Green!

With Poppy gone it was back to our normal lives this week, not so much fun. And that meant back to my Yoga videos. I think they are helping with my achy back but if not, they at least make me feel better about myself. The best part, though, is when the kids are around and they try to do the Yoga positions too. They really give it a valiant effort :) I asked them to do the downward dog and this is what I got:

Lucy was doing it...but she had to look up and say "Chee!" when I took the picture.

Wednesday we had a tragedy of epic proportions. I was planning on keeping this tragedy a secret for fear of what Poppy would think of me but I just can't keep it in any longer. Here it goes, on Wednesday I was responsible for the death of a turtle. From afar, it looked like a rock but as my car neared it I realized too late that it was not a rock. That poor turtle didn't stand a chance. 

I'm hoping the fact that I was on my way to do service for a friend will counteract the bad mojo of killing a turtle...one can hope.

Friday we took our weekly trip to Kensington and my goodness is it green! Compare this picture we took there in April:

To these pictures I just took Friday:

2 months later and now we are surrounded by green and the temp's have stayed in the high 60's and 70's this week. I am a happy lady!

Well, I would be even more happy if Benny wasn't so determined to make me stark raving mad. Not only has Benny been extra emotional lately (if that's possible) but he's also been having constipation problems due to a fear of pooping. This has led to tiny accidents and lots of bathroom drama. Right now panty liners are saving the day in the underwear department, I can't wait to use this against when he grows older! And we are giving Miralax a try. I just hope this gets resolved before I have another little one to worry about. Between him and Lucy these days, I feel like my life revolves around other people's poop.

Lucy also continues to have a crazy temper and throw fits when she doesn't get what she wants or when someone has what she wants. But she does some super cute things too, like say "shoes" when she wants to go outside. Or if you say "one" she'll finish off the count with "two, three." And sometimes she wakes up in the morning and serenades us with the "Space Odyssey Theme Song." Yeah, it's pretty cute :)

So yes, motherhood has been challenging as of late but sometimes I just have to try and embrace the rare good moments...

And let's end with my big 29 week belly:

May Is Here

The other week we did a FHE on Emergency Preparedness and showed the kids what to do if their was a fire or a tornado. Tyler would turn on the appropriate alarms/sirens on his computer and the kids would do their thing. They had lots of fun with this and, of course, this got Steven obsessed with tornadoes (again). Using his awesome imagination, Steven came to us with these gems of wisdom:

"If you go high enough on a swing, a tornado can't get you."

"Tornadoes can't break metal."

I'm not sure we did a good enough job with our safety training for that kid...

This week I got another ultrasound. Everything is still well with Penny, and oh my goodness, she is still quite the performer. Here she is being camera shy (or, as my mom believes, shielding herself from the ultrasound waves):

While we were working on learning our ABC's this week, Benny decided to take a dry erase marker and color himself some "angry eyebrows" and a "beard":

Steven got home and was jealous of Ben's marked up face and decided to make himself into a tiger. He also drew faces on his hands and belly button:

But thanks to me, Lucy remained unmarked: 

Have I told you desert rats we are? We get super excited every time we see a squirrel in our yard-- which we shouldn't, because they are literally EVERYWHERE here! One time I was working with Ben at the kitchen table and he literally stopped mid sentence and screamed "Squirrel!" as he pointed to one in the tree out the window. It's just what we do here at the Hatch house:  

And let's end this post with my humiliation. It all has to do with a long straight road that leads to Steven's school and a mother's lead foot. I was literally deep in conversation with Steven on the exciting topic of Vampire Bats, when I saw the police office, saw my speed and groaned- I knew I was doomed. Sure enough, he pulled me over, literally right behind where all parents must enter to drop off their kids. That's right, they all had to go around me and give me the look of shame. And the icing on top? I had left my wallet at home. Somehow I got lucky, and the officer decided to let me off with a warning, "At least if you're going to speed, make sure you have your wallet." Then I got to go drop Steven off and listen to all his friends shout at him, "Steven!!! Your mom got in trouble!!!" Ugh. But the funny moment in the midst of it all, Steven says to me, "Daddy should get a ticket, not you! He's always speeding!!" See, I really am the better driver! At least according to Steven ;)

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!