i promise our week was more exciting than getting our carpet steam-cleaned, but that's what i am most excited about right now. i figured out that our carpets haven't been this clean since we came home from our vacation last summer--that's over a year! we deciphered through the "english" on our bill (can you write with an accent?) that we are being charged extra because our carpet was "xtra" dirty in the "dinnen room." (i want to save the bill as a memento of our LA experience) not surprising when you consider a year's worth of max learning to use a fork happened over that carpet.
so i've been struggling a lot in the past couple of weeks. i am just too tired to be patient some days. i can't bend over or see my feet; i can't make the baby stop moving when i want to sleep, or really relax, or find a good position to sleep in, which makes sleeping difficult if not futile. this means that i have very little energy to spend on the boys or housework. and if i do use what energy i have to do something like sweep the kitchen floor or go grocery shopping, i have none left to try and understand the needs of my children. this makes for cranky mommy and cranky kids. i had a particularly harrowing grocery store episode this week, and it's probably a good thing i didn't do a post about it because i would have sounded a bit monstrous.
today at church i really felt that i got the answers i have been seeking with regard to my struggles. of course i want to be patient with my children, not constantly yelling at them. anyway i had several thoughts based on talks and lessons from the day:
1. focus on having the Spirit at home--help my children feel it. that's how they will learn what the Spirit feels like and build their testimonies. i can't give them a testimony or make them understand anything. it has to happen within them. my responsibility as their mother is to be worthy of the Spirit myself, create an atmosphere where the Spirit can dwell, and help my children recognize the feeling.
2. the first thing the Savior does when He is troubled is pray to His Father.
3. i should pray every time i need help keeping my cool--in the moment, not just a sweeping request in the morning, expecting it to be easy to then control my temper all day.
4. i need to be willing to work before i pray, and present the plan i have to the Lord in a prayer rather than just a wishlist.
5. there has to be a correspondence of wills as we submit our will to Heavenly Father.
6. prayer is a privilege--if we had time with our Father in person, what would we say? how would our prayers be different? what a powerful image!
also, i have had many offers of help from people in the ward lately (i think my belly is inviting more greetings of, "how are you doing?"). so i think that this is a message to me that i can't do everything on my own, and it's okay. i have people around me ready and willing to help, so ask for help! there's no shame in it. i have two energetic children and a very active baby inside me that taxes my body and emotions. so there you have it. i need to pray more so i have the Spirit more, and ask for and accept more help without any guilt. accepting help from people who offer does not make me a failure.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Sunday, October 19, 2008
small triumphs
1. i did not pick up any poop off the floor this week.
2. i did not kill either of my children.
3. i have the best husband in the world--he bought tickets to a broadway show AND did everything this weekend so i could have a break.
4. i am no longer out of sweet things to eat after the kids are in bed.
5. i will probably make it through this coming week, too.
2. i did not kill either of my children.
3. i have the best husband in the world--he bought tickets to a broadway show AND did everything this weekend so i could have a break.
4. i am no longer out of sweet things to eat after the kids are in bed.
5. i will probably make it through this coming week, too.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
potty training continues
potty training lessons of the week:
1. dean does well when forced; i.e., when his choices are peeing on the floor or in the toilet.
2. dean does not do well when his bowels are either diseased or unbalanced. i won't go into how i know that exactly. let's just say thursday evening was not my favorite time this week.
in other news, troy (months after i made my list) went through the baby names book and made his list. here are the only coinciding names we came up with independently: brigham, hal/henry, reed, sid/sidney, ty/tyrus. thoughts, anyone?
pregnancy continues to go well, although i think it's a little more achy this time. i feel like i should only have maybe 4 weeks to go based on my energy level and aching back, but i really have about 9. so it is getting close, and i'm trying to be patient and not wish away the time i have with "only" two kids because i don't want to be pregnant anymore. i do well most days, and the boys are really cute about my belly. dean likes to play games with binko (that's his name for the baby) and ask me if binko is having a party for him, or laughing because dean is being silly. max likes to be soft ("kaah") on my belly, stroking very gently. i think he's picked up "binko" as well--he says "eeko" sometimes when dean is asking me what the baby is doing.
i have had many moments this week of pure joy and gratitude for my family. i have been in awe of how beautiful my sons are, how precious their lives are, and their absolute joy in finding an ant on the sidewalk and letting it crawl on their arms. i am living the life i always wanted, and i think i'm learning to appreciate it while it's happening. my loving husband makes things fun again when i can't give any more, which happens pretty often these days; my two boys are learning every day, working on becoming who they will be; my body responds well to the rigors of pregnancy and lifting my solid 20-month-old so often; i have good people all around me who have been or are where i am in life and are full of encouragement and help for me; i know my Heavenly Father knows me, loves me, and approves of my efforts to keep a good home and raise our children in light and truth.
1. dean does well when forced; i.e., when his choices are peeing on the floor or in the toilet.
2. dean does not do well when his bowels are either diseased or unbalanced. i won't go into how i know that exactly. let's just say thursday evening was not my favorite time this week.
in other news, troy (months after i made my list) went through the baby names book and made his list. here are the only coinciding names we came up with independently: brigham, hal/henry, reed, sid/sidney, ty/tyrus. thoughts, anyone?
pregnancy continues to go well, although i think it's a little more achy this time. i feel like i should only have maybe 4 weeks to go based on my energy level and aching back, but i really have about 9. so it is getting close, and i'm trying to be patient and not wish away the time i have with "only" two kids because i don't want to be pregnant anymore. i do well most days, and the boys are really cute about my belly. dean likes to play games with binko (that's his name for the baby) and ask me if binko is having a party for him, or laughing because dean is being silly. max likes to be soft ("kaah") on my belly, stroking very gently. i think he's picked up "binko" as well--he says "eeko" sometimes when dean is asking me what the baby is doing.
i have had many moments this week of pure joy and gratitude for my family. i have been in awe of how beautiful my sons are, how precious their lives are, and their absolute joy in finding an ant on the sidewalk and letting it crawl on their arms. i am living the life i always wanted, and i think i'm learning to appreciate it while it's happening. my loving husband makes things fun again when i can't give any more, which happens pretty often these days; my two boys are learning every day, working on becoming who they will be; my body responds well to the rigors of pregnancy and lifting my solid 20-month-old so often; i have good people all around me who have been or are where i am in life and are full of encouragement and help for me; i know my Heavenly Father knows me, loves me, and approves of my efforts to keep a good home and raise our children in light and truth.
Sunday, October 05, 2008
this calls for a celebration!
i just wanted everyone to know that Dean pooped in the toilet today. HUZZAH!
we didn't take pictures, so there's nothing graphical to post (you're welcome), but this is a momentous occasion. he ran up to us in the kitchen asking for a wipe, which to me meant, "help! i've pooped on the floor." so while troy asked him if he had any more that needed to come out and shepherded him to the toilet, i got the poops up off the floor. then max wanted to go potty. he kept trying to take his diaper off, grunting all the way. maybe we'll have two potty-trained boys soon! how awesome would that be? but i'm not holding my breath.
sure enough, dean had some more in there and it went into the toilet! first time since a rather traumatic experience two summers ago in BC. (for more details on the BC event, you can ask me individually.)
we didn't take pictures, so there's nothing graphical to post (you're welcome), but this is a momentous occasion. he ran up to us in the kitchen asking for a wipe, which to me meant, "help! i've pooped on the floor." so while troy asked him if he had any more that needed to come out and shepherded him to the toilet, i got the poops up off the floor. then max wanted to go potty. he kept trying to take his diaper off, grunting all the way. maybe we'll have two potty-trained boys soon! how awesome would that be? but i'm not holding my breath.
sure enough, dean had some more in there and it went into the toilet! first time since a rather traumatic experience two summers ago in BC. (for more details on the BC event, you can ask me individually.)
time flies
It's hard to believe that Dean was once just two years old, getting his first haircut. Now he has a little brother almost as old as he was the last time we posted on our blog! This is little Max getting his first haircut. (We let a professional do this one.) He did such a good job sitting still in the chair!
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