No, no, Beeber!

A few months ago, I bought Kallie a cute little Crayola matching game in the dollar bins at Michaels. She loves to play her matching game and will often beg for it. There area 18 sets of cards all named after one of the Crayola colors. The pictures are really cute! Well, a few days ago, Kallie saw this card...



...And she said, "Oh no! The beeber is EATING the crayon!" Well, eating crayons in our house is a big no-no, so I told Kallie that she needed to tell the beeber, "No, no, beaver, we don't eat crayons." So, now any time Kallie sees it, she points out that the beeber is not following the rules.

Babies Everywhere

The past couple of days have been baby days for us. To begin with, on Sunday night, Tommy and Kami had #3, a little girl they named Xiri. In the pictures I've seen, she has a cute little round face and a headful of dark hair. She looks like a cute little bean! I'm looking forward to meeting her in a few weeks.

Then, on Tuesday, one of my best friends, Elizabeth, and her husband, David, had their #2, another little girl that they named Tayah. We went to visit them in the hospital last night. Little Tayah also has a cute little round face and lots of hair--but hers is brown. I got to hold her for a while last night. She is such a sweet little thing! I didn't want to stop holding her--there's just something about those teeny-tiny little people that is so wonderful.

Having these babies here and several more "in process" is a good reminder to me of why I want more kids. But, for now, it's not enough to convince me that I'm ready for another one yet. Having an extremely active 2-year old and a sweet little almost-7-month old are enough for me at the moment.

What a blessing!

I was talking to a girl from my ward last night on the way home from Enrichment. She and her husband are from Norway and have been in the U.S. for about 2 years now. Her husband will finish MBA school next year and they will return to Norway. I asked her if she was looking forward to going back home and she said, "NO!" And, I really loved her response! She explained that when they lived in Norway, they had a mortgage, a car payment, and all of the other day-to-day stresses of normal life. She is the only member of the LDS Church in her family and neighborhood, so she feels the extra stress of setting a good example for them. She said that life here is easy--all they have to do is pay rent and their electricity bill and they're done! They don't have to worry about all of the other little things that come with their normal life.

This got me thinking about Ryan's and my preparation for grad school. When fall semester comes, we will have our car paid off and will have no debt, except for school loans. To this day, I still can't really figure out why we sold our condo just to rent a place--but selling has helped us pay off our car and be in a better financial position for grad school. Also, today, I realized that renting itself is a great thing for the next two years. While Ryan needs to focus his time and energy on school, he won't have to worry about a broken water heater, fixing something broken in the house, or any other home-owner type issues. Because we are here, he will be able to focus his energies on school and preparing more for the future. It might sound strange, but I feel like all of the things that have happened in our life recently are great blessings!

Update on Neighbors

I finally got to talk to our neighbors a few nights ago. Actually, I talked to the husband because apparently, the wife and kids don't really speak English. They're from the Congo and speak French. The extent of my French experience is 2 years in high school. And, since I've learned and more fluently spoke Russian since then, my Russion crowds out any French I might remember!

Anyway--they have been here for a year now. The husband is doing an MBA/Juris Doctorate (Business and Law school) combination and just finished his law classes. He said he still has some business classes to finish up and then he will be done. Their 2 kids are age 6 and 7 and are pretty nice kids. One has a more mellow temperament than the other--so you can guess which one is my favorite! :)

Knowing what I know now, I'm totally puzzled as to why the police were here the other day. They both seem like really nice people.

Oh--and one more update. I went to Enrichment in my new ward last night and had a great time! I got to talk to a lot of the sisters and get to know them better. There weren't a ton of girls there, but I think there are a lot of sisters here that are closer to my age and a lot of them have 2 kids. I feel more in my element and I think I'm going to enjoy my time here.

We're in Wymount!

Well, we did it. We moved! I can't believe we're actually in our own place again. It's nice to have our own stuff--even though a lot of it is still in boxes. We've been able to do a lot of unpacking, but it will take another couple of weeks before we're really settled in.

We were actually surprised by how fast the moving went. Ryan and my brother loaded up our storage unit on Friday afternoon. Saturday, several guys from my parents' ward showed up around 10. The truck was loaded by 10:30 and Ryan called me at 11:30 to tell me they had unloaded everything and he was going to drop off the truck.

We attended our new ward yesterday, too. First of all, the building we meet is in SUPER old--even has a basement and a bit of an upstairs. And, they couldn't fit all of the necessary classrooms into the original building, so they built an "annex" and you have to walk outside the foyer and back in another door to get to Sunday School and Relief Society. It's quite interesting!

The people in the ward are really nice. Several people asked us if we were new and what our names were...but for the most part, the ward is really not talkative! In my old student ward, the sisters would chit chat before Relief Society began--and in this ward, there wasn't much chit-chatting going on. I'm sure it's because about 1/3 of the ward is new within the past few weeks. Oh--and the other thing is that when they asked if someone would give the opening prayer, NO ONE volunteered! I was shocked. (I was filling out my new sister questionnaire and didn't get a chance to raise my hand before the RS Pres said she would do it.) Anyway--I guess it's a very quiet ward...maybe I can help change that.

Overall, I'm still excited about our experience here. I'm not sure what's in store, but I feel that we're going to be needed here.

Kallie's Big Girl Bed

Kallie is finally sleeping in a big girl bed! We decided that when we moved, we would put her in a twin bed and transfer Whitney to the pack n' play.

For several weeks now, I have been prepping Kallie so that moving to a new bed wouldn't be a big deal. Right about this time, Blue's Clues happened to show an episode where Paprika moved into a big girl bed. So, every time I talked to Kallie about the change, she would say, "Ike Ah-REE-kah!" (Which, in Kalleese, means, "Like Paprika!")

The first night in her bed was a bit of a challenge, as we expected. It took her about 2 hours to FINALLY go to sleep. Of course, the sleep only came after getting out of her bed and either exploring her room or coming to find mommy and daddy. It probably didn't help that it was the first night we were in our new apartment! It took taking her Elmo and her Cucumber away to help her understand she needed to stay in her bed. (That was awful for mommy!!) When she finally did fall asleep, she was perpendicular on her bed--with her head near the wall and her feet hanging off the other edge--in a spread eagle. It was so cute!

The next day, naptime was great and so was bedtime. She went right down--although she still slept across the bed. By Monday night, (two days into the new bed idea), she had a bit of a hard time going to bed--but decided that sleeping the usual way was just fine.

We're still working on getting things down pat, but I think she has done SO well. She usually won't get out of her bed in the morning or after a nap. I have to go in and check on her and she's normally reading a book. And, often times during the day, she will go in just to lay on her bed and rest. I especially like that part because if she's tired, she can go sleep!

Kallie is really adjusting well to her new bed and we're glad that the transition hasn't been as tough as it could have been!

Meet your new neighbors

Last night, when we got to our apartment, there was a BYU Campus Police car parked right in front of our stairwell. A policeman and a man in a suit were standing in front of the car chatting. As we were getting out, the lady from the apartment straight across from our door came out to the two men. I heard them tell her to please sit in the car so they could talk. Ryan and I averted our eyes and then gave each other a "What kind of neighbors do we have?" look as soon as we were in our apartment. The lady sat in the car with the policeman and suited man for quite a while. We were totally curious, but didn't want to blatantly watch what was going on.

A little while later, I heard the door across from ours close, so I figured the lady had gone inside. I needed to go out and get something from our car, and as I was heading out, the man from across the hall was headed out to talk to the guys in the police car. Again, I averted my eyes to and from my car, (which was 2 spaces away from the police car), and then whispered the update to Ryan as soon as I got back into our apartment. The man didn't talk to them as long as the lady did, but it was still a good hour before the police car actually left.

We're still speculating about what may have happened. Chances are there was a domestic dispute or something and the police needed to be called. (GREAT.) Or, we also know that the apartment across from ours is a 1 bedroom place, with a limit of 2 people per apartment. So far, from what we've seen, the neighbors have 4 people there consistently--2 adults and 2 kids. I'm kind of interested to see if they stay there much longer because both situations, domestic violence and overcrowding, cause immediate termination of the housing contract. I'll keep ya'll posted.

No more dishes!

Yesterday morning, I decided that I was going to make 10 freezer meals I gave to my mom for Mother's Day. But, the kitchen counters were covered with dirty dishes and the stove and counters needed to be washed. I knew I couldn't cook when the kitchen was in that state, so I cleaned the kitchen. It took me quite a while to get all of the dishes done, since no one had done them since Sunday night.

Then, I started cooking. I cooked from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m., with a few short breaks for feeding the kids and getting them down for naps, etc. By the time I was finished, there were 10 meals in the freezer ready to go and I didn't want to set foot in any kitchen for at least the remainder of the day--if not longer! Unfortunately, I had dirtied *a few* dishes in the process of making the meals. But, by the time I was ready to tackle them, Ryan and I headed off to our apartment to unpack a few boxes.

When we got to our apartment, guess what we did? We started washing dishes that had been in our storage unit for 3 1/2 months. And, the apartment doesn't come with a dishwasher, so everything we have done there we have done with good, old-fashioned elbow grease. I also cut out shelf lining and then dried and put away MORE dishes! We spent about 2 hours just doing part of the dishes from storage!

I had really hoped that by the time we got home, someone out of the three other adults in the house would have had mercy on me and decided to clean the kitchen. No such luck. So, this morning, I got up and started on more dishes. I spent about an hour cleaning this morning and then decided that I was tired of doing dishes. So, there are still a few larger pots and bowls on the counter. The kitchen is a lot cleaner, (since the counters and stove were clean before I started yesterday and I wiped them as I went), but there is still more to be done!

I guess that I should explain that it has been a long time since I have done dishes on a regular basis. My sweet husband and I have a deal that if I cook, he does the dishes. Since I like cooking more than dishes, he is the dishwasher in our home. I do actually do dishes from time to time, but probably not more than 3 times a month on average. As a result, doing more dishes than a normal household does in a day three times in a row is rather draining! And, the forecast for tonight is MORE DISHES!

The Brady Bunch

Every day, around the time I'm trying to fix dinner, I turn on KBYU to keep Kallie entertained for a bit. One of her favorite shows, Curious George, is on at 5, which works out perfectly for me! Right after Curious George is The Brady Bunch. I usually just leave the TV on, partially because I'm so busy cooking dinner that I don't want to take time to find something else or turn off the TV, and partially because it's entertaining.

The other day, Kallie had lost interest in George and was in the other room playing with her toys. She suddenly heard the title music to The Brady Bunch and RAN into the room shouting "Brady Bunch, Brady Bunch!" I didn't even realize that she knew what the show was! Then, a couple of days later, as the ending credits for Curious George were running, she said, "What's next, Mommy?" Which doesn't usually mean that she wants an answer, but she wants me to ask her that question so she can give me the answer. So, I asked, and she replied, "Brady Bunch!" If she watches the show at all, it's only for about 3 minutes, and then she's done. But, for some reason, she has become attached to the best known family from the 1970's!

Today is the day!!

Ryan and I are officially Wymount dwellers now! Well, except for the fact that our stuff isn't actually IN the apartment yet. :) We picked up our key this morning and went to check it out. Our apartment actually looks really small. I don't think it's THAT bad--and I think it will be fine for us for the next 2-or-so years. I can't wait to get in there and decorate and make it incredibly cute!

Growing like weeds!

Kallie had her 2 year appointment and Whitney had her 6 month appointment last Friday.

Kallie was such a good little trooper! At her 18 month appointment, she screamed the entire time and tried to get away from the Dr. Today, she was so good! I think it helped that she got an "Animal Hospital" toy last week for her birthday, so she was familiar with the stethoscope and "flashlights" for her ears and eyes. It also helped that the Dr. was able to check out Whitney first and Kallie got to see what was going on. She also had to get one shot and didn't even cry! I was absolutely amazed! She sucked in a quick breath when the needle went in, but that was it! She's in the 50-60th percentile on both height and weight, so she's right on.

Whitney on the other hand has lost almost a full pound in the last 2 months, which meant dropping from the 50th to the 3rd percentile. So, I have to start supplementing her with formula. I realize that it's not a big deal for her to be on formula, but it's hard for me because I feel SO strongly about breast feeding. I'm really trying to be grateful that we have formula available because she obviously needs more calories. My mother's instinct is that she has a high metabolism and my milk just isn't fatty enough to keep up with it. The good thing is that I don't have to stop breastfeeding at all--so I'm also grateful for that. Oh--and she also dropped just slightly in her head and weight percentiles. (Not nearly like the weight drop, though!)

Starting formula was a little rocky. Beginning Friday night, I gave her some Similac formula that the Dr. gave me to try out. First of all, it smelled disgusting! Second of all, Saturday, Whitney started throwing up HUGE amounts. I don't know how her little stomach could hold everything that came out of her! After talking to some of my friends, I decided that it was the formula and not the shots that were causing the upset. So, we ran to the store last night and picked up some Wal-Mart brand Enfamil-like formula. I'm loving it so far! Whitney hasn't thrown up yet and it doesn't stink like the other stuff. So, good on both accounts!

Now that Whitney knows the difference between hungry and full, she's hungry all the time. The Dr. said this would happen, but I didn't realize how ravenous she actually was. While it's an adjustment for me, I'm just really glad that I know how to make my baby happier and healthier!

Being a mom (This one is LONG!)

I've been thinking a lot about this over the past couple of weeks. More so since I read that article I posted yesterday. I've been going over and over again in my mind what I do every day and why it seems I don't get a whole lot done in a day. I've thought a lot about how life was when I was single, or even married and childless (which wasn't a very long period of time), and how I spent my days.

When I was single, I could get up early in the morning, even if I had stayed out socializing late the night before. I could even sleep in until I decided to wake up on Saturdays and on Sundays, too, if I didn't have meetings before church--which was the norm. I could also take naps any time I wanted without interruption.

Now that I'm a mom, sleeping in ANY time is a thing of the past. Saturday, Sunday, and any other time, my kids are usually up by 7:30 at the latest. And, even if I get to sleep until that luxuriously late hour, I end up dragging myself out of bed. Apparently, 8 hours of sleep in short 2-4 hour blocks, (depending on feedings and other night wakings of the kids), does not equal a full night's sleep, no matter how much you want it to!

When I was single, getting ready on a daily basis was the norm. I got to shower as soon as I woke up and had time to shave my legs, put on make-up, and blow dry and style my hair. I got to have as leisurely a breakfast as I wanted without any interruptions.

As a mom, I try to get a shower in every day. Some days, though, the girls' nap schedule doesn't match up and I miss out on that opportunity completely. On the days I do shower, I'm usually trying to get in and out as quickly as possible because I have a million and one things to do while the kids are sleeping. I'm lucky if I get the chance to blow dry my hair and hope that I'll get to put on make-up within a few hours of showering.

Breakfast with kids is anything but relaxing and leisurely. I pop a couple of pieces of bread in the toaster and answer the requests of my 2-year old. Some days, she's hungrier than others, so I end up fulfilling more requests than usual. Either way, I still don't get to my toast until it's cooled off quite a bit. Oh well!

When I was single, I headed out to work every weekday morning. While I was at work, I answered my phone, dealt with employees, and tended to other mundane tasks. If I couldn't get my work done with my phone on and office door open, I could shut the door and turn off the phone and take care of whatever it was that needed my immediate attention. At the end of the day, I left my work behind me and went home to relax and take care of a few housekeeping issues.

As a mom, I LIVE at work. I don't ever leave my workplace. I am on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week--I can't ever turn my "Mommy Pager" off. My girls are constantly begging for my attention. No matter what I'm doing, I hear little voices fussing or saying, "Mommy hold you!" Trying to do anything while holding a 2-year old and/or a 6 month old is practically impossible. So, I end up playing, watching a show, cuddling, or doing whatever else my daughter thinks might be fun at the time. I spend my days listening to a constant cacophony of happy and sad child sounds. I take on the roles of both disciplinarian and nurturer in a constant revolution.

If I want to get my tasks done without interruption and have some quiet time, I have to wait at least until naptime--that is if the girls' naps coincide. Naptime can range from 1 1/2 hours to 3 hours, according to how tired the girls are, so what I can accomplish in that time frame depends on the day. And, just like when I was single, I have to prioritize what I will do in that short period of time. Some days showering wins. Some days, it's the laundry. Some days, it's a little of everything. And, other days, I don't do anything. Having some time to myself to do what I want is very rare--so some days, I'm selfish and choose to do what I want to do in those few hours.

When I was single, my evenings were filled with socializing, running errands, and various other personal pursuits. If I wanted to go get something for dinner, no one would stop me. If I wanted to go see a movie with friends, I was free to do it. If I wanted to stay up late or go to bed early, that was my choice.

Now that I'm a mom, evenings are usually filled with chores I didn't finish during the day, running a few errands WITHOUT the kids, and trying to spend some time with my wonderful husband. Going out for dinner without the kids requires finding a babysitter with whom I can trust my darling girls. Movies these days are almost impossible, as I am so tired by the end of the day, I usually sleep through them all. (I guess that's how I was when I was single, too.) I don't decide when and how I sleep anymore. If the baby cries, I can't send her to voicemail. If my 2-year old has a bad dream, I can't tell her we'll deal with it tomorrow. I am available for snuggles and kisses and playtime at my kids discretion--even if it's 3 a.m.

The thing is that I wouldn't trade this new, constantly changing, and challenging experience for the world. I know that my kids are growing fast and so most days, I don't resent the 2 a.m. feedings or the constant cries of "Mommy!" throughout the day. I know that all too soon, I will be back to my own existence, so I truly try to savor these experiences as much as I can in the moment.

A few weeks ago in Relief Society, one of the women made a comment that during the years while her children still lived at home, she made their goals her goals. This isn't to say that she didn't have personal goals and aspirations of her own. But, as any mother knows, you would literally go insane with a feeling of non-accomplishment during those busy years of life if all you had was your own personal growth and development in mind. It seems that for a time during life, your own pursuits are crowded out because of the immediacy and importance of the development of your children.

Being a mom really is the most difficult role I have taken on so far in my life. It has required more creativity, patience, and love than I thought I had. It takes everything out of you and somehow ends up giving it all back and then some. While there are times that I miss the carefree independence of my single days, I don't ever wish that I was not a mother.

What does a SAHM do all day?

I have thought long and hard about this question. Sometimes it seems like an entire day goes by and I can't even pinpoint one task I've fully completed that day--and I'm dead tired! When one of my friends showed me this on-line article, I thought it was a great description. Here's the link to the explanation:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/22/AR2007052201554.html

And, after reading that, I now understand WHY I don't get a whole lot done and WHY I'm exhausted in the evenings.

Family Home Evening

Within the past couple of weeks, Ryan and I have decided that instead of having FHE with just the 2 of us, we need to start involving Kallie. I was kind of dreading rushing through dinner, keeping her up late, and having to deal with her grumpies the next day. Then, I saw a little FHE video on KBYU.

One lady on the video said her dad spent at least 6 months at a time overseas serving in the armed forces. When the other guys would go out to party and play, her dad would stay in the barracks and use a reel to reel tape machine to record family home evening for his wife and kids. He would welcome them, tell them what the opening song was and then sing it on the reel to reel. After the song, he would ask a specific family member to say a prayer, and then he would give a lesson. I got a lump in my throat listening to her story. I don't think I have ever in my life felt that FHE was so important that I would record something for my kids if I couldn't be there. Knowing that father's commitment to FHE really got me thinking about my commitment to it--and I stopped dreading the incredibly insignificant stresses that we would be dealing with when we started including Kallie.

Last night was the first night that Kallie officially attended FHE. We sat in our bedroom in a little circle, Ryan and I in our camping chairs and Kallie in her little Lightning McQueen folding chair. We had our opening prayer and a song, which Kallie tried to sing, but mostly danced through. And after, I gave a little 5-minute lesson on obeying, (pulled from the LDS Nursery manual). I was actually surprised at how well Kallie did with the lesson. She didn't totally get everything, but she was completely soaking up the attention from mommy and daddy. At the end of the lesson, I bore a very simple testimony of obedience--and toward the end, she looked straight in my eyes and just listened. It was neat for me to see that happen. After the lesson, Ryan led the activity, which was singing, "Do as I'm doing." Then, our little Family Home Evening was over.

Ryan and I felt so good afterward! We loved that it actually worked! And, much to my delight, Kallie went to bed fairly easily when FHE was over. She even slept in a little longer this morning! Now, I don't think I can blame all of that on Family Home Evening, but all of those things combined will make it easier to do it again next week.

ONE WEEK!!!

Those of you who are doing the same thing I am can sympathize with this feeling...We have ONE WEEK left until we get the keys to our apartment! It is SO close I can almost taste it! Ryan and I have been talking a lot about how we're going to make the move, how we hope our girls will both deal well with the new surroundings, how we really want to make some good friends there...etc. Ya'll are probably sick of hearing me say that I can't wait to have my own place again. Thank goodness there's only a week left--otherwise I may have to subject you to that phrase a little more! I'll try to curb my exuberance for this last week, but that's going to be really hard!!

The Escapee

This afternoon, I was getting Whitney ready to go down for a nap. And, since Kallie and Whitney go down at the same time, Kallie was running around ransacking my room waiting for me to take her into her bedroom. Finally, in a moment of desperation, ("Please come away from that" just wasn't working anymore), I said, "Kallie, why don't you go get in your bed and get your binky and blanky and doggie?" Now, you have to know that Kallie still sleeps in a Pack 'n' Play, so climbing in and out is not as easy as hopping up onto a bed.

A few seconds later, I looked over into her room and saw that she actually HAD somehow climbed into her bed. I was pretty surprised! Then, I thought that she had probably used some nearby furniture as a booster and hopped in that way. Heading down the path of least resistance, I left her in her bed as I rocked and sang to Whitney. Once again, to my surprise, Kallie climbed OUT of her bed just as I was putting Whitney down. Apparently, she hadn't used any additional furniture for leverage!

This new talent comes at a great time, in my opinion. I really think that she is more than ready to start sleeping in a big girl bed. Both Ryan and I are a bit nervous about putting her in a non-contained bed, since Kallie is not known for her "sitting still" or "staying in one place" skills. Plus, while we're at my parents', there are too many fun things to explore in her bedroom. So, when we move into Wymount, we will be transitioning Kallie to a big girl bed. I'm really looking forward to it!