So gross.

One time my dog smelled bad.

We gave him a bath.

Two days later (today) we found a dead bird in the backyard. Made a mental note to tell Aaron to somehow dispose of the carcase. Forgot to tell Aaron as I rushed out the door to a Relief Society Meeting.

Come home (tonight) to a very smelly dog.

Realize the dog doesn't just smell, he smells like death.

Remember the dead bird.

Make the grossest realization... the dog and the bird had some kind of contact.

Go in the backyard with Aaron to find and dispose of the dead bird... and find nothing but a few feathers. Realize your disgusting dog must have eaten the dead bird. *gagging*

Give the dog a bath, and try not to barf.

I am seriously scarred for life.

Our Family Vacation 2013!

Guess where we just spent three days??

Yup, a magical trip to Disneyland! It was great. Weather was great, park was busy but not crazy Christmas time crowded or anything. Our first day was probably the best for crowds and weather, but the rest of the trip was great too.

Things I want to remember... Nathan yelling, "Olivia!" And her turning and saying, "What? I'm right here!" Over and over and over again. It was really cute. He also really wanted to hold Abigail's hand a lot. It is fun to see the sibling bonding going on. Really the whole reason to take these vacations, if you ask me!

Nathan had the same reaction to pretty much everything, which was a blank stare. Good thing his ticket was still free! His favorite area of the entire two parks was this tiny little fake stream that he could put his feet in, and then a cave where he could put his hand and find his spirit animal. He did have some great reactions to seeing the characters from a distance. He would get really excited and happily freak out, and then we'd get close and he'd cry. Pretty typical of a 1 year old I suppose.

We also spent Saturday and Sunday with Douger and Allison and their 4 kids. We went to SeaWorld and of course the kids had a blast. They just love being together which is so fun. I have lots of pictures from there too but it is uploading weird. We fed Sea Lions, got splashed by a killer whale, went on super fun rides, and waited in a super long line for mediocre food, and had a super great time.

I am 25...24...26? somewhere around there weeks pregnant now, and I am huge already and so slow and I feel like this is what my body will feel like when I'm 80. I'm just slow and achy. Walking around the parks I felt like I was going as fast as I could, but literally someone passed me who was about 50 years older than me and walking with a cane. Poor Aaron had to slow down quite a bit from his usual Disney pace so I could keep up. And I was still always lagging behind.

Now it's back to reality, which is always hard after a nice 5 day vacation. But here we go!

Can you guess what prophet we are learning about in Mommy School?

This was actually something I just made up as I went along. I found some cardboard in our recyclable pile in the garage, and cut it up to make our Tree Of Life. We glued some white fruit on and talked about what it represented in Lehi's dream. Then we colored the "rod" and talked about what that represented. Then we read a little bit of the dream from the Book of Mormon. Then we went and got some toys and acted it out. The blocks and the fancy princesses are the "tall and spacious building". We had fun acting it out. Steve from Blue's Clues ended up falling from the rod and joining the pretty princesses in the tall and spacious building. 

Olivia's preschool was called Gospel Sprouts and she learned so many scripture stories! I am always impressed with her ability to remember what she learns. I want Abigail to have that same knowledge so I'm working on it with her.. at least trying to!

Can I capture this moment, because I'm sure it's fleeting?

But I feel like I'm handling life.

I don't feel completely overwhelmed by the smallest things.

I'm like somewhat on top of the housework. Let's not mention the huuuge pile of clothes that need to be folded and put away, because c'mon that's going to always exist right? I mean until we move to a nudist colony there is going to be laundry to be put away at all times. But for the most part I can have the house "company ready" in about 10 minutes. So I'm calling that a win.

Kids are in a good bed time and nap routine. That always makes life more enjoyable.

I think most importantly though, I am studying my scriptures, with a real intent to get something out of it.  I'm praying, and leaning, and relying on His strength so much.

We're also having family scripture study, almost every day. And I think that's been the key. Because I'm probably not quite as on top of things as I think I am. I mean as I write this Nathan is running around completely naked, and I don't even plan on putting clothes on him until I put him down for his nap. (He is however on track to be completely potty trained by his 2nd birthday, if not sooner. I don't remember the last poopy diaper I changed because he's gone on the potty every single time for at least the past week!) And, our lunches today consisted of tortilla chips with melted cheese... that's basically no different than a quesadilla, right? I threw in some grapes for good measure, but I have never used cookie cutters to make my child's lunches look like cartoon characters. Anyway I guess what my point is, doing the most important things like studying the scriptures and teaching my children the Gospel really do make a difference in how I feel about life.

I have felt paralyzed at times by everyone's immediate wants and needs. I have felt completely full of dread by the end of the day, realizing how soon the new day will begin and I'll do the same thing all over again. I have felt completely inadequate to care for all these people of mine. I have felt like they are out of control and I need Super Nanny. I have felt the drudgery of doing the laundry and dishes over and over and over again. I have felt myself snap and some insane crazy angry woman comes out of me and screams at my children, and suddenly I realize how people get to a point where they lose control and hurt their children. Not that I've ever been close to that point, but really if I didn't have the husband I have, and the friends and family and support I have, I can't say I would never get there. I hope that sentence doesn't freak anyone out. I have never been close to literally killing or harming my kids or anyone... just saying I can see how someone could get there. It used to seem to me, how on earth could anyone every do that, but I can kind of see how someone could get to that point. That's all I'm saying... so don't freak out. Mom.

But the good news is I haven't felt like that any of that in a while. Well maybe it's only been a week or two. But I am in a good place, and it feels good to feel good! Hopefully the momentum will continue and I can feel like this as long as possible because I know all those negative feelings come back. And with a new baby coming in a few months I am sure they will. But hopefully I can remember this time to just focus on those most important things and things will continue to fall into place.

Overheard in Primary

Abigail got to give a talk in Primary yesterday so Aaron and I were there for the opening announcements.

The teacher asked, "Does anyone know what's coming up NEXT week?!"

Olivia raised her hand and replied, "I know! The ward party! It's going to be a talent show."

The teacher said that's right, great job, and Aaron looked at me and smiled and said, "That's our girl."

Then another little hand pops up in the front row, "Uhm, 'scuse me... There's going to be dessert there at the party too, right?"

Aaron looked at me laughing and said, "And that's our other little girl."

Yes, the other hand belonged to Abigail, who takes after me and has a sweet tooth the size of Texas.

Life through Olivia's eyes

Hm, do I look tired??

Things Nathan Does That I'll Never Forget!

So the other day Nathan and I are sitting the couch, just chillin', and he reaches over and RIP MY HAIR OUT OF MY HEAD! It's hard to see in these pictures, but it's at least 20-30 strands of hair by the root! It hurt so bad, and I really am still trying to forgive him. I really shouldn't hold a grudge against a 1 year old, but I am taping the hair to his baby book so one day he can know what he did to his mama! It seriously hurt all day. I did scream, and put him in time out, and he looked very sad and sorry. Hopefully he learned his lesson because good grief I already have thin hair as it is.

Things Nathan does that I'll never remember in a year...

Or maybe I'll never forget. Who knows... I tend to forget so I'll write it down.

For months now Nathan compulsively gives people their belongings. If he sees your shoes on the ground he will pick them up and bring them to you yelling, "SHOES!" Same goes for purses, cell phones, hats, wallets, keys, etc. His accuracy is quite impressive. There are also some things he feels belongs to people, but they are just household objects. For example, the remote for the TV belongs to Daddy. Hair ties and cooking gadgets belong to me. What kind of chauvinistic male are we raising here anyway?!

He is also very particular about he wants things to be. The other day he was sitting on his potty seat that goes on top of the regular toilet. It was pushed back a little further than usual, and so there was this tiny quarter inch gap between his seat, and the regular seat. He would not pee until until I lined up the seats perfectly. Imagine trying to figure out that that's what was bothering a nonverbal 20 month old! Also today he was playing with a paper triangle Abigail had cut out for Mommy school. He accidentally ripped a tiny piece off the edge. He brought it to me and in grunts and sort of words told me what happened and wanted me to fix it. He would not play with it until the edges were taped back together, and even then he wasn't completely happy and ended up just putting it down. He is like with SO much stuff it drives me nuts, and endears me to him at the same time. My Poppy was finicky about things and quite the perfectionist, so I like to think he gets these qualities from him. There are some things that are SO Poppy I really can't believe it. For example, Poppy was very particular about how he folded towels and wash clothes. He wouldn't wipe the sweat from his brow without neatly folding the washcloth into 4's first. He would do the same to shine his shoes. Well the other day Nathan and I were cleaning the floor, and he insisted his rag be folded into 4's!! I have no problem cleaning a mess with whatever the rag happens to be in my hand, so I have no idea where he could have learned this. Well actually I do have an idea... Thank you Poppy! He is also probably my best child at picking up his toys and putting them away.

I also learn so much about motherhood from this little boy. He likes to bring me things for safekeeping. A favorite toy he doesn't want to play with anymore, but doesn't want his sisters to touch either is only safe in my hands. The other night I let him bring a race car and toy lion to bed with him. Well I guess when he was ready to actually go to sleep he didn't want them anymore, but he couldn't just put them down. I heard him calling from his crib, "MOM!! MOMMYY!!" I went up to see what was going on and he just handed me his toys then happily rolled over and started sucking his thumb and going to sleep. For some reason him wanting me to have those toys made my heart glad. I am many things as a mother, and Safekeeper-Of-Toys is one of my favorite jobs.

Abigail and Brandon

Abigail and Brandon around 6-7 months

And here they are with the same big smiles 3 years later!

I love these two together. They are cousins and they are one month apart to the day. As babies Abigail was a bit more aggressive, and she was a BIG baby, and Brandon was a little more timid, so their relationship consisted of Abigail lovingly attacking Brandon. But as they've grown their personalities have turned out to be very similar. They are both jokesters (can ya tell from the picture?) and crack each other up all day long. They play super well together and it's just so fun to watch. Aaron's brother and his family were able to come visit from San Diego for a couple days over Labor Day Weekend and we all had a great time together. It's so nice when the kids are all big enough to go and run around and play by themselves all day and the grownups can sit around and chat. We had a great time, but I man I am exhausted!