the two of us

Wow. It's the middle of September! I have never gone this long between posts, and I know my last two were short. Thanks for reading. Here is the first of some updates on our family.  



:: me ::

Mother's Day 2013

With two of my siblings on my mom's birthday -- I stole my friend's idea (she did it for her dad) by having people write my mom letters, and she said it was the best gift she has ever received. That makes me happy.

Hmm, what to say about myself. . . . I'm enjoying my life. The hours and the weeks go by pretty fast. Summer vacation was super fast but wonderful. I love being a stay-at-home mom and I am so grateful I get to spend a lot of time with these angels (we're working on them being angelic when we ask them to put their things away or do other things that they don't want to do). They make me smile and laugh often. I like that they have friends in the neighborhood that they play with often, too, and grandparents nearby to help us. I get a little bit of time to myself in the morning, at least enough to pray and read The Book of Mormon. I can also have alone time after the kids are in bed on most of the nights when my husband is working. It's nice that he's home by 9 or 10 p.m. usually. I like watching a show on Netflix with him, but I also like when we just talk.

Lately I have been exercising for 30-40 minutes some time before lunch, 4-6 days a week. It's usually closer to 6 days a week than 4, of running or HIIT cardio or both. In spite of that, I have a belly that sticks out. It's not my fault that I look pregnant, I guess -- it's because of my umbilical hernia and diastasis recti (separation of the abdominal muscles). I am definitely not pregnant. There's probably some fat there but I don't know how much because of whatever weird stuff is happening underneath. I can grab a little fat on my inner thighs, but there isn't any anywhere else. Well, I found a lot of diastasis recti information on youtube, including exercises to heal it, so I'm doing them as part of my strength training 3 days a week. I have "before" pictures but not enough has changed to take "after" pictures. I am trying to eat even more like the Eat to Live weight loss plan, which includes fewer grains/starches and processed foods and more vegetables (especially cruciferous ones). And I am trying to be patient with my body even though it's been a while since I gave birth. The other day I talked to my midwife, who referred me to a doctor that I will meet with this Friday to get more information about getting laparascopic surgery to make my belly flatter like it used to be.


:: him ::

June 2013

September 2013

My cute husband is still working hard at his three jobs. He did not get the railroad job he wanted, and we don't know why they didn't even interview him. But he did basically get an offer for something different, a position we had sort of given up on because it had been so long. It's still taking a while but it might happen: he might be a highway patrol trooper! Apparently they are always doing the hiring process, so he is on the list or his file is in the stack or whatever, and when they need him they will call. First he had an interview -- actually, I think it was two. Then we turned in his packet for the background check in November. Yep, ten months ago. In February they told us that a lot of people had applied, so we would have to wait a few extra weeks. Then they actually did the background check, and an employee met with him in our home. On May 23rd they talked about why he wants to be a trooper, and they gave him a piece of paper that is a conditional offer of employment. He took a polygraph test, psychological evaluation (both of those the hardest things he has ever done), and a physical all in the week before leaving with his unit for Annual Training. Another three months have passed. . . . He doesn't want to continue forever with what he's doing, and he has hard days (with his depression) every once in a while probably more often than I realize, but the Lord is blessing us. My husband is in very good shape physically because he really wants to get a certain score on his next Army PT test. He works out early before his full time job and told me he likes that he's "a runner," which he hasn't been in a few years. 

Side note: he and I have never lived together this long before. Between his deployments we had almost three years together. But now he has been back for three years and four months.


:: us ::

This summer he decided that we needed to get away to relax without the kids for more than just a couple of hours. I agreed. So we went on an approximately 26-hour date and had a really great time. It was Friday to Saturday August 9th-10th. {Third Girl survived that time without breastfeeding (I was fine too), and was happy to continue when she saw me again. My goal is two years.} Since some of our little family had been sick back in April when it was our anniversary, and D and I never did much to celebrate, this was like a 4-months-late anniversary vacation. I'm not sure if we will take the whole family on a trip any time soon, which is okay. It will just be that much more exciting and special when we finally do, right? Anyway, here are some of the pictures from our big date! It was so nice to be in the hot tub and pool at night. This was also his first time in a tram, he thinks, and his first time rock climbing, which surprised me. I love being married to him.

It was  cold and gorgeous.

My view as I walked out of the lodge to start my morning run.

I overcame my fear on the ropes course. I walked on most of the areas.

Although this doesn't show any of the bikers, it was neat being at one of the Tour of Utah venues! I want a bike. . . . Also, we might have felt the need to return to our kids sooner if it were not for the road being closed in the afternoon. :)

(My hair flips out if I don't straighten it. And he's even better-looking than he seems in some photos.)

He had the day off for Labor Day so he and I did some good work on our home, with the kids helping, too. We rotated our rug so the couch covers the stains. And we switched bedrooms with the kids (this took more than one day, and a lot of it was done by Saturday night). It's much better! We haven't taken pictures yet, but not all of the items, wall decorations, etc. are in place. We have the smaller bedroom but it's nice that it has a bigger closet, and the three girls have more room to play in their room now.

We are still in a 2-bedroom apartment, even though at first we thought we would only stay for a year or so. We just signed a new lease, our fourth one, because we're waiting to hear about which city he will be working in. Anyway, these changes are good. We like the layout of the furniture better now; changing bedrooms helped it feel kind of like a new place. One day soon after Labor Day he swept and straightened up the patio, I gave the toddler's seat (not quite a high chair) a bath and did three loads of laundry, etc. I still need to thoroughly clean the blinds. We got rid of junk including shirts I've had a long long time, and some toys and other kid things. I'm pretty sure that I have blogged before about the fact that it's hard for me to let go of stuff. I have gotten better with my husband's help. We know we made the right decision by not moving out yet. We had actually told the people at the leasing office that we planned to move out September 14th, but it wouldn't have been worth the stress and the other costs, since we would likely move again less than a year later. It's good to be able to still serve in this ward, where my husband has only taught Gospel Doctrine class a few times so far. I also have a fairly new calling.

why Friday is good

I got the girls in bed before 8:55 -- even the youngest at the same time as the others, since we had a few places to go* which meant she napped less today. (First Girl loves it when Third Girl is there and doesn't get to (need to) stay up later.) It's me-time, quiet except for some music from The Piano Guys.

I wonder if a lot of couples with kids like Fridays because that is their date night. Every few weeks my husband and I have a date, but it's on Wednesday or Saturday because of his work schedule (which is fine). For me, Friday is good because it's almost Saturday and Sunday, when he doesn't have to work at all. Unless it's drill. This weekend follows a drill weekend, so when he arrived home after 9:30 p.m. it was the end of a 12-day "work week" that began on Monday, March 4th. He will be so happy to sleep in. Pretty much every day when he gets home he says that he is really tired.

Why do I feel like making this public and not just a journal entry? I guess probably most of my blog readers know us personally, which means they care. Anyway, I was thinking last night about writing what a typical Thursday is like for my family right now. How about if I let y'all know what all the weekdays are like. 

I wrote in a post before that my husband works about fifty hours a week or more. The hard thing is that it's not five ten-hour days. A typical Thursday is the same as a typical Tuesday. Both evenings he works the part time job. It starts an hour and a half after the full time job ends. So on those days he leaves by 6:30 in the morning, before our kids are awake, and usually is back by 9 or 9:30, when they are already asleep. That's 15 hours away from the house. We have less than two hours together, and then he has to go to sleep. Monday he has the full time job from 1 p.m. to close so he has even less free time at night because the other days it begins at 7 a.m. We love Wednesday, and Friday he is off at 1 p.m. instead of 4 (the other days are a little more than 8 hours, so Friday is a shorter day).

Yep, I'm complaining a little here. Don't get me wrong. I'm grateful for the time that I do get to spend with him during the week. I'm grateful that he's not deployed, and that he does what he needs to do to meet all our expenses and let me be a mom. This situation is doable but we're both getting sick of it and pray that he will get a higher-paying full time job -- career -- very soon. These hours are tiring for both of us. I would like the kids to be able to see their dad every day. Our current lease ends the end of July, so we hope to move by then into a place that at least has a third bedroom. A month ago he applied for a job that he really wants, with the same company that interviewed him for a manager trainee position last year. I keep thinking that any day now he will get a phone call or email about it. Online, the status says they are still reviewing his application. The job is about 50 minutes north of here.

I'm not sure how to end this. Oh, I do have other family news. Good news. First Girl was chosen to be in a Spanish dual immersion program starting this fall! So she will be in it, at a different nearby elementary school, if we don't move too far away (but of course, we do want to move too far away, and maybe she can transfer to a program there).

____

* Dropped off First Girl at school for short day, went to the grocery store, back to the school where there was a short PTA meeting, home for late lunch and putting away groceries and cleaning up the kitchen and having a little bit of time with Daddy (although he started a nap), to the park for a play date with 5 other moms who are in our ward.

September 1-15

Both of our girls love to play with this friend who lives right above us. There's something special about toys that aren't your own.

 

The way L walked over this was funny. The girls and I like to walk by the creek to look for the ducks. One day I asked L if we should go home. She said, "No go home. Ducks. Baby ducks."

 

This is my favorite tree near our home.

Nursery on Sept. 4 -- this must have been at the very end, since it doesn't look like any other toys were out. We have fun watching our daughter play, clean up, listen to the songs, etc. (nursery is our calling in the ward). 

That same Sunday, the day before Labor Day, some of us had dinner at my dad and step-mom's house. (There are 7 kids but only my younger sister and I and our little families came over.) We celebrated our brother's 13th birthday a little early.

Labor Day with my in-laws at Lava Hot Springs (we didn't take pictures of us four adults):

Some of our favorite friends came over and had dinner with us.

We love these fountains, where we had a play date with three other moms in the ward (not pictured). Their kids are each two or younger, and weren't all over the place like my four-and-a-half-year-old was, but I still got to chat with the moms.

I got this infant car seat at a yard sale for $20. That same week we found all the things below at Kid to Kid. I love premie / 5-8 pound clothing. It's just so tiny! Our babies have needed it because they have been about 6 pounds at birth. Maybe this baby will be about

the same size. (My husband was so cute the other day; he said, "I wanna meet her.")

Playing Metroid.

She did something she shouldn't have, so we made her clean it.

See my earrings at the bottom? She likes to hang things from lamps. 

On our way to play with another friend.

I made laundry soap (see instructions HERE), and it will save us a lot of money. The only thing we didn't already have was the Borax.

Reenlisted.

Almost a month ago my husband reenlisted in the U.S. Army. It seems appropriate to share this post today, because the terrorist attacks that happened on September 11, 2001 have very much affected our family. My husband probably would have enlisted anyway, for several reasons, but it would be a very different career.  It's likely that he never would have been to Iraq or Afghanistan (or Kuwait, Qatar, etc). He also feels that without 9/11 he would be an almost entirely different person than he is today. He loves what he does, and I am so proud of him. We both feel good about the decision to sign a contract for another six years.

Afterward, we ate lunch. Then went to a miniature golf place and played 17 holes with D's mom (we skipped one hole because we were getting tired). It was the girls' second time mini-golfing with me and Grandma, but the first time that Daddy came, too. We only had L hit her ball a few times because she was happy to simply watch everyone else play, and walk onto the areas where she wasn't supposed to be. When we were done an employee took this photo. I like all of the mural walls (you thought this was a real lake, didn't you).

 

queen of randomness

Maybe I have mentioned before that my roommate Emily (my first-year-of-college-Emily, not my second-year-of-college-Emily) accurately referred to me as the queen of randomness.

I have had so much on my mind lately. I know that doesn't make me unique, but it's just so much: 

• decision-making and depression in my family
• running my first half-marathon soon, and considering a full marathon
• friendships
• my annoying phone that I'm using because my pink one is missing
• birth politics and other topics I like to learn about (I am not pregnant)
• my girls fighting over things and screaming
• how I might use my degree someday
• my unfinished craft projects
• taxes
• pride
• homelessness
• obesity and disease
• our bathrooms that I need to clean
• the fact that I never feel like putting away the laundry
• the news
• the difficulties of relationships
• the decorating we haven't done
• my relative who recently finished his prison time
• radio stations and home-based businesses I would support if we had more income
• my grandpa's funeral at the end of January
• how nice it is to simplify our food by focusing on vegetables and fruits and using only a few coupons
• beauty and blessings
• whether or not I care about changing my blog template . . .

I figured I may as well share more randomness, shown in some of my January photos.

I used the JoAnn gift card from my sister, plus there was a sale, so this is about $84 worth of stuff and I only had to pay $27.

We visited a friend who lives about 2 hours away; her husband blessed their youngest and baptized their oldest.

Our big girl loves to make "computers" out of books.

I let her finish the oatmeal.

Saw this adorable dog while leaving the post office. My husband wants a pug.

Our church building.

Shboogoo had so much fun pushing her own cart.

I bought Shboogoo some new boots.

Snow on stone.