Last night was awesome, as in, not really awesome at all. I finally decided to stop working around 1am, got into bed by 1:30am and my sweet Hazel woke up a little after 3:00am. While I was feeding her, Clara woke up in a rage from coughing (that cough has made her terribly irritable and grumpy, I can't imagine why). She was hysterical and didn't want anything to do with Jason. I went into Clara's room around 4am and rubbed more Vicks on her chest and filled her humidifier up. Then I laid with her and sang to her for a while. I got back into my bed just after 5am and Hazel woke up again. She was up off and on until I fed her around 6am and then was up off and on until I got her out of bed around 8am. Thank goodness I didn't have to work all day. Oh wait...
Of course I really don't have much to complain about. Tired and exhausted, yes. Ungrateful, no. After my crazy night and stressful day, you better believe I appreciated my friend that brought dinner (I told her no, but she insisted, so we made a deal), Lily that came and entertained Clara for a bit and Jason that swept the house even more. I still have plenty of work, the laundry needs to be switched and folded and there are dirty dishes in the sink. Oh, and I'm canning chicken with my mom in the morning and haven't washed my jars. But guess what, I'm going to go straight to bed after I'm done feeding this baby. My body, my brain, my kids and my house need me to get sleep. Ahh, sweet slumber, you can't come soon enough.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Monday, January 17, 2011
Back to Normal
Life is getting back to normal.
We met some friends at the park today. It was the first time I've left the house with the girls in a week. The last time was when we walked to the mailbox.
Clara has been fever-free for two days. She is feeling much, much better, as is evidenced by her non-stop talking. I think the fever made her more sassy.
We met some friends at the park today. It was the first time I've left the house with the girls in a week. The last time was when we walked to the mailbox.
Clara has been fever-free for two days. She is feeling much, much better, as is evidenced by her non-stop talking. I think the fever made her more sassy.Jason and I went over the budget last night. In order to meet some of our lofty goals with our not-so-lofty-ever-decreasing income, we decided we are going to be pretty extreme, including no more eating out. Tonight for FHE we went out to eat.
I stayed up way too late working. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can. And then I stayed up even later to blog.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Wordy Randomness
Every blog needs a little random thoughts post every once in a while...
Dairy: During the time I nursed Clara, I didn't pay too much attention to what I ate. I always said, eh, she'll get used to it. Plus, it seemed like her spitting up and fussiness was so inconsistent with what I ate so I didn't make much of an effort to figure out if it was anything with my diet. With Hazel, her spit up, both volume and frequency, seemed to pattern my dairy intake. So, I have decided to try and limit my dairy. I'm not completely stopping, but I have definitely noticed a difference, mostly by not eating cereal with milk or yogurt on my granola in the morning.
Water: We have a good size lot with plenty of trees, bushes, etc. About 95% of our 35+ trees are irrigated, all the shrubs/bushes are on a drip system and although we do have grass in the front, it's not much. Of course you can never know just how much your utility bills will be when you move to a new place, but I thought I had made a pretty conservative estimate. You can imagine my surprise when I got our first water bill and it was over $160 (for those of you in Mesa, this wasn't my City of Mesa bill, that includes sewer, trash and gas, this was JUST the water). This was about double what I'd planned for. I compared notes with people that had pools, much larger grass areas being watered, more people in the house, etc. etc. and decided something was definitely wrong, especially considering it was winter. When we moved in, we put the water on a little more than normal to revive the plants. So, we turned the water down a bit, fixed some leaks in the drip and sprinkler systems, repaired broken sprinkler heads (it got a little humorous because every time Jason would replace one head, one or two more would break the next day) and waited to see how much our bill dropped. You can imagine my surprise, yet again, when our next water charge was almost $190. Obviously something was seriously wrong. I went on a little hunt around the property and discovered the oleanders lining the perimeter of our property were all on a "drip" system that appeared to put out a stream of water rather than a drip and was getting watered multiple times a day. Anyway, long story short (maybe this isn't so short, actually), we turned the water way back, completely turned the water off to the oleanders (they get plenty of water with the irrigation) and walla! our next bill was $90. Oh, happy day.
Lemons: We have a few lemon trees. One has lots and lots of lemons. It makes me happy because the lemon tree we planted at our old house gave us 5 scrawny little lemons last year. Anyway, the tree has not been well maintained and there were two other trees planted within a few feet of it. Jason got rid of the other two trees, which were holding up a "branch" of our lemon tree. It wouldn't have been that big of a deal, but said "branch" was about 35% of the tree. But, it had to go. It was hanging on the ground and made our yard look sloppy. We obviously didn't want to waste all the lemons on it so Jason and Dan picked them all off and then a few days later, Jason juiced them, with a little help from Lucas and Rachel. We now have 28 quarts of fresh squeezed lemon juice in our freezer. If I invite you over for dinner, just plan on having lemonade to drink. Some of the lemons were the biggest I've ever seen.
I don't know if these pictures are too small to see Lucas' face. I hope not, because his little expressions are sure to make you smile.
Epidurals: Before I had Clara, child birth did not scare me. After I had Clara, child birth did not scare me. After I had Hazel, I'm a little scared of child birth. Not because I can't handle it (since I learned sometimes we have to handle it whether we choose to or not), but because it is SO unpredictable. The 45 minutes of labor before I had Hazel were worse for me than the 6 minutes I spent pushing her out. Even still, if I knew my next labor would be like that, I'd do it epidural free in a heart beat. But let's face it, that wasn't exactly normal. If I knew I'd be in labor for 6 hours (or probably even just 3... :)), I would probably opt for an epidural. So you see the problem, you never know. And that's why I'm scared. What if I decide to go without an epidural and it's 6 hours of horrible laboring? Good thing it will be a nice long while before I have to make that decision again, eh?
Details: Speaking of epidurals... I haven't decided if I am going to post my big, long labor story. I will tell it to just about anyone, but there's something about posting all that detail about the labor and delivery of my sweet little baby that makes me feel like my personal life has been violated. Don't ask, I might be crazy.
Pintata: I made a pinata for Clara's party, but we ran out of time. Instead, we did the pinata at my parent's on a Sunday night. I wasted way too much money buying stuff for the inside (it was mostly toys since I was pretty sure no one was suffering from sugar withdrawals), but after seeing how excited the kids were with their little treasures, I didn't mind. Oh, and Clara calls it a "pintata". (Other words she alters: termamites and medcine).
I was too cheap to buy a pinata and too lazy and pregnant to make one. So, I used a graham cracker box and wrapped it like a present. The yarn broke after a few rounds so Jason bravely held the string while the older kids broke it apart. Fortunately, there were no injuries.
Thumb nail: I was walking into Clara's room and jammed my thumb into the wall, braking my nail on both sides. It's going to take a while for the nail to grow beyond the skin that it's still attached to. I have to protect it and be mindful of it every time I do something because every time something catches on the broken part and pulls the nail up, it makes the skin underneath bleed. Only at times like this do I realize how much I love and appreciate my thumbs!
Overdoing it: I was pretty lazy the first two weeks after I had Hazel. I often think lazy days are what motivates me. I'm not the type of person that can be lazy day after day after day. But I also can't be an over-achiever day after day either. Both lifestyles get old, which is why I tend to alternate. The only problem was trying not to feel lazy left me feeling overdone.
Dairy: During the time I nursed Clara, I didn't pay too much attention to what I ate. I always said, eh, she'll get used to it. Plus, it seemed like her spitting up and fussiness was so inconsistent with what I ate so I didn't make much of an effort to figure out if it was anything with my diet. With Hazel, her spit up, both volume and frequency, seemed to pattern my dairy intake. So, I have decided to try and limit my dairy. I'm not completely stopping, but I have definitely noticed a difference, mostly by not eating cereal with milk or yogurt on my granola in the morning.
Water: We have a good size lot with plenty of trees, bushes, etc. About 95% of our 35+ trees are irrigated, all the shrubs/bushes are on a drip system and although we do have grass in the front, it's not much. Of course you can never know just how much your utility bills will be when you move to a new place, but I thought I had made a pretty conservative estimate. You can imagine my surprise when I got our first water bill and it was over $160 (for those of you in Mesa, this wasn't my City of Mesa bill, that includes sewer, trash and gas, this was JUST the water). This was about double what I'd planned for. I compared notes with people that had pools, much larger grass areas being watered, more people in the house, etc. etc. and decided something was definitely wrong, especially considering it was winter. When we moved in, we put the water on a little more than normal to revive the plants. So, we turned the water down a bit, fixed some leaks in the drip and sprinkler systems, repaired broken sprinkler heads (it got a little humorous because every time Jason would replace one head, one or two more would break the next day) and waited to see how much our bill dropped. You can imagine my surprise, yet again, when our next water charge was almost $190. Obviously something was seriously wrong. I went on a little hunt around the property and discovered the oleanders lining the perimeter of our property were all on a "drip" system that appeared to put out a stream of water rather than a drip and was getting watered multiple times a day. Anyway, long story short (maybe this isn't so short, actually), we turned the water way back, completely turned the water off to the oleanders (they get plenty of water with the irrigation) and walla! our next bill was $90. Oh, happy day.
Lemons: We have a few lemon trees. One has lots and lots of lemons. It makes me happy because the lemon tree we planted at our old house gave us 5 scrawny little lemons last year. Anyway, the tree has not been well maintained and there were two other trees planted within a few feet of it. Jason got rid of the other two trees, which were holding up a "branch" of our lemon tree. It wouldn't have been that big of a deal, but said "branch" was about 35% of the tree. But, it had to go. It was hanging on the ground and made our yard look sloppy. We obviously didn't want to waste all the lemons on it so Jason and Dan picked them all off and then a few days later, Jason juiced them, with a little help from Lucas and Rachel. We now have 28 quarts of fresh squeezed lemon juice in our freezer. If I invite you over for dinner, just plan on having lemonade to drink. Some of the lemons were the biggest I've ever seen.
I don't know if these pictures are too small to see Lucas' face. I hope not, because his little expressions are sure to make you smile.
Epidurals: Before I had Clara, child birth did not scare me. After I had Clara, child birth did not scare me. After I had Hazel, I'm a little scared of child birth. Not because I can't handle it (since I learned sometimes we have to handle it whether we choose to or not), but because it is SO unpredictable. The 45 minutes of labor before I had Hazel were worse for me than the 6 minutes I spent pushing her out. Even still, if I knew my next labor would be like that, I'd do it epidural free in a heart beat. But let's face it, that wasn't exactly normal. If I knew I'd be in labor for 6 hours (or probably even just 3... :)), I would probably opt for an epidural. So you see the problem, you never know. And that's why I'm scared. What if I decide to go without an epidural and it's 6 hours of horrible laboring? Good thing it will be a nice long while before I have to make that decision again, eh?Details: Speaking of epidurals... I haven't decided if I am going to post my big, long labor story. I will tell it to just about anyone, but there's something about posting all that detail about the labor and delivery of my sweet little baby that makes me feel like my personal life has been violated. Don't ask, I might be crazy.
Pintata: I made a pinata for Clara's party, but we ran out of time. Instead, we did the pinata at my parent's on a Sunday night. I wasted way too much money buying stuff for the inside (it was mostly toys since I was pretty sure no one was suffering from sugar withdrawals), but after seeing how excited the kids were with their little treasures, I didn't mind. Oh, and Clara calls it a "pintata". (Other words she alters: termamites and medcine).
I was too cheap to buy a pinata and too lazy and pregnant to make one. So, I used a graham cracker box and wrapped it like a present. The yarn broke after a few rounds so Jason bravely held the string while the older kids broke it apart. Fortunately, there were no injuries.
Thumb nail: I was walking into Clara's room and jammed my thumb into the wall, braking my nail on both sides. It's going to take a while for the nail to grow beyond the skin that it's still attached to. I have to protect it and be mindful of it every time I do something because every time something catches on the broken part and pulls the nail up, it makes the skin underneath bleed. Only at times like this do I realize how much I love and appreciate my thumbs!
Overdoing it: I was pretty lazy the first two weeks after I had Hazel. I often think lazy days are what motivates me. I'm not the type of person that can be lazy day after day after day. But I also can't be an over-achiever day after day either. Both lifestyles get old, which is why I tend to alternate. The only problem was trying not to feel lazy left me feeling overdone. Cookies: I think we'll bake a lot of cookies this year. At least until I figure out what else you're supposed to do on Sunday when you have 8:30am church. Today, the first batch we made resulted in some pretty burnt cookies. I've mostly figured out my gas oven, but when Rachel was here, she made me some cookies and they kept burning. It was weird. I've overcooked plenty of things in my oven, but never burnt something. And no, it wasn't user error. Anyway, it happened again today and I realized the problem. A standard cookie sheet doesn't fit sideways into my oven. Awesome, I know. It will fit longways, barely. However, Jason discovered that you can put the cookie sheet on the guides the racks go on and it will fit sideways. But today I realized that method gets the pan too hot, resulting in cookies that look lovely up top 
and more like charcoal on their underside.
Guess we know not to do that anymore.
Music: Angela recently made me a CD using a list of songs I have accumulated over the last year plus other similar sounding songs of her choosing. I have listened to it over and over and over again. Don't worry, there are 52 songs so I won't get sick of it any time soon. I love how the songs make me feel. Happy. Hopeful. Energized. I think my very favorite is All I Want Is You by Barry Louis Polisar.
2 Kids: I have two kids! I was driving home from Beka's house one night and for the first time really thought about the two carseats in my backseat. I had just one for so long, it never seemed like there'd be a second. Having two kids 4 years apart definitely eliminates some of the busyness of two kids. I'm pretty sure the adjustment is a little easier than if Clara was younger. I also realized when you have another kid, your love really does multiply. It's the time that needs to be split, and that's what I need to figure out. That part has been hard for me
and more like charcoal on their underside.
Guess we know not to do that anymore.Music: Angela recently made me a CD using a list of songs I have accumulated over the last year plus other similar sounding songs of her choosing. I have listened to it over and over and over again. Don't worry, there are 52 songs so I won't get sick of it any time soon. I love how the songs make me feel. Happy. Hopeful. Energized. I think my very favorite is All I Want Is You by Barry Louis Polisar.
2 Kids: I have two kids! I was driving home from Beka's house one night and for the first time really thought about the two carseats in my backseat. I had just one for so long, it never seemed like there'd be a second. Having two kids 4 years apart definitely eliminates some of the busyness of two kids. I'm pretty sure the adjustment is a little easier than if Clara was younger. I also realized when you have another kid, your love really does multiply. It's the time that needs to be split, and that's what I need to figure out. That part has been hard for me
Clara: Still sick. Poor girl. But I'm hopeful she's on the mend (finally). Today she crawled into the fort we made and just laid there for over an hour. But it's the first time since Monday that she's been fever free without medicine. Yay!
Preschool: I was pretty set on not putting Clara in preschool next year. She's a smart girl, I don't feel like it's important that she's reading before Kindergarten, I figure she's getting enough learning with Aunt Kathryn and I didn't want to have another time and financial obligation. But, I think I'm reconsidering. I've been thinking about it and I think Clara would really like preschool. She told me she doesn't want to do preschool with me, she wants to go somewhere. So now I'm looking for something just right for Clara. I don't want to pay a bunch of money for her to learn things she already knows or for babysitting, but I also want her to have fun and not feel like learning is a chore. I want it close to my house and in the morning, if possible. Suggestions, anyone? Please and thank you.
Preschool: I was pretty set on not putting Clara in preschool next year. She's a smart girl, I don't feel like it's important that she's reading before Kindergarten, I figure she's getting enough learning with Aunt Kathryn and I didn't want to have another time and financial obligation. But, I think I'm reconsidering. I've been thinking about it and I think Clara would really like preschool. She told me she doesn't want to do preschool with me, she wants to go somewhere. So now I'm looking for something just right for Clara. I don't want to pay a bunch of money for her to learn things she already knows or for babysitting, but I also want her to have fun and not feel like learning is a chore. I want it close to my house and in the morning, if possible. Suggestions, anyone? Please and thank you.Saturday, January 15, 2011
A Simple Request
This morning I was tempted to keep my prayer to a one-liner:
Please help me to have patience.
Amen.
Clara has been sick since Monday night, with coughing and a fever. She's been coughing a lot the last three days. It seems like she has not been able to go more than 5 minutes without coughing. Am I the only mean mom that gets totally irritated from hearing coughing non-stop? Even if it's my own little darling? It just grates and grates and grates on my nerves. Add in lack of sleep, an extra whiny Clara, a crying baby and being stuck in the house all week, and you have a pretty crazy Anna. Did I mention Clara has watched more movies in the last three days than in the entire month before that? What would I do with twins? (No offense all my friends and family that have twins {there's a lot of you!}. I'm just saying, I don't have the patience you do and whenever I have weeks like this, I wonder what I'd do if it was times two).
I think I might go shopping today. You know, to get out of the house, and do something exciting, like buy tax forms.
PS At least Clara still keeps us laughing despite being sick... Like this morning when Clara saw a bag of Hostess glazed donuts and Clara asked Jason why he ate all the sugar off the donuts.
Please help me to have patience.
Amen.
Clara has been sick since Monday night, with coughing and a fever. She's been coughing a lot the last three days. It seems like she has not been able to go more than 5 minutes without coughing. Am I the only mean mom that gets totally irritated from hearing coughing non-stop? Even if it's my own little darling? It just grates and grates and grates on my nerves. Add in lack of sleep, an extra whiny Clara, a crying baby and being stuck in the house all week, and you have a pretty crazy Anna. Did I mention Clara has watched more movies in the last three days than in the entire month before that? What would I do with twins? (No offense all my friends and family that have twins {there's a lot of you!}. I'm just saying, I don't have the patience you do and whenever I have weeks like this, I wonder what I'd do if it was times two).I think I might go shopping today. You know, to get out of the house, and do something exciting, like buy tax forms.
PS At least Clara still keeps us laughing despite being sick... Like this morning when Clara saw a bag of Hostess glazed donuts and Clara asked Jason why he ate all the sugar off the donuts.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Expectations
Lately I've realized my expectations are a little unrealistic.
Such as...
... expecting my body to be back to normal by now. I look at my stomach and think, Why are you still here? I go on a walk to the mailbox (don't judge, ours is far from our house), pushing the stroller with Clara and Hazel, and then feeling as achy as the day after I gave birth. I think I just feel so good most of the time that I forget it's only been a few weeks.
... expecting Clara to act like she's an adult. After all, she's only four, she is learning to share me with Hazel and let's face it, overall, she's very mature and well-behaved for her age. (She's reading books to Hazel as I type).
... expecting Hazel to have perfected her routine. Such as, nap when I want her to and be awake when I want her to and never fuss because she's well rested and well fed. It's not that she never does this, it's just so inconsistent. Some days it seems like it's impossible to get her to sleep and impossible to wake her up. She really is a pretty awesome baby and all babies have their moments. I just have to constantly remind myself to relax and just enjoy her being a baby. Besides, have I mentioned she's a peach at night (last night wasn't so peachy, actually, but it's nothing to really complain about either)? Most nights, she sleeps 3-5 hours at a time and other than one night in the hospital and one night the day after we got home, she's always been like that. On Monday night, I fed her for the last time just before 10pm and I had to wake her up at 6am to feed her. I know, I know, they say not to let a breast fed baby sleep longer than 5 hours, but I'll be honest, I don't care what "they" say. I'm not into waking a sleeping baby at night. During the day? Yes. Night? Not so much (unless it was medically necessary). She's healthy, she's gaining weight, she's big and she'll wake up if she's hungry.
... expecting to be able to get my work done as quickly with a newborn and a feverish toddler as I did a few months ago. Instead, I feel like I'm barely getting the absolutely necessary things done. I am not getting caught up, which makes me nervous for how things are going to go with all my year-end to do's.
I suppose I need to find out how to lower my expectations without losing my motivation to work on meeting my expectations.
Such as...
... expecting my body to be back to normal by now. I look at my stomach and think, Why are you still here? I go on a walk to the mailbox (don't judge, ours is far from our house), pushing the stroller with Clara and Hazel, and then feeling as achy as the day after I gave birth. I think I just feel so good most of the time that I forget it's only been a few weeks.
... expecting Clara to act like she's an adult. After all, she's only four, she is learning to share me with Hazel and let's face it, overall, she's very mature and well-behaved for her age. (She's reading books to Hazel as I type).
... expecting Hazel to have perfected her routine. Such as, nap when I want her to and be awake when I want her to and never fuss because she's well rested and well fed. It's not that she never does this, it's just so inconsistent. Some days it seems like it's impossible to get her to sleep and impossible to wake her up. She really is a pretty awesome baby and all babies have their moments. I just have to constantly remind myself to relax and just enjoy her being a baby. Besides, have I mentioned she's a peach at night (last night wasn't so peachy, actually, but it's nothing to really complain about either)? Most nights, she sleeps 3-5 hours at a time and other than one night in the hospital and one night the day after we got home, she's always been like that. On Monday night, I fed her for the last time just before 10pm and I had to wake her up at 6am to feed her. I know, I know, they say not to let a breast fed baby sleep longer than 5 hours, but I'll be honest, I don't care what "they" say. I'm not into waking a sleeping baby at night. During the day? Yes. Night? Not so much (unless it was medically necessary). She's healthy, she's gaining weight, she's big and she'll wake up if she's hungry.
... expecting to be able to get my work done as quickly with a newborn and a feverish toddler as I did a few months ago. Instead, I feel like I'm barely getting the absolutely necessary things done. I am not getting caught up, which makes me nervous for how things are going to go with all my year-end to do's.
I suppose I need to find out how to lower my expectations without losing my motivation to work on meeting my expectations.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Christmas
Christmas this year was kind of low key, but just right. Jason's parents stayed with us on Christmas Eve so they opened presents with us Christmas morning. Clara and her cookies for Santa (we almost forgot, whoops). 
On Christmas morning, things were pretty quiet at our house, even having Jason's parents there. My memories of Christmas morning growing up in a big family, included impatiently waiting in a designated sibling's room until a "reasonable" hour to wake my parents up, impatiently waiting my turn to open a present, impatiently waiting for everyone else to open a present, etc. So I guess the point is: being an only child eliminates having to be patient on Christmas morning. :) I sure hope she enjoyed it because it was her last Christmas as the lone child.
I had no intention of Clara getting everything she asked for. But for her birthday, my mom got her "a music thing that plays music in her room" (aka clock radio) and that left only two items on her wish list: reindeer pj's and her own Christmas tree. I was delighted when I saw some reindeer pj's at Wal Mart (that I purchased, then later purchased a different pair that I found there another time that I liked better). I got those for Clara and told her I let Santa know. I just wanted her to be able to wear them Christmas Eve. Then she got her own tree with decorations from Santa (how could he resist when it was $2.79 on clearance at Michael's?). That morning she came into our room and we kept sleeping. She left then came back in with the tree and Jason let her go back to look at her other stuff. When I realized what was happening, I made him go get her and I jumped (well, not really, I was 9 months pregnant after all) out of bed. Obviously we've never discussed our "rules" for Christmas morning. Clara loved her toothbrushes (since she normally only gets fancy toothbrushes from the dentist, ha ha).
And obviously she had to put a dress-up dress on in order to put make up on.
I finally got my two Christmas wishes that have been on my list for the last two years: a bigger house and a baby (well, close enough). I think we do a good job of making sure we recognize the true meaning of Christmas all throughout December. However, I realized this year that we do a poor job of doing anything on the actual day of Christmas. Something to work on for next year.
On Christmas morning, things were pretty quiet at our house, even having Jason's parents there. My memories of Christmas morning growing up in a big family, included impatiently waiting in a designated sibling's room until a "reasonable" hour to wake my parents up, impatiently waiting my turn to open a present, impatiently waiting for everyone else to open a present, etc. So I guess the point is: being an only child eliminates having to be patient on Christmas morning. :) I sure hope she enjoyed it because it was her last Christmas as the lone child.I had no intention of Clara getting everything she asked for. But for her birthday, my mom got her "a music thing that plays music in her room" (aka clock radio) and that left only two items on her wish list: reindeer pj's and her own Christmas tree. I was delighted when I saw some reindeer pj's at Wal Mart (that I purchased, then later purchased a different pair that I found there another time that I liked better). I got those for Clara and told her I let Santa know. I just wanted her to be able to wear them Christmas Eve. Then she got her own tree with decorations from Santa (how could he resist when it was $2.79 on clearance at Michael's?). That morning she came into our room and we kept sleeping. She left then came back in with the tree and Jason let her go back to look at her other stuff. When I realized what was happening, I made him go get her and I jumped (well, not really, I was 9 months pregnant after all) out of bed. Obviously we've never discussed our "rules" for Christmas morning. Clara loved her toothbrushes (since she normally only gets fancy toothbrushes from the dentist, ha ha).
And obviously she had to put a dress-up dress on in order to put make up on.
I finally got my two Christmas wishes that have been on my list for the last two years: a bigger house and a baby (well, close enough). I think we do a good job of making sure we recognize the true meaning of Christmas all throughout December. However, I realized this year that we do a poor job of doing anything on the actual day of Christmas. Something to work on for next year.We went over to my parent's for brunch and I spent about 80% of the day sitting in my parent's front lawn eating, visiting, watching Rachel sew, enjoying the warm sun and green grass and wondering when I would have a baby. This explains why all my pictures from the day are taken from a chair. I didn't get up and walk around a whole lot.
Rachel and I capped off the night by making a late-night run to Walgreen's for some Castor oil... more on that later (maybe). We both were wondering why there were SO many people at the store on Christmas. The Castor oil was basically an emergency (ha, ha). Perhaps the guy buying a 24-pack considered that an emergency too.
Rachel and I capped off the night by making a late-night run to Walgreen's for some Castor oil... more on that later (maybe). We both were wondering why there were SO many people at the store on Christmas. The Castor oil was basically an emergency (ha, ha). Perhaps the guy buying a 24-pack considered that an emergency too.PS I'm well aware that this post doesn't flow very well. It's all over the place, especially the first part. Too bad, I don't have the desire to change it. :)
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
And the sun will shine again
My mom and Lily babysat so Jason and I could go out for our anniversary (7 years!) last night. Our date consisted of me standing at the JC Penny Catalog counter for almost an hour (it should've taken 5 minutes) while Jason waited in the car, running into Motherhood Maternity to buy a nursing bra (fail) and then dessert at Cheesecake Factory (we were left with about 20 minutes in the restaurant thanks to my lovely experience at JCP). If that doesn't scream "happy anniversary!", what does? I think we might have to try that again. Or maybe last night will mark the beginning of having regular date nights. I'd be okay with that.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Argh
I've managed to fill up my hard drive, again, with pictures. In the process of moving and backing up 40GB of pictures (yeah, and that was mostly just from 2010), I noticed the July 2009 folder is gone. I don't know if it's just hidden somewhere (hopefully) or if I somehow managed to delete it the last time I moved things around. It makes me sick to my stomach. In frantically looking in all the folders of pictures, hoping I've just misplaced it, I found a few little treasures of Clara.
August '07 
September '08
May '09
January '10I sure love my little goose. Sometimes I forget about all the fun stages we've been through and how much laughter wouldn't have happened without her. I forget what it was like a year ago, two years ago, etc. It's especially easy to forget when she's talking back to me, scowling at me or stomping her feet because she's not getting her way. But then I look at old pictures and just smile. Good thing I have another one, otherwise I'd have a serious craving for a baby. And just like that, the sickness in my stomach is almost gone. I better go to bed so I don't think about July 2009 anymore...
Friday, January 7, 2011
Countdown to Christmas
In November I saw a super cute idea for an advent calendar for Christmas. I decided to make it and then undecided to make it a few days later when I realized it'd probably be the middle of December before I would even start the project.
Instead, I opted for a paper chain, a link a day, each link with an activity. We did really good the first 10 days, then we got a little off, but did most everything on our list.
Here's what made up our list (Not in order... I can not find my original list that I saved all month, funny how that works, so this is just the order I was able to remember them):
1. Make a paper chain
2. Go see Santa at Bass Pro Shop. Our first attempt didn't work out so well since Santa wasn't there. Whoops. We met Lucy and Elsa there and the girls still had plenty of fun with the other activities, looking at the fish and riding the elevator.
We went back with Jason later and he was there. Anyone else a little creeped out by some of these Santas?
12. Decorate tree & put up decorations 13. Make snowmen ornaments. Clara insisted she have a snowgirl. She doesn't like snowmen, apparently, so we cut out a dress and put a little bow on her snowgirl.
14. Make Christmas cards 15. Watch Joy to the World 16. Temple Lights
17. Drive around and look at Christmas lights 18. Write letter to Santa - I'm too lazy to scan Clara's letter in right now, but here's what it said, as recorded straight from Clara's mouth:
We had a lot of Christmas activities planned. Normally, I wouldn't be that ambitious in my last month of pregnancy, but I was determined to cram as much one-on-one time with Clara before the baby is born. Change is easier for me when I don't wish I'd done things differently before the change. I don't ever want to wish I had spent more time with her before Hazel was born.
Instead, I opted for a paper chain, a link a day, each link with an activity. We did really good the first 10 days, then we got a little off, but did most everything on our list.
Here's what made up our list (Not in order... I can not find my original list that I saved all month, funny how that works, so this is just the order I was able to remember them):
1. Make a paper chain
2. Go see Santa at Bass Pro Shop. Our first attempt didn't work out so well since Santa wasn't there. Whoops. We met Lucy and Elsa there and the girls still had plenty of fun with the other activities, looking at the fish and riding the elevator.
We went back with Jason later and he was there. Anyone else a little creeped out by some of these Santas?3. Make and decorate paper Christmas trees (sparkly reindeer antlers compliments my neighbor that spoils Clara)
4. Sing Christmas songs 5. Talk about the symbols of Christmas 6. Read about the birth of the Savior in Luke 2 7. Train park in Scottsdale (didn't happen this year...) 8. Donate food to a food bank (the only real service thing and I didn't get it done, how embarrassing) 9. Sirrine's Train Display (didn't happen this year...) 10. Decorate gingerbread houses (Clara's party killed two birds with one stone...) 11. Make, decorate and eat sugar cookies. Clara made these and frosted them all by herself. She did really good cutting them out and made little hearts to stick on the plates we gave to our neighbor and our HT.
4. Sing Christmas songs 5. Talk about the symbols of Christmas 6. Read about the birth of the Savior in Luke 2 7. Train park in Scottsdale (didn't happen this year...) 8. Donate food to a food bank (the only real service thing and I didn't get it done, how embarrassing) 9. Sirrine's Train Display (didn't happen this year...) 10. Decorate gingerbread houses (Clara's party killed two birds with one stone...) 11. Make, decorate and eat sugar cookies. Clara made these and frosted them all by herself. She did really good cutting them out and made little hearts to stick on the plates we gave to our neighbor and our HT. 
12. Decorate tree & put up decorations 13. Make snowmen ornaments. Clara insisted she have a snowgirl. She doesn't like snowmen, apparently, so we cut out a dress and put a little bow on her snowgirl.
14. Make Christmas cards 15. Watch Joy to the World 16. Temple Lights
17. Drive around and look at Christmas lights 18. Write letter to Santa - I'm too lazy to scan Clara's letter in right now, but here's what it said, as recorded straight from Clara's mouth:Dear Santa,
I love you and I love your chin. I want you to give us snow. I was a little bit good. I want a music thing that plays music when I'm asleep and a Christmas tree and reindeer jammies. That's all.
Love,
Clara
Clara
When the Santa at Bass Pro asked if she had been a good girl she told him she was only a little bit good. He gave her an extra candy cane for being honest. Ha ha.
19. Eat a candy cane (I asked Clara for an idea for one of our activities and this was her suggestion) 20. Deliver cookies to neighbors (two, to be exact) 21. Watch a Christmas movie 22. Nice birthday dinner for Clara (in other words, lunch with cousins at McDonald's, oh the sacrifices I make for her) 23. Make snowflakes 24. Listen to my dad's story about Wally on Christmas Eve.
We had a lot of Christmas activities planned. Normally, I wouldn't be that ambitious in my last month of pregnancy, but I was determined to cram as much one-on-one time with Clara before the baby is born. Change is easier for me when I don't wish I'd done things differently before the change. I don't ever want to wish I had spent more time with her before Hazel was born.Monday, January 3, 2011
Week #2
Jason - goes back to work tomorrow. He took today off so he wouldn't have to shave.
Anna - feels guilty (but definitely grateful) that people are still bringing dinner because she doesn't feel like she gave birth a week ago... Unless she does more than she should, then at night her body makes her regret it.
Clara - says it's hard that she has to share mom and dad, but said more hugs will make it better. Oh, and she's become totally obsessed with head dressings. Clips, flowers, headbands, a crown, etc. Obsession is the right word, no?
Hazel - sleeps more at night and cries more during the day. No one seems to mind. Do you blame us? 
Anna - feels guilty (but definitely grateful) that people are still bringing dinner because she doesn't feel like she gave birth a week ago... Unless she does more than she should, then at night her body makes her regret it.
Clara - says it's hard that she has to share mom and dad, but said more hugs will make it better. Oh, and she's become totally obsessed with head dressings. Clips, flowers, headbands, a crown, etc. Obsession is the right word, no?
Hazel - sleeps more at night and cries more during the day. No one seems to mind. Do you blame us? 
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