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.

G is for Guy Smiley

So I had my sister-in-law visit us for a week, and she decided Guy Smiley was a good name for my baby. So between that, and reading a few other blogs of people I know, I decided I want to include pictures of my children in my blog, but I am going to use pseudonyms for them, for security reasons.
Anyway so I will from here out refer to my son as Guy Smiley, possibly shortened to Guy or Smiley, and we will call my daughter Cinderella, because she wants to be her when she grows up, and talks about her dreams coming true.

Guy is one of the smiley-est kids I have ever had acquaintance with. He is perpetually happy. Unless he has a need; he is hungry, needs a diaper change, wants in his pj's (yes my 7 1/2 month old cries to get in his pajamas, and has pretty much his whole life), wants out of his swing, play yard, crib, or highchair, or gets hurt he is just plain smiley.
Guy is anxious to grow up, and be on the go. He was scooting at 3 1/2 months. Crawling on the day he turned 6 months old, standing up fairly well (mostly assisted, but unassisted for 5-10 sec.) all ready and he is only 7 1/2 months old. I figure he will be walking by the time he is 9 months old. He loves to play with his sister, and get into things he shouldn't, like the cords under the computer desk. But he is so much fun. I am glad to have him in my family.

Z is for Zip-A-De-Do-Da

OK so I know I'm stretching this letter thing a little far. But you know the old Disney Song from "Song of the South", Zip--A-De-Do-Da? The song is talking about how it is a wonderful day. Well, that is how I feel about fall.
As soon as you can start feeling that fall bite in the air, and the leaves start turning colors, I feel a renewed bounce in my step. It is kind of funny, but most of the year my favorite color is a shade of blue, but in the fall it becomes pumpkin orange. I also start craving pumpkin foods. Pumpkin pie, pumpkin roll, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin bars; and this year I even had a craving for pumpkin soup. The funny part about pumpkin soup, is I have never even had it. But I will probably remedy that this year.
So I'm not sure when these pumpkin cravings started I know it happened after I got married, but other than that I don't know. I also tend to crave apples more in the fall too. I think that one stems back from some childhood memories.
I love the crunch of leaves under my feet, the smells of fall, everything I can think of that is associated with fall. I just love it. It brings about a feeling of change. I don't know if that is in association with memories of school starting, or maybe because my birthday is in the fall. I just love fall.
So what is your favorite season? What do you like about it? Why do you think you like it?

L is for learning to pick my battles

OK so today was a hard day, and by the end of the day we were all tired.
My husband made a dinner of homemade macaroni and cheese, which I thought was very good. Anyway it was served just before 7 pm, which is about 1- 1 1/2 hrs later than we usually eat. My daughter was very excited for dinner, but when she was served something that looked a lot different than the usual out of a box stuff. Well she pitched a fit. She wanted the macaroni and cheese that is "in the door" or behind the door in the pantry. When she refused to be pacified I told her that if she would eat this macaroni and cheese tomorrow we could have the one that is "in the door" for lunch. So she grudgingly ate about 2 bites, and said she was done. She was now ready for the macaroni that is "in the door". Well we decided to not give in on this one.
I could tell she was tired, and so even though it was an hour before her usual bedtime I decided to get her ready for bed. Well she got even more upset when I tried to take off her dress. I managed to get it off and the pajamas on, but they didn't stay on. I told her to stay in her room till she calmed down and left the room.
It was at this point that I realized that it had become a power struggle. And I think when it gets to this point, both parties are the looser. I wasn't happy because she was screaming, and she wasn't happy because she had to be in her PJ's. So when she came out a minuet later, still crying, I asked her what she needed. She told me the "flower dress", which was her description of the dress she was wearing today. So I had my husband get the dress out of the hamper while I tried to calm her down. We put it back on her, and she told us she was ready to "take a nap".
So we gave up our regular night time routine tonight, let her go to bed in her dress, didn't read scriptures or say prayers, or even brush teeth. But it is now about 7:40 and she is asleep. Hopefully she will stay out for the night. I think because I was willing to give in, and let her "win", this time I am a winner too.
So how do you handle power struggles. Have you learned to pick your battles, or are you still in the learning process like me?

A is for attitude

Which if any of you have ever had a two year old, I 'm sure you know all about attitude. She thinks she knows everything. She is a born leader, and domineering. She has strong opinions and throws a world class fit if you try to go against them. Whether it is leaving someones house, or some other play place to go home, or saying no to watching a movie, or getting a snack.
I think tantrums are a way that two-year-olds try to remind you that they are only two. They don't understand things on an adult level, or even an older child level, even if they come across as very mature at times.
However, I've found that even five-month-olds can have a strong attitude. And if I forget myself and allow a willful attitude on my part, we just never get anywhere.

However there is another side to attitude too. There is a positive attitude. Looking at the bright side. That is something my children are really good at. My son smiles more than I have ever seen any other 5 month old smile. True there is only one other 5 month old that I have been around as much as I have been around him, and that is his sister. But he is a very happy baby. He seems to be grinning constantly, even if he isn't feeling well. Even if he is tired or hungry quite often he is smiling through his tears. What a wonderful lesson to learn, to be happy through adversity. My daughter has an outgoing attitude, most of the time. She is getting to be more shy lately, when faced with unfamiliar circumstances, but it doesn't take her long to warm up and strive to make friends with any in the group, no matter age or gender. She loves people. She loves to say hi.

I think it is best to try to ignore the negative and focus on the positive and this is something that my children are teaching me daily.
So take some time and ask yourself, what good things have happened to me today, and forget about the bad.

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.