Nothing in Particular

We've been getting ready for Cody's birthday this week.

I'm a list maker. Nothing makes me happier than crossing things off.

Last week Cody asked me when I was going to make a list of party things for his birthday.

It's funny what he remembers from last year's party, but that was an important part.

He is somewhat particular about the decorations.

He spent some time choosing a face for his invitations. A friend, Amy, used her awesome silhouette to cut these out for us:

Cody was pleased.

He can't wait for his birthday!

He requested straw shooters again, so I made flying pteradactyls:

I have recruited him to help me with getting ready this year.

 The kids had colds earlier this week, but Mackayla has been the most sick this week. Can't wait til she's better so life can go on. 

I told her she looked so pretty in this outfit and five minutes later she insisted that I take it off.

And went and got several more items to put on.

Sometimes she will refuse to give someone a good night kiss, but give everyone else one. So funny.

While sometimes on her hit list, most of the time she loves Cody!

He's so cute with her and she's tough enough to keep up with him.

 I finished my tree skirt, just in time for Christmas...at the end of this year. Better late than never.

Visualize a tree not a child.

Here's the right holiday. Happy upcoming Valentine's Day.

 Macey's prayers for the last month or more have included "thank you that our house and the world don't explode." I really can't figure out where the inspiration for that came from. It was kind of funny on Dec 21, 2012 the Mayan calendar end, when she innocently prayed for that.

This is one of her favorite activities. We might have to start having "battery earning" jobs? Something like that.

Employment opportunities are popping up here and there. It's such a roller coaster looking for a job, imagining if you could live there, finding out details, wondering, praying, a whole lot of praying, not planning further than a couple months out, not feeling settled because we might move.

All things that everyone has probably felt at some point in their lives.

I love the idea of having some stability.

I worry that it won't be a perfect fit, but understand it doesn't have to be.

I worry that it will be a perfect fit and we'll be in the same place for the rest of our lives.

I love the idea of exploring a new area.

I don't like not knowing what's in the future.

I do love the excitement and anticipation of finding out.

I do want a place to call home, because we'll be staying there for a substantial amount of time, (preferably longer than a year). For now, home is where your heart is!

Actually "home" to me is still in Utah with our families:)

It sounds like I don't know what I want. I don't.

Luckily, it doesn't matter. 

The only things I know for certain at this point are: we are supposed to be where we are right now, and  we will be led to where we're supposed to be next.

Do you know you are where you're supposed to be?

Lost Tooth

Cody lost his second front tooth and 4th tooth total!

Looks a little less mcgoo without that huge lopsided front tooth now:)

but he's pretty cute either way

That night Cody couldn't find his tooth anywhere, so we wrote a note to the tooth fairy saying he lost it.

The tooth fairy found it...supposedly. phew.

 I forgot a bib for this munchkin...remind me when they stop spilling??

Also cute though.

Resolved

I made some resolutions. Did you?

The 30-20-30 resolution.

First off, I wanted one I could definitely do and see an end in sight. So I decided to do 20 pushups and 30 sit ups every day for 30 days. I could commit to 3 minutes. Running helped me get healthy again, but strength training was not in the cards time-wise (I thought). But why do I have to devote an hour to lifting weights? SOMETHING is better than nothing! This has been really good for me and my mommy belly. I see muscles appearing that have been gone for years:)

I'll be honest, I probably did it 20 days of this last 30. But I'm going to keep doing it!

Another resolution came about with the help of a friend.

She kindly pointed out that my children have interrupting problems. One in particular more than the others. 

So this week we're doing an interrupting boot camp. I explained carefully and kindly what this meant to them and what the consequences would be for speaking out of turn. If they need me and I'm talking to someone they have to say "Pardon" and wait. It was even hard to explain with all the interruptions. 

Macey proudly told me the other day: "I know why we say pardon." 

Expecting a parroted version of what I told her earlier, I thankfully said "Why?"

Her proud response: "To tell you that we will be bugging you."

I could not help but smile. At least she's thinking about it!

...We have some work to do.

Mothering seems so natural to some people. Totally not for me in the dumbest ways.

Sometimes I get so caught up in accomplishing, having fun and chaos that I forget that one of the most important jobs I have is to teach my kids. About anything.

How to put on a coat.

How to crack an egg.

How to count.

How to have good manners.

How the spirit makes them feel.

The difference between a leopard and a cheetah.

Their purpose on earth.

When I think of it like that, I could have a little more patience when they do something that drives me crazy. It's my job to teach them the right way.
One step at a time.

(I found this the other day: "Seek heavenly guidance one day at a time.  Life by the yard is hard. By the inch is a cinch." - Thomas S. Monson)

My 100 goals for 2013 is almost complete.

I wanted to be able to cross things off this list! Some of them are mundane things I need to do and some are going to take all year.

A friend of mine used her blog as a checklist and crossed off her goals as she accomplished them. What a great way to keep track. I'm hopping on board.

Seriously, though, don't read them all. 

Or do, but get a snack; it will take awhile.

RESOLVED,

1. 20 push ups and 30 sit ups each day for 30 days and the rest of the year

2. Floss once a week. No judging.
2a. Use mouthwash every day.

3. Give kids vitamins

4. Write the story down of how Ben and I met

5. Read Jesus the Christ

6. Finish Christmas Tree Skirt

7. Grow some herbs

8. Make Butter

9. Cook with an essential oil

10. Read the Christmas story by candlelight on Christmas Eve

11. Take Cody out for fun

12. Take Macey out for fun

13. Do something fun with just Mackayla

14. Make valentine's wreath

15. Finish Deliberate Motherhood

16. Read JS Sermons Book

17. Visit science museum in Oregon

18. Fix wood floor

19. change furnace filter

20. Try tinted moisturizer

21. Do a puzzle at christmas

22. Take pics with a blurry background

23. Take a picture of scenery that I love

24. Get wheat for storage in next house

25. Fast each fast sunday

26. Read Strong willed child book

27. See Les Mis movie with Ben

28. Make fun cake for Cody's birthday

29. Find fun games for Cody's birthday party

30. Nerf gun for his birthday

31. Get Cody's cavity filled (we brush every day twice a day thank you he has my teeth)

32. Finish my vitamins in bottle

33. Get cute curtains (or make them) for the next place we live

34. Get a haircut

35. Be kind to someone who doesn't deserve it. Learn about grace.

36. Study and learn from PB

37. Talk to Marilou

38. Clean wedding ring

39. Pray for nursery kids and calling

40. Find another chair for our table

41. Print picture of the temple for wall

42. Make/design wall arrangement for next house

43. Find Big letter "C"

44. Choose a 'color' for family room in next house

45. Go to Portland Temple

46. Run a race

47. Get ball off of our roof

48. Find a sand dollar at the beach

49. Try an almond milk shake

50. Help Ben with job search

51. Read Happier at Home

52. Learn more about the 2nd coming

53. Learn more about effective scripture study. online course...?

54. Work on prep of 72 hour kit and disaster preparedness

55. Read and study D&C 88:119

56. Read D&C 89 WoW

57. Wake up earlier

58. Find JOY in motherhood (in general, more below)...ongoing

59. Sign Cody up for soccer

60. Find a sub for Feb. 18

61. Redo kitchen chairs

62. Talk openly to someone about my faith

63. NOYB

64. Go to Lisa's Tea Room

65. Go to Many Hands Trading store

66. Get Macey a new winter coat (that will fit next year too?)

67. Scan pictures

69. Teach Macey to put on a coat

70. Teach kids not to interrupt

71. Decide my children's love languages

72. Becky A. Bailey "Love rituals" pick one

73. Teach Cody to count to 100

74. Flash card letter sounds with Cody-know them all?

75. snack in afternoon for kids

76. Find a way to have "me" time during the week

77. Print story

78. Create computer folder for Cody's art/schoolwork
79. Create computer folder for Macey's art/schoolwork
80. Teach my kids the Articles of Faith
81. Go on a date with Ben, by getting a paid Babysitter. ooooh. Maybe she could even put them to bed.
82. Use a 'marking copy' set of scriptures and mark them up!
83. Finish online study course for Genesis

******

JOY in motherhood is an elusive thing. It's obviously more about deciding to be happy than having life perfect. But I figured if I could at least pinpoint some of the things that frustrate me most I would eliminate some of the stressors. Every morning I get frustrated in the morning rush that Macey is begging me to put on her shoes and coat, etc. when I think she should do them herself. But I finally realized I hadn't ever taught her to put on her coat, so it was my fault. We had a lesson once or twice and she's totally got the hang of it. I also get really annoyed when my kids start asking for food all the time. So I've decided to get them a planned healthy snack in between lunch and dinner. A simple common sense solution:) The biggest stress is the constant interrupting. It's almost become impossible to talk to anyone anymore. My friend suggested a "fake phone call, " such a good idea! Once that's on it's way I'll feel better.

South Beach and Seasons

A good dose of sun is good for this time of year. While it was in the low 30s and really foggy here, it was in the low 50s and sunny on the coast just an hour away. We just took a quick trip while Ben was at work to go soak up some sunshine and find some treasures.  

An interesting little fact: all beaches in Oregon are public beaches.

I wanted to come to this one because I wanted to find a sand dollar and I knew there were always some here.

We came at low tide so we could walk a hundred yards into the water and it only covered our toes.

While the kids were digging holes in the sand Mackayla and I wandered further out to see what we could find. Half buried in the sand I pulled this out of the water:

I'm pretty excited about it.

 There were tons of other fun things going on while we were there:

 But they're for another season in life. 

Hectic and chaotic as it may be, I choose to enjoy This Season.

Direct TV Entertainment

Direct TV keeps sending us boxes for someone else. I finally called FedEx and told them and the woman told me they are just sending empty boxes. I could go ahead and get rid of them. Strange. Am I the only person who has never heard of this?
Well, I had to break them down to recycle and we discovered foam discs inside. (btw speaking of recycling and all things green. Corvallis has a plastic bag ban and now you have to bring your own bags to the store. I feel so Oregonian hippy-ish now and I kinda like it. hmm.)
Back to the foam discs.

Perfect for a little friendly competition.

It's only been a week, but it's become a little post dinner tradition.
They fly just like frisbees.

 Ben and I sit on opposite sides and try to hit each other in the head. 

The kids vary their loyalties, and bring us our ammo, but Ben usually talks Cody into his side and Macey goes with whoever doesn't hit her. Mackayla really doesn't care if she gets hit.

 It gets a little wild as evidenced by the barely hanging picture (that was me) but the soft foam doesn't hurt at all.

Thanks Direct TV. You can stop sending boxes now though.

Lost and Found: Delta Delivered!

They found my camera!
The woman that called me to tell me was so helpful.

Okay, starting from the top:

Here's City Creek. Beautiful and seriously crowded.

 We rode the train to get there.

Seeing the beautiful temple square lights.

 The Bob at Kangaroo Zoo. I had to add this because I knew I had one EXACTLY like it from sometime before.

Here it is. Kangaroo Zoo. December 2010.

Must be a comfy couch:)!

 Went to Boondocks with the Crosland's. The kids got to bowl

Cody had an intense bowling technique

 and play video games.

Ben could have played the hunting game all night.

 Jessi is getting her essential oil regimen applied to her feet.

Love that stuff. 

 The kids decorated gingerbread men. They had so much fun! 

 Cody's favorite part were the hot tomales.

We'll call his the "gingernut man."

It was decorated innocently though.

 Opening presents at grandma Bonnie's and Papa Jeff's house. 

 Mackayla loves this aquadoodle.

 Mackayla took this picture of Grandma Bonnie holding Indie by the tree. Not bad:) (and I think the picture behind her of Christ is beautiful too).

 Macey and Cody got cameras. I love seeing what they take pictures of. Cody must have had 20 pictures of random toys, lots of a toy dinosaur he liked. It's kind of cute to see what is important to them.

 Here it is! The proof of the missing camera beginnings. Lesson to me: Don't take pictures on the plane (the flight attendants get mad too). oops...

And, the same day Delta called the police station also called to tell me they had found a big stack of credit cards and a drivers license of mine while the city was cleaning the streets. So I got those back too!