Let's Reminisce...shall we?

As I put the finishing touches on our nursery (for the 4th and FINAL time...hopefully) I got to thinking about our journey to this point in life. First of all, here are the pictures of the nursery:

I mainly took the pictures because I'm planning on selling this stuff after this baby has outgrown it...but I figured since I have the pictures I might as well make some use of them.


As I start to reminisce, I'm going to start in stage#1...the pre-children stage in our marriage. I recall the time where I had a set schedule. Not only for myself, but for my cleaning and organizing. I would clean every Saturday, I would do laundry during that day as well, and I would often use phrases like "MY kids will NEVER...."

I remember the pre-children days when I knew that I would have angel children that wouldn't DARE disobey. I wouldn't need to child-proof my house because MY kids would be SO well behaved that they would leave my antique porcelain figurines alone. (I don't have antique porcelain figurines, but it's just the principle of the thing. ) MY kids would NEVER talk back, they would be perfectly behaved, and we would be the envy of all. We would all be dressed to the hilt, never have runny noses (and MY kids would NEVER pick them for heaven sakes), and I would never be the cause of a scene in the grocery store because MY kids would NEVER throw fits.


Stage #2
Let's call this stage...oh...the Only Child Stage (yeah I know. Reeeeaal original).

We FINALLY had our first child. We were prepared. We bought anything and everything we would EVER need for this baby. She had the perfect nursery. She had a wardrobe that Paris Hilton would be jealous of. She had 100% of our attention 100% of the time. If she cried, Chance and I would discuss what techniques needed to be used in that particular situation. Chance and I even fought about naptimes, whether or not to let Morgan "cry it out" (because it seemed so dang cruel for pete's sake).

Morgan was by FAR the most beautiful child in this world...couldn't everyone else tell this? I would read to her not only in the womb before she was born, but as a newborn I would show her black and white flashcards because that helped to stimulate her mind and vision. While I was pregnant I faithfully kept a journal about how "amazing" pregnancy was, and how blessed I was to feel life inside me. I would play Mozart, Bach, you name it.

As our first child grew, I read books, I sang songs constantly, I even got out my art books from college and taught about Picasso, Van Gogh, Degas.

Now.

Let's move on to Stage #3.
The 2nd Child.

We tried for a couple of years to get Grace here. My pregnancy was scary - I was on bed-rest for a few weeks and was TERRIFIED that I would lose this baby. She was very anticipated and welcome when she finally arrived.

Luckily, Paris Hilton's wardrobe worked for this one too...so she had everything she needed. I felt GOOD. I had another little girl, she was perfect, I loved cuddling with her every chance I got, and I VOWED that THIS time I would just enjoy her, and enjoy the little stages she was in. I was determined to Breast Feed (and when THAT wasn't working, I pumped exclusively for 3 months). I was LOVING the newborn baby stage. My patience was endless. I never yelled, I was living my dream. **sigh**

Ssccccrreeeeeeeeeeeaaach! ***sound of car breaks***

When Grace was 3 months old, guess what? Yep..I'm pregnant again. Come again?!?! So that put a SCREECHING hault to my good attitude. Instead of focusing on art lessons, music lessons, reading and stimulating my child, I was just plain ORNERY. (I love those awesome pregnancy hormones...ya know?) My children would only be 12 months apart, and I was FREAKING out. Remember the days when I had schedules for everything?!?

Let's fast forward to
Stage #4
Dwindling Sanity

Yep, the 3rd child arrived, and my sanity departed.

Laundry? What used to take me 1/2 a day now takes me 1 1/2 days to complete. Let's talk about pre-treating. Before my sanity left me, I ALWAYS pre-treat my clothes. Any little spot or potential stain I would attack with vigor, and if THAT didn't work, I would attempt other methods until that stain was finito. Now? It's a good day when I am folding clothes and I don't find a stain that's been permanently heated into a shirt.

Cleaning? Hmmmm.....I am not even going to admit how often I clean now. Mopping my kitchen floor has become a wistful thought. I changed my kids sheets the other day and thought to myself, "I REALLY should be doing this more often". I think I found a few long lost toys, socks, and other such items neatly stuffed in the foot of their beds.

Oh, and patience? Well that's totally gone as well.

If one of our kids throws a fit? Well....lets see how far they can throw it. That's especially fun when I am at Walmart and Grace is screaming at the TOP of her lungs.

Crying it out during the night? Oh yeah...I'm all for that. Chance, at this point, has resorted to wearing earplugs to bed so that HE can at least go to work the next day and not be a zombie.

Childproofing our house? Well, DUH! It was either (a) yell at the kids nonstop to "quit touching that!" or (b) move it out of the house until the kids get older. I chose option (b).

I think it's quite amusing how much MY attitude has changed through these stages. If you would have told me 7 years ago that this is my life, I wouldn't have believed you. Back then, I knew I would live in the perfectly kept house with perfectly kept kids. Now I realize that there are SOOO many more important things than a clean house and clean kids.

I am so blessed to have HEALTHY and HAPPY kids and a house that is comfortable. I love the fact that I don't have to worry that my clean house will be wrecked if my kids play with their toys. I am grateful that I can do something fun for myself without feeling like I have to keep a perfectly manicured home, and that I have a husband that doesn't mind a little clutter here and there.

Sure, my kids aren't perfect - but neither am I! I just hope that as they grow up, they will know how much they mean to our family, and how much they are loved. I also hope that they will appreciate us as parents. I'm so glad that my attitude and outlook have changed through these different stages, because I really don't know how happy I would really be if I was only concerned with perfection.

Anyway, thanks for listening to the ramblings of a semi-sane Mom of 3 1/2 kids.

The End.

Oh boy.

I can't believe that it's been a whole month since I blogged. I started out with the best intentions, and those intentions aren't enough apparently. Lets see....what's happened in a month...

ME

I am now 28 1/2 weeks pregnant. I'm huge, I have no waistline, and I get winded sitting still. I crave sweets 24/7 and I'm afraid that's going to be my downfall. Oh, and did I mention that my patience has left permanently? Thanks to a husband that still loves me even through all of this, and through the fact that I am still snoring like a lumberjack, I am not totally losing my mind. I think that I only have about 10 more weeks to go....and I am COUNTING DOWN.

We're still having trouble with names - and if ANYONE has any cool suggestions, we'd be happy to hear them. Seriously...any.

Mothers Day: I really LOVE Mothers Day. I love that I get to hear my little kids sing in church on Sunday, and I love the effort that Chance puts towards me on that day. He really does try (even though we're nick-naming this Mothers Day as the "Maverik Mothers Day". . . you can probably come up with your own conclusion there.) to make my day special. I got some roses at church and even a Kit Kat (mmmmmm....chocolate.) My Mom came over for dinner and brought a...da da daaaaaaaa MRS. BACKERS CAKE. Oh how I love Mrs Backers. (For those of you that don't know, Mrs. Backers is a bakery in Salt Lake City that has the BEST cakes. They have been around since MY mom was a little girl. President Hinckley had a birthday cake made there for one of his birthday's too. If you EVER get a chance, stop in - get a cupcake or two, a danish, some fresh bread, even a triangle. You won't be sorry.) We ate dinner, stuffed ourselves with cake, and relaxed the rest of the night. It was a very good day.

I played the piano for our neighbor's/friends wedding as well. I was VERY stressed about that day, but it ended up going really well. I had a lot of fun, and I got a very yummy lunch too. Thanks to the Coombs for that day. They are the best people I know.

I'm also looking forward to summertime because I have some fun plans for me and the kiddo's. We have a summer movie pass, and am planning on going each Wednesday throughout the summer...we have school lunch to look forward to (it's free, yay!), and I seriously think that I will be spending most of my summer sitting in a kiddie pool out in the backyard while I watch the kids play. (let's not linger on that image...mmmmmm kay?) I'm already too hot and it's not even 80 degree's yet. We have a couple of fun camping trips to plan, and I am possibly going to try to sneak in a mural for an old friend of mine - and try to get THAT done before the baby comes. All of this before the end of July. Yay!

My last thought (and yes, it's very random): when you are driving down the road, and you see something dead on the side, or in the middle...whatever...do you get the heebie jeebies? I was coming home from my OB appointment yesterday and saw some gross leftovers on the freeway from SOMETHING that died, and shuddered BADLY....and then I thought, "does anyone else have this issue?" okay - let's move on.

CHANCE

He is working when he HAS work, and we're just grateful for any income that we can get at this point. He is continually obsessed with hunting, shed hunting, putting in for hunts, you name it.

Chance is so excited to be a daddy again, and he is always rubbing my tummy and talking to the baby to get it to move. His favorite thing to do is to jiggle my tummy and then wait for the baby to kick his hand. As a side note....that's not MY favorite thing for him to do. Chance is always thinking of names (some crazy, some kind-of okay) and he keeps looking at little babies in our ward and neighborhood and saying things like, "Aren't you excited?? You forget all the fun things that babies do!" He's such a good Dad.

I fell in our church parking lot one day after church, while holding Crede, and after being concerned for me, Chance made a day of it, and teased me non-stop. He makes me crazy because I CANNOT keep a straight face with him even if I'm ticked off. So all day long, I was forced to laugh at myself. Chance and Morgan even made some pretty cute artwork over our ENTIRE driveway. Here's some pictures of the finished product:

Just for the record, this isn't really how it ended. Crede was just fine - no cuts or scraps anywhere. Chance likes the flare for a good story.

MORGAN

She got to go on her first field trip yesterday to Hoagle Zoo, and had the time of her life. She keeps talking about it, and she wants to go back as soon as possible. We cut some bangs on our little Morgan about a month ago, and that didn't turn out as I'd hoped, so now we're growing THOSE out, and probably won't cut anymore for a long, long time.

Morgan is being such a good big sister to Grace. Everyday she is wanting to go outside to play and Grace tags along with her each day. Morgan does complain a little, but she watches out for Grace the WHOLE time, and helps her if she needs it. She'll tighten Grace's bike helmet, and she'll help her on the swings.

Speaking of bikes, Chance has helped her overcome her 2-wheeler fear, and she's now riding a 2-wheeler FINALLY. After last summer's fall with the whole "head split-open" thing, she has been a tad leary. Yay bug!! You are doing so awesome on your bike.

Morgan also wrote her first book recently. It's called, "The Three Pony's" and it's "rittin by Morgan". She drew all the pictures herself, and she sounded out all the words herself. It's about the cutest thing ever, and like I always say, she's a genius. I'm totally not biased. She's a genius. Her kindergarten teacher read it to her class as their morning reading book. Cute cute.

GRACE

Poor Grace. We bought her some "thumb guards" yesterday to help her stop sucking her thumb. They look like a PAIN to wear, and she complains about them a lot. Her teeth are in desperate need of the thumb guards though, and we're hopeful that they will work. Basically, they are our last resort.

She is totally potty trained now, even at night. She has been pretty easy compared to her older sister, and I'm SOOOOOOO grateful for that. Way to go Gracie.

Grace and Crede have really started playing well together (about 80 percent of the time), and it's really funny to listen to their conversations. They played house this morning for about an hour, and Grace kept insisting that he "come eat his dinner!" He kept saying, "okay, I'm coming!" The other 20 percent of the time, Grace is taking Crede's toys, and Crede is screaming his best blood-curdling scream he can muster. Our neighbors probably wonder what is going on in here. **sigh**

CREDE

Well he's still my cute little boy. His new thing is that he laughs about EVERYTHING. He has this throaty cackle that he uses all the time, and he doesn't sit still for anything. I really think that he takes after his Dad. He is so funny. He now can count to 10...I'm thinking even 12 or 13....yeah I know - he's a genius too.

I'm finishing Crede's bedroom (the decor) and am having a fun time doing it. I'm making some dump trucks/cement trucks/back hoe to hang on his wall, and I made a cute (wait...let's say cool instead.) magnet board as well. I think that it's going to look pretty neato when it's all finished. I'll take pictures.


Well I'm thinking that is our month all wrapped up nice with a big bow on top. If I think of anything else that's happened, I'll make sure to update. Have a lovely day, and we'll keep in touch!