Glitter!!!!!

Have you ever met a little girl not fascinated with glitter? I have two girls that think it is spectacular. So when a teacher sends home an assignment to create a book project my mind immediately turns to glitter. We definitely used the glitter to its best advantage. Brooklyn chose the book "My Garden" which accurately depicts my girls helping in my garden. I think Brandon is a little frustrated with the glitter everywhere. I think it makes our wood floors look magical.

Jonathan's Cochlear Implant Activation 8 mo., Rt Ear cont'd

Brandon shared this video with me tonight. We both thought it was a sweet video. It is a great feeling when your child begins to interact with you and recognize who you are. I love my sweet babies and cherish every smile I get from them.

I Feel Good

I had a good day. I exercised and got some trampoline time in. I find it amazing the trust my girls have in me. There are times they really should question the way I do things. Some may know of the annoying rabbits that keep getting into the garden. I started going out and scary them away and maybe throwing a rock here and there. My girls when first witnessing Mom "Elmer Fud" chasing the rabbits they were a little startled. However now they are calling out the rabbits and will now dart outside to scare them away. It is very cute and silly of them to help me out this way.

Seven Years!!

This past weekend we celebrated our 7 year anniversary. It has been an adventure. Starting out in AZ to PA to WA to PA to NC. We celebrated by having 7 and heart shaped pancakes, 7 shaped sugar cookies, date at the YMCA during the day, library trip, and date at a new restaurant and movie. I will leave the mushy and cheesy stuff for Brandon and I.

Go To Sleep

Most of the time my kids are awesome. Not all the time. Lets face it there is no such thing as a perfect kid. My kids can give me a massive headache throughout the day occasionally however they become that perfect kid when they are sleeping. Every night I like to look at them when they are sleeping. It helps me forget the day's troubles and be ready and excited to start a new day with them.

POOP!!!!

I think C girl is going to be headed to college with diapers on. I have no idea how to help her on the toilet. I feel I am permanently going to damage my sweet child. Sorry for not being so positive about motherhood today but I have been cleaning up pee and poop all day long.

Things That Help Me

With six years of being a mom I have learned a few things that help me be a better mom. I need to get good sleep. I need to be early to bed and early to rise. I need exercise. Good hard workouts are very helpful for my stress and overall happiness with the way my body feels. I need good food. It is very satisfying to sit down to eat a meal that is both pleasant to look at and taste really good. I also love when my family enjoys the meal just as much as I do. Lastly I need to have some time to meditate or work on my spirituality. Sometimes if happens in the car, early in the morning, or when I am doing yard work. I know there is much more ahead for me to learn. Anyone have advice on what helps them be a better person?

Do Not Disturb

I think I checked out of my motherly duties a few hours ago. I know for sure I am not the only that has days that they just want to be over. Where every sound (in my case whine) is just too irritating to deal with. I love my kiddos but sometimes they just need to chill. I am very thankful that my baby Dallin and my body are able to breastfeed. That is my moment I can shut out most of the noise and relax. I can't wait until the kids are asleep. Then I can watch them as they quietly sleep. It helps me remember the importance of what I am doing.

Toothless!

We have lost our first baby tooth. Brooklyn has been waiting for this moment for the last few weeks. Yesterday she was very excited that it was bleeding. Brandon decided to take a pair of tweezers and pulled it out. She was very pleased to wake up to a surprise from the tooth fairy. She was a little concerned how the tooth fairy would be able to hold the tooth because fairies have wings not arms.

She just ate a chocolate chip cookie.

My Big Sister/Second Mom

I love all my sisters equally and have loved gaining sister in laws. So I hope to not offend anyone when I speak of just one in this post. We had a fun filled week when my sister Tobi dropped by on her way home from a London vacation. She has always been someone I have looked up to. She is beautiful, has fabulous hair, loves my kids, is very talented in many areas, and does not have one mean bone in her body. Well maybe one, when she calls people stupid. However she does say that is a term of endearment. As siblings we have all got a long very well growing up. I credit that to Tobi's example of her kindness and love she showed us. I am happy to witness Brooklyn following in her Aunt Tobi's footsteps. Even though she is not a mother to her own children she has definitely been an example of motherhood to me.

I Am So Proud!

Today was an interesting day. We could have had a really bad day if we just focused on the negative. It was hard but I really had to keep telling myself I was having fun. I love spending time with my family. Today we attended the girls gymnastic showcase. It is so much fun for me as their mother to watch them do things they love and I equally love. Gymnastics was a huge part of my life when I was younger and now that I am a mom I have a blast watching my girls.

Confidence In Decision Making

One thing I have learned in my experiences is I have to have confidence in myself. I sometimes feel the need to sing and dance through the streets singing "I have confidence in sunshine..." as Maria did to convince myself. There are times when I question my thinking and I don't like it. It is easy to question yourself when other moms around you are doing different things with their kids. I need to keep telling myself I know what is best for my kids and my kids are different than the other kids.

Mother's Day Update

Here is the honest truth. Ever since I have become a mother I have never enjoyed Mother's Day. Maybe it is the same with Valentine's Day. Commercialism and other influences tend to make you feel as if you are not worth much if you were not spoiled rotten or someone went to Jared's. I decided this year my attitude was going to be different. It is silly to allow those kind of influences make me feel less than what I am. So this year since I am a mother of three amazing kids I decided to give them gifts for making my mom experiences fun, entertaining, full of learning, and love. They were very small gifts but the kids loved them. The weather could not have been more beautiful. After church we made lunch and took it to a beautiful park for a picnic. I love being with Brandon and the kids. Spending time with the family outdoors is the best. I hope everyone else was able to have some fun with their families while celebrating mothers.

Happy Mother's Day

I decided I am going to skip tonight and eat the dessert I made for myself. I will write on my day tomorrow. I had a lovely day with my family. Hope everyone else had a great day.

Today Was A Good Day

Last night Brandon and I realized we had no engagements we needing to be today. Hopefully it isn't because we forgot about something. We were really excited about the possibilities of nothing to do. I think it has been since before my upholstery class started that we have had a free Saturday. One of our most favorite things is walking around our flea market at the State Fair grounds and thinking of all the possibilities. I know some people would think that completely drab however we love it. We then ate at Which Which. If you have not been you must try it is delicious. We love Saturdays when we can pick and choose places to go and have no real time line of where we need to be. Here is to hoping for more free fun filled Saturdays. Oh and the Suns won last night.

I've Lost My Marbles

I don't know about other mothers but in our family it is hereditary to lose your marbles. I am sure it goes back many generations. Here is an example of my mom losing her mind. Sorry mom.

It is New Years Eve day. Her and I are headed to the Zoo for some fun with other family. On our way there the DJ on the radio announces at noon they are going to have a hot chocolate toast at the zoo. When I repeated that to my mom she got really excited. Not just excited but almost awkwardly excited. She was also trying to figure out where they would have this celebration and where would they put everything. I told my mom I am sure it will be just in one of the open picnic areas or near the boats. I was a little confused as to why she was asking such simple questions. When we arrive we get there in time to have some lunch and prepare for the toast. Those that know my mom know she is addicted to her hot chocolate. She does not need a diet coke to kick start her day it is hot chocolate even when it is 115 degrees outside. She sees the hot chocolate and starts to question where the toast was and proceeds to walk over to the hot chocolate table to ask the staff where the toast was. It is at that moment that I realized a toast that you give at a celebration never crossed my mom's mind. She was looking for toasters plugged into an outlet that produce slightly crusty baked bread to dip into her hot chocolate. I then tell my brother and sister in law what our mom was doing. By the time she came back we were roaring with laughter. The funny thing she was still confused as to why the Zoo staff kept looking at her strangely every time she asked someone new where the toast was and why we were laughing so hard. Well let's just say this story comes up on many occasions as one of the best examples of losing your marbles or as we call it in our family, Arthellisms, named after my grandma Arthell Bingham.

So back to my day of losing my marbles. I realized tonight I was a whole week ahead of schedule. I asked Brandon to arrive home early tonight so we could attend Brooklyn's school's Spring Fling Carnival. We drove up to an almost empty school and it was then that I realized that it was in one more week. So just think if I am already acting in this manner I can't wait to see what stories my kids retell of me with the more marbles I lose.

The night turned out just lovely after we left the school. We went out as a family to eat and then played with an ipad at Best Buy. Here is to hoping the night can end with a win from the Suns.

It's Been An Interesting Day

Brooklyn started her morning off with her shoes not feeling right. That always brings frustration from her, Brandon and me. Brooklyn also scraped her knees up and recess and had an accident in her PE class. It makes me sad that I can give her a hug when she is hurt at school. After Brooklyn arrived home from school her and I were downstairs finishing homework reading and I may have even dosed off for a few minutes. I was interrupted by Camden and her complaining about a white substance on her face and hands. I realized it was Elmer's glue. Then I proceeded with the questioning with the whereabouts of the glue. I walked up to the office and was surprised with a few large globs of glue on my computer keyboard, desk, mouse, and mirror. It also started to dry up on her body and I realized it was also all over her legs and in her hair. This really could have been a terrible day if I really let it get to me.

I did have some really good things happen today. I was able to attend a Mother's day lunch at Brooklyn's school. She is still at the age where she loves to see us, give hugs and kisses. She also made me a card. It is so fun to see her progress in her first year of school. I also love to watch my girls express their love to one another. Camden loves to run up to Brooklyn when she gets off the bus and give her a huge hug. Brooklyn has no shame and hugs her right back. Dallin is almost perfect all the time. I love his smiles and the way he can calm me down.

What a miserable life I would have as a mother if I focused on the negative things that happen. I would miss out on so much.

Keeps Me Young

Nothing earth shattering happened today. Tonight I spent my evening at one of our monthly Relief Society activities. We are making quiet books. I have always wanted a quiet book but for some reason never had one or maybe I did I just don't remember. I was probably a very obedient quiet child and did not need such things. So I am now starting to make one for my kids. I am really excited to start this project for my kids but secretly I am more excited that I will finally get to play with one during sacrament meeting. Being a mom allows me to still stay some what young. I can play with toys, jump on a trampoline, and make quiet books and say it is for my kids. But really I enjoy all those activities just as much or more.

Well at least I tried.

Today was one of those days where you are happy that everyone is still alive. I was not mad at my kids. I was just blah today. I am proud that I was able to plate a full meal for the family. And the great thing about just being blah today is that my kids still think I am the best mom they have ever had.

I Am Funny

One of the greatest things about being a mother to my kids is they think I am funny. I don't even have to try and I can get them laughing. It may not be that way all the time but for now I will enjoy the silliness my kids allow. My hope is that as a family we can always have good laughter in the home.

Sabbath Day Headache

I may be the only one that feels this way but Sundays don't always feel like the day of rest. It usually begins with a daughter bugged by the way a dress is feeling and is not happy with what she picked out the night before to wear. Or I have a baby who maybe gets 3o minutes of sleep for his morning nap. Today was no different this morning. However I tried really hard to keep my cool with this one daughter as somehow by the time we left for church she was in good spirits and was happy with what she was wearing. We were able to walk into the chapel with just about a minute before the opening song. We were all in good spirits and I think sacrament went well. I always feel like we are the noisy family and people wish we would just take our kids out. I love attending my church meetings however I have really had to rely on my testimony of the Gospel to keep me coming with my kids. Sometimes it would just be much easier to sleep in and truly have a day of rest at home. It is my love for the Gospel and my love for my kids that keeps me going. I want them to have what I have. This last year I have really felt the importance as a mom to find ways to bear my testimony to my kids in simple ways. I love watching them catch on to different concepts. I am hoping this month will bring me more joy through the spirit.

May, The Month We Celebrate Motherhood

Last year one of my friends on her blog for a month wrote about the joys of motherhood. She was honest and some days were easy and some days were more difficult to find joy but she did it. So this month I want to take that challenge and share my joys I have each day being a mother to Brooklyn, Camden, and Dallin. I am starting this month off with photos of all three.