Lucky

Last weekend we spent Sat afternoon at a small swap meet sort of place where I got an awesome "teething" necklace. Really Lucy has no desire to chew on it but that's fine. Truthfully, I just got it because I thought it was stinkin' cute! So here's a picture of me sporting the necklace and sporting my 18 week pregnant belly. Less than 2 weeks until the gender revealing ultrasound folks! 

Monday was St. Patrick's Day. I am not one of those amazing Pinterest moms who does a million awesome things for each holiday but I always try to do one or two (easy)fun things. So for breakfast my kids had some Lucky Charms with green milk. I will admit that the dyed green milk just looked awful but Steven claimed excitedly, "It tastes just like milk!" (Ben, of course, had his breakfast by the heater vent in the kitchen):

 I also gave Steven a green lunch- dyed mac n cheese, and broccoli. Oh yeah, super delicious!

This last month I have been (finally) working hard on teaching Benny his ABC's. It is so nice that I am at last at a point in my life where I can do this. BUT he is VERY difficult to teach and it can be quite frustrating. He doesn't catch on quickly and sometimes I feel like I am a terrible teacher BUT then we have moments where it clicks. And since preschool is not in the budget and the mom's in my ward failed at their recent attempt to do a co-op, it looks like I am his only hope ;)

 

On the other hand, Steven is doing splendidly in Kindergarten. We had a conference with Mrs. Hornyak Thurs and were told he is right on target, if not a little ahead. Yippee! Lately, his favorite thing to do is staple pages together to make books. They have a title, lots of pictures and the last page always states "the end". He's made an AFV (America's Funnies Videos) book and a Calvin & Hobbes book these past 2 days. They're quite entertaining to "read."

And yesterday I had a tender mercy occur. We were blessed to have a babysitter come watch our kids while we went to the Detroit Temple (for free nonetheless, thanks to a personal progress goal!). So I went to pick up some pizza for the kids and the babysitter but when I came home I realized my wallet was gone. I remembered putting it on top of the pizzas after I bought them and that was it. I was panicking! 

I threw my now poor, jacketless kids in the car and rushed back to the scene. I was praying out loud in the car as we drove there and in retrospect Steven's reactions to my prayers were pretty great, "Can He really hear you?" "Will He find it for you?" "Can He take it away from the bad guys?"...

When we got there I checked the parking lot to no avail. So then I checked the pizza place but still no luck. But from the beginning I had the feeling I should check Kroger's which was pretty close to the pizza place. So I did, and there it was, money, cards and all. Definitely a blessing! And we made it home just in time for the arrival of Tyler & the babysitter.

Then I got to go do my very first Endowment Session in a temple besides the Mesa Temple. It's true, I have never been inside another temple before (not counting temple open houses that is). It is beautiful but significantly smaller and you actually have to RSVP. They had a list and if you weren't on it, it was more than likely you weren't getting in. Anyways, it was nice to finally be in the temple again! Can't wait to go back!

And here are some cute pictures Steven took today:  

Temperamental Weather, Packages, & a Haircut

This week we had a few days of downright beautiful weather (which I never would have considered beautiful when we were living in AZ). We were in the 40's and even hit the 50's one day. The snow was melting, our driveway was a complete flood- I loved it! 

I even took the kids out on our front porch to play (the only non flooded place we had). Even crazier, I took my jacket off and just wore my light sweater while I was out with them because I WAS HOT. Weird right!?

But wouldn't you know that just two days later this happened:

The temp dropped to the 20's, there was crazy wind (15-20mph)and it snowed for a full day. Steven had yet another snow day, I swear this kid never has school!

But I have an amazing family that keeps all of our spirits bright despite our temperamental weather. This week we got 2 packages in the mail. One from my mom with lots of fun things for the boys, including "Jake the Pirate" jammies for Ben & a very Jamaican hat for Steven:

And the other package was just for me from Mecca. I am so blessed to have such an amazing sister-in-law to put this package of AZ sunshine together for me and, of course, an amazing brother to mail it to me ;)

The last event this week was the cutting of Lucy's mullet. I had been opposed to cutting it because she already gets mistaken for a boy ALL the time and I felt without the hair she would just become a permanent boy. But the mullet was VERY bad...So went to Cool Cuts 4 Kids in the mall and got it trimmed:

She did such a good job, thanks to the brain rotting TV in front of her, and now the mullet has been tamed! The place even gave me a cute bow to clip in her hair which she actually didn't pull out! Time to invest in more of those! 

Afterwards we went and played at the kid area in the mall and she gave me this nice drunken pose:

Later, at home, I tried to get pictures that better showed the cut. It's still long but definitely an improvement:

And I shall end the post with this gem I took of Ben, the Pirate Reindeer Student:

A Week...

This week...

Tyler decided he wanted to fit in at work so he invested in an awesome Michigan University lanyard. Doesn't he look cool?

The toilet below decided to explode (for the umpteenth time!) but this time it would not be stopped by a plunger. I finally jimmy rigged it with a rubber band then used 8 towels to clean up the mess (and I had literally just cleaned that bathroom that morning!). Tyler comes home and 3 plunges later, it's all fixed. Stupid toilet. 

Benny became a super hero and Lucy decided to run around with a mesh hamper on her head. 

Thursday night Steven's loose tooth finally made an exit. He has been dreading the loss of this thing for months now. As I was brushing his teeth, it pretty much completely came out- it was hanging on by a thread. So Tyler grabbed some pliers and finished it off. It was a very traumatizing experience. Steven cried so hard, he gagged on the blood and threw up a bit. Ugh.

But the hole is pretty cute and the Tooth Fairy gave him a whopping $2 for it (he got a bonus $1 for it being his first tooth). And she even folded the dollars into cute hearts-- which were destroyed within moments of finding. So not worth the effort Mrs. Tooth Fairy...

And lastly, this week has been full of sickness. Steven caught a cold which has led to endless coughing... I ended up keeping him home from school for 2 days because it was just easier than having to tote his Nebulizer (for breathing treatments) to and from school. This school does not have a Nebulizer of its own, like his last one did, and it doesn't even have a Nurses office. Lame. 

Both Lucy & Ben also got a cold as well and have been coughing (though not nearly as bad as Steven). And on top of it, Ben got pink eye today. The worst part of all this sickness is the weather was *beautiful* Thursday and Friday- we're talking 40's with NO wind chill! And where was I? Stuck inside with my sick babies, who spent most of the day fighting over who gets to sit in my lap. Mostly Lucy just wants to sit there when she sees Benny there and then she screams and cries until she gets her way. I am so not looking forward to the jealousy that is going to arise when I have this baby in August...

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!

Adventures

This week we all got to take a turn throwing up. Each of the kids threw up once and then they were totally fine. Tyler and I were less lucky, we were both sick all day Saturday. It was miserable, especially since I had finally gotten us a babysitter for that night- I had been looking forward to our date night ALL week but we had to cancel :( Now I have to wait another week. Boo!

But on a slightly funny note, after Ben threw up, I asked him why he threw up. He said he had smelled something bad. So I asked him what he had smelled. His reply, "Grass." Ummm... maybe the rats are down in our basement smoking "grass"? 

And speaking of funny Ben, one afternoon I was reading this terribly sad and touching blog (http://themomentswestand.blogspot.com/) and I was bawling like only a pregnant mommy can and Ben happened to notice and asks me, "Mommy, why do your eyebrows look sad?" 

I was SO excited for Thursday because we were supposed to hit the 40's (a temperature we had NEVER seen here). And we did hit them! So despite the fact that there was rain in the forecast and the sidewalks were all terribly icy, I took Ben & Lucy out for a walk to a nearby bakery. We only slipped a few times but we made it there in one piece, and without getting rained on and I didn't feel the least bit cold. As soon as we sat down to eat our doughnuts though, instead of the forecasted rain, big beautiful snowflakes stated falling down (at least those are my favorite kind). Thankfully our home was only a short walk away but it was quite the adventure trying not to slip on all the ice that was now covered in a light blanket of snow. And we did get quite soggy from melted flakes. But it was SO nice to get some fresh air, so worth it! 

Here's a pic of the snow covering our driveway that had just that morning been completely snow free:

Because of all the icy back roads and strong winds, school was cancelled Friday. Ugh! Steven had just had Monday-Wednesday off for a random February holiday and he was getting bored (which means whining and fighting). So I tried to make the day fun...we did "science", played with Play-Doh, and even ventured out (despite the weather) to the library. Nevertheless, I am SO SO SO ready for a normal week of school! There is way to much school cancellation here in Michigan...

Anyways, by the time late afternoon rolled around on Friday, the kids were making me extremely crazy so I decided a trip to a museum was in order. When Tyler came home we went to the Cranbrook Institute of Science Museum. Best idea ever! It currently had a dinosaur exhibit which was totally awesome...

The boys were totally fascinated by this thing that was like a giant marble tower...

Lucy had fun following everyone around and watching her dad attempt to spin some tops...

And the coolest thing yet was getting to see Jupiter through a high powered telescope. Totally awesome! Equally cool was the fact that we practically had the museum to ourselves. We rarely saw anyone else and when we did it was just as we were leaving an exhibit. Anyways, definitely a highlight of the week.

And lets end with an adorable pic of Lucy...

Odds and Ends

Some moments from our week...

Lucy & Ben love to spend time reading in her room

I hear Ben ask, "Do you like my beard?" and turn around to see this:

Lucy, by herself, got a plastic bowl out and then got out the box of Goldfish- Mrs. Independent. After looking at both for awhile, perplexed on how to get the Goldfish to the bowl, she came to me for help. It's nice to know that I'm still needed :)

Lucy flashing her "Chee!" smile while playing peek a boo in the downstairs bathtub

Benny was looking at pictures and saw one of us at the park and asked if we could go to the park. I said, "No way! Don't you know where we live!?" He smartly replied, "In Michigan!" After that he stared at the window for awhile, and then asked me, "Is it Michigan outside?" Yes, yes it is. And check out the ever growing icicles on our home for proof:

Love

I think the one perk of living 33 hours away from all your family is getting packages! I absolutely love getting mail! Both sets of grandparents sent the kid's Valentine's gift (and something for Tyler & me too). The kids loved all the yummy candy and cute things they got. Can't you just tell by Ben's smile!?

On Valentine's Day I did not make the kids a cute Pinterest inspired breakfast, I am just not a morning person. But I did give them each a little gift in the morning (sticker books & candy). 

While Steven was at school & Lucy was napping, Ben & I made some heart cookies. I have determined cutting out cookies is way more fun with just one kid. A lot less chaotic.

And when Steven got home from school, even though it was like 30 minutes until dinner time, we decorated and hogged down on our heart cookies...

After the cookies we had heart pizza for dinner (Tyler said the heart looks like it belong to a sick person, such a sweetie):

And I asked Tyler to get me something thoughtful and romantic for Valentine's Day, and shockingly he did such. In the necklace are 2 boys & 1 girl, each decked out in the appropriate birthstone, a heart the color of baby to be's birthstone and a golf charm to represent how we met.