All things Girlie

I haven't mentioned about Mothers' Day or my great "Girlie Weekend" with my dear friends.



First off....my weekend with my friends was absolutely delightful! I always learn so much from our coversations; they motivate me to be a better mother; we have discussions until wee hours of the morning; we exchange our annual "favorite things"; and I just love these girls so much! I look forward to this weekend all year - and it never dissappoints.

This year we spent time in sunny St. George shopping, eating, spaing, eating, talking, and eating. (Did I mention eating?) I feel so blessed to have these amazing women in my life.



Mothers Day was fabulous. I love the homemade cards and gifts from the kids...they are by far my favorite gift.



It is crazy to think that I am the mother of 5 kids! FIVE.....that is a lot of responsibility. I am grateful that I have been entrusted with these amazing children.

There is nothing harder or more rewarding than being a mother....and I love it!

Being a mother has definitely made me appreciate my own mom....who is amazing. Thanks Mom for raising me the way you did. You always wanted the best for me, and taught me what true determination and dedication is. I love you!

And thanks to Brandon's mom...who raised him to be an honorable, wonderful, caring, and motivated dad and husband. You are an incredible woman with so many talents and gifts. You bless our lives!

Happy Mom's Day!

Easter Bliss

I love Easter. Mainly because it means it is finally spring (or supposed to be)! I love tulips, the crisp warming air, the warm sun (which we have so missed) beating down on our face. All of the pink and white blossoms on the trees. The kids wanting to constantly play outside......

I LOVE SPRING!








Luckily we did have some semi-warm weather for Easter Sunday.....so the kids could find eggs outside for once!

And what is Easter without a good old air soft gun fight???? (WHAT?) There were even casualties this time!

I also love Easter because it is a time that I can reflect on the sacrifice of my Savior, and that He was resurrected. I hope that although Easter is a lot of "fun", my kids will remember the real reason we celebrate this Easter holiday.

Christmas Morning

When I have woken up for the past week I have felt like it is Christmas morning! You know that feeling of anticipation and excitement for what the day will bring. The excitement of giving the perfect gift to your kids, or the anticipation of what might be lying under the tree for you?

Well, that is the exact feeling that Ava has brought me everyday! I am so excited to wake up in the morning because I know I have a new little baby to love. I even have that feeling when she wakes up in the middle of the night...I am excited that I get to love and hold her, without anyone else to bother me. It is dark and quiet, and I can dream about her life that is to come. I love that she molds into my shoulder and cuddles me. I love that she smells so amazing (you know the newborn smell). I love that she looks at me with her bright eyes and needs me. I love kissing her neck, cheeks, lips....anywhere I can (you can only do that with your own baby). I love the smell of her baby breath. I even love the smell of her poopy diapers! I think I might be a little obsessed? All of these things translate to such an adrenaline rush for me...I just love my little Ava.

As I left the hospital last week, I was almost depressed. Knowing that I will most likely never have that moment again...the amazing experience of bringing a life into this world. Or, the peace and quiet of sitting in a hospital bed with my new little baby. Not a care in the world, just me and a beautiful baby. Don't get me wrong, I don't love going through labor...but I love the reward, and the experience....especially when it is over!

Maybe it is because she is my last, so I feel like I have to cherish every minute with her. I don't even care if my house is clean, laundry done, or beds are made. I just want to hold her tight because I know that she will grow so fast. I am so grateful that I can be a mom!

So, now a little more about the day Ava was born. I was induced (of course) in the morning. When I had Braden my epidural didn't work, so I was determined to stay on top of my pain and have a better labor this time. I got my epidural early this time. I was only feeling my contractions a little. The epidural is my least favorite part. I have a hard time with a large needle going into my spine, and then the sensations that come with it - such as the elastic pop, and the electric shock that goes down your leg! Not so fun. But it seemed to work, so I was relieved.

It worked however, until I was at a 6. I started feeling my contractions so I immediately pushed the button to give me more medicine. It didn't work! After 10 minutes, I pushed the button again....no luck! I looked at Brandon and said "I don't want to do it like this again!" But I knew there was no turning back. So, I tried to prepare for the pain to come. I do not know how you women that have natural childbirth do it. It is not fun! I progressed really fast, and kept telling my nurse that she needed to call the doctor (in between my cries and moans). She was not in any hurry....so by the time the doctor did get there I had been doing all I could not to push!

The doctor did finally arrive, and after congratulating me and changing his shoes (what?), decided I was serious. I wonder what gave him a clue - maybe my screams of "she is coming, please hurry?" Lets just say pushing a 9 lb 2 oz, 22 inch long baby out naturally really HURTS!! Now I know why women scream, swear, cry, etc. when giving birth! As soon as Ava was here, the doctor said..."wow, she really is big!" I had been trying to convince him for the last few weeks that I was having a big baby and he needed to induce me early....but he didn't seem to believe me! Too late now! She was perfect and I was so relieved to have her here. It always amazes me when they come out with all their fingers and toes, a perfect head, two arms and legs...such a miracle! We are so glad she is here.

Shaundee and I with our babes! Ava is as big as Seth (who is 1 month)

Jaicee is a good "little mom"

Cool hair Kason!

Halle wants to hold Ava the most...she is a good helper.

Braden loves Ava...sometimes a little too much!

Those are some chubby cheeks!

Thoughts on Motherhood

Lately I have been consumed with the worry of how will I provide enough time and attention for 5 kids! I feel like kids these days need more attention than ever. The world is crazy and wicked. They need personal attention and love from a mother like never before! Not to mention that as a mother we are trying to build each of our children to have good self esteem, work ethic, be educated, kind, loving, understanding, respectful, strong spiritually and emotionally.....just to name a few. Does anyone else feel exhausted at the fact that we as mothers seem to be solely in charge of this? And now I am adding a fifth child to the mix, and am starting to feel very overwhelmed!

I mentioned this to a friend the other day and she directed me to a friend's blog that had some great ideas for mothers. I loved them and wanted to share them with you. Here are her seven ideas:

1. Movie Night
Our friends the Farnsworths introduced us to this one. Dave and I try our best to schedule our dates and other social stuff on Saturday so we can be home with the kids on Friday because Friday night is sacred. Friday night is "Movie Night." We pop popcorn, always make chocolate chip cookies, and watch a movie. Sometimes it's an amazing movie we're all spellbound by, sometimes it turns out to be a dumb show we thought we'd try, sometimes it's one Dave picked up in China with annoying subtitles covering part of the screen, but none of that really matters so much. What matters is that we're together. And we all LOVE it. Inevitably there will be a time in the future when our kids won't think it's so cool to stay home with their parents on a Friday night to watch a movie, but for now, we're superstars to them and we're eating it up while we can!

2. Interviews
This is something I'm not good at, but I sure want to be. My Dad started this tradition when we were little. He'd corner us (usually in the bathroom since that was the most quiet place he could find with nine kids running around) and have a little interview with us once a week. He'd ask all kinds of questions. He'd help us figure out our goals. When we were really little he'd write the initial of our best talents on each of our ten fingertips (I was "good" at art so he'd write a little "a" for art with a ballpoint pen on my thumb, then move on to my next "talent" that he'd add to my index finger). He'd make us feel so great about ourselves. He'd ask what he could help with. And the amazing thing was that when we grew up and moved away he'd still call us for our interviews. Since I was the second girl the second Sunday was always mine. He'd call and just give me my traditional "interview" over the phone.This is a tough thing to carry on with my kids because I'm not anywhere near as organized or as amazing as my dad. But I do enjoy writing occasional letters on my kids' fingertips and I have cornered them for an "interview" on occasion. This year I've decided to try to do interviews on our monthly lunch dates, which is the next idea...

3. Lunch Dates
I know there will be a time I'll need to take school time more seriously. Soon they will be in junior high, then filling out college applications before I know it. But this is elementary school for crying out loud. Shhh, this is a secret. I let my kids miss some of it sometimes. I take them out to long lunches one by one once a month. It's the only time I could figure out to have more one on one time together. Yes, Lucy and Claire tag along, and yes, sometimes they're enough to upset the good people who thought Wendy's would be a nice quiet break from their work day and don't want to be hampered by two kids throwing French fries around in the air. But that child I took out of school still knows that it's their special day, and their eyes sparkle with the excitement of getting to order whatever they want and having me just concentrate on them. I love that Max still begs for it to be "his" day.This year I'm trying to have a little "interview" with each child while we're at lunch (amidst the chicken nuggets and fighting over who gets the last bites of the McFlurry...yes, sadly it's usually Wendy's or McDonalds with an occasional Jack in the Box thrown in there, but it's their choice and I have to live with it). I go through what my parents call the "5 Facets" with them. How are they doing 1) spiritually, 2) physically, 3)mentally, 4)emotionally, and 5)socially. We make monthly goals of how they can do better in each of these categories. And then ideally I schedule these things in on my calendar so I can help them (not so good at that yet). But I love connecting with them. I love telling them I love them over our "gourmet" food.

4. Mother's Day Letters
Being the fanatic about record keeping that I am I love to write letters to my kids. I want them to have a record of how much I adore every little thing they do. When Max and Elle were little I was great at it and I'd write to them all the time. But then it got harder and harder to set aside time to do it. So a few years ago I decided I'd ask for a couple hours alone in my room each Mother's Day so I could write a special love note to each of my kids. I love knowing that I have those compiled for them. I want them to forever remember how much I love them at every stage and what I've noticed about them each year.

5. "Happies" & "Sads"
Another one of my parent's great ideas (I'm a little bit biased but I think they are amazing. They do have a great website here). Each night at dinner the kids tell us what their "happies" and "sads" were from the day. Claire's are inevitably that she was happy a friend could come over and she was sad when that said friend had to leave. But most of the time it leads to good discussions and helps the kids tell us what really happened during the day instead of just saying it was "fine" or "good"...or "bad." I like to hear the details and this is a good way to squeeze them out.

6. Late Nights
We were really good at this last year but not so hot at it this year...I think this is something that works better when your kids all go to bed around the same time, and our kids are more staggered at bedtime as they are getting older. But I love it anyway so I'm including it. "Late Nights" are when the kids get to rotate each getting a turn once a week to stay up ten or fifteen minutes later than the others. They eat this up. It's such a short amount of time, but they think it's the luckiest thing ever when it's their turn and we love to give them some undivided one-on-one attention.

7. "Clean Ten"
This really doesn't have much to do with cherishing the moment with kids, but it sure makes things less chaotic when it happens and then you can cherish the good stuff, and "be still" more often. I have no idea where I heard this but I love it. Whenever things get really cluttery...Saturday afternoons, between when the kids get home from school and dinner, Sunday afternoons, etc. (ok, pretty much a few times a day) we just say "clean ten" and the kids have to each pick up and put away ten things. I LOVE it because they just know to do that. Not only does it help to get the house clean quick but it helps the kids know where everything really goes so they can be better at putting things away in the first place.So these are a few things from my motherhood idea "collection" so far. I'd love to hear any other great ideas.

I hope this amazing lady doesn't mind that I posted her ideas....I just thought they were great. Her blog is www.71toes.blogspot.com if you want to take a look. I think I do some of these ideas to a degree - but definitely need to make an initiative to do better! This is the time when are able to shape our children....I love the stage of life I am in with each of them and just pray that I will be able to help them become the best that they can! Any other ideas - I would love to hear!