend. Would you rather go see it with me or cook dinner for a whole week?

Husband: I'll cook.

I know it sounds really bad (or maybe really smart), but that's how I get good deals. I give him options, all of which I am okay with, but I usually know exactly which he'll choose. That's how I got to see the movie with a few friends. Girls' night out! We had a great time and I needed that to re-energize. I wish I could have talked him into cleaning after cooking but I'll take what I can get.

Wildlights at the Zoo

Last week, Billy worked through the night. Fortunately, he's not going to have to do that again for a while. But the kids and I decided to go out and have fun anyway. So we went to the Wildlights at the Zoo. It was a little cold, but AMAZING! Logan and Taylor called out all the colors they saw, "Blue lights! Red lights! Purple lights! (...)"

Best of all, the kids sat on Santa's lap. None of them looked very excited or happy, but at least they didn't freak out. And I got to take pictures that look somewhat decent.

Yesterday we went back, with Billy this time, and we made it there just on time to watch the Wildlights Show. The Christmas lights came on and off with the beat of the Christmas music. It was really cool. Even Logan and Taylor were amazed. They don't normally sit still very long, but they did for this show.

 

Thanksgiving in Sandusky

This year we celebrated Thanksgiving with our Med School Family. The Pitchers are now in Indiana while the Renchers and Rackers are in Ohio. What better way to spend Thanksgiving than to be with friends who were practically our family for 2-4 years. The food was delicious, the company was awesome, and all 14 kids behaved wonderfully. I don't even think it was as chaotic as I imagined it would be. It was perfect.

This year I am most thankful for wonderful friends.

And my husband

And my children

And my family

And my house

And food

And Pinterest (haha)



When we got back, Kendall got busy looking for good Black Friday deals. She worked hard to find the perfect 64 inch TV, and when she found it, she ate it. She is such a thoughtful girl.

Kendall laughing

Don't mind my mom's "boobie" comment. She's very... open about stuff like that.

The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth

Before I had kids of my own, I knew that they would always behave in public. They would never throw a temper tantrum. They would never hit one another. They would never have a melt-down. They would never throw toys or food at people. They would never run away. They would always say Please and Thank you. They would always play nicely with other children. They would always play quietly while I was busy with something else. And most importantly, they would always listen to me. Oh boy, was I wrong. Well behaved kids don’t exist. At least it makes me feel better knowing that they don’t.


These are my confessions concerning my kids:

Some kids can sit through Sacrament without a fuss. Mine definitely can’t. The only thing that seems to work for us is to bring snacks. Of course I feel guilty feeding my kids snacks for an hour and a half. But now it has become a habit, and they expect snacks in church.

I feed them snacks while grocery shopping, too. It keeps them from wanting to have everything they see in the store. Sometimes I even let them play with some toys from the store. Then I leave them with the cashier.

I need peace and quiet when I feed Kendall, so when Logan and Taylor are misbehaving, I turn the TV on. It entertains them for a good 15-20 minutes, just long enough for me to give close to 100% of my attention to Kendall.

I stay in bed until Logan and Taylor wake up. Then I hop in the shower, get dressed, and put my makeup on. The whole process takes about 20-30 minutes. But they love singing and talking to each other until I come to get them. They don’t seem to mind.

If Kendall wakes up early, I bring her to bed with me and nurse her until she goes back to sleep. She loves sleeping in our bed. It’s not like she’s in there all night, just an hour or two, and only a few mornings a week.

It’s so secret that residents don’t make much money. They are hospital slaves who get paid by the government. So finances are tight… Occasionally, Kendall wears big shirts as dresses and small dresses as shirts. It works for us.

Logan and Taylor usually nap from 1 to 4 p.m. But sometimes they refuse to sleep and get really cranky a few hours later. So I leave them in their bedroom for at least an hour and sometimes longer. It gives me time to get a few things done, and it gives them time to relax. It’s a win-win situation.

I don’t even attempt going to church when Billy’s working. There are a few other situations I avoid altogether when I know I am setting myself up for failure and migraines.

Motherhood is not easy. My ideas and expectations have definitely changed since I’ve become a parent. I always thought I’d be a strict mom, and although Billy would still say that I’m pretty strict, I think I am a lot more easy-going than I thought I would be or expected to be. Certain things just aren’t a big deal, and I have to let them go. I can’t worry about every little thing. I’d be a mess if I did.

Motherhood is also the most rewarding and best thing that ever happened to me. I love my children so much. They have their moments, like every child, but they are so easy to forget. The moments I remember the most are those sweet, tender, loving, cuddly, kissy moments. Hmmm, I love those moments…

Perfection response

Recently a friend of mine wrote a blog entry about how she really appreciates people that are real, that are not afraid to say that their life isn’t perfect, and that can admit that they make mistakes. I want to take this opportunity to say that my life isn’t perfect, my marriage isn’t perfect, my parenting isn’t perfect, our finances aren’t perfect, and I am far from being perfect. I make mistakes daily, and I often lay in bed at night thinking that I am a terrible wife and mother. I try to be better every day, but I often fail miserably. I don’t get everything checked off my to-do list. Laundry sometimes sits in the dryer for 2 days straight. Dishes stay in the sink overnight. The carpet doesn’t get vacuumed for a whole week. Billy’s dress shirts never get ironed. The kids get out of the house with stains on their shirt. I get mad at Billy for relaxing when I know his day was just as hard, if not harder, than mine. I yell at Logan and Taylor for fighting instead of teaching them to share and take turns. I try to encourage Billy to exercise, but I can’t seem to get myself on the treadmill. I try to teach Logan and Taylor to be patient and control their temper when I, more often than not, am impatient and lose my temper.


People who come to our house often ask me how I can be so organized – but they don’t know that I just spent 2 hours making sure that everything was sparking clean before they came over. They comment that I must be super mom for grocery shopping with all 3 of my kids – but they don’t know that I’m probably going to have a melt-down on the drive back home. They say that I look pretty good for having had 3 kids – but they don’t know that the top button of my jeans is undone. They admire the food I cook – but they don’t realize that there is only a handful of meals I feel comfortable serving.

I am far from reaching perfection – and that’s okay. I want my kids to know that I am not perfect, that no one is, and that I make mistakes, just like everyone else. I don’t want them to feel defeated every time they mess up, thinking that they have to be that person everybody wants them to be. I’ve learned from my mistakes, and I am still learning. Every day I try to be better than the day before. Some days I feel like I succeeded, and others I feel like I failed. I hope my kids can look up to me, but I also hope that they can look at my weaknesses and strive to have to those qualities that I lack.

Why have I never shared this before? Because I didn’t want to be that pessimistic person that everybody hates to hear complain. But I’m not being pessimistic – I’m being real with how my life is. And I’m not complaining – I’m okay not having a perfect life. I can’t change my husband. I can’t change my kids. I can’t change our finances. But I can change me. I can change my marriage. I can change my parenting. I can change the way I look at my life. And I can change the way I react to things. I’m still going to try to be better every day. But now I’m also going to try to be more real, because I’ve realized that everyone sometimes needs to hear that they’re not the only person in the world having a bad day. No one is perfect, and no one has a perfect life.

Thank you, Ashley, for helping me to look deep into myself. Thank you for reminding me that my kids are innocent children of God, and that one of the many reasons I married my husband was because he was a better person than me. Thank you for helping me to realize that life isn’t a fairy tale, and that there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Thank you for admitting that your life isn’t perfect. It makes me feel more okay knowing that mine isn’t either. Thank you.

Kendall is 6 months

Kendall is 6 months. Wow! When Logan and Taylor were her age, I could not wait for them to reach certain milestones, like rolling over, sitting up, crawling, walking, and talking. But since then I’ve realized that time flies by, children grow up, and I need to appreciate every moment. Now I just want to freeze time and enjoy each stage of their lives.


Kendall is still not rolling over – and that’s okay. If she’s content staying where she is, then more power to ty her. She's pretty much sitting up, though, and she’s actually doing a really good job at it. She can sit up, by herself, for up to 15 seconds without distractions and 45 seconds with toys or other occupations. Also, at 6 months, Kendall:

- loves, loves, loves taking baths – it’s probably her favorite thing
- started eating solids – rice cereals
- enjoys watching her brothers play
- loves being read to while looking at pictures
- enjoys playing with toys
- loves to squeal loudly
- gets excited when daddy comes home
- enjoys being outside, whether in the stroller or carried
- is on a “somewhat” consistent schedule
- loves to give kisses
- gets excited when mommy picks her up from her crib
- sticks her tongue out a bunch
- gets frustrated after 10-15 minutes of being in her swing
- gets excited about being in her jumper
This month, Kendall also got to spend some time with Bon-Papa, Bonne-Maman, Tonton Fred, and Taty Marie. She loved the attention! I think Kendall is going to be very outgoing, but in a classy, not annoying, way. Right now, she’s also very easy-going, talkative, social, and smiley. She’s happy just doing whatever we’re doing. She likes being around people and watching what they do. She also likes “talking” to people and letting them know that she’s there. And then she flashes one of her cute smiles at them.

She brightens my days. She’s such a blessing to our family. Everyone that meets her loves her. She puts a smile of everyone’s face. She can even put a smile on Logan and Taylor’s face when they are in a cranky mood. We all love her SO MUCH!!!

The Bumbo curse

This thing is CURSED is our household! I still remember Logan having MASSIVE blow-outs in this Bumbo. Two years later, Kendall is having GIGANTIC blow-outs in it, too. I sometimes have to change Kendall’s outfit up to 3 times a day because her poop can only go UP when she’s sitting in the Bumbo, and she sits in it every time we eat a meal at the table. I love how practical the Bumbo is, BUT… Urgh!

Halloween x3

This year, the kids got to wear their Halloween costume, not once, not twice, but three times! And every time they put it on, they knew what was coming next –candy!
The first time they put their costume on, we went to Boo at the Zoo. Every year, the zoo invites businesses to come to the zoo to pass out candy. It’s a great opportunity for the businesses to promote their products, and a great opportunity for the zoo to bring in lots and lots of children accompanied by their parents. We got to put our brand new triple stroller to some good use that day. Fortunately, the kids are all in the row, so we fit everywhere any other stroller would. Unfortunately, the stroller brings us a lot of attention, so we got to visit each business only once. LOL Logan and Taylor had a blast, though, and they got to eat A LOT of candy while chilling in the stroller. In fact, this was the only time they did not fall asleep in the car on the ride back home from the zoo (sugar overload!) They both managed staying awake and mostly content until their bedtime that night.

The second time they put their costume on was for our ward’s Trunk-or-Treat (or Trick-or-Trunk, as they call it). I love them. It is the best way to get A LOT of candy in VERY LITTLE time. We were there for only 30-40 minutes, but Logan and Taylor got enough candy to last us through next Halloween (if I don't eat it all before then). The whole time that we were there, Logan and Taylor kept saying, “Treat? Treat? Treat?” No tricks for them, just treats, please. Thank you.

And the third time they put their costume on was when we went trick-or-treating in our neighborhood. Logan and Taylor were excited about it all day. When Billy got home that night, he ate dinner in 5 minutes, and we were all out the door. It was a beautiful night. Logan and Taylor did well walking through the neighborhood. I think that the motivation to get candy and eating the candy kept them going.

Logan and Taylor totally got the concept of trick-or-treating this year, and I cannot wait until we can do it all over again next year. I also really want to know what they’ll want to dress up as, since they’ll probably have an opinion about that next year. I got to dress them up according to what I thought was cute for 3 Halloweens, but I have a feeling this was my last one… Oh well, I'll still get to dress up Kendall!!!