The Unsung Hero

   I meant to do this post a couple months ago, but life got in the way.  It started on Father's day.  We had just gotten to Arizona and found a house and were going to our new ward for the first time.  We pulled up at the building and there was no one at the church.  After driving around to other buildings, we realized that they were having stake conference on Father's day. 
   Everyone makes a huge deal about Mother's day.  The media is flooded with commercials for things to make Mom feel special.  The church goes all out with special talks to show just how special Mom's are.  And there we were, on Father's day and there was no fuss made over it.
   Yes, being a Mom can be hard.  You don't get breaks, you can't take a sick day or quit if your work isn't satisfying.  But what about Dad?  All the financial pressure falls on him.  He misses so many of the little joy's of being a parent.  Snuggling in bed reading stories, watching Kira comfort her sister when she gets hurt, feeling cooped up and just leaving to go swimming  to get away from it all, etc, etc.  The list could go on and on.  And yet we forget how hard that must be, being the rock of the family. 
    So thank you Josh.  Thank you for going to work everyday so I can stay home and play with our fantastic kids.  Thanks for coming home and stepping right into helping me, whether it be holding a crying baby while I finish dinner, running to the store because I didn't make it,  or just playing with your kids.  Thank you for understanding.  Whether it be when my Mom was sick and I wanted to spend a month away in UT, or making the finances work so I can go to a funeral.  Thank you for all the sacrifices of time, money and sometimes even joy to build me up, make me better and help me out. 

    You are the hero in my life.  I countdown the minutes until you come home because without you the day is incomplete.  I love you.  Thanks for being the man that you are and allowing me to be me.  You're my hero through and through!

Breastfeeding...

   
    This post contains an image that may cause you to wish you were me and that you had a baby as adorable as mine.  Of course, you may be crazy and be offended by the graphic nature shown...
   There are a lot of things about our society that make me shake my head, or get under my skin.  But hands down the biggest bother I have is with breastfeeding and I know you're dying to know why. 
    I love breastfeeding.  Being able to provide my baby with perfect nutrition at the perfect temperature at any given time is amazing.  I also love pictures.  (I'm sure you didn't know that.)  I love sharing how perfect my baby is with everyone. (And yes, she is the cutest baby ever!)  So now that I've rambled a bit, back to my issue.  I take a million photos.  I love breastfeeding.  Naturally some of the best pictures I take are while my baby is cuddled up nursing or post nursing.  The milk dribble smiles, the hand placed protectively over the breast, the never breaking eye contact, etc, etc, etc!  I treasure every moment.  And yet, because society has such a stigma about breastfeeding I don't share the pictures. 
    THERE IS NOTHING SEXUAL IN BREASTFEEDING!  And yet, even some of my siblings, who were breastfed and around breastfeeding their entire lives, get uncomfortable if you choose to feed your child near them.  Why is it OK for women to prance around in a bikini, but show a breast in a natural way and people flip? 
    Alright, I'm done with my rant and just because I LOVE this photo I'm going to share it.  Avert your eyes if you're offended.

Akira

    I harbor a lot of guilt from my pregnancy with Ella.  I was so sick and Kira had to take on a lot more responsibilities than any 5 year old should.  Am I a good parent?  Am I forcing her to grow up to quickly?  Am I allowing her to be a normal 5 year old girl?  I don't know the answers to these questions, but I do know how proud I am of her.  This summer she has matured like crazy! 
    Saturday while I was working out Ella started to fuss.  Without being asked Kira came in and got her.  She took her into her room so she could watch Kira and Rora play. (She asked first.) During one of the rest periods I went to check on the girls. Ella was laying on Kira's bed with a huge grin on her face watching the girls dance around and entertain her.  Talk about a Mommy moment!  She is such an amazing big sister!
    Kira's current favorite thing to do is put on fashion shows.  Where both she and Rora place different hair bows in their hair, turn on music and dance around.  It's so fun to watch Rora mimic the moves that Kira does.  She is an amazing role model!
    Today Kira finished her first chapter book.  Reading is part of my core and I am more proud of this accomplishment than of anything else she has done.  A little over a year ago she had just finished preschool and told me that she couldn't read.  She wouldn't even try.  Now she is able to read with confidence and enjoyment.  To see her confidence grow and she sees what she can do is worth every negative moment ten times over. 
    I sure love her!  Now to just get her enrolled in ballet classes for this year so I'm not the Mom who forgot!

Reduce?

Today the girls and I went through their room again.  It seems as if they can't keep it clean and I hate mess!  Their room is less than half the size it was in Alabama, so with the double bed, pack n play, dresser and bookcase there is just a very small amount of room left for walking, let alone playing.  Plus they don't have a walk in closet to store all their toys.  So we are trying something radical.  We took more than half the toys they have and put them away.  The barbies are still out, the dolls (American girl size) and 2 dress ups for each girl.  That's it.  I know with the small amount of toys they will be able to keep the space clean....now to see if their imaginations will kick in even more (not to brag but my girls have pretty developed imaginations) and they won't miss the toys we put in the garage. 
I like the idea of going back to a time where kids have only one or two treasured toys and  nothing else.  For Kira's birthday the last couple of years we've taken her shopping to get a new church dress and made it an all day date.  I think this year we are going to try just doing fun things for birthday's and only giving one simple present.  I know this isn't the norm for our culture but I don't want my kids to grow up relying on stuff.  I want them to value relationships and memories. 
So what do you think?  Is it possible in today's society for kids to be happy with less or am I setting my kids up to be hoarders? 

Oh, and I know this post is rambly (yes, I just made up that word :) but Ella decided to get up early and nurse every 30 minutes last night so I'm not completely coherent. 

Today

Ella had a checkup.  We are still watching and waiting to see if her herniated stomach will close up on its own.  She weighs 10lbs 3oz and is 27 inches. 

Homemade whole wheat & honey pumpkin bread makes the perfect snack!

Sweat makes my glasses slip so all during my workout I have to push them up.  I'm getting calloused on my nose from the constant rubbing.

Baby smiles are wonderful.  Baby smiles that are brought on because her sisters are playing with her are even better!

Catching up on housework isn't as bad when you know it's so messy because you've been spending all your time outside in the pool making memories with your kids. 

Playing twister is a lot harder when Aurora is spinning the wheel.  Holding each pose for almost 2 minutes and then having to twist to read where the spinner landed.  It was worth it to see the smile on her face and how proud she was!

Laundry seemed to go 10 times faster simply because without me telling them the girls were helping.  Kira folder and put away her clothes and then did Rora's.  I love watching the young lady she is turning into!

Yep, my day has been pretty darn good!  I sure love my life!!

Things I have learned

So the past week and a half Josh and I have been doing the insanity workout and there are a few things I have learned.

1. No matter how much space we have to workout, the girls gravitate to my legs...

2. Ella always needs attention when I workout...it doesn't matter what time I am doing it at or how happy/sound asleep she is seconds before I hit 'play.' 
3. To the girls on the DVD: It isn't attractive to pull faces while working out and every time you do the camera is going to zoom in on your face...It would be funny if I wasn't pushing so hard.

4. Josh is HILARIOUS!  Every time Shaun T. asks a question or tries to motivate you Josh has to talk back to the TV.  BAHAHAHAHA!  He does his workout after work (I usually do mine during naptime) and doesn't want me to watch so I go in the bedroom and no matter how loud I have the TV on I can still hear him calling random insults back to the TV...it's making me smile just thinking about it.  :)

5.  I like having Josh doing the same workout as me.  He keeps me accountable and motivates me to try harder.  Andplusalso he is great to commiserate how sore I am with :)

 

When Thrift Meets Crazy :)

I would consider myself extremely thrifty.  I shop sales, I reuse sour cream containers, I buy used and I fix things rather than throwing them away.  Being thrifty wasn't something I learned, it was just the way my life was when I was growing up. 
I never thought my Mom was thrifty, I KNEW she was crazy!  I rolled my eyes at least once a day when I saw her washing out freezer bags to reuse.  I swore I would never reuse freezer bags!  And here I am years later and I can't believe it, but I've topped her.  Not only do I reuse my freezer bags, but I use cloth diapers (OK, she used them for 5 of 7 kids), and I am to cheap, I mean thrifty, to buy paper towels. 
Yep, I've topped my Mom and am crazy, but seriously, it's saves so much money to wash out freezer bags and to wash a hand towel rather than buy new paper towels.  I am embracing being crazy!  And something tells me that when my girls are teenagers that they will roll their eyes every time I wash out a bag!