The ability to forget

I always have the most uplifting conversations with on of my greatest friends. One days she was telling me that she wanted to be a better mother for her 5 beautiful children, so she was praying every night "to forget."  The words rang true to my ears when I heard them, but I never knew how powerful the ability "to forget" could be until I prayed for it myself.

After a few long weeks of sickness in the home (whinny kids, little sleep, cabin fever)  I found myself being a kind of mother that I didn't want to be. Why was I so quick to be upset? I knew my kids just wanted my attention. Why was giving them the attention they needed so hard? I felt like I was failing. My kids didn't deserve a distracted,  angry, mother that was so quick to yell, and too busy to play.

So after much praying (or pleading) with the Lord, it came...the ability to forget.

I would wake up in the morning and instead of a million "to-do" lists formulating in my head, all I could think about was my beautiful girls. When I sat to play puzzles with Adaliah, I didn't remember there was a long list of people I needed to call back, or that there was a load in the dryer that needed to be folded. When Adaliah said she wanted to go to the park, I couldn't think of reason in the world why it wasn't a good idea. I forgot that I hadn't scrubbed the toilet that week or mopped the floor.  When Elizabeth fell asleep in my arms, I forgot where my phone was so instead of checking e-mails and surfing the web I just sat and watched her sleep and thought about the day she was born and how much she's grown in the last 9 months.  When we got in the car to run errands- Adaliah asked if we could go to the Dinosaur Museum instead.  I forgot why it was important I  go to the bank today- it could wait for tomorrow right?

Obviously we cant always live in this state. As mothers we must carry on with our duties or everything falls apart. There will be no clean clothes, no food in the fridge, no dinner on the table, bills are not payed, there is no toilet paper on the roll when you need it, kids are stinky, the house is messy, important meetings and appointments are missed, lessons are not planned....

But being blessed with just a few days of forgetting... my soul fills renewed. I'm not failing as a mother. I just need to forget more often- even if its for just one or two hours a day. I need to forget about everything in the world but how much I love my girls, and how much I love being their mother.

Thanksgiving Point 5K

I have been training for my sprint triathlon for almost 4 months now. With the training, I've really been trying to increase my running speed. I signed up for the Thanksgiving Point 5k with the hope that I would do my personal best- my goal was to do between 7:30-7:45 min miles. 

Well 6 days before the race I got sick. The entire family got sick. Fevers, aches, sore throats, coughs, runny noses... (I think there has only been a handful of weeks in 2013 that we've all been healthy..rrrr)

I was bummed- but still determined to run even though I didn't get to do any training the week of the race. Then Saturday morning I woke up to get ready and I was even more sick...adding a stomach bug to the bad cold. I was pretty disappointed. 

But I went for it anyway... my lungs killing, snot running down my face, and feeling extremely barfy. Oh! And my shoe lace came untied in the first 2 mins of the race. It just wan't in the cards for me to reach my goal. 

Pete ran with me- which made it fun. He made me laugh all morning long even though I felt horrible and then ran with me for the first two miles. (then left me in the dust for the third)

Typical Pete- I trained for 4 months to get faster and with very little training at all he still beat my time by almost 1 1/2 mins. He did amazing. 

I ended up getting 2nd in my age group- but I didn't come close to my goal, I averaged a  8:13 min mile. 

It was a fun morning even though I was a little discouraged. Pete's parents and brother Chris came to watch and take care of the girls while we ran. We're so lucky to have them close and always count on them to be there to help out and cheer us on. 

Let's hope for good health for the Tri. I've only got 3 weeks left until race day. I'm getting pretty excited! 

Pete's big 3-0!

Pete is 30!! 

I was feeling very sentimental the weeks leading up to Pete's birthday. I wanted to write him some kind of letter that began to explain how grateful I was for him, and how lucky I felt to be his wife. Seriously every time I started my note I would get emotional. There are just not words. I knew I was lucky when I married him...but I had no way of comprehending how lucky I really was. This guy.... I cannot believe he is 30 and I cannot believe I get to spend an eternity more birthdays with him. 

 I wanted to do something extra special for his big 3-0, so I was racking my brain on what would be the most meaningful/ what he would enjoy the most. I thought about booking a weekend trip, I thought about just buying him something really nice...but when it came down to it, knowing Pete- I decided the thing he would enjoy the most is an excuse to get some of his friends and family together for food and a good time. 

I booked a clubhouse, hired a DJ for karaoke and dancing, and made dinner for the 40 people that came. We had a great assortment of Pete's college friends, ward friends, work friends, and family. It was a blast. 

We started the night with a dad relay race. The boys competed in a race to put on a tie, pack a diaper bag, change a diaper, and shoot the diaper into the trash can.  The winner of the night ended up being Pete's friend Trent who is not yet married. Gatta love it!

Next came karaoke - which we had the perfect crowd for. Seriously so funny. As we cleaned up- we broke out into a dance...we played some great hits from Pete's high school days. It was a great night of fun and laughs and a great way to enjoy all of the friends that have played a roll in Pete's 30 years.

Happy Birthday Pete!

February/March highlights

I took a quick trip to Manti to spend some time with my parents. Adaliah got to visit Gramps...aka Doctor Armstrong at work. I chopped all my hair off while down there (sniff sniff) 

Pete took Adaliah on a Daddy Daughter Date to Disney on Ice.

We have been loving the warmer weather. Flying kites, going to the park, walks, and playing with neighbors in the street. We are excited about Spring!

Adaliah and Elizabeth had some picture taken... here are a few of my favorites 

Easter

Easter 2013

Easter started at the Manti City Park Easter Egg Hunt

I ran into my sweet friend Sasha. I hadn't seen since High School graduation.

Next we had an egg hunt, lunch, and basketball games at my moms house. 

 

We drove home Saturday evening and had our own family Easter Celebration on Sunday. 

Conference weekend we had the last of the Easter celebrations at Pete's parents.  They had an egg hunt in between Saturday sessions and all of the grand kids helped decorate Pops bald "egg head". 

Adaliah is 3

Weight: 32 pds

Height: 37 inches

Funny facts:

1. Adaliah HATES to get her hair washed, combed, and especially done. It's an hour fight every day of screaming, tears, time outs, and a stressed mother. She started begging me to cut her like Elizabeths. (Yes...all the way off). In her clever little 3 year old mind she thought that would be the solution to never having to get her hair done again. So I compromised and we cut it into a short bob. Yes- it's a lot easier...but I was sad to see her hair go. She wasn't. Right after we got her hair cut we passed a man on the street and she said "Mom, that guy doesn't even know that my hair used to be long!" 

2. Adaliah has an incredible imagination and loves to play pretend. She’s a different character from a movie every day. Lately ist’s been Peter pan or Robin Hood. If you don’t call by her current pretend name, she gets upset.  She even gets made if you call her a girl. “Robin Hood is not a girl!”
 

3. She is such a social bug. Every morning she asks if she can have a friend over. Gracie and Sienna Tait, Abbie Smith, Sienna Kuresa, Jacey Steadman, and of course her cousin Lily downstairs are usually her go-to's. She is pretty socially aware. She knows all of her friends parents and siblings names. I didn't realize how strange this one until I realized all of her friends call me "Adaliah's mom"- which I think is the more normal thing for a child her age. Sometimes when we're playing pretend she has the whole family pretend we're the neighbors. Example: the Taits. Dad- you're Jody. Mom- You're Britnay, I'm Gracie  and Elizabeth will be Sienna.

Also- In January we bought a Minni van. Adaliah was thrilled out of her mind. "Mom! We can fit LOTS OF FRIENDS IN HERE!" She counted the seats and named all of the people we could fit in the car with us.

Funny Adaliah story- She was downstairs hanging out with my sister and her 2 year old cousin Quinn. Adaliah and Quinn were sitting at the table together and Adaliah broke the silence "So Quinn, what's your favorite kind of car". I love the small talk- her trying to bring up conversation with something he might be interested in. Seriously...she cracks me up. I'm always impressed with her social skills.

4. Because Adaliah is so social and can't ALWAYS have a friend over, she has made her stuffed Giraffe named Navine her best friend. He comes everywhere with us, eats meals with us, and sleeps with her at night. He is part of the family. He whispers things into Adaliahs ear and then Adaliah tells us what he said. Usually it's that Navine wants a treat of wants to watch a movie. Hmmm....

 

5. Adaliah is an amazing big sister. If Elizabeth is crying she'll hand her a toy. If Elizabeth is getting into something she isn't supposed to- she'll run and tell me. She helps me hold Elizabeth down during diaper changes. She'll run and grab a diaper or a clean shirt for me. She's seriously amazing for only being 3.

Story: One Sunday we all fell asleep for a nap. I woke up to the sound of Elizabeth and Adaliah laughing. I went into Elizabeths room to find both of them playing in bed. Elizabeth had woken up and Adaliah climbed right in to "take care of her" while we were still sleeping.

On the same note- Adaliah has been coming and sleeping in our bed almost every night lately. We decided to lock our bedroom door to see if she would just go back to bed. Nope. When Adaliah saw our door was locked she went into Elizabeths room at 2 in the morning, turned on the light, woke her up and started to play with her. Frustrating...but also adorable.

 6. Adaliah has some weird thing about me putting my hair in a ponytail. She started throwing fits when I put it up. Then after we got back from Disneyland Adaliah started having nightmares. She would scream and cry and talk in her sleep. One night I listened in to hear what she was screaming about, trying to understand what her nightmare was about. "Mom! Don't wear your hair in a ponytail!! No! Where it down!!" Yes...this is what my child has nightmares about. Am I that horrifying with my hair up?! I don't understand!

7. Adaliah is so good to remind us to have scriptures and prayers in the morning. She can tell us almost every scripture story in her book and she can recite the first article of faith. She LOVES going to nursery and she says the sweetest prayers.

We sure love the little girl she is growing up to be. She is such a joy in our home and in our life.

Elizabeth 7-8 mths

Elizabeth Kate 7-8 mths

Look at the amazing dark green eyes.

-Zizzy started pulling herself up the week of her 7 mth birthday

- She started crawling a week or two later

-She's a tummy sleeper 

-Her tongue is out 80% of the time

-She got her first tooth around her 8 mth birthday and still just has the one on the bottom. 

-She is into EVERYTHING. She's pulling tissues out of the box, pulling trash out of cans, movies out of cabinets... I can't keep up with her. Last week she pulled herself up on the trash can and took a good spill and scraped the skin off her nose.

- She smiles all day long but still is very particular about what makes her laugh. Most of the time it's only Adaliah that can do the trick. 

 Story about Zizzy- One day I was in my living room playing with Elizabeth. She crawled out the room, out of my site, and literally 10 seconds later I heard her crying (Not screaming...just  a mild cry) Much to my surprise I found her at the very bottom of my stair case in crawl position. I have REALLY steep stairs. I ran down frantically and picked her up and she calmed down right away. I have no idea how she didn't get hurt, how she got down so fast, and why she wasn't too upset about it. Seriously?! The only thing I can come up with is guardian angles.

Zizzy was sick for almost a month straight with a cold and ear infection the same time she was getting her first tooth. She was not a happy baby but I loved her willingness to snuggle.

Elizabeth is so playful and happy. Her and Adaliah are slowly becoming friends. Nothing makes me happier than catching them playing and laughing together.