The Name Game

So.....another girl. Another girl name. Sounds easy enough. Yeah, until Sierra (who is six) pointed out the fact that all the kids have names with six letters, the second letter is an "I" and they all have at least one double letter (It's true: Sierra, Mialee, Nikell). How did this happen? Hmmmm. Do we hold with tradition, albeit coincidental? Actually I found quite a few names that would work...Tianna, Dillan, Lizzie, Lianna, Aileen, Millie.....to name a few. Any new ideas?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIALEE

I got on earlier today to post a HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Butterfly Mialee, but our internet was down. So, late in the day, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!






Mialee spent the day doing things that I have been denying her (situationally)..going for a walk outside in her swimsuit, barefoot (IT'S NOT SUMMER YET!)...eating candy all the time...playing in the front yard (THEY ARE ONLY ALLOWED TO PLAY IN THE BACKYARD WITHOUT ADULT SUPERVISION)...taking a bath with her swimsuit (THIS LEADS TO NIKELL STRIPPING AND LOOKING FOR A SWIMMING SUIT AND ME WASHING SWIMMING SUITS EVERY DAY)...

We also painted finger nails, went out to eat at "Cafe Sabor", and she rode her new scooter all day long! Tomorrow we're hitting the bowling alley with a few of her friends.

Happy Birthday Mailee!

Down That Same Road

Did you all guess? It's another girl. Unfortunately, I gave all of my clothes to my sister (who is also having a girl). Who would have thought I would still need them? Here is the black and white proof.

Hello Again My Friends!

I'm not sure that anyone reading this has as many girls as I do...but this is one of my favorite parts about girls. Doing Hair! Every once in a while my girls decide it's time to give me a good hair-do. They comb and brush and play for a good half-hour until it is just perfect. It's like a good head massage!
And yep, I even went to Young Womens with this hair do. I figured it didn't look any worse than a normal day of not really caring about my hair, and my girls need to know that I value their hard work and valuable time!
This was my living room. We decided to redo it a bit because the former occupants of our house tried to cover up a few problems that have come back to haunt us--mostly settling walls. And after we thought about it a bit more we decided to get rid of the fire-place because we NEVER use it and it just makes the room that much more difficult to organize/decorate. Then we thought some more and Jason proposed turning the living room into a brand new kitchen. Hmmm. At first I was hesitant because our current kitchen is pretty long and skinny but then I thought about the pros: A BRAND NEW KITCHEN (which I had given up on ever ever ever getting), a bigger kitchen (which honestly, when we have people over we end up in the kitchen eating or playing games), the possibility of a bigger table (with baby number 4 on the way we are maxed out on our current table), new windows thus allowing light into my dark house (GOODBYE STYROFOAM!), and seriously, A NEW KITCHEN!!!! So I was convinved.
Here is Nikell helping me tear up the wood floor. The swimming suit is her preferred choice of clothing. The gloves might be to protect her hands, but I'm not sure because I wasn't wearing gloves. And mostly she just pretended to work with the tool.
And here is my living room earlier today. As of tonight I finished ripping out all the wood and even cleaning up all the dust. Now Jason gets to start on the plumbing! Fun fun.

Oh, and in case any of you are planning on visiting soon, be aware, we have no furniture. I gave it away. Our couches are wonderful, but very large, and we had no place to store them and they would not work in the new skinnier living room plan. So if you come BYOC! Ha ha.

On Motherhood

Little Mellow Baby Mialee (ah, those were the days)

My Mom and Her Mom

I get to teach the Young Women Combined lesson this week entitled "Attitudes about our divine roles." This section of the YW manual is a little difficult simply because it gets a little redundant and it's hard to creatively keep our rambunctious group of girls focused on Motherhood for so many weeks in a row. And honestly, most of them really don't want to be lectured on being a mom. They get it....they'll do it... but it's not pertinent to high school life. And honestly, at their age I felt the same way. I was excited about being a Mom and a wife and it was my "end" goal to all goals. After all, as David O. McKay put it, "Motherhood is near divinity. It is the highest, holiest service to be assumed by a women." But imagining being a Mom and a Wife is a lot different than actually doing it and I have found one of my biggest trials to be finding joy in the monotony of motherhood, housekeeping, etc...

So, anyway, I think I will focus this lesson on not only attitudes about our divine roles, but attitudes in general. It is my belief that if one can find happiness in today, they will be most assured of happiness forever. And I think that it's not so much about motherhood as it is about refining who we are. There is no one recipe or formula or key to being a good mom any more than there is to being a good father or priesthood holder, or biship, or primary president, or friend. It's about our end goals and desires and willingness to learn from what God gives us. Who could have predicted that I would get an obsessively worried child or that Tara would get a little girl with IS? No one knew but God and he knew that we would be able to handle it, IF WE CHOOSE. If we can't find happiness today, then tomorrow will be no different and neither will eternity.

What do you remember thinking about motherhood as a young women? How have your views changed? Is there anything that you wish someone would have, could have, told you or taught you? How do you find happiness in your "divine role" as a women, mother, child-care provider, housekeeper, teacher....? What are the things that you struggle with?

Yeah, I'm still here...and the huge mountain of laundry has been conquered (despite the throw up incidents). Our status? Sick. They are all sick except me....oh wait, I'm always sick! Ha ha, I'd almost forgotten.

Thanks to Jason for so kindly agreeing to come home from work EARLY so I can still go to work despite the sick kids. Guess I should go pack a lunch...or dinner...or snack...something edible.

Oh, and I am getting fat. I have never enjoyed this. I try, I really do. But what is there to enjoy about not fitting into any of your clothes? I have been reduced to wearing the same two pair of pants (larger than normal, but not ginourmously pregnant size) and sweatshirts. Hard to look classy dressed like that (not that I ever looked classy, but I would even go for acceptable at this point). Ah me (to quote Shelly, quoting Shakespear).

Worryworrywart

You know what? I must be past the first trimester because I ate breakfast this morning and then I had a cupcake for dessert. Heaven help me.

I decided to create a separate blog for my dealings with OCD/Anxiety. That way, those who are interested can look and those who aren't won't have to sort through it all. I've also had people ask me for advice--which totally cracks me up since I am the one always searching, and this is another way to organize and post new information.

It's Called WorryWort.

Love you all and thanks again for your support and kindness in everything!