Crazy Weekend

This weekend was nuts. Craig and I went on a date the same night that my sister and her family came, which meant I spent all day Friday scouring my house and trying to get it as clean as it was before Ryder was born. We also had friends over for Sunday dinner, we watched other people's kids, we attended a sealing at the temple (well, I attended while Craig kept the kids happy outside) and went to our ward's annual Memorial Day picnic. Somewhere in there we also watched oodles of Glee. We devoured another batch of Nutella ice cream, this time sharing it with my in-laws and my sister. And we had some of Missy's Ugly Brownies (heaven!!!). Craig helped another family move. I spent quite a while talking to an old friend visiting the ward, hearing about her impending divorce. Craig taught the third hour of our ward, so I got to hear him teach, something I never get to do! And somewhere in there I also took a two-hour-nap (and I could use another one). The things I didn't do were laundry and dishes, and I feel like I'm paying for it now! We had a lot of fun and I am wrung out from it all.

But here's the thing. A few days ago, I was re-reading all blog posts (I'm not the only one who does that, right?). And I came across the post I wrote about our crazy-busy Christmas season. And as I relived all those memories, it occurred to me that even though I felt very stressed out by it all at the time, I don't really remember the stress any more. I just remember how fun it all was. So this weekend, I tried to not worry about the stress and just enjoy the fun.

So, when Craig decided 15 minutes before I was leaving for the temple to take the kids and come along with me, I just smiled and thought, "Oh, boy! Now I get company in the car!" And then helped him get everyone dressed as fast as we could. It was a bit hectic, but we had a great time. And when Craig was excited to head out to the picnic, even though it was 97 degrees and humid outside and I kind of just wanted to stay home and do some laundry, I put on my happy face and said, "What should we bring to eat?" and we loaded the car as fast as we could. And it was fun watching the kids on the slip-n-slide, even if I was drenched in my own sweat.

So I guess that's yet another one of my goals (I seem to have a lot of them these days): to not let the stress get to me. And to try to enjoy those moments while they're occurring. Because now that I've had a nice cold shower, the sweat seems like a distant memory, but the smiles and laughter part of the memory still feel great.

Lust

My vacuum, which was never very good to begin with, has slowly been dying. The tab that lets you adjust for carpet height just stopped working and it's at that annoying stage where you sort of hate to just chuck it out, and yet, vacuuming-- which was never my favorite chore to begin with-- is getting really tedious. Especially with the warmer weather now. And the fact that it doesn't seem to get my floors that clean and won't even leave those nice looking lines on the carpet... I'm sort of wondering what the point is. It might be easier to go around picking up lint by hand!

Anyway. I've been looking around at vacuums. And this is what I'm coveting:


What do you think? Worth it?

Oven "Grilled" Vegetables

I made this, from What Einstein Told His Cook, with dinner the other night:

2 large sweet onions, peeled and scored across the top
1 whole red pepper, halved, cored, ribs and seeds removed
1 whole yellow pepper, halved, cored, ribs and seeds removed
1 whole medium green zucchini, stem removed
1 whole med. yellow squash, stem removed
4 ripe plum tomatoes, halved and seeded
3 large whole carrots, peeled
6 thick asparagus spears
1 head of garlic, top sliced off
EVOO
coarse salt
thyme sprigs and basil leaves

1. Preheat oven to 400. Wash all vegetables and arrange attractively in a shallow, wide ovenproof dish that is pretty enough for the table. Or arrange them in a single layer on a baking sheet with sides. Drizzle all over with olive oil.

2. Roast on a low shelf in the oven for about 50 minutes to an hour, until the edges of the vegetables are somewhat browned. Remove the baking dish or tray and allow the vegetables to cool.

3. If you used a baking sheet, transfer the vegetables to a serving platter. To arrange for serving, cut the onions into quarters. Rub off the skins of the peppers with your fingers, and cut the flesh into large segments. Slice the zucchini, squash, tomatoes, and carrots into chunks or strips. Leave the asparagus and garlic head whole. Be sure to save all the accumulated juices and spoon them back over the vegetables.

4. Drizzle the vegetables with extra olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Garnish with the herbs. Serve at room temperature or warm, with toast made from a hearty bread. Butter the bread with the soft, roasted garlic cloves.

I'm sure there are better ways to arrange this and everything, but you get the idea. I mostly just love how colorful it is! (I think I used way more olive oil than was necessary, also, but oh, well. It was still yummy!) I have to admit, I was kind of proud of this meal-- I even had a loaf of Italian bread for the roasted garlic! Craig had never tried eating roasted garlic like that before and it was fun to watch him eat it and the doubt on his face turn to a look of happy surprise. Roasted garlic is amazing...


Anyway, now I'm just rambling, but while I'm uploading pictures, I may as well share these two, also:

Told you he likes sucking his thumb!

It's hard to catch those smiles on film, so I have to share what I have!

And one last, also unrelated thing: Bentley is coughing again and last night Craig said his throat was sore. Will this never end? I thought we were finally getting healthy! Aggh!

Be Prepared. Or something.

As I was about to head out the door to Costco, it struck me that my diaper bag was ridiculously heavy and that since I wasn't actually rushing to get anywhere on time, now was as good a time as any to empty it. I quickly pulled out everything except my wallet, the diapers and wipes, and all the crumbs that line the bottom of the bag (gross!). Here are some of the things I removed:

8 die cast cars
5 other toys, crayons
10 fruit snacks
4 empty fruit snack wrappers
9 baby toys
3 extra outfits for Ryder, and
1 sock, which I assumed had been eaten by the washing machine, but which I will now happily reunite with its mate

The good news is that my pantry is now re-stocked with fruit snacks. And the diaper bag no longer makes my shoulder ache. Now if only I had the energy to vacuum out all those crumbs...

This and That

I guess it goes without saying that the night Ryder decides to sleep 13 hours straight will be the same night that Kendra is up five or more times because she has caught Bentley's croup. Darn it. I never get any sleep.

On a happier note, I got to go to the temple for the first time since Ryder's birth! I realized that this was the longest stretch of not attending the temple that I've had since my mission! It was good to be back. I don't think I realized how much I needed a chunk of quiet, contemplative time in my life until I had it! (And thanks to my in-laws for being awesome babysitters and watching all three kids for five hours! You guys are brave!)

And finally, also unrelated: check out my Quote For Now. I don't know if people ever look at that or not (I only change it sporadically, so I can't blame you if you don't notice). But the one I just put up is particularly awesome. Don't you think?

P.S. on Solids

Ryder slept GREAT last night! Maybe it's working!!!

Unfortunately, now Bentley has croup, so he's up coughing a lot. {Sigh.} One of these days we'll all be sleeping through the night, right?

Solid Gone

Ryder, who has been the best sleeper in the world, started waking up two or three times at night. So I decided it was time to start him on the rice cereal. I really didn't want to do this yet. I read about a study that linked babies eating solid foods early to obesity, which had made me feel like a good parent for not starting Kendra on solid food until the day before her 6-month check-up. But my reasons for putting it off had nothing to do with that-- it's actually because I'm just lazy. I hate spooning food into a baby's mouth. I think it's my own fault-- I spoon-fed Bentley for way too long simply because I didn't want too big of a mess to clean up. And then by the time Kendra was old enough for real food, Bentley wanted me to keep feeding him because he didn't want the mess, either! So I spent a long time feeding two toddlers and completely burned myself out on it.

Which was why I had no intention of starting Ryder before he hit the 6-month mark.

But getting woken up that much was killing me, especially on some really special nights when Bentley or Kendra (or one time, both of them!) woke up in the night, too. Then I was pretty much a zombie. I think the worst was the morning when I almost cried as I sat feeding Ryder (again). That was the morning that Craig very gently mentioned that, even though I was exhausted, I should really try hard not to yell at the kids all day. I would have punched him if he hadn't been so right. As it was, it was really good advice, and I mostly heeded it.

Looking shocked by the solid food!

So with me slowly losing whatever semblance of sanity that I might have had with each passing night, Craig and I agreed that something had to be done.

So on Saturday I bought a box of rice cereal.

And then happy about it

And Ryder LOVES it. He's my first kid to actually eat the stuff on the first try! The other two both looked disgusted and vaguely insulted by the whole ordeal. I think part of the reason Ryder did so well was because (and I'm kind of proud of myself for thinking of this) I gave him spoons to play with in the last couple weeks leading up to his first feeding. So the feel of a metal spoon in his mouth didn't bother him at all. (I finally had to feed Kendra by putting rice cereal on my finger, she was so confused by that spoon!)

And an action shot

I should point out the irony-- it took Ryder forever to learn how to nurse properly. Even now he gets so easily distracted that I have to shoo the other kids out of the room if I want there to be any hope of him getting a good meal. But give the kid some rice cereal and he just goes to town!

While I'm going on and on about Ryder, I should also mention that he's also been rolling over about once a day. Not super consistent, but he's definitely getting it. These little babies learn so much so quickly!

Conflicting Feedback

Sometimes, this momming gig just works for me. Exhibit A here:



Yes! I had all three kids sitting on the bed happily while I folded laundry! It was so nice that I stopped to document it! They were happy AND I was getting something done!


Exhibit B (which I did not photograph): I managed to get all of us to yoga class today, which has turned into a cardio workout with a little bit of yoga stretching at the end class. And it nearly killed me, but in a good, I-needed-that sort of way. I was kind of proud of myself for accomplishing that. I even did most of the workout, until Ryder had a blow-out diaper that I couldn't ignore. (Bringing us to the question that every parent of a newborn asks: how can babies manage to have more poop outside of the diaper than in? I mean, come on-- the thing is wrapped around your butt for crying out loud!!!)

Those are the times when I'm proud of my mothering skills.

But then other times, like tonight, when it just doesn't work. At all. Exhibit C: after dinner, I read a story to the kids, then scrubbed the tub clean (because Kendra had thrown her muddy flipflops in it), then gave them baths. And for all my efforts, I ended up with Bentley crying, coughing and gagging. He insisted that I had gotten soap in his mouth (I hadn't) and that it was making him cough (soap wouldn't do that) and that I needed to take him to the doctor (um, no). I got so frustrated over the whole thing that as soon as Craig came to my rescue I just walked away from it all. I spent the next little while perusing blogs and wondering why my kids hated me. I didn't even bother to say good-night to them.

How can I be so good at something one minute and so bad at it the next?



My one consolation is that Ryder still likes me. For now.

Just Checking

I just kept my kids up way past their bedtime so we could see bats. This counts as "good parenting," right?

Right?

These are vampire bats that Bentley drew free-hand and cut out. He's never really colored much until this week, and all of a sudden he loves it!
As a devoted doodler, I think this shows a certain amount of artistic promise, for just starting out!

Oodles of Pictures

I think now that I have a camera again, I've been taking a lot more pictures. Which is why I keep having posts like this!

My pansies did well over the winter-- they make me happy!

Possibly the biggest and most beautiful magnolia tree I've ever seen. Yes, I drove by it twice and took pictures!

Tracy playing with Ryder (turns out we DID take a picture when she came!)

I love this Winnie the Pooh outfit that my neighbors gave me!

Bentley, ahem, Captain Moroni and Kendra look at ants on the sidewalk.

More weird clothing choices

Ryder loves chewing on this little fishie toy

Bentley put his Mickey Mouse ears on Ryder!

After two years of begging I finally got my cherry blossom tree!

Blowing bubbles

Riding the helicopter ride at Hershey Park!

Giant Reese's Peanut Butter cup... Yum...!

Uncle Cameron holding Ryder and his own baby, Caleb

Ryder loves playing with Daddy

Kendra's lovely Easter dress (thank, Mom!)-- she kind of looks like she's ready to get married!

Preschool Easter egg hunt

I love the action shot here!

(Yes, that's a garbage can behind my sweet little girl... Sigh...)

Still dressed up after church and feeling spiffy!

I was so excited to find this outfit from when Bentley was a baby! It just barely still fits!

The preschool kids pretending to be sleeping lions

Ryder and Nora engage in a little hand-holding... Anyone else hear wedding bells in the future?

I LOVE the shocked look on Ryder's face in this one! He digs older women who can already sit up!

Whew! I'm exhausted from uploading all of these! Hope you enjoyed them!!!

The New Swing Set: a Journey in Pictures

Craig finished building the swing set a couple weeks ago, but I'm finally getting around to showing it to you. I'm just going to show you the pictures of the process, and if there's anything that needs explaining, I'll add a comment. But the pictures shouldn't need much explanation!

Pre-Production:




The longest journey begins with the first step, right?

I love that this thing has a roof on it, instead of those canvas roofs that fall apart after a year!

Now it's got swings on it (although they're hard to see from here)!

View from behind

Enjoying the swings (and wearing weird clothes-- but what else is new?)

Watching an inch-worm
And notice that while this was being built, the trees suddenly sprouted leaves and now our yard is all green and beautiful!

So that's our lovely swing set! Thank you, Grandma and Grandpa, the kids LOVE it!!! And thanks to Craig for just rolling up your sleeves and getting this thing built so quickly! I never could have done that...!


Coming up next: pictures from spring break and Easter!