Joy in the Moment

 One of the very best things about having kids is being able to experience their joy.  Kids are so pure and unaffected by the world. Kids don't plan to be happy.  They just live each moment as it comes.  My kids get beyond giddy about rain showers, jumping, sunshine, popsicles, cuddling, cartoons, candy and all the other wonderfully simple things life has to offer. As a Mom, my mind often gets so cluttered by the ridiculous details of life that I forget to feel gratitude for the moment.  There are days (weeks) where I feel so buried under my To Do list that I forget how blessed I am to be living my life with these three crazy nuggets. Their happy little faces continually teach me that life gives you so many small moments to smile about. Stop and take them.

Special thanks to my darling neighbor who gave us her old trampoline.  We had no idea what we were missing.  Love ya!!!

Easter {Peace}

This blog post has been rattling through my head for over a week.  I hesitated to write anything because I didn't want it to come across as candy-coated, but, that is exactly how I will remember this Easter season.  It was sweet!  And, believe me, it usually isn't so sweet around here.  But, this Easter weekend, it felt like I had a little reprieve from all the crazy.  Maybe it was because Easter is my favorite holiday? Maybe it was because the snow finally melted and the sun came out?  Maybe it was the good friends and family?  Maybe the universe knew that if I didn't get some sort of break from the crazy, I was gonna straight-up lose it?  I'm sure all those things played a part, but, if I had to guess why this weekend stands out in my mind as special, it would have to be because our hearts were turned towards the Savior and His message of peace and change.  My kids were still the insane pack of munchkins they normally are, but, I was able to handle it with a calm head and heart. I even dusted off my camera and took some pictures.  Miracles happen, people!

 Hannah (7), Ella (3), Brody (2)

Swoon

There's this little boy at my house and, I'm telling you, he's the love of my life.  To know Brody is to love his grumpy little self.  He is stubborn, cautious and completely adorable.  At 2 1/2 he tips the scales at a whopping 23 pounds.  His favorite foods are goldfish and not much else.  Brody is understandably obsessed with trains since he firmly believes his Daddy is the boss of every train on earth. Every morning when I get him out of his crib, his first order of business is pointing to the girl's room and saying, "Get my sisters."  Swoon.  Every night, he calls my name at some point, so that I can fix his blankets.  And, every night, as I'm stumbling out of his room he says, "Tank you, Mommy.  Wuv you."  Double Swoon.

Sick Day

I think my exact words were, “Can you guys give Hannah some space? She doesn’t feel well and is going to rest in my room.”  After about twenty minutes, I went to check to see how Hannah was resting and found all three cuddling.  I realized something…we all miss this kid something fierce when she’s at school. I miss having her home with me and cuddling on the couch.  I miss her hearing her play with the babies.  I just miss having my best friend around.  Ella misses having her buddy around to play princess and dress-up. Brody misses his very patient and loving big sister.  Hannah leaves the house at 8:30 and doesn’t come home until 3:45.  Then it’s a constant parade of friends, cheer, homework, etc.  Boy, do I miss the days when the only thing on her agenda was a fresh box of watercolors.  Just yesterday, Scott and I volunteered in Hannah’s class together and afterwards Scott says, “You know what?  I’m just so pleased with Hannah.  For having two total dingbats as parents, she sure is turning out great, isn’t she?”  So true.  

The Birth of a Cheer Mom

When Hannah and I walked into the South Towne Expo Center, I was pretty sure I was either going to cry or puke.  I couldn’t decide which.   Bring It On had suddenly exploded into my reality and it was horrifying.  Honestly, cheerleaders are a pretty intimidating bunch, right? Imagine like 2000 of them flipping around, spraying glitter everywhere and staring directly into your non-cheerleader soul. Sweating, yet? Then there was me and Hannah. Obvious rookies. As we cautiously  made our way through the hoards of cheerleaders, some little girl who I don’t know and  isn’t from our team came bounding up to us.  She grabbed Hannah’s sweaty little hand and said in the happiest/creepiest voice ever, “Oh. My. Gosh. Why aren’t you wearing any make-up?” Hannah’s naturally pretty eyes about popped out of her head.  I quickly explained to the girl that our team chose not wear cheer make-up because of their age.  Then this little girl smiled up at me and politely explained that there is, in fact, a difference between “cheer make-up” and regular, 'ole make-up.  Cheer make-up is very intense and glittery.  We weren’t doing that.  Regular make-up was allowed and I didn’t have it. Whoa.  Things just got real!  She ended her lesson with a sugary “Good Luck” and went skipping away into the crowd.  I will forever remember this little girl as one of the creepiest people on earth.  At this point, it was obvious I had no idea what I was doing.  My daughter had no regular make-up for her first big competition and all I could fish out of my purse was some pearly lip gloss.  So, why am I doing this?  The answer is simple.  We want to support her.  She begged for a year. Why?  I don’t really know.  None of her friends are doing this.  I offered about a million alternatives and, yet, here we are.  It’s a huge time commitment but she doesn’t care.  She doesn’t complain about missing play dates or going to extra clinics.  She practices without us asking. In fact, we usually have to ask her to STOP flipping, cheering and jumping all over the house. As parents, we were totally surprised about how passionate she feels about cheer and how much confidence it gives her.  She can't wait until her next competition. And, while some people might turn their noses down at the thought of encouraging cheer, that is exactly what Scott and I plan to do.  Bring. It. On.

The Wendy's Incident

A couple weeks ago, we had the opportunity to participate in the Days of 47 Parade in Salt Lake City.  You may of seen us on TV or something?  Wink, wink.  It was an awesome way to celebrate Pioneer Day!

Afterwards, we were totally famished so we walked to Wendy's to grab a little snack. We were just finishing up our fries and shakes, when a wild-eyed, homeless lady cruised in.  She was kind of staggering and muttering as she counted out her change and ordered herself a JBC and fries.  Definitely not someone I would want to mess with. She took the table right next to us and then turned her back a split second to get some ketchup. A split second was all it took.  Ella bolted towards her table, grabbed two huge fist fulls of fries and started jamming them into her mouth chipmunk style.  The lady turned around and let out a gigantic, horrifying shriek.  Chaos ensued and I ended up handing over my remaining cash with a million apologies so she could replace her tarnished fries.  

EPIC PARENTING FAIL. 

There are two lessons to be taken from this story: (1) Homeless people don't like it when you steal their food and (2) When you are hungry, YOU ARE HUNGRY.

Just like Ella, haven't we all had those moments where we just had to stuff our faces? If you haven't you aren't human.  I found myself in a similar situation just a couple days ago.  I was standing in my pantry at 1:30 a.m. just staring at a bag of Hostess Mini-Crullers.  I think you can  probably guess what happened next.  

The pantry incident was kind of a big deal in light of the fact I'm currently hosting a Wellness Challenge on Facebook and stuffing your face with mini-crullers is definitely frowned upon....especially when you're the host. But then again, I think there is something to be said for eating everything in moderation.  And, for me, that is really what the Wellness Challenge is all about.  Eating healthy and being the very best version of you.  We are using a point system to track our progress and that is meant as a tool to help you stay on track, not to discourage you.  I hope no one feels like they should just give up if they aren't getting perfect points each day.  I'm not!  As someone who has struggled in the past with healthy eating  habits, I know that perfectionism is a very dangerous road to meander down. I know everyone wants to win the challenge but, honestly, who cares that you got two points yesterday?  You should be doing this challenge to improve your wellness...emotional, physical and spiritual. Tomorrow is a fresh day and you have the choice to be the healthiest version of yourself you can be. Your heart, mind and body will thank you!

The Routine

Tonight we jumped in the car and grabbed Slurpees.  We left the spaghetti and meatballs sitting on the table and just made a run for it.  I couldn't stand to waste the night indoors because summer evenings in Utah are simply delightful.  Everything cools down while the sun just lays on the mountains.  Afterwards, we came home and played outside for far too long.  By the time we finally came inside, it was much later than I usually like to start our bedtime routine.  It begins with cleaning the playroom. Sounds kinda boring, I know, but I think they actually look forward to it each night.  We chat about our day, things are put in their place and little brains start to slowly wind down. Then the kids (all three) pile into the bathtub with hair washes for everyone, and in this case, tears for one.  Then the little girls like to have their hair brushed into braids before bed.  Again, seems trite but the motion of the brush is actually very soothing and by the time we are finished everyone is almost whispering.  A book is read and, finally, prayers are said.   After jam-packed summer days, I look forward to this special time to reconnect with my little ones and end the day on the peaceful note.   

Diet Coke Withdrawls

Wow!  I'm super cranky today.  Be warned. In fact, cranky doesn't even begin to cover it.  I'm just mad at everyone and life.  I honestly had no idea that Diet Coke played such a huge role my daily attitude.  Sure, I knew I was addicted to it. But, honestly, how bad could something that they are practically giving away at McDonald's be?  BAD.  Let me just tell you what being sans DC does to me...headaches, body aches, stiff neck, bitchiness, screaming, crying, bitchiness, anger & nausea. Literally, the worst day ever.  

But, here is the silver lining.  I'm going to think that tomorrow will be better.  I'm going to think how awesome I'm gonna feel knowing this stupid little can doesn't have any power of me.  I'm going to to think about the fact that my kids won't ever have to deal with this.  I'm going to think about how much more in control of my life I'm going to feel.  I'm going to think about the $100 or so that will be mine to spend each and every month if I stop buying gallons and gallons of DC. So today I'm going to plaster a (fake) smile on my face and just push through.  

END. OF. STORY.  


P.S. This is what I whipped up in the crock pot yesterday.  This healthy recipe is from Six Sisters Stuff and I have to say having something yummy simmering away really helped me feel less deprived and irrational.  Plus, my family really like this recipe.  My kids weren't totally jazzed with the amount of peppers so maybe next time I'll cut that amount in half. 


Slow Cooker Pepper Steak
Ingredients:
2 lbs beef sirloin, cut into 2 inch strips (I also have used 2 lbs of stew meat and it works great!)
Garlic powder to taste
1 cube beef bouillon
1/4 cup hot water
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 cup onion, sliced
1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed tomatoes, with liquid
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 large green bell pepper, sliced
1 large red bell pepper, sliced

Directions:
Spray slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray. Place beef on bottom of crock pot and sprinkle with garlic powder.
Mix bouillon cube with hot water until dissolved, then mix in cornstarch until dissolved. Pour into the slow cooker with meat. Stir in onion, stewed tomatoes, soy sauce, sugar, and salt.
Cover, and cook on High for 3 to 4 hours, or on Low for 6 to 8 hours.
For the last 30 minutes of cooking, add the sliced peppers and turn heat up to high (if it wasn't on high already). If you add the peppers any sooner, they become pretty mushy. I also added a tablespoon of cornstarch (mixed with 1 Tablespoon cool water) just before serving to the drippings left in the slow cooker, which made a yummy gravy that was perfect over rice.

Recipe adapted from AllRecipes 
Original Recipe found at Six Sister Stuff 

Wellness Challenge 2012

I am super excited to announce to a Wellness Challenge I am hosting for the month of August.  Anyone can enter and we already have a simply stellar group of women doing it from coast to coast!  If you'd like to join just leave me your name in the comments section and I will then find you on FB and invite you to our group. 

This challenge is based on a daily point system with each of the following categories awarding one point per day. At the end of the 21 days two winners will be chosen: the person who lost the greatest percentage of their total body weight and the person who has the highest total number of points. Be HONEST!!!

1. Drink 48 ounces of water a day.
2. 45 minutes of exercise (doesn't have to be consecutive)
3. No soda or alcohol
4. No sweets a.k.a. desserts, pastries, candy, etc. (Sugar-free alternatives are okay)
5. No fast food or unhealthy snacks
6. Consume two servings of fruits and veggies each day
7. No eating after 8 p.m.
8. Read 15 minutes of spiritual or motivational text
9. Write in your journal or blog.
10. Make a personal goal everyday (getting 8 hours of sleep, organizing a closet, reading to your kids each night, etc.)

**You get ONE FREE POINT PER AREA, PER WEEK. For example, you can skip exercise for one day a week and still get your point or you can have one whole free day!

Big Time Crush

Remember in middle-school when you'd develop a crush on some kid and it was all you could think about?  Well, my mind has been full of lots of big things that I've been crushing on lately.  So I'm going to take a deep breath and attempt to fill you in on what's been going with me and the peeps.  Here goes...

1. We've been working like busy little beavers starting our real estate business which, by the way, was a bit harder than we anticipated but well worth the effort.  Working on this as a couple has been kinda awesome.  It's ours! Our website is up and running at www.homealien.com so if you know anyone in the market to buy or sell their home, we are ready to rock 'n' roll. 
2. Ella turned THREE!!!  And, do not let the angelic face pictured above fool you.  Ella is crrraaazzzy.  Remember when she refused to speak?  Yeah, well, yesterday she busted out this charming phrase, "Hey stupid-head...get me a drink!"  I'm starting to think that maybe the whole not talking thing wasn't so bad after all.  But, she lands at Number Two on my crush list because when she isn't calling me a stupid-head, she's just so stinking cute!
3. Have you ever known someone that is just good?  Like deep-down good?  That's Scott.  He's a great Dad.  He loves his family.  He works hard and he conducts his business with dignity and humility.  He is my best friend.  And, he is endlessly patient with me.  He's just everything to me and my biggest crush EVER. xo
4. That's one cute pregnant lady isn't it?  Yes, Jenn Jenn is certainly precious but my real crush is on my future niece or nephew.  I can't even begin to explain how ecstatic I am at the prospect of a little baby that I can love on and smooch but that doesn't require ME to go through nine months of torture and a c-section.  Being an Auntie is a beautiful thing I tell ya.
5. Soccer has been slowly winding down and I'm kinda relieved that we had our last game on Saturday.  It's been super fun and I'm looking forward to Hannah playing again next year but I'm totally crushin' on the fact that next Saturday I don't have to run around my house like a loon trying to find soccer socks.  Awesome.
6. So we're actually doing this.  It's a 5k that involves foam and obstacles and all kinds of crazy goodness.  It kinda reminds me of that show Double Dare, right?  Scott and I are training together and I'm really looking forward to it.  If you want to do it with us here is the link.  We'd love to have company.  Hint. Hint.
7. I went to THE farm!!!  It was totally awesome and I have a huge crush on North Carolina now.  Honestly, I can't think of a more idyllic place to raise a family.  Jenn and Jeff rule!! Plus, I could eat at Cook Out every day of my life.  Just sayin.
8. Brody came with me on my little get-a-way to NC and I loved it.  I felt like I really got a chance to focus on him which I loved.  He's developed this adorable crush on all things transportation related.  It's just so boy and so new to me and I love every second of this new experience.
9. It's almost time.  Summer is almost upon us and I couldn't be more excited.  Cherry Hill here we come!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wahoooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!! (That last wahoooooo was an impression of me going down the waterslide.)

Hannah's Pinkalicious Birthday Party

Little girls and pink.  Put them together and it's just kinda magical.  I know that sounds corny but it's totally true. They danced, they sang, they ate, they giggled uncontrollably about the studs of Ms. Liddell's Kindergarten class.  It was AWESOME!  We started the party by having each girl (if they wanted) wish Hannah a Happy Birthday using a karaoke machine.  That was hilarious. Kids really love microphones.  I was afraid they would be shy but, no worries, some told jokes, some sang songs, some refused to sit down when their turn was over.  Hannah was mortified. Oh, how I wish I had gotten that on video.  Next, we decorated wands like the one Miss Pinkalicious herself carries. In the realm of six year old girls, when the rhinestones and glue stix come out, it gets real serious real fast.  Then I read the girls Pinkalicious while they crunched and munched until their little hearts were content.  We served Pinkalicious cupcakes, pink popcorn, pink rice-krispie treats and dipped strawberries.  Then we played a couple games but mostly we just danced, danced, danced.  Most of them were wearing super twirly skirts so dancing was a big hit.  

This post is actually a little late so I've had a couple weeks to think about this whole "being six" thing.  At first, I was freaked out.  Six doesn't seem like a "little kid" anymore. Six definitely has "big kid" status about it.  But, as I started to think, I realized that so many magical things are happening to Hannah.  She's learning to read, the tooth fairy has visited TWICE(!), she's making a ton of new friends in kindergarten, she's on her first soccer team (GO GREEN CHEETAH'S) and she has her first real crush going on.  Yet, even with all that "big kid" stuff going on, Hannah is still little enough to cuddle.  Gotta love that!  So, now I'm thinking it will be pretty hard to top 6. :)

Stolen Moments

Lately, when I'm making dinner, Brody will waddle into the kitchen holding a couple blocks or his favorite truck.  Before long, he'll plop down on the floor and start jibber-jabbing about his day.  I always bend down to give him a little lovin' before I have to return to what I was doing.  Our kitchen rendezvous is just one of the stolen moments I look forward to each day.  I've realized that with Kid #3, I've got to look for these opportunities and not take them for granted.  Sure, while Brody and I are relishing in our stolen moment, I'm also dealing with my girls, guarding my snack pantry from random neighborhood children, setting the table, making tacos and tripping over the dog but, that's okay, because Brody gets it. He gets that I'm busy, he gets that he's got two older sisters, he gets that dinner has to get made.  And, you know what? In the middle of all this chaos, I'll catch his eye and he'll give me the cheesiest grin ever to let me know he's okay.  And, let's be honest, watching me juggle all of the above has got to be some top notch entertainment for a toddler.