Confessions of a Tired Momma

I've been thinking a lot lately about some of the things I want to do better this next coming year...And one of the main things that I keep running into is that some of these things that I want to do better, I'm not doing now because 1. I'm not making it a priority, and 2. Because I'm exhausted! 

So I want to write just a little reminder to myself, of the things I want to do better, and work (starting now!) to accomplish them!


1. I would like to plan my days better, with enough rigidity that I can be able to know what I need to do that day, but also with enough flexibility that if one or both of my kids are especially needy that day, I can change my schedule, and be ok.

2. Setting a timer when I'm online!  That way I can stick to the time I have decided to spend online, and then be able to be more productive....Some days (especially when I'm researching something, or trying to find a good deal on something...I spend WAY too much time online). I'm also guilty of staying up in bed way past my bedtime because I'm on pinterest or some other wasteful site :(  Hence why I'm super tired the next day and can't accomplish as much as I would like to!  Don't get me wrong, I love pinterest, I've gotten a lot of good ideas from there, I just need to be careful that I'm not spending all of my free time on there.

3. One of the greatest gifts we can give our family is the gift of our time, and when you have young kids, your dates w/ your hubby can become a thing of the past!  We have tried as much as we could this year to go on as many dates as possible...But we could have done better...So, for Christmas, one of my gifts to my hubby was 12 pre-planned date coupons!  That way we'll at least go on a date a month.  I'm looking forward to it!  We just went on a date a couple of days ago, and after a hard day with the kids, it was so wonderful to just spend time with my husband, and not have to worry about anything! He was even a proper date and got my door and everything!  What a lucky girl I am!  Really!  I'm grateful for the husband I have, he's the best!  ...I found the idea for the 12 dates coupons here if you're interested...I love that blog!

 I also printed 'dates with mom' and 'dates with dad' coupons for each of the kids.  Every other month they get to go on a 'one on one' date with either of us...and I put them in envelopes, so each month they can open their date surprise, and look forward to it.  For Janurary, Anna and I will make a craft together, and Jacob and Randy will watch a movie together!  I love to spend one on one time with my kids, I think it helps them feel more loved and appreciated.  I'm not very imaginative...so I got the idea for the kids' coupons here.

4. And of course, what would a new year be withouth me having some kind of fitness goal!  I was thinking the other day, that if I could, I would love to go back in time, and have a serious conversation with my 19-25 year old self...Looking back at some of my pictures, and seeing my size 3-4 self, and realizing how much I didn't like my body then...I just want to say 'Snap out of it...You look great!'  Will I ever be that fit again?  Maybe...but I'm not going to hold my breath, nor am I going to have issues with my body anymore, I need to just believe my husband when he gives me a compliment...  
So since dieting is not a friend of mine, I have to either sacrifice sleep time (mornings), or family time (nights) to get in longer workouts...or do my best to exercise during the day, and be happy with it...I choose the latter! 

I was 24 here...married for almost a year!

(Photo Credit- Joel)

5. During one of my lessons at church ( I used to teach 10 yr olds), I told them, that this coming year I want to learn how to swim!  I wish you could have seen their faces!!  They were like 'You don't know how to swim???"  It was as if I had said "I want to learn how to breathe this year!" LOL  I really do want to learn how to swim though...not only for personal reasons, but I take the kids to the pool all summer long...and if something were to go wrong, and I don't know how to swim...it wouldn't be pretty.  Remember that incident in Island Park Joel? :)  Let's just say we went 'swimming' with Randy and his friend Joel, and when I told Randy I couldn't swim...he didn't really think I meant I REALLY didn't know how to swim...so I panicked and almost drowned Randy who was trying to help me! :(  I've heard you can take adult swimming lessons...I need to look into that.

Before I end this post, I wanted to write down a couple of the cute things Anna is saying these days...I don't remember exactly what word it was that Jacob would throw into his sentences, when he didn't know what to say...but Anna's is 'Every day'  It's pretty funny actually! 
Also, the first time I taught her the word 'hiccup' was because Jacob had the hiccups...so since Jacob had the 'he-ccups' when she has the hiccups, she calls them 'me-cups' !

I have other goals I'm working on as well, but I won't make this post any longer...

Good luck with all of your New Year goals, and may we all have a blessed 2012!

It's almost Christmas!

It's almost Christmas Time...and I haven't updated our blog in months...So get ready for picture overload and a super long post!

We have had a good year.  I'm grateful for our little family.  I know we'll probably never travel as much as we did this year...(it'll only get more expensive, and the kids will be in school)...So I'm grateful we were able to get away as much as we did!  I'm grateful for a husband who works so hard for us, and then still makes time to play with the kids, and help me around the house when he gets home from work.  Our sleeping routine is such a breeze now (I wondered when we would ever get to this point) The kids brush their teeth, we get them in their pj's, then we all read the scriptures and say a prayer; Randy takes Anna and reads and finishes putting her to bed, and I take Jacob, we read and sing a song and he's done for the night!  It's during these times at the end of the day, that they say the cutest things!  Jacob prays for everyone, it depends on the day, but it's so cute to hear his heart-felt prayers.  Anna has been praying for her 'mocos' to go away! hahaha We're all getting over colds...but they're hanging on!  I have kept a list of things the kids mispronounce or things they say that are cute/funny...and I'm so glad I have!  The latest one for Anna is 'Monkey Cheese' (Mac n' cheese), and Jacob's latest is 'Awesomest Prime' (Optimus Prime). 

As the Christmas Season approaches, Our goal is to continue to teach our children about the true meaning of Christmas, and the joy you get when you serve and help others...It's been fun to see the excitement and the twinkle in their eyes that they have for Christmas.

These days Anna loves to hang around the house in either her Cinderella, or Snow White dress.  She will only respond to 'Princess' on some days, and corrects me when I call her anything else!  She loves to dress up!  She has become a little chatter box!  I worried a little when she was almost two, and she didn't speak as many words as I thought she should (Randy didn't worry)...and now, I wonder if there will ever be a day when she's able to be quiet for more than 2.1 seconds!  She's also continuing to be fearless!  And has figured out how to give a certain 'look' and use a specific tone of voice to get what she wants from Dad, her uncles, and Bapa (Grandpa Kevin).  She is so sweet and such a mellow girl, we always joke that if all our kids were as mellow as her, we'd have 5 more! (hahaha, Imagine me w/ 7 kids! hahahahaha) I love her so much!

Jacob is a busy, busy, busy little guy.  Everyday he wants to learn, explore, play, sing and dance, and do it over again! He loves sports, and as it gets colder and colder out there, he keeps wanting to play baseball indoors more! (I'm grateful for wii sports!)  He started preschool in September, and has made new friends whom he loves (most days), he loves his teacher as well, especially because he sees her at church on Sundays too!  He cuddles with me every morning when he wakes up, I love starting my day like that!  He is so curious, talkative, and eager to learn...He likes to dress up in his Batman or Buzz costumes, and fights off any dragons that might try to hurt the Queen (me) or the Princess (Anna)...I love him so much!

Now on to pictures etc...
In March we had the opportunity to go to Calgary.  I wanted to go because it would be the last time Anna would be able to fly for free.  I went with both kids for two weeks!  I was able to celebrate my birthday while in Calgary, and that was nice!  In the end, I think 2 weeks were too long to be away from Randy... BUT We had a fun time, and the kids did surprisingly well on the flights (eventhough neither slept!).

In April we celebrated Easter, and had a wonderful time at Randy's Aunt's house...  All of my pics from Easter are on my ipod...

Then came the Summer and we celebrated Anna's 2nd birthday in May, and Jacob's 4th Birthday in June. I can't believe how much my children have grown! They are such a joy (most days). :)

We went on a family fishing trip in July...I caught my first fish all by myself! 

We also went to my sister's wedding at the Cardston Temple. We were only able to stay for the Temple wedding, but that's the most important part!

In August we were able to go to Island Park, and stay at Aunt Kay's cabin for a few nights.  We loved it there!  It made us want to save our money so we can someday have a little cabin of our own!

 We went Camping for the first time as a family too...The kids did so well! We are going to make it an annual tradition!  

September came and we went to San Diego!  What a fun family vacation!  We had been planning it all  year!  The kids loved Sea World so much, we ended up going twice...We had so much fun together...despite the fact that the night we got there, there was a power outage...so we didn't have power until about 3 in the morning the following day! We went to Old San Diego to the only place with a grill for some tacos!  They were the best tacos we've ever had!  We were hungry :)
We hit up the San Diego Zoo, Wild Animal Kingdom, a day at the Beach, and even went and took some pictures at the San Diego Temple...a week flew by quick!

In October we went to Moab for 3 days. It was a quick trip, but it was nice to get away and go to Arches National Park! We hiked to delicate Arch, and the kids did so well! It was 2 miles to the Arch, and 2 miles back to our car. It was mostly uphill, and super windy and cold...but the kids were so good!

For Halloween, the kids were lucky enough to celebrate it 3 times!  We went to the NICU reunion, it was awesome as always....the kids got treats, had some lunch, even made a craft with their picture!  We went to our ward Halloween Party as well, and we had a little Halloween Party/Get-together at one of my sister in law's.  Too much fun!

Last but not least...November...Randy and Jon (his bro) had the opportunity to go to Boston to watch a Patriots game! It's one of those things they'll never forget...and may not do for a long time! I have to admit I'm not a big football fan, and it was super cold while they were there...so it was ok for Randy and Jon to go, and not me! :) I do like Brady ;)

I think that makes up for the lack of posts for the year...Sorry for the long post!

We are looking forward to Christmas!  The kids are, and have been super excited about it (We all are).  We decorated the house together a few weeks ago (the kids and I)...and when Randy came home, Jacob couldn't wait to show him all that we had decorated!  Randy put up the lights outside, and we all put up, and decorated the tree together.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year Everyone!