2 Months In

There are some things that I find I have adjusted to as we complete our second month of our life here in Michigan...

I am more comfortable driving in the snow, I don't love it and prefer not to but I can do it. I can finally back out of my long driveway without readjusting 10 times (now I just readjust 2 or 3 times). As long as the temperature is 20 degrees or above with little to no windchill, I can be in it without freezing. I know how to get to Walmart, and to the I-96 which will pretty much get me anywhere I need to go. And with the help of sweaters, blankets and space heaters, I am able to be comfortable in our drafty home.

But I am definitely not completely adjusted.... 

I still feel like I am going to die anytime there is a windchill outside. I still have troubles walking on our icy driveway (fell once to prove that fact). It is still a pain to get Steven all dressed for school (not that I do it for him, but he complains and delays- he despises snow pants especially). It is also a pain to put all the jackets, hats, boots, and mittens in their proper spot. I still get nervous about driving to new places and am especially wary of driving to the church building or stake center because they are so far and require changes in freeways. 

And then there is the adjustment to the slowness of my life here. I have NEVER had this much time on my hands ever! Between tutoring, babysitting for friends, monthly temple visits, volunteering in Steven's classroom...I always had something I should be doing. But now I have no kids to watch and no one to watch mine so I can't go to the temple or volunteer during the day (most of the young families live in Commerce, about 20 minutes away). I have no tutoring to occupy my afternoons, to plan for, to plan around, etc. It's all just very strange.

So I find myself doing things like making this:

And I found myself signing up for Scribd (an online book subscription service) so that I can read more, and play less Candy Crush (something I should have never started playing). 

And I find myself laying on the couch with Ben, looking at photo albums and reminiscing about our life in Arizona. Or I find myself trying to teach him his letter sounds- which is turning out to be very difficult task, but after a week I think he finally has letter A down.

It's just a different life here and I must admit I feel guilty for being less busy but then Tyler reminds me about the baby in my tummy and I realize, come August, I might be singing a different tune...

Anyways, on another note Tyler and I got our tax refund which was amazing since we were completely broke last year and while most of it is tucked away in savings (basically replenishing all we lost), we did keep a bit for fun money. And part of that fun money funded a very fun date to Cheesecake Factory where Tyler took this very unflattering picture of me...

But the food was amazing and so worth the wait. It satisfied my cravings perfectly! And of course, it was nice to finally have some time out, just me & Tyler- it had been a couple months. And as an added bonus, Lucy didn't even cry for the babysitter! So it was a guilt free, perfect night.

And also with our fun money, I got a new point & shoot camera. As of late I have just not been happy with the quality of my smart phone pics and the point & shoot camera we did have is in pretty sad condition SO I got this one (on sale!) at Target:

A Canon Elph 330, by far the cheapest camera I could find with Wi-Fi that also got amazing reviews. I can't wait to get it all set up and working- I'm hoping it lives up to its reviews!

What We've Been Up To

-Tyler is turning 30 in a week and I am excited to throw him an awesome family party with a cereal & Lego theme. Here is the pictured that graced his Evites:

Are you cereal? Tyler's turning 30!

-The other week I went to Ikea with my mom & Rebecca. I wanted to buy everything but remained strong and only got a couple things. The boys also had fun getting to play at Smaland (a supervised play area) and we enjoyed some delicious lunch there. Here's what I bought at Ikea:

Awesome cups, now filled with art supplies, hanging on a bar above their craft table

Super cool dog tail hooks for the kid's bathroom. I then had to make some fun dog's in bathtub pictures for each kid. I need to work on hanging things a bit straighter though...

-A few days ago I was lying down with Ben to help him take a nap. When I came downstairs, Steven presented me with this sweet postcard:

He used to hate it when I asked him to write so I stopped bugging him. Now he's constantly writing! He writes letters to his Aunt Mariah, me, daddy and Ben and he writes in his workbooks (all on his own). He is even writing stories. Sure the only writing that is actual words are names or words he copies but I just love to see those random string of letters too. That's the first step!

He's obviously ready for kindergarten ;) Not only is he "writing" often but every afternoon he wants to do a craft or science. Some of things we have done: made a mailbox, mixed 2 primary colors in shaving cream in a plastic baggie, painted rocks, played with vinegar and baking soda, and painted bread with colored milk:

- I am amazed by how much Lucy grows everyday. She is army crawling around the house like crazy. Today I was taking a shower in my walk-in shower and who should appear fully clothed beneath me...Lucy! Needless to say she got a little wet.

She also flaps her hand at daddy when she sees him or when he leaves (and sometimes at other people too). It seems like she's figuring out how to wave at people. So much fun!

She is also finally interested in food--- much to my dismay. She is probably the messiest eater EVER. Drives my OCD self crazy!

And since she is finally eating, I decided it was time to pull out the Baby Bullet & Steamer my mom got me and get to work. Steven had fun helping make her peas, carrots and apples. It was super easy and I will be doing it again.

- This week we went to the Ceretta Candy Factory in Glendale. Not worth the drive :( We only got the tail end of the tour but that was fine because the kids weren't really  interested in hearing how candy is made. We were hoping to see it get made but the only machines that were working were behind other non-working machines so we didn't. Lame. There were also 3 summer camps there which made it very crowded. We could have made chocolate pizza but it cost $10 per person SO instead we consoled ourselves by buying $10 worth of delicious candy to share. There was also a video after the tour that showed some cool machines. It held the boys attention for a little bit. So good candy but not so good factory action.

And this week we finally made it to the library to collect our summer reading prizes. I love that the boys love to read with me regardless of prizes. But we still go get them anyways because I love the free book vouchers they all get and they love all the other silly cheap prizes they can choose from:

Pinterest Fun

It's embarrassing to admit but here it goes, I have over 1,000 pins on Pinterest. In my defense I have been on it for over a year so all it takes is a few pins a day to reach such a grand total! So don't judge me too harshly! OK!? 

But ANYWAYS, every once in awhile I actually try out one of my thousand pins and it usually turns out quite well. Yesterday was one of these such days and the kids were the ones to benefit. As inspired from Pinterest, we filled the bottom of a container with baking soda, filled a few cups with vinegar, dyed the vinegar different colors and then kids got to work filling eye droppers with vinegar and dropping it on the baking soda. They did have fun, maybe not hours of fun like the pin said but still fun. They at least lasted through one nursing session before they had completely colored their fizzing baking soda :)

We also were inspired by Pinterest to freeze some of their action figures in containers of water and also to freeze some inside water filled balloons. Then they were supposed to spend hours trying to break their "bad guys" out with a spoon. But apparently my kids are geniuses because they realized in exactly 2 minutes that they could save themselves hours of hard work by simply throwing their balls of ice to save their guys. Although Ben did try to lick his out at first so maybe I should retract the genius statement?

And my last Pinterest inspired idea, Jezerea's graduation gift. Although I missed her graduation day due to overcrowding at the stadium and too late of a party for the kids, I did give her the BEST gift ever. A bumble bee umbrella that "rained money." That's right, I can make it rain money! Sure there's only $20 there but when you get in 1 dollar bills and you hang it from a super adorable umbrella, you're bound to be loved for it :)

Fun Times

 

Today I remembered to snap a picture of Lucy looking adorable in her swimsuit before we headed out. We originally headed out to the Tempe Splash Playground because the boys were BEGGING me ALL morning to go there. But apparently everybody else had the exact, same idea. The parking lot was full and I couldn't find a free, close by place to park so we went to a little splash pad at the Tempe Marketplace instead. They still had fun (even Lucy played in the water). Plus we had the added bonus of being serenaded by One Direction fans who were waiting in a huge line so they could get exclusive merchandise from a One Direction store that would only be here for 2 weeks. Silly girls.

Speaking of silly girls, Lucy is still sleeping through the night like a champ but now she is boycotting naps- ugh. But back to positives, she is sitting up for long periods of time, and rolling and scooting around on her belly like a champ. 

It has been a pretty calm week so Steven and I decided to do some pirate paintings. I am making a pirate bird for Ben and Steven is making a pirate ship. It was fun showing him how first I sketch it on paper, then I sketch it on the canvas and then comes the painting. I, of course, goofed and forgot (for both of us) background should be painted first but oh well. I suppose I am up for the challenge of trying to paint a background neatly around my bird and I doubt Steven will have any problems.

I know my feet aren't exactly something you are dying to look at but I had to show off the nail polish Steven got me. For some reason it doesn't look quite as bright as it does in person. Believe me when I say that it really lights up a room ;).

We also attended Jezerea's last choir concert this week. That means the last high school concert period for Tyler's siblings. Can you believe his youngest sister is graduating from high school next week?? She was such a young thing when we got married ;) And note to myself, taking 3 kids to a choir concert is a bad idea. The first couple songs they did the "Glee" thing and sang and danced to modern songs (which were interesting choices for a school concert) so those kept my kids attention but after that it was way to boring for a 5 year old and 3 year old. And then Lucy needed to eat so I nursed her and she kept trying to break out of my cover and expose me. And then all my nephews kept deciding that they needed to come sit by me and Steven which equals trouble. And....let's just say we didn't last the whole concert...

Busy Easter Saturday

The Saturday before Easter was filled with all sorts of Easter fun! We started it off with our Ward Easter Party in the park by our neighborhood. We go every year and the kids love it! Tyler was even able to join us for part of it before leaving for a hike with the Scouts.

First we had a yummy breakfast and then they had something new- a train ride! The "train" was made from dollies and water barrels and was pulled by an ATV. All the kids loved it and it was a constant fight to get on it- here are the boys with one of the girls in the Ward:

After the train did a few rounds it was time for the "hat" parade. Some women in the Ward had on some nice Easter bonnets,and then lots of the kids joined in by putting their Easter baskets on their heads. Of course my boys are followers and did this too:

Then it was time for the Easter lesson:

And then off the kids went to get their 10 allotted eggs. This year Ben was not shy about getting eggs at all and he found 10 no problem (not hard when they are all strewn about in a field):

 Here's Steven with his bestest friend, Colin:

After the Easter egg hunt it was time to dye Easter eggs and this year the boys made monster Easter eggs. It was a fun change for them. (And please excuse Ben's gross shirt, he seems to think that a shirt makes a good tissue):

Then Ben decided to make some Easter Bunnies. (Steven had made some with me a few days earlier while Ben was napping so he wasn't interested in making anymore). I love that Ben kept putting the pants on the bunnies' heads :)

And after eating lunch we decorated some Easter/Spring cookies. Ben is still way more about eating the frosting and cookies rather than actually decorating and Steven is still into squirting piles of gel icing onto the cookies. But fun and tastiness was had by all:

Current Events

I only have 3 weeks left until my due date and I'm feeling huge. Super sweet people tell me otherwise and claim that my belly is small and cute. People who have never been pregnant and don't realize it's better to lie tell me "Wow! You just look bigger and bigger everytime I see you."  or "Are you sure it's not twins!?" Then there's my doctor who used to tell me how cute my belly was and now makes no comment...Hmmm....

Anyways, Lucy is finally head down (and I'm praying she stays that way) so I am feeling less apprehensive about her arrival and you might say that I have also been nesting a bit.... The boys and I added Lucy's name to the Playroom and bathroom door. We also had to label her door and crib. Of course, I used pink word strips, much to Tyler's disgust :)

I have also been busy decorating & organizing Lucy's room (girls have too much stuff!). It's still not completely finished (the crib needs to be converted back & I'm still on the lookout for some affordable white, light blocking curtains) but it's pretty darn close...

Steven had his first Primary Program this past Sunday- his line was "Nephi was a prophet that you can read about in the Book of Mormon." He was nervous but with some prompting he was able to say his line and he kept his fingers out of his mouth while doing it (trust me that was a big thing for him). However, unless you knew what he was supposed to say most people had no idea what he was saying. My parents and Tyler's mom & sister came to watch him. They got to watch him stand on risers and look lost during the songs, do a butt bump with a fellow child & pick his nose- too much fun ;) 

Steven is sill obsessed with his stuffed animal, Kevin. He loves it more than he loves the real Kevin. The fake Kevin goes everywhere with Steven and if left behind at anyone's house it is quite devastating. Steven even insists that Kevin gets buckled up when in the van- safety first!

Our Ben gets bloody noses like crazy and the other morning he woke up looking like he had been murdered. He must move around a lot at night is all I can say. Tyler felt the bloodiness needed to be documented:

Speaking of noses...Ben has had a runny nose these last couple of days and has decided that his shirts make the best tissues-- or basically anything other than a real tissue. I gave him one once and he shouted "Oww!" and disgustedly tossed it aside and then wiped his nose with his shirt. So what did he do when he had no shirt to wipe his nose on before taking a shower today? He grabbed anything close by- first a random sock than his diaper- ugh! 

The one nice thing I have to say about this sickness (and Steven's had the runny nose too) is that both boys have been sleeping splendidly. It used to not be like that but thanks to Steven's Singulair, Vick's Vapor Rub and a little essential oils "Breathe" in the humidifier- they sleep wonderfully! I've noticed too that keeping the fan off helps- not sure why but it does....

Ben also has a stuffed animal that must travel everywhere with him- his kitty cat. His kitty cat has a nice manly pink ribbon around it's neck (he stole it from Grandma's house). He calls it his "Titty Tat" and just as Steven becomes distraught without Kevin- Ben as of late has been equally distraught without his kitty cat.