My mom got hitched

After a LOOOONG 12 hour non stop drive from Phoenix to SLC, I was exhausted! My dad rode along for some company and really helped out on those pit stops when I was nursing the babe and the older boys would go potty. The bathroom breaks were a welcome stop, and an upgrade from the normal "pee on the side of the road really quick before a car comes by and sees you!" (That included me as well!) The main stops were: Flagstaff, Kanab, Panguitch, and Provo. Thank goodness for DVD players, snacks, music, and navigation systems.

The day before the wedding, my mom was busy packing up her entire house so that she could move the day after the wedding TO ARGENTINA. Yep, she is now gone and I feel a vacancy knowing that she is so far away. My dad also lives in a foreign country, Mexico. What the heck! I did what I could to help her out with her packing/sorting/throwing out, setting up a bit at the reception hall, and reminding her that she needed to eat. I had forgotten how stressful weddings are. Not to mention moving the very next day!

I will always remember my mom looking like a princess on her wedding day, Friday May 21st, 2009 at 1pm. So petite, a flowing gown and a tiara made her look dazzling. I was happy to do her hair for her that morning. I found myself asking her if she was nervous and stressed out. I then told her about my own wedding day and the things that made me anxious. I chuckled at how I was the daughter giving the mother the "wedding" advice! It was fun to curl her hair up and drive her to the temple.

A touching ceremony. My mom is no longer alone~ After 30 years of being an independent and self-sufficient woman, my mom now has a man to be with and to love her. I am so grateful for that. My Tia Estela was in tears as she left the sealing room, "I no longer have to worry about her. She is taken care of. " Amen! It was a lot of fun dressing her up like a movie star in that "brides room" with last minute details before making her big appearance outside. I tried asking her about my own wedding day and how she felt primping me up. But, we both can't remember much to that day almost 7 years ago. I remember feeling very stressed out, tired, nervous and beautiful all at the same time.

My mom went all out with the reception. A full on dinner buffet, complete with Argentine empanadas. She hired a DJ, there were chairs covered in fabric, hot pink flower arrangements on every table, and lots of guests! I had a great time with my cousins who had come in from out of town as we danced the night away. My boys were recovering from a late night with papa (midnight!), and so they were sorta in a funk the entire time. I chatted with old neighbors and friends and also took a few snapshots of my sister, brother, and the guests. The night went by so quickly and before I knew it, I was helping get my mom dressed to drive off into the night! Good luck mom with your new marriage, new country, new life and new dreams.

Jared and I spent some time on our old stomping grounds of BYU and SUU during this trip. One of my favorite parts was visiting our old basement apartment where Wesley was born. I remember it being so dark, so crammed, and so depressing. It was exactly the same! Not only that, but there was a newleywed coulpe in there as well with a newborn...just like us! The dad said, "I hope that you have moved up in the world after living here." Yes, just a litttle. But, you never forget where you first got started and how simple that life was. I do miss those little bits of memories; a working TV/VCR on top of an old bathroom stand , using the internet/refrigerator in the same corner, washing all my dishes by hand, the noises the house made when people walked above you, and of course the nasty carpet where Wrangler slept. Wesley got a kick out of hearing all about his birth. Austin kept asking where he was born, AZ isn't as exciting as BYU!

We also saw our first "home" in Cedar City, UT. Southgate apartments. Where it all began! Our furniture consisted of the middle section of a sectional (the corner piece) that we found in someone's basement, our shower curtain from Wal Mart and two mismatching barstools. I am so glad that we both were able to experience a bit of college life as a married couple. It's nice to know that Jared can remember certain things from those special years, and I with him.

We stayed in Vegas on our way home as a stop over. What a sin city! Just leaving and entering the city limits you can feel the thick slime and muck that hangs over that place. It is one thing to be there with friends or your spouse. It was a whole new experience with my sweet boys in tote. We walked the strip to get some dinner and I was preparing myself to punch out any man who offered a nasty card to my little Wesley. So many naked women everywhere! I was embarressed for Wesley to see all of those billboards, cards and magazines. We did our best to cover his eyes and to explain how sad Father in Heaven must be with their choices. Not much more was said and he didn't ask too many questions. The boys enjoyed some pool time with dad.


I am back home. Back to being without Jared. Back to a scary house at nighttime. My house is a disaster, but my kids have been well behaved with the activities of the day; a movie, swimming and they ate their dinner really well (green beans and all!). Those simple pleasures make me a happier mama.

I am now "Slurping" this blog. Two years in the making. It's been a real ride for me to look at these last two years at all of our moves, babies, friends, hardships and vacations. More than anything, keeping a blog keeps me honest with myself. I want to remember these times as a young mother for the crazy times that they bring, as well as those moments of pure joy.

Go home?

I think sometimes when I am having extra crazy days, I seem to subconsciously add to the pile of madness.

We drove Jared to the airport today, but only after I did 3 loads of laundry and checked out some water park info. This of course made us late, which didn't allow me to get my kids adequate breakfast shoved down their bellies for our morning adventures.

We dropped Jared off (I miss him already), and I wanted to venture off to the waterpark in Tempe, AZ since we were down there anyway (nothing is closer to where we live. Since I am down there twice a week to take Jared, we might do it). It's a good thing that there isn't a ticketing officer at the airport DEPARTURE curb b/c I tend to sit there and nurse Isaac every time we drop Jared off. I guess the arrival curb is where all those ticketing people go b/c anyone "departing" must be in a hurry to get inside and catch their flight. Not me! Sometimes I will be there 20 min at that curb nursing, while of course my kids are climbing all over the seats.

I couldn't find the info to go Big Surf waterpark, so I settled for the Tempe Beach Park. It is a fun park with water features. The temp was 100 degrees, but the water was so cold that my boys stood around with their arms up to their chests most of the time hugging themselves. I think they had a fun time. I wished that I had a friend to talk to, vs. being alone. I stayed in the shade with Isaac and he finally fell asleep, until some rotten teenager splashed all over us! It went downhill from there. Isaac screamed for so long, that we eventually just left the park...he continued to scream until I got him in his carseat.

I thought he was okay, until he started screaming as we drove away. There I am, telling Austin to shove that binkie in his mouth, but Isaac keeps spitting it out. So, Austin is frustrated and eventually just starts to cry himself. All the while Wesley is laughing in the backseat. Ugh!

You would think I would go back home, right? Call it a day? No! Let the madness continue!

Since I was in Tempe, I still wanted to check out this water park. So, I track down the address and with my screaming baby, we head on over. I get all the kids unloaded; sandals on, towels, water bottles, stroller, etc. But, Isaac will NOT stop crying. Option? Nursing is the only thing.

Load back up the kids and give Isaac a quick snack. He finally calms down enough to walk up to the park and take a little tour.

I wasn't up for staying for the day at the park and boy were my kids upset! First of all, I needed Isaac to be in his carseat/stroller combo. We didn't bring it b/c there was no room in the car with Jared's luggage. Second of all, my boys hadn't eaten anything for lunch and I knew that they wouldn't last long. Thirdly, I am not supe sure if we will buy a season pass and I didn't want to waste the money.

Load back up and head back to Surprise. Isaac is finally asleep. Go home? No! Go to Wal Mart! We are in the car and I don't want to have to load all the cargo back up later on.

We head out to Wally world where I find that Austin's t-shirt got left behind at the park. NO! I wrap a towel around him (the no shirt, no service thing worried me a bit) and we head in. I grabbed some milk, goggles, pears and swimming diapers. Isaac did great. Austin cried to get out of the cart. Wesley hung on the side and "skateboarded" through the store with me.

Go home? No! We went to the Ultra Star theatre to pick up some summer movie passes.

Go home? Yes! But, not without stopping to pick up Wrangler, who had been at my neighbor's while we were in Utah. I then invited three of those sweet kids to come and play at our house. Why not? Let the madness continue! And yes, Isaac is still screaming. He decided to not take ANY naps all day long. He is a sweaty, sunlotioned mess.

So, amidst the 5 loads of unfolded laundry, mounds of dishes, dirty floors, piles of mail and unmade beds, we had a fun playdate with 5 kiddos running and dancing around. I have yet to catch up from our trip. My favorite part was when I was standing, nursing, and making quesadillas all at the same time, while telling the kids to finish eating their dinner.

I am still trying to get my "summer" schedule put in place. It's going to include lots of days like today where I am low on patience, high in sweat and crazy with my kids!

My tank

Here are the latest stats for my chunk:

At two months:
Weight: 13.44 lbs (80 %)
Length: 23 in (44 %)


At four months:
Weight: 16.19 lbs (76%)
Length: 25 in (72%)
Head: 25 in (75%)

He really gives my bicep a work out these days when I carry him around. He loves to stand up. He loves to grunt and smile. No big laughter yet, but I am sure it is coming. He sleeps about 6 hours straight at night, if I am lucky and say my prayers. He loves to "snack" and often I feel like he is taking advantage of me, but I love him just the same and I don't mind. He also is rolling from his tummy to his back. He can't roll back over, and so he just lays and cries and slobbers all over the sheet until I roll him back over. I need to get him out of his 1-2 size diapers this week! He has had way too many blow outs, but I have been trying to use them all up. We also can't tell if he has hazel, gray or brown eyes. They seem to change depending on what he is wearing.

I take it all back

I take back yesterdays post of being a Super mom.

Another frazzled day for me!

Why does Austin have to scream and cry throughout the grocery store, wailing that he wants to be put down. When I see those dirty tear streaks down his face, it makes me want to leave him in there longer! It's hard enough to run around with the three in tote, all the time, let alone have to fight whether or not I will be chasing two around the store, vs. one.

My favorite was at Target when both boys started putting on bras and yelling, "boobies!"

Or how about after a long check out at Wal Mart, I decided to "treat" the boys to ice cream, only for them to BOTH complain that there was no chocolate on it, or that it wasn't popcorn. Where's the appreciation? What about those starving children in Africa? Would they complain? Hardly!

I even left Wesley on the side of the Highway 303 today when I asked him if he wanted to get out and walk home. He said, "yes" with a smile, opened the door himself, closed it, and proceeded to walk alone. Grrr! That wasn't supposed to happen. I wanted to be in the middle of the desert so I could at least drive off a few feet ahead of him and give him a little scare. But, nope, I just had to ask him to get back into the car, buckle up, and let's be on our way.

It's so hard for me to feel so depleted ALL the time, so chlostrophobic and impatient. I want to enjoy my boys with more smiles, hugs, kisses and laughter. But, it's so hard to do when I feel so drained. I feel like they don't listen to me, and that my discipline just goes out the door. If Austin asks me, "que?" one more time (he usually does this 2-5x's per question. I even had his ears checked b/c I thought maybe there was blockage), I think I may just stop talking to him all together. You can only repeat yourself so many times until you give up.

I keep begging Isaac to not turn into a nasty three year old. Please stay adorable and loving!

Like I have posted before, everyday is a new ATTITUDE adjustment for me. But, come 4-7pm, I automatically have been turning into Mean Mom. I have good days and bad days. This just happens to be a bad one. How much longer can I do this? I know Jared wishes he were here to help. I need some relief. I need my boys to obey. I am trying my best, and I feel like it's not good enough.

I just want a hug. Good thing I have a sweet chunky baby to hold onto.

Superwoman

Today was a day where I feel like I was a superwoman with super human powers.

Last night: Up with all three boys

Austin: nightmares, climbed into bed, etc. (up by 5:55am)
Wesley: peed the bed after drinking too much water after t-ball practice
Isaac: I think he got a snack around 2am? I can't remember! But, he did "sleep" (or stay in his crib) from 7pm-5am.
Jared: up the night before helping him pack and get out the door by 4am.

So...my nights rest averaged around 4 hours. This is also all with an upset stomach. I am not sure what bug I have, but it makes me super nauseous. I hope it goes away soon. I was too busy today to worry too much about it, but now that I am sitting here in peace...churn churn.

Today I turned into a daycare. I watched 8 kids, all under the age of 5 from 6:30am-5pm. It actually was a great day! I was determined to have my kids actually "play" with the kids vs. movies or playing video games. So, that meant that I had to dive into the fun as well.

Activities: Twister, forts, duck duck goose, dancing, puzzles, music making and hide 'n seek.

The trickiest part was doing a lunch scene with no high chair for the 1 and 2 year olds. We also did some illegal driving to preschool today. Don't tell the cops! I had Wesley in the front seat (he doesn't weigh enough), the little toddlers in huge booster seats, and double buckling in the backseat. 9 of us in an 8 passenger car. I am so glad this is not a daily thing.

Somehow, with an upset tummy and only 4 hours of sleep, I was still able to run the household and enjoy my Biggest Loser Season finale:).

Pay it forward for all the angels that have watched my kiddos before.

Slurp

I am in the process of "slurping" (quite the adjective) my blog into a book format. It has been very entertaining and fulfilling going through the last 2 years of blogging. I am adding more pictures, editing a few posts that I think are boring, and getting the format to flow just right. So far I have 215+ pages to edit, and I am on page 35. This will take me a few weeks, but I can' wait for the finished result. It's almost like my own little genealogy work (or at least that is what I tell myself so I don't feel so guilty about doing my ancestry work). Now that I know that I will be eventually printing out all of these posts, I am going to make them extra detailed (or random!).

Jared left today at 4am. He was home this weekend for 24 hours. He has a conference in San Diego, so on his "day off," he is actually working still. I feel bad for all of us. He would like to be able to sit and relax with us here at home. And we would like to enjoy his company (and extra help). Everyday is an attitude adjustment for me as I tackle my three little monkeys alone. Today has been good, considering that we just worked on Wesley's alphabet, I squeezed in a morning scripture study over breakfast, worked out, the boys helped unload the dishwasher, Austin ate all of his breakfast and lunch, I haven't eaten any sweets yet (I ate a healthy lunch of a salad), and Isaac had his second bath of the day b/c he had a HUGE blow out up to his ears (it's hard to finagle him out of his onesie without getting the poop smeared all over me!). Then again, it is Monday. By Friday, I am sure I will be one frazzled woman and won't be anywhere near motivated to do these same things.

Mother's Day was a quick one. Highlights for the day:
Heart shaped pancake with powdered sugar. Wesley was the genius behind this creation.
Jared doing dishes after lunch.
Afternoon nap (we all took one!)
Eating a meal together (beef stroganoff, a favorite. Even if I did cook it, I didn't mind b/c Jared stayed busy with the boys. I also enjoyed cleaning up while they wrestled).
Having my new SUV scrubbed clean.
Pitching baseballs to the boys at night, when it cooled off to a warm 95 degrees.
Letting Jared bathe and tuck the boys in (they went to bed at 10:30pm, taking advantage of time with Papa and his bedtime stories).
Packing up Jared's backpack with clean undies and socks.

You know you are a mother when:

1. You count the sprinkles on each kid's cupcake to make sure they're equal.
2. You consider it a major triumph if you shower by noon.
3. You hope ketchup is a vegetable, since it's the only one your child eats.
4. You hide in the bathroom to be alone.
5. You can talk on the phone, pack a lunch & feed the baby all at once.
6. You find Goldfish crackers in the glove box of your car.
7. You have kept your favorite babysitter a secret from other mothers in the ward.
8. You use your own saliva to clean your child's face.
9. You can recite Goodnight Moon and Green Eggs and Ham by heart.
10. You have caught spit-up in your hand.
11. You consider parenting to be the best job in the world.

Here is a picture of baby chunky Isaac. This is his typical, "I am starving and want to eat!" face on his way home from church.

This week will be my sister's graduation from ASU with her Master's degree in Social Work. My dad and brother Gavin will be visiting and staying with us for her ceremony. We then will make the LONG drive to Utah for my mother's wedding. She leaves the very next day to live in Argentina and start up her new life as a Mrs. Oscar Abreo.

I am also officially hired back on at Mountain Side Fitness! Let the aerobics/ kid classes begin:)

Scottsdale Night 8K Run:

I had to walk most of it due to a sprained knee. It was great fun to get out on a date together:) Jared did a great job running the entire time, considering that he doesn't usually run at all. It's okay honey that you left me behind in the dust. I stayed back with my hot mama's and chatted.

Not sure what we will do the rest of day. It's only 1:30pm and 101 degrees.

Binkie vs. Thumb

Here are some of our latest "Jared is home, let's do something!" outings. His two days fly by as we try to cram in as many things as possible. My Honey-Do list is endless, the boys are giddy as they wrestle, we love to eat our meals together, and before I know it...it's back to the airport we go to say good-bye.

"Camping" in our backyard. It is great to be in flip flops and have Isaac napping inside while we are out by the fire. Couldn't do that in the woods!

We all loved the s'mores....gooeylicious.
Mama's turn for roasting.
Cute family shot...Austin's face is great as he is about to take a bite of his hot dog.
Welcome to AZ! This tumbleweed rolled up into our front yard. It was huge!!!

We have a great little pit and lots of dirt for a backyard!
Too bad that our boys acted up shortly after taking this picture. After an hour of giggles and not sleeping, we had to take them out of the tent and back into their beds. At that point, they continued to jump on their beds at 10:30pm! Needless to say, I am glad papa was around for the discipline this time around. So much for our "camping" experience with our boys. Why is camping so much "fun" anyway??? Getting all packed up, loaded up, the food, the gear, the bugs, the dirt, the late nights....

Going for a "hike" in the White Tank Mountains. It was 90+ degrees by 9am, so we didn't get too far. The boys loved gearing up with sunglasses and water bottles.
I value being "together" as a family these days.
It was so hot! Austin's red face and sweaty hair says it all.
I love having little boys!
Isaac's first taste of water...even he was a bit dehydrated.


We did our best to cover up Isaac. They don't make hats small enough for our chunk.

My boys enjoyed a "mummy bath" as they soaked in my jetted tub. Austin's eyes were covered in bubbles with his long lashes...he reminded me of Santa Claus.


Alright....

I have a decision to make...

Isaac did great for sleeping through the night for about 2 nights (after three days/nights of crying it out). But, now the decision of binkie vs. thumb has to be made. He has found his fat finger and if I don't continue on with the binkie, his buddy will be his best friend no doubt.

Pros of binkie: you can take it away! Cons: have to constantly provide it during the night

Pros of thumb: self soothing, sleep at night better Cons: can't take it away, germsDo his eyes look hazel or brown?

I am leaning towards the binkie...I just feel like this last week of "crying it out" is going for nothing if I am giving it back to him! I can't stand to hear him cry it out and get all hoarse from screaming.

What is Isaac doing right now? Oh, he is sucking on his binkie...so, that pretty much says it all. Jared just took the boys fishing up the street by a canal, they caught two fish (and put them back). I love their "boy time" and wish that it happened more often. I enjoyed an hour to myself to bake some bread, blog, cook dinner, do laundry and enjoy some silence:) Let the madness begin all over again as Jared leaves us tomorrow.