My crazy day.

Have you ever had one of those days when it doesn't seem to matter what you do, there are many things that go wrong? And of course when that happens I think it is easier to focus on the things that go wrong, than the things that go right.
So I'm going to tell you about my day. And I am going to try to put in both the things that went right and wrong, so that I don't just focus on the wrong.

This morning we woke up on time, and we were able to all get a shower or bath before my husband needed to leave for a 10:00 meeting. (He has just recently gotten a new responsibility in our church. This one requires that he spends a lot more time in meetings, and less time at home. Which I can handle, but can be difficult. On the plus side, it means that once they find someone to replace him in teaching our primary class, he can take Guy with him during that hour, which will solve that problem.)

Anyway, once we were all dressed and ready for the day, he left for his meeting and I put "The Testaments" (a movie made by our church depicting events that took place in the Book of Mormon, and some fictional that fits in that time period.) on for Cinderella, but Guy down for a nap, and then went to work reviewing my lesson for today, to make sure I had it all figured out.

Well I found myself frustrated, trying to figure out the right way to teach this lesson to my class. It increased my frustration to not have my husband available to bounce ideas off of. But with some prayer and pondering I came up with some ideas and got it in order.

Then I took Cinderella to the potty. She is doing a pretty good job there now. If I tell her to sit on the potty, most of the time she will with out a fuss, and she will actually use it. And she did today. So that was good.

About this time Guy woke up from his nap. I got him up, and let him and Cin play for a while until it was time for lunch. So I asked Cinderella what she wanted to eat, and she told me Cheerios. I figured that was OK, because she had eggs and potatoes for breakfast, and cheerios was less likely to make a mess of their church clothes. So I started to get it ready, and realized I hadn't put dinner in the crock pot yet. So I put Guy in his high chair, and told Cinderella to sit at the table. She was more interested in looking at some paper than obeying, and Guy was reaching the point that he was quite frustrated with being stuck in his chair without food.

So I went to get the food, and put some chicken in the microwave to thaw for dinner. I got their cheerios ready. Cinderellas in a bowl with milk, and Guys dry on his tray. I got Cin to sit at the table, and got a prayer said. Then I got them eating. By this time I had about 35 min. before I needed to head out the door, so that I had time to set up my class room. I then went and got the chicken out of the microwave. It was still partially frozen, which I don't like to put it in the crock pot, that way, but for the sake of time, I did, and turned it on high, intending to turn it down before we left. I then got a banana for the kids, and then started working on some lunch for me. I got a salad ready, sat down at the table had taken about 2 bites, when Cinderella decided she was done, and filled her mouth with milk, and then spit it out all over her.

OK so we were running out of time, my husband was still at the church, and I knew I most likely wouldn't see him before church, and now her dress was covered with milk, and Guy was sitting in the high chair screaming for more banana.

Well I took Cinderella to her room, and proceeded to change her dress. I'm sure I wasn't responding as kind and loving as I should, and so she didn't respond the best. She started crying that I wasn't being nice to her, as I was snapping at her to sit up strait so I could button her dress. Well, she was tired, she had gotten to bed late last night, and refused to be consoled. So I left her crying and went to the kitchen to take care of Guy. I felt lousy and overwhelmed by this time, but knew there was no one else to do it, so I better. Guy had finished the food on his tray, and I didn't have any more to give him, so I got him down. He then proceeded to scream at me, for getting him down before he was ready, and refused to come and get more food, when I found some he had been sitting on. And of course, because he had been sitting on his food, he had mashed bananas and milk all over his trousers and vest. So that meant I needed to change his clothes too. I hurried and gobbled down my salad, and then took to the task of getting him some new pants. I just decided to discard the vest.

By this time Cinderella had calmed down and I found her lying in her bed, ready to take a nap. To bad for her that it was time to go. I finally got the kids ready and got them out the door at about 11:56 instead of 11:40 as planned. I got them buckled in the car, and then my hubby showed up. He was going to give a ride to a 11 year old boy who lives in our complex that was interested in attending our church today. I waved him good bye, and drove to church. I was already on the verge of tears from the stress I had been dealing with, so I spent my drive listening to religious music, and praying. I got to the church, a lot more calm then how I left my home.

Well I pulled into a spot next to a curb. And got out of the car. I then proceeded to get Guy out of his seat, which was behind the drivers seat. I picked him up, and then took a step backward, to head over and get Cinderella out. What I didn't take account of what my heels, the curb, and my ankle twisting when I landed on it. I soon found myself on my back in the middle of the church parking lot, and to make matters worse, my skirt and flown up, and I was bawling again. Got to love those emotions. It didn't take long for some gentleman who I don't know to come to my assistance. He retrieved a shocked Guy from my arms, and helped me to my feet. I told him I was OK between sobs, and tried to retrieve Guy. He told me he would carry Guy for me, and that we should go find a place to sit down. I told him I had another child in the car. So I got her out, and then his daughter, took Cinderella's hand to lead her into the church. It was about this time, that I saw my husband heading toward me. Apparently he had shown up just in time to see his wife take a spill. So I pointed him out to the other man, and he let my husband take it from there. I was so mortified. And to make matters worse, I couldn't seem to stop crying. All through the first meeting, every time we would sing, I would cry. Thankfully Cinderella handled herself quiet well during the meeting.

I wasn't sure how I would handle teaching my class. However, where my emotions are concerned I seemed to do an OK job. It wasn't the best job ever, and there was one student that got a little bit of a tongue lashing. But other than that I handled the rest of church OK, until I decided I needed to tell one of the leaders of our ward (The councilor of the bishopric who is over primary) that my emotions won't handle teaching alone much longer. Then I burst into tears again.

After church was over, and I got home, I think the rest of the day was pretty good. So yes there were many negative things that happened today, but there were a lot of positive ones too.

4 years

My husband and I just recently celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary. For me it was a time of reflection. There has been a lot happen to our little family in that time.

This is an engagement photo. I don't have easy access to any of my wedding photos so this one will have to do.

5 moves
4 apartments

1st apartment 5 months (hubby was there 1 month before we were married)

2nd apartment 18 months.
Then we spent 1 month at my parents house.

3rd apartment 1 year
then another month at my parents house

4th apartment been here 11 months and plan to be here at least 1 more year.
Did you notice that my husband was cooking in the kitchen in all but the 2nd apartment? The ironic thing is I think he did more cooking in our 2nd apartment than any of the others because that was during my first pregnancy and Cin's first year. I just didn't feel like cooking, so he was my knight in shining armor and came to the rescue.

4 States

We enjoyed the outdoor recreation in Idaho

Had fun camping in Utah

Loved the trees in Virginia

And now enjoy the Puget Sound in Washington

3 cars
Our first car was an econo box but it suited our purpose. Ours was white, but I don't have any pictures of it so I found this one on the web.
When we knew our family was going to grow, and the Swift was dying we upgraded to the Honda CRV. We loved that car, and it saved our lives. But alas it had an end too.

However by that time we were in love with the name Honda so this is what we got. It seems to serve our current needs well, but we joke about if and when our family grows we might find ourselves with a Honda Odyssey.

2 babies
Cinderella arrived with complications, but with lots of love.

Guy came without a hitch, and was rearing to go.

2 pregnancies
The first one was slow. We were in school, and anxious to be parents. She couldn't come soon enough. This picture was taken the day before Cinderella was born.

The second one passed quickly as we were busy being parents, preparing to move, being out of a job, moving across the country, finding a job, getting in a wreck, etc.
This picture isn't the most ideal pregnancy picture, but it was the best that was taken.

2 drives across the country (for my hubby 1 for Cinderella and me)
The first time, my hubby drove by himself from Utah to Virginia. Notice the weather? This was his drive through Wyoming. Due to the fact he was alone in the car, this is about the only picture he got.

This is Cin sitting in the back seat of our CRV. Can you see how tight it is packed in there? I don't know if you can tell but it is snowy out this time too. This go round we took it as a family. It was a nice trip, even if it was rushed.

1 wreck, and totaled car.
We were almost to our destination. Crossing Snoqualmie pass, when we hit a patch of ice and started to slide. After bouncing around the road we finally came to a stop. Apparently we weren't the only ones who discovered the ice, there were several cars in front of us off the road, and a 50 car pile up was behind us.
In this picture you are seeing our car, and then the pile up. Our car is facing the wrong direction. You can't see most of the damage on our car in this shot, but I chose it because it had the view of the accident.
After about a month of waiting the insurance finally told us that our car was totaled. It was hard to say good-bye to that good friend. But thankfully it got all 4 of us through that wreck in one piece.

There have been lots of other stuff too, but that is the big things. Part of me really hopes things can start settling down now, but the other part of me realizes that life never settles down, it just changes, and brings new experiences. At least in that time we have also made many wonderful friends.

H is for Happiness

I think that happiness is something that you can always have if you so choose. Yes bad things will happen, and sometimes life will be hard. Sometimes your child will color on something like the computer monitor, or you will have to get up in the middle of the night to bath a child and change the sheets on their bed. Sometimes you might lose someone you love, or get in a car accident. You may lose your job, etc. I could go on listing all kinds of negative things, some more so than others, but all of them can have the tendency to seem overwhelming when they occur.
But you can be happy through it all. It may be hard, but it is possible. Happiness is a choice.
I was thinking about this this morning as things weren't going the way I would choose to have them go. I decided that I wouldn't let life get me down. I would be happy. And you know what, I am. I might be overwhelmed and tired, but I am happy.
Life is wonderful, I am so blessed. I have a wonderful husband who loves me, I have two adorable children, who light up my life. I have my basic needs provided for; a place to live, food to eat, clothes to wear.
Decide today to be happy. Decide that you will enjoy your life. Take time and count your blessings. That is what I have done.

As a note on how the potty-training is going. I decided to let my daughter give me the cues and I will respond to them. Yesterday, she disappeared for a while and when I went to check on her I found her sitting on the potty. She didn't go, but she did it all on her own. It is progress.

N is for Naps

So have you ever noticed that once we reach adulthood we tend to appreciate sleep more? (OK maybe that isn't true about all adults and maybe some people appreciate sleep all of their lives). With my kids when they were really small, like under 2 months old, they tended to fall asleep pretty easily, there were maybe a few tricks that I needed to pull; feed them, rock them, hold them, but when they were tired they did a pretty good job of just falling asleep. My son more so than my daughter.
But he is getting out of that stage now. In fact at night time lately he has been so tired that he will just yell and cry until he finally falls asleep. And he is getting to be that way at nap time.
My daughter, has never been a great sleeper, but she is getting to be more so now. She has had a hard time taking naps since she was about a year old. But finally now on most days she will tell me after lunch that it is nap time, ask for her plug and at least stay in her room and look at books if not take a nap. And I am so grateful that she has gotten to this point.
I just wish my son would take a nap at the same time as his sister, but that has yet to be a regular occurrence.
But I guess I should just be grateful that he does take naps and so does she, and make the best of the situation.

By the way just a postscript, my children's doctor redeemed himself a little bit this last week, he actually took the time to look at the chart before he came in. Maybe it won't be so bad after all.

S is for smiles

I have the tendency to be negative. I'm not a grouch, but I can be pessimistic. I also have a hard time reaching out side myself to interact with others, particularly those I don't know.
Somehow I got blessed with two wonderful, happy, social children.
This morning I took my kids to the park. My two year old was having a glorious time on the playground, when a large group of children from some organization showed up. Now most of these kids looked like they were probably between 8-11. My daughter would smile, at them, follow them around, say hi, and such. They completely ignored her. Now I know this is a common way for older kids to treat younger children they do not know. But all the same, my heart went out to my daughter. I knew just how much rejection I would be feeling if I were her.
Then I realized something. Yes they are ignoring her, but SHE isn't getting upset about it. SHE isn't letting it slow her down, or decide how she should act. She is willing to be happy and social still even though things aren't exactly how she would like them to be.
I decided then and there, that I need to learn from my children and not allow myself to allow others actions be what determines how I act. I need to decide to be happy and not let anything deter me from that goal.
Will you all join me? Take a day and say "today I am going to smile all day, I'm not going to let anything anyone else does make this a bad day for me. I am going to be happy."

B is for Bad day, and Blessings

I've just been reminded of Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. It has been a while since I read that book, and I may be remembering wrong, but I remember it being about a boy that one day just feels like it is an awful day, and then at the end realizes that it wasn't as bad as it seemed.
Right now, I'm going through the bad day part, and I hope to be able to look back and find that it wasn't as bad as it may seem to me at the moment.
This morning we went out, when we got home I got my daughter lunch and down for a nap. And my son was sleeping in his baby swing. So I decided that I would make some finger Jello to go with dinner, eat my lunch, and then see if I could get a nap.
So I put the water on to boil, and then I forgot about it. Until about an hour or so later when I was having a really hard time getting to sleep, and then I realized that I had that pan on the stove. So as you can guess, the water had boiled dry, and the pan was ruined. Not only that, but a plastic lid was on the burner behind the pan, and it had melted to the stove as well.
So that was a tough experience. But as I have been sitting here writing this I have reached the realization that my day isn't as bad as I had thought. Yes those were hard experiences, but at least I realized that the pan was on the stove before it got so hot it melted to the stove. And at least I was able to clean all the melted plastic off the stove. So I don't have to replace a stove, just a pan and a lid. Also I realized the problem before a fire started. That would definitely been worse. So yes even though bad things happened I can see how I have been blessed to. So I guess it isn't really a "terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day".