Is It Naptime Yet

Wednesday I had no internet so I cleaned.

I planned on cleaning anyways. I really needed to clean my bathrooms, which had been painfully neglected in the last three or four months while sewing and rehearsing for the play, but having no internet really helped me to stay focused on the task I needed to do. I cleaned the girls bathroom first, then mine, then my shower, then the floors got mopped. They had both been cleaned in all the places they could be cleaned. I even organized under my sink and threw out a trash bag full of make-up and other stuff I was storing for a later date, but really never going to use again, or shouldn’t use again. Now my bathrooms are in harmony and I won’t feel completely mortified if someone had to use one of them.

After cleaning the two neglected bathrooms I took a shower and prepared dinner. I waited for Jon to come home, mostly because I love him, partially because he could get the internet working on his laptop. Our computer had been turned off since noon, or when our air conditioner decided to start blowing room temperature air, something it’s done twice this month already, the second time being just Sunday. (A different air guy came and fixed it yesterday, at least I hope it fixes the problem, I guess time will tell.)

Once the cool air started blowing again after having the air off for over an hour, I would normally have turned on my computer to use the internet, but something is going on with the monitor. The brightness is messed up, but not only that, it’s brighter each time you turn it on. So the first time I was at 50 for brightness, and I had to turn it down to 30, to make it manageable to read. Then the second time I turned it on I had to turn it down to 20. So I’m avoiding turning it on unless completely necessary, or until we get a new monitor, which hopefully will be this weekend. Hint, Hint honey. 🙂

I realized I have a slight addiction to the internet, or really what’s on it. It takes up a lot of time, and I get easily distracted. Chats take longer than expected, I’m not complaining, but I know they take up a lot of time when I should be doing other things some days. I get lost in blogs or social networks, or I even look for things to take up my time so I don’t have to do cleaning or do what I’m suppose be doing.

It was a blessing to not have the internet so I could stay focused, but it stinks that I want it so much.

Each of us have our distractions, for Lilah it’s Mario Cart that takes up her time. We got it for her birthday and since then, she is always wanting to play when she wakes up or after breakfast, but she knows she has to wait till after lunch. Since we were in the play, she actually didn’t get to play it till a day or two after her brithday, but then she got to play it a lot, for the times were were home. Earlier this week I would just let her play, usually after lunch till later in the day, but other days, and from now on, I’m limiting it to just an hour a day. Since I made this rule Wednesday. I just set the timer and then she’s able to finish the games she’s playing after it goes off, so it’s really over an hour a day, then it’s off with Mario, unless someone else wants to play. Since an hour of play was so short Lilah actually asked if she could save up her days and play for a long time. I said yes, but only up to two hours a day. She actually didn’t ask at all to play today, the off day, so she’ll have two hours tomorrow to play. Yesterday when I had her turn off Mario Cart she found The Friend to read, something she hasn’t done in a while, so I think I’ll stick to my rule so she finds other things to do.

Eden waste time mostly by playing. As in she plays instead of cleaning something up or getting dressed or even coloring. The funny thing is she will play with nearly anything. The crayons become their own little people, her sandwich becomes something if she’s tired of eating, the clothes do something exciting, or really the chair she’s suppose to use while folding her clothes. Then with toys it’s pretty obvious that she’s going to waste time by playing when she’s suppose to be putting them away. I sometimes have to keep a close eye on her, since she’s so easily distracted, but sometimes it’s me who’s so easily…..

So what distracts you or keeps you off task?

While I participated in the play Jon was wonderful and supportive of me and my craziness. There were times he had to remind me that when I volunteer myself, I volunteer our whole family, and I tried hard to keep a balance, but towards opening night and crunch time I greatly neglected our home and him.

Jon took the two weeks off for the run of the play. Mostly he did this because he needed to use leave time, but it helped me, even if it wasn’t ideal for him, to get things accomplished. For his first week he spent much of his time taking care of house and kids while I stayed up way to late working on projects and slept in too late catching up on sleep. He did take one or two hiking days for himself, but was also wonderful with helping me. After the first week was over he asked if he could start his real vacation, AKA not have to do dishes, laundry or be neglected by his wife everyday. The second week we had more time together, but much of if was spent with the girls and me sleeping in and me trying to get a little more order to the chaos that had become our home. I had sewing machines, sergers, make-up, curlers and other things I was using for the play around the house in specific areas so I wouldn’t forget them if I needed to take them or because I had no where else to put them. (AKA right in the middle of my living room.)

Our schedule was pretty crazy. Wake up around 9:30 am, hopefully have breakfast by 10:30 am. Then we’d do stuff, like put curlers in hair or dishes, Eat lunch sometime around 1. I would take a shower at 3:30pm and be occupied doing face stuff an putting curlers in till we left at 4:45pm to 5 pm. Come home from play around 10:15pm and get girls into bed by 10:45- 11 pm. Even though I had a few hours each day to do things, it seemed to get taken up with trips to the store or other miscellaneous things that seemed important.

Poor Jon is also an early bird, so he was usually up for 3 or more hours before us, and went to bed right as we got home. With sewing for weeks and staying up till 2 or 3 am, my sleep schedule changed, and so I now sleep from 2 am till 9 or 10 am. It’s not good, I’m hoping to change it back to a more acceptable schedule, even though I love watching 30 Rock on my TV via the Wii and Netflix till the wee hours of the morning.

We did see Toy Story 3 in 3D as a family one morning. We all loved it, and Eden loved it, though there was one scary part that she had to be held for. I think the suspense of the situation was just too much for her, though she was alright once the scene was over.

I also didn’t cook for two weeks because we had potluck meals each night as a cast. Last year I think I was more considerate and tried to cook things that Jon could reheat and have a couple nights, especially since he had to feed himself and Eden, but this year I was not so thoughtful. He never once complained though and I really appreciate his patience with me as I did the play and enjoyed myself immensely each night for two weeks. (More if you count rehearsals.)

It’s nice to be back to the normal housewife, and not the crazy housewife/ seamstress/ actor. I am so very thankful for Jon and his support.

I’ll try harder next year not to volunteer our whole family for so much, but I truly appreciate the support you give me in allowing me to be a part of something I consider very special and enjoy tremendously.

I love you Babe and I’m back. Just in time to take care of the ant problem we’re having. 😉

Disclaimer: Due to several things I don’t have any pictures in this post. I hope to remedy that once I remedy the situations around not being able to use my computer. Life.

Earlier this month we celebrated Lilah’s SEVENTH birthday. That’s SEVENTH in case you missed that. I really can’t believe how fast they grow.

This year was Lilah’s turn for a big party, but with the play going on, finding a weekend to give a big party was a problem, so we talked and discussed and decided a real party at Chuck E’ Cheese is what we would do this year. Real as in we pay for the special treatment and have an official party there, rather then just going there on her birthday and playing games. With the real party, Chuck E’ Cheese came out and made a visit. Lilah was sung to and danced with Chuck E’. She also got to go in the ticket blaster and won 760 tickets! (Really we both went into the ticket blaster, she thought it would be really loud inside and was nervous. She was literally shaking before it was turned on, then it wasn’t that loud and she was fine. ) We invited some family and friends and I think she had lots of fun with the attention being on her. Then the cast of kids for Cinderella sang to her before our opening night performance. It was a little low key, but we still tried to make it special for her and help enjoy her day.

Lilah is growing so much and definitely showing her independence. I’m amazed at how giving and kind Lilah can be and I know she loves her family. Sunday afternoon I was cuddling and playing with the girls in my bed and Eden asked me to tell a story. I told a very short one and then asked Eden to tell one, but she was saying she couldn’t think of anything. I then suggested we get something for her to tell a story with, since she takes nearly anything and will start thinking and making a story up with that object. Lilah really liked this idea, even as Eden seemed skeptical, so Lilah brought Eden our bin of small toys of fish and bugs so Eden could tell a story. Eden told a couple and then Lilah took a turn telling a story with the different toys. I loved being a part of this genuine and kind moment between the girls. Sometimes it’s easy to remember all the arguments and disagreements the girls have, but really Lilah is a wonderful big sister. Throughout the whole play Eden stayed by Lilah’s side while I was performing and practicing for the play. Lilah helped Eden with very little complaint and the togetherness they shared was priceless.

As Lilah grows she tests her growing independence and it can be difficult, but I try to remind myself that she’s getting older and is trying to figure who she is and I’m just here to guide her, not control her. It’s interesting to see Lilah grow and rewarding to watch and be a part of it.

She was my first baby and who made me a mother. I wish I could pause time and have more time with her in these precious years.

I love you Lilah and I am so happy to be your mother.

For Memorial Day weekend we went up to Pine Valley with Sam, Britta, Matilda, and Grandpa Gary. We decide Memorial Day weekend because I’ll be traveling a lot in the month of July, Jon will be staying home sadly, and June is off limits with the play. So August would have been the soonest we could go unless we went this past weekend. We didn’t have play practise due to the holiday, so we seized the weekend and went on a trip.

(It might be noted that I almost stayed home to sew, but Jon didn’t think that would be very nice since the girls were looking forward to our weekend in Pine Valley for weeks. So instead I sewed while up there, though I also sat around and chatted with Sam a lot, but I proved her wrong that I would only sit around and talk to her, and not sew.)

We went up Saturday Morning and mostly hung out and let the girls play. We had smores Saturday night, and I totally want smores again. Jon and I perfected how to make smores over an electric stove. I roasted the marshmallows on a fork over the hot coil, he melted the chocolate by placing the graham crackers and chocolate on a metal spatula and holding it over the hot coil. It was fun and they were delicious.

Sunday we attended church in Pine Valley, kinda. We all went to Sacrament meeting, but Grandpa Gary took the girls back to the house for Sunday School, and Sam and I came home after Sunday School because we didn’t want to strand Grandpa Gary for too long with three little girls and one baby.

Jon took a long hike Sunday so I dropped him off on his hike around 9:00, before we went to church, and then I picked him up a little after 3, though he was finished at 2:30, he read to occupy his time. Gary gave him a pistol to take with him on the hike in case he saw any cougars, just to shot in the air to scare them away. He showed me this before the hike and it did not make me any more easy to let him go off by himself. He was prepared with his GPS and a map, but I didn’t want him being attacked by come some crazy cougar! Luckily, it was a well traveled trail and Jon saw no cougars. Gary often goes off the beaten path for his hikes or less known ones, and so I think he runs into cougars a lot more often.

We enjoyed a nice Sunday afternoon and Sam baked up a storm in the kitchen while I sewed. She also entertained the girls a lot by playing games with them, or supervising games, and I sewed. We had birthday cake to celebrate my birthday, which I had last week, and we watched Ponyo that evening.

Sunday afternoon Gary also brought out some little kid bikes, that were around 35 years old, and gave them to Jon and I. I wasn’t too hot on this, but they were free. The bigger bike is still a little too small for Lilah, more Eden’s size, and the small bike is more a 3 year old size, but they work. The small one has training wells and the bigger one does not, so Lilah pushes herself along and tries to find her balance. Maybe we’ll get Lilah a bike that fits her better later this year if she learns. The one problem being we won’t let the girls ride them anywhere but the backyard or a park, and it’s getting them to the park so the have a wide open space that is my dilemma and why I didn’t want the bikes…. Jon packed them in the trunk to see how long it would take me to notice them, very quickly since I put something in the trunk before we left. I hadn’t decided to take them, but he wanted them.

Monday morning we went on a hike with Britta and the girls. It was a perfect day for the hike and the girls seemed to have fun. Our destination was a creek Jon had passed by on his hike the day before. They were tired before we got to the creek, but then wanted to go farther once there. I’m not sure how far we traveled, but the girls had fun following the creek and Lilah loved to get muddy, something I wasn’t too hot about.

We left Monday afternoon to come back home, then the girls and I went to a BBQ at my parents. Andrea, Brien, and Zarina were in town so it was nice to see them briefly Monday night. Jon stayed home since he had driven the whole way and was tired of being in the car.

Hopefully we can plan another trip for the Fall to lovely Pine Valley. The blackberries should be in season then and Gary said we could come pick some, that is if he hasn’t picked them all himself and the weather stabilizes so they can grow. I must say with the triple digits finally coming, I envy Sam and the time her and her family will be able to spend in the cooler mountain air this summer.

Yay for small weekend get-a-ways!

So this weekend we did something we’ve yet to do as a family.

We went to Disneyland!

And we had lots of fun, so much that Jon is considering going back, in 3-4 years rather than…… never.

We also went to the beach and the girls saw the ocean for the first time! They also played in it because it was a nice windy day with a high of 70 and freezing water. I did not go in, except my feet a couple times, so thankfully Jon went in with them and they had lots of fun until the tide started coming in.

I also did not go to church on Mother’s Day. I’m a little bummed about it, but only because Eden has yet to sing me my Mother’s Day song, Lilah has sung to me many times.

I just wanted to let you know what we were up to this weekend. I’ll have to upload the pictures and do a full post later.

Just know it was lots of fun. Carolyn spent 99% of her money on food, the girls only bought candy as souvenirs, and Jon has a nice Tinkerbell mug for work.

Like past years the girls and I had many different Easter activities. We dyed eggs with their cousins on the Wednesday night before Easter and enjoyed pizza at my moms house. I forgot my camera, so those memories will have to be in my head.

April 1 we attended Carolyn’s work Easter party. The girls dyed eggs, decorated cupcakes, colored bunny ears and hunted for eggs. We then had to check the plastic eggs for ants since Lilah remembered having ants coming out of her eggs from the previous year. This year we only found three ants. I forgot my camera once more, but borrowed Carolyn’s work camera, so I’ll get those pictures when she has time.

We then had an Easter Egg hunt on Friday with our unschooling group. The girls had lots of fun finding eggs and playing with their friends. I loved sitting and talking with the other moms, and once more forgot my camera.

This year Jon and I thought it would be fun to dye some eggs using natural dye. We treated it kinda like a science experiment and had the girls write down what colors they thought the spinach, carrots, pomegranate and blueberries would dye the eggs. They guessed the standard green, orange, red, and blue. We had done a little research, but not enough, so they turned interesting colors, but not at all what we expected. Since I found a blog that describes exactly what they did, we’ll now be prepared to use natural egg dye more successfully next year. (The spinach was basically the color I thought it would be, the carrots we used were baby, so they didn’t have their peel and did not work at all, then we should have cooked the blueberries, and pomegranates were just something we had on hand.)

The Easter Bunny brought the girls some fun stuff: movies, little notepads, and most importantly candy. I got the crazy idea to make the girls some skirts for Easter. I figured out my own pattern, basically 6 rectangles sewn together, and made them each their own tiered skirt. Since I was unable to work on them during the week as much as I would have liked, I stayed up till 3 am finishing them Easter morning. Lilah’s Easter dress didn’t fit, which I suspected would happen and why I decided to make the skirts. Lilah wore her skirt Easter Sunday and Eden wore her Easter dress. After staying up till 3 am sewing I decided my house was a mess so I tidied up a little and went to bed at 3:30 am. Luckily it was General Conference Weekend, so I only had to be up and not up and dressed for church.

The Easter Bunny hid some eggs inside the house so the girls found those and then went outside. This year we let the girls eat as much candy as they wanted on Easter Sunday, then they got to keep 7 pieces to eat later and we tossed the rest. Eden ate all her candy, but Lilah was very distracted with other things and ate very little of her candy, so I gave her till Monday night to eat all she wanted.

Sunday we had dinner at my parents house and another egg hunt with the Kemple cousins.

Lilah has declared Easter her favorite holiday and really enjoyed it all. I loved Easter but did not like all the hard boiled eggs we had since we dyed eggs three times.

I loved hiding the eggs and making it a little more difficult and I loved watching the girls grow. How they change so much in just a short year.

Lilah with our naturally dyed eggs
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Eden with our naturally dyed eggs
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Our eggs. Jon hollowed an egg out and dyed it will green tea the week before.
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Easter baskets.
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Easter morning.
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Easter egg hunt at our house.

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Girls showing love.

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The skirt I made Lilah. (I wanted them really long since everything you find for girls barely touches their knees now.)

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Hunting eggs at Grandma Harvey’s house

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I just loved the look on Lilah’s face

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Happy girls at the end of a long Easter day.

A month ago her husband told her about a new position he wanted to apply for. It seemed wonderful as they discussed the different reasons why he wanted this position and the benefits to it both professionally and personally.

It seemed perfect, so he submitted his application just before the final deadline.

After submitting the application it was decided he needed a new suit. He hadn’t bought a suit in over 12 years, and the last one was for his mission.

It was time for a new suit.

They saw it as an investment. An investment for the new position he was applying for. An investment for his future. An investment for their family’s future.

The whole family went. A family of four must have been a sight in this men’s suit store, but it’s what they had to do. They picked out a nice suit, shirt, 2 ties, shoes and a belt. They wanted him to look his best.

It was a large investment, but he looked so good and it fit him just right.

The phone interview came first. But instead of being a phone interview it was an in-person interview since he worked with the institution already.

What do you wear to a phone interview?

They decided the suit would be a little much, so he just wore his regular business casual attire, and they hoped a final interview was on the horizon.

Within two days he had been asked back for a final interview.

She was really happy because it meant that he was still in the running for the job and because he’d get to wear his suit.

The final interview came and went. He wore his suit and looked like a million bucks, but was a little less sure of this interview.

They waited to hear about the position, but over a week went by and no news.

She knew he hadn’t gotten it. They must have offered it to the other interviewee. She tried to contain her sadness since she was so hopeful for the new possibilities this job could provide for her family.

Her hopes faded for the future she had envisioned and seemed so close at hand, but still so distant.

Then she saw his instant message pop onto her screen.

Him: So do you want me to call you or should we talk over IM?
Her: whichever you want.

She just wanted to know, yes or no, yes or no, and her heart raced in anticipation of the answer that she knew he had received and was waiting to share.

Him: It’s easier over IM. 🙂
Her: I figured, with calling other people hear too.

Please, just tell me if you got the job or not.

Him: I could use the cell outside.
Her: Just get on with it man!
Him: You sure?
Her: sigh

His teasing was a good sign, even if she wanted to jump through the computer screen and just shake the answer she new was coming out of him.

Him: Blank left a message and made me an offer. We’re meeting later to talk details. Now I wish I had shaved this morning.
Her: lol Yay!
Him: 🙂
Her: sigh

This time it was a sigh of relief, not annoyance.

Him: What do you think: should I accept?
Her: Yes Yes Yes
Him: 🙂 I guess I’ll accept then.
Her: Lets celebrate by going to Disneyland.
Him : 🙂

So that’s it. Jon will begin a new position on April 19th. I’m so happy for him and I look forward to our future with anticipation.

Good things are happening.

When I was at Old Navy with Lilah I saw these shirts and I had to buy them for the girls. Lilah choose “Daddy’s Pot Of Gold” and Eden got “Mom’s Lucky Charm.” They’re both in 5 T since they didn’t have them in girl sizes, but luckily Lilah can still wear it… kinda.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
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Lilah was not wanting to take pictures.
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Eden is looking older as she lets her hair grow out.
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The girls being goofy….Lilah was happy to take this picture.

After modeling the shirts we ate lunch at Subway then went to the Springs Preserve. It was a beautiful day and we mostly stayed in the Origin Area, where they have animals, a sand box, stuff to build with and this giant granite slab that rotates on another rock because of water. The girls spent a lot of time on the rock just hopping on and off and spinning.

Spinning around
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Enjoying the beautiful day.

For dinner we had a green salad, asparagus, and fish. For desert I made a Thin Mint milkshake and added green food coloring for fun.

Um, can you look a little happier please?

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No smiles…I guess this one of you eating the milkshake will have to do.

We had a fun St Patrick’s Day and hope you did too.

My blogging has been very few and far between lately. There are a lot of different reasons for that.

One reason is Facebook. I spend a lot of time on there, and it’s easier to do quick little updates than to write a long blog. Something I hate that I’ve begun doing. I need to make more time for my blog, since I do see it more as my journal.

Another reason is we’ve been so busy. I don’t have time to sit and type out what’s been happening because we’ve been gone all day doing things, and then I come home to catch up on other blogs and Facebook, and then it’s dinner time and then I don’t want to do anything after dinner. On my days home, like today, I just want to clean, except I don’t want to clean at this moment, and get my house back into a more comfortable place, since it’s just been pretty chaotic lately with all we’ve been doing.

The final reason is I think I was a very grumpy mom for a very long time and since I was so grumpy and snappy, writing a blog about our life was one of the last things I wanted to do. I was unhappy and easily irritable. The girls were doing everything in their power to bother me, at least it felt that way, and I was always upset about something.

It wasn’t fun for anyone around here.

I’ve been more happy and less grumpy lately, but I honestly don’t know when or why I started being a more even tempered person. I don’t remember if it was a conscious choice, or if it was an unconscious choice that I’ve just consciously realized. I partially don’t remember because it was a while ago that I feel I became a more bearable person to live with.

I know my family was on pins and needles, wondering when and what would set me off that day. I know Jon tried to help make it so I was less stressed, and when he saw the chaos was getting to me, he would try to help and encourage the girls to also help. I also know that he never tried to interfere, or contradict me and my very strict parenting ways in front of the girls. We always talked about it later, which was hard since I have a hard time talking about parenting because I feel I am the dominant parent. ( It’s difficult when you’re with the children 24/7 and you might feel like your parenting techniques are better and should take precedent over the other parent who only has to deal with it on a more part time basis. )

I can be pretty stubborn.

So I’m not sure why I changed, or really why I was even so upset, but now things are a little better in the house. We still have our hard moments and I still get really upset, but it’s not as regular or frequent. I’m trying to deal with our disagreements with a more even temperament, but I’m still at a lost plenty of times at what to do to improve a certain behavior with the girls. We try to have more natural consequences, but sometimes their is no natural consequence and I don’t like to punish with chores or other things that I feel are just a part of being in the family.

Being a parent is hard, but I’m happy I have Jon as a companion to help me. As we navigate this road together he tries to support me and help me be better, and when I’m being stubborn and don’t want to change, he waits patiently. When he’s being stubborn I also try to wait patiently, since we both have our bad days.

I love you dear and am happy to be on this road with you.