Play-dates & Fun

My last blog update was only a week ago, but we have been doing some fun things since then that deserve to be on the blog!

Last week I told the kids that if we could get through the cleaning, we could get out sister's bubble machine and play with it. My kids LOVE bubbles. Most kids do, I guess, but mine really do. They were so excited that they couldn't make themselves stand still for pictures! 

 On Thursday the 16th Evelynn insisted on riding her little horsey out to wait for her brother's bus. I found it to be highly amusing. She was so excited about it though, and kept making sure it was playing music and making horsey noises when she got on it. 

 When Connor came home from preschool I attempted to get some pictures of him BEFORE his clothes came off. If you know my child, you know that's a huge challenge. 

 And this is just another picture of Evelynn from the next day (Friday), while waiting for brother. This is what her hair does when she sleeps on her curls. It flips out. My hubby fondly calls it her "wings". She inherited that little attribute from him. 

On Saturday (18th) Evelynn and I did a girls day and went shopping. I told her we could go pick out the stuff to make her birthday cake, and we would run some errands. She was SO excited to go with mommy. I did her hair in the cutest little ponytail for the first time! It was almost so cute I never wanted to do it again because she looked so grown up with it. Bittersweet. 

I should have taken pictures BEFORE our little girls outing, because it was starting to fall out of the ponytail after several hours out with mom. 

One of Connor's newest habits is to tell me to "STOP!" doing something that irritates him. He'll put his hand forward and show you the sign to stop. He didn't like me telling him to hold still. (What a mean mom I am!)

Shortly after admiring how cute my children were, I look up to see my daughter inside the fireplace. She was sitting inside with the little curtain covering pulled, and was playing there as if it was her new clubhouse. I told Caleb to look, and she immediately climbed out. I'm sure she thought she was introuble, which she wasn't. We don't use the fireplace. But someone before us definitely did....she left a sooty trail and her feet, hands, head, and legs were covered in ash! I tried to get her to climb back inside to take a picture, but she only wanted to sit on the side of it. 

 Needless to say, she got a long soapy bath after that one. 

 I bought a new maternity dress that I wore on Sunday. I figured I should take an official picture welcoming myself to the 3rd trimester. 

 Sunday was HUGE for my Connor. He went to Sunbeams all by himself!!! I had to walk him in and give him his smarties, but when the primary president asked if he wanted to sit with his class, he took her hand and sat by them, and I took it as the invitation for me to escape. He was all smiles when I picked him up after class! Mommy is SO proud of you, Connor! He was so excited to come home and tell his daddy what he had done. 

Please ignore the mess in the background, and the fact that my child is only half dressed. I tell ya, he's lightning fast at that undressing thing!!! I'm lucky he was wearing a shirt with buttons that he couldn't get off without help, or else there would have been NO clothes. 

Evelynn has a rough time with the 2 pm church thing. She also probably had one too many smarties that she kept stealing from my bag. Then end result was a colossal tantrum after getting home  because she wanted to snuggle and take pictures, and she thought she wasn't getting to. 

 Monday the kids and I did a playdate! This was super exciting for us because we haven't had much soical interaction in MONTHS. Now that school is done for me I wanted to take advantage and get out and do some fun things. We met up with friends at the park and library. This kids loved it! 

My Connor loves the swings. However, swings often make a squeaky noise when the chains rub against the metal bars. It has never been really noticeable to me before, but it's like nails on a chalkboard for this kid I guess. He was so excited to swing and was doing his best to ignore it in the beginning. The longer he was swinging, the closer his hands were creeping to cover his ears. In the end, his hands were clamped tightly and he yelled out "ALL DONE, mommy!!! Down! I done!!!" 

He was all smiles as soon as we got sister down as well and the squeaking had stopped. 

I am getting pretty good at noticing how certain loud sounds bother him. I have had people ask about "what's wrong with him", which, for the record, nothing is "wrong" with my child.  If you want to read more about sensory processing disorder you can read more here and here. 

 Evelynn adores swinging. I find it extremely cute, but she will always yell "I FIYE momma!!! (fly, if you couldn't figure out that pronunciation she does). 

It was about 80 degrees outside so after my kids had an hour in it, they were ready to head inside and play some more. 

Tuesday we did another playdate at the park we live near. Connor was supposed to be at Preschool, but he had a rough night on Monday and had a night terror that took nearly an hour to get him back to sleep from and stop screaming like I was trying to murder him. It was shortly after 2 am when it happened and he was really distraught the next morning. I don't know quite what happened, but he was terrified to leave my side and go on the bus. He had meltdowns all morning and was in such a panic that when the bus came, we couldn't get him to go. So, he ended up going with Eva and I to the playdate at the park 

 I was SO sad because this little girl took a tumble off the bench head first into the cement while we were there. I heard such a crack that I was sure her head would be split open. Thankfully she came out with only a large goosegg on the side of her head, and nothing worse! 

 We did some more swinging and I made sure to take pictures BEFORE he got upset. These swings don't squeak nearly as much as the ones at the other park do. Connor did request his sunglasses though, because the sunlight tends to make him squint a lot. He was much happier with his sunglasses on, and making sure to face the way he wanted on the swings. He excitedly told me "FAST, mommy! Go fast!" 

Eva wanted to swing as well, of course. She really wanted to "FIYE" but I wasn't really wanting her to swing too crazily after her hard fall on her head. Aren't her new purple sunglasses cute though? Her pink ones are breaking and won't last much longer so I had her pick out some new ones at the store for her birthday, but gave them to her a day early. She picked purples sparkly ones that are Frozen themed! 

That night we went to Chick-fil-a for dinner. They were doing a dinner night to support the school district and some funding. Connor's preschool isn't a traditional school, so they don't get access to the same funding that other schools do. Chick-fil-a was donating 10% of proceeds for that day towards a certain funding for these types of schools, so we really wanted to take Connor to support his Preschool. The kids were SO excited because there was a lady doing balloon animals there! Daddy took them to wait in line and get balloon and there were so happy about it. 

Wednesday was Evelynn's birthday! I have given it it's own post, so you can read about it right here. 

Thursday  we had Evelynn's 2 year well visit. She's now:

 26 lbs (41 percentile) 

and 35 inches tall (86th percentile). 

Her doctor's office does an two year milestone screening questionnaire and she was right where she's supposed to be. Growing healthy, average sized, and hitting all the milestones she should at this age. She got one immunization and she didn't even cry. She wasn't pleased of course, but she ended up deciding her sparkly silver bandaid made up for it.

We're so proud of our little girl! 

After her appointment we went to the library to play before picking brother up from preschool.

That's all for this week! 

Until next time. 

The Beginnings of April

Because we had General Conference on Easter, I didn't really do anything amazing for the kids. In fact, I had my husband get them the supplies for their Easter baskets, and didn't even check to see what candy he got until about 10:30 pm the night before. I ended up having to send him to the store when I saw that the candy he had chosen wouldn't fit in the Easter eggs. He must love his kids (and me) a lot because he went without a fit and braved the crowds (he said there were tons of people acting like maniacs trying to get their Easter stuff!) to get the kids plenty of Easter candy. 

I had planned to do an Easter Egg hunt with the kids and had the eggs all ready, but not even half way into the day the kids were overloaded with sugar and having tantrums and meltdowns. So that egg hunting thing never actually happened. BUT - I don't think they even knew they were missing out, so it's fine. 

I also planned to make these Resurrection rolls I found on Pinterest that sounded so yummy, but I forgot to buy the crescent rolls in the can for it, and my attempts at making my own dough were a bit of a fail. I won't give details, but just take my word for it when I say baking and I aren't really friends. 

The kids and I watched General Conference and picked through the yummy treats from their baskets. 

As you can see, Connor wasn't interested in looking at the camera. I think he was too excited to slow down and process the fact that I was trying to take a picture of him. 

Just a few days later the realization hit me that my little girl turns TWO this month. For some reason, I just couldn't handle the idea of her turning two. It's not possible. I took some pictures to show how grown up she is getting! 

 When Connor came home I wanted pictures of him too, but the got his clothes off before I got the camera out. He's lightning fast when it comes to undressing. He hates clothes. I'm telling myself to just be grateful for the fact that he's learned that he must wear clothing outside. 

And he even stood still and smiled for pictures! Then he started giving me funny face looks, as if he wanted me to understand that he was really uncomfortable now and really would appreciate it if he could go play and not take anymore pictures. I pretty much called it quits after that. lol

 The 10th was National Siblings day. I decided to snap a picture of one of my favorite moments that has been happening a lot lately. When Connor comes home from Preschool Evelynn takes off running, sometimes nearly climbing on the bus, and gives her big brother the biggest, tightest bear hug she is capable of. The bus driver and aide love it and always comment on how sweet it is. She adores her big brother and I am so glad I caught a picture of it! 

 That's really all I have to offer for pictures this post. But I can tell you that I finished off my semester successfully and pulled through with all A's! It was by the skin of my teeth, but I did it. 

I'm now beginning my efforts to do a 30-day spring cleaning challenge (viewed here) with my sister, as well as try to start potty training Evelynn. She's been really excited about the potty and I figure it won't cause any harm to take it slow and not pressure her. I have a few friends who have done a 3-day method, but I think I'm a little unready for something so structured at this point. I put her on the potty every 35-45 minutes usually, but I'm not going to get myself worked up about rushing the process. Connor isn't even ready for it yet, but that's a whole other story. We will see how it goes! 

Hopefully everything will keep my busy for the next month until we get to go to Idaho. I'm looking forward to that trip A LOT! 

Thoughts from General Conference

This blog post focuses on the 2015 General Conference talk "Waiting for the Prodigal" by Elder Brent H Nielson.

It can be found here if you would like to review it. 

-------------------------------------------------------------

I've had a lot running through my mind since having General Conference over Easter Weekend. It was the first General Conference since my husband’s decision to leave our church. Like many other listeners, I had some specific questions in mind that I was hoping to find answers to. One of which was the hope of hearing some sort of guidance or peace about how to best handle this new situation that was cast upon me. I heard many enjoyable talks, but it wasn’t until Elder Nielson’s “Waiting for the Prodigal” that I was sure my prayers had been heard. I think it is common for the talks that are most needed by every individual person to stand out most to them. If someone is thinking about life decisions, they may have heard many talks emphasizing the importance of making smart ones; someone praying for confirmation to expand their family might have felt families were a strong topic choice for the session. Thankfully for me, what I most noticed most throughout conference was the message that the way to help other’s come back to Heavenly Father is through love, and never through judgement.

At church this last Sunday it was impressed upon me again, when one of the chosen topics was “Love One Another” and the speaker said that she believes there is no better way of helping someone who has left the church or made wrong choices, than to just show them love. I’m am quite sure I remember her saying that we must love them as Christ loves them.

After two consecutive Sundays with the message that love is the way to respond to and help those who are lost, I had a renewed strength to just hold on, pray on, wait, watch, and love.

I was startled when in talking to others, or while hearing their thoughts on conference, the main message they heard, seemed to fuel a desire to personally place others on the path of repentance by pointing out their bad choices, rather than by acting in compassion and patience. I won’t get in to the details, but I walked away from the encounter feeling very frustrated and hurt. Not only hurt for myself, but for my loved ones that have made choices that other’s felt the need to condemn them for.  I don’t believe it is anyone’s place to cast judgment on another in this lifetime and shame them towards repentance.

As I am writing this, I have to wonder if these people might have missed a vital message of the Gospel, and a big piece of the inspired messages that Conference shared.

In speaking of the parable of the prodigal son, Elder Nielson said, “Certainly the father must have done everything he could to convince the son to stay. However, once the adult son makes his choice, the wise father lets him go. The father then demonstrates sincere love, and he watches and he waits.” I experienced this similar thing myself when in response to my husband’s desire to leave the church, my heart cried out to my God. I told him “We must do something to stop him. Please. WE MUST! Please, help me stop him. Please.” I had all the best intentions of the world, but God did not stop him from leaving. I received the strong impression that Heavenly Father was aware of my heartache, and that He too, felt it. My mind was then flooded with the reminder that agency has always been a part of the plan, and that it will be until the end of time. I knew that I, like the father of the prodigal son, must let him go; I must let him choose. No matter how painful it is, sometimes while seeking out the lost, we must act in patience and do nothing, and wait, watch, and pray for the guidance to know when it is ideal to begin again.

There have been times in the scriptures when the path that was needed to be taken was a call to repentance, but it also must be noted that it is not the only one Heavenly Father requires of His children. Sometimes years of patience, trials, and consequences are what it takes before those who are lost will listen. I can say that I’ve never been the best at listening, and I know that Heavenly Father sometimes has to teach me the same message in five different ways before I finally catch on. Sometimes I’m the one dealing with consequences of choices because I was too stubborn to listen. That’s part of my personal experiences in life and my own journey to develop a relationship with my Heavenly Father. Some of us come to Him easily, and others don’t. I believe we all have been lost at different points in our life and we are all at individual places in our journeys back to Him. What matters in the end though is that we never stop trying to bring other’s,  and to bring ourselves, whether that is done by a mission, by faithfully rearing children in the gospel, or by being the quiet loved one who welcomes the lost back with open arms and no judgement.

I can’t attempt to understand what is going on inside the heart of my husband or of anyone else who has strayed, fallen away, or chosen in full awareness to leave the church. But I hope and pray that I, along with anyone else who has loved ones in a similar situation, has the strength and patience that our Heavenly Father requires of us as we wait. In Elder Nielson’s words:  “May you and I receive the revelation to know how to best approach those in our lives who are lost and, when necessary, to have the patience and love of our Father in Heaven and His Son, Jesus Christ, as we love, watch, and wait for the prodigal.” When this predicament first came about, I told myself that I would patiently wait no matter how long it took. I don’t know if it will take months, years, or if it will even happen in this lifetime. But I can say wholeheartedly that General Conference renewed in me the strength to wait, watch, and pray, however long it takes.  

Pregnancy Update

I am 27 weeks today. I have never quite understood whether it’s the beginning or the end of week 27 that marks the 3^rd trimester, so I’m just telling myself that after this week I can officially call myself 3^rd trimester and that the light at the end of the tunnel is nearing.

I had my glucose test at my last appointment and I am assuming all went well since I didn't get a phone call telling me otherwise. During my pregnancy with Connor I failed the 1 hour test and suffered through the 3 hour test, only to be told it was a false alarm in the end. I have zero desire to do that test more than I need to, so I’m glad to have alls well this time around on the first try.

This pregnancy is keeping with my normal uncontrollable weight gain problem. During my pregnancy with Connor I gained a total of 80, yes, I just said EIGHTY pounds. THAT’S A LOT. And I wasn’t sitting on my butt pigging out on food that pregnancy at all. I worked up until 35 weeks. With Evelynn I thought I did really, really well with my weight. My only 46 lb. weight gain was very exciting to me. Since then, I’ve recognized that the only reason my body didn’t pack it on was because I was puking daily for more than half the pregnancy. And considering the fact that 46 lbs. is still more than the average recommended weight gain, I guess there was nothing really to be proud of. In the 4 week span between my last appointments, I gained an additional 6 lbs. to what I had already acquired. I have been working SO hard on eating right! Salads for lunch, fruits, veggies… but alas, I guess my body just packs on the weight when I’m pregnant despite my efforts.

On another note, I have a condition when I’m pregnant which is referred to as Pelvic Girdle Pain, or Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction. You can read more about it here if you really want to. It first came to my attention when pregnant with Connor. I was in so much pain when I walked. My doc explained it as the hormones that relax the ligaments in preparation for labor kicking in waaaaay early, and them being waaaay too excited about their job. It makes for a very unstable pelvic. I distinctly remember being at my husband’s basic training graduation in South Carolina at 35 weeks along and wishing to lay down in the middle of the field instead of walking back to the car and to just be magically transported there somehow. Or just pass out. That was an option I really would have welcomed. Or perhaps, maybe I would have preferred that one. I had to take painkillers to even sleep at night through the horrible, horrible pain. Thankfully though, it all went away after I was done being pregnant.

When I got pregnant with Evelynn I had what I was sure had to be sciatica. The pain was in the lower back and hips, rather than the front. I assumed it wasn’t the same thing that I had previously dealt with. I remember being in pain, but the puking was so much worse than the irritating twinges and the tendency my hip/pelvic had to just pinch and give out while I was walking. There are a few times, towards the end of my pregnancy, that I remember catching myself on whoever or whatever was closest to me to avoid hitting the floor. Then, as before, it all went away with the conclusion of the pregnancy and I forgot all about it.

This pregnancy the pain started early, and it focused on my hips.  My hips would pop where the connected to my back, and I thought it was strange, but assumed it was normal. I remembered the problem from my previous pregnancies and I continued to think it was sciatica. Because the pain was focused on my back, I didn’t think it could be the Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction my doctor had explained in my first pregnant. I spoke to my OB/GYN about tips of how to handle this sciatica problem, because I was convinced that’s what it was. Some of you may recall me begging for advice on how to help it. In the time since then, I realized this pain is NOT sciatica. And in fact, half the stuff I was trying to do to help the “sciatica” actually put me in more pain and worsened it. I read an article I came across on Pinterest (found here) about sciatica vs. pelvic girdle pain and quickly recognized what had happened. A discussion with my doctor verified that more than likely it’s not just sciatica, its pelvic girdle pain.

Unfortunately there’s nothing to be done about it besides trying to stabilize the pelvic and avoiding certain things that aggravate the problem. I’m trying to do pelvic strengthening exercises and I’m slowly learning to take it easy when it starts to hurt instead of pushing through it or stretching it out like everyone told me to. I am telling myself that it will all go away when the pregnancy finishes, just like the previous times. It does create issues in my attempts to exercise, but I’m learning to find what works, and learning to stop as soon as the pain begins. I am also planning to see a chiropractor, because my Doc says that might be helpful.

I have come to the conclusion that I most likely will not be the cute pregnant lady this time around. I’m probably going to be the ginormous whale I always think I am. And I will more than likely fall on my face when I walk sometimes (since I already have multiple times). But that’s all ok. If pain in my hips and the inability to walk without a waddle and a limp at a snail-like pace is the worst of my problems, so be it.

Overall, baby and I are doing well. The kids love to give my belly kisses and say hi to “baby bubba”.  We are all looking forward to his arrival this summer, and our next visit to Idaho in another month. My little sister is getting married and Caleb’s sister is leaving on her mission right around the same time so we will be able to participate in those exciting events, despite my 32 weeks belly that will be going on. J