Easter Weekend

We had a really nice Easter weekend. Brad hid eggs in the backyard for Ruth to find, which she thoroughly enjoyed, we went to a small party at our friends house to dye eggs and eat pizza (which we all enjoyed), camped in our backyard until we were too cold to sleep anymore, and ate tons of candy and caramel popcorn.

Hey, it's okay!

It's okay that I think "Phineas and Ferb" (a cartoon supposedly meant for 5-7 year olds) is super funny. Seriously, you should watch it.

It's okay that I never read "Jane Eyre" but love the 1983 mini-series with Timothy Dalton. I'm also way excited to eventually see the new one that has come out. Books, we all know they're better, but hey, it's okay!

It's okay that I don't think the "Tiger Mom" is totally crazy. Calling your kids names is a no-no, and not letting them choose the extra-curricular activities they want is not cool. But holding them to high standards, teaching them discipline and exactness, and helping them achieve rigorous goals is a good thing.

It's okay that my kids poop in the bathtub. It totally freaks me out when they do it, and tonight it totally freaked Ruth out too. She looked down and she was all frantic, "LOOK, there's POOP!" She just froze with her hands up, waiting for me to pull her out of the tub. (Will? He didn't mind the floaters so much.) I HATE cleaning up bathtub poop because it just gets slimy and all over the place, but it's not the end of the world.

It's okay to wonder if my bleach has been diluted. After cleaning up said poop incident, I spilled some bleach on my bathroom rug and was upset because I thought I had ruined it...but then 30 minutes later there was still no bleach spot...hmmm. How clean is my bathtub?

And last, but not least, it's okay that I woke up at 10 pm, (yes I went to bed at 8) couldn't go back to sleep, and then was suddenly struck with a funny blog post, and then actually got out of bed so I could blog. I would say good night, but I actually also remembered that I didn't fill the pastel colored eggs with caramel filled chocolates or Starburst jellybeans yet.

Happy Easters!

PROOF

He now takes 3 steps before falling down, he's learning quickly!

"Walking"

Will has taken his first, independent step today!

Changes

Well, first we got a new lawn mower! Definitely the best $200 we've spent. Brad was so stoked about how well it works. All last year we borrowed our neighbors mower...and let's just say that the mower was old, and didn't work very well. In comparison this mower is STELLAR! It only took Brad like 5 minutes to mow the front.

Ruth has started yelling "MAMA!" any time she wants me, whether I'm right in front of her or in the next room, she yells. With better weather we have been enjoying lots of side walk chalk time as well as going on jogs and "racing."

Will can balance without holding on to anything and has started to walk with the push toy. He also yells "MAMA" no matter how near or far I am. He also loves the outdoors. He loves to crawl around on the grass and suck on rocks.

I have been working a day or two recently at the hotel, which has afforded us extra spending money for things like a new lawn mower!

Yesterday we rearranged the living quarters. Will has been sleeping in the office in the pack 'n play because the kids were constantly waking each other up during the night. Since separating them they have been sleeping really well. So we moved the computer into the living room and the crib into the old office. We also put the toy box into Will's room and gave Ruth a special reading corner in her room. This arrangement is WAY better for everyone! And we love having the computer in the communal area.

Excited About Running?

Today I ran 3.73 miles, with no walking. My legs felt like jelly afterwards and my hamstrings are dying but I plan to stretch off and on for the rest of the day. Up to this point I've run about a mile and a half with out walking. Granted this was easier today because I left the kids at home with Brad (when I bring them it adds 50 pounds I have to push).

I've been stuck at the same 175 pound range for what seems like an eternity and I've been getting really frustrated about it. And then yesterday's cake incident pushed me over the edge. I'm done with sugar* for a while and I'm going to start training for a half marathon...not that I'm going to do one, but I figure all that running will help shed the pounds.

I feel really good about my run/jog today and am thinking I need to figure out how to go running every day without the kids. It was so nice to not have to worry about maneuvering the stroller and just focus on keeping my legs going and breathing.

*by "sugar" I mean super sugary cereals, cake, cookies, sugar on top of strawberries, granola bars, candy, fruit snacks, and anything else that obviously has lots of sugar that I have been allowing myself to eat...oh and that includes the super delicious shakes from Shake Out.

Play Time

I had to get a shot of her first french braid!!!

Playing together nicely

I don't know why, but bother of my kids stick their tongues out when focusing!

VERY serious business! (notice Ruth's tongue!)

This afternoon Ruth wanted this blanket wrapped around her. She kept patting her chest and saying that she was "The Mother."

Oh that face!

Hey, it's okay!

Got this idea from HERE.

It's okay that I drink milk from the carton. I'm the one who does the dishes and I don't want one more dirty cup when I just needed a swig of milk to wash down the...peanut butter, brownie, etc...

It's okay that the neighbor lady had to come RING MY DOORBELL today because Ruth was wandering around our neighborhood without me knowing it! She's fine, and now I know that I have to lock the storm door as well as the inside door.

It's okay I'm not down to my goal weight yet. I am always so down on my birthday because since I was 16 I've never been the size I wanted to be. At least this year I'm actually working on getting there!

It's okay I usually don't shower until noon (or later). Anyone who has kids and wants to exercise understands that! When it was just Ruth, and I wasn't trying to exercise, I STILL didn't shower until noon, HA!

It's okay I found Will splashing in Ruth's potty, and Ruth using tupperware to scoop out toilet water. It's disgusting but at least urine is sterile and she wasn't drinking the toilet water! Thank goodness for hot water and soap!

It's okay I'm not the perfect...I was going to say mom but I think the better response is "anything." I'm not perfect at anything and instead of being down about it I'm just going to keep trying to be better. Thank you Brad for being such an inspiration.

Random Thoughts

Today I made bean bags for the kids out of left over fabric. They have 4 squares of fabric on each side and Ruth LOVES them!


Will is a total blankie boy. I've tried to give him a stuffed animal as a sleeping buddy (Ruth's sleeping buddy is the Homba and Fox that she's slept with since she was 4 months old and adores). But he just hasn't taken to the cute moose we got him while in Coer d'Alene. But I realized the other day that he loves his blankie. He totally cuddles up to it and clutches it in his little hands. As Brad said, he's our little Linus!



In other Will news, he now does "the Mowglie" aka the bear walk. I think that is my favorite thing babies do, and Ruth never did it much so I'm totally loving this stage with Will.


In Ruth news: she's learned her ABC's, she can sing the song and loves to sing it while dancing. She's been counting to 11 for a couple weeks. She used to skip 9, but after drilling in her head that it's 8, 9, 10 she finally caught on. She loves to "count them" with anything around. I'm pretty sure she got the idea of counting things from Dora the Explorer which along with Pingu, Bugs Bunny, and Phineas and Ferb are her favorite shows.


Ruth is becoming super independent. Each day she usually spends about 30 minutes in her room alone. When I go to check on her she usually just smiles at me and says, "No mom" then closes the door on me!

Will is still totally a mama's boy and prefers my attention to anyone else's, unless Ruth is feeling silly and then he can't get enough of her silliness. It's the best when she's being goofy and making him laugh. (She's learning, slowly, to be nice to him. Now that he's more mobile she's become very defensive of her stuff and her space.)


I really can't believe how fast this year has gone. My 25th birthday is this Tuesday and I really can't believe it. Growing up I had this year planned as the year I would get married...not have a one year old and a 2 1/2 year old and be married for 5 years already. But I love my little family. And I can't believe how big Will is, tonight as I was putting him to bed I just couldn't believe that he's 11 months old. Sometimes I think I want to rip my hair out, that I'd love to be left alone for 10 minutes (well make that like 5 hours, but 10 minutes is more realistic) but kids are just always crying or needing something or just wanting to be held. Sometimes I feel so overwhelmed just by the "activities planner" part of being a stay-at-home mom; I just can't think of activities to keep Ruth and Will busy and happy other than going to the park (thank goodness it's finally getting warm again). And then there's the "laundry service," "head chef/nutrition expert," "maid," "stylist" and "teacher." I mean all of these things are jobs in and of themselves and I just don't do that good of a job juggling it all. No wonder mom's forget normal stuff, we have to remember shoe sizes, shirt sizes, diaper sizes, doctor and dentist appointments, when immunizations take place, what and when a kid can eat certain foods, if hubby has clean underwear, if the wet laundry got put into the dryer (the answer is usually no), the last time the carpet was vacuumed, the last time sheets were washed, teach the kids to read and then figure out what's for dinner. And when things get really crazy it's hard not to yell. But I've been working hard on improving that and it's amazing how good it feels when you stay in control and keep an eternal perspective. Does it really matter that yogurt was dropped on the kitchen floor that you just mopped? No. So I'm learning to keep my cool and help my kids know that I love them. Cause if I yell about yogurt they'll never want to tell me about their problems when they're teens.

It's hard to think that one day my kids are going to make their own food choices. Right now I make all of their food choices for them. Well, I make pretty much all of their choices for them. It's weird to think that I will have to give that up and trust that they'll make good choices, about food and everything else. I guess that's where we're lucky that we have the Gospel of Jesus Christ in our lives. I think this would be way more overwhelming if we didn't have a solid place to help us teach morals and the idea of choices and consequences.