Bowling!

Yesterday was the 5th Wednesday of the month. Normally, Aaron has academics on Wednesdays - they discuss journal articles, review dissections, etc. But on 5th Wednesdays, the residents and interns are given an assignment - to enjoy themselves. The activity for the day was bowling, and they were required to be there - if they didn't want to participate, they were asked to take call at the hospital for those who were assigned to call for the day to go and play.

So this is my kids bowling! I wasn't sure that they would enjoy it, but they had a blast! Ben noted that bowling in real life is different than bowling on the Wii. :) Alex played with Luke and hi-fived the other residents. She's very popular. We all had fun.

Memories and First Impressions

I saw this on a friend's blog, and wanted to give it a try.

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory and your first impression that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember--it can be funny, weird, awkward, random, etc.!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. This could be fun! I look forward to your comments!

Deep thoughts...

So I was reading my friend's blog last night before I dragged myself upstairs, and got in the shower. She had written something that really made me think.

"I will say that I am going to be an honest blogger. That is one of my peeves about blogs: all the sugar-coated sweetness out there. (especially in the LDS world) How many perfect homes, children, and people really exist?"

She's got a point. Seriously, there are some people out there who write about the gooey goodness of their families and their cutsy crafty projects and it gets a little ridiculous. But then, do we really want to hear about how much their lives suck? I know there are sometimes when a blog is a good venting zone, but it also needs to be a place to celebrate life's little victories.

Then I started to think about how often we are actually honest. Honesty has several definitions, but in my shower last night, I was thinking about all the times when nice Mormon women aren't honest in what they are really thinking... My mental thought processes went to dialogues (I was a drama teacher in a past life), and I thought about being honest in some situations. (*Note* I am not thinking of any one person in particular...I mean no one offense.)

Sister 1: Can you believe it? I'm having a baby!
Nice Mormon Woman reaction: Wow! Congratulations! (Smile
and nod)
Honest reaction: Seriously? Again? But you don't take
care of the kids you DO have...

Sister 2: Oh, I can't do that, I just have too much going on with
this, or that...
NMW reaction: I see. What can I do to help you?
Honest reaction: Like I'm just sitting around. Gee, but you
manage to have plenty of time for (insert non-descript meaningless hobby here). And you sure expected help when you needed it last month...

Sister 3: I just don't have enough money to pay my bills right now; I
sure am glad that the church can help.
NMW reaction: We're here to help in anyway we can. Don't
hesitate to ask.
Honest reaction: That sure is a nice (manicure/pedicure/new
outfit) you have. Didn't anyone teach you about money
management? Isn't self-reliance a key principle of the church?
Slacker.

Now I fully understand that situations come up, children will be born, and it's not my place to judge. However, it's frustrating to have to search for NMW words when those honest reactions come up. That was my shower last night. Deep for one o'clock in the morning.

P.S. Today, Audrey was back to her normal self. Thank goodness.

Done.

I don't know if it's because she's teething, or because her legs hurt from immunizations yesterday, or because she just wanted to see how insane she could make me today, but it worked. I'm done.

Seriously, today is a day that I wish I was back to dealing with 120 teenagers in class as opposed to being a stay-at-home mom. Today is the day that I'm almost ready to tell Aaron that a vasectomy might be a good idea. Thank goodness that today is almost over.

I love my children. I love spending time with them, and taking care of them. I love all the stupid stuff - like watching Aud scoot across the floor, fixing Al's hair, or watching Ben play with his action figures and create a full plot line.

But there are some days - like today -
Al decided that all of her toys, and shoes, and baking stuff needed to be on the floor today.
I think Audrey's longest nap was about 20 minutes. The rest of the time - she was fussing and squealing. All day.
Ben threw up in the movies with Nana and Papa this morning.
It's been about 10 days since I have mopped the floor.
I have no more clean bras. None.
Ben wore jeans today. With his sandals. It was hot.
We had rice with dinner. It's all over the floor.

I'm going to sweep the floor and go to bed.
After all, "Tomorrow is another day!"

Ugg.

New Stuff

We been doing a bit of shopping lately! Check out how we made our new house home.
New furniture and rug for the family room. Our last set was sliced up by vandals last year, and we hadn't replaced it because we wanted to wait for the new house. Very comfy!

New recessed can for the hallway light - we kept bumping the other one with the door.

New place for the laundry room light - novel concept: move it out of the way of the cabinet!

New Master toilet - chair height, elongated bowl, it says it can flush a bucket of golf balls - I haven't tried that part out yet!

Old sink - no garbage disposal, only 4" deep. Oh, and really flimsy.

Audrey in the new sink - it's 8" deep!

SO EXCITED!!!

Aaron's parents are here! This is super great, because Aaron and Pawpaw are going to make some improvements to our house! Yeah! We went shopping at Lowe's and Home Depot on Saturday and this week we are fixing the following:
1. We are getting a new sink - with a garbage disposal. I can't believe that the people we bought the house from lived without one! And the old sink is pretty flimsy.
2. All the toilets in our house are very short, round bowls. We would love to replace all of them, but really - they work. However, the master bath is getting a super flushing, chair height toilet. It will be a throne fit for a king! (heehee)
3. The light in the laundry room that gets hit by the cabinet every time you open the cabinet - it's moving.
4. Several of the air registers are stuck closed. We got new ones!
5. The kitchen is getting GFCI outlets. Safety first. :)
6. We are putting in some sliding drawers to make some food storage within the bottom shelves. It's the closest thing to a pantry I'm going to have until we decide to make some major renovations.
7. STORAGE!!! Dad is building a linen closet. Hallelujah!

We have our work cut out for us. I'll post the before and after pictures in a couple of days. I can't wait!

Audrey's rebellion

I forgot about this with everyone visiting...

So Friday night, I had a babysitter! This is mondo-exciting because our last ward had no babysitters, and this one has a bunch! Anyways, I had mopped the whole downstairs - definitly needed to be done - and worked my butt off trying to make sure all my ducks were in a row to have a nice night away from my children and with my husband. I planned enough time to take a shower and blow dry my hair - which I never get to do - this was a big deal. Alone time for the first time in like 5 weeks.
We picked up McD's for the kids, and I fed Audrey. I picked up Amanda and we were set. Aaron and I went to this Mexican place that we've been wanting to try for a while. It was a nice dinner. We got done in an hour, and were headed out to go shopping for a little while - when the phone rang. Before she could even speak, I could hear Audrey hysterical in the background.
"Umm, Sister See, this is Amanda, I'm sorry to call you but umm... your daughter has been screaming for the last half hour. She won't take a bottle, or her pacifier..."

Seriously, I was mortified on many levels. We went home, and as soon as I took her, my dear, darling Audrey calmed down. I handed her off to Aaron, just so I could go to the bathrooom, and she screamed. Maybe I should feel flattered that she loves her mom so much. But that doesn't outweigh the fact that she totally ruined my evening. I don't ask for much alone time. I don't ignore her. I don't let her just sit there and cry. I have gotten fairly adept at doing just about everything during they day with Audrey in my arms, or at the very least, in my sightline.

Ugg. Sometimes being a mom sucks. When she can talk, I am going to demand an apology.