life right now and a baby update

A new baby boy is coming soon! We've been cleaning, dejunking, organizing, stocking up freezer meals, checking off to-do list items, wedding planning, playing with cousins, and getting ready for baby's debut! I've suddenly had lots of motivation to get a lot done, so you best be sure I've been trying to prepare as much as possible so that we can just enjoy him when he comes.

I've been up finishing up some wedding prep for Hollie's wedding on Friday. And even though it's 1:00 am and I should be sleeping, I wanted to write a few thoughts down while the house is quiet and I can hear myself think.

There's a sort of sadness that comes with each baby. Don't get me wrong, I am so excited to have another one join our family. But, that means Evelyn will no longer be the baby. Blake will be an even bigger brother and that puts Brandon and I in an even more grown-up stage of life. We are no longer the young couple with a baby.

But before we get to that stage, I wanted to record what life has been like lately in our stage of 2 children lately. Because heaven knows it won't be like this much longer.

• Blake and Evelyn sleep in until around 7:45 each morning. They share a room and even though Evelyn will wake up around 6 am and say "Mama or Dadda", she'll fall back asleep. 
• Brandon and I have been trying to get up earlier ever since we read the talk in the June Ensign about getting up early and going to bed earlier. On good days we are up and out of bed by 6:30. I would usually exercise in the mornings and he would get a start on some work after reading scriptures. Lately, I've been sleeping in until the kids wake up. Too tired to work out and also realizing that I'll be up very early soon enough. 
• Brandon usually feeds them breakfast while I shower and get ready. If he's in a hurry, he'll eat a quick breakfast and I'll make something for them and eat together. We have cereal a few times a week, but my kids love smoothies, wheat pancakes, and granola with yogurt. Brandon usually takes dinner leftovers for lunch which I love and he loves. It's easy for me and he likes it better than a sandwich. 
• Gratefully, he doesn't have to be in to work until around 9, so mornings are fun to have time together and the kids love having him around. 
• I spend our days with the kids hanging out at home, doing play groups with friends, or other things depending on the week. Blake has preschool one day and gymnastics one day. Other than that, we like our flexible schedule to get together with others or just have time together. We are never bored! 
• Brandon gets to work from home a few days a week. Most of the time, he doesn't mind little interruptions throughout the day and can still focus on work--which I would not be able to do! If we are lucky, he'll join us on a walk or an errand some days. 
• Blake and Evelyn still nap. They sleep in separate rooms for naps. Otherwise, neither would fall asleep. I give Blake the choice to sleep in his bed or mine and he always chooses mine. I've been loving our nap time together. We read one book together. He'll say, "No talking, that's the rule." He insists on having at least one car in his hand. And if we've followed the routine, he's pretty good to take a nap. I'm sure cherishing these naps with him.  After a nap, he gets to choose one little treat from the basket and gets to watch a show. That's usually the only time we have the TV on. It makes dinner prep a bit easier. 
• Brandon is home by 5:30 or 6. We try and eat dinner in the dining room. Meals in there are always more enriching and conversations are not distracted. But we do have our fair share of cereal or sandwich nights, in which we all eat around the island. 
• We spend evenings going on walks or bike rides (before I was 9 months pregnant), playing in the backyard, running errands, or taking turns doing YM's activities, RS meetings/visits, gym time, soccer or basketball, etc while the other is with Blake and Evelyn. 
• Bed time is around 8 for them, although they usually stay up talking past 9. We've fallen into a routine that goes like this: brush teeth, get in jammies, read scriptures, say prayers, and then they each get to choose a book to read. If it's early enough, we'll do more than one. They'll ask for a drink and for us to rub their back. As we are leaving their room, they'll say, "We have a question." We'll say, "What?" and they'll both take turns saying, "Bye!" It's so funny to them and us. 
• After the kids are in bed, B and I will work on computer stuff: So Festive, this blog, or his side work. I don't usually have time during the day to be on the computer so night is when I get to email and stuff. Thankfully, we love having "laptop" parties and usually prefer that over watching a show. Sometimes we are terrible for each other and will keep working on things because the other one is and then before we know it, we are up way too late! But, our goal is to be in bed by 11 and we've been doing so much better lately. 

Speaking of being in bed by 11, I'm 2 1/2 hours late. So off I go. But just had to jot down this time of life before #3 changes it up again. :) 

...And for the baby update....officially 39 weeks and counting. I've had tons of contractions and hope this baby stays in for the wedding on Friday. Platelets are at 135!! So as of now, we can let this baby come when he's ready. 

life right now

I've started quite a few posts lately and yet, the words just don't seem to come. And I certainly don't have anything witty or wise to say. However, I want to remember what life is like in this stage. Because I know that we will look back and miss it. And while sometimes I feel like we are just hanging on, I know life will just get busier and more demanding. When I stop to think about this stage (and usually it happens on a Saturday night when the house is clean and calm), I'm reminded that life is pretty dang sweet right now.

I mean, really. I get to stay at home with my 2 adorable children who make me want to pull my hair out and laugh all at the same time. They occupy nearly every minute of my day, and yet give me the most joy. Besides weekly preschool and play groups, our schedule is flexible and I like it that way.

My calling as Relief Society secretary is busy, but it is teaching me to rely on my Savior to make up for my weaknesses. I was on a run today and I saw a sign that said, "Do something scary every day." I loved that. Not that I'm going to do anything crazy, but isn't life all about doing things that stretch us and help us grow? My calling is really helping me to get out of my comfort zone and to be more selfless. It's sometimes scary for me, but I know that I'm always helped from above.

Brandon's job has been incredibly busy lately. He could work 80 hours a week and still have more to do. Gratefully, he doesn't have to put that much time in and is able to be home for dinner and evenings and work after the kids are in bed if he needs to. We love having "laptop" parties together, but it seems like lately one of us is too tired or not motivated to work. We had a Harry Potter movie marathon earlier this month  (it took us a few weeks to finish) but boy, was it fun! Earlier this week we went on a gym date together. I wish that could happen more often. We both have been trying really hard to prioritize exercise into our days because we are much better off when we do. But don't be thinking I have mastered getting up at 6 am just quite yet.

Life is good. It's not perfect. But we are seeing the light on some of our trials lately and we are grateful for the blessings we have had through them.

Here's a few photos from the week: I pulled out some of my childhood toys and they've been loving them! And Evelyn the messiest eater I know. She is getting so grown-up though!

attacked by the birds and other snippets

The other day our yard was attacked by hundreds of birds! See all those perched on the power line? The very next minute they were all swarming in our yard. See below. Blake and I watched them for about 10 minutes. He kept saying, "Mom, that's so cool!" It was kind of cool and also kind of creepy. 

Blake loves helping in the kitchen. Especially trying out the batter. 

Evelyn prefers crawling over standing. She gets stuck more often than she likes. 

We finally got our yard cleaned up for winter a few weeks ago. Evelyn cheered us on from inside (she was sick) and Blake wasn't afraid to get dirty. 

 We've been in our house exactly one year this past weekend. We've been trying to finish up some projects that we started months ago. I'm hoping to get our progress posted soon.

little artists & a chinese celebration

Today we had lots of time to hang out since it was the Ogden Temple Dedication and Brandon and I split up to attend. Our kids got a little stir crazy since it was rainy and they didn't get out at all, but we read lots of books, did art, cooked and baked together, and had 2 families from our ward over for dinner. They spent the summer in China and we were anxious to hear about their trip. So a Chinese Dinner Party it was. The other family has a boy Blake's age and they didn't want the night to end.

I had a few spare moments earlier this week, so I decorated just a little for the dinner party. Now I can justify keeping my chinese lanterns and plethora of chopsticks and origami paper around for a while longer. :) Brandon always wonders why I keep these things around. But I tell him that you never know when you'll need a quick way to festify a party.

a not so pear-fect day

Like my pun? :) Just to keep things real and remind me of the everyday, I have to jot down a few thoughts I had from today. Of course, now that my children are asleep and I was able to sneak away for a few hours tonight (to stock up on diapers and other things), it's hard to remember that I felt so frazzled and stressed just a few hours earlier. But I promised I would record what real life is like sometimes.

It started with MoJo. It was my turn to host. And I had this fairy-tale vision of what it would be. I planned songs to sing along with the guitar, a fall-leaf hunt, a bubble-wrap painting project, homemade play-doh for National Play-Doh day and had prepared a fun little weather chart. It was nothing the children did or didn't do, but the entire time I just felt stressed. Blake had little interest in the art project, the kids wanted to run from one room to the next and I just didn't know how to handle it all. I guess there is a reason I wasn't an elementary teacher.

Mothering is a humbling experience and although this preschool incident is just one tiny little thing, it made me realize how much I need to learn about loving and letting go of my unrealistic expectations.

As the kids were leaving, Blake and his friend Denae decided to make cups of oatmeal. They decided that keeping it in their cups wasn't enough, but that the floor needed to be painted with it. And Denae was having too much fun to make it to the bathroom.

After lunchtime and naps (and letting go of everything to watch a movie with Blake, while snacking on way too many Cheetos that were supposed to be for October) I decided that we would have a great little outing to Grandpa's house since he had asked him to help pick pears and raspberries.

But again, trying to get out the door was a nightmare. It took almost an hour to just leave. I ran back in like 50 times to get things I kept forgetting. I just about gave up, but realized we all needed some fresh air.



Once there, I started picking, but Evelyn got into the rotten pears infested with bugs. Her shirt has raspberry stains on it. Blake had no interest in listening to any word I said. And so we left with very few raspberries.  And a stressed-out mom.

As we drove away, I said a little prayer in my heart and the impression came, "this shall be but a small moment." It's true. This stage of life with my two best little friends by my side nearly every minute of every day will be fleeting. And I know I just need to enjoy it. I know we were supposed to have them close to each other for a reason. I think one of those reasons is to teach me to chill out.

^Blake was more interested in watching the bees eat the rotten pears

Here's to a better day tomorrow. A more relaxed me. :) Because I really am the luckiest mom and have no right to complain compared to single moms and other moms who do a lot more by themselves than I do! 

car wash

Summer is winding down and we've almost crossed off everything from our Bucket List. Our car was in desperate need of a car wash after our trip to the Uintahs, so we went to work a few nights ago.  I think that specific part of the car got washed about 10 times. We are blessed to have a boy that loves to help. And sweet Evelyn contently watched from a far...with her crazy hair and fat lip. Blake was not so nice and pushed her into the wood floor. Twice in the same day. Poor girl. I have a feeling she'll grow up tough. 

prepared, not scared

Our stake has been emphasizing preparedness this year. I've had multiple quiet promptings the last few months to get prepared. I've been slowing stocking up on water and extra food storage, but haven't done much more than that.

With the recent earthquake that happened near us in Centerville, it was another prompting to get into gear. The day after, I went to the store and got all the stuff we needed for 72-hour food kits. I adjusted the menu to make it a bit more healthy and things that we would eat. (As in no spam!)

I would still like to find better containers to fit it all in and I need to keep working on the rest of our 72-hour kits, but at least it's a start. I'm feeling much better. And much more prepared.

Here's the menu:
(I may add in some oatmeal packets and switch out other things, but I went for sale items. I figure we'll be rotating these every 6 months or so I can watch for good deals)

Day 1:
Breakfast: Hot chocolate + Raisins + Protein Bar
Lunch: Applesauce + Ramen + Capri Sun
Dinner: PB crackers + V8 juice + fruit roll-up
Snack: raisins + protein bar

Day 2:
Breakfast: Hot chocolate + protein bar
Lunch: Ramen + raisins + fruit roll up
Dinner: Chili + Capri Sun
Snack: applesauce + V8

Day 3:
Breakfast: Hot chocolate + protein bar
Lunch: Ramen + fruit roll up
Dinner: Canned turkey + capri sun + raisins
Snack: applesauce, raisin + cookie and nutella packets

don't pick the weeds

Life is like a flowerbed. 

A few months ago I was clearing out the flowerbeds for Spring. I pulled buckets and buckets of weeds. 

But I came across one type of weed that looked different than the rest. So I decided to leave it. I even told Brandon (with a glimmer of hope per se) that maybe something good would come from them. 

Last week, I noticed that the weeds I was going to pull were merely not weeds at all. They had become beautiful vibrant flowers. 

Sometimes it can feel that we only have weeds around us. But, with a little time and patience, if we allow it, those weeds may become something beautiful.

cousin weekends

We've got to spend a lot of time with cousins lately and it's been super fun. I loved being close with my cousins growing up and was shocked to hear that some people don't even know who their cousins are.Our kids will be close to their cousins if I have anything to do with it. Now that Blake is old enough to actually play, it's even more fun to watch his interaction with them.

I think he was pretty excited to see them when the time leading up to their arrival he kept saying,  "con-sees?" and just stared at the window watching them to arrive.

^These cousins were pretty serious about drinking their Capri-Suns.

^ Brooke and Evelyn hanging out. 

^I love this. Ryan posing perfectly, Colton not sure what to think, and Blake is too interested in an ant to look. Boys are so fun.

Later that night, Kristin and Blaine came for a BBQ . We never get to celebrate the 4th of July or Memorial Day with them, so we had an early celebration. (Really, it was all because Blake and Evelyn took extra long naps together at the same time. So I had time to rummage through my stuff and throw this all together. It was worth it when Kristin said, Oh, you did this all for us? That made me happy because sometimes I do festive things first and foremost because it's fun for me, but it means even more to have people appreciate it.)

^I didn't plan E's outfit for the party, but since she was so patriotic, we had to get her holding a flag. I love this girl.

Afton is so grown up now. I love her curly hair. Blake was fond of her too and just wanted to hold her hand on our walk.

^Kristin and I with Afton and Evelyn, about 9 months apart.

 And last week Justin and Katie stopped by and we had another impromptu BBQ. Can you tell we love to grill and party? Charlie, Emme, and Blake could have played in the dirt-turned-mud for hours if we would have let them.

We love our family and are grateful to have all of them in our lives. Come back soon!

april: the little things

Cinnamon Rolls + General Conference 

Freshened up our front-door mat

The awful Hand Foot Disease

Lots of walks

Chef Blake

Matchy-matchy

Visiting my mom's grave on April 23 with Grandpa King

Home Renovations 2.0 begin. Lots of painting! I'll post more soon. 

Sarah and I sporting our Granite Flats glasses after her graduation. 

Zoo Day with Kenzi + Trek