The Princess...

I thought I would take the next few posts to introduce my family.... 

The Princess  

Random facts about The Princess:

      

She is my oldest child-9yrs.old

She weighed 9lbs. 7oz. at birth (3 weeks early!)

She had HORRIBLE colic as a baby but has grown up to be a very calm, sweet girl

When she was 1yr. old she pulled a hot curling iron down into the crook of her arm and still has a scar from it ( it kinda scarred me too...)

When she was 4yrs. old she fell while rough housing with her grandpa and slammed her cheek into an end table (which resulted in her one dimple) and put her hand through a glass candle holder (which resulted in 16 stitches and a really cool scar) 

She had her tonsils out when she was 5

She LOVES animals as much as I do (which is ALOT!)

She loves Jamba Juice

She is awesome at art and playing the piano

She has a HUGE heart and is always worrying about how others feel (even strangers who look lonely or sad)

She has a really funny sarcastic sense of humor

She loves to camp, hike and fish

She loves dirt and bugs just as much as she loves getting all dressed up and her hair done fancy

People love to be around her because she is so sweet and funny

She is an amazing big sister (especially when it comes to her baby sister)

She tends to be shy and HATES performing in front of any kind of audience (gets that from me)


She wears the same size shoe as me (Women's 9)

She is one of my best friends! 






P.S. Piper is doing so much better! Yippee!!!!

Foot problems...

Look at those feet. They look so innocent and so sweet. Who'da thought they could cause so much drama! Last week at 3:32am (yes-I looked at the clock) I awoke to The Pea's cries coming from her crib. I groaned. I hauled myself out of bed grumbling in my head all the way to her room (ok it's like 5 feet from mine but at 3:32am it feels a lot farther!) You see, she's famous for standing in the corner of her crib crying at all blasted hours of the night just so I will come and put her binkie in her mouth, hand her her woobie (blanket....ya know....Mr. Mom.....? Yeah. Never mind. Anyhoo...), and lay her back down. Really? REALLY!? She can't do that herself? Let me just stop right here and say how much I truly ADORE sleeping! Like, I wait from the minute I get up in the morning to crawl back under those cool refreshing sheets at night to drift off to dreamland....*sigh*.....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz......I'm awake!

So. There I was, 3:32am and grumbling about how she could stick her own darn binkie in her own darn mouth and how big of a pushover I am getting up to do it for her when I discover that one of those sweet little feet is stuck between two of her crib rails. Did I say stuck? I meant S...T...U...C...K! (FYI-Her crib rail is a serious of evenly spaced slats until each end where they narrow considerably. Again. REALLY?!) I tried to gently twist her ankle, the cries intensify. I try to slide her heel back through hoping the toes will follow, the cries turn into screams. I panic. I go back to my room and loudly tell The Hubster that I need him. Now. He awakes with a start, throws off his CPAP mask (for Sleep Apnea) and jumps to his feet with a loud, "I'm up. What's wrong?!" Let me stop again and tell you that The Hubster sleeps deeply. Nothing wakes him up. NOTHING. However, when something startles him out of sleep he's immediately in fix it/on guard/ protection mode. One day I'll do a post just on his sleeping habits and the funny things he's said and done while sleeping or when woken up suddenly....but, back to 3:32am.

So. I quickly explain the situation and he follows the screams down the hall. He twists, he pushes, he examines. I offer to get butter. He seriously contemplates busting out the two slats that are holding our Sweetpea's foot hostage. I offer to get hand soap. Finally he says pick her up and twist her body to the right. I do so and though the screams intensify for a brief second, she is then freed and the crying stops. Victory! Now she was clutching on to me taking ragged, panicky breathes but babbling cheerfully and laughing a little. Yeah laughing. Want to know why? Because now she was wide awake and would be up until 5. I however? Was not amused. Drama, drama, drama....and yes, the other two slept through the whole thing.

My little artists...

Warning: For some reason these pics looked SO much better in Photoshop than on this post. Not to mention The Pirate's nose wasn't yellow...grrrr....frustration.

Last week we went to the Elementary School for the annual Art Gallery Walk. Each year the students do artwork for the various bulletin boards in the halls and the parents come on Gallery Walk Night and beam with pride as their kids show off their handiwork. My kids LOVE art projects. They are always SO excited for this night!

 
I have to admit, The Princess was actually supposed to participate in a non-mandatory recorder concert that night with her fellow 4th graders. The usual chaos ensued at home that evening, which this night included a cranky toddler with a cold to make everything that much more enjoyable, and we missed the recorder concert. I can hear the nominations for Mother of the Year now.... Truth be told our princess didn't want to participate anyway. She takes after her mother who HATES public speaking/performing of any kind! So when the Hubster got home that night we headed over to the school where we were so late that we were the only ones left in the school. We had exactly 15 minutes before the place was supposed to be locked down for the night. We strolled through the halls while The Princess and The Pirate proudly showed off their cutting, gluing, shading, bubble-wrap painting skills and The Hubster and I oohed and aahed  at all the appropriate moments.

Isn't it funny how you really do always think that your child's project is the best? The Pea had a great time running around like she owned the place. I watched her and thought of how quickly the time will fly until she will be roaming those halls as an actual student. *sigh* 15 minutes later we rounded our little Picassos up and headed home, one more annual Art Gallery Walk under our belts...

                                                                             

When I grow up...

 
I read this blog all the time. I admire Shawni so much as a photographer, I aspire to be that good someday. But more than that, her love of homemaking and her zeal for motherhood make me want to be a better person. Ya know 'Joy School'? Her mom started that. Yeah. She has to be great right? She is. Then yesterday I read this post on CJane and thought about it all day. Why don't I find joy in being a homemaker? I want to. How does one change their attitude? I mean really change it. I don't just want to tolerate it. I want to find joy in it! 


I also watched Oprah the other day. Did you see it? The one where they took all of a family's techno gadgets for one week (even the microwave--HORROR!!!), then organized their home and had them really concentrate on connecting with each other. They had to eat more nutritionally, eat together, spend time together etc. No TV, no video games, no cell phones, nothin'. The parents talked about how they had come to let the TV entertain their 5 year old all of the time he was at home. The teenager talked of how he texted almost non-stop and the parents were always either on the internet or checking email. Sound familiar? I don't have a teenager and most nights we have dinner together, but the other stuff fits the bill. 


I remember this talk awhile back. I remember how it made me feel. I remember how it inspired me. Of course, I didn't change anything. But I came across it again the other day and I almost felt like I was being reminded that I was no better off as a mother today than I was the day I heard that talk, and I felt ashamed.  I have to admit, I kinda TV, video games, eating out, reading blog after blog about other people's lives that are always more interesting than mine.You know....the easy way.........  






I think that maybe easy isn't acceptable anymore.

But I'm keeping the microwave. 

Do you have great parents?

 

I do.

Love you guys!



Oh. By the way....Piper is doing much better. Prayer works.

Giving away the baby stuff...

Today we brought up all the stuff from the basement that The Pea has outgrown. The swing, bouncy seat, car seat, boppy, stroller, bath seat and bumbo chair. We have some friends who are having a baby and figured we'd pass it on (since The Hubster got "fixed" a few months ago). It was so sad! With the older two I couldn't get rid of the baby stuff fast enough. However, I also had really bad post-partum  depression. But this time, this baby, I have enjoyed so much!!! She is getting so big and it is terrible! Don't get me wrong. I love watching her grow and learn. I love that when I get her up in the morning she babbles non-stop for the next 10 minutes like she's trying to tell me about the dreams she had while sleeping. I love her little shoulder shaking dance she does when she hears music. I love that she's already developed quite a sense of humor. I love that when she get's excited or is snuggling in to get comfy she wiggles her bum back and forth with her little hands in her lap. I love watching her walk around with her blanky all wadded up in her arms. But.... I miss the the newborn noises and smells. I miss her being curled up on my shoulder breathing softly on my neck. I miss her tiny baby hands on the bottle while she ate and her tiny baby toes always curled under. I miss just watching her sleep all swaddled up in her bouncy seat . I miss taking her in the shower with me and having her little body curled up against my bare skin.  I miss the huge chubby rolls at the tops of her inner thighs that you could only see when you changed her diaper (and yes I most certainly would have taken a picture of them had  they not been too close to her girly parts to be appropriately photographed!).

Why not just have another? Well, every time I get prego my blood pressure gets higher, I get closer to being diabetic and my babies have to be born earlier (and they get bigger every time!). The Princess was 9lbs. 7oz. at 3 weeks early, The Pirate was 9lbs. 15oz. at 2 weeks early and The Pea was 10lbs. 5oz. at 4 weeks early and her shoulders got stuck on the way out! There were definitely some tense moments when that happened! Then she ended up in the nursery the whole time I was in the hospital because her apgar score started at 2 when she was born and she required oxygen and help with her blood sugar. My doctor asked me after The Pea was finally out if we were going to tie my tubes. At the time we said no because we didn't want to rush that decision. She told us that as a doctor she would recommend that I don't have anymore children in the future as I could risk having dangerously premature babies and my own major health problems. Taking the Pea home on time was definitely a blessing we didn't take lightly. Of course, then she ended up getting Meningitis 2 days after her homecoming and went back to the Children's Hospital for the next 10 days....but that's another story. So you see there will be no more newborn babies for us. The Hubster got snipped a few months ago after we had had more time to think and pray about it.

I swore after my first I wouldn't have a second (thanks to depression for me and EXTREME colic and reflux for her-we're talkin' exorcist style, projectile vomiting here-), then swore after the second that I was done (thanks to more depression and reflux). I just didn't want to go back to that time in life. I loved my kids but babies had not been a very good experience for me. Then, 4 1/2 years later, miracle of miracles, we changed our minds. 'Maybe it could be different' we thought, and it was. The pregnancy part was still hard. Bed rest, high blood pressure, borderline diabetes, bulging discs, early baby etc. But the actual baby part was magical! She was adored! She was the best baby too. She rarely cried unless something was wrong and I tried to soak her in as much as I could. But it's never enough I suppose...

I've read enough blogs about terminally ill children and babies that die to truly appreciate the fact that my baby is still here. I guess I am just mourning the fact that she is not so much a baby anymore. I suppose that part of me is sad that I didn't enjoy my other two babies very much and wish that this baby stage could last a bit longer to make up for that.

Whew! Well, this post evolved into something more than it started. Who knew that giving away some baby stuff would result in all of this! It's funny, I'm actually glad that it all went to a good family. Like it's some kind of pet or something :). I guess I'll just have to borrow their baby sometimes as payment right?

Thanks for the therapy...

Oh yeah, and today was The Pea's first day in Nursery (Sunday School for toddlers). Talk about rubbing salt in my wound! She did so great though. No tears! When I peeked in to see how she was half way through, she looked so cute sitting at the little table eating snacks with her classmates...*sigh*

My name is Misty....and I am a shopaholic.

I, like a lot of you, am a stay-at-home mom. I am so very blessed  to be a stay-at-home mom. However. I get so freaking stir crazy sometimes that I feel as though I may literally implode at any moment if I don't GET OUT! I know I shouldn't complain. I know that I am incredibly blessed. I know there are mothers who would give anything to stay home with their kids and some mothers in this economy that just wish they had a home to stay home in. So I know I sound ungrateful and I am sorry. But there are so many days that cooking the same meals and cleaning up the same messes and stopping the same arguments just to have them all repeat themselves almost exactly the next day is so maddening! It's like the movie Groundhog Day. Only it seems so much funnier when it's Bill Murray and not me.

Here's where the shopping comes in. I get bored, I get stir crazy, I desperately think of somewhere, anywhere to go and that somewhere is usually Target. Or  Hobby Lobby. Or Walmart. Or....well, you get the picture. Why don't I find a hobby? I have them. Unfortunately my toddler's hobby is to make it impossible for me to do any of them. I miss being able to sit down and bead, or edit pictures, or just watch a T.V. show without being interrupted 47 times. It's very bad when your baby grabs your container of beads and chucks it on the floor. Very bad. So, as mentioned above, I shop. I buy more beads that I won't be able to use for the next 3 years or so. I buy clothes that I think will make me feel better about myself, that I can't fit into because I can't find time (or energy) to work out. Not to mention, when I am not shopping I am eating because I am bored . The people at McDonalds know me now. They see me so often that they ask how my kids are and where I have been when they don't see me for a day or two. Pathetic! The worst part is that a) I pass it on  to my kids and b) I feel so bad when I have to answer to The Hubster for the damage (to our banking account) I have done. He is always patient. He rarely gets mad at me and even when he does it's not much. But I don't want to be this way. I want to be fulfilled. I want to be productive. I want to be SANE!

Before I had kids I worked in  the mortgage industry. I was pretty good at it. I got things done, and they stayed done. People listened to me. I miss that. I miss the satisfaction of closing out a file and knowing that I would never see that file again. I loved that feeling that all my hard work and research and sometimes fighting for the things I needed was really worth it. I miss feeling like my co-workers respected me and thought I was intelligent. Now my brain has shriveled. It doesn't seem to take a lot of brain power to do load after load of laundry and dishes. I HATE cooking (hence the McDonalds...). Most days I do the bear minimum and look forward to going to bed. Wow. I am a real downer. No wonder ya'll keep coming back!

So anyway, here's my question. Do you guys feel that way? What do you do about it? I am stuck in a serious rut and feel like I have been since, well, since I became a mom. Yeah. 9 years, I know. Now, let me clear something up. I LOVE my kids. I DON'T want to go back to work. I KNOW this is where I should be as a mother and the whole point of my rambling is that I want to make it a better experience for myself, which will in turn make it a better experience for my family. Not to mention save us money. Although I'm not sure how the McDonalds employees will go on with out my bright smiling face and sparkling wit.

And that's all I have to say about that.

I need to lose 50 lbs. in 3 weeks!

So I found out that one of my High School friends is getting married on February 4th and I am panicking! 3 weeks!!!! Can a girl lose 50 lbs. in 3 weeks?! Just lie ok? Seriously though. Back in High School cute Michelle was a year younger than me and she was so cute! She would always tell me how pretty I was and how she wished she was skinny like me and now look at me! Augggghhhh!!!! Ok-breathe...... Here's my plan. I am going to keep working out and stuff and between now and then I am going to hunt down a really fabulous outfit and a killer pair of shoes. So here is where you all come in. Keep your eyes out for anything you think might be an outfit that would make me look 50lbs. lighter and 5 years younger. Piece of cake right? Here's some pics of stuff I liked when I went window shopping online...

So what do you think? Which would be the most flattering? Do you like any of them or should I go with dress pants and a top instead? I'll be waiting to hear from you....

Oh the carnage! (Warning:Too much information)

So the whole "I need to attend my church meetings" resolution got off to a bad start. Saturday night The Hubster took The Pirate to a snowmobile motocross exhibition at the Rio Tinto stadium. The Pirate apparently consumed 2 hot dogs while there and had the time of his life! He actually informed me that it was the "best day of his life!" They got home about 10:45 that night and The Pirate woke me up about 6:00 the next morning saying he had thrown up in the bathroom. "Yeah" I thought, "At least he got to the bathroom instead of all over his bed." I get up and realize he should have said he threw up all over the bathroom! (I know-TMI) Good Morning to me!!!! So I wiped it all up got him situated down stairs with a bowl then sat, half asleep on the couch with his head on my lap (as he insisted it needed to be for optimal comfort). He threw up once more then decided to go lay by himself thereby freeing me to go back to bed. I remember The Hubster leaving for church (he looked really good that day) and then The Princess waking me up around 9:00 to ask if she could get the baby out of her crib. I think I mumbled, "Sure, if you want to take care of her." (Woohoo! And the 'Stellar Mom Award' goes to.....Your's Truly!) I finally got out of bed and went down stairs around 10:30 and The Princess had fed The Pea and everyone was happy. There is definitely something to be said for having kids so far apart! What a sweetheart The Princess was! She is such a great big sister and a pretty darn good babysitter too! Well, this long story is just to say...I didn't make it to church.

Oh and FYI-I'm pretty sure The Pirate had a bit of food poisoning from his nutritious dinner of animal byproducts slathered with ketchup in a bun. He ate normally for the rest of the day and went to school today. Which means....yeah me! Since it doesn't appear to be the flu, I won't have to expect a week or two of cleaning up any more vomitrocious messes. I know- again- TOO MUCH INFORMATION!

All that churchy stuff.....Resolution #5

The Hubster tells me that I am his ticket into heaven. Unfortunately I seem to be headed the other direction so far. Not that I have done anything too evil but quite frankly I haven't done anything that spectacular either. I sorta just do enough to get by. Kinda like in High School. I still have nightmares that I am not going to graduate....but that's a different story. Anyway, I've gotten really lazy. Don't get me wrong, I am so glad to have the Church in my life and I have no intention  of leaving it. But I have to admit, I haven't been at all diligent about praying, reading my scriptures, attending all 3 meetings (good old 1-4 church. Um. The Pea's naptime. I gave up.), exemplifying my calling (Activity Days leader), service, temple attendance, food storage, I could go on and on. I know, we all have problems from time to time doing everything that we should but this last year it seems like I just kinda gave up. It's funny how fast you get out of a habit when you skip it just once or twice. I was just too tired to kneel down and pray a few times and before I knew it  I was saying my prayers while lying in bed every night. I know. I could do a whole lot worse. But you have to admit, I could do better. Do you know that I haven't been to the temple since before The Pea was born? She's 18 months old now. How embarrassing... Don't get me started on scripture study! I either find other things to do, start reading and fall asleep or read just a bit and then lose interest and don't pick em' up for another few weeks. Again, I could do better. FHE happens occasionally but not regularly. I'm embarrassed to admit that my kids rarely say their personal prayers and we remember to say mealtime prayers at dinnertime most nights, forget breakfast or lunch though. Why is it so hard to remember to help them pray? It just seems like by the time I get food on the table or kids settled down and tucked into bed, I've lost the brainpower to think of prayer or scripture study with them. That's right, I'm takin' the kiddos to you-know-where in a handbasket with me! Really though, all joking aside, I know things could be worse. I know I'm not some big sinner or anything. But I want to do better. I want to teach my kids to pray and to serve and to understand and rely on the scriptures. I want them to have memories of FHE and Mom and Dad heading out the door dressed up to go to the temple. I need the peace and inspiration that doing these things brings and our home needs the lessons that kids learn from these practices. So here's the part where I make it a resolution. The problem is all of this is really overwhelming and quite frankly I don't have a lot of confidence that I'll do very good at changing things. If ya'll have any ideas on how to incorporate these habits into my family's lives I'd be happy to hear em'! Maybe, just maybe, I could get me and The Hubster into heaven after all!

Resolution #5-Do better at the Churchy Stuff 

I collect exercise DVD's.....Resolution#4

Everybody collects something. The Princess collects rocks, The Pirate collects Bakugans, The Pea collects binkies (behind her crib I might add), and The Hubster collects BYU football games (on the DVR). So. I collect DVD's of firm bodied, overly-perky women in spandex who enthusiastically urge me to join them as they hop around and never once sound breathless or break a sweat.

There was a study I read a couple of years ago that said people's metabolisms actually sped up while sitting on the couch and WATCHING an exercise routine on TV. That's my kind of workout! However, the ever increasing size of my gluteus maximus (did I spell that right?) has led me to believe that simply collecting these DVD's  is no longer beneficial in and of itself. I think I might actually need to start hopping around with those perky little chicks. *groan* Now, finding time and energy to do this is another story. Do I find myself sucked into that spandex clad world or do I simply get on the treadmill or elliptical? I even have Wii Fit and EAS(?) Active. Do you know how hard it is to work out on one of those boards when your toddler keeps trying to join you? Not to mention, a lot of those games really don't seem to do much in the way of whittling down my figure. But, it is better than sitting on the couch.... Anyway, the point is, I need to do something! I need to accept that I will never have my 20 year old body back and make this body (that has birthed 3-10lbs. babies and consequently has more stretched out skin on my belly than any one woman should-I know the visual is stunning) the best that it can be. Now I just have to figure out the when and how of it and make sure to have the phone nearby so that I can call 911 while having an overly-perky, spandex clad heart attack. On second thought, I better not wear spandex. It might scare the EMTs.

Resolution#4- Exercise at least 4 days a week.

The Breakup.......Resolution #3

 Dear Ben and Jerry,

I don't know how to say this but....we can't see each other anymore. We just aren't good together. When it comes to you I have no self control! You are so tempting, so sweet and yummy I find myself unable to stop when I am with you. It's not you, it's me...well ok, maybe it's you too. I try to tell myself I won't go all the way, that I'll stop at a midpoint, but I never do. You just sit there with your cold facade and don't do a darn thing as I devour every last bit of you! The worst part is after I'm done, I lose all respect for myself. I promise I won't do it again, that next time will be different, but it's always the same. There have been some positive moments though. Celebrations, dates, good conversations, but mostly I  turn to you when I am bored, or depressed. What kind of a relationship is that? Not a healthy one that's for sure. I'll miss you. Maybe one day we can be friends, when I'm feeling stronger, but for now it has to be over. Thanks for the good times...

All my love-
Darling

Resolution #3-Eat better

Junior High Flashbacks...Resolution #2

Yesterday I was at Target with my kids. My son HAD to go buy another Webkinz. As if 7 others weren't enough! But, it was his money so to Target we went. While there The Princess cried because I wouldn't buy her one, The Pirate was a spaz as usual and The Pea, well, I had no idea what she wanted--that was the problem! So I am frazzled and finally herd them to the register and we get behind two teenage girls. One of them turns back to look at us then turns forward to whisper something to her friend, who then also turns around and looks directly at me and then smirks and turns back. They then proceed to glance back at me off and on (discreetly?) thinking I don't notice and continue to whisper and laugh. In an instant I was back in Junior High. I was the ugly duckling and they were the popular girls. Seriously! You'd think I'd be past this by now! But no. I spent the next few minutes at the register, all the way home and half the rest of that night trying to figure out what was wrong with me. My hair? It was in a frazzled ponytail. My clothes? Maybe not the most stylish but were they worse than I think? Was it my weight? Let's face it. I'm not skinny. Or was it the whole package? Were they whispering about how they hope to never grow into the frazzled, frumpy, unkempt mother I had become? Yeah I know...why even worry about what two teenagers had to say about me? Maybe because I think all those things about myself and just hope that everybody else doesn't.

This post wasn't meant to elicit pity comments about my hair or clothes. I guess I just wondered two things. Why are people rude? And why do I care so much about what others think of me? Obviously I can't do a lot about other people's rudeness-except try not to be rude myself. But I can try to love myself more. The question is how? The Hubster's always telling me not to make comments about myself that I wouldn't make about someone else. I'm working on it. Really I just want to learn how to love myself no matter what my hair looks like or what clothes I wear or how much I weigh. I suppose it's a journey.

So, here's resolution #2....... Learn to love myself

Sure was a long-winded way to say that huh?

Brace yourselves...Resolution #1

I've been doing some thinking about the whole resolution thing since my last post. Obviously I am not exactly on the ball since it is January 4th and my resolutions are still not set in stone. I just feel like there are SO MANY things I need to change! I have got to be the most unorganized, frazzled, with-a-tendency-to-be-lazy mother out there! But change is good....deep cleansing breaths....!

One of my resolutions I have decided will be working on my photography. Now these resolutions are not in order of priority mind you! But I really love photography so that is the subject of today. I have shot weddings and babies and families. I have been paid and not paid. Quite frankly I do not feel good enough at it to be paid but I would like to get to a point where I could use it as a way to make money to help our family, or worst case, support me and my kids if anything happened to the Hubster. I truly love takings pictures! I however do NOT love doing it when a) there are people watching i.e. weddings and b) I cannot recreate the moment if I completely screw up! i.e. weddings, births etc. I have turned down some really great opportunities in the past because of fear and I HATE THAT! So, one of my resolutions this year is to get to know my camera better, become comfortable shooting in natural light (no flash) because I think it looks the best, and get over my fear of shooting in front of people. In closing I will leave you with some of my work so that I can at least show some of the pics I have done that have been my favorites...

Resolution #10-Work on Photography